Operations

Operations is the finance workspace in Scout. It lists every recorded placement with its fee and invoice status, lets finance raise and track invoices, and keeps each employer’s terms of business.

Before you start

• Limited availability. Operations is not yet generally available. Available on request. Ask your Scout admin or Scout Support. If your organization does not have it, there is no Switch to Operations link.
• Roles. Operations is for organization admins and Finance-Operations members. A user whose only role is Finance-Operations works inside Operations and cannot open the sourcing or BD workspaces.
• QuickBooks is optional. You can connect QuickBooks Online to create invoices from Scout, or upload invoice files by hand (see below).

Steps

SWITCH to Operations

1. In the sidebar of the sourcing or Business Development workspace, click Switch to Operations. It opens in a new tab.
2. The Operations sidebar has two items: Placements and Employers.
3. To go back, click Switch to Candidate Sourcing (shown to organization admins).

CONNECT QuickBooks (organization admins)

1. Go to Settings > Integrations. The Finance section shows at the top for organization admins in an enabled organization.
2. On the QuickBooks card (“Generate and sync placement invoices via QuickBooks Online”), click Connect and sign in to QuickBooks Online.
3. When connected, the card shows your QuickBooks company name. One QuickBooks company is shared by the whole organization.
4. To remove it, click the unlink icon and confirm Disconnect. Uploading invoices manually still works after you disconnect.

REVIEW the Placements list

Open Placements (/operations/placements). The subtitle reads “Every placement with its fee and invoice status.”

1. Use the six summary tiles as quick filters. Click a tile to filter and click it again to clear:

   Tile	Meaning
   Billed	Invoice date has passed
   To invoice	Due, no invoice raised yet
   Sent	Created, filed or paid
   Awaiting payment	Sent, not yet paid
   Paid	Paid in full
   Issues	Rejected or cancelled

   Each tile shows a count and the amounts per currency. A line under the tiles shows Scheduled, not yet due money from future contract invoices. It is not included in Billed.

2. Use the tabs All placements and Due invoices. Due invoices lists one row per contract invoice with Placement, Invoice, Period, Invoice date, Amount and State, and an Invoice month filter.
3. Search with “Search candidate, employer or notes”. Click Filters to filter by Employer or Contract type (Full-time, Part-time, Contract, Temporary, Internship, Other), and set a revenue date range.
4. Sort with the Sort placements by list (Date recorded, Joining date, Placement fee, Contract type, Candidate name) and the ascending or descending button.
5. The table columns are Candidate, Employer and role, Joining date, Salary, Placement fee, Invoice status and Actions.
6. Click Download CSV to export the placements.

UNDERSTAND invoice status badges

The Invoice status badge on each placement is also a control. Click it to change the latest invoice.

• A number in brackets, such as “Filed (2)”, means the placement has more than one invoice.
• Hover over a badge to see when it reached that status.
• Every change asks you to confirm. If the invoice is linked to QuickBooks, the change is also made in QuickBooks, and Mark as Paid records a payment there. Otherwise the confirmation says the status changes only in Scout.
• To change several placements at once, tick their rows, click Change status and choose a Mark as option. Placements that cannot make that move are skipped, and contract invoices are always changed one by one on the placement. Click Clear selection when done.
• A placement without an employer cannot be invoiced. Open it and use the Link an employer search (“Search employer companies…”) first.
• A placement with no invoice can be voided from the row’s More actions menu with Void placement. Voiding removes it from revenue and placement counts and cannot be undone there.

OPEN a placement

Click a row to open /operations/placements/[id]. Click All placements to return.

• The header shows the candidate, job, employer and joining date. Click History for Placement history, a list of all invoice status changes, newest first, marked Updated via QuickBooks or Manually updated.
• For a standard placement the figures are Salary, Placement fee, Invoice status and Notes.
• Under Invoices, click Create in QuickBooks to create the invoice in QuickBooks Online, or Upload invoice to attach a PDF or image you made yourself. If QuickBooks is not connected, the button is disabled with a link to Settings > Integrations.
• Under Notes and activity, add a note. The placement’s creator and organization admins get an email.
• The Details panel shows Recorded by, Recorded on and Employer.

For a placement with the Contract type, the page also shows Per invoice, Contract total, Billed, Scheduled and Invoicing, a Contract terms panel (Frequency, Invoice timing, Starts, Ends) and an Invoice schedule. From the schedule you can edit an invoice’s date and amount, Cancel invoice, Add invoices, Extend contract, End contract early (a reason is required) and Cancel remaining invoices.

MANAGE employers and terms of business

Open Employers (/operations/employers).

1. Use the cards Total employers, No terms on file and Outstanding invoices to filter.
2. By default only clients are listed. Switch on Include prospects to add prospects. Search with “Search employers…”.
3. Columns are Company (with a Client or Prospect badge), Terms on File, Unbilled and Outstanding.
4. Click an employer to open /operations/employers/[id]. Under Documents, the terms table shows Reference, Start, Expiry, Status (Active or Inactive), Currency, Payment Days and File.
5. Click Upload Contract to add a new terms of business record. A toast confirms “Contract uploaded.” You can download existing files from the File column.
6. Click View placements to see only that employer’s placements.

RECORD a placement

Operations does not create placements. They are recorded by recruiters:

1. Open a job and drag the candidate into the Placed column of the job board.
2. The placement dialog opens. Fill in the required fields: Legal candidate name, Company, Designation, Invoice contact name, Invoice contact email and Terms of business. Then complete the Contract and Compensation sections (salary, joining date, contract type, currency and fee).
3. Click Save Placement Record. The placement then appears in Operations.

On the candidate profile, the Placement Record tab lists that candidate’s recorded placements with a search box. It is read-only. Recruiters can also review their own placements with Manage Placements on the main dashboard.

What you should see

• Placements with six status tiles and a table of placements.
• A placement’s badge moves from Needs invoice through Created or Filed to Paid as you update it.
• Employers with terms of business on file for each client, and counts of unbilled and outstanding items.

Common problems

Related pages

• Settings
• Integrations
• Jobs
• Company
• FAQ