 We asked you to submit your questions and concerns about working with items and item types in Microsoft Retail Management System, including creating, selecting, adding, deleting, and otherwise managing items. And now, Microsoft Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) Jimmy Wong, who works on the Microsoft Retail Management System development team, has answers for you. We received piles of questions for Jimmy and want to thank everyone who took the time to submit their questions and comments. If you don't see your question answered here, we suggest you pose it again in the Microsoft Retail Management System newsgroup. There are plenty of additional Microsoft experts, employees, and partners on hand in the newsgroup who can offer their help. OK, let's get on to your questions... Q: What is the procedure to delete items from Headquarters Manager, which will in turn delete the items from Store Operations? I realize that using "inactive" is preferred, but there are times when we need to delete SKUs that have never been ordered. Jimmy Wong: In Microsoft Retail Management System 1.2, there is no functionality that allows the user to delete items from Headquarters Manager, which will in turn delete the item from Store Operations. Using "inactive" is the way to deactivate the items in various stores. If you do need to delete the item, you need to delete it manually at the store level. Q: For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to set an item as non-taxable in Headquarters Manager...and to also have that propagate down to the store level. In Headquarters Manager, I don't see the check box for Taxable by the pricing section on the General tab in Store Operations. Below is a screen shot of what I'm talking about. The Store Tax tab in Headquarters Manager will allow you to assign different taxes for different stores, but I suspect that because of our configuration below, this isn't working. HELP!!! Note: In Store Operations, we use the Configuration->Sales Tax->Customer field for tax matching. 
JW: The screen shot you provided was from Headquarters Manager, and it is correct that the check box is not shown on the Item Properties window in Headquarters Manager. If you would like to change the item tax of this item, you need to do it in the Store Tax tab. You will need to run worksheet 203 to update the store(s). Meanwhile, in Store Operation Manager, if you go to Configuration, then Sales Tax, then Assign Tax Schedule On A Per Customer Basis with the Customer field for tax matching, you will see the "Item Is Taxable" check box on the Item Properties window in Store Operation Manager. When an item is being sold at Store Operation POS, the tax will be calculated according to your setting. Q: What is the easiest way of adding items to an existing matrix? I've got a three-dimensional matrix already set up (style, color, size). But I need to add a new color to this matrix. The only way I've been able to do it is by copying one of the existing items from the matrix, making changes, saving the new item, then going into the matrix and adding the new item to the matrix. It seems kind of involved doesn't it? JW: Currently what you are doing is one of the correct approaches to adding items to an existing matrix if you want to create similar item data. Another way to create an item is to click the Add button in the Item MatrixProperties window, and then select Create A New Item To Add to launch the New Item Wizard. (You can also open the New Item Wizard by clicking Wizard and then selecting New Item Wizard.) Then follow the wizard to define the matrix properties you want, including dimensions and components. The new item will be automatically added to the matrix item. As an alternative, if you have a support plan, you can use our import utility tool, available on our PartnerSource site. Finally, some Microsoft partners provide add-ons to make the process of adding items to a matrix easier. For example, check out Fashion Bundle from Retail Realm. Q: Does it matter what Item Lookup Code I use for the new product that I want to add to the matrix? Or should I try to use (almost) the same Lookup Code as the other matrix items? JW: You can use any Lookup Code you want to fit your business need as long as you use a unique Lookup Code for each item. Here is an example that I recommend for a Lookup Code used to identify a three-dimensional matrix: Matrix Item Lookup Code = jean0001 The matrix item contains the following Item Lookup Codes: Jean0001-010101 (Small size, Black color, Bell style) Jean0001-020201 (Medium size, Blue color, Bell style) Jean0001-030301 (Large size, White color, Bell style) Jean0001-010102 (Small size, Black color, Regular style) Jean0001-020202 (Medium size, Blue color, Regular style) Jean0001-030302 (Large size, White color, Regular style) In this example, I use these suffixes to represent the three dimensions: Size dimension: 01: Small size 02: Medium size 03: Large size Color dimension: 01: Black color 02: Blue color 03: White color Style dimension: 01 - Bell style 02 - Regular style Q: What do I do if a barcode changes on an existing item, leaving some items in inventory under one SKU and the newly received items with an updated SKU? JW: By definition, a barcode is a graphical representation of the part number that is machine readable. In your case, you can consider using the Alias feature to link the new SKU to the item. If Alias does not work for your business need, you may need to consider creating a new item for the new SKU in the database. Once the old SKU item is sold out, you can then mark it as inactive and start selling only the item with new SKU. Q: My vendors have sent me electronic files containing new items. I don't want to enter these one by one. Is there any other way I can add these items to my system? JW: Since we do not know what type of electronic files you are referring to in your question, it is hard for us to respond to this. Generally speaking, Microsoft Retail Management System allows users to import data via the below methods: | • | Import existing QuickSell 2000 databases. You can achieve this by using Store Operation Administrator. | | • | Import QuickBooks data. You can achieve this through the Configuration window in Store Operation Manager. | | • | If you have a support plan, you can use our import utility tool, available on our PartnerSource site. |
