Substruct Knowledge Base

This error is easily fixed by installing XP SP3 on your workstation.

Problem
When trying to run Substruct Utiilities (substruct.exe) over the network for the first time, you may receive an error:

The application failed to initialize properly (oxc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.

This is due to the Microsoft .NET Framework Runtime Security Policy no being configured correctly.

Solution
On a Windows XP computer, do the following:
1. Open Control Panel.
2. Open Administrative Tools.
3. Open Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Configuration.
4. Expand Runtime Security Policy.
5. Expand Machine.
6. Expand Code Groups.
7. Right-click on All_Code and click Properties.
8. Click the Permission Set tab.
9. Change the Permission Set drop down to “Full Trust”.
10. Click OK to save this change.
11. Close the .NET Configuration 1.1 window.

Occasionally, Accounts Receivable total will be off. This is caused by Cougar Mountain for unknown reasons. To check for discrepancies, do the following:

• In AR, go to Reports > Control. Click OK to run the report.

Â

Short barcodes on some merchandise may not scan correctly by default. These barcodes use the UPCE (usually UPCE0) symbology, and most aliases are stored in your Cougar Mountain installation in the standard 12 digit UPCA format. For reference, Ace sends down UPC information in UPCA format. To enable your scanner to convert UPCE to UPCA, do the following:

The Tools menu contains links to the Signs and Labels programs, both of which can also be found on the Switchboard. It also has a links to the Customer Rewards utility, the Barcode Generator, and the Register Item Sheet tool.

The .cpf font files need to be loaded on to the printer using Zebra’s Label Vista software. Contact technical support for assistance with this.

Every time you download an invoice from Ace Hardware’s computer system, you also automatically download product information updates called Hotsheets. These are files that Ace queues nightly for every store, but downloading them weekly is just as efficient. Once you have finished running your Invoice and Hotsheets Wizard, your Hotsheets will show up under the Hotsheets Tab of Receiving.

The Information Contained in a Hotsheet File

Each Hotsheets file listed on the Hotsheets Tab contains many lines of information. This includes, but is not limited to: retail changes, cost changes, merchandise class changes, description updates, new product information, discontinued product information, and UPC code additions. Every time you change a price on Acenet, it comes down and gets adjusted with Hotsheets.

Using the Hotsheets Tab

The Hotsheets section of Receiving has two main functions: update data (prices, descriptions, etc.) from the Hotsheets and print new bin labels for items with price updates. One problem that occurs when updated data, specifically retail prices, is that the bin tags and peg hook tags on your sales floor will not be correct.

Since Ace almost always raises prices when they send down price changes, there is a suitable work around to this problem. Hotsheets has the ability to print out labels for items that are having there prices changed before updating their respective prices in Cougar Mountain. Then, after you have put up the new labels, you can update the data into Cougar Mountain. The theory behind this method is that a customer would much rather pick up an item with a price tag saying “$1.99″ but then get to the register and scan at “$1.79″. If you put up your labels after you have updated you hotsheets, a customer is more encounter items that are more expensive at the register.

Printing Hotsheets

To print labels for Hotsheets from a given date, highlight the date on the Hotsheets tab and click Print. A print postion window will appear. Select the location of you first blank label and click the Printer Button to print or the Preview Button to preview.

Updating Hotsheets

Once you have put up your new labels through out the store, hightlight the date on the Hotsheets tab and click update. All new Hotsheets data will be updated into Cougar Mountain, including retail prices.

Deleting Hotsheets

To delete old Hotsheets from the list, highlight the date of the Hotsheets and click Delete.

The Special Order feature of Substruct Utilities is very useful for keeping track of items that have been special ordered for customers. It allows you to track products as they enter the store, and it helps you make sure those products get into the hands of your customers instead of ending up out on your sales floor.

Using the Special Order Client

The Special Order client is designed to help you track products that you have already ordered for customers. It will not order the products for you. The best practice for order a special order item is the following:

• Find the item you wish to special order on Acenet.
• From the “Ship Method” tab, select Stock Reserve.
• Enter the quantiy you wish to special order in the Qty box and click Order to complete the order.
• Open up Substruct Utilities.
• Open the Special Order Client.
• Enter in the stock number (not the UPC or alias), the quantity ordered, and the customers name.
• Enter any other information you want to record about the special order.

