1Cover: AMC, warranty, insurance #
- On Cover press Add cover . Pick the asset and whether it is a maintenance contract, a warranty or an insurance policy.
- Enter who provides it, its number, the start and end dates, and what it costs.
- Enter Remind (days before the end) - 30 is usual. Leave it blank for no reminder.
- When it is renewed, press Renew on its card and enter the new dates. The old contract is kept as history.
- When it will not be renewed, press Close , so it stops being reminded about.
- Bring in from the register makes contracts from the warranty and insurance end dates already typed on Fixed Assets Master, for assets that have none here yet. It can be pressed again safely. Service contracts are not brought in: the register does not hold their end date.
- An asset can have one running cover of each kind for the same days.
- A card reads Running , Ending soon (inside its reminder days), Lapsed , Not started , Renewed or Closed .
2Preventive maintenance plans #
- A plan is one job done at an interval: Oil and filter change , Fire extinguisher refill , Calibration .
- By days : due every so many days after it was last done.
- By meter : due every so many km or hours after the reading it was last done at. The asset's meter moves when a reading is entered on the Log.
- Enter when it was last done so the first due date can be worked out. Until then the plan reads Not started .
- Remind before is days for a plan by days and km or hours for a plan by meter.
- When the work is done, press Log the work on the plan's card: the plan moves on to its next due date by itself.
- A plan no longer wanted is switched off (it keeps its history) or, if nothing was ever logged against it, deleted.
3The log #
- Press Add entry on the Log tab for work done, a breakdown, a repair, an inspection or just a meter reading .
- Enter the cost and the downtime where there was any: the reports total both by asset.
- The cost here is a record only. It is not posted to the books - enter the bill as a voucher as usual and note its number in Bill .
- Choosing a plan on a new entry moves that plan on. The plan of a saved entry cannot be changed afterwards; deleting an entry does not move its plan back.
- A meter reading only ever moves the asset's meter forward.
4Reminders #
- Every hour the program looks for cover inside its reminder days (or lapsed) and maintenance due soon or overdue.
- Each is put on the alert bell of the administrators and of everyone who may alter cover (for cover) or plans (for maintenance), and they are e-mailed once.
- One reminder per item and due date. It stays under Action Required until the cover is renewed or closed, or the work is logged against the plan.
- The e-mail follows the Approval Alert settings: it goes when e-mailing approvers is switched on, through the company's mail account, to the address on each user's profile.
- An administrator can press Remind now instead of waiting for the hour.
5Toolbar & keyboard #
- Refresh (F3) reads everything again.
- The Add button adds cover, a plan or a log entry, by the tab you are on.
- In a window, F5 saves and Esc closes it. With no window open, Esc closes the tab.
6If something does not work #
An asset is not in the Asset list
- Why
- The lists hold assets of the branches you may see that are active and still in the books.
- What to do
- Check the asset on Fixed Assets Master: its branch, and that it is not inactive or written off.
"Choose the asset." / "That asset was not found, has left the books, or belongs to a branch you cannot see."
- Why
- No asset is chosen, or it was written off or moved to another branch since the list was read.
- What to do
- Pick the asset; press Refresh (F3) if it has just changed.
"Choose what it is: a maintenance contract (AMC), a warranty or an insurance policy." / "Enter the day the cover starts." / "Enter the day the cover ends." / "The cover cannot end before it starts."
- Why
- The kind or a date is missing, or the dates are the wrong way round.
- What to do
- Complete or correct them.
"Remind between 0 and 365 days before the end, or leave it blank for no reminder."
- Why
- The reminder days are outside what is kept.
- What to do
- Enter 0 to 365, or clear the box.
"... already has a running ... covering some of these days. Renew or close that one instead of adding another."
- Why
- The asset has a running cover of the same kind whose dates overlap these - nearly always the same contract entered twice.
- What to do
- Press Renew on the existing card if this follows it, or Close it first if this replaces it.
"This contract is renewed / closed and is kept as history. It cannot be changed." / "This contract is renewed already. Add a new contract instead."
- Why
- Only a running contract can be changed or renewed.
- What to do
- Change the newest contract of the chain, or add a new one.
"The renewal must start after the contract it renews started (...)."
- Why
- A renewal dated on or before the start of the contract it follows.
- What to do
- Correct the start date - usually the day after the present one ends.
"The asset has left the books, so its cover cannot be renewed."
- Why
- The asset was written off on Asset Transfer and Disposal.
- What to do
- Close the contract instead.
"The contract was renewed or closed by somebody else meanwhile." / "That contract is not running any more, or its asset belongs to a branch you cannot see." / "That contract is no longer there."
- Why
- Another user changed it while your window was open.
- What to do
- Press Refresh (F3).
"A renewal follows this contract, so it cannot be deleted." / "Work on the log was done under this contract, so it cannot be deleted. Close it instead."
