Administration

• Ability to manage Vendor information including federal premise ID tracking and specific cut sheet assignment.
• E-commerce and regular customer information management including address / phone number storage and web site/self-checkout account authentication data.
• Manage the virtually unlimited number of customizable labels that can be assigned to the six (6) major system categories: animals, carcasses, cuts, containers, non-unique items & foreign boxes.
• System wide user management whereby users are assigned specific security levels giving the assigner the flexibility to limit system activities to assignees. All user authentication data is encrypted with additional tamper protection just in case.
• Nineteen (19) built-in reports covering inventory, sales and forecasting data, register reconciliation, and price lists. All reports can be printed directly, saved to PDF, XLS, DOC, or RTF files, or exported either to Excel or a delimited text file.
• Hierarchical location tracking management to allow granularity and nesting location assignments for cuts.
• Non-unique item management with categorical and related item grouping. Non-unique items are managed through a “purchase-order” interface with historical cost evaluation abilities coupled with categorical item price markup.
• Flexibility to add unlimited number of different payment methods used in POS operations. Credit card transactions are not stored or handled through “Helios”; instead orders are marked with the method of payment and amount in and out. Each payment method can be secured with a minimum user access level to assure some level of theft minimization through the POS.
• Ability to customize the taxation of differing levels of product types (food, general, none).
• All data within the system can be exported to Excel or delimited text file to eliminate complete reliance on the system.

FAQ

1. What is my database version?

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   1. Open the Administration program and login as a Manager user.
   2. Click on the System Settings image.
   3. Look to the section "Database".

   - or -

   1. Open the Inventory Management program and login as any valid user.
   2. Click on the About toolbar.
   3. At the bottom of the "About" form, the database version will be listed.
   
   
2. How do I upgrade to the newest version?

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   1. Download the latest files (the choices are linked from the "Download" tab.
   2. Unzip the files into the directory where the program is installed. This is typically in C:\Program Files\Dizzyatom\Helios[v]\. You can overwrite the existing files if you'd like.
   3. Make sure the minor version value is the same as your database. Note: Version numbers are organized like this: {major.minor.revision.build}.
   4. It is highly likely that your database version will be out of sync with the program (or codebase) version. This is a precautionary measure that requires assistance from your database administrator to complete. Your service agreement will dictate who is responsible, or give us a call for assistance. If you plan on performing a self-upgrade, then we recommend that you backup the existing files before overwriting anything.
   
   
3. The program cannot read from the scale, what can I do?

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   1. Ensure you have installed the correct cable. The male end (on the left) plugs into your scale. The female end (on the right) plugs into your computer.
   2. Identify what COM ports your computer has installed by opening Device Manager from the Windows™ Control Panel.
   3. Check the config file Helios.IMS.Scales.dll.config has the correct settings. The file should look like
      <add key="portName" value="COM[x]" />
<add key="baudRate" value="9600" />
<add key="dataBits" value="7" />
<add key="parity" value="2" />
<add key="stopBits" value="1" />
   4. Look at the bottom left of the IMS program to see what scale your system is set to use and adjust accordingly. The type of scale can be changed in the Options form.
   
   
4. How do I enable/disable Passthough Authentication?

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   1. Open the program you want to enable this feature for.
   2. Click on the Tools toolbar then the Options... menu.
   3. Toggle the checkbox that says Passthrough Authentication.
   4. Save, close the program and open the Administration program.
   5. Click on the Users image, and select the user you want to map a Windows™ account to.
   6. Save the user information, and if the current Windows™ user matches one of the "Helios" user accounts then, the program will use that mapping and not prompt for a login each time.
   
   
5. How can I customize the message on the POS pole display?

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   1. Click on the Tools toolbar then the Options... menu.
   2. Find the section called Line Display Message. Change the text to whatever you'd like.
   3. Click Save, close and reopen the program.
   
   
6. How should I handle custom fabrication orders?

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   1. We recommend that no new CutTypes be created/maintained for the purpose of custom cuts. Selecting a different LabelType while on the Weight & Add form can circumvent the issue of standard labels not being desirable on the packaged cuts.
   2. Create a non-unique item(s) that corresponds to the surcharge of custom fabrication labor. A "scan/barcode" sheet can be kept at the Point of Sale for reference.
   3. At the Point of Sale, ring up the cuts or boxes as you normally would.
   4. Select the Payment Method that corresponds to custom fabrication and enter the exact amount of the current cut total.
   5. Your register subtotal should be $0.
   6. Scan the barcode that identifies the custom fabrication (non-unique item) to bring the subtotal back up to the amount the customer should owe you. The other option is to increase the Misc. Charge field, but that will not give you the ability to track how many custom fabrications you have "sold".
   7. The subtotal should now reflect the amount owed by the customer.
   8. At this point you can do 1 of 2 things:
      1. "Save As Pending" and wait to receive $$$ from the customer.
      2. Complete the sale using whatever Payment Method, except one you have already used, and take that receipt over to your accounting system if you are keeping track of receivables.
   
   
7. What are the ways I can discount products?

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   1. Most discounting happens at the POS application. If you have logged in as at least a Manager, when a barcode is scanned, the ability to override the current price or apply a discount (negative amount) to the price is presented before the addition of the product to the order. Giving discounts in the latter way ensures two things:
      1. The ability to see the total amount of discounts given will show up in reports.
      2. Customers will see the discount on their receipt.
   2. Another way to discount is to simply change the price of the product. Please be aware that unless a new label is printed with the new price, the customer will see a discrepancy at the register.
   3. To change the price of a cut, simply open the Inventory Management program, and select the menu item "Edit" under the Cuts menu.
   4. Scan the product's barcode and change the value in the price field. The previous price will be remembered. When the product is scanned, the new price will be what rings up.

   - or -

   1. Entire groups of individual cuts or CutType categories can be repriced.
   2. Open the Inventory Management program and click on the Cut Management button.
   3. Under the reprice tab you will find the options to carry out the reprice method you choose.