Chapter 21. Vouchers

Prism 1.14.7 User's Guide Chapter 21. Vouchers PDF

Prism 2.0 User's Guide Chapter 21. Vouchers PDF

Vouchers record the items and quantities received from a vendor (or being returned to a vendor). Updating a voucher adds the quantities received into inventory for the receiving store and optionally updates inventory Cost (based on Costing Method in preferences). Vouchers are often automatically generated from an Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) which in turn is generated from a purchase order (PO) sent to a vendor. If the voucher references a PO, the voucher updates the PO fill status.

Updating a voucher does the following:

• Adds the quantities received into inventory for the receiving store
• Optionally updates inventory Cost (based on Costing Method in preferences)
• Updates the Last Received date in inventory for each item received
• Enters the First Received date in inventory for each item that does not yet have a First Received date
• If the voucher references a PO, updates the PO fill status.
• Advances the voucher numbering sequence by one

Note: The following basic steps do not include advanced receiving features like shipping packages and batch receiving.

Receiving Basic Steps

1. Configure permissions and preferences as needed.
2. Start a new voucher.
3. If referencing a purchase order, enter the PO # and then click PO Items to select the PO items to bring to the voucher.
4. Make any necessary changes to discounts, fees, or freight. Note: Permissions control the ability to edit various parts of a voucher.
5. (Optional) If spreading costs, spread costs.
6. Update the voucher.

Return Vouchers
Return vouchers are used to return damaged or unneeded items to a vendor. Users with the required security permission can change the Voucher Type to Return.

Cost on Vouchers
This section has information about the Voucher Cost field on vouchers. Voucher Cost is an important value because of its potential impact on Inventory Cost and ultimately on the inventory valuations that are entered on financial reports.
There are two primary questions that need to be answered regarding Voucher Cost:
1.    How is the Voucher Cost field populated?
2.    What happens if I receive items into Inventory at a Voucher Cost different from current Inventory Cost?
Cost to Use for POs and Vouchers
Admin Console > Node Preferences > Purchasing > General
The Cost field in the item's Inventory record is the main field for tracking cost. However, there is also an Order Cost field in the item record. The Order Cost field provides an additional field for tracking cost and is used with the Trade Discounts and Foreign Currency Orders features. So which field will be used to populate PO Cost when a user creates a PO (or Voucher Cost when a user creates a voucher)? That will be determined by the "Cost to Use for POs and Vouchers" preference. The default setting for the preference is to use Order Cost on POs and Vouchers. However, the default value for Order Cost field is 0.00; therefore, unless you are doing something special with the Order Cost field, like using Trade Discounts or Foreign Currency Orders, the Order Cost field will be actually be populated from the Cost field.
The following table lists the available options for the "Cost to Use for POs and Vouchers" preference.

Inventory Costing Method
Admin Console > Node Preferences > Purchasing > General
This preference determines how Inventory Cost will get updated when the cost from the vendor is different than the Inventory Cost. The available choices are Average, Leave, and Overwrite.
The following table lists the available options for the "Inventory Costing Method" preference.

Cost Difference Threshold
In addition, to the preferences in Purchasing > General, you can set a Cost Difference Threshold preference in Node Preferences > Merchandise > Inventory > General. Select to enable the Cost Difference Threshold feature, then enter a percentage in the Provide Warning When New Cost Differs From Old Cost By field. If this preference is selected, when receiving items, if the new cost differs from the old cost by more than the specified percentage, a warning will be issued. You will still be allowed to complete and update the voucher.

Spreading Costs
Many retailers also like to include freight, discounts, and taxes when calculating cost. Users have the option of spreading these values on vouchers, distributing the amounts proportionally across the voucher items.

Copy Received Quantity from Original Quantity on ASN Voucher
This section has additional details about the "Copy Received Quantity from Original Quantity on ASN Voucher" preference (Admin Console > Node Preferences > Purchasing > Vouchers). This preference determines how the "Qty" (Received Quantity) field on the voucher is populated. When generating a voucher from an ASN, by default the Original Quantity on the ASN is copied to the Received Qty field on the voucher. The Original Qty is the same as the Doc Qty entered on the ASN.
Below is a sample ASN showing the Original Qty for a group of items.

When the preference is at its default setting and a voucher is generated from the ASN, the ASN Original Qty is copied to the Received Qty ("Qty") field on the voucher.
Below is a sample voucher where the Original Quantity from the ASN has been copied to the Received Quantity (Qty) field on the voucher:
 
If the "Copy received quantity from original quantity on ASN Voucher" preference is disabled, the ASN Original Quantity has no effect on the voucher Received Quantity. The user must manually enter the Qty (Received Qty) for each item on the voucher.