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Enter the effort, cost and likelihood for a Planner item. MSP staff set these estimates. Company users can read them.

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Before you start

  • Changing estimates needs Write Planner or Manage Planner. Anyone with Planner read access can read them.
  • Open the item from List View or the timeline. Est. Hours, Qty and Costs, and Probability of Success are on the left side of the dialog.
  • Estimates are plans. They are not invoices, booked time or approved budgets.

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Add or change costs

1

Open the item

Click the item’s title in List View or on the timeline.
2

Enter the quantity and unit amount

In a cost row, type the Qty and the unit amount under Costs. The row’s amount is quantity times unit amount. When the quantity is not 1 and the amount is above zero, the total shows under the row.
Planner cost rows with quantity 3 at USD 250 one-time and quantity 2 at USD 40 monthly, showing totals 750 and 80.

Example: 3 at 250 one-time is 750, and 2 at 40 monthly is 80 per month. Save applies the estimate.

3

Choose the recurrence

Open the recurrence menu on the row and pick One-time, Monthly or Annual.
4

Add more rows (optional)

Click Add cost for another row. An item can have up to 20 rows.
5

Click Save

Cost changes stay in the form until you click Save. Reopen the item to confirm the stored estimate.
Keep the cadences separate. A one-time 750 and a monthly 80 do not add up to 830 of anything.

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Remove a cost row

Click the trash button on the row. The last remaining row cannot be removed. To leave a zero estimate, clear its unit amount. A blank unit amount counts as zero. Do not use a quantity of zero to enter zero cost. A blank or zero quantity returns to 1 when you leave the field. Some rows say Managed from linked device standard prices. Their fields and trash button are locked. Linking or unlinking a device can add or remove these rows. Do not add a manual row for the same cost, or it counts twice.

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Set hours and probability

1

Enter Est. Hours

Type the effort in Est. Hours. The field accepts quarter-hour steps such as 1.25. Clearing it saves zero. It does not create time entries or reserve a technician’s time.
2

Set Probability of Success

Drag the slider from 0% to 100% in steps of 5. A new item starts at 50%.
3

Click Save

Changing probability does not change Status or Business Value.
Probability feeds the expected-value and risk figures in Analytics. It is a planning estimate. It is not a promise and not a percent-complete measure. See Understand Planner Analytics charts.

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Change costs on several items

In List View, Actions > Set Cost replaces each selected item’s cost rows with one row. Read Update several Planner items before you use it.

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See how costs roll up

Changing a chart filter never changes an item’s cost rows.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

Enter the unit amount. The row amount is quantity times that amount.
Yes. Use a separate row for each and choose a recurrence for each.
No. It is a monthly amount. The timeline can roll it into periods, and Analytics sums each cost type separately.
One row always remains. Clear its unit amount for a zero estimate.
Clear the unit amount or type 0. Leave the quantity at 1.
No. Click Save and reopen the item to confirm.
No. It is the planning likelihood used in expected-value and risk figures.