Nevitium User Manual

 

I get emails and calls all the time from users all over the world asking for help and telling me how much they love Nevitium.  If you can, please contact me and tell me about your Nevitium experience.  In the future I'm going to release different versions of Nevitium targeting different industries, but I need your help.  Send the developer an email when you need help or when you have a suggestion.  The email address is software@datavirtue.com.  My address and phone number are also posted on the website (www.datavirtue.com) to let people know I'm legitimate and that I'm not just trying to steal your contact information.  Check the website often for updates and information on Nevitium.  You can also follow Data Virtue on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DataVirtue).  I only post to twitter when I'm releasing an update or there is vital information for current users.  If you get busy and forget to check for updates on the website getting Data Virtue "Tweets" in your email or on a personal communication device (cell phone) can really help you.

Backup the data at the end of every day.  I always do backups of my data at the end of every day on two USB Flash Drives.  Flash Drives (data travelers) do not contain moving parts and they are somewhat immune to magnetic disturbance and electrostatic discharge.  Do not touch the metal part of a USB Flash Drive.  Test your backups to make sure they are being recorded or copied properly.  It is also a good idea to store them in a fire-proof safe. 

General Notes

When using business software you need to install with administrative rights and login with administrative rights.  For example, in Windows XP you want to make sure the user you login under is a Computer administrator.  The same goes for Vista and Windows 7.

 

Vista & Windows 7 Support

Nevitium was designed to run out of a single folder or directory.  There are no Windows registry entries as Nevitium is not expecting to run on any certain system.  You can also run Nevitium off a Flash Drive if you want to and freely copy your install folder anywhere and it will work.  This feature however is why some people have problems running Nevitium on Vista or Windows 7.  When Nevitium runs out of a single folder it also has to store its settings information, and possibly your data, there.  Windows 7 and Vista do not let programs modify any files within the Program Files folder. (If running from a Flash Drive make sure the Operating System is not caching that drive, always "eject" the Flash Drive before removing it.)

When you install Nevitium the default data folder is C:\Program Files\Nevitium 1.4\data\   <<----Copy and Paste this in Start-->Run

For Vista and windows 7 Nevitium should be installed in what is called the "Root Directory" of your hard drive.  This is represented or addressed like this C:\.  So, in My Computer under Windows for instance if you open your C: drive, usually called Local Disk (C:), you will see your "Root Directory" (you may need to bypass a warning to see it). In the root directory you should also find the Program Files folder.  In the past that was the default folder to install Nevitium, C:\Program Files\Nevitium 1.4\  Instead, those who have Vista or Windows 7 need to have Administrator rights and they need to install or copy Nevitium to  C:\Nevitium 1.4\ for example.  So, if you have an install of Nevitium 1.4 on Vista and you want to move it to the root of C: you would need to go to C:\Program Files\, right-click on the Nevitium 1.4 folder and select Cut.  Go to My Computer and right-click on Local Disk (C:) and select Paste.  When you move Nevitium like this the shortcuts on the desktop or elsewhere will need changed or they will not work.  Just right-click the shortcut and select Properties to change the Target location. If you have any problems contact technical support: software@datavirtue.com

Standard Conventions and Features

The Nevitium experience and user interface is very important and a lot of work has been put into making it feel comfortable for the user.  The workflow has to act the way we think.  If you think any part of the Nevitium experience is cumbersome or feels unnatural let me know.  This being said, Nevitium is built with certain consistent features to help the user.

Hold your mouse over menu items, buttons and fields in Nevitium to get tips or information about the use of those items.  There is also full support for Cut & Past keyboard functions within text fields. 

When you are typing in a search field you can hit ENTER when you are done and Nevitium will complete the search.

 

How Do I....?

How Do I Setup Inventory?

Go to the Tools menu and choose Inventory Manager.  Click on the UPC field to start a new inventory item.  The fields will enable.  Type in the values you need for your inventory item and click Save.

The new items will appear on the table to the right of the screen after you save them.  After you create the items you can add special notes to communicate to other users about the product or cross-sale items.

You can also add references to pictures and Nevitium will display them to you.  Flash drive users may want to make a Pictures folder under ..\Nevitium 1.4\data\ so the location would be X:\Nevitium 1.4\data\Pictures\example.jpg.  You can copy your inventory item images there and choose those files in the Inventory Manager.  This assures the images are there and they are now included in the Nevitium Backup/Restore feature.

 

How Do I Add Customers and Vendors?

