Sales Entry

The Sale Entry form is for entering and processing sales and returns using a variety of payment methods including: cash, check, coupon, credit/debit card, Capital One Trade Credit (formerly BlueTarp), gift card, and receivables account charge. The Sales transaction may also be used for invoicing customer orders, quotes, rental contracts, and mobile tickets (rental contracts and mobile tickets have additional requirements and may not apply to your company). Sales usually produce a "PS Invoice" type document; however, the "PS Charge Returns" document is created in cases where the net sale is negative, involves a receivables account, and is using a payment method of "charge."

Selecting an Account

In the Point of Sale Name list, you can either enter the Sort Name (from the Account Maintenance form) or the account ID. Most Point of Sale transactions involve selecting an account and job (when applicable) first. For Sales, you can scan or enter the items into the data grid first, but for other transaction types (Orders, Quotes, Tickets, etc.), you must choose an initial account first. If you know the customer participating in the transaction, there is usually no need to choose an alternate menu, just type either the sort name or the account number/ID.

When a customer has their own account, we recommend that you enter their name in the Name list. You can change it to a different account, if needed, before processing.

There are some additional search options you can use, based on other information you know at the time of your search. You can review these option here

more...

When the enhanced look up feature is enabled, you have more selection options, but the account's Sort Name field entry is still the primary match field. The application only shows you account number matches if no sort name matches are found. If matches for both the sort name and account number exist, only the entries with the name display.

Using the Enhanced Account Look Up Feature for Account Searches

When enabled, the Enhanced Look Up feature searches using the account number, sort name, address (line 1), and company name automatically. For each row, the cell matching the look up text contains a gray background color. Even when more than one column for the same row (account) has a match, the application only highlights the column with the first look up match. Typically, the more text you enter, the shorter and more useful the list of matching results will be. With enhanced look up, there is a maximum number of matches (up to 70). There is no <<More>> option, which means that if more than 70 matches exist, you may have to either enter additional text to narrow the search or enter new search information instead.
Note: You cannot use the % character as a wild card when using the Enhanced Look Up feature.

The Enhanced Look Up feature can be enabled by Support upon request. The team sets up parameters and uses a Support Utility to populate tables with the data you have already entered into the application. If you decide you do not want to use this feature after it is enabled, Support needs to reset these tables and the application returns tothe original methods for search. You can request to re-enable this feature in the future if you choose. Key look up data is removed when account or items are modified if you disable the enhanced look-up feature.

After you select an account from the list, the account type displays beside the list. There are three types of accounts:

  • A Cash account is a customer-specific account that does not allow receivables charges, unless the account has a credit balance.

  • A Charge account is also a customer-specific account that allow receivables charges to accumulate.

  • A System account is a general-use account that is not customer-specific. A System account does not have a credit limit or allow charges.
    All companies must have a system account named CASH. Except in the case of Tickets* (Advice Notes) and Charge Returns, the default account, "CASH," is the default when no specific account is indicated.

    To select the System account, press TAB . In addition, this type of account requires the entry of a delivery name when used with non-sale type transactions (orders, quotes, etc.). more...

Selecting a Job

Accounts may be linked to one or more jobs; every account has at least one job, known as the master job (0). You can add additional jobs to any account to track account activity separately from the account. You are only prompted to select a job if the account has multiple jobs (more than the required job "zero"); otherwise, all activity is assumed to be for the master job. In Point of Sale, disabled and closed jobs are not included in selection list. You may be able to add new jobs during the transaction processing (on the Delivery tab of the Process (F12) form).*

Job_Selection

*Your security settings may prevent you from adding jobs during processing.

ItemSets

An "ItemSet" is a classification tool used for Sales, Orders, and Quotes. This allows the user to assign items to groups, or "sets," which you can may be sort, invoice, or deliver separately. For example, a customer may place a large order, but want specific goods delivered at different times. ItemSets are an excellent way of keeping track of the customer's delivery needs while maintaining a single order at the same time.

Closedmore...

