3.1 - Main Corporation Info
& Settings
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A corporation inside of adilas is a business entity. It could be an actual corporation, a company, a partnership, an LLC, a
group, a home-based business, a mom and pop shop, etc. The word corporation is a general term that may be changed as needed.
Each corporation inside of adilas is setup in a virtual fenced off area where data may be stored, organized, stacked, and
archived. Only users assigned to that corporation will have access to that data. Think about a bank... It has tons of customer,
tons of accounts, tons of loans, tons of safe deposit boxes. However, each bank customer is only allowed to play in or interact
with his/her accounts or features. The same is true with adilas. Each company or corporation has its own invoices, its own
deposits, its own PO's, its own inventory, its own customers, etc. What we do is virtually create a "fenced off area"
called a corporation for your data and your business setup. This is where the corporation or corp-wide settings come in to play.
Each corporation has a number of corp-wide settings that allow for customization and industry specific flow and terminology. For
example, some companies have customers and sell parts. Other companies have patients and sell items or services. Other companies
may have clients and sell widgets or products. A company may have stores, locations, clinics, job sites, etc. Hopefully you can
see where this is going... What we do inside of adilas is allow you to name the standard tools (system players or features) and
then allow you to use those standard tools to match your business needs. This becomes a flexible and wide foundation on which to
setup your business.
It is beyond the scope of this introduction to explain each and every corp-wide setting and what it does. Our goal is let you know
that setting up the corp-wide settings is one of the first steps in the setup process. Each setting inside of adilas has one or more
fields where the values go and a detailed description of what each settings does or where it shows up. Additionally, there is a
special help file for that page that explains each setting even further if more information
is needed.
We recommend that you take a look at the settings... take your time... plan out your needs... even use paper if needed... and then
physically apply or save those settings. We then recommend that you go to that section, inside of adilas where the changes apply, and
make sure that the settings are doing what they should be doing. Ideally, these tweaks should be done before you let your users in to
the system. Most of the settings may be changed at any time, but the more standard you make it... especially from the get go... the
easier time you and your users will have in making the transition to the adilas business platform. By way of a note, the corp-wide
settings may not all apply to your business needs. Feel free to pick and choose at will. They, the settings page, is also permissioned
so that only top level admin users have access to those settings. Please note that a single change in the corp-wide settings page may
affect potentially hundreds of different pages inside of the main adilas system. If for some reason a new setting is saved and one or
more users can't see those new changes... they (the other users) may need to logout and then back in to see the changes. Certain
settings are stored per session or per login (this saves us time in looking up common defaults and settings).
To find the corp-wide settings using the interactive map... look for the "settings" button (top right corner ish). In the
classic web edition (drop-down menus), go to "system management" and then to "manage corp info and permissions".
Once on that page, you will have options to deal with the main corporation information (name, address, email, logo, & colors) or
to manage the corp-wide settings (special naming conventions, system settings, default value, options, etc.). Once again, plan it out,
use paper if needed, and then apply the settings. This is one of the first steps in setting up a corporation inside of adilas.
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3.2 - Locations
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A location in the adilas system is a fundamental piece. Every corporation needs to have at least one location. The actual
location could be a virtual location or a real brick and mortar location. The word location is a corp-wide setting which
means it may be changed to fit your needs (store, shop, clinic, job site, home/office, department, cost center, etc.).
In the smallest of business models, the use of a location may seem somewhat redundant (corp vs. location). However, in order
to grow and provide the most dynamic platform possible, the ability to have multiple locations is incredibly important. As
a bit of history, when adilas was first being developed, its primary test beds were corporations with multiple locations per
corporation. These test beds needed to track sales, inventory levels, expenses, and tons of other pieces on a per location
basis. Hence, the usage of a location as part of the main application has been designed and integrated through the whole
system. If truth be known, the ability to handle multiple locations is one of adilas strongest points or features. The different
locations may be and are tied to virtually everything in the system. This could be inventory levels, expenses, tax settings,
invoice sales, taxes withheld, departments (users and payroll), payables (who do we owe), receivables (who owes us), etc. The
system is also setup to allow sharing and inter location transactions for certain sections and/or features.
