Create Project from MCO Line

When you create a maintenance customer order (MCO), a project for performing the service can be automatically created.

  • On the MCO order type, the 'Project order type' field is used to signal that the MCO should create a project.
  • In the project order type, the 'Service project element' field (PROJ) indicates a project template consisting only of a root element.
  • On the service definition, you can enter a 'Service project template'. The structure of this project template should correspond to the activities that the service incorporates.

When the first MCO line is created, M3 will create a project by copying the service project element template, using the project type indicated by the MCO order type. The MCO customer will automatically become connected to the project order, and the MCO header will be connected to the first maintenance element of the created project. Any work order (WO) created for this line will be automatically connected to the project element.

For an MCO, each line will correspond to an ordered service. The project structure may depend on the service, since different services may have different pricing, different costs and different time frames. Adding another line to the existing MCO should create a new sub-project with its own activities and budget.

Limitations

  • Limited integration with MCO/WO cost accounting. Project invoicing will not trigger cost of goods sold (COGS) transactions.
  • Limited integration between MCO lines and project invoicing. Project invoicing will not update the status or invoice number of MCO lines.
  • Limited integration with equipment accounting. Automatically generated on-account lines will not reference the equipment. It is possible, however, to manually specify the item and serial number per invoice line, which is a prerequisite for equipment accounting.
  • The 'Project. Open' (POS100) option 31=Activities does not support managing MCO lines connected to the project.

Follow these steps

This functionality is designed to

  • Mirror the service project functionality for the MCO module, to allow customers to switch from service orders to MCOs/WOs when upgrading from an older version.
  • Allow for more complex and large maintenance work to be planned, budgeted and monitored through the project order module, while retaining the simplicity and speed of the MCO order entry.

  1. Start 'Maintenance Customer Orders. Open' (COS100) and create an MCO header. Use an order type set up for project creation.

  2. Select option 11='MCO Lines' to access 'Maintenance Customer Orders. Open Line' (COS101) and create an order line with the appropriate service ID. See the Configuration section for setup instructions.

  3. A project will be created automatically.

    • The project structure defined by the service ID will be used. The MCO line will automatically be connected to the first maintenance activity element within the new reporting level.
    • The customer of the MCO will be connected to the project as a partner.
    • Invoice headers will be created for any invoicing elements in the structure.

    If more lines are added to the MCO, new sub-projects will be added to the project.

  4. In COS101/B, select option 13='Create Work Request/WO' to create a work request. The work request will be connected to the same project and element as the MCO line.

  5. The work request or WO can be managed from 'Project. Connect Planned WO' (POS145), accessed by selecting option 31=Activities in 'Project. Open' (POS100) on the maintenance element. See Performing Projects for more information about project processing.

Outcome

After creating an MCO with two lines, the project structure and connected project elements and order lines can look like this:

Configuration setup

  1. Create a project template to use as 'Service project element' template in 'Project Template. Open' (POS093). The recommended setup is a template consisting only of a root element (category 'Main project'). Also, this element should have 'Reporting level' = 0 in POS100/E1.

  2. Create a project type for MCO projects 'Project Type. Open' (POS010). In POS010/E, enter the project root element template as 'Service project element'. Leave the 'Service project template' field blank. Select the appropriate check boxes under 'Entry of Projects' depending on the desired level of automatic project creation.

  3. Create a maintenance customer order type in 'Maint CO Type. Open' (COS010). If you want to use the invoicing function of the project module to invoice the customer, disable 'Invoicing permitted' in COS010/E. In COS010/F, enter the newly created project type as 'Project order type'.

  4. Create at least one project template to use as 'Service project template' in POS093. The structure of this template should correspond to the service definition to which it will be connected. It is recommended to use project elements with the 'Number of multiples' field set to greater than 0 when setting up this template. Every element except the main project element can use this type of element. Create new elements in 'Project Element. Open' (POS001) if necessary.

  5. The service project template must have at least one element of category 'Maintenance activity' to be able to create a connection to the MCO line and work order.

  6. The service project template must have at least one element of category 'On-account invoice' if you want to log transactions from the MCO line and invoice them through a project on-account invoice.

  7. In 'Service. Open' (MOS300), set up a service that should be used for project creation. In MOS300/F, enter your project template as 'Service project template'.

Example

Project elements:

Element number Category Description Number of multiples
M0001 Main project MCO main project
M01** Subproject MCO line subproject 99
M10** Subproject Invoicing subproject 99
M11** Advance invoicing Advance invoice activity 99
M12** Partial invoicing Partial invoice activity 99
M13** Final invoicing Final invoice activity 99
M14** On-account invoicing On-account invoice activity 99
M20** Subproject Engineering subproject 99
M21** Other activity Engineering activity 99
M30** Subproject Material supply subproject 99
M31** Purchase activity Purchase activity 99
M40** Subproject Work subproject 99
M41** Maintenance activity Service work activity 99
M50** Subproject Delivery subproject 99
M51** Stock activity Delivery activity 99
M52** Maintenance activity Installation activity 99

Service project - template A:

Delivery project - template B:

Parameters to set

Program ID Field heading Description
(COS010/E) Inv permitted If invoicing is done through the project, disable this setting. This is also a prerequisite to be able to log detail transactions for project on-account invoicing.
(COS010/E) Accounting flow If invoicing is done through the project, set this to 2='Cost of goods', to make sure that COGS accounting is created.
(COS010/F) Proj order type The project order type must be specified to enable the creation of a project from an MCO line.
(MOS300/F) Serv proj templ This field indicates the project structure that will be used when creating the subproject.
(POS001/E) No. multiples This number limits the number of subprojects or MCO lines that can be added to the same project without getting element number conflicts.
(POS010/E) Serv proj elmt The project template used when creating a new project from an MCO line or a service assignment. It should only consist of a main project element.
(POS010/E) Serv proj templ This field is not used when creating subprojects from an MCO line.
(POS100/E) Reporting level When creating a subproject, everything below the main element will be copied from the template, starting at the reporting level. The recommended setup is to let each MCO line subproject be a reporting level.
(POS100/E) Invoicing If you want to log transactions from the MCO line and invoice them through a project on-account invoice, the maintenance element in the project structure must have 'Invoicing' set to 4 (Based on detail transactions). MCO invoice specification lines can be transferred to project invoice detail transactions through option 24='MCO Line - Approve for invoicing' in COS101.
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