This goes out to any USERS of Job Cost Module, please.

I would like to hear from anyone using this module, whether or not you are having any problems or even if it's working fine.

We are using this module and just can't seem to make it work the way we were hoping it would. I'd like to get in touch with some of you to hear how it's working and how you made it work.

We are having so many issues with this module, but before we stop using Job Cost and go back to the old way of doing things, we thought that this forum could give us one last hope.

Hi Sonia

I am not a user, but I just have to say that I think you may be barking up the wrong tree. It's a very rare "end user" who monitors this forum, other than to check on threads that he/she started. Most of the replies on this forum are from consultants. I have noticed this to be true even when "end users" are solicited. I'll be happy to be proven wrong, though.

Also, why don't you just tell us some of the issues you are having, and maybe we can advise you of some workarounds? As it happens, JobCost is one of my specialties, and while I have my own complaints with it, I think it is above average for a JobCost module.

Steve

Well, my biggest issue is the way information hits the Ledger after flowing through Job Cost. We also use the Purchase Order module from Purple Solutions. Each purchase order can only be applied against one phase of a job. Doesn't help when an order to a supplier may pertain to several phases of a job, and then gets dumped into one GL account.

We are having trouble trying to determine what report will actually give us the job revenue, costs and profit/loss so that we can determine how to pay our commissioned sales people.

Some of our suppliers (freight companies for example) will give us an invoice with work/materials for several jobs. I tried entering these invoices through AP using job cost instead of purchase, but then it has no description once it hits the job cost module, so we have no idea what the expense is for.

Even once we set up phase/category cost tracking, we still cannot see vendor names or detail in the GL. This makes it difficult when determining the amount of Worker's Compensation that we need to pay, which also relates to who we need to issue tax forms to at the end of the year.

And the big one is determining the amount of sales and costs we have in any given month. When tax reporting, I need to report the actual amounts invoiced, but that's not an easy task since everything on the financial statements is determined on a WIP basis. And try to explain WIP to the owners.....

I could go on, but my fingers are getting tired. If you can offer any further insight on this module, since you say it's your specialty, we would greatly appreciate it.

Hi Sonia

Thanks for the detailed list - it's obvious you spent a lot of time preparing it. Here is my response:

JobCost/PO integration:
You are incorrect. You CAN apply each detail line on a PO to different a job-phase-category from within Purplesoft's Purchase Orders program.

Profit/loss reporting:
The biggest weakness of Adagio JobCost is its reporting. However, the report you want is easily doable using GridView, and also doable (but not as easily) using Crystal Reports for Adagio. For my JobCost clients, I consider GridView essential.

No description passed thru from AP to JC:
You are correct. In order to populate the description field, you must enter these invoices in PO. But that is the recommended way to do it; your method is a workaround. PO can handle invoices for multiple jobs or spanning multiple orders/receipts.

Vendor names in GL:
The only way you can pass this info thru to the GL expense account is if you set up a job as "simple". Otherwise the details will show up in the WIP (balance sheet) account only. Without seeing the report you want, I can't say this for sure, but I'll bet you can generate the report you need out of JC or AP itself (using GridView or Crystal) instead of the GL.

Actual amounts invoiced:
That's easy, just run the report straight from the JC transaction file for a date range using GridView. Or you can create a GL Source Journal report, reporting on the activity in the WIP (costs) or Billings (sales) account, excluding the source code JC-RE (Job Cost Revenue Recognition).

Since a couple of these issues deal with the integration of PO and JC, you might want to confirm my replies with Purplesoft (www.stiefgroup.com).

Steve

Hi Sonia,

Steve is correct regarding the POA/JC interface. You are able to apply each line to a separate job-phase-category.

When you are entering your PO, if you have selected to send to JC on the header, you will be asked after each line if you want to "Allocate to JC?". Choosing "Yes" will pop up a dialog that allows you to select the Job and the phase-category. This will default to what you selected on the header, but you are able to change the selection as desired.



You are also able to do a "combined invoice" from within POA. From the receipts grid, select one of the receipts on the vendor's invoice and click on the "Inv/Adj" button (or double click the receipt).

In the bottom left hand corner of the header there is a "Combined Inv/Adj" button. Clicking on this will pull the list of all other receipts for the same vendor. From here you just need to double click on the other receipts and this will automatically populate the details tab with all the lines from those other receipts.

If there are some lines from some of the receipts that are not on this particular invoice, you may delete them from the details tab as required.

I hope this helps.

If you need any further assistance your dealer/consultant is a pro with Purchase Orders and should be able to help.