Data Import and Export

Data Import and Export

Posted on by Foresiight

Simplify Your Stock File Updates

Many industry suppliers are now providing their business customers with monthly or quarterly electronic price file updates and promotions.  Manually updating pricing can be laborious and inaccurate, which can lead to selling items below margin or incorrectly quoting customers.

Automate your price updates and stock file changes with Data Import/Export

Using the Data Import/Export module, you can update all relevant information from the spreadsheets or text files provided by your supplier, including cost price changes, with the ability to recalculate sell prices after updating.

Data Import/Export also provides the ability to upload your entire supplier catalogue into a separate lookup catalogue. This allows you to review product pricing for special orders, and transfer a product into your main stock file with a single click when you need to sell or purchase it.  Keeping non stocked items contained in a lookup file keeps your stock file clean and simple – if you don’t sell it then you won’t need to browse through it when searching for stock items at the point of sale.

In addition to importing price files from your suppliers, the Data Import/Export module also includes a number of other useful features for importing/exporting data and applying bulk updates to your system.

FEATURES

  • Import supplier product catalogues from spreadsheet
  • Bulk updates to your Main Stock File and/or Supplier Lookup Catalogues
  • Import promotions / catalogue pricing
  • Customisable to suit many different file formats
  • Bulk update prices (Cost and Sell) by percentage or dollar
  • Bulk update selected Product properties from a spreadsheet (e.g. Product Descriptions)
  • Export your price file to a spreadsheet file for customers
  • Import from a spreadsheet/CSV into a Purchase Order

Call Foresiight on (07) 3356 2772 or email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au for information and pricing on the Data Import/Export module, or to arrange a training session.

Helpful Tips for Stocktaking

Posted on by Foresiight

Here are some helpful hints and reminders to make all that counting worthwhile.

  • Ensure that all Stock Receipts (Purchase Invoices / Delivery Dockets) have been entered, if those products are to be counted.
  • The optimal time to perform a Stocktake is outside of trading hours – it’s difficult to accurately count your stock when customers are walking around your store with a basket full!
  • Remember to set your Stocktake Freeze Point before you start counting. This takes a snapshot of the current quantity On Hand for all stock at this point in time. Later, when the Generate Stocktake Adjustment Batch process is initiated, this snapshot is what is used to determine the difference between your “theoretical” On Hand quantities and your “physical” counts in order to determine the required adjustment quantities.
  • Take note of committed stock (i.e. products that are on an incomplete Invoice or Jobcard):
         • Where the stock is committed prior to being counted, the committed quantity must be added onto the count.
         • Where the stock is committed after being counted, the committed quantity must be ignored
  • Use your StockMate Device! It will save a huge amount of time and reduce errors when compared to using paper-based Stocktake Worksheets.
  • If you generate an Interim Stocktake, any products that are not counted will not be adjusted.  If you wish to bring a product back to nil on hand, you will need to enter a Stock Count of zero.
  • Make use of the List of Items Without Count report – this will be useful when stocktaking by Supplier or by Product Group.
  • Check your Stocktake Discrepancy Report – it is advantageous to run your eyes over this report to ensure counts are accurate, double-checking any high value products as well as those with a large discrepancy to be adjusted.

What is the difference between Interim and Full Stocktakes?

Interim Stocktake – will adjust only items that are counted.
Full Stocktake – will adjust all items.  Items with a quantity on hand, but no count entered, will be adjusted back to zero.

Always take a database backup before processing a Full Stocktake

StockMate

Stocktaking Steps Quick Overview

  • Set a Freeze Point before beginning the stocktake
  • Print Stocktake worksheets and record your counts, or use StockMate mobile to record your counts
  • Run the List Items without Count report to check if anything has been missed
  • Run the Stocktake Discrepancy Report to see what adjustments will be generated
  • Generate your stocktake adjustment batch
  • Print and Post the adjustments Journal

You can read our full knowledge base article on Stocktakes on the Client Portal – or call the Foresiight team to book in a training session with one of our consultants.

Are you ready for June 30?

Are you ready for June 30?

Posted on by Foresiight

Top tips for end of financial year

Our team has compiled a handy list of tasks, reports and checks to help you prepare for end of financial year.

Things you can do NOW

Review Open Documents

Now is a great time to tidy up any unfinished work. Check for open documents using the following reports.

Sales Orders & Invoicing

  • Reports | Sales in Progress | Work in Progress report – check for unfinalised invoices and jobcards.
  • Reports | Sales in Progress | Sales in Progress report – check for unfinalised sales orders/backorders.
  • Sales | Invoice & Payments Journal – check for any unposted invoices from previous days.

Stock & Purchasing

  • Receiving | Print Stock Receipts Proof list – for any unbalanced supplier invoices.
  • Receiving | Print Unposted invoices list – for any unposted supplier invoices.  

Perform a Stocktake

Most businesses will perform a full stocktake at or around end of financial year. This is necessary in order to provide your accountant with an accurate stock valuation, and to report movement in stock value from the prior year. Your StockMate mobile scanner will be a necessity at this time of year!

Run AR & AP Reconciliation Reports

The reconciliation reports will compare the movement from each module to the control account in General Ledger and display any variances.  The reconciliation reports can be found in each module under Reports | Reconciliation Reports, there are several options, single period view, month by month view and all periods from selected period.   If there are any variances between the ledgers and the GL control accounts please seek assistance.  You can contact your accountant, or book some consultancy time with one of our consultants.

Run AR & AP Sub Ledger Verification Reports

This is located in General Ledger | Reports | Reconcile to AR/AP Ledgers and ensures all batches posted from AP and AR modules have been posted successfully into the General Ledger.  
As above, if you find a discrepancy here, seek advice asap or book a consultancy session.

