Platform - Inventory

Introduction to Inventory

The Inventory module in Successware allows you to maintain the quantity and value of parts as well as their distribution to jobs and warehouses.

Parts are defined in the Successware PriceBook and purchased through the Purchasing Manager.  Parts are counted (their quantities are tracked) in three places:

• In a warehouse
• On a job
• On an invoice

Parts are identified as Counted, Valued, and/or Serialized when they are set up in the PriceBook.  Counted items are those for which you wish to track on-hand quantities.  Valued items are those that are considered part of your inventory asset and will affect the Inventory general ledger account when transactions are posted.  Serialized items are those for which you wish to track serial numbers as they are purchased and as they are used.

Counted items may be valued or serialized also.  Valued items must be counted and may be serialized.  Serialized items must be counted and may be valued.

When a counted item is moved, the quantity in the original location will decrease and the quantity in the destination location will increase.  If the item is also valued, the default inventory account will be debited when the quantity is increased and credited when the quantity is decreased.  

The system uses tags to reserve or mark items for a particular warehouse or job.  Tags also record serial numbers for serialized items.  Think of tags as pieces of paper attached to parts with information such as ‘serial number 12345’ or ‘reserved for job 20078’.  Tags are maintained as transactions are processed.  There are 2 types of tags; Warehouse tags and Job tags.

Warehouse tags are created when you receive serialized parts into inventory or items are reserved for a specific job.

Job tags are created if you purchase items directly for a job (but do not receive them into Inventory) or requisition them from a warehouse.  The tags must be resolved as you verify their use on jobs.  Verifying that items purchased or requisitioned for a job are used on the job ensures that the cost recorded on the invoice is accurate.

How Inventory Items are Posted to an Activated General Ledger

• When you purchase a valued item, the system will debit the inventory account rather than the expense account (that is defined in the item’s Expense Type).  When an item is removed from inventory (for instance, on a requisition), the warehouse’s stock item count will be decreased.  The system will credit the inventory account for the item’s value, and debit the expense account as defined on the item’s Expense Type.
• A return will debit the inventory account and credit the item’s expense account (and department) for a valued item.
• An adjustment will either credit or debit the inventory account (depending on whether you are increasing or decreasing count) and will offset the transaction with the account number defined on the IC Adjust code that is used when adjusting a valued item.

Setting Up Inventory

Before you can begin to use inventory there are a number of elements of setup that must be completed. This setup will take place in the General Ledger, Reference Library and PriceBook, as well as in the Inventory Manager.

1. Make sure that all General Ledger accounts you will need for inventory have been added to the General Ledger.
2. Verify or select the default GL accounts for inventory and inventory adjustment overflow.
3. Add any inventory adjustment codes you will need into the Reference Library.  You will need at least one adjustment code for physical count.
4. Add all parts that will be members of your inventory stock to the PriceBook (or verify that they are there) and are properly marked as counted, valued or serialized.

Note: Generic Part items should NEVER be added to inventory and therefore should NOT be indicated as Counted in the PriceBook.

5. Add your warehouses. This includes your physical warehouses as well as vehicles on which you maintain inventory stock.
6. Build a Stock List or "Layout" for each your warehouses.
7. Select Setup from the Main Menu, and then click on the Module Configuration option.  Next, enter the Count date (the date you wish to start tracking quantities in inventory).
8. Perform a physical count for each of your warehouses.
9. Run the Parts Valuation report to find the value of your inventory. This value will represent your initial General Ledger Asset value for Inventory and will be used as your Inventory beginning balance. Use this value to make the necessary journal entries to add (or adjust) the beginning balance of your Inventory Asset account.
10. Select Setup from the Main Menu, and then click on the Financial listing. Identify the date on which you want to begin tracking Inventory at a General Ledger level. Once this is entered, any movement or parts into or out of inventory will affect the Inventory Asset account.

Activating Inventory

Inventory in Successware is not "turned on" by default. It must be activated. Inventory can be activated in two stages. They do not both need to happen at the same time. You can enter a count date and start updating quantities prior to activating the inventory posting.

1. Setting the Count date- The Count Date is the date you want to start tracking quantities on items that are marked as counted. This is performed from the Module Configuration screen, found in the Setup module.
2. Setting the Activation Date- The Activation Date is the date you want to start posting inventory transactions to the General Ledger.  Only valued items will affect the General Ledger account for inventory.  Valued items must also be marked as Counted. General Ledger activation of Inventory is performed from the Financial screen, found in the Setup module.

The Inventory Manager

The Inventory Manager is accessed from the Purchasing module from the Main Menu.

There are 3 tabs in the Inventory Manager:

• Transactions — to view and maintain inventory related transactions.
• Stock / Warehouse — to view and maintain warehouses and the items they contain as stock.
• Parts — to view and maintain inventory parts.

