The Alternative Product Entry Screen provides you with another way of entering catalog numbers and other product information.  It is accessed in two ways:  click on the small, light blue "Toggle" button found on the Main Invoice Screen just above the Item Area.  Or it can be reached by selecting WINDOW and ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT ENTRY SCREEN from the Menu Bar on top of the Main Invoice Screen.

The advantage of the Alternative Product Entry Screen is that it allows you to concentrate on one product at a time.  It's a particularly expedient way of entering products that are not found on the Product Pop-up list.  It also includes one piece of information not available with the Main Invoice Screen:  the product's identifying number.  For books this is the ISBN Number.  But if you sell other products, it could be the part number, color, size, etc.

The Alternative Product Entry Screen is also used to enter products which are sold by measurement (weight, length, etc.)

Note that measurement, pricing levels and quantity break features are not available for Levels 1, 2 and 3 and you will not see them displayed on the screen.

Pricing Levels or Quantity Breaks - Level 4 and Level 7

Another advantage of the Alternative Product Entry Screen has to do with Pricing Levels (Level 4 or greater) or Quantity Breaks (Level 7).  If you have set-up either of these two options in the Product Information Database, the Alternative Entry Screen will automatically show which pricing level (or quantity break) is currently being used.

Or you can use the Alternative Entry Screen to indicate which Pricing Level or Quantity Break that you want.  To do so, select the desired choice from the drop down list (to the right of the word "Pricing"), and the proper price will be pasted in place.

Also, if you are using either Pricing Levels or Quantity Breaks, the right side of the Alternative Product Entry will include a list of the names (or quantity breaks) and their associated number code.  On the Main Invoice Screen, if you fully extend the Item Area to the right, you'll see a number.  This is the number code associated with the pricing level (or quantity break).  You don't necessarily need to know the number code, but the Alternative Entry Screen includes this information.

Quantity Breaks: Additional Features - Level 7 Feature.

If you have configured the program for Quantity Breaks, you'll see two buttons beside the word "Quan Check:"  "This Item" and "All Items."  These are helpful if you've entered products directly into the Item Area or if you've used the Product Pop-up List and neglected to enter quantities.  If you click "This Item" button, it looks up the current product's quantity pricing breaks and depending upon the quantity, it will paste in the proper price.  If you click on the "All Items" button, the program runs through all of the products listed in the Item Area, assigning the correct price based on the quantity.

Entering Information

Information on the Alternative Product Entry Screen can be entered directly by typing in the quantity, item's name, discount, price, etc.  Or you can access two types of pop-up lists:  Product pop-up list and S-Code pop-up list.  The S-Code pop-up is activated by clicking on "List" beside the S-Code field.

Product Pop-up List

The Product pop-up list is activated by clicking on the "List" button beside the Catalog Number field or by clicking on "Add Blank and Show List."  In the first case (the "List" button), after you select from the list, the selected product will overwrite the product currently showing in the Alternative Entry Screen.  It works exactly the same way as the "Place" button on the Main Invoice Screen.  (To prevent unwanted overwrites, AnyOrder will always ask before pasting a new product over an existing one.)  You can also activate the product list by placing your cursor in the Quantity, Catalog Number or Item blanks and double click in the unused, dark gray area in the Item Area.  .

In the second case ("Add Blank and Show List" button), a blank new record will be added to the item list and then the Product Pop-up list will be activated.  After selecting a product from the list, the information will be pasted in the new blank record.

If you'd like to add a blank record, click on "Add a Blank."  After adding a blank, you can use the "List" button beside the Catalog Number to enter a product.  To conserve file space, AnyOrder will add only one blank record to the end of the Item list.  Once one blank record has been added, clicking "Add a Blank" again will not have an effect.

Other Buttons

If you have more than one product on the item list, you can use the navigation arrows to move forward or backwards through the records.  To update the calculations on the Alternative Product Entry Screen, click on "Calculate."  To delete a product, click on "Delete."  To exit from the Alternative Product Entry Screen, click on "Toggle (Close)."

