In the Resource Pool, you can view all your resources in a clear, configurable list. This helps you easily find the employees you are searching for.

• How to Find
  • Configuring Your View
  • Exporting Your View
• Adding Resources
  • Adding by Import
  • Adding Manually
• Editing Resource Details
  • General
  • Details
  • Part-Time Working Model
  • Absences (e.g., Vacations)
  • Teams
• Editing Resource Allocations
  • How a Resource's Available Capacity is Calculated
• Deleting Resources

How to Find

You need to have the Edit Resource Pool and Absences right to access this function.

In the left sidebar, click Resource Pool and select the Resources tab:

In the list, you can see an overview of the resources with selected resource details. Depending on the following settings in the header, not all resources may be displayed in the list:

• Date Range: Only resources with a start date after or a termination date before the selected date range will be displayed. Learn more in the Navigation, Menus and Views article.
• Portfolio: If the selected portfolio includes a resource filter (for example, by OBS or primary role), the list will only display resources that are included by the filter. Learn more in the Portfolio Filters - Details article.

Click on a column header to sort its content alphabetically or numerically (depending on the content type). Use the Search field to search all columns for a word or phrase. 

Sorting of Numbers
Notice that numbers will be sorted digit by digit. For example, when sorting by resource key in ascending order the resource with the key "MPR-2" comes after the resource with the key "MPR-19".

Configuring Your View

The resource view is only configured per user. If you reconfigure your columns, only you will see the changed configuration.

Filter Resources

To filter the resource list for resources with certain values, click Filter:

You can select from the following fields:

• Top level OBS, e.g., department
• External Resource
• Primary Role: displays all resources that have one of the selected primary roles
• Resource Manager: displays resources with the selected resource manager
• Resource Name: displays selected resources
• Resource Status: depends on the start and termination date
  • Future: all resources with a start date after the current date, e.g. for employees who have already signed a contract, but are not yet working for the company.
  • Inactive: all resources with a termination date before the current date, e.g. employees no longer working for the company.
  • Active: all other resources and therefore, all employees currently working for the company. Resources without a start and termination date will have the status active.
• Skills: displays roles and resources with all selected skills.

You can use several filters at the same time to further limit the results. Learn more in the Ad-Hoc Filter article.

Configure Columns

To see only the resource details that are relevant to you, you can customize the resource list. Click Configure Columns to select the information you want to display in the order you prefer. The Name column is the only one you cannot move and will always be the first column on the left.

If the resource is linked to a user, the user's profile picture will be displayed, and if the linked user has not uploaded a picture, the resource's initials. If the resource is not linked to a user, either the resource's picture or their initials will be displayed.

You can also change the order of the columns by dragging and dropping them in your preferred order.

Find a list of all fields that you can select as columns below in the sections General and Details. Additionally, you can also configure the field Resource Status.

Exporting Your View

For this function you need to have the Export Data right.

You can save an Excel file of your configured view by clicking Export to Excel.

Adding Resources

You can add new resources in Meisterplan either manually or collectively by importing them.

Adding by Import

There are several options for importing resources collectively, and some options can also be automated:

• Adding resources from other tools
• Zapier
• MS Power Automate
• REST API
• Copy & Paste from spreadsheets
• Quick Import for Resources
• Quick Import for Resource Absences
• Quick Import for Part-Time Working Models

Adding Manually

In the resource list, click Add Resource and fill in the fields. Last Name and Resource Key are required fields, the others are optional.

Find an overview of all fields with explanations below in the sections General and Details.

Editing Resource Details

To edit a single resource, select the resource in the list view. The following fields can be edited directly in the list:

• Fields of the string type (e.g., resource key, email)
• OBS (e.g., department, office)
• Resource Manager

To edit the OBS fields of multiple resources at once, check the boxes of all of the resources you would like to edit. Then, select Edit in the Toolbar.

General

• Picture: If the resource is linked to a user, the user's profile picture will be displayed. If the resource is not linked to a user, you can upload a picture for the resource. If there is no resource picture or a linked user without a profile picture, the resource's initials will be displayed.
• First Name
• Last Name: Required field
• Resource Key: Required field to uniquely identify a resource; value may only exist once in Meisterplan; when manually adding a resource, a Resource Key is auto-generated which you can change at any time;
• Email
• Primary Role: Add a primary role (e.g., "Consultant Junior") for each resource as the default to designate what role they commonly work in when allocated to projects.  No matter the default role, you can allocate resources to projects in any role. Changing the primary role of a resource does not change their project role in existing allocations.
• Resource Manager: Assign a resource manager for each resource, e.g., the team or department lead. In the Team Planner, you can filter the displayed resources and roles by resource manager. To add a user as resource manager, you need to link the user to a resource first.
• Calendar: Determines the availability of a resource per day and accounts for holidays; when manually adding a resource, the default calendar is automatically selected but you can change the calendar at any time;
• Linked Resource: Link a resource with a user to a create a portfolio for your project managers that displays their own projects, or to allow your users access to the Meisterplan MyProjects Android- or iOS app. When a resource is linked to a user, the Name column will display the user‘s profile picture instead of the resource’s initials.
• External Resource: Add external employees as resources; they will be displayed with a blue icon in the resource section of the Portfolio Designer view.

Details

• Start Date/Termination Date: Defines the employment period of an employee; the resource’s capacity before and after this period will be set to 0. When adding allocations to a project, you can only select resources with an employment period that is within the selected date range. 
• Cost per HourPro Premium: Basis for calculating allocation costs; the field always displays the current cost per hour; click the calendar icon at the end of the field to enter several costs per hour with different past or future Valid From dates. Learn more in the article Importing Past Costs per Hour Retroactively. If a resource has no cost per hour, the cost per hour of the resource's primary role is used for the allocation cost calculation. Under Views & Areas in your user group, you need to have the Access Financial Data right to access this field.
• Billing Rate per HourPro Premium: Basis for calculating allocation and total benefit; in the Project Details' section Roles and Resource - Billing Rates, you can apply these standard billing rates from the Resource Pool.
• Country: This field is only relevant when creating geo-data reports for resources (e.g., in Power BI or Tableau).
• City: This field is only relevant when creating geo-data reports for resources (e.g., in Power BI or Tableau).
• Postal Code: This field is only relevant when creating geo-data reports for resources (e.g., in Power BI or Tableau).
• OBS: Use the organizational breakdown structure to define, for example, the department and office your resource; learn more in the Managing OBS article.
• Skills: Select the skills your resource has; learn more in the Managing Skills article.

Part-Time Working Model

Here, you can enter all deviations from full-time employment as defined in the resource's calendar, like part-time employment.

Click Add Working Model and enter the following details:

• Percentage of Full-Time: Capacity of the resource in the given time frame in percent; the rate that you enter is used to calculate the actual hours based on the working hours from the resource's calendar.
  • Example: The calendar states that a full-time calendar is 38 hours a week, and you enter 75% here. In the specified time period, the resource has a capacity of 28.5 hours per week.
• Start/End Date: If you leave this field blank, the part-time working model will apply for the entire period of the resource's employment.

Part-time working models cannot be edited once they have been added, you can only delete them. To ensure the retrospective capacity remains correct, we recommend keeping past part-time models. The following options help you maintain the correct sequence of different part-time models:

Use Case	What to Do
There is an error in a part-time working model.	Delete the part-time model and enter a new one.
An employee changes their part-time model from a certain date.	Enter the new part-time model with the start date. Meisterplan will automatically set an end date to the previous model.
An employee changes their part-time model for a limited time period.	Enter the new part-time model with the start and end date. Meisterplan will automatically set an end date to the previous model and create a new entry with the original model after the temporary model's end date.
An employee changes from part-time to full-time.	Enter the full-time model with 100% and the start date. Meisterplan will automatically set an end date to the previous model. The 100% full-time model will be not be added (because it is not a part-time model but the standard).

All part-time working models are global. They have an effect on the Plan of Record, as well as each scenario.

For details on calculating resource capacity, see the article 3. Configure Capacity Planning Basics.

Absences (e.g., Vacations)

In the Absences section, you can manage sick leave and vacation days of your resources.

Click Add Absence and add the following details:

• Start/Finish Date: Enter the first and last date of the absence
• Daily Duration: For single days, you can enter either Full Day or Half Day; for multiple days, choose either Full Days, First Day is Half Day, Last Day is Half Day, or First and Last Day Are Half Days.

When calculating resource capacity, absences are taken into account. If the resource is assigned to a team, the available team capacity is affected by the absences. For details on calculating resource capacity, see the article 3. Configure Capacity Planning Basics.

