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Set up projects with work orders

Field Service and Project Operations integrate project planning, field execution, and project financial management. Projects provide the financial and delivery structure. Work orders represent the field work that technicians perform.

A project can have multiple related work orders. You can create work orders manually, create them from project tasks, or generate them from an agreement. When technicians record time, materials, or other supported transactions on those work orders, the transactions flow to Project Operations and resolve to the correct project, project task, and contract line.

The project contract and contract line setup determines how those transactions are processed financially.

Before you start

Before you create work orders, consider the following questions:

  • Should work orders link to the project or to specific project tasks?

  • Does all field work follow the same billing structure?

  • Do different tasks, phases, customers, billers, or funding sources require separate project contract lines?

  • Does the project include labor, materials, expenses, or fees?

  • Should transactions create cost actuals only or both cost and unbilled sales actuals?

Scenario 1: One project with multiple work orders

Use this scenario when a project requires multiple field execution activities, and all the work follows the same billing structure.

Customer situation

A customer project requires multiple field visits. Each visit uses a separate Field Service work order, but all the work belongs to the same project. All work follows the same billing structure.

For example, an equipment installation project includes site preparation, installation, inspection, and closeout work. Each activity uses a separate work order, but all work rolls up to the same project.

Create one project contract and one project contract line for the project.

Set up the contract line with:

  • Project: Select the project.
  • Included Tasks: Select All Project Tasks or leave the field blank.
  • Include Time: Select Yes.
  • Include Materials: Select Yes.
  • Include Expense: Select Yes if expenses are enabled.
  • Billing Method: Select Time and Material or Fixed Price, based on the commercial model.

Field Service execution pattern

Create multiple work orders and link each work order to the same project. If you need task-level visibility, link each work order to the relevant project task.

Result

A work order can generate Field Service transactions for technician time and materials used. Project Operations receives these transactions and associates them with the project contract line.

This process helps you manage many field visits while maintaining one project financial structure.

Scenario 2: Agreement-generated work orders linked to a project

This scenario is for customers that have recurring field work, scheduled service, maintenance programs, or long-running service delivery engagements that roll up to a project.

Customer situation

A customer has recurring or scheduled field service work that should be tied to a project.

For example, a customer has a maintenance, rollout, or recurring service agreement where work orders are generated on a schedule. The customer wants all generated work orders to contribute time and material transactions to the same project.

Create a project and project contract line that represents the recurring field service engagement.

Set up the contract line with:

  • Project: Select the project
  • Included Tasks: Select All Project Tasks or leave the field blank if all agreement work uses the same billing structure
  • Include Time: Select Yes
  • Include Materials:Select Yes
  • Include Expense: Select Yes if expenses are enabled.
  • Billing Method: Select Time and Material or Fixed Price, based on the commercial agreement

Field Service execution pattern

Link the agreement to the project.

Work orders that automatically generate from the agreement inherit the project context.

If agreement work is separated by phase, asset, location, project task, biller, or billing rule, use project tasks and task-based project contract lines.

Result

Agreement-generated work orders send transactions to Project Operations without requiring each work order to define its own commercial structure.

The project and project contract line provide the financial structure. The agreement provides the recurring Field Service execution pattern.

Scenario 3: Project tasks drive Field Service execution

This scenario is for the customer who wants project task planning, scheduling, and progress tracking to connect to Field Service execution, but the project tasks don't require different billing treatment.

Customer situation

A customer wants project planning to drive Field Service execution.

For example, a project manager creates project tasks for installation, configuration, inspection, and customer signoff. Each task requires field execution, so you create work orders from or link work orders to those tasks.

Create a project contract line with:

  • Project: Selected project
  • Included Tasks: All Project Tasks or blank, if billing is the same across all tasks
  • Include Time: Yes
  • Include Materials: Yes
  • Include Expense: Optional, if expenses are enabled
  • Billing Method: Time and Material or Fixed Price

Field Service execution pattern

Create work orders from project tasks or link work orders to project tasks.

A project might consist of several tasks, with each task linked to a work order as needed to support the organization's field service execution process.

Result

Work orders carry project task context. Time and material transactions from the work order can update the project and support task-level execution visibility.

If the contract line uses All Project Tasks or is blank, the task is used for tracking and reporting, while billing still resolves to the same contract line.

Scenario 4: Task-based billing for multiple billers or billing arrangements

This scenario is for customers who need different billing treatment by task, phase, asset, location, customer, biller, or funding source, but each task can still receive the full set of Field Service transactions from the work order.

Customer situation

A customer has one project, but different parts of the project need to be billed to different customers, billers, funding sources, or contract lines.

