New feature: Departmental revenue analysis

Introducing Departmental Revenue Analysis in Synergist - a powerful new way to understand how revenue is allocated across your agency. This feature automatically tracks revenue by department, eliminating the need to create separate project phases for each department. Now, phases can represent what they're meant to: actual project deliverables and stages, creating a more intuitive job structure for your team.

But before diving into the mechanics, it's worth understanding what this feature actually does and why you might need it.

What is departmental revenue analysis?

Departmental revenue analysis breaks down your revenue and costs, showing you how much each department contributes at the job or phase level. It enables you to view revenue through a departmental lens, where recommended charges, quoted values, purchase costs and invoices can be analysed by department.

This works best when your departmental structure reflects genuine differences in how your teams operate and price their services. If your departments are highly integrated and collaborative, the additional complexity might outweigh the benefits. For many agencies, Synergist's capacity planning and project profitability tools can provide better insights with less complexity.

How Synergist departmental revenue analysis works

Departmental revenue analysis is enabled at the company level in your Company Settings - this is a company-wide decision that affects how you track and report on all jobs. 

The system allows you to:

• Set up departments with sales and purchase nominal codes that match your accounting system
• Link departments to charge codes, materials, and suppliers
• View revenue through a departmental lens at both job and phase levels

When you estimate time using charge codes, Synergist automatically calculates departmental revenue for each phase. The new 'Departmental revenue analysis' screen on the job Estimate tab shows:

• Percentage splits by department
• Recommended charges by department (based on estimated time)
• Quoted values across departments
• Variance between recommended and quoted values
• Purchase costs by department

Sales invoices automatically split amounts based on these departmental allocations, and you'll gain access to:

• Period profit reports with departmental breakdowns
• Department-specific data analytics reports

Implementation considerations

Transitioning from phase-based to true departmental tracking represents a significant shift in your data structure. This change requires careful planning and execution.

This level of detail requires commitment to accurate time tracking and project setup. Your team will need to consistently allocate time and costs to the correct departments for the reporting to be meaningful. Without this discipline, departmental analysis will produce misleading data rather than actionable insights.

Our support team is ready to guide you through this transition. Contact us at support@synergist.co.uk if you need assistance planning or implementing these changes.

The tools are powerful—whether they're right for you depends on how your agency operates and the decisions you need to make.