Totals Panel

The upper right-hand area of the form includes a display-only panel showing the transaction's current sub-total, sales tax, and total. The tax location and rate (percentage) are displayed to the left of the panel when enough room is available (the tax location and rate can be viewed in the Process (F12) form otherwise). These figures will automatically update as changes are made. Figures also update to reflect any adjustments (adders/discounts, etc.) applied on the Process (F12) form.

Point_of_Sale_Totals_Panel

The menu marker (to the right of the totals panel) offers additional options allowing the user to switch to a different transaction type (sale, quote, ticket) or display the current GM% (gross margin percentage) for the entire transaction.

Canada_Flag Canadian Settings

Users in Canada can double click on the tax amount to display the split provincial (PST) and GST tax dollar amounts. For Canadian provinces with both PST and GST taxes, both locations (and rates) are displayed to the left of the totals panel. HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) locations (used for the Maritime provinces) combine the GST and any local amounts together into one tax rate, so no split is provided in those cases.

Various Point of Sale Areas

Tax Details (Canada Only)

Using "Switch to" to Change Transactions*

It's possible to begin a Point of Sale transaction as one type and change to another while retaining much of the information from the original. All items (and item comments), pricing, customer-job selection, customer PO#, and address information are moved the new selection. Other information is not maintained unless it is permanently associated with the customer or job. This includes a number of fields located on the Process (F12) form such as print and transmit options, adjustments, and any manually entered information such as a tax exempt number or purchase agent.

To "switch" transactions, use the menu marker Menu_Marker_Icon1 next to the totals panel in the upper right-hand corner of the application window:

Closedmore...

*Security settings can block a user from viewing, and therefore accessing, any menu marker options.

Data Grid & Item Entry

The grid area is used for specifying the items that are being sold or returned. Products may be scanned at any time, manually entered, or selected using a variety of alternate menu methods. The default quantity for an item is one (1). Some types of items (tallies, description required, non-stock returns, comment, etc.) will prompt the user for additional information or selections by opening a new form. This occurs immediately after the product is scanned or entered in the grid.

Sales_Data_Grid_Options

Item

This column provides a combo drop down control that allows a user to enter text or select from a listing of items (products). This control supports scanning. For scanning to function properly, the supported scanner device must be programmed appropriately. The item selection control also offers a number of additional look-up features accessible from the alternate menu (usually a "right-click").

To learn more about item description search techniques, click Closedhere.

Search Tools for Finding Items in Data Grids (ECI-Hosted Only)

When you are looking for an inventory item and cannot remember the exact name or Item ID, you need tools for searching the item descriptions so you can find the right materials quickly. There are Item Description search features to give you those tools. There are description search tools, such as using quotes (“Drill Bit”) and using wild cards (Drill B*) to help search for items using their extended item description. The search results show the closest matches at the top and any additional results that match the criteria below.

You can use this feature wherever there is an Item list (Point of Sale, Inquiry, Item Maintenance, etc.). This feature is restricted to ECI Hosted customers only. Adding this feature requires a lot of additional database overhead, which we can manage better in our hosted environment. To enable this feature, reach out to the Implementation or Support teams; as it is disabled by default. Once enabled, there are no special permissions required to use this feature; it is accessible to all users.

Using the Enhanced Item Description Search Feature

We are demonstrating this feature in Point of Sale, but it works anywhere there is an Item list. The new description search strategies include:

  • Entering two words, like (Drill Bit) in the Item field, results in the display of all inventory items that have either Drill Bit or Bit Drill in the Item Description,

  • Entering two words using quotes, like (“Drill Bit”), results in the display of all inventory items with that exact text (as you would see when searching in a web browser), and

  • Entering text with a wild card *, (Drill B*), allows you to search for all items that start with Drill and have B as the next character. This wild card feature can be used more than once, so you could also enter Dr* B* and get all matching results.

Searching using the Exact Text

To search for an item using exact text:

1. In the Item list, type the text you want to search for.

2. Right-click the Item list drop-down icon to display options and select Description.
The matching results display:

Item Description Search (Entered Text Only)

3. Scroll through this list to find the item you are looking for or click the More option to display additional inventory items.

Searching using Quotes

But, what if you don’t want to see items that don’t contain the words, Drill Bit?

