Bar Codes

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Using Bar Codes in BCSS

Read Bar Codes from the Inventory Add and Edit Screens

When adding or editing an Inventory Record, click in the Bar-Code Field and scan the bar code. Information about the item will be entered.

Read Bar Codes from the New-Sale Screen

On the New-Sale Screen, click in the Bar-Code-Entry Box.

Scan the bar code. If a bar code is read that does not exist in inventory, BCSS presents the New-Inventory Screen for adding the item to inventory. Choose the Consignor who provided the item. After the new item is entered, read the bar code again to enter the item on the New-Sale Screen.

Manually Enter Bar-Codes

If a bar code fails to scan properly, enter it manually from the keyboard. Use the numbers on the keyboard that are below the function keys to enter the code in the Bar-Code-Entry Box if a new sale document is open. Do not use the numeric keypad.

Press Enter after the bar code is entered.

Remove Duplicate Bar Codes

Use Remove Duplicate Bar Codes in the Inventory Menu.

Configure Bar-Code Appearance

Align Bar-Code Print on Labels by making settings on the Print-Settings Screen. (See below.)

BCSS is set to print bar codes on labels in correct position for general laser-style printers. It may be necessary to adjust margin and row-space settings. (Bar-code margin settings are made in inches.)

Procedures for Test Printing Labels

1. Select Labels on the Main Menu.

   

2. Click on the Inventory tab to open the Inventory-Report Screen.
3. At the bottom in Styles, choose 'Bar Codes on Avery Stock'.
4. Press the Print Price Labels button:

   

5. Select 'Print Open Bar Codes' on the Bar-Code-Options Screen:

   

6. Press the 'Test Print' or 'Print' Button on the Print-Settings Screen:

   

7. On the Print-Preview Screen, press the Print Button:

   

8. On the Print-Setup Screen:

   

   1. Select the printer if necessary.
   2. Change Orientation to Portrait.
   3. Change 'Page range' to 'Current page'.
   4. 'Number of copies' should be 1.
   5. Put a blank sheet of white paper in the printer.
   6. Click OK.

Bar-code labels should have printed on one page. Lay the printed sheet over a sheet of labels, square them and hold them up to the light. If the labels are printed in the correct position, follow the next instructions for print alignment.

If labels didn't print, test the printer with another program (like Notepad) to see that the printer is working. It may be necessary to dump the printer queue. Go to Control Panel, Printers. Select the printer. Select 'Printer' then 'Cancel All Documents'. Turn the printer off and back on. Test print again.

Procedures for Label Print Alignment

1. Select Labels on the Main Menu.

   

2. Click on the Inventory tab to open the Inventory-Report Screen.
3. At the bottom in Styles, choose 'Bar Codes on Avery Stock'.
4. Press the Print Price Labels button:

   

5. Select 'Print Open Bar Codes' on the Bar-Code-Options Screen:

   

6. On the Print-Settings Screen - Change values to adjust print alignment. (Values are in inches so small changes in values will move print position significantly.)

   

   • If the first row of print started too high on the test-print page, increase the Top Margin, and vice versa.
   • If the first column of labels was too far to the left, increase Left Margin, and vice versa. Set the left margin to .3" for 3 columns (.1" for 4 columns).
   • Bottom Margin and Right Margin may not need adjustment.
   • Adjust Row Space to increase or decrease the space between rows.
   • Change Rows to 20 and Columns to 4 when printing Small Price Labels (4 Across, 20 Down, 80 labels per sheet)
7. Press the 'Test Print' or 'Print' Button.
8. Follow the procedures above to print.
9. If necessary return to the Print-Settings Screen for additional tweaks.

Other Print-Setting-Screen Options

Check the box named 'Bar Code Quantity = Inventory Quantity' to print a number of bar codes equal to the # of items in inventory.

Also, for a partially-used sheet of labels, enter the next available label # after 'Start printing at this label #'. Example: If 14 labels were used, enter 15 and feed the unused portion of the sheet first.

Bar-Code Labels will not print for items with quantity of zero.

Bar codes will not print on price labels if bar codes have not been assigned and/or if bar codes have not been activated in Program Setup.

Bar codes will be assigned to items when Batch Enter is used.

Assign Bar Codes Automatically

After inventory items have been entered (using the Add-Inventory Screen - F3), assign bar codes to each item by selecting Assign Bar Codes (Inventory Work Area, Quick Links):

A message will appear advising how many bar codes were assigned.

Bar codes will not print on price labels if bar codes have not been assigned and/or if bar codes have not been activated in Program Setup.

Assign Bar Code Manually

How to print 'unused bar codes on price labels and attach them to inventory items and enter the items (with their bar codes) in BCSS.

1. Click on Labels on the Main Menu.
2. Select the Inventory tab.
3. For Label Style, choose Bar Codes on Avery Stock.
4. On the next screen, click on Print Open Bar Codes.
5. Make any necessary settings.
6. The box named 'Bar Code Quantity = Inventory Quantity' can be checked or unchecked.
7. Click on Test Print.
8. If the labels appear to be correct, click the printer icon on the window menu bar to print.
9. Attach labels to items.
10. Enter the items in BCSS and record the bar code for each item.

View Bar Codes

To view an item's bar code, select the item in the Inventory Work Area Table (and click on the General Tab at the bottom of the screen if it is not displayed):

Bar-Code Labels on Thermal Tags

Things to Know:

• Bar codes must be assigned before they can be printed. (After entering items in BCSS, press 'Assign Bar Codes' in the Inventory Work Area.)
  

  

• 
  
• In Program Setup (Printers tab), this box must be checked:

  

• Labels will only be printed for items with a quantity of at least '1' if 'Quantity Greater Than 0' is checked on the Inventory Label Screen.
  

  

• The number of bar codes printed will equal the number in 'Quantity' (in an item's Inventory Record). Change the Quantity to control the number of labels to print and check 'Bar Code Quantity = Inventory Quantity' on the Print-Settings Page.
  

  

• Adjust print position on the labels by using the adjustments for Top and Left Margin and Row Space on the Inventory Labels Screen (lower left):
  
  

  Try a left margin of 350 and a top margin of 300. Increase values to move print right and down on the page. (Large changes in these numbers are necessary to see significant shifts in print position.) A (large) negative # may be necessary for the left margin. Decrease Row Space to move rows closer together.

• The Disposal Code, Date In and Discount Schedule can be turned off/on in Program Setup(Inventory tab).

Bar-Code Labels on 8.5" x 11" Sheets

Bar codes may be printed on adhesive Medium Labels or non-adhesive Hang Tags using a standard laser-style printer. They may not be printed on Small Price Labels or Detailed Labels.

Medium Adhesive Price Labels with Bar Codes

Below is an image of a Medium Label (actual size: 2 5/8" x 1") showing (from top to bottom) the optional Disposal Code ('re' for Return), the Bar Code, the Bar-Code Number, Description (Blazer), Price and Consignor ID-Item # (Consignor Ader- Item 1).

Use 2-5/8" x 1" labels. The labels are '3 across on the sheet and 10 down' - Avery #5160 (laser), #8460 (ink/bubble jet), #4144 (dot matrix) available from office supply stores.

Non-Adhesive Hang Tags with Bar Codes

Below is an image of a non-adhesive Hang Tag (actual size 4 1/4" x 1") showing Consignor ID-Item ID (HICO-2: Consignor HICO, item 2), Disposal Code (re), Category (None), Description (Jacket), Date In (04/25/2009), the Discount Schedule, the Bar Code and the Bar-Code #. (The first price in the Discount Schedule is the Current Price.)

Use a laser printer and 4 1/4" x 1" sheet labels (2 across/10 down - in 17 border colors) - Product# CC#LTS-20 available from MarkAT, 888-947-7734, markatcc@att.net.

To print, try a left-margin setting of 350 and a top margin setting of 800 as a starting point. Large changes in these numbers are necessary to see significant shifts in print position.

Determine Which Labels to Print

The method for determining which labels to print is the same for all labels:

1. Select Labels on the Main Menu:

2. Select Inventory:

At the bottom of the page, 'Bar Codes on Avery Stock' will be selected by default:

Click the Print-Price-Labels Button:

The next screen will present a list of bar-code options:

1. Print Open Bar Codes (bar codes not yet assigned to inventory items) - Print unused bar codes. Attach them to items then add items with desired information including assigned bar codes.
2. Manually Enter Bar Codes to Print - Type bar code numbers in the Bar-Code Fields
3. Print Bar Codes With Filters - 'Filters' refers to settings made on the Price Labels and Tags screen for selecting items for bar-code labels. (See Price Labels for how to set filters.)
4. Manually Enter Item ID to Reprint - Type Item IDs in the Item ID fields
5. Select Bar Codes to Print - Select bar codes from a list of bar codes

Print Settings

After completing any of the 5 options above, a Print Settings screen will present options for Page Layout (in inches). The default settings are correct for most laser-style printers. If label do not print correctly, make adjustments as needed. Store the correct settings in case BCSS is reinstalled in the future.

Test Print

Selecting Test Print will present the labels selected in a Print-Preview Screen. If labels are missing or undesirable labels are present, go back and add or delete labels by changing settings or entries made. If the labels are correct, press the Print Button to Proceed.

When the labels are correct, first print one sheet of labels on a white sheet of paper. Place the printed page over a sheet of blank labels. Square them and hold both up to light to verify that the print aligns with the labels.

Windows Print Setup

The next screen is Windows Print Setup. (It should not be necessary to change settings under 'Setup' on this screen.)

The settings should be:

• Name: The correct printer name should appear here.
• Size: Letter
• Page range: Current page (or All)
• Orientation: Portrait (Never 'As Preview')
• Number of copies: Normally 1

When settings are correct, press OK to start printing.

Troubleshooting Bar Code Printing

Labels Not Positioned Correctly on All Labels -

1. Turn the printer off to stop the printing process.

2. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers. Click on the listing for your printer. Click on 'Document' then 'Cancel'.

3. Turn the printer back on and clear the paper.

4. Change Print Settings to correct print position by changing the values for Top and Left Margin, row Space on the Labels Screen:

If labels are not printing on the last row, decrease the value for Row Space.

No Bar Codes on Labels -

1. Remember to assign bar codes after inventory items have been entered (Inventory Work Area, Assign Bar Codes)

2. Turn bar codes on in Program Setup, Printers tab. Select 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths.

If Setup opens with that box checked, remove the check. Save and Exit. Reopen Setup. Replace the check and Save/Exit again for a reset.

Related:

Bar Codes on Thermal Labels

Print Troubleshooting

There are two ways to enter a bar code in BCSS:

1.  Scan a Bar Code

On the New-Sale Screen, click in the Bar-Code-Entry Box.

Scan the bar code. If a bar code is read that does not exist in inventory, BCSS opens the New-Inventory-Item Process. Choose the Consignor who provided the item.

After the new item is entered, read the bar code again to enter the item on the New-Sale Screen.

2.  Manually Enter a Bar Code

If the bar-code reader is unable to read a bar code -

1. Click in the Bar-Code-Entry Box on the New-Sale Screen and start to enter the bar code (using number keys at the top of the keyboard - not the numeric keypad on the right of the keyboard).
2. Enter a bar code and press Enter.
3. The pop-up window disappears and processing proceeds as if a bar code had been read with the reader.

Existing Bar Codes

BCSS recognizes existing bar codes. Just enter the existing bar code number while entering inventory. Click in the Bar-Code Field and scan the bar code.

Note that BCSS recognizes 7-digit and 11-digit bar codes. It may be necessary to configure the scanner to 'cut' the 12th digit from a 12-digit bar code. See the bar-code configuration instructions.

Bar Code Numbers in Reports

Bar code numbers may be displayed on screen and/or printed for a specific item or a range of items.

Please note: In order for a bar code to be viewable or printable, a bar code must have been assigned to the inventory item. See Assign Bar Codes.

View the Bar Code for One Inventory Item

After a bar code has been assigned, go to the Inventory Work Area:

Select the item from the list of inventory items in the table:

View the bar code in the Bar-Code Field at the bottom of the screen:

View and Print Bar-Code Reports (See Bar Code Labels for printing price labels with bar codes.)

Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Inventory:

Once the inventory items have been selected (by making settings on the Report Screen), click the button named Print Detailed List:

View bar codes on the Print-Preview Screen:

Use the print button to print the report:

Bar Code Scanners

BCSS is compatible with most scanners and has been tested with POS-X Scanners and the Unitech MS210 Bar Code Reader.

Generally scanners can be used 'out of the box' like keyboards - plug them into a USB (Uniform Serial Bus) port and Windows will recognize the new hardware.

Scanners are shipped with a manual which explains how to configure the scanners: POS-X Manual | Unitech MS210 Manual

If you haven't used a scanner before, or if the scanner is not working, please read the manual before calling support (800-790-8657 ).

Scanner Settings

Primarily BCSS reads 11-digit (UPC-A) bar codes (and can read 7-digit (UPC-E). When setting up the scanner, scan these bar codes for UPC-E or UPC-A:

     

Some bar codes may have 12 digits with the 12th digit being a 'check digit'. BCSS treats 12-digit codes as 'invalid' so when setting up the scanner, put the scanner in Program Mode and scan this code to 'turn the check digit off' or 'cut check digit':

Test Any Scanner Prior to Use with BCSS:

1. Open NotePad. (Click on Start, Run, enter notepad, click OK.)
2. Scan a bar code that was printed using BCSS.
3. The bar code should appear in NotePad.
4. The bar code should be 11 digits.
5. The cursor should be on the next line.

If the bar code does not appear in Notepad, try another cable, another USB port and/or try another bar code. See the scanner manual for scanner setup and configuration. If there's still a problem, contact the provider of the scanner. It's possible that the scanner is defective.

Test the Scanner with BCSS:

1. In BCSS, press F6 for New Sale.
2. On the Sales Invoice, click in the Bar-Code Box (upper right).
   

   

3. Scan a bar code.

The bar code should appear in the bar-code box and the item scanned should appear as a line entry.

If the scan did not work, open Notepad and scan the item again. If the bar code appears in Notepad, the scanner is working. Please contact support (or the provider of the scanner) for assistance.

POS-X Bar-Code Scanners

BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual read and write bar codes. Intro does not.

Price, item number and item description are printed on sheets of labels, hang tags (or on thermal labels using Diamond or Virtual). Bar codes, date in, the discount schedule and disposal codes are optional.

Please refer to the User's Guide included with the scanner for setup and configuration. When the scanner is plugged into a USB port, Windows should recognize that new hardware has been added and prompt you for action.

The scanner should 'work out of the box'. To test the scanner, open a new Notepad or WordPad blank document and scan any bar code. The bar code should appear in the blank document. If it does not, refer to the manual for proper setup and troubleshooting.

Scanners are used with BCSS at POS to auto enter items on the New-Sale Invoice. See 2 Ways to Enter a Bar Code in BCSS.

		VLINE Barcode Scanner ($99) The VLINE is an inexpensive tethered scanner which connects to the PC with a 6.5' USB cable. It has a 4-inch read range, 4.7" read width and can read 200 bar codes per second. It reads all popular bar-code symbologies. This scanner is included in BCSS Specials. 3-Yr Warranty (Brochure) (Configuration Utility) (Warranty) (Support/Repair Requests)
		XI3200 Barcode Scanner ($149, Hand-Free Stand $20) The XI3200 is a shock-resistant tethered scanner with a reading distance of up to 14 inches. The hands-free stand is almost a must at POS. Also included are the configuration software, a manual and USB cable. This scanner is available as an upgrade in BCSS Special Offers for $56. Ships with 5-Yr Warranty, User's Guide and Interface Cable. (Brochure) (Configuration Utility) (Manual) (Warranty) (Support/Repair Requests)
		XI3200BT BlueTooth Wireless Scanner ($492) The XI3200BT Bluetooth scanner is wireless with a range up to 328 feet and a reading distance up to 14 inches. It is shatter resistant. The scanner is rechargeable with a battery life up to 50,000 scans. This scanner is available as an upgrade in the BCSS Special Offers for $399. Ships with 3-Yr Warranty, User's Guide, Connection Guide, BlueTooth Charging Base, Interface Cable, AC Power Supply and Driver Disk (Brochure) (Configuration Utility) (Manual) (Warranty) (Support/Repair Requests)

These scanners are compatible with BCSS. They were chosen for their reliability (3-5 Year Warranties) and affordability. Each scanner is shipped with a users guide and (cable and power supply where applicable). Shipping is free in the lower 48 states and Canada. Additional shipping charges only apply outside the U.S. and to 'remote locations'.

FAQ - Troubleshooting Bar-Code Scanners

The primary reasons for scanner inoperability are:

1. Incorrect Interface Connection: POS-X scanners connect via the USB port and are shipped with USB cables. No other connection should be attempted.
2. Incorrect Configuration Setup: BCSS reads 11-digit bar codes (primarily). Count the number of digits in the bar code. If it is 12, configure the scanner to cut (drop, not read) the 12th digit by scanning the 'No Send' bar code above (or refer to page 46 of the POS-X manual).
3. Poor Bar-Code Quality:

Scanner enters lead character @c

Please see Scanner Settings (above) on how to configure scanners by scanning factory-provided bar codes.

Bar coding doesn't work.

After inventory items are entered, bar codes must be assigned to those items. On the Main Menu, select Inventory then 'Assign Bar Codes' after entering new inventory items, or, in the Inventory Work Area, on the right, click on the Assign-Bar-Codes button:

Also, BCSS must know which printer will print labels. In BCSS, on the Main Menu, click on File then Program Setup. Under Printers, to the right of Print Documents (which includes sheets of labels), select your Document Printer (typically a standard laser/ink/bubblejet printer) and click Save/Exit. Test the printer with another program to make sure the printer is working, then attempt to print labels in BCSS on plain white paper first.

Finally, sheet labels may be printed with or without bar codes. (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths') to exclude bar codes from labels.

Bar codes are duplicated.
Scanning brings up wrong item.

Procedure:

1. On the Main Menu select Inventory.
2. Click 'Remove Duplicate Bar Codes'. A window will open with a list of items with new bar codes.
3. The Bar-Code Layout Window will open. Make settings for margins and/or row spacing if necessary.
4. Labels for the newly-assigned codes will be auto-printed when the window is closed.

Bar codes print in mirror image.

This is usually caused by having too many printer drivers installed. Go to Control Panel, Printers and remove any drivers for printers that are not being used. It is best to have only one document printer and one receipt printer.

Intuit's driver for QuickBooks has been known to cause problems.

Print another document to assure that the printer is working properly.

Can BCSS recognize existing bar codes from a previous business?

Yes. Enter the existing bar code number while entering inventory. BCSS accepts 7-digit and 11-digit bar codes. The scanner may need to be configured to 'cut' the 12th digit from a 12-digit bar code.

I don't have an installation CD. Where can I find the drivers?

Scanners do not require drivers. The POS-X Scanner Configuration Manager can be download from http://www.pos-x.com/downloads/XI3200-SCM.exe.

It includes:

• Scanner settings
• User interface
• Bar-code definition
• Data edit
• Update scanner program
• Test scanner read state

Why won't my scanner read some barcodes?

The barcode symbologies might need to be enabled. By default Codabar, MSI, and Code11 are not enabled. Bar codes must also be clearly printed. They can't be faded, torn or crumpled.

Why do I see an “M”, “A”, or “K” in front of all my scans?

Those are Code IDs. For POS-X: In the manual see page 30, Group 14, Codabar. For the MS210: Scan the NO barcode of Code ID on page A.2.

How do I use a PS2 scanner with my USB computer?

Use a PS2-to-USB converter - Part #: PW201-3 PS/2 to USB Converter

What is the maximum length for a USB cable?

A single cable can be 5 meters. Cascading 5-meter cables between USB hubs can achieve a maximum distance of 30 meters.

Unitech's MS210 Hand-Held Scanner - Part number: 1550-600709

Prior to 2010 BCSS recommended the MS210 scanner. Primary reasons for switching to POS-X are fast delivery, 2-day free replacement and a direct line to POS-X hardware support.

Bar-Code Type

The type of bar code to use for a particular situation depends upon: (1) the implementation; (2) the data to encode in the bar code and (3) how the bar code is to be printed. 'Symbologies' are different types of bar-code standards for different purposes. Each type of symbology (or bar-code type) is a standard that defines the printed symbol and how a device such as a bar code scanner reads and decodes the printed symbol.

BCSS defaults to UPC-A (11 characters). UPC-E may be selected for a narrower bar code (7 characters). UPC-A and UPC-E are used for items for sale in the USA and Canada.

Activating Inventory Items for Bar Coding

Items in inventory must be 'activated' for bar coding. Bar codes will not print for items that do not have assigned bar codes or that have a quantity of zero.

After entering new inventory, go to the Inventory Work Area and select 'Assign Bar Codes' in Quick Links:

BCSS will skip items with valid bar codes and assign bar codes only to items without bar codes.

Scanner Settings

BCSS reads 7-digit (UPC-E) and 11-digit (UPC-A) bar codes. When setting up the scanner, scan these bar codes for UPC-E and UPC-A:

     

Some bar codes may have 12 digits with the 12th digit being a 'check digit'. BCSS treats 12-digit codes as 'invalid' so when setting up the scanner, scan this code to 'turn the check digit off' or 'cut check digit':

The above labels (and others) may be found in the POS-X Manual (Page 48 Group 28) and Appendix A of the MS210 Manual.

Cash Drawers and Receipt Printers

A Receipt Printer prints a 3"-wide receipt showing the details of the sale.

The store information entered In BCSS (Program Setup, General tab) will appear on the sales receipt. The email-address and website fields can be blank or they can contain any information, like "All Sales Final", "Thank you for shopping with us", etc. Go to Control Panel, Printers. Right click on 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER' and select Properties for settings like printing multiple copies of the receipt and making the print lighter/darker, etc. (See the printer manual.)

BCSS has been configured for POS-X EVO receipt printer and the XCHD cash drawer, as well as Epson's TM-U220 Receipt Printer and Logic Controls' CR3000E Cash Drawer. (Other drawers and printers may work with BCSS. The easiest way to find out if other hardware is compatible is to choose the printer in BCSS Program Setup (Printers) and attempt to print a sales receipt.)

The receipt printer attaches to the PC and the cash drawer attaches to the printer. (The POS-X Drawer can connect directly to the PC with a special cable.) When the receipt is printed, the cash drawer is auto-opened. The drawer may also be opened by pressing F12.

The drawer key lock has 3 positions. For normal operation the key lock must be in the middle position.

POS-X XCHD Heavy-Duty Cash Drawer If the Cash Drawer is attached to the receipt printer, it conveniently opens when a sales receipt is printed if the locking key is in the middle position. The drawer can attach directly to the PC (with a special cable). Either way the drawer can be opened when the F12 key is pressed. It has a locking drawer for storing money securely. Having a cash drawer makes a better impression on customers. (more online)

Troubleshooting the Cash Drawer

Cash Drawer Won't Open When Receipt Prints

Is the cash drawer connected to the receipt printer (or to the PC with a special cable) and turned on?

Place the key position on the drawer in the middle position.

Press F12 in BCSS to see that the drawer will open without printing a receipt. (Function keys don't work properly with Acer computers.)

Check Receipt Printer Settings for Cash-Drawer Options:

1. Go to Control Panel > Printers and right click on the printer.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click on Printer Commands.
4. Set all Cash-Drawer options to Open.
5. Click OK.
6. Click on the General tab and press Print Test Page.

If the drawer still won't open when a receipt is printed, POS-X support may be reached at http://www.pos-x.com/request.aspx and 800-790-8657 .

Printing Checks

Disbursements (including Checks) are available in all BCSS editions.

Things to Know about Checks

• BCSS auto-prepares Check Disbursements if the Payment Method for Settlement is 'Check'.
• Attempting to print a check for a cash disbursement or for a disbursement marked as Not Approved will generate an error message.
• If a check is created but won't be printed, change the check's status to Not Approved so it cannot be printed and will not affect reports. (Select the check in the Disbursements Work Area and click 'Approved/Canceled'.)
• For some printers, it may be a bit difficult to determine the correct row spacing settings to print 3 checks per page. A work-around is to turn off '3 Checks Per Page' in Program Setup and print 1 check (the first print position) at a time, printing one check, tearing it off and refeeding the remainder of the sheet of checks.
• All checks prepared for settlement will print at one time IF Print Preview is turned off in Program Setup (General tab).

Check Setup

Go to File, Program Setup, General Tab and select either one check per page or three.

Print a check on a blank sheet of paper and hold it up to the light with a check behind to make sure the print lines up with the check's fields.

The Top and Left Margins and Row Space may need to be changed (on the New-Disbursement Screen) to print correctly. The default settings of (Left) 350, (Top) 850, and (Row) 13 are correct for most laser-style printers.

Prepare a New Check for Printing

1. Select New Disbursement from the Disbursements Work-Area Menu.
2. Complete the fields on the New-Disbursement Window:

   

   The next available check number and current date are auto-entered and may be changed. The starting check # is 1000.

3. Enter the payee's name and the amount of the payment. Other information is optional.
4. Select Bill, Cash Disbursement or 'Other' for the type of payment. ('Other' includes settlements and commission payments.)
5. When entries are complete, press OK.

   The new check will now be listed in the Disbursements Work Area.

6. Select the check.
7. Select the print position for the check (Top, Middle or Bottom).

Adjust Print Position on Checks

It may be necessary to adjust top and left margins and row spacing to place print on checks in the proper positions. Align print for the first check. Alignment for checks 2 and 3 or 3-check-per-page should be ok.

The settings for margins and row spacing are located on New-Disbursement and Edit-Disbursement screens.

Follow these procedures for determining correct Print-Position Settings:

1. If there are no checks to print, use New Disbursement in the Disbursements Menu to create a fictitious check. (It can be marked as 'Not Approved' later or BCSS may be reinstalled later to erase test data.)
2. Choose the check in the Disbursements Work Area. (Check the status of the check at the bottom of the screen. Status must be 'Approved'. If the check is shown as 'Canceled', it will not print. Either choose an Approved Check or click the Approved/Canceled option in the Disbursements Menu to change the status to Approved.)
3. Select 'Print Check' from the Disbursements Menu.
4. On the Check Position Screen, 'Top' should be selected by default. Select 'Top' if it is not selected.
5. Click on the 'Close-Window X' in the upper right corner of the Check Position Screen.
6. View the check on the Print-Preview Screen. If it appears to be correct, place blank sheets of paper in the printer and click the print button.

   

7. Place the sheet of paper over a check and square the 2 sheets.
8. Hold them up to the light and observe where print would have been placed on the check.
9. To adjust print position, double click on the check record to open its Edit Screen. Settings for Margin and Row Space appear on the right:

   

   • If the print position is too high, increase the Top-Margin Setting, or vice versa.
   • If the print position is too far to the left, increase the Left-Margin Setting, or vice versa.
   • Use the Row-Space Setting to increase or decrease the distance between lines.

When the correct settings have been determined, record the settings (off of the computer) for future reference.

Print the Check

1. Select a check from the List in the Disbursements Work Area.
2. Select Print Checks in the Disbursements Work Area Menu (lower left).
3. A Check Layout window will appear. Select which check position to print, Top, Middle or Bottom.
4. View the check on the Print-Preview Screen. If it appears to be correct, click the print button.

   

Cancel a Check

1. Select the check from the List in the Disbursements Work Area.
2. Select Edit Disbursement and select Not Approved, then OK.
3. Canceled checks do consume a check number but do not affect store income.

Checks and Accounting

A cash disbursement is processed the same as a check but no check number is used and no check is printed.

