Service Parts and Billing
Parts and labour are recorded on the service request as lines. Whether a line is chargeable decides everything that follows: chargeable lines go onto the service invoice, while parts used on a free repair still leave stock but are written off rather than billed. The same screen therefore produces both the customer's bill and the true cost of the repair.
Recording lines
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Type | Part or Labour. |
| Item | The stock item, for a part. Labour may be Not an item. |
| Description | What it is. |
| Quantity | Required. |
| Price | Cannot be negative. |
| Chargeable | Whether the customer pays for it. |
Add this line puts it on the list; lines can be changed or taken off before saving. At least one line is needed before anything can be saved.
Chargeable and covered
| Line | Stock | Money |
|---|---|---|
| Chargeable | Leaves stock on the service invoice. | Billed to the customer. |
| Covered (warranty) | Leaves stock through an inventory adjustment. | Written off at cost, not billed. |
A covered line shows as Covered (at cost) with the value it was issued at, so the cost of honouring the warranty is on the record rather than disappearing.
Where parts come from
Parts are issued from the location set as the parts location in settings, or from the user's own location. The item's adjustment account takes the cost of a covered part.
The advance
An advance taken when the request was raised is held against it and shown as Advance of X used against it. The service invoice uses it, so the customer pays the balance rather than the whole amount again.
The advance cannot exceed the estimate. Cancelling a request voids the advance deposit — which is the right behaviour and worth knowing before you cancel rather than after.
The service invoice
To invoice raises the invoice for the chargeable lines. Once raised:
- The request shows Invoiced with the amount and the reference.
- The invoice links back to the request, and the request to the invoice.
- The original sales document is linked too, so the whole history is reachable from any of the three.
A request with nothing chargeable raises no invoice. The screen says No parts or labour recorded where nothing has been entered at all.
The service receipt
A printed receipt covers the request: the customer and product, the issue, what was done, the parts and labour, the charges and a customer signature block.
Related pages
- Warranty — what makes a line covered
- Settings — the parts location and charge item
- Service Requests
- Inventory Adjustment — how covered parts leave stock