Overview
Salt, ice melt, and other snow materials cost you money every storm. To see what each job really costs, and to bill T&M customers correctly, those materials have to land on the right work tickets. Most companies buy snow materials in bulk ahead of the season, keep them in inventory, and allocate them to tickets as crews use them.
This article covers buying snow materials, allocating them to tickets from the office, and cleaning up the Purchasing Assistant after a storm. For subcontractor costs, visit Paying Snow Subcontractors.
Use the following chart to decide how to record each material.
Things to know
Materials you buy and stock need Inventory Item selected in the Item Catalog, so they can be received into inventory and allocated from Aspire Mobile, the Purchasing Assistant, or Time Entry. To use one in Aspire Mobile, it also needs Available to bid selected. Equipment, and materials your subcontractors supply, use Allocate from Mobile instead, so crews and subcontractors can allocate them in Aspire Mobile without stocking them.
Inventory materials post to a ticket when they're allocated. Materials bought directly for a ticket post when you receive the purchase receipt.
On T&M tickets, allocated materials add to the price your customer pays. On Per Service and Fixed Payment tickets, they add to your cost only.
If you have more than one inventory location, check the location every time you allocate. Materials come out of the location you select.
Items stay in the Purchasing Assistant after you put them on a purchase receipt or allocate them. Remove them yourself after each storm.
Requirements
To open the Purchasing module, you need the View Purchasing permission.
To create a purchase receipt, you need the Add Receipt permission.
To receive a purchase receipt, you need the Receive Receipt permission.
Your snow materials must be in the Item Catalog with Inventory Item selected. For more information, visit Adding a Material Item to the Item Catalog.
Steps
How you add a material decides when its cost shows up on the ticket.
Buy snow materials into inventory
Do this before the season and whenever you restock.
Open the Quick Menu, then select New Purchase.
Select the Branch.
Select the Inventory Location where the materials will be stored.
Select the Vendor.
Add each item, such as bulk salt, and enter the quantity and unit price.
Select Save.
When the materials arrive, enter the Received date, then select the three-dot icon and select Receive. The quantity on hand updates in the Inventory tab.
Tip: If your vendor delivers a big salt order in loads, use Receive Partial for each load. Aspire creates a back order for the rest, so you don't have to write a new purchase receipt every time.
For more information, visit Different Ways to Create a Purchase Receipt.
Allocate materials from the Purchasing Assistant
Use this to allocate estimated materials to many tickets at once, such as salt on every deicing ticket from a storm.
Go to the Purchasing module. The Purchasing Assistant opens.
Filter the list to the storm's materials, such as by Category and Scheduled Start Date.
Select the items to allocate.
Select Bulk Actions > Allocate from Inventory.
Aspire allocates each item's quantity to its work ticket. To check an allocation, open the ticket and review its costs.
Important: If any selected item isn't an inventory item, Aspire shows an error and doesn't allocate anything. Clear those items and try again.
Allocate materials on a single ticket
Use this when a crew didn't enter materials in Aspire Mobile, or entered the wrong amount.
Open the work ticket.
In the Cost pane, select Add. The Item Allocation tab opens.
Select the Inventory Location.
Search for the item.
Enter the Quantity to Allocate.
Select Add + and set the Allocation Date.
Select Save.
Select Done.
Crews usually enter materials themselves. For more information, visit Reporting Time and Materials in the Field.
Buy materials for a specific ticket
Use this when a crew buys something on the spot that isn't in inventory, such as extra ice melt from a hardware store.
Open the Quick Menu, then select New Purchase.
Select the Branch and Vendor.
Enter the Received date.
Select the magnifying glass icon next to Ticket, then select the ticket.
Add each item from the crew's receipt.
Select the three-dot icon, then select Receive.
Important: Set the Received date on or before the date the material was used. If it's after the ticket's completed date, the cost can post to warranty instead of the job.
For more information, visit Create a Purchase Receipt from the Quick Menu.
Clean up the Purchasing Assistant after a storm
In the Purchasing Assistant, filter to the storm's dates.
Select the items you've already bought or allocated, and any you won't need.
Select Bulk Actions > Remove from List.
Tip: Save a default list that filters Quantity to Order does not equal "0". Items you've fully purchased drop off automatically.
What happens next
Allocated materials show in each ticket's costs and in job costing.
T&M tickets include the materials when you invoice them. For more information, visit Snow Invoicing by Contract Invoice Type.
Pay your subcontractors for the storm. For more information, visit Paying Snow Subcontractors.
Troubleshooting
For help with common snow material problems, such as a material crews can’t find in Aspire Mobile or a cost that posted to warranty, visit Snow Troubleshooting.