Using Equipment Manager

Each piece of equipment managed by the organization is recorded in the Equipment Manager. Equipment records could include floor stock, whole goods on order, equipment used to generate rental income, and customers' equipment being serviced. You can also create equipment records when a piece of equipment is purchased. See Purchasing.

Information in the Equipment Manager is presented on a series of tabs. When you set up the Equipment Manager, you determine what information users should see, and how they should see it.

Creating an equipment record in the Equipment Manager automatically generates an MDA record for the equipment with the same equipment ID. However, creating a record for the piece of equipment in MDA will not automatically generate a record in the Equipment Manager.

Creating equipment records

Creating a new equipment record involves the following:

Step 1: Create an equipment entry

This process generates an equipment ID based on equipment numbering types. Equipment numbering types generate equipment IDs that contain various segments based on equipment category, model, type, division, and/or branch. See Setting Up Equipment Numbering Types for more information on how equipment IDs are generated.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Utilities > Equipment > New Equipment Entry. You can also access this window using the New button from the Equipment Manager (Cards > Equipment > Equipment Manager).
2. Fill in the Equipment Category, Model, Equipment Type, Equipment Branch, and Equipment Division for the new equipment.
3. Use the lookup in the Equipment Numbering Type field to select the format that you want to use for the new equipment ID.
4. Select Create. A message displays asking if you are sure you want to create the equipment record.
5. Select Create. The system creates an equipment ID using the specified numbering scheme and characteristics of the new equipment. If the information needed to correctly number the equipment is not available, an error message displays. See Setting Up Equipment Numbering Types.

Step 2: Complete the header information

Once the equipment record is created, you can complete the record's header information. The Equipment Manager window contains six header fields that remain visible regardless of which tab is currently displayed.

1. Select Cards > Equipment > Equipment Manager.
2. Select an equipment record. Verify the Equipment ID and Model, then complete the following fields:
   • Serial Number
     This field will be completed automatically if the equipment record was generated from a purchase order.
   • Equipment Status
     Available will appear in the Status field for new equipment records. Status changes automatically following certain events such as a transport dispatch or delivery, on rent or off rent, or creation or completion of a service call. You may want the Status field to fill in automatically.
   • Location
     Enter the physical location of the equipment. This can change when the equipment is moved.
   • Usage Life to Date
     This field is zero for new equipment records. It is updated per operating log readings.
3. Select Save. If the Save button is disabled, your user ID or user class doesn't have access rights to change header information on the equipment record.

Step 3: Complete equipment manager tabs

Additional information pertaining to an equipment record is stored on tabs on the Equipment Manager window. The modules you are using and the way your system is set up determines which tabs display. 

Select Cards > Equipment > Equipment Manager to open the Equipment Manager window. Use the lookup in the Equipment ID field to select an equipment record.

If you have tabs that you use often, you can access them quickly using the Go To button in the Equipment Manager window. You can designate which tabs appear when choosing the Go To button by choosing Edit Go To Settings. In the Go To Button Maintenance window, select a tab from the Available Tabs column, select Add to add it to the Go To Button Tabs column, and select OK. You can also add the tabs to the shortcut bar using the current window option.

Details tab

The Details tab records basic information for each equipment record and is always the first tab displayed.

