AutoCount - Serial Number Module
The Ultimate User Guide for AutoCount Serial Number Module
The AutoCount Serial Number Module is a powerful tool designed to streamline inventory tracking by assigning unique serial numbers to products. This functionality ensures accurate inventory management, fraud prevention, and warranty verification. Whether you are setting up the system for the first time or seeking to optimize your processes, this guide will provide comprehensive insights into all aspects of the Serial Number Module.
What is the AutoCount Serial Number Module?
The AutoCount Serial Number Module allows businesses to track inventory items using unique serial numbers. This module is crucial for industries that require precise item-level tracking, including:
Electronics
Manage serial numbers to track defects, warranties, and sales origins.
Retail
Prevent fraudulent exchanges and ensure that each item sold is linked to its serial number.
Multi-location Businesses
Ensure accurate stock levels and prevent discrepancies across branches.
By associating each product with a unique identifier, the Serial Number Module helps improve inventory accuracy, simplify stocktaking, and enhance customer service, especially when handling warranty claims.
Setting Up Serial Number Tracking
Enable Serial Number Control
To start tracking serial numbers for inventory items, you first need to enable this feature within AutoCount.
1. Navigate to Stock Item Maintenance:
Go to Stock > Stock Item Maintenance.
2. Enable Serial Number Control:
- Select the item (e.g., CPU) you wish to configure.
- Click Edit on the item.
- Tick the checkbox labeled Controlled by Serial No.
- Click OK to apply the changes.
3. Customize Display Columns:
- Right-click on the header section of the screen and choose Column Chooser.
- Find the column labeled Has Serial No and drag it into the header for easy visibility.
- Save the layout for future use by right-clicking and selecting Save Layout.
Example Scenario:
If you’re managing inventory for an electronics store, enable serial number tracking for items like CPUs and graphics cards. These items will now be tracked by their unique serial numbers, simplifying warranty processing and fraud prevention.
Recording Purchases with Serial Numbers
When purchasing inventory, it’s essential to record the serial numbers of the received items for accurate tracking.
1. Navigate to Purchase Invoice:
Go to Purchase > Purchase Invoice and create a new invoice.
2. Add Items to the Invoice:
Add the product to the invoice. If the item is controlled by a serial number, a screen will appear prompting you to input serial numbers.
3. Input Serial Numbers for Items:
Barcode Scanner:
Scan each serial number if your system is equipped with a barcode scanner.
Manual Entry:
Manually type the serial numbers or enter them as a range (e.g., 0004-0010).
Import from Text File:
Click the Import button, then copy and paste serial numbers from a `.txt` file.
Import from File:
Select Import from File, then upload a `.txt` or `.xls` file containing serial numbers.
The system will automatically sort and apply them.
4. Save and Validate:
Review the entered serial numbers for accuracy, then finalize the purchase invoice.
Example Scenario:
Suppose you’ve received 20 CPUs from your supplier. After adding them to the purchase invoice, use a barcode scanner or text file import to enter the serial numbers for the entire batch.
Selling Items with Serial Numbers
Sales transactions involving serial number-tracked items are handled seamlessly with AutoCount.
1. Navigate to Sales Invoice:
Go to Sales > Invoice to create a new sales invoice.
2. Add Items to the Invoice:
When adding an item controlled by serial numbers, a popup window will appear to allow you to select the serial numbers.
3. Assign Serial Numbers:
- Option 1: Double-click to add the serial numbers from the popup list.
- Option 2: Use a barcode scanner to quickly input serial numbers.
4. Finalize the Sale:
After assigning the correct serial numbers, enter the selling price and save the invoice.
Customization Options:
- You can add a Serial Number List column in your invoice header by using Column Chooser. This ensures the serial number is visible for every sale transaction.
- Save the layout for consistent future invoicing.
Example Scenario:
A customer purchases a desktop computer. The system prompts you to select the appropriate serial number for the CPU, monitor, and keyboard, allowing you to track each item individually. The serial number is now tied to the sale, enabling easy warranty management.
Importing Opening Balances with Serial Numbers
When starting a new financial period or migrating data, you’ll need to import opening balances along with their serial numbers.
1. Navigate to Item Opening Balance Maintenance:
Go to Stock > More Stock Maintenance > Item Opening Balance Maintenance.
2. Add Opening Balances:
- Use the Auto Generate Opening Balance by Filter Criteria to populate the balances.
- Enter serial numbers using the same methods (barcode scanner, manual entry, or import).
3. Using Excel for Bulk Import:
- Copy the serial numbers from Excel, then paste them into AutoCount’s Import Stock Item Opening interface.
- Validate the serial numbers and import them.
4. Resolve Import Errors:
The system will highlight any errors such as duplicate serial numbers or incorrect data. You can then correct them before re-importing.
