piedpiper11
Technical User
Hi all,
I'm having trouble getting custom field formulas to work consistently. Of the four I've created, only one works right, and I can't see any difference in what I've done for the other three.
Here's the situation: I am running a project (MS Project Pro 2013 on a Win7 system) that has to account to its sponsor with a detailed breakdown of all labor costs including Direct Labor (DL), Fringe Benefits (FB), Internal Overhead (IOH), and General & Adminstrative (GA). For each Resource, I have to start with, and have entered their Standard Rate/hr, and from that number and with a little math, all four of the sub rates can be determined. I have set up four custom fields in the Resource Sheet (using fields Number1 ... Number4). The multipliers are all the same for all resources. The FB multiplier is 25%, and the IOH and GA multipliers are both 7% each (the latter two multiply on the DL+FB rates combined, not just simply the DL rate). So to give a simplified example, if the Direct Labor rate for a Resource is $100.00/hr, the FB is $25.00/hr, and the IOH and GA rates are each $8.75/hr ($125 * 7%); and that all adds up to $142.50, which is what I start with in the Standard Rate. My budgeting process starts with the Standard Rate number, and I'm using the custom fields and formulas to work backwards to the other four numbers for each Resource. The Standard Rate is the total cost to the project, but there are required budget forms which also must show the DL/FB/IOH/GA breakdowns.
The first of the four pic attachments is a screen shot from my system showing the Resource Sheet and all the Work-type resources. You can see the four custom fields, and their formulas all result in the correct rates showing for each Resource. For example, the Number1 field (now called "DL Rate") has a formula "[Standard Rate]/1.14/1.25", which is the math needed to work back from the known Standard Rate.
The problem is that when I go to the Cost Table view in the Gantt Chart, I can't get 3 of 4 fields to show the resulting Totals in each Task. See the second of the four pic attachments. Total DL is the only one accurate (circled in green); the other three are wrong (circled in red)
In the Custom Fields dialog (see the third of four pics), the Cost1 field is being used for "Total DL". The formula in "Total DL" is "[Number1]*[Work]" and it's result in the Cost Table is correct. The formula in "Total FB" is "[Number2]*[Work]" and it just results in a zero for that field.
What am I missing? I can't fathom why three of the fields would show zeros, when the first one works fine, and they are all constructed in the same manner.
Screen Shot URLs
1) 2) 3) 4)
Scott
I'm having trouble getting custom field formulas to work consistently. Of the four I've created, only one works right, and I can't see any difference in what I've done for the other three.
Here's the situation: I am running a project (MS Project Pro 2013 on a Win7 system) that has to account to its sponsor with a detailed breakdown of all labor costs including Direct Labor (DL), Fringe Benefits (FB), Internal Overhead (IOH), and General & Adminstrative (GA). For each Resource, I have to start with, and have entered their Standard Rate/hr, and from that number and with a little math, all four of the sub rates can be determined. I have set up four custom fields in the Resource Sheet (using fields Number1 ... Number4). The multipliers are all the same for all resources. The FB multiplier is 25%, and the IOH and GA multipliers are both 7% each (the latter two multiply on the DL+FB rates combined, not just simply the DL rate). So to give a simplified example, if the Direct Labor rate for a Resource is $100.00/hr, the FB is $25.00/hr, and the IOH and GA rates are each $8.75/hr ($125 * 7%); and that all adds up to $142.50, which is what I start with in the Standard Rate. My budgeting process starts with the Standard Rate number, and I'm using the custom fields and formulas to work backwards to the other four numbers for each Resource. The Standard Rate is the total cost to the project, but there are required budget forms which also must show the DL/FB/IOH/GA breakdowns.
The first of the four pic attachments is a screen shot from my system showing the Resource Sheet and all the Work-type resources. You can see the four custom fields, and their formulas all result in the correct rates showing for each Resource. For example, the Number1 field (now called "DL Rate") has a formula "[Standard Rate]/1.14/1.25", which is the math needed to work back from the known Standard Rate.
The problem is that when I go to the Cost Table view in the Gantt Chart, I can't get 3 of 4 fields to show the resulting Totals in each Task. See the second of the four pic attachments. Total DL is the only one accurate (circled in green); the other three are wrong (circled in red)
In the Custom Fields dialog (see the third of four pics), the Cost1 field is being used for "Total DL". The formula in "Total DL" is "[Number1]*[Work]" and it's result in the Cost Table is correct. The formula in "Total FB" is "[Number2]*[Work]" and it just results in a zero for that field.
What am I missing? I can't fathom why three of the fields would show zeros, when the first one works fine, and they are all constructed in the same manner.
Screen Shot URLs
1) 2) 3) 4)
Scott
