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R E T A I L E R II+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Retail Sales And Inventory Management System ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K. EGGER, 6 NOTTAWA AVE., TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA M5J 2C8 (416)862-3430 or (416)861-1575 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PURPOSE AND FEATURES OF RETAILER II+ Computerized sales and inventory systems were once the exclusive preserve of large retail organizations, but a growing number of smaller operations are now turning to microcomputers to get the same kind of business management funct- ions. The goal of these functions is to control costs while satisfying cust- omer expectations. The way to achieve it is through good inventory control, accurate sales tracking and quick access to detailed information about every item in the store. Retailer II+ is a tool that serves this goal. It is designed for those who want to reduce their sales-to-inventory ratio and who want timely information about each item they carry. It is also designed for those who spend too much time making up purchase orders, counting stock, tracking sales or figuring out what works and what doesn't. It is an organizer, a record keeper, an analyzer and a time saver. Retailer II+ has the following features: -> Uses pull-down menus and pop-up windows to maximize ease-of-use. -> Includes a built-in help system. Press the F1 key at any time for help. -> Maintains sales and inventory data for each item in each store location. -> Keeps weekly and monthly sales figures for each product. -> Tracks sales by product and product class. -> Auto generates stock purchase orders. -> Includes on-screen review and editing of purchase orders. -> Offers a choice of five methods to calculate purchase order quantities. -> Creates 8 different sales and inventory reports. -> Sorts output by product name, stock number or product class. -> Prints price tags and bin labels. -> Creates catalogues with product descriptions, prices and stock numbers. -> Sends any printer output to your word processor for custom formatting. -> Exports data to a database or spreadsheet for further analysis. -> Reads sales data from down-loading electronic cash registers. -> Includes a built-in backup and restore feature that makes backups easy. -> Manages any number of store locations - limited only by disk space. -> Compares the amount of stock at each location. -> Transfers stock from one location to another. -> Includes an optional password system with three levels of access. -> Displays inventory data by record view or table view. -> Provides full support for color monitors. Registered users will also receive D-MAIL 5.0, our professional mailing list manager for customer tracking and mailing of store promotions. Retailer II+ was created with the Clipper 5 dBASE compiler. The source code is available if you wish to customize Retailer II+ or have a local programmer do it for you. In this way you can use all or just parts of Retailer II+ in creating your own application. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -> IBM-PC, PS/2, or compatibles. -> A hard disk drive with at least 1MB of free space. -> 640 KB of memory. -> A printer capable of compressed print (15 cpi or smaller), or a wide carriage printer (132 columns). -> Optional - an electronic cash register that sends data to a PC. INSTALLING RETAILER II+ Retailer II+ is supplied as an archive file called "RETAILER.ZIP". It contains all the files you need. Follow these steps to get a functioning system onto your hard drive: 1 - At the "C:>" prompt create a new directory on your hard drive: MD RETAILER <press enter> 2 - Using an archive un-packing utility, unpack the contents of RETAILER.ZIP into the new directory. 3 - Check for a file called "CONFIG.SYS" in the root directory of the startup drive. If it is there it should contain the following statements with the minimum values shown: FILES = 20 BUFFERS = 8 If these statements are absent you can use any text editor to insert them. If the file is absent you can copy the one that is now in the RETAILER directory to the root directory of the startup drive. If you need more infor- mation about the CONFIG.SYS file, you will find an explanation in your DOS manual. FILES SUPPLIED WITH RETAILER II+ CLASS .DBF - Holds product class names. COLORS .MEM - Saves configuration information. CONFIG .SYS - DOS configuration - put this in your root directory if it does not already exist. Retailer II+ will not run without it !! See above for details. HELP .DBF - Help system file. HELP .DBT - Help system file. INVSTRUC.DBF - Data structure file. INVSTRUC.DBT - Data structure file. ORDERFRM.TXT - Print this to get a Retailer II+ order form. ORDSTRUC.DBF - Data structure file. RETAIL20.EXE - The executable program. RETAILER.CFG - Saves setup information. RETAILER.DOC - The main documentation file. RETAILER.TXT - Introduction, features and installation instructions. RETLOC .DBF - Saves store location information. SL1INV .DBF - Sample data file SL1INV .DBT - Sample data file SL2INV .DBF - Sample data file SL2INV .DBT - Sample data file SUPPL .DBF - Saves supplier information. YRSTRUC .DBF - Data structure file. ZREPORT .DBF - Data structure file. CONTENTS Section 1 - Getting Started Starting Retailer II+ Exploring The Menus Section 2 - The Inventory Menu Finding An Item Using The Edit Window Adding A New Item Using The Browse Window Creating A Purchase Order Working With An Order Printing An Order Updating On-Order Data Receiving Stock - Method 1 Transfering Stock Receiving Stock - Method 2 Adjusting On-Hand Quantities Reviewing An Order Section 3 - The Sales Menu Entering Sales Manually Entering Sales Automatically Marking Items Printing Price Tags And Labels Printing A Price List Creating A Sales Catalogue Doing The Year End Reviewing Archived Sales Data Section 4 - The Reports Menu Printing A Sales Report Printing An Inventory Report Printing A Combined Report Printing A Top 20 Report Printing A Sales Analysis Printing An Overstock Report Printing A Low Stock Report Printing A Suppliers List Section 5 - The Utility Menu Sorting Inventory Data Re-Building Index Files Exporting Data Printing To A Text file Creating & Changing Locations Getting System Status Info Using Color Or Monochrome Creating An Inventory Backup Restoring From Backup Section 6 - The Access Menu Adding A User Password Deleting A Password Changing A Password Turning Password Protection On Or Off Section 7 - The Exit Menu Section 8 - General Program Notes And Order Form SECTION 1 - GETTING STARTED Many electronic cash registers can be used with Retailer II+. This version is set up to work with TEC brand registers. If you want to use it with another register system please contact us for more information. If you do not have a cash register that sends data to PC's you can enter your sales at the keyboard. This takes a little longer but still gives you full access to all the program's features. STARTING RETAILER II+ To start Retailer II+ go to the directory where it is found and enter "RETAIL20" at the DOS prompt: CD\RETAILER <press enter> RETAIL20 <press enter> Retailer II+ is initially configured to start without requiring a password. If it does prompt you for a password just type "TEST" and press ENTER. You can remove this password later and set up new