| Below are answers
to the most commonly asked questions we receive on our tech
support line.
 1.
How do I install the demo onto my computer?
You can download our free demo or
contact us for a demo CD. Instructions for installing
the demo are on the download page.
If you have our demo CD, you can run the Setup program on
it by clicking Start / Run in Windows. Then click "Browse".
Find "ConsignPro" in the "Look In" box
at the top of the window, then double-click the Setup file,
then click OK in the Run window. If you receive
a "Version conflict" message during the intsall,
please click "No to all". When completed,
you will see "ConsignPro" under Start / Programs
in Windows.
2.
How do I move ConsignPro to another (or new) computer?
If you need to re-install ConsignPro, or install it onto
a new computer, it is important that you first have a good
backup of your database file on disk, CD, or Zip disk.
After that, visit our Setting up a new
computer webpage for detailed instructions.
3.
I'm selling or closing my store, can I sell my ConsignPro
Software program?
Closing my store: The ConsignPro software program
may not be sold or transferred to another party. The
license expires when the store closes. This is stated
in the license agreement that was accepted when you installed
ConsignPro and can be re-read under Help / Disclaimer above
the Main Menu.
Selling my store*: The new store owner
is responsible for a $50 license transfer fee to move the
software license into the new owners name. The new owner
is also immediately responsible for the first year of technical
support and version updates. The cost of this "Annual
Support Plan" is $125 for single computer users and $150
for networked users. We then e-mail the latest version
of ConsignPro to the new owner. In the case of a store
being sold, our software license can only be transferred a
single time. If the same store is again re-sold
to a new owner, that new owner would have to purchase a new
ConsignPro license ($895) to receive support from Visual Horizons
Software.
* The new store owner must do business under the same
store name at the same store location with the same address
and same telephone number. Selling the contents of
your store does not qualify as "Selling my store".
More info on support from Visual Horizons
Software.
Why?
4.
How do I get technical support from your company?
Our technical support department is open from 10am
until 6pm EST. We can be reached at 305
535 0959. Tech support calls received on our
888 sales phone number will not be returned.
Our support number should be communicated to all store employees
who may need help. Customers can also receive support
via email at support@vhsoftware.com.
Technical support is free for 3 months from your purchase
date and then costs $100 per year ($125 for networked customers)
after that. This $100 "Annual Maintenance Plan"
also includes version updates via
our website.
5.
I'm having a printing problem, what should I do?
Since there are so many printers and possible printer configurations,
you should first consult the "Printing Help" section
in the back of our User Guide. If you still have problems,
please contact us at 305 535 0959.
6.
How do I bring my work home from the store?
You should first make sure that you have registered (unlocked)
copies of ConsignPro on both store and home computers.
If not, call us to unlock the home copy at 305 535 0959.
Next make sure both computers are on the SAME version
of ConsignPro (version information is shown on the top of
the ConsignPro screen). If not, install our
latest update file on both computers. Next backup
your database at the store. Bring the disk home.
With the disk in the disk drive click "Disk / Restore
old database" at the top of the ConsignPro Main Menu.
Click either "consign.bak" or "consign.zip"
in the file list. Click the "Restore DB" button.
Reverse this process when you are done working at home
to bring the updated database back to the store computer.
** Work can not be done at the store while work is being
done at home (or vice-versa) or that work will be lost when
the data is restored.
7.
Can you convert my old software to ConsignPro?
Complete information about data conversion can be found on
our special conversion web page.
8.
What kind of computer / printers can I use with ConsignPro?
Complete information about hardware and operating systems
that are compatible with ConsignPro is on our requirements
page.
9.
Are there other customers in my area I can contact for help?
Yes! Visit our customer lookup web page
to find ConsignPro customers in your state. These are
unpaid resources so please be kind and respectful when you
contact them. Messages for other store owners can also
be placed on our online
messageboard.
10.
What changes are in your new version update?
Complete information on the changes we included into each
of our version updates can be found on our release
notes page.
11.
Can I network ConsignPro between two (or more) computers?
Yes! Complete information on networking ConsignPro
can be found on our networking page.
Networking ConsignPro allows multiple computers in the store
to share the same database file. The cost of networking
is $295 per additional computer.
12.
Why doesn't my store account have money on it?
The store account is not intended to have money accumulate
on it nor have a check printed for it. The split percentage
on the store account should be zero. Items added to
the store account should be added as "Store owned"
items on the Add Inventory screen. You can assign a
"Store cost" to each item that you add.
