Prism Glossary
The following table lists terms that are used with Prism.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Accumulated Discount | When using accumulated discounts, if a discount field already has an entry, and you add another discount, the discount accumulates instead of overwriting the original discount. |
| Active | Indicates the customer (or other record) can be used and included on a transaction. |
| Activity % | Each associate can be assigned an "Activity %". This is the percentage of the transaction assigned to the employee for calculating commissions. The Activity % for all the associates combined must total exactly 100%. |
| Apache | Prism uses an Apache web server for web client communication. |
| ASN Voucher | Advanced Shipping Notice. A special type of voucher that is generated from a purchase order or transfer slip. A typical use is to let the store know that the items are "on the way." When the items arrive, a receiving voucher is generated from the ASN. |
| Associate | The employee who is responsible for the sale. There can be from one to five associates on a transaction, each with their own activity percentage. Default = Same employee as cashier. Edit Associate info on the Transaction Details screen (Associates tab). |
| Associate Activity Percentage | The percentage of the sale for which the associate is responsible. Edit Associate info on the Transaction Details screen (Associates tab). |
| Availability Checking | If enabled, checks that the quantity listed on a document is actually available for that document. If the quantity available is less than the quantity listed, a warning is displayed. |
| Batch Receiving | Enables the receiving of merchandise on multiple vouchers. Often used with Shipping Packages. Billing customer The customer who is credited with payment for the transaction. By default, the Billing customer is also entered as the Shipping customer. |
| Billing customer | The customer who is credited with payment for the transaction. By default, the Billing customer is also entered as the Shipping customer. |
| Blind close | An option available for Z-Out reports. When requiring a blind close, the system compares the closing amounts to the amounts that should be in the till. If the amounts match or are within an allowable variance amount, the drawer can be closed. If the difference is greater than the allowable variance amount, the cashier/associate must recount the amounts. To require a blind close, select the Require Blind Close preference, set an Allowable Variance Amount and set a maximum number of retry attempts. |
| BOGO | Buy-one, get-one. A type of promotion in which purchasing an item or items results in a discount on one or more other items. |
| Case Rounding | This is an option for transactions that will automatically round the quantity listed on a document to the nearest whole case quantity. |
| Cash Drawer | A cash drawer holds a till. A till holds the currency denominations and other items used at POS. Each workstation can have one or two cash drawers assigned. You can also assign a cash drawer to individual employees. |
| Cashier | The employee who rings up the sale at POS. By default, the same employee as the Associate. |
| Centrals | Centrals is a feature that enables the checking of a central database when performing customer lookups, returns, and issuing/redeeming store credit and loyalty transactions. |
| Check In/Check Out | A feature that enables employees to record the time when they started and stopped working for the day. Managers can manage employee Check In/Check Out records via the Time Clock Manager. |
| Child POA | A server under the PrismHQ server that has one or more store servers that point to the server as their POA. In a three-tier hierarchy, the PrismHQ is at the top; one or more child POAs are installed under PrismHQ and point to the Prism HQ as their POA. For each child POA, one or more Store servers are installed. |
| Client Code | The Client Code is an identifier that identifies the retailer or Retail Pro Business Partner in the licensing system. |
| Comment | Comments can be any type of extra information that applies to the item or transaction (there are comment fields for both items and transactions). Comments are limited to 50 or 60 characters. |
| Committed | Committed Out refers to the quantity of an item listed on in-progress sales orders or transfer orders. Committed In refers to the quantity of an item listed on in-progress purchase orders. |
| Connection | A TCP/IP connection between a Prism Server and an RIL machine, or a connection between two Prism servers. |
| Connection Manager | An area of the Admin Console where users can add connections, create profiles, and initialize servers. |
| Controller/Controller Number | The Controller Number is assigned to each installation at the time of install. A default Controller Number of 1 is assigned to new Prism installs. You should change this default Controller Number to a number that is unique within the Enterprise. |
| Credit Details | The area of a customer record that displays store credit, customer discount %, and related information. |
| Customer ID | A special identifier for customers. By default, each Customer ID must be unique; however, a preference enables you to allow duplicate Customer IDs. |
| Customer Lookup | A feature that enables users to search for and select a customer (for listing on a transaction, editing, etc.). You can search for customers by Company, Customer ID, Info 1-2, First Name, Full Name, Last Name, or Phone. |
| Customer Profile | Key information about the customer's sales history. The profile includes key dates (first sale, last sale, etc.) as well as information about total sales, returns and number of visits. |
| Customer Share Type | A field that indicates how the customer record should be shared: Local, Global, or Not Shared. You can define a default share type in Node Preferences > Customer > General. |
| D-2-D Replication | After initialization, new or changed records are replicated between Prism and RIL (or between two Prism servers). This replication occurs automatically according to the defined profiles assigned to each connection. |
| Denomination | Each currency has multiple denominations. For example, the US Dollar has denominations for 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 5.00, 10.00, 20.00, etc. |
| Department | Retail Pro groups store merchandise into departments, and defines each department with a unique, user-defined DCS Code. In a clothing store, for example, shirts might be assigned to one department, while shoes are assigned to a different department. |
| Detax | Detax is the full removal of a tax for special groups of customers ("Detax Customers") who are exempted from the tax. Detax updates the transaction total. This is typically used in VAT countries when the customer is not subject to VAT tax. |
| District | Within a subsidiary, a group of one or more regions OR a group of one or more stores. |
| DRS | Data Replication Services. Ancillary application used to transmit data between RIL and the Prism server. After installing Prism, configure DRS and initialize Prism with data from a source RIL database. |
| Enterprise | The inter-relationship between servers that comprise the headquarters (PrismHQ), child POAs, and the store servers. The PrismHQ server is the root of the enterprise and should be the first server installed. Subsequent servers will "join the enterprise" by connecting to the PrismHQ or a child POA. |
| Enterprise Manager | The Enterprise Manager is an area of Technician's Toolkit where you join a server to the enterprise. You can view the installations that have joined the Enterprise and edit Controller Names, Controller IDs, etc. |
| Fee | An additional charge applied to a transaction for things such as shipping, handling, rush orders, etc. Fees can be entered on the Transaction Details screen. |
| Fee Type | Refers to the reason for granting a fee. You can define Fee Types for Purchase Orders and Vouchers in Node Preferences > Purchasing > General. For fees on POS Transactions, the fee types defined in RIL Prism Management preferences are available for selection in Transaction Details on Prism transactions. |
| Filter | Enables the set of records to be limited by specifying certain criteria be met. Only records that match the entered filter criteria will be returned by the search. |
| FQDN | Fully qualified domain name. For example, given a device with a local hostname myhost and a parent domain name mycompany.com, the fully qualified domain name is myhost.mycompany.com. Using fully qualified domain names and SSL provides an improved level of communication security for retailers. |
| Fulfillment Location | The location at which a send sale item is picked up by the customer. |
| Genius | The Genius customer engagement device (CED) is a POS hardware device used to perform EFT payment processing (credit, debit, gift card) with Cayan (formerly MerchantWare). Configure Workstation Preferences for each workstation that has a Genius CED. |
| Gift card | A gift card is a card that can be loaded with a certain value and then used to purchase items. In Prism, you can define central gift card items. |
| HAL | Hardware Abstraction Layer. Allows a Prism web client to discover and send commands to hardware devices (printer, cash drawer, line display, Genius) installed on a workstation. |
| Identify file/Identity scrip | A server identity file (also known as identity script) is a special file that helps a store recover from a hard-drive failure or other catastrophic failure to a server machine. Using the identify server file, the Prism install program will do the work needed so that the machine can claim its former node in the enterprise. If you do not use an identity script to rebuild a controller it will not be able to claim its former node when joining the enterprise. The file contains the necessary SID information to re-install Prism using the same controller, store, subsidiary as before. During the Prism server install, the wizard will ask if you have a server identity file. Because of the crucial role it plays in restoring a system, you should create the server identity file at the first opportunity. A good time to create the file is when you add the connection (to the server itself) in Technician's Toolkit. After you add the connection, you can then go and export the identity script. |
| Image exporter | The ImageExporter.exe is used to export images from an RIL Oracle database. The exported files are in compressed format and must be extracted using 7Zip, WinZip or other utility. The extracted files, in an \images folder, can be dropped into the …\ProgramData\RetailPro\Server folder. Note: You will also need to enable the use of Merchandise Images in Prism Preferences. |
