Manage Element of Cost

Admin User

Elements of cost (EOC) or cost elements are the summary categories of cost such as labor, material, and other direct costs. All ProjStream software tools and projects share this system level list of summary EOC categories and optional subcategory detail. You typically assign a summary EOC category to the detail level resources in the project specific or global resource structures (see Add Resources). These EOC category and subcategory assignments become resource attributes you can use for reporting as well as sorting or selecting resources. Your internal management needs as well as customer contractual requirements may determine the categories and subcategories you use for your resource structures.

The four standard summary EOC categories predefined in EVMax are:

Labor,
Material,
Other Direct Cost, and
Subcontract.

The EOC categories are predefined to support common government contractual reporting requirements. It is often necessary to map your resources into one of the four standard categories identified in government reporting Data Item Descriptions (DIDs). This includes the Cost and Software Data Report (CSDR) Cost and Hour Report (FlexFile) DID DI-FNCL-82162, the Integrated Program Management Report (IPMR) DID DI-MGMT-81861A, and the Integrated Program Management Data and Analysis Report (IPMDAR) DID DI-MGMT-818161B. The government established these categories so they can collect contractor provided data in a standard format for analysis and internal reporting requirements across a portfolio of programs.

The CSDR or FlexFile also includes a set of standard element of cost detail categories for each of the four summary element of cost categories. These are also predefined in EVMax. If you anticipate your project will need to produce the CSDR, assign a standard summary element of cost category and the cost detail category in your resource structure. If you anticipate your project will need to produce the IPMR or IPMDAR, assign a standard summary element of cost category in your resource structure.

You can add other user defined element of cost categories to the predefined list or modify the predefined list. Before you modify the predefined list, determine whether any of your projects will have government reporting requirements. At a minimum, you may need to maintain the four standard summary EOC categories as the IPMR is a common project performance reporting requirement. Projects without government reporting requirements could use any user defined summary element of cost categories you add such as Travel. If you don't anticipate your projects will be required to produce the CSDR, you can delete or modify the subcategory detail to fit your business environment.