Back to V310: Construction Project Management

Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress

Worksheets

A daily field report is used by project managers and site supervisors in construction to record observations, activities, and conditions that occur on a project site on a particular day. This data can be valuable in analyzing why a project might have a problem, be delayed, or become unprofitable. This lesson explains how to work with daily field reports in the system, as well as how to track units that have been used on a project site by creating progress worksheets directly from the daily field reports.

Daily Field Reports: General Information

In the construction industry, many independent activities may take place on a project site and in the oﬀice. To make sure that everyone is looking at the same data and that the data has been transferred from the field to the oﬀice accurately, project managers and site supervisors use daily field reports.

Learning Objectives

In this lesson, you will learn how to do the following:

Create and assign an approval map for daily field reports
Create a daily field report
Add to the daily field report the following entities:
Progress worksheets
Labor time and activities
Change orders
Change requests
Subcontractor activities
Project issues
Weather conditions
Site visitors
Email the daily field report

Applicable Scenarios

You create a daily field report to record observations, activities, and conditions that occur on a project site during a working day.

Creation of Daily Field Reports

In Acumatica ERP Construction Edition, the daily field reports (DFRs) provide the members of a project team with a single location for updates about daily project activities, such as employee activities or subcontractor activities, as well as about daily weather observations, visitors to the site, and potential changes to a project budget. You create a daily field report on the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form. In the Project box, you specify the related project, and in the Project Manager box, you select the employee who is responsible for managing the project and authorized to approve the daily field report. Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 74

In the daily field report, you can enter information about linked change requests, subcontractor work, associated project issues, visitors to the project site, weather conditions observed on the site, and activities of specific employees. A daily field report may be updated multiple times during the day, sometimes by diﬀerent employees. You can update a daily field report only if it has the On Hold status. If the daily field report has a diﬀerent status, you need to put the document on hold before you start updating it.

Labor Time and Reporting Activities

On the Labor Time and Activities tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can add a row for each employee time activity. In the row, you select the employee whose activity should be included in the daily field report and specify the earning type, the project task, and the cost code for the activity. Also, you can enter the time that the employee spent on the activity and specify whether this time is billable. You can enter multiple lines if the employee performed diﬀerent activities or if activities were performed by diﬀerent employees. The user can update or delete only time activity rows that have the Open status and that are not included in employee time cards.

          The Labor Time and Activities tab is available only if the Time Management feature is enabled on the
          Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

Progress Worksheets

On the Progress Worksheets tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you add cost budget lines and capture the quantity of units used on-site during the working day. When you click Complete on the form toolbar of the Daily Field Report form, the system creates the progress worksheet linked to the daily field report and saves this progress worksheet with the On Hold status. For more information on progress worksheets, see Unit Tracking in Projects: General Information.

Change Orders

If the Change Orders feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form and a daily field report is associated with a project that has the Change Order Workflow check box selected on the Summary tab of the Projects (PM301000) form, you can create and process change orders for the daily field report.

On the Change Orders tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can create a new change order by clicking Create Change Order on the table toolbar. As a result, the Change Orders (PM308000) form opens, with the project and customer copied from the daily field report and unavailable for editing. When you save the change order, it is automatically associated with the daily field report and listed in the table on this tab. Also, you can associate a change order that was previously created for the project with the daily field report by adding a new row to the table and selecting the change order number in the Reference Nbr. column.

Change Requests

If the Change Requests feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form and a daily field report is associated with a project that has the Change Order Workflow check box selected on the Summary tab of the Projects (PM301000) form, you can create and process change requests for the daily field report.

On the Change Requests tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can create a new change request by clicking Create Change Request on the table toolbar. As a result, the Change Requests (PM308500) form opens, with the project and customer copied from the daily field report and unavailable for editing. When you save the change request, it is automatically associated with the daily field report and listed in the table on this tab. Also, you can associate a change request that was previously created for the project with the daily field report by adding a new row to the table and selecting the change request number in the Reference Nbr. column. Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 75

Subcontractor Activities

On the Subcontractors tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can add information about subcontractors, which may include the number of workers who worked on site during the day, the number of hours they worked, and the cost codes associated with the performed work.

