Magnum One

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Magnum One / Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso / d6 / tfo330c.arc / TFOMAN.ARC / MAN1.PRO < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1990-02-24 | 176KB | 3,744 lines

T H E F R O N T O F F I C E tm A MARKETING AND SALES PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prospecting & Lead Tracking Telemarketing & Call Reporting Followup & Sales Performance with Sales Orders, Job Costing & Commissions including The Write Perspective word processor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- | |-----------| | | | THE | | | | FRONT | | | | OFFICE | | | |-----------| | | | | ] | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------- " Open the door to more opportunity with The Front Office. " The Front Office ver 3.1. Copyright (c) 1983/1990 by Inter active micro, Inc. All rights reserved. - C O P Y R I G H T - The Front Office ver 3.1 is shareware. You are encouraged to register your copy. Please feel free to distribute the diskettes to your friends and associates in it's UNMODIFIED form. If you use TFO and if you like it you are expected to reg- ister your copy for $129.00. Upon registration you will receive the very latest enhancements, a users manual, telephone support, and any upgrades or revisions for one year. To register call or write: Inter active micro, Inc. P.O.Box 478 Bradford,NH 03221 603-938-2127 603-938-5230 BBS The names WordStar and MailMerge are trademarks of MicroPro International Corporation. The names PC-DOS and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. The name MS-DOS is a registered trademark of MicroSoft Corporation. The name Clipper is a trademark of Nantucket Software The name PC-Write is a trademark of Quicksoft. The name MicroSoft Word is a trademark of MicroSoft Corporation. The name Clipper is a trademark of Nantucket Software, Inc. The name WordPerfect is a trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. The name Manuscript is a trademark of Lotus Corporation. - DISCLAIMER - This manual covers all the subjects in the commercial version of The Front Office. Some programs and procedures are specific to the Sales Order, Job Cost- ing and Commission tracking modules which are only included in the commercial version. Some menus will differ in the shareware version from what is depicted in this manual. This commercial version of the manual is given here to introduce shareware users to the expanded features and programs available in the commer- cial version. As you run this shareware version of The Front Office any features in this manual not reflected in the actual programs and screens have been simply eliminated to create this limited shareware version. The shareware version is priced accordingly. This manual is the commercial documentation. The commercial version retails as a licensed work for $295.00. It may not be copied. Page 3 - C O N T E N T S - PAGE # PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Section I--Tutorial INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 PROCEDURES: Part I - Shareware and Commercial 1 - Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2 - Entering Prospect, Sales, Vendor, & UDF Codes. .16 3 - Adding & Editing the Prospect File . . . . . . .24 4 - Writing Single Letters & Envelopes, PC-Write . .33 5 - Writing Many Letters, PC-Write . . . . . . . . .39 6 - Writing Many Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 7 - Printing Labels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 8 - Changing Dates & Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 9 - Replacing Code Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 10 - Passwords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 11 - Adding & Editing the Performance File. . . . . .73 12 - Printing Salesperson & Supplier Data. . . . . . 79 13 - Printing Performance Data. . . . . . . . . . . .83 14 - Changing File Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . .87 15 - Call Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 16 - Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 17 - Using Walknet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 18 - Importing Foreign Data Files . . . . . . . . . 109 19 - Telemarketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 20 - Call Reports Within Dates. . . . . . . . . . . 119 21 - Using the Auto Dialer. . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 22 - Selections Using UDF Codes . . . . . . . . . . 125 PROCEDURES: Part II - Commercial 23 - Sales Order Processing & Commissions . . . . . 127 24 - Customer Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 25 - Job Costing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 26 - Taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 27 - Shipments and Commission Payment Control . . . 161 Section II--TFO Write Perspective CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169 QUICK START. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171 ADVANCED OPERATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181 APPENDIXES (A, B). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202 Section III--Alphabetical Listings INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 CONTENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 SUBJECTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 APPENDIXES (A, B, C, D, E)..............................220 Page 4 - P R E F A C E - This manual is divided into three sections. Section I, Procedures, is separated into two parts. Subjects common to both the Shareware & Commercial versions of The Front Office form the first part and subjects dealing with only the Commer- cial version form the second part. Although supplier or vendor information is common to the Commercial version of the procedures, Part I does make reference to supplier information. However, because supplier processing is done much the same as salesman processing, supplier procedures are included along with salesperson procedures. Section II covers how to use the Write Perspective word processor. Section III is a type of index and the appendix. A type of index simple means that the information about the indexed subject is recorded in paragraph form next to the subject listed. The Front Office places many instructions on each screen when you touch <H> or <F1> for help, but this manual has been arranged because good documentation is important. Whenever we receive something laid out in the form of a tutorial, we appreciate it; so we feel that you will appreciate the tutorial style of these procedures as well. We are confident that The Front Office is so easy to use that you may not need the procedures. But, for the less experienced users there are some tricky parts when working with the Commercial version and it's financial data. We suggest that you "practice" with the demo files included by adding a salesperson and supplier, and by creating an order or two. Regarding job cost control, you might want to enter some practice estimates, actual costs and payments. Use the various reporting menus to see the results from the <R>- Reports and <C>-Commission menus. You can delete all the files and financial data after you are finished practicing to clear out your files. See the - Utility, <C>-Code Maintenance, menus to delete prospect/customer data, and the <J>-Job Costing menu to delete sales orders and financial data. When merging using the various word processors that The Front Office supports, you will find that the differences rest primarially when using the word processor itself. How you employ each word processor from the The Front Office is common. Instructions for the different word processors are on the screens. Incidentally, after installing The Front Office you may wish to step through the various menus and enter <F1> or <H> for "Help" when it appears. Various help screens will be displayed explaining some of the aspects of each routine. This manual uses certain conventions: whenever you see <Esc>, this means to strike the "Esc" key. The Esc key is used to go back to the previous menu or to exit to DOS if on the Main Menu. All of the words that you are asked to type are enclosed in <>. We trust that the details presented will be read while using the The Front Office computer system. It is hoped that you will create the best habits in the beginning, so that you can use the system to its greatest potential. Various screens show you how to move the cursor without using the arrow keys on the left of PC keyboards. Some have found that once they get used to such extra strokes using the left hand, typing can be sped up because they need not move their hands off the keyboard to strike the arrow or cursor control keys on the right. But, of course, habit and personal choice will be the deciding factor on how you choose to work. Page 5 - I N T R O D U C T I O N - Generally, The Front Office is a menu driven, marketing and sales productivity (MSP) system that will help improve sales, business decisions and profits. The Front Office is intended to increase income through improved marketing and sales prospecting techniques. It processes sales orders and payments so balances due, sales taxes, and commissions due are maintained and reported. It reports supplier purchases indicating margin/profit, and salesperson commissions received. This makes TFO a very profitable tool for Manufacturer's Representatives. Using various codes, The Front Office defines prospects, salesmen and suppliers, to do mailings, and to follow-up on leads. The system manipulates prospective customer information, leads and quote activity, coded sales records, call reports, sales orders, and job cost. WordPerfect, WordStar/MailMerge, PC-Write, MicroSoft Word and Lotus Manuscript are integrated with The Front Office to produce letters and envelopes. The Front Office produces letters, envelopes, labels, and reports selectively by prospect code, salesperson code, zip code, follow-up date, customer code and product code for complete flexibility and control. The prospect file maintains office and region codes. The sales module maintains performance figures on as many salespersons as you would like. Sales volume projections are compared to current production and last year's figures, and performance reports reflect the percentage of increase or decrease in earnings. Sales commissions and call reporting is reported by supplier and/or by salesperson. A supplier or vendor file is available and is used to report margins, cost and gross profit on items sold. Sales tax accounting is included to simplify state sales tax reporting. You can establish 15 data fields with your own titles. These User Defined Fields enable searches on any or all these fields. You can combine your own codes with the existing code fields giving infinate lookup possibilities. Sales and profit figures created from sales orders/invoices for customers or principals enable an easy way to measure earnings, profits and salesperson performance. Orders also control shipping information and produce anticipated commissions and enable the posting and reconciliation of commission payments. driven, selections Once a name and address is entered into the The Front Office system, this is what TFO does for salesperson, manufacturer's representatives, small businessman, and sales management personnel. MARKETING... Prospects/customers can be segmented by region or office codes, then by prospect code or salesman code and then selected by name, zip code, follow-up date, type code, product code, or status code. Using the menu driven selection process, letters, labels, and envelopes can be prepared using the above codes or by entering your own code field titles (User Defined Fields). The Front Office includes a word processor called The WRITE PERSPECTIVE. The program automatically creates merge files for the word processor from the coded search routines and User Defined Fields. Merge files are also integrated with other word processors such as Wordstar, Word Perfect, Pc-Write, MicroSoft Word, Lotus Manuscript, and PFS Professional. Listings are produced using the same selection criteria, so that follow-up calls can be made to those receiving marketing material. Follow-up listings are produced using follow-up dates to enable easy tracking for future possible sales. Using the Telemarketing feature a To-Do-List for any day presented on the screen for daily follow-up activity showing all the information about the prospect-not just a brief name and phone number. Page 6 - I N T R O D U C T I O N - You set the time span for the follow-up control desired based on a number of days interval. Labels can be up to three across and custom formatted. They can be 1 1/2" long or the larger shipping label at 3" long. Labels produced on laser as well as dot-matrix printers. Record numbers are furnished and optional on labels for processing resultant inquiry returns. Changes to prospect records can be made quickly and simply through default arrangements and code grouping procedures. Searches are done on either Company, Name and Record Number. You can locate prospects using the zip code. Over 80 different coded indexes to list output to the printer or to the screen. Automatic indexing of files based on what additions or changes were made to reduce needless re-indexing. CALL REPORTING... Each recall of a prospect displays the last call report recorded. The length of each call is timed and dates are kept on each call record for the selected prospect. Call editing uses word processing type features such as word-wrap, insert on/off, and scrolls within a window allowing for any desired report length or number per record. Call reports can be displayed or reported by prospect. Call reports can be displayed or reported within a range of dates by salesman. Management and salesman can quickly recall and review how the sales effort is progressing. The automatic dialer automatically returns the call record screen for completion and timing of call data. Call reporting reflects how much time is spent calling prospects. Call reports, contact names and writing single letters is routinely integrated when adding prospects. Call records can be transmitted via modem to the home office. SALES ORDERS... The Front Office prepares sales orders and keeps a financial record of earnings. Sales order files can be transmitted via modem to the home office. Options are available for printing the headings on sales orders. Sales taxes are computed for completion of state sales tax reports. Sales orders extensions can be automatically calculated or manually entered. Sales orders can be viewed. Orders can be printed when they are prepared or printed later for any time period. Financial information from sales orders is automatically integrated with the Job Costing module and the Sales module. The Vendor module maintains personnel information on each vendor/supplier/ principal/company with a percentage for commissions due or gross profit margin. Completed sales orders can be deleted should any have require rewriting. SALESMAN PERFORMANCE... The Salesman module maintains salesman's personnel information, quotas and performance. Sales performance data is reported by month or by salesman name showing YTD quotas and earnings. Salesman earnings are updated automatically when entering sales order information. Salesman commissions are reported in either salesman or sales order sequence. YTD sales and profits for each customer is reported. Sales performance files are password protected. Page 7 - I N T R O D U C T I O N - COMMISSIONS... Company/supplier/principal/vendor codes are entered on a sales order so that margin (as a dealer) or commissions (as a manufacturers representative) are reported. Reports reflect anticipated commissions compared to payments received by sales order or salesman. Using Sales Orders as a dealer, supplier