Frequently Asked Question
Adding a new category is a normal function of doing business. In that it does not happen every day we put together this summary of how to accomplish this task.
There are three steps required to complete the process and ensure that all items called up on the front counter will price correctly. These steps, in order of execution include;
1- SET UP THE CATEGORY,
2 - ESTABLISH THE PRICE MULTIPLIERS and lastly
3 - RUN THE PRICE UPDATE. (This is optional, and may be run via automated updates from AMS)
This Document covers Step One Set up the Category.
You will need the following information in hand prior to doing this step
Price Book Vendor EG:- Raybestos = “RAY”
GST Level – Normally set to “1”
SST Level – Normally set to “1”
Catalogue Vendor (If applicable) - Associates the Catalogue lookup to the category
Price Book Vendor – Tells the system what price book to look up item base prices in.
The Screen used to enter these fields shown on the following page is accessed via the following menu selections.
6. Inventory… ->1. Data Maintenance… ->1. Master Files… -> 1. Category Master
Alternately you can enter “category master” into the menu search.
Either Method brings up Category Maintenance screen as shown below.
Select 1 – Add Category which brings up a screen as shown below (Note fields will initially be blank)
Enter the category you are adding
Field 3/4 GST/PST Level will normally default to 1
Field 5 – Category Type Normally be ”P” for Parts.
Field 6/7 - Optionally, you can enter the Buyer responsible for this line and the Vendor/DC associated
Field 8 - Default Gross Margin % - Set this to the default gross margin you would like the system to assume when calculating cost on an item where you only enter a sell price. (This prevents out of line reporting in end of day etc. - eg If left blank a pickup item where you only entered the sell price will show as a 100% Gross sale)
Field 9-12 - Default GL Accounts. This covers the default GL accounts where postings will be made for Sales, Inventory, COG, Levies and Discounts associated with this category.
Field 24 – If known enter the purchase default vendor. Used by the purchasing system when you call for a suggested order by Vendor.
Field 26 – Price Book Vendor tells the system what price book to use for this line code.
Field 28 – Catalogue Vendor Code – Associates the entered catalogue vendor to this category. This is used to tie autoecat vendors to Counterpoint.
Field 30 – Product reporting Group – Optional, allows you to track sales by user defined reporting groups. (ie Heavy Truck parts – Import Parts – etc.)
Field 32 – Chaining sequence - Defines how parts in a category are sorted. Suggested to set to C
Field 33 - Numeric Squeeze - This should be left as Y
Fields 34/35 - GP% Min/Max Used to trigger exception reporting in sales reports. Typically set at values around 35% Min and 300% Max
Field 36 – Sell in Tenths - Used mainly for Bulk Liquids where sales in 1/10th litres take place. Usually set to “N”
Field 38 – Stocking Line – Set to “Y” if this is a line you stock. Used by the purchasing system.
Field 39 - Pricing by Price Point - This defines whether this category should use price point pricing. Must be set if you wish to use price point pricing. More info on price point pricing can be found here
Field 40 - Owning Branch - Allows you to push sales of this category to another branch. Should be left blank unless you are sure of the function
Field 42 - Default value used for the 'Use Purchase Qty' field when adding new items to inventory.
Field 43 - Default value used for the 'Class' field when adding new items to inventory
Field 45 - Use Serial Numbers- Allows the use of serial numbers in this category. More on serial number setup and use can be found here:
Field 47/48 - Levy Tax Codes - The tax codes to use for levies in this category
Field 49 - End User Only - If set to Y, taxes not charged to clients with PST numbers
If you are adding a new category the next step is to set up the pricing structures for the line. More info on this step can be found here