Lineal Tally Items

The “Lineal Tally” item option combines some the features of fixed-length, sheet metal, and lot type tallies. You can maintain lineal tally items inventory quantities by the length (without the need for individual items), while at the same time providing the ability to base pricing on the parent item. Lineal tallies can be used for either stocked or non-stocked applications. This type of tally was added for use with steel studs, etc.; however, it can used for any material that can be subdivided into smaller units. It's best used in cases where there are preset lengths, but also possibly custom ordered or cut lengths as well. Due to the way this tally functions, regarding quantities and pricing, it would not be useful or advisable to use this when no preset lengths are necessary. Here are some summary points about this type of tally:

The parent item's units of measure are all assumed to be lineal measures for the item (either feet or meters/metres depending upon your region) for all quantities and pricing. The unit of measure description and relationship to other measures is not considered. The BASE measure for the parent item should therefore either represent lineal feet or lineal meters. A unit of measure default for lineal quantities is provided in the Code Definitions form (Units of Measure tab). The pricing unit of measure may be either the same lineal measure or a per thousand measure. The default "lineal" measure for pricing may also be set from the same area of the Code Definitions form. The item's default measure for pricing at Point of Sale and Costs on Receipts/Purchase Orders determines which measure is used in those areas.
Each lineal tally consists of one or more “children” or “levels.” Levels are each assigned a positive or zero integer (whole number), decimal value (for metric-based regions) and fraction or decimal values for Imperial-based regions for length.
"Child" levels don't refer to actual items, but do individually track quantities and other limited information individually similar to a "lot" type tally.1
A length of zero (0) is used to indicate a level that would be used for any custom lengths and is also used for non-stocked (special) ordering any length that is not available as a preset. It is possible for a lineal tally to have one "zero" level and no presets if it is only used for special orders or the length is always variable and entered by the user.
The parent (tally) item determines the description, pricing, and all other dimensions/measures affecting the item. Child levels would only indicate the various lengths available for the product, so each lineal tally assumes that, other than length, child levels are the same product matching the parent item as far as any other dimensions or other properties.
During sale, any “custom” or "cut" quantities can be priced based either on the cut length only or the price of the entire length that the cut was made from. On-hand is always relieved for the parent item and any child levels at the full length of the item, not by the cut length. For the custom "cut" level, quantities are rounded based on the item's quantity rounding setting. If quantity rounding is set, the "cut" or "custom" level will round up to the nearest lineal foot (or metre); unless the Rounding Down option is selected in the system parameters. The application tracks cut lengths and evaluates whether these lengths can be returned to inventory. If cut items equal or exceed an existing lineal tally length, the application returns the item to inventory. If the cut item is too small to return to inventory, the application considers it waste.
For non-metric (feet/inches) regions using the Imperial system, the inches may be typed either as a decimal, fraction (base 12), or whole number and fraction. For example, a measurement that is 1-1/4 inches may be entered as any of the following: 1.25, 5/4, or "1 1/4" (one space between the whole number and fractional inches only). Inch specifications are allowed for the "cut" or "custom" level at any time. This is also permitted in Point of Sale when "cutting" a preset length. Full lengths are always removed from inventory, not the cut lengths. All cuts are assumed to be waste. In cases where there is no "waste," meaning the customer keeps all cut pieces, it is neither necessary nor advisable to specify any cut amount. In this case, the "cut" is not relevant, so just enter a quantity of one for the full length.
You can account for kerf when cutting lineal tally items during the Point of Sale process.
Any cutting charges, etc. must be handled independently either as adjustments (suggested) or some type of item added to the transaction.

1Child levels individually maintain the following by branch location: quantity on-hand, committed quantity, last sale date, physical count, and physical inventory adjustment quantities. On-order quantity, physical count status, purchasing settings (minimum, maximum, etc.), usage, valuation, and all other relevant fields are maintained for the parent (main) item only. An overall on-hand, committed, and other quantities are also maintained by the parent item, and it is expected that the totals of all level quantities should match with the parent quantities.

