Project Inquiry

OBJECTIVE

The Project Inquiry option is used to facilitate project monitoring by bringing together in one area all elements related to the project. It is possible to perform the monitoring of all the costs and revenues of a project and also to consult transactions of all kinds related to the project. The information is available in both summary and detailed views by project.

The presentation of information can be adapted to the requirements of each user by selecting the Display menu and clicking the Configuration icon.

It is possible to view the detailed information of a transaction by double clicking on it in any of the transaction tabs.

The memo displayed from the project can be modified in this screen by clicking the Memo icon.

PREREQUISITE

Project Management

ICONS

Project Inquiry Icons

Icons	Title	Used to
	Display the Project Group Screen	Display a section to the left allowing the user to select the projects by group.
	Display Projects in a List	Display a section to the left allowing the selection of all the projects and subprojects in a list. NOTE: It is possible to choose the display format of the list with the dropdown menu at the top of the section.
	Display Projects in a Treelike View	Display a section to the left allowing the user to select any of the projects under the form of a tree view.
	Multiple Display and Selection	Display a section to the left allowing the selection of all of the projects under the form of a multiple selection list. NOTE: It is possible to choose the display format of the list with the dropdown menu at the top of the section.
	Configuration of the summary section	Access the Summary tab of the Configuration window. Allows the modification and the personalization of the summary section. NOTE: in order to open the summary, the user must have access to all groups (Security Management > Access to projects > User will have access to all groups option).
	Selection of dates	Access the Selection of dates which allows the user to filter the transactions according to the date or the periods it was entered.
	Tools Related to this Screen	Access the Tools window, which allows the search and selection of the icons’ positions.
	BIMTrack Access	Open the BIMTrack’s login page (https://bimtrackapp.co/). NOTE: This functionality is only available in version 3.05 of maestro*.

STEPS

maestro* > Projects > Analysis and Inquiry > Projects > Project Inquiry

View a project

To configure the Project Inquiry screen, please consult the Appendix.

If the Dates Selection window appears, enter the transaction dates to display in the Start Date and End Date fields then click Ok.

This step is optional. It is executed only if the Display the date range selection at opening box is checked in the Configuration icon, under the Others tab.

It is possible to select only certain periods by using the Period Selection table or to select all the periods by checking the All the Periods box.

It is possible to change the period selection by clicking on the Selection of Dates icon in the tool bar.

Select a project number.
View the information available on the project.

If an asterisk (*) is displayed in the title of the Project Inquiry option as well as in the tab title of Project Summary, Summary by Phase, Summary by Activity and Analysis by Period tabs, this means that the amounts displayed in these tabs, as well as in the summary section, are calculated based on the selected periods.

If no asterisk is displayed in the title of these tabs, it means that a period has not been selected or that the dates that have been selected do not match period ends. In this case, the amounts in these tabs, as well as in the summary section, represent the total values of the project, and do not include the selected dates.

The tabs that show transactions rather than the summary values are not subject to this last rule: transactions are always filtered according to the dates entered, even if the latter does not correspond to the period ends.

It is possible to add or remove tabs by clicking on Display in the upper menu. Maestro* displays all available tabs based on the installed options. Simply click on them to display or hide them.

It is possible to drill down on all information displayed in bold characters by double clicking on the transaction.

For all tabs that display information in dynamic vector format, it is possible to create a presentation model adapted to the requirements and make it available to all users in the Configuration of the screen.

The project inquiry window is divided into two distinct sections:

The Project Summary and Project Info. sections;
The tabs.

Section

Description

Summary

Displays a summary of costs and revenues charged to the project.

NOTE: With the Configuration of the summary section icon in the icon toolbar, the user can configure the information displayed based on their needs.

Project Info.

Displays general information on project entries at the creation of the project in Project Management.

NOTE: With the Configuration of Fields to Display icon in the icon toolbar, it is possible to configure the fields to display in this section.

Tab

Description

Project Summary, Summary by Phase, Summary by Activity

Displays the budgets, expenses, orders, charges accrued, revenues, and other relevant data related to the project depending on the level of detail applicable to each tab (project, phase or activity).

NOTES: It is possible to select the columns to display by checking the corresponding boxes in the window’s Configuration.

The Projection and Projection (Q) columns display the projected amount and quantity according to the Type of Projection (Project Management) defined for the project or the subproject. If the Type of Projection is Progress % – Add Loss/Gain or Progress % – Expense pace Rhythm and no progress rate is entered in Defaults for progress entry, the value displayed under Projection is the budget.

Transactions

Displays the set of expense transactions charged to the project.

NOTE: It is possible to view attachments linked to a transaction, if the Documents checkbox is selected.

Orders

Displays the orders assigned to the project. These are the costs incurred, therefore only the orders transferred are displayed.

Available Amount Columns:

Order Amount

Order's total amount.

P.O. Inv.

Value of items invoiced on the order according to each of their respective invoiced amounts.

This value cannot be greater than the ordered amount

It does not take into account items added during invoicing

It is calculated according to the "ordered" unit price

If the item is "closed", this value is still equal to the ordered amount.

NOTES: This value is calculated for each individual item - it represents the theoretical invoiced value of each item according to their ordered value.

Balance

Value of items that still have to be invoiced - this amount represents the amount of the invoice someone can expect to receive for this order.

This value is calculated for each individual item.

It only takes into account "active" items (closed items will not be taken into account)

This value cannot be less than zero for an item

Added/Modif.

Difference between the Actual Amt. Inv. and P.O. Inv. fields - it represents the different between the amount that should have been invoiced and the actual invoiced amount.

NOTE: The possible sources of the differences between these two amounts are:

Items added during invoicing

Invoiced unit price different than the ordered unit price

Invoiced quantity greater than the ordered quantity

Order line closed without being completely invoiced, etc.

Actual Amt. Inv.

Actual amount of the received invoiced - this amount is of an "accounting" nature (not operational) and corresponds to the total amount of invoices received linked to the order.

NOTE: It includes items added to invoicing and all kind of adjustments, and is obviously calculated with accordance to the invoiced price (and not the ordered price).

Actual PO Balance

Difference between the values of the Order Amount and Actual Amt. Inv. fields - this amount is an indication of the difference between the total amount of the order and the total of received invoices to date on the order. It does not represent the invoice amount the remains to be received for an order.

Billing

Displays the revenue transactions and billing allocated to the project.

NOTE: If the invoices are linked to a call (Call No.), a Service Contract, a Work Order or a Customer Project, these are displayed in the corresponding columns.

Order in prep.

Displays the non-transferred orders.

Requisitions

Displays the requisitions entered in connection with the project.

Change Order

Displays the change order entered in connection with the project.

NOTE: It is possible to view the Word change order form from this window by clicking on the icon in the Form column. For the maestro* standard form, it is possible to view it from the Documents column, if a copy of the printed form has been saved in Document Management. For the procedure to follow Saving a copy of the forms in document management, consult the help (F1), How To section.

Pivotal View - Summary

Displays a summary, in the form of dynamic pivotal analysis, of budgets, expenses, orders, charges accrued, revenue, and other relevant data charged to the project.

NOTE: This display is a summary of the information contained in the Project Summary, Summary by Phase, and Summary by Activity tabs.

Quarry Tickets

Displays the quarry tickets linked to the project.

Concrete Tickets

Displays the concrete tickets linked to the project.

Hours

Displays the transaction of employee hours charged to the project.

Lien

Displays the list of supplier denunciations linked to the project.

Equipment

Displays the equipment list that are located on the project. The equipment displayed in this tab come from the Preventive Maintenance module.

NOTE: The information displayed comes from the counter readings, which are also used to determine if the equipment is still located on the project.

Work Orders

Displays the work orders linked to the project.

Pivotal View - Detailed

Displays in detail, in the form of dynamic pivotal analysis, the expense transactions charged to the project.

Reservation Analysis

Displays the materials reserved for the project. For maestro* to take this into account, the reservation number must begin with the project number.

NOTE: The reservation can be from a customer order, a requisition processed by inventory issue or procurement management, the receipt of a catalog order or an inventory adjustment.

Pivotal View by Period

Displays, by fiscal period, budgets, expenses, orders, charges accrued, revenues, and other relevant data charged to the project.

Issue Management

Displays the site issues linked to the project.

Daily Entries

Displays the daily entries from maestro*mobile, if the module is installed.

Tasks and Obstacles

Displays the tasks and obstacles entered in the daily entries in maestro*mobile.

Production by Bid Item

Displays the production by bid items entered from the Production by Bid option.

Service Calls

Displays the service calls linked to the project.

Inventory

Displays the quantities and values in inventory for the specified site in the project.

NOTE: Only visible if an inventory location is present in the project file.

Shop Drawings

The Shop Drawings tab displays the shop drawings related to the selected project. This tab only appears if the Shop Drawings module is activated.

It is possible to improve the speed of display of the information in the Transactions and Billing tabs:

For the Transactions tab, deactivating the non-essential columns such as Documents, Activity Name Group, Description (of the group), Type (of group), and Description (type of group) fastens the reading of the transactions.

For the Billing tab, unchecking the Process the Sales box (Configuration, Summary tab) and selecting a date range reduces the number of transactions read.

Section	Description
Summary	Displays a summary of costs and revenues charged to the project. NOTE: With the Configuration of the summary section icon in the icon toolbar, the user can configure the information displayed based on their needs.
Project Info.	Displays general information on project entries at the creation of the project in Project Management. NOTE: With the Configuration of Fields to Display icon in the icon toolbar, it is possible to configure the fields to display in this section.

Appendix

Configure the project summary window

Click on the Configuration icon. The Configuration window appears.
Complete the information of the various tabs depending on the user’s needs:
Table tab: select the information that will be available in the first three tabs of the inquiry: Project Summary, Summary by Phase and Summary by Activity.

It is possible to see the amounts and the quantities related to the project by selecting the Active check box associated with the item as well as the corresponding groups. The Total check box allows the user to view the total in Amount or Quantity.

Transfer to Excel tab: related to the Transfer Data to Excel icon, which allows the user to transfer the different tabs of the projects inquiry to an Excel file composed of multiple spreadsheets. Simply select the tables to transfer. A graph format is also available according to user needs. This last feature is only available only for the project summary.

Project List Windows tab: refers to the first three icons on the main screen of the inquiry, either Display the Project Group Screen, Display Projects in a List or Display Projects in Treelike View.

Field

Description

Position of Project Number

User can determine the location of the display of the project number.

The choices are: Do not display the project number, Before the description or After the description.

Group Display Configuration

User can determine the size of the icon created for the project.

NOTE: Following the selection of the icon size, it is necessary to use the Tools Related to this Screen icon from the project inquiry window to determine the location of the directory of project icons.

Treelike Display

User can arrange projects according to a field in the project. User can also subdivide or not, the projects in master projects and sub-projects, if the corresponding box is checked.

Summary tab: allows the configuration, by user, of the project summary information displayed in the project inquiry window.

The toolbar allows the user to determine the content and the presentation template specifications for the summary information.

Field

Description

Available for all users

User can make available the model created for all users, if the box is checked.

Add Subcontractors

User can have access to data relating to sub-contracts from the Available Fields section, if the box is checked.

Process the Sales

User can have access to data relating to sales in the Available Fields section, if the box is checked.

Add Inventory

Allows the access to the data related to the inventory in the Available Fields section, if there is an inventory defined in the project.

The Configuration of the summary section has the same features and is used in the same way as an Excel spreadsheet. This section may be completed from information contained in the Available Fields section.

Other tab: allows the configuration by user of the presentation of information in the different tabs of the project inquiry window.

General Settings section:

Field

Description

Display the “Master Project and Sub-Project” window

User can display a window at the level of the main inquiry screen and select the information to view according to one of the following choices: Master Project only, Sub-Project or Master Project including all sub-projects.

NOTE: By default, the selection is Master Project only (excluding all the sub-projects).

By default, display Master Project including all Sub-Projects

User can choose to display, by default, the master project including all sub-projects, if the box is checked.

NOTE: This configuration is only available if the option Master Project including all sub-projects is checked.

Display Closed Projects

User can see the closed projects in the project list, if the box is checked.

At opening of the screen, display the last project viewed

User can automatically display the last project consulted at the opening of the Project Inquiry, if the box is checked.

Display all phases and activities even if there is no amount

User can display in the various tables, the phases and the activities at 0, if the box is checked.

Calculate the invoice amount from the transactions

User can take into account the amount converted in the Billing tab, if the box is checked.

Calculate the selling price if selling price is unavailable

User can calculate the sale price, on the contract expenses, from the amounts indicated in the Billing Groups.

NOTE: Available only if the Invoicing Cost Plus option is available.

Ignore negative values in the “To complete” column

Displays 0 if the result of the equation of the item To Complete of the Tables tab (Configuration icon) is negative, if the box is checked.

NOTE: This configuration has an impact on the results of the Project Summary, Summary by Phase, Summary by Activity, Pivotal View – Summary tabs and on the Summary section. It also has an impact on the To Complete column of the Pivotal Project Analysis.

Calculate the column “To Complete” as in the “Enter Advanced Contingencies”

Indicates that the option advanced contingency is used when the box is checked.

If checked, the To Complete column will be calculated in the following way: Projected final - cost to date (including the charges accrued).

If not checked, the calculation of the To Complete column is Budget to spend + Contingency.

NOTE: This configuration has an impact on the Summary, Project Summary, Summary by Phase and Summary by Activity sections.

Activity Grouping

User can regroup the activities, either by Activity, Description, Prefix, WBS No., and Group or by Activity, Prefix, Group.

NOTE: This configuration can be used when regrouping a master project and sub-projects that do not have the same activity structure. It allows the user to distinguish those activities that have the same code but do not represent the same thing.

Non-transferred transactions section:

Field

Description

Exclude non-transferred transactions

Does not display the non-transferred transactions in the different transaction tabs, if the box is checked.

Color settings for non-transferred transactions

User can identify by a specific color the non-transferred transactions in the Transactions, Pivotal View – Detailed tabs, if the box is checked.

Section of Dates section:

Field

Description

Display the date range selection at opening

Allows the selection of a date range when entering the Project Inquiry option, if the box is checked.

Display the transaction of X last days

User can display only the transactions performed during a given period of time.

Sales Transactions with Currency section: allows user to convert, depending on the configuration selected, the sales amounts displayed in the Summary tab, if the feature Process the Sales is checked.

The amounts used for the processing sales include taxes in order to balance with the revenue.

Values by Period section:

Field

Description

Include Total for Previous Periods

User can include the transaction totals from the periods preceding the period selected for the inquiry, if the box is checked.

NOTES: If checked, maestro* takes account of these transactions in the following tabs:

Summary

Project Summary

Summary by Phase

Summary by Activity

Pivotal View by Period.

This configuration will only be applied if a PERIOD selection (and not DATE selection) is made with the help of the Selection of Dates icon in the toolbar.

Include Total for Following Periods

The user can include the transaction totals from the periods following the period selected for the inquiry, if the box is checked.

NOTES: If checked, maestro* takes account of these transactions in the following tabs:

Summary

Project Summary

Summary by Phase

Summary by Activity

Pivotal View by Period.

This configuration will only be applied if a PERIOD selection (and not DATE selection) is made with the help of the Selection of Dates icon in the toolbar.

Include Total Budgets

Activating this option allows including, or not, the budget totals entered in the previous periods. However, this may slow down the processing and may also increase the amount of data to be displayed in the cube excessively.

Field	Description
Position of Project Number	User can determine the location of the display of the project number. The choices are: Do not display the project number, Before the description or After the description.
Group Display Configuration	User can determine the size of the icon created for the project. NOTE: Following the selection of the icon size, it is necessary to use the Tools Related to this Screen icon from the project inquiry window to determine the location of the directory of project icons.
Treelike Display	User can arrange projects according to a field in the project. User can also subdivide or not, the projects in master projects and sub-projects, if the corresponding box is checked.

Field	Description
Available for all users	User can make available the model created for all users, if the box is checked.
Add Subcontractors	User can have access to data relating to sub-contracts from the Available Fields section, if the box is checked.
Process the Sales	User can have access to data relating to sales in the Available Fields section, if the box is checked.
Add Inventory	Allows the access to the data related to the inventory in the Available Fields section, if there is an inventory defined in the project.

Field	Description
Display the “Master Project and Sub-Project” window	User can display a window at the level of the main inquiry screen and select the information to view according to one of the following choices: Master Project only, Sub-Project or Master Project including all sub-projects. NOTE: By default, the selection is Master Project only (excluding all the sub-projects).
By default, display Master Project including all Sub-Projects	User can choose to display, by default, the master project including all sub-projects, if the box is checked. NOTE: This configuration is only available if the option Master Project including all sub-projects is checked.
Display Closed Projects	User can see the closed projects in the project list, if the box is checked.
At opening of the screen, display the last project viewed	User can automatically display the last project consulted at the opening of the Project Inquiry, if the box is checked.
Display all phases and activities even if there is no amount	User can display in the various tables, the phases and the activities at 0, if the box is checked.
Calculate the invoice amount from the transactions	User can take into account the amount converted in the Billing tab, if the box is checked.
Calculate the selling price if selling price is unavailable	User can calculate the sale price, on the contract expenses, from the amounts indicated in the Billing Groups. NOTE: Available only if the Invoicing Cost Plus option is available.
Ignore negative values in the “To complete” column	Displays 0 if the result of the equation of the item To Complete of the Tables tab (Configuration icon) is negative, if the box is checked. NOTE: This configuration has an impact on the results of the Project Summary, Summary by Phase, Summary by Activity, Pivotal View – Summary tabs and on the Summary section. It also has an impact on the To Complete column of the Pivotal Project Analysis.
Calculate the column “To Complete” as in the “Enter Advanced Contingencies”	Indicates that the option advanced contingency is used when the box is checked. If checked, the To Complete column will be calculated in the following way: Projected final - cost to date (including the charges accrued). If not checked, the calculation of the To Complete column is Budget to spend + Contingency. NOTE: This configuration has an impact on the Summary, Project Summary, Summary by Phase and Summary by Activity sections.
Activity Grouping	User can regroup the activities, either by Activity, Description, Prefix, WBS No., and Group or by Activity, Prefix, Group. NOTE: This configuration can be used when regrouping a master project and sub-projects that do not have the same activity structure. It allows the user to distinguish those activities that have the same code but do not represent the same thing.

Field	Description
Exclude non-transferred transactions	Does not display the non-transferred transactions in the different transaction tabs, if the box is checked.
Color settings for non-transferred transactions	User can identify by a specific color the non-transferred transactions in the Transactions, Pivotal View – Detailed tabs, if the box is checked.

Field	Description
Display the date range selection at opening	Allows the selection of a date range when entering the Project Inquiry option, if the box is checked.
Display the transaction of X last days	User can display only the transactions performed during a given period of time.

Field	Description
Include Total for Previous Periods	User can include the transaction totals from the periods preceding the period selected for the inquiry, if the box is checked. NOTES: If checked, maestro* takes account of these transactions in the following tabs: Summary Project Summary Summary by Phase Summary by Activity Pivotal View by Period. This configuration will only be applied if a PERIOD selection (and not DATE selection) is made with the help of the Selection of Dates icon in the toolbar.
Include Total for Following Periods	The user can include the transaction totals from the periods following the period selected for the inquiry, if the box is checked. NOTES: If checked, maestro* takes account of these transactions in the following tabs: Summary Project Summary Summary by Phase Summary by Activity Pivotal View by Period. This configuration will only be applied if a PERIOD selection (and not DATE selection) is made with the help of the Selection of Dates icon in the toolbar.
Include Total Budgets	Activating this option allows including, or not, the budget totals entered in the previous periods. However, this may slow down the processing and may also increase the amount of data to be displayed in the cube excessively.

Click on OK to save the configurations.

Last modification: May 18, 2024