1 · Create the project

• New project starts a blank file; Duplicate project copies the one open.
• Live projects and the Pre-bid planner each have their own list.

2 · Project & contract (page 02)

• Start month, original duration, contract value, project currency.
• Working calendar and billability.
• Billing and payment terms, caps, overheads, escalation.
• Time extensions and variations, if any.
• Amounts shown as: full, with decimals, in thousands or in millions.

3 · Resources (page 03)

• Billable staff in the top table, non-billable support (e.g. HQ finance) below.
• One line per position: quantity, allocation, start / end month, basis, currency, monthly cost, sell rate.
• Deployment that changes month to month: choose Profile and enter each month (% or hours).
• Actual hours from timesheets: see Actual hours and timesheets.

4 · Invoices, costs and risks

• Page 04: record invoices as issued and paid, or Add forecast invoices.
• Page 05: vehicles, accommodation, IT, travel, subcontracts; tick Billable if the client pays.
• Page 07: risks with probability and min / most likely / max cost; choose how contingency is built.

5 · Read the results (page 01)

• Margin cards, margin status, billing and collection, watch-list, charts.
• Change the scenario in the title block.
• With actuals in, the cards show job to date and at completion beside the plan.

Handy controls

• Float on all pages: a slim margin strip on every page while you edit; click to expand, × to close.
• Freeze values: snapshot now; every figure then shows its change (green better, red worse) until Release.
• « at the top of the side menu collapses it; it collapses by itself below 1400 px.
• Save project file keeps a .json copy; Export gives Excel, PDF or a period report.

The two tabs

• Live projects: awarded or running jobs, with invoices, timesheets, actual hours and actual costs.
• Pre-bid planner: bids being priced and evaluated.
• Each tab has its own project list and side menu; the last tab used is remembered.
• Same engine and file format. v1.9.x files open as live projects; a pre-bid file opens in the planner.
• A pre-bid keeps no live data (invoices, actual hours, timesheets, actual costs).

Pre-bid pages

• 01 Bid summary: tender ref, due date, status, headline cards, watch-list, Transfer to Live.
• 02 Bid & contract and 03 Staffing & cost: as pages 02 and 03 of a live project, without Actual hours.
• 04 Pricing: rates line by line against cost, target and market.
• 09 Go / No-go: weighted criteria, recommendation, your decision.

Pricing (page 04)

• Cost per billed unit = monthly cost × (1 + OH %) ÷ billed units per month.
• Rate at target GM = sell rate × (1 + uniform rate change).
• Cost-plus rate = cost per billed unit ÷ (1 − target GM) (reference, before deductions).
• Market low / high: your range; Position shows below / within / above.
• Apply target rates also moves billable other-cost sell values by the same %.
• Fit to market range clips each rate; Round rates rounds to 1, 5 or 10.

Go / No-go (page 09)

• Each criterion: weight and a score 0–5.
• Margin vs target and Risk cover score themselves from the bid.
• Score = Σ weight × score ÷ 5, weights normalised to 100.
• Go at or above the go threshold (70), Review at or above review (50), otherwise No go.
• No target GM set: Margin vs target is not scored and counts 0.

Transfer to Live

• Makes a new live project with the same staffing, costs, risks, terms and scenarios.
• Keeps the bid (Baseline scenario) as the baseline.
• The live dashboard shows a Bid baseline card: bid GM vs plan vs at completion.
• The pre-bid stays in the planner, marked Awarded.

• 01 Dashboard: margin cards, billing and collection, watch-list, charts, basis of calculation.
• 02 Project & contract: programme, extensions, currency, calendar, billing terms, caps, overheads.
• 03 Resources: billable and non-billable staff; Actual hours panel.
• 04 Invoicing: invoice register, receivables ageing, days late, DSO.
• 05 Other costs: non-staff costs, recurring or one-off, any currency.
• 06 Monthly P&L & cash: month by month, actual vs forecast, cash and finance cost.
• 07 Risks & contingency: register, heat map, Monte Carlo, contingency, drawdown log.
• 08 Scenarios: adjustments, side-by-side comparison, sensitivity.
• 09 Reports: period reports to PDF or Excel.
• 10 AI analyst: questions answered with the same calculations.
• 11 Data import: Excel / CSV, PDF, Word, Primavera P6, ERP exports, timesheets.

