Perennial Professional

Transcription

1 Perennial Professional User s Reference Manual Copyright JRB Development All rights reserved.

2 1 Contents Sections Pg# 1. Installing Perennial 2 2. Getting Started 3 3. Store Settings & Options 4 4. Register Settings 6 a. General b. Printers & Pole Displays c. Appearance 5. Tax Setup 8 6. Category & Department Setup 8 7. Vendor & Manufacturer Setup 9 8. Inventory Setup Employee Setup, Permissions, & Commissions Customer Setup & Mail Codes 14 a. Accounts Receivable 11. Using the Point of Sale Screen 17 a. Change Quantity b. Change Sell Price c. Delete Item From Sale d. Search for Item to Sell e. Discount Item(s) f. Stop for Quantity/Price g. Return Items h. Sell Gift Certificates i. Redeem Coupons j. Repeat Last Item Sold k. Void Sale 12. Processing a Sale Adding and Removing Cash, 20 Cashing Checks 14. Purge Sales History Closing a Register, 21 Closing the Store 16. Running & Reprinting Reports Reprinting Receipts Backup Settings & Use Database Tools Auto loading Perennial Employee Punch In & Out (Time Clock) Printing Barcode Labels Accounts Payable Customers Inventory Receiving 30

3 2 Section 1 - Installing Perennial The following instructions are provided to assist you in completing the installation of the Perennial Store Management Software. 1. Insert the Perennial CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2. The Setup Wizard should start automatically within seconds. If the Setup Wizard does not start, perform the following. a. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of your screen. Select the Run menu item. b. Assuming your CD-ROM drive letter is D, enter the path and filename of the setup.exe file located on the Perennial CD. ( D:\Setup.exe ) c. Click the OK button, to start the Setup Wizard. 3. Proceed through the installation, by clicking the Next or Install buttons and agreeing to any license agreements. 4. When asked to select a setup type, select the type that describes the use of the computer the software is being installed on. If you are using Perennial on only one computer, select the Standalone Register / Server setup type. If you are using Perennial on more than one computer, select the Register Exclusive / Client setup type for the computers being used as cash registers and the Standalone Register / Server setup type for the main (server) computer (possibly located in a back room). 5. On the final screen of the installation, you will be prompted to Launch the Program. If you would like to do so, Click the Finish button, otherwise uncheck the Launch the Program checkbox and click Finish. Technical Support 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST, Monday Friday (Non-Holiday) Phone: support@jrbdev.com FAQ and Help Forum on website: Online Form: Requests for callbacks and responses are processed according to a first come, first serve basis and are usually replied to within 2 hours (during business hours).

4 3 Section 2 Getting Started User manual HA! Who needs to read the user manual? YOU DO! It will take only a few painless minutes and will save us all lot of time. Getting started with Perennial is an unbelievably simple process. Believe it or not, you can be up and running in a matter of 30 minutes or less, depending on the volume of inventory that needs to be added to the system. Below is a quick-start list of sections in this manual that you will need to setup to have Perennial operational in a minimal amount of time. View the following sections, in order, to get Perennial setup and ready for use. Store Settings & Options Register Settings Tax Setup Department Setup Category Setup Inventory Setup The following are optional features of Perennial that can be used to better enhance your Perennial experience. Employee Setup & Permissions Customer Setup Vendor Setup Manufacturer Setup NOTE: When attempting to add or edit information in Perennial, you must be aware that you will need to use the New, Edit, Cancel, Save, and Delete buttons located at the top of the form in which you are editing. This is to prevent any accidental editing to your valuable settings.

5 4 Section 3 Store Settings & Options The Perennial store settings and options are used for a few different purposes throughout the system. The main purpose of the information on the General tab is to display your stores name, location, and phone numbers on the customers receipt. Along with the store information, an optional footer can also be displayed on the customers receipt. The address and outgoing mail server settings are used when sending mass s through the Customer module. The following is a list of settings on the Options tab that are used to customize Perennial. 1. Closing options a. Close Perennial after Z-OUT: This setting is used to exit Perennial automatically after the user closes the store for the day (Daily Close Store located in the Point Of Sale menu on the Perennial startup screen). b. Print Full Page EOD Reports: This option is used to allow printing of the EOD reports to a full page printer or a 40 column printer. If this option is unchecked, the EOD reports will print to the receipt printer setup in Perennial Register Settings. c. Sales Report by Department: During the Daily Close, this setting tells Perennial to print either a Detail or Summary Report of the closing period s sales information. d. EOD Reports: These are reports that can be printed at the end of the day. To allow a specific report to print, check the box located to the left of it. 2. Force use of check numbers when processing sale: When the customer pay with a check, this setting forces the employee to enter the customers check number. If the number is not supplied the sale cannot be processed. 3. Force employees to login when starting Perennial: If this option is checked then Perennial will prompt the user for their employee ID and password. They will not be allowed to enter the system without it. When unchecked employees are not required to enter an ID or password when entering the system. They will have full access rights. 4. Always Ask for Customer ID at Point-of-Sale: Turn this option on if you would like Perennial to prompt you to enter a customer ID for every sale. 5. Use Automotive Repair Invoice When Printing Full Page Receipts: This option is used to print out an invoice that is tailored toward the auto repair industry. 6. Always Print Account Receivable Invoices Full Page: This option is used to make sure that when you are processing an AR sale the invoice that prints out is on full size invoice paper (8.5in X 11in) 7. Exit Search Screen Upon Item Selection At POS Screen: This option is used to allow users to stay in the Item Search screen after they select an item to add to the POS screen. This is especially useful when the users does multiple searches during one transaction. 8. Always Ask For An Invoice Salesman When Starting A New Transaction: When checked, this option will notify the user to enter the salesman s user ID prior to starting a new transaction. 9. Finance Charge: This is the amount applied to Accounts Receivable accounts when processing statements. The Manage Stations tab displays the number of User Licenses purchased as well as the stations currently registered in the Perennial database. If for some reason you need to move the software to a different computer, highlight the computer you are removing and click the delete button. When you start Perennial on the new computer you will need to point the software to the common Perennial database. Once the database location is changed, simply restart Perennial. Perennial will automatically register itself with the database.

6 5 The SoundScan FTP Upload tab displays the connection information for connecting Perennial to the SoundScan data server. The SoundScan data server is used by music companies who upload their sales data for analysis. Only sales data with the selected departments and categories will be uploaded to the SoundScan data server.

7 6 Section 4 Register Settings The Register Settings are used to determine how Perennial will interact with the printers, pole displays, and users of the system. The settings on the General tab are as follows. 1. Register ID: Used to identify the register on the reports. 2. Starting Cash: Used to represent the starting amount of money that should be in the drawer when viewing the End of Day reports. 3. Assume Starting Cash: This setting should be enabled if you always use the same starting amount in the cash drawer. If not used, the employees will be prompted to enter the starting cash amount. The default amount, when prompted, will be that of the Starting Cash. 4. Assume Cash Sale: When processing a sale and the customer supplies exact change an employee can simple press the Enter key on their keyboard and Perennial will enter the exact amount of the sale into the Cash tendered box. This is especially useful for those who are quick at counting change and do not want to take the time to enter the actual amount tendered (not recommended). 5. Computer Info: This information is read-only and is pulled directly from your computer settings. Our support staff may refer to this information when troubleshooting a multi-user situation. 6. Path To Database: After initial setup this should not be changed unless store management decides to have the stores data reside on a different computer. A Browse button is available, to allow easy access to the folder where Perennial s database resides. 7. Path To Inventory Images: This is the path to a folder which will hold the images for your inventory. 8. Path To Customer Images: This is the path to a folder which will hold the images for your customer profiles. 9. Accepted Payment Types: Check only the payment type that are accepted at your store. Most stores will have all of these payment types checked, but for the smaller retailer only Cash and Check may be available. The Printers/Pole Display tab houses settings pertinent to the use of printers and pole displays in Perennial. The settings are as follows. 1. Printer Settings a. Receipt Printer: The name of the receipt printer that has been setup in Windows b. Font: This dropdown displays a list of font that are loaded on the receipt printer. c. Font Size: This is the size of the font that the 40 column receipt printer will use when printing, unless the resident printer font overrides it. d. Line Feeds: This is used to allow extra space at the bottom of the receipt so it can be torn from the printer. e. Use Full Page Receipts: If this option is checked all receipts are printed to the default Windows printer. No special printer is needed; just a standard printer will do. f. Print Point Of Sale receipts on Demand: This option is used to turn off most receipt printing. To print a receipt on demand Click the Reprint Receipt button on the Change Due screen. g. Print Void Receipts: This option is used to let Perennial know whether or not to print a receipt when a sale is voided. h. All full-page reports printed from Perennial use the default Windows printer. i. Test Printer: After the Register settings are saved the Print Test Page button can be clicked to see a sample of what the 40 column receipts will look like. 2. Cash Drawer a. Drawer Type: Currently Perennial supports POSX, IBM, EPSON and Star Micronics cash drawers. The Other type will allow you to enter a custom drawer pop command, while the Serial types will allow you to further customize the setup of a Serial (RS232) interfacing cash drawer.

8 7 b. Test Drawer: Click this button to open the cash drawer. This is used to verify you have set the cash drawer settings correctly. 3. Pole Display Settings a. Pole Port: This defines the LPT or COM port location of the pole display. b. Pole Type: Pole type is used to activate or deactivate the pole display. Many pole command sets are currently available: AEDEX, ASCII, CD 5220, DSP-800, EPSON Esc/POS, ICD 2002, and UTC Standard. The ASCII and UTCS command sets work with most Logic Controls pole displays. c. Test Pole Disp: Click this button to display a test message on the pole display. If your settings are correct the message should appear with the Date on top and the time on the bottom line, left justified. d. Modify Pole Display Messages: There are two default messages that can be altered. One is the startup message. The Startup Message is the message that is displayed when the station is closed and not in the POS mode. The second message, the POS Message, is displayed in between transactions while the station is in POS mode. The Appearance Tab is used to change the look and feel of Perennial. Documentation is limited on this feature due to its lack of importance to the functionality of the program. 1. Full Screen Mode is used to maximize the Perennial startup form to fill the entire screen. 2. The background image setting is used to display a custom image on the Perennial startup screen. 3. Stretch Image to Screen Size: Stretches the custom background image (if any) to the size of the Perennial startup screen. The Card Processing tab is where the information for interfacing with the credit card processing software is stored. To turn on the credit card processing module, check the Use PC Charge/X-Charge Credit Card Processing checkbox. The settings for using the card processing module are as follows: 1. Process EOD Batch During Store Close: If this option is checked then Perennial will relay the batch process command to the credit card processing software. This relay is done when closing the store (Z-Out) 2. Print EOD Batch Report: This settings is used to tell the credit card software to print a settlement report when the store close (Z-Out) is processed. If the box is checked the report will print. 3. Path To Processing Software: This is where the card processing software was installed. 4. Merchant#: This is your assigned merchant number 5. Processor: This is your credit card processor. 6. User Name: This is used to tell the credit card software which computer to return the processing requests back to.

9 8 Section 5 Tax Setup Tax Setup is used to tell Perennial which tax rates you will be applying to sales. To setup a tax rate do the following 1. Click the New button to add a tax rate or the Edit button to change a selected tax rate. 2. Enter a Tax ID. This ID must be different than all other tax ID s in the tax setup list. If you only have one tax rate, it is recommended that you use the word LOCAL as your tax ID. 3. Enter the PERCENTAGE amount of the tax rate. If your tax rate is 7.5% then enter 7.5 in the space provided. 4. Enter a description for this tax rate. This description will help you remember what the tax rate if used for. 5. Click the Save button to save your changes or the Cancel button to abort the changes. To set a tax rate as your default tax, select a tax rate from the list and click the Set as Default button. To remove a tax rate, select a tax rate from the list and click the Delete button. Section 6 Category & Department Setup In Perennial the Department and Category screens are similar in look and function. To add, edit, or delete a department or category, do the following. 1. Click the New button to add a department or category. Click the Edit button to change a selected department or category. 2. Enter a department or category name. This name must be different than all other departments or categories in the list. 3. Click the Save button to save your changes or the Cancel button to abort the changes. NOTE: The department and category NONE is a system item and cannot be deleted.

