Document Design

With the above framework to document processing we can now outline the factors to consider and the options within the document design process you must set. The major processing factors include:

Automatic or manual processing?

Do you want to combine several orders in a single document?

What types of order to process and what details to include?

What identifying numbers to use on documents?

What discount facilities are used?

What additional data items need to be input at run-time?

What items need to be confirmed at run-time?

What closing procedures to do?

What files to update, and when?

What data items to copy between files?

How are payments with orders handled?

Audit considerations

Automatic or Manual Processing?

For any type of document (acknowledgement, delivery note, invoice) you have the option to print them one by one by choosing the orders from the keyboard; or you can ask for a batch run to print a selection based on pre-defined or run-time criteria.

Some company’s work best by taking each order in turn for processing, and here you would choose the manual approach. In other circumstances, however, it can be easier to print off a batch of documents daily, hourly, or whatever. In this case you need to think through what orders to include in a batch run. Many companies will need facilities to do both.

The parameters you need to review for batch runs include:

Which orders, which order details, and which quantities (parameter screen 1)

Search criteria for order headers and order details (parameter screen 18)

Auto-run facility itself (also parameter screen 18)

Combine Several Orders on One Document?

Certain companies may get many orders from the same customer, and try to combine them where possible, particularly if shipping overseas. You achieve this with an affirmative answer to a single question in document parameter screen 1.

What Orders to Process and What Details to Include?

Whether for manually initiated or batch run processes, you can determine which orders and details are to be looked via three questions in parameter screen 1:

Select which orders to process. You can elect to choose each order number you want to process in turn (this option is ignored for batch runs); to ask for just outstanding orders (those with status "A”); or for all orders, regardless of status.You are likely to choose the first for manually initiated processing, and the second for auto-run processing.There may be occasions when you want to take the third choice — perhaps when printing quotations (status "Q”) in a batch with selection criteria that include only "Q” status orders entered today.

Select which order details within order. You can elect to process all order detail lines; just those still outstanding (not complete, on hold or deleted); those for which a delivery note has been printed; those lines for which deliveries have yet to be invoiced; or those which are back-ordered

Default to which order detail quantities. The options here are the outstanding quantity (not yet delivered); the original order quantity; the last delivered quantity; the quantity delivered but not yet invoiced; the quantity not yet delivered; or zero — you must type in quantities.

The difference between this and the previous question is that the previous only determined which order detail lines to consider for a document, whereas this present question determines which quantity to use or offer.

In addition to the above choices you can use the selection criteria facility (defined in parameter screen 18) on orders and details to refine the choice of orders processed.

What Identifying Numbers to Use?

It is possible to become bogged down with order numbers, delivery note numbers, and invoice numbers and so on. There is much to be said for keeping to a single sequence of numbers for all invoices, regardless of how produced, and to keep to a separate sequence of order numbers, used for all other documents. You need to make decisions on which numbering sequences to use, and when — see also Audit Considerations below.

Datafile Software lets you maintain 18 separate sequence numbers within the sales order processing system and 24 separate sequence numbers within the invoicing system (some customers may use both the sales order processing and invoicing systems).There are also four sequence numbers which are common to sales order processing, invoicing and the sales and purchase ledgers. These choices are made in document parameter screen 2.

Discount Facilities

You can use several discount facilities, individually and together. These include line-by-line discounts (the customer discount is used unless you override this at order entry time) matrix discounts based on customer groups and stock groups, an overall discount and settlement discounts.The parameters that decide the discounts to use all occur during order entry. Within the document you must give the co-ordinates of where to print the discount values (screens 3–6 all have questions on discounts).

Additional Data Items Input at Run-time

For manually controlled documents you have considerable scope to specify items of data to display and verify from order detail and sales accounts before printing on the document.In addition a further twelve items can be input from the keyboard, for printing on the document as well as for adding into the sales and stock transactions which result when files are updated. These are all specified through the parameter screens 7, 8 and 9.

Items to Confirm at Run-time

A special option allows you to enter up to two further values for each detail line that you are going to print. You can use this for final confirmation of price or discount, or for data such as the serial number of an item, which would only be known at shipment. These questions are controlled by parameter screen 11.

Closing Procedures

Once you have made up the body of the document with the items you wish to include, then there may be some closing information to enter or confirm, such as a delivery address or shipping instructions. Up to six items can be confirmed, all defined on parameter screen 9.

What Files to Update, and When?

You can choose whether or not to update files after a document is printed. Each of the order, stock and sales ledger files are updated independently, and you can even choose to update stock but not write stock transactions.

Although you may have specified that certain system files are to be updated (parameter screen 1) you can decide at run-time (manual operation only) not to update the files — although you can force file update if you wish (parameter screen 12). The purpose of forcing an update is to eliminate accidents, and discourage the possibility of negligent use.

What Data Items to Copy from File to File

This feature is one of the most powerful facilities of Datafile Software when it comes to building a fully integrated management information system around the standard applications. It lets you determine what items of data are to be copied between files, so that the information you may need subsequently is available where you want it. Since you can control what information is created in the first place, there is little in the way of enquiry and reporting that you cannot do.

You specify the items to copy between files in parameter screens 15 and 16. With Datafile Diamond and Premier you can predefine some copy item facilities under the Database Profiles of the Installation options, and these will always occur. Document parameters are in addition to those, therefore.

Stock Update Detail; Detail Update Stock

A useful extra facility of Datafile Diamond and Premier is the copy items defined in the Database Manager as "Stock Update Detail” and "Detail Update Stock”. The items that you specify here are not only copied when an order detail line is added, but also when the order detail line is updated. Optionally you can use this facility again when the order is invoiced — depending on the setting in System Profiles.

Copying from the stock master to the order detail file takes place once the stock code is entered.This data is thus available for the rest of the process. Copying of data from the order detail back to the stock file is then done at the end of processing this order, provided the order detail file is updated. On invoicing the copying back to the stock file only occurs if the stock file is actually updated.

This feature could be used in a number of situations. For example:

to update a stock value such as "last accessed” date

to make sure the current selling price is used, regardless of the price which was keyed when the order was entered

Payments with Order

The system can cater for payments made or taken with orders. If a payment is received, then a payment transaction can be written to the sales ledger at the time the invoice is raised. In the case of (say) credit card payments, then a payment can be posted into the sales ledger to the same value as the invoice itself rather than request a payment value at the time the order was entered. This resolves the problems which can occur where credit card orders can be part shipped on availability of goods, and so more than one invoice and payment can occur.

Audit Considerations

Customs and Excise, the Inland Revenue and your auditors may all have views on how you number invoices and credit notes, particularly with regard to security and completeness.Your audit trail needs to consider and cater for the possibility that a document number is not used for some reason, to avoid the possibility of an extra assessment being made.