Restrictions

Due to their nature (in particular the way levels that are not items must maintain quantities), there is a need to minimize or limit any activity that might cause the parent item and child levels to no longer match as far as overall quantity. Transactions shouldn't support the use of this type of tally unless we've specifically coded for it. These currently include: Order Entry (Purchasing), Receipts (Receipts), Sales (Point of Sale), Orders (Point of Sale), Quotes (Point of Sale), Direct Ship (Point of Sale), Charge Returns (Point of Sale), and Physical Counts (Inventory). Any other areas, in particular those that don't provide the 'pop-up' for quantity entry by level should be avoided so that the proper function of the lineal tally item is not compromised.

Since individual levels maintain limited information (much less than an actual item would), there is and will be no usage or sales history available by level (length). In addition, fields necessary for automated purchasing are only available for the parent item. Other types of tallies, such as the "pull to length" type, do link with actual items and should be considered when the aspects of an individual item are required or desirable. There will be other differences and users should not expect the same functionality for levels as they would a regular item.

Lineal Tally Item Setup

As withother types of tally items, Lineal Tally items are specified the Item Maintenance form and most settings related to the tally are found on the Common, Tally tab. The item's BASE unit of measure (Common, Measures Tab) always represents one lineal unit (Feet, Metres, etc.) regardless of the measure's description or numeric relationship. The same is true for pricing. In order to enforce this, a Lineal Measure default option has been added to the Code Definitions form, Units of Measure tab. This should be used to set the default UM description you will use for tally items.

The Item Maintenance form Common > Tally tab provides a data grid for defining preset lengths (if any) as well as a "custom" or "cut" level (this is designated by a zero length). Typically, the application expects these items to be added in smaller to larger length order. It is possible for a lineal tally to only have a "cut" or "custom" (zero) level and no preset lengths, only preset lengths, or both preset lengths and one "cut" or "custom" level. In general, whole numbers and decimal lengths are permitted lineal tally items. The zero level allows the user to specify any length. In Point of Sale, partial "cut" lengths can be designated for any preset levels.

Item Maintenance / Inquiry: Common, Tally Tab (Lineal Tally)

In the data grid, there are five columns. After you have added the entries, the columns become read-only:

ID is a unique identifier that typically refers to the length of the lineal tally item.
Length indicates the original length of the lineal tally item (can be in meters or feet, depending upon the region)
OnHand indicates the current on hand inventory quantity of this tally item.
Committed indicates quantity of each length (in pieces) that has been committed to customer orders or quotes but not yet delivered.
Physical Count indicates the quantity of each length from the last physical count (or stock check in the United Kingdom)

These quantities are not based on the total lineal length but are "piece" or "per length" quantities which are calculated using the level's assigned length. The parent item's quantities reflect total lineal length.

Use the Price to Stock Length check box to specify whether partial (cut) lengths entered for a preset level should be priced based on the full price of the original length by default. Leaving this box unchecked will price the cut lineal tally item using the length that was cut. This only applies to preset lengths and is only applicable to Point of Sale transactions. For transactions in other areas (such as Purchasing), you cannot enter partial lengths for the preset length levels. During the Point of Sale process, you can also select the Price to Cut Length to reprice the lineal tally item as a percentage of the parent item instead.

Use the Do Not Round Custom Length check box to specify whether the application should allow rounding when you cut the lineal tally item.

As part of the setup, there are also two parameter options (Maintenance > Database > Parameters > Point of Sale > Settings) you can set based on your own business' preferences:

Lineal Tally Return Remaining, which allows the application to attempt to return cut lengths to inventory (if applicable) or count them as waste.
Lineal Tally Default to Round Down, which defaults to round down child items by the kerf value during a Point of Sale transaction involving lineal tally items.

Note: This setting requires administrative rights in the application.

Adding Levels and Lengths

You can add new levels and lengths to lineal tally items in the Item Maintenance > Common > Tally tab.

1. In Item Maintenance form, choose the Common > Tally tab.
The Lineal Tally Item options display

2. In the Tally tab ID field, type the code for the tally level you want to add.
Typically, this value represents the total length of the tally item you are adding.

