User Defined Cost Types

It’s been a while since we wrote about these, and recently, we had a few clients roll them out without fully understanding what would happen next. This is a nice option for some industries/clients, but it comes with the need for additional changes.

The default cost types are 1-Material, 2- Labor (W-2), 3-Equiment, 4-Subcontract, and 5-Other. For over 90% of our clients, this is just right! And, the many (hundreds!) of S100C reports handle these cost types well and provide summarized and detailed nuggets.

Every now and then, using one of the User Defined Cost Types (6 through 9) that are available may provide an important adjunct to these initial five. HOWEVER, Cost Types 6 and higher are not in any of the default reports! When clients take this adventure on their own, the next call to us is that their Job cost totals don’t match the Cost Types on the report—and they’re right. Only Types 1 through 5 are in the default reports.

If you need/want/choose to add more Cost Types, consider beforehand which job cost reports you’ll need and take the time to modify them to include the additional categories. There are space considerations, too, and we’re happy to help! With a little planning, this kind of a roll out can be successful.—CMW