[go: up one dir, main page]

0% found this document useful (0 votes)
68 views415 pages

Software Licence Terms for Businesses

The document is a software license agreement that outlines the terms and conditions for use of the software. It specifies that opening the packaging or using the materials signifies acceptance of the agreement. It grants the user a non-exclusive annual license to use the software on a single computer or network, subject to license type purchased. The agreement restricts copying, distribution, or modification of the software and allows termination for non-payment or other license breaches. It also provides warranties for support, media defects, and error correction during the free coverage period.

Uploaded by

cypriancourage
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
68 views415 pages

Software Licence Terms for Businesses

The document is a software license agreement that outlines the terms and conditions for use of the software. It specifies that opening the packaging or using the materials signifies acceptance of the agreement. It grants the user a non-exclusive annual license to use the software on a single computer or network, subject to license type purchased. The agreement restricts copying, distribution, or modification of the software and allows termination for non-payment or other license breaches. It also provides warranties for support, media defects, and error correction during the free coverage period.

Uploaded by

cypriancourage
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 415

Software Licence Agreement

Your right to use the software (in object code only) and its associated printed and electronic documentation (“Product”) is subject to the terms and
conditions set out in this licence agreement (“Agreement”).

Breaking the seal to open the DVD case, installing the software, or, using any part of the electronic or printed material accompanying the product,
signifies your acceptance of the terms and conditions set out below.

Therefore, please read them carefully before breaking the seal or using the materials provided. If you do not agree to be bound by the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, you should promptly return the unopened DVD together with all packaging and associated documentation unused
and in good condition to your reseller for a refund under the terms of its refund policy (if you purchased from your reseller), or to us within 10 days
of purchase (if you purchased direct from Sage Pastel).

Prior to returning the product, you should telephone Sage Pastel on + 27 11 304-3000 and request a reference number to be sent with your return
so that it can be identified. Provided that you promptly follow our returns procedure we shall refund the price paid by you direct to us for the
Product.

1. In this Agreement:
1.1. “Use” means to load, execute, store, transmit, display, (for the purposes of loading, execution, storage, transmission or display) or
otherwise utilise the Product for your legitimate business purposes; and

1.2. “us”, “we” and “our” means Sage Pastel of “Sage (Pty) Ltd. and “you” and “your” mean the person, business or company purchasing
the Licence.

1.3. the headings are for convenience only and shall not affect its construction or interpretation;

1.4. “including” and “includes” shall be understood to mean “including without limitation” and “includes without limitation” respectively; and,

1.5. words of a technical nature shall be construed in accordance with general trade usage in the computer industry of “South Africa”.

2. Our Licence to you


2.1. In consideration of your acceptance of the terms of this Agreement, we grant you an annual non-exclusive, non-assignable right to
Use the Product for which you have paid the relevant annual licence fee (“Licence”). The Product is activated using an activation key.
The Product will alert you of the need for an activation key and this can be obtained from us free of charge. In order to produce such
an activation key we will require information from you. You acknowledge that without such data we cannot provide the necessary
activation key. Upon payment of the annual Licence Fee, Sage may elect, in its sole discretion, to renew the Licence for successive
periods of one (1) year in duration. Any such renewal will be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement

2.2. You may Use the Product


2.2.1. on a single personal computer or laptop (but not on both, unless you have purchased a Second Copy Licence for Use by the same
single user with the same data as is installed on the main installation) if you have purchased a “Single User Licence”; or

2.2.2. on a single local area network or Virtual Private Network (VPN) (which is under your control and used by your group of companies or
businesses and not relating to any other third party use of the Product) with up to the specified maximum number of concurrent users,
if you have purchased a “Network User Licence”; and

2.2.3. in connection with a single set of data only, such data being your data only, whether this is for a company or business unless you
have purchased a licence to allow you to work with multiple sets of data up to a specific number which shall not be exceeded (such
multiple sets of data being data of your group of companies or businesses and not relating to any other third parties) and the Product
is used on one system and only at your premises if you have purchased a “Multi-Company Licence”. For the avoidance of doubt, a
Multi Company Licence does not alter or amend the maximum number of concurrent users Licensed under this Licence; or

2.2.4. on a bureau basis as an independent contractor (and for use by your staff only up to the specified maximum number of concurrent
users and not by third parties) either at your premises or externally on your laptops, on behalf of and in relation to the data of the
number of companies or businesses for which you have purchased a licence, if you have purchased a “Bureau Licence”.

2.3. In relation to clauses 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 above you may transfer each licensed copy of the Product from one computer to another owned
by you within a single location, provided it is not Used on more computers at any one time than your licence permits. Please see
clause 2.1 regarding the need for an activation key in order to do this. For the avoidance of doubt, you may not continue to Use the
Product on the computer from which you have transferred the Product.
2.4. In relation to clauses 2.2.3 and 2.2.4 above, the total number of companies or businesses whose data may be processed by the
software is limited to the number of companies or businesses for which the software is licensed to you. In particular, such number may
not be exceeded by the loading of the data of any further companies or businesses in replacement of the data of the number of
unique/discreet companies or businesses for which you have purchased your licence.

2.5. If you wish to use the Product otherwise than as provided for by the type of Licence you have purchased, you must purchase the
appropriate type of licence or additional licences (and associated activation key) prior to commencing any such Use.

2.6. Other than as permitted under this Agreement you shall not and shall not allow anyone else to:

2.6.1. Use, copy, transfer, sell, sub-licence, lease, mortgage, rent, loan, publish, distribute or otherwise make the Product (or any part of it)
available to any other person, whether or not for commercial gain;

2.6.2. Use the Product (or any part of it) for the provision of any remote hosting or ASP services or in any other configuration that permits a
third party to use the Product other than under the provisions of a valid licence with us;

2.6.3. disable any licensing or control features of the product;

2.6.4. Use the “demonstration” or free-for-trial evaluation version of the Product (or any part of it) for any purposes other than feature and
functionality evaluation purposes. For the sake of clarity only, use of the demonstration version of the Product for commercial gain
either for training purposes or for the delivery of any service other than product evaluation, is specifically prohibited;

2.6.5. other than to the extent permitted by law, alter, adapt, merge, modify, translate, reverse engineer or de-compile, disassemble, create
derivative works of the Product (or any part of it), except with our prior written consent; nor

2.6.6. remove, change or obscure any of our or any third party proprietary notices, labels or marks associated with the Product.

2.7. You acknowledge that you own only the media on which the Product is supplied and that we shall retain ownership of the intellectual
property rights in and to the Product and any amendments made to it by us regardless of form, including any back up copies that you
make, and, subject to the Licence, you shall not have any right to use them.

3. How this Licence can be terminated


3.1. We may terminate the Licence without refund:

3.1.1. if you fail to make payment within our payment terms from the date the purchase was made or any other contract with Us or any
international or local subsidiary of Sage Plc.; or

3.1.2. immediately if we are notified that any finance arrangement you have made with a third party for the payment of the licence fee for the
Product has ended for any reason.

3.2. Your Licence to Use the Product will terminate automatically if you fail to comply with any term of this Agreement, you become
bankrupt, go into liquidation, suffer or make any winding up petition, make an arrangement with your creditors, have an administrator,
administrative receiver or other receiver appointed, or if you suffer or file any similar action in consequence of debt.

3.3. Within ten working days of the termination of the Licence for any reason you shall uninstall the Product and return it to us (including
any copies you have made of the Product (or any part of it)) and provide a certificate signed by your duly authorised representative to
confirm compliance with this clause 3.3.

4. Our warranties to you


4.1. We warrant that the Product, when used in accordance with our operating instructions, will provide the functions and facilities and will
perform substantially as described in the associated documentation supplied to you as part of the Product.

4.2. We warrant that during the free Cover period:

4.2.1. we shall provide technical advice, assistance and support by telephone fax and e-mail during our normal business hours (this does
not apply to updates or upgrades of the software);

4.2.2. the media on which the Product is recorded will be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal conditions of use; and
4.2.3. we shall correct any errors in the Product by patching or replacing (at our sole discretion) any Product not meeting the warranties
given above and if we are unable to rectify any errors in the Product, we will terminate this Agreement and refund your purchase price,
together with the cost of postage, after having received the Product (including any copies you have made) and all packaging in good
condition within the relevant free Cover period. This warranty excludes defects caused by accidents, abuse, poor storage or handling
or any act referred to in clause 2.6.

4.3. The warranties set out in this clause 4 are in lieu of all other warranties, representations or conditions, express or implied, statutory or
otherwise, including any implied warranties of satisfactory quality and fitness for a particular purpose. We do not warrant that the
Product will meet your requirements, or that the operation of it will be uninterrupted or error free. We do not warrant or make any
representation regarding the use of the Product or the results of such use in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability or otherwise.
No oral or written communications by or on our behalf shall create a warranty or in any way increase the scope of the warranties we
have given.

4.4. Our entire liability and your exclusive remedy under the warranties given in this clause 4 will be, at our option either to:

4.4.1. repair or replace the Product or encryption medium which does not conform with the warranty; or

4.4.2. refund the price paid for the Product and terminate the Licence.

5. Disclaimer and limitation of liability


5.1. You acknowledge that the allocation of risk in this Agreement reflects the price paid for the Product and also the fact that it is not
within our control how, and for what purposes, you use the Product. In no event, therefore, will we be liable for any indirect,
consequential, incidental or special damage, or loss of any kind (including loss of profits, business, chargeable time, anticipated
savings, goodwill, any business interruption or loss of or corruption of data) however caused and whether arising under contract, tort,
including negligence, statute or otherwise.

5.2. If any exclusion, disclaimer or other provision contained in this Agreement is held to be invalid for any reason by a court of competent
jurisdiction and we become liable for loss or damage that could otherwise be limited, such liability whether in contract, tort or
otherwise, will not exceed the licence fee actually paid by you for the Product.

5.3. Whilst We take reasonable precautions to ensure that the media on which this application is distributed is free of viruses, unknown
third-party embedded code or other forms of unwanted third-party software interference, We do not accept any responsibility
whatsoever for damage caused by the action of viruses, virus signatures or any other unsolicited third-party embedded code which
may be contained on this media. This includes loss of files, system malfunctions, data corruptions or the like, which may be caused by
any third-party code, malicious or otherwise, which may be replicated on the media.

6. Copyright
6.1. The Product and all related intellectual property is owned by Us and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions.
It should be treated like any other product under copyright. However, you are authorised to make copies of the product solely for
backup / security purposes;

6.2. The licensee acknowledges that any and all of the copyright, trademarks, trade names, patents and other intellectual property rights
subsisting in or used in connection with the Product including all documentation relating thereto are and remain Our property.

7. Trademark
7.1. “Sage” and Sage “Sage” are registered trademarks. Sage Pastel is a trademark owned by Us. All other product names mentioned
herein are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved worldwide.

8. General
8.1. Any reseller, distributor or dealer (including any of our authorised resellers or distributors) from whom you have purchased a licence of
the Product is expressly not appointed or authorised by us as our servant or agent. No such person has any authority, either express
or implied, to enter into any contract or provide any representation, warranty or guarantee with or to you on our behalf, or otherwise to
bind us in any way whatsoever. We will not be responsible for any modifications or mergers made to the Product by such persons.

8.2. We shall not be liable to you in respect of any circumstances arising outside our reasonable control.

8.3. Our failure to enforce any particular term of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any of our rights under it.

8.4. If any part of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unreasonable for any reason whatsoever, the validity of
the remainder of the terms will not be affected.
8.5. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and us in relation to the Product and the Licence and supercedes any
other oral or written communications or representations with respect to the Product.

8.6. No variations of any of these terms and conditions are valid if not confirmed in writing by Us or Our authorised representative.

8.7. Should you purchase a Product as an upgrade of another Product, then your ownership in the original upgraded Product ceases. You
are not entitled to sell the original Product, nor can you continue to make use of the original Product, except for archival purposes. If
you do use the original Product for archival purposes, then the terms and conditions in this licence apply in so far as they are relevant.

8.8. No variations of any of these terms and conditions are valid if not confirmed in writing by Us or Our authorised representative.

8.9. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with “South African” law. The parties hereby submit to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the “South African” Courts unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Copyrights and Trademarks


Copyright © 2002-2010 by Sage Holdings (Pty) Ltd.

We hereby acknowledge the copyrights and trademarks of all terms we use in this manual and its accompanying electronic documentation. This
includes, but is not restricted to, the following names and terms, all of which are the property of the Microsoft Corporation and / or its subsidiaries:

Microsoft SQL Server

MSDE

Windows 95, Windows 98

Windows NT

Windows 2000

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Windows 7

Windows 8

Manual Version
Version 7.20.05, May 2016
Table of Contents
Software Licence Agreement ............................................................................... 2

Table of Contents ............................................................................................. 7

Chapter 1 – Welcome ..................................................................................... 19


Introduction ...................................................................................................... 20
The Sage Evolution Product Range ................................................................. 21
Accounting Modules ........................................................................................... 21
Add-on and Stand-Alone Modules ...................................................................... 22
Add-on and Stand-Alone Modules for Sage Evolution Standard ....................... 27
Using the On-line Help ..................................................................................... 28
Using this Manual ............................................................................................ 31
Report Builder Documentation ......................................................................... 32

Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing ............................................................................ 33


Annuity Billing Overview................................................................................... 34
Work flow of the Annuity Billing module ............................................................. 34
Working with Annuity Billing ............................................................................. 35
Annuity Billing Defaults ....................................................................................... 36
Annuity Billing Template Update ........................................................................ 37
Annuity Billing Configurations ............................................................................. 38
Charge Templates .............................................................................................. 39
Add/Remove Contracts ....................................................................................... 40
Editing Contracts ................................................................................................ 41
Receivables/Payables Due ................................................................................. 42
Annuity Billing and Contact Management........................................................... 44
Annuity Billing Reports ..................................................................................... 46

Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing................................................ 47


Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview ....................................................... 48
Creating the Bill of Materials ............................................................................... 48
Using the Bill of Materials to Manufacture .......................................................... 49
The Manufacturing Module ................................................................................. 51
Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of Materials ................................................... 53
Bill of Materials Defaults ..................................................................................... 53
Maintaining Bills of Materials .............................................................................. 54
Update Costs ...................................................................................................... 55
Mass Replace ..................................................................................................... 56
Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Processing ..................................................... 57
Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Reports .......................................................... 60

Chapter 4 - Job Costing ................................................................................. 61


Job Costing Overview ...................................................................................... 62
Setting up Job Costing........................................................................................ 63
Job Card Processing .......................................................................................... 65
Setting up Job Costing ..................................................................................... 67
Defaults ............................................................................................................... 67
Transaction Types .............................................................................................. 68
Job Templates .................................................................................................... 69
Job Costing Processing ................................................................................... 70
Job Costing Enquiries ...................................................................................... 73
Job Costing Reports ........................................................................................ 74

Chapter 5 - Linked Accounts ......................................................................... 75


Linked Accounts Overview ............................................................................... 76
Working with Linked Accounts ......................................................................... 77

Chapter 6 – Lot Tracking ............................................................................... 78


Lot Tracking Overview ..................................................................................... 79
Lot Tracking Processing................................................................................... 80
Lot Tracking Status Codes ................................................................................. 80
Creating Lot Tracking Items................................................................................ 80
Receiving and Selling Lot Items ......................................................................... 81
Changing the Lot Status ..................................................................................... 81
Lot Tracking Reports .......................................................................................... 82

Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency ............................................................................ 83


Multi-Currency Overview .................................................................................. 84
Working with Multi-Currency ............................................................................ 85
Setting up Currencies ......................................................................................... 85
Setting up Defaults and Accounts ...................................................................... 87
Processing Sales and Purchases ....................................................................... 89
Job Card Processing .......................................................................................... 91
Processing Payments ......................................................................................... 92
Reporting ............................................................................................................ 93

Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing ..................................................................... 95


Multi-Warehousing Overview ........................................................................... 96
Working with Warehouses ............................................................................... 97
Warehouse Defaults ........................................................................................... 97
Warehouse Maintenance .................................................................................... 99
Inventory Maintenance ..................................................................................... 100
Warehouse Transfers ....................................................................................... 101
Inter-branch Transfers ...................................................................................... 103
Warehouse Reports .......................................................................................... 105

Chapter 9 - Point of Sale .............................................................................. 107


Point of Sale Overview ................................................................................... 108
Point of Sale Elements ..................................................................................... 108
Point of Sale Processing................................................................................... 110
Setting Up Point of Sale ................................................................................. 111
Transaction Types ............................................................................................ 112
Rounding........................................................................................................... 113
Tender Types .................................................................................................... 114
Devices ............................................................................................................. 115
Tills.................................................................................................................... 116
Till Slip Layout .................................................................................................. 116
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 118
Point of Sale Processing ................................................................................ 119
Transactions ..................................................................................................... 119
Sales and Returns ............................................................................................ 120
Point of Sale Enquiries ................................................................................... 122
Point of Sale Reports ..................................................................................... 123

Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix .......................................................................... 125


Pricing Matrix Overview ................................................................................. 126
Working With the Pricing Matrix Module ......................................................... 127
Volume Discount Contracts .............................................................................. 127
Volume Discount Templates ............................................................................. 130
Discount Matrix ................................................................................................. 131
Volume Discount Reports ................................................................................. 131

Chapter 11 - Procurement............................................................................ 133


Procurement Overview................................................................................... 134
Setting up Procurement ................................................................................. 147
Procurement Defaults ....................................................................................... 147
Setting who Requires Authorisation ................................................................. 148
Workflows ......................................................................................................... 148
Incident Types .................................................................................................. 149
Working with Procurement ............................................................................. 150
New Requisition ................................................................................................ 150
My Requisitions ................................................................................................ 151
Requisitions to Purchase Orders ...................................................................... 153
Procurement Enquiries and Reports .............................................................. 155

Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking ......................................................... 157


Serial Number Tracking Overview .................................................................. 158
Working with Serial Number Tracking ............................................................ 160
Inventory Maintenance ..................................................................................... 160
Serial Number Allocations ................................................................................ 160
Serial Number Enquiries ................................................................................... 163
Serial Number Reports ..................................................................................... 163

Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat .................................................... 165


European Union and Intrastat Processing ...................................................... 166
EU Countries .................................................................................................... 167
EU Nature of Transaction Codes ...................................................................... 168
Commodity Codes ............................................................................................ 168
Supplementary Units ........................................................................................ 168
Delivery Methods .............................................................................................. 170
Inventory Items ................................................................................................. 170
Customer and Suppliers ................................................................................... 171
Selling and Purchasing ..................................................................................... 171
Reports ............................................................................................................. 172

Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre ....................................................... 173


Sage Intelligence Centre Overview ................................................................ 174
Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre ..................................................... 175
Why Excel? ....................................................................................................... 175
Extracting Data ................................................................................................. 176
Standard Reports and Templates ..................................................................... 178

Chapter 15 – Mobile ..................................................................................... 183


Mobile Overview ............................................................................................ 184
Installing the Mobile Module ............................................................................. 184
Mobile Processing.......................................................................................... 185

Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets ........................................................................... 187


Fixed Assets Overview................................................................................... 188
Fixed Asset Values ........................................................................................... 188
Depreciation Methods ....................................................................................... 189
Accounting Periods ........................................................................................... 190
Grouping Assets ............................................................................................... 190
Other Fixed Assets Elements ........................................................................... 191
Fixed Assets Processing .................................................................................. 192
Asset Reconciliation ......................................................................................... 194
Setting up Fixed Assets ................................................................................. 195
Fixed Assets Defaults ....................................................................................... 196
Accounting Periods ........................................................................................... 197
Ledger Accounts ............................................................................................... 198
Depreciation Methods ....................................................................................... 199
Asset Types ...................................................................................................... 200
Departments ..................................................................................................... 201
Cost Centres ..................................................................................................... 201
Locations........................................................................................................... 202
Capex Budgets ................................................................................................. 202
Suppliers ........................................................................................................... 203
People ............................................................................................................... 204
Fixed Assets Maintenance ............................................................................. 205
Asset Master ..................................................................................................... 205
Capex Orders ................................................................................................... 206
Take-on Balances ............................................................................................. 206
Fixed Assets Processing ................................................................................ 207
Revaluing a Single Asset .................................................................................. 208
Asset Impairment .............................................................................................. 209
Transferring a Single Asset .............................................................................. 210
Sell/Scrap Assets .............................................................................................. 211
Partially Dispose of Assets ............................................................................... 212
Divide Assets .................................................................................................... 213
Enter Units of Usage ......................................................................................... 214
Override Assets ................................................................................................ 215
Block Assets ..................................................................................................... 215
Asset Period Closing and Reopening ............................................................... 216
GL Batch Processing ........................................................................................ 217
Group Transfers ................................................................................................ 218
Group Revaluations .......................................................................................... 219
Fixed Assets Reporting .................................................................................. 220
Asset Depreciation ............................................................................................ 220
Capex Reports .................................................................................................. 220
Depreciation Reports ........................................................................................ 220
GL Batch Report ............................................................................................... 221
Labels ............................................................................................................... 221
Listings .............................................................................................................. 221

Chapter 17 - Credit Control.......................................................................... 222


Credit Control Overview ................................................................................. 223
Credit Control Setup ...................................................................................... 224
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 224
Terms and Conditions ....................................................................................... 225
Documents ........................................................................................................ 225
Excuses ............................................................................................................ 226
Reminder Types ............................................................................................... 226
Working in Credit Control ............................................................................... 227
Credit Control Management ........................................................................... 229
Reminders......................................................................................................... 229
Reminders Due ................................................................................................. 229
Credit Control Enquiries and Reports ............................................................. 230
Enquiries ........................................................................................................... 230
Reports ............................................................................................................. 230

Chapter 18 – Bank Manager ........................................................................ 231


Bank Manager Overview ................................................................................ 232
Working with Bank Manager .......................................................................... 233
Download the Bank Statement ......................................................................... 233
Editing Transactions ......................................................................................... 235
Reconciliation ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Moving Transactions from Bank Manager into Sage Pastel ............................ 239

Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting ................................................................ 241


Branch Accounting Setup Overview ............................................................... 242
Branch Accounting Processing Overview ....................................................... 247
Head Office Processing .................................................................................... 247
Branch Level Processing .................................................................................. 248

Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale ................................................................. 249


Retail Point of Sale Overview ......................................................................... 250
Retail Point of Sale Setup .............................................................................. 251
Create your tills ................................................................................................. 251
Configure your tills ............................................................................................ 252
Retail Point of Sale Master Files .................................................................... 255
Denominations .................................................................................................. 256
Devices ............................................................................................................. 256
Discount Reasons ............................................................................................. 257
Petty Cash Types ............................................................................................. 257
Price Override Reasons .................................................................................... 257
Promotion Item Lists ......................................................................................... 258
Promotions ........................................................................................................ 258
Return Reasons ................................................................................................ 259
Tender Types .................................................................................................... 259
Tills.................................................................................................................... 260
Transaction Types ............................................................................................ 260
Variable Barcodes ............................................................................................ 261
Cancel Keep Asides ......................................................................................... 261
Stationary Layouts ............................................................................................ 262
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 263
Retail Point of Sale Processing ...................................................................... 264
Processing Petty Cash Transactions ................................................................ 270
Cash Pickup ...................................................................................................... 271
Cash-up ............................................................................................................ 271
Retail Point of Sale Reports ........................................................................... 272

Chapter 21 - Information Alerts ................................................................... 273


Information Alerts Setup................................................................................. 274

Chapter 22 – Delivery Management ............................................................ 276


Delivery Module Maintenance ........................................................................ 277
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 277
Delivery Methods .............................................................................................. 277
Delivery Module Transactions ........................................................................ 278
Delivery Module Enquiries ............................................................................. 279
Delivery Module Reports ................................................................................ 280

Chapter 23 – Voucher Management............................................................ 281


Voucher Management Maintenance .............................................................. 282
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 282
Role Authorisation ............................................................................................ 282
User Roles ........................................................................................................ 283
Voucher Master ................................................................................................ 284
Voucher Type ................................................................................................... 285
Voucher Management Transactions............................................................... 286
Accounts Receivable Vouchers ........................................................................ 286
Accounts Payable Vouchers ............................................................................. 287
General Ledger Vouchers................................................................................. 287
Journal Transactions ........................................................................................ 288
Approve Vouchers ............................................................................................ 289
Voucher Management Enquiries .................................................................... 290
Voucher Management Reports ...................................................................... 291

Chapter 24 – Global Tax............................................................................... 292


Global Tax Maintenance ................................................................................ 293
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 293
Tax Master ........................................................................................................ 293
Global Tax Transactions ................................................................................ 294
Global Tax Reports ........................................................................................ 298

Chapter 25 – Service Manager .................................................................... 299


Service Manager Maintenance....................................................................... 300
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 303
Agent Rights ..................................................................................................... 305
User Defined Fields .......................................................................................... 305
Geography ........................................................................................................ 306
Technician......................................................................................................... 307
Request............................................................................................................. 310
Asset ................................................................................................................. 314
Service Manager Transactions....................................................................... 323
Service Request ............................................................................................... 324
Service Task ..................................................................................................... 324
Purchase Order ................................................................................................ 326
Parts Entry ........................................................................................................ 327
Technician Times .............................................................................................. 327
Scheduler .......................................................................................................... 328
Meter reading .................................................................................................... 329
Meter Batch Reading ........................................................................................ 329
Invoice Service Task ......................................................................................... 329
Auto Invoicing ................................................................................................... 329
Credit Notes ...................................................................................................... 330
Service Manager Enquiries and Reports ........................................................ 331
The Service Manager Dashboard ..................................................................... 331
Reports ............................................................................................................. 332

Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement ......................................................... 333


Introduction .................................................................................................... 334
Advanced Procurement Maintenance ............................................................ 335
Defaults ............................................................................................................. 335
User Access ...................................................................................................... 336
Parameters ....................................................................................................... 337
Advanced Procurement Transactions ............................................................ 338
New Requisition ................................................................................................ 339
Sales Orders- need to remove.............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Generate a RFQ for a Supplier ......................................................................... 342
Receive Quotation ............................................................................................ 343
Evaluate Quotation ........................................................................................... 345
Approve RFQ .................................................................................................... 346
Requisition to Purchase Order.......................................................................... 347
Archive RFQ ..................................................................................................... 349
Import Excel Files ............................................................................................. 349
Create a Tender ................................................................................................ 350
Record Tender .................................................................................................. 351
Tender Score Entry........................................................................................... 352
Evaluate Tender ............................................................................................... 353
Advanced Procurement Reports .................................................................... 354
Reports ............................................................................................................. 354
‘My Desktop’ ..................................................................................................... 354

Chapter 27 – Business Gateway ................................................................. 355


Introduction .................................................................................................... 356
Installation Process ........................................................................................... 356
Administrator Process .................................................................................... 367
Agent Login Process ...................................................................................... 374
Customer Login Process ................................................................................ 375
PDA Login Process ........................................................................................ 376
Upgrade Process ........................................................................................... 377

Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager.................................................................... 378


Introduction .................................................................................................... 379
Installation and Registration ............................................................................. 380
Application Path ................................................................................................ 380
Open Debtors Manager .................................................................................... 381
Debtors Manager Maintenance ...................................................................... 382
Reason Codes .................................................................................................. 383
Action Codes .................................................................................................... 383
Email Templates ............................................................................................... 384
Email | SMS | Dashboard | UD Field ................................................................ 385
Percentage Collection Table............................................................................. 386
Debtors Manager Transactions ...................................................................... 387
Notes ................................................................................................................. 387
Debtors Age Analysis Screen ........................................................................... 389
Email and SMS Notifications ............................................................................ 390
Debtors Manager Reports .............................................................................. 391
Debtors Management ....................................................................................... 391
Cash Flow Forecast .......................................................................................... 392

Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales ........................................................................... 393


Mobile Sales Overview................................................................................... 394
Mobile Sales Environment ................................................................................ 394
Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance ............................................................. 395
Setup Process .................................................................................................. 395
Pre-requisites .................................................................................................... 395
Install the Web Service ..................................................................................... 396
Configure the IIS ............................................................................................... 398
Install the application on the device .................................................................. 399
Back Office and Master Files ......................................................................... 401
Default Settings ................................................................................................ 402
Chart Templates ............................................................................................... 404
Link your Devices to Agents ............................................................................. 404
Device User Wizard .......................................................................................... 405
Log .................................................................................................................... 407
Device Maintenance ...................................................................................... 408
Device Default Settings .................................................................................... 409
Scheduler .......................................................................................................... 410
View Customer and Inventory Information ....................................................... 410
Processing Documents .................................................................................. 411
Process Quotes and Sales Orders ................................................................... 411
Chapter 1 – Welcome
In this chapter, we look at the structure of the documentation for this product. This
includes this manual and the on-line help.
• Introduction
• The Evolution Product Range
• Using the On-line Help
• Report Builder Documentation
20 • Introduction Chapter 1 – Welcome

Introduction
Welcome to Evolution! You have chosen one of the most powerful, flexible, and easy to use financial
products available.
This manual will get you up and running in the shortest possible time. It contains:
● Essential and detailed installation information.

● Details about how to administer and work in the system.

● An overview of each application or module.


Chapter 1 – Welcome The Sage Evolution Product Range • 21

The Sage Evolution Product Range


Accounting Modules
The core accounting suite consists of the following modules:

Module What it Does?


You create financial periods and a chart of accounts. All financial
General Ledger transactions from all modules write entries into the general ledger, so that
you can produce an income statement and a balance sheet.
This module lets you control customer processing. You maintain the
Accounts Receivable customer database in this module, and you can process customer journals
and receipts, send statements, and analyse sales and outstanding amounts.
This module lets you control supplier processing. You maintain the supplier
Accounts Payable database in this module, and you can process supplier journals and
payments to suppliers.
This module lets you control inventory and service items. In this module, you
Inventory maintain the inventory database, purchase inventory from suppliers, and sell
inventory to customers.
This module lets you extend the selling and / or purchasing cycle to include
Order Entry
sales orders and purchase orders.
The Alert Manager module extends your customer, supplier, inventory, and
Alert Manager contact management processing. It lets you stay in contact with your
customers or suppliers, either via SMS's and/or Emails.
This module allows you to manage the internal stock distribution processes
Inventory Issue
and stock levels.
It allows you to manage your inventory levels by specifying minimum and
Inventory Optimisation
maximum stock levels, minimum re-order levels and quantities.
22 • The Sage Evolution Product Range Chapter 1 – Welcome

Add-on and Stand-Alone Modules


You can add specialised functionality to your standard accounting modules by purchasing one or more add-
on modules. Some of these modules integrate all their functionality directly into standard accounting
modules, and other modules contain separate functions as well.

The Evolution range includes modules that can function on a stand-alone or integrated basis. You can add
these modules directly into the same application menus, and use the same company data store when you
process. Alternatively, you can run these as separate and independent modules, in other words without the
accounting modules.

Note that the add-on modules work seamlessly together. For example, you can manufacture
serial number items into different warehouses.

Annuity Billing
If you have repetitive periodic sales to customers, such as scheduled service calls, maintenance contracts,
and so on, you use this module to track these, inform an agent when they are due, and create the invoices
automatically.

Advanced Procurement
This module manages your procurement procedures in more detail. You are now able to link and rank
preferred suppliers.

Bank Manager
This automates bank transactions and reconciliations, based on downloading the bank statement via the
Internet. This option is for South Africa only.

Bill of Materials
This module lets you manufacture or assemble items that you sell. You can manufacture as a process or on
the fly as you invoice. You can create as many sub-levels or components as you require.

Branch Accounting
If you work in a head office – branch environment, this module will assist you to transact at branch level and
synchronise data via an FTP site for reporting purposes.

Sage Intelligence Centre


This links your company database to Microsoft Excel. It extracts data, formats the data in Excel, and creates
sophisticated reports you can edit and format.

Debtors Manager
This helps you optimise your debt collections process. Refer to the application’s help file for more
information.
Chapter 1 – Welcome The Sage Evolution Product Range • 23

Contact Management
This module lets you manage contact management and business interactions on a controlled basis. You can
create and track incidents, which are interactions with customers and potential customers, suppliers,
distributors, and so on.
Contact Management Basic includes all the above functionality. You can upgrade to Contact Management
Premium, which contains additional features that include the ability to:
● Control incidents on a timed basis and to escalate overdue incidents to supervisors
● Create invoices for contracts
● Add workflows so that each step of an incident has an approval process
● Create and use a knowledge base and a document list
● Use the Sales Force Automation feature, which adds sales-specific control and management processing
to the general contact management process
You can use Contact Management Premium on a stand-alone basis.

