About the PM Approved Change Orders Form

Use this form to create and maintain approved change orders (ACOs).

An approved change order can represent a pending change order that has been approved, or it can be change order that was approved outside of the application.

Click here for an overview on change orders.

Tasks

Unapprove a change order item

Select a PCO item in the lower portion of the form and click the Unapprove Item button to unapprove the PCO item on the ACO. This will remove the change order item from the ACO, and enable it on the PM Pending Change Orders form . The status of the PCO item will also change to:

  • The default beginning status defined using the Default Beginning Status field on the Info tab of the PM Company Parameters form.
  • If you haven't defined a default beginning status, the system will use the first status found in the PM Status ID form that is set up with a beginning status, and is associated with the pending change order document category. The system will determine which status is first using the Status Code field on the PM Status IDs form - alphabetical sort with numbers coming before letters.
Note: Change order items with interfaced subcontract and/or material detail cannot be unapproved. If a change order item has been interfaced to Job Cost, it must first be deleted from the ACO in Job Cost before it can be ‘unapproved’ here.

Open/view subcontract detail

Select Tasks > Open Subcontract Detail to open PM Subcontract Detail and view the subcontract detail associated with the approved change order.

Click here for more information about the PM Subcontract Detail form.

Generate Detail

The Generate Detail option on the Tasks menu is used to add phase/cost type detail to a change order using the phase/cost types set up on a contract item. This can reduce data entry and save you some time when creating change orders.

Select Tasks > Generate Detail and all phases/cost types linked to the contract item on the CO item will be added to the change order. You can change or delete the phase/cost types that do not apply.

The values calculated for each phase/cost type will depend on the following:

  • If the phase/cost type unit of measure (UM) is equal to the contract item UM, the same number of units specified for the change order item will be added for the phase/cost type.
  • If the phase/cost type UM differs from the contract item UM, but is not LS, the units for the phase/cost type will be calculated as follows:

    (CO Item Units / Curr Contract Item Units) x Curr Phase/CT Units = CO Item Phase/CT Units

  • If the phase/cost type UM differs from the contract item UM and is LS and it is a PCO item, all amounts will be zero since there is no amount entered for a change order item on which to base the calculations.
  • If the phase/cost type UM differs from the contract item UM and is LS and it is an ACO item, the amount of the phase/cost type will be calculated as follows:

    (CO Item Amt / Curr Contract Item Amt) x Curr Phase/CT Amt = ACO Phase/CT Amt

    If you are generating detail for a PCO item, the process will include add-on phases; however, they will be generated with zero amounts. Since add-ons are calculated for the pending change order item based on the phase/cost type detail, the amounts for these phases should be left at zero. Another option would be to delete the add-on phases after they have been generated.

Open/view material detail

Select Tasks > Open Material Detail to open PM Material Detail and view the material detail on the approved change order.

Click here for more information about the PM Material Detail form.

Initializing Phases to Job Roles

If you are using the job roles functionality and have assigned roles to projects/jobs using PM Projects or JC Jobs , you can use the Job Phase Roles Initialize option in the File menu to initialize phases to roles assigned to a project/job. This will open JC Job Phase Roles Initialize.

Although this functionality does not directly impact pending or approved change orders, it does allow you to assign any phases added to a change order to job roles. Click here for more information about job roles and initializing phases to job roles.

Send an email - Create and Send

The Create and Send feature allows you to generate documents and send them to project contacts. For example, you can use this feature to create RFIs, submittals, and change order documents and then email those documents to the contacts on a project.

Click here for more information on the Create and Send feature.

Three options display when you click on the Create and Send () icon:

  • Send Message - Select this option to send an email to a list of project contacts. Using this option you can also generate a document, include an attachment, and/or generate a report. More
  • Send Document - Select this option to generate a project document or report, and email it to a list of project contacts. Using this option you can also include an attachment. More
  • Send with Transmittal - Select this option to generate a project document and transmittal, and email those documents to a list of project contacts. Using this option you can also include an attachment and/or generate a report. More

    Generate a report

    Some of the PM module forms do not have a related document template, for example the PM Approved Change Orders , PM Purchase Orders, and PM Punch List forms. Generally you will use the Create and Send feature on these forms to generate reports and then email those to a list of project contacts. For example you can use the Create and Send feature to generate a daily log report and then send it to a list of project contacts.

