Note: This discussion assumes an appropriate server, network, etc.
Sales History is a powerful tool that is easy to use. Customer, invoice, and open order records are imported from your order entry / invoicing system into the Sales History database. Since importing is done typically only once a day, the database is optimized for retrieval. This provides surprisingly fast response.
Additional information is maintained only by Sales History. This includes groups, family codes, distributors, territories, states, and regions. Groups contain customers and may also contain other groups, with multiple levels. This flexibility provides a wealth of reporting capabilities. Similarly, family codes allow grouping product items in a number of ways. Roll-up options allow sub-family item sales to be rolled up to their parents proportionally. Distributors can have multiple territories, and overlapping regions can be created.
Multiple product lines are supported, and transactions can also be broken into logical groupings, such as "2001 to Current" and "2000 and prior". These different tables are readily available from the system, allowing millions of records to be accessed in a very short time.
All reports begin with an options screen that is intuitive and flexible. All options have pre-set defaults, which can be overwritten by the user to tailor the report as needed. The report types are already defined - you do not have to be a report designer. Report types include summaries of various levels, detailed transaction information, and special purpose reports such as days-to-ship and selected part numbers. For example, an RGA manager can find a four year old invoice by customer p.o., invoice, order, or part number, date, customer code, or dollar amount, typically in a minute or two. A report listing super groups (e.g. corporate accounts) by sales, for four product lines, may take five or ten minutes.
Reports are displayed on screen. The user can then choose any or all pages to print.