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      Utilizing Timelines within OnCost™ Purchasing

      Track construction job cost data with accuracy and efficiency with the assistance of ConstructionOnline's Purchasing Timeline

      Activated upon the creation of financial documents in ConstructionOnline's OnCost Purchasing module, the Timeline feature serves as a visual & actionable roadmap for the steps construction teams should take in the ConstructionOnline™ Purchasing process and a historical record of key actions and approvals. Conveniently located next to critical document details, the Purchasing Timeline is designed to help teams stay organized by highlighting and documenting crucial financial management stages without the need to navigate between features or rely on physical documents. 

      Timelines are available for three of OnCost Purchasing's features—Purchase Orders, Bills, and Expenses & Receipts—and can be accessed by right-clicking on the desired document and selecting "Edit" from the dropdown menu. This will automatically open the "Timeline" tab within the blade extension. 

      Because ConstructionOnline's Purchasing module was designed with flexibility in mind, the Purchasing Timeline is engineered to dynamically adjust based on your company's approval settings and workflow and reflect the current stage of the OnCost Purchasing process, ensuring teams have a clear view of what actions are required next. 

      Explore the following sections to learn how to utilize Timelines within Purchase Orders, Bills, and Expenses & Receipts to guide your next steps in the OnCost Purchasing process. 

      Purchase Order Timeline

      Upon creation, Purchase Orders that are given an "Active" Status are automatically marked as "Approved" in ConstructionOnline. If you set your Purchase Order's Status to "Draft" upon creation, the Purchase Order Timeline may prompt you to set the document's Status to "Active" or "Approve" it, depending on where you are in your workflow. 

      Depending on your company's Purchase Order & Bill Settings, the Timeline may inform you of any designated Approvers above the "Approve Purchase Order" button.

      Once the Purchase Order has been set as "Active" and "Approved", the Purchase Order's Timeline will prompt you to create new Bills and Payments. Utilizing either of these options allows you to create new Bills or Payments from the Purchase Order's information, streamlining the documentation process and linking the respective documents back to the Purchase Order to maintain a clear audit trail.


      Depending on your company's Purchase Order & Bill Settings, the Timeline may prompt you to verify the work was completed in order to apply Payments to the Purchase Order. 

      The Purchase Order Timeline not only guides you through the next recommended steps in managing the transaction, but also provides an easily digestible historical record of creation and approval history alongside any data related to linked Bills and Payments for comprehensive financial tracking.

      We highly recommend utilizing ConstructionOnline's integrated OnCost Purchasing features to link Bills and Payments to existing Purchase Orders as a best practice to enhance efficiency and accuracy in your business' financial documentation and job costing. 

      Bill Timeline 

      Similar to Purchase Orders, Bill Timelines document the creation process of each Bill, tracking key details and milestones along the way. If a Bill is initially set to a "Draft" Status upon creation, the Bill's Timeline will prompt you to update its Status to "Active" before proceeding with further actions.

      Once a Bill is marked "Active", the Timeline can be utilized to mark the Bill as "Ready for Payment" with the click of a button. Bills with an "Active" status must be marked as "Ready for Payment" before any Payments can be created from them. Marking a Bill as Ready for Payment signifies that it has been reviewed and is approved for processing, ensuring accurate financial management and reducing the risk of premature or incorrect payments.

      However, depending on your company's Purchase Order & Bill Settings, additional approval workflows may be enforced. For instance, if your company has set a threshold for Bill amounts that can be approved by any Company User, Company Users will be limited in what Bills they can approve depending on the specified amount. The Timeline may also inform you of any designated Company Users who are able to mark the Bill as ready to be paid above the "Mark as Ready for Payment" button.

      Additionally, if the Bill has been created from a Purchase Order that includes work verification, the approval process will require confirmation that the work has been completed for the Purchase Order before the Bill can be marked as "Ready for Payment" and Payments can be applied. 

      Once marked "Ready for Payment", the Bill Timeline will prompt you to create new Payment(s) from the Bill. Any Payment information linked to the Bill will be automatically updated and reflected on the Bill's Timeline to provide full visibility into payment statuses and assist your team in managing their financial commitments throughout the project lifestyle.

      Expenses & Receipts Timeline

      Unlike Purchase Orders and Bills, Expenses & Receipts do not have "Draft" or "Active" Statuses or approval processes that determine if they can be used to create new documents. Once created, new Bills and Payments can be generated from and linked to existing Expenses & Receipts via the Timeline.

      Timelines will reflect any documents created from the Expense or Receipt at hand. So, for example, once a Bill has been linked to a Receipt, and Payment has been recorded, the Timeline will reflect who created the Bill and Payment, when each action was initiated, and will offer options to create additional Bills and Payments. 

      ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

      • Because Payments are the final step in the OnCost Purchasing workflow, they do not have associated Timelines as no further actions are required once Payments have been made. 
      • Subscription Level: ConstructionOnline's Purchasing module is available for companies with current ConstructionOnline subscriptions at the Team, Business, and Enterprise levels.
      • Permissions: The following permissions apply for ConstructionOnline Company Users  -  
        • ConstructionOnline Company Users with "Can View" Purchase Orders, Bills, and Payments permissions can view but not interact with Purchase Order and Bill Timelines. 
          • Please note that Purchase Order, Bills, and Payments permissions supersede Expenses & Receipts permissions. This means if a Company User has Purchase Order, Bill, & Payments permissions, they will have at least the same level of Expense & Receipt permissions by default.
        • ConstructionOnline Company Users with "Can Create & Edit" or "Can Create, Edit, & Delete" Purchase Orders, Bills, and Payments permissions can interact with Purchase Order and Bill Timelines. 
          • Please note that Purchase Order, Bills, and Payments permissions supersede Expenses & Receipts permissions. This means if a Company User has Purchase Order, Bill, & Payments permissions, they will have at least the same level of Expense & Receipt permissions by default.
        • ConstructionOnline Company Users with "Can View" Expenses & Receipts permissions can view but not interact with Expense & Receipt Timelines.
        • ConstructionOnline Company Users with "Can Create & Edit" or "Can Create, Edit, & Delete" Expenses & Receipts permissions can interact with Expense & Receipt Timelines.  
      • ClientLink™/TeamLink™ Access: ClientLink and TeamLink Users do not have access to the Purchasing feature via the Project Portal.
      • CO™ Mobile App: The Purchasing feature is exclusively available via browser access to ConstructionOnline. 
        • The Purchasing feature cannot be accessed through the CO Mobile App.

      HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? 

      • If you need additional assistance, chat with a Specialist by clicking the orange Chat icon located in the bottom left corner or visit the UDA Support Page for additional options.