Tip: To sort the tally level IDs in the drop down control by length, use leading zeros when you create the levels so the application can identify them by their length (numerically).
This is not required, however, so use whatever makes the most sense for your product. You can add alpha-numeric characters in this field, but not special characters (symbols, etc.)

3. In the Length column, enter the length of the tally item.
You can enter whole numbers or numbers with decimal values in this field.

Item Maintenance Form > Common Tab > Tally Tab

4. When you have completed the ID and Length entries, click Process (F12) to save your changes.

You can add as many levels as you need. If the lineal tally item is only being used for special orders or there are no pre-cut lengths, enter a single level with a zero length value (ID), for example.

In most cases, the application sorts the levels by length from smallest to largest. However, when populated in a grid area, the drop-down selection uses the ID you've assigned.

Before associating the tally with any transactions, we suggest that you select them in the tally in Point of Sale and Purchasing data grids to make sure that the levels function the way you intend. After these items have been used in transactions or been received into inventory, there are some restrictions associated with them making these settings harder to change.

Notes:

The number of levels is flexible. If a tally is only being used for special orders or there are no pre-cut lengths, it's perfectly acceptable to use a single level with a zero length value, for example.
In most cases, levels will be sorted by length from lowest-to-highest numeric value when populated in a grid area; however, drop down selection is different and uses the ID you've assigned.
If you want your tally's level IDs to be sorted in a "drop down" control by numeric sequence, use leading zeros for levels that are identified by length (numerically). This is necessary because the ID column allows alpha as well as numeric characters and therefore sorts "alphabetically" rather than numerically. Leading zeros can be used to accommodate this. Special characters (symbols, etc.) are not permitted in the ID column.

Before associating the tally with any transactions, we suggest that you bring up the tally in Point of Sale and Purchasing to make sure that it functions the way you intend. Some changes will be restricted once levels have quantities associated with them.

Modifying an Existing Level

If you decide to make changes to an existing level, changes to the level's ID can be interpreted as a "new" level rather than a change. It may be necessary in these cases to delete (see below) the existing level and add a new level instead. It's a good idea to reload the item after any changes and review the levels to make sure the item reflects your changes appropriately.

Deleting an Existing Level

Existing levels may only be deleted if the level has no associated quantities (on-hand, committed, physical count, etc.). Adjustments may be used to move quantities to another level when necessary so that the totals for all levels remain in-sync with the main (parent) item.

Levels do not maintain "on-order" quantities individually. If a level has quantities designated on a purchase order, this data is maintained differently and is not easily accessible. Should you receive an error attempting to receive or modify a purchase order with a lineal tally after deleting a level, you will need to re-add the level then modify the tally in purchasing prior to deleting again.

Because levels maintain quantities independent of the item, it's a good idea to keep your changes to the tally structure to a minimum. Adding new levels (lengths) should not be an issue; however, changes or deletion of existing levels may be restricted in some cases.

Purchasing Lineal Tally Items

You can purchase and receive Lineal Tally items through the application. In this case, the Lineal tally (pop-up) form only permits specific lengths (feet and inches, for example) for levels that don't have a preset or designated length. The "cut" or "custom" level (designated by a zero length) may still be used to enter any quantities and lengths that cannot be associated with a preset level. Because this type of tally tracks quantities by level, it's important to specify the proper quantities during purchasing so that the on-hand quantity for preset lengths will be correct after receipt.

This type of tally does not allow an "overall" total lineal length to be specified. Although this could be done using the "cut" or "custom" level, this is not suggested. Physical counts provide a method to correct level quantities if and when necessary.

Lineal Tally Item Pop Up (Purchasing)

The Lineal Tally form displays the item SKU and description, total lineal length selected (which is not editable), and two grid areas. In the Lineal Tally Item Pop Up (Purchasing) form:

Total field: Reflects the sum of the lineal tally item lengths you are ordering. (The unit of measure is LF for Lineal feet in Imperial-measurement regions and LM for Lineal Meters in regions that use metric measurements.) This value updates as you select lineal tally quantity values in the left data grid.

