# Role Planner

_LOFT Resource › Scheduling_

## Overview

The Role Planner is the core scheduling tool in LOFT Resource. It provides a visual timeline where you can assign people to projects, see availability at a glance, and understand the cost impact of every staffing decision.

## Loading Projects

Before you can start planning, you need to load one or more projects into the planner.

-   Click the Load Project button in the toolbar
-   Select one or more projects from the dropdown
-   Projects will appear in the timeline with their assigned roles
-   You can load multiple projects simultaneously for cross-project planning

## Scheduling

The timeline grid shows weeks (or months) across the top and roles down the left side.

-   Click on a cell to assign a person to that role for that week
-   Drag across multiple cells to assign for a range of weeks
-   Each cell shows the allocated percentage or days
-   Color coding indicates availability: green (available), red (overbooked), yellow (partial)
-   Use the date navigator to scroll through the timeline

Tip: Hold Shift while clicking to select multiple cells, then use bulk actions to assign or clear them.

## Display Modes

The Role Planner supports four display modes, accessible from the toolbar:

-   Schedule — Default view showing assigned people with color-coded cells
-   Label — Shows text labels for each assignment
-   Day — Shows the number of days allocated per cell
-   Cost — Switches to financial view showing dollar amounts per person-week

## Cost Mode

When you switch to **Cost** display mode, the planner shows the financial impact of your staffing plan. You can choose between different cost calculation methods:

-   Bid Rate — The rate charged to the client for this role
-   Loaded Rate — The fully loaded cost including overhead and benefits
-   Salary — The base salary cost of the assigned person
-   Net — The profit margin (bid rate minus salary cost)

Total rows at the bottom aggregate costs across all visible roles, giving you a clear picture of project-level and portfolio-level financial health.

Note: Cost mode requires budget view and reports module permissions. If you don't see the Cost option, contact your administrator.

## Scenarios

Scenarios let you model alternative staffing plans without affecting your current schedule.

-   Create a new scenario from the Compare menu
-   Make changes in the scenario without affecting the main plan
-   Compare scenarios side-by-side to evaluate trade-offs
-   Promote a scenario to become the active plan when ready

## Saving Layouts

You can save and restore your planner configuration including display mode, cost mode, loaded projects, and filter settings.

-   Click the layout menu to save your current view
-   Give your layout a name for easy identification
-   Saved layouts preserve display mode, cost mode, filters, and project selections
-   Load a saved layout to quickly restore a previous view

## Total Rows

The planner can display aggregated total rows at the bottom of the grid. Available totals include:

-   Cost — Total cost across all visible roles per time period
-   Revenue — Total revenue (bid rate) per time period
-   Net — Profit margin per time period
-   Milestones — Key project milestones on the timeline