margins, costs and profits are reported through the Job Costing Module. Shipping dates and commission payments are entered to each item on a Sales Order through the Shipping and Commission Order Control module. Sales commissions can split between two salesman. Sales commissions can be by percentage or over-riden with a particular dollar amount. Commission percentages are calculated from each salesmen's particular record. Salesman commissions can be based upon an item's profit or sale amount. ORDER CONTROL... Shipping dates and commission paid dates are easily entered from supplier acknowledgements and shipping information. Anticipated commissions can be easily revised to report actual commissions received for General Ledger posting. Shipping reports and commission reports are produced for any time span. On-screen lookup of latest shipping dates and payments using either the company title, individual name, record number/order number. JOB COSTING... Sales orders are automatically linked to the Job Costing module. Actual costs to date appear on the screen whenever a job is updated for ease in tracking pass postings. Estimates, sales orders, and payments are used to reflect profits at various stages of a job. Reports show actual costs for each job and totals for all jobs in progress. Job reports can be in either name of job number/record number sequence and within a range of dates. MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES... One can import and export files from lead services, other databases or computer systems. You can directly import (from the Main Menu) SBT Accounting Series names and addresses. ASCII file output can be database format, fixed record length or comma-quotation mark delimited based upon selected sort criteria. Telemarketing permits the sequencial moving through selected groups of prospects to telephone them and enter call results, produce a fulfillment letter, or enter database changes. The telephone numbers (up to ninety-nine) on each prospects record can be automatically dialed provided you have a modem connected to your computer. Walknet permits creation of database sub-files by selected sort criteria for input into another computer using The Front Office either locally or by salesman in the field via either diskette or via modem. Use Walknet for sending lead updates to field salesman by either modem or mailing diskettes. The Front Office is a database system and there are no update runs or sort runs required. Compiled in Clipper (a DbaseIII compiler) . . . it is fast. Separate menus (with some pop-up) guide one easily through all aspects of the system. On-line, interactive and general "Help" screens are available throughout to guide the user. A 225+ page, three section manual is supplied with most instructions written as a tutorial outline. There are over 80 different reports available. Page 8 - I N T R O D U C T I O N - Requirements: COMMERCIAL version An IBM XT/AT/PS2 or compatible computer with at lease a 10 megabyte hard disk drive, one floppy disk drive (either 5 1/4" or 3 1/2") and random access internal memory of at least 512,000 characters...640k is preferred. MSDOS version 2.1 or later. SALES version will run with 2 720K floppy drives. The Front Office is a viable sales tracking system that is easy to use and update. All sales figures are readily modified as they are not amounts that are in the realm of accounting and audit trail compliance, but rather intended for sales earnings and performance analysis. The sales order entry system in The Front Office is intended to be custom designed by Iam. Files are arranged so that Iam can configure The Front Office files to agree with your order entry specifications in order to transmit sales orders via modem to your home office. Whether you use direct order transmission or not, the sales order is designed with as much data to best serve both The Front Office job costing system as well as your present order invoicing system. Should you require special sales order design for modem transmission or for any customizing whatsoever, please call Howard Brooks at (603) 938-2127. When filling-in the items on a sales order you enter a supplier code (the salesperson code is part of the customer record). Commission percentages are already on file for each item sold. If you buy and resell as a dealer (you do not receive a commission) then the vendor percentage will be your margin or mark-up on what you sold. The sales order, once typed, cannot be changed, but it can be deleted. The Job Cost system accepts estimates for labor, material, and freight along with actual costs as they are known. Sales orders pass along actual sales, commissions, sales taxes and earnings to the sales performance, job costing and customer sales records. Payments further update the files and reports indicate anticipated profit, customer balances (without aging), and final profit figures by job for any selected period. Payments create the bottom line for profitability. Walknet (tm) is a way of copying selected records to another file that you can name, and then using the first file to update another TFO in another computer or sub-directory. Call records can be segregated for any time period, for any salesman, and the resultant files transmitted and received via modem using Walknet. A routine to import foreign data files is also included. Files can be imported as SDF or ASCII delimited files from another diskette or your existing system to The Front Office. Customer records in your present accounting system can then be "read" by TFO for enhanced marketing, mailings and manipulation by TFO. Also, The Front Office will automatically read customer and vendor records from the SBT Accounting Series. Or, your next mailing list that you acquire can now be furnished on diskette. There are also a series of internal flags that are automatically set to determine whether output selections require files to be indexed or not. The program flags data changes and additions which govern indexing under certain conditions which thereby saves processing time for the user. When brackets ([ ]) surround a field only one character will be requested for entry from the keyboard, and a single keystroke with no Enter key will perform the selection. All other highlighted fields will require the < (key Enter) to be used to input the data onto the disk. We welcome your comments and suggestions. We shall make every effort to incorporate any and all enhance-ments to improve the flexibility, power and adaptability of The Front Office. Page 9 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: This procedure explains how to inform The Front Office about your computer by creating a memory file called Iamclear.mem. This file holds about 30 pieces of information, e.g., dates, word processor type, drive designations, and color monitor codes, etc. In addition, the first time that you run TFO you will be asked for the drive letters to indicate where your .ovl files and .dbf files are located, and the word processor that your will be using. Drive and directory information controls how you wish to configure TFO. The Front Office can be run using the laptop micro floppy (minimum 720k) drives as well as on hard disk drives using sub-directories. A batch file is also created called TFO.BAT. When you type <TFO> <Enter> this file begins The Front Office and arranges for handling your chosen word processor. For some notes on microfloppy installations please see item number nine (9) at the end of this procedure. PROCEDURE: NOTE: Be certain that your Config.sys file has the following two lines in it with numbers no lower than those shown: BUFFERS=8 FILES=20 The CONFIG.SYS file is on your root directory, usually drive C:. The TFO.BAT file is on your TFO directory. If you change CONFIG.SYS be sure to reboot your system for the changes to take effect. The TFO.BAT file is modified during installation to control memory for the various word processors. 1. Make a copy of your original diskette or diskettes. A. If you have not copied your original diskettes, do so now, and then use the copy to set up The Front Office. B. Set the master original diskettes in a safe place, and do not use them. 2. Place the copy of the original diskettes into one of your drives, usually the "A" drive. A. Check the diskette by typing <dir/p> <Enter> for directory or use <D> <Enter>. ("D" is a special freeware program that will give an alphabetical directory listing.) B. Also review the "Beginning" and "Setup" instructions in Section II of this manual before continuing. "Setup/Installation" will help you to make sub-directories, if you are not sure how to do this. C. In the case of a hard disk system, all of the files from the diskettes will be copied to the drive\directory that you will be using by your entering from the A: drive, install (your hard disk letter and sub- directory.) 3. The The Front Office programs take up about 850,000 characters, and the database files continue to grow in size as you enter more name and address data, so... A. If you are using a hard disk computer, program files (.exe, .ovl, .bat) should be on one directory, and the database files (.dbf, .ntx) on a sub-directory perhaps called 'tfofiles.' Page 10 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Allow about 1000 characters for each record when estimating file space in the .dbf files. B. If you are using floppy disk drives, your database files will reside on a floppy disk drive B:, with Word Processing files, and program files (.ovl) on drive A:. 2. But, if you wish to keep all of the programs on the same disk then give the same drive letter in answer to the two questions that appear on the screen in the setup program (step 5 below) regarding which drive letters you wish to use. A. We do recommend however that database and index files be in their own sub-directory because when you make backups you will be assured of backing up all pertinent database information including memo files (.dbt). C. When you begin The Front Office the setup program checks for the .dbf files (or database files) to be on the drive that you indicated. D. Be sure that the Tfo.bat file is on the same hard disk drive or floppy disk drive where the .ovl and .exe files are located. 1) The four files that you need for WordStar are: Ws.com, Wsmsgs.com, Wsovly1.com, and Mailmrge.ovr, and they should be located on the same drive as the .ovl files. 2) The minimum PC-Write files would be the Ed.exe, Pr.exe, Pr.def and Ed.def and the Menuprt to set up your printer. 3) The Write Perspective uses Wp.exe, Wp.par and the Help001.txt, etc. 4) Manuscript can remain in it's MS/MSDATA configuration. 4. Type <install c:\tfo>, <Enter>, from the A: drive, and all files will be extracted and copied to the hard disk. A. For example, assuming C:\tfo> is your hard disk drive letter with a directory called "tfo", you would type from the A: prompt <install c:\tfo> and all the programs and files would be copied from A: to the C:\tfo sub-directory. B. "Install" is used both when installing a hard disk and a microfloppy system. 1) On a twin 720k system, type <install B:>, <Enter>, from the A: drive being certain to have a formatted diskette in drive B:. 5. After the 'install' is finished (and you will be guided throughout), log onto C:\TFO, and type <TFO>, <Enter>. Page 11 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. The TFO Utility Routine screen will appear. TFO Utility Routine Select one of the following: [ ] ------------------------------ | <D>-Drive change | | <H>-H E L P | | -Index all files | | <M>-Master file reindex | | <S>-Setup TFO | | -Update TFO | | <W>-The Write Perspective | | Touch Esc to exit to DOS | ------------------------------ 1) You must select <S>, Setup TFO, and then touch <Enter> when an introductory screen appears. B. The setup program will ask you to enter the drive and directory information: The PROGRAM FILES (.OVL, .EXE, .MEM, Word Processor) will be on: DRIVE LETTER C DIRECTORY TITLE TFO e.g., TFO The DATABASE FILES (.DBF, .DBT, .NTX) will be on: DRIVE LETTER C DIRECTORY TITLE TFO e.g., TFO\TFOFILES 1) Answer these questions with the proper drive letter and sub-directory titles per the examples given. (See Paragraph 3 on Page 9.) a. Do not put any colon (:) after the drive letters. 2) Be sure that a formatted floppy diskette is in drive B:, if you are using a twin floppy computer, so that the installation program can copy the .dbf files to drive B: from drive A:. a. Answer the "Copy files" question with a Y also when you are using a different sub-directory for your database files. b. The Setup routine will then copy the database files from the \TFO directory to the proper \TFOFILES sub-directory or to drive B: in the case of a laptop computer. Page 12 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C. You will then see the screen: S e t t i n g - u p I n d e x e s Your .dbf files are blank and reside on <your drive letter> drive. The .ndx files will now be created on that same drive. D. The Front Office will then display the names of the index files and then: S e t t i n g - u p M e m o r y F i l e s E. The "TFO Utility Routine" menu will reappear, and you may then touch <Esc> to exit to DOS. 6. From the DOS prompt (C:\TFO), type TFO Enter and you will see the The Front Office sign-on screen with today's date. A. Enter a date (e.g., 123186 without slashes) and hit <Enter> should the date not be correct. NOTE: Touching <Esc> will take you back to the DOS prompt. 7. What appears next is the Main Menu. It has sample prospect codes across the lower third, and the salesperson codes on the right are blank. These window areas will be changed later. 8. First though, enter , <Enter>, to select the Utilities menu, and... A. Touch S-Set up and you will receive the "Set Up Menu": Set Up Menu Select one of the following letters [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------- | A-Automatic follow-up days C-Communications setup | | J-Job cost overhead % N-N & A on Sales Order | | P-Printer installation R-Reporting sequence | | S-Screen colors changed T-Title name at sign-on | | U-User Defined Codes W-Word processor install | ----------------------------------------------------------- F1-H E L P Esc-Quit Page 13 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Touch <F1> for Help and you will see at the bottom: ---------------------------------N O T E S-------------------------------------- A = Enter a number (10, 15, 30) to set a future date for follow-up reporting. C = To dial the phone with a modem, enter either COM1 or COM2 for output port. J = Enter an estimate as a percentage of income for fixed costs. N = Your name & address will print on Sales Orders. See tax module. P = Printer selection menu. Important for compress printing. R = Reporting sequence by company or by name. S = Screen colors can be changed if you have a CGA or EGA monitor. T = Changes last line of sign-on screen. W = Which word processor do you have? A new TFO.BAT file is created. B. Select each letter and follow the screen instructions: 1) <O> for Overhead percentage. a. Divide indirect business expense (or fixed expenses) by the total income for a quarter or the year, and enter the resultant percentage. b. Do not include direct sales expenses as fixed expenses, only such things a light, heat and other overhead costs. (See Job- Costing, procedure 24) 2) <W> for Word Processor selection (PC-Write, The Write Perspective, WordStar, etc). ---------------------------- | F-PFS:Professional | | L-Lotus Manuscript | Select Word Processor | M-MicroSoft Word | The Front Office defaults to use | O-Word Perfect | 'T' for The Write Perspective. To | P-PC Write | change it, enter the letter for | T-TFO Write Perspective | the word processor that you would | W-Word Star | like to use from the list or Esc. [T] ---------------------------- F1-H E L P Esc-Quit 3) for your printer which sets compressed print for certain reports. 