The Business Master (4th Edition)/The Business Master - 4th Edition.iso/files/business/autoprt/autopart.doc

Text File | 1992-10-12 | 9.8 KB | 261 lines

       Application Notes for Running AutoPart(tm) by

                     Princeton Economics, Inc.
            P.O. Box 400
            Princeton, MA  01541.
            Phone: [phone]  (9-4 EST)

BOTH THIS DOCUMENT AND THE SOFTWARE SUPPLIED ARE COPYRIGHTED BY PRINCETON ECONOMICS, INC.  (c), 1992.  The shareware version of
this code may be distributed and copied free of charge or
penalties.  Princeton Economics retains all additional
copyright protection as provided by the U.S. Patent and trademark office.


FEATURES:

Thank you for evaluating AutoPart(tm), a comprehensive
inventory control and retail sale management system geared
towards automotive needs for auto part shops and auto
dealership service departments.

AutoPart has the following key features:


    1.  Unlimited number of parts may be stored (only limited by
        your disk drive capacity).

    2.  Parts may be placed in up to eight distinct categories such
        as manufacturer, usage, etc.

    3.  All parts in inventory may be printed by category with
        complete inventory totals (dollar amounts).

    4.  AutoPart will print itemized customer invoices on plain
        paper.

    5.  AutoPart can easily be set up to tell you when inventory
        levels drop below a preset number.

    6.  AutoPart can easily be set up to tell you when a certain
        part has sold more than a given number in any 30-day
        period.  We call this our "Stock Alert".  Stock Alert
        may be used to advise you of "hot" items which you can
        then re-order before you run out.

    7.  AutoPart will tell you which parts haven't sold in a 90
        day period so you can return them to the vendor.

    8.  AutoPart easily handles special order items.

    9.  AutoPart is compatible with bar code readers.

    10. AutoPart may be set up for password protection for
        critical functions.

    11. Registered users may purchase a NETWORK version of
        AutoPart which will support up to 50 workstations
        and is compatible with all major network systems
        (Novell, 3Com, DCA/Tiara, PC-Lan and many more).

    12. AutoPart also allows up to three, sixty character
        lines to appear on the customers receipt (invoice)
        to be used for promotional announcements, etc.

What do I get if I register?

    Registration costs only $39.00 and will get you the
    following:

        1.  Free, unlimited phone support.
        2.  We will mail you the latest version WITHOUT
            the initial message which asks you to
            register.
        3.  You will receive complete documentation.
        4.  You will receive special utility programs
            which will help you maintain your
            database and recover any corrupted or
            lost files.
        5.  You will receive notification of new releases.

        6.  You will receive a heartfelt <Thank You> for
            your support of shareware.  We need your
            support to continue with program updates
            and support.



HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:

    AutoPart(tm) requires DOS 3.0 or higher, one floppy drive
and a printer.  WE RECOMMEND a color monitor and hard disk
drive.  AutoPart requires at least 512K of RAM.  WE RECOMMEND
at least 640k of RAM.

OPERATION:

    To start the AutoPart(tm) program, simply type the word
AUTOPART at the DOS prompt where you installed (copied) your
program files.  You will receive the AutoPart "Main Menu".

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

    We will always use the "END" key on your keyboard to
signify that you want to continue with a function or operation
and the "ESC" key as a panic button to indicate that you want to
abort the current function and back-up.  Also, the bottom of
every screen contains from one to four lines of "help" information
which will change for each data entry point.  Please read the
help lines for instructions and the meaning of data entry fields
and operations.

    REMEMBER, "ESC", "END" and help on the bottom of the screen
and you've mastered 75% of the program!


The Main Menu:

    The selections on the main menu may be activated by using
the up/down arrow keys or by typing the first letter.  The former
message will cause the help lines to change at the bottom of the
screen.

ADDING/EDITING parts:

    Add or Edit parts by typing "A" from the main menu.  You
will see the Add/Edit entry screen appear.  You must first type
in the part number.  All part numbers must begin with a prefix code.
The prefix code is nothing more than a "1-" a "2-", etc up to
"8-".  The prefix code is used to define the category of parts.
For example, you might decide that prefix 1- is to be used for
all Mopar parts, 2- for all Delco parts, etc.  If you forget to
include the prefix, a "pop-up" menu will appear with all listed
prefix codes requesting that you select one.  (See the section
below on the "Miscellaneous" function for information on how
to assign your own categories.)

