These transaction types are all used for storing invoices in MicroBiz to be completed at another time. This chapter will familiarize you with the differences between these transaction types, and how to use each effectively.

Invoice In Progress Overview

The Invoice In Progress (IIP) feature is used to create and save an invoice without the sale being finalized. This is an easy way for MicroBiz users to put a sale on hold while you take care of other things (like processing other sales, for example) without losing the invoice data.
When an inventory item is stored in an IIP it is considered "committed", which means that although it is currently in stock, it may not be available for sale. You can require an item to have available quantities in stock before loading to the Front Register (or just have the system warn you) with the following settings (see Figure 11-1 below):

• Warn when selling... –If enabled, MicroBiz will check the availability of an item before loading to the Front Register.
  • If neither of the following options are enabled then the system will warn you about available quantities, but not disallow users from selling committed items.
• Allow Sale When Quantity = 0 – If turned off, the system will not let you sell an item if it is not in stock.
• Allow Sale of Committed Quantity – If turned off, the system will not let you sell an item if it is unavailable (the quantity loaded to the Front Register must be less than the quantity on hand minus the quantity committed).

Figure 11-1 

Figure 11-2

You can view the quantity in stock and quantity committed on any item by selecting it in the Product Lookup window and choosing the "Explode" option. To create an IIP:

1. From the Front Register, load a customer and any item desired.
2. Type "IIP" (without the quotes) in the SKU Box (lower-left corner) and press Enter.
3. Set any options desired on the IIP Other Entries window (see below for details), and then choose "Done/Save" to save the IIP.

• Print Invoice – Allows you to choose whether or not to print a receipt.
• Print Prices – If disabled, the item prices will not appear on the receipt.
• Print Shop Name – If disabled, your Shop Name will not appear on the receipt.
• Blank Form – Included for backward-compatibility and should not be used.
• E-Mail – If enabled, MicroBiz will generate an e-mail with the receipt as an attachment.
• Clerk – Displays the Employee ID of the user processing the IIP.
• IIP Date Due –Allows you to set a due date for the IIP.
  • The default value for this field is set under Management | Custom System Settings | Transaction Settings | Finance Charges Tab, "Days to Resolve an IIP/WIP."
  • You can run reports on IIPs and filter or sort by due date by opening Reports, IIPs.
• Due At – Allows you to set a precise time due, which will be the current time by default.
• Total Amount – Displays the total for this invoice.
• Deposit (if any) – Allows you to take a deposit on the IIP.
• IIP Status –You can create and set IIP Status Codes here, which can be used for various functions.
  • The Status Code and description is displayed on the IIPs window (when loading saved IIPs).
  • You can use this to record the reason an invoice was saved, to remind you about something specific to this IIP, etc.
• Report Heading –Allows you to write to the receipt header.
  • This only applies to invoice types that support headers.
• Additional Notes to Print – Allows you to write notes on the receipt.
• Copies – Allows you to set the number of receipt copies to be printed.
• Set Printer/Invoice Type – Provides a shortcut to Hardware/Printer Settings.
• Done/Save – Completes the IIP transaction.
• Change Address – Allows you to change the Ship To information for this specific IIP receipt.
• Cancel – Cancels the IIP process and returns you to the Front Register.

Figure 11-3 

When a customer is loaded to the Front Register, MicroBiz will notify you of IIPs by displaying "Check IIP/WIP..." in the lower part of the customer frame (see Figure 11-3). To view the "IIPs" window for this customer, simply type "IIP" into the SKU Box.

Figure 11-4

The "IIPs" window (shown above) will display any invoices in progress in the top section of the screen, and the contents of the invoice in the bottom section.

