How is the 'Cost' field on the 'alm_asset' form populated?

[Grant Warren]

Currently our Cost field (SN field 'cost') on the 'alm_asset' table is Read-Only, which seems to be an OOTB functionality. We also have all of our assets tied to product models, where you can edit the 'Cost' field with a currency value. However, when you change the 'Cost' of the product model, the corresponding assets that are tied to that product model don't have their 'Cost' value change in reflection of the product model 'Cost' change. 

With that being said, how is the 'Cost' field populated at an individual asset level? I know that we can change the 'Cost' field to no longer be Read-Only, but since we have our assets being brought in via SCCM Discovery, I don't want the SCCM integration to run and then write over any changes we make to the 'Cost' field for individual assets. Ideally, I would like to see where in the hierarchy of SAM we can change the 'Cost' field and see those changes reflected at the individual asset level. 

[Will Young2]

Hello Grant,

The cost field on assets is populated from the model when the model is selected, but not when the model record is updated. This is to prevent you from accidentally changing the cost on existing models instead of just going forward. The idea is that the model cost should be kept up-to-date so that as assets are created they are created with the current cost. That's the idea, at least...

Keep in mind that the most accurate financial information (used for many dashboards and reports) is not going to come from the model or the asset. Instead, it comes from the expense lines that are automatically generated upon creation of the asset (when enabled). The best practice is to use a tool or process to keep your financial transactions updated so you have a rich data source to inform asset. Many of my customers use an integration to allow ServiceNow to be updated with invoice details as they are received (price changes, cost center allocations, cost types, etc).

Thanks,

Will Young
Service Delivery Manager
GlideFast Consulting - ServiceNow Elite Partner
ServiceNow CSA, CAD, CIS-ITSM/SAM/EM/SM/Disco
IAITAM Certified Software Asset Manager

[ARG645]

Will, thank you for the wealthy information. When you say “ Many of my customers use an integration to allow ServiceNow to be updated with invoice details as they are received (price changes, cost center allocations, cost types, etc).” Do you have any example of a third party application that stores invoice details? Something that could integrate with servicenow (May be via web services) Thank you, Aman Gurram

[Will Young2]

Hi Aman,

The most common tool I see integrated is Oracle Procurement. Most financial applications have API/Web Services access available, but clients often use middleware or a data warehouse to help protect their financial data.

Thanks,

Will Young
Service Delivery Manager
GlideFast Consulting - ServiceNow Elite Partner
ServiceNow CSA, CAD, CIS-ITSM/SAM/EM/SM/Disco
IAITAM Certified Software Asset Manager