Job Forecasting Hub Training
What is it?
The 'Job Forecasting Hub' is the name of the first place you go in Anterra to begin adjusting the forecast cost at complete for your projects. The Anterra Platform shows the current values for the forecasts but stores the changes to the forecast over time so that you can report on and understand how the forecast changed over the life of the project.
Accessing Job Forecasting Hub
The job forecasting hub is actually comprised of several different grids that work together:
- Job Forecasting Hub (Construction > Forecasting > Enter Job Forecasts)
- Cost Code (Construction > Project Costs)
- Sub Job Forecasting (Construction > Project Costs)*
- Cost by Cost Code and Sub Job (Construction > Project Costs)*
The Sub Job grids only apply to companies which use sub jobs, also called extras, or use the Acumatica ERP.
The menus in Anterra can be customized by your company, the screenshot below indicates the default location in the menu for accessing the Job Forecasting Hub however you can click the search icon to find where it is located in your menu and if this is a tool you will use frequently, click the star to place it in your favorites which will make it available quickly by clicking the star that is always visible at the top right of Anterra (to the left of your name).
Forecast Levels
Anterra offers as many as seven different ways to forecast a project. This may seem confusing at first, but rest assured the reason is that not all projects are created equal and it's up to your company to decide what level of detail is required in your forecast, often depending on the size or risk factors in the project.
Below is a overview of each of the forecast levels which are available. Regardless of which level you forecast a job at, the Anterra Platform will display the job's forecast cost at complete. To change the level that one or more jobs is being forecast at you use our Project Type/Forecast Level Settings tool.
The ability to change Forecast levels is located in Construction -> Administration -> Projects Type/Forecast Level Settings
You can enter forecasts as to complete or at complete. The at complete entry method is less frequently used in the industry, so it is found in the pop-up window that can be opened for any entry by clicking on the +.
Forecasting at the Job level
This is the simplest and least detailed forecast capturing a single forecast cost at or to complete the job. Users can type in a forecast in the JTD Forecast at Complete-Job Level entry box or you can select the + button next to right to open a more detailed pop-up Forecast Builder box to enter a forecast which provides additional functionality such as entering using to complete instead of at complete and the ability to provide notes explaining why the forecast adjustment was made for later reference.
Forecasting at the Job - Sub Job level
This level of forecasting is only visible to companies that use sub jobs, also referred to as extras, or from Acumatica these are known as Tasks.
This level is slightly more detailed than forecasting at the job level allowing you to enter a forecast for each sub job instead of only a single forecast for the entire job. Because each sub job has it's own costs and revenue projections, this level allows you to use that additional detail while forecasting as well. This particular level is only available for jobs where your ERP is configured with sub-jobs or for tasks associated with jobs in Acumatica. To access the sub-job level to enter forecasts clicking on the JTD Forecast at complete column will drill to the sub-job level where you can see the details by sub-job as well as provide the relevant forecast entries.
Forecasting at the Cost Type level
This level allows users to enter forecasts for each cost type for each job. Cost types are a consolidation of cost categories and generally consist of labor, equipment, overhead, material, subcontract, and other. Each cost type is available as a column that can be displayed and directly entered into on the grid. Each cost type has a column labeled "JTD Forecast at Complete - [Cost Type]" which shows the current value and allows entry.
The job must have Cost Type selected as it's forecast level for the aforementioned fields to be editable.
Like other levels you can select the + button next to the right of the entry to launch the Forecast Builder pop-up for more detailed entry options such as to complete entry, notes, note history, and metrics.
Pop-Up Entry vs. Labor Entry
The Forecast Builder entry pop-up works identically for all cost types (#1 below) with the exception of labor (#2 below). For labor you have the added ability to forecasted hours to/at complete along with a forecasted labor rate to/at complete. You can toggle the lock icons to indicate that particular entries are a known value which will allow the interface to calculate the remaining unlocked value automatically.
If you choose to enter a labor dollar amount without opening the pop-up the Anterra Platform cannot accurately track labor hours or rates.
Forecasting at the Sub Cost Type level
Sub Cost Type is very similar to forecasting at the Cost Type level however you first click on the JTD Forecast At Complete to drill to the sub job level, then you can begin to enter forecasts.
