| Software Overview |
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Argos Software’s Nursery and Greenhouse Management Software is specifically designed around the requirements of grower-wholesalers, re-wholesalers and nurseries servicing the landscaper and retail markets. Many customers sell to the “big box” stores with the software having to meet their exacting requirements, such EDI data exchanges, “pay by scan”, special labeling, zone pricing, rack management, and more. Our customers grow and handle a wide range of nursery products: • Containers • Ball and Burlap • Bare Root, Seedlings • Bedding Plants, Annuals, Ground Cover, Color • Baskets, Indoor Plants • Cut Flowers • Grasses Production Management allows you to build a sales plan based on prior or current sales or on a prior sales plan. Once adjustments are made, it can be converted into a production plan based on the required growing period and expected losses. This allows resource and capacity requirements to be calculated and compared with availability. The plan can be reworked until it is feasible. Once adjusted, the production plan can be “released” to production in whole or in part. This generates the various planned activities and requirements for each “Production Unit” along with updating inventory for the pending availability. The required production activities can be built into Work Orders with the results updating the Production Unit and the planned follow-on activities. This provides a detailed resource for analyzing the difference between different seed and plant sources, production methods, different types and levels of inputs used, and so on. The expected inventory is updated based on the activity information or from field samples. The final production process updates the inventory with available quantities and locations. Sales Orders manages the sales process from quotes through orders, deposits, confirmations, picking, delivery, and invoicing. Your business rules are applied as it relates to product availability and assignment, credit, pricing, discounts, commissions, deposits, and so on at each stage of the order process. Orders can be taken over the web, if desired. (To review this option, select one of the three Order Management options at http://demo.abecas.com ) Orders can be linked to production, if required. Pricing, taxes and accounting can be based on either the customer or the ship to location. Customer and order specific information is quickly available in the entry screens such as sales history, credit information, item/lot availability, substitute items, pricing, open orders for the item being ordered, production status of order, and drop ship status. Payments may be entered against the order at any time and immediately update your cash account. Forms can be printed, faxed or emailed from the entry screen in a format pre-specified for the customer. Orders requiring that you arrange shipping can be managed through a delivery management process. Various picking and staging options exist, both as printed forms and as handheld computer processes. Orders may to split for shipment at any time. Consignment (Pay by Scan) and drop ship orders are handled. Once the order is confirmed as complete, it updates the Receivables, Inventory, Commissions Payable and Accounting modules. Purchase Orders manages the purchasing process from requisitions through quotes, purchase orders, and receiving. Requisitions may be used to plan your purchasing for a selected time period and then released into purchase orders to one or multiple vendors, as appropriate. Historical vendor pricing is available and vendors may be ranked by price, performance and other factors. Purchase orders can be built from the requisitions, entered directly or generated based on inventory availability and reorder levels. Your business rules can be applied to the process, including approval, purchasing limits, purpose, receiving rules for items, lots and locations, and handling. Purchases can be received as ordered, in multiple receipts or without a purchase order. Both inventory availability and cost are updated with the receipt while the payables and accounting are updated once the invoice has been confirmed and matched against the receipt. Significant analysis functionality exists to understand your purchasing as well as vendor performance and history. These enterprise modules integrate with the accounting modules. Accounts Receivable provides full management of open receivables, sales tax reporting, sales and payments history and analysis, and collections management. Accounts Payable provides full open payables management along with purchase and payments history and analysis. Settlements provides salespeople, contractor and grower open payables management and settlements, including the ability to handle advances, reimbursements and deductions. Accounting maintains the financial and cost accounting summary and historical details posted from each module, from journal entries and from outside systems. Various reports and drill down screens are available to view this information along with reports specifically formatted as General Ledger, Fund Accounting, and Cost Accounting reports. All of the accounting information is maintained on both an accrual- and cash-basis and is available separately in all relevant reports, along with quantity information. Budgets can be entered at any level and used in the financial and cost accounting reports. All cash account activity posts to the Bank Reconciliation with an ability to flag all deposits and checks as they are reconciled. These can then be used in the reconciliation process. All other ABECAS™ Insight modules can be integrated with the nursery-greenhouse system. The Payroll module handles hourly, piece rate and salaried employees and provides for the charge-out of labor and equipment costs, including overtime and a payroll burden on labor. The Contact Management module ties to the same customer, ship-to, vendor, shipper, and other identity codes used throughout. The sales and marketing component is aimed at improving your customer relationships and turning your prospects into customers. The Freight Management module expands on the Delivery Management embedded in the Sales Order module. This allows for full dispatching, trip, driver and equipment management, and freight billing with driver and contractor payables. The Equipment and Facilities Management module can used to schedule preventive maintenance, track repairs, and all expenses, including fuel, by equipment item. If an over-the-road fleet is involved, this module also provides IFTA fuel tax reporting. Separate versions of the inventory module are available for supplies and parts. The Export-Import module can be used to map electronic data transfers with your trading partners into and out of ABECAS™ Insight. The Task Agent can be used to automate program and reporting functions as well as work with SQL scripts for additional tasks. Report tasks may be emailed, faxed or printed. File transfer tasks can automate the exchange of information between you and your trading partners. Customer and Salesperson web access is available along with handheld computer processing for various production, receiving, picking, and shipping operations. Dashboards may be built to your requirements. |
