No company makes so much money that they needn't care about wasting it. It's important, particularly if your business is new, both to keep a close eye on where the pennies are going, and to be aware of whether they're being put to optimal use. Effective and efficient management of the company's budget can mean the difference between success and failure in a competitive. But it's not always easy to do so; even if you're precisely monitoring incomes and expenditures, it's never as simple to calculate how those figures will pan out in the future, and what impact any changes you make will have.

Fortunately, you don't have to do all that yourself. Integral to Microsoft Project is a budget and resource management tool - greatly enhanced for the latest (2007) edition - which can be used to ensure that limited funds and resources are being put to the best use.

Controlling limited budgets

One key advantage to budget and resource management with Project comes when you seek to adjust the allocation of resources to a particular part of your business - for instance, an increase in the share of your budget that goes on marketing. With Project, you can see instantly what impact this will have on the rest of your organisation, and where savings and efficiencies will have to be found in order to make the change workable. You can also see - automatically highlighted by the software - the effect of this change on the company's output, and from this evaluate whether the projected profits are worth it, when set alongside costs to the business caused by the change.

What's more, Project isn't limited to monetary considerations. Perhaps you're looking to focus on a particular part of your business; for example, a taxi company may have won a regular contract from the public sector, requiring a certain number of journeys every day. This will take drivers away from serving ordinary customers, and with Project, you can assess the impact on your company by increasing the number of man hours worked in one department and reducing it in another.

Seeing the future

Microsoft Project doesn't just allow you to assess current changes. And although committing to a decision, hoping it works out well, is certainly one way to approach the progress of your business, it really isn't the best. Thanks to Project, you can make those decisions, bring in those changes, and see how everything will pan out, all without having to commit to anything.

The multi-level undo tool allows you to factor into your budgets and plans many different changes, and to pick and choose which to take out if it's not working. Perhaps you have three new ideas you'd like to consider - with Project, you can simply and easily try any combination of the three, without having to enter every different possibility separately. Or perhaps you have a scheme of different steps to take, and you'd like to see whether you'd be better off with or without the step in the middle. Project can show you how every idea or combination of ideas you have will impact upon your budget and resources, allowing you to see clearly which option offers the best way to take your business forward.

Keeping scope in check

Scope creep is an inherent risk to any project your business may be embarking upon, and can create significant losses of time and money. It is important to keep under control and in clear sight the intentions of the process, and the means established for fulfilling those intentions. With Microsoft Project, you can keep a precise record of what needs to be done, when, and what resources will need to be devoted to it; plus, if you need to make a change, perhaps devoting more time to one part of the process, then Project can ensure that the whole stays within its established limits. This way, scope remains as restricted as you want it to be, and does not even begin to creep, does not start to put unnecessary strains on your budget.

Microsoft Project can give you a vital degree of control over your budgeting and resources, ensuring that nothing is wasted and your business progresses optimally. With a short training course, you can get to grips with every facet of this powerful tool, and get every possible advantage for your business.