10 9 Section 7 Vendor & Manufacturer Setup The Vendor and Manufacturer Setup screens are similar in form and function, however, the editing of these two screens are the same. There are a couple major differences on these screens versus those previously discussed in this manual. The first difference is the Navigation Bar which is used to move from Vendor to Vendor. The second major difference is the Find button which is used to search for a specific vendor or manufacturer to display their information on the screen. To add a vendor or manufacturer, follow the instructions below. 1. Click the New button to add a vendor or manufacturer. Click the Edit button to change the current vendor or manufacturer. 2. Enter a vendor or manufacturer ID. This name must be different than all other vendors or manufacturers in the list. The ID field is alpha-numeric. 3. Enter an Account Number for the vendor or manufacturer. 4. Enter a vendor or manufacturer name. 5. Enter the address information for the vendor or manufacturer. 6. Enter the phone numbers, address, and any notes for the vendor or manufacturer. 7. Click the Save button to save your changes or the Cancel button to abort the changes.

11 10 Section 8 Inventory Setup The inventory Setup screen is the nuts and bolts of Perennial. Everything revolves around it. It is imperative that all the settings on this screen are set correctly. 1. Navigation Bar: Used to move from one item to the next. 2. Find Button: This button is used to search for items within the entire inventory. This button will bring up the Inventory Search screen, discussed later in this section. 3. The New, Edit, Cancel, Save, Delete, and `Copy buttons are used to add new items to inventory, edit existing items, abort changes, save changes, delete items from inventory, and make duplicates of existing items. 4. Queue Label: This button is clicked to add an item s barcode label to the barcode label print queue. Once the item s label has been added Perennial will ask the user if they would like to add it to the batch when the enter the Barcode Label area of Perennial. 5. History Button: Click this button, to view the history of the displayed item. Every time an item is changed, sold, or returned the history file is updated. The Items History Report will give you a detailed list of when the activity occurred, by whom, and on which register. Also, on the left-middle portion of the form is a Last Changed date, which displays the last date and time the item was saved. 6. Item ID: This field is special. If you are planning on adding a new item or editing an item, simply type the item ID or SKU into the field provided and press the enter key. If the item entered exists it will be brought to the screen for editing. If the item entered does not exist, all the fields will assume their default settings and you will be able to change them as required. This field is limited to 14 characters. 7. Description: This field is for the description of an item. This field is limited to 255 characters. 8. Alternate ID: This field is used to assign an alias to an item id. This alias can be used throughout Perennial to reference a specific item. This field is limited to 14 characters. 9. Quantity On Hand: This field displays the number of items you have in stock. To change the quantity of an item, simply enter a different value. 10. Retail Price: This is the items selling price. To change the retail price, enter a different value. 11. Average Cost: This is the items average cost. To change the average cost, enter a different value. 12. Manufacturer: This field defines who makes the product. The list of manufacturers is generated from Manufacturer Setup. 13. SPIFF (Sales Promotion Incentive Fund): This is the dollar amount that the Manufacturer gives the sales person for promoting their product. 14. Department, Category: These fields are used to represent where the item is in your store. 15. Similar Code: This is a code made up by you to group items with similar traits. 16. Reorder Point: This number represents the minimum stocking level for this item. 17. Gallons: This number represents the volume of liquid for the specific item. (ex: A gallon of milk contains 1 gallon.) 18. Max On Hand: This number is the maximum stocking level for this item. IMPORTANT!!! - Be sure to click the Save button to confirm any changes! Other Options: 1. Update Quantity On Hand: If you do not wish to keep track of your quantity on hand, uncheck this box. 2. Stop for Quantity/Sell Price at POS: If you wish to stop and prompt the employee to enter a quantity and/or price at the Point of Sale screen check these two boxes. 3. Stop for Cellular Info: If you wish to have Perennial ask you for added notes for cell phone sales then check this option. 4. Service/Non-Profit Item: If this option is applied to and item the cost will be set to the sell price when the item is sold or returned, thus recording no profit on the sale. (e.g.: shipping) When this option is active the average cost for an item can not be changed. 5. Show On Reorder Report: This option will allow you to show or hide an item on the reorder report. This option is commonly used for items such as labor, which does not have a quantity.

12 11 Tax Settings: This is where you can define an items taxable state. If an item is marked as taxable, the customer will be charged tax on this item. If marked tax exempt, no tax will be charged. If the item is marked as multiple tax then multiple tax rates can be applied to that specific item. To add Multiple Taxes to the list, click on the Add (+) button to the right of the list box. The Search window will open allowing you to select the proper item to add to the list. If nothing is selected, nothing is added. To Remove (-) an item from a list simply highlight the unwanted item and click the Remove (-) button. The inventory picture feature is really simple to use. If you have a webcam setup on your computer you can use it to take snapshots of your items for their record. You may also use an existing photo by clicking the File button to the right of the image and selecting the proper image file. Use the Clear button to remove the image from the record. To take a webcam snapshot do the following: 1. Click the Edit button for the item record you want to edit. 2. Click the Cam button to the right of the item s picture box. The Snapshot window will then open, as seen below. 3. Line the item up in your webcam and click the Take Picture button. The item s image will now be entered into its inventory record. If you don t like the image, click the Take Picture button until you get it right. 4. When you re happy with the picture click the Close button to close the Snapshot window. 5. Click the Save button at the top of the Inventory Setup window to save the picture to the inventory record or click cancel to revert back to their previous picture. Vendor List: This is a grid of vendors that supply you with an item. You can change the values of a selected vendors order number, last cost, last received date, ordered on date, and quantity on order by double clicking the field in the grid and changing the value. To add a vendor to the grid, click the Add Vendor button and select a vendor from the search list. To remove a vendor, simply click on a vendor in the grid and click the Remove Vendor button. Inventory Search: This screen is accessed by the Find button in the Inventory Setup screen and by the Item Search button on the Point of Sale screen. To search for an item, simply click in a box to search by. For example, if you wish to search for a bike tube, simply enter the word bike in the description box and press the Enter or F1 key. You may also click on the Search button to initiate the search process. All items found containing the search phrase will be listed in the list on the bottom of the screen. To find a Similar item highlight an item found in the list and click Find Similar. A list of items will be compiled based on the Similar Code found in the Inventory Setup screen. One method to select an item is to use the up and down keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm the selection. Another method is to double click an item in the list with the mouse. This will select and confirm in one step. To adjust the price of your inventory item use the Adjust Retail button. Once the Retail Price Adjustment screen appears, select an Adjustment Type and Price Direction. Enter the amount of the adjustment and click the OK button. To adjust the retail price based on the Average cost of the item check the Adjust from Average Cost checkbox.

