Knowledge Base

User-entered actual cost is not divided among resources in Project

Article ID: 197539

Article Last Modified on 6/28/2007

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q197539

SYMPTOMS

When you manually enter Actual Cost for a task, Microsoft Project may not evenly distribute the actual cost that you enter among all resources that are assigned to the task.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:
  • The Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Project option is disabled for the project.

    Note To locate this option, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Calculation tab.
  • You manually enter any value in the task Actual Cost.
  • After you manually enter the task Actual Cost, you add one or more resources to the task.
When you add resources after manually entering the task Actual Cost, Project distributes the amount that you entered among one or more of the assigned resources. How this distribution is made depends on whether any resources are assigned to the task before you make the Actual Cost entry, as follows:

Case 1: No resources are assigned to the task when you enter task Actual Cost

If no resources are assigned to the task when you enter the task Actual Cost, Project distributes the whole Actual Cost amount to the first resource that is assigned when resources are later assigned.

Note If the first resource assignment includes multiple resources that are assigned at the same time, the whole task Actual Cost amount will be assigned to the resource that has the lowest resource ID number.

Later changes to task Actual Cost are distributed to the original resource.

Case 2: Resources are assigned to the task when you enter task Actual Cost

If resources are assigned to the task when you enter task Actual Cost, Project evenly distributes the Actual Cost amount that you enter among all the currently assigned resources.

If you later assign additional resources, the task Actual Cost is not redistributed to include the additional resources.

Later changes to task Actual Cost will be distributed evenly among the original resources that were assigned.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Allow Project to calculate actual costs

To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. In the Options dialog box, click the Calculation tab, and then click to select the Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Project check box.
  3. Click OK.
Note If you select this option, any manually entered Actual Cost values that are already in the project will be removed.

Method 2: Reenter task Actual Cost to redistribute evenly among all resources

To redistribute manually entered task Actual Cost among all resources that are assigned to a task, follow these steps:
  1. Remove task Actual Cost. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
    2. On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Cost.
    3. Click in the Actual column for the task that you want to adjust, note the current value, type 0 (zero), and then press ENTER.
  2. If you need to add or to remove resources on the task, add or remove them before you go to step 3.
  3. Reenter task Actual Cost. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Apply the Gantt Chart and the Cost table as described in steps 1a and 1b.
    2. Click in the Actual column for the task that you want to adjust, type the task Actual Cost that you want to distribute, and then press ENTER.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Project option is selected by default in all new projects, unless you set a different default. The effects of enabling or disabling the option are as follows:
  • When the option is selected (checked), you cannot manually enter actual costs for tasks or assignments on any task until the task is 100% complete. Edits to task Actual Cost that occur after a task is complete are not distributed to assigned resources. However, assignment Actual Costs can be edited individually for each resource.
  • When the option is cleared (unchecked), you must manually enter all actual costs for both tasks and assignments. When you enter task Actual Costs, these costs are distributed among resources as described in the "Cause" section.
If you change the setting of the option while a project is in progress, the effects of changing the setting are as follows:
  • If you change the option from checked to unchecked, any actual cost values that are already accumulated will not be removed. Instead, additions or changes to task Actual Cost will behave as described in Case 2.
  • If you change the option from unchecked to checked, task and assignment Actual Cost amounts that are already manually entered are removed, and Project recalculates all Actual Costs.

Additional query words: prj2000 PRJ prj2007

Keywords: kbbug kbnofix KB197539


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