Service Management / Work Order / Dispatch/ Proposals

The Service Management process starts with the recording of the service call. Work orders can then be printed, scheduled, and dispatched. Once the call has been completed, invoices can be printed for time and material or a contract price. These invoices are then posted; updating Job Cost and Accounts Receivable, keeping track of customer history, and tracking inventory.

 

Work Order Entry

Work Order Entry has been placed on the Main Menu Bar, making it available no matter where in Bluegrass you are working. If you are entering AP invoices and a service call comes in, just click on W/O on the title bar and enter the work order information. When you are finished you will pick up where you were in Accounts Payables.

All calls are initiated in Work Order Entry, ensuring that no more calls "slip through the cracks." The date and time of call was entered along with the User Code of the person taking the call. Service history, customer and service location information can be viewed by the touch of a button—no more searching for folders while the customer holds. These features are presented in the following sections. Work orders can be printed in advance or as they are entered and can be printed on stock paper or custom forms. Bluegrass offers multiple formats, with customization available. Previously entered work orders are always available - they can be viewed and reprinted at any time.

 

Quite often, during the process of taking a customer call, you may need to review historical, financial or other customer information to help you decide how best to respond to the call. Bluegrass offers a wealth of such information by simply clicking the mouse button to display the menu shown within the work order. Viewing any of the items on the menu is a matter of second mouse click.

 

From reviewing current credit status to scrolling through Work Order and Service Invoice histories, Bluegrass offers a complete picture of service activities for the Location displayed on the Work Order. You also have the option of reviewing Service Contract and System information from the same menu. The System screen shows all systems at a service location, with details on installation and warranties. A part list may be entered for each unit. New system information can be entered from this point and the system can be tied to the work order all the way through to billing. The Additional Service Information is a user-defined database used to track information specific to your company’s needs. Answers may be pre-defined or unique, as required. Items may be printed on work orders.  Service Contracts for the customer may be accessed from the work order screen when taking the call. If there is already an open work order for the customer you will be alerted so that calls could be combined

 

Service History

Another example of the information available during Work Order entry is the Service History drill-down. After selecting this option from the Work Order drop-down menu, you have the option of reporting on a single system at a location or reviewing all history notes, beginning with a list of Service Invoices in reverse order, as shown on the first screen.

 

By clicking on a system, details of the invoice are displayed, below. You also have the option of seeing the parts/materials used on the job.

While Bluegrass offers you the option of tracking service history by system, it does not require the entry of Service Location systems if you do not need that amount of history detail.

 

For users with password access level to view this much detail, a drill down to gross profit for this work order is available. This is very useful to the service manager when dealing with complaints about a bill that is too high.

 

Credit Information- The dispatcher is alerted that the customer has past due invoices by the customer code turning red. Selecting credit information from the right mouse menu displays the invoices that are past due and shows balance and last payment amount.

 

 

Create Proposals- you can create a proposal from the work order screen.

 

Proposals provide standard and individualized formats to present to prospective customers. Formats can be based on simple text approach, or can draw from a database of material and labor items.

 

Job Item-Gives you immediate access to reports and queries.

 

Scheduling- is done from the work order screen or from the graphical dispatch board. Scheduling from the work order is handy when you are giving the customers a promised date. This will flag the work order for this date and allow assignments to a specific technician who you know is available.

 

If the call is from a new customer

From the work order entry screen you can create the work order, establish the service site and billing customers and set up the job, all from the same information. Task and general ledger codes are created in the background with out operator input.

 

Interface to Proposal

If you need to quote for a suggested repair, no need to exit dispatch, just click on the proposal option and you will be transferred to the proposal form. The software knows what customer and service site you want based on the work order, so this information is automatically displayed. When the proposal is accepted, just click on the awarded button and a work order will automatically be generated.

 

Interface to Service Contract

The Bluegrass Service Contract Module automatically generates a work order for Preventative Maintenance to be done in the time period you requested, generally a month. These work orders may be placed on a separate board designated for this purpose so that they can be tracked separately, until ready to schedule. At a glance, you can see preventative maintenance separated from service calls.

 

This module provides a number of automated tasks to help insure that inspections are scheduled, and contract billing is done on a timely basis. A set of standard inspection codes, tasks and parts lists are the basis for the module.

 

These standard items are then used to create contract details with almost unlimited flexibility. Creating a contract is a two-step process, beginning with the entry of the information shown on the first screen. Financial information is used to generate invoices; with the billing dates being compared to the Expiration Date for validity and then updated after each invoice is created. The Details button opens the Service Coverage section of the contract, which includes the equipment to be covered, inspection codes for each unit and a list of tasks and parts to complete each inspection code. Each inspection code is given a Frequency that defines how often the inspection code is to be performed. There are numerous standard (annual, semi-annual, monthly, etc.) interval options including a free-form code so that you can define up to four non-standard times per year to schedule the work. Time and Costs per task are totaled. The operation side of Service Contract contains reporting work order management and billing. Activities.

 

Reports include Contracts Due for Work, Invoicing and Due to Expire. If parts lists are entered for task, a report listing requirements may be generated. A date range generates all reports and all provide a preview type report.

 

Work Orders can be generated prior to their due dates so that labor and other resources can be identified. Scheduling can also be done ahead of time, or work can be assigned as technicians become available. Work Orders can be generated for each piece of equipment covered, grouped by Inspection Codes or singly by Service Location. Work Orders include all tasks and parts in checklist form.

 

The automatic billing feature operates in much the same way the report and work order generation functions: a date range is entered for which invoice should be created. Contract Expiration Date is checked for validity and the Payment Amount is used as the Invoice Amount. Invoice details are passed to the Repetitive Billing section of Service Management for optional printing and posting.

 

The Bluegrass Service Contract Module helps you manage this critical and lucrative part of your business. Hundreds of invoices may be generated with the push of a button. Work orders are generated for preventative maintenance due for the time period selected. Work Orders may be stored on separate schedule board to separate scheduling board to separate preventative maintenance from unscheduled service. Accurate and timely invoicing is critical for cash flow. Service Billing works in conjunction with Service Dispatch to streamline and expedite the billing process.

 

For service calls or jobs you don’t estimate, set every thing in motion from your work order.  (We also give you the option of using a proposal to create a new work order or a service contract) Select Work Order Entry from the Bluegrass Main Menu Bar and enter the job address. If you have worked previously at this location, select it from the displayed list. All billing information is displayed. This includes: who to bill, contact person at the job and billing location, and phone and fax numbers. The customer’s balance is displayed along with any messages from your credit department. Work history is also displayed. This includes: the last time you were at the location and the type of work you performed. Further detail about parts used, work performed, and customer history is available with the touch of a button.

 

Next, the program automatically sets up a job and prints a work order. Now you may issue a purchase order or requisition from inventory. The cost goes directly to job cost and the materials are listed automatically on the invoice, marked-up based on the mark-up method you chose for the customer.

If you track warranty information, you can maintain service history by individual unit showing the serial number, date of installation, and the length of warranty for parts and labor.  In addition, serial number and warranty information per component part can be tracked.  Unit also saves detailed description.

 

Equipment

Keeping track of the equipment you install and service allows you to better serve your customers and control your costs. Equipment information such as make, model, serial number, installation date, warranty information and who did the installation is available with the click of a button.

 

Purchase Order and Requisitions are tied to the work order

After the Service call has been taken and scheduled you may need parts that are not on the service technician’s trucks. Simply click a button to create a purchase order or requisition the part from your main warehouse. The purchase order or requisition will now be linked to the work order so that you cannot forget to bill for it.

 

Multiple Day or Multiple Technician Jobs

If you need schedule one or more technicians to a work order, Bluegrass provides this capability in the simplest way possible. Just push a button and select the technicians from the drop down list. Each technician can then be scheduled for the same or different hours.

If you need to add one or more days to the job, just bring up the calendar and pick the days you want to schedule. You can add days for all technicians at the same time or add a day for just one technician.

 

Closing a Work Order

When the technicians calls in to say he is complete for the day or the work order, a push of the button gives you the list of all technicians on the job for all scheduled days. You may close the day for all Technicians if they worked the same hours or each technician separately, if they have different hours on the job and travel times have been recorded based on time dispatched or on job, depending on how you billed. Hours may be overridden. Time is passed automatically to billing and payroll. Employee pay rate are determined by employee master pay rate, prevailing or union requirements. The billing rate is determined by, the flexible mark-up table for that customer.

 

Billing for Dispatch

A work order need not be complete before invoice items are recorded. Labor is automatically transferred as the day is closed. Any purchase order marked received or any material requisition marked shipped are automatically transferred to the invoice. If there is a need to see the cost to date for an invoice, this is available. The system checks to see if work order is marked complete or if there are any open purchase orders or inventory requisition and will prevent an invoice from accidentally being billed.