• Ref #s – All IIPs shown here are sorted by "Reference Number", however you can select what order with this setting.
• Ask for Reference... –With this option checked, you can load IIPs by typing the Reference Number instead of clicking on a specific IIP from the list.
  • If enabled, you can click "Load/Edit" and then type in the Reference Number to load the IIP desired.
  • If disabled, you can click on the IIP to select it and then choose "Load/Edit" to load the IIP.
• Status – Displays the Status Code entered at the IIP Other Entries screen when this IIP was saved.
• Close – Closes the IIPs window.
• Load/Edit –Loads the currently selected IIP to the Front Register for processing.
  • If you load an IIP to the Front Register then it is technically no longer an IIP. To turn it into an IIP once again, just type IIP into the SKU Box as usual.

• Pay – Allows you to take a payment on the IIP directly from this window.

• Remove – Deleted the currently selected IIP.
• Copy to Front Register –Makes a copy of the currently selected IIP to the Front Register.
  • This is similar to Load/Edit, but it will keep the IIP saved as well.

IIP Reports

You can generate reports on your IIP history and/or outstanding IIPs from MicroBiz by going to Reports, IIPs.
Figure 11-5

• Summary Report –Lists IIPs, but not their contents.
  • Fields included are: Customer, IIP Number, Date Created, Due Date, Status Code, Deposit, Total, Balance.
• Detail Report – Lists the same info as the Summary Report, but also includes invoice details.
• Exit – Closes the IIP Reports window.
• Starting/Ending Date – The IIP creation date range set here determines which IIPs will be loaded to your report.
• Sort By –Allows you to sort the IIP report by Invoice Number or Due Date.
  • If sorting by Due Date, only outstanding IIPs will appear on your report.

Work In Progress Overview

There is only a slight difference between a Work In Progress (WIP) and an IIP: users of the Service Modules use WIPs and users of the Retail Modules use IIPs. The terms WIP and IIP are otherwise completely interchangeable, and the features are exactly the same. 

Layaways Overview

Layaways are just like IIPs, but require a deposit. The minimum deposit, as a percentage, can be set in Management | Custom System Settings | Transaction Settings | Finance Charges Tab.  Any payments made against a Layaway, will be displayed as a separate line on the Front Register (see Figure 11-6 below).
Figure 11-6

To create a Layaway:

1. From the Front Register, load a customer and any item desired.
2. Type "LA" (without the quotes) in the SKU Box (lower-left corner) and press Enter.
3. Set any options desired on the Layaway Other Entries window (see section above on IIPs for details), and then choose "Done/Save" to save the Layaway.
   • If the amount tendered is less than the minimum deposit percentage then the system will alert you and not let you save the Layaway.

Like IIPs, MicroBiz will alert you to outstanding invoices when a customer is loaded to the Front Register. To view outstanding layaways, type "LA" into the SKU Box. A window similar to the "IIPs" window will appear, giving you the same capabilities but pertaining only to layaways for the currently loaded customer. 

Layaway List

This window will display all outstanding layaways by customer. From here, you can print the layaway report.
Figure 11-7

• Layaway List Frame –The upper part of this window lists all outstanding Layaways.
  • Select an invoice from this frame to display the contents in the frame below.
• Layaway Contents Frame – Displays the contents of the currently selected Layaway.
• Order By – Allows you to change the display order of the Layaway List.
• Look for... – Allows you to enter a Customer Number for quick searching.
• Print – Generates the Layaway Report.
• Close – Closes the Layaway List window.

Quotes Overview

The Quote feature is used to give a customer invoice information without actually completing the sale. Conventionally, no money is taken on a Quote, however it is possible to take a deposit when saving the invoice (just like with an IIP).
The "Quote Other Entries" window is just like "IIP Other Entries." The "Quotes" window is just like the "IIPs" or "Layaways" windows described above. The main difference between Quotes and the other saved invoices is that items saved to a Quote are not considered "committed", which means that the system will disregard Quotes when considering an item's availability.
To create a Quote:

1. From the Front Register, load a customer and any item desired.
2. Type "QU" (without the quotes) in the SKU Box (lower-left corner) and press Enter.
3. Set any options desired on the Quote Other Entries window (see section above on IIPs for details), and then choose "Done/Save" to save the Quote.