Equipment Register

Introduction

BusinessCraft provides a wide range of functionality to address the requirements of handling the costing and invoicing of equipment including:

This document focuses on use of the Equipment Register to handle the tracking, costing and invoicing of Equipment when used on a job that usually also includes the supply of labour and/or materials.

The BusinessCraft Assets Module caters for both depreciable assets (which can also be considered equipment) and non-depreciable equipment. Equipment is identified in the Asset Register by setting the Equipment Reg field to Y, assigning an Equipment Code and Equipment Type.

Setup Summary

  • Create non-stocked, non-controlled items in the Inventory Module representing the equipment services that are provided, the daily cost (other time periods can be used if required) and optionally, sell rates for those services.

  • Create/update asset register records to identify those asset records (can be depreciable assets or not) that are part of the Equipment Register.

  • Link the appropriate items created in the Inventory Module for equipment services to the required Equipment Register records in the Assets Module. This can be done from within the Assets Module or from the Inventory Module.

Process Summary

  • To allocate equipment to a job, go to Job Costing > Transactions > Cost Entry > Job Stock Control and select a Job (and optionally a Section if required)

    Use the Equip Hire (F7) function key to add the service to be provided, record a start hire date, an expected return date, the user creating the hire record and optionally the current location of the equipment.

  • To de-allocate equipment from a job which creates the cost/revenue transaction for the job, go to Job Costing > Transactions > Cost Entry > Job Stock Control and select a Job (and optionally a Section if required).

    Use the Equip Hire (F7) function key to select the service that has been completed, record the Off hire date, the user recording the return and optionally the location of the equipment. A prompt screen provides the opportunity to make any adjustments to the default time quantity to be booked to the job (including adjusting from days to hours etc).

Creating Equipment Services

Equipment Services are the services that can be provided when equipment is allocated to a job. Generally a service is time and rate based. Multiple services can be linked to equipment. For example, hiring equipment might attract a different rate for different times of the day or durations. Alternatively, it might be that there are distinctly different services that can be provided by the equipment that may attract different rates. How equipment services are set up and linked to equipment is to suit business requirements.

Equipment services provided are recorded as non-stocked, non-controlled items in the Inventory Module:

  • Services can be as generic or specific as required.

  • The Unit of Measure should be set to day and rates should be daily rates (if hourly or weekly charges are required this can be addressed when off hiring the equipment)

  • If different rates can be charged for a particular service, then a separate item should be created with appropriate descriptions.

  • The system will only use the sell price if the Use Item Sell Price field in Job Costing > Setup > Quotation Parameters screen is set to Y. Otherwise; the system will use the cost rate and mark that rate up by the material mark-up rate for the job (where applicable).

Go to Inventory > Maintain > Inventory and create the required items using the following screens as a guide:

Key fields are as follows:

Item Number It is recommended that a coding system is used that distinguishes equipment hire items from item codes used for usual inventory processing.
Description Use a description that enables the user allocating the equipment to choose the correct service.
Product Cat It is recommended that a separate Product Category is used for Equipment Register items.
Unit of Measure It is recommended that a Day Unit of Measure is used. Other time intervals can be used, but this is best discussed with a BusinessCraft Consultant to understand the options and the best implementation decision.
Last Cost Enter the rate at which the item is to be costed to the job for the unit of measure.
Sell Price Enter the rate at which the item is to be invoiced to the customer for the unit of measure. This can be calculated from the Buy Price field provided a Target Markup/Margin is recorded.
Vendor RRP and Buy Price Although not being purchased from a vendor, it is good practice to enter the rate at which the item is to be costed to the job for the unit of measure.

On Page 2 of the Inventory Master File Maintenance screen, make sure the Item is Not Stocked and Not Controlled:

Create/Update Equipment Register Assets

The Assets Module provides the ability to identify those assets that are available in the Equipment Register. This is done by setting the Equipment Register Flag to Y and giving the Asset an Equipment Code and Equipment Type. The Equipment Code can be the same as the Asset Code or another code that is more suitable for those using the equipment in day to day operations as distinct from accounting.

Equipment that needs to be added to the Equipment Register but is not an Asset for accounting purposes must still be created in the Assets Module, but the Accounting Flag needs to be set to N. This can be done from within the Asset Maintenance screen or for users not authorised to access the Assets Module by going to the Equipment Maintenance screen in Job Costing > Maintain > Equipment Register.

When adding equipment using the Equipment Maintenance screen, the system automatically assigns the next available asset number and sets the Accounting Flag to N. For further details on how to use the Assets Module please refer to the Assets Product Guide.

In this example, the Asset Maintenance screen is being used by going to Assets > Maintain > Assets:

Key fields are as follows:

Equipment Reg Indicates if the Asset is part of the Equipment Register (Y) or not (N). Set this field to Y.
Equipment Code Enter a code that identifies the equipment, can be the asset code.
Equipment Type Enter/select an Equipment Type.

Creating the link between Equipment and Services

After making the required assets/equipment available in the Equipment Register, the various services the equipment can provide must be linked to the equipment. This can be done by linking services to the equipment or linking equipment to the service whichever method is more streamlined from a processing perspective. The result is the same regardless of the linking method used.

Linking Services to Equipment

Go to Assets > Maintain > Assets or Job Costing > Maintain > Equipment Register and find the equipment record to be linked to one or more services:

Use the Details (F5) function key to open the Select Line Type menu:

Select Inventory Lines to open the Asset Inventory Items screen and enter/select the required item codes for the services that the equipment can provide:

Please note that multiple services can be recorded against one piece of equipment and the same service can be assigned to different equipment.

The View Item (F5) function key opens the Item Maintenance screen for the Item Code for the selected line.

Linking Equipment to Services

Go to Inventory > Maintain > Inventory and find the equipment service item to be linked to one or more equipment records:

Use the Item Details (F5) function key to open the Item Details Selection menu:

Select Linked Equipment to open the Linked Equipment screen and enter/select the required equipment codes that can provide that service:

Please note that multiple equipment records can be recorded against one service item and the same service can be assigned to different equipment.

The View Equipment (F5) function key opens the Equipment Maintenance screen for the Equipment Code for the selected line.

Book Equipment for a Job

Equipment is booked for a job by going to Job Costing > Transactions > Cost Entry > Job Stock Control and selecting the Job (and where applicable the Section) to which the Equipment is to be booked:

Use the Equip Hire (F7) function key to open the Equipment Hire screen to book the Equipment. Enter/select the Item Code for the Equipment Service required, the commencement date of the booking, depending on Job Costing setup the Job Department and Job Cost Centre and the Expected Return Date of the Equipment. A pop up will appear displaying the Equipment that can be used to provide the service and its availability or in use status:

In this example, there is only one piece of equipment that can provide the service required and it is already I use on another job. Selecting it and clicking OK will prevent the equipment from being booked:

It was subsequently found the equipment was not actually booked on the other job and the booking was cleared making the equipment available for this job:

Make sure the Equipment Line is selected and click OK, the Equipment code field is filled on the Equipment Hire screen and enter/select the user code booking the equipment. Do not complete the remaining fields unless the equipment has already been returned other than updating the location if required:

The Generate (F7) function key is used for a different purpose in the Plant Module. Do not use it for the Equipment Register, just use F12 to exit.

The impact of booking equipment for a job is as follows:

  • The equipment cannot be booked for another job for an overlapping time period

  • A record of the booking is recorded on the job in the Job Costing Module

  • An asset allocation transaction is recorded in the Asset Module

  • There are no financial transactions created

To see the booking on the job, go to Job Costing > Maintain > Jobs and locate the job. Use the Costs (F7) function key to open the Job Cost Enquiry screen and click on the Equipment Tab:

To see the allocation of the Equipment, go to Assets > Maintain > Assets or Job Costing > Maintain > Equipment Register and enter select the Asset or Equipment Code respectively:

Use the History (F6) function key to open the Select Line Type menu and choose Allocation History:

The history of allocations for the equipment are shown with the most recent allocation at the top of the screen:

Record the return of Equipment from a Job

When the return date is recorded for an equipment booking, the system carries out the following actions:

  • Provides the option to accept the booking duration for billing purposes or change it as required

  • Creates a Materials Job Costing Transaction for the cost price of the service provided by the equipment multiplied by the booking duration (as adjusted where applicable). Included in the transaction is the recommended sell price calculated by multiplying the sell rate for the service by the booking duration (as adjusted where applicable)

  • Updates the Equipment Tab in the Job Cost Enquiry Screen with an Off Hire Date, Updates the Status of the record and displays the cost of the service.

  • De-allocates the Equipment from the Job so that it is available for other jobs

To record the return of equipment previously booked on a job, go to Job Costing > Transactions > Cost Entry > Job Stock Control and select the Job (and where applicable the Section) holding the booking.

Use the Equip Hire (F7) function key to open the Equipment Hire screen and record the user recording the return of the equipment and the actual return date of the equipment in the Off Hire Date field. Optionally update the location field for the equipment:

After pressing Enter or F12, the Asset Off Hire Pop Up is displayed:

The Hire Quantity defaults to the difference between the Off Hire Date and the Start Hire Date but can be changed. Changing the Quantity could be a goodwill action or in the case where the item unit of measure, cost and sell rates might be in hours and so the quantity would need to be changed to reflect hours not days.

After reviewing the Asset Off Hire screen and making any required changes to the quantity or current location, click OK and exit back to the main menus.

This completes the return of the equipment and the impact is as follows:

  • A Materials Job Costing Transaction for the cost price of the service provided by the equipment multiplied by the booking duration (as adjusted where applicable) is created. Included in the transaction is the recommended sell price calculated by multiplying the sell rate for the service by the booking duration (as adjusted where applicable)

  • Job Costing Distributions are created reflecting the Materials Job Costing Transaction

  • The Equipment Tab in the Job Cost Enquiry Screen displays the Off Hire Date, the new Status of the booking and the cost of the service.

  • The Equipment is deallocated from the Job so that it is available for other jobs

Checking the impact of each of this points:

Job Costing Materials Transaction

Job Costing Financial Transaction

Typically the transaction is:

DR WIP

CR Stock Clearing

The CR in Stock Clearing will need to be moved to a more suitable account such as an Equipment Recovery account similar to Labour Recovery to offset the costs of maintaining the equipment. At present BusinessCraft does not provide an option to map these transactions to a separate account. They will post to the same clearing account as all other materials.

Equipment Tab in Job Cost Enquiry

Actual Tab in Job Cost Enquiry

The Stock Materials line in the Job Cost Enquiry reflects the total of all Job Cost Material transactions including completed Equipment Register bookings. In this example, there were no other material transactions so the line reflects the $1600 cost of the equipment for 2 days and the recommended sell price of $2000 for the two days.

Clicking the Stock Mat button at the bottom of the Job Cost Enquiry screen provides the supporting details:


Asset Deallocation

Asset Allocation is a function provided by the Assets Module and Equipment Register to track the status and history of the allocations and deallocations for an assets and/or equipment. Assets and/or equipment can be allocated to a Customer, Supplier, Employee, Department, Job, another Asset, or for another purpose.

The Assets Module provides specific screens to allocate and de-allocate assets, as well as to enquire and report on asset allocations. The Equipment Register process described in this guide automatically allocates and deallocates assets and equipment as part of the process.

Here is the Allocation/Deallocation record for the Equipment Booking just completed:

The recording of a Return Date removes the Allocation from the Job, but a record is retained in Allocation History for future purposes if required.

Revision 1

05/02/2020

Last Modified: February 05, 2020