SO-A  Enter Sales Orders

Purpose of Program

Use this program to enter and modify sales order records for your customers.  A sales order can include both regular and non-inventory items.  All shipping documents and invoices are printed from the information entered in this program.  The program can optionally check stock and automatically track backorders.  Multiple invoices can be generated from a single sales order.

Field Explanations

HEADER SCREEN

SO No. (Required)

The sales order number.  Normally you leave this number blank and the program will assign a default sales order number when you move from the header to the line item section.  The next sales order number to be assigned is stored in DEF-R Assign Next Numbers.  You can also enter a sales order number of your own choice.  If you do so, you will be asked to verify that you want to use the number, and secondly, whether you want to reset the system SO# counter so that the next sales order number assigned follows this new number.  If you happen to enter a sales order number that is already used, you will be advised to use a different number.

When you first start SO-A, existing sales orders display in a lookup window if the opening list has been enabled in US-A Customize Settings.  If you wish to edit or view an existing order, you can highlight it and click on it or press <Enter> and its information will be displayed.  If you know the sales order number, you can bypass the lookup process and enter the sales order number directly after clicking on the Find button.  To enter a new order, click on the Add button (or press <Insert>).

SO Date

The date the sales order was entered.  When entering a new sales order, the date defaults to today's date, but can be overridden.

Last Invoice

Since multiple invoices can be generated against a single sales order, this field indicates the last invoice processed against this particular sales order.  This is a memo field only; no modification is permitted.  

Entered by

The person who entered the order.  This is a 5 character alphanumeric field.  This field will default to a value set up in SD-M  Sales Orders Defaults  which can be the login ID of the person entering the order rather than a constant value.

Customer (Required)

The customer code for the bill-to customer making the purchase.  You can click on the lookup icon or button while in the Customer field (or press F2) on this field to select a customer from a lookup window.  Once the customer code has been selected, the program checks to see if they are on credit hold and, if so, presents a message to that effect.  You can turn off the message in SD-M  Sales Orders Defaults by setting the Turn the Credit Limit Message Off?to Y.  You can also enter a number of days to check for open invoices older than XXX days ormore than XXX days past due per terms to be warned if a customer has past due open invoices.

Name, Address, City, St, Zip, Country

These fields default to values entered in the customer master record in AR-A  Enter Customers.  You can change any of these default values for sales order purposes without affecting the master record.

Attention

The person from the bill-to account to whose attention this order should be addressed, with a default defined from the Contact 1 field in the customer master record.

Ship to

If the Ship to information is different than the bill-to information, it is entered in the Ship to area.  After you enter the bill-to customer code, the bill-to customer information repeats itself in the Ship to area as a convenience in the event that the information is to be the same.  If a default ship-to account is specified in the default Ship-to Code field in AR-A Enter Customers, that account's information will automatically display in the Ship to area when the bill-to customer code gets entered.

If the default Ship to information needs to be changed, you can click on the Ship to lookup icon or button while in the Ship to field (or press F2) and select a different customer code and its information will default into the Ship to area.  If the Ship to information is not set up in a customer record, you can manually enter the information.

You can maintain multiple ship-to records for a customer by creating multiple customer records (using AR-A  Enter Customers) for each ship-to address.  If the Control ship To based on Bill To is set to Y in SD-M Sales Order Defaults then the lookup on Ship To will only display the Ship To customers assigned to the Bill To customer entered.

Attention

The person from the ship-to account to whose attention this order should be addressed, with a default defined from the Contact 1 field in the ship-to customer record.  If you print shipping labels, this information will automatically be printed on the label.

Ord Desc

The general description for this sales order (optional).  This will be printed on various reports and on the customer's statement.  If left blank, the program will print a default description on reports cross referencing the invoice number and the Sales Order number.  This is a 30 character alphanumeric field.

Cust PO

The customer's purchase order number.  If you print shipping labels, this number will be printed on the label.  It is also used as a reference on various reports and inquiries.  This is a 25 character, alphanumeric code.  If a Customer PO (other than the word "VERBAL") has already been entered, you can (based on default setting) receive a warning to prevent inadvertent duplication of an order.

Location

If you are using multiple inventory locations (set up as part of the inventory record in IN-L-B  Enter/Assign Locations), enter the appropriate location here.  You can select a location by clicking on the lookup icon or button while in the Location field (or press F2).  See How to Use Multiple Locations for more information.

Terms Cd (Required)

The payment terms code for this sales order, which defaults to the terms code set up in the customer master record in AR-A  Enter Customers.   Up to 20 terms codes may be defined in SM-D  Enter Terms Table.  You can select a terms code by clicking on the lookup icon or button while in the Terms Cd field (or press F2).

