Q2 2020 Release Notes -- Final BMS Retail System
Release Notes v1808.2 – Q2 2020 Final
The Emailing from BMS feature has been updated to allow for renaming document attachments. If this has prevented you from using this feature, we invite you to take a new look at this great and convenient option. For those who do use it, but don’t use the Template option, there is now a Rename Document button that appears just below the Attachments field in the main Email screen. For those who do utilize Templates, you have a couple more options. Those options appear as follows in the highlighted section below:
You can keep using the Default File Naming option and the system will continue to perform as usual. The Force File Renaming option will prompt renaming as you and your staff are attaching documents. The last option, Use Custom Template File Name will allow you to automatically generate custom file names for your attachments. This works by inserting "place holders" in the File Name field, just like you can in the body of the Template.
Sales Processing:
In the Invoice Batch Printing feature, a Customer PO field has been added just below the Job Status drop-down box. This was mainly added so that if multiple Invoices are tied to one Customer PO, all those can be displayed together for Reprint purposes, but it can also be used to Batch Invoice for a specific Customer PO.
A Customer Type display field has been added to the Quote and Order Entry screens as follows:
This is a display only and requires set up of Customer Type Maintenance in the Customer Maintenance module in order to display. On a related note, access to the Customer Type field in Customer Maintenance is now controlled by a prompt in the User Control 1 screen under Add Customers as follows: User allowed to change customer type. This needs to be set to Yes in order for a User to see and access this field.
When adding/editing Associated Products, there is now a checkbox to default quantity by Work Qty as follows:
In a related change, Mass Associated Products will now display in this order: Product Code, Style, and Color for selection purposes.
The system now allows a total of three Financed Lines with Format Code “F” for Financed on the Payment Type Code.
With Inventory Transfer enabled in your system, you can now utilize a new feature that allows for “In Job” Transfer requests. (FYI: there is a helpful Webinar titled “Inventory Transfer Updates” presented on 6/10/20 covering this topic. It can be found on the BMS Help Desk.) A new User Control 7 option must also be turned on in order for a User to perform this task. It appears as follows: Allowed In-Job Inventory Job Transfers. Set this control to “Y” for yes to allow this process. When assigning an inventory item that is not in the current Branch, in the Assign Inventory to Order screen, the system will prompt the following Inventory Transfer screen:
As you will learn in the System Maintenance section below, you can pre-set a default Inventory “To” Branch in the Branch Control 2 screen. In the screen above, you can set the Date Requested and then click the Request button to initiate the transfer. The Job Line will reflect an “R” in the Status column denoting the Request. If you then Unassign that line, the system will prompt a message as follows: Job Transfer Requests found, Continue Unassign? You can then determine if you wish to continue with unassigning. However, if you are not ready to initiate the transfer, you can exit out of the Inventory Transfer screen and the material will be assigned and display an “N” in the status column indicating the material is not in Branch. At a later time, you can right-click on the line and select the following existing option: View Assigned Inventory. You will then right-click on the material line in this screen and see the following new option: Job Transfer Request, which will prompt the screen above. Once Requested, in the View Assigned Inventory screen, you will see the newly set requested date in the Est. Arrival / Job Trans. Req Date column at the far right.
Additional updates have been made to the Inventory Requested From and For Other Branches reports module. These have been combined into one modernized report module. The new screen will appear as follows:
The options are primarily the same and change with the selection of the report option at the top. The Include In-Job Transfers checkbox, when checked, will include those transfer requests initiated from within Jobs. When you hit Continue, the system will perform differently based on the Report Option selected. The From Other Branches will print the same report as always. However, the For Other Branches option will first prompt the following:
This screen will display the Jobs that meet the criteria selected in the previous screen and allow you to perform some additional functions. You can Print the list and give to warehouse personnel for pulling material, and when ready you can initiate Transfers from this screen, View Jobs, View Catalog, View Existing Inventory, and even Print Pre-Stage Pick Tickets, so material for the entire Job can be pulled. Once an item is transferred, it will fall off the For report screen. For customers using the Cut Sheet feature, the system will now include In Job Transfers.
In the graphical Work Order, when creating a Staged or Shipped Revision from a *Current W/O, you can now Select and Modify quantities of both Unassigned and Purchased Inventory. You will see an “*” instead of a “Y” when selected and the document will print just like the Pre-Staged document, displaying the following: Unassigned Inventory. Additional new selection displays will appear as follows: “N” for Not in Branch – Need to transfer; and if not transferred, a “P” will allow staging/shipping and display Item in Transit. The following is an example:
Also, a checkbox has been added to allow for removing Labor Qty as follows: Don’t Show Labor Qty. When checked, the system will encrypt the Labor Qty.
A new feature for finalizing Claims processing has been added to the system and setup starts in the Payment Type Code Maintenance module. Please note: this will only work in Order Entry; it will not work in Post Customer Payments or Receive Money. A Claim checkbox now appears to the right of the Print on Documents checkbox. This box must be checked in order for this process to initiate. Additionally, as this sets up a process that prompts the User to enter an A/P Credit to the Vendor, the G/L Code on the Payment Type should also be changed to Sales/Sales Allowances. This will require you to temporarily activate the Sales G/L Account as a Bank Account so it can be used in this module, but you can turn that off as soon as the new or edited Payment Type Code is set up. This portion of the process will reverse the revenue recognized when the Claim is invoiced. To control who can use this feature there is a new User Control 7 option as follows: Allowed to Post Deposit/AP Claims. Only enable this control for those Users allowed to process Claims.
Once this setup is complete, using the Deposit feature in Order Entry, you can add a deposit amount to a Job with the new Claims Payment Type Code. The system will prompt the following: Would you like to Enter AP Credit now for $XXXX? Select “Yes” to proceed. The system will then prompt a message as follows: Entering A/P Open Item Now. Click OK to proceed. The A/P OPEN ITEM FINAL ENTRY screen will prompt as follows:
You will need to create an Invoice Number. Use your Cost of Materials as the G/L ACCT to reverse the expense of the replacement material recognized when the Claim Job is Invoiced. As mentioned above, the Payment Type Code Deposit reverses the Revenue when the Claim Job is Invoiced. Additionally, for proper revenue and expense recognition, this process should be performed in the same accounting period(month) that the Claim Job is Invoiced. You will receive a message to that effect when you Accept this Invoice as follows:
Please note: you can make adjustments to Claims Deposits, just as you can with actual Deposits, and the system will handle those adjustments.
In the Projects Module, a new summary report has been added to the Project Detail screen. When you click on the Print menu, you will see the following: Print Project Summary. You will first need to select either Excel or an SSP Printer prior to printing. The Excel data will contain additional detail. The basis of the report is to list the Project Name, Contract Amount, Job Total, Remaining, along with a list of all Quotes/Orders that are currently tied to the Project, to serve as a status update for the Customer.
A new Commission Type has been added to the Salesperson Maintenance module. Although this programming was added for a specific customer, it can be used by any BMS client. When the Commission Type is set to Standard, the dropdown box in the Standard Base field now includes the following: X=Enter Base/Com. This allows for manually entering the Commission Base and the Commission Amount, and the system will calculate the Commission Percentage. The Percentage field will allow up to 5 digits after the decimal point. These entries must be made in Cost Maintenance just prior to Invoicing, or they can be made during Item Selection in Salesperson Payables.
An update has been made in the Job Type Maintenance module to allow for assessing Service Charges based on Job Type. This will only be enabled if the Company Control 1 option for Service Charges has been turned on. That control appears as follows: Enable Service Chg. – Contract Job. If this control is set to “Y” for yes, and if the Job Type has a Tax Type of Contract, the following checkbox will be enabled: Exclude From Service Charges. This allows for flexibility on certain Job Types where assessing a Service Charge may not be practical or desirable.
In the Payment Type Code Maintenance module, the Function option to Copy Payment Type Code to Another Branch has been upgraded to include any Updates made if the Pay Type Code already exists in the other Branch, making this option a copy/update function.
In the Initials Maintenance module, an option to copy all Initials to another Branch has been added as follows:
Inventory Control:
In Catalog Maintenance, when copying a color, the system will now prompt an option to copy Catalog Attributes if they exist. Also, the List Price field has been changed to MSRP for consistency.
Bar-code Management and Printing:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Job Cost:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Purchase Orders:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Installation System:
In the Installer Payables System module, a new Hold/Release option has been added. This control must first be enabled for each applicable User in the User Control 7 screen of the System Control Maintenance module. When you enter this module, you will now see a new Hold column as follows:
If a payment item is selected for Hold, only a User with permission can Release the Hold by right-clicking on the line to prompt a Set/Release Hold option as follows:
With the Hold removed, the User is then free to Select the item for payment. If an item needs to placed on Hold, Users with permission can right-click in the Hold column to get to the Set/Release Hold option and the system will display a “Y” in the column for that item.
One additional new feature in Installer Payables is the addition of the View Audit option, which is similar to the View Audit option in Order Entry and Quotes. You will see the new View Audit option at the top left of the Installer Payables screen, to the right of Enter Adjustments. When you click on that option, an Installer Payments Audit Review screen will appear as follows:
The screen will initially display all defaults on the current day. At the Date Range (1) field, you can select a different day or range of dates. You can also narrow by User ID (2), and Installer ID (3). And if you need to only see a specific Audit Type (4), you can use the drop-down box in that field to make a selection. Click the Build button to see the results of your selections in the main screen.
In the Installer Maintenance module, a Logo button has been added to the bottom of the Add/Edit screen. This is for use with the BMS Web Install Calendar whereby an Installer’s logo can be added for the Invoices they are able to submit through the program. This is a simple fixed upload of a jpg file, with no Branch settings and no alignment.
Also new to this update, is a mechanism to withhold income for non-employees for the IRS Backup Withholding to 1099. Setup must be completed in Installer Maintenance and Vendor Maintenance (see below). In the Installer Maintenance module, after a G/L Liability Account has been added for tracking to your Balance Sheet, you will need to access the Installer G/L Defaults screen from the Functions menu to add that G/L Account as follows:
Be sure to click Save to keep this change.
A few updates have been made to the Work Order Instruction Sheet module. When you enter this module, the system will first prompt a list of existing Work Order Instruction Sheets as follows:
As you can see from the list above, you can have multiple sets of Sheets in the system, by Branch, Product Type within the Branch, Usage Mode, which we’ll discuss below, and you can determine whether they print during the Pre-Stage, Stage, and/or Ship Mode. You can highlight and then double-click on an existing Sheet to Edit, or right-click on a Sheet to Delete. Click the Add button to create a new one. One more option is to alter W/O Settings for all from the screen above. When you click on W/O Settings, the system will prompt a Work Order Settings option box as follows:
If you make any changes, be sure to click Save. When you click the Add button, the system will display the familiar main screen along with a couple of new features as follows:
The Material Only, Labor +/- Material, and All options are considered the Usage Mode. The default setting is All, so only make a change if you want the Sheet to print with Material only, or Labor whether or not Material is selected. The Pre-Stage, Stage, and Ship Modes can be selected individually or all-together, based on how you wish to set up your Sheets. For example, the Pre-Stage may have a place for the warehouse to sign certifying the items have been pulled and are ready for the install, whereas the Ship may include a survey or installer check-list. You have lots of options with these updates.
Accounts Receivable:
The Contact Report located in the Customer Maintenance module from the Contacts feature, will now export all fields to Excel. Also, there is now a Text Updates field to the right of the Cell field that works in conjunction with the BMS Text Alert product integration. With proper setup, automatic appointment reminders will be sent to designated Contacts based on the beginning date per Accumulator Code on multi-date installations or the Install Date field on the Job.