Project Issues

On the Project Issues tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can associate a project issue that was previously created for the selected project with the daily field report by using the Add Row button on the form toolbar. You can associate as many project issues as needed with a daily field report. Also, while you are working on the Project Issues tab, you can click Create Project Issue on the form toolbar. As a result, the Project Issue (PJ302000) form opens, with the project copied from the daily field report and unavailable for editing. When you save the project issue, it is automatically associated with the daily field report and listed in the table on this tab.

Photo Logs

On the Photo Logs tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can associate a photo log that was previously created for the project with the daily field report by using the Add Row button on the table toolbar. You can associate as many photo logs as needed with a daily field report. Also, you can click Create Photo Log on the table toolbar of the Photo Logs tab. As a result, the Photo Log (PJ305000) form opens, with the project copied from the daily field report and unavailable for editing. When you save the photo log, it is automatically associated with the daily field report and listed in the table on this tab. For each photo log selected in the table, a preview of its main photo (if any) is shown in the Main Photo Preview area.

On the Notes tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can report additional information for a day by using the Add Row button on the table toolbar. You can type a description for the note and attach files to it.

Equipment Used on the Project

On the Equipment tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can add a row for each piece of equipment that was used on the project and specify the project task, the cost code, and the time for which the equipment was utilized (as well as whether that time is billable). Each new row on this tab updates the time card for the corresponding equipment; if no corresponding time card exists for this piece of equipment in the system, a new time card is created. You can update or delete lines that are not included in equipment time cards and lines associated with equipment time cards with the On Hold status.

Weather Observations

On the Weather tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can report weather conditions observed at the project site during the day, such as sky condition, temperature, precipitation, wind, and site conditions. Each row on the tab represents a weather record at a particular time. You can select the Delay check box to indicate that the reported weather conditions may cause a delay in the project delivery. If the Weather Services feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, you can load weather conditions automatically from weather API services. For more information, see Daily Field Reports: Mass Processing. Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 76

Visitors to the Site

On the Visitors tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can specify information about visitors to the
project site. You can specify the type of the visitor, the name of the visiting person, the name of their company (if
applicable), the time when the visitor arrived and departed, the purpose of the visit, the visited area or inspected
entity, and an additional description.

Employee Expenses

If the Expense Management feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, on the Employee
Expenses tab of the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, you can report information about day-to-day expenses an
employee incurs while working on the project. To link an existing expense receipt to a daily field report, you should
click Add Row on the table toolbar and then select an expense receipt. You can associate as many expense receipts
as needed with a daily field report.
Also, while you are working on the Employee Expenses tab, you can click Create Expense Receipt on the table
toolbar. As a result, the Expense Receipt (EP301020) form opens, with the project copied from the daily field report
and unavailable for editing. When you save the expense receipt, it is automatically associated with the daily field
report and listed in the table on this tab.

Approval of Daily Field Reports

If the Approval Workflow feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, and an approval
workflow is configured in the system for daily field reports, a daily field report is assigned the Pending Approval
status when you take the document oﬀ hold.
The authorized approver can approve the daily field report by using the Approve menu command on the form
toolbar of the Daily Field Report form, or the approver can use the Approvals (EP503010) form to approve daily field
reports along with documents of other types. If the approver rejects the daily field report, the document is assigned
the Rejected status. Then it may be put on hold, updated as needed, and submitted for approval again.

Daily Field Reports: To Configure Approval for Daily Field Reports

This activity will walk you through the process of configuring the approval map for daily field reports.

Story

Suppose that the ToadGreen company needs to keep daily field reports in the system. These reports need to be
approved by managers. Acting as a system administrator, you need to create the approval map for the daily field
reports and specify the daily field report settings in the system.

Configuration Overview

For the purposes of this activity, the Construction and Construction Project Management features have been
enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

Process Overview

You will configure an approval map to be used for daily field reports on the Approval Maps (EP205015) form and
assign this map in the daily field report settings on the Project Management Preferences (PJ101000) form.

Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 77

System Preparation

To prepare to perform the instructions of this activity, do the following:

Sign in to the system as a system administrator by using the gibbs username and the 123 password.
Open the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, and on the form toolbar, click Modify.
In the Platform group of features, select the Approval Workflow check box.
On the form toolbar, click Enable.

