AutoCount - FOC Quantity
Introduction to AutoCount FOC Quantity Module
The AutoCount FOC (Free of Charge) Quantity Module is a highly efficient feature designed for businesses to manage free item allocations in backend systems. Unlike traditional promotional offers on the frontend—where customers buy a set of items and receive a completely unrelated product as a gift—this module focuses on delivering the same or similar products (e.g., buy 10 units, get 1 free).
AutoCount POS Frontend vs. AutoCount Accounting Backend FOC Concepts
AutoCount POS Frontend
Promotions like “Buy 10 items and get a mug free” target end-users and emphasize customer attraction.
AutoCount Accounting Backend
Offers like “Buy 10, Get 1 Free” streamline inventory and accounting, ensuring that free products are properly tracked and costed.
This backend-focused module suits industries such as retail, wholesale, and manufacturing, where promotional offers are essential to driving bulk purchases while maintaining costing accuracy.
Key Features
Automates entitlements for sales and manages manual input for purchases.
Use Cases
Retail
A store offering a “Buy 5 shampoo bottles, Get 1 Free” promotion for its customers.
Wholesale
A distributor incentivizing bulk orders by adding a free unit for every 10 items purchased.
Manufacturing
Factories providing complementary products for high-volume orders to build long-term partnerships.
Benefits of Using the FOC quantity Module
Application in Sales Modules
The FOC Quantity Module introduces the Sales Entitlement feature, allowing businesses to automate the process of adding free items to customer invoices.
Key Functionalities
- Users can configure specific quantities under each stock item’s settings.
- When a customer purchases the required amount, free items are automatically added to the invoice.
Example Scenario
A retailer sets up the rule: “Buy 10 bottles of water, get 1 bottle free.” When a customer buys 20 bottles, the system automatically adds 2 free bottles to the invoice.
Traditional Methods vs Automation
Manual Adjustments
Prone to human errors, especially when scaling quantities (e.g., buying 30 bottles but manually adding only 1 free bottle).
Automation with the FOC Module
Automatically updates free quantities based on the volume purchased, ensuring accuracy in both customer entitlement and cost reflection.
Aplication in Purchase Modules
In purchase workflows, the FOC Quantity Module offers flexibility for recording free items received from suppliers. Unlike the sales module, where free items are automatically allocated based on predefined settings, the purchase module typically follows the supplier’s Delivery Order (DO) or Invoice instead of relying on pre-configured rules in the system.
Steps for Setting Up FOC Quantities in Purchases
1. Adding the FOC Column to Layout:
- Open the purchase invoice layout and right-click on the top columns.
- Use the Column Chooser to locate the “FOC Qty” column and drag it into the desired position on the layout.
2. Manual Input of FOC Quantities:
- Once the column is added, you can input the free quantities provided by the supplier as per their DO or Invoice.
- This ensures the received quantities, including FOC items, are reflected accurately in your records
3. Saving Layout Changes:
- After customizing the layout, right-click the top columns again and select Save Layout to preserve your modifications.
4. Costing Integrity:
- The recorded FOC items are reflected in the costing of the associated stock items, maintaining accuracy in inventory and financial reports.
Automated FOC Options for Purchases
While manual input is the standard practice to align with supplier-specific terms, businesses can also configure predefined rules for auto-adding FOC items in purchase workflows. However, this is less common, as most companies prefer to directly match the supplier’s documentation to ensure consistency with external agreements.
Impact on Stock Reports
The FOC Quantity Module’s influence extends to several key stock reports, ensuring accurate tracking and financial analysis.
1. Stock Balance Reports
- Reflect the updated stock levels after considering free items distributed during sales or received in purchases.
2. Stock Card Adjustments
- These reports display both original quantities and FOC-adjusted totals, offering a transparent view of stock movements.
3. Profit Margin Calculations
- By including the cost of free items, profit margins are calculated more precisely, enabling better financial decision-making.
4. FOC Quantity Analysis by Document Report
- This report summarizes all free items distributed across sales transactions, providing a clear snapshot for management review.
Multi-UOM Features with FOC Quantities
The module enhances both Basic and Advanced Multi-UOM (Unit of Measurement) setups, allowing businesses to configure FOC rules for multiple units of measurement.
Examples of Multi-UOM Configurations
A customer buying 10 cartons (each containing 12 units) gets either:
- 1 unit free (smallest UOM)
- 1 carton free (if configured for bulk entitlements).
- For palletized goods, purchasing 10 pallets (each containing 180 units) could entitle the buyer to a free pallet, depending on the configuration.
These flexible setups ensure that businesses can cater to various customer preferences without compromising on accuracy.
Report Customization
The FOC Quantity Module allows users to modify standard reports to include FOC quantities, ensuring all promotional transactions are clearly documented.
How to Customize Reports
- Navigate to Report > Design Document Style Report.
- Select the report type (e.g., Invoice) and click Design.
- Add the “FOC Quantity” field from the field list to the desired column.
- Save changes and preview the updated report for accuracy.
Customer- and Supplier-Specific Rates
The module supports advanced configurations for customer-specific and supplier-specific FOC rates, using the Price Book feature.
Example Scenarios
- A VIP customer receives 2 free items for every 10 purchased, while regular customers receive only 1.
- Suppliers offering bulk promotions can have their free item rates customized in the module, ensuring clarity during restocking.
Compatibility with Other Modules
The FOC Quantity Module integrates seamlessly with the Multi-Dimensional Sales Analysis module, enhancing reporting and analysis capabilities for businesses requiring in-depth insights into promotional trends.
Ensuring Access and Integrity
To safeguard data and prevent unauthorized changes, the module includes Access Rights Maintenance:
- Limit access to FOC-related features under Stock Item Maintenance.
- Restrict report viewing to authorized personnel only.
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Discover PlansConclusion
The AutoCount FOC Quantity Module is an indispensable tool for businesses seeking to optimize promotional offers, manage inventory with precision, and maintain data integrity. Its comprehensive features and seamless integrations make it a vital asset for enhancing operational efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
It ensures accurate costing while automating free item allocation.
Yes, businesses can set customer-specific and supplier-specific rates.
Reports include FOC quantities for better financial transparency.
Absolutely, with configurations for both basic and advanced Multi-UOM modules.