The Cost fields show the total scheduled or projected cost for a task, resource, or assignment, based on costs already incurred for work performed by resources assigned to the tasks, in addition to the costs planned for the remaining work.
There are several categories of Cost fields.
Data Type Currency
Cost (task field)
Entry Type Calculated or entered
How Calculated When a task is first created, cost is the same as remaining cost, which is the remaining work value multiplied by the cumulative costs of the assigned resources. Cost is calculated based on the Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings for the resource and the amount of work assigned to all resources for the task. Any fixed costs for the task are also added to this field. As actual work or actual cost is reported on this task, Microsoft Office Project calculates the cost by adding the actual cost to the remaining cost.
Cost = Actual Cost + Remaining Cost
Best Uses Add the Cost field to a task sheet to review the running total cost for a task, combining actual and remaining costs on an ongoing basis.
Example A task consists of 10 hours for two resources with rates of $20 per hour. At the start of the task, the cost is $200. As the resources report actual work, this figure is adjusted. At the end of the task, the total cost is the same as the actual cost.
Remarks In addition to having Project calculate costs, you can enter or modify costs yourself. If you enter costs, Project transfers the difference between the entered value and the previous value into the Fixed Cost field.
Cost (resource field)
Entry Type Calculated
How Calculated When a resource is first added to a project, cost is 0.00 until the resource is assigned to tasks. After assignments are made, cost is calculated based on the Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings for the resource and the amount of work assigned to the resource for the task. As actual work or actual cost is reported on assignments for the resource, Project calculates the cost by adding the actual cost to the remaining cost.
Cost = Actual Cost + Remaining Cost
Best Uses Add the Cost field to a resource view to review the running total cost for a resource, combining actual and remaining costs on an ongoing basis.
Example You're tracking costs for a resource with a rate of $20 per hour. The resource is assigned to 15 different tasks throughout the duration of the project. At any time, you can use the Cost field to see the total cost for this resource, which includes both actual cost and remaining cost for all assigned tasks.
Cost (assignment field)
Entry Type Calculated
How Calculated When an assignment is first made, cost is the same as remaining cost, which is the remaining work value multiplied by the resource cost rate. As actual work or actual cost is reported on the assignment, Project calculates the cost by adding the actual cost to the remaining cost.
Cost = Actual Cost + Remaining Cost
Cost is calculated from the Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings for the resource and the amount of work assigned to the resource for the task. Any per-use costs for resources are also added to this field.
Best Uses Add the Cost field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to display or filter for the running total cost of an assignment, combining actual and remaining costs on an ongoing basis.
Example An assignment consists of 10 hours for a resource with a rate of $20 per hour. At the start of the assignment, the cost is $200. As the resource reports actual work, this figure is adjusted. At the end of the assignment, the total cost is the same as the actual cost.
Cost (task-timephased field)
Entry Type Calculated
How Calculated When a task is first created, cost is the same as remaining cost, which is the remaining work value multiplied by the cumulative costs of the assigned resources. Cost is calculated based on the Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings for the resource and the amount of work assigned to all resources for the task. Any fixed costs for the task are also added to this field. As actual work or actual cost is reported on this task, Project calculates the cost by adding the actual cost to the remaining cost.
Cost = Actual Cost + Remaining Cost
Best Uses Add the Cost field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view to display the running total cost for a task, combining actual and remaining costs on an ongoing basis.
Example Sean and Chris are assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which is scheduled for 16 hours of work next Monday through Thursday. They both have a standard rate of $20 per hour for 4 hours of work for each of the 4 days. You add the Cost field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage view and see that for next Monday through Thursday, the scheduled timephased costs for this task are $80 each for the 4 days.
Cost (resource-timephased field)
Entry Type Calculated
How Calculated When a resource is first added to a project, the Cost field contains 0.00 until the resource is assigned to tasks. After assignments are made, cost is calculated based on the Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings for a resource and the amount of work assigned to the resource for the task. As actual work or actual cost is reported on assignments for the resource, Project calculates the cost by adding the actual cost to the remaining cost.
Cost = Actual Cost + Remaining Cost
Best Uses Add the Cost field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to display the running total cost for a resource, combining actual and remaining costs on an ongoing basis.
Example Jamie, at $10 per hour, is assigned to 15 different tasks throughout the duration of the project. You add the Cost field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to see the scheduled costs expected for Jamie's work on the project. If Jamie is scheduled for 8 hours per day, you would see timephased cost values such as $80 (8 hours at $10 per hour) for each day worked. If Jamie is assigned at fewer assignment units, you might see lower cost values. If there is scheduled overtime, you might see higher cost values.
Cost (assignment-timephased field)
Entry Type Calculated
How Calculated When an assignment is first made, cost is the same as remaining cost, which is the remaining work value multiplied by the resource cost rate. As actual work or actual cost is reported on the assignment, Project calculates the cost by adding the actual cost to the remaining cost. This figure is distributed across the scheduled duration of the assignment.
Cost = Actual Cost + Remaining Cost
Cost is calculated based on the Standard Rate, Overtime Rate, Per Use Cost, and Cost accrual settings for the resource and the amount of work assigned to the resource for the task. Any per-use costs for resources are also added to this field.
Best Uses Add the Cost field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to display the running total cost for an assignment, combining actual and remaining costs on an ongoing basis.
Example Sean is assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which is scheduled for 16 hours of work from Monday through Thursday. Sean's standard rate is $20 per hour for 4 hours of work for each of the 4 days. You add the Cost field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view and see that for Monday through Thursday, the scheduled cost is $80 for each day.
