Chapter 21. Vouchers
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). If the voucher references a PO, the voucher updates the PO fill status.
Limitations
- RP Prism has its own preferences for purchasing/receiving. Retail Pro 9 preferences for purchasing/receiving are not used by RP Prism.
- You can enter serial/lot number items on POs; however, you cannot enter the items on a voucher to receive the merchandise. This is a known issue. If a voucher has serial or lot number items, you should instead receive the voucher in Retail Pro 9.
- To print the Cost Handling Code on vouchers, you must create an onBeforePrint method in the voucher document design. See "Printing Lot Type, Serial Type and Cost Handling Code" in the Prism Document Designer document.
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
- Configure permissions and preferences as needed.
- Start a new voucher.
- If referencing a purchase order, enter the PO # and then click PO Items to select the PO items to bring to the voucher.
- Make any necessary changes to discounts, fees, or freight. Note: Permissions control the ability to edit various parts of a voucher.
- (Optional) If spreading costs, spread costs.
- 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.
| Preference | |
|---|---|
| Cost to Use for POs and Vouchers | Order Cost: If the item has an Order Cost entered in the Inventory record, then use Order Cost on Purchase Orders and Vouchers. If no Order Cost has been assigned to the item (i.e. the item still has the default Order Cost of 0.00), the when creating a PO or Voucher, the item's Inventory Cost will be used instead. Inventory Cost: Always use the item's Inventory Cost for PO Cost and Voucher Cost. Trade Discounts: The Trade Discounts option is for a future release feature. |
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.
| Preference | |
|---|---|
| Inventory Costing Method |
Average: (Default) The quantities received at the new cost are averaged with the existing quantities at the old cost. For example, Voucher A receives into inventory a quantity of 10 at a unit cost of 10.00. The item's Cost is 10.00. Next, Voucher B receives into inventory a quantity of 10 at 5.00. The item's Cost is now $7.50. |
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.