Client Equipment Warranty Management - User Guide

Table of Contents

1. Overview

The Equipment Warranty Management module provides comprehensive warranty tracking and lifecycle management for client equipment. This system integrates warranty management directly into your sales and delivery processes, automatically creating warranty records when equipment is delivered to customers.

Primary Business Value:

When selling equipment to customers, you need to track warranty coverage, handle customer warranty inquiries, and manage warranty extensions. This system automates warranty creation during delivery, maintains complete warranty history, and provides instant visibility into coverage status for both sales and service operations.

Key capabilities include:

• Configuring multiple warranty options for equipment products
• Selecting warranties during sales order entry
• Automatic warranty creation upon equipment delivery
• Real-time warranty status visibility on equipment records
• Managing warranty lifecycles (active, expired, cancelled)
• Processing warranty extensions through sales orders
• Complete warranty history tracking

2. Understanding Warranty Management

Core Concepts

Warranty Configurations vs Warranty Records: The system distinguishes between warranty templates (configurations) and actual warranty coverage (warranty records). Configurations define available warranty options for products, while warranty records track actual coverage for specific equipment units.

Example:

A fire extinguisher product might have three warranty configurations: "Standard 12-Month Warranty" (free), "Extended 24-Month Warranty" ($50), and "Premium 36-Month Warranty" ($95). When you sell and deliver a fire extinguisher, the system creates a warranty record for that specific unit based on whichever configuration was selected on the sales order.

Warranty States

Warranty records progress through defined states:

• Draft: Warranty created but not yet activated (rarely used as system auto-activates)
• Active: Warranty currently in effect and providing coverage
• Expired: Warranty period has ended
• Cancelled: Warranty terminated before expiration (refunds, returns)

Equipment Warranty Status

Equipment records display overall warranty status:

• In Warranty: Equipment has active warranty coverage
• Warranty Expired: Equipment had warranty coverage that has expired
• No Warranty: Equipment has never had warranty coverage

Integration with Sales Process

Warranty management integrates seamlessly with standard Odoo sales and delivery workflows:

1. Warranty configurations are defined for equipment products
2. Sales representatives select warranties when creating quotations
3. Warranty selection appears on sales order confirmation
4. Upon delivery confirmation, equipment records and warranties are automatically created
5. Warranty becomes active immediately upon delivery

3. Warranty Configurations

Understanding Warranty Configurations

Warranty configurations define available warranty options for equipment products. These configurations serve as templates that determine warranty duration and pricing. Configurations must be created before warranties can be sold.

Creating Warranty Configurations

Warranty configurations are managed by administrators and typically set up during product configuration.

Process - Creating a Warranty Configuration:

Scenario: Adding warranty options for a new fire extinguisher product

1. Navigate to Client Equipment → Configuration → Warranty Configurations
2. Click Create
3. Enter warranty details:
   • Description: Customer-facing name (e.g., "Standard 12-Month Warranty")
   • Product: Select the equipment product this warranty applies to
   • Duration (Months): Warranty coverage period (e.g., 12)
   • Price: Additional cost for this warranty option (0.00 for included warranties)
   • Sequence: Display order when multiple warranties exist (lower numbers appear first)
4. Click Save

Multiple Warranty Options

Products can have multiple warranty configurations offering customers different coverage levels and pricing. This is common for equipment with optional extended warranties.

Typical Configuration Example - Fire Extinguisher:

• Standard 12-Month Warranty - $0.00 (included with purchase)
• Extended 24-Month Warranty - $45.00
• Premium 36-Month Warranty - $85.00

During sales order entry, the sales representative selects which warranty option the customer has chosen. The first option (sequence 1) is typically the standard included warranty.

Warranty Pricing

Warranty configurations with pricing above zero add line items to sales orders. The system handles warranty pricing automatically based on the configuration:

• Free warranties (price = 0.00): No additional sales order line created
• Paid warranties (price > 0.00): System can add warranty as separate line item if required by your sales process

4. Selling Equipment with Warranties

Warranty Selection During Sales

When creating sales orders for equipment products, warranty options appear directly on the order line, allowing sales representatives to select appropriate warranty coverage.

Process - Selling Equipment with Warranty:

Scenario: Customer purchasing fire extinguisher with extended warranty

1. Create standard sales order for customer
2. Add equipment product to order line
3. In the Warranty field on the order line, select from available warranty configurations
4. Selected warranty displays on order line
5. If warranty has price greater than zero, pricing is handled according to your sales process
6. Complete sales order normally (confirm, deliver)

Warranty Field Visibility

The Warranty field only appears on sales order lines for equipment products. The system automatically determines which products are equipment based on product configuration.

