Preparation

OBJECTIVE

The Preparation function is used to check items to be invoiced, the amounts to be invoiced to customers and to group all items entered in Return From a Service Call and Distribute Hours on a single invoice.

The values in the additional fields can be copied from one screen to another as long as the name of the variable for the additional field is the same for all the screens. If a value exists in the option "return from a service call," it will be transferred to preparation. Otherwise, maestro* searches for a value in the call. In the case where many call returns occur for the same call, maestro* displays the value of the last return. For all contracts, if the following fields are empty: Invoicing Method, Table, Mark-up Rate or Miscellaneous Charges. Maestro* reads the customer record to find the information.

 

PREREQUISITE

• Service Dispatch
• Return From a Service Call
• Distribute Hours

 

ICONS

Preparation Icons

Only the non-self-explanatory icons or those with special features are defined in the table below.

Icon	Title	Used to
	Print (CTRL+P)	Print the Preparation. With the help of the icon’s dropdown menu, it is also possible to print, based on user permissions, the Cost and Selling Report and the Completed Invoices List.
	Documents	Displays documents in Document Management.
	Display Customer Master Screen	Displays the Maintenance of client file screen.
	Open Contract Management	Displays the Contract Management screen.
	Service Call Inquiry	Displays the Service Call Inquiry screen.
	Allows you to close a call	User can close the current call.
	Recalculate Table (F9)	User can recalculate the amounts in the breakdown section.
	Recalculate Miscellaneous Charges	User can recalculate the miscellaneous costs.
	Recalculate the selling prices	User can recalculate the selling costs, when the Invoicing Method is set to Use the Customer Pricing Table in Contract Management.
	Configuration	User can configure the fields used for the invoicing details.
	Quotation Inquiry	Provides access to the service quotation from which the call was created in order to bill the customer per the initial agreement. NOTE: The icon only appears if the Service Quotation option is installed and can be clicked when a quotation is linked to the call.

 

Steps

maestro* > Service Management > Service Management > Invoicing > Preparation

 

Preparing an Invoice or a Call

You can click the Configuration icon to configure the information that will be used as the details for invoicing purposes and that will be printed in the Invoice details memo field. If you click the Print icon, you can print various confirmation reports. For example: Preparation, Cost-Sale and Completed Invoices List. Only the cost/sale report and the Completed invoices List display the items to be invoiced. To print, simply select a transaction and select the report to be printed.

1. Enter the required information in the Details tab:

Fields followed by the * character are mandatory fields.

 

Field	Description
Call Number*	Code of the call to be prepared for invoicing.
Date*	Posting date of the invoice.
Invoicing status for the call	Available values: Final Tells maestro* that the call is invoiced in full. Partial Tells maestro* that the call is partially invoiced.
Invoicing Method	Defaults from the Default Billing Mode in the Billing Information option of Configuration, indicatinghow lines in the invoice breakdown should be generated. NOTES: You can switch from one invoicing method to another as long as the invoice has not been approved and transferred. A visit is a return from a service call. Grouping of amounts does not apply to items to be invoiced unless you are using the Detailed by Type invoicing method. Available values: Detailed Invoices all details of visits related to the call, as entered in the return from a service call. Per Call Invoices the call based on visits made. Maestro* displays an amount grouped by income type (material or labour) for each visit. Summary Invoices the call in summary form, regardless of the number of visits made. Maestro*displays an amount grouped by income type (material or labour) for the call. Detailed by Type Invoices the call in summary form, regardless of the number of visits made. Maestro*displays the details of the invoice by grouping the transactions based on the various income types for each section (material, labour, sub-contractors, miscellaneous, equipment). Detailed by Visit by Type Invoices the call in summary form, regardless of the number of visits made. Maestro*displays the details of the invoice by grouping the transactions firstly based on visits, and then based on the various income types for each section (material, labour, sub-contractors, miscellaneous, equipment).
Lump Sum	If this is a maintenance call then this will display the lump sum amount to be invoiced based on the agreement with the customer when the call is entered or when there is an amount in the Visit tab in Contract Managementunder the comprehensive amount column.
Amount Prepared	Indicates whether the amount has already been invoiced or not.
Call Status	User can specify and/or change the status of the call. NOTE: Only calls with a status of Active, Pending and Final may be charged.
Additional Info.	Two areas allow displaying the values of additional fields entered in the service contracts, service calls, or in the customer file. Use the drop-down menu to choose the source of the information and click on the icon to choose the information to display.

 

User can configure the two Additional Info boxes to display information from Service Contracts and/or Service Calls by clicking the icon in the upper right corner of the screen and by selecting the source of the additional information. This information is provided for informational purposes only and cannot be printed.

