Cost of resource over time.

[SHOHMAN]

I am using a resource that has a very high initial cost and is a capitalized
over five years for accounting purposes. My project will only be using this
equipment for one year so when I assign the resource, I do not want my
project to assume the whole cost of the resource. I would rather have the
resource costed over the period of the project. For example, the resource
has a cost of $65,000, but is accrued over five years. If my project uses it
for nine months, then the cost to the project should be $9,750 ($65,000
divided by years, divided by 12 months, times length of project in months).
How is this possible? It would most likely tie into my other question,
similar in nature. If the office I am using has a set amount to pay per
month in a utility like rent or data access, how can I cost that? We have a
month to month lease agreement, so the total cost of rent is determined by
the length of the project. There has to be a way to figure monthly expenses.

 

[JulieS]

Hi Shohman,

MS Project is not really an accounting tool but you can accomplish (to a
point) what I believe you are seeking. Create the equipment (or rent) as a
material resource and in the resource sheet enter the appropriate cost per
month in the Standard Rate field (you'll need to do the calculation for the
monthly cost elsewhere). Show the Gantt chart and split your screen
(Window>Split) to show the task form at bottom of the view. Click in the
Task Form and choose Format>Details>Resource Cost. Select the project
summary task (which is fixed duration) and select the equipment resource in
the Resource Name field from the Task Form. In the Units field enter 1/mo
and the cost will be calculated based upon the task duration * cost per
month.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie