Managing Fixed Fee work: the Easy Way

Why should you read this? We cover:  

  • The Trouble with Work Types 

  • 3 Steps to Handle Fixed Fee Laptop/Desktop setup fees 

  • Deploying Laptops & Other Parts 

  • What’s your burning question? 

 

From time to time, I like to provide an answer to a question we’ve gotten from an MSP. We get asked a lot about how to handle Fixed Fee Laptop/Desktop setup fees with a Work Type, so hopefully, readers will find this helpful. 

 

The short answer is you can’t. But don’t worry – we’ll get you where you want to be. Consider this kind of like an “Ask the Expert” post (and psst…if you have a burning Autotask question, reach out to us & we might feature it). 

 

The Trouble With Using a Work Type 

The biggest problem with using a Work Type is that every time there is a time entry, it will apply a Setup Fee to the invoice.  You could say for the first time entry use the Set Up Fee Work Type, and then after that use Non-Billable (Does not Show on Invoice) Work Type. But really - who is going to remember if this is the first Time Entry or not?   

 

Not only that, what happens if there are 4 Laptops on the Ticket? How does a Tech count Time Entries and remember to switch to Non-Billable (Does not Show on Invoice) Work Type for the 5th time entry? 

 

There is a better way to handle Fixed Fee Laptop/Desktop setup fees: 

  1. Create a Product called Laptop/Desktop Fixed Fee Setup 

  2. Create a Speed Code that will create a Laptop/Desktop Fixed Fee Setup ticket 

    1. Title: Laptop/Desktop Fixed Fee Setup  

    2. Description: The labor for this ticket is covered by a Laptop/Desktop Fixed Fee Setup charge; please use the Non-Billable (Does not Show on Invoice) Work Type on all Time Entries 

    3. Workflow via Priority Field: M/A/Cs < 4 hours 

    4. Status: On Hold 

    5. Due Date: Parts ETA  

    6. Work Type: Non-Billable (Does not Show on Invoice) 

  3. Add a Laptop/Desktop Fixed Fee Setup charge to the newly created ticket 

 

Note: Create a ticket, using the speed code, of course, for each Laptop sold.  This will cut down on the confusion and facilitate being able to complete deploying each laptop, rather than having a ticket hanging around for multiple laptops while waiting for the last one to be deployed.  It will also provide better profitability information when wondering if the Fixed Fee is too high or too low. 

 

On the Subject of Deploying Laptops & Other Parts… 

While we are on the subject of deploying laptops and other parts, it is a good idea to have checklists specifically for deployments.  You can add the checklist needed to ticket via the speed code, so when the ticket is created the checklist is already there. 

 

One of the items on the checklist should be “Reviewing the Sales Order”.  I cannot tell you how many times a Tech left the shop heading for a Client’s to deploy something only to find out upon arrival that a cable, docking station, monitor, or some other part was left behind.  Stapling a copy of the Sales Order to one of the boxes the parts came in helps the Tech remember to review it, locate the rest of the paperwork, and also, they are more inclined to load up all the parts before leaving for the Client site. 

 

Have an Autotask Question? Ask the Service Delivery Experts! 

Hopefully, you found this mini “Ask the Expert” article of value. Please drop us a line and let us know what other questions you’d like us to answer.  

 

And if you can’t wait or would like a live answer (with a demo, of course) come join us Thursday nights or Friday mornings for our free Webex meetings where one of our experts and fellow MSP community members answer all your questions. Send your question, or a meeting link request to info@agmspcoaching.com for a quick reply.  

 

Click here to sign up for Ask the Expert Reminders. We hope to see you there!

 

The elephant in the room:  

Who is Advanced Global, and why should we listen to them? 

Recently someone we’ve been in communication with since DattoCon 2018, who was faithfully reading our articles, commented that up until a few months ago, “I really did not know what Advanced Global does.” So here are a few bullet points to let anyone interested know who we are and what we do: 

  1. We Are – the Autotask Global Service Delivery Authority 

  2. We Help – MSPs thrive 

  3. We Solve – Service Delivery issues, inefficiencies, and challenges by making sure: 

    1. Techs know what to work on next 

    2. Someone is managing all open tickets and driving them to completion 

    3. The staffing levels are correct, and the workload is balanced  

    4. Real-Time Time Entry is a cultural habit 

    5. The Client has a great client experience 

    6. Profit is maximized 

    7. Autotask is being fully leveraged 

    8. The historical data that is in the Autotask software is accessible to benchmark, track & USE effectively 

    9. The Service Delivery operations can scale 

    10. Projects are completed On-Time and On-Budget 

    11. The Company can grow 

    12. MSPs know what they don’t know 

  4. Our Tools:  

    1. Autotask “Best in Class” standard build 

    2. Our MSP robust Service Delivery SOP library 

    3. Advanced Live Reports 

    4. Expertise in providing a transformational experience 

 

Note: We are not philosophers; we are doers with 31+ years of Service Delivery experience, bringing real Service Delivery Improvement change, profitability, and Best in Class performance. 

 

We start by offering a FREE No-Obligation PSA Configuration Evaluation.  

 

Steve & Co 

Stephen Buyzepc setup charges, msp, ask the expert