Technical Note: Maximizing Sales Using the Upsell Management Module

Article #: 1211

Difficulty Level: Beginner Level AccountMate User

Version(s) Affected:

• AccountMate 11 for SQL and Express
• AccountMate 10 for SQL, Express, and LAN
• AccountMate 9 for SQL, Express, and LAN
• AccountMate 8 for LAN

Module(s) Affected: UM, AR, SO, and IC

Posting Date: 08/19/2020

DESCRIPTION

Companies constantly look for ways to increase their sales revenues. Upselling is a sales strategy that aims to generate additional revenues from current customers. It is important for a salesperson to have a tool that will assist them in successfully closing an upgrade deal or extra sales from a customer. AccountMate’s Upsell Management module enables a salesperson to present all the upsell items of an inventory item that a customer recently purchased. Information is readily available for a salesperson’s perusal with a few clicks of the mouse.

The Upsell feature in AccountMate allows a salesperson to concentrate on persuading a customer to purchase an upsell item rather than spending time looking for information such as price and availability. Upselling with all the necessary information at hand may lead to effortless and effective sales.

This Technical Note discusses the procedures for setting up an inventory item with upsell items and for recording an upsell transaction in AccountMate. This document also discusses the report that shows the details of the inventory items and their assigned upsell items.

SOLUTION

A primary item, for purposes of discussion in this document, is an inventory item to which an upsell item is assigned. Any inventory item that meets the conditions discussed in this document can be a primary item. You can assign as many upsell items as you want for each inventory record, but the upsell item must not be a kit, serialized, or a lot-controlled item.

Setting up Upsell items

There are two methods that you can use to set up an upsell item for an inventory item. These methods are as follows:

A. Set up an Upsell item by non-item specification

To assign an upsell item by non-item specification, the primary item for which you want to set up an upsell item must meet the following conditions:

• The item is a stock item. An inventory record is considered a stock item when it has a record in the Inventory Maintenance function.
• The item is set to an active status. Verify that the Active status is set in the Inventory Maintenance ► Settings (1) tab ► Status field.
• The item is used for sale. Verify that the Invoice/Sales Order checkbox is marked in the Inventory Maintenance ► Information tab ► Used In area.
• The item is not set to Upsell by Specification. Verify that the Upsell by Specification checkbox is unmarked in the Inventory Maintenance ► Settings (1) tab ► Item Specification area.

Any inventory item, regardless of whether or not an item specification is assigned to it, can be a primary item when you create an upsell item record by non-item specification. You can create an upsell item record using the Upsell Item Maintenance function in the Accounts Receivable (AR), Sales Order (SO), and Inventory Control (IC) modules. When you create an upsell item record for a primary item that has an item specification, you may proceed to assign an upsell item without choosing an item specification. You can also skip the selection of an item specification for an upsell item with item specification.

Click the Cancel button in the Specifications for Item window to cancel the selection of an item specification.

B. Set up an Upsell item by item specification

In order to assign an upsell item by item specification, the primary item to which you want to set up an upsell item must meet the following conditions:

• The item is a stock item. An inventory record is considered a stock item when it has a record in the Inventory Maintenance function.
• The item is set to an active status. Verify that the Active status is set in the Inventory Maintenance ► Settings (1) tab ► Status field.
• The item is used for sale. Verify that the Invoice/Sales Order checkbox is marked in the Inventory Maintenance ► Information tab ► Used In area.
• Item specifications are assigned to the item.
• The item is set to use Upsell by Specification. Verify that both the Use Specification and Upsell by Specification checkboxes are marked in the Inventory Maintenance ► Settings (1) tab ► Item Specification area.

Notes:

• The Item Specification feature is available only in AccountMate for SQL and Express.
• The Item Specification feature in the Inventory Maintenance function is accessible only if the Enable Item Specification checkbox is marked in the IC Module Setup ► General (2) tab. Once the Item Specification feature is enabled, it can no longer be disabled.

When the primary inventory record meets all of the above conditions, you can then create an upsell item record using the Upsell Item Maintenance function. When you enter or select a primary item with item specification, the Specifications for Item window will appear. Select an item specification for which you want to assign an upsell item. You must create an upsell item record for each item specification one at a time.

Processing an upsell transaction

When you have assigned upsell items to the primary items, your salespeople will have available and sufficient information to assist them with their current customer’s upsell transactions. Perform these procedures for recording an upsell transaction while processing a sales order, sales quote, or an AR invoice:

1. Access any of the Create Sales Order, Create Sales Quote, or AR Create Invoice function.
2. Enter the customer number in the Customer # field.
3. Access the Line Items tab.
4. Click the Upsell… button, which is found below the line item grid, to display the Upsell Items for Item # [XXX] window.
5. Note: The Upsell… button is accessible only if the inventory line item meets the following qualifications:
   • An upsell item is set up for the inventory line item.
   • The line item is a non-customer item #.
6. Select the upsell item that you want to include in the sales transaction.
7. Review the upsell item’s available quantities, price, and other necessary information.
8. Accept or amend the default warehouse; then, specify the ship quantity. If the upsell item has an item specification, but there is no item specification assigned to it upon creation of an upsell item record, you must perform the following:
   1. Enter or choose a warehouse.
   2. Choose from the Specifications for Item window an item specification.
9. Complete the sales transaction.

Inventory Upsell Item Listing

This report shows all the inventory items for which upsell items have been set up. This report also contains inventory item details including item specification, class, product line, unit of measure, and price. You also have an option to show the upsell remarks in the report. This report is useful for reviewing and evaluating, at a glance, the inventory items and their upsell items.

Upselling can lead to enormous profit once a current client is persuaded to super-size an initial sale; thus, it is important for salespeople to have the necessary tools and relevant information to assist them in multiplying their sales. AccountMate provides the resources to effectively and efficiently upsell a transaction. This document serves as your guide in setting up upsell item records, processing an upsell transaction, and generating a report that shows a complete list of the upsell item records.