Prepaid hours and hour packs
A contract can hold a bank of prepaid service hours. Each approved time line draws its billable hours from the bank, and hours beyond it are billed on their own line. The customer's admins are told when the balance runs low. Your office sells top-up packs as a sales order.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- An IT support client pays for 20 hours a quarter and the balance lives in a spreadsheet nobody trusts.
- The bank runs out quietly and you keep working for free for weeks.
- The client disputes the balance because they cannot see which ticket used which hours.
- Topping up means an email, a quote typed by hand and someone remembering to add the hours.
How it works
- On the contract, set Labour to From Prepaid Hours. The Prepaid Hours tab appears.
- Add a line with a positive number of hours to record what the customer bought, and set Alert Below (hours).
- Technicians log time on tickets as usual. When a team lead approves a time line, its billable hours leave the bank. The ledger line names the ticket and the technician.
- If the bank holds less than the line, the rest is split onto its own billable line marked beyond prepaid hours. With the bank empty, the whole line is billable.
- When the hours left fall to the alert, the customer's admins get an email and the account manager a to-do.
- To top up, the office clicks Sell Prepaid Hours on the contract. A quotation for an hour pack opens. The hours are added to the bank when the invoice is paid, or when the order is confirmed if you chose that.
Everything it does
The bank
- Hours Bought, Hours Used and Hours Left, worked out from the ledger
- Each ledger line: date, hours (positive bought, negative used), note, and for used hours the time line and ticket
- Alert Below (hours): 2 to start with
- While hours are left, labour counts as free on the contract's tickets; with none left, new tickets' labour is billable
- Call-outs and after-hours work follow the contract's own switches, not the bank
Drawing hours
- Only approved time lines draw hours, and only their billable hours (after the work type's rounding and minimum)
- A line larger than the balance is split: the covered part from the bank, the rest on an approved billable line
- An approved line that a team lead sets back to draft gives its hours back to the bank
Hour packs
- A pack is a service product with Prepaid Service Hours set; one comes ready: Prepaid Service Hours (10 h)
- Sell Prepaid Hours makes a quotation on the contract with the first pack product found; change the product or quantity as needed
- Credit Prepaid Hours: When the Invoice Is Paid (the default) or When the Order Is Confirmed
- Hours are credited once per order line, and the low-balance alert is armed again
- The customer cannot buy a pack on the portal; the office makes the sales order
What the customer sees
- The portal's Contracts page shows the prepaid hours left of those bought, with a bar
- The low-balance email shows the hours left and the hours bought, and invites a reply to top up
Who uses it
Service ManagerSets the contract to prepaid hours, records hours bought and the alert level.
Team LeadApproves time lines, which draws the hours.
Account managerGets the to-do when hours run low and sells the next pack.
Customer adminWatches the balance on the portal and replies to the alert to top up.
Where you use it
- Web: the Prepaid Hours tab of the contract (Helpdesk > Customers > Contracts); Sell Prepaid Hours
- Customer portal: Contracts, with the hours left
- Not on the portal: buying an hour pack; the office makes the sales order
What you control
Settings
- Labour: From Prepaid Hours, per contract
- Alert Below: 2 hours
- Credit Prepaid Hours: When the Invoice Is Paid (Settings, Helpdesk, Billing)
- Pack product: Prepaid Service Hours (10 h) to start with; set Prepaid Service Hours on any service product
Approvals
- Ticket time: the team leads approve by default; add levels on the approval chain if you want more. Hours are drawn when the last level approves
Notifications
- Prepaid Hours Low: to the customer's admins by email, and in the app's inbox and on WhatsApp where set up (from message credits). The account manager gets a to-do and the same in-app notice
Questions
Can the customer buy more hours online?
Not yet. Your office clicks Sell Prepaid Hours on the contract and sends the quotation. The hours are added when the invoice is paid, or when the order is confirmed if you chose that.What happens when the bank runs out halfway through a job?
The approved line is split: the hours left come from the bank and the rest go on their own billable line, marked beyond prepaid hours.Can the customer see which ticket used their hours?
The portal shows the balance. The ledger with each ticket and technician is on the contract in the back office, for your team to share.Are hours drawn when the technician logs them?
No. Hours are drawn only when the time line is approved, so a mistaken entry never touches the bank.Can we bill remote work, with no visit?
Yes. Time on any ticket draws from the bank once approved, with or without a visit.Related features
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.WORKING A TICKETTime on tickets with a timer, work types and timesheetsTechnicians log time on each ticket with a timer or by hand, by work type: normal hours, after hours, holiday, emergency, call-out or travel. The team lead approves the hours before they are billed, and each line can also land on the technician's timesheet.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 MAINTENANCEContract fees and online renewalsA contract's fee is invoiced by itself each month, quarter, half-year or year until the contract ends. Before it ends, the account manager is reminded and proposes the next term in one click. The customer's admin accepts or declines it on the portal, or signs a renewal quote for the whole term.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.
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