Course Overview
On government and giga-project programmes, Oracle Primavera Unifier is the system of record for the money: the approved budget, every awarded contract, every change and every payment certified to a contractor. Cost and contract managers need to understand not only which business process to raise, but how each record rolls up through the cost breakdown structure into the cost sheet, and how that position drives cash flow, funding and executive reporting.
Cost and Contract Management is a three-day practitioner course that takes learners through the complete cost lifecycle in Unifier. Working on a realistic owner programme, participants build and approve a budget against the CBS, award base commitments with schedules of values, process potential changes and commitment change orders, certify payment applications with retention, forecast cash flow and allocate funds, then reconcile the cost sheet and report the position to management.
Target Audience
- Cost controllers, cost engineers and quantity surveyors on Unifier-enabled projects
- Contract administrators and contracts managers responsible for awards, variations and claims
- Owner and PMC project controls staff who certify payments and report cost positions
- Finance and budget officers in government entities who approve funding and payments
- Contractor commercial teams who submit payment applications and change requests through Unifier
- PMIS analysts preparing to support cost module implementations
Prerequisites
- UNF-101 Unifier for End Users, or equivalent working experience in Unifier
- Working knowledge of construction cost concepts: budget, contract, variation, retention and payment certificate
- Comfort with Microsoft Excel for data review and reconciliation
- A laptop with a modern web browser; Academy training accounts are provided
Learning Objectives
- Explain how the cost breakdown structure, cost sheet and cost business processes work together in a project shell
- Establish and revise an original budget and process budget transfers against the CBS
- Award base commitments with schedules of values and manage commitment change orders through their workflows
- Manage potential change items and change events from identification to approved commitment change
- Process payment applications against the SOV, including retention, advance recovery and deductions
- Build and maintain cash flow curves for budget, commitments and forecast
- Allocate and consume funds using the fund manager and read the funding position
- Reconcile the cost sheet, commitment summaries and payment status to produce a defensible cost report
- Analyse cost trends and exposure using user-defined reports and dashboards
Detailed Course Outline
1Day 1 · Module 1: The Unifier cost architecture
- The cost lifecycle on an owner programme: budget, commit, change, pay, forecast
- Cost business process types: budget, commitment, change and spends
- Project shells, company-level cost settings and currency
- How records post to cost sheet columns and why statuses matter
2Day 1 · Module 2: Cost breakdown structure and the cost sheet
- CBS codes, hierarchy and alignment with WBS and finance chart of accounts
- Cost sheet columns: original budget, approved changes, commitments, spends, forecast
- Formula columns, rollups and drill-down to source records
- Cost sheet views and snapshots for period reporting
3Day 1 · Module 3: Budgets and budget changes
- Creating the original budget business process with line items per CBS code
- Approval workflow and posting to the cost sheet
- Budget transfers between CBS codes and contingency drawdown
- Budget change audit trail and approval authority levels
4Day 1 · Module 4: Base commitments and schedules of values
- Awarding a contract with the base commitment business process
- Building a schedule of values: general, breakdown and CBS-linked structures
- Lump sum, unit rate and reimbursable line items
- Commitment summaries and the contract record as a single source of truth
5Day 2 · Module 5: Change management
- Potential change items, change events and early warning
- Estimating, negotiating and approving change
- Commitment change orders and their effect on the SOV and cost sheet
- Pending versus approved change and exposure reporting
6Day 2 · Module 6: Variations, claims and contract administration
- Linking RFIs, site instructions and notices to change records
- Time and cost claims and their evidence trail
- Contract amendments, extensions and close-out
- Reference business processes and auto-creation between records
7Day 2 · Module 7: Payment applications
- Payment applications against the SOV: progress by value or percentage
- Retention, advance payment recovery, penalties and deductions
- Certification workflow between contractor, consultant and owner
- Posting spends to the cost sheet and payment status tracking
8Day 2 · Module 8: Invoices, spends and finance handover
- General spends and invoices outside the SOV
- Aligning Unifier payment certificates with ERP and government payment platforms
- Integration touchpoints for posting approved payments
- Controls against duplicate or over-certified payments
9Day 3 · Module 9: Cash flow and forecasting
- Cash flow curves: baseline, commitment, spends and forecast
- Distribution profiles and manual versus auto-populated curves
- Forecast at completion and estimate to complete by CBS
- Linking cash flow to P6 schedule data through the gateway
10Day 3 · Module 10: Funding and the fund manager
- Fund sources, fund allocation and appropriation
- Fund consumption by commitments and spends
- Funding gaps, over-allocation and reallocation
- Multi-year and multi-source funding on government programmes
11Day 3 · Module 11: Cost reporting and control
- Monthly cost report structure for owners and executive committees
- User-defined reports for commitments, change logs and payment status
- Cost dashboards, variance and trend indicators
- Reconciling the cost sheet to contract summaries and finance records
- Common data quality issues and how to prevent them
Learning Outcomes
- Run the full cost lifecycle in Unifier from budget to final payment without supervision
- Maintain a cost sheet that reconciles to contracts, change logs and payments
- Process change and payment records that withstand audit and contractual scrutiny
- Produce accurate cash flow and funding forecasts for finance and budget authorities
- Deliver a monthly cost report directly from Unifier rather than parallel spreadsheets
- Identify cost exposure early through pending change and trend reporting
- Support colleagues and contractors as the cost module super-user on your project
Hands-on Workshops & Practical Exercises
Budget set-up lab
Load an original budget against a three-level CBS, approve it through workflow and verify posting on the cost sheet.
