How Does Savings Management Work In oboloo?

The savings management module within oboloo is designed to align with most organizations' savings methodologies and calculations. This guide will explain how savings are structured within oboloo, including the role of parent and child records (milestones).

How Are Savings Structured Within oboloo?

All savings records in oboloo have a parent record and at least one child record, known as milestones. This structure provides flexibility and efficiency for end users.

Parent Records

The parent record acts as the main savings project record, holding all the key information about the savings project. This includes:

  • Project Title: The name of the savings project.
  • Status: The current status of the project.
  • Owner: The person responsible for the project.
  • Currency: The currency used for the savings calculations.
  • Linked Supplier: The supplier associated with the project.
  • Linked Contract: The contract associated with the project.
  • Total Savings: The total amount of savings projected for the project.
  • Attachments: Any related documents or files.

The parent record can be found within the table on the main savings management dashboard page.

Child Records (Milestones)

Milestones are child records that sit underneath a parent savings record. They allow you to split a savings project into manageable sub-projects.

Why Use Milestones?

Milestones enable users to consolidate all savings records under one parent record. For example, if you are tracking savings for a contract over 12 months and want to monitor savings at the end of each month, you can create 12 milestones under one parent project. This approach is more organized and efficient compared to managing 12 separate, unlinked projects.

Tip: Milestones are sub-projects that help you manage a savings record in smaller, easier-to-handle segments. For example, for a year-long project, you could create four milestones, one for each quarter, if savings are measured quarterly.

Adding Milestones

You can add as many milestones as needed to a savings project. Milestones can be added either at the time of creating the savings record or later by navigating to the Milestone tab within the parent savings record.

Example: You might create four milestones, one for each quarter of the year, if the savings project covers an entire year and savings are measured quarterly.

By structuring savings in this way, oboloo ensures that all related savings activities are linked and easy to manage under a single parent record. This method enhances both flexibility and efficiency in savings management.

Projected and Realized Savings

Projected Savings

Projected savings are the total savings you expect to achieve at the start of the savings project. These amounts are entered into the projected savings fields within each milestone.

  • Cost Reduction: Savings achieved by reducing actual costs.
  • Cost Avoidance: Savings achieved by avoiding potential future costs.

Tip: Projected savings provide a forecast of the expected financial benefits from the savings project.

Realized Savings

Realized savings are the actual savings achieved upon the completion of the project. These are different from the projected savings and are confirmed once the project or milestone is completed.

Calculating Realized Savings

  1. Input Realized Savings: Enter the actual savings achieved into the milestone upon project completion.
  2. Calculation: oboloo will apply the same calculation method as for projected savings, dividing the total realized savings by the total baseline spend across all milestones.

Tip: For example, if the last milestone had a projected savings of £20 but the actual realized savings were £35, oboloo will calculate the realized savings percentage accordingly.

Marking Milestones as Complete

  1. Navigate to the Milestones tab under the savings project.
  2. Choose the milestone you wish to realize from the table.
  3. Click the Mark As Complete button.
  4. Amend the reported realized savings if necessary. The projected savings for cost reduction and avoidance will default within the realized fields. You can adjust these fields to specify the actual savings achieved.
  5. The Total Realized Savings % field will automatically update to show the overall percentage saving for the milestone.
  6. Click the Confirm Milestone Completion button.

Warning: You will not be able to edit the milestone once it is marked as complete.

Analysis

As you complete milestones, the visual analysis on the dashboards will update, showing your organization the delta between projected, pipeline, and realized savings.

By following these guidelines, you can accurately track and manage both projected and realized savings for each milestone within oboloo. This ensures a clear understanding of your savings performance and helps in achieving financial efficiency.

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