'Buy Outright' is purchasing merchandise from individuals.
'Retail' is purchasing merchandise from businesses (suppliers, wholesalers, etc) and is included in the Diamond and Virtual editions of BCSS.
Shop Accounts for Buy Outright
Don't use House Accounts for buy outright.
Do NOT check this box:
If that box IS checked, attempting to use Batch Buy Outright will display a message: "House Accounts cannot be used for buy outright".
Settlement
See Client Settlement.
Enter a New Seller and Purchase Merchandise
To keep accurate records, account and till balances, an account must be created for each individual seller:
Buy Outright General Reports
The most important reports can be called by pressing Function Keys on the top of the keyboard:
The buttons across the middle of the screen are handy for viewing data for the time periods shown on the buttons:
The 'Quick Links' (on the right) have useful one-click reports related to buy outright in the Clients, Disbursements, Inventory, Sales and Settlements work areas. For example these are the Quick Links for the Clients Work Area:
Some of the functions shown do pertain to consignment and not buy outright.
Buy Outright Inventory Reports
Specific inventory reports based upon Clients, Dates In, Last Sale, Price Range, Quantity and Categories can be defined and generated under Reports > Inventory:
Select Inventory. To generate a report including buy-outright items only, check the box:
Settings tell BCSS which inventory items to include.
For example, to include only items 22 through 40 for Meryl Streep:
Sort Output
The content may be sorted by any of these:
Preview and Print the Report
Selecting Print Detailed List...
...will display a print preview of items matching the search criteria with ID, Category, Original Price, Quantity, Discount Date, Date In, Description, Client, Current Price, Discount, Last-Sale Date and Barcode.
Selecting Print Brief List...
...will present ID, Description, Category, Client, Price, Quantity and Date In.
Selecting Bar Code Report...
...will present a list with scanable barcodes.
Print the report with the printer icon:
View the Report
Selecting View the Report
displays items matching the search criteria.
Buy Outright Sales Reports
Specific sales reports (based upon layaways, sales on hold, bad checks, voids, credit memos, client, buyer, salesperson, payment method, category, location, invoice date, invoice total and inventory number) can be defined and generated under Reports > Sales:
Select Sales.
Settings on this screen determine the information in the Report:
Shop Sold List
Pressing Shop Sold List (at the bottom of the Sales Report Screen) will present a report showing Item ID, Description, Category, Price, Quantity, Date Sold, Invoice # (and 'Sold By' in BCSS Diamond and Virtual) for each item sold for the current day (if no date filter is set). Click the printer icon at the top of the report window to print the report.
Consignments-Sold List
This report includes Item ID, Description, Category, Price, Quantity, Date Sold, Invoice # and Payment Method for consignments sold.
Buy-Sold List
This report includes Item ID, Description, Category, Original Price, Quantity, Sale Price, Buy Price and Profit for shop-owned items.
Sales Recap
Pressing the Sales Recap Button will present a list of sections (not shown) for Invoice List, Salesperson Recap (in BCSS Diamond and Virtual), Payment Recap and Shop Totals. Uncheck sections to be excluded from the Sales Recap Report. Press the Preview/Print Button to preview the report. Click the printer icon at the top of the report window to print the report.
This is the information displayed in each Recap. (Buyer and employee information appear in Diamond and Virtual only.)
Sales Recap 'Errors'
Account History is an explanation of a client's account balance. The person in charge of 'the books' at the store must have a thorough understanding of the concepts of accounting as they apply to the consignment/resale business.
Payment Recap is a total of recorded amounts received. The other sections of the Sales Recap are based on prices of items sold. Go through invoices for the period in question and look for differences between payments and prices.
Common Mistakes
Troubleshooting
Incorrect Starting Number
Either way, the item will be saved.
BCSS and Credit-Card Processing
Use any merchant account and credit-card processor you wish. BCSS does not limit your choices. If you need to change processors or banks later, we won't be standing in your way.
