Independent Sub-project Budgeting in AX 2012 R3

One more feature in the budgeting area coming in Dynamics AX 2012 R3 is the ability to manage the budgets of sub-projects independently. In AX 2012 RTM and R2, initial budget creation and revisions were done at the project hierarchy level. A single set of budget lines applied to the parent project and all sub-projects. One implication of this behavior is that a sub-project created after the initial budget was approved would never have an "original" budget, just a "revised" budget. In R3, we have introduced a new property on a parent project (you can also set the default in the Project parameters form) called Independent budgeting for sub-projects.

In the example below, you can see a parent project with two sub-projects and the new property highlighted.

When it is unchecked and you open the Project budget form, you get the previous behavior where you see a project tree on the left side of the form and can create budget lines for any project in the hierarchy.

When it is checked, you will not see the project hierarchy on the left side when you open the Project budget form for any project in the hierarchy. You are restricted to creating budget lines only for the selected parent or sub-project and workflow approval will be required for each project.

Once you have created a budget, you can no longer change this option. This option does not alter the behavior of the Project budget balances form. Even when you are managing sub-project budgets independently, the budgets and actuals for the entire hierarchy are rolled up and you can drill down to any level in the hierarchy.