Contract award exercise
Award two base commitments with detailed schedules of values, including unit rate and lump sum lines, and check commitment summaries.
Change chain simulation
Take a site instruction through a potential change item and change event to an approved commitment change order, tracing its effect on SOV and cost sheet.
Payment certification cycle
Certify three consecutive payment applications with retention and advance recovery, acting as contractor, consultant and owner.
Cash flow and funding lab
Build commitment and forecast cash flow curves, allocate two funding sources and resolve a funding shortfall.
Capstone: monthly cost report
Reconcile a programme cost sheet containing seeded errors, then produce and present a monthly cost report with variance, exposure and cash flow commentary.
Duration
Delivered over three consecutive days in the classroom, or as six live online sessions of 3.5 hours.
Delivery Methods
Online
Live, instructor-led virtual classroom in six 3.5-hour sessions, with individual Academy Unifier cost environments and guided reconciliation exercises.
Classroom
Three-day public course at the Academy in Riyadh and regional venues, with a dedicated Unifier programme dataset per learner.
On-site Corporate Training
Private cohort at your premises, delivered on your own CBS, cost business processes, payment terms and approval authorities.
Assessment Method
- Continuous practical assessment during the workshops
- Practical assignment: reconcile a cost sheet and produce a monthly cost report
- End-of-course online exam (30 questions, 70% pass mark)
- Minimum 80% attendance
Certificate Awarded
Arkan Academy · Practitioner
Arkan Certificate of Achievement: Oracle Primavera Unifier Cost and Contract Management
Awarded to learners who meet the attendance requirement, pass the exam and complete the practical assignment. Carries a unique verification ID and 21 recorded learning hours.
ID · ARK-UNF-201-XXXXXX
Career Benefits
- Qualify for cost control and contract administration roles on Unifier-enabled programmes
- Demonstrate the system-based cost governance skills expected by government owners and PMCs
- Move from spreadsheet-based cost reporting to auditable, system-driven control
- Build the functional foundation for a career as a Unifier cost module consultant
- Strengthen your position in commercial discussions through reliable change and payment data
Recommended Next Course
Professional Competencies Achieved
- Budget and CBS managementPractitioner
- Commitment and SOV administrationPractitioner
- Change and variation controlPractitioner
- Payment certificationPractitioner
- Cash flow and funding forecastingWorking
- Cost reporting and reconciliationPractitioner
Talent Development & Career Opportunities
Distinction graduates of this course are typically considered for cost controller, contracts administrator and Unifier cost module super-user roles on owner, PMC and giga-project deployments.
Participants who achieve an overall assessment score above 90% graduate with Distinction and may be enrolled in the Arkan Talent Development Program.
Outstanding graduates may receive:
- Internship opportunities
- Exposure to PMIS implementation projects
- Mentorship from senior Arkan consultants
- Recommendation letters
- Career guidance sessions
- Candidate referrals to partner organizations through Arkan Talent
- Opportunities to participate in PMIS deployment, PMO setup and digital transformation projects
Disclaimer: Enrolment in the Talent Development Program and any of the opportunities above are not guaranteed and do not constitute an offer or promise of employment. Exceptional performers may be considered for future project opportunities based on business needs, individual performance, availability of suitable roles and client requirements. Referrals and placements remain subject to the selection processes of Arkan and its partner organizations.