VIDEO TUTORIAL

V9 - Introduction to Configuration mode

Video transcript: Introduction to Configuration mode

The purpose of this video is to familiarize you with the Configuration mode in SOS Inventory.

With the release of version 9, there are two modes to the software. The first is the Operations mode, which you're looking at now. In Operations mode, you will be able to get to your Task bar, as well as the Company menu, which has been moved over here to the left-hand side. When you open it, you will find your Account number. And if you are an administrator on the account, you will also be able to see the Account information page as well as your Users page. When you close the Company menu, you will then be able to see the Operations menu. This works as it does in SOS version 8.

Here, you will have all of your day-to-day transactions, as well as time management tools like your Dashboard and your Calendar. The Configuration mode: that is where you are now going to find your settings and your lists. So this is going to be your headquarters for setting up the account.

To arrive at your Configuration mode, simply come to the Task bar and select Tools and settings. Then select Configuration … and you will enter Configuration mode.

Now, the view that you see as you enter Configuration may be different than mine. Two reasons that can occur: one is, of course, what subscription plan you are on, as the views you see will be different, depending on if you are on the Companion, Plus or Pro subscription. Also, things that can make it different is whether or not you are an administrator or if you're a standard user.

Before we go into detail on the list and things that are available, I also want to show you how is it going to look for a standard user when they come into the Configuration mode.

I'm going to open the second tab. Here, I have a standard user who is also in a Pro account, and I just have them set to the default settings from the Users menu. That being said, they will be able to see List, Inventory, Purchasing, and Sales settings.

On the list view, however… on the list view, however, they will only be able to see Sales reps, if you have those defined in the system, as well as the Workers list, if you are using that as well. Otherwise, this would be empty.

The Inventory, Purchasing, and Sales settings, by default, they do have access to all of that information.

Now, if you are looking at this, and you're a standard user—and perhaps you're looking at what I just showed you and thinking, well, there's things that I use every day that I cannot access, according to what I just saw. If that is the case for you, please contact your admin team. Let them know what it is that you need, and they will have to change your settings in the user profile in order for you to be able to get to that information.

Now from here, I do want to flip back over to the administrative side because this is dealing with your settings.

If you open up the list, you will see all of the lists are here, alphabetically. And you will see some of these lists, but not all, unless you are on a Pro account. As an example, let's say that I am only on the Plus account. Well, if that is the case, then I would not see Workers, Work centers, nor would I see the Process templates list here. Those would be missing as they're not part of my subscription.

Another list to point out that you might have noticed is missing is up here at the top. And that is your Bins list. Bins is the only list that is not found in the Configuration mode.

Your Bins list is actually found in the Operations mode, in the Inventory section. And I will show you where that's at, at the end of the video.

But for now, let's move on and look at your settings.

The Company settings that you see here were formally listed on the Company menu. So here is your General settings, your Accounting, Name and address. Of course, you have your Logo, and then you have your Users settings here as well.

Now, so you are aware, there is a shortcut from the Operations menu directly to the Users list. You would simply go to the Company menu and select it there. And I'll show you that again at the end of the video as well.

Now from the Company menu, everything from there down was formally housed on the Settings menu in version 8. So you have your Inventory settings, your Purchasing, Sales, and then we actually now have a section for Fulfillment in your Configuration menu, so that you now have your Shipments and Pick tickets set out on their own.

And those settings are available there. You'll see Production, Rentals, Payments, as well as Connections. Connections is now where you will find the information on your QuickBooks sync settings, as well as your ShipStation, UPS, Carts, and FTP and API as well. So that's where you're going to find those settings.

Another feature that has been added that I think you guys will be quite excited about is right here, and this is the Configuration search bar. From here, I can search for a settings page, like the Fulfillment page.I could search for an individual setting. Maybe I want to change my home currency.

Well, I can start typing that. And as you notice here, not only does it show me where I can select it, but it also gives me the pathway so that I can start to learn and get oriented with where the settings are.

But if I click on this home currency, not only does it take me to the page, but notice it did highlight it for me as well. So that makes it very easy to find. You can also search for a specific list. Maybe you want to work with your form templates. I could type form templates there, and I come down here to list where it says Form templates, select it, and I'm now at my usable templates list.

Also, within the lists themselves, you do have the Quick search feature.

So, maybe I want to look at just the Invoices. I can do that as well. So, that's the Configuration search bar, I think you're really going to find that to be a very big time saver.

I know I've really enjoyed working with it myself.

Now, there are also three settings that I want to point out to you guys before I let you go.

If we come up here, you might remember that we used to have a setting that was called Don't ask about negative inventory. Well, we have changed the name of that. Now it is called Allow negative inventory because we felt like the other way was a little confusing.

So with this now saying Allow negative inventory, if you would like to, check this box, what will occur then is it will allow your system to go negative when you create a transaction. Negative, ensure that you remain unchecked on that.

Another one I want to point out is also right here in your General inventory settings, and that's this Include category prefix on item names. Formally, this was called Find items by short name. But if this is checked, what it means is that if I am using categories, that when I'm searching for an item, I have to have the category as well. So, as an example, if I have a category Nuts and I'm searching for my Peanuts, then I would put Nuts:Peanuts. So, if you want that category prefix to have to be there in search, then you would check this box as well.

So, those are the two that we actually changed the verbiage so that I feel like they make more sense, a little more user friendly there.

There is, however, another setting that I want to let you know about, and that is Inactivity timeout. One thing that we have asked for or been asked for, for quite some time, is the ability to log people out after a period of unuse. That is what the Inactivity timeout is. By default, it is turned off. To turn it on, I simply click on the slider, and then I select how long do I want it to be inactive before it logs someone. So, from here, I simply then would just click Save, to save that setting.

And now, all I've got to do to leave the Configuration mode is come up where it says Exit configuration and select it.

So just a couple of things to show you in Operations mode then.

If I come up here to the Company menu, remember I told you that you can see your Users if you're an admin? If you select Users, it automatically takes you to Configuration mode, right back to your Users list. So I wanted you to see how that works.

Then, the Bins list, remember I told you that is actually out here in Operations mode as well. That is found in the Inventory area, down here at the very bottom. You can add bins, But you have that ability to do that in Operations mode.

So just know that with version 9, all of your lists and settings have been put into Configuration mode, which you're going to get to by coming to the gear, then go to Configuration. The only exception to that is going to be the Bins list, and that has been moved over here under the Inventory section, in SOS Inventory on the Operations menu.

But I hope you enjoy this feature. I think it's going to really benefit you in your usage of SOS Inventory.