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Parts Inventory Control Tutorial and User's Guide Version 1.0 Contents TUTORIAL .................................................... 1 1.0 Collecting the information. ............................ 1 2.0 How to plug it in. ..................................... 2 3.0 Fooling around .......................................... 3 4.0 Starting from power off ................................. 3 5.0 Where do we put the data? .............................. 4 5.1 Formatting diskettes .................................... 4 5.2 Backup, what's backup? ................................. 5 6.0 Entering inventory data ................................. 5 6.1 Computer mythology ...................................... 7 6.2 What an inventory record looks like. ................... 7 6.3 Customizing ............................................. 9 6.4 Enter the first record. ............................... 10 6.5 Sort - build index ..................................... 13 7.0 Day to day activities. ................................ 14 7.1 Count .................................................. 14 7.2 Order .................................................. 15 7.3 Receive ................................................ 15 7.4 Sell ................................................... 15 7.5 Return from customer ................................... 16 7.6 Return to supplier ..................................... 16 7.7 Error recovery ......................................... 16 8.0 History, sales and tax ................................. 17 8.1 Run daily sales history update ......................... 17 8.2 Run monthly sales history update ....................... 17 8.3 Run monthly tax history update ......................... 18 8.4 Run yearly sales history update ........................ 18 8.5 Run yearly tax history update .......................... 19 8.6 Edit sales history file ................................ 19 8.7 Edit tax history file .................................. 19 8.8 Update reorder level ................................... 20 9.0 Printed reports ........................................ 20 9.1 Master list ............................................ 20 9.2 Orders ................................................. 21 9.3 Under stock list ....................................... 21 9.4 Over stock list ........................................ 21 9.5 Count/orders ........................................... 21 9.6 Sales history .......................................... 22 9.7 Tax history ............................................ 22 10.0 Summary ............................................... 22 USER'S GUIDE ............................................... 23 1.0 Introduction ........................................... 23 2.0 What this program can do for you. ..................... 23 3.0 What you need to get started. ......................... 24 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial and User's Guide Version 1.0 Contents 3.1 Computer system ........................................ 24 3.2 Computer supplies ...................................... 24 3.3 Parts information ...................................... 24 3.4 Copy program to DOS diskette ........................... 24 4.0 Starting the program ................................... 25 4.1 From power off ......................................... 25 4.2 From power on .......................................... 25 4.3 Program menu ........................................... 25 5.0 Option 1, "Format or Backup Diskettes" - DISKETTE ...... 25 5.1 Formatting data and history diskettes .................. 25 5.2 Backing up data and history diskettes .................. 26 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FILE 26 6.1 "Enter tables and controls" - TABLES ................... 26 6.1.1 Enter supplier names ............................... 27 6.1.2 Enter manufacture names ............................ 27 6.1.3 Enter default data ................................. 27 6.1.4 Enter miscellaneous data ........................... 28 6.2 Enter inventory records ................................ 28 6.2.1 Inventory record field data ........................ 28 6.2.2 Entering the data .................................. 29 6.3 Build index ............................................ 31 7.0 Option 3 - "Update Records" - RECORD .................. 31 7.1 Option 1 - Count ....................................... 32 7.2 Option 2 - Order ....................................... 32 7.3 Option 3 - Receive ..................................... 33 7.4 Option 4 - Sell ........................................ 33 7.5 Option 5 - Return from customer option ................. 33 7.6 Option 6 - Return to supplier option ................... 33 8.0 Option 4 - "End of month, save history" - HISTORY ...... 34 8.1 Options 1 through 5, periodic updates. ................ 34 8.2 Option 6 and 7 - Edit history file ..................... 34 8.3 Option 8 - "Update reorder levels" ..................... 35 9.0 Option 5 - "Print reports" - PRINT ..................... 35 9.1 Master list ............................................ 36 9.2 Orders ................................................. 36 9.3 Under stock level ...................................... 36 9.4 Over stock level ....................................... 36 9.5 Count/order ............................................ 36 9.6 Sales history .......................................... 36 9.7 Tax history ............................................ 37 10.0 Option 6 - "Utilities" ................................ 37 10.1 Adjust selling price .................................. 37 10.2 Exchange data ......................................... 37 11.0 Recovery from errors .................................. 37 11.1 Option 1 - Format or backup diskettes. ............... 38 11.1.1 Option 1 - Format (initialization) ................ 38 11.1.2 Option 2 - Backup ................................. 38 11.2 Option 2 - Define records, enter new records, ... .... 39 11.2.1 Option 2 - Enter tables and controls .............. 39 11.2.1.1 Option 1 - Enter supplier names ............... 39 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial and User's Guide Version 1.0 Contents 11.2.1.2 Option 2 - Enter manufacture names ............ 39 11.2.1.3 Option 3 - Enter default data ................. 39 11.2.1.4 Option 4 - Enter miscellaneous data ........... 40 11.2.2 Option 2 - Enter data records ..................... 40 11.2.3 Option 3 - Build index ............................ 41 11.3 Option 3 - Update inventory records. ................. 41 11.3.1 Option 1 - Count .................................. 41 11.3.2 Option 2 - Order .................................. 41 11.3.3 Option 3 - Receive ................................ 41 11.3.4 Option 4, 5, or 6 ................................. 41 11.4 Option 4 - Transfer data to history. ................. 41 11.4.1 Option 1 - Daily sales update ..................... 42 11.4.2 Option 2 - Monthly sales update ................... 42 11.4.3 Option 3 - Monthly tax update ..................... 42 11.4.4 Option 4 - Yearly sales update .................... 42 11.4.5 Option 5 - Yearly tax update ...................... 42 11.4.6 Option 6 - Edit sales history file ................ 42 11.4.7 Option 7 - Edit tax history file .................. 42 11.4.8 Option 8 - Calculate reorder point and quantity ... 42 11.5 Option 5 - Reports. .................................. 42 11.6 Option 6 - Utilities .................................. 43 11.7 Option 7 - Return to DOS .............................. 43 12.0 APPENDIX .............................................. 43 12.1 Alternate backup procedure ............................ 43 12.2 Format of diskettes ................................... 43 12.2.1 Data diskettes .................................... 44 12.2.2 Sales history diskettes ........................... 44 12.2.3 Tax history diskettes ............................. 45 12.2.4 DOS diskettes ..................................... 45 12.3 Formulas used to calculate tax, cost of goods sold. .. 46 12.4 Memory partitions ..................................... 47 12.5 Sort algorithm ........................................ 47 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial and User's Guide Version 1.0 (C) Copyright Glenn D. Pooler 1984 This program is distributed on an "as is" basis, without warranty either expressed or implied. who needs a program to track inventory of a parts and service business. If you find the program of value, wish to be informed of new releases, and/or need help in using this program, send $50.00 to: Glenn D. Pooler 3722 Second Street NW Rochester, MN 55901 Questions and reports of problems with this program can only be answered by mail, no telephone support is available. TUTORIAL If you are not experienced in using a data processing inventory control program, please read this tutorial before reading the User's Guide. Following the information in this tutorial will give you the experience you need to use the User's Guide. 1.0 Collecting the information. The starting point for inventory control is an accurate count. Before you start, decide how to classify each item in your inventory. For example, you may group the parts according to replacement parts, helmets, clothes, accessories, batteries, tires, etc. The idea is to group like items so that you will be able to tell where you make the most profit and which groups deserve the most floor space. You will be able to print reports according to the classes you select. In other words, suppose the sale representative for a tire manufacture has a special deal on a discontinued line of tires. You run the stock level reports on the tire class and see that you are already overstocked. Now select the smallest class and count those items. After you have the program working well with one class, expand to all classes. As you count each item, beside the number on hand, record the selling price and the location where it's stored. For example, you have 15 oil filters stored on a display rack and 24 oil filters stored in the service department. Record 39 filters at 3.95 each in location srm-srd (for showroom and service department, location is limited to 8 characters). If there is a part number available, record it and the manufacture of the part, e.g., 3008-1421, Twaki-su. Leave enough room next to each item to record information that you will later get from the invoices. Such as, purchase cost, shipping, supplier, quantity ordered, received date, etc. If you aren't concerned with location, or any of the other information mentioned, don't record it, record only the information you consider important. 1.0 Collecting the information. 1 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Don't record your large cost items (retail price over $5000). Their price and ordering requirements dictate that they should still be tracked by hand. You usually track high cost items by serial number, customer, and sales person, as well as the above information. After you have recorded all the information about each item you want to track, the next step is to get it into the computer. 2.0 How to plug it in. The computer that is. Before you take it out of the boxes, some planning is needed. First, find a place that's not too dusty, doesn't get too hot in the summer, and is close to where you sell most of the parts. Find a table or counter that allows the operator to enter (on the keyboard) a lot of data without getting tired. Make sure there is enough room to read invoices and sales slips while typing. Remember that the printer need to get paper from a box, a small table often works well. When you bought the computer, you should have bought a couple of boxes of diskettes (10 each, try different certifications, e.g., SSSD, DSSD, DSDD, to see which is the cheapest and will still format correctly) and a box of printer paper, the kind with green strips. The computer should have two double sided diskette drives and 256 KBs of memory. The mono-chrome display works best for this program and DOS 1.1 is recommended as the operating system. Some sort of power line filter might also be a good idea. Follow the instructions on setting up your computer. If you have any doubts about what you are doing, call the dealer that sold you the computer for help. Make sure every thing is plugged in before you turn on the power. Especially make sure the mono-chrome display is properly connected, the shipping protectors are removed from the diskette drives, and the keyboard isn't plugged into the cassette plug. After you power on and the computer has checked itself out, put the DOS diskette in drive A (the one on the left). Now, either power off, wait a few seconds, and power on the computer, or press the keys marked Ctrl and Alt, then press the key marked Del. Release all keys. The screen will ask for the date. Enter the date, e.g., 12-31-86 for December 31st, 1986. When I say enter the "whatever," I mean type the information and then press the Enter key (the large one with the hooked arrow). The next information needed is the time, enter the current time, e.g., if it's one-thirty in the afternoon, type 13:30 and press the Enter key. The display should now show an A>. The first thing to do is back-up the Parts Inventory Control program diskette. Get a new diskette and put it in the B (right) drive, check the "Guide to Operations" manual if these terms are unfamiliar. Enter FORMAT B: /S. Note, don't include the period in the command, it's used to end the sentence. Respond to the computer messages, you can format as many as you need to back up other programs. After formatting the last diskette, remove the DOS diskette from the A drive and put in the Parts Inventory Control diskette, leave the last diskette formatted in the B drive. Enter COPY *.* B: /V. Wait for all the data to be 2.0 How to plug it in. 2 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 copied. Remove both diskettes, put the program diskette in a safe place, and write (felt tip pen, no ball point) on the new diskette the name INVENT. Put this diskette in the A (left) drive and enter INVENT. You can enter the name using lower case letters. The program menu should be displayed. If you want to read the initial screen more carefully, hold down the Ctrl key and press the Num Lock key before the menu is displayed. This will freeze the computer, you can start it again by pressing any key. 3.0 Fooling around This may be the first time you have used a menu driven program. The idea is to give you a list of things the program can do so you don't have to remember command names. In order to easily read the screen, the names of each option are shortened so they only jog your memory, they don't completely describe the operation. To get a more complete description, press the F1 key (upper left hand side of the keyboard). This is called on line help, it doesn't tell you how to do something, it just describes what each option can do. If the program and this manual have been well written, you won't need any additional information to use the program. Notice at the bottom on the screen is ENTER - return. Press the Enter key and the menu will reappears. Now we will take a look at the first option. Enter 1. You have selected the DISKETTE menu. Notice there are only two options, format a new diskette and backup an inventory diskette. Initialize means about the same as format, a small technical difference that format applies to new diskettes and initialize applies to both new and old diskettes. We will get back to these options, for now just press the Esc key (just to the right of the F2 key). This will return us to the previous display, i.e., the PROGRAM menu. Select option 7 (enter 7) to return to DOS. The display should be blank except for A> in the upper left corner. If everything has worked OK, you have a good program diskette and you know how to use the computer. If anything goes wrong with the program diskette, you will get an error message displayed. Discard the diskette and use the original program diskette your saved to create (copy) another program diskette to work with. 4.0 Starting from power off If the computer isn't turned off, turn it off, we want to see how to start the program from power off. Put the program diskette in drive A (left) and turn power on. It doesn't matter if you leave diskettes in the drives or if you remove them while the computer is off, whichever is most convenient. A program called autoexec.bat is run whenever the computer is powered on, or whenever the Ctrl and Alt (Control and Alternate) keys are held down and the Del (Delete) key is pressed. This program first asks for the current date. It's very important that you enter the date correctly each time you power on the computer; this date is used in the program whenever your count, 4.0 Starting from power off 3 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 order, receive, or sell an item. The date is entered mm-dd-yy (month, day, year). For example, January 15, 1985 is entered 1-15-85. This, unfortunately, is not the only way a date can be written. The government uses ddmmmyy and much of the world uses ddmmyy (15JAN85 and 15/1/85). The dates in this program use another form, yymmdd, which seems acceptable to all parties. You will probably never have to enter the date in this form, but it will be displayed and printed so you should be aware that it looks different then what you are used to. After you enter the date, the program will be loaded into memory. Wait for the PROGRAM menu to be displayed and then remove the program diskette; you won't need it again unless you select option 7, return to DOS. 5.0 Where do we put the data? You need to store the inventory data on diskettes. We have three sets of data, the first is the data you gathered when you counted the inventory; the second is the sales data you put into the computer during daily transactions; and the third is the financial data needed for taxes. Before any data can be put on diskettes, the diskettes must first be formatted. When diskettes are manufactured, no information is recorded on them. When we want to use them, two kinds of information is needed; first, is the information needed by the disk drives to read and to write from the correct location, the correct amount of data; and second, is the data we want stored. To record the first, a special program, called a formatter, has to be run. This program can be found by selecting option 1 from the PROGRAM menu. If you enter 1 from the PROGRAM menu, the DISKETTE menu will be displayed. Enter 1 on this menu and you will be instructed to put a new diskette in drive B (right). This is the diskette to be formatted. You can use old diskettes, but make sure there is nothing of value recorded on them. 5.1 Formatting diskettes Press the enter key and wait for the program to complete. The display will indicate Initializing (indicating that all records are set to not in use) and display the cylinder being written. Data is recorded on tracks (concentrate circles), two tracks to a cylinder, forty (0 - 39) cylinders to a diskette. Each track has five sectors of 1024 bytes each. DOS uses 8 (1.1) or 9 (2.0 and 2.1) sectors of 512 bytes each; they have to support more varied applications then we do. The display will return to the DISKETTE menu when the diskette is formatted, if the diskette couldn't be formatted, an error message will be displayed; use defective diskettes for some other purpose. Continue formatting new diskettes until you have 12 good diskettes. Two will be used to enter your inventory data, two for a backup copy of your data, two for the sales history, two to backup the sales history, two for for the tax history and the last two to backup your tax history. When you are done, press the Esc key to return to the PROGRAM menu. Label the six diskettes, CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095, CURRENT DATA 4096 - 5.0 Where do we put the data? 4 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 8190, &BD0T4, BACKUP DATA 4096 - 8190, CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095, CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190, BACKUP SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095, BACKUP SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190, CURRENT TAX HISTORY 0 - 4095, CURRENT TAX HISTORY 4096 - 8190, BACKUP TAX HISTORY 0 - 4095, and BACKUP TAX HISTORY 4096 - 8190, signifying the diskettes that will hold current and backup data, current and backup sales history, and current and backup tax history. Always use current diskettes for entering or updating your inventory and running the end of month, save history programs. 5.2 Backup, what's backup? The previous paragraph was copied from the users manual. As you can see, it's a little too cryptic for new users. Lets start with why so many diskettes. Diskettes and computers are like anything else, they will eventually fail. They may fail early, factory defects, they may fail late, old age, or they may fail in between, bad luck. Old age for diskettes depends on how clean you keep the area where they are used; as a first guess, replace your data diskettes once a year and your history diskettes every five years. When a diskette fails, the program will go back to the previous menu and display an error message indicating which drive detected the error. You now need two things to recover, one a copy of the diskette that failed, and two, a list of all the changes made to that diskette since it was last backed up (copied). As we will later see when discussing the FILE options, we can recreate the failing diskette by entering just the changes make since the last backup. We will postpone the actual method of backing up diskettes until after we have entered the data from the first inventory class. Labels. There will be three types of diskettes, one set for current inventory records, one set for sales history, and one set for financial data. If you mix then up, the data may be damaged, so it's important that you always use the correct diskettes; the display will always state which diskettes to use. 6.0 Entering inventory data How's your typing ability? Not too good, huh. Well here is your chance to get lots of practice; you are going to type all of the information you collected when you counted the inventory. If you don't feel up to that right now, we can just do a couple of items, and then come back to do the rest tomorrow. Assuming you are at the PROGRAM menu, press Esc as many time as necessary to get there, Enter 2 to select the FILE menu. Note the instructions at the top of the screen, use the diskettes you have just formatted and labeled. Enter 1 to "Enter tables and controls." The TABLES menu will be displayed, now enter 1 to select "Enter supplier names." Don't worry about having to go through so many menus to get the job done, these are seldom used options so they have been grouped together; the common options are more easily reached from the PROGRAM menu. You should now see a screen with space for 100 (0 - 99) supplier names. At the bottom of the screen will be the number 00 and the cursor (the flashing underline) will be at the start of the name field. The cursor shows you where the next character you enter is going and the highlighted block shows how many characters you can enter. 6.0 Entering inventory data 5 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Start with the supplier you do the most business with and key in (type) his name. The field is limited to 12 characters (letters) so abbreviate if necessary. If you use all 12 characters, or if you press the Enter key, the name you typed will move up to the 00 position on the screen, the number at the bottom left will change to 01, and you can type in the next supplier name. What to do when you make a mistake. The fastest and most complete way of learning something is to make a few mistakes. Nothing is so well remembered as when it was done incorrectly. Mistake number 1, you realize you entered the wrong data for supplier 01 and you are currently at supplier number 12; use the back tab key (hold down the shift key and press the key just above the Ctrl key) to move the cursor to the number field, key in 01, the cursor will move to the blank name field, enter the supplier for number 01, the supplier number will change to 02, use the back tab key and change the number to 12. Mistake 2, you enter the wrong information (spelling or you wanted a capital letter) but you haven't exited (pressed Enter or typed 12 characters) the field; use either of the backward pointing arrow keys on the right side of the keyboard to back up to the mistake and type the correct letter, use the forward pointing arrow (numeric pad 6, if a six is displayed, press the Num Lock key once) to get back to where you were when you discovered the error. When you have entered all the supplier names, turn on your printer. Note at the bottom of the screen, "PrtSc - Print Screen." Hold down the shift key and press the PrtSc (just below the Enter key), release the key. If your printer supports the print screen option, you will have printed a list of suppliers and the numbers assigned to them. Now press the Esc key. You will have returned to the TABLES menu. If you use part numbers in your business, select option 2, "Enter manufacture names." The number associated with each manufacture will be prefixed (put on the front of) each part number as it is stored in the computer. This way we can find a part with a part number that is shared by more than one manufacture. If you don't use part numbers, skip this option. Enter the manufacture names the same as you did for the suppliers. If there is a natural relation between suppliers and manufactures, use the same number for both. When you have entered all the manufactures, print the screen and press Esc to return to the TABLES menu. Getting tired, time for a break? The next section on entering the default data is a little involved; lets shut down, get a cup of coffee and congratulate ourself on getting this far. Press the Esc key a couple of times until the PROGRAM menu is displayed, there will be a short wait while the the information you have entered is written to diskette. Now turn off the power! I didn't ask you to use option 7; you only need to use it if you are going to run another program and we (you, the computer, and I) deserve a little rest. 6.0 Entering inventory data 6 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 6.1 Computer mythology Now that you have your feet up on the desk, drinking your favorite beverage, and wondering why you ever bought a computer in the first place; we should discuss some of the myths about computer. Care and feeding of the diskette drives. Some years back diskette drive were designed such that if you left a diskette in the drive and turned power off (or on) you might destroy some of the data. This is no longer the case. Also, diskettes used to vary widely in quality and some of the poorer ones cause the head to need frequent cleaning. This may still occur, but the solution isn't to use a diskette cleaning product, use better quality diskettes. Beyond cleaning the printer, computers haven't required preventive maintenance for many years. You may hear conflicting advice on how long to leave a computer on, some even recommend never turning them off. Perhaps during the warranty period you want to leave it on longer, but in general, if you are not going to use the computer for an hour or so, turn it off. If you are not going to use it within the next 10 or 20 minutes, turn down the intensity of the display. Computer power is not measured in bits. Of all the factors that affect computer performance, the least influential is the data path width. Much more important is processor speed, memory size, disk access time, and how well the program uses the computer resources. A fast printer is also needed. A computer is neither an overpriced calculator nor the possessor of true intelligence; a computer can be programmed to make rational decisions, but intelligence, as applied to humans, is still several decades away. Should I buy a service contract? Probably, if you use your computer most of the day, yes; if you use it only an hour or so a day, no. However, if you are only using it an hour or so a day, you aren't getting your money's worth, it's time to look into some more applications. Well, back to work, lets see what a record looks like. 6.2 What an inventory record looks like. Put the program diskette in drive A (left) and power on the computer, enter the current date, wait for the PROGRAM menu, replace the program diskette with the diskette labeled CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 make sure the CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 diskette is in drive B (left) and select option 2, select option 1 from the FILE menu, select option 3 from the TABLES menu. This is what a record looks like. This one is special in that it is called a default record. When you enter a new record and you don't supply some of the information, the program get the missing information from this record. To make sure the default information is what you want, we will go through each field and explain what you might want to put in it. The cursor should be positioned after Stock Class:. Note that the Record number field is displayed, but is not used with the default data. 6.0 Entering inventory data 7 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Since you are only going to enter a single class, type the two digits that are the easiest to remember, probably 00. The cursor will move to the supplier field. Assign the number that you entered for the supplier when you entered all the supplier names, hopefully you printed that screen. Do the same for the manufacture, if you are not using part numbers, use 00 for the manufacture. The supplier and manufacture numbers are for the most common items in the class you are going to enter. Now the cursor should be at the Index field. If you don't use part numbers, this field should be D for description; if you use part numbers but want to look up items by their description, use D; if you use part numbers and you want to look up items by part number, type P. Each item can be reference by either part number or description but not both, the default you choose should be the most likely choice. Note, there are no lower case letters used on this screen, when you type a lower case letter, the program changes it to upper case. The next field describes the item, it should be left blank, just press the tab right key to skip it. The same for part number. Location may or may not be the same for most members of this class, if it usually is the same, enter the location. If the current date is not the date you want to be used as the count data (it's supplied automatically), enter the date you counted the items, yymmdd, e.g., July 2nd, 1986 would be 860702. The units lost and the units on hand field should be left blank. If the units per pack is usually the same (1) for all items, enter this number. Note, you don't have to space over to the end of the field to enter a number, the number entered in any numeric field (only numbers allowed) is automatically shifted to the right until there are no blanks in the right most position of the field. If you want to change a number in a field, you can either enter the number and hold down the space bar until you exit the field; or you can use the arrow keys to get to where you want to make the change. The Calculate list price field should be Y if you operate on a fixed markup basis, or N if you don't want the program to multiply the cost/unit by the markup to provide the price/unit. We will get to how you enter the markup percentage when we discuss miscellaneous data. If you usually charge sales tax, use Y for the Calculate sales tax field; otherwise, use N. Except for the Order months field, the rest of the field can be left blank. If you only allow orders during certain months of the year, fill in the Order months field with those months. For example, suppose you only order helmets during October, November, December, January, and February; enter 120ND for January, February, October (note the zero, not an O), November, and December, respectably. The other positions should be blank. Now that we have the defaults entered, it should be emphasized that these are only defaults, you can always overtype any of them when you are entering an actual record. Now press the Home key, its 7 on the numeric keypad. This will move the cursor to the first (record number) field. Press the right tab once to get to the Stock class field. Use the F3 and tab keys to let the 6.0 Entering inventory data 8 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 program know which fields you want to skip. These are the fields that you want to use the default data instead of entering new data. You will probably press the F3 key in the all but the following fields: Description, Part number, Location, Units on hand, Purchase cost, Cost/pack, and Price/unit. Press the Scroll Lock (upper right corner) once and a tab key once. Notice at the lower left corner of the screen, Auto skip is displayed. Use the tab key to go through each field to make sure the correct fields are being skipped. If any are incorrect, press the Scroll Lock key again to turn off auto skip and tab to the incorrect field. Use F3 to set skip and F4 to remove skip from a field. Press Esc when you are done, we will now get to the miscellaneous data. 6.3 Customizing Before we start entering inventory data, we have one last step, entering the miscellaneous data. Select option 4 from the TABLES menu. We need to know what