Transactions Tab

The Transactions tab of the Inventory Manager is used to search for, view and open existing inventory transactions. The default view when the manager is opened is Incomplete Transactions. These are transactions that have not been posted or in the case of Transfers have not yet been marked as Received.

The Transaction view by default shows all warehouse transactions but you can choose to only view those for a single warehouse by selecting from the Warehouse drop down list in the upper left corner.

You can choose to view only Requisitions, Transfers, Returns, Adjustments or Receipts by choosing the appropriate filter indicator. 

Stock / Warehouse View

The Stock / Warehouse view allows you to work with Warehouses and the stock items within them. The Stock / Warehouse view is also used to add new warehouses as well as add new stock items to warehouses.

This view can be filtered to display only Vehicles or include only Active warehouses in the list.

Parts View

The Parts view of the Inventory Manager is used to identify the location of parts in your Inventory.

By using the columns at the top of the form you can sort the list of parts based upon their Category, Group, Item Number and Description as defined in the PriceBook. Once the parts are displayed, you will be able to view the total on-hand quantity of the item.

A list of all warehouses that stock that part is displayed at the bottom of the form along with the current on-hand quantity of the item in the selected warehouse.

Adding Warehouses

Warehouses are the locations where you store and maintain quantities of inventory stock items. A Warehouse can be either a physical location or a vehicle.

To add warehouses

1. Open the Stock / Warehouse tab of the Inventory Manager. 
2. Click the Warehouse grid and select + New Warehouse button.
   
   
3. Complete the following fields:

Field	Description
Warehouse No.	Enter the ID you wish to use to identify the warehouse.
Description	Enter a Name for the Warehouse.
Vehicle	Select to indicate that the warehouse is a vehicle.
Active	Select for any warehouse type, to indicate that the warehouse is active.
Address	Enter the physical address of the warehouse. This will be used when ordering for the warehouse. The address fields are disabled for “vehicle” type warehouses.
Phone	Enter the Phone number of the warehouse. The phone field is disabled for “vehicle” type warehouses.
Primary Warehouse	Mark your main warehouse as the primary warehouse.

4. Click Save

Note: A warehouse can be edited by clicking on the ellipsis under the Action column and selecting Edit Warehouse.

Managing Stock Items

Adding Stock Items to Warehouses

A stock item is used to represent a part which will be maintained in inventory. The Stock Item form allows you to identify location or Bin within a warehouse where the item will be stored, and it allows you to define the Minimum and Maximum quantity of the item that you intend to store within the warehouse. The Minimum and Maximum value are used to automate restocking and ordering.

You will create a stock item list for each warehouse.  A stock item list simply catalogs what you “normally” stock within the warehouse.  It does NOT affect quantity.

There are 3 ways to add stock to a warehouse:

• Manually add the stock items
• Import stock items
• Auto-create stock items

Manually Adding Stock Items

Use the Stock Item form to manually add stock items to a warehouse.  Adding a stock item using this method will add the item to the Stock Layout of the warehouse, but will not allow you to identify a quantity on hand. This must be performed through an Adjustment or Physical Count.

1. Open the Inventory Manager from the Purchasing module.
2. Select the Parts tab.
3. Click the +New Item button in the top left corner.

4. Enter the Item Number.  The Item's Counted, Valued, or Serialized status will be displayed by default based upon how the item is set up in the PriceBook.
5. Enter the Minimum and Maximum quantities that you wish to maintain for the item in the selected warehouse.
6. Select Save to save the item and exit the form.

Importing Stock Items to a Warehouse

You can copy the stock item list from one warehouse to another warehouse.  This is particularly useful when setting up your trucks as warehouses.  You can manually create a stock item list for one truck and import that list to the other trucks.

To import stock items from another warehouse:

1. Open the Inventory Manager and select the Stock / Warehouse tab.
2. Click the ellipsis under the Action column for a warehouse and select Import Stock Items.
3. Select the warehouse you want to Import from and click OK.

You can also use the Import option to update your warehouses once you have started processing so the import feature includes some override options.  For instance, you may reorganize your trucks and change the bin locations of the items.  You can change one truck and import the changes to the others.

• Skip duplicate item numbers -- will ignore duplicates and only add new items.
• Prompt for action on matching item numbers -- will ask if you wish to override or skip duplicates.
• Replace BinNo, Min, and Max for matching item numbers -- will override duplicates with the new stock items.

Overriding stock items will only replace the bin numbers, minimum and maximum quantities in your stock item list.  Remember, the stock item list does NOT affect quantity on hand.

 

Auto-creating Stock Items

If you do not have an item on a warehouse’s stock item list, Successware will add the item to the stock list when inventory transactions are processed.

To let the system automatically add stock items when a transaction is processed there is no special action required.  When you process an inventory transaction such as a receipt or transfer to a warehouse for an item that has not previously been set up as a stock item in that warehouse, the system will notify you that the transaction will result in a new stock item for that warehouse.

When a stock item is automatically added to a warehouse, the stock items will not have minimum and maximum quantities and the bin location will be listed as <New>.  This <New> designation will help you to find the item in the Stock/Warehouse view where you can edit the stock items to specify bin numbers and minimum and maximum quantities. To edit the item, click the View Stock option, make the appropriate changes and save.

Note: Even if you are not assigning a Bin number, you should still remove <New> from the Bin field so that the part does not cause confusion when additional parts are added in the future.

When initially setting up your Inventory allowing the system auto-stock the warehouses is not an effective method unless you are a building your inventory from scratch. (As in, you have NO current stock).
If you have existing inventory, the auto-stock is only effective for adding NEW items to your inventory stock list.

Receipts

Receipts are used to indicate that a part item has actually been received into stock at your company. A Receipt can be created from the Inventory Manager, the Purchase Order, or automatically through the AP Invoice form.

• To create a new Receipt from the Inventory Manager, click the Receipt button at the bottom of the page in the Transactions tab.
• To access the Receipt from the Purchasing Manager, click into a PO, and the available Receipts will show at the bottom of the screen.

The following screen will display.

Transfers

The Transfer form is used to move items from one warehouse to another (including “truck” warehouses).  The Item transferred to a warehouse can be specifically "tagged" for a job when it is transferred. If this is the case, the item will be considered "reserved" for the job, but it would still need to be requisitioned from the warehouse to the job.

A typical warehouse transfer may involve re-stocking a truck from the main warehouse. To transfer stock items from one warehouse to another, select the Transfer button from the Inventory Manager. After a transfer has been posted, a Received button will become available at the bottom of the transfer form. This button must be selected to complete the transfer. The Received button allows the receiving warehouse to confirm that the items have been transferred.

When using a transfer to restock you can use an Automated Restock Transfer to transfer stock based upon Minimum/Maximum quantity or item usage in a specified date range.

Once all transfer quantities have been entered, select Save to post the transfer.

To finish the transfer, and for the transfer to no longer be considered Incomplete, the Received button at the bottom of the form must be selected after the transfer has been posted. This allows a representative of the receiving warehouse to confirm the transfer.

Inventory Adjustments

Adjustments are made to inventory to accommodate changes to the on-hand quantity of items that are not the result of normal inventory transactions such as a requisition, return, purchase or transfer. To create an adjustment to inventory quantities or the item's cost, click the Adjust button from the Inventory Manager. 

The New Adjustment form is also used to process a physical count.

1. Use the drop-down menus to select the warehouse and adjustment codes.  The adjustment code will determine where the transaction will post in the General Ledger.
2. Click the + New Item button to add a line item.  
3. When all items have been entered, select Save
4. After verifying that the adjustment is correct, click Post to commit the adjustment. 

You can click Adjust to reverse the transaction.

Note: To process a Physical Count, click the ellipsis at the bottom and select Physical count.  The system will list the stock items for the warehouse.  

Performing a Physical Count

Periodically you will perform a physical count of your warehouse items.  You will record the physical count as an adjustment in the Inventory Manager.  A physical count adjustment will compare quantity on hand to the counted quantity and enter an adjustment quantity to make the quantity on hand the actual counted quantity.   For instance, if the system shows a quantity on hand of 5 but you count 6, the system will add a quantity of 1.

1. From the Inventory Manager select the Adjust button to open the Adjustment form.
2. Select the warehouse you wish to count, and then select the adjustment code you have set up for physical count.
3. Click the ellipsis at the bottom of the screen and select Physical count.  
   
4. Click Ok to save the stock list.
5. In the Edit Item screen, add the Item # and Description information.  After filling out the necessary fields, click Save.
   
6. Once all items have been corrected, click Post.

Note: If you continue to process purchases and requisitions, or other inventory transactions, after creating the physical count adjustment and prior to entering actual counts, you should delete the adjustment and create a new one when you are ready to enter counts.  The physical count adjustment memorizes the quantity on hand when the adjustment is created.  That is the quantity the system will use to determine the adjust quantity when you enter your counts.  

The system will debit or credit the inventory GL account based on whether the counted quantity was higher or lower than the original quantities.  The system will offset that entry with the account number identified on the Adjust code.

Managing Tags

What is a Tag? A Tag is information that is attached to an Item number. This information identifies things such as the item's serial number (if it is serialized), what job the item is intended for, how many of the item are required, and how many of the item have been pulled from inventory or purchased for the job.

There are 2 Types of Tags.

Warehouse Tags

A Warehouse tag is created when you:

• Receive an item into a warehouse AND specify a job number on the item.  These tags “reserve” the warehouse item for a job.
• Receive a Serialized Item into Inventory. The Warehouse tag identifies the serial number of the item.

Job Tags

A Job tag is created when you :

• Receive an item for a specific job, and not to a warehouse
• When you post a material requisition for a job

Serialized items always create tags when they are added to inventory.  The tag is what contains the serial number for each item as it is recorded.

• Use the Warehouse Tag Manager to manage warehouse and serial number tags as well as create Manual Tags.
• Use the Job Inventory Tag Manager to resolve job tags.

Tags are maintained as you Requisition or Returns items from/to a warehouse and by resolving and verifying them during job costing.

Additionally you will need to be sure that there are not outstanding or unapplied tags in your system. These are tags that may have been created for a job or warehouse, but then not used or which have not been applied to jobs and may need to be removed from the system.

Processing Part Items as Job Cost

Processing Part items that will be included as job cost on an invoice includes:

• Tagging all necessary parts for the job via purchase, requisition or by manually tagging the items.
• Listing all part items used on the job in the Part Itemization screen of the AR Invoice. These parts are either there as a result of being included in a Task as detail, being manually added, or importing tags that already have been created for a job.
• Using the Job Tag Manager to confirm that the quantities of the part items listed in the job costing screens of the AR invoice match the quantities of the parts that have been tagged to the job. This includes requisitioning additional parts and returning part items as necessary.
• Verifying the Part Itemization on the Invoice involves:
  • Updating the cost of the part items listed on the invoice so that the standard cost of listed parts is replaced with the actual cost of items purchased to the job or the average cost of items that have been pulled from inventory.
  • Once the Verify process has been completed, the tags for the part items where Tagged quantity equals Invoice Quantity are resolved, which results in the deletion of the tags.

Requisitions

You request items to be pulled for a job in the Requisition form.  Requisitions can be created from the Inventory Manager or the Tag Manager in the Cost Entry screen of the accounts receivable invoice.

To Create a Material Requisition

• From the Inventory Manager – select the Requisition button.
• From Job Details of the Dispatch screen – click the ellipsis in the top left and select + Requisition.
• Material Requisitions can also be created based upon a Sales Quote.

1. Use the drop-down lists to select the warehouse and job for which you are requesting items.  
2. Use the Request Qty to enter the quantity you wish to have pulled from Inventory and the Pulled Qty to indicate the quantity you actually removed from Inventory.
3. Once all requested items have been entered, select Save to save the list.  
4. After all items have been “pulled” select Post to post the requisition.
5. You may click Adjust to reverse the transaction.

Note: If you are not using the Requisition form to create a picking ticket, and have already pulled the items from stock, you can just enter the Pulled Qty to record the transaction. 

When the material requisition is posted the quantity will decrease for counted items.  The cost of valued items will move from Inventory and be charged as expense based upon the Expense Type of the items.

Purchase Balance

If you are creating a Requisition and some of the listed items are not currently in stock, you can automatically create a Purchase Order for the remaining balance of items.

To Create a Purchase Order for the Remaining Balance of a Requisition

1. Open the Requisition and list all the items needed for the job as you normally would.
2. Any items that are currently in stock can have their Pulled Qty listed in full.
3. For any items that are not in stock or current stock is insufficient to meet the requested quantity, be sure to list the entire required quantity in the Requested Qty field and the available quantity in the Pulled Qty. If there are none of the required item in stock put a Zero in the Pulled Qty field.
4. Post the Requisition for the available items as you normally would.
5. Select the ellipsis at the bottom of the screen and click Purchase Balance.
   
   

A Purchase Order will open which will list items from the requisition that had a Pulled Qty less than the Requested Qty. The quantity ordered of the items will be Requested Qty minus Pulled Qty of each item.

6. Choose a Vendor for the Purchase Order and complete it as you normally would.

Returns

Warehouse Returns are used to resolve tags on items that were previously tagged for a job but not used on the job by adding them back to the inventory stock of a warehouse.  Once returned to a warehouse, part items can also be returned to a vendor by recording a negative receipt. Returns can be created from the INVENTORY MANAGER, or the JOB INVENTORY TAG MANAGER. The JOB INVENTORY TAG MANAGER is available from the Job Costing screen of an AR where you will have an option to return items as you resolve job tags. 

Note: If you are returning parts to a vendor that have previously been tagged to a job the parts must first be returned to the warehouse before you process the return receipt. This is so that the tags created by requisitioning or purchasing the items to the job can be resolved.

To Return Parts from the INVENTORY MANAGER, select the Return button.

1. Use the drop-down list to select the Warehouse to which you will return the items.
2. Enter the Date and any Comments that you wish.
3. Select the Job for the unused items.  The system will ask you to confirm the job.
4. When you select OK to confirm the job, the system will populate the Return with all items that were tagged for the job whose tags were not resolved.
5. Select Save to save the list.
6. Once all edits have been saved, select Post to post the return.

Posting a warehouse return will increase the quantity of the returned items in the warehouse.  The cost of valued items will be removed as expense and returned to the asset account associated with Inventory.

Manual Tags

You can manually tag warehouse items for a job in the WAREHOUSE TAG MANAGER.  Manually tagging an item will mark the part as "reserved" for the job but will not prevent others from removing it from stock. The item will still need to be requisitioned to the appropriate job. The quantity and value of the item are not affected until the tagged item is requisitioned to a job.

To Manually Tag an Item for a Job:

1. Open the Inventory Manager.
2. Click the Warehouse Tags button in the top right corner.
3. The WAREHOUSE TAG MANAGER will open.
4. Click the + New Item button in the top left corner.
5. Enter the JobNo, the WarehouseNo, TagQty (quantity you wish to reserve for the job) and ItemNumber.
6. Press Save to close the form.
   

Applying Tagged Part Items as Cost on an AR Invoice

Once a job tag is created for an item, the item needs to be included in the costing screen of an AR invoice so that it can be calculated toward the job cost and help you to determine your margin on the invoice and job.

Until the tagged items are listed as costed part items, the verification process of the invoice cannot be completed.

Tagged items can be applied as cost on an A/R Invoice by selecting the tagged items from a list of tagged items for the Job. This action is performed in Tag Import option of  the Part Itemization screen when job costing an A/R Invoice.  Once they are selected they will be listed as part cost in the Part Itemization view.

Note: If the items you have tagged for a job have already been listed as job cost on the invoice, either manually or if they were listed as the result of being the assigned part detail of a flat rate task, the part tags will not need to be imported. If Successware can match the tagged item with the listed item it will assume that the listed item IS the tagged item and you can move on to the verification process.

To Apply Tagged Items as Cost to an A/R Invoice:

1. Navigate to the Invoice Manager from the Customer Service module.
2. After entering invoice items, select the ellipsis on the right and click the Enter Cost option.
3. The Line Item Cost Entry form will open.
4. Any items that were tagged but were not marked as used on the job must be returned to a warehouse.

• Items that have been tagged by posting a requisition or were purchased directly to a job (did not post into a warehouse) will display a tag indicating that the only action necessary is to verify the tags.
• Items that were received into a warehouse but were tagged for the job include both warehouse and job tags.  They must be requisitioned in order to resolve the tag.

Note: If an item was tagged with a department other that the one that performed the job you will be required to return the item to inventory and then re-requisition the item using the correct job department.

Once all tagged parts have been added as Part Itemization you must then Verify and Resolve the Job Tags.

Verifying and Resolving Job Tags

The Job Inventory Tag Manager is used to verify that the quantities of items that have been tagged for a job matched the quantity of part items listed as cost on the invoice. The Job Inventory Tag Manager can be used to Requisition and Return part items as needed to correct quantities that do not match.

Once the quantities have been validated, the Verify Part Cost process performs the Verification and Resolution of the Tags. This removes the tags from the system and essentially "finishes" the inventory transaction. If verification and resolution of the Job Tags is not performed, the tags are not removed from the system and the inventory transaction is considered incomplete.

You can use the Warehouse Tag Manager to find Unresolved Tags. If there are unresolved Warehouse tags remaining from a job, they can be deleted there.

To Verify and Resolve the Tags:

1. The Job Inventory Tag Manager is accessed from the Invoice Manager.  From the Main Menu, select Customer Service option, and click Invoice Manager.
2. Find the appropriate invoice and click the Open Invoice button.
3. Navigate to the Item Details subtab.
4. Click the ellipsis under the Action column next to a line item and select, Enter Cost.
   
5. Click the Verify Part Cost button.
6. This will open the Job Inventory Tag Manager. 
   

The Job Inventory Tag Manager compares the tagged quantity to the quantity on the invoice.  

• Items whose tagged and invoiced quantities match require no action other than to update the invoice cost.  
• Items whose tagged quantities are greater than invoiced quantities require you to post a return.  The quantity that must be returned is displayed in the Qty to Return column.
• Items whose tagged quantities are less than invoiced quantities require you to post a requisition.  The quantity that must be requisitioned is displayed in the Qty to Requisition column.

If requisitions or returns are necessary, place a check in the appropriate column and select the warehouse that should be affected by the transaction.  Then click Post Inventory Transactions.

Once the inventory transactions have been posted, and all tagged and on invoice quantities match, click the Update Invoice Cost button.  The Update Invoice Cost button will Verify and Resolve (delete) the tags.

The Update Invoice Cost button will also modify the invoice cost associated with the listed part items. Initially when a part item is listed as job cost, the Standard Cost of the item as listed in the PriceBook is used.

• Items that were requisitioned from inventory will be updated with the item's average cost in inventory.
• Items that were directly purchased to the job will have their cost replaced with the actual purchase price of the item per the AP invoice that was posted which included the item or the expected cost (from the Purchase Order) if the AP Invoice has not yet been posted.

Inventory Maintenance

As you process daily inventory transactions there may be situations that must be corrected or periodically maintained.  For instance, you may need to cost items used on a job before they have been recorded as having been received into the warehouse thus creating a negative quantity situation.  Or, you may requisition a serialized item from a warehouse before it has been recorded as received.  Or, you may have received an item at the wrong cost and the average cost is now incorrect. You will also need to restock your warehouses and process vendor returns.

Item Value Correction

You can adjust the value and average cost of an item in the Item Value Correction form. 

1. To open the Item Value Correction form, go to the Parts view of the Inventory Manager.
2. Use the selection filters to display the desired parts.  
3. Select the ellipsis in the Action column on the right for an item.
4. Click the Item Value Correction option.

Note: You can also select the Value Correction button at the bottom of the Part Item form of the PriceBook.

The Item Value Correction tab contains two tabs:

• Quantity- Use the Quantity page of the Item Value Correction form to confirm that the total on hand quantity of the item matches the total of all warehouses. If the sum of the warehouse quantities doesn't match the total quantity, the system will give instructions to make the necessary changes.
• Value- Use the Value page of the Item Value Correction form to correct the Value of an inventory item.

The form will display the total quantity on hand for each warehouse.  If the sum of the warehouse quantities doesn't match the total quantity, the system will give instructions to make the necessary changes.

5. The system will recalculate the item total to match warehouse quantities and confirm the change. 
6. In the Value subtab, If the item’s value is correct, select Value is correct.
   
   
   
7. If the item’s value is not correct, select Adjust value and the system will enable the editing fields. Enter the new Average Cost for the item.
8. Use the drop-down menus to select the appropriate Adjustment code and Department.
9. When all necessary changes have been made, select Save Value Correction to post the changes.

Correcting <Zero Quantity Situations

When an item drops below a quantity of zero the system “locks in” the average cost at the time the quantity went negative.  The system will continue to use the locked in average cost until the item is reset to start calculating the average again.  

You will reset the average cost calculation by performing a value correction on the item. If the value is correct for the item, you will simply select an adjustment code and department and finish, accepting the existing cost.  

You can use the Inventory Control reports to find items requiring inspection.  When you run the Part Valuation report you may see items that have a negative quantity.

Serialized Tag Review

You will correct serial number discrepancies in the Serial Numbers tab of the Warehouse Tag Manager.  Select the Check Serialized Tags button to search for serial number discrepancies.  If the system finds any discrepancies, select the Serial Numbers tab to make the necessary corrections.

The system will display the serialized items with improper tags and use the indicators to display the type of problem with the tags.  

If a serialized item has a negative stock quantity, you must enter an adjustment to increase the quantity to zero using a fictitious serial number.  Then you must run the serialized tag check again and make corrections to the serial numbers.

Vendor Returns

Vendor returns require adjustments to inventory and to the vendor account.  You can record both of these transactions by posting a single negative receipt to inventory.

These instructions were created with the assumption that you have activated inventory.  They also assume that you have posted the vendor’s invoice for the purchase of the item, and you expect a credit invoice or a refund from the vendor.  

If you have not activated inventory, the steps described in this article can still be used to track vendor returns and refunds.  However, the system will not affect quantities of items and the general ledger will not be affected by the negative receipt.

To Process the Return

You will record the return by:

• Resolving outstanding job tags, and
• Posting a negative receipt to inventory  

Returning Items to the Warehouse and Resolving Job Tags

If there are outstanding job tags for the item, you must return the unused item to a warehouse to resolve the tag before processing the vendor return.  A job tag is created when you:

• Purchase an item for a job and do not receive it into a warehouse
• Post a material requisition for the job

Note: If the item was purchased for a job and was also received into a warehouse, recording the negative receipt will resolve the job tag.  You may move on to recording a Negative Receipt.
-or-
If inventory is not active in your company you do not need to perform the return, instead, just record the negative receipt.

