SKU Numbers on Inventory Labels

Q: What's up with the numbers on pawn labels and inventory labels? Have they changed?

A: Yes and No. We added the ability to change the numbering, but if you like you can still keep exactly the same numbers and numbering system you had before.

Previously all NEW inventory began with "N-1-" or "N-2-", or "N-3-", etc., where the 1, or the 2, or the 3 was the store no. (usually 1).

All inventory that was a forfeited Pawn, buyback, or buy, began with a "P", or a "B" For example "P-1-" or P-2-" or "B-3-" etc., where again, the 1,2,3 was the store no.
If you like things this way you can still keep it this way. But many people think that the numbers are too long, with too many dashes, and it is awkward to type the long numbers in when selling items, checking stock or prices, etc.

So we added the ability to format your own numbers. Go to OFFICE-->CONFIGURATION-->MASTER CONFIGURATION, and click on the SHOP tab. You will see this screen:

In the field called "YOUR SKU PREFIX" you can enter formatting commands that will change how your inventory SKU numbers look.

The first thing to know is - whatever you type in there will appear as part of your SKU numbers. So if you type in the word "AARDVAARK" , then this word will be the first word on all your SKU numbers from now on.

The next thing to know is, certain special symbols will be replaced with meaningful information on your label. These symbols are . . .

/STO or [STORENO] will be replaced by your STORE No. (1, or 2, or 3, etc.)
/YRMO or [YEARMO] will be replaced by the current YEAR AND MONTH (example: 0912 for December 2009)
/@ will be replaced by either N or P or B depending on whether the item was NEW or a PAWN (including buybacks) or a BUY.

To keep exactly the same format you previously had, you would use: /@-/STO- (Notice the dashes. If you don't put the dashes in, they won't appear in your SKU numbers)

However you can be creative. For example if your shop is called "Joe's Pawn Shop" you might want the initials JPS as part of every SKU. So you might use JPS-/YRMO-/@-. This would generate SKU numbers something like JPS-0912-P-xxxxx, or JPS-0912-B-xxxxx, etc.

If you want the shortest possible SKU numbers you could just leave it completely blank. If you have multiple shops however this is a bad idea. You should at least use /STO- (the dash is optional, but useful).

Hopefully this new feature will prove helpful to you.

While on the subject, we should mention there have also been changes in how SKU numbers are generated during the FORFEITING (pulling) process. As you know, every pawn and buy is assigned a SKU number when it is pulled. Now, the first part of that number will obey all the rules discussed above. Example: when Joe's Pawn shop (see above) pulls Pawn No. 12345, first item, it will be given SKU no. JPS-0912-P-12345-1.

Another change that has been made to forfeited items concerns the SKU suffix (the last part of the number). As you know, this consists of a dash followed by the item no. But if an item was UN-pulled, the inventory item was not deleted. Instead, it was given the status U, (unpulled) and it remained in inventory for audit-trail purposes. This meant that if the item was RE-pulled, it could no longer have the original SKU number, because that was in use. (Duplicates are not allowed.) So the system would "randomize" the number by putting three random letters on the end. For example, Pawn no. 12345, item 1, -- if pulled twice -- might get the SKU no. P-1-12345-1-GFS, where "GFS" are the three random letters.

We have changed this a little so the number is randomized in a different way. Now, if pulling an item would produce a duplicate SKU number, Dazzle(tm) will simply put ONE letter on the end. That letter will always be the letter "A". If that item is un-pulled and re-pulled again, then the letter will be a "B". If it happens again, it will be a "C", and so on. For example, Pawn No. 12345, item 1, -- if pulled twice -- might receive SKU No. P-1-12345-1A. Next time it would be P-1-12345-1B, and so on. The idea of this is to try and make the numbers shorter and more convenient. Also, by just looking at the last letter (A or B or C, etc.,) you can now have a pretty good idea of how many times the item has been un-pulled or re-pulled.

This suffix part of the numbering method cannot be changed or configured by you.

Lastly, as a refresher, remember you can manually edit any SKU numbers you like in your inventory, as long as you don't try to create duplicates. Also remember that every item has an all-numeric "System no." or "key no." which is functionally identical to the SKU no. insofar as locating that item on the computer is concerned. This sometimes causes confusion on JEWELRY TAGS, which are very small. Often there is not room to print a long SKU number on the small tag, so Dazzle(tm) will print the key no. instead. This makes absolutely no difference to you. Just type the number in to the computer and it will find it. Incidentally, on a jewellery tag, the barcode is always a digital representation of the key no. no matter which number (key or SKU) is printed in plain English beneath it.