Credit Control
This module assists you in rating potential customers prior to opening an account for them.

Delivery Management
The Delivery Management module aims to assist businesses to manage their delivery strategies. Some
businesses include deliveries as one of their services to customers, other businesses sell large items, such
as large machinery, and need to deliver them to customers while other businesses push large quantities of
single items or multiple items, making them dependent on a good delivery management tool.

Fixed Assets [Stand Alone]


This module calculates book and tax depreciation. It also lets you keep track of the assets in your system.
You can link assets in a master and sub asset relationship, which is useful, for example, when you make
changes to computer workstations. You can integrate directly into the general ledger module, or into Sage
Pastel Partner version 6 or higher.
You can use this module on a stand-alone basis.

Global Tax
The Global Tax add-on module is for countries that require the Withholding Tax policy to be applied at the
time of purchasing from suppliers. This module allows the Withholding Tax amount to be derived and
calculated using the specified tax percentage specified for the qualifying supplier allowing you to make the
payment to the relevant revenue authorities.

Information Alerts
This unique notification system of Evolution allows you to setup information alerts pertaining to certain data
base activities you would like to keep track of.
24 • The Sage Evolution Product Range Chapter 1 – Welcome

Job Costing
This module lets you create jobs. Each job can contain multiple transactions or processes from one or more
of customer, supplier, inventory, general ledger, and payroll sources.

Linked Accounts
This module lets you link customers in a head office / branch hierarchy. You sell to branches, and the system
invoices the head office. Payments take place at the head office level as well.

Lot Tracking
This module lets you track batches (or lots) of inventory items by means of a batch or lot number. You can
also specify expiry dates per lot.

Manufacturing
Manufacturing extends the Bill of Materials module by giving you complete control of the manufacturing
process.

Mobile
This module lets you connect to your Evolution Accounting database via Internet-aware devices such as
PDAs and cell phones. You can view customer and inventory information, and place orders, via the mobile
device.

Mobile Sales
This module lets you connect to your Sage Evolution Accounting database via smart devices. You can view
customer and inventory information, and place orders.

Multi-Currency
This module lets you process sales and purchases to customers and suppliers in their currency. The system
tracks home currency and foreign currency values for each transaction.

Multi-Warehousing
This module lets you create separate warehouses. You decide which inventory items are in each warehouse.
The system tracks quantities per warehouse per item. You can also have different selling prices in each
warehouse.

Municipal Billing
This module allows Municipalities to manage their accounts and billing processes in a controlled and secure
environment. This module is dependent on the Evolution Point of Sale module.
[This Municipal Billing has its own manual.]
Chapter 1 – Welcome The Sage Evolution Product Range • 25

Payroll
The Payroll module controls employee salaries and wages. You can pay staff members on a weekly,
fortnightly, or monthly basis. You can track leave, employee educational achievements, promotion history,
and disciplinary history. You can also submit IRP5 and other information electronically.
This is a separate Sage Pastel software application. The Payroll module has its own manual.

Point of Sale
This module controls cash and account sales in a retail environment. You can control cash drawers, pole
displays, and receipt printers.

Pricing Matrix
This module lets you determine line item discounts by inventory item or group on the one hand, and
customer / supplier or group on the other hand. It also allows you to create powerful date driven volume
discount contracts.

Procurement
This module, which requires the Contact Management Premium module, allows agents to request
purchasing agents to obtain pricing and delivery date information for items. Once the agents receive the
information, they can turn the procurement requests into purchase orders.
A separate process allows for purchase order approval. You set per agent whether their purchase orders
require approval, which can be on a minimum value basis. The originating agent can only process the
purchase order once the supervising agent approves it.

Retail
This module works on the same principle as the Evolution Point of Sale module, but focuses on alleviating
long queues and speed up till processing in medium to large retail environments.

Sales Force Automation


This module lets you track sales opportunities for existing and prospective customers. This module is
dependent on the Evolution Contact Management module.

Service Management
This module lets you manage your service level agreements, internally and externally.

Serial Number Tracking


This module lets you track inventory items individually by their serial number. This function is very useful for
tracking warranties. The system keeps a full history of each serial number item's movements into and out of
the company.

System Audit Manager


This small module allows you to track database activities for security purposes.
26 • The Sage Evolution Product Range Chapter 1 – Welcome

Voucher Management
Some businesses require payment and receipt vouchers, such as schools and clubs who collect money from
members.
Chapter 1 – Welcome The Sage Evolution Product Range • 27

Add-on and Stand-Alone Modules for Sage Evolution


Standard
The following add-on modules are compatible with the Evolution Standard product:
Module What it Does?
This module calculates book and tax depreciation. It also lets you
Fixed Assets
keep track of the assets in your system.
This module controls cash and account sales in a retail
Point of Sale environment. You can control cash drawers, pole displays, and
receipt printers.
This module lets you process sales and purchases to customers
Multi-Currency and suppliers in their currency. The system tracks home currency
and foreign currency values for each transaction.
Multi-Warehousing This module lets you create separate warehouses.
Bill of Materials This module lets you manufacture or assemble items that you sell.
This links your company database to Microsoft Excel. It extracts
SIC Standard data, formats the data in Excel, and creates sophisticated reports
you can edit and format.
This helps you optimise your debt collections process. Refer to the
Debtors Manager
application’s help file for more information.
This add-on module allows for the cashbook to be electronically
Bank Manager populated when a bank statement is imported where large volumes
of transactions are processed.
Serial Number Tracking allows you to track items from the moment
you purchase or manufacture the items to the time you sell these
Serial Number Tracking
items. You are also able to track items for warranty purposes should
it be returned to you for repairs.
This add-on module adds great flexibility to your standard pricing
Pricing / Discount Matrix feature. You can establish volume based discount matrices for
customers and suppliers.
This module is also referred to CRM or Resolve. This module lets
Contact Management Basic you manage the interaction between your business, customers,
suppliers and even your employers.
Voucher Management This module creates and automates payment and receipt vouchers.
*Please refer to the table of contents to view the applicable add-on module’s specifications.
28 • Using the On-line Help Chapter 1 – Welcome

Using the On-line Help


You access the on-line help by pressing the <F1> key anytime you are working in the system. You can also
use the Help menu option to access the help. Here is a typical help screen:

On the Contents tab, there is a hierarchy of topics. The highest-level topic displays as a book. Click a
book to open and close it.
The help content shows in the right hand pane.
Use the Back and Forward buttons to navigate between topics you visit in this session.
Chapter 1 – Welcome Using the On-line Help • 29

The Index tab lets you enter keywords, and shows topics that contain a key word:

Enter one or more keywords. As you type, the system displays the index entries that match your typing.
Note, as in this example, that indexes have two levels of detail.
Click the most suitable topic, and click the Display button to display the topic you select. The topic displays
in the right-hand pane. To select a different topic, click the Index tab again.
In the Search tab, you enter a word or phrase:

In the Keyword field, enter a word or phrase. To find a topic that has the exact phrase you enter, enclose
the keywords in quotes.
Click the List Topics button and the system shows topics that contain the text you enter.
Click the Display button to show the topic in the content pane.
Use the Options menu if you wish to turn off highlighting of the search word or phrase in the topic content.
30 • Using the On-line Help Chapter 1 – Welcome

Use the Favorites tab to store links to topics you access frequently:

Click Add to add the current topic to the Favorites list.


Once the topic is in the list, you can select it and click the Display button to show its contents.
To remove a topic from the Favorites list, select it and then click the Remove button.
Chapter 1 – Welcome Using this Manual • 31

Using this Manual


This user guide is an overview only. It does not cover every feature and every function in the system. The
idea is to give you a detailed outline of the system's functionality.
The on-line help contains detailed information on every feature. The table of contents in this user guide is a
subset of the one in the on-line help, but in almost the same sequence. You can therefore easily find any
additional detail you require.
32 • Report Builder Documentation Chapter 1 – Welcome

Report Builder Documentation


You have sophisticated reporting capabilities. The system ships with a set of fully featured powerful reports
that contain many options.
In addition, you have the capability of customising the standard reports. You can change the layout, add and
remove fields, and perform additional calculations or subtotals.
You can also create new reports of your own.
The system ships with a tutorial package that contains an educational version of the report writer, a detailed
tutorial manual, and a help file. To install this package:
1. Put the installation DVD in the DVD-ROM drive.
2. In the Report Builder folder on the DVD, run the SETUP.EXE program.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.
There is also a detailed help file. This file contains all the commands and syntax of the system. You access
this help file when you are in the Report Builder screen and you press <F1>.

You do not need to install the Report Builder tutorial if you are not going to customise reports.
The Evolution help file contains complete documentation on running reports.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

This chapter explains the Annuity Billing module.


• Annuity Billing Overview
• Working with Annuity Billing
• Annuity Billing Reports
34 • Annuity Billing Overview Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Annuity Billing Overview


The Annuity Billing module extends your customer, supplier, inventory, and contact management
processing. It lets you create regularly recurring transactions for customers or suppliers, either as journals
or as invoices / goods received vouchers.
When the system processes the charge transaction, you can also specify that it should process the
corresponding payment for the charge automatically. You do this if you pay suppliers by debit order, or
your customer pays you by debit order.
For customers, you can use EFTS to process debit orders electronically.
You use this module if you have regular activity between you and your customers and/or suppliers. For
example, if you sell maintenance agreements to customers, including contact management contracts, the
Annuity Billing module lets you control these fully. The system prepares all charges automatically on their
due dates, and, once you authorise the charges, posts them automatically.

Work flow of the Annuity Billing module


1. You set up annuity billing configurations. These are timing intervals for transactions. The system gives
you virtually unlimited flexibility in setting up schedules. At the same time, you can also specify how
many times transactions should recur, or you can enter a termination date.
2. You can create recurring transactions as journals or as invoices:
» To create journals, you create Charge Templates. These contain a transaction type, amount, tax
type, and a description.
» To create invoices or goods received vouchers, you create standard invoice or goods received
voucher templates and save them in the document store. You can link these to contact
management contracts.
3. You then create customer and/or supplier contracts, which bring all these elements together:
» You link an annuity billing configuration into the contract to control its timing.
» You link a charge template, an invoice template, or a GRV template for the billing details.
» You assign the contract to a range of customers or suppliers, or to individual customers and
suppliers.
4. The system does not assign transactions directly to customers and suppliers - there is an
authorisation stage first. On the due date of a contract, which could be immediately you create the
contract, the system adds each due contract to the Receivables Due and Payables Due functions.
You can open these functions at any time, and delete or authorise the items in the list. Once you
authorise, the system assigns the transactions to customers and suppliers.
5. You assign an agent as the responsible agent for each of the receivables and payables function. You
can set the system up to prompt the agent when there are transactions due for processing.
6. You can delete a contract whenever you wish to. However, you can also, on the annuity billing
configuration, control contract termination automatically. You do this either by specifying the number
of times the transaction occurs, or by specifying a termination date.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing Working with Annuity Billing • 35

Working with Annuity Billing


Annuity Billing contains the following functions and/or additions:

Function What it Does


Annuity Billing Defaults Here you setup some processing parameters.
These let you set up timing intervals for recurring revenue
Annuity Billing Configurations
transactions.
These let you create recurring charges via customer and supplier
Charge Templates
journals.
This lets you add or delete charge templates, invoice templates, or
goods received voucher templates to customers and suppliers,
Add/Remove Contracts using a recurring configuration.
When printing annuity batch invoices through an electronic signature
device, signature will display on individual invoices.
Once you create a contract, you can edit it for each particular
Editing Contracts
customer or supplier on their Annuity Billing tab.
Receivables/Payables Due You process recurring revenue transactions via these options.
You create invoice templates and link these to contact management
Contact Management
contracts and a recurring configuration.
36 • Working with Annuity Billing Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Annuity Billing Defaults


You use this function to choose the agent responsible for recurring processing. You also set up whether
the system should notify the agent automatically when recurring transactions are due.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Annuity Billing...Defaults menu option. On the system
tree, choose the Annuity Billing...Maintenance function and then choose Defaults in the work area:

You set up receivables and payables separately in each tab.


In the Agent field, choose the responsible agent. The My Desktop function for this agent shows the
outstanding items.
In the Prompt Agent frame, choose how frequently to notify the agent when there are items.
In the Loading Options frame, choose whether processing uses the current date or whether an agent
has to choose a date.
In the Automatic Payments frame, if you wish to process automatic payments for any charges, specify
the transaction type.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing Working with Annuity Billing • 37

Annuity Billing Template Update


You use this function to run different types of updates on already existent Annuity Billing Templates.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Annuity Billing...Annuity Billing Template Update menu
option. On the system tree, choose the Annuity Billing...Maintenance function and then choose Annuity
Billing Template Update in the work area:

Select the affected module. Select the foreign currency, if applicable.


Select the template type and actual template from the drop down menu.
Select the affected ledger / inventory accounts.
To update prices, complete the last section on the screen by specifying the price action, amount,
percentage and rounding, which ever applies.
38 • Working with Annuity Billing Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Annuity Billing Configurations


Annuity Billing configurations are timing intervals for transactions. The system gives you virtually unlimited
flexibility in setting up schedules.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Annuity Billing...Annuity Billing Configurations menu option,
or via the system tree Annuity Billing...Maintenance...Annuity Billing Configurations function:

In the Charge Interval frame, set how often the charge occurs.
In the Occurrences frame, you can limit the contract to a number of occurrences.
In the Charge Immediately check box, you specify the contract activation date. You also specify whether
the contract terminates on a specific date.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing Working with Annuity Billing • 39

Charge Templates
You use charge templates to bill customers and/or suppliers by means of a journal. This is ideally suited
for processing regular supplier charges for items such as maintenance contracts. You link a charge
template to a contract when you create the contract. If you need to produce invoices for the contract, you
can link the contract to an inventory (invoice) template instead of a charge template.
There is a separate function for receivables and payables charge templates. You access these via the
Maintenance... Annuity Billing...Receivables/Payables Charge Templates menu option, or via the system
tree Annuity Billing... Maintenance...Receivables/Payables Charge Templates function:
40 • Working with Annuity Billing Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Add/Remove Contracts
Annuity Billing Contracts are where you initiate transactions. Contracts bring many other annuity billing
elements together:
● You link an annuity billing configuration into the contract to control its timing

● You link either a charge template or a document template for the billing details

● You assign the contract to a range of customers or suppliers, or to individual customers and suppliers.

There is a separate function for receivables and payables contracts. However, both these functions work in
the same way, and so we look at them together.
To access receivables contracts, choose the Maintenance...Annuity Billing...Receivables Add/Remove
Contracts menu option. On the system tree, choose the Annuity Billing...Maintenance function and then
choose Receivables Add/Remove Contracts in the work area. To access payables contracts, choose the
Maintenance...Annuity Billing...Payables Add/Remove Contracts menu option. On the system tree, choose
the Annuity Billing...Maintenance function and then choose Payables Add/Remove Contracts in the work
area:

In the Add/Remove Transactions frame, choose whether to add or to remove contracts.


In the Customer frame, choose a range of customers. You can select one account only.
The Configurations field determines how often you bill the customer.
Link the contract either to a charge template or to an inventory template. You create the latter via the
Inventory module Invoices function.
You use this function to add or remove contracts for one or more accounts at the same time. If you wish to
add or remove contracts individually, or if you wish to suspend contracts, which you cannot do here, you
use the Annuity Billing tab of the account maintenance functions.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing Working with Annuity Billing • 41

Editing Contracts
Once you create a contract, you can edit the particular contract details for each customer or supplier. You
do this in the Annuity Billing tab of the customer or supplier maintenance function. In that tab, select the
contract and click the Edit button, or double click the contract line:

In the Templates and Configuration frames, you can edit the template and the configuration.
Use the Suspend check box to suspend the contract. You can also delete the contract completely via
the Delete button on the Annuity Billing tab.
You can set a termination date for the contract. To do this, uncheck the No Termination check box and
then set a termination date.
In the Automatically Post Payment check box, choose whether to post a payment for the charge. You
use this for debit orders via suppliers or customers.
For customers, you can check the Debit Order check box to use EFTS to process debit orders
electronically.
42 • Working with Annuity Billing Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Receivables/Payables Due
After you create contract transactions, you have to authorise them before processing begins. The system
puts the transactions into a Receivables Due and/or a Payables Due list, from where you authorise them.
To access receivables due, choose the Transactions...Annuity Billing...Receivables Due menu option. On
the system tree, choose the Annuity Billing...Transactions function and then choose Receivables Due in
the work area. To access payables due, choose the Transactions...Annuity Billing...Payables Due menu
option. On the system tree, choose the Annuity Billing...Transactions function and then choose Payables
Due in the work area:

You can see which items will process via EFTS, and those items for which the system will create
payments.
To edit a transaction, double click the line and edit the transaction in the customer/supplier edit function.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing Working with Annuity Billing • 43

When you click the Process button, the following screen displays:

In the Transaction Tab, you enter information the system copies into each transaction.
In the Options tab, you can choose a range of customers or suppliers. Note that you are ranging in the
due list, not in the master file.
In the Validation tab, you choose whether to process the contract if any special situations apply to
accounts, such as being over their credit limit.
44 • Working with Annuity Billing Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Annuity Billing and Contact Management


If you use both the Annuity Billing and Contact Management Premium modules, you can link a contract
management contract into the annuity billing system, and thereby invoice customers on a regular basis for
their contracts.
You accomplish this as follows:
1. In the standard invoicing function, create an invoice to use for the contract. Save the invoice as a
contract template. You create the invoice as normal, with one addition:

In the Pricing tab, you specify whether the system should re-evaluate the selling prices each time it
generates an invoice, or whether the prices you enter in this invoice are valid for the duration of the
contract.
Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing Working with Annuity Billing • 45

2. You can view or edit the contract invoice template in the Contract Invoice Templates function. You
access this via the Maintenance...Contact Management... Contract Invoice Templates menu option, or
via the system tree Contact Management...Maintenance...Contract Invoice Templates function. This
displays the document store function for contract templates:

3. When you create the contact management contract, you link the contract to a contract template:

When you check the Invoice this Contract check box, the system asks if you wish to create an annuity
billing transaction. If you do so, it displays in the Receivables Due function, where you authorise it.
46 • Annuity Billing Reports Chapter 2 - Annuity Billing

Annuity Billing Reports


To access annuity billing reports, choose the Reports...Annuity Billing menu option. On the system tree,
choose the Annuity Billing...Reports function.
Here is a complete list of the reports available to you:

Report What it Does


This shows inventory requirements for annuity billing transactions
Inventory Due
that are due.
This report shows supplier contracts details and their status in
Payables Transactions Status
varying amounts of detail.
Payables Transactions This report shows supplier contracts in varying amounts of detail.
Receivables Transactions This report shows customer contracts details and their status in
Status varying amounts of detail.
Receivables Transactions This report shows customer contracts in varying amounts of detail.
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials /
Manufacturing

This chapter explains the BOM and Manufacturing modules.


• Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview
• Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of Materials
• Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Processing
• Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Reports
48 • Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

Bill of Materials / Manufacturing


Overview
The Bill of Materials module works in conjunction with the Inventory Control module. It allows you to
create, or manufacture, new inventory items from other inventory items, called components. Component
items can themselves be items you create from other items, or they can be items you purchase from
suppliers.
You can use bills of materials for two very different types of processes:
● You can use raw materials to manufacture a new inventory item. For example, you can make a guitar
out of wood, strings, varnish, paint, and so on. You may manufacture elements of the guitar, such as
the neck, separately, and then use these separate elements as a component element of the guitar
itself. The usual terminology for this type of activity is "manufacturing".

● You use components to assemble a new inventory item. For example, if you sell computers, you
create an item that consists of the computer case, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse. The computer
case, in turn, contains a specific motherboard with a CPU and memory, a hard drive, a CD drive, and
so on. When you assemble items that you can also sell separately, the usual terminology for this is
"kitting".

The Bill of Materials module allows you to manage both these types of processes, and gives you special
facilities for each of them. For example, when you sell a computer, you would like to show the individual
components on the customer invoice, whereas when you sell a guitar, you do not wish to show these.
This module revolves around a bill of materials, which is essentially a set of instructions, or a recipe, that
shows what you need in order to manufacture or assemble an inventory item. You create a bill of materials
for each inventory item you manufacture.

Creating the Bill of Materials


You create a bill of materials for the inventory item you are manufacturing.
In the bill of materials, you specify the components of the item you are manufacturing. These components
can be:
● Inventory items you purchase.

● Items you manufacture in a separate process. You can have as many sub-levels of manufacturing as
you need.

● Service items that you use to represent non-material costs such as labour.

You specify, for each item, the quantity you need to manufacture one item. If you create service items for
labour hours, the quantity you enter would be the number of hours you require of that particular labour
activity.
Once you complete the bill of materials, the system can determine the cost of the item you are
manufacturing by adding together the costs of the components. When you process, the system uses this
cost to update the manufactured item's cost.
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview • 49

The system determines the quantity of each component item you require. You can produce a materials
requirement report, on which you specify how many items you need to create, and you can get a list of all
the components you require. If you have multiple assembly levels, you can include or exclude these in the
report.

Using the Bill of Materials to Manufacture


You create each manufacturing process as a record. A record can have three states:
● Active, which means you are working on that process.

● Closed, which means you have completed the process but you may want to manufacture more items.

● Complete, which means that you cannot process using that process.

The advantage of creating each manufacturing process as a record is that you can continue to use it even
if you change a bill of materials in the future. Once you create the process, changes to the original bill of
materials do not affect the process. This structure has two implications:
● You can use each manufacturing process for small variations of the bill of materials without creating
many separate bills of materials.

● Once a bill of materials changes in such a way as to make the older manufacturing processes
obsolete, you set their status to complete, which prevents agents using them in error.

When you process, you specify how many items to create. The system then determines whether there are
sufficient quantities of the components on hand. If there are not, the system indicates the maximum
quantity you can manufacture without any components going into negative quantities. You cannot exceed
this if you do not allow negative quantities.
When you initiate the process, the system removes the appropriate quantities of components from the
component items, and adds the appropriate numbers of items into the inventory item you are
manufacturing.
Once you create an item, it is, for the most part, a normal inventory item. You can transfer it to another
warehouse, sell the item, and so on.
There is a variation of this process, which we call manufacturing on the fly. What happens here is that,
while you are processing customer documents, the system can create an item via the bill of materials
automatically as you require it. The system will only do this if there are insufficient on hand quantities of the
manufactured item. You can disable this process, or you can make it optional, so that the system prompts
for confirmation each time it could manufacture.
The Bill of Materials module works seamlessly in conjunction with other add-on modules.
For example:
● Components and manufactured items can be warehouse items. In fact, one good use of warehouses
is to isolate your raw materials in a specific warehouse so that agents do not sell them in error.

● Manufactured items can also have serial numbers. Components of manufactured items can have
serial numbers too. Note, however, that if an inventory item uses strict serial numbers, you cannot
manufacture on the fly.

● You can manufacture on the fly in a job card invoice.


50 • Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

Besides creating an item by means of the bill of materials, you can reverse the process and break the item
back into its components. This has two uses:
● If you initiated a process in error, you do not have to do multiple adjustments to the manufactured and
component items - the system reverses the process for you.

● If you are using the bill of materials for kitting, you need to sell one of the components individually, and
you have none on hand, you can break the kit back into its components.

Another break up option you have is to break an item up when you receive inventory. To do this, you
receive inventory into the item that has a bill of materials, and the system then brings the component items
into stock. When it does so, you have the option of allocating the components to different warehouses.
One good use of this feature is that you can create a dummy bill of materials that contains a single
component. When you receive the item, you allocate quantities to the various warehouses. This allows you
to receive the items and transfer them into warehouses in one operation.
You can also perform two other operations:
● If a component becomes obsolete and another item replaces it, you can do a global replace of a
component item in your bill of material records.

● You can update the cost values on the bill of material components with the latest costs on their
respective inventory items.

This last point gives rise to an important issue. The costs that the system keeps for each bill of materials
component is independent of the cost on the item master file. When you create the bill of materials initially,
the system copies each component's cost prices onto the bill of materials. After that, however, the costs do
not update automatically.
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview • 51

The Manufacturing Module


You can optionally purchase and use the Manufacturing module in addition to the Bill of Materials module.
This module significantly enhances your control over the actual process of manufacturing. In the Bill of
Materials module, you have two processes available:
● The manufacture process draws the raw materials from the component items and creates the
manufactured items. Both these processes occur at once.

● The break-up processes reverses the manufacturing process.

With the Manufacturing module, you control this process more fully, both in terms of the time element and
in terms of the processes that are available to you. You have the following processes:

Process What it Does


This lets you draw and reserve inventory prior to beginning the manufacturing process.
You can draw a portion of the required quantities, and you can draw specific items
Draw Inventory
only. There is an auto draw/return feature that draws/returns all the items required in
one operation.
This performs the actual manufacturing process. You can specify how many items to
Manufacture
manufacture. If your manufacturing process takes some time, this lets you keep your
Inventory
inventory quantities up to date throughout the manufacturing process.
If you have sub-assemblies in the main bill of materials, you can specify the
Sub
manufacture of sub-assemblies. Note that this process automatically draws the
Manufacture
inventory required - you do not have to draw inventory for the sub components.
Return Once the manufacturing process is complete, you can return any unused components
Inventory into stock. This is a reverse draw, so you can only return what you have already drawn.
If components are damaged in the manufacturing process, you can write them off. You
Waste Item
would then draw more components for use in the manufacturing process.
Create By- Sometimes, when you manufacture items, the process also leads to the manufacture of
Product other by-product items. You can specify this in the process.
If you decide to use an alternate component to the one specified in the bill of materials,
Replace Item
you could substitute another item for the original one.
Un-
This is equivalent to the break-up process in the bill of materials module. It returns
manufacture
components into stock and decreases the quantity of manufactured items.
Item
Variance In This lets you bring stock into the process and optionally adjust the cost price.
Variance Out This lets you take stock out the process at the cost price.
52 • Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Overview Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

As you can see, you have much more control of the process. You can draw components as you need
them, bring items into stock as they are manufactured, process and document returns and wastages and
other variances, all in one process.
Note that you do not have to exercise full control over every manufacturing process. You can manufacture
in one operation in the same manner as in the Bill of Materials module.
When you process customer sales, you can continue to manufacture on the fly as you can in the Bill of
Materials module. In addition, you can link a sales order to a specific manufacturing event.
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of Materials • 53

Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of


Materials
In this section, we look at setup and maintenance functions. Note that the Bill of Materials module also
uses setup elements from the Inventory Control module. For example, there are no separate transaction
types for bill of materials processing; the system uses standard inventory transaction types.

Element What it Does


Defaults Here you set up some processing parameters.
Bills of Materials Here we look at how you maintain bills of materials.
You use this function to update costs on the bill of materials, and to update
Update Costs
inventory item costs from bill of materials costs.
This lets you replace one component item with another and optionally update
Mass Replace
costs at the same time.

Bill of Materials Defaults


You use this function to set up important processing options. You should therefore take the time to plan
the implementation of this module before you start using it. To access this function, choose the
Maintenance...Bill of Materials...Defaults menu option. On the system tree, choose the Bill of
Materials...Maintenance function and then choose Defaults in the work area:

In the Defaults tab, you choose various default settings that you can override when you process.
54 • Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of Materials Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

In the Transactions tab, you choose inventory transaction types the system uses.
In the Reference Numbering tab, you choose manual or automatic numbers for manufacturing
processes that require references.

Maintaining Bills of Materials


The Bill of Materials module revolves around the bill of materials. In this function, you maintain bills of
materials. You access this function via the Maintenance...Bill of Materials...Items menu option, or via the
system tree Bill of Materials...Maintenance...Items function.
The bill of materials is a menu, recipe, or set of instructions, which tells the system how to make an
inventory item. It does this by using other items in specific quantities. These other items, in turn, can also
have bills of materials. There is no limit to the levels of bills of materials.
Creating a bill of materials involves two parts:
● You choose which item the bill of materials manufacture, and you enter other header type information.

● You specify the component items and quantities that make up the item you are manufacturing.

Select the item from the drop down menu. The This Level Cost field shows the total cost of the bill of
materials. Specify the default manufacture/breakup quantity. Allow for over or under manufacturing.
Specify a lead time in the Planning section of the screen.
Use the Create on Invoice check box to allow the system to invoke the manufacturing process while you
invoice this item, if there are no quantities on hand.
In the table, you specify the components of the manufactured item. You also specify how many of each
component you need in order to manufacture a single item. Components can be manufactured items
with their own components.
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of Materials • 55

Update Costs
When you manufacture, the system calculates the cost of the manufactured item as the sum of the
component costs. However, if you edit your bill of materials, the system does not update the total cost
automatically. You use function to achieve this.
You can also use this function to update the cost of the inventory item from the bill of materials top level
cost.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Bill of Materials...Update Costs menu option. On the
system tree, choose the Bill of Materials...Transactions function and then choose Update Costs in the work
area:

In the Bill Items frame, choose the bills of materials to work on.
In the Update Options frame, select whether you are updating the bill total cost, the inventory item cost,
or both.
In the Inventory Adjustment Transactions frame, if you are updating inventory costs, the system needs
to write entries to the general ledger.
56 • Setting Up and Maintaining Bills of Materials Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

Mass Replace
Sometimes you need to replace one or more component items in your bills of materials:
● A component can become obsolete

● You may be able to use an alternative, cheaper component

If you use the component in a single bill of materials, you can simply edit the bill of materials, delete the old
component, and add the new one. If, however, you use the component in a number of bills of materials,
this option will replace the component in each bill of materials. This saves time and reduces the possibility
of error.
At the same time as you replace the item, you can get the system to re-calculate the cost of the bills of
materials.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Bill of Materials...Mass Replace menu option. On the
system tree, choose the Bill of Materials...Transactions function and then choose Bill Utilities in the work
area:

In the Mass Replace Options frame, select the old and the new component items to replace.
You can update the bill costs as you replace the components. If you check the Update Bill Cost check
box, the remaining fields work as in the Update Bill Costs function.
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Processing • 57

Bill of Materials / Manufacturing


Processing
Bill of Materials processing consists of two functions. In the Manufacture Processes function, you
assemble or manufacture items using the bill of materials as a recipe or set of instructions. In the Break Up
function, you reverse the manufacture function - the system disassembles items using the bill of materials.
If you use the Manufacturing module, you can reverse the manufacturing process in the Manufacture
Processes function as well.
You access these functions via the Transactions...Bill of Materials...Manufacture Processes and Break Up
menu options. On the system tree, choose Bill of Materials...Transactions, and select the functions from
the work area. Here is the Manufacture Process screen:

To manufacture:
1) In the Bill Master Item to Manufacture field, choose the bill of materials.
2) In the Quantity to Manufacture field, enter the quantity to manufacture. The system validates if your
item quantity exceeds the required quantity according to the bill recipe during a manufacture process.
3) Click the Auto Manufacture button.
The component items display in the top table.
The transactions display in the bottom table.
58 • Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Processing Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

The header section of the screen allows you to manufacture your quantity requirements, select and record
different manufacturing details and accommodates planning by specifying lead times and completion
dates.

If you use the Manufacturing module, you can enter transactions in the transaction table. Here is the list of
actions you can choose:

Process What it Does


This lets you draw and reserve inventory prior to beginning the manufacturing
process. You can draw a portion of the required quantities, and you can draw specific
Draw Inventory
items only. There is an auto draw feature that draws all the items required in one
operation, and to reverse the auto draw action, you can use the Auto Return feature.
This performs the actual manufacturing process. You can specify how many items to
Manufacture
manufacture. If your manufacturing process takes some time, this lets you keep your
Inventory
inventory quantities up to date throughout the manufacturing process.
If you have sub-assemblies in the main bill of materials, you can specify the
Sub
manufacture of sub-assemblies. Note that this process automatically draws the
Manufacture
inventory required - you do not have to draw inventory for the sub components.
Once the manufacturing process is complete, you can return any unused components
Return Inventory into stock. This is a reverse draw, so you can only return what you have already
drawn.
If components are damaged in the manufacturing process, you can write them off.
Waste Item
You would then draw more components for use in the manufacturing process.
Create By- Sometimes, when you manufacture items, the process also leads to the manufacture
Product of other by-product items. You can specify this in the process.
If you decide to use an alternate component to the one specified in the bill of
Replace Item
materials, you could substitute another item for the original one.
Un-manufacture This is equivalent to the break-up process in the bill of materials module. It returns
Item components into stock and decreases the quantity of manufactured items.
Variance In This lets you bring stock into the process and optionally adjust the cost price.
Variance Out This lets you take stock out the process at the cost price.
Over and or
The module allows you to over- or under- manufacture by changing the quantities of
Under
the drawn items when you manufacture the bill.
Manufacture
Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Processing • 59

Here is the Break Up screen:

To break up:
1) In the Bill Master Item field, choose the bill of materials.
2) In the Quantity to Break Up field, enter the quantity to disassemble.
3) In the table, you can adjust the cost price on break up. The system writes any difference to the
surplus / deficit general ledger account.
4) Click the Process button.
Besides invoking these screens directly from the Bill of Materials module, you can invoke them when you
sell or receive inventory:
● When you sell a kit item, if you do not have sufficient quantity on hand, the system can invoke the
manufacture process automatically and create the required number of items. This applies to standard
invoicing as well as job card invoicing if you use the Job Costing add-on module.

