The Labor Glossaries are used for entering labor, and recommendations, onto a workorder. They are a very powerful feature of The Auto Shop Writer system because they permit the entry of complete, precise, descriptions with only a few keystrokes.
Writing Descriptions
Once you have decided which codes need to be created, you will then want to write the descriptions. The editing window is a block of five lines, but it can be scrolled, permitting up to 30 lines of text for each code. This block is for entering detail about the work that has been performed. Each line is 60 characters long, providing a total of 1800 characters for the description. Please review the chapter on Basic Concepts to more fully understand the editing capabilities of this window.
We strongly suggest that the title of the service be entered, in all capital letters, on the first line. When setting up the initial glossaries, the additional lines, typed with upper and lower case letters, were used to describe the service in detail.
Services can be broken into activities, each preceded with a -. This provides a very professional looking
statement. When entering information, it will not be necessary to fit your descriptions on each line. The system will 'word wrap' to the next line any words that do not fit. If words are split, you may need to assure the accuracy, and insert the hyphen. If you wish to have both the right and left margins even (justified), you can add additional spaces between words until the last letter on the line is at the end of the line. The description will then print in uniform blocks. We do not recommend using any abbreviations. The whole goal of this system is to provide clear communications of exactly what service was performed. Abbreviations are confusing, and can be costly when the client has a misunderstanding. At best you have an irate customer, and at worst, you have a lawsuit.
Data: Code, Labor Units, and Charges
When the description is complete, it is possible to edit the data. The first field displayed is the code. Following it is the description line. This is the information that appears on the summary screen during workorder development, and is scrolled when reviewing labor. It does not print on the workorder or worksheets.
| • | The Estimate Charge is the amount the customer will most likely pay for the service, including parts if they are to not be itemized. Often shops will create an Estimate Description which includes a diagnostic statement, probable solution, and estimated charge for parts and labor. The amount would be entered in this field. |
| • | The Labor Charge is the amount you wish the customer to pay for the service. It may be related to the units, or it may be a fixed rate. If you leave the charge off, and only have units in the glossary, the system will calculate the service charge by multiplying the units by the shop rate. If you place a value in this field, the amount will be used when entering labor, and no other calculation will take place. Of course, you can edit this value when adding it to the workorder. Please note that there are actually five price ranges for the labor charge for each glossary item. These correspond to the parts Retail and Wholesale levels 1 to 4. |
| • | Labor Units refer to the fixed time by which the charges for a job are calculated. You may utilize your own time estimates, or obtain data from the many resource publications you may purchase. Enter the time in hours, ie. 1.5, 2.0, 4.8. This is used for reference, and will be stored on the workorder system, but is not printed for the client. |
| • | If the service is taxable, check the box. This is a default option, and can be changed in edit mode when working on the service. |
| • | One labor code can call other codes if desired. This process is known as linking and can be used to chain a group of services. This is useful, for example, when you wish to diversify services. An automotive shop might create a range of five tune up services, spaced at 12,000, 24,000, 36,000, 48,000, and 60,000 miles. Each one has a different opening statement, but then calls the plug replacement with scope and adjust, which calls the oil change, which calls the lubrication, which calls the safety check. The one code, then, pulls in all of the others. |