Inventory

Table Of Contents

Overview

Initial setup for Inventory module can be found in the Company Setup manual. This must be done before any inventory can be entered.

As in all of the BMS modules, the flow of processing is outlined on the menus themselves. If you need further help, there are help screens available in each screen. The following pages have examples of the help screens available in the Inventory module. The help screens will be referred to throughout the course of this manual. In most screens, there is additional on-line more detailed help available. This will be indicated by a statement at the bottom of the screen such as Press <F1> for more detailed help.

There are also examples of various screens found in Inventory included in this manual. These will help you become more familiar with the look of BMS module screens. Since the modules are integrated, the Inventory manual will refer to other modules. To find more information on those modules, check the appropriate manuals.

As in most of the BMS modules, a few basic "rules" or keystrokes are in effect for order entry. They are the following:

All functions must be performed in CAPITAL LETTERS

<F1>=Help
<F9>=Clears screen
<Esc>=Exit
<Tab>=Find
<Backspace>=Clears the line

This manual is intended to be used as a guide in learning the Inventory program. It is not a replacement for a manager's direction. Some processes in the Business Management System are subjective and require specific instructions from a manager as to how your company would like certain situations handled. Executive Computer Systems is not responsible for any actions taken based upon information found within this manual.  Top.

Note: Your system is a customized system. Therefore, the menus may not have exactly the same order or options. Nor may you have all of the same programs listed in this manual.

Select Inventory from the main menu. This will bring you into the following menu:

Choose Inventory File Maintenance

You will then see the following screen:

Enter the password capital letters. Press Enter when done. The password comes from the Company Setup file. See the discussion on passwords in the appropriate section. The operator code corresponding with the password prints on all quotes, orders, picking lists, invoices and credit memos, so you can track who worked on the order.  Top.

Inventory File Maintenance

The following is an example of the inventory master screen

At this screen, you can enter new inventory items or view items already entered. We will discuss how to view inventory later. The following will explain how to enter new inventory items. First, examples of the help screens available in this program.

F3 = Other Options Available

The following is a description of each field found in the inventory master screen. These fields are listed in the order you will find them as you enter any inventory item.

ITEM #:
This field is 15 characters long. You should have already decided a consistent manner in assigning item numbers for inventory. The item number can be numeric or alpha-numeric. This "number" can not be changed or edited once it is entered. This should be done by a manager or under a manager's direction. It is important to be consistent in assigning these numbers.

GROUP:
The group is a 15 digit type of "sub-category". Groups can be used to break down further the type of inventory you are entering. Certain inventory reports can be printed sorted by group. Once groups have been established you can select from those by entering to the group field and pressing <F7>. This will bring up the Group Lookup screen. From here you can select a group.

To setup groups, select <F1> for help, then <F3> for the menu of other options. At this menu, select <F10> Setup Groups. This should be done by a manager or under a manager's direction. Please be follow a consistent order when assigning groups.

MFG CODE:
This 15 digit code is the manufacturer's item number for this item. This number is used for reference. It is also very important if you are using the Purchase Order system.

DSC:
This is a 30 digit description line. There are two lines of description available for each inventory item. Both lines of description will print on the order/invoice when it is selected in order entry.

S/N:
This program allows you to track inventory by serial number. If you wish to do so for this item, enter a Y for yes, if not enter N for no. If you answered yes, you will be prompted for a serial number for this item when you select it for an order in the order entry program.

H/M:
This field requires the item be marked as hazardous material or not. Enter a Y for yes, if not enter N for no. If you have marked the item as Y for yes, you may then enter a message. To enter hazardous material messages for the specific item, press <F3>. From this list, select <F3> Add or Edit Hazardous Message. A program for general hazardous material messages for all items is available from the inventory menu. This will be discussed at a later point in the manual.

VND:
These two fields allow you to enter the vendor ID number of the vendor where this item is purchased. This field is important if you are using the Purchase Order system. If you are, this number should match what you have entered for a vendor ID in Purchase Order/Accounts Payable.

LOC:
This field is for the location (bin #) number of the inventory item. This number prints on the pick ticket.

DSC:
This is a 30 digit description line. There are two lines of description available for each inventory item. Both lines of description will print on the order/invoice when it is selected in order entry.

