Adding and editing fixed cost types

In this article

• What are fixed cost types?
• Adding a fixed cost type
• Editing fixed cost types
• Archiving fixed costs types
• Deleting fixed costs types

What are fixed cost types?

Fixed cost types are the method Chalkstring uses to sub-group the fixed costs in your fixed costs database into categories.  For example, a fixed costs type of 'Plant' may contain dozens of different types of plant items from within your fixed costs database. Fixed costs are used for filtering and locating fixed costs during the estimating and ordering stages of a project. They are also used as part of the accounts export process with nominal codes being matched to each fixed cost type to enable you to track revenue based on the different fixed cost types in your 3rd party accounting software.

Every fixed cost added into your database will need to be allocated a type when it is created. New fixed cost types can be created when manually adding fixed cost into the database.

Adding a fixed cost type 

To add a new fixed cost type you will need to have the necessary permissions. If you don't see the options in the steps below but believe you should have these permissions, please speak to your system administrator or contact our support team.

Steps to add a fixed cost type

1. From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the ‘Admin’ icon.
2. Click the ‘Fixed costs types’ sub menu.
3. Click the '+ New fixed cost type' button in the top right.
4. Enter the 'Name' for the type in the cell.
5. If the item is a plant item, click this optional 'Is plant' box. This will make filtering your fixed costs by plant easier.
6. Click the 'Save' button.

Editing fixed cost types

If a fixed cost type needs to be updated you can use the edit option.

Steps to edit a fixed cost type

1. From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the ‘Admin’ icon.
2. Click the ‘Fixed costs types’ sub menu.
3. Find the fixed cost type that you wish to edit in the 'Name' section on the left of the page and click on it to view the details. 
4. Click the 'Edit' icon in the top right of the screen. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
5. Make the changes you wish to make.
6. Click 'Save'.

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Archiving material types

If you have fixed cost types that you no longer want to use going forward but that have been used previously then you can archive them.

Steps to archive a fixed cost type

1. From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the ‘Admin’ icon.
2. Click the ‘Fixed costs types’ sub menu.
3. Find the fixed cost type that you wish to archive in the 'Name' section on the left of the page and click on it to view the details. 
4. Click the 'Archive' icon in the top right of the screen and then click the 'Confirm archive' button that appears. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
5. This will leave the fixed cost type record in the system but hide it from dropdown lists.

Steps to unarchive a fixed cost type

If for some reason you need to reinstate an archived fixed cost type you can do so with the following steps:

1. From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the ‘Admin’ icon.
2. Click the ‘Fixed costs types’ sub menu.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tick the 'Include archived' checkbox.
4. Find the fixed cost type that you wish to unarchive in the 'Name' section on the left of the page and click on it to view the details. 
5. Click the 'Unarchive' icon in the top right of the screen and then click the 'Confirm unarchive' button that appears. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
6. This will reinstate the fixed cost type record in Chalkstring

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Deleting fixed cost types

If you have fixed cost type that were created in error and they have not been linked to any other data (such as fixed costs in your database) then you can delete them using the following steps:

Steps to delete a fixed cost type

1. From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the ‘Admin’ icon.
2. Click the ‘Fixed costs types’ sub menu.
3. Find the fixed cost type that you wish to delete in the 'Name' section on the left of the page and click on it to view the details. 
4. Click the 'Delete' icon in the top right of the screen and then if you are sure you want to delete the record permanently, click the 'Confirm' button that appears. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
5. This will permanently remove the fixed cost type from the system.

If you receive an error when trying to delete, this means the data is linked to other data in the system. In this instance use the Archive option instead. 

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Want to know more?

• Video:  Fixed costs
• Video: Accounts reporting
• How to set up nominal codes
• Adding and editing fixed costs