The reference number feature enhances the size and flexibility of the Costpoint account/organization structure. You can use reference numbers for two distinct purposes:

• You can use them in data entry as an extension of the accounts and organizations that are the keystones of Costpoint's financial architecture.
• You can use them to provide flexibility in the presentation of general ledger reports and financial statements. You can define alternate reporting structures as reference numbers and link them to existing account/organization combinations to provide alternate cost groupings.

The use of reference numbers in either way is optional.

Costpoint provides two reference number fields are available: Reference Number 1 (also called Ref No 1 or Ref 1), and Reference Number 2 (also called Ref No 2 or Ref 2). You can use either reference number for alternate reporting or for data entry. Although it is technically possible for either reference number to serve as both an alternate reporting structure and a data entry field concurrently, this would cause confusion because reports displaying different information would contain the same heading information. For this reason, Deltek strongly recommends that you do not use one of the reference number both to store an alternate reporting structure and for data entry.

The reference number fields are 20 characters in length. Each reference number has delimiters (periods) between the user-defined levels. The delimiters are included in the field size. For example, a reference number with the structure of "XX.XXX.X" uses eight of the available 20 positions—six characters for the actual numbers at the three different levels, and two periods as the delimiters between the levels.

Reference number fields are available ondata entry screens throughout Costpoint. You can also set up budgets by reference number and account.