Left Data Grid: Use this grid to specify the quantity of items you are ordering. You cannot change the length of the items you are purchasing. When a "cut" or "custom" level is involved, the user can also designate the length in feet and inches.

Right Data Grid: Use this grid to review the quantity of available items in stock for each level. The application does not display any zero level entries, since this value has no preset length. The values in this grid are read-only.

You cannot make changes to the pre-set lengths in this pop up box, except when you are working in a Point of Sale transaction. We assume that for purchasing, you are choosing a specific preset length indicates that a full length is expected. The "cut" or "custom" zero level should be used for ordering any non-standard (full-length) pieces. Additionally, each preset length may only be referenced once per tally item instance (for example, you cannot specify 3 different quantities for the same 8 ft. length).

If you re-select a tally that has previous allocations, the total "original" quantity of the previous selection is shown for reference below the "total." The "total" is the current running total and is effected by any changes made.

To complete a purchase of lineal tally items:

1. From the Main Menu, choose Purchasing > Order Entry to display the Purchase Order Entry form.

2. From the PO # list, choose New and from the Vendor list, choose the Vendor supplying you with the lineal tally items.

3. In the data grid, search for the lineal tally item you want to purchase and press Enter.

Purchase Order Entry Form with Lineal Tally Item in ID List

The Lineal Tally Item pop up box displays.

Lineal Tally Item Pop Up Box

4. In the ID column, click the ID field to display the drop-down list.

Lineal Tally Pop Up with Level List Displaying

5. Click the length (level) in the list you want to order.

6. In the Qnty column, enter the number of items at that length you want.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each level you want to order for this tally item. The Total field updates as you enter new quantities to keep track of the total lineal measurement.

Lineal Tally Pop Up with Entries

8. When you have completed your entries, click Accept. The data grid updates to show the total lineal measurement value.

Purchase Order Entry with Lineal Tally Item

9. In the Unit Cost field, enter the cost per unit and press Tab.
The extended cost and the Totals box updates.

Purchase Order Entry with Lineal Tally Totals

10. Click Process (F12) to process the item.

11. Complete the processing details and click Finish (F12).

In the case of Purchasing, lineal tallies maintain the "on-order" total quantity for the main item, but the individual level quantities ordered are maintained temporarily as XML data only (this is different from the other quantities such as on-hand, committed, and physical count, etc.).

When you receive a lineal tally in full, the lineal tally and any hidden child levels are marked as closed. Partial receipts reduce the quantities of the parent and child levels until you receive the entire quantity or more. The original order quantities will not be reduced below zero if you receive more than what you ordered. The parent item is the only part that will show ordered less received on the Purchase Order document (once fully or partially received, the document only shows the remaining quantity on order for each level (length) with no reference to the original quantity ordered). View the "links" for Receipt Document involving the Purchase Order document for additional detail.

On a purchase order or receipt document, comments regarding the tally details are included below the parent (tally) item's description.

Purchase Order Document for Tally Item Above

Each length level is listed as a separate line that describes the number of pieces (in this case a full piece is determined by the preset length of the level), length in feet and inches (or metres/cm), and the cost per piece.

10 PCS 8' x 0" @ 120.00

Cost (in the printed comments) is rounded up to 2-decimal places for each level. It is not maintained by level, just for the overall item, so the "PC" cost is just included for reference. When you receive a lineal tally item, the quantities for both the parent item and levels are adjusted; however, only the parent (tally) item maintains costs. Comments for lineal tally details are the same for Point of Sale documents except that the price (per PC) is used in place of the cost.

No generated SKU is used when ordering for stock or non-stock and there is no specific linkage between a customer's order and purchasing. You can copy a customer order containing a lineal tally to a new or existing purchase order using the "all items for vendor" or "selected items" option, but only when a "cut" or "custom" (zero) level has been specified. You can use a purchase order build or manual entry to replenish this stock. The available quantity is shown on the popup form for reference. When completing a purchase order build, the order quantity is based on the settings and quantities of the parent item only. You must expand the tally order and the purchaser must specify the length quantities (if known) for the order. The build will not "guess" or otherwise calculate order quantities for each level because levels are not items and don't maintain the necessary settings.

