On 5/8/07, David Garrett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
1st Issue ...
As I have mentioned, I am selling a Care device for the elderly. It requires
configuration and may in the future need to be maintained via a service call
and the configuration altered.
The device initially will not be sold but installed with a recurring service
fee, in the future direct sales may be made.
A direct analogy is selling a managed router which has been configured prior
to shipping and may in the future require a service call to update
configuration. In most cases the router remains the property of the service
provider.
I see 2 competing implementations
You should be asking a CPA or other Accounting Professional this
question. It doesn't really matter which way you go in ofbiz, or any
other ERP/Accounting system, since the route is determined by what you
can via GAAP, local, state and federal regulations as well as the
various tax concerns each might have. None of these questions can be
answered here in this forum.
If you are asking "How do I track service calls on devices?" That's a
completely different question from is my device an asset, or
inventory.
Serialized Inventory
==============
Pros
* seems to fit best with the order and shipping process
* We would capture the initial configuration details as the cart order is
finalized.
* We would further provide checks to ensure that shipping is not possible
prior to confirming that the serialized inventory item has beed configured
and tested prior to shipping.
* the configuration would be held in an entity such as CareDevice and a new
entity field InventoryItem.careDeviceId
Cons
* I am not sure how to deal with future service calls, configuration updates
and maintenance management
Question?
Is there anything in place to manage post sale maintenance??
Fixed Asset
=========
Pro
* seems to model what we are actually doing better.
* my assumption is that the Fixed Asset is planned to have some longevity
after the sale
Cons
* I don't think it fits well with the shopping cart and order process. Only
"sale" of assets I can think of is in the travel system. How would this
work?
Core Issue
========
When I make the sale should we sell an inventory Item or sell a service and
deliver a configured fixed asset(if so how).
Thanks
David G
--
James A Barrows
