The Shipper’s Office

Datatech 1911N. Fine Ave

Fresno, CA 93727 Toll free (888) 222-DATA

Fax (559) 226-5418 www.DatatechAg.com

Datatech@DatatechAg.com

The Shipper’s Office

Accounting Software Designed for Fresh Produce Shippers

The Shipper’s Office is a complete, integrated accounting system designed for the unique

requirements of produce shippers. It is part of a family of advanced accounting packages

developed by Datatech for different segments of the ag industry. The Shipper’s Office integrates

the following features into a powerful, easy to use software solution:

Order Entry/Invoicing

Sales Inventory

Broker Confirmations

Grower Accounting

Lot Accounting/Inventory

Pool Accounting/Inventory

Pallet Tag Inventory

Case Labeling

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Payable

General Ledger

Payroll

Packout Reports

Fiber Inventory

Multi-user Network Access

Network Fax Capability

Because it’s a Windows application, it’s easy to use. The Shipper’s Office is a third generation

product, so you can be assured that our 27 years of experience in agricultural software have gone

into the making of The Shipper’s Office. Datatech is committed to continually enhancing our

software to meet the changing needs of our customers and take advantages of advances in

technology.

With competitive pressures rising in nearly every industry, Datatech recognizes the important

role technology can have in making your operation more efficient and getting the information

necessary to make management decisions to increase your profits. We are confident that you

will find that The Shipper’s Office will help you manage your workload better and produce the

reports you need to compete effectively.

In addition to providing a complete package designed for your industry, Datatech also provides

custom programming services. If you have special requirements, including reports or entry

screens, that are not included in The Shipper’s Office, we can design and integrate programs

designed specifically for your company. For instance, if you are replacing an existing system,

we can customize reports to match those printed by the old system. Many of our customers have

found customized programs to be extremely useful.

Take a look at the rest of this booklet to see the major features, sample screens and reports that

make up The Shipper’s Office. If you have any questions while reviewing this booklet, please

give us a call at either 1 (888) 222-3282 (DATA)

The Broker’s Office

Accounting Software Designed for Fresh Produce Brokers

The Broker’s Office is based on the same software as The Shipper’s Office, but only includes

features that produce brokers require:

Broker Confirmations

Buy/Sell Invoicing

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Payable

Produce Payables

General Ledger

Additional options are available, depending on your needs. For instance, the Sales Inventory and

Order Entry features or the Payroll module can be added to The Broker’s Office. Like The

Shipper’s Office, it can be used on a single computer or a network, and integrates with network

faxing servers.

About Datatech

Datatech got its start in 1980, when Isaac Davidian began programming agricultural accounting

software for Borelli Produce, a Fresno based grower/shipper/packer. After computerizing

Borelli’s bookkeeping system, Datatech was formed to market the software to other agricultural

companies. In 1986 Isaac bought out Datatech from Borelli and has been running it ever since.

When you call Datatech, you know you’ll be talking to people who have years of experience

working with computers and our accounting software. We have worked with produce shippers,

brokers and growers like you to help them get the most out of their computer systems. The

training and support provided by our support staff ensure that you get the most out of your

investment. Our programmers add new features based on your suggestions, ensuring that your

investment grows and continues to meet your changing needs.

Our main focus is on accounting software for the ag industry. Our product line includes

accounting solutions designed to meet the needs of produce shippers, packers and brokers, food

processors (for instance, dried fruit and nuts), farmers, and farm labor contractors.

Easy to Learn, Easy to Use!

The Shipper's Office has been designed from the ground up to be easy to learn and easy to use.

This is the result of over 27 years experience in designing software for produce shippers. Our

single entry system allows data to be entered just once, from which the software creates all

journal entries, grower statements, financial, aging and payroll reports.

A simple menu system organizes the program options by module, with standard Windows drop-

down menus for the functions within each module:

We’ve designed several other features to help make using The Shipper’s Office easy to use:

Wizards guide you through processes with multiple steps, including the initial program setup,

setting up new bank accounts, row counts, miscellaneous deductions, and so on.

An online help file that not only provides specific information about each window in the

program, but also frequently asked questions sections, tutorials, and general information

about bookkeeping and accounting with specific examples of how entries should be made in

the program.

A handy calendar popup makes date entries easier.

Reports can be previewed to the screen before printing. Reports can

be emailed as PDF’s.

Several windows use “context menus” (activated by clicking the right

mouse button) that give you all relevant options. Eliminates guessing what keys to hit or

buttons to click.

Selection lists are available so you can quickly find customers, product codes, vendors,

growers, general ledger accounts, etc. On the lookup lookup you can scroll through the list,

search for an account by their number, name, and select an account to edit.

Advanced users will appreciate keyboard shortcuts using the Control and Alt keys, to speed

up data entry and avoid having to switch your hands back and forth between the keyboard

and mouse.

Careful attention has been paid to the user interface design so that it is consistent with other

Windows software. In other words, you shouldn’t have any difficulty in figuring out what all

the buttons, checkboxes, lists, and other user interface widgets actually do.

These are just a few of the features that make The Shipper’s Office easy to learn and

easy to use. The rest of this brochure highlights specific features of each of the main modules.