• Tab Class
  The tab class determines the tabs displayed and the order in which they appear. You may have marked a tab class as the default class for new equipment records during setup.
• Equipment Category
  There are six system-defined categories. When equipment is sold, the category is automatically changed to Sales History.
• Equipment Type
  If the equipment types were set up with an account mask, this determines the account for sales revenue if this equipment is sold.
• User-defined
  Enter user-defined information.
• Condition
  Enter a Condition.
• Division
  Enter the division to which the equipment belongs. If the division was set up with an account mask, this determines the general ledger accounts for revenue and costs on invoices.
• Branch
  Enter the branch to which the equipment belongs. If the branch was set up with an account mask, this determines the general ledger accounts for revenue and costs on invoices.
• Owning Location
  The owning location is the location at which the equipment is owned and managed. This may or may not be the location at which the equipment is currently operating.
• Operating Location
  The operating location is the location from which the equipment is currently operating. The operating location may be specified when a purchase order for equipment is created. The operating location may or may not be the same as the owning location or the physical location
• Manufacturer
  Select the manufacturer of the equipment from the lookup window.
• Build Year
  This is a four-digit numeric entry identifying the year in which the equipment was manufactured or assembled.
• Acquisition Date
  This field is automatically filled if the equipment is purchased using the Purchase Order Processing module.
• Purchased By
  This could be the person or department that purchased the equipment.
• Life U of M
  Select the unit of measure for usage for this equipment record. This unit is used in the Usage Life to Date field on the Equipment Manager header, which is updated when meter readings are entered on operating log entries. If you plan to use the Scheduled Maintenance module, you must enter a value in this field. The unit of measure is used when creating scheduled maintenance records.
• Salesperson ID, Territory ID
  Enter a Salesperson and Territory.
• Customer ID
  The field displays an ID when the equipment is on rent to a customer.
• On Customer Rental
  This read-only checkbox indicates if this piece of equipment is currently rented.
• On Service
  This read-only checkbox indicates if this piece of equipment is currently in use on a service call.
• On Sale
  This read-only checkbox indicates if this piece of equipment is currently on sale.
• On Transport
  This read-only checkbox indicates if this piece of equipment is currently on transport.
• Description
  Enter a description of up to 50 characters. A more detailed description can be included by choosing the expansion button attached to the field.
• Comments
  Enter any additional information.

Attributes tab

The Attributes tab lists the various attributes of a piece of equipment.

To add an attribute:

1. Select an Attribute ID.
2. Enter an attribute Value that applies to this specific equipment.
3. Select Insert >>.

Attachments tab

The Attachments tab holds details of specifications for a piece of equipment. Attachments or subattachments can be listed with details of each. While these details can be created for an individual piece of equipment, you will save time and maintain the consistency of the information by creating a template for attachments and subattachments of each model rather than for each piece of equipment. See Setting Up Models. Once attachments and subattachments are added to a piece of equipment, they can be transferred or associated with an inventory item using the Transfer button.

• To add an attachment, select the Attachment button. Enter the attachment name and select OK.
• To add a subattachment, select an attachment and select the Subattachment button. Enter the subattachment name and select OK.
• To delete an attachment or subattachment, select the item and select Delete. If you delete an attachment with subattachments, the subattachments will remain and move up a level. You cannot delete an attachment or subattachment if it is associated with an inventory item.

Use the right side of the window to enter and maintain information on an attachment or subattachment selected from the list on the left:

• Sort Alphanumerically
  Mark this checkbox to sort information alphanumerically based on the Attachment Attribute field.
• Item Number
  Read-only field that displays the item number when the equipment is purchased.
• Serial Number
  Read-only field displays the serial number when the equipment is purchased.
• Site ID
  Read-only field displays the site ID when the equipment is purchased.

• Include On Sale
  Mark this checkbox if the attachment is a non-inventory item and you want to include the attachment on the equipment sales document. This checkbox will only display if the attachment is a non-inventory item.

• Use Item Sale Price
  Mark this checkbox if the attachment is an inventory item and you want to use the item sale price or you can enter a sales price in the Sales Price field. This checkbox will only display if the attachment is an inventory item.

• Sales Price
  If equipment has a sales price entered on the Sales Financial 2 tab, this will be used on the sales document. If a kit item is used for selling, and there are attachments or subattachments that are inventory items with selling prices on the inventory records, these prices will be added to the sales price to determine the selling price for the kit.
• Recommended Life
  Enter the recommended life.
• Life U of M
  Enter the life U of M.
• Usage
  Enter the usage.
• % Left
  Enter the percentage of life left. This field is manually updated for each attachment and subattachment.
• % Life Left
  This value is calculated based on the values entered in the Recommended Life and Usage fields.
• Update from Equipment
  Mark this checkbox if you want the system to update the usage for the attachment or subattachment in accordance with updates to the operating log for the equipment record. This is useful because the % Life Left field then updates automatically based on usage. Updating from equipment is only possible if the (sub)attachment has the same life unit of measure as the equipment.
• Transfer
  Once attachments and subattachments are added to equipment, they can be transferred or associated with an inventory item. Use this button to transfer attachments, which are serialized inventory items, between equipment and inventory stock, or between pieces of equipment. See Transferring Attachments and Subattachments.

