Update Cost Block: Push Material, Labor, Equipment, or Subcontract Costs into Project Budgets
📄 Update Cost Block: Push Material, Labor, Equipment, or Subcontract Costs into Project Budgets
The Update Cost Block lets you automatically push cost data from submitted forms into the Budgets tab of a project profile. It’s perfect for real-time job costing, progress tracking, and ensuring every form action has a financial impact.
💰 What Is the Update Cost Block?
This workflow block:
- Converts form-based inputs (materials, time, equipment, subcontracts) into cost entries
- Updates the Budgets or Progress tabs of a linked project
- Ensures field activity is immediately reflected in cost tracking
✅ Best for tracking labor, materials, subcontractor spend, or earned value—all from one form
🛠 How to Use It
- Go to Step 3: Workflow
- Drag the Update Cost Block into the workflow
- Connect it to a relevant block (Submit, Approve, etc.)
- Click the block to configure:
⚙️ Configuration Options
1. Source Type
Select what type of cost is being recorded:
| Type | Example Source |
|---|---|
| Labor | Time Entry Table |
| Materials | Materials Table |
| Subcontract | Line item field or table |
| Equipment | Equipment Table |
2. Cost Application Options
- Choose if the cost should be:
- Applied immediately
- Queued for approval
📊 What It Impacts
Costs pushed by this block show up in:
- Budgets tab of the project profile (If ‘Update Budget’ step is checked
- Progress tracking
- Job costing reports
- Forecasting tools (if enabled)
Each entry is linked back to the originating form, giving full auditability.
🧠 Use Case Examples
| Form | Cost Type | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Report | Labor + Materials | Time + material usage posted to project |
| Subcontractor Invoice Form | Subcontract | Adds cost entry under vendor line item |
| Equipment Usage Log | Equipment | Logs rental cost based on hours × rate |
| Safety Correction Form | Other | Adds indirect overhead cost to admin code |
📌 Tips & Best Practices
- ✅ Ensure every form includes a project field
- 🧩 Use standard tables (e.g., Time Entry Table) to reduce mapping errors
- 📥 Apply cost code filters to guide users toward the right selection
- 📊 Use this block to automate earned value reporting
🔍 Audit & Reporting
- Each budget entry shows:
- Source: Form Name + Submission #
- User who submitted
- Time/date of update
- Supports export to CSV or integration with cost tracking tools