Project Costs Overview

Note:

Project costs are available in a limited capacity, and not fully supported end-to-end in PSA. This feature is not yet compatible with functional areas such as project actuals, project budgets, and the project reporting dataset. Updates to functionality are planned and will impact how and where the feature is utilized.

A project cost represents a non-resource direct cost associated with a project. Project costs enable you to record project-related costs originating outside PSA that are unrelated to internal labor or expenses. For example, hardware, software, or third-party labor. You can classify these costs by category and subcategory to ensure proper financial tracking.

Unlike miscellaneous adjustments, which associate costs with a single point in time, project costs can be aligned with a project timeline. They also enable you to capture detailed cost attributes, vendor-related information, and a delivery timeline. This helps you to ensure project profitability and accurate financial planning and forecasting.

Project costs associated with a project are automatically included in cost forecasts if they fall within the project's start and end dates, and use either the deliverable or equal split recognition method.

You can view and manage project costs from the Project Costs tab. For more information about creating project costs, see Creating Project Costs. For more information about miscellaneous adjustments, see Miscellaneous Adjustments.

Cost Categories and Subcategories

You classify a project cost using the Cost Category field and the dependent Cost Subcategory field. The subcategory values available depend on the category you select. The Project Cost Categories and Subcategories table details the categories and related subcategories available.

Project Cost Categories and Subcategories

Cost Category	Cost Subcategories
Finance	Financial Services
Health and Safety	Health and Safety Services
	Personal Protective Equipment
Human Resources	Training and Learning
IT and Software	Computers and Devices
	Software Licenses
	Server Maintenance
Marketing	Public Relations
	Community Management
	Digital Ads
	SEO
Subcontractors	Consultant
	Project Manager
	Solution Architect
	Engineer

The cost category you select is reflected in the generated forecast data, and is surfaced in forecasts. If you do not select a specific category, the project cost contributes to the "Other Cost" category in forecasts.

Note:

Categories and subcategories can be modified to adapt it to your business needs. To add your own category and subcategory values, contact your administrator.

Project Costs in Services Forecasts

Project costs are included in Services Forecasting cost forecasts when the project cost uses the deliverable or an equal split recognition method and falls within the project's start and end dates. How a project cost contributes to the forecast depends on its recognition method, and whether the Approved for Forecast Actuals checkbox is selected. The Project Cost Forecast Behavior table details how each combination contributes to the cost forecast.

Project Cost Forecast Behavior

Recognition Method	Approved for Forecast Actuals	Dates Used	Forecast Behavior
Deliverable	Selected	End Date	The cost is an actual cost in the period containing the end date. The cost amount contributes to the Costs Pending Recognition field on the cost forecast for the monthly time period that contains the end date, whether the end date is in the past or future.
	Deselected	End Date	The cost is a scheduled cost in the period containing the end date. The cost amount contributes to the Scheduled Costs field on the cost forecast for the monthly time period that contains the end date. If that period is closed for forecasting, the scheduled cost is lost. The amount is recorded as an unfulfilled scheduled cost and contributes to the Unfulfilled Scheduled Costs field.
Equal Split	Selected	Start Date and End Date	The cost is split equally across the periods between the start date and end date. Closed periods and the first open period after the closed periods record the cost as an actual cost, contributing to the Costs Pending Recognition field on the cost forecast. Future open periods record it as a scheduled cost contributing to the Scheduled Costs field.
	Deselected	Start Date and End Date	The cost is split equally across the periods between the start date and end date and recorded as a scheduled cost, contributing to the Scheduled Costs field for all open periods. For a closed period, other than the first open period, the amount is recorded as an unfulfilled scheduled cost contributing to the Unfulfilled Scheduled Costs field.

Note:

The Expected Delivery Date and Actual Delivery Date fields record date information related to the delivery of goods or services associated with the project cost, and do not have an impact on the cost forecast calculations.

For more information, see Deliverable Recognition Method for Cost Forecasting and Equal Split Recognition Method for Cost Forecasting.