Order Entry and Inventory

The Order Entry and Sales Inventory systems are highly integrated. Salespersons can check on

current inventory balances directly from the order entry screen. Inventory is immediately

updated as orders are entered (products are allocated, and removed from amount available to

sell) and shipped (products are moved from allocated status to shipped, reflected in the on hand

balance).

The Inventory system allows you to enter receives that are "in transit". When you receive these

shipments, the in transit entry is simply converted to a receive entry and added to your actual

inventory balances. Adjustments can be made to reflect actual quantities or products if

necessary. This allows your salespeople to sell against inventory that hasn't arrived yet.

The Order Entry system prints Confirmation of Sale, Load Sheets, Bills of Lading, and a

Notification of Shipment. In addition, the notification of shipment can be faxed to the customer

automatically with an optional fax board. The Bill of Lading prints on an industry standard

form. Once an order has been shipped, all information is available for billing. The information

does not need to be re-entered.

Several order status reports are available, including:

Open Order Report

Open Orders by Product Code

Shipped Order Report

Unbilled Order Report

Daily Sales Report

Daily Grower Sales Report

Truck Loading Report

Inventory reports include the following:

Inventory Balances by Grower/Product Code

Summary Inventory Balances

Daily Inventory Balance Report

Inventory Receives by Product Code

Inventory Receives by Lot #

Inventory Receives by Date

Inventory In Transit by Product Code

Inventory In Transit by Lot #

Sample screens and reports from the order entry and inventory systems are on the following

pages.

Order Entry

The Sales Center window serves as a “launching point” for your salespeople to work from.

From the Sales Center window, you can check on inventory balances, add new customers and

orders, view customer account activity, and run sales analysis reports.

This is the Order Entry screen:

From this screen, you can enter new orders, revise and update existing orders, check on

inventory balances and the status of customer accounts, change the status of orders to indicate

that they have shipped, and print Truck Load Sheets, Bills of Lading, Notifications of Shipment.

Order Entry features include:

Print a Confirmation of Sale and fax or email it to your customer after the order is

taken.

Special instructions can be entered for printing on the Load Sheet and Bill of

Lading.

Customers can be assigned credit limits, and users will be warned if a customer is

over their limit.

Notifications of Shipment (“passings”) can be faxed or emailed directly from the

computer as produce is shipped. If you are using a fax server from GFI or Tobit,

fax phone numbers don’t need to be entered each time you fax. They are entered

once in the customer file and the program will automatically send the document to

the customer’s fax number.

Inventory balances by lot/product, grower/product or by product are available

instantly using lookup keys.

When the optional pallet tag inventory system is used, you can scan pallet tag

numbers right on this screen to update your orders with the actual quantities,

growers and lot numbers that were shipped.

Warehouse Program

Your warehouse personnel can use a special program that provides access only to the order entry

and sales inventory and pallet tag inventory modules. The Shipping Center window provides a

“control panel” to assist in the truck check-in, loading, and shipping process.

The Shipper’s Office can print a Bill of Lading for each order. You can use continuous

preprinted forms on a dot matrix printer, or the program can print the entire form on a laser

printer. This is a sample of the Bill of Lading printed on a laser printer using blank paper:

You can also use preprinted Bills of Lading. This is a sample of the standard Bill of Lading format

used by The Shipper’s Office:

This is a sample Load Sheet printed by the Order Entry program:

Once the order has shipped, the Notification of Shipment can be printed, faxed or emailed to the

customer:

This is a sample of the Open Order Report. It lists all orders that have not shipped yet, followed

by totals by product code for allocated inventory.

Product Codes

The invoicing descriptions for all produce that you sell are

entered in the Product Code File. An entry is made for each

size or type of pack for each commodity you sell. The

product descriptions are entered once then appear

automatically on the invoice and confirmation screens.

Several items entered in the Product Code File are used in

other programs. For instance, the Tariff Number is used for

printing Canadian Confirmation forms, the precooling

amount appears automatically on the order/invoice entry

screens, the gross weight is used for printing the load sheet,

and the net weight is used for packout reports.

Miscellaneous charges, such as top ice, brokerage, pallets,

freight, or other non-produce items you charge the customer

for, are also entered in the product code file. Income from

each miscellaneous item can be credited to individual

general ledger accounts.

For a shipper dealing with products that have a limited

number of combinations of pack style, size, variety, and

grades, a simple “flat file” product code approach works best, as shown above. Several options

are available when setting up product codes to handle hierarchies and multiple combinations of

pack styles, sizes and varieties, if needed. For these situations, the product code setup screen

looks like this:

Enter a single product

code for each commodity

here ,e.g. PEACHES,

PLUMS, NECTARINES.

For each commodity,

list each pack style

used here.

For each pack

style, set up each

size here.

Varieties and Grades are

listed on separate tab pages,

and apply to all pack styles

and size for this commodity.

Inventory Receives

Inventory receives and in transit loads are entered on this screen:

Each incoming load is assigned a lot number up to 10 letters or numbers in length. Each product

that is received is entered on a separate line. The Lot # uniquely identifies each load you receive.

A truck # and receiving # can also be entered.

Loads that are “In Transit” may be entered so that the salesmen can sell against product that is to

be packed and/or delivered that day. When the product is received, you simply adjust the

quantities and mark as received. In Transit loads along with customer orders may also be

entered for future dates, giving you projected inventory balance reports up to three days out.

