Update Equipment Through Invoices

Did you know that ESC has the ability to post inventory parts that you sell to customers directly to their permanent equipment record? This can be very helpful in recording what equipment a customer has purchased from you along with important information about the equipment, like serial number, model number, manufacturer, install date and more.

There is some setup involved in making this happen, but you only have to do it once per part. After the part has been setup, it will automatically post to that customer’s equipment list every time it is used on an invoice.

Let’s look at how to set this up. Head to Item List>Add>Inventory Part. Recall an existing part or create a new one just like any other inventory part. Now change the Post to Equip field to Yes.

Once you do this you will want to fill out as much information regarding the equipment as you can in the Manufacturer tab at the bottom of the Inventory Entry screen. There are four main fields that should be filled out:

• Manufacturer - This is the Manufacturer of the part. The pull down info comes from Enter Manufacturer List screen (Customer Info | Enter Manufacturer List). You can choose a manufacturer from the list or enter one manually.
• Model - This is a free form field where you can enter the model of the part.
• Type - This field allows you to classify the part as a certain type of equipment. Keep the types generic so you can easily find all customers that have that type of equipment, regardless of manufacturer or model. The pull down info comes from the list created in the Enter Equipment Type screen (Customer Info → Enter Equipment Types).
• Warranty (months) - Enter the number of months this part is covered by warranty after it has been installed.

Once the part has been saved it will update the customer’s equipment record every time it is placed on an invoice.

When the part is added to an invoice, you will be prompted to enter a warranty expiration date. The date will automatically be calculated by adding the number of warranty months to the invoice date. You will have the option to change the date at this point if you are selling an extended warranty or need to adjust it for other reasons. The invoice date itself will be used for the installation date of the equipment.

If you add a serialized part to the invoice the serial number you select will appear in the equipment record as well. You can even add a serial number to a stock part after the invoice has been saved by recalling the customer on the Qualification screen (F3), double clicking the part and entering the serial number manually. This can be great if you want to track serial numbers after the part is sold but don’t have the time or resources to track them from an inventory standpoint.

In the event you sell more than one of the same part on an invoice, ESC will not duplicate the part in the equipment list. Instead, ESC will add the quantity sold to the equipment notes. If you need to have different expiration dates for each part or want them to show as separate lines in the equipment record, simply add the part multiple times on the invoice with the desired quantity.

By taking the time to setup your parts this way you’ll be able to store incredible information about what you’ve sold your customers quickly and easily.

Written by Randy Cole
Featured in August 2009 Newsletter