Contents of the Create Projects from Templates Screen

Use the fields and options to configure the Create Projects from Templates screen.

Identification

Field Description
Template ID

If you use quick project setup templates, enter, or click to select, the identification number of the template that you want to use to set up a new project. The quick project template controls data entry required for a new project.

Description

After you enter a template ID, its description populates here.

Project

Enter a new quick project that you would like to initialize. Project IDs for each project must be unique. After you save the record, you cannot edit this field.

If you want to use an existing project as a template when you initialize a new quick project, enter, or click to select, an existing project. All that project's information displays in the Create Projects from Templates screen. In the blank Project field, enter the new top level quick project ID.

Name

Enter the name of the project.

Load Template

If you use quick project templates, after you enter a template ID on the Manage Project Master Data from Templates screen, click the Load Template button to retrieve all the default values set up for the template ID.

Load Project

When you create a new quick project, use this button to copy the setup from a project that already exists on Manage Project User Flow to create the new project.

On the Manage Project Master Data from Templates screen, click to select a project from the Manage Project User Flow, and click the Load Project button.

The project's setup information defaults on the Manage Project Master Data from Templates screen. The Project field remains blank so you can enter a new project ID.

Basic Info

Field Description
Project Manager

Enter, or click to select, the ID of the employee who is the project manager for this project.

After you enter a project manager, the project manager name populates the field to the right.

Project Type

Enter, or click to select, the project type from the user-defined projects types list.

Generally, project types include: Cost Reimbursable, Fixed Price, Time & Materials, and so on, but could be any type that you desire to track. No special processing is generated based on this type. Some reports (for example, the Revenue Summary Report) can be sorted by project type.

Customer

Enter, or click to select, the customer account for this project.

After you enter a customer account, the customer name populates in the field to the right.

Project Classification

Select a classification type. This drop-down list displays the system-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 may simply mean that each of the classifications can be sorted separately for reporting purposes.

Available project classifications include:

  • BID & PROPOSAL
  • COMMON INV
  • DIRECT PROJECT
  • INDIRECT
  • INTER-CO MULTI
  • INTER-COMPANY
  • IR&D
  • WORK IN PROCESS

The Project Status report and the Revenue Summary report can be sorted by project classification.

Prime Contract No

Enter the prime contract number (the number on the signed contract with the customer) for the project. This number can display on bills and selected to display on Costpoint Business Intelligence reports.

Subcontractor No

Enter the subcontractor number (the number on the signed contract with the subcontractor) for the project.

Purchase Order No

Enter the customer's purchase order number for this project.

Charging Criteria

Field Description
Active

Select this check box if the project is active for charging purposes.

If this check box is not selected, project/account/organization combinations on the Set Up Account/Organization Links subtask of the Manage Project User Flow is 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 the 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 check box to prevent charging at summary levels of the project. Use the Allow Charging check box to restrict data entry on certain project levels.

Allow Charging

Select this check box to allow charging on the project. When this check box is not selected, no charging is allowed regardless of the status of the project/account/organization combinations.

If the check box is selected, valid charging combinations can be charged. Enable the Allow Charging check box 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 check box.

Use Top Level Workforce

Select this check box to use the top level of this project for work force validation.

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 check box 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.

Account Group

Enter, or click to select, an account group for the project. 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 charged to this project.

Account groups are set up on the Manage Project Account Groups screen.

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

Owning Organization

Enter, or click to select, the organization that owns the project. This is the home organization for the project.

This organization receives all revenue and profit, as well as billed and unbilled receivables if one of the following selections has been made:

  • Owning Organization was selected in the Default Revenue Posting By drop-down list on the Revenue tab of the Configure Project Settings screen.
  • Owning Organization was selected in the Post Revenue to the group box on the Manage Revenue Information screen.

Project Levels Setup

The first row displays information for the first level of a project. The default length is retrieved from the Project Segment Lengths tab of the Configure Project Settings screen, and the number of nodes populates with 1.

If you use a quick project template to create a new project, the levels from the Configure Project Settings screen display in the Project Levels Setup table.

If you use an existing project's setup to create a new project, the existing project's level information displays in the Project Levels Setup table.  

You can change level information in this table as needed.

To add project levels, click on the Project Levels Setup table and click .

Field Description
Level

Enter a project level.

In the first row of the Project Levels Setup table, this field automatically displays 1, the first level of the project.

Length

Enter the length for this segment or project level. The length of the first segment (top level) must correspond to the length for the level 1 segment in the Project Segment Lengths table window on the Project Segment Lengths tab of the Configure Project Settings screen. The length of the top level must be the same for all projects; only the lower levels can have varying segment lengths.

Level Description

Enter a description for this level of the project. The description is used during report generation to display the name of the level selected for reporting.

# of Nodes

Enter the number of project numbers that need to be generated for the project level.

A maximum of 100 nodes per level can be generated.

Each level's project number starts with 1 and increments by one.

For example, you have a top level project with a length of 4 and level 2 with a length of 2. If you want  5 projects at project level 2, enter 5 nodes for level 2. When you generate WBS, the following projects are created:

  • xxxx.01
  • xxxx.02
  • xxxx.03
  • xxxx.04
  • xxxx.05
Generate WBS

Click this button after you finish entering project information in the Create Projects from Templates screen. The project then becomes available on the Manage Project Master Data from Templates screen where you can review and approve it.