| Image server | You can export customer and item images from RIL for use in Prism. If using images in Prism, you can select one server in the enterprise to be the Image Server. The Image Server enables you to server images from a central server, ensuring consistency across the enterprise; however, there is a performance hit for using this feature. |
| Installation Default | In the Admin Console, the Installation Defaults area enables you to define certain key information. The information includes the name of your installation and the machine name or IP Address of the RIL installation that is the source of data for this Prism server. |
| Installation ID | Each server that is installed is assigned an Installation ID. A preference in Node Preferences > Customers > General enables you to append the Installation ID to the Customer ID. |
| Join the Enterprise | The process of linking servers together in a hierarchical fashion such that central-control settings are replicated from HQ down to stores and transaction data is replicated from stores up to HQ. |
| Kiosk | A free-standing structure used in a public place, such as a mall, that is designed to support product or a service to be sold to consumers. It is also used for interactive opportunities and may be on a short-term basis, such as when used during a festival. |
| Kit | A kit is a method of grouping items for sale. A kit is like a package but with a few key differences. Kit items have their own inventory quantity. They must be "assembled", which deducts the component item quantities from inventory. Another key difference is that kits do not allow substitutions. |
| Leave amount | In the Themes and Layouts area of preferences, users can select a specific layout to use for Prism. The default layout is the Simple Customer layout. Most of the layouts are optimized for use with tablets. If using Prism on a desktop, the Standard Shipping layout provides the most detailed interface. |
| Line display | A piece of POS hardware that can display item description and price when an item is scanned. |
| Local address | In Connection Manager, the Local Address is the machine name or IP Address of the user's Prism Server. |
| Login Name | The name the employee uses to log in to Prism. |
| Lookup Criteria | The value used for a search. When looking up transactions or customers, you first select the type of information you want to use to perform the lookup and then type the "lookup criteria". For example, if you choose to look up by "Last Name," then the criteria would be entries such as "Smith" or "Jones". You can use wildcards such as an asterisk as lookup criteria. |
| Lot Type | The type of control used for a lot-number item: full control or partial control. When a full control item is entered on a document, entry of a serial or lot number is required. When a partial control item is entered on a document, entry of a number is optional. |
| Loyalty Level | When using the customer loyalty feature, each customer who participates is assigned a loyalty level. The loyalty level, in turn, is linked to a specific loyalty program that specifies how points are awarded and redeemed. |
| Loyalty Points | Loyalty programs enable customers to accumulate points based on past purchases. Loyalty points can then be applied to future purchases. Loyalty programs and reward points are defined in RIL Prism Management. You can see the number of loyalty points available for each customer in the customer's record. |
| Margin | The difference between the cost paid to the vendor for an item and the price charged to the customer. |
| Markdown | A devaluation of a product based upon its inability to be sold at the original planned selling price. |
| Max Discount | There are a few areas of Prism where users will see a "Max Discount" value. For items, the Max Discount lists the maximum discount that can be applied to the item. A preference controls which RP 9 field (Max Disc or Max Accumulated Disc) populates this field. |
| Merchandise Images | Using the ImageExporter.exe, retailers can export item and style images (as well as customer images) to Prism and have those images display on the Prism transaction form. In Prism preferences, you can select which merchandise image to use when an item is listed: Item Image, Style Image or Dynamic. You can view item images in the item's inventory record. |
| Minimum Deposit | In Prism Node Preferences > Transactions > Orders, you can define a minimum deposit percentage. When a user makes an order, a dialog is displayed for entering the initial deposit. If a minimum deposit percentage has been specified in preferences, Prism will calculate the minimum deposit amount and display it in the dialog. |
| Node Selection | When defining preferences, users can select the Node Selection link, select a specific subsidiary or store, and then click the Set Context button. This restricts the preference changes to the selected subsidiary or store. Note Notes can be any type of extra information that applies to the item or transaction (there are Note fields for both items and transactions) |
| Note | Notes can be any type of extra information that applies to the item or transaction (there are Note fields for both items and transactions). |
