Job Billing

General

With Job Billing, DYCE provides a tool that supports the user in completing his tasks in the context of invoicing services and Jobs as simply and clearly as possible. Controlling and posting of the Time Recordings to the respective Job components are done in a multi-level administration page for any number of (filtered) Job Tasks.

• The recorded times for the individual Job Tasks can thus be easily controlled and released for posting by the project manager.
• This release can be done either per Time Recording or for all Time Recordings in a document at once. Alternatively, several Job Tasks can be marked and released in one step.
• Useful functions such as the transfer of (remaining) quantities to other Job Tasks or the splitting of recorded times are available.
• Next step is posting of Time Recordings. The function takes all released Time Recordings into account. In the process, possible linked Sales Order lines are prepared for invoicing in parallel.
• In a further step the Posting Documents (service invoices) are generated.
• The cancellation of services can also be triggered via this page.

Billing for Jobs

The Job Billing page contains the overview of the Job Tasks to be checked, in addition to the selection option of individual views (with previously saved filter presets). In detail, the page is structured as follows:

1. Filter area.
   • Here a Job Billing Overview Preset can be selected.
   • The date in Show Time Recordings up to can be predefined via the preset (if a Time Recordings Formula is stored there - see below). The date can also be adjusted manually. It is used to filter the related Job Tasks based on the Service Date and display them accordingly for posting.
   • The Invoice Posting Date specifies the date used when posting the Time Recordings (in the Usage type Job Ledger Entries) and for the respective Billable Job Planning Lines.
2. Actions
   • Post Time Recordings (Process)
     The action posts all released Time Recordings to the (via the Job Billing Overview Preset) displayed Job Tasks.
   • Post Quantity To Invoice (Process)
     Posts the quantity from Quantity to Invoice of the selected Job Tasks.
   • Cancel Service (Process)
     Invokes the Cancel Services function for the selected Job Tasks.
   • Create Purchase Orders (Process)
     Action refers to ordering external services and creates Purchase Orders for the selected Job Tasks. For further explanation, see this part of the DYCE documentation.
   • Invoicing (Process)
     The page that opens displays the Job Planning Lines that can be invoiced. This can be used to create Posting Documents - even without a Sales Order.
   • Quick Filter (Process)
     For ad hoc filtering of Job Tasks, this action can be used in addition to Job Billing Overview Presets. It opens a filter page where the criteria for filtering can be entered. This will take the filter criteria from the currently selected view as default values.
   • Release Time Recordings (Time Recordings)
     Time Recordings for all selected Job Tasks are released at once.
   • Reopen Time Recordings (Time Recordings)
     This action resets the release of Time Recordings for all selected Job Tasks.
   • Edit Time Recordings (Time Recordings)
     Opens the page of the same name where Budget Job Planning Lines can be viewed and Time Recordings can be edited.
   • Job Card (Job)
     The action opens the Job Card of the selected Job Task.
   • Job Sales Invoices (Job)
     The action opens an overview of unposted Sales Invoices for the selected Job.
   • Posted Job Sales Invoices (Job)
     The action opens an overview of posted Sales Invoices to the selected Job.
   • Job Sales Orders (Job)
     The action opens an overview of the Sales Orders belonging to the selected Job.
   • Job Task Card (Job Task)
     The action opens the card of the currently selected Job Task.
   • Job Planning Lines (Job Task)
     The action opens the Job Planning Lines of the currently selected Job Task.
   • Sales Order (Job Task)
     The action opens the Sales Order (if any) belonging to the currently selected Job Task.
3. Job Tasks (Lines)
   • The Job Billing lines show the Job Tasks for which times have been recorded within the specified filter (see Job Billing Overview Presets).
   • In addition to Job and Customer, the related Sales Order (if any), total Time Recordings and Budget information are also shown.
   • When switching Job Billing Overview Preset, the display of Job Tasks will be updated if necessary.
   • Clicking on any of the Time Recordings fields (Time Recordings Not Released, Time Recordings Released, Billable Time Recordings, Not Billable Time Recordings) opens an additional page for checking, editing and releasing the Time Recordings.
   • Clicking on one of the budget fields (Quantity Sold Budget, Budget (Total Price)) opens the corresponding Job Planning Lines (for Invoiced (Total Price) the Job Ledger Entries).
   • As an alternative to the actions and fields, a variety of calls for Time Recordings, Jobs and Job Tasks are available via the AssistEdit of the lines.