ones if you need security. If this password does not allow access then someone has already set up the system for security. When Retailer II+ has started you will see the main menu and the first pull- down menu under "Inventory". To help you explore the system, Retailer II+ has been pre-loaded with sample data. The sample consists of two locations of a store called Outbound Equipment, which sells products for hiking, camping, mountaineering etc. Sales and inventory records are kept separate by location. Each location is identified by a three character code which is visible at the bottom right of the screen. You can delete the sample locations (SL1 and SL2) when you are ready to set up your own. At the bottom of the screen is a descriptive line about the highlighted menu item. You can move around the menus using the following keys: -> Press the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select a command on a pull-down menu. At the bottom of the screen the descriptive line changes according to the highlighted command. -> Press ENTER to execute the highlighted command. -> Press the RIGHT and LEFT ARROW keys to move from one pull-down menu to another. -> Press ESCAPE to clear a pull-down menu and ENTER to make it appear again. You can also select commands from the menus by pressing the first letter of the command you want. This method executes the command without waiting for you to press ENTER. EXPLORING THE MENUS Each of the Main Menu choices has a pull-down menu that provides access to a group of related commands. When the program starts the Inventory menu is already pulled down. This manual has a section for each of the six Main Menu choices. It will desc- ribe each menu item in turn, going from left to right across the screen. As you explore,you can press F1 at any time for help. In most cases you can press ESCAPE to abort a command and return to the menus. SECTION 2 - THE INVENTORY MENU INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 1 -> FIND ITEM Use this command to locate any item which is already in the inventory. When you select it, a menu pops up with the following choices: -> Code - Use this to find an item by code (stock number). If you are not sure of the code you have two options. The first is to press F3, which lets you select the item from an alphabetical list (called a pick list). The second option is to enter only the first few characters of the code. This will display the first record found that starts with those characters. You can then scan up or down the inventory to find the one you want. In order for this to be effective the current sorting order should be by code (see the Sort command under the Utility menu). -> Name - Use this to find an item by product name. If you are not sure of the name you have two options. The first is to press F3, which lets you select the item from a pick list. The second option is to enter only the first few char- acters of the name. This will display the first record found that starts with those characters. You can then scan up or down the inventory to find the one you want. In order for this to be effective the current sorting order should be by product name (see the Sorting command under the Utility menu). -> First Item or Last Item - Use one of these to go to the first or last item in your inventory records. -> Quit - Use this to return to the Main Menu. Pressing ESCAPE will do the same. THE EDIT WINDOW Once an item has been located it is displayed in the Edit Window. A set of command options is now shown across the bottom of the screen: -> F1 - Help - use this to get help with what you see on the screen. -> F2 - View - change the display from single record view to a scrolling table view. -> F3 - Find - find another item by name, by code, or by using a pick list. -> F4 - Edit - edit the fields that appear above the TEXT line. Use the ENTER key or the UP/DOWN ARROW keys to move from one field to another. As each field is highlighted you can press F1 (Help) for an explanation of what the field should contain. -> F5 - Dele - delete or undelete an item. When an item is deleted it is not removed from the inventory until the next time the inventory is indexed. Press F5 again to undelete an item. An item should not be deleted when you stop stocking it. If you do, the revenue it generated will not be included in your year-to-date sales reports. Wait until you run a year end closing to delete discontinued items. -> F6 - Comp - compare the stock levels for this item in all store locations. -> F7 - Mark - mark or unmark the item. You can mark items to identify the ones you want included in label printing jobs, catalogue printing, or in the combined sales and inventory report. -> F8 - Hist - view or edit the sales history of the item. You can display either the weekly or monthly sales figures. -> F9 - Text - enter or edit notes about the product that are useful to you. Enter a product description if you plan to use the Catalogue command to create a catalogue of your product line (see under the Sales menu). This field will store hundreds of lines of text so don't worry about running out of space. Press F1 while you are in the text field for help with the editing keys. If you press ESCAPE while in the text field the following message appears at the top of the screen: "Abort Edit (Y/N)". Press "Y" to abandon your changes or "N" to return to the text field. -> F10 - Exit - Return to the main menu. -> DOWN ARROW - skip to the next item. -> UP ARROW - skip to the previous item. INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 2 -> NEW ITEM This command brings up the screen where you can enter new items into the inventory file. Type the product information in the appropriate fields that appear above the TEXT line. Use the ENTER key or the UP/DOWN ARROW keys to move from one field to another. As each field is highlighted you can press F1 (Help) for an expl- anation of what each field should contain. Press F10 when you are finished. You will then then see a new set of options at the bottom of the screen. F1Help F4Edit F8Hist F9Text F10Exit -> F1 - Help - get help with what you see on the screen. -> F4 - Edit - resume entering information or change something you have already entered. -> F8 - Hist - enter any historical sales figures you have for this product. Entering a sales history is optional if you do not need to start using the automatic order generating feature right away. If you do, you will need sales figures for at least the last 3 weeks. Enter these by opening the WEEKLY sales window and typing the sales figures next to the appropriate week. As you use Retailer II+ to record sales it keeps an on-going weekly and monthly history for each item. -> F9 - Text - enter notes about the product that are useful to you, or a product description for use later with the Catalogue command (see under the Sales menu). This field will store hundreds of lines of text so don't worry about running out of space. Press F1 while you are in the text field for help with the editing keys. If you press ESCAPE while in the text field the follow-ing message appears at the top of the screen: "Abort Edit (Y/N)". Press "Y" to abandon the entry or "N" to return to the text field. -> F10 - Exit - this pops up a box where you can tell Retailer II+ to save or discard the new record. In order for a record to be saved it must contain at least an item name and the unit price. INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 3 -> BROWSE The Browse command shows your inventory in tabular format. You can use this window to scan and edit all the data in your records. -> Use the following keys to move around the screen and scroll the columns: RIGHT ARROW, LEFT ARROW, UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, CTRL-RIGHT ARROW, CTRL-LEFT ARROW, PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN, CTRL-PAGEUP, CTRL-PAGEDOWN, HOME, END, CTRL-HOME, CTRL-END -> To edit your data, move the highlight to any field and start typing. -> Press ENTER to accept the changes or press ESCAPE to restore the previous contents. -> If you press DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW instead of ENTER to accept the changes the highlight will automatically move to the next row down or up. -> F1 - Help - use this to get help with what is on the screen. -> F2 - View - to change the display to single record view. -> F4 - Print - to print the information about the current item. -> F5 - Dele - to delete the current item. It will not be removed from the inventory records until the next time the records are indexed. Press F5 again to undelete the item. -> F6 - Lock - to lock the columns in place when you scroll the screen to the right. Move the cursor to column 2,3, or 4 then Press F6 to freeze the display at the selected column. Press F6 again to unlock the frozen columns. -> F7 - Mark - to mark or unmark the item. Mark items to identify the ones you want included when printing labels, the combined sales and inventory report, or a catalogue listing. -> F8 - Hist - to view or edit the sales history of the item. -> F9 - Text - to edit the text. This field is used to store either notes about the product that are useful to you or you can enter a catalogue style product description for use later with the Catalogue command (under the Sales menu). Press F1 while you are in the text field for information about the editing keys it uses. -> F10 - Exit - to return to the main menu. INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 4 -> ORDERS This command leads to the purchase order functions. In the first window that appears you can choose to create a new order, work with an existing order or delete old orders in to free up disk space. Orders Menu Command 1 -> Auto Create A Trial Order Use this command to generate a new order. A window appears where you elect to generate an order for all suppliers or for a selected supplier: -> Press A to order from all suppliers. -> Press S to select one supplier. If you choose "Selected Supplier" you will see a list of suppliers to choose from. Press the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to move the highlight to the supplier you want then press ENTER. In the next step, choose the method of calclation you want to use for this order: -> 1 Week Of Stock - this orders one week worth of stock based on a formula that looks at average sales over the past 3 weeks, the amount of stock on hand, and the base stock. -> 2 Weeks Of Stock - this is the same as the above but orders 2 weeks worth. -> Monthly Sales - calculates orders based on sales for the same month last year, the anticipated percent increase in sales over last year, the amount of stock on hand, the base stock, and the amount of stock already on order. It relies on the availability of monthly sales figures for last year. Retailer II+ automatically saves monthly sales figures for the current year but you will have to enter these for last year if you need to use this method right away. The Monthly Sales formula orders a large amount of stock and should be used for suppliers who only ship to you once a month. -> Just-In-Time - order based on the classic Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) formula. This orders the least amount of stock. To use it you should be familiar with the principles of Just-In-Time inventory management. -> Re-Order Points - if the ON HAND quantity falls to the RE-ORDER POINT shown in your records, this orders the RE-ORDER QUANTITY Orders Menu Command 2 -> Work With An Existing Order Once you have created a trial order there are a number of options for working with it. To begin, choose the order you want to work with from the pick list that appears. To select an order file from the list use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the one you want then press ENTER. How Order Files Are Named: Order files are named according to the name of the supplier and the date the order was created. The first four characters are the first four letters in the supplier's name. If an order is for all suppliers then the order file name begins with "ALL". The last four characters are the month and day the order was created (MMDD). The file extension (the 3 characters after the period) are the location code of the store for which the order was created. The following are two examples to illustrate this: Example 1 - if the supplier chosen is OUTBOUND EQUIPMENT, and if the date is March 28th, and if the location in use is "SL1", then the order file will be called "OUTB0328.SL1". Example 2 - if the supplier chosen is "All Suppliers", and if the date is April 3rd, and if the location in use is "SL2" then the order file will be called "ALL-0403.SL2". The exception to this is when you use the "Monthly Sales" method of calcu- lating the order. In this case the name of the order file contains the name of the month for which you are ordering. For example, if you are making up your Christmas orders in August (as many retailers must), you can use the "Monthly Sales" option and specify that you are ordering for December. If the supplier is "OUTBOUND EQUIPMENT" and the location is "SL1" then the order file will be called "OUTB-DEC.SL1". Once an order file has been chosen you are given the following options: -> Review The Order - Select this to review the order which is presented in tabular form. Retailer II+ supplies you with the information you need to make a judgement about the quantities being ordered and gives you an opportunity to adjust those quantities. You can change only the first two column of numbers, which are the order quantity and the package quantity. If any of the other fields need to be changed it should be done in the inventory file, not in the order file. The columns displayed when reviewing a purchase order are as follows: - QTY - The number of items or packages being ordered. If the PACK quantity is greater than 1, this column shows the number of PACKAGES, not the number of items. - PACK - The number of items that the supplier ships in one package. This is the same PACK field as the one in your inventory records. If PACK is greater than 1 the order was rounded off to the nearest full package and the QTY column shows the number of PACKAGES being ordered, not the number of items. - ITEM - The name of the item. - SIZE - The size as shown in the inventory records. - CODE - The stock number. - ONHAND - The quantity you have in stock according to the inventory records. - LAST - The quantity ordered the last time this item was considered for re- ordering. - BASE - The quantity shown in the inventory records as base stock (the minimum you want to keep in stock). - UNITCOST - What you pay the supplier for one of this item. - ORDERCOST - The result of multiplying QTY times PACK times UNITCOST. When reviewing an order you will see the following options at the bottom of the screen: - F1 - Help - use this to get information about what is on the screen. - F6 - Lock - to lock the columns in place when you scroll the screen. Move the cursor to columns 1, 2,3, or 4 then Press F6. Press F6 again to unlock them. - F10 - Exit - to return to the previous menu. More information is available than is initially displayed on the screen. Press the RIGHT ARROW key until the remaining columns come into view. Use CTRL-END and CTRL-HOME to jump between the first column and the last. The items with an order quantity of zero are displayed so that you can add them to the order just by changing the QTY field to any number greater than zero. Similarly, you can remove an item from the order simply by changing the QTY field to zero. Items with an order quantity of zero will be excluded when you print the final order. -> Display A Summary - Once you have created and reviewed an order you can see a short summary of how it breaks down by product call in percentage terms. Order Summary For Location SL1 / Order File ALL0403.SL1 Total Order Cost - 11872.00 Class Products Order Cost Percent Of Total --------------------------------------------------------- ACCESSORIES 3 597.00 5.03 ALPINE GEAR 3 940.00 7.92 BACKPACK 5 2968.00 25.00 CLOTHING 6 3167.00 26.68 SLEEPING BAG 3 4200.00 35.38 The columns displayed are as follows: - Class - Each product class in the order. - Products - How many different products are being ordered in each class. - Order Cost - The cost of the order in each product class. - Percent Of Total - The percentage of the total order cost in each product class (rounded to two decimals). This display allows you to see if the order is reasonably balanced in terms of the amount you spend on each class of product. It should be fairly consistent with your dollar sales in each class. -> Print The Order - There are two options here - you can print a trial order or a final order. A trial order shows the items for which the order quantity is zero plus the percent of the order cost in each product class. This allows you to review a hard copy of an order in progress. Printing a final order excludes the the information that a supplier does not need to fill the order. If you print an order that was created with the "All Suppliers" option the items for each supplier will start on a new page. -> Update To Records - Use this command when you are ready to record an order in your inventory file. This updates the "On Order" and "Order Date" fields for each item. If an item is not being re-ordered then the "On Order" field will show zero. The "Order Date" field will still be updated so you can see when the item was last considered for re-ordering. You may be wondering why a final order is not automatically updated to the inventory file when it is printed. Consider this situation: say that you need to prepare December orders in August to make sure you have enough stock for Christmas. You create the order, print it, and send it off to the supplier. The supplier can now make sure he has enough stock in December to fill your Christmas order. If you update this order to your inventory file in August, the orders you generate from September to November will be too small because the data shows a large amount of stock already on order. Orders created for September to November will be correct only if you delay recording the December order in the inventory until December actually arrives. -> Enter A Shipment - When a shipment comes in you can choose the order file which is associated with that shipment and update your inventory data to reflect the new stock. Under the RECEIVED column you will see the number of each item that was ordered. Using the packing slips as your guide, verify the quantities in the RECEIVED column and change them only if the number received is not the same as the number ordered. You can change only the numbers in the first column. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys and PAGEUP / PAGEDOWN to scroll the screen. Press F10 to exit. You will be asked if you want to record the shipment to the master inventory. Press "Y" if you have finished verifying the quantities received, or press "N" if you want to come back and finish it later. -> Delete Old Order Files - Use this to clean out old purchase orders that are no longer needed. Simply use the DOWN ARROW and UP ARROW keys to highlight an order to delete then press ENTER. Press ESCAPE when you have finished. INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 5 -> TRANSFER Use this command if you have more than one store location and wish to transfer some stock from one store to another. It is also useful if you want to set up one location as the warehouse from which the stores are stocked. When you select this command you will be asked if you want to print an audit trail of your entries. This creates a hard copy on the printer which can be a permanent record of all the stock transfers made. Next, a window appears in which you can identify the item to transfer, the quantity to transfer, the source location and the destination location. Items must be identified by their codes. If you are not sure of the code you can press F3 and choose it from an alphabetical list. When you have supplied the required information press ENTER. Retailer II+ uses the stock code to look for the item in the destination location. If the item is found, Retailer II+ checks to see that the name of the item is the same in both locations. If the name is not the same you will be able to tell Retailer II+ to proceed or abandon the transfer. INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 6 -> RECEIVE This command gives you an alternate way of entering a shipment into your inventory records. A much faster way of doing this is with the "Enter A Shipment" command under the "Orders" menu, but it needs an order file to associate with each shipment. If you receive stock which was not included in a purchase order or was back-ordered use this command to record it. When you select this you will be asked if you want to print an audit trail of your entries. This creates a hard copy on the printer which can be a permanent record of the stock received. A window appears in which you can enter the code of the item received. If you are not sure of the code you can press F3 and choose it from an alphabetical list. Next you will see a window in which to enter the number received. Please note that this should be the total number received, not the number of pack- ages. When you have supplied this information press ENTER to go on to the next item. When you are finished press ESCAPE. INVENTORY MENU COMMAND 7 -> ADJUST Use this when you need a fast way to add to or subtract from the ON HAND quantity of an item. Once again you will be asked if you want to print an audit trail of your entries. Press "Y" to get a hard copy list of the stock adjustments. A window then appears where you can enter the code of the item you want to adjust. If you are not sure of the code press F3 to choose it from an alphabetical list. Type a number and press ENTER to add stock. Type a negative number to subtract stock (i.e. -10). When you have finished press ESCAPE to return to the Main Menu. SECTION 3 - THE SALES MENU SALES MENU COMMAND 1 -> MANUAL This command brings up the window used to enter sales information from the keyboard. You will be asked if