Process Batch Introduction
Transactions of all types can be Batched, either by using transaction options or having Security Profile options set. Batching is a means of entering transaction detail: for example without increasing Customer or Supplier balances, or updating Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet reporting. Batched Sales or Purchase Orders however, can be used to calculate correct stock availability.
Transactions are held in a Batch, which can be reviewed, edited or even deleted before processing, ensuring secure entry of transactions while increasing efficiency by allowing bulk processing. Sales & Purchase Order statuses can be applied which allow further control over User permissions for Batch processing.
In the Selling and Purchasing batches, deliveries & receipts can be processed alongside document printing, then values posted to Customer & Supplier accounts. In Sales & Purchase Ledger batch processes, values are posted directly.
When posting transactions you can either post them immediately or, by using the Batch Transaction/Order options, hold them in a Batch queue. They can then be reviewed, edited, added to, or if no processing has been done, they can be deleted. You can also process them in parts as required.
Background
Sometimes Orders cannot be dealt with immediately, particularly those involving Stock items, because:
There may not be Stock available,
There are so many Orders that they have to be scheduled and organised,
Picking Lists have to be prepared,
Materials and Stock items purchased,
Partial Deliveries and/or Invoices may be required.
In these cases, you would Batch the Orders.
Batching the Orders means that they are 'in' the system, but are inactive. They have no immediate effect on the Ledgers, but any Stock items can be recorded in the Stock Control Module as being 'Allocated' or on 'Order In'.
As Deliveries or Receipts occur, or Invoices are raised, the Ledgers and other records are updated with this activity, until the whole Transaction has been posted.
The Process Batch function is available in most modules, and it enables you to select transactions from those currently held in the Batch queues, and then list those that satisfy your selection criteria.
Certain modules have different types of batches, so that when functions such as Process Pro Forma or Process Estimate are selected, this will only look at Orders that have been flagged as Pro Forma or at Estimates.
By default, when you list Batched transactions for posting, they are protected against other users changing any part of them.
Example: When processing a Sales Order where all the actions occur immediately, and the goods and paperwork involved are completed at the same time, there is no need to Batch the Transaction.
Process Batch types
All functions found within Process Batch work in a similar manner, the exceptions have links to detailed topics, below. The Batch types comprise:
Orders,
Deliveries,
Invoices,
Credit Notes,
Pro Forma,
Estimate, and
Order Status.
Method
From the ribbon, select the Batch type you wish to process: the Batch Selection and Process Batch windows open.
Using the Batch Selection window, use the various fields and options to refine your search criteria. Click Display: transactions meeting your criteria are listed in the Process Batch window.
In the Process Batch list window, select the lines you want to process. Use SHIFT+click and/or CTRL+click for selecting multiple lines. Use the process toggle buttons found in the column head to mark your desired lines as process: YES (the upper button selects individual lines whereas the lower button selects all).
If you are happy to accept the full Value of all toggled lines, click OK: the Process options window opens.
If you need to accept only part of the Value, click Detail: the Order detail window opens and lists all lines for the order. In the footer of the window you can enter the quantities to process. When ready, click OK: the Process options window opens.
In the Process options window, tick the options to indicate the follow on actions for the order. Click OK to proceed.
The Update Delivery Financial Period & Update Invoice Financial Period displayed, or available for selection, depends on your Security Profile posting rights. These rights are also dependent on whether the Enable Working Period feature is activated in System Control. See Enable Working Periods.
Locking Transactions
In Sales and Purchase Order Processing, to avoid restricting other users unnecessarily, there is an option in System Options - Transactions called Batch Post - Multi User Locking.
This option only applies to Sales and Purchase Orders, it does NOT apply to Sales, Purchase or Nominal Ledger Transactions posted directly within those modules.
The option enables you to select the individual Orders shown on the initial Process Sales (or Purchase) Order Batch list, that you wish to consider for posting. This reduces the list to just those that you wish to work on.
Only the Orders on this last refined list will then be 'Locked', releasing the 'Lock' on all the rest, so that other Users can process them.
Lock/ Unlock
When you are Processing Batched Orders, you first have to select the range of Orders which you might want to process.
Then when those selected are displayed in a list, you must further select from this list only those that you are sure you wish to work with, so these can be 'Locked' to stop any other user doing anything to them - otherwise they would all be 'Locked', and this could be inconvenient.
To 'Lock' the Orders, first select them, using single click, shift click, or control/command click. Then click on the Lock function.
The list will be displayed again with only those Orders that you have 'Locked' being shown, and with the Lock function changing to Unlock.
The Unlock option unlocks every order that you currently have locked.