Just swipe the card and select the card type from a drop-down menu on the BCSS sales invoice. The amount of the sale is auto-entered.
The cash drawer will not pop open when credit card is selected as the payment method.
Share Credit-Card Costs with Clients
It's becoming a common practice to pass some or all of the cost of providing credit-card processing on to those who benefit from it - your patrons.
A percentage can be deducted from every settlement of credit-card purchases:
Where allowed, a percentage can also be added to credit-card purchases.
Use these options to take in more than actual credit-card costs.
There is a 3rd option of a % to be deducted from every sale (credit card or not) before applying the consignor split. For example, if the % is 2% and the sale is $100, the store would take $2 then split the remaining $98.
These 3 options are available in a separate module for $19.95/mo and that too can be passed on to clients.
Call 888-427-5779 for more information, or send an email.
Things to Know about Checks
Cancel a Check
Checks and Accounting
A cash disbursement is processed the same as a check but no check number is used and no check is printed.
Cash and check both decrease store income.
Buying Checks
Three checks per page is the most common choice because there's less paper waste. Have them prepared by your bank to include special security measures against fraud.
If not already done, go to File, Program Setup, General and select either one check per page or three.
Settlement Checks
Adjust Print Position on Checks before attempting to print checks.
Pay One Client by Check
Manage Bad Checks
Record a Bad Check
Select Sales in the Work-Areas Menu.
Select a Sale in the List of Sales then select View Sale from the Sales Menu (lower left).
The View-Sale Screen has a button labeled 'Bad Check'.
If payment was made by check, pressing this button will draw a line through all amounts paid by check on the invoice.
If payment was not made by check, this button has no effect.
Bad-check sales are not included in sales reports unless the 'Report should only include bad checks' filter is checked. They do appear if 'View All' or one of the time periods (Today, Week, Month, etc.) in the Time Bar is selected.
If a Buyer's check is bad, the invoice number will appear on the General Tab in the Consignor's Details Area. Select the Consignor from the list and look to the lower right -
In the Disbursement Work Area
Click on a Disbursement to select it.
Click Approved/Canceled...
...to toggle the status of a check between Approved and Canceled.
The status of the check is shown in the Details Area next to Status:
Canceled checks do consume a check number but do not affect store income.
Check Setup
Go to File, Program Setup, General Tab and select either one check per page or three.
Print a check on a blank sheet of paper and hold it up to the light with a check behind to make sure the print lines up with the check's fields.
The Top and Left Margins and Row Space may need to be changed (on the New-Disbursement Screen) to print correctly. The default settings of (Left) 350, (Top) 850, and (Row) 13 are correct for most ink printers.
Prepare a New Check for Printing
The next available check number and current date are auto-entered and may be changed. The starting check # is 1000.
The new check will now be listed in the Disbursements Work Area.
When printing a check for the first time (or when printing for the first time after the program has been uninstalled and reinstalled), print on a plain piece of paper to see where the print would have been placed on the actual check, then adjust the margin settings to place the print in the correct position on the check.
Print the Check
Adjust Print Position on Checks
It may be necessary to adjust top and left margins and row spacing to place print on checks in the proper positions. Align print for the first check. Alignment for checks 2 and 3 (on 3-check-per-page) should be ok.
The settings for margins and row spacing are located on the Edit-Disbursement and New-Disbursement screens.
Follow these procedures for determining correct Print-Position Settings:
Large changes in the values for top and left margin are necessary to see significant changes in print position.
It may be necessary to use negative values to achieve correct position. Top or Left Values could be from -500 to 2500. Row space could be from 5 to 20.
When the correct settings have been determined, record the settings (off of the computer) for future reference.
Can't Print a Disbursement Report- error: bcoptions.dbf is not a table
There are 3 ways to generate Disbursement Reports:
Quick Links Reports
BCSS is divided into Work Areas. They are:
Each Work Area has its own set of Quick Links. These are the Quick Links for Disbursements:
Cash Day/Week - View cash disbursements for today or the past 7 days
Cash (table) - View cash disbursements.
