Use Project Policies to maintain the general policies that govern how your internal companies conduct their project-related operations. For each internal company, you can establish a separate set of project policies.
Select Projects | Setup | Project Policies. The Main tab appears.
Main tab
In Project Caption, type the label that you want to use in screens and reports as your organization’s Project equivalent (for example, Project, Contract, Engagement, Matter, and so on). The label for the caption is reflected in Report Options, but not on reports.
In Project Number Size, type the maximum number of characters that you want to use to specify the Project ID. The maximum size allowed is 20 characters.
In Task Caption, type the label that you want to use in screens and reports as your organization’s WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) equivalent (for example, Task, WBS, Phase, and so on). The label for the caption is reflected in the Advanced area in Report Options, but not on reports.
Task Component Size area
In Task Component 1 - 4, type the maximum number of characters that you want to use to specify up to four Task Components. Any Task component where the size is set to a value greater than zero (0) will be available to specify separately in the Task setup for a project. The maximum size of the combined components is 40 characters.
Task Total Size displays the total length of the four components.
In Default Task Value, specify the Task value that you want to default when no Task is specified. A value is required here for any Task Component where the size is greater than zero (0). This value will automatically be set up in Task Definitions after you define the value here.
In Organization Assignment, select the source of the organizational codes (that is, Department, Territory, and Product Line) used in transactions posted against a project. Currently this is implemented in only Project. Valid options include the following:
Project – Cost and associated revenues posted to the project will have their organization codes defaulted to the Responsible Department, Territory and Product Lines values specified for the project.
Resource – Cost and associated revenues posted to the project will have their organization codes defaulted to the Home Department, Territory, and Product Lines values specified for the resource.
In Organization Override, select the criteria that determine whether, and when, the system lets the user override the default organizational assignments that you determined in step 4. Not yet implemented. Valid options include the following:
Always – Allow for override without a prompt.
Never – Do not allow for override of the default values.
With Prompt – Allow for an override but prompt the user to confirm.
In Labor Costing Method, specify whether the rate used to cost labor transactions is based on the cost rates set up for the labor category or for the resource. Valid options include the following:
Labor Category – Use cost rates set up for the labor category.
Resource – Use cost rates set up for the resource.
Select Allow Budget Exclusions when you are budgeting projects, but you will allow certain items to be excluded from accumulating against the budget dollars. For example, perhaps you are budgeting a lump sum for the whole project and have a WBS Definition of “meetings” defined in the project. You want the time recorded for the meetings but do not want the cost to be applied against the budget of the project. To achieve this, use the Budget Exclusion tab in Project.
Select Allow Edit of Submitted Project Transactions if you want resources to be able to edit project transactions (for example, timesheets and expense reports) when the Status = Submitted).
Select Enable Project Invoice External Reference if you want to assign an external reference number to project invoices. This field is used for informational purposes only.
Select Use Billing and Std. Cost Rate for Budgeting to support the lookup of either a project’s applicable billing rate or a resource’s/labor category’s standard cost rate based on the selection in the Labor Costing Method field in Project Policies.
Project ID Options area
Select Use System Generated Project ID when you want the system to generate the Project ID for new projects entered and saved in Project.
Next Project ID – Enter the number the system should use when generating the next Project ID in Project. This field becomes enabled only when the Use System Generated Project ID check box is selected.
Contract ID Options area
Select Use System Generated Contract ID to have the system generate the Contract ID for new contracts entered and saved in mobile Project Contract.
Next Contract ID – Enter the number the system should use when generating the next Contract ID in mobile Project Contract. This field becomes enabled only when the Use System Generated Contract ID check box is selected.
Resource Defaults area
Use this area if you have defined the policies in Chart of Accounts Policies. The labels here coincide with the values that you specified in Field Name and in Short Field Name in Chart of Accounts Policies.
In Home Dept, select the department that you want to be the default value when this box appears in a screen.
In Home Ter, select the territory that you want to be the default value when this box appears in a screen.
