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ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 1 U s e r ' s M a n u a l S T A R B O O K S Ver 2.08 (c) 1988,1989,1990 Allsoft Computer Products Monmouth Junction, NJ ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 2 This version is derived from the many registered users. A very special thanks for their continued support Special Thanks to Ted McClellan for his suggestions and debugging.. Brian Albright ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 HOW TO RUN THE PROGRAM/INSTALLATION . . . . . . . 6 UP AND RUNNING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MAIN MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 INVENTORY CONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 VENDOR INFORMATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ADDING A PART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 INVENTORY CARD. . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . .10 CREATE PURCHASE ORDERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 VIEW OUTSTANDING PURCHASE ORDERS. . . . . . . . .11 RECEIVE PARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 INVENTORY ADJUSTMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 CATALOG PRINTING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 PRINTING OPTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 ZERO YEAR TO DATE INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . .14 SALES ORDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 REVIEW CUSTOMER FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 LIST CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 STATEMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 REVIEW INVOICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 POSTING PAYMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 REVIEW OUTSTANDING SALES ORDERS . . . . . . . . .18 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS/REGISTRATION. . . . . . . .19 ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 4 INTRODUCTION GENERAL DESCRIPTION This program will provide a small business will the tools necessary to keep track of a parts inventory and accounts receivable. We have done away with general ledger accounting practices in order to keep this package as simple as possible. DISCLAIMER This software package is protected under law. You may freely distribute this diskette to computers that may find this program useful. All uses of this diskette are limited to evaluation purposes only. Only registered users may use this program after evaluation for their own purposes. Site Licenses are available from Allsoft Computer Products We have attempted to create this program to be as easy to operate and error free as possible. Unfortunately, all situations and environments cannot be recreated in development. We will not be held responsible for any financial losses due to a program flaw. Although only the program itself is guaranteed, we will make every possible effort to repair any unforeseen data discrepancies. The way technology keeps advancing and the number of people now using personal computers, we have decided to eliminate such things from this manual as how to make a backup, formatting a disk, etc. You should refer to you DOS manual for many of these questions, but do feel free to contact us with your questions that arise at any time. INSTALLATION The first thing you should be aware of is that you need to have adequate storage space for your data files. Using the formula given below, you will compute the approximate number of kilobytes you will need for data storage: ((number of parts) X 140)/1024=Kbytes for inventory ((number of Accounts receivable) X 180)/1024=Kbytes for A/R files The current version of STARBOOKS will only support up to 2000 accounts and parts for inventory. Now these are only estimations! STARBOOKS will hold your invoices for you until they are paid, need maintenance files, etc. so make your estimate a strong one. A 20 megabyte hard drive is strongly recommended. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 5 We have included an automatic set-up operation for you. Here's what to do. When asked to place a blank disk in a drive please make sure that it is formatted and the system is placed on it. Place the blank, formatted disk in the default disk drive. Usually A:. Now type the disk drive name that you have the MASTER diskette in, followed by a "-", then the disk drive you wish to install STARBOOKS on. Typing A-C <RETURN> will install the program files on drive C: from drive A:. (MASTER-DESTINATION) If you wish to use drive A: for the program place the blank, formatted disk in A: and the MASTER disk in drive B: type B: <RETURN> then type B-A <RETURN>. These batch files will do the work for you. Keep the MASTER disk and store it safely in case something happens to your work disk. The program will now reside in the subdirectory \STARBOOK\ in the default drive (or the drive you selected to run STARBOOKS from). Make sure that your CONFIG.SYS file shows that files=15 or more. The CONFIG.SYS file will set up your operating systems so the programs that run on it will work properly. STARBOOKS requires that at least 15 files be open. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 6 HOW TO RUN THE PROGRAM CD STARBOOK <RETURN> (this changes the directory) SB <RETURN> will start program execution in this directory. If this is the first time you have run STARBOOKS, you will be asked to Install the program. You must press the "Y" key to ENTER the answers to the following questions: COMPANY NAME -The name of your company COMPANY ADDRESS -Address COMPANY CITY, STATE, ZIP -Example: Dallas, TX 75243 PHONE NUMBER -Example: (817) 540-2059 DATA DRIVE AND PATH -Example: C:\STARBOOK\DATA\ TERMS FOR PAYMENT -Example: Net 30 CODE TO ACTIVATE CONDENSED ON-Usually 15 (check your CODE TO CANCEL CONDENSED MODE-Usually 18 printer manual) TAX RATE -Set to 0 for wholesale operation One very important question will be where you want your data files to be located. Enter the letter of the drive (followed by semi colon and a backslash) and the subdirectory path if necessary. If you use a subdirectory besides STARBOOK then make sure you have created it before running the program using the MD command at the DOS prompt. To reinstall, type: SB INSTALL at the DOS prompt. CAUTION!! Reinstalling STARBOOKS will reset your document numbers back to one (1). UP AND RUNNING Each time you run the program, STARBOOKS will check when the last time it was run. (The demo version will also display a registration message.) This information is essential to the proper program flow of STARBOOKS. Options of various versions and installations read this data to do the work that you require of them. The program uses the system date for it's purposes, so make sure that you DOS date is correct. If your system uses a built in calender, the Date operations will be transparent to you. Once a week, (STARBOOKS' week begins on or after Sunday depending when you start up) STARBOOKS will first check your inventory for items that may give you a problem. If you have such a part, STARBOOKS will give you the option to list the part in question to the printer. The following key will give you a rundown: KEY * = Cost is less than .01 @ = Retail is less than .01 ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 7 # = No vendor number assigned These simple codes follow the description of the item. This should help you keep an eye on your inventory. Just press "Y" or "N" to the question "Do you wish an Inventory Report?" Next, STARBOOKS will give you a simple report stating sales and a top 50 countdown of your best selling parts. Also included are last weeks sales per part. Press "Y" or "N" at the question "Do you wish a Top Product Report?" At this time, STARBOOKS maintains your inventory file. For example, your sales for this week will be updated to sales last week and set to zero for the new week. Have your printer ready! The basic design of the screen will rarely change. The upper area is called the Work Area. The upper left corner will house the current program version number. The upper right corner is reserved for your company name. The lower fifth of the screen is called the Function Box. In it will be instructions for you on how to proceed. As a general rule, STARBOOKS will display the information you need to respond to in the Function Box. MAIN MENU Menus are structured so you can press the first letter of the item that you wish to select. A simple press of the highlighted key is all that is necessary throughout the program. Or, use the up/down arrow keys to move the bar to the selection you want and press ENTER. You will be prompted to ENTER data is necessary. That is, you will be required to press the ENTER or RETURN key to complete the step being worked. During most operations, data is saved immediately. This helps insure that during a power failure data will remain as current as possible. INVENTORY CONTROL Before we can sell anything to make a profit, we must have inventory to sell. From the Main Menu press "I". You will now see the Inventory Menu. VENDOR INFORMATION Press "V" for Vendor Information. To add a vendor, Press F# to add the information for a new Vendor. ENTER the Company name, address, city and state, and telephone. Each vendor will be assigned a sequential number starting with 1. This number is to be used on the Inventory Card to reference a part back to the vendor. STARBOOKS uses this information to process and calculate the Purchase Orders ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 8 explained later. Pressing arrow keys, ESC and ENTER will allow you to make corrections if necessary. The options are: F1=Previous Record; F2=Next Record; F3=Add a Record; F4=Search (Both by Number and Name); F5=List this record to the printer; F6=Quit to Inventory Menu. Press "F6" when finished adding your Vendors. Back at the Inventory Menu, press "S" to See Inventory Files. ADDING A PART The work area will fill with the inventory