you wish to print an audit trail of your entries. Select "Yes" to get hard copy of the sales as they are entered. Before you begin you are asked to supply the date of sales for your entries. -> Press ENTER to accept the date shown (today's date). -> Change it if you want the sales posted under a different date. -> The date format is the international format (YYMMDD). The system will not allow you to enter an invalid date. Note that Retailer does not require you to enter separate sales figures for every day that your store is open. If you wish, you can enter a week's worth of sales at once. This date option is intended to allow you to briefly roll back the date so you can enter sales made last week or last month without having them added to this week's sales figures. If you want reasonably accurate sales tracking you should enter sales data at least once a week. The next window prompts you for the code of an item for which you want to enter sales data. If you are not sure of the code press F3 to choose it from an alphabetical list. The next window displays information about the item and prompts you for the quantity sold. This window also shows the current sticker price and gives you an opportunity to change it. Once you have supplied the data it is recorded and the previous window appears again. It now contains some information about your last entry and you are ready to do the next item. Press ESCAPE when you are finished and wish to return to the Main Menu. SALES MENU COMMAND 2 -> AUTO This command allows you to use Retailer II+ with an electronic cash register It relies on the data files that many registers can transfer to your computer. This version of Retailer II+ is set up to work with TEC cash registers. They can download sales data to a PC via serial cable or modem, producing a file that begins with the characters "ZRP". If you use another cash system that has a similar capability please contact us to make arrangements for a version of Retailer II+ that can read it's data files. To read cash register data files you must first tell Retailer II+ where to find them. A window appears containing the name of the current directory. Press ENTER if the data files are in this directory, or type the drive and directory path where they are found. If any valid data files are present in the specified directory you can select one from a pick list on the screen: -> Press the UP/DOWN ARROW keys or PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN to highlight the file you want to read. -> Press ESCAPE to return to the Main Menu. If the cash register file you select has been read before, Retailer II+ will show the date it was read and provides an opportunity to cancel the process. The printer must be on while reading the cash register file so that Retailer II+ can print messages about any anomalies encountered in it. This is meant to alert you to any data errors in the file and provide the name and code number of any item that should be checked in the event of such an error. After a data file has been read you will be given an opportunity to print a summary of the sales information it contains. SALES MENU COMMAND 4 -> MARKS Use the Marks command to set the Mark field for ALL items in your inventory to "Y" or "N" (Yes or No). This is provided as a convenience so that you do not have to go through your records and reset all the Marks manually. When To Use Marks: You can include some or all of the items in your inventory when printing labels, the Combined report, or a catalogue. If the Mark for an item is set to "Y" the item is included. If the Mark is set to "N" it is excluded. The following is an example of how you would use the Mark field in combination with the Marks command: Lets say you want to enter 10 new items in your inventory and print labels for them. Simply set the Mark field to "Y" when you enter each new item and then use the Label command to print the labels. You now have 10 items in the data file that have the Mark set to "Y". Rather than finding each item to change the Mark field back to "N" , you can use the Marks command to change them all at once. SALES MENU COMMAND 5 -> LABELS Use this command to print price tags and labels for the store room shelves (bin labels). Price tags show the item name, size (if applicable), code number and price. Bin labels show the product name, size, code, price, class and supplier. Labels are printed in the current sorting order (see the Sort command under the Utility Menu). When you begin, you will see a reminder that only marked items will be includ- ed. Be sure you have marked only the items for which you want to print labels. You will then have an opportunity to enter the number of copies you want of each label (maximum 999). You can also print test labels to adjust the position of the label stock in the printer. The label size needed for price tags is 2-1/2 by 15/16 (three-up). For bin labels you will need 4 by 1-7/16 (one-up). Both of these are standard size labels and are available from any office supplies store. SALES MENU COMMAND 5 -> PRICES This command will print a basic price list of your product line The information included is the stock code, product name, size (if applicable), the number on hand and the retail price. Keep it by your cash register for fast price and stock lookups. The list will be printed in the current sorting order (see the Sort command under the Utility menu). SALES MENU COMMAND 6 -> CATALOGUE Use this command to print a catalogue of your product line. When you begin, you will see a reminder that only marked items will be included. Be sure you have marked only the items for which you want catalogue output. You can send catalogue output to the printer or to a text file for formatting with your favorite word processor. To send printer output to a text file see the Text File command under the Utilities menu. Very sophisticated catalogues can be prepared by loading this output into a desktop publishing system where professional looking layouts can be added. Catalogue items will be printed in the current sorting order unless you specify that they should be listed by product class, in which case the product class will be the primary sort key and the current sorting order (item name or code) will be the secondary sort key. SALES MENU COMMAND 7 -> YEAR END This command runs the fiscal year-end closing routine. It saves data to an archive file and gives you the opportunity to print a cumulative sales report for the year. The inventory file is then set up for the new fiscal year. In order to create sales projections, you are given an opportunity to supply an anticipated percentage increase in sales in each product calss for the new year. This is presented in tabular form and you need only type the percentage increase in the appropriate field. These percentages are used to calculate your sales projections for the next year. When you have finished filling out this table press ESCAPE to continue. Sales data which ais archived by this process can be displayed with the REVIEW command (see below). SALES MENU COMMAND 8 -> REVIEW When the Year-End command is used, a dBASE III compatible data file is created that archives sales data for the year being closed. The file is named according to the the store location and the year (i.e. SL1-1990.DBF). Use the REVIEW command to look at the contents of an archive. The first thing you will see is a