TX:
This field is to mark item as taxable or non-taxable. Enter a "T" for taxable or "N" for non-taxable. There are a few items and customers that are sometimes taxable and sometimes not taxable. The system allows you to mark this field with an "S" for sometimes and the field found in the customer maintenance screen with an "S". This will tax the item when it is selected in order entry but will allow for the tax to be overridden. This only to be used for special cases that should be set up by a manager or under a manager's direction.

WT:
Enter the item's weight in this field. This field is optional unless your company is using the UPS shipping module. If you are using the UPS module, you must fill in the weight for each item.

CL:
Enter the class for UPS shipping. Again this is only required when using the shipping module.

CATEGORY:
Every item must belong to a category. These categories must have already been setup when the software was initially setup. This should be done by a manager and is done through the Utilities menu. Instructions on how to do this can be found in the company setup manual. You may also view the attached example at the end of this manual. To scroll through the categories, press <F7> for the Category Lookup screen.

UNIT:
This field for entering the unit of measure. For example, EA - each, LB - pound, BX - box, etc.

PACK:
This is the link to the pack-to-unit conversion. If you will be breaking up cases of an item, there may be 12 packs per box but the item is normally sold by the box. For this example, you would enter 12 in the pack field.

MSG:
Inventory messages entered here will display when entering the item in order entry. If a "1" is entered , the first message from the Inventory Messages will print on the invoice as a MSDS message and it will print the first time this customer buys this item. If you type an asterisk as the first character of the message line, the line can then be used a third line of description.

AVG COST:
Average cost is calculated when items are received through Purchase Orders or Receive Inventory program. New items require an entry here. Depending on the default setup in the company file, this cost can be either the last actual cost or a weighted average.

STANDARD:
This is the actual cost plus an optional arbitrary amount tacked on to the account for operating expenses. Check with your manager.

NOTE:
This field is for a reference cost.

LAST:
Always the last real cost of the item.

PRICES:
Price A should be the list price (highest), B the next highest, and so on. The Company Setup asks if you want to change prices in Inventory Master by amount or by profit percent. If amount was selected, the system will stop at each selling price and wait for the price entry. If profit percent was selected, the system will stop at the percent field below each price and ask for the markup percentage. This should be setup by a manager or under a manager's direction.

STOCK ITEM:
The system defaults to "Y". This means that it will keep stock information. If you answer "N", it will not track what is on hand, etc. However, it will still continue to track sales and unit information. Stock on hand, committed and available can not be accessed. On hand is calculated through either Inventory Receiving, Purchase Order Receiving, Warehouse transfers or physical inventory counts.

FORCE B/O:
If this is answered yes, the system will force a back order in an order if the quantity is insufficient.

ON HAND:
This is the number of this item that are on hand in inventory.

COMMITTED:
This is the number of this item that are committed on entered orders.

AVAILABLE:
This is the number of this item that are available after the ones committed are counted.

REORDER QTY:
This is a guideline quantity to order each time an order is placed with a vendor (ie. there may be a better price if you order a pack of 6 instead of 1 at a time).

MINIMUM QTY:
This is the minimum you want on hand at any given time.

MAXIMUM QTY:
This is the maximum you want on hand at any given time.

ON ORDER:
The shows the units of this item that are on order from a vendor(s).

LAST SALE:
This shows the date the last time this item was sold.

LAST PURCHASE:
This shows the date the last time this item was purchased.

LAST RETURN:
This shows the date the last time this item was returned.

LAST PRICE CHANGE:
This shows the date the last time the price for this item was changed.

MTD & YTD SALES:
This shows the sales in dollars and the number of units of this item sold by month/year-to-date.

TODAY'S SALES:
This shows the sales in dollars and the number of units sold during that business day.

AVG. WEEKLY / MONTHLY:
Weekly and monthly average is the unit average for those time periods.

The following is an example of the inventory screen for an entered inventory item.

Top.

To search through Inventory to find a item number :

(A) Browse Inventory
At the inventory master screen, you can search for items either by item #, group, mfg. code, or product description. Press Enter to get to the inventory field you want to search by, type in the first few letters and press <Tab>. Use your PgUp and PgDn keys.

(B) List Inventory
To see a straight listing of inventory items from the inventory master screen, press <F4>. Enter the item number (or part of the number) you want and press Enter. If you do not know the item #, press Enter to get a complete inventory list. Enter will continue through all items. The following is an example of this screen:

You will see the item number, description, number on-hand, committed and price, as well as the price assigned to that customer. Items having less than 1 available will be highlighted.

Press Enter to display additional items. When you find the item you want to add to the order, hit <Esc> and type in the line item # you wish to select and press Enter. This will bring up that item in the inventory master screen. Help is available in this screen by pressing <F1>. The following is an example of that help screen.

As you can see from this help screen, there are a lot of valuable features available from the "List of Inventory Items" screen. This manual will discuss these features at a later point in this manual.  Top.

These features are available from the Inventory Maintenance/Master screen by pressing <F1>. You must have an item already selected to choose any of these features. Check the bottom of each of these screens to see if other features are available.

View Orders Committed On
This screen <F2> shows you the orders that this item is committed on.

List of Inventory Items
This screen <F4> shows a complete listing of inventory. An example of this screen is shown in the Inventory Items section.

On Hand Quantity By Warehouse
This screen <F5> allows you to view the on hand information about this item. It will also show the warehouse information, such as current transfers, archived transfers, etc.

Year-to-Year Financial Analysis
This screen <F6> allows you to view all sales information for this product. The screen allows you to compare this information on a year-to-year basis.

View Sales/Purchase History By Customer/Vendor
This screen <F7> allows you to view the sales history of this item. It will show the customers who have purchased the item, (most recent first), the sale price, cost , date, order number and other information. The information can be viewed in a number of ways - by date, customer, single sales, units, etc. You can also access the purchase information on this item from this screen.

Purchase Order Options
This screen <F8> allows you to view purchase history for this item. It will also show you if this product is currently ordered on a purchase order.

Add or Edit Product Information
This popup screen <F2> allows you to enter a few lines of information about each inventory item.

Add or Edit Hazardous Message
This screen <F3> allows you to enter a hazardous material message for this specific item if it is marked as hazardous. This same message will print on all invoices where this item is selected. If you wish to enter a universal hazardous materials message you need to use a different program. See the hazardous materials section for details.

Add or Edit Kits
This screen <F4> allows you to combine inventory items to create inventory kits. To setup kits, you must first setup an item number for the kit. Once that is done, press <F3> for the menu and then <F4> to setup kits. Enter the item numbers of the products you want included in the kits. You may enter as many as needed. These items will then make up this kit. When a pick-ticket is printed, the kit item number and description will print, as well as each item that makes up that kit. This will alert the warehouse as to the items that should be included. When an order or invoice is printed, only the item number and description for the kit will print. The inventory figures will be adjusted accordingly for the kit item and all items making up that kit, when the kit is ordered and or invoiced.

Add or Edit Suggested Items
This screen <F5> allows you to mark items for suggestive selling. When your item is selected in Order Entry, the Suggested Items screen will popup. You can then enter a quantity for the suggested item. You will then press <esc> to exit back into your order. Use the edit feature to make any pricing changes if necessary. To delete a suggested item, highlight the item with your cursor and press <F6>.

Add or Edit Quantity Breaks
This screen <F6> allows you to set up pricing according to quantity ordered. There are five quantity price breaks available.

Deactivate Product
This screen <F8> allows you to deactivate an inventory item. This may be necessary if you stop selling the item or it is no longer available. The product information will still be available to be viewed but it will flash a deactivated message in the upper right hand corner. The system will also beep when viewing a deactivated product. This item will now be unavailable from the order entry module.

Activate Product
This screen <F9> allows you to activate a deactivated inventory item. This may be necessary if you or your vendor starts to sell the item again. All information for this product is available to be edited or changed. This item will now available again from the order entry module.

Setup Groups
This screen <F10> allows you setup groups for your inventory items. This process is described in detail in the group section.  Top.

Customer & Sales Features

More features are available from the "List of Inventory Items" screen. At the inventory master screen press <F4>. This will bring you into the "List of Inventory Items" screen. From here the following features are available.