Photos tab

The Photos tab lists links to electronically stored documents that are related to the piece of equipment. To open a document on the list, select the item, and select the camera button.

To add a document

1. Enter the Date.
2. Enter a descriptive Reference.

3. Enter the filename or use the folder button to browse and find the file. We recommend you enter a shared location using a UNC pathname. For example, \\server-name\shared-resource-pathname. Using a UNC pathname rather than a drive on your network makes the link available to all users.

Optional Equipment tab

The Optional Equipment tab lists extras or attributes that may or may not be physical parts of the equipment. Optional equipment is set up during the model setup. See Setting Up Models.
Mark the checkboxes for each optional equipment item you wish to include with this equipment record. These fields are informational only.

Model Information tab

User information is defined for a specific model. See Setting Up Models to edit the user-defined fields that appear on this tab.

Operating Log tab

The Operating Log tab records the operating activity for a piece of equipment. Each line records a reading or an update to operational activity. You enter operating log information in the Operating Log Maintenance window, which you open by zooming on the Operating Log No. field. You can also open the Operating Log Maintenance window from the Transactions menu. See Entering Operating Log Readings.

When the sort order is reading date, the last reading represents the latest usage figure.

Active Fields tab

The Active Fields tab displays the active user-defined fields for the equipment record. See Setting Up Active User-Defined Fields.

Inventory tab

The Inventory tab shows the serialized inventory item number that is linked to this piece of equipment. Entering the purchasing inventory item number in the Equipment Model Maintenance window links an equipment model number and an inventory item number. Once this link is established, purchasing and receiving a piece of equipment automatically generates an equipment record, with the item number, serial number, and purchasing section on the Inventory tab completed. Selling a piece of equipment records sales details on the Inventory tab. The information on the left side of the Inventory tab is filled in automatically when receiving equipment against the purchase order, which generated the equipment record. If the equipment is sold, sales information is filled in on the right.

Inventory Accounts tab

The Inventory Accounts tab lists the general ledger accounts to which values should be directed for all transactions involving this piece of equipment. 

The inventory item record to which the equipment is linked has a similar list of accounts. When posting transactions, the system uses the general ledger accounts set up on the Inventory Accounts tab first. If the tab is blank, the system looks for account information on the inventory item. If no accounts are specified on the item, the system uses the global system settings.

Rental Inactivation tab

The Rental Inactivation tab is used to inactivate the equipment for rental, either indefinitely or over a specific period of time. Inactivating the equipment affects the Advanced Rental module only and has no effect on other equipment transactions.

Equipment that is inactive for rental can be placed on an agreement or booking; however, it cannot be placed on rent. If the equipment is already on rent when the inactivation period begins, the agreement can be processed to completion, but the On Rental date cannot be changed.

• To inactivate the equipment, mark the Inactivate for Rental checkbox. To reactivate equipment that is inactive for rental, unmark the checkbox.
• To specify a period of rental inactivation, enter a Start Date and End Date, then select Insert >>. You must enter a date in both fields, and the Start Date must occur before the End Date. Multiple rental inactivation periods for the same equipment cannot overlap.

Rental Financial tab

The Rental Financial tab displays rental income and rental costs. The rental categories come from the cost categories set up with the cost group types of Rental Income and Rental Expenses. All amounts posted to the general ledger accounts associated with the cost categories appear. Each general ledger account should have been set up for account analysis. In addition to the cost categories, depreciation will be listed as a rental expense. Depreciation amounts are recorded if the equipment is an asset on the Fixed Asset Management module, and the asset has a depreciation book entered in the Equipment Setup window. You may also display service costs and income as separate lines in this window. These figures come from Service Management service calls, which are assigned to a linked piece of equipment.

Use the lookup in the Agreement No. field to select a rental agreement for this equipment. The Contract TD (Contract To Date) column shows values relating to the rental agreement selected in the Agreement No. field. All other columns show rental income or expenses associated with this piece of equipment for the Current Period, current year (YTD), and for the life of the equipment (LTD).

Rental History tab

The Rental History tab displays all historical rental documents for this equipment. Mark the appropriate checkboxes and use the refresh button to display completed Agreements and posted Invoices. Unsuccessful quotes are marked with a red cross.