Checks Day/Week - View checks for today or the past 7 days.
Checks - View checks.
Disbursements Day/Week - View disbursements for today or the past 7 days.
Time Filters
Click on these buttons:
to view records that have been added or edited today, last 7 days, last 30 days, etc. Click View All to see all records again.
One Disbursement Information
Select a disbursement from the Main Table and view information about the disbursement in the Details Area at the bottom of the screen:
Filtered Reports
A report 'filter' filters out unwanted information in the report.
For example, by setting the filter 'date range' to a specific time period, all data not falling within the specified range will be omitted from the report.
Disbursement Reports Using Filters
Pay by Check
When a settlement is finalized with 'Check' as the payment method, BCSS saves the settlement, prepares a check for printing and lists it in the Disbursement Work Area.
To pay a consignor by check, after the settlement has been processed -
The settings should be:
To pay a consignor by check for a settlement not yet finalized -
All checks will be sent to the printer. It might be advisable to only feed one sheet of checks at a time to assure proper printing and avoid issues with paper jams, out-of-ink runs, etc.
Here's another way to finalize the settlement and print the check:
Pay Multiple Clients by Check
Sales eligible for settlement will be listed. Uncheck those that are not to be processed and make sure 'Check' is the Payment Method selected.
(Settlements for less than the amount stipulated in Program Setup will not appear in the list.)
Checks should start to print. (It might be advisable to load one sheet at a time to control printing and monitor for print errors.)
Any item added to or in inventory can be designated as a 'rental':
Client items could be 'rented out' (with permission) but mostly rentals will be shop-owned items with 100% of the proceeds credited to the shop account.
Process a Rental-Item Purchase
Press F5 to start the procedure for renting an item.
Select a Buyer from the List or press 'Close Without Choosing' to enter a Rental Sale without selecting a Buyer.
Click on Select from Item List
Rentals will have a pink background.
Select the Rental Item and press OK.
On the Invoice, if another item is added, the background color of Rental Item's line will be pink - a reminder to enter the Out/Return Dates. The Out Date is usually the current date and is auto-filled. The Return Date is the date the Item is to be returned. Both dates may be changed by typing new values or by using the drop-down calendars.
Complete the Invoice as for a New Sale.
Process Rental Returns
Select Rentals (at the top).
Select Process Returns to view a list of Rentals that are currently out.
Check the items being returned and click OK to clear the Rental Record.
Inventory quantities will increase for the items returned.
Other selections in the Rental Menu allow reports that show Inventory or Sales Records for Rental items returned, not returned or past due.
Under Reports select Clients and other parameters then use the 'Rent Collected' button for a report of rents collected.
In the software vendors are the same as 'clients' (or consignors), each with a record and a Client % (the amount of each sale to be paid to the vendor). If a vendor is to receive 100% of sales proceeds, enter 1 for Client %. Enter .8 for 80%, etc. Enter 0 for sales proceeds that are to be credited to the shop account.
With the Diamond and Virtual editions:
With the Virtual edition, vendors can view their account information online and add inventory online (to be downloaded to the shop computer). Mall operators routinely charge a small monthly fee for the feature, generating additional income beyond the $25/month server rental.
Vendor records are created the same way client or consignor records are created. (video)
Setup
Create a record for every rental unit.
Customized Charges
When adding or editing a client record, click on 'Current Charges' to view 7 predefined types of charges (Advertising, Consultation, Credit-Card Fees, Delivery/Pickup, Preparation, Rent and Taxes).
These will always appear, plus a set of blank lines below. Rents are added to this list automatically, including past due if appropriate.
To add different charge, click in the box under 'Preparation' and type the name of the charge. A description is not needed but one may be entered.
To add charges, edit one of the predefined lines, or use one of the blank lines below the predefined lines to add a fee type. Either way, enter an amount. Click OK. When this window is next opened, entries appear at the top, plus the 7 predefined types and blank lines below ready to be used again.
