Version
3.100x
Software
Options are releasing
a standard package version of GWS Delta
4. This white paper defines the scope of this version and lists
all the features.
As other versions of Delta 4 are
being used in special situations, it will
be possible to include additional modules
into the standard dealer sourced version. These are also listed below.
Delta
4 is distributed by Software Options and
is available for direct sale or thought
an appropriate dealer or reseller.
Table of Contents
Delta
4, V2.100x
is a sales order processing system, naturally
links to Sage Line 100 accounts.
The system is designed to fulfil
special sales ordering requirements which
are not normally found in standard sales
ordering packages.
Sales
order processing can be regarded as being
‘outside’ the main accounting cycle.
The act of taking an order is often
carried-out by staff with no access to the
accounting system.
Indeed, there might, in some instances,
be no guarantee that an order taken is actually
fulfilled, although this is unlikely.
It must be possible for order takers
to process an order quickly and efficiently,
at all times giving the customer as much
information as possible about availability,
lead time for delivery etc.
It may even be necessary to have
the capability of fulfilling an order immediately,
either to existing credit approved customers
or to non-credit approved cash paying customers.
However,
the sales order processing function has
to include the following steps:
Ø
Taking
the order
Ø
Providing
information about product availability
Ø
Issuing
the correct immediate documentation – acknowledgement,
pick list, delivery note, bill of lading
etc.
Ø
Processing
the order through the despatch procedures
Ø
Raising
vehicle loading or carrier related loading
sheets
Ø
Raising
invoices etc.
Ø
Updating
the accounting system
Ø
Updating
stock at the appropriate stage
Delta
4 fulfils all of these requirements.
However, this product takes order
processing a stage further in that it recognises
that different business types have their
own order taking screen requirements.
Delta 4 uses special front-end templates
for specific types of businesses.
For example the requirements of the
food industry are totally different to the
garment trade.
Fast pro-active telesales makes its
own demands on a system.
The pricing and discounting features
are totally different in the food industry
compared with, say, fasteners.
Some businesses require consolidated
invoices on a user defined period basis
or an invoice for every order.
Where the hiring of plant of machinery
is involved, special processing needs are
involved.
Production control is another area
where Delta 4 can provide special help.
Already a module exists for the fish
packing or processing industry, and other
templates, especially for the food industry,
are planned or in production.
Delta 4 modularises these requirements,
allowing a user to put together the mix
of features that are specifically required.
Delta
4 has been designed to enable additional,
but associated modules, to be added to the
Delta 4 central system.
For example, purchase order processing
is often dependent on an initial sales order,
especially in this ‘just in time’ world.
Purchase ordering may have special
requirements, other than back-to-back facilities
with sales orders.
Some types of service related industries
require the allocation of recharges, either
at the order stage or the subsequent invoice
entry stage.
Also, it is sometimes necessary to
be able to allocate a purchase order direct
to a job.
Current or future Delta 4 family
modules can be added to provide these features
DELTA
4 STANDARD FEATURES
This
section lays-out, as clearly as possible,
the standard features which are available
in Delta 4 V3.100.00a.
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Special
industry related order processing
screens providing layouts to suite
the product type.
Templates should not be confused
with proformas, which will be discussed
below.
Templates provide the best
possible interface with the user for
a specific type of industry.
Templates can be easily designed
or modified to suite special needs. |
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The
food industry very often requires
variable or catch weight order processing.
This is the definition of both
a number of items and a weight or
quantity.
For
example, cheese might be sold by the
block of a particular nominal weight.
The customer therefore is only
interested in specifying the number
of blocks of cheese at a particular
weight.
The customer knows that the
actual weight provided will
depend on the total weight of the
product item when weighed in the despatch
department.
Another
example of this type of order processing
is the fresh chicken industry where
individual weights vary and can only
be confirmed when picked. |
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Standard
Product lookup/entry |
Simple,
straightforward product quantity entry
using a screen line-by-line method
of display.
