Convert Store Credit to Central Credit

The Convert Store Credit to Central Credit tool introduced in Prism 2.2 enables retailers to easily migrate customers' regular store credit to central store credit so retailers can take advantage of the benefits of using Centrals.
Benefits of Centrals:
Reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions caused by communication lag time.
Helps to ensure a smooth customer experience.
Requirements
Run the tool on the Centrals server. Prior to running the tool, make sure all customer records have been replicated to the Centrals server.
The tool is only available when:

• Centrals is enabled in Prism Admin Console | Installation Defaults and Node Preferences | Transactions | Centrals.
• Any customer records with store credit exist at the Centrals server.

Notes

• The tool creates a Prism sale document where the store credit amount is taken as a tender and the same amount is given as a central credit tender. This transaction will subsequently be recorded n the customer's Customer History listing.
• After running the tool at the Centrals server, the updated central credit information will replicate to other servers in the enterprise (assuming Connection Manager replication settings are configured correctly)

Enter Centrals Server Information in Installation Defaults
All workstations using Prism Centrals must enter the FQDN, hostname, or IP Address of the Centrals server in Admin Console > Installation Defaults. The Centrals server settings in Installation Defaults are not replicated, so be sure to enter the correct Centrals server settings, including Timeout, and Interval at each workstation that will be using centrals. Click Test to test the connection between the workstation and the Centrals server.
Note: Any Prism server can be the Centrals Server; however, keep in mind that when acting as the Centrals Server, the data the server has in its local database limits the data it can return to any requestor.

Enable Central Customers and Central Credit
Enable Central Customers and Central Credit in Prism Admin Console > Node Preferences > Transactions > Centrals (can be set at Global, Subsidiary or Store level).
 
Convert Store Credit to Central Credit
To access the tool, click the Retail Pro button in the bottom right corner and select Tech Toolkit from the Prism menu. A separate login is required for Tech Toolkit. Enter a username/password and click the checkmark button. (default = sysadmin/sysadmin)
Servers are listed on the left. Select the Centrals server. [Note: To filter the list, type the server's name in the text box.]
A set of tabs across the top provides access to different areas of Tech Toolkit. Click Data Utilities > Convert Store Credit to Central Credit. (If the link for the tool is not visible, verify you are logged into the server shown as the "Central Address" in Admin Console | Installation Defaults.)
 
The tool first checks to make sure the system meets the requirements (i.e., Centrals enabled and customers with regular store credit exist). If the requirements are met, the Execute Credit Migration link is visible and active. Click Execute Credit Migration.

When the process finishes, the number of migrated customers is shown:
 
Verify CENTRAL_CREDIT is populated
To verify the central store credit has been applied, run a query on the CENTRAL_CREDIT table.

Verify STORE_CREDIT is Zero
To verify the regular store credit has been zeroed out, run a query on the CUSTOMER table and scroll to the STORE_CREDIT column:

 
Viewing Customer Central Store Credit
In the customer record, click the Payment tab. The Avail Store Credit field displays regular store credit when Centrals is disabled; when Centrals is enabled, the field displays central store credit. Note: When Centrals is enabled, there will be a "refresh" button next to the Avail Store Credit field. After the migration, the field will be blank. Click the refresh button to update the field with the migrated central credit value.

After clicking the refresh button, the Avail Store Credit field shows the migrated central credit value:

Viewing Customer History
A customer history record will be generated from the new sale document that is created. This will occur the next time the customer history process runs which, by default, is every 15 minutes. Customer History is viewable in the Customer record.
Replication of Central Store Credit Information
After the Centrals server is updated with the central credit information, the information will replicate to the other servers in the enterprise.
Database Updates
The tool updates the following tables in the Prism rpsods database:

• CUSTOMER (STORE_CREDIT column is zeroed out)
• CENTRAL_STORE_CREDIT
• DOCUMENT (new Prism sale document is created)

HOLD_TXN column in CENTRAL_CREDIT table
The HOLD_TXN column in the CENTRAL_CREDIT table indicates if a customer was placed in Centrals using the tool. When the tool is run a second time, it will look for the -123456 value and skip that record if there is a new store credit in the customer table.
Sample CENTRAL_CREDIT table showing -123456 value in the HOLD_TXN column: