Volume

Another valuable feature is the ability to calculate the quantity based on three measurements – a volume calculation. The formula we are looking for here is (height X length X width) X rate = amount. QuickBooks can’t perform this calculation for you.

CCRQInvoice supports this kind of calculation. However, it isn’t always as simple as just multiplying the three figures. You may also need a unit conversion factor to change the value to a different unit of measure. For example, you may take your measurements in inches, but want to calculate the quantity in cubic feet. In this case the calculation would be ((height X length X width)/factor) X rate = amount.  For example, to convert from cubic inches to cubic feet you would divide by a factor of 1728.

When you use these kinds of calculations you introduce another issue – rounding. If we have a measurement of 48 inches X 48 inches X 7 inches you have a converted figure of 9.3333 cubic feet. You may decide that you only want to bill in whole figures. You could round up to 10 cubic feet, or possibly round down to 9 cubic feet. CCRQInvoice supports rounding.

In the Preferences settings for volume calculations you have 6 parameters:

•      Height: A custom field in the item list to hold the height. You will add this as a column in the order template.

•      Length: A custom field in the item list to hold the length. You will add this as a column in the order template.

•      Width: A custom field in the item list to hold the width. You will add this as a column in the order template.

•      Rounding: A custom field in the customer list. You can enter a rounding preference (as defined below) in the customer record to specify the rounding to be used for this customer. If you don’t enter a value for a customer then the Pref setting will be used.

•      Pref: A rounding preference to be used if one is not defined for a particular customer. The “default” setting.

•      Factor: A conversion factor to be used to convert the (height X length X width) value into a different unit of measure. This will be divided into that product. For example, 1728 would convert cubic inches into cubic feet.

Rounding preferences are a bit tricky to set up. You will enter a one or two character value that will specify the type of rounding and the number of decimal places to round to.

The first character will be the type of rounding. A “+” specifies that you will round up. A “-“ specifies that you will round down. A “*” specifies that you will use “bankers rounding” – rounding up or down to the nearest value.

The second character specifies the number of decimals to round to. If there is no second character the rounding will be to whole numbers.

So, for example:

•      “+2” will round up to two decimal places.

•      “-1” will round down to one decimal place.

•      “*” will round up or down to the nearest whole number (the same as “*0”).

The Rounding preference sets a custom field in the customer record where you can enter a rounding value. However, you must add this to the order form for it to be used.

If a rounding value is not found in the order then the program will use the Pref setting as the default. Therefore you can use Pref to set your standard method of rounding for most customers, and use the Rounding value only for those customers that are an exception to the general rule.

You need to modify your order form to show the following columns:

•      Add the height column (screen and print).

•      Add the length column (screen and print).

•      Add the width column (screen and print).

•      Add the rounding field in the header tab (screen only).

•      Have the item field be shown before the custom fields, because when you select an item the values in the custom fields will be cleared.

Create your order – enter a value of 1 in the quantity field (it doesn’t matter what you enter here, it will be overridden).

When you process the order will be updated: