How to Add and Categorize Generic Resources in OnePlan

Direct Answer: How to Add and Categorize Generic Resources in OnePlan

To add a generic resource in OnePlan, go to the Resource Center, click Add Resource, select the Generic check box, and select a Resource Type of Work, Material, or Cost in the field that dynamically appears. Then complete the remaining fields and click Save. Named resources do not use this field — every named resource is automatically categorized as Work.

What This Article Covers: Generic Resources

This article explains how to add a generic resource to the Resource Center, how the Resource Type field on the Add Resource form works, and how to group generic resources by type in the Resource Center list view.

What you will accomplish: By the end of this article, you will be able to create a generic resource with the correct resource type, understand why the Resource Type field only appears for generic resources, and group your resource list by Work, Material, and Cost.

Before You Begin: Generic Resources

Confirm you have permission to add and edit resources in the Resource Center.
Review How to Add Named Resources in OnePlan if you need to add resources tied to a specific person instead.
Know which Resource Type — Work, Material, or Cost — the resource needs before you start. Resource Type cannot be changed after the resource is saved, so choose carefully up front.
Review Resource Center Administration in OnePlan - Overview if you are new to managing resources in OnePlan.

Why This Matters: Generic Resources

Accurate planning across people, materials, and costs

Work plans rarely consist of labor alone. Materials (equipment, supplies, hard goods) and flat costs (licenses, travel, vendor fees) are just as much a part of delivery. Categorizing generic resources as Work, Material, or Cost lets OnePlan capture all three dimensions of a plan in one place, instead of forcing every resource into a labor-shaped record.

Cleaner Resource Center organization

Grouping the resource list by Resource Type makes it easy to find and audit all your materials or flat-cost resources separately from your labor pool, especially in environments with a large number of generic resources.

Better assignment experience in the Work Plan

The resource type set here determines which tab a resource appears under in the Work Plan's resource assignment picker and in the Task Information Advanced Edit dialog. See How to Assign Resources to Work Items in OnePlan and How to Use Advanced Edit for Work Items in OnePlan for how resource type affects assignment.

Step-by-Step: Adding and Categorizing Generic Resources in OnePlan

Task: Add a Generic Resource

Go to the Resource Center.
Click Add Resource. The Add Resource form will open.
Select the Generic check box. The Resource Type field will dynamically appear.
On the Add Resource form, with Generic selected, click the Resource Type dropdown. Select one of the following:

Work — Labor-based resources, including individual generic resources (e.g., a "Business Analyst" role) and resources meant to represent a category of people effort.
Material — Physical goods or supplies consumed by a plan (e.g., Hard Goods, Fork Lift, Trucks).
Cost — Flat, non-labor, non-material costs (e.g., Contracts, Other, licensing or vendor fees).

Note: The Resource Type field only appears for generic resources. Named resources (tied to a person, whether Entra/Office 365 or an external email) are always categorized as Work resources automatically — there is no way to categorize a named resource as Material or Cost. See How to Add Named Resources in OnePlan for details.

Note: Resource Type cannot be changed after the resource is saved. Choose Work, Material, or Cost carefully before clicking Save on the Add Resource form. If a generic resource is set up with the wrong type, create a new generic resource with the correct type instead.

Complete the remaining fields on the form:
- Display Name — Enter the generic resource name. Typically, this is something like a role name or something similar.
- Quantity — 1 signifies 1 FTE, or one full time resource. Full time is all working hours based on the Calendar settings. 0.5 signifies a part time resource who is available 1/2 time. This affects the resource's capacity.
- Available From / Available To — Set the date range during which this resource is available for planning. Leave blank if the resource has no defined availability window.
- Business Unit — Select a business unit from the dropdown. Available choices are configured on the Fields page, in the section for resource-level fields.
- Calendar — Select the calendar that determines this resource's working days and hours. Defaults to General.
- Expense Type — Select whether this resource's cost should be classified as CapEx or OpEx, if applicable.
- Non-Labor Cost — Available for Material and Cost type resources. This field pulls its options from the Cost Categories page (Admin > Financial Plan settings), specifically from the categories configured with Labor Type set to Non-Labor (for example, Materials and Supplies, Travel and Expenses, Contracts, Software, Other). Select the category that best classifies this resource. This field will only show usable values if a Non-Labor Cost Category has been configured — see How do I manage Cost Categories?.
- Utilization Goal — Enter a target utilization percentage for this resource, if your environment tracks utilization goals.
- Role — Select a primary role from the dropdown. Available choices are configured in the Role Resource Field. See Create and Manage Resource Fields and Team Fields for more information on creating and managing Resource Fields.
- Manager — Begin typing the name of the manager for this resource. Select the desired name, if applicable.
- Timesheet Administrator — (Only shows when the Timesheet App has been added). Not typically applicable for generic resources. Skip.
- Timesheet Manager — (Only shows when the Timesheet App has been added). Not typically applicable for generic resources. Skip.
- Cost — Enter the cost for this resource. Cost is what it costs to have the resource on a project. This value is used in Actual Cost calculations.
- Rate — Enter the rate for this generic resource, if different than the rate associated to this generic resource's role (configured on Cost Categories page, see How do I manage Cost Categories?). Rate is the amount that you bill out for the resource. This value is used in Actual Revenue calculations.
- Governance Warnings, Governance Problems, Compliance — Not editable. Related to Insights; display the number of governance warnings and problems and a calculated compliance score. Skip.

Note: Field relevance depends on Resource Type. Non-Labor Cost applies to Material and Cost type resources; fields like Role and Utilization Goal are typically only meaningful for Work type resources.

Click Save. The new generic resource is available throughout OnePlan.

Task: Group Generic Resources by Type in the Resource Center List

Go to the Resource Center and select the Resources tab.
Click Group, then choose Resource Type (or your environment's equivalent grouping field).
The resource list organizes into Cost, Material, and Work groups, each showing the resources categorized under that type along with their Quantity, Generic, Cost, and other configured columns.

Note: Named resources will always appear under the Work group when grouping by resource type, alongside any generic resources categorized as Work.

Frequently Asked Questions: Generic Resources

Q: Can I change a generic resource's type after it has been created?

A: In OnePlan, no. Resource Type can only be set when the generic resource is created and cannot be edited afterward. Select the correct type on the Add Resource form before saving; if a resource needs a different type, create a new generic resource with that type instead.

Q: Can a named resource be categorized as Material or Cost?

A: In OnePlan, no. Named resources are always automatically categorized as Work resources. Only generic resources can be categorized as Work, Material, or Cost.

Q: Does resource type affect how a resource is assigned in the Work Plan?

A: In OnePlan, yes. The resource assignment picker and the Task Information Advanced Edit dialog both organize resources into Work, Material, and Cost tabs based on this categorization, and each tab captures the input relevant to that type (Units for Work, Quantity for Material, Cost for Cost resources).

Q: What resource type should I use for a Team?

A: In OnePlan, teams are treated as Work resources in the assignment experience. When assigning resources to a work item, teams appear alongside individual Work resources in the Work tab of the picker.

What to Do Next: Generic Resources

Add or manage other resource types:

Assign categorized resources in the Work Plan:

Review the full process:

Resource Center Administration in OnePlan - Overview