Deltek Vantagepoint and Costpoint: what project-based firm records hold

What do Deltek Vantagepoint and Costpoint hold?

Deltek Vantagepoint (the successor to Vision), Costpoint and Ajera are project accounting systems used by architecture, engineering, consulting and government-contracting firms. They hold the full lifecycle of a billable project: pursuit and proposal, project setup, time and expense, billing, and close-out. For a firm that has used one for years, that is a connected record of how professional work is sold, staffed and invoiced.

This page is for ERP consultants who implement or migrate Deltek. It explains what the records are, how to read depth, what limits apply to government work, and how to raise a licensing introduction without touching any record.

Which record families does a project-based firm keep?

The valuable pattern is the link from a proposal to a project to hours to invoices to profit. Years of that chain are rare outside the company, because it lives in internal systems.

How do Vantagepoint, Costpoint and Ajera differ in practice?

Vantagepoint and Ajera mostly serve architecture, engineering and consulting firms; Costpoint is common in government contractors and larger project-driven manufacturers. Data structures, custom fields and modules vary by product, version and how long ago a firm migrated, for example from Vision to Vantagepoint. Vendor export features, archive options and limits change by release, so confirm them in current Deltek documentation for the client's version and do not promise a format or volume to the client.

What limits apply to government contract data?

Check this before any scope is set. Government contracts can carry clauses on records, information handling, controlled information and audit access. Some project data, such as rate schedules, indirect cost pools or labor details, may be restricted or sensitive. Agency or prime-contractor terms may also limit reuse.

The contractor reads its own contracts and involves counsel. If a clause blocks licensing, those records stay out, and the rest of the firm's data may still be reviewed. A partner never reviews or describes contract terms. Proprietary client deliverables such as design drawings may belong to clients or collaborators and are a rights question the firm resolves with SourceX.

How do you spot a firm worth introducing?

• 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded)
• Eight or more years of projects in the accounting system, or archived databases from earlier versions
• Proposals, time and billing all in the same platform
• Project tracking in other tools, such as sheets and databases
• A principal, CFO or authorized representative who can act as sponsor
• Willingness to consider an exclusive license for an agreed term

Surrounding systems add depth. For example, spreadsheets-as-databases are covered in the guide on Airtable operational bases as workflow records, and project portfolio sheets in Smartsheet project and PMO histories. Long-running project threads are described in Basecamp project threads, and staffing-style placement records in Bullhorn histories.

How does a consultant raise it during a migration?

Raise it when the firm plans an upgrade, a version change, a cloud move, an acquisition or an owner transition.

1. Ask the CFO for the earliest project year in the database and any archived databases.
2. Ask whether the firm kept old Vision or earlier databases and where they sit.
3. Ask who holds admin rights and whether exports are scheduled.
4. Record modules, years, location and owner in a one-page register.
5. If history is deep, ask whether the principal wants a short licensing screen before old databases are retired.

The same archive logic applies in the guide on identifying construction project records with useful operating context. The data inventory builder lets the CFO list modules and years at metadata level.

How do rewards work?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the firm receives. Read the program terms and your own firm's policies on referral fees. The page on referral opportunities for ERP consultants covers the role.

When should you skip a Deltek client?

Skip when headcount is below the baseline, when contract clauses clearly bar licensing and nothing else is eligible, when the data mostly belongs to clients, or when archives were deleted and nobody can export. See who qualifies for the full list.

Next step

Ask one Deltek client for its earliest project year and any archived databases. If the history is deep and the sponsor is open, register as a partner and make the introduction, or send the sponsor to sourcex.si/apply.