We will attempt to break this area down into stages to cover the many ways in which the system can be used, but we will start by going through the creation of a consignment purely from within Formwise internal data files, i.e. in stand-alone mode.

You will need to click on either the File Option on the Toolbar and then Browse/Amend/Create Consignments, or the icon on the toolbar.
NB as an alternative, there are some keyboard shortcuts as opposed to using the mouse as follows:-

with the correct consignment code highlighted as in the graphic below, you can press the "F10" key to Open the job for amendment,
with the job open - use the Tab key to Go forward a field
with the job open - hold down the Shift key and press the Tab key to move Back a field
with the job open - hold down the "Ctrl" key and use the Tab key to Forward a document screen
with the job open - hold down the Shift key and the "Ctrl" key and press the Tab key to move Backwards a document screen
with the job open - hold down the "Ctrl" key and press the "Home" key to move To the first field on the screen
with the job open - hold down the "Ctrl" key and press the "End" key to move To the last field on the screen
highlight some text and press the "F7" key to Change the case of the text (Capitals to lower case and vice-versa)
with the job open - press the "F10" key to Save the job

Either route will open up the Consignment Maintenance option below the toolbar, and perhaps before we discuss the editing of data, we should go through the way we search through the database by means of the "navigator" option alongside the consignment reference. On opening the system defaults either to the first record on the database, or to the last consignment accessed and amended by the user. The top section of the Consignment Maintenance area should look like the graphic below, except the document tabs will be spread across the full width of the screen :-

Within the EASI range of systems there is one panel containing a number of different documents, the Standard panel containing the usual documents, and in the Elite and Export ranges, there will be a Specialist panel containing documents for CAP and Hazardous Goods etc. Merely clicking onto the appropriate button at the bottom of the screen (as per the graphic below)

will reveal the documents available. This can be tailored for your organisation's specific requirements so that a Pro-forma Invoice may be your lead document, whereas a trader may wish to place the Request for Quotation as their lead. If you would like to change your layout, please contact us on the Support Line, but for the moment we will concentrate on the Standard documents.

If you hold the mouse cursor over any of the "buttons" then after a short time, a "hint" as to the use of the button will appear. In order to ensure that these are not missed, then they have been changed to be in a large font, to the extent that one customer has asked when does a hint become a shout., (You will see that we had the cursor over the buff folder ("Amend") on the file icon in the above screen-shot) and you will find that :-

1. the first four buttons,

are used to move through the database from first, to previous, to next, to last records in the database

2. the next button is used to signify that you wish to

open a job to amend the data

3. the

(Re-calculate) button is used to force the system to re-calculate the calculations within the "consignment"

4. the sixth button in this batch,

gives the opportunity to delete that record from the database

5. the

button is used to summarise product data into tariff headings and HMRC delcarations

6. the

button is used to summarise product data into the various hazard categories configured within the system

7. the

button is used to allocate a serial number to a consignment for NES declaration
8. the

button is used to apportion the weight of a consignment in proportion to commodity code value

9. the

button is used to generate an email message of data within a consignment
10. the

represents the creation or existence of a notepad attached to the record

11. the

button is used to have the system check the data within a consignment

12. the two buttons with the magnifying glass icons,

one with plus and the other a minus symbol

, are used to increase or decrease the image on any of the forms of the consignment maintenance area.

13. The

Help/Information button is there so that you can access this page of the tutorial

14. The last button is

the Exit button, used to exit a particular routine

The functionality behind buttons 5 to 10 above will be explained in due course,

Locating the consignment in which you are interested:-

After a number of discussions with users who normally have numeric "keys", eg the invoice number, the records within the database are displayed in reverse numerical/alphabetical order, ie the highest number will be on top of the list. If the consignment is not near the beginning or end of the database, then you will want a quick way of finding the consignment, and there are a number of ways to do this:-

a. Click once on the

next to the code, and the system will give you a drop down list of all codes starting with those characters. Please note that certain buttons have disappeared from the mini toolbar on the Consignment Maintenance area. You can select from the list by double clicking on the chosen item and the buttons will reappear.

b. If the list does not contain what you want, click twice more on the drop down, and the list will first of all clear, and then drop down a list of all consignment keys in the system; you can then move through the list by dragging the bar alongside to reveal more of the list either forwards or backwards. Click on the consignment you want. Please note that the larger the list of consignments, the longer it will take to be sorted and listed, so if your consignment files contain large amounts of data, then you would be advised to restrict the list by inserting a few characters before clicking the drop down.

c. Type in part or all of the reference you want: As you start to type the reference, it may be that the

"New" record button and after the number 10 appears, signifying that the system does not have a key matching the data typed in so far. The button containing the number 10 indicates that the consignment will be created with the data will be held at 10 characters to the inch. Clicking on the button will cause it to change to 11, 12 15 and then back to 10. Please ignore it at this stage as we will be discussing the implications of this facility later in this tutorial. As soon as you do type in a key which the system holds, then the New button will disappear and be replaced by the following series of buttons

they represent the processes of re-calculating the consignment values, of summarising by HM Customs code (auto-allocation), summarising by hazard code, allocating a Unique Consignment Reference to the consignment, and apportioning the total weight and cube by total commodity code value. The final button is to create a text email message and call Microsoft's Outlook system. Please see also Emailing documents. (NB the options for Hazardous Allocation and UCR allocation are not in the EASI range of systems)

You will then see the multiple forms on the Consignment Maintenance area of the system. The actual forms may vary from customer to customer, depending whether they have any special forms or processing requirements, but you can click on the title tab to check what data is displayed on each form on the tab BUT, IN A LIVE SITUATION, ON NO ACCOUNT CLICK ON THE NES Checklist tab until you have saved all the data as you will not be allowed to exit the form without completing all necessary data.

We wish to work through a new consignment, so if you could type in a reference, say your name, and click on the "New" button and ignore the "10" button.

Next Page Merging Standard Data

Back a Page Setting Up the System

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