In a virtual way, the adilas business platform becomes scalable according to how many locations each corporation has. Once again,
only one location is required per corporation (as a minimum). To illustrate this concept, imagine a building with a single floor...
it could have any pieces that you want as long as all of the pieces are contained on a single floor (for this analogy). What would
happen if you were to add another layer on top of that base level? What if you created a second floor of the building? What would
happen? Virtually, you could duplicate the exact layout of the bottom layer (or just certain sections of it) and get a very scalable
model. Inside of adilas, that's what we do with multiple locations. We virtually stack layers on top of layers to fit each business
and what their needs are.
On the tech support side of things... there are two location related subjects that we get asked about. One is, how do I change the
address information on my invoices, quotes, and purchase orders? The answer is, they (meaning the address info) are controlled by
the location settings. The other tech support question for locations deals with changes to sales tax percentages. These settings
(sales tax percentages and assignments) are tied at the hip with the locations. More information later on about sales tax settings
(see tax settings below).
To find the location homepage using the interactive map... look towards the bottom of the map. The location homepage may also be found
using the classic web edition (drop-down menus), by going to "system maintenance" and then to the "location homepage".
As a reminder, the word location may be changed to a different value (dynamic corp-wide setting). As some additional information, the
location and tax settings button is purposely located at the bottom of the map for a reason. Almost every action within the system is
built on or supported by a location-related action of some sort. Having the locations on the bottom implies that the whole application
is supported by or founded on the location(s) and what they represent.
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3.3 - Sales Tax Settings
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The sales tax settings are tied to the location homepage. At least one location is required but the model is open and may contain as many as are needed. Each location is unique or specific. When setting up a location, the main location information is located at the top of the form. The sales tax information is located below that in the bottom portion of the location form. Each location allows for up to eight tax settings. These settings are: state, county, city, and up to five other custom taxes.
Almost everything in the system is tied to a location (PO's, deposits, expenses, etc.). For sales tax, the three main entities that require taxes are invoices, quotes, and certain customers. This is usually your outbound or sales side functionality.
Going deeper into sales tax functions. There are a number of different things that you can do for each tax section (state, county, city, and custom), per location. You may rename what they are called (custom title or tax setting name). You can set the percentage value. You can add a license number for reference. You can also dictate what the taxes are used for, whether that's tied to certain inventory items, certain categories, vendors, or even certain customer types.
The sales tax settings are set per location. To actually see the sales tax reports, go to the invoice homepage and look for the sales tax report option.
This is a small side note for taxes. All of the taxes are tracked per line item, per specific tax setting. Some software companies do taxes or track taxes based on the invoice total. We help you track your taxes on the invoice line items. That way you can get really specific if you need to. It's a much more detailed approach.
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3.4 - Payroll Tax Settings
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Payroll and timecards are not required but are an option within the system. Often payroll may be calculated from sales commissions, direct timecards, salaries, and from other payroll sources. Here is a small list of values that may be recorded per pay period per person.
- Regular hours
- Overtime hours
- Sick pay
- Vacation pay
- Holiday pay
- Commissions on items
- Salary
- Bonuses
- Games
- Tips
- Draws
- And other state and federal withholdings, including federal unemployment and state unemployment. Social security, medicare, and others. Many of these withholding values are auto calculated through the system. There are also multiple custom withholding options available.
The settings for payroll can be found by going to the payroll homepage and then clicking on more options to find the payroll settings and information. These are for things like: what is your normal work week, at what point does overtime start, what is your start day of the week, your end day of the week, what is your normal pay frequency, etc. Pay frequencies are things like: semi monthly, monthly, weekly, biweekly, etc. You can also set your state unemployment wage limits and your state unemployment tax percentages. There are also a few other fields where you can record employer state Id's and other information to help with payroll reporting and tax reporting.
Some of the main payroll settings will be set up per person or per user per department. This is where you setup each individual person with wage rates, salary options, and possible commission rates. We will cover these settings in more detail in the department section below.