Step: Creating an Approval Map for Daily Field Reports In this step, you will create the approval map to be used for daily field reports. Do the following:

Open the Assignment and Approval Maps (EP205500) form.
On the form toolbar, click Add Approval Map. The system opens the Approval Maps (EP205015) form.
In the Name box of the Summary area, type DFR Approval.
In the Entity Type box, select Daily Field Report.
On the pane toolbar of the Steps pane, click Add Step. The system adds a step with a rule.
In the Steps pane, click the added rule, and then on the right pane, do the following: a. In the Description box, type PMApproval. b. In the table on the Conditions tab, click Add Row, and in the row, specify the following settings:

Entity: Daily Field Report
Field Name: Project Manager
Condition: Is Not Empty

On the Rule Actions tab of the right pane, specify the following settings: a. Approver: Employee from Document b. Employee: ((DailyFieldReport.ProjectManagerId)) (select Daily Field Report > Project Manager) c. On Approval: Approve Document
Click Save on the form toolbar.
On the Daily Field Reports tab of the Project Management Preferences (PJ101000) form, select DFR Approval, the approval map that you created, in the DFR Approval Map box. 10.On the form toolbar, click Save to save your changes.
You have configured the approval map for the daily field reports.

Daily Field Reports: Process Activity

This activity will walk you through the process of working with a daily field report.

Story

Suppose that on April 15, 2025, Ernest Smith, a construction foreman in the ToadGreen company, spent a day on the construction site of the Italian restaurant that the company is building for the Italian Company. During the Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 78

day, he has recorded the current progress of the work related to electricity installation and made notes about
subcontractor activities, weather conditions, visitors, and other important information that relates to the day's
work at the project site. Also, he has taken photos to support his report about weather conditions. At the end of the
day, Ernest creates a daily field report, adds notes, and sends the daily field report for approval to the construction
project manager.
Acting as the construction foreman, you will create and process the daily field report and add all needed
information to it. Then acting as the construction project manager, you will approve the daily field report.

Configuration Overview

In the U100 dataset, the following tasks have been performed to support this activity:

The following features have been enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form:
Construction
Construction Project Management
Time Management
On the Projects (PM301000) form, the ITALIAN2 project has been created with multiple project tasks.
On the Vendors (AP303000) form, the SUNTECH - Suntech Concrete and ACMEDO - Acme Doors & Glass subcontractors have been defined.
On the Employees (EP203000) form, the EP00000033 - Ellen Watson employee has been defined.
On the Customers (AR303000) form, the ITACOM - Italian Company customer has been created.

Process Overview

You will create a daily field report on the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form. On the appropriate tabs of the form,
you will then add progress worksheet lines, subcontractor activities, weather conditions, and visitors. To finish the
processing of the daily field report, you will complete it to submit the report for approval. Finally, you will approve
the daily field report.

System Preparation

To prepare to perform the instructions of this activity, do the following:

Sign in to the system as a construction foreman by using the epsmith username and the 123 password.
In the info area, in the upper-right corner of the top pane of the Acumatica ERP screen, make sure that the business date in your system is set to 4/15/2025. If a diﬀerent date is displayed, click the Business Date menu button, and select 4/15/2025 on the calendar. For simplicity, in this activity, you will create and process all documents in the system on this business date.
Download the DFR_weather1.jpg and DFR_weather2.jpg files to your device.

Step 1: Creating the Daily Field Report Create the daily field report as follows:

On the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, add a new record.
In the Summary area, specify the following settings:

DFR Date: 4/15/2025 (inserted automatically)
Project: ITALIAN2
Project Manager: Ellen Watson (inserted automatically)

On the form toolbar, click Save. Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 79

   The daily field report is saved with the On Hold status. Now you can add the needed information to the
   report on the appropriate tabs of the form.

