This page provides a consolidated reference of the key terms, icons, colour codes, permission levels, and navigation paths used throughout Financials for Jira.
13.1 Glossary of key terms
|
Term |
Definition |
|---|---|
|
Project |
A financial entity you track in the app. Each project has its own revenue plans, cost plans, actuals, and settings. |
|
Scope |
The set of Jira work items that can be associated with a project's financial data. Defined by a Jira project, saved filter, or custom JQL query. |
|
Plan |
A planned financial entry representing an expected revenue or cost with an amount, date, and currency. |
|
Actual |
A real financial transaction - revenue earned or cost incurred. Can be linked to a plan (planned actual) or standalone (unplanned actual). |
|
Planned Actual |
An actual linked to an existing plan. Used to track how much of the plan has been realized. |
|
Unplanned Actual |
A standalone actual not linked to any plan. Used when an unexpected revenue or cost occurs. |
|
Baseline |
A saved snapshot of a project's planned costs and revenues at a specific point in time. |
|
Category |
A classification for revenue and cost entries by the nature of the activity or expense (e.g., Labour, Software, Travel). |
|
Group |
A higher-level grouping of categories used for broader reporting (e.g., R&D, Operations). |
|
Company |
The organisation associated with a financial transaction - clients, vendors, partners, or internal business units. |
|
Status |
The workflow state of a record (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done). |
|
Variance |
The difference between planned and actual amounts. |
|
Exchange Ratio |
The conversion rate used when entering plans or actuals in a currency different from the project's default currency. |
13.2 Icon & colour legend
Variance indicators (Summary Table & Overview)
|
Indicator |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
🟢 Green value with ↗ arrow |
Favourable: Under budget for costs, or above target for revenue. |
|
🔴 Red value with ↘ arrow |
Unfavourable: Over budget for costs, or below target for revenue. |
|
Black value (no icon) |
No plan exists for comparison, or the variance is exactly zero. |
Performance indicator colours (Overview Panel)
|
Colour |
Context |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
Green |
Cost Variance |
Actual costs are lower than planned (under budget). |
|
Red |
Cost Variance |
Actual costs exceed the plan (over budget). |
|
Green |
Revenue Variance |
Actual revenue exceeds the plan (over target). |
|
Red |
Revenue Variance |
Actual revenue falls short of the plan (under target). |
Performance labels
|
Label |
Decision Rule |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
On Track |
Ratio between 0.95 and 1.05 |
Actual aligns with the plan. |
|
Below Planned (Cost) / Over Planned (Revenue) |
Ratio > 1.05 |
Actual is better than expected. |
|
Warning |
Ratio between 0.85 and 0.95 |
Slight deviation - review recommended. |
|
Critical |
Ratio ≤ 0.85 |
Significant deviation - immediate attention needed. |
Progress of Plans (Donut chart)
|
Segment colour |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
Green |
Completed - plans whose actuals have been fully recorded. |
|
Red |
Overdue - plans with a past date that lack actual records. |
|
Grey |
Upcoming - plans scheduled for a future date. |
Baseline comparison chart lines
|
Line |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
Baseline (named by key) |
Cumulative planned values as they were when the baseline was saved. |
|
Live |
Current cumulative planned values (live state of the plan). |
|
Actual |
Cumulative actual values recorded over time. |
13.3 Permission quick reference
Global permissions (managed by Jira admin)
|
Permission |
Grants |
|---|---|
|
Financials for Jira App Access |
Open and use the app. |
|
Financials for Jira Create New Project |
Create new financial projects. |
|
Financials for Jira Administrator |
Manage app settings, permissions, and all projects. |
Project-level permissions (managed by Financials Administrator)
|
Permission |
Grants |
|---|---|
|
View |
See the project and its financial data. |
|
Create |
Add new plans and actuals within the project. |
|
Edit |
Update or delete existing plans and actuals. |
|
Project Admin |
Manage project settings, permissions, and attributes. |
💡 Both global and project-level permissions must be set correctly for a user to perform an action. A user with "Create New Project" global permission still needs project-level "Create" permission to add plans within a specific project.
13.4 Data hierarchy
Project
├── Revenue / Cost Record (Level 1)
│ ├── Plan (Level 2)
│ │ ├── Actual (Level 3)
│ │ ├── Actual (Level 3)
│ │ └── ...
│ ├── Plan (Level 2)
│ │ └── Actual (Level 3)
│ └── ...
