Again, there is one function on the Others menu in the Data Manager that is relevant to Sales Order Processing. This is ‘Job & Booking Types’.
These Types also apply to Projects and Sales Orders. Each Job, Project, Booking or Sales Order should be of a specific Job Type, and these should be entered here. Therefore, use this function if you subsequently wish to analyse your Sales Orders, for example by hardware, software, maintenance or training.
You merely need to consider the first three fields and the Usage included list. The other boxes on this screen are for other Applicant volumes.
Type code
A code for this type of job - usually the first four characters - but remember to categorise from the general to the specific if you wish to group certain types of job together - for example, you might code all your Construction jobs starting with a C, all your Design jobs starting with a D. Do not get Job Types confused with Job Stages. A Design Job might have a series of Stages, including planning and review, one of which is the design itself.
Type name
Self-explanatory.
Default terms
When you invoice this kind of work, do you normally expect payment immediately, within 30 days, 30 days End of Month (at the first month-end after 30 days), or when? You can adjust the default suggestions by clicking [Modify] on the dialogue box that appears.
Usage…
This scrolling list contains the options ‘Orders’, ‘Projects’, ‘Jobs’ and ‘Bookings’. When you create a new Type, Enterprise 6 will place a bullet (•) beside each item in the list, indicating that the Type can be used in all of those contexts. If you click on an option, for example, Orders, the bullet will disappear, indicating that the Type cannot be used from the Sales Order screen.
When at the Sales Order screen, if you type “@” in the Order Type field, the resulting selection list will show only those items that are allowed. If you enter a full Type Code that you know exists in the database, but is not applicable to Sales Orders, a message will inform you that ‘That Order Type does not exist, or is not applicable in this context. Do you want to create one?’. The bullet settings cannot be overridden from the Sales Order volume. Therefore, if you select the option [Create It] (only offered if you have ‘Allow Data Manager Additions switched on in your Personnel record), then Enterprise 6 will always attempt to create a new Job & Booking Type. When the new Type record is brought up on screen in this situation, the Type Code field will be blank because otherwise you’d be trying to create a duplicate. Had you typed a non-existent Type Code on the Order screen, it would be placed in the Type Code field of the new Type record. In other words, if the Code appears blank when you’d expect it to be filled in, it will be because the Code you are looking for does exist but is not applicable in the context.