Service Packages#
A service package is defined as a group of services billed to a customer for a set price. The time spent on completing the package is stated in hours, and a project is used to plan, post, and bill all related expenses and revenues.
Note
The use of service packages requires the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central1 price list functionality.
Setup#
Work type#
To be able to use a resource as a service package, you need a work type with a unit of measure that matches the resource’s base unit and a billing unit that reflects the nature of the work being done.
This way, you can record and post the time spent on completing and delivering the package in hours but, for example, invoice the work by piece later.
Work package#
To be able to add a service package to a WBS or budget line, you also need a work package that must be filled in as described in the following table.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Budget Type Resource | Turn on this toggle. |
| Billing Base | Select Resource. |
| Billing No. | Choose a billing resource that contains the units used for the specified work type (for example, Piece and Hour). |
| Billing Type | Select Time & Materials. |
| Work Type Code | Enter the work type specified for service packages. |
| Copy to Sales Doc. | Select Budget Lines. |
Projects Setup#
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Work Type (Service Package) |
Specify the work type that will be used by default when a resource is designated as a service package. The base unit specified for the resource must be Hour and the billing unit a measurement that reflects the nature of the package (for example, Piece). |
| Sales Price List (Service Package) |
Select the project sales price list that you want to save unit prices for service packages to. |
| Auto Update Sales Price List (Serv. Pckg.) | Turn on this toggle if you want the sales price list specified in the previous field to be updated automatically when the price for a service package is changed. Note The list entry is created with the date set to today. To set your own date instead, you need to run the Update Sales and Purch. Prices (Serv. Pckg.) action from the ribbon of the relevant resource card. |
| Purch. Price List (Service Package) |
Select the project purchase price list that you want to save unit costs of service packages to. |
| Auto Update Purch. Price List (Serv. Pckg.) | Turn on this toggle if you want the purchase price list specified in the previous field to be updated automatically when the cost of a service package is changed. Note The list entry is created with the date set to today. To set your own date instead, you need to run the Update Sales and Purch. Prices (Serv. Pckg.) action from the ribbon of the relevant resource card. |
Note
The use of service packages requires the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central1 price list functionality.
Note
The Allow Default Settings Update field must be turned on for the specified price lists. This is because the price list lines associated with a service package are created with a starting date and this date might be in contradiction to the data entered on the list header. Selecting the field therefore prevents you from receiving error messages when maintaining price data for service packages.
Specify a package#
Service packages are set up as resources in the system. The type you assign to a package doesn’t matter; still, we recommend that you specify packages as machines to better distinguish them from human resources.
You can then fill in the service package fields on the relevant resource card as described in the following table.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Service Package | Turn on this toggle if you want to mark the resource as a service package. To help distinguish these packages from human resources, we recommend that you select Machine in the Type field. |
| Target Work Package Code | This field determines to which work package this service package is transferred when a work breakdown structure is created from a sales document. After selecting the target work package, the work type is transferred from there to the "Service work type" field. If no work type has been entered, the work type of the target work package is transferred. If a work type already exists, it must match that of the selected target work package. |
| Service Work Type | If the resource is marked as a service package, the work type that is used for packages is copied to this field automatically. However, the work type is transferred from there at the latest when a target work package is assigned. |
| Invoice Qty. | Enter 1 in this field if resource hours are combined into a service package, that is, the resource is billed by time and materials. |
| Invoice Unit of Measure | This field is filled in automatically if you mark the resource as a service package and cannot be changed. |
| Planned Qty. | If the resource is designated as a service package, that is, work is billed by time and materials, specify—in hours—the effort required to complete it. |
| Planned Unit of Measure | This field is filled in automatically if you mark the resource as a service package and cannot be changed. |
| Unit Cost / Planned Qty. | This field is also filled in automatically and indicates the estimated unit cost per hour for resources designated as service packages—the result of dividing the cost of the chosen package by the planned quantity. |
The other fields are set up in the same way as for standard resources.
Prices#
All packages are sold at fixed prices. When you enter the price of a package in the Sales Price field, a new line is (automatically; see note) created for it on the Project Sales Price Lists page, giving the amount in local currency. Prices in foreign currency must be added manually to the list.
The cost per unit is calculated as follows:
Planned Qty. * average unit cost of all resources who contributed to completing the package.
The result is entered in the Unit Cost field. The Unit Cost / Planned Qty. field is also updated, and a new price list line is added to the Project Purchase Price Lists page (by the system; see note).
Note
If you turned on the Auto Update Purch. Price List (Serv. Pckg.) and Auto Update Sales Price List (Serv. Pckg.) toggles in Projects Setup, prices are updated automatically, with the date set to today. If you didn’t, you can set your own date by running the Update Sales and Purch. Prices (Serv. Pckg.) action from the ribbon of the resource card.
Use on budget lines#
To be able to assign service packages to a project, you need a WBS line with a suitable work package.
We recommend that for every project, you use one line on the work breakdown structure to collect the service packages you sell, with a Resource-type budget line created from it for each of these packages to enter a resource on.
Following validation of the resource’s number, the system then transfers to the budget line the related description, unit of measure, consumption quantity, and sales quantity, as well as the unit price and unit cost from the associated price lists.
As the quantity values depend on each other or on the values specified for the service resource, you cannot change either on the budget line.
What you can do, however, is to use the Set Service Package Qty. action on the project budget ribbon to adjust the number of packages (the sales quantity), to allow the system to recalculate the scheduled consumption value.
Example
A service package is expected to require 15 hours of work to complete. On the associated resource card, the invoice quantity is set to 1, whereas the planned quantity is set to 15. Both quantities are then copied to the budget line that the package was entered on. If the total is adjusted to three packages by using the Set Service Package Qty. action, the number of packages will be changed to 45 in the Quantity field.
You can then post the time spent on completing the package, with fixed-price billing specified at the budget line level so that each package is sold on its own.
When all values are filled in, you can also perform a target-actual comparison to see in what amount of time you expected to complete the service package and how long it actually took.
Use on document lines#
You can use the Create Sales Document function to copy service packages to sales documents. But even without running this action, you can add a package to a sales quote, for example, by entering it manually on a document line.
The line must be of type Resource. After you choose a resource in the form of a service package, the system copies to the line not only the description of the package but also its unit price and billing unit.
Record time spent#
If you want to add service packages to a project, the project must have been set up in a way that all hours spent on completing a package can be recorded at budget line level.
To simplify the recording process, the time tracking page shows only budget lines assigned to the relevant resource or its resource group and the lines of other service package resources stored in the system.