In Home Prd, select the product line that you want to be the default value when this box appears in a screen.
In Project Account, select the project account that you want to be the default value when this box appears in a screen.
In Labor Category, select the labor category that you want to be the default value when this box appears in a screen.
In Pay Category, select the pay category that you want to be the default value when this box appears in a screen.
These settings apply to only projects with a billing schedule type of Percent Complete or Milestone Completion. They are optional and should be selected only if you want to change the default behavior. (See also Invoicing With Progress Billing.)
The first two options enable some billing control during invoicing of a project. Depending on who handles this part of the process in your organization, you can give more users the ability to make certain updates.
The third option determines which percent complete you want to have entered by default on the invoice, the reported percent complete or the system-computed percent complete.
Enable Task Status at Billing – Select this check box to allow a project task status to be updated manually on the Progress Billing - Milestone pop-up window. This window is displayed when a user selects Update Detail in the Project Invoice screen for a project defined for milestone completion progress billing.
When this check box remains cleared, project task status can be updated only on the Project screen, Task tab.
Enable % Complete Override at Billing – Select this check box to allow invoice percents to be specified for tasks on the Progress Billing - Percent Complete pop-up window. Entering a percent allows the invoice amount for the row to be calculated. This window is displayed when a user selects Update Detail in the Project Invoice screen for a project defined for percent complete progress billing.
When this check box remains cleared, the reported percent complete for tasks can be updated only on the Project screen, Task tab.
Default to Reported % Complete at Billing – Select this check box to have the Reported % Comp field values on the Progress Billing – Percent Complete pop-up window entered by default from the Project screen, Task tab. This gives the project manager, for example, a higher degree of control over the percent complete values. The computed percent complete might be 17%, but the PM may choose to report the project as 20% complete.
When this check box remains cleared, the Computed % Comp field values are entered by default from the Project screen, Task tab.
Time tab
In Restrict Project/Task from Time and Expense, specify whether projects and/or tasks will be restricted in timesheets and expense reports to only those resources assigned to them in Project. Valid options include:
Unrestricted – No restrictions for projects and tasks.
Restricted Tasks – Restrict tasks to those resources assigned as task managers for a project in the Task tab of Project.
Restricted Projects and Tasks – Restrict projects and tasks to those resources assigned as project managers and task managers. This restriction is affected by the utilization category that has been specified for the project on the Project Types screen, as described here:
For projects with a project type for which the utilization category is set to Billable:
When a task manager has NOT been assigned to a project task, only the project manager can select that task for time/expense entry.
When a task manager has been assigned to a project task, only he/she can select that task for time/expense entry.
For a project resource other than the project manager to enter time/expenses for a task, he/she must be assigned as the task manager.
When a project's tasks include some with an assigned task manager and some without, the project manager can select the tasks for time/expense entry where 1) he/she is the task manager OR 2) no task manager is assigned.
Beyond Client: When a project manager has no tasks to select from on a project, he/she will be able to select the project during time/expense entry. However, because there are no selectable tasks, the project manager is unable to enter time/expenses for the project.
Beyond Mobile: As of the 6.2.401.0 build, when a project manager has no tasks to select from on a project, he/she cannot select the project either.
For projects with a project type for which the utilization category is NOT set to Billable:
When a task manager has NOT been assigned to a project task, any project resource can select that task for time/expense entry.
When a task manager has been assigned to a project task, only he/she can select that task for time/expense entry.
When a project's tasks include some with an assigned task manager and some without, any project resource can select the tasks for time/expense entry where 1) they are the task manager or 2) no task manager is assigned.
Beyond Client: When a project manager has no tasks to select from on a project, he/she will be able to select the project during time/expense entry. However, because there are no selectable tasks, the project manager is unable to enter time/expenses for the project.
Beyond Mobile: As of the 6.2.401.0 build, when a project manager has no tasks to select from on a project, he/she cannot select the project either.
Restricted Projects and Tasks to Scheduled Resources - Restrict projects and tasks to the projects and tasks that resources are assigned to in Resource Scheduling.