| Offline Take Amount | The upper limit for central gift card or central credit transactions performed offline. Transactions with a Total above the entered Offline Limit will require authorization. |
| Opt-in status | When using the customer loyalty feature, each customer must be opted in to the program to participate. In Node Preferences > Customers > Loyalty, you can define how customers will be opted in: via a prompt at POS, automatically, by manually editing the customer record. |
| Order status | The order status indicates whether the order has been fulfilled (all items and quantities sold on a transaction). When looking up a transaction, you can search by order status. |
| Order tax | The tax amount that will be due for the order items on a transaction. |
| Original price | The price before any discounts or promotions are applied. |
| Package | A package is a method of grouping items for sale. A package is like a kit but with a few key differences. Package items do not have their own inventory quantity. They are not "assembled" (or "broken") like kits are. Another key difference is that packages have the option of allowing substitutions. |
| Password | A password must be assigned to each employee when creating the employee record. When logging into to Prism, you must enter the correct password for the entered username. |
| POS Flag | A user-defined field that can be used to record a variety of information at POS. POS Flags are available on the Transaction Details screen (General tab) |
| PO Instructions | In the Purchasing > Comments area of preferences, users can define a list of PO Instructions that will be available for selection when creating a PO. For example, Confirmation # is a common PO Instruction to include to store the confirmation number that the vendor has assigned to the order |
| Point of Authority | Every Prism enterprise has a single system that serves as "root authority" for your enterprise. Install the root point of authority first. After the root has been installed and initialized, you can start installing other servers that will become branches off the trunk. For each additional server that you install, you can designate which server is the point of authority for the installation. The designated POA is the server that is responsible for passing down new or changed records to the Prism install. Designating a POA helps ensure that installations are initialized and updated correctly. There can be any number of levels in this hierarchy and any number of POA servers, but all of them will emanate from the one root POA authority. (Note: For a server to be available for selection as a point of authority, the server must already be installed and running.) |
| Postal Code | The customer's ZIP or Postal Code that identifies the region for physical mail delivery. |
| Price Level | Each price level is a complete set of prices. You can have separate price levels that can be applied under certain specific situations. |
| Price Plan Authority | The "Price Plan Authority" preference for Price Manager enables retailers to specify which installation within the Prism enterprise is the "owner" of a price plan. Being able to designate the owner of a Price Plan is important because only the owner can reverse any adjustment memos associated with the Price Plan. The preference is in Node Preferences > Merchandise > Price Manager. By default, the Price Plan Authority is set to the Enterprise POA (the root POA). |
| Processor | Typically refers to the EFT processor handling credit card, debit card, gift card transactions. Cayan (in North America) and B+S Card Service (in Europe) are two processors used with Prism. |
| Profile | A profile specifies the resources that will be replicated from one end of a connection to another. To replicate data, you must create a profile and link the profile to a connection. |
| Proxy | The Prism Proxy acts as a gateway for handling requests/responses between the web client and Prism server. Hardware-related requests/responses are directed through the Proxy's Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). Other parts of the Prism Proxy facilitate things such as verification of web client login and loading of certain hardware-related Admin Console settings. |
| Purchase Order (PO) | A planning document that lists the items and quantities to be ordered from a vendor. |
| Quick Customer | A button on the main transaction form that enables a user to quickly create a new customer record at POS. |
| RabbitMQ | RabbitMQ is a messaging service that is the foundation for PrismMQ, used to replicate many types of data between RIL and Prism. |
| Reason Code | The reason why an action is being performed. Reason codes are typically entered (and may be required) when giving discounts, performing returns, applying shipping charges or other fees. |
| Region | Within a district, a grouping of individual store locations. Regions (and Districts) are defined in RIL and communicated to Prism. When creating a customer, you can assign a Region (and/or District). |
| Remote Address | When configuring connections in Connection Manager, the Remote Address shows the machine name or IP Address of the machine on the other end of the connection. The Local Address shows the machine name or IP address of the server on your own side of the connection |