FOB

The FOB designation for this sales order.  This will print on sales order documents.  The default value will be the FOB field designated in AR-A  Enter Customers , or, if not entered there, the default value entered in SD-M  Sales Orders Defaults  will be used.

Job No

A master job number.  This is used as a report filter in various open Sales Order and Sales Analysis reports.  If several Sales Orders are part of a master job or project, this field links them together for tracking purposes.  The same job number can be used to group purchase orders and work orders.

GL Dept

If you are using GL departments, this field allows optional entry of a GL department code to post income and expense transactions to a specific department set up in your chart of accounts.  Entry of a department in this field will not perform departmental posting to balance sheet accounts (assets and liabilities), such as Accounts Receivable.  If a GL Department is entered, any Item Class or system default setting for a GL Account that has a blank department will be posted to the specified account and the department entered here.  Non-blank departments in the Item Class or system defaults will not be overridden.

Default settings in SD-M  Sales Orders Defaults allow you to control whether access to this field is allowed or not, and whether entry of a non-blank department is required or not.

Price Cd

The default price code assigned to this customer's master record in AR-A  Enter Customers .  You can enter a price code or override the default price code for this one order.  

Discnt Cd

The default discount code assigned to this customer's master record in AR-A  Enter Customers.    You can assign a discount code or override the discount code for this one order.  You can select a discount code from a pop-up window by clicking on the lookup icon or button while in the Discnt Cd field (or press F2).  The discount will be applied to any base price, price code price, or manually entered price.  It will not apply to contract prices.  You can use a negative discount percentage to apply a surcharge or "upcharge" to a price.  For a negative discount more than 9.99%, you need to set the "Enable Up Charges in Discounts" in SD-M Sales Order Defaults to Y to gain access to the needed extra digit.

Slsp1

A code for the first salesperson on this sales order.  This is a 4 digit numeric field.  This field will default to the Slsp 1 number associated with this customer in AR-A  Enter Customers.  If a salesperson is defined in the ship-to customer's master record, it will take precedence over the bill-to salesperson.  Up to two salespeople may be designated per sales order.

Salespersons can be selected from a lookup window by clicking on the lookup icon or button while in the Slsp1 field (or press F2).  Once the salesperson is entered, depending on the settings entered in SD-N  Sales Commissions Defaults, you may or may not be allowed to enter a commission percentage to the right of the Slsp1 field.  If a commission percentage was defined for Slsp 1 in the customer's master record, it will default into this field.  If not, the percentage defined in CS-B, Enter Salespersons Info, will be used.  The commission amount can be manually entered or overridden.

The program logic in determining the salespeople is as follows.  When you first start a new sales order, the program uses the default salesperson (if there is one) entered in SD-M  Sales Orders Defaults, and uses that person's commission rate as entered in CS-A  Enter Salespersons.  When the bill-to customer is selected, it then changes the salesperson and commission rates to any settings made in the customer master record in AR-A  Enter Customers (and adds a second salesperson, if one is designated in AR-A).  If a ship-to customer code is selected, it then changes the salespersons and commission rates to any settings in the ship-to customer master record.  If the ship-to customer has no salespersons and commissions assigned, the information from the bill-to customer will be used.

Slsp2

The second salesperson for this order as designated in either the bill-to or ship-to customer's master record.  If your settings in SD-N, Sales Commissions Defaults, allow entry of a commission percentage, the percentage will display to the right of the Slsp2 field.

Ship Via

The method of shipment.  This is a 15 character alphanumeric field.  This field will default first to a value set up in the customer's master record in AR-A  Enter Customers, and, if not specified there, to the default set up in SD-M Sales Order Defaults.

Taxable

The Taxable? field defaults from the field of the same name in AR-A  Enter Customers.  If set to Y, the default Tax Group assigned to the customer in AR-A will automatically display in the By field and its corresponding rate will automatically display in the Rate field.  If the sales order is not subject to tax, you can enter an N in the Taxable field and the program will not display a Tax Rate.  If some lines on an order are subject to tax and others are not, enter Y here and then designate whether each line is taxable.

By

The default for this field is the tax group entered for the ship-to customer in its master record in AR-A  Enter Customers.  The ship-to customer's tax group is used because it reflects the destination to which the order will be shipped, which is where the tax liability is owed.  You can select a tax group by clicking on the lookup icon or button while in the By field (or press F2).  If an order is non-taxable, you can still assign it to a tax authority so it is included as non-taxable sales on Sales Tax reports.   If you do not deal with sales tax at all, you can turn off the tax authority message in SD-M Sales Order Defaults.