If you accidentally add a "consigned" item to the
store account and it has not yet been sold, you can lookup
the item, change the Status box to "Store", change
the split percent to zero, and put a Store Cost into the "Lowest
Price" field. The item will be correctly accounted
for when the item is later sold.
If you have added and sold "consigned" items on
the store account it won't matter that much and is probably
not worth correcting. Just make sure all remaining
items on the account have a status of "Store", a
split percentage of zero, and a Store Cost equal to what you
paid for the item.
You can find out how much money is being made on the sale
of store owned inventory by running an "Income Statement"
on the Reports page with the "Income by account"
box checked. Type in the store account number when prompted.
More info on how ConsignPro accounts for the sale of items
can be found on our accounting page.
13.
How does the accounting work in ConsignPro?
Complete information on how ConsignPro accounts for sales
and expenses can be found on our ConsignPro
accounting page.
14.
Why doesn't old inventory get purged during Shutdown?
Inventory can be automatically removed from the database
using our Shutdown screen (Remove inventory after) checkbox.
Inventory will only be removed if it has a status of "Sold",
"Donated", "Returned", or "Expired".
No other status is ever removed automatically by the system.
Items are only removed if the "Transfer date" on
the item is earlier than the number of days set on the Shutdown
screen. The "Transfer date" on any item is
the date the status was changed to a final status and
NOT the End Date on the item. The transfer date can
be seen on the Find Inventory screen to the right of the Status
box.
You can quickly change the status of available items to a
final status (Returned, Donated, Expired) using the Quick
Returns button on the Main Menu.
15.
How do I know what items to pull (expired) ?
There are two reports you can use to determine when to pull
items from your racks.
Aged Inventory Report: Shows available
inventory that is past its end date and is sorted by Item
Type and then Item Description. Once an item is pulled, the
Status on the item should be changed to "Donated",
"Expired", or "Returned". This will
prevent the same item from re-appearing on the Aged Inventory
report the next time it is run.
Inventory Lookup Report: Can show
you any inventory you'd like to see. For expired inventory,
change the status box to "Available" and set the
End Dates accordingly. This can show you items that
either have expired (make End Dates in the past) or items
that will expire soon (make End Dates in the future).
This report can be sorted and grouped by consignor, type,
description, etc.
16.
Why don't I get barcodes on my tickets?
Barcode fonts need to be registered correctly with Windows.
To register these fonts correctly, do this:
- Click on the "Start" button located at the bottom
left hand corner of your computer screen.
- Choose Settings / Control Panel
- Double click on the Fonts folder.
- Up top, click File, and then choose "Install New
Font".
- Double-click on the top folder in the lower left corner
(C:\). Then find the Windows folder and double-click that.
Then find the Fonts folder and double-click that.
- Two Skandata barcode fonts should appear in the top window
(alphabetically).
- Click either of the two font files once with your mouse.
Hold the "Ctrl" key down on your keyboard and
single click on the second file, both will appear selected.
Let the "Ctrl" key up and click the OK button.
- Click OK on the two warning messages that appear and close
all open windows.
Barcodes will now appear when you print inventory labels
or tags to either the screen or printer! These same instructions
are on page 10 of our User Guide.
17.
What are my backup options?
Visit our NEW ConsignPro backup FAQ
webpage.
18.
Trouble restoring your database file?
If you're having problems restoring your ConsignPro database
file onto your home or store computer, you may try the following.
- Make sure both computers are running the same VERSION
of ConsignPro. Version numbers can be found at the top left
corner of your computer screen when you are in ConsignPro.
If they are not the same, you can download and install our
latest update from our Update Page.
- Try formatting the diskette on the "destination"
PC (the PC you're trying to do the restore onto).
You can format a diskette by going into My Computer, right-clicking
on your "3 1/2" floppy drive", and clicking
on Format.
- With the newly formatted diskette, take a new database
backup.
- Try the restore from the new backup.
Note: The only file you need to restore
is the "consign" file. It may be named either
consign.zip or consign.bak.
19.
Why doesn't the account balance match the Account Activity?
The consignors account balance on the Find Consignor screen
should match the account balance shown on the last line of
the consignor account activity screen. There are a few
reasons why they may not match, each are presented next:
- Someone changed the consignor account balance and did
not have the system write a corresponding account activity
record when making the balance change. There is a checkbox
on the balance change window to write an activity record.