4) <N> for whether or not to print your name & address on the sales order. a. Enter 'Y' for blank paper for sales orders, or 'N' should your orders be pre-printed forms or letterhead. (See Sales Order Processing & Commissions, procedure 22). Page 14 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Microfloppy installs are done simply by following the screen instructions regarding the makeup of the A: and B: diskettes, but disk space can be saved on the A: drive by deleting Go.bat, Readme.bat, and Help.bat A. Also, do not forget to delete the three Help000?.txt, the TWP.EXE and the WP.PAR file from the A: diskette when NOT using the Write Perspective. B. Regarding the start-up diskette, edit it by placing it in drive B: with your word processor diskette in Drive A: and make certain that you have a Config.sys and Command.com file on your start up diskette. C. Config.sys still requires the two lines: BUFFERS=8 FILES=20 1. In the TFO.BAT file a line reads "SET CLIPPER=V006;R132". a. This line enables "The Write Perspective" to run in RAM while TFO is in RAM. b. With only 512k of RAM the SALES version of TFO will run but you will not be able to integrate "The Write Perspective" with TFO, and you will have to change the five characters to ";R032" I. Use The Write Perspective to edit the TFO.BAT file. D. Be sure that the word processor files on your A: diskette along with TFO.exe and .ovl files when using the microfloppy laptop computer. Page 15 SECTION I INSTALLING THE FRONT OFFICE TFO 1-7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Any titles to User Defined Fields should be considered perminate in nature. Should you change a title of such a field and the field should have data in it, the data will be lost (deleted). This is because the database master file is actually re-copied with the new field titles and the data associated with the old title does not have anyplace to go. Newly titled fields will be emptied therefore. We plan to keep up to date with the more popular word processors on the market. If yours is not given on the menu for word processor selections, let us know so that we can arrange to include it. Every attempt has been made to make The Front Office the simplest of programs to install or customize for your computer screen. There are special printer codes. They are installed using the <S>-Set Up Menu from the -Utilities section off the Main Menu, along with the Word Processor selection, Automatic follow-up days, and Overhead percentage. To begin The Front Office in the future, simply type TFO Enter and sign-on screen will appear for the date to be entered (if necessary) before bringing up the Main Menu. You can make modifications to your running environment by changing the "SET CLIPPER" line in the Tfo.bat file. You can change drive letters, reindex all files, and re-setup TFO by typing <TFO UTILITY> from your DOS prompt. TFO UTILITY must be used after installing updates which you can receive from time to time. During your first year of support service, you may call Inter active micro, Inc., should you desire an update. The indexing that is done at installation can also be done using the for "Utility" selection on the Main Menu, or when re-indexing using the different modules. It is a good idea to re-index the primary master files whenever you suspect a record exists that TFO cannot find. For COMMERCIAL versions of TFO, a file called Iamtax.mem can be erased should you wish to re-install the Sales Tax system in The Front Office. It is a good idea to set up the tax file if your state has a sales tax. See <A>-sAles tax from the Main Menu. When you go to do a sales order, and should the tax file not be made up, the sales order process will not be able to continue. - E N D - Page 16 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: The Main Menu screen is the first to appear after The Front Office has been installed. The menu areas on the screens indicate available selections and are highlighted: -------T H E F R O N T O F F I C E-------Record No-------- | COMPANY | | COMPANY | | PREFIX FIRST MIDDLE | | LAST SUFFIX | | TITLE | | ADDRESS TYPE CD | | ADDRESS PROD CD | | CITY STATE ZIP | | COUNTRY STATUS CODE | | TELE NO REGION OFFICE | |SALUTATION PROS CD SLMN CD | |ADD DATE / / LAST CONT / / FOLLOW / / | | PROFILE | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- Next Rec'd No: 00019 M A I N M E N U Total Records: 18 <A>-sAles tax <C>-Cummissions <F>-Fetch SBT <H>-H E L P <J>-Job Cost <M>-Mailings <O>-Orders <R>-Reports <S>-Salesman <T>-Telemark -Utilities <V>-Vendors <W>-Word Processing <Esc>-eXit to DOS Enter a letter from above, a COMPANY, a NAME, or a RECORD # When filling-in prospect information, Do not use any blank spaces in the salesperson or prospect code fields. Use left zero fill when you use single digit numeric codes, i.e., '01', '02', etc. The prospect codes can be changed, and the salesperson codes on the right of the screen need to be reflecting the salesperson names. Also, if no "salesperson codes" are entered then the sales commissions will not be credited properly to the Sales Performance File. You may use any coding system that you can imagine for "salesperson names" such as the salesperson's initials. See Appendix F for sample coding information. The <V>-Vendor information is entered just like salesperson information. Vendors are defined as suppliers, principals, or companies whom you require goods and services from. The screens are almost identical and the password is the same for both modules. Change the password from blank using the <S>-Sales module. The same password is used in the vendor module. There is not <V>-Vendor module in the sales version. After you change any of the codes, the first fifteen codes will always appear on the Edit Menu screen for easy reference in the future. Type, product, status and supplier codes need to be recorded and used with your own cross reference system. Initials are best for salesperson and supplier codes. Sales call reporting, updating contact names, printing individual records and writing one letter to a name or company is done using the "Edit Routine" which is obtained after entering an existing name, company title or record number. The prospect codes will be displayed just beneath the edit window. . .the record numbers are displayed in the lower left. . .and salesperson names are listed in the upper right. Page 17 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The are 15 fields labled 'FIELD1 through FIELD15' in the prospect database. You can change the titles of these fields to anything you wish. -Utilities and <S>-Setup will display some helps as you proceed. Once fields are titled they should not be changed, so be sure that the titles you chose are perminent in nature. You can change titles as often as you like, but any data in the various records for the title being changed will be lost (deleted). Selecting records based on UDF data enables multiple look ups. That is, you could have all the prospects by Zip Code (Level 3) who are over 45 (UDF entitled 'AGE') and who earn over $75000 per year (UDF entitled 'INCOME') for example. How you want the data and how you title and fill-in your UDF's is up to you. When editing prospects, after selecting <R>-Revise, should you touch the F10 key you can record, revise or add the user defined codes in the pop-up window, "Enter DBF Data". PROCEDURE: 1. Using this Main Menu screen, select <S>-Sales, <Enter>, to enter the "Sales File Maintenance" menu. 2. You will be asked for a password. Hit <Enter>! The Front Office is delivered with a blank password. A. The menu for editing and adding salesperson data looks like this: Sales File Maintenance Select one of the following letters: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |<A>-Add or edit salesperson data <C>-Change password | |<D>-Delete sales data -reIndex files | |-Print salesperson data <R>-Replace codes | |<S>-Sales perf. report <T>-Salesperson conTact report | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F1-H E L P Esc-Quit B. Key F1 and you will see displayed on the bottom of the screen: ---------------------------------N O T E S------------------------------------- This routine will allow you to ADD, CHANGE, DELETE or PRINT salesman data A = Add/Edit the salesman file and the performance file. C = Changes the password necessary to change performance figures. D = Delete selectively removes both salesman and performance data. I = Packs & reindexes deleted salesman and performance data. P = Displays the salesman and performance file for all or one salesman. R = Changes either sales or prospect codes on the prospect file. S = Reports performance showing earned and paid percentages of goals. T = Reports salesman calls/contacts within a range of dates. C. Select <A> for "Add or Edit Sales/Performance Data", and you will receive the following form screen: Page 18 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Change Salesman Data ----------------------------------------------------------- Current Salesman |SALESMAN COMMISSON BASIS (S or P) | |NAME | |ADDR | |CITY STATE ZIP | |HOME TELE NO SALESMAN CODE | |SOC. SEC. NO HIRE DATE / / | |NOTES | ----------------------------------------------------------- Enter salesman code... or Esc to Quit 1) Notice that the first fifteen salesperson names appear on the right of the screen to guide you in assigning codes, but they are perhaps blank at this time. a. After touching a number 001 for the first code, (or three letters for the salesperson's initials) follow the cursor and fill-in the information. I. Commission basis means that the salesperson's commission percentage is applied against either the item's sale amount <S>, or against the item's margin/profit amount. a.) The margin amount is computed against each line item amount using the percentage recorded in the <V>-Vendor file, whose display looks the same as this Sales module display. II. The Commission % is a percentage of the gross sale as reflected by each line item on a sales order. a.) The application of commission percent to any line item can be over-riden, as well as the application of profit percent to each item. b.) You can even change the salesperson's percentage to zero and enter a dollar amount, if the need arises. b. When the "Performance File" screen appears, simply type <^W> (^ means the "Ctrl" key), or key <PgDn>. I. This will permit you to skip entering performance data at this time. NOTE: Performance data can be entered later using the "Adding & Editing the Performance File" procedure (TFO-11). D. Should you not wish to use a salespersons, then you can perhaps use a category of business title or perhaps use an interest title for the code. (The The Front Office system is flexible!) Page 19 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Later, if you wish to report by salesperson code, all prospects for that salesperson code will be on the listing and in either name, zip code, follow-up date, etc, order. (See Appendix B). 2) Note that the salesperson file keys on a salesperson code and not on a salesperson name. (The prospect file keys on the prospect/customer name, company or record number.) E. When you have finished adding all of the salesperson codes and data that you wish to include, hit <Enter> or <PgDn> key to exit the form screen, and then touch Esc to go to the Main Menu. 1) Whenever you have the Edit Routines screen, you will notice that the salesperson codes that you added now appear in the upper right window of the screen. 3. Now select <Enter> for "Utilities" to receive the "Maintenance Utilities" program and the new screen menu: T F O - Maintainance Utilities Select one of the following: [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------- | C-Code maintenance D-change system Date | | F-File location change H-H E L P | | I-Import foreign file M-Master file reconstruct | | P-reindex Prospect files * S-Set up | | W-Walknet Y-Year end closing | --------------------------------------------------------------- * - Usually done at installation time. A. Touch <H> for help and you will see: -----------------------------------N O T E S----------------------------------- C = Changes codes, or replaces codes by group, or changes codes by default. D = Permits changing the system date without re-starting The Front Office. F = For some hard disk, changes drive designations (C: to D:) of files. I = Loads SDF or delimited foreign data files to TFO with ups & downs. M = Reorganizes records in the prospect and call report databases. O = Reorganizes records in the Sales Order and Job Costing files. R = Reindexes all the files or file sets of your choice. S = Sets up various parameters at installation time. W = Withdraws selected prospects from one TFO to add/change another TFO. Y = Zeros customer & sales performance figures (run year end). B. Touch <C> for "Code maintenance", and the computer will respond with a new screen: Page 20 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Code Maintenance Menu Select one of the following letters [ ] ------------------------------------ | A-delete All prospect records | | C-Change prospect code titles | | D-Delete codes by Group | | R-Replace codes within a Group | | V-Variables to defaults | ------------------------------------ ----------------------------------H E L P-------------------------------------- A = CAUTION - This will delete all prospect records, contact names & calls. C = Changes the prospect codes that appear at the bottom of the Main Menu. D = Deletes all records by either of seven different prospect codes. R = Replaces all of either seven different code fields with a new code. V = Changes one of seven prospect file fields when the name/company is entered. C. Touch <C> again and you will see two long fields which hold prospect codes. 1) The two lines are free-form fields allowing you can change the layout of the information to fit as many codes as you feel would be helpful for you to have as a memory jogger. 2) Touch <F1> and you will see helpful information: ----------------------------------N O T E S------------------------------------- Each LINE BELOW is a FIELD. | ^E = UP TO EDIT each field, USE | ^S = LEFT ^D = RIGHT <control> (^) key with | ^X = DOWN the letter at the right | ^G = Delete ^V = Insert char. to move the cursor >>>>>>> | ^W = Quit & Save | --------------------------P R O S P E C T C O D E S--------------------------- 0=CUSTOMERS 1= 2= 3=AGENTS 4= 5=DEAD LEADS 6=INDS LEADS 7=CHURCH 8=ROTARY 9= Page 21 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) You can use the arrow keys to edit each line or the Ctrl key and respective letter using your left hand. a. Hold down the <Ctrl> key with your little finger and then touch the letter key with your index finger. b. The Enter key should only be used when each line looks o.k. to you. c. Hitting <Enter> within a field does not truncate data to the right of where you touched <Enter>, so use <Enter> freely in fields when the field looks O.K. 4) You will see the "Is all O. K. (Y or N)" message after touch <Enter> for the second line. a. When you answer 'N' you can repeat the process. b. Answer 'Y' to exit and save your changes. 