● When you receive a manufactured item, you can break it up into its component parts and receive the
components into stock instead of the manufactured item. For example, you can receive items in bulk
quantities but place them into smaller units for selling, without having to enter a manual inventory
transaction. Alternatively, if you use multiple warehouses, you can allocate items to different
warehouses as you receive them, without having to process a separate warehouse transfer once you
receive the items.
60 • Bill of Materials / Manufacturing Reports Chapter 3 - Bill of Materials / Manufacturing

Bill of Materials / Manufacturing


Reports
To access bill of materials reports, choose the Reports...Bill of Materials menu option. On the system tree,
choose the Bill of Materials...Reports function.
Here is a complete list of the reports available to you:

Report What it Does


Explosion This shows all details of the bill of materials.
This report shows in which bills of materials an inventory item
Implosion (Where Used)
exists.
This allows you see the component requirements of one or
more bills of materials. You can select to generate a
Material Requirements Plan (MRP)
summarised or detailed report and you can import individual
BOM items.
Manufacture Order This shows orders for manufactured items.
This report shows details or a summary of completed
Manufacture Process
manufacturing processes.
This report shows the current state of completion of
Work in Progress
manufacturing processes.
Chapter 4 - Job Costing

This chapter explains the Job Costing module.


• Job Costing Overview
• Setting Up Job Costing
• Job Costing Processing
• Job Costing Enquiries
• Job Costing Reports
62 • Job Costing Overview Chapter 4 - Job Costing

Job Costing Overview


The Job Costing add-on module lets you invoice jobs to customers. A job card is more powerful than an
invoice, because it gives you more options when invoicing:
● Jobs can contain inventory items in the same way as normal invoices. These can also be service
items, which you could use to invoice labour hours.

● Jobs can contain lines that link to general ledger codes. You use these to include overheads, invoice
miscellaneous items, process discounts, and so on.

● You can process a supplier transaction via the job card. The system issues goods received vouchers
for suppliers, and invoices for customers, via a single transaction entry line. You usually use this
feature to invoice sub-contract work done by a third party for the customer.

● The system can add a percentage overhead to an inventory or supplier transaction automatically.

● When you process a goods received voucher, you can allocate a purchase line into a job via the
Inventory module.

● When you process payroll, you can allocate payroll hours into a job via the Payroll module.

● You can invoice a job partially, thereby creating many invoices for a single job card. This is very useful
when a job stretches over a relatively large amount of time, and your customer pays you in stages.

● You can invoice a negative, reversing line, thereby obviating the need for a credit note.

● You can create sophisticated job templates, which reduce your workload considerably. For example, if
you have a workshop, you can create templates for the most popular types of jobs you perform, and
copy them each time.

Typical activities for job cards are:


● Motor vehicle service and repair workshops

● Equipment repair and servicing, whether on-site or not

● Control of manufacturing operations

● Consultants who allocate time and materials to clients

● Etc.

Before you decide to use this module, you should look at the standard project-tracking feature in the core
accounting modules. If you have only minor project or job-tracking requirements, this feature may be
sufficient for you. Alternatively, you can use project tracking simultaneously with job costing to enhance
your job tracking analysis.
Chapter 4 - Job Costing Job Costing Overview • 63

Setting up Job Costing


Posting Method
When you create a job, you can specify one of two processing methods to use:

Method How it Works


This is the normal method - the system posts entries as it does in normal
invoicing. As you invoice the customer, the system posts sales, cost of
% Of Completed Contract
sales, and inventory entries into the general ledger. This occurs whether
you invoice fully or partially.
The system posts general ledger sales values whenever you invoice,
including partial invoicing. However, until you complete the job, the system
Completed Contract
does not update cost of sales or inventory values. These latter values
update in full when the job completes.

The completed contract method lets you delay the processing of cost and inventory information until the
job completes. Unless you have a specific reason, you would not normally use this method.

You can choose the method to use for each job card individually.

General Ledger Accounts


The system uses various general ledger accounts for processing. There are some accounts that are
specific to job costing:

Account What it is For


Jobs have specific stages, as we will see later. In the initial quote
stage, no financial activity takes place. When a job line becomes
active, the system debits the values on that line to the work in
Work in Progress progress account. For inventory items, the system also reserves
inventory quantities if you disallow negative inventory. Once you
invoice the line, the system credits the value out of work in
progress into the actual accounts.
The system uses this account as the contra account for the work
Recovery in progress account, and as a recovery account for payroll and
general ledger transactions.
64 • Job Costing Overview Chapter 4 - Job Costing

Job Templates
A job template is a set of transactions. You can have as many transactions as you like in a template.
Transactions in job templates and in job cards can come from one of the following sources:

Source Description
You use this to link an inventory item to a job. You can link physical inventory items as well
Inventory as service inventory items. The latter lets you use inventory items for labour or any other
non-physical item.
You use this to link a supplier to a job. Usually, you would use this to pay a sub-contractor.
Payables
You can process a goods received voucher and/or a purchase order and link it into a job.
You use this to enter a transaction that you link directly to a general ledger account. You
Ledger do this for allocating internal costs such as overheads, and for any other miscellaneous
expense. You can also use this to process a discount to the customer.
This applies to job cards only, You can allocate hours to jobs, and charge a different value
Workers
from the cost value.

The ability to have differently sourced lines in one document makes this module very powerful. If, for
example, you are a motor vehicle workshop, you can create templates for the servicing of vehicles you
work on often. For example, you could create a template for a 30,000 km service a 1999 Honda Civic LX.
The template would detail all the normal work you do, including:
● Part numbers and quantities for spark plugs, filters, oil changes, and so on

● Normal labour hours for the service

● Any subcontract work, such as wheel balancing

When you create a new job from this template, the system copies the standard parts and labour required
to the job card. Of course, you can add additional items that your customer requests on each particular job
card, as can the mechanics should they need to do additional work.
You can link more than one job template to the same job card. Therefore, for example, brake pads need
replacing, the auto mechanic can simply load the relevant template into the job card and do the work - the
parts and labour are all set up automatically!
Chapter 4 - Job Costing Job Costing Overview • 65

Job Card Processing


Job card processing is similar to standard invoicing. Job costing integrates fully with other add-on modules.
For example, you can have serial number items, warehouse items, and manufactured items, in the invoice.
You can use on the fly manufacturing as well. In addition, job cards are more fully functional:
● You can copy one or more job templates into a job card to speed up processing and to create a
working document that all agents can access.

● You can invoice lines on a partial basis. You can choose which lines to invoice at a point in time.

● You can process a negative value, or reversing line, at any time. If a customer complains about an
issue, for example, you can credit part of a line, or reverse the whole line, without having to issue a
separate credit note.

● Additional header fields let you enter more information on the job card than on a standard invoice.

● You can enter a text narration that is as large as you require on the job card.

A job card can be in one of three states:

State What it Does


Use this to provide your customer with a quotation or estimate of the job. You can enter as
Quote many invoice lines as you require, of any type, but no processing takes place in the Quote
state.
Once you are ready to start processing, you set the job card to this status. You can then
Active invoice transactions on a partial basis, or you can invoice all the transactions at once. You
can create new lines, as quote or active (un-invoiced) lines, or as lines that you invoice.
When the job is complete, you change its status one last time. Once you make a job
Complete
complete, you cannot process any further in the job.

One of the strengths of the job costing module is that it lets you invoice a job partially. If you have a job
that is relatively long, you would like to invoice your customer for time and materials as you work on the
job. Without the job costing module, you would issue separate invoices and then try to keep track manually
of all the tasks in the job. Here, you can enter all activity into the job card, and invoice the customer
multiple times from the same job card. This also helps you in the future, when you need to re-examine the
job or use it as a basis for another one. You can also user percentage invoicing.
66 • Job Costing Overview Chapter 4 - Job Costing

Besides the job card as a whole, each job card line has three similar states:

State What it Does


Use this to enter lines you are not processing yet, including new lines you add after you
Quote
start working.
Once you are ready to start processing, you set the job card line to an active status. You
can then invoice transactions on a partial basis, or you can invoice all the transactions at
Active once. You can create new lines, as quote (un-invoiced) lines, or as lines that you invoice. If
the line is an inventory line, then making it active also reserves the inventory quantities for
use in this job.
When you invoice the line, the system changes the status to Complete, and you cannot
Complete
edit it.

You can print one or more of the following documents from a job card:

Document Usage
Quotation Use this document to provide your customer with a written quotation.
Picking Slip This prints a list of inventory items required for the job.
Delivery Note You can provide your customer with a delivery note.
You invoice the customer on a partial or a complete basis. You can also print a
Invoice
summary invoice, which shows totals only.

You can retrieve older job card invoices from the document store and reprint them or inspect them.
Once you complete work on a job card, you sets its status to complete, produce a final invoice, and
process. You cannot edit the job card after that. The system does not delete completed jobs on its own.
Instead, the system provides you with a function you use to delete older, unneeded jobs.
Chapter 4 - Job Costing Setting up Job Costing • 67

Setting up Job Costing


You need to set up some elements before you can start using job costing. In this section, we look at these
elements:

Function What it Does


You use transaction types to control transaction entry. They also let you group
Transaction Types
similar transactions together.
Defaults Here you set important processing options.
If you have standard jobs you carry out, you create them as templates and then
Job Templates
create a new job as a copy of a job template.

Defaults
You use this function to set up important processing options. You should therefore take the time to plan
the implementation of this module before you start using it.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Job Costing...Defaults menu option. On the system tree,
choose the Job Costing...Maintenance function and then choose Defaults in the work area. Note that this
function does not display directly on the system tree:

The completed contract method posts inventory and cost of sales information only at the conclusion of
the job.
68 • Setting up Job Costing Chapter 4 - Job Costing

The % of completed contract option posts to all accounts as in standard invoicing even if you invoice a
job partially - see the overview for more details.
In the Posting Method field, choose which of the above method is the default for new jobs - you can
change the method for each individual job. In the last two tabs, enter general ledger accounts to use
when processing jobs that use the appropriate method.
In the Job cards and Documents tabs, you set document numbering parameters for quotes, job cards,
job templates, and delivery notes.

Transaction Types
Transaction types are critical elements of your processing. Each transaction type determines the general
ledger accounts into which the system writes balances. Storing this information in the transaction type
makes actual transaction processing a simple data entry process. Very little knowledge or experience is
required in order to enter the transactions, because the transaction type setup determines what fields
agents need to enter.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Job Costing...Transaction Types menu option, or via the
system tree Job Costing...Maintenance...Transaction Types function:

The Source field is one of Inventory, Payables, Ledger, or Payroll.


In the % Overhead field, you can add a percentage overhead to each job card line that uses this
transaction type.
Select the applicable selling and cost tax types and groups from the drop down menus.
In the last two tabs, you can override the default general ledger accounts for this transaction type.
Chapter 4 - Job Costing Setting up Job Costing • 69

Job Templates
If you process many similar jobs, or if you have complex jobs that require many transactions, you can use
job templates to speed up your processing, and to make the jobs more accurate.
A job template is a set of job transaction lines that you can merge into an actual job. Once you do so, you
can amend the job transaction lines, delete any that are inapplicable, and add in new lines. The job
template stays in place for re-use at another time.
Note that you can merge more than one template into a single job. This is useful if you have sub-steps that
you need to carry out in different combinations. You can define each sub-set of transactions separately,
and then simply pull in the ones you require for each particular job.
The use of job templates is optional. If your business does not carry out repetitive work, there may not be
sufficient benefit in setting up job templates.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Job Costing...Job Templates menu option, or via the
system tree Job Costing...Maintenance...Job Templates function:

In the Source column, specify the source (Inventory, Payables, or Ledger).


In the Tr Code column, specify a transaction type compatible with the source.
In the Account column, choose an inventory item, supplier, or ledger account.
For inventory lines, double click the Item field to enter multiple inventory items on one job line.
As you can see, job template and job card processing is similar to standard invoice processing.
70 • Job Costing Processing Chapter 4 - Job Costing

Job Costing Processing


Job costing processing consists of working with job cards. You use job cards to:
● Supply a quotation to a customer

● Process inventory, supplier, and general ledger transactions for the job, entering both cost and selling
prices

● Invoice the customer on a partial or complete basis

You access this function via the Transactions...Job Costing...Job Cards menu option, or via the system
tree Job Costing...Transactions...Job Cards function:

The Job Status field is initially set to Quote. When you start working, change it to Active. When you
finish the job, change the status to Complete. Once the job status in the header is set to Active, you can
change each line's status. If you invoice a line, its status changes to Complete and you cannot edit it.
The Job Details tab and the Invoice Details tab show additional header information, such as job start
and expected and actual completion dates, invoice and order number, and so on.
To invoice a line, check the Inv check box, and click Save, Process & Close. This changes the Status
for that line to Complete.
To reverse a line, or post a reversal amount, uncheck the Add check box when you invoice the line.
Chapter 4 - Job Costing Job Costing Processing • 71

You can configure job card processing options in the View...Options function:

In the Price Entry frame, choose whether to enter prices inclusive or exclusive of tax.
In the Transaction Source frame, choose a default transaction source for new job lines.
In the Appearance tab, choose which columns to display for job line, and choose whether to show
completed (invoiced) job lines.
The Print menu lets you configure what to print and to print it:

You set separately for each of these documents whether to print, whether to preview printing first, and
whether to save the document in a print group for batch printing.
You use the Archive Documents option to access print groups for batch printing. You can also access the
archive of older documents for viewing and/or reprinting.
72 • Job Costing Processing Chapter 4 - Job Costing

You can add additional text to a job card using one or more of these methods:

Method What it Does


Line Note This is a 250 character maximum annotation that prints along with the lines.
This is a three-line maximum message that prints in the invoice footer. You can
Messages
maintain a library of frequently used messages.
This lets you enter text of unlimited size. This narration only prints when you print a
Narration
summary invoice, which is an invoice without the job line details.
Chapter 4 - Job Costing Job Costing Enquiries • 73

Job Costing Enquiries


You use this function to view job card and/or job template details. To access this function, choose the
Enquiries...Job Costing menu option. On the System tree, choose the Job Costing...Enquiries function:

To access an enquiry, choose a job card, which you can filter by the job status. Then, click the View
icon.
You can view summary information in the Information tab, as shown above, or the job card lines in the
Transaction Lines tab.
74 • Job Costing Reports Chapter 4 - Job Costing

Job Costing Reports


The system has many powerful reports that give you all the output you usually require.
To access Job Costing reports, choose the Reports...Job Costing menu option. On the system tree,
choose the Job Costing...Reports function.
You have the following reports available:

Report What it Does


This report compares cost and selling values to budgets, and shows amount
Comparative Prices
variances.
Job Cards The report lists job cards and their transactions.
Profit and Loss This report shows an income statement with profit or loss for jobs.
Work in Progress This report analyses work in progress transactions for jobs.
Chapter 5 - Linked Accounts

This chapter explains the Linked Accounts module.


• Linked Accounts Overview
• Working with Linked Accounts
Linked Accounts Overview
The Linked Accounts add-on module allows you to link customer accounts on a head office / branch basis.
You link as many branches as you like to the head office. Each of these accounts is a standard customer
account. The module integrates seamlessly into your accounts receivable processing.
Invoices you process for each branch account consolidate, for statement and reporting purposes, in the
head office account. However, you can still view these and other reports at the branch level should you
wish to.
You cannot process customer receipts at the branch level. You process these at the head office level only.
You can choose whether to allow customer journals to branch accounts.
The link between a branch account and a head office account is not permanent. You can unlink a branch
account from a head office account. However, payment transactions remain in the head office account. If
you need to move balances for these transactions to the branch account, you can process a standard
customer transaction.
Chapter 5 - Linked Accounts Working with Linked Accounts • 77

Working with Linked Accounts


There is no separate processing for linked accounts. You work with linked accounts as follows:
● You link branch and head office accounts in the customer maintenance Linked Accounts tab:

● You can produce invoices, credit notes, and sales invoices at the head office or branch level. There
are no changes in document processing, except that when you invoice a branch, an icon displays on
the document header to show that you are processing to a branch account:


● The branch indicator icon is on the right. Hover the mouse over the icon to see the name of the main
account.

● The system does not allow you to process any payments to the branch account.

● You specify per transaction type whether agents can process standard journals to branch accounts.

● When you print statements or perform customer enquiries, all branch invoices and credit notes appear
on the head office statement.

● For some customer reports, you can choose to include or exclude branch transactions in the head
office's reporting, and you can choose whether to show the branch accounts.
Chapter 6 – Lot Tracking

This chapter explains the Lot Tracking module.


• Lot Tracking Overview
• Lot Tracking Processing
Chapter 6 – Lot Tracking Lot Tracking Overview • 79

Lot Tracking Overview


Lot Tracking is an optional add-on module that you use along with the Inventory module.
It lets you track batches of items. For example:
● You may manufacture items, and you wish to track each batch of items you manufacture for quality
control purposes.

● You may manufacture, purchase, and sell items that have expiry dates, such as food or medicines.
Here, you need to track batches and you need to track expiry dates.

Lot Tracking differs from the Serial Number Tracking add-on module. With serial numbers, each individual
inventory item has a serial number. With lots, each batch of items has the same lot number, which is
unique to that batch. In fact, you can track items simultaneously via a serial number and a lot number.
Since lots contain multiple items of any nature, the system allows you to use decimals when working with
lots.
Once you assign an inventory item to be a lot tracking item, each movement of that item within the system
requires a lot number. You enter a lot number when you manufacture or purchase the items, when you
move them between warehouses, when you sell items, and when you process returns to suppliers and
returns from customers.
You can specify per inventory item whether to use expiry dates per lot. If you do use expiry dates, you
cannot sell an item if it has expired.
You can optionally create different lot statuses, such as approved or non-approved. You can then require
that each lot go through one or more status changes before you can sell or purchase the lot. For example,
you may wish to inspect and approve batches of medicines to ensure that their expiry dates are correct,
prior to selling the items. The status codes work as follows:
● You specify for each status code whether lots with this status can be purchased or sold.

● For lots you wish to approve, enable them for purchases and disable them for sales.

● For lots that are faulty or expired, disable both purchase and sales.

● If you do not wish to use status codes, have a single code that you enable for both purchases and
sales.

You specify per lot tracking item, which lot status code items initially have. There is a Lot Tracking function,
which you use to change the status of each lot.
You can enquire at any time as to the status and whereabouts of each item in a specific lot. This gives you
complete management and access control for these items.
Lot Tracking Processing
Lot Tracking Status Codes
The system ships with default lot tracking status codes that should be sufficient for most companies.
However, should you require, you can create additional codes.
You assign a lot tracking status for receiving inventory items to each lot tracking item. When you purchase
or create lot number inventory items, the system assigns this status to the lot. You can then use the Lot
Tracking Status Transfer function to change the status. For example, if a lot expires, you can change its
status to one that does not allow the sale of the items.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Inventory...Lot Tracking Status menu option, or via the
system tree Inventory...Maintenance...Lot Tracking Status node:

Specify separately whether you can purchase or sell items that have each lot status.

Creating Lot Tracking Items


When you create an inventory item, you specify whether it is a lot tracking item. You do this in the Item tab
of the Inventory Items function:

Specify whether the item is a lot tracking item. If it is, then specify whether you need to track expiry
dates for each lot or batch.
In the Defaults tab, you specify the initial lot status code for each lot you receive:
Chapter 6 – Lot Tracking Lot Tracking Processing • 81

Receiving and Selling Lot Items


When you receive the lot items into stock, you create a lot number and optionally specify an expiry date.
You do this via the Lot Selection window, which displays when you process the receiving transaction (e.g.
a supplier invoice or inventory adjustment:

When you sell a lot tracking item, you select the Select Existing Lot option in the above window, and
choose a lot in the Lot Number field.

Changing the Lot Status


If you use lot tracking status codes, you need to change the lot status. For example, you may bring lot
items into the system with a status code that does not allow sales, so that you can inspect them first.
Alternatively, if a lot expires or has a quality issue, you can then change the status of the lot to an
appropriate status that does not allow agents to sell them.
You do this via the Lot Status Transfer function, which you access via the Maintenance...Inventory...Lot
Tracking menu option, or the system tree Maintenance...Inventory… Lot Tracking function:

In the Lot Number field, select the lot you wish to change. The system displays the status of the lot. In
the New Status field, specify the new lot status. You can enter a reference number for audit purposes.
You can also use this function to adjust a lot's expiry date.
Lot Tracking Reports
The Lot Tracking Listing report shows the status of lot number items.
The Lot Tracking Transactions report shows transactions for lot number items.
Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency

This chapter explains the Multi-Currency module.


• Multi-Currency Overview
• Working with Multi-Currency
84 • Multi-Currency Overview Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency

Multi-Currency Overview
The Multi-Currency add-on module lets you process sales and purchases in multiple currencies. You can
view and print documents such as invoices in either the foreign currency or your local currency.
The system works as follows:
● You can create as many currencies as you require. For each currency, you enter exchange rates. You
can keep a history of exchange rates by date, and the system uses the exchange rate closest to the
transaction processing date.

● You assign a currency to a customer or supplier. Once you create a customer or supplier, you cannot
change the currency code.

● When you process sales or purchase documents, you can enter values in the account's currency or in
your local currency. You can switch methods at any time. Agents who have the relevant access rights
can adjust the default currency per document. You can print documents in home currency or in foreign
currency.

● When you process a payment from a foreign currency customer or you make a payment to a foreign
currency supplier, you can enter values in the home currency or in another currency. The system
calculates any profit or loss generated by exchange rate variations, and writes the profit or loss to the
general ledger.

● When you enter cashbook transactions, you can set per batch which currency to use when entering
amounts.

● If you use the Job Costing add-on module, you can create job cards in a customer's currency. We
allow an exchange rate per job line, since job cards can last for any length of time and the exchange
rate can vary. You can also purchase items from foreign suppliers. You can print job cards in home
currency or foreign currency.

● You can range on currencies for most customer and supplier reports.
Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency Working with Multi-Currency • 85

Working with Multi-Currency


Setting up Currencies
In this function, you maintain currencies and their exchange rates. You access this function via the
Maintenance...Common...Foreign Currency menu option, or via the system tree Common...Maintenance...
Foreign Currency function:

In the Currency frame, you set the currency code, description, and symbol.
In the Options frame, you can get the system to ask for exchange rates when you log into the company.
Click the Rate button to set the exchange rate.
86 • Working with Multi-Currency Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency

You click the Rate button to enter exchange rates. You can keep a history of older rates, and if you
process at an earlier date, the system uses the exchange rate closest to the date you are processing:

You set rates per day.


You can enter rates per 1.00 in the local currency or per 1.00 in the foreign currency. You also set buy
and sell rates - banks charge different rates for these.
You can keep historical rates. If you process at an earlier date, the system uses the nearest rate in time.
Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency Working with Multi-Currency • 87

Setting up Defaults and Accounts


Before you can process, you need to set up transaction types to handle any profit or loss that can occur on
exchange rate differences. You set this for accounts receivable and accounts payable, in their Defaults
function:
88 • Working with Multi-Currency Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency

You then set a currency for each foreign customer or supplier:

Note that once you save a record you cannot change its currency settings.
Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency Working with Multi-Currency • 89

Processing Sales and Purchases


You process foreign customer sales and supplier purchases in almost the same manner as with home
currency accounts:

You can adjust the exchange rate in the Exchange Rate field.
The Print Documents in Foreign Currency check box lets you choose whether to print in foreign or home
currency. The currency you print in does not have to be the currency you use to enter lines.
In the Price column in the table, you can enter values in the customer's currency. The system uses the
standard selling price hierarchy and calculates the price using the exchange rate.
90 • Working with Multi-Currency Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency

You can switch between foreign currency and home currency entry at any time:

The Foreign Currency menu lets you switch between foreign currency and home currency.
In this screen, we have switched to home currency entries. The footer shows home currency totals, and
the Foreign Currency tab shows foreign currency totals. In the previous screen, the display is reversed.
Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency Working with Multi-Currency • 91

Job Card Processing


If you use the Job Costing add-on module, you can process job cards for foreign customers. You can also
purchase items from foreign suppliers:

You can enter amounts in the customer's currency or in home currency.


You can print the job card in foreign currency or in home currency.
The second line is a purchase from a foreign supplier. You enter the exchange rate for this transaction.
You enter the exchange rate per line, as you may invoice over considerable time, and the rates can be
different for each line.
92 • Working with Multi-Currency Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency

Processing Payments
You can process receipts from foreign customers, and payments to foreign suppliers, in three ways:
● You can enter the values in home currency and adjust the exchange rate:

● You can enter the values in foreign currency and adjust the exchange rate:

● You can enter the home and the foreign currencies, and the system calculates the exchange rate.
This is useful when you have a bank statement showing the home amount:

You use the Foreign Currency Accounts menu to switch between these methods, which you can do at any
time.
Chapter 7 - Multi-Currency Working with Multi-Currency • 93

Reporting
There is an unrealised profit and loss report for accounts receivables and accounts payables. These
reports let you enter the current exchange rates, and show any potential profits or losses that will arise
when your customers pay you and when you pay your suppliers.
In addition, most customer and supplier reports allow you to range, sort, and or group on foreign currency:

In the Foreign Currency field, you can limit reports to accounts with one or more currencies.
In the Sort field, you can sort and group by currency.
Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing

This chapter explains the Multi-Warehousing module.


• Multi-Warehousing Overview
• Working with Warehouses
96 • Multi-Warehousing Overview Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing

Multi-Warehousing Overview
The Multi-Warehouse add-on module allows you to split your inventory items into discrete areas, or
warehouses. Not all items need be warehouse items, and you do not have to have every warehouse item
in each warehouse.
You can use warehouses for many types of situations:
● Physical warehouses in different geographic areas

● Keep raw materials and/or internal parts separate from items you sell

● Keep track of consignment stock / samples in a separate warehouse

● Separate obsolete items into a separate warehouse

● Etc.

You can create as many warehouses as you require. You designate one warehouse as the master
warehouse; this warehouse contains every warehouse item.
Once you create warehouses, you can create inventory items and assign them to warehouses. If you
already have inventory items, and you start using the Multi-Warehouse module, you can add items very
simply to warehouses.
Items that exist in different warehouses share some common information, such as the item code,
description, and so on.
You can choose whether to share other information, such as cost and selling prices, inventory groups, re-
order fields, and so on. You can share information for some warehouses and not for others - the choice is
up to you.
You can have different inventory groups for each warehouse. In the inventory groups, you can override
general ledger accounts that the system usually derives from transaction types. This means that you can
split your inventory values in the general ledger by warehouse. To do this, assign each item in the
warehouse the same inventory group.
Once you have your warehouses set up and containing inventory items, warehouse processing integrates
seamlessly with inventory processing. The system displays a warehouse field in processing screens. Each
time you select a warehouse item, you have to select the warehouse into which or out of which the item is
moving.
You can transfer stock between warehouses using two mechanisms:
● Warehouse transfers let you transfer inventory directly between warehouses. You enter these in
batches. You typically use warehouse transfers for transfers between warehouses that are close to
each other, and under the same administrative control. With a warehouse transfer, the items move
immediately from one warehouse to another, without confirmation that the items are in the new
warehouse.

● Inter-branch transfers are more controlled transfers of inventory. Typically, you use these when you
are transferring inventory between branches, and/or when the transfer takes some time to happen.

Every inventory report allows you to range on the warehouse, which allows you full management control of
each warehouse.
Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing Working with Warehouses • 97

Working with Warehouses


You work with warehouses in various functions.

Warehouse Defaults
You set up warehouse processing in the Warehouse Defaults function. You access this function via the
Maintenance...Inventory...Warehouse Defaults menu option. On the system tree, choose the
Inventory...Maintenance option, and then choose Warehouse Defaults from the desktop. This function
does not display on the system tree:

In the Transaction Code frame, you specify the transaction code to use for warehouse transfers.
98 • Working with Warehouses Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing

In the Inter-branch Transfers tab, you enable and set up inter-branch transfers, which we look at later:
Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing Working with Warehouses • 99

Warehouse Maintenance
In this function, you maintain warehouses. You access this function via the Maintenance...Inventory...
Warehouses menu option, or via the system tree Inventory...Maintenance...Warehouses function:

You designate one of the warehouses as a master warehouse. It contains all warehouse items.
Always Add New Warehouse Inventory Items to this Warehouse check box will result in the warehouse
being linked to the newly created inventory item automatically.
In the Warehouse Type field, you can set up special warehouses to handle inter-branch processing. You
can also choose whether to allow sales or purchases to occur in a warehouse.
100 • Working with Warehouses Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing

Inventory Maintenance
When you maintain inventory items, you specify whether the item is a warehouse item. If it is, the
Warehouse tab enables. You can choose which warehouses the item should be in, and other settings.
These include overriding the default fields, and assigning specific values for different warehouses:

In the top table, you choose in which warehouses this items exists. In the bottom tabs, choose whether
items in warehouses use common (shared) settings, or whether they unique settings of their own.
Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing Working with Warehouses • 101

Warehouse Transfers
If you use warehouses, you often need to transfer items between warehouses. For example, you may
purchase items centrally and then distribute the items to various branches. You could use warehouses to
represent your central purchase point and branches, so that you can control inventory on a branch basis.
You use this function to transfer quantities between warehouses. You access this function via the
Transactions...Inventory...Warehouse Transfer menu option, or via the system tree
Inventory...Transactions function.

Specify the batch properties by entering a description, selecting a transaction code, agent and batch
options.
Note that you can include units of measure items.
102 • Working with Warehouses Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing

You enter transfers in batches.


In the From Whse and To Whse columns, select the warehouses out of and into which to transfer. You
can default these fields.
In the Quantity field, choose the quantity to transfer.
Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing Working with Warehouses • 103

Inter-branch Transfers
Inter-branch transfers work as follows:
● The originating warehouse processes a stock request or issue:

» The system immediately transfers the items into a Goods in Transit warehouse. This way, you
can keep track of the items during the transfer. This also prevents you selling goods before they
are available, because they are not in either the sending or the receiving warehouse.
» You can print a picking slip to use in the originating warehouse.
» You can print a delivery note to accompany the goods.
● When the items arrive at the new warehouse, the responsible person processes a stock receipt:

» The receipt moves the stock out of the Goods in Transit warehouse into the new warehouse.
» If there is a quantity variance on receiving, the receiving warehouse can move the missing items
into a Variance Goods warehouse, from where you can resolve any issues.
» If any items are damaged in transit, the receiving warehouse can place the damaged goods in a
Damaged Goods warehouse, from where you can resolve any issues.
» You can print a receive note.
To request an inter-branch transfer, you access Transactions...Inventory...Warehouse IBT Requisition
menu option. On the system tree, choose the Inventory...Transactions function and then choose
Warehouse IBT Requisition in the work area. Note that this function does not display directly on the system
tree.
104 • Working with Warehouses Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing

To initiate an inter-branch transfer, you access Transactions...Inventory...Warehouse IBT Issue menu


option. On the system tree, choose the Inventory...Transactions function and then choose Warehouse IBT
Issue in the work area. Note that this function does not display directly on the system tree:

In the From and To fields, specify the warehouses you are transferring from and to. The remaining
warehouse fields default from the Warehouse defaults.
In the lines, enter the items you are transferring.
Chapter 8 - Multi-Warehousing Working with Warehouses • 105

To receive an inter-branch transfer, you access Transactions...Inventory...Warehouse IBT Receive menu


option. On the system tree, choose the Inventory...Transactions function and then choose Warehouse IBT
Receive in the work area. Note that this function does not display directly on the system tree:

In the IBT Number field, you have to select an existing incomplete transfer issue.
In the lines fields, enter how many items you received.
If you received less than were issued, enter the quantity in the Variance Qty column.
If you received damaged goods, enter the quantity into the Damaged Qty field.
If there are additional costs, such as transportation, you can enter them.

