Basic Info Tab

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 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. You can also enable the defaulting of the owning organization for transaction entry, require project work force during labor transaction entry, and use the top level work force for PLC validation.

Set up all the information in this tab when you are initializing the project. You cannot 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 must change the Account Group or Owning Org, additional processing may be required. The project must be initialized on this screen before any processing can occur.

The Manage Project Account Groups, Manage Project Types, and Manage Organization 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.

Classification

Field Description
Project Classification

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

Examples of the various classifications include Direct Projects, Bid & Proposal, Independent Research & Development, Indirect Projects, Inventory Projects, Work In Process, and several types of Intercompany Projects. (For more information about Work in Process projects, see the "Work in Process" topic.)

If the project entered is not a top level, the default value of the classification from the top-level project is displayed. If the Allow Edit checkbox at the top level is selected, you can select any classification. However, if the Allow Edit checkbox is cleared, the default top-level classification cannot be modified. This is a required field.

Allow Edit

These check boxes are displayed at all levels of a project and control the ability to modify the selection of certain key information about the project. During setup of a project, information that is entered cascades down to lower levels and defaults in automatically, regardless of the value of the Allow Edit checkbox. The checkbox simply determines whether the default can be modified at the lower levels.

If you clear the Allow Edit check box at any level of a project, all lower-level Allow Edit check boxes are cleared accordingly. (This means that the ability to restrict edits of data cascades down automatically from the level at which it was originally restricted.) However, if you select a check box after having previously cleared it, the modification does not cascade down to lower levels. You must modify them one at a time.

Project Type

Select the project type. This drop-down list displays the user-supplied types of projects in terms of their cost treatment. Generally, project types include Cost Reimbursable, Fixed Price, Time & Materials, and so forth, but they could be any "type" that you desire to track. No special processing is generated based on this type. However, there are some reports, for example the Revenue Summary report, that can be sorted by type.

If you enter a project that is not a top-level project, the default value of the project type from the top-level project is displayed. If the Allow Edit checkbox at the top level is selected, you can select any project type. However, if the Allow Edit checkbox is cleared, the default top-level project type cannot be modified. This is a required field.

Export Project

Use this drop-down list to select the Costpoint products that you want to include in the export processes. You can run export processes on the Export Data to Deltek Time and Expense screen. This field must be populated only at the level of the project where labor is 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 list on the Corporate Labor Settings subtask of the Configure Labor Settings screen:

  • Expense Project: Select this option to export data for this project to Deltek Expense. Use the Export Data to Deltek Time and Expense screen to export the data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense. This option is available only if you are licensed for Deltek Expense.
  • Time Collection Project: Select this option to export data for this project to Deltek Time Collection. Use the Export Data to Deltek Time and Expense 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, use the Time & Expense Project selection for this field. 
  • Time & Expense Project: Select this option to export data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense. Use the Export Data to Deltek Time and Expense screen to export the data for this project to Deltek Time & Expense. This option is available only if you have version 6.0 or greater of Time & Expense.
  • None: Select this option if you do not wish to export data.
Billable Project

If you select this check box, the Revenue Details subtask or the Billing Details subtask can be set up for this project. It is selected by default. If you do not select this check box, any information entered on the Revenue Details or Billing Details subtasks that you try to save generates an error message stating that the project is not billable.

Attention: For more information about revenue setup, see the "Revenue Setup/Computation" topic.
Note: Selecting or clearing this check box does not automatically make a project billable or unbillable. If the criteria for billing a project have been met, this check box does not prevent the bill from being calculated; it only controls whether the revenue and billing information screens can be set up.
Apply Cost of Money Rates

Select this check box to apply Cost of Money (COM, FCCOM, Cost of Capital) rates to the project selected. You can update the COM rates on the Pool Rates subtask of the Manage Cost Pools screen. This check box applies primarily to contracts with the federal government.

Select the choice for COM rates if the project entered is a top level. If you did not enter a top-level project, the default value of the selection from the top-level project is displayed. If the Allow Edit checkbox at the top level is selected, you can make any selection. However, if the Allow Edit checkbox is empty, you cannot modify the default top-level selection. Normally, if cost of money applies to a project, select this checkbox at the top level of the project and clear the Allow Edit checkbox. In other words, the entire project is subject to cost of money. However, you must select the Cost of Money checkbox at the level at which transactions are posted in order for cost of money amounts to be correctly applied.

Cobra Project

Select this checkbox to 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, are included in the Cobra extraction process.  If you leave this checkbox blank, you cannot include this project or any of its levels in the Cobra Interfaces screens. Please see the screen documentation for the Cobra Interfaces for more information on this process.

