Serviceable Item Contracts can be used for anything you need to bill on a contract but do not need or want an equipment record for. In order to use serviceable item contracts you have to enable the option in Eautomate first. Go to Tools \ Options \ Contracts. The box next to Allow items on contracts and service calls needs to be checked. You will have to log out of Eautomate and log back in before the option is enabled once you check the box.
Once the option is enabled you will want to create the items you intend to use on contracts. Go to Items and click New.
Input your item number, description, category and unit of measure. You may want to create a new category for these items so you can differentiate them from other category items. Change the item type from inventory to expense. Input your Expense Code, Sales Code and Service Code. You will want to create a new expense code, service code and sales codes for these items with corresponding new GL Expense Account, new GL Revenue Account and new GL Cost of Goods Sold Account. Check the Serviceable as Item box. You can populate the Contract base distribution code field so that the distribution code on the contract defaults to this setting when you add this item to a contract. You may want to create a new distribution code for these items as well that points to the new revenue account you created.
Once the item is created you can use it on a contract. You may want to create a new contract type and bill code for these types of contracts. Also you probably want to set the contract to use equipment base rates. Especially if you're adding multiple items on the contract at different rates.
When adding the item to the contract, select the item button instead of the equipment button. Select the item from the drop down list and input the quantity of the item in the quantity field. Input the unit base rate and EA will automatically calculate the overall base rate using the quantity times the unit base rate. If you are adding the item to an existing contract then you can use the base distribution code and bill code field to override the base distribution code and bill code set on the overall contract for this item.
Make sure when entering vendor invoices for expenses on this item that you associate the contract to the vendor invoice for accurate contract profitability. See this post for instructions.
Using Serviceable Items for DCA Installs/Re-installs
If you would like the option of billing a contracted customer for DCA installs or re-installs, you can add a serviceable item to the contract record for this. You will need to create a serviceable item for the DCA install as outlined above, and add it to the contract.
If you plan to bill for that item, when adding that serviceable item to the contract be sure to use a bill code that doesn't include the DCA install/re-install so eAutomate knows to charge for that item when used on service calls. This bill code needs to be set at the Item level within the contract so it will override the main bill code set at the contract level.
You will also want to make sure that the technician who works the service call uses an activity code that will override the normal labor settings on the bill code. This activity code needs to be included on the bill code as an override on the Labor Code and set to charge a dollar amount per the hourly increments you are using.
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