Under almost all circumstances, this box should remain
checked (the default setting) when making a balance change.
A reason can also be entered.
- Someone deleted an account activity record by going into
the account activity window and double-clicking on the DATE
column next to the transaction they want to delete.
This will remove the activity record without adjusting the
balance in the Find Consignor window.
Store owners can determine if either of these actions happen
(in Version 4.4 or later) by clicking the TOOLS menu, View
Log File, at the top of the Main Menu. The log file
logs each of these types (and some others) of transactions
and can only be viewed by those employees who have administrative
access to the system.
You can limit an employees ability to do either of the above
transactions by changing an employees permission on the Employees
screen.
Note: You can have the system search
for and automatically correct these situations by (above the
Main Menu) clicking "Tools / Validate accounts".
20.
How can I manually restore my ConsignPro database file.
Under rare circumstances, the ConsignPro database does not
restore itself correctly using the Tools / Restore old database
function on the Main Menu. In those instances, it may
be necessary to manually restore the database.
- Exit ConsignPro if you are in it.
- Click Start / Run.
- Type "command" and hit Enter.
- In the new window, type "cd.." and hit Enter.
- Repeat step 4 until the prompt reads only "C:\>".
- Type "cd progra~1", hit Enter. (the tilde is
to the left of the #1 key, use Shift).
- Type "cd consig~1", hit Enter (the prompt should
be the ConsignPro folder).
- Type "copy a:consign.zip" to copy the backup
database from your A drive to the \ConsignPro folder, hit
Enter. Overwrite any old file if prompted (press Y
and enter).
- After "1 file(s) copied" appears, type "pkzipc
-extract consign.zip", hit Enter. Overwrite any
old file if prompted.
- Look for any error messages in the unzipping process messages.
- Type "exit", hit Enter. Start ConsignPro.
Upon the completion of the above, your new database file
should be installed and working correctly. If not, call
us at 305 535 0959.
21.
How do I sell / redeem gift certificates with ConsignPro.
- Using the Add Consignor screen, setup a consignor account
specifically for Gift Certificates. In the Comments
field on the Add Consignor screen, put the word "Vendor".
- Go to Add Inventory. Put in the consignor id from
above, click on "Vendor item" and write down the
item number. Fill out the screen and use a description
of "Gift Certificate", a Rack Price of $1 and
a Count of 1000.
- To sell a Gift Certificate, use the item number from #2
on the Make Sale screen and enter the gift certificate amount
into the Price box. You can sell this item number
up to 1000 times.
- To redeem the Gift Certificate, either put the amount
of the gift certificate into the Discount Box on the Amount
Due screen before completing the sale OR, add a new Payment
Type on the Maintain List screen called "Gift Certificate"
and use the two payment type boxes on the Amount Due screen
(one would be Gift Certificate) before completing the sale.
23.
I applied an update but it didn't change the version number
?
- The Version number in ConsignPro is in the UPPER left
corner of your computer screen. Do not look at the
version number on the Main Menu in the ConsignPro banner.
Your version should say something like "ConsignPro,
Version 5.3b, Registered" in the title bar.
- Exit ConsignPro.
- If the number does not match the latest version on our
website, try the following.
- Delete any service packs from your Windows Desktop.
The service packs are named something like sp53.
- Re-download the latest update (ex. sp53.exe) from our
website and SAVE the update to your Desktop. When
done you should see sp53 as a new icon on your Desktop.
- If you have a ConsignPro icon on your Desktop, right-click
on that globe icon. Click the Properties option on
the bottom of the menu. Click the Shortcut tab at
the top of the properties window. Look at the Target
line. It should say "C:\Program Files\ConsignPro\CP.exe".
If it does not, ConsignPro was not installed to our default
folder. Go to Step 7.
- Write down what appears in the "Start in:" line
in the Properties window on a piece of paper and continue.
- Run the update by double-clicking sp53 (or similar), click
OK on the note.
- Change the "Unzip to Folder" line to EXACTLY
what you wrote down (not including the double-quotes).
- Click UnZip to install the update.
- Re-start ConsignPro. The Version in the top left
should change, if not call our support number.
24.
How do I send you my data file.
I rare cases you may be asked to send us your ConsignPro
database file so that we may better assist you in trouble-shooting
your problem. In these cases, we ask that you follow
these steps:
If you have an Internet connection at the store:
- Exit ConsignPro on all computers.
