The process begins by entering a request. Requests can be entered by the customer using
the Customer Request Entry page or by an Administrator using the Admin Request
Entry page.
If more than one Request Type has been configured, the user
must select a Request Type. The Request
Type determines if the user must login (or signup) and determines the fields
and questions displayed on the Request Entry page. The Administrative Request Entry pages may be
configured to have additional fields that the Customer page does not have. A direct link to Request Entry for a specific
Request Type can be configured using Menu Builder or the user can be taken to a
generic Request Entry page where the first step is to select a Request
Type. Admin Request Entry can include an
Operator Script to describe to a Help Desk Operator what to say to the
customer.
The Request Entry process can be
broken down into 6 major steps:
1)
Identify Request Type (Problem Type or Type of
Requested Service).
2)
Identify Customer (Optional).
3)
Collect payment or acquire authorization for work (Optional).
4)
Track Time (Optional).
5)
Collect Request information.
6) Resolve
Problem, provide Requested Service, or assign to staff as one or more Tasks.
The first major step of identifying the problem type or
requested service is denoted by selecting a Request Type. E.g. Request Types might include the
following three choices “Report an Error Message”, “Request Assistance with a
Problem or Question”, and “Request for Programming and Development Engineering
Services”. The user would select one of
the three choices.
Based on the user’s Request Type selection the applicable
Request Entry screen is displayed. The
information collected on the Request Entry page is determined based on the
settings for the selected Request Type in Request Types Feature
Management.
The second major step of identifying the customer is
optional. This is determined by settings
for each Request Type in Request Type Feature Management. If the Help Desk service is billable it is
necessary to identify the customer to determine if the service is covered by an
existing contract (Work Order), if a Work Order must be created, or if payment is required to
continue. As part of the Customer
Request Entry process, Customer’s are prompted to either login or signup as a
new user. The Administrative Request
Entry process provides a customer search optimized for quickly identifying
existing customers as well as the ability to signup new customers. Request Types with Billing Status of anything
other than “Not Billable” require customer identification.
The third major step of
collecting payment or acquiring authorization for work is also optional. Non-billable Request Types skip this
step. Billable Request Types can be
configured to either require this step at the time of Request Entry or to skip this
step at the time of Request Entry and perform it later when the price for the
work has been estimated.
The third major step is to
either collect payment from the customer or acquire the customer’s authorization
to perform the work and the charge for the services. Charges are determined by the Fee Type. When pre-payment is required, the payment
entry screen is displayed and the customer must provide payment online. The Request Payment process uses
PortalProdigy’s standard payment processing component which can be configured
to automatically connect to an electronic payment gateway/processor to
authorize and settle credit card charges.
Payments can also be configured for manual authorization and settlement. Additionally, Payments can be configured to
not require authorization. If payment
authorization is required, the payment must be authorized before the customer
can continue with the Request Entry process.
When payment authorization is not required, the payment information is
collected and the customer continues with the Request Entry process.
Requests fall into one of the
following categories at the time of Request Entry as determined by the Billing
Status for the Request Type:
§
Not Billable – Work Order & Payment Entry
are skipped.
§
Internal - Work Order & Payment Entry are
skipped at time of Request Entry and are deferred until the cost of the work
can be estimated. Work Order is created
manually using Administrative Work Order Management. This is done after submission and review of
Request.
§
Provide Estimate – Work Order & Payment
Entry are skipped at time of Request Entry and are deferred until the price of
the work can be estimated. Work Order is
created manually using Administrative Work Order Management. This is done after submission and review of
Request.
§
Billable – System must first check to see if
customer has an applicable Service Contract.
If customer has an applicable Service Contract and the Service Contact
WO specifies the Request Type as “Not Billable” then Work Order & Payment
Entry are skipped at time of Request Entry.
