Contracts allow a Site to make temporary purchasing agreements with Suppliers, often with a reduced cost to the Site in return for agreeing to purchase a minimum quantity in the allocated time frame. In this tutorial we will discuss how to create and edit Creditor contracts and how to report on those contracts. In this section of the help file we will also discuss the usage of Supplier Cross Reference Numbers and how they can aid in the ordering or receiving of stock from a Supplier.

 

This tutorial is concerned with the Contracts section of the Procurement Menu. The Procurement Menu can be opened by selecting Menus, Inventory and Procurement from the Navigation Menu. Open the Contracts section by selecting the Contracts link from the Procurement Menu. There is an Options link in the Contracts section that opens the Site Options screen to the Creditor Contracts options.

 

 

In the first part of this tutorial, we will create a Creditor Contract for one of our Suppliers. Select the Contracts link from the Contracts section of the Procurement Menu. This opens the Find Creditor screen, enabling us to select a Supplier to create the contract for. You can either use the Custom tab to search for the Supplier by Name or Creditor Number, or use the tab with the letter that corresponds to the first letter of their name.

 

 

 

When you have selected a Creditor to create a contract for, the Creditor Contract screen opens for the Supplier. The Creditor Code and Name of the Creditor are displayed as a point of reference. Select the Location for the contract to be applied to from the drop-down. Enter a unique Contract Code to identify the contract in the Portal. Items are added to the contract by entering the Item Code and pressing the Add button. You can use the Find Item button to search for the item to add. As each item is added, their Description and Price are displayed above the grid. Edit the Pack Size, Pack Cost, Free Good, Free Multiple, Start and Expiry Dates, Discount and Maximum Quantity for each item in the contract. If the item can be purchased and/or returned ensure that these fields are True; False otherwise. Press the Update button to save the details of the contract; the Delete button can be used to remove a selected item from the contract.

 

 

The Contract Report allows you to view all items that are in a Creditor Contract for a selected Site by Creditor. Information displayed in the report includes the Item Description, Item Number, Contract Code, Cost Price, Pack Size, Maximum Quantity, Active Date and Expiry Date for the contract involving the item.

 

 

It is possible to use the Item Numbers on a Supplier's invoice to enter the items in a Stock Receipt, and later reorder using the Supplier's Item Numbers for the items. A Supplier's Item Numbers for inventory items in the Portal are known as Supplier Cross Reference Numbers, or more commonly and simply as Cross Reference Numbers. In this section of the tutorial we will discuss how to add Cross Reference Numbers to an item, and how to report on Cross Reference Numbers in the Portal.

 

Cross Reference Numbers can be added to items in the Inventory Management Control screen. The Item Maintenance Tutorial outlines how to open the Inventory Maintenance screen, and we are concerned with the Control tab in that screen. Press the Supplier Item Cross Reference button to open the Creditor Cross Reference screen for the selected item.

 

 

The Item Number and Description are listed for ease of reference in the Creditor Cross Reference screen. Select the Location for the Cross Reference Number from the drop-down list and the Creditor whose item number is being added. Enter the Cross Reference for the item and press the Add button. Press the Update button to save the Cross Reference Number to the Portal or select a Cross Reference Number and press the Delete button to remove it from the list.

 

 

It is possible to review the Cross Reference Numbers for a Supplier by selecting the Supplier XRef link from the Contracts section of the Procurement Menu. This opens the Creditor Cross Reference Report which lists all known Cross Reference Numbers for a Site by Creditor. The report lists the Item Description, Item Number, Creditor Item Number (Cross Reference Number), Date of the Last Change to the Cross Reference and the Date it was Created.

 

 

In this tutorial we have discussed the process involved with creating a Creditor Contract and how to report on items that have a contract for their purchase. We have also discovered how using Supplier Cross Reference Numbers can be used to aid in data entry when ordering or receiving stock from a Supplier.