Labour bill
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      Managing labour on budget only assessments

      In this article

      What is labour management in budget only assessments?

      Labour management in budget only assessments involves allocating and tracking labour costs using predefined budgets instead of detailed estimates. This approach allows you to manage workforce expenses within a set budget, making it ideal for projects where speed is key or a detailed estimate breakdown is not required.

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      Video

      How to input labour applications

      1. Expand the main Chalkstring black menu bar and click on the ‘Projects’ menu.
      2. Search for and click the 'Project' required.
      3. Within the project homepage, click the ‘Project hub’ sub-menu.
      4. Expand the main Chalkstring blue menu bar and click ‘Labour’.
      5. Click on the ‘Labour Bill’ sub-folder.
      6. Select the package from the ‘Package’ drop-down for the labour data required.

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        The labour bill page

        A. Add labour

        1. Click the 'Add labour' button to add new labour activities the labour bill.

        2. Use the filters to search for the activities you want to add to the labour bill.

        3. Multiple activities can be selected at a time. Click on each activity you wish to add to select the activity. Selected activities will be highlighted in yellow.

        4. Up to 50 activities can be selected and added at a time.

        5. If the activity you want to add doesn't appear in your database. It can be added as a new entry by clicking the '+Labour activity' button in the top right corner

        B. Filters

        • The search activities filter can be used to find a specific activity by name.
        • Clicking 'Advanced' will provide additional advanced filter options.
        • Clicking the 'Activities' filter buttons will allow filtering of the existing activities within the labour bill. Click the required filter button, select the activity you wish to view using the filters and click 'Apply selection' to apply your selected filters to the labour bill. 

        To select multiple activities, hold the ctrl button on your keyboard when clicking each item to add them to the filter. 


        C. Package total figures

        Displays labour figures for the package.
        • In progress - If you have marked any progress for the assessment, the equivalent labour costs required to have achieved that level of progress will be displayed here.

        For example, if the total package price for the assessment is set at £100,000.00, and the labour budget has been set at £20,000.00. Updating the progress completed to 50% in the progress section will result in an 'In progress' value of £10,000.00, the equivalent of 50% of your total labour budget.

        Once all of that £10,000.00 has been claimed and approved, the 'In progress' will display £0.00 until the progress is updated again.

        • In draft - The total of any activities currently added to a draft application.

        D. Labour activity details 

        Clicking the 'i' button for the activity will display additional information about the activity. The cell displays:
        • 'Activity' – The name of the activity. The 'edit' pencil can be used to swap the activity for a different activity in your database.
        • 'Description' - The description for the activity
        • 'Trade' - Any trade that has been associated with the activity in the database.
        • ‘Applied (Approved)’ – The cumulative total of what has already been paid out. A list of historical applications for an activity can be viewed by clicking the 'Applied (Approved)' value hyperlink. 
        • ‘Applied (Unapproved) ’ – The cumulative total of applications from other subcontractors for this activity in this zone, which are in the ‘Review Applications’ section. 
        • ‘In Draft' – What has been added to the application that is currently being worked on.
        • 'Quantity unit' - The unit the activity has been quantified in.
        • Quote details - Material quote currently associated to this material. Click on the edit icon below the quote name to open a list of quotes associated with this material.

        An orange 'inactive' quote identifier means a live quote has now expired and a replacement should be sought.

        An orange guesstimate identifier means no quote has been obtained and the price associated is therefore either a verbal quote or a guess that the subcontractor may or may not honour.

        A red no subcontractor identifier means this material has not been associated with a subcontractor  yet. One will need to selected by clicking on the edit quote button and selecting a valid quote or entering a guesstimate with a subcontractor selected.

        E. Adding labour applications

        • Incoming labour application claims can be added to an application by clicking the ‘+’ button. This is where to enter the quantity or value  being claimed for.
        • The rate will default to what is set for the activity in the bill but if the application rate is different to what is in the bill, you can change it here.

        F. Changing displayed units

        • The value mode displayed can be changed from units of measurement to money mode by clicking the drop down. 

        G. Bill actions

        • To delete your current in draft application, click 'Delete draft'.
        • Once you have input all of the items for your current application, click 'Save draft' to save the application.
        • Labour quote requests created in Chalkstring, where prices have been added, can be imported and the prices applied to the bill.
        • To create a quote containing a list of all items within the labour bill that do not currently have a valid quote, click the bill actions drop-down menu and click ‘Export quote request of invalid prices’. 
        • To export the labour data into a spreadsheet format, click the bill actions drop-down menu and ‘Export labour bill’. This will export a spreadsheet containing detailed activity information for the assessment.

        Inputting a labour application

        1. Have a copy of the subcontractor application open.

        2. Work through the application, item by item, inputting the activity and measure quantity being claimed for in this current period by the subcontractor. For details on how to add activities to the labour bill, see section 'A' of the 'The labour bill page' above.

        Always input what the contractor is applying for. The review, edit and approval takes place once all subcontractor applications have been input. This is to ensure all applications can be compared against each other.

        3. Click 'Bill actions' and ‘Save draft’ in the top right corner.

        4. Enter an effective date for the application.

        5. Select the subcontractor by clicking on the drop-down menu, click ‘Save’.

        The application will be saved in the ‘Review Applications’ section.

        6. Continue this process until finished inputting all the received labour applications

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        Reviewing labour applications

        Once you have input and the labour applications you have received for the current period in the via the labour bill, the applications will be displayed in the 'Review applications' section where you can review, edit and approve as required

        A - Review applications

        • Red number indicates outstanding applications waiting for review and approval.

        B - Application summary

        • Each applications input is listed here for each contractor.
        • In this section you can delete,  view more details for the application or approve the application.

        • To view the details of a specific contractor’s application, to attach drawings or documents, or export a copy of the application click the magnifying glass icon.

        C - Activity details

        • List of activities applied for in the current applications.  The value totals displayed here show the cumulative total figures for each activity, across all applications, packages and zones.

        D - Quantity details

        • Shows the applied quantity and applied rate from the contractor.
        • If the quantity field is red, you will need to investigate this application further before approving the payment. This is because the application exceeds the current total budget allowance for labour for this assessment.

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        How to edit an application

        Editing the quantity or rate

        Applications may need to be edited for various reasons, such as, if a subcontractor has applied for more than you believe has been completed or at an incorrect rate.

        1. Before an application can be edited, a package and zone must be selected using the filters. 

        • Select the 'Package' from the drop-down menu, and select the required zone from the drop down. 

        To see the package and zone details for an application, click on the magnify glass and scroll to the 'Items' section at the bottom of the page.

        • A edit pencil icon will appear above the 'Applied Quantity' field. Click this icon to make any required changes. Any adjusted quantities or rates will feed back into the labour bill. 

        2. Once the change has been made, click 'Edit values', This will update the amount to be accepted and approved for payment, whilst maintaining a record of the amount originally specified.

        Editing the date or contactor details

        The effective date or the subcontractor can be updated if required.

        1. Click the magnifying glass icon to view the application.

        2. Click the 'Edit Application' in the top right corner and update the date or contractor details as required.

        3. Click 'Save Application'.

        The application can also be deleted from the view application page if required, or exported to excel by clicking the 'Delete application' or 'Export application' buttons.

        How to approve applications

        Once you have finished reviewing, editing and updating the applications, or checks have been made to ensure the labour figures are correct and you are happy all the applications are correct, you can approve the applications by clicking the  ‘Approve Figures’ button(s) for each application. This will transfer the application(s) from being ‘Review applications’ to ‘Previous applictions’.

        Chalkstring will automatically updated the 'Accounts' menu with application approvals to enable payment to relevant contractors with the correct amount.

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