Materials used on a ticket
Record every part used on a ticket and where it came from. It can be your stock, bought for the job, bought by the customer or supplied by them. Each source is priced its own way, and a team lead approves the lines before they are billed.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Parts used on site are never written down, so they are never billed.
- A part bought from the market for one job is billed at cost, with nothing added for the trouble.
- The customer said they would buy the part themselves, and the technician goes back before it has arrived.
- At the end of the year nobody can say which customer used how much material.
How it works
- On the ticket's Materials tab, add a line: the Product, the Quantity and the Source. For a part bought for the job, choose the Vendor and type the Unit Cost.
- The line is priced by its source. Stock parts take their sales price less the parts discount; bought parts take cost plus markup.
- Lines the contract covers are marked Covered by Contract and cost the customer nothing.
- For a part the customer buys, the ticket waits on the customer. The customer sees it under Materials you are buying and presses It is on site when it arrives; the ticket goes back to work.
- A team lead approves the lines under Helpdesk > Tickets > Materials with the filter To Approve and Action > Approve. Costly lines can go on to the service managers through the approval chain.
- Approved, billable lines are billed with the ticket's time; once on an order they are locked.
Everything it does
Sources
- From Our Stock: billed at the part's sales price, less the contract's parts discount
- Bought by Us for This Job: billed at the unit cost plus the markup; choose the vendor
- Bought by the Customer: recorded, not billed; the ticket waits until the customer marks it on site
- Supplied by the Customer: recorded, not billed
Markup on bought materials
- Taken from the contract, else the customer, else the issue type, else the Entity
- The Entity's markup is 15 % to start with
- Cost, markup and cost totals are shown to team leads and above only
Approval and locks
- States: To Approve, Approved, Invoiced
- Team leads approve; Back to Draft takes an approval back
- Ticket material approval chain (Growth): add a chain Only For lines above a cost, with a level for the service managers
- Invoiced lines cannot be changed or deleted
- Merging tickets moves lines that are not invoiced
Records and reports
- Service report: each material with quantity, unit, source and Covered, Billable or No charge
- Materials report: material value by customer and source
- Material cost on the ticket, and with sub-tasks, for team leads
- With Scale: order from vendors, parts from vans and returns
Who uses it
TechnicianAdds the parts used, on site or later.
Team LeadApproves the lines, checks the cost and markup.
Service ManagerApproves costly lines where the approval chain says so.
CustomerSees parts they are buying and marks them on site.
Where you use it
- Web: the ticket's Materials tab, Helpdesk > Tickets > Materials, Reports > Materials
- The SmartMy Desk app: Parts and materials, search by name, code or barcode (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Customer portal: Materials you are buying, with It is on site
- Not on the portal: costs, markup or your other lines
What you control
Settings
- Markup on bought materials per Entity (Helpdesk settings): 15 % to start with
- Markup per customer, per issue type and per contract (the contract's -1 means use the others)
- Parts discount and parts cover on the contract
- Ticket material approval chain: team leads to start with
Approvals
- Ticket material: one chain per Entity, the team leads to start with; add a chain for costly lines with the service managers (Growth)
Notifications
- Time / Materials to Approve: to the approvers of a level when it is not the person who pressed Approve, in the app's Inbox. App push is built and not switched on yet
- The customer's It is on site: a note on the ticket for the team
Questions
Can a contract give parts free only up to an amount?
Yes. A contract can cover all parts, only listed parts, or parts up to an amount. Once the amount is used, further parts are billable.What if the customer wants to buy the part themselves?
Add the line as Bought by the Customer with the vendor you suggest. The ticket waits until the customer presses It is on site, then it comes back to work.Are costly parts checked before they are used?
A team lead approves every line. Add an approval chain for lines above a cost, and those go to the service managers as well.Which plan records materials?
Growth and Scale. Ordering from vendors and parts from vans come with Scale.Related features
QUOTES, BILLING AND PURCHASEPurchase of parts for a ticketWhen a job needs parts you do not stock, a team lead orders them from the ticket: one request for quotation per vendor. The ticket waits for parts with its clock paused. It takes the agreed price as the cost and resumes when everything is received.QUOTES, BILLING AND PURCHASEVan stock, parts issue and returnsEach technician's van is a stock location of its own. Parts used on a ticket come from the van, else the team's store, else the warehouse. They leave the stock on approval. Unused parts go back, vans are refilled from the warehouse, and technicians see their van in the app.QUOTES, BILLING AND PURCHASEBilling of approved time and materialsApproved, billable time, parts and call-outs go on an order at the customer's prices, with contract discounts and markup. A draft invoice follows for your accounts team. A customer's ticket does not close while billable work is left unbilled, unless a service manager waives it with a reason.CONTRACTS AND MAINTENANCEAMC contracts and what they coverEach annual maintenance contract says which kinds of issue, sites and units it covers. It also says whether labour, parts, call-outs and after-hours work are free or billable. Every ticket is checked against it and marked Covered, Partly Covered or Billable. A team lead can override that with a reason.ACROSS SMARTMY DESKApproval chainsQuotes, time and materials go to the right people in order before they reach the customer or the invoice. You add levels, such as a service manager for large quotes, without code.REPORTSProfit by customer, contract and kind of issueSee what each job, customer, contract and kind of issue earned against what it cost you in labour and parts. For an AMC, see the fees invoiced plus the work billed on its tickets, less the cost to serve it.
See one of your own jobs run through it.
Tell us how a complaint reaches you today and what you bill for. We will show you the same job in SmartMy Desk.