Frequently Asked Questions:
Accounts Payable
1. Can the Accounts Payable module receive electronic invoices?
Envoy has EDI capabilities and can receive invoices electronically.
2. How does the module provide for security levels to be placed against user defined levels of functionality?
The user ID is linked to the user group. Each user group contains lists of rights that specify the capability to query or perform specific actions.
3. How does the AP module perform automatic invoice matching?
In the setup of Envoy, there is a flag to enable the invoice matching feature If this option is selected, the system will not allow an invoice which does not match a P/O and DSD (3-way matching) to be paid without authorization.
4. How does the system provide reporting of matched/unmatched DSD by vendor?
There is a report for DSD by vendor, but matched and unmatched are not defined. Reports can be customized with the use of any 3rd party reporting tool.
5. How does the system also provide the ability to override unmatched invoices?
Users who have adequate security rights can either manually override the invoice amount, or can process the unmatched invoice without having to match it.
6. How does the system create an invoice for all claims to vendors?
The system allows the users to automatically generate invoices from a DSD receipt or manually by defining suppliers and all necessary information. An invoice can be either be applied or not applied to a specific P/O. EDI is also a possibility for electronic invoices.
7. Does the system have a pre-payment run check?
Yes, the system allows the user to issue/print checks. The system will keep track of the running check numbers also for auditing purposes.
8. Can the system create a remittance advice?
Yes, the system can create a remittance advice.
9. Does the system have the ability to create flat file for interface to corporate software?
Envoy has the ability to create numerous file formats SAP, JDE, Dynamics, and others as well providing a generic format in both ASCII positional and XML.
10. How does the system cater for payment scheduling?
A payment can be scheduled by using either the due date or discount date as the criteria.
11. How does the system provide for duplicate payment control based on user defined criteria (Invoice #, Date, Amount etc)?
An invoice that is already posted to G/L will not be shown in the payment module.
12. How is the system capable of providing discount or rebate processing functionality?
In a DSD, the user can enter the line or total discount both in dollar amount or in percentage. Moreover a discount % can be defined for each terms code if the payment is made within the discount date range of each supplier.
13. Does the system cater for exception reporting based on user-defined parameters to determine store compliance/accuracy?
Yes, the system features several exception reports. Other reports can be created with any 3rd party reporting tool.
14. Can invoices be sorted for DSD by Invoice #, Vendor Name, Vendor #, Date, Station etc?
The invoices can be sorted by P/O number, vendor code, vendor name, date received or store.
15. Does the system provide the ability to delete aged unmatched DSD?
Using the user defined Purging function in Envoy aged DSD’s can be purged and deleted automatically.
16. What level of Summary Reporting / Journalized of unmatched DSD (Goods receipt accrual) is provided by the system?
The system provides the date and supplier level of an unmatched DSD.
Accounts Receivable
1. Does the system provide a database to allow the user to uniquely identify each Debtor and capture data on the debtor?
The system allows the user to create a debtor database in the A/R module. The debtors are created at the store level and head office
2. Does the system provide a database to allow the user to uniquely identify each Card Merchant Debtors and capture data on the debtor?
The Card Merchant Debtors can be uniquely identified by store number and customer number.
3. How will the system provide summary data across all classes of trade?
The A/R information for all COCO sites will be updated back at the Home Office System and can be analyzed by site, store group, or corporate hierarchy while the CODO’s will be analyzed on each site.
4. How does the system create unique invoices?
In Cash Sales/Day End Reconciliation, a user is allowed to create an A/R invoice that belongs to each customer. Each time an invoice is printed a new invoice # is created for that customer. Invoices can only be printed from the store level system.
5. Does the system create customer statements?
The system allows the user to create all ‘debtors’ details. There is the A/R Statement and A/R Aging reports as well.
6. How does the system provide for the reporting of customer balances?
There is an A/R aging summary that provides the detailed invoice information for all customers which can then be drilled down to many levels.
7. Does the system cater for open item based accounting for receipts?
The system caters to invoice by invoice or balance forward methods of A/R.
Cash and Sales Accounting
1. How does the system cater for authorization control across differing functionality requirements?
The system features an advanced security module allowing users to set security and user rights for varying access to the system functions.
2. How does the system provide for userdefined exception reporting?
Many of Envoy’s standard reports allow the user the flexibility to create their own exception criteria. This can also be accomplished using any 3rd party reporting tool.
3. How does the system allow site defined activities to be entered and reported?
Based on security rights the sites level activities can be defined and allocated to each site. Step by step menu’s can be created for each site that define the site defined activities in their proper sequence in order to alleviate mistakes and missing entries.
4. Does the system allow authorized users to drill down to details at a site level and reconcile exceptions?
The ability to access site level information and to modify/reconcile it is based on the user defined security settings in Envoy. This feature is flexible enough so that some users may be able to view the information but not modify/reconcile it and other may have the ability to actually modify and reconcile it.
Customers
1. Does the system have a database to maintain customer information such as name and address, demographic data, purchase history?
The customer information maintained in the system is customer code, name, address, tax ID number, individual tax category, credit limit, term code, rating code, discount, invoice, and sales transaction of each day.
2. How and to what level of detail does the Customer database support sales analysis?
Since all customers can be linked to their shift or daily sales transaction, the sales analysis can be detailed by the customers, products, times, and sales quantity and value.
3. Does the system provide a Customer Loyalty database that allows for tracking customer details, accumulating sales by customer?
The system allows the user to track customer’s details and all sales information linked to those customers but does not include a customer loyalty program.
4. How does the system perform basket analysis?
The system captures very detailed information, including but not limited to time and date stamps, transaction details, other statistical information.
Fuel and Site Operations
1. Does the system value and track fuel stock by FIFO method?
The fuel stock is tracked and valued on a weighted average basis.
2. How does the system cater for site fuel price changes?
Fuel price changes can be initiated from either the head office or the store, depending on the security rights assigned. These price changes are downloaded to the POS register with a date and time stamp on them. The POS register will then initiate the price changes automatically at the pumps.
3. How does the system provide for messaging to site to notify fuel price changes?
After the site receives new prices from HOS and the user accesses the BOS, the system will detect data that was sent from HOS and will allow the user to print the data change report for verification.
4. How does the system provide for tactical pricing of fuel?
With the use of Envoy’s advanced competitor fuel pricing surveys and the use of its centralized pricing model, the users are able to create strategic pricing models for all products across its marketing area, including dry stock.
5. What control tolerances can be set for price or margin adjustment?
When creating the fuel product, the system asks the user to specify a minimum and maximum gross profit percentage. When changing a price, if a fuel’s gross profit falls outside of this range, an exception occurs.
6. How does the proposed system record tank reading on a site, by tank basis?
Every tank has an identity code, a description, max/on hand/re-order volume level, and has a raw fuel product assigned to it. To maintain accurate inventory levels, each tank is also assigned a conversion chart for use with stick readings. Tank readings can be recorded in Envoy as long as the POS is interfaced to the tank gauging system. There are exceptions to which POS systems have this capability.
7. How does the system provide for an end of day reconciliation between Meter readings or sales volumes and tank dipstick readings?
For the day-end reconciliation, for each tank, the system will automatically generate the gross fuel volume from the tank’s detail provided in the system and the user will enter the net fuel volume from the actual tank dipping. For each pump, the system will import its meter reading to the system and the user will reconcile it with that pump’s fuel sales.
8. How does the system provide suggested fuel reordering based on quantity and existing days supply, which can be confirmed or modified by site manager?
Product Menu /Properties/General Tab/Availability Button. After clicking this button the screen statistic will popup on screen and have Min qty, Max qty and Safe qty all of these fields can suggest for ordering.
9. How does the system allow authorized users to order at site?
By assigning user rights.
10. How does the system propose to enable goods receipting at site?
By the use of hand-held scanners or manually entering the DSD.
11. What PDT devices does the system interface with for goods receiving and stocktaking?
The system is interfaced with most Windows CE based scanners. We currently recommend the Falcon 4420.
12. What costing methods are available for inventory valuation, both fuel and product items?
Weighted average cost.
13. How would the system support on site manufacturing, such as a bakery, especially in regard to stock, batch and recipe control methods?
This is done through Envoy’s QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) module and recipe item system. There are recipe and ingredient type of products. For every recipe product, the user can assign the list of ingredients and the quantities used to create the product. When the product is sold, the system automatically depletes stock from each of the ingredients. The cost of the recipe is compiled from the total cost of each of the ingredients.
14. How do you propose to integrate labor management module into the system?
There is the employee setup for entry of Employee Information, Time Sheet and Punch Clock information. Envoy may also interface to 3rd-party HR/ Payroll systems at a later date should it become a market requirement.
15. How does the system provide for Site P&L reporting?
There are several profitability and margin reports that are available at the site level. At head office an Income Statement per site can be generated.
16. What elements are available to enable Site P&L reporting?
All data within Envoy is captured at the lowest levels, allowing for detailed reporting for specific locations or groups of locations. This detail can be used to provide site level financial reporting.
17. How does the system provide audit capability at site?
There is an audit trail in each site system. It provides the information including users, functionality, date, time, and activities detailed. The audit trail is detailed so that every action that any user takes can be tracked and reported on.
Inventory Management
1. How does the system cater for integrity of data such as unique SKU’s?
When a user creates a new product, they are prompted by the system to enter the SKU number. If there is an existing SKU number, the system will check and will not allow the users to enter that number again.
2. What are the capabilities to place authorization levels against specific actions and how is such authorization controlled?
When a user logs into Envoy, the user ID and password must be entered. That user ID will be linked to a user group. Each user group contains lists of rights that specify the capability to query or modify data with specific actions.
3. How does the system allow for adding new products?
The system allows the user to group the products according to a inventory level hierarchy. Under each sub-brand, the user identifies the products, or SKU’s, associated with it. The product level is where information such as description, min/max/base profit, min/max/on hand stock, location, average cost, supplier details, etc. is maintained. Under each product the user identifies the individual items or UPC’s. The item level is where all pricing information and selling unit is maintained.
4. How does the system manage product deletions?
The system requires the user to deactivate products prior to their deletion if there is any transaction history. Deactivated products can be sold and tracked but cannot be purchased. Afterwards authorized users can purge transactional data of that deactivated product and delete it from the system.
5. How many levels of product categorization can the system accommodate?
There are 6 levels of product hierarchy in Envoy with each level containing unlimited sub-levels. Price Groups and Cost Groups are also used to provide more flexibility in grouping products with the same prices and costs. To further accommodate a diverse inventory the system supports a wide range of different product types including store items, recipes, ingredients, combos, mix/match and more.
6. What reports (default and user configurable) does the system provide to assist in analyzing any given products performance?
Some of the reports currently used for product performance are the following: Price Change History, Pricing, Sales History, Top/Bottom Item Sales and Product Movement, etc.
Sales and Marketing
1. How do you integrate with existing POS devices for the import and export of data?
By interfacing by using standard formats (NAXML) and proprietary formats specific to some POS.
2. What capacity does the system have for handling transaction level data?
Many of our existing POS interfaces support transaction level data that flows through to the Envoy home office system. This is our preferred method of interfacing provided the POS supplies the information.
3. How does the system support the use of Local Accounts?
Our AR module at each site is a Local Accounts module that provide the ability to manage local account customers. Invoices and Customer statements can be printed from each site and customer aging and payment history is maintained.
4. How does the system provide for competitor survey?
The system allows the user to track the competitors’ prices for both wet and dry stock.
5. How are shelf edge labels be printed at site and are the details printed configurable?
There is a shelf label report in the inventory module. By defining product, label size, and quantity, the UPC number, product name, unit of measure, and price will be printed.
6. Does the system provide a promotional planning facility?
The system allows for the creation of promotions. The system can also be used to further analyze the success of these promotions.
7. Can the promotional planning module be configured to provide planning on a yearly, half yearly, quarterly to weekly basis?
This functionality is POS dependent. Price changes and promotions can be planned up to the minute in Envoy.
Vendors
Vendor Partnering
1. Does the system provide a database to allow the user to uniquely identify each vendor and capture data in regard to, but not limited to, Vendor name, terms and conditions, lead times, ordering rules, payment type etc?
Yes, each vendor is uniquely identified by vendor code and can capture data in regard to the mentioned information.
2. How does the system support tracking of vendor information?
Each vendor is linked to their supplied products and G/L account. Once the store performs a direct store delivery (DSD), all new information will be transmitted back to the vendor. Therefore, each vendor can be tracked by DSD, P/O or invoice details.
Buying
1. How does the system allow for the entry of new and deletion of old products?
New products can be added or deleted by either home office system (HOS) users (information would be transmitted directly to the defined stores) or by site operators themselves depending on the authority setting. A product is uniquely identified by the SKU number. The system allows for deletion only when that product does not have any transaction history.
2. What are the data elements captured?
The system allows the user to group the products according to aninventory hierarchy. Under each sub-brand, the user identifies the products, or SKU’s, associated with it. The product level is where information such as description, min/max/base profit, min/max/on hand stock, location, average cost, supplier details, etc. is maintained. Under each product, the user identifies the individual items, or UPC’s. The item level is where all pricing information and selling unit is maintained.
3. How does the system cater for service and stock items?
The service and stock items can be separated by the inventory hierarchy setup. The system also allows the user to create a service item that can be price overridden by the store user, by defining it as the group SKU.
4. How does the system match item to vendor relationships?
The system allows the user to identify multiple vendor codes to each SKU. An item can also be setup with multiple purchase pack sizes (UN, 12pk, 24pk)
5. What functionality does the electronic price book provide?
The electronic price book allows the user to select products according to the six-level inventory hierarchy or according to user-defined price groups and to select which stores will be affected by the price change according to a multi-level corporate hierarchy or according to user-defined store groups. The amount of the price change can either be a percentage increase/decrease, a dollar increase/decrease, or a replacement value. The dates and times of change can be specified as well.
The system features a number of safeguards to ensure that the prices stay within reasonable guidelines. Once the price change information has been provided, Envoy generates a preview of the price change. Without making any actual changes, the system will check the products’ properties and type (store item, combo, recipe, etc.) and calculates what the new prices will be, and informs the user of any exceptions or problems that will result from the change.
6. Can the electronic price book be viewed and used at a site specific, site grouping and country level?
Yes, the system features a multi-level corporate hierarchy that allows the user to group the stores according to geographical level (user defined). The store range can also be chosen according to user-defined store group.
7. How does the price book manage combo deals?
Combo products are groupings of regular store items, where you assign a list of store items and their quantities. When a combo is sold, the system will reduce each store item in the combo automatically. Combo products are useful when you want to sell several store items together for one price.
8. How does the system create and action purchase orders?
The system allows the user (either home office or site) to create a P/O by automatically generating it from the re-ordering module or manually creating it in the P/O entry module by specifying the supplier, date wanted, store, and SKUs. When the user generates a DSD, they can select whether or not to have it applied to those P/Os.
9. How does the system provide Computer Assisted Replenishment and if so what methods of calculation are available?
Envoy features a complete advanced reorder module.
- Use reorder wizard to select products by supplier, inventory hierarchy, or cost group
- Create unlimited user-defined reorder codes based on past sales performance
- Assign reorder codes by UPC/PLU item
- Set "Event" reorder codes for promotions and specials
- Specify supplier Lead Time and Delivery Frequency by supplier by store
- Assign Min, Max, and Safety Stock levels
GL/Budgets and Forecasts
General Ledger
1. What journal fields does the system provide?
Every different transaction type (Sales, Purchase,Payment, Adjustment) is stored in a separate journal that defines and records the posting disbursement to the general ledger for those transactions. The following fields are capture for each journal: Transaction source, transaction date, debit amount, credit amount, reference number.
2. What are the standard reports available for the General Ledger?
G/L Activity, G/L Trial Balance, G/L Statements and Chart of Account. Additional reports can be created with any 3rd party reporting tool.
3. How does the system enable user defined P&L and Balance Sheets for the General Ledger?
Customized P&L and Balance Sheets are created through the G/L Accounts master file.