    After you have assigned the part number, you should fill
in all remaining fields.
IMPORTANT NOTE:  THE DESCRIPTION FIELD SHOULD BE ORGANIZED IN
A "MILITARY" FASHION TO ALLOW FOR SEARCHING WHILE RETRIEVING
PARTS.  FOR EXAMPLE, an "Oil Filter Wrench" should be entered
as "WRENCH, OIL FILTER.  An Air Filter should be entered as
"FILTER, AIR", etc.  You may of course choose any method you
desire, however, if you use our method it makes it easy to
display ALL "filters" by simply entering the word "Filter" in
the search screen; all "filters" will then be displayed.

The Stock Alert and Reorder Quantity fields should be set to
"-1" to turn off the features or a value entered to enable the
features.  The STOCK ALERT will alert you when that particular
part has sold more than the number you enter in any thirty day
period.  the "REORDER QUANTITY" will alert you when the
inventory level for that part has fallen below the value you
enter.


The MISCELLANEOUS function:

    The MISCELLANEOUS function is used to define your
company name and address for the customers receipt, to set
the state sales tax for your area, to assign part categories
and to assign any promotional announcements to be printed on
the receipt.

NOTE: Categories should be assigned sequentially, without
any gaps.


The SEARCH function (producing bills/receipts)

    To produce customer bill/statements/invoices, select
"S" from the main menu.

    The part may be retrieved in one of the following
fashions:

    1.  Enter the full part number preceded by the prefix
        code for the manufacturer.  For example, if the
        prefix for Mopar is "2-" and you want a Mopar
        spark plug with a part number of 98733, you would
        enter 2-98733.  Don't worry if you forget the
        prefix, a pop-up menu will appear if you omit
        it.  Push the "END" key when the part number
        field is completed.

    2.  Enter a partial part number preceded by the prefix
        code and push the "END" key.  A partial number
        will cause our "Browse" menu to appear which will
        display all parts with the leading characters.
        For example: If you entered "2-12" and pushed
        END, you would see a screen displaying all
        parts beginning with "2-12....".  You would
        select the part and push the "END" key a
        second time to transfer the information to
        the previous screen.

    3.  SKIP the part number field by pushing the down
        arrow or Enter keys and enter a full or
        partial description.  For example, if you
        enter the word "FILTER" in the description
        field and pushed the "END" key, you would
        see a pop-up browse screen with all items
        beginning with the word "FILTER" in them.
        You would select the item of interest and
        push the "END" key to automatically transfer
        the data to the previous screen.

SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS:

    If you enter a part number of description which is not
on file, you will see the pop-up browse screen appear. (The
computer doesn't know if the part is a special order or if
you are simply trying to do a match on the first few characters.)
When the browse screen appears, push "S" for special order, you
will be returned to the previous screen and asked to enter the
special order description before the bill prints.

    After the inventory item has been retrieved, the cursor
will move to the quantity field.  Enter the quantity being
removed from inventory.  IF an item is being returned to inventory,
enter the number with a minus (-) sign in front. (eg "-5" to
return 5 items).

    The cursor will next move to the "Price" field.  You
may enter the price manual or simply enter "W", "R" or "C" to
assign the "W"holesale, "R"etail, or "C"ost prices which were
previously entered when you added the item to inventory.

    You may also elect to include a discount in the final
field.  The discount will default to the value you entered when
you added the item or it may be changed if you so desire.

    When you have completed the entry screen for the part, push
the "END" key.  You will be asked if you want to add MORE parts,
CANCEL this part or PROCESS all parts for billing.

    CAUTION: pushing the "ESC" key in the Search mode will
cause ALL items to be canceled.  Selecting CANCEL after a part
has been completed will only cancel that one part.

    When you are done entering parts, select "P" for process.
The "main menu" will appear allowing you to push F5 to print
the invoice or F8 to cancel the print.

NOTE:  We have supplied the enclosed program with a small database of
       several parts as an example.  If you would like to delete all
       of our parts and start adding your own, proceed as follows:

              1.  Select "Q" from the main menu to return to
                  DOS.

              2.  From the DOS prompt type -  "DEL *.DAT" and push
                  the Enter key (do not type the quotes (")).

              3.  Restart the program, you will be asked if you
                  want to create new data files, answer "Y" for
                  yes.

              4.  You now have an empty database.