Run Trial Balance and ensure the movement columns balance

If a year-end close has not been performed for the previous year, there will be an imbalance in the Trail Balance columns. Your debit and credit movement columns should always balance. Where there is an imbalance between the debit and credit movement columns, this will most likely be due to an unbalanced batch. The Transaction audit report has an option to show unbalanced batches only. Seek specialist advise if this is not the case.

Check Stock Valuation matches the GL Stock Accounts

Run your Stock Valuation report and compare this to the value of stock in your Balance sheet (consolidated version). This provides two different views of the net value of your stock on hand. It is not unusual to have small differences due to timing, but generally the two numbers should remain relatively closely aligned. It’s best to check this early – don’t wait until after year end.

One reason why you might find an imbalance is if you have made manual adjustments to the Average Cost of any products throughout the year and not adjusted the General Ledger to reflect this. You may need to do some end of year journals to bring this valuation back in line. This is best done after a full stocktake, unless you have been performing regular rolling stocktakes – in which case you might do smaller monthly journals throughout the year. Contact your Accountant if you are unsure.

Catch up on your Purchase Invoices

Ensure that all Purchase Invoices and Delivery Dockets have been entered, wherever possible. Enter your stock Invoices via Stock & Purchasing and your non-stock Invoices via Accounts Payable. You’ll want to have your stock and accounts all up to date when end of year comes around.

Tasks to complete on June 30

Post all Sales Invoices and Purchase Invoices

At the close of business, post all Sales Invoices and Purchase Invoices where possible.  If your system is configured for overnight posting, ensure that you are able to take a backup after posting and before trade starts for July 1.  You can manually post in Sales Orders & Invoicing | Sales | Update Sales & Payments.

Run your AR and AP Aged Balances Reports

These reports can’t be printed retrospectively so if you need these reports for your accountant, run them now. Note that you can save them to PDF, Excel or Text file for future use. It is a good idea to be doing this on a monthly basis in case you need to refer to previous months’ reports.

Run a Stock Valuation Report

At close of business on June 30, run your Stock Valuation report and save it to PDF or Excel. Again, it is a good idea to run this report at the end of each month and save a copy.

Open the new Financial Year

To open the upcoming financial year, go to General Ledger | Periods | Open/Close Financial Periods and in the box in the lower-right corner, type in the year and click OK. This step can actually be done at any time in the lead up to the new year.

Update your AP Period

If most or all of your Purchase Invoices have been entered for June, you can now update your AP period. Note that you can still manually change the period on individual Invoices during stock receipting if you need to back-date or forward-date an Invoice. AP | Monthly | Update current AP Period.

Update your AR Period

As per your normal end of month process, you’ll want to update your AR period ready for trading the next day. AR | Monthly | Update current AR Period.

Take a Backup

It is best to take a full backup of your data as at 30 June, in case this is needed down the track.  It may also be a good time to copy to the Training system. This can be handy in the coming days if you’ve forgotten to run any reports. You can copy to training via Administration | Other | Copy to Training System.

You’re all ready for EOFY!

Following these steps will help make your End of Financial Year as smooth as possible. Every business is different, so there are sure to be other things that you’ll want to include in your own end of year process.

If you’d like a refresher on any of these processes, or if this is your first EOFY, you can book in a training session with a Foresiight Consultant.

Know Your Backup

Know Your Backup

Posted on by Foresiight

How well do you know your backup routine?

Many small/medium business owners are not aware that they are not sufficiently protecting their business against data loss.  Simply backing up your data isn’t enough – do you review and monitor your backups and take a backup off-site?

A good functioning backup allows a business to have peace of mind. It’s important to know you are protected not only when a malicious attack happens to the computer network, but also when a file is accidentally deleted or modified. A good working backup allows you to be up and running again with minimal downtime.

It is recommended that you not only perform your backup on a daily basis, but keep multiple versions of these backups. This will ensure that you can restore files from the most recent backup, or go back to an earlier version if required.

Backups should not remain in the same building as the data they are backing up. At least one backup should be taken off-site at all times, either by means of external drives or RDX tape backups. We recommend a minimum of two external drives/RDX Tapes in your backup rotation.

Foresiight recommends using the BackupAssist software package, but there are many other great products available and your IT Technician will likely have a recommendation. If you would like some advice on your backup solution, don’t hesitate to call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Save Time and Improve Accuracy with Integrated EFTPOS

Posted on by Foresiight

Are you still spending time after the close of trade trying to balance your EFTPOS with your end of day sales reports?

Integrated EFTPOS is an essential part of doing business. Foresiight can help you to configure and install your integrated EFTPOS terminal – there’s no reason to be manually keying EFTPOS transactions!

Stop struggling with incorrectly keyed transactions and integrate today!  With support for TYRO or LINKLY (formerly PC-EFTPOS), integrating is flexible and easy. For more information on Integrated EFTPOS, email Foresiight today at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Benefits of Integrated EFTPOS

  • Hands free transactions – your customers are responsible for tapping/swiping and processing their transaction
  • No manual entry means no over/under payments
  • End of day reconciliation is a breeze – EFTPOS totals and POS system totals are kept inline
  • Staff can’t forget to process the card payment – transactions that are tendered as EFTPOS will not finalise without being put through the EFT machine
  • Support for both LINKLY and TYRO means greater flexibility and ease of installation
  • If your current terminal is LINKLY capable, you may be able to enable integration without needing new terminals

With a wide range of banks supported by LINKLY and TYRO, you have the flexibility to negotiate your rates and take advantage of integrated EFTPOS, without being tied to one provider.  To find out if your terminals support integrated EFTPOS, contact your financial institution.

Deposits on Jobs and Orders

Posted on by Foresiight

Deposits

Deposits can be applied to Jobcards, Sales Orders and Backorders. They can be applied to a blank document (no stock lines assigned yet), they can be a part payment, payment in full or over the value of the job.  

In the event you accept backorders on Sales Invoices, where a backorder will be created, the remaining deposit will carry over to the backorder and continue to do so until fully redeemed. Deposits are only redeemed during finalisation of an Invoice. There are several ways to access the sales entry screen, this includes the Sales module, Customer Relationship and Scheduler. 

