In our release on December 21, 2016, we expanded our options for resource quantities.
Previously, when you entered a quantity for a resource item, there was one field for that quantity. For most resources, this was sufficient. For others, though, having an additional multiplier field would allow you to better represent the resources that are needed. Some examples:
- For labor, you are charging per person per hour, e.g. 3 parking attendants for 8 hours. In the past, you would have had to enter a quantity of 24 hours.
- For equipment, if you charge per item per day, you can now show those charges explicitly. For a two-day event, you can enter 30 tables for 2 days.
With this change, you are better able to represent both resource usage and their associated charges.
You can see this in action on the Resource Usage page of this event:
In this example, you can see that you are using 10 four foot banquet tables and 30 eight foot banquet tables on each day of this two-day event. As you are charging per item per day, the client will be charged a total quantity of 20 four foot tables and 60 eight foot tables. The client will also be charged for 24 hours of parking attendants, and you know that you will need three people for the day.
Count vs Used Quantity
It is important to understand that this change does not allow you to have two units associated with a single line item of resource on an event. It simply gives you a way to add a multiplier to your base unit. Note in the screenshot above: used quantity has a unit, count does not.
So which number do I put in count and which number do I put in used quantity? To figure that out, the first question to ask is "What unit do I wish to have associated with this item?"
Let's take a look at our parking attendants in the example above. The unit is hour, because we are charging for the total number of hours worked; the hours just happen to be split among three people. So the number of hours each person will be needed is entered in used quantity and the number of people in count.
In contrast, the number of tables above were entered in count and the number of days in used quantity. On reports, forms, and invoices the unit will show as day. We would recommend that instead a unit of each is used - this client is being charged for the use of 20 four foot tables, they just happen to be the same 10 tables used on two days.
It is also important to note that no matter where you put your amounts, the math will work out the same!
How do I start using this?
If you are already using the Resource module, you are good to go! This was a change to the resource module, so it has automatically been applied to your account.
If you are adding new resources to an event, you will go to the usage page and click add as you normally would. In the pop-up, select your resources. Enter your used quantity - the number associated with the unit. In the example below, I need my custodians to do eight hour shifts, so I've entered eight. Click add when you've selected all your resources.
On the usage page click Edit. You will now have access to the count field. I now can enter a 2 in the count column to show that I need two custodians.
Click Save. Your count will be saved and the subtotals will update to reflect the change.
If you would like to update an existing event with resources that have already been applied, go to the event's usage page and click Edit. You may then update the divide the amount in the used quantity column into between count and used quantity and save.
Using our custodians as an example, prior to the release I would have entered 16 as the used quantity. I can now edit that item to be 2 count x 8 hours. Because 2x8 equals 16, the pricing is not affected and any quotes or contracts sent based on the resource usage will still be accurate.
Reports, Custom Forms, and Invoicing
The invoicing module uses standard templates. The invoicing module and templates have been updated and will include count information:
Your reports and custom forms are custom-built and will have to be updated to include the new count field if you wish to use it. Please contact us with the exact name of the report or form to be updated. If you can include the ID number, that would be very helpful! You can find that for either reports or forms by going to Reports > Overview and selecting the report or form from the list on the left. The ID number will be in the gray title bar of the events section, similar to on the event details page:
Stock Alerts
When EB checks for available stock, it will be using the multiplied quantity (count x used quantity).
In the example above, the venue has 10 tables, but the system "sees" the event as using 30, so we have an alert. If you hover over the red triangle, you are able to see that 30 out of 10 tables are being used, and this is the only event that is using the tables - so you will have enough tables.
