Open Tickets - Advice Notes (UK)

Open Tickets give your inventory team a way to collect materials for delivery or staging for a customer's pick up. In the United Kingdom (UK), this transaction is referred to as "Advice Notes." In the United States and Canada, this transaction is referred to in the software as "Open Tickets." This documentation may refer to this transaction using either or both terms; however, the functionality is the same in either case.

Open Tickets - Advice Notes are transactions that immediately affect on-hand quantities while at the same time allow adjustments before final processing as a sale (invoicing). This transaction is ideal for use either as a yard ticket or for deliveries.  Open tickets can be used for cash-only customers as well as charge. Invoicing is different for cash-only tickets, however. (See Invoicing Cash Only Tickets)

Here's an example: a customer speaks with their sales person and requests a list of goods that they will pick up. The sales person creates a "ticket" for the items. When the delivery vehicle arrives, the yard staff make substitutions or changes as necessary to the "ticket" to match the materials that were actually loaded. The ticket can be invoiced at that time or later on.

Invoicing can be done individually or all at the same time (by using the Point of Sale > Utilities > Invoice Tickets utility).

As is true with sales or order activities, this transaction begins with account (and sometimes job) selection. Next, a ticket number is generated or entered that is used for identifying the ticket in the future. If the sales person added a note to the transaction, the word True displays in the + column at the end of the row. You can see the notes associated with this item entry by selecting Folders (F4) and selecting the Entry tab.

For information regarding folders in the Point of Sale areas, click here.

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

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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.

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).*

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

Reviewing the Ticket Totals

To the right of the Name list, is a Totals panel, which shows the ticket's current subtotal, sales tax, and total. When you make pricing or quantity changes to the items in the data grid, these values update.

If you have specific user permissions, you can use the Menu Marker to the right of the box to switch to a different transaction type (Sale, Order, or Quote) or display the current GM% (gross margin percentage) for the entire transaction. This is described in detail below.

Changing the Transaction Type

You can convert a transaction from one type to another and retain much of the information from the original. When you switch to a new transaction type, the items (and item comments), pricing, account-job selections, PO#, and delivery information move to the new transaction. The application does not maintain other information unless it is permanently associated with the account or job. This includes a number of fields located on the Process form such as Print and Transmit options, Adjustments, and any manually entered information (such as a tax exempt ID or purchase agent).
Note: Making a transaction type change requires specific user permissions that may not be available to all sales personnel. Check your security settings if these menu options are blocked from your view.

To "switch" the current transaction to a new transaction type, click the Menu Marker to the right of the Totals box to display the context menu and select the new transaction type from the list.

Restrictions and Special Cases that can Prevent this Switch

There are a few restrictions that can prevent you from changing transactions. You cannot change a transaction that includes a rental item. If you enable and apply promotion pricing, to a transaction, the promotion pricing is removed when you make the switch and when you invoice an order or quote, these converted promotions are disabled).

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Ticket Number

Like Quotes and Orders, Tickets are assigned an ID number. The same format is used for Tickets as with other types of documents. Just as with any document type, open tickets can be assigned to one of three numeric ranges. You cannot choose a Ticket number manually, unlike orders and a few other document types.

Contracts for Installed Sales

If the selected account (and job) has an installed sale contract associated with it, a Contract list appears on the form. If you are not creating a ticket that is to be associated with a contract, you can skip this field. Otherwise, choose the Installed Sale contract from the Contract list. Only the orders associated with the selected contract will be available for Ticketing (F5).

Invoicing Cash Only Tickets

You can invoice cash only tickets from the Open Ticket Entry form using a process that is a bit different than for charge customers.

To invoice a cash-only account's ticket, you must reselect the ticket and choose the Invoice Ticket (F8) function. This will convert the transaction to a sale and add the items in the Open Ticket data grid to the Sale Entry form.

When you process the Sale transaction, the ticket will be converted into an invoice; otherwise, the ticket remains open for further updates. The "Invoice Ticket" function is only provided on modification of an existing ticket, not on initial entry. To invoice on initial entry, use the "switch to" feature to change the transaction to a "sale."

Grid & Item Entry

As with other Point of Sale forms the data grid is used for item entry. You can add items manually or by scanning them any time after you have completed the account/job selection and you have added the ticket number.

Primary entry fields include all columns except Description, Extended Amount, and additional information.

For more information 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.

All of the following alternate selection choices are used to build a selection list matching the criteria you either enter or select. Based upon your selections, you can wind up with a list that contains a few items, many items, or one item. In addition, it's possible for your selection to produce no matches.

