Transaction Basics
      Back to home
      1. ParagonERP
      2. Transactions
      3. Transaction Basics

      How do transaction screens work

      Introduction

      There are two main types of data screens in Paragon: reference screens and transaction screens. Here, we'll focus specifically on navigating around transaction screens and what you can expect from each section. The majority of screens in Paragon were designed to look very similar to each other in order to make it easier to learn how to use the system. So what is true in one transaction screen should be true for most other transactions as well.
       

      Transaction screens

      Transaction modules handle all the steps or actions in a business's workflow.

      The following are the transaction modules that Paragon offers and are all more or less based on the same structure.

      • Pack
      • Order
      • Quote
      • Invoice
      • Receive
      • Pick
      • Material Pick
      • Purchase order
      • Work order
      • RMA
      • Credit
      • Reserve
      • Ship
      • Receive payment
      • Vendor invoice
      • Vendor credit
      • Make payment

      Navigate to any transaction

      Once you've logged into Paragon you can access any transaction module by clicking on its icon in the right-hand navigation bar. If the icon you are looking for does not appear in the navigation bar, you can find it by clicking the more button in the bottom right of the screen.
       
      List view for transactions
      All transaction screens are laid out in the same way, so whether you're in order, invoice, or any other transaction module, the screens should all look very similar.
      When you first open a module, you will see a screen that we call the list view. This screen shows you a list of all the records that currently exist in that module. The columns on the list view can be configured as you see fit after you've created attributes. 
       
       

      Double-clicking any transaction will bring you to that transaction's detail view. You can also access the detail view by clicking on it (highlighting it) and then hitting the list-detail toggle button.

       

       
       On both the list view and detailed view of any transaction screen, there are 4 buttons:
      • Back button:
        • Clicking this button will take you back to the previous screen you were on. It's important to note that this action does not undo any changes but simply preserves the current state of the screen before bringing you back to the previous screen in the exact condition you left it.
      • Reporting button:
        • Clicking on the reporting button for the first time will direct you to a selection of reports specific to the module you are currently in. For instance, if you are navigating the Order module, the reporting button will display all reports related to orders. Similarly, if you are working within the Invoice module, it will show you reports pertaining to invoices. To access a comprehensive list of all available reports in Paragon, simply click the reporting button a second time.
      • List-detail toggle:
        • This button allows you to switch between viewing a list of all records in the module and examining a single record in detail. In the list view, selecting a line and clicking this button will open up the record in detail. You can also double-click a line to access its details. When in the detail view, clicking this button will return you to the list view.
      • Add new button:
        • By clicking this button, you can create a new transaction or record within the current module. For example, if you are in the Order module, it will open a new order, and if you are in the Invoice module, it will open a new invoice.
       

      Detail View

      This is what the detail view of a transaction looks like. There are 8 major components on any detail view of a transaction. We will split them by looking at the top and bottoms halves of the transaction screen.
       
       

      Top section

       
      General information: In the center at the top of the screen, you will find the name of the module, the transaction number, the company name, the date and the status of the transaction.
      Bill From address: Found at the top left of the screen. This area is where you will select the bill from address.
      Ship From address: Found at the top of the screen, next to Bill From. This area is where you will select the ship from addresses.
      Bill To  and Ship To addresses: Found at the top right of the screen.  Use these two areas to select the bill to and ship to addresses.
      Use this document for more information on creating new addresses. 
      Attribute panel: The list of available attributes is shown below your addresses . You can fit up to 6 attributes here. All others can be found in the more tab at the top right corner of the screen..

      You have control over what attributes are shown in this area when you configure your transaction screens.

      Bottom section

       

       
      Line items: This is where the line items go - in this example, we have a T-Shirt. Each item on a sales order, invoice, a quote, or other type of transaction will get its own line.
      Notes: A handy textbox at the bottom of the screen. This is where you can enter any notes related to the transaction, for example, Back Order SO000445 created.
      Totals: This is where you will see the total value of the transaction along with any discounts, other charges, and taxes. The majority of these values cannot be edited without changing the line items. The tax value, however, can be edited, as long as that the screen is set up to allow users to edit the tax. This applies to all transaction modules with a tax field.
      Action button: The action button can be found in many places throughout Paragon and basically allows you to perform actions or functions on the current record. Get all the info by checking out  How to use the action button.

      Entering line notes on transactions

      When you're editing a transaction, right-click on the product you want to enter a note for and select Add Line Note.

      Add the line note as required, and save.

      Deleting transaction lines

      Once again, we will use the sales order as our example.

      Select the order that you want to modify and click on the edit button.

      Right-click on the line item you want to delete and select delete line item.

      The deleted will not longer display. Click save.

      Reordering line items on transactions

      Paragon allows you to reorder line items in your transactions. In other words, you can choose the order in which to list the line items, regardless of the sequence in which they were entered. This can be used for different purposes, such as grouping items or listing them by price or quantity.

      Using the sales order as our example, we have chosen an order and clicked the edit button.

      Each transaction line has a line number associated with it (the first column in the line grid).  Click on the line number of the item you want to reorder, and replace that number by its new position.

      The line numbers follow the logic below.

      Given the lines numbered 1,2,3,4,5:

      • By changing line number 4 to 1, line 4 has moved up to line 1, and all the subsequent lines have moved down.

      Track when your transactions are printed

      In the more tab of your transactions, you are able to see when your transaction was last printed, as well as who triggered the print from the last printed and last printed by attributes.

       

      Navigating to the customer or vendor from a transaction

      While on a specific transaction, you may want to access the company information related to it. Clicking on the company at the top of a transaction in inquiry mode will bring you to the appropriate customer or vendor module.

      Here, we'll show you how to access this function and company information.

      For customer type transactions such as order, invoice, pick, pack, etc. you will be brought to the customer module.

      For vendor type transactions such as purchase order or vendor invoice, you will be brought to the vendor module.

      In this example we will be using a customer order.

      At the top of the screen and to the left of the transaction number, click on the hyperlinked company name.

      After clicking the transaction's company name, you will be brought to the customer or vendor module.

      For transactions that accept both types of companies (make payment & receive payment) the system's first choice will be to bring you to the appropriate module. For example, in the case of a make payment transaction, the vendor module will appear.

       

      What's next?

      Transaction screens will certainly be a big part of your workflow with Paragon. There are a few other articles that we think might interest you: