The Quick Actuals Facility

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The Quick Actuals facility basically displays the original labor and materials cost estimates on a work order and lets you specify which of those estimates were correct. MainBoss then uses the selected estimates to create "actual" cost records.

For example, suppose that you originally estimate that four workers will each spend an hour on a particular job. When the job is actually done, three of the four workers spent an hour as expected, but one worker spent two hours. In this case, you would use the Quick Actuals facility to specify that the first three workers spent the hour as expected. MainBoss copies information from the original labor estimates and creates "actual cost" records for those three workers. Quick Actuals is not suitable for the fourth worker, since the original time estimate was incorrect; in this case, you would have to record the fourth worker's labor costs by clicking Add Actual in the Labor section of the work order.

You can use Quick Actuals more than once for the same work order. For example, suppose you have all the labor information for a particular job but don't yet have information about the materials used. In this case, you could use Quick Actuals to accept only the labor estimates. Later on, when you have the appropriate information about materials, you can use Quick Actuals for the materials too.

To use the Quick Actuals facility, you click Quick Actuals in the work order window. MainBoss opens a window that contains the following:

W/O Number: The identification code for the work order.
Material: Entries in this section deal with the materials used for the job.
- Materials list: The list in this window shows original materials estimates from the work order. To begin with, the list will show all estimates; however, if you have already accepted some estimates (using Quick Actuals), the list will only show outstanding estimates—ones that haven't already been accepted.
  Clicking on an entry in this list selects the entry if it is currently unselected, and "unselects" the entry if it is currently selected.
- Select All: Clicking this button selects all of the entries in the material list. For example, if you want to select everything in the list except one entry, click Select All, then click the one entry you don't want to select.
- Select None: Clicking this button adjusts the materials list so that no entries are selected.
- Issue Date: The date/time at which the materials selected in the Materials list were actually issued.
- Apply to all items: If you select this option, all the materials selected in the materials list will be marked as taken from the given "Storeroom" within "Building".
- Use as default only: If you select this option, MainBoss looks at the original materials estimates. If those estimates already contain a "Building" and "Storeroom" specification, MainBoss records that the actual materials used came from the same "Building" and "Storeroom". If the original estimates do not contain such a specification, MainBoss records that the actual materials came from the "Building" and "Storeroom" given in the current window.
- Building and Storeroom: Specifies a building and a storeroom inside that building.
Labor: Entries in this section deal with the labor costs for the job.
- Labor list: The list in this window shows original labor estimates from the work order. To begin with, the list will show all estimates; however, if you have already accepted some estimates (using Quick Actuals), the list will only show outstanding estimates—ones that haven't already been accepted.
  Clicking on an entry in this list selects the entry if it is currently unselected, and unselects the entry if it is currently selected.
- Select All: Clicking this button selects all of the entries in the labor list. For example, if you want to select everything in the list except one entry, click Select All, then click the one entry you don't want to select.
- Select None: Clicking this button adjusts the labor list so that no entries are selected.
- Work Start Date: The date and time when workers began this job. The meaning of this is affected by the Apply to all items and Use as default only options.
  If the work order does not have its own date/time for starting the job, MainBoss sets "Work Start Date" to 8:00 a.m. on the start date of the work order itself. If this is inappropriate, you can change "Work Start Date" to a different date/time.
- Apply to all items: If you select this option, the "Work Start Date" applies to all the workers selected in the Labor list. In other words, you are saying that all workers started the job at the given time on the given date.
- Use as default only: If you select this option, MainBoss only uses "Work Start Date" for labor estimates that don't already have a starting date/time. For estimates that have a starting date/time, MainBoss uses the information from the estimate itself.
- Default Personnel: Specifies the name of a worker. This worker's name will be used when any of the selected entries in the labor list do not currently have a worker's name attached. This is useful in situations where you created a labor estimate but did not specify the actual worker who would do the job.
- Minimum work hours: The minimum work time to be associated with any worker. This may override the work time specified in the original estimate.
  For example, suppose you run a rental facility and have a policy of charging tenants a minimum of 30 minutes of labor for certain types of jobs. Then you could set "Minimum work hours" to 0:30. Even if some of the workers actually spent less than 30 minutes on this job, MainBoss will shift those lower times up to 30 minutes. (Time estimates greater than 30 minutes will be left as is.)
- Limit work hours to: Used when a job was carried out over multiple time periods (for example, over several working days). To deal with this situation, set "Work Start Date" to be the date/time that all the selected workers started working on the job and set "Limit work hours to" to the maximum amount of time that any worker spent during the first time period. MainBoss will create labor cost records indicating that all the selected workers began at the "Work Start Date" and continued working for "Limit work hours to" hours or for the amount of time remaining in the original labor estimates, whichever is smaller.
  As an example, suppose a job requires worker A for 20 hours, worker B for 12 hours, and worker C for 6 hours. Also suppose that A, B, and C all work eight-hour days beginning at 8:00 a.m. All three workers begin the job at 8:00 a.m. on a Monday. In this case, you would set "Work Start Date" as 8:00 a.m. Monday and "Limit work hours to" as 8 hours. The first time you use Quick Actuals, MainBoss looks at the times for the three workers and decides that A and B worked 8 hours on Monday, while C only worked 6 hours (since that was the original estimate). Click Ok and you return to the work order; you will see actual labor cost records for A (8 hours), B (8 hours), and C (6 hours).
  Click Quick Actuals again to go back to the Quick Actuals facility. This time, you will only see A and B in the labor list (since all of C's estimated time is accounted for). Select A and B in the list, set "Work Start Date" to 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, and again set "Limit work hours to" to 8 hours. MainBoss looks at the workers times and decides that A worked 8 more hours, while B worked 4 hours (since B's estimate is 12 hours and B already worked 8 hours the previous day). This time when you click Ok to go back to the work order, you will see appropriate new records for A (8 more hours) and B (4 more hours).
  Click Quick Actuals again. This time, you will only see A in the labor list (since all of B's estimated time is accounted for). Select A's name in the labor list, and set "Work Start Date" to 8:00 a.m. Wednesday. Since A has 4 hours left from the original estimate of 20 hours, when you click Ok, MainBoss creates an actual labor cost record showing that A worked 4 more hours on Wednesday.
External Charges: Entries in this section apply to outside labor and materials.
- Purchase order list: The list in this window shows all the purchase orders associated with the work order. (These purchase orders were created to cover the cost of outside contractors involved in the job, plus any materials supplied by those contractors.) To begin with, the list will show all purchase orders; however, if you have already accepted some purchase orders (previously using Quick Actuals), the list will only show outstanding purchase orders—ones that haven't already been accepted.
  Clicking on an entry in this list selects the entry if it is currently unselected, and unselects the entry if it is currently selected.
- Select All: Clicking this button selects all of the entries in the purchase order list. For example, if you want to select everything in the list except one entry, click Select All, then click the one entry you don't want to select.
- Select None: Clicking this button adjusts the purchase order list so that no entries are selected.
Purchase Orders: Entries in this section apply to purchase orders associated with this work order.
The main part of this window is a list of the related purchase orders. You use the purchase order list by selecting the purchase orders that you want to close when you close this work order. Later, when you close the work order, the selected purchase orders will also be marked as closed, using the Close Date specified in this window.

Note: The purchase orders that you select will be closed regardless of the relative amounts of estimates and received amounts for either extras or regular items.

Select All: Selects all the purchase orders shown in the purchase order list.
Select None: Unselects all the purchase orders shown in the purchase list.
Exclude P/Os linked to other open W/Os: If this is not checkmarked, the purchase order list will show all the purchase orders linked to this work order.
If the box is checkmarked, the list will not show purchase orders that are linked to other open work orders. In other words, the list will only show purchase orders that can be closed at the same time this work order is closed.
Close Date: The date that should be used as the closing date for the selected purchase orders.

Ok: Closes the window. MainBoss "accepts" any entries that are selected in any of the lists of the window. For example, if you have selected some of the estimates that appear in the Labor section, MainBoss creates actual labor cost records from those original estimates. When you return to the work order window, the Labor section of the work order will contain the new actual costs as well as the original estimates.

Cancel: Closes the window without accepting any selected list entries.

For more on MainBoss work orders, see Creating and Editing Work Orders. For more on labor cost estimates, see Assigning Personnel to a Work Order. For more on material cost estimates, see Recording Materials Used in a Work Order.

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