Skip to content

Create Projects from Sales Documents#

Whereas previous chapters have described, one after another, how to set up a project, calculate the effort that was put into it, and create sales documents from it, the following chapter will explain how to do the reverse, that is, create a project from a sales quote or order.

Create Lines from Project Template#

This action can be run to create lines for a blank sales quote or order so that you don’t have to specify a project structure manually when you later want to set up a project from the sales document.

For this reason, the function retrieves not only the work package lines from a project template but also, for example, the Begin-Total and End-Total lines entered on it.

Whether template lines are added at the WBS or budget line level to the blank document depends on the option you selected in the Copy to Sales Doc. field on each line. Additionally, Begin-Total and End-Total blocks are set up around the budget lines assigned to the same template line, to keep them together on the new document as well.

As for the Expand Budget Lines fields on the template lines, you can use them to specify that when you run the function to set up document lines in sales and one of the Copy to Sales Doc. Field on the template is set to WBS Line, the system should also copy the associated budget lines to the new structure.

Note

Although template lines for which the No Transfer option is selected in the Copy to Sales Doc. field aren’t transferred to the sales document when you run this function, you can later add them manually to a WBS (when you’ve created a work breakdown structure from the document) or set up new templates for them (from which you can then transfer them in blocks).

Create Project and WBS#

This action, found on the ribbon of sales quotes and orders, opens a page on which you can use two functions and a toggle to create a project from a sales document, as described in the following.

Create New Project#

Running the Create New Project action from the page starts the project wizard. You then must specify a project template unless the sales document was created from one (see Create Lines from Project Template), in which case the Project Template Code field is filled in automatically. The template isn’t used to create a WBS, however, which is what you’ll do later with the help of another function.

You can then choose OK to go to the next page, where all customer-related fields have already been filled in (and can no longer be changed) and where the Status field has been set to Quote or Open (Order), depending on which document ribbon you ran the action from. Neither field can be changed. The other fields on the page, including the Starting Date and Person Responsible, are blank and need to be filled in manually.

When you exit the wizard, you’re asked if you want the new project number to be copied to the document lines that you’re using to create the project. Typically, the answer to that question is Yes. Afterward, the system will:

  • create the project (so that you can open the project card for it).
  • link the sales document header and lines to the new project.
  • copy the dimensions of the project to the sales document.

Note

You cannot run this function for a sales document that is already linked to a project.

Create WBS/Lines#

You can now run the Create WBS/Lines function, found on the same page as the wizard, to create a work breakdown structure for the new project by using from the sales document resource, item, or G/L account lines that aren’t already linked to a WBS or budget line. You can, however, also complete this part later if necessary.

Note

Document lines that you want recreated as service package lines on the WBS must already have a work type assigned to them, as it is the only way to ensure that the new work breakdown structure contains valid package prices and units of measure.

You can, however, change a price later if necessary. Additionally, the work type that is copied doesn’t need to match the type assigned to the WBS (considering you can also change this type on both WBS and budget lines later).

Copy to Project / Target Project No.#

Only document lines where the Copy to Project field is selected are included when you run the Create WBS/Lines function.

If, when running the Create New Project action, you said Yes to the question of whether to enter on all sales document lines the number of the project you just created, the Target Project No. is already filled in on the lines. Otherwise, the number is entered after you select the Copy to Project field there.

Begin-total and end-total lines that were copied with the help of a function to the sales document from a project template—to indicate the start and end of certain budget lines—cannot be marked for transfer to the project.

This is because the WBS/Lines function automatically creates a WBS line for each sales document line on which the target WBS level is set to Budget Line, which prevents the creation of additional begin-totals and end-totals.

Target WBS Level#

The target level specifies if you want a sales document line to be set up as a WBS or budget line on the new project. Budget lines that contain the same work package (and potentially the same phase, task, and step codes) are grouped on projects.

Target Work Package Code#

A work package must be filled in regardless of whether you want a document line copied at the WBS or budget line level.

Note

If the target level was set to WBS, the billing resource entered on the document line must match the resource linked to the target work package, as this resource is also required when you complete the process in reverse, that is, when you create a sales document from a work breakdown structure.

If the document line was created with the help of a project template, the target package is filled in automatically for the function (not on the sales line yet, however), as is the billing resource.

If the line includes an item and was added manually to the sales document, the work package is filled in based on the item category or the item itself, as both might have work package codes entered for them. If the item isn’t assigned to a category or no package code was linked to it, the code is retrieved from the relevant item card.

In all cases, however, the system will look for a suitable package, as you can specify in the work package master the types (items, resources or resource groups, and G/L accounts) that you want to set up budget lines for. This means, for example, that you cannot select a package of an item (category) if budget lines aren’t allowed for it.

Phase, task, and step codes#

You don’t need to but can fill in the Target Phase, Task, and Step Code fields on the page as well. You cannot, however, use the auto PTS code entered in Projects Setup here, as this code is filled in automatically during the creation of a WBS.

The use of auto-activity codes is recommended for the "Create WBS from sales document" process. Once the WBS has been created, these codes (e.g. by project managers) can be adjusted as long as there are no other documents (e.g. purchase) or bookings (e.g. time bookings). The updated activity codes are transferred to the corresponding sales lines so that the reference to the WBS line is retained.

Target Resource Type#

If the target WBS level is Budget Line, you can choose another resource or resource group for transfer to the new project if necessary. If you leave the field blank, the system will use the resource specified on the sales document line instead.

Note

If the sales document line contains a billing resource, you need to specify another target resource here.

Target Billing Type#

This field is filled in with the type stored on a project template if you’ve used the Create Lines from Project Template action but can be changed if necessary.

For a sales document line created without a template, you can also fill in the field manually.

Work Status#

This field is filled in from the project template but can be changed manually, if necessary.

Project Template Code / Project Template Line No.#

These fields show the template that the lines on a sales document originate with if you’ve run the Create Lines from Project Template function to set up the document.

The information they contain is then used for the Expand Budget Line feature.

Expand Budget Lines#

This field tells the system whether to create budget lines from a project template when you run the Create WBS/Lines function.

It is selected automatically depending on how the template has been set up, although you can change the field manually if necessary. Changing the field, however, is only possible for sales document lines on which the Target WBS Level is set to WBS and is only useful for lines with project template codes.

Batch copy WBS lines#

When sales lines are created from a project template that a WBS Line Batch is specified for, the batch (which consists of WBS lines transferred from another template) is automatically entered into the new structure.

A line batch is useful when you want to add to the WBS internal cost lines that aren’t transferred to sales documents but need to be part of the structure. For more information, see Project Template.

Other document line fields#

All other field values, such as sales prices, line discounts, invoice quantities, and descriptions, will be copied to both WBS and budget lines automatically.

Dimensions#

For sales lines that were created in a sales document from a project template, the standard dimensions from the master data (e.g. customer) are used first. As soon as a project is generated from the sales document with a project template, the default dimensions of the template are transferred to the new project.

When the project number is written back into the sales document, the project dimensions are also transferred.

When creating the WBS lines from the sales lines, existing dimensions can be transferred from the WBS template lines and these then also flow into the respective sales line.

Document texts#

If the function for creating sales lines from a project template is used in a sales document, you are asked whether the additional texts contained in the project should be transferred to the sales header. Existing texts are retained.

If there are additional texts for the WBS lines in the project template, these are always transferred to the new sales lines.

When creating a project from a sales document, the project template is used, but the texts from the sales header are transferred to the new project instead of the additional texts.

If the WBS lines are generated from the sales lines, the additional texts are also transferred to the new WBS lines.

Create project prices#

When you create WBS or budget lines, you can additionally set up one sales price list per project by turning on the Create Project Prices toggle on the header of the Create Project and WBS from Sales Document page. Every price entered on the relevant sales document lines is then added to this list.

If a list already exists, it is expanded to include those values. Available prices, however, aren’t replaced. You’ll be notified if a price has already been entered for resources of a certain work type.

Note

The feature only copies prices that already exist when you turn on the toggle and run the WBS/Lines function.

Change requests#

Change requests can be copied from a quote or an order to an existing project and its WBS lines by entering the number of the project on a blank document header (that is, a header to which only a document number has been assigned so far).

Afterward, all available customer data is transferred automatically. To prevent manual overwrites, this includes the values entered in the Your Reference and External Document No. fields (provided they were filled in). What exactly is being copied depends on how the project has been set up.

The following happens in any case when you run the function:

  • Lines from a sales quote are transferred to the WBS as quote lines.
  • Lines from a sales order are copied to the WBS as order lines and can therefore only be transferred to projects that are set to Open (Order).
  • A Begin-Total and an End-Total line, as well as a reference to the sales document, is added (provided the Batch Copy Change Requests from Sales to WBS toggle is turned on in Projects Setup).
  • The change request gets its own WBS lines, even if the target work package that you select is already assigned to the WBS.

Note

If you create a project from a sales document and have only some of the lines copied to a new, blank WBS, the lines that remain after the transfer will be considered part of a change request when you have them copied later.