    Why doesn't the Create and Send () icon display on the form?

    Note: The Create and Send () icon will not display on the form if it has been disabled using PM Create & Send Settings form (Info tab> Deactivate Document Create and Send Feature box).

Create a list of contacts that should receive change order document - Distribution tab

Overview

When a new communication is created using the Create and Send feature (), the contacts on this tab are automatically added to the communication. For example if a project contact should be included in any communication about an RFI record (emails, RFI documents, change order reports, etc.), you should add that project contact to the Distribution tab of the RFI so that they are automatically added to any communication.

Contacts are automatically added to this tab in two ways

  • When a project contact is included in a Create and Send communication - When a project contact is included in a Create and Send communication, the system automatically adds that contact to the Distribution tab. For example if you launch the Create and Send feature using an RFQ record, the project contacts added to the email using the To, Cc, and Bcc fields will also be added to the Distribution tab of the PM Request For Quote form. When a new email is created for that RFQ using the Create and Send feature, the project contacts set up on the Distribution tab will automatically populate in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields on the email.
  • When a project contact is set up as a distribution default - The Assign Distribution Defaults feature automatically adds contacts to the Distribution tab if they are setup as a default contact for the document type associated with the form. For example, if a project contact is set up to receive all documents and correspondence dealing with RFQs, that contact will by default be included on the Distribution tab of any RFQ document. More

    Manually add contacts to the Distribution tab

    You can also manually add contacts to the Distribution tab.

  1. Add contacts to the Distribution tab to create a list of contacts that should receive documents generated using the Create and Send feature.

    There are two ways to add contacts to the tab:

    • Drag and Drop - By default the Project Firm Contacts form displays when you open the Distribution tab. The Project Firm Contacts form displays a list of contacts associated with the project using the Firms tab in PM Projects. Drag and drop a contact from the Project Firm Contacts form to the Distribution tab to add the contact.
      Note: The Project Firm Contacts list can also be accessed by selecting View > Project Firms List.
    • Manually enter the information - Enter contact information into the grid to manually to add a contact to the Distribution tab. If the contact is not already associated with the project, a message will display when you save the record. Select Yes to add the contact to the distribution list and to PM Project Firms. Select No to add the contact to the distribution list only.

      The Project Firm Contacts form doesn't display

    The Project Firm Contacts form displays when the Distribution tab is opened and the Always Show Form box on the Project Firm Contacts form is checked. The selection in the Always Show Form box only affects the currently selected form (for example PM Request For Information, PM Issues, etc.) and it only applies to your user account.

    To view the Project Firm Contacts form when the Always Show Form box is not checked, open the Distribution tab and select View > Project Firms List from the toolbar at the top of the form.

  2. Verify that the preferred method of correspondence is correct.
  3. Use the Send Type field to select how the contacts should be included in the communication. The Create and Send feature will generate a unique document for each contact with a send type of To.
  4. Check the Send box for each contact in the grid that should receive the communication. If this box is not checked, the contact will be excluded when generating documents using the Create and Send feature.

Additional Information

ACO Status field

The status of the ACO displays in the upper portion of the form next to the ACO field and totals.

An ACO can have one of the following statuses:

  • No Detail Records - There are no change order items on the ACO. Items are added to an ACO using the lower portion of the form.
  • Approved - There are items on the ACO, and the ACO has not been added to a contract change order(CCO). ACOs can be added to a CCO using PM Contract Change Orders.
  • Pending Contract Change Order - The ACO has been added to a contract change order (CCO), and that CCO has not been approved. By default you will not be able to interface the ACO until the CCO has been approved. CCOs are approved using the Approve button on PM Contract Change Orders.
Note: An ACO can only be interfaced when the Ready For Accounting box on the Info tab in the upper portion of the form is checked. When an ACO is added to a CCO, this box will be unchecked so that the ACO cannot be interfaced. If you need to interface the ACO before approving the CCO, you can check the Ready for Accounting field on ACO and then interface it using PM Interface. The status of the ACO will stay as Pending Contract Change Order until the CCO is approved. Click here for more information on the Ready For Accounting field.
  • Approved Contract Change Order - The ACO has been added to a contract change order, and that CCO has been approved.
  • Approved and Interfaced - The ACO has been interfaced with the accounting modules using PM Interface.

