Non-supported ReleaseNon-supported Release
ECI no longer supports this version of e-automate, and this version of the online help is no longer being updated. ECI recommends upgrading to the current release. Contact your account manager for more information.

Creating Branches

Branching is another organizational level that exists within e-automate. You can create more than one branch in a company. Branching has been set up to affect your income statement accounts (revenue, expense, cost of goods sold, etc.) meaning that any transaction that affects any of your income statement accounts will have a branch designation associated with it when it hits the general ledger. With this branch association, you will be able to run income statement reports by branch, or query information from e-views by branch. Balance sheet reports cannot be run by branch unless you have balance sheet groups enabled. Even if you do not have balance sheet groups enabled, you can still run an aged accounts payable and accounts receivable report by branch.

When setting up a branch you can identify a “branch customer” in the branch settings. The branch customer identifies address information for return addresses on invoices as well as required equipment record fields of technician and territory. When you create a branch, you can enable synchronization between the branch profile and the branch customer, if you identified a branch customer. If you do create a branch customer and link it to the branch profile, you edit the following branch customer fields from within the branch profile in Options: Name, Phone1, Phone2, Fax, Address, City, County, State, Zip, and Country. When you save the branch profile, e-automate synchronizes (updates) the branch customer record with any changes made in Options.

When you enable branching, you can configure e-automate to only allow users assigned to the branch to see information associated with their assigned branch. You configure this by adding the e-automate created user to the Users tab when creating a branch. When the user logs in to e-automate, they only see data associated with their assigned branch.

Getting to the TransactionGetting to the Transaction

From the Accounting menu, select Branches to open the Branches window.

Note: The branching feature must first be enabled. See the topic, Enabling Branching.

Click [New] to open the New Branch window.

Details TabDetails Tab

Complete the following fields as appropriate.

Branch Number: Number assigned to this branch.

Internal Name: The name to identify this branch internally in your company.

Note: This is the name that will display on the branch lookups throughout e-automate.

External Name: The name to identify this branch externally.

Note: This is the name that will display on your customer reports for transactions posted in association with this branch. You can use your doing business as (DBA) name or another name your customer would recognize.

Branch Customer: If you want to use Equipment History Tracking, you must identify a branch customer here. If not, simply leave this field blank and enter your branch information in the fields that follow. To enable Equipment History Tracking, use the lookup to select a customer from your company list to represent this branch as the branch customer. If you do not have a customer to represent the branch on the customer list, use the drop-down menu in this field to select New and create a customer on your customer list to represent this branch.

Note: If you specify a branch customer, e-automate will synchronize (update) the branch customer profile with the values from the following fields:

External Name

Phone 1

Phone 2

Fax

Address

City

County

State

Zip

Country

Note: If you choose to create and link a branch customer, e-automate will require Technician and Territory on the branch customer record.

Default warehouse: The warehouse in which you want inventory transactions associated with this branch.

Note: When receiving purchase orders or fulfilling sales orders, e-automate uses this warehouse and the bins associated with the respective inventory items on the Bin Defaults tab.

Time zone: The time zone in which your branch is located.

Note: If you create a login profile for this branch and then log in to e-automate using that login profile, the system will display times based on the time zone associated with the branch.

Note: If you do not see the time zone option you need to select for this branch, contact support to have support activate the time zone so that it will display in the drop-down menu for this field.

SLA code: Code that specifies your company hours for overtime and your service response and resolution times.

Note: If you want to define a custom SLA code or edit an existing SLA code, use the SLA code field's drop-down menu to select New or Edit, respectively. For SLA code setup information, see the Creating SLA Codes topic. For information on defining or editing company hours, see the Creating Company Hours topic.

Bill Code: The bill code for auto-generated equipment profiles associated with this branch.

Note: Bill codes are only populated when Equipment History Tracking is enabled.

Phone 1: This branch’s primary phone number.

Phone 2: This branch’s secondary phone number, if any.

Fax: This branch’s fax number.

Address: The street address of this branch.

City: City in which this branch is located.

County: County in which this branch is located.

State: State or province in which the branch is located.

Zip code: Zip or postal code in which this branch is located.

Country: Country in which this branch is located.

EIN: Federal employer identification number associated with this branch.

Note: Canadian customers should enter your Government Sales Tax number (GST) in this field.

User TabUser Tab

In the Add user field, use the Lookup icon to select an e-automate user.

Click [QuickAdd] to add the users to the branch.

Note: When branch user filtering is enabled, only users assigned to the branch are able to see branch data.

Miscellaneous TabMiscellaneous Tab

Complete the following fields as appropriate.

