Table Of Contents

Overview

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 order entry 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 Order Entry included in this manual. These will help you become more familiar with the look of BMS module screens. Since the modules are integrated, the order entry 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 Order Entry 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 a particular situation handled. Executive Computer Systems is not responsible for any actions taken based upon information found within this manual.  Top.

Entering A New Order

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.

From the Master Menu, choose O/E for Order Entry System.

This will bring you into the following menu:

Choose Order Entry/Update/Inquiry

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.

Order Entry Screen

You will note in the upper left-hand corner the asterisks. This means that you have gone into order entry using a regular password. If you entered the manager's password, there would be pound signs. Please see the section on Company Setup for details on setting up password or speak to your manager.

The Order Entry screen is divided into three sections. The top section, where all of the billing and shipping information is located, is referred to as the header or bill-to area. The middle section, where the items ordered are entered, is referred to as the line-item area. The bottom section, where the tax information and status bar are located, is referred to as the footer area.  Top.

In the order entry screen, if you need to know any of the function key assignments, pressing Help <F1> will bring up a help screen. Notice that it shows you the function key layout depending on what point you are on the screen. The Bill-to or header, Line-item and Footing areas are the three main areas of the order entry screen. The following are examples of those help screens.

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Customer Search

When you first go into order entry, your cursor will be in the "bill-to" area. You must select who you want to bill. There are several methods of pulling up a customer.

Searching for customer by name:
You can type in the first few letters of the customer's name and press the <tab> key. If it is a close match, but not quite, press the Page Up or Page Down to find the next closest match.

Searching for customer by Numeric ID:
If you know the customer's account number, hit Enter four times when you get into order entry. Your cursor moves up to the ID field. Just type in the account number and press Enter. The screen will fill in the customer name and address. If the customer number is not correct, your cursor will jump down to the "bill-to" field, meaning there is no match and additional information is required. Hit the Clear Screen key <F9> and try another method.

Searching for customer by Alpha ID:
If you know the customer's alpha account id, simply hit Enter when you get into order entry. Your cursor moves over to the alpha ID field. Just type in the alpha id and press <tab> key. The screen will fill in the customer name and address. If the customer alpha id is not correct, the system will bring up the customer closest in alpha id to what you entered. Page Up or Down to find your customer or hit the Clear Screen key <F9> and try another method.

Searching for customer by address:
Hit Enter five times until your cursor is on the second line in "bill-to". Type in part or all of the street address and press the <tab> key. Pressing PgUp or PgDn will find the next closest match.

Using Customer Search Feature:
You can have the system show you a "list" of your customers and choose which one you want from that list. Press the <F3> key while your cursor is in the "bill-to" field. The screen will look like this:

Select your search method by pressing <F7> to scroll through your search options. You can search by customer name, contact, customer phone number or city. Then type in the information you are looking for (ie: name, phone number, etc.) and <tab>. For this example we are using name. You will then see the following screen:

You will see a list of customers that match the closest. Keep hitting Enter to see more customers. When you find the customer you are looking for, hit <Esc>. You will then be asked which line number you want to look at. Enter the line number that corresponds with the customer you want to view, and press Enter. You are then brought back to the order entry screen, and that customer is filled in. If you do not want any of the customers you see, hit escape without selecting a line number.

Editing or adding a customer while in Order Entry:
There is a point in Order Entry where you can add a new or edit an existing customer file. This saves time, because you do not have to exit out of Order Entry, go into the customer maintenance screen, add or change the information, and go back into Order Entry.

You can bring up your specific customer first by the methods we have already covered or <F7> at a blank order entry screen and bring up the customer from within the customer file maintenance screen.

With your customer selected, while your cursor is in the "bill-to" field, press <F7>. This will take you to the customer file maintenance screen. You can edit the customer profile or add a new customer at this time. If editing, type in part of the company name and use <tab> to find your customer. You can also type in the customer alpha or number id and use <tab> here to find your customer. Once you have found the correct customer, use your Enter key until you get to the field you want to change. Edit the field and then <F10> to save the information.

If you are adding a customer, enter the company name, first and last name of owner (or credit card holder if you are a mail order business), then type in the street address. The cursor will then bring you to the zip code field, skipping the city and state. Type your information and enter. This will automatically input the city and state for that zip code. If there is more than one town for a zip code, a popup list will allow you to select the town that is appropriate.

The system will automatically assign a customer number for any new customer you enter. This number cannot be edited. You cannot enter your own customer number - the system will not save it. The system will also automatically assign an alpha id for any new customer you enter. You may edit this field. You must save the change immediately after by pressing <F10>. If you enter to another field before saving it, the original alpha id will be kept and the changes will be lost.

Continue entering all appropriate information. See the screen below for an example.

<F10> will save the information or press <F9> to clear the screen and not save changes. Escape will take you back into the order entry screen. If you have saved your changes, you will note the change has been made on the bill-to screen. There is help available from this screen by pressing <F1>. See the Customer Maintenance section in the manual for further information on editing or adding a customer.

Adding items to an order::
You will note that your cursor is already on item number, with line number 1 ready to go. At this point you should begin adding line items (parts) to the order. The number 1 means line 1 of the order. This number does not print on invoices. There are several ways to search for a part if you do not know the item number. This will be covered later.

F3 = Other Options menu

(This menu is only available after you have selected an inventory item.)

To search for an inventory item number, while in Order Entry, your cursor should be in the line item section of the order. Use any of following ways:

(A) Browse Inventory

(1) You can also add items to inventory from order entry

(B) List Inventory

(C) Browse Inventory From Within Order Entry

Below is an explanation of each method:

(A) Browse Inventory
Press the <F4> key. The system will display an inventory 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 to scroll.

When you find the item you want, press <Esc>. You will see the item number, description, number on-hand, committed and available, as well as 10 prices. You will be returned to the order entry screen. You will see a window with the last date this customer ordered this item, the order no., the P.O. #, quantity and price paid. To continue at this point, please see the section below on "Once you have found the item you want".

Adding a item to inventory while in order entry.

(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 add that item into your order. To exit hit <Esc>. Help is available in this screen by pressing <F1>. The following is an example of the help screen.

As you can see from this help screen, there are alot of valuable features available from the "List of Inventory Items" screen. Please check your inventory manual for further descriptions and information.

(C) To look for an inventory item number from within Order Entry
If you are not already in the line-item section of the order, (A)dd a line to the order. Type in the item number, or part of it and press <tab>. Or, you can bypass the item number by pressing Enter, and go right to the description field. Type in the first few letters and press <tab>. Press PgUp or PgDn, if needed, to find the item you want.

Once you have found the item you want
Again, you will note that the top of the order entry screen gives you some information about this item. It tells you if this customer ordered this item before, the date, order number, purchase order number, quantity, price paid and cost.

You also see the ten different prices. The highlighted price in the price list is the price this customer should be charged according to the price schedule in the customer setup. See the sample of the Customer Maintenance screen. The default price level section is where customer pricing is set up. If you have assigned a special price for this item, that special price would be shown in the upper right-hand corner. (See discussion of special pricing in the Inventory Manual). Press Enter to add the item to the order. Enter the number ordered, and the number shipped.

The cursor then goes to the price code field. It defaults to the price level assigned to the customer for inventory in customer setup. However, you can (O)verride this price by typing an "O" and manually entering a price. You can type in any of the other prices shown also.

Price Codes Price Codes are as follows:

A through J  
P = Promotional Pricing (set up in inventory module)
H = History Price (this is the price this customer has historically paid for this item)
O = Override (using this code allows the operator to put in his or her own price)
S = Special Price (see Inventory Manual)

To use the price code already there, press Enter.

The system then calculates the price times units shipped, puts that figure in extended amount, and also calculates the tax, if any. Subtotals are added to the totals. If you are shipping less than the customer purchased, you will create a back-order. When this happens, the particular line item will be highlighted. Highlighting is done so this line item stands out and you will realize you have created a backorder. The actual backorder will be created when the Post to Accounts Receivable program is run. This program will be discussed later.

Tax Charges
Tax is calculated based on how the item is set up in inventory. It can be either taxable or non-taxable. You may, however, have a customer that is non-taxable and is setup as non-taxable in the customer maintenance screen. No tax will be charged on a non-taxable customer, even if the item is set up in inventory as taxable.