13 12 Section 9 Employee Setup & Permissions Employee Setup is used to define all the employees in the store, as well as any permission they may need to use Perennial. The use of employees in Perennial is optional. If no employees are entered into the system, Perennial will not prompt the employee for a username or password when starting the system. If the store manager/owner requires any level of protection for the system, it is highly recommended that employees be entered into Perennial. As mentioned above, permissions can be given to employees that will allow/disallow access to certain parts of Perennial. Lists of permissions are listed below. Permissions: Access can be granted to: 1. Inventory Setup 2. Department Setup 3. Category Setup 4. Manufacturer Setup 5. Vendor Setup 6. Accounts Payable 7. Employee Settings 8. Tax Settings 9. Store Settings 10. Register Settings 11. Send Customer s 12. Point of Sale 13. Add or Remove Cash/Cash Check 14. Reprint Receipts 15. Purge Sales History 16. Close Drawer (X-Out) 17. Daily Store Close (Z-Out) 18. Edit Backup Configuration 19. Start Backup 20. Start Restore 21. Use Database Utilities 22. Edit Auto-Load Settings 23. View/Reprint Reports 24. Punch In/Out Manager 25. Show Cost Fields 26. Change Retail Price & Give Discounts 27. Print Barcode Labels 28. Delete Invoices 29. Sound Scan FTP Upload 30. No Sale/Pop Cash Drawer To add an employee, follow the instructions below. 1. Click the New button to add employee. Click the Edit button to change the current employee. 2. Enter an employee ID. This name must be different than all other employees in the list. The ID field is numeric field and must be from 00 to Enter a password for the employee. 4. Enter an employee first and last name. 5. Enter the address information for the employee. 6. Enter the phone numbers, address, driver s license number, social security number, birth date, and any notes for the employee. 7. Click the Permissions tab and check any permissions the employee needs to do their job. 8. Click the Save button to save your changes or the Cancel button to abort the changes.

14 13 Commissions: The Commissions tab is used to setup what percentage of a sale an employee gets when they are designated as a salesman in POS. Commission Percentage: This is the percentage of the item sold that the employee earns. Commission Type: The commission type is either Gross, meaning the salesman gets a percent of the total sale price of and item, or Net, meaning the salesman gets a percentage of the sale above cost. Say the salesman has a commission percent of 10%. The cost of an item sold is $2.00 and the sell price is $ If the salesman commission type is Gross then they would receive $1.00 commission on the item sold. If the salesman commission type is Net they would receive $0.80 = 10% of ($ $2.00) The Account Commissions are setup the same as described above but are applied differently. A salesman can be assigned to a specific customer account. For each sale to that customer the selected salesman gets a commission based on the account commission settings, regardless if the are the transaction salesman or not. They simply get the commission for settings up the customer account. On the commissions report, the regular commissions and the account commissions are broken our separately then totaled for an overall commission earnings figure.

15 14 Section 10 Customer Setup & Mail Codes Customer Setup is used to store all the contact, balance, discount, tax status, and other information about your customers. As you can see from the image to the right, Perennial also allows you to save pictures from your computer or webcam to each customer s record. This will help you ensure that the person at the counter really is who they say they are. This is especially helpful when processing store credit transactions. Some of the more advanced features such as Mail Codes and Multiple Taxes use an Add and Remove button which is located next their respective list boxes. To add a Mail Code or Multiple Taxes item to the list click on the Add (+) button to the right of the list box. The Search window will open allowing you to select the proper item to add to the list. If nothing is selected, nothing is added. To Remove (-) an item from a list simply highlight the unwanted item and click the Remove (-) button. To export a customer Mailing List, use the Customer -> Export Mailing List menu item located on the main screen of Perennial. The Export Filter screen will appear and allow you to select groups of employees to export by mail codes. If no mail codes are selected then all the customers will be exported. To view the customers purchase history, click the View Purchase History button. The customers invoices will be listed newest invoices first. The Account Salesman dropdown is where you will have the option to assign a default salesman to a customer. The account salesman will receive commissions for all sales to the customer, regardless if they are the transaction salesman or not. If you have a webcam setup on your computer you can use it to take snapshots of your customer for their file. You may also use an existing photo by clicking the File button to the right of the image and selecting the proper image file. Use the Clear button to remove the image from the record. To take a webcam snapshot do the following: 6. Click the Edit button for the customer record you want to edit. 7. Click the Cam button to the right of the customer picture box. The Customer snapshot window will then open, as seen below. 8. Line the customer up in your webcam and click the Take Picture button. The customer s image will now be entered into their customer record. If you don t like the image, click the Take Picture button until you get it right. 9. When you re happy with the picture click the Close button to close the Customer Snapshot window. 10. Click the Save button at the top of the Customer Setup window to save the picture to their record or click cancel to revert back to their previous picture. The Options tab: Do Not Accept Checks From This Customer: If this option is checked, Perennial will not allow checks to be a method payment while this customer is assigned to a transaction. Discount%: This is the % the customer will get taken off all transactions process with their account assigned to a transaction. Tax Type: See above.

