Implementation Guide
How to implement OrderTrac into your business
Implementing OrderTrac probably seems like a daunting task, and I completely understand. Going from pen and paper or from another program such as quickbooks and converting to OrderTrac to track all customers, vendors, and invoices can be a lot of work. The good news is, it sounds a lot worse that it really is. If you follow the following steps, you will be eased into the world of OrderTrac, and you will not know how you got along before without (at least this is what the current users of OrderTrac tell me!). Even if you don’t have much experience using a computer, you will be able to use OrderTrac.
The trick is to start with the basic functions, and grow into the other features as you become comfortable with the program. Start with #1 below, and only follow the instructions on the next step once you are comfortable doing the items listed in the current step.
1. Download the trial and install on 1 computer.
This will be your ‘Server’ computer. This means this is the computer where all of the data (customers, invoices, vendors, etc) will be stored. If you want to add more computers later, the other computers will connect to this one to see that data. With the trial, you are allowed 20 customers and invoices.
Go to the invoices tab and create a new invoice. Add the customer, add any invoice notes, add the items to the invoice, add a payment, and print. That’s it! Create a few more invoices just to get the hang of it. Try adding different the types of items to your invoice: stock, ordered, and other charges (delivery fees, warranties, discounts, etc). Get familiar with adding the different types of items you normally encounter on a daily basis.
2. Register OrderTrac to remove the trial mode
Once you have become familiar with OrderTrac, it is time to register your copy to remove the trial mode restrictions. Follow the instructions in this article to register OrderTrac.
3. Begin writing your invoices in OrderTrac when each new sale is made
Invoices are the most important part of OrderTrac, so start by just focusing on creating a new invoice for each sale.
After creating each invoice, click print and choose which copies you want (store copy, customer copy, etc). You now have a classy and legible printed paper invoice for the customer and for your records! As you create invoices, the items on the invoices are added to the system, but we will worry about what to do with those later on. For now, just get comfortable creating invoices.
4. Use the Items tab to track items
Now we will take a look at what happens to the items that were added to the invoices you have been making.
OrderTrac tracks items by status. The possible statuses include: To be ordered (TOBEORDERED), On Order (ONORDER), On Hand (ONHAND), and Closed (CLOSED).
TOBEORDERED – Item needs to be ordered from the vendor
ONORDER – Item has been ordered from the vendor, but has not been received.
ONHAND – Item has been shipped and received from the vendor, and is now in your posession.
CLOSED – Item has been delivered or picked up, and is no longer in your possession.
When an ordered item is first added to an invoice, the status is TOBEORDERED. Once you have ordered the item from the vendor as explained in step 6, the status will automatically be updated to ONORDER. Once the item has been received and is in your posession, the status of the item moves to ONHAND. At this point, you can schedule deliveries or schedule for the customer to come pick the item up. Once the customer is in posession of the item, the status is updated to CLOSED.
To view the items in each status, go to the items tab and use the red and orange filter buttons at the top to quickly view these items. These lists can be further filtered by using the blue filter box to view items that have a particular vendor, or items that include the word ‘bed’ in the description, for example.
5. Import/Create vendors
To take the next step in OrderTrac, you will need to add your vendors. You can either assemble your own vendor list, or you can choose to start with our preassembled list. Follow these instructions to import your vendors.
If you would rather just enter the vendors manually, go to the Vendors tab, select ‘New Vendor’, and enter the details. Do this for each vendor you deal with.
6. Order items from vendors through OrderTrac
One major timesaving feature of OrderTrac is the ability to order items through the program. Because every item is tracked by status, you can at any time look at a list of all items that need to be ordered. To order items, click on the Items tab, and choose the red ‘To Be Ordered’ filter button at the top to view all customer items that need to be ordered. (These are all items on invoices that chose ‘Order’ as the order type.)
Follow these detailed instructions on how to order items from a vendor.
7. Start tracking store inventory
Inventory can be ordered and tracked through OrderTrac much like customer ordered items are. You can just phase in store inventory, or you can choose to jump in with both feet and enter all your existing inventory as well.
If you choose to ‘phase in’ inventory, you would just simply start ordering new furniture for showroom display through OrderTrac from this point forward. To do this, simply choose the Items tab, and click the ‘Order Inventory’ button on the bottom left. Enter all details of the new item to order, and click save. That item now has a status of To Be Ordered and is listed on the items tab by clicking the orange ‘Inventory To Be Ordered’ filter.
Once these items are received, they will have a status of ‘On Hand’. Inventory items that are on hand are available to be purchased. To add an inventory item to a customers invoice when they purchase it, select the order type of ‘Stock’, and then click the ‘Find’ button to find that item in your inventory. Use the search boxes at the top to find the item, and select the item once you have found it. Click the ‘Select’ button to populate the item details fields, and click ‘Add’ to add it to the invoice. This removes that item from the store inventory.
To import existing inventory, follow these instructions.
8. Import Customers (if you have an existing list)
If you have an existing list of your customers, you might want to import those into OrderTrac so you can look them up rather than re-enter their information. Take a look at this article for instructions on how to import customers.
9. View the Reports
You can either use the built in reports, or create a custom report.
Some very handy reports include:
Overdue Items: Items that are past the Estimated Pickup Date as specified on the item when adding it to an invoice.
Vendor Pickup List: A list of items grouped by the finisher, which is where the item would be picked up when its time for the items to be shipped from the vendors location to your warehouse.
Payments Received – Daily: A list of the payments received by day. If you have questions about the amount of cash brought accepted a week ago for example, this would be the report to check out.
Taxes Collected: The amount of taxes collected on all invoices, or on all closed invoices. An invoice should be closed once all items are in possession of the customer.