Wondering how work flows through iPoint? We’ve got you covered!
You’ve got a client who’s interested in having you do some work for them, how does the process work in iPoint?
CRM
The first step is to create that new client in the CRM (or find the existing client). Create your new Client
When creating something new for an existing customer, you should begin in the CRM. This way, you will be able to confirm you have the correct customer record. If you have a new customer, you will want to start by creating a new CRM record.
CRM- New Customer – Required Information
- Name
- Phone
- Address
Proposal
In the CRM record, on the left, scroll down to Proposals >click New Proposal in the upper right hand corner. 
iPoint will then create a new Proposal that pulls in all of the appropriate customer information from the CRM record.
Required Proposal Information
- Customer Information
- Tax Rate
- Proposal Name
Within the Proposal, there are multiple ways to customize.
Adding Products & Labor in Designer
- Rooms/Locations
- Groups/Systems
- Parts
- Labor
Be sure to generate the Proposal by using the Custom Template of your choice that your company has available to you. By generating the PDF you can ensure that all looks good for your client.
You can send the Proposal for eSignature through iPoint (*this is a setting that would need to be enabled in Settings>Module Settings>Proposals), if your client would like changes or modifications, you will create a revision (in the Revision tab of the Proposal) and resend.
As a time saver, you are able to globally build a basic email template that will load every time you send a Proposal for eSig. No worries though, it’s not set in stone so if a user needs to add some additional information or change the verbiage, they can! Click here to see how to get that done!
p(banner tip). Our latest cool feaure allows you to create an invoice, prior to sending the Proposal and once your client accepts it, they are automatically prompted to pay! See how to!
If your client declines the proposal, you can Archive it. It will be hidden, but still accessible.
If approved, convert the proposal to a Sales Order.
Sales Order
Once the Proposal is converted to a Sales Order, it’s time to get moving along in the process. We need to request money from our client, get products on order and staged, and get those Work Orders scheduled. WOW, seems like a lot . . . what about timing? No worries, iPoint is extremely flexible.
While the timing of these is really up to you, all of them can happen at the same time, or you can space them out as appropriate. Here is the typical workflow in iPoint.
Billing Tab
From the billing tab, create an invoice to request money from your client. Many of our community members await this deposit prior to requesting and ordering products; although, you are not required to do so. If using RFP you will create RFP Invoice for your client. If using Line Item or Summary Invoicing, you’ll create what is appropriate for your accounting methodology. You will then either send the Payment Portal Link (if using Celero) or you can email the Invoice/RFP to your client. They can pay online via Credit Card or ACH (again, if you’re using Celero) or you can apply the payment to the Invoice/RFP. Then, you’ll sync this information over to QB.
Product Manager Tab
Once the deposit is received, the products are requested from the SO Product Manager tab. That request lands in the Purchase Request Manager PRM. From there, items in stock can be allocated and those not in stock can be put onto Purchase Orders and sent to your Vendors. As items are received, they are automatically allocated to the SO from which they were requested.
If you would prefer, you can allocate products and create POs directly from the SO>Product tab>Product Manager. This is typically done when you order per SO. Click here see your options!
There are three statuses within a SO. The overall SO status, Product Manager status and Billing status. The three of these can be impacted by the others. For example, if you change the Billing status to deposit received, that could change the Product Manager status. The changing of statuses can fire off notifications to the person who is next to take action. This can help to prompt people when the next step in the process needs to happen.
Project Tab
Scheduling is up next! It’s time to have iPoint create tasks for all of those parts, put them onto a Project and create WOs for your technicians. This step can be done at any time in the process as well – even very early on if your Team likes to plan ahead! If they need to be adjusted or moved, it’s no problem at all, you can simply change the date, time and technician as needed.
iPoint will allow you to invoice your client, order materials, and create the Project and WOs at any time in the process without any issues. The important thing to remember is that you should be sure to verify your products are received and allocated properly prior to sending your technicians out on site.
Once on site, your technicians will check into the WO and select the proper labor phase, complete tasks and deliver parts. Additionally, they are able to add parts, photos (media) and notes as necessary. This information will all flow back up through the connected Project and SO. Allowing you to see what has been added or removed and providing you the opportunity to create a CO as appropriate.
Change Orders & Added Removed Parts
During the completion of some SOs you may not have any changes – that’s great! However, if you do, iPoint is equipped to help you manage them.
You can create a CO, then remove and add parts in Designer. You are also able to add parts via Project or WOs and remove parts via Project, WO or Product Manager – those will land in the Added/Removed Parts tab of a SO. This allows you to wait and create the CO when you’re ready. See this link for more details on creating, sending and approving COs.
Delivery Invoices
When utilizing RFP billing, delivery invoices should be created at a minimum, monthly and sync’d to QB in order to account for taxation responsibility and recognize revenue. This is an extremely important part of the process. Once the delivery invoices are created, you apply those RFP credits and get it sync’d to QB. You can create as many delivery invoices that you need/want. Some SOs may have two, others may have ten – don’t worry there is no requirement or limit. Click here to see the best practices in relation to deferred revenue and delivery invoicing.
Closing out a SO
To finalize a SO, there are a few things that need to be done.
- Ensure all products are accounted for (if sold, they should be delivered or removed on a CO)
- All COs must be Approved/Committed or deleted
- Invoicing should be complete (including balancing of delivery invoices if using RFP)
- The SO, Billing and Product Manager statuses need to be what is marked as the “final” status in pop-up lists
When you click Archive, if something isn’t as it should be, iPoint will show a pop-up of what still needs to be done. If all is good, the system will also prompt to archive any associated Project and WOs.