Customer Ranking by Yearly Sales / Product Ranking
This screen <F2> shows the top customers by sales figures and does a year-to-year comparison. The program defaults to the current year but you can view other years as well. Once you are in this screen, if you press <F2> again, it will give you a listing of the top selling products by dollar amount. You can then press <F7> from this screen to get the ranking for the number of units sold. The first screen will also give you the top vendors you purchased from by pressing <F8>. Check <F1> for further features available from this screen.

View Default Ad Prices
This screen <F3> allows you to view the pricing for this product for any advertisements the company may be running. You may also add or edit the pricing from this screen. Setup for free shipping on items is accessible from this screen as well.

Company Yearly Sales & Purchases
This screen <F4> allows you to view the company sales for the current year and to compare to previous year. The program defaults to current year but you can compare other years as well.

Set Up Ad Source
This screen <F5> allows you to setup new advertisements as they are placed. One of the many features in BMS software is tracking sales by advertising. Here you can enter any and all of the advertisements you had placed in the system. This is linked to order entry so that you can add or edit ad source for each customer. This will allow your company to track sales by the different ads placed by your company. See the ad source section for details.

Set Up Special Pricing
This screen <F6> allows you to setup special pricing for specific customers for specific products. You can enter a period of time for which the special price is in effect. See the special pricing section for more details. There are other options available from this screen.

Sales Or Purchase Order Aging
This screen <F7> allows you to view the aging on open and past due orders. This can be broken down by sales or done for the entire company.

View Prices for Product by Ad
This screen <F8> allows you to view the prices for each item by the advertisement you are tracking. See Set Up Ad Source above for further details.

Daily Sales by User
This screen <F9> allows you to view the sales for each register/cashier. This screen also includes drawer closeout procedures and other information that is related to the Point of Sale (POS) module. If you are not using the POS software, this screen does not apply to you.

Shipping Profit Report
This screen <F10> allows you to view the company sales for the current year and to compare to previous year. The program defaults to current year but you can compare other years as well.  Top.

Ad Key-Code Maintenance

One of the many features in BMS software is tracking sales by advertising. You can enter any and all of the advertisements you have running in the system. This is linked to order entry so that you can add or edit ad source for each customer. This will allow your company to track sales by the different advertisements you had placed.

Select Ad-Key Code Maintenance from the Order Entry menu. The screen for the ad source program is as follows.

At a blank screen, enter the information for your current ad. Once you have entered the information, you need to add the inventory items that are on sale through this ad. Press <F3> to copy items and prices from a previous ad to the new one.

To enter the items for a new ad, press <F7>. From here you can enter the items on sale in this ad and you can assign pricing by quantity breaks for a particular item. The system allows for up to three price/quantity breaks. This can be done for a certain ad or done under the DEF – default ad, which can remain in place for however long you wish and be applicable to customers not responding to an ad. Pressing <F2> from this screen will allow you to delete or edit price/quantity breaks previously entered.

Once the ad has been running and sales have been generated by it, you can view the sales figures by week for this ad. You may also view a sales analysis by pressing <F6>. This will show the sales in dollars & units for invoices generated by this specific ad source code.  Top.

All inventory products must have a Category assigned to it. These categories are used to separate your inventory products for informational breakdowns on sales reports. The system will track 19 categories of products that your company sells plus one for "special" items. Special items are those that are not in your inventory files, but you do sell upon occasion. They should be very general and encompass several groups of products. Categories are tracked through General Ledger. These categories will accumulate sales and cost figures. Each time you post sales (generally done daily), a report will print with a list of each category and the corresponding sales/cost figure.

The inventory items can then be further broken down into "sub-categories" (called Groups). Groups are optional and do not tie into General Ledger. You are allowed an unlimited number of groups under any category. See group maintenance section for details.

To setup your categories, you should first carefully lay everything out on paper. This process should be given a lot of thought as your categories cannot be changed once they are setup. Category setup should be done by a manager or under a manager’s direction. The following is a sample of category and group setup for a paper supply company. (Thank you to Kathy from ABC Paper for the excellent sample!)

As you can see, the categories are numbered and identified by a general description. The categories are then broken down into groups to further identify the inventory items under those categories. This sample can be used as a guideline for setup with your inventory. In this sample, the company only needed to use 16 categories. You are allowed up to 19.

Once you have laid out your categories, you are ready to setup the categories in the program. This setup is not done in the Inventory module. You need to go to the Utilities menu from the main menu. From there select A/R, Invt. Setup Files. This will bring up another menu. From this menu select Set-up Category File. This will bring you into the following screen.

Once you are in this program, your cursor will be in the Cat # field. This field is where you will enter the number you have assigned to your category. Enter the information and press Enter to the description field. Type the description of the category for you have entered. For example, Category 1 is Cups, Category 2 is Paper Products, etc.

The next field is the sales general ledger number field. This field cannot be completed until the General Ledger Integration Options have been setup. The setup should be done when the company setup is done. Please refer to the Company Setup Manual for more information. If the Integration setup has been completed, enter the sales gl # here. Most companies post to one gl sales account because the category detail is reported through the daily posting reports. Each category can be setup to have the sales figures posted to a separate gl account if desired. The gl # description will automatically appear when you select the number.

Enter through the last field to save your entries. Continue entering the categories until all have been saved. There are no reports that print from this program. If you need to view what categories have been previously entered, press <F5> for a popup list.  Top.

The Inventory Group Maintenance program is used to enter your inventory groups. A group is different from a category in that it allows your inventory to be broken down by more specific classifications within a category. The following is an example. Say you have a category called Cups . You can then classify inventory items entered under the category Cups by different groups. Under category Cups, you could have groups called Cup Foam, Cup Paper, Cup Plastic, etc. Groups are unlike Categories in that they are endless. Under any category, you can have unlimited group classes. Please category setup section for a sample.

This program is the second choice on the Inventory main menu. It is also accessible from the Inventory Master Screen by pressing <F3> for the menu and then choosing <F10> Set Up Groups. The following is an example of this screen.

When you are entering new inventory items you can then choose a group from the list you have created through this program. This list can be viewed in the inventory master screen by pressing <F7> on the group field when entered a new item. You can add new groups at any time.  Top.

This program is where you would enter the government hazardous message for all hazardous materials. As we have already covered, the ability to enter hazardous messages for specific items is found within the inventory master screen.  The messages entered here will print on all orders/invoice for any hazardous item selected.

The Hazardous Materials Message feature is found on the Inventory menu as the third option. The following is an example of this screen.

Inventory Messages

This program allows you to enter ten inventory messages. These messages can then be assigned to different items in the inventory master screen. The first message is reserved for the MSDS message for any hazardous materials.

The Inventory Messages feature is found on the Inventory menu as the fourth option. The following is an example of this screen.

When entering an inventory item, you can select a message from this table or enter your own. When the item is selected in order entry, the operator will be alerted to the message on the screen.

Again message 1 is reserved for the MSDS message if the item is designated as hazardous in the inventory file.  Top.

Setup Sub-Parts

This program allows you to set up a relationship between items that are sold by the pack and also by unit. In this manner when such a item is being sold by the unit and the quantity being sold is less than Units On-Hand, the program will automatically deduct one pack from the Packs On-Hand and the number of units in the pack will be added to the Units On-Hand. Please note both items must be entered in the inventory master screen to create a relationship.

The Setup Sub-Parts feature is found on the Inventory menu as the fifth option. The following is an example of this screen.

Remember both items must be entered in the inventory master screen to create a relationship.  When entering an order for any items setup as sub-parts the program will force you to order the pack item instead of the unit item if the ordered amount equals or exceeds the amount that comes in a pack.  For example, customer orders 15 widgets.  These are sold as units of 1 or in a pack of 12.  The program will force you to order a 1 pack of 12 and 3 units of 1.  It will not allow you to enter 15 units of one.  The reasoning is that you are not going to break a case of 12 to sell 15.  You have to sell the case and three individual units.  This means entering 2 line items in your order - one for the pack item and one for the unit item.

They must also be stock items. This means they must be marked with a Y in the inventory master screen in the Stock field. You must be the amounts sold and kept in the warehouse for this program to work properly.    Top.

Inventory Pricing Menu

The inventory pricing menu is found on the inventory menu as the sixth option. The following is an example of this menu.

From this menu, you can select a number of valuable options pertaining to pricing. The following is a description and screen samples of the options available.

How To Calculate Profit
Before reviewing the steps taken to change prices, we want to preface it with an explanation on how to calculate profit.  For these examples we will describe the difference in Making 40% Profit and Marking Up 40%. 

