NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and myStratus Desktop.

Spectra and myStratus Desktop offer several automation tools related to the production cycle. The software can automatically create production orders when an invoice meets a certain criteria. Also, when a production order is complete, the software can also automatically update the status of the invoice and notify the user.

Automating the Creation of Production Orders

There are three unique ways to automate the creation of production orders in Spectra/myStratus Desktop. Production orders can be created by the software in real-time, the user can be prompted to manually create them, or the Control Center can batch process them at regular times. Each of the methods includes a variety of "scenarios" to choose from that determine when a production order gets created.

1. Go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences and open the Production tab. 

2. Choose the method that works best for your business and then select the criteria you want to use to initiate the process.

• METHOD 1: AUTOMATICALLY CREATE PRODUCTION ORDERS WHEN...

• Never 

• Invoice is First Saved 

• Invoice has Received First Payment

• Invoice is Paid by at Least ___%

• Invoice is Paid in Full

• Invoice is Set to a Specific Status

• Exiting Out of the Sales Presentation

• METHOD 2: PROMPT THE USER TO CREATE PRODUCTION ORDERS WHEN...

  • Invoice is First Saved

  • Invoice has Received First Payment

  • Invoice is Paid by at Least ___%

  • Invoice is Paid in Full

  • Invoice is Set to a Specific Status

  • Exiting Out of the Sales Presentation

• METHOD 3: LET THE CONTROL CENTER CREATE PRODUCTION ORDERS WHEN...

• Invoice is First Saved

• Invoice has Received First Payment

• Invoice is paid by at least ___%

• Invoice is Paid in Full

• Invoice is Set to a Specific Status

• Invoice Matches the Criteria in a Filter
  

3. Click OK to save your preferences or continue with the final options (shown below).

Basing Status Due Dates on Delivery Date vs. Order Date  

You can decide how the software determines status due dates for your production cycle. There are two options available:

• Start with Order Create Date and move forward - All status due dates will be based on the date the production order is created and projected out from there using the default duration of each status. This is the default method.

• Start with Delivery Date and work backward - With this option, all status due dates will be calculated based on the approximate delivery date of the invoice using the default duration of the status. See the example below to see how it works. The benefit of this method is that the software will prioritize your work better based on the date you want to deliver an order by. When choosing this method of tracking due dates, the "Approximate Delivery Date" invoice field should be set as a required field to ensure the order can be tracked properly. See also: Data Entry Validation

Example:

The following production statuses have been created:

• Retouch Pending (3 days)
• Printing Pending (2 days)
• QA Pending (1 day)
• Shipped (final status)

An order is placed with an approximate delivery date of 7/31/15. The status due dates would be:

• Retouch Pending (7/28/15)
• Printing Pending (7/30/15)
• QA Pending (7/31/15)
• Shipped

IMPORTANT TIPS!

• WHEN the order was placed does NOT impact the due dates.
• Closed days are INCLUDED in the calculation (i.e., weekends and scheduled closed days).
• The actual status due date is still considered a day to accomplish the task. The status is not overdue until the following day.
• The default duration of initial and final statuses don't impact this model.
• The status cycle is the SUM of all the status durations.
• If the approximate delivery date of the invoice is changed AFTER a production order has been created, the user will be asked if all status due dates should be recalculated based on the new delivery date.

Automating the End of the Production Cycle

You can choose several ways that the software can signal you when all the production orders for an invoice are complete. 

1. Go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences and open the Production tab.

2. Scroll down to the bottom of the tab and choose any of the following options:

   • Automatically Set Invoice Status - When all production orders linked to an invoice are complete (i.e., they have reached the "Final" status as defined in your production status cycle), the software will automatically update the invoice status to the status you select here. Use this option to mark invoices as "Ready for Pickup" once all the components (or production orders) are complete. You can then use invoice status triggers to notify the client that their order is ready. See also: Triggers

   • Automatically Set Invoice Delivered Date - When all production orders linked to an invoice are complete (i.e., they have reached the "Final" status as defined in your production status cycle), the invoice Delivered Date will be set to the current date.

   • Automatically Notify the User - The user will be automatically notified when all production orders for an invoice have reached their final status.

3. Click OK to save your preferences.