Work Order Required Resources may consist of Inventoried Materials (for which an Inventory Item record exists) and Miscellaneous Materials (for which no Inventory Item exists).
Most Inventoried materials will be requisitioned from your main stocking location via a Stop Transfer Order. If these items are not currently on hand, a backorder situation will be generated. From this point, a set of procedures are used to identify, purchase and receive these items. Work Orders whose items have been fully received will be released (changing their status from Waiting Parts to Waiting Service), and have their items transferred from the staging area to the Technician’s truck. When the work order is completed, a usage wizard is invoked to move the required items that have actually be used onto the Work Order Material and Other tabs for costing and billing purposes.
Material Requisitioning is a separate module. You must obtain a vrgstry.cus file from Data-Basics with Requisitioning Enabled if it was not part of your initial software purchase.
Requisitioning for Work Orders and/or Quotes must also be enabled in the global settings registry: Registry Option to Enable Required Resources
Run Start Update Functions List if a database conversion was not triggered by the new image.
Provide access to the following functions to the appropriate User Groups.
Start Materials Requisitioning (fulfillment)
Start Back Order Filling (procurement)
Print Transfer Ticket (procurement)
Record Transfer Ticket (procurement)
Start Release Work Orders (fulfillment)
Start Tech Material Pickup
The Registry Entry Start Backorder Filling must be completed.
Material Requisitioning users should also see Registry Entry Shop Order for setting the default stocking and staging locations.
The registry setting to implement the Import Cost Wizard is included in Registry Option for Import Costs Wizard .
To set the Import Required Resources File Path see Workorder option to set Import Required Resource default directory.
Box 1: Add Items to the Work Order Required Resources tab.
Required Resources can be added to the Work Order in a variety of fashions:
- New Call (via the Required Resource button)
- Create PM Work Orders (from flagged Required Parts)
- Quote Approval Wizard
- Work Order Viewer – Import Flat Rate
- Work Order Viewer – Manual Entry on Required Resources Tab
Currently, Work Order Required Resources may consist of Inventoried Materials (for which an Inventory Item record exists), Miscellaneous Materials (for which no Inventory Item exists) and Other Rate items.
Note: The Report Work Order Required Requisitions may be run to list items included on the required resource tab of work orders that are not on hold and have not been requisitioned (e.g., have either a shop order id or a po id on the line).
Box 2: Inventory?
If the Required Resource tab includes only inventoried items, the batch processing in Box 3 may be invoked.
If non-inventories materials and other items are included on the Required Resources tab, the Work Order must be handled on an individual basis as discussed in Box 2.a using the Materials Requisition button.
Box 3. Start Materials Requisitioning
This function should be run in order to generate the Shop Transfer Orders needed to move un-requisitioned stock (on the Require Resource tabs of Work Orders) from your Stocking to Staging Locations. See Start Materials Requistioning for details.
Box 4: In Stock?
If all inventoried items are in stock, you may proceed with the printing of Transfer Tickets in step 5. You may wish to run the Reorder Advice report to determine your inventory stock status.
Box 4a: Generate Purchase Orders
Generate purchase orders to buy items backordered (by the Shop Transfer Orders) to your stocking location. Distribute your PO’s to your Vendors as usual. You may wish to use the Reorder Advice Report to help you do so.
Box 4b: Inventory Receipts
Receive your inventory to your Stocking Location when it arrives.
Box 4c: Start Backorder Filling
Run this function to release allocated stock so that it may be transferred to your Staging Location. This function may be configured by the registry entry discussed in Registry Entry Start Backorder Filling.
Box 5: Print Transfer Ticket
Print the Transfer Tickets that will move your items from the Stocking to the Staging location.
Box 6: Record Transfer Tickets
This records the movement of items from your Stocking to the Staging Location. The Unit Cost from the stocking location is written to the staging location by this function. This cost will be used by the Tech Material Transfer function.
Box 7: Start Release Work Orders
This function changes the status of eligible work orders from Waiting Parts to the default initial status for the technician. See Start Release Work Orders for details.
Box 8: Start Tech Material Pickup
This starter function enables the transfer of inventory from a STAGING Location to a TRUCK Location prior to starting a work order. See Start Tech Material Pickup for details.
