All non-labor related costs (purchases, travel expenses, rentals, etc.) can be tracked using "Costs" documents.
Entering costs and their planned values in advance gives a better overview of the anticipated and fixed budget.
Create a cost
To create a new cost:
- Select "Cost" from the Create menu in the Project Description.
- Or, select "Cost" from [Create] menu in the content window.
Add a cost header
Cost | The Cost title. Mandatory. Used to describe the cost. |
Project | The project the Cost belongs to. The label links to the corresponding "Project description" document directly. |
Phase | The project phase the Cost is associated with. |
Project leader | The project’s main project leader (as opposed to the project leader substitute) |
Deadline | Visual indicators if there is an associated workflow:
Red = Deadline passed
Orange = Deadline will not be met according to remaining workload
Green = On track
|
Version | Version number |
Modified on | Date and time of last modification. By clicking on the date you can access the history modifications. |
Last Comment | Displays the last comments made. Reply directly to a comment by clicking "Reply" and create a new discussion by clicking on "New discussion". See "Collaborate with Project Live!" for more information. |
Define the cost details
General |
Type | The type of cost. Single selection field. Mandatory. The list of choices comes from the cost types defined in the Keywords & Labels setup document. Not editable if the cost was created from the [Timesheets] module. |
Order No | The purchase order number. Free text. Mandatory only if the "Cost" document is a Purchase order. |
Requester | By default, the author of the "Cost" document. Single selection field. Mandatory. Can be selected from the participants of the project. Not editable if the cost was created from an expense sheet. |
Cost center | The cost center the cost is linked to. By default, the cost center the author belongs to. Single selection field. The list of choices comes from the cost centers defined in the General setup document of the [Resources] module. Not editable if the cost was created from the [Timesheets] module. |
Plan | Only active if the document is a deliverable converted into a cost. If the deliverable was created from a plan, the title of the plan is displayed, and the field is a link to the corresponding Plan document. Otherwise, it displays the label "Upload into", and the value for the field is "- Select a plan -", which is a shortcut allowing for the selection of the "Plan" document the cost should be uploaded into (as a deliverable). The cost will be uploaded the next time the plan is saved. In the meantime, the label "Upload into" becomes a shortcut which can be used to cancel the upload. |
Capital | "Yes" or "No". To indicate if the cost is to be considered as capital or not. This field has no impact in the application. |
Billing mode | The billing mode that applies to the cost. Single selection field. Possible values are:
- Not billable: Nothing is billed.
- Fixed price: The billing price is fixed in advance. It will be recorded through the "Billable amount" field.
- Actual amount: The billable amount will be equal to the actual amount of the cost.
Not editable if the cost was created from the [Timesheets] module.
|
Billing state | Not visible if "Billing mode" is set to "Not billable". To indicate if the cost is already billed or not. Single selection field. Possible values are:
- Billed
- Not billed
- Partly billed
|
Details | Other currency | Clicking on this link displays all amounts in each currency defined in the field "Other currencies" of the General setup document. |
Planned amount | The amount planned for the cost. Not editable if the cost was created from an expense sheet |
Currency | The currency of the cost. Single selection field. The list of choices comes from the field "Other currencies" defined in the "General" setup document. By default the project currency. Not editable if the cost was created from the [Timesheets] module. If the choice is different from the [Projects] modules reference currency, the system automatically calculates and displays the planned amount in the reference currency. Not editable if the cost was created from the [Timesheets] module. |
Planned date | The date the amount is planned to be paid. |
Actual amount | The actual amount of the cost. |
Actual date | The date the actual amount is confirmed. |
Billable Amount | The forecasted amount to bill. Not visible if "Billing mode" is set to "Not billable". Not editable if "Billing mode" is set to "Actual amount" or if the cost was created from an expense sheet. |
Billable date | The date the amount is expected to be billed on. Not visible if "Billing mode" is set to "Not billable". |
Billed amount | Actual billable amount. Not visible if "Billing mode" is set to "Not billable" or if "Billing state" is "Not billed". Not editable if "Billing mode" is set to "Actual amount" or if the cost was created from an expense sheet. |
Currency | The currency in which the amount was billed. Single selection field. Not visible if "Billing mode" is set to "Not billable" or if "Billing state" is "Not billed". The list of choices comes from the field "Other currencies" defined in the "General" setup document. Not editable if "Billing mode" is set to "Actual amount" or if the cost was created from an expense sheet. If the choice is different from the [Projects] module reference currency, the system automatically calculates and displays the actual billed amount in the reference currency. Not editable if "Billing mode" is set to "Actual amount" or if the cost was created from an expense sheet. |
Billing date | Effective billing date. Not visible if "Billing mode" is set to "Not billable" or if 'Billing state' is "Not billed". Mandatory. |
The [Content] tab. Add cost details.
This is where you can add additional information about the cost.
The [Attachment] tab. Attach files to a cost.
This section allows for the attachment of external files. Refer to "Manage file attachments" in the document management section for more details.
Users can attach files to the cost form to store any additional information pertaining to it. It is however recommended to store each significant file attachment as a single document in Cerri Project. This will allow users to distribute, publish, or manage access rights for any attached file independently.
The [Linked documents] tab. Link documents to a cost.
This tab contains all of the links the cost has to other documents that are part of the project. Cerri Project offers the ability to save links between related project documents. For more information on this topic see the chapter "Linking documents".
Deleting a cost
There are three possible ways to delete a cost:
- From the Cerri Planner if the cost was converted into a deliverable within the Gantt.
- From the Cost form by clicking "Delete" on the menu action bar.
- From a view by selecting the cost(s) to be deleted then clicking the "Delete" icon from the view menu.
[Project Live!] tab. Collaborate on a cost.
The [Project Live!] tab provides a complete history of collaboration, modifications, approvals and revisions of the Cost. Please refer to the chapter "Collaborating with Project Live!" for more information.