Order Entry
Dispatching
Accounts Receivable

While these are three separate modules, they are closely associated -- just as the functions are within your company.

PCS has eliminated problems that are common to so many other automated systems. When a customer calls to place an order, you choose the order entry module. When you learn that the customer has a new address, you can make the change immediately -- from the order entry module. Many systems don't allow this, so you must write the new information on paper and hope that you can still read it when you have time to open a masterfile maintenance program.

The mission we give PCS software developers is to make your job easier -- not to add to the chaos.

And when it comes to looking up a customer's record, PCS eliminates frustration by providing an array of look-up options:

• Customer number
• Alpha code
• Any word in the customer's name or street address
• Zip code
• Phone number
• Master customer (if you serve branch facilities but bill a central office)
• Even a field that you can define

The PCS system takes into account the way you work and the tasks you need to complete.

Do customers want you to fax them a copy of an invoice?

No need to print it again or search for it in a paper file. Just select the invoice on screen and press the FAX button.

Need to send the customer a quick note?

Compose the note as an attachment to the customer's master file (you'll automatically have a record of the communication) and then press the FAX button. No need to print it. No need to carry it to your fax machine.

Do you need unique invoices and statements?

PCS provides customized forms. They fit your industry. They fit your company.

Is pursuing overdue accounts so cumbersome that you don't do it?

PCS provides a "letterhead statement" that automates the process of preparing reminders.

Would you like to customize your finance charges?

PCS software establishes a corporate finance charge policy that's used unless you override it. You can establish alternate finance charges on a customer-by-customer basis. And that's not all. If you negotiate special terms for one particular sale, you can modify the finance charges by invoice, too!

Do you need information about sales to specific customer sites?

Warranty or legal requirements may create the need to store model numbers or serial numbers on a customer-by-customer basis. If you've ever done this with paper files, you know how hard it is. The PCS order entry system can automatically generate entries into a customer masterfile for specific types of equipment. And once the information is in the customer master file, you can search by model number, serial number, and more.

Would you like to offer your best customers special prices?

Shopkeepers have always given their best customers better prices, but computers have often eliminated this practice. That's too bad, because special treatment builds long-term relationships. Now PCS makes it possible again by providing up to 10 levels of pricing for every item (not just stock categories) and you can mark selling prices up or down from any of the 10 levels by customer, by product line, and by individual part.

This option also applies to labor codes, so you can provide a discounted labor rate for customers with service contracts or special arrangements. And "zone charges" make it possible for you to modify service fees depending on the customer's distance from your company.

Looking beyond the obvious

Business trends may not be obvious from looking at the big picture. Sometimes it's necessary to look at specific sales areas, to examine the operation from a different angle.

That's why the PCS order entry module allows reporting by customer, by part, by product line, by sales representative, and so on.

That's why we retain the information you need to create technician analysis reports. It's good to know who your most productive technicians are, after all. The PCS system doesn't limit historical information to a certain number of days, reporting periods, or years. It's limited only by available disk space.

Some of the key components of order entry and dispatching include:

Is electronic data interchange (EDI) required by your customers?

If you deal with a large company or the federal government, you know how important this is.

Do you have multiple stocking locations?

If you have more than one stocking location (another building or service vehicles, for example), it's no problem. The PCS order entry module supports multiple locations.

Would you like to use a flat-rate pricing book?

Most of the pricing book services also provide their information on tape or diskette. The PCS system can be adapted to support any pricing book that provides data in a format we can read.

Would you like to automate the process of dispatching technicians?

The PCS dispatching system supports alpha-numeric pagers. When technicians are away from their vehicles, they're out of touch with the dispatcher. The PCS pager option eliminates that problem and allows you to let a technician know that another call is waiting.

Would you like to see a "snapshot" of your schedule?

When a system works, it shouldn't be discarded -- it should be improved. So PCS has recreated the old-fashioned scheduling board in the computer. The board allowed you to see the day's schedule at a glance, but moving appointments around was always cumbersome, clumsy, and unattractive. Now that the board is on the computer, you can still see the schedule at a glance -- and now you can make changes easily, too.

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