If you are tracking inventory for purchased product, you may also enter the cost the product was

purchased for. This will appear on the order and invoice entry screens when you sell the

product, and be used as the basis for creating the payables invoice automatically.

As you enter receives and in transit loads, the sales inventory files are updated immediately. On

a multi-user network, salespeople taking orders can see up to the second inventory balances.

This is an Inventory Receives Report by Lot #. This report can be printed for any date range.

This example was printed for just one day. Each receive is assigned a unique lot number and this

report prints all commodities received for each lot # and summary totals received for each

commodity at the end of the report.

Inventory Reports

The Sales Inventory system includes several reports to help you track your receives and

inventory balances:

Receives Report by Lot #

Receives Report by Product Code

Receives Report by Day

In Transit Report by Lot #

In Transit Report by Product Code

Daily Inventory Report

Inventory Summary Report

Inventory Balances by Product Code/Grower

Inventory Balances by Grower/Product Code

Inventory Balances by Lot #/Product Code

Inventory Detail Report by Lot #

Pallet Tag Inventory

The Pallet Tag Inventory option provides an effective inventory control system, automating

shipments and verifying that they have been correctly entered, and even automatically assigning

growers and lot numbers to invoices once product has been shipped.

The Pallet Tag program works with a rugged, high-speed printer designed for printing pallet tags.

Pallet tags may be either self-adhesive or stapled on to pallets. Tear off tags can be used for

recording partial shipments. Bar codes are printed on the pallet tags so that you can use a bar

code scanner at the computer to quickly enter which pallets were shipped with each order.

Features of the Pallet Tag option include:

Multiple pallet tags can be printed when receiving several pallets with the same

grower/product/lot. Each tag is assigned a unique pallet tag number.

Pallet tags can track the same product from different growers combined onto the

same pallet.

Handles partially shipped pallets.

Once an order is shipped, pallet tags can be scanned right from the order entry

screen to verify entries are correct. If grower numbers or lot numbers have not

been entered on the invoice line items, this information will be supplied by the

pallet tags that are scanned.

Pallet tag reports can be printed to show receives, shipments, and current

inventory balances. All of these reports can be printed in grower, product code,

or pool number order.

Pallet report by age helps to keep older product from getting lost in the

warehouse.

The pallet inventory system can update the sales inventory with the commodities

and quantities received at any point during the day.

Supports pallet tag printing on HP compatible printers, Sato and Zebra printers.

Pallet tags assist in traceability issues, with reports available to find all shipments

related to the lot of one specific pallet tag.

Pallet tag printing can be customized for your operation. You can use one of our

existing formats, we can duplicate a current pallet tag layout that you are using

right now, or we can develop a new format based on your requirements.

Print pallet tags on special thermal transfer label printers (e.g. Sato, Zebra,

DataMax) or on standard laser printers.

Sample Pallet Tags

Invoicing

The Shipper's Office has a flexible invoicing system that allows you to enter all of the

information needed for billing your customers, updating accounting totals, printing grower

account sales reports, and maintaining inventory balances.

Features of the Invoicing system include:

Orders that have been entered and shipped from the Order Entry window are

immediately available for billing. Simply enter the order number and all of the

information is displayed. Corrections can be made at this point if necessary

before billing. The Unbilled Order Report can be printed to show which orders

need to be billed out.

Invoices are processed in "batches". Each operator’s invoices are kept separate,

so individual operators can enter, edit, proof, and finalize their invoices

independent of what others are entering.

When selling the same product for multiple growers on the same invoice, one line

for each grower can be entered to track sales for grower accounting purposes. On

the invoice printout the customer receives, lines for the same product and price

will be combined and printed on one line.

For buy/sell (purchase lots) sales, you record the vendor number instead of the

grower number. The vendor's invoice or reference number is entered as the lot #

as well as the cost of the produce. This information can then be used to

automatically create an invoice entry in Accounts Payable (see the Produce

Purchases section).

Brokerage and freight costs can be entered on each line to update accounting

totals.

Separate quantity and unit counts can be used. The number of packages is entered

in the Quantity column, while the Units column can be used for billing by pounds

or for miscellaneous items (pallets, top ice, freight, inspections, etc.) that are not

included in the package count.

Invoices can be put on hold so that they don't get finalized with the rest of the

batch. Consignments may be entered and priced later.

Trouble entry allows you to record problems, including reason for problem,

original price, and date resolved. Reports can be printed showing open and

resolved trouble loads.

Invoices can be automatically reversed and re-billed so that you can make

corrections after the final billing.

Special messages can be entered and printed on invoices.

Canadian Confirmation of Sale forms can be printed for export invoices. You can

use pre-printed forms on dot matrix or laser printers, or have the program print the

form itself on blank legal size paper.

Load Sheets and Notification of Shipment may also be printed from the Invoicing

window.

This is a sample invoice proof:

For buy/sell sales (also called purchased lots)

the invoice proof shows the totals sales and

cost of purchased produce along with the

profit for this invoice.

This is a sample of a final invoice using the blank paper format:

Invoices may be also be printed on letterhead stock, or on a standard invoice format suitable for

either impact or laser printers. We can also customize the program to print final invoices on your

current invoice forms.

