Inventory-based Business Inventory Set Up Inventory Items You must set up one record for each of your inventory items that you stock and/or sell. You assign a unique part number (item code/key) to each item. However, you never need to know the item's key to identify the item in any of the programs of the MyBooks system. Instead, to call up an existing record, you may use the powerful, instant, and natural method of the Appgen Cross-Reference record identification feature. Otherwise, you can simply click on the Select button to choose the item you are looking for from a list. Item (Product/Part) Coding The item code may be up to twenty characters in length. It may be based on the actual part numbers given by the vendor or on your own unique coding system. An Alternate Item Code scheme actually allows you to assign any number of codes to an item. This can be especially useful when tracking multiple vendors' part numbers. Types of Items The inventory items may be thought of as being one of four types as follows: Stock items are those normally kept in stock at one or more locations. Alternate item codes are items that are identical to other items. This capability allows you to assign more than one part code to the same item. Substitute items are those that may be sold in place of other items. The code for a substitute item is entered in the item record of the original item for which it is a substitute. The substitute will then be displayed when the original item is entered on an invoice. Substitute items may be used as substitutes for out-of-stock items or they may be used in a "preferred item" concept (better margins, better availability, better quality, etc.). Kit items are those special items that are actually made up of two or more non-kit inventory items. The list of kit components, and their corresponding quantities, is maintained in the Item record of the kit item. Units of Measure Many companies track quantities of the inventory items in different measurements. For example, they may buy an item by the dozen, keep stock of it by the individual piece, and sell it by the case. Or perhaps they may sell it by the piece or by the dozen. Or maybe they need to sell it by the piece, dozen, case, skid, and/or whatever-or buy it by the piece, dozen, case, etc. The MyBooks system accommodates any number of units of measure for any individual item. At minimum, each item is assigned one unit of measure. This is referred to as the ‘stocking unit of measure’. This is the smallest unit of measure for the item, and all stock changes are calculated with this unit. From there, the item may have an unlimited number of additional units of measure. Each additional unit of measure must have a conversion factor (greater than 1) assigned to it so that each program can convert it for inventory tracking reasons. Serial Numbers Any item can be tracked by serial number. This is controlled by the flag 'Serialized?' in the Item record. If this flag is set to 'Y' then whenever the item is received, adjusted, transferred, or sold, a serial number must always be entered for it. The system allows for unlimited unique serial numbers with associated unit costs. Price Class of Items Items with similar characteristics may be grouped together by user-defined price classes. These price classes become part of the pricing scheme as described in Set Up Special/Promo Prices of the Sales Order tab. Price classes determine whether or not an individual customer will be allowed quantity breaks on items; they also define individual cost-plus pricing or discounts for each customer. Examples of items which might be grouped in the same price class are as follows: - items with similar pricing margins - items that belong to a family of products - items that appeal to a specific buying market Set Up Alternate Item Codes You have a unique code for each item in your inventory, but your vendor uses different codes. In fact, you may purchase the same items from several vendors, each using their own part numbers. Then, your customers see these other numbers in catalogues and order items from you using these other numbers. To handle this scenario efficiently, use this function to assign alternate item codes to any inventory items. There is no limit on how many codes by which a single item may be identified. Whenever you enter an alternate code in any of the programs in MyBooks, it will automatically find the correct item in your stock. Receive Inventory Items IMPORTANT NOTE: You should use this function only for recording the receipts of items that were not on purchase orders. For all items on purchase orders you must use the Receive Items function on the Purchase Orders tab. This is a three step batch entry process that you use to record the receipt of goods into inventory. When entering a new receipt first identify the item and then click on the New Transaction button. Receipt transactions include the cost of the merchandise per unit, and this cost is used to update the item's last cost field and the LIFO, FIFO, or serial number queue if applicable, along with the average cost field. Note: Enter the best known cost of the item at the time of receiving. This cost will be used temporarily in the valuation of your inventory. When the vendor invoice is