C9 now provides a number of points of automated integration for Honda dealerships.  Key items are:

• Sending orders to honda from within c9
• Importing received spares invoices into c9
• Automatically send service and dealer stock data to Honda

Initial Setup

To setup you need a couple pieces of information.  Honda dealer code and a API key

Honda Dealer code. Normally your dealer code is a 4 digit number from Honda.  But for this service Honda require an extended 5 digit dealer code. Which is your 4 digit code + one additional number depending on what type of dealership you are. At this stage, the 5th digit is always 9.

• '1' is for Motorcycles
• '2' is for Power equipment
• '3' is for Marine
• '9' is for Spare Parts.  Make the value '9'

For example, if your dealer code is '1234' then code Honda Integration requires is '12349'

API Key.  API Key is like a password.  To get your API key, login to Dealernet and goto 'Dealership' tab. There is an option for API key there. Click on it to get your API key

Read more...

Includes database changes. You need to log all terminals out during upgrade.

• Contacts
  • Transaction list report. Include option to show all txns of a certain type. Debtor/Creditor or depositor txns.
  • Unpaid bills, option to sort by either supplier or due date.
• Spares
  • Parts history on a stocked item, show total YTD
• Bug fixes and tweaks
  • Workshop. Trying to invoice a fixed price job using credit card that is configured with % surcharge would flip out trying to add the % to the fixed price. Now working.
  • Unit sale. Add a GST exempt unit line item. If you clicked GST exempt without first setting base price, c9 would automatically untick it. You had to set base price first. Tweaked to work either way
  • KTM/Husky part enquiry , slight performance speedup
• Fiche images
  • Tweaked image import post-processing to include automatic contrast optimisation. Diagrams that previously may look washed out and difficult to read should now look a heap better
  • Some initial, experimental work on importing Beta Motorcycles diagrams

Includes database changes, you need to log all terminals out during upgrade

• Spare parts
  • Import spares quote. Also import discount settings from original quote
  • Edit discount : provide calculators that factor in freight, to permit Inc. Freight pricing without having to bust out the calculator
• Workshop estimates
  • Include a reference field which you can make things like 'WHEELFIT' etc , allows for easier usage of standard estimates, instead of searching by estimate number, you can search by reference
• Contacts
  • Allow definiton of a standard order number that prepopulates into workshop and point of sale. Useful for councils/government bodies etc that operate off order number schemes.
• Vicroads forms changes
  • Remove serial number from transfer form
  • Add rego number to contract of sale particulars
• Systems integration
  • API Changes to Honda get invoice function now implemented in c9
  • Changed KTM parts query from old system to new system. (Now requires login to work)
  • Yamaha parts Query :  got it to work with web based VPN mechanism
• Data Miner
  • Loyal customer spares profit query field would fail and generate a system error. Now fixed.
•  System/Display
  • Screen font size behaviour works better and resizes main screen buttons and side bar too. Becoming increasingly important for high DPI monitors etc
  • Ability to change images c9 uses on screen such as customer icons. Make them rude icons and satisfy your inner adolescent.  Needs to be setup on a per terminal basis. To make it happen you need to create a folder path under c:\c9, like this c:\c9\resources\images\   in this folder you need to drop in files with exactly the right filename.
  • For account icons is needs to be any of following:
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc1.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc2.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc3.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc4.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc5.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc6.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc7.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\acc8.png
  • Similar deal with workshop icons
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job1.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job2.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job3.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job4.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job5.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job6.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job7.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job8.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job9.png
    • c:\c9\resources\images\job10.png
  • All these display changes impact c9 remote access client, a new client will need to be installed and downloaded for sizing to work.

Important note: This release coincides with the day AHG may (or may not) go live with new IT systems and KTM portal.  F12 may still work but it will be returning old and soon to be out of date results from their old system. I hope to have it working with new system by next week.  To send orders into their new systems see this post on Husqvarana, process should be the same. (http://c8software.com.au/wp/2016/08/husky-order-export/)

•  Ficeda
  • Include new price file import method that supports YDC for Ficeda.
  • Added Magician support for Ficeda. For info on how to setup, see yamaha page. Process is the same. (Yamaha Magician Setup)
• Miscellaneous
  • Workshop -> Browser. Include option to allow merging of duplicated customer units. Is a copy of units -> Sales function, but for dealers who do not have access to c9 units
  • Add Contact transaction. New option to print + email.
  • KTM parts images import broken due to dealernet website changes. Now working again.
• Spare parts fiche - new report that prints all parts you have in stock for a given model.  Works for both locally installed and remote fiche diagrams. To access click on Fiche, select diagram and push new button 'Print Parts We Stock'
  
• Vic Roads paperwork - now will print GST component on TAC fees, but requires a bit of config to get it spot on.
  • Example output
    
  • To get this working you need to configure GST component on TAC zones correctly. C9 now allows GST specification on after invoice costs if you setup TAC this way. Example, where TAC Stamp duty component is calculated separately as a formula (Units - > Sales -> Sale Costs)
    
  • Alternatively, if you include Stamp Duty in TAC config and not use stamp duty formula, you need to config GST and components spot on.
    

