System Description and Operating Instructions - Page 8 To navigate this online manual for Wise/POS quickly, use the Table of Contents links along the right side of the page to skip to the section you wish to read. If you have further questions, please contact us at wise@wiseinc.com. This documentation is proprietary to and is owned by Wise Electronic Systems, Inc., Windsor, PA, and is protected by United States copyright law. Copies may be made only to support licensed use of the software as defined in the WES Software License Agreement, by the licensed user specified therein. Copyright 2000
UPC Codes Introduction The first part of this section is a suggested method of assigning product numbers to items which you package, or which are supplied without preprinted UPC codes. Following that is a slightly Technical discussion of the most common forms of UPC codes you will find in your store, including the UPC E version we use for entering store assigned codes.
While several groups of UPC numbers are set aside for local codes we recommend using a manufacturers number of zero for your local codes. Using zero as a manufacturer number for local codes allows us to use a shortened manual entry method. When a number having less than 6 digits is entered for a UPC code the system will create a valid UPC for table look-up by adding zeros as needed to the left end of the digits entered. As noted below we store the twelve significant digits of the EAN-13 code in the database, so local product #121 will appear as "000000000121" in the database UPC field. You only have to enter the numbers "121 to make this happen the software takes care of building the number for the database. If the store has few local numbers it may be possible to remember numbers if they are assigned in blocks. Numbers beginning at 100 could be assigned to locally packaged items, numbers beginning at 300 could be locally baked items or whatever. The use of a structured system of assignment is optional, it will be necessary to use the manufacturers number of "0000000" for locally assigned number for the short number entry to work. Additionally the automatic help system for the point of sale terminal searches the database for the seven zeros at the beginning of the UPC number to display store assigned UPC numbers on the help screen. In summary: when entering your locally numbered items, using the "Products" module of the WES point of sale system, you can enter the 1-digit through 5-digit code for the item, and the system will create the proper 12-digit number in the database. Similarly the point of sale program will create the appropriate 12 digits for use in searching for that number when an item is sold.
The Universal Product Code (UPC) is used throughout the United States and Canada by the retail industry as a means of uniquely identifying a product and its manufacturer. A basic understanding of the coding scheme, i.e. the significance of the numbers, is helpful in using the UPC codes in the store. How the width and spacing of the bars relate to the numbers, the symbology, are of little concern as the scanners and printers take care of these details. The original UPC code, called UPC Version A, is a 12-digit code. The digits are frequently printed below the bar code which represents it, in groups of digits like this: "0 12345 67890 5" The first six digits (012345) including the separated leading zero represent the manufacturer number. The next five digits (67890) are the product number for that manufacturer, and the last digit (5) is a check digit. The check digit is based on a mathematical formula and is used as an accuracy check on the other eleven digits.
World wide an extension of UPC is used, called EAN or EAN-13 administered by the European Article Numbering Association. This code adds an additional digit to the original UPC 12. EAN codes where the first digit is 0 are reserved for manufacturer numbers in the US and Canada. The EAN equivalent for any product in the US or Canada can be created by appending a leading zero to the 12 digit UPC code. Because you may have foreign made goods in your store and because books and periodicals use the EAN system, the WES point of sale system uses a 7-digit number for manufacturer numbers. If you look at the table view in the "Products" module of your system you will see that all UPC numbers are 12 digits in length. The first seven digits are the manufacturer ID number and the last five digits are the item number for that manufacturer. The database contains only 12 digits because we don’t store the check digit as the software can easily calculate it. The first digit of a UPC represents the number system as well as being part of the manufacturers number. In EAN the first two or in some cases three digits have special significance as well as being part of the manufacturers number. Table 1 at the end of this section lists a few of the number systems which are indicated by the first two or three digits of the full EAN-13 code.
An interesting variation on the UPC 12-digit code is the UPC Version E which is also known as the "Zero suppression version" because it drops the leading zero and encodes the product number where the trailing zeros would normally be in the manufacturers number. This variation is useful for placing UPC codes on very small packages. It is only available to manufacturers who have numbers in the leading zero number group and who have manufacture numbers ending in one two or three zeros. The last digit indicates how many trailing zeroes the manufacturers number contains and thus how many digits may be used for product numbers. The greatest number of zeros and thus the biggest product number we can use with Version E is three. A version E UPC number that ends in zero is made up of the first two digits of the manufacturers number, the other three are zeroes and the three digit product number. A UPC E code of 123450 would decode to a manufacturers number of 12000 and a product number of 00345. This number converted to EAN without the check character would be 0012000 00345, and those twelve digits would be the number for the item in your database. The following table lists some UPC / EAN number codes: UPC EAN The reference for the information in this section was from - Palmer, Roger C., The Bar Code Book, Third Edition. I suggest this reference for anyone interested in a more technical discussion on bar codes
This appendix illustrates a few of the useful printouts available from the WES Point of Sale system. These illustrations were reduced to about 60% actual size to facilitate inclusion in this manual.
Figure 1 is the first page of a typical order. The last page of the order, includes the estimated cost of the items on the order.
Figure 2 is a page of price labels. The labels printing function is designed for use with three across labels similar to the Avery Laser Label #6231. A label setup function is available so that the printing can be centered on the labels.
Figure 3 is the first page of the inventory printed from the "Inventory" module. This inventory printout is designed to facilitate a physical count of the inventory.
Figure 4 is the first page of the inventory printed from the "Reports" module. The inventory printout, for a small to medium sized store, typically runs 60 to 70 pages. The last page of the printout includes the total cost of the inventory. The inventory printed from "Reports" is the one needed at the end of the year for tax purposes.
Figure 5 shows the monthly summary printed on the office printer and on the sales slip printer at the checkout. This is a very useful report for tracking store growth, gross profit, and for preparation of state sales tax reports. We provide the ability to print on the sales slip printer for those stores who have only the checkout computer, with no page printer.
Appendix C – Technical Data Files and File Folders Executable Files CfgFile.exe Help Files Help1GC.txt Note: A total of 16 files must be present in the "Program Files" folder. Database Files The database containing information about each manufacturer is: Manufacturers.mdb Two databases used for customer data are: Customers.mdb The following are maintained on a per year basis in sub folders located in the operating database folder. A typical path on the computer where the operating database is maintained is "C:\DataBase\db1999\Natural.mdb". Natural.mdb Shortcuts Catalog Load Two additional folders created in the root directory of the C: drive, for files placed there by the system, are: Catalogs
All of the database information for the system is located in a folder in the root of the "C" drive called "Database" (C:\Database\). In this folder are the customers database (Customers.mdb), the manufacturers database (Manufacturers.mdb), a transactions database (Transactons.mdb) and a folder for each year for which records are available. The main operating database, the one where inventory, pricing and other product related data is kept is called "Natural.mdb". A new copy of this database is started on the first day of each year. This database is located in the Database folder in a folder for the year during which it was used. The folder for 1998 is "db1998 ", etc. In the Natural.mdb database are four tables named "Categories", "Products", "StoreData", and "Suppliers". This information is provided to help the expert user and/or maintenance personnel in understanding the operation of the system. Never make any changes or additions to the structure of the databases. It is also inadvisable to add entries to any of the databases except through the modules provided. Some fields have strict limitations on the data contained therein. Modifying them outside of the verification filtering the programs provide may cause operating errors. On the other hand reading the table called "mailing List" in the "Customers.mdb" database, for use in direct mail advertising, etc. is a good use of the information collected by the system. The field names provided here should be helpful when you import the data into a word processor for this use. Customers.mdb Field Names: Prefix Text * 20
Control Keys and Special Codes In the following tables where a 2-digit number of the form 9x is given this number may be keyed in to the UPC box followed by pressing ‘Enter’ to bring up the stated function. Some operators find this convenient others prefer to use the ‘Fx’ function keys across the top of the keyboard for all functions. Keys available while the system is waiting for a UPC number. F1 Displays the help menu screen. Special UPC codes available while the system is waiting for a UPC number. 91 or F5 Returned merchandise Keys available after the list
is totaled. Enter Press after typing in the amount received from the
customer Keys available after an amount is entered. E or F4 End this transaction and get ready for the next one R Reprint the sales slip.
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