Understanding the Application Lists Tab in Administration

The Admin List Screens are a group of screens accessible from the Application section of the Administration menu. As a system administrator, when you click the Manage Lists icon, a screen is displayed with a single drop-down field at the top from which you can pick from many lists. Each list has its own screen. This group of screens is similar in function and enables you to define drop-down options that become available throughout the Aspire system. Here are some notes relevant to all Admin List screens:

1. In the Required column Aspire flags items that are required by the system.

2. The Active column indicates whether the item will appear in its associated selection list. Marking items as inactive will remove the item from future use without impacting historical references to the item.

3. The In Use column identifies whether or not the item has been selected from its respective list within Aspire.

4. Most of the admin lists provide the ability to delete an item that has not been referenced (i.e. its In Use flag is not set.)

Activity Category

Activities are classified into an email, task, issue, appointment, and milestone. Activity categories managed on this screen enable you to provide a further descriptive breakdown for issues and tasks (i.e. for an issue, the category could be Complaint or Service Request). Four activity categories are fixed: Phone Call, QA, Letter, and To Do. They are read-only if you drill in to display them on the Activity Category screen. Aspire often defines additional activity categories: Service Request, Complaint, Property Damage, Email, and Injury.

The Activity Category Search List screen allows you to manage Activity categories. New activity categories can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Activity Category screen. Existing activity categories can be edited by clicking on them to display the Activity Category screen.

The screen elements on the Activity Category screen are described in the following table:

Attachment Type

The Attachment Type Search List screen allows you to provide classifications for attachments that team members add to properties, opportunities, and contacts. Common attachment types often used in Aspire are images, documents, maps, site maps, and contracts.

The Attachment Type Search List screen allows you to manage different attachment types. New attachment types can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Attachment Type screen. Existing activity categories can be edited by clicking on them to display the Attachment Type screen.

The screen elements on the Attachment Type screen are described in the following table:

Catalog Item Category

The Catalog Item Category Search list screen enables you to provide categories for logically grouping items in the company’s item catalog. Item categories commonly defined in Aspire include Labor, Mulch, Irrigation, Equipment, Fertilizer, Drainage, Sub, Chemical, Soil, Shrubs, Tree, Sod, and Seed. Catalog Item Category provides greater refinement for item grouping than does Item Type.

The Catalog Item Category search list screen enables you to manage catalog item categories. New categories can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Catalog Item Category screen. Existing categories can be edited by clicking on them to display the Catalog Item Category screen.

The screen elements on the Catalog Item Category screen are described in the following table:

Catalog Price List

The Catalog Price List screen is used for setting up pricing overrides at the branch level for specific items in the catalog. Read the article, Understanding Pricing in Aspire, for more information.

The Catalog Price List screen enables you to manage catalog price lists. New catalog price lists can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Catalog Price List screen. Existing catalog price lists can be edited by clicking on them to display the Catalog Price List screen.

The screen elements on the Catalog Price list screen are described in the following table:

Certification Types

Aspire allows you to create and manage standard types of employee certifications that can be selected when recording a certification on the Contact screen. You can also now associate services with certifications or skills to ensure relevant requirements are visible when scheduling work.

The Certification and Skills Types Search list screen lets you manage all existing certification and skill types. Use the New icon to create a new type, or click an existing entry to open the Certification and Skill Type screen for editing.

The screen elements on the Certification and Skill Type screen are described in the following table:

Competitor

The Competitor screen lets you define competitors that can be added to properties. For lost opportunities, Aspire also enables you to record the competitor who took the business.

The Competitor Search list screen allows you to manage competitors. New competitors can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Competitor screen. Existing competitors can be edited by clicking on them to display the Competitor screen.

The screen elements on the Competitor screen are described in the following table:

Contact Types

The Contact Types screen lets you maintain a list of contact types to help better define contacts in your company’s contact list. Four contact types—Employee, Customer, Vendor, and Sub—are fixed and cannot be modified. Other contact types in Aspire are Prospect, Lead, and Consultant.

The Contact Types screen enables you to manage contact types. New contact types can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Contact Type screen. Existing contact types can be edited by clicking on them to display the Contact Type screen. For more information on creating Contacts in Aspire, read this article.

The screen elements on the Contact Type screen are described in the following table:

Division

Aspire allows recognition of business divisions within a company. Divisions in Aspire are designed to support reporting by service area. The Division screen enables you to define the company’s divisions. The most common divisions for companies using Aspire include maintenance, enhancements, snow, irrigation, and overhead. Common divisions sometimes established are construction, subcontractor, indirect, internal, plant healthcare, and landscape.