recorded with the true cost, the system will automatically make the necessary adjustments to maintain the integrity of your inventory value and cost of goods sold in this perpetual inventory system. On the bottom of the Inventory Receivings screen you may enter a new pending list price and normal cost, along with an effective date. This information will not affect any pricing or costing in the MyBooks system until you run the Update List Prices program. These transactions may also be used to adjust reorder quantities, reorder levels, lead times, and unit costs. Adjust Inventory Levels This is a three step batch entry process that you use to make adjustments to stock levels of individual inventory items. When entering a new adjustment, first identify the item and then click on the New Transaction button. On the bottom of the Inventory Adjustments screen you may enter a new pending list price and normal cost, along with an effective date. This information will not affect any pricing or costing in the MyBooks system until you run the Update List Prices. These transactions may also be used to adjust reorder quantities, reorder levels, lead times, and unit costs. Transfer Items This is a three step batch entry process that you use to move, or transfer, stock from one of your locations (warehouses) to another. When entering a new transfer, first identify the item and then click on the New Transaction button. Pack & Unpack Kits The three step batch entry process of kitting transactions is used to pack (assemble) or unpack (disassemble) kits. Kits are special Items that are made up of two or more non-kit items (which are referred to as kit components when used in kits). The pack transactions pull the necessary quantities of the kit's components from the stock quantities-on-hand while increasing the quantity-on-hand for the kit item accordingly. Unpack transactions do just the opposite—they decrement the on-hand quantity of the kit item while putting the component items back into stock. Update List Prices Applying new pending prices is a two-step process. The new price, new normal cost, and the "effective date" of the new price of an item are entered into the Item file at any time (directly, or by way of receipt and adjustment transactions). The price becomes effective when the List Price Update function is performed. This second step uniformly changes the prices and normal costs on all eligible items at once, putting the new price into effect. You may print out a list of the pending price/cost changes prior to running the update. Prices can also be updated using the 'Batch Markup/Markdown' function. This program allows you to change the list price of a range or class of items, using a fixed percentage (positive or negative), and/or a fixed amount (positive or negative). Update ABC Classifications The MyBooks Inventory-based Business interface includes an Enhanced ABC Analysis report which is similar to ABC Analysis reports found in other inventory systems, but rather than being limited to 4 classifications (as in the case of ABC Analysis), this report breaks down your inventory items into 13 different classes providing more information to those responsible for replenishing stock levels. Specifically, these classifications reflect how inventory items actually sell. The top 7.5% movers are designated Class 1. The second 7.5% are Class 2. The next 10% are Class 3 and the next 10% are Class 4. The remaining classes each represent 8% successively down the ranking. The last class can be viewed as ‘dog’ or ‘dead’ items—inventory that just doesn’t sell. In terms of an ABC Analysis, Class 1 and 2 are a breakdown of A, Class 3 and 4 a breakdown of B, and Class 5 through 12 are a breakdown of C. Class 13 is the same as D. This classification system is the one preferred by the wholesale distribution ‘expert’, Gordon Graham, over the ABC Analysis and the EOQ (Economical Order Quantity) method of determining how to replenish stock levels. The report itself is based on the results of the last run of the posting process ‘Update ABC Classifications'. This program recomputes the ranking of all your items based on the most current information available. Enter Physical Inventory Counts Periodically (e.g., annually), you will conduct a manual count of your inventory stock. You may print a Physical Inventory Count Sheet to use for performing this extensive physical inventory counting. You then enter the actual item counts and print a Discrepancy report. After printing the Discrepancy report, you post the actual quantities to the Stock Status file records. This reconciliation of "book" inventory to physical inventory may be made at any time. If you only need to adjust a few items, use the adjustment transactions instead. Note: This function cannot be used for serialized items. They must be adjusted using the receipt or adjustment functions. The steps for conducting a physical inventory update are: Print the count sheets to be used for physical inventory counting. Specify the range of warehouse numbers to be included; Physically count the inventory; Enter the actual quantities for each item from the count sheets; Print an edit list and verify accuracy of entries. The final listing becomes the Discrepancy Report; Make changes or