How the numbers are calculated

Burnwise is deterministic: the same Jira worklogs, rates and settings always give the same numbers. Every number traces back to the worklogs that produced it: open the project, then Breakdown, then click a row to see its worklogs. In the app, ⓘ next to a number shows this calculation with the real values.

The app uses plain labels; this page gives the finance term beside each one.

Money and rounding

• All amounts are stored as whole cents (minor units) with a currency. There is no floating-point money.
• One worklog’s amount is hours × hourly rate, rounded to the nearest cent (half away from zero).
• Invoice lines are priced as total hours × rate, so each line multiplies out exactly.

Which rate applies

The most specific rate wins:

1. One person on one project
2. One role on one project
3. One person on one client’s projects
4. One role on one client’s projects
5. One person everywhere
6. Everyone with one role
7. Everyone (company default)

Within a level, the rate with the latest effective date on or before the worklog date applies. A raise never changes old worklogs. A person’s role is also effective-dated. The applied rate, its level and any exchange rate are stored with each calculated worklog.

Currency

Each project has one currency. A rate in another currency is converted with the exchange rate effective on the worklog date, which a finance administrator enters in Settings → FX rates. Historic conversions never change.

Which project a worklog belongs to

A worklog belongs to at most one Burnwise project. If two projects cover the same work, the most specific one wins: selected issues, then Epic, then Jira filter (JQL), then whole Jira project. Ties go to the project created first.

Billable time

A worklog is billable if someone marked it billable. Otherwise it uses the project’s default; internal projects default to non-billable. Cost always applies; billable work applies only to billable time.

Formulas

In Burnwise	Finance term	Formula
People cost	Labour cost	Σ hours × effective cost rate
Billable work	Billable value	Σ billable hours × effective billing rate
Spent so far	Total cost	People cost + expenses
Earned so far, hourly	Revenue (T&M)	Billable work + billable expenses
Earned so far, fixed fee	Revenue (fixed fee)	Fee × work done (max 100%) + billable expenses
Earned so far, retainer	Revenue (retainer)	Monthly fee for each month elapsed (part months by days)
Earned so far, milestones	Revenue (milestones)	Sum of completed milestones
Earned so far, internal	Revenue (internal)	0
Profit so far	Profit	Earned so far − spent so far
Margin	Margin	Profit ÷ earned (“—” when nothing is earned yet)
Work beyond the fee	Value written off (fixed fee)	Billable work − earned so far
Budget spent	Budget consumed	Spent so far ÷ current cost budget
Current budget	Current budget	Original budget + approved budget changes

Work done

Each project uses one method to measure how far it is (finance term: percent complete):

• Hours (default): hours logged ÷ (hours logged + remaining estimates). With no estimates: hours logged ÷ hours budget. With neither, work done is unknown (“—”), never zero.
• Issues: done issues ÷ all issues in the project’s work.
• Story points: done points ÷ all points.
• Manual: a percentage you enter.

Expected cost

Each project uses one method to forecast what it will cost at the finish (finance term: estimate at completion):

• Spent so far ÷ work done (default). With the hours method this equals spent so far + remaining hours × blended rate.
• Remaining estimates: spent so far + remaining estimate × blended cost per hour so far.
• Weekly spend: spent so far + average weekly spend over the last 4 weeks × weeks until the end date.
• Manual: spent so far + expected remaining hours × blended rate, or an expected cost you enter.

Expected cost is never lower than the cost so far. Expected total cost adds expenses to date.

Health

• Budget check: expected cost ÷ budget. Up to 90% is Healthy, up to 100% is At risk, above that is Over budget.
• Margin check: expected margin of 35% or more is Healthy. Below 35% the project shows Low margin, as a warning down to 20% and as a problem below 20%.
• The worst check wins, and the label names the cause. The limits can be changed per project and in Settings.

Keeping pay rates private

With Keep pay rates private on (finance term: hidden rate mode), people without access to rates see money only for groups of 3 or more people. Person and worklog rows show hours only. When one small group is hidden, the next smallest group is hidden too, so a hidden amount cannot be found by subtracting the visible rows from the total.