We are thrilled to introduce an update that enhances work order management for service-based and retail businesses in RemOnline. Now, RemOnline features estimates (as a separate system document) and the ability to add products to work orders without deducting them from inventory.
This update allows you to:
Create as many estimates as you need for a client based on different options that you can offer.
Send all estimates to the client for cost agreement.
Track the estimating stages with specific statuses.
Convert an agreed-upon estimate into a work order with two clicks and continue processing without re-entering all data.
Add items to work orders, even those not currently in stock (added to the product catalog), to later order them from the supplier and easily find these work orders in the table to deduct received items from inventory.
Let's dig into the details of the update so you have a clear understanding of all the new features.
How to Enable Estimates and Adding Products to Work Orders Without Inventory Deduction
If you’re in the trial period, you can create estimates and add products to work orders without deduction by default.
If you have a subscription with a plan from Hobby to Enterprise, you have to enable this feature. You can activate both estimates and the ability to add items to work orders without deduction on the Settings > General page in the Work Orders section.
How to Create Estimates and Process Them
Estimates are closely tied to work orders and stored in the same table. Next to the work order creation button, you'll find a new "+ Estimate."
The types and sets of fields in estimates completely mirror work order forms. When you convert an estimate into a work order, all entered data is automatically transferred from one document to another, so you don’t need to configure estimate forms and re-enter data separately. This article provides a step-by-step guide to creating a new estimate.
In the table, you can distinguish estimates from work orders by statuses – work orders have filled statuses, while estimates have stroked ones. Also, you can filter the table by estimate statuses.
Note that, apart from types and forms, estimates and work orders have common numbering, access settings, notifications, document templates, etc.
How Estimates Differ from Work Orders
Despite numerous commonalities, estimates have significant differences from work orders:
Estimates don't involve any financial transactions.
Estimates don't affect client balances.
No asset transfers based on status.
Separate status funnel. Currently, you can only use system statuses, but soon, you’ll be able to configure custom statuses for estimates.
There is no inventory deduction. As you are not selling products at this stage but are simply estimating the cost of a future work order, inventory deduction operations are not mentioned.
Employees do not earn commissions for estimates based on rules configured for work orders.
How to Provide a Client with an Estimate
You can share an estimate with your client using various methods:
Email a document to the client.
Save an estimate as a PDF file and send it via WhatsApp.
Print the document.
Moreover, a web form for estimates is coming soon, so you can send clients a link to review and accept the estimate digitally. Also, when the file attachment option is ready, you'll be able to send an estimate as a PDF file via Chats.
Estimates don't have separate print template settings, but almost all work order variables also work for estimates. Some exceptions include variables like {Paid}, {Product Warehouse}, and {Product Bin Location}, which provide information involving previous payments or warehouse data. Therefore, you can create a specific document template for the Work Orders document group and use it for estimates.
How to Convert Estimates into Work Orders
When the client accepts the estimate, it's time to convert it into a work order by changing its status to Order created. The work order will have the same type and form as the estimate, and all data entered in the estimate will be transferred. The entire previous timeline also will be preserved in the Event Feed. You can find a step-by-step guide on closing an estimate here.
Note that work orders created from estimates are marked as incomplete because they contain products requiring inventory deduction.
Previously, in RemOnline, adding products to a work order initiated immediate inventory deduction from stock, and you had to specify a particular warehouse. RemOnline doesn't know from which warehouse to deduct each item when converting an estimate to a work order. Therefore, these items are added to the work order with the quantity specified in the estimate, but inventory deduction is a separate step of work order processing in this case.
How to Manage Incomplete Work Orders
In the table, incomplete work orders are marked with a special icon indicating that they contain products yet to be deducted from inventory. You can also easily filter the work order table with the new Incomplete badge.
Please note that incomplete work orders are not currently displayed in the RemOnline Work Orders mobile application. However, it will start supporting these documents shortly.
Note that an incomplete work order cannot be transitioned to a ready or closed status.
Note that an incomplete work order cannot be transitioned to a ready or closed status. You need to adjust the quantity of deducted products to match the values in the work order table or reduce the quantity of added items in the work order. Also, you cannot deduct more items from inventory than specified.
For detailed instructions on how to deduct previously added items in work orders, refer to this guide.
Upcoming Updates for Estimates and Work Orders
Shortly, you can expect the ability to customize statuses for estimates and automatically create work orders with pre-filled lists of products and services via API. The following updates will include:
Support for incomplete work orders and the ability to add products to work orders without deducting from inventory in the RemOnline Work Orders mobile application.
Reports on conversion from estimates to work orders.
The ability to create estimates from leads.
A web form where your clients can view and accept estimates.
The ability to create purchase orders for products that have been added to client work orders but were out of stock at the moment.
Additionally, we are considering separating notification, numbering, and document template settings for work orders and estimates.
If you have questions regarding this update, please get in touch with the RemOnline Support team. Your feedback and suggestions are highly appreciated as they help us improve RemOnline.