Issues

A Subscription Issue is a single copy of a periodical (that is, a magazine or newsletter). You can generate a list of subscription issues from the Subscription Profile page on the Subscriptions Issues Child Form.

Adding a Subscription Issue

Adding a Subscription Issue can be accomplished in one of two ways from the Subscription Profile. You may add one issue at a time through the Subscription Issue child frorm or you may generate multiple Issues by clicking on the Issues icon on the Actions Bar.

The Issues button takes you to the Add Product/Subscription Issues window where you can enter information about the Subscription Issues and generate a list of the Issues.

To enter and generate multiple Subscription Issue information:

1. Go to the Subscription Profile.
2. Click the Issues button on the Actions Bar.
3. The Add Product/Subscription Issues page displays.
4. Enter a product code.
5. Enter the product name.
6. Enter a Subscription Issue Number.
7. Enter a Start/End Date (for example, 1/01/2005 and 1/31/2005).
8. Enter a Fulfillment Start/End Date. (The fulfillment date is when the subscription is mailed. The date is usually earlier than the issue start and end dates. The publication is dated for the future so that the date is still current when the customer receives the publication in the mail.)
9. On the Add Product/Subscription Issues window, to generate the list of issues, click the issues button.

After you click the Issues button (on the Add Product/Subscription Issues window) the list of issues for the year display under the subscriptions heading. After saving the information on the Add Product/Subscription Issues window, the issues display on the Subscription Profile, subscription issues child form.

For complete information on adding a single issue, view the Subscription Issues Child Form topic. For a complete step-by-step article on generating multiple issues, view the section on Generating Multiple Issues Through the Subscription Action Bar.

Editing the Subscription Issue Information

When the subscription issues are generated, the issues are numbered sequentially (e.g., 1 through 12). They can be renamed by editing the information (e.g., Technology Today, No. 1, Issue 12) from the Edit Subscription Issues Profile window. The Edit - Subscription Information window also allows you to add or edit Subscription Issue details, for example, issue title, advertising deadline dates, number of pages, weight of issue, special issue information, and topics for the issue.

To Edit the Subscription Issue Information:

1. Go to the Subscription Profile.
2. On the subscription issues child form, click the GoTo arrow next to the Subscription Issue.
3. On the Subscription Issues Profile apge, click the Edit button.
4. Edit any information as appropriate, for example, the issue name, description, and any other information that is issue specific.
5. Click Save.

Adding a Special Issue

You may have a special Subscription Issue, such as an end-of-year issue or double-issue, for which you need to enter additional information. To add a special Subscription Issue, you need to designate it as one when you are adding Subscription Issue details.

To add a special Subscription Issue:

1. Go to the Subscription Profile.
2. When you add a new Subscription Issue on the Subscription Issues Child Form, select the Special Issue check box, seen below.
3. Enter information for the Special Issue.
4. Click Save.

Finding a Subscription Issue

Finding a Subscription Issue that has been entered into the NetForum database as part of a Subscription is easily accomplished. The Find function is universal throughout NetForum and detailed on the Find topic.

Finding records within the Issue Group Item follows the same format and function. You may search by the following:

• Subscription Name
• Issue End Date
• Fulfillment End Date
• Special Issue Flag (if the Issue is a Special Issue, select this flag)
• Number of Pages

The Advanced View checkbox allows you to conduct boolean searches to broaden and narrow your search as needed. If you are uncertain with what you are looking for, use the netFORUM wildcard character, the percent sign (%) to help you with your search.

Navigating to the Subscription Issue Profile

The Subscription Issue Profile is created once you have entered a new Issue or Issues as part of your Subscription Profile. You can add prices and price attributes, add a product affiliation, view advertising information, and add inventory to the warehouse.

To navigate to and view a specific Issue profile page:

1. Click on the Subscriptions Issues Child Form from the Subscription Profile.
2. Click the GoTo button next to the Issue you want to view.

Depending upon which Issue you choose, its Subscription Issue Profile will display.

Note: You may also choose to List or Find specific Issues from the Issue Group Item menu.

The Subscription Issue Profile

The Subscription Issue Profile shows specific details about the selected Subscription Issue including:

• Issue Name and Description (if entered)
• Product Code, Category, and Format if applied
• Issue Start and End Dates
• Fulfillment Start and End Dates
• Ad Space Close Date and Ad Materials Due Date
• Volume Number, Issue Number, and Number of Pages

Other applicable information (if entered) such as Weight, Sell Online, Special Issue, Taxable, Delivery Method, Track Inventory, COGS Account, Inventory Account, and whether or not Backorders are allowed is also available.

The Subscription Issue Profile also has several tabs available that enable you to enter additional related information about each Subscription Issue such as pricing attributes, affiliated products, and inventory information. Each tab and related child forms are discussed in detail below.

The child forms allow you to add additional, related information:

• On the Prices tab, the issue prices child form allows you to add additional prices (e.g., member price, special offer price, bulk discount price)
• On the Product Affiliations tab, the complimentary products child form allows you to add a set of complementary products that go together
• On the Product Affiliations tab, the substitute products child form allows you to add a product that can be substituted for this product
• On the Miscellaneous tab, the people companies child form allows you to affiliate a person or company with the product
• On the Advertising tab, the prices child form allows you to add information about the advertising rates.
• On the Inventory tab, the available inventory child form allows you to add the subscription issues to warehouse inventory. (From the available inventory child form, you will also be able to view the name of the warehouse, the merchandise quantity on hand, quantity committed, quantity available, and quantity reordered)
• On the Inventory tab, the vendors child form allows you to add subscription vendor information.