To Return Items to the Warehouse and Resolve Job Tags

1. Open the Inventory Manager.
2. Select the Return button at the bottom of the form.
3. Use the drop-down to select the Warehouse you will use when you return the item to the vendor.
4. Enter the Date you wish to use for a post date.
5. Use the Comments field to enter any applicable notes.
6. Click Save to save your progress.
7. Enter or select the Job No. for which the item was purchased.
8. Enter the quantity that is being returned and select Save to save the changes.
9. Click the Post button.

The system will populate the return with all outstanding tags for the job. 

Note: The Return will be populated with all outstanding tags for the job.  If there are items that you still need to apply to the job and do not wish to return them, change the returned quantity to 0 for those items.

Vendor Credits and Refunds

When you post a negative receipt to return an item or items to a vendor, the system automatically creates an un-posted AP Credit Invoice.

If you have posted a Negative Receipt to represent the item returned to the vendor and the vendor sends you a credit invoice which you can apply to your next payment, there is only one step necessary to record the invoice, post the Un-posted Vendor Credit Invoice to the vendor's account.

If the vendor refunds your payment by either issuing a check or cash, or crediting your credit card, you will post the invoice that was created by the receipt leaving a credit invoice as an open item in the vendor’s account.  When you record the actual refund, you will allocate the refund to the credit transaction.

If you have not activated Inventory, you may also manually create a Negative Vendor Invoice without creating a negative receipt.

Recording a Vendor Credit Invoice

When you have returned parts to a vendor, or if you have received a Credit Invoice from a vendor, you can build a negative AP Invoice to represent the credit in the Vendor's Account History.  The credit will appear in the vendor’s account history as a separate item with a transaction type of CRM.  Once the credit invoice is recorded on the vendor's account, you will then be able to:

• Select the credit item (along with invoices you must pay) when creating a payment to the vendor to reduce the net check you will send to the vendor by the amount of the credit.
• If the vendor issues you a cash, check or credit card refund, the refund can be allocated to Credit Invoice.

Accounts Payable Credit Invoices can be created or opened from the:

• Invoice Manager - click the ellipsis under the Action column and select Add an Invoice.
• Payables Manager - click the New Invoice button.
• A Negative Receipt - an un-posted credit invoice will be created automatically when the negative receipt is posted. The existing credit invoice can then be found in the Un-posted Invoices view of the Payables Manager.

To Post a Credit Invoice

1. Open an existing, un-posted Credit Invoice from the Un-posted Invoices view of the Payables Manager (Credit Invoices will appear with a negative TotalAmount in the list) or create a new Vendor invoice using one of the methods listed above.
2. If you have created a Negative PO for the selected vendor that you have not yet recorded a receipt for, you can select the PO from the PO # field to create the Credit Invoice directly. The Credit Invoice will be populated with the line items from the Negative PO.
3. If you are not using inventory and want to track that you will have received a credit for items purchased for a specific job, you can include the Job Number in the Job No field.
   If you are using Inventory and the items represented on the credit were returned to the warehouse from a job (as described in Vendor Returns) DO NOT enter a job number as that will create a negative job tag that will have to be manually deleted.
4. Enter the Invoice Date. The Due Date will default based upon your terms with the vendor.
5. Enter a unique Vendor Invoice Number.
6. If you have opened an un-posted invoice that was created based on a posted negative receipt, the line items on the Credit Invoice will automatically be populated with the line items from the negative receipt. If you are creating the credit invoice from scratch, click + Add Item to add line items to the invoice for which you are receiving credit. When adding items be sure to use a negative value in the Qty field. 
7. If you have already received a refund from the vendor and want to post the refund as part of the Credit Invoice, you can click the Apply Payments button. If you will be applying the Credit Invoice to future payments to the vendor or are still awaiting a vendor refund, do not record a payment.

• If you received a cash or check refund- Choose your Undeposited Funds account from the Register Account field and record the payment information.
• If you received a direct credit to your bank account- Choose the bank account from the Register Account field (Bank Credit will be selected by default as the Pay By) and record the payment information.
• If the refund was applied directly to your credit card- Select the credit card account from the Register Account filed (Credit Card will be selected by default as the Pay By) and record the rest of the payment information.
  

8. If you are posting a credit that will be given to you (or that a refund will be applied against) which will have its total reduced by the amount of a discount that you took related to the original purchase, you can apply the discount to the Credit Invoice as well. Move to the discount field near the bottom of the invoice. The discount percentage and amount can be edited if necessary. The invoice will be posted at its full value as a reduction of expense and as an AP Credit, however when the credit is applied or a refund from the vendor is allocated to the credit the credit or refund will be equal to the AFTER discount amount of the credit invoice. 
   
9. Post the Invoice when finished.  If the Credit Invoice contains a discount, you will be prompted to confirm that you want the Credit Invoice to include the discount. 