If you enter a non-inventoried item, and the customer is taxable, you will be prompted to enter whether to tax the item. Enter the appropriate response at this point. Check with your manager if you are not sure.

Please check all help screens when available, in any program, for more detailed information.  Top.

Other Features In Order Entry

Most of the following features that will be discussed can be accessed through the help screens. Samples of these screens were shown earlier.. These are just a few of the options available. Check the help screen for more options.

More than six line items on an order:
If there are more than six lines on an order, the order splits into additional screen "pages" (see the lower left corner of the order for the page number you are on). To see the first page of the order, while your cursor is in the footer section of the screen, press the up-arrow key. Use up-arrow and down-arrow to get to the page you want. When you get to the second page, the line item numbering starts over.

To cancel the line you are working on:
While your cursor is on the status field, press <F2>. This will bring your cursor back to the status field.

To delete a line that has already been added to the order:
While your cursor is on the status field, page up or down to get to the page the item is on. When you are on the right page, type D for Delete, type in the line number to delete, and press Enter. The item is removed, and the order recalculated. However, the line is not re-used. New line items will be appended.

To change an amount ordered or shipped or change a price charged:
While your cursor is on the status field, type E for Edit and type in the line number. The cursor jumps to that line. If the item is an inventory item the cursor will jump to the "ordered" field. Make the appropriate changes and Enter through. The order is then recalculated. If the item was not an inventory item, you will have access to all parts of the line. If it is an inventory item, you can only change the quantity ordered, shipped, price and cost.

To add a note to an order:
While your cursor is on the status field, type N for Note. You will get a window where you can add your notes. Press <F9> when done. This note will only print on this particular order. See the section on Messages for information on how to have messages print on every order, as well as the section on "Body Notes" in company setup for other types of messages. Only a total of four lines of notes will print on an order.

To change data in the heading of the order:
While your cursor is on the status field, press H for Heading. The cursor jumps to the top of the screen where you can change any and all information in the heading area. This includes ship-to information (even from a ship-to table).

To change data in the bill-to area of the order:
While your cursor is on the status field, press B for Bill-To. The cursor jumps to the top of the screen where you can change any and all information in the bill to area. Check with your manager before making any changes in the section.

If you want to add a non-inventoried item to an order:
While your cursor is on the status field, press A to add a line to the order. Type in a made-up item number, or use the item number "SPECIAL". Your cursor goes to the description field. Type in the description of the item, press Enter to get to the amount ordered and shipped. You then must fill in the price. You will then be prompted for the item cost and whether it is taxable.

Check with a manager before doing this. This will not save this entry in the inventory master file. It is only for this one time use.

To insert an item into an order:
While your cursor is on the status field, type I for Insert and enter the line # where you wish to insert your item. This will insert your item before the line # that you choose.

When the system prompts you for the cost of an item:
This happens because when the item was set up in inventory, the cost was not set up. It will also happen when you are entering a non-inventoried item with a price. Typically, this should not happen. You should notify management about this so it can be corrected. However, some companies prefer to have the system prompt you for cost. It is a management decision. In either case, you should find out the cost of the item so it can be entered here.

When the system asks if an item is taxable:
This will happen when adding a non-inventoried item. It will ask is it (T)axable or (N)o. Enter the appropriate response.

Adding "freeform text" after a line item:
At any point on a blank item line, enter to the description field, type in what you want and hit Enter. Do not enter an item number or hit Tab, as the system will think you want to search for an "item". This "freeform text" will print on the order, invoice and/or quote. You can type in as many "freeform text" lines as you wish.

Override credit limit/credit hold:
If your customer has exceeded its credit limit or has been put on credit hold, you will be prompted to type in the override code during order entry. Typically, management should decide whether to proceed with processing of this order. The code should not be made known to everyone. Ask a manager for the method for determining the code or to override it.

Printing Shipping Labels:
The option to print shipping labels is available through the order entry menu. Select Print Shipping labels from the menu. Once in the program, type in the customer number for whom you wish to print a label. You can have the program print more than one label. Make sure you have labels in your printer. You can also add comments to your label from this program.  Top.

View Customer Account Activity
While in order entry, you can look at the customer's account in detail. Press <F8> from the bottom of the order entry screen. See the screen below. First, you will see all open invoices, then you have further choices.