Attaching Parts to Agreements

One of the questions we get on a regular basis is where to enter the filter sizes and other required parts you'll need to perform preventative maintenance for your customers. ESC is designed to handle this by associating parts with agreements, so when the dispatch is actually created the part will appear on it and can even be ordered in advance. This is a great feature but it is not immediately obvious to a lot of people, so let me walk you through exactly how this works.

The first step is to actually attach the parts you will need to the agreement itself. This can be accomplished by recalling an existing agreement. To do this, click the Agreement pull-down menu and select Agreement List. Use the search field at the top of the screen to quickly find the agreement you want to modify and then double click it to edit.

Go to the Schedule tab and click on the task that needs parts. Click Modify Selected Item, then click the Task Details tab at the top of the screen. This is where you can associate sub-tasks as well as parts and tools required to complete the task. Click the Parts tab in the middle of the screen and enter the parts and quantities you'll need to perform the work.

Click OK to save the parts and repeat this procedure with any of the other tasks associated with the agreement, if required. Please note that the parts you enter here will be associated to the dispatch each time this task posts. So if you need to use different parts on different visits, be sure to use multiple tasks on the agreement and schedule them for different dates. Save the agreement when you are finished.

Now if a dispatch is created for that agreement, when you go to the Agreement pull-down menu and select Post Schedule to Dispatch, it will have the parts you associated with that task there as well. You can see this illustrated in the screen shot below.

These parts can print on your dispatch tickets and will flow automatically to the invoice on the mobile clients. This should ensure that your technicians always have the parts they needs to complete the task.

It is worth noting that parts entered in this fashion are considered to be part of the original price of the agreement. This means that they will show on the dispatch with a price of zero. This will ultimately carry over to the invoice that is created from the dispatch so it will relieve your inventory and track the cost of these items as well.

This feature can also make ordering the parts you need for these dispatches extremely easy. After posting your agreement dispatches, click on the Agreement pull-down menu and select Order Parts for Posted Dispatches. Once there, you can automatically create purchase orders for all the parts you need to complete the dispatches created after the date you enter.

Written by Eric Rausin
Featured in April 2012 Newsletter