Cobra Mapping Value

Use this field to enter a Cobra mapping value. The Cobra Interface uses these values to link Costpoint projects to Cobra projects. If you select the Project Cobra UDEF option in the Costpoint Mapping column on the Manage 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 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 Interfaces process, see the screen documentation.

Project Roles

Click this hyperlink to open the Manage Project Roles screen and view or set up role assignments for the project.

Manage Project Roles opens with the project you selected in Manage Project User Flow. In Manage Project Roles, you can choose to have the same roles applied to the project and all project levels below it by selecting the Apply to Lower Project Levels checkbox for the desired role assignments. When you create lower-level projects under this project, role assignments with this checkbox selected will automatically cascade to the newly created lower project levels. This eliminates the need for you to manually assign project roles to each lower-level project in Manage Project Roles.

If a project manager is already assigned to the project (via the Project Manager field on the Details tab of Manage Project User Flow) and has a corresponding user ID in the system, that employee/user will automatically have a PM role and will be loaded in the Roles Assigned to Users table window in Manage Project Roles. If you do not want this employee/user to have the PM role, you have to clear or replace the entry in the Project Manager field on the Details tab. You will also need to remove the project manager row for this employee from the Manage Project Roles screen.

Charging

This group box controls numerous options for customizing the charging criteria of this project.

Field Description
Active

Select this checkbox if the project is Active for charging purposes. This check box is selected by default when a project is set up, but can be modified. If this checkbox is not selected, project/account/organization combinations on the Link Projects/Accounts/Organizations screen are automatically set to Inactive. However, both the flag on individual project/account/organization combinations and this global flag are validated during transaction entry. Projects are usually inactive if 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. 

Allow Charging

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/organization combinations. If the checkbox is selected, valid charging combinations can be charged. The Allow Charging checkbox must be enabled for all levels of the projects where charging takes place. If the project level is not a transaction level or billing/revenue level, do 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 Maintain Account/Org linkages table are accepted as valid project combinations.
Account Group

Select an account group. This drop-down list displays all of the account groups that were set up on 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 attached to the project. Use the Limit Accounts checkbox to place further restrictions on which accounts within the account group can be charged.

Because the account group controls how many of the functions work in the revenue and billing computations, we recommend that you view the account groups as permanent after charging has started. Make modifications only when absolutely necessary.

Attention: For more information on Project Account Groups, please see "Project Account Groups."

If the project entered is not a top level, the default value of the Account Group from the top-level project is 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 empty, you cannot modify the default top-level account group. This is a required field.

Limit

Field Description
Accounts

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 on the Link Projects/Accounts screen. This checkbox is disabled if you selected the Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts checkbox or the Limit Accounts to P/O/A checkbox. 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.

Attention: For more information on the project/account/organization validation process, please see "Proj/Acct/Org Validations."
Organizations

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, are valid for charging on this project. You must populate the Link Projects/Organizations 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 Limit Accounts to P/O/A checkbox. If you selected the Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts checkbox, Costpoint reviews the Project/Account/Org table for valid combinations.

Attention: For more information on the project/account/organization validation process, please see "Project/Account/Organization Validations."
Which Orgs Can Charge Specific Accts

This checkbox appears on this screen only if you selected the Validate Project Charging by Organizations checkbox on the Configure Project Settings screen.

Select this checkbox to control the method of validation for your project charge points. If you select this checkbox, the validation process reviews the entire project/account/organization combination in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table. If you do not select this checkbox, the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table is not used in validation. Costpoint evaluates the other charging criteria in this group box to determine how to perform validations.

Accounts to P/O/A

This checkbox appears on this screen only when the Validate Project Charging by Organizations checkbox is cleared on the Configure Project Settings screen.

Select this checkbox if you want to validate only the project/account portion of the project/account/organization combinations. Costpoint uses the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table to perform this validation. If the project/account combination exists in the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table, the transactions are validated. If you do not select this checkbox, the PROJ_ACCT_ORG table is not evaluated during validation. Costpoint uses the other options in this group box to perform validations.

Export to Shop Floor Time

Select this checkbox to export this project to Shop Floor Time when the Export Project Manufacturing Data process is run. This checkbox is enabled only if you are licensed for Shop Floor Time.

Allow Edit

Select this checkbox to enable edits of the Export to Shop Floor Time checkbox at this project's lower-level tasks.

Export to Manufacturing Execution

Select this checkbox to export this project to Manufacturing Execution when the Export Project Manufacturing Data process is run. This checkbox is enabled only if you are licensed for Manufacturing Execution.

Allow Edit

Select this checkbox to enable edits of the Export to Manufacturing Execution checkbox at this project's lower-level tasks.