To search for an item using quotes:

1. In the Item list, type the text you want to search for with quotes around it: “Drill Bit”.

2. Right-click the Item list drop-down icon to display options and select Description.
The matching results display:

Item Description Search (Using Quotes)

3. Scroll through this list to find the item you are looking for or click the More option to display additional inventory items that match the quotes-based search criteria.

Searching using Wild Cards

To search for an item using one or more wild cards:

1. In the Item list, type the text you want to search for, typing a * after the last character you know: Dri* B*.

2. Right-click the Item list drop-down icon to display options and select Description.
The matching results display:

Item Description Search (Using Wild Cards)

3. Scroll through this list to find the item you are looking for or click the More option to display additional inventory items that match the wild card-based search criteria.

Note: If you use the character, * in your Item descriptions, the application does not search for them as characters. So, if you search for Drill*Bit and you are looking for items that have the * in it, the application will not search for that character specifically.

When the items display in the list, if you cannot see all of the characters, you can drag the Description column heading border to display more. This is particularly useful when the information you need is at the end of the description.

Item Description with Drag Icon Displaying

ClosedTo learn more about item entry and selection, click here.

One of the most important features of a retail software solution is Item Entry. When the item is physically present, scanning the item's barcode is the easiest and fastest way to enter it into the application. If you don't have a scanner or the item has no barcode, you can always enter a full or partial item number if it's available. When entering text that partially matches existing item codes, the application displays a list of items that match. Items in selection lists are color coded to help distinguish between item numbers and alternate SKUs (in purple). On-hand quantities in a selection list are also color coded when an item has a negative on-hand (red).

There are cases when you may not be working with any physical item, such as when you are building an order or quote, so scanning or manual item entry isn't always a realistic option. For these situations, you can enter the information you want to search for and right-click the Item list icon to display a list of search options.

Multi-Line Item Selection Tricks

If you want to add more than one item in the list to the data grid, you can hold down the CTRL (Control) or SHIFT key and click the items you want to add as follows:

  • Use the CTRL key to select random rows in the list (you can click any number of rows and locations) and

  • Use the SHIFT key to select a range of row entries above or below your first selection.

After you select the items you want, press the Enter key. Then, use the Next (F1) key to add the items you selected to the data grid one-at-a-time.
Selected items are not automatically copied into a grid. This feature works this way because not all selections made using these keys end up in a data grid.

Selecting Items using Group Section

Selecting Items using a Keyword

Selecting Items using a Barcode

Selecting the Item using the Description

Selecting Items using a Vendor SKU

Selecting Items using the Primary Vendor

Selecting the Item using the Product ID

You can use the Product ID as a classification tool to either create custom product IDs (groups) for your related items or, if you are a Do it Best® member, you can use them to mirror the Do it Best product departments, categories, sub-categories, and product groups. You can use a combination of both custom and Do it Best product IDs; however, only one ID may be assigned per product. The same product ID may be associated with as many items as you like.

Selecting the Item using the Manufacturer SKU

When you search for a particular item and you know the item’s manufacturer's SKU, you can use that SKU to find the item. We call this enhanced search. The enhanced search feature must be set up before you use this feature. We have added the Manufacturer’s SKU to the default enhanced search options as well.

To search by the Manufacturer SKU, enter the SKU in the Item field, select the down arrow beside the item field, and choose the Manufacturer SKU option. The application displays the list of items that match the SKU you entered.

Selecting the Item using Inventory Look up

Inventory Lookup : Group-Section

Inventory Lookup : Department - Class - Fineline

Selecting Items using the Image List Selection

Selecting Items using SO Lookup

Selecting Items using Lost Sales

Can't Find the Items I am Looking For, Any Other Ideas?

There are two additional search features you can use to find items quickly in Point of Sale or Inventory. Both of these features must be enabled by Implementation or Support team members. These features are discussed below.

