Serially Numbered Stock can be tracked from the point that it is Purchased or Moved into Stock, through to the Sales Order and, if it occurs, the Credit Note for returns.

When Purchasing, you may enter the Serial Numbers when the goods are Ordered or when they are delivered. The Numbers can be entered singly or, if they are consecutive, they can be generated automatically with Prefixes and Suffixes.

When Selling, you can display a list of available Serial Numbers from which to select. Serial Numbers can be selected when the Order is entered or added to orders in the batch at the time of delivery.

Within the database, for each Order or Stock Movement for a multiple quantity of Serial Stock items:

In general, when Stock is coming in, a Serial Number Entry window is displayed for you to enter in the incoming numbers, while when Stock is going out, a Serial Number Selection window is displayed, so that you can select those being sent out.

A Serial Number can be typed into the Detail line if the Qty. is set to 1.

If the Qty. is greater than 1, then the Serial Numbers will have to be entered or selected using the Serial Number list windows.

If more than one Serial Number is entered or selected against a single Detail line, then the text <multiple> is shown in the Serial No. field.

If the Serial Number Stock item is also a Sub Analysis item:

When processing Sales Orders or Stock Movements, if you select multiple Serial Numbers you can only select those of the same Sub Analysis value. Separate detail lines should be used if you require items with different Sub Analysis values.

When using the Stock Allocation window, if you have not selected a Sub Analysis, you may select multiple Sub Analysis values by selecting and allocating multiple Serial Numbers.

If the transaction options Always Select First Serial Numbers and Always Select First Sub Analysis have both been selected; the Serial Number will take precedence over the Sub Analysis.

In Stock Options - Records tab card, there are two options that directly affect Serial Number Stock:

This option can be changed at any time. The chosen method will be applied to the display order of serial numbers in the Serial Number Selection window. The order can be changed by clicking on the column title button.

If the transaction option Always Select First Serial Numbers has been selected, the requested quantity of serial numbers will be pre-selected in the Serial Number Selection window.

Default Serial Entry Mode:

The option determines the default mode of the Serial Number Entry window when opened.

Select the method you are most likely to use, the mode of the window can be changed after it has been opened.

Always Select First Serial Numbers

The first Serial Number, as defined by the System Control setting of First Serial Number Method, will be entered in the Serial Number field. For a quantity of more than one, the first Serial Numbers will be pre-selected in the Serial Number Selection window when it is opened.

Always Select First Sub Analysis

If this transaction option is combined with Always Select First Serial Numbers and the stock item is Serial Numbered and Sub Analysis type, the Serial Number will take precedence over the Sub Analysis.

Allow Serial No. field to be left empty

This option will enable you to leave the Serial Number field empty if you do not know which serial numbers are to be used. The transaction will be batched. When the serial numbers are known, you can Edit the batched transaction to add them and post the Transaction.

Allow Sub Analysis field to be left empty

If the stock item in the Sales Order is both Sub Analysis and Serial Numbered, then if a Serial Number is selected, the Sub Analysis Code against which that Serial Number is currently held is also selected.

Allow Serial No. field to be left empty

This option will enable you to leave the Serial Number field empty if you do not know which serial numbers are to be used. The transaction will be batched. When the serial numbers are known, you can Edit the batched transaction to add them and post the Transaction.

Always Select First Serial Numbers

The first Serial Number, as defined by the System Control setting of First Serial Number Method, will be entered in the Serial Number field. For a quantity of more than one, the first Serial Numbers will be pre-selected in the Serial Number Selection window when it is opened.

On Stock records with a type of Serial Number, clicking the S/No. function icon displays the Stock Serial Number Transactions Enquiry window. This lists the Serial Numbers associated with this Stock item, and the transactions associated with the Serial Numbers.

Right clicking on a Serial Number enables you to display a window where you can Edit its details.

The transaction option Always Select First Serial Numbers is available for Stock Movements (Out).

There is an additional option in the Serial Number Entry window for Stock Movements In:

Exclude from SOP This enables stock items to be flagged as not available for SOP orders. This might be used to indicate that returned stock is not to be re-issued.

