Active Job Cost Overview Active Job Cost Overview
This screen is accessed by pushing the View Job button in Job Cost Overview. This screen breaks down the Job Costs into individual categories.
Active Job Cost Overview allows management to track the progress of jobs in detail and analyze the costs. Accurate, current and immediate, the Job Cost Overview allows management to analyze what is really happening in every phase of every job. Cost overruns can be spotted early and controlled. The progress of every phase can be monitored to allow wise, realistic scheduling and avoid costly delays.
The usefulness of the Active Job Cost Overview is dependent upon the accuracy and timeliness of the information fed to it from all other modules of the system. Timesheets, invoices, billings, and field reports are the sources from which the Job Cost Overview is built. Job cost information can be only as accurate and current as the information that goes into it. For this reason, even though paychecks are written on a biweekly or monthly basis, timesheets should be entered and posted at least once a week. Likewise, although checks are issued to vendors only once a month, invoices should be entered and posted on a weekly basis. This will ensure the accuracy of the Job Cost Overview screen.
Job Summary allows management to track the progress of jobs in detail and analyze the costs. The Job Summary tab is selected by default when this screen comes into view. The Billed to Date, Change Orders, and Received to Date fields are part of Overview. If the cursor moves across the these two fields, it will change from an arrow to a magnifying glass. When the cursor is a magnifying glass, it is in Overview mode. Clicking the mouse in Overview mode will bring a new screen into view.
Change Orders
When this field is clicked, the Change Order screen comes into view.
Billed to Date
When this field is clicked, the Open Receivables Invoice screen comes into view.
Received to Date
When this field is clicked, the View Receipt screen comes into view.
Graphs
This tab displays graphical representations of some important figures for this job. Either of two different graphs can be displayed.
Graph Settings (radio buttons)
Select the desired graph by clicking the associated radio button.
Graph Billings vs Costs (radio button)
This graph contains a summary of the main figures for the job. These include the Current Contract, Billed to Date, Received to Date, Total Budget, Cost to Date and Projected Cost figures. If the Projected Cost is higher than the Total Budget, the Projected Cost bar will be red; otherwise, it will be green.
Graph Billing/Cost Timeline Radio button
Clicking this button will switch to a Timeline Graph like the one displayed here:
This displays the costs, billings and receipts as they have occurred over the life of the job.
Sharing Graphs With Others
Any graph can be easily shared with others by either copying it to the clipboard, saving it as an image file or immediately printing it to the default printer. Simply right-click on the graph and select the desired option. To include the graph in an email, right click and select Copy, open an email message, right click and select Paste
Field Reports are Current (check box)
If this box is checked, the system will use the figures from the last field reports. If this box is not checked, the system assumes that the last field report entries are not current and should not be used.
Print Summary Reports
Use this button to print a summary report for the job currently being viewed. The following selection window will appear:
Click 'Print Now' and the system will print a Comprehensive Job Summary report for the current job. Click 'View Limits' and the Job Cost Summary Reports screen comes into view.
Print Bonding Reports
Use this button to print a summary report for the job currently being viewed. The following selection window will appear:
Click 'Print Now' and the system will print a standard Bonding Report for the current job. Click 'View Limits' and the Financial Status / Bonding Reports screen comes into view.
Print Analysis
Use this button to print a Job Cost Analysis report for the job currently being viewed. The following selection window will appear:
Click on one of the report formats and the system will print a Job Cost Analysis Report using the selected format for the current job. Click 'Open a Limit Window for Analysis Report Printing' and the Job Cost Analysis Reports screen comes into view.
This button closes the program and returns to the previous screen.
Bonding includes Percent Complete, Profit Analysis, Billed and Received amounts, Actual and Estimated cost, and Contract information. Click on the Bonding tab and the following screen comes into view. This screen is for information only. The Billed to Date and Received to Date fields are part of Overview. If the cursor moves across either of these two fields, it will change from an arrow to the magnifying glass. When the cursor is a magnifying glass, it is in Overview mode. Clicking the mouse in Overview mode will bring a new screen into view.
Billed to Date
When this field is clicked, the Open Receivables Invoice screen comes into view.
Received to Date
When this field is clicked, the View Receipt screen comes into view.
The costs of the job are listed in this screen. Each of the budgeted cost codes for this job is listed. The columns in the list box represent Costs, Budgets, and Variance figures for each cost code. Each of the columns is totaled at the bottom of the screen.
Click on the Budget & Costs tab and the following screen comes into view. This screen is for information only.
View Costs Codes (button)
Pressing this button will cause the program to display information about the highlighted cost code. For more information, see View Cost Codes.
Below the list of cost codes is a smaller list box that will include transactions posted to the highlighted budgtet cost code.
View Source Document (button)
Click this button to view the source document for the highlighted transaction. The resulting window will be differentd depending on whether the transaction is an AP Invoice, an AR Invoice, a PR Timesheet, an Inventory Pick Ticket, an Equipment Usage Log, etc.
View GL Transaction (button)
Click this button to view all the details of the highlighted transaction.
G/L Summary (button)
Click this button to view the transaction in context, showing all the transactions in its posting journal. See G/L Summary.
This screen provides a valuable look at the financial status of the selected job. This includes information about Profitability, Cost vs. Billed, Cash Position, and Earned vs. Billed. Click on the Financial tab and the following screen comes into view.
Latest Cost Estimate (group)
The Estimated Gross Profit figure is calculated by subtracting the Latest Cost Estimate from the Revised Contract. Although the system will calculate a Latest Cost Estimate amount, this figure may not be reliable if quantities are not being tracked or Field Reports are not being regularly updated. For this reason, the software gives the user the option of supplying a different amount for the Latest Cost Estimate. In this portion of the window, three figures are displayed.
Calculated by System (dollar figure and radio button)
This is the Latest Cost Estimate that is calculated by the system at run time. It is the total of the Projected Cost figures for each of the budgeted Cost Codes on the job. Each cost code's Projected Cost is calculated using a sophisticated algorithm. It is dependent on the budget amount, the budgeted quantity, the cost to date, the units used to date, and the entered Field Report value. To see the profit figures above calculated using the Latest Cost Estimate calculated by the system, select this option.
User Supplied in Job Parameters (dollar figure and radio button)
This is the Latest Cost Estimate that has been entered by the user either here in this window, or in the Bonding Report Settings section. To see the profit figures above calculated using the Latest Cost Estimate entered here, select this option.
Temporary for What-If Scenarios (dollar figure and radio button)
This is a temporary field that will not be saved by the system. To see the profit figures above calculated using the Latest Cost Estimate entered here, enter a figure and press Enter or Tab. The profit figures will be recalculated to show what they would be based on your entered Temporary Latest Cost Estimate.
Move this figure to “User Supplied” (button)
Click this button to move the figure entered in the Temporary field to the User Supplied field directly above it. This is a convenience feature so the figure can be entered in this window without having to go to the Bonding Report Settings section.
Press the Breakdown tab and the following screen comes into view. This screen is for information only. Changes may not be made from this screen. The Breakdown tab lists the cost, budget and percent of variance for the six individual cost categories (Labor, Materials, Subcontracts, Equipment, General and Burden), and shows the total overall cost.
Graphs on the Breakdown Tab
This tab displays a graphical representation of the budgets, costs and projections for this job.
Sharing Graphs With Others
Any graph can be easily shared with others by either copying it to the clipboard, saving it as an image file or immediately printing it to the default printer. Simply right-click on the graph and select the desired option. To include the graph in an email, right click and select Copy, open an email message, right click and select Paste.
Viewing Dollar Amounts
To see the dollar amounts represented by the displayed bars, simply hover the cursor over one of the bars. A tip like this one will be displayed:
The dollar values of the displayed bars are shown.
Graph Legend & Settings
As shown on the graph legend, Cost figures are represented by a gold bar, Budgets by a blue bar, and Projections by a green or red bar, depending on whether the code or cost type is projected to go over budget. Red bars indicate a projection that is greater than the budget amount.
