Progress, expenditure and change communications
- Last UpdatedJan 31, 2024
- 4 minute read
Communications are used to track the progress of the contract, to apply for payment based on the progress, and to request changes to the contract commitment.
Whether a communication records progress, expenditure or change depends on the configuration of the communication template, as detailed in the following tables.
Contract has line items
|
Record Progress |
Is Expenditure |
Record Financial Values |
Communication Template Reporting Category |
How financial values are entered |
|
No |
No |
No |
Not applicable |
No progress or financial values are recorded. |
|
Yes |
No |
No |
Not applicable |
Progress can be recorded on the Progress tab against line items which have progress measures, after the communication has been saved in an editable state. |
|
No |
Yes |
Yes - Optional |
Not applicable |
Expenditure values and line items are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved in an editable state. The communication cannot be linked to progress communications. |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes - Optional |
Not applicable |
Expenditure values and line items are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved in an editable state. The communication can be linked to progress communications. |
|
No |
No |
Yes |
Maps communications to Change reporting categories |
Commitment change values which apply to line items are added on the Change tab, after the communication has been saved in an editable state. See Commitment change line items. |
|
No |
No |
Yes |
Does not map communications to Change reporting categories |
A single value can be added as the Financial Impact of the communication on the Create a Communication page or when editing a communication. |
Contract does not have line items
|
Record Progress |
Is Expenditure |
Record Financial Values |
Communication Template Reporting Category |
How financial values are entered |
|
Not applicable |
No |
No |
Not applicable |
No progress or financial values are recorded. Note Progress can only be recorded against line items. |
|
No |
Yes |
Yes - Optional |
Not applicable |
Expenditure values are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved in an editable state. The communication cannot be linked to progress communications. See Expenditure values. |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes - Optional |
Not applicable |
Expenditure values are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved in an editable state. The communication can be linked to progress communications but the progress communications cannot have progress values because they can only be recorded against line items. See Expenditure values. |
|
No |
No |
Yes |
Maps communications to Change reporting categories |
A single commitment change value can be added as the Financial Impact of the communication on the Create a Communication page or when editing a communication. |
|
No |
No |
Yes |
Does not map communications to Change reporting categories |
A single value can be added as the Financial Impact of the communication on the Create a Communication page or when editing a communication. |
Progress communications
If a contract has line items which have associated progress measures, progress against these is recorded in progress communications. Once the progress communications are agreed or approved, the contractor can apply for payment for the work done.
If the contract does not have line items, or none of the contract line items record progress, progress communications cannot be used.
For more information about:
-
Configuring line items to record progress, see Progress measures
-
Recording progress in communications, see Progress communications
Financial impact values for expenditure and change communications
Communication templates for expenditure communications such as applications for payment and invoices, and for change communications such as variation orders have associated financial impact values. Communication financial values can only be seen by users with Confidential access to the communication.
Depending on the communication template configuration, the financial impact value can affect the financial values of the contract, such as the value that is committed to the contract, the contract expenditure or the value of risk/change associated with the contract. When a communication based on these communication templates is approved, the financial impact value of the communication is applied to the expenditure or commitment/change values of the contract as appropriate.
For more information about including financial values in communications, see Expenditure communications and Change communications.
If line items are configured for the contract (see Contract line items), communication financial values can be associated with these and with any associated breakdown items as follows:
-
Applying commitment changes to a line item in a communication will affect the value of the commitment or quantity of the line item, and also the commitment value of any associated breakdown item.
-
Consuming line items in expenditure communications ensures the correct reporting of expenditure against the line items and any associated breakdown items.
See Edit the core details of a communication for details of when a communication is in an editable state.
Note If a contract is configured to use more than one currency, it may have communications with financial values in any of the configured currencies. Contract financial values are shown in the contract base currency, and are calculated from communication values using the exchange rates in the Contract Configuration (see Contract currencies).
If a communication has a financial association with another communication of the same type (expenditure or change), the financial impact values (including any line items) are copied from the predecessor to the successor. If progress communications are linked to a successor expenditure communication, the expenditure values are calculated for the successor based on the progress claimed for in the predecessor communications. See Contract FAQs: How are the claimed values of line items in expenditure communications calculated from the associated progress communications? for more information about how calculations are done.
Schedule impact values for change communications
Change communications can also contain schedule impact values if the communication template is configured to record these. However, these do not affect the contract's end date directly - it must be edited manually (see Update the contract end date).
For more information, see Schedule impact values.