If a Serial Number Stock item is entered or selected, then the Serial No. entry field will be added to the detail window:

If no Options are set a Serial Number must be entered or selected.

If the Qty. entered on the Detail line is greater than one, the Serial Number Entry window will automatically open.

Clicking on the icon opens the window in the Quick Entry mode, where the fields at the bottom are not shown. This can be useful if you are entering serial numbers from a list or using a Bar Code reader. See Serial Number Entry - Buying.

If the quantity is more than one and you are using numeric Serial Numbers, you may enter the first number and a step size. The required quantity of Serial Numbers will be generated by adding the step size successively to the first number entered.

You can also add a Prefix and/or Suffix to the Serial Numbers being generated.

If you have information to be applied at all the Serial Numbers being generated, you should enter this in the fields in the lower part of the window before generating the serial numbers.

Click on the Add icon to generate the serial numbers. The window will be populated with the requested quantity of serial numbers, based on the First Number with the Prefix, Step Size and Suffix applied to each.

You may edit the additional information for each Serial Number in the lower part of the window.

The maximum size of the Serial Number field when the Prefix, Number and Suffix are concatenated together is 40 characters.

If a quantity was entered on the detail line before opening the Serial Number Entry window, the system will expect the correct number of serial numbers to be entered or generated. If not, a message will appear suggesting that the detail line quantity is updated to match the number of serial numbers in the entry window.

You can open the Serial Number Entry window, before entering a Qty. on the Detail line, and enter or generate as many Serial Numbers as you require. The quantity will be entered into the Detail line Qty. field when the Serial Number Entry window is closed.

Both the Detailed Entry and Quick Entry windows have an Import icon. This enables you to generate the Serial Numbers from a file.

Click on the Import Icon and select the Import file. A simple Tab delimited text file should be used. This type of file can be generated from a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.

If you manually enter a Serial Number, the Serial Number is validated against the list of available numbers. If it is invalid the Serial Number Entry window is opened displaying a list of valid serial numbers.

If the Qty. entered on the Detail line is greater than one, the Serial Number Selection window will open to allow Serial Numbers to be selected.

If you select more Serial Numbers than the quantity entered, the quantity on the Detail line will be updated when the Serial Number Selection window is closed.

Serial Numbers entered into a batched Stock Movement can be edited from the Post Batch window.

Serial Numbered Sub Analysis items can be transferred from one Sub Analysis to another.

This is limited to one from Sub Analysis and one to Sub Analysis only.

The Sub Analysis Transfer window displays the Serial Numbers being moved. More than one Serial Number can be moved at one time.

The transactions post in the same way as standard Stock Movements. The Serial Number window is available in Sub Analysis transfers, pre-filtered for the Sub Analysis selected.

If a line of an Order is completed and not re-created, then any batched Serial Number Movements will also be deleted.

If an Order is completed, then any batched Serial Number Movements will also be deleted.

The Purge function, enables you to remove Serial Number Movements where there is both a Movement In and a Movement Out. The routine can be limited to select Movements up to and including a date.

The first Serial Number, as defined by the System Control setting of First Serial Number Method, will be entered in the Serial Number field. For a quantity of more than one, the first Serial Numbers will be pre-selected in the Serial Number Selection window when it is opened.

If this transaction option is combined with Always Select First Serial Numbers and the stock item is Serial Numbered and Sub Analysis type, the Serial Number will take precedence over the Sub Analysis.

This option will enable you to leave the Serial Number field empty if you do not know which serial numbers are to be used. The transaction will be batched. When the serial numbers are known, you can Edit the batched transaction to add them and post the Transaction.

If the stock item in the Sales Order is both Sub Analysis and Serial Numbered, then if a Serial Number is selected, the Sub Analysis Code against which that Serial Number is currently held is also selected.

If no Transaction Options are set, a Serial Number must be selected from the Serial Number Selection window. The selection window will display all Serial Numbers for the selected Stock item and/or Sub Analysis code.