In the Customer Payment History module, a Property Manager drop-down selection box has been added to allow for viewing history by a specific Property Manager. This has been added to the top right of the existing screen. The default is **All**, so no change will occur unless a Property Manager is selected. This would be the Property Manager associated with the Job Ship To that is tied to the paid Invoice.
The Closed Deposit Purge module now has an option to enter a Purge Date Range. When you enter this module, you will now see a new checkbox as follows: Limit Purge Range. When you click in that box, a date box will display as follows:
You can now set a prior date for purging Closed Deposits if applicable.
The Approve/Select Jobs module has been modernized to a graphical screen. Now, when you enter this module, an updated Select / Approve Jobs For Cut Sheet – W/O screen will appear as follows:
The fields and column headings have remained the same, but the Approval process is easier and you can print the Jobs Not Approved Report from this screen. When you highlight and right-click on an item, you will see options as follows:
In the Customer Master Listing, a new Excel only option has been added and appears as follows: Include Avg. Pay Days (Excel Only). This option will only be available if the Exclude Ship To Codes checkbox is checked. This is because both are very time-consuming processes.
Accounts Payable:
The Contact Report located in the Vendor Maintenance module from the Contacts feature, will now export all fields to Excel.
Programming for IRS Backup Withholding to 1099 has been completed for Phase 1. Setup needs to take place in Installer Maintenance and Vendor Maintenance. Backup Withholding fields/columns have been added to Print Checks and Check History. In Vendor Maintenance, when setup is complete in Installer Maintenance and a valid Social Security # has been added, two new fields will appear to the right of that field as follows:
The IRS Backup Withholding checkbox must first be checked, and then the Withholding Percent field will default to 24%, but is accessible to change if/where applicable. All applicable Accounts Payable modules have been updated to track and display this data, including Payment Selection, Check Print, Check Register/History, View Check History, and Print A/P Form 1099.
In the Check Register History module, the Email Remittance Statements option has been added. Previously this was only available in Check History for EFT Statements. This works the same as with Check History, where a valid Vendor or A/P Contact Email has been set up and the Register is for EFT Remittance.
General Ledger:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Sales Analysis:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Owner Functions:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Management Functions:
N/A in Q2 2020.
Special Functions:
In the Customer Facing CSV Imports module, three new import options have been added as follows: Property Management Templates, A/R Contact, and A/P Contact. As with all the other options, an example spreadsheet for each of these new import options appears in the Example menu.
B2B Catalog Process:
There are two new B2B Vendors currently in the testing phase with BMS Software: Readers Wholesale and United Tile. In preparation for them going live, we have added new B2B Product Codes as follows: yd for UNITED TILE ACCESS/EA/08 and ye for READERS WHOLE ACC/EA/08. If you are interested in B2B imports from either of these Vendors, please reach out to your vendor sales rep and let them know you would like to sign up.
The B2B Vendor Web Services Setup screen has been updated to include a few more web services. Those are as follows: Price Inquiry, Orders List, Order Status, and Order Detail. As these services become available from each Vendor, they can be activated in BMS.
In the View Import screen of the B2B Import process, you will now see an Excel icon at the top left that will allow exporting of all the pending import data. This will include all colors and all data when drilling into detail, aside from existing catalog. Also, a column titled # Found will display the number of occurrences of existing Catalog Items matching the import item.
System Maintenance:
In the Company Control 3 screen of the System Control Maintenance module, an update was made to an existing control. That control appears as follows: Auto Set Budget Quote. The control now appears as follows: Auto Set Budget Quote/Template. As the control now indicates, with this control set to “Y” for yes, the system will now automatically set the Budget on a Job created from a Template.
