When is MTL Unit Cost (STD) determined for a Job under Standard Cost?

Kinetic ERP
1

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding Standard Costing and the MTL Unit Cost (STD) that is stored on a job.

My understanding is that the material standard cost used by a job is captured when the job is created or when materials are linked to the job. However, I would like to confirm exactly when Epicor determines the MTL Unit Cost (STD) value.

For example:

  1. Part A has a Standard Cost of $10 when the job is created.
  2. Later, the Standard Cost is changed to $12 before the material is issued.
  3. A Mass Issue transaction is performed after the cost change.
  4. The job is then completed and closed.

In this scenario, which cost will Epicor use for the job’s MTL Unit Cost (STD)?

  • The Standard Cost at Job Creation?
  • The Standard Cost at Mass Issue?
  • The Standard Cost at Job Completion?
  • Some other point in the process?

I am trying to understand exactly which point in time Epicor uses to establish the job’s standard material cost, especially for variance analysis under Standard Costing.

Any clarification or references to Epicor documentation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

2

It’s important to specify and differentiate whether you are talking about Estimated unit costs or Actual unit costs.

Estimated unit costs are captured when the job is created (or the material is added as a requirement to the job). If you create a job on September 1st and then change the standard cost of the material on September 2nd and then issue material to the job on September 3rd, the Estimated material unit cost on the job will use the old cost from before the change.

Actual unit costs are captured at the time of the transaction (issue, for material). In my example, the Actual material cost issued to the job will use the new cost from after the cost change.

Manufacturing variance calculations always use the actual costs. Estimated costs are not directly involved in the manufacturing variance calculations except that the estimated cost is usually the standard cost of the manufactured part coming out of the job (if it’s set to Standard cost).

The Job Costing Technical reference guide is long and tedious but it is very thorough when it walks through how estimated, actual, and variance costs are calculated on jobs. I suggest reviewing it.

3

I’m building a custom Job Materials Variance Report using a BAQ, and I want to make sure I’m using the correct cost field.

Currently, I am considering using JobMtl.EstUnitCost as the standard material cost for my variance calculations.

My question is:

Does JobMtl.EstUnitCost represent the same cost basis that Epicor uses when calculating the material portion of MFG_VAR (Manufacturing Variance) in the GL?

Or,

Is there another field/alias that should be used instead if my goal is to reconcile my BAQ variance report with the MFG_VAR amounts posted to accounting?

Ultimately, I’m trying to create a report that ties as closely as possible to the manufacturing variance recognized in the GL, so I’d appreciate any guidance on which job cost fields Epicor actually uses for those calculations.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

4

The MFG-VAR values posted when you close a job and capture COS/WIP should equal:

  • Sum of PartTran.MtlUnitCost*PartTran.Quantity from all STK-MTL, INS-MTL, PUR-MTL, DMR-MTL, (pretty much anything -MTL) transactions. These are all the material issues to the job from various sources
  • Minus the sum of PartTran.MtlUnitCost*PartTran.Quantity from all MFG-STK, MFG-CUS, etc transactions. These are all the receipts from the job to other areas.
  • Minus the sum of PartTran.MtlUnitCost*PartTran.Quantity from all INS-DMR transactions related to this job. These are nonconformances failed to DMR which can take cost off the job

Essentially Variance = All your actual cost in minus all your actual cost out

There are also fields on the JobAsmbl table named TLAMaterialCost and LLAMaterialCost that give you this level and lower level actual material costs accumulated to the job assembly. If you are looking at the job as a whole and not looking at specific date ranges, you can use these fields to get your actual costs issued to the job. You will still need to subtract out the costs removed from the job via finished goods produced or DMRs created from the job.

5

Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. It completely answered my previous question and helped me better understand how Epicor calculates manufacturing variance.

If you don’t mind, I have one more question.

What date actually determines when MFG-VAR is recognized in the General Ledger?

In our company, we do not have a fixed schedule for running Inventory COS/WIP Capture, but we typically run it once per month, usually around month-end.

Is the MFG-VAR posting date driven by:

  1. Job Completion Date?
  2. Job Closing Date?
  3. MFG-STK Transaction Date?
  4. Inventory COS/WIP Capture Date?
  5. The GL Posting Date generated during Inventory COS/WIP Capture?

My goal is to understand which date ultimately determines the fiscal period in which MFG-VAR appears in the General Ledger.

Thanks again for your time and expertise. I really appreciate your help.

6

The TranDate for the MFG-VAR transaction should match the Job Closing date, but the MFG-VAR transaction is not actually created and posted to the GL until you run the COS/WIP Capture.

So, if you close Job 123 on 2 September but then don’t run the COS/WIP Capture until 30 September, the GL and part transaction for the MFG-VAR will not post until the 30th. However, when it does post, it will have a Transaction Date of the 2nd.