Rate

If Taxable is set to Y, the sales tax rate for the Tax Group entered in the By field will display in this field.  You cannot override the Rate value.

Currency

If you have multi-currency processing enabled in IM-A  International Configuration, the currency code assigned to the customer in AR-A  Enter Customers, defaults into this field.  It may be overridden for a given order, if desired.

Ready to Invoice?

If you wish to produce an instant invoice for all items on the order that can be shipped, enter a Y here.  This causes the program to check stock as line items are entered and insert units on hand in the Ship Qty field.  Units not on hand will be inserted into the Backord Qty field.  The Release? field for each line item will be set to Y, allowing an invoice to be printed without requiring SO-E  Release Sales Orders, to be run.  

If the Ready to Invoice? flag is set to N, stock checking will be suppressed and you can manually enter quantities in either the Ship Qty or Backord Qty .  The Release? field for each line item will be set to N, requiring use of SO-E  Release Sales Orders to designate items for invoicing.  The default for the Ready to Invoice? field can be set in SD-M Sales Order Defaults.

Subtotal

The subtotal amount for the sales order prior to sales tax and freight.  This is an 11 character numeric field, 2 of which are decimal characters.

Tax

The amount of sales tax for this sales order (calculated automatically when you save the sales order).

Freight

The freight charge for this sales order.  You are prompted to enter a freight charge in a window each time you save a sales order.  You can either enter the freight in this program, or you can enter freight charges later when you run SO-E  Release Sales Orders.

Total

The total amount of the sales order, which is the Subtotal + Tax + Freight.  This is an 11 digit numeric field, 2 of which are decimal characters.

LINE ITEMS SCREEN

You can access the line item entry screen at any point on the header screen by clicking on the Line Item Screen button (or press <PgDn>), or if you advance past the Ready to Invoice? field you will automatically be taken to the line item entry screen.  Previously entered lines can be displayed at any time by clicking on the Display Lines button (or press F2) while the line item entry area is cleared.  You can also use the standard search keys/buttons to bring previously entered lines into the entry area.  The First button (or F5 key) brings in the first line item; the Last button (or F6 key) brings in the last line item.  Once a line item is in the entry area, you can click on the Next button (or F8 key) to advance forward one line at a time; or you can use the Prev button (or F7 key) to move backwards one line at a time.  The Add button (or <End> key) clears the entry area and allows entry of a new line.  The current line number is always displayed in the Line # field in the upper right of the entry area.

LINE ITEM ENTRY FIELDS

Lin

You may enter a line number or code in this field.  This can be used to reference a line number on a customer's purchase order, which is common with government contracts.  This field is also used to designate kit components (K) and manufactured options (M) if you are using Selling Kits or  the Features & Options module.  This is a three character alphanumeric code.  It may be left blank.

Item number

The inventory item number for the line item.  Inventory item numbers are set up in IN-B  Enter Inventory.  You can select from a list of inventory items by clicking on the Lookup button (or press F2) or you can type in a item number.  As you press <Enter> after you have selected a item number, the inventory product description is displayed under the code.  You can change the description for this particular sales order without affecting the standard description.  If you press <Enter> through the Item number field without entering a item number, the line is treated as a comment line and allows comments entry in the Description field, but not to any of the other fields.  

Inventory stock status (on sales order, on backorder, on purchase order, in QC inspection, on work order, allocated) is available from three places during line item entry.  While performing a lookup in the Item number field, you can highlight an item and then click on the Stock Status button.  You can also click on the Stock Status button or the lookup icon or F2 key while in the Ship Qty and Backord Qty fields.

Description

The description of the item as entered in IN-B  Enter Inventory .  This can be overwritten here without affecting the master description.

Location

If enabled in SD-M Sales Order Defaults the Location can be edited at the Sales Order Line item level.

Ship Qty

The number of units ordered.  This is an 11 character numeric field, two of which are decimal characters.  The default display in this field is 1.00.  If the Ready to Invoice? flag is set to Y, the program checks stock and will not allow a quantity greater than the units on hand to be entered into this field.  If the Ready to Invoice? flag is set to N, you may enter any quantity desired, regardless if stock is on hand or not.  Regardless of the Ready to Invoice? Flag setting, if you have set the SD-M Sales Order Defaults setting for Calc BO on Available to Ship? to Y then the program will backorder any quantity in excess of On Hand less on SO and on BO from other orders.

Backord Qty

If the Ready to Invoice? flag is set to Y and the line item quantity ordered exceeds the inventory units on hand, the remaining units ordered are placed on backorder, and the number of backordered units (per line item) is displayed here.  If the Ready to Invoice? flag is set to N and the SO-E  Release Sales Orders program is used to designate items and quantities for invoicing, unshipped units get automatically moved into the backorder field.

Price

The price for this item.  This can either be a price from the price code file, the base price from the item's inventory record, a contract price for this item and this customer from the contract price file, or a manually entered price.  This is a 12 character numeric field, four of which are decimal characters.  If four decimal places is not accurate enough for extremely low-priced items, be aware that "per thousand" or "per hundred" pricing can be used by setting the price unit of measure in IN-B  Enter Inventory to M or C.  Based on default setting in SD-M Sales Order Defaults access to this field can be prohibited, preventing order entry clerks from changing the default pricing that pulls in.

UM

The price unit of measure for the item as defined in the item's inventory master record.  An entry of M is used for per thousand pricing and an entry of C or H for per hundred pricing.   LOT or MIN designate a Lot or Minimum charge in which case the unit price will not be multiplied by the item quantity to calculate the extended price.

Disc

The percentage discount from the discount code assigned to this customer.  The discount code is based on the item class and dollar amount of the line item.  Discounts will not be applied to contract prices.  You can manually enter or override the discount.  This is a 4 digit numeric field with 2 decimal characters.   Ten percent is represented as 10.00.  A negative discount can be entered to apply a surcharge or "upcharge" to an item.  For a negative discount more than 9.99%, you need to set the "Enable Up Charges in Discounts" in SD-M Sales Order Defaults to Y to gain access to the needed extra digit.

Tax?

If you entered Y in the Taxable? field in the order header, you can also choose whether individual line items are taxable.  You are offered a default from the inventory file (as entered in IN-B, Enter Inventory) for this line item.  If you entered N in the Taxable? field in the order header, this field will always be N.

Release?

Like the Ready to Invoice? field described above, this is a ready-to-ship flag, but one that is applicable to individual line items.  If the Ready to Invoice? flag in the order header is set to Y, the Release? flag will be set to Y for any item that has a Ship Qty.  Otherwise, the Release? flag is set to N.  As items are released for invoicing through SO-E  Release Sales Orders, these flags get set to Y.  Once an invoice gets posted, all Release? flags get set back to N.

Est Shp

The estimated shipping date for this line item.  The default value for this field is the current date.  Whatever date is entered for the first line will repeat for all succeeding lines, but can be overridden.  If an item has multiple ship dates (as in a blanket order), you can use the Duplicate button (or F7 key) to repeat the item on a separate line with a separate quantity and date for each entry.  The estimated ship date will print on the order acknowledgment.  If a sales order gets converted to a production work order, this date becomes the work order finish date.  The Est Shp date is used by the Material Requirements module as a target date for production planning purposes and by SO-N  Convert Sales Orders to Work Orders  to determine the Work Order completion date to satisfy the order.   If a date prior to the current date is entered, a warning message is presented.

Cust Due Date

A second date can be entered to indicate the customer due date which may differ from the Estimated Ship Date.

ECO Info

The ECO Info button is enabled if the Use ECO is set to Y in the Items screen of SD-H Inventory Defaults.  If available, you can indicate the specific revision level associated with this SO and optionally print the information on the Invoice and Acknowledgment.

General Program Operation

Entering a New Sales Order

When you start the program, existing sales orders are automatically displayed in a lookup window.  If you wish to edit an existing sales order, you can highlight it and click on it or press <Enter> or click on the Edit button to bring its information into the header screen.  The blue banner at the top of the screen says Edit Existing Sales Order.  If you know the sales order number, you can bypass the lookup process and enter the sales order number directly after clicking on the Find button.

To enter a new order, click on the Add button (or press <Insert>).  You are taken to the header screen.  The blue banner at the top of the screen says Add New Sales Order.

Normally you leave the SO No. field blank and let the program assign the next available sales order number when the sales order is saved.  You can, however, manually enter a sales order number if you wish (see Field Explanations for more details).

The SO Date defaults to today's date; however, you can override the date if you wish.  You can optionally put your name or initials in the Entered by field to record who entered the order.

You must enter a valid customer code in the Customer field.  You can select a customer from a lookup window by clicking on the lookup icon or button while in the Customer field (or press F2).

If you enter a customer code that isn't in the customer file, you will automatically be switched to the AR-A  Enter Customers entry screen where you can set the customer up on-the-fly.  Once you save the new customer record, you will be returned to the Customer field in SO-A.

Once the Customer code is entered, the rest of the header screen is automatically completed using various defaults from the customer master record.  At this point you can go to any field on the screen and enter or change information as required.  You can use the mouse to click on any field or you can press <Enter> to advance sequentially through the fields.

We recommend studying the Field Explanations section for more detail on each of the header screen fields and how they are used.  Especially important is to review the function of the Ready to Invoice? field, which determines whether or not stock status is to be checked  and whether or not the order can be instantly invoiced.

Once the header screen is completed, you can move on to line item entry by clicking on the Line Item Screen button (or press <PgDn>), or if you advance beyond the Ready to Invoice? field you will automatically be taken to the line items entry screen.

You can return to the header screen from the line item entry screen at any time by clicking on the Header Screen button (or press <PgUp>).

Line Item Entry

When you advance to the line items screen on an existing sales order, existing line item entries display in a lookup window.  Click on the Exit button to close the window (or press <Esc>).

When you advance to the line item entry screen for the first time on a new sales order, no window is displayed and the cursor is located at the Lin field and is ready for the entry of the first line item.  Enter a line number if desired, or you can skip the Lin field.

Enter items from the inventory file by typing in a complete Item number or select one from a lookup window by clicking on the Lookup button (or press F2).  Once you enter the item number and press <Enter> the item's Description and Price will display in their respective fields.

You can also use a comment line entry to enter description lines or create breaks between inventory items or groups.  To do this, press <Enter> in the blank Item number field.  The cursor then moves to the Description field and you can enter up to 30 characters of comment or leave it blank to create a blank line.  In this manner you can enter as many comment lines or blank lines as you wish.

Enter the Ship Qty.  If the Ready to Invoice? field is set to Y in the header screen or the "Calc Backorder on available to Ship" setting in SD-M Sales Order Defaults is set to Y, the program will check stock status and will insert any units not on-hand into the Backord Qty field.  If Ready to Invoice? is set to N, no stock checking will occur.  Stock status checking does not apply to non-inventory items such as inventory types N or K.

After you enter the quantity, the Price may change if subject to quantity price breaks as set up in its price code structure or contract price structure, as defined in the Inventory module's pricing programs.  You can click on the Lookup button while in the Price field (or press F2) to see the price structure in a lookup window.  You may also manually enter any price of your choice unless access to the price field has been prohibited in SD-M Sales Order Defaults.

The unit of measure defaults to the Price UM defined for this item in the item's inventory master record.  This can be overridden if you wish.

If this customer has a Discnt Cd entered in the header screen, the default discount automatically displays in the Disc field, which can be overridden unless access to the price field has been prohibited in SD-M Sales Order Defaults.

If a Y was entered in the Taxable? field in the order header, you are allowed to set the tax status for each line item via the Tax? field.  You are offered the default from the Taxable? field in the item's inventory master record.

The Release? flag is controlled by the Ready to Invoice? flag on the header screen, or it can be set after the order is saved through SO-E  Release Sales Orders.  Any item with units in the Ship Qty field and its Release? flag set to Y can be invoiced.  You can manually enter this field if you wish.

Enter the estimated shipping date in the Est Shp field.  The default date is the current date.  This estimated ship date is the basis for sorting or limiting reports within the Sales Orders module and is also used by the production planning system to determine when inventory items will be needed for shipments.  Whatever date is entered for the first line item will be repeated for all succeeding line items unless changed.  Also enter the Cust Due date in the same manner.  A warning will be presented if the date entered is prior to today.

After completing the Cust Due Date field press <Enter> and the line will be saved.  If the part has specifications in the Inventory master, you will be prompted whether you want to include the specs and be given the opportunity to edit them.  If your SD-N  Sales Commissions Defaults is set to Y for Enter Commissions at Line Item Entry you will be prompted to enter or modify the commission percentage.   The screen will be cleared for entry of the next line item.

Stock Status Inquiry

Inventory stock status (on sales order, on backorder, on purchase order, in QC inspection, on work order, allocated) is available from three places during line item entry.  While performing a lookup in the Item number field, you can highlight an item and then click on the Stock Status button.  You can also click on the Stock Status button while in the Ship Qty and Backord Qty fields.

Customer cross-reference Capability

If an entry exists in the Customer cross-reference file (see IN-L-C  Enter Customer cross-reference) for this item number, then the customer's item number and description for this item will automatically come into the sales order as comment lines immediately following the item.  In this way both you and the customer see each other's item number and description.  You can view these comment lines in the line item display window, which is accessed by clicking on the Display Lines button (or press F2) while in the Lin field.

Product Specifications

The program will also check to see if this item has specifications defined in its inventory master record.  If so, the specifications will automatically display in a window where you are asked Do you want to include specifications for this part?  You are given the choice of Yes, No, and Edit. If Yes, the specifications will come into the order as comment lines and will appear as extra lines of description.  If you choose Edit, you can edit the specifications on-the-fly (just for this particular sales order) before the specifications are brought into the sales order.  You can view these comment lines in the line item display window, which is accessed by or clicking on the Display Lines button (or press F2) while in the Lin field.

Changing a Line Item

You can change any previously entered lines by bringing them into the entry area.  There are several ways to do this.  You can click on the Display Lines button (or press F2) while the line item entry area is cleared and the cursor is in the Lin field.  All the lines will display in a lookup window.  Highlight the line you want and then click on it or press <Enter>.  You can also use the standard search keys/buttons to bring previously entered lines into the entry area.  The First button (F5 key) brings in the first line item; the Last button (F6 key) brings in the last line item.  Once a line item is in the entry area, you can use the Next button (F8 key) to advance forward one line at a time or you can use the Prev button (F7 key) to move backwards one line at a time.

Once a line is in the entry area, the entry procedure is the same as for a new line item.  You may change any or all of the field values and the sales order totals will be updated accordingly except the Item number.  If you want to change the Item number on a line you must delete the line and add or insert a new line with the changed item number.

Once a line is saved, the next line comes into the entry area.  If the line being saved is the last line, the entry area is cleared for a new entry.  No matter which line you are on, you can click on the Add button (or press <End>), which clears the entry area and allows entry of a new line.  The current line number is always displayed in the Line # field in the upper right of the entry area.

Deleting a Line Item

To delete a line, move the line you wish to delete into the entry window using any of the methods described in the previous section and then click on the Delete button (or press F4).  You will be asked if you want to delete the line.  Click on Yes or press <Enter> to accept the Y default and the line will be deleted.  Deleting a line does not automatically delete associated comment and specification lines.  They must be deleted individually.

Inserting a Line

Often the situation arises where you wish to insert a line item or comment line between two existing line items.  To do so, move the line item that you want to insert a new line in front of into the entry area.  Click on the Insert button (or press F3) while the cursor is in that line's Lin or Item number field.  You will be asked if you wish to insert a new line.  If you click Yes or press <Enter>, the entry area will be cleared for entry of a new line that will be inserted in front of the line that was cleared. Any associated specifications, second description lines, customer cross reference, Kit components or Features and Options selections will also be included In the insert.  If you wish to simply insert a blank line for spacing purposes, you must Enter or Tab through the Description field to save the inserted line.  Once the inserted line is added, you are returned to the Display Lines screen.

Duplicating Lines (Scheduled or Blanket Orders)

The system accommodates scheduled or blanket orders by allowing you to enter the same item on multiple lines, each with its own estimated ship date.  A Duplicate function allows you to repeat previously entered line items and comments without having to manually re-enter all the data fields.  

After you enter a line item to be duplicated, along with any subsequent comment lines, you can click on the Duplicate button (or press F7).  The previous line item's information fields will be duplicated and the cursor moves to the Est Shp field.  You can change the date and save the newly created line.  

If there are any comment lines following the original line item, you are asked in a window whether you wish to duplicate the item's comment lines as well.  If you click Yes or press <Enter>, not only the previous line item will be duplicated, but any comment lines following it will be duplicated as well.

Entering Sales Order Notes

You can press the SO Notes button (or press <Home>) from any point when you are in the line item entry area or from any point on the header screen to bring up the notes screen.  Notes allow you to type in free form text using the entire width of the screen as an alternative to the 30 character width of comment lines.  The notes will optionally print on Acknowledgments, packing slips, and invoices following the last line item.

99 lines of notes can be entered.  Enter text on each line and, when finished, press <Enter> to save the line and advance to the next line.  You can insert a line by moving the cursor to a line and clicking on the Ins Line button (or press F3).  This moves all subsequent lines down one position and inserts a blank line ahead of the highlighted line.  You can delete a line by highlighting it and clicking on the Del Line button (or press F4).  

When you are finished entering notes, click on the Save Notes button (or press F10) and the notes entry window will close and you will be returned to the line item entry screen.  If you wish to exit the notes entry screen without saving your entries, click on the Exit Notes button (or press <Esc>).

Saving the Sales Order

You can save the sales order from the line item entry screen while the cursor is in the Lin field or from any point on the header screen by clicking on the Save SO button (or press F10).  You will be prompted to enter an invoice freight amount.  You can enter freight charges if you are ready to invoice, or you can leave the freight charges blank and enter them later through SO-E  Release Sales Orders or SO-P-I Enter Freight & Tracking #.  If the Bill-To or Ship-To customer has notes entered in AR-A Enter Customers you will be prompted whether to include the Notes on the order.  You can include them as is, edit them or not include them at all.  You can also designate the notes as Hidden which will include the notes on the sales order for internal information but not print them on customer documents such as the Invoice or Acknowledgment.  Each line of the Notes can be tagged as hidden or not when in Edit mode, there is a Hide Notes button which will toggle the Hidden flag for each line.

If all of your line items are backordered and the Ready to Invoice? field is set to Y, you will get a prompt that asks if you want to release the order as freight only.  If you click Yes or press <Enter>, when you go to SO-F  Print Invoices, to print the invoice, it will print an invoice with freight only.  If you click No, the flag in Ready to Invoice? field will be changed to N.

You will then be asked if you wish to include the ending lines defined in SD-M Sales Order Defaults.  If you click Yes or press <Enter>, the ending lines will print on the acknowledgment and invoice.

When the sales order gets saved, it updates the inventory units on sales order and units on backorder in the inventory master record and inventory location file.

As the order is saved, if the setting in SD-M Sales Order Defaults for Sales Document printing is Y, you will be prompted to print the , Packing Slip and/or Invoice.  Once the settings are entered, you can click the Save Settings button and the settings will be retained for future orders.

If the sales order you just saved was a new sales order, the header screen is cleared and you are still in Add New Sales Order mode where you can enter another new sales order without having to return to the opening screen.  If you are done entering new orders and wish to either edit an existing order or exit the program, click on the Opening Screen button (or press <Esc>).  To exit the program altogether, return to the opening screen and click on the Exit SO button (or press <Esc>.

Editing an Existing Sales Order

A previously entered sales order can be edited or added to any number of times as long as there are unposted items remaining on the sales order.  Once all the quantities on a sales order have been fully invoiced and posted through SO-G  Post Invoices, however, the sales order gets marked as closed.  Once a sales order is closed, it is subject to being purged from the system through SM-J-J  Purge Closed Sales Orders.  A closed sales order can be reopened; see Reopening a Closed Sales Order further below for details.

You will not be able to edit an existing sales order that has had an invoice printed (but not yet posted) that is marked as printed.  See Editing Sales Orders Marked as Printed following this section.

To edit an existing order, go to the opening screen and select a sales order from the lookup window.  The lookup displays both open and closed sales orders in sales order number sequence.  If you want to confine the display to open sales orders you can click on the Show Open Orders button.  If you want to search on other criteria besides the sales order number, click on the Chg Search Key button and you can choose to list sales orders by customer code, customer name, customer PO, ship to code, ship to name, or job number.  To select a sales order from the lookup window, highlight the sales order you want to edit and click on it (or press <Enter>) or click on the Edit button.

As an alternative to the lookup process, if you know the sales order number you wish to edit you can click on the Find button and enter the sales order number directly.

The header screen is now displayed with the existing sales order header information.  The blue banner at the top of the screen says Edit Existing Sales Order.  You can click on any header screen field or advance through the fields by pressing <Enter>.  Make changes as needed (NOTE: You cannot change the sales order number ?you must delete and re-enter the sales order to assign it to a new number).  If you change the commission rate, if the SD-N  Sales Commissions Defaults setting for Enter Commissions at Line Item Entry is Y, you will be asked if all commissions should have the new rate applied.  If the default is N then the change will be applied automatically.

You can go to the line item entry screen by clicking on the Line Item Screen button (or press <PgDn>) and can then make changes to existing line information or add new lines.  When you are finished with all your changes, click on the Save SO button (or press F10) from either the header or line item entry screen and the sales order will be saved along with all your changes.

If you change the Estimated ship date on a line in the Sales Order you will be prompted Do you want to change all lines with {­old date} to {­new date}? Answer Y and all lines on the Sales Order with the original ship date will be changed to the new date.

After the sales order is saved you are returned to the opening screen.  From this screen you can either select another order for editing, create a new sales order by clicking on the Add button (or press <Insert>), or you can exit the program by clicking on the Exit SO button (or press <Esc>).

