Shell Cost Sheet

When you open a shell cost sheet, the Cost Sheet overlay window opens, and the following elements appear on the screen:

To open a shell cost sheet:

  1. Go to the shell tab and switch to User mode.
  2. In the left Navigator, select Financial Analysis, select Cost Sheet, and then open the applicable Project Cost Sheet.

The Cost Sheet overlay window toolbar options are as follows:

Option

Description

Manage Rows

Note: This option is available only to those users who have permission to modify the cost sheet rows. Clicking this option lets you open a new grid sheet (inline), on top of the cost sheet, titled: Manage Rows.

For a tree-structure cost sheets, the Manage Rows sheet has the following toolbar options:

  • Add Sibling
  • Add Child

Note: When a cost code has not been created, the toolbar has only the Add option (instead of the two separate Add Sibling and Add Child options).

  • Refresh
  • Print
  • Find on Page
  • Expand All Groups or Collapse All Groups

For a flat-structure cost sheets, the Manage Rows sheet has the following toolbar options:

  • Add

    Clicking Add, when no row has been selected, adds a new row at the bottom of the existing rows.

    Clicking Add, when a row has been selected, inserts a new row below the selected row.

    You can drag a row to move it above or to any other valid place.

  • Refresh
  • Print
  • Find on Page

When you make changes, the following additional options, which appear in the upper-right corner of the screen, let you cancel or save your changes:

  • Cancel
  • Save

The Manage Rows sheet has the following columns that are stationary:

  • Cost Code
  • Code Name

Other columns on the Manage Rows sheet vary as per design.

For each cost code row in the Manage Rows sheet, you have the following options columns at the very end:

  • Delete: If a row is eligible for deletion (that is, there is no cost associated with that cost code), you can delete the row by using this option. When you click this option, the row and the child rows will be deleted.
  • Reorder: You can select multiple rows and drag them to another position. As long as there is no cost associated with a selected row, you can drag codes to another location below any parent. If any of the selected codes is associated with a cost, you cannot drag the group to another parent or hierarchy.

For each cost code row in the Manage Rows sheet, there is a right pane that captures more details on the code. This pane contains following tabs:

  • Breakdown tab: The Breakdown tab contains the following toolbar options:
    • Add

      If you do not select any rows and click Add, the system inserts a new row on the grid at the bottom of the existing rows.

      If you select a row, or multiple rows, and click Add, the system inserts a new row below the selected row, or rows.

    • Find on Page
    • Row #: This is the same as the row # column in main grid in this window. Unifier Essentials displays an error message if you:

      - Save your changes without entering a name.

      - Create a breakdown with a duplicated name.

      The red triangle symbol signifies the existence of an error in a row. The error pop-up displays Row # that contains the error, the CBS description (from the main sheet row that contains the error), the tab name, and the error description.

    • Name: Required field for capturing the breakdown name.
    • Description: To capture breakdown description.

      Delete: Column header is blank. Click to delete the selected row.

      Reorder: Lets you reorder breakdowns through drag and drop (same as drag or drop at other places in the system, such as, Manage Views screen, and so on).

  • Attachments tab: Same as the Attachments tab in Work Package (Standard View) and right pane of the Attachments tab in the Cost Sheet log.
  • Notes tab: Very similar to the Comments tab of a BP record (right pane). It cannot be used to add attachments to a comment.
  • Audit Log tab: Use this tab to access a record of the details such as Date, Event, Action, User Name, and so on. Be aware that the log only provides details based on the import of a CSV file or an API-based update.

For a tree-structure cost sheet, the right-click options for a cost code row, within Manage Rows window, are:

  • Add Sibling
  • Add Child
  • Copy
  • Delete

For a flat-structure cost sheet, the right-click options for a cost code row, within Manage Rows window, are:

  • Add
  • Copy
  • Delete

For both a tree-structure cost sheet and a flat-structure cost sheet, when you select multiple rows, the right-click options are:

  • Copy
  • Delete

Add Column

Lets you open the New Column overlay window, which contains the following fields:

  • Name: Name of the cost sheet column.
  • Type: The drop-down menu lets you select the values:
    • From Business Processes (the default value for Type)

      Select the From Business Processes option if you want to have a column in the Cost Sheet log the pulls data from the Amount field of a Business Process. If you select this option, then:

      - The New Column form (overlay window) stays as is.

      - The Datasource drop-down menu gets updated to show a list of all Business Process datasources which can be used to create a column.

Note: The datasources that have already been used to create a column will not be included in the list. To create the new column successfully, you must populate the mandatory options on the form.

  • Direct Entry: Select the Direct Entry option when you want to enter Numeric values into the cell directly. When you select this option on the overlay form, similar to the "From Business Process" option, the form stays as is. The only difference is that the Data Source drop-down menu displays "Logical Sources," only. Also, those sources that have already been used to create a column will not be displayed in this list.
  • Line Item Content: Select the Line Item Content option when you want to enter data for each cell in the column in a line item format, allowing multiple line item entries per cell. The total is displayed in the cell. When you select this option on the overlay form, the overlay form stays as is. The behavior of the Data Source drop-down menu is the same as when you select the "Direct Entry" option.
  • From Worksheet: Select the From Worksheet option when you want to populate the data in the Cost Sheet column from another column in an existing worksheet within the project or shell. When you select this option:

    - The Data Source drop-down menu displays a list of all those logical sources that allow the "Sheet" type entry method.