Click here for general information on contract change orders (CCOs).

History tab

The History tabs (in both the Header and Items sections) provide a record of all additions, changes, and deletions made to the approved change order and approved change order items (respectively). Each history record shows the action date/time, action type (add, change, delete), the field affected, the old and new values (where applicable), the user name of the person performing the action, and a description of the action. You can also view the history for approved change orders/items in PM Document History .

ACO Items - General information

Approved change order items are entered in the lower section of the form. You can set up a single change order item to represent a group of phases of work to be done, or set up each phase of work to be done as a separate item on the change order.

You can enter change order items manually or initialize them using PM CO Items Initialize (Tasks > Load ACO Items Costs). Initialization will generate change order items from selected contract items.

For each change order item, you can specify the PCO Type, PCO, and PCO Item to which the approved change order item is related. If you approved a pending change order using the PM Approve PCOs form, this information will default from the approved pending change order and cannot be changed. Additional information entered for the change order item includes the change order item description, the contract item to which the change order item is associated, status, units, UM, unit price, amount, and number of days by which the change order item changes the original contract completion date.

Estimate Detail tab

Use this tab to enter the estimate detail for each approved change order item.

Approved PCO

If this is a potential/pending change order that has been approved using PM Approve PCOs, this tab will display the estimates entered using the Estimate/ Purchase Details tab on PM Pending Change Orders - Estimate UM, Estimate Hrs/Unit, Estimate Hours, Estimate Cost/Hour, Estimate Unit Cost, and the Estimate Amount fields.

Note: If the detail item is ready to be sent to accounting, make sure that the Send box checked. Only items with this box checked can be interfaced with the accounting modules using PM Interface. Once the estimates are interfaced, they will display on the Phase Detail tab of JC Change Orders .

Manually Creating an ACO

If you are manually entering an ACO rather than approving a PCO, you can automatically add phase/cost type detail by selecting Tasks > Generate Detail. This will add all phases/cost types linked to the contract item specified for the change order item using the Contract Item on the Info tab.

Note: In order to use the Generate Detail feature, the contract item must already exist for the contract and phases/cost types must already be linked to the contract item in PM Project Phases .

For applicable phases/cost types, you can:

  • manually enter units, hours, and cost or load the actual values (units, hours, and costs) from JCCD (see Related Topics below for more information);
  • set the Item Unit or Phase Unit flags to indicate whether the phase’s cost type will be used to accumulate units complete for the related contract item or units complete for the phase (respectively);
  • indicate whether the phase/cost type should immediately update Job Cost (Active flag checked), or whether they will be updated only when the interface is run (Active flag unchecked).

If you are tracking the costs associated with a change order, it is important to use a different phase than the original. You may choose to use the last part of the multi-part code to designate the change order. For example, if phase 04210- - is for Brick Masonry, you could use 04210- - 3 for approved change order #3 on Brick Masonry.

As phases are entered, the fields above the grid display the pending revenue, cost, and profit of the change order item, along with current estimated units, unit cost, hours, and costs. If a phase’s contract item does not match the contract item assigned to the change order item, a message displays below the totals indicating the contract items do not match; however, entry is allowed. If you have checked the Force Phase box for the change order item, during the interface to accounting, these phases will be changed so they point to the same contract item as specified for the change order item.

Note: Phases added for a change order that are assigned a subcontract cost type or material cost type will be treated as follows:
  • If the subcontract cost type matches either of the cost types designated for subcontracts in PM Company Parameters (SL Params tab), the system will create a subcontract detail line in PM Subcontract Detail.
  • If the material cost type matches either of the cost types designated for materials in PM Company Parameters (Material Parameters tab), the system will create a material detail line in PM Material Detail with a Material Type of Purchase Order.

You can add, modify, or delete the subcontract and/or material detail as necessary in PM Subcontract Detail or PM Material Detail (respectively). For more information about subcontract or material detail, see Related Topics below.

