 | Q. How do I close a period,
and why would I wish to do so?
A. The option to close a period is located at
Transaction | General | Period End. This option
requires SUPERVISOR access. This option when used
will close the 'oldest' period that is open. You
would do this to prevent any transactions from being
back-dated and posted to this period. Please note
that you should never close the current period! |
| How do I do a 'Year End'?
A Year End should be completed within 6 months after
this fiscal year is over. Sometime before your
fiscal year end, you should use the option Transaction |
General | New Year (this option is hidden and requires
you to scroll out the bottom of the menu) to open up 6
additional periods numbered 13 through 18. This
will allow you to extend the use of Shop Trac 6 months
into the new year without completely closing the old
year. You will still be able to edit/add year end
transactions by back-dating them. Once all of the
year end transactions are complete use the Transaction |
General | Year End option to close the year.
Please insure that you have printed all required reports
and statements before you close the year. The Year
End procedure requires SUPERVISOR as well as 'Exclusive'
access. There will be several prompts to create
files, and these are normal. Make a BACKUP
before processing a year end ... just in case! |
| Q. I am starting a new year, and Shop
Tract will not let me advance the date. Why?
A. you need to start a new accounting year first.
Shop Trac will allow you to open 6 months of a new year
before forcing you to close the previous year. This
allows time to complete accounting and year end procedures
for the previous year. The Transaction | General |
Start New Year is the option used to start a new
accounting year. This option requires SUPERVISOR
access. |
| Q. When processing a purchase order or invoice transaction, I get an "Error in
Costing" message, and the transaction aborts? What happened? How do I
complete this transaction?
A. The most common reason for this error is having the same part number twice on the
same document. When the update routines encounter the 2nd instance of the number,
the costing information is no longer current. If 2 instances of this part number is
correct, then simply repeat the attempt to post the transaction, since each time this
message appears the costing information is corrected. Another reason this error can
happen is when you returning parts and/or cores that are not in inventory. Returns
always assume the current net price. This price is also used to adjust costing
information when the transaction is posted. If the inventory is not available for
return, there will be a "Error in Costing". Simply repeat the posting
since costing is corrected each time this error message appears. If this problem
applies to more than one part number within the transaction, than this message will appear
again. Keep attempting to complete the transaction, until all costing error have
been corrected. |
| Q. Can I change the 'Manufacture Code' for an inventory item?
A. Yes and No. Yes, if the balance is zero, or if the 'Inventory GL Account' of the
new code is the same as the old one. If either of these conditions is not met, then
changing the 'Manufacture Code' will cause the inventory to go out of balance. |
| Q. I like to use the 'Flat Rate Database', but I would sometimes like to use a
different 'Sales GL Account'. Can I do this?
A. Yes. If you would always like the user to input the 'Sales GL Account' when using
this database, then simply leave the 'Sales GL Account' field blank in when creating the
entry in the 'Flat Rate Database'. |
| Q. I have a part number, that when input on an invoice comes up blank! All the
information about this number seems ok, yet the invoice cannot be processed properly due
to the blank part number field. What happened? Can I fix this?
A. This problem is not only limited to the invoice, but can happen on any SED where an
inventory part number is required. What has happened is that the part number field
has inadvertently been replaced with a <SPACE>. To fix this, call this part
number up using Edit | Inventory | Add/Edit. Now move the cursor to the part number
field, and input the part number again since this field will be blank. Do not press
<ENTER>, but use the <RIGHT ARROW> key to return the cursor to the home
position in the part number field. Now press <ESC>, and then select
<Save> from the Edit Menu. |
| Q. I have already been running a new year for six months. When I attempt to start
the seventh month, I cannot advance the date. Why?
A.
Shop Trac can only run into the first six months of a new year.
Prior to this, the previous year must be closed. To close the previous year, use the
Transaction | General | Year End option. |
| Q. I would like to assign my own invoice numbers, rather than have
Shop Trac
assign them for me. Is this possible?
A. Yes. Simply set all the invoice number counters in the Setup | Defaults option to 0.
This same feature is also available for purchase order and cheque numbers. |
| Q. I have an inventory item that has an incorrect
Inventory Asset Gl account.
I cannot correct this because this the cursor skips past this field. How can I change this
account to the proper value?
