Generic cost managers monitor cost-related activities for configurable shells in Unifier. Unlike the Standard Cost Manager in Unifier, the data analyzed by a generic cost manager comes from the cost sheets of shells and sub-shells, not standard projects. The Standard Cost Manager in Unifier is designed to accommodate business financing, which typically suits projects that proceed over a fixed time range. Generic cost managers, on the other hand, are well-suited for projects/shells of an ongoing nature, such as a building shell, where you would typically want to collect and analyze operating and maintenance costs for a specific building over the life of that building.
In designing a generic cost manager, you will be defining cost codes that will collect and analyze cost-related information for anything that exists under a shell. You can create cost codes for all the various projects or business needs you are likely to manage in any shell and include them in a single cost manager that will support all of the various shells.
A generic cost manager works similarly to Unifier’s Standard Cost Manager, but with the following differences.
Notes:
- You can create only one Generic Cost Manager. This manager can be used in all your shells.
- You cannot use both a Standard Cost Manager and a Generic Cost Manager in the same shell.
Standard Cost Manager | Generic Cost Manager |
---|---|
Is available for standard projects as well as shells | Is only available for shells |
Used for capital projects with limited life cycles | Used for projects with extended life cycles |
Uses a CBS code structure | Uses a customized coding structure; it does not use CBS codes |
Cost Sheet:
| Cost Sheet:
|
Rolls up only currency amounts Note: Shells do not support any roll-ups from the Standard Cost Manager. |
|
Includes a Funding Sheet | Does not support a Funding Sheet |
Provides earned value and cash flow features | Does not offer earned value or cash flow features |
Base Commit BP creates a Schedule of Values (SOV) sheet | Base Commit BP creates "Commitments Summary" rather than an SOV |