If it specifies the WO as “Billable” then a Work Order is required. If there is no Service Contract then it
performs according to the Request Type’s Billing Method as follows:
o
Pre-Payment Required – Payment Entry is
required. A separate Work Order Approval
is not required because work is approved as part of payment entry. A single Work Order is created and a single
Order/Invoice is created and the Payment is automatically applied to it. The Order/Invoice is fulfilled and completed
at time of creation.
o
Retainer Required - Work Order is required and
retainer payment is required. Approval
by customer is also required. Work is
then invoiced against retainer according to Billing Terms.
o
Invoicing Terms – Work Order is required
including approval by customer. Work is
invoiced according to Invoicing Terms.
Payments for Invoices are due according to customer’s Payment Terms or
Payment Terms specified for WO. A Work
Order Payment Schedule can also be created to invoice and require payment on
specific dates or upon completion of phases of work.
The requirement for pre-payment is determined in the second
step as a result of identifying the customer.
When searching for applicable Work Orders, the system shall look for
oldest open Work Order first then look to see if the type of request is covered
and if there is a charge for this, otherwise it repeats this for each open Work
Order from oldest to most recent. If no
Work Order covers the type of request, then customer is asked to pay
online. If there is an applicable Work
Order but it requires payment on terms, then the customer shall be asked to
approve the applicable charge which will be invoiced using the customers terms
specified in the Work Order.
The fourth major step is to track time. Time may be tracked for both billable and
non-billable services. Time can be
tracked automatically or it can be entered manually. This can be done directly from the Admin
Request Entry page using the Start and Stop buttons. Start button causes a Task
to be created for the Request which is then used to log the time. You must
specify the Administrator Entry Task to use for each Request Type.
The fifth major step is to collect information. Request Form
Builders is used in Request Types Feature Management to define an unlimited
number of information data fields (or questions) to be included on the Request
Entry page. This includes the following
types of fields:
- Memo
fields
- Limited
Length Text fields
- Date
fields
- Dollar
amount fields
- Numeric
fields
- Radio
Button options
- Check
Box options
- Drop
down list boxes
Additional fields such as Product Code, Model #, and Event
ID that are linked to various other feature component records can also be
included.
The Tasks and Tickler Notes Engine is used to manage Tasks
and Notes for Requests. Both Tasks and
Notes can be entered directly from the Request Entry page. A default Task is created and is used to log
the Administrator request entry time. An
unlimited number of additional Tasks can be created; typically this is done at
a later stage in the process with the default task being sufficient to log the
initial request. Task Templates can also
be specified in Request Type Management to automatically create a series of
Tasks for the Request. E.g. you may
create a Request Task Template to automatically assign the following set of
tasks to all Manufacturing Requests:
- Review Manufacturing Request
- Gather Additional Requirements
- Prepare Bid
- Get Customer Approval
- Start Project
- Create Blueprints
- Customer Approval of Blueprints
- Schedule for Manufacturing
- Trial Run
- QA Testing
- Production Run
- Package Product
- Ship to Customer
- Invoice Customer
The sixth and final major step is to resolve the request or
perform the requested service. What this entails can vary widely for each
Request Type. E.g. for a Help Desk application, if the request is immediately
resolved, a description of the solution may be entered into a solution memo
field (in the Request form) and either verbally communicated to customer or emailed
using automated email option; if the solution cannot be immediately resolved,
one or more Tasks can be assigned. Tasks
can be individually entered or a Project Type (Task Template) can be selected
which will automatically create applicable Tasks. An example Project Type could be “Quote for
Development Work” and it could create five tasks “Gather Requirements from
Customer”, “Prepare Requirements Document”, “Customer Approval of
Requirements”, “Create Design Concept”, and “Estimate Cost”. Two of these tasks “Prepare Requirements
Document” and “Estimate Cost” could include deliverables; “Requirements
Document” and “Price Quote”. Each task
can be assigned to a group or an individual.
Depending on the configuration options, the task assignees will either
receive an email notification of their assignment or they will retrieve their
tasks using the Task and Tickler Notes Management feature. For other applications (Request Types) the
resolution could be a price quote; information sent to the customer by email,
postal mail, or fax; etc.