Sales Orders

PRONTO Xi Sales Orders gives you control over the sales order management cycle. It handles the processing of sales orders, produces picking slips, and prints consignment notes, manifests, labels and necessary customer documentation (invoices, delivery dockets, etc).

Numerous user-definable options allow you to tailor the Sales Order entry screen and processes to meet your requirements. In addition to normal sales orders, you can process credit notes, forward orders, quotations, consignment orders and intra-warehouse transfers, as well as manage your goods return process.

PRONTO Xi Sales Orders functionalities include:

• User-definable order entry screen;
• Product configuration capability;
• Automatic inventory allocation;
• Internal transfer/work orders for unavailable inventory;
• Management of kits;
• Credit checking and display at order entry/edit;
• Multiple warehouse capabilities;
• Direct links between sales orders, purchase orders and work orders;
• Automatic freight calculations and carrier billing management;
• Full sales history retention;
• Item alternatives and multiple selling units of measure;
• Full backorder management.

Sales Order Integration

PRONTO Xi Sales Orders is fully integrated with PRONTO Xi Inventory, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger and Customer Relationship Management. When a sales order is updated, available inventory, customer data, sales history, inventory movements and relevant general ledger accounts are automatically updated. These processes are fully audited by PRONTO Xi.

You can enter sales orders manually. In many instances they are automatically created by the different modules and business processes of PRONTO Xi. For example, sales orders can be created by service contracts and cash billing, rental periodic billing, internet orders and project costing progress invoicing.

Sales orders can also be imported via PRONTO Xi EasyEDI through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Additionally, to further speed-up the sales order process, you can use templates and copy an existing sales order.

Sales Order Entry and Maintenance

Sales order entry is a three-step process – keying data into the sales order header, lines and conclusion. You have the flexibility to configure these three steps to map your business processes and ensure fast order entry.

Sales Order Header

Once the customer is selected, the sales representative, price level, territory and available credit are automatically applied to the sales order. You can override these parameters if required. The integration with PRONTO Xi Accounts Receivable ensures a very fast sales order entry process without data duplication and errors.

At the sales order header, you have access to required information and messages to assist you during sales order entry. For example, a message will let you know if a customer is over their credit limit. Once a sales order is entered, the header information can be edited if required.

Sales Order Lines

Once the sales order header is completed, a salesperson can enter the items requested by the customer. Each time an item is selected, extensive inventory information is available to the salesperson, including customer price, discount, inventory availability, margin and more.

If an item is not available, alternative items can be displayed to satisfy the order and maintain customer satisfaction. When a sales order is entered, you can record additional costs associated with its fulfilment. You can choose to charge for freight, packaging and handling or any other costs that need to be recovered.

Sales Order Conclusion

Once all the items are entered in the sales order it can be completed for further processing. Based on the type of sales order and the availability of the ordered items, several options are proposed to the salesperson.

Typically, if the ordered items are available, the picking slip for this sales order is ready to be printed in the allocated warehouse. In the case of quotations, prices can be reviewed at any time. Once the quotation is approved by the customer, you can automatically change it into a sales order.

Sales Order Types

PRONTO Xi Sales Orders handles an exhaustive range of order types, allowing for increased convenience and flexibility. The order type defines the underlying business process. For example, sales orders can be raised as:

• Quotations;
• Normal sales orders;
• Credit notes/return authorisation;
• Forward orders;
• Warehouse transfers;
• Consignment orders;
• Lay-by order;
• Warranty claims and more.

Normal Sales Order

You can track the progress of a sales order by its status. For example, if its status is ‘Work Order Created’, then the ordered item has to be manufactured and it is in the manufacturing process.

If you have more than one warehouse and the goods ordered are not available in the warehouse that normally despatches to the customer, you can check if the goods are available from other warehouses. If inventory is available in another warehouse, PRONTO Xi can automatically have the items despatched from the other warehouse, or transferred to the originating warehouse.

PRONTO Xi can also create purchase orders directly linked to sales orders for ‘indent’ items (purchase on demand). You can raise work orders for manufactured items and drill-down from the sales order to track progress.

Credit Notes

PRONTO Xi contains extensive credit note facilities. The credit note from the original invoice function allows a full or partial credit to be raised. It also streamlines the credit note entry process as it loads the original invoice lines, and prompts for the type of credit to be processed for the entire order or on a line-by-line basis.

A warning will be given where a credit note has been raised previously. Limits for the raising and approving of credit notes can be controlled by Credit Officers. Credit note reasons are user-defined.

The type of credits catered for include:

• Credit and recharge of inventory;
• Net price/discount credit and recharge;
• Return to inventory;
• Inventory write-off;
• Credit of a charge;
• Inventory exchange;
• Issue new item free.

Transfers

When you need to move stock between warehouses PRONTO Xi allows you to create a transfer order to properly control and document the sequence of events. The production of picking slips and transfer documents ensure control over the movement of goods.

Quotations

PRONTO Xi allows you to produce quotations for your customers. One of the special features of this function is that you can easily manipulate the pricing based on cost, mark-up and other criteria. Inventory is not committed to the quotation until it is converted into an order.

Quotations allow for configurations to be created for customer-specific requirements. During negotiation, all adjustments or reconfigurations automatically recalculate the details in the quotation.

You may also choose to have the quotation pass through a ‘Quotation Accepted’ phase before it can be converted to an order.

If the quotation is rejected, you can enter the reason for the lost sale. This information can later be reported on, and you are able to identify trends and causes for lost opportunities.

Internal Sales

You can accept orders from within your organisation. The department requiring the product will raise an internal requisition through PRONTO Xi Purchase Orders. This will be treated as an internal sales order allowing for accurate tracking of inventory as well as possible freight charges.

Audit Report

The Audit Report allows you to set internal security so that management, for instance, is aware of goods sold with less than the required gross profit. Information audited covers alterations to orders including quantities, prices and discounts. A full Audit Report is available by date, time and user at all stages of progress through the system.

Forward Orders

A forward order is an order on which goods will be supplied at a set date in the future. Inventory is not allocated to the forward order until closer to the supply date. Periodically, inventory is allocated to forward orders if there is sufficient warehouse inventory to cover them. This is handled through the forward order inventory allocation and release facilities.

You can compare forward orders against incoming purchase orders to assist catering for the requirements of the order. You can also schedule deliveries for a forward order. For example, you may need to supply a customer with a hundred units on the first of every month for the next 10 months.

Contract

A contract order is where the customer has a contract to purchase goods or services to a maximum value and quantity. PRONTO Xi will ask for the contract number, and prompt for the contract start and end date.

Proforma

A proforma order is a standing customer order/shopping list that contains the items the customer would normally purchase. During order entry, the proforma can be directly accessed by the data entry operator and items selected from it. You save on the administrative effort associated with new customer sales order entry.

Return Authorisation

From time to time, goods that have been sold may need to be returned by the customer.

PRONTO Xi allows you to fully control and track these returns. You can perform the following functions:

• Create a product return request;
• Review and approve the request to return;
• Receive the goods back into the warehouse;
• Return the goods to your supplier for credit, replacement or repair;
• Return the goods to the warehouse for resale;
• Create a work order to have the goods repaired, reworked or disassembled;
• Raise a full or partial credit note for your customer based on the action taken.

With these capabilities you can keep a close track of goods that have been returned and also report on reasons for return to assist in forecasting future requirements, addressing areas of concern and recording performance of your suppliers.

Schedule Order

A sales order may be scheduled for delivery over time. For example, if the customer orders a quantity of 10 particular items, the order can be split so that one item is delivered every day (week, month, etc) until all 10 have been delivered. You can specify the dates on which the goods will be delivered and the number of items to be delivered each time.

Credit Control

If a customer is ‘on hold’, over their credit limit or terms, the data entry person will be warned of the customer’s status, but will be allowed to continue with the entry of the order. PRONTO Xi will set the order status to either ‘on hold’ or ‘credit hold’ depending on the circumstances.

The Credit Officer can be automatically notified by email when orders are placed on hold, and may choose to release the order(s) for despatch. A Credit Officer for each designated territory can control the release of orders.

Backorder/Inventory Allocation

You can view sales orders to check for current inventory commitments at any time. When there is insufficient inventory to satisfy a customer’s order, there are a number of ways in which PRONTO Xi can handle this situation. This depends on both the customer’s nominated backorder and part shipment policies. Some of the options available include:

• No backorders allowed, hence PRONTO Xi does not create a backorder for any item not supplied on the original;
• Part shipments not allowed, hold the order for despatch until all items are available;
• Backorders allowed. Supply the backorder when the next order is placed, thus merging the backordered items with the next order;
• Part shipments allowed. If six items are available and the customer has ordered 10, despatch the six and place the remaining four on backorder.

When part of an order is placed on backorder, PRONTO Xi will add a suffix to the original order to identify the backorder for ease of tracking. Inventory allocations can be performed manually or automatically based on parameters set.

PRONTO Xi can also automatically allocate items to backorders on receipt of goods from a purchase order or shipment.

Carrier Management Facilities

PRONTO Xi Sales Orders offer a carrier sub-system to manage, control and report on all the information you require to effectively manage your relationship with your carrier.

Carrier details such as carrier code, account number and next consignment number can be recorded. The carrier sub-system allows for the automatic calculation of freight charges (by weight, volume, delivery zone, other) and includes consignor, consignee pays and on forwarder indicators.

Other features include reports for freight expenditure analysis and reconciliation, pallet control facility and delivery manifest.

Sales Budgets and Forecasts

You can set sales budgets in PRONTO Xi Sales Orders, Accounts Receivable or the Inventory module. Sales budgets can be set up based on customer, item code, territory or item group.

You can set up budgets for each period, or apply a user-defined spread factor across the year. The spread factor can take into account seasonal fluctuations, geographic differences or any factors that influence sales at different times of the year.

Sales Order Enquiry

PRONTO Xi Sales Orders comes with a range of sophisticated enquiry facilities so that an order can easily be found using a combination of criteria such as account code, product, customer reference, warehouse, user ID, invoice number, credit note number, status, order number, delivery and consignment note number.

