The Equipment tab within each Employee Profile is designed to manage day-to-day processes, specifically tracking and managing equipment and its usage for a specific employee. Equipment items (i.e., laptop computers, cell phones, company trucks, etc.) are created and managed in the Equipment section of RedTeam Flex. For more information about the Equipment section, see the Manage Equipment article. Equipment usage, on the other hand, tracks the specific use of an Equipment item for accounting purposes.
In RedTeam Flex, Equipment items are classified under a nested system, whereby an item is assigned to an Equipment Category, such as "Backhoe," which is in turn nested under an Equipment Cost Pool, such as "Heavy Machinery." The Cost Pool determines the rate for a group of related individual expenses. Cost Pools can be set to track equipment usage in three ways: Custodian Work Hours, Equipment Assignment Duration, and Actual Equipment Usage. The first two methods allow you to track equipment usage indirectly, either by measuring the number of hours worked by the assigned employee, or by the length of time the equipment is assigned to an employee. The last option allows you to track equipment usage directly, by manually inputting usage time under the assigned employee's profile. When a Cost Pool is allocated by actual usage, it is important to track and measure each use of that item. This process takes place under the Equipment tab of individual Employee Profiles.
1. Add a Cost Pool
Cost Pools allow you to set up Rates and Allocation methods for costs related to Equipment. Once Configured, you can add or edit multiple Equipment Categories to link to each Cost Pool. The cost allocation for each pool can be set up in one of three ways, as described below.
Equipment Allocation Method Options:
Custodian Work Hours — Equipment will be allocated based on the Rate entered, according to the hours an employee assigned that Equipment item logs on their Timesheet for the duration they are assigned the item.
Equipment Assignment Duration — Equipment will be allocated based on the duration the Equipment item is assigned to a particular employee across all working days. The total amount is determined and allocated when the Equipment item is returned.
Actual Equipment Usage — Equipment will be allocated based on the actual usage entered on the employee's profile in the Equipment tab, or from an employee's Progress Report when the Equipment item is assigned to that project.
IMPORTANT: When the third option is selected, Equipment Items linked to any Category associated with this Cost Pool will allow assignment of the item to a Project, in addition to an Employee. These Equipment Items can then be tracked on an employee's daily Progress Report within a project (RedTeam Flex web and FieldShare app).
Steps:
From the Configuration menu, select Cost Pools under the heading Accounting.
Click the New (+) icon.
Enter a Description for the Cost Pool to be linked to one or more Equipment Categories later (eg. "Power Tools" or "Bulldozers").
Select an Equipment Allocation Method (see narrative above for descriptions of each option).
Enter the Unit Of Measure (if Actual Equipment Usage), Rate, and Year for which this Rate applies.
Click Save.
2. Add an Equipment Category
In RedTeam Flex, Equipment items are classified under a nested system, whereby an item is assigned to an Equipment Category, such as "Backhoe," which is in turn nested under an Equipment Cost Pool, such as "Heavy Machinery." The Cost Pool determines the rate for a group of related individual expenses, while the Equipment Category helps you group equipment for tracking and reporting purposes. See the steps below to create a new Equipment Category.
Steps:
From the Configuration menu, select Equipment Categories under the heading Equipment.
Click the New (+) icon.
Fill in a Description for the new category, and select a cost pool from the drop down list (click +Add New to create a new cost pool).
Click Save when finished.
3. Add Equipment Usage
As Employees use Equipment items that have been assigned to them, they can track this usage from their Employee Profile.
Steps:
From the Employees menu, click the name of the Employee to add Equipment Usage.
Click on the Equipment tab.
Click the hamburger icon and select Equipment Usage.
Under Manage Equipment Usage, click + New.
Enter the Start and Finish Dates for the period which the Equipment was used.
Description will auto fill based on Start and Finish Dates, but you can change it to be more specific if necessary.
If the Equipment Usage was part of a Project, fill in the Direct Costs details in the next section.
If the Equipment Usage was NOT part of a Project, fill in the Indirect Costs details in the bottom section.
When you have filled out the entire form, click Save.
