README

⚠️ BETA VERSION: This module is currently in beta. Features may change and some functionality might be incomplete.

A comprehensive cost calculation system module for TaskHub that enables businesses to accurately calculate product and service costs by allocating various cost items with flexible pricing models.

📌 This is a module extension for TaskHub - you need a working TaskHub installation to use this module. Visit the TaskHub repository for core system installation and documentation.

🚀 Features

• 💰 Cost Item Management: Create and manage individual cost elements (salary, rent, equipment, etc.)
• 📦 Product Cost Calculation: Build products by allocating cost items with different allocation types
• ⏱️ Flexible Time Periods: Support for yearly, monthly, hourly, and minute-based pricing
• 🎯 Multiple Allocation Types: Fixed amounts, per-user costs, and per-resource-unit pricing
• 📊 Visual Cost Breakdown: Interactive charts and detailed cost analysis
• 🏷️ Category Integration: Seamless integration with TaskHub Categories module
• 🌍 Multi-language Support: Full Norwegian and English localization
• 📈 Forecasting Tools: Predict future costs and analyze trends

📋 Table of Contents

• Installation
• Quick Start Guide
• Real-World Example
• Feature Overview
• User Guide
• Technical Documentation
• Contributing
• License

🔧 Installation

Prerequisites

• TaskHub Core >= 11.0 (Get TaskHub)
• PHP >= 8.1
• Laravel >= 10.0
• MySQL/PostgreSQL

Important: This module requires a working TaskHub installation. Please install and configure TaskHub first by following the TaskHub installation guide.

Manual Installation (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository into your TaskHub modules directory:

cd /path/to/your/taskhub/modules
git clone https://github.com/tronderdata/td-cost-calcultaror.git

1. Install dependencies (if any):

cd td-cost-calcultaror
composer install --no-dev

1. Run migrations:

php artisan migrate --path=modules/td-cost-calcultaror/database/migrations

1. Clear cache:

php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:clear
php artisan view:clear

Alternative: Download ZIP

1. Download the latest release as ZIP
2. Extract to your TaskHub modules/ directory
3. Follow steps 2-4 from manual installation above

Composer Installation (Future)

Note: This module is not yet published to Packagist. Composer installation will be available in a future release.

# This will work once published to Packagist
composer require tronderdata/td-cost-calcultaror

🚀 Quick Start Guide

1. Access the Module

Navigate to Admin Panel → Cost Calculator in your TaskHub installation.

2. Create Your First Cost Item

1. Go to Cost Items → Create New
2. Fill in basic information:
   • Name: "Office Rent"
   • Price: 15000
   • Period: Monthly
   • Category: Office Expenses

3. Create a Product

1. Go to Products → Create New
2. Configure your product:
   • Name: "Consulting Service"
   • Calculation Model: Per User
   • Expected Users: 5

4. Allocate Costs

1. Edit your product
2. Click Add Cost Item
3. Select cost items and set allocation amounts
4. View real-time cost calculations

🏢 Real-World Example: "Rent a Nerd" Service

Let's walk through setting up a technical consulting service with realistic Norwegian business costs.

Step 1: Create Cost Items

Salary Cost

• Name: "Hourly Salary"
• Price: 531.59 (kr/hour including taxes and benefits)
• Period: Hour
• Category: Personnel

Office Rent

• Name: "Office Rent"
• Price: 13,385.78 (kr/month)
• Period: Month
• Category: Facilities

Note: We manually calculated this to 63.74 kr/hour based on 21 working days × 8 hours = 168 hours/month

Step 2: Create the Service Product

• Name: "Lei en nerd" (Rent a Nerd)
• Calculation Model: Per Resource Unit
• Expected Resource Units: 1 (consultant)

Step 3: Allocate Costs

1. Salary: Fixed allocation of 531.59 kr
2. Office Rent: Fixed allocation of 63.74 kr

Step 4: View Results

Total hourly cost: 595.33 kr/hour

• Salary: 531.59 kr (89.3%)
• Office overhead: 63.74 kr (10.7%)

This gives you a data-driven foundation for pricing your consulting services with proper cost coverage.