To collect payment, check appropriate boxes. Click on 'Pay Selected'.
A fixed percentage can be set in Program Setup > Sales to be deducted from credit-card sales. Vendors would pay the (small) percentage on purchases made using credit cards but not on other payment methods (like cash, check, PayPal...). A separate percentage can be set to be added to credit-card sales so the person using the credit card pays the added fee. A third option allows for a set percentage or dollar amount to be deducted from every sale before applying the sales-split %. All 3 options are bundled in an optional module that requires activation ($19.95/mo). If your monthly sales are $10,000 and the percentage is 3%, that's an additional $300 - $19.95 in revenue.
Vendor online access to account information requires a username and password assigned by the mall manager. The information can be viewed on any device including cell phones. Malls are charging $2-$5 per month. Online access is also an optional module ($25/mo). One mall has 500 vendors with most of them paying $5 per month so this too can be a great source of additional income. No additional software functionality is needed. Just add the monthly fee to the rent total.
Pay Rent from Sales
Note: Rents can be collected in advance or deducted from sales.
If rent is to be collected in advance, in Program Setup > Mall, check 'Collect weekly rent 4 weeks in advance'.
Collect Rent When There Are No Sales
The Settlement will process as entered, recording a negative settlement and a negative payment against the zero-price item.
Waiting List
On the General tab of the Consignor Edit window, specify which floor space a Consignor would like to have.
In Program Setup on the Mall tab, the name of the person waiting for the space will be displayed in the Waiting column. If more than one consignor is waiting for the same space, the oldest request will be displayed first.
(This feature is available in BCSS Deluxe, Diamond and Virtual.)
QuickBooks Integration with BCSS (Virtual edition) allows for the direct transfer of data from BCSS to QuickBooks.
Important: QuickBooks doesn't know about consignment settlements for credit or cash. If you use QuickBooks with BCSS, always issue settlement checks, not cash or credit, so QuickBooks and BCSS will always agree. This is a limitation of QuickBooks that we can't remedy. A work around would be to generate a check then pay cash using the check as tender.
Exporting Data in QuickBooks Format (.iif)
BCSS records are exported to a data file then imported into QuickBooks. The columns of records in BCSS for Clients, Vendors, Employees, Sales, Inventory and Checks are separated in the output data file by commas, so this type of file is commonly called a 'comma-separated' or 'comma-delimited' file with file names ending in .csv. QuickBooks data-file names end in .iif (Intuit Interface Format).
First, set up a 'company file' in QuickBooks before importing data. This creates a 'Chart of Accounts' and only needs to be done once. (See QuickBooks Help for details and for setting preferences.)
When BCSS output is imported into QuickBooks, no changes are made to existing accounts, and new accounts, if any, are added.
Use the 'Make QuickBooks Accounts' function (BCSS Main Menu, Utilities) to make the accounts in QuickBooks that BCSS will add data to. This function creates a file to be used to import data into QuickBooks as described below.
Exporting All Data to QuickBooks
To transfer all records for Clients, Vendors, Employees, Sales, Inventory and Checks to QuickBooks (for the first time, or to replace a corrupted QuickBooks file) -
Open QuickBooks and import the file (File/Import/iif file).
Exporting Select Data for QuickBooks
The program exports records since the last export each time.
If records that have been exported need to be exported again:
The next data exported from BCSS will be from the last record exported.
Updating All QuickBooks Records
Make sure the option mentioned above is NOT checked (to avoid duplicate records in QuickBooks).
Be sure to export vendors first if there are new ones.
Open QuickBooks and import the file (File/Import/iif file).
BCSS will export all vendor and inventory records. QuickBooks will update changed records and add new ones.
The simple way to avoid having to remember exporting vendors first is to export all data daily (or however often needed).
Updating Select QuickBooks Records
Records for vendors, Employees, sales, inventory or checks may be updated separately.