Under Branch Warehouse Settings, do the following:

In the Pre-assembly field, use the lookup to select the warehouse you will use as the default for pre-assembly items.

In the Post-assembly field, use the lookup to select the warehouse you will use as the default for post-assembly items.

In the Drop ship field, use the Lookup icon to select the warehouse you will use as the default for drop-shipping.

In the RTV returns field, use the lookup to select the warehouse you will use as your default for RTV returns.

Under Set default warehouses for return codes, do one or both of the following:

To add a default warehouse for a return code do the following:

In the Return code field, use the lookup to select the return code you will use as a default for a particular warehouse. When the return code is selected, the Warehouse field becomes active.

In the Warehouse field, use the Lookup icon to select the warehouse you will set as the default for that return code.

Click [QuickAdd] to add your new default settings to the list.

Repeat the above steps to continue adding more warehouse/return code default settings.

To delete a default warehouse for a return code do the following:

Select the defaulted return code with warehouse.

Click [Delete].

Click [Yes] to acknowledge the message in the Attention Required window.

AR Branch: Branch with which accounts receivable transactions are associated when the transaction is using this branch.

Note: For example, you may have a customer assigned to a secondary branch but when you generate an invoice for that customer, you want the accounts receivable to be linked to the main or parent company. e-automate also uses this information to specify address information on the customer communication. If you associate your accounts receivable with different branches, you can run the aged accounts receivable report by different branches.

AP Branch: Branch with which accounts payable transactions are associated.

Note: For example, you may want all accounts payable invoices to be handled by the parent branch. If so, identify the parent branch here; otherwise all accounts payable is posted in association with this branch. Note: The billing address on new accounts payable invoices will be the address of the branch selected in this field.

PO Remit Branch: Branch to be listed as the billing address on new purchase orders.

Note: This is the address to which vendors will send invoices for purchase order invoices.

Report Options TabReport Options Tab

Click the Report Options tab to bring it forward.

To include a logo for reports associated with this branch, do one of the following:

If you want to select from a list of logos your company has already added to e-automate, use the Include logo field's Lookup icon to select an existing company logo.

If you want to add a new company logo, do the following:

In the Include logo field, click the drop-down menu icon to select New to open the New Image window.

In the Name field, enter a name to identify the image.

In the Description field, enter a brief description of the image.

In the File path field, click […] to open the Open Image File... window.

Using the Open Image File... window, navigate to and select the File name of the image you want to add.
Use these guidelines for creating and/or editing in an image editor program the company logo image you want to use with e-automate:

File Format: e-automate supports .png, .jpg/.jpeg, .bmp, and .gif image file formats.

Note: The system automatically filters image files to display only these formats (.gif images are currently included in the display but are not supported). If you manually enter into the File name field an image in a different file format, the system may accept the image but the file format may not be supported—even if the system appears to accept the file format. For example, do not use .tif/.tiff files; files in this format have been known to cause the system to crash during printing.

Tip:ECI recommends using only the supported file formats.

Tip: While .png files support transparency, files with transparency do not always display well. Since paper copies of reports containing images are likely to be printed on white paper, ECI recommends using a white background instead of a transparent background.

Note: Some image file formats allow both Red/Green/Blue (RGB) and Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Key (CMYK) color settings. E-automate supports RGB color; it does not support CMYK color.

Image Resolution (Print): An image file's resolution determines its print quality. A higher resolution provides better print quality (provided the image contains the detail to print and your printer supports the resolution), but also increases file size. If your printer supports 600 dots-per-inch (DPI), this resolution provides a standard print quality. If your printer supports a higher resolution, the image contains the necessary detail for printing at a higher resolution, and your company logo is not printing clearly at 600 DPI, you can increase the image's resolution. If your printer does not support 600 DPI, the image does not contain the detail necessary to print more clearly, and/or if your company logo does not need that high of a resolution to print clearly, you can decrease the image's resolution.

Note: On-screen resolution is typically not as high as print resolution. As a result, if the on-screen display of an image is pixel-for-pixel, the on-screen version of the image will display larger than the printed version of the same image. If the on-screen display of an image is based on the relative print size of the image, the on-screen image may appear to be distorted because the screen can't display all the detail in the image file while the print version (printer permitting) does display all of the detail in the image file allowed by the higher resolution and may show the same image in a very high print quality.

Tip: After you add an image, ECI recommends printing a report to check the image's print quality.

Tip: If the company logo image you select displays well on screen but does not display clearly when printed, the image quality may be too low for printing and increasing the image resolution will not help. You may need to have a graphic designer create a higher quality image of your company logo to use for printing.

Image Print Size: For standard reports such as customer invoices and statements, e-automate supports images with a print size up to 1.7 inches in height by 5.5 inches wide. For the Australian custom customer invoices, which include the word Tax in the invoice title (e.g., Contract Tax Invoice) and which are formatted for A4 paper size, the space available supports images with a print size up to 1.7 inches in height by 4.4 inches wide.

Tip: After you add an image, ECI recommends viewing a report and verifying that your company logo fits within the bounding box for the image when you click the on-screen image in the report.

Click [Open] to close the Open Image File... window and display the image's File path on the New Image window.

Note: The New image window displays the image pixel-for-pixel, so an image with a print resolution higher than the on-screen resolution will appear larger on screen than it will when printed and may not fit within the space available for the display. This is not a problem if the image fits within the bounding box when you click the on-screen image in a report and if the image prints correctly when you print a report.

Click [OK] to close the New Image window and add this image to the Include logo field.

If you want to edit an image, do the following:

In the Include logo field, use the lookup to select the existing company logo you want to edit.

In the Include logo field, click the drop-down menu icon to select Edit to open the Edit Image window.

On the Edit Image window, click [Edit image] (the pencil button) to open a default image editing program such as Paint or Adobe Photo Shop.

Make any changes you want to make using your image editing program, observing the guidelines listed above for creating and/or editing company logo images, save your changes in that program, and then close the program.

On the Edit Image window, click [Refresh image] (the green, circular arrow button) to load the image changes.

Note: The Edit Image window displays the image pixel-for-pixel, so an image with a print resolution higher than the on-screen resolution will appear larger on screen than it will when printed and may not fit within the space available for the display. This is not a problem if the image fits within the bounding box when you click the on-screen image in a report and if the image prints correctly when you print a report.

To include a message on all customer communications for this branch, do one of the following:

If the message already exists in e-automate, use the lookup in the Invoice Message field to select the message.

If the message does not yet exist in e-automate, do the following:

In the drop-down action menu to the right of the Message field, click [New].

In the Name field, enter a name for this message.

In the Message field, enter a message you want displayed on all customer communications.

To display the branch address at the top of all customer communications, check Include company/branch address in the header.

To display the branch address at the bottom of all customer communications, check Include company/branch address in the footer.

To set purchase order queue options, do the following:

Purchase orders: Set the number of purchase order copies and check Use queuing to enable print jobs to queue.

Auto-approve orders sent to the document queue: Check this box for e-automate to approve any orders in the document queue.

Send print orders to the document queue: Check this box to save all orders in the document queue for batch print, fax or e-mail.

Send email orders to the document queue: Check this box to save all orders in the document queue for batch print, fax or e-mail.

Send export orders to the document queue: Check this box to save all orders in the document queue for export.

Queue zero dollar orders: Check this box to save any zero-dollar orders in the document queue rather than printing.

Queue credit orders: Check this box to save all credit orders in the document queue rather than printing.

To set customer invoice queue options, do the following:

Sales invoices: Set the number of sales invoice copies and check Use queuing to enable print jobs to queue.

Service invoices: Set the number of service invoice copies and check Use queuing to enable print jobs to queue.

Contract invoices: Set the number of contract invoice copies and check Use queuing to enable print jobs to queue.

Misc. charge invoices: Set the number of Misc. charge invoice copies and check Use queuing to enable print jobs to queue.

Auto-approve invoices sent to the document queue: Check this box for e-automate to approve any invoices in the document queue.

Send print invoices to the document queue: Check this box to save all invoices in the document queue for batch print, fax or e-mail.

Send email invoices to the document queue: Check this box to save all invoices in the document queue for batch print, fax or e-mail.

Queue zero dollar invoices: Check this box to save any zero-dollar invoices in the document queue rather than printing.

Queue credit/debit memos: Check this box to save all credit and debit memos in the document queue rather than printing.

Notes ButtonNotes Button

To include notes that will be seen internally only, click [Notes] and enter them.

Windows Impacted by BranchingWindows Impacted by Branching

Branching affects the following areas:

E-automate login screen

Accounting menu

Sales Quotes, Orders, and Invoices

Service Call windows

Equipment window, Billing/Contract tab

Contract window, Billing/Contract tab

Inventory Adjustment Detail window

Warehouse Information window

Auto Create Vendor Payment list options

Miscellaneous Charge Invoice, Credit Memo, and Debit Memo windows

General Ledger Journal Entries window

New Payroll Check window

Customer window, Account tab

Employee window, Positions tab

Reports: Income Statement reports, AP Aging report, AR Aging reports, Inventory Valuation (Current) report

Completing the TransactionCompleting the Transaction

Click [OK] to save the branch profile.

Note: This action synchronizes the branch customer with the values in the branch profile.