How to Configure a Combined Cost Type for the Financial Plan in OnePlan

Direct Answer: How to Configure a Combined Cost Type for the Financial Plan in OnePlan

To configure a Combined Cost Type for the Financial Plan in OnePlan, open a project’s Financials tab, select the ellipsis (…), then select Configure. On the Cost Types tab, select New Cost Type (+), set Type to Combined, and in the Combined section select a Historical Cost Type (required) and, optionally, a Prospective Cost Type. A Combined Cost Type merges the values of two Normal Cost Types into a single, read-only financial view commonly used for consolidated reporting such as Estimate at Completion (EAC).

What This Article Covers: Configuring Combined Cost Types in the Financial Plan

This article explains how to create a Combined Cost Type in OnePlan, including its General, Totals, Setup, Combined, Controls, and Imports settings, and how it behaves relative to the Normal Cost Types it draws from.

What you will accomplish By the end of this article, you will be able to create and configure a Combined Cost Type that merges historical and future values into a single financial view for reporting and analysis.

Before You Begin: Configuring a Combined Cost Type

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A OnePlan account with Administrator permissions
• The Financial Plan app installed
• At least one Normal Cost Type configured for historical values (required) and, optionally, one configured for prospective values — see How to Configure a Normal Cost Type for the Financial Plan in OnePlan
• Financial Plan Cost Categories and cost categorization already in place — see How to Configure a Normal Cost Type for the Financial Plan in OnePlan
• An understanding of which Plan Types should use the Combined Cost Type

Why This Matters: How Combined Cost Types Work in the Financial Plan

Context: What a Combined Cost Type Is

A Combined Cost Type is used for reporting and analysis only — it does not allow manual data entry and always depends on Normal Cost Types as its source. It merges two Normal Cost Types into a single financial view: a required Historical Cost Type, which supplies values for all past periods (automatically populated and locked), and an optional Prospective Cost Type, which supplies values for current and future periods (populated and locked when selected). For example, a Historical Cost Type of Actual Cost combined with a Prospective Cost Type of Forecast Cost can produce an Estimate at Completion (EAC) view.

Context: How Combined Cost Types Fit into the Financial Plan

Combined Cost Types do not replace Normal Cost Types. They provide an additional, consolidated view that lets stakeholders see a complete financial picture without modifying underlying data.

Context: How Combined Cost Types Behave

Combined Cost Types are read-only. Their values are derived entirely from source Cost Types and update automatically when those source Cost Types change; no manual entry is allowed. Whether Controls (Lock Field) and Import settings are visible depends on whether a Prospective Cost Type is selected: if no Prospective Cost Type is selected, Lock Field and Import settings remain visible and administrators can control how current and future values are populated and locked; if a Prospective Cost Type is selected, those settings are hidden and all values are fully controlled by the source Cost Types.

Context: Important Constraints on Combined Cost Types

A Combined Cost Type cannot be combined with another Combined Cost Type (no chaining). Locked periods remain locked — Combined Cost Types respect existing locks and do not override them. Combined Cost Types display parent and summary rows only; detail rows are not included. Combined Cost Types update automatically at regular intervals after source data changes.

Step-by-Step: Configuring a Combined Cost Type for the Financial Plan

Task: Access Financial Plan Settings

Starting from within a Plan in OnePlan:

1. Go to the Financials tab at the top of the screen and select the ellipsis (…).
2. Select Configure.

### Task: Create a Combined Cost Type

Starting from the Financial Plan configuration screen:

1. Under the Cost Types tab at the top of the screen, select New Cost Type (+).
2. Complete the Add Type form.
3. In the General section, enter a clear, descriptive Name (for example, Estimate at Completion).
4. Set Type to Combined.

### Task: Configure Totals for a Combined Cost Type

1. Under Totals, set Method to None or Total of Cost Type.
2. If Total of Cost Type is selected, choose the plan-level field that stores the aggregated total in the Cost Total Field.
3. Leave the Multiplier at its default unless values need to be scaled.

### Task: Configure Plan Type Availability

Under Setup, select the Plan Types where this Combined Cost Type should be available.

### Task: Configure the Combined Section

1. Under Combined, select the Historical (Required) Cost Type that supplies values for all past periods. These periods are auto-populated and locked.
2. Optionally, select a Prospective Cost Type that supplies values for current and future periods. Selecting a Prospective Cost Type auto-populates and locks current and future periods, hides Controls and Import settings, and makes all values fully derived from the selected source Cost Types. Leaving Prospective unselected keeps current and future periods editable and keeps Lock Field and Import settings available.
3. Under Copy Fields From, select the Cost Type (Historical or Prospective) whose custom fields should be inherited by the Combined Cost Type.

### Task: Configure Controls (When No Prospective Cost Type Is Selected)

Controls are available only when no Prospective Cost Type is selected.

1. Under Controls, select a Lock Field — a Yes/No Plan field used to lock current and future periods in the Financial Plan.

### Task: Configure Imports (When No Prospective Cost Type Is Selected)

Import settings are available only when no Prospective Cost Type is selected. In this scenario, historical periods are populated from the Historical Cost Type and locked, while current and future periods remain editable and can be populated through imports.

1. Under Imports, select an Import From source:
   • Resource Planner — imports resource allocation data from a plan’s Resource Plan, with variations for a specific Cost Type (Resource Planner (Your Organization’s Financial Plan Cost Types)) or user-selectable Cost Type (Resource Planner (User Selectable)).
   • Timesheets — imports actual time entry data.
   • Resource Schedule — imports allocation data from the Work Plan at the plan level or the assignment level (Resource Schedule (Assignments)).
2. Select an Import Method: Blended Costs / Revenue (standardized costs or rates based on Labor Cost Categories) or Actual Costs / Revenue (actual costs or rates defined at the resource or plan level).
3. Enable Auto Import to automatically refresh imported values when the source data changes.

Note: If a Prospective Cost Type is selected, Import settings are hidden and all current and future values are supplied by the Prospective Cost Type, making the Combined Cost Type a fully derived, read-only view.

Frequently Asked Questions: Combined Cost Types in the Financial Plan

Q: What is a Combined Cost Type used for in OnePlan? A: A Combined Cost Type merges a required Historical Cost Type and an optional Prospective Cost Type into a single, read-only financial view for reporting and analysis, such as an Estimate at Completion (EAC).

Q: Can I combine two Combined Cost Types in OnePlan? A: No. OnePlan does not support chaining — a Combined Cost Type must be built from two Normal Cost Types, not from another Combined Cost Type.

Q: Why are the Controls and Imports settings hidden on my Combined Cost Type? A: Controls and Import settings are hidden whenever a Prospective Cost Type is selected in the Combined section, because all current and future values are then fully derived from that source Cost Type.

What to Do Next: After Configuring a Combined Cost Type

Get started with related tasks: - How to Configure a Normal Cost Type for the Financial Plan in OnePlan

Learn about related topics: - Financial Plan Cost Types - Administrator Overview - Financial Plan - Cost vs. Revenue