Plan and actual on one structure
- Planned and logged hours hang on the same node.
- No reconciliation between a plan sheet and a time tool.
- Plan vs actual stands at every level.
Work breakdown structure software that carries plan, hours and budget.
With teamspace work breakdown structure software you break projects into phases and work packages. Every node carries plan hours, a budget and an owner, and hours are logged straight onto it. Part of the cloud software for project management, with no per-module surcharge.
Feature set
What a work breakdown structure tool has to do.
A structure becomes a tool only once plan and reality hang on the same structure. Three things decide whether it does.
Every node carries its plan data
- Plan hours, budget, owner and dates per node.
- Work packages are the lowest plannable unit.
- Phases order the run over time.
Templates instead of a blank sheet
- Templates bring phases, milestones and resources along.
- A new project stands in minutes.
- Recurring project types stay comparable.
The core
The teamspace building blocks for project structure.
A work breakdown structure breaks a project down hierarchically into subprojects and work packages. It orders the venture independently of dates and is the basis from which schedule, cost and resource planning are derived. In practice it is often called the "plan of plans".
The structure itself rests on three elements: main project, subproject and work package. You nest subprojects as deep as you like; the work package is the lowest unit, with hours, owners and a budget.
Phases and milestones come in as their own levels. A phase lays itself over the project in time (preparation, planning, build) and can serve as a filter or on the project's summary card. A milestone marks a fixed date, project-specific or global across all projects, independent of the structure. You use only as many building blocks as the case at hand calls for.
Unlike a pure drawing tool, the structure in teamspace stays the place where the work happens: hours are logged straight onto the node, rather than landing in a second spreadsheet.
From order to project
The order becomes the project, with structure.
Anyone planning client projects rarely starts from a blank plan. A confirmed order becomes a project in one click, and the line items become the structure.
Order Line items
AB-2026-0457 · Customer portal confirmed
01 Concept 1 flat rate 12.000 €
02 Build 120 h 15.600 €
03 Test & sign-off 40 h 5.200 €
04 Training 2 days 2.400 €
Order total 35.200 €
One click
Structure Schedule
PRJ-2026-014 · Customer portal created
Concept · flat rate
Requirements 24 h
Build 120 h
Backend 72 h
Frontend 48 h
Test & sign-off 40 h
Plan effort 184 h
Schedule and cost frame come along from the order, and you only need to enter the owners.
Plan data
Every node carries its own plan data.
Every phase and every work package carries its own plan data: plan hours, a budget in euros, an owner and a period. You set the start as a fixed date, as a milestone or in reference to a predecessor.
- Plan hours and budget per node
- Owner and contributors per subproject
- Budget mode "auto" sums the values from the nodes below
- Status and progress, tied to permissions if you wish
Which rates are billed in the end is decided in project billing, not in the structure itself.
“Time tracking is far simpler and more convenient than in Excel.”
Logging
Hours land straight on the work package.
The real lever is logging straight onto the node. In their time tracking, staff see the work packages they are assigned to and log without a detour through a separate project list.
The hours come from three sources, and all land on the same package:
- Planned tasks, assigned to a work package
- Tickets from the service desk, for maintenance work for instance
- Hours logged directly for routine work on the package
An hour on "backend" rolls up automatically to the "build" phase and the project. So plan vs actual stands at every level, current to the day, without anyone synchronising tabs at the weekend. Go deeper into project controlling.
In figures
Four cornerstones that matter.
What makes the difference between a drawn plan and a structure that carries the whole project.
- 5 building blocks
freely combined
Main project, subproject, work package, phase, milestone
- Any depth
no level limit
Nest subprojects until the structure fits
- Plan & actual
on one structure
Hours are logged straight onto the node
- EU
hosting in Frankfurt
ISO 27001 certified data centre
In the run
From the empty plan to a running project.
A structure is built entirely in the browser, with no local tool. Five steps to the first logged hour.
- 1
Pick a template or start fresh
Copy from an earlier project or start empty. Templates already bring typical phases, milestones and resources along.
- 2
Cut phases and work packages
Subprojects as deep as you like, work packages per phase. Each node gets plan hours, a budget and an owner.
- 3
Link tasks and tickets
Per work package, tasks are created, or a ticket from the service desk is assigned.
- 4
Log hours, plan vs actual current to the day
Staff log straight onto the node. Progress rolls up automatically to phase and project.
- 5
Adjust and re-steer
Shift phases, re-cut work packages, swap owners. The project history records every change.
Dates
Milestones show slippage before it escalates.
Milestones mark a project's fixed dates. teamspace keeps project-specific and global milestones; global ones apply across all projects and show the state of several ventures at a glance.
The milestone trend analysis re-sets the date in every project report. The course over time forms a trend line: if a milestone moves back from report to report, the slippage is visible long before the date itself breaks. A pre-warning date can be stored per milestone.
Across many ventures you keep the overview in multi-project management.
Files
Files sit on the same node as the plan.
You use the work breakdown structure not only for planning but, if you wish, as a file store. The directory follows the structure: where the work package sits, the file for it sits too.
- Concepts, minutes and spreadsheets on the subproject or work package
- Edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint online, with no download
- One synchronised directory per project
- Access by permission, including for external contributors
So the structure becomes a tool for project documentation at the same time.
Intro call
Let's look at your project types.
In 20 minutes we go through your typical projects and the right depth of structure. After that you see how a structure in teamspace looks for your case.
From practice
Three project types, three cuts.
IT project to go-live.
- Phases from specification to maintenance
- Work packages down to the single ticket
- Hypercare as its own phase after rollout
Building project by work phase.
- Work phases as the phases of the structure
- Four to five levels per trade
- Dates fixed or in reference to a predecessor
Campaign to reporting.