Warehouse Reports
The Warehouse IBT listing report lists all the inter-branch transactions.
The Warehouse Transfers report lists all the warehouse transfer transactions.
.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

This chapter explains the Point of Sale module.


• Point of Sale Overview
• Setting Up Point of Sale
• Point of Sale Processing
• Point of Sale Enquiries
• Point of Sale Reports
108 • Point of Sale Overview Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Point of Sale Overview


The Point of Sale add-on module gives you additional functionality in the area of retail and/or cash sales
processing. Using this module lets you:
● Configure tills, which can consist of cash drawers, pole displays, and slip printers

● Create tender types to control the receipt of cash, credit cards, cheques, and so on

● Receive monies for cash and account sales, and print receipts

● Control the monies agents receive, and reconcile the cash they have in the cash drawer

● Process petty cash payments

The system integrates directly into your accounting modules. This means that inventory control is up-to-
date, and there is no requirement to link point of sale activities to your accounting database by means of
exports and imports.
Security issues are important in a point of sale environment. You can fully control access to features and
fields for point of sale processing using the standard access permissions system.
In addition, the system allows for a supervisor override of price and discount fields.
In this section, we look at two main areas:
● Point of Sale Elements

● Point of Sale Processing

Point of Sale Elements


Transaction Types
Transaction types are critical elements of your processing. You enter all transactions via transaction types.
In addition, all transactions the system generates, such as discount transactions, require a transaction
type.
The transaction type determines the transaction's sign (whether it is a debit or credit), whether it contains
tax, and so on.
Point of sale transactions reflect in the general ledger. Each transaction you enter therefore requires a
debit and a credit general ledger transaction. In the transaction type, you enter the general ledger
accounts for these transactions. This means that the general ledger transactions occur in the background,
with no input required by agents who enter the point of sale transactions.
Storing this information in the transaction type makes actual transaction processing a trivial data entry
process. Very little knowledge or experience is required in order to enter the transactions, because the
transaction type setup determines what fields agents need to enter. You are also allowed to link
transaction types to tax groups for reporting purposes.
However, you can override this and allow agents to enter a general ledger account, and even to split the
transaction over many general ledger accounts.
The system ships with standard transaction types set up. You should use these transaction types unless
you require specialised reporting or processing.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Point of Sale Overview • 109

Point of sale processing makes use of accounts payable and accounts receivable transaction types as
well, for customer receipts and supplier payments.

Tender Types
Tender types let you classify the way customers pay you. Usual tender types are cash, credit card, debit
card, cheque, and so on. Using tender types makes it easier to reconcile the money in the cash drawer at
the end of the day, because the system tells you how much of each tender type you should have in the till.
The system ships with standard tender types set up. You should use these as a basis for your tender
types.

Devices
The system can make use of the following types of hardware devices:
● Cash drawers

● Pole Displays

● Serial Receipt Printers

● Parallel Receipt Printers

You can use any, all, or none of these devices, in any combination.
If you use a serial receipt printer, the system lets you customise the layout of your receipt. For parallel
receipt printers, you use the standard report customisation facility to customise the receipt.

Tills
You use tills to define an agent's responsibilities in terms of the cash they receive. All point of sale reports
let you range on tills. The cash-up process at the end of the day or the shift works on a till basis.
You can assign each agent their own till, or agents can share the same tills.
In addition, you can link a till to one or more cash drawer, pole display, and receipt printer. The system will
then use these devices when processing sales and returns.
110 • Point of Sale Overview Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Point of Sale Processing


Point of sale processing includes the following three processing functions:

Function What it Does


You use this function to enter the float, process petty cash and bank transactions,
Transactions process receipts from customers and payments to suppliers, and to record excesses
and shortfalls.
Sales You use this function to process sales.
Returns You process returns via this function.

The sales and returns functions are essentially the same as the invoicing and credit note functions in the
inventory module. The only difference is that when you process the invoice, the system lets you enter
customer payment information.
It is important to have strict control over the point of sale process. Agents deal with cash, and both the
agents and the company need to know that the agent fully accounts for all monies on a daily or shift basis.

Sample daily point of sale procedure


1. When a day or a shift starts up, the agent enters the float via the Transactions function.
2. As the agent processes sales and returns, the system keeps track of the monies moving into and out
of the till.
3. The agent should process all other movements of monies into or out of the till via the Transactions
function, using the appropriate transaction type, which would be one of the following:

Transaction
Examples
Type
Banking The supervisor takes funds out of the till, or the operator's final cash-up total.
Excess Use this to post any unaccounted excess cash in the till at the end of the day.
Use this to post the initial cash the supervisor places in the till at the start of the
Float
day.
Payment You use this to process payments to suppliers.
Petty Cash You use this to process movements of monies out of the till for minor expenses.
Receipt You use this to process receipts from customers.
Shortage Use this to post any unaccounted shortage in the till at the end of the day.

4. At the end of the day or the shift, the agent counts the cash in the till, and runs the Till Cashup report
to check for any discrepancies. If there are discrepancies that have no explanations, there will be a till
shortage or excess. Enter the discrepancy via the Transactions function.
5. Once the agent can account for all monies, they process a banking transaction in the Transactions
function for the full amount in the till and then print the Till Cashup report again. The agent then hands
the report and the monies to their supervisor.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Setting Up Point of Sale • 111

Setting Up Point of Sale


You need to set up some elements before you can start point of sale processing. In this section, we look at
these elements:

Function What it Does


You use transaction types to control transaction entry. They also let you group
Transaction Types
similar transactions together.
Rounding You can set up invoice rounding.
Tender Types These let you define how a customer pays you (cash, credit card, and so on).
Devices The system lets you set up cash drawers, pole displays, and slip printers.
Tills You can link devices together to form a till. Tills control cash totals.
Till Slip Layout You use this option to design receipt layouts for serial slip printers.
Defaults Here you set important processing options.
112 • Setting Up Point of Sale Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Transaction Types
Transaction types are critical elements of your processing. Each transaction type determines the sign of
the transaction, whether it is a debit or credit, as well as the general ledger accounts into which the system
writes balances.
Storing this information in the transaction type makes actual transaction processing a simple data entry
process. Very little knowledge or experience is required in order to enter the transactions, because the
transaction type setup determines what fields agents need to enter.
Note that the system uses accounts receivable and accounts payable transaction types in this module as
well.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Point of Sale...Transaction Types menu option, or via the
system tree Point of Sale...Maintenance...Transaction Types function:

Choose whether the transactions debits or credits the supplier account.


Use the Tax check box to specify whether the transaction is subject to tax.
Select the applicable tax group from the drop down menu.
In the General Ledger Accounts frame, you set the debit and credit general ledger accounts for the
transaction. You can allow agents to override these accounts.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Setting Up Point of Sale • 113

Rounding
You can set up invoice rounding rules. You do this in the Rounding tab of the Accounts Receivable
Defaults function:

Usually, you only round point of sale invoices, where customers may pay in cash. However, you have the
option of rounding all customer invoices, even if you process via the Inventory and Order Entry modules.
114 • Setting Up Point of Sale Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Tender Types
When customers pay for goods at the point of sale terminal, you classify the types of payment the
customers use. In this function, you set up the tender types you require. When you create a new company,
the system creates some tender types automatically. You can use these, modify them, or create your own
tender types.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Point of Sale...Tender Types menu option, or via the
system tree Point of Sale...Maintenance...Tender Types function:

Use the Force Narrative check box to force to ensure agents enter the credit card number.
In the House Limit Amount field, you can set a maximum amount to accept in any one transaction. You
usually use this for cheques.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Setting Up Point of Sale • 115

Devices
If you use hardware devices such as cash drawers, pole displays, and slip printers, you need to set them
up in the system. You then set up a till by selecting one or more of these devices.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Point of Sale...Devices menu option, or via the system tree
Point of Sale...Maintenance...Devices function:

The type can be one of cash drawer, pole display, or receipt printer.
You configure the device so the system can access it.
116 • Setting Up Point of Sale Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Tills
Tills have two important uses:
● Once you set up your individual hardware devices, you group these into a till. The system then knows
how to operate a pay point.

● The system stores processing totals on a till basis. Even if you do not use hardware devices, you
would still create one or more tills to store a point of sale processing session.

You access this function via the Maintenance...Point of Sale...Tills menu option, or via the system tree
Point of Sale...Maintenance...Tills function:

You can link a till to devices you set up in the Devices function.
If you use the Multi-Warehousing add-on module, you can situate a till in a warehouse.

Till Slip Layout


If you print receipts for customers via a serial slip printer, you use this option to customise the layout of the
receipt. If you use a parallel slip printer or a standard printer to print a receipt, you use the system's
standard customisation facilities to customise the layout.
You can create separate layouts for each of the following:
● Inclusive Invoice

● Exclusive Invoice

● Inclusive Credit Note

● Exclusive Credit Note

● Payment Receipt
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Setting Up Point of Sale • 117

You access this function via the Maintenance...Point of Sale...Till Slip Layout menu option. On the system
tree, choose the Point of Sale...Maintenance function and then choose Till Slip Layout in the work area:

A layout contains three areas: a header, a body, and footer.


You can enter field names, which the system substitutes with data when it prints. Choose and set a
variable's options on the left and the system copies them into the area on the right.

The Preview button shows you the layout of the till slip when it prints:
118 • Setting Up Point of Sale Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Defaults
You use this function to set up important processing options. You access this function via the
Maintenance...Point of Sale...Defaults menu option. On the system tree, choose the Point of Sale...
Maintenance function and then choose Defaults in the work area:

In the Receipt Numbering frame, you set how numbering works. We suggest that you use automatic
numbering.
If you use a pole display, enter a message in the Line 1/2 fields that displays when the till is not
processing a sale.
In the Options frame, choose whether agents should do open item allocations if customers pay account
balances via the point of sale till.
In the Till Transactions tab, you specify settings for the types of transactions that can occur:

For each type of transaction, you link a transaction type, which specifies the general ledger, customer,
and supplier accounts to use. You also link a default tender type, which you can change for each
transaction.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Point of Sale Processing • 119

Point of Sale Processing


Once you set up all the point of sale elements, you are ready to begin processing. In this section, we cover
the following areas:

Function What it Does


You use this function to enter the float, process petty cash and bank transactions,
Transactions process receipts from customers and payments to suppliers, and to record excesses
and shortfalls.
Sales You use this function to process sales.
Returns You process returns via this function.

Transactions
You use this function to process any type of transaction, except for sales and refunds, which affects the
amount of money in the till. In this way, there is a detailed audit trail of all activity relating to cash
movement.
You access this function via the Transactions...Point of Sale...Transactions menu option. On the system
tree, choose the Point of Sale...Transactions function and then choose Transactions in the work area:

The Till Transaction field can be Banking, Excess, Float, Payment, Petty Cash, Receipt, or Shortage.
Choose the tender type (cash, cheque, credit card, and so on) for the transaction.
Enter the transaction details. Fields you can use vary according to the type of transaction you process.
120 • Point of Sale Processing Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Sales and Returns


The main activity you carry out with point of sale processing is to sell goods to customers. You also
sometimes have to take goods back.
You access the Sales function via the Transactions...Point of Sale...Sales menu option. On the system
tree, choose the Point of Sale...Transactions function, and then choose Sales in the work area. You
access the Returns function via the Transactions...Point of Sale...Returns menu option. On the system
tree, choose the Point of Sale...Transactions function, and then choose Returns in the work area:

You process a sale in the same way as an invoice, and a return in the same way as a credit note.
In the Barcode field in the table, you can link to barcode readers to speed up data entry.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Point of Sale Processing • 121

To complete the sale, click the Process button or press <F9>, and the Tender Amounts window displays:

You can enter amounts and narratives (descriptions) for each tender type. You use narratives, for
example, to enter credit card information.
The system keeps track of the amounts as you process. If you enter an excess amount, the system
shows you how much change to hand to the customer.
122 • Point of Sale Enquiries Chapter 9 - Point of Sale

Point of Sale Enquiries


The Enquiries function lets you view the state of each till in the system, for each agent, and for any date.
To access this function, choose the Enquiries...Point of Sale menu option. On the System tree, choose the
Point of Sale...Enquiries function:

To access an enquiry, choose a date, a till number, and an agent. Then, click the View icon to see the
totals for this combination.
Chapter 9 - Point of Sale Point of Sale Reports • 123

Point of Sale Reports


The system has many powerful reports that give you all the output you usually require.
To access Point of Sale reports, choose the Reports...Point of Sale menu option. On the system tree,
choose the Point of Sale...Reports function.
You have the following reports available:

Report What it Does


Cashier Sales This lists sales per cashier.
Inventory Sales This lists sales per inventory item.
Till Cashup This prints a summary and reconciliation of tills.
Till Transactions This prints an audit trail per till.
Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix

This chapter explains the Pricing Matrix module, also referred to as the Discount Matrix
module.
• Pricing Matrix Overview
• Working With the Pricing Matrix Module
126 • Pricing Matrix Overview Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix

Pricing Matrix Overview


When you sell items to customers, you can have multiple standard selling prices. When you create a
customer or supplier, you can assign an automatic discount to each customer and supplier, which applies
a default discount on each line. However, you may need to exercise finer control than an overall discount:
● With customer processing, you may need to have discounts/prices per group of customers, or even
per customer. These prices could apply to groups of inventory items, or to specific items.

● With supplier pricing, you may receive volume discounts from your supplier. In addition, you may wish
to track quoted prices from different suppliers for one or more items.

If you need this type of flexibility and control of prices, you can purchase the Pricing Matrix add-on module,
which gives you the following capabilities:
● You can create volume discount contracts. These pricing structures exist for groups or individual
customers/suppliers and inventory items:

» You create a contract per customer/supplier account or per customer/supplier group.


» Within each contract, you can create an unlimited number of contract lines. Each line can be for
an inventory item or for an inventory group.
» A contract line has an effective date and an expiry date.
» A contract line can have multiple lines representing item quantities. For each quantity, you can
enter either a price or a percentage discount on the price. Either way, the system adjusts the
price on the invoice/goods received voucher line.
● You can create a discount matrix, which works as follows:

» You create a two dimensional matrix, with rows representing customers and columns
representing inventory items. The cells of the matrix contain discount percentages.
» You assign a row of the matrix to a customer or a customer group, and a column of the matrix to
an inventory item or an inventory group.
» When you process a sale of an inventory item to a customer, the system puts the customer's row
and the inventory item's column together and derives the discount percentage to apply to the
invoice line.

Note that both these methods can be applied simultaneously.


Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix Working With the Pricing Matrix Module • 127

Working With the Pricing Matrix


Module
Volume Discount Contracts
The Volume Discount Contracts function gives you powerful additional selling price flexibility. You can
create powerful quantity and date-based discount regimes for individual customers/suppliers, groups of
customers/suppliers, or all customers/suppliers. You can create regimes per inventory item, groups of
items, or all items. These functions work in the identical manner, and we look at customer processing.
You access the customer function via the Maintenance...Accounts Receivable...Volume Discount
Contracts menu option, or via the system tree Accounts Receivable...Maintenance...Volume Discount
Contracts function.
You access the supplier function via the Maintenance...Accounts Payable...Volume Discount Contracts
menu option, or via the system tree Accounts Payable...Maintenance...Volume Discount Contracts
function.
A contract consists of a contract header and contract lines. The contract header looks like this:

A contract can apply to all customers, to a customer group, or to a single customer.


A single contract can have multiple contract lines:
128 • Working With the Pricing Matrix Module Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix

The system allows you to create as many lines for the contract as you require. You choose the
applicable inventory items at the lines level.
Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix Working With the Pricing Matrix Module • 129

In each line, you select the inventory item(s) that the contract applies to, a date range, and the pricing:

In the Contract Line frame, you specify whether the contract applies to all inventory items, an inventory
group, or a single inventory item.
In the date fields, you specify the contract dates.
You specify whether you are discounting a standard price or entering an actual price.
In the table, you enter quantity based discounts or prices. You can create as many lines as you need.
Once you set up the contract, there is no processing work to do. Whenever you invoice a customer, the
system checks automatically for any relevant volume discount contract and applies the relevant price or
discount.
If there is more than one contract, the system applies the most detailed contract available - contract for a
specific customer, for example, is stronger than a contract for an accounts receivable group.
130 • Working With the Pricing Matrix Module Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix

Volume Discount Templates


You access the customer function via the Maintenance...Accounts Receivable...Volume Discount
Templates menu option, or via the system tree Accounts Receivable...Maintenance...Volume Discount
Templates function.
You access the supplier function via the Maintenance...Accounts Payable...Volume Discount Templates
menu option, or via the system tree Accounts Payable...Maintenance...Volume Discount Templates
function.
Chapter 10 - Pricing Matrix Working With the Pricing Matrix Module • 131

Discount Matrix
The discount matrix gives you additional functionality as regards discounts on inventory items. It lets you
set up a matrix of percentage discounts, which you link to customer and inventory records and/or customer
and inventory groups. You can also use the discount matrix for supplier prices in the same way.
To access the accounts receivable discount matrix function, choose the Maintenance...Accounts
Receivable...Discount Matrix menu option. On the system tree, choose the Accounts Receivable...
Maintenance function.
To access the accounts payable discount matrix function, choose the Maintenance...Accounts
Payable...Discount Matrix menu option. On the system tree, choose the Accounts Payable...Maintenance
function:

The columns apply to inventory, and the rows apply to customers.


The cell where the row and column intersect indicates the discount the customer receives for the
inventory.

Volume Discount Reports


You have Volume Discount Reports available for customers and suppliers. These reports list volume
discount transactions.
Chapter 11 - Procurement

This chapter explains the Procurement module.


• Procurement Overview
• Setting up Procurement
• Working with Procurement
• Procurement Enquiries and Reports
134 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

Procurement Overview
The Procurement add-on module allows you to control purchase order processing. There are two separate
processes:
● You can set the system up so that purchase orders need approval before they are processed. You
can apply the approval process for all purchase orders, or orders over a certain amount, which you
specify per agent or per agent group.

● If there are separate agents who obtain pricing in your company, then, prior to placing a purchase
order, you can issue a requisition detailing your requirements. Once the agent(s) obtain pricing and
availability for the item(s) you requisition, they approve the requisition. The original, requesting agent
receives a notification, and they can then turn the requisition into a purchase order. The purchase
order may in turn go through the approval process.

The Procurement add-on module makes extensive use of the Contact Management Premium add-on
module to send requests, notifications, and authorisations between agents. This involves the setting up of
workflows and incident types, and the use of incidents. To set up procurement processing, you need
knowledge of this module.
If you are also using Contact Management for other purposes, the system keeps the procurement process
and the other purposes separate. For example, you specify per workflow and per incident type that they
are for use in the purchase order process.

Approving Purchase Orders


You can specify per agent whether they need approval, and if so, you can specify an amount below which
they do not need approval.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Overview • 135

The system works via Workflows:

This workflow uses a single step only. If you have a hierarchy where agents can approve larger
purchase orders, you would use multiple steps. This would allow agents who can approve lower
amounts to approve all the lower amounts, and agents who can approve higher amounts would only
receive those higher amount requests.
136 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

You also need to create an incident type for purchase orders:

Check the Purchase Order Incident Type check box to allow the system to use the incident type in the
Procurement module.
We will walk through a typical approval scenario.
Agent Alicha’s purchase orders require approval. We set this in agent maintenance:

Note that you can assign settings per agent group instead of per individual agent. In this case, we have
specified that this agent always needs authorisation for any purchase order.
The system uses the Incident Type to manage the flow of the incidents.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Overview • 137

Agent Alicha starts a purchase order:

The Request Approval button is active, and the Process button is inactive. To send the approval
request, click the Request Approval button.
Note that the window header also indicates that the purchase order requires authorisation.
If the agent needs approval for purchase orders that are over a specified value, then the Request
Approval button activates only when the order value is over that limit.
Agent Alicha cannot continue with the purchase order until the agent in the workflow step, in this case
Admin (see the Workflow screen above), approves the purchase order.
138 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

On the Admin agent's workstation, the authorisation request shows in their My Desktop:

The system generated the authorisation incident automatically when agent Mike requested the
authorisation.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Overview • 139

The Admin agent double clicks the authorisation line to open the incident:
140 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

To proceed, click the New Action button:

You cannot approve or reject until you view the actual purchase order. Click the View Purchase Order
button to see the purchase order details.
Once you view the purchase order, you can then approve it or reject it.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Overview • 141

Once the Admin agent approves the purchase order, it shows up in agent Alicha's My Desktop, in the My
Notifications section:
142 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

When the agent opens the purchase order, the system displays it as approved, and the agent can continue
to process:

Note the header now specifies the approved state of the purchase order.

You can re-action a rejected purchase order.


Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Overview • 143

Processing Requisitions
Prior to the purchase order approval process, you can have a requisition process. You use this when you
have separate persons in the company who obtain the best possible prices for products. Once they obtain
the optimal prices, you can then proceed into the purchase order process.
The requisition process starts with a requisition from agent Mike:

Each line specifies an item you wish to purchase. You can specify a supplier, or leave the supplier
blank.
You route the request to an escalation group or an agent, and you specify an incident type. You can
route each line individually.
144 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

When you post the requisition, the specified agent(s), in this case the agent Admin, receive a notification in
their My Requisitions section:
Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Overview • 145

When they open the requisition, they can adjust the details:

The Admin agent can change the supplier and the pricing, and update the expected delivery date.
To approve the requisition, change the status to approve.
Once the process is complete, the agent clicks the Post Requisition button to complete the requisition.
Agent Alicha receives notification that the Admin agent processed the requisition:
146 • Procurement Overview Chapter 11 - Procurement

Agent Alicha then uses the Requisitions to Purchase Orders function:

Each approved line is on a separate line in the table.


In the Select column, check each line for which you wish to create a purchase order.
Check line/s and then click the Process button, and the system shows the purchase orders it will create:

The table at the top shows the purchase order/s the system will create.
The table below shows the purchase order line/s for the order selected in the top table.
Click the Place Orders & Close button to create the purchase orders.
You can then use the Purchase Orders function to open the purchase orders and process them. If you are
using purchase order authorisation as well, you have to request approval for the purchase order.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Setting up Procurement • 147

Setting up Procurement
In this section, we cover setup areas that are specific to the Procurement module.

Procurement Defaults
You set up requisition numbering in the Procurement Defaults function.
To access this function, select the Maintenance...Procurements...Defaults function. On the system tree,
choose the Procurement...Maintenance option, and select the Defaults function from the work area. Note
that this function does not display directly on the system tree:
148 • Setting up Procurement Chapter 11 - Procurement

Setting who Requires Authorisation


In order for the authorisation process to happen, you have to set the conditions under which the system
initiates the authorisation process. This can occur in three places:
● In the Purchase Order tab of the Order Entry Defaults function

● In the Purchase Order tab of the Agent Group function

● In the Purchase Order tab of the Agent function

The tabs all look substantially the same:

To enable the authorisation process, you have to set either the Always Requires Authorisation or Requires
Authorisation over Limit option for one or more agents, agents groups, or at the Defaults function.

Workflows
Workflows determine the flow of who handles the purchase order approval:

You have to specify the workflow as applying to purchase orders.


This workflow uses a single step only. If you have a hierarchy where agents can approve larger
purchase orders, you would use multiple steps. This would allow agents who can approve lower
amounts to approve all the lower amounts, and agents who can approve higher amounts would only
receive those higher amount requests.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Setting up Procurement • 149

Incident Types
You need to create an incident type for purchase orders processing in the Contact Management module.
You access this function via the Maintenance...Procurement...Incidents...Incident Type function. On the
system tree, choose the Procurement...Maintenance...Incidents...Incident Type function:

Check the Purchase Order Incident Type check box to allow the system to use the incident type in the
Procurement module.
150 • Working with Procurement Chapter 11 - Procurement

Working with Procurement


In this section, we look at the procurement-specific functions concerned with requisitions. To see how
procurement works in the purchase orders themselves, see the overview section earlier in this chapter.

New Requisition
This function lets you enter new requisitions. Once you post the requisitions, other agents obtain best
pricing for the products you require and approve your requisition. Once they do so, you can turn the
approved requisition into one or more purchase orders, using the Requisitions to Purchase Orders
function.
You access this function via the Transactions...Procurement...New Requisition menu option. On the
system tree, choose the Procurement...Transactions option, and choose New Requisition in the work area.
Note that this function does not display directly on the system tree:

Each line specifies an item you wish to purchase. You can specify a supplier, or leave the supplier
blank.
You route the request to an escalation group or an agent, and you specify an incident type. You can
route each line individually.
Once you complete the requisition lines, click Post Requisition to send the requisition to the buying
agents.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Working with Procurement • 151

My Requisitions
Once an agent issues a requisition, it appears in the My Requisitions section of one or more agents, who
have to obtain the pricing for the items. When these agents open the requisition line, the requisition
window opens.
You access this function via the My Desktop...My Requisitions menu option. On the system tree, choose
the My Desktop...My Requisitions option:
152 • Working with Procurement Chapter 11 - Procurement

When you open the requisition, you can adjust the details:

The Admin agent can change the supplier and the pricing, and update the expected delivery date.
To approve the requisition, change the status to approve.
Once the process is complete, the agent clicks the Post Requisition button to complete the requisition.
Once you find prices and approve requisition lines, the originating agent can turn them into one or more
purchase orders, using the Requisitions to Purchase Orders function.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Working with Procurement • 153

Requisitions to Purchase Orders


After you create a requisition, another agent obtains pricing and delivery information and approves the
requisition. Once this happens, you can convert the requisition into one or more purchase orders. You use
this function to do so.
Once a requisition that you create has been approved or rejected, you receive a notification in the My
Desktop...Notifications function. Once you receive the notification, you know to use this function.
You access this function via the Transactions...Procurement...Requisitions to Purchase Orders function.
On the system tree, choose the Procurement...Transactions function, and then choose Requisitions to
Purchase Orders in the work area. Note that this function does not display on the system tree.

Each approved line is on a separate line in the table.


In the Select column, check each line for which you wish to create a purchase order.
154 • Working with Procurement Chapter 11 - Procurement

Check both lines and then click the Process button, and the system shows the purchase orders it will
create:

The table at the top shows the purchase orders the system will create.
The table below shows the purchase order lines for the order selected in the top table.
Click the Place Orders & Close button to create the purchase orders.
You can then use the Purchase Orders function to open the purchase orders and process them. If you are
using purchase order authorisation as well, you have to request approval for the purchase order. The
option is also available to reject the requisition, if so, then the agent can reopen the requisitions and re-
action the requisition for approval.
Chapter 11 - Procurement Procurement Enquiries and Reports • 155

Procurement Enquiries and Reports


You have the following enquiries and reports available:

Option What it Does


Authorisation Incident
This enquiry option lets you view the authorisation incident database.
History
Requisition Incident History This enquiry options lets you view the requisition incident database.
This report lets you select a requisition, and it shows the status of each
Requisition Report
line.
Requisition Listing This report lists requisitions and their status.
Chapter 12 - Serial Number
Tracking

This chapter explains the Serial Number Tracking module.


• Serial Number Tracking Overview
• Working with Serial Number Tracking
158 • Serial Number Tracking Overview Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking

Serial Number Tracking Overview


Sometimes you need to track items individually. For example, if you sell items that have warranties, you
need to know when you sold the item, and whom you sold the item to, so that you know whether it is under
warranty. The system can track serial numbers per item for you. However, working with serial number
items entails extra work each time you purchase, transfer, and/or sell an item, because you have to
choose a serial number each time there is activity for that item. You should therefore only enable this
feature on items that require it.
You can control your serial numbers in two ways:

Method What it Does


With this method, you assign a serial number to an item as it arrives in
the system. From then on, you track the movement of the item by its
Strict Serial Numbers serial number until you sell the item. If a customer returns the item, you
can continue to track it. Usually, you use this method when you purchase
serial number items and then sell them.
With this method, you can assign serial numbers whenever there is a
movement of the item in or out of stock, such as when you purchase,
transfer, or sell the item. You do this if, for example, you physically
Non-Strict Serial Numbers
serialise the item as you sell it, or assign it a serial number on the invoice
and not on the product itself. Note that you can even choose not to
assign a serial number at all to a particular item.

You choose a method of control per inventory item.


For both methods, you can also choose whether serial numbers are unique per item. Usually, they are.
Sometimes, however, this may not be the case. For example, you may have a batch of items that you wish
to assign the same number.
Once you create a serial number item, working with them is simple. For strict serial number items, you
have to enter a serial number for each item whenever you process a transaction that involves movement of
the item. This includes purchasing, manufacturing, returning to a supplier, transferring from one item to
another, transferring from one warehouse to another, counting inventory (taking stock), selling, and
crediting the item.
For non-strict serial numbers, you have the opportunity, for each of these functions, of assigning a serial
number.
"Assigning a serial number to an item" has two different aspects:
● At some stage, you have to create the serial numbers of the items. For strict serial number items, this
happens as you bring the items into the system. For non-strict serial number items, this can happen at
the same time as you sell the item. You can create serial numbers by entering individual numbers or
by specifying a prefix and letting the system generate sequential serial numbers for you.

● Once serial numbers exist, then, if you for example sell or transfer items to another warehouse, then
you have to pick serial numbers to use from the existing ones.

The system lets you trace the full history of an item via its serial number. There are also various serial
number reports that let you analyse and view serial number history.
Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking Serial Number Tracking Overview • 159

Serial number tracking is different from the Lot Tracking add-on module. With serial numbers, each
individual inventory item has a serial number. With lots, each batch of items has the same lot number,
which is unique to that batch.
160 • Working with Serial Number Tracking Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking

Working with Serial Number Tracking


Inventory Maintenance
Once you install the Serial Number Tracking module, the serial number fields on the item master activate.
When you create an inventory item, you specify that it is a serial number item, and choose the type of
serialisation you require:

You can allow unique serial numbers or duplicate serial numbers per item.
With strict processing, you allocate a serial number from time of purchase or time of manufacture. With
non-strict processing, you allocate a serial number as you sell the item.

Serial Number Allocations


Whenever you process a transaction for a serial number item, you can, or may have to, allocate a serial
number for each unit of the item. This involves initially generating or entering the serial number, and then
allocating it. You invoke the serial number allocation window via a processing line. For example:
Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking Working with Serial Number Tracking • 161

In this example, taken form a goods received voucher line, you are purchasing 300 items. The serial
number column shows that you have not allocated serial numbers yet. Click the serial number field to
generate the serial numbers:

You can enter each serial number individually, or you can enter a starting serial number and the system
can generate a sequence of serial numbers.
The generated serial numbers all display in the selected list box:

The goods received line now reflects the fact that you have allocated serial numbers:
162 • Working with Serial Number Tracking Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking

When you sell serial number items, you allocate serial numbers for each item you sell:

Click the top icon between the list boxes to allocate the serial numbers automatically, from the lowest
serial number onward.
Select one or more serial numbers from the Available list box and click the single right-arrow icon to use
all the selected serial numbers.
Chapter 12 - Serial Number Tracking Working with Serial Number Tracking • 163

Serial Number Enquiries


There is a Serial Numbers Enquiry function. This lets you choose an origin point, such as an inventory
item, accounts receivable account, or just the list of serial numbers. You then choose a serial number to
see all of its history:

Serial Number Reports


The Serial Number Listing report shows the current location of serial number items. For each serial
number, the report shows the item code and description, the date of its last movement, the current general
location in stock, issued to a client, and so on), and its detailed location (warehouse name, customer
account number, and so on).
The Serial Number Transactions report shows all transactions for a serial number. It shows one
transaction per line, and for each line, it shows the serial number, item code and description, transaction
date and reference, the customer/supplier account code, and the originating module.
Chapter 13 – European Union /
Intrastat

In this chapter, we look at how you process if you are in the European Union and you
trade with other EU countries.
• European Union and Intrastat Processing
166 • European Union and Intrastat Processing Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat

European Union and Intrastat


Processing
You need to use European Union (EU) processing if you are selling goods from one EU country to another,
and the value of your sales exceeds a value specified by the EU. This section assumes that:
● You are familiar with EU and Intrastat concepts and reporting requirements.

● You are already familiar with the accounting modules. We only discuss additional items or capabilities
available when you enable EU processing.

