Return from a Service Call

OBJECTIVE

The Return from a Service Call option is used to enter costs incurred by a call related to the technician’s service work order. The items entered in this option are transferred to Preparation or Invoicing to prepare the invoice.

 

It is important that the information entered in this option reflect the actual cost of the call. Starting with this step, the call number is used rather than the contract number.

It is possible to enter the costs on a call in an Entered status. However, it will be impossible to invoice as long as the call status or the call dispatch is not closed.

 

PREREQUISITEs

 

ICONS

ClosedReturn From a Service Call icons

 

Summary

 

Steps

 

maestro* > Service Management > Service Calls > Processing > Return From a Service Call

 

Enter a return from a service call

  1. Enter a Call Number.

It is also possible to select a return from a service call that has already been entered in the Summary of non-transferred transactions list. Maestro* displays the transactions for all calls in the upper grid of the screen if the Show transactions for the current call or for all calls icon has been clicked. Otherwise, only transactions related to the selected call will be displayed.

 

The information related to the call are displayed in order to verify if the chosen call number corresponds to the site of the work order.

The user can always continue to enter costs for a call with an Entered status. However, it will not be possible to invoice it until the service dispatch or call dispatch is closed.

 

A message is displayed on the screen when the call number is invalid in the following situations:

  • the call does not exist;
  • the call is closed.
  1. Enter the required information in the ClosedDetail tab:

Field

Description

Call Number

Call number to which the costs should be allocated.

Visit Date

Date on which the work was performed.

NOTE: This date is very important for accounting purposes. It must be within an open period. Additionally, if the return from a service call is used to manage technicians’ hours, it may affect the payroll.

Work Order

Work order number.

Service Done By

Name of the technician who performed the work.

NOTE: If several technicians were involved in the work, we recommend entering the first technician and then entering the others when you enter information in the Breakdown section.

Truck inventory

Indicate the truck used by the technician, when this truck contains an inventory of parts used for the call.

Maestro* may suggest a truck by default according to the priority of:

  • Equipment was added by default to the employee in the Call Dispatch;
  • Equipment was linked to the employee in Employee Management.

Site

Used to specify the location from which consigned equipment must be taken in the return from a service call, if sites are managed with the Purchasing module.

Maestro* can suggest a default site if the following conditions are met:

  • A default equipment code is defined in Employee Management in the Service Management module.
  • A site has been defined in Equipment Management, in the Site field of the Service Calls section.

Arrival – Departure

Arrival and departure time of the technician.

Contact

Name of the person who contacted the service department. Comes from the Contract Management.

NOTE: This information can be modified.

Signature Name

Allows you to enter the name of the signatory.

Signature Email

Allows you to enter the email of the signatory.

NOTE: You can enter two emails in this field, just separate them with a semicolon.

Call Status

Status allowing the dispatcher to indicate the progressing of a call by assigning an internal status. For example: assigned, in progress, on the way, etc.

Status

Allows the user to specify to maestro* if the call can accept other costs. It can if it is in Active status.

NOTE: When the status is Completed and the return from a call is transferred, it is no longer possible to enter costs for this call without reopening the call. The call is closed.

If the Status is changed to Completed and the current return form service call is transferred, the call will not be closed if other non-transferred returns or distributions of hours exist for this call. A message will be displayed on the transfer report, indicating that there are other non-transferred transactions.

Contract

Contract number linked to the call.

NOTE: If the call has been assigned to the wrong contract, the contract number can be changed as long as the user has the required access rights for changing the contract in Security Management.

However, it is important to ensure that no costs are entered for this call in the wrong contract. If this is the case, the return from a service call must be entered with a negative value to withdraw the costs assigned to the first contract and they must be re-entered in the right contract.

Accept.

Indicates that the transaction is accepted and can be transferred when at YES.

If the field is empty, it means that the return from a service call might be from maestro*mobile. It is impossible to save modifications in maestro* when the field is empty. By default, the value is Yes for new transactions.