Go to the Tools menu and choose My Connections.  Click on the Company field to start a new record.  The fields will enable.  Type in the information you need to keep track of and click Save.  The new contacts will appear in the table at the top of the screen after you save them.

Be sure to choose whether or not they are Customers, Vendors or both.  You can also select different country codes for their address to properly format the address when building Invoices, Statements or printing labels.  After the record is saved you can also add alternate shipping addresses by clicking on the Ship To button.

Remember that when you are creating an invoice you can select a Customer from My Connections by hitting the Bill To: button.  Only the connections marked as a customer will show up by default.  You can also select a tax status for each customer, clearing the tax boxes will make them tax exempt.

 

How Do I Create an Invoice or Quote

The invoices and quotes are both created from the same screen.  When you are done building your invoice/quote you click Post to save it as an invoice or click Save to save it as a quote.

Open Nevitium and press F8 or select the Tools Menu with your mouse or keyboard and choose Quick Invoice / Quote, the Invoice & Quote screen will display.  The focus is now set on the UPC/Code field ready for an entry from the keyboard or barcode scanner.  You should see the cursor blinking in the box.

When the UPC / Code Field is blank you can hit ENTER and the Inventory Manager will display.  Choose the inventory items you need on the table and click Select.  Those items will be "sent" to the invoice or quote you are working on.

The quantity can be changed by rapidly clicking three times on the QTY field for that particular item.  When you do that the quantity will be selected and you can type in a new number.  Remember to click Recalculate after doing this to see accurate totals.  You can also change the taxable status of individual items if you need to.

How Do I Print Checks?

 

How Do I Manage Gift Cards?

In many areas businesses are able to obtain "Gift Cards" that have preprogrammed serial numbers (Account Numbers) with a magnetic strip, just like a credit card.  they are blank and you can have them "Printed" with your logo or other graphics.  Nevitium allows you to utilize these cards to help build customer loyalty and to provide a convenient method of payment or budgeting.  For instance parents can purchase these gift cards to streamline where their children can spend their money.

To "load" a prepaid card open the Prepaid Account Manager and click on the Acct Number field to activate the form.  Swipe the card to read in the card number or type it in.  The rest of the fields are optional.  Type in a balance to "load" the card and click Save.

To use a prepaid card for payment just select "Prepaid" on the Payment window, swipe the card or type in the acct number and hit Post.

 

Setup

 

The first time you run Nevitium you will see a prompt asking you to provide a starting invoice number and a starting quote number.

 

After you click OK you will see a Settings window appear.

 

Settings

 

Output Tab

Click the Output tab and make sure the PDF reader (Adobe) is configured properly.  Nevitium tries to configure this automatically for Windows and Linux users.  It will also try to select the highest version of Adobe Reader on your machine; most people have several.  If you have installed Adobe somewhere other than the default (pic) you will need to configure this manually.  Click the PDF Reader button and select AcroRd32.exe wherever it may be.  Nevitium tries to find "X:\Program Files\Adobe\"  where X is the drive you installed Nevitium on.  Mac users will have to configure their own PDF reader.

Next verify the folders listed under the Output section.  Nevitium tries to create two folders (pic), one for invoices and one for reports.  These folders are where the PDF files will be stored when you generate an invoice or report.  This defaults to your home directory; for Windows users this is the My Documents folder. These should be put somewhere convenient.

Watermark is an optional setting to spruce up your reports.  Only select .jpg, .bmp or .gif files no other types will display.  Try to limit the image size to 300 x 100 (X,Y) points. 

 

Company Information Tab

Provide some information to make your invoices legal.  You should at least fill in the Co Name and full address.  If a logo is NOT provided Nevitium will print this information at the top of your invoices in the selected font.  If a logo is provided this information will not be printed at the top.  Company Contact Information is always printed (logo or not) in a very small font at the bottom of the invoice.  Limit the logo area size to about 300 x 100 points(X,Y). 

About Graphics:  All modern graphics or business logos should be built using Scalable Vector Graphics (svg) standards.  SVG images are easily modified and can be "exported" to different "bitmap" formats (png) and sizes easily without losing clarity.  Find a professional artist capable of creating SVG images for your business or website.  The leading software package used to build SVG images is Adobe Illustrator.

Inventory Tab

Depending upon the coding system for your products you can change the default search field for the Inventory screen.  You can always change this on the Inventory screen, this is just the default.  Default Markup is a convenience setting to automatically generate a retail Price from the Cost amount entered on the Inventory screen. [Cost * Default Markup Points]  After you have entered a Quantity and Cost Nevitium will fill in the retail price.  This is easily overridden.

