Labor Categories/Billing Rates

Costpoint uses labor categories to classify labor hours for reporting and to provide project-specific job titles for which labor hours can be billed and used in revenue calculations.

The focus of this topic is Project Labor Categories (PLCs).

This topic contains information on how to select the appropriate method of PLC initialization, how to process labor hours for use in revenue and billing calculations, how to use labor reports, how to understand PLC validation, and how to evaluate options available for PLC defaulting on timesheets.

Costpoint has two types of labor categories: General Labor Categories (GLCs) and Project Labor Categories (PLCs). They are used in the following manner:

  • General Labor Category (GLCs) (otherwise known as the company classification) are used to classify employee hours. A GLC is a required entry for all labor transactions and is used for all employees regardless whether they are incurred for direct or indirect hours. GLCs cannot be used with labor rates for billing and revenue. Most labor reports are available by GLC.
  • Project Labor Categories (PLCs) are used to identify a labor title that is used on a particular project. The PLC is then assigned a labor rate and is used in billing and revenue calculations. There are several methods available for using PLCs. Only PLCs can have labor rates associated with them.

GLCs can be defaulted on each timesheet line and are stored with the hours charged against them. You must assign a GLC to all employees on the Manage Employee Information screen . GLCs are required for all labor transactions and are stored on the Manage Project Labor History screen and the timesheet history screens in Costpoint Labor. You can use GLCs for reporting in the Projects, Human Resources, and Labor modules.

PLCs are optional and are usually used when the project is using Loaded Labor or Multiplier revenue and billing methods. You must associate labor rates with the PLCs if you are using PLCs in revenue and billing computations. You can also use PLCs to customize job titles for projects when the GLC description is not specific enough or when an employee’s job title changes on specific projects. The PLC, if set up properly, also defaults onto each timesheet line and is stored with the hours charged against it.