Each new product added to the
order is displayed on a screen item
select which allows fast modification,
including quantity and price/discount
adjustment. |
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Garment
Industry |
When
garments (or other forms of apparel)
are ordered it is easier to
enter the quantities in a form
of grid where each column relates
to a product size.
Naturally, size, colour, style
etc for each product have to be regarded,
for stock control purposes, as individual
product items with their own code.
Delta 4 looks after the stock
control for you so you can deal with
a large number of colour or style
combinations on a single screen. |
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Proformas
are pre-constructed lists of products
which can, optionally, be used to
dramatically increase the speed of
order entry. |
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Standard
Proformas |
A
general or standard proforma would
be used to define the products normally
ordered by, say, a group of like customers.
For example, where a food distributor
or processor supplies schools, hospitals
etc. in a given local authority’s
area, then a standard list (proforma)
might be constructed and used for
each of the customers in the group. |
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These
lists are directly related to an individual
customer.
They can be constructed for
specific purposes or on a seasonal
basis. |
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Popular
Product Proformas |
These
are automatically generated proformas,
based on popular products ordered
by individual customers. |
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Last
Orders |
Delta
4 holds information about all previous
orders prior to being archived for
additional sales analysis.
These previous orders are available
to the user in exactly the same way
as a standard or customer specific
proforma.
When the last order
option is selected, the user will
see a list of the previous orders
held on the system, and any one can
be selected.
NB
When historical orders are
archived and purged from the order
system, they disappear from this last
order list. |
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Fixed
Lists |
A
fixed list might relate to a specific
item of equipment. It will list all of the parts required for that particular
machine.
Users can search for a machine
and then display all of the associated
parts, including part number, manufacturer’s
information and, of course, quantity
in stock.
This is ideal for the type
of business where calls are continuously
received from customers looking for
spare parts for particular items of
equipment.
The machine or model can be
quickly displayed and the part identified.
If required, it can be ordered
immediately to the customer’s account
and then processed in the normal way. |
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Quotations |
A
quotation is a legitimate order type
in Delta 4.
If a quotation exists, then
it can be turned into an order in
the same was as proformas or last
orders. |
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Adding
New Items to an Order or Building
an Order from Scratch |
It
is not necessary to only use standard
or customer proformas.
Products not listed on a proforma
can be added to the order or
order processing can be carried-out
on the basis of building each order
from scratch. |
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Standing
or Standard Order Processing on a
Weekly Cycle
*
not
part of standard * |
This
is a separate Delta 4 module called
Roundsman.
It allows the user to define
standing orders for specific products
on a daily basis over a 7 day cycle.
At the end of the cycle the
products which have been specified
will be included in the invoice, unless
exceptions to the standing order have
been entered.
Such exceptions can take the
form of
individual product quantity
variances or holiday breaks where
all or some of the normal standing
order is suspended. |
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Proactive
or Reactive Order Processing?
Proactive
order processing can be defined as
sales order processing based on a
positive decision to call a customer
or group of customers at a pre-defined
time.
Reactive order
processing, on the other hand, is
the entry of orders in response to
a call from a customer.
This can include telephone
calls or trade counter visits. |
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This
is most definitely proactive.
Delta 4 allows the construction
of staff related calling schedules.
These are lists of customers
under the heading of a designated
member of staff (or department) which
can be accessed on the specified day
of the week.
For example, lists can be defined
for Tuesday and then used on that
specific day.
Each
customer can have a specified time
of call and the schedule is displayed
in this order.
Calls which have not been made
and are overdue are shown with flashing
times.
Call
Schedule Analysis
As
a call schedule is worked through
by the user, Delta 4 keeps track of
the success or otherwise of each call.
This is recorded in a separate
file which can be analysed at any
time.
The type of information stored
includes who called which customer
from which schedule, on which day,
and was the call a success. |
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Call
Schedules with Associated Delivery
Scheduling |
When
constructing a call schedule a pre-specified
delivery round can be defined.
For
example, a Tuesday call to a customer
in Birmingham might have a Wednesday
delivery scheduled.
Unless this target delivery
round is changed, then this order
will appear on the vehicle Bill of
Lading for the Tuesday Birmingham
delivery.
If,
on the other hand, the customer specifies
a different delivery day at the time
of order entry, then this can be confirmed
at the time the order is entered. |
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This
might be considered as reactive
order processing (although the method
can be used when a customer is called
out with a normal schedule).
Customers
are selected using standard search
and selection criteria.
All of the personal
information about the customer (e.g.
terms of trade, pricing constraints
etc.) are available as normal.
Likewise, the user has access
to standard proforma, customer
proforma, last order or new order
in the same way as for call schedule
ordering. |
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All
orders have to be delivered or collected.
Delta 4 deals with the scheduling
of the deliveries and/or collating
the collections.
These facilities extend to
producing the right documentation
for delivery drivers, couriers or
warehouse staff. |
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It
is important to minimise the work
which needs to be done by the order
processing clerk.
Delta 4 takes the strain and
can automatically allocate a pre-defined
delivery to the order.
This information is held on
the calling schedule (and can be altered
at any time).
A
delivery round can be anything from
a customer’s own van calling fro the
goods to a courier contract arriving
to pick-up orders at a specified time
of day. |
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Once
an order has been allocated to a given
delivery schedule, it can be altered
at any time.
For example, vehicle breakdowns,
driver absence etc. can cause deliveries
to be re-scheduled.
Orders
can be moved from one delivery vehicle
to another or whole vehicle loads
allocated to other vans or lorries. |
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In
Delta 4 a Bill of Lading is a document
listing everything that has to be
included in a specified delivery round.
It will typically list all
the customers, in calling or delivery
order, a full breakdown of each order
and a comprehensive list of products
to be loaded onto the vehicle.
This latter section can show
where in the vehicle goods are to
be loaded.
The document can also indicate
where cash is to be collected, how
much and provide the driver with a
section to complete for cash collections.
The
Bill of Lading can be the vital company
delivery document and provide the
driver with all of the necessary paperwork
to complete his round satisfactorily. |
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Delta
4 is extremely flexible in its product
pricing facilities.
It makes use of all the standard
features in Sage Line 100, and, adds
a few of its own. |
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Product
prices can, optionally, be entered
into a standard or customer proforma.
When the proforma is selected,
the price is automatically presented
to the user.
Therefore, by definition, prices
can be customer specific.
A proforma for customer A can
contain Product X with a price of
£1.00, but the proforma for Customer
B can contain the same product with
a price of £1.10, and so on.
This
is one method of defining individual
product prices for each customer.
However, the housekeeping associated
with this method, when prices have
to be adjusted, are fairly long-winded. |
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Delta
4 offers up-to 5 standard price lists
for each product. Each price list price for every product is defined in the
product or stock file.
Customers
can be designated to a particular
price list in the sales ledger.
This
facility is useful when differentiating
between, say, retail and trade price
lists.
During
order processing, Delta 4 checks to
see which price list has been specified
for the customer and then picks the
appropriate price.
If
no discounts are set, then this will
be the price offered in the order
entry screen.
The user is free to over-type
the price, if desired and the Price
Adjust flag is set to Yes in the parameter
file. |
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As
Delta 4 is linked to Sage Line 100,
it can make use of the standard discount
matrix facility, of which up-to 9
are available.
This
means that matrices of products, product
groups or a combination of both, can
be defined and percentage discounts,
percentage increments (or special
prices for individual product items)
set.
Up-to
10 quantity breaks can be specified
with associated amounts, percentages
or special prices. |
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As
well as
being able to define a standard matrix
and associating a customer with any
of the 9 available, users can also
define individual products or groups
of products as having special prices
or discounts.
