Distributing products and services is the most common form of business sales transaction. Virtually all standard accounting packages handle it in some way or other. To many, the InterAcct distribution system is the ultimate solution. It provides for all the practicalities of selling products and services, with numerous industry variations, plus the ability for the system to be personalised to suit individual requirements. When entering a sales line, there is an ‘also known as’ search to locate a product item by their product code/number, the supplier product code, or the description. A customer’s product purchase history is also available to view at that point. Standing sales orders for a customer is another option. Sales Orders can start out as a Quotation, and then be simply converted into a confirmed Sales Order – or Lost Business analysis. It for immediate despatch, back orders, and forward orders. There is the option for automatic release of Backorders based on Priority or Date. The current stock available is shown included that reserved for other sales orders (jobs). Any backorders link into a “Required to Purchase” file which can be used to automatically create and track purchase orders. Purchase order information is linked back to the Sales Order, Supplier, and Stock Item. Multiple customer product price levels and discounts are catered for, with controls over the resultant gross profit margin. Any sales discounts are isolated for control purposes (possibly requiring a Manager’s password before acceptance). Individual Customer Price Lists can be created and Sales commission (or Profit Share) can also be calculated. You can also calculate an indirect overhead cost amount in order to reduce the displayed profits and commission amounts. For those product items where there are serial numbers, batch numbers (with Use by Dates ?), or colour dye batches, then those can be defined at the time of despatch. Another option relates to the Fashion Industry where sales orders can be entered by Style, Size, and Colour. Typical standard reports would include Quotation, Order Confirmation, Packing Slip, Despatch Docket, Invoice, and Delivery Schedules. The layout of these reports can be easily personalised to suit. There is both Sales Order and Sale Invoice sales/profit analysis. This can be for any period (day, week, month, etc.), for Product Item, Category or Group, Customer, and could be further analysed by Salesperson, Branch/Division, Industry, Region, Supplier, or Corporate Group. Cash Receipts and Debtor Adjustments are linked back to a Sales Order/Invoice so that the Debtor’s balance owing on each invoice can be shown. The sales order becomes a mini accounting record in itself, with links back into the Debtor’s credit control record, and the normal security checks for Debtors On-Hold or Bad Debts.
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