Prices Tab

The Prices Tab is where you keep track of what you are charging for each of the individual Subscription Issues of your Subscription. The tab contains one child form; the issue prices child form, discussed in more detail below.

Issue Prices Child Form

Each time you enter a price when adding a new Subscription Issue, it will appear on the issue prices child form. For example, in the screenshot above, the issue price is the price originally set when adding a Writer's Digest subscription Subscription Issue for a member. However, you may want to add various prices for your Subscription Issues other than simply a member rate. You may want to add a rate for non-members to incite them to join your Association or a price for a Special Issue. This is accomplished by clicking the Add Record button on the issue prices child form.

To Add a Subscription Issue Price:

1. Go to the Subscription Issue Profile.
2. On the Prices tab, on the issues price child form, click add. The Add - Subscription Issue Price window displays.
3. Enter the new price.
4. Enter the display name.
5. Select G/L account information.
6. Select member or non-member.
7. Select a customer type.
8. Click Save.

Affiliated Products Tab

The Affiliated Products tab on the Subscription Issue Profile enables you to associate other products to the Subscription Issue you are currently viewing just as when you add a new Merchandise product to Inventory or to a Subscription.

For example, you can assign a complementary product, a substitute product, and a product that much be purchased first (a prerequisite product) to each of your Subscription Issues as well as to the overall Subscription.

To add affiliated products, click the Add Record button. .

Miscellaneous Tab

The Miscellaneous tab on the Subscription Issue Profile enables you to associate people and/or companies with a role to the Subscription Issue you are currently viewing on the people/companies child form, seen below.

For example, you can note who the Author or Publishers are in your current Issue such as the screenshot above shows.

To add a new role, click the Add Record button. Note that you must set-up the roles you want to associate to your publications (such as author, editor, publisher, etc.) first in the Inventory Setup module before they will appear in the people/companies child form.

Inventory Tab

The Inventory tab on the Subscription Issue Profile enables you to designate a Vendor that will normally publish your Subscription Issues as well as specify the Warehouse where they are distributed from. The tab contains two child forms; the available inventory child form and the vendor child form, both of which are discussed below.

Available Inventory Child Form

Selecting a Warehouse for the Subscription Issue

To add Subscription Inventory inventory to a specific Warehouse that you designate, click the Add Record button on the available inventory child form.

You will then need to specify which Warehouse you want to fulfill your Issues and Subscriptions from as well if this Warehouse is the primary location and if you want a low inventory notification. Click the save button to store these details. You will notice that your Warehouse has been store for the Issue but that there are still no Issues On-Hand or Available on the child form. This is because you have not specified a Vendor to supply the Warehouse or created a Purchase Order to create this supply. Nor have you associated this Subscription Issue to the Warehouse itself which is described briefly below.

Adding a Subscription Inventory Item to a Warehouse

You can add a Subscription Issue to the Warehouse from the the Warehouse Profile, products child form. The Add Inventory Warehouse window associates the product with the warehouse. Later, when you want to re-order the product from the Purchase Order Profile, the warehouse and product show together in the inventory item drop-down list.

To Add Inventory Items to a Warehouse:

1. Go to the Warehouse Profile.
2. On the products child form, click add.
3. On the Add - Inventory Warehouse window, from the inventory item drop-down list, select the subscription issue name.
4. Enter the warehouse location.
5. If this is the primary warehouse location, select the primary check box. (You must have a primary location.)
6. In the quantity on hand field, enter the total subscription issue inventory for this warehouse.
7. Click Save.
8. (Repeat for each issue.)

Once a Warehouse has been designated and your Subscription Issue associated to it, you must still specify a Vendor and create a Purchase Order. You can associate a Vendor to supply the Warehouse on the vendor child form, described below. However, to understand the complete inventory workflow, view the topic on Inventory Workflow.

Vendor Child Form

You must also decide which Vendor you will use to supply your Warehouse. This is accomplished on the vendor child form. Click the Add Record button on the vendor child form to select a previously added vendor. You may also enter terms and expected lead time to produce the Subscription Issue.

Once both Vendor and Warehouse have been specified for your Subscription Issues, you should create a Purchase Order to add your Subscription Issues to the Warehouse.

Subscription Fulfillment

Fulfilling Subscriptions entails creating invoices and then filling the orders. The invoice includes invoice number, customer name, batch number, item quantity, price,  taxes, discounts, shipping fee, shipping address, and prepayment (entry of payment and/or customer credits against invoice).

Allowing Issue Backorders

If you plan on restocking the Warehouse when the quantity of Subscription Issues on-hand reaches 0, you can allow customers to order the issue even though it is out-of-stock by allowing back orders.

To allow people to place Subscription Issue backorders:

1. Go to the Subscription Profile.
2. On the subscription issues child form, click the GoTo arrow next to the Subscription Issue.
3. On the Subscription Issues Profile, click the edit button.
4. Select the allow backorders check box (upper right corner of the window).
5. Click Save.

Note: If the allow backorders option is NOT set up and a customer tries to buy an issue that is out-of-stock (inventory equals 0), the customer will get a message that says that the item is out-of-stock and they will not be allowed to purchase the issue (i.e., add a payment).

Tracking Subscription Issue Inventory

You can view the available subscription inventory from the Subscription Profile, Inventory tab, available inventory child form.

To View Subscription Inventory:

1. Go to the Warehouse Profile.
2. The list of issues displays on the products child form.

Ordering a Subscription Issue Through Centralized Order Entry

The steps to order an individual Subscription Issue through COE are exactly as described for Ordering a Subscription Through Centralized Order Entry with one minor difference.

In the subscription drop-down field, choose subscription issue instead of subscription. You will then receive a list of individual issues to choose from for purchase. See the screenshot below.