1. Breakdown tab:

This tab displays the information entered in Return From a Service Call. If errors are discovered, the corrections must be made in this option (Return From a Service Call). If a call is closed, it must be reopened to make the corrections.

Field	Description
Code	Code for the activity or item to be invoiced.
Description	Description of the labour activity or item. NOTE: User can change the text of the description for the invoice.
Status	Used to specify whether the detail line should be invoiced (1-Billable), 8-not billable (8- Non-Billable) or put on hold for later invoicing (9-Next Invoice). NOTE: Items with the status of 8-Non-Billable are not displayed during invoicing. It the item must be displayed on the invoice, a reason for not invoicing (Reason for N/C) must be entered.
Quantity	Displays the quantity entered in the Duration/Quantity field in Return From a Service Call. NOTE: Corrections to quantities must be made in Return From a Service Call by adding or creating a negative entry. If changes must be made to hours and the pay week has ended, it is best to consult with the user responsible for payroll to ensure the correction is made in the right week.
Unit Cost	Displays the unit cost entered in Return From a Service Call.
Quantity Invoiced	Used to enter the quantity to be invoiced to the customer. NOTE: This quantity may differ from the Quantity field.
Unit Price Invoiced	Displays the unit selling price by default. NOTE: To determine the source of the applicable selling price, refer to the appendix. The unit price invoiced is rounded based on the number of decimal places defined in the Number of Decimals – Price field in Configuration - Invoicing, Sale tab.
Discount %	Discount percentage, if applicable.
Amount	Displays the value of invoiced quantities multiplied by the unit price.
Reason for N/C	Reason for non-billable (not chargeable) item. NOTE: This field must be completed if it contains items with the 8-Liability status that must be printed on the invoice.
Material	Item code. NOTE: This field is provided for information purposes only and is based on information entered in return from a service call.
Unit	Conversion unit (for information purposes only).
Site	Site of the material (for information purposes only). For example, the technician's truck.
Location	Location of the material (for information purposes only). For example, section A-1 of the technician's truck.
Characteristic	Characteristic of the item (for information purposes only).
Identification	Identification of the item (for information purposes only).
Reservation No.	Reservation number (for information purposes only).
Group	Expense group.
Employee	Employee code (for information purposes only).
Employee's Name	Name of the employee who performed the work (for informational purposes only).
Bonus	Bonus code for the employee (for information purposes only) if applicable.
Trade	Trade code of the employee (for information purposes only).
Total Amount	Total amount of the invoice before taxes.

2. Item to invoice tab:

This tab contains the items to be invoiced from Contract Management and any miscellaneous charges if a miscellaneous charges table is linked to the contract or customer. The user can also add additional items to be invoiced to the customer in this tab manually.

Field	Description
Code	Item code from Catalogue Management if inventory is managed or from Define Materials if inventory is not managed. NOTE: The Status field for the item must be set to Sale.
Description	Description of the selected item code.
Quantity	Quantity to be invoiced for the item.
U.P.	Unit selling price for the item to be invoiced.
Tax 1 & Tax 2	Applicable tax codes. NOTES: If a formula to use tax codes has been configured in the Define Tax Code Usage option for the Service Call Invoicing transaction type, the tax columns will not be visible because the taxes will be determined by parameters that will be known at the time of invoicing. To determine the source of the tax code and applicable tax rates, refer to help on Reading Tax Codes in maestro*.
Amount to Invoice	Amount to Invoice.
Revenue Type	Type of revenue to be invoiced. NOTE: The revenue type affects the defined general ledger income account based on the accounts defined in Configuration.
Type of charges	Identifies the source of the charges to be invoiced. Available values: Item to be Invoiced Items from the Item to be Invoiced tab. Miscellaneous Charges Items from the calculation from the Miscellaneous Charges table specified in Contract Management.   The miscellaneous charges are not recalculated automatically if the items are added to an existing call. In this case, you must recalculate miscellaneous charges by clicking the Recalculate Miscellaneous Charges Items icon. If you do not recalculate, the previous amounts will be invoiced without taking changes into consideration. NOTE: If the field is left blank, the expense type is considered as an item to be invoiced by default.
Cost Price	Displays the Standard purchase price for the items to be invoiced, if the Calculate the cost of the items to invoice, for the Cost and Selling Report configuration is checked. Otherwise, this column is not available. NOTES: The cost is provided for information purposes and cannot be changed by the user. The items to be invoiced can be from the Return from a Service Call. In this case, the cost is the price that was in effect when the Return from a Service Call was entered. If the item to be invoiced is entered in the preparation, the cost is the standard purchase price in effect when the preparation was entered. To recalculate the cost of an item already entered, you must delete the item and re-enter it in the grid.

