The Finance Module and Work Order Basics
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This guide introduces the core financial workflow in Prestartr, showing you how to manage a job from the initial quote through to the final invoice.
We'll begin with a brief overview of the essential settings in the Finance Catalogue.
From there, we'll guide you through the complete process: creating a Quote, converting it into a Work Order with automated tasks, updating the job with a Cost Estimate, and finally, generating an Invoice from that estimate.
The Finance CatalogueTo find the Finance catalogue, navigate to the Catalogue module first - in the submenu section, you’ll find the Finance Catalogue.
There are six menus in the Finance Catalogue: - Account - Invoice Setting - PO Setting - Quote Setting - Purchase Requisition Setting - Cost Estimate Setting |
Each menu controls specific settings and impacts different areas of the Finance module.
Accounts is where you will record the accounting specific codes needed for Products and Services. Invoice settings control defaults like Line Headers, which columns appear on an invoice, as well as pre-set information for payment, such as BSB and Account Numbers.
PO Settings controls if a Purchase Order has access to specific catalogues, Product and Services, as well as dictating which fields are set as Mandatory for creation.
Quote Settings provides a simple default area for Line Headers.
Purchase Requisition Settings features multiple tabs, for Spending Limit, Status, and Settings. Spending limits can be set to individual users and statuses, which are set and edited in the Statuses tab of the menu. The Settings tab of this menu is where line headers are saved.
The Cost Estimate Settings is where the Cost Estimate number, fields, and PDF footer are configured. It also features a Templates tab, where prebuilt Cost Estimates are created.
Let’s navigate through to the Finance module, where these settings and defaults are applied.
Click on the Finance module in the menu - it will default to the Invoice Dashboard.
The Finance ModuleFinance module centralizes project financial documents, offering a streamlined approach to managing invoices, quotes, cost estimates, purchase orders, and purchase requisitions.
The Finance module includes five key areas: - Invoices - Quotes - Cost Estimates - Purchase Orders - Purchase Requisitions |
By default, when you go to the Finance module, you will see the Invoices dashboard.
Finance is not just invoices - it is also Quotes, Cost Estimates, Purchase Orders, and Purchase Requisitions. These different types of documents all share some similarities, but perform distinctly different functions in Prestartr.
Aside from the Purchase Orders dashboard, the other areas of the Finance module all feature an Add button in the upper right corner - with search and filter tools located underneath.
Both Purchase Orders and Purchase Requisition dashboards feature overview cards.
These cards give a quick view of the amount of open items and their value against the business.
The dashboards for Invoices and Purchase Orders also feature Import/Export functionality.
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Let’s create a Quote from the Quotes Dashboard.
It will be an Itemised Quote with two Line Items. These line items will become Tasks on the Work Order that is generated by the system when the Status is updated.
From the Quotes Dashboard, click the + button in the upper right corner. Fill out the details in the header as needed.
Underneath the Attachments section will be the Quote Line Items table - Click Add New Line and add two empty lines.
The Task field will be empty - this field is used when adding a Quote to a Work Order that already has Tasks.
Fill out the line item details for the available Services from your catalogue. |
In the upper right corner, Click Save As Open.
From an Open Quote, you can click Confirm Quote.
Create a Work Order from a QuoteFrom a Confirmed Quote, you can Create a Work Order to transfer the details of this Quote into a Work Order.
When creating a Work Order from a Quote, you will see a prompt about creating a Fixed Price type - which does exactly what it says.
When invoicing a fixed type work order, you cannot alter the pricing. 
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For our guide, click NO when prompted to create a normal Work Order.
You can also Create an Invoice while the Quote is Confirmed - this does not prevent you creating a Work Order - which is an important thing to remember.
Additional details around quotes are available in the tabs above.
When the screen refreshes, you’ll see a link to the created work order - click there to navigate to the Work Order.
➕ Add a New Quote
Add a New Quote
Creating QuotesQuotes can be created and linked to relevant entities to support your financial tracking and reporting workflows. |
Creating a Quote Manually
To manually create a new Quote:
Navigate to the Quote section within the Finance module.
Click the ➕ Add button.
In the quote creation form, you will be prompted to link the quote to an entity.
You can choose to link the quote to either a keep it unlinked as a stand-alone quote, or link it to a Job or Work Order.
Creating Quotes from a Work Order
To create a quote from a Work Order in Prestartr, access the Work and navigate to the Transactions tab.
From the Transactions tab, click Create New Quote in the top right.
Now, select the Material, Labour, or Purchase Orders you want to add to the quote.
With the Items selected, click Generate Quote in the top right.
The Generate Quote window will display, from here you can choose the Quote Method and the Issue Date for the Quote.
Click Generate to create the Quote.
The quote will appear in the Quotes section, where it can be edited, approved, or printed as needed.
➕ Managing Quotes
Managing Quotes
The Quotes dashboard is where you'll find a list of all Quotes in the system, each displaying important details such as the Quote name, method, status, due date, and what the Quote is linked to.
Quick action icons let you easily edit or delete any Quote.
To help you find specific Quote quickly, a search bar is available at the top of the screen. You can also create a new Quote at any time by clicking the plus (+) icon, giving you a fast and intuitive way to manage financial records as your work progresses.
💻Dashboard:
The Quotes Dashboard Explained
There are three major areas of the dashboard:
- Add Quote - this is where new quotes can be created.
- Search - this is where you can search quotes.
- Quote list - this is where your quotes are displayed.
Search and Linked To
Use the Search field to locate a Quote from the list based on your searched term.
The Linked To column will display what an Quote is linked to - clicking on the text in this column will take you to the Linked To object, such as a Job or Work Order.
💻Quotes:
Quotes in Prestartr
The following sections will help guide you through how to manage an Invoice.
Quotes can be exported to PDF or even integrated to accounting software such as Xero. See Integrations for more details on this.
There are settings associated with Quotes - see Finance Catalogue for more details on these settings and how to configure them.
✎Edit
To edit a Quote, click the pencil icon on the far right of the quote list.
It will navigate you directly to the edit mode of the desired quote.
On the Edit Quote screen, you have access to a multitude of options:
- Quote Method (Itemised, Summary, Lump Sum, or Task)
- Customer
- Name
- Issue Date
- Due Date
- Reference
While editing a Quote you can also add Attachments, Quote Line Items, and Line Headers.
🗗 Duplicate / Print
Click the overlapping square button to the left of the Print button to Duplicate an Quote.
Click the Print button to generate a PDF of the current Invoice.
This can be done while viewing an Invoice or Editing an Invoice.
Quote Statuses
Open
Quotes, when created, are set to the Open status. When it is ready to be progressed, you can mark it as confirmed.
Click the button “Confirm Quote” to update the status.
Confirmed
When an invoice is set as Confirmed, you can either Reset to Open, Create Work Order, or Approve Invoice.
Invoiced
The status is updated to Invoiced when you use the Approve Invoice button.
Fixed Price Work Order / Normal Work Order
From a confirmed Quote, clicking the Create Work Order button will prompt you with a choice of creating a Fixed Price Work Order or a Normal Work Order.
A fixed priced Work Order is exactly what it says it is - the price is fixed to the quote.
🗑Delete
To delete a Quote, click the rubbish icon on the far right of the Quote list.
You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.
A deleted quote is removed entirely and cannot be retrieved.
While Viewing or Editing a Quote, click the rubbish icon next to Print to Delete the invoice.
Exploring a Work Order
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A Work Order consists of four tabs: Details, Tasks, Actions, and Transactions.
The Details TabThe Work Order Summary will automatically fill with the number of the quote that created the Work Order.
The name of the quote will be assigned to the Work Order Description.
It will also display the Linked Entities and Work Order Details - because this work order was generated from a quote, you may want to Edit the Work Order to add any additional information as needed. |
The Tasks Tab
We are going to navigate to the Tasks tabs to see the Quote Lines populating the Work Order.
Click the Tasks tab at the top of the Work Order.
From here you will see the two line items have become two different Tasks - 1 and 2.
Let’s navigate to the Transactions tab - this is where we will create a Cost Estimate on this Work Order - which will update the Tasks on this Work Order.
Creating a Cost Estimate
From the Transactions tab, click the Create Cost Estimate button to reveal a drop-down: Create a Cost Estimate or Create a Blank Cost Estimate - click Blank Cost Estimate.
Adding new lines to the Cost estimate functions the same as when creating a quote.
Click Confirm Cost Estimate to save and confirm the estimate.
After confirming the Cost Estimate, the system will provide an option for Creating Work Order Tasks - this is where the line items will become individual tasks on the linked Work Order.
Click Create Work Order Tasks at the top of the Cost Estimate.
Generating an Invoice
When the Cost Estimate is marked as Approved it will also create an Invoice for the line items from the Cost Estimate against the Work Order.
You can also manually generate an invoice from the Transaction tab - however these require Labour, Materials, or Purchase Orders be added to the Work Order. Details for this are provided below.
Adding Time and Material to the Work Order
Now, let's talk about adding Time and Material to a Work Order.
On the Work Order itself, you'll navigate to the Transactions tab.
From here, scroll down to the Time section. On the right, click the Plus icon to add a new time record to the Work Order.
This record can be for either Labour or Plant time.
The process is exactly the same for material – in the materials section, click the plus icon. Then, you'll record the information you need for that material, such as its cost, sell price, and billable quantity.
From the Transactions tab, click Create New Invoice in the top right.
Now, select the Material, Labour, or Purchase Orders you want to invoice - ensuring the items are not already Invoiced.
With the Items selected, click Generate Invoice in the top right.
The Generate Invoice window will display, from here you can choose the Invoice Method, the Issue Date for the Invoice, and if it is a Finalised or Progressive invoice.
Click Generate to create the invoice. The invoice will appear in the Invoices section, where it can be edited, approved, or printed as needed.