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Jim2® Business Engine Help File

Navigation: Managed Print Services Edition

Set Up a Master Machine

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Master machines are contracts based on a total minimum charge or page count for meters of multiple machines.

1.Set up a Machine Type of Master:

On the ribbon, go to Tools > Setups > Machines > Machine Types, click Add.

Type Name Master, System Type Master Machine.

Master Machine Type

2.We will be creating a master contract, and will need to link the contract to an Item. As the master contract could be for a range of different machine models, we need to add an extra Item for the master contract. On the ribbon, go to Items > Add Item and add a new Master Machine as per below:

add item
Master MPS Contract Item

As the Master Machine may reflect a range of machines, it doesn't need to be serialised. This Item will more than likely be used for many different MPS contracts, which may contain black and/or colour machines, so for the Master Item we will set the photocopier type to colour so that the contract can reflect both types.

3.Now we need to add a new contract price level for our MPS contract. On the ribbon, go to Tools > Setups > CardFiles > Price Levels and add a new price level for MPS Contracts:

MPS Inc Toner

4.On the ribbon, go to Machines > Add Machine, and enter all fields necessary.

add machine icon

5.Note that the Type on this machine is Master, and the Item is Master, both of which we've just created above. Minimum fields:

Enter Machine#. (This field will populate automatically, however you can change the machine number.)

Enter Cust# as required.

Select Type Master.

Contract – enter the required Price Level.

Next Bill should be the next billing date for all machines this is the master for.

Enter Item# as required.

Add master machine

Tip

You will see some letters underlined in the field names within the header, eg. Cust#. Using Alt+ the underlined letter will jump you to the field beside that heading.

6.Select the Meter Setup tab at the bottom of the screen. We will now create a master meter setup that will apply to all child machines. Note that Jim2 displays in column 1 a Master Meter tick box. This determines whether Jim2 should copy this meter setup down to all child machines or not. In most cases this is required, however if your child machines have different rates, this box may need to be unticked. In this example, we will select the tick box for Master Meter for both black and colour.

Master meter setup

Now, enter unders/overs billing information on the meter setup line of the master contract, including the minimum volume that is specified for all child machines of the contract. This is the total for all machines on the contract, and in this example the customer is contractually bound to 10,000 black pages and 2,500 colour pages each month.

master unders overs setup

Finally, we enter our remaining meter setup columns for service stock reads.

master service stock

Click Save, and you will be presented with the following screen:

save master dialog

If ticked, Jim2 will copy the selected field values from the master contract to the child contracts.

There are a number of fields you might wish to tick to ensure the master and children are set up the same.

The Make Child Meters Master Meters tick box will check if the child machine has the same meter billing stock code, and if so it will make the Meter line on the child set by the master, which will effectively copy the meters down from the master and replace the current ones on the child machine.

As mentioned above, if a master has a meter ticked as a Master Meter, that meter will be copied down to all child machines.

On these child machines, by default Master Meter will also be ticked. Any change you make to the meter on the master will be automatically copied down to the child machines. There is no need to tick any of the boxes when saving the master, when both master and child have Master Meter ticked – they will be automatically kept in sync.

All child machines now have the option of unticking this Master Meter tick box for this meter. This tells Jim that, for this particular machine do not update this meter automatically when the meter on the master changes. This can be useful if you have a contract where a particular machine has a black meter, but it is charged at a different rate to all the other machines. In other words, unticking Master Meter allows the child to control exactly what is billed for that machine.

If you tick Make Child Meters Master Meters this turns the Master Meter tick back on for any child machine that had unticked it, thereby ensuring that the meter is again controlled by the master.

At this stage, we don't have any child contracts to copy down to, so just click OK.

master warning

This relates to Check Visibility on Meter Setup as set up via Tools > Options > Machines > Machine. If the check is performed, the overall rule says that, if it is billable to the client at a non-zero rate, the charge should be visible – otherwise it should be hidden. This means that standard and over charges on master contracts are normally hidden, as these are tracking-only meters billed at $0. Click Yes to All in this instance to apply the rule.

