Creating and Managing Deficiencies

This article will walk ServiceTrade Office users through creating and managing Deficiencies.

Creating (Reporting) a Deficiencies

Typically, Technicians will add deficiencies from the Mobile App as they perform work for customers. However, there may be time office staff need to record deficiencies on a service location.

1. Navigate to the Location Page, where the deficiency has been found.
2. If the Asset does not already exist at this location you will need first to Add the Asset. Skip to the next step if the asset already exists.
3. On the Action Menu, click the Add a Deficiency button.
   
   This will open the Add Deficiency Menu.
   
   
4. Fill out all required (*) fields. Below is a list of the fields and their definitions:
   

   Field	Definition
   Asset	Select the Asset at this Location that you are reporting a deficiency for.
   Service Line	Select the Service Line for this deficiency. Use Asset's Service Line will be preselected, and will do exactly that.
   Severity	Select to indicate the severity of the deficiency. Inoperable - The equipment cannot be used in its current state. Deficient - The equipment might be functioning but has serious defects. Suggested - There are some faults with the equipment that should be fixed to keep it functioning without interruption.
   Current Status	This represents the status of the Deficiency. See Deficiency Status Changes for details. This will be preset to New because the system assumes if you are reporting it the deficiency is new.
   Description	A description of the deficiency. Note: This will be customer-facing, and appear on the Service Link.
   Proposed Solution	A proposed solution to the deficiency. Note: This will NOT be customer-facing on the deficiency via a Service Link, and will only be visible to staff. This field is useful for repair suggestions and will help with quoting parts, labor, etc. IMPORTANT: While a making deficiency into a Quote or Job, this field will populate into the Service Description field for that quote or job. The Service Description field IS customer-facing, so it is important to edit the description if you do not want your customer to see it.
   Reporter	This is the person who reported the deficiency. It will be preset to the user creating the deficiency (In this case you.)
   Salesperson	Select the Salesperson who will be following up (creating a quote) on this deficiency. This is useful when Searching for Deficiencies and for Deficiency user notifications.
   Owner	*Only available on the Edit a Deficiency menu. This field allows you to select the user who is the Deficiency Owner. If this Deficiency is added to a Job, this user will become the Job Owner.
   Job Number	*Only available on the Edit a Deficiency menu. This field allows you to enter the Job Number associated with the Deficiency.

5. Click Save.

Searching for Deficiencies

Using the Deficiency List Page, you can keep track of and follow up (create quotes) on all of your customer's deficiencies in your account.

1. On the Navigation Bar, hover over Quotes.
2. Then click to select Deficiencies. This will take you to the Deficiency List Page.
   
3. As with the other list pages in ServiceTrade, you can use the filters to search for and take action on outstanding deficiencies.
   • If you are looking for new work to quote its best practice to search for deficiencies with a Status = New and search for the highest Severity first, since customers with Inoperable deficiencies will be actively searching for a Service Vendor.
   • You can also set other parameters in this search, like making sure the selected Salesperson matches you the user, selecting Service Lines that are relevant, or even setting a date range.
4. Once you have set your filters, click Search.
5. You will now have a list of Deficiencies to follow up on.
6. Now its time to turn these deficiencies into quotes, and then to send the quotes to your customers. Read the following article to learn how to Create Quotes from Deficiencies.

The Deficiency Page

Once you have clicked on a Deficiency you will taken to the Deficiency Page. See the example below:

Here you can view or use the following:

• Deficiency Details
• Deficiency History
• Related Deficiencies
• Quotes created from the deficiency
• Deficiency specific Comments
• Deficiency specific Attachments
• The deficiency's Status
• The deficiency's Resolution.
• A button to Create a Quote for this deficiency.
  
  • or a button to Add to Quote if a quote already exists for this deficiency.
• A button (Add to Job) to add the deficiency as a service to an existing or new job.

Edit a Deficiency

To edit a deficiency navigate to the Deficiency Page and click Edit Deficiency.

This menu will look and function nearly identical to the Create a Deficiency menu.

Creating Quotes from Deficiencies

Following up on reported deficiencies with quotes is a great way to drive new opportunities.

Read the following article to learn how to Create Quotes from Deficiencies.