Step 2: Adding Progress Worksheet Lines To add progress worksheet lines to the daily field report, do the following:

While you are still viewing the daily field report on the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, on the Progress Worksheets tab, click Load Template on the table toolbar. The system loads three cost budget lines to the table. These lines are loaded because for these lines, Productivity Tracking is set to Template on the Cost Budget tab of the Projects (PM301000) form.
On the table toolbar, click Add Budget Lines. In the Add Budget Lines dialog box, which opens, select the unlabeled check box for the line with the 16-200 cost code and the MATERIAL account group because you want to record the materials that have been used during the working day.
Click Add & Close to close the dialog box and add the line to the table.
In the Completed Quantity column, do the following:

In the line with the 16-200 cost code and the LABOR account group, enter 15.
In the line with the 16-200 cost code and the SUBCON account group, enter 4.
In the line with the 16-210 cost code and the LABOR account group, enter 25.
In the line with the 16-200 cost code and the MATERIAL account group, enter 1.

On the form toolbar, click Save.

Step 3: Registering Subcontractor Activities Register subcontractors’ activities in the daily field report as follows:

While you are still viewing the daily field report on the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, on the Subcontractors tab, click Add Row on the table toolbar, and specify the following settings in the row:

Vendor ID: SUNTECH
Project Task: 03
Cost Code: 03-000
Number of Workers: 3
Arrived: 09:30 AM
Departed: 06:30 PM

Add one more row with the following settings:

Vendor ID: ACMEDO
Project Task: 06
Cost Code: 06-000
Number of Workers: 2
Arrived: 08:00 AM
Departed: 05:00 PM

On the form toolbar, click Save.

Step 4: Reporting Weather Conditions In this step, you will add records to reflect the weather conditions of the day. Do the following: Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 80

While you are still viewing the daily field report on the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, on the Weather tab, click Add Row on the table toolbar, and specify the following settings in the added row:

Time Observed: 07:37 AM
Sky: Cloudy
Temperature: 60
Temperature Perceived: Warm
Precipitation Description: None
Wind Description: None
Site Conditions: Dry
Delay: Cleared
Description: Normal weather, no delay

Save your changes.
Add a second row, and specify the following settings:

Time Observed: 04:30 PM
Sky: Few Clouds
Temperature Perceived: Mild
Precipitation Description: None
Wind Description: Calm
Site Conditions: Dry
Delay: Cleared
Description: Warm, dry day

Save your changes.
In the table, at the beginning of the first row, click the button in the Files column (one of the unlabeled columns with icons as column headers) to open the Files dialog box. In the dialog box, click Browse, select the DFR_weather1.jpg file, click Upload, and close the dialog box.
In the table, at the beginning of the second row, click the button in the Files column to open the Files dialog box. In the dialog box, click Browse, select the DFR_weather2.jpg file, click Upload, and close the dialog box.

Step 5: Recording Visitors and Completing the Report To add records about site visitors, do the following:

While you are still viewing the daily field report on the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, on the Visitors tab, click Add Row on the table toolbar.
In the new row, specify the following settings:

Visitor Type: Customer
Name: Adam Smith
Business Account: ITACOM
Arrived: 5:00 PM
Departed: 6:00 PM
Purpose of Visit: Visiting construction site for progress control
Area Visited/Inspected Entity: Basement of site

Add a second row with the following settings:

Visitor Type: Owner
Name: Ellen Watson Lesson 11: Working with Daily Field Reports and Progress Worksheets | 81
Arrived: 9:30 AM
Departed: 6:00 PM
Purpose of Visit: Review proposed changes
Area Visited/Inspected Entity: Subfloor of site
Description: Changes approved

Save your changes.
On the form toolbar, click Complete. The system changes the report’s status to Pending Approval. Also, the system creates a progress worksheet with the On Hold status that includes the progress worksheet lines that you have added to the daily field report earlier in this activity. The reference number of the created worksheet is shown in the Worksheet Nbr. column on the Progress Worksheets tab for the lines you added.
On the Approvals tab, make sure that Ellen Watson is specified as the approver of the daily field report.
Sign out from the system.

Step 6: Approving the Daily Field Report To approve the daily field report submitted by the construction foreman, Ernest Smith, perform the following steps

Sign in as a construction project manager by using the ewatson username and the 123 password.
On the Daily Field Report (PJ304000) form, open the daily field report that you have prepared earlier, while acting as a construction foreman.
On the form toolbar, click Approve. On the Approvals tab, notice that the system has changed the approval status of the daily field report to Approved, as shown in the following screenshot.
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   Figure: Daily field report submitted for approval
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You have prepared the daily field report and approved it. Lesson 12: Processing Submittals | 82