modifying standard calendar format in microsoft project

[MSR]

Hi, My Company calendar require a different calendar than the standard
'Gregarian Calendar'. Here is how my companies month is identified.
A specific month will start on previous month's last full week's Monday and
ends on current month's last-but-one full week's Friday.
i.e. For example, the month of June 2006 starts on 'May 22' and ends on
'June 23'.
Is there anyway I can customize my calendar to show 'my' month of June to
show the days between 'May 22' and 'June 23' in Gregarian Calendar.

Thanks.

MSR

 

[davegb]

Hi, My Company calendar require a different calendar than the standard
'Gregarian Calendar'. Here is how my companies month is identified.
A specific month will start on previous month's last full week's Monday and
ends on current month's last-but-one full week's Friday.
i.e. For example, the month of June 2006 starts on 'May 22' and ends on
'June 23'.
Is there anyway I can customize my calendar to show 'my' month of June to
show the days between 'May 22' and 'June 23' in Gregarian Calendar.

Thanks.

MSR

Nope.

 

[John]

Hi, My Company calendar require a different calendar than the standard
'Gregarian Calendar'. Here is how my companies month is identified.
A specific month will start on previous month's last full week's Monday and
ends on current month's last-but-one full week's Friday.
i.e. For example, the month of June 2006 starts on 'May 22' and ends on
'June 23'.
Is there anyway I can customize my calendar to show 'my' month of June to
show the days between 'May 22' and 'June 23' in Gregarian Calendar.

Thanks.

MSR

MSR,
No, not directly. You are using what is called an accounting month
calendar. There are variations but the most common is perhaps the 4-4-5
(the year is broken down into months consisting of 4 weeks, 4 weeks, 5
weeks and this sequence repeats 4 times through the year).

In order to do what you need, an advanced feature of Project is
required, namely VBA. With a macro the basic Project data can be
parceled out into whatever accounting months you need. For convenience
the data is then exported to Excel where it can be displayed in any
desired format.

John
Project MVP

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Even if you can come up with a VBA workaround I'd be very reluctant to use
it. Remember that Project is not an accounting application - it is a work
scheduling application. If you tell Joe Welder to show up on a certain date
in your accounting calendar ready to do a certain job, will he really
understand when he's expected to be there?

 

[John]

Even if you can come up with a VBA workaround I'd be very reluctant to use
it. Remember that Project is not an accounting application - it is a work
scheduling application. If you tell Joe Welder to show up on a certain date
in your accounting calendar ready to do a certain job, will he really
understand when he's expected to be there?

Steve,
I certainly agree that Project is not an accounting application.
However, not all businesses in the world operate strictly on a "normal"
calendar. Although the percentage of those companies may be small it is
unfortunate that the Project developers have never provided for custom
calendars. Fortunately VBA provides an out. With it, Project data can be
captured in whatever calendar format is required and exported to an
appropriate spreadsheet or accounting application. It may not be
convenient, but it certainly is effective and still allows users to take
advantage of the scheduling tools Project has to offer.

By the way, if Joe Welder is told to show up on a certain date, a date
is a date, it doesn't matter if it is in one accounting month or
another, and Joe doesn't care. He is there to weld, not to keep track of
financial data. He shows up, does his work, fills out his timecard and
gets paid.

John

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi all,

The problem is that mostly the bean counters have nothing, and Project's
input is the best they can get; OTOH this "very best guess value" has to fit
into their time slices; so I agree with John, pity Project doesn't allow for
more sophisticated calendars - not that THIS is the development we are most
waiting for!
Greetings,

--
Jan De Messemaeker, Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/
For FAQs: http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Steve,
I certainly agree that Project is not an accounting application.
However, not all businesses in the world operate strictly on a "normal"
calendar. Although the percentage of those companies may be small it is
unfortunate that the Project developers have never provided for custom
calendars. Fortunately VBA provides an out. With it, Project data can be
captured in whatever calendar format is required and exported to an
appropriate spreadsheet or accounting application. It may not be
convenient, but it certainly is effective and still allows users to take
advantage of the scheduling tools Project has to offer.

By the way, if Joe Welder is told to show up on a certain date, a date
is a date, it doesn't matter if it is in one accounting month or
another, and Joe doesn't care. He is there to weld, not to keep track of
financial data. He shows up, does his work, fills out his timecard and
gets paid.

John

 

[John]

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

Steve,
But if the corporate accounting system operates on accounting months
(e.g. 4-4-5) then whatever data is fed into it (hours, dollars,
whatever) needs to be parceled into those "buckets". As we agreed,
Project's job in not financial accounting so whether a company works to
a "normal" calendar or an accounting calendar, Project's basic planning
data (e.g. durations, cost, baselines, etc.) must be integrated with the
financial system through an interface. However, when an accounting
calendar is required the basic data cannot simply be exported to the
interface, it must be manipulated.

