Work Order – Estimates

The Work Order – Estimates page allows you to enter estimated costs associated with a work order. These costs can come from hourly labor rates, inventory items that are needed to complete the work, or any other costs such as travel expenses or service fees.

If Parent/Child work orders are in use, the ability to add estimates may be limited by the defined parent/child Allow Charges and Estimates permissions.

The Work Order Financial page is opened by clicking the Work Order – Estimate link at the top of the Request Details page.

General Information

The General Information pane contains a brief summary of the work order details. This information cannot be modified. It contains the following information:

  • Request ID – the identification number assigned when the request was created
  • Property – the name of the property at which the request was made

  • Location – the location within the property where the work will be done, including one or more of the following fields:

    • Space/Floor – Select a value to indicate that the work should be done on a particular space or floor. Some systems group spaces and floors together and some use separate space and floor values.
    • Zone – Select a value to indicate that the work should be done in a particular zone within the property.
    • Tower/Wing – Select a value to indicate that the work should be done in a particular tower or wing within the property.
    • Floor – Select a value to indicate that the work should be done on a particular floor within the property
    • Space – Select a value to indicate that the work should be done in a particular space within the property. You cannot select a space until after you select a floor.
    • Sub-Space – Select a value to indicate that the work should be done in a particular subspace within the property. You cannot select a subspace until after you select a space.
  • Priority/Status – a value indicating how high of a priority it is to complete the work and the current status of the work request, for example, Open, Waiting Approval
  • Type/SubType – classifications of the type of work to be done
  • Requested By – the name of the user who made the request, which may or may not be the same as the Created By user
  • Date Requested – the date on which the request was created
  • Estimated Amount – the estimated costs required to complete this request
  • Not to Exceed Amount – the cost limit for this request
  • Estimated Labor Hours – the estimated number of labor hours required to complete this request

In addition to the information in the gray pane, several links are also displayed.

  • Work Order Financial – allows you to work with cost information (labor and materials) associated with the work order
  • Request Details – returns to the Request Details page

ClosedHigh-Level Estimates

High-level estimates allow you to specify a general ballpark estimate of the costs associated with a work request.

To enter a high-level estimate:

  1. In the Estimated Labor field, enter an amount that specifies the estimated total cost of all labor associated with this work request.

  2. In the Estimated Materials field, enter an amount that specifies the estimated total cost of all materials needed to complete this work request.

  3. In the Estimated Other Costs field, enter an amount that specifies the estimated total cost of all other costs that may be associated with this work request.

  4. Click UPDATE.

    As you enter values, the Grand Total is updated to reflect the total estimate. When you click UPDATE the total estimate is saved and the Estimated Amount at the top of the page is updated.

ClosedDetailed Estimates

Detailed Estimates allow you to enter detailed, line-item costs to an estimate. You can enter a labor estimate by specifying one or more employees and their labor rate. You can enter a materials estimate by selecting material items from a warehouse and you can add other miscellaneous costs to the estimate.

Note:

Entering a detailed estimate will overwrite any high-level estimate previously entered. Once a detailed estimate is entered, you cannot revert to entering a high-level estimate instead.

To enter a detailed estimate:

  1. Click Add Detailed Estimate.

    If a high-level estimate was defined, a dialog box opens asking you to confirm that you want to override the high-level estimate permanently with a detailed estimate.

  2. Enter values for labor, materials, and other estimates.

ClosedAdd Labor Estimates

Adding labor estimates allows you to enter the estimated costs associated with hourly labor performed when completing the request. To enter labor estimates:

  1. Click the ADD LABOR ESTIMATES button.

  2. If Crews functionality is enabled, you can select a crew (for example, Janitorial Staff or Electricians) to narrow the list of employees included in the Employee drop down. Only members of the selected crew will be displayed.

    Some systems are configured to require a Crew assignment for all work requests. If this is the case, you must select a crew before selecting the employee who will perform the labor.

  3. In the Employee field, select the employee who will perform the labor.

  4. In the Hours field, enter the estimated number of hours of work this employee will perform.

  5. In the Rate field, enter an hourly labor rate if you want to override the system-generated labor rate.

    If a labor rate schedule is associated with the property where the work is being performed, the system determines the labor rate by looking up the selected labor activity in the rate schedule. If no labor rate schedule is defined for the property, then the user's default labor rate is used.

  6. In the Type field, select the type of labor hours, (for example; regular, overtime, or double-time).

    This value allows the system to determine labor rate for this employee if the user's labor rates or a labor rate schedule is used to determine the labor rate.

  7. In the Markup field, select Yes to apply a markup percentage to the labor rate.

    The markup percentage is determined by the property account.

