Engagement Types have three functions. They are used to prepopulate settings for new engagements and projects, to group like engagements together for reporting purposes, and to properly route accounting transactions. The engagement type determines a number of default settings for new engagements and projects - like whether it is billable or non-billable, how time and expenses should be reported, budgets, scheduling, task types, default permissions, and more.
To learn more about engagement types and what they control, see the Engagement Type Editor help page.
Where do I change the Cost Center?
Search for the engagement you would like to update, and then access the engagement landing page. Choose a new value from the Engagement Cost Center dropdown list.
Who can change the engagement type?
Only users with the cost center permission Maintain Advanced Engagement and Project Setup.
When can the Cost Center be changed?
The cost center can be changed at any time by a user with appropriate permissions, however it should be done carefully. Particularly if any of the following are true:
- Approved time cards
- Approved cost cards
- Invoices created
Because Projector ties accounting transactions at the time of approval or invoice issue, changing the engagement type in the middle can leave some accounts over or under balanced. For example, if you have a bunch of money sitting in Time WIP and you switch engagement types, the Time WIP could come out of a different account when they are invoiced. This causes the old account to reflect too much WIP that can never be accounted for and the new account to reflect too little WIP and may even go negative.
Why can't I change the Engagement Type to some values?
You may find that you can't change an engagement to the type you want. The excluded types are either all billable or non-billable. Once created, an engagement must always stay billable or non-billable. It is not allowed to change between the two different categories. It can change types within those categories, but not cross to the other one. You can view which engagement types in your installation are billable or nonbillable in the Engagement Type Editor.
If you need to change billing types, please see How to make a billable project non-billable and vice versa.
What settings will update?
When you change the engagement type, not all settings will update. The following restrictions apply:
- Task Types Tab for projects will not change
- Engagement Budget Tab metrics will not change
- Detailed Task Management (on or off) will not change
- Workspace Issues retain the same status's
- GL accounts for the new type will only map to subsequent transactions
The project transfer trick
Instead of changing an engagement type, another option is to create a new engagement with the desired type, then transfer the time and cost cards from the old engagement to the new. Finally, close the old engagement. Please note that time cards that have been through revenue recognition may not be transferred or unapproved. You will need to reverse revenue recognition in order to transfer them.