NOTE: It is impossible to transfer a return from a call whose status is at NO.

From

Expiry

Displays the start and expiry dates of the agreement. This information is from Contract Management.

Contract Type

Displays the type of contract defined in Contract Management.

Invoicing Method

Displays the invoicing method defined in Contract Management.

Invoicing Table

Displays the invoicing rate table used to invoice hours. This information is from Contract Management.

Markup Table

Displays the invoicing table used to invoice material. This information is from Contract Management.

Lump Sum

Lump sum amount for the call.

NOTE: This amount can be from Contract Management for a maintenance call or from Enter Service Call if a lump sum amount was entered in the field provided for this purpose.

Customer Code

Customer to be invoiced from Customer Management.

NOTE: By default, the customer displayed is the one identified in Contract Management. By changing the customer code to be invoiced, the customer will be updated in the call and used in the Preparation and Invoicing options.

Contact No

Contact number associated to the contract.

Location

Location in which the work is carried out.

NOTE: By default, the address displayed is from the Enter a Service Call option if it has been modified. Otherwise, the address is from Contract Management.

It is possible to change the work address for a call by choosing one of the following types of addresses:

  • the contract address
  • a contact address from Contact Management
  • a customer address from Define Customer Addresses

In the latter case, only addresses linked to the selected customer code and for which the Shipping Address box is checked are visible in the selection screen.

Selection

Allows the selection of a location from the proposed list according to the choice made in the Location field.

 

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

  1. ClosedBreakdown section:

The hours and equipment must be entered on separate breakdown lines.

Maestro* makes the the changing of date for same type lines easier. For example, is a user changes the date on a material line, the system will offer to modify the date of all non-transferred material lines, all without bothering the labour, equipment, or transferred lines.

The hours will be transferred to the project identified in Contract Management if the Transfer Payroll Hours field in Configuration is set to Both or Return From visit.

The hours can be transferred to Hours or Hours – Invoicing according to the Hours Destination field in Configuration.

Equipment hours are automatically transferred to Hours entry regardless of the setting in the Destination of hours field in Configuration (General section).

The material can be transferred to inventory or not depending on the Material Transfer Method field in Configuration (General section).

If the material transfer method is set to Inventory, it is assigned when the return from a service call and inventory-to-project transfer created online are transferred.

 

Field

Description

Posting date

Maestro* enters the return from a service call date (visit date) by default, but a user can modify the date on lines that haven't been transferred yet.

NOTE: The chosen date cannot precede the visit date.

Comment

Comment linked to the line.

To enter a comment, double-click in the Comment column.

Material

Code of the item.

Activity

Code for the activity if hours are entered.

NOTE: If an Equipment Code is entered and an activity is related to it (in either the Equipment Management - Time Management or Equipment Management - Equipment options), the current activity will be replaced by the equipment's Default Activity.

Description

Displays the description of the activity selected in the Activity field if hours are entered or displays the description of the item if the Material field is completed.

Additional description

Represents the descriptions of lines 2 and 3 of an item from the Catalogue Management.

Unit

Conversion unit.

Site

Site for the equipment. For example, the technician's truck.

Location

Location of the equipment. For example, section A-1 of the technician's truck.

Characteristic

Item characteristic.

Identification

Item identification.

NOTE: By pressing F7, the user can select an item with a serial number.

Reservation No.

Reservation number.

NOTE: This number must be entered when the Stock Order from Catalogue is created or when reserving equipment with Inventory Release.

Group

Expense group to which the cost is allocated.

Employee

Name of the employee who performed the work.

Bonus

Bonus code for the employee, if applicable.

Equipment

Code of the equipment used.

NOTE: If the employee is linked to one or more equipment codes in Employee Management, the equipment is added automatically when hours are entered for the employee.

Sector

Sector code for which the work is executed.

NOTE: By default, the sector displayed comes from the Project. If no sector is indicated in the project, maestro* offers the sector indicated in Employee Management.