A. This field cannot be changed for any inventory items that show a cost value, since this
would cause the GL integrity to fail. To change this account, first use the Transaction |
Inventory | Adjustment option to reduce the Total Cost for this item to zero. Once the
Total Cost is zero it is possible to change the Inventory Asset Gl account. After
the account has been changed to its proper value, use the Transaction | Inventory |
Adjustment option to increase the Total Cost value back to the previous amount. |
| Q. I am at the first day of a new fiscal year, and
Shop Trac™ will not
allow a date within this new year. How do I start the new year?
A. Using a date from the old year, use the Transaction | General | Start New Year option.
This will add 6 periods to the current year, allowing you to use dates and input data for
the new year. When you have ALL of the previous years accounting entries complete you can
close the previous year using Transaction | General | Year End option. |
| Q. When I purchase a core, the vendor information for that inventory item is updated to
indicate that a core is outstanding. How do I remove this information when the core is
returned to the vendor?
A. Cores should be returned using the Transaction | Purchasing | Purchase order module.
Outstanding cores are treated just like an outstanding order and/or backorder. Use the
<F4> key from the Part Number field to access a list of all outstanding items for
the currently selected vendor. Select the core from this list, and repeat this procedure
for all cores being returned for this vendor. When the order is complete use the
Issue
& Receive option to generate a payables transaction and to update the inventory
files to indicate that these cores have been returned. When you receive the credit from
your vendor, modify the payables transaction that was created as required. |
| Q. How do I look up a price from an on-line price list?
A. This can be done in a number of different ways. Many of the price fields allow you to
access an on-line price list by using the <F5> key. The on-line price lists are also
available using the Quick Menu from almost anywhere in the system using the
<ALT><Q> key combination. |
| Q. I understand that
Shop Trac™ maintains individual
sales and purchase history for all inventory items. Where do I find this information?
A. Using the Edit | Inventory | Add/Edit option select a part number. The
Edit Menu at the bottom of the screen contains both a
Customer and Vendor
option. These options when selected will display another drop-down menu from where all the
detail information can be accessed. Note that the entire menu cannot be displayed at once.
Use the cursor keys to display portions of the menu that are hidden below the SED. |
| Q. A customer has returned some parts. How do I handle this?
A. A parts return is simply a sale in reverse. Create an invoice for the
customer and use negative quantities for the parts that are being returned. Note that when
a negative quantity is used, that the cost field becomes accessible for adjusting the cost
if required. When the invoice is processed, these parts will be returned to inventory, and
sales will be reduced. |
| Q.
I did a 'GL Integrity Test', and it fails. How do I correct this?
A. We have issued a Tech Tip Bulletin for this very purpose. See
Correcting an Out of Balance GL for additional
information. |
| Q. I received inventory, but when the invoice arrived the prices were
different then those that were used when this inventory was received. Can this be
corrected?
A. This will require 2 steps to correct. First the payables document that
was posted when the inventory was received will be incorrect. Use the Transaction |
Payable | Ledger option to retrieve this document. Unpost it using the option on the 'Edit
Menu'. Correct the GL breakdowns as needed. Please note that any changes to inventory will
have to be posted to the 'Inventory Adjustments GL' account. When finished, Repost this
document using the option on the 'Edit Menu'. Now use the Transaction | Inventory |
Adjustment option to correct the cost values of the affected part numbers |
| Q.
What happens when I sell more of an item than I actually have in
stock?
A. Such a sale is possible with user confirmation. The total cost value
will be averaged over the number of items sold to insure a balanced transaction. The
balance will NOT go negative. Sales will increase as if inventory levels were sufficient.
The 04/28/97 update included a change that changes the behavior of this situation. |
| Q. I received a new
Delphi price diskette. How do I install it?
A. Use the
Utility | Import
Price
List option. A predefined format for Delphi may already exists, and can be selected from
the 'Format' field with the <F2> key. If you need to change the format, make sure
you use the Save option on the 'Edit Menu' to update the format database. |
| Q. I just installed an update diskette, and now the invoice and
statement do not print correctly. What happened?
A. If your installation included custom form format files, then these
files only exist on your original diskette. Use this original diskette to reinstall these
forms. When installing updates do not install form format files, unless your forms are
standard forms that are supported by Shop Trac. |
| Q. I am updating my hardware to include a local area network (LAN).
Will Shop Trac run ok?
A. Shop Trac is available in both single and multi-user
versions. If the single user version is run on a LAN, file and index corruption is a real
possibility. To operate in a multi-user environment, you must upgrade to the multi-user
version of Shop Trac. The program looks and runs the same, but with the added
protection of file and record locking as well as transaction control. It is very important
that you do NOT operate the single user version of Shop Trac in a multi-user
environment. |
<%=Session("UserName")%> 