In this section, all references to program functions are menu access references. To use the system tree,
reverse the first two items in the menu link. For example, you access the Company Details function via the
Maintenance...Common...Company Details menu option, or the Common...Maintenance...Company
Details system tree option. Note that some functions may not display directly on the system tree, and you
access them from the work area.
You enable EU processing in the Maintenance...Common...Company Details function:

In the European Union frame, you enable EU processing and choose your home country.
Once you enable EU processing, the system enables additional maintenance options and tabs, which we
work through here. Note that you should log out of the company and login again once you enable EU
processing.
Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat European Union and Intrastat Processing • 167

EU Countries
When you enable EU processing, the system creates a standard list of EU countries. You can maintain
these if you need to via the Maintenance...Common...EU Countries function:
168 • European Union and Intrastat Processing Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat

EU Nature of Transaction Codes


When you enable EU processing, the system creates a standard list of Nature of Transaction Codes. You
can maintain these if you need to via the Maintenance...Common...EU Nature of Transaction Codes
function:

Commodity Codes
The system does not create standard commodity codes, since there are too many. You have to enter the
commodity codes you use.
You maintain commodity codes in the Maintenance...Inventory...Commodity Codes function:

Supplementary Units
When you enable EU processing, the system creates a standard list of supplementary units. You can
maintain these if you need to via the Maintenance...Inventory...Supplementary Units function:
Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat European Union and Intrastat Processing • 169
170 • European Union and Intrastat Processing Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat

Delivery Methods
When you enable EU Processing, the system adds standard codes to any existing delivery methods. You
can maintain these in the Maintenance...Inventory...Delivery Methods function:

Inventory Items
When you maintain inventory items, in the Maintenance...Inventory...Inventory Items function, the system
adds a European Union tab:

Add the commodity code, supplementary unit, and net mass fields to each item.
Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat European Union and Intrastat Processing • 171

Customer and Suppliers


The system enables a European Union frame in the Tax tab of the Customers and Suppliers maintenance
functions:

In this frame, you specify the account's EU country. You can also specify a tax type, which will override
the tax type on an inventory item when you purchase or sell. Usually, you set the overriding tax type to a
zero percentage tax type.

Selling and Purchasing


When you process customer and supplier documents, the header shows a Other tab, in which you can
enter the Nature of Transaction code:

This tab only shows for customers / suppliers who have an EU country code, and if the code is not the
same as the company's.
172 • European Union and Intrastat Processing Chapter 13 – European Union / Intrastat

The same applies if you use the Job Costing add-on module, and process a job card:

Reports
By merging the customer / supplier country code, the nature of transaction code on the document header,
and the inventory item information, the system tracks sales and purchases on a line-by-line basis in order
to prepare reports.
The reports are:
● The EC Sales List reports on sales values between EU countries.

● The Intrastat Supplementary Declarations report lists the movement of items from and to EU
countries.
Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence
Centre

In this chapter, we look at the Sage Intelligence Centre add-on module.


• Sage Intelligence Centre Overview
• Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre
174 • Sage Intelligence Centre Overview Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre

Sage Intelligence Centre Overview


This add-on module lets you utilise the power of Microsoft Excel for reporting purposes. There are two
versions of this module, the Standard Edition and the Advanced Edition.
The Standard Edition provides ready-boxed intelligent Excel reporting on your standard data. In addition,
you can use the existing reports to create new reports. You can also write your own reports in Excel.
The Advanced Edition adds additional tools for skilled users and/or consultants. This powerful and cost
effective report writing solution allows you to deliver Excel reports from any ODBC-compliant data source.
For example:
● You can generate consolidated financial reports from any number of companies in one Excel
workbook.
● You can create Excel reports that combine data from one or more Sage Pastel companies as well as
any other third-party compliant database.
● You can use SQL or Excel formulas to convert data into new fields. For example, convert a date into a
week.
● You can create new containers (views) to write reports that combine data in ways the standard reports
do not.
Some features of the Business Intelligence Centre are:
● The system ships as standard a monthly boardroom pack. You can include drill-down to detailed
ledger transactions, all in one Excel workbook.
● The system contains standard, customisable, and automated sales reporting using Excel’s pivot
tables.
● The system makes tables and fields available to you so that you can create your own customer
reports.
● You can generate graphs.
● You can import reports written by certified consultants.
● You can create report parameters such as period ranges.
● You can create sub query reports, where one report passes its data into another one.
● You can create union reports, where you access data from different sources.
● You can schedule reports and run them in batches.
Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre • 175

Working with the Sage Intelligence


Centre
The Sage Intelligence Centre lets you utilise the power of Microsoft Excel for reporting purposes.

Why Excel?
Microsoft Excel is the standard data manipulation and reporting tool for today's managers. As an Excel
user, you already use Excel to analyse data, make projections, simulate situations, generate graphs, and
so on. Excel is a specialist tool built to let you manipulate, slice and dice your data, and it does it superbly.
The central issue is getting data into Excel so that you can manipulate it in the ways you want. That data is
sitting in your accounting system. As your operators enter accounting data, and generate the day-to-day
reports and analyses that you require, they are also generating the base data that you need for
management analysis. This type of analysis moves beyond the strictly accounting realm into the realm of
advanced management, reporting, and planning.
Sage Intelligence Centre does two main things for you:
● It creates base data in Excel right out of your accounting system that is as accurate and as up to date
as possible.
● It provides you with useful reports and analyses as an optional starting point.
By extracting the data into a worksheet, Sage Intelligence Centre lets you work with the data outside of the
accounting system, where you can manipulate it at your leisure. To do this, Sage Intelligence Centre
makes extensive use of workbooks. This allows you to:
● Separate data from reports
● Generate multiple reports in a single worksheet
This makes your management workflow efficient and easy to control.
Once the data is in an Excel worksheet, you can create new reports, analyses, and graphs yourself, or you
can use the tools supplied with Sage Intelligence Centre. You can use these tools as is, or you can modify
them to suit your requirements. One of the tools, for example, is a set of management accounts that will
produce professional looking income statements and balance sheets for various period ranges.
176 • Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre

Extracting Data
Sage Intelligence Centre has various tools for extracting the data you require from your accounting
database. You can use the system in a relatively automated fashion, or, if you have the expertise, you can
source data from multiple accounting databases or any third party ODBC-compliant data.
Sage Intelligence Centre makes use of the following objects to extract all and only the data you require:
● A Data Connection holds the relevant connection information to connect to a supported ODBC or
OLEDB compliant Data Source. You use this Data Connection object for all connections to this Data
Source. An automatic connection system links to your accounting database system. A single Data
Connection typically represents a set of company data. You can create as many connections as you
require.
● A Data Container is set of Data the System Administrator makes available. It gives you access to the
data using the Report Manager. The source of this data can be a database table, a view, a stored
procedure, or a join based on two or more tables/views. You use the latter, for example, to access
invoice headers and their associated lines. Typical data containers could be the set of general ledger
transactions for the year, customers over their credit limit, and so on. You can create as many Data
Containers as you require.
● A Data Expression is usually a field in a Data Container chosen by the System Administrator to be
available through the Report Manager. For example, the Administrator chooses which fields on a
customer master file are available. A Data Expression can also be a SQL Expression or an Excel
formula. You can create as many Data Expressions as you require.
Once all the containers and expressions are set up (if you do not use the standard ones), you create or
edit a report to move the data. Most of the time, all you need to do is to choose the fields from the various
database tables in the system. Besides choosing which fields, you can include powerful filters to ensure
that you only have the data you require. You can also specify a sort order for the data you are generating.
You access Sage Intelligence Centre via the system tree... Reports or the Sage Intelligence Centre menu
option. You choose the option you require from the sub menus.
In the Report Manager function, you create reports using data sources. To access this function, choose the
Sage Intelligence Centre...Report Manager menu option. On the system tree, choose the Sage Intelligence
Centre...Report Manager function. Here is a small sample report that extracts invoices greater than
10,000:

In the report's Filters tab, we limit the report to include invoices with a total value greater than 10,000.
You use the other tabs to sort data and specify column sequences. In the Properties tab, you can link to
an Excel report template. The system ships with standard templates, which you can modify. You can
also add new templates.
Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre • 177

In the Columns tab, you select the fields you require in the report:

You can run the report simply by right clicking the report in the above screen and then choosing the Run
option from the menu:

We did not use a template, so the report generates as a standard spreadsheet.


178 • Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre

Standard Reports and Templates


The system ships with a powerful set of standard reports and templates. Here is a management pack
example:

Sage Intelligence Centre generates this spreadsheet. The Lookup workbook contains the data that it
extracted from the accounting system.
In the MENU workbook, you can choose a report:

You can click each button to generate the relevant report automatically.
Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre • 179

Here is a balance sheet:

The report is a new workbook. You can create as many workbooks as you require.
You can expand or contract the report levels. Here we expanded the Current Assets section:
180 • Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre

Here is an example of a sales analysis. Sage Intelligence Centre turns raw data that looks like this:
Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre • 181

Into organised tables like this:

You can range within this table on just about any of the fields. Here, we can choose a salesperson:
182 • Working with the Sage Intelligence Centre Chapter 14 – Sage Intelligence Centre

You can turn these values into graphs:

Finally, here is an example of a dashboard interface that summarises key values graphically:
Chapter 15 – Mobile

In this chapter, we look at the Mobile module.


• Mobile Overview
• Mobile Processing
184 • Mobile Overview Chapter 15 – Mobile

Mobile Overview
The Mobile module allows you to access your company's live Evolution data via an Internet connection on
a Mobile / Smartphone device.
You have access to the following services:
● Lookup customers
» Address and contact details
» Terms and pricing information
» Last invoice and payment dates
» Last 10 transactions
» Open Contact Management incidents
● Lookup inventory
» Product details
» Quantities on hand
» Pricing for different price lists
» Stock and pricing details for each warehouse (on hand, on PO, on SO)
» Image if available
● Place sales orders
» Capture sales orders directly into Evolution, with document and line item discounts and line item
notes
» Allows you to email the order to your customer

Installing the Mobile Module


You need to install software on your mobile device and on the Internet server where your Evolution data
resides. Detailed installation instructions are on the Evolution DVD.
For more information, contact your local Sage Pastel Business Partner. Visit www.sagepastel.com or email
us at info@sagepastel.com.
Chapter 15 – Mobile Mobile Processing • 185

Mobile Processing
Once you install the system, there is no change on the Evolution side. The system handles all queries and
orders automatically.
In this section, therefore, we look at the functions you have on the mobile device.

To log in to the mobile device


1. In the Internet Explorer screen, log in to the server name. This name is determined at setup time. It
will have the following format:
http://ServerName/GatewayDirectory/MobileDirectory/Login.asp
2. Choose the company you require, and login as you would in Evolution.
3. The Main Menu displays, which allows you to select the various options.
4. To log out of the company module, click the Logout option from the main menu. The system returns
you to the login screen.

To perform a customer or inventory lookup


1. Choose the Customer Lookup option in the main menu.
2. Once you enter the customer account number or name, click the Submit button. The system shows
you the relevant customer details. Click the Main Menu option in the customer details screen to return
to the main menu.
3. To perform an inventory lookup, choose the Inventory Lookup option in the main menu in the same
manner.

To place an order
1. To create a Sales Order, choose the Order Entry option from the main menu.
2. Enter the customer code or name and click the Submit button to find the customer.
3. Enter the order header details.
4. Click the Submit button to save the order header.
5. Click the Add Line button to add an inventory line to the order. You then select an inventory item by
entering its code or description. Enter the order quantity, any applicable line discount, and an optional
line note. Click the Submit button to save the line.
6. You can add more lines in the same manner
7. Once you complete adding all the lines, click the Place Order button to accept the order. The Sales
Order Confirmation screen appears. You can email this order to the customer by clicking the Email
button.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

In this chapter, we look at the Fixed Assets module.


• Fixed Assets Overview
• Setting up Fixed Assets
• Fixed Assets Maintenance
• Fixed Assets Processing
• Fixed Assets Reporting
188 • Fixed Assets Overview Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Fixed Assets Overview


Fixed Assets are assets you use in the course of operating your business entity. Goods you purchase for
resale to customers (stock in hand) are not included in the definition of fixed assets. Examples of fixed
assets are furniture, computers, and delivery vehicles.
Businesses have to keep track of fixed assets. The value of fixed assets changes over time and with use.
Mostly, the assets depreciate, but they can also appreciate. Each year, you can expense the depreciation
of your fixed assets. You do this by determining the useful life of an asset, and then depreciating it
regularly. At the end of the asset’s useful life, you have depreciated it fully.

It is vital that you understand the fixed assets structure before you start using it. There are
crucial and irreversible decisions you have to make before you can start working.

Fixed Asset Values


Assets have a number of values associated with them:

Value Explanation
Cost or Purchase Value This is the original cost of the asset.
This is the value of the asset once it has exceeded its useful life. This
Residual Value
could be zero.
This is the normal (accounting) depreciation of the asset. From the
accounting point of view, you may wish to depreciate your asset at a
Book Depreciation
different rate from tax depreciation. The system calculates and tracks tax
and book depreciation separately.
Tax authorities usually impose limits on the value and timing of an asset’s
Tax Depreciation depreciation. You can calculate and claim this depreciation, and the
system tracks and reports this.
You can revalue an asset, provided you can justify the change in value.
This could be an upward or downward revaluation. Once you do so, the
Revaluation Value
system uses the revaluation value to calculate book depreciation. For tax
depreciation, the system always uses the cost value.
You can enter an insurance value for each asset and then produce an
Insurance Value insurance report. This allows you to make accurate assessments for
insurance purposes.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Overview • 189

Depreciation Methods
The system supports seven different types of depreciation:

Method Explanation
You specify the useful life of the asset and you then depreciate the asset by
an equal amount over time. For example, you purchase an asset for 16000,
with an estimated useful life of 4 years. You depreciate the asset by 4000 per
Straight Line and Equal year, or 333.33 per month.
Allowance The difference between these methods is in how you specify the depreciation
rate. With straight line, you specify the percentage, and with equal allowance,
you specify the number of years. In the above example, you set straight line
to be 25% and equal allowance to be four years. The result is identical.
You specify the annual percentage depreciation. Each year, the system
depreciates the remaining value by that percentage. For example, an asset
costs 1000 with 10% depreciation. In the first year, depreciation on 1000 by
Reducing Balance
10% is 100. In the second year, the system takes the 100 that it has already
depreciated off the original cost value of 1000, leaving 900, and then
depreciates that by 10%, giving a depreciation of 90 in the second year.
You specify the useful life of the asset in years. You then set the percentage
Plant and Machinery individually for each year. Of course, the sum total of the depreciation must
be 100%.
With this method, you fully depreciate the asset when you acquire it. There is
Immediate Write Off
no further depreciation.
Some assets age in proportion to the amount you use them. This usually
applies to heavy-duty machinery. For example, the useful life of a machine is
Units of Usage 100,000 hours, and it costs 100,000. The machine depreciates each month
in proportion to the number of hours you use it. With this method, you enter
the monthly usage and the system calculates the depreciation amount.
This does not depreciate the asset at all. Use this method for assets you do
0% Depreciation
not wish to depreciate, but which you still track in the fixed assets database.
Notes:
● Depreciation calculations always work on a periodic basis, and not on a date basis.
● Different types of assets require different methods. You decide with your accountant
and/or auditor which methods, percentages, and periods you should use in your business.
● Some of these methods may not be available in your country. Do not use illegal methods.
190 • Fixed Assets Overview Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Accounting Periods
You create a calendar the system uses to calculate depreciation. This calendar is an ever-expanding set of
years, since assets can be very long-lived.
Over time, you can prevent changes in earlier periods in two ways:
● You can freeze a period so that no one can make changes that affect that period's values. This does
not affect processing speed. It just prevents changes in periods that should not change.

● You can close periods at a certain point to speed up calculations. The system calculates and stores
balances per asset up that point in time, so that it does not have to recalculate older depreciation
amounts. You can reopen and then close periods if you need to.

Both these features are optional. If you have relatively few assets, and processing time is not onerous, you
can leave the periods open and unfrozen.
Once you freeze or close a period, the system prevents you from making changes that would affect
depreciation values in those periods. For example, you cannot create an asset with a purchase date that is
within a frozen or closed period.

Grouping Assets
You have various ways of grouping assets. Some of these are fields in the asset record itself, and others
are separate database records.

Multiple Units
You can group multiple assets that depreciate identically into one asset record. For example, if you
purchase five identical desks, you can create one asset for these. This simplifies the asset register
considerably.
You retain full flexibility with multiple assets. You can sell or dispose of one or more units, and you can split
the asset into one or more separate assets at any time. You do this, for example, if you wish to transfer
some of the assets to another cost centre or location.

Master and Sub Assets


Another way to group assets is by means of sub assets. One good use of sub assets is to add
improvements to an existing asset. For example, you purchase a computer and set it up as an asset.
Later, you add an additional disk drive to the computer. You can create a separate asset for the disk drive,
but then it becomes difficult to manage which disk drive is in which computer. Instead, you can create the
disk drive as a sub asset of the computer asset.
Another example, staying in the computer realm, is to create the initial computer using sub assets. You
can create each element of the computer such as the disk drive, memory, and monitor, as sub assets to
the main computer asset. This increases your level of control of each computer – your asset listing shows
the amount of memory, hard disk size, and monitor type.
A final example is if you split an asset, or sell or scrap a portion of an asset, such as 10 desks that you
create using the multiple units feature. These processes all involve the creation of separate assets. By
linking these to the original asset, you can easily view the history of the asset over time in the company.
Master and sub assets are normal assets in their own right. The only difference is that you link a sub asset
to a master asset. You can link as many sub assets to a master asset as you like.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Overview • 191

Asset type
You link each asset to an asset type. The asset type contains the book and tax depreciation methods for
the asset. The asset type also contains general ledger information. The asset type is a compulsory code.

Cost Centre
This is an analysis code. You can optionally choose to use this code for general ledger expenses. If you
do, its use is compulsory, otherwise it is optional.

Department
This is another optional analysis code, which lets you further analyse a cost centre. This gives you an
additional level of reporting. However, you can range reports on the department code directly.

Location
This is another analysis code. Its use is optional. The location code is independent of the cost centre code
and the department.

Other Fixed Assets Elements


General Ledger Integration
You have three general ledger integration choices available to you:

Element Explanation
No integration takes place. You enter general ledger codes that correspond to
None your accounting system, and derive the values you post to the general ledger
via the reports.
This option only displays if the General Ledger module is in use. This
integrates into the general ledger module of the company in which you process
Local
fixed assets. In this case, you use the general ledger accounts from the
general ledger module.
This integrates into the Sage Pastel Partner range (Version 6 and higher). You
enter the Sage Pastel Partner general ledger codes, and the system creates
Sage Pastel
batch entries in Sage Pastel Partner. Note that you need to install the Sage
Pastel Accounting Toolkit, which is free, in order to make use of this option.

The system also needs accounting period information. You set this up here, regardless of the integration
settings. Note that you must set up accounting periods exactly as they are in your general ledger system.
You also determine how the system should post entries that can arise for earlier periods, if you change the
original purchase price of an asset, for example. You can write the entry into the period(s) in which they
occur, or into the current period.
After some time elapses, you may not want to allow changes far back into the past. The system lets you
freeze periods to prevent any changes from occurring in those periods.
192 • Fixed Assets Overview Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Capital Expenditure Budgets


The system lets you track budgets for capital expenditure. You create budgets per asset type and
optionally per cost centre. You can also create timed bands of expenditure, called phasing. With phasing,
you specify by date how much you expect to use.
If you decide to use capex budgets, then, before you create an asset whose asset type (and optionally
cost centre) has a capex budget, you first enter a capex order.
The advantage of using capex budgets is that you can produce reports at any stage that show over and
under budgeted areas.

Suppliers
You can optionally create supplier records. You use these for record keeping purposes if you purchase
items regularly from the same supplier.

People
You can optionally create and use a person database. You can use the person database to track people
within your company who are responsible for various fixed assets duties. You can also use it for people
who are at your suppliers.

Fixed Assets Processing


The system contains some powerful features. In this section, we summarise these capabilities.

Tracking Depreciation
The primary function of the Fixed Assets module is to calculate book and tax depreciation. You need to be
able to enter this information into the general ledger. The system produces reports that contain all the
necessary information.
In order to produce correct reports each period, the system keeps track of depreciation you have already
posted. If you make a retroactive adjustment, the system calculates an adjustment value per period and
then posts the difference between the originally posted values and the new values. You can post these
adjustments into their respective periods or into the current period. The process works as follows:
● You create codes for your general ledger accounts. To make posting simple, use your existing general
ledger codes / descriptions.
● You set up the accumulated depreciation account in the asset type. This is the credit entry in the
general ledger journal.
● You choose where the debit entry, which is the expense, comes from. You can set up the debit entry
in the asset type as well, or you can set it up in the cost centre. You make this choice as part of the
initial setup of the system, and you cannot change it once you start processing. If you choose to use
the cost centre for general ledger integration, then the cost centre code is compulsory for each asset.
● Once you set these codes up and enter them, the system takes care of everything else:
» The GL Batch option calculates how much depreciation to post per asset, taking into account any
changes you made since the last batch option, and considering the processing date. Typically,
you run this option on a monthly basis.
» You tell the system whether to update these values in the period in which they occur, or in the
current period. For example, you change the purchase price of an asset. The system can create
an entry in each period since the purchase, or it can put the full adjustment in the current period.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Overview • 193

» Once you update the batch, the batch report consolidates the postings per GL account.

Take-on Balances
When you start using the system, you capture your assets. You also need to capture initial take-on values
for these assets, so that the depreciation calculations do not duplicate depreciation you have already
entered into the general ledger. The Take-on Balances function allows you to accomplish this.

Changing Depreciation
Once an asset starts depreciating, you may want to change the depreciation rate. Usually, this happens
when you decide to apply a different rate of depreciation to an asset. This decision is not retroactive, in
other words it applies from now on only. Depreciation up to now is unchanged.

Changing the Value of an Asset


You can revalue an asset, provided you can justify the change in value. This could be an upward or
downward revaluation. Once you do so, the system uses the revaluation value to calculate book
depreciation. For tax depreciation, the system always uses the cost value.

Asset Impairment
If the value of an asset falls so much that it is below its book value, you can perform an asset impairment.

Override Assets
Sometimes an asset's life changes dramatically from the original lifespan you intended. It may suffer
damage, or it may have been overloaded with use, for example. On the other hand, you may wish to
extend an asset's life.
In these, and other, cases, you want to change the useful life of the asset quickly. You can use the
Override Assets feature to specify directly how many periods of useful life remain for the asset. The
system will then depreciate the remaining value equally over these periods.

Transferring Assets
You can analyse depreciation costs by asset type or cost centre. If you move an asset from one code to
another, the system leaves the accumulated depreciation in the old analysis code, and assigns new
depreciation (depreciation from now on) to the new analysis code.
You can transfer individual assets, or you can perform group transfers of assets. Besides asset type and
cost centre transfers, you can also perform group transfers by location, although this does not affect
depreciation. With a group transfer, you move every asset with a particular code to another code. Some
examples of this are:
● You close down location A and move the assets to location B.
● You use cost centres for projects. Once you complete a project, you transfer its existing assets to a
new project. Alternatively, you transfer the assets to head office, from where you will in time transfer
them to other projects.

Selling / Disposing Assets


You do not keep assets forever. They wear out and just cease to be of use, or you sell them. Once you do
so, depreciation on that asset stops. If you sell the asset for more than the net book value of the asset, you
make a profit on the sale. If you sell the asset for less, you incur a loss.
194 • Fixed Assets Overview Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

If the asset is part of a multiple asset, you specify how many of the assets you are selling and/or disposing.
The remainder of the assets remain and continue to depreciate.

Block Assets
It can happen that you wish to suspend depreciation of an asset for a time. For example, you may have an
expensive piece of machinery that you currently do not use. You have the ability to freeze the asset for a
specified amount of time. During this period, the system does not calculate depreciation for the asset.

Asset Reconciliation
The asset reconciliation feature allows you to track the assets in your company easily. The process is as
follows:
● You assign one or more serial numbers to each asset. Typically, this could be a barcode. You can
assign a barcode to each item. For example, if you have 10 office chairs, each chair has their own
barcode. The serial number/barcode must be unique per company.
● You label each asset. Use the Asset Barcode Labels report or the Asset Labels report to print the
labels.
● At any stage, you can move through the company and prepare a list of serial numbers. If you use
barcodes, you can scan the serial numbers in via barcode readers.
● You then use the Asset Reconciliation function to import the barcodes / serial numbers into the
system. This function produces a report that shows any assets that are unaccounted for, and physical
assets in the company that are not in the asset system.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Setting up Fixed Assets • 195

Setting up Fixed Assets


Before you can start using the system, you have to first design and setup the supporting elements. In this
section, we list each element. Since some elements depend on others, you should work through these in
sequence.

Element What it Does


Here you set up some important parameters for fixed assets
Defaults
processing.
You specify a financial calendar for the system to use when
Accounting Periods
calculating depreciation.
You create general ledger accounts so that the system can
Ledger Accounts
produce reports for you to enter into your general ledger.
Here you create specific depreciation methods your company
Depreciation Methods requires. You specify the type of depreciation, as well the
percentage or time period that applies.
Asset types let you define the tax depreciation and book
Asset Types depreciation, as well as other elements, for assets. You link each
asset to an asset type.
You create a grouping for department or any other grouping you
Departments require. This grouping is a subset of cost centres. The use of
departments is optional.
Each asset belongs to a cost centre. Here you create these cost
Cost Centres centres. You can use this for any type of meaningful grouping.
You can also assign departments to cost centres.
Each asset belongs to a location. These could be different
Locations geographic locations, different parts of your office, or any other
type of grouping.
Capital Expenditure Budgets You can optionally create a budget per asset type and cost centre.
Suppliers You can optionally create supplier records.
You can optionally create a database of people who work in the
People
system and/or who work at your suppliers.
196 • Setting up Fixed Assets Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Fixed Assets Defaults


Here you set fixed assets processing options. You access this via the Maintenance...Fixed
Assets...Defaults menu option, or via the system tree Fixed Assets... Maintenance function:

In the GL Adjustment Options frame, choose how Fixed Assets should handle any adjustments it has to
make in earlier periods.
In the Depreciation Period frame, choose the period in which to enter earlier depreciation values. If you
do not do this, Fixed Assets calculates depreciation from the beginning of the life of the asset.
In the Take-on frame, choose when to start depreciating a new asset.
In the Integration tab, you choose how to write entries into the general ledger:

In the Integrate To frame, choose whether, and how, to integrate into a general ledger system.
In the Integrate By frame, choose whether to enter expense ledger accounts per asset type or per cost
centre.
Note that once you start using the system, you cannot change some of these options. You should ensure
that you understand these options and their implications before you start processing.
Note that if you integrate Fixed Assets with Sage Pastel Partner, you will need the Limited Functionality
SDK and the Sage Pastel Partner SDK Access module. You can download these from the Sage Pastel
website.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Setting up Fixed Assets • 197

Accounting Periods
The system uses an internal calendar to know how much depreciation to calculate per period. When you
wish to post these values, the system needs to know how many periods there are in the year so that each
period gets an equal portion of the depreciation.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Accounting Periods menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Accounting Periods function.
You create the calendar in two phases. First, you generate a full year:

Choose the year and its start date.


Then choose how Fixed Assets should create the month end dates. You can edit the individual periods
once you generate the whole year.
Once you generate the year, you use the Edit function to edit each individual period:

In the description column, enter descriptions for each period. You should include the month and year in
the description to ensure you do not pick an incorrect period when you process.
Use the Frozen column to freeze older periods to prevent Fixed Assets from making adjustments in
those periods. This is an optional feature.
There is also a feature to close periods to speed up calculations. This screen shows these periods, but
you cannot edit the Closed and Reopened fields here.
198 • Setting up Fixed Assets Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Ledger Accounts
You need to set up ledger accounts so that the system knows where to allocate entries. These show on
reports, and, if you integrate directly, write into general ledger batches as well. If you integrate fixed assets
directly into the general ledger of this company, you do not need to enter general ledger accounts
separately. This function links directly into the general ledger module's general ledger accounts.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Ledger Accounts menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Ledger Accounts function:

In the Account field, enter the general ledger account number of your general ledger system. This
appears on the GL Batch report, and shows how much to post to each account.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Setting up Fixed Assets • 199

Depreciation Methods
Depreciation methods let you define particular types and rates of depreciation that you use in your
company. You do not link a depreciation method directly to an asset. Instead, you link a depreciation
method to an asset type, and you then link an asset type to an asset.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Depreciation Methods menu option. On
the System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Depreciation Methods function:

Ensure the description contains the method and percentage, so that you can easily select the correct
one.
In the Basis for Depreciation frame, choose the depreciation method. We explain these in the overview.
In the Values frame, you enter values for the depreciation method. The type of field you enter changes
depending on the basis you select.
200 • Setting up Fixed Assets Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Asset Types
You link each asset to an asset type, which is a key element in processing:
● You link an asset type to depreciation methods for book and tax depreciation.
● You link an asset type to a ledger depreciation account for the ledger debit entry.
● You optionally link an asset type to a ledger expense account for the ledger credit.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Asset Types menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Asset Types function:

Ensure the description is meaningful.


In the Depreciation Ledger Accounts frame, enter the depreciation ledger account, and optionally the
depreciation expense account. If you do not enter the expense account here, you enter it per cost
centre.
In the Depreciation Methods frame, choose depreciation methods for the book and tax depreciation.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Setting up Fixed Assets • 201

Departments
Departments are optional analysis codes. They are a further level of analysis of cost centres. To access
this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Departments menu option. On the System tree,
choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Departments function:

Cost Centres
Cost centres are analysis codes. The use of cost centres may be optional or compulsory:
● If you specify, for general ledger integration, that expenses come from cost centres, cost centres are
compulsory.
● If you setup capex budgets by asset type and cost centre, then you would use the cost centre. Note
that you have the option of creating budgets by asset type alone.
● Over and above these considerations, you can set whether cost centres are compulsory in the
Defaults function.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Cost Centres menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Cost Centres function:

The Depreciation Expense Account field does not display if you enter ledger information via the asset
type. Usually, you would enter the expense ledger information here.
202 • Setting up Fixed Assets Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Locations
Locations are an optional, independent analysis code. You attach this code to an asset. You could use this
code to represent floors in an office building, branches, or any other type of analysis you are interested in.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Locations menu option. On the System
tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Locations function:

Capex Budgets
The system lets you track budgets for capital expenditure. You can create a budget per asset type and
optionally per cost centre. You can also create timed bands of expenditure – you specify by date how
much you expect to use.
If you decide to use capex budgets, then, before you create an asset whose asset type and cost centre
combination has a capex budget, you enter a capex order first. When you create the asset, you link it to
the capex order.
The advantage of using capex budgets is that you can produce reports at any stage that show over and
under budgeted areas. You can also produce a capex budget cash flow forecast.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Capex Budgets menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Capex Budgets function:

In the Groups frame, you have to link a budget to an asset type, and you optionally link to a cost centre.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Setting up Fixed Assets • 203

In the Phasing frame, click the Add button to enter a phasing, which consists of a date and an amount. If
you are entering a budget that is not time-sensitive, create one line only.

Suppliers
You can optionally link assets to supplier records. This can be useful at many levels:
● You have a memo of whom you purchased assets from should it require maintenance.
● You can range on the supplier for reports. This can help negotiate volume discounts.
● If you range by supplier and asset type, you can find alternate suppliers.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Suppliers menu option. On the System
tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Suppliers function:
204 • Setting up Fixed Assets Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

People
You can optionally create and use a person database to track people. To access this function, choose the
Maintenance...Fixed Assets...People menu option. On the System tree, choose the Fixed
Assets...Maintenance...People function:
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Maintenance • 205

Fixed Assets Maintenance


Once you set up all your fixed assets elements, you are in a position to capture your assets and enter their
accumulated depreciation to date. You can also enter capex orders to track expenditure.

