Action codes tell the EPU subsystem the type of change contained in each flat file record.

Additional days are used to pad lead time on a Blanket Sales Order. Add days allows adding pad to the longest lead time for an additional margin of safety, or to cover the order processing and shipping time. Sales orders will be processed this number of days plus the lead time, prior to the request date.

An item’s available quantity is the On Hand quantity - Committed quantity.

The costing method that values items at an average cost. The average unit cost computed is affected by the number of units purchased at various costs. The total of the number of units purchased plus the units on hand prior to the purchase is divided into total cost of goods available for sale. Cost of goods sold is stated at an amount less than obtained under LIFO but more than obtained under FIFO. The middle-of-the-road approach to costing. FIFO LIFO AVERAGE SALES 500,000 500,000 500,000 COST OF GOODS SOLD 285,000 310,000 295,000 GROSS MARGIN 215,000 190,000 205,000 EXPENSES115,000 115,000 115,000 NET OP. 100,000 75,000 90,000 FEDERAL INCOME TX 50,000 37,500 45,000 NET EARNINGS 50,000 37,500 45,000

The average usage is calculated for an item as the sum of all usage for a given number of months divided by the number of months.

A purchase order document which contains open items that were not received on the original shipment. The items on the document are backordered.

Contract price basis and multiplier are used to create a pricing structure for a customer, customer price class, or all customers by an item, item price class, vendor or all items by pricing unit of measure.

The document which lists products and quantities that are shipped and delivered. Bills of lading must be HazMat compliant and must be produced for all shipments (sales orders or warehouse transfers).

Bill of Materials, the combining of component items, labor, packaging, and overhead to create a new finished item.

A blanket order is similar to a recurring order, but is much more flexible regarding the actual content of shipments. Shipments are set up by date, and you may individually determine the items, quantities, and shipment dates for each shipment.

Branch number is used throughout the FACTS system. Branches may be referred to as stores or profit centers, divisions within an organization. The system will default various branch prompts to the branch set up in System Management Terminal F/M for each user. The posting tables for each module may be set up so that the branch number is automatically inserted into the General Ledger Account number when the system creates its journal entries. Inquiries and reports may be run by branch.

Buyer codes are created/maintained through Purchase Order Buyer Code F/M. The buyer code is used to track an authorized purchase of goods on a purchase order.

Also referred to as a processor, it is a data center that processes data from credit card transactions and settles funds to merchants.

A Clippership code that represents a single carrier service. Carrier codes have to be tied to FACTS ship via codes so that the two packages can be integrated

Catalog items are goods that are provided by a vendor but are not carried in inventory. A record tracking price information exists in a catalog file.

The existence of a “ship” file or a “closed” both of which are flat files created by Clippership as shipping information is finalized and closed out. When one of these types of files is present in the Clippership polling directory, it is a signal to FACTS that shipping has occurred. Certain order entry inputs cannot be changed once FACTS detects these files.

This flat file is created from ship files when the end of the day process for a carrier is run in Clippership. This usually occurs right before the carrier’s scheduled pick up time.

UPS charges different shipping rates based upon whether the delivery is to a commercial or residential location. The prompt for Com/Res applies only for some delivery zones.

Commodity codes, or an industry standard designation for a particular good or line of goods, are used in the Electronic Price Update subsystem as a cross reference to a FACTS item class. For example, let’s say the commodity code for conduit, used in the electrical industry, is code 1452 and a FACTS Item Class called ELEC (electrical supplies) exists. Through Commodity Code/Item Class File Maintenance, code 1452 can be cross referenced to the ELEC item class. Each time a pricing service sends information for commodity code 1452, it is mapped to the FACTS ELEC item class.

Contracting pricing is used to create special pricing structures for a customer, customer price class, or all customers by an item, item price class, vendor or all items by pricing unit of measure.

Cost plus pricing allows price to be set as a percentage over cost. Price will be determined from the cost at the time the Blanket Order Release Register is processed.

GL departments are used to track revenues and expenses by division. The GL department is imbedded in the G/L number for posting purposes. General ledger financial reports may be printed by department.

A two-character code that indicates the reason a deposit has been earned (e.g., a customer cancelled a special order after it arrived) and specifies to which GL account number the earned deposit should post.

A direct shipment is the shipment of goods from the vendor to the customer, as opposed to, a warehouse shipment where the goods are shipped by the distributor to the customer.

In cash drawer handling, the amount by which the cash tray is over or short the amount that should be in the tray at the end of a shift.

The 3-character code that determines how the return is to be processed.

A deposit that is earned by the distributor rather than credited back to a customer.

EPU is the subsystem that allows actual FACTS data to be created from a vendor-provided or pricing service flat file.

