Overall Timescales

These set the default overall timescales for each part of the project. The timescales follow the typical flow of a project; in what month do you purchase the Site, when do the Initial Payments take place, when does Construction start and how long does it take to build. Investment and other sales timescales are also set here. When entering timescales you will notice that the Timescale Summary box immediately underneath the timescale entry area interprets the timescales as you enter them. This is helpful when entering sale periods as it shows the construction timescale.

The timescales work monthly in advance so if you enter your site purchase month number as month one then Prodev will treat that as occurring on the first day of the month. It is important to bear this in mind when using start dates and durations. For example if you are allowing for a six-month pre construction period followed by a 12 month construction programme then the start date for construction should be entered as month seven (day one of the month seven being to all intents and purposes the same as day 30 of month 6)

Where a duration period is shown then Prodev will spread the sale or cost equally over that period. For example if you enter your construction period as being 12 months and the construction cost is £3,000,000 then the monthly building cost will be allocated as 12 equal payments of £250,000, the first one occurring in the construction month start number that you specify.

The maximum timescale available in Prodev is 300 months i.e. 25 years (unless you are using the quarterly option in which case it is 75 years).

To enter values for timescales use the cursor up and down keys to a select the required item then type in the timescale followed by the enter key. You can of course use the mouse to select items. The 'Month ->' and '<- Month' allow you to increase or decrease your timescale one month at a time, the cursor left and right keys also have the same effect (except when phasing is used).

The month in which construction commences. This applies to both Unit Build costs and Fixed Build costs. Remember that Prodev timescales function monthly in advance so that if there is a six month lead in period prior to construction starting then the construction month start date should be set as month 7 (day one of month 7).

The length of the construction programme in months. This applies to both Unit Build costs and Fixed Build costs and works in conjunction with the Construction month start entry (see previous description).

Prodev will spread the building cost equally over the number of months specified. For example if you have entered a construction cost figure of £3,000,000 and a duration of twelve months then this will be treated as twelve individual payments of £250,000 per month. If the duration is reduced to six months (using the same total of £3,000,000) then this will be treated as six individual payments of £500,000 per month.

This specifies the start of month for the project income. Remember that project income is temporary income (e.g. Advertising income) and not the rental that will eventually be capitalised.

This specifies the time period over which the Project Income will be received. Remember that project income is temporary income (e.g. Advertising income) and not the rental that will eventually be capitalised.

Project Income can be entered in the Data List either as a total amount or an annual income. In both cases the project income duration in months will set the timescale over which that income is received, however the treatment of the total project income value will differ depending upon which method you have used.

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If entered as a total amount then the figure you have entered will be spread equally over the number of months specified. For example if you have entered a project income figure of £60,000 and a duration of six months then this will be treated as six individual receipts of £10,000 per month. If the duration is reduced to three months (using the same total of £60,000) then this will be treated as three individual receipts of £20,000 per month.

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If you are using the annual income option then the project income duration is more significant as it will calculate the total value of the project income based on the timescale in which it is received. For example if you have entered a project income of £60,000 per annum and you enter the duration timescale as 18 months then the total level of project income will be calculated as £90,000 (£60,000 per annum over 18 months). If the duration is reduced to 15 months then the total level of project income will be calculated as £75,000 (£60,000 per annum over 15 months).

The month in which rents are first received. This item works with the Investment Sale (rents and yields) categories in the Data List to estimate how long it takes for the project to become occupied and income producing.

The Commence Rental timing does not have any effect unless Advance Income is being used. The advance income setting is found in the Yields and Deductions section of the Data List. Advance income can either be switched on or off; by default it is switched on. Advance Income is used in situations where all or part of the development is income producing prior to the eventual investment sale. For instance if the commence rental timing is set at month 24 and the investment sale date is set at month 30 then the Prodev cashflow will show income arising in months 24 to 29 with the eventual investment sale showing in month 30. If advance income is switched off then none of the income will be included prior to the investment sale in month 30.

If Advance Income is not applicable to your project then simply treat the commence rental timing entry as the investment sale date (see next description). If the Commence Rental date and Investment Sale date are set to the same figure then no advance income will arise.

Because the Commence Rental and Investment Sale timings work together you will notice that entering a figure for one will affect the value of the other. If you enter a commence rental date that is later than the investment sale date then the investment sale timing will be increased accordingly.

The Investment Sale timescale works in conjunction with Commence Rental Timing (see previous description) to specify the duration of Advance Income (if any). If advance income is not applicable to your project then ensure that the commence rental timing (see previous description) and the investment sale date are set to the same figure then no advance income will arise.

Because the Investment Sale and Commence Rental timings work together you will notice that entering a figure for one will affect the value of the other. If you enter an investment sale date that is earlier than the commence rental date then the commence rental timing will be reduced accordingly.

This specifies the time period over which any Direct Sales revenue is received and works in conjunction with the Direct Sales month start figure (see previous description).

The total sales figure you have entered will be spread equally over the number of months specified. For example if you have entered a sales figure of £400,000 and a duration of eight months then this will be treated as eight individual receipts of £50,000 per month. If the duration is reduced to four months (using the same total of £400,000) then this will be treated as four individual receipts of £100,000 per month.

These two entries specify the month in which VAT Recovery starts, and how often recovery occurs. VAT is a complex subject dealt with more extensively in the section ‘VAT in Prodev’ however to summarise, you will need to use both of these entries if you are accounting for recoverable VAT.

Sets the first date for VAT Recovery and is timed from the commencement of the project.

Specifies how often recovery occurs after the start date. In most instances development projects recover this tax on a periodic basis - quarterly or monthly in the UK.

If the VAT start month number is set to zero then the VAT frequency entry will be ignored altogether.

These two items set the overall month and year in which the project starts (i.e. month one). In each case use the buttons provided or the left/right cursor keys to adjust these entries.

Generally speaking this has little effect on timescale calculation and is mostly used for report purposes in particular the date headings for the cashflow columns.

Note: In Prodev version 4022 this item is named Overall Timescale, its function is similar.

This timescale is only relevant if you wish to artificially extend the length of the cashflow for the purpose of editing in the Cashflow-Edit section. In the majority of cases this entry can be ignored.

Generally it will be set to its default value of 1 unless you are using Time/Finance or Cashflow-Edit in which case the value displayed will be the maximum timescale used in those sections.

Prodev will work out the overall timescale for the project based on the values and timescales already entered. This is the point at which no further transactions occur. Sometimes you may need to extend this, for example to deal with a corporation tax repayment or some other purpose. Prodev is sometimes used for non-property related analysis where this setting can be useful.

Extended timescales set here are only for use within the Cashflow-Edit section. After setting the Cashflow-Edit timescale go there using the 'Cashflow-Edit' button (named 'Cashflow' in Prodev version 4022) and utilise the extended timescale before returning to the Data List.

Note: When you close any of the timing functions, Prodev will attempt to 'tidy up' the timescales if it detects that there are unused periods at the end of the cashflow. Therefore if you have used the Cashflow-Edit timescale to extend the time period then you must make use of it in the Cashflow-Edit section before returning to the Data List, otherwise Prodev will treat the extended timescale as being unused and remove it.