Project Cost accounting

There are two schools of thought on job codes: unstructured and structured. Unstructured codes rely on a database that a viewer can readily access for guidance as to the details of what they are looking at. This provides less data at first glance, but more once you go to the related database to see all of the job details. Since it is unstructured you do not need complex rules for writing your job codes in the first place, which can be a difficult task to consistently apply. Structured codes give you some information at a glance which can be handy but require more training to apply and read.

My preference has been for structure, but very little, and then deeper detailed data in a related database close to hand. It is just too much of a pain in neck to apply complex job codes and due to Murphy's law there seem to be nothing but exceptions to any rules you set out. So I pick very high level structure, such as a simple customer code plus date code, or location code, division code, etc. It really depends on what are the highest order elements you want to track. But be wary of going to 10, 14 or 20 digit codes as you try to capture more and more detail. It is tempting, but I find it never works out well.

As for the specific question of a 2 digit year, that depends on how critical the year is for you to capture as to whether you have it. And Y2K technology issues aside, I have never had an issue with 2 digit years and think 4 digits are typically superfluous, but YMMV.

Sorry I can't comment on on the QB PS module, i have not used it.

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