Managing Work Order Costing

Adding a Work Order Cost Item

The breakdown of the cost information associated with work order is also very important. For example, employee hourly rates, material and equipment costs are types of costing items you must identify and track for work orders generated by an agency. You must identify the costing item definitions that you associate with a work order before you can enter costing data for a work order. Some of the information recorded for each cost item is read-only for users without administrative privileges, but is available for the user to associate with the work order.

To add a new work order cost item

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Click New.

   Civic Platform displays the cost item details in the tab.

   
   
   

3. Enter the Cost Type, Item, Factor, and Cost.

4. Complete any of the remaining fields that display.

   For a list of field descriptions, see Table 1.

5. Click Submit.

   Civic Platform displays a list of all existing work order cost items including the item just recorded.

Searching for a Work Order Cost Item

Use the search feature to find a specific work order cost item. For example, if you were looking for an equipment cost item currently set at a fixed price of $50, enter the cost type of equipment and the fixed price cost to 50 in your search criteria along with any other information you might you have on the item. The search result provides you with all of the equipment cost items set at $50.

To search for a work order cost item

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Click Search.

   Civic Platform displays the fields that apply to the work order cost item.

3. Complete the appropriate fields associated with the cost item you are searching for.

4. Click Submit.

   Civic Platform returns a list of all work order cost items that match your search parameters.

Editing a Work Order Cost Item

Use the following procedure to edit a cost item. For example, a contractor who installs fire hydrants changes the unit cost. In this example, you can find and select the cost item for the specific contractor that needs updating and modify the fixed cost, unit cost, and units of measure to reflect the current information.

To edit a cost item

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Open the cost item that you want to review and edit.

   Civic Platform displays the cost item details on the tabs.

   
   
   

3. Update the necessary fields that display.

   For a list of field descriptions, see Table 1.

4. Click Submit.

   Table 1. Work Order Cost Item Definitions

   Cost Account	Select the appropriate cost account for the work order.
   Cost Factor	Select the cost factor. Example: 1.0 Regular Pay, 1.5 Overtime Pay, 2.0 Holiday Pay. This field is primarily for labor cost types.
   Cost Formula	Enter the formula that identifies how you want to calculate the cost item.
   Cost Item	Enter the name for the cost item.
   Cost Subgroup	Enter the subgroup for the cost item
   Cost Type	Select the appropriate cost type, such as: contract, employee, materials.
   Fixed Cost	Enter the fixed cost amount you want to use for the cost item. Enter hours, dollars, etc. using the appropriate units of measure for the cost item.
   Record Status	Select the status of the cost item record. This field should default to Active.
   Unit Cost	Enter the unit cost amount you want to use for the cost item. Enter hours, dollars, and so forth, using the units of measure appropriate to the cost item.
   Unit of Measure	Select the unit of measure for the cost item.
   Work Order Task	Select the work order task associated with the cost. Only the active or completed work order tasks display in the list. This item is not for adding cost entries.

Deleting a Work Order Cost Item

If you enter a cost item by mistake, or if you no longer use the cost item, you can delete it. When you delete a cost item you remove it from Civic Platform and it is no longer available for viewing or when identifying costing for work orders or work order templates.

To delete a work order cost item

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Select each cost item definition that you want to remove.

3. Click Delete on the toolbar.

   Civic Platform displays a message indicating record(s) deleted successfully.

Managing Cost Rates

Cost rates are a critical component of work order management. For example, you must track material and equipment cost rates to identify and track the costs of work orders your agency generates. When you set an asset type as a resource in the Administration portlet, you can define the cost rates for the asset. The cost rates you establish become the default rates that populate into forms when you add assets into work orders.

Topics

• Adding a Cost Rate

• Editing a Cost Rate

• Deleting a Cost Rate

Adding a Cost Rate

For each asset that you enable the “Asset as Resource” option, you can define multiple cost rates, although only one cost rate can be effective at any given time.

To add a cost rate

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Select the cost item that you want to work with.

3. Click the Cost Rates tab.

   Civic Platform displays the Cost Rate list portlet.

4. Click New.

   Civic Platform displays the Cost Rate detail portlet.

5. Complete the fields as necessary.

   For a description of the fields, see Table 2.

6. Click Submit.

   Table 2. Cost Rate Fields

   Active Date	The date when the cost rate becomes effective.
   Expiration Date	The date when the cost rate expires.
   Default Cost Factor	Select the cost factor. Example: 1.0 Regular Pay, 1.5 Overtime Pay, 2.0 Holiday Pay. This field is primarily for labor cost types. The Standard Choice COST_FACTOR defines the options for this field.
   Fixed Rate	The fixed cost amount you want to use for the cost item. Enter units of measure such as hours, dollars, and so forth.
   Unit Rate	The unit cost amount you want to use for the cost item. Enter units of measure such as hours, dollars, and so forth.

Editing a Cost Rate

You can edit any cost rate as necessary.

To edit a cost rate

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Select the cost item that you want to work with.

3. Click the Cost Rates tab.

   Civic Platform displays the Cost Rate list portlet.

4. Select the cost rate that you want to update.

   Civic Platform displays the Cost Rate detail portlet.

5. Update the fields as necessary.

   For a description of the fields, see Table 2.

6. Click Save.

You can edit any cost rate as necessary.

Deleting a Cost Rate

You can delete the cost rate that is no longer useful.

To delete a cost rate

1. Access the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup).

2. Select the cost item that you want to work with.

3. Click the Cost Rates tab.

   Civic Platform displays the Cost Rate list portlet.

4. Select the cost rate that you want to delete.

5. Click Delete.

Managing Cost Item Permissions

You can configure the display of cost item information through the Recipient tab in the Cost Item portlet (Navigating to the Setup). Only the agency, module, user group, department, or user that you add to the Recipient tab has permission to work with the cost item in Civic Platform and Mobile Office. To make cost item permission take effect in Civic Platform, you must set FID 8461 Show Work Order Cost Information and FID 8484 Cost Item Permission to Full Access or Read Only. However, the cost item permission that you defined through the Recipient tab always takes effect in Mobile Office, regardless of the setting on FID 8484 Cost Item Permission. For instructions on configuring these Function Identifications, see the Accela Civic Platform Configuration Reference.

In Civic Platform, users with permission can add the cost item to a work order, convert an assignment to the cost item, and distribute the cost item to certain assets. Users can also view or edit the actual numerical values of the cost information in the cost-related fields. Users without permission cannot add, edit, or delete a cost item. Nor can such users convert an assignment to the cost item, or distribute the cost item. Such users only see asterisks “***” in the cost-related fields for the cost item. See Table 3 for a list of cost-related fields that are under control of cost item permission.

In Mobile Office, users with permission can add the cost item to a work order, and can view, update, or delete the cost item. Users without permission cannot add, update, or delete the cost item. The actual values in the cost-related fields for the cost item display as asterisks (*****). See Table 4 for a list of cost-related fields that are under control of cost item permission.

For the detailed procedure about using the Recipient tab for a cost item, see Setting Up Security Policies.