Delta
4 allows users to use both
individual and standard matrices
for any given customer.
Order of precedence is given
to individual product or group price
settings, followed by standard matrices.
If,
for example, prices are generally
derived from a standard matrix, there
may be times when a very special price
has been negotiated with a customer
(perhaps based on a quantity off-take),
then these individual adjustments
can be made for that one customer.
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Complete
price exceptions can be defined for
any product.
This facility would, typically,
be used for stock clearance, special
offers etc.
If
a special price exception has been
defined, then any price over-ride
(see user Price Adjustments below)
is disabled.
Price
exceptions over-ride any other method
of price management. |
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Sometimes
it is desirable to allow the order
process clerk full flexibility when
negotiating prices with a customer.
However, more often than not,
management requires to exercise constraints.
Delta 4 contains the following
price over-ride facilities:
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Minimum mark-up – this allows
for each product, the setting of a
minimum mark-up percentage.
This is initially done by product
group.
A screen is provided, listing
all the product groups. The manager can then enter the minimum mark-up percentage
allowed.
Delta 4 will then go through
the whole product database and enter
this value against each product in
the appropriate file.
If individual products, within
a group, have to be adjusted, then
this has to be done on a product by
product basis. |
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Last
Price |
Delta
4 maintains a database of the last
price charged for each customer/product
relationship.
If the feature is enabled in
the parameter file, then, at the point
of price confirmation, the screen
displays the last 5 prices charged
for this product to the selected customer.
The
user can opt to use the last price,
or ignore.
If the last price has been
selected, then any automatic discounting
is ignored, the last price charged
being regarded as being a net price. |
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Delta
4 makes use of the standard Sage Line
100 stock control or product management
facilities, with the exception of
factoring.
This is handled within Delta
4.
Only a few of the main features
are listed below. |
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Product
groups are vital to price and discount
management, as well as future sales
analysis. |
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Price
Lists |
Up-to
5 product price lists are available
from within the product management
system. |
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Full
depot stock control will be available
in future release of Delta 4 V3.100x |
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At
the conclusion of each order, the
user can select the documents
which are to be printed.
This means that the default
settings can be over-ridden for every
order.
So, if a particular order warrants
a special combination of documents,
then this is easy to arrange.
All documents can have the
layouts defined to suit the user’s
stationery. |
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Pick
lists can be printed on any printer
on the network.
For example, as orders are
entered, the pick list can be printed
in the warehouse or any other suitable
part of the organisation, depending
on the computer system. |
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If
a customer requires an order acknowledgement,
then this can be optionally generated
at the time the order is entered. |
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Delivery
notes can be optionally printed at
the time the order is entered or by
delivery round, delivery date or in
singles at a later time. |
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If
Delta 4 is being used on, say, a trade
counter in its point of sale setting,
then a point of sale invoice is generated
for the customer. |
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An
internal message in Delta 4 is one
which will appear on in-house documents,
such as Pick Lists, Bills of Lading
etc. |
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A
customer message will appear on customer
documents, such as delivery notes
and invoices. |
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Delta
4 invoices can be produced on a batch
basis, singly or by order number range.
The invoice can be any layout
specified by the user.
Normally
invoices are produced by batch, corresponding
with deliveries which are to be made
on specific days. |
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Current
orders (i.e. orders which have not
been archived) can be reprinted at
any time. |
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A
promotion module is available to be
added to Delta 4.
This module is usually customised
for individual users in order to reflect
individual promotional requirements. |
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Delta
4 contains a number of standard reports,
and more are being added all the time. |
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This
is a screen only display showing the
status of all orders in the system.
The report totals the number
of order records in the order file
by each status. |
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The
Status Check just shows totals for
each status.
This display lists the actual
order, by status.
