DATE: APRIL 14TH., TUESDAY, 2020.
PAI PIN CHEN, INTERNET.
PHILIP PAI-PIN CHEN, P.E.
PAI-PIN CHEN, P.E.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WHAT ABOUT: MY TERRITORIES WITH THE WORDS AS SHOWN BELOW.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
*** D. SETTING THE JOB UP ON MIS (Project Data Input Form) ***
After a project has been acquired and an agreement (contract) signed and forwarded to accounting, the project must be set up in MIS to accurately maintain project information on the Master File. The Project Data input form has been designed for this purpose. It should be properly filled-out and forwarded to accounting for input into the MIS.
The Project Data form is divided into five main sections:
·
Header Information
·
General Project Information
·
Fee Information
·
Billing Information
·
budgeting Section
Each of the 5 sections is highlighted on the form and is described below.
1. Header Information
Information in this
uppermost part of the input form provides basic project information, such as
Project name, Project number (assigned by accounting), date opened, whether the
project is "new" or a "change", and who prepared the form.
All data in this section must be provided.
2. General Project Information
This is the first
highlighted section of data input on the form and provides client information
and code, project description, project status, responsibility, and other general
data.
3. Fee Tnformation
This section of the Project
Data form contains all pertinent information related to the fee we will get for
the project, such as fee type, fee amount, fringe benefits, reimbursable
expense multipliers, and fee comments.
4. Billing Information
This section of the input
form deals with all data pertaining to billing the job on MIS, such as billing
DPE multiplier, special billing rate schedule, billable overtime, retention %,
billing cycle, invoice display, and billing comments.
5. Budgeting Section
The MIS is a budget driven
system, that is, inserting of a budget amount in a given task and department is
the mechanism which triggers earnings accruals. Hence, information in the
budgeting section of the input form is crucial to the calculation of earnings.
Required information is an action code, task code and description, department,
status (authorized or unauthorized), start date, professional fee dollars, and
fee for expense dollars.
Detailed instructions on how to fill out each of the data fields on
the Project Data input form are available from the MIS production coordinator.
Assistance in this important task is readily provided.
F. OUTPUT REPORTS
The MIS produces a great
deal of reports that are required to actively monitor the people, expense,
profitability and other feature of project, group, and division performance.
The following is a listing of these reports with a brief explanation and
categories of information contained within each report.
7. Job Number List
·
List of all individual project
numbers and corresponding names
including both client projects and in-house overhead projects.
·
Project numbers Listed in
alpha/numerical sequence.
·
Issued biweekly at middle and
end of each accounting period.
·
Used as reference for valid
project numbers.
Information
Categories
·
Project activity status.
·
Assigned responsibility.
·
Fee type.
·
Earnings accrual multipliers.
·
Billing cycle codes.
·
Client codes.
·
Telephone call access and
chargeback codes.
2. Project Detail Report
·
Comprehensive report of project
status and performance.
·
Issued for "active"
projects only.
·
Issued for an individual
project number.
·
Includes all relevant detailed
information for assigned project Manager to effectively manage project.
Information
Categories
·
General project data from
project data input form.
·
Fee.
·
Profitability performance.
·
Time sheet charges.
·
Expense voucher charges.
·
Budgets.
·
Accrued earnings.
·
Completion status.
·
Billing.
·
Collections.
3. Project Director Project Status Summary
·
Summary of projects assigned to
a Project Manager.
·
Listed by individual project
number and name.
·
Overall project total of all
individual project numbers in series.
·
Status 0f project activity.
·
Summary of project financial
performance on professional fee only.
Information
Categories
·
Current reporting period.
·
Prior reporting period.
·
Year to date (current fiscal
year).
·
Project to date (project start
date through report period end date).
4. Projects Assigned - Group Status Summary
·
Summary of projects assigned to
a group.
·
Listed by project number series
(first three digits)( and name.
·
Overall project total of all
individual project numbers in series.
·
Status of project activity.
·
Summary of project financial
performance.
Information
Categories
·
Current reporting perid.
·
Prior reporting period.
·
Year to date (current fiscal
year).
·
project to date (project start
date through report period end date).
5. Work Done - Group Status Summary
·
Summary of projects with group
MIS department codes included.
·
Work done based on time charged
to group MIS department codes.
·
Listed by project number series
(first three didits) and name.
·
Overall project total of all
individual project numbers in series with time charged to group MIS department
codes.
·
Status of project activity.
·
Summary of project financial
performance.
Information
Categories
·
Current reporting period.
·
prior reporting period.
·
Year to date (Current fiscal
year).
·
project to date (project start
date through report period end date).
6. Firmwide Status Summary - Projects Assigned to Group
·
Firmwide summary of groups
based on projects assigned to groups.
·
listed by division and groups
within each division.
·
Total of all projects within
each group and each division.
·
Status of group activity.
·
Summary of group financial
perfoemance.
Information
Categories
·
Current reporting period.
·
prior reporting period.
·
year to date (current fiscal
year).
·
project to date (project start
date through report period end date).
7. Firmwide Status Summary - Work Done by groups
·
Firmwide summary of groups
based on work done by groups.
·
Listed by division and groups
within each division.
·
Total of all projects within
each group and each division.
·
Status of group activity.
·
Summary of group financial
performance.
Information
Categories
·
Current reporting period.
·
prior reporting period.
·
year to date (current fiscal
year).
·
Accounting remarks.
·
Work description.
9. Employee Manpower Detail Report
·
Listing of time charges by
personnel assigned to a group.
·
Listing in alpha/numerical
order by home department code.
·
within each home department
code personnel listed alphabetically by last name.
·
Listing of each employee's time
charges to projects, overhead accounts and benefit accounts.
·
Listing of both current
reporting period hours and year to date hours.
·
Presents a continuous time
sheet record of each employee's time charges during a fiscal year.
Information
Categories
·
Current reporting period.
·
Year to date (current fiscal
year).
·
Vacation due.
·
Hours chargeable to projects.
·
Non-chargeable hours (technical
and administrative overhead accounts).
·
Benefit hours (benefit overhead
accounts).
10. Project Manpower Detail Report
·
Listing of all personnel time
charges to projects assigned to a group
regardless of employee's
home group.
·
Projects listed in
alpha/numerical order by first three characters of project number series.
·
Within each project number
series personnel listed alphabetically by last name.
·
Listing of each employee's time
charges to technical project numbers and overhead project numbers assigned to
group.
·
Listing of both current
reporting period hours and year to date hours.
INFORMATION
CATEGORIES
·
Current reporting period.
·
Year to date (current fiscal
year).
11. Group Manpower Detail Report
·
Listing of time charges to
projects worked on by personnel assigned to a
group.
·
Projects listed in alpha/numerical
order by first three characters of project number series.
·
within each project number
series personnel listed alphabetically by last name.
·
listing of each employee's time
charges to technical project numbers, overhead project numbers and benefit
project numbers.
INFORMATION
CATEGORIES
·
Current reporting period.
·
Year to date (current fiscal
year).
12. Firmwide Manpower Summary report
·
Listing of total number of
personnel assigned to each group and division.
·
Division listed alphabetically.
·
Groups listed alphabetically
within each division.
·
Data segregated by technical
personnel and administrative personnel.
INFORMATION
CATEGORIES
·
Staff size
·
Current reporting activity.
·
year to date activity (current
fiscal year).
13. Group Profit and Loss (P & L) Statement
·
Data extracted from MIS
Financial Control Sytem files.
·
Work done by group based on
time charged to group MIS department codes and expenses charged to group MIS
group code.
·
Summary of group financial
performance.
Information
Categories
·
Earned Fees.
·
Project Costs.
·
Gross profit.
·
Overhead costs.
·
Operating income.
·
Year to date budgets for above
categories of income and expense.
·
Actual performance compared to
budgets for current reporting period and year to date.
14. Firmwide Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement
·
Data extracted from MIS
Financial Control System files.
·
Sum of work done by groups
based on time charged to group MIS department codes and expenses charged to
group MIS group codes.
·
Summary of firmwide financial
performance.
Information
Categories
·
Earned fees.
·
Project costs.
·
Gross profit.
·
Overhead costs.
·
Operating income.
·
ESOP and bonus.
·
Income tax.
·
Net income.
·
Year to date budgets for above
categories of income and expense.
·
Actual performance compared to
budgets for current reporting period and year to date.
F. EARNED UNBILLED (Work-in-Progress)
The firm's unbilled client inventory or work-in-progress (W.I.P.) is
recorded on our books in an account entiled "Earned Unbilled".