you would like printed at the top of each report. Something like your name and address should be entered in the first field, there's room for 80 characters. The next fields are called printer control fields, one for the beginning of each page and line, and the end of each line and page. The defaults that come with the program are for the Epson MX-80 printer, you probably have a different printer so you will have to consult your printer manual for the correct controls. Here's how to do it. Somewhere in your manual, probably in an appendix, the control codes will be listed in either decimal or hexadecimal. If they are in decimal, you will have to convert then to hexadecimal; the easiest way to convert is to use the Basic command: PRINT HEX$(n) where n is the decimal number you want to convert to hexadecimal. You will need to exit this program and select Basic operation, see your Basic manual, to perform these calculations. You need the codes for "set line spacing to 1/6 inch," "line feed," "carriage return," "advance to top of form," and if your printer doesn't accept 15 inch wide paper, "turn on compressed mode." If 1/6th inch line spacing isn't the default, enter the hexadecimal control characters for 1/6th inch in the start of page field; otherwise, leave it blank. If you have to use compressed mode to get 132 print positions per line, put the codes for compressed mode in the start of line field, put the carriage return and line feed controls in the end of line field (carriage return is optional). Finally, put the "advance paper to top on form" control in the end of page field. If these don't work, try other combinations, the print report programs sends these control fields to the printer according to the named fields. If you have an Okidata M-93 printer the fields will be: 000000 000000 0D0A00 0C0000 6.0 Entering inventory data 9 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 After the printer control fields comes the markup, tax, and adjust fields. If you want the program to calculate the list price, you need to supply the markup rate. Type the percent you want to multiply by in the named field, e.g., 50% markup would multiply by 150%, type 1500 (the displayed number is 10 times the needed percent). Similarly, if you want the sales tax calculated, enter the tax rate, e.g., 4.75% would be 0475 (the displayed number is 100 times the needed percent). One last thing and we are done with this option. Do you have a policy of discount for cash, add 3% for credit card sales, 20% off for dealers, etc.? If so, you can use the F5 and F6 keys when selling to automatically calculate these adjustments. For example, let F5 be add 3% and F6 be reduce by 20%, type 1030 in the F5 adjust field and 0800 in the F6 adjust field. Press Esc until you are back to the PROGRAM menu, remember we have to wait for the diskette to be written. In the next lesson we will actually start to enter inventory data. You're probably thinking one of two things, either "it's about time," or "what'ya mean, we." 6.4 Enter the first record. Make sure you have the data diskettes loaded. Assuming that you are at the PROGRAM menu, enter 2 to get the FILE menu, enter 2 to get the first record. The screen looks like the default screen, the cursor should be at the stock class and the auto skip should not be displayed in the lower left corner; if it is displayed, the cursor should be at the first non-skip field, probably the description field. If auto skip isn't displayed, press the Scroll Lock key and the right tab key, the cursor will advance to the first non-skip field. If the cursor is at the description field, type in the description. If the index field is set to D, the program will later find this record by comparison with the description you then type in; be sure to be consistent in how you type descriptions. For example, suppose you are describing tires, you could use a description of TIRE DUNLOP K127, or you could use DUNLOP H4.00-18 K127, or any of several other ways, but be sure to enter all members of a class the same way. Note, there is not enough room to type the full description in the description field, but tires don't have part numbers, so continue the description in the part number field, e.g., TIRE DUNLOP K127 followed by H4.00-18 in the part number field. Similarly, if the index field is P for searching by part numbers, keep the way you type part numbers consistent. It's still a good idea to keep the description consistent in case you decide to change the index to D. The description field is limited to 20 characters and the part number field to 16. Notice that the data can be typed in upper or lower case but is always displayed in upper case (folded). After these fields, the next field you chose not to skip is probably the units on hand field. Before typing a number, try to 6.0 Entering inventory data 10 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 type a letter, the beep tells you that letters aren't allowed in this field. There are other restrictions (e.g., only a Y or N is allowed in the calculate tax field), that you will discover if you make a keying error. Type the number of items you counted in the units on hand field and exit the field with the tab key (if you had over 999 units on hand, the field will be automatically exited). The next field is units/pack, this may be a skipped field, if not, type in the number. Units/pack describes how you normally order this item e.g., the manufacture packs 24 cans per case. The next field that probably is not skipped is the cost/pack field. If you choose to type in any of the intervening fields, here is a description of what they are used for. Date counted: The current data is supplied by the program (yymmdd). It's the date you last counted the item. Units lost: Sometimes called shrinkage, this is the difference between how many should have been on hand and how many were counted, no negative numbers (overage) are allowed. Calculate list price: Set to N if you don't want the Price/unit set equal to the markup times the cost/pack. Calculate sales tax: Set to N if you don't want the Sales tax collected set equal to the tax rate times the total receipts. Reorder level: This is the stocking level at which you want to place a new order. Set this so that the order arrives just as you sell the last item in stock (depending on your financial state, you might want to allow a safety level in case you aren't psychic). Reorder quantity: This is the number of packs to reorder when the reorder level is reached. Consider any price breaks the supplier may give, does he pay shipping for large orders, how much money do you want to tie up in this item, are out of stock items hurting other sales, etc. Order date: If there are items on order, this is the date they were ordered; if not, this is the date the last order was received. Units on order: Note, it's units, not packs, you may have ordered less than a pack. Extra orders: This is the number of times you have had to order this item when it wasn't the most economical time to do so. For instance, ordering less than a pack, having to pay shipping when a larger total order would have been shipped free, having to telephone the supplier for this item, needing special delivery, etc. Order months: If the item only sells well during a particular season of the year, you don't want to order replacement items at the end of the season. Fill in the months so that the last order will satisfy the season and you won't carry inventory between seasons. Again, it helps to be psychic. 6.0 Entering inventory data 11 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Purchase cost: This comes from the invoice, make sure it's the actual price you paid after discounts and penalties. It and the shipping cost are used to determine average cost, selling price, and tax liability. Shipping cost: Shipping costs should be prorated across all items received in an order. If you aren't sure how to divide the cost, apply most of it to the items that sell the fastest, better to deduct the cost of selling an item this year rather than next. Cost/pack: This is the average cost/pack. For the initial entry, it's the purchase plus shipping for one pack. When orders are received with stock still on hand, the cost will be a weighted average between the new cost and the old. Lost sales: Each time a customer wants to buy this item, you don't have it in stock, and he won't wait for you to order it, add one to this field. It will cause the reorder point to be increased the next time you run the program that calculates reorder information. Extra orders does the same to the reorder quantity. Units returned: This field keeps the units received, lost, and sold fields in balance. You may have noticed there isn't a units received field, easier to balance that way. It's also helpful in tracking quality problems. Units sold: This, along with units lost and returned, are last years plus this year to date sales. If you sold an item last year and the customer returned it this year, the inventory still should balance, so we save over a years sales history. The actual sales by month and year are saved on the sales history diskette. Last date sold: Useful if you haven't sold one in a long time. Normally supplied by the program each time you register a sale. Price/unit: If you set N in the Calculate list price field, you will have to type in the selling price. Even if you typed a Y in the Calculate list price field, you should still check this field, you may want to adjust the price to a more effective price, e.g., change 2.01 to 1.99 or change 1.87 to 1.89. Total receipts: This field is automatically supplied by multiplying the units sold by the price/unit. Change if not correct. Sales tax collected: If Calculate sales tax is a Y, this field will be the product of the tax rate and the total receipts. This completes the inventory records, we will later discuss the sales and tax history records. Before we go any farther, you will need to know how to edit (add, change, or remove data) these records. First, remember that the numeric fields are automatically right adjusted (shifted right until no blanks remain). There are numeric fields that only accept numbers, alpha-numeric fields that accept all characters but fold lower case letters to upper case, and special fields that only accept 6.0 Entering inventory data 12 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 a small number of characters, Y, N, P, and D. If you type all the characters that a field allows (get to the end of the highlighted block), the cursor will automatically move to the next field. If you complete a field before reaching the end, use the tab key to advance to the next field. If you want to get to the last non-skip field (assuming auto skip is on), press the End key; to get to the first field, Record number, press the Home key. When you exit the last field, or press the Enter key, the record will be saved in memory and the next record will be displayed; note the record number increases by one (increments). To correct a record you have already entered, use the Home key to get to the Record number field and type in the number of the record you want to change. The record will be displayed. If you want to leave a few records for future use, change the Record number to whatever new record you want to use. When you are done, use the Esc key to return to the FILE menu. The records are written in groups of 64, or when you exit the FILE menu. Note the function key description at the bottom of the screen. The F3 and F4 work the same as when you entered the default data, you could have postponed using them until now. The new keys are F2 and F8. F2 deletes (erases) a record. There is no way to recover this record except to either re-type it or copy the backup diskette to the current diskette. Use F2 only when you remove a part from inventory, and then only after it no longer needs to be included in tax or history reports. F8 is used when you have entered a number of records and you want to find the next unused record; the diskette will be searched, starting with the next record number, until an unused record is found. The diskettes hold 8191 (0000 - 8190) records. Typing inventory records can be tiring if your typing ability is not too good. Try to divide the work so you only enter one class at a time; then start using the class to record you normal transaction (order, sell, etc.). You should also print some of the reports, especially the master report, you will probably find a lot of keying errors. Before using the data you have entered, you need to sort the indexes. 6.5 Sort - build index Option 3 of the FILE menu is build index. This program looks at each record, if the index is built with the description, it save the first 18 characters and the diskette location of the record; if the index is built with the part number it save the part number instead of the description. These parts of the record are called the index, similar to the information saved in a table of contents. The index is then sorted and saved on diskette. When you need to look up a record in the RECORD option, to be discussed next, rather than search the diskettes, the index is searched. Since the index is in order, it is a very quick search (called a binary search). The index is saved in memory so only one diskette access (read) is required to get the required record. The entire track that the record is on is saved in memory until the space it occupies is needed by another track, or until you exit the RECORD option. Always run the build index option after adding new records, 6.0 Entering inventory data 13 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 deleting records, or changing the index (description or part number) of a record. The program is quite fast, so if in doubt, run the build index program. Now lets get to the fun part, the RECORD option. 7.0 Day to day activities. After the initial inventory is on diskette, it will have to be changed each time you count, order, receive, sell, get a return from a customer, or return an item to a supplier. These options are found by selecting option 3 from the PROGRAM menu. All of these options have the following in common. To actually record a transaction, you must press the Enter key. When the cursor gets to the last field where data can be entered, it won't go any further; use the back tab or Home key if you want to correct any field you have already typed. The record is selected by either, typing in the description, typing in the manufacture number and part number, or typing in the record number. If you can't remember all of the description or part number, type in as much as you can remember, the program will find a record that comes as close to the information you entered as can be found. Now use the up or down arrow keys (8 and 2 on the numeric key pad) to search the nearby records until you find the one you want. If the computer beeps, you have reached the end of the records available. Have the printer turned on. When you find the record you want, enter the data required, and press the Enter key, most of the information (limited to one print line) you entered will be printed. This is called an audit trail, you can use this information to find errors in entering data or to recover from diskette failures. The first number printed is the option you selected from the RECORD menu, the second number is the record number. You do not have to advance through all field unless you want to override the calculated fields or change the default data. Until you are familiar with these calculations and defaults, it's a good idea to go through all fields. If the program can't process a field because it will cause a calculated field to be to big to be saved, a beep will sound and the program will return to the RECORD menu with an overflow error message; the data has not been changed. 7.1 Count Now lets try the first option, count. This option is selected after you have counted you inventory and want to record any shrinkage (losses). Since you just counted the inventory, here's a chance to check how well you entered the counts. The first field, date counted, cannot be entered from this option, it is supplied by the program. If the date in any of these options is incorrect, cancel the option, get back to DOS, option 7 of the PROGRAM menu, and enter the command, DATE. Enter the correct date and get back to the option where you discovered you error. The next field is the units on hand, enter the number counted. 7.0 Day to day activities. 14 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 If there has been a loss, the next field, units lost will be updated. If you don't want to change the location field, press the Enter key to record the count transaction. If you press the Esc key or an arrow key, no new data will be saved. 7.2 Order The next option is Order, use Esc to return to the RECORD menu and select option 2. Enter the index or record number. The lower part of the display will show the following fields, the first five can't be changed from this option. On hand, check this field to make sure you really want to order this item. Lost sales, this alerts you to a greater customer demand than you anticipated. Units/pack give the information you need to place orders by the pack, usually more economical then by part of a pack. Order date, supplied by the program, today's date. The next fields can be entered. On order, decide on one of three ways to use this field; one, use this option when you discover that you need to order an item, then at the end of each day, run the Orders report from the PRINT menu to find the items that need to be ordered; two, use this option after you place an order; three, don't use this option at all, use the receive option to record both the order and the receipt of the order. If this is a normal order, do not enter anything in the Extra order field; if not, enter a 1 to indicate that this is not the most economical time or quantity. The last field gives you a chance to change the supplier number. 7.3 Receive After entering the index or record number, the following fields will be displayed, first the ones that can't be typed. Location, where to store the received items. Units/pack, how many units should be in each pack. Date, today's date. The fields you can type are: Units received, note, this is units, not packs. On order, the program automatically updates this field, but doesn't allow negative quantities. Purchase cost, get this from the invoice, we need it to calculate the selling price and to find the cost of goods sold for income tax purposes. Shipping cost, added to purchase cost to determine the cost of an item, we keep it separate so it is easier to enter and to show where some savings may be had if you can reduce or eliminate shipping costs by placing larger orders. Average cost/pack, calculated as a weighted average of new cost with the old average cost. Price/unit, your selling price. 7.4 Sell Information fields, can't type into them, are: Location, where to find the item. Date, program supplied current date. Price/unit, list price, this can temporarily be change with F5 and F6. The display price changes, but the old price remains on the diskette. If F5 or F6 are used, the cursor will be positioned at the Units sold field. 7.0 Day to day activities. 15 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Update fields, you can change these, the only required field is the first, units sold. Units sold, enter the number you sold, the next field, total receipts will be calculate. If the Calculate sales tax field was a Y, the sales tax will also be calculated. If you are selling the item at the list price, you only have to enter the quantity sold, the receipts and tax will be updated automatically. If you get to this screen before selling the item and find an insufficient quantity of hand, and the customer won't wait for you to order the item, enter a 1 in the lost sales field. Note at the bottom of the screen, two new F keys, F9 and F10 are described. Also note the accumulate sales at the lower right on the screen. Each time you enter a sale, the accumulated sales total is increased by the sale. To return this field to zero, press the F9 key. If you want to estimate sales (a customer might want an estimate for an insurance report), use f9 to zero the accumulator and use F10 instead of the Enter key to record the estimate. When you have all the items in the estimate, record the estimate, and press F9 to clear the accumulator. If you have the printer on, the items will be recorded with the notation, NO SALE. The accumulated total will also be printed. There are two informational fields at the end of this display, units on hand and units on order. 7.5 Return from customer The first two fields are for your information only, they can't be typed into. Location, where to put the item. Price/unit, the list price, you may have adjusted the price with F5 or F6, they can also adjust the refund price. The next field is for the number of units returned. Enter the purchase price and sales tax refunded in the next fields, if the provided values aren't correct. There is one informational field at the end of this display, units on hand. 7.6 Return to supplier The final option is for items returned to your supplier. The first field can't be typed into, it show how many units are on hand. Type the number of units returned in the next field. Put the cost you expect to get back from the supplier in the Purchase cost field, you may want to wait until you actually get the credit. The last field is shipping, this isn't a refund, but what it costs you to return the item. 7.7 Error recovery You entered a transaction and later discovered you made a mistake, wrong item, wrong quantity, etc. To recover, you can use the same program as when you first entered the inventory record. Select option 2 from the PROGRAM menu to get the FILE menu, select option 2, Enter inventory records. Use the Home key to get to the Record number field, type the record number, found on the printed audit trail, and the record in error will be displayed. Change the record to the correct data. 7.0 Day to day activities. 16 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 8.0 History, sales and tax We need to take a snapshot (save the sales and financial data) periodically (usually monthly) to be able to see how sales our changing and what your tax liability is. The first history update is saving the daily sales. Select option 4, End of month, save sales and tax history, from the PROGRAM menu, select option 1 from the HISTORY menu. 8.1 Run daily sales history update Anytime you want to update the sales history diskette with the latest date sold, list price, units on hand, and units on order, run this program. It doesn't update the monthly or yearly sales, run the corresponding update program (below) to update these fields. If CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 in drive A has a read failure, create a new CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 from BACKUP DATA 0 - 4095. Re-run the daily sales history update. If CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in drive A has a read failure, create a new CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP DATA 4096 - 8190 Re-run the daily sales history update using CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Cancel the operation after the diskettes have been updated, the display requests CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. If CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 in drive B has a write failure, create a new CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Re-run the daily sales history update. If CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in drive B has a write failure, create a new CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. Re-run the daily sales history update using CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Cancel the operation after the diskettes have been updated, the display will requests CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. 8.2 Run monthly sales history update On the first business day of each month the sales for that month should be saved. Follow the displayed instructions to use the data and sales history diskettes. If a diskette error occurs, follow the following procedure. If CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 in drive A has a read failure, create a new CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 from BACKUP DATA 0 - 4095 and restore CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 Re-run the monthly sales history update. If CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in drive A has a read failure, create a new CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP DATA 4096 - 8190 and restore CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 Re-run the monthly sales history 8.0 History, sales and tax 17 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 update using CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Cancel the operation after the diskettes have been updated, the display requests CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. If CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 in drive B has a write failure, create a new CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Re-run the monthly sales history update. If CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in drive B has a write failure, create a new CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. Re-run the monthly sales history update using CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Cancel the operation after the diskettes have been updated, the display will requests CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. 8.3 Run monthly tax history update This option is actually misnamed, it should say run periodic tax history update; however, a good practice is to run this option immediately following the monthly sales update. It needs to be run between successive order receives that have different cost/pack for the same item. For example, suppose you receive an item on July 20th at a cost of 22.40 per pack. You receive another order for the same item on September 5th at a cost of 23.80. To keep the tax information correct, the monthly tax history update should have been run at least once between these dates. If you have a diskette error when running this option, recover as in the monthly sales update. 8.4 Run yearly sales history update Yearly updates differ in two important ways from monthly updates; one, data is written to both the data and the history diskette, and two, the sales update must be run before the tax update (if you are not using this program for tax information, you don't need to use either the monthly or yearly tax updates; however, the financial fields on the data diskettes will eventually overflow; therefore, you should, at least, run the yearly tax update program). These programs don't have to be run on January 1st, run them the first thing on the first working day of your fiscal year. Do not run the monthly update programs for this month, the yearly update programs include the monthly updates. The yearly sales program saves the year's total sales and sets the sales field on the data diskette to the previous years total. The reason for always keeping last year sales on the data diskette is to allow an item purchased last year to be returned this year and the sales data will be correct. The following fields on the data diskette are also changed to reflect last year's totals; lost sales and customer returns. 8.0 History, sales and tax 18 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Since data is being written to both diskettes (data and history), the following recovery from diskette errors differs somewhat from the monthly recovery procedure. If CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 in drive A has a read or write failure or CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 in drive B has a read or write failure, create a new CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 from BACKUP DATA 0 - 4095 and restore CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095 Re-run the yearly sales history update. If CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in drive A has a read or write failure or CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in drive B has a read or write failure, create a new CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP DATA 4096 - 8190 and restore CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 from BACKUP SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 Re-run the yearly sales history update using CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190 in place of CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095. Cancel the operation after the diskettes have been updated, the display will requests CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 and CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190. 8.5 Run yearly tax history update After you have completed the yearly sales history update, run the next option, using diskettes CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095, CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190, CURRENT TAX HISTORY 0 - 4095, and CURRENT TAX HISTORY 4096 - 8190. If there are diskette errors, recover as in yearly sales history update. You now have all the information needed to analyze your inventory. However, if this is the first yearly update, we are missing the information from previous years. If you have this information and you want to record it on the history diskettes, you can do so with the next two options. There is no requirement that you do so, but the additional data will give you more complete reports. 8.6 Edit sales history file You can use this option to fill in past year's sales and correct monthly sales. You enter or change data the same as in the Enter inventory records in the FILE option. The non-skip fields are preset to just the last two year's units sold field but you can change the skip fields with F3 and F4, the same as you could when you entered inventory records. The new skip fields will not be saved between times you use this program. Also, the F8, find unused record, isn't used with this option. All the fields on the diskette are not displayed, the other fields are copied from the data diskette; if you want to change them, change them on the data diskette. 8.7 Edit tax history file You can change the tax fields the same as you changed the sales fields in the previous option. There are many more displayed fields. The non-skip fields are still set to the last two year sales. 8.0 History, sales and tax 19 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 Don't rely on the printed tax information until you have either, entered the previous years financial information, or you have been using this program for two yearly tax updates. 8.8 Update reorder level You have three choices, one, don't use the reorder information and make your order choices from the count/order printed report; two, provide your own reorder level and quantity (use the order option from the RECORD option or the enter inventory data option from the FILE option); or three, let the program calculate the reorder information from the sales history. If you choose to have the program calculate the reorder information, use this option. The accuracy of the calculation depends on the number of months you have been making monthly sales updates. Wait a few months before using this option. If you have seasonal items, make sure these months are during the normal selling season. Recovery from diskette errors is different from the previous procedures because this option takes data from both diskettes but only writes to the data diskette in drive A; therefore, if there are any errors, replace the data diskette with a copy from the backup and re-run the part of the program that was in error. 9.0 Printed reports Why reports? Two reasons, they provide an alternate way of looking at your inventory data, and you can make notes on them. For example, you are trying to decide which items you want to display in your showroom versus which items to keep in the stock room. Run the sales history report and mark the items that have the most sales, display these and move the rest to the stock room, you may also decide to discontinue some of the poor selling items. As you go through the report, you can make notes such as, must display, display only if room available, discontinue, move to stockroom. Let's take a look at each report and how you might use it. 9.1 Master list It would be nice if we could list all the inventory information on one report; however, we are limited by 132 column printers and the need to easily find information. The master list reports on the most important information from the data diskettes. Run this report after you have make significant additions to the data diskettes. You can find key entry errors, and you can use this report to monitor day to day operations. Just print out the classes of interest. The average value field is totaled, useful for insurance purposes, or to estimate how much you have invested in inventory. If you have trouble printing a report, here is a checklist of things to do to print a report. 9.0 Printed reports 20 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 1. Make sure you have the correct diskettes loaded (labels match the displayed prompt). 2. The printer is turned on and connected to the computer; it has the correct forms (paper) loaded; and the top of the forms are positioned at the print head (first report only, the program will position correctly as long as you don't exit the PRINT option). 