You should pick the cost periods that are most suitable for the model under study. SIMPROCESS selects quarterly cost periods as the default but allows weekly, monthly, half yearly, and yearly cost periods, too.
To define Cost Periods, select Simulation/Run Settings from the main menu. Then, click on the Cost Periods button. This will display the Cost Periods Definition dialog.
The list in the upper left of this dialog shows the currently defined cost periods. The default periods are Quarter1 through Quarter4. At the bottom of the dialog is the Period Frequency selection list with the default "Quarterly" selected. Click the down arrow button to see all of the period frequencies that SIMPROCESS offers: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, and Yearly. If you select a new period frequency, SIMPROCESS will create a new set of periods in the Period List and assign each a default name (Month1, Month2, ... or Week1, Week2, ...). Notice also that SIMPROCESS will automatically create and name enough cost periods to span the currently specified run length. (The simulation Start Time and End Time are set from the Simulate/Run Settings option on the menu.)
This dialog also allows you to set the name of the Currency used on the cost reports. This is a simple label used in the reports. SIMPROCESS provides no currency conversion facilities and assumes that all cost amounts are in the same currency (Dollars, Pounds, Deutsche Marks, Euros, etc).
If you select a particular cost period and click the View button, SIMPROCESS will display the Cost Period Detail dialog which shows the start and end dates and times for the cost period and the name of the period. You can change the name of each cost period to be more descriptive in the context of your cost report. For example, you may wish the cost periods to be called Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter rather than Quarter1, Quarter2, etc. Click the OK button to accept the new cost period name or the Cancel button to discard your changes.