Details of earned unbilled for each job can be found in the Project Detail
Report.
Earned unbilled is increased in a period by project activity in the
form of time and expense charges via the processing of time sheets, expense
reports (vouchers) and vendor invoices. This activity appears as
"current" on the Project Detail Report. Both hours and salary appear
by individual in support of "time" charges. Expenses also appear by
individual if submitted via an expense report.
Earned unbilled is decreased in a period by the amount of fee
(i.e.,time) and expenses billed to clients. Appropriate notations are made on
the Project Detail Report to recognize the financial impact of project activity
on the firm's assets, as carried on its Balance Sheet (accounts receivable and
earned unbilled) at the end of each four-week period. Hence the equality of the
Project and Financial Control Systems is maintained.
G. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
After a bill is rendered to
a client, an accounts receivable open item is created. This invoice will remain
as an open receivable until it is either collected or written -off.
At S & H, receivables
"age" beginning with the "period end" date, that is, the
end of the time sheet 2-week period in which the work was performed. Any
invoice outstanding for 0-28 days is considered "current". Categories
aged by period are maintained by the firm to monitor cash flow and collection
efforts.
Outstanding accounts
receivable are reported at the project level in two ways. First, the Project
Detail Report shows a summary of outstanding invoices including invoice numbers
and dates as well as the amount outstanding. Second, the Aged receivable Open
Item report shows the activity in accounts receivable, including not only
invoice numbers and dates but payment dates and amounts as well. Also, this
report shows the aging of each receivable. Both reports are prodeced on a
bi-weekly basis and provide sufficient information for project managers to
monitor the receivable status of their projects.
In addition to the above, a
weekly "Summary of Aged Receivables Over $30,000" and "Over
$0" are prepared by group and discussed each Tuesday as part of the firm's
cash management/manpower meeting. The information contained in the report is
aged by project in round thousands without any details, but it does provide an
overview of the receivable picture for each group.
Project Managers are
advised of collections against outstanding receivables via the "Daily Cash
Receipts Report". This report provides the details of all cash collected
from clients on a given day and includes the invoice number, Client name, project
supervisor, project neme and number, as well as the amount collected.
H.
COLLECTION EFFORTS
·
The Project Manager’s
responsibility does not end when a bill to his client is rendered. In fact, his
financial responsibility is only just beginning. His performance is being
measured by his ability to effect payments of invoices from his clients as
expeditiously as possible. Group performance is impacted by inputed interest
charges penalizing those groups with receivables outstanding for inordinate
periods of time (i.e., beyond 90 days). In essence, every Project Manager plays
a big role in the cash management function of the firm. Cash, and the ability
of the firm to pay its creditors and remain solvent, are daily considerations.
The firm has assumed
an active posture in efforts to collect outstanding
receivables.
Payment schedules, discounts (where appropriate), late payment
penalties,
direct contracts with clients, and other means of ensuring swifter
collection of
outstanding invoices from architects have been incorporated into
our “contract
language” when proposals are made.
Follow-up
procedures have also been established to tackle long-outstanding
receivables. A
succession of telephone calls, statements of accounts, and
dunning notices,
coupled with Board of Directors intervention, will precede
referral of
receivables to collection attorneys or other strong action by the B.O.D.
such as stoppage
of work or refusal to associate with the offending “dead-beat”
client in the
future.
I.
COORDINATE WITH ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT
Technical staff and Accounting personnel work together
to assure the integrity of project data. The Project Manager, however, has the
ultimate responsibility to
routinely review and be acutely aware of the status of
his projects. Accounting
l personnel are responsible for the accurate entry of project data,
the proper operation of the firm’s billing systems, and the timely and accurate
reporting of cash collections and outstanding Accounts Receivable.
Errors noted in project records or changes to be made
based on operating decisions, are the responsibilityof Project managers. The
Accounting Department
renders assistance to those unfamiliar with correction
procedures and routinely researches project-related questions, when asked to do
so.
On occasion, Accounting personnel will assist in
collection efforts by calling client contacts and seeking payment of invoices.
It is NOT Accounting’s
responsibility to be the sole source of collection
activity. Project Managers
and Principals have this responsibility.
PAIPINCHEN.COM.
JAROSBAUMBOLLES.COM.
ETC.
04142020, TUESDAY.
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