BookAccents Technical Specifications
Lets face it, BookAccents does a lot. However, we have tried to keep the geography under control so that it is easy to learn and use.
Listed below is one way of visualizing how the various components of BookAccents are structured.
When you see this arrow, clicking on it will display additional information for you. Click on the arrow again, and the information will be hidden.
You can either leave the additional information viewable as you move about this screen, or close the messages after read.
When BookAccents is first launched, the Main Screen is Displayed. Access to virtually all functionality starts from the Main Screen.
You can update the ISBN information about books using the maintenance functions located on the Main Screen.
A list of function is accessed by using the menu items at the top of the Main Screen.
All of the available reports are accessed using this PullDown Menu.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Report
Help
You can access our Internet based help for reports by selecting this menu item.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Sold
List
A list of all books sold, sorted by supplier is accessible from this menu item. You can choose a single day or range of dates.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Sold
List by Category
Based on Dates, Categories/Genre, and by Author, a listing of sold books is accessed through this menu item.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Daily
You can view your sales based on a single or range of dates.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Inventory Reports>Only
in Box Report
If you sue bulk storage in your business, this listing will tell you which books have been depleted on your store shelves, but are available for restocking from your bulk storage.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Inventory Reports>Shelf
Location Labels
This function will print shelf labels for you. A range of labels are printed.
We sell very "sticky" printer labels for this use.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Inventory Reports>Average
New/Used by Title
This produces an inventory report, with the special feature that the Average Cost of books is printed. Your accountant may want to see this report if he implements the "Average" cost method of valuing inventory.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Inventory Reports>by
Supplier
This produces an inventory report, sub totaled by supplier.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Inventory Reports>by
Category
This produces an inventory report, sub totaled by your books' categories.
Main Screen>Menu>Reports>Inventory Reports>by
Location
This produces an inventory report, showing all books assigned to a selected location
A list of function is accessed by using the menu items at the top of the Main Screen.
This PullDown Menu Items provides access to several additional functions.
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>Setup
Most of your operational parameters are setup here. This allows BookAccents to function in a manner specific to your business.
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>Setup>Business
Basic Business Information is set on this tab:
Your name and address
Sales Tax rates
Database paths
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>Setup>Receipt
You setup information about your receipt and other function:
message of the day that is printed on your sales receipts.
Trading policy
Return policy
Pricing and Trading default parameters
Minimum (lowest) selling price
Pointer to your Logo
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>Setup>Pole
Some information is required in order to setup your electronic cash drawers and customer poles displays:
hardware addresses
marketing messages
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>UPC
Maintenance
You may use UPC codes to sell items using BookAccents. This screen allows you to add and maintain items based on UPC codes.
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>Supplier
Maintenance
A very important and central element of BookAccents if the Supplier information. Specializing this information for you business will make it very easy to maintain your inventory costing and pricing.
You are able to assign cost and discount factors to "Suppliers":
You can have server categories of used books
you can assign various pricing and costing to remainder books
You can assign different factors on new books.
Hint: If a given supplier provides you several different categories of books, just created multiple records for that supplier.
Main Screen>Menu>Utilities>Order
Status
If you are using Deferred Billing to manage your Internet Orders, you will use this Database Table to inquire on the status of an order.
Our Optional Internet Software will maintain the information in this table.
It is very important to be able to interactively see the books that are currently in inventory, and which have been sold (and when).
Just scan or type the ISBN, and BookAccents will produce detailed purchasing, stocking and sales information about that book.
Main Screen>Lookup>Author/Title
Just scan or type the book's Title or Author, and BookAccents will produce detailed purchasing, stocking and sales information about that book.
When searching by title, you can quickly enter into Author Search mode my clicking on the Author of a title found.
When searching buy Author comprehensive information is produced.
The normal operational mode of BookAccents requires that all books be labeled. Each book is treated as an individual:
New, Used and Remainder books can share the same ISBN.
When a book is sold, that individual book is depleted from inventory.
