Deltek Vantagepoint Help

Using the Help Search

Comparing Uses for Work Breakdown Structure Components

Before you decide which work breakdown structure components to use, make sure that you understand the differences between these components.

Naming Conventions

The information on this page uses the Vantagepoint default names for work breakdown structure and other elements, including "project," "phase," "task," "organization," "labor code," and "employee."

However, you can change these names to meet your business requirements. For example, you might make changes such as these:

Level	Default Label	Alternate Ex. 1	Alternate Ex. 2
One	Project	Client	Matter
Two	Phase	Engagement	Task
Three	Task	Event	Deliverable

Once you make naming changes, these changes flow through the Vantagepoint user interface and the online help.

Comparison of Components

WBS Component	Used for Billing	Used for Cost and Expense Reporting	Used for Labor Budgeting	Set Firmwide
Project numbers	Yes	Yes	Yes	No Set at the project level
Project delimiters	Yes Project delimiters let you break project work into sub-projects, similar to phases or tasks. The key difference is that you can bill work on an individual sub-project, but you cannot bill work on an individual phase or task.	Yes	Yes	No
Phases and tasks	No You cannot bill phases or tasks individually, but you can show them separately on the project invoice.	Yes	Yes	No Set at the project level
Phase or task delimiters	No You cannot bill sub-phases or sub-tasks, but you can show them separately on the project invoice.	Yes	Yes	No
Labor codes	Yes Labor codes are typically used only for internal budgeting or planning purposes. However, some enterprises choose to base labor billing amounts on labor codes. If you bill labor based on activity rather than based on employee or employee level, you may want to use labor codes.	No	Yes Labor codes are often used for budgeting. You cannot track expenses or costs, or attribute work to a particular project manager using labor codes.	Yes Labor codes are set on an enterprise-wide basis. You select from the same set of labor codes for each project.

JavaScript must be enabled in order to use this site.Please enable JavaScript in your browser and refresh the page.

Comparing Uses for Work Breakdown Structure Components

Before you decide which work breakdown structure components to use, make sure that you understand the differences between these components.

Naming Conventions

The information on this page uses the Vantagepoint default names for work breakdown structure and other elements, including "project," "phase," "task," "organization," "labor code," and "employee."

However, you can change these names to meet your business requirements. For example, you might make changes such as these:

Level	Default Label	Alternate Ex. 1	Alternate Ex. 2
One	Project	Client	Matter
Two	Phase	Engagement	Task
Three	Task	Event	Deliverable

Once you make naming changes, these changes flow through the Vantagepoint user interface and the online help.

Comparison of Components

WBS Component	Used for Billing	Used for Cost and Expense Reporting	Used for Labor Budgeting	Set Firmwide
Project numbers	Yes	Yes	Yes	No Set at the project level
Project delimiters	Yes Project delimiters let you break project work into sub-projects, similar to phases or tasks. The key difference is that you can bill work on an individual sub-project, but you cannot bill work on an individual phase or task.	Yes	Yes	No
Phases and tasks	No You cannot bill phases or tasks individually, but you can show them separately on the project invoice.	Yes	Yes	No Set at the project level
Phase or task delimiters	No You cannot bill sub-phases or sub-tasks, but you can show them separately on the project invoice.	Yes	Yes	No
Labor codes	Yes Labor codes are typically used only for internal budgeting or planning purposes. However, some enterprises choose to base labor billing amounts on labor codes. If you bill labor based on activity rather than based on employee or employee level, you may want to use labor codes.	No	Yes Labor codes are often used for budgeting. You cannot track expenses or costs, or attribute work to a particular project manager using labor codes.	Yes Labor codes are set on an enterprise-wide basis. You select from the same set of labor codes for each project.