A cost item is used to track and manage specific project expenses within a template. It allows users to input, calculate, and report on the costs associated with tasks, materials, labor, or any other project-related charges. Users can choose to include a second cost item (Cost Item 2), which can have its own section total and/or be included in the overall project cost total.
1. Go to Template Management
- Navigate to the Templates section in your SiteCapture admin dashboard.
- Select the template you want to add cost items to, or create a new one.
2. Creating Cost Item Fields: Add a new field or edit an existing field and under Workflow field, select "Cost Item" or "Cost Item 2".
2a. Selecting the Field Type
In addition to selecting the Cost Item workflow field, you must also select a field type. Below are the field types that we recommend, do not recommend and types that will not populate the Project and Section Cost Total fields:
| Dollar Amount | |
| Integer | |
| Decimal | |
| Text Field | |
| Selection | |
| Button Selection |
*cost item fields only accept numbers, decimals and a dash (-) to indicate a negative number; the inclusion of any other special characters ($, /, %) will result in an error.
The following are field types that will populate the Project and Section Cost Total fields, but we do not recommend be used:
| Barcode | A scanned barcode will input the decoded serial number into the Total Cost field in dollars. Any unsupported special characters included in the barcode will result in a sync error for mobile users. |
| Date | The selected date will be inputted into the Total Cost field as dollars in the format of year/month/day. For example, April 17th 2026 will be inputted as: $20260417.00. |
| Multiple Selection | If multiple options are selected, an error will occur and the Total Cost field will not populate with either selection. |
| Multiple Button Selection | If multiple options are selected, an error will occur and the Total Cost field will not populate with either selection. |
| Long Text | Long text should only be used to support numbers too large to fit into the normal text field. |
*cost item fields only accept numbers, decimals and a dash (-) to indicate a negative number; the inclusion of any other special characters ($, /, %) will result in an error.
Below are field types that will not populate the Project and Section Cost Total fields:
| Boolean | This field type will result in an error. |
| Image | This field type will result in an error. |
| Agreement | This field type will result in an error. |
| Signature | This field type will result in an error. |
*cost item fields only accept numbers, decimals and a dash (-) to indicate a negative number; the inclusion of any other special characters ($, /, %) will result in an error.
Comments on Cost Item fields will not populate the Total Cost fields.
3. How to Calculate Cost Item Totals in a Workflow
To calculate totals from Cost Item or Cost Item 2 in your workflow, follow these steps:
- Add a New Field to the Workflow Step
Create a new field where you want the total to appear. - Set the Workflow Field Type
In the field settings, choose one of the following based on what you're calculating:
- For Cost Item:
- Select Section Cost Total to calculate the total for that specific cost item section.
- Select Project Cost Total to calculate the total across the entire project.
- For Cost Item 2:
- Select Section Cost Total 2 for that specific section.
- Select Project Cost Total 2 for the entire project total.
- ✅ Tip: Use section totals if you only want to total costs within a single section. Use project totals to include all cost entries from the cost item across the entire project.
4. Testing and Publishing Your Template
Once you've finished setting up your template, it's important to test your cost items and calculations to ensure accuracy:
- Run a Test Project
Create a test project using the template and enter sample cost data to verify that all calculations (such as section totals and project totals) are working correctly. - Review Calculations
Confirm that formulas are behaving as expected and that all cost item fields are displaying and calculating properly. - Publish the Template
Once you've validated that everything functions correctly, go ahead and publish the template to make it available for live use.
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