On Rental tab

The On Rental tab contains rental agreement information for this equipment. Use the arrows in the Agreement No. field to select and view an agreement.

Sales Financial tab

The Sales Financial tab displays revenue and expenses relating to sales of the equipment. The sales categories come from the cost categories set up for cost groups with a type of Sales Income and Sales Expenses. All amounts posted to the general ledger accounts associated with the cost categories appear here. Each of these general ledger accounts should have been set up for account analysis. See Creating Analysis Cost Groups.

Sales Financial 2 tab

The Sales Financial 2 tab displays information for salespeople. Costs relating to a piece of equipment are displayed. A salesperson can use the costs and a calculating facility to determine a selling price. The sales categories come from the cost categories set up for cost groups with the type of Sales Expenses. All amounts posted to the general ledger accounts associated with the cost categories appear here. Each of these general ledger accounts should have been set up for account analysis. See Creating Analysis Cost Groups.

Costs can be entered for each category in the following columns:

• Estimate
  You cannot enter estimated costs in the Service Costs field.
• Committed
  Committed costs are entered from purchase orders.
• Actual
  Actual costs come from transactions posted to the accounts associated with sales categories.
• Forecast
  Forecast values are equal to either the estimate amount or the sum of the committed and actual amounts, whichever is greater.

The bottom section of the window is designed to perform what-if calculations. Users can enter one value and have the system calculate another. What-if fields are disabled after a piece of equipment is sold.
The fields on the left are used to calculate the gross profit (GP). Changes to any of these figures will change gross profit. Manually changing the gross profit changes the price. For example, you can enter the price and have the gross profit calculated, or enter the required gross profit percentage and have the price calculated. A salesperson can use this to determine a retail price. This price is automatically entered as the selling price if this piece of equipment is added to a sales order.

• Sales Price
  The recommended retail price; this amount will be used in SOP when selling the equipment.
• Reset Price
  Use this button to reset the recommended retail price to the default value.
• Sales Income
  Shows the total of all income associated with this equipment; includes income posted to general ledger accounts set up for account analysis and allocated to this equipment through the MDA window.

Sales Current tab

This tab lists current sales documents relating to the piece of equipment. You can zoom to the Equipment Sales Transaction Entry window for each line item.

Sales History tab

This tab lists historical sales documents relating to the piece of equipment. These include quotes, orders, invoices, and returns. You can select a sort order and restrict the list to quotes, orders, invoices, or returns only.

Previous IDs tab

The equipment ID is a unique identifier for a piece of equipment and usually shouldn't be changed. However, there are some circumstances when you must change the ID. For example, if you have different number sequences for rental equipment and for inventory stock and you decide to move a piece of equipment from inventory stock to the rental fleet, you may want to modify the ID number. The Previous IDs tab maintains a record of any equipment ID changes for a piece of equipment, displaying the date of each change, the old ID, the new ID, and the user ID of the person who recorded the change. Equipment IDs are changed using the Equipment Modifier utility (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Utilities > Equipment > Equipment ID Modifier).

Location Log tab

The Location Log tab lists changes to the location of the equipment. You can select to list changes to a physical location, owning location, or operating location. You can use the Location Type drop-down list to select the type of location to display and the Sort By drop-down list to determine the sort order.

Shipping tab

The Shipping tab contains information about the supplier, the current location of the equipment, estimated shipping, and arrival dates, and purchase date information.

• Supplier ID Name
  Enter the Supplier ID.
• Supplier Name
  The Supplier Name defaults.
• Address ID, Address
  Enter an Address ID and complete the Address fields, or select an existing ID.
• Address fields
  Complete the Address fields if creating a new Address ID. If an existing Address ID was selected, the address fields will default in.
• Current Location
  Enter the current location of the piece of equipment.
• Departure Point
  Enter the shipping port from.
• Est. Departure Date
  Enter the estimated departure date.
• Arrival Point
  Enter the shipping port to.
• Est. Arrival Date
  Enter the estimated arrival date.
• Shipping Agent
  Enter the name of the shipping agent.
• Customs Agent
  Enter the name of the Customs Agent.
• Vessel Name
  Enter the name of the vessel.
• Currency ID
  Enter the currency ID.
• Orig. Purchase Price
  Enter the current price.
• Purchase Date
  Enter today's date if currency exchange rates will change.
• Funct. Purchase Price
  Enter the functional purchase price.
• Payment Terms
  Enter the payment terms.

Total Financial tab

The Total Financial tab displays a range of financial information about the piece of equipment. The categories listed on this tab come from the cost categories set up for the cost groups of the types Total Income and Total Expenses. The values are the amounts posted to the accounts defined for these cost categories. The Total Financial tab can be used to display all costs and expenses, both capital and operating, associated with a piece of equipment to show overall return on investment.

Transport tab

The Transport tab is used to set up a pricing item, which determines pricing information on transport requests for this equipment record. The Pricing Item field on the Transport tab must be set up if the equipment is to be available for transport. The pricing item must belong to the inventory item class selected for transport pricing items, as set up in the Transport module. See Setting Up the Transport Module.

Service tab

The Service tab is used only when Equipment Management is used with Service Management. Establishing a link between this equipment record and an equipment record in Service Management allows you to create a service call before and after renting the equipment and update the status in Equipment Management when the equipment is used in Service Management. This tab displays the details of the corresponding equipment record in Service Management.

Use the New Link button to open the Service Management Equipment window, where you can create an equipment record in Service Management that will link to this equipment record. The Service Management equipment ID comes from the Equipment Management equipment ID. Upon entering details and saving the record in Service Management, the link is established.

You can also link this equipment to an existing Service Management equipment record by using the lookup in the Equipment ID field.

The information about the equipment displayed on this tab comes from the Service Management record. See Creating equipment records in the Service Management User Manual.

• The Item indicator is a Service Management indicator that shows that this equipment is an individual piece of equipment.
• The Group indicator shows that the equipment record is a lead item of an equipment group.
• The Group Item indicator shows the equipment record is an item of equipment within a group.

Service History tab

When an equipment record in Equipment Management is linked to an equipment record in Service Management and the piece of equipment is involved with a service call, the service call will appear on the Service History tab. You can sort by call status. Service calls recorded in Service Management will be listed on this tab if the following are true:

• The Service Management equipment ID for this equipment was identified on the Service tab. See Service tab.
• The service call includes a task involving this piece of equipment.

The list includes the description, status of the call, and the date the call was complete. You can create a new service call from the Service History tab using the New Call button.

Scheduled Maintenance tab

The Scheduled Maintenance tab lists scheduled maintenance records that are assigned to an equipment record. Projected scheduled maintenance are those records that haven't been assigned to an open service call or that aren't marked as current in the Equipment Scheduled Maintenance window. Mark the Projected, Current, and Inactive checkboxes to filter the records. You can use the Go To button to open the Equipment Scheduled Maintenance window and the Service Call window.

Scheduled Maintenance History tab

The Scheduled Maintenance History tab lists scheduled maintenance records that are marked as complete or closed in Service Management or that are marked as complete in the Process Completed Maintenance window. You can use the Go To button to open the Scheduled Maintenance Inquiry window and the Service Call window.

Asset Information tab

The Asset Information tab is used to link an equipment record to an asset in the Fixed Asset Management module.

If the equipment is purchased with a purchase order type marked for capital purchase, or with the line item marked as a capital item, then the asset entry is generated from the purchase list in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Asset General Information window, with the link to Equipment Management automatically generated.

If the equipment record in Equipment Management and the entry in Fixed Asset Management both exist independently, you can link them from the Asset Information tab. Use the lookup or enter the fixed asset in the Asset ID field to establish the link.

If the fixed asset record doesn't exist, you can use the New Link button to open the Asset General Information window where you complete the record. Once the fixed asset is saved, the link is established.

Although the link is established, you still must complete the asset record information in Microsoft Dynamics GP. See the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fixed Asset Management Manual.

Once a link between Equipment Management and Fixed Asset Management is established, information from the asset record is displayed on the Asset Information tab. Use the Redisplay button to refresh the Asset Information tab. The depreciation amounts are based on the Fixed Assets Depreciation Book ID selected in the Equipment Setup window.

Global Information tab

The Global Info tab contains information that will appear on all equipment records. The fields on this tab are defined in the Global Information Labels Setup window. (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Equipment > Equipment > Global Information Labels).

Blank tabs

Equipment Management has three blank tabs to be defined by the user. Contact WennSoft Sales for information.