Asset Master
The asset master file is the main database file for the Fixed Assets module. If you are using capex
budgets, you capture a capex order before you can create an individual asset record.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Assets menu option. On the system tree,
choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Assets function:

In the Master Asset field, you can link assets together on a master / sub basis.
In the Asset Serial Numbers tab, you can enter a serial number or barcode for each asset. You can use
this to reconcile assets from time to time.
The Dates frame lets you specify when depreciation starts.
The Depreciation tabs show current depreciation values.
In the Finance tab, you can enter details of any financing arrangements for this asset.
In the Images tab, you can link pictures of the asset.
As you can see, the asset master uses all the elements we have been looking at.
206 • Fixed Assets Maintenance Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Capex Orders
If you create a capex budget for an asset type, then, when you create a new asset that belongs to that
asset type, you can link the asset to a capex order. If you do this, the system can then produce budget
variance reports. To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Capex Orders menu
option. On the system tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Capex Orders function:

In the Capex Budget field, you link a capex order to a capex budget.

Take-on Balances
When you start using the system, you need to capture your existing assets. You do this via the Asset
Maintenance function.
However, to ensure that the system calculates depreciation correctly requires an additional process. You
need to capture initial take-on values for these assets, so that the depreciation calculations do not
duplicate depreciation you have already entered into the general ledger. The Take-on Balances function
allows you to accomplish this. To access the Take-on Balances function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed
Assets...Take-on Balances menu option. On the system tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...
Take-one Balances function:
Enter current year and prior year book values and tax values for each asset.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 207

Fixed Assets Processing


In this section, we look at the processing you perform on assets. You can perform many types of
transactions on individual assets. The available functions are:

Function What it Does


Revaluing a Single Asset You can revalue an asset, upwards or downwards.
Asset Impairment You can change the value of an asset if it falls below its book value.
You can transfer an asset to another asset type, cost centre, or
Transferring a Single Asset
location.
Sell/Scrap Assets You can sell or scrap an asset in its entirety.
If you have multiple units in an asset, you can sell or scrap some of
Partially Dispose of Assets
these units.
You can split an asset into two. You can do this based on the number
Divide Assets
of units, or based on a percentage.
For assets that depreciate according to their usage, you need to enter
Enter Units of Usage
usage values.
You can specify the remaining life of an asset, in periods, irrespective
Override Assets
of its current depreciation method.
If you are not using an asset and its value does not depreciate while it
Block Assets
is not in use, you can suspend depreciation.
Other processing functions affect the asset register on a group basis or as a whole:

Menu What it Does


Close Periods You can close periods to speed up processing.
You can create transaction batches that calculate and show values to
GL Batch
post to the general ledger.
This lets you revalue purchase and insurance values on a group
Group Revaluations basis. The revaluation uses percentage adjustments you enter in the
asset type record.
This lets you transfer all assets on that group basis between asset
Group Transfers
types, cost centres, and/or locations.
Reminder The processing options we look at here, such as transferring or revaluing an asset,
change an asset's value from a specified point in time onwards. The calculation changes from
the period you specify in the transaction. If you wish to make changes to the asset from the
start of the asset's life, you do this by editing the values on the asset master file.
208 • Fixed Assets Processing Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Revaluing a Single Asset


You use this function to revalue an asset. This can happen for reasons such as:
● You improve the asset by purchasing an add-on to it that is not a separate asset. If it were a separate
asset, with its own depreciation, you could create a new asset with the same asset code but with a
sub asset code.
● The value of the item changes, not in terms of its depreciation, but its intrinsic value.
Using this function revalues the asset at a point in time, which you specify. Depreciation of the asset up to
that point in time does not change. However, from now on, the system calculates depreciation based on
the revised value. If you wish to revalue the asset from the beginning of its life, edit the asset master file
and change the purchase value.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function. Select an asset, and
then click the Revaluations button:

The date you enter determines the period in which the revaluation occurs.
In the New Value field, enter the new value of the asset. The value defaults to the current value.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 209

Asset Impairment
You may have a long-lived asset, such as a plant, that has declined in market value (book value), or that
will provide a much smaller future benefit than you originally anticipated.
If the decline in value is so drastic that expected future cash flows for the asset have declined below its
book value, this is asset impairment.
Here are some possible reasons that lead to this:
● The market value of the asset declines significantly

● There are changes in technology, markets, or the economy

● There is an increase in market interest rates

● The company's stock price is below book value

● The asset has received physical damage

● The asset is part of a restructuring, or is held for scrapping/selling

Under these conditions, you perform an impairment cost.


To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the
system tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function. Select the asset you
wish to work on, and click the Impairment icon in the toolbar. Alternatively, right click the asset and choose
the Impairment option from the popup menu:

The date you enter determines the period in which the impairment occurs.
In the Impairment Cost field, enter the new value of the asset. The value defaults to the current value.
210 • Fixed Assets Processing Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Transferring a Single Asset


You use this function to transfer an asset to a new asset type, cost centre, or location:
● You transfer an asset to a new asset type should the rules for its depreciation change.
● You use this option to transfer an asset to a new cost centre. The original cost centre keeps the
depreciation that has accumulated up to now. For example, if you use cost centres for projects, and a
project completes, the depreciation up to now for the asset would remain in the project.
● You can also use this option to transfer an asset from one location to another. This is equivalent to
editing the asset master file and changing the location, except that if you use this option there is a
transaction for the change. Changing the location of an asset does not affect depreciation values in
any way.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function. Select an asset, and
then click the Transfer button:

The date you enter determines the period in which the transfer occurs.
In the New Asset Type field, enter the new asset type, cost centre, or location to which you are
transferring the asset.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 211

Sell/Scrap Assets
Eventually, you sell or just scrap assets. Here you process the transaction to accomplish this. If you scrap
the asset, you are selling it for a zero value.
When you sell an asset, it depreciates until the period in which the sale occurs. There is no further
depreciation.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function. Select an asset, and
then click the Sell / Scrap button:

The date you enter determines the period at which the transaction occurs.
In the Selling Value field, enter the sale value of the asset here. If you are scrapping the asset, enter
zero.
212 • Fixed Assets Processing Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Partially Dispose of Assets


If you create an asset and enter a value greater than one in the Number of Units field, you have more than
one physical asset under the same code. For example, you may purchase five identical desks and create
one asset for all of them. If you sell or scrap one or more of these assets in the same code, but not all of
them, then you use this function to accomplish this. It works as follows:
● You specify how many units you are selling.
● You specify the sale price for the units. If you are scrapping the units, the sale price is zero.
● You create a new asset code for the sold or scrapped units.
● The new asset depreciates, in proportion to the number of units sold, for the period in which the sale
occurs, and then stops.
● The old asset continues to depreciate. Its value, however, reduces in proportion to the number of units
remaining. This shows on the asset as a revaluation.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function. Select an asset, and
then click the Partial Disposal button:

The date you enter determines the period at which the partial disposal occurs.
In the Selling Value field, enter the sale value of the asset. If you are scrapping the asset, enter zero.
In the No. of Units field, enter the number of units that you are selling. The remainder stay in the original
asset.
In the two Asset Code fields, enter two new asset codes, one for the asset you are disposing of, and
one for the asset that continues. You can link these via the master and sub asset feature to the original
asset.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 213

Divide Assets
If you create an asset and enter a value greater than one in the Number of Units field, you have more than
one physical asset under the same code. For example, you may purchase five identical desks and create
one asset for all of them.
You may need to split these assets. For example, you move one or more desks to a different location. You
use this function to accomplish this.
You can also divide an asset even if the number of units is one. You may need to do this simply because
you did not enter any units when you created the asset. In this case, you specify a percentage split of the
value of the asset.
Once you divide assets, each divided asset functions as an independent asset with its own values. The
system splits the historical values of the assets in proportion to the value in each asset.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function:

The date you enter determines the period at which the transaction occurs.
In the No. of Units field, for assets that have more than one unit, enter the number of units to move to
the new asset. For assets that have a single unit, enter a percentage of the value to move to the new
asset.
In the two Asset Code fields, enter two new asset codes, one for each of the two parts into which you
are dividing the asset. You can link these via the master and sub asset feature to the original asset.
214 • Fixed Assets Processing Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Enter Units of Usage


Some assets depreciate based on their usage, rather than on a time basis. For example, a crane may
have a rated life of a 100,000 work hours. To calculate the crane's depreciation, you have to enter its
hourly usage for the period. The system then calculates its depreciation in proportion to its rated life.
You use this option to capture the usage of assets such as these. To access this function, choose the
Transactions...Fixed Assets...Asset Transactions menu option. On the System tree, choose the Fixed
Assets...Transactions...Asset Transactions function:

The date you enter determines the period at which the transaction occurs.
In the Units Used field, enter the number of units the asset worked, for example hours or distance.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 215

Override Assets
Sometimes an asset's life changes dramatically from the original lifespan you intended. For example, it
may suffer damage, or it may have been overused. In these, and other, cases, you want to specify directly
how many periods of useful life remain for the asset. The system will then depreciate the remaining value
equally over these periods.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Override Assets menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Override Assets function:

Specify the number of periods remaining for the asset, both from the book and tax point of view. If one
of these methods is continuing to depreciate normally, enter zero.
The date you enter determines the period at which the transaction occurs.

Block Assets
It can happen that you wish to suspend depreciation of an asset for a time. For example, you may have an
expensive piece of machinery you do not currently use. You have the ability to suspend depreciation for a
specified amount of time.
To access this function, choose the Maintenance...Fixed Assets...Block Assets menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Maintenance...Block Assets function.

Specify the dates between which Fixed Assets should suspend depreciation. You can suspend book
and tax depreciation independently, and leave one of these running while you suspend the other.
216 • Fixed Assets Processing Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Asset Period Closing and Reopening


If you have many assets, and/or you have long-lived assets, the processing of transactions can start to
take more and more time. To speed up processing time, you can optionally close periods.
The period close allows you to:
● Calculate depreciation totals for a specific period and store them per asset

● Keep history while improving efficiency when calculating depreciation totals

The depreciation calculation uses totals from the last period close and calculates the remaining period
totals onward. When you next close, the system calculates up to the new period and stores totals.
The Period Close, as with the option to freeze periods, requires restrictions to modifications to assets that
would affect their depreciation totals.
Note that the period close feature is optional. You do not have to use it. If your transaction processing time
is not onerous, you do not need to use this feature.
You have the option of reopening closed periods, and then closing them again.
You use three functions to process:
● Asset Period Close

● Reopen Closed Periods

● Close Reopened Periods

You access these functions via the Transactions...Fixed Assets menu, or via the system tree Fixed
Assets...Transactions node. Note that these functions do not display on the system tree.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 217

GL Batch Processing
The GL Batch function calculates how much depreciation to post per asset, taking into account any
changes you made since the last batch option, and considering the processing date. Typically, you run this
option on a monthly basis. To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...GL
Depreciation Batch menu option. On the System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions function and
then choose GL Depreciation Batch in the work area:

Click the Generate Batch button.


Once you choose the period, the system generates the entries:

Click the Save button to save the batch, and, when you are ready, click the Post Batch button to update
the batch and store the values.
The entries display in the work area. You can use the standard sorting and grouping functions to view
the records.
218 • Fixed Assets Processing Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Group Transfers
You can transfer an asset to another asset type, cost centre, or location at any time. Sometimes, you may
wish to transfer a group of assets. For example, if a cost centre represents a project, and the project ends,
you may wish to transfer all assets from the cost centre back to head office. You use this function to
accomplish this.
To access this function, choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Group Transfers menu option. On the
System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions function and then choose Group Transfers in the
work area:

The date you enter determines the period at which the transfer occurs.
Enter an old and a new code for the transfer.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Processing • 219

Group Revaluations
You can revalue an asset at any time by editing the asset record and changing the purchase value. You
can also change its insurance value. Sometimes, however, you may wish to revalue a group of assets on
the same percentage basis. Group revaluation works via asset types. The process is as follows:
1. On the asset type record, you enter a percentage by which to adjust the purchase amount or
insurance value:

You enter a separate percentage adjustment for the cost and insurance values.
2. You then choose the Transactions...Fixed Assets...Group Revaluations menu option. On the System
tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Transactions function and then choose Group Revaluations in the
work area:

In the Asset Type field, choose the asset type to revalue.


The date you enter determines the period at which the revaluation occurs.
Choose whether you are revaluing the purchase amount of the assets, or their insurance values.
220 • Fixed Assets Reporting Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets

Fixed Assets Reporting


In this section, we outline fixed assets reports. To access these reports, choose the Reports...Fixed Assets
menu option. On the System tree, choose the Fixed Assets...Reports function.
The system groups report options in sub menus by their function. We present the reports in the same
grouping.

Asset Depreciation
Report What it Does
This lets you import serial numbers (barcodes) and reconcile these
Asset Reconciliation
with the asset register.

Capex Reports
Report What it Does
This report takes your capex budgets and creates a forecast over
Capex Cash Flow Forecast
time of your capex expenditure.
This report takes your capex budgets and uses it to forecast
Capex Depreciation Forecast
depreciation.
Capex Detail This report details budgets and their current expenditure.
Capex Purchases This report details assets you purchase via capex orders.
Capex Summary This report summarises capex activity.

Depreciation Reports
Report What it Does
Asset Impairment This reports details asset impairments per asset.
Book Depreciation This report details book depreciation per asset.
Tax Depreciation This report details tax depreciation.
Chapter 16 – Fixed Assets Fixed Assets Reporting • 221

GL Batch Report
Report What it Does
GL Batch Report This report details general ledger account postings.

Labels
Report What it Does
Asset Barcode Labels This prints barcode labels for assets.
Asset Labels This prints labels for assets.
Location Barcode Labels This prints barcode labels in location sequence.

Listings
Report What it Does
Accounting Periods This lists the accounting periods.
This is a consolidated report of all the assets, including current
Asset Consolidated
values.
Asset Details This lists asset details.
Asset Transaction History This is a list of all transaction history and asset movements.
Asset Type This is a list of asset types.
Depreciation Method This lists the depreciation methods.
Ledger Accounts This lists the ledger accounts.
Insured Values This report lists assets and their insured values.
Physical Location This lists assets by location.

Movement Reports
Report What it Does
Book Sold This report details book values for sold or scrapped assets.
Assets Purchased This report details purchases.
Revaluations This report details revaluations.
Tax Sold This report details tax values for sold or scrapped assets.
Transferred This is a report of assets that have been transferred.
Chapter 17 - Credit Control
In this chapter, we look at the Credit Control module.
• Credit Control Overview
• Credit Control Setup
• Working in Credit Control
Chapter 17 - Credit Control Credit Control Overview • 223

Credit Control Overview


This module assists you in rating potential customers prior to opening an account for them.
Pre-loaded documents are available for selection.
You can setup excuses and reminders.
Use the Credit Application Wizard to assist you in rating potential customers’ credit ratings.
You can manage the customer’s age analysis from this module as well.
If you have more than one office to take into consideration, use the Master Offices function to create them.
This module requires you to create or setup the following information:
 Default settings
 Excuses
 Reminder Types
 Master Offices
 Terms and Conditions
To access these functions choose Maintenance ...Credit Control menu option. On the System tree, choose
the Credit Control...Maintenance function.
224 • Credit Control Setup Chapter 17 - Credit Control

Credit Control Setup


First, you have to setup your default settings. These settings are purely reliant on the organisational
policies and procedures pertaining to credit applications.

Defaults
To access the defaults, go to the Maintenance menu…Credit Control…Defaults.
This option does not feature in the topic tree.

Set your minimum pass score out of a 100.


If you want a summary after you have done the credit application, check the Show Score Summary after
Credit Application check box.
The main categories used for scoring are system defaults and cannot be edited or deleted, as is the
Automatic Failure Categories.
The only categories that you can deselect are listed in the Categories Used in Completeness of Application
window.
Set the Reminders Due frequency on this screen.
Click on the OK button to save your settings.
Chapter 17 - Credit Control Credit Control Setup • 225

Terms and Conditions


You also access the terms and conditions via the main menu, Maintenance…Credit Control…Terms and
Conditions.
These terms and conditions assist in determining company specific information.

Enter the company’s registered name and select the entity type from the drop down menu.
Select/enter the town and business type.
Complete the questionnaire. This is a fixed questionnaire and cannot be edited or deleted.

Documents
A predetermined list of documents are available for selection, such as:
 Letter of Demand
 Cession letters
 Covering letter
 Etc.
226 • Credit Control Setup Chapter 17 - Credit Control

Excuses
The system has a list of excuses. These are system defaults and cannot be amended or deleted.

The screen is divided into three sections:


1. List of Excuses
2. Reference to the Clause
3. What it means

Reminder Types
Create your reminder types using this function. Reminder types assist in classifying reminders.
Chapter 17 - Credit Control Working in Credit Control • 227

Working in Credit Control


To process a credit agreement, you will make use of the Credit Application Wizard.

Enter the applicant’s account details, addresses, contacts, bank, references and judgement information
using the tabs at the bottom of the screen.
Remember to check the Existing check box in the event of the applicant being an existing customer.
When you completed all the screens, click on the process button.
228 • Working in Credit Control Chapter 17 - Credit Control

The system will display a summary of the customer’s application indicating whether the customer passed
or failed the application.

When a new customer applies for credit and passes the necessary criteria, the system automatically
displays the customer maintenance screen. Complete the screen and save the new customer.
Chapter 17 - Credit Control Credit Control Management • 229

Credit Control Management


Use this feature to manage your customers aging balances. These balances will automatically be
populated.

Reminders
Create your reminders by completing the following screen.

Reminders Due
This function lists all the reminders that need to be actioned.
230 • Credit Control Enquiries and Reports Chapter 17 - Credit Control

Credit Control Enquiries and Reports


Enquiries
The Enquiries function lists all your credit applications.
To access this function, choose the Enquiries...Credit Control menu option. On the System tree, choose
the Credit Control...Enquiries function:

Reports
The Credit Control module does not have official reports, but allows you to print or save the default
documents.


Chapter 18 – Bank Manager
In this chapter, we look at the Bank Manager module.
• Bank Manager Overview
• Bank Manager Setup
• Bank Manager Processing
232 • Bank Manager Overview Chapter 18 – Bank Manager

Bank Manager Overview


The Bank Manager add on module gives you the ability to work with bank statements that you download
via the Internet. Note that this module is available in South Africa only.
Bank Manager compiles the cash book electronically by using the bank statements of all the major banks
in South Africa as the base. The basics of this system are as follows:
● After the first bank statement download, you assign recurring account coding to transactions that recur
from month to month.

● You attach a unique statement transaction identifier to an account.

● The result, in the following months, is that the system automatically codes recurring transactions
exactly as they should be for the cash book batch.

● In the following months, you only have to code new transactions.

● You can split lines into multiple accounts. For example, you may wish to allocate rent to different
departments. You can save the split lines and reuse them in the next bank statement download.

● For custom or complex changes, you can instantly export the transactions into Excel, make the
changes, and instantly import the data back into Bank Manager.

Note that Bank Manager is a single-user module. Only one user can work in Bank Manager
at a time.

This guide contains overview information only. If you want detailed information on any topic,
consult the on-line help, which has the same table of contents as this guide, although
somewhat expanded. In addition, you can type in the manual's heading into the on-line help’s
Index section to find the relevant help section.
Chapter 18 – Bank Manager Working with Bank Manager • 233

Working with Bank Manager


Download the Bank Statement
The first task is to download your bank statement via the Internet. To do this, you login to your bank's
Internet site, and download the bank statement into a file.
Note that banks offer different formats, and we only accommodate a specific format per bank. See below
for where you can see the available formats. In the help file, we give specific instructions per bank.
You then need to load the downloaded bank statement into Bank Manager. You access bank manager via
the Process...Cash Book menu option. Select the bank account you are processing, click the Batch button,
and then choose the Sage Pastel Bank Manager option or click the Sage Pastel Bank Manager button:
You need to choose the banking system of the file you are loading:

Select the banking system in the list box. The list box shows available banks and formats. This includes
formats for other countries, generic OFX, QIF and CSV formats.

You then select the bank file that you downloaded from the Internet. The following screen displays:
234 • Working with Bank Manager Chapter 18 – Bank Manager

Enter your Statement Balance in the respective field and click on the Continue button.
The transactions display in the main Bank Manager window:
Chapter 18 – Bank Manager Working with Bank Manager • 235

These transactions are in the Bank Manager module, not in Sage Pastel's cash book. Before we move the
transactions into the cash book, we can, or indeed have to, manipulate the data. Note, for instance, that
there are no account numbers in the transactions.
Note the following:
● If the transaction date falls within the current year, the system puts the corresponding period in the
Period column. In the window above, the period is set to 99 because it is out of the current year.

● The system generates references by using the day and month followed by the bank statement
number, followed by the transaction number on that specific day.

● You can sort on any column by clicking on the column header.

● Bank Manager divides transactions into receipts and payments, in the same manner as the Sage
Pastel data entry screen.

Editing Transactions
You can edit each field in each transaction manually if you wish to. However, this will of course take some
time.
The power of the Bank Manager add on module is that you can automate many of these editing functions.
You can save some of these editing methods, which over time automates much of the work that you would
normally have to do.

Deleting Lines
If you need to delete a single line, select it and press <Ctrl>+<Delete>.

To delete multiple lines

3. Right click on the payments or receipts table. A menu displays:

4. Choose the Enable Shift Select option.


5. You can now select lines using the standard Windows methods. If the lines are in sequence, click on
the first line to delete, and then hold the <Shift> key while clicking on the last line. If there are non-
contiguous lines, hold <Ctrl> and click each line.

6. Once you have selected all the lines to delete, right click on a selected line, and choose the Delete
Current Row option in the menu. The system offers to take you out of Enable Shift mode. You cannot
perform other operations correctly unless you leave this mode.
236 • Working with Bank Manager Chapter 18 – Bank Manager

Copying Account Codes, Tax Types, and Descriptions to Multiple Lines


The first editing facility we look at it is the ability to copy fields to other lines. For example, you can enter an
account in the account field, and then copy that account to all lines beneath that line. Note that the system
copies both the account code and the tax type. You must therefore set both these before you copy. You
can also copy descriptions.

Mapping
The next feature relies on transactions that recur from month to month on the bank statement, or more
accurately, on keywords you can identify in the description field. In a typical business, 95% of transactions
recur from month to month. Examples are debit order payments, internet supplier payments, customer
receipts, and so on.
For example, you pay a supplier by internet transfer on a monthly basis. The description you assigned to
appear on your bank statement reads "Internet Payment Thondore Steel". You select "Thondore Steel" as
your transaction identifier and link it to that supplier account. You do not select "Internet payment",
because all other lines that contain "Internet Payment" in their descriptions will then link to the same
supplier account.
In order to ensure that you do not choose phrases that are too specific or too common, the system does
not allow you to select less than four characters or the entire description.
Therefore, to be as accurate as possible, select phrases that are unique enough to link to a specific
account, and not specific enough to never occur again. For example, selecting the phrase "bank charges
(3.45)" is not good practice because "(3.45)" will change in the following month, and the system will not
allocate the transaction automatically. Instead, select "bank charges".
In the same way, mapping electronic / automatic payments you make such as lease, telephone, rental, and
so on, will have unique phrases every time.
Using these phrases, you can teach the system which account to use for each phrase. You can also set
the tax type and the transaction description to use. Once you teach the system what to do, it will
automatically do the same thing when you load the next bank statement.

To assign accounts, tax types, and descriptions to phrases

1. Select the line that contains the phrase, make sure you have assigned the description to an account.
2. Right click on the phrase in the Statement Description column. A popup menu displays:

3. Choose the Add Mapping option. If the description also appears in the other (payments or receipts
tab), you have the option to continue or not.
Chapter 18 – Bank Manager Working with Bank Manager • 237

4. The system defaults the phrase to be the transaction description, but you can change it:

5. When you click Save, the system replaces the Ledger Description in each line that contains the
phrase:

Note each line that has the same description now has the same account assigned to it. "DEPOSIT".
6. Click on the Configure Mappings tab:

7. The system remembers this setting for subsequent imports. You can edit all the fields except the initial
phrase. You can of course add many phrases into the system.
8. Splitting Lines into Multiple Accounts
238 • Working with Bank Manager Chapter 18 – Bank Manager

Sometimes you would like to allocate a single transaction to more than one account. For example, you
may want to split a rent payment between different departments.
Not only can you do this, but you can also save the split information. Using rent as an example, you would
want to split each month's rent in the same manner.

To split payments

1. Right click on the line you wish to split, and choose Split Transaction from the popup menu.
2. The Split window displays:

You can enter multiple lines, each with their own details. The line must total the original transaction
amount.
3. If you wish to reuse the split details, click the Excel button, choose the Export option, and save the
information. Since you may do this for many different splits, ensure you name the file in such a way as
to identify it easily.
If you already have the split details saved, then instead of entering details, you click the Excel button,
choose the Import option, and load the file you saved.
4. Once the split lines have the same value as the original line, click the OK button. The system then
returns you to the transactions, deletes the original line, and adds the split lines at the end of the table.
Chapter 18 – Bank Manager Working with Bank Manager • 239

Summary Section
If you process your bank transactions exclusively via the Bank Manager module, there is no need to do a
bank reconciliation. This is because each transaction in Sage Pastel's bank account comes from the bank
itself. However, there is still the possibility that you did not download all the transactions, you did not bring
all the downloaded transactions into Sage Pastel, or you duplicated transactions. You can check on the
summary screen.

If the bank statement balance is the same as the calculated balance, you have accounted for all the
transactions.

Moving Transactions from Bank Manager into Sage Pastel


Once you have completed the preparations of the transactions, you then have to move them into the cash
book batch.

To move transactions into the cash book

1. You cannot perform this operation unless all transactions have accounts, and period and dates are
within the current financial year.
2. Select the Statement Payments or Statement Receipts tab.
3. Click on the Create Batch Button.
4. The system transfers the payments or receipts and confirms the transfer.
You have to create the payments and receipts batches separately. Once you transfer both, Bank Manager
closes automatically. If you are only transferring one of these, click the Close button to close Bank
Manager.
Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting
In this chapter, we look at the Branch Accounting module concept.
• Branch Accounting Setup Overview
• Branch Accounting Processing Overview
242 • Branch Accounting Setup Overview Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting

Branch Accounting Setup Overview


Due to the technical nature of this add-on module, it is recommended to seek an Evolution specialist’s
advice and expertise on the setup, maintenance and use of this module.
In this guide, we will merely give you a brief overview of how this add-on module works.
The Branch Accounting concept was developed to accommodate businesses with a head office – branch
hierarchy structure.
The following diagram illustrates a basic branch accounting concept:

Some rules to be aware of:


• Your branch and head office needs to have the same general ledger structure.
• Your branch and head office needs to transact in the same currency.
• When you upgrade your databases, you have to close the Database Sync Monitor (DSM)
and upgrade the head office database first and then all the subsequent branches.
• Head office creates the necessary global accounts.
• Only the head office is allowed to run a year end.
• You cannot perform purges at branch level.
• Certain relinks are available at branch level.
• This add-on module caters for inter-branch transfers and loan account processing.
Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting Branch Accounting Setup Overview • 243

Evolution's Branch Accounting add-on module works on the following methodology:

The FTP site is used to download and upload data between the head office and branches using a
Database Synchronisation Monitor utility.

You are limited to 1400 branches.

Some important tasks to remember:


• Create separate databases for your head office and branches.
• Create separate common databases for you head office and branches.
• Export your branch configuration files per branch.
• Create a secure FTP site and remember to assign read and write permissions to the branches.
• Create the necessary file structures on your FTP site and Workstation/Server.
• The Database Synchronisation Monitor uploads and downloads the data in a Branch Accounting
environment.
• To setup the branch accounting infrastructure requires technical expertise and it is recommended to
have an Evolution specialist implement this add-on module.
• The Multi-Warehousing add-on module is compulsory, as items are automatically created as
warehouse items with the ability to assign different cost prices to items per warehouse.
Contact the Sage Pastel Training Department for information on the comprehensive training
offerings concerning this add-on module. This is a specialised training course; please ensure
that you adhere to the pre-requisites before you attend the course to avoid disappointment.
244 • Branch Accounting Setup Overview Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting

The following screen displays the Data Synchronisation Monitor at head office level:

This section of the screen displays the log files. This section displays the data files (.dat)
being processed to and from the head
You select what type of log files to display in this office and branches and vice versa.
section in the Configuration screen, namely:
• None The seeding means the following:
• Full
• Information 0000 = Head Office (always)
• Warning 0001 = Branch 1
• Error 0002 = Branch 2 -
9999 = Branch 9999
Click on the “notepad” icon to view the complete log
Database Name
file.
0001 0000 000001

To > < From .dat file no.


Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting Branch Accounting Setup Overview • 245

This screen displays a branch level Database Synchronisation Monitor:

When the data was downloaded and imported into the branch database, the .dat files will be archived.
246 • Branch Accounting Setup Overview Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting

The following diagram illustrates the upload, download, import and export processes:

During the synchronisation:


1. The head office will export data to the Local Update Folder.
2. The Local Update Folder will send the data to the FTP site.
3. The branch will download the data to the branch’s Local Update Folder.
4. The branch will import the data from the Local Update Folder.
5. The branch will export its data to the Local Update Folder.
6. The data is sent to the FTP site.
7. The head office’s Local Update Folder will fetch the data from the FTP folder.
8. The head office will import the data from the Local Update Folder.
Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting Branch Accounting Processing Overview • 247

Branch Accounting Processing


Overview
Head Office Processing
Head office cannot process transactions for branches. Head office can only create master files and
administer certain maintenance functions for branches.
Head office can transact at head office level, which in turn will then be global records. These global
records will update the affiliated branches during the synchronisation process.
If you use add-on modules at head office, ensure that all the affiliated branches also acquire the same
add-on modules, otherwise the data will not synchronise and you will be attending to errors.
When you setup or process transactions at head office, a Branch Panel displays at the top of each screen.
248 • Branch Accounting Processing Overview Chapter 19 – Branch Accounting

When you setup master files or maintain branch databases, you are able to navigate between the different
branches, using the branch panel’s navigation pane.

When the Branch Panel displays All Branches, you know you are processing at head office level.
If you are maintaining branch specific records, the panel will display the branch name or number.

However, you cannot process branch specific transactions. The Branch Panel will also not allow you to do
so, as it will not display the navigation pane.

Branch Level Processing


The Branch Panel will only display the branch name or number. No navigation pane is available at branch
level, as a branch cannot setup or process transactions for head office or another branch. The branch is
responsible for their own processing.
The branch can use global accounts to process transactions.
But, a branch is limited to maintenance functions and cannot perform relinks or purges.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale
In this chapter, we look at the Retail Point of Sale module.
• Retail Point of Sale Overview
• Retail Point of Sale Setup
• Retail Point of Sale Master Files
• Retail Point of Sale Processing
• Retail Point of Sale Reports
250 • Retail Point of Sale Overview Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Retail Point of Sale Overview


This application allows you to process transactions at a faster pace, managing customer queues.
You can create documents, process petty cash transactions and follow the easy cash-up wizard to assist
in your end of day proceedings.
This module requires you to setup and configure your tills and authorisation processes.
You will setup your tills and agents within Evolution.
You will need to create supervisory agents and allocate agents (cashiers) to these supervisors.
Set needed permissions on agents or agent groups to manage access and processing abilities.
You will also setup your devices, denominations, tender types and other relevant settings applicable to
your Retail Point of Sale environment.

There are various Stationary Layouts available for the different Point of Sale documents. These layouts
are fully customisable.
To customise your layouts, make a copy of the default layout and personalise the layout according to your
preferences.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Setup • 251

Retail Point of Sale Setup


Create your tills
Go to the Retail Point of Sale module...Maintenance...Tills or go to the Maintenance menu and select
Retail Point of Sale...Tills.

Click on the Automatic Numbering tab to setup your document numbering preferences.
Select the main Warehouse.

The Retail Point of Sale module can be used in a Branch Accounting environment.

Select the docket that the system must default to once the cashier starts processing transactions.
252 • Retail Point of Sale Setup Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Configure your tills


You need to configure your tills on each workstation. Go to your Program Files...Evolution Folder and
open the Till Configuration utility.

The configuration will link the till / workstation to the main Evolution database.
The Retail Till Configuration utility displays:

Select your database and common database.


Select your till.
Setup the devises.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Setup • 253

You can setup your printer preferences during the configuration by specifying:
• The printer.
• The number of copies and reprints.
• The option to email the document.

Click Finish to finalise the configuration.


254 • Retail Point of Sale Setup Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Create your agents and supervisors by going to the Administration menu in Evolution.

You will now be able to log into the till using the shortcut icon.

