Common Errors and Fixes in Deltek Costpoint’s Billing Module

Deltek Costpoint’s Billing Module is designed to facilitate the invoicing process while adhering to complex government regulations. Whether you’re billing fixed-price contracts, time and materials (T&M), or cost-plus contracts, mastering its capabilities can significantly enhance efficiency and accuracy in your financial workflows. In this article we delve into some fundamental tips and tricks to help you harness the full power of Deltek Costpoint for billing purposes.

Setup and Configuration

Setting up your billing system in Deltek Costpoint requires meticulous attention to detail. The foundation of an efficient billing process is a well-structured configuration that aligns with your organization’s contract requirements and financial workflows. This section will explore the critical components of setting up projects, defining billing structures, and customizing invoice formats to ensure smooth and compliant invoicing operations.

Project Setup

• Link projects to billing codes and contracts seamlessly.
• Ensure project managers input accurate data to facilitate correct invoicing.
• A well-thought-out project structure is the key to seamless invoicing.

Define Billing Structures

• Establish clear billing structures aligned with contract requirements.
• Configure billing codes, rate structures, project labor, and billing cycles to reflect contract terms

Invoice Formats

• Customize invoice templates to meet customer preferences and compliance standards, ensuring clarity and professionalism in billing documentation.

Common Errors and Red Flags

Even with proper setup, errors and red flags can arise during the billing process, leading to delays and inaccuracies. Understanding these issues and their underlying causes is crucial to resolving them efficiently. In this section, we will highlight some of the most common billing challenges in Deltek Costpoint and provide actionable solutions to keep your invoicing process on track.

Calculate Standard Bills Screen Error:

• No Open Billing Data
  • All costs have been billed for the fiscal year, period, and subperiod combination.
  • Exported project information from Costpoint to T&E and/or labor/non-labor posted BEFORE you created the billing formula for this Project. >Contact your RGCI Consultant(s). They can run a utility and recover these transactions for you.)
• No Unselected Bills
  • Once an invoice is in selected status, you cannot calculate additional invoices until the selected invoice is either posted or placed in unselected status.
• You Are Not a Member of the Billing Group(S) Associated with the Specified Project(S)
  • If ‘Assign Bills to User Groups’ is flagged as required in the Configure Billing Settings screen, you must be assigned to the billing user group assigned to the Project in question.
• Data has been Restricted by Org Security
  • If Org Security has been set up, you must be in the Org Security group associated with the Project.
• Final Billing Completed in Project Billing Info is Selected
  • This means the bill has been calculated with the ‘Final Billing Completed’ flag checked, and that invoice was posted. The system is correct in not allowing further invoices to be run at this point.

Critical Problem-Solving on Invoice Issues:

• ‘Other’ Line Showing up on Invoice
  • This means you have accounts in the cost of your invoice that are not defined in the billing format assigned to this Project.
  • This includes fees and/or burdens on accounts.
• The Bill Rate on the Invoice Is $0 for Loaded Labor Rate (T&M) Billing Formulas
  • Have you loaded labor rates for the period(s)?
  • Do you have your rate sequence orders set up? If so, are they pointing to the right source project and the correct rate screen?
  • Does the bill rate end date occur before or after the effective date on the transaction in Open Billing Detail (OBD)?
  • Are bill rates set up for the Project in question?
• The Employee in OBD Without PLC Assigned and Therefore No Bill Rate is Populating
  • Is the employee linked to a PLC in your Employee Workforce screen? (This will require a timesheet correction to fix.)
• Subcontractor Billed to My Customer as T&M
  • Ensure you complete the vendor labor hours subtask in the AP voucher so that this information flows to OBD and the bill rates can be applied.
• Project Account Groups – Function Codes Matter
  • Are the accounts in your project account group assigned to the correct function code? (This is especially important when it comes to your subcontractor costs and how they are calculated and presented on your invoices.)

Best Practices

Consistency and attention to detail are key to mastering billing in Deltek Costpoint. Following established best practices not only minimizes errors but also ensures compliance with government regulations. This section will outline essential tips to optimize your billing processes, reconcile invoices accurately, and prevent common pitfalls before they occur.

• BEFORE You Post Your Invoice, You Should Reconcile it with the Project Ledger
  • The Revenue Worksheet is great for reconciling the bill rates for billing and revenue.
  • The Project Status Report is recommended to be reconciled to your invoice. (I highly recommend you save this with your invoice and billing journals for audit purposes.)
• Review the Billing Journal BEFORE Posting
  • Verify that you are posting in the correct fiscal year, period, and subperiod combination.
  • If posting a reversing invoice, verify that you are posting in a fiscal year, period, or subperiod combination that matches or is later than the original posting period.
  • Verify that you are posting ONLY the invoices that you intend to post. (Some invoices may be in selected status but not yet approved for posting.)
• Corrections Happen at Source Transactions
  • They do not happen via adjusting journal entries.
  • They do not happen via manually adjusting OBD.
  • They do not happen when adding and deleting lines in OBD.
  • If labor is wrong, you need a timesheet correction.
  • If non-labor is wrong, you will need a correcting AP voucher, PO voucher, expense report, etc.
  • You need to correct the bill rate setup if the bill rate is incorrect. “Fixing” this in OBD will “correct” your invoice but not your revenue.
• NEVER Manually Adjust Transactions in Open Billing Detail (OBD)
  • It has been stated before, but it is worth repeating: DO NOT manually adjust OBD. Fix the problem at the source so that billing and revenue are correct!

Conclusion

Deltek Costpoint is a powerful tool for managing billing in the complex world of government contracting. By mastering its features and implementing best practices, organizations can streamline their billing processes, ensure compliance with regulations, and improve financial transparency. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned user, adopting these tips and tricks will help you leverage Deltek Costpoint to its fullest potential, driving efficiency and accuracy in your billing operations.

Effective billing in Deltek Costpoint isn’t just about software proficiency; it’s about aligning technology with best practices to achieve operational excellence and financial integrity.

How Can Redstone GCI Help?

If you have concerns about Deltek Costpoint billing or would like a comprehensive configuration and processing checklist, please reach out to one of our Deltek Costpoint consultants here at Redstone Government Consulting, Inc.