7.Create a child machine for each machine that is part of the contract. Concentrate on filling in values on the child machine that are required/unique, such as Cust#, Project Type, Item, Serial Number. The master can copy down fields such as Contract Type, Contract Start/End, Warranty Start/End and Request fields. In the Master# field, enter the number of the master contract. You can always link back to the master contract by selecting the hyperlink next to the Master# field.

link child to master

Click Save, then Edit and the child machine meter setup will be populated with the master machine's information.

child from master

Aside from the fact that this makes it much easier to set up a master with many children linked to it, we can now be confident that the machines under the master contract are all set up in the same way.

Additionally, the master is now the dominant record of all the child machines' meter setups, so any rate changes will be copied down to all child machines when the master is edited and saved, making variations much easier to administer.

 

Info

By default, you will not be prompted to enter opening balances when saving the master. You can manually enter the current meter count for all meters by going to the Open Balance tab on the bottom of the form.

 

Once there is billing against the child machines, you are not able to unlink them from the Master machine. You need to Finish the child machines and create similar if you wish to have them as stand alone machines.

 

The child machine history will be against the Finished machine, however the Service History Report looks at the Item and Serial#, so all instances relating to Serial# should be included in the report.

 

Further information:

Managed Print Services Edition

Overview

Setup

Machine Footer

Machine Header

Machine Lists

Machine Reports

Meter Overview

Meter Reading Options

Operation

3 Tier Colour Coverage Billing

3 Tier Colour Coverage Reads Billed with Total Colour Rate

3 Tier Colour Coverage Reads Min Volume on Colour Total

Add Manual Meter Readings

Add or Remove a Child from a Master

Advanced Meter Examples

Base Charge and Minimum

Base Charge and Base Rate

Bill a Master Machine

Billing Exact Amount Using a Balancing Meter

Billing Using Prepaid Blocks

Billing Using Expiring Prepaid Blocks

Black A3 and Black A4 Meter with Minimum Volume Over the Two Meters

Black A3 and Separate A4 Meter

 

Clawback Meters

Create a Non Billing Template

Create a Machine Contract

Estimate Meter Reads

Fix Incorrect Meter Read

Machine Serviced by 3rd Party

Machine Serviced by 3rd Party with Base Charge

Machine Serviced by 3rd Party with Minimum Charge

Machine Serviced by 3rd Party with Minimum Volume Charge

Machine with Total Meter

Manage Invoicing Multiple Masters

Minimum Dollar Amount

Minimum Dollar Amount for Black Only

Minimum Volume for Black

PMP Plan Meter Setup

Prepaid Pages

Produce a Summary Invoice

Recommended Reports

Refurbish Machines Using Special Stock and Sales Kit

Refurbish Machines Using Special Stock and Manufacturing

Refurbish Photocopier Parts

Replace a Machine Part

Service and Finance Split Billed as Single Amount

Set up and Use Text Email Request

 

Set up and Use Web Meter Reads

Set up Consumable Coverage on 3 Tier Billing Stock

Set up Machine with Price Break Point

Set up Master with Average Billing

Set up Master with Clawback All Unders at Current Rate

Set up Master with Clawback all Unders at Historical Rate

Set up Master with Clawback All Unders Overs at Current Rate

Set up Master with Clawback Open Unders and Overs at Current Rate

Set up Master with Clawback Open Unders at Current Rate

Set up Master with Meters with Different Periodicities

Set up Master with Multiple Black with A3 and A4 Meter and Min Volume

Set up Master with Multiple Child Machines

Set up Master with Multiple Children and Minimum Volume

Set up Master with Multiple Children with Different Black Rate

Set up Master or Standalone with Free Pages

Set up Master or Standalone with Prepaid Pages

Set up QR Code

Simple Meter Examples

Skip Billing

Split Billing 2nd Party

Split Meter Setups

Terminate a Contract

Unders and Overs Meter Setup