This article provides an overview of the components of a service plan and how it is utilized on D-Tools Cloud.
Plan types
Service Agreement | A Service Agreement is an agreement for providing ongoing support, maintenance, and repair services for a product or system.
They often include regular inspections, troubleshooting, repairs, and replacement of parts, ensuring reliable functionality without unexpected costs or downtime. |
Monitoring Agreement | A Monitoring Agreement is an agreement for providing regular observation, reporting, and maintenance or intervention services to ensure that a system is operating efficiently and securely.
These are typically offered for security systems, IT networks, or environmental controls. |
Plan basics
Here are the fundamental attributes of a service plan or a monitoring agreement.
Name and Description | Every plan on Cloud should use a creative name that is appealing to customers: Bronze/Silver/Gold or Basic/Advanced/Premium, etc.
Also, an intuitive description can help sales representatives propose the right plan to customers. |
Plan Length | Plan Length specifies the duration for which the plan will be active after the customer accepts it.
You can add the durations from "Service > Plan Lengths” under "Settings" and present some or all the options in the proposal.
When accepting the plan, the customer can select the desired plan length.
For example, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years are presented in the proposal, and the customer opts for the 2-year Plan Length. |
Pricing | Every plan will need to have a base price. This is payable by the customer when they accept the plan.
You can choose to charge a Fixed price or a Dynamic price that is auto-calculated as a percentage of the products’ value, labor value, or the overall value of the project.
Example for Fixed price: $100 a month
Example for Dynamic price: 25% of the value of the products involved in the project per year
Check out this article for more details about setting the pricing. |
Billing Frequency | Billing Frequency defines the intervals for billing the customer for the service contract.
Billing frequency options available on Cloud are Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannual, Annual, and One Time. You can show one or more of these options in the quote.
The options you show in the quote are seen in the proposal shared with the customer. If you have provided multiple options, the customer can select the frequency when they accept the plan. |
Plan definition
Service plans will need to be well-defined so your customers know what they are purchasing. Use Features, Terms, and Conditions to define the plan.
Once defined, sales representatives can choose the features, and terms and conditions depending on the plan, type of project, and customer.
Features | Features define the type and the extent of support you provide in the plan. A feature definition includes the service type, service charges, pricing interval, and service frequency.
For example, “10 Service Calls per Month” for a Basic Plan, and “50 Calls per Month” and “After Hours Service” for a Premium Plan.
We provide some examples of features by default. You can create your own feature definitions.
Check out this article for more details about features. |
Terms and Conditions | These are the terms and conditions of the plan.
You can create multiple sets of “Terms and Conditions” text or images in “Service > Plan Terms and Conditions” under “Settings.” |
Additional Notes | This helps you add other high-level offerings or notes for the plan.
For example, “Priority Service,” “24-Hour Online and Telephone Support”, and so on.
You can add notes to a plan at the time of creating the plan. |
Check out this article for more details about adding features, terms, conditions, and notes to a service plan or a monitoring agreement.
Labor for services
When service contracts begin, you will need Labor from technicians to attend to the service calls. You will also need a way to enable your office to assign technicians to the calls.
Labor Types | Labor should be explicitly defined for Services using the fundamental unit of labor on D-Tools Cloud, “Labor Type.”
Labor type represents a category of labor based on the nature of work and the associated labor charges.
You can add multiple labor types in "Service > Labor Types"
For example, “Preventive maintenance” labor for periodic wellness checks and “Service Technician” labor for diagnosing and fixing issues.
Check out this article for more details about managing labor for services. |
Service Windows | Service windows allow you to choose the time slots for service calls. Service windows are defined globally on D-Tools Cloud and apply to all your service contracts.
You will need to define the workdays, service hours, and the duration of a service window in "Service > Windows" under "Settings." Cloud will automatically create the service windows.
For example, with a 5-day work week, 9 AM to 5 PM service hours, and a 2-hour service window, there are four service windows in a day and 20 in a week.
You can also schedule technicians to attend to service calls after the usual service hours.
Check out this article for more details about scheduling service calls. |
Service Call management
You will need a way to track the service calls coming in for active Service Contracts.
Call Status | Call status helps you manage service calls throughout their lifecycle.
We provide a standard set of call statuses in “Service > Call Statuses” under “Settings.”
Because all statuses are needed for call management, you cannot delete any of them.
Office users or technicians can move the service calls through their statuses, which can be tracked in “Service > Calls” in the left navigation menu.
Check out this article for more details about call statuses. |