16 15 The Notes tab has a few fields to enter notes about the customer. POS Customer Reminder/Message: This message is displayed on the POS screen and is not seen by the customer. It is for internal use only. Notes: The notes field can be for internal use or to display notes on the customers receipt (e.g.: Shipping address information) If you would like the notes to appear on the customers receipt the Print Notes On Receipt box must be checked. The Accounts Receivable tab holds all of the information regarding the customers balance with your store. To make a customer an Accounts Receivable Customer you must check the Accounts Receivable Customer check box. If the Apply Finance Charges box is checked, finance charges will be applied to the customers account when the statements are printed. The Refresh Balances button is used to refresh the totals of amounts paid and/or owed. To get a view of the customer s current statement, click the Current Statement button. The AR Account History Button shows a breakdown of the customer s debits and credits. At the top of this screen is the customer s ID, Name, Debits, Credits, and current Balance. Find: By clicking this button you can move from one AR customer account to another. This makes it easy to go through your stack of received checks and process them. Make Payment: This button is used to post payments to the customer s account. When click the Payment Allocation screen will appear. To process a payment, enter the amount of the payment and select an Allocation Type. The Automatic allocation type will apply the payment to the account starting with the oldest invoice or debit. The Manual Allocation will apply the payment to a specific invoice and leave the remainder (if any) as an open credit. Select Continue to proceed to the Process Sale screen. Here is where you tender the payment amount.

17 Make Adjustment: Click this button to make an adjustment on the account. To make an adjustment, select a Debit or Credit Type and enter the amount of the adjustment. Click the process button to post the adjustment to the account. 16 Allocate Open Payments and Credits: Click this button to apply Open credits to the account. These open payments/credits will be applied starting with the oldest invoices or debits. File Paid Invoices and Debit button. This button is used to clear all settled debits and credits. To get a quick report of how much money you have waiting to be paid to you by customers use the AR Balance Breakdown report located in the Customer -> Reports -> Accounts Receivable menu option. Use the Apply Finance Charges Only menu item to apply finance charges to your AR customer s accounts. To print out your AR Statements use the Print Account Statements menu item. Only the accounts the have a balance owed will be printed. To add a customer, follow these simple steps. This process will also help you familiarize yourself with each component of the Customer Setup window. 1. Click the New button to add customer. Click the Edit button to change the current customer s information. 2. Enter a customer ID. This name must be different than all other customers in the database. The ID field is an alpha-numeric field. 3. Enter the customer s first and last name. 4. Enter the address information for the customer. 5. Enter the phone numbers, address, birth date, and Store credit. Store Credit can be used as a method of payment at Point-of-Sale. 6. Click the Options tab and set the customer s Tax Type, POS Msg, Notes, Discount amount. If you do not wish to take check from a customer you can check the Do Not Accept Checks checkbox. 7. Click the Save button to save your changes or the Cancel button to abort the changes. Mail Codes are entered into Perennial through their own setup window. To access the Mail Code Setup use the Customers menu from the Startup screen and select the Mail Codes menu item. To add, edit,or delete a mail code do the following: 1. Click the New button to add a Mail Code. Click the Edit button to change a selected Mail Code. 2. Enter a Mail code description. This name must be different than all other names in the list. This name is typically descriptive (ex: Zip codes, suburbs, etc ) 3. Click the Save button to save your changes or the Cancel button to abort the changes.

18 17 Section 11 Using the Point of Sales Screen The Point of Sale screen can be accessed a few different ways. One way is through the Point of Sale menu on Perennial s startup screen as seen below. The Ctrl+S, or Home keys on the keyboard also load the Point of Sale screen. By clicking the customer button (the one with the three people) in the upper left corner of the Point-of-Sale screen you can turn on or off customer support when processing an invoice. If no customer number is entered then there will be no customer information saved with the invoice. With customer support is turned on, enter the customer number and press Enter or click the Find button to enter in a customer to assign an invoice to. With the customer ID in the ID filed click the enter key on the keyboard. This will load the customer s information into the fields at the top of the screen. If the information is incorrect you may have selected the wrong customer or the customer s information is out of date. If the customer does not exist you will be asked if you would like to add the customer to Perennial. Once the customer information appears at the top of the POS window there is nothing left to do but start scanning items! If you need to change the customer number during the sale simply enter the new customer number in the ID filed and press enter on the keyboard. To add an item to the sale list, you may either scan an items barcode or enter an items SKU or item number into the Scan or Enter Item#/SKU field. Press enter to load the item into the list. You may also use the quick find by entering and item s partial description into the Enter Description field and pressing enter on your keyboard. There are a number of buttons located at the bottom of the Point of Sale screen that used to manipulate items being sold. The buttons can be triggered by using the function keys at the top of the keyboard. Example: Press F1 to change an items quantity. These buttons are as follows: 1. AR Sale: Depress this button to make this an Accounts Receivable sale. 2. AR Payment: Click this button to process a payment made by a customer. 3. Change Salesman: Apply or remove a salesman from selected item in the sales list. This function is also accessed by pressing Alt+S. 4. Invoice Salesman: Press Ctrl+S to set an invoice salesman for all items entered while this feature is on. When on the salesman id is displayed at the top of the POS screen. 5. Change Quantity: To change the quantity of an item already in the sale list, highlight an item and press F1. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to enter the quantity. Enter the value and click OK or press the enter key on the keyboard. The quantity will be changed for the selected item and the subtotal of the invoice will reflect the change. 6. Change Price: To change the sell price of an item already in the sale list, highlight an item and press F2. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to enter the sell price (similar to the above picture). Enter the value and click OK or press the enter key on the keyboard. The sell price will be changed for the selected item and the subtotal of the invoice will reflect the change. 7. Delete Item: To delete an item in the sale list, highlight an item and press F3. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to confirm the deletion of the selected item. Click OK or press the enter key on the keyboard. The item will be removed from the sale list and the subtotal of the invoice will reflect the change. 8. Item Search: Click this button to display the Inventory Search screen. (See section 7)

19 18 9. Default Discount: This button is used to turn on/off an invoice discount. The discount amount, whether it is a percent or dollar amount, will be applied to each item sold, while the function is on. To turn on the invoice discount press F5. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to enter the amount of the discount and whether it is to be a dollar or percentage amount. Enter the amount and click OK or press the F1 key on the keyboard. To turn the invoice discount off, press F Item Discount: To discount an item already in the sale list, highlight an item and press F6. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to enter the amount of the discount (similar to above picture). Enter the value and click OK or press the enter key on the keyboard. The quantity will be changed for the selected item and the subtotal of the invoice will reflect the change. 11. Stop for Quantity: Press F7 to turn on/of the Stop for Quantity function. When the function is on the user will be prompted to enter a quantity for every item sold. (See Change Quantity above for a screen shot of prompt) This function will remain on, until turned off. 12. Stop for Price: Press F8 to turn on/of the Stop for Price function. When the function is on the user will be prompted to enter a sell price for every item sold. (See Change Quantity above for a similar screen shot of prompt) This function will remain on, until turned off. 13. Item Return: This button must be clicked, prior to entering the Item#/SKU of the item to return. The return function will remain on, until the user turns it off. To return an item, simply press F9, enter the Item#/SKU of the item to return, press enter to send the item to the sale list (if using a barcode scanner the user will not need to press enter), and press F9 exit the return function. 14. Reprint Receipt: This button will open the Reprint Receipt screen and allow the user to reprint any past receipts. This screen is discussed more in a later section. 15. Repeat Last Item: This button is used to duplicate the last item entered into the sale list. 16. Change Tax: By pressing Ctrl+T on the keyboard to use this button, the user can change the tax property of a selected item. If the selected item is already taxable it will be made nontaxable. If it is nontaxable it will be made taxable. 17. No Tax: Turn this option on or off by pressing Ctrl+N on the keyboard. When on, all items entered into the sale list will be set as nontaxable. This is especially useful for processing out of state mail-order sales. 18. Change Total: This button is used to change the overall price of and invoice. If an invoice total is $ and you wish to sell all the items for a total of $100.00, simply click this button and enter $ in the space provided. Ctrl+I can also be used to activate this feature. 19. Process Sale: This button will transfer the transaction totals to the Process Sale screen. 20. Void Sale: When enabled, this button will void the current transaction. 21. Exit POS: When enabled, click this button to return to the Perennial startup screen. 22. Add Notes: Click this button to load the Invoice Notes screen pictured right. Enter the notes to be added and click ok. 23. Suspend Sale: This feature can be used to do work orders or simply wait for a customer to run to the ATM. To suspend a sale click The Suspend sale text or use the Shift+F12 combination on your keyboard. The Suspend Sale screen will appear and allow you to enter a Suspension ID and Description. The ID and Description is used by you so you can quickly find the sale when the customer returns. After entering the information click the Suspend sale button to suspend the sale. To retrieve a sale from suspension simply click the Suspend sale text on the POS screen or press Shift+F12. Double click the sale to retrieve. A suspended sale cannot be deleted. It MUST be retrieved and Voided (Security Issue) 24. No Sale: Click this label or hit Ctrl+F12 on your keyboard to pop the cash drawer. This feature is only visible to those employees who have permission to use it. System items are used to sell Gift Certificates and redeem Coupons. To Sell a Gift Certificate simply type the letters GC into the Item#/SKU box and press the enter key. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to enter the value of the Gift Certificate. Enter the value and click OK or press the enter key on the keyboard. To redeem a coupon type the letters CP into the Item#/SKU box and press enter. A dialog box will popup and ask the user to enter the value of the Coupon. Enter the value and click OK or press the enter key on the keyboard.

20 19 Section 12 Process a Sale To processing a sale, begin by pressing F12 or clicking the Process Sale button at the Point of Sale screen. If the sale has an Accounts Receivable Customer assigned to the sale then the cashier will be prompted to enter an amount to apply to the balance of this invoice. Next, the Process Sale screen will appear and allow the user to enter the amounts tendered from the customer. If this is an AR sale then the invoice will be added to their account and the payment, if any, will be posted against the account automatically. The Process Sale screen is separated into two distinct areas. The Tender Type has a red rectangle around it and is used to enter the amount and type of monies collected from the customer. The Change Due Type area has a green rectangle around it and is used to enter the type of change to give back to the customer, if any. The Back to Sale button (F10) at the bottom of the Process Sale screen is used to go back to the sale and make modifications, in the event of a miscalculation or customer change. If the user enters the wrong amounts tendered from the customer, the Reset Payments button will set all tendered amount to zero. If the customer decides to use a coupon while the user is at the Process Sale screen, the user can use the Add Coupon button (F11) to add a coupon to the transaction (see section 9 for details on redeeming a coupon) The Process Sale button (F12) at the bottom of the form is used to confirm the amounts tendered and the change due. Once processed the Change Due screen will appear, the cash drawer will pop open, and the receipt will print. If additional receipts are required by the customer the user can use the Reprint Receipt button (F1) located on the Change Due screen. By pressing the Exit POS button (F2), the user can exit the Point of Sale mode and go straight back to the main startup screen. This feature is useful, especially, if the user only intended to do one sale. When the Continue button (F12) is used on the Change Due screen the user will be taken back to the Point of Sale screen to begin another transaction.

21 20 Section 13 Add/Remove Cash, Cashing Checks Use the Cash Drawer Transactions screen, accessed from the Point of Sale menu on the startup screen of Perennial, to add and remove cash, or cash checks. There are three functions of this form and they are as follows: 1. Paid In/Add Cash: To add cash to a drawer (Paid In), select the Paid In action, enter the amount of money being added to the drawer, enter an explanation, and use the OK button (F12) to confirm the action. 2. Paid Out/Remove Cash: To remove cash from a drawer (Paid Out), select the Paid Out action, enter the amount of money being removed from the drawer, enter an explanation, and use the OK button (F12) to confirm the action. 3. Cash a Check: To cash a check, select the Cash A Check action, enter the amount of the check to be cashed, enter an explanation, and use the OK button (F12) to confirm the action. Once the action is confirmed a receipt will print for you to place in the drawer. If you are processing a check cashing transaction a signature line will print on the receipt for the customer to sign. This will ensure the customer does not comeback and say they got the wrong amount. Section 14 Purge Sales History We recommend that you purge sales history every few years. This is not required but it may improve performance. Purging will free up resources on the system running Perennial by eliminating unused data from the Perennial database. To purge unused data, use the Point of Sale Purge Sales History menu (Ctrl+P) on the startup screen of Perennial. A purge history screen will appear asking the user to select the date to purge beyond. NOTE: the date selected will be included in the purge. A red circle on the screen represents today s date. The user can click on the month and year at the top of the calendar to find the correct date to start purging. The default date to purge from is one year from the current date. NOTE: There is no turning back, after the purge has been done. Be sure to make a backup of the database prior to purging data. Once a date is selected, click the Purge button to confirm the purge.