Include all past Time Recordings

The date in the header field Show Time Recordings up to will take all past Time Recordings into account. This way, no service to be invoiced can be overlooked (as long as the filter criteria from the Job Billing Overview Preset are correct), since all past Time Recordings are automatically part of the filter.

Job Billing Overview Presets

Any number of views (as filter presets) can be created for filtering the services (Job Tasks) to be invoiced. Clicking on the AssistEdit in the Job Billing Overview Preset field will open the related page. In addition to a unique code and description, each view requires the specification of filter criteria and defaults for date calculation. The defaults for date calculation are specified in the form of a dateformula. For more information on using dateformulas, please see this part of the Microsoft documentation.
The actual date values are then calculated based on the workdate when a view is selected. This allows the defaults to be used continuously without having to be adjusted. When a view is selected, the filters are applied as to which Job Tasks should be displayed in Job Billing page. All fields from the Job Tasks are available as filter criteria.
To define the filters, the Edit Job Task Filter action is called. A filter page opens where the criteria can be defined. In addition to the pre-set criteria, further criteria can be added (via + Filter...). If the filter page is closed via OK, the criteria are saved in the view. This can be recognized by the fact that a check mark is set in the Job Task Filter field.
If only those Jobs are to be displayed in which the user himself is stored as Project Manager, the indicator can be set for this in the My Jobs field.
In the Time Recordings Formula field, a dateformula is entered that will be interpreted when using the view in the Show Time Recordings up to field. This field is then used to filter the Job Tasks to be billed (based on the Service Date in the Time Recordings). If no dateformula is specified, Job Billing will not use a filter.
The Display Unit field is used to specify the unit in which Time Recordings are displayed. The choices here are Day and Hour.
In addition, the Copy Preset action provides the option of creating a copy of the currently selected view including all filters. Thus not all criteria must be entered again, but only the deviating criteria must be changed.

Note

If you only want to view a specific Job or invoice per Job, filter on the Job No. - either via a Job Billing Overview Preset or via the Quick Filter. On the other hand, if a Project Manager wants to check all of his Jobs at once, filtering on the Project Manager makes sense.

Special filter criteria

Time Recordings to Release and Time Recordings to Post The two filter criteria are related to Time Recordings that belong to the specific Job Task. Time Recordings to Release tends to be more applicable to the Project Manager, Time Recordings to Post tends to be more applicable to the person posting the Time Recordings. Three options can be selected for each of the two criteria:

Option	Meaning
EMPTY	This option displays all data.
Yes	This option is used to display Job Tasks in which Time Recordings are either to be released or to be posted.
No	This option is used to display all Job Tasks that do not contain releasable or to be posted Time Recordings.

Using special filter criteria

Especially the filter criterion Time Recordings to Release should be carefully considered. Depending on what is to be displayed, it may make sense to leave the filter set to Empty for the time being. If the filter is set to No, all Job Tasks that contain Time Recordings that have not yet been released for posting will be displayed. However, at the moment of releasing, these are immediately filtered out and thus disappear from the list. This behavior is useful, for example, when you want to work through the release of Time Recordings and the progress should be visible.

Edit and release of Time Recordings

Time Recordings can generally be released without a detailed check. To do this, select the Job Tasks and call up the Release Time Recordings action (via Time Recordings, see above). This way of working can be useful in individual cases, but is generally not recommended.
On the other hand, the detailed check and subsequent release of Time Recordings is done either by clicking on the value e.g. in the Time Recordings Not Released field or via the Edit Time Recordings action (via Time Recordings, see above). It opens the page of the same name, where the Budget Job Planning Lines are displayed and the Time Recordings can be edited and then released. Separate areas display the services (Budget Job Planning Lines) at the top and the Time Recordings of the employees at the bottom.
The following actions are available in this page:

• Increase quantity
  This action increases the quantity of the Job Planning lines using a query. This shows the current quantity and, if applicable, the Sales Order. If the Job Planning Lines is linked to a Sales Order line, the change also affects the Sales Order line.
• Toggle Time Recordings
  This action toggles the status for all selected Time Recordings. In each case, the other value (Open / Released) is set.
• Release All Time Recordings
  The action releases all Time Recordings for posting.
• Reopen Time Recordings
  The action resets the release for all Time Recordings.
• Post Quantity To Invoice
  The action posts the value in the Quantity to Invoice field of the currently selected Job Planning Line.

Time Recordings are related to a service (see top of the page) and are therefore generally billable. However, they can also contain non-billable parts such as Goodwill, Warranty or Internal times. By assigning them to services, the Time Recordings will be bold formatted based on the highlighted service in each case.
As long as a Time Recording is not yet posted, all fields can be changed. In addition, a Time Recording can be split differently in terms of total duration or moved to another Job Task (or even to another Job - see below). If a part of a Time Recording should not be invoiced, the time can be reduced accordingly in the Billable Duration (or Billable Duration (Hours)) field. Initially, these fields are predefined by the Duration (and Duration (Hours)). In case of a reduction, a reason for the non-billing (field Non-billable Reason) must be specified at the same time. Here, the selection is initially predefined as Internal or based on the Time & Travel Model line. However, this can be changed.
Via the line menu, the Move Time Recordings function provides the option of moving a time recording that has not yet been posted from one Job Task to another Job Task or even to another Job. When the action is called, a selection page opens, in which the data of the Time Recordings are already given as a starting point. For moving the Job, the Job Task and the Budget Job Planning Line can be selected. By clicking OK, the Time Recording will be moved accordingly.
For further explanation on Time Recording and non-billable portions, please refer to this part of the DYCE documentation.

Proof of activity via Timesheets

Before receiving a Service invoice, some customers require advance proof of which services will be invoiced soon. For this purpose, the Create Timesheet Report action (menu group Time Recordings) is available in the Job Billing page. It allows for each Job Task to create a summary of Time Recordings in the form of a receipt that can be printed or emailed to the customer.
When called, the DYCE Timesheet page opens, displaying the Time Recordings for the previously selected Job Task, which are within the date filter. Time Recordings cannot be edited in this page. For each Time Recordings, it will show whether it was already included in a prior Timesheet report (Printed=YES). The Print field is used to indicate which Time Recordings should be printed (or emailed). Time Recordings that have already been printed can be printed again. To select all Time Recordings at once, the Toggle Print action is useful.
The Print action opens a dialog that controls the output of the previously selected Time Recordings.

Process: Review, release, and post Time Recordings

The following part of the documentation will introduce the process of billing services using Job Billing by an example of a particular Job Task.

Manage Time Recordings

In practice, the review and, if necessary, adjustment of the Time Recordings made by the employees, as well as the subsequent release of these project consumptions for billing, is usually carried out by the respective project or team leaders, since they are better able to evaluate the content of the activities carried out than, for example, a Sales Order Processor.
To ensure that only the employees' time recordings that have not yet been posted are displayed in the first step, it is advisable to create a suitable view for checking and approving the Job Tasks. Suggestion for defining the filters for the view for checking and releasing the consumptions:

• My Jobs = Yes
• Time Recordings Formula = -CM-1D (here: to the last day of the previous month)
• Time Recordings to Release = Yes (Filter page Job Tasks)
• Time Recordings to Post = No (Filter page Job Task)

Increase or decrease the recorded quantities

The total of assigned Time Recordings for a billable service (Budget Job Planning Line) is displayed in the Billable Time Recording Released or Billable Time Recording Posted fields. If the Time Recordings exceed the original calculated billable quantity, a decision must be made as to the correct procedure for this Job Task:

• For a Job Planning Line with Service Billing Type Time & Material, it is assumed that the (billable) quantity may be increased by expense without any problems. This is done automatically and may be carried through to the Sales Order line. In this case, no user intervention is required, because when the Time Recordings are posted, the quantity in the Job Planning Line is automatically increased to match the associated Time Recordings.
• If, on the other hand, the Job Planning Line is of one of the Service Billing Types Budget or Fixed Price, this rule does not apply. In these cases, the service has been sold as a flat rate or Fixed Price and cannot be increased at will. For better visibility, the Job Task that contains such an overbooked Job Planning Line will be displayed in red format in the Job Billing page. The project manager (or other responsible person) must now decide how to handle the overbooking of the service: Can and may the quantity in the Job Planning Line be increased? This question arises especially if the Job Planning Line is linked to a Sales Order:
  • If the Sales Order Line still offers an available quantity, a manual increase of the quantity in the Job Planning Line to the assigned quantity would be possible in principle.
  • However, if the quantity in the Sales Order for this line is already exhausted, the quantity in the Job Planning Line cannot be increased. In this case, the only option (after consulting with the customer) is to increase the quantity in the Sales Order line. However, this must be done manually.

The action Increase quantity can be used to increase the quantity including the adjustment of the Sales Order line, e.g. after consultation with the client. If a quantity increase in the (flat-rate) Job Task line is excluded for contractual reasons, there is still the possibility of transferring the Time Recordings that have not yet been booked to another Job Task (or also to another Job) with quantities that are still free. The corresponding function Move Time Recordings (see Edit and release of Time Recordings) is located in the line menu of the bottom section of the Edit Time Recordings page.

Special feature: Billing of Fixed Price services

In order to invoice Services at Fixed Price, they must be somehow marked as completed. This is done by entering the (total) quantity to be posted in the Quantity to Invoice field in the Budget Job Planning Line. This step cannot be done automatically, as only the Project Manager (in coordination with the Time Recorder, if applicable) can assess whether the related activities have been completed and the corresponding Sales Order line can therefore be invoiced.
If the total quantity of a Fixed Price item is reached with the posting (delivery), the Qty. to Invoice field in the Sales Order line is automatically predefined with this quantity.

Releasing consumptions

To release the Time Recordings, the Project Manager filters (via an appropriate View) on the Jobs or Job Tasks for which he is responsible, for example. If in this view the filter for checking Time Recordings is set to Yes and the filter for releasing Job Tasks is set to No, all Job Tasks that have not yet been released for posting will be displayed. Immediately after checking and setting the release in all Time Recordings, the Job Task disappears from the current view due to the set filter and the Project Manager can continue with the next Job Task in the list.
Releasing can be done per Time Recording (Edit Time Recordings page) or by using the Release Time Recordings action in the menu bar of the Job Billing page for all selected Job Tasks at once. In the latter case, the Status field is automatically set to Released for all Time Recordings that have not yet been posted. In doing so, the Quantity to Invoice field in the related Budget Job Planning Line is updated for each release.

Post released Time Recordings

If the time recordings have been checked by the project manager and the posting release (Status field = Released) has been set, the posting of the consumptions (or Time Recordings) can also be done by a Sales Order Processor using batch processing. For this, the person also uses the Job Billing page - but with a different view:

• My Jobs = No
• Time Recordings Formula = -CM-1D (here: to the last day of the previous month)
• Time Recordings to Release = No (Filter page Job Task)
• Time Recordings to Post = Yes (Filter page Job Task) Posting of released Time Recordings is done via the Post Time Recordings action (via Process). When posting, the Billable Time Recording Released and Billable Time Recording Posted fields are updated in the respective related Budget Job Planning Lines. If applicable, the amount of the Budget Job Planning Line is also increased for Budget Job Planning Lines with Service Billing Type Time & Material. If there is also a link to a Sales Order and the total quantity there is also exhausted, the quantity will also be increased accordingly.

Set quantity to be invoiced manually

If less quantity has been allocated to consumption than originally planned, the Quantity to Invoice in the Job Planning Line can be set to the quantity to be billed for services with one of the billing types Budget (if required) and Fixed Price. Afterwards, the action Post Quantity to Invoice must be called.
If this less consumption should actually be billed less (e.g. final billing), the Quantity to Invoice in the Job Planning Line (for the two billing types Budget and Time & Material) can be reduced to the actually assigned quantity of Time Recordings.

Create Posting Documents

After the Time Recordings have been posted, the services still need to be invoiced. This can be done either directly via the respective Sales Order or via Posting Documents (Invoices and Credit Memos). The Sales Orders that contain billable services are displayed in the Job Orders - Service Billing page. Here, using the Post menu item, invoices can either be created in batches and posted directly (Batch Post action) or individual unposted invoices can be created (Create Sales Invoices action). The page can be opened via the search (Alt+Q).
Alternatively, the Invoicing call is available in Job Billing page. This opens the Job Invoicing page, which displays all the Job Planning Lines that can be invoiced. Here, too, there is the option of creating the posting documents by batch processing and posting them directly, if necessary.
Further details on posting documents are explained in more detail here.