5-Steps for Getting Started in Architect Manager

After opening Architect Manager via the icon on your Desktop (or via Start/Programs/CorsPro), you can customize SalesDoc Architect for your company via a simple 5-step process.

The following is a brief discussion of the process, for a more in-depth training, view individual sections of the Architect Manager Guide.

Step 1: Input basic Setup information

The AM Administrator will customize the company’s information for SDA via the Setup view under File in Architect Manager. Here they will modify the following options as necessary:

See Setup View for more information.

Step 2: Set up Pricing and Vendor Discount categories

To set up your pricing categories, open the Categories menu, then click Pricing Categories.  Add any pricing categories that you would like to add via the Pricing Categories View.  Pricing categories are used to categorize the parts in the parts database for the purpose of providing discounts and markups to your customers.  When users enter a discount or markup against a particular Pricing Category, all parts with that Pricing Category are discounted or marked up by the entered factor.

To set up your vendor discounts, open the Categories menu then click Vendor Discount Categories.  Vendor discount categories enable you to calculate your net cost of a particular item based on the vendor’s discount off of list price.

Step 3: Import your parts

Create an Excel spreadsheet containing a list of the parts that you’d like to add to the SalesDoc Architect database and import those parts into SalesDoc Architect by clicking Tools, then Import.  When creating the Excel spreadsheet, make sure to include in row 1 the field names that you’d like to import.  You can find the list of eligible field names to use in the Parts Master view found under the “Parts” menu.  For further information, please see the Help topic on the Import Function.

Step 4: Update products and services tabs

You can create products and services tabs to configure labor, peripheral parts and other products and services.  In general, these peripheral parts include racks, UPS system, modems, cabling and other items that round out your turnkey solutions.

You can use any of Excel’s built-in formulas to create configuration logic that references other cells on a product or services tab.  However, SalesDoc Architect’s real power is its ability to reference products and services configured on other tabs without using direct cell-reference formulas, enabling SalesDoc Architect to become a sort of relational database of configuration tab components.  SalesDoc Architect accomplishes this by enabling you to associate part numbers with items, which in turn are tracked and summed across all tabs for a particular quotation and can be referenced on any tab within that configuration.  For more information on this very important concept, please refer to the Help topic on Associating Parts, Items and Documents.

You can update products and services tabs by opening them from your c:\CorsPro\PQuote\Tabs folder.

For more information, please refer to the Help topic on Creating and Updating Configuration Tabs.

Step 5: Distribute the SDA updates to End users

Now you’re ready to distribute SalesDoc Architect and all of the elements that you’ve customized to your users.  Simply click (on the SDA menu bar) Architect, then Updates, then Upload updates .  When prompted, select the files you want to push out to your users, holding the Control key to select multiple files.  For more information, please refer to the Cloud-Hosted User Updates help topic.

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