  8. In the Labor Activity field, select a labor activity.

    The labor activity is used to determine the appropriate labor rate if a labor rate schedule is in place at the property.

  9. In the Charge To field, select an account.

    The account identifies which general ledger account the labor will be billed to.

  10. In the Description field, enter a description for the labor activity.

  11. Click ADD.

    The labor estimate is displayed in the Estimates Summary pane and added to the total costs.

ClosedAdd Material Estimates

Adding material estimates allows you to enter the estimated costs of the tools, supplies, and other materials needed to complete a work request. When you add material estimates, the cost information is retrieved from the material item details, but the items are not actually taken out of inventory and associated with the work order.

Only items that are managed by the Inventory module can be added by clicking the Add Material Estimates button. If you want to add materials to the work order that are not taken from inventory, you should add them as other costs.

To add material estimates:

  1. Click the ADD MATERIAL ESTIMATES button.

  2. Click the Item Select link to locate and select the item to add.

    1. Specify the Part#, FIN, Supplier Part#, Description, Material Class, or Warehouse criteria to locate the item.

    2. Click FIND.

      All items that match the criteria specified are displayed.

    3. Click the Part # of the item you want to add to the estimate.

  3. In the Description field, modify the default description field, if needed.

  4. In the Quantity field, enter the number of items you are adding to the estimate.

  5. In the Unit Cost field, modify the default cost of the item, if needed.

  6. In the Tax Rate field, modify the default tax rate, if needed.

    The tax rate displayed is the default rate from the sales tax group associated with the property.

  7. In the Shipping field, enter any shipping or handling costs associated with the item.

  8. In the Markup field, select Yes to apply a markup percentage to the item.

    The markup percentage is determined by the property account.

  9. In the Charge To field, select an account.

    The account identifies which general ledger account the items will be billed to.

  10. Click the Vendor Select link to specify the vendor that will supply the item.

    This field is for informational purposes only and is not used for billing actual costs.

  11. In the Payee field, enter the name of the vendor contact.

    This field is for informational purposes only and is not used for billing actual costs.

  12. Click ADD.

    The material estimate is displayed in the Estimates Summary pane and added to the total costs.

ClosedAdd Other Estimates

Adding other estimates allows you to enter an estimate of any other type of costs that may occur when completing the work order, for example, service fees, travel expenses, or the cost of material items that are not managed by the Inventory module. To add other estimates:

  1. Click the ADD OTHER ESTIMATES button.

  2. In the Type field, select the type of cost you are adding.

  3. In the Description field, enter a description of the estimated cost.

  4. In the Quantity field, enter the number of items.

    This value will be multiplied by the unit cost to determine the cost of all items.

  5. In the Unit Cost field, enter the cost of the item.

  6. In the Tax Rate field, enter the tax rate, for the item.

    Entering 5 will add a 5% tax to the cost.

  7. In the Shipping field, enter any shipping or handling costs associated with the other cost.

  8. In the Markup field, select Yes to apply a markup percentage to the item.

    The markup percentage is determined by the property account.

  9. In the Charge To field, select an account.

    The account identifies which general ledger account the items will be billed to.

  10. Click the Vendor Select link to specify the vendor that will supply the item.

    This field is for informational purposes only and is not used for billing actual costs.

  11. In the Payee field, enter the name of the vendor contact.

    This field is for informational purposes only and is not used for billing actual costs.

  12. Click ADD.

    The other estimate is displayed in the Estimates Summary pane and added to the total costs.

ClosedEstimates Summary Pane

All estimates that have been associated with the work order are summarized in the Estimates Summary pane. Estimates of a specific type are grouped together—labor estimates, material estimates, then other estimates. A total of all estimates is displayed at the bottom of the pane.

Each time an estimate is added to the work order, it is added to the appropriate category and the total is updated.

You can modify or delete the estimates displayed by clicking the EDIT button.

  • To modify an item – Modify the desired value and click the UPDATE button.
  • To delete an item – Click the Delete link in the top-right corner of the dialog box.

ClosedRollup Totals Summary

All estimates that are associated with child work orders are summarized in the Rollup Totals Summary pane.

Note:

Rollup estimates are only included if the parent/child work order functionality is enabled, the work order you are examining has at least one child work order, and you have been given the appropriate security rights to view rollup costs.

Estimates are grouped by type—labor estimates, material estimates, then other estimates. The rollup estimate values include both the estimates that roll up from child work orders as well as the estimates entered on this work order so that the grand total reflects all estimates.

Each time an estimate is added to the work order or any child work order, it is added to the appropriate category and the grand total is updated.

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