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_______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER "The Retailer" A Multi-center Inventory Control System Copyright (c) RetailWare 1988-1992. All rights reserved. RetailWare 2107 West Britton Road Oklahoma City, OK 73120-1577 Gary A. McNutt, Author Voice (405)749-1763, Fax (405)751-5629 CompuServe 72331,53 This program is copyrighted material for personal use. If you would like to continue to use the program after a (30) day evaluation period, send a check payable to RetailWare for $49 to register your software with the author. "The Retailer" "The Retailer" is dedicated to the memory of my father who was a retailer all his life. I still have a mental image of him, laboring over his order forms and inventory books. Many times, I saw him with his head down on a stack of order forms, cat-napping. He had to counterbalance ordering too little with too much merchandise; and, not spending more than there was in the bank. I think he would have been proud of this retailer. Page - 2 "The Retailer" TABLE OF CONTENTS TOPIC PAGE ASP DOCUMENTS..............................4 HOW TO REGISTER............................6 INTRODUCTION...............................7 DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE....................8 DISCLAIMER-AGREEMENT.......................9 SOFTWARE SUPPORT POLICY...................10 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS.................10 COMMAND SUMMARY...........................11 QUICK START TUTORIAL......................13 GETTING STARTED Entering Your Initial Inventory.....20 Create Manual Purchase Order........21 Duplicating Purchase Orders.........21 PROGRAM FUNCTIONS Add/Change/Delete Inventory Data....23 Purchase Orders.....................30 Sales Transactions..................33 Company Information.................36 FLOWCHARTS................................38 ADVANCED FEATURES Sales History.......................39 Printer Redirection.................41 Segment Vendors ....................42 Price Tags..........................44 REVISION LIST.............................45 PACKING LIST..............................46 INDEX.....................................48 REGISTRATION FORM.........................51 Page - 3 "The Retailer" ASP DOCUMENTS The Association of Shareware Professionals ("ASP") Statement of Purpose of the ASP: The ASP is an association for shareware authors with the general goals of educating shareware authors and distributors and the public, setting standards, sharing resources and information among members. Definition of "Shareware": For the ASP's purposes, "Shareware" is software which meets the following general criteria: - It is a "complete" program, ie: it performs all of the major functions normally expected of a program of its type, unlike a "commercial demo" which normally has a major function disabled. - It is copyrighted (as opposed to uncopyrighted software which is "public domain"). - It may be copied for others to try out, subject to copying restrictions which the author may or may not choose to require, such as the following: - Registration fees may be required from the user as a condition of continued use of the program beyond a trial usage period. Not requiring such a fee or requiring fees only from specific types of users, such as businesses and government, but not individuals, does not disqualify a program from being considered "shareware". - Compliance with specified standards may be required from anyone copying the program for a fee or in conjunction with any business enterprise. Page - 4 "The Retailer" ASP DOCUMENTS RetailWare is proud to be a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a Compuserve message via CompuServe mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536" Page - 5 "The Retailer" HOW TO REGISTER "The Retailer" is a shareware product. You may feel free to make copies of this computer system and pass them on to friends for their evaluation. If you make use of this software and continue to use it, you are expected to pay a registration fee of $49. Mail to: RetailWare 2107 West Britton Road Oklahoma City, OK 73120-1577 Call, E-Mail or Fax Credit Card orders: Voice (405)749-1763, FAX (405)751-5629 CompuServe 72331,53 Call Gary McNutt if you have any questions or wish to place an order. Checks, MasterCard and Visa and are accepted. Purchase Orders are accepted from most companies, schools, and governmental agencies. Your registration fee entitles you to use this software on a single computer and to make as many copies of this software as you wish for backup purposes. Site licenses are also available, call or write for details. Upon receipt of your registration fee you will receive a printed manual, a disk with the latest version of the software and notice of updates to the software. Future versions of this software are available to registered users for $19. Use the last page of this manual or type the following to print a registration form on your printer: COPY INVOICE.DOC PRN Page - 6 "The Retailer" INTRODUCTION "The Retailer" inventory software was developed specifically for the small to medium size retail operation with multiple locations that sell similar products in each store. Most small store owners are not ready to "bite the bullet" to purchase the very expensive high-tech equipment required for point-of-sale terminals, scanners and bar-coding equipment. Today's merchant is challenged with making time consuming manual calculations of sales from physical inventories and recording "guess-timated" orders, posting transactions and transferring figures from microscopic columns on ledger sheets. Countless hours of productive time are wasted performing repetitious, mind numbing calculations on an archaic ten-key calculator while making the same decisions over and over and over again, much like a recurring nightmare. "The Retailer" lets your computer do the tedious number crunching work for you. Purchase orders that previously required many long monotonous hours to produce, now appear in minutes! "The Retailer" is a menu driven program, which can retrieve information by random or sequential access using the item's stock number or a user defined control number. Now, you can view the comparative performance of an item at all locations on your monitor. See at a glance where your stock is located and how fast it is moving. "The Retailer" quickly creates purchase orders for any vendor. While editing, you may add, change or delete items in the purchase order. You'll also be able to keep track of back orders. The process of posting and receiving purchase orders is very fast. You may enter sales data randomly from your individual sales slips using a stock number or control number. Or, the fastest way, for large volume stores, is to enter sales sequentially from a physical inventory in an "order form" or "on the shelf" sequence that you define. You'll find that sales posting is swift with full editing and sales reports. Page - 7 "The Retailer" After sorting, "The Retailer" identifies your best sellers at each location. To keep up with current sales trends, reorder points and stock levels may be changed automatically. These changes are based on comparative sales performance and current stock conditions with a printed "before and after" report. Of course, you may preset your stock levels and override any automatic changes. You will always know what is selling, where is selling and when to buy more. The processes that have been consuming your valuable time have been programmed to let "The Retailer" do the work for you. Finally, you will have the information that you've always needed and the time to use it. DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. Page - 8 "The Retailer" DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of "The Retailer" must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "The Retailer" is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of "The Retailer". "The Retailer" is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using "The Retailer" and continue to use "The Retailer" after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $49 to RetailWare. The $49 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of "The Retailer" must register and pay for their copies of "The Retailer" within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting RetailWare. Anyone distributing "The Retailer" for any kind of remuneration must first contact RetailWare at the address above for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering "The Retailer" immediately (However RetailWare must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of "The Retailer".). Page - 9 "The Retailer" You are encouraged to pass a copy of "The Retailer" along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive software support, a printed manual, and a copy of the latest version of the "The Retailer" system. SOFTWARE SUPPORT POLICY 1. RetailWare's shareware product "The Retailer" provides support (included in the purchase price) for a minimum of three months from the date of registration. If support is by phone, registered users are allow a minimum of at least 30 minutes total connect time during the initial three months. Support may be provided for a fee after this initial period has elapsed. 2. Support during the initial period may be one or more of the following: - mail support - telephone support - electronic mail - fax line 3. The minimum level of support required by this policy involves answering questions and fixing serious bugs during the minimum three month period. For problems involving a specific hardware or software environment or feature, the author may choose not to modify the program. In that case, if the report is within three months after purchase, then the author shall offer to refund the user's purchase price. 4. Any money sent to an author to register an unsupported product shall be promptly returned with an explanation that the product in question is no longer supported. 5. Known incompatibility with other software or hardware and major or unusual program limitations are noted in this documentation. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS EQUIPMENT "The Retailer" has been tested on DOS environment computers. A hard disk with a minimum of 600K of free space is required. A wide carriage,132 column printer, is needed for reports. An 80 column printer will work if you can set in to a compressed mode. A CGA/EGA/VGA monitor is necessary for viewing bar charts of sales history. Other monitors are fine for all other functions. If using a monochrome monitor with a CGA video driver, set the video mode with the dos command: MODE BW80 before running the software. Page - 10 "The Retailer" INSTALLATION [From Floppy Disk] Installation of "The Retailer" is simple: 1. Insert program disk into a floppy drive and close the door. 2. This software is distributed in a packed form. The install program will unpack the programs, create directories and subdirectories on the DRIVE:\DIRECTORY that you specify during installation. Start the installation by typing [DRIVE]:install. Assuming you are using drive A type: A:INSTALL <Enter> The install program will copy the programs onto [drive:\directory] C:\RETAILER . You may select any valid DRIVE:\DIRECTORY during the installation process. 3. Follow the prompts on the screen and replace the program disks when asked. The install program will also ask you if you wish to install a small set of sample data that is included for the tutorial. Do NOT select the sample data if you are upgrading "The Retailer" to a newer version. Your existing inventory data could be lost. Note: The install program writes an initialization file to the DRIVE:\DIRECTORY that is used to locate program files. The software will not work if you later decide to copy the programs to another drive:\directory. Use the original disks and the install program to reinstall to another drive. INSTALLATION [From BBS ZIP file] Make a new directory for the files and unzip the files. Type SETUP [Enter] to initialize the RETAILER.INI file. Read the file BBS.DOC for more information. COMMAND SUMMARY There are only two commands that you type from the DOS prompt. One will print reports on your printer. The other will send your reports to a disk file for printing/viewing at your option. (I) RUNNING "The Retailer" with normal printing. 1. Log onto the drive you installed the program to by typing: C: <Enter> Page - 11 "The Retailer" 2. Make sure that the current directory is C:\RETAILER by typing: CD RETAILER <Enter> (Or, the DRIVE:\DIRECTORY you chose during installation.) 3. The command used to start "The Retailer" is: RETAILER [Directory] <Enter> The [Directory] entry is an optional advanced feature that may be left out. See the section on advanced features. Normally, you will just type: RETAILER <Enter> This will start the Main Menu. Use the arrow keys to highlight a menu selection. Press the <Enter> key to select the function. Press the <ESC>ape key to exit from any level of the menu. (II) RUNNING "The Retailer" with printer redirection. Do steps 1 and 2 above. The command used to start "The Retailer" is: RET [Directory] <Enter> This will soon become your command of choice. See the section on Advanced Features. Use option (I) until you become familiar with the printed reports that are generated by the software. The [Directory] option is the same as above. RET incorporates some advanced features to save you time and paper when reports are being generated. You may choose to view, print, save or delete the reports that are created by the software. See the section on Advanced Features. Other Commands All other commands are executed from the intuitive pull down menus that appear when you run the program. There are detailed descriptions in the pages to follow. Most manuals are boring to read, try the short tutorial session with the sample inventory data provided. Use the rest of this manual for reference. Page - 12 "The Retailer" QUICK START TUTORIAL "THE RETAILER" contains context sensitive on-line help that will give you more specific information than is provided in this tutorial. The help file text is included at the end of the tutorial. The following walk through will guide you through a sample order processing session. A small set of sample data is included for this tutorial. It may be deleted at the end of this tutorial. All output reports are directed to your printer on PRN or LPT1. Ensure that your printer is on-line before starting this tutorial. PROGRAM START-UP Make the RETAILER directory the current directory by typing: C: <Enter> CD RETAILER <Enter> (Or, the DRIVE:\DIRECTORY you selected at installation.) Type: RETAILER <Enter> to start the program The title screen will appear. Press any key. The first time you run the program you will be asked to enter "STORE TITLES". Enter any description desired on each line in the box and press the <ESC>ape key to return to the program. You may change the titles later in the "Maintenance Menu" section. For this example, type in "Store One" on the first line (without the quotes), "Store Two" , etc ... until each line has some title. Press <ESC>ape. Press any key to display the menu selections. Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to move the highlighted line over the menu selections. Use the LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to display the different menus. GENERATE A SUGGESTED PURCHASE ORDER The top row has six menu selections. Press the RIGHT arrow key to move the highlight to the "Purchase" menu. The purchase selections will be displayed with the highlighted line on "CREATE Suggested Purchase Order". Press the <ENTER> key. Another menu will pop up with the titles listed. Use UP/DOWN arrow keys to select a location to process. Highlight the first line "Store One" and press <ENTER>. Page - 13 "The Retailer" Next, you will be asked to enter a purchase order number. Any 1 to 4 digit number will work. For this example, enter the number 1234. Press the <A> key to process an order for all vendors in the master file. Affirm the selection by pressing the <Y> key. After a few seconds the menu will reappear. A Suggested purchase order has been calculated and is now ready for editing. PRINTING A PURCHASE ORDER Make sure that your printer is on-line and ready to print. Move the highlighted line down one line to the "PRINT Purchase Order Edit List" and press <ENTER>. Again, you're asked to select a store to process. The highlighted line will be on the same place you left it. Press <ENTER> TO SELECT "Store One". Reenter the purchase order number 1234, and you'll get a printed copy of the suggested order just created. When this is finished, your order may be edited. Additions, changes and deletions are possible any time prior to POSTING the order. EDITING A PURCHASE ORDER Highlight the "CHANGE/VIEW Suggest P.O." selection and press <ENTER>. Select "Store One" and reenter the P.O. Number 1234. The "PURCHASE ORDER STATUS" screen will appear. Pressing the <F2> key when the screen first appears will display general help information. Press the <F10> key to view the first item in the order. Continue pressing the <F10> key to see the rest of the order. Try changing the order quantity of an item by pressing a number. Notice that the old number is still shown on the right. This is fine as long as there is at least one space between the two numbers. Press the <F10> key and then the <F9> key to verify that the change has been made. DELETE AN ITEM IN A PURCHASE ORDER Move to another item using the <F10> key and delete the item by pressing the <F7> key. Verify the deletion by pressing the <F7> key again. The item is now deleted from the order. ADDITIONS TO A PURCHASE ORDER To add an item to the purchase order manually, press the <F1> or <F4> key. Then enter an existing "CONTROL NUMBER" or STOCK NUMBER for the item you wish to add. Next, enter the quantity you wish to add to this order. Page - 14 "The Retailer" POSTING A PURCHASE ORDER Up until now, the Purchase Order may be adjusted in any way. Highlight the "POST Suggested P.O. On Order" selection and press the <ENTER> key. Select "Store One" and enter 1234 for the purchase order number. You will receive another printout with a [P] in the area that was blank [ ] on the previously printed edit lists. The order is now POSTED to the Master Data File and can't be changed in the same way we did in the example above. THE MASTER DATA FILE Let's see what is in the Master Data File. Move the Menu Selection to the "ADD/CHAN" menu. Highlight the "ADD/CHANGE/VIEW Data File on Screen" selection and press the <ENTER> key. This screen shows each store in your Master Data File by item. Press the <F10> key to display the Data in the file. Help is available with the <F2> key. As you scroll through the Data File, you will notice that the quantity in the "On Order" column will match that of purchase order you just posted. If you have multiple orders for the same item, then the "On Order" column will show the cumulative total of all orders that you have posted. There is sample data in some of the fields that you can use for testing. When you're ready to initialize your own data, you will need to enter the inventory on hand and estimate your initial reorder points and stock levels. Later you'll see how to change stock levels automatically. From this "ADD/CHANGE" screen you could enter any stock transfers between stores manually by adjusting the quantities on hand. New items are added here by pressing the <F1> key and entering a unique "CONTROL NUMBER" which will identify the sorted sequence that the computer will use for the Master Data File. It is helpful to assign control numbers in an order form sequence. You can then use your vendor's order forms to record your physical inventory or print your own forms on your printer. Press the <ESC>ape key to return to the menu. LIST OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS Use the LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to highlight the "PURCHASE" menu and select the "LIST - One Store's Purchase Order" selection. Press <ENTER>. Select "Store One" and press <ENTER>. A list of purchase orders will appear. You should find one purchase order listed in the form P1234#1. You'll recognize the P.O. Number 1234. The #1 is the store number. This list is helpful when you have many orders in process for one location. Press your Screen Print key to obtain a printout of the purchase order numbers for reference later. Press <ESC>ape key to return to the menu. Page - 15 "The Retailer" ANY BACK ORDERS, OVERAGES, SHORTAGES ON PURCHASE ORDERS? Move the highlighted line up to the "CHANGE/VIEW Suggested P.O." selection and press <ENTER>. Select "Store One" again and enter P.O. Number 1234. The "PURCHASE ORDER STATUS" screen will appear again. Press <F10>. This time, the cursor stays in the "ORDER STATUS CODE" field of the screen. For this example, let's assume that we have received an invoice and that this item is on BACK ORDER from the vendor. Press the <B> key to flag this item as back ordered. See the Help functions for further information on the other flags listed. Press the <ESC>ape key to return to the menu. ANY PURCHASE ORDERS RECEIVED? Use the LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to find the "RECEIVE" menu selections. Highlight the "[P]OSTED Items Selection" and press <ENTER>. Select "Store One" and enter 1234 as the purchase order number. All [P] items are posted from "On Order" to "On Hand". Open items in the P.O. will be listed on the printer. The items you placed on back order will be listed on the printer. These may be received later with the RECEIVE [B]ack Order selection. ENTER SALES DATA (From a physical inventory) Since the Master Data File is sorted in a "Control Number" sequence which matches the order forms, inventory data can be entered sequentially directly from a vendor's order form or your own printout. Note: If you use the printout for an inventory counting form, the computer will skip items that have nothing entered in the Master Data File (On-hand through Sales). This allows you to bypass items that you do not stock in all locations. Select "ENTER/EDIT Data" from the "Sales" menu. Select "Store One". You are now in the "SALES TRANSACTION ENTRY" screen. Review the help provided with <F2> key. Press the <F10> key to view the first item in the list. The current quantity on hand will be displayed. Enter a quantity that is less than what is on hand and press <ENTER>. Sales are computed and the next item in the list is displayed. Press the <F9> key to return to the item. Page - 16 "The Retailer" Enter a number larger than what is on hand and press <ENTER>. At this point you are warned that you may have lost your place while entering data or that your inventory has grown. If this happens often, you should verify that you have posted and/or received, the proper open purchase orders. Enter a few item's quantity on hand for this example. Press the <ESC>ape key to return to the Menu. PRINT SALES EDIT LIST Highlight the "PRINT Edit List" function to get a report of what you have entered. Select "Store One" and press <ENTER>. Corrections may be made by returning to the "ENTER/EDIT" selection and adjusting the items in question. POST SALES TRANSACTIONS TO MASTER DATA FILE Nothing is considered sold until you POST the sales to the Master Data File. Changes may be made up to this point. Select "POST Sales Data" from the menu. Choose "Store One" again and a printed sales posting report will follow. The amount you entered on hand will replace the amount in the Master Data File, and your current and year-to-date sales will be adjusted accordingly. GENERATE SUGGESTED PURCHASE ORDER At this point the process of creating an order is the same as the example we did in the beginning with P.O. #1234. It will be helpful to write the Purchase Order Number on all purchase orders that you place. This makes it easier to identify which order you have received when it comes time to receive or make adjustments to an order. In the event you generate a purchase order that you decide not to post, then you may manually delete the two files that are generated. Refer to your DOS manual and be careful! Never delete a purchase order that has been posted. Refer to the "Purchase order Status Code Legend" for details. COMPANY INFORMATION FILE Highlight the "MAINT" menu and select "SET-UP". Review the help screens provided for more information on how to set up your company information. Note: The "Use Status Code in Purchase Orders?" option in the "SET_UP" selection of the "MAINT" menu is initially set to Yes. When this option is set to Yes, you should always use the "SORT Sales Status Code" function in the "E.O.P." menu before generating a suggested purchase order. The sorting process assigns the sort codes A,B,C or Z to the item based upon current total dollar sales. These codes are referenced when creating purchase orders. Page - 17 "The Retailer" ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR DATA BEFORE YOU BEGIN EACH FULL CYCLE. Use the "BACK-UP" command for the "MAINT" menu. If anything goes wrong you can "RESTORE" your data from the point that you last backed up your data. If you are processing several stores at one time, "BACK-UP" your data before you begin each location. Just do it! It takes just a few minutes to backup your data. It takes a lot longer to reverse the effects of incorrectly receiving an order. CHANGING STOCK LEVELS Do this when you have reached the end of a normal sales period and have accumulated and posted current sales data. The MIN/MAX Stock Levels are recalculated to compensate for current sales trends and current stock conditions. The algorithm used is effective for gradually increasing or decreasing product demand. Products that have drastic swings up and down should be monitored carefully. Remember that sales "HISTORY" does not always project the "FUTURE" trends correctly. If you have had a "HOT" summer item, then the future projection could be overestimated if the item slows immediately in the winter. You will have to review the suggestions made by the computer. Manual adjustments to your Master Data File may be necessary to compensate for sudden market changes. You have an option available which will protect the stock levels from automatic changes. See the help screens for more information. Before changing stock levels, always select the "SORT - Sales Status Code" from the "MAINT" menu. Select the individual store you wish to sort and press <ENTER>. The A,B,C or Z codes that are generated are used during calculations to group various statistics by activity levels. *** WARNING **** WARNING **** WARNING **** WARNING *** ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR DATA BEFORE YOU BEGIN the "CHANGE STOCK LEVELS" function. All the Reorder Points and Stock Levels will be changed in the Master Data File for the store that you select. Use the "BACK-UP" command from the "MAINT" menu. If anything goes wrong you can "RESTORE" your data from the point that you last backed up your data. NOTE: Sales history files stored in the "HISTORY" subdirectory are not backed up by this program. See the note in the advance features section of this manual. Highlight the "E.O.P." menu and select the "CHANGE Min/Max Stock Level" function. Select "Store One". Page - 18 "The Retailer" You'll be asked the dates of the beginning of the "Current Sales Period Cycle". This is the date that you last reset your current sales to zero. Lets assume the beginning of the month. Next input the end of the cycle. This should be the date you took the inventory or last entered sales transactions. The number of days will be calculated between the dates that you specify, and you will be asked to confirm that you have entered the correct dates. Next, the new Min/Max Stock Level numbers will be computed, and a "before and after" report will be generated. Your Master Data File will be changing as the report is printing. Don't forget to BACK-UP you data first. Review the printout and make any manual adjustments from the "ADD/CHANGE/VIEW" menu selection. CLEAR CURRENT SALES FIGURES Now is a good time to reset your current sales figures to zero. (Unless you have the Sales History/Graphics Module which is available with the registered version). Select "RESET Current Sales-ONE" from the "E.O.P." menu and select the individual store to reset. This clears the current period's sales figures and marks the beginning of a new cycle. Record the last inventory date for use the next time you "Change Stock Levels". OTHER "MAINT" MENUS REPAIR Use this function if you have had a power failure or other abnormal program termination while using this software. Index files are rebuilt to allow access to the Master Data File. A warning will appear in other parts of the program if the index files have been corrupted. DOS SHELL This creates a DOS SHELL environment. Type "EXIT" and press <ENTER> at the dos prompt to return to "THE RETAILER" menu. This is merely a convenience. Don't use this unless you know your way around DOS. Review all the help screen provided for more detailed information about the programs. AS WITH ALL COMPUTERS, BACKUPS OF ALL IMPORTANT DATA FILES SHOULD BE MADE PERIODICALLY. Page - 19 "The Retailer" GETTING STARTED ENTERING YOUR INITIAL INVENTORY 1. Get a list Start with a vendor's order form or an inventory form that you are currently using. If your stock has a preset shelf arrangement list, then this form would be best to use since inventory forms may be printed in an on-the-shelf sequence. Get a count of how much inventory you have on hand for each item on your list. 2. Assign Control Numbers Write a sequence of assending control numbers, from 0 to 99999, next to each item on your list. Start each new vendor with a different digit: 1000, 2000, 3000 etc. This will help keep stock for each vendor grouped together on printouts. It is also wise to leave some room between control numbers: 1005, 1010, 1015 etc. Doing this will allow you to later insert new items between existing control numbers. The manner in which you select control numbers will shape the way your reports look. 3. Enter the Data Go to the ADD/CHANGE Menu selection. Enter the control number that you have assigned. Verify that you are wanting to <A>dd a new item to the list by pressing the <A> key. Proceed to enter the remaining descriptive information for the item from your list. Review the help screen for F3 Ditto Key. 4. Enter Starting Inventory Enter the initial quantity on hand, you may come back later and add initial quantity for other stores. Other than stock transfers and adjustments, this will be the only time that you will have to enter the on hand quantity in this manner. Other program functions will update your quantity on hand from sales transactions and purchase order processing. 5. Set a MIN/MAX Stock Level Enter an initial value for the MIN/MAX stock levels. Enter a quantity that is less than the MAX stock level in the MIN column (Reorder Point). Enter the MAX stock level that you want to keep for this item. If you are not sure what to use then enter the standard case quantity that you buy: 1, 6, 12, 24 etc. Review the manual for more information on MIN/MAX. Page - 20 "The Retailer" 6. Review Look over the data that you have entered for errors. Enter quantities for any other stores that carry this item and press the F1 key to complete the transaction. NOTE: There must be some non-zero quantity entered either in the On hand, Min, Max or YTD sales fields before the item will appear on a store's printout. This prevents printing out blank lines for stores that do not carry the same products. If you wish to print an inventory form for a store that you have just entered, then you must have some quantity in at least one of the fields previously listed. CREATE MANUAL PURCHASE ORDER Create a manual purchase order when you have placed orders for new items that you do not yet have in your inventory. First, enter the initial inventory data. Leave the On Hand quantity zero, but enter a set of MIN/MAX numbers. Note: If your MAX stock level equals the quantity of stock that you have ordered, then you may use the fuction "Create suggested purchase order" and bypass entering the purchase order manually. MAX stock level should be a multiple of your Case Qty; otherwise, you will have to edit the quantity ordered. Next, select Create Manual Purchase Order function from the purchase menu. Select the store and then a P.O. number to use. Verify that you wish to create a manual purchase order with the <Y> key. For each item ordered, enter the control number that you assigned and then the quantity that is on order. (You could use the item's stock number <F4> to locate the item instead of the control number.) Press the F1 key to add the item to the purchase order. Repeat until all items are added. You may either scroll through your newly created purchase order using the function keys; or, choose a print option to review your purchase order. Make any corrections now before posting the order. Proceed with posting the purchase order unless you have identical orders placed for other locations. DUPLICATING PURCHASE ORDERS You should be familiar with DOS commands before using this feature. It is possible to make duplicate purchase orders from any UNPOSTED purchase order. Do not attempt to make duplicates of a POSTED purchase order. This will cause many problems. Unposted purchase orders have had no effect on your MDF. Posted purchase orders have made changed your MDF. Page - 21 "The Retailer" Assuming that you have just created a manual purchase order number 0521 for store number 1, it is possible to use the DOS COPY command to make duplicates of this order for other locations without having to manually create a new purchase order for each additional location. Select the DOS SHELL command from the menu. You will be placed at the DOS mode in the currently active inventory subdirectory. Using the P.O. example above substitute your purchase order number and store number into the following example. Type: DIR P0521#1.* <Enter> Two files will appear: P0521#1.DAT and P0521#1.NDX What we will do is duplicate these two files using the DOS copy command as follows. Type: COPY P0521#1.* P0521#2.* <Enter> (from) ---> (to) This copies both files associated with store #1's purchase order and creates a duplicate order for store number 2. Repeat command for additional locations changing (to) store number. Verify your results. Type: DIR P0521*.* You will see a directory listing of all purchase orders numbered 0521. You should find two files for each store that you copy. Type: EXIT <Enter> to return to the menu. You may edit copied purchase orders; add, change or delete items before proceeding with posting the order. Post each new order and you are finished. PROGRAM FUNCTIONS - MORE DETAILED INFORMATION This is a reference section. The Following Pages show the various data entry screens with the associated help files that will appear when the help key is pressed. Page - 22 "The Retailer" ADD/CHANGE DATA SCREEN <<The Retailer>> ControlNumber_____ Item Description________________________ Stock Number _________Case Quantity ___Date __/__/__Update_ Cost $____.__Retail $____.__Vendor __________Order Code ___ Stock|Reord| Stock|Quanty|LastOrdr|Orders|Period|Y-T-D|Sort OnHand|Point| Level|OnOrdr| Date |Placed|Sales | Sold|Code ______ _____ ______ ______ __/__/__ ______ ______ ______ _ ______ _____ ______ ______ __/__/__ ______ ______ ______ _ ______ _____ ______ ______ __/__/__ ______ ______ ______ _ ______ _____ ______ ______ __/__/__ ______ ______ ______ _ ______ _____ ______ ______ __/__/__ ______ ______ ______ _ F1=GO,F2=HELP,F3=DITTO,F4=FIND STK# F5=PREV STK# F6=NEXTSTK# F7=DELETE/CHA F8=TOGGLE F9=PREV RCD F10=NEXT RCD ESC=EXIT ADD or CHANGE Inventory Selections: F1 = GO Pressing the F1 key rewrites the displayed record to the file if any changes have been made and clears the data fields on the screen. F2 = HELP Pressing the F2 key displays a Help Screen. The Help data will refer to the field that the cursor is in at the time you ask for help. Press the PG UP (Page Up) or PG DN (Page Down) key to scan forward or backwards for more information. The help screen is removed if you attempt to scan past the last page or backwards from page one. Press the ESC key at any time to exit the Help Screen. F3 = DITTO When this key is pressed, any data that was displayed in the previously displayed record will be duplicated in the new record. This saves time when you are adding a lot of new records that have the same vendor name, or price etc. NOTE: When using the ditto key in the COST or RETAIL fields you must press the period <.> key before the DITTO or the HELP key will operate. Page - 23 "The Retailer" F4 = FIND STK# This moves the blinking cursor to the stock number field and waits for you to enter an existing stock number. If the stock number exists in your file then the data will be displayed. F5 = PREV STK# Pressing F5 will display the data for the previous stock number that is lower in sorted order than the stock number currently being displayed. F6 = NEXT STK# Pressing F6 will display the data for the next stock number that is higher in sorted order than the stock number currently being displayed. F7 = <D>elete Record or <C>hange "Control Number" Pressing this function key will give you two choices:Press the <D> key to permanently erase the data that is currently being displayed or press the <C> key to change the "Control Number". When you change the "Control Number", the old "Control Number" is deleted then the data is re-sequenced using the new number you entered. Duplicate control numbers are not allowed. F8 = TOGGLE This is convenient if you make many manual adjustments, like stock transfers between stores. Pressing this key after a record has been displayed clears the screen and allows no entry into the data description fields. Pressing the F8 key again reverses the process. Start the cursor at the bottom of a column, enter a number, then use the up arrow. This will prevent the cursor from moving to the right after changing an entry. F9 = PREV RCD Pressing this key displays the data for the previous "Control Number" that is lower in value than the "Control Number" that is currently being displayed. If this key is pressed when you first enter the "ADD or CHANGE Inventory" program, then data for the last (largest) "Control Number" will appear. F10 = NEXT RCD Pressing this key displays the data for the next sequential "Control Number" that is higher in value than the "Control Number" that is currently being displayed. If this key is pressed when you first enter the "ADD or CHANGE Inventory" program, then data for the first (smallest) "Control Number" in the file will be displayed. Page - 24 "The Retailer" ESC This key will return to the main menu. MOVING THE CURSOR Use the UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, TAB or ENTER keys to navigate the cursor around the screen. The ENTER key moves to the next field on the screen. The cursor will not stop in a protected field. Within a field the left and right arrow keys move the cursor from character to character. Press the <INSERT> key to insert letters in the middle of a field. Press the <INSERT> key again to return to normal replacement mode. Press the <DELETE> key or the <BACKSPACE> key to delete characters. CHANGING DATA IN THE NUMERIC FIELDS An empty field will be displayed with underlines to define the length of the field. ______ A field with the value of 24 will be displayed like this: ____24. Suppose that you want to change the 24 to 36. The field will look like this after you make the change 36__24. The new number stays on the left and the old number stays of the right. This allows you to edit all changes before your data is written to the disk. NOTE: Two numbers on the same line must have a space between them or you will get one large number instead of what you want. The largest number allowed for numeric fields is 32767. Larger numbers will produce negative results. DATA FIELD DESCRIPTIONS: Master Data File (MDF) CONTROL NUMBER When you are adding "new" records you must first enter a unique "Control Number" for the data you are about to enter. This gives you a user defined sorted sequence for the data. This is convenient for printed output in on-the-shelf sequence or for listings in a vendor's order form sequence. Sales transactions and purchase orders may be retrieved from the computer files in this "Control Number" sequence. Random access is allowed. A little forethought is necessary when assigning control numbers. The "Control Number" can range from 0 to 99999. Leading zero's are automatically added to your "Control Number" to avoid confusion. But, they are not necessary for you to enter when entering data. It will help to leave room between control numbers. You may want to insert future new items in between existing control numbers. Page - 25 "The Retailer" ITEM DESCRIPTION This field can be made up of any alphanumeric character to identify the product. STOCK NUMBER This is usually the vendor's stock number for the item. Any alphanumeric character can be accepted. Some reports may be printed using this field in a sorted sequence. Random or sequential access of data using this stock number is supported in the Purchase Order, Sales Transactions and the ADD/CHANGE menus. Note: Upper and Lower case letters are case-sensitive. For example, stock number AAA-24 cannot be found if you enter aaa-24. Spaces are also treated as unique characters. For example, stock number 234_ABC is different than 234__ABC. The extra space between the 4 and A is treated like another character. CASE QNTY This is the manufacturer's minimum case