Billability

• From leave: (working days − annual leave − holidays − sick − emergency) ÷ working days.
• Or expected availability %, less known off-days %.
• Either way less any other non-billable %.
• Working days per year = days per week × 52.

Monthly hours

• Flat: days per week × 52 ÷ 12 × hours per day every month.
• Calendar: (days in month − weekly days off − holidays) × hours per day.
• Example: Sep-26, Fridays off, National Day = 25 × 8 = 200 h.
• Load KSA official holidays adds 2024–2027; check Eid dates against your calendar.
• Calendar mode: billability no longer deducts holidays. No Ramadan reduction.
• Islamic holidays after 2030 are added by hand.

Revenue

• Hourly: rate × month hours × billability.
• Daily: rate × working days × billability.
• Weekly: rate × 52/12 × billability. Monthly: the monthly rate.
• All × quantity × allocation; sell escalation at each contract anniversary.

Allocation

• Full time = 100%.
• Part time = share of the person's time on this project.
• Days / month = days ÷ working days per month.
• Revenue and cost both follow the allocation.

Deductions

• KPI = gross billing × expected %, never above the cap.
• Localisation = shortfall hours × deduction rate, per group or overall.
• Rate: % of the group's average rate, or a fixed amount per hour per group (e.g. 78 / 55 / 38 / 26 SAR for A–D).
• Agreed concessions (page 02): months where local staff of some groups count full time. Empty = contract terms.
• Scenario Contract — terms only ignores concessions.
• Invoicing stops at the contract value when the ceiling is ticked.

Cost and margins

• Labour = monthly cost × (1 + OH %) × quantity × allocation, escalated yearly.
• Non-billable staff: cost only, no localisation hours.
• Gross margin = revenue − fees − labour − other costs − insurance − contingency.
• Net margin = gross margin − company overhead; equals GM with no overhead.
• Rate change to target: the uniform rate change that reaches the target GM.

Cash

• Invoiced at the invoicing frequency; paid after the payment terms.
• Less retention and advance recovery.
• Costs paid in the month incurred, or after the cost payment lag.
• Peak funding = the lowest point of cumulative cash.
• Finance cost = annual rate ÷ 12 × negative cumulative cash, month by month.

• At completion: revenue, cost incl. contingency, gross margin with status, net margin.
• On approved contract value: the same, with revenue = approved contract value.
• Job to date: actual revenue and cost to the data date; no contingency.
• Plan: the resource plan for the whole programme.
• Estimate at completion: actual to date + forecast to go; contingency at the forecast use %.
• Ticks above the cards show or hide a group; the choice is remembered.
• Billing & collection card: invoiced, collected, outstanding, overdue, not invoiced, accrued, balance.

Meaning of each figure, as the dashboard, reports and AI analyst use it.

• Project currency (page 02): the currency of every total, chart and export.
• Each line can have its own currency (Ccy column), converted at the Exchange rates panel.
• Rates show both ways (1 EUR = … SAR and 1 SAR = … EUR); type either.
• Defaults: ECB reference rates of 16 Oct 2026; Gulf currencies at their US-dollar pegs.
• KWD, EGP and PKR have no default; enter them before use.
• Fetch latest rates needs an internet connection; Reset restores the defaults.
• Changing project currency: Convert (amounts converted) or Relabel only (no number changes).
• A currency with no rate is counted unconverted and flagged.

• Original end = start month + original duration; type either.
• Month fields: Mmm-yy (e.g. Apr-24).
• Revised value, end and duration = original + approved extensions (read-only).
• Approved items always count; Pending only in scenarios that include them.
• Extend resources: lines running to the current end are carried through the extension.
• Lines already entered beyond the end are never pushed further.
• Added value raises the contract ceiling by the same amount.

