Project costs by Category within a custom date range

[rjaley]

In Reports >>> Projects >> Project job costs, check the more details box: We would like to see the option to get Project Job Cost broken down by category for a SINGLE project with in a custom date range.
The reason we want this information is so we can then export it into our Excel based AIA Continuation Sheet/Application For Payment form.

I think if the Job cost reports under the Menu: Costs>> Job Costs had a custom date range then we could get the info from there because it is already broken down into categories, but it now only reads as cumulative Job Costs.

Or is there now some other way to get this info out of GS now? Thanks.-Jud

[Casey McD]

Have you looked at the project billing for Progress Payments? That matches pretty closely with the AIA format. It also keeps track of previous billing, and gives you a printed business form.

Reports--Projects--Project Job Costs is just a summary of all projects, so it really isn't the right report for seeing costs for one project.

If you want to use a job costing report as a guideline for figuring progress payments, use Reports--Projects--Itemized Costs. That WILL show you costs for one project, within a date range. It lists all the expenses individually, but if you turn on the More Details checkbox and then turn on the Condensed checkbox, it will just show totals for each category.

HINT-- to switch back and forth between the condensed view and the regular view, change the Condensed checkbox and then hit Update.

[rjaley]

KC-
We looked at the progress billing, but all of our jobs are T&M. How can we use the progress billing to bill for T&M jobs?

What we would like to be able to do is go to:

Reports>>Projects>>Itemized costs

Category Breakdown with a custom date range


Now the above report shows the "Pay amount & Job cost amount" but no "T&M amount"

We need the T&M billing amount with out any markup since in our Excel based AIA application we show the markup as a line item at the bottom.

We looked in custom layouts, but did not find the anything that reflected the T&M billing amount.

Is there?

If not can you add this in the next release?

Or can we get this info somewhere else in GS?

Thank you.

[Casey McD]

I am confused by your billing.

If it's Time & Materials, then you bill for actual costs plus a percentage or flat fee, and the progress billing format won't make sense. Progress billing is based on % of completion and has nothing to do with costs to date. It uses value of work completed to date, which is an entirely different thing.

I think it needs to be one or the other!

If you just want to give T&M clients a progress report and prediction of final project costs, then you can do the following:

1. Choose Job Costs from the Costs menu.
2. Enter Progress by Category into the 'items shown on double-click' field at the bottom.
3. Double-click on the project.
4. Enter an estimate of work completed to date.

You can also do progress by location or line item, but category progress is by far the most common method used by architects, banks etc.

[rjaley]

KC-
Lets just stick with T&M Billing since that is all we do. No progress billing.

Again what we want to do is be able to go to:

Reports>>Projects>>Itemized costs

Category Breakdown with a custom date range.

When we do this now the above report shows the "Pay amount & Job cost amount" but no "T&M amount"

We need the T&M billing amount with out any markup since in our Excel based AIA application we show the markup as a line item at the bottom.

We have looked in custom layouts, but did not find that we could add a column that reflected the T&M billing amount?

Is there?

Can it be added in the next release?

[Casey McD]

I think you should use a Printed Form, based on the T&M Billing Record, rather than a report.

The reason? The bill has the actual expenses you are billing for, while a separate report could easily end up with different items. That means you might accidentally skip some items, or bill twice.

Look at the optional columns that you can add to the table in Printed Forms. I think you could adapt that to fit the AIA form. I'd suggest duplicating the existing T&M billing form, since you might want to use the original for non-AIA billing.

[rjaley]

Ok, Billing records seems as if it might be a possibility, but we would need a column that shows the “T&M Amount” by category. There does not seem to be any thing like that now. When I say “T&M amount” I mean the amount that you find in a “Labor Hours Record” or “Sub Contractor Costs” in the “more Info” area. In a “Material Purchase” it is again in the “More Info” area but listed as “Job cost” We need to combine those costs by category.

I also looked at “Billing Statements” what is the difference between that and Billing records?

[Casey McD]

We just added an Itemized T&M report (http://www.turtlesoft.com/Business-Software-Versions/Update38/Itemized-Time-And-Materials.htm)-- it will be available in the 3.8 update in November. It shows the T&M items for one Billing Record in a report, broken down by category.

I think that will give you want you are looking for.

Click the link above for details.

[rjaley]

Will it pull the category costs in from the Breakdown Tables in a labor hours/material/subcontractor purchase etc... and therefore the job costs.....or will it derive its category breakdowns from the category that is in the "More info" Box. For us, our T&M bills are equal to our job costs, but with a markup so it would only be useful for AIA continuation sheet/Budget vs. Actual if the info comes from the breakdown tables or Job costs.