- Start the Internet and go to www.transferbigfiles.com
- Click the Browse button.
- Drop down the Look in: box arrow at the top and select
your Local Disk C: drive.
- Double-click the Program Files folder.
- Double-click the ConsignPro folder.
- Click on the "consign" or the "consign.mdb"
file.
- Click Open.
- Enter our e-mail address: support@vhsoftware.com
- Check the "I verify..." box.
- Click Send Now.
If you don't have an Internet connection and need to send
the file from your home e-mail:
- Backup your database at the end of the day to whatever
you normally backup to (disk, flash drive, CD, etc).
- Open your email program (at home). Create an email
to support@vhsoftware.com
- Click the "Attach" button (or similar) to attach
a file to the email note (the name of the button differs
between email programs but they all have them).
- Drop down the Look in: list (at the top) and select the
drive that contains your backup file. This is usually
either A (floppy disk) or E or F (flash drive, CD, or Zip
disk).
- Locate a file named "consign". The extension
may be .bak or .zip (doesn't matter which).
- Click the file named "consign", click the Attach
button.
- Put in the email note a reason you are sending us this
file (i.e. what you specifically want us to look at).
- Send the e-mail.
Note: Some email providers have restrictions
on the size of file you can send. In these cases, you
may need to use a program like WinZip to compress your backup
file (consign.bak) before you send it to us. If you
are unable to do this (or the file is still too large), you
may need to send us your backup file to us using regular mail.
Our mailing address is VHS, 100 Lincoln Road, Suite P-7, Miami
Beach, FL 33139.
25.
How do I send e-mail from ConsignPro?
First, ConsignPro does not, by itself send e-mail out.
Nor can it send e-mail thru AOL, Hotmail, GMail, MSN, or any
other "web-based" e-mail service. To send
e-mail you need to have either Microsoft Outlook or
Microsoft Outlook Express installed on your computer
and configured to work with your e-mail account (i.e. enter
your e-mail settings, name, passwords, server names, etc).
Some store owners choose to have a local computer tech help
with the e-mail install and setup of either of these two programs.
Once you have Outlook or Outlook Express setup and working,
follow the steps below to export your e-mail addresses from
ConsignPro into the Windows address book and then send mail.
- On your SERVER copy of ConsignPro, click Tools above the
Main Menu.
- Click Export email addresses, click Yes.
- ConsignPro creates two files on your computer named econsign.csv
(consignors) and ecustomr.csv. Both files are put into the
\Program Files\ConsignPro folder.
If you are using Outlook Express:
- At the top click File / Import / Other Address Book"
- Select "Text File (Comma Separated Values)"
then click Import.
- Click the Browse button.
- Change the Look In box to say "Local disk C:".
Then double click Program Files, then double click ConsignPro.
- Click the file you'd like to work with, either econsign
(consignors) or ecustomr (customers).
- Click OK, then Next.
- Check the first check box next to the name, then drop
down the list and click Name, and OK.
- Check the second check box next to the e-mail address,
the drop down the list and click E-mail address, click OK.
- Click Finish.
If you are using Outlook:
- Click File / Import and Export.
- Click "Import from another program or file".
Click Next.
- Select Comma Separated Values (DOS) and click Next.
- Change the Look In box to say "Local disk C:".
Then double click Program Files, then double click ConsignPro.
- Click the file you'd like to work with, either econsign
(consignors) or ecustomr (customers).
- Click OK, then Next.
- Check the first check box next to the name, then drop
down the list and click Name, and OK.
- Check the second check box next to the e-mail address,
the drop down the list and click E-mail address, click OK.
- Click Finish.
After the addresses are imported, you can create an e-mail
note. Most owners choose to use the BCC (blind carbon
copy) field under "View" at the top of the screen.
When you do that, a Bcc button will appear. Click it.
Your address book will appear with all your names in it.
Click the first name. Scroll to the bottom of the list
with your mouse. Hold the CTRL and the SHIFT key down
on your keyboard. Click with your mouse on the last
name in the list - all will turn blue. Click the Bcc
button and then click OK. This will add all of those
addresses into your Bcc line. You can then compose the
e-mail note and send it to everyone!
*Visual Horizons Software, like any business, reserves the
right to change our business policies at any time without
prior verbal or written notice. |
