Service

OpenAir provides a number of methods you can use to charge or invoice a customer. One of these methods is Services. You use services when you would like to designate and bill for specific services offered to a customer.

A Service can be set up to bill at an hourly rate; a set amount per day, or week, or month; or may be set as a flat rate. Services are available in the Timesheets, Projects (tasks, billing rules, and recognition rules), Invoices, and Opportunity applications.

Note:

The name of this form is based on your company's terminology. Most companies use services or activities, but other terms are used. You can review and modify your company's terminology definitions in Global Settings. See Interface: Terminology.

One example of a Service would be for monthly application support. You would charge a fixed fee amount per month to the customer regardless of the amount of time incurred by resources providing the support. Another example could be programming fees where the service is provided on an as needed basis. You would charge the customer at an hourly rate or on a per‑day basis when assistance is required.

You are able to select the service as an option in the invoice layout. This defines the specific work provided to the customer.

To create a Service:

1. Go to Administration > Application Settings > Invoices > Services.

2. Select New Service from the Create Button.

3. Enter the Service name. Type notes related to this service.

4. Under Billing rates, select the Currency if you are using multi-currency in your environment. Choose how you would like to charge for this service: Hourly rate, Other rate (specified amount per time period), or Flat rate (for the entire service-fixed fee).

   Note:

   You do not have to complete the billing rates section unless you have chosen to get billing rate from either Services or Services-Customer. See Billing Rates.

5. Optionally, you may choose a cost center for the service if your company has enabled using Cost Centers and has chosen Services as a Selected Item. See Cost Centers.

6. You may also enter text to be used on proposals in the Opportunities application, if desired.

7. Select the check box for Taxable service if tax may be charged to the customers for this service. The tax rate used is based on Tax Options as well as Invoice layout - Display, summary.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How would I know whether I should have Services set up for my company?

If your company provides standard types of services to customers, you may want to create services in your account. They can be used for providing a standard description of the work being performed and are useful for financial reporting, such as revenue by type of service delivered. Since services are carried onto invoice charges, they are available to display on invoices to identify the type of work completed for your customers. Services are “sticky” values that remain associated with time entries and can be used in billing/recognition rule setup. This can provide a wide variety of reporting options using timesheet hours and billing/revenue monetary values.