The Power of Profiles

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Deltek Costpoint

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May 18, 2018

Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management tools help architecture and engineering firms centralize contract documents, automate key workflows, and maintain compliance, all within a single ERP platform. The result: fewer administrative bottlenecks, stronger financial oversight, and more time focused on billable work.

Managing contracts is one of the most detail-intensive responsibilities in any architecture or engineering firm. Missed terms, misplaced documents, and manual tracking create costly delays and in project-driven environments, those delays compound fast. Deltek Vantagepoint addresses this head-on with a dedicated contract management framework built specifically for A&E firms.

What Is Contract Management in Deltek Vantagepoint?

Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management module centralizes all contract-related activity within the same platform your team already uses for project management, accounting, and resource planning. Rather than toggling between spreadsheets, shared drives, and email chains, your team accesses every contract document, amendment, and approval in one place.

Key capabilities include:

Contract document storage: Attach and organize executed contracts, amendments, and supporting documentation directly to project records
Contract type configuration: Define contract structures, lump sum, cost-plus, time and materials—and align billing rules accordingly
Amendment tracking: Log and manage contract modifications with a clear audit trail
Compliance visibility: Monitor contract terms against actuals to flag potential overruns or scope discrepancies early

How Contract Documents Work Inside Deltek Vantagepoint

Contract documents in Deltek Vantagepoint are linked directly to project records, which means the information lives where the work happens. When a project manager needs to verify a billing cap, check a deliverable deadline, or confirm a client requirement, that information is accessible without hunting through external systems.

This tight integration between contract documents and project financials creates a direct line between what was agreed upon and what is being executed. Project managers and accounting teams work from the same source of truth, eliminating version confusion and reducing the risk of billing errors tied to outdated contract terms.

Why This Matters for Architecture and Engineering Firms

A&E firms operate across multiple contracts simultaneously, often with layered sub-consultant agreements and phased deliverables. Without a structured system, tracking contract status across a portfolio of projects becomes unmanageable.

Deltek Vantagepoint brings order to that complexity. Contract terms inform billing workflows, approval thresholds, and revenue recognition, automatically. This means your team spends less time reconciling data and more time delivering on project commitments.

The Business Value of Streamlined Contract Management

The operational benefits of Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management tools extend well beyond document storage. Firms that structure their contracts within Vantagepoint gain:

Faster invoice cycles: Billing rules tied to contract terms reduce the back-and-forth between project managers and accounting
Stronger financial visibility: Real-time data on contract value, billed amounts, and remaining budget supports proactive decision-making
Audit readiness: A centralized document repository with version history makes internal reviews and external audits significantly more straightforward
Reduced compliance risk: Automated alerts and structured contract records help firms stay aligned with client requirements and regulatory obligations

For C-level executives and project leaders, these capabilities translate directly to improved cash flow, fewer write-offs, and greater confidence in financial reporting.

Getting the Most Out of Vantagepoint Contract Tools

Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management features deliver the most value when they are configured to match your firm’s specific contract types, billing structures, and approval workflows. Out-of-the-box functionality provides a strong foundation, but firms that invest in proper setup, and ongoing optimization, see the clearest gains in efficiency and financial performance.

This is where working with an experienced Deltek partner makes a measurable difference. Proper configuration ensures your contract data flows accurately through project financials, reducing the manual corrections that drain time and introduce risk.

Make Contract Management Work for Your Firm

Deltek Vantagepoint gives architecture and engineering firms the tools to manage contracts with precision, transparency, and confidence. When your contract documents are integrated with your project and financial data, your entire team operates from a stronger, more reliable position.

At PCI, we help firms configure and optimize Deltek Vantagepoint to match how they actually work, so the platform supports your operations rather than complicates them. We make your operations comfortable.

Ready to see what streamlined contract management looks like for your firm? Contact PCI today to connect with a Deltek specialist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of contracts does Deltek Vantagepoint support?
Deltek Vantagepoint supports multiple contract types, including lump sum, time and materials, and cost-plus structures. Each type can be configured with corresponding billing rules and financial controls.

Can contract documents be attached directly to projects in Deltek Vantagepoint?
Yes. Deltek Vantagepoint allows users to attach executed contracts, amendments, and supporting documents directly to project records, keeping all relevant information in a single, accessible location.

How does Deltek Vantagepoint help with contract compliance?
Deltek Vantagepoint tracks contract terms against project actuals in real time, enabling firms to identify potential overruns or scope discrepancies before they become financial or legal issues.

Do I need a Deltek partner to set up contract management in Vantagepoint?
While basic features are accessible out of the box, working with a certified Deltek partner like PCI ensures your contract management setup is properly configured for your firm’s specific workflows, contract types, and billing structures.

Allow User Profiles in Deltek Costpoint to Create Custom User Experience

With the recent upgrades to Deltek Costpoint and the migration of Deltek Time Collection into Costpoint, it is critical that the users’ exposure to the application is the right size for their work. Traditionally, Costpoint access was usually limited to those in accounting and perhaps a bit further into the back office. With the changes to Time and Expense, the addition of Talent Management and Contracts Management, more and more of the organization will have access to Costpoint daily.

With each type of new user, the skill set and expectations of the user must be met to allow for an easy to use experience!

Creating a good experience for the user is critical; however, who want to spend hours creating an easy to use interface or increase the effort for anyone during the onboarding process?

Enter the User Profile Concept: The User Profile allows us to perform a range of customizations in the system, then apply those custom changes to a number of users quickly and easily.

Customizations:

Profiles- Allow us to customize a number of system features. Areas of the system, like the “My Menu”, allows users quick access to the screens they use most, eliminating the need for navigating the entire system structure to find the application they work in all the time.
Screen Customizations- These hold a tremendous power over the user experience; allowing us to eliminate fields that are not relevant to the user, and even remove icons to keep the screen clean and easy to read for novice users.

Remove surplus items in the tool bar: This will keep any user from experiencing uncertainty in what they should do next during a process.
Functionality: For example, Extensibility can be limited to certain users allowing for ultimate customization of your screen.

Once your customizations are done, you can simply assign this profile to a security user group or employee and they will be all set!

So many will say, “this is great, but how long will it take to setup??” the good news here is that in just a few minutes you can do all the following:

Create a user profile
Edit the toolbar
Edit Particular Screens
Setup the My Menu

The simplicity here is in the process. Simply by accessing the profile you create under your settings will allow you to create customizations as you work, then save and apply to others in the profile.

But, the best part is yet to come, with the new paste FROM excel feature (that’s right, create things in excel, and paste them back into Costpoint!!!) you can easily setup the “My Menu” functionality, then save the screen names in excel and simply paste back into Costpoint for your next profile.

As a consultant for Deltek Costpoint and other Deltek products, we are always looking to make the experience for the user something that will make their day better, even if a setting may only save five minutes, that’s five minutes every day! Using the paste from excel functionality we can set up between three and five user profiles in every system in about 10 minutes. Ten minutes for us could be the difference between a new employee understanding their daily requirements and being frustrated or confused.

Give the profile a try, you’ll be glad you did and so will all those you did it for.

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