ARMS is an On-Line SQL database application that tracks supplier budget and actual hours and the corresponding costs. In addition, two other categories (Total Out of Pocket and Total Production or Media costs) are tracked at the tactical level. There is also the ability to track Invoice totals. ARMS can be used for ANY client/supplier arrangement in which you are buying time.
ARMS Captures:
- Initial Budget (hours and OOPs)
- Current Budget (hours and OOPs)
- Actual hours (person/month/tactic) – an import from the Agency Cost Accounting System
- Actual OOPs (month/tactic) – an import from the Agency Cost Accounting System
- Invoice amount
By capturing the above information, what can be done with it?
- Capturing the Initial Budget (and then locking it down) allows you to preserve the Original agreed upon Annual Budget.
- As individual tactics are opened, you can revise the estimate in the Current Budget field (and then compare to the Initial Budget). This process allows you to create an Annual Blanket Purchase Order (PO), yet have the individual control on a tactic by tactic level without creating massive numbers of individual Purchase Orders.
- Capturing actual hours allows you to see the personnel/roles/functions that incur hours compared to estimated.
- Manage Fee budget
- Capturing OOPs (when combined with hours/costs) allows you to determine the total budget vs. actual costs.
- Capturing Invoice amounts allows you to verify that what was invoiced is equal to the actuals provided (Hours plus OOPs) or to reconcile with a click of a button.