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Patrols
SMART has a powerful subsystem for managing
and billing security patrols, Cash in
Transit runs, and other regular runs.
Unless otherwise specified, this documentation
will use the term 'Patrol' to refer to
scheduled visits to a location on a regular or
semi-regular basis.
Concepts
Patrols are carried out by
Service
Providers. Your industry may also
use the term 'run' or 'car'.
A permanent
patrol continues each day, week or month
until terminated by the customer.
A casual
patrol continues for a short period
(usually a day to a week) and the termination
date is known when the patrol is booked.
To set up a permanent patrol, go to the
Locations window.
You can add a patrol in the Patrols tab
below the list (if it's not visible, check the
'Show Details' box at lower right) or by
opening the Location Details window and going
to the Patrols tab.
To set up a casual patrol, create a job in
the Job Dispatch window with a service type of
Patrol. A casual patrol job can specify patrols
for any period. However, as a rule of thumb, if
it is going to continue for more than a week or
two until the customer requests termination,
you should make it into a permanent
patrol.
If you are charging for the permanent
patrol, choose Charged Patrol when creating the
patrol, and Smart will automagically create a
Periodic Service record for you. You can also
find, create, and edit a Periodic Service
record in the Periodic Service window,
accessible from the Main Menu.
A Periodic Service is a template. Before you
can enter operational details (i.e. on/off site
times, done, verified, etc) and/or bill
for the patrol, you must Generate Periodics by
pressing the button in the Periodic Charge or
Service window, or right clicking in the Patrol
Management screen and selecting 'Generate'.
If you are billing for your patrols in
advance, change the Periodic Service to a
Periodic Charge by changing the setting at
right in the Periodic Details window. (A
Periodic Service must be completed
operationally before it can be billed, while a
Periodic Charge is billed regardless of whether
operations have been completed.)
Usually, a number of patrols are grouped on
to a single job. In the case of a permanent
Charged Patrol, one job is generated each time
the periodic is generated (each week, month,
etc). Two or more jobs may be grouped onto the
same invoice.
Easy Patrols
'Easy Patrols' may be set up in the
Locations window. They are not priced or
invoiced and do not allow you to record details
of patrol calls. They do not appear on some
versions of the patrol run sheet. They
are just a shorthand way of reminding you that
you are performing patrols at a location.
You can convert an Easy Patrol to a Charged
Patrol by right clicking on the patrol record
and choosing the appropriate selection.
Smart work areas
Depending on your job function you will use
a different work area in Smart to deal with
patrols.
If you are entering permanent patrols into
the system or modifying their details, use the
Location
List or Periodic
Charge/Service List.
To create a casual patrol, go to the
Job
Dispatch window or Field Monitor
window.
To print patrol run sheets and reassign
patrol runs on a temporary or permanent basis,
go to the Patrols Management
window.
To monitor patrol activity in real time, go
to the Field
Monitor window.
To change settings which affect the way
patrols operate across the system, go to
the General
Configuration window, Patrols tab.
Patrol billing is handled in the Invoicing
window.
Pricing Patrols
Customers
Customer pricing is set in the Customer Rate window which
is accessible from the Job Details, Customer
Details, or Periodic Charge/Service window. You
would normally choose to use block rates, which
will charge the specified amount for each
call.
For a permanent patrol you can also charge a
fixed amount for each period (e.g. month) and
optionally apply a holiday surcharge.
You can specify that a patrol must be marked
as done and/or verified for it to be
charged. In this case missed and/or unverified
patrols will not be charged.
- The default setting is in the General
Configuration window, Patrols tab
- You can override this setting in the
Customer Details window.
Contractors
Contractor pricing details are accessible
from the Job Details, Provider Details, or
Periodic Charge/Service window. You would
normally choose to use either block rates
(which will pay the specified amount for each
call) or percentage of customer charge.
Displaying patrols in the Job Dispatch
Window
You can choose to include jobs with
incomplete patrols in the Job Dispatch window
when viewing responses. Jobs will be displayed
under the following conditions:
- The Operator Configuration setting
Jobs List
/ Include patrols with responses is
set to Yes. This setting is also
available in the Set View window (F2) in
the list of jobs.
- Job Type To Show is set to
Response.
- The Monitor box is checked in the
Patrol Details window.
- The time when an incomplete patrol is
displayed is determined by a setting in the
Set View (F2) window. By default they
appear 5 minutes before due on site but
they can be set to any period before or
after the due time.
If you check the Monitor box in the Customer
Details window (Operations tab), any patrols
created for that customer will be set to
Monitor by default.
Completing patrols
You can require that one or more of the
following must be entered before a patrol can
be considered complete: times, docket number,
verified. You can specify default settings in
the Customer Details window and over-ride them
when creating a permanent or casual patrol.
Patrol run sheets
To print patrol run sheets, go to the Patrol
Management window, or select \Operations
\Patrols \Patrol Run Sheets from the Main Menu.
Run sheets can be printed for one or more runs
for any period, and there are options to
determine what is displayed on the run sheet
and whether site notes and patrol briefs are
also printed.
Verification
You can set your SMART system up to record
verification of patrol attendance by devices
such as tour wands or GPS tracking. Please
contact SMART support for further
information.
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