In the Branch Control 2 screen of the System Control Maintenance module, there are four new controls. The first appears as follows: Ignore Branch Pricing Control. With this control set to “Y” for yes, it will allow for All Branch pricing without needing User permission in the Branch. The second appears as follows: Activate Lead Appt Scheduling. With this control set to “Y” for yes, the system will activate Leads Appointment scheduling if this add on module has been activated in your system. With proper setup, this new feature allows for scheduling lead appointments based on a salesrep’s schedule and availability. The third appears as follows: Encrypt Labor on Work Order. With this control set to “Y” for yes, the system will encrypt labor amounts and quantities on the Work Order. The fourth appears as follows: Default Transfer Request Br. With a Branch ID entered for this control, the system will auto-prompt this Branch as the “TO” Branch during Inventory Assignment. This was developed for a specific customer in conjunction with additional Inventory Transfer programming.
In the User Control 1 screen of the System Control Maintenance module, the existing control “Add Customers” if set to “Y” for yes, one of the current prompts has been split into two separate prompts. The User allowed to change Customer on Order/Quote is now two separate prompts, one for Order and one for Quote. This prompt will automatically prompt with the setting used prior to this update, so no change will take place for any Users unless accessed and updated. (RM4558) (RM4481) Also, a slight adjustment has been made to another of the prompts under the Add Customer control. That prompt appears as follows: User allowed to change customer type. If this control is set to “Y” for Yes, the User will be able to see and access the Customer Type field in Customer Maintenance, whereas previously it was also tied to Salesperson Custom Menu settings.
With regard to the Custom Menus “MENUPROD.FIL” and “MENUPROD2.FIL” the Inventory Usage Report has been added. As a reminder, Custom Menus are set in the User Control 1 screen.
In the User Control 4 screen of the System Control Maintenance module, an update was made to an existing control that appears as follows: Allow change of date in Receive Money. A second prompt will now appear as follows when this control is set to “Y” for yes: Allowed to change Deposit Date Quote/Order. With this control set to Yes, the User will be able to change the adjustment/deletion date of a Deposit on a Quote or Order and a Date field will appear when adding a Deposit.
In the User Control 7 screen of the System Control Maintenance module, there are three new controls. The first appears as follows: Allowed to Hold/Release Installer Pay. With this control set to “Y” for yes, the User will be able to place a Hold on an Installer Payment and any User without this control enabled, will not be able to take it off Hold and select for payment. This control also then allows a User to Release the Hold and allow the payment to be processed. The second new control appears as follows: Allowed to Post Deposit/AP Claims. With this control set to “Y” for yes, the User will be able to use the new Sales Deposit (Claims) in Order Entry feature, explained above. Most Users should not have this permission, and a thorough understanding of how this feature works is recommended. See the Payment Type Code Maintenance update in the Sales Processing section above to see full explanation. The third new control appears as follows: Allowed In-Job Inventory Job Transfers. The ability to perform an “In-Job” inventory transfer is new to this system update and explained above in the Inventory Control section of these Release Notes. This control determines which Users can complete that action. Set this control to “Y” for yes to allow this process.
API Add On & Miscellaneous programming notes:
In the BMS Web Install Calendar, there is now a field in the Installer Invoice feature for “# of hours on job.” There are three digits before the decimal and three after. The data entered here will only print on the document, it will not be stored anywhere. Additionally, the Submit button for the Installer Invoice will not be visible until the last day of the Install.
The Leads Processing module has undergone several updates. New fields and functionality have been added to provide a more robust and dynamic lead tracking program. (FYI: there is a webinar titled “New Features & Leads Module Updates” presented on 5/20/20 that covers these great new updates to this module. It can be accessed from the Help Desk.) You will notice several changes as soon as you enter this module. In the main screen, in the menu section, you will now see a View Lead Audit option to allow for tracking User activity within selected Leads. You will also now see a Batch Email Rep button, which requires you to first Filter by Appointment Date or Sales Rep, and then allows you to send Batch Emails to Sales Rep addresses on file. The Functions menu contains several new setup options to further enhance functionality and should be accessed and applicable areas prior to using these new features. In the Br column, an “O” indicates a Lead has been converted to an Order.
