Technicians add parts and other things they pay for to a Meld in the Technician mobile app, right on the job. You can scan the receipt or type the cost in. A cost saved with its receipt doesn't get lost, so your company can bill for it. Costs are sometimes called expenditures.
Availability: Rolling out to AppFolio customers first, with other integrations to follow.
Before You Start
Check these details before you add Costs.
- Who this is for: Technicians.
- Applies to: Companies that run in-house Technicians.
- Access needed: The Maintenance role in the Technician mobile app.
How Costs Work
Costs you pay for on the job are easy to lose, so add them to the Meld before you leave.
- A cost is anything on a Meld that isn't a Vendor invoice or your time. That means parts you buy, parts from your company's stock, and other paid items.
- Each cost has a Type: Parts, Tax or Other.
- Your time is not a cost. Log it by checking in and out. See Check In and Out of a Meld to Log Your Time.
- Add each purchase once. If you scan a receipt, don't also type it in, or the Meld counts it twice.
Costs, Technician labor and Vendor invoices make up the full cost of a Meld, which TrueCost tracks.
Decision point: scan a receipt or add a cost by hand
- Scan Receipt: use it when you have a receipt. The lines fill in for you, and the receipt stays on the Meld as proof.
- Add: use it when you have no receipt, such as a part from stock.
- Considerations: a receipt is proof of what you paid. Use one way per purchase, never both.
Scan a Receipt
Scanning a receipt saves typing and keeps proof of what you paid.
- Open the Meld and find Costs. Tap Scan Receipt.
- Tap Take Photo, Photo Library or Browse Files, and pick the receipt.
- Wait while the receipt uploads. Receipt Scanned opens.
- Tap See Line Items, and check each line against the receipt.
- To fix a line, tap it, change it, and tap Save.
- To add a line, tap Add Line Item.
- To fix the store, receipt number or date, tap Edit, change it, and tap Save. Date comes from the date on the receipt. The scan can misread it or the store name.
- Check that Line Item Total matches Scanned Total and the receipt.
Decision point: keep each line or collapse them
- Keep each line: each item stays on the Meld with its own type.
- Collapse Lines: makes all the lines one line. Pick Line Item Total, Scanned Total or Enter Custom Amount for its amount.
- Considerations: one line loses the detail of each item. A custom amount may not match the receipt.
- Tap Save.
Add a Cost by Hand
Adding a cost by hand records a purchase with no receipt, so it still counts.
- Open the Meld and find Costs. Tap Add.
- Enter a Description, pick a Type, and enter the Quantity and Cost. Total fills in by itself.
- Tap Save. To stop without saving, tap Cancel.
See All Costs on a Meld
Seeing all Costs helps you check that nothing is missing or added twice.
Under Costs on the Meld, tap See All. All Costs lists every receipt and cost on the Meld, with the Total, including ones other people added.
Fix or Delete a Cost
Fixing a wrong cost keeps the Meld's total right before your Coordinator checks it. You can fix any cost or receipt on the Meld, even one someone else added, and even after you finish the Meld.
- To fix a cost: in All Costs, tap it, change it, and tap Save.
- To fix a receipt: in All Costs, tap it to open Receipt Details. Fix it the same way as when you scanned it, and tap Save.
Important: You can't get a deleted cost or receipt back.
- To delete a cost: tap it, tap Delete, then tap Delete again.
- To delete a receipt: tap it, tap Delete, then tap Delete again.
If Your Situation Is Different
Some situations change how you add Costs.
- If you don't use the Technician mobile app: you can add Costs on the web. See Add Parts and Other Costs to a Meld.
- If more than one person works the Meld: everyone sees the same Costs. Check All Costs before you add a purchase, so it isn't added twice.
What Happens Next
After you save, your Coordinator uses your Costs to review the Meld and bill for it.
- What you see: the cost under Costs on the Meld, and in the Total.
- What your Coordinator sees: your Costs and receipts when they review the Meld, and on the bill if your company bills for the work.
- If the scan fails: Scan Failed appears. Tap Retry Scan. Or tap Go Back and add the lines yourself.
- If a receipt shows Pending: its costs aren't saved, and they don't count in the Total. Tap it, add its lines with Add Line Item, and tap Save. Or delete it.
Limitations and Things to Know
This is something you can't do, and what to do instead.
- You can't add your time as a cost. Check in and out instead.
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