RETAILvantage 2.1 RELEASE NOTES

Transcription

1 RETAILvantage 2.1 RELEASE NOTES INTRODUCTION The following topics represent modifications to the current modules to enhance the application based on feedback from both the customer base and our own internal teams. Low-impact changes for cosmetic reasons such as altering the description or label that precedes a field may not be recorded if there have been no other material changes to the screen.

2 CONTENT RETAILvantage 2.1 Release notes... 1 INTRODUCTION... 1 THE BEST OF THE BEST... 3 Analyzer: Real-Time Data Analysis and Custom Report Builder... 3 Sales by Collection Reporting... 3 Remote QuickBooks Integration and Accounting Data Export... 4 INVENTORY... 5 Scheduled Inventory Updates for ecommerce Website... 5 New Ranges Added to Purging Inventory History... 5 Price Tags No Longer Require Microsoft Access... 5 Batch Barcoding Transfers: Incorrect Item ID Alerts... 5 Package and Item Maintenance Enhancements... 5 Vendor Stock and Concise Stock Status Report Now excludes Discontinued Items... 6 Package List Now Includes Package Margin Percents... 6 SALES... 6 Signature Capture Now Available on PROFITsystems OnDemand... 6 Mailing List Updates... 6 New Merge Field: Customer Added to All Follow-Up Letters... 7 Customer Search by and Zip Code... 7 Manual Entry of Traffic Counts... 7 Ashley Check Stock by Collection... 7 Collector Worklist Now Excludes Customers with Zero Balance... 7 Sale Price Report... 7 Complete for Delivery Report Now Includes Sale Remarks... 8 Delivery Receipt Enhancements... 8 Other Sales Enhancements... 8 Customer Central Enhancements... 9 PURCHASE ORDERS... 9 Purchase Order Enhancements... 9 Purchase Order History Report Enhancements... 9 ACCOUNT PAYABLES... 9 New Payable Payment Method: Electronic Payment... 9 Vendor List Can Be Exported to Microsoft Excel...10 No Out-of-Period Posting from Sub-ledgers...10 ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS...10 Easy Toolbar Access to Additional Tools...10 Additional Password Security...10 Conversion Program...11

3 THE BEST OF THE BEST ANALYZER: REAL-TIME DATA ANALYSIS AND CUSTOM REPORT BUILDER As a business owner or manager, being able to access the right information at the right time can help you improve your processes, marketing, margins, and even your decisions regarding inventory. RETAILvantage s new Analyzer allows you to easily view and analyze real-time sales and inventory data so you can quickly understand your current store performance, identify inefficiencies, and spot opportunities to achieve higher gross margins. The Analyzer allows you to create customized views and track your KPIs by simply dragging and dropping the fields you want to see in any format. You can save views to your personal dashboard, build visual charts, export detailed data to a delimited file, and even print summarized data. SALES BY COLLECTION REPORTING The Analyzer also allows you to view written and delivered sales by collection. A collection refers to a group of items that you would like to compare to another group of items. A collection may also be established by a manufacturer to group items with a specific style. Bedroom sets are an example of a manufacturer defined collection.

4 REMOTE QUICKBOOKS INTEGRATION AND ACCOUNTING DATA EXPORT You can now not only transfer ledger transactions electronically to a QuickBooks installation within your own network or work station, but also to any other remote work station. In addition, the details of the trial balance can now also be exported to a delimited file format so you can analyze account activity in Microsoft Excel or any other program. This file can be shared with your CPA or CFO to be uploaded into any 3 rd party accounting system for further analysis and flexibility. QuickBooks integration is supported with any desktop edition of QuickBooks Pro Edition starting with This includes specialized editions such as the Accountant Edition, Contractor Edition, Nonprofit Edition, and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. Also, only the U.S. and Canadian versions are officially supported. The online version of QuickBooks is not supported at this time.

