Material codes

SECURITY  Security level with Admin permission to configure Finance, Accounting, & Invoicing. Refer to Admin security settings.

NAVIGATION   > Admin > Features & Settings > Finance, Accounting & Invoicing > Billing Codes

Do you need material codes?

Yes.

Material codes have several functions:

  • They associate Autotask products and inventory items with a tax category that determines their tax rate on Autotask quotes and invoices. Refer to Configuring your tax table.
  • They reference a general ledger account and an external number that are used in the transfer of billing items to an external accounting software
  • They allow exported billing items to be mapped to the proper general ledger account in an external accounting software
  • They can appear on quotes and invoices on their own, as generic billing items
  • They categorize product sales for reporting purposes

A material code is required for items on the Products list, so you must set up at least one material code.

Whether you need more than one depends on the number of tax categories required for products in your tax jurisdiction. Refer to Configuring your tax table.

About system material codes

Some Material Codes are system codes that are automatically created in Autotask.

  • Block Purchase, Retainer Purchase, and Ticket Purchase are the billing items for prepaid contracts.
  • Discount and Discount Non-Taxable are used to create either a taxable or a non-taxable credit for an item.
  • Because a Material Code is required for products on the Products list, three generic system codes, Taxable Products, Non-Taxable Products, and Miscellaneous, are provided for general use. For example, users can apply a generic system code when uncertain of the correct material code, or if no existing material code is a good match.
  • RMA [RMA] is a billing item for a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) and is used to credit a customer for the charge when a device is returned.

System Codes cannot be deactivated or deleted, and editing may be limited.

How to...

To open the page, use the path(s) in the Security and navigation section above. Populate or edit the following fields:

Field Description
Name (required) Enter a unique name.
Unit Cost If the material code is used as a stand-alone billing item or a Quick Charge, enter the unit cost for the item.
Unit Price If the material code is used as a stand-alone billing item or a Quick Charge, enter the unit price you will charge to the customer. If Multi-currency is enabled, the price is displayed in your internal currency, as indicated by the currency indicator. For information on how to set prices in other currencies, refer to Managing your price list.
Available as a Quick Charge Check to make this material code available as a Quick Charge on the Time Entry page.
For more on adding a quick charge, refer to the field descriptions in Adding a ticket time entry.
Active Select the check box to activate, clear it to deactivate this billing code.
General Ledger Account

Select the corresponding general ledger account that is used in your accounting software. This will ensure that the item associated with this billing code references the correct general ledger account when it is exported to an external accounting software. Refer to General ledger accounts.
External Number

Enter a reference number or the general ledger account that is used in your accounting software. This will ensure that the billing item references the correct general ledger account when it is exported to an external accounting software.

Some integrations use the External Number, and others use the General Ledger Account field for integration with Autotask.
Tax Category Select the correct Tax Category from the drop-down list.
Option Description

Edit, Edit [Entity Name]

Puts the selected row into Edit mode or opens the Edit <Option> dialog. The fields that can be edited are usually the ones you populate when you create a new list item. Make your changes and click Save, or Cancel.

NOTE  On some pages, you may not be able to edit System options.

Delete, Delete [Entity Name]

The ability to delete an option is severely restricted. List options cannot be deleted if:

  • The option is a system option
  • The option is the default option where a default is required
  • The option is associated with (has been used for) an entity

IMPORTANT  To preserve data integrity, Autotask prevents deletion of entities that have dependent entities or are referenced elsewhere! If you are unable to delete an entity, you should inactivate it to make it unavailable for use.