Additional Info Tab - Interfaced Date

Interface dates are tracked for both change order items and phase/cost type detail. The Interfaced Date for items can be seen on the Grid tab and the Add’l Info tab, along with the user (login) who interfaced the approved change order.

The Interfaced Date for phases/cost types displays on the Phases grid; however, it will only display if you have checked the ‘Show on Grid’ option for the Interfaced Date column in F3 Properties.

The interface dates are updated during the interface to Job Cost. Since phases/cost types can be interfaced at different times, the interface date may differ for each phase/cost type record. For change order items, the interface date will depend on whether or not phase detail exists for the item. The update will occur as follows:

  • If phase cost type detail exists for the approved change order item, the item's interface date will be updated with the last Interfaced Date from the phase/cost type detail.
  • If no phase cost type detail exists for the approved change order item, the item's interface date will be the actual interface date for the item.
Note: Change order items with an interface date will be included in certain reports, regardless of whether phase detail exists for the item.

Distribution Icon

Use the Distribution icon to either set up a distribution default on a project or create a distribution group.

  • Distribution Default - Use distribution defaults to define what documents a contact should by default receive when using the Create and Send feature. For example, if a contact at an architecture firm should receive a copy of all drawing logs of document type 'ARCH', use this feature to set up that contact as a default for 'ARCH' documents. When drawing logs of that type are created in PM Drawing Logs, the contact will automatically be added to the Distribution tab. When communications and documents are created using the Create and Send feature, the contact will by default be included. More
    Note: Assigning a new distribution default will not change the distribution of the current document. The new distribution default will only be applied when you create a new document (RFI, change order, etc.).
  • Distribution Group - A distribution group is a collection of contacts that you regularly group together and send correspondence to - for example a group of contacts that receive submittals. These groups can then be added to communications created using the Create and Send feature. More

Related Items

The Related Items feature allows you to link associated items - for example link a project issue with the RFIs, meetings, PCOs, and other documents and records that relate to the issue.

Items are linked in several ways:

  • Automatically - The system automatically relates two records when one record is used to generate another. For example if you select Create > RFI on PM Issues, the system will automatically relate the created RFI and the project issue used to create it. The Create drop down in the PM Work Center also automatically links related records.
  • Manually in a form - You can manually create and remove item relations using the PM Related Items form. This form is launched from most forms in the PM module by clicking the drop down next to the Related Items icon and selecting Add Record Items. PM Relate Items has search functions that allow you to quickly locate records and then manually add or remove the relations.
  • Manually in the PM Work Center - You can also manually relate items using the drag and drop feature on the Related Items panel on the PM Work Center. For example if you receive an MS Outlook email about an RFI, you can open that RFI in the PM Work Center and then drag and drop the email from MS Outlook to the Related Items panel. This will add the email as an attachment and as a related item on the RFI.

    Once the items are linked, use the Related Items panel on the PM Work Center and most PM module forms to view and open the related items.

  • Click here for general information about the Related Items feature.
  • Click here for information on manually adding or removing related items.

Distribution Audit

Use the Distribution Audit () feature to view:

  • All of the documents generated using the Create and Send feature - for example change orders, RFIs, drawing logs, project issues, etc.
  • Any communications sent using the Create and Send feature- for example if you resend a document to a project contact.

    Click here for more information.

Create a related item

Use the Create Related option () to create a new record using the information on the currently selected record. The new record will be associated with the current record using the Related Item feature, and to reduce data entry some of the fields on the new record will default based on the currently selected record.

For example if you are viewing a meeting in the PM Meeting Minutes form and want to create a new pending change order, click on the Create Related option () and select Pending Change Orders from the menu that displays. This will open the PM Pending Change Orders form, and populate the Project field so that you can create a new pending change order.

This feature is also available on the PM Work Center.

Why can't I add an ACO item to an interfaced ACO?

Are you trying to add an ACO item to an interfaced ACO? You can't do this using the PM Approved Change Orders form if the Lock down ACO Items after Interface box is checked (PM Company Parameters> Info).

Overview of Change Orders

Load Costs

Project Budgets

Updating Phases to JC