The Subconsultant Reports By Job report option gives a selection of summaries of all subconsultant work for a selected job.
From one menu choice in the reports screen three types of reports can be produced – Subconsultant Fees and Costs by Job, Subconsultant Fees and Costs by Job Detail and the Subconsultant Invoice Supplement.
The Sub-Consultant Invoice Listing report option can be used to get a summary of sub consultant claims and invoices for all or selected subconsultants, between two dates.
You can choose to view all sub consultant invoices, just those that have been fully processed, or only those still waiting to be fully processed.
The Subconsultant Purchase Orders report gives a list of purchase orders for all subconsultants.
One of the ways to apply a margin to disbursements in Abtrac is to apply the mark up percentage based on disbursement types.
Under Administration >> Maintenance >> Disbursement, you can add an ‘adjustment’ to a disbursement type.
For this mark up to take effect you also need to confirm Disbursement Margin rules from Administration >> Settings >> System Settings >> Timesheets & Disbursements.
Continue readingIn Abtrac, a percentage admin fee can be added onto an invoice. This can be added by editing the Additional Fee in the Invoice Management screen.
Continue readingIf you are within a mobile coverage area, or on Wifi, you can access and use AbtracOnline on your mobile device, IPad, tablet or laptop.
This is useful for managing timesheets, looking up contact details and addresses in particular while away from your desk.
Continue readingIf you find that you work on the same clients and projects from one week to the next you can use a previous timesheet as a template and save some data entry. Here’s how to clone all the clients, projects, and tasks from one week to the next.
This screen is useful when you need to update timesheet details in bulk, it eliminates the need to open and edit the individual users’ timesheets.
This timesheet maintenance screen is most typically used in the following situations:
AbtracOnline allows you to import disbursements via two methods.
If you are using MYOB Account Right or Xero the available API connections to these systems will allow you to import your disbursements with the click of a button.
If you don’t use MYOB or Xero, or if you want to import things such as PaperCut files, Linz Fees, Uber Receipts etc., then you can import your disbursements through a file-based import.
Either way, with our import disbursement functionality you don’t have to spend hours re-keying information that you probably have available from other systems.
A Job/Project Task is the bit of the job you are working on – and can budget against. (Sometimes they are called Stages or Phases)
Tasks are the most efficient and effective way to measure and manage your jobs.
Generally, your job tasks will match those items detailed on your original fee proposal letter.
If you’re not sure whether you should be using tasks or activities, then this article is a good place to start.
There are quite a few key details to get your tasks set up and working the way you need them.
If you are new to tasks and budgeting in Abtrac, then it’s a good idea to read through this article from start to finish, but we have also summarised the key components below for quick reference:
Where to enter job/project budgets, as fee estimates, percentages or building the scope with detailed estimates by employee
How to set up templates and clone frequently used tasks when creating new jobs/projects
Configuring the layout of the Tasks screen
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Making Tasks Mandatory in Timesheets
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Renaming Tasks to Stages – Phases – or something else
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Scope Creep Notifications. How to enable a warning on timesheets when task budgets are exceeded
For job/project management and billing estimates
And reporting on variations by using the Actual vs Budget by Job/Project, Task and Additional Values report
Click on the links above, or read on for details
Getting started with your invoicing normally starts with a few reports to see who you are invoicing and for how much. This can then be checked with job (project) managers to confirm they are ready to invoice the clients and if they are happy with the amounts.
There are two basic reports that can get you going. Unbilled Work Quick Summary and Timesheet Entries.
Each Abtrac user can choose how their timesheet looks like.
Linear Timesheets are line by line, with dates on the left.
Cross Tab Timesheets group similar entries together, and have dates in a table on the right.
In both types of views, you have the choice of entry through either the form view or grid view. With all views, you can show, hide and change how you see the columns, in the user control settings pages.
You can use sub-consultants in Abtrac if you outsource work to third parties, and need to manage them over the duration of one or more projects.
They may submit invoices for you to authorise and pass on directly to your client for payment. Alternately they may submit invoices to you which you pay and then you invoice your client as if the sub-consultant is part of your team. At that stage you may also apply a margin to the sub-consultant invoice.
The essential feature is they are submitting their claims as a series of creditor invoices as they work through their contract requirements on projects for your clients. You need to know what they have already invoiced, what is this particular invoice for, and how does it fit within the contract agreements you have with them.
Work Items are a list of things to do on a job. They are lower than tasks, (aka stages or phases). They are small steps of work that can be ‘ticked off’ as they are completed. If you already have a QA Check List of some sort for each job/project, then Abtrac Work Items are quite possibly the exact same concept. Examples of a work item might be a day-long site visit, or a 4 hour piece of work in the office to write a report. Each of these and more may all be under a task (aka stage or phase) of ‘Feasibility Planning’.
Most offices start the week and look ahead several weeks when sketching out work to be done and spreading it around the office for people to do. Using Abtrac work items, the benefit is that everyone knows what is being done and how long it is expected to take.
A purchase order can only be created for an entity we call a Sub-Consultant.
Sub-consultants and contractors are managed and linked to jobs (projects) in Abtrac through the tasks module.
Before creating purchase orders, you will need to have created Sub consultants within Abtrac. For more information on Sub consultants and sub consultant invoices, please refer to this knowledgebase article.