Selection listings are assigned a set "page" size. Usually, this initial listing or page is limited to the first 25 records. When more items match the criteria than the page size, a "<<<MORE>>>" option is displayed at the bottom. Clicking "more" populates the selection listing with the next page of items. Previous records (items in this case) remain in the listing and can be viewed by moving the scroll bar on the right-hand side of the listing.

Selecting Items using Group Section

Since all items must be assigned to a group and section, you can use the Group Section settings to find an item. Groups and sections are numbered (1-255), but are also assigned a text description. In almost all cases, the text description is shown along with the numbers. Numbers are used because they take up less space and also makes sorting and searching data more efficient in the database. Each company can choose how it wants to organize its inventory.

Group/Section Selection List

Group and section selection uses an expandable navigation "tree." Each group listed in the tree can be expanded to display the sections within the group. You can make multiple selections. For example, you can create a selection list of all the items in three different groups -- or -- just a few sections within one or more groups.

When all the items in either a group or section are selected, the check box background is displayed in white . If you select some but not all sections within the same group, the group's check box background is changed to gray . Use the Select All button to select all groups and sections. Use the Clear All button to clear all check boxes. Choose Accept to build a selection list based upon the groups and/or sections you have chosen (checked). Or, click Cancel to close the window and not build a selection list.

Selecting Items using a Keyword

Items may be assigned up to five keywords. Keywords are meant to be a common and intuitive word that generally describes the product. It's best to use a word rather than a phrase and to not get overly specific. Keyword matches are not case-sensitive (you can type them using upper and/or lowercase letters). Some examples of good keywords are: TRUSS, PAINT, SINK, DRILL, BRICK, etc. The more specific the keyword, the less intuitive, and less likely that it will be used. Keywords are not required on items. Try using the Description search as an alternative if you are unsuccessful.

There are two ways to use the Keyword selection to find an item you are looking for:

1. In the Item column, type in the word or number you want to search for and right-click the drop-down arrow. Choose the Keyword option to display a list of items that contain the word or number you entered.

2. In the Item column right-click the down arrow and choose the Keyword selection option first (before you type anything in the Item field). The application displays a Keyword Select list where you can specify up to three keywords at the same time. You can choose to match on either ALL or ANY keywords. If you choose "Contains All", only items assigned to all the keywords will be included in the selection list. If you choose "Contains Any", items with any of the keywords specified will be included.

Selecting Items using a Barcode

You can assign up to five different barcodes to each item. You can use these different barcodes to distinguish different units of measure (BOX vs. EACH, for example), so it's important to pay attention to the unit of measure that displays when entering quantities. This selection tool can be used with either a full or partial match on an item's barcode. Partial matches are made beginning with the first non-zero number in the barcode. Leading zeros are not considered.

When using the barcode selection option, products are listed in order of barcode. The "base item" column contains your company's SKU for the item.

Selecting the Item using the Description

Use the Description search to find items using the words or numbers in the item's description. Matches are not cas-sensitive (so it doesn't matter whether you use upper or lower case letters). The text can be located anywhere in the item's description (beginning, end, or middle); however, the entire text is matched together as a phrase, not as independent words. For example, if you type in "FAN KIT" but the item's description is "KIT CEILING FAN BOX," the application would not find the match, despite the fact that both words do exist in the item's description.

You may notice that some items populated in the selection listing don't appear to include the word you typed in the "description" column. Why is this? Items may have very long descriptions (up to 1088-characters, including spaces); however, we use a shorter truncated description for selection lists that is only 32-characters. This is done to keep selection listings a reasonable size and for database performance. The description used for locating matches is a special "search" description that is essentially the item's full description with any sequential spaces between words removed (this description also doesn't include line feed, carriage return, and other non-printing characters that might prohibit matches).

Selecting Items using a Vendor SKU

Use the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) to describe the numbers or identifiers assigned to products. Your company may use its own item numbers (codes), it may use the same codes as a supplier/wholesaler, or a mix of both of these. Each item can be assigned up to three different vendor items (or SKUs). These identifiers are used when ordering products from the vendors (wholesalers, manufacturers, buying group, co-op, etc.).

Enter in the vendor's item number (SKU) in the item drop down and choose Vendor SKU from the alternate menu. If a match is located, the matching item (or items) will display. This option only works if an exact match is located. Partial matches are not returned.

Selecting Items using the Primary Vendor

Each item may be assigned one primary vendor. The primary vendor can be different for each branch (store location). To use this selection option, enter the full vendor code associated with the vendor. This option only accepts an exact match for an existing vendor code. All items in the current branch assigned to the vendor as a primary vendor will be included in the selection listing.