Note: Levels are useful for maintaining basic quantities but don't have the purchase settings that a regular item would such as: days supply, minimum, maximum, package breaks, and usage.

These quantities may be modified during receipt; however, the extended quantities of the levels must always match with the quantity shown in the grid. Backorders are possible with lineal tallies. This works similar to a standard item except that quantities are individually maintained for each level (length) associated with the item. Vendor settings and the user's choices during receiving can affect whether goods are back-ordered. The originally ordered quantity is not maintained for the levels (lengths), only the current quantity remaining on-order. For this reason, document styles that display of backorder information for items will not refer to "original" quantities vs. received for the tally details.

Adjustments to Lineal Tally Quantities

Due to the nature of this type of tally, the application maintains individual child levels on-hand and other quantities. For this reason, they may need adjustment due to mistakes and shrinkage, etc. ALL adjustments necessary must be done as Physical Counts for this type of item. Quantity on-hand adjustments don't support this type of item and should not be used.

Adding Lineal Tally Items at Point of Sale

Lineal Tally Items can be associated with most Point of Sale transactions that support item entry. There are some differences between how lineal tallies function in Point of Sale from how they are used with Purchasing and other transactions.

Lineal Tally Item Box with Highlighted Fields at Point of Sale

The descriptions of the fields are shown below:

Total field: This quantity reflects the total lineal tally length specified in the box. This value updates when you add additional items.

Left Grid fields: This grid allows you to specify the quantities and lengths the customer has specified for the transaction. Quantity indicates number of pieces and the Length and Inches (or Meters and cm, in non-Imperial regions) fields, give you a way to specify the customer's requested cut length(s).

Round Down check box, when you cut a lineal tally item, the application reduces the remaining cut length by the Kerf value and attempts to match the remaining child item to next-largest defined tally item length. This allows the remaining item to be put back into stock.

Kerf field, allows you to specify the width of the blade used to cut tally items.

Right Grid fields: These fields allow you to view the impact the sale has on inventory. The Length column shows the original lineal tally values. The Avail column indicates how many are in stock.
+/- (Inventory column) shows the effect the entries in this list have on the current item quantities in inventory. When cut items match or exceed an existing item length for this lineal tally item, the application returns the child item to stock.
Waste field displays the amount of waste for all the defined sale quantities / lengths. This amount displays in feet, inches or meters, millimeters depending upon the regional settings. For more information about Inventory and Waste management, see Scenarios_for_Returning_Cut_Items_to_Inventory.

Price to Cut Length. Select this button to round the price down to the percentage of the stock length represented by the cut length. This way, the customer only pays for what they buy.

Price to Stock Length. Select this button to charge the customer the price for the stock length instead.

When the customer requests a cut that can be managed with multiple cuts from the same lineal tally length, the application shows the most efficient length for that transaction. In Point of Sale, the same level (length) may be referenced as many times as necessary.

For example, you might have a quantity of 3 full 10' (ft.) lengths and two 8' (ft.) length that has been cut down to 7' 6" (7 ft. 6 in.). It's important to point out that the quantity entered in the grid should always represent the number of full lengths for the preset level (not the resulting "cut" number of pieces).

Whenever less than a full length is sold, the difference is considered waste unless you have enabled the "Lineal Tally Return Remaining" parameter. Even with this parameter enabled (checked), waste is returned to stock only when the remaining amount exactly matches one of the preset lengths defined for the item (if any). Otherwise, the remainder is considered waste as usual.

Whether or not your company charges the customer for the waste is another matter and is determined by the "price" selection you choose (Price to Cut Length or Price to Stock Length). The overall on-hand for the parent tally is only updated by full piece quantities unless a "cut" or "custom" level is being used.

If you cut one 8' (ft.) length into two (2) 4' (ft.) lengths, the quantity-length you designate should still be 1 (one) 8' (ft) piece even though the result is actually two (2) 4' (ft.) pieces. In cases where a length is being cut and the customer is taking both pieces, enter the full length (no cut length is necessary). Cutting is only desirable when a length is being cut and part of the cut is waste. There is no need to designate cut lengths for cases where the customer is keeping the "waste" (all pieces, etc.).