The till login screen displays:

The cashier will enter his/her login details and click on OK to start the day.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Master Files • 255

Retail Point of Sale Master Files


The following master files need to be setup for you retail environment:

Master File Explanation


Denominations A list of denominations displays. You can add to the list if required.
Setup your Point of Sale devices using this function, namely:
• Pole Display
Devices
• Cash Drawer
• Receipt Printer/s
Discount Reasons You use this feature to create reasons where discounts are allowed.
A predefined list of petty cash types is available. You can add to this list of
Petty Cash Types
required.
You use this feature to create reasons in the event when a price needs to be
Price Override Reasons
over written.
You use this feature to specify the items that form part of the different
Promotion Item Lists
promotions.
You use this feature to create promotional items. For example, buy one, get
Promotions
one free.
You use this feature to create reasons for when customers return their
Return Reasons
purchase.
Tender Types Create your tender types using this feature.
Tills Create your tills using this feature.
Transaction Types A list of transaction types is available. You can add to the list if required.
You use this option to create variable barcodes based on measurement
Variable Barcodes criteria. For example, butcheries will use this feature to determine their
prices as weight being one of the criteria.
Cancel Keep Asides Use this feature to cancel an item that was kept aside for a customer.
Till Security Use this feature to specific till permissions.
Orders Relink Use this option to relink orders.
Stationary Layouts A list of Stationary Layouts for your Point of Sale documents displays.
Defaults Use this feature to set up the default settings of your retail environment.
To access these maintenance functions via the System Tree...Retail Point of Sale...Maintenance or from
the main menu Maintenance...Retail.
256 • Retail Point of Sale Master Files Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Denominations
You can add, edit or delete your denominations.

Devices
You can add, edit or delete devices.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Master Files • 257

Discount Reasons
You can add, edit or delete Discount Reasons.

Petty Cash Types


You can add, edit or delete Petty Cash Types.

Price Override Reasons


You can add, edit or delete Price Override Reasons.
258 • Retail Point of Sale Master Files Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Promotion Item Lists


Specify the items that form part of the promotion.

Promotions
Set up the different promotions using this feature. You will link the promotion item lists to the promotion.

For more information and case studies pertaining to the promotions feature, refer to the
online help file (F1).
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Master Files • 259

Return Reasons
You can add, edit or delete Return Reasons.

Tender Types
You can add, edit or delete Tender Types.
260 • Retail Point of Sale Master Files Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Tills
You can add, edit or delete Tills.

Transaction Types
You can add, edit or delete Transactions Types.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Master Files • 261

Variable Barcodes
You can add, edit or delete Variable Barcodes.

Cancel Keep Asides


Use this option to cancel an item that was kept aside for a customer.
262 • Retail Point of Sale Master Files Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Stationary Layouts
Predefined Stationary Layouts are available.

You can customise these layouts by making a copy and using Report Builder.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Master Files • 263

Defaults
Set up your default settings for your retail environment.

Use the General tab to set up your default float amount, trading session duration and branch numbering
prefix.
Use the Docket Defaults tab to set up your default customer information and transaction codes.
Use the Docket Options tab to set up force options, docket prompts and variable barcode options.
Use the Orders tab to set up whether you will accept deposits.
Use the Lay-bys tab to set up your Lay-by default settings.
Use the Till Transactions tab to set up your receipt options.
Use the Petty Cash tab to set up your petty cash transaction codes and petty cash restrictions.
Use the Cash Pickup tab to set the cash pickup amounts and restrictions.
Use the Cash-up tab to select the specified transactions codes.
Use the Devices tab to set up pole display messages and till activity time outs.
Use the Promotions tab to set up the promotion numbering preferences.
Use the Keep Asides tab to set up the time limit for keep asides.
Use the Refunds tab to set up restrictions.
The VAS tab accommodates the setup of Value Added Services relating to your Retail environment. For
example, airtime sales and so on.
264 • Retail Point of Sale Processing Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Retail Point of Sale Processing


The following Retail Point of Sale processing options are available for the back office:

Transaction Explanation
Start your trading day, finalise cash ups and end your trading day using this
Trading Sessions
option.
Select the transaction that you want to process by selecting the transactions
code from the drop down menu.

Retail Transactions

The following Point of Sale Till processing options are available:

Transaction Explanation
Sales Invoice, Credit
Select this option to process an invoice, credit note or order.
Note or Order
Petty Cash Advance Select these options to setup a petty cash advance or process petty cash
and Process transactions.
Till Transactions Select this option to process receipts.
Select this option if the supervisors / cashiers remove cash from the cashier’s
Drawer Transactions
till or to perform a float acceptance.
Select this option to reconcile the cashier’s till indicating the end of the
Cash-up
cashier’s session or end of the day.
Inventory and Select these options if the cashier needs to enquire information regarding an
Customer Enquiries item or customer.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Processing • 265

The Till application displays as follows:

Click on the Log Off or Exit options to close the application.


Whilst processing cashier transactions, supervisor authorisation is needed.
266 • Retail Point of Sale Processing Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Processing documents
Select to process a document.

To change the inventory input mode, use the Shift + F3 to select one of the following input modes:
• Barcode
• Item Code
• Description
Use the functions at the bottom of the screen to select a customer, search for an item, specify discounts or
change line prices.
To have other functions display, press the Ctrl, Shift and/or Alt button or a combination on your keyboard.
The functions that enable when you press the Ctrl button are:
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Processing • 267

The functions that enable when you press the Alt button are:

To expand the function options, click on the  /  arrows.

Use these functions to perform specific transactions.

Use the F1 Help function for more information.


268 • Retail Point of Sale Processing Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

The following screen resembles an invoice:

To process the invoice, select the Process Docket button.


Use the F1 Help function for more information.
You will process credit notes, quotes and orders in the same manner.
Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Processing • 269

You can create a customer during a sale, by selecting the Select Customer function, select the New
Customer function and complete the screen.

Click on the OK button to save the new customer.


270 • Retail Point of Sale Processing Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Processing Petty Cash Transactions


When the cashier’s till is used to pay certain petty cash related transactions, use the Petty Cash Advance
option to process this.
Click on the OK button to save the pending transaction.
To process the petty cash transactions, select the Petty Cash Process option.

Click on the Process button.


Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale Retail Point of Sale Processing • 271

Cash Pickup
Use this option to manage the amount of cash in your cashier’s tills.
Specify the amount that will be removed from the till and in which denominations it was taken.
Click on the Finish button to process the cash pickup.

Cash-up
Use the Cash-up Wizard to assist in your cash-up proceedings.

Click on the Next button to proceed to the next step and then on the Summary screen click on the Process
button to complete the cash-up process.
272 • Retail Point of Sale Reports Chapter 20 - Retail Point of Sale

Retail Point of Sale Reports


The following Retail Point of Sale Reports are available:

Reports Summary
Authorisations This report details authorisations that took place for a specified period.
Cashier Sales This report details sales per cashier/till.
Day End Report This report details the transactions for the day per till.
This report lists all of the keep asides that were processed for a specified
Keep Asides
period.
Lay-By Orders This report lists all of the Lay-By orders for a specified period.
Lay-Bys This report lists all of the Lay-By transactions for a specified period.
Lay-Bys Due This report lists all of the Lay-Bys that are due for collection and payment.
Promotion List This report lists the different promotions.
Inventory Sales This report details inventory sales for a specified period.
Payments by Tender This report details the payment methods customers used for a specified
Types period.
Sales This report details sales figures for a specified period.
Sales Order Deposits This report details the deposits accepted for orders.
Chapter 21 - Information Alerts
In this chapter, we look at the Information Alerts module.
• Information Alerts Setup
274 • Information Alerts Setup Chapter 21 - Information Alerts

Information Alerts Setup


This unique notification system of Evolution allows you to setup information alerts pertaining to certain data
base activities you would like to keep track of. These notifications will be sent to you via an incident, email
or Evolution notification.
To access this application, go to the System Tree...Information Alerts or from the main menu,
Maintenance...Information Alerts.
To setup this application, go to the System Tree...Information Alerts...Maintenance...Criteria, or from the
main menu select Maintenance...Information Alerts...Criteria.

Click on the Add button to create a new alert.


Chapter 21 - Information Alerts Information Alerts Setup • 275

The following screen displays:

Before you can enter or generate a description for your new information alert, select your agent or server.
Thereafter select the module as well as what you want to monitor of that module by selecting the options
from the predefined drop down lists.
In the Operator field, specify whether your alert must check for quantities greater, smaller, equals or a
combination of the aforementioned.

Specify your Value settings using the drop down menu.


Specify your frequency settings by selecting your execution criterion, date ranges and time intervals.
Click on the Notification tab to setup the alert medium. Select whether you want to have it sent via email,
an incident or as a Evolution notification.
Click on the OK button to save.
Chapter 22 – Delivery Module
In this chapter, we look at the Delivery module.
• Delivery Module Maintenance
• Delivery Module Transactions
• Delivery Module Enquiries
• Delivery Module Reports
Chapter 22 – Delivery Module Delivery Module Maintenance • 277

Delivery Module Maintenance


The Delivery Management module aims to assist businesses to manage their delivery strategies. Some
businesses include deliveries as one of their services to customers, other businesses sell large items, such
as large machinery, and need to deliver them to customers while other businesses push large quantities of
single items or multiple items, making them dependent on a good delivery management tool.

Defaults
You use this function to set up Delivery Note numbering structure. You access this function via the
Delivery Module...Maintenance...Defaults menu option. On the system tree, choose the Maintenance
function and then choose Defaults in the work area.

Delivery Methods
Your saved delivery methods filter through from the Evolution Inventory module. You cannot add or edit
delivery methods from this screen, you need to go to the Inventory module...Maintenance...Delivery
Methods.

To activate the delivery methods for the Delivery module, check the check boxes in the Select column.
278 • Delivery Module Transactions Chapter 22 – Delivery Module

Delivery Module Transactions


Select this option to create, cancel or delete deliveries.
When you select this option, all the unprocessed, archived or partially processed invoices and/or orders
display.
Use the filter options in the header section of the screen to find or view specific invoices and/or orders.
How to process delivery notes:
1. Enter the confirmed quantity in the Confirm Delivery Quantity column.
2. The grid does display the processed, delivered or cancelled quantities in the grid.
3. Click on the Confirm Delivery button to process the delivery note. If you want to delete a delivery
note, click on the Cancel Delivery Note button, and to cancel a delivery click on the Cancel Delivery
button.
4. You can now select to view or print the delivery note.
Chapter 22 – Delivery Module Delivery Module Enquiries • 279

Delivery Module Enquiries


This functionality allows you to search:
• for a specific delivery note.
• on a specific account.
• per item code or description.
• per invoice number.
• according to delivery note statuses, which include:
o Delivered
o Partially Delivered
o Cancelled Delivery Note
o Cancelled Deliveries
o All
280 • Delivery Module Reports Chapter 22 – Delivery Module

Delivery Module Reports


The following Delivery reports are available:

Reports Summary
Delivery Notes Use this report to reprint delivery notes.
The summary report allows you to print the document grid according to the
filters that are applied. The summary report can be filtered on an account,
delivery method, item, item description, report for (Outstanding deliveries,
Summary Report
Partial deliveries and Completed deliveries), and invoice number or order
date. This also allows you to export the report to various file types. For
example, Excel.
Chapter 23 – Voucher
Management
In this chapter, we look at the Voucher Management module.
• Voucher Management Maintenance
• Voucher Management Transactions
• Voucher Management Enquiries
• Voucher Management Reports
Chapter 23 – Voucher Management Voucher Management Maintenance • 282

Voucher Management Maintenance


Some businesses require payment and receipt vouchers, such as schools and clubs who collect money
from members.

Defaults
You use this function to set up the general ledger accounts that are affected when you process receipt and
payment vouchers via the Voucher Management module...Maintenance...Default Settings.

Role Authorisation
This feature allows you to set a discretionary limit per user role.
Chapter 23 – Voucher Management Voucher Management Maintenance • 283

You can add, edit and/or delete role authorisations using the applicable buttons.

Enter a role name in the Role field.


Enter the discretionary limit in the Maximum Amount field. This amount limits the user to process
vouchers not exceeding this amount.
Select the actions that the user can perform, you have three Authorities to choose from:
• Save [This limits the user to only save transactions]
• Process [This allows the user to process the transactions]
• Print [This allows the user to print the transactions]
You can select all three options, if applicable.
Specify the voucher that applies to the role, by making ticks in the tick boxes.

User Roles
Link your agents to their roles using this feature.
284 • Voucher Management Maintenance Chapter 23 – Voucher Management

To add a role, click on the Add button:

Click on the OK button to save the role.

Voucher Master
The Voucher Management add-on module already created the three main voucher masters on your behalf.
Chapter 23 – Voucher Management Voucher Management Maintenance • 285

Voucher Type
Voucher types are similar to tender types in a Point of Sale environment. Use this feature to create
voucher types for all the acceptable payment methods, whether you make or receive a payment.
286 • Voucher Management Transactions Chapter 23 – Voucher Management

Voucher Management Transactions


The Voucher Management allows you to process and approve payment vouchers, receipt vouchers,
journal transactions and general ledger vouchers.

Accounts Receivable Vouchers


Go to Voucher Management...Transactions...Accounts Receivable Vouchers:

Select the Voucher Type and Tender Type from the drop down menu.
You are allowed to accept post dated payment methods by checking the Post Dated check box.
Select a Customer from the drop down menu. Enter the payee’s name in the Account Payee field.
Select the payment Date from the calendar and enter the amount in the Amount field.
Chapter 23 – Voucher Management Voucher Management Transactions • 287

Accounts Payable Vouchers


Go to Voucher Management...Transactions...Accounts Payable Vouchers.
Select the Voucher Type and Tender Type from the drop down menu.
Select a Supplier from the drop down menu. Enter the payee’s name in the Account Payee field.
Select the payment Date from the calendar and enter the amount in the Amount field.

General Ledger Vouchers


You can process a Receipt or Payment via the General Ledger Voucher. You will use this feature to pay
or receive money for accounts listed in your chart of accounts, such as Advertising fees, Subscription fees
and so on.
Go to Voucher Management...Transactions...General Ledger Vouchers.
288 • Voucher Management Transactions Chapter 23 – Voucher Management

Journal Transactions
You can process Receipts and/or Payments in batches by processing journal transactions.
Go to Voucher Management...Transactions...Journal Transactions.

Process any journal entries using the affecting general ledger accounts from the drop down menu.
Chapter 23 – Voucher Management Voucher Management Transactions • 289

Approve Vouchers
Go to Voucher Management...Transactions...Allocate Accounts Receivable Vouchers.

Click on the Open button.


Select the transaction that you want to approve. The information will automatically filter through to the
correct fields:

Click on the Process and Print or Process option.


You will follow the same process for Accounts Payable and General Ledger Voucher approvals.
290 • Voucher Management Enquiries Chapter 23 – Voucher Management

Voucher Management Enquiries


You can view customer, supplier and general ledger payments and receipts via the Enquiries functions.
Chapter 23 – Voucher Management Voucher Management Reports • 291

Voucher Management Reports


There are four reports available:

Report Explanation

Accounts Payable This report summarises the payment vouchers issued to suppliers for a
Vouchers specified period.

Accounts Receivable This report summarises the receipt vouchers issued to customers for a
Vouchers specified period.

This report summarises the receipt and payment vouchers issued via the
General Ledger Vouchers
general ledger for a specified period.

This report summarises all of the users’ transactional activity for a specified
User Report
period.
Chapter 24 – Global Tax
In this chapter, we look at the Global Tax module.
• Global Tax Maintenance
• Global Tax Transactions
• Global Tax Reports
Chapter 24 – Global Tax Global Tax Maintenance • 293

Global Tax Maintenance


The Global Tax add-on module is for countries that require the Withholding Tax policy to be applied at the
time of purchasing from suppliers. This module allows the Withholding Tax amount to be derived and
calculated using the specified tax percentage specified for the qualifying supplier allowing you to make the
payment to the relevant revenue authorities.
This module is dependent on the Order Entry and Inventory module transactions.

Defaults
Go to Global Tax module...Maintenance...Default Settings:

Select the Withholding Tax Transaction Type from the drop down menu. Set the Cut off Date and select on
which items you will apply it.

Tax Master
Go to Global Tax module...Maintenance...Tax Master:

Activate the suppliers that qualify for withholding tax calculations by making a tick in the tick box. Specify
the Tax Rate % for the supplier in the applicable column. This percentage is determined by the Revenue
Service.
294 • Global Tax Transactions Chapter 24 – Global Tax

Global Tax Transactions


The Global Tax module allows you to process your withholding tax transactions as journal batches.
Go to Global Tax module...Transactions...Global Tax Transactions.

Select the date range in the From Date and To Date fields.
Enter a Batch Number in the applicable field. For example, 001.
Click on the Show button.
The transactions applicable to the qualifying suppliers are listed in the grid.
Chapter 24 – Global Tax Global Tax Transactions • 295

To ensure that the transactions are included in the withholding tax calculations, click on the line
transactions and click on the Applicable button. The line will display in green.

If an item listed in the grid is not applicable to withholding tax, select the line item and click on the Not
Applicable button. This will exclude the item from withholding tax calculations.

When you are sure of your selections, click on the Create Batch button.
The batch will be created and saved.
296 • Global Tax Transactions Chapter 24 – Global Tax

Click on the Open Batch button or navigate to the Global Tax module...Transactions...Global Tax Batches.

Select the Batch Number from the drop down menu.


The grid will be populated with the batch transactions.
Select the Process Date. This should be a future date. After the date is specified, Evolution will
automatically process this batch on the date specified in this field.

If you have accidentally included items that are not applicable to withholding tax, or vice versa, you can still
apply or not apply withholding tax to those selected items by clicking on the respective button at the top of
the screen.
Click on the Process button.
Chapter 24 – Global Tax Global Tax Transactions • 297

If you do not want to process the journal batches directly from the Global Tax Transaction screen, you can
create all of your batches and process them via the Global Tax Batches transaction.

If you have accidentally included items that are not applicable to withholding tax, or vice versa, you can still
apply or not apply withholding tax to those selected items by clicking on the respective button at the top of
the screen.
The batch Status will display next to Batch Number field.
If can Save, Process or Delete the batch by clicking on the respective button.
298 • Global Tax Reports Chapter 24 – Global Tax

Global Tax Reports


There are three reports available:

Report Explanation

Batch Report This report summarises the selected batch information.

Supplier Report This report lists the withholding tax transactions per supplier.

Transaction Report This report lists all the withholding tax transactions for a specified period.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager
In this chapter, we look at the Service Manager module.
• Service Manager Maintenance
• Service Manager Transactions
• Service Manager Enquiries and Reports
300 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Service Manager Maintenance


The following table explains the different Administration options available in the Service Manager module.

Administration Options Explanation

Create agents to administer the system within Sage Evolution. The agents
Agents
will populate to the Service Manager add-on module for selection.

Set agent permissions per agent. This allows you to manage or limit user
Agent Rights
access to the system.

Create header User Defined Fields specific to Service Assets, Requests


User Defined Fields
and Tasks.

The following table explains the different master files available in the Service Manager module. The table
displays the master files in the preferred set up sequence.

Master File Explanation

GEOGRAPHY

Region Create your service regions.

Sub Region Create sub regions within your identified regions, if applicable.

Area Create areas within your sub regions.

TECHNICIAN

Business Unit Classify your business into different business units such as departments.

Work Code Create the different work outputs.

Qualifications List the qualifications of your technicians.

Technician Create your team of technicians.


Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 301

Master File Explanation

REQUEST

Create the different activities that can be performed by a technician for


Activity
different service assets.

Invoice Text Template Create messages that will display on your invoices.

Prioritise your service requests by linking it to colour coded priorities for


Priorities
easy identification and tracking.

Request Type Create different request types for a service asset.

Create reason or feedback codes using this feature. These resolution


Resolution Code codes are used to summarise the status of the service asset or request
after being attended to by a technician.

Status Create the statuses for your contracts.

ASSETS

Class Group your service assets into classes.

Classify your service assets by creating the different makes available for
Make
the particular service asset.

Usage units will be linked to a service item or asset to identify the unit of
Usage Units
measure for the warranty, service booking, billing and so on.

Link a status to the service asset. This will assist in the tracking and
Asset Status
progress of the service asset request.

Classify your service assets even further by creating the different models
Models
that are available for that particular service asset or make.
302 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Master File Explanation

Create your service assets by detailing their service criteria and billing
Service Assets
options.

Contracts Create a chargeable contract matrix for your SLA’s.

Service Schedule
Create service schedules for the service asset.
Template

Contract Templates Create contract templates using this option.

Defaults Set your numbering preferences and transaction details.


Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 303

Defaults
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Defaults.

Click on the Ledger Accounts tab to select the affected general ledger accounts, tax types and
transactions types for sales and cost of sales.
Set your numbering preferences for your requests and service assets under the Services tab. Make use of
the Prefix fields to easily identify the Service Manager transactions. You can select to automate the
service asset numbering by making a tick in the tick box.
304 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Click on the Default tab to select the default settings for a new service request. These settings will
automatically apply to a new service request. You can amend these settings at a later stage.

The following selections are important:

Field Explanation

Period of Auto This is the number of days that the service request would be generated before the
Service Request request is due. Specify the number of days in which you would like the system to
automatically generate the service request in advance taking into consideration
the date specified on the service schedule.

Schedule Span (In The time specified in this field will become the standard time allocated to any
Minutes) technician linked to a service task on the interactive scheduler.

Specify your Meter Batches’ numbering preferences under the Meter Batches tab.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 305

Agent Rights
To assign specific agent permissions for the Service Management Module, go to the Service
Manager...Administration...Agent Rights.

The permissions set here are only applicable to the Service Manager add-on module.

User Defined Fields


Create header User Defined Fields specific to Service Assets, Requests and Tasks by navigating to the
Service Manager...Administration...User Defined Fields.
306 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Geography
Region
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Geography…Region.

Sub Region
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Geography…Sub Region.

This must be linked to a Region.


Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 307

Area
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Geography…Area.

This must be linked to a Sub-Region.

Technician
Business Unit
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Technician…Business Unit.
308 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Qualifications
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Technician…Qualifications.

Technician
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Technician…Technician.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 309

Under the Charge Rate, specify costs and rates for work codes that the technician is likely to perform.

Select the technician’s qualifications under the Qualifications tab. If the qualification has to be renewed or
kept up to date, select the renewal date from the calendar. You can also link the Technician’s certificates
in the Documents field.

Link the technician to models and business units using the respective tabs.

Work Code
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Technician…Work Code.
310 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Link a Work Code to a Service Item by using the drop down menu. Ensure that the cost for the Service
Item is specified in Sage Evolution Inventory Module as the Cost field will automatically be populated.

Request
Activity
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Request…Activity.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 311

Invoice Text Template


To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Request…Invoice Text Template. Select this to override the display of line items
with which ever description that you have selected (summary invoice).

Priorities
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Request…Priorities.
312 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Request Type
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Request…Request Type.

Override Transaction Accounts This is where your transaction types and general ledger accounts are
specified as well as the ability to override.
Active Make a tick in this box to activate the request type for transactional
purposes.
Chargeable Client billing (tick box) or internal cost (not ticked) specification by
ticking this tick box. If selected you are able to load and edit prices on
a service tasks. If not ticked, prices will be zero.
Activities are linked per Request Type. Bubble
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 313

Resolution Code
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Request…Resolution Code.

The Create New Service Task check box allows the ability to create a second Service Task against the
initial Service Request.
The Completed Resolution Code is necessary to invoice or finalise the Service Task. This status should
not be deleted.

Status
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Request…Status.

The Close Status is necessary to invoice or finalise the Service Task. This status should not be deleted.
314 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Asset
Asset Status
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Asset Status.

Class
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Class.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 315

Contract Template
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Contract Template.

You can link Stock Rates, Billing options, Charge Rates, Notes and Documents to the Contract Template.

Make
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Make.

This has to be linked to a Class.


316 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Models
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Models.

The following header fields are mandatory to successfully save a Model master file:
• Code
• Description
• Class
• Make
Under the Bulletins tab, enter specific news bulletins or publications pertaining to the model. This feature
is very useful when there is a defect detected and broadcasted regarding the model.
Under the Error Codes tab, list any known error codes pertaining to the model.
Under the Spare Parts tab, select all the different items pertaining to the model.
Perform enquiries under the Service Assets and Customers tabs.
Add any notes pertaining to the model under the Notes tab.
Link any documentation pertaining to the model under the Documents tab. This can be service manuals,
newsletters and so on.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 317

Service Asset
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Service Asset.
You can create a new asset by clicking on the Add button. To add a service asset from your inventory
listing, click on the Add button. To add a service asset from your fixed asset listing, click on the Add From
Fixed Assets button.

Click on the Add button to add a new service asset:


318 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

The header section of the screen requires you to complete the following service asset information:

Remember to activate the Service Asset by checking the Active checkbox.


The screen will then also have tabs for specific information related to the service asset.

The Customer screen will automatically display.


There are three types of customers,

Customer Explanation
Type

Customer This is the default customer on the Service Task.

Billing This is the customer that will be responsible for the invoice and payment based on the
Customer configuration setup under the Billing tab.

Warranty This customer is in essence the supplier who holds the warranty of the asset, ie.
Customer the entity who is responsible for reimbursing us for the costs incurred relating to a
warranty repair of an asset (bought from this particular entity) which we then need to
invoice (therefore it is referred to as a customer and not a supplier).

You will create the meter/s specifically relating to the asset under the Meter tab.

The meter history is also available from this screen.


Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 319

You can add billing types under the Billing tab. There are two billing types available under the Billing tab:

Billing Explanation
Type

Counter Counter Billing refers to billing based on Meter readings. The meter at any given time will display
previous reading and last billing reading. While in most cases previous reading and last billing readings
will be same there might be a scenario where a service item is billed monthly however meter readings
are taken fortnightly. Both the previous and last billing readings will be greyed out and cannot be
edited.

Period A billing schedule is created for a service asset to accommodate automatic or recurring invoicing for a
Bill specified period of time.
Escalation options have been added:

Under the Scheduling tab you are able to perform date, monthly and meter based scheduling.
320 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Service Schedule Template


Create standard Service Schedule Templates for your business. These templates serve as a standard
schedule and can be linked to any service item or asset matching the template’s criteria.
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Service Schedule Template.

You can create date, monthly and metered based schedules:

Scheduling Explanation
Type

Date Based You can specify your scheduling requirements by specifying start, end and repeat
dates.

Monthly Based You can specify specific dates per month.

Meter Based Select an existing meter and specify the scheduling intervals in the Repeat after field.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Maintenance • 321

Swap Out

Usage Units
To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Usage Unit.

Contracts
A Contract Template is mandatory when creating a new contract as you need to link the contract to one.
Multiple service asset can be linked to one service contract. The service contract defines the special
pricing for spare parts and labour hours used for servicing and maintenance of that service item.
322 • Service Manager Maintenance Chapter 25 – Service Manager

To access this master file maintenance screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Maintenance...Asset…Contracts.

You can link multiple Service Assets to the contract under the Service Assets tab:

Contract specific stock rates, billing and charge rates will override the contract template specifications.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Transactions • 323

Service Manager Transactions


The following process flow is recommended:

Existing Service Asset Automate or Generate a Service Request

Optional

Schedule Technician from Service When a Service Request is save a Service Task is
Request and/or Service Task window. automatically created.

Record and complete the Service Invoice Service Task.


Task.

Invoice Consolidated
individually. Invoice.

Process a Credit Note, if


required
324 • Service Manager Transactions Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Service Request
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Service Request.
Ensure that your service assets are created prior to processing any transaction.
Complete the screen with the necessary information, most of the information will be automatically filtered
through upon selecting the service asset.

Specify the scheduled dates for the service asset. The Arrival Date must be greater than the log date and
the completed date or time must be greater than the log and arrival date.

Service Task
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Service Task.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Transactions • 325

Before you can invoice a Service Task, the following fields need to be completed under the Detail tab:
1. Resolution Code field to be specified as Completed.
2. Status field to be specified as Closed.
When you have scheduled a technician for a request, the Date tab will already contain the information
specified in the Service Request.
The Warning tab will show:

1. Active Contracts.
2. Warnings added to the Service Asset master file.
3. Previous Service Task next call comments.
The Activity tab displays all activities linked to this Service Task’s request type.
Click on the Confirm All button to confirm the inventory quantity used for the service task.
The Line Total column will automatically calculate the correct amount to invoice.
Click on the Print Service Call Report to generate a Service Call for technicians.
326 • Service Manager Transactions Chapter 25 – Service Manager

In addition, you can create and save Service Task Templates by clicking on the Template button from the
Service Task Transaction grid.

Purchase Order
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Purchase Order.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Transactions • 327

Parts Entry
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service Manager...Transactions...Parts
Entry.

Technician Times
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Technician Times.

It is important to select the Service Task and Work Code from the respective drop down menus. These
fields ensure that the correct rates are charged.
328 • Service Manager Transactions Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Scheduler
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Scheduler.

Double click on the date to open the new schedule screen. Upon selecting the Service Task, most of the
fields are automatically populated.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Transactions • 329

Meter reading
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Meter Reading.

Meter Batch Reading


To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Meter Batch Reading.

This information can be imported from an Excel Spreadsheet (.csv format).

Invoice Service Task


To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Invoice Service Task.

Consolidate invoices must be processed from this screen.

Auto Invoicing
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service Manager...Transactions...Auto
Invoicing. Any Service Asset Billing / Contract Billing must be invoiced from this screen.
330 • Service Manager Transactions Chapter 25 – Service Manager

This section does not contain any Service Tasks.

Credit Notes
You can process credit notes via the Service Manager module. You can only credit a whole invoice and
not partially credit an invoice from this module.
Only invoiced Service Tasks can be credited. Credit Notes cannot be passed against Service Asset Billing
/ Contract Billing.
To access this transaction screen, go to the system tree and select Service
Manager...Transactions...Credit Notes.
Chapter 25 – Service Manager Service Manager Enquiries and Reports • 331

Service Manager Enquiries and Reports


You can perform enquiries for the following actions or master files:
• Notes
• Warnings
• Documents
• Bulletins
• Error Codes
• Serial Numbers
• Service Assets
• Meter Warnings

The Service Manager Dashboard


The Service Manager has a very powerful dashboard which consists of the following job role dashboards:
1. Technician Dashboard
2. Service Manager Dashboard
3. CEO Dashboard

This dashboard allows you to track and manage performance of the technician.
332 • Service Manager Enquiries and Reports Chapter 25 – Service Manager

Reports
The following reports are available in the Service Manager Module:

Report Explanation

Technician Daily Activity Run this report to view technician’s daily activities.

Run this report to view the outstanding service asset parts for service
Awaiting Parts
requests.

Performance Productivity
Run this report to analyse your technicians’ performance.
per Technician

Contract Expiry Report Run this report to view your contracts that will expire in a specified period.

Customer Service History Run this report to view the service activity for the selected customers.

Customer On Contract Run this report to view the customers that have active service contracts.

Uninvoiced Revenue
Run this report to view service assets that have not been invoiced.
Report

Work In Progress Run this report to view service assets that are still being serviced.

Appointment Schedule
Run this report to view the technicians’ appointments.
Report

Cancelled Service Calls


Run this report to analyse the cancelled service requests.
Report

Technician Activity by Run this report to view the technician’s activities for selected service
Service Request Report requests.

Run this report to view a breakdown of the selected technician’s time and
Technician Times
billing.
Chapter 26 – Advanced
Procurement
In this chapter, we look at the Advanced Procurement module.
• Introduction
• Advanced Procurement Maintenance
• Advanced Procurement Transactions
• Advanced Procurement Enquiries and Reports
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Introduction • 334

Introduction
The Advanced Procurement module allows you to manage your internal and external procurement
procedures.
After you have logged into your Evolution database, you can access the application via the Evolution’s
system tree or main menu structure:

The Contact Management Module is a pre-requisite. Without the Contact Management


Module you will not be able to use the Advanced Procurement Module.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Maintenance • 335

Advanced Procurement Maintenance


Defaults
To set up your default settings, click on the Maintenance menu option and select the Defaults option.
The Advanced Procurement Defaults screen displays:

The following table explains which settings are set up under the different tabs:

Tab Setup information

General Settings Select your supplier and request for quote preferences under this tab.

Import/Export Excel File Specify the import and export file destinations if you are going to make use
Settings of this feature.

Specify which modules and numbering preferences pertaining to the


Module Settings
processing of requisitions.

Tender Settings Set your tender numbering preferences.

Prospective Supplier Set your incident and workflow settings pertaining to prospective suppliers.

