When to Use a Service Job Instead of a Work Order

Summary:

• Cargas Energy Work Orders are designed to track a discrete set of service tasks that get billed together. Every task added to a Work Order lives in one document, and the Work Order screen has to load all of those tasks at once when it opens.
• There is no hard limit on how many tasks can be added to a single Work Order. When a Work Order accumulates many tasks the amount of data the browser has to render becomes increasingly large which makes opening the work order take longer and longer over time.
• Work Orders are great for tracking and billing a discrete set of tasks over a short lifespan, and Service Jobs are a way to track Projects over a long lifespan and can still be combined into one invoice.

Environment:

• Cargas Energy versions 2021.12 and newer

Work Orders vs Service Jobs:

Work orders aren't designed to be used for long ongoing projects and are meant to keep track of smaller groups of tasks, typically completed in a single day or week. Service Jobs are a great way to keep track of longer projects while still allowing all of the work to be billed at once.

A Service Job lets you link multiple Work Orders together under one umbrella, so you can track the whole project without forcing every task into a single overloaded document. You can even combine the invoices from those linked Work Orders into one bill when you're ready. Here's how you can set it up.

1. Create a Service Job for the overall project at Service > Jobs > New.
2. For each visit, phase, or logical batch of work, create a new Work Order.
3. Assign the Work Order to the Job: How do I Assign a Work Order to a Service Job in New Service?
4. Complete and Bill each Work Order as its tasks are finished, instead of leaving it open indefinitely. Go to Service > Billing, select the completed Work Order or the specific tasks you want to bill, assign a Cost Center if needed, and post the bill. You can bill all tasks at once using Bill Work Order or bill tasks individually; once the selected items are billed and posted, the Work Order is marked as completed and posted.
5. When you're ready to invoice, you can bill each Work Order individually or combine the Work Orders on the Job into a single invoice. Only Jobs with an Open status appear in the Job drop-down on the billing screen, and you must select the Job so the charges are associated correctly. If combined invoices are enabled, the Primary Customer and Billing Date are required, and the Primary Customer must match the Bill To customer; the combined invoice lists the details from each individual Work Order invoice. How do I combine service invoices on one job?

Warning Signs You Should Switch to a Service Job

• The Work Order has been open for more than a few days and is still collecting new tasks.
• You've lost track of how many tasks are on the Work Order.
• Different people/visits are adding tasks to the same Work Order over time.
• You're keeping a Work Order open just so everything gets billed together at the end.

If any of these apply, it's best to start a new work order and assign them both to a Service Job before the current work order becomes too large.

Additional Info:

Service Job Overview: Video: What are Service Jobs and how do they work?