Any way to handle more than 5 resource rates?

[tfz]

Hi all,

Has anyone run into a situation where the 5 resource rates (A-E) aren't
enough to handle all the different types of projects your company has? We
have many different types of projects. For some, we use the person's salary
plus an overhead rate plus a fee. For some, we use a person's salary plus an
overhead rate, but NO fee. For some, we have to charge a flat hourly rate
regardless of the person's actual salary, etc., etc....

Has anyone else run into this problem? If so, have you found some way to
cope? (I'm thinking of trying to add in some kind of cost resource to
adjust for differences, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions or
ideas).

Thanks much for any ideas you may have.
--tfz

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

You could use an extra cost field or number field to capture this info but
remember that the costs Project is calculating is your internal cost for
doing the task, not your billing rate you quote the client. One example of
where this can come to haunt you is the case where your resource is billed
to the client in minimum one-day increments. But Project always calculates
costs based on assigned man-hours of work, not duration time. Let's say his
cost rate to you is $800 per day and that's billed to the client at $1200 a
day. If he works 1 day on the project your cost is $800 and you bill the
client $1200 - if the task is 8 hours duration and the resource is assigned
100%, no problem. But lets say on one day he only works 1 hour. Your cost
is now $100, the real cost of 1 man-hour of his labour. but your still bill
the client $1200, the charge for 8 man-hours. Project handles the first
case without a problem but is totally unable to handle the second. I can't
say too often that it's not designed as a time and billing program and it's
only rarely that it can be successfully kludged into behaving like one.

 

[Jim Aksel]

Consider different templates. You could have a project with Rates1-5.
Create another template using rates 6-10, etc. Just know which one you are
starting from.
--
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Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com