Compare Cost Classes

Overview

Compare Cost Classes lets you select a specific cost class from each of two projects and compare them resource assignment by resource assignment. The grid shows your WBS hierarchy down to the resource assignment level, with one column for each cost class and a Difference column. The most common use case is comparing a project’s Budget against its Actual cost. But you can compare any two cost classes from any two projects; including cross-project benchmarks. URL: /Reporting/CompareCostClasses/Index

Prerequisites

Select two projects and a cost class from each, then click Compare. The grid does not load until all four selections are made and Compare is clicked.
The cost class dropdowns are project-specific; each dropdown lists only the cost classes available for the project selected in the corresponding project filter.

Filters

Filter	What It Controls
Project 1	The first project to include in the comparison
Cost Class 1	Which cost class to use from Project 1 (e.g., Budget). Options update when Project 1 is selected.
Project 2	The second project (can be the same project as Project 1)
Cost Class 2	Which cost class to compare from Project 2 (e.g., Actual). Options update when Project 2 is selected.
Currency Divisor	Display values in base dollars, thousands (K), or millions (M)

After selecting all four values, click Compare to load the grid. If any of the four selections is missing, an alert prompts you to complete the selection.

The cost class dropdowns only populate after a project is selected. If you change Project 1, the Cost Class 1 dropdown reloads with the new project’s cost classes.

Reading the Grid

Hierarchy

The grid is organized hierarchically:

WBS Level 1
  └── WBS Level 2
        └── WBS Level 3 (and deeper levels if configured)
              └── Work Package
                    └── Resource Code
                          └── Resource Assignment

The grid loads collapsed by default. Expand rows by clicking them, or use the Expand All Groups / Collapse All Groups link above the grid. Each group row shows summed totals for the two cost columns and the Difference column, so you can read roll-up comparisons at any level without expanding to the detail.

Columns

Fixed identifier columns (left side):

Column	Description
WBS Level 1–3	WBS group columns, visible by default
WBS Level 4–9	Hidden by default; add via the column chooser
Work Package	Work package group column
Resource Code	Resource code group column
Resource Assignment ID	Hidden by default; add via the column chooser
Resource Code Description	Hidden by default; add via the column chooser
Resource Assignment Description	Hidden by default; add via the column chooser
Resource Type	The type classification for this resource
Resource Result	The result type (e.g., Labor Hours, FTEs, Travel)
[Project 1] Start Date	Start date for the Project 1 resource assignment. Column header shows the actual project name.
[Project 1] Finish Date	Finish date for the Project 1 resource assignment
[Project 2] Start Date	Start date for the Project 2 resource assignment
[Project 2] Finish Date	Finish date for the Project 2 resource assignment

Cost comparison columns (right side):

Column	Description
[Project 1] ([Cost Class 1])	Cost from Project 1 using Cost Class 1. Column header shows the actual project and cost class names, plus the divisor label (e.g., `($K)`).
[Project 2] ([Cost Class 2])	Cost from Project 2 using Cost Class 2
Difference	Cost Class 2 minus Cost Class 1. A negative value means Cost Class 2 is lower than Cost Class 1.
View	Opens the time-phased RA Detail pivot grid for this row (see below)

Time-Phased RA Detail

Click the View button on any resource assignment row to open the RA Detail pivot grid. This shows the cost comparison broken down by period. Modal header: “Resource Assignment ID: [ID from Project 1] / Compared to: [ID from Project 2]” Pivot structure:

Rows: Resource Assignment ID and Resource Result type
Columns: Fiscal Year → Quarter → Month (hierarchical; expand a year to see quarters, expand a quarter to see months)
Values: Cost for each period
Grand totals: Shown for both rows and columns

Use this view to identify exactly when in the project timeline a budget-versus-actual divergence occurred.

When to Use This Report

Use Compare Cost Classes when you need to:

Budget vs. Actual analysis: see where actual costs deviated from the approved budget at the resource assignment level.
Cross-period comparison: compare cost classes that represent different snapshots in time (e.g., Original Budget vs. Current Budget).
Cross-project benchmarking: compare the cost profile of one project’s cost class against a different project’s cost class.
Identify timing of variances: use the View button to drill into the monthly breakdown and find when a variance first appeared.

Saved Views

Compare Cost Classes supports named saved views that preserve your column layout, grouping, and filter settings. Use the view selector in the toolbar to save and reload your own named views.

When viewing a system view, the message “Currently viewing a system view. Changes will not be saved.” appears at the top right of the grid.

Grid Features

Feature	Description
Expand/Collapse All Groups	Link above the grid. Toggles all group rows at once.
Column chooser	Add hidden columns: WBS Level 4–9, Resource Assignment ID, Resource Code Description, Resource Assignment Description
Search panel	Free-text search across all visible columns
Filter row	Per-column filter inputs; click Apply Filters to apply
Header filter	Click any column header for value-based filtering
Filter panel	Shows active filter criteria and allows clearing them
Group panel	Drag columns to add additional grouping levels

Exporting

Click the Download icon and select Export as Excel. The file is saved as CompareCostClass.xlsx with the grid data on a sheet named Compare Cost Class.

Getting Started

Estimating

Earned Value

Reporting

Schedule

Risk

Admin

Concepts

Compare Cost Classes

Overview

Prerequisites

Filters

Reading the Grid

Hierarchy

Columns

Time-Phased RA Detail

When to Use This Report

Saved Views

Grid Features

Exporting

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Filters

​Reading the Grid

​Hierarchy

​Columns

​Time-Phased RA Detail

​When to Use This Report

​Saved Views

​Grid Features

​Exporting

Overview

Prerequisites

Filters

Reading the Grid

Hierarchy

Columns

Time-Phased RA Detail

When to Use This Report

Saved Views

Grid Features

Exporting