Performing Easy Cost Planning

Ever since SAP R/3 4.6C, SAP has offered an easy-to-use tool for planning costs in WBS elements. The tool is called Easy Cost Planning.

You can access Easy Cost Planning for projects from the Project Builder. Costing items are created for WBS elements based on the entered plan data. Cost planning using Easy Cost Planning is cost element based.

You can use planning templates to enter costing items.

During this process, characteristics are valued. The example in the Easy Cost Planning figure shows work in hours being valued at 100.

The characteristic values from the planning forms are linked to quantities, values, or actions from the costing items. In the Easy Cost Planning figure, the link is to quantity for an internal activity.

The planned costs are in the periods of the basic start dates of the WBS elements. If the basic dates are changed and a revaluation takes place, the costs are redistributed.

Easy Cost Planning can be used to create preliminary costing for a project. The planned costs are broken down later, for example, using a quantity structure of network activities.

As of SAP ERP 6.0 enhancement package 3, Easy Cost Planning can also be used to plan costs on network activities.

You can use planning templates to create a quantity structure for Easy Cost Planning.

A planning template primarily contains characteristics that are evaluated by the user and taken into account in costing.

You can edit and modify the input screen in HTML in the planning template.

You can control quantities, prices, or the activation via formulas or conditions with the derivation rules (in the form of templates) of the planning template.

You can use characteristics that were already assigned to the planning template as variables for the formula and conditions. The characteristics are valued by the user when planning templates are copied into Easy Cost Planning.

In Easy Cost Planning configuration, you define which controlling plan version of the cost planning data to update. As of SAP R/3 Enterprise Extension 2.00, you can also specify several alternative controlling versions for Easy Cost Planning. If Easy Cost Planning has been activated in several versions for projects in Customizing, you can decide, each time you open Easy Cost Planning, in which of the alternative CO plan versions you want to use to plan costs.