The “First-in/First-out” accounting and costing method. Each receipt of an item is stored as a layer of stock with the received cost and number of units. The unit cost (incoming) of the oldest material on hand is used to value all sales of a stocked item until that layer of stock is exhausted. The next oldest stock’s layer cost is then used, etc. The costs of the first goods purchased are the first costs charged to cost of goods sold. Inventory consists of the newest units and their related costs since the older units are the first units removed from inventory. The balance sheet amounts for inventory are likely to approximate current market values. A smaller cost of goods sold is recorded because the oldest costs that are charged out of inventory are also the lowest costs. FIFO produces a heavier tax burden: the smaller cost of goods sold, the larger the net income, resulting in higher income taxes. The assumed flow of costs corresponds with the physical flow of goods. FIFO produces a more precise matching of historical cost of goods sold with sales revenue. FIFO offers an automatic increase in inventory value during periods when prices are rising (inflation). FIFO appreciates the value since the cost of replacing an item is greater than its actual cost.

A set number of days, used in calculating the release on a blanket sales order. Sales orders will be created this number of days prior to the request date.

Fixed pricing is used in Blanket Sales Order entry. The price entered on the order will be the price used when the release is processed and the associated sales order is generated.

The file delivered by the pricing service, usually in ASCII format is called a flat file.

Freight on board indicates at what point freight is charged. If FOB is destination, the seller bears the freight cost. If FOB is shipping point, the buyer bears the freight cost.

The cost associated with the transportation of goods by means of a carrier.

General Ledger account numbers are created/maintained through General Ledger Account F/M. General ledger numbers are used throughout the FACTS System to track every transaction which affects assets, liabilities, capital, revenues or expenses.

The system looks at the longest lead time and the fixed number of days, and selects the greater of the two to determine when to release the sales order. This is the most common method for calculating the release basis.

During Blanket Sales Order entry, a line-item can have a release marked for immediate release. Immediate release indicates that the request will be processed when the BSO Release Register is run, regardless of the release date.

The warehouse that originate the order is the initiating warehouse.

The interchange number is a means of identifying an item by other references other than the item number. The interchange number is used in inquiries and entry programs throughout the Inventory Control, Purchase Order, and Sales Order modules.

Item classes are created/maintained through Inventory Control Item Class F/M. Item classes are used to group items.

Item price classes are created/maintained through Inventory Control Item Price Class F/M Program. Item price classes are used as a way of categorizing items for pricing purposes.

Journal numbers are used for separating journal entries in general ledger by type of entry (example: sales, payroll, receivables, etc.). Each module determines the journal number to post the transactions of that module to in general ledger.

The costing method normally used in a manufacturing environment that is considered the replacement method. Last cost reflects the cost of replacing inventory at current market prices. Last cost is used when jointly produced output proportions are changed from a previously established mix of components. Joint cost allocation is based on the change in costs arising from a change in the mix of these components. Since inventory is valued at replacement cost versus actual cost, reconciliation of Inventory to the GL is often impossible with this method.

Lead time is the number of days from the date a purchase order is placed for an item until the date the item is received. Average lead time is calculated as the current average lead time plus the lead time from the two most recent receipts divided by three. An item will be flagged for lead time if the new average is 50% less or greater than the previous average lead time.

There may be up to 6 (six) contract price levels per item. The level price used when the item is sold is based on the price level assigned to the customer. Level price may be entered as a basis and multiplier, a set price or a change % from the previously entered price. Level price may be based on list price, manual cost, sales order entry cost, standard price or any price level.

The “Last-in/First-out” accounting and costing method. Each receipt of an item is stored as a layer of stock with the received cost and number of units. The incoming unit cost of the newest material on hand is used to value all sales of a stocked item until that layer of stock is exhausted. The next newest stock’s layer cost is then used, etc. The costs of the last goods purchased are the first costs sold. The latest costs are the first costs removed form inventory and charged to the cost of goods sold. Item costs are normally closer to replacement costs, and selling prices are frequently based on replacement costs. Inventory consists of the older units and their related costs since the newer units are the first units removed from inventory. Reported profits are considered more “real”. LIFO shows the largest cost of goods sold because the newest costs that are charged out of inventory are also the highest costs. LIFO produces a lighter tax burden: the larger the cost of goods sold, the smaller net income, resulting in lower taxes. LIFO results in a more precise matching of current cost of goods sold with sales revenue. LIFO depreciates the value of inventory when prices are rising.

A three-character code that indicates why merchandise is being returned (e.g., poor quality, ordered wrong product, found better price, etc.). The purpose of this code is mostly informational. It does not affect the General Ledger.

An item which is flagged as a lot item through the Item F/M is one which when received or sold must be assigned a lot number per unit. Multiple units may be assigned to the same lot. Examples of lots are reels (wire, etc.) or lots in lumberyards or brickyards.

The costing method normally used in a manufacturing environment that is considered the standard method. Manual cost reflects an anticipated cost of producing and/or selling a unit. All manufacturing costs are charged to cost objects at standard cost. Every time a unit is produced, its standard (manual) cost is entered. Standards are pre-established per cost object, predetermined (standard) hourly rates are established for each job. Manual cost is used often by companies that use mass-production methods. Standard costs are used to reflect the transfer of units between work in process inventory to finished goods inventory and from finished goods inventory to cost of goods sold. Detailed (actual) costs are not kept per unit and not normally used for managerial purposes. Since detailed costs are not kept per unit, reconciliation of Inventory to the GL is often impossible with this method.