Editing Invoices Marked as Printed

Once an invoice from a sales order has been printed in SO-F  Print Invoices, and has been marked in that program as having been printed, SO-A does not allow changes to that sales order until it has either been posted or un-marked as having been printed.  This is a protection against accidental changes being made to a sales order between the time the invoice has been printed and the time it gets posted (the system allows invoice posting to take place after invoice printing) that could result in the invoice posting disagreeing with the printed invoice that may have already been sent to the customer.

If you attempt to edit a sales order marked as printed, you will receive a message indicating that an invoice from this sales order has been printed but not posted.  You are further advised that if you want to edit the sales order anyway, you must reprint the invoice (or list it to the screen) through SO-F  Print Invoices and after printing indicate that you don't want it marked as printed.  This process "un-marks" the sales order and allows you to then edit it as described in Editing an Existing Sales Order above.

Deleting an Existing Sales Order

To delete a sales order, go to the opening screen.  From the lookup display of sales orders highlight the sales order you wish to delete.  Click on the Delete button (or press F4).  You will be asked to verify if you wish to delete the sales order.  If you click on Yes or press <Enter>, the sales order will be deleted.

Deleting a sales order reverses the operations described above in Saving a Sales Order.

Reopening a Closed Sales Order

A sales order automatically gets marked as closed when all line item quantities are invoiced and posted.  Once closed, the sales order is subject to being purged or archived via SM-J-J  Purge Closed Sales Orders.  You can re-open a closed sales order, however, if you need to change quantities, add more lines, etc.

Go to the opening screen.  From the lookup window highlight the sales order you wish to re-open (closed sales orders are marked C in the column to the right of the sales order number).  Click on the sales order or press <Enter> or click on the Edit button.  If you know the sales order number you can bypass the lookup process by clicking on Find and entering the sales order number directly.

You will be asked This sales order has been closed.  Do you want to re-open it?  Click Yes or press <Enter> and you can then edit the sales order for any changes or additions.  When you save the sales order it will be saved as an open sales order.  If you make no changes but only looked at the order, click Save rather than Esc to exit.  When it is saved you will be prompted This sales order has no line items with unbilled quantities and no tax or freight charges.  Do you wish to close it?   Answer Y to close it.  You can control whether closed orders can be reopened or only viewed at DEF-M Sales Order Defaults (Evo-ERP)

Using Sales Orders as Credit Memos

The sales order allows entry of negative quantities.  This can be useful as a means of producing printed credit memos.  If you want the item being credited to be returned to inventory, enter the item's item number and a negative quantity.  When the invoice gets posted, inventory will be increased.  If you wish to credit a customer but not return inventory, enter a non-inventory item number and modify the description to identify the item.  Use the sales order comments capability to describe the reason for the credit memo.  When invoices are printed in SO-F  Print Invoices, for orders with a negative total, the title of the form gets changed from INVOICE to CREDIT MEMO.  As a general rule, you should always use a Sales Order Credit Memo rather than a voucher in AR-B  Enter Vouchers if the transaction affects inventory or commissions as vouchers do not update either of these areas.

Using Features & Options in Sales Orders

Features & Options is a module which allows bills of material to be designed to accommodate multiple options within products.  During sales order entry options are presented in windows for selection.  As each option is selected, it brings it into the sales order following the parent product.  Options may be defined within options, and you can specify option prices to be itemized or to be added to the price of the parent product.  After the options are selected and the sales order is saved, the sales order can be converted via SO-N  Convert Sales Orders to Work Orders to a work order, during which all the options are passed over to the work order's bill of material where they are combined with the parent product's standard components.

For details on how to use features and options within the SO-A, Enter Sales Orders, program, see Using Features & Options in Sales Orders.

Absorbing Sales Tax into Line Item Prices

There are industries such as construction in which sales tax is often not itemized and is absorbed into the line item prices.  The tax, however, is still owed and must be paid to the appropriate tax authorities, and the tax amount must be backed out from the sales amount of each line item or else sales will be overstated.

The system accommodates this type of sales tax processing.  In SD-M Sales Order Defaults, set the Prompt for Itemized Sales Tax? switch to Y.  Now each time you save an order you will be asked Do you wish to itemize sales tax?  If you answer N, no tax will be printed on the invoice.  If you answer Y, sales tax will be shown in the subtotal section of the invoice in the conventional manner.    

When the invoice is posted and sales tax is not itemized, instead of each item's sales GL account being credited for the full line item amount, it will be reduced by the amount of sales tax and a separate credit will be made to the default sales tax GL account.  The tax authority file will also be updated by the sales tax amount.