Store Link Contents
Contact your Authorized Keystroke Point Of Sale Dealer for details about setting up MultiStore.
MultiStore is a set of Keystroke software utilities used to manage sales and inventory in multiple store locations and/or warehouses. The MultiStore utilities include a variety of stand-alone programs that, when properly integrated into automated polling scripts and/or batch programs, allow various levels and methods of data consolidation depending on the needs of the business. Some of the most common functions of the MultiStore utilities include:
- Nightly polling of data from store locations to a company headquarters. Transactions, Customers, and Inventory databases are available for review and maintenance by management at company headquarters
(Extract, StoreMerge, and StoreUpdate utilities).
- Sales and purchase transactions from all locations can be consolidated into one set of Keystroke data files to represent company-wide history and status (Extract and StoreMerge utilities).
- Company-wide financial data consolidated to a common General Ledger. (Accounting Link is not a part of MultiStore).
- From any store location, look up Quantity On Hand of Inventory items located in other stores and/or warehouses (InventoryLink utility).
- Consolidated Inventory level reports including QOH per store and totals (StoreLink utility).
Each of the above functions can be implemented individually or collectively, depending upon the needs of the business. In addition, many of the MultiStore utilities can be configured in a variety of ways, providing several levels of integration.
StoreLink
The StoreLink module is designed for businesses operating multiple retail store locations with identical (or nearly identical) inventories. StoreLink provides functions required to manage Inventory in multiple store and/or warehouse locations. These functions include: look up stock levels of individual items at alternate locations, view composite Inventory reports listing inventory levels and totals at individual locations, globally update Inventory items including pricing and descriptions, and transfer Inventory between locations.
Note: StoreLink does not handle the actual transfer of data between store sites, nor does it provide any type of data communications utilities. Data transfer functions are best handled using standard communications software designed to perform data file transfers via the Internet.
Inventory Transfers
The main screen in StoreLink is the Store Transfer Transaction screen and is used to transfer Inventory items between stores. Store Transfer Transactions are very much like the Sales Invoice Transactions used in the POS used to sell inventory to customers. The procedures for creating an Store Transfer Transaction are similar those used when entering a Sales Transaction. Items are always transferred from the Current(From) store to the Transfer(To) store. When a transfer is completed, the appropriate item quantities are removed from the Current store inventory and added to the Transfer store inventory.
To enter an Store Transfer Transaction, first verify that the Current store is the store from which Inventory is being transferred (to specify the Current store, use the Current function on the Store menu). Press [F8] to select the store to which Inventory is being transferred. Then enter the Inventory items and the quantities to be transferred.
The Inventory lookup list is based on the Current store's Inventory. After entering all the items to be transferred, press [Enter] to display the Print/Save options. Select the [Print] button to print the Store Transfer Transaction, and select the [Save] button to record the transaction and update the appropriate Inventory data.
When the transfer is saved, the Inventory item quantities are removed from the Current store and added to the Transfer store. If the Stock Number of an item in the Store Transfer Tranaction is not found in the Transfer store Inventory database, the Inventory record is copied from the Current store to the Inventory database of the Transfer store.
Store Transfer Transactions can be edited, deleted, recalled, and reprinted (just like Sales and Purchase Transactions can be) using the appropriate menu functions. When a Store Transfer Transaction is edited, deleted, or recalled, all affected Inventory levels are adjusted accordingly.
Note: Because the Store Transfer function requires that the data files for all stores be immediately available (installed at the same location), consider the following alternate method available to transfer Inventory between stores. This simple work- around method involves the use of Purchase Transactions at each store involved in the transfer.
Alternative method to transfer inventory between stores:
First, for each store involved in the transfer, add a Vendor that represents the store for which inventory is transferred to or from. In the store from which Inventory is being transferred (the From Store), enter a Purchase Invoice for the Vendor (the To Store) to which the Inventory is being transferred. Because Inventory is being removed from the From Store, enter the items being transferred using negative quantities. In the store to which Inventory is being transferred, enter a Purchase Invoice for the Vendor (the From Store) with the same items, but use positive quantities. These two Purchase Transactions will adjust the Inventory levels appropriately for the transferred items.
Note: Since StoreLink involves the simultaneously use of Inventory files from more than one store, it is imperative that the Stock Numbers of all transferable items are identical for all stores. Any items that are unique to an individual store should be assigned Stock Numbers that will not conflict with common items, (i.e., those in the Master Inventory). For items that are not common between stores, it is suggested to use Stock Numbers below a certain number in order to avoid such conflict. For instance, Stock Numbers greater than 1,000 can be assigned to all items that are common to all stores, and only Stock Numbers less than 1,000 are assigned to items that are unique to individual stores.
Consolidate Inventory:
The Consolidate Inventory function is used to combine Inventory Quantities and Dates from all stores into a single inventory database. This is done by designating a store to Consolidate the inventory using the Transfers Menu, Consolidate Inventory Parameter. Once set up, run it using the Store Menu, Consolidate Inventory option. This function first erases all the quantity and date fields in the Consolidate store's inventory file. It then reads in the inventory data from the other stores and combines it into the inventory data in the specified Consolidate store. Once completed, the Consolidate store's data can be used on reports and/or export functions to view the combined inventory of all stores.
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Store Link Contents