Forecasting at the Cost Code level
Once the report loads, you can begin forecasting by drilling down on either the Job to Date cost or the JTD Forecast at Cost at Complete number for that job. Note the report date should be month-end and is the forecasting date. Once you have drilled down, Users are viewing the job at the Cost Code level.
Once you have drilled down, Users will be viewing the job at the Cost Code Level:
Type in a forecast in the Cost Code Forecast at Complete – Cost Code text box.
or
Enter a forecast in the Cost Code Forecast at Complete – Cost Code Pop Up Box by hitting the + button next to the text box.
Users have an option to enter forecast “To Complete” or “At Complete” in the Pop-Up Window.
Once the entry is complete, save forecast update, and move on to the next Cost Code or Project to forecast.
Forecasting at the Cost Category level
Once the report loads, select the job for which to build a forecast, and you can begin forecasting by drilling down on either the Job to Date cost or the JTD Forecast at Cost at Complete number for that job. Note the report date should be month-end and is the forecasting date. Once you have drilled down, Users are viewing the job at the Cost Category and the Cost Code Group level.
Once in this drill down mode, click on any cost code line to select the cost code to Forecast. A vertical bar on the right side of the screen starts blinking yellow. Click on the arrow in that panel to pop out a forecast detail screen.
The detail pane looks like the picture below:
Users can choose to enter “To Complete” or “At Complete forecast” in the Pop-Up pane. There are also two additional Completion status options.
Bought Out – if all cost will equal all commitments for this cost code, select this option and Anterra will calculate the FCAC and make it equal to the JTD Commitment Value
Cost Complete – If the JTD Cost currently on the cost code is all that will be spent and no further cost is expected, select this option and Anterra will calculate the FCAC and make it equal the JTD Cost
To make a forecast entry click the “Add Entry” button and a text box appears in the Description field. Enter the description of the forecast entry, then tab to enter the “Unit Description”, Units, and $/Unit. Total is calculated. See the example entries below noting in the middle section the Forecast at Complete reflects the pending entry and provides a comparison to prior forecast.
The total column is a calculated field. To save, click the “Save & Go to Next Row” button or “Save & Close Panel” button. Prior to doing this, enter a note about the forecast entry in the Notes field — see below.
Once the entry is complete, save, and move to the next category or cost code or Save & Close Panel. Once saved, the Detail Panel will close.
You can also forecast at the cost category from a different ABI report, learn more here: Job Forecasting at Cost Category
Forecasting at the Cost Code Type
Go to Job Forecasting Hub in anterraBI™. Begin forecasting at the Cost Code Type level by drilling down on either the Job to Date Cost, or the JTD Forecast at Cost at Complete, amount for that job. Once you have drilled down, Users will be viewing the job by Cost Code by Cost Type. Cost Types include Labor, Material, Subcontract, Equipment, Other and Overhead. Enter a forecast in the Cost Code Forecast at Complete-Labor/Material/Subcontract/Equipment/Other/Overhead Text box or enter a forecast in the Cost Code Forecast at Complete – Labor/Material/Subcontract/Equipment/Other/Overhead Pop Up Box by hitting the + button next to the text box. Note the report date parameter should be month end and that is the forecasting date.
Upon drill down, User will be viewing the job at the Cost Code/Cost Type Level
Enter in a forecast in the Cost Code Forecast at Complete– Labor/Material/Subcontract/Equipment/Other/Overhead Text box.
Enter a forecast in the Cost Code Forecast at Complete – Labor/Material/Subcontract/Equipment/Other/Overhead Pop-Up Box by hitting the + button next to the Text box.
Users can choose to enter “To Complete” or “At Complete" forecast in the Pop Up Window. When entering a Labor forecast at this level, Users can enter a forecast “To Complete” or “At Complete” for Labor Hours, Labor Rate, and/or Labor Cost.
Once the entry is complete, save forecast update, and move on to the next Cost Code Type or Project to forecast.
Notes Entry Field
Multiple notes can be added to a single forecast for a single day by one or more users.
Notes, once added, cannot be edited, only additional notes can be added.
Each note is date/time-stamped with who the author was along with the note itself and the date/time stamps are shown.
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