Summarized by Cost Type (radio button)
This graph has only six entries, Labor, Material, Subcontract, Equipment, General and Burden. Costs, Budgets and Projections are listed for each.
Detailed by Cost Code (radio button)
The graph displays a maximum of 10 cost codes at a time, looking something like this:
To scroll down to see more cost codes, click the down arrow to move down one code or the double down arrow to move down one page.
Viewing Cost Code Details
From the Costs by Cost Code tab, the user can drill down to view cost code detail by highlighting the desired cost code and clicking the View Cost Code button at the bottom of the tab. From the Breakdown tab, the detail for a desired cost code can be displayed by simply clicking on the displayed bars for the desired job.
Flatten Graph (Set Budgets at 100%) (checkbox)
Some cost codes may have a much larger budget than others. If this is the case, the bars on the graph might be less meaningful. For example, if one cost code has a budget of $185,000, and another has a budget of $1,550, the bars for the larger cost code will appear as normal, but the bars for the smaller cost code will be so small as to be practically meaningless. To see a more realistic comparison of these cost codes check this box. The blue Current Budget bar will now be set at a constant 100%, with the green/red Projected Cost bar representing the Projected Cost as a percentage of the budget and the gold Costs to Date bar representing the Costs as a percentage of the budget.
If the box is checked, the graphs will be changed to look something like this:
The Subcontractor, Cost Code, Current Contract and Cost to Date are listed. Press the Subcontracts tab and the following screen comes into view.
View Subcontract (button)
see View Subcontract
ON-Screen Subcontract Review (button)
see On-Screen Subcontract Review
All open Account Payable Invoices are listed in Vendor numerical order. Press the A/P tab and the following screen comes into view.
View Invoice (button)
All open Purchase Orders are listed in Vendor numerical order. Press the P/O tab and the following screen comes into view.
View Purchase Order (button)
This tab shows a list of all Accounts Receivable Invoices and Receipts applied to this job. Press the AR Billings tab and the following screen comes into view.
Use the tabs below the list box to view All Invoices, Open Invoices or Receipts.
View Invoice (button)
Costs are listed by Cost Code, as on the Budget & Costs tab; however, the costs are sorted and subtotaled first by Base costs versus Change Orders, then by Billing Phase. Also, a list box at the bottom of the window shows cost detail for the highlighted cost code..
View More Detail (button)
Pressing this button (or double-clicking on a cost code line item) will cause the program to display information about the highlighted cost code. For more information, see View Cost Codes.
All notes associated with this Job are listed here.
Add or Changing a Note
All Attachments associated with this Job are listed here.
Adding or Changing an Attachment
See Adding or Changing an Attachment
Press the Change Order figure and the following screen comes into view.
View Change Order (button)
see View Change Order
When the View Change Order button is pressed, the following screen comes into view.
When the View Cost Code button is pressed, the following screen comes into view. This screen displays information about the highlighted cost code.
View Source Document (button)
Click this button to view the source document for the highlighted transaction. The resulting window will be differentd depending on whether the transaction is an AP Invoice, an AR Invoice, a PR Timesheet, an Inventory Pick Ticket, an Equipment Usage Log, etc.
View Transaction (button)
Click this button to view all the details of the highlighted transaction.
G/L Summary (button)
Click this button to view the transaction in context, showing all the transactions in its posting journal. See G/L Summary.
Press the View Purchase Order button and the following screen comes into view. This screen displays information about the highlighted purchase order.
When the Received to Date button under the fields in the Job Summary and Bonding tabs are clicked, the following screen comes into view. This screen displays information about the receipts for this job and customer.
When the View Subcontract button is pressed, the following screen comes into view. This screen displays information about the subcontract.
View Invoice (button)
This screen displays information about the highlighted invoice. For more information, see Accounts Payable Overview.
Click this button to see more information about the selected subcontract. The following information will appear:
This information is all entered on the Budget tab of the Job Setup window.