The Division Search list screen enables you to manage divisions. New divisions can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Division screen. Existing divisions can be edited by clicking on them to display the Division screen.

The screen elements on the Division screen are described in the following table:

Employee Incident Type

Aspire enables you to create standard types of employee incidents (e.g. injury, behavior, unexcused absence, etc.) that can be selected when an employee incident occurs and is created on the Contact screen.

The Employee Incident Type Search list screen enables you to manage employee incident types. New incident types can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Incident Type screen. Existing incident types can be edited by clicking them to display the Incident Type screen. For more information on Employee Contact Types, read this article.

The screen elements on the Employee Incident Type screen are described in the following table:

Event Type

Aspire allows you to create events (i.e. specific snow events that occur during a time period) that can be associated with invoice batches. Information related to the event can be shown to the customer on their invoice so they understand why the service was performed. The Event Type screen lets you define the events that can be created. Companies will likely have only one event type for snow.

The Event Type Search List screen enables you to manage event types. New event types can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Event Type screen. Existing event types can be edited by clicking on them to display the Event Type screen. For more information on Event Types, read this article.

The screen elements on the Event Type screen are described in the following table:

Industry

The Industry Search List screen enables you to manage industries. New industries can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Industry screen. Existing industries can be edited by clicking on them to display the Industry screen.

The screen elements on the Industry screen are described in the following table:

Issue List

The Issues List Search List screen enables you to create and manage a list of issue types for production crews to classify issues recognized on properties. The most common issue types for companies using Aspire are Property Damage, Irrigation Leak, Injury, Customer Complaint, Dead Plant, and Drainage.

The Issue List Search List screen enables you to manage issue types. New issue types can be added by clicking the New Issue Type icon to display the Issue List screen. Existing issue types can be edited by clicking on them to display the Issue list screen.

The screen elements on the Issue List screen are described in the following table:

To learn more about Creating Issues, read this article.

Job Status

Aspire supports four standard job status codes that specify a job's progress: In Process, Complete, Canceled, and Changed.

The Job Status screen enables you to specify an alternate display name for each status. Unlike most other admin lists, you cannot add new job status values.

The screen elements on the Job Status screen are described in the following table:

Lead Source

The Lead Source screen lets you maintain a list of valid lead sources that team members can specify for an opportunity. Aspire's most common lead sources are Issue, Employee Referral, Call In, Cold Call, Customer Referral, Unknown, Website, and Architect.

The Lead Source search list screen enables you to manage lead sources. New lead sources can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Lead Source screen. Existing lead sources can be edited by clicking on them to display the Lead Source screen.

The screen elements on the Lead Source screen are described in the following table:

Locality

Localities in Aspire define where employees work for purposes of calculating payroll taxes. The Locality Search List screen enables you to define the valid localities—typically counties—that can be assigned to properties.

The Locality search list screen enables you to manage localities. New localities can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Locality screen. Existing localities can be edited by clicking on them to display the Locality screen.

The screen elements on the Locality screen are described in the following table:

Opportunity Canceled Reason

When you cancel a contract, Aspire allows you to specify a reason for the cancellation. The Opportunity Canceled Reason Search List screen enables you to manage the list of valid reasons for canceling contracts.

The Opportunity Canceled Reason screen enables you to manage cancellation reasons. New cancellation reasons can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Opportunity Canceled Reason screen. Existing cancellation reasons can be edited by clicking them to display the Opportunity Canceled Reason screen.

The screen elements on the Locality screen are described in the following table:

Opportunity Lost Reason

Aspire allows you to specify a reason when you mark an opportunity as lost. The Opportunity Lost Reason search list enables administrators to define, view, and manage valid reasons for lost opportunities to display on the Set Opportunity to Lost modal.

Selecting this list opens the advanced search screen for managing Opportunity Lost Reasons, where you can view, edit, or create lost opportunity reasons.

Aspire includes the following pre-set lost reasons:

• No response

• Pricing

• Poor Service

• Poor Communication

• Timing

• Other

The screen elements are as follows:

Opportunity Stage

An Opportunity Stage is a list of fixed stages through which Aspire advances opportunities based on your actions. These stages are fixed in Aspire: Pre-Bid, Estimate, Propose, Lost, and Won. These stages support filtering and grouping opportunity statuses on the Opportunity Status screen. Based on an opportunity’s status, each opportunity is in a stage at any point in the business process. That stage can be used for reporting the Opportunities screen. Clicking on an opportunity stage in the list displays the Opportunity Stage screen.

Unlike most other admin list screens, the Opportunity Stage screen will not permit you to add new values.

The screen elements on the Opportunity Stage screen are described in the following table:

Opportunity Status

Aspire updates the opportunity status as an opportunity is advanced through the business flow. There are eight standard opportunity statuses through which an opportunity can advance until it is won or lost: New, Bidding, Pending Approval, Approved, Delivered, Denied, Won, and Lost. You may provide an alternate display value (labeled as “Item Name”) for any status on the Opportunity Status screen. Aspire will enable you to add additional opportunity statuses. Still, they can only add them for the pre-bid opportunity stage – Aspire will not permit you to create an opportunity status for other stages.

The Opportunity Status search list screen enables you to manage opportunity statuses. New opportunity status can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Opportunity Status screen. Existing opportunity statuses can be edited by clicking on them to display the Opportunity Status screen.

The screen elements on the Opportunity Status screen are described in the following table:

Pay Code

Pay Codes and their associated information determine how payments will be calculated for specific employee hours during the regular payroll process. Aspire's most common pay codes are Hourly, Holiday, Vacation, Salary, Regular, and Overtime. The Pay Code screen enables you to create and manage pay codes. Additional information is available in the Payroll collection of articles found here.  

Pay codes can be selected in the following locations in Aspire:

1. When defining pay schedules under the Manage Admin Lists option on the Administration screen

2. Services in the Service Catalog may have default pay codes assigned to them

3. When defining override pay codes for a contact from the Payroll tab of the Contact screen

4. When creating an estimate on an opportunity, the default pay code may be changed for opportunity services

5. For overriding pay code for work ticket time on the Time Entry screen

Pay Schedule

The Pay Schedule screen lets you define Aspire’s overall behavior related to paying regular time vs. overtime each week.  A pay schedule is assigned to each employee. Aspire's most common pay schedules are Salary, Weekly, and Hourly.

The Pay Schedule List screen enables you to manage pay schedules. New pay schedules can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Pay Schedule screen. Existing pay schedules can be edited by clicking to display the Pay Schedule screen.

Payment Category

The Payment Category screen lets you specify valid payment categories for credit memos that mark Credit as Expense. These values are reflected on the End of Month Report so that you can enter them into the accounting system each month.

The Payment Category Search List screen enables you to manage payment categories. New payment categories can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Payment Category screen, and existing payment categories can be edited by clicking on them to display the Payment Category screen.

The screen elements on the Payment Category screen are described in the following table:

Payment Terms

The Payment Terms screen enables you to provide a list of valid payment terms that the company can assign to properties. These terms are used for calculating invoices past due in the aging report. The most common payment terms in Aspire are Due on Receipt, Net 30, Net 90, and Net 10.

New payment terms can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Payment Terms screen. Existing payment terms can be edited by clicking on them to display the Payment Terms screen.

The screen elements on the Payment Terms screen are described in the following table:

Property Group

The Property Group screen lets you define groups into which related properties may be placed. For example, they may group together properties located in the same office park, campus, subdivision, or HOA. Property groups are assigned to properties.

The screen elements on the Property Group screen are described in the following table:

Property Status

The Property Status screen lets you define a status that can be assigned to properties. It is typically used to manage the sales process. Aspire's most common property statuses are Prospect, Customer, Past Customer, and Prior Bid.

The screen elements on the Property Status screen are described in the following table:

Receipt Status

The Receipt Status screen enables you to review the stages through which Aspire advances purchase receipts based on user actions in the system. These stages are fixed in Aspire and have status codes of; New, Received, Approved, and Complete. Aspire does allow you to provide an item name for each of these codes for display purposes.

The screen elements on the Receipt Status screen are described in the following table:

Sales Type

The Sales Type screen enables you to define the type of sale for each opportunity. The most common sales types maintained in Aspire are New Sales and Renewal. Sales types provide one of the criteria for creating Sales Scorecards to track salesperson performance.

The Sales Type Search List screen enables you to manage sales types. New sales types can be added by clicking the Plus icon to display the Sales Type screen. Existing sales types can be edited by clicking on them to display the Sales Type screen.

The screen elements on the Sales Type screen are described in the following table:

Service Type

Service Type enables you to define service types. Service types are tied to divisions and support a more detailed breakdown of services than those provided by divisions.

To learn more about Service Types, read this article.

The screen elements on the Service Type screen are described in the following table:

Tag

The Tag screen enables you to manage the list of identifiers placed on contacts, properties, attachments, or opportunities to classify them for reporting purposes or for filtering search lists. Each tag they create applies to a property, a contact, attachments, or an opportunity, but not to combinations of these. Once tags have been created, multiple tags can be added to any property, contact, attachment, or opportunity. Tags commonly label contacts or properties as maintenance, installation, or enhancement prospects during the sales cycle.

