Tools

You use the Tools application to manage information about the tools used to perform work. Tools are typically nonconsumable items for which you charge an hourly rate for their use. Examples of tools include air compressors, nail guns, calibration equipment, and heavy equipment such as cranes and excavators.

When you create a tool record, you define the main attributes of the tool (such as commodity codes, issue unit, whether the tool is lotted or rotating), along with any alternate tools that can be used in its place and a list of the qualifications necessary for a person to use the tool. All tools are marked as capitalized.

Tools are defined at the Item set level, so several organizations can share a tool set. Some of the data on a tool record can be specific to an organization or site. For example, the storerooms for a tool are managed at the site level. Vendors for a tool are managed at the organization level.

In the Tools application, you can perform the following tasks:

• Catalog tools in an item set, which can then be shared by organizations that use the item set.
• Add the tool to one or more storerooms.
• Use the tool on job plans and work orders (when you use a tool on a work order, the tool can be reserved in the specified storeroom).
• Issue, receive, and transfer tools from storerooms.
• Specify the tool rate, general ledger accounts, associated vendor, tax-exempt status, and tax codes that vary by organization.
• Specify the percentage of tools that can be received over the quantity ordered in the initial agreement. The percentage value is applied to the organization level and to the vendor level when the tool record is created.
• Add a list of vendors that carry the tool.
• List the specification for the tool.
• Copy or delete a tool.
• Attach external documents that relate to the tool.