Cost Module Overview

Objective

By the end of this guide, you'll be able to:

• Navigate and understand the Cost Module's Overall page
• Interpret the key financial columns and calculations
• Add and manage financial elements directly from the Overall page
• Customize your view with filters and display options

Prerequisites

• Access to a Mastt project
• Basic understanding of project financial concepts
• Familiarity with Mastt navigation

Video Walkthrough

 

Step-by-Step Guide to the Cost Module

Understanding the Overall Page Structure

1. Hierarchical Organization

• The Overall page displays a hierarchical view of your project finances:
  • Total Project (top level)
  • Budgets (orange B icon)
  • Sub-budgets (nested under budgets)
  • Contracts (under relevant budgets)
  • Variations (teal color, under contracts)
  • Forecasts (purple color)
  • Risks (yellow color, from Risk Module)

2.  Expanding and Collapsing

• Click the arrow next to any item to expand or collapse its contents
• This allows you to drill down into specific areas of interest

Key Financial Columns

1. Budget Columns

• Original Budget: Initial budget set for each budget item
• Adjustments: Transfers between budgets or funds moved in/out
• Budget: Original budget plus/minus adjustments

2. Contract Columns

• Contract: Approved contract amounts
• Variation: Approved or in-principle variations
• Current Contract: Contract plus variations

3. Forecast Columns

• Uncommitted: Unapproved contracts, variations, forecasts, and risks
• Forecast Final Cost (FFC): Current contract plus uncommitted
• Variance: Budget minus FFC
  • Green indicates positive variance (under budget)
  • Red indicates negative variance (over budget)

4. Payment Columns

• Total Paid: Sum of all payments made
• Amount Remaining: FFC minus total paid

5. Column Formulas

• Hover over any column header to see the formula used for calculation

Adding and Managing Items

1. Using the Three Dots Menus

• Click the three dots next to any item to see available actions:
  • Project level: Add/edit budgets, add contracts, add forecasts
  • Budget level: Edit budget, add sub-budgets, add contracts, add forecasts
  • Contract level: Edit contract, add variation, add payment
  • Line item level: Add variation
  • Variation level: Edit or add variations

2. Using the Add Button

• Click Add at the top of the page to add:
  • Budget
  • Contract
  • Forecast
  • Variation
  • Payment

3. Advantages of Three-Dot Menus

• When using the three-dot menu, the system pre-selects the relevant budget, contract, or variation
• This saves time compared to using the top Add button, which requires manual selection

Additional Features

1. Reporting Options

• Click Create Report to generate a standard report in the dashboard
• This report can be exported and edited as needed

2. Exporting Data

• Export either the current view or all data
• Data is exported in a format suitable for further analysis

3. View Customization

• Expand All/Collapse All: Change the view's detail level
• Reset View: Return to default settings
• Columns: Select which columns to display
• Filter: Show only data that meets specific criteria

4. Settings

• Click the cog icon to adjust:
  • Decimal places
  • Denomination (e.g., thousands, millions)

Common Pitfalls and Solutions

• Issue: Missing data
  • Solution: Ensure you've expanded all relevant sections
• Issue: Unable to add items
  • Solution: Check if you have the appropriate permissions
• Issue: Data overload
  • Solution:  Use filters and column selection to focus on relevant information

Next Steps

Now that you understand the Cost Module's Overall page, explore the Budget Management guide to learn how to create and manage budgets effectively in Mastt.