• Available for all license types in quotes and invoices
• [Job --> Quotation or Invoice --> List of items]
Background
With the help of groups you have the option to change the appearance of the quotes and outgoing invoices. Items can be combined into groups, then as a separate presentation level to be used in a document.
That is to say, using groups you can summarize the items in the printout with independent headings along with specific comments and subtotals.
The function "edit group" is available in quotations and outgoing invoices.
Requirements:
There are no specific requirements to carry out the work using groups.
Just as modules, since groups also belong to document items, it is useful to first display the corresponding columns on the "List of items" tab.
The module grouping used so far in the document templates will be replaced by the groups. All the existing modules and their descriptions are also available in the groups.
The existing document and the item templates without any modifications work with the new group assignments.
Step l: Create a Quote
The method of working is explained with the help of a quotation, but it works equally well with outgoing invoices. First you create a quotation and then go into the list of items.
Step 2: Create Items
To make sure that the grouping is done sensibly, we need multiple items. Hence, please add a few of your favourite items. You can comfortably do this using the import function in the function menu.
Tip: If you have licensed the document module you can quickly add one or more modules in the list of items of your document. Not only is the module loaded in the position, but also the name of the group and group description default value.
The list of items should then look something like this:
When the module is imported, a group is automatically created for items 4 to 7.
Step 3: Create a New Group
To combine items to form a new group, highlight some of the items that have not yet been assigned to a group. For instance, the lines 1 and 2 in the given example. From the function menu select the entry "Edit group". This will open a dialogue box.
Name
The group name can be used in the printed document as a heading for summarized items. In this field you can enter any text of your choice or select an existing text from a list.
All the group names that you have already used in the document appear in the list of group names at all times. If you select an existing group name with a click, then the associated description also gets loaded.
In addition, a blank line appears at the first position in the list of names. You can use this to again remove the grouping of the selected items.
Description
This continuous text is available as a description for the group and can also be shown on the document.
Since we have first selected items without group information, the group name and description fields are empty. Now enter a group name and a description. For example, we use the group name: "External work" and as a description: "Unfortunately, we must charge you for services performed by third parties"
Click on the check mark to save and the dialog will close. The entries in the list of items are now visible in the group name column.
If you print this quote with a suitable template, the result will look something like this:
In the template system, you naturally also have the option to display individual items. In the case of quotations, alternatives for items can also be shown.
Step 4: Edit Group
In the composition of groups, you are not bound to the order of items. You can freely choose which items should belong to a group. It does not matter whether the item has already received a group name or whether it belongs to different groups. So, from our example, you can highlight the items 1, 3 and 5 and form a new group using the function "edit group", or assign them to another existing group.
Create another group
If you select items from different groups, the dialogue button "edit group" opens without a default name or description. Now enter a new group name and a description. If you leave the dialog with the save button a new group is created.
Assign a different group
An entry can be selected from the list of existing groups. The description of this group is also loaded. On saving, the selected items are assigned to the selected group.
Warning: Whenever you change the description text, it applies to all the items of the corresponding group, even if you have selected only one item of the group!
Group assignment release
If there are groups that already exist in a quote, a blank entry is also displayed in the list of group names. This can be used to exit the group assignment of the selected items.
Special remarks
If you save an empty group name, the description text is also stored as a blank text. This affects only the selected items.