Costs and pricing
A blank property-media budget with whole-life rows, tolerances and reforecast controls
Use a blank England property-media budget template with whole-life cost rows, evidence fields, VAT views, tolerances, approvals and reforecast controls.
A property creators budget template should expose what the project buys, which controls remain unfunded and when work must stop. This blank structure is for one defined property-media workflow in England. It contains no suggested fee, salary, conversion rate, property value or return.
What to take away
- A property-media budget must show what the project buys and which controls remain unfunded.
- Use one cost row per resource with baseline, forecast, committed and actual columns.
- Non-compensating stop fields block work when property substantiation or FCA language is unresolved.
- Reforecast after every trigger, keep the prior version and explain the change.
- A final total without rights renewals, retained data and exit work is not whole-life cost.
Header and scope
Record project owner, commissioning organisation, English locations, property population, adult audience, channels, start and end dates, archive period and last reforecast. List deliverables and exclusions. Classify editorial, commissioned, advertising, affiliate, lead-handling and possible mortgage or investment communications separately.
Add the base currency, usually GBP, and the source and date for any conversion. State whether sheet totals are net of VAT, gross cash or both. GOV.UK's VAT rates page gives current rates, but a qualified tax reviewer must confirm treatment for each actual supply.
Where a group has a zero baseline, record why it is zero and how the first approved figure becomes the reference. Leave the variance percentage blank rather than dividing by zero, and compare forecast with actual spend instead.
Cost-row schema
Create one row per resource with these columns:
Cost Row Formulas
- Net line cost = quantity x unit amount
- Gross cash = net line cost + VAT charged
- Economic cost = purchased inputs + internal labour
- Forecast variance = current forecast - baseline
ID | stage | description | owner | fixed/variable | one-off/recurring | quantity | unit | unit amount | currency | conversion source/date | VAT charged | VAT recoverable | period | source/date | inclusions | exclusions | confidence | baseline | forecast | committed | actual | variance | approval ceiling | trigger
Use blank formulas:
net line cost in GBP = quantity x unit amount in GBP;gross cash in GBP = net line cost plus VAT charged;economic cost in GBP = purchased inputs plus approved internal labour and opportunity cost;forecast variance in GBP = current forecast minus approved baseline;variance percentage = forecast variance divided by baseline x 100.
Worked example row for one capture line. The figures are placeholders, so replace them with the signed quotation and the actual VAT position.
00 | second location added`
Filled in, that row gives:
net line cost in GBP = 2 x 450.00 = 900.00;gross cash in GBP = 900.00 plus 180.00 VAT = 1080.00;economic cost in GBP = 900.00 purchased inputs plus approved internal labour;forecast variance in GBP = 900.00 minus 900.00 = 0.00;variance percentage = 0.00 divided by 900.00 x 100 = 0.0%.
Define how zero baselines are handled rather than dividing by zero. Do not mix monthly and campaign totals.
Whole-life work breakdown
Use separate groups for commissioning; access and travel; property evidence; media and appearance rights; capture; editing; captions and transcripts; property, advertising, FCA, privacy, rights and accessibility review; publication; enquiry handling; hosting and storage; security; correction and withdrawal; insurance; tax and legal advice; export, archive and deletion.
Whole-Life Work Groups
- Commissioning
- Access and travel
- Property evidence
- Media and appearance rights
- Capture
- Editing
- Captions and transcripts
Property-source work needs an evidence allowance. HM Land Registry warns that Price Paid Data is incomplete for recent periods and excludes some transactions. If a claim cannot be verified within the approved route, the response is to narrow or hold it, not to delete the checking row.
Accessible delivery also needs an owner and funding. Government accessible-format guidance, published as Inclusive communication: accessible communication formats, recommends planning who is responsible and who pays. Record the required format and test evidence rather than a generic accessibility percentage.
Control table
For each group, set an accountable owner, GBP ceiling, percentage tolerance, review date and response. Examples of triggers include a new location, expired quotation, added format, wider rights term, more revisions, supplier-plan change, extra data flow or specialist escalation.
Use non-compensating stop fields for missing property substantiation, unclear advertising status, unapproved FCA language, absent permission, unfunded accessible alternative, insecure transfer or unresolved tax treatment. Savings elsewhere cannot override these conditions.
Cash, commitment and forecast
Keep purchase orders and signed commitments separate from paid invoices. Show payment dates, deposits, cancellation exposure and outstanding client dependencies. GOV.UK's late-payment guidance, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery, describes the statutory framework for business transactions, but the contract and circumstances need commercial review.
Reforecast after each trigger, preserve the prior version and explain the change. The budget owner may reduce volume, move timing or seek approval; they may not waive another specialist's gate. At close, reconcile time, invoices, VAT, rights renewals, retained data, open corrections and exit work.
Before you act
- Record project owner, locations, audience, channels and dates.
- Classify editorial, advertising, affiliate and mortgage communications separately.
- Define how zero baselines are handled before dividing.
- Set an accountable owner, ceiling and tolerance for each group.
- Keep purchase orders separate from paid invoices.
- Reconcile time, invoices, VAT and open corrections at close.
Common questions
What must the header and scope section record?
Record project owner, commissioning organisation, English locations, property population, adult audience, channels, start and end dates, archive period and last reforecast. List deliverables and exclusions, and classify editorial, commissioned, advertising, affiliate, lead-handling and possible mortgage or investment communications separately. Add base currency, usually GBP, and the source and date for any conversion.
How should property-source claims be handled?
Property-source work needs an evidence allowance. HM Land Registry warns that Price Paid Data is incomplete for recent periods and excludes some transactions. If a claim cannot be verified within the approved route, narrow or hold it rather than deleting the checking row. Missing property substantiation is a non-compensating stop field, so savings elsewhere cannot override it.
What happens after a trigger in the control table?
The reforecast and approval rule sits under Cash, commitment and forecast. Triggers include a new location, expired quotation, added format, wider rights term, more revisions, supplier-plan change, extra data flow or specialist escalation.
