Accurate project reporting depends on more than running the right reports. Government contractors need to confirm that Costpoint data is current, evaluate whether costs and revenue are reasonable, and investigate differences between reports. Regular review of the Project Status Report (PSR) and Revenue Worksheet helps accounting and project management teams identify missing processing, unexpected revenue calculations, and configuration issues before they affect monthly reporting and project decisions.
Is Your Data Current?
Before running project reports or analyzing revenue, confirm that the underlying data is current. Complete the applicable processing steps below so you are reviewing current, complete information.
- Compute Burden Costs
- Load Labor Rates
- Compute Revenue
- Compute/Print Purchasing Commitments (if applicable)
- Update Project Status Report Tables
- Create Project Report Tables
For more detail on report setup and interpretation, read our articles on Project Status Reports, Revenue Worksheets, and how the two reports work together in Costpoint.
How Often Should You Run Project Reports?
Review your project reports proactively for accuracy and reasonability. This helps identify potential issues early enough to fix them. The longer an issue persists the harder it is to identify and correct the source of the issue. At a minimum you should be reviewing and reconciling your project reports every accounting period. If possible, you should review them more frequently to identify issues with cost and revenue prior to month end close.
What Am I Reconciling?
The project status report (PSR) and revenue worksheet help you review project costs, revenue, and profit. Reviewing reasonableness means considering whether amounts are consistent with project activity and contract expectations. Reconciling means comparing corresponding amounts and explaining any differences. An unexpected result is a reason to investigate, not necessarily an error. The questions below help guide that review.
Project Status Report (PSR)
Before you run your PSR make sure you have selected the appropriate option for rate type. Choose the rate type that matches how you post revenue (actual or target). When comparing revenue between reports, use matching reporting periods, rate types, and project levels so the amounts cover the same activity. Then ask yourself these questions as you review the data:
- Is there revenue for the current period?
- Is the revenue consistent with revenue recognized in prior periods?
- Do the direct costs look reasonable?
- Are there indirect costs for the current period?
- Does the profit percentage look reasonable?
- Is contract to date revenue close to or equal to total funding?
Revenue Worksheet
Before you run your revenue worksheet make sure you have selected the appropriate option for rate type. Choose the same rate type that you chose for your PSR, which matches how you post revenue (actual or target). Also, we recommend running the revenue worksheet once for period to date (PTD) and again for inception to date (ITD) so you can see both short-term and long-term problems on the project. Ask yourself these questions as you review both reports
- Do you have any hours or costs over ceiling?
- Is there an unexpected or incorrect revenue adjustment?
- Is there an unexpected value in another fee?
- Is there anything in excess?
- Does the total revenue match the revenue on the PSR?
Something Might be Wrong. What Could be Causing it?
There are a couple of obvious things to check. First off, make sure you have run all your processes (compute burden costs, load labor rates, etc.). If even one of these steps has not been run, your numbers could be off. It doesn’t hurt to re-run the steps, so if in doubt, re-run the steps.
Make sure you have completed all your weekly and monthly processes such as posting timesheets and vouchers, computing pool rates, etc. If you accidentally skipped something, take care of it now and re-run your report steps again.
If report results still appear incorrect, review the project configuration next. For example, if the revenue worksheet shows unexpected revenue amounts in excess, you may have incorrect effective dates on your modifications (MODs) or total ceilings on a project level below where you have entered your MODs. If there is no revenue on your reports, check to see if a revenue formula is assigned and that it doesn’t depend on the completion of another process (such as billing). Other configuration issues may include ceilings and overrides for hours, burden, fee, or direct costs.
Supporting Reliable Revenue and Project Reporting
The PSR and the revenue worksheet are essential tools for tracking project revenue and cost and ensuring potential issues are proactively identified. Each report is designed to answer slightly different questions, but in conjunction they can help you monitor project health and financial accuracy. Use them to check your project data regularly and if you encounter problems, follow the steps above to solve or narrow down the problem.
Redstone Government Consulting assists government contractors with investigating Deltek Costpoint revenue and reporting discrepancies, reviewing project configuration and revenue formulas, and reconciling project and accounting records. Our consultants also provide training on report preparation and review. For organizations that need ongoing assistance, our outsourced accounting services include recurring reconciliations, billing support, financial reporting, and monthly close activities to help teams maintain accurate records and address issues as they arise.
