Basics

The quote is used as a benchmark to analyze the performance of a job, which allows users to run actual versus budget reports to establish job performance. The quote can be as detailed as the user wants, but the company must weigh the benefits of having those details against the cost. If a detailed quote is provided, the analysis of job performance (actual versus budget) will be much more accurate. However, there is a time cost associated with creating more detailed quotes. The quote can also be used to provide recommendations regarding the inventory that needs to be picked or purchased for the job. This process is similar to the MRP wizard in SAP Business One, but is known as the Stock Check Function and is focused on Eralis Job. 

The Stock Check Function compares the quote to the on-hand quantities of the inventory and recommends whether the user should purchase or move the items, or pick them from another warehouse. The system will then automatically generate purchase orders or picking movements from that screen. It is important to note that a detailed quote is required for the Stock Check Function to work. 

The line types that are used when creating a quote are very similar to the standard line types within Eralis Job: 

• Staff or Labor (S) – This line type is a staff or resource quote line. The Article field can be used to select a specific staff member. It can also be left blank depending of requirements. 

• Resource (R) – This Article field can be used to select a specific resource, or a generic line can be used. Please note that resources are assets owned by the company and are used on the job. 
• Material Item (M) – This line indicates a material or expense item, and it is used to record inventory or external services required for the job. These could be items that will be picked up from another warehouse or purchased from a supplier. Please note that both inventory and non-inventory item codes can be used. For example, if you are intending to purchase services from another company, it can be entered in this line using a non-inventory item code.  
• Text (T) – This line allows for the entry of an extended narrative in the quote. 
• Dash (–) – The line type dash is used to indicated that no specific line type has been assigned 

If Eralis Rent is enabled in the system, an additional Line type (H) will be shown which allows users to quote on rental equipment.  

There is a basic, two-part rule that is used within Eralis Job for the price and cost determination. 

1. The price is derived from the price list attached to the customer business partner on the job. When a job is created, it is assigned to a customer, which is then assigned to a particular price list. As a result, when an item is entered into the quote, the system will use the item code to look back to the SAP Business One price list that was assigned to that business partner and assign a price accordingly. 
2. The cost is generally derived from the quote cost price list defined in the Eralis Job system initialization. Inside the System Initialization screen, there is a drop-down field that allows you to list all the price lists inside SAP Business One. From this list, you must choose the price list that will be used as the cost price list for quoting. The list chosen during this process will become the standard price cost price list which the system will use to determine the pricing and margins during quoting. It is worthwhile to define this to get consistency in your margins, especially if there are multiple variations inside the quoting or the costing of particular items. 

There are some exceptions to this basic rule for price and cost determination. When line types S (Staff or Labor) or R (Resource) are being used, the system will follow the pricing settings inside Eralis Job system initialization for Timesheet/Resource price and cost determination. Inside the system initialization you can choose whether the pricing will come from the item code or from the resource that is selected. Similarly, you can choose whether the cost will come from the resource or from the item code. It is important to note that if the Price/Cost is set to come from Staff/Resource, then a staff/resource must be selected in the Article field. 

There is also an exception for the line type M (Material Item). On the Eralis Job System Initialization screen, there is an option to use vendor pricing for material lines. When this option is enabled, the system will use the pricing attached to the vendor rather than the standard default cost price.