Deciding Between the Consumables and Sales Order Tabs

The Consumables and Sales Order tabs both let you add parts or items from the field to a sales order, but they do it in different ways. They each have their own pros and cons, so consider your use case before selecting one.

You can use both in an account. Usually, it's best to have both tabs on the same task for the same user to add items. But you might also have a team lead create a sales order and let team members use the Consumables tab to add items to that sales order. If you do this, timing is important.

Consumables work better for multi-asset jobs because you can place the tab under each child asset, so users can easily record items for specific assets.

Key Considerations for the Consumables and Sales Order Tabs

The following table summarizes some of the things to consider when choosing between the Consumables and Sales Order tabs.

Area	Consumables	Sale Order
UI experience	One item is added and saved at a time.	Many items are added and then the whole order is saved.
Multi-asset task	You can set up consumables under each child asset so users can easily record items for each asset as they use parts.	The Sales Order tab can only appear one time on mobile, so users would have to use a dropdown to select the asset for each line if they need to assign lines to different assets. They'd have to save the order each time they add parts, or wait until the end and go back to the sales order to record parts for different assets. Overall, this is less intuitive than using consumables for multi-asset jobs.
Timing of sales order creation	Consumables are saved to the Consumables custom record in NetSuite. When the task is done, they're added to a sales order, which is set on the case in the Field Service Case Transaction field.	A sales order is created and fulfilled in real time in NetSuite if there's an internet connection. The resulting sales order is shown right away in the mobile.
Billing rules	Consumables are managed through the billing rules, that is, the `billing` section in the configuration.	The sales order isn't linked to the billing rules section in the configuration. Any rules need to be set up directly in the sales order tab in the mobile configuration.
Custom mobile billing rules (user override)	This can be done with the consumable model and billing rules.	This can be done directly in the sales order tab and with price levels.
Prefilled sales order template	Not applicable.	You can set up an item template to pre-fill a new sales order when it's first created on mobile.
Generate invoice button on case	This will work since the consumables created the sales order on the case.	This will work if the sales order is set on the Case > Field Service Case Transaction field.
Real time sales order	Users can't see a completed sales order on mobile unless there's a separate Sales Order tab and they refresh the mobile app after finishing the task, which is complex.	A sales order is created and appears immediately on mobile assuming there's an internet connection.
Project tasks	Can't be used with project tasks.	Supports project tasks.

Area

Consumables

Sale Order

UI experience

One item is added and saved at a time.

Many items are added and then the whole order is saved.

Multi-asset task

You can set up consumables under each child asset so users can easily record items for each asset as they use parts.

The Sales Order tab can only appear one time on mobile, so users would have to use a dropdown to select the asset for each line if they need to assign lines to different assets. They'd have to save the order each time they add parts, or wait until the end and go back to the sales order to record parts for different assets. Overall, this is less intuitive than using consumables for multi-asset jobs.

Timing of sales order creation

Consumables are saved to the Consumables custom record in NetSuite. When the task is done, they're added to a sales order, which is set on the case in the Field Service Case Transaction field.

A sales order is created and fulfilled in real time in NetSuite if there's an internet connection. The resulting sales order is shown right away in the mobile.

Billing rules

Consumables are managed through the billing rules, that is, the billing section in the configuration.

The sales order isn't linked to the billing rules section in the configuration. Any rules need to be set up directly in the sales order tab in the mobile configuration.

Custom mobile billing rules (user override)

This can be done with the consumable model and billing rules.

This can be done directly in the sales order tab and with price levels.

Prefilled sales order template

Not applicable.

You can set up an item template to pre-fill a new sales order when it's first created on mobile.

Generate invoice button on case

This will work since the consumables created the sales order on the case.

This will work if the sales order is set on the Case > Field Service Case Transaction field.

Real time sales order

Users can't see a completed sales order on mobile unless there's a separate Sales Order tab and they refresh the mobile app after finishing the task, which is complex.

A sales order is created and appears immediately on mobile assuming there's an internet connection.

Project tasks

Can't be used with project tasks.

Supports project tasks.

Key Considerations for the Consumables and Sales Order Tabs

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