Generating Count Control Files

Generate count control files to select and organize products to count for both your manual full physical inventory counts and your manual cycle counts. The system selects the products to include in the count control file based on attributes you define, such as whether to include both stock and nonstock products or whether to include only certain locations. The system then assigns control numbers to each product in a location. If you store a product in multiple locations, the system assigns separate count control numbers for each location. Use these control numbers to direct count sheets or cards to different printers to speed printing and to separate count sheets or cards so multiple employees can enter counts into the system.

You can also create multiple generations of one count control file to speed counting. When you create multiple generations of a count control file, the system adds the new generation of products to the end of the file. You can then print each generation separately and assign them to different employees for counting.

For example, if you want to generate a count control file for both stock and nonstock products, but you want to keep the types of products separate for the count, create and print a first generation of the count control file for stock products only and assign these products to one set of employees; create and print a second generation of the count control file for nonstock products and assign these products to a different set of employees.

To create multiple generations of one count control file, use the same count control file ID each time you generate the file with the unique generation settings.

To generate a count control file:

1. From the Physical menu, select Generate Control File to display the Generate Control File window.

2. In the Count# field, click New to generate a new count control file.

Note: To recall an existing count control file, such as when you are creating multiple generations for one count control file, by entering the count control file ID. Press F10 to select from a list. If you are recalling an existing count control file, skip to step 5.

3. In the Title field, enter a title for the count control file.

Provide a descriptive title to aid you in identifying and locating a count control file throughout the system.

