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Placing and Canceling Transactions Links

You use e-automate to track your inventory on hand, the quantities sold, and to determine how much you may need to have on hand to sell to your customer. Having the correct items, as well as the correct quantities, on hand is an important component of your business. Because e-automate tracks the quantities you have on hand and the items that are identified on your sales order/invoices or service transactions (allocated), when you create a new service call or sales order, e-automate knows if you have sufficient quantities to provide for the call or the order you are entering.

This functionality works because the sales order and the service call both “know” from which warehouse the items added are to be drawn. Typically the sales order uses warehouse identified in the Warehouse field on the sales order, and the service call uses the technician warehouse associated with the technician.

Because e-automate knows the warehouse, as you add items, the system can determine if you have sufficient quantity in the warehouse associated with the transaction to meet the needs of the customer. If you have sufficient quantities, e-automate can simply add the items to the transaction and move forward. If you do not have sufficient quantities, e-automate can calculate the number of items that you are deficient and flag the deficient quantity as back ordered. For example, if you need three of an item and you have none available, e-automate can back order all three of the items so that they can added to a purchase order or transfer to satisfy the inventory need. Inventory needs can be satisfied in a variety of ways. You can manually link needed items to transfer orders or purchase orders, you can use the inventory logistics console to batch add items to purchase orders or transfer orders, or you can use the e-agent task to automatically create transfer or purchase orders to meet the needs. If you have an order for four of an item and you have two available, e-automate adds two to the order as back ordered and two to the order as Allocated. The ability for the e-automate system to automatically calculate this back-ordered amount is a feature that your system administrator can turn on or off. For additional information, see the "Enabling Automatic Back Order Calculation" sub-topic below.

When the back order calculation feature is turned on and there are insufficient quantities in the warehouse and default bin, e-automate can displays a couple of different windows to resolve the situation. The first window is a proposal window called Sales Order Bin Quantity Proposal window. This window is designed to suggest alternate bins in which you have inventory for the requested item and suggest that you draw inventory from those locations to satisfy the customer’s needs. If you still do not have enough of the item after considering the alternate bins, you can allow the automatic back order to occur for that item at the quantity necessary. When automatic back order calculations is enabled, you will see the quantity to back order in red text on the bottom right hand of the proposal window. You can review and modify the specific details associated with the back order by clicking the checkbox, Preview backorder detail upon clicking OK. When checked, e-automate displays the Edit Sales Order Item Bin window upon clicking [OK]. A similar window is available on service calls called Edit Report Material Item bin. These windows give the user an opportunity to accept the calculated back-ordered quantity, or to modify the quantity. If the back order calculation feature is not turned on, these windows are not displayed when there are insufficient quantities. These windows are accessible at a later time by right-clicking on an item on a sales order or a service call and selecting Edit Bins. When items are back ordered on a sales order or a service call, e-automate will not allow them to be shipped/fulfilled through sales, or invoiced through service, until the back order status is resolved.

You can resolve the back order status on sales orders or service calls by linking the back-ordered transactions to either purchase orders or transfer orders, and then receiving the purchase order or transferring the transfer order. When you link these transactions, e-automate knows the appropriate time to release the sales order or service call based on purchase order receipts or transfers. For example, if you have 10 items on a sales order and you link all 10 of the items to a purchase order, when you receive the 10 items on the purchase order, e-automate releases the sales order from back order. If you only receive five of the items, the system will release the back order on five of the items and leave the back order on five of the items. If you have items on Back order status that should not be back ordered, you can also manually release the back order. The purchase order and the transfer order will automatically release the back order on a sales order and set the status to Open if all back ordered items become available through a purchase order receipt or a transfer order transfer. On a service call, linked purchase order receipts and transfers that were linked transfer orders can change the status of a service call from On Hold (Waiting for Parts) to On Hold (Parts Received). These two transactions, purchase order receipt and transfer order transfer are the ONLY two transactions allowed to change the status of calls that bear the On Hold (Waiting for Parts) hold code. These transactions cannot and will not affect calls that have any other on hold code, for example credit hold.

