Protrax WIP Tips & Tricks

Do you ever wonder what simple tips would make your processing easier?
If you are looking for a trick or two which can take some stress away from your day to day workflow process in Protrax then you are reading the right article. Here are a few tips and tricks that may just make you smile and get that billing task done faster and easier.

1. Using icons instead of the menu options can save you a lot of time in BL and other applications. For instance, there are icons to Preview draft invoices and to print final invoices. You can also add more icons or remove icons depending on what you need on a frequent basis.
   
   To add or remove icons, go to the module and click on File > Customize > Toolbar. Select/deselect the menu and the command you want to add/remove.
   
   
2. There are two ways to 'void' WIP in Billing:
   • Tasks, Change WIP - change Status to 'Voided'
   • Tasks, Edit Invoices - Edit the invoice and on the selected WIP item, change the status to
     'Written-off'
   When WIP is 'Voided' in Change WIP, once it's posted, you cannot reinstate the WIP for future billing.
   If you write off WIP in Edit Invoices, the written off WIP can be reinstated when the invoice is voided through Accounts Receivable. You can then access the WIP detail in Edit Invoices and change the
   status to 'Bill'.
   
   
3. WIP can be reinstated if that WIP was associated with a final printed invoice, even a zero invoice.
   
   If the WIP was associated with a zero invoice and posted in billing, go to Task > Reinstate Zero Invoices. Choose the invoice which the WIP is associated with. The WIP will be accessible via Change WIP. You can then generate an invoice and bill the reinstated WIP as needed.
   
   
4. You can make changes to expenses/reimbursables in BL for transactions that were entered through AP. These changes can be made by going to Task, Change WIP.
   
   Note that you can only make changes to a field that is not grayed out. There is a GL account retrieval process which will validate the entry for GL purposes. If the account cannot be retrieved, the change will need to be made via AP > Change Invoices.
   
   
5. Regenerate WIP hints:
   • When WIP has been generated with incorrect rate or markup tables, contracts, contract item links or customers, the Regenerate Work-In-Progress task reprocesses WIP in the UNBILLED.BLW file using the corrected information on the contract.
   • Regenerate Work-In-Progress re-applies the rates and markups from tables you have specified for each Contract Item to existing work-in-progress.
   • Regenerate WIP will also re-examine the Project/Contract link using the Send Cost to Billing routine.
   • Regenerating WIP will look only at existing WIP records. Generate WIP will only use the new.blt file to generate WIP for the first time.
   
   
   
6. After generating or regenerating WIP, look on your WIP journals for potential errors. If errors appear on the WIP journal, you will need to correct them before you can generate a bill.
   Common errors you may see when generating WIP are:
   • “Rate Table Standard has Unit Price but Transaction has no units, therefore rate calculation
     can’t be made”
   • “Internal error: No Markup Table for rate calculation“
   • “Type of salary cost on Contract not set”
   • “Markup Standard has no markup for Activity Type Labor, therefore rate calculation can’t be made”
   • “Contract unknown”
   To find out how to correct these errors, check the Help Files in Billing or search for appropriate KB articles on Axium Solution Center.
   Note: The “Not Generated” items on the journal are listed in WIP ID order.
   
   
7. To get the information that you need to correct the errors, you should view both the WIP Journal and the Transactions Not Generated report.
   This transaction report can be found under Reports > Entries > Transactions Not Generated.

If you have any tips and tricks you use, please drop us a line via Axium Solution Center or send your hint to CSupport@axiumae.com. We would be happy to pass those hints along to other users.