ICSConnect

ICSConnect is an ICS service whereby an organization can have their financial accounting systems remotely managed and hosted by ICS, without the need for computer servers, software or skilled I.T personnel on their own site. Based on the use of some of the industry’s most up-to-date technology, ICSConnect delivers your accounting software as a service as opposed to the more traditional approach of software installed on your own site.

At the heart of the ICSConnect service is ICS’s powerful DTX software which incorporates systems for Sales Order Processing, Sales Ledger, Inventory Control, Purchase Ordering, Purchase Ledger, Nominal Ledger, Bank Control and Fixed Assets, indeed everything that is required to run a comprehensive accounting system.

Bank Control

Real-Time Information

The DTX Bank Control Module is integrated in real-time with both the Nominal Ledger, with the DTX purchase ledger, and potentially with any number of additional DTX or external third party applications. By virtue of being real-time, any transaction when posted from a subsidiary ledger will simultaneously become available for enquiry within the appropriate Bank Account awaiting reconciliation once included within the Bank Statement. The DTX Bank Control module goes further than this however, allowing any number of Petty Cash accounts to be maintained in addition to real bank accounts, allowing maintenance and auditing of all cash-related transactions from source.

Multiple Currencies

Each Bank Account will have a nominated base currency, being the currency in which that account is expected to be reconciled. Individual transactions can, however, be posted to the account in a different currency from its base currency - for example it is possible to lodge a US$ cheque into a Sterling bank account. Full details of the transaction currency, the account currency and the company’s base currency together with the exchange rates applied are retained permanently for subsequent enquiry.

Foreign currency bank accounts allow for adhoc revaluation enabling realization of any potential gains and/or losses currently associated with these assets.

Sundry Receipts and Payments

All transactions that affect cash (whether on hand or at the bank) must be processed either through Bank Control or through a subsidiary ledger that interfaces to the Bank Control Module. The Sundry Receipts and Payments facility allows for the entry of such transactions within a single function. Transaction entries update both the bank or petty cash accounts and the Nominal Ledger simultaneously, making those adhoc random transactions easy to carry out and fully audited and balanced. A single system entry updates the Bank Account, the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet immediately and automatically.

Funds Transfers

A special form of receipt/payment facilitates funds transfers between bank accounts, allowing money to be moved between accounts, including transfers from Petty Cash to Bank and vice versa.

Statement Reconciliation

Bank Account transactions held on the Bank Ledger can be reconciled against Bank Statement detail lines. The bank statement details may either be keyed into the system, or obtained electronically from your bank. A number of such interfaces have already been developed for popular banks. The system automatically matches what it can, using a variety of techniques. Any unmatched transactions may then be matched manually.

Recurring Transactions

Routine postings, such as maintenance and contract hire direct debits may be automated to avoid having to re-key the same postings each month.

Enquiries

DTX Bank Control provides full enquiry facilities to each bank/petty cash account allowing balances to be reviewed together with all transactions entered. Transactions may remain on history for enquiry for as long as desired. Any historic transaction can be drilled to examine the transaction source details, providing details, for example, of the supplier invoice(s) paid with the queried cheque, or the details regarding a cash lodgement or funds transfer.

Nominal Ledgers

Real-Time Information

DTX Nominal is integrated in real-time with its subsidiary ledgers. Unlike many ýsingle ledgerý systems, this is achieved without compromising the individual flexibility of your sales and purchasing systems.

Coding Structure

DTX allows a completely flexible chart of accounts to be defined to suit either a very simple, or highly sophisticated, reporting structure. For reporting purposes, however, each of the nominal accounts may be grouped and summarized in a variety of ways to meet the levels of detail needed. These groupings can be changed as required at any time without any impact of the running of the live system. In addition, up to 10 additional user-defined analysis codes can be attached to any transaction.

Transactions

The majority of Nominal Ledger transactions should appear automatically from their respective source systems. DTX, however, also provides automation for some more unusual automatic transactions, such as automatically accruing for rebates which are payable to customers or receivable from suppliers. In each case the subsidiary system has rules for calculating and storing the rebates due, and interfaces the value to the Nominal Ledger. Transactions that are repetitive can be automated using a ýFixed Postingsý facility. Transactions that are temporary can be flagged and will be automatically reversed in the following period.

Quantity Handling

For companies who can measure their performance in terms of quantity throughput, DTX offers powerful quantity manipulation for sophisticated unit cost reporting. As an example, a fuel, quarry or animal feed which can measure throughput in tonnes, can use their tonnage throughput to express costs in terms of that throughput. Typically fleet costs might be expressed in pounds per tonne delivered within a branch, while overhead costs expressed in terms of total tonnage sold.

Budgets and Forecasts

DTX allows up to 26 revisions of budget figures during any year. Budgets may be created in advance, and previous year budget figures maintained. Each set of budgets can hold both values and quantities, allowing the concept of actual cost per unit against budgeted cost per unit.

Enquiries

Nominal Ledger enquiries allow drilling from each account balance, to its transactions - both current and historic. Each transaction can then be drilled to see the source record in the subsidiary ledger it came from. Data displayed at this level will include the customer/ supplier, value, currency, date and time posted, operator, analysis information and full Nominal Analysis - the Nominal accounts to which other aspects of the same transaction were posted. Sales and Purchase invoice transactions can be further exploded to see the full product and delivery details, including those such as rebates and costs that may not have been printed on the invoice.

Sales & Purchase Order Processing

DTX Business Systems Sales Order Processing is the most flexible of all the modules. It has been designed to accommodate the widely differing requirements of organizations.

To satisfy highly complex pricing and discounting requirements of such, DTX Business Systems provides probably the most sophisticated facilities of any competitive package, and these facilities are available as standard, without the need for re-programming.

The system combines very flexible sales order processing cycles with industry specific functionality. The system also supports a number of different business requirements simultaneously within the same organization, for example, Telesales, Trade Counter POS sales and speculative Van Sales. This is achieved by the use of an unlimited number of order types that are available within the system.

The key features of Sales Order Processing are:

• Unlimited order types
• User-definable screen layouts per order type
• User-definable pre-printed stationery layouts, by order type
• Summary invoices
• Delivery, invoice and statement customers
• Controllable operator privileges
• Credit checking
• Stock checking
• Profitability checking
• Back order processing
• Sophisticated pricing and discounting
• Multi-currency
• Contracts
• Quotations
• Full sales analysis of all pricing elements
• Units of supply, pricing and stocking
• Settlement discount and Credit Charges
• Haulage Charges and Costs
• Point of sale operation
• Deferred (retrospective) rebate calculation, analysis and accrual
• Load Planning and processing
• Standing orders
• Importation of orders from external systems
• Cash handling and reconciliation
• Bonus voucher schemes
• Promotional messages on pre-printed stationery
• Order history
• Batch trace ability

Telesales

Customer Database

Market-master telesales holds both accounting and telesales-specific information in order to automate a calling cycle. Each customer record holds details of calling frequency, preferred called days and time, and assigned telesales person.

Call Schedules

All call schedules are calculated automatically by the system, with facilities for manual adjustment to allow for holidays , sickness etc. Each call is prompted in sequence and may be actioned or re-scheduled.

Call Preparation

Full history of previous comments and of buying patterns may be examined to plan for sales calls. Credit control information and promotional message prompts complete the picture for a professional targeted sale.

Order Recording

Successful sales may be entered either directly into the Telesales system or to a parallel Sales Order Processing system.

Management Information

Full call allocations per sales person and hit rates, together with value and profitability of sales achieved may be displayed at any time for instant feedback. Cumulative sales for the day and week are built up and displayed against targets given per day to each sales person.