22 21 Section 15 Close a Register, Closing the Store Closing a Register and Closing the Store both have the same procedure. To close a register, all the user needs to do is select the Close Drawer (X-Out) menu item (Ctrl+X) from the Point of Sale menu on the startup screen of Perennial. To close the store for the day, all the user needs to do is select the Daily Store Close (Z-Out) menu item (Ctrl+Z) from the Point of Sale menu on the startup screen of Perennial. The only difference is the reports that print after the close is performed. The Daily Close prints storewide sales reports and all register reports, while the Register Close only prints totals for the closing register. Section 16 Running & Reprinting Reports All reports are accessed through the Reports menu at the startup screen of Perennial. There are multiple reports available in this system: Inventory Reports: These reports list the entire inventory entered into the system along with their descriptions, average costs, and retail prices. These reports can be printed in detail or summary form and sorted by department or item number order. Inventory Reorder Reports: These reports list the inventory items that are setup to be shown on this report. Only the items that are at or below their reorder point will be shown on this report. The report displays the items QOH, Max QOH, Average Cost, Retail Price, Qty to order, and the cost of the Qty to order. Invoice Report: This report can be run as a detailed or summary report. The detailed report shows all transactions within a selected date range and the contents of each transaction. The summary report only shows the transactions and their total sale and tax figures. Sales Reports: These reports can be printed in detail or summary form and are sorted by department. These reports contain the total quantity, average cost, and retail price of each item sold per department for the selected period. At the end of each department group is a subtotal for that department. At the end of the report is a grand total of all departments. To run a sales report select the Sales Report Detail or Summary menu item from the Reports menu on the startup screen of Perennial. When the Select a Start and End Date screen appears select the date in which to run the report. The default dates are from the beginning of the current month to the current day (today). Use the OK button to display the report. Gallons Purchased By Customer: This reports shows the total gallons of product purchased by a specific customer for a selected date range. Only customers with reseller tax status will be displayed on this report. Suspended Sales Report: This report show all transactions that have been suspended. Yearly Profit Breakdown: This report will give an exact calculation of how the store is doing, right up to the last invoice processed. The report lists, total sales, total cost, total tax, profit dollars, profit margin, markup percent, and cash flow. The report also breaks the mentioned figures up into totals for Today, Month to Date, Year to Date, and monthly totals throughout the year. Re-Print Receiving Report: Allows the user to go back an print a receiving report after the initial inventory receiving has been processed.

23 Reprint End-Of-Day Reports: This function reprints all reports printed during a store close of any particular day. To reprint closing reports for a previous day, use the Reports Re-Print End-Of-Day Reports menu item on the startup screen of Perennial to bring up the reprint screen. From the reprint screen the user can select the period for which to print reports. After selecting the period, the user can use the Print button (F1) to print the reports or the Exit button (Esc) to cancel the operation. 22 Credit Card Reports: These reports are only visible if credit card processing is enabled. These reports are not available for use with X-Charge. All X-Charge reports must be printed from X-Charge at this time.

24 23 Section 17 Reprinting Receipts To reprint a previous invoice receipt, select the Reprint Receipt (Ctrl+R) menu item located in the Point of Sale menu on the startup screen of Perennial. To reprint a receipt, the user must select the month, day, year, and invoice number of the invoice to reprint. The month, day, and year values default to the current date. Once the user selects an invoice number from the dropdown list provided, the receipt for the selected invoice is displayed. If the receipt displayed is correct then the user can use the Print button (F1) to reprint the receipt or the Exit button (Esc) to cancel the operation and leave the reprint receipt screen.

25 24 Section 18 Backup Settings and Use One of the first things to do upon setting up Perennial is to find a place to backup the system every night. To do this you will need to configure Perennial s backup and restore folders. Enter the Backup & Restore Configuration screen through the File menu on the startup screen of Perennial. Use the browse buttons located on the right side of the Backup & Restore Configuration screen to select the Folder to Backup and the Location to Backup file(s) to. When the browse for Folder screen appears click the plus signs to navigate through the tree view of folders. Highlight the desired folder and use the OK button to confirm the selection. Do the same for the folder settings on the Restore tab. When the folders have been selected use the Save button to confirm the configuration or the Cancel button to abort the operation with out saving. To create a backup of Perennial, select the Start Backup menu item from the File menu on the startup screen of Perennial. This process may take a few minutes so be patient. To restore the data, select the Start Restore menu item from the File menu. IMPORTANT: Please be sure to use the backup folder ONLY for Perennial backups. The content of this folder will be fully deleted prior to creating the Perennial Backup. Section 19 Database Utilities Compact and Repair Database: This tool is used to repair the database if needed. It will also compact the database to a smaller file size. This should be run after purging sales history to get rid of any ghost or corrupt records that may remain. To run this utility, select the Database Utilities - Compact and Repair Database menu item located in the File menu on the startup screen of Perennial.

26 25 Section 20 Auto Loading Perennial To load Perennial at Windows startup, select the Load Perennial at Windows Startup menu item from the File menu on the startup screen of Perennial. To disable the load of Perennial at Windows startup, select the Do Not Load Perennial at Windows Startup menu item from the File menu on the startup screen of Perennial. Section 21 Employee Punch In & Out Perennial s Punch In & Out function gives managers the ability to track the amount of time employees are at work, on a break, etc. To Punch In or Out complete the following: 1.) Click the Punch In/ Punch Out (Ctrl+P) menu item located under the Employees menu on the startup screen. 2.) Enter the employee ID and Password. 3.) Press the Enter key on the keyboard and Perennial will default to Punch In if the user needs to punch in or Punch Out if the user needs to punch out. 4.) Click Punch In or Punch Out to continue to punch in or out. Click Cancel to abort. To change a Punch Record do the following: 1.) Click the Punch In/Out Manager menu item located under the Employees menu on the startup screen. 2.) Select an Employee from the Select Employee pull down. 3.) Select a date for the date of the Punch Record you want to edit. 4.) Double click the Punch In or Punch Out Time to edit. 5.) The Punch In/Out Date & Time Change screen will now appear. 6.) Select the new date and enter the new time for the specific Punch Record. 7.) Click the Save button to update the Punch Record. 8.) Click OK/Save to save the punch record changes to Perennial s database. 9.) To delete a Punch Record simply select the record to delete and click the Delete button on the bottom of the form.