A non inventoried item is an item that exists in the item file but is not kept in inventory, (i.e., not in the Warehouse/Item file such as labor).

An item that exist in inventory but is not replenished.

Purchase orders which have been completely received and are no longer open or backordered purchase orders. A past PO is stored in a separate file from open PO’s once completely received.

Also referred to as an unattended station. This is a PC with Clippership installed on it that does nothing but process real-time freight calculations and change requests as well as determine which carriers in a rate shop meet an order’s shipping criteria. FACTS/Clippership integration does not require a polling station, but the features just mentioned are not available without one.

Price levels is a pricing scheme that allows customer to be grouped and assigned prices according to their level.

A pricing service is an organization, such as a trade service or vendor, which provides distributors with item, cost, price, etc. information on a regular basis.

The date the vendor indicated the merchandise of a PO would be in the user’s warehouse (received).

The date the merchandise is delivered to the user’s warehouse.

During credit card processing, a transaction can be interrupted if the credit card processing company does not recognize the caller within a designated amount of time. The time allowed for recognition is set in the Credit Card Control F/M. If a recognition timeout occurs, users have the option of waiting again or canceling the transaction and starting over.

The basis is used to determine when a sales order will be created for specific release requests on a Blanket Sales Order document. Longest Lead Time, Fixed Number of Days or the Greater of longest lead time and fixed number of days are the three choices for release basis.

The date the users request the merchandise be delivered to their warehouse.

During credit card processing, a response timeout is caused when the credit card processing company exceeds a certain amount of time while it is processing a transaction. This timeframe is set in the Credit Card Control F/M. If a response timeout occurs, the FACTS user can wait again or cancel the transaction; however, there’s no way of knowing if the transaction was approved or not. The transaction usually has to be finished over the phone.

The route code is used so that customers can be grouped by geographic location for efficient delivery purposes.

An item which is flagged as a serial item through the Item F/M is one which when received or sold must be assigned a serial number per unit.

Each electronic pricing service must be assigned a Service Code, used to identify the pricing service and to define the map between the flat file and the pending file.

A flat file created by Clippership that consists of freight details and totals. Ship files can be edited if shipping information changes once this file is created. They also become “closed” files once the end of the day process is run in Clippership.

The carrier being used to ship the freight. The method of transportation for the purchase order. Ship via codes are created and maintained in the Ship Via F/M. If Clippership is being used, ship via codes must be linked with Clippership carrier codes.

Ship-From records are set up through Purchase Order Ship-From F/M. Purchase orders can be sent to the vendor’s address stored in the AP Vendor File or to a different billing and shipping (warehouse) address.

Ship-To records are set up through Accounts Receivable Ship-To F/M. Invoices can be sent to the customer’s address stored in the AR Customer File or to a different billing and shipping address.

A sales order which is tied to an associated purchase order is considered a special order.

The standard price may be entered as a basis and multiplier, a set price or a change % from the previously entered price. Standard price may be based on list price, manual cost, sales order entry cost, a set price (standard price), or any price level.

Nonstocked items are goods offered to your customer as a value added service but are not carried in inventory. Nonstocked items do not exist in the item file.

Two-character codes that represent different types of payment terms and are used in the ending routines of most SO order entry programs. Terms codes used in the SO program are created and maintained in the Accounts Receivable Terms Code F/M. This file maintenance enable users to specify the General Ledger account number, payment terms, invoicing dates and discount distribution for each terms code.

An item category for things that are not replenished and not found in the warehouse. Labor is an example of an uninventoried item.

The United Parcel Service zone based upon the zip code location of the prospect or customer.

The rate of usage (sales, transfers out, manufacturing components) for a stocked item in a given period. Usage rates form the basis for replenishment control calculations. For highly seasonal items the usage rate is the anticipated average usage of the upcoming 3 periods based on those 3 periods as of a year ago. For low seasonal items the usage rate is the anticipated average usage of the upcoming 6 periods based on those 6 periods a year ago. For non-seasonal items the usage rate is calculated as the average usage of the last six periods. In a multi-warehouse environment where centralized purchasing is used, sales by the “satellite” warehouses posts to usage for the “central” warehouse.

Optional instructions, memo lines, notes recorded on a specific vendor available for inquiry and reporting. Vendor notes are entered through the Vendor Inquiry Program.

The vendor-item number is the code number that the manufacturer uses to identify this item. This number may print on the purchase order in addition to the user’s item number.

In credit card processing, an authorization code that is provided by an operator, usually when electronic processing is off-line.

The space allocated for the storage of merchandise.

A warehouse shipment is the shipment of goods from a warehouse to the receiving customer.

A flat file created by FACTS when an SO document is created that contains pertinent shipping information. The working file is placed in the Clippership polling directory. Clippership pulls shipping information from the FACTS working file to create the ship file.