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3.5 - Departments
(tied to payroll)
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Departments help with payroll. They are a way to classify and categorize different people into different segments or groups. They are not required, unless you are planning to do payroll type activities. Each department gets a name and a location that may be assigned. Individual users can then be assigned to those departments. Those assignments are where the user tax and withholding settings reside. Once on the department homepage, you can add as many departments as you need. Once the departments are setup, you can then assign users to those departments and set up their payroll settings (wage rates, salary options, commission rates, etc.).
One of the neat things about departments is that you can assign certain managers over certain departments. These managers then have full access to users within those assigned departments. This is a great way to give certain managers access to certain employees without giving them access to the whole system. Departments are also a great way to segment your employees into different groups for reporting and organizational purposes.
To go to the department homepage, go to the payroll homepage and then click on the department homepage link. You can also use the quick search and type in "dept home", short for department homepage, to get there.
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3.6 - Assigning Employees
to Departments
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To assign a user to a department, make sure that you are on the department homepage. From there you will click on the department name. That will take you a new page where you may select or view possible users that are assigned to your corporation. Select the user from the list and then click assign user. The next page is where the main payroll and user tax settings will be held.
Once the next page comes up, you will start from the top and fill in the form. You start by adding the pay frequency which usually deal with things like: weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, etc.
Next, you enter a pay rate. As a note, if you are paying salary you would put the entire salary amount for that pay frequency. Say I was paying a total of $5,000 for a full month. If the pay frequency was set to semi-monthly, I would put a value of $2,500. If it is just hourly you would put an amount for example $15. No special characters such as dollar signs or commas. Just plain numbers and decimals.
Next is the pay type. This is where you get to set up things such as: hourly, salary, commission, or hourly/salary plus commissions.
The next section deals with commission and rates. If using this section, please put in a rate, which is basically a percentage, and then select a track by option. This deals with individual sales, commissions per department/location, or global per corporation. This allows you to set commission rates for salespersons, managers, and admin. As a note, you can turn some of these commission settings on/off through some of the settings. These commission rates allow for calculations for selling vehicles, trailers, toppers, specific units, parts/items, labor, etc. Once again, you can turn some of these on/off through settings.
Moving past the commissions, you will start getting into some of your filing statuses and different things that get claimed on your W4. It also includes how many allowances, dependents, state, county, and other special options.
Depending on your corporation, there may also be 5 special withholdings that deal with amounts, percentages, and whether these calculations are done before or after taxes. These special withholdings are custom per person.
Towards the bottom of the form, you get into overtime stuff. What shift they are on. Any state unemployment pieces or settings. As well as the active/inactive status value. This status is how you control who is actively in a department and who was and no longer is in a department. When ready to submit the form for processing.
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3.7 - Timecards (clock in/out)
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Timecards come in various different options. This is a quick way for a user to clock in/out. These timecards are automated to feed right into payroll calculations. A user must be tied to a department in order for the timecards to work in the system.
For a simple usage, a user can click the button or link for clock in or clock out. The links or buttons are the normal way to get there. A user may also use the quick search and type in "clock in", "clock out", or "timeclock".
The system keeps track of whether they have clocked in or out, It will show what the the last known action was and what is needed next. If they are assigned to multiple departments there may be a spot where they have to select the department. If they are not assigned to multiple departments, that part will just be skipped and may be shown but won't allow any changes. To simply clock in, you just choose a reason and then add any possible notes and then click the clock in button.
In order to clock out, you basically go back to your timecard or time clock and repeat the process. Clock out, set the out reason and add any possible notes. Submit when done. The system will automatically show the total hours for that clock in/clock out session. If you have multiple clock in/clock out sessions, the system will keep a running total of all of those sessions for the pay period. The system also keeps track of the total hours per department if a user is assigned to multiple departments.
At a user level, they do not have permission to change their own time cards. There are multiple other levels that allow for this. We like to think of it like a pyramid. The user is at the top, a manager is the next layer down. They can manipulate timecards for people that they are over, basically departments that they are over. And then on the bottom, you have the admin users. The admin user can update or modify any timecard in the entire system. Hopefully that makes sense.
