AM-Win Newsletter.

May 2012

In this edition

• Newsletter attached PDF Documents - new format
• AM-Win latest version information - N0 update since last newsletter
• AM-Win Support Solutions
• Stock Masterfile Statistics
• Stock Kits Explained
• Business Tips
• How to grow profit by pruning waste 
• Windows Tips
• Sticky notes widget in Windows 7 on
• Word Tips
• How To Use Microsoft Word Mailings To Automate Emails
• Excel Tips
• Adding Graphics to a Header or Footer
• Adding Text to a Drawing Shape
• Whoops
• Jokes

Printing our newsletter articles in PDF format. 

 

Click on the PDF image below each article to view and print article in PDF format.  Please note that we will always open a PDF file in a new window.

PDF Documents - new format

The PDF documents at the end of each document have a new format [thanks to Word 7] and are now professionally laid out with styles  

Latest Version Information

No update since last month

Minor update V9.033 is on the web and available for download. Click here to select V9.033 update. This Version 9 download will upgrade any existing Version 9 of AM-WIN without an Install code or license files.

Don't forget to backup your data before upgrading.

If you have any AM-Win version prior to version 9.0 please click here before updating.

AM-Win Support Solutions 

Stock Masterfile Stats Button – F7 Button

To view Stock statistics choose Stats F7 or press the F7 key when in the Stock masterfile screen.

This window shows the sales, purchases and other statistical information for the selected stock item in a graphical format as well as showing the text values.

The screen shows you figures for the last 24 months and provides a comparison between the current and previous year for the same monthly period.

You can select a range of graph types including a bar graph, line graph and numerous other styles.

By right clicking on the graph screen you are then able to perform a number of functions, such as changing the graph type, printing the graph, and even saving the graph to a file which can then be opened, emailed or viewed. The image below is an example of a bar graph for sales figures for a specific item.

 

There is now a Stock Margin GP% option which shows how much margin is being placed on each stock item. If you wish to remove this option in your stock masterfile, then go to Others>Control System>Business Options and under Stock Options, tick “Hide % Margin Column in Stock Masterfile”. 

 

Stock Kits Explained

A stock kit allows you to draw several different part numbered items, labour, consumables and sundries together and sell them as one item or part number. This is essential if you are a reconditioner, however if you are a repairer it may save hours when it comes to writing quotes or invoices. For example you may have a job that you know you'll see again and again - e.g. rebuild engine for a Commodore - make a kit with all the components labour consumables and sundries etc and simply quote on the kit part number. AM-Win will handle all of the pricing  as well as all of the stock control automatically

Let's look at some examples

As mentioned you don't have to be a rebuilder / remanufacturer to use kits - here's some more examples.

• Engine recondition - all parts, labour, freight charges, consumables and sundry items = exchange engine part number xxx
• Clutch Kit - Clutch cover, clutch plate and thrust bearing - maybe a fancy box = clutch kit part number xxxxxx
• Bull bar assembly - Freight [that's a biggy] bull bar, fitting [labour] = Bull bar assembly part number xxxxxx
• Tow Bar - Freight, tow bar, fitting [labour], 7 pin plug, 7 core cable = Tow assembly part number xxxxxx
• CV Joint assembly - all the components plus labour and grease = CV Joint assembly part no xxxxxxx
• Exhaust system - engine pipe, intermediate pipe, muffler and tail pipe = Sports exhaust system part number xxxx
• Computer System - Box, cables, mouse, keyboard and monitor = Computer system part number xxxxxxx
• Exchange gearbox - all parts, labour, freight charges, consumables and sundry items = exchange gear box part number xxx

Flag a stock item as a stock kit.

When an item is flagged as a kit item you can attach as many items as you like to that stock item. For example you may have a stock item which is a clutch kit. That item can then be linked to the Clutch plate and Pressure plate and thrust bearing. Or you may have a sports exhaust kit part which is linked to the engine pipe, tail pile, muffler etc. For those in the computer industry you may have a computer kit part which is linked to the computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, mouse pad etc.