5) The Code Change Program screen will reappear, so touch <Esc> and the "Utilities aintenance" program screen will appear where you can hit <Esc> to exit to the Main Menu. 4. Company/vendor/supplier/principal data is entered just as was done for salesperson data. A. Select <V>-Vendor <Enter> from the Main Menu and when the 'Supplier File Maintainence' screen appears, select <A>-Add or Edit supplier data. Page 22 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Supplier File Maintenance Select one of the following letters [ ] -------------------------------------------------------------------- | <A>-Add or edit supplier data <C>-Change password | | <D>-Delete supplier data -reIndex Principal files | | -Print file <R>-REPORTS(Principal/Customer) | -------------------------------------------------------------------- F1-H E L P Capital titles indicate sub-menus will appear Esc-Quit B. Touch <F1> for Help and you will see: ----------------------------------N O T E S------------------------------------- This routine will allow you to ADD, CHANGE, DELETE or PRINT principal data A = Add or edit the Principal file. C = Changes the password - same password as used in the salesman file. D = Delete selectively removes Principal data. P = Prints the principal data for all principal or vendors. R = Prints the detail on purchases from Principals. Uses Reports menu. Supplier codes can be alphanumeric. DO NOT USE '0' You have received privileges access C. The screen to edit the supplier data is just the same as was furnished for salesperson data. Change Principal Data ------------------------------------------------------------- Current Suppliers | COMMISSION % 00.0 | |COMPANY CODE | |ADDR | |ADDR | |CITY STATE ZIP | |TELEPHONE NO | |SALESMAN LAST PURCH / / | |NOTES | ------------------------------------------------------------- Enter supplier code... or Esc to Quit I. A two letter initial for the supplier is best remembered. Page 23 SECTION I ENTERING PROSPECT, SALES, VENDOR, & UDF CODES TFO 2-8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. The commission (in the case of a principal) or the margin (anticipated gross profit) percentage is later available when typing sales orders and can be over-riden should the need arise. III. The salespersons name is the name of the individual serving your account. 5. User Defined Fields (UDF) can be titled by going to the -Utility and <S>-Setup screens and selecting -User Defined Fields: A. Select <D>-Drive using the light bar by moving the up and down arrow keys or touch <D> to select 'Define'. I. A window with a list of 15 field titles will appear on the left. II. Use the arrow keys to move the light bar up or down to the field you wish to retitle and touch the 'S' key to select the chosen field. a. A box will appear into which you can type the new field title. b. The database will be copied to the new file with the changed field so titled. SUMMARY: Anytime that you wish to change any of these codes, simply repeat the above procedures. We recommend that you use alphabetic codes for suppliers so that you can easily remember them when you are asked to enter them on sales orders. The salesperson who has been assigned to the prospect or customer is automatically picked up when doing sales orders. The sales module, <O>-Orders, from the Main Menu will check for correct supplier and salesperson codes when entering an order. You can adjust the salesperson code shown in the heading for each sales order on each line item of the order. When replacing codes you can select a Level I code and then select a Level II code, so that only the selected code for Level II will be changed that is subject to the selected Level I code. Also, you can fill blank codes in this way, i.e., using a code level I and blanks for the 'old' to be replaced by something in the 'new' code. You can always quickly change any code back to its original state. Remember to go to the <V>-Vendor file and complete the same type of information on each company/vendor/principal/supplier from whom that you receive or order goods and services. Also, try not to change any user defined field titles after you have entered any data into the fields. When you do redefine a user defined field title the data in the field will be deleted. You cannot simply revise the title and leave the data that may be in the various fields for the various prospects. Also the program will not permit you to enter any duplicate field titles to the database, e.g., an other 'NAME' field or 'FIELD1' field. You must be certain to use only alphabetical characters when setting up User Defined Field titles. Dashes, spaces, or brackets in the field title will cause an error message at definition time. - E N D - Page 24 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: Personal names will be printed on all letters, envelopes, labels, and reports in the following format: Screen title= prefix first middle name suffix Name as typed= Mr. & Mrs. Percy E. Brooks, Jr. In the above example, the computer would locate the first person (without any first name) named "Brooks," and should you need a different "Brooks," then touch <F> for "Forward" to step forward through the file to find the "Brooks" that you desire. Of course, corporate or company names will be printed as entered in the name field. In either case, all records are searched by the last name or the company name depending on which one you enter. Names and company titles are 35 characters long. Company names, individual name and titles will all print on letters, envelopes and labels. When printing some reports, the name field will take precedent. Other reports will reflect both company and individual names depending on available space on the paper. Compressed print is used where ever neccessary. You can also search for prospects and customers using the record number which appears on certain reports and in the lower left corner of certain screens. Assigned by The Front Office whenever a new prospect or customer is entered, the record number is used as an internal control for job numbers, for call reporting and for sales orders. It is a very handy number that can be incorporated into a system for tracking registration numbers, serial numbers, or payroll numbers, for example. When on the Edit Routines screen touching <F10> will bring up the "Enter UDF Codes" screen. -------T H E F R O N T O F F I C E------Record No.------ | COMPANY | | COMPANY | | PREFIX FIRST MIDDLE | | LAST SUFFIX | | TITLE | | ADDRESS TYPE CD | | ADDRESS PROD CD | | CITY STATE ZIP | | COUNTRY STATUS CODE | | TELE NO REGION OFFICE | |SALUTATION PROS CD SLMN CD | |ADD DATE / / LAST CONT / / FOLLOW / / | | PROFILE | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- Next Rec'd No: 00019 M A I N M E N U Total Records: 14 <A>-sAles tax <C>-Cummissions <F>-Fetch SBT <H>-H E L P <J>-Job Cost <M>-Mailings <O>-Orders <R>-Reports <S>-Salesman <T>-Telemark -Utilities <V>-Vendors <W>-Word Processing <Esc>-eXit to DOS Enter a letter from above, a COMPANY, a NAME, or a RECORD # Page 25 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The data is blank on the screen, because the database file is now set at the very beginning. If you touch the <Enter> key, the first record will be displayed. <Enter> is always needed in this Main Menu field. You should have already filled in the salesperson codes, prospect codes, and UDF codes by following the "Entering Prospect, Sales & UDF Codes" procedure (TFO-2). Status codes are used to define prospects. Prospects might be defined as to their type, where a lead/inquiry originated, or various sales status indications, i.e., DEMO, CALL, PHON. Four characters are available for your origination and reference. "Status Code" could also be used for Standard Industrial Classification Codes, or set-up "SICC" as a User Defined Code. Touch <F10> when revising prospects on the Edit Routines screen and you will receive a Pop-Up window entitled "Enter UDF Codes". When adding prospects to the file, the UDF screen will automatically appear when exiting the name and address screen. For a sample of our coding scheme, please see Appendix F. It might be helpful to trigger your imagination. PROCEDURE: 1. Using this Main Menu screen, to add a record type the prospect's last name or company name at the bottom where the cursor is located, and key Enter. A. The last line will ask for a search type: Enter search type: <C>-Company <N>-Name <R>-Record No. Esc-Quit [ ] 1) For the search, touching a <C> or <N> will not make a difference when only one of the two fields is filled-in, i.e., it will when both fields have different information. B. The program will then search for the data that you enter, and when not finding it, the computer will clear the lower area of the screen and respond: <prospect name> is not a active company The first few characters of the field searched for must match your entry. Upper and lower case letters do NOT matter. Record not found! <A>-Add this record Esc-Quit [ ] 1) Key <Esc> to permit you to enter the data again in case you had a typing error. 2) An <A> response will cause the "Add Name & Address Data" screen to appear. NOTE: If you wish to enter a duplicate name, then enter characters that you know The Front Office cannot find. a. The add form screen looks just like the Main Menu, except: I. That the data fields will be highlighted to indicate how much space is available for filling-in data. Page 26 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. That the name field is broken down into the "PREFIX", "FIRST", "MIDDLE", "NAME," and "SUFFIX" fields. a) The Front Office automatically keeps track of personal names, company names and record numbers, and automatically maintains key indexes on all three fields. b) Therefore, manually re-indexing (-Utility and <M>-Master file reconstruct) should never be necessary. III. That the salesperson names on file appear on the right side. a) Should you select <F1>, Help, the bottom will clear to show: NO punctuation after the | ^E = UP SALUTATION. USE <return>, | ^S = LEFT ^D = RIGHT or <control> (^) key with | ^X = DOWN the letter at the right | ^G = Delete ^V = Insert char. to move the cursor >>>>>>> | ^W = Quit & Save B. After filling in the required data through the two "PROFILE" fields (or <^W> or <PgDn> to exit at any point) the UDF screen will pop-up where you can enter more codes or touch <Esc> to go on. 1) selection line will appear so that you can do other entries for this prospect/customer. <A>-Add more <C>-Calls <E>-Edit <N>-con Names <O>One lttr Esc-Quit [ ] 2) Select <A> to continue to add more names. 3) Select <N> to keep tract of up to 99 additional contact names or even more if you use letters for a two character code instead of numbers. (See para D, page 29) ----------------------------C O N T A C T N A M E S--------------------------- NO| NAME | PHONE | JOB TITLE 01| | | 02| | | 03| | | 04| | | 05| | | Enter a number to add/edit (1,2,3, etc), H-H E L P V-View Esc-Quit [ ] Page 27 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Select either <O>-One letter or <C>-Call records. a. See the procedure for doing single letters (TFO 3) or the procedure for doing call reports (TFO 15). D. The following points are helpful to know when adding new prospect or customers to the file. 1) Add as many prospect name and addresses as time permits. a. A check for duplicates is done on each name entered. This is done after you touch enter and exit the "name" field: DUPLICATE NAME: <A>-Add it <S>-Skip it [ ] I. Pick either <A> to add the duplicate or <S> to start over and not add it. b. Once the address field is entered, you cannot return to change an error in the name or company fields. I. A name and company can be changed, however, using the edit routine. 2) Use the second address line only when the first address line is filled in. 3) A follow-up date is created by TFO based on the 'Add Date' according to the number of automatic follow-up days entered using -Utilities. a. When doing <C>-Calls from the Edit Routines menu the follow-up date is based on the contact date which will be the system date (at sign-on). b. These dates can be manually changed when adding or editing data. c. Changing the 'Add Date' will change the follow-up date. 4) Since The Front Office can handle personal names by combining the individual parts of the name into one long name, the final name may be longer than 35 characters, and if so, an error message will appear at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds: NAME IS TOO LONG by XX characters.....PLEASE CORRECT IT..... a. When this message occurs, note what you must trim from the name. b. Hit Enter and re-enter the data using a shorter name method. 5) Be sure all agree on code use, as strong standards must be enforced for their proper use. See Appendex for guidelines. Page 28 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a. Write your ideas down and store the paper under plastic for all to use. b. UDF codes also require design. Should you change a UDF code the data in any record for that code will be lost. 6) Duplicate names cannot be entered at the Main Menu, because when The Front Office finds the duplicate, it automatically goes to the Edit Routine. a. However, entering "fake" characters to force The Front Office to the add routine will allow duplicates to be entered. b. The first 15 characters are used when searching for duplicates. 7) When all additions are finished, hit <Esc>. 2. If the name that you enter at the Main Menu screen is found in the file, you will be placed into the Edit Routines area automatically. A. The screen clears, and the data fields appear as when adding data, except the bottom of the screen has last contact information on it: ---------------------L A S T C A L L R E C O R D-------------------------- CONTACT DATE 06/24/85 CONTACT NAME Sam Met with Julie and the training team at the site. All repairs finished. All going well. Sold a system to his neighbor Mr. Rogers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |-Backward <C>-Call records <D>-Delete Record <F>-Forward | |<H>-H E L P <N>-contact NAMES <O>-One letter -Print record | |<R>-Revise Record <S>-Search record <T>-Tph call Esc-Quit [ ]| 1) If there where no contact entries on file the following will be printed: There are NO CALL REPORTS on file for this name. B. Touch <C>-Call records to update call or contact information for future reference. (Also see Call Reporting, TFO-15). 1) A Call Report detail screen will appear so that you can add calls for this prospect along with contact names as shown on the previous page. Page 29 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: You may write as much as some 20 pages for each call report. Touch the <F1> function key to see a help screen of editing keys. Auto word-wrap (W), (do not touch the Enter key at the end of each line) scrolling (S), and insert (I) are all on. ISW is in the upper right of the screen informing you of these three status conditions.) a. Select <A>-Add calls. NOTE: The cursor is located by the "Follow" field so that you can enter a different follow-up date manually...or, b. Simply touch <Enter> to accept the present date that is shown, touch <Enter> for the contact name or type one in, and then type your report. 2) When you print a report or edit the file again, the call data that you last entered will be automatically displayed. C. Touch <Esc> to exit and you will be returned to the "Edit Routines" screen. 1) You may have only wished to review the detail in the contact records or perhaps you needed a phone number to call the prospect. D. Touch <N>-contact Names and you will receive a new screen at the bottom to add or edit the contact names: ------------------------- C O N T A C T N A M E S --------------------------- NO| NAME | PHONE | JOB TITLE 01| | | 02| | | 03| | | 04| | | 05| | | Enter a number to add/edit (1,2,3, etc), H-H E L P V-View Esc-Quit [ ] 1) Entering a number will allow you to edit or add up to 99 contact names (using numbers or more using letters) and their job functions within a record. a. Touch a number, the screen will clear, and the cursor will go to the left so that a blank line can be filled-in to add to the file. b. To edit, touch an existing number, the screen will clear and the curosr will to the top left after showing the line to be edited. Page 30 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Touching <F1>-Help will clear the screen and give you some information about contact names. 