deletions to entries as required; Rerun the edit list to produce a final version of the Discrepancy Report; Post the Physical Inventory transactions. This function adjusts the "book" inventory to match the physical inventory. A posting journal is automatically printed. Note: The physical reconciliation function does not accommodate serialized items. Stock levels of serialized items must be corrected using the Stock Adjustment transactions. Inventory: Reports & Lists Stock Status This report prints the current status of selected inventory items arranged by item code. The warehouse location is shown along with inventory control data (reorder level, quantity, etc.), quantity available, and a status flag: "R" below reorder level, "O" out of stock, "*" insufficient to meet commitments. A list of committed quantities by ship date is also included. Purchase Advice This report prints the current stocking status of each item with associated purchasing advice: last cost, average cost, list price. The stock requirements necessary to meet future commitments are calculated based on an operator specified future commitment date. Status flags for each item are: "R" = below reorder level, "O" = out of stock, "*" = insufficient to meet commitments. Usage & Forecasting This is comprehensive report designed to assist you in planning stock levels over a period of time. The report shows current quantities on-hand and the quantities to be ordered to stock for a specified period, as well as YTD quantity sold, YTD sales, YTD cost, and YTD profit for each item specified. Sales Analysis By Item This report shows how individual items have been selling. Specifically shown are the quantity sold, the dollar value, the cost, the profit, and the profit margin, all summarized by period. History of Item Purchases This report shows how individual items have been purchased. Specifically, it shows one line for each purchase of the product including the vendor, order date, reference, warehouse, unit of measure, quantity ordered, and unit cost. The detail lines are shown in chronologically descending order. Enhanced ABC Analysis This report is similar to ABC Analysis reports found in other inventory systems, but rather than being limited to 4 classifications (as in the case of ABC Analysis), this version breaks down your inventory items into 13 different classes providing more information to those responsible for replenishing stock levels. Specifically, these classifications reflect how inventory items actually sell. The top 7.5% movers are designated Class 1. The second 7.5% are Class 2. The next 10% are Class 3 and the next 10% are Class 4. The remaining classes each represent 8% successively down the ranking. The last class can be viewed as ‘dog’ or ‘dead’ items-inventory that just doesn’t sell. In terms of an ABC Analysis, Class 1 and 2 are a breakdown of A, Class 3 and 4 a breakdown of B, and Class 5 through 12 are a breakdown of C. Class 13 is the same as D. This classification system is the one preferred by the wholesale distribution ‘expert’, Gordon Graham, over the ABC Analysis and the EOQ (Economical Order Quantity) method of determining how to replenish stock levels. The report itself is based on the results of the last run of the posting process ‘Update ABC Classifications'. This program recomputes the ranking of all your items based on the most current information available. History of Activity Select a range of item codes and warehouses and this report will show you the quantity movements and dollar volumes for each item code for each month. Shown are: - the quantities received - the quantities returned - the quantities sold - the quantities adjusted - the quantities transferred in - the quantities transferred out Inventory Valuation This report shows your current quantities on hand, average cost, list price, and extended costs and prices, for each item in each warehouse. The ending totals reflect the total value of your stock in terms of potential sales as well as cost. Transaction Register This is a numerically ordered list of all transactions that affect inventory stock. In-Stock Serial Numbers The In-Stock Serial Number report shows the item and cost information of individual serialized items. Sold Serial Numbers The Sold Serial Number report shows the item and cost information of individual serialized items along with the customer to whom it was sold, invoice number, invoice date, and unit price. Item Lists These lists simply show you the information you entered using the Set Up Inventory Items and Set Up Alternate Item Codes functions. The available lists are: Item Details This list shows you all the information you entered using the Set Up Inventory Items function. Item Summary This list prints one line for each item showing the part number, description, list price, normal cost, effective date, and its substitute item (if there is one). Kit Components This list shows all kit items with a list of their components. Alternate Codes This is a list of all items that have alternate item codes. It shows the primary item code, description, and all its alternates. Other Lists These are simple lists of the information contained in the supporting files of the MyBooks Inventory system. Price Classes Warehouses Units of Measure