27 Perennial has a few reports that can be used to see what employees are punched in and when the employees have clocked in and out. 26 Punched In Employee Report: This report displays which employees are punched in and for how long. Punched In/Out History Report: This report displays detailed information on when an employee has clocked in and out. Punched In/Out History Summary Report: This report displays summary of information on when an employee has clocked in and out. (totals only)

28 27 Section 22 Printing Barcode Labels Printing your own custom barcode labels has never been easier. Perennial has a built in feature that lets you print barcode labels for multiple SKU s/item numbers at one time. To access the Barcode Labels screen in Perennial, select the Barcode Labels menu item located under the Inventory pull down on the startup screen. Perennial is configured to use any size Dymo label and 8160 or 5160 Avery brand labels. The Avery labels are 1 x 2.63 and are 30 to a sheet. 1 x 1.5 labels can be found at To the right is the Barcode Labels form. Here is a list of the features of the form: * = FULL SHEET LABEL OPTION ONLY. Printer: The printer dropdown is used to select the print to which you will print out the labels. Label Style: There are three printing methods supported: Dymo Labels, 8.5 by 11in (Full sheet) Sheet Labels, and Datamax Ring Tags. To print Datamax ring tags you will need a Datamax E series printer. Simply select the Datamax label style and click print. To print to the Dymo printer, select the DYMO printer from the printer dropdown then select your Dymo label template using the browse button at the bottom of the screen. Sku/Item #: This is where you will enter the SKU or number of the item(s) you wish to print labels for. You may also lookup the item by using the Find button. After entering the SKU press the Enter key on your keyboard to load the description and price from the database. The cursor will then move to the Quantity box to allow you to enter the number of labels to print. After entering the quantity of labels to print, press the enter key or click the Add To Batch button. This will add the SKU to the list of barcodes to be printed. Description: This is the description for the item number entered in the Sku/Item # box. Retail Price: Like the description, the retail price is loaded from the database and corresponds to the item number entered in the Sku/Item # box. Quantity: The number of barcode labels to print for the item number entered in the Sku/Item # box. Top of Form*: This is a special field and should not be changed UNLESS your labels are not lining up correctly. If the labels are printing too high on the label sheet then adjust the number up by increments of 20 to 50 until you be the labels in the correct spot. Left Offset*: This is a special field and should not be changed UNLESS your labels are not lining up correctly. If the labels are printing to the right or left adjust the Left Offset by increments of 20 to 50 until you be the labels in the correct position. FOR FULL SHEET LABELS: PLEASE USE REGUALR PAPER TO LINE UP THE LABELS, DON T WASTE YOU GOOD LABEL SHEET FOR CALIBRATION!) To reset the Top of Form to the default value, click the Reset button. Start On Label*: This is KEY! This box is used to start printing where you left off. Let s say the last time you printed labels, you printed 25 labels. That leaves 5 blank labels on your sheet. Not a problem. The next time you print labels set the Start On Label value to 26. This will use the blank labels then start the rest of the labels on a new page. Label Size*: Currently Perennial is configured to use two types of labels. The labels are 1 x 2.63 and are 30 to a sheet and 1 x 1.5 and are 50 to a sheet. Label Template File Name: This is the filename of the template you will use to print your barcode labels. The template is made by you, using the Dymo Label Writer software. Print Button: Click this button to start the print job. When complete a Printing Complete message will appear. Cancel: Click this button to close the Barcode Labels screen.

29 28 Section 23 Accounts Payable The Accounts Payable feature allows business owners to keep track of money owed to other businesses. To see a list of payments made use the Accounts Payable Transactions report. This report will list dates, times, amounts, receivers, and who the payment was entered by. This report can be run by any range of dates. To post a payable payment, click the Accounts Payable menu item from the Accounting menu. The Accounts Payable screen will now appear. Enter the Company you are making the payment to in the Company Name dropdown. Once the payment is processed the company name will be stored for later retrieval. Enter any Payment Notes, select the payment type, enter the payment amount, and click the Process button to post the payment. Should you need to go back and change a posted payment you may do so by clicking the Modify/View button. The Modify or View screen will appear (seen below). To edit a record, highlight it and click the edit button. The edit screen will appear and allow you to change the information originally entered. Click the Save button to save the changes. Delete: To remove a record highlight it and click the Delete button. Print: To print a duplicate receipt for the payment, highlight a record and click the print button. Cancel: Closes the screen.

30 29 Section 24 Customers Mass ing customers is something that store owners should try to take advantage of. It helps keep your customers informed of new specials, company news, etc. Perennial has a built in ing feature that is simple to use and easy to configure. To send out a mass to your customers you first need to know Who? you are sending the to. You may use the Manual settings to send an to an individual customer. The Mail Codes option allows you to send s to a selected group of customers and of course the All Customers option will send an to all customers in your database provided they have an address associated with their account. Once the Who question has been answered then you simply assign a Subject and message to the then click the Send menu at the top of the screen. As the s are being sent the status will be displayed on the bottom of the screen. Upon completion, Perennial will display a message confirming the s have been sent. To stop the ing at any time click the STOP! button. Your customers will receive an on their end and it will appear to be from your store name.

31 30 Section 25 Inventory Receiving Adding items to your inventory is a snap. You can enter your items three different ways. You may either type the tem code into the Item# field, Scan the items barcode, or use the Search button to find the item you are going to receive. Once the items number is in the Item# field press the enter key (only if you are typing in the code) and the Items description, cost, retail price, etc will be displayed on the screen. Enter the quantity of items to receive then press enter. Enter the new cost of the item and press enter again. Repeat for all items you need to add to the inventory. Note: If an item does not exist in the inventory you may assign it a retail price, cost and description at this time. When the receiving is processed the item will be added to the inventory automatically. Once the receiving has been processed you will have the option to print a receiving report. You do not have to print the report at this time. You may always go back and reprint the report at a later date.