This method work best for a couple of reasons. If you were to order the using the Ordering module of Substruct Utilities, you might find that the item is not in the system (and if you have to manually add the item to Cougar Mountain you might encounter problems with input error). Also without ordering the item on Acenet, you will have no idea wether the item is in stock at the warehouse.Ordering the item on Acenet lets you double check to make sure products are in stock, as well as double check things like cost and margin.

Special Orders Window

The Special Order window has many fields for all sorts of different data about the customer, the product being special ordered, and the order itself. It also has a set of check boxes for monitoring the status of the order. The Special Order Window is also capable of emailing customers, informing them that there product has arrived.

Product Info

This section contains the information about the item being ordered. The Stock number (Ace number), and the Quantity are required. The Date Ordered is automatically filled in with the computer’s system date but can be changed. The Promised Price can be left blank but is useful for rain check type orders and situations were the customer was promised a price that is different than the price in the computer system.

Customer Info

This section is where all of the information about the customer is stored. Name is the only required field. The rest of the fields are optional data about the customer, but the following fields will print out on the Special Order labels (printed from the Receiving module of Substruct Utilities): Stock Number, Qty, Promised Price, Phone Number, Alt. Number, and Name. See below for more information on Special Order Labels. If the Email field is filled in with a valid email address, the Email feature of Special Orders becomes available.

Using the Email feature of Special Orders

Once you have a valid email address in the Email field of the Special Order window, a small Email button with a picture of an envelope will appear in the bottom right hand corner of the window. Clicking this button will automatically generate an email to send to the customer. This email will contain product information and the customer’s name, along with a custom message that can be changed in the Preferences. For more information on configuring this message, click the link below.

The email message will open in your default email program (usually Outlook Express) and can be customized before being sent to the customer.

Note: The Special Order client will never automatically send out emails to your customers. It will only automatically generate an email that you can then send to them.

Status

This section contains a set of check boxes that can be used to keep track of the status of the special order.

Ordered denotes that the item has been ordered on Acenet or in the Ordering module of Substruct. This box is used for reference. If you want to gather information from the customer about the special order but you haven’t yet ordered the item, uncheck this box. Keep in mind that the Special Order program will never automatically order the products for you: it only tracks their status.Paid or “Prepaid” is used for when the customer pays for the item before it is ordered.

Received should be checked after the item has been checked in from the order. This box is not automatically updated by the software, and must be manually updated after the special order has been received.

Completed should be checked once the item has been picked up by the customer. All items marked as complete should be considered archived records. The Completed field is also used by the Receiving module to determine what items are special orders. See the section below on How to use the Special Order Client in conjunction with Receiving for more information.

Emailed, which is only available if there is a valid email address in the Email field, should be checked after the customer has been emailed about their special order. This prevents duplicate emailing.

Notes

This section of Special Orders is used for taking down any additional information about the special order or the customer.

How to use the Special Order Client in conjunction with Receiving

The Special Orders Program’s most useful feature is it’s ability to work in conjunction with Receiving. In order for an item to show up as a special order in the Receiving window, a few requirements must be met before you run the Invoice Wizard:

• There must be a record in the Special Order Database that has the exact same Ace/Stock number as an item on the invoice that is being prepared.
• The Completed checkbox on that record must not be checked. If it is checked, the record is assumed to be old, and is not marked as a special order in the Receiving module.
• The record must be in the Special Order Database before the Invoice Wizard is run. If the Special Order record is added after the Invoice is prepared, it will not show up as such.

Each of these items will have a label printed when you press “Print Special Order Labels” in the Receiving Module. These labels are very useful for organizing your products that are special orders. You can keep them all in a back room or on a certain shelf, and the label (which you should place directly on to the product) will tell you vital information about the special order such as customer name, customer telephone number, etc. See below for more information on Special Order Labels.

Tip: To easily access the special order record for a particular item, press the button to the right of the record.

Special Order Labels

For every item on an invoice that is marked as Special Order, you can print a Special Order label. Just use the Print Special Order Labels… button in the Manage Invoice of Receiving.

These labels are great for storing and organizing you special orders until your customers come and pick them up. The labels show product info, customer contact info, and a line for you to indicate the date that the customer was contacted to let them know their special order had arrived. This is useful for stores that put items out onto the sales floor if the customer doesn’t come to pickup the item after a certain amount of time.