We Would Like You To
Buy Our Software, But...

By Rich Rivera

Circa 1997

Before you go any further, you must decide (if you haven't already) how you are going to adapt P.I.M.S. to your business. Most of you will be starting from one of two positions:

• Previously Automated/Computerized
• Never Computerized

For those who are coming to us from other automated environments (and there's a lot of you!), you will need to forget some of the practices you have adopted in the past due to the limitations of your previous system. The reason you made the switch to P.I.M.S. was because you weren't happy with that other system, so don't try and make P.I.M.S. emulate it. It's time for you to pull back and and re-think the way you'd like to do business.

For those who have never attempted to automate via computer, it's time for you to re-think your business as well. Many businesses wait until they are in total disarray before grabbing a product like P.I.M.S. to act as their "Knight In Shining Armor". They immediately throw P.I.M.S. into the fire and expect a Phoenix to appear and make their world a better place. There are also those who are "too busy" to fully understand what they are doing, or about to do. This is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made. If you are going to automate your business, you must be willing to take the time. Especially if you are doing it alone, without the aid of a professional.

No matter what your starting point is, the following applies:
Before implementing something as sophisticated as P.I.M.S., you must first stabilize your business. If you are making mistakes due to procedure or policy, then P.I.M.S. will help you make ten times as many! We do not want to see this happen. Your first step should be to read ALL materials that came with your P.I.M.S. system, even if it doesn't apply to you. Some day it might! It is our experience over the past 15 years that the computer "Power-Users" who don't believe in reading manuals because it's "Mac" seem to have the most problems. There is never an excuse for not reading manuals.

By reading the manuals, even if you only skimmed them, you are now familiar with P.I.M.S.' capabilities and functions. Most people get many new ideas concerning their business that they never thought of before. With the knowledge of P.I.M.S.' abilities, you are ready to create a plan to implement P.I.M.S. into your business.

The next step is to get together with some of your key personnel and decide how best to structure the automation process. P.I.M.S. is extremely flexible and adaptable. It has over 9,700 functions. There is generally more than one way to accomplish a task or operation with P.I.M.S. Because of this, it is very important to develop a plan of attack ahead of time, as opposed to several weeks into it. This will insure that you are pointed in the right direction from the day you implement P.I.M.S., and forever after. The best way to do this is to create an outline by talking about the following:

Describe Your Current Sales Process:

• Is there room for improvement?
• Who is responsible for what parts of the sales process?
• How do you want to track your sales? By department, rep, category, all?
• Do your sales people receive commission? If so, what is it based on? Is it more complicated than it has to be?
• Do you offer discounts based on category of product and quantity?
• Do you offer discounts based on "Family" grouping and quantity?
• Do you have different discount levels for different customers?
• Do you have special pricing needs for special customers (employee purchases, friends, etc.)?
• How do you process returns?
• What is the process for special orders? Do you collect deposits?
• What if a customer wishes to purchase something not in your system?
• What type of Invoices do you need/want to print out?
• Do you need to "hold" product aside for customers? If so, for how long?
• How do you distribute the product you receive?
• What do you base your stocking levels on?
• Do you ship product? Do you mark-up your shipping to handle other costs?
• Do you have flat-rates for your shipping? If so, what is it based on?
• What sales information needs to transfer to Accounting? Remember, with P.I.M.S. reporting capabilities, the number of chart-of-accounts does not need to be extensive at all.
• What are your taxable & non-taxable needs?
• Do you ever associate sales with jobs?

Describe Your Inventory Needs:

• Do you categorize your inventory?
• Do different products belong to different sales accounts?
• Are commissions paid differently based on the type of product?
• Do you stock an inventory level?
• Does your inventory frequently fluctuate in cost? Do your vendors constantly adjust their pricing?
• Do you submit inventory or sales information to your vendors?
• Are you involved in a "Price Protection" relationship with your vendors?
• Do you use Weighted Cost Averaging?
• Do you have display models or demos?
• Do you track serial numbers?
• Do you ever deal with RMAs? (return merchandise authorization)
• Do certain products require additional information, warnings, etc.?
• Do some products have restrictions, minimum quantities, etc.?
• Does your product line have cross-Referencing needs?
• Do you deal in SKU items?
• Are some products required by other products to make a sale?
• Do you sell "bundles"? Do you want items that make up a bundle to list on the invoice? Maybe list without prices?
• What is your purchasing process?
• Do you divide your inventory purchases by "stocking" and customer back orders?
• Do you want purchase orders created automatically, manually, or both?
• Do you manufacture products out of your component inventory?
• Do you ever sell components as finished products by themselves?
• Do you sell items on consignment? If so, how do you divide the sale?
• Are there any products that are commission exempt?
• Are there any products that you wish to pay a different commission rate on?

Miscellaneous:

• Do you need to limit access to the different sections of P.I.M.S.?
• Who will be responsible for administrating P.I.M.S.?
• Are you happy with your current accounting system?
• Has your chart-of-accounts become a little out of date?
• Do you have special reporting or tracking needs?
• Do your vendors or customers have special reporting needs?
• Who will install your P.I.M.S. system? Are they trained in this sort of thing? Have they been trained by ExecUtron Development, Inc.?
• Do you have a service department? What are their needs?
• Is your equipment and network sound enough to run P.I.M.S.?
• Will you be transferring information from a previous computer system into P.I.M.S.?

If you discuss these topics and develop solutions to them, you will have no problem implementing P.I.M.S. If you have any questions or concerns, check with your dealer or call ExecUtron directly.