THE VIDEO STORE version 1.5 ============================ I. INTRODUCTION. Welcome to The Video Store. The Video Store is a Point-Of-Sale system targeted to the video rental business. Using a cash register metaphor, the application is very easy to learn and use. Maintenance of the member list and inventory control are both presented in simple, straightforward front-ends, keeping the powerful access engine in the background. Member, inventory, detailed sales, and rental information are tied together in standard dBASE files. Reporting features include end-of-day and end-of-week summaries, several general lists, and a top ten video listing. There is no limit to the number of members, inventory, or invoices that can be generated. If you would like custom configurations of The Video Store or considering in having custom software, please feel free to contact the author at: Michael Colucci Tel: (516) 567-0093 Fax: (516) 567-5563 II. INSTALLATION The Video Store requires any IBM PC compatable computer with at least 512K of memory and a hard disk drive. Prior to installation, verify that the CONFIG.SYS file meets the following requirements: FILES=20 BUFFERS=20 To install The Video Store, just copy all of the files found on the floppy disk to any subdirectory on your hard disk. Refer to your DOS manual if this procedure is unfamiliar to the user. Type VIDEO followed by the ENTER key to run the program. III. EDITING DATA Editing data is very simple. When the mode of operation is in Editing Mode, the field to edit is highlighted. The cursor will flash under the character that may be edited. The following keys can be used while in editing mode: Left Arrow Moves the cursor one character to the left Right Arrow Moves the cursor one character to the right Up Arrow Edits the previous field Down Arrow Edit the next field Home Moves the cursor to the first character End Moves the cursor to the last character CTRL Home Edits the first field CTRL End Edits the last field CTRL Y Deletes from the cursor to the end of field CTRL U Restores all data to original values Ins Toggles insert mode to overstrike mode Esc Aborts operation Enter Edits the next field When done editing all of the desired data, the user can press ENTER until the editing session is complete. IV. THE MAIN MENU. From the main menu, the user can enter any of the seven modules of The Video Store. To enter the desired module, the user must press the module number followed by the ENTER key. A pop-up calendar is available from anywhere in The Video Store. To activate this calendar, the user must press ALT-C from any screen. A calendar will be displayed showing the current month. To return back to the application, the user must press the ESC key. V. SYSTEM MAINTENANCE MODULE. System Maintenance is used to enter and display information about the user of The Video Store. The following information from this module will be printed on all invoices: Company Name Company Address Company Phone Number Invoice Comments Invoice Number Sales Tax Amount (Calculated by percentage of subtotal) Rentals Taxable (Y/N) Days Of Operation The user must enter this information from this module. To edit any of this information, the user must press the F1 key. To edit the invoice comments, the user must press the F2 key. A pop-up window with the current invoice comments will be displayed. To exit this module, the user must press the ESC key. VI. MEMBER MAINTENANCE MODULE Member maintenance is used to store all information about members. Each member is identified by unique a member number. A member can be locked out of the system or have information changed from this module. ADDING A NEW MEMBER To add a new member, the user must press the F1 key. The user will first be prompted for a member number. The user must choose a unique number to identify the member. If the user enters a member number that already exists, the program will reject the addition of the new member when the user attempts to save the data. The keys used for addition are the same as the editing keys. EDITING CURRENT MEMBER To edit the data of the current member shown on the screen, the user must press the F2 key. The member number cannot be changed. Only the current member shown can be edited. DELETE CURRENT MEMBER To delete the current member from the program, the user must press the F3 key. The program will prompt the user if this deletion should take place. When a member is deleted all invoices associated with that member will also be deleted. Once a member is deleted, it cannot be restored. SEARCH FOR A MEMBER NUMBER To search for a member number, the user must press the F4 key. The user will be prompted to enter the member number. If the member entered is found then the member will be displayed on the screen. VIEW ALL MEMBERS To view all members, the user must press the F5 key. The user will see a short description of all the current members. The user may scroll through the members on the screen by pressing the up arrow or down arrow keys. To advance to the next screen the user must press the Pg Dn key. To advance to the previous screen the user must press the Pg Up key. To select the desired member, the user must highlight the desired member and press the ENTER key. If the user wishes to abort this operation, the user must press the ESC key. Once the desired member has been selected, this will become the current member displayed on the screen. This feature is very useful when trying to select a member very quickly. PAGE THROUGH MEMBERS To view members one screen at a time, the user must press the Pg Dn key or the Pg Up key. VII. INVENTORY MAINTENANCE MODULE Inventory maintenance is used to store all information about inventory. Each inventory item is identified by a unique stock number. Inventory information can be changed from this module. A rental item is an item that is to be rented such as a video tape. The late fee is the fee to be charged per day that the rental item is late. The rental time is the number of days that the rental time is given before considered to be late. ADDING A NEW INVENTORY ITEM To add a new inventory item, the user must press the F1 key. The user will first be prompted for a stock number. The user must choose a unique number to identify the inventory item. If the user enters a stock number that already exists, the program will reject the addition of the new inventory item when the user attempts to save the data. The keys used for addition are the same as the editing keys. EDITING CURRENT INVENTORY ITEM To edit the data of the current inventory item shown on the screen, the user must press the F2 key. The stock number cannot be changed. Only the current inventory item shown can be edited. DELETE CURRENT INVENTORY ITEM To delete the current inventory item from the program, the user must press the F3 key. The program will prompt the user if this deletion should take place. Once an inventory item is deleted, it cannot be restored. SEARCH FOR AN INVENTORY ITEM To search for an inventory item, the user must press the F4 key. The user will be prompted to enter the product description. The program will attempt to find the best match of an inventory item that fits the description. If the description entered is found then the inventory item will be displayed on the screen. VIEW ALL INVENTORY To view all inventory items, the user must press the F5 key. The user will see a short description of all the inventory items. The user may scroll through the inventory items on the screen by pressing the up arrow or down arrow keys. To advance to the next screen the user must press the Pg Dn key. To advance to the previous screen the user must press the Pg Up key. To select the desired inventory item, the user must highlight the desired inventory item and press the ENTER key. If the user wishes to abort this operation, the user must press the ESC key. Once the desired inventory item has been selected, this will become the inventory item displayed on the screen. This feature is very useful when trying to select an inventory item very quickly. PAGE THROUGH INVENTORY ITEMS To view inventory items one screen at a time, the user must press the Pg Dn key or the Pg Up key. VIII. SALES SYSTEM MODULE The Sales System is used to generate invoices and accept payment for new sales. Prior to using this module, the user should have entered members and inventory in the previous modules. ENTERING A NEW SALE To enter a new sale, the user must press the F1 key. The user will then be prompted for a member number. If the member number is known, the user can enter the member number followed by the ENTER key. If the member number is unknown, the user can press the ENTER key and a list of all members will be displayed on the screen. The user can then scroll through the members until the correct one is found. The view procedure was explained in detail in the member and inventory modules. Once the member number has been entered correctly, the name and address of the member will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. The user is then prompted to enter the stock number of the inventory item. The Video Store accepts two types of items (Inventory Items and Misc Items). An inventory item is an item that is found in the store's inventory. A misc item is a non-inventory item and has no information associated with it. If the user wishes to enter a misc item, then the user must enter MISC followed by the ENTER key. If the user wishes to enter an inventory item, then the user must enter the stock number followed by the ENTER key or press the ENTER key to view all inventory items. The view procedure was explained in detail in the member and inventory modules. Once the inventory item or misc item has been entered, the user is prompted for the quantity of items to be sold. The default quantity is one. The user may enter any amount that is being sold. The program will reject any quantity that is not currently in stock. Once the quantity has been entered, the user is prompted for the price. The default price is based on the information supplied by the inventory module for the inventory item. If a misc item is used, then the default price is zero. The user may enter a new price or keep the current price followed by the ENTER key. The program is now ready to accept a new stock number. This procedure will continue until the user presses the ESC key. A maximum of ten different items may be generated on a single invoice. Once all of the items have been entered, the program will calculate the current subtotal, tax, and total. These amounts will be displayed on the screen. If the user wishes to add more items, then the user must press the F1 key. Items will be entered the same as above. If the user wishes to edit the quantity and price of an existing item, then the user must press the F3 key. The user will then be prompted for the correct stock number to edit. The user can scroll through the items by use of the cursor keys until the desired one is highlighted. To select the desired item, the user must press the ENTER key. The user may enter the new quantity and price. To cancel this operation, the user must press the ESC key. The new totals will be displayed on the screen. If the user wishes to delete an item, then the user must press the F4 key. The user will then be prompted for the correct stock number to delete. The user can scroll through the items by use of the cursor keys until the desired one is highlighted. To select the desired item, the user must press the ENTER key. The program will ask the user to confirm the delete. The new totals will be displayed on the screen. If the user is done with entering all items, the user must press the F2 key. The user must then enter the amount received followed by the ENTER key. The change due will then be displayed and the user would have a choice to print the invoice or to void the invoice. RECALL AN OLD INVOICE If the user wishes to recall an old invoice, then the user must press the F2 key. The user will be prompted for the invoice number. The user must enter the invoice number followed by the enter key. If the invoice is found, then the invoice will be displayed on the screen. The user would be able to print the invoice or to void the invoice. IX. REPORT SYSTEM MODULE The Report System is used to generate different types of reports. Reports can be generated to the screen or to the printer. The following reports can be generated: End Of Day Summary This report will show the totals for misc items, rental items, and late charges for the current day. End Of Week Summary This report will show the totals for misc items, rental items, and late charges for the current week. Inventory Report This report will show all inventory items. Member List This report will show all members. Late Charges Report This report will show all members that have outstanding late charges. Top 10 Videos This report will show the top ten video rentals of the current week. X. RENTALS RETURNED MODULE The Rentals Returned System is used for entering all rentals that are being returned. Once entered, the inventory will automatically be updated with the returned items. If the user wishes to enter a new returned item, the F1 key must be pressed. The user will then be prompted to enter the member number. If the member number is unknown, then the user may press the ENTER key to view all members that have outstanding rentals. The view procedure was explained in detail in the member of inventory modules. If the stock number is not known, then the user is prompted to enter the stock number. XI. FILE MAINTENANCE MODULE The File Maintenance System is used for performing maintenance on the data files used by the program. The user can select any of the desired menu options to perform the maintenance.