We sometimes get panicked phone calls saying "My jewelry labels are all printing the wrong SKU numbers." Well relax. It's the right label for the right item. That number you are seeing is the key no., that's all.

Derek Best.

Rolling back to the previous version of Dazzle

Q: How do I roll my system back to the previous version of Dazzle?

A: When you update your Dazzle program (with DazzleServerUpdate.exe) it saves the old program in a file called DazzlePawn.zip.001 in the C:\Dazzle Pawn\ Common\ Application\ backups folder on your server.

If there is already a DazzlePawn.zip.001, it creates DazzlePawn.zip.002.
If there is already a DazzlePawn.zip.002 it will create DazzlePawn.zip.003.

Thus when you look in C:\Dazzle Pawn\Common\Application\Backups you may find up to three different files called Dazzlepawn.zip.001, 002 and 003.

Whichever one has the most recent date is the most recent prior version of Dazzle.
So to roll back to the old version, do this ...

• Go to C:\Dazzle Pawn\Common\Application.
• DELETE Dazzlepawn.zip.
• Go to C:\Dazzle Pawn\Common\Application\Backups.
• Right-click on Dazzlepawn.zip.001, or 002, or 003 -- whichever is newest.
• Select Copy.
• Go back to C:\Dazzle Pawn\Common\Application and Right click and select Paste.
• RE-NAME the pasted file as Dazzlepawn.zip

That's all there is to it. You only have to do this in one place, on the server. You don't need to do anything on the workstations.

This procedure only rolls back the program. It has no effect on any of your data.
You may now encounter a warning message when you start Dazzle saying the program needs to be updated. You should ignore this message.

v01.11.06. HOW TO USE THE NEW PAWN LABELS

The New Dazzle version 01.11.06, released Nov 23rd 2009.


Version 01.11.06 contains redesigned pawn labels. The old 3 formats are gone and there are six new ones in their place. Previously, whatever label format(s) you selected were what you got, for every single pawn and buy, regardless of type of merchandise. Things are different now ...

Here are the six new label formats . Instructions are after the pictures.

(above) Label format 1: 3" x 1". A general purpose format with barcode and costcode, store no., Ticket-type and No., Operator initials, customer name and ID No (hideable) A general description of the item, Issue date, Pull-date, and item count. A large letter (R) will appear in the top right if it is a re-loan.









(above) Label format 2: 3" x 1". A general purpose format without barcode but with much larger transaction type and no. Also has store no., Costcode is part of the description which includes as much detail as room will allow. Operator initials, customer name and ID No (hideable), and item-count are at the top. At the bottom in small type are pull-date (ex), logbook no. (for guns in USA), previous ticket no. (if a re-loan), storage location. and item count.














(above) Label format 3: 3" x 2". (JUMBO) Perfect for large TV's etc. Two consecutive 1" labels make up this 2" high label. The main feature is the HUGE ticket no. and very big customer name and ID. (hideable). The issuedate and pull date are very prominent at the top , along with the coded cost. A general description on the bottom half includes as much detail as room will allow. Operator initials, previous ticket no (if a re-loan), storage location, and logbook no are easily readable, plus there is a barcode for inventory.











(above) Label format 4: 3" x 1". A JEWELLERY ENVELOPE format with barcode and costcode, store no., Ticket-type and No., Has specific textboxes to clearly show WEIGHT, TOTAL CARAT WEIGHT, AND PURITY. Operator initials, customer name and ID No (hideable) A general description of the item, Issue date, Pull-date, and item count. A large letter (R) will appear in the top right if it is a re-loan. Also the previous ticket no. will be printed.











(above) Label format 5: 3" x 1". This one is for use in the USA with FIREARMS. Similar to the others with barcode and costcode, store no., Ticket-type and No., but has specific textboxes to clearly show MANUFACTURER, MODEL, SERIAL NO., CALIBER, ACTION, AND LOG NO. Operator initials, customer name (not hideable). Issue date, Pull-date, and item count. A large letter (R) will appear in the top right if it is a re-loan.










(above) Format 6: LIST OF ITEMS label. Designed as a useful extra label for sticking on JEWELRY ENVELOPES, so the entire contents can be documented. Also has customer name, amount of pawn (or buy), and ticket no. Coded cost of each item is shown.


INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

The neat thing about the new label formats is -- Dazzle selects the one most suited to the type of merchandise on the ticket. EXAMPLE: if you are buying/pawning an XBox or Playstation, Dazzle will automatically print label type 1. If you are pawning Jewelry, it will automatically print type 5, etc.
This means your labels always contain the optimum amount of pertinent information.

But wait - there's more ... YOU can tell Dazzle what label types you want it to use for different types of merchandise.

To set this up, click on OFFICE / CONFIGURATION / CODES AND ABBREVIATIONS. Then click the tab marked "Merchandise Categories" (see below)










You will see one row for each merchandise category in your database. Each category has a TYPE, which is a broad description of the class of item, for example GENERAL, JEWELRY, FIREARM, etc. You will also see columns called "No. of labels" and "Label-Type"



At the bottom of the screen you will see an area where you can assign the label-format of your choice to ALL categories of a particular TYPE. You can also specify how many labels you want to print for each item of that type. For example, if you wanted two (2) JUMBO-sized labels for all GENERAL merchandise (TVs, games, bicycles, computers, etc) you would set it up as shown below, then click the GO button.



This will immediately assign the JUMBO format to all GENERAL merchandise and you will see the list change before your eyes. However, maybe you don't want the big jumbo labels on some smaller items like CD's etc. So what you would do next is -- go down the list and pick out the categories where you want something different, such as CD's, and simply select a different type of label for CD's. For example you might choose label type 1, and a label quantity of only one (1) label per CD.


Simply repeat this same type of procedure with the other types of merchandise and you will be all set.


Now you need to set up a few options for your labels, to customize things the way you like them. You must go to OFFICE / CONFIGURATION / MASTER CONFIGURATION and click on PAWNS.


You will see a section called LABEL OPTIONS. (see below)


























PRINT FIRST LABEL ONLY FOR JEWELLERY
No matter how many items you may have on a jewelry loan (or buy), only one (1) label will be printed, and that will be for the first item. Since all the items are going in a small envelope, there is not room to stick a lot of labels on the envelope, so just the first item label is printed. This applies no matter which format of label you are using for jewelry... you will still only get the first.


DO YOU WANT 3" x 1" CONTENTS LIST
If you select the "First label only" option, then you can also choose this one. This will print an extra "CONTENTS LIST" label, to stick on the envelope, showing a brief itemized list of contents. (See label type 6 above) This is an excellent security measure.


PRINT LABELS FOR PAWN REWRITES.
If you renew, extend, or re-write pawns or buybacks, you might want to print a new label with possibly a new contract no. and/or dates on it.


CODED AMOUNTS ON PAWN LABELS.
Select this to code your loan and buy amounts using your shop's cost code. Otherwise the amounts will be in plain text.


SUPPRESS ITEM NO
SUPPRESS CUSTOMER NAME
SUPPRESS CUSTOMER ID
These three are self explanatory. Be very careful if you print customer information on labels. You never know who might read it. What if you throw envelopes out in the trash (dustbin)? Someone could come along and read all kinds of confidential information. And of course if you put items out for sale and don't remove the pawn labels, you will be violating your customer's privacy.


FORCE ADVANCE TO NEW LABEL.
If your labels are not advancing properly in the printer, you should select this option.

That's it. You are now all set up to use the new labeling system. We hope you find it helpful.

---end---

Q: How can I filter my PFI's (Pulls) to show just the Pawns, or just the Buys. I click on the "redeemable" column but when I try to filter it just gives an error message.

A: To filter your pull-list you must use the "Ticket Type" column not the "Redeemable" column. After filtering, if you want to print the list, your printed list will also be filtered.

Remember, Remember ...

... the 5th of November.

To all our UK customers

Happy GUY FAWKES DAY!

Shrinking the toolbar causes loss of menu

Q: When we click on the "minimize toolbar" icon, the text menu disappears and only half the toolbar is visible. It used to work OK. What's going on?

A: You are right. This is an "oops." We switched a couple of lines of code accidentally. For those who don't know, when you click on the two little red arrows at the left end of the Dazzle menubar, the toolbar disappears and just the menubar remains. (see picture) That's what should happen anyway, but we screwed up, and now you lose your menubar and are left with a somewhat crippled toolbar. This has been corrected in 11.05(e) with our apologies.

(What should happen)

Part of menu is missing

Q: Sometimes the right-hand side of the Dazzle menu toolbars at the top of the screen get "cut-off" or disappear. How do I get them back?

A: Screen refresh, processor speed, graphics card and drivers -- all these things play a part in display of the menus, and how long it takes them to refresh if obscured. Fortunately if you ever lose part of your menus, there is an easy answer. Just press SHIFT F12 to bring then back like brand-new again.