Price Locking Labor

You can lock the price on labor operations. This means that any time a locked (or partially locked) labor is added to an estimate or repair order, the price is locked and cannot be changed.

Price locking applies only to non-sublet labor operations. Pricing for sublet labor always remains unlocked.

You can lock or unlock each labor operation individually. You can also lock or unlock all non-sublet labor at one time. This is referred to as the "global lock".

If parts are included in a labor operation, the price lock status of the parts are not affected by the price lock status of the labor operation or Smart Job.

Global Price Locking

Global price locking allows you to set the price locking status for all labor operations in your current system at one time.

The Apply to ALL button in the Lock Status section of the Edit Labor window locks the current price for all labor operations in the system. It appears only when no Category or Operation is selected and disappears when a Category is selected.

NOTE: The only way to limit access to the Apply to ALL button is to password-protect the entire Edit Labor window in the Configuration module. You cannot password-protect the Apply to ALL button alone.

To Price Lock All Labor Operations

Complete these steps:

  1. Open the Edit Labor window. A blank Edit Labor window opens.
  2. Select Lock or Locked with Pricing Minimum as the Lock Status.
  3. Click the Apply to All button. A prompt appears asking you to verify the price lock of all labor operations.

  1. Click Yes. A prompt appears confirming that the Lock Status has been applied to all labor operations in the system.

  1. Click OK.

Remember!

When setting all parts to the Locked or Locked w/Price Minimum status, it is important to note the following:

Price Locking Individual Labor Operations

You can set the Lock Status for individual labor operations on the Edit Labor window.

Complete these steps:

  1. Open the Edit Labor window.
  2. Select the Category and Operation to open that labor operation.
  3. Select the Lock Status: Unlocked, Locked, or Locked with pricing minimum. Select Locked or Locked with pricing minimum to lock pricing.

  4. Click Save. The labor operation now has the selected Lock Status and the Edit Labor window closes.

Price Lock Statuses for Labor Operations

The following table describes the price lock statuses.

Price Lock Status Description

Unlocked

All fields can be edited. There is no change to the pricing fields.

This is the default status. Labor operations remain unlocked until you lock them.

Locked

Locks specific fields on the labor operation.

Locked with Price Minimum

Locks specific pricing fields except for the Charge and Package Price fields. These fields can be edited but not to an amount lower than the minimum price.

Unlocked

Labor operations with an Unlocked status behave the same as they did before this change. All fields can be edited.

Locked

When labor operations have a Locked status, the following items are locked:

*The labor time clock still functions and can be accessed by pressing “T” on the keyboard, which starts and stops the elapsed time on the job. The value in the Elapsed Time field is updated according to the time clock but cannot be edited or copied to the Billed Time field. In addition, the Charge field cannot be updated.

Locked with Minimum Price

When labor operations have a Locked with Pricing Minimum status, the following items are locked:

*The labor time clock still functions and can be accessed by pressing “T” on the keyboard, which starts and stops the elapsed time on the job. The value in the Elapsed Time field is updated according to the time clock but cannot be edited or copied to the Billed Time field.

Charge Field

The Charge field can be edited but cannot be set lower than the minimum price set for the labor operation. In the graphic below, the minimum Charge for the labor operation is set at 102.00.

If you attempt to set the charge lower than the minimum price on an estimate or repair order, a warning appears notifying you that the charge cannot be set below the minimum.

After clicking OK, the charge resets to the minimum charge automatically.

Package Price

If the labor operation is locked and

If the labor operation is locked with a price minimum and

NOTE: Package Price still takes precedence over the Charge price; this does not change with price locking.

Example with Minimum Package Price

In the graphic below, the minimum package price is set to $32.99.

If you attempt to set the package price lower than the $32.99 on an estimate or repair order, a warning appears notifying you that the package price cannot be set below the minimum.

After clicking OK, the package price resets to the minimum amount automatically.

Append and Undo

Price-locked labor operations contains an Append and an Undo button.

Price Locks on Labor with Multiple Technicians Assigned

When multiple technicians are used on a labor job and the price of the labor operation is locked, the technician labor inherits the lock status from the master labor.

The following fields are also disabled on technician labor:

The labor time clock still functions and can be accessed by pressing the "t" on the keyboard; however, the Elapsed Time cannot be copied to the Billed Time and the charge cannot be updated.

The override option is not available on the technician labor and must be done in the master labor window.

Overriding Price Locks

When pricing is locked on an estimate or repair order, it can be overridden by clicking the Override button on the Edit Labor window. The locked fields and options become editable again.

Security Setup

You can make the ability to override price locks require a password by setting a security level that requires a password.

Select the plus sign next to Repair Orders/Estimates and double-click on Unlock Edit Labor to set the security level. If you select a security level that requires a password, the user has to enter a password before he or she can override the price lock.

Current Estimates and Repair Orders

When you lock the price, it does NOT apply to current estimates and repair orders on the Work in Progress and Estimates in Progress screens. For price locks to apply to current estimates and repair orders, the parts and labor need to be removed then added back after the price has been locked.

Price Locking and Conversions

The price lock goes into effect whenever a part, labor, or Smart Job is added to an estimate or repair order and the price lock persists through all conversions, including: