Short Items
A short is an item a party asked for and you could not supply. It is a record of demand, not a pending order: dsGST does not hold the item for the party or alert you when it arrives. Shorts are used in two places:
- Purchasing – Auto PO shows how many open shorts each item has, so the person ordering knows customers have been asking for it.
- Selling – the Sale form shows the shorts of the party you are billing, so you can offer them what they asked for earlier.
Marking an item short
While adding or editing a sale bill, select the item and enter the quantity the party wanted, then click Short F8 (or Urgent if it is needed quickly). The quantity box flashes blue (short) or red (urgent) to confirm.
An item already marked short for the same party within the last 30 minutes is not added twice. Marking it again also clears a Not Req. mark (see below), since the party has asked for it again.
The quantity and the Urgent flag are kept on the record for your reference. They are not used in any calculation.
Shorts of the party you are billing
Once a party is selected on the Sale form, the Short button shows how many open shorts the party has, for example Short 3, and turns gold. Click it to open the party's shorts.
An entry counts as an open short for the party when all of these are true:
- it was marked within the last Short Days days (30 unless changed – see below);
- it has not been marked Not Req.; and
- the party has not been sold that item on or after the day it was marked short.
Whether a purchase order was placed for the item does not matter here. A PO means you ordered the item, not that the party got it.
For each short the pop-up shows the item, pack, the date it was asked for and the Stock Now. Stock shown in green means you have it now, so you can offer it on this bill.
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add the item to the bill | Double-click the row. The item is selected in the item box (if it is in the item list currently loaded) and the pop-up closes. |
| Tell dsGST the party no longer needs the item (bought elsewhere, changed their mind) | Tick Not Req. on the row. It drops out of the party's open shorts straight away. |
| See entries you have already marked Not Req. | Tick Show Not Req. at the top. They show struck through; untick Not Req. on a row to bring it back. |
| Open the full Short Items list for this party | Click Full Report. |
Short Days
How long a short stays visible on the Sale form is set in Short Days on the Default Setting screen (File → Set Defaults, middle column). The default is 30 days. The same period is used for the short count on the item label next to the item details.
Short Items list
The full list, with filters by date, party, item, manufacturer, supplier, city and collection group, is under:
It shows each short with the item's current stock, so you can see what has since come in. Select one or more rows and use the buttons below the list:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Toggle Done / Mark Done / Mark Not Done | Sets or clears Done. Done means purchasing has dealt with the item – Auto PO sets it for you when it makes a PO. It does not affect the Sale form. |
| Mark Not Req. / Clear Not Req. | Sets or clears Not Req., the same mark as in the Sale form pop-up. |
| Delete Selected | Removes the entries (only shown if you have edit rights). |
Hide Not Req. (next to the Item filter) leaves Not Req. entries out of the list. By default they are shown, so the list still matches what purchasing sees in Auto PO.
Done and Not Req. are different
| Done | Not Req. | |
|---|---|---|
| Means | A purchase order has been placed for the item | The party no longer wants the item |
| Set by | Auto PO when you make a PO, or by hand in the list | You, in the Sale form pop-up or the list |
| Used by | Auto PO's Short Count (counts entries that are not Done) | The Sale form's party shorts |