Document Processing

When a sales document is printed it becomes Live. A Live document can no longer be altered and is committed to be processed. Each document has to be processed against a number of files. This processing is done in two stages. The first stage updates the stock on hand and if applicable the customer order and Till banking. The second stage updates the sales files and where applicable the account balances and Debtors transaction file. A document will be processed at one of three points in time dependant on the type of processing selected for the machine (computer) and the version of Acumen in use.

• For an immediate update system the document is processed during printing. If for some reason (eg. power failure) a document fails to be completely processed at this time the system will process the document prior to commencing input of the next document. This system always behaves as a Must Update with regards to the debtors/sales file processing.

• For a system with central filing an attempt to update stage one is always made during printing of the document. An attempt to update the Sales/Debtors stage can also be made at this time dependant on the update mode selected for the machine in question. If either stage fails to update then document entry can continue and updating must be achieved by use of an update run facility. The update run facility is initiated by a system operator at any location with adequate access to the system.

• For distributed systems document processing occurs in two ways. For machines attached to a network which have access to the master stock and debtors files updating can proceed as for a system with central filing as explained above. However for machines not directly connected to the master network or where the network or central files are unavailable for any reason the system can operate on a batched processing mode. In this case documents are not processed until the batch is transmitted to the central system (by diskette, network or modem). For more details on Distributed Systems.

On all but the immediate update system you can elect to have your Sales and Debtor files updated in three modes:

• Must Update - Sales/Debtors files must be updated before a new document can begin.

• May Update - Sales/Debtors files may be updated if present and available. If the files cannot be updated then a reminder that files require later processing is given.

• Delayed Update - No attempt is made to update Sales and Debtor files when the document is raised. All Sales/Debtors updating is done via an update run at a later point in time. This option offers speed advantages but requires management of the delayed update .