2. Contract Details tab: Used to view contract agreements in the Detail section of Contract Management.
3. Invoicing Details tab: Used to enter billing information. This information can be printed on the invoice.

Text can be entered manually or be taken from Define Types of Visits by pressing the F7 key.

4. The Quotations tab displays information related to the quotations created through the current service call.

The Quotations tab is only displayed if the Service Quotation option is activated in maestro*.

5. Click Save.

The icon can be clicked to close items that should not be invoiced. Calls can always be reopened if necessary.

 

See also

• Catalogue Management
• Define Materials
• Customer Management
• Configuration
• Contract Management
• Cost and Selling Report
• How to Reading Tax Codes in maestro*
• How to Completed Invoices List

 

APPENDIX

Reading to determine a selling price

The selling price can be set in different locations in maestro* depending on the nature of the transaction to be invoiced (hours, equipment or material).

In the service management module, the contract created in contract management provides the ability to associate the invoicing tables for the hours (labour), equipment, material and miscellaneous charges.

This information will be used in the preparation to calculate the selling price of each transaction entered in Return from a Service Call or in the Distribute hours option.

As soon as a selling price is found based on the reading priority for selling prices, maestro* applies this price to the transaction. However, users can change these values during the preparation stage.

If no table is specified in Contract Management, maestro* checks whether tables were specified in Customer Management, in the Billing Information tab. If tables have been found, they will be used to calculate the selling prices.

For information on creating invoicing tables, refer to help (F1) of the Invoicing Rate Table option.

 

Invoicing Method: By Activity

The activity-based invoicing method (defined in Contract Management) is used to define a selling price based on the activity entered in a Return from a Service Call or the Distribute Hours option.

The activity-based invoicing table is from the Invoicing Rate Table option and is available in the Activity-Based Invoicing tab.

Reading of the selling price by priority for the activity-based invoicing method:

• Rate specified in the Invoicing Table defined in Contract Management.
• Rate specified in the Activity Invoicing Table defined in Customer Management.
• Invoicing Rate specified in Define Activities.
• Selling rate specified in Employee Management, Other Modules tab.
• Invoicing Rate for Labour specified in Configuration in the Service Management module.

In the activity-based invoicing method, the rate invoiced is adjusted based on regular time, half time or double time.

 

Invoicing Method: By Category

The category-based invoicing method (defined in Contract Management) is used to define a selling price based on the employment category (from the Service Management module) of the employee.

The category-based invoicing table is from the Invoicing Rate Table option and is available in the Category-Based Invoicing tab.

Reading of the selling price by priority for the category-based invoicing method:

• Rate specified in the Invoicing Table defined in Contract Management.
• Rate specified in the Category Invoicing Table defined in Customer Management.
• Selling rate specified in Define Service Occupation of the Service Management module.
• Selling rate specified in Employee Management, Other Modules section.
• Invoicing Rate for Labour specified in Configuration in the Service Management module.

If no rate time for time-and-a-half or double time is found in the category-based invoicing table or in the employment category, maestro* displays the selling price at regular time.

 

Determining a selling price for equipment hours

To invoice for equipment time, an equipment table must be associated with the contract in Contract Management.

The equipment table is from the Invoicing Rate Table option and is available in the Equipment tab.

If no table is defined in the contract, the selling price for the equipment will not be determined by maestro*. The user must therefore enter the selling price manually during preparation.

 

Determining a selling price to invoice material

There are several ways to calculate the selling price for the material:

• By marking up the cost by a predetermined percentage
• By applying a discount to the list price

To facilitate the application of these calculations, a markup table used to invoice the material can be defined in Contract Management. This table is used to define a selling price for the material entered in Return from a Service Call.

The material markup table does not apply to items to be invoiced. The markup table is from Invoicing Rate Table option and is available in the Material Markup tab.

Reading of the selling price by priority to invoice the material:

• Rate specified in the Markup Table defined in Contract Management.
• Rate specified in the Markup Rate defined in Customer Management, Billing Information tab, Invoicing Rate Tables section.
• Invoicing Rate for Material specified in Configuration in the Service Management module, General section.
• Selling Price specified in Catalogue Management (or in Define Materials, if the Inventory module is not installed).
• Determining miscellaneous charges to be added to the preparation

Reading of miscellaneous charges to be added to the preparation by priority:

• Items specified in the Miscellaneous Charges defined in Contract Management
• Items specified in the Miscellaneous Charges table defined in Customer Management, Billing Information tab, Invoicing Rate Tables section.

If no miscellaneous charges table is found, no miscellaneous charges will be added to the preparation.

 

Last modification: September 20, 2024