Broker Confirmations

The Brokerage Confirmation program allows you enter and print confirmations with multiple

shippers, billing the shipper(s), receiver, or both. Each line on a brokerage confirmation can

have a different shipper, reference number, and brokerage rate. A service charge rate can be

entered to bill the receiver, in addition to billing the brokerage rate to the shipper. The service

charge is also entered on each line, so it is possible to bill different rates for different

commodities.

Brokerage confirmations are entered and printed in batches. If you want to keep a brokerage

confirmation from being printed and finalized, you can tell the program not to print it, placing a

hold on that order.

Before final invoices are printed, proofs can be printed and checked for accuracy. Final invoices

can be printed on blank paper/letterhead stock, standard forms, or Datatech can customize the

program to print on your existing brokerage invoices.

The Shipper’s Office will print one brokerage invoice for each shipper entered, in addition to an

invoice for the receiver if the service charge is used.

This is a sample of the Brokerage Confirmation screen:

In this example, the receiver is being charged .25 brokerage per package.

Here is a sample of a brokerage invoice printed on blank paper:

Accounts Receivable

The Accounts Receivable system integrates the invoicing system with the general ledger and

provides you with tools to stay on top of your receivables, record payments on invoices, handle

collections, and issue PACA letters.

When all invoicing is completed for the day, a sales journal is run which updates the General

Ledger with accounting totals. Invoices then appear on aging reports and are available to enter

payments.

Features include:

When payments on invoices are entered, cash receipts journal automatically

makes deposit entry to cash in bank.

Brokerage and temperature recorder processing programs create payables invoices

for you automatically from the information entered while invoicing.

Accounts Receivable Aging report can be printed with monthly or weekly aging

columns.

Customer Inquiry screen allows you to check on status of invoices without

printing reports.

Customer statements can be printed for unpaid invoices.

PACA letters can be printed for overdue invoices.

Sales Reports allow you to analyze your sales for any date range by type of sale

(grower, buy/sell, brokerage), product, customer, and salesman, in summary or

detail format.

Reports in the Accounts Receivable system include:

Sales Journal

Cash Receipts Journal

Aged Accounts Receivable Report

Unpaid Invoices by Grower

Invoice Lists

Credit Memo Lists

Trouble Reports

Customer Ledger Cards

Customer Statements

PACA Letters

Customer Sales Reports

Customer Sales Analysis

Consignment Invoice List

Cash Receipts

Payments for outstanding invoices are entered in the Cash Receipts window. Simply check each

invoice that is being paid. Once all payments for the day have been entered, print and update the

Cash Receipts Journal to update the deposit total to your Checkbook Register in payables and

update your General Ledger.

Customer Account Inquiry

From the Customer Account Inquiry window you can view all of the invoices on a customer’s

account, check for unpaid balances, print out a summary, and view the original invoice entry just

by double clicking on the list.

This is the last page from an Aged Accounts Receivable Report. This report lists each unpaid

invoice in the appropriate aging column, the total due for each account, and the customers’ credit

rating and limit. Phone numbers print for customers that have balances that are too old, so this

report can aid in making collection calls.

This is a sample of the Trouble Report. You can select any date range to print this report for, and

select either unresolved, resolved, or all trouble entries. In addition, you can print entries only

for a specific grower or customer.

Grower Accounting There are three primary grower accounting systems available to use with The Shipper’s Office:

grower statement by date, lot grower statements, and pool grower statements.

In all systems, the grower accounting system is highly integrated with the customer billing,

inventory, and payables systems to eliminate any need to make duplicate entries.

While there are separate grower accounting reports available, all grower accounting systems

share several common features, including:

Many standard deductions can be calculated automatically, including freight,

in/out, pallet deductions, commission, and brokerage.

Additional deductions can be set up to be calculated automatically, based on the

grower account and product codes. This may include selling or packing fees,

assessments, etc.

Brokerage deduction can be subtracted from the gross sale price the on the grower

reports, or deducted as a lump sum with other deductions.

Commission can be calculated as a percent of sales or per package rate.

When entering vendor checks or invoices for items that you will deduct from the

grower’s account, you can enter the grower account, lot number (if using lot

grower accounting) and expense number to charge the expense to.

Manual grower charges can also be entered. The program will automatically

charge the grower’s account and credit the appropriate general ledger account.

Grower Charge Report prints all grower deductions by date, grower, and shows

deductions that have appeared on a final grower statement, deductions that

haven’t, and total season to date deductions.

Average sale prices for each commodity and grower are maintained on daily Sales

Average reports that are printed after each day’s invoices are finalized. Sales

Average Reports can also be run for any range of dates.

Customized grower statements can also be designed for your individual company. If you

currently have a particular report style or layout that you would like to retain, please contact us

for more information on custom programming.

Grower Accounting by Date

The standard grower account sale report details all deductions to the grower, gross sales, credit

memos, and prints a recap showing the net return to the grower. The Grower Account Sale

report allows you to select all invoices or only invoices that have been paid by the customer.

Beginning and ending dates can be entered for both sales and deductions.

Year to date sales, deductions, and net return totals are saved for each individual grower. You

can finalize the report, and the next report will show season to date totals, totals for the current

report, and year to date totals.

When a Grower Account Sale report is finalized, a payables invoice can be created automatically

to issue a check to the grower. The invoice makes the necessary debit and credit transactions to

clear grower payable and receivable amounts from the correct general ledger accounts.

A “period” report can also be printed to include all sales and deductions for any date range,

whether they have been finalized on a prior report or not.