5 INVENTORY SCHEDULED INVENTORY UPDATES FOR ECOMMERCE WEBSITE RETAILvantage now allows you to schedule automated item information exports to run in the background or afterhours. The export XML file will be generated within RETAILvantage. The ability to update web item options in the item file has been added to set item fields. The ability to mass update these items will save you time in the implementation of ecommerce. NEW RANGES ADDED TO PURGING INVENTORY HISTORY Purging inventory history now has the option to select a range of item ID s, item descriptions, categories, or vendors. The need for the amount of inventory can be different between categories and/or vendors. For example, you don t need nearly as much inventory history on accessory items as you do on mattresses or appliances. PRICE TAGS NO LONGER REQUIRE MICROSOFT ACCESS As you walk the floor and run inventory of your missing price tags, you can now add them to the price tag file in the order that you d like for each tag to be printed. By default, price tags will now be created in the order that items were added to the file, while also giving you the option to sort them by item id or description using the price tag template. Finally, you no longer need Microsoft Access to create your price tags given that the merge source can now be connected directly to the database using an ODC connection. BATCH BARCODING TRANSFERS: INCORRECT ITEM ID ALERTS You will now be alerted when an incorrect item ID is scanned when performing batch barcoding transfers. Your device will now make a buzzing sound and prevent the user from going to the next scan until the issue is addressed by scanning the correct item ID. PACKAGE AND ITEM MAINTENANCE ENHANCEMENTS When creating the package parent ID, you will now be prompted to add the components to the package. The components of a predefined package can be modified from item maintenance by simply clicking on the components button. In addition, the item backorder control, manufacturer SKU, and SPIFF amount have been moved from the more screen of item maintenance to the front screen. Friendly reminder: The manufacturer SKU is the universal way to electronically link items from manufacturers, to retailers, to the web. If you are not currently using this field, you should give it a try. Be sure to only include the manufacturer s model number in this field. The vendor name is not necessary.

6 A new attribute has been added to the item file to designate it as quick-ship item. The quick-ship designator for each item has been added to the item list, item export XML file, set item fields, and will also appear in Check Stock. VENDOR STOCK AND CONCISE STOCK STATUS REPORT NOW EXCLUDES DISCONTINUED ITEMS A new option has been added to the Concise Stock Status Report and the Vendor Stock Report to exclude discontinued items that do not have a quantity on hand and are not on an open sale or purchase order. PACKAGE LIST NOW INCLUDES PACKAGE MARGIN PERCENTS The package list now includes the package gross margin percent for package price 1, 2, and 3. The addition of the gross margin percent to the report makes it easier to spot packages being sold at a low gross margin percent. SALES SIGNATURE CAPTURE NOW AVAILABLE ON PROFITsystems OnDemand Your customer's signature can now be captured at the time the sale is entered, signifying that your customer has agreed to the terms of the sale. Customer signatures will be printed automatically on the plain paper sales form under the customized terms and conditions of the sale and are viewable throughout the system. Signatures can be easily seen on the sale totals screen in Enter Sales, View Sales Entries, and Customer Central for open and delivered sales. Note: The amount of text in the terms and agreements on the Plain Paper Sales Form has been expanded and will now handle carriage returns to allow for better formatting. Also, each user has the option to include the report logo on the plain paper sales form. MAILING LIST UPDATES To help you achieve more targeted communication with your customers, the mailing list now has new filter options by payment terms, deliver via, salesperson, and tax code. In addition, the list can now be created in the post office approved format or exported to a delimited format file. The delimited format file can be easily shared with marketing partners and includes pertinent customer information, primary salesperson, and customer address. Please note that it will only include customers with a complete address or an address, and will not include customer accounts marked as No follow-up mailings. Finally, generating the customer mailing list has moved to a new menu path Activities > Receivables > Follow-up Mailings > Generate Mailing List.

7 NEW MERGE FIELD: CUSTOMER ADDED TO ALL FOLLOW-UP LETTERS To help your marketing and follow-up efforts, the customer address field has been added as a merge field for the all of the follow-up letters: Delinquent customers Discontinued items Next purchase follow-up Special order update Thank you follow-up Sales follow-up Opportunity follow-up In addition, the customer s address has been added to the sales edit list, plain paper sales form, delivery receipt, delivery summary, and delivery manifest. CUSTOMER SEARCH BY AND ZIP CODE We ve made it easier for you to find your customers by enabling search by zip code or address. MANUAL ENTRY OF TRAFFIC COUNTS If you re only tracking Ups, you re likely getting inaccurate store traffic reporting. Traffic counts can now be manually entered into RETAILvantage to help you better gauge lost opportunities, close ratios, and other sales performance indicators more precisely. In addition, storing traffic counts in the same database along with opportunities and sales allows you to access all relevant information for staffing projections from one central location. Traffic reports by date or day of the week will utilize traffic counts entered. ASHLEY CHECK STOCK BY COLLECTION Your salespeople can now check Ashley Stock availability for a full collection or series of items, rather than having to search individually for each item. COLLECTOR WORKLIST NOW EXCLUDES CUSTOMERS WITH ZERO BALANCE The Collector Worklist by Customer ID or Customer Name has a new option to not print zero balance customers. As collectors are working through the work list, they wanted the option to exclude zero balance customers. SALE PRICE REPORT The sale price report now has the option to select a combination of categories, vendor, or markdown codes, in addition to the already included ranges of item ID or item description. These new ranges will allow for manual sale price or automatic markdowns to be reviewed by category, vendor, or markdown code instead of reviewing all sale prices.

