Invoice sort codes have four main applications in the system: they define service categories and service limits, affect the presentation of invoice information, and determine invoice detail.

When you define service categories, they must reference an invoice sort of the proper type—either item, labor, or expense. The system summarizes the detailed information for the various service categories under the related invoice sort code.

You can set up service limits and levels of coverage on warranties and contracts by invoice sort. Call Activity Recording applies these limits and levels. When the limits on the service type or contract are in terms of invoice sort codes, the system tracks activity for the service categories related to each sort code. The system suggests either an under-limit or over-limit charge code based on this consumption.

After you record activity for a call, the invoice sort determines how Call Invoice Recording displays the financial summaries. Call Invoice Recording provides a high-level financial summary of call costs and billable amounts. The top frame (costs) is a grid with the three types of invoice sort codes as the columns and charge codes as the rows.

The final frame of Call Quote Maintenance is similar. The system summarizes planned labor, parts, and expenses for a service activity just as in Call Invoice Recording.

Some invoice sort fields affect the display of information in CIR.

The value in Invoice Sort Maintenance for the Type field determines which column displays invoice sort information. When you define an invoice sort, match the Type value to the invoice sort’s label. For example, an invoice sort called Expenses with a Type of L for labor would be misleading.

Invoice sort codes display in the rows of the Billing Summary frame of Call Invoice Recording. The Display Order field determines the order in which they appear. Define the labels in the Label field. Multi-language users can define labels for each language.

A warning displays if you create two invoice sorts with the same display order. The system does not prevent this, but the display in Call Invoice Recording will be confusing.

Fixed prices represent a single price for the entire service activity, regardless of the list price of individual items. Since the prices are not broken out by expense, labor, or item, mark one invoice sort to include fixed price amounts. The Billing Summary frame of Call Invoice Recording still breaks out costs, but the price displays only if an invoice sort with Fixed Price set to Yes is defined.

Since fixed prices are not broken out by service category, do not associate service categories with this invoice sort; use it to display fixed prices. A warning displays if you associate service categories with a fixed price invoice sort.

Invoice sort codes control the display in Call Invoice Recording and invoice print. Multi-language users can specify how the label for the invoice sort appears in different languages.

The Detail field determines the default in the Det column of Call Invoice Recording, unless you specify a different invoice format for the end user in End User Data Maintenance. This field, in turn, determines the level of detail on the printed invoice. When Detail is No for an invoice sort, the system takes the entries for a service category, summarizes them in a single line item, totals them, and then prints only this total on the hard copy invoice.

See Invoice Format for details.