CAR Reports and Work Orders
When you receive items from a customer through an RMA, you can process the RMA by releasing it to a work order. This creates a rework work order using the item’s repair routing. You manage and complete the work order in the Work Orders module.
Processing in CAR is similar, although in CAR you are recording work that already took place. However, the work still consists of operations that record labor and the items you issued. Each CAR report you generate is a simple work order. The report creates work order transactions and affects similar accounts.
Reports in CAR have a simpler life cycle than work orders. Work orders follow this sequence:
• Process item issues.
• Process labor and labor burden.
• Receive work order (RCT-WO).
• Close the work order using Work Order Accounting Close (16.21).
Reports in CAR do not go through the last two steps. The system combines item and labor processing when you click Next from CAR’s inventory confirmation frame. The CAR report, or work order, has this life cycle:
• Process item issues, labor, and labor burden.
• Post the invoice, which is similar to work order accounting close.
In general, the system updates accounts in CAR similar to the way it updates accounts for a work order, except that service accounts are updated when appropriate.
Variances in CAR
Another difference exists between accounting for standard work orders and CAR work orders. The system tracks material and labor variances for standard work orders. It does not track them for call activity.
The system calculates work order variances when the work order is closed. Closing a call, however, is not as final as closing a work order. You can open a closed call and record more activity for it. The only time you cannot change a call is when it is moved it to history.
For calls, the system cannot determine if a difference is a variance or the result of a report that you have not yet added to the call.