Adjustment Code Editor
Adjustment codes are available whenever you make a monetary adjustment to a time or cost card. The adjustment code defines a category for why the change was made. For example, if a client complains that some work was shoddy, you might choose to write the cost of that time to zero dollars. You would choose an adjustment code of 'Client Complaint' in this case. You may also have reasons for writing things up. If you charge clients a flat fee for booking plane tickets, you would choose 'Administrative Fee.'
These adjustments and their codes are then visible when viewing time/cost card history for audits. The goal of your adjustment codes should be to provide a high level definition for why a write up/down was necessary. Please see the end of this help article for some real world examples.
The engagement type editor is reached from the Administration Tab | Job Accounting Heading | Adjustment Codes Section.
Permissions and Settings
To make changes on this tab you must have the global permission System Settings set to Update.
Adjustment codes are available when doing a write up/down via pre-invoicing adjustments, invoice time card edits, or invoice cost card edits.
Adjustments codes are displayed in both time card history and in cost card history.
Manage Adjustment Codes
The adjustment codes editor is simple and straightforward. A grid is shown with every code defined in your installation. See the subsections below to learn how to manage them.
Add
Click the New button at the bottom of the table.
Edit
Click anywhere in the Name column and adjust the text as necessary.
Reorder
When users choose their adjustment codes from a list, they are shown in the same order as you see on this screen. Use the up/down buttons ( ) on the upper right side of the form to put them in a new sort order.
Delete
Click the Delete button in the appropriate row. If the adjustment code has ever been used for a write up/down you will not be able to delete it. You should mark it inactive instead.
Inactivate
Tick the Inactive checkbox in the appropriate row. Inactive adjustment codes cannot be chosen for future write up/downs. Existing time card and cost card history will still show the history.
Use Cases
Here are a few real-world use cases for adjustment codes. These adjustment codes are ones that I have chosen for my business, your adjustment codes should match your own business needs. This is a good jumping off point though.
| Adjustment Code | Use Case | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Fee | I charge a $50 administrative fee for the time it takes my admin staff to book each airline ticket. | Projector does have a built-in markup feature for expense types called Default MarkUp Percentage (DMUP), but as the name would imply, it is for percent markups, not for flat fees. In this case I'll use an adjustment code called Administrative Fee instead. |
| Client Complaint | A client complains that they shouldn't have to pay for breakfast at a bistro when McDonalds is cheaper. I discount them $5 on the breakfast. | Clients often complain about the cost of time or expenses. You don't want to move these costs to a separate project because moving them off would affect calculations like resource margin and project margin. Instead, use a write down and the Client Complaint adjustment code. |
| Defective Work | A team member performs unacceptably poor work. I write the time down to zero so that the client is not charged. | Sometimes your staff does less than stellar work. Write-off or write-down that time. |
| Write Up to Minimum Charge | The client has agreed to a monthly minimum charge of $10k. This month they only needed $7k worth of support. I write up the time $3k to meet the minimum. | In many cases a client has a T&M engagement with a monthly minimum. For example, a support contract. If they don't use all their prepaid hours, they are still charged for them. In this case you perform a write-up to meet the contract minimum. |
| Other (Please Explain) | The adjustment doesn't fit into one of my existing categories. I've added "Please Explain" in parenthesis so that the adjuster can give me more details about what happened. | Whenever you perform a write up/down you have to specify an adjustment code. You can optionally provide an explanation at the same time. In this case I've prompted the adjuster to explain why the change was necessary. |
In Practice
You'll find adjustment codes used in the following areas of Projector.
Time Write Up/Down
This screen is accessed from either pre-invoicing adjustments or the time card review tab of an invoice. See further down for screenshots of those areas.
Cost Write Up/Down
This screen is accessed from either pre-invoicing adjustments or the cost card review tab of an invoice. See further down for screenshots of those areas.
Pre-Invoicing Adjustments
Pre-invoicing adjustments are started by right clicking on a project in the Project Browser.
Invoice Adjustment for Time Card
Adjustment for time on invoices takes place on the time card review tab.
Invoice Adjustment for Cost Card
Adjustments for cost on invoices takes place on the cost card review tab.
Time Card History
In the screenshot below you can see the adjustment code for a write down boxed in red. See the Time Card History Viewer for more information.
Cost Card History
Cost card history is accessible from multiple areas of Projector. See the Cost Card History for more information.