CapEx budgeting: how to plan capital projects in FMS

A CapEx (capital expenditure) budget covers the investments a company plans to make in long-term assets: construction, equipment, systems, expansions. Unlike the OpEx budget, which deals with the recurring costs of running the business, each CapEx item is a project with its own amount, timeline, owner and accounting treatment: it starts as construction work in progress, gets capitalized and is then depreciated or amortized over the years.

This guide explains how the FMS CapEx module organizes that process, from registering a project to capitalization, and who does what at each stage.

Why spreadsheets and email can't handle CapEx

In many companies, investment planning still works like this: the FP&A team asks for proposals by email, receives spreadsheets in different formats, consolidates everything by hand and tries to validate the numbers before the deadline. The outcome is familiar: hours spent consolidating, formula and copy-paste errors, and no certainty about which version of the file is the latest.

FMS was built to solve exactly this problem in budget planning, around three core ideas:

1. A structured timeline for the cycle, so submissions arrive on time.
2. Standardized templates, which every department fills in using the same format.
3. A single platform for submission and approval, with no dependence on email.

As a result, FP&A can access, analyze and consolidate the entire budget in one place, with more accuracy and traceability. For CapEx, that means managing, tracking and approving investment projects in an organized, transparent way.

Roles in the CapEx cycle

The CapEx workflow in FMS involves three user profiles:

Uploaders

Users who enter and maintain project data, usually from operational or administrative teams.

Project Owner

Approves or rejects the project before the final financial validation. This is the first level of decision.

FP&A / Administrator

The Financial Planning and Analysis team reviews, approves or rejects the CapEx projects tied to their cost centers, ensuring compliance with the budget, financial rules and planning guidelines.

How the approval workflow works

1. The uploader creates the project, adds the items with their amounts and configures the settlement rules.
2. The project is sent to the Project Owner for review.
3. The Project Owner approves or rejects it. Once approved, the project moves on to FP&A review.
4. FP&A performs the final validation, approving or rejecting it.
5. Approved projects with active settlement rules are capitalized automatically, and the system generates the corresponding budget.

Step 1: create the project

All CapEx projects live on the My Projects screen. That is where users see existing projects and start creating a new one.

1. On the My Projects screen, click Add. The project creation form opens.
2. Fill in all required fields with correct and consistent information. No financial values are entered at this stage, only the project's basic data.
3. Click Add to confirm.

The project now appears in the My Projects list. It exists in the system, but it has no values yet.

Step 2: add items to the project

In the CapEx module, financial values are never entered directly on the project: they always belong to project items. That is why every project needs at least one item to hold any value.

Open the project for editing

Find the project in the My Projects list and click Edit. The project details screen opens, with configuration and item management options.

Create and save the item

1. On the details screen, use the add item button. The Edit Project Item screen opens.
2. Enter the item's information: values, classifications and references. These values represent the actual CapEx amounts linked to the project.
3. Click Save.

The item appears in the project's items grid. A project can have one or several items, depending on how the investment is structured, and all project totals and financial calculations are based on these items.

Step 3: configure settlement rules

Settlement Rules define how capitalization, amortization and depreciation values are handled in the system. Every action below is performed with the project in edit mode.

Fill in the accounting information

With the project opened through Edit, go to the Settlement Rules section and fill in the required accounting and capitalization fields:

• Cost Center
• GL Account
• WBS Element
• Internal Order
• Asset type (CWIP or Fixed Asset)
• CWIP Reference
• Previous year's CWIP Total Amount
• Any required descriptions

Define amortization and depreciation

Enter the Capitalization Date, the amortization or depreciation Start Date and the number of Periods. These fields define when and how the amounts will be spread over time.

Calculate the monthly values

Once all required fields are filled in, click Calculate. The system automatically generates the values across the monthly columns based on the information provided.

Step 4: send for Project Owner review

The project can be submitted by the uploader, the Project Owner or the administrator, directly from the My Projects screen:

1. Find the project in the grid and select its checkbox.
2. Click Submit for Review and choose Send to Project Owner/Approver.

Step 5: Project Owner review

At this stage the project is formally approved or rejected through a controlled workflow that keeps the decision visible and traceable.

1. On the Review (Project Owner) screen, select the checkbox of the project you want to evaluate.
2. Open the Action menu and choose Approve or Reject.
3. Submit the decision. A confirmation message is shown; review it and click Ok.

Once confirmed, the project leaves the Project Owner review grid and moves to the Review (FP&A) grid, where it waits for the final decision.

Step 6: final FP&A approval

This is the last validation before the project is accepted into the CapEx workflow.

1. Select the projects using the checkboxes.
2. In the FP&A dropdown menu, choose Approve or Reject.
3. Click Execute to save the chosen status.

Before completing, the system opens a confirmation window warning that approved projects with active settlement rules will be capitalized.

Capitalization and the generated budget

When the approval workflow is complete, the system capitalizes the project automatically.

• Where to see it: the capitalization column appears in My Projects, in the All and Approved by FP&A reports.
• Generated budget: capitalization creates a valid budget tied to a unique code. That code is the financial reference of the approved project and lets you trace the budget that came from capitalization. The generated budget includes a Project Information section that links the amount back to its source project.

Track and compare projects

The Project Overview screen is for consultation and analysis: it does not change project data.

1. In the CapEx menu, select Project Overview.
2. Choose the analysis view. It defines how data is grouped and compared: CapEx totals, monthly values, amortization and depreciation totals, or comparisons against the PLTF and previous rounds.

The selected view changes how the grid is organized, which makes it easy to answer different questions with the same data. To follow spending throughout the year, see also the rolling forecast guide.

Manage project status

In My Projects, a grid shows every project and its current status, so you can quickly see where each one stands. To change the status of one or several projects at once:

1. Select the projects using the checkboxes in the grid.
2. Choose the new status in the Change Status dropdown.
3. Click Change.

The system applies the status to all selected projects and refreshes the grid automatically.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a CapEx and an OpEx budget?

OpEx covers recurring operating costs, expensed in the period. CapEx covers investments in long-term assets, which are capitalized and then depreciated or amortized. In FMS, CapEx is organized by projects and items with their own settlement rules; OpEx has a separate guide.

Why can't I enter values when creating a project?

Because in the CapEx module values always belong to project items. Create the project, open it with Edit and add at least one item with the amounts.

Who approves a CapEx project?

There are two stages: first the Project Owner, then FP&A, which performs the final validation against the budget and financial rules.

What happens when FP&A approves the project?

If the project has active settlement rules, it is capitalized automatically and the system generates a valid budget with a unique code, traceable back to the source project.

How does the system calculate monthly depreciation or amortization?

From the capitalization date, start date and number of periods entered in the settlement rules. When you click Calculate, FMS spreads the amounts across the monthly columns.

Can I change the status of several projects at once?

Yes. In My Projects, select the projects, choose the status in Change Status and click Change.

Want to see the CapEx module working with your company's reality? Talk to our team or learn more about FMS.