> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understand Planner types and budget categories

> Read work classifications, distinguish types from statuses, and ask your MSP about changed labels.

**Audience:** Company users with access to Planner or Budgets, and MSP staff. Your MSP manages the shared type catalog. Company administrators do not manage these settings.

## Read an item's type

1. Find the work in **Planner > List View** or on the timeline.
2. Open its title and check **Type** alongside the description and other fields.
3. Use the type as a classification of the work. Read **Status** separately for its reported progress.
4. Ask your MSP if the classification is missing, unclear or inconsistent with the work described.

Type names are configurable. Examples such as Project, Hardware or Cloud Services are labels chosen by the MSP, not a fixed list that every portal must use.

| Field               | What it describes                                              |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Type**            | The category of planned work.                                  |
| **Status**          | The item's progress state, such as Not Started or In Progress. |
| **Business Value**  | Its High, Medium or Low value classification.                  |
| **Cost recurrence** | Whether an estimate is One-time, Monthly or Annual.            |

A type called Project does not prove there is a linked PSA project. Open **Relationships** to check linked records and their availability.

## Understand shared budget categories

Planner types also supply budget categories. The MSP manages one catalog used across companies; choosing a company in the portal does not create a separate set of type definitions.

A renamed type can therefore appear under a new name in Planner and budget forecasting. A changed label does not by itself mean that the amount, due date, approval or status changed. Read the underlying item and budget details.

Approved budget snapshots can retain their recorded category name even after the live catalog changes. Ask the MSP which version you are reading before interpreting a historical label as an error.

## When fields or classifications change

Your MSP can edit classifications, use a template, import opportunity data or configure type-specific custom fields. The Type can affect which additional fields appear in an item's **Custom Fields** section. A changed set of fields does not automatically mean your access was removed.

If a type is retired, the MSP can reassign affected planning work and editable budget lines. Company users should ask the MSP to review the classification; they do not recreate a deleted type or change the shared default.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Is a Planner type the same as its status?">
    No. Type classifies the work; Status describes its progress. Business Value and cost recurrence are separate fields too.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does the Project type create a project in the PSA?">
    No. A classification is not a linked external record. Check Relationships or ask your MSP.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why do Planner and Budgets show similar category names?">
    Planner types supply the shared budget category catalog. Your MSP manages those definitions across companies.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a Company administrator create a new Planner type?">
    The MSP manages type settings. Ask the MSP to add or change the classification you need.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Did a renamed type change my budget amount?">
    A label change alone does not establish an amount change. Review the actual budget and item values with your MSP.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does an approved budget still show an older category name?">
    Approved snapshots can preserve the category name recorded at approval. The live catalog may have changed since then.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why do different Planner types show different custom fields?">
    The MSP can configure fields for particular types. Check the item's Type and Custom Fields, then ask the MSP about unexpected differences.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does changing the default reclassify all existing work?">
    No. A default supplies a starting choice for new items without a type. Existing classified work is not automatically changed by that setting.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

Related: [Read Planner item details](/user-guides/planner/read-item-details), [read a budget](/user-guides/budgets/read-budget), [MSP type management](/user-guides/planner/manage-types).