Lot or Field Grower Accounting

The Lot Grower Accounting system prints sales, deductions, and net return for each lot

separately. Inventory balances are also be tracked on a per lot basis.

Lots will remain open until all commodities have been shipped and billed, and any trouble

entries have been resolved. When a lot is closed, it may be finalized and the totals updated to

accounts payable and the general ledger for payment to the grower. When printing the lot

grower statement, you can specify only open lots, only closed lots, or both. All lot information

can be reviewed from the Lot Liquidation window before finalizing:

When using the Lot Grower Accounting system, the vendor check and invoice entry in Accounts

Payable and the manual grower charge entry screen will prompt for a Lot # when entering

deductions to the grower.

Lot Grower Accounting can be used in two different situations. Each lot number may

correspond to a single truckload of produce that is delivered (this is commonly used for produce

imported from Mexico). Or each lot may correspond to a field, and there may be multiple

receives for each lot number as the field is harvested over several days.

Daily Grower Sales/Average Prices Report

Under both the standard grower statement system and the lot accounting systems, daily sales

reports for each grower may be printed automatically after a sales journal has been updated.

These reports detail all sales for each grower and maintain season to date average prices for each

product code.

In addition, the daily reports can credit income less commission to individual grower payable

accounts on your general ledger, and place the commission in an income account. This

maintains an up to date picture of what you owe the growers in the General Ledger. When

grower accounts are settled, payments to the grower offset the liability that has been accrued, as

well as any grower receivable balance that has accrued.

Pool Statements/Grower Accounting

Multiple growers may participate in a pool, each receiving the average F.O.B. price for their

produce. Pools may run over any period of time, include multiple product codes (sizes and

grades), and you can have multiple pools with different grower participating running at the same

time.

Instead of tracking produce sold for each grower, the pool accounting system tracks it by pool.

Inventory balances are likewise maintained on a product code/pool basis.

A Pool Statement may also be printed to show packed quantities, total sales and establish

average sale prices for all commodities in a pool.

Once all sales are final and average prices have been established for all commodities, a grower

statement may be printed based on the quantities and products received from the grower and the

average prices for the commodities.

With the optional pallet tag system, a Grower Sales Report by Pool can be printed. This report is

based on the shipped pallet tags (which identify the grower as well as the pool that the produce

belongs to) and the sales prices on the invoices. This makes it possible to detail exactly what

sales were made for each grower.

Under the Pool Accounting system, inventory balances are maintained on a pool/product code

basis, instead of the grower/product code basis. The invoicing and order entry screens have

entries for pool number rather than grower number.

Sample Lot Liquidation Reports

This report provides a summary overview of every lot’s status, including the number of packages

received and sold, total of deductions charged against each lot, the net return to the grower, and

totals for all lots for each grower account.

This is a sample Lot Liquidation report for a “truckload” lot. The receives are itemized by

product code, then the sales are listed followed by the charges that apply to this lot. In this case,

freight, American and Mexican crossing charges have been paid by the shipper, so those costs

are deducted from the total sales. The In/Out and Commission deductions were calculated

automatically by the program.

Multiple truckload lots can be liquidated to the grower at one time producing a separate report

for each lot. You can then you can issue a single check to the grower to pay for all lots.

This sample Lot Liquidation statement shows the type of sale and for delivered sales (where the

freight is included in the sale price) it shows the delivered price, freight amount per package, and

FOB price. This format was designed specifically for California shippers to meet the reporting

requirements of the Department of Agriculture.

This is a liquidation report using the “Field” method of lot accounting. Here the lot number is

used to track all of the sales from a single field. Receives are listed by product code and each

days packages received are listed. Received quantities are subtotaled for each product code/pack

style/size. The Liquidation report can also print the receives in a summary format, with one line

per product code/pack style/size, instead of detailing packages received for each day.

The next page shows the second and third pages of this report listing the sales, deductions and

net due to the grower.

Lot Liquidation with Repack

This format is designed for shippers that repack grower product. In this example, the small

cucumbers were repacked into plain cucumbers and the extra large orange bells were repacked

into large bells. Any packages that are damaged or inspected are also listed so the grower knows

exactly where all packages went.

Grower Liquidation by Date

The Grower Liquidation by Date report allows you to liquidate to the grower for any date range.

Sales will be normally included that have been paid by your customers, but you can choose to

liquidate unpaid sales to the grower as well. Loads that have outstanding trouble will also not be

liquidated unless you choose to.

The first page of the report will list any charges to the grower account that may have been

entered through accounts payable (e.g. expense you pay on behalf of the grower), generated

automatically by the system (cartons, in/out, etc.) or entered through the manual grower charge

entry.

Next the report will list all sales in product code order, with total packages, sales, and average

price for each product code.

The third page will summarize the sales, deductions, and show the net return to the grower for

this report.

The final page shows the prior season to date totals, totals for this statement, and the new season

to date totals.

Accounts Payable

Vendor invoices and checks are entered and printed through the Accounts Payable system.

Features of the Accounts Payable system include:

Unique Checkbook Screen looks like your check register and gives you one place

to go to enter direct expense or payables checks, deposits, and transfers.

Vendor classes can be used to group vendors. For example, you may have

separate classes for growers, brokers, truck brokers, and other vendors.