Accurate and timely invoicing is critical for cash flow. Service Billing works in conjunction with Service Dispatch to streamline and expedite the billing process.

 

Labor may be automatically entered from the Work Order or may be entered at the time of invoicing. Both types of entry can be used on one invoice and notes entered on the Work Order can be transferred, edited and used as the basis for the Work Performed note and printed on the customer invoice and stored as history.

 

For rapid data entry use our unique component problem and resolution table to select the standard resolution.

 

Materials and Miscellaneous charges make-up the final invoicing steps. Materials can be entered directly or via a Purchase Order. Inventory can be searched by: Item, Assembly or Category. Prices are determined by Inventory setup to be based on a markup based on varying cost levels, standard pricing or markups by Customer. Bluegrass also offers links to pricing services and flat rate databases. Material entered may be in your database or be a non-stock item. If the item is in your database, you may view all cost information while entering the invoice. By pressing a key, you can see last cost or Trade Service cost. In addition, you can see dates of the last three purchases of the item, the vendor, and the amount you paid.

 

Standard invoice formats are numerous, and can be set based on degree of detail requirements. Customized invoice formats can be provided to fit your particular needs.

 

Bluegrass provides the most flexible invoice printing imaginable:

 

	Print invoices on letterhead or custom forms.
	Control what prints on the invoice, for example:
	List materials and show price.
	List materials but no price.
	Do not list materials.

But the Bluegrass solution doesn’t stop with invoicing and work orders, there are many valuable reports provided, such as:

 

Open Work Orders-Shows all un-billed work orders and dispatched status code. This allows for tracking of all closed work orders to ensure that invoices do not get skipped because some on forgot to turn in the paper work.

 

Recap by Technician-Evaluate your technicians based on facts. The Recap by Technician reports gives you hours spent and profits picture by technician. You can even exclude types of service, such as callbacks, that would distort the profit picture, yet account for all hours worked. Easily linked to Excel to present information in a chart of graft format.

 

Customer History-Prints hours, work requested and work performed for any time period for any service site. The option to include or exclude dollars makes this a report that can be given to your customer.

 

WIP report-Shows revenue and cost for jobs in process.

 

Lead Source-Allows you to see where your advertising dollars are the most effective.

 

Recap by Type of Service-Do you know what type of work is making you the most money, or what type of work you should discontinue? Do you know how much money you have made this year on a particular customer? Even if the preventative maintenance does not have as high a margin as you would like, maybe be billable service makes up for it. The Recap by Type of Service gives you this type of information. Multiple selection criteria allows for filtering of the information, allowing you to see all work done ever done for a specific customer, or you can ask for all work done for all customers for a date range.

 

Recap by Salesman-Gives you the tools to measure salesman performance. Easily linked to Excel to produce comparisons in chart and graft format.

 

Customer History by Unit-Prints hours, work requested and work performed for any time period for any service site, by piece of equipment. The option to include or exclude dollars makes this a report that can be given to your customer. Makes a great sales tool to justify replacing older equipment and is becoming a necessary value added part of your service to your customer. Information from this report can be made available to your customer from your web site.

	Multiple labor rates
	Labor rate and material markup per customer
	Multiple dates
	Limitless descriptions
	Flat rate pricing
	Contract prices
	Direct distribution to payroll
	Partial billings, with automatic creation of new work order
	Allows for discounts- either pre-set or on the fly.
	Overhead and profit percent per customer
	Rental invoices
	Multiple work order per invoice.
	Flat Rate or quoted price invoices

	Updates inventory by stock, job, and truck
	Transfers material from purchase order to work order
	Creates new customers automatically
	Creates new jobs automatically
	Maintains total equipment and customer history, (including warranty), by job, location, and equipment.
	Warns if work order already on file—no duplicate entries
	Provides numerous work order and invoice formats
	Tracks serial numbers
	Allows unlimited descriptions.
	Support Flat Rate Prices.
	Labor rates may vary by the skill level attached to the technician.
	Material mark up vary based on the price of the material and the customer.
	Unlimited comments on the invoice at both the header and line levels.
	Accepts most flat rate pricing databases.
	Automatic billing for service contracts that are pre-billed.
	Laser invoice option allows printing of user defined number of invoice copies marked as original, duplicate file, etc.
	Work Orders include all tasks and parts in checklist form.
	Standard inspection codes, tasks and parts list.
	Contract details with almost unlimited flexibility.
	Generate invoices.
	Time and Cost per task are totaled.
	Capability to create your own formats for Contract Renewal forms.
	Automatic scheduling of planned service with Capability to identify tasks to be completed.
	Contract calendar for planned service and billing cycles.
	Contract Administration functions for expiration, profit, detail, pricing, and marketing.
	Technician Activity/Profitability Reporting
	ODBC option provides the Capability to create customized reports.

