# Cost Management

YouDesign Command provides an easy and powerful way to manage and track cost information over time.

## Cost Section

The cost section provides a quick overview of the cost related information—including calculated properties and cost reports.

**A** – Calculated Cost fields. Following cost fields are available:

* OPEX Total—Sum of the total OPEX actual cost
* OPEX Baseline—Sum of the total OPEX baseline cost
* OPEX Planned—Sum of the total OPEX planned cost
* OPEX Current—Sum of the current years OPEX actual cost
* OPEX per User—OPEX Current / #User (#User defined as a KPI)
* CAPEX Total—Sum of the total CAPEX actual cost
* CAPEX Baseline—Sum of the total CAPEX baseline cost
* CAPEX Planned—Sum of the total CAPEX planned cost
* CAPEX Current—Sum of the current years CAPEX actual cost

**B** – Cost Overview chart with active filters.

![](/files/KcNN5vyNMRzx7tAs8OBF)

## Cost Tab

The following Portfolio Elements have a cost tab by default:

* Business Applications
* Hardware Products
* Projects
* Software Products

On demand, you can make the cost tab visible for other Portfolio Elements as well.

**A** – The New button opens the Cost Editor Form to create a new cost and cost breakdowns. Alternatively, you can open Portfolio Features > Cost from the Application Menu.

**B** – Displays the available cost information. Note: This list does not include cost sums, totals, or cost breakdowns. Multiple cost breakdowns are created based on the selected time unit.

![](/files/4n00vbulJ3PoINlJlcJD)

## Defining Costs

The Cost Editor form provides the following options:

**A** – Portfolio Element name. This field is typically pre-filled when opened from the Cost Tab's New button.

**B** – Cost name. Enter a descriptive name (for example, "Yearly License Cost") to distinguish between different costs.

**C** – Short description of the cost.

**D** – Time unit that specifies how often the cost recurs within the start and end dates. For example, selecting "monthly" generates 12 Cost Breakdowns for a timeframe from 2017-01-01 to 2017-12-31, while selecting "once" creates only a single Cost Breakdown for the same period.

* Once
* Per Day
* Per Week
* Per Month
* Per Year

**E** – Start date that specifies when the cost begins.

**F** – End date that specifies when the cost ends.

**G** – Cost currency selector. Helps you specify the local currency. Multiple currencies can be mixed and converted in real-time.

**H** – The cost amount for the selected currency.

**I** – Cost reference:

* Actual
* Baseline
* Budget
* Planned

**J** – Cost category:

* OPEX
* CAPEX

**K** – Cost type:

* Depreciation
* Hardware
* Other
* Resource
* Software

{% hint style="info" %}
**Cost Configuration**

Cost reference, cost category, and cost types can be renamed and configured as needed. Keep in mind that pre-defined calculations may be affected by changes.
{% endhint %}

![](/files/ZCyKwEGWWMHBCaQsDPO2)

## Cost Breakdowns

Based on the selected time unit and dates, the system creates one or multiple cost breakdowns to reflect and calculate the cost.

**A** – Area of the Cost Editor Form after submitting the cost.

**B** – Created Cost Breakdowns.

![](/files/B28u4SHQ1oqbqtkglfGD)


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ins-pi.com/command/features/cost.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.