When entering vendor checks or invoices for items that you will deduct from the

grower’s account, you can enter the grower account, lot or field number and type

of expense to charge the grower’s account and automatically delete from the

grower statement.

Bank account balance is always displayed on the check screens and updated after

each check is entered.

Program supports up to ninety-nine bank accounts with automatic transfer and

audit trail between accounts.

Vendor File Maintenance with name, address, Federal ID number, and year to

date purchases for printing 1099’s at the end of the year.

Entry of vendor invoices produces cash management reports and allows users to

print checks automatically as they come due or one at a time.

Discounts for early payment are automatically calculated and deducted when

checks are issued against payables invoices.

Checks you have written by hand can be entered without printing.

Check information, such as the date, check number, description, and expense

account, may be edited even after the check has been printed.

Bank reconcilement program makes it easy to balance your checkbook.

Checks that jam in the printer can easily be voided and reprinted.

View vendor check and invoice histories on the screen or on printed reports.

Checkbook Register

At the heart of the Accounts Payable/Vendor Check Writing system is the Checkbook Register.

Use this window to enter vendor checks, service charges or miscellaneous debits, deposits,

transfers, and voided checks.

Checkbook Register features include:

Checkbook Register window looks like your check register and gives you one place to go to

enter direct expense or payables checks, deposits, and transfers.

Running bank account balance is always displayed on the Checkbook Register window.

Program supports up to 99 bank accounts with automatic transfer and audit trail between

accounts.

Checks you have written by hand can be entered without printing them.

Miscellaneous charges and electronic transfers, such as bank charges, automatic loan

payments and payroll tax payments are easy to enter.

Expensing information may be edited even after the check has been printed. This is useful

for instance if you don’t have information on what grower and/or lot a check needs to be

charged to when a check is entered.

Checks that jam in the printer can easily be voided and reprinted.

Direct Expense Checks

Direct expense checks allow you to enter the expensing information for both the general ledger

and cost accounting when you are ready to issue the check.

Expenses on a check may be charged to more than one general ledger expense account and/or

cost centers and phases/jobs.

As the check is entered, expenses are automatically posted to the general ledger and an entry is

posted to your cash in bank account.

For accounting purposes, direct expense checks record expenses on a cash basis. If you want to

operate on an accrual basis, use the vendor invoice entry and the payables check entry.

Accounts Payable Invoicing and Automatic Checks

The advanced accounts payable features in the Shipper’s Office allow you to enter your bills as

they are received. They can be scheduled for payment based on a fixed due day or standard

terms, such as “Net 30 days”. Discounts for early payment can also be entered.

When you use the accounts payable invoicing system, you can choose to update the general

ledger and cost accounting on a cash basis or an accrual basis. Under the cash basis system, the

expenses that are entered on the invoice are not posted until a check is written to pay the invoice.

The expenses are then recorded on the date of the check in the general ledger and cost

accounting systems. Under the accrual basis system, the expenses are posted to the general

ledger and cost accounting on the date of the invoices, along with a liability on your “Accounts

Payable Trade” account.

When you are ready to pay bills, you can print a Cash Requirements Report to see what invoices

are due and then print the checks automatically. Invoices may be

placed “on hold” so that they won’t be paid until you release them for

payment. You may also manually select which invoices to pay for

individual vendors.

Vendor Invoices

Entry of vendor invoices produces cash management reports and

allows users to print checks automatically as they come due or one at

a time. Discounts can be entered for early payment and are

automatically calculated and deducted when the check is issued

before the discount due date.

Accounts Payable Reports

Invoice Inquiry

Invoice Journal

Vendor Check Vouchers

Aged Payables Report

Cash Requirements Report

Do Not Pay Invoice List

Cash Requirements Report/Automatic Checks

The Cash Requirements Report tells you what is due on a specific payment date, based on the

payment terms. If you want to print checks for the invoices listed on the Cash Requirements

Report, all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse and the checks are printed automatically.

Payables Check Entry

You can also select which invoices to pay on the Payables Check window and print checks from

there.

Bank Reconcilement

The Shipper’s Office makes reconciling your bank statements to your checkbook easy. Simply

enter the bank statement date, balance on your statement, and check off all checks that have

cleared. You can clear each transaction individually, clear a range of checks by number, clear

transactions by date, or clear all displayed transactions. Options are provided for searching for

transactions by check number and amount. Print the Bank Reconcilement Report when you are

done to check your work.

Vendor Account Inquiry

“Have I paid this bill already?” “What did we pay for fertilizer last year?” “How much do I owe

Orange Belt Supply for chemicals?” If you find yourself asking questions like these, go to one

of the Vendor Inquiry windows to view complete histories of checks and invoices for your

vendors. At a glance you

can tell what checks have

been issued, which invoices

are paid and which ones are

outstanding, and print reports

listing the checks and

invoices.

Produce Payables

For buy/sell produce (also called purchased lots), the customer invoice entry screen records all

the information necessary to automatically generate the corresponding invoice you receive from

the shipper. The Produce Payables screen uses the vendor account, lot number (vendor invoice

number), and cost entered on the invoice screen to automatically total and create a vendor

invoice.

Normally the Lot # entry on the customer invoicing screen is used to enter the shipper’s invoice

number. However, you can also assign your own numbers for inventory control or internal

reference, and have the Produce Payables use this number instead of the shipper’s invoice

number.

If a cost was entered incorrectly on the invoicing screen, you can correct it on the Produce

Payables screen and the change will take effect on the customer invoice as well. The new cost

will also be used in any future profit calculations (such as on Sales Reports).

If an adjustment needs to be made (for instance, rounding or miscellaneous items billed by the

shipper) you can also enter this.

A Produce Payables Report can be printed for any date range, listing buy/sell sales quantities,

sales price, purchase price, profit. The report can print items that you have not received a vendor

invoice for, items you have received the invoice for, or both.

This is a sample invoice created using the Produce Payables window:

Cold Storage Billing

For cold storage companies, the pallet inventory system in The Shipper’s Office can be used as

the basis for billing their customers. The pallet inventory system tracks when product is received

and when it is shipped out, so the system can bill for the number of days the product was in

storage. Features of the cold storage system include:

Incoming and outgoing product is identified by the grower. For billing purposes, each

grower is assigned to a customer account. This allows you to bill a single shipper while

keeping track of product for multiple growers of that shippers.

Billing is based on the number of days product is in storage. The billing file allows you to

specify the rates to bill for each package for a specific number of days. Up to three

different rates/periods may be set up in the billing file. For instance, you may bill 80 cents

per package for the first 30 days, then 1 ½ cents for each day after.

Customers may be billed either once the product has shipped, or immediately once it has

been received.

When product is billed after it’s received, if it remains in storage past the initial period

billed for, the system will bill for it again. For instance, you bill $7.50 per week for a

product. The customer is billed immediately once that product is received. If it is shipped

within a week of receiving it, the customer is not billed again. But if it is still in storage a

week after it’s received, another $7.50 will be billed for another week.

Different billing rates/methods may be set up for different commodities (for instance,

grapes vs. tree fruit).

The Pallet Billing Report prints billing amounts for each customer, with subtotals by

grower (if a customer has multiple growers). The report can also print sub-totals by Lot #.

The Pallet Billing Report serves as the basis for entering invoices for each customer. The

program can be enhanced to automatically generate invoices for your customers.

General Ledger

The General Ledger system is closely integrated with the other modules that make up The

Shipper's Office. All information that you enter is updated to the general ledger automatically,

so you don’t need to know what accounts should be debited or credited.

In addition, the individual modules that make up The Shipper’s Office get balances directly from

the general ledger for specific items. For example, the bank balances displayed on the

Checkbook screen is directly taken from your general ledger cash in bank account. The Tax

Deposit screen in the payroll gets the balances for each tax from the general ledger liability

accounts. And the payable and receivable aging reports use the actual general ledger account

balances as control totals when printing aging reports.

Every company is unique in the way its chart of accounts is structured, so we work with you and

your accountant to set up the chart of accounts before installation and training.

Some of the features of the General Ledger system include:

Full double entry accounting system.

Payroll checks, payable invoices, checks, deposits and receivable invoices are

automatically updated to the General Ledger.

Ability to enter general journal transactions, for any adjustments that your

accountant may make.

Set up batches of recurring journal transactions to automatically post journal

entries on a scheduled basis.

Prints a variety of financial statements, including:

Trial Balance

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet with Prior Year Comparison

Profit or Loss Statement

Profit or Loss Statement with Ratios

Profit or Loss Statement with Budget Comparison

Profit or Loss Statement with Prior Year Comparison

Trial Balance Worksheet

12 Month Financial Reports

Cash Flow Report

Financial Statements may be printed at any time, even in the middle of the month.

Financial Report Generator allows you to create you own financial reports.

Account numbers can be structured to print cost center P & L reports if required.

Payroll

The Shipper’s Office includes a payroll system designed for the most demanding requirements.

It is capable of handling both Ag (943) and Regular (941) employees. If you have operations in

multiple states, payroll can be done from one location and the system will observe different state

tax withholding requirements.

Additional key payroll features include:

Each line on paychecks can be charged to different labor expense accounts, and different

rates can be combined on the same check. There is no limit on the number of lines you

can enter on a check.

The program calculates all applicable federal and state taxes, and observes FICA,

Medicare, SDI, SUI, and FUI wage limits.

When checks jam in your printer, it is easy to print new copies of any checks that did not

print out ok. No complicated voiding and re-entering of data is necessary.

Additional deductions can be set up for 401(k) or cafeteria plans, employee advances,

child support, housing, garnishments, etc. Advances can be tracked automatically, and

deductions made until loan is paid back.

Employees can easily be found by name key, account number or social security number.

The name key may be up to 14 letters and numbers and the account number may be up to

five digits.

Prints all State and Federal quarterly and annual reports, including W-2's. Magnetic

Media option is available for creating disks to send to the SSA.

Check information is kept on your computer indefinitely, allowing you to print earnings

records for unemployment, welfare, and other government agencies.

Records I-9 numbers and tracks expiration dates. Reports can be printed to show which

employees number will be expiring.

Checks and W-2’s can be printed on either laser or ink jet printers.

Prints quarterly and end of year payroll forms, including Federal Forms 941, 943 and

940.