pick list of available archive files. Use the UP/DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the archive you want then press ENTER. The information will be displayed in tabular form. At the bottom of the screen you will see the following options: -> F1 - Help - to get information about how to use this screen. -> F4 - Print - send the current record to the printer. -> F6 - Lock - lock the scrolling display at column 1,2,3 or 4. The display will freeze at the column where the cursor is located. -> F10 - Exit - return to the Main Menu. SECTION 4 - THE REPORTS MENU The reports menu contains the options you have for printing routine reports. These are described below in order of appearance. THE REPORTS MENU COMMAND 1 -> SALES This report prints the following information for each item in the inventory: product class, product name, size (if applicable), code, quantity in stock, quantity sold (year-to-date), gross, percent of total sales, and a monthly breakdown for the current year compared to the same month last year. The report is sorted by product class plus your choice of item name or code (use the Sort command under the Utility menu). At the end of each product class you will see a summary of how many items are in that class, how much they grossed and what percentage of total sales they represent. This is a wide report so you will be asked to switch your printer to compressed mode (15 cpi or smaller). You can ignore this if you have a wide carriage printer. REPORTS MENU COMMAND 2 -> INVENTORY This report prints the following for each item in the inventory: item code, name, size, class, base stock, quantity on order, and quantity on hand. At the end of each line a space is provided where you can write in the physical count. This allows you to take physical inventory simply by printing this report and filling in the blanks. Before printing you will be asked if you want the output sorted by product class. If you answer "Yes" you will get a summary of the cost of all items in the class, the retail value of the items in the class, and the percentage of the inventory cost they represent. If you answer "No" the inventory will be printed in the current sorting order with no product class summary. This is a wide report so you will be asked to switch your printer to compressed mode (15 cpi or smaller). You can ignore this if you have a wide carriage printer. REPORTS MENU COMMAND 3 -> COMBINED This is a combined sales and inventory report. You can print this one to include all items or selected items only. If you want to print it for all items use the Marks command under the Sales menu to indicate that all items should be marked for inclusion in the report. If you only want to report on certain items you can select these by setting the Mark field to "Y" (for Yes) before running the report. This report contains the following information: code, product name, size, cost, price, base stock, quantity on hand, quantity on order, quantity sold this year, gross, and percent of total sales. This is a wide report so you will be asked to switch your printer to compressed mode. You can ignore this if you have a wide carriage printer. THE REPORTS MENU COMMAND 4 -> TOP 20% It is sometimes said in the retail business that 20% of your stock produces 80% of your cash flow. This is usually an over simplification but the Top 20% report shows you which products are your top performers. The options available are: -> To print the report for all sales this year or for a given month only. -> To list the items by gross sales or by volume. REPORTS MENU COMMAND 5 -> ANALYSIS This report provides the information needed to analyze sales performance with respect to inventory cost. For each item it shows the year-to-date dollar sales, dollar margin, percent margin, unit sales, dollar value of the on-hand inventory (at cost), stock turnover rate, the percent of total sales produced by each item, and the percent of the total inventory cost invested in each item. You are given a choice of listing the items by dollar sales or by product class. If you choose to list by product class the report will also show the percent of total sales produced by each class of product and the percent of total inventory cost invested in that class. This is a wide report so you will be asked to switch your printer to compressed mode. Ignore this if you have a wide carriage printer. REPORTS MENU COMMAND 6 -> OVERSTOCK Run this report to find out which items may be over stocked. The listing is grouped by product class and includes the total cost of the overstocked items. This is a wide report so you will be asked to switch your printer to compressed mode. Ignore this if you have a wide carriage printer. THE REPORTS MENU COMMAND 7 -> LOW STOCK Run this report to find out which items are low in stock. The listing is sorted by the current sorting order. This is a wide report so you will be asked to switch your printer to compressed mode. Ignore this if you have a wide carriage printer. THE REPORTS MENU COMMAND 8 -> SUPPLIERS If you need a list of who supplies you with which products, this report will produce it. You will be asked if you want the list sorted by supplier name or by item name. SECTION 5 - THE UTILITY MENU UTILITY MENU COMMAND 1 -> SORT Use this to tell Retailer II+ how you want your inventory displayed or printed. A window comes up which gives you a choice of three sorting options: -> Product Name - Products are displayed alphabetically by name. -> Alpha Code - Products are displayed by alpha-numeric stock codes. Choose this if you use stock codes that contain any characters that are not numbers. -> Numeric Code - Products are displayed by numeric stock codes. Choose this if you use stock codes that always contain numbers only. UTILITY MENU COMMAND 2 -> INDEXES Use this to re-build a damaged index file. Retailer II+ creates a number of index files for each inventory file. They allow you to select the current sorting order and to find records quickly. In any database system it can happen that index files become damaged because they are constantly being read and modified. This not common but if it does happen the damaged file must be re-built. The symptom of a damaged index file is that you cannot find an item you know is in the database. If this happens select the Indexes command and the problem will clear up. UTILITY MENU COMMAND 3 -> EXPORT Use this to create data files to export your sales information to a spread- sheet or a database management system. In many cases the export function is not needed since many spreadsheets and database systems can directly read dBASE files, which is the format used by Retailer II+. You will be asked to supply the name for the new data file. The default name is INVENTRY.DTA. You can accept this by pressing ENTER or you can change it by typing a new name. Please note that only the filename can be changed. The file type (.DTA) is automatically supplied. You will then be asked if you wish to export weekly or monthly sales figures. Select one of these then press ENTER. Next you can tell Retailer II+ whether you want the field names on the first line of the export file. Select "Yes" if you are going to export to a spreadsheet that needs to contain the correct column headings. If you answer "No" you will be given a choice of two data formats. The first is, once again, a standard comma-delimited data file. The second