3) Touch <Esc> and the "Edit Routines" screen will reappear. E. Select <S>-Search should you wish to search for another name to edit. F. -Backward and <F>-Forward permit you to step in either direction through the names in file. 1) Messages flash in the upper left corner of the screen to let you know the status of the file when stepping through records. G. <D>-Delete will delete the current name on the screen after prompting you for confirmation with the following messages: 1) If call records exists on file you will see at the very bottom of the screen: <C>-Confirm calls delete -Print call report Esc-Quit [ ] a. Should you answer <C>-Confirm calls delete for this prospect/customer record will be deleted. NOTE: It is a good idea to answer to receive a call report first for your records before deleting any calls. b. Touching <Esc> will bring you back to the edit menu. 2) Next you will see a new heading at the center of the screen: --------------- P R O S P E C T / C U S T O M E R D E L E T E S ------------- <C>-Confirm prospect delete Esc-Quit [ ] a. Simply answer the question with a <C>-Confirm prospect delete to delete the prospect/customer record. I. The original edit menu will return and the screen will display the next prospect in the file. b. Answer with <Esc> and the prospect will remain in file and not be deleted. Page 31 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- H. Touch -Print record and you will print the current screen along with other data on file. I. Touching <R>-Revise will highlight the screen for editing or changing data fields. 1) Make whatever changes that you wish just as was done when you added new prospects/customers, except that the UDF codes are reached by touching <F10>. a. The Enter key can be used to exit from any position in any field without erasing any data in the field as is the case in all edit situations. 2) Touch the <F10> key and you can enter changes to the User Define Codes. a. A pop-up window appears in the lower left with the 15 fields displayed to accept your codes. b. Touch <Ctrl> key with the <W> key or use the <PgDn> key to record your changes to the database. c. Touch <Esc> when you are finished and you will be returned to the Edit Routines menu. J. Touching <O>-One letter will create a merge file and a data file from The Front Office's files for your word processor to use in order to write the prospect/customer a single letter. (See the procedure TFO-4, "Writing Single Letters & Envelopes"). 3. When a prospect's name that is known to be in memory at the Main Menu screen, because you have just finished some activity with that prospect/customer, you may simply touch Enter to place that particular prospect in the edit mode again. A. This same ability for The Front Office to remember who it had in memory last prevails when you enter the Orders and Job Costing modules, as well. Page 32 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PROSPECT FILE TFO 3-9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: We have given you an overview as well as a step by step guide through the adding and editing routines. Deleting records is quite straight forward with the computer constantly checking its information to help you to not make mistakes. The edit mode will be invoked providing that the name that is entered is found in the file. Once in the edit mode you can search, make changes, go forward or backward in order to keep your information in good order. Perhaps every month or so, you should print out a listing of your files in alphabetical sequence so that you can manually check for any coding or spelling errors. Use the single line printing feature to easily compare codes. You can have duplicate names should they be required. The system checks for duplicate names when you enter a name to edit it and when you enter a name to add it. Be aware of punctuation! Be careful that you type names with certain standards especially corporate names. For example, always use periods for initials or do not use double spaces between elements of the corporate name, or always use a period after Inc. The Front Office does not believe in special account numbers, alphanumeric numbering schemes or cross reference file card systems, etc., so that looking up special keys is never required. There are no special procedures required when editing names. Entering just the first few characters of a name or company will usually be enough to locate the desire record. The "Next Record No." which appears on the lower left of the edit screen will usually NOT be one number higher than the "Total Records" which appears on the right side of the same screen. This is due to deletions. Record numbers are automatically assigned sequencially based on the last number assigned, and therefore do not take into account deleted records. "Total Records" is a net figure, i.e., less deletions. Please remember the when you change UDF field titles the data associated with the field that may be in the various prospects records will be deleted. Be certain therefore that your titles are defined properly at the beginning when doing the UDF definitions from the -Utilities and the <S>-Setup screens. More on this is available on the various UDF screens and in procedure TFO2-1. - E N D - Page 33 SECTION I WRITING SINGLE LETTERS & ENVELOPES TFO 4-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: What follows is a guide to help you do a single letter and envelope from The Front Office to the word processor. PC-Write is used as an example, but the integration from The Front Office to other word processors is much the same, even for "The Write Perspective". Before writing a letter, add the prospects/customers name and address to the file, if it is not already entered. The Front Office will permit you to create as many letter files as you wish before using your word processor to edit and print the letters. Section II of this manual explains our to use "The Write Perspective." A tip is to use the <Alt> key and the <H> key together as soon as you envoke "The Write Perspective" for "HELP" The word processor that The Front Office brings up when you select <W> from the various screens will be the one that you told TFO that you would be using from the Utility Menu and the Set-up Menu. Be sure that you have done this before attempting to write any letters. PROCEDURE: 1. From the Main Menu screen, type a company, a record number, or a name and indicate the search type: A. The first few characters of the name is usually enough. B. You will receive the "E D I T R O U T I N E S" menu. 2. Touch the letter <O> to select "One letter" from the menu, and you will see the following screen: Single Letter to PC-Write CURRENT NAME ---------------------------------------------------- |COMPANY | | NAME | | CITY STATE | |PROSPECT CODE CONTACT DATE | ---------------------------------------------------- -Backward <F>-Forward <S>-Search <H>-H E L P <W>-PC-Write Esc-Quit Enter letter title or a selection from the Menu A. Touch <H> and you will see: ----------------------------------- N O T E S -------------------------------- S-Search for a different prospect/customers then what is shown above, or type a file title using a short title based on the Prospect/Customer name. Three files will be created: A .LST file with the file data in it, a .TEM file which is the primary MERGE file, and a .ENV file which enables the creation of envelopes. Later when merging the .TEM file a MERGE.OUT file is created." Page 34 SECTION I WRITING SINGLE LETTERS & ENVELOPES TFO 4-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Once in the Single Letter routine you can select <S> to Search for other prospects, and to prepare other single letters. NOTE: If the prospect/customer name is already on the screen this means that it has remained in the computers memory as the last name that you used perhaps from the edit or add screen. 1) The bottom of the above screen will clear, and you will see the following when selecting <S>: Enter name, Company or Record No. [ ] a. Simply enter the name (followed by Enter) of the company or prospect that you wish to use for the letter. I. Should the name not be in the file, you will see the following on the bottom of the screen: <prospect name> is not a active company The first few characters of the field searched for must match your entry. Upper and lower case letters do NOT matter. Record not found! <A>-Add this record Esc-Quit [ ] II. Simply touch <Esc> and try the name again. (Remember spaces and punctuation DO matter when the computer is looking for a match). III. Or you can search by record number with <R>, or even add a new prospect with the letter <A>. C. After the search screen clears and/or with the prospect's name entered above as the "current name", enter a short name (maximum 8 characters) for the PC-Write .tem/.env file title. 1) Use a title that you will not forget, (such as, the prospect's name or initials.) 2) Should the file already exists the display lets you know: >>>The file entitled "+lttr+" already exists<<< ENTER <return> to OVERWRITE existing title, or... ENTER 'R' to reenter a new file title Page 34 SECTION I WRITING SINGLE LETTERS & ENVELOPES TFO 4-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a. Touch either Enter or R depending on your decision. 3) The lower half of the screen will clear, and the following message will appear: Your letter can have the date located in one of three places. Enter where you would like the DATE LOCATED and the DATE Enter R, L, or M [ ] R - Right margin L - Left margin M - Middle of the page Enter the date for the letters November 15, 1989 a. Touch a letter choice without hitting <Enter> as shown in order to format the date on your letter (R, L, or M). b. Then fill-in the date that you desire for the letter or hit <Enter> to accept the current date. c. The "Is all OK (Y or N) ?" question appears next: Is all O. K.? (Y or N) [ ] a. Answering with an <Y> answer will continue the program, otherwise a <N> answer will return you to the menu to quit or try again. 4) After entering the letter title and the date location and the date, the screen will clear and indicate the file titles of the PC-Write files that The Front Office creates: >>> The letter is called <yourtitle>.LTR <<< >>> The envelope is called <yourtitle>.ENV <<< a. The cursor will be at the Single Letter Menu prompt, again. Page 36 SECTION I WRITING SINGLE LETTERS & ENVELOPES TFO 4-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Both the letter and the envelope file have the same titles, except for the file suffix, i.e., .env for the envelope file and .tem (template) for the letter file. II. Touch <W> to go to PC-Write and complete the body of your letter. NOTE: If you have enough RAM (640 preferred) in your computer entering <W> will exit directly to and return back to here when using PC-Write v2,7, and The Write Perspective. If you do not have 640k the Sales version of TFO will run in 512k of RAM, but you will need to exit to DOS to run your Word Processor. 5) Using PC-Write when your letter file appears, go to the bottom of the Template data, (using the down arrow key) and immediately before the last line and after the word "{SAL}:", skip a line and either type your letter or hit the <Ctrl> key together with the <F3> key to copy a file to your cursor location. a. Copying a form letter using <Ctrl> <F3> will cause PC-Write to ask for the name of the file to copy. b. Enter the title of your form letter. NOTE: Form letters, that is, letters that were pre-written without any heading or salutation should have the file extension of .doc to best keep your files organized by three letter extensions. 6) After finishing the letter, you will notice that the upper section of the file has the following displayed to take you through the merge process: PC-Write procedure to print a single letter: 1. Type letter below, above the line with the arrow, or use <Ctrl> <F3> to copy a pre-written letter to the cursor position. 2. Touch <F1>, then <F7>, to receive the print menu and print the letter. 3. The following three dot commands set the font, top margin and left margin respectively. You may change them if you wish. Page 37 SECTION I WRITING SINGLE LETTERS & ENVELOPES TFO 4-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a. After touching the keys as outlined above, PC-Write will then display a printing menu which affords many options for printing your letter. b. Touching <F9> for single print gets the printing done quite easily. 7) After printing stops, touch <F1> and then <F6> and enter <your file name> .env to print the envelope. a. Be certain that your envelope is in the printer. I. Again instructions will appear on the screen to indicate where to locate the envelope in the printer. But practice still makes perfect as printers do vary in their design. 8) From the PC-Write F1 menu, you can touch <F2> to save your last file and exit back to either the DOS prompt or back to The Front Office. a. Depending on where you were when you left The Front Office you will be returned to that menu screen when using "The Write Perspective" or PC-Write. b. When using other word processors (which use the SWITCH command in the TFO.BAT file) you will always be returned to the sign- on screen. c. If you exited to DOS before going to any word processor, you will need to type tfo to begin The Front Office. Page 38 SECTION I WRITING SINGLE LETTERS & ENVELOPES TFO 4-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: As you have seen, the process of selecting the right keys brings you to printing a letter. When you go to the word processor to edit your letter, knowledge of that word processor is necessary. "The Write Perspective" is easy to use and intuitive. See Section II in this manual for information on how "The Write Perspective" is used. Its integration with The Front Office is just like PC-Write. Use the 'TFO UTILITY' routine from DOS or the -Utility, <S>-Setup from within TFO to inform TFO of your word processor. "Out of Memory" errors can occur when you have terminate and stay resident programs in memory. They are put in RAM by your autoexec.bat file. You'll need to decide whether to remove them or not. Clipper requires alot of memory, so when The Front Office is sharing RAM with your word processor, many word processors require more RAM than "The Write Perspective" or PC-Write require. Therefore, with some word processors you will not be able to return back to TFO exactly where you left off. For example, when leaving the One Letter screen you will come back to TFO at the sign-on screen. In either case, The Front Office will work just fine regardless of whether the word processor is in RAM at the same time as TFO, or whether TFO is "switched" in and out of RAM to accomodate your word processor. The TFO.BAT file accomplishes this memory control for you. - E N D - Page 39 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: What follows is a guide to help you process a group of letters from The Front Office to PC-Write. It is recommended that you print a listing based on your choices for this mailing. Select <R>-Reports from the Main Menu and - Prospect reports and use the single line selection that prints about 50 names per page. Examine the listing to see if any of the prospect/customers are missing. If changes to the codes need to be made, see the "Adding and Editing the Prospect File", (TFO-3), or "Changing Dates and Codes", (TFO-8). The selections for choosing the various levels for separating out prospect records is the same whether doing reports, labels, envelopes or multiple letters. There are three selection catagories or levels. . .Level 3 being primary and levels 2 and 1 act to further define the level 3 selection. Level 3 is always required. See the Appendix for a sample of the types of coding that you might use. As you make your code selections, instructions will be given on each screen to guide you. PROCEDURE: 1. Using the Main Menu screen, select <M>, <Enter>, for Mailings to receive the pop-up light bar menu. A. You can touch the <Enter> key, arrow keys then the <Enter> key, or you can touch the letter key preceeding each title to make your selection. Mailings ---------------- |L-Lables | |E-Envelopes | Use the arrow keys to make selection. Touch <Enter> to accept. |M-Many letters| |Esc-Quit | ---------------- Select print labels menu and look-up B. The "L-Labels" line is highlighted. I. To move the highlighted bar touch the arrow keys. a. As you move the bar the activity box at the bottom will display a brief H E L P for each selection. II. You may also touch the first letter of each line instead of moving the bar. C. Touch <M> for "Many Letters" and the screen will clear to give: Page 40 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multiple Letters/Envelopes to PC-Write The files and procedures for multiple letters are the same as single letters. Three files are necessary to run a batch of letters with PC-Write merge. - A template file with the extension .TEM - A input data file with the extension .LST - A output file with the extension .OUT The template file needs an unique name. For example, 'MARCH' !! So, for this batch of letters, what title would you like to give the template file .TEM that TFO will now create? Use a title that is easily remembered. DO NOT type a file extension .TEM for the file name. File length can be up to - eight characters long. TFO will make the file extension .TEM. Use 'ED <filename>.TEM' after hitting <W> to to write the letters with PC-Write. Enter <file title> or the .TEM file, or <H>-H E L P Esc-Quit 1) When you touch <Esc>, the computer will return to the Main Menu. 2) When you touch <H>, a help screen will appear. 3) When you enter a title the following statement is displayed at the bottom: The MERGE input list will be created with all the names & addresses and be entitled <your title>.LST. Later you will tell PC-Write to use this input list. You will make and print a <your title).OUT file using PC-Write. < to Continue [ ] a. A sample file title could be a date such as APR8, but no longer than 8 characters. b. It will be given a .tem extension, so do not type ".tem". c. Touch <Enter> after typing the title to receive the next screen. D. The bottom half of the screen will clear and you will be asked for the date that you wish to appear on your letters: 1) Note how the date has been prepared for you from the system date which was entered at sign-on time. 2) You can type in a different date or simply hit <Enter> to accept the date shown. Page 41 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your letter can have the date located in one of three places. Enter where you would like the DATE LOCATED and the DATE Enter R, L, or M [ ] R - Right margin L - Left margin M - Middle of the page Enter the date for the letters November 15, 1989 a. Touch <R>, <L>, or <M> and the date, if necessary, or use the default date that is given. E. Next the entire screen will clear and you will be asked for the selections necessary to print your letters: Multiple Letters to PC-WRITE LEVEL 3:Three catagories of lookup are available. Level 3 can sort the various fields shown below, directly; or use Prospect and Salesman codes to cause Level 3 categories to become sub-categories under Level 2's codes. Use Level 1 codes, Region or Office, to have Level 3 and 2 become sub-categories under the Region or an Office code. You must use Level 3. <A>-Alphabetical <C>-Contact date <F>-Follow-up date -Product code <R>-Record number <S>-Status code <T>-Type code -User Defined <Z>-Zip code Enter Level 3 selection [ ] F1-H E L P Esc-Quit 1) If you touch <Esc>, the program will exit to the Main Menu. 2) To continue, you must enter a letter, and then the bottom of the screen will display: LEVEL 2:If you wish to have Level 3 selections report as a sub-category, then select either Prospect or Salesman codes from the following menu. See U-Utility from the Main Menu to set whether you want alphabetical list to be in either Name or Company order. Record no. sequence will list the records in the order in which the prospects were entered. -Prospect code <S>-Salesman code Touch < for just Level 3 Enter Level 2 selection [ ] Page 42 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) If you key <Enter>, the Level 3 selection will be in effect. a. Touch <Enter> to not select a prospect of salesman code, so that results would be just by the Level 3 selection at this point. 4) If you select either <S> or the bottom of the screen will clear and display: ENTER the PROSPECT CODE [ ] or Esc - Quit a. The bottom of the screen will also display the first ten codes as a reminder. b. Enter the selected code and all of the prospects with that prospect code will be placed in an output file with the extension .lst for PC-Write. NOTE: At the end of all selections, the following prints when you attempt to enter a blank prospect code. Blank prospect and salesman codes are not permitted. < to Continue [ ] F. Next the screen will clear from about half way down for a level 1 choice: LEVEL 1:You may segregate the Level 3 and Level 2 choices under either the Region or an Office code.Enter either code, not both! A Region entry will create activity for those prospects within that region, and include activity by each office. An Office entry will likewise limit activity to prospects within that office. Note that if Salesman codes are dupli- cated amoung regions or offices, then enter a Level 1 code to select the proper salesman. Touch <enter> twice to iqnore the Level 1 selection. Region code Office code a. Touch either <Enter> for each field, or fill-in a region code or an office code. G. Next the screen will clear from about half way down and a level 3 range can be entered: Page 43 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You may select a category range, e. g., for Zip codes from 07871 to 07874. To obtain those records with blank Type, Product, Status, or Zip codes you need to use a Level 2 selection, and enter blanks below. There are no blank Names, Companys, Followup Dates, or Record Numbers in the file, so entering blanks with these selections will produce all the records for the Level 2 code selected. Enter Level 3 start and end data below or blanks for the full range selected. LEVEL 3 Begin search with and end with H. The screen will clear from about half way down and a summary will be given, for example: PROSPECT CODE LISTING by PRODUCT CODE Selection Code Level 1 = None Level 2 = Prospect 01 Level 3 = P Product Starting with: Ending with: Is all O. K (Y or N) 1) Key <N> to quit and begin over again or return to the Main Menu. 2) Touch <Y> and the bottom of the screen will clear, and providing re-indexing of your files is necessary, you will see: PREPARING FILE! Please wait... NOTE:This is the automatic re-index feature. It means that if you have made any changes or additions to your files since the last time that you made this selection then the prospect file is re-indexed. If you had not made any changes to the selected fields or had not made any additions to the file then the pause for re-indexing will not take place. a. Re-indexing may take 45 to 90 seconds for a database of 2500 records depending on the speed of your computers memory and its hard disk. 3) In the above example we assumed that Level 3 was an alphabetical choice. 4) The other choices that you will be asked for are broken down within the chosen sequence, e.g., letters for a range of name or company selections, zip codes for a range of zip selections, or dates for a range of follow-up dates, etc. Page 44 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. When the same letter, zip code, or date is entered twice, only that particular item will be selected. For example, here is what is displayed for zip codes: NOTE: For more details on Zip Codes (because additional sorts are available for zip codes) please see 'Printing Labels', TFO 7. ZIP CODE LISTING LEVEL 3 Begin search with and end with a) Enter the zip code numbers, left justified, for particular ones desired. Is all O. K? (Y or N) a) Answering <N> will return you to the code selection menu to either Esc or to enter another series of choices. b) Answer <Y> to continue, and the screen will again clear at about the middle and display the same summary as shown above. c) Should any record not have the beginning selection recorded for your range choice, the program will automatically begin output with the next higher record found that is lower than the ending record. d) When either printing or displaying is finished you will see: Total records written were: (total found) < to Continue [ ] 1.) Touch <Esc> to return to the Main Menu. G. When selections are finished and the name and address file is completed, select <W> from the Main Menu to exit to the word processor. NOTE: What follows is how things would progress using PC-Write for your word processor. Integration with other word processors would be much the same as PC- Write, including "The Write Perspective." Page 45 SECTION I WRITING MANY LETTERS TFO 5-7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Enter <your file title>.tem to receive the template file for PC- Write to edit, and you will see the following remarks at the beginning of your .tem file: PC-Write MERGE procedure for multiple letters: 1. Type letter below, above the page break symbol, or use <Ctrl> <F3> to copy a pre-written letter (.DOC) to the cursor. a. Please delete the last line with the arrow in it. 2. Use <shift> <F2> to get the MERGE menu. 3. Select F9-type .LST title, F10-type .OUT title, and < . a. Then press F7 to begin the input file. b. Then press F8 to begin the new .OUT file. c. Then press F10 to write the rest of the letters to .OUT. 4. Touch ESC then F1, F7, and .OUT title < to print letters. a. Follow the directions to use the PC-Write merge facility. b. Note that we create an output file from the merge called "merge.out", but you can print to a different file title or directly to the printer. (See your PC-Write manual for other ways to use PC-Write). SUMMARY: As the screens progress through the various menus and choices your selections are quite straight forward. The codes assigned can be worked in conjunction with the -Utility program. For example, through the "Variable to Default" program you can quickly assign a special one-time code to each prospect by simply typing his name for the code that you wish him to receive. In this manner, random selection of prospects or customers can be selected for multi-letter writing. The group created can then be returned to their original grouping by using the selection entitled <R>-Replace Codes by Groups. Customer reports have their own menu choice (<R>-Reports selection) from the Main Menu, and the same screens are used for prospect lookup when you select -Prospect reports. You can usually have your word processor residing it its own subdirectory. The Front Office will find it providing you set the DOS "path" command in your Autoexec.bat file to include that directory. When finished using that word processor, DOS will return you to TFO at either the sign-on screen or the Main Menu or the single letter menu depending on where you were when you called the word processor and depending on the word processor that you are using. - E N D - Page 47 SECTION I WRITING MANY ENVELOPES TFO 6-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: A .lst (PC-Write), a .dat (WordStar), or whatever convention for an file extension your word processor uses, has been created by the "Many letters" selection. This name and address file is used to do the envelopes for each letter. Of course, if you use window envelopes this procedure will not be necessary. Therefore, select "Many letters" before trying to do "Envelopes". The Front Office creates a data file of names and addresses which is later used by the word processor to add the different names and addresses to the proper envelope format or template file. Word processors use different ways of delimiting each field and each record. The necessary envelope format, merge or template file is created by TFO and later when envoked by your word processor it will print the envelopes from the same data file created by "Many letters." Check your word processor manual under Merging for your particular extension title, and to learn more about how to run the word processor merge. Here is a special tip. To export your database to another software product, you can use "Many letters". The data file that is created is delimited with commas and quotation marks when selecting PC-Write or WordStar as you word processor. Most other programs will recognize such ASCII (plain English) files. You can always change your word processor selection back again when doing letters. You may have to rename (using DOS's rename command) the file title's three letter extension to perhaps .txt. You can also use Walknettm to produce an SDF file with fixed field and record lengths. This output file will have all the fields from the TFO data base. (See procedure TFO 17) PROCEDURE: 1. Select <E>, "Envelopes", from the pop-up window after selecting <M>-Mailings to prepare the envelope merge template file called <your title>.env. NOTE: The envelope routine uses the list or merge file that was prepared when doing the letters. Therefore, the data file or list file must already exist. If it does not exists, do <M> for "Many letters" first to create the .dat file. See TFO-5. No sense making an envelope file if we do not have the letters made up yet. 2. The screen will clear and show the following: PC-WRITE - Many Envelopes The .LST file that was created for the letters is also used to do multiple envelopes. We will now make a envelope template file called "<your name>" .env. PC-Write will merge envelopes using the .lst file and this .env file. < to Continue <H>-H E L P Esc-Quit [ ] A. Should you choose <H>, the screen will clear to give you some instructions about doing envelopes. Page 48 SECTION I WRITING MANY ENVELOPES TFO 6-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Should you touch <Enter>, the program will display: DO NOT type a file extension for what follows, (e.g. . .LST) ...... just the same name of the datafile that was created when you did 'Many letters'. Enter <your file> title of the letters .LST file [ ] 1) The screen will clear from about halfway down, and a check is done to see if the named data file (with names and addresses in it) is on the diskette or hard drive. a. If the <your name> file is NOT on the diskette or drive, the following message will print, and you will be returned to the beginning of the routine. THE FILE <your name> IS NOT ON THIS DRIVE ... You must create the file by doing 'Many letters' before continuing. If you accidentally typed the datafile name in error then you may try again. DO NOT attach a file extension...just the name. Do you wish to see a list of .LST files? (Y or N) [Y] I. Should you touch <Enter> the screen will clear and do a listing of the files with the extenion .lst. II. Should you key <N> you will be returned to Main Menu. b. If the named data file IS found, the screen will then display: Writing PC-Write merge file called <your name>.ENV which will use <your name>.LST Use <W> from Main Menu to exit to PC-Write and enter the file name <your name> < to Continue [ ] I. Later when in PC-Write you will use the <Shift> key and the <F2> key to bring up the Merge menu. II. As was done for "Many letters" merge will make an output file called "Merge.out" or any name that you wish. a) We suggest that you change this default name to "<your name>.out" so not to conflict with the Merge.out used with "Many letters". Page 49 SECTION I WRITING MANY ENVELOPES TFO 6-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. The .tem file will give instructions on how to locate the envelope in the printer. a) The .tem file that "Envelopes" creates will pause for you to insert each envelope since the printer will eject each envelope and stop. b) When using continuous envelopes, the merge will not stop between envelopes. SUMMARY: Again, remember that the list or data file that was created by the "Many letters" program must be available for the "Envelopes" to use. If it is not, the program will not continue. It does offer you a listing from your directory of all the files to help you find the right one should you have forgotten the correct name. When using PC-Write, .tem is the file extension for the letters template and .env is the file extension for the envelopes template, and .lst is the extension for the list of names and addresses. File extension standards help you to control and maintain your disk directory. It is recommended that form letters or paragraphs all be given the extension of .doc, for example. File extensions are very helpful when managing files. Backups and deletions can be more easily handled. Try the "d" program from the system prompt with "d *.env" and you will obtain a alphabetical list of all envelope template files. Try the "del *.env" and you will delete all envelope template files. The asterisk is called a wild card character. Remember that the files created can be used by most other software programs, but you may need to rename the extension to .txt. - E N D - Page 51 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: What follows is a guide to help you print labels using The Front Office. The selections are the same as you use for writing letters and reports. Word processors are not used for labels; they are printed by The Front Office. The "title" line will print on the labels just under the "company". The record number can be optionally printed on the right of the top line. You may want to put labels on material to be returned so the record number is available to make it quicker to enter results when the material comes back. An example would be mail return cards. Labels must be 1 1/2 inches high (9 lines per vertical inch). 