Problem
You sell new equipment and include a free maintenance service. You want to defer a portion of the cost of the equipment sale to a future job for the technician, ensuring they are not attending a call for $0.
Solution
When you complete the sale of the new equipment and collect the entire cost of the sale, you can then unapply a portion of that amount and keep it in the customer record as credit. Afterwards, when it's time for the first maintenance visit, you can edit the invoice and manually change the service cost to the deferred amount.
Defer the cost of a free maintenance service provided with a new equipment sale to a future job for a technician
Complete the sale of the new equipment.
Collect the payment for the equipment sale.
Determine the amount you want to defer then unapply that amount from the equipment sale invoice.
Keep that amount in the customer record as credit until it's time for the maintenance visit.
When preparing for the free maintenance visit, open the invoice for that job.
Add the equipment or service that was initially provided for free to the invoice.
Edit the cost of the equipment or service manually. Enter the deferred cost amount that you had decided on. For example, you can enter "$159.95."
This manual adjustment ensures the technician is credited with the deferred cost for their work, without charging the customer for the initial free visit.
By following these steps, you can effectively defer a portion of the cost of a free maintenance service to a future job, ensuring fair compensation for your technicians while upholding the promise of a free service to your customers.