Risk of Editing Baseline Costs in MS Project

Imagine this. You’re managing a JKR project. A Variation Order (VO) comes in — extra work needs to be done, which naturally adds cost. The logical thing to do would be to clear and re-baseline the affected tasks in MS Project, or to insert new tasks for the VO works. But instead, the planner takes a shortcut: he simply edits the Baseline Cost field for those tasks.

On the surface, everything looks neat. Reports show no variance. The baseline cost now matches the new contract cost. Problem solved, right?

Not quite.

This “quick fix” is like painting over a crack in the wall. It hides the problem for now, but it destroys the integrity of your baseline and makes life a lot harder when auditors, S.O.s, or final account officers ask tough questions later.

Let’s unpack why.

What Is a Baseline in the JKR Context?

In Microsoft Project, a baseline is a frozen snapshot of your schedule — capturing task start/finish dates, durations, and costs at a point in time.

For JKR projects, think of the baseline as the formal record of the contract commitments:

The Contract Sum
The agreed schedule and milestones
The cost breakdown for each work item, stage, or activity

Once the baseline is set, it serves as the yardstick against which progress, cost variance, and time impact are measured.

And this is where things get tricky with Variation Orders.

The Shortcut That Breaks the System

When a VO adds new scope or increases cost, the proper process in MS Project is to either:

Clear and re-baseline the affected tasks after updating their cost/duration, or
Insert new tasks for the VO work and baseline those.

Unfortunately, many planners take a different route. Instead of following change control, they just manually edit the Baseline Cost field.

Here’s what happens when you do that:

You erase history
The baseline is supposed to show what was originally agreed. By overwriting it, you make it look like the contract was always at the new cost.
Cost variance disappears
MS Project calculates cost variance as Current Cost – Baseline Cost. If you bump the baseline to match the new cost, the variance drops to zero. On paper, it looks like nothing changed.
Audit trail is broken
JKR officers need to see clear evidence of how much was added by VO. If the baseline already includes the VO, there’s no way to show what the original contract sum was. This is similar to issues seen in progress updates and avoiding manipulation, where shortcuts create reports that look clean but lack integrity.
Progress reporting becomes misleading
Interim valuations and cumulative cost curves won’t reconcile with the VO register. When Final Account discussions come, it’s impossible to explain where the extra cost came from.

A Simple Example

Let’s put this into numbers.

Original Plan (Baseline)

Task A: RM10,000, 5 days
Task B: RM8,000, 5 days
Total Contract Sum: RM18,000

Variation Order

Task A needs extra work: +RM3,000 and +2 days

Case 1: Manual Edit of Baseline Cost (Wrong)

Planner changes Task A cost to RM13,000, and simply types RM13,000 into Baseline Cost.

Task	Baseline Cost	Current Cost
Task A	RM13,000	RM13,000
Task B	RM8,000	RM8,000
Total	RM21,000	RM21,000

Looks neat — but the baseline now tells us the contract was always RM21k. The VO has vanished.

Case 2: Re-baseline Selected Task (Acceptable, but Limited)

Planner updates Task A to RM13,000 and clears & re-baselines only Task A.

Task	Baseline Cost	Current Cost
Task A	RM13,000	RM13,000
Task B	RM8,000	RM8,000
Total	RM21,000	RM21,000

Now, the project baseline reflects the adjusted contract sum of RM21k. Good for controlling progress.
But… the original RM18k contract figure has been overwritten. If you need to show “Original vs Adjusted Contract,” you’ll have no baseline record.

Case 3: Add New VO Task (Best Practice for JKR)

Planner leaves Task A as RM10,000, and inserts a new task: Task A1 – VO Extra Work, RM3,000.

Task	Baseline Cost	Current Cost
Task A	RM10,000	RM10,000
Task B	RM8,000	RM8,000
Task A1 (VO)	RM3,000	RM3,000
Total	RM21,000	RM21,000

This way, the VO is clearly visible as a new item. You can show:

Original Contract Sum = RM18,000
VO (Added Scope) = RM3,000
Adjusted Contract Sum = RM21,000

Exactly what JKR officers, auditors, and Final Account teams want to see (I hope so).

Side-by-Side Comparison of the Three Approaches

Case	What Planner Did	Outcome	Problem/Benefit	JKR Suitability
1. Manual Edit of Baseline Cost	Typed directly into Baseline Cost	Total baseline = RM21k	Corrupts history; baseline dates and costs out of sync; VO disappears	❌ Not acceptable
2. Re-baseline Selected Task	Cleared & re-baselined Task A	Total baseline = RM21k	Software-correct; variance works; but overwrites original Task A baseline (RM10k lost)	⚠️ Acceptable for progress, weak for audit
3. Add New VO Task	Added Task A1 (VO) and baselined it	Total baseline = RM21k	Preserves original RM18k; VO is transparent and traceable	✅ Best practice for JKR

Why This Matters for JKR Projects

In private-sector projects, some teams may be satisfied with simply re-baselining. But in JKR contracts, transparency is critical. Every VO needs to be traceable from:

Original Contract Sum (the tendered baseline)
Approved Variation Orders (documented separately in VO register)
Adjusted Contract Sum (reflected in updated project baseline and final account)

If you edit baseline costs manually, you lose this separation. The VO disappears into the numbers, leaving you exposed during:

Site audits
Contract reviews
Final Account negotiations

JKR expects clarity: what was original, what was added, and what the adjusted total is.

Best Practices for Handling VO in MS Project

1. Never manually type into baseline fields
Those are snapshots, not editable budgets.

2. For changed scope within existing tasks:

Update cost/duration/resources.
Clear baseline → Re-baseline the selected tasks.
Optionally, store adjusted plan in Baseline1 and keep Baseline0 untouched for original contract.

3. For new VO work items:

Add new tasks with proper WBS codes.
Assign cost/resources.
Baseline only those tasks.

4. Maintain VO references in schedule:

Use a spare Text field for “VO No.”
Flag VO tasks with a custom field for easy filtering.
This helps link the VO register with the schedule.

5. Communicate clearly in reports:

Show “Original Baseline” vs “Current Plan” vs “VO Additions.”
This keeps management and S.O.s confident in your reports.

Closing Thoughts

MS Project is a powerful tool, but it will only reflect what you put into it. If you take shortcuts by manually editing baseline costs, you’re not just tweaking numbers — you’re erasing history.

For detailed step-by-step instructions, refer to Microsoft’s official guide to managing baselines.

In JKR projects, that history matters. Contract sums, VO adjustments, and final accounts all depend on a clean audit trail.

So the next time a Variation Order comes in, resist the temptation to “fix” the baseline cost field. Instead, handle it properly — re-baseline affected tasks or add VO tasks. Keep your original contract intact, make the VO transparent, and you’ll always have a schedule and cost record you can defend with confidence.

Because in the end, a clean baseline is more than just numbers in a software file — it’s your shield against disputes, and your proof of professional project control.

MS Project: The Risk of Editing Baseline Costs