15/16 inch labels are too short. Labels can be printed 1, 2, or 3 across and the spaces between each label can vary, depending upon the width of the labels that you are using. Four inch width is preferred. Three across is for 132 column or 15 inch wide paper. Also, laser printer label paper can be used so labels can be printed on a laser printer. Always use "x" to align your labels in the printer before using "p" on the opening menu. PROCEDURE: 1. Using the Main Menu screen, enter <M>-Mailings and then touch <L> for "Labels" to receive the label print program menu: Label Print Menu Select one of the following letters [ ] ----------------------------- | H-H E L P | | P-Print LABELS | | R-Record number on labels?| | X-Print X's for LINEUP | | Esc-Quit | ----------------------------- A. If you choose <Esc>, the program will exit to the Main Menu. B. If you choose <X>, (which you should do to correctly align the labels in the printer), the following message will be displayed: Is the printer ready and aligned (Y or N)? [ ] 1) If you answer <N>, the Label Print menu will reappear. 2) If you answer <Y>, the printer will print an 'X' pattern of the fields to be printed. a. Note how all lines could be utilized. Page 52 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- b. The menu will be returned. NOTE: 1 and 1/2 inch labels are to be the continuous pin-feed type, 4 inches wide, and 1, 2 or 3 across. They can be obtained via mail order from: New England Business Systems 12 South Street Townsend, Mass. 01469 800-225-9550 any other mail order supply house, or you local stationary store. c. If necessary, align the labels, and select <X> from the label print menu again. I. You can do this aligning process as often as you wish. C. If you choose <R>, the following question will appear in the bottom box: Do you want the record number to print on the labels (Y or N)? [ ] 1) Answer accordingly. D. If you choose , the program will clear the screen and display the following before printing labels: Select one of the following letters [ ] A-Avery 5162 and 5262 for LaserJet O-One & one half-inch labels (1 1/2 inch) T-Three inch labels (2 7/8 inch) Esc-Quit NOTE: Labels can be the pin-feed or laser type, and either 1, 2, 3 across. Label width can vary, so TFO permits you to vary the space between labels. Labels must be one of the three choices shown above. 1) If you hit <Esc>, the program will exit to the Label Print menu. 2) If you choose <O>, labels will be produced and the screen will then display: > > > PRINTING LABELS 1, 2 or 3 ACROSS < < < Enter either 1, 2, 3, or Esc to Quit [1] a. Enter a number 1, 2, 3, or touch <Esc> key. Page 53 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- b. Next you can set the gap between labels. Enter the spaces from the beginning of the first label to the beginning of the second label to set the gap. [43] a) For example, 33 spaces might be just right between the first letter of each name across the page when using 3" lables. b) The default 43 seems quite standard, but do select a number that best fits your particular label design. c) You may have to measure your forms and run some tests until you get used to lining up the labels on your printer. 3) If you choose <T>, the name and addresses will be spaced three inches apart vertically for the larger shipping labels and will be one across. a. Again, these labels can be obtained via mail order from NEBS and usually contain your return address. NOTE: They must be continuous pin-feed type, 3 inch, shipping labels. 2. For labels either 1, 2 or 3 across the screen will clear and print the following just as is done for many letters and for reports: Label Print Program LEVEL 3:Three catagories of lookup are available. Level 3 can sort the various fields shown below, directly; or use Prospect and Salesman codes to cause Level 3 categories to become sub-categories under Level 2's codes. Use Level 1 codes, Region or Office, to have Level 3 and 2 become sub- categories under the Region or an Office code. You must use Level 3. --------------------------------------------------------------- | <A>-Alphabetical <C>-Contact date <F>-Follow-up date | | -Product code <R>-Record number <S>-Status code | | <T>-Type code <Z>-Zip code | --------------------------------------------------------------- Enter Level 3 selection [ ] F1-H E L P Esc-Quit Page 54 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. If you hit <Esc>, the program will exit to the Main Menu. B. If you choose any letter but <Z>, (see step E, following) the program will go to the secondary sort selection screen for zip codes by state. LEVEL 2:If you wish to have Level 3 selections report as a sub-category, then select either Prospect or Salesman codes from the following menu. See U-Utility from the Main Menu to set whether you want alphabetical list to be in either Name or Company order. Record no. sequence will list the records in the order in which the prospects were entered. -Prospect code <S>-Salesman code Touch < for just Level 3 Enter Level 2 selection [ ] C. If you choose , from the Level 2 screen, you will asked for the prospect code: (S will receive a request for the Salesman code) Enter the prospect code [ ] 1) Enter the selected code, and all of the prospects with that prospect code will receive labels in the level 3 order selected. D. If you choose <S>, the screen will ask for the salesman code: Enter the Salesman Code [ ] Page 55 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Enter the selected code, and all of the prospects with that salesman code will receive labels in the selected Level 3 order. a. The first menu will reappear should you enter a blank code by touching <Enter>, because the system will not permit blank prospect codes. b. When the code is correct, go to paragraph 3 on the last page. E. If you choose <Z>, the bottom half of the screen will clear and ask the following: ENTER one of the following letters [ ] O = One state A = All states 1) Select <O> and the screen will ask: Which state [ ] NOTE : Entering blanks by touching <Enter> will report those records with no state initials. a. Enter the desired 2 letter state initial. b. Also, should you wish to know which prospects/customers have blank state initials, or accidentally enter a blank for "Which state" the following message will print on the bottom of the screen: Page 56 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry, please do not use L-Labels to print records with blank state codes. Instead use R-Reports form the Main Menu to determine such records! 2) Select <A> and all the records will be printed in zip code sequence by each state. 3) Sometimes, the screen will clear from about half way down and display: PREPARING FILE! Please wait... NOTE: This is the automatic re-index feature. It means that if you have made any changes or additions to your files since the last time that you made this selection then the prospect file is re-indexed. If you had not made any changes to the selected fields or had not made any additions to the file then the pause for re-indexing will not take place. Page 48 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- c. Re-indexing may take a minute or so for a database of 2000 records. C. Be certain that you choose the sequence that will match any file listings that you may be needing to go along with these labels. 1) The additional choices that you will be asked for are broken down within the chosen sequence, e. g., letters for a range of names or companies, numbers for a range of zip selections, or dates for a range of follow-up dates. a. When the same letter, zip code, or date is entered twice, only that particular item will appear on the labels. b. For example, here is what is displayed for follow-up dates: FOLLOW-UP DATE LISTING You may select a range of dates, e. g., for Zip codes from 07871 to 07874. To obtain those records with blank Type, Product, Status, or Zip codes you need to use a Level 2 selection, and enter blanks below. There are no blank Names, Companys, Followup Dates, or Record Numbers in the file, so entering blanks with these selections will produce all the records for the Level 2 code selected. Enter Level 3 start and end data below or blanks for the full range selected. LEVEL 3 Begin search with / / and end with / / c. Touch <Enter> to enter spaces and receive all records as coded. I. Should you enter a date that is earlier or less than the beginning date, you will receive this message: Ending date must be greated than beginning date... < to Continue [ ] Page 58 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a) Your only choice is to touch <Enter>, and the program will take you back to the date selection menu to enter the correction. d. Finally you will see: I. Answering <N> will return you to the code selection menu where you can either exit or enter another series of choices. II. Answer <Y>, and the following will be displayed: Verify that your printer is ready! < to Continue a) Be sure that the labels are lined up correctly in the printer. NOTE: At this point, if you are not sure of the line-up, you may hit the <Ctrl> key and the Break key together, which will give you the system prompt, and you will have to re-invoke the The Front Office again. However, to avoid this, please be sure to test-print X's on your labels as described in Paragraph 1 on Page 47. b) When you hit <Enter>, printing will begin immediately when not using a print spooler. c) Once the labels have finished printing, the screen will clear and display the following message: TOTAL LABELS WRITTEN WERE: (total produced) < to Continue [ ] Page 59 SECTION I PRINTING LABELS TFO 7-9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Make a note of this total for bulk mailings and any other purposes you desire. II. When the code selection menu reappears, touch <ESC> to exit to the Main Menu. SUMMARY: Printing labels is qiute straight forward, especially when you run the testing with the X's. You should have no difficulty following the screen directions and selecting the proper choices. Helps appear on the screens, as you have seen. The various choices are the same for other letters, envelopes, and listings. Blank prospect and salesman codes are not permitted when entering prospect information. So do not enter blanks for a salesman or prospect code for if you do you will not receive any output. The multiple label feature may print labels faster. Labels can be printed on special laser label paper. You can use blank paper in the printer should you simply want a listing of names and addresses, or to check label lineup without wasting an unsure label design. - END - Page 61 SECTION I CHANGING DATES AND CODES TFO 8-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: The "Variables to Defaults" selection, <V>, which appears on the <C>-Code Maintenance screen is a fast way to change codes and follow-up dates. This procedure guides you through this feature, so that you can randomly and quickly change a group of codes by simply entering the prospects' names. Imagine that you have just printed a report for a particular code and you found some names on the listing that should not be there since in the past they were perhaps miscoded. This routine will automatically correct their codes each time you enter the name of the prospect involved. The program will ask you for the new code or follow-up date before you begin entering the names. Of course, you may enter the record number if you wish to search by record number instead of the name or company. PROCEDURE: 1. Touch , <Enter>, for "Utilities" from the Main Menu screen, and you will obtain the following screen: T F O - Maintainance Utilities Select one of the following: [ ] -------------------------------------------------------------- | C-Code maintenance D-change system Date | | F-File location change H-H E L P | | I-Import foreign file M-Master file reconstruct | | P-reindex Prospect files * S-Set up | | W-Walknet Y-Year end closing | -------------------------------------------------------------- * - Usually done at installation time. A. Select <C> for Code Maintenance, and the computer will respond with a new screen: Page 62 SECTION I CHANGING DATES AND CODES TFO 8-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Code Change Program Select on of the following letters [ ] A - delete All prospect records C - Change prospect code titles D - Delete prospects by code group H - H E L P about replacing codes R - Replace codes by code group V - Variables to default codes Esc-Quit 1) Select V to change codes by using a pre-determined variable: Variables to Defaults The following eight code fields in the database can be changed by simply enter- ing your choice below. You will be asked for the new data and when you enter the various prospects' names the chosen field will be change accordingly. SELECT one of the following letters [ ] C-status Code field D-proDuct code field F-Follow-up date field H-H E L P O-Office code field P-Prospect code field R-Region code field S-Salesman code field T-Type code field Esc-Quit 2) If you key <Esc>, the utility menu screen will appear, and another <Esc> will return you to the Main Menu. 3) If you choose <C>, <D>, <F>, <O>, , <R>, <S>, or <T> one of the following new or changed pieces of data will be required: ENTER new Follow-up Date [ / / ] ENTER new Office Code [ ] ENTER new Prospect Code [ ] ENTER new Region Code [ ] ENTER new Salesman Code [ ] ENTER new Status Code [ ] ENTER new Type Code [ ] ENTER new Product Code [ ] a. The code or date that you enter is what you want the selected name/company/record number to default to. Page 63 SECTION I CHANGING DATES AND CODES TFO 8-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- b. After your choice is entered, the next screen will appear: Variables Change Routine CURRENT NAME --------------------------------------------------- |COMPANY | |NAME STATUS CODE | |CITY PROSPECT CD | |STATE FOLL DATE / / SALESMAN CD | |REGION OFFICE TYPE CD PRODUCT CD | --------------------------------------------------- ENTER one of the following letters, or.... B - Backward NEW <code title> is <selected code> F - Forward Esc-QUIT < to CHANGE ---------------------------------- N O T E ------------------------------------ < to CHANGE the chosen field for the above name, or enter a new name/company. After you enter the name the field will be changed when you touch < . 