How to calculate version cost in Jira

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Jira Cloud is a popular project management tool used by teams worldwide. However, keeping track of the costs associated with different project versions can be challenging. That's where the Cost Tracker app comes in, offering a simple and efficient way to calculate costs in Jira Cloud. In this article, we'll use the Cost Tracker app to calculate version costs in Jira Cloud, including step-by-step instructions and best practices for getting the most out of this powerful tool.

How to Install and Set Up the Cost Tracker App

First, you need to install the add-on from the Atlassian Marketplace or from the Jira admin page. Select your site on atlassian.net to install the add-on, then click "Start a free trial". Everything is simple here. Next, let's move on to the process of setting up the app: 

1. Step 1. Manage access. The information you will manage in the app is “not for everyone”. It will include expenses, employee ratings, etc. Therefore, you can restrict the display for certain groups of users. The Jira groups can be managed in the Atlassian setting menu, then open User Management → Groups.
   
2. Step 2. Set the currency in which you will operate. By default, the app is set to display rates and spreads in $.
3. Step 3.Set the rates for every user whose worklog will be considered for the cost report. Effective date - is when some rate has been agreed with the employee, so all his/her work logs will be multiplied to the rate accordingly.
   
4. Step 4. Go to the Expense section and add all the expenses accompanying the company's work processes. In Cost Tracker, you can manage one-time and recurring expenses. For example, one-time expenses include the cost of promotional materials, etc. Recurring costs include information about expenses such as paying for monthly or annual licenses for AWS, Jira Cloud, Bitbucket, etc.
   

How to Create a Version in Jira Cloud

In Jira Cloud, a version is a specific project release, such as a software release or the launch of a marketing campaign. Versions help organise and track progress on particular project parts and can be helpful for reporting and planning. To create a new version in Jira Cloud, do the following: 

1. Click on the Projects drop-down menu and select the project to which you want to add a version.
2. Click the Project Settings icon in the sidebar.
3. Select "Versions" from the left menu.
4. Click the Create version button.
5. Enter a name for the version and any additional details, such as a description or start and release dates.
6. Select whether the version is "released" or "unreleased".
7. Click Create to save the new version.

When creating tasks in the project, you will set a field called Fix version, and all tasks related to the same release version will be combined. It makes it possible to track the software development process with high quality.

How to Calculate Version Costs in Jira Cloud with Cost Tracker

Let's imagine that our version has already completed tasks and has passed the release stage. We have a specific pool of completed issues there for a certain period. Previously, at setting up Cost Tracker, we added all the necessary hourly ratings to the members of the version development team. Each team member logged time during the work, i.e., entered the hours spent on development in their worklog. Necessary steps to calculate the cost of a product version:

Step 1. Go to the Jira Filters tab and create a selection by a specific version. Select the required project and version and save this filter under a convenient name.

Step 2. Go to the app, select the Cost Reports tab, and click the Generate report button. Enter the report's name in the open menu and select the previously created filter. If you have yet to set up an hourly rate for some teammates, you must set the default one. And select the dates, you can choose an arbitrary period, but it is better to enter the time frame of the version development. For example, on March 1, you started working on it, and on March 15, you already made a release. Click on the Add button.

Step 3. You get a report with four tabs - Scope, Team, Expenses and Totals. 

Scope  - shows a grid with issues and their performers with a time log for each task and its costs (calculated by multiplying the time worked by the hourly rate of the team member).

The team tab is a more general report without a breakdown by task — only the total time log for each team member's period and the time cost.

In the Expenses section, we can see a report on the costs that accompanied the development of the version. These can be recurring costs for resources we need from month to month or, for example, one-time costs, such as paying for social media advertising that follows the product release.

The Total tab summarizes all the money spent. That is, it gives us the total cost of one product version.

Cost reports are not available to all users. Only those who have been granted this option when setting up the application. But the report-sharing feature is available for other Jira users. To do this, click the lock icon in the Action column and select those with whom you want to share the report.

Takeaway

We have analyzed a simple case of calculating the cost of a product version. With this method, you can explore the team's work in terms of productivity and put it through the prism of costs. It’s very relevant nowadays. In addition to the total cost, you can also estimate the price of a single bug, implemented feature, etc. If you're interested in optimizing your app development costs, try Cost Tracker - you can sign up for a 30-day trial today.

P.S. Stay in touch with SaaSJet. We will continue to share interesting cases and our experiences with you. And, of course, write in the comments if you want to share your thoughts and suggestions with us. We appreciate you and your feedback.