A "quote" is a list of items that a customer has requested pricing or information regarding, but has not necessarily committed to purchasing. Quotes are available from the Quotes transaction unless purged (voided/deleted). Quotes typically remain available until the close date indicated has past (a daily process marks quote documents as "closed" if they have passed the date). Up to that time, a quote may be resumed (modified) or used to create another transaction type such as a sale or an order. Quote documents are not actually removed even after being closed and may be accessed in other ways. Expiration is considered the end of the period that the quote pricing is promised for. Archived quotes, if data archiving is enabled, would not be available except for inquiry using the Documents form.

As is true with sales or order activities, a quote begins with account (and sometimes job) selection. Next, a quote document ID is generated or entered that is used for identifying the quote in the future.

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

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.

• A "cash" account is a customer-specific account that does not allow receivables charge unless the account has a credit balance.

• A "charge" account is another customer-specific account and allows receivables charge sales.

• 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...

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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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.

Quote Selection & Document ID

Like most documents, new quotes may be assigned a sequential number automatically; however, users are able to specify their own ID as well. All document types, including quotes, can be assigned to one of 3 specific numeric ranges. These ranges are used when automatically assigning an ID. When assigning a custom quote ID, the user must do this before any other number/ID is automatically assigned.

The sequence portion of the document identifier can be a maximum number of 6-characters (numbers or letters) in length. When using a custom ID, it's best to use all the characters available (especially if you do document scanning or bar code labels). The standard YYMM date prefix will be added to all quote IDs.

To have the application assign a new quote number instead, press the TAB, Enter (or return) key, or choose "<<<NEW>>>" from the drop down.

This field is also used for selecting an existing quote for modification. If the quote is recent, clicking the drop down lists the most recent quote documents first. If you know the ID, you can type it in. Otherwise, a number of selection options are available from the Quote # drop down's alternate menu (usually a right mouse click).

Delivery Name, Customer PO#, and Delivery Address all seek matches based upon what you have typed in the Quote # field. The "Select" option offers a form with additional Quote selection options (Note: this same form is used with customer orders)...

Removing an Existing Quote

The menu marker to the right of the quote # field can be used to void an existing quote. "Voided" quotes are removed permanently.

Quote Locking

If you use quotes as templates for other transactions (via import), there is an option available for "locking" individual quotes. This option will not appear unless it has been enabled by support. This is only done upon request (there is no charge for enabling this option).

When "locking" has been enabled, a "lock quote" option appears on the menu marker after a document ID has been assigned (not before).

A "check" appears next to the "lock quote" option after locking has been selected.

Locking prevents other users from making any changes to the "locked" quote. The user who locked the quote will be the only one allowed to make changes (including "unlocking" the quote if desired). Once locked, a quote may still be invoiced or ordered by other users. Locking only prevents permanent modifications to the quote by other users. It does not affect whether users change pricing or quantities after the quote is copied into another transaction.

To use a quote repeatedly as a template, the quote should be copied into Sales (Quotes, Orders, etc.) using the Import (F2), Wizard function so that the quote isn't updated as sold, etc.

How this is used may vary based upon whether or not you want the template quote's pricing to change or not. The Import Wizard can be used to select a quote and either keep the original prices or use the customer's current pricing (in this second case, just don't map the price columns). The Import, Document option always reprices the quote to match the selected customer.

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.

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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.

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.

Grid & Item Entry

The grid is used for item entry. Inventory being sold may be entered or scanned at any time. A "discountable" column (Disc) has been added with release 8.1.0 (January 2013). This can be used to view the discountable status of the item or to specify a line-item discount (if the item is discountable).

Primary entry fields include all columns except description, extended amount, and additional information.

For more information about item entry and selection, click here.

Item Selection Options

One of the most frequent and common actions when using any retail software solution is Item Entry. When the item is physically present, the easiest and fastest way to enter items is by using a barcode scanner. 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, a selection listing is created. Matching is performed from left-to-right only for standard selection. Items in selection lists are color coded to help distinguish between item numbers and alternate SKUs (purple). On-hand quantities in a selection list are also color coded when an item has a negative on-hand (red).

There are many cases when you may not be working with any physical item, such as when creating a customer's order, so scanning or manual item entry isn't a realistic option. In these cases, there are also there are a number of look-up methods for locating an item that may not be immediately obvious. These options are available on the item drop down's alternate menu (a right-click on a right-hand formatted mouse or use the alternate menu keyboard button Menu Marker ).

All of the following alternate selection choices are used to build a selection list matching the criteria you either enter or select. Based upon you 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.

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.

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 (3) 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.

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 field). The application displays a Key word 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.

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.

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," it would not be considered a 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).

Vendor SKU

The SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a term used 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 be displayed. This option only works if an exact match is located. Partial matches are not returned.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Discount

The "Disc" or "discount" column has two (2) purposes. If an item allows discounts, the column can be used to specify a line item discount by entering a percentage. For items which are not discountable, the column will display the letter "N" (net) and won't allow changes. To mark all items on the transaction as "net," you can use the "Mark as Net" option available from the menu marker found on the right-hand side of the grid (user security can limit your ability to view or utilize menu marker functions).