Basic Info

Use the fields in this tab to set up the basic elements of the project and other options that control the charging and functioning of the project.

You must complete four required fields: Project Classification, Project Type, Account Group, and Owning Org. You can also select options to determine the billable status of the project, application of cost of money, and time collections status.

You will also need to determine the charging criteria of the project. In the Charging group box, you can select the Active status and the Allow Charging status. If you select Active and Allow Charging, you can decide whether to limit organizations, accounts, or use the Project/Account/Org table for validations. There are checkboxes available to enable the defaulting of the owning organization for transaction entry, to require project work force during labor transaction entry, and to use the top level work force for PLC validation.

When should I use this tab?

Set up all the information in this tab when you are initializing the project. You will not be able to save the project unless you have selected values in the Project Classification, Project Type, Account Group, and Owning Org fields. You can change the Project Classification or Project Type fields after initialization, but if you need to change the Account Group or Owning Org, additional processing may be required. The project must be initialized in this screen before any processing can occur.

The Project Account Group, Project Types, and Maintain Org Elements screens must be set up before you can initialize this screen, as you must enter values in these required fields before saving the information in this tab.

FAQs

The steps that are required to process a change in owning organization depend on the level of processing that has occurred while the current owning organization has been in place.

If the owning organization has been entered and the record has been saved but no transactions have been posted, you can change the owning organization and no additional processing is required. However, if transactions have been posted, revenue has been computed, or revenue has been posted, additional processing will be required. The system will require that the Org History subtask be used to assist in this process. See the documentation for this subtask for more information on the process.

When an owning organization is changed, a problem is created in the year-to-date revenue balance in the General Ledger. The system posts revenue to the General Ledger at the level of the project where the revenue formula has been placed, to the account that has the revenue function code in the project account group and the to owning organization entered in this screen. The system summarizes the amount that has been posted to the combination of project/owning organization/account and compares it to the amount of year-to-date revenue computed in the Project Summary table. The Post Revenue process (Projects\Process\Post) posts the difference between the two amounts. If the owning organization is changed, the system will compare the new owning organization, project, and account to the Project Summary table and the difference will be the total year-to-date revenue. If this amount is posted, revenue will be overstated.

This is also an issue when posting revenue to performing organizations because any over-ceiling amounts or revenue adjustment amounts are charged to the owning organization of the project.

If you enter a new owning organization in the Owning Org field and processing has occurred, the application will force you into the Org History subtask. The following is a brief synopsis of what is required, but you can use the screen documentation for the Org History subtask for more detailed information.

Enter the new owning organization in the New Owning Organization field. The Previous Owning Organization field will automatically display.
Enter the new fiscal year, period, and subperiod in the Effective FY, Effective Pd, and Effective Subpd fields.
Enter a value of "Y" or "N" in the Retroactive field. If you enter "Y," then the system will calculate a journal entry that restates revenue to the new organization on a year-to-date basis. If you enter "N" the system will calculate a journal entry that restates revenue from the fiscal year, period , and subperiod entered in the EffectiveFY, Effective Pd, and Effective Subpd fields.
Use the Process Organization Changes screen to create the journal entries needed for this change in organization. Once the journal entries have been created, post them in the Post Journal Entries screen (Accounting\Process\Post). The system will determine which journal entries are needed. One journal entry for revenue and one for accounts receivable are possible. Once the journal entries that have been created are posted, the flags in the JE Processed, and A/R History Processed fields will be set to "Y." The journal entry number used in the posting will display in the JE Number field.

The Allow Edit checkbox is used to control key fields at lower levels of a project structure. The following fields have the allow edit box feature available: Project Classification,Project Type, Apply Cost of Money Rates, Account Group, Owning Org, and Project Work Force Required.

When you select a value for these fields at the top level of the project, you can use the Allow Edit checkbox and to create one of the following options:

Leave the Allow Edit checkbox unchecked and the value selected for the field at the top level will default to all lower levels of the project a non-editable field.
Select the Allow Edit checkbox at the top level, the value will still default but the field will be editable at the lower levels.
Leave the Allow Edit checkbox unselected at any level of the project, and all levels below the level where it was unselected will be non-editable.