Kit items do not carry stock on hand as such. The stock on hand is held within each item of that kit. If you wish to see if you have sufficient stock to make up the kit then you can click on the Kit button within the stock masterfiles and see how many of each item within the kit you have in stock and as such how many kits you could make with your current stock or how many and what items you need to be able to assemble further kits. When the item is marked as a kit you can then either flag the kit as a exploded kit or not exploded.

Exploded kit parts

Exploded kit parts means that when the part is selected and invoiced, all of the items attached to the kit part are placed on the invoice and not the actual kit part. In this way the part number works almost exactly the same as a normal Kit would. It is simply a method of expanding / exploding a single item into many items on the invoice. If 3 of the kit item is sold then 3 x all of the parts within that kit are sold. The sales of the individual parts are recorded in exactly the same way that they would be if the parts were manually entered one by one on the invoice.

 

Non Exploded kit parts 

If the kit is not exploded then when a part is selected on a job, the actual kit part selectedwill be placed on the invoice. The non exploded kit will be priced as per the prices in the kit number. This means that the Kit price may be substantially different that the total of the items within the kit.

TThe Clutch and Pressure plate separately may sell for a total of $220 while the kit may be sold for $200 (10% less). Or in fact because of a labour / installation content the kit may in fact be sold for a higher price that the individual components.

When a non exploded kit is sold the kit itself as previously mentioned has no stock control. It is the individual parts within the stock kit that are stock controlled. However, when you look at the sales details for each item, the value of the items that were in the kit is Zero (0) but the sales value of the kit itself is whatever it was sold for. This is because if we include the sales value for both the kit and also the individual items then the sales figures would be doubled for that sale.

The sale qty is included for both the kit and the individual items for stock control tracking. The sales details can be viewed from the sales analysis screen (F2 from the stock masterfile screen). You can also restrict the sales to just kit sales or all sales.
Revenue Items in Stock Masterfiles

Revenue Class

Revenue stock is also very similar to non-stocked items however the stock on hand is not controlled. This is simply an income item for non-stocked items which are charged out but never actually purchased in as a non-stock item. Although we do not recommend it, labour would be a revenue item as you do not buy labour but you do sell it. Selling a wheel balance or alignment that you do in your workshop would also be classed as a revenue item rather than a non-stock item. You should set up your revenue accounts for revenue items between 6030 – 6999 or 4000 – 4999 or 8000 – 8999. However, there are no set limitations for these accounts. BE CAREFUL! There are also no expense accounts for these items. . 

 

Business Tips 

How to grow profit by pruning waste 

In our search for profitable growth we often focus on the exciting stuff such as innovation and strategy or big ticket wins such as a major operational overhaul. But there are lots of little things that can contribute to profitable growth and one of these is watching the waste.

When I talk about waste I don’t mean the big projects or purchases that latterly turn out to have been a poor decision. These are experiments and are not waste as such (provided you learn from them).

No the "waste" I mean is the insidious frittering away of time and money. It’s the little stuff lost through carelessness and inefficiency that goes unnoticed because nobody measures it.

Here’s a little example. The time wasted when people are late to meetings.

You know how it works. The meeting is scheduled for 11am and the prompt people are in the room on the dot waiting for the others. The majority stroll in five minutes late and the meeting begins, after general chitchat, at 11.10am. Then, at 11.25am, in flies Mr Habitually Late. He’s been caught up on something ‘very important’, but now he’s here the rest of the attendees have to sit through a recap of the meeting so that Mr Habitually Late can get up to speed.

It’s 11:35am and the meeting is finally restarted. For a meeting of 10 people, that’s as good as five wasted hours.

In a year, with one such meeting every day, the total waste is 1,300 hours: That’s 68% of a person!

If you want to start watching the waste you need to first of all identify where waste may be happening. A good place to start is by asking employees. You can ask a simple question like, “On any day, where do you think your time is wasted?” It opens up all sorts of little ‘waiting’ problems like the meeting example above or “waiting for the printer”. If you probe a little deeper you might get “preparing the X report” (which it turns out no one actually reads) or “replying to Y type emails”.

Once you’ve found where waste is occurring you need to have a go at measuring it. It doesn’t have to be an exact measurement; in fact, fun measurements - like “days lost in meetings” – are far more meaningful.

Some of the waste, when measured, is simply not big enough to make a fuss about. Ignore those areas and focus instead on the bigger ones. The very best ‘wastes’ to pay attention to are those, such as meetings discipline (as discussed above), that are pervasive in your business.

Once you have decided what to focus on, you then need to set a goal for improvement. This is “waste saved”. It should be fairly easy to set a target as you’ve already done the hard work with the initial measurement.

Finally, it’s onto making the actual improvements. You can make this a challenge to your employees. Undoubtedly, they will have lots of good ideas, as it’s their time that’s been being wasted! 

 

Windows Tips

Sticky notes widget in Windows 7 on

Are you into the ubiquitous "Post IT" note or maybe you need a reminder of something important that you need to do today - sticky notes just might be the answer.

To open type Sticky Notes into your Windows search box [click start to find it located above your start button]

Tap the enter key and a sticky note will appear on your screen.

 

To move the note hold the left mouse button between the + and the X on the top of the note and drag the note to your preferred location on the screen

Click on the note and type your reminder note in the box

To add another sticky note click the + on the note.

To change the colour right click and select from the colour range in the menu

 

If your sticky notes disappears off the screen you can click "Sticky Notes on the task bar at the bottom of your screen and it will re-appear.

 

How To Use Microsoft Word Mailings To Automate Emails

Word 2007 provides the ability to automate many of the tasks that you do often. One of those tasks is sending reports or emails.

There are many times when you may wish to send a document to many people - e.g. a newsletter  or a report of some kind.  What makes this worse sometimes is that you have to send individually tailored emails to each person with specific information pertaining to them. Maybe 80 to 90% of the verbiage is the same, but that 10 or 20% specific to the person is unique – so you find yourself spending hours writing up email after email.

Sending Automated Emails

In this example Word is going to automatically fill in the details about the person on your contact list, while allowing you to quickly fill in the data or information that you want to send to that person. This makes the email feel personal and direct, but at the same time you aren’t spending hours writing up tens or hundreds of personal, direct emails.

To get started, in Word 2007), click on “Mailings” and then click “Start Mail Merge".

The Wizard isn’t necessary, but it’s nice because it helps you to remember everything you need to do. First, pick a template that you’d like to use for your generic report.

Word has a lot of good styles and layouts. Once you choose your template, just click OK. Now your entire report is written for you, all you have to do is fill in the text. When it comes to the date, make sure to choose “today” so that the document always uses today’s date every time you recreate it later.

When you choose your recipient list to receive these emails, you can use your current Outlook contacts, a current contact list that you’ve exported from somewhere else, or create a new list of contacts.

In this example, we have selected recipients from a current Outlook contact list.

Now that you have your recipients selected, you’re going to tell the document what information to pull out of the Contacts information and automatically embed into the report. You do this by clicking on the “Insert Merge Field” button.

For example, I’m creating a report about a specific website for a client, so I’ve defined that website in their Contact details, and here I’m telling Word to use that URL in the report.

If you’re using Outlook, don’t forget that Outlook Contacts offers User Fields, where you can insert any information you want for that person.

This is useful when the information you want to embed for that person isn’t found in the Contact List fields.

The coolest thing about the Microsoft Word Mailings is that you basically create “fill-in” fields for the parts of the report that are unique for each person.

So as you’re writing the generic message and you get to a place where you have to write something that would have specific data relevant to that person, just click on “Rules” and choose “Fill-in“. This lets you define the prompt question and a default answer. What will happen is when you load up your automated document, it will prompt you to fill in every single one of the fill-in fields for each recipient.

Once you’re finished creating your automated mailing, your document will consist of some fields that automatically fill in based on recipient Contact details, and other fields will fill in based on what you’ve specified for information.

For each document, you can quickly send out the email report from Word by clicking the Outlook button on the upper right part of the screen, choosing “Send Email” (or send as PDF attachment), and you’re done!

Using this technique, you’ll cut down your correspondence work by at least 50% or more. Up front it’ll take you some time to get the document set up perfectly, but every week or month that you need to issue the report, you’ll be very happy that you put in the effort.

 

Adding Graphics to a Header or Footer

When you are designing the header and footer for a worksheet, Excel allows you to add various special elements to your header or footer. You can even insert a picture into the header or footer. Just follow these steps:

• Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
• Click the Header & Footer tool. Excel displays the Design tab of the ribbon.
• Click either the Header or Footer tool depending on whether you want to affect the header or footer.
• Select the section of the header or footer (left, center, or right) in which you want your graphic to appear.
• Click on the Picture tool, in the Header & Filter Elements group. Excel displays the Insert Picture dialog box.
• Use the controls in the dialog box to locate and select the graphic you want in the header or footer.
• Click on Insert. Excel places the graphic at the designated spot in the header or footer, displaying the code & [Picture] where the graphic will appear.
• Make other changes to the header or footer, as desired.
• Click somewhere outside the header or footer, in the main body of the worksheet.

Adding Text to a Drawing Shape

Most people know that you can add textboxes to your worksheet, but don't realise that you can actually add text to any drawing shape that you can add to Excel. Just follow these steps:

• Add your drawing shape as you normally would.
• Right-click the new drawing shape. Excel displays a Context menu.
• Choose Edit Text from the Context menu. An insertion point appears within the body of the shape.
• Type your desired text.
• Click somewhere outside the boundaries of the drawing shape, such as within a cell of the worksheet.

If you later resize your drawing shape, then the text within it is reformatted to fit the new dimensions of the shape. (This behavior is the same that occurs if you resize a textbox that contains text.)

 

Note:

Please note that we do not provide support for our Word and Excel tips as they are provided by a third party. If you need further information why not try using Google - Cut and paste the heading of our tip into Google's search box. You'll be amazed at the information available.

Whoops

Thanks again to the guys at the Stihl Shop in Murray Bridge for the following video.

Jokes

Two Wishes - an oldie but a goodie

 

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks for their orders. The man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours"?

"I'll have the same," says the ostrich.

A short time later, the waitress returns with the order. "That will be $9.40 please," she says and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, "A hamburger, fries, and a coke."

The ostrich says, "I'll have the same."

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes routine until the two enter again later in the week.

"The usual"? asks the waitress.

"No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and salad," says the man.

"Same," says the ostrich.

Shortly, the waitress brings the order and says, "That will be $32.62."

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress can't hold back her curiosity any longer.

"Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change out of your pocket every time"?

"Well," says the man, "several years ago, I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there."

"That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would wish for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!"

"That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man.

The waitress asks, "But what's with the ostrich"?

The man sighs and answers, "My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say."

The awesome outdoorsman

A guy went to his Dr and the doctor asked if he led an active life.

"Well, yesterday afternoon, I waded across the edge of a deep lake, barely escaped from a wild pig in the heavy brush, marched along a treacherous trail up and down a mountain, stood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand, and barely escaped jumping away from an aggressive brown snake."

Inspired by the story, the Doctor said, "You must be an awesome outdoorsman!"

"No," he replied, "I'm just a bad golfer."

I'm a total golf nut

Ed and Nancy met while on a singles cruise and Ed fell head over heels for her.

When they discovered they lived in the same city only a few miles apart Ed was ecstatic.

He immediately started asking her out when they got home.

Within a couple of weeks, Ed had taken Nancy to dance clubs, restaurants,

Concerts, movies, and museums. Ed became convinced that Nancy was indeed his soul mate

And true love. Every date seemed better than the last.

On the one-month anniversary of their first dinner on the cruise ship, Ed took Nancy to a fine restaurant. While having cocktails and waiting for their salad, Ed said,

"I guess you can tell I'm very much in love with you. I'd like a little serious talk before our relationship continues to the next stage. So, before I get a box out of my jacket and ask you a life changing question, it's only fair to warn you, I'm a total golf nut. I play golf, I read about golf, I watch golf on TV. In short, I eat, sleep, and breathe golf. If that's going to be a problem for us, You'd better say so now!"

Nancy took a deep breath and responded, "Ed, that certainly won't be a problem. I love you as you are and I love golf too; but, since we're being totally honest with each other, you need to know that for the last five years I've been a hooker."

Ed said, "I bet it's because you're not keeping your wrists straight when you hit the ball."

 

 

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