Discount

On the Main Invoice Screen, the discount column only shows one decimal place, but item discounts are actually precise to seven decimals.  You can see all seven places in the Alternative Product Entry Screen.  If you need to make discount adjustments involving more than one decimal place, this is the place to do it.

Using AnyOrder to Bill for Hours Worked

You can use AnyOrder to create invoices for hours worked.  To do so, indicate the number of hours in the quantity field and type in "Labor" or similar terminology for the Item Name.  You're not limit to whole hours.  You can also indicate fractional hours by using the same technique as "Products Sold by Measurement" (below).

Products Sold by Measurement - Level 4 and above

This portion of the Alternative Product Entry Screen is used if you have products which are sold by weight (pounds, ounces, grams, kilograms, etc.) or length (meters, inches, feet, etc.).  You may also use it if you provide services which are billed out by hours or portions of an hour.

In order to access this feature, you need to turn it on in Basic Set-up.  But before turning it on, carefully consider whether you really need it.  Turning it on re-configures your data files and increases their size.  If you don't need the feature, it's best left off.  If, however, you deal with products which are sold in fractions, then you'll want to turn it on.  To turn it on, select FILE >> BASIC PROGRAM SET-UP & PREFERENCES and click on the "Miscellaneous" tab.  After turning it on, exit and re-start the program.  When the program is running again, click on the "toggle" button.  You'll see the following additional fields on the Alternative Product Entry Screen:

Measured Quantity. This is where you enter the measured amount of the product.  Let's say you are selling fabric.  If you sold 3.75 yards of fabric, you would enter "3.75" in this field.

Price Per Unit. This is the amount that you charge per unit of the product.  This value will come from the Product Information Database.  It can be either the retail price -- or it can be one of the pricing levels (if you have pricing levels).  If you charge $10 per yard, "10" will show up in this field.  If this is an occasional product without a catalog number, you can, if desired, type an amount in the "Price Each" field.
   Note that if you don't have a catalog number, AnyOrder can't remember the "Price Per Unit."  Thus, it won't print this information on the invoice.  If you want the Measured Quantity and Price Per Unit to appear on the printed invoice -- or if you want the "Price Per Unit" remembered -- enter the product in the Product Information Database.

Unit. This comes from the Product Information Database.  This is the unit by which the product is sold.  Units can be: lb, oz, ft, yd, kg, g, m, etc.  The unit will appear on the printed invoice.

Re-set Button.  This re-sets the "Measured Quantity" to zero.  If you have a catalog number for the product, the "Price Each" field returns to its original value that's found in the Product Database.

Measured Quantity Calculations. After you've entered an amount in "Measured Quantity" and moved to another field (or clicked on "Calculate"), AnyOrder will multiply "Measured Quantity" times "Price Per Unit."  The result is placed in the "Price Each" field.  When the invoice is printed, the measure quantity calculation will appear just under the product's name.  Here's an example: 3.75 YD @10.00/YD.
   You may wonder why the total of this calculation is placed in the "Price Each" field.  The reason is that it provides for a greater range of applications.  Let's say that you sell packages of paper by weight.  Some packages have 3.5 lbs in them.  Some have 4.2 lbs, etc.  This method allows you to use the same catalog number for the paper packages, yet obtain the proper price for each package.  To indicate it on your invoice, you would list each on a separate row in the Item Area.  One row would be for the 3.5 lb package and another row for the 4.2 lb package.
   Moreover, if you have 3 packages with 3.5 lbs in them, you can indicate a quantity of 3 instead of entering each package individually.  The total of the 3 packages will be automatically calculated for you and appear in the "Total" column.  The other advantage is from an inventory standpoint.  You can determine how many "sales" have been made -- or how many cases or packages have been sold.

Removing Measurement Notations from a Printed Invoice - Level 4 and above

Let's say you print an invoice and a measurement notation such as 1.5 YD @ 5.00/YD appears under a product name. If you do not want this information to appear on the printed invoice, you can remove it by bringing up the Alternative Product Entry Screen.  Go to the appropriate product, and set "Measured Quantity" to zero (0).  "Measured Quantity" can be set to zero by typing in a zero or by using the "Re-set" button.

More Information on Products Sold by Measurement - Level 4 and above

The General Process. When you need to indicate a fractional quantity for products sold by weight, length, etc. (or for billings that involved a fraction of an hour), you must use the Alternative Product Entry screen.  You can not indicate fractions in the Item Area on the Main Invoice Screen.

Let's run through the process.  Let's say that you've sold 1.5 yards of fabric.  In the Product Information Database, you need to make sure that you've given the product a catalog number and a descriptive name.  You also need to indicate that the "Measured Unit" is YD (for yard), and fabric retails for $5.00/per yard.

To enter the 1.5 yards on an invoice, start at the Main Invoice Screen and click on the "Add" button.  Select the desired fabric from the list.  The catalog number and item description will be pasted to the Item Area.  At this point, click on the "Toggle" button to activate the Alternative Product Entry Screen.  (Note that it is not necessary to start at the Main Invoice Screen.  You can activate the Alternative Product Entry Screen right off and select "Add a Blank and Show List.")

Once at the Alternative Product Entry Screen, you can indicate the fractional measurement by entering 1.5 in the "Measured Quan" blank.  Click on "Calculate."  You'll see 7.50 appear in the "Price Each" field.  You'll also see 7.50 in the "Total" field.

If you dealing with more than one quantity.  In other words you are selling 5 pieces of fabric and each piece is 1.5 yards in length, type in a "5" in the "Quantity" field.  The "Price Each" remains 7.50, but the "Total" field will show 32.50 (5 x 7.50).

When you print the invoice, the calculation will appear under the product's name: 1.5 YD @ 5.00/YD.

Products Not Included in the Product Information Database. Let's say that you don't have the fabric included in the Product Information Database.  In that case, you can still calculate using a fractional quantity.

In the Alternative Product Entry Screen, type in the name of the item.  In the "Price Each: field, type in the price per unit.  Let's say it's 7.00.  Then click on "Calculate."  The 7.00 will now appear in the "Price per Unit" field.

Now you can indicate the factional quantity.  Let's say it's 2.5.  Enter "2.5" in the "Measured Quan" field.  Click on "Calculate."  The "Price Each" field will now show 17.50.  When AnyOrder prints the invoice, 17.50 will show up as the "Price @" and 17.50 will be the "Total.

But there is drawback.  Because you do not have the fabric included in the Product Information Database, AnyOrder doesn't know that the unit is a yard.  It also isn't really sure what the price is per yard.  Consequently, the calculation (2.5 YD @ 7.00/YD) will not appear on the printed invoice.  If you want the calculation to show (which is very helpful for your customers) you must include the product in your Product Information Database.

Note that it's a different situation with AnyPO (Purchase Order system).  AnyPO is able to remember the unit and price per unit.  It will print the calculation on the printed PO even if the product is not included in the Stock Ordering Database.  It does this by including extra fields in the Item Area database to remember the needed information.  The reason for this difference is because with PO's, many products that you order will not be included the Stock Ordering Database while most of the products that you sell will be included in the Product Information Database..

It is possible to add this feature to AnyOrder should you be involved in a business where it is not feasible to include such products in the Product Information Database.  Contact us and we'll be happy to customized the program for this purpose.

There's something else you should know about products not included in the Product Information Database.  As soon as you move to another product in the Alternative Product Entry screen, AnyOrder will lose track of the "Price per Unit."  When you move back to the product, you'll see that "Price per Unit" will show zero.

Let's say you need to do a re-calculation.  To do so, you need to type in the original per unit price in the "Price Each" field.  In other words, using our example from above, you would type in 7.00 in the "Price Each" field.  When you click on "Calculate," the "Price Per Unit" field will show 7.00.  A second calculation will quickly follow.  Since 2.5 still remains in "Measured Quan," the "Price Each" field will be re-calculated to 17.50.  If you need to change the "Measured Quan" to say 3.5, then the "Price Each" field will re-calculate to 24.50.