This feature provides a level of control over selection of key fields at lower levels of the project tree.

Changing the project account group requires a series of steps to ensure that all data entered for the project will appear on reports and in database tables.

You should only change the project account group if it is absolutely necessary. Changes in the project account group without following the proper steps can result in lost data on reports and loss of audit trail between the reports and the General Ledger. You should always contact General Support if a change in the project account group is necessary.

Use the following steps when changing the project account group:

Create a new project account group code in the Project Account Group screen that contains all the accounts that were in the old project account group as well as the new accounts that will be needed. It is not necessary to add the former billed account, unbilled account, or any other balance sheet accounts. The accounts that were in the old project account group can be set to inactive so that they will not be charged. The function codes that were assigned to the old accounts should remain the same.
Post all outstanding transactions to the project.
Change the project account group in the Basic Info screen.
Run the Assign Account Function Codes utility. This utility will place a code in the ACCT_FUNC_NO column of the PROJ_SUM and PSR_PY_SUM tables based on the function code that it finds in the current project account group. If the utility encounters an account in the table that is not in the project account group, then it will not assign an ACCT_FUNC_NO and the amount associated with that account will not display on the reports.

Using these steps should result in a smooth transition from one project account group to another.

The billable flag controls the ability to set up the Project Billing Information (Projects\Maintain\Billing) and Revenue Information (Projects\Maintain\Revenue) screens for the project. The system will display an error message stating that the project is not billable if you attempt to set up these screens when you have not selected the Billable Project checkbox. This flag will not prevent the project from being billed but will control the setup of the revenue and billing screens. The flag will default to a checked status.

Select options in the charging criteria group box to customize the charges that are allowed for this level of the project.

If no checkboxes are selected other than Active and Allow Charging, charging will be allowed on accounts in the project account group with any organization. This is the least restrictive method of project charging. Other options available are: "Allow Charging," "Active," "Limit Accounts," "Limit Orgs," "Limit which Orgs can Charge Certain Accounts," and "Limit to P/O/A." Details on the use of each of these options is as follows:

Active- Use the Active checkbox to allow charging to this level of the project. The status of this flag is originally set to Active but can be changed if needed. The flag should be set to Active if the project is ongoing and actively being charged at this level. There are some options in the system to exclude inactive projects from specific reports. The Active checkbox should be deselected when the project is complete and no longer requires reporting.
Allow Charging - Use the Allow Charging checkbox to allow charges to be made to this level of the project. Select this checkbox only if you plan to enter transactions, post revenue, or post bills at this level of the project. If no charging will occur at the this level of the project, deselect this checkbox to prevent unwanted charging at the roll up levels of the project.
Accounts - Use this checkbox to further limit the accounts in the project account group that can be charged on this project. Use this checkbox if there are accounts in the project account group that should not be charged on this project. Other projects may share the same project account group and need to charge these accounts. Inactivate the account in the Project Account Group screen if the account should no longer be charged on any project. Use the Project/Account Links screen to set up the valid project account combinations.
Organizations - Use this checkbox to limit the organizations that can charge this project. Use the Project/Organization Links screen to set up valid project/organization combinations after you have selected this checkbox. Inactivate the organization in the Maintain Org Elements screen if the organization is inactive and should not be charged by any project.
Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts (Limit group box) - Select this option if you want to limit project charging to only those project/account/organizations that exist in the PROJ_ORG_ACCT table. This option is only available if you have selected the Validate Project Charging by Organization checkbox in the Project Settings screen (Administration\Configure\Projects). Selecting this method will provide the most restrictive type of validation available in the system. The project, organization, and account combination must be present in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table in order for it to be charged. This method, known as the "detail" method, provides maximum control over which transactions are charged to a project but is the most difficult method to maintain.
Limit accounts to POA - Select this option if you want to limit project charging to only those accounts that exist in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table. This option is only available if you have not selected the Validate Project Charging by Organization checkbox in the Project Settings screen (Administration\Configure\Projects). This method is less restrictive than the "Limit Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accounts" method but more restrictive than the all other methods. Charging the project will require the project and the account to be in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table. This is known as the summary method of project charging. Any organization can charge the project. If there are specific organizations that should not charge this project, you can use this checkbox in combination with the Organizations checkbox.

Cost of money is a rate that is allowed on certain government contracts. This rate is applied to project costs in addition to the regular provisional rates. Cost of money is sometimes referred to as facilities cost of money or cost of capital. There should be a clause in the contract that identifies whether cost of money is valid for your project.

There is generally an overhead cost of money and a G&A cost of money. If cost of money is allowed on your project, select the ApplyCost of Money Rates checkbox at every level of the project. The cost of money rates are entered in the Pool Rates subtask of the Cost Pools screen (Projects\Maintain\Allocations).

Use the system-defined project classification to classify your projects into similar categories.

The available Project Classifications include: Bid & Proposal, Common Inv, Direct Project, Indirect, Interco - Multi, Inter-company, IR&D, and Work-in-Process. Most of these are used primarily for reporting purposes. The Revenue Summary Report and the Revenue Worksheet can be sorted by project classification.

The Work-in-Process project classification will produce special processing for projects that have been assigned this classification. The Project Status Report is printed in a WIP format for these projects and the Compute Cost of Goods Sold Entry process (Projects\Process\Project)only selects projects for processing that have been assigned the "WORK IN PROCESS" Project Classification.

Use the Project Type field as a means to classify your projects. Project type is a user-defined field that is initialized in the Project Types screen. Both the Revenue Summary Report and the Revenue Worksheet can be sorted by project type. This field is required in this screen and cannot be blank, so it can be very useful for sorting project information.

Project type can be changed at any time without special processing considerations.

Select the UseTop Level Work Force checkbox if the rates that will be used on the project will be the same set of rates regardless of the level of the project where they are charged. The Use Top Level Work Force checkbox will tell the system to default and validate PLCs from the top level of the project only. Normally, the system validates and defaults PLCs from the transaction level of the project. The Use Top Level Work Force checkbox is only available at the top level of the project.

Project work force should be required when only specific people are allowed to work on a project. This requirement often is made when the project is classified. If the project work force is required only employees that have been identified in the Project Work Force screen will be able to charge the project.

You can also use project work force to help with timesheet defaulting. If you plan to do this you should not make the work force required, as it will slow down the upload from Time & Expense.

The owning organization of the project will automatically display in the organization field of all data entry screens if the Default to Owning Organization checkbox is selected. Use this checkbox to expedite the data entry process. You can change the organization after the default is displayed in any of the data entry screens. If you leave the Default to Owning Organization checkbox unchecked, no default will occur for the Organization field in the data entry screens and an organization must be entered.

Field Descriptions

Classification

Use the fields in this group box to enter selections for project classification, project type, billable status, application of cost of money, and expense project status.

Select a classification type. This drop-down box displays the system-defined classes of projects that will require separate treatment, due to the varying requirements of each classification. Separate treatment may include using special processes to cost labor or materials, or may simply mean that each of the classifications can be sorted separately for reporting purposes.

Available project classifications include: "BID & PROPOSAL," "COMMON INV," "DIRECT PROJECT," "INDIRECT," "INTER-CO MULTI," "INTER-COMPANY," "IR&D," and "WORK IN PROCESS."

The Project Status Report and the Revenue Summary Report can be sorted by project classification.

Select this checkbox if you want to allow lower levels of the project to have a project classification that differs from the top level project classification. If this checkbox is not selected, the value from the top project level will default to all levels below and will not be editable. If this checkbox is selected, edits will be allowed to the project classification field at the next lower level. The Allow Edit checkbox can be deselected at any level of the project and no edits will be allowed below the level where the checkbox is deselected.

Enter, or use Lookup to select, the project type from the user-defined projects types that were created in the Project Types screen. Generally, project types will include: Cost Reimbursable, Fixed Price, Time & Materials, etc., but could be any "type" that you desire to track. No special processing will be generated based on this type. Some reports (for example the Revenue Summary Report) can be sorted by project type.

Select this checkbox to establish unique project types at lower levels of the project. Leave this checkbox unselected if the entire project should have the same project type. At any level of the project this checkbox can be left unselected and the remaining lower levels will be non-editable. The project type from the level above will always default to the next level down.

Use this drop-down box to select the Costpoint products that you want to include in the export processes. Depending on your selection in this field, you can export data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense and Deltek Time Collection. You can run export processes in the Export Data to Deltek Time and Expense 5.x+, the Export Data to Deltek Time Collection 3.x and 4.x, and the Export Data to Deltek ET 2.x screens in Costpoint Labor. This field should only be populated at the level of the project where labor will be charged.

You can select the following options based on the Costpoint products for which you are licensed and your selection in the Version drop-down box in the Corporate Settings subtask of the Labor Settings screen:

Time Collection Project – Select this option if you want to export data for this project to Deltek Time Collection. Use the Export Data to Deltek Time Collection 3.x and 4.x screen to export the data for this project to Deltek Time Collection. If you are also licensed for Costpoint Employee Expense and wish to export data for this project to Deltek Expense, you should use the "Time & Expense Project" selection for this field.
Time & Expense Project - Select this option if you want to export data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense. Use the Export Data to Deltek Time & Expense 5.x screen to export the data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense. This option is only available if you have version 6.0 or greater of Deltek Time & Expense.
Expense Project - Select this option if you want to export data for this project to Deltek Expense. Use the Export Data to Deltek Time & Expense 5.x screen to export the data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense. This option is only available if you are licensed for Deltek Expense.
None – Select this option if you do not wish to export data for this project to Deltek Time Collection or Deltek Expense.

If you select this checkbox, the Revenue Information (Projects\Maintain\Revenue\Revenue Information) or Project Billing Information (Projects\Maintain\Billing) screens can be set up for this project. It is selected by default. If you do not select this checkbox, the system will display an error message stating that the project is not billable when you enter information in the Revenue Information or Project Billing Information screens.

Note: Selecting or deselecting this checkbox does not automatically make a project billable or unbillable. If the criteria for billing a project have been met, this checkbox will not prevent the bill from being calculated; it only controls whether the Revenue Information and Project Billing Information screens can be set up.

Select this checkbox to apply cost of money (COM, FCCOM, cost of capital) rates to the project selected. You can enter the COM rates in the Pool Rates subtask of the Cost Pools screen (Projects\Maintain\Allocations). This checkbox applies primarily to contracts with the federal government.

Select the choice for COM rates if the project entered is a top-level project. If you did not enter a top-level project, the default value of the selection from the top-level project will display.

Select this checkbox if cost of money should be applied to this project. No changes are allowed to the top-level selection if this checkbox is unselected. Normally, if cost of money applies to a project, you should select this checkbox at the top level of the project and deselect the Allow Edit checkbox. In other words, the entire project is subject to cost of money. However, you must select the ApplyCost of MoneyRates checkbox at the level at which transactions are posted in order for cost of money amounts to be correctly applied.

Select this checkbox include the actual costs incurred by this project in the Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file created by the Cobra Interface. This checkbox is available only at the top-level of the project. If you select this checkbox, the actual costs of the entire project, including all lower levels, will be included in the Cobra extraction process. If you leave this checkbox unselected, you will not be able to include this project or any of its levels in the Cobra Interface screens. Please see the screen documentation for the Cobra Interface for more information on this process.

Use this field to enter a Cobra mapping value. The Cobra interface process uses these values to link Costpoint projects to Cobra programs. If you select the “Project Cobra UDEF” option in the Costpoint Mapping column of the Maintain Cobra Charge Templates screen, you can enter a user-defined value in this field and use it to link to a value in the Cobra system. You will generally use this field if there is a value in Cobra that is not easily linked to anything in Costpoint. For more information on the Cobra Interface process, see the screen documentation.

Charging

Use the fields in this group box to control options for customizing the charging criteria of this project.

Select this checkbox if the project is active for charging purposes. This checkbox is selected by default when a project is set up, but can be changed.

If this checkbox is not selected, project/account/org combinations in the Proj/Acct/Org screen will automatically be set to "Inactive." However, both the flag on individual project/account/org combinations and this global flag are validated during transaction entry. Projects are usually inactive if the work on them has been completed.

You can still post revenue and cash receipts to inactive projects because you may need to adjust a project's revenue if the final actual rates are applied after work has been completed on the project. Outstanding receivables may exist on a project long after work on the project has ceased.