Setup Parameters
Select Administration on the ProfiitPlus Main menu, go to System | System Defaults. Click on the Sales tab. You will see at the bottom of the window a Customer Deposits box. Double click and select your desired GL account.

Jobcard

Start a Jobcard.  From the Header or Item Detail tabs, click the Deposit button.  Enter the Payment Amount, this can be the total of the sale or a part payment. Select tendering type, select Receipt type, click OK to finalise payment. 

NOTE:

  • Payment date can be amended if applying a payment received on a previous day. 
  • Split payments are accepted. 
  • Gift or store cards can be used, these are restricted to one voucher per deposit.  
  • Loyalty points cannot be used for deposits. 

Learn More

To read the full article on Deposits on Jobs and Orders, go to our Client Portal.

Want a training session on Deposits and Sales Order workflows? Call or email the Foresiight team to book in a training session with one of our consultants.

Christmas Tips for Your Business

Christmas Tips for Your Business

Posted on by Foresiight

Christmas is upon us!  Whether you are closed over Christmas or have extended trading hours, there are some important things to remember.

If you are closing over the Christmas period – shut down all unnecessary workstations and devices.

  • Unplug all devices that won’t be in use, in case the Summer storms cause power surges.
  • If you are in a low-lying area, make sure all equipment is up off the floor at a safe height in case of heavy rains.
  • Make sure your backups are working correctly and ensure you have an up to date backup to take offsite over the holiday period.

Don’t just assume your backups are ok – check, check, and check again (let us know if you need some help)!

If you have some late night trading coming up, check that any overnight processes, such as automatic posting, are scheduled outside of trading hours.

If closing up before the end of December, processing end of month will be no different to normal – this is best done on the last day before closing for the holiday.

Roll over your AR, AP, and GL periods ready for January trading.

Maintaining a healthy system

This holiday period might also be a good time to do some archiving and purging of old data from your ProfiitPlus or Alchemii system, while nobody is using the software.

Some businesses remain open over the Christmas period but are a little quieter than usual. This is a great time to do some system maintenance and tie up a few loose ends. Refer to documentation on the Support Centre for guidance, or enquire about our training sessions.

If you know you have some tidying up to do but aren’t sure where to start, or just don’t want to tackle it yourself, we can take care of it for you as part of our extended Professional Services options. Give us a call today or email solutions@foresiight.com.au for more info.

And most importantly, enjoy this wonderful time of year with family and friends!

Did You Know? ProfiitPlus Integrated SMS Functionality

Did You Know? ProfiitPlus Integrated SMS Functionality

Posted on by Foresiight
SMS Key features

SMS is a great way to keep in touch with customers (and sometimes even suppliers). ProfiitPlus/Alchemii includes functionality to send SMS messages from various parts of the system.

Before using SMS you need to register your system – please contact Foresiight Support and we can help set this up for you.

There are a number of areas that you can send an SMS from:

• Your Customer List in the CRM module

• The Sales Entry screen – when you update the status of a transaction (e.g. ready for pickup)

• The bulk marketing facility in CRM

• Loyalty module & more.

Email or phone Foresiight on (07) 3356 2772 to get connected today.

Status Code Setup

One of the most powerful ways to utilise integrated SMS is the Status Codes on Sales Documents.  You can setup status codes to text predefined messages to the customer, to keep them updated on the progress of their sale.  Go to Sales Orders & Invoicing | Sales | Settings | Enter/Edit Status Codes.  Select your status code to modify the SMS text and flag for an operator prompt:

Status Codes
Sending an SMS from the Sales Screen

Whether you are invoicing through Customer Relationship Module or Sales & Invoicing, you can utilise the SMS prompts on sales documents when setting or changing a document status.

Start your sale as normal and proceed to the Header Tab of your sales document.

ProfiitPlus SMS from Sales

Select your contact from the drop down list where applicable – this will allow SMS messages to be sent to the individual Contact’s mobile phone number instead of the primary customer mobile number.  Select your status from the “Status” drop down box.

If you have a predefined status setup (per above) you will automatically be prompted to send an SMS with a prefilled message, which you can review and edit before sending.

If you haven’t set predefined messages, you can simply click the “SMS” button beside the status at any time to send a custom message to the account or contact mobile number.

SMS Text

Enter your text message in the dialogue box and note the number of available characters at the bottom of the screen.  Note that your message must include an Opt-Out message, so this can not be removed.

Click OK to send your message.

Fore more information Email or phone Foresiight today on (07) 3356 2772 to find out more.

It’s easy to get started, and the only cost is for the SMS messages that you utilise.

Email Security Configuration

Posted on by Foresiight

Recently many email providers have introduced additional security requirements when it comes to using their email servers to send email from a 3rd party application. This is part of the ongoing fight against spam and unsolicited email.

In response to these changes, Foresiight has introduced support for a number of different email security options into the application. Other more subtle changes have also been made to the way that the application sends emails, to help ensure a high delivery rate and good anti-spam scores.

This article will show you a brief outline of some of the Email settings that are available. To read the full Email Setup article, please visit the Client Portal.

Email Configuration

To setup emailing through ProfiitPlus or Alchemii, navigate to Administration | System | Communications Setup | Host Email Settings

Basic Settings

Before configuring your email for the first time, or changing to a different email provider, you will need to first contact your email provider to find out their Host email settings. Often this information will be published on the email provider’s website.

In this screen you need to enter the following details:

  1. Email Host (Example smtp.telstra.com)
  2. Port (most often this will be port 25, 465 or 587)
  3. Username & Password (most email providers nowadays will require you to authenticate with user credentials in order to send outbound email – in the past this was not the case)

Additional Security Settings

If your email provider requires SSL or TLS, please select the appropriate SSL/TLS Support Type and Protocol Version. 

Support Type is based on what your provider recommends. 

Protocol version for TLS is normally TLS 1.2, and for SSL normally SSL2 or SSL3.

Please note: If you are using Microsoft 365 or Gmail you will need to generate an “app password”, which allows email to be sent from a 3rd party application. For more information on how to generate app passwords please refer to the following links.

GMAIL – https://support.google.com/a/answer/9003945?hl=en

OFFICE 365 – How to Create App Password for Office 365

More information

You can find the complete Email Setup knowledge base article on the Client Portal or call the Foresiight Help Desk for advice on Email settings.

Business Management Software: 10 Things to Look for

Posted on by Foresiight

Are you a small to medium sized Australian business? As a growing business you may be considering business management software. We recommend looking for a software solution with customisations relevant to your specific industry that will meet your unique business objectives. Check out our 6 Key Reasons You Need an Industry-Specific ERP System.

However, there are some key factors to look out for when searching for the right business management software solution.

  1. Scalability: Ensure the software can grow with your business. It should accommodate an increase in data, users, and features without major disruptions.
  2. Integration: Look for software that integrates well with your existing tools and systems or replaces legacy software to fully integrate your operating system.
  3. Features: Identify the core functionalities you need. This could include project management, CRM, HR tools, inventory management, accounting, etc. Choose software that covers most, if not all, of your requirements.
  4. User-Friendly Interface: A user-friendly interface is essential for easy adoption by your team. It should be intuitive and not require extensive training for basic use.
  5. Customisation: The ability to customise the software to suit your specific workflows and processes can be a significant advantage. Look for software that allows for customisation.
  6. Security: Robust security features are crucial to protect sensitive business and customer data. Ensure the software complies with Australian industry standards and regulations.
  7. Customer Support and Training: Check for available support resources, including customer service, online guides and training materials. A responsive support team can be invaluable when facing issues.
  8. Cost: Consider the pricing structure, whether it’s a one-time payment, subscription-based, or includes add-ons. Factor in long-term costs and scalability.
  9. Mobile Accessibility: In today’s world, having mobile access to your business management software is often a necessity. Ensure it offers mobile apps or responsive web interfaces for on-the-go access.
  10. Reviews and Reputation: Look for reviews from other businesses in your industry or size range. Consider the software’s reputation for reliability, updates, and customer satisfaction.

Taking the time to evaluate these requirements will help you find the business management software that best fits your needs and goals.

We’re Ready to Help

To chat to one of our friendly business consultants about your business and how business management software can help, call us on 1800 061 670 or use our contact form and we will be in touch.

Does my SME business need ERP software?

Posted on by Foresiight

Whether your small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) needs Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software depends on various factors. ERP software can offer significant benefits to businesses of all sizes, including SME.

Wait, what exactly is ERP software?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning and is the implementation and use of software to streamline and manage business operations including accounting, stock control and point of sale (POS).  

Is ERP software right for my business?

There are some key considerations when answering the question “is ERP right for my business”. Here are some factors to consider when deciding whether your SME needs ERP software:

1. Complexity of Operations: If your business has complex and integrated processes, such as inventory (stock) management, order processing, manufacturing, and financial management, ERP software can streamline these operations and improve efficiency. This can free up your team to focus on other aspects of their role.

2. Growth Plans: If your SME is growing rapidly or you have plans for expansion, ERP software can help you scale and manage increased operational complexities. For example, ERP software can help you to manage multiple sites or locations as your business grows.

3. Data Integration: If you are struggling to integrate data from different departments and applications within your business, an ERP system can help centralise data and make it more accessible for decision-making. This increases transparency and means that you’re making informed business decisions based on accurate data.

4. Efficiency Gains: ERP systems can automate routine tasks, reduce manual data entry and human error, and improve workflow processes, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.

5. Reporting and Analytics: If you need advanced reporting and analytics capabilities to make data-driven decisions, ERP systems typically offer robust reporting tools. With Foresiight’s flagship software ProfiitPlus, you’ll benefit from reporting customised for your industry.

6. Regulatory Compliance: Some industries and businesses have strict regulatory requirements. ERP software can help you manage compliance more effectively.

7. Cost Savings: Implementing an ERP system is an investment in your business. It will result in long-term cost savings by reducing manual errors, improving inventory management, optimising resource allocation and ensuring that you keep customers happy by making sure your stock is exactly where you need it to be, to meet customer requirements.

8. Customer and Supplier Management: If you need to manage customer relationships, supply chain interactions, and vendor relationships more effectively, an ERP system like ProfiitPlus will provide you with the tools to do this.

9. Inventory Management: As mentioned above, ERP software can help you optimise inventory levels, reduce carrying costs, and ensure that you have the right products in stock when needed to get to your customers in a timely manner. This ultimately increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

10. Access to Real-Time Information: With ProfiitPlus, you will be provided real-time data, which can help in making quick and informed decisions from anywhere that you have internet access.

11. Customisation: Over the last 35 years, we’ve customised ProfiitPlus to meet the needs of a range of industries including tools, hardware, irrigation, landscape and garden, wholesale and more.

12. Collaboration and Communication: If your business involves multiple departments or locations, ERP software can improve collaboration and communication by centralising data.

We’re here to help

If you are considering ERP software for your SME business then we’re ready to help you. Our team of business consultants have a wealth of experience supporting businesses like yours through implementation to create a more streamlined and cost-effective version of your business.

Get in touch with us today for an obligation free chat. Simply tell us a little about your business using our simple contact form and we will be in touch.

6 Key Reasons You Need an Industry-Specific ERP System

6 Key Reasons You Need an Industry-Specific ERP System

Posted on by Foresiight

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, staying competitive and efficient is crucial for companies across all industries. One of the key tools that can help organisations gain a competitive edge and streamline their operations is an industry-specific Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Unlike generic ERP systems, industry-specific ERP solutions are tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges of a particular sector.

In this blog post, we will explore six key reasons why your organisation should consider adopting an industry-specific ERP system.

1. Specialised Features

Industry-specific ERP systems are designed with features and functionalities that cater to the specific needs of your business. Whether you’re in irrigation, landscaping, builder’s hardware, tools, wholesale or any other sector, an industry-specific ERP system can streamline processes and improve efficiency by addressing your industry’s unique challenges.

2. Enhanced Reporting and Analytics

Industry-specific ERPs offer tailored reporting and analytics tools that help you gain better insights into your business operations. This enables data-driven decision-making, leading to improved efficiency and profitability.

3. Order Fulfilment Optimisation

An industry-specific ERP can offer specialised features for managing supply chains efficiently. This includes inventory management, demand forecasting, and order processing, all tailored to your industry’s specific needs.

4. Customer Satisfaction

Businesses that directly serve consumers or other businesses can benefit from improved customer relationship management (CRM) features in industry-specific ERP systems. These tools help you provide better service, personalised experiences, and ultimately, higher customer satisfaction.

5. Cost Reduction

Adopting an industry-specific ERP system often results in cost reduction through improved efficiency. Streamlined processes, better inventory management, and optimised resource allocation can lead to significant savings.

6. Scalability

As your business grows, so do its needs. Industry-specific ERP systems are designed to be scalable, ensuring that your software can evolve along with your organisation. This means you won’t outgrow your ERP system, and it can continue to support your operations as you expand.

Summary

Industry-specific ERP systems offer numerous advantages for organisations looking to optimise their operations and gain a competitive edge in their respective markets. By addressing the unique needs and challenges of your industry, these systems provide specialised features, enhance reporting, streamline supply chains, boost customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and scale with your business.

Foresiight ProfiitPlus delivers all of these benefits for businesses in irrigation, landscape supplies, timber & hardware and a selection of other trade supplies related industries. Check out the industries page to see how Foresiight can help your business.

Foresiight System Housekeeping

Posted on by Foresiight

In order to ensure the accuracy of your data, there are a number of steps that can be followed on a regular basis to maintain your system.

Performing these simple maintenance tasks will help prevent anomalies that might arise in your stock and customer records.  This is particularly important in systems where a number of users simultaneously edit Stock Items and perform administration tasks.

Housekeeping

A number of options are available in the housekeeping list that we recommend you use to keep your ProfiitPlus/Alchemii system healthy. Note that some of these tasks are best to be run on a “quiet” system (i.e. outside of your regular business hours).

It is recommended that the first five menu options be run regularly for most businesses. Often these processes will run through without actually needing to change or refresh anything – but it’s a quick and easy way for you to ensure everything is in check.

Recalculate Committed Stock

This function will review all open (unposted) Sales Invoices and Jobcards and update the current Committed quantity for each Stock Item if needed. You can run this weekly, monthly, or just as required.

Recalculate Reserved Stock (available in v4.97 and newer)

This function will review all open Sales orders and Backorders and update the current Reserved quantity for each Stock Item. You can run this weekly, monthly, or just as required.

Recalculate On-Order Quantities

This function will review all open (unfulfilled) Purchase Orders and update the current On Order quantity for each Stock Item. It’s a good idea to run this before you generate your automated orders or enter any large Purchase Orders.

Record Current Stock Valuation

This function will take a “snapshot” of the current quantity and value of all stock on hand (for all stock locations). This can be useful for auditing purposes and is recommended to be run at the end of each month and/or the end of each financial year. Please note: run this outside of trading hours.

Recalculate Customer Balances

Customer accounts within the Accounts Receivable module contain detailed information about invoices, credits, payments, and all other transactions on that account. In other areas of the system, a much simpler account balance “sum” is used to quickly and efficiently display just the current total outstanding balance of the account. Occasionally this can become out of sync with Accounts Receivable and needs to be refreshed.

This function is used to update any Customer account balances that have become out of sync. It is recommended to use this each month before your statement run.

Additional Housekeeping

Note: The next two processes would be used rarely, if at all, on most systems.

Data Compactor

Compacting data reduces the complexity of stored information. We highly recommend that you backup your data before running this process!

Re-Build Indices

This function re-builds the indexes of a selected table or all tables in the database. This is not normally required as part of your regular maintenance. Please speak to your Foresiight support consultant before running this process!

Please Note: Data Compactor and Re-build Indices don’t need to be performed as part of normal maintenance. Only use these facilities where absolutely necessary or if instructed to by your Support Consultant.

What else can I do?

There are a range of other functions that can help with maintaining a healthy system and a healthy business.

Stock Maintenance

For example, take a look at the following reports under the Stock menu in the Administration module and consider if this should be part of your regular maintenance routine:

  • Stock Exception Report
  • Negative Stock On Hand Report
  • Cross-references Exception Report

Archiving & Purging

Archiving or purging old and disused data is an important part of keeping your system in good shape and performing well. This is particularly important when your business has been running on the system for many years.

Check out this post for more information: Archiving & Purging

Ask Us How

Every business is unique and uses the system in different ways. In some cases these processes should be run every week, for others monthly is fine or simply ad-hoc when required. Please speak to your Foresiight support consultant for some general advice, or book in a Consultancy session with one of our specialists for advice specific to your business.

Ratio Items

Posted on by Foresiight

Ratio Items allow us to easily sell a single product in multiple different denominations, at differing price points, whilst maintaining the inventory level of that product all in one place.

Ratio Items (type “R”), are sold based on a pre-determined fraction of a Parent Stock Item. The parent is a “normal” Stock Item – this is the item that we purchase. The Ratio (Child) Item allows us to easily sell a portion or fraction of the Parent Item. The Ratio (Child) Item itself is never purchased.

A Ratio Item can be priced manually, or preferably, calculated based on a markup relative to the Sell Price of its parent.

When should I use a Ratio Item?

A good example to help understand the use case for a Ratio Item is in bulk landscaping supplies.

We purchase our fictitious “Premium Ultra Growth Soil” by the cubic metre (or by the tonne), and we sell it at the following price points:

  • PUGS 1 Metre: $100
  • PUGS Half Metre: $60
  • PUGS Quarter Metre: $40

In this scenario, the PUGS 1 Metre would be setup as the Parent Item. This is the product that holds our On Hand inventory levels, and that we purchase from our supplier (remember, we can still purchase it in a different Unit of Measure using our “Factor” setting).

The PUGS Half Metre and the PUGS Quarter Metre will be Ratio Child Items. These are setup with their own pre-defined pricing levels, making it easy for the operator at Point of Sale to sell at the correct price. Each time the product is sold, the inventory level is updated on the Parent Item.

Definition of Ratio Child Items

  • Ratio Child Item: An Item that is allocated to a specified Stock Item (its “parent”) and has a ratio defined that represents the number of Child units that make up one Parent unit (e.g. 50 individual metres of chain per one roll of chain)
  • Manufactured Ratio Child Item: An Item that is allocated to a specified Stock Item (its “parent”), and that is manufactured or built from raw materials, and has a Bill of Materials associated with it

Setting up a Ratio Item

This short guide will give you an overview of how to create and maintain a Ratio Item.

Step 1.  Set up the Parent Item

Navigate to Administration | Edit Stock Items

First, set up your parent item.  Normally the parent item will be purchased in whole units, in this example, we have purchased a roll of rope, the roll is 100m long and we will be selling it both by the roll and by the metre. 

This will be a normal Stock Item (type “S”) with a preferred supplier, cost price, retail price, etc.   The Sub-Type must be set to Ratio Parent – if this has not been set, the parent item will not be available to be attributed to the Ratio Child Item. 

Step 2. Setup the Ratio Child Item(s)

Navigate to Administration | Edit Stock Items

Create a new Stock Item and set the type to Ratio Child.  If your Item already exists, you can convert it to a Ratio Item by changing the Item Type on the Detail tab. The quantity on hand for this item must be zero before this change can be made. 

Setting up the Ratio Item details

Example one – Rope sold per metre: 

Navigate to Edit Item Detail | Detail tab

In the Parent Item edit box, enter the stock code or use the Lookup button to assign the parent item. 

Number of units in Parent: Enter the ratio value of how many units of the ratio item can be sold from 1 of the parent item. In this example, the Rope Per Metre will be 100, as there are 100 metres of rope per roll. 

% Markup on Parent Sell: If you choose to use % Markup on Sell, the percentage value you enter here will be used to recalculate each of the sell price levels any time the parent sell prices are updated.  Leave blank if you wish to manually enter pricing for this Item.

Learn More

You can read our full range of Knowledge Base articles on the Client Portal – or call the Foresiight team to book in a training session with one of our consultants.

Beautifying Your Business with Business Management Software

Posted on by Foresiight

A full service landscape yard handles an incredible variety of tasks to remain competitive. There are manufacturing processes, maintenance bookings, product ordering and delivery and so much more. It’s a complex business and often the operational aspects of business can take away a business owner’s focus from strategic growth.

With business management software your landscaping company, the operational side of your business is taken care of. Meaning that you can focus on growth and your landscape yard can really bloom, pun very much intended.

Foresiight has been helping landscape yards across Australia for more than 35 years now. Whether your landscape yard has a few employees, a few dozen, or even a few hundred, with Foresiight’s flagship business management software ProfiitPlus, you can root out the weeds to really beautify your business.

Weed Out Your Accounting

Making sure your accounting books, records, or ledgers are always perfectly balanced is key to ensuring a landscaping business, or any business for that matter, successful. One little mistake, a decimal in the wrong place or forgetting to carry the one, and a simple typo can throw everything else into disarray. Not to mention the time it takes to find and fix the initial error.

With ProfiitPlus, you don’t need to worry about any of that. Our business management software handles all your accounting needs for you. With only minimal human input needed to get started, you can rest assured your accounts will always be balanced, accurately, automatically, and efficiently.

Sow Your Stock Management

Landscape yards have larger inventory pools than some other kinds of businesses. Lumber, soil, saplings, tools, and so much more, all going in and out of your doors in the blink of an eye. It’s a lot to keep track of.

Not with ProfiitPlus. ProfiitPlus automatically handles your inventory too. It updates your stock records whenever a sale is made, and it can order more for you when it detects you’re running low on something.

Plant Your Point of Sale

Landscape yard POS (Point of Sale) comes with both hardware and software components. That means you need to make sure each is compatible with the other to ensure things run smoothly.

When you get ProfiitPlus, you don’t just get the POS software, we’ll send you the hardware too, so you know they’ll always work in harmony. We also rigorously test each piece of equipment to ensure it’s up to our high standards before sending it out.

Cultivate Your Customers

The most important part of growing any business is growing your customer base. A friendly customer service attitude is a great start, but in the digital age there’s more you need to be doing.

With ProfiitPlus’ customer relationship management functionality, you can stay in touch with your customers by easily crafting memorable marketing campaigns and promotions that keep them coming back to you for their landscaping needs.

Fix Up Your Forecasting

ProfiitPlus collects and analyses data with each function it performs. This lets it make incredible, accurate, and above all, helpful predictions when it comes to running your business. Never been surprised again when the rainclouds of a business slump appear on the horizon. With ProfiitPlus you’ll always be prepared.

Blossom with Business Management Software

All you need to do is get in touch with Foresiight today. Simply call us on 1800 061 670 or use our landscape yard contact form and a member of our support team will be in touch.

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii v4.98 Feature Highlights

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii v4.98 Feature Highlights

Posted on by Foresiight
Version 4.98 Features & Improvements

We have added some exciting new features to ProfiitPlus & Alchemii.  Browse some of the highlights below, or login to the Support Centre to read the complete release notes.