3. Is the printer control data correct? See Enter miscellaneous data option from the TABLES menu, and check the printer manual. 4. Replace the printer ribbon often. 5. These reports can get very long, check that the paper is feeding properly and stacking neatly. You are now ready for the User's Guide, we will mention the remaining reports, try out each one so you know where to find the information. 9.2 Orders This report lists the items that were ordered or received between the dates that you request. If you use the Order option from the RECORD option to select which items to be ordered, use this report to list your next order; if you use the order option to record which items are on order, use this report to find which items have been ordered. The average value of all items listed is totaled, useful for determining how much you will have to pay your suppliers. 9.3 Under stock list This report compares the reorder level with the units on hand (and on order) and list items needing to be ordered. Out of season items aren't listed until the correct order month. The average value of all items listed if they were ordered, is totaled, useful for estimating how much your orders will cost. 9.4 Over stock list Compares on hand with reorder level plus reorder quantity. If you have more than this, the item is printed. The average value of all items listed is totaled, useful for determining how much you are losing because of too much inventory. 9.5 Count/orders This report has two uses; one, after you have run a sale history (daily, monthly, or yearly), use it to determine which items you should order; two, use the build index option from the FILE menu to sort the sales history records according to location, use the report to ease the searching you need to do when counting your inventory. This report can be substituted for the Master report. 9.0 Printed reports 21 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control Tutorial Version 1.0 9.6 Sales history This report show your sales for each of the last 12 months; use it to spot trends and determine seasonal variations. 9.7 Tax history If you are using this program to determine you tax liability, run this report after running the yearly tax history update program. All the financial columns are totaled, useful for evaluating your inventory strategy as well as what's your tax liability. 10.0 Summary Well that completes the most commonly used parts of the program, see the Users Guide for more information. A few last words. Don't try to learn everything at once; don't enter your entire inventory until you have used a single class long enough to be comfortable with the program. Feel free to experiment; for example, change the class of items to be discontinued to a special class of items to be deleted; use the program to inventory your household goods, use another set of data diskettes for a telephone directory, record your personal tax information, e.g., record each time you paid sales tax, record your home improvement purchases, record charitable contributions, etc. Above all, send in your suggestions. A program can only be as good as the information on what is needed is available to the programmer. 10.0 Summary 22 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 (C) Copyright Glenn D. Pooler 1984 This program is distributed on an "as is" basis, without warranty either expressed or implied. who needs a program to track inventory of a parts and service business. If you find the program of value, wish to be informed of new releases, and/or need help in using this program, send $50.00 to: Glenn D. Pooler 3722 Second Street NW Rochester, MN 55901 Questions and reports of problems with this program can only be answered by mail, no telephone support is available. USER'S GUIDE The User's Guide is for use by those that have completed the Tutorial or by those who are experienced in inventory control and computer operation. 1.0 Introduction This guide explains how to use the Parts Inventory Control program. It provides you with the following information: * What this program can do for you. * What you need to get started. * How to enter your inventory. * How to use the update option to, - count - order - receive - sell - return (from a customer or to a supplier) a part. * How to create sales and tax history files. * How to produce reports. * Special purpose utility programs. * How to recover from mistakes and diskette failures. * A technical description of this program. 2.0 What this program can do for you. Inventory programs like this one, do five things: They decrease the time it takes to record changes in your inventory. They show where your inventory is too large or too small. You have immediate access to the status of any inventory item. They help you determine your tax liability. They help you spot sales trends and obsolete parts. 2.0 What this program can do for you. 23 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 They also take an investment in money and time. The time needed to learn how the program works and the time to enter the inventory information. What's different about this program? It's FAST, it compacts the data stored on diskettes, and you only have to use the features that that you need. 3.0 What you need to get started. To use this program you need an IBM-PC, computer supplies, and parts information. You also need to copy the program diskette to a DOS diskette. 3.1 Computer system IBM-PC with 256K memory, two 320K/360K diskette drives, mono-chrome display, 132 characters per line printer, and DOS 1.1. This program will also run with an 80X25 monitor, in black and white, and DOS 2.0 or 2.1. Performance, however, will not be quite as good. 3.2 Computer supplies Printer paper and about 20 diskettes. 3.3 Parts information The following information can be entered, most of is optional. Class, supplier, manufacture, description, part number, location, date counted, items lost, items on hand, items per pack, reorder level, reorder quantity, date of order, units on order, extra (emergency) orders, order months, accumulated purchase cost, accumulated shipping cost, cost per pack, lost sales, items returned, units sold, date sold, price per unit, accumulated receipts, and accumulated sales tax. 3.4 Copy program to DOS diskette The program diskette supplied with this program doesn't have the DOS programs it needs. To get both DOS and this program on one diskette, do the following: 1. Turn on the computer with the DOS diskette in drive A and a new diskette in drive B. If the computer is already on, hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press the Del key, release the keys. 2. Enter the date and time. 3. After the A> key in FORMAT B: /S and press ENTER. Answer the prompts to format one diskette. 4. When the A> is again displayed, replace the DOS diskette in the A drive with the program diskette. 5. Key in COPY *.* B: /V and press the ENTER key. 6. When all the files have been copied, remove the diskettes and label the new diskette INVENT. Refer to this diskette as the program diskette. 7. Put this new diskette in drive A and key in invent, press ENTER. 3.0 What you need to get started. 24 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 4.0 Starting the program The program can be started at power on time, or after running other programs. 4.1 From power off Insert the program diskette in the left (A) drive and turn the power on. After the computer runs its' internal checks, it will load the AUTOEXEC.BAT file from the diskette. The screen will request the current date. Enter the date and wait for the PROGRAM menu to be displayed, a few seconds. Remove the program diskette, you won't need it again until you end the program. 4.2 From power on Make sure the system date is correct (DATE). Insert the program diskette in the left (A) drive and type in invent. Wait a few seconds for the PROGRAM menu to be displayed. Remove the program diskette, it won't be needed again until you start the program the next time. 4.3 Program menu The PROGRAM menu will list 7 options. The 7th option, "Return to DOS" is used to end the program. If you started from power off, you should put the program diskette back into Drive A before selecting this option (the autoexec program has to complete). 5.0 Option 1, "Format or Backup Diskettes" - DISKETTE This option is used first to format data and history diskettes. It should be used often to backup your data and history diskettes. To format diskettes, select option 1, "Format diskette." To backup diskettes, select option 2, "Backup diskette." 5.1 Formatting data and history diskettes Before a diskette can be used, it must be formatted. Diskettes used for programs are formatted using the DOS format command. This command allows a diskette to contain 320 or 360 K bytes of data. Diskettes used to hold the inventory data are formatted with option 1 to contain 400 K bytes of data; 320 K for inventory data, 64 K for the index, and 16 K for miscellaneous data. Insert the diskette to be formatted, either a new diskette or a diskette that doesn't contain any data of value, in the right (B) drive. Press the enter key and wait for the program to complete. The display will indicate Initializing (indicating that all records are set to not in use) and display the cylinder being written. The display will return to the DISKETTE menu when the diskette is formatted, if the diskette couldn't be formatted, an error message will be displayed; use defective diskettes for some other purpose. Continue formatting new diskettes until you have 12 good diskettes. Two will be used to enter your inventory data, two for a backup copy of your data, two for the sales history, two to backup the sales history, two 5.0 Option 1, "Format or Backup Diskettes" - DISKETTE 25 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 for for the tax history and the last two to backup your tax history. When you are done, press the Esc key to return to the PROGRAM menu. Label the six diskettes, CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095, CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190, &BD0T4, BACKUP DATA 4096 - 8190, CURRENT SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095, CURRENT SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190, BACKUP SALES HISTORY 0 - 4095, BACKUP SALES HISTORY 4096 - 8190, CURRENT TAX HISTORY 0 - 4095, CURRENT TAX HISTORY 4096 - 8190, BACKUP TAX HISTORY 0 - 4095, and BACKUP TAX HISTORY 4096 - 8190, signifying the diskettes that will hold current and backup data, current and backup sales history, and current and backup tax history. Always use current diskettes for entering or updating your inventory and running the end of month, save history programs. 5.2 Backing up data and history diskettes By naming the diskettes, you will have an easy way of remembering how to backup your data diskettes. You should backup (copy the current to the backup) your data whenever you reach a point where you would not care to reenter all the data if the current diskettes were destroyed. Until you are confident that you won't backup the wrong diskettes, you should put a write protect tape on the current diskette before backing it up. Remove the tape afterward. Select option 2 from the DISKETTE menu and put the current diskette in drive A (left) and the backup diskette in drive B (right). Press the enter key. Wait for the operation to complete, the cylinder being copied will be displayed, Be sure to backup all data and history diskettes. If anything happens to your current diskette, use the last backup copy to create a new current diskette. A more complex procedure for backing up your diskettes is in the appendix. Use one of these methods or one of your own choosing, but be very careful not to backup old data onto new or one drive's data onto another (e.g., copy diskette with records 0000 through 4091 to the diskette with records 4092 through 8190). 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FILE After you have formatted the diskettes, you have to enter the inventory information. Not all information in necessary, just enter the data that you have available. If you don't intend to enter some of the information, read through the instructions anyway. The later instructions assume you have read the previous instructions. Put the CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 diskette in drive A (left) and the CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 diskette in drive B (right). From the PROGRAM menu, select option 1, "Define records, enter new records, or build index." From the FILE menu, select option 2, "Enter tables and controls." 6.1 "Enter tables and controls" - TABLES Data is off two types, data unique to each inventory record and data that is shared by all records. First we need to enter the shared data. 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FIL 26 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 6.1.1 Enter supplier names Supplier names are useful when you print the order list by suppliers, see PRINT options. It's more economical to store all supplier names in one area of the diskette and reference them from the inventory records by a number. To enter the supplier name with an associated number, select option 1, suppliers, from the TABLES menu. You will see 100 numbers with blanks for supplier names. At the bottom of the screen a field for the number and for the supplier will be displayed with the cursor at the supplier field. Key in the name of the supplier for number 00, if the name doesn't fill the space available, use the right tab key or the ENTER key to exit the field. Continue entering all suppliers that you do business with. If you want to change an entry, use the left tab key to position the cursor in the number field. Key in the number and in the supplier field, key in the new name. When all suppliers have been assigned a number, press the Esc key to return to the TABLES menu. 6.1.2 Enter manufacture names Select option 2 from the TABLES menu to enter the manufacture names in the same way as you entered the supplier names. Manufacture numbers are use to prefix the part numbers; if you don't use part numbers, you don't need to use the manufacture number. When you have entered all the manufactures, press the Esc key to return to the TABLES menu. 6.1.3 Enter default data Much of the data you first enter into the inventory record is the same for each record, i.e., most fields are blank. To allow the computer to put this default data in a field and then skip over it so you don't have to enter it for each record, you must first enter the data once and set the skip command for that field. To do this, select option 3 from the same menu as above (TABLES). If you have returned to the PROGRAM menu, its option 2 followed by option 3. The display will look just like the display where you enter your inventory records, except you are entering default data. The following special keys are active on this screen: F3 - skip field, F4 - remove skip from field, Scroll Lock - change from or to auto skip. The new state (auto skip or not) will take effect on the next field and the skip status in the lower left hand corner of the screen will be updated. Other keys you can use are: Home - move to the first field, End - move to the last field, and F2 - clear all fields. The right and left arrow keys move the cursor without changing the data. Esc saves the data and returns you to the TABLES menu. PrtSc allows you to print the screen. Using the Home, End, and tab keys, move the cursor to the field you want changed, use F3 to cause the field to be skipped, and enter the default data. To check if all the skips have been set correctly, press the Scroll Lock key to set Auto skip on, and press the tab right key to exit the field. Use the tab keys to verify the skips were set correctly. If they are incorrect, turn off Auto skip (press the Scroll Lock), and use F3 and F4 to make the corrections. 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FIL 27 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 The numeric (quantities and costs) fields are right adjust fields. This means if the field is blank, just start entering data at the beginning, when you exit the field, the numbers will be moved to the right until there are no more blank spaces. If there is data already in the field, use the space bar to blank out the fields you don't overwrite. The default data only applies to new records, changing the default values doesn't affect old records. A description of the data fields will be found later in this guide. 