Estimates

In PCR-360, Service Desk Estimates allow a User to put together an Estimate for a future Service Order based on Equipment, Charges based on the Charge catalog, and Labor costs. From the Grid, Users can see the Estimate's Service Desk number, status, a summary of the Estimates Charges, Equipment, and Labor among other information.

From the Main > Service Desk > Estimates grid, a User is able to view the Assigned Workers, Completed Workers, Assigned Workgroups, and Completed Workgroups related to each item.

Estimates

Navigate to the Estimates Grid by clicking Main > Service Desk > Estimates. Double-click on any item in the Service Desk Estimates Grid to access the Estimate data entry form as seen below.

Data Entry Form – Input Fields

The input fields at the top of the Estimates data entry form allow Users to define the Request in terms of its 'Source', 'Status', 'Service Rep', 'Due Date', and more.

Users can easily define 'Source' and 'Status' by selecting the appropriate option via the input field's drop-down menu. Source refers to the source of the request: Web, Email, Tech, Phone, Text, Fax, Quick Tick, API, or Import. Status is used to identify the current state of the Request; whether it is ‘Pending’ , 'Complete', on ‘Hold’, ‘Void’, or ‘Denied’.

When editing an Estimate, Users may also change the Service Rep – the employee who is responsible for the Estimate's ultimate execution. Clicking on the Search Icon in the 'Service Rep' field to up a list of Service Reps from the company’s employee catalog.

Several input fields carry over information from the Requestor in order to simplify the process for the User. Typically, the Requestor's contact information is displayed in the Requestor field.

Keep in mind that, though the 'Owner' and 'Requester' fields list the same contact in the example displayed in the "Service Desk Estimates" image, this is not always the case. The Requestor can request a Service on behalf of a different owner.

Tabs

In the image of the Estimate Form above, consider the tabs displayed immediately below the input fields in the data entry form. By accessing these tabs, Users can initiate the process of fulfilling the Estimate by adding specific Workflow actions, applying billing procedures, and a number of other critical functions. The 'Tabs' associated with Estimates are Estimate, Workflow, Contacts, Labor, Activity/Remarks, Email Thread, Attachments, and User Defined Fields.

Create an Estimate

1. Go to Main > Service Desk > Estimates.

       2. Click the 

       3. Change the 'Source' in the drop-down if desired.

       4. Choose the 'Service Rep' (if not already populated with your name) into the picker.

       5. If desired enter a brief 'Description' of the Estimate (this is not required but encouraged)

       6. If known or needed enter the Contact or Department into the field.

        Note: The Owner can be either a Contact or Dept. Hierarchy. To select either just toggle the selector and enter the owner (or use the picker

7. If known or needed, enter Requestor into the field.

8. Click the 

An Estimate number will now be displayed in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

Add Equipment to an Estimate

1. Click the 'Estimate Tab'.

2. Click the

3. Choose the desired 'Equipment Catalog' with the picker.

4. Enter the 'Quantity' of the Equipment into the field.

5. If the Equipment is Billable click the 'Billable' flag.

6. Click the 

Repeat steps 2-5 for all needed Equipment.

Add Estimated Labor to an Estimate

1. Click the 'Estimate Tab'.

       2. Click the 

       3. Select the type of Labor with the 'Labor Type' dropdown

       4. Enter the 'Hours' into the field.

      5. Enter the 'Workgroup' that will do this work.

6. Enter or change the Rate for this Labor with the 'Rate' field.

7. If the Labor is billable click the 'Billable' flag

8. If desired, enter a Description of this Labor.

9. Click the 

Repeat steps 2-9 for additional estimated Labor entries

Add Estimated Charges to an Estimate

1. Click the 'Estimates Tab'.
   

   

2. Click the 

3. Choose the desired 'Charge Catalog' from the picker.

4. Enter the 'Charge Amount' into the field.

5. Enter the 'Quantity' of the Charges into the field

6. If desired, enter a Description of this Labor into the Description field.

7. Click the 

Repeat steps 2-7 for additional estimated Charge entries.

Create Service Order from Pending Estimate

1. Open an Estimate with a Pending status, that does not already have an 'Associated Service Order'

2. Change the 'Status' to Complete.

3. Click the 

4. Click 'Yes' on the 'Complete this Estimate' dialog. 

5. This will open the 'Create a Service Order' form.

From this form the User can choose one of three options:

•   The User can Associate the Order with any existing Order or that Order's Actions. Click the 'Find a Service Order' picker to select any existing Order. To associate the Estimate with the Order no further action is needed.                          

• To further associate the Estimate with a specific Action on the Order, click the 'Find a Service Order Action' picker and select the Action desired. Click the  button.                                                                                                      

• Leaving the 'Find a Service Order' picker blank and clicking the  button, will create a new Service Order. The 'Service Order Created' dialog will open to let the User know the Order was created.
  

Clicking the 'Cancel' button will NOT associate the Estimate with an Order and close the form.

Create Service Order from Complete Estimate

1. Open an Estimate with a Complete status, that does not already have an 'Associated Service Order'

2. The Estimate will have a 

3. This will open the 'Create a Service Order' form.

• The User can Associate the Order with any existing Order or that Order's Actions. Click the 'Find a Service Order' picker to select any existing Order. To associate the Estimate with the Order no further action is needed.

• To further associate the Estimate with a specific Action on the Order, click the 'Find a Service Order Action' picker and select the Action desired. Click the  button.

• Leaving the 'Find a Service Order' picker blank and clicking the  button, will create a new Service Order. The 'Service Order Created' dialog will open to let the User know the Order was created.
  

• Clicking the 'Cancel' button will NOT associate the Estimate with an Order and close the form.

4. Click the 

Creating an Order

When all Equipment, Charges, and Labor have been added to the Estimate, a Service Order may be created from the Estimate. Note that only Equipment and Charges are transferred to the created Order. Labor and Workflow are not transferred to the Order. First, the Estimate has to be set to a Complete status. Then the User can click the 

If the Estimate already has a Service Order associated with it, the Service Order is displayed in the field with a link to the Service Order. The 'Create Service Order' button is no longer available.

When an Estimate is made into a Service Order, all Remarks and Attachments made on the Estimate will be copied onto the Service Order.

Editing an Estimate

On the Estimates Grid, double-click or highlight any existing item and click 'Edit Selected' above the Grid to edit the Estimate. After opening an item on the Estimates Grid, the User is presented with the item's data entry form at which point the User can begin adding any required information for the Estimate.