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Resource Types

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Overview

Resource Types are the key building blocks for how Flex classifies resources. "Resources" include everything from Inventory and Services, to Contacts and Business Locations.

There are five primary Resource Classes: Contacts, Inventory, Location, Maintenance, Services. Each has its use, and a Resource Type should not be set to an inappropriate Resource Class.

As with Resource Class, many of the other settings must be set appropriately, or the system can cause unexpected behaviors. For example, a Resource Type should not have an Availability Mode of Incoming Asset and Applicable Resource Type of Locations or Contacts. Additionally, Temporary Asset and Incoming Asset Resource Types should never be used on a Quote-type element since Quotes are not where inbound items are expected.

Adding New Resource Types

  1. On the System Settings menu, click Resource Types.
  2. Click the New Resource Type icon located in the footer on the right side.
  3. Enter the new Resource Type information.
    • Name: The name of the Resource Type.
    • Name Plural: The plural form of the Resource Type's name.
    • Availability Mode: Determines how the Resource Type will be factored into availability calculations. See Availability Modes for details.
    • Applicable Resource Class: Narrows the use of a Resource Type to one particular Resource Class. See Applicable Resource Class for details.
    • Applicable Towards: This setting is only available after creating an "Inventory" Resource Type with an Availability Mode of Incoming Asset or Temporary Asset. See Applicable Towards for details.
    • Expendable Type: This is a Yes/No setting. Only one Resource Type may be set to Yes. The default "expendable type" is Retail.
    • Employee Type: This is a Yes/No setting. Only one Resource Type may be set to Yes. The default "employee type" is Employee.
    • Note Type: This is a Yes/No setting. Only one Resource Type may be set to Yes.The default "note type" is Note.
    • Number Caption: A caption to display for numbered resources of this type (i.e., Customer Number).
    • Numbering Scheme: Numbering scheme to use for assigning a number to resources of this type. For Inventory Units, this will override Inventory > Inventory Settings > Numbering Scheme.
    • Enable Venue Extensions: Enables a special extension for handling Venue type Contacts.
    • Taxable: Enables the Resource Type to be taxable.
    • Discountable: Enables the Resource Type to be discounted.
    • Call Time Enabled: Enables labor call times for the Resource Type.
    • Sales Account: GL Account to which "sale" transactions for the Resource Type should be applied.
    • Purchase Account: GL Account to which "purchase" transaction for the Resource Type should be applied.

To edit Resource Types, double click the line within the grid or select the Options menu for the Resource Type and choose "Edit"

Adding a Child to a Resource Type 

You can add a child to resource types; this is very common for Services. For example, you might want to categorize your labor service offerings further by including child folders for each main labor category under the Labor resource type (Union Labor, Audio Labor, etc.).

  1. On the System Settings menu, click Resource Types.
  2. Select the Options Menu icon of the resource type that you would like to add a child to and choose New Child Resource Type
  3. Enter the applicable information and select OK

The new resource type will appear as a child folder, both in the resource types list page on the System Settings menu, and in the Resource Browser in the Services section.

After creating a new resource type, you must enable it on any element that you want to use the resource type on (Quotes, Invoices, Labor POs, etc.). If you do not enable the child resource type and a service offering from that group is added to an element, it will default to the parent resource type, or the next child resource type that is enabled.

Availability Modes

Determines how the Resource Type will be factored into availability calculations.

Permanent Asset: for Resource Types that don't typically leave service. Examples include your main Rental Inventory, Clients, Vendors, Venues, and Warehouses.

Temporary Asset: for Resource Types that are in your service temporarily, specifically as it relates to inventory usage and temporarily increasing your on-hand quantities. An example of this is Subrental items.

Outgoing Asset: for Resource Types that are only in your service so they can be used, sold, or expended. An example of this is Retail items.

Incoming Asset: for Resource Types that will be used to increase the quantity allocated. Examples of this are Rental Backorder and Retail Backorder.

Labor or Staffing: for Resource Types that indicate Contacts are for Labor or Staffing purposes. Examples of this are Employee and Labor.

Applicable Resource Class

Narrows the use of a Resource Type to one particular Resource Class.

Contacts: only Contacts can use be designated with the Resource Type.

Inventory: only Inventory can use be designated with the Resource Type.

Locations: only Locations can use be designated with the Resource Type.

Maintenance: only Maintenance can use be designated with the Resource Type.

Services: only Services can use be designated with the Resource Type.

Applicable Towards

For Incoming or Temporary Assets, this setting determines where the quantity is applied in the availability engine. If an Incoming type, it also determines the Stock Type during receiving.

This setting is only available after creating an Inventory Resource Type with an Availability Mode of Temporary Asset or Incoming Asset.

Rearranging the Order of Resource Types

  1. On the System Settings menu, click Resource Types.
  2. Optional: use the Resource Class column drop-down menu to filter by the resource type.
  3. Drag and drop the resource types by clicking and holding the far left section of the row (the icon).

The order in which the resource types are listed on this page will be the order in which they appear in the Resource Browser. 

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