Cutting is only allowed for preset lengths on a lineal tally that was not copied from a customer order. If the tally was copied from a customer order, only the quantity may be adjusted and the item either backordered or not (using the "Select by Item" feature). Because we allow more than one instance of the same length on orders and sales, the only way to identify and update the proper level (for maintaining level quantities) is to use the original length and cut length of each level. Allowing changes to the cut lengths would prevent this.

Two radio buttons, below the on-hand table (grid) on the right, determine how the price is to be calculated. Based on your selection, the total lineal quantity will either consider the full (original) lengths or the resulting cut lengths for the purpose of pricing. In all cases, the on-hand is adjustment made at time of invoicing is done for full quantity lengths, not the cut length (this applies to both the parent and child levels).* The default button that is selected is based on the tally item's setup in Item Maintenance.

Price to Cut Length

This selection only charges the customer for the cut lineal length and does not include or charge them for the waste cut from whole lengths. This may result in an overall selling quantity that is a decimal (not a whole number of lineal feet or meters). Quantity on-hand and committed are always adjusted using full lengths and never the cut length. Cut length is only necessary for pricing.

Price to Stock Length

This option charges the customer for the full length of each piece including any cut quantities (waste). The overall lineal quantity being sold should usually represent a whole integer (number) total. In this case, the tally description lines may not "add up" to the total quantity shown. This may be explained to a customer as the overall quantity being the total length they are being charged for which includes the full length of the pieces. The tally details list the cut lengths only, and not the full lengths that the customer is being charged for. The only reasons for indicating cuts are

to calculate a price based on the cut lengths and
to reference exactly what "cut" lengths the customer received on the document.

If you or your customers find this confusing, you may want to consider not entering cut lengths when you are charging for the full piece anyhow.

If you cut one 8' (ft.) length into two (2) 4' (ft.) lengths, the quantity-length you designate should still be 1 (one) 8' (ft) piece even though the result is actually two (2) 4' (ft.) pieces. In cases where a length is being cut and the customer is taking both pieces, enter the full length (no cut length is necessary).

Cutting is only desirable when a length is being cut and part of the cut is waste. There is no need to designate cut lengths for cases where the customer is keeping the "waste" (all pieces, etc.).

Custom Lengths

You can set up a lineal tally item with a zero level to designate a custom length that are not provided by any preset length levels. Typically, this would only be used when special ordering specific cut lengths from a vendor for a customer. The application retains the quantities and specific dimensions by the transaction used for ordering (purchase order, customer order, etc.) as XML data. The "cut" or "custom" level maintains quantities (on-hand, committed, count, etc.) but only for the overall lineal length. Because there are no preset lengths associated with the "zero" level, the available quantity is not displayed.

Lineal Tally Item Transactions

To process a sale of a cut length lineal tally item:

1. Follow the instructions in Lineal Tally Item Setup and select the Lineal Tally Return Remaining and Lineal Tally Default to Round Down check boxes.

2. From the Main Menu, choose Point of Sale > Sales. The Sale Entry form displays.

3. From the Name list, choose the account for the sale. The data grid displays.

4. In the Item column, enter the lineal tally item the customer wants. For lineal tally items, a Lineal Tally pop up box displays.

Sale Entry Form > Lineal Quantity and Length Pop Up Box

5. In the ID list, click the down arrow to display the list of current tally lengths and choose the item you want to cut from the list.

6. In the Qty column, enter the number of items you wish to cut from the defined length.

7. In the Len (Length) Ft and Inches (Cms) field, type the length(s) the customer wants.
Note: This field is in metres and centimeters in regions that use metric measurements.

In the inventory table on the right, the application reduces the stock of the item appropriately. The total amount of waste displays in the Waste field.

8. In the Kerf field, enter the width of the blade used to cut the tally item in number of inches (centimeters).

Sale Entry Form > Lineal Quantity and Length Pop Up Box with Cut Entry

Kerf Note: When you enter an amount in the Kerf field, it reduces the size of the remaining cut item piece. In this case, with the kerf value subtracted, there are three feet of waste associated with this sale, which is too small to return to inventory.

If the size of the remaining cut item matches an existing inventory item size, the application adds the remaining piece to inventory.
If the cut item (or its rounded-down length) does not match a standard stock length, the application cannot return the item to inventory. The application displays the remaining amount as waste. See Scenarios for Returning Cut Items to Inventory to learn more.

9. Choose the pricing option you want to use for this sale:

To price the cut item, ignoring the waste amount for the purpose of calculating price, choose the Price to Cut Length button.
To price the cut item, including the waste amount for the purpose of calculating the price, choose Price to Stock Length.
Regardless of the pricing option you select, the total length of the item plus any waste is removed from the on-hand inventory.
Note: As you click this button, the application updates the Total field to reflect the change.

10. When you have completed your entries and selections, click Accept.
The data grid redisplays, updating the Qty column with the lineal tally value from the Total field. The application multiplies the quantity by the unit price and displays the result in the Ext Amount field.

Sale Entry For with Lineal Tally Item Entered

11. Enter the unit price, if this value is not already populated from Item Maintenance. The Extended Amount and Totals box update.

12. Click Process (F12) to process the sale and follow the usual steps to complete the process.

You can also process a transaction for a cut lineal tally item in Order Entry, Quotes, and Direct Ship transactions. The receipts/invoices and other transaction-related documents reflect the Lineal Qty, Length box measurements.

Invoice Document with Lineal Tally Items

Typically, customers place orders for "cut" or "custom" tally item lengths your company doesn't stock. When used for preset lengths only, the lineal tally associated with a customer order, you cannot copy this value directly to a purchase order. In this case, preset quantity levels are considered "stocked," and we assume they are replenished by your company as needed. Orders may still be used with "stocked" levels; however, they are limited in usefulness and best for "reserving" quantities for a customer rather than as a consideration for purchasing any particular lengths. Because levels don't individually maintain the necessary purchasing settings, committed quantity alone is not sufficient to determine or estimate the "quantity" needed for ordering.

If you use preset lengths with customer orders, you should be aware that cutting is not allowed during invoicing when the tally was copied from a customer order. In this case, only the quantity may be adjusted and the item either backordered by using the "Select by Item" feature (length quantities may only be modified after selection from the grid area in the Sales transaction).

To change the ordered lengths and cuts, there are a few possible procedural options.

Delete the original item from the order, re-add it with the proper lengths/cuts, re-save the order, and then invoice.
Enter a new tally in the Sales transaction (not using the order). Either invoice the order and use "Selected Items" to select but not back order the tally. From the grid in Sales, change all quantities on the Tally from the order to zero. This will either close the order (if the tally is the only remaining item) or close just the item.
Modify the order after invoicing the tally separately, delete the tally from the order, and re-save the order (only if the customer order is still needed).

Lineal tally items may be partially sold when invoicing an order. As with purchasing, levels (lengths) don't maintain the originally ordered quantity or the quantity sold, just the current quantity remaining (committed) for each length. This means that an "ordered" less "sold" comparison is not possible for the individual lineal tally lengths. Tally details printed on customer order documents will only refer to the remaining quantities on order, not the original quantities for this reason. The parent tally item provides reference to the total lineal length ordered vs. sold only. The details regarding the tally quantities and lengths on order documents change as tally items are invoiced. Once the tally has been fully sold from an order (or not back ordered and sold), the document will reflect zero quantities for each level (length) that was ordered. You can use document links to view the invoices associated with the order to see what was actually invoiced if necessary.

No generated SKU is used when ordering non-stock or custom lengths and there is no specific linkage between a customer's order and purchasing. A customer order containing a lineal tally can be copied to a new or existing purchase order using the "all items for vendor" or "selected items" option, but only when a "cut" or "custom" (zero) level has been specified. In addition, it's advised that changes to the on-order quantity for tally lengths not be made after a customer order has been partially invoiced.

