@deancameron what do you think of @tom120's template? I think it covers most of what is needed and the basic idea is good, but I'd like to see it done in a more predictable format. At some point we will need to import the data into a REA accounting system, and knowing that every spreadsheet has the same table cells we can target to pull totals & values out will make writing those import scripts a hell of a lot easier. In the template as it stands, the total cell(s) always end up moving downwards.

Since we will have separate spreadsheets for each individual project, I think the best thing to do is to have separate tabs for labour and materials, because there will be some different data for materials that we won't have for time (cost vs. hours for time; but also source with a link to the business or location where the material came from). Then there should be some cells in the top rows of the base "summary" spreadsheet that total everything together and give the high-level summaries.

I'm not sure what to do with this proposal- https://www.loomio.org/p/zJL9YoCt/that-all-proposed-projects-use-the-elf-project-cost-template-to-give-good-resource-allocation-transparency ...but I think we need to ignore it anyway since it wasn't set up to a valid voting period. I also don't see that the costing template has been completed yet, so maybe the next steps are to take another pass at it and then send a proposal that we endorse the next version, to spark discussion.

@tom120 can we do a working bee kinda day on this? I need to make sure all the costing requirements will give us the depth we need for REA

Yes good idea Sam one hour or so it could be effective. Once I change the column format so every material item should hav labour and equipment on the same line

I have finally got round to this task

I have changed the template using toms suggested layout so we have separate visibility for each of labour, equipment, materials and consumables consumed by task so it is clearer where the materials and equipment are needed

Some thoughts:

• I think we should have separate spreadsheet tabs for the labor and materials. Putting it all together in the one table is a little confusing. We should be able to use pivot tables to generate a report that combines all the labor and materials into an easily viewable format and alerts us if we have entered task names incorrectly- because we would have to duplicate that column in both tabs (I think that's OK- generally you'd fill these out by outlining all the work needed, then copy the task names over to the materials sheet to enter the materials needed for each step, no?). The results will be much more machine-friendly that way and avoid a nightmare import job into subsequent systems later. I can have a go at this if we all think it's a good idea.
• I would like to see a "vendor" column in the materials section. Reason being that this will enable us to start thinking about alternative materials sources which are either cheaper or more ethically aligned. I also think we should have a "receipt" column to link the "paid" column with evidence as to the cost. This means we also need to start defining the folder structure for projects as per this Trello task so that there's a predictable place for filing receipts.
• "do not touch" / "adjust value" is a great idea. I like that as a convention for ALL our spreadsheets.
• I don't think we need to include "rate", because everybody should have the same rate. Valuing all time equally is a core part of our constitution.