# Why Teams Use LOFT Resource

_LOFT Resource › About_

LOFT Resource helps studios, agencies and service firms plan who works on what, and see what that plan will cost before they commit to it.

## The problem it solves

Most studios plan their people in spreadsheets. One sheet holds the schedule, another the rates, another the budget, and they are never quite in sync. Double-booked artists, idle weeks and under-priced bids tend to surface only when the invoices arrive, when it is too late to fix them.

## What makes it different

### The schedule and the money are the same picture

Assign people to roles week by week on a visual timeline. Switch the same view to cost and you see what each week of each person costs, what you are billing the client for it, and the margin left over. A staffing change and its financial effect are never in two different places.

### Try a plan before you commit to it

Make a copy of your plan, move people around, and compare the two side by side. When one is better, make it the real plan. Nothing changes for the team until you decide.

### See every project at once

Load several projects together and see clashes straight away: people who are booked twice, and people who have free time. The crew view flips it around and shows each person's workload across everything they are on.

### Compare the plan with what really happened

People record the hours they actually worked. Reports set those hours against the plan, and utilization reports show who is overloaded and where you have spare capacity. Each new bid is then based on what really happened last time, not on a guess.

### More than people

Software licenses, hardware and other costs sit alongside labor, so a project's budget shows its true cost.

### Built for teams in several countries

Rates and costs can be held in different currencies and converted automatically.

### Sensitive numbers stay private

Salaries, rates and budgets are only visible to the people you choose. Everyone else can still see the schedule they need.

## Who it is for

Production leaders, producers and studio managers in film, animation, visual effects, games, advertising and other professional services, anywhere the main cost is people's time and margins depend on planning it well.

## How it fits with LOFTai

LOFT Resource and [LOFTai](https://docs.loftapps.com/ai/why/) share the same organization, the same people and the same sign-in. Hours your team logs in LOFTai count toward the plan-versus-actual reports in Resource. You can use either one on its own, or both together.

## Getting started

Start with [Welcome to LOFT Resource](https://docs.loftapps.com/resource/welcome/), then the [Role Planner](https://docs.loftapps.com/resource/role_planner/), which is where most planning happens.