Export Project Work Force to Talent Select this checkbox to flag the project for transfer to Deltek Talent Management. A process in Talent Management will pull project details, including employee work force, from Costpoint for records that have this checkbox selected.
Allow Edit

Select this checkbox to enable edits of the Export Project Work Force to Talent checkbox at this project's lower-level tasks.

Controls

Field Description
Owning Org

Enter, or click to select, the number of the organization that "owns" the project. This is the "home" organization for the project. If you selected the Owning Organization option either in the Default Revenue Posting By group box on the Configure Project Settings screen or on the Revenue Details subtask, all revenue and profit, as well as billed and unbilled receivables, attributable to the project, belong to that organization.

If the project entered is a top level, enter the owning organization number. If the project entered is not a top level, the default value of the organization number from the top-level project is displayed. If the Allow Edit checkbox at the top level is selected, you can select any organization number. However, if the Allow Edit checkbox is cleared, you cannot modify the default top-level organization number. This is a required field.

If you modify the owning organization, the following message displays: "Changing the owning org may cause journal entries to be computed. Do you wish to continue?" Clicking Yes activates the subtask in which you can complete the modified information. 

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.
Default to Owning Organization

The default value of this checkbox is dependent on the Manage Project Types screen. If the Default to Owning Org checkbox on the Manage Project Types screen is selected for this project's type, the default for this checkbox is selected. If the Default to Owning Org checkbox is not selected, the default for this checkbox is cleared. This default selection can be modified on this screen. If this checkbox is selected, the project's owning organization is the default during transaction entry. The default organization can be modified during transaction entry.

Project Work Force Required

If you select this checkbox, employees and/or vendors who are allowed to charge the project MUST be set up in the Project Work Force screens (Manage Employee Work Force, Manage Vendor Work Force, Manage Vendor Employee Work Force). The default value for this checkbox is cleared. This "set" of employees and/or vendors are the only ones who can charge the project, and the "set" is validated on each timesheet entry.

If you do not select this checkbox, no validation of employees or vendors occurs. You can still use the project work force feature even if this checkbox is cleared, but no validation occurs. 

If you did not enter a top-level project, the default setting (selected) is displayed. You can change this setting to cleared. If you did not enter a top-level project, the default value of the Project Work Force Required checkbox from the top-level project is displayed. If you selected the Allow Edit checkbox at the top level, you can select any project work force. However, if you did not select the Allow Edit checkbox, you cannot modify the default top-level project work force setting.

Use Top Level Work Force

Select this checkbox to use the top level of this project for work force validation. This checkbox initially defaults to cleared. If this project is using the employee or the vendor work force, this option allows you to enter the authorized employees or vendors at the top level and have those selections be valid for all lower levels of the project. If you are using either work force and plan on using the same employees or vendors for all branches of the project tree, you can save setup time by selecting this checkbox and entering the employees or vendors at the top level of the project. This selection is available only for the top level of the project tree.

Apply Salary Cap

Select this checkbox to apply a salary cap at this project level. You can select this checkbox only at the top-level project. You can modify it at lower-level projects only if you selected the Allow Edit checkbox at the higher level.

Salary Cap Code

Enter, or click to select, the salary cap code for this project. You can enter a code in this field only at the top-level project if you selected the Apply Salary Cap checkbox. At lower-level projects, the salary cap code displays but is not editable if the Apply Salary Cap checkbox is selected, and is blank and disabled if the Apply Salary Cap checkbox is not selected.

The salary cap will be enforced for all employees charging against the project (including all lower-level projects) based on the salary cap code you entered. The salary cap will be enforced only against timesheets. There will be no consideration of employee labor that is entered via journal entries.

ACRN Options

You can make changes to this group box only if the Enable ACRN Billing checkbox on the Configure Billing Settings screen is selected.

Field Description
ACRN Warnings With Modifications Changes

The default value of this checkbox is dependent on the Configure Billing Settings screen. If the ACRN Warnings With Modifications Changes option on the Configure Billing Settings screen is selected, the default for this checkbox is selected; otherwise, it is cleared and disabled. Leave this checkbox selected if you want to display ACRN warning messages when there are changes to funding modification.

Allow Edit

This checkbox is enabled only if the ACRN Warnings With Modifications Changes option on the Configure Billing Settings screen is selected. Select this checkbox to allow edits of the ACRN warning option at the project's lower-level tasks.

Note: If you select the ACRN Warnings With Modifications Changes and/or Allow Edit checkboxes on the Manage Project User Flow screen, and then clear the Enable ACRN Billing or ACRN Warnings With Modifications Changes checkbox that was previously selected on the Configure Billing Settings screen, Costpoint will retain the settings on the Manage Project User Flow screen.