Machine Communities

In TRASER DMS 365 you have the option to work with machine communities. The function is available in the following document types:

Service Order
Service Invoice
Service Credit Memo
Sales Quote
Sales Order
Sales Invoice
Sales Credit Memo
Trade-Ins

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

Activating Machine Community Functionality
Setting up User as Machine Community Administrator
Creating Machine Community Customer
Adding Members to a Machine Community
Using Machine Communities in Sales Processes
Using Machine Communities in Service Processes

Activating Machine Community Functionality

To be able to use the machine community functionality, you first have to activate it. To do so, please proceed as follows:

Use the quick search (ALT+Q) to find the Sales & Receivables Setup page.
Navigate to the Machine Community FastTab.
To activate the machine community functionality, set the Activate toggle switch.
In addition, you can enter a resource in the Consolidation Resource field. This resource will be used for machine community documents when splitting the original document for the respective shareholders.

You have successfully activated the general machine community functionality. The next section describes how to set up a user as a machine community administrator.

Setting up User as Machine Community Administrator

To be able to create customers for machine communities, users must first be registered as machine community administrators. To register a user as an administrator, please proceed as follows:

Use the quick search (ALT+Q) to find the User Setup page.
From the list, select the user account that you would like to register as a machine community administrator.
Click Card in the menu bar.
The User Setup Card of the respective user is displayed.
Navigate to the Machine/Service FastTab.
Activate the Machine Community Administrator toggle switch.

You have successfully registered a user as a machine community administrator. The user is now able to create customers for machine communities. The next section describes how to create a machine community customer.

Creating Machine Community Customer

In TRASER DMS 365, a machine community is designed as a separate customer that controls prices, discounts and other conditions. However, no entries are posted to this customer record. This customer functions as the head of the machine community, allowing you to add separate customers (members) to the machine community. To create such a customer, please proceed as follows:

Use the quick search (ALT+Q) to find the Customers page.
Select the customer you would like to turn into a machine community customer.
In the General FastTab, activate the Machine Community Administrator toggle switch.

You have successfully created a new machine community administrator. This machine community administrator can now be used as the head of a machine community. The next section describes how to add members to a machine community customer.

Adding Members to a Machine Community

To add members to a machine community, please proceed as follows:

Use the quick search (ALT+Q) to find the Customers page.
Select a customer that has been set up as a machine community customer.
The customer card is displayed.
Display the FactBox pane with the keyboard shortcut ALT+F2.
Navigate to the Machine Community FastTab.
From the displayed menu select the option Open.
Now you can add the machine community members and the respective share percentages. To do so, select a customer in the Machine Community Member No. field and enter their share percentage value into the Share percentage field.

Tip

You also have the option of allowing the system to handle the allocation. To do so, click on Suggest Allocation in the menu bar.

Your changes will be saved automatically. Once you have added all members with the respective share percentages, you can close the page.

You have successfully added multiple members to a machine community. The next section describes how to use machine communities in the sales process.

Using Machine Communities in Sales Processes

This section describes how to work with machine communities in the sales process. The following description assumes that you have made all the necessary settings for the machine community functionality as described above. To start the sales process, please proceed as follows:

Use the quick search (ALT+Q) to find the Sales Quotes page.
Click New in the menu bar.
In the General FastTab, fill in the Customer Name field. Select a customer that has been set up as a machine community customer. Once you select such a customer, the Machine Community field in the General FastTab will display the value Administrator.
Fill in optional fields such as Customer Disc. Group or Person in Charge as needed.
Navigate to the Lines FastTab.
In the menu bar of the Lines FastTab, click on Functions > Add Service Item.
Select a service item and click on OK to add this service item to the document line.
Enter the sales price into the Unit Price Excluding VAT field.
Fill in the remaining fields as needed.
To create the share documents for the machine community members, click on Actions > Machine Community > Create Share Documents in the menu bar of the sales quote.
The Sales Quotes page is displayed. The page shows an overview of all share documents.
Close the page.