In Week Start Day, enter the day your week starts on. For example, if your week runs from Saturday to Friday, you would set this field = 'Saturday'.
In Weekly Timesheet Week of Default, select the option you want Weekly Timesheet to default to when the screen is opened. These are your options:
Current Week – Defaults the timesheet entry screens to the most current week, based on the week that today's date falls within.
Earliest Incomplete – Defaults the timesheet entry screens to the earliest week that is missing time for the resource.
Time Approval Type – Select to use Standard or Advanced approval functionality.
Advanced – For using the Advanced approval functionality, which includes recalling, re-submitting, and rejecting time. Only Beyond Mobile can be used for time entry and approval when Advanced is selected.
Standard – For using the basic submit and approve functionality. Both Beyond Client and Beyond Mobile can be used for entering and approving time when Standard is selected.
See also About Time and Expense Approval Types.
Select Require Project on Unapproved Timesheets if you want all timesheets to require a valid Project ID be entered before it may be saved. This is true for time entries in Timesheet and Weekly Timesheet.
Select Allow Mobile Time Submission to allow time to be entered via mobile devices. When this check box is cleared (off), the Submit button will not be visible on the My Time-Portrait and My Time-Landscape pages in Beyond Mobile.
Select Restrict Time Changes to One Period to restrict the detail line dates entered on a timesheet to be within a single fiscal period.
Select Lock Approved Timesheets to "lock" weekly timesheets where Status = Approved so that they may no longer be edited. If the weekly timesheet has a project-task combination with 0.00 hours logged for a specific day, that cell may be edited to include hours. When the Lock Approved Timesheets check box is selected, employees will not be allowed to enter additional time to an approved timesheet in the mobile time entry apps.
Note: Only fields (cells) in the grid line that contain hours when the weekly timesheet status was set to Approved can be edited.
Select Allow Unlimited Hours for Mobile Time Entry if you want to enter greater than 24 hours worked in a single day in the mobile time entry application only.
Select Enable 9/80 Time Entry to support a 9/80 work week in the mobile Time-Landscape and Time-Portrait apps. This will allow Time-Landscape and Time-Portrait to display eight calendar days in a week, where the first and last day displayed represent a split day.
For example, a company with a 9/80 work week structure, with the first day of the week set to Saturday in Project Policies, implies that the work week includes noon on Friday to noon the following Friday. Resources will track their time based on the actual day the time was worked and allow the system to convert the time into days/dates that align with their work week.
When time for a single day, in this case Friday, is split between two weeks, the employee will enter time for the AM (morning hours) separate from time for the PM (afternoon hours). AM hours are considered the end of the week, while PM hours are considered the first hours of the next week.
When the timesheet is approved, the PM hours will be saved with the next day's date. In this case, the Friday PM time will be saved as the following day's time. Time entered for Saturday will be saved as Sunday time along with any time entered directly for Sunday. All other days of the week will be entered and saved on their respective dates.
Select Enable Labor Category Summary at Submission if you want a summary by labor category, for the current week's timesheet, to be included in the confirmation dialog below the confirmation message. This check box defaults unchecked.
Select Disable Mobile Time Approval Updates to disable the Edit and Delete row actions on the detail lines of the mobile Time Approvals page. This check box defaults as unchecked.
Note: If Disable Mobile Time Approval Updates is selected, but the user has been granted the Approve Any Timesheet permission on the Other tab in Roles, then the Edit and Delete row actions will be available for use on time entries for approval in Beyond Mobile.
Select Enable Setting Task Complete at Time Entry to include a Task Complete check box on time entry forms in Beyond Mobile. If a resource selects the Task Complete check box for a time entry in Mobile, and the time is approved, the Status field for that task on the Project screen, Task tab is automatically set to Complete.
Select Require Comments for Billable Time to require the resource to enter comments for each day they enter time for a billable project.
Select Require Comments for Non-billable Time to require the resource to enter comments for each day they enter time for a non-billable project.