Weight Unit can be set to the preferred unit of measurement for inventory item weight.  You should only input decimal numbers without unit designation (no lbs, kgs, etc..).  If you measure in Imperial units (lbs) and an item weighs half a pound you would record it as .5 and specify lbs in Settings. 

Invoice Tab

You can set two independent tax rates.  You can always toggle the taxes for each item on the Invoice and Inventory screens.  Tax1 should be your local sales tax.  Tax2 is usually industry or region specific.  You can also change the names of the two tax rates but keep the names short.

Invoice Prefix: These digits (up to three) can be prefixed to the auto-generated invoice numbers.

Interest Rate needs set to .00 if you do not charge interest.  The Grace Period prevents an interest charge for X amount of days since the invoice was posted.  The interest rate provided is yearly, so it will be divided by 365 before being charged against each day past the grace period.  Interest is calculated and displayed at each payment.  You also have the option on the payment window to exclude accrued interest.

The Default Scan Field will set the default (easily overridden on the Invoice screen)  field to search for items scanned or entered in by hand.  This is just a default setting, you can select either one on the Invoice screen. 

If you typically take a payment each time you generate an invoice you may want to select Process Payment when Posting.

Ink Saver can be used to reduce the amount of toner or ink used to print invoices and statements.

POS Mode streamlines the Invoice screen to process sales and print to a receipt printer instead of the regular invoices.

 

Security Tab

Click the Manage Security button to enable or configure security.  See Security Manager.

 

Data Files Tab

The data for Nevitium is fixed in the "data" folder where you installed Nevitium. 

You can also specify primary and secondary default backup folders, the primary can be changed each time you backup; the secondary is always used if it is available. 

 

Security Manager

Security is disabled by default.  To enable security you must set a password for the Master user account.  If no accounts are present you need to create a master account named: Master 

Master User

Although the master user has security settings they are ignored.  Instead they are treated as a template for new users that you create.  So, whenever you create a new user it automatically has the security settings saved under the master user.

The Master user can not be deleted and it has no restrictions.  It is the ONLY user that can access or modify other user's security settings.

Master Role

The Master Role allows a user to do whatever they wish as if there were no security set in Nevitium. 

User Role

The User Role is able to be configured to access only certain features in Nevitium.  Create a new user by clicking the New button.  The new user will have default security restrictions based on those saved in the Master user profile.  Click on the new user in the table and you will notice the security settings in the detail form on the right.  Click on each field to provide a value for security in that area of Nevitium.  When you click on a setting field on the detail form you will also see information detailing how to set security for each one at the bottom.

Notes

Nevitium security only shields people from accessing the data on your machine.  If they obtain the data it is possible to access it from another installation of Nevitium if they know which which file to delete.  To fully protect your data you can use your Operating System's encryption abilities or if you need to transport the data to a trusted party you can password encrypt it with a compression utility.

It is NOT possible to read passwords from the user database but ultimate security requires utilization of your operating system's file & user level security and or encryption.

 

My Connections

Address Label Tutorial

Table View

The table view displays a browsable list of contacts.  Each row can be selected with standard user interface methods; if you don't know how to select individual rows on a table see this tutorial.

Filter

Filter limits the type of contacts that will be displayed in the table view.  It is possible to have contacts that are neither customers or suppliers.  You will have to select the All filter to view these.

When you are accessing My Connections from Inventory, Invoice or other screen it is setup a bit differently.  First the filter is set to Suppliers if accessing from inventory.  Secondly it is set to Customers if accessed from the invoice screen.  In addition there is a Select button that you must press to send the Contact you highlighted to the invoice or inventory form.  Click on one of the rows in the table view and click Select to choose it or click the None button.  Selecting None is different from just closing the window.  When you select None the receiving form (invoice, inventory, etc..) knows to blank out the contact you may have already chosen.  Closing the window will leave the invoice or inventory screen as it was before entering My Connections.

Find

To find a certain contact; type some text in the Find field, select the field to search and hit ENTER.  You can search on Phone, Last Name, Company, Misc, Zip or Email.

Export

You can do a selective export from My Connections.  First, select each contact (row) you would like to export.  Next hit the export button.  You will be asked for a file name; you can select the default if you wish but I would suggest putting it somewhere convenient for you.  This export file can be used in other software for mail merges or other types of marketing efforts like faxing.  Any records exported to the same file name will be appended (added to those already in the file) instead of overwritten.

Zip Code

You can use Nevitium to fill in the City and State from the US zip code database by providing a zip code and pressing ENTER or clicking the Zip Code button.

Email

Press the email button to launch the address in a new email.  This uses your default email program setup on your computer.

WWW

Press the www button to launch the web link in a browser.  This uses your default browser setup on your computer.

Phone - Fax

Only 16 characters are saved from the phone and fax fields.

Past Invoices / Quotes

You can see the past invoices for a client in the small list to the right under the Delete button.  Invoices can be viewed which allows a host of options like taking a payment or getting invoice or customer history.  You can also see the quotes for a customer by hitting the Show Quotes / Invoices toggle button.

Journal

Organized notes are kept in the journal.  Each day you are allowed to create a new note for each contact if you wish.  Past journals can always be viewed or edited.  When you click New a journal file for that day is started.  You will see it appear in the small window to the left of the journal editor under the New button.  Click on a journal entry to view it in the text area on the right.  Edit whatever text you wish; when you leave that text window to click on something else it will be saved automatically.

 

Inventory Manager

 

Barcode Label Tutorial  :  Inventory Groups Tutorial

 

Start

Press the Clear button and click in the UPC field to start a new inventory record.

Table View

The table view appears to the right or can take up the whole screen by clicking the Less button as in less detail.  The Less button turns into the More button after it is pressed allowing you to easily switch views.

Find

Type in the product Code or UPC from the keyboard and press ENTER; or just scan it.  The default search field can be changed in Settings.

UPC - Code

The Code field will record up to 16 characters.  Do not use special characters (*,/,\,+,=,~,!,@,#,$,%,^,&,(,),|,{,},[,],:,;,?<,>,'," or comma) unless you know they translate into barcode properly.  Also try to limit your codes to ten or twelve characters.

Up to two records can have the same UPC.  When the item is scanned on the invoice screen both items will be added to the invoice.  The Code field works the same way.  You are free to delete either item added to the invoice, as usual.

Weight

The inventory weight field used to be 'free form' but now you should only input decimal numbers without unit designation (no lbs, kgs, etc..).  If you measure in Imperial units (lbs) and an item weighs half a pound you would record it as .50 and specify lbs in Settings under the Inventory Tab. 

Quantity - Receive

When the quantity is zero or the record is marked unavailable you will get warnings when adding these items to an invoice.  The warnings can be ignored.  You can get a Reorder Report to discover all of the products that are low or out of stock.

Suppliers

Click on each Supplier field to add a new supplier from Connections.  If a supplier is in use they cannot be deleted from Connections.

Last Sale - Reorder @

Last sale is the date the last time this item was sold on an invoice.  Adjust the Reorder @ field to the lowest amount of stock acceptable for this item before showing up on the Reorder Report.

Picture

Pictures should be copies and should be kept under the data directory that is in the Nevitium install folder.  On Windows this is usually C:\Program Files\Nevitium\data.  An appropriate setup may be C:\Program Files\Nevitium\data\pics.  When you choose an image file it is only a reference to the file so if you move the file to another folder you will have no picture.  That is why you should copy the pictures you need to a folder in the data directory and reference those.  I plan on revising this part of the system soon to make it more convenient.  

Click on an item in the table view and press F12 or click View Pic to view the image.

Groups & Discounts

Inventory groups are for creating kits out of individual inventory items and to perhaps apply a discount to the kit or items.  Select each item you want in the group and click the Groups button.  Click Add to name and save your group.  Click on the Groups button any time to see a list of groups and to remove them.

Groups Tutorial

Discounts are created by creating an inventory record that has a negative price amount.  You may also create a discount item that uses the same code (UPC or Code whichever one you use) as an existing item that you want to discount; when the code is input on the invoice UPC/Code field both items will be inserted on the invoice.  If you just hit ENTER on the UPC/Code field on the invoice screen you will have to choose each item manually.

Delete

Do not delete inventory items unless you know they haven't been used on invoices.  This is not critical BUT if you delete a bunch of items that have been sold you will mess up some reports.  Inventory records are never a wise thing to delete.  You should mark them as Unavailable instead.

 

Invoices / Quotes

Bill To

Leave this alone for a one-off sale or click Bill To: to open Connections and select a customer.  You may type in customer information also.  Be sure to hit ENTER after each line when typing in customer information.

Logo

You logo can be displayed on invoices by specifying an image file in the Settings module under the Company Information tab.

Date

Today's date is filled in, click the calendar icon to select a new date. If you have opened the calendar object and do not want to select a date just click on 'today' as highlighted in the picture.

