Q. I have a specific lane that has different costs associated, compared to our default costs. Each week the drivers allocated to these routes will change. How can I allocate costs to the resources in a way that makes it easy to update if I need to move the resources around.
A. Using the cost calculation price list it is possible to set up a price list that can include conditions based on resources, so that when these conditions are met, the prices triggered are those allocated to the appropriate resources specified in the conditions. When it is time to update the allocated resources, using the 'Add Collection' function, and copying the previous rates; it becomes a simple process to update the allocated resources within the new timeframe. Below are the steps required to setup this particular cost calculation price list.
Setup cost calculation.
From Configuration, navigate to the 'Cost calculation trip' submenu, and click 'New Internal Cost Calculation'.
Give the new cost price list a name that will help to easily identify it when looking through your list of costs, and set the validity date. If no date is set it will default to the current date.
Once saved, the pricelist will show with the 'Transport Charge' line created. Click the Edit icon (pencil) to open 'Edit Price' screen and begin adding the cost calculations.
The default line item will show as 'Transport Charge', edit this if necessary for instance 'Driver hourly rate'.
Select the appropriate VAT rate - this will help if creating purchase invoices.
Select any applicable conditions that affect if this charge should show. Options include:
Always invoice: Will show even if the value = 0.00
Only invoice if approved: Will show the cost a redacted cost with the approval function showing. Once approved the value will show.
Only invoice if price >0: If value at 0.00 the line will be removed. Select this option so the line will only show if the cost applies to the resource.
Add the appropriate nominal code for the costs. This will drive the charge into the appropriate chart of accounts when importing into accounting package.
Calculation 1: This is where the individual cost will be configured. Set the appropriate formula that supports your charges. For this example, the per hour rate of £75.00 is applied.
Condition 1: This is the Condition that will apply to the Calculation. Under the Metric option, select RESOURCE. This will open a submenu with different options that can be applied. In this example, select Resource again. Next select the Operator option, this is where you will specify if the resource Is/Is not (use for a single resource) or In/Not In (use for multiple resources). Based on what is selected enter the specific resource(s) that the condition applies to.
Click SAVE once all the cost parameters have been entered.
Add Collections
Once you have the charges configured set the Valid From and Valid To dates, which will create the collection. The tab will default to show the validity dates, but this can be overwritten.
To make any modifications to the collection, simply click on 'Add Collection' and select the option to Duplicate. This will copy the calculations, and update the Valid From date to be the next sequential date. All that is required is to update the resources that are now allocated during this timeframe.
This now creates a new collection which has specific resources allocate. Any trips these resources are allocated to during the allocated timeframe will show the costs associated to this collection.
Click HERE to learn more about Cost Calculations.