Payroll Reports

Employee Lists/Printouts

Crew Sheet Mailing Labels

Time Sheet Labels Employee ID Cards

Crew Supervisor List Vacation/Sick Pay Accrual

Registered Alien List Union/Insurance Hour Report

Employee History List

Payroll Reports

Batch Payroll Report Earnings Records

Check Signoff Sheet Row Count Worksheet

Employee Check Vouchers Worker’s Comp Report

Employee Deduction Report Tax Liability Report

Payroll Journal Daily Payroll Report

Employee Detail Report Labor Analysis Report

Quarterly Reports

Quarterly Wage Detail Report

Employee Tax Schedule

California DE-6 (blank paper)

Federal Form 941

Year End Reports

Yearly Wage Detail Report

California DE-7 (form or blank paper)

Federal Form 940

Federal Form 943

W-2’s

Thank You!

We appreciate your interest and the time you have taken to review The Shipper’s Office. If you

have any further questions that were not answered in this booklet, please call Datatech for

additional information.

Datatech is committed to developing high quality accounting software for the ag industry. We

welcome any suggestions or ideas to improve our products from both our current and future

customers.

Special Options/Custom Programming

Additional options are available for specialized applications and/or companies with multiple

lines of business. For example, we also have a crop cost accounting package for growers: The

Farmer’s Office. For the demanding payroll requirements of farm labor contractors, we have

The Labor Contractor’s Office.

Custom programming services are also available, including custom reports or entry screens. If

you have an existing system and you want to duplicate some of its functions, we can work with

you to create matching reports and programs.

System Requirements

The Shipper’s Office is designed to run under Windows 2000, XP Professional, Server 2003,

Server 2008 or Vista Business with the latest service patches installed.

A Pentium IV processor with a speed of at least 1Ghzz, 1Gbb of RAM, and 100Mb of available

hard disk space are minimum requirements for a single user system or workstations on a

network. A dual core processor is recommended for better multitasking performance.

Internet access is required for assisting in support via pc-Anywhere or Windows Terminal Server

and downloading updates from our web site. High-speed or broadband connections such as

DSL, wireless, or cable modem are preferred.

A tape backup or other portable/removable media for backups is required. USB based flash

drives and portable external hard drives often make good backup solutions. An Uninterruptable

Power Supply (UPS) is highly recommended for your computer. If your power goes out, you

will be able to finish what you are doing and shut down your computer without the possibility of

losing what you are working on.

All printers supported by the Windows operating system will work with The Shipper’s Office.

We recommend that you have a page printer (either a laser or ink jet) for printing reports.

(While dot matrix printers can be used, the Windows operating system prints to dot matrix very

slowly due to the fonts that are used.) If you have a laser printer with multiple bins or paper

trays, The Shipper’s Office will automatically print from the bin or tray that contains your

checks, invoices or other forms.

Dot matrix printers are supported for printing bills of lading, invoices, checks, labels, and other

continuous forms (such as W-2's). Dot matrix printers not recommended for printing reports.

Network Requirements

The Shipper’s Office can be installed on a either a Novell Netware or Microsoft Windows server.

It may also be run through Windows Terminal Services or Citrix MetaFrame. 100baseT Fast

Ethernet or faster connections are highly recommended for optimal performance. The software

can be used on slower network connections, but this will reduce performance.

Fax Capability

The Shipper’s Office can use any fax software to fax printouts and reports directly from the

program.

Direct integration is provided with Tobit’s FaxWare system for Novell and Windows network

servers, and GFI’s FAXmaker for Windows. Using either of these fax server products, all users

on your network will have access to a shared fax server, which means you don’t need a modem

and a phone line going to each computer that needs fax capability. Documents that are to be

faxed are printed using the fax server print driver. The print driver routes faxes to the network

fax server, meaning only one computer must be equipped with a fax modem or dedicated fax

board.

In addition, because The Shipper’s Office is integrated with these fax servers, you do not need to

supply the fax number each time you want to fax a document. For instance, when an order has

shipped and you fax a Notification of Shipment to the customer, the fax will automatically be

sent to the fax number entered in that customer’s file.

Canadian Confirmation of Sale

There are four different options for printing the Canadian Confirmation of Sale form. First, you

can print on continuous forms using a dot matrix printer. Canadian Confirmation of Sale forms

may also be printed on laser or ink jet printers on letter or legal size paper. You can either use

pre-printed forms on legal-size paper, or the program can print the form on either letter or legal

sized blank paper filled in with all of the required information.

Pricing and Ordering Information Please contact a Datatech sales representative for information on pricing, ordering, installation

and training. Call toll free (888) 222-DATA or email sales@DatatechAg.com.

Training The key to a smooth installation is adequate training for your personnel. Training is typically

done on-site and billed at an hourly rate plus travel costs. Total training time will of course

depend to some extent on your personnel, how many people need to be trained, as well as what

program options are purchased.

Training Rates:

In California: Remote Training & In Our Office - $120/hour

On-Site in California: $120/hour, plus a travel charge (depends on location, call for

estimate)

Outside California: $150/hour, plus normal travel costs (airline, hotels, meals)

Software Support

The Shipper’s Office includes 90-days of unlimited toll-free telephone support as well as

program updates and enhancements. Support is also provided via pcAnywhere Remote

Communications, which requires a broadband Internet connection or modem. Training at our

office or on site is charged separately.

After the initial 90-day warranty period, you may subscribe to our annual Software Support

Maintenance Plan to continue the above services. The cost of the maintenance contract depends

on the options and number of users.