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.

If you want to define your own product IDs, this is done from the Code Definitions form available from the Inventory area's Database menu (select the "Product ID" tab from this form). To use Do it Best product categories, you must first retrieve the classifications using EDI (from the Purchasing area, choose the Vendor EDI transaction, Extras (radio button), and choose "Classification Maint."). Once this information has been populated successfully using EDI. Once completed, a "DIB" check box will appear on the Product ID selection form. This check box is hidden unless the categories table is populated with data.

If checked, the form allows you to choose either a department, category, sub-category, or product group to produce an item selection listing. If you pick a department, all items assigned to the categories, sub-categories, or product groups within that department will be included in the selection listing, for example. Items may be assigned to any level; however, it's usually best if they are assigned to a product group (the lowest level). To choose a level in the tree, double click on the node to select it.

Do it Best is a registered trademark of Do it Best Corp. in the United States and other countries.

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.

Sale Entry Form with Manufacturer SKU Search Results

Selecting the Item using Inventory Look up

Selecting Inventory Look up will open a Utility that searches for items by Group-Section or Department - Class - Fineline.
Note: This listing includes Disabled Items.

Inventory Lookup : Group-Section

In order to search by Group-Section, all items must be assigned to a group and section. Your company may define between 1 and 255 groups and also between 1 and 255 sections within each group. Groups and sections are numbered (again 1 - 255), but are also assigned a text description. In almost all cases, the text description is shown along with the numbers. Numbers are used because they take up less space and also makes sorting and searching data more efficient in the database. Each company can choose how it wants to organize its inventory.

Select a group to view all item within that group. You may then narrow down the list by selecting the section. Click on an Item to add it to the data grid. The main dialog window will become active as soon as you select an item, at which point you can adjust quantity and price as well as continue adding items. The Inventory Lookup Utility window will remain open in the background, facilitating navigation between the windows.

You may also use the "Filter Description by" field by typing in the item number or Description. The list will narrow down as you type in more characters in the field. Check the "Include Non-Stocked Items" to include all items, included items you don't currently carry.

Inventory Lookup : Department - Class - Fineline

There are three merchandising classes available: class, department, and fineline (sometimes named "subclass"). These can be used as a selection tool. Merchandising codes are typically reserved for codes provided by vendors and may be updated by EDI processing or when adding items using a vendor's catalog.

Select a Department to view all item within that department. You may then narrow down the list by selecting the Class and then the Fineline. Click on an Item to add it to the data grid. The main dialog window will become active as soon as you select an item, at which point you can adjust quantity and price as well as continue adding items. The Inventory Lookup Utility window will remain open in the background, facilitating navigation between the windows.

You may also use the Filter Description by field by typing in the item number or the description. The list will narrow down as you type in more characters in the field. Check the Include Non-Stocked Items box to include all items, included items you don't currently carry.

Selecting Items using the Image List Selection

The Image List feature provides a visual method for item selection. Before using the Image List feature, your company must define an Image List from the Image List Maintenance form available from the database menu in the Inventory area. There is one consolidated image list for your company. This list can have many different categories and sub-lists, however. Up to five layers of organization are permitted from the "start" location. The list should be organized from less to more specific categories and ending with items as the last level. Once a user opens the list, the list remains open in the background and retains the user's last location in the list if they re-open the list again. This is done until the user logs off, closes the application, or changes branch locations.

There are two types of content in the Image List: lists and items. Lists are indicated by either a yellow or an antique-white (light-yellow) background color. Items are indicated by a light or dark green color. The darker colors indicate the current selection. Keyboard navigation can be used as well as the mouse (single click) and touch screen if available.

Along the top of the form, navigation links are provided. Click on these to return to the "start" location or a prior list level.

Selecting Items using SO Lookup

Search for renumbered Special Order (SO) items by entering a full or partial SO item number in the data grid, right-click and select SO Lookup. In the example below, we are searching for an item called "SOWindow". A list of all "SOWindow" items will be returned; click on the <<<MORE>>> link to view additional items of the special order renumbered SKUs. Item are listed in descending order.

Selecting Items using Lost Sales

You can track your Lost Sales using the Inventory > Utilities > Lost Sales utility form as well as from any Item selection grid or Catalog selection control anywhere in the application. Click here to find out more about the Lost Sales search functionality.

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) can optionally modify the related quantity or price. If the "convert" box is checked , 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.

 

 

Pricing Changes

There are a number of ways to affect pricing. 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.

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:

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.