You enter into the software to produce the labels from the Label Frame of the Main Screen
As new books are received into your business, you can produce labels for new (or remainder) books using this feature.
One method of producing labels for Used, or Traded books is to use this feature. It is usually more efficient to use the Book Trading Screen for these books.
This method is very productive when starting up BookAccents if the used books are already traded by category and shelf locations.
It is sometimes necessary to reprint labels because some information requires modifications, You can do so with this feature.
The Tools features allows you to perform operations on batches of books:
Delete Books
Duplicate Labels
Mark book as sold
Un-mark book as sold.
BookAccents completely understands book trading functions. This feature allow you to quickly and efficiently scan books brought to you:
Automatically price the book
Produce a credit slip
Set up to automatically print a "batch" of labels
Report on the stocking and selling status of books.
Main Screen>Trading Screen>Scan Books
You just scan in the ISBN of a book that is to be traded. BookAccents preforms all calculation for you.
Main Screen>Trading Screen>Customer Information
Sometimes if is just impossible, due to work load, to process traded book while a customer waits. You may attach customer information to the credit receipt so the customer can return at a later time.
Main Screen>Trading Screen>Print Credits
A credit slip is produced for a customer with all traded books itemized, and a Total Credit shown.
Printing the credit receipt DOES NOT produce inventory records, to do this you must "Print Batch Labels".
Main
Screen>Trading Screen>Print Batch Labels
Once you have completed producing a credit slip, you may immediately produce book labels by using this function. As you print the labels, Book Inventory Numbers are assigned, and placed into inventory.
Main Screen>Trading
Screen>Apply Trading Rules
We have found that each business seems to handle book trading in individual ways. You may specify trading rule parameters to customize BookAccents to your business.
Main Screen>Trading Screen>Manual Credit Entry
For one reason or another, it is sometimes impossible to price books automatically. Additionally you may wish to specify a credit amount calculated differently that using your trading rules. You can manually price the book.
Main Screen>Trading Screen>Review Credit Receipt
Due to work load conditions, it is sometimes impossible to take the time to print book labels when the books are traded.
This feature allows you to enter the credit slip number of a previously printed credit, then produce the book labels.
Main Screen>Trading Screen>Customer
Pole Display
As you are building your credit receipt, BookAccents displays pertinent information on an optional pole display so a customer can follow along with processing of the batch of books.
You employ the Cash Register Screen to perform invoicing when selling books.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing
The primary function of the Cash Register Screen is to perform Invoicing.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Scan
Book
You may use your Bar-code Scanner to scan three different bar-codes.
The Book Inventory Number
The ISBN
The UPC
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Sales
Tax
You can charge Sales tax, orNOT on the Total Invoice.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Line
Item Credit
If you wish, you can over-ride the "No Credits Allowed" flag when welling a book. This would allow a customer to apply your trading rules to a book that has previously had that status set.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Discounts
You can apply a discount on:
A single line item
On the total invoice
Both
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Manual
Entries
Rather than scanning a boar-code, you can easily enter items manually into the invoice:
By typing
By selecting from a personalized list
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Reorder
Flags
You can make a decision at invoicing time as to whether to reorder a book:
Set HOT, be sure to reorder
Do Not Reorder
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Payment
Types
You enter the type of payment taken so that you can balance the cash drawer at the end of the day.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Trading
Percentage
You specify the percentage of a customer's credit that is allowed to be redeemed on an eligible book. This amount is remembered, but can be changed on any given invoice.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Print
Receipt
Once the invoice is completed, by printing the invoice, your inventory and cash is updated. You choose to print no, or any number of receipt copies.
A print image file is optionally created so that you can vies or re-print the invoice by invoice number.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Customer
Pole Display
As you are completing your Invoice, BookAccents displays pertinent information on an optional pole display so a customer can follow along with invoicing of the books.
Main Screen>Cash Register>Invoicing>Electronic
Cash Drawer
You may use an optional Electronic Cash Drawer with BookAccents. The cash drawer will automatically open at the appropriate time during your transactions.