Scheduling - Choosing Vehicle?

[Sauvageaus]

Is there a way to when you add the customer in there, to add the Vehicle they're working on? I know I can post it in the notes but if there was something where you have that added in there separated from the notes, like if you have the Customers name/Vehicle Connected together then the Note Description.

[timbre4]

There is not at this time. We are discussing a completely new schedule module to address the limitations of the existing module.

[Sauvageaus]

There is not at this time. We are discussing a completely new schedule module to address the limitations of the existing module.

Perfect, I think that would be very helpful and beneficial. I know when I print off the schedules it can get compact with all the details and vehicle information under the notes.

[ARS]

I agree with the Vehicle & customer name needs to be on the schedule- we have to type this in every time-

Thanks, ARS

[ricmorin]

Why not create an Estimate for every appointment? That way you know EXACTLY how many hours you need, EXACTLY which vehicle is coming, and likely most of the parts. You're going to make an order at some point. Just do it now.

[Sauvageaus]

Why not create an Estimate for every appointment? That way you know EXACTLY how many hours you need, EXACTLY which vehicle is coming, and likely most of the parts. You're going to make an order at some point. Just do it now.

So if a customer has a leak or noise up front, how do I create up an estimate with parts/labor before the vehicle is here? There are times we schedule stuff without knowing what we're getting into that is very hard to have any clue what the job will need or how long it will take.

[ricmorin]

Really easy. Using Symptoms, you already have (or should) a canned job re the complaint. When you start an Estimate, move the symptom over. We also created a canned job called Extra. We place that on the Quick List. This is brought over to cover the 'anticipated' labor. You may not always know exactly what that will be, but that's no different than creating the job manually in the scheduler. We adjust that 'labor' accordingly. If you've been in the business for any amount of time, you get pretty good at this anticipation. As for parts, you can order any that you know you'll need. In this case it's unknown. Again, no different than a manual entry in the Scheduler. The difference is that in EVERY case, you'll be making an Order, so why not just do it now?

Managing your labor assets is more than important than any other 'inventory' item. The Scheduler, even in it's imperfect form today, can still be used effectively to help you accomplish that. We've got it down to a science. We're rarely overbooked and hardly ever looking for work. We're all tucked in at 5pm and almost never have to use overtime.

[ricmorin]

The Estimate creates an entry on the Schedule screen for you. They are already linked.

After creating the Estimate, we click on Options>Schedule Work to place the entry on the correct day and time.

[ricmorin]

For us it's a simple matter of clicking on the schedule while talking to the customer for available slots. Then we build an Estimate and place on the pre-arranged day.