quantity for the item. This quantity is used to determine the multiple case quantity when preparing purchase orders. DATE This is the first date that the item is entered into the computer system. It reflects how long you have been accumulating your year-to-date sales figures. This date is reset when you clear your year-to-date sales figures. UPDATE A blank field or "Y" allows the computer to change the min/max stock levels when you run the "CHANGE Min/Max level" from the "END OF PERIOD PROCESSING" menu. Enter "N" in this field to bypass the automatic changing of the minimum/maximum stock levels. This would prevent the software from changing any predetermined stock level that you have set manually. NOTE: The "CHANGE Min/Max Level" will bypass items which have no STOCK LEVEL set. This means that if an item's STOCK LEVEL is a blank field ______ or _____0, it will not be changed by the software. COST and RETAIL You must enter a decimal point to show dollars and cents. Say you wanted to key in twenty five dollars. If you enter 25 you will get .25 in the data. The correct entry is 25.00 or just 25. will do. These fields have extra protection. You must use the space bar to clear the dollar portion of the field when changing prices. Page - 26 "The Retailer" VENDOR This field may be used to describe different departments for a single vendor or different vendor names. You may use this field to select different vendors or categories when preparing purchase orders. See the Purchase Order section. ORDER CODE Entries in this field will allow you to change the standard default Purchase Order ordering logic for the data item being displayed. This code may be any of the following: STD, MAX, OUT, DIS or ___ [default]. STD = Standard The purchase order logic is: Order the quantity (Stock level - Available Stock) when the Available Stock is less than or equal to the Reorder Point. MAX = Maximum order Use this for items that you want fully stocked without regard to the reorder point. The order logic is: Order the quantity (Stock level - Available Stock) when the Available Stock is less than the Stock Level. OUT = Out of Stock Use this code when you want to order the item only if it is completely sold out. The order logic is: Order the quantity (Stock Level) when the Available Stock equals zero. DIS = Discontinued Item This code will not allow this item to be ordered. (blank field) = Default mode Note: There is an Option that affects this default mode. It is used to allow the "STATUS CODE" to automatically affect the purchase order logic. See "Use Status Code?" in the "Change Company Information" program from the "MAINTENANCE Menu". If the "Use Status Code?" option is not used, the default mode order logic is the same as the "STD" mode. If the "Use Status Code is used, an item with a Status Code of "A" uses the "MAX" order logic. Status Codes"B","C" and "_" use the "STD" order logic. Status code "Z" uses the "OUT" order logic.This allows the use of different order logic for the same item in different locations depending on the sales activity. Any non blank "Order Code" used will override the "Use Status code?" option causing all locations to have the same order logic regardless of their status code. Page - 27 "The Retailer" Note: (Available stock is defined as Stock on Hand + All Stock On Order). Stock OnHand This is the current quantity on hand. ReOrdr Point This is the "Reorder Point" or "trigger". This "trigger" is referenced when you create a suggested purchase order. Normally, the item is ordered when your stock "On Hand" plus any stock posted "On Order" is equal to or less than this "trigger". Stock Level This is the "Maximum" stock level that will be permitted when Purchase Orders are generated. Some large case quantities may cause you actual quantity on hand to become larger than this level. Quanty OnOrdr The Quantity "On Order" is the sum of all outstanding orders that have been posted but not yet received. This is a protected field and can only be altered through the "Purchase Order Menu." LastOrdr Date The Last Order Date is the system date when the order was posted. The date is copied from the date you entered when you turned on your computer. It will be useful to code your purchase order numbers with a date code. For example, use purchase order number 1218 for December 18th. It will be easy to cross reference purchase order with the date. Note: If the item is ordered in more than one purchase order, the most recently posted date will be shown. This field is also protected. If no orders have ever been posted, this date will match the "Date" field listed above. Orders Placed The Orders Placed field is for your information and is not used in any computations. It merely gives you a total of how many times you have posted an order this particular item. Page - 28 "The Retailer" Period Sales The period sales shows the number of units sold for the current cycle. A current cycle may be a month, week or quarter depending upon how often you reset the sales to zero. Reset the current period sales from the "END OF PERIOD" menu when you are ready to start a new period. Y-T-D Sold The year-to-date sold field is the cumulative unit sales for whatever period you designate. Status Code The "Status Code" represents a letter code ranking of the current sales dollars that the item produced. The letter code A, B, C, or Z is placed in the Status Code when you run the "Sort Sales Data" program from the "END OF PERIOD Menu". The initial setting of the sorting "break points" for each letter code are: "A" = Highest 80% of total sales, (Best Selling Items) "B" = Sales from 80 to 95% of total (Average Sales) "C" = Sales from 95 to 100% of total (Poor Sales) "Z" = Zero sales for this period. (No Sales) The sorting "break points" for each letter code may be changed from the "MAINTENANCE Menu" when you run "Change Company Information". Page - 29 "The Retailer" PURCHASE ORDER - ADD/CHANGE/VIEW DATA SCREEN << THE RETAILER >> PURCHASE ORDER STATUS Control Number _____ Purchase Order Number ________ Item Description _____________________________ Vendor's Stock Number ___________ Cost $____.__ Retail $____.__ Order Status Code [_] Order Quantity ______ Legend: Order Status Codes [ ] = Suggested Order [P] = POSTED on Order [B] = BACK Ordered [?] = Missing Back Order [D] = Deleted Item [X] = Record Not Found F1=GO, F2=HELP, F3=DITTO, F4=SEARCH BY STOCK NUMBER F7=DELETE RCD, F9=PREV RCD, F10=NEXT RCD, ESC=EXIT Press F10 to view the first item in your Purchase Order or use a function key listed below. ADDING A NEW ITEM TO THE PURCHASE ORDER See instructions for F1 or F4 function keys below. NOTE: When new items are added, the Order Status Code will be blank [_], indicating a SUGGESTED PURCHASE ORDER. Remember to POST new additions to a Purchase Order to the Master Data File. POSTING a Purchase Order that has had new items added to previously posted items will not affect the data that has already been posted. F1 = GO This function saves any changes you make, clears the screen, and moves the cursor to the "Control Number" field. One of two things will happen when you enter a "Control Number". If there is an item in the suggested purchase order that matches the "Control Number" you entered, then the data will be displayed for editing. Or, if data for the "Control Number" is not in your Purchase Order file, then you will have the opportunity to manually add a new item to the Purchase Order. Page - 30 "The Retailer" F2 = HELP Pressing the F2 key displays a "Help Screen". The help data will refer to the field that the cursor is in at the time you ask for help. Press the PG UP (Page Up) or PG DN (Page Down) key to scan forward or backwards for more information. The help screen is removed if you attempt to scan past the last page or backwards from page one. Press the ESC key at any time to exit the Help Screen. F3 = DITTO When this key is pressed, any data that was displayed in the previously displayed record will be duplicated in the new record. F4 = SEARCH BY STOCK NUMBER This moves the blinking cursor to the stock number field and waits for you to enter an existing stock number. One of two things will happen when you enter a Stock Number. If there is an item in the Purchase Order that matches the Stock Number you entered, then the data will be displayed for editing. Or, if data for the Stock Number is not in your Purchase Order file, then you will have the opportunity to manually add a new item to the Purchase Order. F7 = DELETE RCD This function only deletes the item displayed from a "Suggested Purchase Order". See the "D" Order Status Code to delete an item from a purchase order that has been posted. F9 = PREV RCD Pressing this key displays the data for the previous "Control Number" that is lower in value than the "Control Number" that is currently being displayed. If this key is pressed when you first view the Purchase Order screen, then data for the last "Control Number" in the Purchase Order will will appear. F10 = NEXT RCD Pressing this key displays the data for the next sequential "Control Number" that is higher in value than the "Control Number" that is currently being displayed. If this key is pressed when you first view the Purchase Order screen, then data for the first "Control Number" in the Purchase Order will be displayed. ESC This key will return to the main menu. CONTROL NUMBER This is the same number that is used in the Master Data File. Page - 31 "The Retailer" PURCHASE ORDER STATUS CODE The Purchase Order Status Code shows the stock availability condition for each item that is in the Purchase Order file. Using this code allows you to flag items as either posted on order, back ordered, missing or deleted from your purchase order. Then, when you RECEIVE your purchase order, you will be able to exclusively receive stock from "On Order" to "On Hand" based upon the item's "Order Status Code". PURCHASE ORDER STATUS CODE LEGEND [_] A blank space means that this is a suggested order only. The item has not been POSTED to the Master Data File. [P] This item has been POSTED. The "On Order" field in the Master Data File will include the quantity "On Order" for this item. [B] mark a [P]osted item as back ordered with the "B" key. [?] mark missing items, shortages or late back orders with the "?" key. This gives two levels for flagging back ordered items. [D] once an item has been posted "On Order", it can only be removed from the Master Data File with this Delete Item Status Code. Actual deletion takes place in the RECEIVE Purchase Orders menu. [X] The item can not be found by its "Control Number". If you changed the "Control Number" while the item was on order then use the [X]Receive by stock number function in the RECEIVE menu. The [X] could also mean that you deleted the item in the master file after posting an order. If this occurs and these are the only items left in the purchase order, then you may manually delete the associated "DAT" and "NDX" files to remove the rest of the purchase order. DELETE ENTIRE PURCHASE ORDER Do not manually delete any files unless the P.O. is empty, unposted (a suggested order) or only contains [X] items that have been deleted. There are two files created with each purchase order: P????