4. In the Branch field, enter the branch in which you are performing the count.

5. Populate the remaining fields, as needed.

   Field	Description
   Product	Product to count if you want to count a specific product. Use the Price Line field to count by price line. Enter the product to count; otherwise, leave this field blank. Click the Multiple Values button to enter multiple products to count.
   Sort by	How to organize the products in the count control file. Select one of the following sorting methods: Price Line -Products are organized by price line. Location - Product are organized by location, then price line, and then by product ID. Line by Desc - Products are organized by price line and then by product description. Line by Location - Products are organized by price line and then by location. .
   Only Stock Items With Activity in Last (Days)	Time frame in which to include stock products with transactions and on-hand quantities. For example, if you want to include all stock products that had transactions or on-hand quantities within the last 30 days only, enter 30 in this field. The system includes only those stock products with activity over the last 30 days. Enter the number of days to define the time frame. Important: We recommend using the default of 365 days. Using this setting pulls products in the specified branch that have had activity in the last year. Caution: Entering a zero (0) in this field causes the system not to check for product activity and thereby select all products from your product file regardless if that branch has ever recorded activity. This could create a potentially misleading number. Only enter zero (0) if conducting your first full physical inventory within a year of going live on Eclipse.
   Only Non-stock Items With Activity in Last (Days)	Time frame in which to include nonstock products with transactions and on-hand quantities. For example, if you want to include all nonstock products that had transactions or on-hand quantities within the last 14 days only, enter 14 in this field. The system includes only those nonstock products with activity over the last 14 days. The default value is 14, which assumes that you have shipped nonstock items to customers within the last 14 days. Enter a larger value if you hold onto nonstock items for longer periods of time.
   Include Only Stock Items	Whether to include only stock items in the count control file. Select this field to include only stock products in this generation of the count control file. Deselect this field to include both stock and nonstock products in this generation of the count control file. If you select this field, the system determines which stock products to include in the count control file as follows: If the product has an on-hand quantity, the product status is Stock, and the value in the inventory Stkcolumnis either- or Y, the system includes the product in the count control file. If the product has an on-hand quantity but the value in the inventory StkcolumnisN, the system does not include the product in the count control file. If the product does not have an on-hand quantity, the system determines how many times the product was entered on a sales order, purchase order, transfer order, or inventory adjustment during the time period you indicated in the Only Stock Items With Activity in Last (Days) field. If it had activity within the time frame and its product status is Stock, then the system includes the product in the count control file. For example, if you enter365days in theOnly Stock Items With Activity in Last (Days)field, the system includes any product that was ordered or adjusted at least once in the last year, providing that the product status is Stock.
   Only Items With Rank	Ranking breakpoints to use in limiting the selected products in the count control file. Separate multiple entries by commas, for example, A,B. Use this parameter along with the Rank Number parameter. For example, if you enter 1 in the Rank Number field and A,B in this field, the system selects products with a rank of A1 and B1. Using these two ranking parameters allows you to count products according to their standing in various sales-related situations, such as demand, sales hits, and gross sales dollars. In addition, use these parameters when you select products to count from one or more price lines to limit the count to the selected ranking products only.
   Rank Number	Ranking method to use in limiting the selected products in the count control file. Use this parameter along with the Only Items With Rank parameter. For example, if you enter A,B in the Only Items With Rank field and 1 (one) in this field, the system selects products with a rank of A1 and B1. Using these two ranking parameters allows you to count products according to their standing in various sales-related situations, such as demand, sales hits, and gross sales dollars. In addition, use these parameters when you select products to count from one or more price lines to limit the count to the selected ranking products only.
   Only Items with Hits Greater Than	Minimum number of hits to use in limiting the selected products in the count control file. The system only selects a product if it has more than the specified number of sales occurrences. Use this parameter to cycle counting fast-moving products within one or more price lines. Enter the minimum number of hits. Note: You must run the Update Demand program before generating the count control file.
   Begin Location	Range of warehouse locations to use in limiting the selected products in the count control file. Specifying a location range excludes products not located in the specified locations and products with blank locations from the count control file. Enter the beginning location for the range. Note:Perform any product location maintenance, such as adding products to or moving products from a location, before generating the count control file.
   End Location	Range of warehouse locations to use in limiting the selected products in the count control file. Specifying a location range excludes products not located in the specified locations and products with blank locations from the count control file. Enter the ending location for the range. Note:Perform any product location maintenance, such as adding products to or moving products from a location, before generating the count control file.
   Price Line	Price line to count if you want to count by price line. Use the Product field to count by product. Enter the price line to count; otherwise, leave this field blank. Click the Multiple Values button to enter multiple price lines to count.
   Include All Related Locations	Whether to include secondary locations for the selected products. Select this field to include secondary locations for the selected products. Deselect this field to not include secondary locations for the selected products.
   Include All Location Types	Whether to include products of all product location quantity type. Use this parameter in conjunction with the Location Types To Include In Physical Countcontrol maintenance record, where the product location quantity types to include in inventory counts are defined. For cycle counts, use this parameter to define only those product location quantity types to include in the entire count control file. For full physical inventories, use this parameter to define the product location quantity types to include in each generation of the count control file. For cycle counts- Deselect this field to include only those product location quantity types defined in the Location Types To Include In Physical Count control maintenance record. Select this field to  include all available product location quantity types, regardless. For physical inventories - Deselect this field to include only those product location quantity types defined in the Location Types To Include In Physical Count control maintenance record. When generating the count control file multiple times, select this option to limit which quantity types appear together in the first generations. For the last count control file generation, the system adds those quantity types not added in previous generations. These quantity types display at the end of the count control file. When you print your count sheets or count cards, you can count these locations separate from regular stock and nonstock locations. Select this field to Include all available product location quantity types, regardless. Note:Perform any product location maintenance, such as adding products to or moving products from a location, before generating the count control file.
   Include Locations from Past Year	Whether to include locations from the previous full physical inventory count in the current count control file. Use this parameter to verify that all quantities were relocated since the last physical inventory. In addition, use this parameter if you have made changes to your warehouse locations, or if you instruct the system to delete locations when the on-hand quantity in a location is reduced to zero. Select this field to include locations from the previous full physical inventory count in the current count control file. Deselect this field to include only current locations in the current count control file. Note: To use this parameter, you must have completed a full physical inventory the previous year using the system.

6. Generate the count control file and exit the window.

More Options from the Generate Control File Window

The Generate Control File window also offers these options:

See Also:

Deleting Count Control Files

Printing Count Sheets or Count Cards

Count Control Files Overview