Using the Enhanced Item Look Up Feature

When Enhanced Item look up is enabled, item selection automatically involves the following fields: item number, description, and keyword(s). The column cells matching the look up text are indicated by a gray background color. With Enhanced Item look up enabled, there is no "more" option provided and the maximum number of matches shown is 70. This means that if more than 70 matches exist, not all will be shown, and you may have to either enter additional text to narrow the selection or use other (alternate) selection options instead. Item number matches are given a preference over description and keyword matches (since alternate methods do exist for selection by description and keyword if necessary); however, the listing is finally re-ordered by Item SKU so the item matches may not necessarily appear first.

Exact matches on an item SKU do not provide a selection list.

Selection with no entry in the text area as well as selection involving the alternate menu do not use the enhanced look up feature. In these cases, item selection does provide the "more" option, and works as expected.

Typically, the more text entered, the shorter the listing of matching results will be.

Selection_Item_Enhanced

The Enhanced Item Look Up feature requires setup by ECI Support personnel. Support enables a parameter and populates a special look up table using a support utility. This is only done upon request. After the Enhanced Look Up feature is enabled, ALL users and ALL locations can use it for item searches in all data grids that include items.

You can disable this feature at any time by contacting Support. If for some reason, an "enhanced" search is disabled, the tables will need to be repopulated again if it is re-enabled in the future.

Wild card searches (using the % character) are not supported when using the Enhanced Look Up features.

We have updated the ecommerce API to support the transmission of three additional fields of information: • Discount Date This specifies the last date that the discount applies. (This allows the API to compare the discount date to the date the payment is being made to ensure the discount can be applied.) • Discount Amount The calculated amount of the discount. (This provides the amount of the discount, which the API can subtract from the ROA payment balance.) • Outstanding Amount Discount The original amount that can be discounted, minus the discount amount, and minus the customer’s account payment, minus any additional discounts not included above. Additional details are available in the API Guide.

Using the Enhanced Item Description Look Up Feature

When you are looking for an inventory item and cannot remember the exact name or Item ID, you can use a tool for searching the item descriptions to find the right materials quickly. The Enhanced Item Description Search features to give you those tools. Traditionally, you were restricted to searching for 32 characters when you used a Description search, we have expanded this to 300 characters, when needed. Additionally, we have added additional description search tools, such as using quotes (“Drill Bit”) and using wild cards (Drill B*) to help search for items using their extended item description. The search results show the closest matches at the top and any additional results that match the criteria below.

You can use this feature wherever there is an Item list (Point of Sale, Inquiry, Item Maintenance, etc.)and is restricted to ECI Hosted customers only. Adding this feature requires a lot of additional database overhead, which we can manage better in our hosted environment. To enable this feature, reach out to the Implementation or Support teams; as it is disabled by default. Once enabled, there are no special permissions required to use this feature; it is accessible to all users.

See the Enhanced Item Description topic for more information.

Additional Options

There are a number of additional options available from the context Menu Marker Menu_Marker_Icon1: Remove Order, Remove Quote, Mark as Net, Merge Items, and Reverse Quantities. The "merge items" and "reverse quantities" options are available in release 12 and later (release 12 is scheduled for production release in January 2017).

Remove Order

This option allows you to remove a customer order that was selected using the Invoicing (F5) function (does not apply to document import). This option is only enabled once one or more orders have been associated with the transaction.

Remove Quote

This option allows you to remove a customer quote that was selected using the Invoicing (F5) function (does not apply to document import). This option is only enabled once one or more quotes have been associated with the transaction.

Mark As Net

When selected, this marks the selected row or rows with a discountable code of "N" (net).

Merge Items

This feature combines duplicate items with the same measures and pricing together. Duplicate items with different measures or pricing are not combined. Tally items, serial number items (Tag ID), zero quantity items, special order items, material list, "hidden" items, add-on SKUs, and items eligible for ACE Rewards promotions are not eligible for merging. In addition, items being invoiced from a customer order or quote may be excluded depending upon the situation (if both items are linked, neither would be merged, but if only one is, the non-linked item would be merged with the item linked to another document). Additional restrictions may be added in the future as necessary. (Release 12)

Reverse Qtys

When selected, all quantities in the data grid will be reversed (for items that allow returns).

Returning Items

When a customer is returning an item, specify a negative quantity for the item. Security preferences can prevent or limit a user's ability to process returns. Mixing returns with items being sold on the same transaction can also be prevented (optionally).*

POS_Sales_ReturningItems

*Identifying specific item returns when the entire transaction is a credit may be easier when looking at a customer's account or searching documents.

