Estimating Service Agreement Costs

The Estimate tab of the Agreement screen allows you to enter in your estimated costs and use those estimates to calculate a Contract price. The information entered here can then be moved over the agreement Invoice tab automatically, allowing you to create invoices on the time schedule you like.

Note: You do NOT need to use the Estimates screen to create service agreement invoices. The Estimating function is completely optional.

Estimating Agreement Costs 

1. Open the Agreement List and open the agreement you wish to edit (or click the Add Agreement button to start a new agreement). 
   
   
   
   
2. Move to the Estimate tab.
3. Under the Item field, select the items you'll need to perform the required service (filters, chemicals, etc.). As you select items, you'll see the Description and Cost fields fill in automatically.  Make sure to set the Quantity of each item for the total number that will be needed for the Contract Period.  
   If you have already added Parts to the Tasks under the Schedule tab, you can move those parts right over to the Estimates tab by clicking the Import Parts button.  The Quantity will automatically be set for the number of each item needed for the entire Contract Period.
   You'll also want to add in your estimated Labor hours with a Labor Billing Code; and any other fees or costs that may not be accounted for with inventory items.
4. If the item(s) does not have a Cost recorded at this time, or you wish to assign a different cost, you can manually enter that now.
   
   
   
   
5. As you add line items, the Bill Amount field at the end will automatically populate the amount to be billed based on the Markup Percent field at the bottom of the screen.  If Markup Percent is set to 0, no Bill Amount will be generated and you can manually enter an amount instead.
   
   
   
   
6. Once you are satisfied with the items and amounts entered, you may transfer your items to the Invoice tab for billing by clicking the Transfer to Invoice button.
   
   
   
   
7. In the Transfer Estimate to the Invoice box, set your Begin Invoicing On date.  This is the date on which ESC can begin generating invoices for this customer.  
   Note: This will not be the date of an invoice nor the date on which one is generated.  This is simply a cut-off date that ensures the customer does not get an invoice prematurely.
8. Select the schedule on which the customer will be invoiced by clicking the Type of Invoicing Schedule drop-down menu.
   
   
   
   
9. The Notes field provided will be what shows on the invoice as the Description of the Agreement items.
10. Click OK and you will automatically be switched to the Invoice tab of the agreement, where you'll be able to see the break down generated by the Estimates tab.
    
    

As you place products in the list, your estimated costs will accumulate in the totaling area at the bottom of the screen. In addition, as you create invoices using the Service Agreement module, your actual costs per line item will also appear, allowing you to see the breakdown of your costs and estimated costs.

Recalculate Estimated Costs

Prior to renewing an agreement you might want to recalculate the cost of the parts and labor you need to service the agreement. This can be helpful to ensure you are making the profit you want on the agreement. Clicking the Recalculate Estimated Cost button will cause all the costs on this screen to be updated with the current average cost of the parts and billing codes used on it. Once the costs have been updated you can use the Transfer to Invoice function to update the price of the agreement as well.