• Invoicing frequency: each invoice covers the months since the last one.
• Less frequent invoicing raises the funding need.
• Payment terms count from the date the invoice is submitted to the client.
• Due date = submitted + payment terms.
• Advance: % of the original or revised value, in the month you set.
• Advance recovery %: deducted from each invoice; blank = same as the advance.
• Retention: % held back, released the set months after completion.
• Cost payment lag: months between incurring and paying a cost (0 = same month).
• VAT is shown in the register only; it is not in the P&L or cash flow.

Register

• Score = probability band × impact band (1–5 each).
• High ≥ 15, Medium 8–14, Low ≤ 7.
• Impact band: most-likely cost as a share of the contract value.
• EMV = probability × mean of min / most likely / max.
• Residual values apply after the response; blank = unchanged.

Simulation

• Monte Carlo, 5,000 runs.
• P50 / P80 / P90: cost not exceeded in 50 / 80 / 90 % of runs.

Contingency

• Contingency = general + risk allowance + mitigation + management reserve.
• Risk allowance: none, residual EMV, P50, P80 or P90.
• Expected use %: how much is charged in the forecast.
• Cover = contingency held ÷ P80 risk cost.
• Cover of 2 or more shows as a multiple (e.g. 34.1×): contingency far above the quantified risks; check the register.
• Confidence: chance risk costs stay within what is held.

Scenarios

• Adjust billability, sell rate, cost, KPI %, contingency use, extra months, overhead, localisation.
• Blank KPI and contingency use the project values.
• Contract scope: approved position, original contract, or up to a named extension.
• A fixed contingency is pro-rated to the scope.
• Sensitivity: at-completion basis once actuals exist, plan before.
• Baseline cannot be deleted.

Margin status

• Healthy: GM at or above target.
• Marginal: up to 5 pp below.
• Action needed: more than 5 pp below.
• Loss-making: GM negative.

Line types

• Invoice: issued to the client.
• Credit note: entered positive; reduces revenue.
• Accrual: work done, not yet invoiced; counts as actual revenue.
• Forecast: a planned invoice.
• Advance and Retention release: cash only, not revenue.

Dates

• Invoice date: issued by finance; invoiced revenue counts by it.
• Submitted: date given to the client.
• Due = submitted + payment terms (automatic; italic until Submitted is entered).
• An early payment does not change the due date.
• Days late = paid date − due date, or status date − due date if unpaid.

Payments

• Tick Paid and enter the payment date.
• Paid amount: Full, or Partial with the amount received.
• Add invoice: next period after the latest, with its forecast amount.
• ⤴ on a forecast or accrual issues it as an invoice.

Billing figures

• Outstanding = invoiced, not yet paid. Overdue = past the due date.
• Not yet invoiced = closed periods' forecast revenue − invoiced for them.
• Remaining balance = contract value − invoiced to date.
• DSO = outstanding ÷ last 90 days' invoices × 90.
• Actual revenue in reports: from the register or imported actuals (set on page 04).

Entering actual hours (page 03)

• Pick a month; type each line's attended hours (line total, not per person).
• Actuals replace the plan for that month in every figure; the plan stays beside them.
• Blank = no actual; 0 = not deployed. Clear month removes the month.
• Attendance % = attended hours ÷ work hours.
• Name and Role can be edited here; they update the resource line.

Importing a timesheet

• Import timesheet… (page 11 or page 03) reads .xlsx, .xls or .csv.
• Rows are matched to the resource line with that role in the month; check the preview, then Apply.
• Positions with (Interim), (Acting) or a note match their base position.
• Rows with 0 hours are skipped.
• A known person goes to their line; names only pick between lines of the same role.
• Source: TS Mmm-yy (imported) or Man. (typed); click TS to view the month.

Work hours and leave

• Work days / Work hours: the person's available time (default = month hours).
• Leave columns: WE weekly off, PH holiday, AL annual, SL sick, CL casual, ML maternity, CmpL compassionate, OL other / unpaid.
• Rest-day codes OFF, W/O, WO, W, R, RD count as WE.
• Unknown codes (UL, EL, absent …) count as OL.

Pay and billing rules

• Revenue follows attended hours.
• Salary follows work hours; paid leave is paid, not billed.
• 0 h with paid leave (AL, SL, CL, ML, CmpL) = month of paid leave: salary, no revenue.
• 0 h with only WE, PH or OL = not deployed.
• Hours above work hours show as overtime.