Some items don't allow returns, if this is the case, a warning message appears and the item's quantity will change back to a positive number.

If the optional enhanced item return feature is enabled, the Point of Sale user is presented with additional options on both stocked and non-stocked product returns.

ClosedClick here for more information on enhanced item returns...

Handling Stocked Item Returns (when the Stocked Item Returns Parameter is Enabled)

Scanning

Quantity Color Coding

In some cases, you'll see quantities displayed in either red or green text. This color coding reflects the availability of the product. Items with a green quantity indicate that if sold, the quantity remaining would be below the quantity available (on-hand less any quantity reserved for customer orders, manufacturing, etc.). Items with a red quantity indicate that if sold, the quantity remaining would be below the quantity on-hand.

Navigating the Grid

The grid in sales has many columns; however, some columns are primarily used for displaying information, not entry, and others are accessed rarely. Primary fields are those grid columns that need to be accessed most often. Columns that are less commonly used are considered secondary and default to be skipped when using the TAB key to navigate the grid.

Primary fields include all columns except the item description, extended amount, exceptions (X), and additional information (+). The remaining primary fields are accessible using forward "TAB" navigation.

The Enter key is not usually used for moving between cells or fields. When you are in a grid cell, pressing the Enter key does one of two (2) things:

1.On text-only input fields, pressing Enter completes that row and moves the cursor to the next row (below the current one).

2.On drop down type fields, pressing Enter displays the drop down selections. If there is a partial entry, only matches for that entry are displayed.

Unit of Measure Changes

 

Quantities and pricing reflect the unit of measure displayed. Changing the unit of measure (U/M) to a measure with some other value (other than 1:1) will usually modify the related quantity or price. In most cases, changing the quantity unit of measure will result in the unit price being updated to reflect the price in the same terms.* For example, if an item defaults to be sold and priced by the "PC" but you modify the quantity measure to "BOX," the price will be adjusted to reflect the "BOX" price.

Units_Measure_Changes

Your company can set the default quantity and pricing measure for each item you maintain as well as the default pricing for each customer. If you find that you regularly need to modify pricing on an item, consider changing the Point of Sale defaults for the item (or the customer's pricing default if that is the issue).

If security permission permits you to modify pricing measures and the "convert" box is checked clip0189, the existing quantity or price will be converted to a value equal to the current value (displayed in the drop down). The "convert" option will not change existing extended amounts. If the "convert" option is not checked, the existing quantity or price will not change, and will be used to re-calculate extended amounts. This can result in human error if pricing is not set properly, so some companies prefer to not allow manual changes to pricing units of measure in Point of Sale.

*If the original and new measures are both equivalent (a 1:1 relationship), pricing won't be updated to match the new UM because it would not result in any change.

Pricing Changes

There are a number of ways to affect pricing if you are allowed to do so (pricing changes can be limited by user security). Users can modify the price by typing another in, select a reprice option (F6), type a discount, or select an alternate price from the input drop-down. Typed keyboard shortcuts are also available. For example, type L2 in the unit price field to use the level 2 price, or D20 to do a 20% discount.

Pricing_Changes

Price changes are flagged as exceptions and can be reported on by your company's management.

How is pricing determined?

Determining the price for an item involves some pretty extensive work because there are so many factors in the software that can affect an item's price. Here is a list of the many things that are considered when determining the price used for an item at Point of Sale:

Level Pricing

Volume Discounts

Unit of Measure (UM) Prices

Sale Pricing

Contract Pricing

Price Groups

Price Rounding Rules

Unit of Measure Relationships (Conversions)

Unit of Measure Defaults

Account Settings

Some or even ALL of these may be factors when determining an item's price at Point of Sale. As a general rule, we try to use the lowest price that an account is eligible for (for example, an account that is eligible to receive sale pricing on an item might be better off receiving their regular price if that price is lower than the sale price); however, there are several exceptions.

