TerminologyGrendata Computer Systems
Terminology
Some of the terminology that we at GCS use, is listed below. You should attempt to become familiar with it so that reading our manuals makes sense to you.
KEYBOARD ENTRY:
If we surround something with quotation marks like this ... "XYZ" , it is only to make our manuals easier to read. You should never enter the quotations marks from an instruction such as Enter "XYZ", just the XYZ . Only enter quotations marks if explicitly told to do so.
If we say "enter XYZ", we mean :
depress the keys X Y and Z followed by the <enter> key.
If we say "type XYZ", we mean:
depress the keys X Y Z and nothing else.
Throughout our manual you will see expressions like "depress <enter>", or simply <enter>. This indicates that you should depress and release the key with the word "enter" on it. This is sometimes referred to as a CR or a CRLF key also which harkens back to the times of manual typewriters.
KEYS USED AND NOT USED
Although we have attempted to prevent errors from illegal entries, there are still places that illegal keystrokes can occur. We strongly recommend that you read the following before allowing anyone else to start using the system.
Most keyboard today, are the 101 or 104 keys type. Our system requires that you only use the alpha keys (a-z), and the numeric keys (0-9). Although some of the symbols such as !#$%^&+ can be used, we strongly urge you to NOT USE THEM.
Although not mandatory, our clients have always had good luck with running with the CAPS LOCK ON at all times. This will prevent somebody from entering a part number as "jc005" when in fact everybody is attempting to find it later as "JC005". The system is case sensitive, and so these would be two unique part numbers.
DO NOT USE any of the "word processing" keys, such as left, right, up and down arrow keys, insert,home,pg up, pg down, delete, or end. DO NOT USE any functions keys (F1, F2, etc) or the ESC, or TAB keys.
GCS also uses the "@" as an escape key and the "*" as internal delimiters and should be considered as keys reserved for internal use only. DO NOT USE THESE KEYS unless specifically instructed to do so.
ENTERING A PASSWORD.
When you are prompted to enter your password, you must enter it correctly and identically to the way you first added it to the system. If you make a mistake, you cannot back space. Simply <enter> and try again after the time-out of 3 seconds has expired. You cannot use numbers either. Your password is case sensitive, so for example Admin is different from ADMIN
COMMAND LINE
The command line may be made up of 1 or 2 lines at the bottom of the screen where any editing might be required.
We will show you all of the commands below in a two line format, but keep in mind not every screen will follow this exact layout or have all of the choices listed.
F)ile/D)elete/@)abort this record, P)rev/N)ext/G)oto pg, A)dd/K)ill a line, E)dit, S)equence
When a line similar to above appears at the bottom of your screen with the cursor at the end of it, it is requesting a one character response from you. The response that is expected is one of the characters in front of the ")" . The options that you see here might not necessarily be in the same order on various screens.
F)ile
So, for example , if you are happy with what you see on the screen , you would depress "F" to file this record.
D)elete
You are usually presented with this option only during the updating of utility records. You will not be allowed to easily delete records in inventory, accounts receivable , or accounts payable. However, if the option is there , depress "D" to delete the record.
@)abort
If you have made several changes to a record, but then decide that you really don't want to apply them, depress "@" here, and the system will abort the record, effectively returning it to its original state.
P)rev/N)ext/G)oto pg, A)dd/K)ill a line
These options all apply to a "multi-value" window. This is a section of the screen where you will normally see two or more rows of data preceded by a numbering scheme that looks like this:
1.1
1.2
1.3
There might also be more than one of these sections on a screen, so you might also see :
2.1
2.2
2.3
etc etc.
Although these "windows" might be limited to just a few lines of visible data, there can be more data hiding in the background. For example, we use one of these "windows" to store telephone numbers. We display only 3 lines at a time on the screen, but you might have 5 or 6 telephone numbers associated with this record. So, if you see the "window" is full of data, you may depress "N" to see the N)ext page or "P" to see the P)revious page. With practice, you will soon become familiar with this process so that you can guesstimate the page number pretty close to arrive at the data you need. Again, if there is more than one "window" on your screen, when you depress "G", you will be prompted to enter which "window" you want to page in. If you want to add information to one of these multi-value windows choose A)dd. If you wish to delete a line from a multi-value window, choose K)ill.
If there are more than one of these "windows" on your screen, the when you choose Next or Prev, you will be prompted to enter the window number for the paging required. At this point, you enter the digit to the left of the "." in the number. If you know that there is an abundance of information in one of these "windows", then you might want to attempt to G)o to a specific page.
E)dit
Choosing E)dit will invoke various prompts depending on the routine you are in.
It will ask you which item you want to edit. If you have a screen with normal fields and also multi-value fields, you must be careful as to how you answer this. For a single field, you simply enter the item (reference) number for that field. The cursor will then enter that field and you may change the data in that field in some way or leave it. See field editing for your options. If there is a multi-value field on this screen, you may enter the whole reference number such as "1.2" and the cursor will enter this line and might allow you to edit each piece of data on that line. If you just enter the left digit of the number , that is "1" when the window is numbered 1.1, 1.2 etc, then you will enter line #1 in that window.
S)equence
This is an extended version of the edit command, and when you invoke it, you will be prompted with "Begin sequence at what item ?". Here you enter the item number of the field that you want to start editing at. The cursor will enter this field and when you have finished with the edit here, will go to the next field until it reaches the end of the page unless you choose to exit the sequence routine. Please see field editing for instructions on how to exit.
Also see editing a field
GCS SHORTHAND
We have, over the years, arrived at a number of two character codes to mean certain things within our system. A short explanation of each is listed below.
SALE TYPES
RE Means REserved stock, so if you see this sale type on an invoice, you know that the item is reserved for this customer but has not been invoiced as yet.
IN Means INvoiced, so if you see this sale type on an invoice, you know that this item has been invoiced to the customer.
SO Means Special Ordered. When this appears on and invoice, you know that this item has had a special order requested by the Sales person for this customer. A special order is placed when the item is never stocked and the customer is requesting special treatment of the product.
SP Means that the above special order has now been processed (ordered from the manufacturer)
TM Means Temp Memo. We may change the wording and code in the future, but in essence, means Back Ordered. This differs from a Special Order in that this product is normally stocked but it presently out of stock. Unless over-ridden, the system will insure that the first customer to TM and item will be the first customer to receive it.
DE This will show up on the screen only if an invoice is later edited and an item is DEleted. We maintain all items on an invoice so that sequential copies of the invoice could be printed if required. For example, if an invoice is created on January 15 and several items added to it, this becomes sequence #1. If an item is deleted on Jan 20, then this becomes sequence #2. If some time in the future you need to print a copy of sequence #1 showing the original sale, you can.
DELIVERY TYPES
AP Stands for As soon as Possible. If using dispatch routines, this causes this invoice to be placed on the master delivery list of a warehouse, and dispatch personnel will attempt to put this on a delivery as soon as they can
SC Stands for SCheduled. When an item is Scheduled when adding a contract, the operator must also insert a date. This item then shows up on the computer screen in dispatch as a potential delivery for that day. It is up to dispatch to attempt to delivery this item on or before that date.
MA Stands for MArked. Any item on a contract with a delivery type of MA, means that this item has bee placed on a delivery schedule and the data of that schedule replaces any other delivery date that might have been associated with this line. Once MArked, the editing of this contract becomes limited but still possible. However, some editing requires that whoever is attempting to edit will have to call dispatch and have them remove the item from the delivery schedule while the edit is made. This insures that something cannot be added to the contract after dispatch has scheduled and assumed this invoice is complete.
DE Stands for DElivered . In the GCS system, the Delivered code appears when the final paper work for a delivery run is complete. We assume that the customer has been called, the invoices, delivery slips etc are all printed. The date that is associated with the individual lines of the invoice that are being delivered is changed to the delivery date (not the day that they are printed). Once something is INVOICED, it cannot be reversed, so it is important that deliveries are not prepared too far in advance.
TW Stands for Take With, and is an interim code until the TAKE WITH SLIP is printed. This is the document that we have the customer sign, stating that they have received the product in good condition etc. Printing the TAKE WITH SLIP, also triggers the invoicing of the product that is marked TW. It will only invoice items that are marked as TW if it is printed on the same day. So it is imperative that the transaction for TW items be completed on the day the invoice is written.
TD Stands for Take With Delivered. When the above mentioned TAKE WITH SLIP is printed, the invoice with items marked TW are modified to TD.
PU Stands for Pick Up. An invoice with delivery type PU, is almost the same as TW but a PU allows the customer to pick up the product at a later date.
PD Stands for Pick Up Delivered. We suggest that when the customer returns for the product, that they visit the reception or accounting area, where some-one can contact the warehouse to find out if all stock is available. If it is, they collect the amount owing, and print a PICK UP SLIP. This triggers the invoicing process. The customer then is given the PICKUP SLIP to take to the warehouse and when all product has been loaded, will sign this document and leave with warehouse personnel to return to accounting. (if necessary). In addition to changing PU to PD, this routine also replaces the date on the items picked up with the actual date of pickup from the previously entered estimated date of pickup.
WA Stands for Will Advise. When this delivery type is placed on an invoice, the operator must also enter an approximate date of when the customer intends to advise for delivery. This, then, allows us to print a report of invoices that have gone beyond this estimated date so that the customer can be called to find out what is going on. Remember, you have this stock reserved for them, so if they decide not to purchase and simply don't let you know, without this capability, you might hold this stock forever.
WC Stands for When Complete. Simply put, if you mark any item on an invoice with this Delivery Type, you are telling dispatch that you do not want anything delivered until everything is ready.
DEFAULT DELIVERY TYPE
There are certain Delivery Types that can be placed in the default delivery date field when adding a contract. If the default delivery type requires a default delivery date, then you are asked to enter this too. This delivery type is then automatically entered in each line of the contract for you. These delivery types included AP,TW,PU,WA,WC, and SC
There are other Delivery types that you CANNOT PLACE in the default delivery type. These include PD,TD,DE and MA. These are reserved for system insertion.
Once special type you can insert is MX with stands for MiXed. If you place MX in the default delivery type, then the system asks you for the delivery type and date for each item.
We also allow for PH and WK as default delivery types BUT YOU CANNOT USE THEM . These are place here automatically by the system depending on how you choose to file and invoice at the end of adding or editing.
CORE STOCK
Our definition of core stock is as follows:
Product is normally available on short notice from your supplies
You do not want this item sold from the sales floor because if you do you will not have a sample from which to make sales.