8 COMPLETE FOR DELIVERY REPORT NOW INCLUDES SALE REMARKS The Complete for Delivery Report has a new option to print sales remarks. Printing sale item detail remarks will provide additional information about the sale to help prepare deliveries. DELIVERY RECEIPT ENHANCEMENTS Some changes have been made to the delivery receipts to make details clearer to the delivery driver and customer. The title of the detailed delivery receipt that the customer signs will now change dynamically for the following sale types: SALE TYPE NEW DELIVERY RECEIPT TITLE Credit Memo Return Credit Memo No: Invoice heading Delivery Receipt Sale No: Sale heading Delivery Receipt Sale No: Service Order Service Work Order No: In addition, backorder control items with a returned quantity will no longer print the message ***** The Above Item is a Return*****. When exporting the delivery receipts, the exported file now includes the customer s address. This file could be used as a data source for creating follow-ups based on delivered merchandise. The customer address has also been added to the plain paper sales form, delivery receipt, delivery manifest, and delivery summary. The delivery receipt can now be printed from an icon on the main screen of sales entry without having to save the sale first. OTHER SALES ENHANCEMENTS You now have the ability to easily add and remove multiple items from a package during sales entry utilizing multi-row select. When modifying items on a sale, such as selecting individual items for sale, the system will now default to the next item in the sales detail data grid. This eliminates having to scroll down through the data grid to find the next one to modify. Service type sales now allows replacement items to be added to the sale, eliminating the need to create a separate sales ticket.

9 CUSTOMER CENTRAL ENHANCEMENTS Customer Central open sales and sales history tabs have been modified to include sale detail remarks and item options, allowing you to view the same information that is available through View Sales Entries and View Sales History. Other enhancements include: Ability to print a copy of the sale has been added to the open sales tab in Customer Central. Ability print a copy of the delivered sales invoice has been added to the sales history tab in Customer Central. Please note that reprinting the sales invoice from sales history will only print 1 copy of the invoice. PURCHASE ORDERS PURCHASE ORDER ENHANCEMENTS Acknowledging selected items on a purchase order just got easier. You can now select multiple rows from the purchase order detail data grid and mass update selected items rather than doing it one by one. When modifying items on an open purchase order, such as updating the cost of an item, the system will now default to the next item in the purchase order detail data grid. This eliminates having to scroll down through the data grid to find the next one to modify. PURCHASE ORDER HISTORY REPORT ENHANCEMENTS It is now easier to determine which inventory items have been received and do not have a merchandise invoice attached. Multiple changes have been made to the Purchase Order History to include the ability to print and sort the report by receiving date, as well as allow you to only print items received that have not yet been invoiced. The merchandise order contact information for both merchandise and service orders has been added to the screen in order maintenance. ing a service type purchase order will now be sent to the part order contact. ACCOUNT PAYABLES NEW PAYABLE PAYMENT METHOD: ELECTRONIC PAYMENT A new way to record the payment of payable invoices has been added: Electronic Payment. The Electronic Payment option in accounts payable allows for multiple payable invoices to be marked as paid by an electronic payment method (payment by credit card, bank transfer, etc.), while recording the confirmation

10 number received for the transaction. The confirmation number and payment method will be visible on the payable history report for reference. VENDOR LIST CAN BE EXPORTED TO MICROSOFT EXCEL The vendor list can now be exported to excel. NO OUT-OF-PERIOD POSTING FROM SUB-LEDGERS Posting transactions from a sub-ledger will no longer post to the ledger if the transaction is in a closed accounting period or outside of the current year (and if these options are selected in the chart of accounts). The applications affected by this change are: Charging the processing date Posting MTO s Posting Accounts Payables - non-recurring Posting Additional Charges Posting Cash Posting Merchandise Receiving Posting Sales Printing Payable Checks ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS EASY TOOLBAR ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL TOOLS We ve added new toolbar icons to allow you to have the tools you use every day at your fingertips. New function icons include: View order history View analyzer Print sales journal Open sales by salesperson Written sales by salesperson Item export ADDITIONAL PASSWORD SECURITY Additional features in RETAILvantage can now be password-protected: Cash Entry - Cash Transaction Date Chart of Accounts Save Button Customer Maintenance - Alerts Item Maintenance Save Button

11 Open Orders - Save Button Payment Terms Save Button Sales Entry Sale Date Sales Entry - Sale Number Standard Remarks Save Button Friendly reminder: All of the above features and all delete buttons can be protected with a password by logging in as a 99 user and right-clicking on the button or feature to define the password. CONVERSION PROGRAM The conversion program has been modified to lock any users out of the system while a conversion is running.