This is a powerful tool that allows the bulk entry of new stock items and the updating of details of items that are already in Chreos.

Typically the source data will come from suppliers and the supplier has to be identified as part of the entry process.

Kits are a way of associating a group of items as being a single item.

The single item might a 'Tennis starter set' with a set price.  The single item is promoted but when it is ordered it is automatically broken into it's component parts (1x tennis racket, 3x tennis balls, and 1x instruction manual) so that the stock level figures for each are correctly adjusted.

It can be set so that none of it is supplied until all parts are available as an option.

The pricing for the parts will always add up to the price of the single item.

Unlike Kits, Bill of materials (BOMs) actually records the construction of a new inventory item out of existing inventory items and can include both Stock and non-diminishing items such as labour.

The resultant item is then added to stock and the parts are taken out of stock.  The financials associated with this flow through to the GL.

There are 3 major variations that may overlap.

- A previously constructed BOM item can be sold and it's shelf quantity is reduced by the number sold.

- Even though none of the BOM items have been previously constructed, it can still be sold and Chreos will automatically 'construct' the number required as part of the sales process.

- Deconstruction is also supported where the individual components have not been transformed other being added to the new item.  In this case if the one of the components is sold and there are none in stock then a BOM item can be de-constructed.  One part is sold and the rest are added to existing stock.

With Serial tracking every instance of a stock item has a unique number.  With batch tracking a group of instances shares the same number.  This is commonly used in the food and related industries.  Product is tracked by batch into stock (by purchase construction through Jobs or BOM) and then the batch numbers of what is supplied are also known.

Piece tracking is similar but is more like selling roles of carpet.  A single stock item bay be made up of several rolls and each roll is of a known length.  It may be important that an unbroken length needs to be able to be supplied to fill an order so you need to know how long each is.

Something else

Regions are like separate trading locations but they may also be separate warehouses for the one selling operation.  Stock levels are fully managed for each Region, stock can be moved between them, and sales recorded out of each.

All of this activity can be recorded separately in the General Ledger. Eg. You can have a Closing stock figure for each region.

Clients can also be flagged as being associated / maintained by a specific Region but they can always by from any of them.

This functionality is used where a wholesaler has stock spread around several warehouses, or for managing a retail operation with sever stores.  In the latter case the Branches module is also frequently used.

Clients can pay in advance for regular supply of a product.  An example would be a subscription to a weekly magazine.  They pay for the year in advance and then receive one copy per week.

Near the end of the subscription they can receive encouragements to subscribe for another year.

It is also possible to have unpaid subscriptions where a copy of the magazine is put aside for the client each week and she pays for it when she collects it.  In this case it works like a perpetual order.

Produced explicitly for businesses that take orders for the delivery of gas cylinders of various sizes.  This receives the orders, works out the delivery schedule, tracks what is actually delivered, and produces the invoices.

This could be adapted for other businesses that have similar types of activity that is not necessarily 'gas'.

If your sales include 'on behalf of' type sales where you take a commission this this will manage the process for you.  When the sale happens it automatically produces an invoice to you on behalf of the supplier.  Deals with all suppliers / arts whether registered or not for consumption tax.

Know exactly what stock you have and who supplied it.  Ad vis the artist what you have, what has sold and what hasn't.

Also allows you to sell stock that you have purchased outright - even from the same artists.

Chreos allows you to work in multiple currencies.  Set stock prices, purchase stock and produce each invoice in the currency assigned to that Debtor.  Leave Chreos to work out the local cost of products and services.  Receipt in either the Debtor's currency or your local one. Pay Creditors in any currency you choose out of a local or foreign account.

In the GL everything is reported back in the current currency of your operation.  However, you can maintain Foreign Currency bank accounts and always know the balance in both currencies.  Receive payments from Debtors into, and pay Creditors out of these accounts.

Everything you need to trade internationally.

Where you charge clients a fixed amount per month for antisipated or contracted service, Chreos allows you to track actual verses anticipated.  You can have the amount carry over or expire at end of the month. 

For each client you can specify which labour items apply to the service plan.  For instance some clients can have a plan that just covers emergency after-hours work while others are covered for regular non-urgent servicing.  Yet other might be covered for both.

This is really useful for industries where support service agreements are common - IT, alarm monitoring, equipment servicing, and the like.

One of the real strengths of Chreos is its ability to be customised.  In addition to all that has been said before we also have the ability to build functionality that is specific to your business needs but that integrates into Chreos as if it has always been there.

Examples of what we have done have included

- customisation for an agency staff supplier

- automotive repair shop interface - explicitly panel beating and painting

- graphic printing where images get laid out of screen to determine how much material and ink will be used, write through to managing the work flow when the quote is accepted

- scheduling bookings for a flight simulator being used as an entertainment device

- taking orders, producing baking schedules and then the delivery and invoicing for a wholesale bakery

- a very special sort of prompt paying discount that was very particular to their industry

If you have a very special business need that isn't fully met by Chreos we can customise it to meet your needs.