    - The sources that have already been used to create a column do not show up in the list.

    The Type drop-down menu will contain two additional options:

    - Sheet Name

    This is an editable drop-down menu.

    - Column

    This is a drop-down menu, which is enabled only when you select a sheet from the "Sheet Name" column; otherwise, the Column option is read-only.

  • From Activity Sheet: Select the From Activity Sheet option when you want to populate the data in the Cost Sheet column from an Activity Sheet. When you select this option:

    - The Data Source drop-down menu displays a list of all those logical sources that allow the "Sheet" type entry method.

    - The sources that have already been used to create a column do not show up in the list.

    The Type drop-down menu will contain two additional options:

    - Sheet Name: This is an editable drop-down menu.

    - Column: This is a drop-down menu which is enabled only when you select a sheet from the "Sheet Name" column; otherwise, the Column option is read-only.

Note: In Cash Flow and Cost Sheet, you can replace the Summary Sheet with the Activity Sheet as a source.

  • Formula: Select the Formula option when you want to populate the Cost Sheet column as a formula-based on other existing columns in the sheet. When you select this option, the Data Source drop-down menu gets updated to show a list all the logical sources that allow the "Formula" type entry method. Also, those sources that have already been used to create a column will not be included in this list. In addition, the formula creator option is displayed below the Data Source field. When you click the formula creator, an interface to create a formula opens.
  • Datasource: The Datasource drop-down menu changes as the value in the "Type" drop-down menu change. Each change is captured above.

    If there are any BP statuses that have been removed from the design and are displayed in the Data Source drop-down menu with *** (asterisks) next to them, when you select the Type as "From Business Process," the Datasource menu shows a tooltip next to it. Upon hover over, the tooltip states: *** Indicates the status does not exist in the design.

  • Data Format: The Data Format option is available when a value is available to select; otherwise, it will not be visible. For example: The Single Source columns can be of data format "Currency" or "Decimal," only. So, for these columns, the "Percentage" radio option is not visible.
  • Display Mode
  • Total
  • Column Position after

The New Column overlay window has the following action options:

  • Cancel
  • Save
  • Save & Add New

View

These options let you use a default view, create your own views, and manage (rearrange, hide, show, and delete) views. For more information, see Cost Sheet Views.

  • Default
  • Create New View
  • Manage Views

Edit View

Use this option to modify the current view.

Forecasting

This option is available only if the cost sheet is enabled for forecasting. When you click this option, the Forecast Adjustment window opens.

Refresh

Lets you see the added values to the columns of the sheet.

Print

Lets you print or export the log content.

Find on Page

Lets you search for a sheet on the log.

Expand All Groups or Collapse All Groups

Lets you expand or collapse the sheets to see the subordinates.

Menu Options

Lets you conduct and access:

  • Import
    • Summary Budget
    • CBS Details
  • Export
    • Summary Cost Sheet
    • Summary Budget
    • CBS Details
    • Column Details
  • Columns
    • Unhide
    • Restrictions
  • Snapshots
    • Create
    • Open
    • Enable Auto Snapshot
  • Currency
    • Project Currency
    • Base Currency
  • Budget Distribution: See Budget Distribution below for details.
  • Row Coloring
    • Multi-Color
    • Single-Color
  • Properties
  • Audit Log

Currency Toggle

Lets you switch the cost sheet currency from Project Currency to Base Currency (or vice versa).

The Cost Sheet overlay window column options may vary. The following is a list of possible columns:

The bottom of the Cost Sheet log (underneath the second column from the left, after the Sequence No. column) displays the totals for the amounts for each column.

The bottom of the Cost Sheet log (left corner) displays the total number of items.

When you right-click a cell heading, you will see the following options:

When you right-click a cell within the cost sheet, you will see the following options:

When you click a cell, the Cost Sheet screen opens a pane on the right side that has the following tabs:

These tabs provide additional information about each cell. Where allowable, you can update the fields within each tab.

The Budget Distribution overlay window contains the following elements:

Element

Description

When the Budget Distribution is locked (padlock icon in locked position)

The following blocks (accordion menu) are visible:

  • Overview: If available, the right pane of this block (accordion menu) contains the following tabs:
    • Attachments
    • Audit Log
    • Lock/Unlock History
  • Distributed Amount: Lets you see the Cost Code, Code Name, Type, and Distributed Amount. You can use the toolbar options to refresh, print (or export), find, and collapse the information in the log.

    The right pane of this block (accordion menu) contains the following tabs:

    • General
    • Attachments
    • Notes

    All the fields are read-only.

If you click Unlock, you must enter a reason.

When the Budget Distribution is unlocked (padlock icon in unlocked position)

You have all the options available in the locked position, and you can change the values in the editable fields.

After you are finished, you must click Save & Lock.


Last Published Monday, April 14, 2025