Material cost

The 'Material Cost' interface lets you update entries of the payments made to vendors, like material suppliers, sellers, etc., at different periods for the materials procured from them for various tasks. You can enter the amount every time you make a payment to a vendor, with the details like the task, vendor name, and the material purchased; also, upload attachments like a PDF file of the invoice or the receipt. The system decrements the amount paid every time from the total material budget for the task and shows the remaining amount per your estimate. This helps you monitor the variance of the actual expenses from the estimated material cost and plan the future costs to complete the tasks within the budget. The details are used for various statistics and key performance indicators displayed on the dashboards.

The 'Material Cost' Interface

• Open the project management console of the project
• Click 'Budget' on the top
• Select 'Material' from the options on the left

The material cost interface shows a chronological list of payments you made for materials procured for various tasks.

• Invoice Date - The date of the payment
• Task Code - The cost code of the task item for which the material payment was made.
• Task Name - The label of the task as in the contractor schedule.
• Vendor - The supplier, seller, or vendor to whom the payment was made.
• Planned($) -  The total estimated material cost for the task item 
• Actual($) - The amount of money paid to the vendor in that instance.
• Remaining - The amount remaining under the head 'Materials' in the estimate of that task.
• Attachment - Supporting documents like the PDF version of the invoice, bill or receipt, images of the material, etc. Click on the icon to view and download attachments.

Search and Filter options - Use the Find, Filter, and table customization options on the right to search, filter, add/remove columns, etc. See Search, Filter, Column Customization, and Table Views for guidance on this.

Add a material cost entry

• Navigate to the 'Material' cost interface
• Click on the top right

The 'Add Materials' interface shows the list of the tasks and subtasks and their estimates.

• Task Code - The cost code of the task item. 
• Task Name - The label of the task as in the contractor schedule.
• Progress - The completion status of the task
• Planned cost - The total estimated material cost for the task item
• Actual Cost - The total amount of money paid so far for the materials used for the task/deliverable

• Click the button in the row of the task to add a payment made for its material

• Enter the details of the payment made: 
  • Vendor - The name of the supplier, seller, or vendor organization to which the payment was made.
  • Cost - The amount of money paid.
  • Date - Use the calendar to enter the date on which the payment was made.
  • Description - The details of the materials purchased. Use the options at the top to format your text.
  • Attachments - Click the '+' button and upload the supporting documents like the PDF version of the invoice, bill or receipt, images of the material, etc.
• Click 'Done'

The 'Total Material Cost' value for the task item is updated to add the entered amount.

• Click 'Back' at the top right to return to the 'Material Cost' interface.

The payment entry is added to the chronological list. Repeat the process to add material costs for more tasks.