The transaction will appear on the vendor’s account history as a transaction type CRM. 

General Ledger Effects of Posting the Invoice:

The General Ledger effect of posting a Credit Invoice depends on whether or not you have activated Inventory in Successware.

• If Inventory has been activated and the Credit Invoice was created based on a previously posted Negative Receipt:
  • Items that are marked as “valued” will credit pending payables and debit accounts payables.
  • Items that are not marked as “valued” will debit accounts payable and credit the account that is assigned to the expense type associated with the line item.
• If Inventory has not been activated or the Credit Invoice is not based on inventoried items, the invoice will debit accounts payable and credit the account that is assigned to the expense type associated with the line item.
  
  

Recording a Vendor Refund

If you have paid a vendor and the vendor refunds your payment by either issuing a check or cash, or crediting your credit card, you will need to both record the refund you have received as well as create a Credit Invoice which reverses the original expenses related to the items you purchased. This Credit Invoice can be created manually or automatically based upon a negative receipt (which can be used to remove the item from your inventory stock if you have inventory active). Once you post the Credit Invoice it will appear as an open credit item on the vendor's account.  When you record the actual refund, you will allocate the refund to the credit transaction.

You will record the vendor refund in the Vendor Account History form.  You can enter the refund as cash, a check, or refund to your credit card.

To Record a Vendor Refund

1. Open the Payables Manager and locate the vendor account that issued the refund.
2. Select the ellipsis under the Actions column and click on the Vendor Account History.
3. Look for the transaction in the list and select the ellipsis under the Actions column and click Refund.
   
4. Choose the account to which you wish to receive the refund.  

• If the refund is cash or a check, you should receive it into the default receipt account (undeposited funds).
• If the refund is a credit to your credit card account, select the appropriate credit card account.
• If the refund is a direct credit to your bank account, select the appropriate bank account.

Note: If you have selected Undeposited Funds be sure that the correct Refund By option is selected, either Cash or Check.

7. Enter the correct Check Number or Reference for the refund.
8. Enter or accept the date.
9. The lower half of the window displays open items for the vendor. If you selected a Credit item in the Vendor Account History before selecting the Refund button, that credit item will be selected. If the refund you received also covers other listed items, select those credit items as well. The amount of the refund will be determined by the total of the outstanding credits that you select.
   

A few options are available under the Actions column:

Menu Option	Effect
Edit amount/discount	To make changes to the refund amount (i.e. partial refund) or the amount of the discount.
On Hold	This option allows you to add a comment before placing that item on hold for now.
Take Discounts	Use this option to take discounts on items that are past the discount due date. The system will automatically take available discounts on items that are prior to the discount due date.

10. Confirm that the Amount of the refund is correct (it will be a negative number), then select Post to post the transaction.

• Refunds that were made by cash or check will appear in the un-deposited funds account where they can be reconciled and included in the appropriate deposit.  
• Refunds made to your credit card account will appear in the register for the account as an addition to the account balance.
• Refunds made as direct credits to a bank account will appear as a deposit in the register for that bank account.

Restocking a Warehouse

Warehouses can be stocked by either transferring items to the warehouse from another warehouse or by directly purchasing items to the warehouse.

An Automated Restock Transfer allows you to automatically create a transfer to restock any truck/warehouse based upon either reaching the minimum on-hand quantity of an item or usage of items in a defined date range.

Automated restock transfers can be used as means of restocking trucks with stock from the main warehouse.

Purchase Orders can also be created to restock a warehouse using the Purchasing Wizard.

To Create an Automated Restock Transfer:

1. From the Inventory Manager, click the Transfer button at the bottom of the screen.
2. Select the warehouses.
3. Enter a Date for the transfer.
4. Enter a Comment if necessary.
5. Click the Save button.
6. Select either Based on Min/Max or Based on Usage.

• Based on Min/Max

This option will build a restock transfer for restocking the TO warehouse based on the TO warehouse/stock item setup (min/max vs. quantity on-hand).  This list will take into consideration the current orders for a part.  If stock part XYZ in warehouse A, has a Min/Max of 30/50, and:

• your current on-hand quantity (when the transfer is built) is 28,
• you have 10 XYZs on order,
• the transfer will recommend a requested quantity of 12 (max – onhand – onorder; or 50-28-10)

• Based on Usage

This option will build a transfer for restocking the TO warehouses, based on Usage/transaction history for the TO warehouse for a date range.  This usage transaction history consists of the transactions created from the posting of requisition and returns only.  If you used 50 of part XYZ from warehouse A, the wizard will recommend an order of 50 of part XYZ for warehouse A. When selecting “Based on Usage” you will be prompted to specify a date range for usage.

7. Save the Transfer
8. Click the Post button to process the Inventory transaction.

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