#??.DAT and P????#??.NDX. The first four ???? digits are your PO number. The last two ?? digits represent the store number. Page - 32 "The Retailer" From the Maint Menu, select DOS SHELL command. This will leave you in your current data directory. To delete P.O. #1234 from store #5, type: DEL p1234#5.* <enter> . The two files are now removed. Be very careful when entering this command. It would be wise to make a backup copy of your data first. Type EXIT <enter> to return to the menu. ORDER QUANTITY This field shows the amount of stock that is to be ordered. On computer-generated orders, this quantity will be in multiples of the case quantity that you entered in the Master Data File. On multiple case orders, partial case quantities are rounded up if over one-half a case is needed. You may accept this Order Quantity as is, change it, or delete the whole item from the Purchase Order. Use the F7 key to delete. THE SALES DATA ENTRY SCREEN Sales Transaction Entry [F1] Control Number _____ Store # __ Item Description _____________________________ [F4] Vendor's Stock Number ___________ Previous Supply on Hand ______ - [F8] Current Quantity On Hand ______ = Current Period Units Sold ______ [F8] Individual Sales Transaction _____ F1=GO, F2=HELP, F4=USE STOCK#, F5=NEXT STOCK#,F6=PREV STOCK# F7=MATCH INV FORM,F8=TOGGLE,F9=PREV RECORD,F10=NEXT RECORD, ESC=EXIT Page - 33 "The Retailer" SALES TRANSACTION ENTRY F1 = GO Writes the displayed data to the work file. The cursor is moved into the "Control Number" field. Enter another "Control Number" or use a function key to retrieve data for the next transaction. F2 = HELP Displays a help screen for the field where the cursor is currently located. Use the F4 key to retrieve data from the work file using the item's Stock Number. The F5 and F6 keys allow you to browse through the file in Stock Number sequence. Press F8 to toggle the cursor from the "On Hand" field to the Units Sold field on the screen. Use this key first if you wish to begin entering Sales Transactions from individual sales tickets. Press F8 again to reverse. F7 Skips over items that do not appear on the Inventory Counting form printout. Use this when entering sales from a printout in Control # seq.(see note below on the Inventory Counting Forms) The F9 and F10 keys allow you to browse back and forth through the work file in "Control Number" sequence. The ESC key ends the Sales Transaction Entry mode and returns to the previous menu. ENTERING SALES DATA There are two ways in which sales transactions may be entered: A. ENTERING SALES FROM A PHYSICAL INVENTORY in "Control Number" sequence. When the Sales Transaction Screen is first displayed, press F10 to retrieve the first "Control Number" or enter any "Control Number". Units sold are calculated by entering the current quantity On Hand from a physical inventory list that is printed in your "Control Number" sequence. This amount is subtracted from the Previous Supply On Hand giving the units sold. The next data item in "Control Number" sequence will be displayed after you press the <ENTER> key. If the physical inventory method is used, it is CRITICAL that the proper timing sequence of RECEIVING orders has been followed or your sales figures could become distorted. If you have more stock on hand now than your "Previous On Hand" quantity shows, then either you have stock "On Order" that should have been RECEIVED beforehand or there have been errors made during a physical count. Page - 34 "The Retailer" Should inventory counting errors show that you have more On Hand now than the "Previous On Hand", the current period units sold will be listed with a negative value. Then, when sales are posted to the master data file the negative amount will be subtracted from the current and Y-T-D units sold fields, reversing any previous sales data posted erroneously. Negative unit sales will not appear. NOTE: Blank fields ______ are not posted as a zero. Blank fields are skipped. You must key in a zero to show no inventory on hand _____0. NOTE: Inventory Counting Forms--The Retailer will generate a printout that may be used for taking a physical inventory of your stock. If an item for the store printed has no data in the numeric fields: On Hand thru YTD Sales, then the item will not print on the counting form. This avoids printing out data for stock that you might not carry in all locations. Print the report in Control Number sequence to take an inventory. Print the report in Stock Number sequence for receiving and pricing. B. ENTERING SALES FROM SALES RECEIPTS OR SALES JOURNALS First, press F8 to move the cursor to the units sold field. You may retrieve data using either the item's "Control Number" or Stock Number. ACCESSING DATA BY CONTROL NUMBER Press F10 to retrieve the first "Control Number". Enter the actual units sold and press enter. Then, the data for the next sequential "Control Number" will be displayed. Press F1 to retrieve data for a new "Control Number" at random. ACCESSING DATA USING THE ITEMS STOCK NUMBER Press F4 to switch to the Stock Number Field. Enter the Stock Number and press <ENTER>. Next, enter units sold then press <ENTER>. The cursor will return to the stock number field and wait for you to enter the next stock number. It is possible to switch back and forth between Stock and control numbers using the F1 and F4 keys. Entering sales amounts that are larger than what is actually "On Hand" is allowed. However, the master file will post the sales and reset the "On Hand" to zero. Negative amounts "On Hand" will not be posted. After you have completed your sales transactions, a work file is created which must be posted to the Master Data File. Corrections to the work file may be made prior to posting the sales. Page - 35 "The Retailer" THE COMPANY INFORMATION SCREEN < RETAILER - COMPANY INFORMATION > For HELP, move cursor to item in question and press <F2> key Press <ESC>ape key to exit Min Stock Level equals a ___ Day supply of stock Maximum Stock Level equals a ___ Day supply of stock Use Status Code in Purchase Orders? <Y>es or <N>o [_] Status Code Sorting Criteria:A=__% B=__% C=__% (Z=no sales) Smoothing Constant is set at: __ Lowest Allowable Stock Levels:(A percentage X Case Quantity) For Status Code: A __% Code B__% Code C__% Code Z__% COMPANY INFORMATION SCREEN This screen contains changeable values that are used by the software. These initial values may be adjusted to meet your particular needs. Move the cursor to a field that you want changed. Make your adjustments then press the <ESC> key to exit the program. An error message will be displayed if you made any changes that are incompatible with the software. The message will tell you what needs correcting. Any changes you make will remain effective until you manually adjust them. Minimum Stock Level (Reorder Point) equals a 40_ Day supply of Stock: This "number of days" is how long you expect the quantity of stock in the "Reorder Point" to take to sell. This number is used by the program that changes the "Min/Max Stock Levels". Maximum Stock Level equals a 70_ Day supply of stock: This number of days is how long you expect the quantity of stock in the "Maximum Stock Level" to take to sell. This is also used by the program that changes the "Min/Max Stock Levels". Use Status Code in Purchase Orders <Y>es or <N>o [N]: This option is used when preparing purchase orders prior to a peak selling season. It will bring all your best selling "A" items up to their Maximum Stock levels regardless of their "Reorder Points". See the "Order Code" information in the "Add/Change Inventory" program for more information. Page - 36 "The Retailer" Status Code Sorting Criteria The "Status Code" represents a letter-code ranking of the current sales dollars that the item produced. The letter code A, B, C, or Z is placed in the Status Code when you run the "Sort Sales Data" program. The initial setting of the sorting Break Points for each letter code are: "A" = Sales that are 80% of the total(Best Sellers) "B" = Sales from 80 to 95% of total (Average Sales) "C" = Sales from 95 to 100% of total (Poor Sales) "Z" = Zero sales for this period. (No Sales) Generally, 20% of the items you stock make up 80% of your total sales. These items are the "Bread and Butter" of your business. If your ratios are different, then change these sorting levels to meet your needs. NOTE: The break point for "A" must be less that "B"'s and the break point for "B" must be less than "C"'s. Smoothing Constant This is used by the program that changes the "Min/Max Stock Levels". This number affects the limits that are imposed in the formula on items that would have the most abrupt stock level changes. The lower this number becomes, the more cautiously the stock levels change. As this constant approaches 100, fewer restrictions are placed on the boundaries. LOWEST ALLOWABLE STOCK LEVELS This is used by the program that changes the "Min/Max Stock Levels". Defining the lowest allowable stock levels on low or no-sale items can be done manually or by letting the program set default values for your stock levels. To set your stock levels manually and restrain the program from changing your settings, enter a "N" in the Update field in the "Add/Change Inventory" program screen. Items that do not have enough sales activity to generate a valid predictable stock level will default to: Max Stock Level = One Case Quantity Min Reorder Point = Percentage of Case Quantity The Status Code assigned to the item being evaluated determines what the percentage of the Case Quantity will be. Sample settings are: "A" = 33%, "B" = 17%, "C" = 0%, "Z" = 0% For example, for an "A" item the percentage is 33. If the item has a case