Wildcards and Labor Codes
When you specify billing, cost, or pay rates using labor codes, you can either associate a rate with a specific labor code, or assign rates based on specific levels of a multi-level labor code, while masking the other levels.
For example, assume you have three levels defined:
| Labor Code Level 1 | Labor Code Level 2 | Labor Code Level 3 |
|---|---|---|
| A Architectural | 00 General | 0 General |
| B Budget-Estimate | 01 Pre-Design | 1 Principal |
| C Civil | 02 Site Analysis | 2 Supervisory |
| D Design-Plan-Spec | 04 Design-Plan-Spec | 3 Senior Consultant |
| E Electrical | 0F Field Work | A Architect |
| I Interiors | A1 Schematic Design | C Consultant |
| M Mechanical | C1 Civil Design | D Designer |
| Z Miscellaneous | D1 Design Development | E Engineer |
To mask a level, use an underscore (_) to represent each character in the level. Here are three examples based on the table above. To assign a billing rate to all:
- Labor codes with Architectural as the first level, use this mask: A_ _ _
- Consultant labor codes, use this mask: _ _ _C
- Design labor codes, use this mask: _ _ 1_
Labor Code Masks in Labor Code Rate Tables
- Be consistent with masks: Enter labor code masks and wildcard characters consistently. Define labor code masks for the same labor code level. For example, if you define a labor code mask as A_ _ _ , then you should define all other labor code masks according to level one, as B_ _ _, C_ _ _, D_ _ _, and so on. Deltek displays an error message if you enter an inconsistent labor code.
- Do not mix masks and straight labor codes: Within a labor code cost, billing, or pay rate table, you can either assign rates to specific labor codes, or use masks. You cannot mix these two methods. If you add a rate in a table using a wildcard mask, and then attempt to insert a second rate and assign it to a specific labor code, Deltek displays an error message.