Create and Approve a Change Order
The work that must be carried out and the contract amount that is agreed are known at the beginning of the Project. In many cases however the work that is carried out deviates from the original budget. The Change Order makes it possible to track these deviations and implement a procedure in which first an estimate for the changes is creating, an approval is obtained and when the Project Change order is approved a Project Task can be created. This Project Task number will become visible in the Project Change order and on the Project Task the Change Order will be visible. In this walk-through, you learn how to create a Project Change Order Estimate. When the Estimate is complete it can be submitted for Approval using the combined Lifecycle and Workflow. From an approved estimate a Project Task can be created through the Create Project Task action.
About This walk-through
This walk-through provides an overview of how to create a Project Change Order estimate, how to submit an estimate for approval, and how to use the Create Project Task. This walk-through illustrates the following tasks:
• Setting up the sample data. • Create a Project Change Order. • Completing the Estimate and submit for Approval. • Use the Create Project Task action to create Project Tasks from an approved Estimate.
Prerequisites
To complete this walk-through, you will need: • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. • CRONUS International Ltd. demonstration database. • STAEDEAN IEM RapidStart demo set.
Story
Prakash is the project manager at CRONUS International Ltd. Prakash runs into some additional requirements in the project which the customer has not made clear before. Prakash estimates the additional work and requests David, the salesperson, to obtain an approval from the customer for this additional work. Prakash and David decide to keep the Change Order separate from the Project's fixed price and complete the additional work on a Time & Material basis.
Setting Up the Sample Data
The Project Change Order Number series
Change Orders have their own number series which are set in the Project Control Suite setup
Workflow setup
- Choose the icon, enter Workflows, and then choose the related link.
- On the Workflows list select New and New again from the menu to start a new workflow.
- Typically complete the following fields (Note: this is an example, to be modified to your business process)
| When Event | On Condition | Then Response |
|---|---|---|
| Approval of a Project Change Order is requested. | Approval Status: Open | Add record restriction |
| Set document status to Pending Approval | ||
| Create an approval request for the record using approver type Approver and approver limit type Direct Approver. | ||
| Send approval request for the record and create a notification. | ||
| An approval request is approved. | Pending approvals: 0 | Remove record restriction. |
| Release the document | ||
| An approval request is approved. | Pending Approvals: > 0 | Send approval request for the record and create notification. |
| An approval request is rejected. | Always | Reject the approval request for the record and create a notification. |
| Reopen the document | ||
| Approval of a Project Change Order is canceled. | Approval Status: Pending Approval | Cancel the approval request for the record and create a notification. |
| Reopen the document | ||
| Show message "The approval request for the record has been cancelled". | ||
| An approval request is delegated. | Always | Send approval request for the record and create a notification. |
The Project Change Order Reason Codes
Change Orders can be classified by a Change Order Code
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| CUSREQ | Additional Customer Requests. |
| NOSPEC | Not in original specification. |
Process
Create a Project Change Order
- Open the Projects List:/Departments/Project Control Suite/Project Control Suite/Projects.
- Select the Project for which you want to create a Change Order and click Change Order in the ribbon.
- In the Project Change Orders list click New, on the new line you typically complete the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Project Change Order Code | Click the Assist Edit to select as number series. Click OK in the No. Series List to confirm the selection. |
| Description | Provide a short description for the change order. |
| Comments | Comments can be used for a more elaborate description of the change order. The field on the change order line indicates if comments exist (Yes/No). You can drill down on this field or use the Comments action on the Navigate tab. |
| Change Order Code | Select one of the Change Order codes to classify the Change order. |
| Estimated Resource Cost | Specify the total amount of, estimated, resource costs for the change order. |
| Estimated Material Cost | Specify the total amount of, estimated, material costs for the change order. |
| Estimated Equipment Cost | Specify the total amount of, estimated, equipment costs for the change order. |
| Estimated Expenses | Specify the total amount of, estimated, expenses for the change order. |
| Total Estimated Cost | Shows the total for the estimated fields, the field is calculated and cannot be edited. |
| App | Indicates if the Change Order has been approved, this field is set through the approval workflow. |
| Enhanced Status | Shows the current Lifecycle state. |
| Project Task No. | Shows the Project Task number created from the change order. |
Processing an approval
Note: The below process is based on the workflow as described in Workflow Setup.
- From the Project Change Order page click Request Approval and Send Approval Request from the drop-down menu.
- Accept the confirmation: "An approval request has been sent." Note: that the status of the Project Change Order has changed from "Open" to "Pending Approval"
- From the Related / Change Order / Approvals menu you can open: "Approval Entries" to monitor the status of the approval request or delegate the request.
- The Approver for this workflow will see an additional Approve option in the Project Change Order.
- Click the Approve action and click either "Approve", "Reject", or "Delegate":
- When approved the status of the Project Change Order will change to "Released". This will also make the Process action visible from which the "Create Project Task" wizard can be started.
- When rejected the status of the Project Change Order will change to "Open".
- When delegate the status of the Project Change Order will not change and remains as "Pending Approval".
Use the Create Project Task action to create Project Tasks from an approved Estimate
- When the change order has the approved state the Create Project Task action is available in the ribbon
- Click the Create Project Task action to open the wizard
- Complete the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Project Task No. | Type a new Project Task No. which is not in use yet in the Project. |
| Description | Provide a short description for the Project Task. |
| Project Element | Select one of the ProjectElements when in use. |
| Project Activity | Select one of the ProjectActivities when in use. |
| Invoice Template Code | Select the Invoicing Template for the Change Order Project Task to set the Invoicing Method. Leave blank if the ProjectInvoicing Method is to be used. |
| Invoicing Method | Will be set through the selected Invoicing Template. |
| Contract Amount | Type an amount when the Invoicing Method for the change order Project Task is Fixed Price. |
| Contract Amount (LCY) | Will be calculated when the Invoicing Currency or the Project's Currency is different from the local currency. |
| Starting Date | Select the starting date for the change order Project Task. |
| Ending Date | Select the ending date for the change order Project Task. |
| Nr. of Days | Type the no. of working days for the change order Project Task. |
| Project Posting Group | Select a ProjectPosting Group for the change order Project Task when different for the project's posting group. |
| Surcharge Model Code | Select a Surcharge Model Code for the change order Project Task when different for the project's surcharge model code. |
| WIP Method | Select a WIP Method for the change order Project Task when different for the project's WIP method. |
| WIP Total | Select a WIP Total code blank, Total, Excluded for the change order Project Task when different for the project's WIP Total. |
- Click OK to create the Project Task, the Project Task number will show in the Change Order to confirm the creation and to prevent from being created twice.
See Also
Welcome to Industrial Equipment Manufacturing