If a user selects any single
order then Delta 4 will drill down
and display the original order detail. |
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Bill
of Lading |
See
notes above about
Bill of Lading. |
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This
is a conventional listing report. |
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This
report is based entirely on customer
proforma prices. |
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This
report will check, from the archive
file, which customers had a selected
product when, in what quantity, the
discounted price charged and which
user entered the order. |
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When
proformas are heavily used it is important
to be able to find out easily the
proformas which contain a certain
selected product.
This report provides that function.
The user selects a product
and the screen displays the proformas
which contain the selected product. |
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This
report or display is a more powerful
version of Display
All Orders above.
The program allows users to
select historical orders from the
sales ledger and interrogate the archive
file, or select direct from the the
order file and, in each case, drill
down to the original order.
If
it is a historical, archived, order
which is selected, then a copy invoice
can be printed.
This allows copy invoices to
be generated historically, as long
as the original order has been archived.
NB
Current invoices can be reprinted
from the Invoice Reprint option in
the sales invoicing section of Delta
4. |
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The
main order archive system holds all
the necessary data for detailed historical
sales analysis using a Report Generator,
such as Crystal Reports from Seagate
Software.
This provides users with a
very comprehensive reporting
tool which can be used at any
time.
All existing reports can be
updated as new data comes into the
archive file.
The
whole process of historical reporting
can be speeded-up if a text file is
generated from the Delta 4 archive
file, containing just the information
required.
A special Export
Archive to Text File facility
is provided for this purpose. |
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Delta
4 is an order processing
system.
The historical analysis of
completed sales orders is best accomplished
outside Delta 4.
All completed orders can be
archived to a special archive file,
which can then be used by external
Report Generators to provide detailed
sales analysis reports of the who
sold what, when, at what price and
at what margin variety. |
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Delta
4 contains a closed inter-user messaging
facility.
This is useful for staff who
wish to record standard types of customer
responses about products and services,
and relay these, through the computer
system, to other users.
The recipient user will be
alerted about the existence of a message
and can read this at any time. |
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A
number of end of day procedures are
provided in Delta 4.
These need not necessarily
be run every day.
But they should always be run
at least once a month. |
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This
procedure posts any unposted transactions
to the sales ledger. |
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This
procedure posts stock issue to the
Line 100 stock control system. |
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This
procedure posts stock history transactions
to the Line 100 stock control system. |
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This
procedure archives completed orders
but does not purge them from
the order file.
Purging is only done when a
user is certain that they no longer
require the data in the order file
for the purpose of using the Last
Order facility. |
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This
procedure purges orders which have
been archived. |
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This
procedure exports archived transaction
information to a text file, which
is used by Crystal Reports for sales
analysis. |
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The
following associated modules are available:
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Self
Bill Invoicing |
A
special module which allows users
to
raise bills on behalf of their
suppliers, against their purchase
ledger, and which can contain elements
of sales ledger items.
Perhaps
the best example of this type of requirement
is where a company has contracted
suppliers of a product, but the recipient
company must charge the contractor
for certain goods and services on
receipt of the product.
A self bill invoice will show
the goods supplied by the contractor
and the contra charges being made
by the recipient.
After both purchase
and sales VAT have been accounted
for, the net amount at the foot of
the bill is the amount to be paid
to the contractor from the recipient’s
purchase ledger.
This can be paid in the normal
way, using the Line 100 automatic
payment procedures. |
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Stock
Catalogue |
A
module designed to hold all those
products which you would like
to sell but do not want to clutter-up
your accounting system with items
which you may never be asked for.
Stock
Catalogue can be updated from the
external csv files. |
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Purchase
Order Processing |
Provides
purchase order processing facilities
to compliment the extensive sales
order processing facilities in Delta
4. |
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Purchase
Recharging |
An
exiting new module which will allow
purchase invoices to be recharges
as sales orders to customers. |
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Availability
Delta
4 is written and maintained by Gateway
Software and distributed to end users
and the trade through Software Options. |
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