Be sure to export the vendor list first if there are new entries.
General Considerations
QuickBooks will not accept a check unless the vendor payee is already on file, so to write a check for a new vendor, export the vendor list first. Otherwise, QuickBooks will give an error message and not import the record. This is most important because checks and sales can only be exported once from BCSS.
Be sure to record both names before exporting. It is possible to edit the iif file and insert a last name if it has been left out. This requires just a little in the way of computer skill. QuickBooks will accept 'Cash Sale' as first and last name. For vendor company names, add Co. or Inc. if necessary.
When exporting to QuickBooks, to assure there will never be a sale of non-existent inventory, a check for a payee not in the QuickBooks vendor list, or a transaction for which QuickBooks does not have an account, export files in this order: Accounts - Inventory - Sales - Vendors - Disbursements - Employees
QuickBooks does not recognize cash withdrawals from store funds. QuickBooks requires that checks be written for all disbursements so BCSS only exports check disbursements to QuickBooks. This will cause a discrepancy between what BCSS says about current funds and what QuickBooks says. We strongly recommend following the QuickBooks discipline of using checks for everything. This means no Settlements for credit.
The one exception to the checks-only rule is that QuickBooks will accept a credit memo where the Buyer is given cash refund. BCSS does report these to QuickBooks, however, BCSS recognizes the difference between a partial refund where the Buyer keeps the item and a full refund where the Buyer returns the item. As far as QuickBooks is concerned, all credit memos are for returned items.
BCSS allows a number of disbursement methods but QuickBooks does not know about Settlements for credit or cash.
Sales documents must have a buyer. The buyer can be 'Cash Sale', but it cannot be Sale or Cash. In QuickBooks, log in as administrator. Open the Customers area, click on Transactions and choose various ways to look at sales.
BCSS will not export voided invoices.
QuickBooks will accept inventory items from BCSS but it will not accept a quantity on hand. That must be input manually. BCSS does pass the quantity for each item as a custom field. To view custom fields for a QuickBooks item, first right-select the item and choose edit from the list. Then select custom fields. On the pop-up screen, select define fields. This generates another popup with a column of five fields. Put a check in the top check box. In the top label window, enter quantity and click OK. The quantity for this item is viewable but the same number for quantity needs to be put in the place where QuickBooks actually expects to find quantities in the item record.
QuickBooks does not know about Consignor or Buyer ID's so BCSS provides a custom field option for that as well.
Right click on the Consignor or Buyer Record. Choose edit. The rest is much the same.
Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cost of Goods Sold
BCSS does export Cost of Goods and Accounts Receivable information. It exports Undeposited Funds and Bank information (which would be Revenue accounts). It does not export Accounts Payable. There is a point where BCSS doesn't translate well to QuickBooks because QuickBooks doesn't understand consignment. It is a retail tool. Clients, for instance are exported as Vendors.
But BCSS does export a balanced set of accounts. It probably takes some data massage in QB to get the data to look right in a balance sheet.
The items.iif file has a column for cost. QuickBooks uses that for Cost of Goods Sold.
BCSS Virtual is integrated with QuickBooks. (The program accesses QuickBooks DLL's (Dynamic Link Libraries) and submits data to the QuickBooks database via the links.)
According to Intuit upgrading to the newest version isn't necessary and because new versions are 'backwards compatible', all versions are compatible with this integration.
Windows may keep QuickBooks running in the background even though QuickBooks may have been closed.
Exporting from Consignment Software to QuickBooks for the First Time
Before starting an export session for the first time:
BCSS Setup
Connecting BCSS to QuickBooks
In BCSS under Utilities (upper right in the program) click on 'Connect to QuickBooks'.
Four progress prompts will appear:
In BCSS under Utilities click on 'Export All'.
The last step (opening the company file) can take 2 or 3 minutes as QuickBooks and BCSS 'handshake'. (Tech support has no control over the time it takes Windows to complete this step.)
If this message appears, go back over the instructions above to make sure QuickBooks is installed and correctly configured:
If the handshake is successful, a message will appear confirming 'All Processes Successful'.
It will also be necessary to close BCSS and reopen it.
Troubleshooting
Read-Only File: By default Quickbooks creates the company file as 'read only'. Follow these instructions.
Incorrect Data: The 'quick fix' for incorrect data is to create a new company file in QuickBooks, check 'All Data' in BCSS Program Setup (General tab) and import the data again. (Uncheck 'All Data' in BCSS to transfer only new data in future transfers.)
Retail Accounts In BCSS
There must be only one (house) account used for buying and reselling 'retail' items as all sales proceeds will go to that account for which profit/loss will be calculated and displayed on the Sales-Recap report.
'Retail' in BCSS is the buying and reselling of merchandise on hand as well as merchandise acquired from businesses. (Buying and reselling merchandise acquired from individuals is 'resale' or 'buy outright'.)
Another type of 'house account' is the 'Transfer Account' which receives ownership of unsold consignments (if the Transfer Account and automatic transfers are activated and the disposal option in the client record is 'Transfer to House'). The Transfer Account should not be used for retail.
Other types of inventory with no cost basis (like donations to the shop) can be entered in the Transfer Account. All sales proceeds of donated items are generally subject to income tax.
For retail items, BCSS records buy and sell prices, computes the differences for sold items and reports the differences as profit or loss in the Sales-Recap report.
Retail House Account
For our purposes 'retail inventory' is merchandise purchased from businesses (suppliers, wholesalers, vendors, craftsmen, artists, etc.).
To enter retail inventory, a House Account must exist. To create one:
Retail Inventory
It wouldn't be necessary to create client records for suppliers. It may be sufficient to place supplier information in the Details field of the item record then find the item record by scanning a barcode in the Inventory Work Area or by using the key-press search function below the list of items in the Inventory Work Area.
To add retail inventory:
BCSS supports the use of two thermal label printers (or the Dymo Twin Turbo) - to avoid tag having to change labels/tags in the printer for different types of merchandise; however these are cheap non-commercial printers which are not recommended or supported. It appears this type of printer, for example, cannot accurately print small barcodes on small labels.
To view items entered:
Retail Sales
If a retail item has been assigned to a category, that category can be included in promotional sales. (For some period of time, all items in category xxx will be discounted by xx%.)
Retail sales are generally taxable but local jurisdictions allow some merchandise (like clothing) to be sold tax-free or tax-free below a stipulated amount. Create categories, configure taxes and assign the categories to items.
With Diamond and Virtual editions, employees can be paid commissions and they can be denied or allowed access to any data and program functions (like voiding sales and discounting at POS). Each employee can have a 'till' that can be audited at any time.
To sell a retail item:
A sale can be put on hold indefinitely by clicking on 'Put Sale on Hold' and will appear in the Sales Work Area with a pink background.
A sale can be put on hold temporarily by clicking on Invoice 2 (top of the page) then returning to Invoice 1 when that purchaser returns to checkout.
Because invoices can be placed on hold temporarily, the 'red X' in the upper-right corner has been disabled to avoid losing sales on hold. Use 'Terminate Session' to close the invoice screen.
Retail Reports
Any list of information is a 'report'. There are several ways to create, view and print lists (reports) in the program:
Barcodes Missing in current versions of the software are generally no longer an issue. The program assigns a barcode as each item is entered into inventory. Duplicate and missing barcodes might only occur now when barcodes are manually entered or edited, which should never be done.
Items Added to Wrong Account can be corrected by:
Duplicate ID or Incorrect Starting #
The 'next Client ID #' is stored in the Windows Registry. Windows can sometimes lose track of the number. Also, if letters and numbers are used in Client IDs (not advisable) the program will lose track of the next available number. Sort the ID column in the Clients Work Area and observe the last-used number. Open the new-client screen and enter the next number in sequence for the ID.
Missing Records
The most common reasons for missing client records are: