Add, edit, manage and archive Cost Codes and Cost Code Groups

It’s important to consider why and how cost codes can benefit your company. When you track your labor and break it down into finer detail, you’ll have a greater understanding of how you can bid projects better and be more efficient.

Because of the critical role cost codes play in the success of a company, knowing how to manage cost codes efficiently within busybusy is important. This includes creating new cost codes for new services, editing old ones to be more refined, or archiving cost codes no longer in use.  The same goes for Cost Code Groups.  Check out our video on job costing here!

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Enable Cost Codes

Create Cost Codes

Edit Cost Codes

Archive Cost Codes

Unarchive Cost Codes

Assign Cost Codes to a Project

Create Cost Code Groups

Edit Cost Code Groups

Delete Cost Code Groups

Cost Codes

Enable Cost Codes

To get started, you need to enable Cost Code Tracking in your company settings.

1. Go to Settings on the bottom of the left navigation menu
2. Select Time Keeping
3. Then select Cost Code Tracking
   • You have the option to require your employees to select a cost code as they clock in by selecting Require Cost Code Tracking
   • Use Project Scoping to hide cost codes not assigned to a project

If you have Cost Code Tracking required and Project Scoping enabled, but have not yet assigned cost codes to a project, your employees will not be able to clock into the project. If both options are selected be sure to assign each project their cost codes!

Create Cost Codes

1. On the left navigation menu select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu, select Cost Codes
3. Select the Create button on the top left
4. Next, add the actual cost code and description
   • You can assign the new cost code to a previously created cost code group.
   • You can also add a unit of measure - this is particularly useful for companies using our Progress Tracking Feature, which you can learn more about by watching a short video here.

Edit Cost Codes

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu, select Cost Codes
3. Select the cost code you would like to manage. From here, you can:
   • Edit the cost code by clicking into any one of the four sections OR
   • Archive the cost code

Archive Cost Codes

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists > Cost Codes
2. Select the cost code(s) you want to archive
3. Select the Archive symbol at the top

Unarchive Cost Codes

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists > Cost Codes
2. Use the right side filter to show Archived then click Apply
3. From here, you can view your archived cost codes or unarchive them

Assign Cost Codes to a Project

This is for those that have project scoping enabled in their settings.  For more detailed instructions, check out our article here.

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu, select Cost Codes
3. Select the project that you want to assign cost codes to
4. Select the Cost Codes header and then select Manage
5. Select the cost codes that you want to be assigned to the project and then click the Submit button

If you have Cost Code Tracking required and Project Scoping turned on, but have not assigned cost codes to a project, your employees will be unable to clock into the project. If both options are selected be sure to assign each project their cost codes! This is so important that I wrote it twice!!

Cost Code Groups

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu, select Cost Codes
3. Click the three dots in the upper right corner next to the printer icon, and select Manage Cost Code Groups
4. This screen displays the Cost Code Groups that you have entered as well as the number of cost codes in the group

Create Cost Code Groups

You may have projects where several different jobs were performed, and within these jobs, multiple cost codes were used. You can organize your cost codes for these jobs by creating a Cost Code Group. 

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu, select Cost Codes
3. To create a Cost Code Group, click the three dots in the upper right corner next to the printer icon, and select Manage Cost Code Groups
4. Select Create in the upper left corner
5. Enter a name for the Cost Code Group and assign previously created cost codes to the group

Time Saver!!!  You can add more than one cost code to the group at a time by clicking on the + button and selecting the cost codes you wish to add.

Edit Cost Code Groups

1. On the left navigation menu, select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu, select Cost Codes
3. Click the three dots in the upper right corner next to the printer icon, and select Manage Cost Code Groups
4. Double-click on the Cost Code Group you would like to edit.  You can also use the Filter screen to the right to find a Cost Code Group
   
   • You can edit the cost code group name
   • Remove cost codes from the group by hitting the X button next to it
   • Add additional cost codes to the group: select the + button >> select the cost codes you would like added to the group >> select Submit
5. When you're finished editing the Cost Code Group click on Update
   
   • You can also delete the cost code group by clicking on the Delete button

To easily see the cost codes that are included in each Cost Code Group: On the left navigation menu select Management Lists In the Management Lists drop-down menu select Cost Codes Click on the Columns icon, the icon appears like three bars to the left of the printer icon Verify that Group is toggled to be displayed To see which cost codes are in a group, use the filter on the right-hand side In the group field, select which cost code group you want to see the members of, and then select Apply When you have finished viewing, select Reset to view all of your cost codes again

Delete Cost Code Groups

1. On the left navigation menu select Management Lists
2. In the Management Lists drop-down menu select Cost Codes
3. Click the three dots in the upper right corner next to the printer icon, and select Manage Cost Code Groups
4. To delete a Cost Code Group, click on the trash can icon next to its name, then select Delete in the pop-up menu
5. You can also delete multiple Cost Code Groups at a time by clicking the boxes to the left of the groups you wish to delete and then clicking the trash can icon in the upper left-hand corner and selecting Delete in the pop-up menu

You've learned so much about managing cost codes and their groups in busybusy!  If cost codes are your thing, you can learn more in our article Create and Use Cost Codes (Web, iOS & Android).

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