If the option Always Select First Serial Number is set, the Serial Number Selection window opens with the number of Serial Numbers equal to the Qty. pre-selected.

You may choose to select different Serial Numbers by using the Yes/No option in the list.

On return to the SOP detail window, the Qty. is changed to be equal to the number of Serial Numbers selected in the Serial Number Selection window.

If you try to exit the window without entering the required quantity of Serial Numbers (i.e. in accordance with the Qty. on the Detail line), then you will be asked if you want to amend the quantity on the Order:

If the option Allow Sub Analysis to be left empty is set, and the Stock item in the Sales Order is both Sub Analysis and Serial Numbered, then if a Serial Number is selected, the Sub Analysis Code against which that Serial Number is currently held is also selected.

When processing Sales Orders or Stock Movements, if you select multiple Serial Numbers you can only select one Sub Analysis. Separate detail lines should be used if you require items with different Sub Analysis values.

If more than one Serial Number is selected for a single Detail line then the text <multiple> is shown in the Serial Number field.

When the Order is saved, the Serial Number table is updated with any Serial Numbers entered, and these are flagged as batched.

Within the Orders and Deliver Orders batches, it is possible to select the Serial Numbers via the Detail option.

In the batch Detail window once a Qty to Deliver has been entered, the S/No button becomes active.

Clicking this displays the Serial Number Selection window showing those Serial Numbers already selected for this particular Order.

Clicking on the Display All icon will add all the other available Serial Numbers to the list.

It is possible to Edit the details held for these Serial Numbers or de-select them.

Changes to the Details will only be saved for those records that are marked YES when the OK icon is clicked and the selection is saved to the SOP order. Further, if the processing from the Detail window is Cancelled, the changes will not be saved.

If no Serial Numbers have been selected previously, then they can be selected at this point.

Serial Numbers to be delivered are selected by double clicking, which will change the NO flag in the Serial Number Selection list to YES.

When you have made your selections and the required number of Serial Numbers have a YES flag, click on OK, and you will be returned to the Detail window.

If the Qty to Deliver is less than the number of Serial Numbers selected:

You are asked to deselect some of the Serial Numbers.

These are deselected by way of a YES/NO flag in the Serial Number Selection list window.

If the Qty to Deliver is greater than the number of Serial Numbers selected:

The Order cannot be delivered until:

either the Qty to Deliver is changed,

or sufficient Serial Numbers are selected.

It is not possible to select from batched POP Serial Numbers that have not been delivered into stock, or those Serial Numbers flagged as Exclude from SOP.

Goods Delivery Notes and Invoices show all the Delivered and Invoiced Serial Numbers on one line (not on a line each).

The Description field is used for this and is limited to displaying only 3750 characters. If the serial numbers are long or you have a very large quantity, not all the serial numbers will be printed.

Alternative ACD Delivery Notes, Invoices and Picking Lists are available.

The Picking List shows the Serial Numbers if set against an Order (i.e. are batched).

Whenever a POP or SOP order is duplicated (Single or Multiple), or a single line is duplicated, if it is for a Serial Number item, the Quantities are duplicated but the Serial Numbers are not.

There is one Transaction Option available to the SOP Credit Note related to Serial Numbers:

If this option is set then the Serial Number field can be left empty, but the Serial Number search is not disabled. The Qty. can be set to be greater than 1. If a Serial Number is entered, then the Credit Note behaves as if no options are set for that line. The additional option in the Serial Number Entry window Exclude from SOP, might be used if returned Stock is no longer usable.

By using the Duplicate feature from a Credit Note Header window, you can generate a Credit Note to exactly reverse an Order or an Order line including the Serial Numbers issued to that order.

Click on the Customer Orders button below the Account on the Header window to display the SOP Orders drill down.

The Orders menu enables you to duplicate a complete Order.

Select the required Order in the top list.

Select the option Single Duplicate, the System will then copy the Header and all of the Order Detail lines into the Credit Note you are entering.