6.1.4 Enter miscellaneous data Often called configuration, this option allows the program to operate with different printers, set the markup, calculate the sales tax rate, and make adjustments to the selling price. To allow using different printers, you need to enter the control characters used by your printer. If you set the calculate price or tax option in the default record, you will need to enter your markup and the sales tax rate. Use option 4 of the TABLES menu to enter this information. The first field is the information to be printed at the top of each report. The next four fields are printer control information in hexadecimal. Typical printer information: └╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨░ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╡ ╩ Printer ╩ Start of page ╩ Start of line ╩ End of line ╩ End of page ╡ ╩╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╡ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╡ ╩ Epson MX-80 ╩ 000000 ╩ 00000F ╩ 0D0A00 ╩ 928C00 ╡ ╩╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨┌╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╨╡ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╡ ╩ Okidata M-93 ╩ 000000 ╩ 000000 ╩ 0D0A00 ╩ 0C0000 ╡ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╩ ╡ óúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúí The next two field are markup (200 % would be entered 2000) and tax rate (6% would be entered 0600). The last two fields, Adjust F5 and Adjust F6, are used to adjust the selling price in the RECORD option. When you have entered the needed information, return to the FILE menu by pressing Esc twice. 6.2 Enter inventory records A record must be entered for each item you want to track with this program. First we describe each field and then, how to enter the data. 6.2.1 Inventory record field data The fields of each record are the following: Class: Reports are printed by a range of classes. Supplier: Except for reports on order information. Location: Used to sort the count report. Manufacture: Prefix for part numbers. 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FIL 28 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Calculate list price: The program will multiply the average unit cost by the markup. Calculate sales tax: The program will multiply the receipts by the tax rate. Index: D for description, P for part number. Description: Used to search for a record if index D was selected. Part number: Used to search for a record if index P was selected. Date counted: Supplied by the computer when using the count option. Units lost: Difference between new on hand and old on hand after counting. Units on hand: What should be in stock. Units per pack: Orders from supplier may specify by pack. Reorder level: Place order when units on hand reach this quantity. Reorder quantity: How many packs to order. Date of order: Supplied by the computer, all dates are YYMMDD. Units on order: Number of units to be ordered or on order. Extra orders: Number of times you had to call in a special order. Order months: Months when an order can be placed. Purchase cost: Accumulation of all money paid to supplier for this part. Shipping cost: Accumulation of all money paid for shipping this part. Average cost per pack: Average purchase plus shipping. Lost sales: Number of time a customer ask for an out of stock part. Units returned: Number of units returned by a customer. Units sold: Number of units sold last year plus year to date. Date sold: Program supplied when a sale is entered. Price per unit: Retail price, can be adjusted by F5 or F6 when selling. Receipts: Accumulation of all money received for this part. Sales tax: Accumulation of all sales tax received for this part. 6.2.2 Entering the data When you are ready to enter data into the inventory file, select option 2 on the PROGRAM menu, make sure CURRENT DATA 0 - 4095 diskette is in drive A and CURRENT DATA 4096 - 8190 is in drive B, then select option 2 on the FILE menu. A display similar to the default data will be shown. Record 0000 will be displayed. If you want to start entering data somewhere besides 0000, press function key 8 (F8) to find the next unused record or press the Home key to position the cursor in the record number field, and key in the record where you want to start. The record number increments every time you exit a record. The maximum record number is 8190. If Auto skip is displayed at the bottom of the screen and you don't want auto skip on, press the Scroll Lock key. You will then be able to enter data into all fields. If Auto skip is not displayed and you want to skip the fields that have been set with F3, press the Scroll Lock key (Scroll Lock toggles Auto skip). You can change Auto skip from on to off or off to on at any time by pressing the Scroll Lock key, it takes effect when 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FIL 29 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 you exit the current field. If you press the ENTER key or exit the record, the record being displayed is saved and the next record displayed. If you press the Esc key without entering data, the record is not saved; if data was entered, the record is saved. If you want to remove the current record from inventory, press the F2 key to erase this record. It's a good idea to only remove items from inventory once a year, after running the tax history yearly update, see HISTORY. You move the cursor by entering data or by using one of the special keys described under entering default data. If you save a record and later realize you made a mistake, use the Home key to position the cursor in the record number field and key in the number of the record you want to change. The following are some of the fields that may need a more complete description than is provided on the screen: Index (P or D): The inventory program keeps track of the record by its' index as well as the record number. You can select either the part number (P) or the description (D) as the index. If you select the part number, the manufacture number is assumed to be the first two digits. Calculate list price: The average cost per unit is multiplied by the markup. This will often result in a odd price (e.g., 5.72). You probably want to adjust to a better sounding price (e.g., 5.95). There are no decimal points displayed, all costs are in cents. The reports use commas and decimal points. Items returned: This is the number of items that customers have returned. It allows the program to reduce past months sales by returns in the current month. It's saved in the tax history file. Extra orders: This is used to increase the reorder quantity. Don't enter the number of packs in the extra order, just note that an item had to be ordered in less than the optimum quantity. This is often called an emergency order. Order months: This is a field that gets updated when you run the update reorder levels, see HISTORY. It warns you that it's not the right time of year to order a seasonal item. Purchase cost: Accurate entry of all costs is important in calculating you tax liability. Shipping cost: Shipping cost is separated from purchase cost on the data diskettes but combined with the purchase cost on the history diskettes. Average cost per pack: This is a weighted average between the old average cost and the old on hand quantity with the new purchase plus shipping and quantity received. Lost sales: This number increases the reorder point when the update reorder levels option is run, see HISTORY. 6.0 Option 2, "Define records, enter new records ..." - FIL 30 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Units returned: This must be accurate or the history programs will assume a incorrect quantity received. Units sold: The total sales for last year and the current year to date. Receipts: Accuracy is needed for tax programs. Sales tax: Use to compare with you cash register totals. When the yearly sales history update program, see HISTORY, is run, the number of lost sales and extra orders is set to the last years totals. When the yearly tax history update program is run, the following fields are set to last years totals: units sold, purchase cost (shipping is set to zero), receipts, units lost, sales tax, and units returned. 6.3 Build index When you have completed entering your records, select option 3 from the FILE menu, Build index. The fastest way to locate data is through an index. This takes each key field (part number or description), loads them into memory, sorts them (in descending order) and stores them on the diskettes. The index is also saved in memory for the RECORD option. When you want to examine a new record, you only need to enter the key field. The program looks up the key in the index (binary search) and get the diskette address. If the data is not already in memory (the last tracks used are saved), it reads the new track. The record is then displayed. The time it takes to sort an index depends on how many items there are to sort, the length of each item, the data within each item, and the order the items are on the diskette. The sort should take less than 2 minutes, including the time to read and write the diskettes. You only need to build a new index after you have added or deleted records or changed the index field (part number or description), don't use it if you have just made other changes. 7.0 Option 3 - "Update Records" - RECORD Option 3 from the main menu will display a menu with the following six options. Select the appropriate option according to the transaction you are performing. count - Verify or correct the computer's count after you have physically counted the item. order - You want the computer to record that an an order will be or was placed. You can use the print option to list the orders entered. receive - The units received need not have been first entered under the Order option. You can adjust the cost (weighted average on on hand and received) and price (calculated if that option was selected when the record was entered). sell - Record the sales, the tax will be calculate if that option was selected when the record was entered. return from a customer - The units on hand will be increased and the receipts and tax will be decreased. 7.0 Option 3 - "Update Records" - RECORD 31 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 return to a supplier - Packs returned. Most dealings with a supplier are in packs, all dealings with a customer are in units. Purchase price will be decreased and shipping will be increased by the amounts entered. To find an item in your inventory, key in either the description or the manufacture number and the part number and press the ENTER key. You don't have to key in the entire descriptions or part number, but you should know the first four characters or digits. When the record is displayed, if it isn't the correct record, use the up and down arrow keys to search the nearby records. Always advance the cursor to the last fields that you want to verify or update. Until you are very experienced with this program, always have the printer turned on when using any of these options, it will print a record of the most significant fields you have entered. If you hear a beep, the program didn't record you data, a field overflow occurred. Use the printed audit trail and the FILE option to correct the data. When entering complete inventory records, the record was saved when you exited the record, with the update option, you have to press the ENTER key to save the new information. The reason for the difference is the enter option is mostly used to enter records in sequence, the update option is mostly used to select random records. 7.1 Option 1 - Count This option allows you to correct the number of units on hand. Use it whenever you discover a discrepancy in your inventory or when you are counting your inventory. Most users don't count their entire inventory at one time, but try to space the work across the year; perhaps counting one class each month, or one class a day during slack selling periods. Print the location report to help you in counting the inventory. The report will be easier to use if you have assigned locations to sort according to the shortest path you would take to count all your inventory. If the new count exceeds the total of the old count and the number of units lost, the number of units lost will be set to zero. You may want to use the FILE option to correct the value of this item. 7.2 Option 2 - Order This option can be used in two ways; first to record those items that you want to order, or second, those items that you have ordered. If you use the first, run an order report before you plan on placing orders. This will produce a report, by supplier, of what items to order. If you use the second, use the order report to determine the status of your outstanding orders. Since the order report is selective by date, you can combine both methods. 7.0 Option 3 - "Update Records" - RECORD 32 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 7.3 Option 3 - Receive This is the option that updates the number of units on hand and increase the value of your inventory. Be sure to enter the total purchase cost and shipping (prorated among all items received on one invoice) cost. These costs are used to calculate the latest cost per pack, and if you have the Calculate List set to Y, the selling price. The cost per pack displayed is not the same as the value of your inventory for tax purposes, this value will be calculated at the end of the year. The order date will be changed to the received date and the quantity on order will be reduced by the quantity received (or zero if a negative quantity would result). If it's more convenient, you don't need to use the Order option, just use the receive, but you won't be able to track your backorders. 7.4 Option 4 - Sell Hopefully, this is your most used option. You only have to enter the quantity sold, the other fields will be calculated. Of course, as for all fields, you can override the calculated value before you press the Enter key. Sales tax will be calculated if you selected that option when entering the data. This, as well as the next option uses the function keys, F5 and F6. Recall that in the MISCELLANEOUS option, Adjust F5 and F6 fields could be entered. Pressing the F5 or F6 keys will cause the selling price to be adjusted be the value in the associated Adjust field. For example, if Adjust F6 is set to 0970 (97%) and you give a 3% discount for cash, press the F6 key to automatically reduce the selling price by 3%. As long as you are using the RECORD option, all sales receipts will be accumulated. To clear this amount, press the F9 key. If you wish to accumulate an estimate (no sale), press F9 to clear the accumulator, find the items to be estimated and press F10 to accumulate each estimated receipt. Press F9 when done to clear the estimate. If the printer is on, the estimate will have been printed. 7.5 Option 5 - Return from customer option Use this to restore returned items to inventory. The F5 and F6 keys work the same as in the previous option. 7.6 Option 6 - Return to supplier option This is the opposite of the receive option except the shipping cost is added to the cost of your inventory, the same as it is in the receive option. If you do warranty work where you use a part from stock and then bill the manufacture, use this option to reduce the number of units on hand and the value of your inventory. 7.0 Option 3 - "Update Records" - RECORD 33 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 8.0 Option 4 - "End of month, save history" - HISTORY Each month we need to record how the inventory has changed. This information will be used for comparing current sales with last year's sales, recording income tax information, and saving other financial information. CAUTION: Do not run the monthly sales history program more than once a month. If this program is run a second time during the same month, the sales for that month will not be correct. CAUTION: Do not run the yearly sales or tax programs more than once a year. If these program are run a second time during the same year, the data will not be correct. 8.1 Options 1 through 5, periodic updates. Two history backups are required, one for sales and one for tax information. The monthly sales update (option 2) should be run on the first day on each new month, except for the month when the yearly sales update (option 4) is run. The monthly tax history update should be run as often as needed, but at least once between receiving two orders of the same part. The yearly tax history (option 5) should be run on the first day of the new fiscal year. The daily sales update (option 1) can be run at any time, it is also included in the monthly sales update. The monthly history updates only write to the history diskettes; the yearly updates writes to both history and data diskettes. If the monthly run does not complete (e.g., diskette failure), use the DISKETTE option to create another current history diskette from the backup diskette and run the program again. The programs will request a particular diskette (e.g., sales history 0000 - 4091), but either set of diskettes can be used and then cancel the program when one set has been updated. Always run the yearly sales history before running the yearly tax history; the tax history changes some of the data used by the sales history. Never run the same update twice in any month, the updated data will be incorrect. Run the sales and tax history report after running the updates. 