Important: If warranty configurations have not been created for a product, the warranty field will appear but have no options to select. Ensure warranty configurations exist before selling equipment products.

What Happens at Confirmation

When a sales order is confirmed, the warranty selection is stored with the order line. However, the actual warranty record is not created until equipment delivery is confirmed. This ensures warranties only become active when customers physically receive equipment.

5. How Warranties are Created

Automatic Warranty Creation Process

The system automatically creates equipment records and warranty records during the delivery validation process. This automation ensures consistency and eliminates manual warranty entry.

Automatic Creation Requirements:

For automatic warranty creation to occur, all of the following conditions must be met:

• Product must be marked as equipment product
• Product must have serial number tracking enabled (serialized inventory)
• Sales order line must have warranty configuration selected
• Delivery picking must be validated with serial number assigned

Delivery Validation Workflow

When warehouse staff validate outgoing deliveries containing equipment:

1. Delivery Validation: Warehouse operator confirms delivery and assigns serial numbers
2. Equipment Creation: System automatically creates equipment record for each serialized item:
   • Equipment name: Product name + Serial number
   • Customer information copied from delivery
   • Site address populated from customer record
   • Equipment links to sales order and delivery
3. Warranty Creation: If warranty was selected on order line, system creates warranty record:
   • Links to newly created equipment
   • Uses warranty configuration from sales order line
   • Start date: Delivery date
   • End date: Calculated based on warranty duration
   • Status: Automatically set to Active
4. Equipment Update: Equipment record updated with warranty status showing "In Warranty"

Warranty Start and End Dates

Warranty timing is calculated automatically:

• Start Date: Date delivery is validated (equipment ships to customer)
• End Date: Calculated by adding warranty duration to start date, minus one day

Date Calculation Example:

12-month warranty delivered on January 15, 2025:

• Start Date: January 15, 2025
• End Date: January 14, 2026

The warranty expires at the end of January 14, 2026, providing exactly 12 months of coverage.

What is NOT Automatically Created

Warranties are not automatically created for:

• Equipment delivered without serial numbers assigned
• Sales orders where no warranty was selected on the order line
• Rental orders (when rental module is installed)
• Manual equipment records created directly in the system

6. Managing Active Warranties

Viewing Active Warranties

Active warranties can be accessed through multiple navigation paths depending on your starting point.

From Warranty Menu:

1. Navigate to Client Equipment → Warranties → Active Warranties
2. View list of all active warranty records
3. Filter and search by equipment, customer, or warranty details

From Equipment Record:

1. Open any equipment record
2. Click the Warranties smart button (shows warranty count)
3. View all warranties for this equipment (active, expired, cancelled)

Warranty Record Information

Each warranty record contains complete coverage details:

• Reference Number: System-generated unique identifier (WR00001, WR00002, etc.)
• Equipment: Link to equipment this warranty covers
• Warranty Configuration: Which warranty option was selected
• Sales Order: Original sales order that included this warranty
• Start Date: When warranty coverage began
• End Date: When warranty coverage expires
• Status: Current state (Draft, Active, Expired, Cancelled)

Warranty State Management

Warranty states are generally managed automatically by the system:

• Activation: Automatically activated upon creation during delivery
• Expiration: System automatically identifies expired warranties based on end date
• Cancellation: Manual action for returns, refunds, or other business reasons

Process - Cancelling a Warranty:

Scenario: Customer returns equipment and receives refund

1. Locate warranty record for the equipment
2. Open the warranty record
3. Click Cancel button in the header
4. Warranty state changes to "Cancelled"
5. Equipment warranty status updates to reflect cancellation

7. Warranty Status Inquiries

Checking Warranty Coverage

When handling customer warranty inquiries, you need quick access to coverage status and history. The warranty tracking system provides this information through several access points depending on what information you have available.

Process - Warranty Status Inquiry:

Scenario: Customer calls requesting warranty status for equipment experiencing issues

1. Obtain equipment identification (serial number, asset tag, or customer location)
2. Navigate to Client Equipment → Equipment
3. Search for equipment using available identifiers
4. Open equipment record
5. Review Warranty Status field:
   • In Warranty: Equipment has active coverage
   • Warranty Expired: Coverage has ended
   • No Warranty: Never had warranty coverage
6. For detailed information, click Warranties smart button
7. Review warranty details:
   • Current end date
   • Original warranty configuration
   • Sales order reference
   • Complete warranty history if multiple warranties exist
8. Provide customer with definitive warranty status

Warranty Status on Equipment List

The equipment list view includes a Warranty Status column for quick visibility across multiple equipment records. This is particularly useful when reviewing all equipment for a specific customer or location.