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3.8 - Master Time Templates
(calendar & scheduling)
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A master time template is a great way to set up things that we call "elements of time". This small help section is not big enough to explain all of what elements of time can do. Originally, when the planning was being done, we were planning on doing all kinds of different things and calling this section of the system the "any" or "anything" scheduler. A time template is basically a master cookie cutter or a template of the settings you want to use for your underlying elements of time. The reason we use a cookie cutter type analogy is, that the cookie cutter is the pattern or the template. You then take that pattern or template, and then you can use it over and over and over again, similar to cutting out cookies with a cookie cutter. Unlimited number of calendar or time events, called elements of time. You may have as many templates as you desire.
To get to the time templates, go to the elements of time homepage and click on more options. Then look for a link that talks about the master time templates. You can also use your quick search and enter the keyword "time templates".
Once on that page, it will show all of your templates that you have set up. It will display their colors, their sort values, and their status. The status determines whether they are active or inactive.
To add a new template or new master template, click on the link or button at the top of the page. To edit an existing one, click on the pencil icon to go into edit mode for that template.
Once on the new page, the system will show all of the possible fields that you can set up to set up your time elements. Once again, think about being at the cookie cutter or high level template. Here are some of the possible fields. Template name - what to call it, default title or caption, use start date, start time, use end date, end time, target dates and times, priorities, finished/done switches, invoice settings, general amounts, total times, single user assignments, customer assignments, vendor assignments, location assignments, budget settings, color defaults, show on the web, show time and minutes and seconds or just minutes, template sort, etc. The template status is very important. This is where you can turn on/off the different templates.
Time templates also have a number of what we call Subs or add-on functionality. These are not required, but allow for some great options. There are multiple subsections below the main details. These are for things like: action status logs, additional dates and times, categories and special flags, additional comments and notes, sub sign off's, GPS and RFID tag tracking, sub payroll and timesheets, subs notifications and reminders, and additional additional assignments. Very powerful and very flexible.
For more information on this subject, please see the help files for elements of time, master time templates, and subs of time.
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3.9 - Flex Grid Tie-Ins
(custom data fields)
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Flex grid tie-ins are one of the most awesome things in the entire system. Imagine a virtual buddy system or a way to interconnect any other piece of the system together. The relationships can be single, one-to-one, or they may be what we call one-to-many, which means multiple connections. You can also interchange them and back tie them. If you land on one thing, it connects to its others connections. You can create advanced relationships with the flex grid tie-ins.
We use the words flex grid tie-ins and flex grid interchangeably. To go over flex grid, you basically need to know that the system has 12 main key players or application types. These include: vendors, expense/receipts, deposits, balance sheet items, users, purchase orders, stock/units, general inventory items, invoices, quotes, customers, and elements of time.
Any of these main application players may be linked or joined to any other application player. It is also possible to link any of the same application players together. For example: customers to customers, invoices to invoices, PO's to other PO's (like chaining or linking pieces together). With flex grid tie-ins, you can add amazing depth and even family relationships.
The flex grid also allows up to 30 custom fields per section. So, that's 30 new custom fields, 30 new fields for invoices, 30 new fields for users, etc. You get the idea. All 12 of the main players have 30 custom fields. All in all, that's over 360 custom fields that may be added through the flex grid.
Dealing with custom fields, you can also set what we call limited flex grids. So, instead of showing every possible option, you can limit things down so it just shows 4 or 5 or 10 or however many you need. That way it can be very easy to use and interact with. Limited flex grid tie-ins may also be done in bulk to speed up certain processes.
Every piece of flex grid also allows for dates, general values, and searchable notes. This means that if you needed to, you could log notes on anything whether it is an invoice, quote, vendor, user, etc. All of these notes are searchable.
Once again the flex grid is like a giant buddy system. To get to the flex grid homepage, you can use your quick search and type in the keyword "flex grid home".
For more information on the flex grid tie-ins and what they can do, please see the help files for flex grid tie-ins.
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3.1 - Main Corporation Info & Settings