is called System Data Format (SDF) which uses fixed-length fields instead of delimiters. Check the manual for the program where you want to import the data to see which formats it can handle. If you choose to export monthly sales data, the export file has the following structure: FIELD NAME TYPE WIDTH DECIMAL 1 ITEM C 30 0 2 CODE C 10 0 3 SIZE C 6 0 4 SOLD N 7 0 5 GROSS N 9 2 6 - 17 Jan91 - Dec91 N 6 0 (monthly sales current year) 18 - 29 Jan90 - Dec90 N 6 0 (monthly sales previous year) If you choose to export weekly sales data, the export file has the following structure: FIELD NAME TYPE WIDTH DECIMAL 1 ITEM C 30 0 2 CODE C 10 0 3 SIZE C 6 0 4 SOLD N 7 0 5 GROSS N 9 2 6 - 58 WK1 - WK53 N 6 0 (weekly sales current year) UTILITY MENU COMMAND 4 -> TEXT FILE Use this to re-direct all printer output to a disk file. You will be asked to supply the name of the destination file. The default is REPORTS.TXT. You can accept this by pressing ENTER or you can change it by typing a new name. Please note that only the filename can be changed. The file type (.TXT) is automatically supplied. As long as output is being re-directed, the name of the text file appears in the bottom right corner of the screen. All printer output will be sent to this file until you select the Printer command (which does not appear on the Utility menu unless you are currently re-directing output to a text file). It is possible to keep writing to this file until it becomes quite large, so watch your disk space. This command allows you to read the reports into your favorite word processor instead of the printing them. It also allows you to use Retailer II+ without a printer attached. UTILITY MENU COMMAND 5 -> LOCATION This command allows you to switch store locations (if you have set up more than one), to create a new location, or to delete an existing location. A menu appears with the following options: -> Change Location - This displays the store locations that have been set up in Retailer II+. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the one you want then press ENTER. You will then be prompted to choose the manner in which you want the inventory sorted. -> New Location - Use this to create a new store location. First you will be asked to assign a three-character code to represent the new location. If there is one or more locations already set up you will see a list of location codes that have been used. You will then be asked if you want to copy the product line from an existing location (if there is one). Answer "Yes" if the new location is going to carry substantially the same products as an existing one. A window appears from which you can select the location whose product line you want to copy. When you are done the new location will be the active location and you can access it's records immediately. The information copied includes product name, code, class, size, unit cost, unit price, the text field and the sales projections. If there are minor differences in the product line carried in the new location you can use the Browse window or the Find command to make the necessary changes. -> Delete Location - Use this command to remove a location from Retailer II+. When you select this you will be asked to confirm your choice. If the location you deleted is the active location (the one shown in bottom right corner of the screen) you will be asked to change to another location first. If you delete all the locations set up in Retailer II+ the New Location command automatically comes to the screen and you will be asked to set up a new one immediately. This reflects the fact that Retailer II+ requires inventory files to work with at all times. The system will not run if there is no active location available. UTILITIES MENU COMMAND 6 -> GET INFO Use this when you need some information about the state of Retailer II+ and the state of your computer. The information shown includes: the name of the active store location, the number of items in the inventory, the number of items marked, the current sorting order, the last time the inventory file was updated, the amount of free memory available to Retailer II+, the amount of disk space available, whether or not the printer is connected and on line, and the version number of Retailer II+. UTILITIES MENU COMMAND 7 -> COLOR Use this command to change between color and monochrome display. UTILITIES MENU COMMAND 8 -> BACKUP This allows you to make backup copies of your inventory files to floppy diskettes. First you will be asked to select the location for which you want to do a backup. This is followed by a window that asks you to select the floppy drive you want to copy to (A: or B: only). The diskette you put into the drive will be assessed for available space. If there is not enough space you will be shown a list of the files on that diskette and given a opportunity to delete some. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to scroll the list. Highlight a file you want to delete and press ENTER. You will also see a display of the space needed and the space available as you delete files. The backup will proceed to the next step as soon as there is enough space on the diskette. If you do not want to delete any files just press ESCAPE to terminate the backup. The easiest way to manage your backups is to create a separate diskette to hold a backup for each location. Label each diskette with the location code and reserve it for that backup only. Some people like to keep several backups and rotate them, thus allowing them to roll back the inventory data to a previous date if necessary. Please do not neglect the backup command. Use it frequently and you will never have cause for regret when your hard drive breaks down. If you have an employee who runs Retailer II+ for you, or have a situation where more than one person modifies your inventory data, be sure that backups are part of the daily office routine for a designated person. UTILITIES MENU COMMAND 9 -> RESTORE One hopes disaster will never strike and inventory files are never lost. If it does happen, and you have been making backups, then this command easily restores the lost files. Place the diskette with the appropriate inventory files in a floppy drive. The first window that appears asks you to identify the drive where the files can be found. The second window asks you to identify the location to which the files belong. The restore command has another use. If you keep a set of rotating backups, say one for each of the last three sessions with Retailer II+, then you will always be able to roll back the inventory data to a previous session. This ability comes in handy if you or one of your employees does something that is hard to undo, like recording a large shipment twice or deleting 20 items then realizing they were the wrong twenty. Everyone who works with computers (bar none) has moments like that, and an easy way out saves much heartache. SECTION 6 - THE ACCESS MENU Use of password protection in Retailer II+ is optional. It is turned on and off using the Protect/Unprotect commands under the Access menu. The password system provides three levels of access that give varying levels of protection against data deletion and modification. If you do not use the password system any user can access and modify your inventory data. ACCESS MENU COMMAND 1 -> ADD USER Use this command to add a user to the password system. A window appears where you can enter the following: -> User Name - type the first name only then press ENTER. User names should be unique. Avoid using two identical names for different users or two different passwords for one user. -> Access Level - type the access level you want to give this user then press ENTER. Level 1 grants looking privileges only. Use this for someone who is training in your store and who wants to see what the computer system is all about. Level 2 grants data entry and editing privileges. Use this for someone who needs to enter and update your data but who may not delete anything. Level 3 grants all privileges. This level is required to delete records and to disable the password requirement. It is also required to assign access privileges to other users. -> Password - type the users password then press ENTER. Passwords should be at least three characters long. All users may change their own password at any time. -> Press ESCAPE at any time to return to the Main Menu. ACCESS MENU COMMAND 2 -> DELETE USER Use this command to remove a user's name and password from the system. A window appears listing the current users. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to highlight the user name you want removed then press ENTER. Press ESCAPE to exit without any changes. This command is available only to users with an access level of three. ACCESS MENU COMMAND 3 -> CHANGE Any user may change his or her password at any time. The users are prompted for their old password then the new one. Passwords should be at least three characters long. The most secure passwords are a mixture of numbers and letters. ACCESS MENU COMMAND 4 -> PROTECT / UNPROTECT If the password requirement is turned off this menu item will display as "Protect" and any user can to turn the password requirement on again. This is because all users are assigned an access level of three when no passwords are being used. If the passwords are in use this menu item will display as "Unprotect" and users must have an access level of three to turn it off again. SECTION 7 - THE EXIT MENU EXIT MENU COMMAND 1 -> YES Select this to terminate Retailer II+. EXIT MENU COMMAND 2 -> NO Select this to return to the Main Menu. EXIT MENU COMMAND 3 -> DOS This command gives you temporary access to DOS without terminating Retailer II+. Since Retailer II+ is still in memory you may not be able to run large applications in this manner, but you will be able to do routine DOS tasks such as formatting diskettes and moving files around. When you want to return to Retailer II+ type EXIT at the DOS prompt after making sure you have returned to the Retailer home directory, otherwise you may get a DOS error 2 (file not found) when you start working with your inventory again. You should also have a statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file showing the path to COMMAND.COM (i.e. "PATH = C:\"). SECTION 8 - GENERAL PROGRAM NOTES AND ORDER FORM USING STOCK CODES When choosing a stock code numbering system you should consider the following: -> If you want to use alphanumeric codes (letters and numbers) you may use any combination of keyboard characters you wish. Examples such as "A100-123" are valid. When such a coding system is used and you sort your data by ALPHA CODE it will appear in alphabetic order. This means that "A99" will come AFTER "A100" for the same reason that ABC comes after AABC. This is due to the fact that, in an alphabetic sort, the number of characters is not as significant as their ordinal value from left to right. In a numeric sort the number of characters is more significant than their ordinal value. -> If you want to use strictly numeric sorting you should not put any characters in the code except for the numbers 0 to 9, otherwise they may not sort properly. SYSTEM MEMORY CONSIDERATIONS Retailer II+ is a large application. The executable program (RETAIL20.EXE) occupies over 500 KB of disk space. Since it is created with the Clipper 5 compiler it takes advantage of Clipper's code paging features, so it occupies much less space when it is loaded into memory (315 KB). To allow sufficient working space in memory, your computer should have at least 450 KB of free memory before you start the program. If you are running memory-resident programs along with Retailer II+ they should not require more than 100 KB. Where there is a need to load multiple memory-resident programs, try using a product like QRAM (published by Quarterdeck) to move them into high memory. OUR MISSION IS TO DO IT YOUR WAY Retailer II+ was designed by store owners, not by software vendors. Your comments and suggestions will guide the future development of the software and we welcome feedback about what you would like to see in it. If you have a need that is very specific to your business we can and will customize the software for you. Please contact Mr. K. Egger at (416)-862-3430 or (416)861-1575. READ THIS Retailer II+ can be a valuable tool in helping you manage your business. It does not supply you with sound business practices and does not substitute for your own mastery of what goes on in the store. Test it mercilessly to satisfy yourself that it is the right tool. If you have any doubts please set it aside and try something else. We will make every effort to help you use Retailer II+ successfully and will promptly correct any deficiencies that may come to light. RETAILER II+ SOFTWARE ORDER FORM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- K. EGGER, 6 NOTTAWA AVE., TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA M5J 2C8 (416)862-3430 or (416)861-1575 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you order Retailer II+ you will receive a new version of the software (without the reminder notices), unlimited telephone support, and a bound manual. You will also receive D-MAIL 5.0, our professional mailing list manager. The basic registration fee entitles you to use Retailer II+ for two store locations. Each additional location requires another registration fee. Sold To:_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ PHONE __________________________ QTY ITEM PRICE TOTAL ___ Retailer II+ basic registration (first two locations) 125.00 _______ ___ Retailer II+ registration(s) for additional location(s) 125.00 _______ ___ Retailer II+ source code (see Note) 450.00 _______ ___ Retailer II+ bound manual with screen graphics. (Order this only if you need to see more elaborate documentation before making a descision to buy.) 10.00 _______ [ ] Shipping & handling (First Class Mail) 5.00 _______ [ ] Shipping & handling (Federal Express) 26.00 _______ TOTAL (Check or money order) _______ IF YOU ARE USING A DOWNLOADING CASH REGISTER Retailer II+ is set up to work with TEC cash registers. If you would like to use it with another electronic cash system please send us the name and model of the system and an example of the data file it sends to your computer. We will contact you once we have reviewed this material. NOTE The source code contains over 200 KB of Clipper 5 program code. Order this if you want to customize Retailer II+ yourself or have a local programmer do it for you. Use all or just parts of Retailer II+ to create your own application. You will need the Clipper 5 compiler and two Shareware function libraries: TR.LIB by Tom Rettig Associates and SUPER.LIB by Functional Software. Both are available from your Shareware distributor. mp