Box 9: Import Cost Wizard
See Import Cost Wizard for details.
Location Viewer:
Your location records must include a main stocking location for inventory receipts, and a staging location that will be used to stage materials that will be assigned to a technician’s truck. If you are running this functionality under branches or security, stocking and staging locations should be created for each Branch / Security id. Note that for the staging locations, the Include Reorder Advice Report box must be blank.
Example 1: No Security or Branches
Location Records:
Id: Name: Include on Reorder Advice Report?
Main Main Stocking Yes (Include on Report box checked)
Stage Staging No (Include on Report box blank)
Example 2: Branches 01 and 02
Location Records:
Id: Name: Include on Reorder Advice Report:
01Main Branch 01 Stocking Yes (Include on Report box checked)
01Stage Branch 02 Staging No (Include on Report box blank)
02Main Branch 01 Stocking Yes (Include on Report box checked)
02Stage Branch 02 Staging No (Include on Report box blank)
Inventory Item Viewer:
The Start Generate Purchase Orders function uses the Vendor Id on the Inventory Item’s Purchasing tab. This field should be completed for all items that might be requisitioned.
A ‘placeholder’ inventory item record is used by the system when shop transfers orders are auto-generated. When creating this item for Required Parts, the user must select an Inventory Group which has the “GL WIP Account” Set up as an inventory account - not a cost of sales account. With the Requisitioning functionality, when the items are transferred and then IMPORTED back into the workorder, the system creates a GL Journal Entry. If this was to a cost of sales account during the Import processes (for WO Inventory items) it would result in double costing.
Work Order Viewer:
On the Work Order Required Resource tab, the Date Required field has now been implemented as a required field. This field is used / set in conjunction with the following functions:
1. Generate PM WOs now sets the Date Required to the same date as the WO's Date Scheduled.
2. Start Material Requisition used these as a 'key' field and posts it into the Shop Order’s Date Required.
3. The WO viewer's RR wizard used it when creating of both POs and Shop Orders.
If a Flat Rate is imported (with Required Resource processing enabled), the Date on the Flat Import window will be used to set the Date Required on the Required Resource tab. If an inventory item is on the flat rate, the Description is now set from the Inventory Item Name.
The Create PO button launches the Purchase Order viewer to allow PO’s to be generated for this work order for items that are not on the Required Resource tab.
When this button is clicked, the required resource wizard is launched to allow creation of PO’s for non-inventory items listed on the Required Resource tab. The user should complete both the Vendor and Location fields in the Wizard viewer so the Purchase Order will be correctly configured. This function skips inventory UNLESS a Vendor Id has been specified. This provides a means of creating POs for special order/pricing inventory. Note that the Start Material Requisitioning function must be used to generate Stock Transfer Orders for Inventory Lines that do not specify a Vendor. When this Wizard is invoked, the system defaults the Location from the Work Order header. This Location can be overridden by the user, but can never be blank.
In previous releases, when miscellaneous (non-inventory) items entered on the Required Resource Tab of the work order where processed through the WO's RR Wizard button, the Misc. Inventory Group's Asset account was assigned on the Purchase Order; since there items were destined for the work order and not stock, selecting an Asset account was NOT appropriate.
The following hierarchy is used to derive the GL Account on Purchase Order General lines generated by this function:
If the Cost Category has an Expense Account use it (whether or not an Other Rate is specified).
If the Cost Category does not include a GL Expense and Other Rate is specified, the Expense Account defaults from the Other Rate's Debit Account.
If the Cost Category does not included a GL Expense Account, and the Other Rate is blank, use the Vendor's Default Expense Account (if set).
If none of the above specifies the GL Account, the GL Expense Account (if completed) from the MISC Inventory Group is used. If this is blank, the Asset Account from the MISC is used.
Importing Required Resources From a Spreadsheet or JCH
See Import RR From Spreadsheet for details.
See Import RR from JCH for details.
Start Create PM WOs:
This enhancement occurs when Work Order Required Resources is turned on AND a Work Order is created with Required Resources (by specifying a PM Parts list and checking the desired parts types on the Client Site Equipment PM line or in Master Contract). In this situation, the status of the Work Order Technician Tab row created is set to Waiting Parts instead of the default status for that type of technician.