Kinetek Consulting is here to support your transition to Costpoint 8.1. We understand that the needs of no two clients are the same, but the information present below is intended to help guide you on how to manage and plan your Costpoint environment upgrade whether you are converting from Costpoint 7.1.1 or Costpoint 8.0.
The amount of time required to prepare, test, and ultimately Go-Live will vary from company to company, but our consultants are available to help. Check out our list below that recaps the New Features found in Costpoint 8.1, What's New and Coming Soon in Costpoint 8.2, and lastly some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) to help ease your transition planning.
New Features and Enhancements
• Project Accounting
• Multicurrency Gains & Losses and PSR
• New Billing Worksheet
• Multi-user Capabilities
• Project Roles Added to Project
• CRM & Contract Management
• Voice Interactive Contacts
• Opportunity Assessments
• CMMC Level Tracking
• Activity Enhancements
• Planning
• Integration with Talent Management
• Eliminate Refresh Processes
• Additional Usability Enhancements
• Earned Value Calculations
• Human Capital Management (HCM)
• Requisition Integration with Talent Management
• Team Management Edit Rights
• Multi-User Capabilities
• Regulatory Updates
• Time & Expense (T&E)
• Voice Interactive Time
• Offline Time
• Automatic Overtime Calculations
• Mobile Time In/Out
• Automated Data Collection for Expenses
• Eliminate Flat File Integration
• Procurement
• Improved Quote Functionality
• Delivery Schedules for Quotes Team Management Edit Rights
• Supplier Portal: Request for Quotes
• Manufacturing
• Improved Cycle and Physical Count Capabilities
• DPAS Rating Flow Down
• Manufacturing Order Reporting
• Business Intelligence (BI)
• Smart AI - Workforce Management, Supplier Performance
• Secured Models/Reports for Expense, Labor, Employees, and Subcontractors
• Platform
• Expand Multi-User Capabilities
• Native/Push Notifications
• Progressive Web App Enhancements (PWA)
Visit the Costpoint Portal to Learn More about Costpoint 8.1
Whats' New and Coming Soon in Costpoint 8.2 - Release Date March 2023
Continuous Improvements to Usability, Quality, Security, and Product Innovation
• Re-imagined Time & Expense Experience
• Hide Advanced Features & Options when not required
• In-app user guides
• Modernized menu structure
• Improved navigation between applications
• Planning domain UX improvements
• AP Invoice ICR improvements
• Project Accounting
• AP Invoice ICR improvements and automation capabilities
• ICR for AP Vouchers - Integration with Veryfi
• Intracompany Subcontractor Work Assignments
• CRM & Contract Mangement
• Contract Org Security
• General CRM Enhancements
• Planning
• Navigation Banners and UI Profiles
• Redesign of Project Budget Entry
• Consolidate and Simplify Org/Project Budget Security
• Human Capital Management (HCM)
• Employee Pre-Processor Updates
• Team Management Edit Rights
• Multi-User Capabilities
• Regulatory Updates
• Time & Expense (T&E)
• Re-imagined Time Experience
• Expense with Images Report
• Stability and Performance Improvements
• New Time Dashboards
• Duplicate Expense Handling
• Procurement
• ICR for PO Vouchers - Integration with Veryfi
• NAICS Code Updates
• Automated Requisition Delivery Schedules
• Supplier Portal Vendor Profile
• Manufacturing
• Return Material Authorization
• Backflush for Serial/Lot
• BI Reporting Enhancements
• Business Intelligence (BI)
• BI Project Role Security
• BI Audit Reports in the Cloud
• Org Security in CRM and Contracts modules
• Platform
• Eliminate/Hide Advanced Features and Options
• In-app user guides
• Modernize menu structre
• Expand Multi-user Capabilities
FAQS
• I am on Costpoint 7.1.1, can I upgrade directly to Costpoint 8.1?!
• Yes, you can upgrade to 8.1, however, the process has several steps. SQL Server customers will need to make sure that DELTEK, CPADMIN, CPSYSTEM, BP, TE are all collated to Latin1_General_Bin. This is essential before you go to version 8.
• Additionally, you will need to first upgrade to the latest MR of 8.0 and then you can upgrade to the General Availability release of 8.1 (8.1.5 or after). Please note that if you are still running Cognos Analytics 11.0.13, you will need to upgrade to the latest 11.1.7 (with the latest fix pack).
• What browsers are supported by Costpoint 8.x?
• The latest version of Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge will be compatible with Costpoint 8.1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 will not be officially supported, as it reaches end-of-life in June 2022. (RIP IE 🪦)
• How do the Data Clean Up Requirements affect my upgrade plan?!
• Based on how your organization used Time & Expense and Costpoint when they were separate data sets, your system may require cleanup prior to the 8.1 upgrade. The data cleanup will need to be done in all your system’s databases.
There are two types of Data Discrepancies to consider before upgrading:
• Major Discrepancies: Records that exist only in T&E data, not in Costpoint itself.
• Minor Discrepancies: Records that have a different value between T&E’s data and Costpoint’s data, such as in the Active Status or Description not match each other.
• The Release of 8.014 included a CP/TE Diagnostic Toolkit to better identify all the data discrepancies. When run, this utility identifies all data discrepancies that exist, making it easy to fix both the minor and major discrepancies in the data. This can be found in: Time & Expense > Configuration > Utilities.
• Once the discrepancies are identified and fixed, it is a best practice to re-run the CP/TE Diagnostic Toolkit to confirm that all discrepancies were corrected.
• You can read more about this in our press release - Data Discrepancy Cleanup Toolkit Now Available
• When will Costpoint 8.0 begin Sustained Support?
• Costpoint 8.0 will begin sustained support on 03/2023
The Bottom Line
Determining the right path and time for your Costpoint upgrade can be not only overwhelming but also downright confusing. We have found that the following challenges, alone or in combination, drive most Costpoint users to upgrade:
• New functionality that comes with the upgrade (such as enhanced features or security capabilities)
• The product is no longer supported or is in sustaining support meaning no new software enhancements, hotfixes, service packs, or regulatory updates of any kind for versions in this phase (Read our Guide: 5 Most Common Dangers of ignoring EOL timelines… (🤖 Warning! Warning! Danger Costpoint 7.1 User!)
• Specific software issues have been fixed in the latest version
• The underlying platform the application is built upon is no longer supported
Kinetek has been assisting Deltek customers for over 20 years upgrading from GCS to Costpoint, Costpoint 6 to Costpoint 7, Costpoint 7.0.1 to 7.1.1 to Costpoint 8.0, and now to Costpoint 8.1 (soon Costpoint 8.2). Throughout the years, the path to upgrade has remained consistent. We work with each individual client to identify the solution that best fits their individual needs while bringing industry best practices to the engagement. If you are ready to start your Costpoint upgrade, contact our Costpoint subject matter experts to discuss your project needs.