Setting up the Order Entry System for a company is a simple process. A number of master files must be created. These files contain customer, inventory, and sales representative records. The Order Entry System uses codes from all these files.
No orders can be entered until certain information has been entered into the master files. Described below are the various master files used by the Order Entry System.
Pay Terms
Order Entry shares the Pay Terms file with the Accounts Receivable System, the Accounts Payable System, and the Purchase Order System. During the setup stage of the Accounts Receivable System, instructions are given on how to enter pay terms. See C/Books Accounts Receivable Manual Chapter 18, Setting Up Accounts Receivable for more information.
Customers
Order Entry is an extension of the Accounts Receivable System. As such, the customer master file must be present. Each customer placing orders must be entered into the customer master file prior to the entry of the order. If you are already using the Accounts Receivable System, chances are good that your customer master is currently ready for use.
One extension that Order Entry makes is to allow for separate and multiple shipping address for customers. These shipping address must be entered prior to entering orders for those shipping address (see Chapter 7, Customers).
Inventory
The Inventory master file is created in the Inventory Control System. If the Inventory Control System is already in use, all the necessary product records probably have been created already. See the C/Books Inventory Control Manual for additional information on entering inventory records.
You can also create the inventory master or add new products to the inventory master from the Order Entry System (see Chapter 8, Inventory).
Sales Representatives
The sales representatives file is used by Order Entry to record sales commission information. This file is shared with the Payroll System. If you do not have the Payroll System, you can use the Order Entry version exclusively.
If the Payroll System is in use, you must enter all employees using the Employee screen in the Payroll System. Any sales representatives that are not on payroll can be entered using the Sales Representatives screen of the Order Entry System. The Sales Representatives screen must also be used to enter any sales commission information for the sales reps. See Chapter 9, Sales Representatives for more information on entering sales representatives.
Once the master files have been established, the Order Entry Module is ready for use. As you can see, for companies already using a full set of C/Books accounting modules, setting up Order Entry is very quick.