Select Disable Task Default for Time Entry to stop tasks from defaulting in the entry screens from the previous detail line.
Select Enable Billable Selection to include a Billable check box on time entry forms in Beyond Mobile. For projects set up as billable, the check box will be selected by default. For projects set up as non-billable, the check box will be cleared by default. Resources can change the check box as needed when they enter time.
In addition, a display-only Billable check box column will be added to the Detail area of the Project Invoice screen, so billing workers can see which detail lines have been set to Billable. For each line that was set to Billable, the Billable, Select, and Close check boxes will be selected by default. This means that the line will be included on the current invoice, and it is a full bill so it will no longer be included in the retrieval of detail rows when the Update Detail button is clicked. For lines that were not set to Billable, the Billable, Select, and Close check boxes will be cleared by default. In either case, the billing worker can change the Select and Close settings as needed. More information is provided in Project Invoice.
DCAA Compliance area
Select Require Reason for Time Entry Change to require that resources select a reason code when adding or changing time for days prior to the current day. Companies that must comply with DCAA requirements should check this box. This check box is disabled by default.
Select Allow Other Reasons to allow the resource to enter a freeform reason instead of selecting a predefined reason code. This check box is enabled only when Require Reason for Time Entry Change is selected (on). This check box is disabled by default.
Hide for Time Entry area
The Hide for Time Entry area defines which fields should display for data entry purposes in Weekly Timesheet, My Time-Portrait (mobile), and My Time-Landscape (mobile). If a field is selected, it will be hidden, meaning it will not appear in the entry screens. Fields that are not selected will appear and allow data to be entered.
Note: These settings do not affect data entry in the Timesheet screen under Projects in Beyond Client.
Select Pay Category if you want to hide the Pay Category field from entry screens.
Select Labor Category if you want to hide the Labor Category field from entry screens.
Select Project Account if you want to hide the Project Account field from entry screens.
Select Task if you want to hide the Task field from entry screens.
Select Task Description if you want to hide the Task Description field from entry screens.
Select Task Complete if you want to hide the Task Complete field from entry screens.
Select Comment if you want to hide the Comment field from entry screens.
Select for Mobile Time Entry Display area
This area is used to define which fields to display when viewing existing time detail lines in My Time-Portrait and My Time-Landscape in Beyond Mobile. If the field is selected, it will display in the detail lines when viewing existing time entry detail lines. If the field is not selected, it will be hidden. This area does not affect the Timesheet and Weekly Timesheet screens under Projects in Beyond Client.
Select Company ID if you plan to allow entry of company IDs on mobile devices.
Select Company Name if you plan to display the company name on mobile devices.
Select Project ID if you plan to allow entry of project IDs on mobile devices.
Select Project Description if you plan to display the project descriptions on mobile devices.
Select Task if you plan to display the task IDs on mobile devices.
Select Task Description if you plan to display the task descriptions on mobile devices.
Select Labor Category if you plan to display the labor category on mobile devices.
Select Pay Category if you plan to display the pay category on mobile devices.
Expense tab
Select Allow Expense Reporting to enable expense reporting in Beyond Client. If this is not selected, users cannot enter expense reports.
Select Create Vendor Invoice from Approved Expense Report if you want the system to automatically generate an Accounts Payable Invoice for the respective expenses when the Expense Report is approved.
Vendor Invoice Posting Options:
Pending – Create vendor invoices with a status of Pending by default.
Post All – Create vendor invoices with a Status of Posted by default. Posted vendor invoices cannot be edited.
Select Allow Company Paid Expense Items so that the employee will be able to create non-reimbursable (company paid) items in their expense report. The liability is posted to the Company Payables Liability Account Group.
For Company Payables Liability Account Group, select the account in Acct to associate with the company paid expense items. If more dimension codes are activated in Chart of Accounts Policies, such as department and territory, they are displayed next to the Acct field. In each available field, select the ID of the responsible account group to associate with the expense. You can also create new account group segments by using the Quick Add feature. See Quick Add. Account information is required if you selected the Allow Company Paid Expense Items check box.