Trade

The employee’s trade code.

NOTE: By default, displays the trade code specified in the Trades and Unions tab in Employee Management, if applicable.

Years or Level

The employee’s years or level for the selected trade.

NOTE: By default, the apprenticeship year displayed is from Employee Management and is determined based on the Trade Code entered.

Annex

Allows user to determine another level of salary (employee rate) by trade code.

NOTE: The value of the annex is that of the selected project (Project Management) or the one entered in the Employee Management.

Region

Region in which the work was performed.

NOTE: By default, the region displayed is from the Project. If no region is specified in the project, maestro* suggests the region specified in Employee Management.

Union Code

Union code under which the work was performed.

NOTE: Maestro* searches for the default trade code in the following order:

  1. Maestro* first searches in Project Management to determine whether a union code exists for the trade entered.
  2. If none is found, it then searches Define Regions to determine if a union code exists for the trade entered.
  3. If none is found, it then searches Employee Management to determine if a union code exists for the trade entered.
  4. If none is found, maestro* finally suggests the default union code specified in Employee Management.

Shift

Work shift.

Rate - Hourly

Hourly rate paid to the employee.

The hourly rate is determined by the Employee, Sector, Trade Code, Years or Level, Annex, Region, Union Code and Shift.

The rates displayed are from the Define Hourly Rates option.

Rate - Equipment

Displays the rate for the equipment selected.

The hourly rate derived from the Equipment Management and is determined in function of the selected equipment and the Equipment Rate by default (1 to 4) chosen in the project linked with the call.

Rate Type

Used to determine whether the hours entered are paid in regular, half or double time, bonus or banked hours.

Duration / Quantity

Used to enter the quantity used for the item or the number of hours worked by the employee.

Material Unit Cost

Displays the unit price of the item.

Hourly Cost

Displays the employee's hourly rate, plus the fringe benefits.

NOTE: This field is only displayed if hours are entered.

Billable

Indicates to maestro* whether the line is billable or not.

The first element used to determine the default value applied to this column is the configuration Hours Used for Billing, available in the Configuration of the Service Management module.

If the configuration of Hours Used for Billing is at Both or Return from visit, the billing column is checked or not depending on the configuration of the Invoice field in Define Activities.

If the activity is configured as Never or as Always billable, maestro* applies these rules without regard as to the type of call.

If the item or activity is configured as Depending on the Type of Call, this indicates:

  • That the activity is automatically billable if the call type is Service or Installation.
  • That item is automatically non-billable if the call type is Maintenance

NOTE: However, this value can be changed manually.

In the case where the configuration of Hours Used for Billing is at Hour Entry or None, it will be impossible to check the Billable column. All hours will be non-billable by default and maestro* will ignore the Define Activities configurations.

Reason for N/C

No-charge billing reason.

NOTE: This field must be completed if it contains items with the 8-Liability status that must be printed on the invoice.

Activity - W/C-CSST

W/C - CSST activity.

NOTE: By default, maestro* displays the CSST activity code entered in Define Employees. However, if a CSST code is assigned to the project activity entered in Project Management, it has priority.

Activity - PBB

PBB Activity.

NOTES: This activity applies only to electricians.

By default, maestro* displays the PBB activity code entered in Define Employees. However, if a PBB code is also assigned to the project activity entered in Project Management, it has priority.

Reading Used

Displays the source of the hourly rate used.

Transfer from the dispatch

Indicates that the hours entered are from the Dispatch tab and that the user clicked the Automatic insertion according to the dispatch icon.

Order No

Identifies the order number linked to the item for information purposes, if added by clicking the Display the items ordered or reserved for current call icon.

Extension

Identifies the order extension number linked to the item for information purposes, if added by clicking the Display the items ordered or reserved for current call icon.

Order Line No

Identifies the order line number linked to the item for information purposes, if added by clicking the Display the items ordered or reserved for current call icon.

Transferred

Indicates whether the return from the service call's breakdown line has been transferred, either as hours or material.