- Why
- Deleting it would break the history that rests on it.
- What to do
- Delete the renewal first if it was a mistake, or keep the contract and close it.
"Nothing to bring in: every asset with a warranty or insurance end date on the register already has a contract of that kind here."
- Why
- Bring in from the register only adds what is missing; there is nothing missing.
- What to do
- Nothing needs doing. Service contracts are added by hand: the register does not hold their end date.
"The amount / sum insured cannot be below nought." / "The provider's name / phone number / contract or policy number / notes are ... characters at most."
- Why
- A figure below nought, or a text too long to keep.
- What to do
- Correct it.
"Say what is to be done ..." / "Choose whether it falls due by days or by the meter." / "Enter every how many days it is due." / "Enter every how many km or hours it is due."
- Why
- The plan's task or interval is missing.
- What to do
- Complete it.
"An interval of more than 3650 days (ten years) is not kept." / "The day it was last done cannot be in the future." / "The reading it was last done at cannot be below nought." / "The reminder lead cannot be below nought. ..."
- Why
- A figure outside what is possible.
- What to do
- Correct it.
A plan reads Not started: "Enter when it was last done."
- Why
- The next due date is worked out from when the job was last done, and that is empty.
- What to do
- Open the plan and enter Last done on (or the reading it was last done at). For a new asset use the day it was put to use.
A plan by meter reads "No meter reading is recorded for the asset yet."
- Why
- The asset's meter has never been read, so the program cannot tell how far it is from the due reading.
- What to do
- Add a log entry of kind Meter reading for the asset, with the unit (km or hours).
"Work has been logged against this plan, so it cannot be deleted. Switch it off instead." / "That plan is no longer there." / "That plan was not found, or its asset belongs to a branch you cannot see."
- Why
- The plan has history, or another user removed it.
- What to do
- Open the plan and switch off In use; press Refresh (F3) if it has gone.
"Choose what kind of entry it is." / "Enter the day." / "The day cannot be in the future." / "Write what was done or what went wrong." / "Enter the meter reading."
- Why
- Something needed on the entry is missing.
- What to do
- Complete it.
"This plan falls due by the meter: enter the reading the work was done at."
- Why
- The plan's next due reading is worked out from the reading at which the work was done.
- What to do
- Enter the meter reading on the entry.
"'...' was last done on .... Work dated before that does not move the plan - log it without choosing the plan."
- Why
- The entry is dated before the plan's last-done day, so it cannot be the newest time the job was done.
- What to do
- Clear the plan on the entry, or correct the date.
"The plan chosen is no longer there." / "The plan chosen belongs to another asset." / "The plan of an entry already saved cannot be changed ..."
- Why
- The plan was deleted, the asset was changed after picking the plan, or you tried to change the plan of a saved entry.
- What to do
- Pick a plan of this asset. To change the plan of a saved entry, delete the entry and log it again.
After deleting an entry: "Its plan was moved on when the entry was saved and is NOT moved back ..."
- Why
- The program cannot know what the plan's last-done day was before, once other work may have been logged.
- What to do
- Open the plan and correct Last done on.
The asset's meter did not change after a reading was entered
- Why
- The meter only moves forward: a reading lower than the one held, or dated before it, is kept on the log but does not move the meter.
- What to do
- Check the reading and the date on the entry.
"The cost / meter reading / downtime cannot be below nought." / "The description is 900 characters at most." / "The meter unit is 10 characters at most (km, hours)."
- Why
- A figure below nought, or a text too long to keep.
- What to do
- Correct it.
"That entry is no longer there." / "That entry was not found, or its asset belongs to a branch you cannot see."
- Why
- Another user deleted it, or the asset moved to a branch you cannot see.
- What to do
- Press Refresh (F3).
Nobody was reminded about a cover or a plan
- Why
- It has no reminder days or lead (blank = never), or it is not inside them yet, or the reminder was already sent for this due date - each is sent once.
- What to do
- Open it and check Remind. Look under Action Required on the bell: a reminder stays there until the cover is renewed or closed, or the work is logged.
The bell showed the reminder but no e-mail came
- Why
- E-mail follows the Approval Alert settings and needs an address on the user's profile and a working company mail account.
- What to do
- Check 'E-mail the approver' in Approval Alert settings, the user's e-mail address, and Settings > Mail Accounts. Administration > Notification Log shows whether it was sent, skipped or failed.
"Only an administrator can run the reminders by hand. They run by themselves every hour."
- Why
- Remind now is an administrator's button.
- What to do
- Wait for the hourly round, or ask an administrator.
"Nothing is due: no cover is inside its reminder days and no maintenance is due or overdue."
- Why
- Remind now found nothing to remind about.
- What to do
- Nothing needs doing.
This is the help InvoiceNET® ERP shows beside the Asset Maintenance and AMC screen. Whether you have the screen depends on the modules of your licence and the rights your administrator has given you.
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