Cost projections allow you to create a summation of all the costs, both direct and indirect, involved in finishing a job, and to manipulate the projected units, hours, and costs for that job. The following is a brief overview of this process.

• Project at a summary level - Projection codes allow you to group the phases and cost types on a project together, and then enter projections based on those groupings. This allows you to define what level of detail you want to use when entering projections. For example you can create cost projections based on the phases, cost types, phases and cost types, or contract items on a job, or you can even manually customize the groupings. Projection codes are created and maintained using the PM Projection Code form and there are several ways to quickly create them.

  

• Two ways to enter projections - You can enter projections on projection codes (groupings of phases/cost types), or on the specific phases/cost types associated with a projection code. For example you can enter a plugged value on a projection code that represents all labor on a project, or you can enter a plugged value on a specific phase/cost type that has been grouped into that projection code.

• Spread - If you enter a plugged value on a projection code, the value is distributed to the phases/cost types associated with that projection code based on how the spread is configured. By default the system will distribute the plugged value based on a weighted average of the percent complete units on each phase/cost type, but you can also configure the system to distribute the plugged value based on a user-defined percentage set up on each projection code. When entering projections using the PM Cost Projections form, you can also manually adjust how the plugged values are distributed. For more information, see About Using the Spread Option for Cost Projections.

• Layouts - Use projection layouts to control how the Grid tab on the PM Cost Projections form displays. For example you can change the column order and column width, add highlight colors, and change the column headings. The layouts that you create are saved in a library, and you can share these layouts with other users. Click the Projection Layouts icon () in the toolbar at the top of the PM Cost Projections form to create and maintain projection layouts. For more information, see About the PM Projection Layouts Form.

• Unit Projections - You can set up the projection codes with a unit of measure that will be used to determine what phase/cost type units will summarize to the projection code. Units plugged at the projection code will spread back through the associated phase/cost type units consistent with the spread option you have selected. For more information about projecting units at projection code level, see Step 4: View posted projections.

• Group and Filter the projection data - You can group and filter the projections that display on the PM Cost Projections form. For example, right click on the Grid or Phase/Cost Type tab on the PM Cost Projections form and select Filter Bar and/or Group Bar from the menu that displays.

• Costs tab - The cost detail now displays on the Costs tab on the PM Cost Projection Editor form. In previous versions, this information displayed on a form that was launched using the Costs button.

• Update Projections - Click on the Update Projections button at the bottom of the PM Cost Projections form to update the cost information included in the projections and perform the projection calculation.

  Note: You can update a single projection code to get the most current information, so that you can more accurately adjust components of a single projection. For more information, see Update Cost Projections for a Single Projection Code.

• One job per batch - In the legacy version of the cost projections process, you could include multiple jobs in a single batch. In the enhanced PM Cost Projections form, you can have only one job in each batch. Each batch can only be opened by one user.