	Multiple Dispatch Boards.
	NEW!!! Includes new bid analysis
	Allows editing of date and time stamp.
	Update payroll and billing when a work order is closed.
	Creates Inventory requisition and prints ticket.
	Assigns your calls using drag and drop.
	Allows each dispatcher to view only their service calls.
	Displays adjustable time slots from 15min to multiple days.
	Provides scheduling of installation jobs in days instead of minutes.
	Other interfaces are available.
	Laser invoice option allows printing of user defined number of invoice copies marked as original, duplicate file, etc.
	Short cut menus.
	Indicates credit problem of AR customers.
	Tracks requests for quotes and prints proposals.
	Allows scheduling on the spot or automatically updates dispatch.
	Sets up job automatically.
	"Gross profitability reports" by tech
	Multiple pricing rates for labor, material and other charges.
	Default prices may be adjusted on an item-by-item basis.
	Supports flat rate pricing.
	Custom-tailored formatting controls level of detail and information on invoice.
	Unlimited pieces of equipment per customer locations.
	Ticket Status includes reports and inquiry of Open Unassigned, Hold, Not Complete, and Complete.
	User-defined electronic dispatch board, allowing you to identify the information you wish to view on the board for each service call.
	Dispatch Board display options by Technician, Date, Problem, Data Range, and Zone.
	Billing from labor may be computed from start/stop times or entered from the dispatch display.
	Customer Purchase Order numbers maybe reflected on billed invoice.
	Material and parts used are priced and relieved from inventory with full reporting.
	Unique labor rates and material mark-ups can be established for a specific customer contract.
	Work done during a call is referenced with comment and detail.
	Capability to include or exclude material covered under an agreement by material category.
	Accounts Receivable, Inventory, General Ledger, and Payroll are automatically updated.
	Capability to create your own invoice formats for Service Billing or Contract Billing.
	Detailed history of what has been in the past at a customer’s facility (by each piece of equipment if desired).
	Capability to dispatch multiple technicians to a service call.
	Tracks all incoming service  calls with link-up by customer, name, number, address, phone, service address, phone, contract number, and zip code.
	Immediate view of customer balance with optional review of invoice/payment and service history.
	Customer Profile offers equipment, special instructions, site direction, and contract coverage.
	‘Windows’ review of daily schedule boards during dispatch functions.
	Problem summary and scratchpad information is accepted for reference on the work order.
	Prints a ticket at time of call or later (or not) with a ticket number that may become an invoice number.
	Alarm option for excessive response time alerts dispatch to potential problem.
	Contract definitions for coverage and rate of parts, labor and travel.
	Capability to enter a Purchase Order from a Dispatch Board against a specific work order for purchase parts, with automatic interface to customer billing.
	Capability to generate a follow-up call in Call Management as a reminder to call the customer and verify satisfaction level of service rendered.
	Capability to send dispatch information to field technicians from the dispatch board via alphanumeric paging or PDA.
	Capability to view reports on the display in addition to printing.
	Invoice and PDA can draw on pre-defined descriptions, which can be modified for a specific proposal

 

	Easy way to generate a professional proposal.
	Can easily be updated as status changes.
	Can create detailed customized proposal.
	Capability to access information from other databases.
	Option to enter summary or detailed proposal.
	Option to link to Estimating.
	Fully integrated to setup Work Orders and Service Contracts.
	Proposals can be generated from Work Orders.
	Text and Line-item formats.
	No limit to the number of formats defined.
	Boilerplate entries are user-defined
	Separate Proposal database serves as a marketing tool.
	Each Proposal can be tracked by status.
	On acceptance of Proposal, Work Order or Proposals can be generated from Work Orders.
	Links to Act, Goldmine and other management software.
	Links to Bluegrass Contact Management Program

	Purchase Orders
	Accounts Receivable
	Inventory
	Job Management
	Estimating

 It All Checks Out!

Discover the Bluegrass Difference…

 

Bluegrass Technology, Inc.

1-800-784-9669

Visit Our Website:

 www.bluegrasstech.com

 sales@bluegrasstech.com