| Replication | The process of sending new and changed records from one server to another. |
| Resiliency | Retailers using the Prism Centrals feature can enable resiliency for those times when the internet connection is lost. In Centrals preferences, enter the number of minutes that will elapse between checks of the connection to the server. For example, if you enter two, then every two minutes Prism will check to see if the connection exists. You can tap or click the Run Resiliency button to immediately start the Resiliency connection process. resource The individual records and data types that are sent between RIL and Prism are called "resources". This term reflects basic REST terminology in which http GET, PUT, POST and DELETE operations are performed on resources. |
| Resource | In Prism data replication, each data type that can be sent is called a resource. When creating a profile for replication, you select the specific resources to send when using the profile. You then link the profile to a connection with another server. Examples of resources are Adjustments, Customers, Documents, Employee UDF and Tax. |
| REST | Representational state transfer (REST), a style of software architecture in which clients send requests to servers; servers process requests and return appropriate responses. Simplifies implementation Reduces complexity Improves performance Increases scalability |
| RPS | Retail Pro Service. This is the service used to transmit data between the web client and the Prism server, or between Prism servers. |
| Sales Tax | The tax amount applied to the items being purchased. Does not apply to any order items on the transaction. |
| Selling location | The location at which a send sale item is sold. |
| Send Sale | A send sale is merchandise and shipping fees paid by a customer who's not present in the store, so it will be shipped to their address. Sometimes it's done to pay fewer taxes on the sale, such as if the merchandise of the sale is shipped to another state. |
| Serial Type | The type of control used for a serial number item: full control or partial control. When a full control item is entered on a document, entry of a serial or lot number is required. When a partial control item is entered on a document, entry of a number is optional. |
| Server Mode | The Server Mode configuration option for the PrismMQ service helps improve performance for high-performance, multi-CPU systems (four CPU cores or more) when high-throughput and increased processing power are needed. For example, during initialization, the server is trying to quickly import and process many records; however, Windows default power management settings can end up throttling performance on high-performance machines. Server Mode enables you to bypass some of these default Windows power management settings so that servers can make more efficient use of available computing resources. |
| Service Manager | An area in Technician's Toolkit for viewing/configuring the .ini files for services. |
| Share Type | A field that determines how the customer record will be shared with other stores: Local, Global, Regional, or Not Shared |
| Shipping customer | The customer to whom the merchandise on the transaction will be shipped. Use the "Shipping Customer" button on the main transaction form to select or change the shipping customer. Shipping Package (Package Number) A Package Number identifies the items on a shipping pallet. When using the Batch Receiving feature, you can add Shipping Packages to an ASN voucher and then scan the packages as they are received. When all packages have been scanned, mark the ASN and generate a voucher. |
| Shipping Package | A Package Number identifies the items on a shipping pallet. When using the Batch Receiving feature, you can add Shipping Packages to an ASN voucher and then scan the packages as they are received. When all packages have been scanned, mark the ASN and generate a voucher. |
| Spread Discount | When a discount is "spread," the discount amount is spread (allocated) among the items and quantities on the transaction. |
| SSL Manager | A tool that enables users to install SSL certificates for use with RP Prism. |
| Store | A store is a distinct entity that sells merchandise, whether a brick-and-mortar location or a web site. A store has its own inventory quantities that are sold from when performing transactions. |
| Store type | You can assign a store type in the Store record. For example, assign a type of "kiosk" or "outlet." |
| Structured Z-Out | The key difference between structured and unstructured z-out reports is that in structured mode, the user enters an open amount at the start of a shirt and a close amount at the end of a shift. In unstructured mode, the user only enters a closing amount. To perform Z-Out reports in structured mode, you must first configure the necessary preference settings: Require Register Level Z Out and Require entry of open and close amounts and optionally Count Denominations. |
| Style | A method of grouping items, especially clothing. The members of a style share certain characteristics, including Vendor, Description 1, Department, Price and Cost. The members of a style differ in things like Size and Attribute (color). |
| Style definition | A set of fields that, taken together, define an inventory style. |
