Contents of the Manage Burden Cost Ceilings Screen

Use these fields and options to configure the Manage Burden Cost Ceilings screen.

Burden Cost Ceilings

Field Description
Project

Enter, or click to select, a project to which the ceiling or override rate is applicable.

Fiscal Year

Enter, or click   to select, the fiscal year to which the ceiling or override rate is applicable.

The fiscal year can be either Open or Closed, as defined on the Manage Fiscal Years screen.

Burden Cost Ceiling Details

Field Description
Account

Enter, or click to select, an account number for which you want to enter a ceiling or override. This column can display any of the account numbers at any level (including summary levels) contained in the Account Group for the project, exclusive of the accounts that have a function code of Revenue, Billed, or Unbilled-General.

If you do not select an account as part of the pool base on the Manage Cost Pools screen, Costpoint displays the following warning: "This account is not in the base of the pool specified."

Burden cost ceilings can be imposed on an account at any level, including the summary level.

Account Name

This non-editable field displays the name of the account selected. Account names are defined on the Manage Accounts screen.

Pool

Enter, or click to select, the pool number to which the ceiling or override rate is applicable. All pool numbers entered must have already been set up on the Manage Cost Pools screen for the appropriate fiscal year, with the allocation group number equal to one. 

If you did not set up the allocation group number and fiscal year/pool number, Costpoint displays the following warning: "The combination of Allocation Group No., Fiscal Year, and Pool Number must exist on the Manage Cost Pools screen."

This is a required field.

Pool Name

This non-editable field displays the name of the pool selected. You can define pool names on the Manage Cost Pools screen.

Rate Ceiling

Enter the ceiling or override value. Ceilings can be positive or zero. If the cost pool is hours-based, the rate displays as a currency amount followed by Amt/Hr in the Rate Format field. If the cost pool is cost-based, the rate displays as a whole number followed by % in the Rate Format field.

Rate Format

This field displays the type of number in the Rate Ceiling field. If the pool is hours-based, this field displays Amt/Hr, and if the pool is cost-based, it displays %.

Cost of Money Ceiling

Enter a COM ceiling or override value. You can enter COM ceilings only if you selected the Apply Cost of Money Rates check box on the Basic Info tab. If the cost pool is hours-based, the rate displays as a currency amount followed by Amt/Hr in the Rate Format field. If the cost pool is cost-based, the rate displays as a whole number followed by % in the Rate Format field.

Rate Format

This field displays the type of number in the Rate Ceiling field. If the pool is hours-based, this field displays Amt/Hr, and if the pool is cost-based, it displays %.

Ceiling Method

Use this drop-down list to select a code to specify whether the rate entered is a ceiling, an override, or a fixed rate. Available codes:

  • Ceiling: This code acts as a "not-to-exceed" rate. In revenue computations, it prevents revenue from being recognized on the burden above a specified rate. The indirect cost amount is not affected by the ceiling rate. In reports such as the Project Status Report, the actual or target burden still appears as though there was no ceiling. However, the revenue amount is reduced by the revenue lost from the burden over the ceiling. In billing computations, if the ceiling rate is lower than the provisional rate, the ceiling rate is used for burdening. Otherwise, the provisional rate is used.
  • Override: This is an alternate rate used in recalculating target and provisional burden amounts only. In revenue computations, an override rate is ignored for revenue and cost calculations involving actual rates. For revenue computations involving target rates, the incurred burden cost amount is replaced by the override rate amount. This burden cost amount can be seen on reports such as the Project Status Report. This burden override amount is then used in the revenue calculation. For billing computations, the burden override amount replaces the provisional rate amount on the bills.
  • Fixed: This rate is similar to an override rate in that a specified rate is used on revenue and billing computations. The difference between the two is that fixed rates do not modify the burden amounts for cost computations like the override rates. You can use a specified burden rate for revenue computations without changing your costs. Fixed rates work the same way as override rates for billing computations. The Fixed rate is applied when you are using target, actual, or provisional rates, but only to revenue/billing amounts, and not to costs. This type of ceiling is often used when the rate for revenue and billing is lower than the target or provisional rate.

    The following table displays a summary as to when the Fixed or Override rate is applied.

    Rate/Item Fixed Override
    Target Costs Not applied Yes
    Target Revenue Yes Yes
    Actual Costs Not applied Not applied
    Actual Revenue Yes Not applied
    Provisional (Billing) Yes Yes
Apply to R/B/A

Use this drop-down list to select the code that determines whether the ceiling percent applies to the Revenue, Billing, or Both computations. Available codes include the following:

  • Revenue
  • Billing
  • All (Both Revenue and Billings)
  • None (Neither Revenue nor Billings)

Any rows that display an Apply to R/B/A code are saved. Rows that have a "0.00" Ceiling Percent entered and no Apply to R/B/A code are not saved. To place a ceiling on a particular account, you must enter both the Rate Ceiling (and/ or COM Ceiling) and the Apply to R/B/A code.