Indicative Cost Rates

What are Indicative Cost rates and how to set them up?

When time is entered in Accountability, the value of the time entry is captured using one of 3 different rates ie

1. Billable Rate
2. Indicative Cost Rate
3. Direct Labour Cost Rate

Various reports and on screen displays present the value of time entries using these rates.

Indicative Cost Rates

Indicative Cost Rates are hourly costs rates set at the Task Type level to record a cost value against a time entry.

They generally represent a blended, or average cost rate, as opposed to actual labour cost rates, which are set as Direct Labour cost rates, providing a benchmarking rate for internal analysis.

Various reports and screen displays all display time transactions at the Indicative Cost Rate, ie: 

• Job Summary/Job Profitability Summary
• Job Reports/Job Profitability Report
• Margins screen within an Estimate
• Margin Summary report

As these reports are generally made available to front end users, it is not advisable to create Indicative Cost rates based on actual labour costs, to avoid the risk of users reverse engineering salary levels.

How to setup an Indicative Cost Rate?

• Go to Master Files/Task Types and click on the relevant Task Type.
• In the field INDICATIVE COST RATE enter the rate.
• Click Save and Close.

Indicative Cost Rates can also be imported or updated by using the Import/Update routine.

• Go to Master Files/Task Types and click on the link "Excel".