Equipment with Multiple Warranties

Equipment can have multiple warranty records over its lifetime, particularly when warranties are extended. The system displays the currently active warranty prominently, with complete history accessible through the Warranties smart button.

Multiple Warranty Example:

Fire extinguisher delivered with 12-month standard warranty, later extended with 12-month additional coverage:

• First warranty: Jan 15, 2025 - Jan 14, 2026 (Status: Expired)
• Extended warranty: Jan 15, 2026 - Jan 14, 2027 (Status: Active)

Equipment Warranty Status shows "In Warranty" with active warranty referenced.

8. Warranty Extensions

Understanding Warranty Extensions

Warranty extensions allow customers to purchase additional coverage after initial warranty period or before current warranty expires. Extensions are processed through the sales order system, maintaining complete audit trail and integration with existing processes.

Creating Warranty Extensions

While the system provides automated warranty extension functionality, the typical workflow involves creating a new sales order for the extended warranty coverage.

Process - Manual Warranty Extension:

Scenario: Customer requests warranty extension before current warranty expires

1. Create new sales order for the customer
2. Add the equipment product to the order line
3. Select extended warranty configuration from Warranty field
4. Complete sales order normally (confirm order)
5. System creates extended warranty record upon order confirmation:
   • Start date: Day after current warranty ends (or today if no active warranty)
   • End date: Calculated based on extension duration
   • Links to equipment and sales order

Warranty Extension Timing

Extended warranties can be purchased at different points in the equipment lifecycle:

• Before Expiration: New warranty starts immediately after current warranty ends
• After Expiration: New warranty starts from purchase date, creating gap in coverage
• Multiple Extensions: Equipment can have multiple warranty extensions over its lifetime

Extension Documentation

Each warranty extension creates a separate warranty record linked to its sales order. This maintains complete audit trail showing:

• When extension was purchased
• What was paid for the extension
• Coverage dates for each warranty period
• Complete warranty history on equipment record

9. Standard Workflows

Workflow 1: Standard Equipment Sale with Warranty

Scenario: Customer purchases fire extinguisher with standard included warranty

Process:

1. Sales Order Creation:
   • Sales representative creates quotation for customer
   • Adds fire extinguisher product to order line
   • Selects "Standard 12-Month Warranty" from warranty dropdown (included, $0.00)
   • Confirms quotation becomes sales order
2. Delivery Preparation:
   • Warehouse prepares delivery picking
   • Assigns serial number to fire extinguisher
   • Validates delivery confirmation
3. Automatic Warranty Creation:
   • System creates equipment record for delivered fire extinguisher
   • Equipment record populated with customer details and serial number
   • Warranty record automatically created and activated
   • Warranty start date: Delivery date
   • Warranty end date: 12 months from delivery minus one day
4. Verification:
   • Equipment record shows Warranty Status: "In Warranty"
   • Warranties smart button shows count: 1
   • Active warranty visible with all coverage details

Workflow 2: Equipment Sale with Extended Warranty

Scenario: Customer purchases equipment and pays for extended warranty coverage

Process:

1. Sales Order Creation:
   • Sales representative discusses warranty options with customer
   • Customer chooses "Extended 24-Month Warranty" ($45.00)
   • Sales rep adds equipment product to order line
   • Selects extended warranty from warranty dropdown
   • Extended warranty cost included in order pricing
2. Order Confirmation and Delivery:
   • Customer confirms order with extended warranty
   • Warehouse processes delivery with serial number
   • Delivery validation triggers automatic creation
3. Warranty Activation:
   • Equipment record created with all details
   • 24-month warranty created and activated
   • Start and end dates calculated automatically
   • Equipment warranty status: "In Warranty"

Workflow 3: Warranty Status Inquiry and Service Decision

Scenario: Customer reports equipment issue and wants to know if warranty covers repair

Process:

1. Initial Contact:
   • Customer calls reporting equipment malfunction
   • Service coordinator obtains equipment serial number
2. Warranty Verification:
   • Navigate to Client Equipment → Equipment
   • Search by serial number
   • Open equipment record
   • Check Warranty Status field
3. Detailed Review:
   • Click Warranties smart button
   • Verify warranty is active and end date
   • Confirm warranty type and coverage
   • Review sales order details if needed
4. Customer Communication:
   • Inform customer of warranty status
   • If in warranty: Schedule covered service
   • If expired: Quote repair costs or extension option
   • Provide warranty end date for customer records

Workflow 4: Warranty Extension Purchase

Scenario: Customer wishes to extend warranty before current coverage expires

Process:

1. Customer Request:
   • Customer contacts sales requesting warranty extension
   • Sales representative locates equipment record
   • Verifies current warranty status and expiration date
2. Extension Quote:
   • Review available extended warranty configurations
   • Provide pricing and duration options
   • Customer selects desired extension
3. Sales Order Creation:
   • Create new sales order for customer
   • Add equipment product to order line
   • Select extended warranty configuration from dropdown
   • Confirm sales order
4. Extension Activation:
   • System creates new warranty record
   • Start date: Day after current warranty expires
   • End date: Calculated from start date plus extension duration
   • New warranty links to equipment and sales order
5. Verification:
   • Equipment now has multiple warranty records
   • Current warranty remains active until expiration
   • Extended warranty shows future start date
   • Complete warranty history maintained

10. Troubleshooting

Issue: Warranty Not Created After Delivery

Symptom: Equipment delivered but no warranty record exists.

Possible Causes and Solutions:

Cause 1: No warranty selected on sales order line

1. Open the original sales order
2. Check if warranty was selected on equipment line
3. If no warranty was selected, system worked correctly (no automatic creation)
4. Create warranty manually if needed through equipment record

Cause 2: Product not marked as equipment

1. Check product configuration
2. Verify product has "Is Equipment" checkbox enabled
3. Contact administrator to update product configuration if needed

Cause 3: No serial number assigned during delivery

1. Review delivery picking
2. Verify serial number was assigned to delivered item
3. System only creates equipment/warranty for serialized items

Issue: No Warranty Options Available on Sales Order

Symptom: Warranty field appears on sales order line but dropdown is empty.

Cause: No warranty configurations exist for this product.

Resolution:

1. Contact administrator or navigate to warranty configurations
2. Verify warranty configurations exist for the product
3. If none exist, create warranty configurations following the process in Section 3
4. Refresh sales order - warranty options should now appear

Issue: Equipment Shows "No Warranty" Despite Warranty Record

Symptom: Warranty record exists but equipment warranty status shows "No Warranty".

Cause: Warranty may be in Draft state or dates may be incorrect.

Resolution:

1. Open the equipment record
2. Click Warranties smart button
3. Check warranty state - should be "Active" not "Draft"
4. If in Draft, open warranty record and click Activate button
5. Verify warranty start date is not in the future
6. Verify warranty end date has not passed
7. Equipment status should update automatically once warranty is properly configured

Issue: Warranty Shows Wrong End Date

Symptom: Warranty end date does not match expected duration.

Cause: End date is calculated automatically based on warranty configuration duration.

Resolution:

1. Open the warranty record
2. Verify the warranty configuration and its duration setting
3. Check the start date
4. End date = Start date + Duration months - 1 day
5. If configuration duration is incorrect, update the warranty configuration
6. For existing warranties with wrong dates, contact administrator to manually correct

Issue: Cannot Cancel Warranty

Symptom: Cancel button not available or doesn't work.

Cause: User may lack permissions or warranty already in terminal state.

Resolution:

1. Verify warranty is in Active state (cannot cancel Draft or already Cancelled warranties)
2. Check user has administrator permissions for equipment module
3. Expired warranties should not need cancellation - they're already expired
4. Contact administrator if cancellation is required and button is not available

Issue: Multiple Active Warranties for Same Equipment

Symptom: Equipment has more than one active warranty at the same time.

Cause: This can occur with extensions or manual warranty creation.

Resolution:

1. This is actually normal for overlapping coverage periods
2. Review warranty start and end dates
3. One warranty should be current coverage, others may be:
   • Future coverage (extension starting after current expires)
   • Overlapping coverage (purchased early extension)
4. If truly duplicate, cancel the incorrect warranty
5. Equipment warranty status uses most current active warranty

Issue: Equipment Created Without Warranty

Symptom: Equipment record exists but should have had warranty.

Cause: Delivery processed but warranty creation failed or was not included.

Resolution:

1. Check original sales order to verify warranty was selected
2. If warranty was selected but not created, manually create warranty:
3. Navigate to Client Equipment → Warranties → Active Warranties
4. Click Create
5. Select the equipment
6. Select appropriate warranty configuration
7. Set start date (typically delivery date)
8. System calculates end date automatically
9. Activate the warranty

Issue: Warranty Field Not Visible on Sales Order

Symptom: Warranty dropdown does not appear on sales order lines.

Cause: Product on order line is not marked as equipment product.

Resolution:

1. Warranty field only displays for equipment products
2. Verify the product has "Is Equipment" checkbox enabled in product configuration
3. If product should be equipment, contact administrator to update product settings
4. After product configuration update, remove and re-add line to sales order

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