There are two ways of creating service orders:
- A service order can be manually entered via the Work with service orders routine. A manually entered service order would normally be for unplanned service or ordinary repair, but could also be for preventive maintenance. A service order can also be created by manually copying an existing one.
- A service order can be automatically generated via the Generate preventive service orders routines. A service order can also be generated from Requests and Returns or from a quotation.
Service order structure
A service order consists of a service order header containing customer information as well as order type information. One service order consists of one or many jobs. Each job carries information about the service object and how the work is to be performed and charged, and consists of a number of lines of material and labour.
The service order job can be used for different purposes. One is to collect a number of repairs for different objects to different jobs within one order. The other could be to collect different jobs on the same object with different actions to one order.
Service order process
There are two main methods when processing a service order:
The first method, which could be applicable for service conducted in a workshop, could look as follows:
- Order registration
- Picking of goods
- Time reporting
- Service order close
The second method, which could be applicable for field service, could look as follows:
- Order registration
- Reporting (both of material and time)
- Service order close
Order status
Order status is used to control the service order process.
For the sales order cycle, which is also the service order cycle, the system automatically assigns the following status codes for both order lines and order header:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| 10 | The order line has been entered into the system and is ready for printing on order confirmation. |
| 18 | The order line has been entered into the system with a dispatch date later than today’s date, and will be printed on a direct print pick list. |
| 20 | The order line is ready for printing on a pick list. |
| 30 | The pick list has been printed for this line and is ready for pick list confirmation. |
| 40 | The order line is ready for printing on a transport note. |
| 45 | The line is ready to be invoiced. |
| 50 | The invoice for this line is being processed. |
| 60 | The invoice has been printed for this line. |
Note: The order header always has the same status as the highest status you can find for any order line below 60. When the order header = 60, all order lines also = 60. (Status 00 in the order header means no order lines have been entered for the service order job.)
Note: When a service order is registered, the order and its respective lines are always set to status Hold invoice, which can only be released by going through the service order close routine (for more information About closing service orders). An order line can be closed when it has status 40 or 45.
Note: There is no status update when the time transactions are registered. When closing the service order job, the system checks that the time transactions have been completed.
Click to expand each section.
Preventive maintenance
A service object can be completed with information that will result in service orders being periodically created for the service object.
Mandatory information
The mandatory fields are in the Service object file, on the Preventive service information panel:
- Service interval
- This is specified in weeks and indicates how often the generation is to be activated.
- Next inspection date
- Indicates next date for generation. This field will be updated with the next event from the Preventive service calendar when an order is created.
- Order type
- The service order type from the Sales order type table that the created order will receive.
Optional information
Fields that you may also complete are Recommended kit and Service engineer. Such fields will then also be copied to the created preventive service order.
Automatic generation
The Generate Preventive service orders program refers to the Service object preventive calendar and checks objects that are due for preventive service. A selection panel precedes the generation program, where information concerning the Service period, Customer number, Item, Serial number, and Handler can be specified.
A printout of the automatically created preventive service orders will follow the generation.
For an example on how to automatically create the preventive service order, see Generate preventive service orders.
Maintenance of preventive service orders
Preventive service orders can also be entered manually through via the Work with service order routine.
The maintenance of automatically generated preventive service orders follows the same principles as the maintenance of manually entered service orders for unplanned service and ordinary repair.
Unplanned service and ordinary repair
Unplanned service and ordinary repair may be handled through Requests and Returns, as a request initiated by a call from the customer. Service order entry will therefore be accessed from the appropriate request panel in Requests and Returns.
You can, of course, manually enter a service order using normal order entry procedures.
Service order maintenance
A manually entered service order is entered or copied with a sales order type marked as service type in the Sales order type table.
Note: Only service orders, service quotations and service invoices can be copied to service orders.
Validity
The requested service date on the service job panel is used when the period of validity is checked for warranty or agreements.
Time reporting
Service order lines regarding items such as travel expenses and time transactions regarding service engineers are entered in accordance with the procedures described in About reporting time in Service.
Cost price
The cost price is not always known when service item lines are entered. If the Fictitious zero cost allowed field was set to YES for the fictitious item type in the Fictitious item type table, the order line will be accepted without any cost price.
Alternatively, it is possible to fix the cost price for a service item. If the Fictitious standard cost retrieval field was set to YES for the fictitious item type in the Fictitious item type table, the standard cost will be retrieved from the Item file when the order line is entered.
Pricing
Pricing is done according to Distribution pricing rules. In addition it is possible to have special prices and/or discounts for agreement and warranty types used in Service. For more information, see About working with pricing on a sales order.
SO confirmation
The following information is printed for each job:
- Object
- Item number + Serial number
- Item description from the item file
- Service codes 1-4
- Service Agreement number
- Warranty type
- Requested service date and time
- Service date and time
Service report printout
The service report is a document aimed at providing the service engineer with all the details about the service job to be performed. Selections can be made on the Handler, Service engineer, or Service order number. It is also possible to indicate whether or not order lines that have previously been printed should be included. The report can be printed as many times as desired for the same service order.
Spare parts handling
After examining the service object, the service engineer will collect the necessary spare parts from the warehouse. After the service job has been performed, any remaining spare parts will be returned.
Release of orders held for invoicing
To prevent a service order from being invoiced after the confirmation of each delivery of spare parts, and to be able to close the service order job, the Hold invoice field has to be set to YES in the Sales order type table for a service order type.
This means that YES is defaulted to the corresponding field in the Order header panel in Work with service orders. The Hold invoice field is also updated to every service order line. The service order is automatically released for invoicing after the service order job is closed, so the lines that are included in the job can be invoiced.
Invoicing a service order
Service invoices are printed using the ordinary invoicing routine. Service specific information is displayed in a separate header section. The following information is printed for each job:
- Job number
- Object
- Item number + Serial number
- Item description from the item file
- Service codes 1-4
- Service agreement number
- Warranty type
- Requested service date and time
- Service date and time
Note: The merge invoice field in the order header (Merge inv) receives the value from the Merge service invoice field in the Customer file.
Enquiries and printouts
- Service order enquiry
- Sales order confirmation
- Service report
- Work in progress list