John

 

[Matt_NewProjectUser]

Hello,
Although this is nothing but added opinion, I would like to relay a thought
on this topic as I stumbled on it researching this same question.
I think everyone understands this is not a financial modeling system,
however I (amongst a lot of people I have talked with) would love to see some
kind of custom calendar option available.
Schedulers need to talk with us bean-counters and when their fiscal month is
not equal to our fiscal month, problems arise. One month to a sceduler might
equal 168 hrs whereas it may really equal 200 hrs in the fiscal calendar and
although this is not the financial model, it is the basis for our pricing and
if those assumtions are misinterpretted by any of the hands in the pot, you
are going to end up with inaccurate pricing and planning.
To make the statement that a date is a date and what difference does it make
what Project associates it with is a rather one-sided statement to make.
Regards,
MH

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Steve,
I certainly agree that Project is not an accounting application.
However, not all businesses in the world operate strictly on a "normal"
calendar. Although the percentage of those companies may be small it is
unfortunate that the Project developers have never provided for custom
calendars. Fortunately VBA provides an out. With it, Project data can be
captured in whatever calendar format is required and exported to an
appropriate spreadsheet or accounting application. It may not be
convenient, but it certainly is effective and still allows users to take
advantage of the scheduling tools Project has to offer.

By the way, if Joe Welder is told to show up on a certain date, a date
is a date, it doesn't matter if it is in one accounting month or
another, and Joe doesn't care. He is there to weld, not to keep track of
financial data. He shows up, does his work, fills out his timecard and
gets paid.

John

 

[Steve House]

My point is that a Project Manager's primary job is to get the project done
on time and within budget. As such, a scheduler is primarily concerned
about when the plumber shows up ready to work - not too early so as to not
sit idle waiting while drawing pay (predecessor task not yet done) and not
too late (he could have started last week if he'd have known the predecessor
had completed) lest the project completion be delayed beyond what it could
have been done. Whether the plumber's work is counted as being done in
fiscal month 4 or fiscal month 5 of the project has no bearing on whether or
not the project is done in the shortest amount of time and at the lowest
possible cost.

You said the number of hours in the fiscal month is the basis for your
pricing. But again, that is not what project management software is
designed to do - it could care less about pricing and what you charge for
the project, or even IF you charge anything at all for it. Revenues don't
exist as a factor in managing the project to complete it in the shortest
possible time and at the lowest possible direct costs to the firm.
Certainly revenues are important to the firm but their considerations lie
outside the world of project management software - specific tools for
specific functions.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Hello,
Although this is nothing but added opinion, I would like to relay a
thought
on this topic as I stumbled on it researching this same question.
I think everyone understands this is not a financial modeling system,
however I (amongst a lot of people I have talked with) would love to see
some
kind of custom calendar option available.
Schedulers need to talk with us bean-counters and when their fiscal month
is
not equal to our fiscal month, problems arise. One month to a sceduler
might
equal 168 hrs whereas it may really equal 200 hrs in the fiscal calendar
and
although this is not the financial model, it is the basis for our pricing
and
if those assumtions are misinterpretted by any of the hands in the pot,
you
are going to end up with inaccurate pricing and planning.
To make the statement that a date is a date and what difference does it
make
what Project associates it with is a rather one-sided statement to make.
Regards,
MH

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As
you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour
utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of
that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget
but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Even if you can come up with a VBA workaround I'd be very reluctant to
use
it. Remember that Project is not an accounting application - it is a
work
scheduling application. If you tell Joe Welder to show up on a
certain
date
in your accounting calendar ready to do a certain job, will he really
understand when he's expected to be there?

Steve,
I certainly agree that Project is not an accounting application.
However, not all businesses in the world operate strictly on a "normal"
calendar. Although the percentage of those companies may be small it is
unfortunate that the Project developers have never provided for custom
calendars. Fortunately VBA provides an out. With it, Project data can
be
captured in whatever calendar format is required and exported to an
appropriate spreadsheet or accounting application. It may not be
convenient, but it certainly is effective and still allows users to
take
advantage of the scheduling tools Project has to offer.

By the way, if Joe Welder is told to show up on a certain date, a date
is a date, it doesn't matter if it is in one accounting month or
another, and Joe doesn't care. He is there to weld, not to keep track
of
financial data. He shows up, does his work, fills out his timecard and
gets paid.

John

 

[Danny]

Steve,

I agree that Project is not an accounting software package. That being said,
it is a reporting tool that helps managers make decisions and some of those
managers are not concerned with the project itself, but rather the big
company picture (i.e. staffing, etc). Therefore, a calendar that fits the MPM
software being used by the accounting staff is the most efficient. They are
looking for approximations on resource use in the future to make decisions.

More than just project managers need the data.

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Steve,
I certainly agree that Project is not an accounting application.
However, not all businesses in the world operate strictly on a "normal"
calendar. Although the percentage of those companies may be small it is
unfortunate that the Project developers have never provided for custom
calendars. Fortunately VBA provides an out. With it, Project data can be
captured in whatever calendar format is required and exported to an
appropriate spreadsheet or accounting application. It may not be
convenient, but it certainly is effective and still allows users to take
advantage of the scheduling tools Project has to offer.

By the way, if Joe Welder is told to show up on a certain date, a date
is a date, it doesn't matter if it is in one accounting month or
another, and Joe doesn't care. He is there to weld, not to keep track of
financial data. He shows up, does his work, fills out his timecard and
gets paid.

John

 

[Danny]

John,

Has anyone written a VBA for producing a fiscal calendar?

 

[Steve House]

IMHO it's NOT at all a reporting tool and trying to use it as such when the
reporting it does is actually only a secondary function is the source of
difficulty for a lot of users. Project's primary function is to calculate
the optimum schedule that will complete the project's required deliverables
in the shortest possible time - it's reason for existance is to tell you
what the optimum schedule is that you'll be able to work that will achieve
your objectives and estimate what working that schedule will cost you. Yes,
it does reporting because of course one needs information about the
projected schedule and costs on the one hand and progress metrics against
those projections on the other in order to manage the work. But the reports
it produces are designed primarily to give the managers responsible for
achieving the project's objectives the information they need to keep the
project on track. Project will tell me in schedule that has me finishing by
the required deadline, I'll be able to start polishing the fids next Tuesday
and with 5 polishers on the job I'll be be finished by Friday. If I finish
later than Friday it means I'll miss my completion deadline and so those 5
polishers are required, with fewer it'll take too long. Before I can get a
go-ahead on the Project from senior managment I need to run some numbers on
how much 4 days of work for 5 polishers at $15 per hour is going to cost so
I need a cash flow report telling me I'll be spending $2400 in the 4th week
of August. But nowhere in that chain of information is it important to know
if that cost is reported on the books for the 3rd quarter or the 4th quarter
of the year or if they're in fiscal 2006 or 2007 - let the accountants worry
about that - I'll tell 'em the fid polishers are going to do or did $2400
worth of work during the last week of August and let them figure out how and
when to pay 'em and where to post it, the PM's (and MS Project's) job is to
make sure the fids get polished in time to have the Galactic Fidwhacker
ready to ship to stores in time for Christmas. <grin>

Just one opinion


--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Steve,

I agree that Project is not an accounting software package. That being
said,
it is a reporting tool that helps managers make decisions and some of
those
managers are not concerned with the project itself, but rather the big
company picture (i.e. staffing, etc). Therefore, a calendar that fits the
MPM
software being used by the accounting staff is the most efficient. They
are
looking for approximations on resource use in the future to make
decisions.

More than just project managers need the data.

If the accounting application you export the raw data to from Project can
tell whether $500 spent or the 12 hours worked by Joe Welder on June 24th
belongs in Month 6 or Month 7 and Project correctly attributes it to June
24th, what difference does it make what month Project thinks it's in? As
you
said, a date is a date. Financial reporting such as total labour
utilized
per fiscal month is not Project's job and I'd consider such reports of
that
nature that it may generate to be first approximations only, intended to
give you an idea how you're doing regarding the schedule and the budget
but
really not suitable fodder to give to the bean counters as a finished
product.

--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Even if you can come up with a VBA workaround I'd be very reluctant to
use
it. Remember that Project is not an accounting application - it is a
work
scheduling application. If you tell Joe Welder to show up on a
certain
date
in your accounting calendar ready to do a certain job, will he really
understand when he's expected to be there?

Steve,
I certainly agree that Project is not an accounting application.
However, not all businesses in the world operate strictly on a "normal"
calendar. Although the percentage of those companies may be small it is
unfortunate that the Project developers have never provided for custom
calendars. Fortunately VBA provides an out. With it, Project data can
be
captured in whatever calendar format is required and exported to an
appropriate spreadsheet or accounting application. It may not be
convenient, but it certainly is effective and still allows users to
take
advantage of the scheduling tools Project has to offer.

By the way, if Joe Welder is told to show up on a certain date, a date
is a date, it doesn't matter if it is in one accounting month or
another, and Joe doesn't care. He is there to weld, not to keep track
of
financial data. He shows up, does his work, fills out his timecard and
gets paid.

John