| Style grid | A grid in Inventory that displays size and attribute (e.g. color) for the style to which an item belongs. |
| Sublocation | A sublocation is a sub-grouping of inventory quantities within a store inventory. Sublocations can be used for both physical groupings (e.g., space in a warehouse) or logical groupings (e.g., items out on loan for an event, or undergoing repair) |
| Subsidiary | A subsidiary is a distinct business unit. This can be a corporate headquarters for a specific country or geographic region, or it can be a franchise operator. |
| Tax Area | The tax jurisdiction or locality that sets the tax rate that applies to the store. |
| Tax Code | Identifies which tax rate should be applied to an item. Default Tax Codes include: TAX (Taxable) and EXEMPT. |
| Tax Rebate | Tax rebates are the return or reimbursement of tax that was paid by a customer or company. A common use of tax rebates is when a customer residing in one country makes a purchase while visiting another, the customer is typically still charged tax at point-of-sale. The customer can often get a rebate of the tax paid by submitting the appropriate documents to fiscal authorities, either before or after leaving the country. |
| Theme | Dictates the general appearance of the UI. Two themes are available: Light and Dark. You can set themes and layouts in the Admin Console > Preferences & Settings > Themes & Layouts. |
| Till | A till is the tray or container that holds the currency that is inserted into a cash drawer. There may be a separate till for each employee. |
| Time Clock | Prism's time clock feature enables employees to check in at the beginning of the shift and check out at the end of the shift. Users with the necessary security permission can edit time card records or create new records if any are missing. |
| TO | Transfer order. A document that plans the transfer of merchandise. |
| Touch menu | A feature that enables touch menus and buttons to be used in the Prism web client for easier listing of items in touch screen environments. |
| Touch POS | A separate area designed specifically for touch-screen use. Items can be added to a transaction with a single button touch. The items and menus available are defined in the Admin Console. |
| Transaction | A document that records a sale, return, or order. |
| Transaction Lookup | A feature that enables you to search for and select a transaction (for viewing or editing). You can search by date, customer and other criteria. |
| Transfer Order | A document for the planning of transfers. A transfer order does not affect inventory. You can generate slips from a TO. |
| Transfer Slip | A document that records the movement of merchandise from one inventory to another. A transfer slip does affect inventory. |
| Unstructured Z-Out | In unstructured mode, the user only enters a closing amount. To perform Z-Out reports in structured mode, you must first configure the necessary preference settings: Require Register Level Z Out and Require entry of open and close amounts and optionally Count Denominations. |
| UPC | Universal Product Code. A standard method of identifying items. UPCs are entered on documents by scanning barcodes or typing the UPC in the Item Lookup field. |
| Update | The process of applying changes to the database. For example, when a user clicks the Print/Update or Update Only button on a transaction, various changes are written to the database. The quantity on-hand is reduced. |
| User | An individual employee. |
| User group | A group of employees (users) who all share the same security permissions. Default user groups include: ADMIN, BACKOFFICE, POS, MANAGERS, BUYERS |
| Variance | When closing a drawer, there may be a difference, or variance, between the amount physically counted by the employee and the amount recorded by the system. You can define the "allowable variance amount" in Prism preferences (Admin Console > Preferences & Settings > Reports > General. |
| Vendor | The manufacturer or seller of merchandise to the retailer. |
| Vendor Code | A unique three-to-six-character code that identifies a vendor. Each vendor code can consist of one to three segments: Department, Class, Subclass. |
| Vendor Invoice | A vendor invoice records the actual amount charged by the vendor for the items received on one or more vouchers. When using vendor invoices, you assign each vendor invoice to its vouchers. For proper inventory valuation, it is important for the amounts on the vendor invoice and its voucher to match. |
| Void | Refers to removing an item or a tender from a transaction. When voiding an item, the item will remain on the transaction with a quantity of zero. |
| Voucher | A voucher is a document that a user creates to receive merchandise into inventory. When making a voucher, the user enters the Vendor Code and lists the items. If the voucher references a PO, the vendor and item quantities can be brought over directly from the PO. |
| X-Out Report | X-Out reports are temporary reports (not saved to the system) that display sales activity for a specific period. Also known as "midday reports." |
| Z-Out Report | Z-Out reports display sales activity for a shift or other period. Also known as "end of day reports." You can run Z-Out reports in either structured or unstructured mode. In structured mode, you enter drawer amounts at the start and end of the shift and can run a blind close. |