Example 1 = 40% of the sale is Profit
If you Markup 67% you only make 40% Gross Profit as shown in the following calculations.

Markup % Calculation

Cost x Markup % = Amount to Markup + Cost = Sell Price

                                  $6    x      67%      =            $4                   +    $6   =     $10

Gross Profit % Calculation

Sell Price - Cost = Profit / Sell Price = Decimal Profit x 100 = Gross Profit Margin %

               $10       -   $6   =   $4     /     $10       =              .4           x 100 =               40%

Example 2 = 28.6% of the sale is Profit
If you Markup 40% you only make 28.6% Gross Profit as shown in the following calculation.

Markup % Calculation

Cost x Markup % = Amount to Markup + Cost = Sell Price

                                  $6    x      40%      =           $2.40              +   $6    =     $8.40

Gross Profit % Calculation

Sell Price - Cost = Profit / Sell Price = Decimal Profit x 100 = Gross Profit Margin %

             $8.40       -   $6   =   $4     /     $10       =              .4           x 100 =               40%

Change Prices (by Group)
This program allows you to change inventory prices by group. It allows you to change pricing for a range of inventory items within a certain group. This will change these prices all at the same time. The following is an example of this screen.

First select the item, item range, or group for which you wish to change pricing. You may also select price changes for all products from a certain vendor. If you wish to change all prices, then leave these fields blank. The cursor will then bring you to bottom of the screen on the Change field. This is asking you which price/cost did you want to change. Select the number of the price you want to change, ie select 5 for price A.

It will than ask you if you want to multiply (increase) or use a different method to computing profit. Check with a manager or your accountant if you are unsure.

The cursor then stops on the based on field. This is asking you on which line do you want to base this change, ie. select 2 for standard cost.

The system then brings you to the percent field. Here is where you will enter the percentage by which you want to change the price. If you are changing the price by 20%, you would type in 120. This will take the current figure and change it by itself, plus 20%.

The system will then stop at the (+/-) field. Here you can add or subtract an additional amount to the change. For example, you may wish to add an additional $ 0.25 to a price increase. The system will then allow you to round up the calculated figure by penny, nickel, dime or quarter.

Once you have entered all of this information, you may continue these selections to change all of the prices. For example, you can now enter price changes for price "B", based on the changes you making for price "A". You can do this for all of the prices if you wish.

If you have entered all of the information and are ready to change the prices, press <F7> to start the process. This will take the system through all selected items and change the prices.

Change Prices (Selectively)
This program allows you to change inventory prices selectively. It will bring you into screen that replicates the inventory master screen. The following is an example of this screen.

From here you will enter the new actual cost. The program will then change all prices and Standard Cost based on the mark up percentages previously used. If you wish to change the newly calculated prices, press the <backspace> key to clear it and enter the new amount. When you are finished with the changes or are satisfied with ones calculated automatically, press the <esc> key. Then type Y to save the changes or N to cancel the changes.

Special Pricing
This program will allow you to set up special pricing by customer by item. You may also set up a global special price by item. This means all customers can be given this special price. You may give a special price for a single item or for a group of items. The following is an example of this screen.

To assign a special price for a specific customer, select your customer. You can do this by typing in the customer's number or the customer's name and pressing <tab>. You may also page up or down to scroll through the customers to find the one you want. Once you have found your customer, you may choose to assign a special price for a group of items or one specific item. Enter then to the item number field and type in the item # for the product you are assigning a special price. Choose the way you would like to assign the pricing, a start date & an end date if appropriate. You may also assign a special cost for a specific customer.

You can set up a global price - a special price for all customers. Enter past the customer field, without selecting a customer, and follow the instructions above.

There are features available from this screen to give you more detail. For example, <F3> will give you a purchase history for this customer, <F8> will list the special prices already entered for the customer you have selected, <F6> will delete the special price or cost you have assigned this customer.

Special Pricing Report
This program will print special pricing that was assigned to the selected customer. Choose your customer and all special pricing for that customer will print on a report. The report will show the customer id and name, item number, price code and discount, special price, operator code and date special price was assigned.

Print Label by Group
This program will print price labels for inventory items within the group selected. It will print the item number, description, group and price level selected. These labels are 4 x 1 7/16, 1 across. You can choose to print more than one label per item.

