Tasks & Work Orders Overview

Manage work orders, billable time, and task details.

In this article

Getting Started | Video Walkthrough | Features | Enhancements | Sample Reports | Related Content

Getting Started

The task module is useful in managing a variety of work orders, phone calls, contact notes, and other tasks. These tasks are conveniently associated with workers, sales orders, serialized items, timecard detail, and/or jobs. The following examples will demonstrate some of the popular uses for the task and work order module:

Scenario:  An agriculture equipment sales and service company uses work orders to organize their service projects onsite as well as their shop staff.  The work orders are used to track the time spent on T&M projects as well as flat rate service jobs.   Separate tasks are used to track the time to assemble and/or install new equipment.   Work orders are used to record parts and labor required to refurbish trade-in equipment for resell.    The task management tools within EBMS allow the service manager to organize high priority service projects, schedule installation jobs, and schedule less urgent work orders such as refurbishing equipment.    An integrated ERP system that manages sales and service details is invaluable to this company with multiple locations and service technicians working on various projects. 

Scenario:  Any service company requires a robust parts and labor management system.   This is especially true for a mechanical contractor that handles many parts for a single plumbing, HVAC, or electrical project.    A service technician may be completing multiple work orders within a single day.    The profit of this contractor depends on the proper recording of parts and fittings used and the labor spent to complete the new install or repair.   Skilled technicians require a simple application available onsite to properly record project details.   Worker, equipment, job, and billing details within the work order are important so the technician can complete a professional and efficient repair.   

Scenario: The shop within a truck up-fitter and sales company services trucks for workers, Adds accessories to new trucks, and refurbishes trade-in vehicles.    The EBMS task and work order system communicates the project schedule and instructions to each technician.   Workers are billed using either flat rates or an hourly shop rate.   The parts and labor costs are added to a new or refurbished vehicle to record an accurate total value for the truck.   EBMS maintains a history record of all service rendered to a specific truck based on the VIN number.  This history is maintained even if the owner changes or the vehicle is sold, traded-in, and resold.   Service history details are important to a service department and may be valuable information to a worker.

Service and Dispatch Webinar  

Task and work order webinar

Scheduling and printing work orders

The task module can be used to schedule work orders for almost any service business. The task work order system is a power tool for electricians, equipment repair technicians, installation departments, HVAC companies, computer repairmen, manufacturers, and almost any type of repair or service business. Review the Getting Started > Using Tasks as Work Orders section for more details.

• The scheduling tools allows the user to group tasks by date, work group, or employee. Graphs display available time and a schedule overview. Review the Scheduling Overview section for more details.
• The task module is a powerful tool to track the time and materials for T&M jobs or track the actual time spent on projects with an estimated time. Review the Creating Tasks > Time and Material tasks vs. Contract Tasks section for details on using tasks to track time.Review the Estimated, Billable, and Actual Time section for details on the various task time tools.  

Organizing Tasks and Work Orders

• Group by task type:  Review Getting Started > Creating Task Types and Defaults for instructions to create different types of tasks.

• Group tasks by manager:  Review Managing Tasks > Approving Tasks and Assigning a Manager for instructions to identify managers.

• Group by worker or work group:  Review Scheduling tasks > Work Groups for more details on work groups:

• Group by schedule:  Review the Scheduling Overview section for more details.

• Group by worker:  View the Task tab of a worker record.

• Group by vehicle, equipment, or other serialized item:  Review the Task tab of a serialized item.    Review [Inventory] Serialized Item > Overview for more details on serialized items.  

• Group by job:  Review Managing Tasks > Using Tasks and Job Costing for details.

• Group by custom query:   Review Creating Queries for instructions to create custom grouping or queries.  

Configuring to organize tasks

• Query options:  Review Customizing Task Views > Creating Queries for query setup instructions.

• Group options:  Review Customizing Task Views > Creating Task Groups for multiple level group setup instructions.

• Multiple views:  Review Customizing Task Views > Creating Multiple Views to create multiple view tabs.  

• Associated task views:  Review Customizing Task Views > Associated Tasks to show multiple associated task tabs within a task.

Define a process

• Monitor tasks by status: Review Customizing Task Views > Task Status Settings for details.

• Use MyTime on a tablet or laptop for remote work order management:  Review MyTime > Overview for details.

• Define a pipeline process with multiple phases:  Review the Scheduling Tasks > Pipeline section for details on creating multiple phases per task type.

Billing Tasks and Work Orders

• Create tasks from a proposal or sales order:   Review Creating Tasks > Creating a task from a Proposal or Quote for details.

• T&M billing options:   Review Getting Started > Time and Material tasks vs. Contract Tasks for details.

• Flat rate labor billing:  Review Creating Tasks > Attaching a task to a Service Item for instructions on creating service codes with pricing and creating tasks from the quote or sales order.  

• Billing parts and supplies:   Review Managing Tasks > Recording Parts and Materials for details.

• Billing work orders remotely:  Review MyTime > Billing the Customer From MyTime for options for the technician to bill for the service while at the customer's site.

• Applying costs to a job:  Review Managing Tasks > Using Tasks and Job Costing for details.

• Applying costs to a serialized item such as a vehicle or equipment:   Review Creating Tasks > Linking tasks to a serialized Item for details

Use Cases

Evaluating the billable time for a service company: Managing a service company or division requires affective tools to measure the efficiency of labor and employees. Comparing billable time to the actual time is a powerful way to evaluate the profitability of individual employees or an entire service department. The task module allows the user to manage labor more effectively by quantifying the billable time using different work codes within payroll. The management reports within EBMS allow the personnel manager to base employee pay on his/her efficiency and performance. Review the Managing Tasks > Billable Time section for more details.

Sales person’s contact manager: The task module is a useful tool for a sales person to track worker information, sales contacts, and other worker relation information. Review the Getting Started >  Using Tasks as a Contract Manager section for more details.

Logging worker support contacts: The task module includes a number of features to log, organize, and evaluate phone calls, service calls, and follow up contacts. Review the Getting Started > Using Phone Tasks section for more details.

Tracking details for service contracts: The task module can be used to track labor that is related to a service agreement or annual contract. Review the Managing Tasks > Using Tasks and Job Costing for details.

Maintaining history regarding individual pieces of equipment or whole goods: Logging contacts, service history, and other task detail is very valuable in managing labor in a service business. Review the Managing Tasks > Reviewing Task History for more details.

Common use cases

Manage Work Orders