In e-automate, you can link back-ordered transactions using one of the following three methods:

Manually creating a purchase order and having the purchase order look for back-ordered items

Using the Inventory Logistics Console to query for back-ordered items in Sales and Service, and then using it to create the purchase or transfer orders in a batch format

Using the e-agent Inventory Management task to create purchase orders and transfer orders automatically

This topic explains how to configure automatic back order, how to manually link back-ordered quantities from service calls and sales orders. You can also link back ordered items in bulk by using the Inventory Logistics Console or the Inventory Management task. For more information, see the Inventory Logistics Console and e-agent Using the Inventory Management Task topics. When using any tool, whether manually adding items to a purchase order using the Inventory Logistics Console or using the Inventory Management Task, e-automate requires that you flag items as back ordered as a way of identifying them as needing attention.

If you manually link or bulk link transactions together that you do not want to be linked you can use the instructions in this topic to unlink, linked transactions. See "Unlinking Linked Items on Sales Orders" and "Unlinking Linked Items on Service Calls"

Enabling Automatic Backorder CalculationEnabling Automatic Backorder Calculation

From the Tools menu, select Options to open the Options window.

On the left side of the window, double-click on Sales.

On the right side, check the Enable the auto availability checks and back order calculations on sales orders checkbox.
Note: When checked, e-automate checks the specified warehouse on a sales order for sufficient quantities on hand of the item you add to the sales order. If you have sufficient quantities, e-automate adds the item to the sales order and allocates the item. If you add an item to the sales order where there are insufficient quantities, e-automate calculates the number it must back order to provide for the quantity ordered. If you have none of the item on hand, the system back orders the entire quantity. If you have some on hand, e-automate calculates the quantity ordered, subtracts the quantity available and backorders the difference. When items are back ordered, e-automate can use the back-order flag to assist in purchase order creation. The Inventory Logistics Console is used by e-automate to create purchase orders as well as the inventory management task and manual purchase order creation. Sales orders must have the back orders released before fulfillment. Back orders can be released through linked purchase order receiving, linked transfer order transfers, or manual release.

Click [OK] to save your changes and to close the Options window.

If you made any changes, e-automate displays an Attention window, indicating that all users must restart e-automate in order for these changes to take effect. Do the following:

Click [OK] to acknowledge the message.

Restart e-automate so that these changes will take effect.

If you are running e-agent, restart e-agent as well.

Manually Changing Backordered Quantities on Service CallsManually Changing Backordered Quantities on Service Calls

If you have automatic backorder calculation enabled, the e-automate system will automatically display the backordered quantity in the Edit Report Material Item Bin window, if necessary. To manually change the backorder quantity or release the backorder quantity, use these instructions.

From the e-automate toolbar, click [Dispatch] to open the Dispatch Console window.

Locate the service call you want to back order, or for which you want change the back-order quantity, and select it from the call list.

Click [Invoice] to open the Invoice Call window.

Do ONE of the following:

If the window is labeled Invoice Call – Standard Entry, do the following:

Click the Materials tab to bring it forward.

From the materials list, locate the item for which you want to modify the back order and select it from the list.
Note: If the item is not present, you must add the item. Select the item in the Items field. In the Quantity field, enter the quantity. Click [QuickAdd] and then select the item.

Click [Edit] to open the Edit Report Material window.

In the Bins region, select the warehouse and bin and click [Edit] to open the Edit Report Material Item Bin window.

In the Back ordered field, enter the appropriate back-order quantity.
Note: The back-order quantity should be less than or equal to the Quantity field.

Click [OK] to save the settings in the Edit Report Material Item Bin window.

In the Edit Report Material window, locate the Status field and use the lookup to select Needed.

Click [OK] to save the settings and close the Edit Report Material window.

Repeat Steps b through h to change the quantities on additional items on the materials list.

If the window is labeled Invoice Call – Quick Entry, do the following:

In the Materials used region, locate the item for which you want to modify the back order and select it from the list.
Note: If the item is not present, you must add the item. Select the item in the Items field. In the Quantity field, enter the quantity. Click [QuickAdd] and then select the item.

Click [Edit] to open the Edit Report Material window.

In the Bins region, select the warehouse and bin and click [Edit] to open the Edit Report Material Item Bin window.

In the Back ordered field, enter the appropriate back-order quantity.
Note: Your back-order quantity should be less than or equal to your Quantity field.

Click [OK] to save the settings in the Edit Report Material Item Bin window.

In the Edit Report Material window, locate the Status field and use the lookup to select Needed.

Click [OK] to save the settings and close the Edit Report Material window.

Repeat Steps a through g to change the quantities on additional items on the materials list.

Click [OK] to save your call. If the call is not on hold waiting for parts, e-automate displays the Attention Required window, asking if you want to place the call on hold. Click [Yes] to place the call On Hold (Waiting for Parts).
Note: Now that the back order flag is associated and the status is set to Needed, e-automate can locate this item for automated processing via the Inventory Logistics Console and/or e-agent's Inventory Management Task.

Manually Changing Backorder Quantities on Sales OrdersManually Changing Backorder Quantities on Sales Orders

If you have automatic back order calculation enabled, e-automate will automatically display the back-ordered quantity in the Edit Sales Order Item Bin window, if necessary. You can change the quantity back ordered immediately when the window displays or you can return to the sales order later to manually change the back-ordered quantity. Use these instructions to manually change the back order on a sales order.

From the Sales menu, select Sales Orders to open the Sales Orders window.

In the Sales Order list, locate the sales order for which you want to change back ordered quantities and select it.

Click [Edit] to open the Edit Sales Order window.

Locate the item you want to change the back ordered quantity and right-click on the item. Select Edit Bins to open the Edit Sales Order Item Bin window.

In the Back ordered field, enter your back order quantity.
Note: Your back-ordered quantity should be equal to or less than the Quantity field.

Click [OK] to return to the Edit Sales Order window.

Click [OK] to save the changes to the sales order.
Note: Now that the back order flag is associated with items on the sales order, e-automate can locate this item for automated processing via the Inventory Logistics Console and/or e-agent's Inventory Management Task.

Manually Releasing a Backordered Sales OrderManually Releasing a Backordered Sales Order

If you have a sales order that has back-ordered quantities associated with it and non-linked inventory has been received that would accommodate those orders you can manually release those back ordered items on sales orders to change the sales order status. Use these instructions to release the back order manually. When you open the Release Backordered Quantities window, e-automate determines, for the warehouse associated with the sales order, if inventory quantities have changed since the order was entered, and if the warehouse now has sufficient quantity to provide for the order. You may release some items and not others.

From the Sales menu, select Sales Orders to open the Sales Orders window.

In the Sales Order list, locate the sales order for which you want to release back-ordered quantities, right-click on it, and select Release Backordered Quantities to open the Release Backordered Quantities window.

Do ONE of the following:

To have e-automate verify quantities on hand for the items on the sales order and for the warehouse associated with each item, do the following:

Click [Check Available] to check quantities available for items on the sales order and associated warehouse.
Note: E-automate checks the quantities and sets the Qty to release column.

Click [OK] to release the back-ordered quantities.

To release items on back order, regardless of the stock on hand, do the following:

In the column with checkboxes, check the checkbox next to the items to be released.
Note: You can click [Check All] or [Uncheck All] as appropriate.

Click [OK] to release the back order. Acknowledge the Attention Required window by clicking [Yes] to update the Qty to release field and return to the Release Backordered Quantities window. Click [No] to return to the Release Backordered Quantities window.

Click [OK] to save your back-order quantity changes.

Unlinking Linked Items on Sales OrdersUnlinking Linked Items on Sales Orders

You use the Inventory Logistics Console, the Inventory Management task, or manual linking to link back ordered items to purchase orders. You use the Inventory Logistics Console, the Inventory Management task to link back ordered items to transfer orders. Use these steps in the event you need to break the link between a transaction and the order, either purchase or transfer. You always break transactional links by going to the transaction with the inventory need, either the sales order or the service call. You cannot break a transactional link to a purchase order on the purchase order.

When you are canceling the link on sales order for items that are linked to unlocked purchase orders, e-automate automatically cancels the link AND the item off the purchase order. If you are canceling the link to an unlocked PO, e-automate assumes you will meet the need in another way and therefore cancels the item off the purchase order. If the purchase order has been locked, e-automate assumes that locked purchase order has been communicated to the vendor so when you cancel the link on a transaction, e-automate leaves the item on the purchase order and does not cancel the quantity from the purchase order, only cancels the link between the two transactions.