Print Label by Group
This program will print price labels for inventory items within the item range selected. It will print the item number, description, group and price level selected. These labels are 4 x 1 7/16, 1 across. You can choose to print more than one label per item.  Top.

Price Books Menu

The following is an example of the price books menu.

Price Books can be printed by item #, by group or by category. These price books will print the inventory items within your selected range and can be printed with or without prices and costs.

The following is an example of the screen for printing Price Book by Item #. The screens for printing Price Books by Group and Category are very similar to this one.

These programs allow you to print lists or "price books" of your inventory as you want to see the information. You have the ability to "customize" the report, showing only what you want to see.

Price Book Changes by Group
This program allows you to print a price book just for inventory items that had pricing changes. This report will print by group. The following is an example of this screen.

This report also allows you to pick and choose what information you want to see.  Top.

The following is an example of the menu for the inventory reports available.

The following is a brief description of each report as listed on the above menu.

1)Group of Product Analysis
This report shows a summary of all sales in group of items selected, showing MTD and YTD units, costs and sales, and broken down by month. An example of a group of items would be "A12" through "AZZ". The report would then list the information for that group of items. You can select up to twenty separate ranges at one time to print.

2)Quantity on Hand by Item #
This report lists all items within the selected range, showing quantity on hand, committed, available, on order, minimum & maximum, mtd and ytd units sold.

3)Quantity on Hand by Group
This report lists all items within the selected group range, showing quantity on hand, committed, available, on order, minimum & maximum, mtd and ytd units sold.

4)Inventory Usage by Vendor
This report prints the number of units sold and the Replacement cost during a given date range selected for a range of vendors selected by a range of item numbers. This report is very useful when using the purchase order system.

5)Inventory Reorder Analysis
This report lists the item, with mtd units, quantity on hand (which is on hand less committed), minimum on hand, on order, suggested reorder quantity (which is the minimum less on hand), last cost, (price paid last time the item was ordered), and the dollar amount needed to fully replenish the inventory (which is required order times last cost). The column heading "ord in qty of" is the quantity you should order from your vendor. You may select those items you stock, items you don't stock, items only sold this year, or all items.

6)Inventory Valuation
This report shows the inventory on hand by item, listing quantity on hand, committed, actual cost, value on hand, and retail value of the inventory on hand for the range selected. If an item has zero or less on hand, it will not print. You may select to print this report by group range by choosing <F3>.

7)Below Minimum Quantity
This report shows each inventory item, if the item has been set up to track quantity, and if the stock on hand, less the committed, is less than the minimum quantity in the inventory record. If these conditions are met, the report prints the quantity in stock, quantity committed and the minimum quantity in the inventory record. You may select up to 20 item number ranges to print at one time.

8)Below Minimum Quantity by Vendor
This report shows, by vendor, each inventory item, if the item has been set up to track quantity, and if the stock on hand, less the committed, is less than the minimum quantity in the inventory record. If these conditions are met, the report prints the quantity in stock, quantity committed and the minimum quantity in the inventory record.

9)Cost Report by Vendor
This report is designed to be printed and sent to the vendor selected. It will print the manufacturer's code, your item #, description, uom, actual cost and a blank line for the new cost. You can choose a range of items for your vendor and which type of items (stocking, non-stocking, items sold this year or all items).

These reports are easy to use and most are self-explanatory. To select the report you want, move your cursor to that report and hit Enter. If you select the wrong report or chose not to run it at this time, just <Esc> to abort the report. There may be other options available, depending on the report. Check the bottom of the screen to check for a help screen or to see if there are other options available for a particular report.  Top.

Warehouse System

The Warehouse System is very important in the inventory program. This is where you would transfer inventory from one warehouse to another; where you would enter inventory counts; or where you would print count sheets for taking inventory.

The following is an example of the Warehouse System menu. This is the last option available off of the Inventory menu.

The following are descriptions and examples of the programs and screens found in the Warehouse System.

Set Up Warehouse
To use the warehouse system, you must first setup warehouse to be used. These must be setup even if you only have one warehouse or one store location. The screen will ask you to setup a warehouse id number, the name, address, phone/fax numbers and contact name for each warehouse. These will then be accessible in the other inventory programs.

