Customization DS0448
Return Authorization
Problem Definition:
ACME supplies flowers to retail outlets. Expired product is collected from the retail outlets and recorded on a Return Authorization (RA) form. The RA form is then used to create a Return in GP.
Entering the RA directly into GP as a return is problematic for a couple of reasons:
- There is not an item number on the products
- There is additional information on each RA line that is important to ACME for reporting purposes
To identify a specific item from the RA, the Vendor Code/Pull Date column can be used to identify a Vendor in GP. Cross-referencing the Vendor to recent sales invoices for the customer will provide a list of possible item numbers. The user will have to pick from the list of possible options.
The user who enters the RA will not be the same person who approves the RA and creates a Return in GP. The ability to enter the RA should be separate from the ability to approve and submit RAs.
Design Features:
Return Authorization Entry
The Return Authorization Entry (RAE) window will be used to enter the information from the paper RA so that it is captured in GP (in the database.)
Navigation: Transactions >> Sales >> RA Entry
| Field | Function |
| Credit # | The user will start by entering the Credit Number from the RA form. This must be a unique number. It cannot exist as an open RA, (not yet submitted), as an open SOP Return, or as a posted SOP Return. An existing RA can be selected from the Lookup. (See RA Lookup below.)
If an existing Credit Number is entered, it will display the existing RA, or warn the user that the number already exists as a Sales Return. If the RA has already been submitted, it will open in the RA Inquiry window. (see below.) |
| Customer Number** | User will enter the Customer Number, or select one from the Lookup. |
| Customer Name | Displays the Customer Name |
| Return To Site** | The GP Site that the return will be created into. Required field |
| Date | Date from the RA |
| Store ID | Store ID from the RA |
| Scrolling Window | |
| The window will function like the Sales Transaction Entry window, where it displays one line, and if expanded, the one line becomes very large, filling the entire scrolling window. | |
| Line | Increments automatically. Not editable |
| Shrink Date | Date from RA line |
| Shrink Code | Drop-down list with these options:
NOTE: In the database, drop-down lists are stored as enumerated values. |
| Vendor Code | Vendor Code/Pull Date appear as one field on the RA form. However, since the software needs to attempt to locate a Vendor ID in GP using the Vendor Code, the Vendor Code must be entered separately. The Vendor Code is stored in the Comment-1 field on Vendor Maintenance. |
| Pull Date | A Julian Date code |
| UPC Code | The UPC Code is a “price point” code, and does not tie to an Item Number in GP. This will be a 10 character string field. |
| Size | 10 character string field. User enters the quantity returned |
| Fields in the Expanded Line view | |
| Item Number** | User enters the GP Item Number if known, or selects from the custom Lookup. See RA Item Lookup below. |
| Item Description | When a GP Item Number is selected, the Item Description will populate. This field is editable and can be overridden by the user. This will flow through to the GP Return. |
| Vendor ID | If the Vendor Code maps to a Vendor, and the system can locate that Vendor, this will fill in automatically. |
| Vendor Name | Displays the Vendor Name. |
| Unit Cost | If the Item Number was selected from the Lookup, it will have linked the RA line to the originating SOP Line, and the cost will pull in from the originating sales line. If an item number was manually entered this will display the Current Cost from Item Maintenance |
| Extended Cost | Not editable. Displays Units Shrunk Unit Cost. |
| Unit Price | If the RA line is linked to a SOP Line, this displays the Unit Price from the SOP Line. Otherwise this is zero. |
| Extended Price | Not editable. Displays Units Shrunk Unit Price. |
| Unit of Measure** | Defaults to the selected Item’s Base Unit of Measure. User can change it by entered a different (valid) UofM for the item, or selecting one from the Lookup. |
| Price Level** | If the RA Line is liked to a SOP Line, this pulls in from the SOP Line. Otherwise it is the default Price Level assigned to the Customer, and if that is blank, the default Price Level assigned to the Item. |
** Fields that are not required during RA entry, but must be completed before the RA can be submitted. See RA Submission below.
The expanded scrolling window:
RA Item Lookup
The RA Item Lookup is opened from the RAE window.
The window sorts by Date, then Item Number, so the most recent transactions appear at the top.
| Field | Function |
| Vendor ID | If Vendor ID is empty on the RAE window, the lookup will show all items from “recent” sales invoices for the Customer for the last 30-days (by default).
If the Vendor ID is populated on the RAE window, the Lookup will show items from “recent” transactions for that Customer where the Primary Vendor for the items matches the Vendor ID. A different Vendor can be selected and the window will refresh to show items where that is the Primary Vendor, or it can be cleared to display all recent sales lines for that Customer. |
| Find Item Number | The “Find Item Number” does a “contains” search on Item Number and Item Description for the string entered. As shown above, entering “GR” returns all items where the Item Number and/or Description contains “GR”. |
| Display Last | By default, it shows last 30 days. Other options are 60 and 90. |
Return Authorization Lookup
The RA Lookup shows existing documents in either the open (not submitted) or history tables. When opened from the RA Inquiry window the Open/History setting will match the selection on the RA Inquiry window.
Find Credit Number does a “contains” search on the Credit Number field.
RA Submission
The RA Submission window is used to select RA documents to submit as Returns.
Navigation: Transactions >> Sales >> RA Submission
| Field | Function |
| Mark/Unmark All | Marks all Ras that are not currently being edited in RA Entry. Unmark All unmarks all selected documents. |
| Credit Number Zoom | Zoom to the selected document in RA Entry. |
| Submit | Asks the user to confirm they are ready to create Sales Returns, then executes the RA Submission Process. |
RA Submission Process
The Submission Process will work like posting from one of the GP Series Post windows. You cannot mark an RA that is currently open in the RA Entry window, otherwise all RAs can be marked.
As the process attempts to create a SOP Return from each RA it will perform data validation on the document, report any errors, and only submit documents where data is complete and accurate. When the process is complete, the RA Submission window will redisplay. If any RAs had errors, they will still remain in the window. Submitted RAs will no longer appear in the window.
Error Conditions:
- No Customer ID or Invalid Customer ID
- No Return To Site or Invalid Return To Site
- No Item Number or Invalid Item Number
- No UofM or invalid UofM
- Quantity Error. If the Quantity field contains a number that does not fit within the Item’s Quantity Decimals, it will be reported. For example, if the item is measured in LBS and has 1-decimal but the field shows 10.01 LBS, that is an error.
- If linked to a SOP Line, the SOP Line reference is valid
- The document exists
- The line exists
- The Document Customer matches the RA Customer
- The line Item matches the RA line Item
An Error Report will print showing the Credit Number and a description of the error. Line level errors will reference the Credit Number and Line Number.
ACME’s long term plans include deploying a wireless, handheld, web-based user interface for RA Entry. At this time, the assumption is that application would feed data into the RA tables in GP and that the RA Submission window would be used to create Returns from the RAs. The data validation routine is intended to ensure the RA has the minimum amount of valid data needed to create a SOP Return.
An important aspect of entering the RA is selecting the Return Item Number. This builds a link between the RA Line and the originating Sales Invoice Line so that the system can pull the original Cost and Price. This information is not, however, required to actually create a return. The web-based application should provide the ability to create this link to an origination sales transaction, or, after importing the web-data into GP the RAs will need to be manually handled on a per-line basis to select the originating SOP Line.
All SOP Returns will be created in a Batch Named as follows: RA_RET_YYYYMMDD (that is 15-characters, which is the maximum size of the Batch ID field). The Credit Number will become the SOP Document Number.
An RA Submission Report will print showing the list of RAs turned into SOP Returns. The submitted RAs will be moved out of the open RA tables into a matching set of History RA tables.
Return Authorization Inquiry
Navigation: Inquiry >> Sales >> RA Inquiry
This is a view-only version of the RA Entry window.
The OPEN/HISTORY radio buttons allow the user to look at unsubmitted or submitted RAs, respectively.
Assumptions/Requirements:
- Items must have a Default Site specified.
- A Primary Vendor must be assigned to the Default Site for each Item.
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