- Concept, creative, production, launch
- Work packages per channel
- Closing report as a milestone
At runtime
Restructure without losing the history.
Projects change. Phases get re-cut, work packages merged, owners swapped. teamspace allows these changes in a running project.
You shift a whole project by a number of days in one click; a checkbox decides whether subprojects, resources and milestones move along. The project history records status and schedule changes automatically, with the editor and the time.
So it stays traceable who changed what and when, without anyone keeping a log by hand.
More from project management
Use cases from project management.
The structure is one of several views on the same project. These areas go deeper into individual questions.
Project controlling
Plan vs actual, forecast and margin per node of the structure.
Learn moreCapacity planning
Utilisation per person and team from the plan data.
Learn moreMulti-project management
Many projects in parallel, each with its own structure.
Learn moreEarned value analysis
Earned value and forecast from plan and actual cost.
Learn moreProject billing
The logged hours of the structure become the invoice.
Learn moreProject documentation
Wiki and files hang on the phase and work package.
Learn moreIn detail
All functions at a glance.
Structure
- Five building blocks: main, subproject, work package, phase, milestone
- Any depth, no level limit
- Several views: list, structure, Gantt
- Excel import and export of the structure
- Templates and project types with their own workflow
Planning
- Plan hours and budget per node
- Owners and contributors per subproject
- Start fixed, as a milestone or via a predecessor
- Gantt with predecessor and successor links
- Shift a whole project by X days
Steering
- Logging straight onto the node from three sources
- Progress rolls up automatically
- Plan vs actual current to the day at every level
- Milestone trend analysis with a pre-warning date
- Project history records every change
In overview
The structure is the frame of project management.
The structure carries plan and actual. How teamspace plans, steers and bills projects from it, from plan vs actual through utilisation to the invoice out of the project, the project management overview shows.
To project managementBackground
What the breakdown of a project decides.
The first question with any structure is not the software but the cut: by what do we break the project down? Three forms are common, and teamspace prescribes none of them.
By function, by object or by time. A function-oriented breakdown cuts by trade or discipline, such as copy, design and programming. An object-oriented one puts the result at the centre and splits it into its parts, such as hardware, software and documentation. A time-oriented one follows the run, from analysis through build to sign-off. One form carries per planning level; across the levels, mixed forms are normal.
Top-down or bottom-up. Whoever knows the whole plans from the top down to the single work package. Whoever starts from concrete packages builds from the bottom up to the overall project. The yo-yo method switches deliberately between the two directions. Which way fits depends on the project, not on the tool.
Why not Excel. As a spreadsheet a structure can be drawn, but plan and actual then live in two worlds: the structure in the sheet, the hours in an app, the invoice somewhere else. teamspace reads an existing structure in via Excel and exports it again too. The difference: logged hours, budget and progress hang on the same structure, multi-user and with a gapless history.
Related modules
Hour, invoice and customer hang on the project.
Anyone structuring a project almost always deals with the hour, the invoice and the customer. Here are the shortest routes there.
Time tracking
Staff log hours straight onto the work package of the structure.
- Log on project, phase or ticket
- Billable or internal kept apart
- Approvals stay traceable
Invoicing software
The hours and budgets of the structure become the invoice, with rates and flat rates.
- Partial, progress and final invoices
- ZUGFeRD and XRechnung
- Hand-off to DATEV
CRM software
The order the project comes from sits in the customer file on the contact.
- Contacts and activities on the customer
- An order becomes a project in one click
- Shared data, no double upkeep
Intro call
Let's get your next project into shape.
You show us a typical project, we show you the structure behind it, with phases, work packages and logging straight onto the node. After that you decide whether this is the right way for your projects.
Frequently asked questions about work breakdown structure software
What is a work breakdown structure (WBS)?
A work breakdown structure breaks a project down hierarchically into subprojects and work packages. It represents the venture independently of dates and is the basis for effort estimation, ownership and the later plan vs actual comparison. The method is described in DIN 69901.
How is a work breakdown structure built up?
Usually as a tree, vertical or horizontal. The breakdown is by function (by trade or discipline), by object (by the parts of the result) or by time (by the run). One form carries per level; across the levels, mixed forms are common.
How does a WBS differ from a network plan?
The work breakdown structure orders the project independently of dates: it shows what it consists of. The network plan and the Gantt chart derived from it show the run over time with predecessor and successor links. teamspace keeps both views on the same structure.
What WBS depth does teamspace support?
Any. Subprojects can be nested as deep as you like, the work package is the lowest unit. In practice 3 to 5 levels prove out, depending on the project type, such as phase, sub-phase, work package and task.
Can we maintain templates for recurring project types?
Yes. Templates bring phases, milestones and resources along; project types add their own workflow and approval rules. For a new project you load the template and adjust it to the specific requirements.
Can an order be turned into a project?
Yes. An order becomes a project in one click; depending on the setting the order line items become subprojects or work packages. Schedule and cost frame come along from the underlying order, and you only need to enter the owners.
How does the WBS connect with tasks and tickets?
Per work package, tasks are created for the delivery, or a ticket from the service desk is assigned. Hours logged on a task or ticket flow onto the parent node of the structure.
How does plan vs actual work at structure level?
Per node, planned and logged hours, the difference and the projected remainder stand together. The progress of parent nodes is calculated from those below. More on project controlling software.
Can phases and work packages be restructured later?
Yes. You shift phases, insert new ones and re-cut work packages. You shift a whole project by a number of days in one click, with subprojects and milestones moving along if you wish. The project history records every change with the editor and the time.
Where is the WBS data stored?
All data is processed in an ISO 27001 certified data centre in Frankfurt am Main, exclusively within the EU. teamspace is made in Germany and GDPR-compliant. The contracting party is 5 POINT AG, a German public company based in Darmstadt.