Create a Work Order Estimate with a T&M on Completion Invoice Type

Overview

Work order opportunities let you build estimates for one-time jobs that don't follow a recurring schedule. When you create a work order with the T&M on completion invoice type, Aspire bills the job based on the actual time and materials your crew records on the work ticket.

Let’s consider the following scenario: Green Scene's crew noticed broken and clogged sprinkler heads and a possible irrigation leak at the Vanderbrook HOA clubhouse. The full scope of repairs isn't known yet, but the work needs to be scheduled right away. This is a great example of when you would want to create a work order with the T&M on completion invoice type.

This article walks you through creating a work order estimate with the T&M on completion invoice type and explains how it affects invoicing. Watch the video below or keep reading to learn more!

Things to know

• The Invoicing Assistant recommends a T&M on completion work order for invoicing only after all work tickets on the job are completed.

• If you need a refresher on how T&M pricing and markup overrides work at the service level, visit this article. We will use this information as part of this articles so this foundational knowledge is important!

Requirements

Before you start, confirm the following:

• You need an existing opportunity with a property already associated before you begin.

• To view opportunities to generate estimates, you need either View My Opportunities or View Opportunities added to your user role.

• To edit estimates, you need either Edit My Opportunities, or Edit All Opportunities added to your user role.

• To edit items in estimates, you need Edit Estimate Items added to your user role.

Steps

Follow these steps to create a work order estimate with the T&M on completion invoice type:

Set up the work order opportunity

1. Open or create a work order opportunity for the customer and fill in the required fields.

2. In the Division field, select the division that applies to this job.

   Note: Setting the division ensures that reports showing sales by division include the cost and revenue for this work order. For example, Green Scene selects Irrigation because the job involves sprinkler and irrigation repairs.

3. From the Invoice Type dropdown, select T&M on Completion.

4. Select a Start Date. Aspire auto-populates the End Date to 30 days after the start date you choose. You can change the end date if needed.

   Tip: The start date is important for scheduling. Lists on the Schedule Board let you search for work tickets by anticipated start date, which pulls from the date you set here.

5. Select the three-dot icon next to Save to open the action menu, then select the option to create the estimate.

   5. You can also choose to use the Create Estimate button to save yourself a step!

Create the estimate

6. Add a service under the service group.

7. Add the add item dropdown to add labor to the service.

   • When you add a labor item, the Labor Rates window opens. Enter the rate you want to charge for this labor item. For our example, we enter "65" for a lead technician rate of $65/hour.

   • To add more rates, select Add Labor Rate and enter the additional rate. For our example, we add a general technician rate of "35" ($35/hour).

   • In the default column, check the box next to the rate you want to add as a default pay rate. In our example, Green Scene sets the lead technician as the default, but you can change the rate later when you approve time for the crew.

     • This means that you will have labor rates that you can apply for the various roles that reflect who has logged time for this job.

   • Select Save. The default rate displays on the estimating screen.

8. Continue adding any remaining items to the service.

   Tip: Aspire lets you set pricing and markups for services using the pricing table and category markup overrides on the Service Details screen for this service type.

9. When the estimate is complete, return to the Opportunity screen and mark the estimate as complete.

10. Send the completed estimate to the customer for approval. In this example, Green Scene sends the estimate to Vanderbrook HOA for final sign-off.

What happens next

After your customer approves the estimate and the opportunity is marked as won, Aspire generates work tickets, which your operations team can add to the schedule board for your crews to use while they perform the work.

Once the final work ticket on the job is marked as complete, the Invoicing Assistant recommends the invoice to be billed. Because you chose the T&M on completion invoice type, the invoice reflects the actual time and materials recorded to the work tickets, and not a fixed estimate amount.