Managing Multiple Locations with AutoFluent®

So you have, or need, AutoFluent®’s Multi-store capabilities. What does that mean exactly? You may need to move inventory between locations, or you might want certain employees to have access to AutoFluent® at all store locations, or just specific locations. You also probably have special accounting and reporting needs. This article will cover those topics as well as a few important tips and reports in AutoFluent® to help you effectively and accurately manage your business.

Let’s start by looking at the employee permissions per location. In the Employee window, all the settings for each employee are listed in the bottom half of the window. You can check each permission you’d like to give that employee. What is especially important to note here is the yellow field towards the left center of the Employees window, labeled Store, where you choose the location that you want your settings to apply to. You can for example allow one employee access to invoicing at one location, and access to both invoicing and inventory at another. It’s up to you!

Running reports in AutoFluent® is another place where multiple stores is a factor. When running most reports (excluding Inventory reports) you will see a yellow drop-down box, normally in the upper right-hand corner, where you choose the location that you want to base your report on. To run any Inventory reports, you’ll need the ability to log into that particular location. Two reports we suggest running that allow a side-by-side comparison of multiple locations are the Comprehensive Sales Report and the Comprehensive Group Report. You can read more about how to run and read these reports in this earlier blog.

When you need to transfer items from one location to another, you’ll handle that in AutoFluent®’s Inventory windows. Once you have your item selected, open the Stores tab to view the availability of that item at all locations. Each location can send or request items to or from other locations. The Transfer window can also be accessed using the orange button at the top of the Inventory Entry. If Store A created a request for the catalog ‘42TN’ for a quantity of 2, then Store B would open the Transfer window to the Fill Transfer Requests tab and Prepare to Send those items. Once Store B prepares the necessary items to send, you’ll click Print Packing Slip & Mark as Sent. Upon delivery, Store A will open the Receive Requested Items tab to Receive All Sent and Process All Changes in order for the quantity to officially enter Store A.

With AutoFluent® you get the benefit of TRUE Multi-store capabilities. For further instruction or clarification on any of these subjects, contact our support team any time!