Rates below the minimum held for approval
Give each item a minimum rate and each party group a largest discount. A bill or sales order with a line below the minimum, or a discount above the limit, waits for a manager. Approved, it goes through by itself.
PLANSFrom Growth
Built; not yet tried end to end at a customer.
Why it matters
In a wholesale counter the margin leaks one line at a time. One salesman gives a favourite party two rupees off. Another gives a bigger discount to close the sale. Nobody sees it until the month's profit is short. A warning on the screen is clicked past. In SmartMy Trade the bill does not post. It waits as a hold, with the item, the rate given and the minimum. A manager approves or rejects it on the web or the phone. Scheme lines are left out, so planned offers go through, and every exception carries who asked and who agreed.
The problem it solves
- Rates differ by salesman, and nobody can say why one party pays less.
- Discounts creep up line by line, and the margin is gone by month end.
- The minimum rate lives in the owner's head or on a printed list that is out of date.
- When a low rate is allowed, there is no record of who allowed it.
How it works
- On each item, set its Minimum Rate: the lowest net rate, after discount, it may be sold at without approval.
- On each party group, set its Largest Discount (%), such as 5 % for Retail and 8 % for Wholesale.
- A clerk posts a bill or confirms a sales order. Every line is checked: its rate after discount against the item's minimum, and its discount against the party group's limit.
- A line that breaks either rule holds the whole document. It stays a draft, and the hold lists each line, the rate given and the minimum or the limit.
- The Trade Managers, or the levels of your Trade hold chain, approve or reject it on the web or in the SmartMy Trade app.
- Approved, the bill posts or the order confirms by itself, and the clerk is told. Rejected, it stays a draft with the reason, for the clerk to change the rate.
Everything it does
The two rules
- Minimum Rate on the item: the net rate (rate less discount) may not be under it; zero means no minimum
- The net rate is compared in the item's own unit, so a carton line is converted before checking
- Largest Discount (%) on the party group: a line's discount may not be above it; zero means no limit
- Both rules are checked on every line; each line that fails adds its own sentence to the hold
- The check applies to cash bills and credit bills alike
Where it is checked
- A quick bill, when it is posted, on the web or in the app
- A quotation, when it is confirmed as a sales order
- A confirmed order changed later, and the invoice made from an order, are not checked again
Schemes are left out
- Lines a scheme gave (free goods at 100 % off, slab discounts) are not checked against the minimum or the discount limit
- So a planned 10 + 1 or a slab discount never needs a manager
- A line marked with a scheme is skipped as a whole, so keep its rate as the scheme set it
The hold
- Kind Rate, numbered HOLD/year/number, with the document, party, amount, who asked and why
- One hold per document and kind; a bill held for credit and rate has two holds
- An approval covers the amount approved; a bill that grows past it is held again
- Rejecting needs a reason, kept on the hold with who decided and when
- Trade > Sales > Orders > Holds lists what waits; the bill or order has a Holds button
Price lists that go with it
- Price lists per party group give the rate a party starts from
- Billing clerks see and use price lists without any extra setting
- Minimum rates and price lists are kept by the Trade Administrator
Who uses it
Billing ClerkGives rates and discounts on the bill; sees when a line is held and why, and is told the decision.
Trade ManagerApproves or rejects rate holds on the web or in the app.
Trade AdministratorSets minimum rates on items and the largest discount of each party group.
OwnerReads the hold history to see who gives low rates and who agreed.
Where you use it
- Web: Trade > Configuration > Items and Prices > Items (Minimum Rate) and Party Groups (Largest Discount)
- Web: Trade > Sales > Orders > Holds; the Holds button on bills and sales orders; Approvals
- The SmartMy Trade app: a held bill shows as held; managers decide in Holds (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not checked: rates at a SmartMy POS counter
What you control
Settings
- Minimum Rate per item: zero to start with (no minimum)
- Largest Discount (%) per party group: zero to start with (no limit)
Approvals
- Trade hold: the Trade Managers with no set-up, or levels you add; conditions can tell rate holds from credit holds. Whoever asked may approve at a level they hold unless you turn Requester May Approve off
Notifications
- Request Waits for Your Approval: to the approvers of the next level, in the app inbox and by email, with a to-do
- Hold Decided: to the clerk who asked, approved or rejected with the reason, in the app inbox and by email
- Phone notifications are built and not switched on yet
Questions
Does every discount need approval?
No. Only a discount above the party group's Largest Discount, or a rate that ends up under the item's Minimum Rate. Zero on either means no check.Are scheme discounts held?
No. Free goods and slab discounts given by a running scheme are left out of the check.Is a cash bill checked too?
Yes. The rate check runs on every bill when it is posted, paid now or on credit.Can the manager approve from the phone?
Yes, in Holds of the SmartMy Trade app, which shows the reason line by line. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.What does the clerk see?
A message that the bill is sent for approval and will post once approved. The bill stays a draft with a Holds button, and the clerk is told the decision.Related features
ORDERS, PURCHASE AND CREDITCredit limit, overdue and cash-only holdsSome credit bills and sales orders wait for a manager's approval. That is when over the party's credit limit, to a cash-only party, or to a party with overdue bills. Approved, it posts or confirms by itself.ORDERS, PURCHASE AND CREDITPrice lists, margins and bulk price changesKeep a price list per party group with quantity slabs, and a margin per category that suggests each item's price from cost. Change the prices of a whole brand, category or supplier at once, now or from a date.ORDERS, PURCHASE AND CREDITSchemes: free goods and slab discountsRun free goods (buy 10, get 1) and quantity slab discounts by item, category, brand and party group, between two dates. They are put on the bill or sales order by themselves, marked with the scheme.GST AND APPROVALSApprovals in the appA sale held for credit or rate, a big purchase order or a write-off waits for you on your phone. Open Approvals in the SmartMy Trade app, read why it was held and the amount, and approve or reject with a reason. The bill or order goes through at once, and the person who asked is told.ACROSS SMARTMY TRADEApproval chainsHeld sales, big purchase orders, write-offs and indents go to the right people in order before they go through. With no set-up the Trade Managers approve; you add levels, such as the owner for credit above an amount, without code.BILLING AND STOCKQuick bill, paid now or on credit, with the party's last rateOne short bill form for the counter and the office. Pick the party or the cash customer, add items, see the rate you gave this party last time, and post. The stock leaves the shop and, when paid now, the payment is recorded in the same step.
See your shop on it.
Tell us what you sell, how many shops and godowns you run and how you bill today. We will set up your items and parties with you and print your first bill.