New Work TourThe Work Order module contains a New Work Order wizard that provides a convenient step-by-step walkthrough of a comprehensive professional pre-service routine. The wizard prompts you to capture all of the relevant customer concerns and service requests up-front, and you can make selections that pertain to a new or returning customer. Depending on customer requirements, you can discuss outstanding and maintenance services recommended for the vehicle and then schedule or begin the work accordingly using the work in progress workflow.
Watch the following video as a supplement to reading this article:
To create a new work order, first click the Work Orders in the home ribbon. Then, click the top half of the New Work Order button in the Work Order ribbon. to start a typical work order or click the bottom half of the command button to start a new work order using a work order template.
When you start a new work order, you are led through a series of steps in a popup window known as the New Work Order Wizard. The wizard is a walkthrough of all the major steps for a typical pre-service routine. You can find instructions below for each window of the wizard.
At the top of the dialog, just below the ribbon, you will see an
example script for the service advisor, "Do
you have any specific concerns, areas you'd like us to inspect, or
services in mind?". You will most likely use your own
words but essentially, those are the questions to ask the customer
at this point in the pre-service routine. As you listen to the customer's
concerns and service requests during the pre-service routine, you
can search for corresponding items using the Code
and Title fields.
Search for
concerns, inspections, and services:Search for
concerns, inspections, and services: You can perform a text
search for concerns,
inspections
and services
by code or title. Simply enter full or partial text in the Code and/or
Title fields and then press enter or click the Search
button. Click the Clear button
to start a new text search.
Tree menu: As an alternative
to search, you can navigate the Profit
Center / Service Category tree menu and click folders to reveal
the items within.
Adding concerns, inspections,
and services to the Work
The contacts and service item dialog allows you to enter or select an existing contact and service item for the work order.
If you start a work order for a contact only, the work order will be saved as a counter sale. If you select a service item, it will be saved as a work order. Work in Progress provides an explanation of the different document types and how they flow through the workflow.
Deferred Work is a concern, inspection or service that was previously estimated for the customer but not sold. The Deferred Work dialog will list the deferred work in the left window pane will display a list of deferred items by service category.
Select the deferred item by clicking on it once. A summary will be displayed in the middle window pane with the title and description of the item as well as the date it was deferred on, the invoice number it was deferred on, the odometer / usage, and the total dollar amount of the item before other charges.
If the customer wishes to have you perform the work, click the Add command button in the Service Package group on the ribbon.
If your have added a deferred item and the customer changes their mind, you can delete it by selecting it in the preview pane and then clicking the Delete command button in the Service Package group on the ribbon. This will return the item to the deferred list.
If the customer had the service performed somewhere else, you can remedy it so your service records are updated even though you didn't sell it. Click the Remedy button at the bottom left of the dialog.
Select or enter the Date the service was performed using the calendar combo box.
Enter the Usage (typically mileage) the service was performed in the provided text box.
Note - Enter any notes about the item you wish to record and then click the OK button. The notes entered do not appear on any customer documentation but it does appear on the service item's history when you mouse over it.
If you wish to record other service events manually so that the history on the service item is accurate even though you haven't sold them through the software click on the Service Events button at the lower left of the dialog.
Adding a Service Event:Click the Action Button Drop Down Menu and then click the Add list item. Date - Set the date the service was performed by clicking the provided combo box drop down to use the calendar or type the date directly in the box. Usage - Enter the usage (typically mileage for vehicles but can represent other measurements such as time) in the provided text box. Note - Enter any information you deem noteworthy about the service event in the provided multi-line text box. The notes entered do not appear on any customer documentation but it does appear on the service item's history when you mouse over it.
Deleting a Service Event:
Select the service event you wish to delete with a single mouse click.
Click the Action Button Drop Down Menu and then click the Delete list item. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
Click the Next button at the bottom right of the dialog to move to the next dialog.
Interval Services are inspections and services that Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommends for specific mileage intervals.
For the mileage basis, Shop Manager chooses an interval according to the values in the In and Out fields in the Work Order pane. Double-click to edit either of these mileage values.
Follow these steps to add an interval service to the work order:
If you are not in the process of creating new work and you have an existing work order open, click the Interval Service button in the ribbon.
Click the Normal option to display the service intervals for normal operating conditions; click Severe to display the service intervals that pertain to severe operating conditions.
Left Arrow Button - At the lower right of the window pane, there is a blue left arrow button that allows you to return to the vehicle information and make any changes.
Choose an Interval from the drop-down list, as shown in the figure.
Review the listing to see the type, description and comment for each service item.
There are two tabs. Click the As One Service to see the service items as a collection that has a single value for labor time (Hours). To add the entire interval to the work order as one service, check the box in the Type column, and then click Add button in the lower right of the popup window.
To select individual service items, click the As Multiple Services and click the box in the Type column for to each item that you want to include and click Add button.
Reminder items are either services packages or inspections that should occur at specific time and/or mileage intervals. They are customizable, though these reminder items are not necessarily reflective of the OEM service intervals. Reminder items appear in listings with the item name, the last service date, and the date and/or mileage they are due. Red flags indicate the item is past due, yellow flags indicate the item is coming due soon, and green flags indicate the item is not due.
For the mileage basis, Shop Manager uses the values in the In and Out fields in the Work Order pane. Double-click to edit either of these mileage values.
If you are preparing an Estimate, the Reminder Items button will only be available if a service item has been added to the estimate.
If the vehicle or service item does not have any service items assigned, you will be prompted to choose a reminder group.
If you are not in the process of creating new work and you have an existing work order open, click the Reminder Item in the ribbon.
Click the Action drop-down button, and then choose Add.
To see all reminder items, click the Search button. To filter the list, enter a partial or full reminder item Name. Optionally, enter in a full or partial Description and click the Search button.
To begin a new search, click the Clear button and then steps above.
Click on the reminder item or group you want to add. Reminder groups contain an icon of multiple flags; items have only one flag.
Choose multiple items by holding down either the CTRL or SHIFT key when selecting.
Click the OK button.
If you are adding a single item, you'll need to choose the interval for the service item. There is an option to change it to a custom value later, if necessary, using the edit feature. Click the OK button.
If you are adding multiple items, a list of reminder items and their corresponding intervals will appear. Set the appropriate intervals for the service items. To change an interval, hover your mouse at the far right of the interval box and a small drop-down list arrow will appear.
Click on the small drop-down arrow and select the interval you wish to use by clicking on it.
Repeat the steps above for each reminder item, and click the OK button when you're done.
In the Reminder Item popup window, right-click the service item that you need to edit. (Or, click the Action drop-down button) and choose Edit.
In the Reminder Interval popup, choose the Type from the drop down list.
Choose Periodic if the service item occurs at regular mileage or calendar intervals. Check the Time Interval if this is a calendar-based service, and then choose days or months in the drop-down and enter a value in the field. Check the Usage box and enter a value for the mileage interval.
Choose Fixed Date from the Type drop-down if the service item is to be performed on a specific day annually, then choose a Date, and then enter a value for the number of times to repeat the service in the Interval field.
To delete a reminder item, do the following:
Select the reminder item you wish to delete by single clicking on it.
Click the Action button drop-down and then click the Delete list item.
Double click on the item you wish to add to the work order.
If the reminder item has more than one trigger, you will be prompted with a list of services packages and/or inspections that will satisfy the reminder item.
Double-click on the item you want to add to the work order.
If this item has relationships, you'll see a popup window asking you to choose and confirm the related items.
Choose the items you want to add to the work order by checking the box to the left of each item. Some items may not be optional and the check box for these will not be checkable.
Click the OK button.
Repeat the process above for each item you wish to add to the work order.
If the customer had the service performed somewhere else, you can remedy it so your service records are updated even though you didn't sell it.
Follow these steps to apply a remedy:
Select the reminder item you wish to remedy by single clicking on it.
Click the Action drop-down button and choose Remedy.
Select or enter the Date the service was performed using the calendar combo box.
Enter the Usage (typically mileage) value.
Optionally, enter a Note about the item and then click the OK button. The notes entered do not appear on any customer documentation but it does appear on the service items history when you hover the mouse over it.
Select the appropriate service from the list by clicking on it.
Click the OK button.
If you have any items on the work order with the following terminologies: Engine Oil, Engine Coolant/Antifreeze, Power Steering Fluid, Brake Fluid, Gear Oil (Transmission Fluid) then you may be prompted to choose the proper type and capacity. These choices will be transferred to the work order and the type will be appended to the description while the quantity will update the amount being sold.
Click the check box beside each item and then click the OK button.
Review the work order on the final dialog.
Click the Finish button to create the work order.
The work order is displayed as a tab and can be updated using work order functions.