Do not use this checkbox to prevent charging at summary levels of the project. Use the Allow Charging checkbox to restrict data entry on certain project levels.

Select this checkbox to allow charging on the project. This checkbox is not selected by default, which means no charging is allowed regardless of the status of the project/account/org combinations. If the checkbox is selected, valid charging combinations can be charged. The Allow Charging checkbox should be enabled for all levels of the projects where charging will take place. If the project level is not a transaction level or billing/revenue level, you should not select the checkbox.

Note: If the Active and Allow Charging checkboxes are selected, only account numbers that exist in the project account group and contain a valid account/organization combination link in the Account/Org linkages table will be accepted as valid project combinations. You may further limit the account that can be charged to this project by selecting the Accounts checkbox in the Limit group box.

Enter, or use Lookup to select, an account group set up in the Project Account Groups screen. The account group determines the "set" of accounts that can be attached to the project. Only accounts belonging to the account group selected can be charged to this project. Use the Accounts checkbox in the Limit group box to place further restrictions on which accounts within the account group can be charged.

Because the account group controls how many of the functions will work in the revenue and billing computations, you should view the account groups as permanent once charging has started. Make changes only when absolutely necessary.

Use this checkbox to establish control of the Account Group field at lower levels of the project. If the project entered is not a top-level, the default value of the Account Group field from the top-level project will be displayed. If the Allow Edit checkbox at the top-level is selected, you can select any account group. However, if the Allow Edit checkbox is unselected you cannot change the default top-level account group.

Limit

Use the fields in this group box to limit the charges available on this project.

Select this checkbox to limit the accounts that can be charged on this project to only the account numbers that exist in the project account group and that are valid account/organization combinations in the Proj Acct screen.

This checkbox is disabled if you selected the Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts checkbox or the Accounts to P/O/A checkbox. You should select this checkbox if you only want a few of the accounts in the project account group to be used at this level of the project.

Select this checkbox to limit the organizations that can charge this project. Only the account numbers that exist in the project account group that are valid account/organization combinations will be valid for charging on this project. You must populate the Project Orgs screen to establish valid project/org combinations for charging.

This checkbox is disabled if you selected the Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts checkbox or the Accounts to P/O/A checkbox. If you selected the Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts checkbox, the system reviews the Project/Account/Org table for valid combinations.

This checkbox displays on this screen only if you have selected the Validate Project Charging by Organization checkbox in the Project Settings screen (Administration\Configure\Projects).

Select this checkbox to control the method of validation for your project. If you select this checkbox, only project/account/ organization combinations that exist in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table will be valid for this project. If you do not select this checkbox, the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table will not be used in validation. This method, known as the detail method of validation, is the most restrictive method available in the system.

This checkbox displays on this screen only when the Validate Project Charging by Organization checkbox in the Project Settings screen (Administration\Configure\Projects) is unselected.

Select this checkbox if you want to validate only the project/account portion of the project/account/org combinations. The system will use the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table to perform this validation. If the project/account combination exists in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table, the transactions will be validated. If you do not select this checkbox, the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table will not be evaluated during validation. This is known as the "summary method" of project validation. The system will use the other options in this group box to perform validations.

Controls

Use the fields in this group box to select the owning organization of the project and other project control functions.

Enter, or use Lookup to select, the organization that "owns" the project. This is the "home" organization for the project. If you selected the Owning Organization radio button either in the Default Revenue Posting By group box in the Project Settings screen (Administration\Configure\Projects) or in the Revenue Information screen (Projects\Maintain\Revenue\Revenue Information), all revenue and profit, as well as billed and unbilled receivables, attributable to the project, will be posted to the owning organization listed here.

If you change the owning organization, the following message will display: "Changing the owning org may cause journal entries to be computed. Do you wish to continue?"

Selecting "Yes" will activate the Org History subtask in which you can enter the new information. You may also need to run the Process Organizational Changes Utility. This utility creates journal entries that update the general ledger for revenue and billing.

Warning: Changing the owning organization of an existing project may cause some programs to post incorrect amounts to the General Ledger. Always check with Costpoint General Support before changing the owning organization of an existing project.