In the Lead Maintenance screen, several changes have been made. The updated screen now appears as follows:
At the top left of the screen, you will now see a View Lead Audit option, which works similarly to the Audit programs found in Quote and Order Entry. This will indicate which User set or changed a Lead appointment and which Users made changes to the fields below and when. In the far-right upper corner, you will now see a Google Maps button to use for making sure the address is valid. The button next to it is to access Zillow to review home appearance and value. Also new is the Notes icon for Salesreps to add notes specific to the Lead. The button next to that is for access to the BMS MeasureSquare program, if activated in your system. The data from this module will export to MeasureSquare. The Office Notes button at the bottom right will not be seen by Salesreps and can be used by management for internal Leads Notes. Next to each Phone section is a Text checkbox that works in conjunction with the BMS Text Alert product integration and allows for texting with the Lead. In addition, you can now record a secondary contact name in the Other First and Other Last fields as well as note if the Lead is Married and/or a Homeowner. Within the address section, a field has been added for Cross Streets to help locate the residence. Also, the system now forces the State field to be two characters, and the Zip to be five, if it is set to US. The Zone/Region drop-down field requires advance setup, but allows for setting up Zones and/or Regions for which you can assign your Sales Reps. This setup can be completed in the main screen under the Functions menu. An example could be North LA, South LA, etc. The Budget field can be used to record an amount the Lead has previously mentioned as the amount they are looking to spend.
The Alert Codes box is another section that needs to be preset before use. You will find an Alert Codes Maintenance option in the Function menu. An example of how this can be used appears below:
The Rooms and Product Type sections in the previous version have been combined into one section in the middle of the screen with added functionality. Room Maintenance and Material Type Maintenance need to be pre-set before using here. Below is an example:
When converting a Lead to a Quote or Order, the system will default the Customer to Credit Status of “Y”, making them C.O.D. A User with permission would need to update that field. Also, the system will now ask if the User would like to leave the Lead Open when converting to a Quote or Order.
Lead Appointment Scheduling:
This functionality requires a bit of setup prior to use. There are three areas of the system that need to be accessed to turn on and control who can use this feature. With proper setup, this new feature allows for scheduling Lead Appointments based on a Salesperson’s schedule and availability.
In Branch Control 2, you will see the following: Activate Lead Appt Scheduling. With this control set to “Y” for yes, the system will activate Lead Appointment scheduling. In the User Web Dashboard screen, the three highlighted areas need to be set for each User:
Additionally, in the User Control 1 screen, the User needs to first be set up as a Salesperson, and then the two highlighted controls need to be considered:
,
And finally, in the User Control 5 screen, make sure the Leads Options control has been accessed for each applicable User and completed. Those options appear as follows:
Once the system setup is completed, you will need to access the Leads Processing module to perform some additional setup. There is a new Zone/Region field for use in assigning names to the various sections of your business service area. These can be preset from the Functions menu under Zone/Region Maintenance. When a Lead is assigned one of these Zones or Regions, you can schedule your reps based on which of these areas they have been assigned to. You should also then complete the Time Maintenance option to create Time Slots for scheduling appointments, such as 6:00 AM Early Morning, 10:00 Am Morning, etc. The final setup area can also be found in the Functions menu as follows: Schedule Setup. All other setup should be completed prior to accessing this option. That screen appears as follows:
In the Salesrep Setup option you will Add all Salespeople available for Schedule Setup and determine what their availability is for each Zone/Region. You can also use the screen above for a default availability screen, and once that is set, the system will take into account all available salespeople for a date/time/zone and display that during the live scheduling process.
When setup is complete, when you save a new Lead, or click in the Appt Day/Time field, a Schedule Lead screen will appear as follows:
In this screen, you can see available appointment slots so you can then Assign Sales Rep, Pick Time Slot, and then View Appointments.
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