You have successfully created a sales quote with associated share documents. The sales quote functions as a machine community administrator document in this case. Proceed as follows to turn this sales quote into a sales order:

Click on Home > Make Order in the menu bar of the opened sales quote.
A dialog window opens. Click Yes to turn the sales quote into a sales order.
A new dialog window is displayed. Click Yes to archive the sales quote.
Now, you also have to create share documents for the sales order. To do so, click on Actions > Machine Community > Create Share Documents in the menu bar of the sales order.
The Sales Orders page is displayed. The page shows an overview of all share documents.

You have successfully created sales orders for all members of the machine community. You can now post the individual sales orders. To do so, please proceed as follows:

On the Sales Orders page, select the share document you would like to post.
Click on Home > Preview Document > Post in the menu bar.
A dialog window is displayed.
Select the fitting option. In this example, select Ship and invoice.
Click OK to confirm your selection.
Confirm the dialog with Yes, if you want to open the created invoice.
Click Print/Send > Print... in the menu bar.
The Print Wizard is displayed.
Customize the settings in the Options FastTab as required.
Click on Print to print the invoice.
Now make further printer settings as usual.

You have successfully posted a share document and printed the associated invoice. Repeat these steps for the other share documents. Once all share documents have been posted, the machine community administrator document will be archived. The sales process has been completed. Th next section describes how to work with machine communities in the service process.

Using Machine Communities in Service Processes

This section describes how to work with machine communities in the service process. The following description assumes that you have made all the necessary settings for the machine community functionality as described above. To start the service process, please proceed as follows:

Use the quick search (ALT+Q) to find the Service Quotes page.
Click New in the menu bar.
In the General FastTab, fill in the Customer Name field. Select a customer that has been set up as a machine community customer. Once you select such a customer, the Machine Community field in the General FastTab will display the value Administrator.
Fill in optional fields such as Customer Disc. Group or Person in Charge as needed.
Navigate to the Lines FastTab.
Add one or multiple service items.
Fill in the remaining fields as needed.
Then, click on Line > Worksheet in the menu bar of the Lines FastTab to add service lines as needed to the worksheet.
Close the worksheet once you have entered all necessary information.
To create the share documents for the machine community members, click on Actions > Machine Community > Create Share Documents in the menu bar of the service quote.
The Service Quotes page is displayed. The page shows an overview of all share documents.
Close the page.

You have successfully created a service quote with associated share documents. The service quote functions as a machine community administrator document in this case. Proceed as follows to turn this service quote into a service order:

Note

In TRASER DMS 365, you can create share documents for a service order, even if it has not been completed yet, i.e. the Repair Status of the corresponding service order has not been set to Finished. In this case, a warning is displayed, notifying you that the service order lines will be posted again if you do not make adjustments to the share documents. This process is available for both service invoices as well as service credit memos.

Click on Home > Make Order in the menu bar of the opened service quote.
A dialog window opens. Click Yes to turn the Service Quote into a Service Order.
A new dialog window is displayed. Confirm the message with Yes to archive the service quote.
Now, you also have to create share documents for the service order. To do so, click on Actions > Machine Community > Create Share Documents in the menu bar of the service order.
The Service Orders page is displayed. The page shows an overview of all share documents.

You have successfully created service orders for all members of the machine community. You can now post the individual service orders. To do so, please proceed as follows:

Note

You can create service orders for customers of a machine community without splitting the documents for each member, provided that an internal customer is specified as the Bill-to Customer, and the Skip Splitting Documents for Internal Customers option has been activated during Service Setup. This creates a single invoice for the internal customer, which makes it no longer necessary to split multiple documents for the individual members of the machine community.

On the Service Orders page, select the share document that you would like to post.
Click on Home > Preview Document > Post in the menu bar.
A dialog window is displayed.
Select the fitting option. In this example, select Ship and Invoice.
Click OK to confirm your selection.
A dialog windowis displayed asking whether you want to open the created invoice.
To confirm, click Yes.
Click Print/Send > Print... in the menu bar.
The Print Wizard is displayed.
Customize the settings in the Options FastTab as required.
Click on Print to print the invoice.
Now make further printer settings as usual.