All resource absences are global; they are valid for the Plan of Record and all scenarios.

Teams

In the Teams section, you can assign individual resources to existing teams and define the capacity at which the resource should be allocated to a team.

Click on Assign to Teams and select a team from the list displayed. Provide the following details:

• Start Date (mandatory field): Specify the date from which the resource will be available to work on the team.
• Finish Date (optional): You can specify until when the resource will be available to work on the team.
• Capacity (mandatory field): Define the availability of the resource for the team. Meisterplan automatically fills this field with 100% capacity, but you can adjust the value if needed. 

Learn more about teams in the article Resource Pool - Teams.

Editing Resource Allocations

When you click the tab Allocations in the details view of a resource, you can see all of the projects to which the resource is allocated, the respective allocation values, and their remaining capacity. Click the arrow after the name to expand the list of projects.

If a project is assigned to a program, the program will also be displayed. If the resource is assigned to multiple projects in the same program, the program will display the sum of allocations for that resource.

In the toolbar, you can select the allocation unit and the zoom level.

Hover over a section in the histogram to see the overall capacity, the allocations, and the remaining capacity for this time period.

To edit the allocations, the same options that you can find in the Team Planner's Time Grid Mode are available.

Adding a Project

To add a new project allocation for a resource, move your cursor over the resource and click the plus icon. Next, enter the project's name or project key into the search field and confirm with ENTER.

A new row will be added with the project's name and the allocation value 0. You can change this at any time.

Editing Allocation Values

To edit single allocation values in cells, click the cell and enter the new value. With our keyboard shortcuts, you can select and edit multiple cells at once, like with copying or overwriting cells.

Editing an Entire Allocation

Click the three dots next to the name of the project to open the context menu. There you will find the following actions:

• Replace Resource: All values will be allocated to the desired resource, and the existing allocation will be deleted from the current resource. Learn more in the article Team Planner - Replacing Resource Allocations. You can replace the entire allocation, only the overallocation, or a percentage of the allocation.
• Unstaff to Role: The entire allocation will be transferred back to the role, and the existing allocation will be deleted from the current resource. Learn more in the article Team Planner - Replacing Resource Allocations.
• Change Project Role: The resource will remain allocated to the project, but in the newly defined role. 
• Remove from Project: The resource will be unassigned from this project.
• Open Project: Open the project's details.

Editing Part of an Allocation

Select one or more cells and click the three dots in the blue bubble above the selected cells. There you will find the following options:

• Add Remaining Capacity: The remaining available capacity of the resource will be added to the selected cells.
• Allocate in Percentage: The selected allocation cells will be filled with the specified percentage of the resource's capacity. Existing values will be overwritten.
• Replace Resource: All of the selected values will be allocated to the desired resource, and the existing allocation will be deleted from the current resource. You can replace the entire allocation, only the overallocation, or a percentage of the allocation.
  • Unstaff to Role: Once you select Replace Resource, you will be able to unstaff the entire allocation back to the role, only the overallocation or a percentage of the allocation. All of the selected values will be allocated to the role, and the existing allocation will be deleted from the current resource. Learn more in the article Team Planner - Replacing Resource Allocations.

How a Resource's Available Capacity is Calculated

When hovering over the grid, you will see a hint with the available capacity of the resource. This is calculated for each time period as follows:

For the selected time period of the zoom level (i.e. either week, month, quarter, or year), the resource's working model (full-time or part-time, e.g. 80%) is used and the absences and team memberships are subtracted. This results in the average availability of the resource for that time period.

Deleting Resources

To delete a single resource, move your cursor over the resource entry in the list view and click the trash can icon at the end of the line. You can also delete a resource in the resource detail view.

To delete several resources at once, check the boxes on the left side of the resources and click Delete. To select all resources displayed in the list, check the box to the left of the column headers.

Deleting a resource has the following effects:

• Allocations are also deleted: When a resource is deleted, all allocations of this resource will also be deleted, both past and current allocations.
• Deletion of Project Manager Resources: When a resource that was set as project manager in one or more projects is deleted, the project manager field in these projects will be emptied.
• Deletion of team assignment and capacity: If the resource was assigned to a team, its team assignment and the associated capacity for the team will now be deleted.

While you do have the option to delete a resource, we recommend simply setting a termination date for the resource in question. This way, allocation and project manager information is not deleted from your system.