NOTE: The employee's pay is not blocked when the work of a service call is not complete. It is possible to transfer the hours before the final transfer.

  1. Enter the required information in the ClosedItem to invoice tab:

This section displays the items to be invoiced configured by default when the contract was entered in Contract Management.

It is also possible to add expenses that have no costs, but for which additional expenses must be invoiced following the call.

Let's also note that the items to invoice of lump sum calls are only displayed if the Applicable to Lump Sum Calls box is checked in the Contract Management option, Item to Invoice tab (this option is checked by default for all items to be invoiced that are added to lump sum contracts.

 

Field

Description

Code

Item code from Catalogue Management if inventory is managed or from Define Materials if inventory is not managed.

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 Define the Use of Tax Codes for a Service Call Invoicing transaction type, the tax columns are not visible.

To determine the source of the tax code and applicable tax rates, refer to help on Reading maestro* tax codes.

Amount to Invoice

Displays the amount to be invoiced if the Quantity and Unit Price columns are completed. Otherwise, user can enter an amount to be invoiced manually.

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.

Cost Price

Estimated cost based on the list price identified in Catalogue Management.

This cost estimate is only printed on the Cost/Selling report.

NOTE: This column is visible if the Calculate the cost of the items to invoice, for the Cost and Selling Price Report setting is checked in the Configuration of the Service Calls module.

Transferred

Indicates whether the item to be billed has been transferred.

NOTE: The employee's pay is not blocked when the work of a service call is not complete. It is possible to transfer the hours before the final transfer.

  1. Enter the required information in the Visit Details tab:

Allows the user to enter the details of the technician’s intervention after receiving the work order from him. If necessary, this description can be included on the invoice. Otherwise, it is provided for information purposes only.

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

  1. Contract Details tab:

Used to view contract agreements in the Detail section of Contract Management. Additional information cannot be entered in this tab.

  1. Call Details tab:

Used to view what was entered when entering the call and to compare it to the work done by the technician. Additional information cannot be entered in this tab.

  1. Enter the required information in the Equipment tab:

 

This tab displays all of the equipment in the contract. It is also possible to check or clear the equipment affected by the visit. This information will be used in Equipment Inquiry to display contracts, calls and visits related to equipment.

The maintenance tasks linked to the selected equipment are displayed at the bottom of the screen, if they have been configured for a specific equipment and completed in maestro*MOBILE.

 

Field

Description

Equipment details

During the first return from a service call for a given call, the equipment to be maintained and identified in the call when it was created is displayed and this field is checked. Columns:

Maintenance done for this call

This field is also used to display equipment on which maintenance has already been performed for this call and that was specified in a previous return from a service call.

NOTE: The check mark indicates that maintenance has been planned or already performed for the equipment.

Maintenance done in this visit

Used to indicate that maintenance was performed on this piece of equipment during the visit (return from a service call).

Documents

Columns:

Related to this Contract

Used to link documents that are relevant to the contract (such as the site plan, photos of equipment, etc.).

NOTE: These documents apply only to the equipment identified in the contract.

Related to this Equipment

Displays the documents added from Document Management in the Equipment Management option (for example, the technical data sheet for the equipment).

NOTE: A document added in this section is automatically updated in Equipment Management and is available for all contracts in which the equipment is selected.

Equipment Detail

Columns:

Equipment

Equipment covered by the contract.

NOTE: The equipment code must be created in advance in Define Equipment Codes.

Description

Description of the selected equipment.

NOTE: This field cannot be modified because the information is taken from Define Equipment Codes.

Number

Number of pieces of equipment for the contract.

NOTE: Usually, the number is always 1 when serial numbers are generated.

Brand

Brand of the selected equipment.

NOTE: This field cannot be modified because the information is taken from Define Equipment Codes.

Model

Displays the equipment model entered in Contract Management.

Unit Type

Displays the type of the unit connected to the equipment entered in Contract Management.