8.2 Option 6 and 7 - Edit history file Use this option at any time to correct information in your history data. The following information is on the sales history diskettes: Date: Date that first history update was made. Units sold: Year before last year end value. Units sold: Last year end value. Reduced if larger then data units sold. Lost sales: Last year total. Extra orders: Last year total. Sales by month: Last 12 month sales history. Sales YTD: As of last month. Lost sales: As of last month. On hand: As of last month. 8.0 Option 4 - "End of month, save history" - HISTORY 34 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 The following information is on the tax history diskettes: FIFO value/unit: Year before last year end value. LIFO value/unit: Year before last year end value. Units on hand: Year before last year end value. Units sold: Year before last year end value. FIFO value/unit: Last year end value. LIFO value/unit: Last year end value. Units on hand: Last year end value. Units sold: Last year end value. Purchase + shipping: Last year total. Total receipts: Last year total. Sales tax: Last year total. Customer returns: Last year total. Purchase + shipping: Last year total. Sales YTD: As of last month. Lost sales: As of last month. Units returned: Last month. On hand: As of last month. Cost/unit: Previous to last change. Cost/unit: Last change. Units received: Last occurrence. 8.3 Option 8 - "Update reorder levels" If you don't want to calculate the reorder point and quantity of each part, this option will do it for you. Be sure to run the Master list or Sales history report afterward to verify that the reorder point and quantity are correct. The information you will need is: 1. Anticipated change in the market. 2. Sales months, for seasonal items. 3. Delay from order to receive, in months. 4. Delay from receive to next order, in months. Before running this program, try to allow a few months of running the monthly sales history update, see HISTORY. The more data available, the more accurate will be the reorder levels. Reorder levels are calculated using a weighted average. For example, if there are 5 selling months, the sales of the months are weighted (latest to oldest) by 24, 22, 20, 18, and 16 per cent. For 12 month sales, the weights are 12/78, 11/78, 10/78, 9/78, etc. 9.0 Option 5 - "Print reports" - PRINT To print inventory reports, select option 5 from the PROGRAM menu. A PRINT menu offering seven print reports will be displayed. Note that except for the Tax History Report, all totals are approximate. Choose from the following: 9.0 Option 5 - "Print reports" - PRINT 35 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 9.1 Master list This printed report will show all items on the data diskettes (that were on the diskettes when the build index program was run). This report is a summary of you inventory, use it to verify that you have entered all items correctly, to keep a permanent record of your inventory, and to scan for problems with your inventory. The average value of your inventory is totaled, by class. You can get an idea of how well your inventory investment is paying off by recording this average value for each class, once a month. At the end of the year, find the average value and divide it into the years total receipts, see the tax report for this number. To estimate your inventory turnover, divide the FIFO cost of goods, see the tax report, by the above average value. Turnover isn't as important as return on investment, but any number greater than 2 is considered satisfactory. 9.2 Orders Listing of all items ordered or received during a selected period. The cost of all items on order is totaled. 9.3 Under stock level Prints all items under stocked. The cost of all items needed to be ordered is totaled. 9.4 Over stock level Prints all items over stocked. The cost of all items overstocked is totaled. 9.5 Count/order Listing of all items by location. Used for counting inventory, or used to determine what to order. If you are using it to count your inventory, backup the latest sales history diskettes. Use the backup copies with the Build index option from the FILE menu to create an index of the sales history diskettes. This index will be by increasing location. There are no totals. This option is also useful for deciding what to order. Use the blank field labeled Count/order to record either or both the number of units counted or the number of packs to order. If you haven't recently run the monthly or yearly sales history program, run the daily sales history program before printing this report. 9.6 Sales history Compare current year with previous years. There are no totals. 9.0 Option 5 - "Print reports" - PRINT 36 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 9.7 Tax history Summary of the financial state of your inventory. Replacement value, receipts, sales tax, FIFO and LIFO cost of good are totaled. Note, if you are changing to LIFO, state in form 970, "Application to Use LIFO Inventory Method," on line 6 that you are using the "Average cost of purchases during the year" method. 10.0 Option 6 - "Utilities" Utility programs are added as customers request special functions. Currently there are two programs; adjust selling price and transfer data to DOS format (option 2 - 4). Additional utilities depend on your requests, some suggestions are: * Use diskettes supplied by the manufacture to update the price and costs on the data diskettes. * Support telecommunications of data to and from another computer to update the inventory records and order new inventory. * Provide special print or display reports, for example, graphical display of receipts and costs by month. * Support hard disks or different diskette types. * Add programs such as order entry, billing, accounts payable, etc. * Allow other programs to run concurrently with this program, for example, loan schedule, timecard, payroll, mailing lists, using the same data base format. 10.1 Adjust selling price This program allows you to multiply the list price of all items, qualified by supplier and manufacture, an entered percentage. Be sure to back up your data diskettes before using this program. Run a master list report afterwards to verify that the prices are correct. 10.2 Exchange data These options, and the services of a programmer, allow you to transfer inventory data between programs. These program copies the data from your inventory, sales, and tax history diskettes to a DOS formatted diskette. The DOS formatted data can be manipulated by Basic programs to fit whichever data format you need. The program transfers 2 cylinders of data into a DOS data set, labeled INVENT01.DAT through INVENT31.DAT, spread over eight diskettes. See the appendix for a description of the data. 11.0 Recovery from errors Error recovery is listed by option. Use the procedure described under the heading of the option you were using. Some errors are recovered the same way for all options. A good motto for recovering from errors is "Don't Panic." Be prepared before an error occurs by reading this section before 11.0 Recovery from errors 37 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 you start operation of the program. However, some errors such as writing to the wrong diskette require a little panic, if you are about to destroy valuable data, the fastest way to prevent this is to remove the diskette or turn off the computer. Error 1 - Field overflow: The number has exceeded the allowed size of the field. For example, the field can contain 0000 to 9999 and the number has been calculated to be greater than 9999, If the new number is correct, remove this item from the inventory file and track it manually. If it is not correct use option 2 from the FILE menu to correct it. Error 2 - Diskette error: If this error occurs when you first access (try to read or write) a diskette, make sure you have put the proper diskette in the correct drive. DOS formatted diskettes cannot be accessed by this program. 11.1 Option 1 - Format or backup diskettes. Two type of errors can occur here, diskette or drive failure, and formatting or backing up to the wrong diskette. 11.1.1 Option 1 - Format (initialization) If this option fails due to a diskette error (Diskette error on drive B) you should discard the diskette; the amount of work represented by the data recorded on a diskette far exceeds the price on a new diskette. If you are having a large number of diskette failures, the problem my be a faulty diskette drive. Consult the "Guide to Operations" manual for trouble shooting hints. If you start to format a diskette with valuable data on it, all may not be lost if you have pressed the Esc key while the cylinder being formatted was above 31 (this is why formatting starts from cylinder 39). If the diskette is normally used from drive A (0000 - 4095), you have only lost part of the index, use the Build index option on the FILE menu to recreate the index, or in the case of history diskettes, copy from the corresponding data diskette, see below. If the diskette is normally used on the B drive (4096 - 8190), in addition to recreating the index, you will have to reenter (or copy from another diskette, being sure to halt the copy before cylinder 31 is written) the miscellaneous, default, supplier, and manufacture information entered by using the TABLES menu from option 1 of the FILE menu. 11.1.2 Option 2 - Backup If the "to" diskette fails (Write error on drive B), discard the diskette and use a new on. Since the data on the A drive may be more difficult to recreate (no backup may yet exist), the program doesn't return to the DISKETTE menu when a error is detected. Instead, the sector that couldn't be read is displayed, and you are given the option to continue. Record the failing sector and continue the backup. When the backup is done, you will have to enter the data that wasn't copied. To determine the items numbers: If the failure was on the diskette that hold records 4096 - 8190 (normally in 11.0 Recovery from errors 38 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 the B drive), start with record number 4096, otherwise, start with record number 0000. Multiply the failing cylinder number by 128 and add to the starting record number. To this number, if the head was 1, add 64. The failure will be 13 records within the next 64 records (sector 1 is 0 through part of 12, sector 1 is part of 12 through part of 24, etc.). 11.2 Option 2 - Define records, enter new records, ... In addition to diskette errors, this option can have data entry errors. If diskette errors occur, try to backup the failing diskette, if errors occur during backup, recover as described above. If data entry errors are detected, consult the specific option below. 11.2.1 Option 2 - Enter tables and controls Entry errors here won't show up until you either print reports or can't adjust the selling price. If you are having problems in those areas, come back to this option and change some of the values to see if they affect your reports or selling price. 11.2.1.1 Option 1 - Enter supplier names Note that the next unused location is selected when this option is entered, if you were trying to rewrite a previously entered supplier, use the backward tab key (just to the left of the Q character, hold down the shift key) to get to the supplier number and type in the supplier number you want to change. 11.2.1.2 Option 2 - Enter manufacture names See Enter supplier names, above, both options operate the same. 11.2.1.3 Option 3 - Enter default data This option allows you to practice entering inventory data. Make sure the last data entered is the default data. Some fields affect other fields and other options. Be sure to select how you want to index each record, if you are intermixing records that index the part number with those that index the description, set the default for one, enter all those records using the "Enter data records" option, below, and then come back to this option to change to the other index field. Use the same strategy for other fields, such as class, manufacture, calculate list or tax, etc. If you can't get the correct fields to be skipped, try this. Press the Home key. If Auto skip is displayed at the bottom left corner of the display, press Scroll Lock once, now press the tab key. Press F4 followed by the tab key until you get back to the first field. Now go through the same procedure except press F3 when the cursor is in a field you want to skip. Remember that these default fields only apply to new records, once a record is entered, all field are fixed unless you key in new data (or the field is updated by one of the other program options). Also the fields to be skipped can be changed in the "Enter data records" option, below. 11.0 Recovery from errors 39 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Dates don't make sense? They're not supposed to make sense. The date fields are normally supplied by the program when one of the other options are run. The reason for putting them in backwards is to make sure the program doesn't misinterpret then; half the world writes March 6th, 1985 as 3/6/85 and the other half writes it 6-3-85 (the government solves this by writing 6 MAR 85). The solution is to use a format that no one else (except other computer programs) use; namely 850306 (year,month,day). Some people believe this, and other oddities, are due to the way computers handle data, computers don't care what order the data is in, only that the data is consistently in the same order. 11.2.1.4 Option 4 - Enter miscellaneous data This option should be used very carefully, an error here won't show up until later. The print control fields only accept hexadecimal (hex) data (i.e., 0 through 9, A through F). If your printer manual only give control codes in decimal, you will have to convert them to hex. Use the Basic conversion function: PRINT HEX$(n) when n is the decimal number you want to convert to hex. The adjust fields show percent change. To get a 10 percent increase, enter 1100 (110 percent). Note, if you set one field to plus 5 percent (1050) and the other to minus 5 percent (0950), you won't get back the original price if you use one and then the other (1.05 * .95 = .9975, not 1.00). 11.2.2 Option 2 - Enter data records You should use the above "Enter default data" option to gain practice with this option. Some of the errors common with this option are: Lost record. You are sure you entered a new record, but you can't find it with any of the other options (print master list, sell, etc.). Be sure to run the "Build index" option from the FILE menu to add the new record to the index. Also, use this option to make sure you have selected the correct field (Part number or Description) to index. If you couldn't find the record with this option (wrong record is there or no record is there), you may be using the wrong diskettes or you may have backed up the wrong diskette over the new data. Records are full of strange characters. The three types of records, data, sales history, and tax history, use different positions for the data; you probably are trying to edit the wrong diskette. Remove the diskettes before cancelling; otherwise the data will be written back incorrectly. The records are incorrect. You may have the diskettes switched, the one that should be in drive A is in drive B. Remove diskettes before pressing Esc. This could also be cause by back level diskettes. 11.0 Recovery from errors 40 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 11.2.3 Option 3 - Build index Only diskette errors are expected, backup the data and use new diskettes. 11.3 Option 3 - Update inventory records. Always have the printer turned on when using this options, an audit trail (printed record of what you entered) will be produced so that you can easily locate the record where the error was made. Any errors in the following selections can be corrected using the printed audit trail and "Enter inventory records" option from the FILE menu to correct. However, some errors can be corrected without having to edit the full record. 11.3.1 Option 1 - Count Entered an incorrect count: If the entry is too small, just enter the new court; otherwise, use the "Enter inventory records" option from the FILE menu to correct. 11.3.2 Option 2 - Order Entered incorrect quantity: Select the same item and correct the count. Entered quantity in the wrong record: Use the "Enter inventory records" option from the FILE menu to correct. 