Supplier Rotation and


Set your supplier rotation and preferences.
Preference
336 • Advanced Procurement Maintenance Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

User Access
You can set agent access permissions for the Advanced Procurement functionalities, by clicking on the
Access Permissions. Navigate to the Advance Procurement option.
Expand the Advance Procurement option to view the Maintenance, Transactional and Report sub options.

Assign access permissions to your users by making a tick in the corresponding tick box.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Maintenance • 337

Parameters
You can set specific parameters and criteria for the following:
• Quotations
• Prospective Suppliers
• Tenders
• Requisitions
338 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Advanced Procurement Transactions


To access the Advanced Procurement transactions, go to the system tree and select Advanced
Procurement...Transactions.

The Advanced Procurement transactions include the processing and authorising of requisitions, listing
prospective suppliers and the recording of tenders.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 339

New Requisition
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...New Requisition.

The Requisition Number will automatically filter through.


Complete the header section with the date, requester, project, supplier, incident type and agent.
In the grid, select a module from the Module Column. It is compulsory to select a Module. You have three
options, ST=Stock, GL = General Ledger Account or OTHER =other. If you select the OTHER option, you
will not be allowed to approve the requisition until you have specified that the OTHER is either an item or
general ledger account transaction.
You can add a note to the requisition, by clicking on the Notes button. Notes that are saved cannot be
edited.
You can attach a file to the new requisition, by clicking on the Attach File button.
You can do a budget enquiry for stock or general ledger accounts, at any time. Click on the Budget Query
button.
Before you can post the requisition, you have to validate the information by clicking on the [] button.
You can add a new line, insert a line and/or delete a line by clicking on the applicable button.
To post the requisition, click on the Post Requisition button.
340 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

The following message displays when the requisition was posted successfully.

It will now be listed in the Active Requisition screen.

You can also access the Active Requisition screen by going to Advance
Procurement...Transactions...Active Requisitions.
To open an active requisition, select the requisition in the grid and click on the Open button.
You are able to edit active requisitions.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 341

Navigate to the Status Column and select the status of the requisition by selecting one of the listed default
statuses.

The Unit Expected Price Total is the Average Cost on the Item master file.
The options are:

Option Description/Action

Request Select this option if you are requesting a requesting approval.

Approve for RFQ Select this option to approve a requisition for quotation purposes.

Approve for Purchase Order Select this option to approve the requisition as a purchase order.

Approve for Tender Select this option to approve the requisition for tender purposes.

Reject Select this option to reject the requisition.

Click on the Post Requisition button.


342 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Generate a RFQ for a Supplier


When a requisition’s status is Approved for RFQ, a RFQ can then be generated for a supplier.
In the REQ Number field, select the approved RFQ from the drop down list. If no RFQ’s display, it means
that there are no RFQ’s approved.
The Status is also automatically changed to Approved for RFQ, which cannot be changed.

Once the RFQ is selected, click on the Find button.


Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 343

The RFQ details displays in the grid. Double click on the RFQ to open it.

Click on the Browse button in the Supplier column. Select the supplier from the list that displays.
Click on the Generate button to generate the request for quotation for the selected supplier.
The application will give you an option to view or print the RFQ, click on the Yes button.

Receive Quotation
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Receive Quotation.

Select the RFQ and Supplier. Click on the Find button.


344 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Open the RFQ and enter the quoted price received from the supplier, in the Quoted Price column.

If the price is more than the expected price, the line field will be highlighted in red. If the quoted prices is
less than the expected price, the line field will be highlighted in green.

If the line field remains white, then the quoted prices is the same as the expected price.
Click on the Save and Proceed for Evaluation button.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 345

Evaluate Quotation
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Evaluate Quotation.

Select the RFQ number and click on the Find button.


Make a tick the in the Select column tick box.

Click on the Save button.


346 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Select an agent for approval.

Click on the OK button.

Approve RFQ
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Approve RFQ.
The selected RFQ is listed.

Make a tick in the Select Column tick box and click on the Approve button.
The following message displays:

Click on the Yes button.


Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 347

Requisition to Purchase Order


Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Requisition to Purchase Order.
Click on the View button to display all the approved RFQ’s.

Make a tick in the Select Column tick box and click on the Process button.
348 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

The following screen displays:

Click on the Place Orders and Close button.


Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 349

Archive RFQ
Any requisitions that have not been evaluated will display in the Archive RFQ screen.

Import Excel Files


To import and export Excel files, go to your Defaults and select the Import/Export tab.
This functionality allows you to import and export the requisitions which need to be sent to the supplier and
which will be received from the supplier. For this functionality, there is a checkbox on the General Settings
screen. If the check box Allow Excel Import/Export is checked, will the Import Excel files functionality work.
As shown in the screen, there are 3 different paths that need to be specified. These paths will determine
the, to and from destinations, that the files should be imported from and where the file should be archived.
350 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Create a Tender
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...New Tender.
Complete the header fields with the respective information required.

Click on the Tender Parameters to view the already existent parameters or add new parameters specific to
the tender you are busy creating.
Add Terms and Conditions to the tender.
Select the item or general ledger account in the Module column.
Select the Parameter specific to the line item.
Click on the Save button.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 351

Record Tender
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Record Tender.

Open the saved Tender.


Select the supplier in the Supplier field.
Enter a document fee in the Tender Document Fee field.

Enter the quoted price in the Quoted column.


352 • Advanced Procurement Transactions Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Click on the Save button.

Tender Score Entry


Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Tender Score Entry.

Use this screen to ensure that all the parameters were met.
Click on the Save button.
Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement Advanced Procurement Transactions • 353

Evaluate Tender
Navigate to Advanced Procurement...Transactions...Evaluate Tender.

Select the tender by making a tick in the Select column tick box.
Click on the Save button.

Click on the Yes button.


354 • Advanced Procurement Reports Chapter 26 – Advanced Procurement

Advanced Procurement Reports


Reports
The following reports are available in the Advanced Procurement Module:

Report Explanation

This report details all of the approved requisitions within a


Requisition Report
specified period.

This report details the Request for Quotes within a specified


RFQ Report
period.

This report allows you to evaluate the items / services listed on


Evaluation Quotation Report
the quotations from the prospective suppliers.

Archived RFQ Report This report details the Request for Quotes history.

Audit Log Report This report details the transaction activity per agent.

‘My Desktop’
The Advanced Procurement Module creates a platform, called ‘My Desktop’, on your behalf to view your
Requisition Incidents and Prospective Supplier Incidents.
This feature allows you to view and manage your incidents pertaining to requisitions and suppliers.
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway
In this chapter, we look at the Business Gateway module.
• Introduction
• Administrator Process
• Agent Login Process
• Customer Login Process
• PDA Login Process
• Upgrade Process
356 • Introduction Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

Introduction
Our Business Gateway product for Evolution expands the contact management functionality in the
Evolution Contact Management (CRM) module to provide customers and staff access to incidents,
statements, knowledge base articles and various other customer related functions from the internet.
For more information visit the dedicated website: http://www.pastelebusiness.com.

Installation Process
Evolution DVD
The installation file must be accessed from the Evolution Installation DVD:

Run the Setup.exe.


Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Introduction • 357

System Requirements
Refer to the minimum system requirements in the Installation Guide. Ensure that your Business Gateway
environment adhere to the specific requirements.

Pre-Installation Requirements
• Before you install the application ensure that you are aware of the following:
• You need an existing Evolution database.
• Your selected Evolution database has to be a reregistered CRM database.
• It is reliant on the Contact Management Module (CRM).
• Your SQL Server database must be set to use the SQL Server Authentication (mixed mode) where
you will login using your system administrator details.

• Ensure that when you install the product that you are a Windows Administrator for the selected
computer or system.
• Ensure that when you install the product that you are the System Administrator for the SQL Server.

• A new database will be created and additional user defined fields will be added to the selected
Evolution database.
358 • Introduction Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

• Ensure to obtain the necessary administrator login details i.e. usernames and passwords for the target
machine, network, SQL Server and Evolution. The mentioned information is critical, as it will be
needed when the new COM+ applications are created in the Windows Components Services. Three
new COM+ will be created:
o If you install the product on the same server as the database, you can use the local machine’s
administrator account (default).
o If you install the product on a different server to the database, you must use the domain
administrator account.
• You must be able to write files to the Windows System32 folder.
• If you are using Windows 2003 and IIS6.x, a few security settings are necessary to run the website
correctly when you install the product. By default the internet capability of Windows 2003 and IIS6 is
fully locked down so that users are not inadvertently exposed to security threats, thus, the
Administrator is the only account that can enable security settings.
• If you are using Windows Vista/7 the Components Services are only accessible via the search function.
o The file path is: C:\Windows\System32\comexp.msc.
o When you run the Setup.exe you will notice that the 3 Gateway applications are listed, enable the
access checks by going to the Security tab and uncheck the Enforce Access Checks check box.
o Allow the IIS Intrinsic for the Framework.GenericList component by:
 Clicking on the Framework application.
 Select the Components folder.
 Select the Framework.GenericList option, right click and select the Properties option.
 Navigate to the Advanced tab and check the Allow IIS Intrinsic check box.
o Ensure that the APS server is enabled. For more information on the APS server setup, go to
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753918(WS.10).aspx
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Introduction • 359

To deploy a classic ASP server, use the Web Platform Installer (WEB PI) to easily install IIS as well as
applications that run on IIS.
1. Click on Start...Administrative Tools...Server Manager.
2. Use the Add Roles Wizard to add the Web Server (IIS) role. For detailed instructions about how to
install a default IIS 7 web server, go to the Deploying a Static Content Server (IIS7) option.
3. On the Select Role Services page, the default role services are selected, but select the following
additional roles:
• ASP
• Service Side Includes
4. On the Summary of Features to Install page, confirm the selection and click on the Install button.
5. On the Installation Results page, confirm that you are installing the Web Service (IIS) and
complete the process.
6. Click on the Close button.
To verify that it installed correctly, go to http://localhost. You should navigate to the default IIS 7 Welcome
page.

• To use the UI on Windows Vista/7:


o Start...Control Panel...Programs...Turn Windows Features on or off.
o In the Windows Features dialog box, click on the Internet Information Services to install the
default features.
o Select the following additional features:
 ASP
 Server Side Includes
o Click on the OK button to close the screen.
o To verify the features, go to http://localhost. You should navigate to the default IIS 7 Welcome
page.
• Setting is IIS:
o Click on the website you created and click on the ASP option.
o Set the Allow parent paths option to true.
o To allow errors to display, expand the Debugging Properties and set the Send Errors to Browser
option to true.
• Allow attachments to download:
o Find the DownloadAttachement.asp file in the Agent and Customer folders.
o Open with notepad.
o Change the strFilePath path to the path of your document storage folder (can be a network
folder).
360 • Introduction Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

Installation Process
1. Run the Setup.exe:

2. Click on the Next button.


3. Accept the terms and conditions.

4. Click on the Next button.


Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Introduction • 361

5. Select the Website Path and other database administrative details in the respective fields.
(Remember to create a folder on your C:\ drive.)

6. Click on the Next button.


7. Select the Package User Account details in the relevant fields:

8. Click on the Install button.


362 • Introduction Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

9. The following screen displays:

10. Click on the OK button.


11. Click on the Exit button.

Component Services Process


After your Gateway system installed successfully, it is important to check the following areas on your
computer for a successful integration.
1. In Windows, click Start...Control Panel...Administrative Tool...Component Services:

2. Select the COM+ Applications section.


Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Introduction • 363

The following were created on your behalf:


• Framework
• ResolveWeb
• UIObjects
3. Right click on the Framework component, navigate to the Properties option. Click on the Identity tab
and ensure that you re-enter your Windows password in the respective fields.

4. Click on the Apply button.


5. Click on the OK button.
6. Set the ResolveWeb and UIObjects properties in exactly the same manner.
364 • Introduction Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

Internet Information Services Configuration Process


After configuring the component services, ensure to check the following pertaining to your computer’s IIS
services.
1. In Windows, go to Start...Control Panel...Administrative Tools...Internet Information Services.

2. Locate the Default Web Site option and right click on the option to execute the menu displayed in the
image above.
3. Select the Add Virtual Directory option.
4. The following screen displays:
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Introduction • 365

5. Enter the website’s name in the Alias field.


6. Browse for your website path which you created on your C:\ drive.
7. Click on the Connect as...button to test the connection to the path you selected in the previous field.

8. Click on the Set button to select the Windows User.


9. The system will notify you if the connection failed.
10. Click on the Test Settings button to test the settings you have selected for you website in the IIS and
COM+ sections of Windows.
11. Click on the OK button if your connection was successful.
12. Your website should display in the IIS navigation pane:
366 • Introduction Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

13. Expand your website’s folder to view the information it has installed and configured:
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Administrator Process • 367

Administrator Process
1. Launch Internet Explorer and type in the following address by substituting the information in brackets
with your specific website information:
http://[ServerName or IP Address]/[GatewayDirectory]/Admin/Login.asp
2. The following screen should display:
368 • Administrator Process Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

3. Log in using the following details:


• Username = Admin
• Password = Admin

4. Click on the Login button.


5. The following screen displays:
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Administrator Process • 369

6. Click on the Licensing option:

7. Contact the Evolution team to provide you with your corresponding Serial Number.
8. Click on the Register button.
9. Click on the Company Maintenance option.

10. Click on the Save button.


370 • Administrator Process Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

11. Your company will be listed:

12. Click on the Agents button:

13. Select the agents that will have access to this system. You cannot add agents from this screen, this
information is filtered through from your Evolution database.
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Administrator Process • 371

14. To allocate permissions to the selected agents in the Agent screen, click on the Administrator
Maintenance option:

15. Click on the Save button.


16. To add customer permissions to the system, return to the Company Maintenance option and click on
the Customer button.
372 • Administrator Process Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

17. Click on the Customer tab:

18. Select the applicable user defined fields by clicking on the arrow buttons in the middle of the screen.
19. To allow customers to change their details on the system, check the Allow Customer Details Change
check box.
20. Go to the Setup option to set up your website details:

21. Set your Gateway web path, font type, colour, support email and agent session time out limits using
this screen.
22. Click on the Save button.
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Administrator Process • 373

23. Go to the Provider Maintenance to set up provider information.

24. To view the suspend customers/users, go to the Suspended Users option.

25. To reset your administrator password, go to the Reset Password option.


26. To view Reports, go to the Reports option.
374 • Agent Login Process Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

Agent Login Process


1. Launch Internet Explorer and type in the following address by substituting the information in brackets
with your specific website information:
http://[ServerName or IP Address]/[GatewayDirectory]/Agent/Login.asp
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Customer Login Process • 375

Customer Login Process


1. Launch Internet Explorer and type in the following address by substituting the information in brackets
with your specific website information:
http://[ServerName or IP Address]/[GatewayDirectory]/Customer/Login.asp?CompanyID=1

The customer can log in using either the contract number or account number.
376 • PDA Login Process Chapter 27 – Business Gateway

PDA Login Process


1. Check the PDA access.
2. Launch Internet Explorer and type in the following address by substituting the information in brackets
with your specific website information:

http://[ServerName or IP Address]/[GatewayDirectory]/PDADirectory/Login.asp
Chapter 27 – Business Gateway Upgrade Process • 377

Upgrade Process
When you are due for an upgrade, run the Setup.exe file from the latest upgrade DVD.

Complete the installation wizard and click on the OK button.


Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager
In this chapter, we look at the Debtors Manager add-on module:
• Introduction
• Debtors Manager Maintenance
• Debtors Manager Transactions
• Debtors Manager Reports
379 • Introduction Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Introduction
When you grant credit to your customers, it is essential to a company’s cash flow and ultimate profitability
to collect all outstanding monies as soon as possible. The Evolution Debtors Manager add-on module,
hereinafter referred to as Debtors Manager, helps the user to optimise the debt collections process.
Once you grant credit to your customers, it is essential to your cash flow and ultimate profitability to collect
all outstanding monies as soon as possible. The Debtors Manager module helps you to optimise your
collections process, and generate up to date and accurate cash flow forecasts from your debtor’s book.
Debtors Manager is always synchronised with your Evolution data. There is no need to keep updating
Excel spread sheets, or to scribble notes on the age analysis printout. Debtors Manager provides instant
visibility as to what is outstanding, why it is outstanding, and when you will collect the outstanding invoices.
The Debtors Manager module is a custom collection system that allows you to effortlessly:
• Keep track of all calls made to customers and the promises they make.
• Instantly link your notes and the Age Analysis balances in a single report.
• Create daily call back reminders and action lists for easy follow-up.
• Track all outstanding invoices, and then categorise all outstanding amounts into clear reports. For
every outstanding invoice you will know:
o Why it is outstanding.
o When it will be paid.
o What has been done to collect it, and what actions you should take.
• Quantify all of the above data into meaningful financial reports.
• Select from a menu of up-to-date and accurate cash flow reports.
• Drill down and get reconciliation's of invoices outstanding per aging category per customer.
• Email clear and concise payment reminders for every single overdue invoice per customer.
• Track movement in balances per customer and per aging category with the Age Analysis
Movement Report.
• You can refresh your data at any time to ensure accurate and up to date customer information.
• You can view or export a Sales Analysis Report to analyse your monthly debt collection progress.
• The Dashboard provides a snap shot of your daily debt collection activities.
• Open multiple windows for more efficient processing.
380 • Introduction Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Installation and Registration


During the installation of Sage Evolution, ensure that you tick the Debtors Manager tick box to install the
application.

Application Path
Ensure that the Evolution Debtors Manager add-on module’s application path has been set up correctly.
Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager Introduction• 381

Open Debtors Manager


You access this function via the Transactions...Accounts Receivable…Debtors Manager menu option, or
via the system tree Accounts Receivable...Transactions...Debtors Manager function.
A message displays requesting that updated data be imported from Evolution to the Debtors Manager add-
on module. Click on the OK button. After the data has been populated the Age Analysis displays:

The Age Analysis screen is divided into two sections, namely:


• Header section
• Detail Section
The Header section allows you to specify customer information to be displayed according selected criteria.
The Detail section displays the ageing intervals of the selected customers.
382 • Debtors Manager Maintenance Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Debtors Manager Maintenance


In this section, we look at the setup and maintenance functions in this module. Note that the Debtors
Manager module also uses setup elements from the Accounts Receivable module. Debtors Manager will
not affect your Evolution accounting data it will merely read your existing customer master file and
transactional information and populate it into the Age Analysis screen.

Master File Explanation

Use and/or create reason codes on the fly for selection purposes when you
Reason Codes contact a customer and would like to record the reason for contacting the
customer or the topic of conversation.

Use and/or create action codes on the fly for selection purposes to record
Action Codes what action is needed or what actions are being taken to collect the debt
from the said customer.

Create different email templates for selection purposes by entering


Email Templates
required information into the column fields available on the screen.

Email | SMS | Dashboard | Setup your email and sms structures depicted by the service provider you
UD Field selected which are supported by Evolution.

This table is used for your cash flow forecast reports. You will enter the
Percentage Collection
expected percentage revenue recovery from the outstanding customer
Table
balances.
Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager Debtors Manager Maintenance• 383

Reason Codes
To add reason codes navigate to the Setup menu and select the Reason Codes option. The following
screen displays:

Action Codes
To add action codes navigate to the Setup menu and select the Action Codes option. The following
screen displays:
384 • Debtors Manager Maintenance Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Email Templates
Create different email templates for selection purposes by entering required information into the column
fields available on the screen by navigating to the Setup menu.
Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager Debtors Manager Maintenance• 385

Email | SMS | Dashboard | UD Field


To set up the text for the messages, go to the Setup menu and select the Email | SMS | Dashboard | User
Defined field option.

Select your company's default sending email address in the Default Email field.
In the Subject field, you will enter the subject title of the sms. In the Message section, you will enter the
body text for the sms.
In the Title field, you will enter the subject title of the email. In the Header section, you will enter the
body text for the email, and in the Footer section will enter the closing to your email.
386 • Debtors Manager Maintenance Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Percentage Collection Table


To access the Percentage Collection Table, go to the Setup menu and select the Percentage Collection
Table option. The Percentage Collection Table will display.

In the Debtor drop down menu, you can select a specific debtor or you can work on an overall Blanket
Percentage table.
The ageing categories are the ageing periods shown across the top of the table and represent the
ageing of outstanding amounts as they are at present.
In the Expected Month column, you can see the future months in sequence.
In each of the grid blocks, you will enter the percentage of outstanding amounts that you expect to
receive in that period. The total of the fields must be 100%.
Clicking on the Show Sample bar opens a second Percentage Collection Table showing values on the
percentages that you have set. You are able to view this for specific debtors and for the Blanket
Percentages.
Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager Debtors Manager Transactions• 387

Debtors Manager Transactions


Notes
An integral part of using the Debtors Manager add-on module is to keep track of what agreement has been
made between the debtor and collector.
Also keep track of which debtors have been contacted, who have paid and who still needs to be contacted
by adding a note to the customer grid record.

Click on the Not Yet link in the Contacted column.


388 • Debtors Manager Transactions Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

A Contacts screen displays:

Use the Contact History drop down menu to select previous notes saved on the customer record.
To add a new note, click on the Add New button or activate the Edit / Delete buttons by selecting the
Other Options button.
You can edit or delete notes by clicking on the respective button.
The date in this field will default to the system date, but to select a different date or future date use the
calendar to make your selection.
Enter a detailed note in the Note area which will be saved against the customer grid record.
The system displays a summary of the selected customer's contact details.
The main contact person's details will be populated from Evolution into this feature. You can add
additional contacts into the respective fields.
Click on the Save button to save the note.
Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager Debtors Manager Transactions• 389

Debtors Age Analysis Screen


The Debtors Age Analysis screen allows you to drill down and add additional debt collecting activities to
the customer record. Access this feature by clicking on the customer balance links in the ageing period
columns.

The following screen displays:

Add Promise To Pay information by specifying the PTP Date, Reason Codes and Expected Amount.
Specify what actions are being taken by selecting an Action Code and Call Back information.
You can Delete and Clear Notes, Call Back and Actions by clicking on the respective buttons.
You can drill down to view the invoices and add new notes to the customer record.
You can print and export the customer’s age analysis grid.
390 • Debtors Manager Transactions Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Email and SMS Notifications


The Debtors Manager add-on module allows you to send payment notifications via email or sms.
In order to use this feature, ensure that you have set up the email and sms settings under the Setup menu.
The Email and SMS Notification screens are divided into two sections, namely:
• Header section
• Detail Section
The Header section allows you to specify customer information to be displayed according selected criteria.
The Detail section displays the ageing intervals of the selected customers.

You can send multiple emails and sms’s at the same time, by making the selections in the Selected
column.
Click on the Send emails or sms button to email or sms the payment notification.
Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager Debtors Manager Reports• 391

Debtors Manager Reports


The system has many powerful reports that give you all the output you usually require.

Debtors Management
To access Debtors Manager reports, choose the Debtor Management menu option.

Report Explanation

This report details all of notes or actions you have recorded when you
Contact Report
contacted your customers listed in the Age Analysis.

Promise to Pay Per Debtor:


This report summarises all of the notes or actions you have recorded when
Unlinked to specific
you contacted your customers listed in the Age Analysis.
invoices

This report details all of the customers that you have made follow up calls
Call Back Report
to.

Reason Code Summary This report lists the reasons codes of the add-on module.

Action List This report lists all of the action codes of the application.

This report lists all of the credit notes that will need to be processed
Credit Notes To Be Passed
according to the Age Analysis.

Age Analysis Movement This report details the actions processed on the Age Analysis.

Debtors Reconciliation /
This report details reconciliations and customer history that were processed
Payment History Per
according to the Age Analysis.
Invoice

Credit Matched Per Invoice This report details credits matched per invoice.

Unmatched Credits This report details unmatched credits.

Total Values Per


This report summarises the values per transaction type.
Transaction Type

Credit Limit Report This report summarises your debtors credit limits.
392 • Debtors Manager Reports Chapter 28 – Debtors Manager

Cash Flow Forecast


To access Cash Flow Forecast reports, choose the Cash Flow Forecast menu option.

Report Explanation

Promise to Pay (Fresh) This report displays customers with new promise to pay dates.

Promise to Pay (Stale) This report displays customers who missed their promise to pay date.

Promise to Pay (Unlinked) This report displays promise to pay dates not specific to an invoice.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales
In this chapter, we look at the Mobile Sales add-on module:
• Mobile Sales Overview
• Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance
• Mobile Sales Back Office and Master Files
• Mobile Sales Device Maintenance
• Mobile Sales Device Transactions
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Mobile Sales Overview• 394

Mobile Sales Overview


People and Businesses are more comfortable accessing and sharing data using the latest technology and
trends. Going mobile removes geographical constraint around business processes, allows for instant
access to information, management and employee flexibility, increases productivity and extends business
borders by entering new markets.

Our vision is to provide a mobile technology platform that influences business processes creating,
efficiency within the ERP workforce and to support multiple touch devices.

Mobile Sales Environment


The following diagram illustrates the Sage Evolution Mobile Sales environment:

The following features are available:


• Back office management tool.
• Customer and inventory information in real time.
• Create and process quotes and sales orders.
• View revenue by customer, inventory items, and sales representatives.
• Scheduler and To Do List.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance• 395

Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance


Setup Process
The following diagram depicts the Mobile Sales set up process:

Pre-requisites
• Install .NET framework 3.5 & 2.0, if it is not installed yet.
• Install IIS 7 with IIS 6 compatibility, if it is not installed yet.
• Check that the IIS is enabled and running properly.
• Create a Windows User and assign the appropriate user permissions.
• Ensure that you have full administrative rights on the dedicated host.
• Check that the Firewall is not affecting the connection.
• The following system requirements are applicable:

SAGE EVOLUTION MOBILITY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS


Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 N8000 / Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7500 / iPad 2 or
Hardware
later.
Apple platforms: IOS 5.1.1 or later.
Operating System
Android platforms: Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and Jellybean (4.2).
Free Space Ensure to have a minimum of 4GB capacity.
Web Service Internet Information Services (IIS) 6 or later.
Connectivity 3G or WIFI.
Sage Evolution
Version 6.81.48 or higher.
Version
396 • Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Install the Web Service


Option 1:

1. Run the Sage Evolution Mobile Sales Web Service.msi file.


2. Click on the setup.exe.
3. You can select to perform a default or customised installation.

4. In the IIS screen, under the default website you will notice the Sage Evolution Mobile Sales Web
Service option. Validate your service by deploying the http://localhost.

5. Click on the Test Working link in Web Service to validate that the Web Service works.
6. Validate the Web Service by trying to access it from the device browser.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance• 397

Option 2:

A Service Control centre will alleviate the technical setup of the Mobile Sales add-on module.
Access the installation from the Additional Installations folder on the Sage Evolution Installation DVD.

Run through the simple installation process. A shortcut will be created on your Desktop:

Double click on the shortcut icon for the Service Controller to open:

Use the features on this application to manage your services.


398 • Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Configure the IIS


Determine whether the machine to be used for the Web Service is a 64Bit or 32Bit:

1) Launch the IIS manager and select the Web service.


2) Click on the basic settings button on the right side panel.
3) Identify the Application Pool is being used by the web service.
4) Select the the Application Pool node as in the image below:

5) On the right hand side of the screen, choose the advanced option.
6) Under the General option, enable the 32Bit mode as in the image below:
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance• 399

Install the application on the device


The Sage Evolution Mobility installation file will be available on the Device Store and you can install it
using one of the following methods:
• Log into your Device Store using your device and install from there. When you use this method the
application is installed and no further steps are required. This process depends on the type of device
you using.
• Log into your Device Store with the valid credentials from your computer and download the
application into your Device Library. After the download is complete, you will need to synchronise
your device with the Device Library. Here you will be asked to authorise your computer to your
Device Store account before application is transferred to your device.
Once you have successfully installed the Sage Evolution Mobile Sales application, it necessary that you
establish the Web Service URL by configuring it in this field:

Click on the Register Device button. The following screen displays, confirming your registration:

Locate your database by clicking on the Locate button:


400 • Mobile Sales Technical Maintenance Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Specify your database details:

Please use your SQL Authentication login details.


Click on the Finish button.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Back Office and Master Files• 401

Back Office and Master Files


Log into your Sage Evolution database. Go to the Sage Evolution Mobile Sales option in the System Tree.

Maintenance Defaults Select this option to set up the Mobility module’s default settings.

Device Select this option to link the different users to their device’s unique
ID.

Chart Template Select this option to choose a preferred chart display template.

Transactions Device User Select this option to configure the agents’ data.
402 • Back Office and Master Files Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Default Settings
Like every other module, default settings are important. The following default settings are necessary for
the Sage Evolution Mobile Sales add-on module.
Navigate to the Mobile Sales module from the system tree. Click on the Mobile Sales Defaults dialog.
Set your device numbering preferences under the Device tab:

Set your chart template numbering preferences under the Chart Template tab:
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Back Office and Master Files• 403

Enter the Web Service URL and the Company Logo in the relevant fields under the General tab:

Create your Terms and Conditions here.

Select the Pebble Tender Type for payments

Click on the OK button to save the default settings.


404 • Back Office and Master Files Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Chart Templates
To create chart templates, navigate to the Mobile Sales module from the system tree. Select the Chart
Template dialog:

Link your Devices to Agents


Return to the Sage Evolution back office portal and link the device’s unique ID to the respective agents.
Refer to the following example:

Click on the Add button to add a newly acquired device or click on the Edit button to change information of
an existing device.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Back Office and Master Files• 405

Device User Wizard


Run the Device User Wizard to configure data to the agents’ devices. Navigate to the Mobile Sales
module from the system tree and select the Device Users dialog.
1. The following wizard executes:

2. Select a module on Module Selection and the agent from the Agent Name drop down menu.
3. Click on the Next button.
4. Select the User Role as Representative or Management. Select the type of device. It is important to
select the correct device type, otherwise the information will not synchronise correctly.
5. Select the representative name and order warehouse, Select to Show All Customers and specify the
Invoice Settings.
6. Click on the Next button.
406 • Back Office and Master Files Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

7. Link the device user to specific customers.

8. Click on the Next button.


9. Link the device user to specific inventory items.
10. Click on the Next button.
11. Link the device user to a specific chart template.
12. Click on the Next button.
13. Assign access permissions to the device user.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Back Office and Master Files• 407

14. Click on the Next button.


15. Complete the process by clicking on the Finish button.

16. Follow this process for each of your mobile users.

Log
Click on the Log dialog to view agent activity:
408 • Device Maintenance Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Device Maintenance
After you have logged into the application, the dashboard displays:

You are able to access your device data and process transactions using the icon list on the left as well as
view your key performance indicators and customer information from this screen.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Device Maintenance• 409

Device Default Settings


Tap on the Defaults option in the menu bar:

Tap on the Credentials button at the top of the screen to view and set up the Web Service URL, agent
login details and synchronisation options.
Tap on the Documents button to set the numbering preferences for Quotes, Sales Orders and Templates.
Tap on the Order Defaults button specify the default quantity, representative and warehouse when
processing orders using the device.
Tap on the Report Layout, change or shorten the documents name and the line field names.
Tap on the Log Details button to generate a log according to the criteria listed. Tap on the View Log
button to view the log.
Tap on the About Us button to view the server details and tap on the Register button to register the
device. Tap on the OK button to save and exit the Defaults screen.
410 • Device Maintenance Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

Scheduler
Tap on the Scheduler option to view or create schedules:

View Customer and Inventory Information


View customer contact details, balances, transaction history, outstanding or pending orders and so on.
Tap on the respective buttons to view the information you would like to view.

Tap on the Quotation or Sales Order button to process the selected document for the customer.
Slide the screen to the left to view the rest of the information and / or options displayed on the screen.
You can view inventory information in the same way.
Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Processing Documents• 411

Processing Documents
Process Quotes and Sales Orders
Tap on the Sales Order button from the menu:

Select the customer or template from the drop down menu. Most of the information will automatically filter
through to the screen such as the order number, representative and date fields. You can specify an
external order number and delivery method to the order by double tapping in the field.

Select the items in the gird. To remove line items, tap on the button.
Slide your finger over the Place Order button to view other options. You can Print, Email, Copy or create
New order by tapping on the option. To place the order, tap on the Place Order button.
Tap on the Signature field to open the signature pad where the customer can sign and confirm the order.

Tap on the Done button to close the signature pad.


412 • Processing Documents Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

You will process a Quote in the same way:

You will process an Invoice in the same way:


Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Processing Documents• 413

Accept payment for the invoice.

You will be able to Print or E-mail the invoice:


414 • Processing Documents Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales

You will create a Template in the same way:


Chapter 29 – Mobile Sales Processing Documents• 415

You might also like