VAC fields

The VAC (Variance At Completion) field shows the difference between the BAC (Budgeted At Completion) or baseline cost and EAC (Estimated At Completion) for a task, resource, or assignment on a task.

There are several categories of VAC fields.

Data Type    Currency

VAC (task field)

Entry Type    Calculated

How Calculated    When a baseline is set, the VAC field for the task contains $0. The scheduled cost for the task and the budgeted cost for the task at this point are the same, so the variance is $0. As changes to the plan are made, or as progress is reported on the task, Microsoft Office Project calculates the VAC for the task. This includes the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the task to date. Project calculates VAC as follows:

VAC = Budgeted At Completion (baseline cost) - Estimated At Completion

Best Uses    Add the VAC field to a task sheet view when you want to see whether you're probably going to be under, over, or exactly within your budget when the task is completed.

Example    The budgeted cost for a task is $500 because you had originally estimated that it would take the assigned $50-per-hour resource 10 hours to complete. If the resource takes only five hours to complete the task, the budgeted cost is $500 and the estimated cost is updated to $250. Therefore, the VAC shows $250, indicating that you're projected to be under budget on the task by $250 at the completion of the task.

Remarks    If the VAC is negative, the projected cost for the task is currently over the budgeted, or baseline, amount. In this case, you might consider changing the amount of remaining work or assigning another resource with a lower cost rate for remaining work on the task. If the VAC is positive, the projected cost for the task is currently under budget.

VAC (resource field)

Entry Type    Calculated

How Calculated    When a baseline is set, the VAC field for the resource contains $0. The scheduled cost for the resource and the budgeted cost for the resource at this point are the same, so the variance is $0. As changes to the plan are made, or as the resource reports progress for any assigned tasks, Microsoft Office Project calculates the VAC for all the resource's assignments. This includes the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the resource to date. Project calculates VAC as follows:

VAC = Budgeted At Completion (baseline cost) - Estimated At Completion

Best Uses    Add the VAC field to a resource sheet view when you want to see whether you're probably going to be under, over, or exactly within your budget for a resource when all assigned tasks are completed.

Example    If your budgeted cost for a resource is $5,000, and your estimated cost is $4,000, your VAC is $1,000, meaning costs for this resource's assignments are projected to be $1,000 under budget at the completion of the all the resource's assignments.

Remarks    If the VAC is negative, the projected cost for the resource is currently over the budgeted, or baseline, amount. In this case, you might consider changing the amount of remaining work for certain assignments or assigning another resource with a lower cost rate for remaining work on assignments. If the VAC is positive, the projected cost for the resource is currently under budget.

VAC (assignment field)

Entry Type     Calculated

How Calculated     When a baseline is set and an assignment is first made, the VAC field for the assignment contains $0. The scheduled cost for the assignment and the budgeted cost for the assignment at this point are the same, so the variance is $0. As changes to the plan are made, or as the assigned resource reports progress, Microsoft Office Project calculates the VAC for the assignment. This value includes the cost of actual work plus any per-use costs for the assignment to date. Project calculates VAC as follows:

VAC = Budgeted at completion (baseline cost) - Estimated at completion

Best Uses     Add the VAC field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to see whether you're probably going to be under, over, or exactly within your budget for an assignment when it will be completely finished.

Example     If your budgeted cost for an assignment is $500 and your estimated cost is $400, your VAC is $100, meaning you're projected to be $100 under budget at the completion of the assignment.

Remarks     If the VAC is negative, the projected cost for the assignment is currently over the budgeted, or baseline, amount. In this case, you might consider changing the amount of remaining work for the assignment or assigning a resource with a lower cost rate to it for the remainder of the task. If the VAC is positive, the projected cost for the assignment is currently under budget.