Baseline Cost fields

The Baseline Cost fields show the total planned cost for a task, a resource for all assigned tasks, or for work to be performed by a resource on a task. Baseline cost is also referred to as budget at completion (BAC), an earned value field. The timephased versions of these fields show values distributed over time.

There are several categories of Baseline Cost fields.

Data Type    Currency

Baseline Cost (task field)

Entry Type    Calculated or entered

How Calculated    The baseline cost is calculated as the sum of the planned costs of all the assigned resources plus any fixed costs associated with the task. This is the same as the contents of the Cost field when the baseline is saved.

Baseline Cost = (Work * Standard Rate) + (Overtime Work * Overtime Rate) + Resource Per Use Cost + Task Fixed Cost

Best Uses    The baseline cost information becomes available when you set cost information for the assigned resources and set the baseline for the task. Add the Baseline Cost field to a task sheet when you want to review total planned costs for tasks. You can review the baseline cost for the task to help set your budget for the task and the project. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields.

Example    You have a task with a 10-hour duration and a single resource assigned at $20 per hour. The baseline cost for the task would be $200. When the task is 50 percent complete, the Actual Cost field will be calculated at $100.

Remarks    The Baseline Cost field contains 0.00 until you set a baseline for the project, which you can do even after the project has been started. You set a baseline in the Set Baseline dialog box.

If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect any baseline task cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the task. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.

The baseline cost does not change after it has been saved, even if work values change.

Baseline Cost (resource field)

Entry Type    Calculated or entered

How Calculated    The baseline cost is calculated as the sum of the planned costs of the resource, including scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for all work assigned to the resource. This is the same as the contents of the Cost field when the baseline is saved.

Baseline Cost = (Work * Standard Rate) + (Overtime Work * Overtime Rate) + Per Use Cost

Best Uses    The baseline cost information for the resource becomes available when you set cost information for the resource and set a baseline for the tasks to which the resource is assigned. Add the Baseline Cost field to a resource sheet when you want to review total baseline costs for resources. Review these baseline costs to help set your resource budget. Compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine if the task is still on track within your budget. Better yet, use the Cost Variance field to compare the two fields.

Example    You have a resource at $20 per hour assigned to 10 different tasks for a total of 100 hours. The baseline cost for the resource would be $2,000.

Remarks    The Baseline Cost field contains 0.00 until you set a baseline for the project, which you can do even after the project has been started. You set a baseline in the Set Baseline dialog box.

If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect any baseline resource cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the resource. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.

The baseline cost does not change after it has been saved, even if work values change.

Baseline Cost (assignment field)

Entry Type    Calculated or entered

How Calculated    The baseline cost is calculated as the sum of the planned costs of the assignment, including scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for the assignment. This is the same as the contents of the Cost field when the baseline is saved.

Baseline Cost = (Work * Standard Rate) + (Overtime Work * Overtime Rate) + Per Use Cost

Best Uses    The baseline cost information for the assignment becomes available when you have set cost information for the resource, assigned the resource to the task, and set a baseline for the project. Add the Baseline Cost field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to review total planned costs for assignments. You can review the baseline cost for the assignment to help you set your budget for the task and the project. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine if the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields.

Example    You add a resource at $20 per hour to a task that has a 10-hour duration. The baseline cost for the assignment would be $200.

Remarks    The Baseline Cost field contains 0.00 until you set a baseline for the project, which you can do even after the project has been started. You set a baseline in the Set Baseline dialog box.

If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the assignment. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.

The baseline cost does not change after it has been saved, even if work values change.

Baseline Cost (task-timephased field)

Entry Type    Calculated or entered

How Calculated    As soon as you save a baseline, the timephased Cost fields for the assignment are copied into the timephased Baseline Cost fields. These are the task costs that include scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for the assigned resources, along with any fixed costs for the task, distributed across the duration of the task.

Best Uses    The baseline cost information becomes available when you set cost information for the assigned resources and set the baseline for the project. Add the Baseline Cost field to the timesheet portion of the Task Usage view to display baseline cost information. Review the baseline cost for the task to help set your budget for the task and the project. Compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields.

Example    Sean and Chris are assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which is scheduled for 16 hours of work next Monday through Thursday. They are both $20 per hour. This will be timephased as 4 hours of work for each of the 4 days, so the timephased scheduled cost is $80 for each of the 4 days. When you set the baseline, the timephased scheduled cost is copied as the baseline cost for this task.

Remarks    If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the task. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.

Baseline Cost (resource-timephased field)

Entry Type    Calculated or entered

How Calculated    As soon as you save a baseline, the timephased Cost fields for the resource are copied into the timephased Baseline Cost fields, which can be displayed in the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. These are the resource costs that include scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for all work assigned to the resource, distributed across the duration of the task.

Best Uses    The baseline cost information for the resource becomes available when you set cost information for the resource and set a baseline for the tasks that the resource is assigned to. Add the Baseline Cost field to the timephased portion of the Resource Usage view to display baseline cost information. You can review the baseline cost for the resource to help set your budget for the resource. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields.

Example     Jamie, at $10 per hour, is assigned to 15 different tasks throughout the duration of the project. If Jamie is scheduled for 8 hours per day, the scheduled timephased cost values would be $80 (8 hours at $10 per hour) for each day worked. If Jamie is assigned at fewer assignment units, you might see lower cost values. If there is scheduled overtime, you might see higher cost values. When you set the baseline, the timephased scheduled cost is copied as the baseline cost for this resource.

Remarks    If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the resource. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.

Baseline Cost (assignment-timephased field)

Entry Type    Calculated or entered

How Calculated    As soon as you save a baseline, the timephased Cost fields for the assignment are copied into the timephased Baseline Cost fields, which can be displayed in the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. These are the assignment costs that include scheduled work, scheduled overtime, and per-use costs for the assignment, distributed across the duration of the task.

Best Uses    The baseline cost information for the assignment becomes available when you set cost information for the resource, assign the resource to the task, and set a baseline for the project. Add the Baseline Cost field to the timephased portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view to display baseline cost information. You can review the baseline cost for the assignment to help you set your budget for the task and the project. You can compare the values in the Baseline Cost and Cost fields to determine whether the task is still on track within your budget. The Cost Variance field compares these two fields.

Example     Sean is assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which is scheduled for 16 hours of work from Monday through Thursday. Sean's standard rate is $20 per hour. This will be timephased as 4 hours of work for each of the 4 days, so the timephased scheduled cost is $80 for each day. When you set the baseline, the timephased scheduled cost is copied as the baseline cost for this assignment.

Remarks    If you edit the contents of the Baseline Cost field, it does not affect task or resource baseline cost calculations, nor any timephased baseline costs for the assignment. If you save another baseline after editing baseline costs, your edits are overwritten by the new baseline values.