By using the Duplicate option on the Item menu, you can duplicate individual Detail lines from any Order shown in the list. The selected items being added to the end of the Credit Note being entered.

The Serial Number Entry window will contain the Serial Numbers which were delivered to this Customer for the original Order.

The Stock quantity is then set on the Credit Note itself.

In the Serial Number Entry window, Serial Numbers can be removed to create a Credit Note for just those that have been returned. The Stock quantity will be adjusted to match.

If you manually enter a Serial Number and then change the quantity to be greater than 1, the Serial Number Selection window opens automatically to allow further Serial Numbers to be entered.

If this Option is selected, then the Stock Movement Transaction is not generated, but the Serial Number table is updated.

If the Serial Numbers have been left blank and the Credit Note has been batched, then to add the Serial Numbers, the Credit Note must be edited.

The Serial Number button is active, as is the entry field.

When entering POP Orders you can select a number of Transaction Options relating to Serial Numbers.

If more than one Serial Number is entered per line, the Serial Numbers can only be viewed via the Serial Number Entry window and on the Detail and Total line the word <multiple> is substituted in.

Allow Serial Number to be left empty

The Serial Number field can be left empty and a quantity greater than 1 can be entered in to the Qty. field on the Detail line.

If the Option above has not been set, a Serial Number must be entered.

Before entering a Serial Number you may click on the Serial No. button and open the Serial Number Entry window, and add as many Serial Numbers as you wish. The total number entered will then determine the Qty. moved into the Detail line.

If you key in the Serial No. on the Detail window and leave the Qty. as 1, you can click on the Serial No. button to open the Serial Number Entry window and view the additional information for the Serial Number entered.

If the Qty. is changed to be greater than 1, then the Serial Number Entry window will automatically open.

See: Entering Movement Transactions (above), and Serial Number Entry - Buying.

If you try to exit the window without entering the required quantity of Serial Numbers (i.e. in accordance with the Qty. in the Detail line), then you will be asked if you want to amend the quantity on the Order:

You may open the Serial Number Entry window and View or Edit the additional information.

When entering a Purchase Request you can select a number of options relating to Serial Numbers. These notes describe how the feature works with or without those options being set.

If none of the options are set, a Serial Number must be entered.

If you key in the Serial No. on the Detail window and leave the Qty. as 1, you can click on the Serial No. button to open the Serial Number Entry window and edit the additional information for the Serial Number entered.

If Qty. is changed to be greater than 1:

The Serial Number Selection window will automatically open.

The window will display a sequence of Serial Numbers based on the first Serial Number and the quantity entered.

You may edit the additional information and Serial Numbers.

If you try to exit this window without entering the required quantity of Serial Numbers (i.e. in accordance with the Qty. entered on the Order Detail line), then you will be asked if you want to amend the quantity on the Order.

If you answer Yes, then the Qty. is amended accordingly.

If you answer No, the Serial Number window remains.

If the Purchase Request is deleted from the system the Serial Number Movements are also deleted.

When the Purchase Request is converted to a POP Order, the Serial Numbers in the database are re-assigned to the POP Order.

Within the Orders and Deliver Orders, it is possible to Insert/Edit the Serial Numbers.

In the batch Detail window, there is a Serial Number button which is only active once a quantity has been entered in the Quantity Received field.

Pressing this button displays the Serial Number Entry window:

A list of the Serial Numbers already entered against the particular order will be displayed in the window.

It is possible to change these Serial Numbers or remove them from the order.

Click on the Update Details icon to save changes to the Details. Please note, if the processing from the Detail window is Cancelled, the changes will not be saved.

If no Serial Numbers have been entered then they can be Added at this point.

The Order cannot be delivered until there are sufficient Serial Numbers for the Quantity Received.

When the Delivery is processed the Stock Movement Transaction is also generated.

There is one Transaction Option available to the POP Credit Note related to Serial Numbers:

Allow Serial No. field to be left empty

If this option is set then the Serial Number field can be left empty, but the Serial Number search is not disabled.

The Qty. can be set to be greater than 1.

If a Serial Number is entered, then the Credit Note behaves as if no options are set for that line.

By using the Duplicate feature from a Credit Note Header window, you can generate a Credit Note to exactly reverse an Order or an Order line including the Serial Numbers issued to that order.

Click on the button alongside the Account on the Header window to display the POP Orders drill down.

The Orders menu enables you to duplicate a complete Order.

Select the required Order in the top list.
Select the option Single Duplicate, the System will then copy the Header and all of the Order Detail lines into the Credit Note you are entering.

By using the Duplicate option on the Item menu, you can duplicate individual Detail lines from any Order shown in the list. The selected items being added to the end of the Credit Note being entered.

The Serial Number Entry window will contain the Serial Numbers which were delivered by this Supplier for the original Order.

The Stock quantity is then set on the Credit Note itself.

In the Serial Number Entry window, Serial Numbers can be removed to create a Credit Note for just those that have been returned. The Stock quantity will be adjusted to match.

If you manually enter a Serial Number and then change the quantity to be greater than 1, the Serial Number Selection window opens automatically to allow further Serial Numbers to be entered.

Do Not Update stock

If this is set, then the Stock Movement Transaction is not generated and the database is not updated.

If the Serial Numbers have been left blank, or you wish to edit the Serial Numbers from the batch, this can be done through the batch Detail function.

In the batch Detail window there is a Serial Number button. This is only active once a Quantity Returned has been entered. Clicking it displays a Serial Number Selection list window:

This shows those Serial Numbers available for this particular Stock item.

If no Serial Numbers have been selected then they can be selected at this point, however new Serial Numbers cannot be inserted.

Serial Numbers to be returned are selected by way of a YES/NO option in the Serial Number Selection list.

If the Quantity Returned is less than the number of Serial Numbers selected:

You are asked which Serial Numbers you want to return. These are selected by way of a YES/NO option in the Serial Number list.

If the Quantity Returned is greater than the number of Serial Numbers selected:

The Credit Note cannot be processed until either the Quantity Returned is changed, or sufficient Serial Numbers are selected.

When the Return is processed the Stock Movement Transaction is also generated.

If a Single Duplicate of the whole Order or a Line Duplicate is used to produce a Credit Note, then the Serial Number is duplicated, provided it has not been Allocated to another Stock Movement.

A Multiple Duplicate does not copy the Serial Numbers.

ACD layouts are available for SOP Orders, Delivery notes and Invoices; POP Orders and Goods received notes, and Stock Movements use the Serial Number Movements table.

Multiple Serial Numbers per order are shown on one line of a document. The Description field is used for this and is limited to displaying only 3750 characters. If the serial numbers are long or you have a very large quantity, not all the serial numbers will be printed.

The Serial Numbers report and the Serial Numbers will provide you with a list of serial number movements.

Those Serial Numbers flagged as Exclude from SOP are highlighted in the report with an* (asterisk or star character).

In the Crystal report, these items can be excluded from the report by setting the search option Exclude from SOP to False.

In the standard report, un-tick the option Show Serial Numbers Excluded from SOP.

There is an option Edit Serial Number in the SOP Orders and SOP Deliver Orders batches, POP Orders and POP Deliver Orders and POP Credit Note batches. The option can be enabled or disabled.

The Detailed Serial Number Entry window has a setting Exclude from SOP flag

This flag, can be set on the Detailed Serial Number entry window when entering or editing SOP and POP Credit Notes or Stock Movements (in).

From the Stock record for a Serial type Stock item, click on the S/No. icon to display the Stock Serial Number Enquiry window containing a list of the current Serial Numbers that are in stock. When an individual serial number is selected in the Enquiry window, the right-click menu enables you to set or clear the Exclude from SOP flag.

If set, the Exclude from SOP flag will prevent the Serial Number from being sold in SOP Orders.

Whenever this flag is set, or unset, you will be given an opportunity to add Notes as to why the item is unavailable.

These notes are appended to the Stock record Notes.