Entering regular labor employees

In a business forecast, the distinction between regular labor (sometimes referred to as indirect labor) and direct labor is crucial for budgeting, planning, and understanding product costs. Regular labor are employees who are paid a regular salary, are considered part of your team, and are included in your overhead expenses.

Employees who are paid a regular salary are considered part of your team and are included in your overhead expenses. For more details, see What is the difference between direct labor and regular labor?

Adding regular labor employees

1. Click on the Forecast tab in the left sidebar, then click Personnel:
   
2. Click the Add Personnel button:
   

3. Select whether you're adding an individual employee or a group of employees:

   

   • If you chose Group of employees, enter the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) you'll be hiring. If this number will be constant during the period of your forecast, select Constant number. If the number of employees will vary during the forecast period, select Varying numbers:
     

4. Enter a name for the hire (or group of hires) or just a short description, if you prefer:
   

5. Choose Regular labor:
   

6. Indicate whether these are on-staff or contract employees, then click Next:

7. Choose whether you will pay them the same amount each period or a varying amount:
   

   • If you chose Constant amount, enter the amount you'll pay them either per month or per year:
     
     Note: Enter the salary you expect to pay for a single full-time individual in this group. LivePlan will multiply this amount by the total number of staff in the group.
     
     Then indicate when the employee(s) will start:
     
     
     Next, indicate whether you want to include annual raises (and if so, what percent):
     
     
   • If you chose Varying amounts over time, enter the salary you expect to pay for a single full-time individual in this group. If you are adding a group of employees, we will multiply that single salary by the total number of staff in the group:
     
     Note: You do not need to answer the questions about start date or annual raises if you choose this option, because you will be manually entering them instead of having LivePlan calculate them.
8. Click Create & Exit:
   

More on personnel:

• What is the difference between direct labor and regular labor?
• Entering direct labor employees
• Changing the Burden Rate for employee-related expenses
• Understanding head count details for personnel
• How can I represent part-time personnel in my forecast?
• Entering commission payments in LivePlan
• How do I locate my salaries and wages in the Profit and Loss?
• How do I edit or delete forecast entries?
• Preparing a forecast