Overview
To facilitate correct down dating of sales information, EPOS companies provide a Sales Interface to the system. This is configured by completing sales rules to ensure that the correct sales are fed into the relevant stock location on the system.
This article outlines the method for entering sales rules for an Application Programming Interface (API) sales feed.
Before Configuring API Sales Rules
All relevant information must be submitted from the EPOS provider prior to configuring the sales rules.
The below information is required:
-
Location Code – The code the EPOS company has assigned each physical location
-
Revenue Center – A specific area of the location i.e. bar or restaurant, or specific tills within the venue, or simply food/beverages
-
Category Code – This code separates the sales out further to specific groupings such as wine, spirits and beers
The organisation must have the Advanced Sales Interface option activated to enable sales to be sent via the API. This is a database setting and can only be activated by contacting Fourth. Please liaise with your Fourth contact to have this this setting applied.
If any technical issues are encountered with the new export, please raise a Technical Case with our Support Team regarding the issue. To do so, either escalate to the member of your business who is responsible for raising cases with Fourth or raise a Technical Case in the Customer Community.
Creating Sales Rules
-
Log in to Enterprise Manager > System Admin > EPOS Interface > Import Rules
Fig.1 - Import Rules Page
The drop-down menu provides a list of the relevant sites available within the organisation to configure sales rules. These rules are configured on a site by site basis and each site must have the sales rules correctly configured to ensure the correct and appropriate down date of stock.
Fig.2 - Select a Site Drop-down List
-
Select the appropriate site and then Go to display the details that relate to the specific site
Fig.3 - Import Rules Configuration Page
All sections of the sales rules must be configured for the correct sales to be added at site level.
There is the option to add default rules for all three tiers of sales configuration, a default rule will apply an 'All' filter to this section.
Fig.4 - Default Rule Option
-
To add a default rule, select Add a Default Rule on the relevant rule required
Specific rules can be added for a particular section of the sales rules if required.
There is also the option to add a sales rule to the Location, Revenue Center and Category Code.
-
To add a new rule, select the relevant Rule Type from the drop-down
-
When the rule type has been selected (seen in Fig.5) the rule condition (seen in Fig.6) must be set to be Equal To, Less/More than Equal To or Does Not Equal from the drop-down menu
-
When these options have been selected, the appropriate rule can be entered
Fig.5 - Rule Type Drop-down List
Fig.6 - Rule Condition Drop-down List
Fig.7 - Entering Rule Details
-
When the rule details have been entered, save the details by selecting Add as New Rule
Fig.8 - Sample Rule
It is crucial that the codes for the sales rules are entered exactly as per the EPOS company’s details to ensure that the correct sales are filtered to the correct location.
-
When all rules have been added and verified, the Sales Rules must be enabled by selecting the Rules Enabled box to activate the Sales Filter
Fig.9 - Rules Enabled Checkbox
Fig.10 - Completed API Sales Rules
When the rules have been enabled, a results message will be displayed to show that EPOS import rules are now enabled for this site.
Modifying Existing Sales Rules
If sales rules are already enabled for a specific site and these rules need to be modified, it is important to action this modification within the correct time frame.
If an EPOS provider is implementing changes to these rules on a specific date, the rules will also need to be modified on the specified date.
Fig.11 - Configured API Sales Rules
-
To modify the existing sales rules, select Edit on the appropriate Rule Type, seen in Fig.11
Fig.12 - Amending Sales Rules
-
Replace the existing rule with the new rule. In the example shown in Fig.11, the previous rule was to import only sales in the ‘Beers’ category
The new rule entered (seen in Fig.12) shows that now all category information except items contained within category 112 should be imported.
-
Once configured, select Save (and replace rule no. 3) to save these changes
Fig.13 - Amended Sales Rule
Things to Consider with API Sales Rules
-
Always ensure that there are no additional spaces or characters when entering the sales rules
-
Ensure that the three relevant filters have been applied to each site, even if default rules are used
-
If the Rules Enabled box is not ticked, the sales will not filter to site level. Rules Enabled effectively activates the sales interface to site level
-
Remember to edit the sales rules in conjunction with any changes made by an EPOS provider
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.