[ArtG]

We just added an Itemized T&M report (http://www.turtlesoft.com/Business-Software-Versions/Update38/Itemized-Time-And-Materials.htm)-- it will be available in the 3.8 update in November. It shows the T&M items for one Billing Record in a report, broken down by category.

I think that will give you want you are looking for.

Click the link above for details.

This looks helpfull for my T&M billing and providing a Report to the client of actual costs, if i understand it correctly. Look forward to it's release with 3.8

Now if we could deal with the fixed Overhead & Profit in a T&M project.... (-:

Arthur

[rjaley]

Art/KC-
IMO this will only be useful if the report combines your T&M labor billing rate, your actual material costs from a breakdown table ( in the case of T&M that would also equal your job cost for material) and the actual amount that you pay a sub (Again in the case of T&M that would also equal your job costs for subs)

I have already been able to create a T&M report by Category in custom layouts. The problem we have with it is it does not take the material costs from a break down table, but from the drop down menu in "More Info" box which we don't always use, then we end up with allot of material being "Un-allocated"

If we make a point of always using the drop down menu in "More Info" box it is fine if all of the material on the receipt is for one Cost Category, but if you have a mixed receipt that has masonry, framing, roofing and siding material all mixed together, applying a single category in drop down menu in "More Info" box of say "Framing" puts all of the material from the mixed receipt in "Framing" for the report.

What we need is a T&M JOB COST report by category with out the markup since in an AIA T&M continuation sheet the markup is applied as a line item at the bottom.

[ArtG]

OK, I understand better what you're needing and I agree. Many of my Receipts are mixed and the "More Info" box is a one size fits all. I too need info taken from the Breakdown Table.

So that's where all those "Unallocated" costs are coming from.

Not to complicate matters more, some of my receipts are for more than one project. I've been entering multiple receipts in order to separate project costs. I think I read somewhere that they may address the multiple project issue at some time in the future.

One can request, hope and wait.

Arthur

[Casey McD]

Now if we could deal with the fixed Overhead & Profit in a T&M project.... (-:

How else do you do it?

We let you use different markups for Labor/Equipment/Materials/Subs/Other, but if people are doing it some other way, we'd be interested in hearing.

[Casey McD]

What we need is a T&M JOB COST report by category with out the markup since in an AIA T&M continuation sheet the markup is applied as a line item at the bottom.

The report will use the T&M amount, since that's what you are billing. You'll be able to customize what shows for each line item, so I think you can accomplish the above. Just remove the markup and 'pay now' columns.

[Casey McD]

I have already been able to create a T&M report by Category in custom layouts. The problem we have with it is it does not take the material costs from a break down table, but from the drop down menu in "More Info" box which we don't always use, then we end up with allot of material being "Un-allocated"

This is a design flaw in breakdowns, if you will. Not even specific to Goldenseal, just a generic problem when you have a big thing, with smaller breakdowns.

In the job costing we write code that can 'dive down' and get categories from the breakdown line items, but it's complicated, and there's always a danger that it won't be exactly right.

For example, with a material purchase that has sales tax, there will be penny rounding errors, and the sum of all the categories will not be exactly the same as the total purchase cost. It might be a few cents off, which is no big deal for job costing, but your T&M customers may notice that things don't "add up right", and get nervous.

We try to make job costing ACCURATE, but that means that sometimes it's not precise (to the exact penny). We try to make accounting and billing PRECISE (to the penny), but that means they are not always perfectly accurate!

We can write code to balance the pennies (we do it in payroll in a few places), but it's complicated and prone to adding new bugs.

[rjaley]

The report will use the T&M amount, since that's what you are billing. You'll be able to customize what shows for each line item, so I think you can accomplish the above. Just remove the markup and 'pay now' columns.

Just so I'm clear, does that mean the category costs will come from the breakdown tables and not the "More Info Box" ?

[Casey McD]

NO! The report will get its category from the Category field in each invoice, and won't split things up by the breakdowns.

[rjaley]

NO! The report will get its category from the Category field in each invoice, and won't split things up by the breakdowns.


If that is the case it seems like it could get very confusing.

You go to look at “Job Costs” in the Cost menu and the report you get there is categorizing its numbers from the breakdown tables/job costs, correct?

Then if you pull up this new report for the same job it is categorizing its numbers from the “More Info” box.

It seems like you would end up with the same bottom line number in both reports by very different costs by category.