Microsoft RMS Headquarters

Microsoft RMS Headquarters (HQ) controls and tracks inventory at each store and for the enterprise as a whole. This is the perfect solution for the multi-store retail chain. Roll out pricing changes, purchase orders, and customer tracking over all your stores.

Overview
Key Features
Accounting
Success Stories
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OVERVIEW

INVENTORY CONTROL AND TRACKING
Microsoft Business Solutions Retail Management System Headquarters (HQ) controls and tracks inventory at each store and for the enterprise as a whole. It offers detailed information on quantity in stock, reorder points, and restock levels for each item at each store. HQ then makes this information visible to the home office. Since some stores may have uniform or disparate inventories, HQ can invoke automatic inventory replenishment at the home office for any set of stores. A master inventory database can be set up and downloaded to any group of stores. Additionally, information on item types, departments, categories, suppliers, substitutes, aliases, parent relationships, and more, can be replicated to stores for consistent stock identification. Sales taxes can then be programmed individually by store per local regulations. HQ also promotes inventory balancing by managing stock transfers among stores with an inter-store quantity check feature, so you can check the inventory levels at all stores. Whenever stores upload their information, the quantities in HQ automatically change.

PURCHASE ORDERS
HQ's Purchase Order feature can identify what must be purchased, record all purchases, print POs and receive orders for the entire business or individual stores. It can automatically generate POs for selected items, by quantity sold during a period or for items that fall below restocking levels. Inter-store inventory transfers can be initiated
from the head office or at the stores.

PRICING, SALES, AND PROMOTIONS
The head office can change and download item prices to specified store(s). Selected items can be put on sale at specific stores or across the entire business. Other special pricing can be set up for items, categories or departments, and then broadcasted as desired. Price changes can be programmed to take effect immediately or during a specified time period. Sales tracking HQ maintains highly detailed data from every transaction across the chain. These include invoice number, IDs of items sold, as-sold prices, tax collected, customer, cashier and sales rep IDs, and applicable serial number or matrix type. In HQ, detailed sales and profit analyses, sales commission and tax reports are easily generated. Plus, comprehensive data collection supports data warehousing and OLAP.

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING
HQ can keep a complete profile of every customer who has ever purchased from any of your stores or Web sites. This includes demographics, preferences, purchase or problem history, account balance and credit information. Chain-wide buying habits, shopping frequency and purchase amounts are readily available at the head office. HQ's customer data supports thorough and accurate database marketing and relationship selling to targeted customers. This data can be exported to CRM and ERP applications.

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT
HQ monitors sales reps, their hours and the registers they run. It can upload attendance records for computing hours and labor cost at the head office. It will centrally compute sales commissions based upon sales transactions and commission structures found in associates' profiles.

POWERFUL AND FLEXIBLE REPORTS
HQs powerful report generator offers instant, flexible access to a wealth of meaningful data. With point-and-click speed, it generates consolidated reports to show sales breakdowns, identify slow-moving items and check sales for any day- by store location, items, departments, categories, customer or taxes. Reports and graphs may be previewed on screen, printed or exported to other Windows-based software packages.

ADVANCED SECURITY FEATURES
HQ incorporates tight security to restrict employees' access and changes to sensitive information. It offers 31 security levels that protect screens and fields, report writing-every sensitive corner of your system and confidential data.

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KEY FEATURES

INVENTORY CONTROL AND TRACKING

	Track detailed information on quantity in stock, reorder points, and restock levels for each item at each store.
	Invoke automatic inventory replenishment at the home office, and for any set of stores.
	Set up a master inventory database and download it to any group of stores. Information on item types, departments, categories, suppliers, substitutes, aliases, parent relationships, and more can be replicated to stores for consistent stock identification.
	Program sales tax individually by store per local regulations.
	Promote inventory balancing by managing stock transfers among stores. An inventory transfer log tracks stock movement.
	Designate selected stores as warehouses where inventory can be received and redistributed.
	Perform inter-store quantity checks so you can determine the inventory levels at all stores. Whenever stores upload their information, the quantities in Headquarters are automatically updated.
	Upload item costs when cost information changes at the store level, ensuring accurate, chain-wide item cost reports based on weighted average.

PURCHASE ORDERS
Identify purchasing needs, record all purchases, and print POs for all your stores.
 

PRICING, SALES, AND PROMOTIONS

SALES TRACKING

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT

REPORTING

ADVANCED SECURITY FEATURES
Built-in security features restrict employee access and protect sensitive information to keep your business data secure.
 

SETTING UP NEW STORES
Once one store has been created and configured for a Microsoft Dynamics RMS Store Operations database, Microsoft Dynamics RMS Headquarters enables you to roll a new store database to other locations with minimal setup and configuration.
 

INTEGRATION
Help eliminate duplicate data entry, connect business information and processes, and protect your existing software and hardware investments.
 

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ACCOUNTING

Improve your business operations and financial management using the combination of Microsoft Dynamics GP, a full-featured financial and business management solution, and Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS), a sophisticated yet affordable point-of-sale software package that helps retailers to better track inventory and key customer service metrics. Together, these two products can provide an end-to-end integrated solution that feeds customer, inventory, sales, and supplier data from multiple stores into your back-end business management system. In this way, Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics RMS can help businesses such as yours:
 

	Speed data flow throughout the operation.
	Eliminate double entry and manual processes.
	Enhance financial management by tracking customer payments, inventory receipts, and sales transactions.

AUTOMATE PAYABLES MANAGEMENT
With your front-end systems linked to your back-end systems, you will be able to better track inventory received from purchase orders at individual stores. The combined Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics RMS solution helps enable these payables management capabilities:
 

	Automated purchase order processing: Full and partial purchase order receipts transfer into Microsoft Dynamics GP Purchase Order Processing module with all appropriate documents created.
	Updated inventory data: Store-level inventory adjustments are automatically updated in the General Ledger module.
	Easy Item and Vendor entry: Items and Vendors imported from Microsoft Dynamics RMS are linked and assigned to appropriate item classes in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

DRILL DEEPER INTO SALES DATA
Another area in which retail businesses typically need assistance is in their visibility into sales transactions taking place at individual stores. Microsoft Dynamics RMS provides that extra level of awareness by porting sales data from retail operations to the Receivables module, which then flows into the General Ledger module. Types of receivables you’ll see include:
 

	Cash, check, and credit card sales.
	On Account customer transactions and payments.
	Work order, layaway, and back order payments.

In addition, all this information will automatically flow into the Microsoft Dynamics GP Bank Reconciliation module, eliminating the need for double entry.

BEYOND SALES: TRACK POS, RECEIVABLES, OVERAGES, INVENTORY, AND MORE

Although there has been some level of integration between Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics RMS in the past, the most recent integration reflects retailers' requests for detailed data sharing and more flexibility. In addition, setting up your integration will no longer require you to have an accountant on hand to make it work, thanks to a smoother user interface and better automation. "It's much easier to set up and allows for a greater degree of flexibility—and complexity as well," says Andy Westby, a support engineer for Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Here's a quick look at the kind of benefits that you can realize through integrating these two systems:

PURCHASE ORDER PROCESSING
This allows you to track the inventory received at individual stores by transferring purchase order receipts—including partial ones—from Microsoft Dynamics RMS to the Microsoft Dynamics GP Purchase Order Processing module. The process is completed in just a few easy steps. From there, you can use Microsoft Dynamics GP Payables Management module to pay the supplier and update the General Ledger with the appropriate accounting transaction. The previous version of the integration did not allow for transfer of partial purchase orders—which, according to Westby, "was a large challenge for customers." If you're one of many businesses that does not often receive complete shipments from suppliers, you can now immediately import what has been received to your Microsoft Dynamics GP Purchase Order Processing module and proceed with payment—saving you time and hassles of manual workarounds.

RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT
You can use Microsoft Dynamics GP to see what's going on in each of your stores. Sales data from the Dynamics RMS—including credit card sales, layaway and back orders—moves through receivables management and finally into general ledger applications. What's the difference between the previous integration and this one? Now you can see detailed transaction data in receivables management; previously you could only see summary data in the General Ledger. Every transaction that you see in the Microsoft Dynamics RMS is now viewable in Microsoft Dynamics GP. "Ultimately we hope this will give a greater level of insight in Microsoft Dynamics GP of the transactions taking place at each retail location," Westby says. "Now, someone doesn't have to go into [RMS] Headquarters module to look [something] up." As well, the transactional data automatically transfers into the Microsoft Dynamics GP bank reconciliation module, so that your accountants don't have to enter it manually.

GENERAL LEDGER VISIBILITY
Previously, integration between retail transactions and general ledger information consisted solely of summary sales data. Now you can see payouts, overages and shortages, surcharges, and inventory adjustments. There's just one caveat here, according to Westby. Customers will not be able to see on-hand inventory quantities in Microsoft Dynamics GP, although the inventory value will mirror the value recorded in Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Westby says that this higher level of inventory integration is under consideration for a future release.

PERFORM TASKS WITH MICROSOFT OFFICE
Both Microsoft Dynamics RMS and Microsoft Dynamics GP work like and with familiar Microsoft Office system products, including Microsoft Office Excel, Word, and Outlook. This helps you to maximize existing software investments while making it easy for employees to use the new system. You’ll be able to:
 

	Print reports to Excel-friendly formats.
	Send virtually any report by e-mail.
	Import data from Excel into Microsoft Dynamics GP, and export reports to Excel for decision support analysis.
	Perform data analysis and reporting with Analysis Cubes.
	Use Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications to customize the user interface.
	Easily and quickly print labels and letters in Microsoft Word, using information from Microsoft Dynamics GP.

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