Author: Ron Woodruff

Using Charge Command Titles for Job Ticket

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Here are the instructions for changing the Custom Job Ticket for use with the Charge Command Titles:

You can get your custom job ticket to sort the charge titles in the same order that you have Charge Commands arranged. However, once you do it there are 2 things to to keep in mind.
1. Your jobs from History will recognize the OLD way and you will have to take the charges off and add them back on to get them to sort correctly.
2. If you ever want to switch back to the Built In Ticket you will have put your charges back the way you had them.
If you feel comfortable with that, changing your job ticket is a 4 step process.

1. First, Re-arrange your charges and charge commands in the order that you
want.
For us, they appear in this order:
PrePress
Production
Bindery
Outside Services
Mailing Services
Shipping
BCT
Misc.
Discounts

2. Second, Open your job ticket in report writer: Select the Data Source (Filing Cabinet Icon) and check the box that says “Group Charges” and the box that says “Use Charge List”, click OK
3. At the bottom of your ticket there is a field called
“Charge_Section_Title”, open that field, then open the formula (red sigma). Make sure the “Special” tab is selected, then choose Command Title (1 to 10)”, click OK

4.The leading Summary for the Charges has to be changed.
A. Click on the Page Part Manager
B. Highlight the 7th Leading Summary (which probably says “Charges: recordtype”)
C. Double click on it
D. On the left window, select the field named “list ID”
E. Click in the Up/Down arrow icon to the left of the Red Sigma, and select the field called “list ID” from the “Charges” menu.
F. Click OK, and OK and save.
Save your job ticket and test it.

Time Clock Auto Out Warning

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For those of using the Time Clock that comes with Tracker I have a little warning for you. The Auto-Out feature only works if someone is logged in to PrintSmith. Why is this a problem? If you do a Closeout and Backup at 5:00 and then restart PrintSmith without logging in, PrintSmith will not be able to clock you out automatically at 5:30. You actually have to login to do that or someone has to be logged in.

I’m a bit baffled by this because the Report Manager is able to print reports without anyone being logged in. I’m not sure why someone has to be logged in to be automatically clocked out.

Please note that we have using it as an “In & Out” board for our salaried employees because not everyone can see the “In & Out” board at the front counter.

New Report Samples Booklet

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report-sample-booklet-cover.jpg

Reports Sample Book & Tips Revised January 2007

In preparation for the Workshop held on January 20th, 2007 I have done an “extreme makeover” of the Report sample book. I have now included many tips including a section on BHR’s and Excel files. This booklet comes free with any CD Purchase, Onsite Visit, or Workshop presentation. If you would like to purchase the book by itself, I will be adding to the “buy” section of this website very soon.

8 Sections:

  1. Power Tips for Setup
  2. BHR’s, Excel Files, Time Studies
  3. Getting Started with the CD
  4. Report Manager Listing of Reports
  5. Daily Reports
  6. Pending List Reports & Job Tickets
  7. Stock Management Reports
  8. Sales Analysis Reports

The booklet is over 130 pages and coil bound with coated covers. Stay tuned for further details!

PrintSmith Users Workshop This Saturday 1/20/07

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Unofficial PrintSmith Users Workshop in Cincinnati, Ohio (Milford)
This Saturday, January 20th
9:00 – 4:00

Confirmed the location and the rates;
Ask for the “Church Rate” which is $72 Plus Tax per night.
There are plenty of rooms available for both Friday and Saturday night.

Holiday Inn Express
301 Old Bank Road
Milford, OH 45150
513-831-7829


The entire hotel is a Free Wireless Internet Hotspot!

<a href="https://woodruffconsulting.com/workshop/"/

Click Here to Register: Only $150 Per Person!!
($50 Discount for add’l people from same company)

(This workshop is not affiliated with PrintSmith or EFI in any way.)

I’m working on the agenda, lots to pack in….
Here is the tentative plan:

  1. Include CD of all my latest Reports, Excel Files, PDF’s
  2. Include Booklet of Report Samples (140 pages)
  3. “How we use PrintSmith”
  4. Power Tips
  5. Stock Ordering
  6. Scheduling and Tracking Locations
  7. Using Excel to help figure pricing, BHR’s, Time Studies
  8. New features
  9. Report Writer/Manager tips
  10. Questions

I will also ask whoever attends to give me their Top 3 before the workshop
so I can tailor it to the attendees.

What is a Starting Record Number?

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starting-record-numbers-by.jpg

Take a close look at the chart above. It shows the four main databases within PrintSmith: Charges, History, Invoices, and Jobs and the Starting Record Number for each year we since we bought PrintSmith. These four databases will be used in almost every report you create. However, most reports only need a small chunk of data, so I created this spreadsheet to help me run reports faster. (Please note that these numbers apply to our shop only, not yours!!)

Speed is where the Starting Record Number becomes important. Suppose I only need the data from the History database for 2006. The report will run faster by choosing a Starting Record Number of 62,846. This ensures that I will only be using data created from 2006 forward, thus eliminating 62,845 records from the processing of my report!! (Otherwise, PrintSmith goes all the way back to 1998 and starts processing from Zero!!)

Keep in mind that these record numbers have nothing to do with your Invoice numbers, but are simply a consecutive number assigned to each record. I recommend that you create a chart like this for your company by using the Downloader Browse function to find the record numbers for each of these databases for each year. January is a great time to write down the numbers for 2007! It will help you to speed up your reports and save time.

Year End Procedures & Closeout

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The end of the year is quickly approaching. To ensure a proper year-end for
PrintSmith, please follow the below guidelines.

On your last business day, perform a Closeout.
Once complete, perform a Monthly Closeout.

Then, Go to Reports > Monthly Sales.
Perform a year end composite report of every monthly
closeout for 2006 by highlighting the months from January – December,
Choose the Sales Summary from the pull down menu and click Select.
Print the report. This is your Year End report.

Then, Run the Ranking Report by going to Reports > Customer List.
Report Format > Sales Rank Year, Sort by > Sales Rank Year.
Save the Ranking list.

In addition, with version 7.2.x you can now run add’l Ranking reports. Go to Reports > Account Ranking to run reports like: Number of Orders, Sales by Sales Category, and Balance.

Then run an AR Report (aging report) and be sure to print it and SAVE it.
(The saved file will be stored in your archives folder for reference should you need it later.)

Quit out of PrintSmith and perform a backup of the entire PrintSmith Folder.
Label and store this backup separate from any backups done during the normal
year. A good idea is to backup to a CD and label it 2006 PrintSmith Year End Snapshot.

Hopefully I didn’t leave anything out!!

Who Changed the Tracking Location?

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Have you ever had the location change on an invoice without knowing who did it or when?

You can check when the Location changed by clicking on the Status button on Pending List. It gives you a Date & Time Stamp.

If you really want to know who it is, there is a canned report that tracks the Locations and the person who is logged in when they are changed. Just send me an email and I will send it to you.

Or you could use the Downloader browse function if you don’t feel like running a report.

Power Tip for Charges

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Here is a quick Power Tip for Charge Definitions:
Did you know that you could enter custom info into the Prod Code field on Charges without those bothersome Prod Codes?

Hold down the Shift key and the Ctrl key at the same time and then open the Charge Definitions. You will then be able to type what you want. I use it for dates and references to where I got the price.