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Finishing a Sales Order

When the user is done entering line items on an order (see Adding a Sales Order), the order must be "finished". "Finishing" a sales order involves a number of steps to make the order ready to invoice and prepare the correct shipping paperwork. Many of these actions are configurable for the user in order to create a work flow model that matches how business is conducted in your organization. The finishing process includes the following settings and steps:

Configuration Settings:

Shipping Options control many of the features that are involved in the "finishing" of sales orders and the Shipping and Dispatching functions, it also affects how the Shipping and Dispatching functions interact within sales orders. The SO or sales order setting in Shipping Options assigns which features will be used during the sales order process and which optional fields will print on the unshipped and shipped sales order, bill of lading, and invoice. What prints on the forms is also controlled by the Item Info template assigned to the item. The types of shipping forms to be used are controlled in the Forms designer. Customized shipping labeling can be entered system-wide or for each customer or item and can be generated from the sales order or from shipping papers.

System Options is used to configure your system to send sales orders and other related forms to the parties of the transaction via email.

User Options control which Shipping and Dispatching functions will be used for each user during the sales order process. These settings override the system setting for all options that are set to Y (Y=Yes) in Shipping Options. By limiting each user to certain features, time and effort can be reduced. The shipping paper work and labels needed to prepare the sales order for shipment is controlled by the person who is responsible for them. The fields, how they are displayed in the sales order header are displayed (or not displayed), and whether the Print command option is visible when finishing a sales order are also controlled by User Options, as are item entry options.

User Printing controls which printer prompts are assigned to the user. User Printing can be used to set up default printers for the various sales order forms and labels.

User Security controls which sales order, shipping, dispatching, invoicing, price setting, and sales reports and inquiries the user can access.

See Interface Options and Trace Overview for information on setting up Trace reporting.

See Using Sales Orders for more information.

Finishing the Order

Important: The following instructions assume that your system is configured with all settings in the "Configuring the Sales Order" section of Using Sales Orders are set to active (Y=Yes).

1. After you are done adding line items to an order command options will appear at the bottom of the sales order.

Add – Select Add to add additional line items to the sales order.
Change – Select Change to change a line item already entered on the order.
Delete – Select Delete to delete a line item already entered on the order.
Text – Select Text to add description text to a line item. Highlight the line you want to add a description text to and press Enter. Type the appropriate information and press Enter. The item name will reappear with an asterisk (*) indicating that text has been entered for this item. Both the item name and text entered will print on the order or invoice if the default settings in Shipping Options is turned on.
Header – Select Header to return to the order header where changes can be made as necessary.
Lot – Select Lot to transfer a lotted item to the customer's account if using non-owned inventory. See Non-Owned Inventory for more information.
Guide – Select Guide to use the order guide to add items to the sales order. See Using the Order Guide.
History – Select History to add items to the order using the available sales history feature. See Entering Items from a Customer's Sales Ordering History.
Messages – Select Messages to add order and/or invoice messages.
Finish (X) – Select Finish(X) to finish the sales order.
Void – Select Void to void the sales order. See Voiding Sales Orders for more information.
Exit – Select Exit to exit the sales order. The message line displays "Order was Changed!! Exit Anyway? No/Yes.”
- If you select No, the system will abort exiting this sales order.
- If you select Yes, the system will exit without adding this sales order to the system.

Select Finish to complete entering the sales order.

Based on the settings in Shipping Options, User Options, User Printing, and User Security, the following options will appear:

Adding Roll-On messages to the order – The roll on message for sales orders is defined in User Options. If desired, the roll-on messages that are saved for the customer can be added or "rolled on" the sales order. A Customer Messages window will appear and will display the messages that are saved for the customer with the following options:
- Roll On – Select roll on to "roll on" or add the saved messages to the order.
- Change – Select Change to modify the saved messages before adding them to the sales order. Change or type in a message to add to the sales order line. To the right of the text field there will be a single character field:
  - O – Order. Type in O and the free text will print on the order.
  - I – Invoice. Type in I and the free text will print on the invoice.
  - B – Both. Type in B and the free text will print on both the order and the invoice.
  - R – Order/Release. Type in R and the free text will print on both the order and the release.
  - L – Bill of Lading. Type in L and the free text will print on the bill of lading.
  - V – Invoice/Bill of Lading. Type in V and the free text will print on the invoice and bill of lading.
- Exit – Select Exit to continue without adding the messages to the sales order.
Roll On Item – If the Roll On Item field in Sales Options is set to Y (Y=Yes) and the customer has a default roll-on item, the customer roll-on item will automatically be added to the sales order when the order is finished.
PPC Freight Item – If the freight terms for the sales order is PPC - Prepaid and Charge, and the Add PPC Freight Items field is set to Y (Y=Yes) in Sales Options the following prompt will appear: “Add PPC Freight Item? No/Yes."
- Select No to continue without adding the PPC freight item.
- Select Yes to add the PPC freight item to the order. Select Finish again after the item is added.
Credit Check – The system will perform another credit check to see if this order will cause the customer to be in violation of your credit policies. If the system is in warning mode and the customer is in violation of the credit policies the following message will appear: "WARNING: Customer has exceeded his credit limit !!! Space bar to Continue." If the system is in prevent mode and the customer is in violation of the credit policies the following message will appear: “Credit Hold: Customer has exceed his credit limit !!! Space bar to Continue." Sales orders on credit hold cannot be shipped or printed and will not be included in the Shipping Papers until the order is released in Release Credit Holds.
Shipping the Order –This option will only appear if the order is not on credit hold, if the user has Shipping User Security rights, if the Ship Orders setting in User Options is set to Y (Y=Yes) for sales orders, and all lotted items and individually lot-costed items have been assigned lots and the sales order is not on credit hold. A Select An Option window appears and displays the following options:
- Don't Ship – Select Don't Ship to continue the sales order process without updating the on-hand inventory and making the sales order ready for invoicing.
- Ship Order – Select Ship Order to update the on-hand inventory and make the sales order ready for invoicing.
- If Trace reporting is activated in Interface Options to create the XML Trace Import Document and set to O to create on shipped or ready orders and the Customer has a Trace ID, the system will automatically use the NetTrace utility to create the XML Import Trace Document and upload the document to the Trace Register website when the order is shipped or made ready) the message line will display Updating Files to indicate that the Trace XML Import Trace Documents are being created and the files updated accordingly. The NetTrace Interface dialog box will open indicating the progress of the transfer of the document to the Trace website and the Document Status . The dialog box contains the following fields. See Trace Overview for more information.
Print the Order – A Select An Option window appears and displays the following options if the Order Form setting in Shipping Options is set to Y (Y=Yes) for sales orders and the Print Orders setting in User Options is set to A (A=Ask) for sales orders:
- Don't Print – Select Don't Print to continue finishing the sales order without printing the unshipped or shipped copy of the sales order.
- Print Order - Include on Pick List – Select Print Order - Include on Pick List to print the unshipped or shipped copy of the sales order and include the sales order information on the pick list when generated in Shipping Papers. Shipped orders will not appear on the pick list.
- Print Order - Exclude on Pick List – Select Print Order - Exclude on Pick List to print the unshipped and shipped copy of the sales order and exclude the sales order from the pick list.
Print Bill of Lading (BOL) – This option will only appear if the Bill of Lading Form field in Shipping Options is set to Y (Y=using) for sales orders and the Bills of Lading setting is set to A (A=Ask) for sales orders in User Options. A Select An Option window will appear with the following options:
- Don't Print – Select Don't Print to continue finishing the sales order without printing the bill of lading.
- Print BOL – Select Print BOL to continue the sales order process and print a bill of lading. After selecting the printer, a Change Case F10 window will appear and displaying the following fields:
  - Loc – The location ID, if the item is lotted.
  - Loc Name – The location name, if the item is lotted.
  - Cases – Enter the actual case count for each item on the sales order. The system default is based on the Carton Fill Weight setting for the item in Item Quick Maintenance.
  - Item Name – The name of the item ordered.
  - Weight – The net weight of the quantity ordered or shipped.
    - Enter the actual case count for each item in the Cases column. Press F10 to exit.
    - Command options will appear:
      - Continue – Select Continue to continue the sales order process.
      - Cases – Select Cases to continue the sales order process.
      - Weight – Select Weight to enter the weight to appear on the bill of lading. The system will default the net weight of the item ordered or shipped.
Print Invoice – A Select An Option window appears and displays the following options if the Print Invoices setting is set to A (A=Ask) for sales orders in User Options:
- Don't Print – Select Don't Print to continue finishing the sales order without printing the invoice.
- Invoice (ship date) – Select Invoice Order to print the invoice using the ship date as the invoice date when the ship date does not equal the current date.
- Invoice Order – Select Invoice Order to print the invoice using the current date as the invoice date.
COOL Validation Check – The system will perform a COOL validation check to determine if all loose and strict items have been assigned a COOL identity at either the sales order line level or lot level. It will also check to see that the COOL identities assigned to the sales order at the lot level match the item alias or additional item alias for the customer. A COOL validation box appears if the validation fails. The validation box lists the reason why the COOL validation failed and the item that failed the validation. Press F10 to exit the validation box. The following message will appear: “Cool will be missing on shipping paperwork. Continue Anyway? No/Yes” message will appear.
- Select No to correct the COOL validation issues.
- Select Yes to continue processing the sales order with the required COOL information on the shipping paperwork.

See COOL Rules for more information.

Cartonizing – If the Cartonize field is set to Y (Y=Yes) in Shipping Options; if the Cartonize setting is set to Y (Y=Yes) and the Carton to Use field is set to A (A=Ask) set in User Options; and the order was not cartonized using the cartonizing command option, a cartons F10 window will appear where the number of cartons used can be specified without specifying the actual carton or box that was used. The screen displays the following information:
- Cartons – The number of cartons used to ship the item. The default is based on the default Carton Fill Weight setting for the item.
- Fill – The default carton fill weight for the item or the calculated average fill weight base on the total weight divided by the number of cartons.
- Weight – The total weight ordered or shipped.
- Item Name – The name of the item ordered.
- Loc – The location ID, if the item is lotted.
- Loc name – The location ID, if the item is lotted.
Enter the total number of cartons used for each item. If multiple items were packed in the same carton, enter A, B, C etc. to identify each box that contains more than one item. Press F9 to then enter the amount of each item in the mixed box. Press F10 to exit. The total number of cartons and total weight will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Totes and Pallets – If the Totes and Pallets fields have been set to Y (Y=using) in Shipping Options and User Options, a tote and pallets window will appear where the number of totes and pallets exchanged with the customer can be entered, if applicable.
- Enter the totes in or returned by the customer.
- Enter the totes out or shipped to the customer.
- Enter the pallets in or returned by the customer.
- Enter the pallets out or shipped to the customer.
Print Labels – If any of the shipping labels are set to Y (Y=Yes) in Shipping Options and A (A=Ask) in User Options, the user will be prompted to "Print Labels? No/Yes."
- Select No to complete the sales order process without printing the labels.
- Select Yes to print the shipping labels. If yes is selected, the following information is displayed for each type of shipping label specified:
  - Label type.
  - Item – Item name.
  - Item Pack – The item pack description for the item ordered.
  - Un – The unit of measure for the item pack.
  - Lot – The lot number assigned to the item, if lotted or individually lot costed.
  - Order Qty – The total number of packs ordered.
  - Labels – The number of labels to print based on the system default labels per pound in Shipping Options or the item label overrides.
  - Label Name – The name of the label template.
  - Size – The label template size.
Enter the desired number of labels to print or press F10 to accept the system default number for each label and item.

2. Printer prompts for each form selected will appear allowing you to print the form or choose from a set of other print options or choose from a set of other print options. See Printing Sales Orders for more information.

If the sales order was invoiced and the Auto Keep setting in Receivables Options is set to N (N=No), select Keep Invoice to save the invoice and complete the sales order process, select Abandon Invoice to destroy the invoice and leave the sales order in a ready status where it can be changed, voided, or re-invoiced in Shipping. If Abandon Invoice was selected, the following message will appear: “Destroy Invoice !!! Are you Sure? No/ Yes."

Select No to keep the invoice.
Select Yes to destroy or void the invoice.

If Trace reporting is activated in Interface Options to create the XML Trace Import Document when the invoice is kept, and the Customer has a Trace ID, the system will automatically use the NetTrace utility to create the XML Import Trace Document. The document will be uploaded to the Trace Register website once the invoice is kept (Auto keep or by selecting Keep). The message line will display "Updating Files for Invoice keep" to indicate that the Trace XML Import Trace Documents are being created and the files updated accordingly. The NetTrace Interface dialog box will open indicating the progress of the transfer of the document to the Trace website and the Document Status. The dialog box contains the following fields. See Trace Overview for more information.

Process Status - Either Connecting if trying to connect to the website or Connected indicating a connection has been made.
Order Number - indicates the order number being processed.
Document Status - The initial status is Uploading to indicate the file is being sent to the Trace website. After sending the file, the system will look for an updated status from Trace. The document should come back with a Received status. see using Trace for the other possible document statuses.

The user can continue processing transaction in the system while NetTrace runs in the background.

3. After you have completely finished the sales order, you are returned to the Customer field, ready to start a new sales order.

Note: A maximum of 99 lots can be assigned to one sales order. If more than 99 lots are assigned, the following message will appear: "Maximum number of lots exceeded!!! Space bar to continue." The number of lots on the order will need to be reduced by creating another order or consolidating the lots.

Note: A maximum of 99 order lines can be entered on one sales order. If more than 99 order lines are entered, the following message will appear: "Maximum number of order lines exceeded!!! Space bar to continue."

Note: A maximum of 999 cartons can be assigned to one sales order. If more than 999 cartons are assigned, the following message will appear: "Maximum number of cartons exceeded!!! Space bar to continue."

For more information on the Sales Orders option see Sales Orders.

Security Required : Sales - Sales Orders