Bin/Shelf Location Management

In a previous version, we added a screen for maintenance of Bin/Shelf Location codes and names. This facility has now been extended to:

  • Include a “keyword” search for easier selection from a large list of Shelf Locations
  • Add (optional) dimension fields for each Shelf Location (Length / Width / Depth, and the resulting volume)
  • Allow the use of characters including the period (dot) character in the Shelf Code

Stock Maintenance

There is an existing feature in the stock system where a series of attributes such as shape, size, colours can be defined and used with Variant Item types. It has now been extended so it can also be used with standard Stock Items and Ratio Items.

A new housekeeping feature is now available to recalculate/update the current Reserved quantities for all Stock Items (i.e. the quantity currently on open Sales Orders / Backorders). This is accessed via Administration | System | Housekeeping | Recalculate Reserved Stock.

When the Display Item Details screen is first opened, it now responds more quickly by pre-loading data in the background. This will be particularly evident on systems with a lot of Stock Items.  Additionally, this screen now automatically saves and restores the user’s preferred form size and grid column widths each time it is opened.

eCommerce

Additional Stock Item details including Major Group, Product Group, Sub Group, and Attributes are now included in the Magento stock file integration.

A new feature has also been added to export all Stock Item images, for import into Magento.

Sales Orders Deposits

Deposits can now be applied to a Sales Backorder in the same manner as a Sales Order. Previously paid deposits can also be refunded off a Backorder by using the “Deposit” button and applying a negative amount. Backorder deposits will be included on the Deposits Held report. 

Compliance and Reporting

The system contains a Non-compliance Log, that records various non-compliant activities from the Cash Register module. This facility has been extended to also include non-compliant activities from the Sales Orders & Invoicing module that have been authorised by entry of a POS manager password.  It is good practice for a manager or system administrator to regularly review the Non-compliance Log.

The List of Quotes report will now display whether the quote was “won” or not, with additional filter options for “Won”, “Not Yet Won”, or “All”.

Purchasing

The Calculate Order Quantities feature has received a number of user interface improvements, along with additional confirmation dialogs, and an option to cancel during the calculation process.

The Auto Generate Purchase Orders facility has been updated to standardise the behaviour of the options around Min/Max reorder levels. A new option has also been introduced to select multiple Stock Locations to generate an Order against.

Purchase Orders are now locked while editing to prevent simultaneous modification by different users.

This release has improved the time it takes to process Stock Adjustment batches, particularly large batches generated following a full stocktake

Alternate Suppliers

There have been a series of changes to do with purchasing Stock Items from Alternate Suppliers. This extended XRef (cross-reference) feature now allows you to define differing purchase unit factors and minimum order quantities on an Item, per Supplier.

For example, you might nominate that you would buy from an Alternate Supplier as Box/100 instead of the usual Box/10 from the Preferred Supplier.

Emailing

A change has been made to the construction of email headers to improve delivery rates to recipients, in particular to those with Gmail accounts.

There has also been an enhancement to the generation of the HTML email body to improve compatibility on some systems.

This is just a small selection from a big list of enhancements in this release. Remember to login to the Support Centre to check out all the release notes, and be sure to contact the Foresiight Support Team to have your update installed.

An introduction to Item Sub-Types

An introduction to Item Sub-Types

Posted on by Foresiight

In recent versions of ProfiitPlus & Alchemii, a new way of classifying Stock Items has been introduced. This article will give you an overview of Item Sub-Types and how they might be used in your business.

Item Types

The concept of Item Types has been a staple since the very early days of the original ProfitPak application. The four Item Types available in the system are as follows:

  • Stock Item
  • Non-diminishing Item
  • Kit Item
  • Ratio Item

As a regular user of the system, you will already be very familiar with these Item Types and the way in which they are used. What is most important to note is that these core Item Types have not changed. The behaviour of each of these types remains the same as always, but with the addition of new Item Sub-Types to enable further flexibility and functionality for your business.

Item Sub-Types

Recently introduced, the new Item Sub-Types allow us to define specific behaviours for certain Items. Every Item is first allocated an Item Type, and then an Item Sub-Type. The Sub-Types that are available for each individual Item are determined by its designated Item Type.

Below is a list of the available Sub-Types, with a brief description of its purpose.

Stock Sub-Types

  • “Standard” Stock Item: An inventory Item that does not fall under one of the special Stock Sub-Types below
  • Variation Item: A variant of a Virtual Parent Item (e.g.: colour/size)
  • Manufactured Item: A product that is manufactured or built from raw materials, and has a Bill of Materials associated with it
  • Ratio Parent Item: An Item that has one or more Ratio “children”
  • Manufactured Ratio Parent Item: An Item that has one or more Ratio “children”, and that is manufactured or built from raw materials, and has a Bill of Materials associated with it

Non-diminishing Sub-Types

  • “Standard” Non-diminishing Item: A non-inventory Item that does not fall into one of the special Non-diminishing Sub-Types below
  • Virtual Parent Item: An Item that represents a collection of Variation Items (e.g. a colour/size range)
  • Labour Item: An Item that is used for billing out Labour charges
  • Freight Item: An Item used for freight cost recovery
  • Fees/Charges Item: An Item used for recovery of fees and charges (e.g. payment fees)
  • Discount Item: An Item used to record a discount given on a transaction at the Point of Sale

Kit Sub-Types

  • “Standard” Kit Item: A Kit “parent”, containing multiple components that are brought together and sold at a pre-determined price at the Point of Sale

Ratio Sub-Types

  • Ratio Child Item: An Item that is allocated to a specified Stock Item (its “parent”) and has a ratio defined that represents the number of Child units that make up one Parent unit (e.g. 50 individual metres of chain per one roll of chain)
  • Manufactured Ratio Child Item: An Item that is allocated to a specified Stock Item (its “parent”), and that is manufactured or built from raw materials, and has a Bill of Materials associated with it

Incorporating Sub-Types into your system

Each of the Sub-Types outlined above has its own set of rules and behaviours associated with it. These behaviours can influence many workflows from purchasing to sales and right through to reporting.

