Deltek Vantagepoint Help

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Field Lists

You can use the Lists form to specify the valid values for selected fields. Those values are then displayed in drop-down selection lists for entering data in those fields.

Example: Values for the Project Type Field

When you implement Vantagepoint, you can use the Lists form to specify the valid values for the Project Type field. To do that, click at the end of the grid row for Project Type to display the default values that Deltek provides. Then, delete any of those values that do not apply to your company, and click + Add Entry to add any types of projects that were not included in the default list of values.

The values that you define for Project Type then become the only values that can be selected in the Project Type field in the Projects hub when someone adds a new project.

Import List Values

In addition to entering list values on the Lists form, you can also import values for many of the lists using the Lists import option on the Imports form in Utilities > Imports & Exports > Imports or by using an API.

Value Codes

Some field lists require a unique code for each value. In most cases, you can either enter a code yourself, or you can leave Code blank to have Vantagepoint generate a code for you. For some lists, however, either because they are defined by the government or otherwise need to be meaningful, you must enter the codes. The Country list and the NAICS list are two examples of this.

If you import records, such as employee records, into Vantagepoint from a .CSV file or using an API, those imported records use the codes to identify related list values. For example, when you import employee skills, the import file contains the code for each employee skill, not the skill description itself.

Values Order in Drop-Down Lists

When a user displays the drop-down list to select a value, the list displays the available values in the order in which they appear in the Settings dialog box that you use to define the list. To change the order of the values for a list in its Settings dialog box, hover over a value that you want to move, and click and drag to move the value to its new location.

Fields Not Restricted to the List

The following fields provide drop-down lists of values, but they also allow users to enter a value that is not on the drop-down list for the field:
  • Activity Subject
  • Contact Title
  • Employee Title

Fields that are not restricted to the options on the drop-down list behave differently from other fields in a couple of other ways also:

  • If you delete one of the values from the list of standard values for the field on the Lists form, those deleted values remain in any records for which they were previously selected. For fields that restrict entries to values on the drop-down lists, deleting a value removes that value from all records for which it was previously selected.
  • If you change a value in the list of standard values on the Labels and Lists settings (correct a typing error, for example), that change does not affect any records for which that value was previously selected. For fields that restrict entries to values on the drop-down lists, changing a value on the Lists form also changes that value in all records for which it was previously selected.

When a user enters a value that is not in the drop-down list, that entry only applies to that one instance. It is not added to the standard list of values for that field. The only ways to add a new value to a field list is to add it in the grid on the Lists form or to import new values from a .CSV file or using the API.

Deleting Values

To delete a value from field list, display the list in the Settings dialog box, hover over the value in the grid, and click X.

In most cases, if the value you want to delete was previously selected as part of one or more records (a stage to which projects are currently assigned, for example), a warning message displays. If you continue and delete the value, it is removed from all records for which it was selected. The exceptions are values for fields that allow users to type in values that are not included in the drop-down list. For those fields, the value selected for records remains in those records after you delete the value from the list.

Some lists have one or more default values that cannot be deleted because Vantagepoint requires them for internal processing.

If You Use Multiple Languages

If using multiple languages, users can select their preferred language when they log in to Vantagepoint. You must specify new or changed list values separately for each available language.

For example, if you are using both German and U. S. English, log in with German, add the new list value in German, log out and back in with English, and enter the new list value in English. Users who log in with German will see the German version of the list value, while those who log in with English will see the English version. If you add a new list value in one language but do not enter the corresponding value for another enabled language, users who log in with that second language will see Text Not Translated as the value when they display the list.

You can use the Translation Analysis Report in Utilities > Analysis > Translation Analysis as a reference to display the current translation values of system labels and lists for each language of Vantagepoint that is available to you.

For more information, go to Translation Analysis.

Labor Categories List: Code and Category Fields

When you add a new value to the list of labor categories, you must enter a code, a category number, or both, along with the value. A code can contain letters or numbers, while a category number must be numeric. The code must be unique among labor category codes, and the category number must be unique among category numbers.

If you enter a code but do not enter a category number, Vantagepoint automatically assigns a valid category number when you save. If you enter a category number but do not enter a code, Vantagepoint automatically assigns the category number as the code.

If you import labor categories, you must map a value to the Code field, and you do not have the option to map a value to the Category field. Vantagepoint automatically assigns the next available category number.

After you save a labor category, you cannot change either the code or the category number. If you need to change either of those for a previously saved labor category, delete it and add it again with the correct code and category number. Note, however, that once a labor category has been used elsewhere in Vantagepoint, you cannot delete it.

Project Milestones List

Vantagepoint provides a predefined list of system milestones. Milestones are key dates both for the project pursuit process and for the life of the project after you win the contract. Milestones can be assigned at the project level and to individual work breakdown structure (WBS) elements at any lower WBS levels.