11.3.3 Option 3 - Receive If the entry is too small, just enter the difference; otherwise, use the "Enter inventory records" option from the FILE menu to correct. 11.3.4 Option 4, 5, or 6 Sell, Return from customer, or Return to supplier: Use the "Enter inventory records" option from the FILE menu to correct. 11.4 Option 4 - Transfer data to history. Options 1 through 5 and 8: Errors on cylinders below 32 can only be corrected by using the backup diskettes to restore the original data to the affected diskette. If you cancel any of these operations on cylinders below 32, you must start over with the data restored from the backup diskettes. Each of these operation is in two parts, one for records 0000 through 4095 and one for records 4096 through 8190. The operation is the same for both parts, so if a failure occurs for records 4096 through 8190, just re-do with those diskettes even though the prompt says to use diskettes for records 0000 through 4095. 11.0 Recovery from errors 41 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 11.4.1 Option 1 - Daily sales update Data is only written to the sales history diskette. 11.4.2 Option 2 - Monthly sales update Data is only written to the sales history diskette. 11.4.3 Option 3 - Monthly tax update Data is only written to the tax history diskette. 11.4.4 Option 4 - Yearly sales update Data is written to both the sales history and the data diskettes. 11.4.5 Option 5 - Yearly tax update Data is written to both the tax history and the data diskettes. 11.4.6 Option 6 - Edit sales history file The errors are the same as in the "Enter inventory records" option, above. 11.4.7 Option 7 - Edit tax history file The errors are the same as in the "Enter inventory records" option, above. 11.4.8 Option 8 - Calculate reorder point and quantity Data is only written to the data diskette. 11.5 Option 5 - Reports. Three types of errors are possible: Incorrect printer control characters, incorrect data in the report, or printer failure. Use "Enter miscellaneous data" option of the TABLES menu from the FILE menu to correct the printer control characters. Use the "Enter inventory records" option from the FILE menu to correct the data. There are too many possible printer errors to list all of them, but here are some of the more common problems: * Not advancing the paper, incorrect print fonts, not starting on the same line at the top of each page, etc. Change the print control characters, see above. * Out of paper, not selected, not powered on, not connected to the computer. Correct and retry running the program. * Printer works OK for other programs but not for this program. Check the print control characters use with the other programs and use the same for this program. Make sure your printer is connected to parallel printer port zero. This program doesn't support serial printers. 11.0 Recovery from errors 42 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 11.6 Option 6 - Utilities If there are any diskette errors in a utility program, recreate the diskettes from the backup diskettes and re-run the program. 11.7 Option 7 - Return to DOS If the AUTOEXEC.BAT file was used to start this program, DOS wants the diskette put back to see if there are any more programs to run. Either put the program diskette back in drive A, restart the computer with another program, or turn the computer off. 12.0 APPENDIX 12.1 Alternate backup procedure A backup procedure that's more complicated then the one describe above is to use 3 sets of diskettes. One set to enter your inventory, a second set for the first backup, and a third for the second backup (grand-parents, parents, children). Label the six diskettes, A1, B1, A2, B2, A3, B3, signifying the diskettes that go into drive A and B with backup level 1, 2, or 3. Always keep track of which level you are currently using so you won't backup old data onto new data. The reason for naming the diskettes 1, 2, and 3 is so you will have an easy way of remembering how to backup your data diskettes. You should backup (copy the newest to the oldest) your data whenever you reach a point where you would not care to reenter all the data if the current diskettes were destroyed. Assuming you are currently using diskettes A1 and B1, select option 2 of the DISKETTE menu and put A1 in drive A (left) and diskette A2 in drive B (right). Press the enter key. Wait for the operation to complete and do the same for diskette B1 (put in drive A) and diskette B2 (put in drive B). Now use diskettes A2 and B2 to enter new data. When you are ready to backup again, copy A2 and B2 to A3 and B3, and start using A3 and B3. The next copy will be from A3 and B3 to A1 and B1, which puts us back to where we started, using A1 and B1. If anything happens to your current diskette, use the last backup copy to recover. 12.2 Format of diskettes The data (inventory, sales, tax) diskettes are formatted with 5 - 1024 byte sector per track using diskette drive parameters CF 02 25 03 05 32 FF 60 F6 19 04. These are the most conservative parameters available; performance could be improved by using DF 02 25 03 05 32 FF 60 F6 00 02, but reliability might suffer. All diskette tracks consist of 64 - 80 byte records. The item number corresponds to the drive, cylinder, head, and offset within the track. The field offset of each record are the following: 12.0 APPENDIX 43 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 12.2.1 Data diskettes Note that many of the quantities and costs reflect last year plus year to date totals. This allows adjustments to span the year end totals. Offset and Length Type and Description 0 - 15 bytes: compressed 3/4 - description. 15 - 1 byte: packed decimal - inventory class. 16 - 1 byte: packed decimal - manufacture. 17 - 12 bytes: compressed 3/4 - part number. 29 - 1 byte: packed decimal - supplier. 30 - 6 bytes: compressed 3/4 character - location 36 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on order. 38 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units per pack. 40 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on hand. 42 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - reorder level in units. 44 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - reorder quantity in packs. 46 - 2 bytes: binary date, yyyyyyym mmmddddd - date ordered or received. 48 - 2 bytes: binary date, yyyyyyym mmmddddd - date counted. 50 - 2 bytes: binary date, yyyyyyym mmmddddd - last date sold. 52 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - average cost per pack. 55 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - price per unit. 58 - 12 bits: bit significant months (J - D) - order months. 59 - 1 bit: flag - record in use. 59 - 1 bit: flag - calculate list price. 59 - 1 bit: flag - calculate sale tax. 59 - 1 bit: flag - index on description. 60 - 1 byte: packed decimal - units returned by a customer. 61 - 4 bytes: packed decimal - purchase cost. 65 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units sold. 67 - 4 bytes: packed decimal - total receipts. 71 - 1 byte: packed decimal - lost sales. 72 - 1 byte: packed decimal - units lost. 73 - 1 byte: packed decimal - emergency orders. 74 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - shipping cost. 77 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - total sales tax. 12.2.2 Sales history diskettes Offset and Length Type and Description 0 - 6 bytes: compressed 3/4 character - location 6 - 1 byte: packed decimal - manufacture. 7 - 12 bytes: packed decimal - part number. 19 - 15 bytes: compressed 3/4 - description. 34 - 24 bytes: packed decimal, Dec, Jan, ... Nov - Sales by month. 58 - 1.5 bytes: discount (list/cost). 59 - .5 bytes: set to 0FH to force index on location. 60 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - price per unit. 63 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units per pack. 65 - 1 byte: packed decimal - inventory class. 66 - 2 bytes: binary date, yyyyyyym mmmddddd - last date sold. 68 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on hand. 70 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on order. 72 - 1 byte: packed decimal - last year lost sales. 73 - 1 byte: packed decimal - last year emergency orders. 12.0 APPENDIX 44 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 74 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units sold, previous to last year. 76 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units sold, last year. 78 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - year to date units sold. 12.2.3 Tax history diskettes Offset and Length Type and Description 0 - 15 bytes: compressed 3/4 - description. 15 - 1 byte packed decimal - inventory class. 16 - 1 byte: packed decimal - manufacture. 17 - 12 bytes: packed decimal - part number. 29 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - FIFO, year before last. 32 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - LIFO, year before last. 35 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on hand, year before last. 37 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units sold, year before last. 39 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - FIFO, last year. 42 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - LIFO, last year. 45 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on hand, last year. 47 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units sold, last year. 49 - 4 bytes: packed decimal - total receipts, last year. 53 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - total sales tax, last year. 56 - 1 byte: packed decimal - units lost, last year. 57 - 1 byte: packed decimal - units returned by customers, last year. 58 - 4 bytes: packed decimal - purchase plus shipping cost, last year. 62 - 4 bytes: packed decimal - purchase plus shipping cost, year to date. 66 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - sales, year to date. 68 - 1 byte: packed decimal - units lost, year to date. 69 - 1 byte: packed decimal - units returned by customers, year to date. 70 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units on hand, last month. 72 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - cost per unit, previous to last order received. 75 - 3 bytes: packed decimal - cost per unit, last order received. 78 - 2 bytes: packed decimal - units received in last order. 12.2.4 DOS diskettes The utility program transfers the above data to 32 DOS datasets, each dataset represents two cylinders starting with inventory cylinder 0 of the diskettes (inventory, sales, tax ) with records 0000 - 4091. The data is in 312 byte records: Offset and Length Description 0 - 20 bytes: description. 20 - 2 bytes: inventory class. 22 - 2 bytes: manufacture. 24 - 16 bytes: part number. 40 - 2 byte: supplier. 42 - 8 bytes: location 50 - 4 bytes: units on order. 54 - 4 bytes: units per pack. 58 - 4 bytes: units on hand. 62 - 4 bytes: reorder level in units. 12.0 APPENDIX 45 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 66 - 4 bytes: reorder quantity in packs. 70 - 6 bytes: date ordered or received. 76 - 2 bytes: space (hex 20) followed by a carriage return (hex 0D). 78 - 6 bytes: date counted. 84 - 6 bytes: last date sold. 90 - 6 bytes: average cost per pack. 96 - 6 bytes: price per unit. 102 - 12 bytes: order months. 114 - 1 byte: flags (blank - not in use, 1 - description index, 2 - calculate sales tax, and 4 - calculate list price. Multiple flags are added, e.g., 7 would be all flags set). 115 - 2 bytes: units returned by a customer. 117 - 8 bytes: purchase cost. 125 - 4 bytes: units sold. 129 - 8 bytes: total receipts. 137 - 2 bytes: lost sales. 139 - 2 bytes: units lost. 141 - 2 bytes: emergency orders. 143 - 6 bytes: shipping cost. 149 - 6 bytes: total sales tax. 155 - 1 byte: carriage return (hex 0D). 156 - 48 bytes: Dec, Jan, ... Nov - Sales by month. 204 - 2 bytes: last year lost sales. 206 - 2 bytes: last year emergency orders. 208 - 4 bytes: units sold, previous to last year. 212 - 4 bytes: units sold, last year. 216 - 4 bytes: year to date units sold. 220 - 6 bytes: FIFO, year before last. 226 - 6 bytes: LIFO, year before last. 232 - 2 bytes: space (hex 20) followed by a carriage return (hex 0D). 234 - 4 bytes: units on hand, year before last. 238 - 6 bytes: FIFO, last year. 244 - 6 bytes: LIFO, last year. 250 - 4 bytes: units on hand, last year. 254 - 8 bytes: total receipts, last year. 262 - 6 bytes: total sales tax, last year. 268 - 2 bytes: units lost, last year. 270 - 2 bytes: units returned by customers, last year. 272 - 8 bytes: purchase plus shipping cost, last year. 280 - 8 bytes: purchase plus shipping cost, year to date. 288 - 2 bytes: units lost, year to date. 290 - 2 bytes: units returned by customers, year to date. 292 - 6 bytes: cost per unit, previous to last order received. 398 - 6 bytes: cost per unit, last order received. 304 - 4 bytes: units received in last order. 308 - 4 bytes: space (hex 20) followed by a carriage return (hex 0D), a new line (hex 0A), and a right arrow (hex 1A). 12.3 Formulas used to calculate tax, cost of goods sold. Each time the monthly history backups are run, the latest units received, sales, costs, etc., are updated on the history diskettes. Each time the yearly history backups are run, the data sales and financial data is transferred to the history diskettes and the data values are adjusted to reflect just the past year's transactions. 12.0 APPENDIX 46 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 The following formulas are used in these history backup programs: FIFO: If COH > R then CVF = (R * CCU + (COH - R) * PCU)/COH else CVF = CCU where CVF is current value of a FIFO unit R is units received, last order CCU is current cost per unit COH is current on hand PCU is previous cost per unit LIFO: AVE = (P + S)/(COH - POH + L + US - R) If COH > POH then CVL = (POH * PVL + (COH - POH) * AVE)/COH else CVL = PVL where CVL is current value of a LIFO unit POH is previous on hand PVL is previous value of a LIFO unit P is years total purchase cost S is years total shipping cost L is years total units lost US is years total units sold R is years total units returned 12.4 Memory partitions Memory is allocated as follows: * Resident DOS * Active program * Data buffers up to first 64KB boundary * 128 KB index * Not active programs (location determined at load time) * Transient DOS 12.5 Sort algorithm "Quick sort" without Singleton's modification, but with rescan of each partition until no swaps, and use the new pivot value if swapped (compare at a location, not a saved value). 12.0 APPENDIX 47 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Index └╨╨╨░ ╩ A ╡ óúúúí Arrows 14, 27, 32 └╨╨╨░ ╩ C ╡ óúúúí Calculate 14 list price 8, 10, 11, 30, 33 sale tax 33 sales tax 8, 11 Class 1, 8 Computer 2, 7, 24 Cost per pack 11, 12, 15, 30 Count 1, 14, 31, 32 └╨╨╨░ ╩ D ╡ óúúúí Data default 7, 14, 27, 28 edit 12, 19 enter 5, 10, 28 lower case 8 Date DOS 2, 4, 14, 25 program 4, 8, 11, 12 Description 8, 10, 14 Diskettes backup 2, 5, 24, 26, 43 capacity 13 cleaning 7 fields 44-46 format 4, 25, 43 labels 5 purchase 2 DOS 2 └╨╨╨░ ╩ E ╡ óúúúí End 13, 27 Enter 13, 14, 27, 30, 32 Error recovery 6, 13, 16, 19, 20, 32, 37-43 Esc 3, 15, 27, 30 Estimate 33 Extra orders 11, 15, 30 Index 48 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Index └╨╨╨░ ╩ F ╡ óúúúí F1 3 F10 16, 33 F2 13, 27, 30 F3 9, 27 F4 9, 27 F5 10, 28, 33 F6 10, 28, 33 F8 13, 29 F9 16, 33 Field types 8 Fields 28 └╨╨╨░ ╩ H ╡ óúúúí Home 8, 13, 14, 30 └╨╨╨░ ╩ I ╡ óúúúí Index 8, 10, 13, 30, 31, 32 Items returned 30 └╨╨╨░ ╩ L ╡ óúúúí Location 1 Lost sales 12, 16, 30 └╨╨╨░ ╩ M ╡ óúúúí Manufacture 6, 8, 27 Markup 10, 28 Menu diskette 3, 4 file 5, 10, 13, 16, 26, 29 history 17, 34 print 20, 35 program 3, 4, 25 record 14, 31 tables 5, 9, 26 utilities 37 Index 49 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Index └╨╨╨░ ╩ O ╡ óúúúí On order 15 Order 15, 31, 32 Order months 8, 11, 30 └╨╨╨░ ╩ P ╡ óúúúí Part number 1, 8, 10, 14, 27 Price per unit 1, 12, 15 Printer 2, 14 cleaning 7 control 9, 28 Purchase cost 12, 15, 16, 30 └╨╨╨░ ╩ Q ╡ óúúúí Quantity sold 16 └╨╨╨░ ╩ R ╡ óúúúí Receipts 31 Receive 15, 31, 33 Record number 14, 16, 29 Reorder level 11, 20, 35 Reorder quantity 11, 20 Report master 13, 20, 36 orders 15, 21, 36 over stock 21, 36 sales history 22, 36 tax history 22, 37 under stock 21, 36 count/order 36 count/orders 21 Return from customer 16, 31, 33 Return to supplier 16, 32, 33 └╨╨╨░ ╩ S ╡ óúúúí Sales tax 16, 31 Sales tax collected 12 Scroll lock 10, 13, 27, 29 Sell 15, 31, 33 Shipping cost 12, 15, 16, 30 Suggestions 22 Supplier 5, 8, 15, 27 Index 50 08-12-1984 Parts Inventory Control User's Guide Version 1.0 Index └╨╨╨░ ╩ T ╡ óúúúí Tab 14, 27 Tax rate 10 Total receipts 12, 16 └╨╨╨░ ╩ U ╡ óúúúí Units lost 8, 11 Units on hand 8, 10, 15 Units on order 11 Units per pack 8, 11 Units received 15 Units returned 12, 31 Units sold 12, 16, 31 └╨╨╨░ ╩ W ╡ óúúúí Warranty 33 Index 51 Index