System Settings: Clients and Jobs
Clients and Jobs settings include the names you use for jobs, tasks, owners and managers. It also includes job code and proposal numbering rules, the required fields for jobs and tasks, choices for proposal tracking, project budget warnings, job file locations, proposal and quote documents, search options, and more.
You can access Clients and Projects settings from Administration >> Settings >> System Settings >> Clients and Jobs
If you’re new to Abtrac we recommend reading this article in conjunction with our Set up Guide
Job Code Preferences
Define your job numbering system under ‘Job Code Preference’.
There are two main types of job codes
Alpha-numeric codes: incrementing system wide
‘Unique alphanumeric for each Job’ is simply an incrementing number. This may be with a prefix. But the number increases regardless of the client. e.g. M-20000, M-20001 etc.
Client -numeric codes: resetting for each new client client
A second type is ‘Client System Code’ – ‘Numeric’. ‘Client number’ is a unique code for the client which can be set up in Administration >> Settings >> Invoice settings. Job codes can then be ‘Client number’ and a hyphen, then an incrementing number for each job for the client.
In the below screen shot we have chosen ‘Unique alphanumeric for each Job’, set a prefix of 20 (for the year 2020) and a suffix with 5 characters separated by a – (hyphen).
So the new job codes as they are created will be 20-20000, 20-20001, etc. The starting numbers i.e. the 00000, 00001 can be set up to suit your requirements. By default, Abtrac sets the starting number as 20000.
This starting number can be changed in Administration >> Settings >> Invoice settings.
Customised job codes
You can also choose to have a customised job code by clicking on the ‘Customise’ link.
Unique numbers for proposal jobs
Differentiate a job proposal from an actual billable job by entering the proposal number details.
Defaults when creating a new job
Do you want to create a job or a proposal?
Choose from the drop down menu if you would like users to select a job or a proposal. You can also give users the option of choosing either one.
When creating a job the user will be presented with a pop up asking if it is a job or a proposal.
Required fields for tracking time on jobs
Specify what details the user needs to fill in on the timesheet, like an activity code, task (stage or phase), work item, etc.
Required fields for reporting on jobs
Add client office, client owner, client owner 2. This will carry the values from the client to the relevant fields in the job.
Open Job
Set the open job field as a required field to help enable/disable the visibility of a job for employees. Learn more in How to Limit Employee Views to Only the Jobs they are Assigned to (Open Job – aka Open Project).
Budget alerts and project warnings
Threshold warnings can be set up to make sure that the job progresses within the budget. You could also specify if the threshold applies to just the fees or if it takes the disbursements and sub consultants also into consideration and set options for when the email is sent.
Job files
Default file path can be set up so that users can find the folders and soft copy files with details and related information regarding the job.
Defaults when creating and cloning tasks (stages)
Defaults can be added for a task start date from the dropdown list, when you create a new task.
Defaults when creating job subtasks
When creating job subtasks, the default can be based on employee, disbursement or role.
Rules for sub-consultants working on projects
A sub-consultant could also be added as a job person.
Names for: Task, Job, Client and Job Owners
If you call a ‘job’ or a ‘task’ by different names, you have the option of changing it in ‘For Display on Forms and Reports’ section.
For example, if you change the ‘Name of Job’ to Project, then ‘Job’ changes to ‘Project’ across the various reports and screens.
Templates and Documents associated with Jobs
‘Job Templates’ have been discussed in more detail here.
From here you can also add Abtrac default third party sign off template.
Within Abtrac you can keep a list of documents associated with a job and a report number can be given for that. The default ‘Next Job Document Report No’ can be entered so that reports are easy to identify, for purposes of compliance and authorisation.
User defined fields for jobs
Within each project you can create additional fields called ‘User Defined Fields’. These can also be added to the search screen by ticking ‘Enable User Defined Field in Search’ under ‘Search Configuration’.
Auto-updating tasks and fee estimates
Job fee can be auto-updated without prompting the user when a task is modified. This can be done if you tick the above box.
Abtrac KB# 1001