From the Sales menu, select Sales Orders.

On the sales order list, locate and select the sales order.

Click [Edit] to open the Edit Sales Order window.

On the Items tab, locate the item and right-click on the item and select Edit Bins.

Do one of the following:

If the item is linked to a purchase order, do the following:

Click the Purchase orders tab to bring it forward.

Locate the purchase order to which this link item is linked.

Right-click on the purchase order and select Cancel link.

Click [OK] to close the Edit Sales Order Item Bin window.

Click [OK] to save and close the sales order.
Note: If that is the only item on the purchase order and the purchase order is unlocked, e-automate cancels the purchase order. If there are other items on the unlocked purchase order, e-automate cancels that line item on the purchase order and leave the purchase order with an Open status. If the item is linked to a locked purchase order, e-automate simply cancels the link and leaves the item on the purchase order.

If the item is linked to a transfer order, do the following:

Click the Transfer orders tab to bring it forward.

Locate the purchase order to which this item is linked.

Right-click on the transfer order and select Cancel link.

Click [OK] to close the Edit Sales Order Item bin window.

Click [OK] to save and close the sales order.
Note: E-automate, breaks the link between the transfer order and the sales order. The transfer order still exists, if you want to cancel the transfer order, go to Inventory > Transfers > Transfer Orders and cancel the order.

Unlinking Linked Items on Service CallsUnlinking Linked Items on Service Calls

When you are canceling the link on service call for items that are linked to unlocked purchase orders, e-automate automatically cancels the link AND the item off the purchase order. If you are canceling the link to an unlocked PO, e-automate assumes you will meet the need in another way and therefore cancels the item off the purchase order. If the purchase order has been locked, e-automate assumes that locked purchase order has been communicated to the vendor so when you cancel the link on a transaction, e-automate leaves the item on the purchase order and does not cancel the quantity from the purchase order, only cancels the link between the two transactions.

Click [Dispatch] on the e-automate toolbar.

Locate and select the service call with the item for which you want to break the link between the purchase order or transfer order.

Click [Invoice] to open the Invoice Call window.

If the Invoice Call window is in standard entry mode, click the Materials tab to bring it forward.

Locate the items with the link you want to cancel, note the quantity needed, select the item and click [Remove].

In the e-automate window asking if you want to remove the selected item, click [Yes].

In the window notifying you that the item is linked to a purchase or transfer order, click [Yes].

In the Items field, select the item and re-add the item to the transaction (without the transaction link).

In the Edit Report Material Item Bin window, verify and adjust the backorder quantity as necessary.

Click [OK].

Click [OK] in the Invoice Call window to save your changes.
Note: E-automate breaks the link between the service call and the transfer order. When re-adding the item, this will automatically cancel the links between the transactions. E-automate does not cancel or remove the item from the transfer order; the item remains on the order and must be canceled manually. If the purchase order is locked, this process leaves the item on the purchase order. If the purchase order is not locked, the item is removed from the purchase order by this process.

Backorder Linking (RMA to RTV)Backorder Linking (RMA to RTV)

In order to understand the explanation outlined in these help steps, you should be familiar with a few terms related to Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) and Return To Vendor (RTV) orders. On an RMA order, you can have up to two different line types. One line type is a return, designated in this instruction set as RMA-RETURN. An RMA-RETURN is an item that a customer is returning to the dealer through an RMA. Also on the RMA you can have a shipping item, designated in this instruction set as RMA-SHIPPING. This is the line used to replace or ship a new item to the customer.

On an RTV order, you can have two different line types. One line type is a return, designated in this instruction set as RTV-RETURN. An RTV-RETURN is the item that is leaving your inventory and returning to the vendor for either a credit or a replacement. Also on an RTV order you can have a receiving line, designated in this instruction set as RTV-RECEIVE. An RTV-RECEIVE is the item that you receive from the vendor as a replacement item.

When you link items from an RMA to an RTV, e-automate uses the following rules:

If you link the RMA-RETURN to an RTV order, e-automate adds the item to the RTV as an RTV-RETURN.

If you link the RMA-SHIPPING to an RTV order, e-automate adds the item to the RTV as an RTV-RECEIVE.

You do not have to link both RMA-RETURN and RMA-SHIPPING items to an RTV order, but you can. If you choose to link the RMA-SHIPPING item on an RMA order to an RTV order, the RMA-SHIPPING item must be flagged as Backordered.

In order to link an RMA-RETURN to an RTV-RETURN, your warehouse on the RMA order must be an RTV warehouse, which means your return code must be capable of receiving into a type of costing you have assigned to your RTV warehouse. If you cannot select your RTV warehouse when you have identified a return code on the RMA order, you must modify your return code to allow receiving into your costing type of RTV warehouse.

Follow the steps in the Creating Replacement RMA Orders topic until you have added the items to the RMA order. The RMA should contain both a Return line and a Ship line.

Verify your return warehouse is an RTV warehouse. If necessary, change the return code so you can select an RTV warehouse in the Return warehouse field.

To link the RMA-RETURN line to an RTV-RETURN, do the following:

In the RMA window, right-click on the Return line and select Edit Bins to open the Edit RMA Order Return Item Bin window.

Click the Show RTV Order(s) tab to bring it forward.

Click [Add] to open the Link to RTV Orders window.

Select the vendor to which you are returning this item.
Note: In the Item vendor field, e-automate displays the preferred vendor, if any. If there is no preferred vendor, e-automate displays vendors configured on the item's Vendors tab. If there is no vendor configured on the item's Vendors tab you cannot link to an RTV until you use [Edit Item] to add a vendor to the item's Vendors tab.

Do ONE of the following:

If you have open RTV orders in which to link the RMA-RETURN item, you will see them listed in the Open RTV Orders list. Do the following:

Select the RTV to which you want to link this RMA-RETURN item.

In the Link quantity field, enter the quantity that you are linking to the selected open RTV.

Click [OK] to save your link settings, and e-automate displays the updated RTV on the Show RTV Order(s) tab.

Click [OK] to return to the RMA window.
Note: Note the link icon displays adjacent to the return line, indicating that the return line is linked to an RTV order.

If you do not have any open RTVs in the list of Open RTV Orders, do the following:

Click [Add New RTV Order] to open the New RTV window for the selected vendor.

In the New RTV window, enter an optional Description or the optional Vendor RMA number and click [OK] to create the empty RTV and add it to your list of Open RTV Orders.
Caution: Important! Do not add items to the RTV at this point; e-automate will add the linked items in a subsequent step.

In the Link quantity field, verify the correct quantity is displayed.

Click [Update] to update the Link Now column for the selected RTV.

Click [OK] to save your link settings, and e-automate displays the RTV on the Show RTV Order(s) tab.

Click [OK] to return to the RMA window.
Note: Note the link icon displays adjacent to the return line, indicating that the return line is linked to an RTV order.

If you only want to link the RMA-RETURN to the RTV, skip to Step 12. If you want to link the RMA-SHIPPING item to the RTV, continue with Step 5.

In order to link the RMA-SHIPPING item to an RTV order, the RMA-SHIPPING item must be backordered. If the item is already backordered, continue to Step 6; if not, complete the following:

From the RMA Order window, right-click on the Ship item and select Edit Bins to display the Edit RMA Order Ship Item Bin window.

In the Back ordered field, enter the backorder quantity.
Note: The backorder quantity should not be greater than the Quantity field.

Click [OK] to save your back order settings and return to the RMA window.

Right-click on the RMA-SHIPPING item and select Edit Bins to open the Edit RMA Order Ship Item Bin window.

Click the Show Purchase/RTV Order(s) tab to bring it forward.

Click [Add] to open the Link to Purchase and RTV Orders window.

Verify the Link quantity and click [Update] to update the Link Now column.

Click [OK] to save your link and return to the Edit RMA Order Ship Item Bin window.
Note: The RTV is listed on the Show Purchase/RTV Order(s) tab.

Click [OK] to save the RMA links and return to the RMA window.
Note: The link icon is adjacent to the Ship row.

Click [OK] to save the RMA with the associated links.