Trade Simple December 2011 Product Update

Legacy Development


New Link to Approve Invoices in Document Search

The “Approve Invoice” function allows users with the correct permissions (usually at Head Office in Accounts Payable) to effectively override trade simple automated Invoice Management and pass the Invoice (or Credit) to the finance system. This is sometimes required when goods–inwards data cannot be obtained from the unit or when an invoice is held up pending a credit that will not come.

Previously this option was only available when looking at the Invoice in “Thread View”:

Now, as long as the same conditions about user permissions and document status are met, the link will also be available when searching for the Invoice:

The key benefit of this change is that it allows the user an easier way to find and deal with invoices in this state. Whichever route is used to approve the document, the result is still the same. The document is set to “Accepted” and, for invoices, an “Invoice Approval” comment is stored against the thread:

(Live: 30 November 2011)


Default Budget Value (“New Catalogue” websites only)


Overview

Trade simple Online Ordering provides a powerful facility for supplier–level budget control. The spend amount for each location can be controlled on a period–by–period basis. An effective workflow facility then allows area–manager or head–office users to approve, amend or reject the order as required.

The budget data is loaded into the system using a simple file format via the “Send” function and the user is notified of success and failure via notification email.

Currently however, if budget data runs out or fails to be loaded by the customer then budget authorisation is effectively switched off leading to problems with users unintentionally overspending. To protect against this, a new “default budget value” may optionally be specified which comes into effect when no specific budget value is found.

However, it should also be noted that this new functionality can also be used instead of the load where a fixed budget for all periods is all that is required. In this case, the user can simply set this value to a fixed amount (including zero) for a particular supplier and this will then apply to all periods and to all current and future units. The system also allows for specific, per–unit values to be optionally provided.

NB: this default can still only operate if valid financial periods exist as budget control is meaningless without periods (of course).

Implementation

A new Supplier Maintenance setting has been created: “Default Budget Value”

If the customer is using a “New Catalogue” website, then the trade simple helpdesk can easily add this to a customer's head–office configuration on request (at supplier–level, unit–level, or both).

On checkout, the logic is now as follows:

  • If a valid budget value for the active financial period has been loaded then this value is applied (as now)
  • Alternatively, if a “Default Budget Value” for this unit/supplier (or alternatively a parent) is provided instead, then apply that budget value to the active financial period’s spend
  • Finally, if neither type of budget has been set and/or no active financial periods can be found then apply no budget to the order (as now)

So the expectation is that customers will use this new function in two ways:

  1. To replace the existing Budget Load completely; either:
    1. If the customer applies a constant budget value to every location every month for a supplier — even if it is £0.00 — then the budget load is replaced by entering one value on Maintain Suppliers/Edit; or
    2. If the customer needs some locations to have different (but constant) monthly budget values then the budget load is replaced by the above and by entering one value for each non–standard location on Maintain Suppliers/Relationships
  2. To work in conjunction with Budget Load:
    1. As above, with Budget Values Load now used selectively to cover locations with specific or complex needs such as variable monthly values or many non–standard constant values
    2. Of course, if the customer that applies complex and varied budgets across multiple locations they will need to use the Budget Load but may additionally provide Default Budget Values – perhaps of £0.00 – to act as a back–stop position in case the data they have loaded runs out

(Live: 30 November 2011)

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