├── Actual Cost / Revenue Record (Level 1)
│ └── Unplanned Actual (Level 2)
└── ...
Aggregation direction: Amounts roll up from bottom to top.
-
Level 3 (Actuals) → individual transaction amounts for related plans.
-
Level 2 (Plans/Unplanned Actuals) → "Actual" column shows the sum of all linked actuals.
-
Level 1 (Record) → "Planned" column shows the sum of all plans; "Actual" column shows the sum of all actuals.
13.5 Three-dot menu (⋯) actions by level
|
Level |
Actions |
|---|---|
|
Record |
Add Plan, Update Revenue/Cost, Delete Revenue/Cost |
|
Plan |
Add Actual, Update Plan, Delete Plan |
|
Actual |
Update Actual, Delete Actual |
-
"Delete Plan" does not appear if the plan has associated actuals.
13.6 Repeat scheduling options
|
Field |
Options |
|---|---|
|
Repeat time |
Never, Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, Quarterly |
|
Method |
Per Each - repeats the full amount for every occurrence. Total - distributes the total amount equally across all occurrences. |
|
Until |
End date for the recurring schedule. |
13.7 Summary Table toolbar controls
|
Control |
Options |
|---|---|
|
Filter By |
Label, Category, Company, Group, Status |
|
Time Period |
Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year |
|
Columns |
Planned, Actual, Variance (any combination) |
|
Group By |
Group, Category, Company, Work Item (drag to reorder) |
|
Work Item |
Select specific linked Jira issues |
|
Date |
Between [start] And [end] |
13.8 App Settings tabs
|
Tab |
Purpose |
Scope |
|---|---|---|
|
Categories |
Classify revenue/cost entries by activity type |
Shared across all projects |
|
Groups |
Roll up categories into higher-level groupings |
Shared across all projects |
|
Companies |
Define organisations involved in transactions |
Shared across all projects |
|
Statuses |
Define workflow states for projects, revenue, and cost entries |
Shared across all projects |
💡 A status that is associated with at least one record can only be deactivated, not deleted. A status with no associations can be permanently deleted.
13.9 Project Settings tabs
|
Tab |
Purpose |
|---|---|
|
Update Project |
Modify name, key, lead, status, timeline, labels, scope. |
|
Permission |
Manage view, create, edit, and admin rights for the project. |
|
Project Attributes |
Configure which fields (Category, Group, Company) appear and are required. |
|
Project Features |
Enable or disable planned/actual cost/revenue tracking. |
13.10 Overview Panel components
|
Component |
What it shows |
|---|---|
|
Cost & Revenue summary cards |
Total planned vs. actual with % remaining/shortfall. |
|
Planned vs. Actual chart |
Bar chart of planned and actual amounts over time (supports cumulative toggle). |
|
Upcoming Planned Data |
Next scheduled plans sorted by date (switchable: Upcoming Cost, Upcoming Revenue, Last Cost, Last Revenue). |
|
Cost Variance |
Absolute difference between total planned and actual cost. |
|
Revenue Variance |
Absolute difference between total planned and actual revenue. |
|
Cost Performance |
Efficiency label: On Track / Below Planned / Warning / Critical. |
|
Revenue Performance |
Performance label: On Track / Over Planned / Warning / Critical. |
|
Profit Margin |
Line chart comparing actual vs. planned profit over time. |
|
Cost Used |
% progress bar (actual cost ÷ planned cost). |
|
Revenue Achieved |
% progress bar (actual revenue ÷ planned revenue). |
|
Progress of Plans |
Donut chart showing Completed / Overdue / Upcoming plans. |
13.11 Key rules and constraints
|
Rule |
Details |
|---|---|
|
Project currency is permanent |
Cannot be changed after project creation. |
|
Exchange ratio required |
When entering a plan or actual in a non-project currency. |
|
Deleting a record removes all children |
Deleting a Revenue/Cost record removes all its plans and actuals. |
|
Plans with actuals cannot be deleted |
Remove all actuals first, then delete the plan. |
|
Baselines are frozen snapshots |
They reflect planned values at the time of creation and do not update. |
|
Categories, Groups, Companies are global |
Values defined in App Settings are shared across all projects. |
|
Statuses have a Usage Location |
Each status is scoped to Project, Revenue, Cost, or a combination. |
|
Scope defines linkable work items |
Only Jira issues matching the project scope can be associated with financial records. |