Work units
The type of work carried out by the practice is broken down into work units which have a time and cost associated with them.
Work units benefit the client because they have a personalised workflow that is geared towards meeting their requirements.
Work units benefit the practice because they form the basis to accurately estimate the work to be done, how much time is involved and the cost associated with them — in turn, the information gives you the tools to better manage your business resources, cash collection and workflow.
The work is broken down into:
- Assignments
- Jobs
- Milestones
- Tasks
Assignments
All time and disbursements are recorded against assignments. The Assignments module allow you to logically group the different work types into (chargeable) and internal work (non–chargeable).
When entering WIP and expenses into the system you select assignments to record them against. The assignment can either be
-
a chargeable assignment linked to a client and therefore available to raise bills against
OR -
non–chargeable against which you will record such things as annual leave, maternity or paternity leave, sick leave and training
You can also set up a standard set of assignments which you can use for each client when they ask for your services. In setting up standard assignments, you save time and ensure consistency in the workflow of the practice and estimation of the costs involved. These standard sets of assignments are called Assignment Templates.
Job mode
Assignments may require more detailed analysis in which case the user can create Jobs for those. In order to use Jobs, the job mode must be setup under: File / Maintenance / Assignments / Job mode as per screen below
The first option 'Assignments and Schedules' does not enable the use of Jobs.
The second option 'Assignment, Schedules and Jobs' enables the use of Jobs; all WIP for a Job is posted to the Assignment.
The third option 'Assignment, Schedules, Jobs and Job Time Recording' also enables the use of Jobs; the difference is that all WIP for a Job is posted to the Job, as opposed to the Assignment resulting in users being required to select the client/assignment details as well as the job details before selecting the task code in the timesheets.
The Jobs can also be used in Document Management.
Milestones
Milestones are levels that a practice might want to setup to monitor work carried out. In other terms, a milestone is a scheduled event signifying the completion of a major deliverable or a set of related deliverables.
Milestones are created by assignment type and you can have different milestones for each assignment type.
To create milestones go to: File / Maintenance / Assignments / Milestones
In job management a milestone can have a date applied which indicates when it should be reached or completed by; it is possible to apply different statuses to a milestone.
On the homepage control you have the option to filter by assignment type and only see the job relevant for the chosen assignment type with the applicable milestones.
Tasks
A task is an activity that each employee does when carrying out work for the practice. The time taken on a task, or an expense associated with a task is either chargeable or non-chargeable to a client and is accounted for by way of recording information on Timesheets and Expense Sheets. Each task has a code associated with it and is maintained in the system under File, Maintenance, Miscellaneous, Code Types.
You can set tasks and assign them to different types of billing (timesheet, disbursement, estimate to complete and miscellaneous charges).
How simple or detailed the assignments become is up to you. The more detailed and structured the assignments, the more detailed the profit analysis per work type, allowing you to really get an understanding of the profitability of the services offered to your clients.