Generating Reports with Serial Numbers
AutoCount offers a range of reports to provide visibility into your inventory and sales, all tied to serial numbers.
1. Stock Card Report (No Cost with Serial Numbers)
- Purpose: Tracks the purchase and sale history of each inventory item with serial numbers.
- Access: Go to Stock > Stock Card Report, then preview the format that includes serial numbers.
2. Stock Balance for Available Serial Numbers
- Purpose: Displays available stock along with their corresponding serial numbers.
- Access: Go to Stock > Stock Balance Report, select a report format that highlights serial numbers.
3. Invoice Listing with Serial Numbers
- Purpose: Confirms that serial numbers are properly listed on sales invoices.
- Access: Go to Sales > Invoice, then choose Printing Listing and select the batch print option.
Tracking with Serial Number Inquiries
1. Available Serial Number Inquiry:
- Purpose: To verify the stock availability of specific serial numbers.
Access: Go to Inquiry > Available Serial Number Inquiry to view the stock tied to specific serial numbers.
2. Serial Number Transaction Inquiry
- Purpose: To track the complete journey of an item from supplier to customer.
- Access: Go to Reports > Serial Number History Inquiry, then select the serial number to view its full transaction history.
Managing Errors and Discrepancies
1. Negative Serial Number Quantity Inquiry
- Purpose: Identifies cases where items were sold before serial numbers were recorded in the system.
- Access: Go to Inquiry > Negative Serial Number Quantity Inquiry.
2. Serial Number Quantity Not Match Inquiry
- Purpose: Flags discrepancies between recorded quantities and assigned serial numbers.
- Access: Go to Inquiry > Serial Number Quantity Not Match Inquiry and select the item type to review discrepancies.
Integrating with Related Modules & Plugin
Item Package Module
The Item Package Module enables you to group bundled items, such as desktops with components like CPUs, keyboards, and mice. Despite being sold as a bundle, each item retains its unique serial number for accurate inventory tracking.
Multi-Location Module
For businesses with multiple locations, the Multi-Location Module ensures accurate stock management by associating serial numbers with specific branches. This prevents sales of items from locations where they are unavailable.
Multi-Dimensional Analysis Module
The Multi-Dimensional Analysis Module allows businesses to track and analyze serialized inventory across dimensions like location, category, or sales channels, offering deeper insights for better decision-making.
Warranty Plugin
The Warranty Plugin links serial numbers to warranty details, enabling streamlined claims validation. It simplifies warranty processing, reduces errors, and enhances customer satisfaction by ensuring efficient and accurate verification workflows.
For more details about these related modules, please visit our website’s dedicated pages. Each module offers unique features to further enhance your inventory management and operational efficiency.
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The AutoCount Serial Number Module is an invaluable tool for businesses that require precise inventory management and efficient tracking of individual items. Whether you are handling electronics, retail goods, or managing inventory across multiple locations, this module ensures accuracy, enhances operational efficiency, and reduces errors.
By implementing the step-by-step processes outlined in this guide, you can easily configure the module, manage purchases and sales, track item movements, and resolve discrepancies in real time. The ability to integrate the Serial Number Module with other features, such as the Item Package Module, Warranty Plugin, and Multi-Location Module, further strengthens its utility in streamlining business workflows.
Why the Serial Number Module is Essential:
Prevents fraud and ensures the authenticity of items sold.
Simplifies warranty claims by linking products directly to their unique serial numbers.
Enhances reporting with detailed insights into inventory and sales data.
Provides tools for resolving discrepancies to maintain data integrity.
Whether you are a new user or an experienced one, the AutoCount Serial Number Module is designed to help businesses meet their inventory management challenges while saving time and resources. Explore related modules and plugins to further optimize your system and unlock the full potential of AutoCount.
For more details on the Serial Number Module and related features, visit our website or contact our support team for personalized assistance.
FAQs
The module allows businesses to track individual items with unique serial numbers for better inventory management, fraud prevention, and warranty validation.
Go to Stock > Stock Item Maintenance, select the item, click Edit, and check the Controlled by Serial No checkbox.
Yes, you can import serial numbers by scanning barcodes, manually entering them, or importing from text or Excel files.
The system will flag this as a negative serial number quantity. You can review these discrepancies in the Negative Serial Number Quantity Inquiry.
AutoCount offers multiple reporting options:
- Stock Card Report for transaction histories.
- Stock Balance Report for available quantities and serial numbers.
- Invoice Listing for sales invoices with serial number details.
- Warranty Plugin for managing warranty claims.
- Item Package Module for managing bundled products with individual serial number tracking.
- Multi-Location Module for tracking inventory by location.
- Multi-Dimensional Analysis Module for analyzing serialized inventory by dimensions.