5.09.00 Cost Codes

Cost Codes & Account Codes video

Cost Codes are used to track and account for Material and Labor costs.  Cost Codes generally describe a group of building Materials, or similar Labor, Subs, Equipment, or Other costs.  Cost Codes such as DRYWALL, CERAMIC, and INSULATION are examples of Material Cost Codes and FINISH, HANG, or LAYOUT are examples of Labor Cost Codes.  Some companies use simple alpha-numeric codes that match up to their Accounting programs for Cost Codes - the method a company uses to setup Cost Codes is their choice - whatever makes sense for the business and the way one performs estimating, job costing, and project management.

Use the Find box and/or the Type and Section filters to quickly locate a specific Cost Code in the list.

To create a new Cost Code,

• Click Master > Cost Codes - the Cost Code List (Master) dialog opens (this list can also be accessed from the Item Detail dialog by typing in a Material or Labor Cost Code that does not already exist in the database)
• Click New - a blank line is added at the bottom of the list
• Select a Type (Material, Labor, Subcontractor, Equipment, or Other)
• Enter a unique identifier in the Cost Code field
• Enter a description for the Cost Code in the Description field
• Set an Account Code and Section (optional).  Specify an Account Code to match Quick Bid Cost Codes to your Accounting system's internal codes.  When you associate an Account Code, Quick Bid allows you to use those Accounting codes in Reports and Exports.  See the next article for more information on Account Codes.
• Click OK to exit the dialog

Click the Print button to print the currently displayed Cost Code list (as filtered by Type or Section)...

• If you are planning on using Digital Production Control (DPC), it is important to establish well-defined Labor Cost Codes that clearly identify and differentiate discrete labor activities.  Organizing Labor Cost Codes in a logical manner makes using DPC more efficient.

Account Codes