The Work Order Screen

Now that work orders have been created, it's time to get acquainted with the work order screen and the information displayed on the screen .

1. WO Header Information: This contains information for the entire work order. The work order number, vehicle to be worked on, customer to be billed for the work, and WO Total. The WO Total field displays all costs posted to the work order thus far, including any applicable costs for shop supplies, overhead, and tax once the details of parts usage and labor hours have been input.
2. WO Lines: These are the jobs that need to be done to the vehicle. To post costs to a job, click on the line number button. To edit the job, double-click anywhere on the work order line (not the number button).
3. WO posting date: The date displayed here is used when transactions are posted to the work order. If you back date entries, pay special attention to this date before posting entries. We highly recommend setting Prompt WO Post Date to ALWAYS in the "Prompt WO Date/Period" switch (SSI, Miscellaneous I tab, switch 33). Doing so prompts for the posting date every time a work order is brought up. When a different work order is brought up or a new work order is created, the system will either use the posting date from the previous work order or today's date, depending on how Work Order Default Dates is set in the "WO Dates" switch (SSI, Miscellaneous I tab, switch 27-part 2).
4. WO Status and Number of Lines: This displays the work order status-Open or Closed. The sample work order has an OPEN status because all the work has not been completed. When all the jobs are done, you'll have the option of closing the work order or leaving it open. The total number of work order lines is also displayed in the header to serve as a reminder that there are additional jobs to complete if the work order contains more than ten jobs.
5. PM Information: This displays information for PMs that are due, due soon, or past due. If a PM work order already exists, that work order number is displayed here. Pay special attention to the information displayed. If a PM is showing DUE SOON, you may want to add that PM to the current work order and get the job done while the vehicle is in the shop rather than bringing it back in the following week.
6. WO Line Status: This displays the job status. Unshd = no transactions have been posted. Partial = one or more transactions have been posted to the job but the job is still pending. Done = all costs have been posted and the job is complete. Delete = the job has been deleted from the work order. Defrd = the job has been deferred to be done at a later time. Jobs can be deleted or deferred only if no transactions have been posted (i.e., the work order line has a status of UNSHD).