If the CRM module or the CRM Plus module is activated, you can add other milestones to this list. If neither of those modules is activated, you can change the descriptions for the system milestones in the Project Milestone Settings dialog box but you cannot create additional milestones. System milestones cannot be deleted from the list.

The system milestones are listed below using their default descriptions. Note, however, that the default list of system milestones and their default descriptions may differ based on your primary industry.
  • Estimated Start: Expected start date for the WBS element.
  • Estimated Completion: Expected completion date for the WBS element.

    When you create a new project without copying another plan, Vantagepoint creates an empty plan for that project using default settings. Generally, the date in this field for each WBS element is used as the default plan end date for that WBS element. However, a later default plan end date may be used if that is necessary to include the full plan date ranges for all WBS elements at lower WBS levels.

  • Bid Submitted: Date on which you submitted your bid for the WBS element.
  • Contract Awarded: Date on which you were awarded the contract for the WBS element.
  • Actual Start: Date on which you started work on the WBS element or the date on which you intend to start work.

    When you create a new project without copying another plan, Vantagepoint creates an empty plan for that project using default settings. Generally, the date in this field for each WBS element is used as the default plan start date for that WBS element. However, an earlier default plan start date may be used if that is necessary to include the full plan date ranges for all WBS elements at lower WBS levels.

  • Professional Services Completion: Date on which your company completed all professional services work on the WBS element or expects to complete all such work. This includes any professional services you provide after you have completed construction-related activities on the WBS element. This date might be after the construction completion date.
  • Construction Completion: Date on which your company completed all construction-related activities on the WBS element or expects to complete all such work.
  • Actual Completion: Date on which your company actually completes all work on the WBS element or expects to complete all work.

In the Deltek Vision family of products and in Deltek for Professional Services 1.x, this list does not exist; milestones are treated as a type of activity and are included in the Activity Subject list.

If you upgrade to Vantagepoint 2.0 or a later version from one of the Deltek Vision family of products or from Deltek for Professional Services 1.x, the upgrade process updates this list to include milestones associated with opportunities in those products, and it also associates those milestones with the projects into which those opportunities were either merged or converted.

Project Stages List

If the CRM or CRM Plus module is activated, you can define a set of stages that you use to mark the progress of a potential project through your business opportunity pipeline. Only regular projects have stages; overhead and promotional projects do not. Vantagepoint provides a default set of stages based on your primary industry, but you can add other stages to the list, change the default stage descriptions, and remove default stages you do not want to use. (If you do not have the CRM or CRM Plus module but the Resource Planning module is activated, you can assign projects to one these three stages: In Pursuit, Won, or Lost. These provide a way to filter your project plans based on stage. In this case, however, there is no list of project stages in the Lists form, and you cannot change those stages or add other stages.)

As you define the stages you want to use, you assign each stage to one of the following "steps":
  • Do Not Pursue
  • In Pursuit
  • Lost
  • Won

You could define multiple stages for each of these steps. The default stages provide some examples of this.

Vantagepoint uses the steps in the following ways:
  • Project stages are used to determine which projects should be included in the calculation of employee scheduled and utilization hours and percentages.
  • If a project is assigned to a stage with an In Pursuit step, you can create a linked promotional project for tracking the costs associated with pursuing that contract. That option is not available for projects assigned to stages with one of the other three steps.
  • If a project is assigned to a stage with an In Pursuit step, the project is available in the Project list to use as the basis for a proposal in Custom Proposals. Only In Pursuit projects are available in the list.
  • If a project is assigned to a stage with either the Do Not Pursue step or the Lost step, the status of that project is changed to Inactive. It is assumed that you are no longer pursuing the project and that did not win the contract, so no additional work will be charged to it.
  • If you change the stage for a project from one with the In Pursuit step to one with the Won, Lost, or Do Not Pursue step, additional fields are made available for entering information about that change (a won or lost date, for example).
  • If you change the stage for a project to one with the Won step and your security role is for Accounting users, the Approved for Use in Processing check box on the Accounting tab is selected automatically to indicate that accounting transactions can now be entered for the project.

If you upgrade to Vantagepoint 2.0 or later from Vision, Ajera, GovWin Capture Management, or Deltek for Professional Service, the upgrade process attempts to assign your existing stages to the appropriate steps. However, you should review the stages after the upgrade to verify that they are assigned to the correct steps.

Country List

This list enables users to select countries when they are entering addresses for employees, contacts, projects, and so on. To make the list easier to use, delete countries from it that you do not anticipate using.

This list also enables you to do the following:
  • Use the Display State/Province field for each country to indicate if you want to include a state or province when you print formatted addresses for that country on invoices, checks, remittance advices, statements, and similar documents. If you want to include the state/province, you can also elect to use either its abbreviation or its name. If instead you select the <Do Not Display> option, you can still specify a state/province when you enter addresses for the country, but it will be omitted from the formatted addresses on documents.
  • Use the Address Format field for each country to select an address format for it: Format 1 (typical U. S. format), Format 2 (United Kingdom), or Format 3 (European).