When your system was updated to v4.97 (or newer), a conversion process would have taken place to automatically allocate all of your existing Stock Items to the appropriate Sub-Type. Therefore, you might already be using some of the extended Sub-Type functionality within your system.

If you don’t yet see any of the new Sub-Type options, please contact your Support Consultant to arrange a software update to the latest version.

Want to learn more?

The best place to begin is your Training system – simply switch to your Training dataset, start creating some new Stock Items and get a feel for the functionality of each Sub-Type.

Next, you might like to spend some time with one of our experts to get a deeper understanding of how this, and other stock management techniques, can help you to drive your business forward. To book a session with a Foresiight Professional Services consultant, contact us today on (07) 3356 2772 or email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au.

Standard Support or Professional Services?

Posted on by Foresiight

As a Foresiight customer with an active Support Agreement, a range of helpful services are available to you as part of your annual Support Agreement.  In conjunction with regular software enhancements, these standard support services are the cornerstone of our software solutions and can help your business to succeed and grow.

As well as the standard inclusions in your Support Agreement (“Standard Support”), Foresiight also offers an extensive range of additional specialised consultancy services (“Professional Services”).  For companies that are looking to enhance their use of the software, our paid Professional Services can help to get the most out of your systems and gain a competitive edge.

For newer customers, and those that haven’t held a Support Agreement with a business software provider in the past, it can initially be a little tricky to distinguish between Standard Support and Professional Services.  To help clarify this, we have provided some common examples below.

Standard Support Examples

Support is provided to help out with your regular day-to-day use of the software, answering operational questions (but not training), providing general advice, and investigating the cause of system errors.

  • I have created an Invoice Reversal and would like to confirm that I have entered it correctly before I post it.
  • My system is displaying an error message that I am unsure about, I’d like to check if this needs further investigation or not.
  • I’d like to arrange a time to have the latest update installed.
  • One of our users did not log out correctly and I’d like to have their logon reset.
  • I understand how to transaction match an Invoice against a Credit but can’t recall which menu option to use and would like to be pointed in the right direction.
  • I’m looking for a sales report that shows Invoices issued last month for all of my Trade Customers.
  • My system isn’t running as fast as it used to, and I’d like some general advice on things to look at to improve it.

Professional Services Examples

Professional Services involve working with features of the software and providing specific business advice and training, to help drive improvement in your organisation.

  • I would like a Foresiight consultant to make some layout changes to one of my Document Formats for me (Invoices, Quotes, Delivery Dockets, etc.).
  • I would like some training to learn how to use List & Label to customise my Document Formats myself.
  • My accountant has found some inaccuracies in my Trial Balance, I would like some help to review my General Ledger movement to find the source.
  • My local technician has installed a new computer for me and I need to connect it to ProfiitPlus/Alchemii and have the terminal settings configured.
  • I have purchased and installed a new label printer and would like to have it configured and my Label Formats customised to print correctly.
  • I am opening a new store and would like a consultant to undertake the setup for me and provide additional support services during the Go Live week.
  • My system isn’t running as fast as it used to and I’d like a consultant to do some investigation and offer specific advice on how it can be improved, or perform the recommended maintenance work for me.
  • I would like to extract some specific data into an Excel Spreadsheet for analysis and I need a consultant to write an SQL query for me.
  • I’d like to review my backups to ensure that the data is being stored correctly, or I am looking to implement a new backup solution.

These are just a few examples of Foresiight’s Professional Services – they are not included as part of Standard Support, but are available to help your business grow and become more profitable.

We hope that this helps to provide an understanding of how our services are classified.  Note that this is only a sample of the range of services that are available to help grow and improve your business.  Please call or email Foresiight if you would like a quote or some additional information on any of our Professional Services.

Still posting manually? Automate Tasks with ProfiitPlus

Still posting manually? Automate Tasks with ProfiitPlus

Posted on by Foresiight

ProfiitPlus is able to automate a wide range of tasks to make your end of day processing trouble free.  There’s no need to spend time each day manually posting sales transactions or banking batches.  Using overnight processing also relieves load on your system and can eliminate posting issues that might occur due to network congestion.

Here are just some of the tasks that can be automated:

  • Post Sales Transactions
  • Post Banking Batches
  • Accumulate Sales Data (with the Performance Monitor module)
  • Synchronise stock to your online store (with the eCommerce Interface module)
  • Download orders from your online store (with the eCommerce Interface module)
  • Custom SQL reports – exported to Excel/CSV
  • Clone Live data to Training
  • Generate pharmacy PBS invoices (Alchemii)

For more information contact us on 07 3356 2772 or email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au

ESET Antivirus

Posted on by Foresiight

ESET helps to secure your computers and devices, protect your precious data, and keep your company know-how safe. ESET Antivirus protects users just like you across 200 countries and territories worldwide, helping them to use and explore all the great opportunities of the Internet.

How does ESET Antivirus work?

Its antivirus engine uses advanced heuristics, machine learning, and cloud-based scanning to effectively detect and eliminate the latest malware threats without slowing down your computer.

Can ESET protect while web browsing?

Yes it can. The ESET Online Scanner runs from your web browser, checks for and (optionally) removes malware. ESET offers multiple layers of protection against malware and can prevent your computer from infection.

Can ESET help with Spam emails?

Yes it can! The Antispam engine available in various ESET products assigns a spam score to each email message it scans and uses that score to determine the course of action (deliver email, deliver to junk email folder, etc.).

Foresiight recommends ESET Antivirus. In recent years we have found ESET to be one of the most effective solutions for detecting and blocking threats.

For pricing or more information on ESET Antivirus email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Note: Antivirus software is just one aspect of an effective cybersecurity strategy. Foresiight recommends that you regularly consult with your internal or external IT security expert to ensure that your business is sufficiently protected from cyber threats.