Sales Rebates

Various forms of rebate are calculated by PRONTO Xi Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.

PRONTO Xi allows rebates to be calculated in a number of different ways, depending on your specific requirements.

Sales rebates provide for numerous methods of calculating required rebates. Rebates may be based on percentages, flat values or quantities.

Customer Rebates

Rebates can be calculated for a number of combinations, including customer code, customer group, item code, item group and item group class.

As a sale is made to a customer, the invoice program determines if any rebate is due on the sale. When a customer rebate is applicable, the relevant sales history files are updated and provisional postings made to the general ledger.

In addition, a report is run prior to the preparation of statements to calculate the rebate amount the customer has achieved.

The rebate amount can be forwarded to the customer in one of the following ways:

• Deducted from the statement print;
• Generate a cheque for eligible sales;
• Generate a cheque for eligible sales invoices that have been paid;
• Produce a credit note;
• Manually.

Manual Customer Rebates

Rebates can be calculated by customer and item code, using a percentage rebate rate. The rebate is applied to the sales order line shipped amount (excluding tax).

Royalty Rebates

Royalty rebates can be calculated by item using either a value or a percentage. The cost of the sales order line is updated to include the rebate calculated. This rebate affects the sales history.

Customer Rebates by Group

This is a report-only feature. Rebates can be calculated by customer and item group. Up to four rebate percentage rates can be created for each customer and item group. The report can be generated for a specified period range and it calculates the rebate based on the sales value for the customer and item group.

PRONTO Xi Warranty

PRONTO Xi Warranty allows for a variety of warranty requirements. You can easily enter and track dealer warranty claims. Warranty has all the functionality to manage product returns. The functionality includes warranty cards entry and claim tracking.

• Maintain notes, instructions and fault description for the warranty work;
• Print invoice and consignment notes for the current job;
• Convert quotation to order;
• View machine details for the current order;
• Raise, view or maintain purchase orders;
• Finish or cancel the current job.

PRONTO Xi Sales Report Writer

PRONTO Xi offers a customisable sales report writer that allows you to tailor reports just the way you need them. You can design your reports to show 12 months or the current period, YTD, summary or detailed information, quantity, value, cost, budgets and more including:

• Weekly, monthly or current period + YTD options;
• Customisable hierarchy including subtotalling, making use of territory, representative, customer, item group, product plus other options;
• Include budget figures as well as variances;
• Select your own elements to report – including quantity, value, cost, budget, variance, YTD, This Period Last Year (TPLY), GP, GP%;
• Ability to report in selected unit of measure;
• Easy operation with parameter selection;
• Report ordered or invoiced sales;
• Security allows reports to be restricted.

PRONTO Xi EIS

The PRONTO Xi Executive Information System (EIS) supports the information and decision-making needs of senior management. This enterprise-wide decision support system allows management to analyse, compare and highlight trends so that they can monitor performance, identify issues and see opportunities.

EIS makes a variety of critical information readily available in a summarised, convenient form. Where summarised information requires closer analysis EIS can drill-down into lower levels of data, right down to the originating document.

Data is automatically gathered to provide categorised information suitable for the requirements of senior management. The screens are particularly easy to navigate so that managers who do not often use PRONTO Xi will not need assistance.

Sales Analysis

• Territory/Item Group Sales Analysis;
• Customer and Sales Representative Sales Analysis;
• User-Defined Enquiry Analysis;
• Real-Time Information on Today’s Sales.

Sales Trends

• Top 100 customer and product by various measures – sales revenue, gross profit dollars and gross profit percentage.

Financial Control

• Accounts Receivable Debt Aged Analysis;
• Account Payment Analysis;
• Inventory Valuation Analysis.

Operations Control

• Order Progress Analysis;
• Work Centre Statistics;
• Service Call Statistics;
• Quality Management Summary;
• Key Operating Statistics.

Detail can be interactively graphed, or exported to external spreadsheet packages. Management summary reports can be produced automatically on a daily basis.

Reports

PRONTO Xi offers an extensive range of standard reports. These reports have selection criteria to deliver the most appropriate information for your organisation.

The Order Status is an XML report. It is a powerful and comprehensive management tool for day-to-day operational management. You may choose not only the level of detail provided but nominate whether you wish to report on new orders, backorders, delivered orders, cancelled orders, or any of the other order status settings. As an XML report, it enables you to drill back into PRONTO Xi by simply clicking on the sales order you want to review.

Sales Order Reports

• Outstanding Backorders;
• Order Fill Analysis;
• Orders by Date and Representative
• Outstanding/Overdue Deliveries;
• Management Sales Statistics.

Warehouse Reports

• Consolidated and Invoiced Daily Sales;
• Purchase Orders Versus Sales Orders;
• Filled Orders Analysis;
• Daily Order Statistics.

Additional Reports

• Inventory or customer sales by period, over the last 12 months;
• Actual Versus Budget;
• Top-fifty customers, items, etc;
• Detailed analysis by item, customer, item group and/or territory;
• Gross Profit on Daily Sales;
• Representative Performance.