A detailed look at the fields and dependencies in the Resource Pricing records, and how to create a new Resource Pricing record & editing existing Resource Pricing.
Resource Pricing is only available in the Standard
and Enterprise
versions of Solarvista. If you are using Lite
, please skip to Actions or return to Setting Up Data.
The “Resource Pricing” record holds information about specific pricing associated with different types of resource e.g. Junior, Senior, Mechanic, Electrician etc. It only works in conjunction with Service Levels. If this type of pricing is not required, this file does not need to be setup and can be ignored. The information stored includes type of resource and the relevant pricing for labour.
Like Service Levels these contain pricing rates for labour & travel charges, including an ability to set an amount of free time distance included (e.g. first hour free, first 25 miles free etc.). They do not have any validity information as this is derived from the linked Service Levels.
This price supersedes Service Level pricing where an activity is marked with a different Resource Category or the Resource Info for the user that has provided Labour exists with a Resource Category set.
Where Resource Pricing Records are Used
The following files refer to Resource Pricing records so if you plan to use any of these, setting up the records in this file will be important or even critical:
Work Items:
None.
Data Sources:
- Service Levels
Forms:
None.
Pre-requisite Files for Resource Pricing Records
When setting up Resource Pricing records, it is recommended to review the other data files that may need to be referred to by each record. These are the files that you may need to setup in advance:
- Service Levels
- Categories (Type=Resources)
- Resource Info (if default costs are required)
- Products (Type=Labour or Service)
Field Descriptions for Resource Pricing
The ID section holds the unique ID for the record:
Reference - holds the unique ID for the record (most records in Solarvista have one of these). It cannot contain any spaces or non-standard characters. Once the record is saved, it is not possible to edit it afterwards. In most default situations, the Reference is automatically set using a counter sequence, however, you can setup your own if you prefer.
The Applicability section holds name and description:
Service Levels – a list of Service Levels where this Resource Pricing should apply.
Resource Categories – a list of Resource Categories where this Resource Pricing should apply.
The Charges section holds the fixed fees that should be applied:
Initial Fee – this holds the Product that should be used as an initial, single, one-off fee that should be applied to all Jobs (Work Items) that are billed under the related Service Level. The Product record should be created in advance (only Products where Type = “Service” are displayed).
Work Time Free – this holds the number of hours that are initially provided free of charge, if applicable.
Distance Free – this holds the distance that can be travelled free of charge, if applicable.
The Rates section holds the rates for labour & time that should be applied:
Travel Time – this holds the Product that should be used as a rate for labour incurred during travel to/from site and is applied to all Jobs (Work Items) that are billed under the related Service Level. The Product record should be created in advance (only Products where Type = “Labour” are displayed).
Work Time – this holds the Product that should be used as a rate for labour incurred during working time and is applied to all Jobs (Work Items) that are billed under the related Service Level. The Product record should be created in advance (only Products where Type = “Labour” are displayed).
Travel Distance – this holds the Product that should be used as a rate for distance travelled and is applied to all Jobs (Work Items) that are billed under the related Service Level. The Product record should be created in advance (only Products where Type = “Travel” are displayed).
The Other section holds miscellaneous additional information:
Memo – a free text field that can be used for any purpose.
Code - used to hold an optional alternative ID code. This may be applicable in situations where information is being transferred to other systems via Connectors and the code here is used to identify the record to the other system.
Status – defines whether the record is in use or not. Only “Enabled” status records are available for selection within the system.
Creating a New Resource Pricing Record
To create a new Resource Pricing record:
- Click on the “Plus” button.
A menu will appear. - Within the “Data Sources” section, find “Resource Pricing”.
- Click on “Resource Pricing”.
- A new “empty” Resource Pricing record will appear.
- Populate all fields as you require.
- Click on the “Create” button.
- You may need to refresh the page to see the new record in a view.
Editing a Resource Pricing Record
To edit a Resource Pricing record:
- From the main menu, select Resource Pricing.
The default view for Resource Pricing will open. - Click on the Quick Filter button.
- Enter criteria for the Resource Pricing record you are looking for and click Apply button.
- The view will update. Find the record you are wanting to edit.
- Click anywhere on the row that shows the record. The record will open.
- You can edit any field that allows editing (some could be set to read only).
- Click on “Save” button to save changes.
Deleting a Resource Pricing Record
To delete a Resource Pricing record.
- From the main menu, select Resource Pricing. The default view for Resource Pricing will open.
- Click on the Quick Filter button.
- Enter criteria for the Product record you are looking for and click Apply button.
- The view will update. Find the record you are wanting to delete.
- On the left side of the view is a column containing checkboxes.
- Check the box of the record you want to delete.
- Click the “Delete” button on the top right. A slide in dialog will appear prompting you to confirm the delete, by typing in the word “DELETE” again.
- To confirm, click the “Delete” button and the record (or records will be deleted).
Note: You cannot delete a Resource Pricing record that is already in use with a Work Item i.e. Jobs. You can delete Resource Pricing records referred to only by other Data Sources however this will leave those records without an associated to a valid Resource Pricing record. If this happens by accident, you can manually recreate the record ensuring the Reference is identical. You can also change the status of the record to prevent it appearing on screen in future whilst maintaining historical integrity.
Customising or Adding New Fields
Solarvista™ LIVE is built upon Zappforms™ – a uniquely flexible platform that allows you to edit fields (or remove them in some cases) as well as add your own fields. These new fields (or edited characteristics of existing fields) automatically become available within the web portal and the mobile apps. For more information, refer to the Customising section.
Importing Resource Pricing Data in Bulk using Import Tool
If you have a lot of Resource Pricing information to enter, you may prefer to upload this using the Import Tool that’s built into Solarvista. The Import Tool enables Resource Pricing records to be created from “CSV” text files. CSV files can be created from a wide range of popular applications including Microsoft Excel. For more information on importing data into Solarvista, please refer to the article here.