Creating process

Job list is placed on Jobs->Lists->Jobs. If you want to open new Job, you need use ‘New’ command and you get Job Card. Job Card shows information about jobs, such as the job number, job name, and information about job posting. There is one card for each job. First tab is General tab. This tab represent specifies basic information about a job, including customer information and resources associated with a job.

Considering we want to create new one, we can use automatic ‘No. Series’ or manually put the job ‘No’. I have chosen manually method and put ‘CONSTRUCT’ as ‘No.’. If you want to know on which project you are working, you need to put ‘Description’ and put the ‘Bill-to-Customer No.’. If you work on external project, you need to choose who your customer is, but if you work on internal project you have not a choice :(. Solution is to create ‘system internal customer’ and set the posting groups to have posting on correctly G/L Accounts (you need to have some accountant’s knowledge). Other ‘Bill-to-…’ fields will be filled automatically validating data from your customer card.

If we are using time sheets with our job, we must also designate a ‘Person Responsible’. This person can approve time sheets for the employee tasks associated with the job.

Next tab is Posting tab. This tab represent specifies information about the posting of a job. In this tab, some of the options are already filled in, based on the defaults set up in your application (see Job Setup). There are some important fields:

  • Status: Represent current status of Job. We can change the status for the job as it progresses. Final calculations are possible on completed jobs. The options are:
    • Planning: The job is just planned. The purpose of this step is to undertake preliminary calculations and to set up the job's structure. Job schedules can be used to estimate resources, items or general ledger accounts.
    • Quote: A special kind of sales quote. This step lets you make preliminary calculations. The job is offered to a customer. You can set up or change the job's structure and schedule.
    • Order: A special kind of sales order. Every control feature can be maintained. You can use sales invoices and credit memos to customers for various posted job entries and to invoice the cost.
    • Completed: The purpose of this step is to close the job. You can use the statistics on a completed job for comparison purposes and for the planning of future jobs. The actual costs of the completed job can be compared to the scheduled figures. Be sure to keep this information not only for comparison, but also for use as a guideline or template for future jobs.
  • Job Posting Group: Here we can assign a job posting group code to a job. Job posting groups determine which G/L accounts we post to. The Job Posting Group that you set up on the Job Card will be used as default Job Posting Group on the Job Tasks.
  • WIP Method: Contains the name of the work in process (WIP) calculation method that is associated with a job. Work in process (WIP) is used to match expenses with revenues. Microsoft Dynamics NAV supports multiple ways to calculate WIP and recognition of sales and costs (see the Job WIP Methods).
  • WIP Posting Method: Indicates whether ‘WIP Posting Method’ is per job or per job ledger entry. When we select ‘Per Job’, NAV uses total WIP costs and sales to calculate WIP. When we select ‘Per Job Ledger Entry’, NAV uses the accumulated values for WIP costs and sales. The default value is Per Job:
    • Per Job: Default. If there have been no general ledger or WIP entries, you can modify this field. You can also modify this field if all existing entries are reversed.
    • Per Job Ledger Entry: WIP is posted per job ledger entry. This option can be selected only if there are no existing WIP entries or WIP G/L entries, or if all WIP G/L entries have been reversed.
  • Allow Schedule/Contract Lines: Place a checkmark in this field if you wish to create Both Schedule and Contract Planning Lines for this job.
  • Apply Usage Link: Select this check box if you want to be able to track the quantities and amounts of the remaining work needed to complete a job and to create a relationship between demand planning, usage, and sales. On a job card, you can select this check box if there are no existing job planning lines that include type ‘Schedule’ that have been posted. The usage link only applies to job planning lines that include type ‘Schedule’.

Other fields which started with ‘%...’ are calculated fields and there are explained later with posting results.

On Duration tab represent specifies information about the start date and end date for the job. The information helps determine the duration of the job. There are placed ‘Creation Date’, ‘Staring Date’ and ‘Ending Date’.

Foreign Trade tab represent specifies information relevant to how to calculate job invoices, depending on currency settings. There are next fields:

  • Currency Code: This is the currency code for a job. By default, the currency code is empty. If we enter a foreign currency code, it results in the job being planned and invoiced in that currency.
  • Invoice Currency Code: In this field we can select the currency code we want to apply when creating invoices for a job. The ‘Invoice Currency Code’ field can only be modified when local currency (LCY) is entered in the ‘Currency Code’ field. We can change the ‘Invoice Currency Code’ at any time during the job if we want to change the currency code for new invoices. The ‘Invoice Currency Code’ is applied when we create a sales invoice or a sales credit memo.
  • Exch. Calculation (Cost): Specifies how job cost values should be calculated if we change the ‘Currency Date’ field on a planning line manually, if we change the exchange rate in the ‘Currency Code’ field on a ‘Job Planning Line’, or if we run the ‘Change Job Planning Line Dates’ batch job – this depends if we have set up a job in a foreign currency by entering a code in the ‘Currency Code’ field. The option are:
    • Fixed (LCY): The job costs in local currency are fixed. Any change in the currency exchange rate will change the value of job costs in foreign currency.
    • Fixed (FCY): The job costs in foreign currency are fixed. Any change in the currency exchange rate will change the value of job costs in local currency.
  • Exch. Calculation (Price): Specifies how job sales price values should be calculated if we change the ‘Currency Date’ field on a planning line manually, if we change the exchange rate in the ‘Currency Code’ field on a ‘Job Planning Line’, or if we run the ‘Change Job Planning Line Dates’ batch job – this depends if we have set up a job in a foreign currency by entering a code in the ‘Currency Code’ field. The options are:
    • Fixed (LCY): The job prices in local currency are fixed. Any change in the currency exchange rate will change the value of job prices in foreign currency.
    • Fixed (FCY): The job prices in foreign currency are fixed. Any change in the currency exchange rate will change the value of job prices in local currency. If ‘Exch. Calculation (Price)’ is set to ‘Fixed FCY’ and job specific prices are set up for Resources, Items, or G/L Accounts based on unit cost factor, we need to also select ‘Fixed FCY’ for the ‘Exch. Calculation (Cost)’ field to make sure that the value of job prices in foreign currency (FCY) are fixed.

WIP and Recognition tab represent up-to-date information about the calculation of work in process (WIP). We will detailed describe this fields in part of WIP Calculation.

Job Task

We must have at least one task for every job, so that we can have posting. To define tasks for the job, on the Home tab, in the Process group, choose ‘Job Task Lines’. In the ‘Job Task Lines’, window, add the tasks that make up the job.

First, we must set ‘Job Task No.’ and ‘Description’. This is the small parts of job (positions of work). I will use that for division of labor in two parts (material transport and building). Filed ‘Job Task Type’ can be:

  • Posting: for posting.
  • Heading: a heading for a group of job tasks.
  • Total: Total is used when you want the program to total a series of job tasks that do not immediately precede the Total account. You use Total when job tasks from many different job task groupings should be totaled. If you use the Total type, you must fill in the Totaling field manually.
  • Begin-Total: A marker for the beginning of a series of job tasks to be totaled that ends with an End-Total.
  • End-Total: A total of a series of accounts that starts with the preceding Begin-Total account. The total is defined in the Totaling field.

To assign a job posting group to a task, select a code in the ‘Job Posting Group’ field for the task. If we do not select a code, the value from the ‘Job Posting Group’ that is specified on the ‘Job card’ will be used.

In next post, I will describe Job WIP Methods, Job Setup, Setup Job Posting Groups and Job Planning Line…