Labour, equipment and site cash
Charge labour and equipment to projects
Each month, charge the approved hours and equipment use to the projects and tasks they worked on, preview the figures first, and run a month again when late hours are approved.
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In this article
Salaries are paid through payroll, and equipment is depreciated in fixed assets, so neither reaches the projects on its own. The monthly costing moves that cost to the projects: the approved hours and equipment logs of the month are priced and charged to the project and task each one worked on.
How hours are priced
The Labour cost rate in project settings decides it:
Standard rate (the default): the employee's daily rate divided by the hours per day; without one, the basic salary divided by the working days of the month and the hours per day. Overtime is priced at the employee's overtime multiplier.
Actual payroll cost: the employee's payslip earnings for the month divided by their approved hours that month. Use it once the month's payroll is run.
Equipment is priced at each machine's rate per hour and per day. See record equipment use on projects.
Cost a month
Go to Projects > Labour and Equipment Costing.
In Cost a month, choose Labour or Equipment and the month, then select Preview. You see the amount for each project and task and the total. Nothing is posted yet.
Select Charge to projects and confirm.
The charge posts one journal per branch, dated the last day of the month: the project's labour (or equipment) cost account per project and task is debited, and the absorption account is credited, so the cost is not counted twice. The accounts come from project account settings.
The month is also charged automatically on the 2nd of the following month.
Late hours and corrections
Running a month again replaces its earlier run. The earlier journals are reversed and the month is charged afresh with everything approved by then, so a late approval only needs the month run again.
To change hours or logs that are already charged, select Reverse on the run in Costing runs. Its journals are reversed and its hours and logs can change again. Then charge the month again.
Common questions
Why is a month's total different from the payroll? Only hours booked to projects are charged. Hours on office work, leave and idle time stay in the payroll expense.
Where do I see the charge on a project? In the project's figures and cost ledger, under the labour or equipment cost account and its task. See project figures and cost ledger.