Covers by the other nationality

• Other nat. h: hours on a line worked by a person of the other nationality.
• They stay on the covered line for billing and cost.
• They count for localisation by the person who worked them.

Personal names

• Kept only in the project file and this browser.
• Never sent to the AI, logged, or written into Excel / PDF exports.

Excel / CSV

• Any layout: pick the sheet and header row, check the matches, append or replace.
• Download Excel template gives a sheet for every table.

PDF and Word

• PDF text is read line by line; 3+ columns become candidate tables.
• Tables split over two pages are offered joined.
• No clean table (e.g. a month-grid manning schedule): use AI: extract rows from text.
• Word (.docx): every table is offered; save .doc as .docx first.

Invoices

• Service period as text (“April to August 2024”) becomes from–to months.
• Amounts include VAT: tick it and the VAT is taken out.
• Existing invoice numbers are updated (e.g. receipt dates from a collections log).
• Drafts with no invoice date import as accruals.

Plans and ERP

• Primavera P6 (.xer / XML): assignments become average FTE and monthly cost; add sell rates after.
• Oracle ERP / Fusion: cost lines as Actuals; receivables as Invoices.
• Deployment by month (one column per month): one line per position with a profile; names are not imported.
• Old Load % columns are read as the allocation.

• Current: inception to the as-of month. Month: one month. Year: calendar or contract year. End of project: all.
• Contents: margin cards, billing & collection, key figures, estimate at completion, charts, resources, risks, invoices, cash.
• Budget = Baseline; forecast = the title-block scenario; actual = register or imported actuals.
• Invoice status at: as on page 04 (today) or end of the as-of month.
• In the period card: actual revenue and cost inside the period, no contingency.
• Deployment & cash card: average FTE, receipts, cost, net cash, with forecast beside.
• A spread (lump-sum) cost line adds a footnote.
• PDF uses the ASH title block; Excel adds monthly detail and the margin table.

Saving

• Projects are kept in this browser automatically; a warning shows if storage is full.
• Save project file: writes back to the file opened or last saved (Chrome / Edge).
• Save as…: choose folder and name; later Saves go there (Firefox / Safari: later Saves reuse the name).
• Firefox, Safari and the web copy cannot write back to a file: Save as asks for the file name and both save to the download folder.
• To choose the folder each time there, turn on “Always ask where to save files” in the browser settings.
• Reopening an open file asks Replace or Keep both.

Exports

• Excel: summary, inputs, resources, costs, risks, invoices, actuals, monthly P&L, cash, scenarios.
• Excel totals and margins are formulas, with a check column.
• Resources, Invoices, Actuals and Other costs re-import exactly as exported.
• PDF: title block, summary, charts, risks, billing, scenarios, monthly P&L, resources.

AI analyst and privacy

• Uses your Claude account (web copy) or your Anthropic API key (offline file).
• Runs what-ifs, rate solving and risk tests; never changes your inputs.
• Everything is calculated in your browser; imported files are not uploaded.
• Only text you ask the AI to read is sent; Fetch latest rates downloads public rates only.

• Two workspaces: Live projects and the Pre-bid planner.
• Pre-bid pages: Bid summary, Pricing, Go / No-go, Transfer to Live.
• Bid baseline card on the live dashboard.
• One list of figure definitions for Help and the AI analyst.
• Help in topics that open and close, with search (v2.0.1).
• Topic dropdown above the help, next to the search (v2.0.3).

• Grouped margin cards: at completion, on contract value, job to date, plan.
• Revised value, end and duration on page 02; Mmm-yy month fields.
• Scenario blocks: plan and at completion; scoped scenarios.
• Reports: period cards, Deployment & cash, invoice status date.
• Excel with formulas and check columns; round-trip re-import.
• Monte Carlo feeds contingency; deduction rates per group.
• Country calendars, actual hours, timesheet import, leave codes (v1.9.4 – v1.9.9).
• Cover hours (Other nat. h), paid-leave months, agreed concessions (v1.9.10 – v1.9.11).