--- title: "Resource planning for projects" slug: "bc-resource-planning-for-projects" description: "Optimize resource management and project control with effective planning, task assignments, and workload tracking in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central." updated: 2026-06-25T09:59:10Z published: 2026-06-25T09:59:10Z canonical: "docs.staedean.com/bc-resource-planning-for-projects" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.staedean.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Resource planning for projects When Resource Management is combined with Project Control Suite, the resource planning functions are extended as follows. The project planning line of the type **Resource** is considered a "planning request." ## Plan for resource group When the planning line is for a resource group, release the planning line and release the project task to create a resource task with an assignment for the resource group. In this scenario, the resource group (or team lead) distributes the work among team members. Time registration is always per resource. ## Plan for resource When planning for individual resources, the planner has the following options: 1. Select individual resources from the resource group to assign to the resource task with the **Expand Group** action. 2. Once expanded, release the project planning lines and open **Resource Planning**. 3. **Resource Planning** shows the quantity from the project planning lines as **Qty to Plan**, as well as a set of daily columns for the period as per the project task starting and ending dates. Use the **Show Column Name** switch in the header to show days of the week instead of dates. 4. To check availability of the selected resource, open **Resource Workload**. In the workload columns, select the following quantities: - **Capacity** - **Net Capacity**: Capacity minus Absence. - **Availability After Orders**: Net Capacity minus allocated to projects, assembly, service, and production. - **Net Availability**: Availability After Orders minus budgeted or planned to projects, service, and production. - **Load %**: allocation as a percentage of capacity. 5. When the selected resource has enough capacity, return to **Resource Planning** and enter the allocation quantities in the daily columns, or use the **Re-plan** action. This action automatically distributes the requested quantity either forward from a starting date or backward from an ending date, based on the daily available capacity. 6. When the selected resource does not have enough capacity, clear the filter from the **No.** column in **Resource Workload** to show all resources where **Use Time Sheet** is **true**. With this information, return to **Resource Planning** and use the **Split Planning Request** action to assign the quantity (or part of it) to a new resource. This action also creates a project planning line for this resource. 7. Releasing the project task creates or updates a resource task. Releasing a project planning line of the type **Resource** or **Resource Group** creates or updates a resource task assignment. ## Work type Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central uses the **Work Type** code to differentiate rates for resources. Advanced Project and Resource Management align with this feature: - The **Work Type** code selected on the project task is copied to the resource task. - The **Work Type** code selected on the project planning line is copied to the resource task assignment. When the resource task is selected in a time sheet, the **Work Type** code from the assignment is copied to the time sheet line. > [!NOTE] > **Note** When a resource is assigned to a task where different rates apply, create project planning lines per work type. For example, one for travel time and one for work time. When a time sheet is created for the same period, both assignments are inserted in the time sheet. ## Open and released states The project task and project planning line states drive the resource task and resource task assignment respectively. The following business rules apply: - Releasing a project task creates or updates a resource task. When the project task has released project planning lines of the type **Resource**, resource task assignments are also created or updated. - Reopening a project task sets the status of the related resource task to **Terminated** and the resource task assignments to **Blocked**. Releasing the project task again makes the updated resource task **Active** and removes **Blocked** from the resource task assignment. - You cannot reopen a project planning line when the linked resource task assignment has been selected in a time input line or a time sheet line. The time input line must first be **Completed** or **Registered**, and the time sheet line **Submitted**. ## Planning Information fact box The **Resource Information** part of this fact box calculates the capacity available to plan for the selected resource and shows existing allocations between the starting and ending dates of the current project task: - **Capacity During this Task**: total capacity for the resource on the selected planning line during the project task period. - **Qty. On ProjectBudget Line**: budgeted allocation (on all projects, not transferred to planning) for the resource during the project task period. - **Qty. on ProjectPlanning Lines**: planned allocation for the resource during the project task period. - **Qty. on ProjectQuotes**: quoted allocation for the resource during the project task period. For information only. This quantity is not considered in the **Available Qty. to Plan** calculation. - **Qty. on Service Orders**: allocation on service orders for the resource during the project task period. - **Qty. On Assembly Orders**: allocation on assembly orders for the resource during the project task period. - **Remaining Qty. to Plan**: remaining quantity to plan for the resource during the project task period. Shows the remaining capacity (available to promise) after subtracting: Qty on ProjectBudget Lines, Qty on ProjectPlanning Lines, Qty on Service Orders, and Qty on Assembly Orders. > [!NOTE] > Note > > - Resource planning progress is tracked in **Qty. to Plan**, **Total Planned Qty.**, and the **Planning Status** field (also shown on the project planning line). Options: **Unplanned**, **Partially Planned**, **Balanced**. > - With the **Move** action, move a set of daily allocations forward from another starting date, or backward when the specified planning date is an ending date. > - When a resource task of the type **Project** has been started (an open time input line exists), the project task is "locked." You cannot reopen the project task until the time input line has the status **Completed** or **Registered**. You can still modify the project planning lines to create or update resource task assignments. ## Related - [External resources in projects](/bc-external-resources-in-projects.md) - [Overview - Resource Management](/bc-overview-resource-management.md)