• Bug fixes
  • Xero synchronization.  Would generate an error and not sync if Xero freight account code had a slash '/' in it.  C9 assumes xero accounts are only numbers. Apparently not so.
  • Workshop pickup all
    • Not handling warranty jobs correctly. Now fixed. If you have a mix of warranty + retail you'll now need to run pickup all twice for each group. Once for warranty jobs and again for retail jobs.
    • Will not allow you to process insurance jobs. These need to be handled separately.
    • Previously posted GL journal would include all jobs on a single GL journal posting. So any attempt to rollback one of the jobs would also rollback the others. Made sure GL journals are separate
• Website
  • Freight options.  New option that allows filtering based on country for setting up international freight etc. Currently does not actually affect website, website changes to respond to this field a few weeks away.
  • Website groups. New checkbox option that will automatically filter spares items on the website as soon as their qty reaches 0
  • Part mappings, system will preserve price file items mapped onto website when those items are added into stock (previously parts would drop off website until explicitly remapped as stocked items).
• Other
  • Select Unit / View Dealer Units. Put an icon against units currently on an open deal
  • Tweak suzuki price file import to cope with recent, unalerted, modification in price file structure.

More problems with suzuki price files.

Latest price file Suzuki have published has structural modifications in it which they did not alert c9 to, nor do they ever give us the opportunity to quality control the file before they make it available on their website. 🙁

The problem is manually priced items.  Luckily it can be fixed with a bit of fussing about. C9 will look at making changes to allow c9 to cope with the changes, making sure it is able to import either format, but it will not be ready at least until Monday morning.

Manually priced items are hidden in a xls spreadsheet in the suzuki file.

Originally, and for years the file looked like this:

As of now it now contains a new column and daily and stock lines are back-to-front:

To fix this without updating c9,  you need to unzip the ZIP file provided by suzuki to extract the Manual Priced Items MC.xlsx file and then you import the xlsx file a second time using Generic method. Generally to extract file you can right click on the .zip file in windows and select 'Extract To..'.

Generic config I believe should work. One issue though is that in xls file  Suzuki are not using convention of RRP = list price + GST for all the parts, in their file RRP is a bit all over the place.  so I am unsure which column should be imported here.  Sticking with how file worked originally, I am tentatively recommending using list price (Retail ex GST), but it is quite possible that RRP in this file is Suzuki's recommended, manually set price. Ultimately a question for them to answer.

 

A new method for getting orders to Husqvarana is now available in c9.  C9 recommends using this mechanism over electronic export. Although it is more fiddly, it is more reliable in that it provides active feedback on the order process whereas the export system designed by AHG involves throwing orders out into the void without any confirmation of receipt of the order. Hopefully in near future they will provide a more reliable mechanism, similar to the reliabile-by-design system provided Whites Power Sports.

Processing Summary

The process involves uploading a file into Husky/KTM dealer portal. So it is two step.

1. Generate order file in c9
2. Uploadf order in dealer portal

Read more...

• Unit consignment fixes
  • Don't ask for payment method when cash customer is selected on consigment. No payment has been made yet
  • For account customer is selected, consignment would flip out and report a GL journal entry error.  Now fixed
• Husky / KTM Integration Stuff
  • Create new format for KTM/Husky portal. Will include instructions on another post
  • Popup a warning on existing Butmac AX integration that integration is potentially unreliable and operator should use portal method instead.
  • Got Husky part enquiry working again, changes to husky website portal broke it
• Misc
  •  New workshop other report that shows invoiced sublets based on date sublet was invoiced, not when job was invoiced out.
  • Bugfix: receive spares with no parts would not create GL records or biz activity record or record bill to be paid against creditor. Now fixed
  • Workshop recall.  Now possible to configure c9 so on completion, only jobs whose job types are configured as 'service' jobs will trigger recalculation of recall date.
    Config option screen shot (setup -> main setup screen -> workshop notification tab):
    
    Need to make job types service types as well: Workshop -> utilities -> job types
    

• Various integration fixes due to website changes
  • Fixed F12 Magician for Mcleods
  • Fixed import parts images for Mcleods
  • Fixed fiche import for dealernet (KTM/Husky)
  • Yamaha : show qty in Japan if none local
  • Mcleods : show availability day it not immediately available
• Other / misc
  • Unit Stocktake report : include a summary at end of the report. Option to print summary only
  • Tweak how distributor data synchronization programmes are configured in add/edit franchise.  Looking at some new reporting programmes for a few major suppliers. More details to follow in coming weeks.
  • Tweaks to workaround/disable archiving of dealership units.  Archiving only applies for customer units
  • Add parts to workshop job via workshop.  Make sure customer is recorded against parts move record
  • Do not allow deletion of workshop deposits/withdrawals in browse activity screen

A number of useful integrations into WPS built into c9 (Birdman)

1. Send Orders

Insteasd of printing orders for WPS you can export them directly.  Instead of 'print' select export on a WPS order. Then select Whites Power Sports as export method.

Then all you need to do is provide your email and password used to access WPS website.  C9 will memorize these so you only need to provide once. Once order is submitted that is it, click OK and you are done.

You'll see following on progress and success. That's it, order is sent already - no need to mess with files or websites or anything like that.

2. Import Price File

Importing price file for WPS will grab price file direct from WPS, no need to mess with price file attachments. Spares -> Utilities -> Import Price file.

Select import method of WPS, then provide your WPS website username/Password.

3. Query Availability

Magician for WPS works as well. In point of sale, on a WPS product press F12 to query.  System may ask you for WPS username and password which it will then memorize.  It will show you availability at WPS and for other c9 dealers as well.