Enter Transfers
The inventory transfer program looks similar to the order entry screen. From this screen you choose the warehouses to transfer from and to, along with entering the items and amounts you are transferring. You can make as many transfers as necessary to different warehouses. You may also edit the transfers until you invoice them. Once you have made all transfers and invoiced them, you must then post them so that the inventory figures will be accurate.

Post Transfers
The transfers posting process is very much like the posting process in Order Entry. You must first backup to an alternate area before posting the transfers. This is very important in case of a problem during posting, we can them restore the data as it was prior to post. The program will post all Warehouse Transfers that have been invoiced and will update all warehouse history files. A report will then print. Once the posting process is completed, the inventory records will then reflect these transfers.

Print Count Sheet by Item or Group
These programs will print count sheets by the selected information, either a range of items or groups. These reports will list the inventory items in order by the selected information for use in doing a physical inventory count. The reports will provide spaces for you to enter the figures as the inventory is counted.

Enter Inventory Counts
This program will allow you to enter the physical counts for what was counted on the count sheets. Once the information is entered, you will then post it so the inventory figures will be updated. This program should be done by a manager or under a manager's direction. The following is an example of this screen.

First you have to enter your password to access the screen. This screen is similar to the order entry screen. First you must bring up the warehouse in which you wish to enter the counts. Type in a few characters of the warehouse and enter. You may also search by warehouse code. Hit Enter to get into the code field. Type in the code and <tab> to find. You may also search by sheet number if you are editing an entered sheet. Press <F8> to take your cursor to the sheet field.

Once you have your selected warehouse, the cursor will then allow you to enter your sheet number. These can correspond with the sheet numbers assigned on the count sheets used to take the physical count. The system will then allow you to enter a note.

Enter to the line item section and begin to enter your inventory items that were counted. You can enter the bin location and quantity. The cost will be pulled from the inventory master file and cannot be edited here.

You can edit an entered line item, by typing "E" for edit when your cursor is in the status field and selecting the line number that you need to edit. You may also delete a line by typing "D" and the line number of the item you want to delete.

The following is an example of the help screen available in this program.

Once you have finished entering your items and have made all changes, you may then post these sheets. This process will post all entered count sheets so make sure you have made any and all changes to each of the count sheets. If you need to print the count sheet at any point, type P for print in the status field at the bottom of the count sheet screen.

You are now ready to post the entered count sheets. To do this you must Backup to Alternate Area first. This program can be found on the warehouse menu after the Enter Count Sheets program. This is an important step because if you do not backup before posting - all of you data could be lost.

Once you have backed up to an alternate area, you are ready to post. Select the Post Inventory Counts program off of the Warehouse menu. The following screen will appear.

Before running this program you must make sure that you have posted any Invoices in Order Entry and any Inventory Transfers. You must also make sure to Backup To Alternate Area before posting. Once you have taken care of these processes you may then proceed with your posting. This process will post all entered count sheets so make sure you have made any and all changes to each of the count sheets.

This program will overwrite the inventory counts as they are in the Inventory File with the new counts you have just entered. In most cases you will be taking partial counts at a time, not counting your entire inventory. You would then answer the question "Is This a Complete Count for All Warehouses (Y/N)?" with a "N" for no. This is very important because if you answer yes - all inventory items will be overwritten regardless of whether it is found on the inventory count sheets being posted.

Once you have answered the above question, you will then be asked for a processing date. This is also very important because any transactions taking place on this date or after will be recalculated into the posted inventory counts. If you want to make sure the inventory counts are correct, make sure you enter the date you correct date. For instance, if you are counting the inventory today 12/15, entering the count sheets on 12/17, then posting the counts sheets on 12/18, your processing date would be the date you counted the inventory which was 12/15 in this example. That way it would recalculate any received purchase orders, sold items, warehouse transfers, etc. that occurred during or after the processing date.

No report will print after you have posted. The posted inventory counts are available to be viewed in the Enter Inventory Counts as an archived count sheet. You may access any archived sheet while in the Enter Inventory Counts. Once at a blank sheet, press the down arrow key. This will put you into Archived Count Sheets. Enter the number of the sheet you wish to view and <tab>. This will bring up that sheet for viewing purposes only.  Top.