information. If you are viewing your inventory for the first time, the Function Box will prompt you: You have an empty Inventory File. Please add your first part! Press any key to continue. Press a key to add a new part. Why part 18? STARBOOKS uses a preassigned numbering system. Perhaps you would like to enter your own part numbers? Many people would but, from research, users do prefer this system. Here's why: Many programs do allow you to select your own part number. Many times you have to make several attempts to do this because the number you want to use is already being used by another part. So you diddle and daddle, trying to find a combination of letters and numbers that hasn't been used. Result? Wasted time and a number that has nothing to do with the description or the number you wanted in the first place. Granted, small inventories can use this system quite successfully, but imagine 400 parts? 4000 parts? 20000 parts? Get the picture? STARBOOKS uses a check digit approach. Each number it selects for you has undergone a calculation. The last digit is actually a check digit. So instead of part number 18 it is actually part one (1) with a check digit of eight (8). What's the big advantage? If you enter 19, for example, STARBOOKS tells you with a gentle beep that this number is incorrect. Try entering a part number of C145634H01 compared to 1008. You have instant verification that the number you entered is the number you wanted. By use of the check digit you can go through your inventory, receive parts and create sales orders as fast as an accountant figures his bill! You will soon be using this method on the 10-keypad without fear of entering a wrong number. Remember, STARBOOKS will let you know when you've entered it wrong. Simply type in the information as you move through the Inventory Card. Use the Up/Down Arrow Keys, ESC and ENTER to move through ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 9 the Card. You may also use the INSERT and DELETE keys to edit your fields. You are not allowed to modify much of the data you see such as On Hand quantities or the Part Number. These may only be changed by selling the part or, receipting a shipment. The department must be in upper case and only the letters A-Z in version 2.08. This department will categorize your parts for you. For example, ABC Book Sales uses the letter C to represent their Children's books, A for Adult etc. Type in the cost of the item. Use a decimal point between dollars and cents. This number is mostly for reference and to compute profit margin. If the cost changes from the Vendor, you will need to change this number. Type in the selling price of the item. Again, use a decimal point between dollars and cents. The multiplier will be used to calculate proper inventory levels when creating purchase orders for your own inventory. This is a very accurate way of ordering just the quantities you need. Basically, STARBOOKS will decide if your sales history for a particular part is up trending or down trending. If pieces sold were fewer last week then this week, your selling more. That part is up trending. The reverse is true if you sold more pieces last week. The multiplier tells the computer how many weeks supply you would like on hand. The first number represents how many weeks you would like if sales are up, followed by a very important COMMA, then the number of weeks for product you need on hand if sales are slowing down. A good rule for this is to ask yourself. "How many weeks does it take to receive an order from the supplier?" and "Taking into account this delivery time, do I have enough on hand if sales pick up?" You may want to start out using 1,1 until you see a sales history of each part after a few weeks using one of the reports generated (explained later). You might think it wiser to order large quantities and not worry about it for months. Instead of taking a chance tying up your money in inventory, let STARBOOKS order for you weekly keeping your cash flow more active. Let STARBOOKS keep your inventory shelves adequately stocked, not over flowing and not empty. Using 0,0 as the multiplier will tell STARBOOKS not to order anything for that part. Just skip it. The Vendor Number represents the vendor number for this part as entered previously under the menu selection, "Vendor Information". It tells STARBOOKS where the part came from and where to get more. The Vendor Part Number is the number the vendor uses to represent the part you wish to purchase. It may be up to 10 digits long. Numbers only if you are using version 2.08. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 10 THE INVENTORY CARD The inventory card shows you the current available information for that particular part. Of course, the part number is what you see in the upper left corner, followed by the description. The other data represents the cost, retail, the margin percentage (Margin shows how much money that should be made when selling that part in percent). The transaction date will show you the last time that part was sold. This date will not change when entering adjustments or modifying the inventory card. Only when it is actually sold will the date be updated. Next follows the department you selected when adding the part. The next row holds sales for the week, total sales (this includes sales this week), negative adjustments and positive adjustments. The adjustments represent parts taken or added to the inventory card. Perhaps after taking an inventory, you may need to adjust the card deck to reflect your proper on hand. Of course, this would represent shrink, or, a difference between book and on hand inventory. Also, after you have received parts from a supplier, this will appear as a positive adjustment. The final row of data includes the total discounts you have had to give a part to keep it sellable. The size of this number may tell you your prices are to high (or to low.) The multipliers' first number represents the weeks supply desired if sales are uptrending the second, after the comma, is the weeks supply you wish if sales are downtrending. Followed by any customer back orders, the number on order from your supplier and finally your on hand quantities that should be on your shelves. The right side holds the Vendor information. The top number represents the Vendor name, the lower the Vendor's part number. Both must be numeric only. Future versions will utilize this information for accounts payable etc. Pressing the Function Key next to the command will allow you perform various tasks as follows: F1=Previous part; F2=Next Part; F3=Search Feature; F4=Add a new part; F5=Return to the Inventory Menu. To edit, Simply move the cursor to the field you wish and type in the new information. Adding a part will select a part number, or SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) for you as discussed earlier. F1 and F2 allows you to flip through your files to review and edit the information. Pressing F3 for search will allow you to enter the part number you wish to see and zoom! your there. Here, you have the option of pressing "D". You will then be prompted to enter a description to search for. All or any part of any word will work for the search. If the part you want appears on the screen, press ENTER to continue or "N" to search for the next occurrence of the description in the inventory deck. Pressing F5 will return you back to the Inventory Menu. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 11 CREATE PURCHASE ORDER Pressing "C" will create a Purchase Order by vendor for you to call or send in to your supplier. The process is automatic and is computed using the multiplier in the card deck. The formula is as follows: ORDER= (WEEKLY SALES x MULTIPLIER)-(ON HAND+ON ORDER) + CUSTOMER BACK ORDERS The only exception to this rule is if you have the Multiplier set to 0,0 in which no ordering will be done for that part. This is useful if you manufacture that part as it is ordered. As the files are being checked for orders, the screen will show the current cost as it is accumulating. When finished, STARBOOKS will ask you to review pages, edit, print etc. This is done the same way as the Sales Order. (review heading titled SALES ORDER). When you have the Purchase Order the way you want it, Press "P" to Print and you will be asked to verify your decision. While printing, STARBOOKS will organize your Purchase Orders by Vendor, each having a different Purchase Order number. It is this number, printed at the upper left corner of the document, that is used to receipt your stock when it arrives as described below. NOTE: If there is no sales history STARBOOKS will always order using the uptrending multiplier. Remember, the multiplier is based on your sales trend. VIEW OUTSTANDING PURCHASE ORDERS After pressing "V" to enter into this option you will be asked which purchase order you wish to view. You may only view these, any editing you may wish to do should have been done at the above option. Make your selection to review this on the (S)creen or (P)rinter. This option is for reference only. RECEIVING PARTS Selecting this option from the Inventory Menu ("R") is your next logical step. This option will allow you to enter or receive shipments from your supplier. You will also need this step when you first begin your set up to tell the inventory card how many parts you have in stock. This option is the same as "P" or positive adjustment while viewing your inventory card. Select "M" for a Manual receipt. A new option added to STARBOOKS is the ability to print a Price sticker for the parts you ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 12 receive. Use Mailing Labels that are 15/16 X 3 1/2 inches. The Function Box will ask if you wish these stickers. Pressing "Y" or "N" at the prompt "Do you wish stickers" will select if this feature is used. If this option is active, a sticker is printed for each part received and in quantity. So if you receipted 10 gadgets, 10 stickers will be printed. Each sticker has the Part Number, Description, Retail Price and Department. Next, the Function Box prompts you to ENTER PART NUMBER. Enter the part number you wish. The work area will show you a description of the number you selected. If this is the wrong description, you may enter a zero (0) at the quantity prompt and the card remains unchanged. If this is the part you wish to add quantities to, enter the quantity received. You will see the quantity added to match the description given in the work area. Press "Q" to quit after you have finished receipting your shipment. After receiving parts manually, STARBOOKS will check to see if you have any outstanding customer Back Orders. If so, STARBOOKS will generate a Sales Order for you automatically for the customer that ordered the product first. STARBOOK's will create a Sales Order only if the parts that your "book" inventory says that you have is enough to cover what is on back order. The rest of the parts will remain on back order until you have enough on hand to fill them. When the Accounts Receivable portion of Back ordered sales orders appears, the correct customer will be shown. Follow the normal Sales Order procedures as described later. Using the "A" option for automatic receipt will allow you to quickly enter an entire Purchase Order that STARBOOKS created when you selected the Create Purchase Order option ("C"). You again have the option for Inventory Price Stickers. Use the same "Y" or "N" as above when prompted if you want them. You will then be prompted for a valid purchase order number. Next you will enter in any adjustments to the original purchase order. Enter the SKU, then the adjustment. For example, entering +2 means that you received 2 more parts than the original purchase order stated. -2 would indicate you were shorted 2 parts. If no parts are over or short, just press ENTER at the SKU prompt. Next watch the Function Box as STARBOOKS receipts these quantities for you. The Purchase Order file created will be erased. With this method, it is not advisable to accept back orders from the vendor. You may do so, but to receive them must done manually. CAUTION! Any On Order quantities that are listed on your inventory card can only be removed my a "receipt" transaction. If a situation exists when your On Order quantity doesn't match what is on outstanding purchase orders, you may correct it by receipting them manually then doing a negative adjustment to bring the on hand to normal. (Use the same number of negative adjustments as were receipted). ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 13 INVENTORY ADJUSTMENTS Pressing "A" at the Inventory Menu will allow you to adjust your on hand inventories. This option is useful after an inventory. Simply enter the part number and the adjustment amount. Use a positive amount to add parts to your on hand quantities, negative to subtract. This option will not affect your on order quantities. CATALOG PRINTING Pressing "P" at the Inventory Menu will bring you to the Catalog Printing Menu. Make sure that the printer is on line before selecting the options given. Also, to stop printing at any time, press the ESC key. The options available are: 1==> Print by All Departments (Order Sheet) Retail Only. Use for placing orders 2==> Print by A Department Order sheet for only the department you specify 3==> Print by Partnumber (Entire Inventory) (Also ASCII file called INVDISK.DAT for use with other programs ) 4==> Print Alphabetically by Title (Entire Inventory) 5==> Print Alphabetical by Vendor Quit to Inventory Menu Your printer will need to be able to print in the condensed mode for options 3 & 4. The following table will help you read the printouts: PART SKU Number DESCRIPTION Part title or description TW Sales so far this week LW Sales from the last week. NEG Total Negative adjustments Year to Date POS Total Positive adjustments Year to Date BO Total number of parts customers are waiting for in Back Orders OO Total number of parts of order from your vendor. TOTAL Total number of parts sold Year to date MUL The Multiplier for Purchase Orders. UP,DN Trends. COST Cost entered for the part RETAIL Selling price for the customer DATE The date the last time that part was sold. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 14 DISC Total discounts given Year to Date. DEPT The A-Z upper case code you have given your product for sub-division. SHELF LABELS This option at the Inventory Menu will give you the option to print out Shelf Labels (The same as the Inventory Price Stickers) This option is great to label your warehouse shelves. The option A)ll or S)ingle will appear. Pressing "A" will print out 1 label for each part in stock. Selecting "S" will prompt you for a valid part number. Again, 1 label is printed. This option will return you to the Inventory Menu. ZERO OUT YEAR TO DATE TOTALS This option will zero all totals of discounts, pieces sold, and customer back orders. To erase on hand quantities also, at the DOS prompt type SB ZERO. You will be asked to verify your decision before