Location

Location of the equipment at the customer’s site in Contract Management. Serial number of the equipment entered in Contract Management.

Serial Number

Serial number of the equipment entered in Contract Management.

Order No.

Displays the purchase order number used to purchase the equipment

NOTES: This number is entered in the Equipment tab in Contract Management.

It is possible to view the order from one of the following options: Service Call Inquiry, Service Contract Inquiry or Service Equipment Inquiry. Simply double-click on the order number in the Equipment tab.

Extension

Displays the extension of the purchase order used to purchase equipment, if applicable.

Customer’s Ref. No.

Customer’s equipment reference number.

Warranty

Warranty on the equipment.

NOTE: When entering a call or return from call, maestro* warns the user that the equipment in the contract is under warranty.

Columns:

Start Date

Warranty start date after purchase or when the equipment is replaced.

End Date Labour

Warranty end date on labour for each piece of equipment covered in the contract.

End Date Material

Warranty end date on parts for each piece of equipment covered in the contract.

  1. ClosedDispatch tab:

This tab is visible if the Call Dispatch option is installed. No information will be displayed if no calls were dispatched or the Service Dispatch option is used to dispatch calls.

 

This tab displays the employees assigned to the call by the Call Dispatch option in a table. These values cannot be modified in this tab.

The Automatic insertion according to the dispatch icon at the top of the screen lets the user transfer hours from call dispatch in the Detail tab.

To do this, the dispatch type must be set to Finished and the employees assigned to the call must be linked to the service call module. It is possible to change these hours in the Detail tab if necessary. When using this function, the Transferred column is checked to tell the user that the hours have already been transferred to the Detail tab.

For hours transferred from dispatch to the Detail tab, it is possible to define the default activity that will be used to invoice these hours. To do it, click the Configuration icon in the tool bar and complete the Insertion of hours from the dispatch section.

  1. Quotations tab:

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*.

  1. Additional fields tab:

This tab allows the user to enter additional fields in order to complete the information.

The values of the additional fields can be copied from one screen to the other on the condition that the name of the variable used, for the additional field, is the same in all screens.

  1. Click Save.

It is possible that maestro* refuses to save hours if the Hour Transfer Method is set to 2 - Balanced and if the Closure of the auxiliary (hours) column in Set Pay Periods is checked. This configuration lets the administrator prevent the entry of hours in a payroll period that has already been calculated.

 

Transferring a Return from a Service Call

  1. To transfer as return from a service call, you must make sur the Accept. field, in the Detail tab, is set to YES.
  2. Click on the Transfer icon and answer Yes to the question "Do you want to transfer this transaction?".
    The Return from Service Calls Transfer window is displayed.
  3. Decide what needs to be transferred in the return from a service call:

Choice

Description

Final Transfer

By checking the Final Transfer line, all elements will be transferred at once: Hours Employee, Hours Equipment, Material, and Items to Bill.

Transfer of Hours

By checking the Hours Transfer line, the Hours Employee and Hours Equipment elements will be transferred.

  • If we only check the Employee line, under Hours Transfer, only the Hours Employee will be transferred. The employee hours include the hours and bonuses entered in the Breakdown tab.
  • If we only check the Equipment lined, under Hours Transfer, only the Hours Equipment will be transferred. The equipment hours include all equipment hours entered in the Breakdown tab.

Material Tranfer

By checking the Material Transfer line, only the return from a service call's Material elements will be transferred. This includes all elements that are not hours or bonuses in the Breakdown tab.

Items to Bill Transfer

By checking the Items to Bill Transfer line, only the return from a service call's Items to Bill elements will be transferred. This includes all elements in the Items to Bill tab.

  1. If there are multiple elements in a section, we can choose those that need to be transferred.
  2. Click on the Transfer icon.
  3. Answer the question that appears, which explains that the transfer will no longer be modifiable.
  4. The transfer is performed and the transfer report is displayed.

 

See also

 

Last modification: November 12, 2024