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*** ONLINE HELP ***
CRIS: The Cash Register and Inventory System
Version 3.0
Copyright 1993 Computech, All Rights Reserved Worldwide
by Matthew A. McCoy
Computech
13185 West Wilbur Drive
New Berlin, WI 53151
(414) 789-8348
Introduction
I feel it necessary to give you a little background
to the Cash Register and Inventory System (CRIS) software.
CRIS was conceived in 1988 and was originally part of
a system being developed for a marina, to track repair costs,
repairmen's times, and inventory.
CRIS 1.0 was a subset of these routines, with certain
modifications made towards point-of-sale transactions.
CRIS 1.0 had many fine points, which I've tried to carry
throughout the series: easy to use function keys, simple menu
system (most options are only a layer deep), and a simple 1,2,3
approach to completing a transaction.
The original CRIS 1.0 software had a few faults, however.
Tax exemption numbers were only allowed seven digits (not
alphanumeric). Zip codes were numeric only, which didn't help
Canadian companies using the software. Also, phone numbers
were accepted in a format most people didn't want to use:
(area code) phone-number. For many small businesses, they
already know the area code of their customers, so typing it in
is rather redundant. Similarly, foreign users of the software
didn't use the same phone number format as we do in the states,
so this field was not being effectively used.
Many of these bugs (or features, you might call them) were
corrected in several versions of the software (2.1-2.9). Most
of these versions of CRIS were customized for a particular
company, however, and were not released to the general public.
There were also a few new developments that I felt had to be
addressed:
1. Recently, a county sales tax was implemented for Milwaukee
County, Wisconsin. This made me realize the necessity of having
a breakdown of state, county, and city sales tax.
2. Initially, I had very little experience with purchase orders,
so the thought of adding a PO module to the system didn't really
occur to me. Since then, many companies that weren't using PO's are
starting to. So, I added a simple PO system to CRIS 3.0. I feel it
is quite adequate for most applications, but would be happy to
make modifications for a small fee.
Now, I present you with CRIS 3.0, the end result of several years
of developmental work.
A Few Notes on Registration
I have instituted a fair system of registering CRIS. I hope you
will take advantage of it to further your point-of-sale operation
and help encourage future shareware development.
You have the opportunity to use the demo system for as long as you
want; however, you have the following limitations:
a. A maximum of five records in any database, whether it's an
account, invoice, inventory item, vendor, or individual items
on an invoice.
b. As you print sample invoices, a message stating this version of
CRIS is unregistered is printed at the bottom of the invoice.
c. Technical support is limited to registered users.
Upon receiving payment for the CRIS package, you will be
notified by either phone or mail (or both) that Computech has
received payment. You will be given a password which will
automatically upgrade you to the full version. All of your
existing data files will be preserved, so any time you've
spent setting up the system won't be wasted.
Registration, and what you get:
1. Registration fee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.00*
This entitles the user to use the CRIS program on
one workstation. Additional workstations will be
an additional charge of $35.00. 1/2 hour of
technical support is also included within continental
48 states.
2. Typeset Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00*
A typeset, bound manual containing full documentation
to the CRIS system, and information about other
Computech products.
3. Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.00 / hr.**
Maintenance contracts are available which would reduce
these rates. We don't consider the CRIS package a high-
maintenance product, so we don't emphasize purchasing
additional technical support. It is available, however.
* Please include 5.5% sales tax in Wisconsin.
** Within continental 48 states.
Disclaimer
Please be aware that Computech provides this product
free from any warranty whatsoever. Use of this product
is at-your-own-risk. Computech will not be held liable,
commercially or otherwise, for damage to or loss
of business as a result of using this product.
CRIS is believed to be a sound, error-free product.
However, with the complexity of a product such as this,
we cannot be 100% certain that this product will work
reliably under all circumstances. We are most appreciative
of bug reports and "wants" lists, so any additional
correspondence is appreciated.
Installation
The CRIS 3.0 program is distributed as a self-extracting .ZIP
file. After running this program initially, a series of files
are created. The CRIS software will install from either a
floppy or hard disk, so the example below may look somewhat
different according to your configuration.
To install CRIS on your hard drive, enter the following command:
A:\> install (drive)
(Where drive is a hard drive letter, with colon. eg., C:)
*Be aware that the directory CRIS creates is called CRIS30.
*A file called CRIS.BAT will be copied to the root directory of C:,
so that CRIS may be accessed from any subdirectory on the hard
drive.
*It is assumed C:\ is in your PATH statement.
*When the install program is finished, CRIS will run automatically.
*You may run CRIS subsequently by typing "CRIS" at a DOS prompt.
Opening Menu
The opening menu allows the user to select among different
companies' databases. Some businesses set-up separate
entities; e.g., a clothing store may have a separate
shoe store within the same store. This opening menu
accomodates these arrangements.
When you set up a new company, or use CRIS for the first time,
you must select option 2, "Add Company."
The "Delete Company" option allows you to remove a company
and its associated databases. This option should be used
very carefully!
Add Company
The Add Company option facilitates the addition of new
businesses to the CRIS system. Upon selecting this
option, the user is presented with a data screen
containing fields for company name, address, phone / fax
numbers, and other system parameters.
The user must fill in the address and name information
as they wish it to appear on an invoice or purchase order.
Please note that you are allowed two lines for an address.
The following field, "Transaction Types" will be used in
future implementations of CRIS. This field will be
important in the future for being able to customize
certain point-of-sale features. This field may be left
blank.
The question "IBM Graphics Printer" should be answered
with a "Y" for Yes or "N" for no. This question deals
with the type of printer being used with the system
for invoice printing. If the printer is capable of
printing IBM extended ASCII characters, this question
should be answered with a "Y".
The "Color / Monochrome" setting applies to whether your
display monitor supports color. This is also a
Yes or No answer.
The following fields apply to state, county, and local
sales taxes. Please enter the sales tax rates for area
you live in. Please note that these fields accept
percentages.
The last field on the page, "Make Purchase Orders..."
applies to some new features to be introduced with later
versions of the software such as automatic purchase order
generation. This field may be left blank.
Upon entering all necessary data on this page, the user
may strike escape to exit and save their work.
Delete Company
The delete company option allows the removal of companies
from the CRIS system. Upon selecting this option, please
answer "Y" for Yes or "N" for No to delete a company.