📖 Feature Overview

Cost Items Management

• ✅ Create, edit, delete cost items
• ✅ Bulk operations for efficiency
• ✅ Category organization
• ✅ Lifetime and capacity tracking
• ✅ Notes and documentation

Product Configuration

• ✅ Multiple calculation models (per user, per resource, fixed price)
• ✅ Expected usage parameters
• ✅ Real-time cost updates
• ✅ Professional allocation management

Allocation Types

Type	Description	Use Case
Fixed	Same amount regardless of scale	Base costs, licenses
Per User	Cost multiplied by user count	User licenses, accounts
Per Resource Unit	Cost per resource/hour/unit	Equipment, consulting time

Reporting & Analytics

• 📊 Cost breakdown visualization
• 📈 Monthly and yearly projections
• 🎯 Allocation distribution charts
• 📋 Detailed cost reports

👥 User Guide

For Administrators

1. Setup Categories: Organize cost items logically
2. Define Cost Items: Input all business costs with accurate periods
3. Create Product Templates: Build reusable product configurations
4. Monitor Usage: Review cost allocations regularly

For Project Managers

1. Calculate Project Costs: Use existing cost items for project budgeting
2. Compare Scenarios: Create multiple product variants
3. Track Resource Usage: Monitor per-user and per-resource costs
4. Generate Reports: Export cost breakdowns for stakeholders

For Financial Controllers

1. Audit Cost Accuracy: Verify all cost items reflect reality
2. Analyze Profitability: Review cost vs. revenue ratios
3. Forecast Budgets: Use yearly projections for planning
4. Monitor Trends: Track cost changes over time

🛠️ Technical Documentation

Database Schema

The module creates the following tables:

• cost_items: Core cost elements
• products: Product definitions
• cost_allocations: Cost-to-product relationships
• cost_item_logs: Audit trail

API Endpoints

# Cost Items
GET /api/cost-calculator/cost-items
POST /api/cost-calculator/cost-items
PUT /api/cost-calculator/cost-items/{id}
DELETE /api/cost-calculator/cost-items/{id}

# Products
GET /api/cost-calculator/products
POST /api/cost-calculator/products
PUT /api/cost-calculator/products/{id}

# Calculations
POST /api/cost-calculator/products/{id}/calculate
GET /api/cost-calculator/products/{id}/breakdown

Permissions

• view_cost_calculator: View cost items and products
• edit_cost_calculator: Create and edit cost data
• delete_cost_calculator: Delete cost items and products
• export_cost_calculator: Export cost reports

Integration Points

• Categories Module: For cost item organization
• Export System: For data extraction
• Permission System: For access control
• Cache System: For performance optimization

🔄 Workflow Examples

Scenario 1: Software Licensing Cost

1. Create cost item: "Microsoft 365 Business" (150 kr/user/month)
2. Create product: "Office Suite Access"
3. Allocate: Per-user allocation
4. Result: Automatic scaling based on user count

Scenario 2: Equipment Depreciation

1. Create cost item: "Laptop Fleet" (25,000 kr, 36-month lifetime)
2. Calculate: 694.44 kr/month depreciation
3. Allocate: Fixed allocation to all products
4. Result: Accurate equipment cost distribution

Scenario 3: Consulting Service Pricing

1. Combine multiple cost items (salary, rent, equipment, insurance)
2. Create different service tiers (Junior, Senior, Expert)
3. Allocate proportionally based on role
4. Result: Competitive yet profitable pricing structure

🐛 Known Issues & Limitations (Beta)

• Excel Export: Limited formatting options
• Bulk Import: Not yet implemented
• Currency Support: Only NOK currently supported
• Historical Data: Limited trending capabilities
• Mobile UI: Some responsive design improvements needed

🗺️ Roadmap

Version 0.2.0

• Multi-currency support
• Advanced reporting dashboard
• Excel import/export improvements
• Mobile-optimized interface

Version 0.3.0

• Cost templates and presets
• Integration with accounting systems
• Advanced forecasting algorithms
• Automated cost adjustments

Version 1.0.0

• Full API documentation
• Comprehensive test coverage
• Production-ready performance
• Complete user documentation

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/tronderdata/td-cost-calcultaror.git
cd td-cost-calcultaror

# Install dependencies
composer install

# Run migrations (from your TaskHub root directory)
php artisan migrate --path=modules/td-cost-calcultaror/database/migrations

# Run tests
php artisan test modules/td-cost-calcultaror/tests/

Running Tests

# Unit tests
php artisan test tests/Unit/

# Feature tests
php artisan test tests/Feature/

# All tests
php artisan test

📞 Support

• Documentation: Module Wiki
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Email: support@tronderdata.no

📜 License

This module is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built as a module extension for TaskHub
• Developed by TronderData AS
• Community feedback and contributions
• Inspired by real Norwegian business needs

Made with ❤️ in Norway

For the core TaskHub system, visit TaskHub Repository
For more TaskHub modules, visit TronderData Modules