A purchase order build or manual entry can be used for stock replenishment. The available quantity for each level is shown on the pop up form for reference. When doing a purchase order build, an overall "lineal" order quantity is calculated based on the settings and quantities of the parent item only. Quantities for preset levels are not automatically set. Prior to processing, the tally must be expanded and the purchaser must determine the quantities (if known) for each length that they want to order. These quantities may later be modified during receipt. Extended lineal quantities of the levels must match with the total ordered quantity of the parent item.

Invoicing an Order with Lineal Tallies

When using the Invoicing (F5) function in Point of Sale, Sales to invoice a customer's order, the same options are present as with other item types; however, due to the nature of a lineal tally, there are a few points to be aware of:

When using the "Selected Items" feature, only the parent item is listed and level details are not yet available. Changes to the overall (total) quantity on lineal tallies are not allowed from the pop up. The application manages this for you.
Only selection and back-order options are provided for lineal tally items when using the "Selected Items" option.
These selections are applied to and used for all ordered lengths for the item.
Changes to the quantities being sold of individual lengths can be made (after order selection), but from the Sales transaction's grid area.
If the parent item was designated for "back-order" when using the "Selected Items" feature on the Select Order pop-up form, any quantities or lengths that were ordered and are not sold will remain open on the customer order after invoicing.
It is not possible to only back order specific lengths and not others when invoicing a lineal tally. Lengths are not items and have limited information associated with them.

Direct Ship Orders

You can add Lineal Tally items to Direct Ship transactions. It's important to understand that by nature, your company doesn’t handle Direct Ship inventory directly. Your company arranges shipping by the supplier, bills the customer, and pays the vendor; however, inventory is never increased or decreased (received or sold). From an inventory standpoint, only item sales and cost of sales totals are affected by Direct Ship invoicing. Other item aspects such as usage, on-hand, on-order, committed quantity, and stock value are not affected by any Direct Ship processing.

Why Not? For your company to arrange a direct shipment on the part of a customer, it stands to reason that either:

You don't stock the requested materials or
You don't normally maintain sufficient "stocked" quantities to fill their request.

If direct ships were taken into account by usage, it would skew the figures for any companies that use automated purchasing or look at usage as a factor in making purchasing decisions. This artificial inflation in usage might result in large orders of materials your company cannot expect to sell. Often direct ships represent an abnormal purchase pattern; otherwise, your company would regularly purchase such materials for stock.

For these reasons, when a lineal tally is associated with a Direct Ship order, you will not see any change in committed or on-order quantities for the parent or child levels (lengths). In this case, the tally comments (details) are primarily used for indicating the lengths requested for the vendor's and customer's reference. As with other types of documents, the Direct Ship order and associated purchase order will list each length, quantity, and cost/price per length (piece) below the parent tally item's description. The parent item's pricing and quantities will be displayed using the lineal measure.

Scenarios for Returning Cut Items to Inventory

We have updated the management of Lineal Tally Items to help you manage your cut lineal tally items and, when possible, return them to inventory. The application can handle multiple cuts from the same lineal tally item, accounting for kerf, and return standard-sized items to inventory. So, when the remaining child pieces match or exceed current stock lengths, the application adds those items back into the inventory count.

For example, for a 15’ lineal tally item, if you cut two 6’ lengths from it, the remaining piece, after accounting for the kerf amount, would be about 2.9’. If a standard stock size for that item is 2’, the application would return the remaining piece to inventory as a 2’ item. The inventory column for the 2’ lineal tally item would display a +1 in it.

If the remaining rounded-down length does not match a stock item but can be cut into one or more stock-sized items, accounting for kerf, the application adds those the appropriate quantity of cut items to inventory as well.

For example, if the remainder of a cut item is 5 feet (after subtracting the kerf amount), and there are stock amounts of 1’ and 4’ for the lineal tally item, the application updates the inventory columns to show +1 for the 1’ item and +1 for the 4’ item to inventory.

The Lineal – Enter Qty, Length box also displays the amount of waste for cut items that the application cannot return to inventory. The Waste amount is cumulative, so as you add more cut items to the table, the application keeps track of the total amount of waste that cannot return to inventory.

Sale Entry with Lineal Enter Qty, Length Showing Kerf and Waste