Price Locks on Smart Jobs and Smart eJobs
You can lock the price on Smart Jobs and Smart eJobs. This means that any time a locked (or partially locked) job is added to a ticket, the price of the labor is locked and cannot be changed.
- Price locks on Smart Jobs and Smart eJobs apply only to the labor and not to parts included in the job.
- When added to tickets, the labor is locked but the parts are not.
- Price locks on labor operations apply only to the labor and not to parts included in the labor.
- When added to tickets, the labor is locked but the parts are not.
- Price locks do not apply to sublet labor operations.
- When added to tickets, sublet labor is always unlocked.
You set the price locking status for Smart Jobs on the Edit Smart Jobs window in Configuration (Configuration menu > Labor > Smart Jobs).
Locking the Price on Individual Smart Jobs
You can set the Lock Status for individual Smart Jobs on the Edit Smart Jobs window. You cannot lock the price of an entire Job Category at once.
Complete these steps:
- Click Configuration menu > Labor > Smart Jobs.
- Open the Smart Job window.
- Select the Job Category and then the Smart Job from the list and click Edit.
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The Edit Smart Job window opens displaying the Lock Status section.
- Select the Lock Status.
- Select Lock or Locked with pricing minimum to lock pricing.
- Click OK. The Edit Smart Jobs window closes and the price lock status for this Smart Job is now set.
When you lock the price on Smart Jobs with only a category selected (and no labor operation), the price is locked at zero dollars ($0.00)
Locking the Price on All Existing Smart Jobs
You can lock the current price on all existing Smart Jobs at one time.
The Apply to ALL button in the Lock Status section of the Edit Smart Jobs window allows you to lock the current price of all existing Smart Jobs. The Apply to ALL button appears only when no Job Category is selected and then disappears when a Job Category is selected.
You cannot password-protect the Apply to ALL button; the only way to limit access to the Apply to ALL button is to password-protect the entire Edit Smart Jobs window in the Configuration module.
When you lock the price on Smart Jobs with only a category selected (and no labor operation), the price is locked at zero dollars ($0.00)
To Set a Global Price Lock on All Smart Jobs
Complete these steps:
- Open the Edit Smart Job window. The Edit Smart Jobs window opens displaying the Lock Status section.
- Select Lock or Locked with pricing minimum to lock the current pricing.
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Click the Apply to All button. A prompt appears asking you to confirm that you want to change all Smart Jobs to the selected Lock Status.
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Click Yes. A prompt appears notifying you that the new Lock Status has been applied to all Smart Jobs.
- Click OK.
Remember!
When setting all Smart Jobs to the Locked or Locked with pricing minimum status, it is important to note the following:
- You can still unlock individual Smart Jobs that were locked by a global lock as needed.
- This setting does not apply to new Smart Jobs. New Smart Jobs will have the default Unlocked Lock Status and have to be locked individually.
Price Lock Exception for Other Labor
Other Labor added to Smart Jobs remains unlocked unless the labor in the Other Labor section is also locked. In the example below, Rear Grease Seals in Other Labor retains its own price lock status when the Brake-Front Disc Smart Job is added to an estimate or repair order.
Price Lock Statuses for Smart Jobs
The price lock status of a Smart Job determines the fields and options that are locked, inactive, and cannot be changed on the Editing Labor window that opens when you open the labor from an open ticket.
Unlocked
Smart Jobs with an Unlocked status are not locked. All fields can be edited.
Unlocked is the default status for all new Smart Jobs.
Locked
When labor is locked, the following information is locked, inactive, and cannot be changed on the Editing Labor window that opens when you open the labor from an open ticket:
- Category dropdown list and button
- Operation dropdown list and button
- Description
- Elapsed Time
- The labor time clock still updates the Elapsed Time field on locked labor but cannot be edited or copied to the Billed Time field.
- The Charge field cannot be updated due to the time clock updates.
- Time, Rate, and Charge
- Package Price
- Smart Pricing, No Fees, Sublet, Menu, Calc Charge, Calc Time, and No Calc checkboxes
- Pay Date
- Cost
- Labor Guide
- AP Posting
- Invoice Number
Locked with Pricing Minimum
When labor is Locked with Pricing Minimum, the following information is locked, inactive, and cannot be changed on the Editing Labor window that opens with you open the labor from an open ticket:
- Category dropdown list and button
- Operation dropdown list and button
- Description
- Elapsed Time*
- The labor time clock still updates the Elapsed Time field on locked labor but cannot be edited or copied to the Billed Time field.
- The Charge field cannot be updated due to the time clock updates.
- Time and Rate
- Package Price
- Smart Pricing, No Fees, Sublet, Menu, Calc Charge, Calc Time, and No Calc checkboxes
- Pay Date
- Cost
- Labor Guide
- AP posting
- Invoice Number
Charge
The Charge can be edited but not lower than the minimum price set for the labor operation. In the graphic below, the minimum Charge for the labor operation is set at $17.00.
If you attempt to set the charge lower than the minimum price, 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 with minimum price and
- Has a package price, both the Package Price and the Charge are locked.
- Both amounts can be changed but not to less than their minimum prices.
- Does not have a package price, only the Charge field is locked.
- The Charge can be changed but not to less than its minimum price.
NOTE: The Package Price still takes precedence over the Charge price; this does not change with price locking.
The Exception to Locked Price with Minimum
When you are using Package Pricing with Use Package Discounts turned off in Package Options, the prompt does NOT appear when the price goes below the locked minimum
When package discounts are turned off, the part price and labor charge are modified directly to meet the Package Price and NOT calculated by the package discount. In this setup, the part price and labor charge can go below the minimum price without triggering the prompt.
As a result, the price can go below the minimum without notifying you.
Append and Undo Button on Editing Labor Window
When the labor's price is locked, the Editing Labor window contains an Append button and an Undo button.
- Click the Append button to enter additional text in a separate section.
- The appended text applies only to the labor on the current ticket.
- The appended text does not update the locked Description in Configuration.
- Click the Undo button to remove text added by the Append 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:
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Finished and Elapsed Time
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Pay Date
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Cost
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Item Number
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Invoice Number
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Append button and section
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 a ticket, 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.
Parts and Labor on Existing Tickets
When you lock the price on parts and labor that is already posted to open tickets on the Work in Progress and Estimates in Progress windows, the price lock does apply to the posted parts and labor.
To apply the price lock, you need to remove the parts and labor from the tickets and then add them back. When the parts and labor are added back to the ticket, the pricing is locked.
Price Locks and Conversions
The price lock persists through all conversions, including:
- Converting an appointment in Scheduler to an estimate or repair order
- Converting an estimate to a repair order
- Converting a repair order to an estimate