Q: I'm having a sale next month and want to discount a group of items. How can I do this? JW: There are a couple ways you can apply a discount to a group of items: | • | Use the Inventory Wizard—Task 110: Change Item Prices. This will enable you to apply various discount methods on the item group, such as discount from regular price, mark up from cost, profit margin, offset from cost, and offset from the regular price. You can also specify a rounding rule and price range for the discount application. Please see the Store Operations Online Help for more information. | | • | Use a third-party discount/promotion add-on. For an example, see the Retail Realm site. |
Q: How come when I edit one line in the scanned items, the POS does not go into the next open line? Is there any way to fix this by not using the "Up" and "Down" arrow keys or a mouse? JW: It depends on what field you are trying to edit. If you are editing the Item Lookup Code, Microsoft Retail Management System will automatically go into the next open line. The reason for this is we want to enable multiple scanning of adding items to the transaction. However, if you are editing the Description, Quantity, Price, Extended, and Tax items, Microsoft Retail Management System will stay at that item. This is to allow users to edit various fields for the same item. Your feedback is valuable to us. We will consider your request and look into it. Q: I have a bead store and sell some of the beads in 16-inch strands. A strand has several beads on it, depending on the size, and each strand has an Item Lookup Code and price in the label. Some of my customers want to buy just a few beads of one type. If a strand has, for example, 40 beads on it, the customer may just need to buy 10 beads of that type. Currently I cannot sell these customers the quantity of beads that they want because I would have to break the strand (item). How can I add the item (bead strand) so that it sits in inventory as a strand but can be switched to another item ("a" bead) with another Item Lookup Code and price if a customer wants to buy a partial amount? I think the answer lies among the Lot Matrix Items, but I know those are for various presentations such as soda, where you have a case, a six-pack, or a unit. I think you cannot break up a case or a six-pack... Maybe I just answered my own question. JW: Based on your requirements, there are several options you can try: | • | A Lot Matrix Item | | • | A Kit Item | | • | An Assembly Item |
Using a Lot Matrix Item: Assume that you have three types of bead: beadA, beadB, and beadC. Also, assume you have item strands named StrandA (40 beadAs), StrandB (40 beadBs), and StrandC (40 beadCs). You can use the New Item Wizard to create Lot Matrix Items called BeadAMatrix, BeadBMatrix, and BeadCMatrix. Then follow these steps: 1. | In the Lot Matrix Properties window, you will have to enter the title, price, and quantity for each lot. (In this case, it would be beadA, $0.10, lot quantity 1 and StrandA, $4, lot quantity 40). Also assume that you have 400 of beadA and 0 of StrandA (meaning you have a total of 400 beadA). | 2. | Open the beadA Item Properties window and go to the Special tab to define the parent item as StrandA and the child quantity as 40. Defining the parent and child relationship allows for proper inventory management. | 3. | Now you can sell the individual beads in POS by looking up the Lot Matrix Lookup Code BeadAMatrix. A neat feature of using a Lot Matrix is that it will automatically adjust the QuantityOnHand for beadA and StrandA. |
Let's continue with this example. If I now sell one beadA and tender, the system will not only reduce the beadA QuantityOnHand by one, it will also try to automatically adjust the QuantityOnHand for beadA and StrandA. So in this case, the QuantityOnHand for beadA is now 39 and the QuantityOnHand for StrandA is now nine. (This gives you a total of 39 + 40 * 9 = 399 of beadA.) Lot Matrix Items allow you to: | • | Sell items in a lot at different quantities. | | • | Set a separate price for a strand (not the total of the retail price of 40 beads). | | • | Automatically manage the inventory between beadA and StrandA between transactions. | | • | Change the quantity of beadA in StrandA without reserving any beadA in the system. (Note, however, that in the Kit Item discussed below, when a Kit is built, beadA is reserved for the Kit.) |
Using a Kit Item: Assume you have three types of bead: beadA, beadB, and beadC. Also assume that you want to have various styles of strands, such as StrandA (40 beadAs), StrandB (40 beadBs), StrandC (40 beadCs), StrandMixAB (20 beadAs + 20 beadBs), and StrandMixABC (13 beadAs, 13 beadBs, and 14 beadCs). Now all you need to do is create a Standard Item with these Lookup Codes: beadA, beadB, and beadC. Then create a Kit Item with these Lookup Codes: StrandA, StrandB, StrandC, StrandMixAB, and StrandMixABC. Kit Items allow you to: | • | Sell beads individually or in a strand while tracking inventory correctly. | | • | Set a separate price for a strand (not the total of the retail price of 40 beads). | | • | Automatically calculate the cost. | | • | Sell various types and styles of strands with a mix of different bead types and bead quantities. | | • | Build the Kits (strands) and reserve the appropriate bead quantities from the bead inventory. | | • | Break the Kits if you want to break the strand and sell beads individually. |
Using an Assembly Item: In this case, all you need is to create a Standard Item with these Lookup Codes: beadA, beadB, and beadC. Then create an Assembly Item with a Lookup Code of StrandA, StrandB, StrandC, StrandMixAB, and StrandMixABC. This works similarly to a Kit Item, but the display at POS will be slightly different. I hope one of these solutions can fit your business need. Jimmy Wong is a Microsoft Software Design Engineer in Test on the Microsoft Retail Management System development team.
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