Examining Costs

Summary
Once resources (with defined standard rates or Cost per Use rates) have been assigned to tasks, costs are automatically calculated. Next we would want to inquire after the costs of the project. To see a total cost of the project, simply choose: Project - Project Information and click the 'Statistics' button.

Costs By Resources
Switch to a Resource oriented view such as 'Resource Sheet'.

• Choose: View - Resource Sheet
• Choose: View - Table - Cost

Modifying the Time scale
To modify the time scale:

• Click the Zoom In or Zoom Out button on the toolbar .

You can use this to examine costs by the day month, quarter, half-year and longer

Costs By Task
To see a breakdown of the costs by task (and higher level WBS elements if you have them) switch to an appropriate table. First, however, make sure that you are on a task-oriented view such as Gantt chart.

• Choose: View - Gantt Chart
• Choose the 'cost' table
• Click View - Table - Cost

The 'Total Cost' column contains the current cost forecasts of the project.

Costs By Time
Switch to the Task Usage view:

• Choose: View - Task Usage
• Right-click and choose Costs on the yellow time-based part of the screen

If you do not have a summary at the project level, choose: Tools - Options - (View Tab) and check the 'Project Summary' box. This will show you the cost of the project by period rolled up to the project level.