'F' or 'B' will skip by index with either the company or name field. Enter a NAME/COMPANY/REC NO to search, or < to Change: I. When you enter the name/company/record no. and it is found in the prospect file, the field in question will be filled with the new data. a) The highlighted area at the right center is a reminder of what the NEW code will be. II. When you enter a name and it is not found in the database file, the field title above will remain unchanged, and the following will appear on the screen: <prospect name> is not a active company The first few characters of the field searched for must match your entry. Upper and lower case letters do NOT matter. Record not found! <A>-Add this record Esc-Quit [ ] Page 64 SECTION I CHANGING DATES AND CODES TFO 8-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a). Should you select <A> you can add new records. III. You may continue to select and enter the names for the codes or dates that you wish to change, or... a). Touch <Esc> to return to the previous menu. b). The Code Change Program menu will appear, and hit <Esc> to return to the Utility screen and then to the Main Menu. SUMMARY: This routine has been included in The Front Office just to speed things up a bit when changing random code fields or the follow-up date field. If you wish to change all of one code to another code, please see the next procedure entitled "Replacing Code Groups", (TFO-9). It will be easier to modify your records, if you work from a print-out of the particular code group or follow-up dates which you desire to change. It is suggested that you reserve one prospect code like 99 as a temporary code. In this manner you can use it to code a block of prospects, say for this weeks' inquiries. Then using the temporary code, print labels or letters in response, a report, and then change the codes into the proper category for such inquiries. (See TFO 9). - E N D - Page 65 SECTION I REPLACING CODE GROUPS TFO 9-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: Here we are able to revise codes by group; that is, any existing commonly coded prospect/customers can be changed to any other code for either combination or individual codes or dates. For example, you may wish to enter a number of records at the same time to receive letters in response to inquiries for your products. This is a fast way to code these prospects with a "one- time" code, and then when the letters are finished, you can change the code to the permanent code for that group thus mixing the new inquiries in with the old ones with the same code. The follow-up date would still serve as the primary follow-up method. As a convenience, this procedure may also be called from the <S>, "Sales", selection on the Main Menu. PROCEDURE: 1. Touch -Utilities, Enter, from the Main Menu screen, and you will obtain the "T F O - Maintenance Utilities" screen: A. Choose <C> to get to the "Code Change Program" screen: Code Maintenance Menu Select one of the following letters [ ] --------------------------------- | A-delete All prospect records | | C-Change prospect code titles | | D-Delete codes by Group | | R-Replace codes within a Group| | V-Variables to defaults | --------------------------------- 1) Touch <H> for Help and you will obtain an explanation of the above selections. ----------------------------------- H E L P ------------------------------------ A = CAUTION - This will delete all prospect records, contact names & calls. C = Changes the prospect codes that appear at the bottom of the Main Menu. D = Deletes all records by either of seven different prospect codes. R = Replaces all of either seven different code fields with a new code. V = Changes one of seven prospect file fields when the name/company is entered. More help ? (Y or N) [ ] Page 66 SECTION I REPLACING CODE GROUPS TFO 9-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Select <R> for "Replace codes within a Group", and the following screen will appear: Changing Groups of Codes Codes can be changed just as they are selected, i.e., as a sub-category of a higher level, or as they stand individually. Enter either a Salesman or a Prospect code, not both...then same for Region or Office...when using them as a higher level to change Level 3 codes. Level 3 can be changed directly. Level 3 Current Code New Code Region code Office code Prospect code Salesman code Product code Type code Status code Level 2 Code Level 1 Code Prospect Region Salesman Office Touch < to ignore Level 2 and Level 1 codes. a. The cursor will be located at the bottom left under "Code" next to "Prospect" I. You are asked for the Level 2 code that you want to key on. II. Fill in either the Prospect or the Salesman area with the code that you wish or <Enter> twice to skip Level 2. b. The cursor will then move to the Level 1 codes where you can enter either the Office code or Region code affected, if any. c. Next the cursor will move to the upper left where it can be move about freely using the arrow keys. I. Even after entering all spaces, the <Ctrl> and the <W> keys, the <PgDn> key, or any codes you can still quit when you receive the message: Is All O. K? (Y or N) [ ] a.) Answering <N> will return you the Code Change Menu without effecting any changes. Page 67 SECTION I REPLACING CODE GROUPS TFO 9-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. Entering any two Level 3 codes will return the following message: REPLACING CODE (code) WITH CODE (new code) a.) You can replace a blank code with a new code if you wish. b.) You can make a code that exists blank. III. You will then be returned to the Code Change Menu where you can hit <Esc> to quit to the Utility Menu. SUMMARY: Be careful because should you change a whole segment of codes by accident so that the newly assigned codes are mixed into an existing group of codes you can only change them back by using the Variables to Default procedure one record at a time. You will have to enter each individual prospect's name to make the selected changes out of the newly created larger group, and this can be quite time consuming. It is a good idea to assign new unused codes for such changes. We think that you will find that both the variables to default and the replacing codes by group is certainly faster than editing your way through the database. - E N D - Page 69 SECTION I PASSWORDS TFO 10-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: Passwords are used to enter the <S>-Sales module and the <V>-Vendor module. The password for both modules is the same. This procedure guides one in changing the password. When The Front Office is delivered and installed the password field is empty. This field can be changed by using the S-Sales selection off the Main Menu. (Vendor module is not included in the Sales version of TFO). PROCEDURE: 1. From the Main Menu screen enter <S>, <Enter>, to receive access to the "Sales File Maintenance" screen. A. A password will be required: Salesmen File Maintenance Type the PASSWORD to access the Salesman file: [ ] 1) The first time that you enter the Salesman Module you should touch <Enter>. a. This puts blanks in the field, so the password matches the password furnished with The Front Office. 2. The "Salesman File Maintenance" screen will then appear: Page 70 SECTION I PASSWORDS TFO 10-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales File Maintenance Select one of the following letters: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |<A>-Add or edit salesperson data <C>-Change password | |<D>-Delete sales data -reIndex files | |-Print salesperson data <R>-Replace codes | |<S>-Sales perf. report <T>-Salesperson conTact report | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- F1-H E L P Esc-Quit A. Touch <H> to see helps on the above choices. B. Enter <C> to change the password and the screen will clear so that you can enter the present password which is still blank. Change Sales Performance Password Enter PASSWORD [ ] ------------------------------------ N O T E S --------------------------------- The characters will NOT print as you type the password. Use a simple word that you can be certain to never forget, or perhaps write it down and keep a note in a safe place. You will be asked to enter the changed password a second time! 1) Above the "NOTES" line a prompt will display: ENTER a NEW PASSWORD or <return> to leave unchanged [ ] Page 71 SECTION I PASSWORDS TFO 10-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Enter the new password a second time as confirmation: ENTER the PASSWORD AGAIN, please [ ] 3) Should they both agree, the following message is displayed: GOOD - Both passwords are the same ! a. You will then be returned to the "Salesman File Maintenance" menu. 4) Should they both not match, a message will tell you so and you can try again or exit to the Salesman File Maintenance menu without any changes occurring. SUMMARY: Should you ever forget the password the only way to find out what it was is to examine the "Iamclear.mem" file where it is stored under the title MPWD. This file is visible and can be modified only is you have a copy of DbaseIII, DbaseIV, or Foxbase+. DON'T FORGET THE PASSWORD!!! - E N D - Page 73 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PERFORMANCE FILE TFO 11-1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: The Performance File is changed by going through the <S>-Sales module, This procedure will take you through the steps to change, add, or list the Performance File figures. A password is required to enter the sales module, so when making up a password keep it simple to remember (but unique to others) so that you will not forget it. The password is blank (touch Enter) the first time that you enter the sales module. Using the Commercial version reporting of sales commissions is available from the Main Menu, <C>-Commissions or <R>-Reports. See procedures TFO 22 or TFO 23, respectively. PROCEDURE: 1. From the Main Menu screen, select <S>, <Enter>, for "Sales" to enter the "Salesman File Maintenance" menu. A. The password is necessary to enter the sales system: Salesman File Maintenance Type the PASSWORD to access the Salesman file: [ ] B. Then the Salesmen File Maintenance screen will appear: Sales File Maintenance Select one of the following letters: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | <A>-Add or edit salesperson data <C>-Change password | | <D>-Delete sales data -reIndex files | | -Print salesperson data <R>-Replace codes | | <S>-Sales perf. report <T>-Salesperson conTact report | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- F1-H E L P Esc-Quit Page 74 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PERFORMANCE FILES TFO 11-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Touch <A> to receive the following form screen: Change Salesman Data ------------------------------------------------------------- Current Salesman | SALESMAN COMMISSON BASIS (S or P) COMM % 00.0 | | NAME | | ADDR | | ADDR | | CITY STATE ZIP | | HOME TELE NO SALESMAN CODE | | SOC. SEC. NO HIRE DATE / / | | NOTES | ------------------------------------------------------------- Enter salesman code... or Esc to Quit NOTE: The 'COMMISSION' fields will not be present in the S a l e s version. 1) Enter the number code or initials for the salesman whose performance information you wish to change. a. If you have not entered the salesperson's name, you may do so at this time. (See procedure TFO 2) Page 75 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PERFORMANCE FILE TFO 11-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) After the salesman's data appears, touch Esc and the "Performance Data" menu will appear (or touch Enter repeatedly through last field). a. If you are entering salesman data at this time, the "Performance Data" screen will automatically appear after the data is entered. b. Everything that takes place at this point occurs on the bottom half of the screen: P E R F O R M A N C E D A T A Select one of the following letters [ ] C - Change/Add to file I-Index files V - View files I. Select <C> for "Change/Add to File", and the screen will clear to show: ---------------------------------------------------------- | MO - YR | QUOTA | EARNED | LAST YEAR | |--------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------- a). If you touch <Esc> or <Enter> (without entering a month/year) you will exit to the "Performance Data" menu. b). Enter a month and year for the period to edit or add. c). When you enter a month and year, e.g., 1086, and that period is on file for this salesman, proceed to Step (a) on the next page. d). When you enter a month and year, e.g., 1086, and that period is not on file, you will see: Page 76 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PERFORMANCE FILE TFO 11-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No performance figures for this period. Do you wish to add (Y or N) [ ] I). Should you answer <N>, you will return to the "Performance File" screen. II). Should you answer <Y>, you will see the "Performance File Edit" screen along with the date you just entered: (a). You may enter the three new or changed figures for this month for this salesman in the proper spaces. (b). You are given a chance to select one of the following: ----------------------------------------------------------- | MO - YR | QUOTA | EARNED | LAST YEAR | |---------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------- Select one of the following letters [ ] B-Backward D-Delete F-Forward R-Revise (I). Choose <R> to change what you just entered, what you just received. (II). Choose <D> to delete the above period. (III). Touch <Esc> to select another period from the "Performance Data" menu. Page 77 SECTION I ADDING AND EDITING THE PERFORMANCE FILE TFO 11-5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. From the "Performance Data" menu, selecting <V> for "View" will display all months in the performance file on the screen for the chosen salesman. III. Selecting <Esc> to return to the main salesperson menu to perhaps select another salesperson. B. Selecting for "Index" will clear the screen at about half way and print: Reindex Files This re-indexing process may take up a few minutes if your files are very long. In addition, you cannot interrupt the indexing process. < to Continue Esc-Quit [ ] 1) Touch <Esc> to take you back to the "Salesman File Maintenance" menu. 2) Key <Enter> to begin the reindexing of the Performance Files. NOTE: Never interrupt the indexing process by turning off your computer or by using Ctrl, Alt, Del. This could corrupt the master file indexes. Should this occur (perhaps from power failure) than after rebooting your computer use the TFO UTILITY command from your DOS prompt and select reindex files to repair any damage. SUMMARY: We have seen how to add and edit the "Sales Performance File" for any salesman. The percentages are calculated at this time and written to the salesman's performance database file. Later, when doing reports, the totals are calculated for each chosen period or salesman. The performance earnings (commissions) figures are automatically updated when a Sales Order is produced. The Sales Order module is included with the M a n a g e r version of TFO. You must update sales earnings figures manually if you are using the S a l e s version of TFO. - E N D -