When you plan your work breakdown structure, you can specify that WBS level numbers include delimiters. A delimiter is any special character (usually a period) used as a separator.
Contract numbers can have a maximum of two delimiters. Phase and task numbers can have one delimiter.
Firms often use a delimiter to separate a
contract number into a base number and a sub-number. They use the sub-number for additional work orders, representing costs beyond the scope of basic services.
A firm may, for example, have a base
contract 97014.00, with sub-contracts 97014.01 and 97014.02. When you use sub-numbers, you have the option of printing a separate invoice for each sub-contract.
Valid delimiters are:
- . (period)
- : (colon)
- - (dash)
Reasons to Use Delimiters
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How to Use Delimiters
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Distinguish one piece of work from another
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Firms often use a delimiter to separate a contract number into a main number and a subnumber. For example, they use the subnumber for additional work orders.
A company may, for example, have a contract 97014.00, with sub-contracts 97014.01 and 97014.02.
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Track work on one phase of a contract completed by different teams
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Different roles within your firm often require different contract data.
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Break a contract into more than three levels of detail
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For very large contracts, you may want to use delimiters to specify two more levels of breakdown.
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Quickly and easily group similar contracts by contract number on reports
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If you create a contract with several sub-contracts using delimiters, you can specify the base contract number and run a report that will include all the sub-contracts.
For example, if you have a contract 90012, and two sub-contracts 90012.001, and 90012.002, you can run a report that includes all contract with the base number 90012.
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