No Fragments Archive 10: Diskmags/nf_archive_10.iso/MAGS/INFO/IINFO53.MSA/TEXT_ORDERPLS.TXT

Text File | 1991-07-11 | 6KB | 105 lines

   AMWAY CONTROL SYSTEM STR Review      This program is dedicated to Amway
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                          COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST
                          ======================

 by James Nolan


     So, you're  sitting at  home in  your office  on order  night when the
 phone  rings.    As  you  answer  it  and  find out who the distributor or
 customer is, you bring up their record on the computer  and start entering
 their order.  When you're done, you print out a copy with all the totals -
 PV, BV, and cost.  All of this is done WITHOUT filling  out a  BA1 or SA1.
 Next you  start adding  this to  your group  order.   Then the phone rings
 again...

     Rarely does a program package come along that  can really  get someone
 excited  and  keep  them  that  way.    Then after prolonged use, the same
 program prompts the user to keep asking himself while giggling, "How did I
 ever survive  without this  jewel?"   These are the feelings I experienced
 while using the fine product "COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST" written by Robert Re
 of  Pacifica,  California.    This  program is strictly dedicated to Amway
 distributors who are building  a multi-level  marketing business.   Yes, I
 said AMWAY,  the 3.2 billion dollar MLM giant out of Ada, Michigan.  So if
 you're not involved in the best of two worlds, meaning  "Power Without the
 Price" teamed  with the time leveraging/income diversifying advantages the
 Amway opportunity provides, this article really  may not  light your fire.
 If, however,  you are  one of  those rare networking entrepreneurs with an
 Atari ST looking for a way  to speed  up your  business, this  is IT!   If
 you've been considering buying the networking software from Amway and run-
 ning it in the IBM mode, hold your keyboard until you've checked  this one
 out.

     The program, comes on 2 disks with complete docs in a handsome binder.
 It is readily evident that a lot of time and  effort went  into making the
 docs simple and easy to read and follow.  the same conscientious effort is
 evident in the development of the program.  It's hard to explain in detail
 all of  the great features that this program has to offer but I will touch
 lightly on most of them.  C.O.P.   ST is  very user  friendly.   It can be
 installed  on  the  hard  drive  or  run from floppies as program and data
 disks.  If you're using disk drives, C.O.P.  ST will prompt  you   when to
 change data  disks.   It will  also number  the disks itself to ensure the
 right one is in use.  I tested the program on a  monochrome system  but it
 also runs  in medium  resolution and allows you to set the colors for each
 of the different screens within the program.   An especially  nice feature
 is the security code access.  This is helpful if the system is set up in a
 warehouse environment.  The code can be changed or bypassed.

     From what I can see, anything you could do before can now be done with
 the  program  (and  much  faster).    This includes but is not limited to:
 generation of orders, optional  inventory  control,  back  order tracking,
 catalog  updating,   performance  bonus   statements,  year  end  reports,
 add/delete new distributors, "family trees", and  sort &  print orders ac-
 cepted by  the RDCs.   There are separate programs for database utilities,
 generating year end reports  and for  ordering from  the Personal Shoppers
 catalog.

     The data utility module allows you to create new or fix old databases.
 With it  you can  move, copy  or merge  different groups  in your network.
 This  is   extremely  useful   when  your  group  reaches  close  to  1000
 distributors and  you want  to set  different databases  for each  leg.  I
 really  like  this  feature  because  as your business grows, the software
 doesn't slow you down.  Year end reports information such as group  or in-
 dividual bonuses, PV/BV totals, orders and sales tax, bonuses received and
 total cost PV/BV totals are generated giving you some excellent  tax stats
 for your IRS returns.  You shouldn't rely solely on these reports for your
 tax return but it can help tremendously.  You will also be  able to deter-
 mine if you need to submit a 1099 form for any of your distributors.

     At present,  the Personal  Shoppers module only contains items handled
 by the RDCs but other items can be  added up  to a  total of  2000.  Other
 features of C.O.P.  ST include single unit pricing, editable printer codes
 from within  the program,  the ability  to jump  between functions without
 exiting the  program -  ie.   jump out  of a distributor's order screen to
 update an item in the  catalog  and  then  back  again,  auto  creation of
 folders  for  new  months,  ghosting  of unusable options in the pull down
 menus, saving of payment info right on the SA1 (date & check#) and setting
 of state  sales tax and shipping charges.  You can even set variable char-
 ges on retail for your customers as % increase, % decrease or flat rates.

     Another nice speed feature used throughout the program  is the  use of
 ALT keys  for various  functions such as catalog item find, printing, sor-
 ting orders, totals, RDC credits, back order marking and SCO charges.

     That's all we'll cover this issue.  Next time we'll  go more  in depth
 into the main program and all of its abilities.


                         "COMPUTER ORDER PLUS ST"
                                written by
                                 Robert Re
                               501 Ebken St.
                        Pacifica, California  94044



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