Using the Customer Manager

1.  Select the Customer Manager from the CRM Pull-down menu.

2.  Find the appropriate Customer record as described under “Viewing and Editing a Customer record”.

3.  Once the correct customer is displayed in the program, press the Enter New Order button.  At this point, the Order Entry program will be displayed and the program will be loaded with the default information for the selected customer.  The default information that is loaded includes the customer payment terms, shipping terms, shipping method and default ShipTo address (if one has been specified) for the customer.  This information can be accepted or changed as required.  In some cases, changing default information (such as the payment terms used on the order) can result in the order being placed on hold.

4.  Change or accept the default shipping address and other information as appropriate.

5.  Select the Order Lines tab to add the items to the order. 

6.  Once the order lines list is displayed, you may add a new line item to the order by pressing the INSERT key or the Insert Line button.  You may also edit an existing line by highlighting the line and double-clicking it with the mouse, or by pressing the Edit Line button.

7.  Enter the items for the order.  Once you press the INSERT key, the Order Entry Item panel is displayed.  This panel is used to enter and/or edit the individual line items of the customer's order.  When the panel is first displayed, the Item/Price tab is selected and the cursor will be positioned in the Item Identification field in the panel.  The appropriate item number can be located and selected using one of the following methods.

1.  Key the item number (or a portion of it) into the Item# window and use the FIND keys (FIND, FIND PREVIOUS, FIND NEXT) to locate the correct item number.  Once the correct item number is displayed in the Item# window, you may select it by pressing the ENTER key, or by pressing the DOWN ARROW key.  The ENTER key will move the cursor sequentially through the remaining fields in the panel.  The DOWN ARROW key is a “shortcut” that will move the cursor directly to the quantity field.  The DOWN ARROW option is useful when you have selected the correct item and wish to specify the quantity and price without navigating through any additional fields in the panel.

2.  Key the item description (or a portion of it) into the Desc. window and use the FIND keys (FIND, FIND PREVIOUS, FIND NEXT) to locate the correct item number by description.  Once the correct item number is displayed in the Item# and DESC. windows, you may select it by pressing the ENTER key.

3.  Press the PROMPT button (or use the right mouse key PROMPT option) in either the Item# or Desc. windows to display the Catalog Selection List.  The Catalog selection list shows all items that are available for sale in your system.  The Catalog selection list can be sorted using several different display sequences.  These display sequences can be selected by clicking on the column headers displayed in the selection list.  Once you have selected a display sequence you can use the mouse or the arrow keys to highlight the correct item or you can search by keying in the appropriate information based on the display sequence being used.  Once the correct item is highlighted, you can select it by double clicking the item with the mouse or by pressing the ENTER key.

4.  Press the Search Keyword button to display the Keyword selection list.  The Keyword Search system allows you to search for items based on specific keywords contained in various fields in the item records.  Once the keyword file has been built up, the Keyword search allows you to enter a specific keyword and it returns a list of all items containing that keyword.  If an item is selected from the list, it is loaded into the Item Detail panel.

5.  on the first line of the entry portion of the screen and the order number (a temporary number if the order has not been saved yet), company, and total amount in dollars of the line items for the order are displayed in the top portion of the screen.

To add an item to the order you must first locate and select the correct inventory record.  To do this you may use the SEARCH (FIND, PREVIOUS and NEXT RECORD) keys and keyboard input in the Item# field and/or the Description field (the Item# and Description field in this window are both SEARCH fields and you may search through the records in description, or item number order to find the correct item), or you may press the EXPAND key to display the Item Lookup program (discussed in a later section).  As you search through the items, the display fields will be filled with information about each item.  This information is taken from the Inventory Master file and may not be changed by the operator from within this program.  A complete list of these fields and their definitions can be found near the end of this document.

Once the correct inventory item is displayed, you may select the item by pressing the ENTER key.  The system then moves the cursor to the Qty field.

At this point you may enter the quantity ordered by the customer in the Qty field and press the ENTER key.  Once the ENTER key is pressed in the Qty field, the system calls up the "Sales Order Line Pricing Window". 

Sales Order Line Item Pricing Window

The Sales Order Line Item Pricing Window allows you to save sales order line items.  The window also provides you with a list of the price levels assigned to each inventory item and the ability to accept or change the default price for the item.  This window also allows the operator to call up the "Sales Order Line Item Comment Window" in order to attach notes to individual line items.  In addition, this window displays the gross profit margin for the inventory item selected based on the price being charged to the customer for the item.  

After you press the ENTER key in the ITEM # field of the Add Sales Order Line Window or the Edit Sales Order Line Window, the Sales Order Line Pricing Window is displayed.  The Sales Order Line Pricing Window displays the various prices assigned to the item in the Inventory Master file and optionally the gross profit margins in percent that would be realized at each sale price.  It will also display other target price calculations depending on the other pricing systems being used.  At this point, you may accept the default price (based on the price level assigned to the customer in the Customer Master file or one of several optional target price methods) or enter a different price.  If the price entered for the item is less than the price in the price level assigned to the customer (or the system calculated target price), the sales order will be put on a price/product hold automatically by the system.

Once you have entered the appropriate price for the item, you save the line item by pressing the SAVE key.  Line items must be saved in this manner.  Editing done to existing line items must also be saved in this manner.  Once the operator has pressed the SAVE key in this window, the program returns to the Sales Order Entry Line Item screen.

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Using the Contact Manager