The Tags Search List screen has an additional column described in the following table that is not common to other admin list screens.

The screen elements on the Tag screen are described in the following table:

Takeoff Group

A takeoff represents something to be measured or counted on a property. The measure or count is then used for estimating. Takeoffs are logically grouped into takeoff groups. The whole structure of takeoff groups and associated takeoff items becomes available for adding specific takeoff values to properties to facilitate estimating jobs. You also tie catalog items to the takeoff item relevant to assessing the cost for that catalog item.

If you save the takeoff group and then go back into the Takeoff Group screen by clicking on the new takeoff group in the list, the screen will enable you to add takeoff items to the group.

Takeoff Item Screen The Takeoff Item screen enables you to create or edit takeoff items. It is accessed from the Takeoff Group screen by clicking the AddTakeoff Item icon or clicking on a takeoff item in the list.

To learn more about setting up Takeoffs in Aspire, read this article.

Tax Entity

Tax entities represent state, county, or city tax locations. Tax entities can be grouped using the Tax Jurisdictions screen to define broader areas called tax jurisdictions. The article, Sales Tax Setup in Aspire, fully explains these concepts and their setup in Aspire.

The screen elements on the Tax Entity screen are described in the following table:

To learn more about Tax Entity Reporting, read this article.

Tax Jurisdiction

Tax jurisdictions represent areas of overlapping tax entities (i.e. city, county, and state) and define the tax structure for that area. Aspire calculates taxes for services on a property based on the tax jurisdiction in which the property is located. The Tax Jurisdiction Search List screen and associated sub-screens enable you to set up tax jurisdictions. Tax entities must be defined using the Tax Entities screen before establishing tax jurisdictions. The article, Sales Tax Setup in Aspire, thoroughly explains these concepts and their setup in Aspire.

Clicking the Edit Tax Entities button for one of the jurisdictions displays the Jurisdiction Entities screen that enables you to view or select the tax entities that comprise the tax jurisdiction.

The screen elements on the Tax Jurisdiction screen are described in the following table:

The screen elements on the Jurisdiction Entities screen are described in the following table:

Unit Type

The Unit Type Search List screen enables you to define valid units of measure for setting up items, kits, or takeoffs. Aspire's most common unit types are Dollars, Tons, Hours, Bags, Lb, LF, Oz, Each, 1 Gal, 3 Gal, 5 Gal, SF, and Box. New unit types can be added by clicking the Plus icon to display the Unit Type screen. Existing unit types can be edited by clicking on them to display the Unit Type screen.

The screen elements on the Unit Type screen are described in the following table:

Vendor

The Vendor screen enables you to set up a list of vendors used for purchasing and must align with the setup of the accounting system. The best practice for companies using QuickBooks, Great Plains, or Acumatica is maintaining vendors in those systems and synchronizing Aspire to load vendors. In this case, you will not enter vendors directly into Aspire from the Vendors Admin List screen.

The Vendor List screen enables you to manage vendors. New vendors can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Vendor screen. Existing vendors can be edited by clicking on them to show the Vendor screen.

The screen elements on the Vendor screen are described in the following table:

Workers Compensation

Workers' compensation codes are available for companies that integrate their external payroll systems with Aspire. Once defined, workers' compensation codes can be specified for employees, services, and divisions to export employee time from Aspire to the external system. When a time export occurs, the workers' compensation code exported is determined based on the following hierarchy:

• Use workers' compensation code assigned to the employee if provided.

• If not, use the worker compensation code assigned to the service performed if provided.

• If not, use the worker compensation code assigned to the division of the service.

The Workers Compensation Search List screen enables you to manage workers' compensation codes. New workers' compensation codes can be added by clicking the New icon to display the Workers Compensation Code screen. Existing workers' compensation codes can be edited by clicking on them to display the Workers Compensation Code screen.

The screen elements on the Workers Compensation Code screen are described in the following table:

Work Ticket Status

As a work ticket is advanced through the business flow, Aspire updates the work ticket status. Work tickets can advance in five standard work ticket statuses: Open, Scheduled, Pending Approval, Complete, and Canceled. The Work Ticket Status screen enables you to provide an alternate display value (labeled as “Item Name”) for any status. Aspire will not allow them to add additional work ticket statuses.

The Work Ticket Status List screen enables you to manage work ticket statuses. New work ticket statuses can be added by clicking the Plus icon to display the Work Ticket Status screen. Existing work ticket statuses can be edited by clicking on them to display the Work Ticket Status screen.

The screen elements on the Work Ticket Status screen are described in the following table: