Cost lines

A service’s real cost is built up from several kinds of expense line. Each section adds rows that auto-calculate their tax and line total and roll into the cost summary. This deep field-service costing is what sets Villva apart, travel, accommodation and on-site resources are first-class, not an afterthought.

Every section works the same way: add a row, edit or remove it, and the section subtotal updates immediately. Quantities and costs reject non-numeric or negative input, and every change is recorded in the audit log.

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Add a screenshot here: a service record showing the cost-line sections (consumables, parts, travel, resources) with a couple of rows filled in.

Consumables

Capture consumables used during a service, gaskets, sealant, cleaning material, so their cost is part of the service cost.

1. Open the Consumables section on a saved service.
2. Add a row: choose an item from your item master (only active consumable-category items appear), then enter quantity, unit of measure, estimated cost and tax rate.
3. The tax amount and line total calculate automatically. The line base is quantity × estimated cost. For example, item quantity 4 at cost 50 with 18% tax gives a base of 200, tax of 36 and a line total of 236.
4. Edit or remove rows as needed, the consumables subtotal updates each time.

You cannot add the same item twice, a duplicate item is rejected.

Replacement parts

Capture spare parts, and mark each as chargeable or not. Non-chargeable parts still count toward your internal delivery cost but are excluded from the customer-billable subtotal.

1. Open the Replacement parts section.
2. Add a row with item, quantity, unit of measure, unit cost, tax and a chargeable status (yes/no).
3. Tax and line total calculate automatically.
4. Check the subtotals: for example, a non-chargeable part at 500 and a chargeable part at 1200 give an internal parts cost of 1700 and a chargeable subtotal of 1200.

The item picker only offers active spare-category items, and the same item cannot be added twice. Which cost sections appear by default follows your delivery mode (see Create a service); you can toggle any section on or off yourself.

Licences and infrastructure

Capture third-party software/subscription costs (test software, certification renewal, software seats) and infrastructure costs (test bench, lab usage, hosted environment, workshop space).

1. Open the Licences / infrastructure section.
2. For a licence line, enter the source, description, quantity, cost model, estimated cost, the period in months, tax and currency. For example, licence “SCADA Suite”, quantity 1, cost 10,000, tax 18% gives a line total of 11,800 and a licence subtotal of 10,000.
3. For an infrastructure line, enter the source or resource, type, description, usage or period, rate, cost, tax and currency.
4. Subtotals update as you add, edit or remove rows.

Cost spread over a period. A licence’s per-delivery cost is worked out from its period, the cost is divided by the period and multiplied by the service’s delivery duration, so a yearly licence used for a two-month job only charges its fair share.

More than one currency. A line can be in a currency different from your organisation’s base currency. The exchange rate is applied when the cost is worked out, and the amount rolls into the cost summary in your base currency.

Travel and accommodation

Capture the cost of getting your engineers to and staying at the customer site, the heart of field-service costing.

1. Open the Travel and accommodation section (switched on by default for field-delivery services).
2. Add a travel row: mode, from, to, distance, period, cost and tax. For example, mode “Car”, distance 120, cost 1500, tax 5%, the row total includes the tax and the travel subtotal is 1500.
3. Add an accommodation row: stay mode, place, quantity/nights, period, estimated cost and tax. For example, place “Pune”, 2 nights, cost 2000, tax 12% gives an accommodation subtotal of 4000.
4. When you enter a check-in and check-out date, the number of nights is worked out for you automatically.
5. Invalid or negative distances, periods, quantities and costs are rejected.

You can attach a receipt to any travel or accommodation line for your records. The row total and tax calculate automatically, and the travel and accommodation subtotals update as you add, edit or remove rows.

Miscellaneous expenses

A catch-all for delivery costs that do not fit a structured bucket, permits, sundries, small charges, so the cost summary stays accurate.

1. Open the Miscellaneous section.
2. Add a row: type/description, date, category, cost, tax and currency, and optionally attach a receipt. For example, “Permit” at 800 with 18% tax gives a line total of 944 and a misc subtotal of 800.
3. Costs that are not valid numbers are rejected, and the date must be a valid date.

The total and tax calculate automatically and the misc subtotal updates as you edit. If a line is in another currency, it rolls into the summary in your base currency at the current exchange rate. If a misc spend goes above the review threshold your organisation has set, it is flagged on the cost summary so it can be reviewed.

Resource allocation

Allocate people to a service with effort and rate so labour is a first-class cost. This also drives the resource schedule when the job is dispatched.

1. Open the Resource allocation section.
2. Add a row: resource type, description, skills, quantity, cost price, tax and contract period.
3. Choose the person from your list of active employees: their rate is filled in automatically from their employee record, and you can override it on the line if needed.
4. The cost amount and tax calculate automatically from quantity × cost price (times the period where it applies). For example, “Technician” with skills “Pump-L2”, quantity 2 at cost price 1000 with 18% tax gives a cost amount of 2000 and tax of 360.
5. The resource subtotal is added into the service’s total estimated cost as a distinct term (it is not folded into the other cost components).

Included services (plans)

Package a service with inclusions, for example, a retainer that bundles monthly check-ins, incident response and reporting.

1. Open the Included services / plans section.
2. Add a plan row: plan name, unit, plan price, an effort-based option and the included-service details. For example, plan “Annual AMC”, unit “Year”, price 25,000.
3. Pick the included service from your active services: a service cannot include itself, and circular references (A includes B includes A) are prevented.
4. Each row carries a quantity (default 1). Rows add, edit and remove and persist with the service, and included-service costs roll into the cost summary.

The effort-based flag is recorded now; automatic pricing from effort comes in a later version.