Quantity

Specify a quantity before scanning or searching for an inventory item.  You can change the quantity in the invoice's table-view also.  Any item can have its QTY or UNIT price changed manually by clicking on the field in the invoice's table-view and typing in a new value.  Triple-click the field for quicker edits.

UPC / Code

Add products using different coding systems on the fly.  Select UPC or Code and hit ENTER to launch Inventory Manager to select products; or rapidly scan items in with a barcode scanner.  You may also type in the Code or UPC and hit ENTER.

Misc Item

Click the Misc Item button to add an item that you do not keep in Inventory.  The description field for the Misc Item dialog stores past entries and auto-completes to save you from typing so much.  Be sure to input the real cost of the item or your COGS Report will be incorrect.

Packing Slip

Hold down Ctrl and Click each row on the invoice to select the items you want on the packing slip.  With those items selected Click the Packing Slip button.  A print dialog appears allowing you to verify and set printer preferences or options.  Hit OK to print the packing slip.  No PDF is created for packing slips.

Weight

Hold down Ctrl and Click each row on the invoice to select the items you want to calculate the weight for.  This is a convenience utility for those who have to ship packages.  You have to input valid numbers in the weight field (under the inventory manager) and select a measurement standard in Settings before this utility is of any value.

Print Quote

You create a quote the same as creating an invoice.  When you want a quote instead of an invoice you can click the Save button. 

Message

Type a message to include on the invoice or pick from a list that you create with the Invoice Message Manager that is accessed by pressing the Message button.

Take Payment

Before you post an invoice you can select Take Payment to process a payment against the invoice that will be reflected when it prints.

Post

Click the post button when you are finished building the invoice. Pressing this button stores the invoice and attempts to generate a PDF (unless PDF is canceled). 

Save

The Save button saves the current document as a quote to be resumed later.  You can also modify & print it as many times as needed.

 

Invoice Manager

Posted Invoices

This table-view displays the invoices within the current filter.

 

Find

Search for invoices within the current filter ONLY [Paid (Closed), Unpaid or Voids].  Make sure to include the prefix when searching.

 

Take Payment

Use this to process payments against an invoice.

 

Statement
This button creates an invoice Statement that lists payments, returns, interest charges and refund activity for the currently selected invoice.

 

Return

This button allows you to process a product return which alters the current invoice's Payment Activity accordingly.

 

Close Invoice

When you cannot recover payment for an invoice you can 'Write Off' or close the invoice.  It will show up in the paid invoice filter.

 

VOID

This is how you "delete" an invoice.  Product and payment info is lost.

 

Payment Activity

This table-view displays payments, returns, interest charges and refunds.

 

Delete

This is a convenience to help keep your records straight if something has been entered wrong. Do not use this unless you have to.

 

Reports

 

Most documents generated by Nevitium are PDF files.  A PDF is a file that stores your document exactly how it will print.  You can view and print PDF files on any system with a number of programs (freely available); the most popular being Adobe Acrobat Reader.  It is recommended that you use Adobe Reader version 5.0 or greater to view the documents generated by Nevitium.  For more information about viewing and printing PDF files from Nevitium see Output Settings.

Do NOT use Adobe Reader 8.0 yet; it is in very bad shape right now.  Nevitium will not find version 8.0 because it is installed in different directories and has a different executable than the previous versions over the last ten - twelve years.  It is not recommended for business use.

Open Invoice Report
A list of open invoices with customer and payment history information.  Hand it to an assistant so they can contact and collect from customers.

Sales Report
Provide a date range and Nevitium will list the items sold for each day with totals by line for each item and totals for all products by day.  Period totals (w/ taxes) show up at the end of the report.

COGS Report
Same as the Sales report but it includes the cost of the items as well.  Both reports contain tax information.

Revenue Report
Provide a date range and Nevitium will list all the payments received by invoice and by each day.  Period total revenue is shown at the end of the report.

Inventory Report
A basic inventory status report.  Lists all products with cost and retail value totals.  Inventory total values are listed at the end of the report.

Inventory Reorder Report
This report only lists items that have a quantity that is equal to or lower than the Reorder @ value.  Each associated supplier is listed under each item.

Customer List
A basic contact sheet.  This "report" neatly lists your customers from the Connections database.

Customer Phone List
A simple alphabetical phone list.

Supplier List
A list of your suppliers, Misc field from Connections is printed.

Supplier Phone List
A simple alphabetical phone list

 

Report Dialog (Window)

Title

This will display at the top of your reports.  This is ignored for invoices.

Folder

This is the location of the PDF file generated by Nevitium.  The file name is selected automatically to speed workflow, you can rename them after they are generated if you wish.  Click the Browse button to locate the proper folder.  This default folder can be configured in Settings.

Windows Fast Print

This sends the document directly to the default Windows printer without opening it first in Adobe Reader.  This uses Adobe DDE to print so you still need Adobe Reader to utilize this option.

Duplicate

The Duplicate option is for printing duplicate invoices with Windows Fast Print only.  This option is ignored on reports.

View

This displays the document in the configured PDF reader after being generated by Nevitium.

Cancel

Prevents a PDF from being generated/printed.  On the invoice screen this DOES NOT cancel the posting of the invoice.

 

Barcodes

 

Print your barcodes with a Laser printer or make sure you have a good quality inkjet printer that is properly calibrated.  Test scan your printouts before running large label batches.  If your inkjet is not calibrated properly the barcodes will not work.  Remember also that moisture will distort the barcodes if using an inkjet printer.

 

Barcode Label Tutorial  :  Address Label Tutorial

Developing Custom Product Codes

 

Scanners

Nevitium relies on a scanner that sends the code and affixes an ENTER keystroke (code + ENTER).  This is the equivalent of typing the code and pressing ENTER  Most regular PC barcode scanners sold these days come configured ready to run in Nevitium.  Some scanners come configured like this: ENTER + code + ENTER  All can be changed if you have access to the scanner's manual.

Purchase a good barcode scanner.  A cheap ($50.00) barcode scanner is OK to test with and do light work but a retail environment or similar will need a high quality barcode scanner.  There are plenty for sale on eBay usually costing around $200 - $300.

Look for USB 2.0 connection; or PS/2 pass-through if you have an older computer.  Make sure it decodes the barcodes you wish to use.  Most come configured to decode all popular barcode types.

Don't buy used unless it is in perfect condition AND COMES WITH THE MANUAL.  You need the manual because it contains pages of barcodes to program the unit if it doesn't work properly with your applications.  Sometimes these manuals can be obtained from the manufacturer.

 

UPC/EAN (Standard Retail 12 and 13 digit barcodes)

If you are using a barcode scanner for the first time you need to verify how your scanner works BEFORE using it in Nevitium.  For example, when you scan a regular UPC-A which is 12 digits (numbers) long does your scanner prefix a zero to it?  UPC = 733792645295, UPC with zero prefixed by the scanner = 0733792645295.  Notice the zero at the beginning of the second code?  This is not really a big deal if you do all of your product searches with the scanner, however if you or someone else wishes to type in a UPC to find a product they have to know whether or not to start with a zero; this can be very inconvenient.  This could also cause a problem when printing EAN barcodes but very few have a need for that so it is not included in Nevitium.  Newer EAN barcodes (similar to UPC-A) have 13 digits, some applications treat these the same and that is why a zero is prefixed to 12 digit codes by some scanners by default.  You can test how your scanner works by opening a text editor or word processor and scanning barcodes; the scanner acts as a keyboard.  I highly recommend getting rid of the zero prefix from your scanner if it is doing this.

Nevitium only prints Code 128 & Code 3 of 9 to simplify barcode operations; if you need a different type of barcode printed contact support.

You do not want to change scanner settings or defaults after you have entered hundreds of products!  With any coding system you need to be consistent or your system will cost more time than it saves, take your time and do it properly. 

 

Developing a Code System

If you plan to use your own code system to represent products or services there are some things you must be aware of first.  Below is a list of issues that need addressed when creating a code system.

When you have to come up with a coding system which is based on a string of numbers, letters and some limited special characters you must be very consistent.  It is usually better to reuse  supplier - manufacturer catalog or product codes.   It is much harder to fabricate product codes than it seems at first. 

 

Notes

 

Good Code Examples:

Swanson Vitamin - E4SWH125, D4SW998, D4SWE033  <<--varying lengths but meaningful

National Garden - 718350, 716230  <<----all are six characters (numbers)

Hewlett Packard  - C8727AN <<---manufacturer product number (ink cartridge)

Think like this: 112233,  11 <--category, 22 <--sub-category?, 33 <--product number,

Codes describe products but in a very detailed but compressed way.

 

Biggest Mistakes:

Remember that these codes will be used by customers and business partners, funky codes look very unprofessional and do not inspire confidence. 

 

more...

You can find more than you care to about barcodes on the web:

Try these links for general information: Simple Barcode Explanation, Google, Barcode Information, more..(highspeed only)