NOTE: Move the cursor around. When you see the little hand thingy 
appear, you can click on the item to get more information!
How To Guide
- Data Entry
- Reports/Analysis
- Maintenance
Set the default Salesperson Name:
When you create orders, Sat Tracker puts the default sales person name in the order. This information is stored on the local computer. If you have not yet entered your name on your computer, or are going to use someone elses computer for any length of time, open the Login Form to set the salesperson name. If you are changing the name on a different computer, remember to set it back when you are done. It's a good idea to do a login whenever you start using the program.
Enter Customer Information:
Open the Customer Form. Use the mouse or the tab key to move from field (those little boxes where you enter data) to field. Enter the customer information. When you are done, use right arrow on the bottom of the form (or click the new button) to make a new, empty form. To enter the comments, directions, or misc. (credit card and telemarketing) information click on the tabs on the form.
Find a customer in the database:
Open the Customer Form.
- If you want to find the customer based on their name, address, phone, or who the telemarketer was, click the FindCust: By Name button to open the Find Customer Form.
- If you want to find the customer based on their receiver, click the FindCust: By Rcvr. button to open the Find Customer by Receiver Form.
Add a receiver to inventory:
Open the Add Receiver To Inventory Form. Using either a bar code scanner or by manual data entry, enter the receiver information. You can specify an inventory location for the receiver if you keep some in service vehicles or other off-site locations. You can change the inventory location using the Set Receiver Inventory Location Form.
Assign a receiver to a customer:
Find or add the customer for whom the receiver is intended. Right Click anywhere on the customer form to bring up a Pop Up menu which displays all the forms where you can enter or view additional customer information. Select receivers from this menu to bring up the Receiver Form. Press the Add receiver button to display the Add Receiver to Customer form. Either type in, or use a barcode scanner, to enter the Receiver Serial, Receiver Id, or SmartCard number. If the receiver is in inventory, any data that is available that you do not type in is automatically entered. Make sure you set the order date correctly.
Change out a receiver (substitute one receiver for another):
If a customer is given a replacement receiver, mark the old receiver as changed out, then add the new receiver to the customer. Find the customer, and open the Receiver Form. Click on the record selector containing the receiver to be changed out, and press the change out receiver button (pressing the button on the help screen tells you all about changing out). Then add the new receiver to the customer.
Delete a receiver:
Open the Receiver Form and highlight the receiver you wish to delete by clicking on the record selector. Press the delete key. Answer 'yes' to the confirmation message, and the receiver is deleted. In the circumstance where you are taking a receiver back from a customer and returning it to stock, use the 'move receiver to inventory' feature rather than deleting the receiver.
Add product and service records to a customer:
Add or find the customer who has ordered the product or service. Open the Service form by right clicking inside the customer form and choosing service from the PopUp menu. Verify the information you have entered by opening the Order Summary Form. You can also edit or delete service records using this form.
Add Programming records to a customer:
Add or find the customer who has ordered the programming. Open the Program form by right clicking inside the customer form and choosing program from the PopUp menu. Verify the information you have entered by opening the Order Summary Form. You can also edit or delete programming records using this form.
Add Programming Provider records to a customer:
Add or find the customer who has ordered the programming. Open the Provider form by right clicking inside the customer form and choosing provider from the PopUp menu. You can also edit or delete programming records using this form.
Record customer payments:
Add or find the customer who has made a payment. Open the Payment form by right clicking inside the customer form and choosing Payments from the PopUp menu. Verify the information you have entered by opening the Order Summary Form. You can also edit or delete payments using this form.
Order Taking: Two scenarios may prove enlightening:
- You receive a phone call from a customer. They order a system.
- Enter customer information in the Customer Form. You can make sure the customer doesn't already exist by using the Find Customer function in the Customer Form. Press the 'Misc' tab to enter the credit card #.
- Open the Order Form (right click inside the Customer Form
and select Orders).
In the Order Form, press the new button to create an order.
Fill in the service request and the salesperson (NOTE: if you have done a log-in at least once in the past, your name will be entered as the salesperson). SatTracker sets the order date to today, and creates an order that has no payments, programming, receivers, or service.
Prior to doing the installation, when you have selected which products you are installing:
- Find the customer.
- Right click, and select the Receivers form.
- Press the Add Receiver to customer button, and either scan in or enter the receiver information; remembering to set the cost and primary fields. The receiver order date is set to the latest order date of the customer.
- Open the Service form, and add any products or services, such as remote controls, installation fees, etc. Remember to set the quantity as 1.
- Open the Order Summary form and print a work order, invoice, or purchase agreement.
After the installation:
A customer walks in.
- Enter customer information in the Customer Form. You can make sure the customer doesn't already exist by using the Find Customer function in the Customer Form. Press the 'Misc' tab to enter the credit card #.
- Open the Service form to enter products and services. SatTracker automatically generates an order.
- The customer pays, so you open the Payment Form and enter the payment.
- Open the Order Summary form to print out an invoice as the customer receipt.
SatTracker automatically generates customer orders (assuming you haven't created an order) based on the Customer ID and the Order Date. The benefit is that you don't have to worry about creating orders, the disadvantage is that there can only be one order per customer per day. Anytime you change information in the Payments, Program, Receivers, or Service tables, customer orders with the affected date (or dates if you change an order date) are recalculated.
View Customer Commission/Residual History:
Find the customer. Open the Commission form by right clicking inside the customer form and choosing commissions from the PopUp menu. You cannot edit or delete these records.
Calculate Sales Tax correctly:
- Make sure you have entered the State (for your company) and the Sales Tax rate correctly in the Settings Form.
- If there are two addresses in the Customer Form, the billing state is used to match against your state; otherwise the non-blank state is used.
- If you enter a sales tax exemption number (click the Misc. tab in the Customer Form, the customer is not charged sales tax.
- You can override the sale tax percent in the Order Form; this help topic contains further details about sales tax calculation.
Customize Reports:
- You can change much of the text in Invoices and Work Orders by changing Settings. Click on the link in the invoice or work order, and click inside the displayed reports to find out which setting is used.
- You can also modify the reports yourself. You should make a copy of the report before changing it. Consult the Microsoft Access help for more information on reports, or buy one of those guides. We offer consulting services as well.
Track telemarketing data:
- Manage customer leads by tracking the salesperson, date the contact was made, where the lead was generated, if the lead was approved, and was the salesperson paid.
- When a lead is reported to you, create a new customer, and make sure you fill in the telemarketing fields in the Misc. tab.
- Use the Prospect Reports to print various reports, determine how much your sales people should be paid, and mark them as paid.
Import Commission/Residual Data:
Check My Commissions/Residuals:
Find data entry errors:
- The 'Customers without Commissions' and 'Commissions without Customers' reports in the Commission Reports help you to nail down invalid receiver id's or problems with your commission and residual payments.
- The Receivers with Multiple Owners report (in the Main Menu) tells you where you have two (or more) customers who own the same receiver.
- You can Make a Query to do you own data analysis.
Back Up my database:
Remove leading and trailing whitespace from my data:
If you have leading or trailing whitespace in your data (such as spaces, or new lines) database searching becomes less efficient since you have to look 'anywhere' in a field rather than from the beginning. You can use the Trim Tables Form to remove whitespace now, or use the Event Scheduler to remove whitespace periodically.
Hand Thingy:
See? It really works!!
Have Questions? Email Us !
Copyright Mathes Future Products, 2000, all rights reserved
Page last updated: Wednesday, July 19, 2000