continuing either option. It is advisable to secure a backup copy for your records first! SALES ORDER IMPORTANT!!! Before you begin reading this chapter, you may wish to review the following chapter, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, and set up customer accounts before beginning with Sales Orders although not necessary. This is the most used option of STARBOOKS. With it we will bill the customer the product we have sold him and adjust the inventory cards accordingly. Selecting "S" from the Main Menu will bring up the Sales Order screen. The cursor will appear under the PART heading in the work area. The Function Box will ask you to ENTER the SKU or PART number. Enter the number you wish to sell, probably taking the information from your order sheets (described earlier). The description will appear for you. The cursor will proceed to under the heading labeled ORDER. Enter the number of parts the customer wanted. Again, the cursor will guide you and place itself under the heading BORDER. This stands for backorder. Enter the number of parts you wish to place on backorder. This is held and invoiced automatically when receiving parts as described later. STARBOOKS does not check on hand for you. The cursor proceeds to under the RETAIL heading. Just press ENTER to use the full price, or, type and ENTER in a new price, or, type in a percentage (5%, for example, using the % key) will apply the ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 15 discount percentage to the selling price. You may wish to try a practice Sales Order and experiment with the options available to you. All totals will be multiplied to give a total in the far right column. As you add to the Sales Order, you will notice the number at the upper right of the work area. This represents the current accumulative retail of the order to that point. This is handy if you receive a Purchase Order that must remain below a certain dollar amount. The cursor will return to the PART heading with the next line number to allow you to continue on this your sales order. There is no limit on the amount of items you may sell on one order! Also remember, if you make a mistake you may later (E)dit the Sales Order before printing or (A)bort. An option you have at the PART heading is to ENTER an "S". This will activate the search feature if you are unsure of the correct part number. STARBOOKS will search for ANY occurrence of the description you enter and show you the title on the screen as it finds them. Press ENTER to accept this entry or press "N" to look some more. Continue on with the other fields as normal. Pressing "Q" at the PART heading will total the order for you. If your sales order fills more than one screen the "N" and "B" options will flip you through the order. This is useful to double check large orders. The "E" or Edit option will allow you to change a line. Enter the line you wish to change. Now, just follow the instructions given on the previous pages. The Search feature as well as all others, will work the same. Should you decide you want to delete a line from the order, just EDIT then line so you will sell zero (0) quantity and the printed official version of the sales order will not have that line printed. Pressing A for Abort will destroy this Sales Order and return you to the Main Menu. Pressing P will continue with the Sales Order operation. The Function Box will then ask if you would like to discount the entire ticket. Pressing "Y" will allow you to ENTER a discount percentage. This discount will be applied in addition to any previous discounts. For example, let's say you have sold a part, regular price being 10.00. Now, while entering the sales ticket information, you opted to give a 10% discount and continued entering the rest of the ticket. That brings the current selling price of the item to 9.00. You are now beginning to Print the ticket and are asked if you want to discount the entire ticket. You do and enter .10 for 10%. That 10.00 original price is now selling, on this ticket, for 8.10. ( 10% of 10.00=9.00. 10% of 9.00=8.10). If a Tax rate has been entered during installation, you will be prompted if you would like to tax the total amount of the invoice. Press Y or N to continue. You will then be asked to enter a Purchase Order number if the customer requests it. The Customer accounts will now appear as see in the Accounts Receivable module. Select the Account that ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 16 you want the Sales Order to be charged to. If you don't have a account set up yet, just press F4 to add, F3 to search until the information you want is on screen. This screen in the work area will also show you the customers account balance and total with this Sales Order. Press F6 to quit. The Customer information will remain on the screen. The Function Box will now let you know if you would like any printed comments to appear on the Sales Order, if so, enter them at this time, or press Enter. The Function Box will now ask if you wish to (C)ontinue or (Q)uit. Pressing "C" will print the Order and update all files. Pressing "Q" will return you to the Main Menu. If you wish to rework this invoice, return the Sales Order Menu and immediately press "Q" to quit. The invoice will reappear as it was before! This option will allow you to come back and review or edit the last Sales Order entered! If you do not wish to re work the sales invoice, it will be necessary for you to Abort the sales order to delete it from storage. Sometimes, you may want to keep track of Back Orders for parts you are currently out of. STARBOOKS will give you the option of keeping these on file until you receive the parts. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE I suggest you begin with option "R". Reviewing customer files will allow you to enter in new clients and check on the status of the customers current balance. Go ahead and press the "R" key. By pressing F4 for add, STARBOOKS will find the next available customer number for you and prompt you. Since this is a new customer, the Function Box will ask for the current Debit and Credit amount. This is so you may keep amounts current if your going from a previous program to STARBOOKS or cleaning out the filing cabinet. Again, using the up/down arrow Keys, the ESC and ENTER Keys, enter the name and continue until the Account Card is Filled. By the way, if a credit is shown, the next Sales Order will take this amount off of the ticket automatically! After all information is entered, STARBOOKS will save this for you. Explaining the choices in the Function Box is as follows: F1=Previous Account; F2=Next Account; F3=Search (both by number and name); F4=Add a new customer; F5=Print this Account (Have Printer ready); and F6 will return you to the Accounts Receivable Menu. Pressing F3 will prompt you for an account number or press "D" to enter in the name (or part of a name) of the account to search for. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 17 To Edit, simply move the cursor to the field you wish to change and type in the new information. LIST ACCOUNTS TO PRINTER This option will print to the screen or printer, a listing of all customers on file and their current account status. STATEMENTS By pressing "S" from the A/R Menu, Statements for each customer with a amount due will be printed. You will be prompted to select (S)ingle or (A)ll. When pressing "S", enter the account number for the Accounts Receivable customer you wish to bill. Selecting All will print all customers holding a balance due. Included in the statement is a listing of invoices that are past due. The top portion is to be returned with the payment. For your convince, the customer account number is printed just under the date of the statement in the upper left corner. NOTE: Statements will only be accurate if invoices are generated from within the STARBOOKS environment. REVIEW INVOICES This is a listing of all invoices. Reported are the invoice or sales order number, the customer name, date of the sale, whether is has been paid or not, the original amount of the invoice and the amount yet to be paid. This also gives you a nice total of incoming cash! POSTING PAYMENTS This is one of the most exciting evolutions we have developed that our users have loved. Automatic posting of payments. Here's how it works. By pressing "P" at the Accounts Receivable Menu, the Function Box asks you to enter the customer number. If the customer sends the top portion of the statement with his payment, the number is located in the upper left corner. If not, you may want to refer to the accounts listing. You will next be asked how much is the payment. Enter this amount in. Remember to use a decimal point if necessary. STARBOOKS will now quickly search for a match and tell you that the invoice is paid. If no match is found, you will then be asked to (D)ivide the payment or (Q)uit. Dividing the payment will post the total amount of the payment into the unpaid invoices for that customer starting with the oldest invoice! All automatic, no searching or dividing up ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 18 the payment check to match the invoices. STARBOOKS does this for you and will let you know what invoices are paid. If there is not enough money, STARBOOKS will calculate a new balance due for that invoice. If the customer over paid, you will be told and the credit will be applied on their next sales order! A few keystrokes and a few seconds. It doesn't get any easier than this! By the way, when an invoice is paid, STARBOOKS will no longer hold a copy of the invoice for you to review. We must assume that an order paid in full is paid and no longer necessary. You may want to make a copy or use carbonless paper during invoicing. REVIEWING OUTSTANDING SALES ORDERS Assume a customer calls you on the phone and asks, "What's this bill for?", you select letter "O" on the A/R Menu, enter the customer number and a quick listing comes up showing his past due invoices. Now, by entering the invoice number, you have the option of printing a copy of the sales order (for example, if the customer would like a copy.) or press "S" for the invoice or sales order to appear on the screen. Instant verification! The invoice is removed after the customer has paid the invoice in full. ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 19 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS "How many items can I have on one invoice?" Unlike many programs which will limit you to as little as 25-100 items, STARBOOKS will allow any number of items, or as many as the disk will hold up to 32000 lines. Many customers of STARBOOKS have consistently been using 200 to 300 and more lines on a given invoice. This helps keep your customers happy to have all ordered items on one billing invoice. "As the program changes, how can I receive updates?" All registered users are entitled to updates. To find out the latest version, just call (201) 422-9254. You will then be instructed on how to receive the latest. Don't worry, your data will still be valid on an upgrade. "What do I do during a power outage or I accidentally shut of my computer while using STARBOOKS?" STARBOOKS has been designed so that during a power outage, every attempt has been made to save the data after each step. Just return to the same point in the program before the accident. Always use Q)uit to exit the program properly. "While reviewing my invoice, I find that I need to add a part that I forgot." It is easy to add a part to the invoice. Select "E" for edit. The Function Box will prompt you to Enter a line number to Edit or press "A" to add. Pressing "A" will allow you to continue adding parts as usual. "During invoicing, I find that I have a part that is not listed in my Inventory file. Can I add it during invoicing?" Yes. Just Q)uit the invoice. (To do this, use "Q" for a part number and continue with normal printing procedures. STARBOOK will ask "C)ontinue or Q)uit". Press "Q". STARBOOKS will save this invoice for you.) Add the part into inventory. Proceed to the Sales Order option. Instead of a part number, use "Q". This will restore the previous invoice. Then continue as normal. "While I am invoicing, how do I add a customer to my Accounts Receivable file?" When you reach the Accounts Receivable file during the invoice printing process, just press F4 for add. The invoice totals will be transferred to this account for future billing. "What if I don't want to have STARBOOKS order a part while ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 20 creating purchase orders?" Set the multiplier for this part at 0,0. "What is the difference between a Sales Order and an Invoice"? A Sales order is only an order that is put into the computer. Until it actually prints, deducts inventory and charges the customer, it is still a Sales order. Only when the order has "shipped" does the Sales Order become an Invoice. (An Invoice in numbered, a Sales Order is not in STARBOOKS). "I just took my year end inventory and STARBOOKS says I have more parts on hand than I actually do?" Adjust your inventory using the A)djust option at the Inventory Menu. Follow the prompts to correct the difference. "If something goes wrong, who do I call?" Call me! Many Distributors of STARBOOKS are just not equipped to handle product support call. Besides, I may have the problem fixed or can easily inform you what to do. If I'm not in, PLEASE leave a message on my machine. Leave the version number, the error and the line (if software error) your name and number. Also speak clearly, Many of you are calling all over the United States and Canada and Ma Bell doesn't always have perfect clarity at those distances. The number is (201) 422-9254. I will call back ASAP. Usually within 24-36 hours. I can also be reached via CompuServe's electronic mail. My mailbox is 71301,3015. This concludes the information for STARBOOKS version 2.08. Any and all additional comments are welcome. And thanks to the many distributors of STARBOOKS that make it such a success! ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS STARBOOKS USER MANUAL Page 21 REGISTRATION HOW MANY? PROGRAM PRICE EXTENDED ________ Starbooks /2.08 $29.95 ________ ________ Time Runner/1.00 $15.00 ________ New Jersey Residents add State Tax ________ Shipping & Handling $3.00 ________ Total due ________ Check or Money Order O.K. SEND TO: ALLSOFT COMPUTER PRODUCTS 2404 SUGAR MAPLE COURT MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ 08852 =====> Please specify 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" Disk formats <==== All Orders usually shipped within 24 hours Plans are being made to release a multi-location and a Point of Sale version of Starbooks in the winter of 1990. Watch for information coming your way! Note: Updates will be made available after registered users are notified. Users will then need to send $3.00 for disk and shipping or Download the program from BBS at (201) 422-9256. Baud= 300/1200/2400 N81. Self Extracting file Starbook.EXE will be available.