Before You Start
You need an active PROBIS account with one of the following roles:
Full access; sets up the workspace, creates users, assigns roles, and configures system-wide settings such as catalogs, templates, and workflows.
Creates and manages projects. Has full access to all modules within their assigned projects.
Works within a project — enters data, creates records, submits for approval. Cannot change project settings.
View-only access. Can review data and download reports but cannot create or edit anything.
If you do not have an account yet, contact sales to arrange access.
How PROBIS is organised
PROBIS is structured in two layers:
The first layer is the Tenant — the organisation's workspace. This is where system-wide settings live: user management, catalogs, cost templates, permission groups, and integrations. The Tenant Admin configures this layer before any project work begins.
The second layer is the Project. Each project has its own set of modules — Calculate, Contract, Control, Reports, and others — and all data is scoped to that project. Users are assigned to projects individually, with roles that determine what is visible and what actions are permitted.
For Project Admins or Contributors joining an existing workspace, the Tenant Admin will have already configured the catalogs and templates needed. Setup can begin from Step 3.
Essential Concepts
These are the concepts that underpin how PROBIS works. Understanding them before starting will prevent common Getting Started mistakes.
Catalogs
Catalogs are the main structures that define how a project is organised — Cost Groups, Risk Categories, Revenue Types, and Finance Categories. They are created at the Tenant level and assigned to each project when it is created.
A catalog cannot be changed once it has been used in a project. The correct catalog template should be selected before any data is entered. The catalog structure itself can be adjusted in Settings.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the spatial breakdown of the project — for example, Basement, Ground Floor, TowerA, Tower B, Parking. Every budget line, contract, and invoice is assigned to a taxonomy area. Thisis what enables PROBIS to calculate cost per m², compare areas, and benchmark across projects.
The Calculate–Contract–Control Flow
PROBIS follows a specific financial control flow that you will use on every project:
- Calculate is where planning happens. The budget for each cost item is set, linked to ataxonomy area and a timeline phase, and a cashflow distribution is defined
- Contract is where commitments are recorded. Contractor agreements are attached to budgetlines. PROBIS calculates the deviation between budget and contract value in real time.
- Control is where spending is tracked. Invoices are received, validated against the relevantcontract, approved through a workflow, and posted to cashflow.
- Reports is where performance is reported. All data from Calculate, Contract, and Control feedsinto reports automatically — no manual export or assembly is required. Pre-defined reports areavailable, and custom reports can also be configured.
Forecast vs. Budget vs. Contract
These three values appear throughout PROBIS and are easy to confuse:
The committed value — what you have signed with a contractor
The expected final cost — calculated dynamically from contracts, invoices, and adjustments
The approved cost plan from the Calculate module
The forecast is always live. When a change order is added to a contract, the forecast updatesimmediately. When an invoice is submitted above the contracted amount, a deviation flag is raised.