The common exceptions to this rule are: contract pricing, price groups, and in some cases, Unit of Measure (UM) pricing. Contract pricing and Price Groups are always used regardless of whether they result in a lower price. In cases when both a contract price and price group are applicable to an item, the contract price is used instead of the price group. UM prices, when eligible, can indicate either a higher or lower price than the account’s default level pricing or item’s volume pricing.

Unit of Measure (UM) pricing and volume discounts are only considered IF the account’s level pricing is being used for the price calculation. This means that the account and item don't qualify for contract pricing or price group pricing, and if the item is on sale, that the sale price is not lower than the account’s default level price. Given this, it is technically possible for an account to receive a sale price higher than the designated UM Price or Volume Discount price if their normal level price for the product is higher than the sale price.

Keep in Mind: When you change accounts in a Point of Sale area when there are already items in the data grid, the account's settings can affect the unit of measure and item's price settings. Consider carefully the appropriate unit of measure settings when you reprice an item under these circumstances. The results could be confusing for the customer in the resulting transaction documentation.

The following chart describes the basic flow of how pricing is usually determined for items. The following logic is bypassed when "alternate" SKUs, such as barcodes, are used which are linked with specific units of measure :

PricingFlowChart

ClosedClick Here for more information about Pricing...

Discounts

The "Disc" column is used for line item discounts. These discounts will only affect pricing on "discountable" items. Use the Inventory and Codes tabs in the folders (F4) to view the current item's discount status. Pricing for "net" items will not change when a discount is entered; however, reprice functions (F6) don't consider an items discount status.

Exception Codes or "X" Column

The "X" or exception column displays pricing exceptions when encountered. There are six (6) exception codes used: L, M, N, P, X, and Z. A maximum of two (2) codes may be displayed for any item. When more than two (2) exceptions occur, the letter "X" appears in the exceptions column. Please see the following table for an explanation of these codes:

Code

Description

L

Line Discount

Users may be allowed to discount specific items by typing a discount percentage in the discount column of the data grid. When this has been done, the discount percentage is shown and the exception code "L" is set. Net items also use the discount column and will display an "N" in place of any discount (net items don't allow line discounts).

M

Margin Out of Limits

 

Every item may optionally be assigned an expected % (margin) and minimum % (margin). These are located on the Branch (Alt-B) and Pricing (Alt-P) tabs in the Item Maintenance (database) form. When an item's margin falls below the minimum %, it is flagged as a "Margin Out of Limits."
 

N

Negative Margin

 

An item has a negative margin when its cost is higher than its selling price. This can happen for a number of reasons. One example is if the item's price is lowered too much by a discount or repriced too low. Receiving errors can cause an item's cost to be inflated.
 

P

Price Change

This exception is set as a result of the sales clerk's (user's) actions. If a price is either modified manually or by using one of the Reprice (F6) functions, this flag will be set. This allows company or store management to review manual pricing changes.
 

X

More than Two (2) Exceptions Encountered.

 

The column has room to display up to two (2) exception codes. In cases where three (3) or more codes apply, an "X" is displayed. To find the exact exceptions, either run the Exceptions report or view the document and choose Format and File Copy from the alternate menu.
 

Z

Zero Cost

 

Certain items can have a zero cost for legitimate reasons in some cases (this is common with non-stocked items and some special use items); however, most other items should be associated with a cost. Comment type items would not normally have a cost, so they are excluded from exception flagging.
 

Exceptions are reported in the grid immediately, so Point of Sale users should be trained to notice exceptions and to notify the appropriate party or make changes in the transaction to prevent the exception (if unexpected). In addition, company or store management should make a practice of reviewing exceptions to catch issues with pricing and costs on inventory. The Exceptions Report can be useful for reviewing transactions for possible issues that need to be addressed.

Additional Information (+)

An item may have additional information associated with it. This can include attachments, comments, and staging locations. A large plus (+) symbol appears in the column when any of these conditions are met. This "+" also appears on next to the word "Entry" on the Entry folder tab (F4) when a row with item attachments is selected in the grid. This allows entry of comments and/or staging information as well as access to an item's attachments. For attachments that allow printing at Point of Sale, you can select and print attachments from the Process (F12) form as well.

Additional_Information