Fixed costs menu (onsite projects)
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      Understanding the automated cost updates for Fixed-Cost orders

      In this article

      What are automated daily cost calculations?


      The automated daily cost calculation feature automatically updates the hire cost for each periodic (day- or week-based) fixed-cost item every day, so you always see an up-to-date running total. There’s no need to manually work out business-day rates or factor in holidays and shutdowns—Chalkstring handles it for you.

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      How it works

      When placing a fixed cost order, you will have the option for the daily hire costs to be automatically calculated by Chalkstring for you.

      Calculate daily hire costs
      • From the fixed costs bill for an onsite project, click on the +' for the fixed cost you want to add to an order.  Complete the required boxes and tick the Calculate daily costs  box.

      Adjusting charging preferences

      You can control whether public holidays or company shutdown days incur charges:

        • Charged for public holidays

        • Charge for shutdowns

        • If the box is ticked, the cost will be charged during any public holiday or shutdown dates set in the 'Admin>Fixed cost holidays' menu.

        • If the box is not ticked, the fixed cost will not be include in the autmatic daily calculation for any dates set in the 'Admin>Fixed cost holidays' menu.

        • Any changes to your holiday or shutdown calendars will recalculate all active items (those without an Actual end date).

      • Once the order has been confirmed and marked as sent, Chalkstring begins calculating each item’s cost daily.

      Automated ongoing fixed cost update calculations
      • Daily costs roll forward at midnight (server time) each business day and do not include weekends.
      • Calculations continue to roll over until you enter an 'Actual end date' (off-hire date) for the item, at which point the cost “freezes” and displays a final total with a 'green' status symbol to highlight this fixed cost is now finished.

      See article Fixed cost item management for details on fixed cost items.

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      Calculation rules

      The calculation rules which Chalkstring uses as part of the automatic daily calculations are: 

      • Applicable units: Only items with units of day or week can be used for daily calculations, any items with a unit of hourly, monthly or lump sum  are not supported.

      • Week-based items: Daily rate = Weekly rate ÷ 5 (Mon–Fri only)

        • Example: £500/week ÷ 5 = £100/day

      • Business days only:

        • Weekends are never included in the calculations.

        • Public holidays and shutdowns will either be included or excluded depending on whether the boxes were selected on the order page.

      • Start & end dates:

        • Both start (delivery) and end (Act. end date) dates count as full days, even if partial.

        • Off hire dates (Act. end date) can only be today or in the past, not in the future.

      • Reporting:

        • The Project Hub and CVR reports both use the calculated daily costs in their calculations.

        • The CVR report includes the actively calculated costs and are attributed to the periods when the costs were incurred, not when they were ordered.

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