The e-Builder Cost module facilitates the cost management process for owner participants, as well as external program participants that are involved in the finances of the program and its individual projects. It standardizes the tracking of costs across an entire program including income collected in funding sources, budget changes, commitment changes, and actual costs.
The capabilities of this module streamline the cost management process between all parties while reducing the effort, time, and cost associated with the typical manual process. Actions throughout this module are permissions based, therefore some data and actions are restricted from users that do not have the appropriate permission to view or take specific actions. If you do not see features or data that you think you should have access to, contact your account administrator so they can adjust your cost permissions accordingly.
Before you start using the e-Builder Cost module online help, you should familiarize yourself with some key concepts used throughout this section.
Project
Most everything in e-Builder takes place within the context of a project. In order for you to begin your budget process you first have to create a project. Each real world project is associated with a project in e-Builder. If you are working on the real world project, your project administrator or manager can add you as a member of a project in e-Builder.
Account Codes
Account codes are the codes used to categorize the costs on all projects. A collection of codes are used to create the budget for the project and specific costs are assigned to the account codes in the budget. By using these consistent account codes across all projects you can consistently associate all of the costs on one or more projects with specific categories and easily report on these costs.
Company
Every commitment and actual cost that is entered is associated with a company. The company must be created in the Contacts module of your account. The companies listed in the contacts module can also be used as a reference for all users that have access to view contacts.
Funding Sources
Funding sources are the accounts or institutions from which project funds are received. Examples include debt, equity, grants, and donations. By using funding sources you are able to track the amount of funds remaining in each funding account at any point in the project.
Budget
A budget is the original detailed cost estimate for your project.
Commitment
A commitment is a promise that you make to a seller to purchase goods or services in exchange for money in accordance with specific terms and conditions. The most common types of commitments are contracts and purchase orders.
Actual Cost
Actual Costs are project expenses and invoices that have been approved for payment. Examples include invoices, reimbursable expenses, and contractor applications for payment.
Cash Flow
Cash Flow is used to project the amount of money that will be expended each month in the remaining life of a project. These forecasts can be reported at the program level in the Reports module to plan program wide cash flow needs in future months, quarters, or years.
Over/Under
In the Cost Summary for a project the (Over/Under) shows the expected variance to budget for the project. For example, an over/under of zero means that a project is expected to be exactly on budget. The over/under is automatically calculated based on the data entered for the project.
Status
In the Budget, Commitment, and Actual Cost areas of the Cost module each item that is entered has a status which indicates whether or not it has been finalized. Every item is first placed in draft status so that it can be reviewed before proceeding. Depending on what type of item is being entered, its status can move through intermediate steps before it becomes approved.
Projected
Projected is a status indicator that is available for commitment and budget changes. It is used to indicate when there is a possible change to an existing commitment or line item in the budget. By entering these items the team can gain visibility into any anticipated changes before they occur.
Pending
Pending is a status indicator that is available for commitments, commitment changes, and budget changes. It is used to indicate when there is a likely change to an existing commitment or line item in the budget. It is also used to record commitments that are likely to occur, but are not yet finalized- such as a verbal acceptance of a contract but the signed copy has not been received. By entering these items the team can gain visibility into any anticipated changes before they occur.
Commitment Invoice
A commitment Invoice is an actual cost associated with an existing commitment. For example, a request for payment from a vendor that you have a contract with would be entered as a commitment invoice.
General Invoice
A general invoice is an actual cost that does not have an associated commitment. For example, a fee paid to the city for a permit is typically entered as a general invoice.