Charge Returns
Charge returns may be processed from this area as well as from the Sales transaction. Having a separate transaction can be useful for companies who choose to limit the ability to process charge returns. Credit memos (returns) appear in the customer's credit balance immediately upon processing and may be applied to unpaid balances at a later time. Although quantities and dollar amounts appear as positive figures in this area, they are actually always credit/return, never a sale.
For information regarding folders in the Point of Sale areas, click here.
IMPORTANT: For invoices with terms, the discount on those invoices can be reduced if the returns are processed referencing the invoice later. Check the document links for the terms invoice to see if any returns are linked with the sale if you notice or are questioned as to why a discount was reduced.
Customer Selection
There are two (2) main controls used for customer selection: name and account ID. Customer name controls use the "sort name" field for the account as the primary selection method. Account based controls use the customer's account identifier.
Most Point of Sale transactions either begin with or involve the selection of a customer's account and job (when applicable). In Point of Sale areas, primary selection is usually done by the customer's sort name. Both the customer's (sort) name and account number may be used for selection in Point of Sale transactions. There is usually no need to choose an alternate menu in these cases, just type either in.*
*Sort Name is the primary match field except when enhanced look up for customer is enabled. Account numbers matches are shown only on if no (sort) names exactly match the text entered. If matches for both the sort name and account number exist, only those for the name would be shown.
There are three (3) types of customer accounts that the software uses: cash, charge, and system.
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A "cash" account is a customer-specific account that does not allow receivables charge unless the account has a credit balance.
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A "charge" account is another customer-specific account and allows receivables charge sales.
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A "system" account is a general-use account that is not customer-specific. All companies must have one system account named CASH. Except in the case of Tickets* (aka. Advice Notes in the UK) and Charge Returns, the default account, "CASH," is the default when no specific customer account is indicated. Press TAB to use this default account. A "system" account should not have a credit limit or allow charges. In addition, this type of account requires the entry of a delivery name when used with non-sale type transactions (orders, quotes, etc.). more...
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System Accounts A company may create more than one "system account" if desired; however, most companies will have only one system account. System accounts are intended to be used for anonymous transactions such as "cash and carry" as well as for transactions where the customer doesn't have their own account. Cash accounts may require additional information, such as the customer's name (or other information), for certain payment types and in cases of delivery. While beginning a transaction using a generic system account, it's possible to create a new "cash-only" customer account for the customer directly from the "delivery" tab on the process form (when applicable). Cash-only accounts are not the same as a "system" account. |
When a customer has their own account, use the "name" text area for entry or selection. In the case of a sale, you can change the account at any point in the transaction prior to processing (Process (F12)), so if you prefer to enter or scan items into the grid first, go ahead. With other transaction types (orders, quotes, tickets, etc.), initial customer selection is required; however, but you can still change the account before processing.
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Enhanced Customer Look up When enabled, selection automatically includes the account number, customer name, address (line 1), and company. For each row, the column cell matching the look up text will be indicated by a gray background color. Even when more than one column for the same row (customer) has a match, only the column with the first look up match is highlighted. With enhanced look up enabled and any text is specified in the text-area, 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.
Depending upon the primary look up used by the control, exact matches on either the customer's name or account do not provide a selection list. Customer selection controls use either the name or account number as indicated by the label associated with the control (usually displayed on the left-hand side). If no entry is made in the text area, or if the user chooses selection involving the alternate menu, the enhanced look up feature is not used. In these cases, customer account selection still provides the "more" option, and works as it would without enhanced search enabled. Typically, the more text entered, the shorter and more useful the listing of matching results will be. Enhanced look up options must be enabled by support. This is done only upon request and involves setting some parameters and populating look up tables via a support utility. 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. Look up key data is removed when account or items are modified if the enhanced look-up is not enabled. Wild card searches (using the % character) are not supported when using enhanced look up features. |
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Other Selection Options There are several other look up options available should they be needed. As on most primary fields, these are accessed from the alternate menu available from the alternate mouse (right-click) or keyboard button If you do not enter any text or enter text that produces more than a single match, the resulting selection list will also be sorted by the selected field. This provides a way to sort the selection listing if desired. In some cases, only those customer account's with a value for the selected field(s) will be included.
*Both "Account Number" and the customer's "Sort Name" matches are automatically provided when entering text in the customer selection area. For this reason, it's not usually necessary to choose "account number" if the account is known. It's possible to use a "wild card" when producing a listing of customers. A "wild card" is a designated character that when typed along with a search text can represent any character or set of characters. In the software (and SQL database), the percentage (%) symbol is used at the wild card character. Wild card characters can produce different results depending upon their location in relation to the text entered along with them (see the examples below).
Wild cards could be used to generate matches on alternate menu selections as well. For example, you could match on the last 4-digits of someone's phone number. Customers with Rewards or Loyalty Cards If your company participates with the Do it Best® Loyalty Rewards program, Best Rewards™, you can scan the customer's rewards card to select their account. You can also enter the customer's ID in the "Name" text area and choose the alternate selection for "UserKey" if you don't have a scanner. We should point out that as long as a Loyalty ID is assigned to the customer correctly and the customer's account is used for the transaction, there is no need to scan their card to associate a transaction with the program. All sales transactions will be associated with their rewards ID automatically regardless of whether or not a card was scanned or loyalty ID was used for selection. For ACE Rewards™, you would choose CTRL-R to scan or enter the customer's rewards ID unless it has been associated with the customer's account. In the latter case, the customer's rewards ID is automatically associated and displayed in a Point of Sale, Sales transaction. Other transactions (Orders, Quotes, *The customer's rewards ID must be associated with their account in a specific way. Please see the Database, Account documentation for further details. |
. Before selecting the alternate menu, enter whatever text matches your desired search selection in the text area provided (if you want to search by phone number, enter the phone number before selecting the alternate menu, for example). Choices for selection currently include: account number*, name, address, city, sales ID (user), phone, user-defined key, company, and corporation.
Job Selection
Accounts may be linked with jobs. Jobs are numbered and every account has one master job (0-zero). You can add additional jobs to any account. Jobs provide a way to track customer account activity separately from the account. Users 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 listings. New jobs may be added during transaction processing (see the delivery tab of the Process (F12) form).*
*Security settings may prevent a user from being able to add jobs during processing.
Totals Panel
The upper right-hand area of many transaction forms include a display-only panel showing the transaction's current sub-total, sales tax, and total or other information. 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. In Canada, more than one tax location may apply and be listed along with the percentage.
A menu marker 
(to the right of the totals panel) offers options allowing the user to switch to a different transaction type (sale, order, or quote) or display the current GM% (gross margin percentage) for the entire transaction.
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Users in Canada can double click on the tax amount to display the split provincial (PST) and GST tax as 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. 
Tax Details (Canada Only) |
Grid & Item Entry
The grid is used for item entry. Inventory being sold may be entered or scanned at any time.
Primary fields include all columns except description, extended amount, exceptions, and additional information.
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.
Exceptions
The "X" or exception column displays pricing exceptions when encountered. There are 5 exception codes used: m, n, p, x, and z. Up to 2 codes may be displayed for any item. If more than 2 exceptions occur, the letter "X" will appear in the exceptions column. Code "M" means "margin out of limits." Each item has an expected margin and a low margin. Prices below the "low margin" will be flagged as "out of limits." Negative margin items are flagged with "N." When item pricing is modified manually or using one of the Reprice functions (F6), the "P" (price change) flag is set. "Z" appears when an item has a zero cost.