Use Default to Reimburse Resource to control the default setting for the Reimburse Resource check box in the Beyond Client Expense Report screen, Detail grid. When this check box is selected, the Reimburse Resource check box for each detail row will be selected by default. Otherwise, it is cleared by default. This setting can be used only if you select Allow Company Paid Expense Items.
Expense Approval Type – Select to use Standard or Advanced approval functionality.
Advanced – For using the Advanced approval functionality, which includes recalling, re-submitting and rejecting expenses. Only Beyond Mobile can be used for expense entry and approval when Advanced is selected.
Standard – For using the basic submit and approve functionality. Both Beyond Client and Beyond Mobile can be used for entering and approving expenses when Standard is selected.
See also About Time and Expense Approval Types.
Select Disable Mobile Expense Approval Updates to disable the Edit and Delete row actions on the detail lines of the mobile Expense Approvals page. This check box defaults as unchecked.
Note: If Disable Mobile Expense Approval Updates is selected, but the user has been granted the Approve Any Expense Report permission in the Other tab in Roles, then the Edit and Delete row actions will be available for use on expense entries for approval in Beyond Mobile.
Select Enable Billable Selection to include a Billable check box on expense entry forms in Beyond Mobile. For projects set up as billable, the check box will be selected by default. For projects set up as non-billable, the check box will be cleared by default. Resources can change the check box as needed when they enter expenses.
In addition, a display-only Billable check box column will be added to the Detail area of the Project Invoice screen, so billing workers can see which detail lines have been set to Billable. For each line that was set to Billable, the Billable, Select, and Close check boxes will be selected by default. This means that the line will be included on the current invoice, and it is a full bill so it will no longer be included in the retrieval of detail rows when the Update Detail button is clicked. For lines that were not set to Billable, the Billable, Select, and Close check boxes will be cleared by default. In either case, the billing worker can change the Select and Close settings as needed. More information is provided in Project Invoice.
Items tab
Select Enable Item List to enable the Inventory options on the main menu.
Select Enable Customer Class Pricing to enable the Customer Class field in Price Class.
Select Enable Customer Pricing to enable the Customer ID and Customer Name fields in Price Class.
Select Enable Price Ending Pricing to enable the Price Ending field in Price Class.
Billing Rate Keys tab
The billing rate keys tell the System which possible billing rate key combinations are used in the company. Selecting or clearing these items does not affect the combinations that can be specified in Billing Rate. These options control only the combinations that are used by the System to look up possible billing rates and are meant to optimize system performance in those cases in which all possible billing rate combinations cannot be used by a particular company. Unless it is certain that one or more of these combinations will NEVER be used on a project, you should select all check boxes on this tab.
Exception Keys by Project area
If none of these check boxes are selected, the System will ignore Billing Rate Exceptions entered for a project. Select the combinations that you want to have available to use to look up possible project level billing rate overrides.
Project Account – Task – Labor Category – Resource ID - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, task, labor category, then resource ID.
Project Account – Task – Resource ID - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, task, then resource ID.
Project Account – Task – Labor Category - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, task, then labor category.
Project Account – Task - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, then task.
Project Account – Labor Category – Resource ID - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, labor category, then resource ID.
Project Account – Resource ID - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, then resource ID.
Project Account – Labor Category - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account, then labor category.
Project Account - Used to look up Billing Rate Exceptions by project account.
Standard Keys area
These check boxes specify the account key combinations that the System uses to look up standard billing rates. Select the combinations that you want to have available to use to look up standard billing rates.
Project Account - Labor Category – Resource ID – Used to lookup up standard billing rates by project account, labor category, then resource ID.
Project Account – Resource ID – Used to look up standard billing rates by project account, then resource ID.
Project Account – Labor Category – Used to look up standard billing rates by project account, then labor category.
Project Account – Used to look up standard billing rates by project account.
Click Save and New, or click Save and then click New, to save the current project policy.