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JC Job Phases

Company Tracker action: implementation-setup-jc-job-phases Milestone: Job Cost / Module Setup (milestone_id=5, core_milestone_id=2) Order: 11 Estimated duration: 2 hours Typical owner: Controller

Purpose​

Assign phases (and their cost types) onto jobs — only phases from the original estimate or change orders. For YTD/cutover, load what exists on each in-scope job. Cost types on those phases may appear as Job Phase Cost Types / Original Estimates. (The company phase catalog is JC Phases, not this form.)

Prerequisites​

  • Phase validation settings exist on JC Company Parameters (Number of Valid Characters in Phase Code). Phase-code length / format are sticky after install; changing format later needs data conversion.
  • JC Cost Types exist. JC Phases master exists when you will assign master phase codes; cutover may load job phase/cost-type rows that already exist on the job.
  • Jobs and contracts (with contract items when used) exist.
  • Original estimate approach agreed (grid on Job Phases vs JC Original Estimates form).

Vista configuration article​

See the detailed Vista guide:

Setting Up JC Job Phases

Field meanings and form steps live there. Do not restate them on this page.

Implementation guidance​

Decide (client / kickoff)​

  • What belongs on the job: only phases that are on the original estimate or that arrive later through a change order. In plain terms: if it was not budgeted and not added by CO, it should not be on the job.
  • Cutover / YTD load: for open jobs and jobs with year activity, load the phases that actually exist on that job (estimate / CO set). This form is not the JC Phases master (that is JC Phases). You are not inventing a master list here.
  • Job Phase Cost Types / Original Estimates: Vista may show this as JC Original Estimates or JC Job Phase Cost Types. It is the cost types on each phase. Same rule as phases: load whatever cost types exist on that job for those phases for YTD activity.
  • Setup pack order for job bring-live: JC Contracts → JC Jobs → JC Job Phases → Job Phase Cost Types / Original Estimates → JC Contract Items.
  • Locked vs Not Locked valid-character counts on the master (JC Phases) affect how dynamic new phase codes can be — decide there, not by conflating with Job Phases.
  • Whether Auto-Add Contract Item on jobs is allowed when adding phases.
  • Lump-sum (LS) UOM unit convention for progress (1 or 100) when Progress Entry is in scope.

Load / accept (implementation defaults)​

  • JC Phases master (defaults, cost types, quantity flags) is a separate setup when building the company phase catalog.
  • On JC Job Phases for YTD/cutover: load the phases that exist on each in-scope job. Standard cost types may auto-add from the master when you assign a master phase — trim as needed — but cutover content is the job’s phase list, not a fresh master dump. Standard cost types from the master auto-add; trim and add non-standard types as needed. Assign contract item when adding the phase.
  • Enter original estimates on Job Phases Estimates or JC Original Estimates. If you add phases in Original Estimates, cost types do not auto-add. Run Initialize Cost Types before entering amounts. Manually adding a single cost type can block later initialization for that phase.
  • Import paths do not always add default cost types. Verify after load. Prefer TAD for bulk phase / estimate bring-live.
  • Locked-phase jobs still allow adding / configuring phases here; lock only restricts which phases may receive posted transactions.
  • Accept means phase structure and estimates match the go-live job budgets the client will track (or estimates explicitly deferred with owner / date).

Tips and gotchas​

  • Job Phases ≠ JC Phases master. Only estimate / change-order phases belong on the job. Load those phases and their cost types (Original Estimates / Job Phase Cost Types) for YTD. Pack: Contracts → Jobs → Job Phases → Phase Cost Types → Contract Items.
  • Changing phase-code format after jobs exist is a conversion project. Lock the scheme on Company Parameters before master load.
  • For LS UOM, enter 1 or 100 units when using Progress Entry; otherwise unit entry is generally restricted.
  • Skipping Initialize Cost Types after adding phases in Original Estimates leaves empty CT rows and broken progress / projections.
  • Posting in accounting modules is normally limited to cost types assigned on the master phase unless you add a non-standard type on the job.

Done when​

  • Master phases and job phase / CT assignments exist for in-scope jobs.
  • Original estimates loaded and accepted (or explicitly deferred with owner / date).
  • Default cost types verified after any import.