In Unifier, you can track costs at the:
- Company level
- Program level
- Project/Shell level
Company level
- Cost Sheet
The Cost Sheets node contains the Company Cost Sheet (a detailed accounting of the company budget and costs), broken down by project/shell. The node works much like a spreadsheet that calculates and maintains cost information on all "active" and "on-hold" projects/shells. As Project/Shell Cost Sheets are created, the Project/Shell Cost Sheet data rolls up and the data is displayed on the Company Cost Sheet.
- Funding
The Funding node is where the Company Funding Sheet is stored. This sheet tracks all sources of funding for all project/shells and programs. There is only one funding sheet per company, from which monies are distributed to the project/shell funding sheets. This sheet has auditing features that disclose the details of all funding events. The Company Funding Sheet must be created in Unifier before any project/shell funding sheets.
- Cash Flow
This is a costing feature users can use to create cash flow sheets and curves. Specifically, users can:
- Set baselines for projected spends
- Track actual costs
- Calculate future spends, based on a known forecast (extrapolation)
- Calculate from trends compared to baseline curves (interpolation)
Cash Flow values can roll up from the Project/Shell level to the company level to show cash flow data across multiple projects. Users can save generated cash flow sheets and curves and refresh them to include new data. They can also generate table data showing incremental and cumulative values and graphs displaying multiple cash flow curves.
Program level
- Cost Sheet
Unifier automatically creates Program Cost Sheets once a Project Cost Sheet has been created in at least one project within the program. The Program Cost Sheet displays cost data for all projects within the program that have a status of "active" or "on-hold." The data from individual Project Cost Sheets can be configured to automatically roll up to the Program Cost Sheet. The currency used for the Program Cost Sheet will be the company's base currency.
- Cash Flow
This is a costing feature users can use to create cash flow sheets and curves. Specifically, users can:
- Set baselines for projected spends
- Track actual costs
- Calculate future spends, based on a known forecast (extrapolation)
- Calculate from trends compared to baseline curves (interpolation)
Project/Shell level
- Cost Sheet
This node contains the Project Cost Sheet, a detailed accounting of the project’s budget and costs. It works much like a spreadsheet that calculates and maintains cost information. The rows of this cost sheet display CBS codes or cost codes. These codes can be used to link project or program costs to the General Ledger for Finance. Cost information can be entered manually, pulled from work packages or worksheets, or rolled up automatically from business processes when transactions occur in Unifier.
This cost sheet can work in conjunction with work packages and worksheets, if the Unifier user creates them.
A Work Package is a group of cost sheet rows that is a subset of the Project Cost Sheet. Work packages provide insight into the budget without providing full access to the details of the Project Cost Sheet.
A Worksheet can be created by the Unifier user to support the Project Cost Sheet. The user can use this as a separate sheet to perform complex calculations or enter other cost data not required on the cost sheet. Information from this worksheet can then be rolled up into a Project Cost Sheet column.
- Funding
This Funding node contains the Project Funding Sheet. This sheet tracks where project funding comes from and how it is being spent on the project. There is only one funding sheet per project. Project funding sheets work in conjunction with the company-level funding sheet, which maintains the sources of all project funding. Funding sheets are independent of cost sheets.
Funding data can be entered manually on this sheet, or rolled up automatically from business processes when transactions occur in Unifier.
Funding data for projects rolls up to the Company Funding Sheet.
- Cash Flow
This is a costing feature users can use to create cash flow sheets and curves. Specifically, users can:
- Set baselines for projected spends
- Track actual costs
- Calculate future spends, based on a known forecast (extrapolation)
- Calculate from trends compared to baseline curves (interpolation)
Cash flow values can roll up from the project level to the company level to show cash flow data across multiple projects. Users can save generated cash flow sheets and curves and refresh them to include new data. They can also generate table data showing incremental and cumulative values and graphs displaying multiple cash flow curves.
- Schedule of Values (SOV)
A Schedule of Values (SOV) is maintained at the project level. An SOV is a way to assemble information from contract, change order, and invoice/payment application business processes into a single sheet. This SOV sheet streamlines the process of invoicing for completed phases of a project. The SOV:
- Includes a breakdown of the contract values that has been agreed to by the owner and contractor.
- Works in conjunction with Commit types of Business Processes (BPs), such as a purchase order. Commit-types of BPs can be designed to automatically create an SOV sheet when they reach a designated step in a workflow.
The following is a list of SOV sheet types:
- General Spends
- Payment Applications
- Summary Payment Applications
The General Spends SOV sheet type gathers information from any contract, change order, or invoice/payment application BP into an SOV sheet.
The Payment Applications SOV sheet type allows users to enter values directly onto the SOV sheet. Unifier then automatically adds these values to the payment application sheet.
Note: Both the General Spends and Payment Applications SOV sheet types can be designed to show CBS information, either as grouped CBS codes, or as individual line items from commit BPs.
The Summary Payment Applications SOV allows users to allocate cost to line items based on the line item type (Lump Sum or Unit Cost). Use the Summary Payment Applications SOV type in association with Commit and Spends Business Processes (BPs) that are designed for Summary payment applications SOV type. The Summary Payment Applications sub-node will be available under the Schedule of Values node only if a Base Commits, or Change Commits, of SOV type Summary Payment Applications is deployed in uDesigner.
Note: An error will occur after clicking Unit Cost if you do not select the Item Unit Cost and Item Quantity (uuu_unit_price and uuu_Quantity) fields in the Detail form design.
- Earned Value (EV)
The Earned Value (EV) is a costing feature you can use to track quantitative information about project status using an "earned value analysis." This analysis provides specific numerical measurements for reviewing progress as the project team advances through the tasks on the project schedule. It can help project managers monitor whether or not projects are on schedule and on budget by providing accurate and consistent methods to estimate the:
- Percentage of budget spent
- Percentage of work completed
- Percentage of time elapsed
See About Earned Value.