For example, a project includes work across multiple locations, assets, or phases. Each task group represents a different billing responsibility. Field Service work orders are linked to the applicable project task, and all supported transactions from the work order should follow the billing setup for that task.

Set up task-based billing in Project Operations.

Create multiple project contract lines for the same project. Each contract line should use:

  • Project: Same project
  • Included Tasks: Selected Project Tasks Only
  • Include Time: Yes, if labor from the work order should be included
  • Include Materials: Yes, if materials from the work order should be included
  • Include Expense: Yes, if expenses from the work order should be included
  • Include Fee: Yes, if fees are in scope
  • Billing Method: Time and Material or Fixed Price, based on the billing arrangement
  • Contract Line Customer: Set based on the customer or biller responsible for that portion of the work, where applicable

Then associate the correct project tasks to each contract line on the Task Billing Setup tab.

Field Service execution pattern

Link each work order to the specific project task that represents the work being performed.

A single work order linked to that task can include multiple transaction types, such as:

  • Technician time
  • Materials or products
  • Expenses, if enabled
  • Other supported project transaction classes

The project task doesn't limit the work order to one transaction type. Instead, the task helps Project Operations determine which contract line should receive the transactions.

Result

Field Service transactions resolve by using the project, task, and transaction class.

For example:

  • All included transaction classes from work orders linked to Task A resolve to Contract Line A.
  • All included transaction classes from work orders linked to Task B resolve to Contract Line B.
  • If Include Time is set to Yes, time from that task can resolve to that contract line.
  • If Include Materials is set to Yes, materials from that task can resolve to that contract line.
  • If Include Expense is set to Yes, expenses from that task can resolve to that contract line.
  • If a transaction class isn't included on the contract line, that transaction type doesn't resolve to that contract line.

Scenario 5: Different billing treatment for labor and materials

This scenario is for customers who want Field Service labor and materials to flow from the same work orders but follow different billing rules and don't use project tasks.

Customer situation

The customer has one project and many work orders, but labor and materials shouldn't be billed the same way.

For example, labor is included in a fixed project fee, but parts are billed separately as they're used. Field technicians still capture both time and materials on work orders.

Create separate contract lines by transaction class.

Contract line 1: Labor

  • Project: Selected project
  • Included Tasks: All Project Tasks or blank, if this labor treatment applies across the project
  • Include Time: Yes
  • Include Materials: No
  • Include Expense: No, unless expenses should also follow this contract line
  • Billing Method: Fixed Price or Time and Material, based on the labor agreement

Contract line 2: Materials

  • Project: Same project
  • Included Tasks: All Project Tasks or blank, if this material treatment applies across the project
  • Include Time: No
  • Include Materials: Yes
  • Include Expense: No, unless expenses should also follow this contract line
  • Billing Method: Fixed Price or Time and Material, based on the material agreement

Field Service execution pattern

Create work orders against the project.

Technicians capture:

  • Time entries
  • Work order products or material usage

Result

Time resolves to the labor contract line because Include Time is set to Yes on the labor contract line.

Materials resolve to the materials contract line because Include Materials is set to Yes on the materials contract line.

The billing method on each contract line determines whether the transaction creates cost only or both cost and unbilled sales actuals.

Scenario 6: Fixed price project with Field Service execution costs

This scenario is for customers who need Field Service execution costs on a project, but customer billing is based on a fixed price agreement instead of billing each labor, material, or expense transaction.

Customer situation

A customer has a fixed price project, but the work is delivered through multiple Field Service work orders.

For example, a customer pays a fixed amount for an equipment upgrade, site modernization, or installation project. The work requires multiple technician visits, labor, materials, and inspections. Technicians still need to capture time and materials, but the customer isn't billed based on each transaction.

Create a project contract line with:

  • Billing Method: Fixed Price
  • Project: Selected project
  • Included Tasks: All Project Tasks or leave blank if the fixed price billing applies across the project
  • Include Time: Yes
  • Include Materials: Yes
  • Include Expense: Optional, if expenses are enabled

Field Service execution pattern

Create or link multiple work orders to the project or project tasks.

Technicians continue to capture Field Service transactions as part of normal execution, such as:

  • Time entries
  • Materials or products
  • Expenses, if enabled

Result

Approved Field Service transactions flow to Project Operations and resolve to the fixed price contract line.

Because the contract line is fixed price:

  • Time creates cost actuals only.
  • Materials create cost actuals only.
  • Expenses create cost actuals only, if expenses are enabled.
  • Unbilled sales actuals aren't created from the individual Field Service transactions.
  • Customer billing is handled through fixed price milestones or progress-based billing.
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