quantity of 6, the default stock levels would be: 2 / 6 (Min Reorder Point/Max Stock Level). Page - 37 "The Retailer" This concludes the data found in the help files. While "The RETAILER" is easy to use, it does take a little time to remember the sequence of events that you must follow. It is easy, at first, to loose you place and forget to receive or post an order. The following is provided for your reference when processing your inventory. * FLOW CHARTS *(Included with printed manual when you register this software) The next three pages contain flow charts that you may follow which should assist you in following the sequence of events that take place during a typical order processing session. Note: Page 3 of the flow charts is used only when you wish to have the computer adjust you min/max stock levels. ADVANCED FEATURES SECTION SALES HISTORY Track monthly sales history by item and location. View video graphics of your sales figures as well as statistics, trend analysis by item and a printed sales history report. PRINTER REDIRECTION Print reports to disk or screen. This alone will save a ton of paper and time. Well worth the cost of registering. SEGMENT VENDORS Maintain separate databases for large volume vendors. This is helpful when you buy many items from the same vendor. PRICE TAGS A utility that will print price tags from your purchase orders on a standard size label. Makes pricing and counting inventory a breeze. Page - 38 "The Retailer" INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ADVANCED FEATURES SALES HISTORY Sales history files are used to let you get a general feeling for the activity level of the inventory products that you are monitoring. These history files are not used in any inventory stock level recalculation. They are designed to give you some insight as to what the historical trend is for the items you are tracking. You might want to make some manual adjustments to you stock levels if you see a trend that seems to be cyclical. All sales history functions are run from the RETAILER menu. They are found in the E.O.P. (End of Period) menu selections. You may choose either an individual location or all locations combined. The ALL option adds the sales for all locations together and gives you the overall performance for each item. 1. EXTRACT sales figures. When you have finished a month's sales transactions, you should EXTRACT these sales figures for each location to the sales history file. When you have finished a month's sales transactions for all the locations, then you should EXTRACT sales from ALL locations. This will create a separate file with all store's sales combined. Unit sales figures are copied from the Current Sales field from your MDF (Master Data File), to the proper month/year in the History file. When you select "EXTRACT sales ONE", you will select the store location to process. Then, you will have the option to either ADD or REPLACE the sales in the History file. ADD will accumulate the current sales to the month/year that you select for the history file. You would use the ADD option if you wanted to clear your current sales daily or weekly and still wanted the monthly summary in the history file. CAUTION: Do not clear your current sales figures before you transfer the units sold to the history file. Once you clear the current sales figures you will not be able to extract any unit sales for that month. REPLACE will make an exact copy of the Current unit sales to the month/year selected in the History file. Note: The first time you EXTRACT sales figures, you will be asked to input the BASE YEAR for this set of history files i.e... 1991. This sets the starting year for your reports. Page - 39 "The Retailer" 2. GRAPH sales figures Selecting the GRAPH option (One Store or ALL) will give you a Bar Chart on your Color Monitor (Must have either EGA/VGA monitor). It will take several months of sales data for the chart to become meaningful. Specific trends can be observed from the sales activities that will help you anticipate sales of new items that have no history. Yearly comparisons will show which items are performing better/worse than the same month last year. The History file will keep five year's of sales history. Years that have no activity will not appear on the chart or printout. The legend in the far right side of the screen gives you the available commands for the Graphics. UP Arrow: Use either the Up Arrow or the Page Up key to view the previous item. Down Arrow: Use either the Down Arrow or the Page Down key to see the next item in the file. Left Arrow: Use the Enter key or any key not in the legend to see the item's sales statistics; then press the Enter Key again to view the ScatterPlot of the sales with a trend line plotted. Again it will take several months of sales for this line to show a meaningful trend. F: Press the F key to Find an item in the list. You will enter the control number of the item you are looking for, and the program will skip to that item if it exists. Press the <ESC>ape key to exit the graph display and return to the Menu. 3. PRINT Sales History Selecting the Print option will print the unit sales history for each item by month/year on the printer. This output may be Redirected to a disk file using the RET option described later in this text. NOTE: Items in the history files are created/updated/deleted based upon what is found in your Master Data File at the time you EXTRACTed the sales. If you alter the Control number sequence in the Master Data File, then the History files will be updated to match the same sequence. If you change an item's Control number in the MDF, then the history file will reflect the changes made. Page - 40 "The Retailer" If you change an item's Stock Number in the MDF, then the history file will create a new item for that new stock number, and the history for the old stock number will be lost. Deleted items in the MDF will be removed from the history file the next time you EXTRACT sales. You must have ample disk space to store your history files. Once created, they will not grow larger until you add new items to the MDF. WARNING: Due to the size of the history files, they are not backed up in the Back-Up menu selection. You must use some other means of making backup copies for restoration if something goes wrong. See your DOS manual command "BACKUP". PRINTER REDIRECTION Printer Redirection means that output which was intended to go to the printer is rerouted to another device. In this case the printer output is routed to disk files named REPORT#0 and REPORT#a through REPORT#z. From the DOS command line type: RET (Short for RETailer) instead of the normal RETAILER command. RET will do the rerouting and then execute the RETAILER command. Redirection stays in effect for all printing until you exit the program. The normal menu will appear. All functions will appear normal except when you request a print option from the menu you will hear the report being written to the hard drive instead of to the printer. All print requests will be appended to the same report file until you exit the Main Menu with the ESCape key. Report files will contain a "Stack" of output forms. You will then be presented with a new menu that will give you the following options: View Report, Print Report, Erase Report , Save Report Select "VIEW Report" to view the report on your video monitor. The report will appear just as it would on paper. Press the right arrow to see the right side of the page. Return to the left side of the report with the left arrow. Press the F1 key to see the allowable keys that you may use to scroll through the file. Escape will end the viewing and return you to the menu above. Select "PRINT Report" to print the report at the end of your session. This is handy if you want to print a lot of counting forms for different stores and don't want to wait around to push the keys for each one. You may press the <ESC>ape key to terminate the printing. Page - 41 "The Retailer" Select "ERASE Report" to remove the print report from the disk. Select "Save Report" to keep the report intact for future reference. Or, pressing the ESCape key will exit the program. The report file will remain on the disk if you do not select ERASE Report before you exit the program. You might want to use your favorite file browsing program to view the reports. Reports that are left on the disk may only be accessed from DOS with standard commands like:TYPE, PRINT, DELETE etc. Refer to your DOS manual if your not familiar with these commands. If you leave reports on the disk, each time your use the RET command a new report file will be added to the disk with a different id letter on the end. RET will make up to 27 unique report names. These reports will consume disk space rapidly. Again, make sure that you have plenty of space on you drive before redirecting long reports. SEGMENT VENDORS This version of "The Retailer" allows you to create separate databases for different vendors, categories of products or any other criteria you may need. How this works is as follows: When you type: RETAILER, the MDF is created in the default subdirectory called INVNTORY. All sales, purchase orders and other files are stored in this directory. If you were to type: RETAILER ALLIED (or any valid directory name) then the default directory is not used and a new directory named ALLIED is created. All transactions will now be made in this directory. All inventory data that exists in the INVNTORY directory will be hidden from the inventory data in the ALLIED directory. You may use as many different subdirectories as your machine will allow. This will allow you to track as many different inventory items as your hard drive can hold. Each directory you create will have its own history file subdirectory (if used); and, backup/restore subdirectory (if you selected the same drive letter when you backup you inventory data). Page - 42 "The Retailer" A Sample directory tree could look like this: C:\RETAILER\---+---INVNTORY\-+-HISTORY\ | | | +-INVECOPY\ | | | +-----ALLIED\-+-HISTORY\ : | : +-INVECOPY\ : Printer Redirection is used the same way as the RETAILER command. Type: RET ALLIED to redirect printer output from the ALLIED directory. NOTE: "The Retailer's" BACKUP/RESTORE commands backup/restore to the current inventory subdirectory. Each inventory directory that you create must be backed up individually. Mark you backup disks with the directory name you created to avoid confusion. PRICE TAGS Another handy feature that you have is the ability to print your price tags on your printer from your purchase orders. This has many advantages. Your printer prints all the tags for the order with all the data you need to identify the product with it arrives. It also makes taking an inventory easier because the control number is printed on the tags. Print out a counting form in control number sequence, and you have an easy reference to the item. The Price tags are printed on a standard label that is available from many mail order computer form vendors: They are described as: Pressure Sensitive Labels 1" x 15/16" 12 Across a page One Vendor is: Lyben Computer Systems (313) 649-4500 1150 Maplelawn Troy, MI 48084 Their Stock number is: LCS#0454 100,000 labels @ $135.00 (as of 1991) This is a standard size label and may be found elsewhere in lower quantities. You must have a wide carriage printer to us these forms. They will not fit in an 80 column printer. Page - 43 "The Retailer" Another Vendor: NEBS Computer Forms Division (800) 225-9550 500 Main Street Groton, MA 01471 Continuous Pricing Labels Product 9800-CNC White 13"Carrier Width 12,000 labels @ 36.95 The software will use one line of labels for each item as follows: There are twelve labels per row. Descriptive information is printed on the first three labels. This will help to identify the product when received. The next one to nine label are printed as price tags. The actual quantity printed will equal the quantity in the Purchase Order. There are two option for printing price tags. You can print them either in Control Number sequence or by the Stock Number sequence. The price tag will have five lines printed on each tag as described below. Line 1: The Vendor Name as listed in the MDF (Master Data File) Line 2: The Stock Number from the MDF Line 3: A Date code from your computer's system date. Example: 911225 can be read as 1991 Dec 25 Line 4: Your control number from the MDF Line 5: The Retail price that you assigned in the MDF There is an option included which prints an alignment form to position the labels on your printer. ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS This program will monitor inventory in one to five stores only. Just ignore the extra locations if you have fewer than five locations. Registered users who wish to have more than five stores in their system may upgrade to a larger version. Please call or write for a quote and indicate the number of stores you wish to monitor. Page - 44 "The Retailer" DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. GOOD DATA PROCESSING PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE. Revision List Version: 2.25 First Shareware release 9/28/90 Five Store version Version: 2.35 Added installation program to allow user to specify Drive and Directory where programs and data reside. Repaired program that changes the min/max stock levels. Previous version always displays a notice that there is not enough data for the algorithm to produce meaningful results. This message normally appears when the small set of sample test data is used during the tutorial. Version: 2.45 10/14/90 Changed Backup and Restore programs to backup/restore to any valid drive. Version: 2.55 1/15/91 Added F7 function to sales transactions procession. Bypasses items that are not stocked in all locations during sequential inventory sales posting. Version: 3.05 1/28/91 Combined Advanced features with standard version to conform to ASP specifications. Adjusted printer checking routine. Version: 3.25 07/20/91 Squashed an ugly bug. Version: 4.05 November 1991 Reason for update: Major change in exe code size: 3 - 360K floppies to ONE! Incorporated run time library linkage to reduce the redundant code in the multiple exe modules. Also, minor changes in printed reports. Page - 45 "The Retailer" PACKING LIST Program listing for "The Retailer". Programs compiled with Microsoft C Version 6.00A Runtime Library Linkage with .RTLink These programs will be in the C:\RETAILER drive:\directory if you used the default names during installation. Program Name Description ============ =========== BU EXE - Backs up inventory data files COMPANY EXE - Changes company information DATAFILE EXE - Maintains master inventory data EOPCLEAR EXE - Clears end of period sales figures INSTALL EXE - Installs programs to hard drive (stays on floppy) MINMAX EXE - Changes min/max reorder points POSTPO EXE - Posts purchase orders POSTSALE EXE - Posts sales data POSTXX EXE - Posts exceptions in purchase orders PRNTALL EXE - Prints inventory data PRNTHIST EXE - Prints hard copy of unit sales history PRPURCH EXE - Prints purchase orders PRSTORE EXE - Prints inventory form PURCFILE EXE - Adjusts purchase orders PURCHASE EXE - Makes purchase orders REPAIR EXE - Repairs master index file RET EXE - Redirect all printer output to a disk file. RETAIL EXE - Displays welcome screen RETAILER EXE - Master menu user interface RS EXE - Restores inventory data from backup SALESFIL EXE - Sales transaction processor SEEDFILE EXE - Report browser SHOWFILE EXE - Displays p.o. file names SHOWONE EXE - Performs video graphics of sales SORTABCZ EXE - Sorts sales data TAGS EXE - Prints price tags. TITLES EXE - Inputs users store names XTRKSALE EXE - Transfers sales data Version 4.05 additions RETLIB RTL - Runtime library small library module TSETLIB RTL - Runtime library various program tools RTLINKST COM - Runtime library linker by .RTLink a product of Pocket Soft, Inc. PASSWORD EXE - For registered users to register NOTE: The programs listed will not execute properly outside of the user interface program "RETAILER". This is just to let you know what files to expect on your drive after installation. Page - 46 "The Retailer" Support files in C:\RETAILER SETUP BAT - Used to initialize RETAILER.INI file for BBS BBS DOC - How to start from a zip file COMPANY CRT - Company information screen COMPANY HLP - Company information help file COMPANY NFO - Company information file DATAFILE CRT - Master data file screen DATAFILE HLP - Help file for master data entry HISTORY <DIR>- Created - Directory for sales history data INVNTORY<DIR>- Created - Directory for inventory data MANUAL DOC - This Manual POSCREEN CRT - Purchase order screen PURCFILE HLP - Help file for purchase orders READ ME - Introduction RETAIL BIN - Title screen RETAILER INI - Initialization file SALESCRN CRT - Sales transaction screen SALESFIL HLP - Help file for sales entry TITLES NFO - Created - Your store names Directory of C:\RETAILER\INVNTORY DATAFILE DAT - Master data file DATAFILE NDX - Control number index DATAFILE STX - Stock number index INVECOPY<DIR>- Directory for backup files [if same drive selected] P????#? DAT - Typical purchase order file P????#? NDX - Index for matching purchase order SLTRX#? DAT - Typical sales transaction file SLTRX#? NDX - Index for matching sales trx file Directory of C:\RETAILER\HISTORY various DAT, NDX, and STX files for each location Page - 47 "The Retailer" INDEX ----- A ----- ACCESSING DATA BY CONTROL NUMBER 35 ----- C ----- COMPANY INFORMATION SCREEN 36, 47 CONTROL NUMBER 7, 15, 20-21, 24-25, 30-31, 33, 35, 40, 43-44, 47 CREATE MANUAL PURCHASE ORDER 21 ----- D ----- DATA FIELD DESCRIPTIONS 25 DATE 10, 19, 23, 26, 28, 44 DELETE AN ITEM IN A PURCHASE ORDER 14 DELETE entire purchase order 32 DIS = Discontinued Item 27 DOS SHELL 19, 22, 33 DUPLICATING PURCHASE ORDER 21 ----- E ----- EDITING A PURCHASE ORDER 14 ENTER SALES DATA 7, 16 ENTERING SALES FROM A PHYSICAL INVENTORY 34 ENTERING SALES FROM SALES RECEIPTS OR SALES JOURNALS 35 ENTERING YOUR INITIAL INVENTORY 20 EQUIPMENT 7, 10 ERASE Report 41-42 ESC 23, 25, 30-31, 33-34, 41-42 EXTRACT sales figures 39 ----- F ----- F1 = GO 23, 30, 34 F10 = NEXT RCD 24, 31 F2 = HELP 23, 31, 34 F3 = DITTO 23, 31 F4 = FIND STK# 24 F4 = SEARCH BY STOCK NUMBER 31 F5 = PREV STK# 24 F6 = NEXT STK# 24 F7 = <D>elete Record or <C>hange "Control Number" 24 F7 = DELETE RCD 31 F8 = TOGGLE 24 F9 = PREV RCD 24, 31 FLOW CHARTS 38 ----- G ----- GENERATE SUGGESTED PURCHASE ORDER 17 GETTING STARTED 20 GRAPH sales figures 40 Page - 48 "The Retailer" ----- I ----- INSTALLATION 10-13, 45-46 ----- L ----- LastOrdr Date 28 LIST OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS 15 LOWEST ALLOWABLE STOCK LEVELS 36-37 ----- M ----- MASTER DATA FILE 15-19, 25, 30-33, 35, 39-40, 44, 47 MAX = Maximum order 27 Maximum Stock Level 26, 36 Minimum Stock Level 36 MOVING THE CURSOR 25 ----- O ----- OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS 15, 17 ORDER CODE 23, 27 ORDER QUANTITY 14, 30, 33 Orders Placed 21, 28 OUT = Out of Stock 27 OVERAGES 16 ----- P ----- Period Sales 29, 46 POST SALES 17 POST SALES TRANSACTIONS TO MASTER DATA FILE 17 POSTING A PURCHASE ORDER 15, 30 PRICE TAGS 38, 43-44, 46 PRINT Report 11, 38, 41-42 PRINT SALES EDIT LIST 17 PRINT Sales History 40 PRINTER REDIRECTION 12, 38, 41, 43 PRINTING A PURCHASE ORDER 14 PROGRAM START-UP 13 PURCHASE ORDER 6-7, 13-17, 20-22, 25-28, 30-33, 36, 38, 42-44, 46-47 PURCHASE ORDER STATUS CODE 32 ----- Q ----- Quanty OnOrdr 28 ----- R ----- ReOrdr Point 28 REPAIR 19, 45-46 Page - 49 "The Retailer" RUNNING "The Retailer" with normal printing 11 RUNNING "The Retailer" with printer redirection 12 ----- S ----- SALES HISTORY 10, 18-19, 38-40, 46-47 Save Report 41 SEGMENT VENDORS 38, 42 SHORTAGES 16, 32 Smoothing Constant 36-37 Status Code 17, 27, 30, 32, 36-37 Status Code Sorting Criteria 36-37 STD = Standard 27 STOCK LEVEL 8, 15, 18-21, 26-28, 36-39, 45 STOCK NUMBER 7, 14, 21, 23-24, 26, 30-35, 41, 43-44, 47 Stock OnHand 28 SUGGESTED PURCHASE ORDER 13-14, 17, 21, 28, 30 ----- U ----- UPDATE 6, 8, 20, 23, 26, 37, 40 Use Status Code in Purchase Orders 36 ----- V ----- VENDOR 7-8, 14-16, 20, 23, 25-27, 30, 33, 38, 42-44 VIEW Report 41 ----- Y ----- Y-T-D Sold 29 Page - 50 "The Retailer" INVOICE REMIT TO: RetailWare 2107 West Britton Road Oklahoma City, OK 73120-1577 (405)749-1763 Voice (405)751-5629 Fax FROM: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Qty Unit Price Total ___ "The Retailer" $49 _______ ___ Upgrade (Registered Users) $18 _______ Oklahoma residents add sales tax: _______ Total _______ Enclose Check or provide credit card information below. __________________________________ _________ ________ Credit Card Number Expires MC/VISA I use: (check one) [ ] 5 1/4" [ ] 3 1/2" Upon receipt of this paid invoice, a printed manual and current disk set will be sent. 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