Cash and check both decrease store income.

Buying Checks

Three checks per page is the most common choice because there's less paper waste. Have them prepared by your bank to include special security measures against fraud.

If not already done, go to File, Program Setup, General and select either one check per page or three.

Settlement Checks

Adjust Print Position on Checks before attempting to print checks.

Pay One Consignor by Check (See Pay Multiple Consignors below.)

When 'Check' is the payment method selected for a settlement, BCSS prepares a check for printing and lists it in the Disbursement Work Area.

To pay a consignor by check, after the settlement has been processed -

1. Go to the Disbursement Work Area.
2. Select the check to be printed from the table by clicking on it.
3. Select Print Check from the Disbursements Work Area Menu (lower left).

   

4. On the next screen (not shown), select a print position for the check (top, middle or bottom).
5. Click the X in the upper-right corner of Check-Position Window to close the window.
6. The print that will appear on the check is presented in a Print-Preview Window.
7. If the information is correct, click the Printer Icon on the top menu:

   

8. The next screen to appear is the Windows Print Setup screen.

   

   The settings should be:

   • Name: The correct printer name should appear here.
   • Size: Letter
   • Page range: Current page
   • Orientation: Portrait (Never 'As Preview')
   • Number of copies: 1
9. When settings are correct, load a blank sheet of paper in the printer and press OK to start printing.
10. Place the printed page over a check page, square them and hold them up to the light to verify that the print will appear in the correct positions on the check.
11. If the print position is incorrect, follow the procedures for Adjusting Print Position on Checks.
12. If the print positions are correct repeat the printing of the check but load the check into the printer.

Pay Multiple Consignors by Check

NOTE: To print multiple checks at the same time, first go to File, Program Setup, General tab and turn Print Preview off.

When 'Check' is the payment method selected for settlements, BCSS prepares a check for each settlement for printing and lists the checks in the Disbursement Work Area.

How to Print Several Checks at Once

1. Select Batch Settle from the Settlements Work-Area Menu:

   

   Sales eligible for settlement will be listed. Uncheck those that are not to be processed and make sure 'Check' is the Payment Method selected.

   (Please remember that settlements for less than the amount stipulated in Program Setup will not appear in the list.)

2. Place enough checks in the printer's tray.
3. Click on Print Checks:

   

Checks should start to print. All checks marked for printing will be printed so make sure there are enough checks in the printer tray.

Bad Checks

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Manage Bad Checks with BCSS:

• Editing an Invoice Record to note a bad check flags the Inventory Record and the Buyer's Record.
• Reports can include bad checks only.

Record a Bad Check

Select Sales in the Work-Areas Menu.

Select a Sale in the List of Sales then select View Sale from the Sales Menu (lower left).

The View-Sale Screen has a button labeled 'Bad Check'.

If payment was made by check, pressing this button will draw a line through all amounts paid by check on the invoice.

If payment was not made by check, this button has no effect.

Bad-check sales are not included in sales reports unless the 'Report should only include bad checks' filter is checked. They do appear if 'View All' or one of the time periods (Today, Week, Month, etc.) in the Time Bar is selected.

If a Buyer's check is bad, the invoice number will appear on the General Tab in the Consignor's Details Area. Select the Consignor from the list and look to the lower right -

Cancel Check

Cancel a Check

In the Disbursement Work Area

Click on a Disbursement to select it.

Click Approved/Canceled...

...to toggle the status of a check between Approved and Canceled.

The status of the check is shown in the Details Area next to Status:

Canceled checks do consume a check number but do not affect store income.

About Consignors

BCSS Consignor Records are comprehensive yet easy to use. Each record can include a number of identifiers and notes, making Consignor Management easy, precise and thorough.

Things to Know about Consignors

• When adding new Consignors, always enter Consignor names as last-name-first. BCSS sorts the Consignor list based upon the name entered first.
• The Consignor ID must start with part of or all of a Consignor's last name (and not numbers) to make sorting logical and item ownership apparent.
• Set the default Consignor % (in decimal format; .4 = 40%) in File, Program Setup, Consignors. The Consignor % is the share of the sale for the Consignor, not the shop.
• Create Consignor records for shop-owned items and set the Consignor % to 1 (for 100%). Use several house accounts for different purposes.
• Set the Consignor % for one Consignor by editing his/her record or by editing an inventory item record.
• Mailbox Feature - Notes for Consignors: Select a Consignor and click Edit, Mailbox (or RIGHT-click on the Consignor, Edit Mail Box). Type a message to be given to the Consignor and/or as a reminder to you. Adding text here will highlight the Consignor record in pink as a reminder. Print Notes by selecting the Print Button while viewing the Mailbox screen or right-click on a Consignor and select Mailbox - Print.
• Double click a Consignor Record to edit it or RIGHT-click on a Consignor in the List of Consignors for several options.

Consignor Account Balance

Edit a Consignor Account Balance

Double-click on a Consignor to open the Consignor Edit Screen.

Click on the Account Status tab to view and/or edit Store Credit, Balance Credit, and last dates for Update, New Item, Sale and/or Settlement.

The first entry, Account Balance, cannot be edited (which is why it is 'grayed out').

Keeping Consignor Accounts in Balance - how to use BCSS and accounting principles to keep consignor account balances in order.

Basic Accounting Principles

An understanding of basic accounting principles is necessary to make sure that all BCSS computations and consignor accounts are correct. A glossary or terms appears below.

Consignment Accounting

Accounting for consignment sales includes the added complexities of split sales proceeds and the settlement of sales. Otherwise, the process of recording sales and computing profits is essentially the same as for any store.

When a sale is finalized (saved in BCSS) accounts for the store, the consignor (and the employee in BCSS Diamond and Virtual) are credited and the settlement account is debited.

Accounting Terms

A Sale is the seller's passing of ownership of an item to a buyer for money or other compensation. A sale of merchandise is recorded in a General Journal as a debit to cash (or accounts receivable) and a credit to the sales account.

Gross Sales is the total invoice value of sales (during a time period) prior to deducting discounts, returns and allowances. Net Sales appear on income statements - not Gross Sales.

Net Sales (Revenue) is Gross Sales received for goods and services sold minus Sales Discounts, Sales Returns and Sales Allowances. Net Sales appear on the Income Statement as Sales or Net Sales.

• Sales Returns: Refunds for returned merchandise
• Sales Allowances: Reductions is sales price
• Sales Discounts: Reduced payments based on invoice terms such as 2/10, n/30 (2% discount if paid within 10 days; net invoice total due in 30 days)

Gross Income is all income (from any source). For a business Gross Income is Pre-Tax Net Sales less Cost of Sales. (For individuals Gross Income is income before taking deductions or taxes into account.)

Income For households 'income' is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings received. For businesses, 'income' generally refers to the amount of revenue remaining after expenses.

Profit or Net Income (the 'bottom line') is Total Revenue minus total expenses (in a given time period) and is equal to Total Revenue - Cost of goods sold - Sales discounts - Sales returns and allowances - Expenses - (Minority interest (shareholders) and Preferred stock dividends).

Allowance in Accounting Principles generally refers to an amount deducted from Accounts Receivable for bad debts. In Sales, Allowances are reductions in sale price based upon qualifying circumstances (like merchandise defect).

Accounts Payable are amounts owed by not yet paid (a form or debt); therefore, A/P is a form of credit which allows purchasers to pay for a product or service after delivery of the product or service.

Accounts Receivable (Trade Receivables) is the amount customers owe. On the Balance Sheet A/R's are a Current Asset if payment is due within 1 year.

Store Credit is an amount the store (debtor) owes to the customer (creditor) which the customer may use to make purchases. Store Credit = Total Settlement Amounts - In-House Purchases. As In-House Purchases uses Store Credit, Balance Due plus Store Credit decreases. Balance Credit is a manual adjustment. Positive/negative Balance Credit will subtract/add from/to Consignor balance. Shop Credit increases when settlements are made for credit. The Total Account Balance will remain the same while removing the sold inventory from the unsettled list. The outstanding account balance can then be used to purchase goods from the store. Most commonly stores issue store credit when merchandise is returned without the original receipt.

Credit Balance is an account balance in the customer's favor.

Debit Balance is an amount owed to the seller.

• A debit transaction decreases a credit balance or increases a debit balance.
• A credit transaction decreases a debit balance or increases a credit balance.

Inventory for consignment stores is generally a list of all items in the store for sale. Because ownership of consignments remains with sellers, consignments are not an asset of the store. Items that have been purchased by store principals which are for sale in the store are part of store inventory.

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a unique identifier (attached to each billable item, variant, product line, bundle, service, fee or attachment) used to systematically track inventory.

Debits and credits are a system of notation used in accounting to both keep track of the flow of money (transactions) into and out of an account, and to indicate the type of account. Traditionally, an account's transactions are recorded in two columns of numbers: debits in the left hand column, credits in the right. Keeping the debits and credits in separate columns allows each to be recorded and summed independently. The smaller of the two sums is then subtracted from the larger to give the account value. An account may thus have either a credit value or a debit value. more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debits_and_credits

Consignor Add-Edit-Delete

Import Consignor Data - Records for Consignors may be edited or created in BCSS in batch by importing data from a spreadsheet. Please see Data Import.

Hide Old Consignor Records In Program Setup (Consignors tab) uncheck 'Include Inactives in Lists'. In the Consignor Work Area, select Batch Deactivate. Set a date and click OK. Consignor records with no activity prior to the date chosen will not appear in drop-down menus and BCSS lists. The may be excluded from Reports by checking 'Active Only' on the Consignor Report Screen.

Add a New Consignor

To add a new consignor, select 'New Consignor' from the Consignor's Menu (or press F2).

Use the Consignor's last name (and initials if necessary) for the Consignor ID (to make sorting of Consignor Records logical and to make ownership of inventory items easy to determine).

Complete as much information as desired. Check whether to send mailings and/or sales reports. These settings and many others may be used later to generate specific lists of Consignors for address labels, reports, etc.

Set a different Consignor % if applicable (in decimal form, .4 = 40%) and choose how to dispose of unsold items (donate, destroy, return, transfer to house account (shop) ownership.

A Consignment Agreement may be printed.

Click OK to save the new Consignor Record.

If entering more than one consignor, press F2 or press 'Save and Continue' to save the current entry and open a new record screen:

User Text

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Any 'string of characters' may be entered as 'User Text' to uniquely identify (and later find and group) consignors. Spaces are ok but commas and apostrophes will be removed by BCSS.

For example, enter 'best' in the User-Text field for your 'best Consignors'. Later on create a Report and use 'best' as the 'search word' or 'report filter'.

Only one 'string of characters' may be used per Consignor Record. It is possible to create more than one Consignor Record for the same person to use more than one User-Text identifier.

User Date

Enter a date in the Consignor Record and use the date in the same way to tag (flag, mark) buyers' records. For example, if you want to contact 6 people on 8/7/2009, enter that date in the User-Date field in each consignors' record then create a report on or before that date using 8/7/2009 in the user-date search.

Requested Space relates to Mall Floor Space Rental.

Edit a Consignor Record

Double-click on a Consignor to open the Consignor Edit Screen. Make changes and Click OK to save changes and exit, or click Save and Continue to save changes and continue editing the same record.

Edit a Consignor Account Balance

Click on the Account Status tab to view and/or edit Store Credit, Balance Credit, and last dates for Update, New Item, Sale and/or Settlement.

The first entry, Account Balance, cannot be edited (which is why it is 'grayed out').

Consignment Agreement

The BCSS Consignment Agreement

Two generic Consignment Agreements are included in BCSS. The 1st is for 1st-time consignors and prints on a full sheet of paper. The 2nd is a shorter version for repeat consignors. Two copies are printed on 1 sheet of paper.

When either is printed, BCSS auto-enters the shop's information (that was entered in Program Setup) and the Consignor's information (from the Consignor's record).

The 'body' of the 1st Agreement contains sample shop terms and agreements which may be changed.

The 2nd Agreement is a short form for recording any changed information (like new address, new phone number) and the number of new items consigned. It too may be edited.

Editing the 1st Consignment Agreement

On the Main Menu, click on Utilities and select Edit Consignor Agreement:

Make deletions, additions, changes and click Save and Exit when finished. Restart BCSS. The changes will appear when the next agreement is printed.

Copy/Paste text into the Agreement Editor.

Note that any line in the Agreement should not be longer than (approximately) 120 characters. Lines longer than that will exceed the right margin of the printed page.

Note: The Agreement should be edited within BCSS. Writing the Agreement in Notepad, WordPad or any text editor and pasting into the BCSS Editor will lose the hard line breaks at the end of each line (created by pressing Enter at the end of each line).

The Agreement may be changed at any time. Past versions of the Agreement are not saved (but the content may be pasted into another document and saved).

Editing the 2nd Consignment Agreement

The procedure for editing the 2nd Agreement is different but fairly easy.

1. On the Desktop, click on My Computer then C: then Program Files then BCSS.
2. Click on addendum.txt. (This is the text file for the 2nd agreement.) Your computer should open addendum.txt in a text editor like WordPad or Notepad.
3. Make changes. Hold down the control key and press the 'S' key to save changes.
4. Close the file. Changes will appear when the 2nd Agreement is printed.

Printing the Consignment Agreement

In the Consignors Work Area, RIGHT-click on a Consignor Record and select 'Agreement 1st' or 'Agreement 2nd' or, for the first Agreement only, select the Consignor and Press 'Print Agreement' on the right.

A Print-Preview Screen will display the agreement with shop and Consignor information pre-filled.

Preview the Agreement and press the printer icon to print.

Windows Print Setup

The next screen to appear is the Windows Print Setup screen. (It should not be necessary to change settings under 'Setup' on this screen, except to assure that Orientation is 'Portrait'.)

The settings should be:

• Name: The correct printer name should appear here.
• Size: Letter
• Page range: Current page (or All)
• Orientation: Portrait (Never 'As Preview')
• Number of copies: Change '1' to '2' to print 2 copies.

When settings are correct, press OK to start printing.

Batch Delete Inventory

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

  Batch Delete Inventory by Consignor and/or by Category

A consignment software database can become burgeoned with unneeded records of sold Inventory Items. Periodically removing unneeded records keeps the number of records being processed to a minimum and maximizes processing speed.

Keep in mind that records of inventory items should be kept for a sufficient amount of time to allow for returns and refunds. For that reason, BCSS includes another feature called 'Storage' for moving settled items to a permanent storage file.

Items with quantities greater than zero and items which have been sold but not settled will not be deleted by using this function. Sold buy outright items will also be deleted.

Records are not actually removed from the database. This allows old sales and settlement records to continue to show the items involved. Deleted items can be restored. Permanent removal needs to be done manually by tech support (fee applies).

Delete Inventory in Batch

Select Consignors from the Work-Areas Menu:

Select Batch Delete from the Inventory Menu:

Set the date. Only inventory which had been received prior to the set date set will be deleted.

Select a Consignor and/or a Category and click OK. All inventory items meeting the criteria will be deleted.

See Undelete Inventory for restoring items to inventory.

Consignor Percentage Tool

The Consignor Percentage Tool allows the Consignor % to be changed for a variety of scenarios:

• Update all unsold items.
• Update all sold but unsettled items.
• Update unsold items from one Consignor only.
• Update sold but unsettled items for a group of consignors.
• Modify the current percentage for all existing Consignor records.

Using the Tool

In the Consignors Work Area, select a consignor then select Percentage Tool in the Consignors Menu. The current Consignor % for the consignor selected will be displayed:

1. Replace the value with the desired value (in decimal form).
2. Select any of the options listed above to make the desired change.
3. The default percentage set for the consignor will appear in the Consignment Agreement.

Consignor Percentage

Consignor Percentage is the share of the sale proceeds to be paid to the Consignor.

Consignor Bonus for Store-Credit Settlement - Give an automatic bonus to Consignors who settle for store credit. In Program Setup on the Consignors Screen, set the bonus amount in 'Bonus for Store Credit Settlement'. When 'Credit' is selected as the settlement payment method, the bonus is auto-applied. (not available with batch settlements)

Set Consignor Percentage

There are 5 ways to set the Consignor Percentage:

1. The default percentage for all new Consignors is set in Program Setup. Click on File (not shown), Consignors:
   
   

   

   
   then change 0.40000 to the desired value (in decimal form, like .50 for 50%):
   
   
   
2. Change the Consignor Percentage when adding a new Consignor on the New-Consignor Screen:
   
   

   

3. After a new Consignor has been entered, edit the Consignor Record and change the default percentage for that Consignor. That % will apply to all new inventory from that Consignor. It will not apply to existing inventory. (Double click on any Consignor Record to edit it.)
   
   

   

4. After an inventory item has been entered, edit the inventory item record to change the percentage for that one item. (Double click on any Inventory Record to edit it.)
5. In the Consignors Work Area, select a Consignor then select Percentage Tool in the Consignors Menu. The current Consignor % for the Consignor selected will be displayed:
   
   

   

   1. Select any of the options listed to make the desired change.
   2. The default percentage set for the Consignor will appear in the Consignment Agreement.

Consignor Credit Sale

(See Intro Credit Sale for Intro instructions.)

Consignor Bonus for Store-Credit Settlement - Give an automatic bonus to Consignors who settle for store credit. In Program Setup on the Consignors Screen, set the bonus amount in 'Bonus for Store Credit Settlement'. When 'Credit' is selected as the settlement payment method, the bonus is auto-applied. (not available with batch settlements)

Consignor Credit Sales

• Create a Store Credit by processing a settlement and selecting Credit as the Payment Method for the settlement. (See next section below.)
• Consignors may use their sales proceeds to make store purchases.
• Store Credit may be created before or after a sale.
• Pay out store credit by check or in cash.

Create a Store Credit by Processing a Settlement:

Of course in order to process a settlement, an item or items belonging to the Consignor must have been sold and payment completed. (Layaways may now be settled before the final payment is received.)

See Process a Settlement for One Consignor - Use the drop-down menu on the Settlement screen to select 'Credit' and enter the amount of the credit. In this example the Consignor's share of the sales proceeds is $20:

Select the Consignor from the List of Consignors:

Select Consignor Credit Sale from the Consignors Menu:

Use any of these methods to select items being purchased:

Enter the Item ID.

Select an Item from a List.

Read a bar code.

Enter an Unlisted Item.

The New-Sale Screen will show  'Consignor Sale' in the Payment field. The amount of Credit available to the Consignor will be displayed in the 'Paid' field next to the date, in this example, '20' (for $20):

If the Amount of Purchase is greater than the Amount of Credit, the excess will be displayed in the Due field:

Collect that amount from the purchaser. To record the payment, check 'Choose Payment Method 2':

Click on the blue down arrow to the right of 'Choose Payment Method 2' and select a Payment Method ('Visa' shown below here) and enter the Payment Amount without the dollar sign ('87' shown here):

If the amount of purchase is less than the Credit, no amount will be due. A Credit Balance will remain for the Consignor and will be displayed as a negative number in the 'Due' field.

The remaining balance may be paid to the Consignor (See Pay One Consignor.) or the balance can remain on record to be used for future purchases or payouts.

Complete the sale.

View Consignor Store Balance and Store Credit

A Consignor's Store Balance and Store Credit are displayed by selecting the Consignor from the Main Table and viewing the Details Area:

This information may also be viewed by selecting the Consignor in the table and pressing Account History or Current Items (on the right in BCSS).

Pay Out Store Credit by Check or in Cash

Process: Make a Disbursement, record it and adjust the consignor's record.

Record the Disbursement

1. Go to the Disbursements Work Area and select New Disbursement.
2. In the Payee field enter the person's name (for your record. BCSS won't be able to use this to adjust his or her record though. That will have to be done manually.)
3. Under Category select Check or Cash Disbursement. (A check number will be displayed but it will be ignored if Cash Disbursement is selected.)
4. Complete the disbursement and press OK.

Adjust the Consignor's Record

• Double click on the Consignor's record to open the edit screen.
• Click on Account Status.
• Reduce the amount of Store Credit by the amount of the Disbursement.
• Click OK.
• With the Consignor still selected, click on Account History to verify that Store Credit and Account Balance are correct.

BCSS Accounting

Upon purchase using Store Credit, inventory is reduced, income is increased and the cost of the purchase is deducted from the Consignor's Account Balance.

Consignor purchases reduce Shop Credit. Reducing Shop Credit reduces the Account Balance.

Store Credit is the amount settled for credit minus In-House Purchases. As In-House Purchases use Store Credit, Balance Due plus Store Credit decreases.

Balance Credit is a manual adjustment. Positive/negative Balance Credit will subtract/add from/to Consignor Balance.

Deleting a Consignor

A Consignor Record cannot be deleted.

Deleting Consignors would break record-keeping/reporting functions.

Instead of deleting the Consignor Record, try these options:

Edit the record and mark the Consignor as 'Inactive', then for reports, elect to include only active consignors.

If no transactions have been made for the existing Consignor, use the record for another Consignor by editing the existing record and changing the consignor information.

Move the record to the bottom of the Consignor List by adding a 'Z' to the beginning of the Consignor's name so sorts and lists of consignors will show them last.

Email Reports

• If you are using a web mail service (like Gmail or Hotmail or your ISP's web mail service), send an email to your recipient and attach the BCSS Agreement or report.
• (The following instructions include images from Windows Vista. You may see different but similar views on your computer.)

Create, Save and Email a PDF (Portable Document File)

1. Download and install the free PDFCreator from http://www.pdfforge.org/products/pdfcreator. (This program will allow you to save, print and email BCSS Reports in PDF format.)
2. Read instructions for PDFCreator configuration.
3. Go to the Desktop and right click anywhere away from icons. Select New then Folder. Enter Customers for a folder name. This will be used later in the following sequence.
4. Prepare a Consignment Agreement or Report in BCSS. (A Consignment Agreement will be presented in 'Print Preview'. Choose one of the print options for Reports to place the Report in Print Preview.)
5. While viewing the Agreement or Report in Print Preview, click the Print Button:
   
   
   
6. The Windows Print-Setup Screen will open.
   
   
7. Click the drop-down arrow (yellow arrow) and select PDFCreator for the printer:
   
   
8. Click OK. Don't click Mail.
   

   

9. The next screen is an 'input screen' allowing optional entries for Document Properties (Document Title, Creation Date, Modify Date, Author and Keywords and one Email setting (Subject). (Document Properties are only viewable by right-clicking on a PDF file and selecting Properties.)
10. Document Title: During PDFCreator setup, we had the option of entering a default Filename or not. If a Filename was entered in setup, it will appear here as the Document Title. If a Filename was not entered in setup, the Document Title field will be blank. Either way you can enter anything you like in this field. Your entry will become the Document Title and the Filename for the saved document. When searching later for a specific document, it will be easier to find (using Windows Explorer Search) if Document Titles (Filenames) are named with consistency, like lastname-firstname-date as in this example of Johnson-Mary-9-1-2009:
    

    

11. The Creation Date and Modify Date can be left as is. They are 'date/time stamps' and include the year, the day, the month and the time (last 8 digits).
12. The Author will only appear in the PDF Document Properties. This can be set in PDFCreator setup, typed in or left blank.
13. The Subject is the Email Subject. (We've suggested to the provider of this program to label this field as 'Email Subject' and to add an option in setup to enter a default subject.)
14. Keywords are a way of 'tagging' documents so they may be found in Windows Explorer searches searching by keywords. This option may or may not be of use to you. It can be left blank.
15. Take the check out of 'After saving open...' to prevent viewing each document after it is saved.
16. To save the document without emailing it, click Save. Navigate to the folder (named Customers) on the Desktop and click Save again.
17. To save the document then email it, click eMail. Navigate to the folder (named Customers) on the Desktop and click Save again. Click on To in the email that opened and select the recipient from your Address Book. If a Subject was not entered before enter one now and type a message if you like. Click Send.

When emailing reports, it's a handy time saver to have a text file open that contains repetitive phrases that can be copied and pasted into email messages. Outlook also provides for 'signatures' which will be auto-added at the end of email messages. (In Outlook, click on Tools, Options, Mail Format, Signatures. For help, close the Tools screens and click on Help in Outlook and search for signatures.

These instructions included only a brief overview of the options available in PDFCreator. Please open that program and click on Help to learn more about options.

Email a Saved Report Later

1. On the Desktop double click on the folder named Customers.
2. Find the report to be emailed.
3. Right click on the report and select Send To.
4. Select Mail Recipient.
5. Enter an e-mail address, a subject and a message.
6. Press Send.

Email the Report

If you are using a web mail service (like Gmail or Hotmail or your ISP's web mail service), send an email to your recipient and attach the BCSS Agreement or report.

If you are using an email program (like Outlook), just open an email and attach the file to the email.

Copy/Paste Shortcut Method

This is an informal way of simply transferring information quickly and easily.

Procedure:

Create a report in BCSS.

While viewing the 'Print-Preview Screen', click the Copy to Clipboard icon:

It will appear as though nothing had happened but in the background, Windows copied the Print Preview of the report to the Clipboard.

Open a new email message using your email software program. Enter the recipient's email address, a subject and a message.

Click after the message, Hold the Control Key down and press the letter V to paste the report into the body of the email. Press Send.

This method may or may not work depending upon your email program. As an alternative, it is possible to paste the report in Microsoft Word, save the document and email it.

Troubleshooting

When using an email software program on your computer, all email settings (POP, SMTP, username, password) must be correct. These values can only be obtained from your email provider whether that be Google, MSN or your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

When printing with BCSS, be sure that the printer works with another program. If you elected to print using BCSS and it appears that nothing happened, go to the Control Panel. Click on Printers then click on your printer's listing to see if the printed report appears in the 'print queue'. If it is there, your printer may not be functioning or it may be necessary in BCSS to go to File > Program Setup > Printers and select your printer as the Document Printer.

Inventory List for 1

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Inventory List for One Consignor

There are 4 ways to view a list of inventory items for one consignor:

1. 1 and 2: Account History and Current Items - Account Balance, Account Balance Purchases, Adjustments to Store Credit, Balance Credit, Beginning Account Balance, Cash Payments, Consignor %, and ID, Date of Last Action (sale or settlement), In Date, Invoice #, Item Description, Price, Quantity, Settlement Amount, Total Purchases, Total Settlements for Credit, Total Tax. In addition, Account History displays Settlement ID and Current Items displays Item Notes.
2. 3. Detailed List - Bar Code, Category, Consignor ID, Date In, Details, Discount, Discount Date, Item Description, Last Sale, Prices (Original and Current), Quantity, Total Price of All Items
3. 4. Brief List - Category, Consignor's Name, Consignor ID, Date In, Description, Price, Quantity

Account History and Current Items

Account History shows all items consigned by a consignor, their disposition and how transactions produce the Current Account Balance. Current Items does the same but shows only items that have not been settled.

Create the Report

Select a Consignor from the Main Table in the Consignors Work Area.

Select Account History or Current Items from Quick Links:

A comprehensive report will be presented and can be printed.

Print or view the Detailed List and Brief List this way:

• On the Main Menu select Reports.
• Select Inventory.
• Click the blue drop-down arrow and select the Consignor.
  

  

• For a Detailed List, press the Print Detailed List Button:
  

  

• For a Brief List, press the Print Brief List Button:
  

  

• If you wish to view a range of the Consignor's items, check the Items # Range and enter the first Item # only in the From Field and enter the last Item # only in the To Field. For example, if the Consignor ID is Steph and items are numbered Steph-1, Steph-2 and so on, and you want to see items 7 through 11, just enter 7 and 11, not Steph-7 and Steph-11:

  

                     (The range will be ignored if the box isn't checked.)
  
  
• To print the report, click on Print Detailed List or Print Brief List.
• To view the Report in the Main Table, press View the Report.

Consignor Notes

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Two different types of notes may be made in BCSS for each Consignor - those for the Consignor to see (which can be printed) and those for shop eyes only.

Notes to Consignors - The Mailbox Feature

In the Consignor Work Area, double-click on a Consignor. Click on 'Mail Box' at the top.

Type a message to be given to the Consignor and/or as a reminder to you (and employees) and click OK to save changes and exit.

Adding text here will highlight the Consignor Record in blue as a reminder.

Print Notes by selecting the Print Button while viewing the Mailbox screen or right-click on a Consignor and select Mailbox - Print.

Shop Notes

In the Consignor Work Area, double-click on a Consignor. Click on 'Notes' at the top.

Enter comments. These notes cannot be printed from within BCSS but they can be copied and pasted into a text editor, formatted and printed from there.

Pay One Consignor

Settlement Payment for One Consignor

There are 2 places to prepare a payment for one Consignor -

1. On the New-Settlement Screen
2. In the Disbursements Work Area

1. New-Settlement Screen

When the New-Settlement Screen is opened, BCSS auto-enters the next available check #s. Ignore check #s if payment is other than by check.

To prepare a New Settlement, complete the first payment fields (Check #, Payment Method, Amount):

Split Payments

Payments to Consignors may be split between 2 of these methods - Cash, Check, PayPal, Store Credit or Gift Certificate. For Payment 1 select a method from the drop-down menu under Select Payment Method and select another for Payment 2, entering the amounts for each under Amount.

The Consignor's Shop Credit increases when Settlements are made for credit. The Total Account Balance will remain the same while removing the sold inventory from the Unsettled Sales List. The Outstanding Account Balance (Store Credit) can then be used for purchases.

2. Make Payment from the Disbursements Work Area

When a Sale is settled, BCSS creates a Disbursement Record in preparation for payment to the Consignor. Click on Disbursements in the Work Areas Menu to view all Disbursements in the Table.

RIGHT-click on a Disbursement Record to view the Context Menu:

Menu Options:

Edit - Open the Disbursement in an Edit Screen, Make changes, if any, and Save.

Print Check - Begin the Print Checks Process

Toggle Approved Status - Approve or Disapprove a prepared check.

(the other options are for viewing Disbursements on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis, or 'View All'.)

Edit the Check

Clicking on Edit opens the Check-Edit Screen:

There's provision for setting check margins in addition to changing the name of the Payee, the Date, the Amount, Approved Status and Address.

Print the Check

Selecting Print Check from the Context Menu begins the Check-Printing Process by opening the Check-Position screen.

Select which check position to print - 1, 2 or 3 and click to close the window.

A Print-Preview Screen will appear displaying how the check will be printed. If adjustments or corrections are needed, close the Print-Preview Screen and edit the Check Record.

If no changes are needed, select the Printer Icon at the top of the Print-Preview Screen.

When printing for the first time, print a check on a white sheet of paper and hold the printed sheet and a sheet of checks together, one over the other, up to light to verify that the print aligns with the check spaces.

Consignor Reports

Quick Report: How Much Are Consignors Owed?

1. Click on Reports in BCSS and select Consignors.
2. Check Account Balance and enter 0 and 10000 (to assure including all consignor balances):

   

3. Click on 'Print the Report' to view the amount owed, or
4. Click on 'View the Report' to view (in the Main Table) only Consignors with a balance owed. (Click View All to view all consignor records again.)

A 'Consignor Report' is basically the result of a 'search' of the BCSS database for specific Consignors - like a Google search with an important difference: Based upon your 'search criteria' a BCSS Report will include only the desired information and not 'close matches'.

Create a Consignor Report

Select Reports from the Main Menu:

Select Consignors:

Settings on this screen tell BCSS which Consignors are  to be included in the Report.

For example, to create a list of Consignors who are Active, who are on the Mailing List and who have account balances between $0 and $500, make these settings:

1. Check 'Active Only'.

2. Check 'On Mailing List'.

3. Check 'Account Balance' and enter 0 and 500 in the From and To fields. (If the box is not checked the settings will not be applied.)

Parameters

Consignors may be included in the Report based upon Birthday, Birth Month, Date of Last New Item, Date of Sale or Date of Settlement, User Date or User Text, Active/Inactive status, Unsold Items Disposition, House Accounts Only,  On Mailing List, To Receive Sales Reports and/or With Inventory Only.

Sort Output

The content of the report may be sorted by ID, Name, New-Item Date, Settlement Date. Check one:

Print Reports

Selecting Print the Report -

will present the Report is a Print-Preview Screen:

The Report may be printed by pressing the printer icon (yellow arrow).

View the Report in the Main Table

Selecting View the Report

will present the information in the BCSS Main Table.

Time Filters

Click on these buttons:

to view records in the Main Table that have been added or edited today, last 7 days, last 30 days, etc. Click View All to see all records again.

Quick Links

BCSS is divided into Work Areas. They are:

Each Work Area has its own set of Quick Links. These are the Quick Links for Consignors:

With Quick Links, select a Consignor and easily:

• View account history
• View current items
• Transfer items to the shop's house account
• Print one or more copies of the pre-filled Consignor Agreement
• Return items
• View the current settlement due
• Undelete items (return them to inventory)

Individual Consignor Information

Select a Consignor in the Main Table then view information about the Consignor in the Details Area at the bottom.

Click on the colored tabs at the bottom to view different screens of information (Details, General, Items, Notes, Settlements).

Search / Sort Records

Search Records - Find a specific record in the Consignors, Disbursements or Inventory Work Areas (not Sales and Settlements) using the Search Function. (In BCSS Diamond and Virtual also find records for Customers and Employees.)

• Search by ID - Replace 'Enter Search' with part or all of an ID ('Paid By' in Disbursements) and click the first button (with the 'white I' in the blue circle).
• Search by Name - Enter part of all of a name ('Description' in Inventory) and click the 2nd button (with the 'white N' in the blue circle).
• Click the 3rd button (with the white arrow) to find the next record (if any) that matches the ID or name entered.

Sort Consignor List

When a Work Area is selected, records are listed in the Main Table.

Sort the list by clicking on the column header. (The gray arrow shows ascending or descending order.) Click the header again to reverse the sort order.

The same can be done in the second column.

Use the scroll bar on the right of the table (not shown) to move the list up and down.

Returning Unsold Inventory

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

In the Inventory Work Area, select Actions by Bar Code to scan bar codes and select which items to donate, return, transfer to the house account or undelete. Click in the Bar-Code Field, scan bar codes, review the list and select which items to process, then click Record/Print/Exit.

Return Unsold Items to Consignors

Note: In order for an item to be returned, donated, destroyed or transferred to the house account, the inventory quantity for the item must be at least 1.

Secret Disposal Codes

Some store owners don't want buyers to know how unsold items will be disposed. Price tags can be printed with Disposal Codes for Destroy, Donate or Return. Store employees will know the codes but buyers may not. The codes may be changed periodically to maintain secrecy. Set the codes in Program Setup (Inventory).

Note: The default entry for unsold items is 'Return'. Attempting another option (donate, destroy, transfer) will not display any items. To choose a different option, click on the Consignor's record and select Edit (lower-left menu) to edit it then click the down arrow to the right of Unsold Items. Select an option from the drop-down menu:

Return Unsold Items to a Consignor

1. Locate the owner of the item in the Consignor Work Area and select his or her record.
   
   

   

2. Select Return Items from the Quick Links Menu (right):
   
   
   
   
3. Check the item(s) to be returned. (If no items are listed, make sure 'Returned' is selected in the Consignor's Record and inventory shows a quantity of at least 1.)
4. Click Record, Print, Exit. A Print-Preview of a Returned-Items Report will appear.
5. Click on the Printer Icon on the Main Menu to print the Report (for the Consignor's signature).
   
   
   
   
6. On the Print Setup screen, change settings as desired. (Stores typically print 2 copies and have the Consignor sign both copies.)
   
   
   
   

BCSS Accounting of Returned Items

Returned Items are deleted from Inventory and this note is added to Items' Records:"Returned 1 item(s) to Consignor on [date]".

Disbursements in BCSS refers to any form of payment made by the shop and includes cash and checks.

Important: QuickBooks doesn't know about consignment settlements for credit or cash. If you use QuickBooks with BCSS Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual, always issue settlement checks, not cash or credit, so QuickBooks and BCSS will always agree. This is a limitation of QuickBooks that we can't remedy.

Disbursement Reports

There are 3 ways to generate reports about Disbursements:

• Defined Reports
• Quick Links
• Details Area - Select a Disbursement in the Disbursement Work Area

Quick Links Reports

BCSS is divided into Work Areas. They are:

Each Work Area has its own set of Quick Links. These are the Quick Links for Disbursements:

Cash Day/Week - View cash disbursements for today or the past 7 days

Cash (table) - View cash disbursements in the Main Table.

Checks Day/Week - View checks for today or the past 7 days.

Checks - View checks in the Main Table.

Disbursements Day/Week - View disbursements for today or the past 7 days.

Time Filters

Click on these buttons:

to view records in the Main Table that have been added or edited today, last 7 days, last 30 days, etc. Click View All to see all records again.

One Disbursement Information

Select a disbursement from the Main Table and view information about the disbursement in the Details Area at the bottom of the screen:

About Email

Email is 'miraculous'. Type a message. Hit send. The recipient (almost always) receives it. Look in your Inbox. There's messages from others. Either way, bits of data were translated into electronic dits and dahs, transmitted (often half way around the world), retranslated back to their original form (words) and planted in our Inboxes.

Each email sent to you is actually stored on the computer (server) that your email service uses.

Web-Based Email vs. Email Software Programs

'Web-based' email like Gmail, Hotmail or your ISP (Internet Service Provider) Account requires that you log into your email account. Because (literally) millions of people use these services, they run slowly and each has its own limitations. They are all painfully slow and can be a nuisance when blocking good emails and email attachments.

Free web-based email is for personal use. Individuals have far fewer demands than businesses (transferring large files, communicating with multiple people, making efficient use of time, making a better impression on customers...) If you have been using web-based email for your business, you'll be amazed and pleased at what an email software program can do to streamline your email tasks and activities.

Email software programs are programs like Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Microsoft Mail (Vista), Eudora, etc. They are installed on and run on personal computers and run in the background, checking for new messages at time intervals set by the user (up to every minute).

Email software programs provide several advantages:

1) Email programs may be started when the computer is started. Mail is downloaded automatically and that eliminates the cumbersome task of connecting to a web-mail service, logging in and checking the Inbox. Alerts can be set to let users know when an email has been received.

2) They save time not only by automating email, but by allowing the sending of emails to multiple recipients.

3) Links in received emails are hyperactive. Clicking on them opens the intended destination. AOL users no longer have to copy and paste URLs into the browser address bar.

4) The Microsoft email programs (Outlook, Express, Mail) are almost always available on any Windows computer. (Look under Start > Programs.) and they may be used in conjunction with your current ISP service.

5) Google web mail allows email software programs to auto-retrieve Gmail messages and send email using the Google send-mail system.

6) Web mail tends to block attachments to emails. This is less of a problem with email programs.

Junk Mail

Both web mail and email programs have options to block spam  messages. Email programs provide more options in determining which emails and senders should be blocked or always allowed.

Summary

Businesses should definitely avoid using web-mail services and definitely should utilize an email program. There's no new expense is using Microsoft's installed email programs and they may be used with your current Internet connection.

Please refer to Start > Help and search Microsoft Help for information on how to set up and use Outlook or MS Mail.

MS Outlook

If you have not used Outlook or MS Mail before, it will be necessary to configure one or the other.

Backing up (or Restoring) Microsoft Outlook Files

Backup the entire set of mail files in Outlook:

1. In Outlook, under the File pull-down menu, choose Import/Export.
2. Choose to export to a file.
3. Choose Personal Folder File (.pst)
4. Select Personal folders (or only specific sections if desired).
5. Click on include sub folders.
6. Choose a directory to save or leave at default.
7. Choose a backup file name, such as Outlook Mail Backup.
8. Choose encryption or password protection if desired.
9. Click on OK.

Restore Outlook Mail files from a backup:

1. In Outlook, under the File pull-down menu choose Import/Export.
2. Choose to import from another program or file.
3. Choose Personal File Folder (.pst).
4. Select a directory and file to import.
5. Select defaults which are the backup name, include sub folders, and Import into
6. the same folder in "Personal Folder".
7. Click on Finish.

This will restore all the old mail to your current Outlook installation.

It is possible to copy other specific files on an individual basis by looking for and copying those files with specific extensions. Microsoft Outlook stores files in the following types of files:

• Files with the extension of .pab are address book files.
• Files with the extension .pst of are mail files.
• Files with the extension of .rwz are the rules wizard files.

Normally the .pst file is located in a location similar to
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook.

About Inventory

• Inventory is entered at POS in BCSS Intro. Use Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual to track and discount pre-sold inventory.
• Price Labels can be printed with any BCSS Edition (Intro, Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual).
• Add a Consignor before entering his/her inventory.
• When adding a Consignor, use part of the last name for Consignor ID, then Inventory IDs will be name-# (making sorting and ownership identification logical and easy).
• Double-click on an item in the list of inventory to edit its record.
• RIGHT-click on an item for a menu of functions like edit, delete, etc.
• Batch Delete Inventory by Category and/or by Consignor.
• Deleted inventory can be restored.
• Sold inventory may be moved to and from Storage.
• Unsold inventory may be returned to the consignor, transferred to store ownership (house account), donated or destroyed. 'Secret Codes' may be printed on price labels to let employees know what the disposition of each unsold item is.
• Inventory can be manually or automatically discounted and can be discounted by Category.
• Each Inventory Item may be specifically described and categorized using User-Defined Groups for identification and classification.

Add Edit Delete Inventory

(Inventory is entered at the time of sale in BCSS Intro. The instructions below apply to BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual where inventory is entered prior to or at POS.)

Important: To avoid problems with invoice numbers, use those assigned by BCSS. If custom numbers are used, they may not be longer than 9 (nine) characters.

Entering inventory prior to POS creates an inventory record for each item (optionally with a picture of the item), and makes the following functions available (which are not available in Intro):

• Categorize inventory for labels and reports
• Batch delete by category and/or consignor
• Edit each inventory record
• Track ownership, location, disposal, Consignor % and current status
• Track price history including % Discount, Current, Original and Lowest Prices
• Create detailed reports showing Quantity, Consignor, Category, Sales Location, Date In, Date Discounted, Date Of Last Sale, Item Id, % Share, Description and Details
• Reprint price labels if needed
• Manually or automatically discount unsold items
• Read and print bar codes
• Auto enter items to sales invoice
• Manage Resales and Rentals

Note: Add a Consignor before entering his or her inventory.

Add New Inventory (F3)

Select a Consignor and press F3. The New-Item Screen will open with the Consignor's ID, Consignor % and Date auto-entered. Quantity will be entered as 1 (for convenience) and may be changed.

The Item ID will be the Consignor ID + Item Number (example: If 'Lin' was entered as the Consignor ID for 'Lincoln', the Item ID of 'Lin-5' would indicate that the item belonged to Consignor Lincoln and is the 5th consigned item by Lincoln).

Label Description - This description appears on the Price Label. Space on the label is limited to 20 characters so make the description as descriptive as possible.

Select a Category - Use the drop-down arrow to present a list of categories then select a category.

(To set up categories, click on File on the Main Menu, then Inventory then Categories.)

If the selected category is associated with User-Defined Groups, selecting the category will change the names of the fields 'User-Defined Inventory Group*' to the Group-Defined Names. In the following example, the category 'Beds' has been associated with the User-Group named 'Style' so when the category 'Beds' is selected (above), 'User-Defined Inventory Group 1' becomes 'Style'.

Clicking the blue down arrow to the right of 'Style' presents a list of different types of materials (Brass, Oak, Pine), one of which (Brass) may be selected to further describe the item. In this example, the category 'Beds' has only been associated with one User Group (Style) so there are no other User-Defined Groups available for the category 'Beds'.

Details Field - This description will appear on Detailed Price Labels and Detailed Inventory Reports. Enter up to 100 characters.

Scan a Bar Code - Click in the Bar-Code Field and scan a bar code to enter an item. (Of course most used items won't have bar codes.)

Change the Consignor % (in decimal form) if necessary. (This is the share of the sale the Consignor is to receive. The default of 40% is set in Program Setup and may be changed.)

Enter a Selling Price.

Select a Sales Location if applicable. (This can be another store location, for example, or area within a store. Locations are set up in Program Setup, Networking.)

Click on New Picture and navigate to the location (on the computer) of the picture. Click on the picture file to add the picture to the item record.

Add a Picture from the Internet - When adding a new inventory item or when editing an existing inventory record, enter the URL of the image in the field named 'Picture URL' and click OK.

The path to the image will be added to the BCSS database. The actual image will reside on the server.

Check either of these options if applicable. Buy Outright is an item that is purchased and resold. Rentals are items that are rented out for a fee.

Press Cancel

to clear the entries and close the screen or

Press OK

to save the Record.

To view the newly-added item, go to the Inventory Work Area and use the Scroll Button (not shown) to scroll down to the last Entry in the Inventory List:

or select the Consignor from the List of Consignors and use the Items Tab in the Details Area to view that Consignor's Items:

Edit Inventory

Please note: The Inventory ID can only be edited on the Batch Edit Screen. This makes it easy to see other IDs and avoid using a duplicate ID.

Double-click on an Inventory Item or select Inventory from the Work Area Menu

Click on the Item to be edited. The line will turn dark blue to indicate that the item has been selected.

Select Edit Item from the Inventory Menu:

Click on the Notes Tab at the top to add notes if desired.

To add a picture of the item, click

then navigate to the location of the picture and select it. When the next picture is added for another item, BCSS will return to the same folder on the PC. The default folder location for inventory pictures can be set in Program Setup > Inventory.

Make any changes on the General screen and click OK to saves changes.

Delete One Inventory Item

In the Inventory Work Area, select an item from the table. Right click on the item and choose Delete.

Also see Batch Add-Edit-Delete Inventory.

Assign Bar Codes

After inventory has been entered, assign bar codes to each item by selecting Assign Bar Codes (Inventory Work Area, Quick Links):

A message will appear advising how many bar codes had been assigned.

To view an item's bar code, select the item in the Main Table and click on the General Tab at the bottom of the screen:

Bar codes will appear on labels when labels are printed.

After inventory has been entered, assign bar codes to each item by selecting Assign Bar Codes (Inventory Work Area, Quick Links):

A message will appear advising how many bar codes had been assigned.

To view an item's bar code, select the item in the Main Table and click on the General Tab at the bottom of the screen:

Bar codes will appear on labels when labels are printed.

Batch Inventory Functions

(Inventory is entered at the time of sale in BCSS Intro. The instructions on this page apply to BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual for inventory entered prior to POS.)

Using batch entry, copy/paste or type a path to an inventory-item picture when adding it to inventory. At POS clerks will be able to view a picture of the item to know that price tags have not been switched.

A Print Button has been added to the Batch-Enter Screen for Thermal Price Labels.

Please note: A description is required for each item. The item will not appear for labeling if a description is missing. At least enter a period or underscore in the description field.

Batch Inventory Entry - Enter multiple Inventory Items for one Consignor.

Select Consignors from the Work-Areas Menu:

Select a Consignor from the Table.

Select Batch Enter from the Consignors Menu:

(Alternatively, select Batch Enter in the Inventory Work Area and select the Consignor from the list. - not shown here)

The next available item numbers for the selected Consignor are listed.

To add an item, click on the blank Description cell for the first item number in the first row.

Add the Description for the New Item (up to 20 characters).

Repeat for Category, Details (up t0 100 characters), Price and Quantity.

User-Defined Groups

The are 4 columns for User-Defined Groups. Click on 'None' to select from drop-down menus but note that selections may not be made if the Category chosen has not been associated with Groups.

Inventory Pictures

If applicable enter the path to an image for the item like C:\Images\sofa211.jpg (for an image stored on the computer) or http://www.myserver.com/images/sofa211.jpg (for an image stored online).

If a path has been entered in Program Setup (Inventory) in the field named 'Default Picture File Location', that path will be pre entered in the image field on the Batch Enter Screen.

Repeat for each new item.

Printing Labels

Important! If sheet labels are to be printed for newly-added items, print them BEFORE selecting OK. A pop-up message will appear asking if this is to be done. This does not apply to Thermal Labels. For Thermal Labels, batch enter items then follow the procedures for printing price labels.

If the Batch-Enter Screen has been closed before labels are printed, or if labels need to be printed again for items added (for any date or date range):

• Click on Labels on the Main Menu.
• Double click Inventory.
• Check 'Date In' and enter today's date in the From and To fields (or enter any date or date range to print labels based upon the date(s) they were entered).
• Select Sort By and Label Style.
• Press Print Price Labels and follow instructions for printing price labels.

Batch Inventory Edit

Use Batch Edit to change values for more than one Inventory Item.

Select Inventory from the Work-Areas Menu:

Select Batch Edit from the Inventory Menu:

On the subsequent screen, click on any cell and enter new information. (Some cells provide drop-down menus for quick selection.)

When finished, click OK to save changes.

Batch Inventory Delete

Batch delete will not delete an item unless it has been sold, has a quantity of zero and has been settled.

To delete all inventory prior to a given Last-Sold Date or by Consignor or by Inventory Category, select Batch Delete from the Inventory Menu.

Items may be deleted for individual consignors, individual categories, or all items with quantity = 0 if 'All Consignors' or 'All Inventory' is selected.

A screen will appear confirming the deletion.

Deleting Select Items

Create a category named Delete.

Open the Batch Edit Screen (Inventory Menu)

and assign the Delete category to items to be deleted.

Next, open the Batch Delete screen.

Set the date as needed.

Select the Delete Category from 'And/or From This Inventory Category'.

Press OK. All items in the Delete category with In Dates prior to the date set on the Batch Delete screen will be deleted.

Delete, Donate, Return, Transfer to House by Bar Code

In the Inventory Work Area, select Actions by Bar Code to scan bar codes and select which items to donate, return, transfer to the house account or undelete. Click in the Bar-Code Field, scan bar codes, review the list and select which items to process, then click Record/Print/Exit.

Buy Outright

The Inventory Report Screen now has a filter for Buy-Outright-Only items. When that filter is selected the report will show item cost instead of price.

BCSS is designed to assist store owners in maximizing sales revenue by supporting a variety of sales types: consignments, consignor and employee credit purchases, layaways, rentals and resale (or 'Buy Outright').

To 'Buy Outright' means to purchase items and resell them. In BCSS, sellers of items will be handled as 'consignors'. Create a Consignor Record for each seller to track items bought from them and payments made to them.

Enter Buy-Outright Items in Batch

1. Create a Consignor Record for the seller or select a Consignor (as seller).
2. Select the seller from the list of Consignors in the Consignor Work Area.
3. Click on Batch Buy Outright (lower left).
   • Batch Buy Outright can also be accessed (under Inventory on the Main Menu) and (in the lower-left menu in the Inventory Work Area). These options require selecting the Consignor Record before opening the batch screen.
4. The first row in the table will suggest the next available item # for the seller.
5. Click in the Description Box and enter up to 20 characters (usually what the item is, like jacket, couch, etc.)
6. Category and Details are optional. Details can be up to 100 characters.
7. Enter Sell and Buy Price and Quantity.
8. 'Location' refers to the physical location of the item - a department in the store, another store location, etc.
9. Bar codes will be auto entered.
10. User-Defined Groups will be listed if they are being used.
11. If applicable enter the path to an image for the item like C:\Images\sofa211.jpg (for an image stored on the computer) or http://www.myserver.com/images/sofa211.jpg (for an image stored online). (If a path has been entered in Program Setup (Inventory) in the field named 'Default Picture File Location', that path will be pre entered in the image field on the Batch Enter Screen.)
12. Select the type of label to be printed or click OK to save entries (and print labels later).

Enter Buy-Outright Items One at a Time

1. Create a Consignor Record for the seller or select a Consignor (as seller) and press F3 to open the New-Inventory Screen.
2. The Consignor ID and next Item Number will be auto-entered. Enter information about the Item (Description, Details, Quantity, (Store) Location...)
3. Check 'Buy This Item Outright'. A 'Buying Price' field will appear and the Consignor % (upper right) will close (not needed).
4. Enter the 'Buying Price' without the dollar sign:
   
   

   

5. Enter the 'Selling Price' for the item (upper right) and click Ok to save. The item will be listed in the Inventory Work Area Table and in the Consignor's Items List (at the bottom of the screen, when the Consignor is selected).
   
   

   

6. To pay the seller, select him/her from the List of Consignors and select Settlement from the Quick List Menu:
   
   

   

7. Select the item being purchased.
8. Enter the amount of payment and the payment method:
   
   

   

9. Press Save and Exit to save the transaction, or press Save, Print, Exit to save the transaction and view it on screen (in print preview).

The settlement will appear in the list of settlements in the Settlements Work Area.

See About Checks for instructions on printing a check.

Buy Outright Accounting

BCSS is a 'Consignment Software Program'. As such it processes buy-outright transactions as consignments by adjusting the Consignor % in the background.

When the Buying and Selling Prices are entered for a buy-outright item, BCSS computes what the Consignor % would have been if the transaction had been a consignment. This is necessary to make computations correct in BCSS records, but it's not necessary for the user to know more about this process.

For information purposes, this 'Computed Consignor %' is displayed in the Item's Details. (Go to Inventory, select the Item and view the % at the bottom of the screen.) This entry cannot be edited.

Inventory Categories

It would be helpful to know about 'User-Defined Groups, before adding items to Inventory. User-Defined Groups make inventory categorization more exact and inventory entry more efficient.

Categorize Inventory

Keeping inventory well-organized avoids confusion, mistakes and frustration. Each item's 'identity' distinguishes it from all other items. What is it? Whose is it? What is the Consignor %? When and how much are discounts? How many are in stock?

Each inventory item may be identified by Item ID, Description, Details, Bar Code, Price, (store) Location, Owner (consignor), Seller (resales), Picture, In Date, Date Discounted, Date Sold and by User-Defined Groups.

In turn, item identification allows 'grouping' (categorization): To what group or groups does an item belong (for special sales, for discounting, for labels, etc.)? Where should it be located in the store? Is it seasonal?

Structured categorization also allows store owners to provide employees with guidelines for accurately describing (categorizing) each item, lending uniformity and reducing the potential for confusion.

A basic software program allows for a limited 'description' (which might be printed on price labels) and a detailed description (a longer description which might appear on 'detailed price labels' and 'detailed reports').

Category Configuration in BCSS

Defining Categories is one of the first steps in configuring BCSS for your business. This must be done before a default Category may be designated in Program Setup and it is necessary before items can be added to Inventory (so that items may be properly categorized).

Defining Categories

Select Categories from the Inventory Menu:

Add a Category

To add a New Category, enter the name of the Category in the box at the bottom:

and press 'Create New Category'.

Repeat for other Categories and  click 'Save Changes':

Type or copy/paste a list of Categories (separated by commas - no space after the commas - example: beds,chairs,sofas - Enter up to 500 characters). Press Create New Category to enter all Categories at once.

The Default Discount Schedule (set in Program Setup, Consignors) will apply to each category entered and items in the Category will be taxable unless the 'Tax-Free' box is checked. (Sales Taxes are set in Program Setup, Sales.)

A dollar amount may be entered in the 'Tax Above' column. Any item sold below that amount would not be subject to sales tax. The Tax-Free box must remain unchecked. (One application of this feature is that clothing is not taxable below stipulated amounts in some jurisdictions.

Edit a Category Name

To change the name of a Category, select the Category by clicking on it. Its name will appear in the Name Box.

Make desired changes to the name and select Save Edited Category.

When finished editing or adding Categories, select Saves Changes and Exit.

Discount Aged Inventory

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Discount items after they are transferred to the House Account. (details)

Print Discount Schedules on Price Tags (details)

Note: Any category that is to be discounted must refer to a correctly-formatted Discount Schedule.

Discount Aged Inventory

As inventory items remain unsold they are typically marked down in price to entice purchase. A helpful feature of BCSS is the ability to reduce the prices of unsold items over time automatically or manually.

The Discount Schedule

A typical Discount Schedule reduces sale price in increments of # of days from the 'In Date' and percentage of original Selling Price.

Three Rules

1. Time is measured in the # of days an item has been in inventory (from 'Date In').
2. Percent Discount is based upon the Original Selling Price.
3. 'Transfer to House Account' must be selected in the consignor's record for items to transfer.
4. The first 4 Discount Fields must be completed. The values cannot be zeros. There must be a 'progression'.

   For example, if there is to be no discount for 60 days but items are to transfer to the house account on day 61, then the 'Discount by' fields can be 0 but the 'After' fields (# of days) would be 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61.

   

Below is an example of a correct discount schedule for an item entered into inventory on January 1st for $100 that is to be discounted by 5% every 10 days then transferred to the house account after 50 days. (The number of days and discount amounts, of course, can be different than those shown.)

• After 10 days, on January 11th, discount original price of $100 by   5% to $95
• After 20 days, on January 21st, discount original price of $100 by 10% to $90
• After 30 days, on January 31st, discount original price of $100 by 15% to $85
• After 40 days, on February 9th, discount original price of $100 by 20% to $80
• After 50 days, the item will auto transfer to the House Account (if 'Process discounts and transfer automatically' is check in Program Setup, Inventory). The 'Date In' shown in the House Account Record for transferred items will be the original 'Date In'.

  

Discounts Window

Because discounts are based upon the # of days since the 'Date In', discounts only need to be processed once per day. Discounts may be applied manually or automatically. Either way, BCSS will reduce the selling price by the designated amount for each item at the designated time. When the item is sold, the new discounted price is applied.

Process Discounts Automatically

To process Discounts automatically, check 'Process discounts automatically' in Program Setup, Inventory. Discounts will be processed each day when the BCSS New-Sale Screen is opened for the first time.

Each item's record can be edited to change the Discount.

Process Discounts Selectively

To prevent automatic discounting of select items, create a special category or categories for the select items and assign a discount schedule of 1 day 0%, 2 days 0%, 3 days 0%, 4 days 0%.

Process Discounts Manually

Discounting manually provides the opportunity to change the amount or date of the discount for each item.

To discount manually, click on Apply Discounts in the Inventory Menu:

Allow a few seconds for the Discounts Window to display items eligible for discounting.

The list may be sorted by clicking on the column headers (like ID, Date In, Days, etc). If there are many items in the list, the sort will take a few seconds. Please only click once and wait.

The current discount rules (set in Program Setup, Inventory) appear on the Discount Screen. Any of these values may be changed and applied to items selected for discounting. (These values may be changed permanently by resetting them in Program Setup, Inventory.)

Uncheck items not to be discounted. (Use 'Check All' and 'Check None' for convenience.) Unchecked items will reappear the next time discounts are processed.

Click OK and allow sufficient time for processing.

View One Discounted Item

Go to the Inventory Work Area:

and select the item in the list. Click the Details tab at the bottom on the screen to view information about the item:

View All Discounted Items

In the Inventory Work Area, select Discounted Items from Quick Links:

Optional: Print Discount Schedules on Price Labels

BCSS includes an option to print the Discount Schedule on Price Tags, making reprinting of price tags unnecessary after Discount Dates have been reached. These are examples of sheet labels. ("Re" is the disposal code for 'return'. The date on the Detailed Label and the Hang Tag is the Date In.)

Medium Label

Detailed Label

Hang Tag

A thermal price label must be 1.5" in height or greater. Also, it may be necessary to choose a smaller font size (in Program Setup) to fit dates and prices onto labels for items that sell for $1,000 or more.

To turn this option on, click on File, Program Setup and select the Inventory Tab. Place a check in the box 'Show discount price schedule on pricing labels.' (upper left).

Some store owners prefer not to have upcoming Discount Dates known to potential buyers (so buyers won't delay purchasing until a known Discount Date). Other store owners use Discount Dates as a reason to encourage purchase: "Buy now or this item will be gone before the Discount rolls around."

Still other store owners use colored price tags for different Discount Periods so that everyone can readily see how much an item has been discounted (pink: discounted once, blue: discounted twice, etc.), or different colors are used for different months.

If the Discounted Price is to be shown on the Price Tag, either the Discount Schedule must be printed initially or price tags must be reprinted after Discounting.

Note: A discount period which is the same as the previous period will be skipped on the label. For example, if the Schedule is...

• 10 days    -10%
• 20 days    -20%
• 30 days    -20%
• 40 days    -20%

...only the first two periods will appear on price labels.

Why make discounts the same for different periods? All 4 fields on the Discount Schedule must be completed. If there is only 1, 2 or 3 discounts, the remaining fields on the schedule must have entries. Making the entries the same completes the requirement without causing undesired additional discounting.

Reprint Labels

Identifying only those items which have been discounted is easy. On the Main Menu, select Reports then Inventory to open the Inventory Report Designer screen.

Check 'Dated Discounted' under 'Make Report Settings' and enter dates in the From and To fields.

Click the type of label to be printed under 'Print the Report'.

See Price Labels for more detailed printing instructions.

Related:

Discounts at POS - Discount one item or the entire invoice by percentage or dollar amount.

Inventory Prices Explained (Current Price, Original Price, Lowest Price)

Promotional Discounts - Discount by store-wide sale or by category.

Discount by Category

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Discount by Category

Each Inventory Category can have it's own Discount Schedule. Placing items in their own Categories allows greater control and flexibility in determining which items to discount, when and by how much.

First, Create a Discount Schedule.

Go to File, Program Setup, Inventory. A Default Aged-Discount Schedule is displayed. To create another Discount Schedule, select Edit Schedule Names.

Enter the name of the New Schedule in the box below 'Enter Schedule Name(s) Here' (lower right) and press Create New Schedule:

Other Names for Schedules may be entered now, or press Save Changes then Exit to save New-Schedule Names.

Use the drop-down menu under Discount Schedule Name to select a New Schedule. Doing so will reset all fields in the Discount Schedule fields to 0.

Enter values for the New Schedule. All fields must be completed. Select Save Schedule and click OK. The New Schedule is now complete and ready to be associated with one or more Inventory Categories.

Associate Discount Schedules with Categories

Click on Inventory on the Main Menu.

Select Categories from the Inventory Menu:

Use the drop-down menu under Discount Schedule and select the New Discount Schedule for the Category. (In this example, there are 2 Discount Schedules: 'Default' and 'Sale':)

Make other changes if desired then Click Save Changes and Exit.

In the future, when items are discounted, Discount Schedules assigned here will apply based upon the Category and its associated Discount Schedule.

House Accounts

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

House (Shop) Accounts

'House Accounts' are accounts for the shop and are used for transactions involving shop-owned items. A House Account is set up in BCSS as a Consignor Account.

More than one House Account can be used for different types of items like items for resale, unsold items donated to the shop, items of different categories, shops in different locations, accounts for individuals associated with the store, etc.

If 'Enable the House Account' is checked in Program Setup (Consignors), an account named 'House' is automatically added to the list of Consignor Accounts. This is the Default House Account in BCSS to which unsold items will be transferred (for items so designated).

Additional accounts may be set up using the New Consignor option (F2).

Enable the House Account Feature

To enable the House-Account feature, go to File, Program Setup, Consignors and check 'Enable the House Account?'. This will add the House Account to the Consignor List. This feature may be unchecked later.

The House Account may be deactivated by editing the House Account Record and unchecking 'This is a House Account', or the Record may be marked as Inactive. Both have the same effect.

If the House Account is marked as Inactive, it will still appear in the Consignor List but it will not appear in any reports for 'Active Consignors Only'.

Once the House Account is created it needs to remain in the database for reporting purposes, even if it is Inactive.

Transfers of Unsold Items may be done automatically (based upon settings made in Program Setup, Inventory) or they may be done manually (to afford more control over individual items).

Discount items after they are transferred to the House Account. (details)

Automatically Transfer Unsold Inventory to the House Account

3 Requirements for Transferring Unsold Inventory to the House Account:

1. Select 'Enable the House Account' (File, Program Setup, Consignors). If Discounts and Transfers are to be done automatically, check 'Process discounts and transfers automatically.
2. Enter a 'sequentially correct' Schedule of Discounts (Program Setup, Inventory).
3. Select 'Transfer to House Account' in the Consignor Record.
   

   

Each time the New-Sale Screen is opened, any eligible items for transfer will be auto-transferred to the House Account. (This is why, with larger databases, the New-Sale Screen can be slow to open when opened for the first time each day.)

Manually Transfer Unsold Inventory to the House Account:

1. In the Consignor Record select Transfer to House Account for every Consignor whose inventory is to be transferred to the House Account.
2. Under File, Program Setup, Inventory, Default Discount Rules, set the number of days when inventory is eligible for transfer to the House Account and set a price to charge for each transferred item (if applicable. If no price is specified, then the sale price will remain the same.) If a number of days is not specified or if the number is less than the previous discount category, inventory will not be transferred.
3. Click on Apply Discounts in the Inventory Work Area:
   
   

   

4. Items eligible for discount will be listed first. Items eligible for transfer are listed next. Select items to discount or transfer. There is a provision to specify a flat reduced price for transfers. (If the item sells after transfer, no settlement is paid to the Consignor.)
5. Click OK to process selected items.
6. Go to the Consignors Work Area. Select the House Account and click on Items in the Details Area to view items transferred.

Discount After Transferring to House Account

Things to know:

• The transfer to the House Account will occur first if its 'trigger date' is less than all other dates in the Discount Schedule.
• The 'trigger date' will not work in the middle of a Discount-Schedule sequence.
• There can be a number of Discount Schedules, any one of which can be set to transfer before or after discounting.
• The original In Date is preserved.
• The Discount Date (in the Inventory Work Area Details section) will be the Transfer Date.

Force the Transfer to the House Account Before Discounting

To 'trigger' the transfer to the House Account, set the number of days to elapse for transfer (30 in the example below) to less than any number of days in the Discount Schedule (40, 50, 60, 70 in the example below). In this example, the item is to transfer after 30 days then start discounting after 40 days:

• After 40 days discount original price of $100 by   5% to $95
• After 50 days discount original price of $100 by 10% to $90
• After 60 days discount original price of $100 by 15% to $85
• After 70 days discount original price of $100 by 20% to $80
• After 30 days, the item will auto transfer to the House Account (if 'Process discounts and transfer automatically' is check in Program Setup, Inventory). The 'In Date' will be the original 'Date In'.

All days are counted from the Original In Date.

Inventory Import/Export

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Import and Export Records of BCSS Inventory Items

BCSS has different 'sets of records' for Consignors, Inventory (and Buyers in the BCSS Diamond and Virtual editions) which may be imported into BCSS from spreadsheets or exported from BCSS to spreadsheets (in .csv format - comma-separated values).

Creating Inventory Records in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual

There are 3 ways to create BCSS inventory records. Each method requires that Consignor Records be created first:

• Enter each item individually using the New-Inventory Screen (F3 in BCSS).
• Enter multiple items with the Batch-Enter Feature
• Enter information in a spreadsheet and import the data into BCSS.

Import Inventory Data into BCSS from a Spreadsheet

Rules to Follow:

• Records for Consignors must exist in BCSS before inventory for them can be entered in BCSS - either from within BCSS or importing from a spreadsheet to BCSS. See Add New Consignors.
• It is imperative that the first row in the inventory spreadsheet (inventory.csv) not be altered in any way.
• Delete the 2nd row in the Spreadsheet (suggestions for completing columns) and the sample data before importing.
• It's a good idea to enter items for only a few consignors at a time, import them into BCSS and verify that records for each consignor are correct - until some confidence is achieved with the process.

Procedures for Importing Inventory Data

1. Make sure a record exists in BCSS for every consignor whose inventory is to be entered.
2. Export Consignor Records from BCSS to a spreadsheet so Consignor IDs (not the Internal Consignor ID) will be available for input into the inventory spreadsheet.
3. Create the data spreadsheet - Open the file (C:\BCSS\inventory.csv) in Excel (or a spreadsheet program) and save it on the Desktop as inventory-date.csv (like inventory-8-7-2009.csv).
4. Complete a row for each item but do not make an entry in the column for 'Internal ID'. (This is an ID number used by BCSS. (An explanation of each entry appears below.) All columns may be left blank except Item ID, Consignor ID, Quantity, In Date, Current Price and Original Price.
5. Verify the Process - Enter only 2-3 items. Import those items into BCSS and verify that entries are being made and imported correctly. To import:
   • In BCSS, click on Utilities then Import CSV Inventory.
   • Navigate to the spreadsheet on the Desktop and select it. Click Save.
   • Verify that the records now exist in BCSS.
   • Correct any errors on the spreadsheet and proceed. It is not necessary to delete the trial entries.
6. Finish making entries in the spreadsheet and import the data into BCSS.
7. In BCSS spot check records to verify that items were entered correctly and that they are assigned to the correct consignors. - better to discover errors before items are sold

Spreadsheet Data Entry Definitions

ItemNum - The first item for a consignor should be the consignor's ID (not the Internal Consignor ID) plus a number, like SmithJ-1. Each additional different item should be numbered sequentially, like SmithJ-2, SmithJ-3, etc..

Internal Consignor ID - In BCSS create a record for each consignor for whom inventory will be imported. Export Consignor Records and obtain this number from the export.

In Date - Usually the date the item was brought to the store

Drag the lower-right corner of the cell boundary (the 'fill handle') down to fill cells below it with the same information. See Windows Help for details.

ItemNum - Item Number should start with the Consignor ID (not the Internal Consignor ID) plus a number. The next items for the consignor should be numbered sequentially.

Quantity - The number of items that will use the same Item Number

Description - Up to 20 characters - appears on price labels

Details - Up to 100 characters - appears on medium price labels and in reports

Original Price - The first selling price

Current Price - Must be entered - is often the same as Original Price for new items. Make an entry to change the value of an existing item is BCSS when the spreadsheet data is imported.

Lowest Price - Can be left blank for new items. Make an entry to change the value of an existing item is BCSS when the spreadsheet data is imported.

Consignor Share - Enter in decimal format (.4 = 40% to the consignor; 1 = 100% to the consignor). Can be left blank if the % for the item will be the default % set in BCSS.

Disc Date - Can be left blank for new items. Make an entry to change the value of an existing item is BCSS when the spreadsheet data is imported.

Discount - Leave blank for new items. For existing items in BCSS, enter a value in decimal format (.1 = 10% off the item or items with the same Item ID)

Notes - Enter any information as a reminder or as note for others in the shop to see.

Picture - Enter a local (example: C:\BCSS\Images\Morrison-recliner.jpg) or Internet location (example: http://www.mywebsite/images/Morrison-recliner.jpg) of an image of the item.

Rental? - Yes or No - can be left blank

Barcode - Enter a bar code or, leave blank and assign bar codes automatically later in BCSS.

Internal ID - Do not make an entry. BCSS will assign this ID.

Exporting Inventory Records from BCSS to a Spreadsheet

Inventory data may be exported from BCSS to a spreadsheet. Information on the spreadsheet may be edited and new rows may be added for new items. Upon importing the data back into BCSS, changed information will replace existing information in BCSS and new records will be created in BCSS for items added to the spreadsheet.

Inventory Labels

See Price Labels for printing price labels and hang tags using BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.

Thermal Labels

See Thermal Price Labels for using Thermal Printers and BCSS Diamond or Virtual for printing thermal price labels.

Bar Codes

Bar Codes may be printed on sheets of labels or they may be printed on thermal labels on 2.25", 2.75", 3", 3.375 and 3.5"-wide non-adhesive labels, and on 2"-4"-wide adhesive thermal labels.

Bar Codes will be printed on price labels by default. If bar codes are not desired, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes...' in Program Setup (Printers). (If this option is not present, it will be necessary to email support to have your program updated.)

This is a Medium (sheet) Label (actual size: 2 5/8" x 1") showing Disposal Code ('re' for Return), the Bar Code, the Bar-Code Number, Description (Blazer), Price and Consignor ID-Item # (Ader-1). (The Disposal Code may be turned off in Program Setup > Inventory tab.)

Detailed (sheet) Labels

Detailed Labels include Item ID (which is the Consignor ID plus Item #), Category, Date In, Description, Details and Price. Options may be selected in Program Setup to include the Discount Schedule (prices only) and Disposal Codes. Bar Codes may be excluded by unchecking 'Check this box to include bar codes...' in Program Setup (Printers).

(Actual Width/Length is 2 5/8" x 1")

Detailed Labels are printed with laser-style (Avery # 5160), Inkjet (Avery Label # 8460) or dot matrix (Avery Label # 4144) printers on sheet labels, 3 across 10 down - 30 labels per sheet. Each label measures 2 5/8" x 1". (See About Labels.)

Medium Labels

The Medium Price Label will always have Item ID (which is the Consignor ID plus Item #, like Ader-1: Last Name: Ader, 1st item for consignor Ader), a Description and a Price.

These options can be printed on Medium Labels. They are 'turned on and off' in Program Setup (Inventory):

• Date In - the date the item was checked in. If this is turned off, the category will appear on the label. If the Discount Schedule is 'on' the Date In is the first date in the Schedule
• Discount Schedule - The Current Price is the first price in the Schedule. Details will be printed if the Schedule is turned off.
• Disposal Code - a 'secret code' for return, destroy, donate - can be any letters - set in Program Setup (Inventory)

Medium Label with Disposal Code and Discount Schedule 'turned off': (Actual Size: 2 5/8" x 1")

Medium Labels are printed with laser-style (Avery # 5160), Inkjet (Avery Label # 8460) or dot matrix (Avery Label # 4144) printers on sheet labels, 3 across 10 down - 30 labels per sheet. Each label measures 2 5/8" x 1". (See About Labels.)

Small Labels

Small Labels include less information - Item ID, Description and Price. Options may be selected in Program Setup (Inventory) to include Date In, the Discount Schedule (replaces Price) and Disposal Codes. Small Labels are too small for Bar Codes.

(Actual Width/Length is 1 3/4" x 1/2")

Small Labels are printed with laser-style (Avery # 5167) or Inkjet (Avery Label # 8167) printers on sheet labels, 4 across 20 down - 80 labels per sheet. Each label measures 1 3/4" x 1/2". Small Labels may be printed with a dot matrix printer if the labels are tractor feed, 4 labels across, 20 rows down.

Inventory Pictures

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

One picture of an Inventory Item may be added when the item is being added to Inventory or the picture maybe added when editing an Inventory Record.

The picture may be stored on the hard drive (or other local storage device) or it may be stored online.

Inventory Pictures on the Hard Drive

Picture Setup

Tell BCSS where your picture files are stored so when adding an inventory picture, BCSS will open that location and avoid your having to find the location each time. To do so, go to File > Program Setup > Inventory and click on Find Location (upper left). Navigate to the folder housing inventory images, click Save then OK. BCSS will open that folder when a picture is being added to an inventory record.

Add a Picture for an Inventory Item -

Select a Consignor from the list of consignors and press F3 to add a new inventory item.

Enter as much information as desired about the item.

Click on New Picture:

BCSS will open the folder on your computer specified in Program Setup > Inventory. Select the image and click Open.

Click OK to save the inventory record.

Once a picture has been added, the name on the 'No Picture' button changes to 'Show Picture' which may be selected to view the picture. On the Sales Invoice click View Item Picture to verify that price tags have not been switched.

Use Pictures Stored Online

Select a Consignor and press F3 to add a new inventory item.

Enter the URL of the image in the field named 'Picture URL' and click OK.

The path to the image will be added to the BCSS database. The actual image will reside on the server. This will reduce disk usage on the local computer but might increase the cost of storing images.

Batch Enter Inventory with Pictures

In the Consignors Work Area, select Batch Enter:

Select Batch Enter. When entering an item, enter its location on the computer (like C:\Images\sofa211.jpg or http://www.myserver.com/images/sofa211.jpg).

Helpful Tip: Use the free online picture storage service at PhotoBucket http://photobucket.com to display pictures of inventory and link to those pictures in BCSS.

Add a Picture for an Existing Inventory Item

Click on Inventory in the Work-Areas Menu.

Double click on an item to open its Edit Screen:

Follow the procedures above to add the picture.

Add a Picture from the Internet

When adding a new inventory item or when editing an existing inventory record, enter the URL of the image in the field named 'Picture URL' and click OK. The path to the image will be added to the BCSS database. The actual image will reside on the server.

When the next picture of another item is added, BCSS will display the URL of the previous picture. This may allow for minor editing of the displayed URL instead of having to reenter the entire URL again.

Inventory Prices

Original Price is the first price for an item. It is entered on the New-Item Screen (F3).

Current Price is the discounted price.

Lowest Price is as the name suggests, the lowest price at which the item had been priced.

When an item is first entered into inventory, Original, Current and Lowest are the same. When an item is discounted, the Original Price remains as it was. The Current and Lowest Prices become the discounted price.

The Original, Current and Lowest Price for one item may be viewed by selecting the item in the Inventory Work Area Table then clicking on Details at the bottom of the BCSS screen:

The Current and Original Prices (along with ID, Description, Category, Details, Quantity, Discount, Discount Date, Date of Last Sale, Date In and Bar Code) may be viewed for several items by creating a report and selecting Print Detailed List on the Report Screen:

Likewise, Current Price may be viewed (in addition to ID, Description, Category, Consignor, Quantity and Date In) by selecting Print Brief List on the Report Screen:

Fixed Price - No Discounting

To prevent an item from being discounted, create a Discount Schedule with zero discounts; create a Category for non-discountable items; and assign the Discount Schedule to the Category.

Procedures

1. In BCSS, click on File then Program Setup then Inventory (at the top).
2. Complete the fields under Aged-Discount Schedule like this:

   

   (Note that Transfer to House Account is set at a large number to avoid it ever coming into play.)
3. Click on Edit Schedule Names (right).
4. At the lower right, enter a descriptive name for the Schedule (like No Discount).
5. Click on Save Changes.
6. On the BCSS Main Menu, click on Inventory then Categories.
7. At the lower right, enter a name for the Category (like No Discount).
8. Click Create New Category. The Category will appear in the list of categories.
9. To the right of the category name, click in the field named Discount Schedule.
10. Use the drop-down arrow to view the drop-down list and select No Discount.
11. Click Save Changes.
12. Add or edit an item's record and assign the Category 'No Discount' to the item.

Inventory Reports

A 'Report' is basically the results of a 'search' of the BCSS database for information - just like a search in Google. A big difference is that a BCSS Report will only include the information asked for and not 'close matches'.

Select Reports on the Main Menu (not shown) then Inventory:

Select Report Content

Settings on this screen tell BCSS which inventory items to include in the Report.

For example, to include only items in inventory in the category 'Maternity' that were checked in during the month of July, 2009:

1. Check 'Quantity greater than 0'.

2. Select 'Maternity' in the Category drop-down menu.

3. Check 'Date In' and enter 7/1/2009 in the From Field and 7/31/2009 in the To Field.

Boxes must be checked for settings to apply.

Sort Output

The content of the report may be sorted by any of these:

Print the Report

Selecting Print Detailed List

will display a print preview of items matching the search criteria with ID, Category, Original Price, Quantity, Discount Date, Date In, Description, Consignor, Current Price, Discount, Last-Sale Date and Bar Code.

Selecting Print Brief List

will present ID, Description, Category, Consignor, Price, Quantity and Date In.

The report may be printed by pressing the printer icon (yellow arrow).:

View the Report in the Main Table

Selecting View the Report

 displays items matching the search criteria in the Main Table.

Time Filters

Click on these buttons:

to view records in the Main Table that have been added or edited today, last 7 days, last 30 days, etc. Click View All to see all records again.

Quick Links

BCSS is divided into Work Areas. They are:

Each Work Area has its own set of Quick Links.These are the Quick Links for Inventory:

Assign Bar Codes - Click this option to assign bar codes to all inventory items needing a bar code.

Categories - Opens the category add-Edit Screen.

Current Items - Shows current items in inventory.

Discounted Items - Show all discounted items.

Item to Invoice - Select an item from the Table and click this button to add the item to a New-Sale Invoice.

New Today - Display in the Main Table all items added to inventory today.

Sold Items - Display only items sold today.

Function Key

Press F8 for a quick report on inventory items entered for the current day.

Inventory Item Reports

Select an item in the Main Table and view information about the item in the Details Area at the bottom of the screen.

Click the colored tabs at the bottom to view screens with various information (Details, General, Notes).

Inventory Storage

(This feature is available in BCSS Diamond and Virtual.)

Move Sold Inventory to Storage

Sold items that are settled may be moved to a permanent storage file. The BCSS Storage Function transfers item records to storage and sets the inventory quantity to zero. Items may be transferred back from storage.

If items will never be returned from storage, it is better to delete them (by consignor, category and/or date in) using the Batch Delete Function. Doing so will reduce the amount of time to present the list of inventory items each time the Inventory Work Area is accessed in BCSS.

Procedure

Go to the Main Menu, Inventory, Storage, Move Items to Storage. All inventory items will appear. Check items to be moved and select Move to Storage.

Items will be removed from Consignors' Inventory Files.

Return Items from Storage

Return items from storage using the option Remove from Storage.

View Stored Items

View stored items using the View Inventory Storage option.

Undelete Inventory

Restore a Deleted Item to Inventory

Select Consignors in the Work-Areas Menu

Choose the owner of the Inventory Item from the List of Consignors. (The background color of the row selected will turn dark blue.)

Select Undelete Items in Quick Links:

Under 'Undelete?' check the item or items to be restored to the Inventory Record.

If it's helpful, use the Check All and Check None options:

Click Record, Exit. Selected items will be returned to the Inventory Record.

Undelete by Bar Code

Undelete an item or multiple items by scanning bar codes.

1. In the Inventory Work Area Menu, select Actions by Bar Code.
2. Check 'Undelete by Bar Code' and click Continue.
3. Check each item to be undeleted (restored to inventory).
4. Press the Record, Print, Exit button.
5. View individual items in the Inventory Work Area to confirm that they have been restored to inventory.

Verify Restoration

Select the Consignor from the Main Table and click on Items at the bottom:

Verify that the item has been reinstated.

Dispose of Unsold Inventory

Unsold inventory can be destroyed, donated to charity, returned to the Consignor or given to the shop (transferred to the House Account). The default setting in BCSS is 'Return'.

In the Inventory Work Area, select Actions by Bar Code to scan bar codes and select which items to donate, return, transfer to the house account or undelete. Click in the Bar-Code Field, scan bar codes, review the list and select which items to process, then click Record/Print/Exit.

Disposal Codes

Some store owners don't want buyers to know how unsold items will be disposed. Price tags can be printed with Disposal Codes for Destroy, Donate or Return. Store Employees will know the codes but buyers may not. The codes may be changed periodically to maintain secrecy. Set the codes in Program Setup (Inventory).

Assigning Disposal Codes

Locate Disposal Code Settings in Program Setup, Inventory.

Check the 'Show disposal code...' box and enter any characters in the boxes for Destroy, Donate and Return. These codes will be printed on price tags.

If no code is printed on a label then BCSS was not configured for unsold items, or Items are to be auto-transferred to the House Account.

In order for any item to appear in lists for Destroy, Donate or Return, the Consignor Record must be set for either Destroy, Donate or Return.

Destroy (Discard) an Unsold Item

• Locate the owner of the item in the Consignor Work Area.
• At the bottom of the screen in the Details Area, Item Tab, select the item.
• Click Delete. The item is deleted from inventory.

Donate an Unsold Item (to Charity)

• Locate the owner of the item in the Buyer Work Area.
• Right click and select Donate Items.
• Check the item(s) to be donated. ('Donate' must be the selected option in the Consignor Record  for Unsold Items to appear in this list.)
• Click Record, Print, Exit and view the print preview.
• Print the report if desired.
• Locate the item in the list of inventory and confirm the deletion note under Notes in the Details Area.

Return an Unsold Item to the Consignor

• Locate the owner of the item in the Consignor Work Area.
• Right click and select Return Items to Consignor.
• Check the item(s) to be returned. ('Return' must be the selected option in the Consignor Record  for Unsold Items to appear in this list.)
• Click Record, Print, Exit and view the print preview.
• Print the report if desired.
• Locate the item in the list of inventory and confirm the deletion note under Notes in the Details Area.

Transferring an Unsold Item to Shop Ownership (the House Account)

• Locate the owner of the item in the Consignor Work Area.
• Select House Transfer from the Quick Links Menu
• Check the item(s) to be transferred. ('Transfer to House Account' must be the selected option in the Consignor Record  for Unsold Items to appear in this list.)
• Click Record, Print, Exit and view the print preview.
• Print the report if desired.
• Select House Account in the list of consignors.
• Select Items in the Details Area and click on the item transferred.
  

  

• Select Edit Item in the Consignors Menu.
• Click on Notes to view information about the transfer.

Automate Transfers to the House Account

• In the Consignors Work Area, set up a new Consignor Account for the shop, just as for any Consignor and check 'This Is a House Account'.
• In Program Setup, Consignors tab, check ' Enable the House Account'.
• In Program Setup, Inventory tab, complete a Discount Schedule.
• Enter the number of days (in the last box) an item is to be for sale before becoming 'unsold'.
• On that screen, check 'Process discounts automatically'.
• Set the disposal option to 'Transfer to House Account' in each Consignor's record where applicable.

Confirming Auto-Transfers to House Account

When auto transfer is activated, BCSS automatically removes an unsold item from Inventory (after the period of time designated In Program Setup, Inventory, Aged-Discount Schedule) and adds it to the shop's List of Inventory (in the House Account) with a new Item ID (like 'House-1').

If a partial quantity of the item has been sold, the item record remains in the list (to support existing sales records).

View the record of the transfer in the Details Area in the Inventory Work Area - select the item from the list of inventory items and click on Notes at the bottom:

Default Action

If no settings are made in BCSS regarding unsold inventory, BCSS will do nothing. Of course an unsold item can be handled without involving BCSS. At any time, an item may be destroyed, donated, returned or given to the shop and the BCSS record of the item can be adjusted accordingly, or just deleted.

View Item Disposition

Select an Inventory Item from the Inventory List.

Its Disposal Option is shown in the Details Area (General Tab, at the bottom).

View Consignor's Disposal Setting

Select a Consignor from the table and view the Disposal setting on the Details Tab at the bottom:

Create Reports of Unsold Items

Print or view lists of Unsold Items sorted by disposition: Return, Donate, Destroy or Transfer to House Account.

Select Reports on the Main Menu, then Consignors:

Select the Disposition (Destroy, Donate, Return, Transfer) from the drop-down menu:

View or print the list by selecting one of the options under Print the Report, or View the Report in the Main Table using options under View the Report.

Tax Deduction

The shop may be able to take a tax deduction for items donated to charity if the shop's Consignment Agreement stipulates that items to be donated to charity first become the property of the shop. Documentation is required as to when and what charity organization received the property. It will be up to the shop to determine the estimated resale value and the charity level (not the consignment store price which would be higher). Please check with your tax preparer.

User-Defined Groups

BCSS Categorization

When a new item is entered in Inventory, it can be described and classified (categorized) using one or more of these:

• Category - a grouping of similar items - Categories can be very broad (Furniture, Clothing, Cars) or they can be more specific (Beds, Chairs, Sofas).
• Description - What is the item? (Jacket, Pants, Sofa). The Description appears on the Price Tag so it is limited to 20 characters.
• Details (describing the item) - 'Details' appear on Detailed Price Labels and Inventory Reports (up to 100 characters)
• User-Defined Groups - The User of the software 'defines' the Groups by giving the Groups names and assigning Members (classifiers) to the Groups. Group: Color; Members: Blue,Green,Red, then using Groups and Members to describe items.

User-Defined Groups

In BCSS, an Inventory Category can have 4 sub-categories (called 'User-Defined Groups') for more specific categorization of items. For example, the Category of Clothing could have (up to) 4 Groups from any of these: Color, Size, Type, Style, Maker, Designer, Season, Condition, Vintage, etc.

Each Group can have a number of 'Members'. The Group 'Color' could have Members like Black, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, etc.

When an Inventory Record is added or edited, and a Category is selected, BCSS presents the Groups (if the Category was 'associated' with Groups) and presents Members of each Group in drop-down menus for selection to describe the item in more detail.

In the example above, the selected Category is 'Clothing'.

The Clothing Category has been associated with the User-Defined Groups (Color, Designer, Season and Size).

Selecting the Category 'Clothing' changes the names of the User-Defined fields to the names of the Associated Groups (Color, Designer, Season and Size).

A Member may then be selected from each Group using the drop-down menus. In this example, the selections are Blue, Blass, Spring and Medium.

User-Defined Groups and their Members provide more detailed and accurate classification. Groups and Members also add uniformity to item description throughout the store by giving employees suggestions for descriptors.

Setting Up User-Defined Groups

On the Main Menu, select Inventory then User-Defined Groups:

...then select Group 1.

In the field to the right of 'Enter one Group Name (like Color) here:', enter a name for Group 1. For example, type the word Color.

In the field below that, type in names of Members (separated by commas, no spaces - like: red,blue,green - or copy/paste a list). It is very important not to enter spaces or periods for commas.

Note: For some Groups, you may wish to use abbreviations for Member Names to save time and space. For example, enter BF,PO,ZF for Button Front, Pullover, Zip Front.

Click on Create New Member(s)...

...then click on Save Changes Locally.

'Save Locally' save changes and the screen remains open for more editing. 'Save Globally' saves changes made on all UDG Screens without closing the UDG Screen.

It is not necessary to complete all 4 Groups, but if more Groups are desired -

Click on the button for Group 2:

Enter a name for the Group and enter Member Names (separated by commas, no spaces) and click Save Changes Locally.

Repeat these steps for Groups 3 and 4 if desired and when finished, select Save Changes Globally and click Exit.

On the Main Menu, select Inventory then User-Defined Groups then Group 1. Confirm that the entries are correct for Group 1. Repeat these steps for each Group.

Editing Group Names

To change a Group Name, select the Group:

Replace the existing name with the desired name and click the Save Edited Group Name Button:

The new name will be saved. The new name will appear on Add, Edit and Report Screens. The program must be restarted for the change to show under Inventory > User-Defined Groups.

Application - How to Use User-Defined Groups

Once Groups and Members are defined, one or more of the Groups can be associated with any Category. Then, when adding or editing an Inventory Record and selecting a Category, the Group(s) will be presented and Members may be selected (for Categories that have been associated with one or more Groups).

Associating Groups with Categories

BCSS needs to know which Groups to present for any Category selected, so Groups must by 'associated' with Categories.

Select Categories from the Inventory Menu:

Select a Category by clicking on it. (The row's background color will change to blue to signify that it has been selected.)

Check one or more Groups to 'associate' Groups with the Category. For example, checking Color associates the Group (Color) with the Category (Clothing).

One or more Groups may be associated with any Category. It is not necessary to assign any Groups or more than one Group.

If User-Defined Groups haven't been 'defined', the Groups will appear as above, 'User Defined Group 2', etc.

Click Save Changes.

To verify that the settings are correct, select a different Category (on this same screen) then select the Category that was associated with Groups again to confirm that the settings are correct and have been saved.

Click Exit when finished.

Test Settings

Press F3 to add a new inventory item and select a Consignor for the item. Note that the entry for Category is None. The User-Defined Fields are named 'Inventory Group 1', etc. because no Category has been selected. The names will remain the same if a Category is selected that has not been associated with Groups.

Select a Category that has been associated with Groups. In our example, Clothing is associated with Groups:

When the Category of Clothing is selected, the names of the User-Defined Fields change to the names of the Groups. For example, 'Inventory Group 1' changes to 'Color'.

Click on the blue arrow to the right of Color to select a color:

If desired, make selections from Groups 2, 3 and/or 4 to further describe the item.

Click OK to save changes.

Practical Application

Items in inventory can be grouped or isolated using User-Defined Groups and their Members.

For example, using the Clothing example, a list can be made of all items in inventory that are blue in color.

1. Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Inventory.
2. Select the color Blue:
   

   

3. Click 'View the Report' to view the list on screen or choose either of the print options (Print Detailed List, Print Brief List) to print preview and/or print the list. Only those items blue in color which have been associated with the color Blue will be in the list.

These are instructions for printing labels using BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual. (For BCSS Intro see Intro Price Labels and Intro Address Labels.)

Please refer to Adjust Label Print Position to see how to adjust margins and row height on price labels.

The following information about printing price labels on sheets of labels. See Thermal Labels for printing labels on rolls using thermal label printers.

BCSS Sheet Labels

A variety of labels may be printed with standard laser-style or dot-matrix printers:

Label Flexibility

Labels may be printed with document printers (common laser-style or dot matrix printers) using sheets of labels or with Thermal Printers on rolls of labels.

Settings may be made in BCSS to include or exclude Bar Codes, Date In, Discount Schedules and Disposal Codes.

Different Styles of labels are available on the Labels Screen to determine the type of label to be used:

• Bar Codes on Avery Stock, Small, Medium and Detailed (adhesive)
• Hang Tags (non-adhesive)
• Thermal (adhesive and non-adhesive)

Selecting a Label Style will also determine, in part, what information will appear on the label. Small labels will include less information than larger labels. Click on the links just above to view more information and examples of each style of label.

Bar Codes may be printed on Avery-style sheet of labels (and on thermal labels that are at least 2" wide except for the 1"-high label). Bar Codes will be printed on price labels by default. If bar codes are not desired, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes...' in Program Setup (Printers).

Date In, Discount Schedules and Disposal Codes can be printed on small and medium price labels and hang tags (using any inkjet, bubble jet or LaserJet printer). They can be printed on thermal labels (using a thermal printer). (Make selections in Program Setup, Inventory.)

Multiple labels may be printed for the same inventory item and for multiple consignors.

Unsold Merchandise

Secret Disposal Codes may be printed on labels so employees will know what to do with unsold items (but buyers won't). The codes can be changed periodically to avoid discovery.

General Label Instructions

Group Consignors or Buyers for address labels. Group inventory items to print labels. (instructions)

Test Print

When printing for the first time, print labels on a white sheet of paper and place the printed sheet over a blank sheet of labels and hold them up to light (squared) to verify that the print aligns with the labels. If so, print only one sheet of labels for a second verification. If that's OK, add more sheets of labels to the printer tray and finish printing.

If labels are not printing correctly, check settings in Program Setup (Printers) and check Left and Right Margin Settings on the Labels Screens (Main Menu, Labels). Most laser-style printers use margin settings (Left) 350 and (Top) 800. For 'All-in-One' fax/printer/copier/scanners, try settings of (Left) 350 and (Top) in the 1900 to 2100 range. For the Hewlett-Packard All-in-One: 1500

If the last column of labels is cropped with a left-margin setting of zero, try a negative number.

Partial Sheet of Labels

If a partial sheet of labels is being used, count the number of used labels on the sheet and set Print Labels from # (on the Labels Screens) to the next number. BCSS will skip the first used label locations and start printing on the first available label on the sheet. Remember to feed the partial sheet of labels with the used section first. Printers with dry feed rollers might have a problem with the slick paper surface.

Avoid Wasting Labels

Print enough labels to use the entire sheet (30 or 80 labels), or

Print enough labels to use full rows, then next time, reverse feed the partially-used sheet and print the remaining rows. Reverse feeding will also help to avoid paper jams and wasted labels, especially when using older printers whose paper feeds may have become inefficient.

Support for the TSC -TTP-225 and the Zebra 2824 Thermal Printer has been added to accommodate the number of Consignpro users converting to BCSS. Those printers print on 2"-wide labels in lengths of 1, 2, 3 or 4". Bar codes can be 'turned on' (in Program Setup, Printers). Also, the 'Tear-Off Font' adjustment in Program Setup doesn't apply to these smaller printers.

The TSC TDP-247 with its 4"-wide capacity allows for more label flexibility, including configurable price-label fonts.

About Thermal Price Labels

Direct thermal printers use a thermal printhead that applies heat to a chemically-treated paper, creating printed lines, text and graphics that make up the print on the label.

The new horizontal tags are cost and time efficient. There are 2550 labels on a roll of 4" x 1" tags costing about 1/2c per label. A black line across the back of non-adhesive labels (or the gap between sticky labels) forces the printer to print before moving forward, so there is no waste.

The printer isn't cheap but the cost per label is less than printing sheet labels in the long run because ink cartridges and ribbons are not required.

Laser printers are available for less than 1/4th the cost of a thermal printer, largely because ink suppliers figured out that by making the printers readily available, they would sell far more ink and these days, they don't put much ink in one cartridge, so if you're going to be doing a lot of labeling, thermal is the better way to go - less hassle - better-looking labels - more versatility - lower cost on volume printing.

The disadvantages are that direct thermal labels fade with age and will turn black if exposed to heat or strong sunlight - not typically concerns of consignment stores. Also, the printhead (~$100) must be replaced (albeit infrequently).

The following information pertains to the Zebra 2844 and labels used with that printer.

Zebra 2824/2844 Thermal Printer Setup

Connect the printer to the computer and configure it as per the instructions included in the printer's documentation.

By default the 2844 is in 'page mode' which is correct for the new FoxPro version of BCSS. Please make sure the printer is not in 'line mode'.

Also, check the spelling of the printer name in Control Panel/Printers. The name of the Zebra listing must be exactly Zebra  LP2844 (with 2 spaces between 'Zebra' and 'LP') . If the CD provided with the printer is used for installation, this spelling should be correct. In the more recent versions, the printer name is ZDesigner LP 2844.

Go to File, Program Setup and select Printers (not shown):

Select the TSC TDP-247, Zebra 2844 or 2824 from the drop-down menu. For the 2824, select the 2" width and the preferred length (1"-4"). When printing price tags, just select 'Thermal Labels' for Label Style on the Inventory Labels Screen.

If the printer isn't listed, the printer or printer driver may not be installed. Use the CD that came with the printer to install the driver or download the driver from:
TSC or Zebra.

Bar codes can be printed on non-adhesive labels that are 2"-3.5" wide, and on adhesive labels 2-4" wide.

Check which size label will be used. If 2" or 4"-wide (sticky) labels are selected, the 2844 will detect the length of the label (1", 2", 3" or 4") based upon the distance between the separations between labels. It is only necessary, when printing 2" or 4"-wide (sticky) labels to select 2"-wide or 4"-wide.

Click OK to save changes and exit setup.

Print Thermal Price Labels with Diamond or Virtual

Please follow the instructions for printing labels and select 'Thermal Labels' as the label style (on the Labels Screen).

Print Thermal Price Labels with or without Bar Codes

Each time a print job calls for a different label width, return to Program Setup and select the appropriate width.

Bar codes may be turned off for labels (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Print Thermal Price Labels with Batch-Inventory Entry

A Print Button has been added to the Batch-Enter Screen for Thermal Price Labels. Please see Batch Enter Inventory.

Print Thermal Price Labels with Discount Schedules

Discount Schedules may be printed on thermal labels greater than 1" in height. If the Discount Schedule is not printed, the Current Price will be printed.

2-Part Non-Adhesive Labels

As of version 5.1.3226 dated 8/16/09, the 2844 prints on 2-part labels (in sizes 2.75", 3" and 3.5") with configurable text size. (In Program Setup, Printers, set the font sizes for the 2 parts.).

Thermal Labels Used with BCSS Diamond and Virtual

• Adjust font sizes in Program Setup/Printers.
• All non-adhesive labels are perforated.
• Bar codes are optional. Turn them on/off in Program Setup/Printers.
• Bar codes may be printed on labels 2"-wide labels or greater.
• Print 2-part tear-off labels on non-adhesive 2.75", 3" and 3.5" labels.
• Print Discount Schedules on Thermal Labels more than 1" high.

Where to Purchase

BCW - Barcode Warehouse, Margie Benton, mbenton@barcodewarehouse.biz, 888-422-9249, 678-391-3560, Fax: 678-391-3561

MarkAT CC - markatcc@att.net, Kathleen, 888-947-7734. BCSS is not compensated for recommending MarkAT. We recommend them because several of our customers are pleased with their prices and service and they are familiar with our software requirements.

For other suppliers search Google using the label part #.

Print Address Labels for Consignors

Instructions for printing address labels for consignors are the same for BCSS Intro, Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual. (Diamond and Virtual also prints address labels for buyers using these same instructions.)

Address Labels are printed on 2 5/8" x 1" adhesive labels, 3 across, 10 down, 30 labels per sheet. The Avery Label #s are 5160 (LaserJet), 8460 (bubble jet) and  4144 (dot matrix).

Before attempting to print labels, in BCSS go to File, Program Setup, Printers and designate a printer for 'Print Documents'. A Document Printer is any laser-style or dot matrix printer that commonly prints on standard 8.5" x 11" letter-size paper. In BCSS, Consignment Agreements, Reports, Sales Receipts and sheets of Labels can be printed on standard letter-size paper.

Before attempting to print with BCSS, first confirm that the printer is working. Hold down the control key (now) and press P. On the next screen select your printer and click OK or Print. This page should print.

Identifying and Grouping Consignors for Address Labels

Any Consignor can be identified in BCSS by:

• Active or Inactive Status
• Birth Date
• Birth Month
• Should Receive Mailings
• Should Receive Sales Reports
• User Date (any date you wish)
• User Text (any text you wish)
• Unsold Item Disposal (return, donate, destroy, transfer to shop ownership)

Consignor activity in BCSS can also be used to identify Consignors:

• Account Balance
• Date of Last New Item
• Date of Last Sale
• Date of Last Settlement

Any combination of the above identifiers can be used to create a group or list of consignors for mailing labels.

Open the Address-Labels Screen

To access the Address-Labels Screen, select Labels on the Main Menu:

• With BCSS Intro, after clicking on Labels, select Address Labels.

For all BCSS editions, the Labels Screen will be presented. (Applicable sections of the Screen are shown below.)

Group Consignors for Labels

Tell BCSS exactly for whom Address Labels should be printed by making settings on the Address-Labels Screen.

Example 1: To print labels only for Active Consignors who are to receive Sales Reports, check Active Only and check Sales Reports:

Example 2: Print labels only for All Consignors with Account Balances between $50 and $200 - Check All. Check Account Balance and enter 50 and 200 in the From and To fields:

Account Balance must be checked for the $50-$200 range to apply.

Sort Print Output

Before printing, decide in which order the labels should be printed. Select from ID, Name, New-Item Date or Settlement Date to group the labels for orderly tagging:

Print the Labels

Select Mailing Labels on Avery Stock:

Labels will be displayed on a 'Print-Preview Screen'. If undesirable names appear or if some are missing, close this screen and change the settings to add or delete names, then preview again. If the labels are correct, use the Printer Icon to go to the Windows Print Setup Screen:

Test Print

Print one sheet of labels on a blank white sheet of paper (not a sheet of labels). Place that page over a blank sheet of labels, square them and hold them up to light to verify that the print aligns with the labels.

If the labels are printing correctly, shut the printer off and turn it back on to clear the print job. Repeat the printing steps above and print only one sheet of labels for a second verification. If that's OK, add more sheets of labels to the printer tray and finish printing.

Note: It might be better to feed one sheet of labels at a time to avoid the risk of paper jams, out of ink and other unsuspected interruptions to printing.

If labels are printing incorrectly -

1. Turn the printer off to stop the printing process.

2. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers. Click on the listing for your printer. Click on 'Document' then Stop Printing.

3. Turn the printer back on and clear the paper.

4. Change settings on the BCSS Labels screen to add or omit labels.

5. Use the Label Margins Adjustment Settings to properly align print position (and record these numbers for future reference): Most laser-style printers use margin settings (Left) 350 and (Top) 800-850. For 'All-in-One' fax/printer/copier/scanners, try settings of (Left) 350 and (Top) in the 1900 to 2100 range. For the Hewlett-Packard All-in-One: 1500

If the last column of labels is cropped with a left-margin setting of zero, try a negative number.

 (Large changes in these values are necessary to see noticeable changes in print position.)

6. Repeat these steps until the labels are printing correctly.

Partial Sheet of Labels

If a partial sheet of labels is being used, count the number of used labels on the sheet and set Print Labels from # to the next highest number. This will tell BCSS to skip the first used label locations and start printing on the first available label on the sheet. Remember to feed the partial sheet of labels with the used section first. Another method is to print only full rows of labels (if fewer than 30) then feed the unused end of the sheet of labels first to print the remaining labels.

The problem some printers might have is feeding a partially-used sheet correctly. An option is to print a number of labels that matches the number of labels remaining on the sheet and feed the sheet, unused end first.

Repeat Labels

For those addressees that are used repeatedly, consider downloading Microsoft's Address Labels Template from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC011832781033.aspx?CategoryID=CT102530721033. Enter the addresses once and save the file. Print the file as more labels are needed and/or store the printed labels in folder.

Tip:

If only a few labels are needed or the consignors for whom labels are needed can't be grouped or isolated using the available settings, edit each Consignor record by adding some unique text to the User Text field. Enter the word 'label' for example, then for report settings, enter 'label' (no quotes) in the User Text field. Only Consignor records marked with the unique User Text 'label' will be included.

This can also be done using the User Date field. Enter the same date for each Consignor then in report settings check User Date and enter the unique date. Only those consignors with that date in their User Date field will be included.

Group Labels

Print labels for a specific group (like utilities companies) by creating an Inactive Consignor Record for each member in the Group and marking each record with unique User Text.

Example:

It's time to pay bills and you need a mailing label for the phone company, the utility company, the landlord, etc.

Create a Consignor record for each company to be included in this group. Remove the check in the box for 'This Consignor is Active' and enter some unique text in the User-Text field, like 'utility' (without quotation marks):

Marking the records as 'Inactive' will prevent them from appearing in reports for 'Active Consignors Only'.

Print Labels for the Group

Click on Labels on the Main Menu to open the Labels screen.

It is not necessary to check 'Inactive Only' but enter 'utility' (without quotation marks) in the User-Text field:

and click Mailing Labels on Avery Stock to print:

Labels will be displayed on a 'Print-Preview Screen'. Use the Printer Icon to go to the Windows Print Setup screen:

If undesirable names appear or if some are missing, close this screen and change the settings to add or delete names, then preview again.

Hang Tags

(BCSS Intro only prints price tags on sheets of labels using laser-style or dot matrix printers.)

See Thermal Labels for printing hang tags using thermal printers.

Print Hang Tags on Sheets of Labels (with BCSS and a Laser-Style Printer)

Tear-Off Tags * On the Inventory Labels Screen, select Hang Tags (for Tag Style).

Hang Tags are printed with Laser-style (not dot matrix) printers. They are non-adhesive, perforated and are available with colored borders.

Bar Codes are printed on hang tags by default. If bar codes are not desired, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes...' in Program Setup (Printers).

(This is a new option in BCSS. If this option is not present in your program, it will be necessary to email support to have your program and database updated.)

Instructions for printing hang tags are the same as for printing sheets of labels. The difference is that after selecting the items for hang tags, the option to print hang tags is selected:

Hang Tags include Item ID (which is the Consignor ID plus Item #), Category, Description and Price. Options may be selected in Program Setup to include Date In, the Discount Schedule (prices only) and Disposal Codes. Bar Codes may be excluded by unchecking 'Check this box to include bar codes...' in Program Setup (Printers).

Multiple Labels for the Same Item

(These instructions apply to BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Print Multiple Labels for 1 Consignor

1. Click on Labels on the Main Menu then select Inventory.
2. Select the Consignor from the drop-down menu:

   

3. Check the Items # Range Box and enter the range of the items to be printed in the From and To Fields.

   

4. Select Label Style:

   

   (For thermal labels (with Diamond or Virtual), select Thermal Labels and press 'Print Price Labels'. The printer should begin to print the number of labels stipulated.)
5. Press Print Price Labels.

   

6. Preview the labels in the print preview screen and print if correct. (See Print Labels for further printing instructions.)

Print Multiple Labels or Hang Tags for One Item

1. In the Inventory Record of the item, set the Quantity to the number of labels desired. (If this number is different from the actual number of items in inventory, change the number back to the number of items in inventory after printing labels.)
2. Click on Labels on the Main Menu then select Inventory.
3. Select the Consignor from the drop-down menu:

   

4. Check the Item ID Box and enter the Item's ID # (not the entire Consignor ID) in both the From and To Fields.

   

   
   (For example, the Consignor ID for Gary Morrison might be 'Morr'. The Item ID would be Morr-1. Only the numbers of the item range is entered in the From and To Fields.)
5. Select Label Style:

   

   (For thermal labels (with Diamond or Virtual), select Thermal Labels and press 'Print Price Labels'. The printer should begin to print the number of labels stipulated.)
6. Press Print Price Labels.

   

7. Preview the labels in the print preview screen and print if correct. (See Print Labels for further printing instructions.)

Bar codes may be turned off for (not printed on) labels (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Price Labels

(Please see Intro Price Labels for printing price tags using BCSS Intro.)

Print Price Labels Using Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual

Price labels and hang tags (with or without bar codes) may be printed with most laser-style and dot matrix printers (on sheets of labels). (See About Labels for label sizes.)

Thermal price labels may be printed using BCSS Diamond or Virtual and the Zebra 2844 (or 2824) thermal printer. Bar codes may be printed on 1-across (not 2-across)  3" and 3.5" non-adhesive labels, and 4" adhesive labels. (See About Labels for label sizes. See Thermal Labels for information about thermal-labels printing.)

Bar codes may be turned off for (not printed on) labels (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Preparing the Laser and Dot Matrix Printer

Before attempting to print with BCSS and laser or dot matrix printers, first confirm that the printer is working. Hold down the control key (now) and press P. On the next screen select your printer and click OK or Print. This page should print. If not, please refer to your printer's documentation.

If the printer is functioning, in BCSS on the Main Menu, select File (then Program Setup):

Select Printers:

In the Print Price Tags section, use the drop-down menu to select the printer to be used to print price tags. If no printers are listed then no printer is installed on the computer. Refer to your printer's documentation, installation CD or it's manufacturer's website for instructions for installing the printer.

Under Price Tag Print Adjustment check 'Wide' for Laser-Style printers or check 'Narrow' for dot matrix printers.

Bar Codes will be printed on price labels by default. If bar codes are not desired, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes...'. (If this option is not present, it will be necessary to email support to have your program and database updated.)

Available Labels in BCSS

Price Labels may be printed with any combination of these descriptors: Category, Consignor, Date of Last Sale, Date In, Date Discounted, Item ID, Price or Price Range, Sales Location and 4 'User-Defined Groups'.

The labels may be small (1/2" x 1-3/4", 80 per sheet) or medium (1" x 2-5/8", 30 per sheet). They may be Detailed Labels or Hang Tags.

Which Labels to Print?

Price Labels may be printed for one or several consignors and/or inventory items.

Price Labels may be printed with any combination of Category, Consignor, Date of Last Sale, Date In, Date Discounted, Item ID, Price or Price Range, Sales Location and by 4 'User-Defined Groups'.

How to Print Labels

Select Labels on the Main Menu...

The Inventory Screen will be displayed by default.

Tell BCSS which labels to print by making settings on this page.

To include only items in stock that were checked in during September, 2009, check 'Quantity Greater Than 0' (to avoid printing labels for items that are not in inventory). Check the box named 'Date In' and enter the dates 9/1/2009 and 9/30/2009 in the From and To fields:

Note that boxes must be checked in order for settings to apply.

Sort Output By -

Select the order in which labels should be printed. This is helpful for matching labels with items:

Select the Label Style -

Click the Print Button:

If 'Bar Codes on Avery Stock' are selected, a screen will appear with bar-code options. (See Bar Code Labels.)

If 'Thermal Labels' is selected, labels will begin to print. (See Thermal Labels.)

For all other options (Detailed Labels, Hang Tags, Medium or Small Labels) pressing the print button presents the labels in a Print-Preview Screen. If the labels are correct, click the printer icon:

If possible, print only one page of labels at a time to avoid a number of printing problems: print interruption (power failure, cord unplugged, printer turned off, print job lost in printer buffer, out of ink or paper, paper jam). When attempting to print more than one page of labels, make sure there's ample paper and ink, that the printer is in 'like-new' condition, that dot matrix ribbons are fresh. Monitor multi-page print jobs and be ready to stop the printing process if a problem arise.

Windows Print Setup

The next screen to appear is the Windows Print Setup Screen. (It should not be necessary to change settings under 'Setup' on this screen, except to assure that Orientation is 'Portrait'.)

The settings should be:

• Name: The correct printer name should appear here.
• Size: Letter
• Page range: Current page (or All)
• Orientation: Portrait (Never 'As Preview')
• Number of copies: Normally 1

When settings are correct, press OK to start printing.

Troubleshooting

If labels are printing misaligned -

1. Turn the printer off to stop the printing process.

2. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers. Click on the listing for your printer. Click on 'Document' then 'Cancel'.

3. Turn the printer back on and clear the paper.

4. Change Print Settings to correct print position by changing the values under Avery Label Margins on the Labels Screen.

Large changes in numbers are necessary to see movement in print position. The settings of Left: 350 and Top: 300 are common settings for laser printers. For 'All-in-One' fax/printer/copier/scanners, try settings of (Left) 350 and (Top) in the 1900 to 2100 range. For the Hewlett-Packard All-in-One: 1500

If the last column of labels is cropped with a left-margin setting of zero, try a negative number.

Record settings in case BCSS is reinstalled in the future.

If labels for desired items are missing or labels appear for unwanted items -

1. Turn the printer off to stop printing.

2. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers. Click on the listing for your printer. Click on 'Document' then Cancel.

3. Turn the printer back on and clear the paper.

4. Change settings on the BCSS Labels Screen to add or omit labels.

As an alternative, if labels are missing from the set, print the labels that are present, then make settings on the Labels Screen to print labels for those items which were absent.

Print a Few Select labels

Print Labels on Sheets for Select Inventory Items

A new feature allows for the printing (or reprinting) of select labels for one or more consignors at the same time, even on a partially-used sheet of labels.

When reprinting labels, the Original Selling Price will be included on the label.

Procedures:

Select Labels from the Main Menu...

Select Inventory if that screen isn't showing.

Don't press this button!

Pressing the Select-Labels-To-Print button (lower right) would instruct BCSS to create a list of all items in inventory. That would take some time and would freeze computers with low RAM memory and slow processors (like laptops).

Before pressing that button, make settings on the Inventory Labels Screen to reduce the number of items to be listed.

General (Global) Settings:

Quantity Greater Than 0 (top center)

Checking Quantity Greater Than Zero will prevent the printing of labels for items not in inventory.

Label Quantity = Item Quantity (lower left)

Checking this option will print a number of labels for each item equaling the number of items inventory.

Print Select Labels for One Consignor  (Example: Print labels for items 1, 4 and 7)

1. Select the Consignor from the drop-down list:

   

2. Check Sort By Consignor (to order the list of items):

   

3. then press Select Labels to Print:

   

4. Check the items for which labels are to be printed.
5. Check Print and preview the labels. (If unwanted labels appear or if labels are missing, close the subscreens and adjust settings to exclude/include labels.)
6. When the list of labels is correct click the Printer Icon on the Top Menu Bar to proceed with the printing process:

   

Note:

• If Quantity Greater Than 0 is checked, items will not be included that are not in inventory.
• If Label Quantity = Item Quantity is checked, labels will be printed for the number of each item in inventory.

Print Select Labels for Multiple Consignors  (Example: Print a label for item SmithJ-1, a label for item JohnsonS-4, etc.)

Follow the example above but select All Consignors instead of one specific Consignor.

Print a Range of Labels for One Consignor

1. Select the Consignor:

   

2. Check Items # Range
3. Enter numbers only (not the entire Item ID like SmithJ-7 and SmithJ-11) in the From and To fields for the range of items to be printed:
   
   

   

Note:

• If Quantity Greater Than 0 is checked, items will not be included that are not in inventory.
• If Label Quantity = Item Quantity is checked, labels will be printed for the number of each item in inventory.

Print on a Partially-Used Sheet of Labels

A partially-used sheet of labels may be used so as to avoid wasting labels.

On the Inventory Labels screen (Main Menu, Labels, Inventory) enter the number of the next label available on a partial sheet of labels in the field named Print Labels From:

For example, if 13 labels have been used on the sheet, enter 14 in this field and feed the partial sheet of labels into the printer 'used end first'.

BCSS will skip the first 13 labels and begin printing on the 14th label.

Print 1 Label

Print 1 Label (or a few) Using Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual and Sheet Labels

If a new sheet of labels is being used, determine which label(s) to print by making settings on the Labels Screen and print. (See instructions.)

To print one or a few labels on a partially-used sheet of labels, make the appropriate settings on the Labels Screen to determine which labels to print then enter the number of the next available label on the sheet in the field to the right of 'Print Labels From #' and feed the partially-used sheet into the printer with the used end first. Example: If 11 labels have been used, enter the number 12. BCSS will begin printing on the 12th (next available) label and print the number of labels desired.

Print 1 Label (or a few) Using Diamond or Virtual and a Thermal Printer

One of the advantages of thermal tags is that they can be printed one at a time or by the thousands without concern for paper jams, out-of-ink errors, etc. (See Thermal Labels.)

Thermal Labels

(This feature is available in BCSS Diamond and Virtual.)

Support for the Zebra 2824 Thermal Printer has been added to accommodate the number of Consignpro users converting to BCSS. The 2824 prints on 2"-wide labels lengths of 1, 2, 3 or 4". Bar codes can be turned on/off (in Program Setup, Printers) for all lengths except 1". Also, the 'Tear-Off Font' adjustment in Program Setup doesn't apply to the 2824.

Otherwise, we recommend the TSC TDP-247 with its 4"-wide capacity allowing much more label flexibility, including configurable price-label fonts.

Please note: BCSS is configured to print horizontal (not vertical) thermal labels.

About Thermal Price Labels

Direct thermal printers use a thermal printhead that applies heat to a chemically-treated paper, creating printed lines, text and graphics that make up the print on the label.

The new horizontal tags are cost and time efficient. There are 1300 labels on a roll of 1" x 4" tags costing about 1c per label. A black line across the back of non-adhesive labels (or the gap between sticky labels) forces the printer to print before moving forward, so there is no waste.

The printer isn't cheap but the cost per label is less than printing sheet labels in the long run because no ink or ribbon is required.

Laser printers are available for less than 1/4th the cost of a thermal printer, largely because ink suppliers figured out that by making the printers readily available, they would sell far more ink and these days, they don't put much ink in one cartridge, so if you're going to be doing a lot of labeling, thermal is the better way to go - less hassle - better-looking labels - more versatility - lower cost on volume printing.

The disadvantages are that direct thermal labels fade with age and will turn black if exposed to heat or strong sunlight - not typically concerns of consignment stores. Also, the printhead (~$100) must be replaced (albeit infrequently).

The following information pertains to the Zebra 2844 and labels used with that printer.

Zebra 2844 Thermal Printer Setup

Connect the printer to the computer and configure it as per the instructions included in the printer's documentation.

By default the 2844 is in 'page mode' which is correct for the new FoxPro version of BCSS. Please make sure the printer is not in 'line mode'.

Also, check the spelling of the printer name in Control Panel/Printers. The name of the Zebra listing must be exactly Zebra  LP2844 (with 2 spaces between 'Zebra' and 'LP') . If the CD provided with the printer is used for installation, this spelling should be correct.

Go to File, Program Setup and select Printers (not shown):

Select the Zebra 2844 or 2824 from the drop-down menu. For the 2824, select the 2" width and the preferred length (1"-4"). When printing price tags, just select 'Thermal Labels' for Label Style on the Inventory Labels Screen.

If the printer isn't listed, the printer or printer driver may not be installed on the PC. Use the CD that came with the printer to install the driver or download the driver from Zebra:
http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/drivers_downloads/drivers.html?printerid=62.

Bar codes can be printed on non-adhesive labels that are 2", 2.75", 3" or 3.5" wide, and on adhesive labels 2-4" wide.

Check which size label will be used. If 2" or 4"-wide (sticky) labels are selected, the 2844 will detect the length of the label (1", 2", 3" or 4") based upon the distance between the separations between labels. It is only necessary, when printing 2" or 4"-wide (sticky) labels to select 2"-wide or 4"-wide.

Click OK to save changes and exit setup.

Print Thermal Price Labels with Diamond or Virtual

Inventory items may be batch entered but on the Batch-Enter Screen, there is no option to print thermal labels. (The options on the Batch-Enter Screen apply to sheets of labels.)

Please follow the instructions for printing labels and select 'Thermal Labels' as the label style (on the Labels Screen).

Print Thermal Price Labels with or without Bar Codes

Each time a print job calls for a different label width, return to Program Setup and select the appropriate width.

Bar codes may be turned off for labels (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Print Thermal Price Labels with Batch-Inventory Entry

A Print Button has been added to the Batch-Enter Screen for Thermal Price Labels. Please see Batch Enter Inventory.

Print Thermal Price Labels with Discount Schedules

Discount Schedules may be printed on thermal labels. If the Discount Schedule is not printed, the Current Price will be printed.

2-Part Non-Adhesive Labels

As of version 5.1.3226 dated 8/16/09, the 2844 prints on 2-part labels (in sizes 2.75", 3" and 3.5") with configurable text size. (In Program Setup, Printers, set the font sizes for the 2 parts.).

Thermal Labels Used with BCSS Diamond and Virtual

• Bar codes appear at the bottom of labels 2.75" wide or narrower.
• Bar codes are optional. Turn them on/off in Program Setup/Printers.
• Bar codes may be printed on labels 2"-wide or greater, and more than 1" high.
• Discount Schedules print on Labels more than 1" high and more than 2.25" wide.
• Font and label sizes are set in Program Setup/Printers.
• Non-adhesive labels are perforated.
• Tear-off labels (2-part) are not on adhesive labels and non-adhesive labels less than 2.75".
• Tear-off labels (2-part) are on non-adhesive 2.75", 3" and 3.5" labels.
• The tear strip has price, description and item #.

Where to Purchase

BCW - Barcode Warehouse, Margie Benton, mbenton at barcodewarehouse.biz, 888-422-9249, 678-391-3560, Fax: 678-391-3561 Above prices are as of 12/8/10 and are based upon 8 rolls per case.

MarkAT CC - markatcc at att.net, Kathleen, 888-947-7734.

BCSS is not compensated for recommending BCW or MarkAT. We recommend them because several of our customers are pleased with their prices and service and they are familiar with our software requirements.

For other suppliers search Google using the label part #.

Layaways

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Include Layaways in Settlements by checking 'Include Layaways in Settlements' in Program Setup, Consignors Tab. Consignors can be paid before all layaway payments have been received.

While Layaways and Accounts Receivable share the similarity of installment payments, Layaways differ in two respects:

• No interest is charged on the unpaid balance.
• Goods are not delivered until all installment payments have been made.

Entering a Layaway

Press F4 to start a new Layaway Sale.

After selecting a buyer (or closing the Buyer Screen without selecting a Buyer) the Sales Invoice will open with this box appearing at the bottom of the Invoice Screen:

Enter the payment schedule in the fields on the right under Enter Payments Below.

Enter the first payment and payment method:

When entering the remainder of payments, each box to the left of 'Pending' must be check.

For the second scheduled payment, for example:

1. Check the box to the left of 'Pending'.
2. Click the down arrow to the right of the date to use a calendar to select the next payment due date (or type the date in).
3. Replace 'Enter amount 2 here' with the anticipated amount of the 2nd payment.

Repeat for all scheduled payments. The total of the scheduled payments must equal the Total-Sale Amount. If so the 'Due field' will show zero.

Layaways are included in reports but not Employee Account Balances or in Employee Commissions. Upon completion of the Sale, Inventory and Employee Commissions are automatically updated along with data-tracking entries.

Managing Layaway Payments

To view only open layaway records, click on Layaways on the Main Menu then select Open.

Double click on a record to open its edit window.

For the next available payment block (Payment Method, Date and Amount Paid), under 'Enter Payments Below', Check Payment Method (if it is not checked).

Enter the date, select the payment method and enter the amount (in the 'Paid' Field).

The payment schedule and amounts can be altered.

Changing the payment method from 'Pending' to something else (Cash, Visa, etc.) causes BCSS to count that payment as made (when the Save/Close or Preview and Print buttons are pressed).

After entering a payment, opt to Preview and Print or click Close to save changes.

When all payments have been made, at the bottom of the View-Sale Screen, uncheck the box named 'This is a layaway. Remove this check when all payments have been collected'. At that point the sale is considered finalized for commission purposes and will be included in reports.

Altering the Payment Schedule

The Layaway Payment Schedule may be altered at any time.

Here's a common example:

Someone made a purchase totaling $117 and made an initial payment of $66 with plans to pay increments of $20, $20 and $11 in the future. (The future dates aren't important.)

He or she decides on November 17th to pay that scheduled payment of $20 plus the last scheduled payment of $11:

1. For the scheduled $11 payment, change $11 to $0.
2. Change Pending to Select One.
3. It is not necessary to uncheck Payment Method.
4. For the November 17th payment, change $20 to $31.
5. Change Pending to the method of payment used (Cash in this example).
6. Click Save/Close or Preview and Print to save changes.
7. Close the screen and reopen the layaway record to verify that changes have been saved.

Layaway Quick Reports

Go to the Layaways on the Main Menu to view Open, Closed, Expiring and Past-Due Layaways. Make selections. Results will appear in the Main Table in BCSS.

Other Layaway Reports

On the Main Menu, select Reports:

...then double click on Sales:

Reports here may be printed, or they may be viewed on screen in the BCSS Main Table. (See Reports for how to create Reports.)

Reports can include or exclude Current Layaways. Reports can include only Current Layaways. Choose those options by checking or unchecking these boxes:

Printers and BCSS

BCSS is compatible with most laser, inkjet, bubble jet and dot matrix printers.

About Printer Drivers

A 'driver' is software that converts data to be printed to a form the printer recognizes. Like any software, drivers sometimes become corrupted or lost and need to be reinstalled.

When basic troubleshooting steps don't resolve printing issues, click on one of these links to locate the printer driver:

• Epson Receipt Printer
• Hewlett-Packard Support and Drivers
• POS-X EVO Thermal Receipt Printer
• POS-X XR210 Impact Receipt Printer
• Zebra Thermal Printers

With BCSS Intro Print:

• Address Labels
• Checks (1 per page or 3 per page)
• Lists of Consignors, Sales and Settlements
• Labels on a partially-used sheet of labels
• Price Labels (one per item - Information must be reentered each time labels are needed.)
• Reports (details about your business)
• Sale Invoices (Receipts) on 8.5" x 11" paper

With BCSS Deluxe, Diamond, and Virtual print these additional items:

• Bar Codes
• Hang Tags
• Lists of Inventory, Disbursements and Checks
• Lists of Buyers and Employees (Diamond and Virtual)
• 3" Multi-Ply Receipts using a Receipt Printer
• Multiple Price Labels for Same Item
• Reprint Price Labels for Existing Items
• Thermal Price Tags (Diamond or Virtual using Thermal Printers)

Document Printers

These are typically laser-style printers (inkjet, bubble jet, LaserJet) and dot-matrix printers that print on 8.5" x 11" paper.

Laser-Style Printers

Laser-style printers are the most common. They may be used with BCSS to print sales receipts on 8.5" x 11" but that may be a waste of paper and some store owners feel this style of receipt doesn't present a good image. Ink is also expensive so many stores use a special 'receipt printer' to print cheaper and more attractive 3" sales receipts (which may be printed in duplicate).

Dot Matrix Printers

A dot matrix printer or impact matrix printer refers to a type of printer with a print head that runs back and forth over the paper and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like a typewriter. Unlike a typewriter or daisy wheel printer, letters are drawn out of a 'dot matrix' allowing varied fonts and arbitrary graphics. Because the printing involves mechanical pressure, these printers can create carbon copies.

Printing Receipts with Laser and Dot Matrix Printers

Laser and Dot Matrix printers print receipts (sales invoices) on full sheets of 8.5" x 11" paper. This is an example of the upper portion of the BCSS Sales Receipt:

While this method is convenient (no special setup, printers already in place and/or cheaper than thermal printers) and produces a professional-looking receipt, it can be the most costly in the long run because ink cartridges are expensive, more so if 2 copies of invoices are necessary. As seen below, special receipt printers cost more initially but use printing technologies (ink ribbon or thermal) that avoid laser-style ink cartridges.

Receipt Printers

Receipt printers can be dot-matrix-impact or thermal. They do not use ink cartridges.

A receipt printer prints one or multiple copies of a receipt (on 3" roll paper) showing the details of the sale: date, items, quantity, price, subtotal, tax, total amount.

A dot-matrix-impact printer uses the older technology of ink ribbon and the impact of a printer head against the ribbon to place ink on the paper. The 'impact' does make it possible to use 3-ply paper and multiple ink colors are available. There some (negligible) noise during printing.

A thermal printer uses thermal heat to apply ink to paper. Printing is silent. Copies of the receipt may be printed by reprinting the sale.

A cash drawer can be connected to a receipt printer. When a receipt is printed, the cash drawer is opened. (The POS-X drawer may be connected directly to the PC for operation without a receipt printer.) A cash drawer and receipt printer emulate a cash register.

BCSS will generally work with most receipt printers and has been configured specifically for the POS-X XR210 Impact Printer and the EVO Thermal Printer. BCSS has also been tested with the Epson TM-U220, the Star TSP 600/700, SP212 and DP8340). All printers are available from BCSS. Prices include manuals and shipping.

The easiest way to determine if a receipt printer (other than those mentioned) will work with BCSS is to install the printer, select the printer in BCSS Program Setup (Printers) and test it. If the printer doesn't work, confirm that the printer works with a test print then contact support to have the printer driver added to BCSS (for $79).

Receipt Printer Setup

Receipt printers are shipped with manuals explaining how to setup them up and use them. They should be used with USB ports for best performance. The cable should be tested with another piece of hardware to assure that it is functional.

In BCSS, go to File, Program Setup, Printers and select the printer to be used for printing receipts.

Font size can be adjusted for Headers and Text by changing the values for Receipt Printer Settings in Program Setup, Printers.

Laser Printers

Printing with BCSS

BCSS prints price and address labels, invoices and reports using any laser, inkjet, bubble jet or dot matrix printer.

Purchasing Printers

Hewlett Packard printers are known for their dependability.

Buy from Dell Computers for added support and for possible free shipping. Shop online and have equipment delivered to your door.

Service? If something goes wrong, Dell will have a technician come to your place of business within 2 business days to get you going again. Sales and service are excellent.

Printing Labels

If you don't need color printing capability, purchase any low-end black-and-white with a paper feed. For a few dollars more, purchase HP's 5510 All-in-One copier-fax-printer-scanner. These may be purchased from Dell in conjunction with the purchase of a new PC and shipping may be free if the total order exceeds a stipulated amount.

Labels and prices are available from Markat CC, markatcc@att.net, Toll Free 888-947-7734.

If hundreds or thousands of price tags are to be printed, consider purchasing a Thermal Printer. It does not use ink and allows labels to be printed one at a time or 2 across.

Save on Printer Ink

Considerable savings can be achieved by purchasing refilled cartridges. They are available for about $5 each on WWW. Google for cartridge refills plus the printer's make and model number.

Laser/inkjet cartridge refills don't have the chip that OEM cartridges have so the chip can be taken from an OEM cartridge and put on the replacement. The printer might detect the switch and act like it won't work but it does. A message might appear saying that the printer can't detect when the cartridge or it is low on ink (and that the printer will be damaged if the cartridge runs out of ink). It has been observed that this might work for a refill or two but a new cartridge will eventually be needed.

POS-X Receipt Printers

• If bar codes are not printing on labels, remember:
  • Bar codes must be assigned.
  • Bar codes must be 'on' in Program Setup.
• If printing price tags, labels will not be printed for items not in stock if 'Quantity Greater Than 0' is checked (Main Menu, Labels, Inventory).
• Invalid characters in the Consignor ID have been known to misalign label print. Don't use punctuation in Consignor IDs.

Print Professional-Looking Receipts with BCSS and POS-X EVO Thermal Receipt Printer

BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual support receipt printers. Intro does not. (View a sample receipt.)

The EVO Thermal Receipt Printer 'silently prints' 1-ply receipts using thermal heat technology. On the BCSS Sales Invoice Screen, selecting 'Save, Preview, Print' prints the receipt. The printer has a jam-free autocutter. It has swappable interface cards and drop-in paper loading. (Brochure) (Driver) (Forum) (Manual) (Support/Repair Requests) (3-Year Warranty)

Each printer is shipped with a manual, sample roll paper, a USB cable and an AC power adapter. Shipping is free in the lower 48 states and Canada. Additional shipping charges may apply elsewhere.

Printer Support

We support our software. POS-X supports their printer.

BCSS printer support ends with configuring BCSS to work with the printer. We will also assist with replacing faulty printers (within 30 days of purchase) and warranty claims (after 30 days of purchase).

POS-X printer support begins after BCSS has been configured correctly. Please refer to the printer's manual for setup, configuration and use. (The manual may be viewed online at http://www.pos-x.com/downloads/EVO-RP1_MANUAL.pdf.) POS-X support may be reached at http://www.pos-x.com/request.aspx and 800-790-8657 .

Installation Notes:

• The printer connects to the PC via USB. During installation change the Printer Port to USB. (See Printer Self Test if the printer isn't working.)
• The name of the EVO printer is 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER'. That will name appear during installation and in the Control Panel under printers.

Installation Procedures:

Setting up the Receipt Printer in BCSS

BCSS needs to know which printer will be used for printing receipts. The printer can be a standard laser-style printer (for full-page receipts) or a receipt printer (for 3" roll-paper receipts).

1. Open BCSS.
2. Click on File on the Main Menu (then Program Setup):

   

   
   Click on Printers:
   
   

   

3. To the right of Print Receipts use the drop-down menu and select 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER'.
4. Click Save/Exit.
5. Test the printer with BCSS by going to the Sales Work Area, selecting a sale then choosing Print Sale in the Sales-Work-Area Menu (lower left). A receipt should print.

Printer Self Test

To test print a receipt:

1. Go to the Control Panel and click on Printers. ((If there is no listing, download/install the printer from http://www.pos-x.com/downloads/Thermal.exe.)
2. Right click on 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER'.
3. Select Properties.
4. On the General tab, click 'Print Test Page'.

If self-test doesn't work make sure the printer is turned on and paper is properly installed. (See the manual for proper installation.) If there is a problem call POS-X support at 800-790-8657 or complete a service request at http://www.pos-x.com/request.aspx.

Reinstalling the EVO Printer Driver

1. Download the printer driver from http://www.pos-x.com/downloads/Thermal.exe and save it to the Desktop.
2. Reboot.
3. Be sure the printer is connected to the PC with a functional cord, is on and has paper.
4. Double click on printer-driver installation file (Thermal.exe) to start the driver installation process and press Run on the screen that appears. (Your PC may pause for several seconds as it initializes the installation process.)
5. Click on the listing entitled 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER' then click on Installation (lower left).
6. Select your Windows edition.
7. Change the Printer Port to USB.
8. Click OK.
9. Uncheck 'Do you want to Set Default Printer' and click OK.
10. Finish the installation and reboot.
11. Run the Self Test above to confirm that the printer is working.
12. Attempt to print a receipt in BCSS.

Troubleshooting the EVO Thermal Receipt Printer

1. Turn the computer and printer off.
2. Turn the computer and printer on. If print jobs were waiting in the print queue they will print. (See Printer Was Working below.)

   If the problem persists:

   1. Make sure the printer is connected, turned on, has paper, ink and no paper jams.
   2. Go to Start, Control Panel, Printers. If your printer is not listed in Control Panel/Printers, see Reinstalling the EVO Printer Driver.
   3. Run a test print. (See the manual.)
   4. If the self test fails, test the cable (which connects the printer to the PC) with another piece of hardware that is known to work, or try another cable then self test again.
   5. In Control Panel, Printers, delete any printers that aren't being used.
   6. In the Control Panel, click on Device Manager and verify that there are no conflicts (yellow circles with black exclamation points). If there are, click on Start then Help and Support. Search Windows Help for 'conflicts'.
   7. In Control Panel, Printers, right click no 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER' and select 'Properties'. Click on the Ports tab. Make sure the port setting is USB. If it is not, reinstall the printer and select USB during the installation.
   8. XP Pro, Vista and Windows 7 have 'Power Management'. If the printer has to be turned off and on to resume printing, try disabling power management on USB ports:
      1. Right click on My Computer and go to Properties.
      2. Click the Hardware Tab then Device Manager.
      3. Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
      4. Double click the first USB Root Hub and go to the Power Management Tab.
      5. Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.
      6. Do this from all USB Root Hubs.

If there's continued failure, the printer could be defective but before the delay of returning it or having it shipped for warranty repair, have a local technician test the printer. Often minor things are overlooked like printer connection, port settings, paper loading and jams, and correct configuration. If a functional printer is returned for replacement or warranty, the hardware distributor will ask that you cover all costs (which can be over $100).

Problem: The printer was working. Now it isn't. Receipts print when the printer is turned off and back on.

Cause: Windows may be confused about what to do with print jobs: Print them right away or print them later.

Solution:

1. Go to Control Panel and select Printers.
2. RIGHT click on VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER. (That's the EVO Thermal Printer).
3. Select Properties.
4. Click the Advanced tab.
5. Check 'Print directly to the printer'.
6. Click Apply and OK.
7. Retry printing a receipt in BCSS.

Zebra LP 2844

(Thermal printing is available in BCSS Diamond and Virtual.)

The Zebra 2824 Thermal Printer was recently configured for BCSS to accommodate the number of Consignpro users converting to BCSS. Otherwise, we recommend the Zebra LP 2844 with its 4"-wide capacity which provides much more label flexibility. The 2824 prints on 2"-wide labels.

BCSS now supports Zebra TLP printers.

Printer Reset When the Zebra 'acts up', try this: Turn the printer off. Hold the feed button down and turn it back on. When printing starts, release the feed button. When printing stops, press the feed button several times to dump the print queue. Another way to do this is to turn the printer off. Go to Control Panel then Printers. Click on the Zebra listing then click on Printer and select 'Clear All Documents. Restart the print and attempt to print again.

The Zebra Direct Thermal LP 2844 Label Printer

Direct Thermal Printers use a thermal print head that applies heat to a chemically-treated paper, creating lines, text and graphics. The labels are up to 4" wide with 4 pips and 203 dpi.

The disadvantages of thermal labels are that they fade with age and will turn black if exposed to heat or strong sunlight (not a concern to most consignment stores), and the print head must also be replaced periodically.

In BCSS the Zebra is used to print price tag labels which may be printed a few at a time as needed, so labels are not wasted.

Outdated thermal labels use 'notches' to advance labels through the printer. There are only 500 sets of two tags on these older 2-across rolls. Tags are wasted because a minimum of 2 tags must be printed each time.

The new Horizontal Tags are cost and time efficient. They have 1300 1" x 4" labels on a roll. The printer is forced to print before moving forward, so there is no waste.

Zebra USB Installation

Please read these instructions carefully before attempting to install or connect the printer to the computer.

1. Remove the Zebra printer and power supply from the box.
2. Connect the power supply and a USB cable to the printer.
3. Turn the printer ON.
4. Put the Installation CD into the CD-ROM or CD-RW drive.
5. Connect the printer to the computer with the USB cable.
6. The New Hardware Wizard will appear on screen. (Sometimes a screen will appear asking if you want Windows to connect to the Internet. Click NO then click Next.)
7. Accept the default on the following screen and click Next.
8. The Wizard will locate and install the printer driver.
9. The Hardware Installation dialog box will appear.
10. Click 'Continue Anyway' to complete the driver install.
11. Click Finish on the next screen.
12. A popup will appear stating the new hardware has been installed and is ready to use.

Follow the instructions immediately below for configuring the printer with BCSS.

Configuring the Zebra with BCSS

By default the 2844 is in 'page mode' which is correct for the new FoxPro version of BCSS. Please make sure the 2844 is not in 'line mode'.

1. Turn the printer off.
2. Hold down the feed button.
3. Turn the printer on.
4. When the indicator light flashes, release the feed button.
5. The printer advances several labels and prints a status page.
6. Check the 3rd line of the printout to see which mode is active.
7. Press the feed button to exit dump mode and return to normal operation.

Also, check the spelling of the printer name in Control Panel/Printers. The name of the Zebra listing must be exactly Zebra  LP2844 (or 2824) (with 2 spaces between 'Zebra' and 'LP') . If the CD provided with the printer is used for installation, this spelling should be correct.

Bar codes may be turned off for (not printed on) labels (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Thermal Printer Setup in BCSS

On the Main Menu, select File (then Program Setup):

Select Printers:

Select the Zebra LP2844 (or 2824) from the drop-down menu to the right of 'Print Thermal Price Labels (Print Price Tags in older versions of BCSS). If the printer isn't listed, the printer or printer driver may need to be installed. (Get Zebra Printer Drivers.)

For the 2844, check if 2-across labels will be printed on 4" paper. Bar codes cannot be printed on these narrow labels. Bar codes can be printed on labels that are2" to 4" wide.

Check which size label will be used.

Click OK to save changes and exit setup.

These are Label Printing Options using BCSS and the Zebra printer. Make these selections in Program Setup, Printers:

• Disposal Codes: Set 'secret codes' to be printed on labels to let store employees (but not buyers) know the disposition of each unsold item.
• Print Discount Schedules or not.
• Print bar codes or not.

Power off the printer now and then to refresh.

Printing Labels with the Zebra Printer

Tags for the 2844

Please see Thermal Labels.

Troubleshooting

Prices Don't Appear on the Label

If the Discount Schedule is being printed on the price label, it is because 'Show discount price schedule on pricing labels' in selected in Program Setup, Inventory. The first price in the Discount Schedule is the Current Price.

There isn't enough space to print both price (only) and the discount schedule on the same line. To show price only, uncheck the option to print the Discount Schedule.

Printer Doesn't Work

By default the 2844 is in 'page mode' which is correct for the new FoxPro version of BCSS. Please make sure the 2844 is not in 'line mode'.

1. Turn the printer off.
2. Hold down the feed button.
3. Turn the printer on.
4. When the indicator light flashes, release the feed button.
5. The printer advances several labels and prints a status page.
6. Check the 3rd line of the printout to see which mode is active.
7. Press the feed button to exit dump mode and return to normal operation.

Also, check the spelling of the printer name in Control Panel/Printers. The name of the Zebra listing must be exactly Zebra  LP2844 (or 2824) (with 2 spaces between 'Zebra' and 'LP') . If the CD provided with the printer is used for installation, this spelling should be correct.

If the printer doesn't print after it has been plugged in, connected to the computer, and has paper loaded, please go to Start, Control Panel, Printers to see if the printer is listed. If not please follow these steps to install the printer driver:

1. Be sure the printer is connected to the PC with a functional cord, is online and has paper.
2. Verify the port setting: Go to Start, Control Panel, Printers and right click on the printer. Click on the Ports Tab and verify that the ESD or USB port is selected.
3. Click on this link to download the printer driver: http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/drivers_downloads/drivers.html?printerid=62.
4. The procedure that ensues may differ from driver to driver but basically after the download is finished:
5. Opt to unzip the downloaded file.
6. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
7. During the installation, select the correct model number and select a USB port for printer connection to the PC.
8. On the final installation screen, remove the check in the box for 'Launch installation of Zebra Font Downloader Setup Wizard'.
9. When 'Finish' is pressed, the driver files will be installed.
10. Run the Font Loader installer.
11. Confirm that the printer installed by going to the Control Panel and clicking on Printers.
12. Open BCSS.
13. Click on File on the Main Menu (then Program Setup):

    

    Click on Printers:

    

14. Select the thermal printer from the drop-down menu. If the printer isn't listed, the printer or printer driver may need to be installed. (TSC or Zebra)

    

    For the 2844, check if 2-across labels will be printed. Bar codes cannot be printed on these narrow labels. Bar codes can be printed on labels that are 2" to 4" wide.

    Check which size label will be used.

15. Click OK to save changes and exit setup.

User Hint: Power off the printer now and then to refresh.

Printing with BCSS

(For BCSS Intro price labels, please see Intro Price Labels.)

Please note: When using any printer on a network, it is necessary to turn Networking and Sharing on and allow BCSS through the firewall (if any).

Print all of the following with BCSS Intro, Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual -

Address Labels - Print one at a time or 30 per sheet of 1" x 2-5/8" labels using a standard laser or dot matrix printer.

Checks - Print 1 or 3 per page - one at a time or in batch.

Consignment Agreements - auto-filled with buyer and shop information

Invoices (Sales Receipts) - Print 1 or more copies of the Sales Receipt using laser/dot matrix or Special Receipt Printers (Impact or Thermal). Lasers print on 8.5" x 11" paper and Receipt Printers print on 3" wide rolls of paper. The latter is more cost efficient and may make a better impression on customers.

Price Labels -

Intro - See Intro Price Labels for printing price labels on sheets of labels using Intro.

Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual - A variety of price labels may be printed:

• Small price labels (1/2" x 1 3/4") on sheets of Avery-style labels
• Medium price labels (1" x 2 5/8") on sheets of Avery-style labels, with or without bar codes
• Hang tags (1" x 4" 16 colors plus white) on 8.5" x 11" sheets, with or without bar codes
• Horizontal Thermal Tags with BCSS Diamond or Virtual and thermal printers, (non-adhesive 2.25"-3.5"; adhesive 2" and 4"), with or without bar codes

Reports - which are simply lists of information. They can be about any information that is stored in BCSS - a list of birthdays, sales for the day/week/month/year, names and addresses, settlements, disbursements - anything.

Bar codes may be turned off for (not printed on) labels (Program Setup, Printers, Uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths).

Print Bar Codes on Sheet Labels with Laser Printer

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual. See Intro Price Labels.)

See Print Thermal Labels for printing labels using Thermal Printers.

Print Price Labels with Bar Codes on Sheets of Labels

Printer Setup

Price labels (with or without bar codes) can be printed on sheets of labels using any laser-style or dot matrix printer.

On the Main Menu, select File (then Program Setup - not shown):

Select Printers:

To the right of Print Documents (which includes sheets of labels), select your Document Printer (typically a standard laser/ink/bubblejet printer) and click Save/Exit. Test the printer with another program to make sure the printer is working, then attempt to print labels in BCSS on plain white paper first.

(A 'Document Printer' is typically a laser-style or dot matrix which prints labels, reports,
checks, consignment agreements, notes, etc. on 8.5" x 11" paper or sheets of labels.)

Under Price Tag Print Adjustment near the bottom, Label Width is set by default for laser-style printers. Change to 'Narrow' width if using a dot matrix printer:

Click Save/Exit to save settings and exit.

Print Labels

Please follow the instructions in Price Labels. Remember to assign bar codes to new inventory items before attempting to print bar codes for those items.

Bar codes are optional on labels. (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Adjust Print Position

Printer Configuration

Enter information in BCSS about printers on the Printers tab, (File, Program Setup):

Select which printer(s) will be used to print -

• Documents - labels and reports on 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper
• Receipts - full-page or multi-ply sale receipts
• Price Tags - thermal or Avery-style (laser printer)

Select the Inventory Tab in Program Setup.

Select settings for laser-style (Wide Format) or dot matrix printers (Narrow Format) and choose to show Discount Price and 'Date In' on price labels or not:

Print Adjustment - Address and Price Labels - Laser or Dot Matrix Printers

Access screens for printing address or price labels by selecting Labels on the Main Menu:

Select Consignors (or Buyers in BCSS Diamond and Virtual) to print Address Labels or select Inventory to print Price Labels.

If labels are printing too far left or right or down the page, change settings for Left, Top and Row Space in the boxes on the lower-left of the screen.

Under Avery Label Margins increase the value for Left to move print position further to the right. Decrease the value to move print position left.

		Large changes are necessary to see significant changes in print position. Some printers will require a negative number for correct printing. (The value could be as much as -300 to -900.) Record correct settings for future reference. (Settings will be lost if Windows is reinstalled.)

Under Avery Label Row Space increase the value for Row Spacing to widen the space between label rows and decrease the value to make rows closer together. The default value is 13 (pixels).

Most laser-style printers use margin settings (Left) 350 and (Top) 800-850.

• For All-in-One fax/printer/copier/scanners: Left: 350 Top: 1900 to 2100
• HP Printers in General: Left: 350 Top: 500-800
• HP All-in-One: Left: 350 Top: 1500
• HP J4580 OfficeJet: Left: -800 Top: 850

Print Bar Codes on Sheet Labels with Laser Printer

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual. See Intro Price Labels.)

See Print Thermal Labels for printing labels using Thermal Printers.

Print Price Labels with Bar Codes on Sheets of Labels

Printer Setup

Price labels (with or without bar codes) can be printed on sheets of labels using any laser-style or dot matrix printer.

On the Main Menu, select File (then Program Setup - not shown):

Select Printers:

To the right of Print Documents (which includes sheets of labels), select your Document Printer (typically a standard laser/ink/bubblejet printer) and click Save/Exit. Test the printer with another program to make sure the printer is working, then attempt to print labels in BCSS on plain white paper first.

(A 'Document Printer' is typically a laser-style or dot matrix which prints labels, reports,
checks, consignment agreements, notes, etc. on 8.5" x 11" paper or sheets of labels.)

Under Price Tag Print Adjustment near the bottom, Label Width is set by default for laser-style printers. Change to 'Narrow' width if using a dot matrix printer:

Click Save/Exit to save settings and exit.

Print Labels

Please follow the instructions in Price Labels. Remember to assign bar codes to new inventory items before attempting to print bar codes for those items.

Bar codes are optional on labels. (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Print Receipts (Sales Invoices)

All BCSS editions (Intro, Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual) print Sale Receipts (Invoices) on letter-size paper. Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual print 3"-wide receipts using the EVO Thermal Receipt Printer.

Print Sales Receipts (Invoices) on Letter-Size Paper

This is an example of the top portion of the BCSS Sales Receipt (printed with a laser-style or dot matrix printer on letter-size (8.5" x 11") paper):

The full-sheet Excel-style invoice is presentable but ink and paper usage make this form of receipt more costly than the 3" receipt when hundreds of receipts are printed.

Print 3"-Wide Sales Receipts on Roll Paper

Sales receipts may be printed using a 'Receipt Printer' which is designed to print sales receipts on 3" roll paper. (The paper may be in 1, 2 or 3-ply - 1, 2 or 3 copies when using impact printers.)

The store information entered In BCSS (Program Setup, General tab) will appear on the sales receipt. The email-address and website fields can be blank or they can contain any information, like "All Sales Final", "Thank you for shopping with us", etc. Go to Control Panel, Printers. Right click on 'VENDOR THERMAL PRINTER' and select Properties for settings like printing multiple copies of the receipt and making the print lighter/darker, etc. (See the printer manual.)

Print Receipts at POS

Follow the instructions for completing a New Sale, then press the Save, Preview, Print button:

For 3" receipts, the receipt will print and the cash drawer will open. (Refer to the printer manual for how to print multiple copies of the receipt at POS.)

For full-page receipts, a Print-Preview Screen will open displaying the Sales Invoice.

If the Invoice is correct, press the Print Button to print...

...and complete the Windows printing process.

Print Post-Sale Receipts

Print a receipt anytime after a sale has been recorded.

Select Sales in the Work-Areas Menu:

Select Print Sale from the Sales Menu (not shown):

For full-page receipts, if the Invoice Print Preview is correct, press the Print Button to print...

...and complete the Windows printing process.

Price Labels

(Please see Intro Price Labels for printing price tags using BCSS Intro.)

Print Price Labels Using Deluxe, Diamond or Virtual

Price labels and hang tags (with or without bar codes) may be printed with most laser-style and dot matrix printers (on sheets of labels). (See About Labels for label sizes.)

Thermal price labels may be printed using BCSS Diamond or Virtual and a thermal printer. Bar codes may be printed on 1-across (not 2-across) 2.25", 3" and 3.5" non-adhesive labels, and 2" and 4" adhesive labels. (See About Labels for label sizes. See Thermal Labels for information about thermal-labels printing.)

Bar codes may be turned off for (not printed on) labels (In Program Setup, Printers, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes on appropriate price tag widths').

Preparing the Laser and Dot Matrix Printer

Before attempting to print with BCSS and laser or dot matrix printers, first confirm that the printer is working. Hold down the control key (now) and press P. On the next screen select your printer and click OK or Print. This page should print. If not, please refer to your printer's documentation.

If the printer is functioning, in BCSS on the Main Menu, select File (then Program Setup):

Select Printers:

In the Print Price Tags section, use the drop-down menu to select the printer to be used to print price tags. If no printers are listed then no printer is installed on the computer. Refer to your printer's documentation, installation CD or it's manufacturer's website for instructions for installing the printer.

Under Price Tag Print Adjustment check 'Wide' for Laser-Style printers or check 'Narrow' for dot matrix printers.

Bar Codes will be printed on price labels by default. If bar codes are not desired, uncheck 'Check this box to include bar codes...'. (If this option is not present, it will be necessary to email support to have your program and database updated.)

Available Labels in BCSS

Price Labels may be printed with any combination of these descriptors: Category, Consignor, Date of Last Sale, Date In, Date Discounted, Item ID, Price or Price Range, Sales Location and 4 'User-Defined Groups'.

The labels may be small (1/2" x 1-3/4", 80 per sheet) or medium (1" x 2-5/8", 30 per sheet). They may be Detailed Labels or Hang Tags.

Which Labels to Print?

Price Labels may be printed for one or several consignors and/or inventory items.

Price Labels may be printed with any combination of Category, Consignor, Date of Last Sale, Date In, Date Discounted, Item ID, Price or Price Range, Sales Location and by 4 'User-Defined Groups'.

How to Print Labels

Select Labels on the Main Menu...

The Inventory Screen will be displayed by default.

Tell BCSS which labels to print by making settings on this page.

To include only items in stock that were checked in during September, 2009, check 'Quantity Greater Than 0' (to avoid printing labels for items that are not in inventory). Check the box named 'Date In' and enter the dates 9/1/2009 and 9/30/2009 in the From and To fields:

Note that boxes must be checked in order for settings to apply.

Sort Output By -

Select the order in which labels should be printed. This is helpful for matching labels with items:

Select the Label Style -

Click the Print Button:

If 'Bar Codes on Avery Stock' are selected, a screen will appear with bar-code options. (See Bar Code Labels.)

If 'Thermal Labels' is selected, labels will begin to print. (See Thermal Labels.)

For all other options (Detailed Labels, Hang Tags, Medium or Small Labels) pressing the print button presents the labels in a Print-Preview Screen. If the labels are correct, click the printer icon:

If possible, print only one page of labels at a time to avoid a number of printing problems: print interruption (power failure, cord unplugged, printer turned off, print job lost in printer buffer, out of ink or paper, paper jam). When attempting to print more than one page of labels, make sure there's ample paper and ink, that the printer is in 'like-new' condition, that dot matrix ribbons are fresh. Monitor multi-page print jobs and be ready to stop the printing process it if a problems arise.

Windows Print Setup

The next screen to appear is the Windows Print Setup Screen. (It should not be necessary to change settings under 'Setup' on this screen, except to assure that Orientation is 'Portrait'.)

The settings should be:

• Name: The correct printer name should appear here.
• Size: Letter
• Page range: Current page (or All)
• Orientation: Portrait (Never 'As Preview')
• Number of copies: Normally 1

When settings are correct, press OK to start printing.

Troubleshooting

If labels are printing misaligned -

1. Turn the printer off to stop the printing process.

2. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers. Click on the listing for your printer. Click on 'Document' then 'Cancel'.

3. Turn the printer back on and clear the paper.

4. Change Print Settings to correct print position by changing the values under Avery Label Margins on the Labels Screen.

Large changes in numbers are necessary to see movement in print position. The settings of Left: 350 and Top: 300 are common settings for laser printers. For 'All-in-One' fax/printer/copier/scanners, try settings of (Left) 350 and (Top) in the 1900 to 2100 range. For the Hewlett-Packard All-in-One: 1500

If the last column of labels is cropped with a left-margin setting of zero, try a negative number.

Record settings in case BCSS is reinstalled in the future.

If labels for desired items are missing or labels appear for unwanted items -

1. Turn the printer off to stop printing.

2. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Printers. Click on the listing for your printer. Click on 'Document' then Cancel.

3. Turn the printer back on and clear the paper.

4. Change settings on the BCSS Labels Screen to add or omit labels.

As an alternative, if labels are missing from the set, print the labels that are present, then make settings on the Labels Screen to print labels for those items which were absent.

Troubleshooting Laser/Dot Matrix Printing Problems

These instructions are for laser-style and dot matrix printers. Please see EVO Troubleshooting and Epson Troubleshooting for receipt printers.

Please go through this check list when experiencing a printing problem. See error messages for specific problems.

For document printers (LaserJet and dot matrix), make sure your printer is functioning correctly by printing this page. Hold the Control Key down and press P. If the page doesn't print, go through these steps:

1. Make sure the printer is connected, turned on, has paper, ink and no paper jams.
2. Verify that the green light is on (if you printer has one) and run a test print. (See the printer's manual.)
3. Go to Start, Control Panel, Printers. Click on your printer. If any documents are pending for print, right click in the large white box and select Cancel All Documents. While there, right click on the printer listing and select Properties. Make sure the port setting matches the port that the printer is plugged into.
4. If the self test fails, test the cable (which connects the printer to the PC) with another piece of hardware that is known to work, or try another cable then self test again. If there's continued failure at this point, the printer could be defective but before the delay of returning it or having it shipped for warranty repair, have a local technician test the printer. Often some minor this is overlooked, even simple things like having the printer connected properly and having correct paper, ribbon (if used) and no jams. Disconnecting and reconnecting in another location often clears these matters.
5. In Control Panel, Printers, delete any printers that aren't being used.
6. In the Control Panel, click on Device Manager and verify that there are no conflicts (yellow circles with black exclamation points). If there are, click on Start then Help and Support. Search Windows Help for 'conflicts'.
7. If your printer is not listed in Control Panel/Printers, see the printer's manual for installing the printer.
8. Designate your document printer (not the receipt printer, if you have one) as the default printer if it isn't the default printer, and attempt to print again. (A 'document printer' is the printer used to print on full sheets of paper or labels.)
9. XP Pro, Vista and Windows 7 have 'Power Management'. If the printer has to be turned off and on to resume printing, try disabling power management on USB ports:
   1. Right click on My Computer and go to Properties.
   2. Click the Hardware Tab then Device Manager.
   3. Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
   4. Double click the first USB Root Hub and go to the Power Management Tab.
   5. Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.
   6. Do this from all USB Root Hubs.

Perform the following steps only after it has been confirmed that the printer is in working order:

1. In BCSS, click on File, Program Setup, Printers and make sure your printer has been selected in the Print Documents field. (If a receipt printer is being used, 'Receipt Printer' should be checked and the printer should be appearing in the Receipt Printer field.)
2. While on this page, in the 'Price-Tag-Print Adjustment' section, check 'Wide format' for laser-style printers, 'Narrow format' for dot matrix.
3. If bar codes are not printing on labels, remember that bar codes must be assigned for bar code labels to print.
4. If printing price tags, labels will not be printed for items not in stock if 'Quantity Greater Than 0' is checked (Main Menu, Labels, Inventory).
5. Invalid characters in the Consignor ID have been known to misalign label print. Don't use punctuation in Consignor IDs.

BCSS won't run when the printer is connected.

It was discovered that the HP printer model D4360 would prevent BCSS from running. The solution was to designate another printer as the default printer, set the HP as the Document Printer in BCSS Program Setup, disconnect the default printer and run BCSS using the HP printer. (Thanks Barb!)

BCSS won't print more than one page.

See Update BCSS.

Error 1429 is a common Windows problem sometimes caused by a corrupted computer registry.

1. Use Advanced System Optimizer for registry cleaning. Download and run the free demo. You'll be surprised at the number of errors in the Windows database (the 'Registry') where Windows and programs store their information.
2. If the problem persists, reinstall your printer's driver.
3. Lastly, update BCSS.

"The resource file is not valid. Overwrite it with a new one yes or no?" - It is safe to answer 'Yes'. The message should go away and no damage will be done to data files.

BCSS Reports

• BCSS Intro includes reports for Consignors and Sales.
• BCSS Deluxe adds reports for Disbursements, Inventory and Settlements.
• BCSS Diamond and Virtual add reports for Buyers and Employees.

The essence of consignment software is to record, organize, process and present ('report') information. BCSS is specifically designed to make information retrieval fast, very easy and exactly accurate.

In BCSS, the term 'Report' is another name for 'List'.

A Report is simply a List of information - a list of buyers, a list of labels to print, a list of inventory items, etc.

Reports may be viewed 'on screen' in the Main Table:

 or they may be printed. Printed reports are displayed on a Microsoft Windows' 'Print-Preview Screen' which provides options for printing and emailing the reports. Please keep in mind that printing and emailing are functions of Microsoft Windows. Problems related to those functions should be addressed to Microsoft or your local IT tech.

A Report can include any information that is stored in the BCSS database.

Virtual can produce a report that includes only Consignors who have online access.

Reports are accessed by clicking on Reports on the Main Menu:

Select one of the options under Reports - Consignors, Disbursements, Inventory, Sales (or Buyers in Diamond and Virtual):

Choose settings on the ensuing screen to determine what information is to be included in the report.

For example, to create a list of Consignors who are Active, who are on the Mailing List and who have account balances between $0 and $500, make these settings:

1. Check 'Active Only'.

2. Check 'On Mailing List'.

3. Check 'Account Balance' and enter 0 and 500 in the From and To fields.

4. If desired choose how to sort the report.

5. Various options appear on each Report Screen to view or print the report.

With a little practice it becomes fairly easy and somewhat 'powerful'. One of the strongest features of BCSS is exact and accurate reports.

Quick Links

Each Work Area...

...has its own set of Quick Links:

Using the Consignors Work Area as an example, select a Consignor and use Quick Links to:

• View account history
• View current items
• Transfer items to the shop's house account
• Print one or more copies of the pre-filled Consignor Agreement
• Return items
• View the current settlement due
• Undelete items (return them to inventory)

All with just One Click!

The remaining option, 'Consignor List', presents a list of all consignors.

Other Work Areas and Their Quick Links

Each Work Area functions in the same way. Here's the Quick Links for the Inventory Work Area:

Item to Invoice: Select an item to add it to the sales invoice or view its picture (if available).

All other options apply to all inventory items - one click to Apply Discounts, Assign Bar Codes, Configure Categories, and View Current, Discounted and Sold Items.

Sales Since Settlement

Sales Since Last Settlement

Perhaps Consignors' most frequently-asked question of store owners is, "What items of mine have sold since the last time we settled and how much have I earned?"

This information is easily accessed by selecting the Consignor in the Consignors Table and clicking Details at the bottom of the screen:

View all pertinent information: Account Balance, Balance Credit, Store Credit, Last Sale and Last Settlement Dates, etc.

Past Settlements

Click on the (purple) Settlements tab to view past settlements.

Pending Settlements

See Settle 1 Consignor.

Buyer Fee

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

What is a 'Buyer Fee'?

A 'Buyer Fee' is an amount taken off the top of the sale for the store prior to computing the Consignor Split.

Why Have a Buyer Fee?

Apparently some store owners use a Buyer Fee as a means of 'increasing store profit'.

BCSS does not advocate charging fees that are not fully disclosed. Consignment Agreements should include disclosure of any and all fees.

Buyer Fees Applied in BCSS

• The Buyer Fee will not be deducted from price labels or prices on invoices.
• Consignor Account Balances and Reports take the Buyer Fee into account.
• The Buyer Fee is disclosed to the seller in the Unit Price on the Settlement.
• The Buyer Fee has no effect on past settlements. It does affect all settlements after the fee has been applied.
• If the Buyer Fee schedule is changed, the new Buyer Fee will be applied at time of settlement. After settlement, the Buyer Fee for the sale of an item cannot be changed.
• Shop Totals (Reports > Sales Recap) shows the total of Buyer Fees.

Setting Up the Buyer Fee

Up to 6 different Buyer Fees may be entered in BCSS, then when processing a Sales Invoice, a different Buyer Fee may be selected for each item on the Invoice.

Click on File, Program Setup, then the Sales tab.

Check any box and enter a value for Flat Fee or Percentage (in decimal form). Up to 6 values may be entered.

Check the following option to show the Buyer Fee deducted from the 'Brief Inventory List' and the 'Detailed Inventory List':

Click OK to save the entries and exit Program Setup.

Applying the Buyer Fee on Sales Invoices

The Default Buyer Fee (see below) will be auto-entered for each item added to the Sales Invoice.

If no Buyer Fee or a different Buyer Fee is desired, click in the Buyer-Fee Field; click on the blue arrow that appears and make a selection.

The Default Buyer Fee

The Default Buyer Fee is auto-entered on the Sales Invoice for each line item. The default is determined by position among the six boxes (in Program Setup) which have priority from top to bottom and from left to right.

For example, Flat Fee 3 on the left will be the default (if Flat Fee 1 and Flat Fee 2 are not set), taking precedent over any percentage on the right.

Buyer Fees for Multiples of the Same Item

Upon settlement, BCSS reduces the Unit Price by the amount of the fee then multiplies by the number of units. The Settlement Amount is that result times the Consignor Percentage.

Credit-Card Processing

Some consignment software programs are 'integrated' with the credit-card payment process. The minor advantage is the convenience of having the sale amount auto entered on the sales invoice screen when the credit-card is swiped.

BCSS is not 'integrated' with credit-card processing for important reasons:

• You know for certain that BCSS doesn't access or retain credit-card information. That relieves you of any potential liability under the new credit-card laws.
• Software vendors who push credit-card integration are rewarded with portion of every one of your credit-card sales. (From the X-Charge website (http://www.x-charge.com/products/developers.asp for example: "We partner with software developers to build and maximize recurring revenue from transaction processing modules within their applications.) In other words, every time you process a credit-card sale the provider of the consignment software receives (an often undisclosed) 'commission'.
• 'Integrated software' rates are often higher than those available elsewhere, in part due to the commission paid to the software provider.
• If card processing is integrated with the software, the store owner is locked in. Card service providers routinely find reasons to raise rates so if/when rates become unreasonable, it may be too much bother to change providers, or you may be locked into a long-term contract with severe penalties for termination.
• Not incorporating credit-card processing keeps our program more simple - fewer moving parts means less likelihood of other program conflicts and errors.

How to Process Credit Cards Using BCSS

1. You'll first need a Merchant Account (bank account) which most store owners acquire from a local bank. The provider of the Merchant Account provides a card swiper/pin pad and complete instructions for processing credit cards.
   • Local banks are often the best choice for Merchant Accounts. They may already know you. Being local, it may be easier to acquire a Merchant Account (fewer requirements) and enjoy the lowest-possible rates. Historically companies selling merchant-accounts services on the Internet have been unreliable. The major risks are approved applications with rates significantly higher than those advertised on web pages, company failures and big rate increases after the passage of a relatively short period of time. Find out if you can be singled out for rate discrimination.

   At POS:

2. In BCSS, process a new sale and select the card type (Visa, MC, Discover, Debit, Amex).
3. Save the sale and print an invoice (sale receipt).
4. Swipe the card and process the card transaction.

The difference in procedure for processing integrated card transactions is minimal (compared to BCSS) but the advantages of not integrating card processing with consignment software are remarkable.

BCSS Credit-Card Payment Reports

Reports for Single Credit-Card Types

• Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Sales.
• Select the card type (Visa, MC, etc.) from the drop-down list for '1st Pay Method'.
  • Please note that if payment for a sale is split and the credit-card payment is not listed as the first payment method, the amount of that payment will not be included in this total.
• Use other settings to narrow the scope of the report.
• Click on Print the Report or View the Report.

Reports for All Credit-Card Types

• Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Sales.
• Select the card type (Visa, MC, etc.) from the drop-down list for '1st Pay Method'.
• Use other settings to narrow the scope of the report.
• Click on Sales Recap.
• Uncheck all options except Payment Recap.
• Click Preview/Print.

QuickBooks Merchant Services

Intuit's QuickBooks is not a good software program for consignment shops because QuickBooks doesn't support consignment settlements or payments other than checks. Intuit's credit card processing is integrated with QuickBooks software, which requires that an Intuit Sales Invoice be completed in addition to completing the BCSS invoice. It has been suggested that a card swiper could be used that doesn't incorporate Intuit's software but we are unaware of anyone who has used that work around successfully.

Consignor Credit Sale

A Consignor must have a credit before making a credit purchase. Consignors obtain a credit by accepting store credit for sold items.

Create a store credit by settling sold items for credit.

See Settle One Consignor.

Process a Credit Sale

In the Consignors Work Area select a Consignor from the Main Table then select Credit Sale from the Consignors Menu:

The New-Sale Screen will open with the Consignor's information entered and the amount of the Consignor's available store credit listed under 'Enter Payments Below':

(The Consignor has a $40 store credit.)

The 'Change-Due' field (not shown) will display the credit as a negative number.

Enter an item to sell. The credit will be auto-applied against the total cost of the item. The Change-Due field will adjust accordingly.

If the amount of the purchase does not exceed store credit the Change-Due field will display a negative number representing the amount of store credit remaining available to the Consignor.

If the amount of the purchase exceeds store credit the Change-Due field will display a positive number representing the amount to collect from the Consignor. Follow these steps to collect the overage:

1. Place a check in the box preceding 'Choose Payment Method 2' (yellow arrow). If the box is not checked, entries will not apply.

   

2. Click the blue down arrow (blue arrow above) and select a payment method.
3. Enter the amount shown ($11.77 in the example above) in the Change-Due field as the amount to collect from the Consignor.
4. Follow the remaining procedures for a new sale to complete the process.

Accounting within BCSS

• Inventory is reduced.
• Income for the day is increased.
• The cost of the purchase is deducted from the Consignor's Account Balance (Store Credit).

Discounting at POS

Price Discount at the Point of Sale

There are 5 types of discounts at the point of sale:

• Percentage (%) - Total Invoice is reduced by a %.
• Percentage (%) - Items are discounted individually by a %.
• Dollar - Total Invoice is reduced by a dollar amount.
• Price - The price of an item is reduced.
• Promotional - All items offered under a Special Promotion are discounted (except in BCSS Intro).

Any of the 5 discounts can apply at the same time or in combination. If one discount is changed, the others are not affected. BCSS tracks the amount of each discount and computes the correct total.

Discounts by price, percent and dollar amount are entered on the New-Sale Screen.

Discounting the Entire Invoice at the Point of Sale

Press F6 to open a new sales invoice.

Process a New Sale.

The discount may be entered as a dollar amount and/or as a percentage:

Line-Item Discounts

Reduce the cost of a single item by entering the amount of the discount (in decimal form) in the '% Off' field:

Promotional Discounts

Promotional Discounts are auto-entered by BCSS (during a Special Promotion only).

A Promotional Discount will only appear in the Discount field during a Special Promotion. It may be edited to increase or decrease it.

Accounting for Discounts in BCSS

Promotional Discounts and % Discount are absorbed by the store. Price and Dollar Discounts are not.

A % Discount reduces the settlement amount. Price and Dollar Discounts do not.

Finalizing the Invoice

After the last item is entered, remove any items by selecting the item and selecting the Remove-Item button.

If applicable, check Non-Taxable and select COD, Net 30 or Prepaid from the Terms field.

Select Payment Method under Enter Payment Below and enter Amount Paid. Change due to the Buyer, if any, will appear at the bottom if the field named 'Due'.

If applicable, check 'Send Mailings' and/or select an Employee in the 'Sold by' field.

Select 'Preview, Print, Save' to print preview and print a copy of the invoice.

Select 'Save' to save the sale.

Once the Invoice is saved, it may be located in the Sales Work Area List.

Employee Commission Adjustments (BCSS Diamond and Virtual)

A Discount of the Total Sale and a promotional discount do not reduce Employee commission.

A Dollar-Amount Line Item Discount and a Percentage Discount do reduce Employee commission.

Gift Certificates

Gift Certificates may be issued (to Consignors, Buyers or Employees) as payment and they may be accepted as payment.

Certificates can also be entered into inventory under the House Account and sold to customers.

This is an example of a Gift Certificate which is available for free from BCSS. It may be edited and printed (in color with a color printer) using MSWord:

Accepting Gift Certificates as Payment

If a Gift Certificate is submitted at POS as payment, select Payment Method and enter the amount of the Certificate on the New-Sale Screen:

If the amount of the Certificate is greater than the amount of Purchase, the difference may be given to the Buyer in Cash or a New Certificate may be issued for the difference.

If the amount of the Certificate is less than the amount of Purchase, follow these steps to collect the overage:

1. Place a check in the box preceding 'Choose Payment Method 2' (yellow arrow). If the box is not checked, entries will not apply.

   

2. Click the blue down arrow (blue arrow above) and select the appropriate payment method.
3. Enter the amount shown ($11.77 in the example above) in the Change-Due field as the amount to collect from the Consignor.
4. Follow the remaining procedures for a new sale to complete the process.

Invoice (8.5" x 11" Sales Receipt) Header-Footer

Invoice Header and Footer

Information in a Header appears at the bottom of a Sales Invoice just above the Footer. The Header is usually the business name, address and contact information.

A Footer is information appearing at the bottom on the Sales Invoice. A footer often contains a message like "Thank you for shopping with us".

Editing the Header and Footer Content

These files may be edited to contain whatever messages are desired.

Procedures:

1. Open Notepad or WordPad. (Click on Start. Select Run. Type notepad or WordPad and click OK.)
2. Maximize the window if it is not maximized.
3. Click on File (upper left).
4. Select Open. The 'Open Window' will appear.
5. Click on C: drive.
   • There are a variety of ways Windows will display the 'Open Window'. If the left-side panel is present, it may look something like this:

     

   • If the panel isn't present or if C: Drive isn't readily apparent, click on 'Computer'. If you continue to experience difficulty, click on the Start Button. Click on Help and type 'files and folders' in the Windows search box. Click on 'Working with files and folders'.
6. Click on C: or Local Drive C: or something similar denoting the C: drive. (red arrows above)
7. Click on Program Files.
8. Click on BCSS.
9. Click on header.txt or footer.txt to open either one.
10. Make the desired changes.
11. Click on File and select Save.
12. Return to BCSS.
13. Select a sale in the Sales Work Area.
14. In the lower-left menu, select Print Sale.
15. Scroll down to see that your changes are presented.

Adjust Header/Footer Position on the Sales Invoice

In Program Setup (Sales tab), the Header and Footer heights may be set. Normally .55 inches is correct for most laser printers. Increase the numbers to move the header/footer further down on the page.

Net Profit Calculation

(This feature is available in BCSS Intro, Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Calculate Net Profit

Net profit is the selling price minus discounts (if any) minus the Consignor's share minus the employee's commission (Diamond and Virtual). If all disbursements, including wages, are recorded in Disbursements in BCSS, the final results will be pretty close to the store's net profit.

Net profit may be calculated by any of the parameters (or combination of parameters) available on the Sales Report Screen (File > Main Menu > Sales). They are:

Net profit may be determined and displayed for specific items. For example, net profit may be displayed for all items sold in a category during a date range (like May 1st through May 15th) for all consignors or for one Consignor.

Procedure for Displaying Net Profit

Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Sales:

Follow procedures for defining for which items to display net profit - with one exception: Instead of electing to print or view the report, select Sales Recap:

On the next screen, uncheck all options except Shop Totals and click Preview/Print.

Observe net profit and how it was calculated for the items defined by the settings made on the Sales Report Screen.

Go back to the Sales Report Screen and adjust settings on the Sales Report Screen to exclude or include more items.

New Sale

(These instructions apply to  BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Use the 'View Item Picture' button on the Sales Invoice Screen to view an image of the item being sold (to verify that price tags have not been switched).

Start a New Sale - Open the Sales Invoice

There are several ways to open the New-Sale Screen:

• Press F6 from any Work Area (then choose a Buyer from the list presented).
• Buyers Work Area > select a Buyer > Press F6
• Buyers Work Area > select a Buyer > New Sale in the Buyers Menu (lower left)
• Buyers Work Area > select a Buyer > New Sale in the Quick Links Menu (on the right)
• Buyers Work Area > select a Buyer > right -click > New Sale
• Consignors Work Area > Consignor Credit Sale
• Employees Work Area > Employee Credit Sale
• Inventory > select an item > click 'Item to Invoice' in the Quick Links Menu
• Inventory > select an item > right-click then 'Add Selected Item to Invoice'
• Sales > New Sale from the Sales Menu

After taking one of the actions above, one of 2 things will happen.

1.  A list of Buyers will appear IF this box is checked in Program Setup (Sales Tab):

AND no Buyer was selected prior to opening a New-Sale Screen.

Select a Buyer from the list. The New Sale Invoice will open with the Buyer's information pre-entered, or

2.  A New Sale Invoice opens. 'Cash Sale' appears for the Buyer's name (unless a Buyer was previously selected). Replace 'Cash Sale' with Buyer information if desired.

Note that there are 5 Tabs at the top of the New-Sale Screen, Invoice 1, Invoice 2, etc. Up to 5 invoices may be open at any time.

Today's date and the next available Invoice # will be auto-filled. If a Buyer was selected from the Buyers List, additional information like name and address and Credit Limit will be auto-filled (if previously entered in that Buyer's Record).

Enter Items to Be Sold

An item being purchased can be entered 1 of 4 ways:

1.  Enter an Item Listed in Inventory - Click Select from Item List:

and select the item from the List. BCSS will auto-complete the Item ID, Description, Price, Quantity, Tax and Tax %. '% Off' and 'Buyer Fee' may be entered. 'Consignor ID' will be blank (because BCSS knows who owns the item). 'Out Date' and 'Return Date' (not shown) are for rental items.

2.  Enter a Listed Item by Inventory ID - Enter the Item's ID number in this box:

and press Enter. BCSS will populate the Invoice with the Item's Information as above.

3.  Enter an Unlisted Item - Click Enter Unlisted Item:

The Item ID will be generated and entered by BCSS when the Consignor ID is selected.

Click in the box under 'Description' and enter up to 20 characters to describe the item.

Enter Price and Quantity. Click in the Consignor ID box and use the drop-down menu to select a Consignor. Enter a Buyer Fee if applicable.

4.  Enter a Bar Code: (details)

Complete the Invoice

If applicable, values may be entered for Discount, Sold by (Salesperson - Diamond and Virtual editions) and Terms (Prepaid, COD, Net 30). 'Prepaid' is the default and applies to all purchases except COD and Net 30 (which are rarely used by consignment businesses) :

The sale may be marked as Non-Taxable and the Buyer may be added to the store's mailing list by checking 'Send Mailings':

Use the blue down arrow to chose the Method of Payment. BCSS will auto-enter the Invoice Total for the Payment Amount:

If the Payment Amount was not auto-entered, 'Enter amount 1 here' with the amount tendered. Select Deferred Payment if the buyer will take possession now and pay later.

These fields appear at the bottom

showing Subtotal, Discount (if any), Tax and Change Due (auto-computed and filled), and Total. (Tax is carried out to 5 decimal places for reporting accuracy.)

The Discount may be edited.

Finalizing the Sale

Lastly, Click Save to save the Invoice and not print it:

...or click Save, Preview, Print to preview the Invoice and/or print it.

Note that a Sale may be put on Hold BUT first a Consignor (or the House Account) must be chosen. The Consignor cannot be changed when retrieving a Sale put on Hold. (If a mistake is made, void the Sale and start a New Invoice.) (details)

or Items may be removed from the Invoice by selecting the item in the table and clicking on:

or an Invoice may be canceled

View a Completed Sale

There are 2 ways to view a completed sale:

1.  Select a Buyer then click on the History tab (at the bottom of the BCSS screen).

2.  Select the sale from the Main Table and chose View Sale from the Sales Menu.

Only these changes may be made when viewing an existing Sale.

• Bad-Check Status
• Invoice Date
• New Payments for Layaways
• Remove Layaway Status when payments are complete

To change anything else, the Invoice must be voided and a new one created.

Put Sale on Hold

(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)

Pending Sale - Put a Sale on Hold

Any Sale (including Credit Memos, Buyer and Employee Credit Purchases, Layaways) can be put on hold any number of times. When completing a New Invoice, select:

Before a Sale can be put on hold, a Consignor (or the House Account) must be chosen. Either choice cannot be changed when the invoice is retrieved for further processing.

When a Sale in put on hold, it is saved in BCSS records and appears in the List of Sales in Sales Work Area with an Aqua background.

Pending Sales do not reduce Inventory until finalized.

Locate Sales on Hold

Select Reports from the Main Menu:

Select Sales:

Under 'Report Should Only Include' check Sales on Hold'.

Please refer to Reports for completing the report.

Profit Calculation

Calculating Profit in BCSS

Net profit is the selling price minus discounts (if any) minus the Consignor's share minus the employee's commission (Diamond and Virtual). If all disbursements, including wages, are recorded in Disbursements in BCSS, the final results will be pretty close to the store's net profit.

Profits are displayed in the Sales Recap Report (from the Sales Report Screen - See below).

Profits may be viewed on Total Sales, for a Time Period, for Layaways only, per Consignor, Buyer, Salesperson or Location, for a range of Invoice Totals, for a range of Items or an Individual Item, by Category and/or by User-Defined Groups.

Net profit may be calculated by any of the parameters (or combination of parameters) available on the Sales Report Screen (File > Main Menu > Sales). They are:

Generate a Profit Report

Net profit may be determined and displayed for specific items. For example, net profit may be displayed for all items sold in a category during a date range (like May 1st through May 15th) for all consignors or for one Consignor.

1. Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Sales.

   

2. Make settings on the Sales Report Screen to define which sales will be included in the report.

   Examples of Possible Reports:

   • Profit for a specific period: Check Invoice Date and enter the date range.
   • Profit for a specific item or items: Select the Consignor, check Inventory Item Number and enter the Item # (like 5) in both From and To fields for one item, or enter a range for multiple items:

     

   • Profit by Buyer, Consignor, Salesperson, Location, Category and/or one or more User-Defined Groups: Select one or more.
3. Press Sales Recap (lower right).

   

4. Uncheck the first 3 options.
5. Press Preview/Print. (If there is more than one page displayed, use the right arrow in the top menu to go to the last page.)

Profit is Sales (before taxes) minus Consignors' Share minus Employee Commissions minus 'Other Payments' minus Discounts.

Observe net profit and how it was calculated for the items defined by the settings made on the Sales Report Screen.

Go back to the Sales Report Screen and adjust settings on the Sales Report Screen to exclude or include more items.

Buyer Fees, if any, will be included in the Profit Total and will be listed separately for reference.

Special-Promotions - Store-Wide Sales, By Category and/or By Invoice Total

In addition to Discounts, Price may be reduced using the Special-Promotion Feature by designating a time period for the sale and the amounts to discount Invoices and/or Categories.

From the Sales Menu select Sales Promotions (not shown):

Set the inclusive dates for the promotion. (Use the down arrows to see calendars.) The discounts will only apply between the dates entered on the Sales Promotion Setup screen.

Set a progressive scale of invoice totals and how much discount to apply for invoices that total in the ranges specified. Example: Discount invoices totalling up to $6 by 6%.

If applicable, set discount amounts for chosen categories.

BCSS automatically computes these discounts from invoice total and categories and enters that total discount in the discount field on the invoice.

Sales Reports

BCSS Sales Reports

There are many sales reports in BCSS and a variety of ways to produce them.

1.  Quick Links - 'One-Click Reports' in the Sales Work Area for immediate access to pre-defined information: Layaways for the Day or Week; Sales for the Day, Week or Month; Voids for the Day, Week or Month (displayed in the Main Table):

2. Details Area: In the Sales Work Area, select a sale in the Main Table and view information about the sale at the bottom - Bad Check, Buyer, Date, Discount, In-House Sale (yes or no), Layaway (yes or no), Salesperson, Status (On Hold, Voided, Finalized), Pay Method, Total Paid:

3. Time Filters

Click on these buttons:

to view only Records (in the Main Table) that have been added or edited today, Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, etc. Click View All to see all records again.

4. Function Key F9 - Items Sold Today

Press F9 for a quick report on items sold for the current day.

5. Items Sold Today for 1 Consignor

In the Consignors Work Area, select the consignor from the table and press 'Items Sold Today' on the right (not shown).

6. Detailed Reports - Generate on-screen or printed reports for specific sales using one or more of these criteria:

Create a Detailed Sales Report

Select Reports on the Main Menu:

then select Sales:

Make Report Settings

Check options and enter ranges to include/exclude sales from the report.

For example, to include only sales which are not layaways, sold by salesperson Mandell during July, 2008:

1. Check 'Not Current Layaways'.

2. Select 'Mandell' from the Seller drop-down menu.

3. Check 'Invoice Date' and enter July dates.

Sort Report Output

The content of the report may be sorted by Buyer, Salesperson, Invoice Date or Consignor. Select one:

Print the Report

Selecting Print the Report -

will display the report in a Print-Preview Screen:

Print the Report by clicking on the print button (yellow arrow).

View the Report in the BCSS Main Table

Selecting View the Report

will display the report in the BCSS Main Table. Click on any Sale to view details about it in the Details Area at the bottom:

Items Sold List

Pressing the Items-Sold Button will present a report showing Item ID, Description, Category, Price, Quantity, Date In and Sold by (in BCSS Diamond and Virtual) for each item sold for the current day (if no data filters are set). Click the printer icon at the top of the report window to print the report.

Sales Recap

Pressing the Sales Recap Button will present a list of sections (not shown) for Invoice List, Salesperson Recap (in BCSS Diamond and Virtual), Payment Recap and Shop Totals. Uncheck sections to be excluded from the Sales Recap. Press the Preview/Print Button to preview the report. Click the printer icon at the top of the report window to print the report.

These is the information displayed in each Recap. (Buyer and employee information appear in Diamond and Virtual only.)

• Invoice List: Date, Invoice #, Buyer, Sale Amount, Tax, Sale Total, Pay Method
• Salesperson: Salesperson, # of Sales, Total
• Payment: Type of Payment, # of Payments, Total
• Shop Totals: Sales (before tax), Consignors' %, Employee's %, Other Payments, Promo Discounts, Profit/Loss, Buyer Fees, Tax(es) (split if 2), Non-Taxable Sales

Sales (Invoice) Status

View the Status of a Sale:

'Status' refers to the Invoice. Any consignment or resale may be Finalized, On Hold or Voided. Layaways may be Current, Past Due or Finalized. Rentals may be Not Returned, Past Due or Returned but Invoices may contain rental and other types of sales (consignments, resales) so rental status is not reported as Sales (Invoice) Status.

View Sale Status

Select Sales in the Work Area Menu:

Click on the Sale Invoice in the Main Table:

View the status of the sale or layaway in the Details Area at the bottom of the screen:

Sales Tax

Please send tax exempt for tax-exempt resellers and tax-exempt items.

BCSS Accommodates Two Sales Taxes:

• Local Tax (City/County in the U.S., PST in Canada)
• Sales Tax (State in U.S., GST in Canada)

Tax rates are set in Program Setup, Sales.

Two tax fields are provided. Enter applicable descriptions and rates (in decimal form). Example: Enter .07 for 7%. The display will be to 5 decimals places.

Tax Options

• If only one tax is entered, each line item on an Invoice will be tax or no tax.
• New Invoices have a non-tax check box which applies to the entire Invoice.
• If both taxes are entered, each item on an Invoice will have four tax options: apply tax 1; apply tax 2; apply both; apply none

• If both taxes are entered, they will be combined as a total on the On-Screen Invoice but will print separately on the Sales Receipt.

On the New-Sale Screen (F6):

Sales Taxes are automatically calculated and displayed as one total.

Put a check in the Non-Taxable Field if all items on the invoice are nontaxable.

For each line item, click on the box below Tax % and select None, 'Tax 1', 'Tax 2', or 'Both'. (Actual values will be shown, like 0.0600 for Tax 1, 0.0100 for Tax 2, 0.0700 for Both.)

Sales Receipts

If 2 taxes apply, they will be printed separately on Sales Receipts.

Tax Reports

To generate a Tax Report:

1. Click on Reports on the Main Menu and select Sales.
2. Make settings on the Sales Report Screen to control which taxes are to appear in the report:
   • To see all taxes for a specific period, check Invoice Date and enter the date range.
   • Select a Buyer, Category, Consignor or Salesperson to see applicable tax.
3. Press Sales Recap (lower right).
4. Uncheck the first 3 options.
5. Press Preview/Print. (If there is more than one page displayed, use the right arrow in the top menu to go to the last page.)

The Shop Totals part of the Sales Recap Report will show separate totals for taxes even if they were applied together on Invoices. The last line in the sales tax break out will be total non-taxable sales.

Tax Rounding

The final tax on every invoice must be rounded (up to the nearest cent) but BCSS reports will show tax amounts to 5 decimal places, which is the amount to be paid to the taxing agencies. That amount may vary slightly from the actual amount of tax collected, but BCSS doesn't show the difference.

The State of Maryland, for one, requires that sales tax be rounded up to the next cent for any fraction of a cent, even if it is just one cent. To activate this option, check Always round taxes up. in Program Setup on the Sales tab.

Split Payments

Payment for purchases can be split into 6 different methods of payment: Cash, Check, Credit Card, Debit Card, Gift Certificate and Deferred Payment.

For example, if a Buyer pays $50 in cash, $50 by credit card and $50 by gift certificate, separate 'Payment Method' fields must be completed for cash, credit card and gift certificate.

On the New-Sale Screen (F6), click the blue arrow (to the right of Choose Payment Method 1) and select the Payment Method, and replace 'Enter amount 1 here' (or the amount that was auto-entered) with the amount of the first type of payment:

For the second and subsequent payments, place a check mark in the box

and repeat the steps above, selecting the Payment Method and entering the amount.

The check box must be checked for each type of payment or split payments will be ignored, even if amounts are entered.

All splits will have the same Payment Date.

Store Credit

Issuing Store Credit

A Consignor Record may be manually adjusted to award a store credit to a Consignor.

To record a Store Credit:

• Double click on a Consignor Record to open the edit screen.
• Click on the Account Status tab.
• Click in the Store-Credit field and enter the amount of the credit.
• Click OK to save the change and exit, or click Save and Continue to save the change and continue editing the Record.
• To view the Store Credit, with the same Consignor still selected in the table, click on Account History, or look below in the Details Area.

Store Credit is applied against Settlement Due.

Store Credit will appear on the Sales Invoice for Consignor Credit Purchases.

Store credit is adjusted automatically when a consignor buys from the shop and receives the consignor share from sales of items consigned.

Email Support (Add the domain name mm.st to your email program's Approved Senders List or White List to lessen the chance that spam filters will block our emails to you. (Instructions) For phone and remote PC help, contact: Joy Archer, enJoy Consigning Services, 972-898-7921 (NY), Email, or Kerri Samples, KLS Pro Setup, 912-245-7831 (GA), Email

Complete the Invoice.

Tax Free and Tax Exempt

Tax-Free Items

Set up specific categories as designate them and check 'Tax Free':

Tax will not be calculated when such items are added to the Sales Invoice.

Tax-Exempt Resellers

Entering a Tax ID in 'Reseller Tax ID' on a New-Sale Screen automatically changes the invoice to tax-exempt status.

If 'Show Buyer Work Area' has been checked in Program Setup (Sales), future sales to the same Buyer will be tax exempt.

Tax-Exempt Items

Some states only tax an item (like clothing) if its selling price is above a given amount. To process such items as tax exempt, set up one or more categories (Main Menu, Inventory, Categories) like 'clothing' and enter the applicable amount in the 'Tax Above $' field:

View a Sales Invoice

Once a Sale has been saved, the existing Sales Invoice may be viewed.

Only these changes may be made when viewing an existing Sale.

• Bad-Check Status
• Invoice Date
• New Payments for Layaways
• Remove Layaway Status when payments are complete

To change anything else, the Invoice must be voided and a new one created.

View the Original Sale

Select Sales in the Work-Areas Menu:

Select the sale from the Table.

Select View Sale (not shown) from the Sales Menu: