Resource Allocation
Guide to allocating resources and managing capacity in NetSuite.
Overview
RESOURCE ALLOCATION FLOW
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
IDENTIFY ALLOCATE TRACK ADJUST
──────── ──────── ───── ──────
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Assess │ │ Assign │ │ Monitor │ │ Balance │
│ Project │──────►│ Resources│──────►│ Workload │──────►│ Capacity │
│ Needs │ │ to Tasks │ │ │ │ │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
│ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Skills Hours/% Utilization Reallocation
Availability Rate Cards Conflicts Forecasting
Enabling Resource Allocations
ENABLE FEATURE
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Navigation: Setup > Company > Enable Features
Transactions Tab:
☑ Resource Allocations
This enables:
• Resource allocation records
• Resource allocation chart
• Capacity planning
• Utilization tracking
Allocation Methods
By Hours
ALLOCATE BY HOURS
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Project: Website Redesign
Resource: John Smith
Allocation:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Start Date: 01/15/2026 │
│ End Date: 02/15/2026 │
│ │
│ Allocated Hours: 80 hours total │
│ │
│ Distribution: │
│ Week 1: 20 hours │
│ Week 2: 20 hours │
│ Week 3: 20 hours │
│ Week 4: 20 hours │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
By Percentage
ALLOCATE BY PERCENTAGE
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Project: Website Redesign
Resource: John Smith
Allocation:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Start Date: 01/15/2026 │
│ End Date: 02/15/2026 │
│ │
│ Allocation: 50% of work time │
│ │
│ Work Calendar: Standard (40 hrs/week) │
│ Allocated: 20 hours/week │
│ │
│ Total Hours: 80 hours (4 weeks × 20 hrs) │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Work Calendars
Default vs Custom Calendars
WORK CALENDAR SETUP
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Navigation: Setup > Accounting > Work Calendar
Standard Calendar:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Work Week: │
│ Monday: 8 hours (9am - 5pm) │
│ Tuesday: 8 hours │
│ Wednesday: 8 hours │
│ Thursday: 8 hours │
│ Friday: 8 hours │
│ Saturday: 0 hours │
│ Sunday: 0 hours │
│ │
│ Total Weekly Hours: 40 │
│ │
│ Holidays: │
│ 01/01 - New Year's Day │
│ 12/25 - Christmas Day │
│ (etc.) │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Assigning Calendar to Employee
EMPLOYEE WORK CALENDAR
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Navigation: Lists > Employees > Employees > [Employee]
Human Resources Tab:
Work Calendar: Standard Work Week
For part-time:
Work Calendar: Part-Time (20 hrs/week)
Resource Allocation Chart
Viewing the Chart
RESOURCE ALLOCATION CHART
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Navigation: Lists > Employees > Resource Allocation Chart
Chart View:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Resource Jan 15 Jan 22 Jan 29 Feb 5 Feb 12 │
│ ──────── ────── ────── ────── ───── ────── │
│ │
│ John Smith │
│ Capacity 40 hrs 40 hrs 40 hrs 40 hrs 40 hrs │
│ PRJ-00125 20 hrs 20 hrs 20 hrs 20 hrs 20 hrs │
│ PRJ-00130 15 hrs 15 hrs 10 hrs │
│ Utilization 88% 88% 75% 50% 50% │
│ │
│ Jane Doe │
│ Capacity 40 hrs 40 hrs 40 hrs 40 hrs 40 hrs │
│ PRJ-00125 40 hrs 40 hrs │
│ PRJ-00131 30 hrs 30 hrs 30 hrs │
│ Utilization 100% 100% 75% 75% 75% │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Color coding:
Green: <80% allocated (available)
Yellow: 80-100% allocated (fully utilized)
Red: >100% allocated (over-committed)
Chart Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop | Reschedule allocations |
| Drill-down | View allocation details |
| Filter | By department, project, date |
| Export | Excel export for analysis |
Capacity Planning
Capacity Report
CAPACITY PLANNING VIEW
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Department: Consulting
February 2026 Summary:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Resource Capacity Allocated Available │
│ ──────── ──────── ───────── ───────── │
│ John Smith 160 hrs 120 hrs 40 hrs │
│ Jane Doe 160 hrs 140 hrs 20 hrs │
│ Bob Wilson 160 hrs 80 hrs 80 hrs │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Total 480 hrs 340 hrs 140 hrs │
│ Utilization 71% │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Handling Conflicts
Over-Allocation Warning
OVER-ALLOCATION ALERT
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Resource: John Smith
Week of Jan 15, 2026
⚠️ WARNING: Over-allocated by 20 hours
Allocations:
PRJ-00125: 30 hours
PRJ-00130: 20 hours
PRJ-00131: 10 hours
─────────────────────
Total: 60 hours
Capacity: 40 hours
Over: 20 hours
Options:
1. Reassign tasks to another resource
2. Extend project timeline
3. Reduce allocation percentages
4. Negotiate priorities
Resolving Conflicts
| Strategy | When to Use |
|---|---|
| Reassign | Another resource has capacity |
| Reschedule | Timeline flexibility exists |
| Reduce | Task can be done with less effort |
| Negotiate | Project priority needs discussion |
Allocation to Tasks
Task-Level Assignment
ASSIGN RESOURCE TO TASK
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Project: PRJ-00125
Task: Frontend Development
Assignees:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Resource Planned Hours Billing Rate │
│ ──────── ───────────── ──────────── │
│ John Smith 40 hours $150/hour │
│ Jane Doe 40 hours $125/hour │
│ │
│ Task Total: 80 hours │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
System:
• Uses rate from billing rate card (if exists)
• Falls back to employee default rate
• Creates allocation records automatically
Utilization Tracking
Utilization Metrics
UTILIZATION DASHBOARD
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Period: January 2026
Department Utilization:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Department Capacity Billable Util% │
│ ────────── ──────── ──────── ───── │
│ Consulting 640 hrs 544 hrs 85% │
│ Development 800 hrs 600 hrs 75% │
│ Design 320 hrs 256 hrs 80% │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Targets:
Billable Utilization: 80%
Overall Utilization: 85%
Billable vs Non-Billable
| Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Billable | Charged to customer | Project work |
| Non-Billable | Internal cost | Training, admin |
| PTO | Paid time off | Vacation, sick |
Best Practices
Resource Allocation
| Practice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Buffer | Don't allocate 100% |
| Skills | Match skills to tasks |
| Calendar | Keep calendars updated |
| Review | Weekly capacity review |
| Forecast | Look ahead 4-6 weeks |
Common Issues
| Issue | Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Can't allocate | Feature not enabled | Enable Resource Allocations |
| Wrong capacity | Calendar not set | Assign work calendar |
| Missing resources | Not project resources | Add employees as resources |
| Double booking | No visibility | Use allocation chart |
Related Topics
- Project Tasks - Task management
- Time & Expense - Time tracking
- Project Reporting - Utilization reports