Aspect Software

 

Back-office software for Restaurateurs

 
 
 

New Features In Version 4

 

(Revised 04-12-2000)


 

Miscellaneous Additions


A helpful new feature is the addition of an auto-scroller in every window. If the mouse is pressed and dragged either above or below a window, the contents of the window will automatically scroll up or down without the need to press the scroll bar.


A new checkbox has been added to the Application setup in Settings / Applications permitting you to terminate the Aspect program after launching another application or batch file. This is helpful if you create a menu item in the Action menu to install a program upgrade since Aspect must be terminated before the necessary DLL’s can be overwritten.


Another new feature in the Application section is the ability to pass the current date and time to an application or batch routine launched from Aspect. This can be used to archive or copy data to a directory using the current date as the name of the directory. To pass the date or time, add one of the following tokens as an optional parameter: [mmddyy], [mm-dd-yy], [mmddyyyy], [mm-dd-yyyy], [hhmmss], [hh:mm:ss].


An auto-format routine was introduced into version 3 to automatically format reports as columns are added and removed. Sometimes, it is desirable to format a report manually. Later upgrades of version 3 and all releases of version 4 permit you to suppress the auto-format routine for selected displays.


All releases of Aspect give you the ability to customize the existing pre-defined reports and to create new reports. Version 4 lets you password protect reports that you create so that another user cannot modify the report. This is especially useful when you want to be sure that reports are consistent across several stores.


Password Protection


Extensive password protection has always been a part of Aspect Software. A new addition now lets you use separate password levels for read and write access. For example, a user may have the ability to view recipe ingredients without the ability to change them.


Another addition is the use of separate password levels for current and historical data. For example, a user may have the ability edit a current inventory count without being able to modify a previous count.


Inventory Additions


When working with inventory items and recipes, version 3 included a set of standard sizes for you to use such as Pound, Each, Gallon, etc. Version 4 gives you the ability to create up to 128 user-defined sizes such as Flat, Tray, Sleeve, etc. You are still free to use any size with any item or recipe. Aspect will ask for a conversion if it doesn’t know how to convert from one size to another.


Version 4 also gives you the ability to organize your inventory by area. Up to 33 areas may be defined such as Cooler, Line, Freezer, Dry Storage, etc. Each inventory item may be assigned to as many as 16 areas and an item may be assigned to an area more than once. Items assigned to an area may be sorted alphabetically or arranged in the order that they appear on the shelf.


When adding items to an invoice, vendor codes that appear on the invoice may now be used to locate an item in Aspect, providing that you have recorded the vendor’s code in the item setup in Aspect.


Additional routines have been added for exporting accounts payable to an accounting package. Accounting packages currently supported include Navision, Great Plains Dynamics, MAS 90, BusinessWorks and Solomon with Quickbooks soon to be added.


Payroll & Scheduling Additions


If you have a digital camera, you can now add employee photos to the employee records in Aspect.


Another addition to the employee records section is the ability to record the times that an employee can and cannot work. This information is used when creating employee schedules to warn you when a shift conflicts with an employee’s availability.


In a similar fashion, schedule requests can be entered to record certain times or a range of days than an employee cannot work. A warning is given when a shift conflicts with a schedule request.


Other additions to the schedule include the ability to drag shifts from one day to another or from one employee to another using the mouse. You can also cut, copy and paste shifts from one place to another, speeding up entry of a schedule considerably. Hours and pay for each employee and the schedule as a whole are immediately recalculated whenever a change is made.


Version 4 and later releases of version 3 include additional settings for handling the new California and Nevada overtime laws.


Additional routines have been added to export payroll data to a payroll or accounting package. Packages now supported include: ADP, Express Pay, Great Plains, MAS 90, PcPayroll and Topps.


Sales Additions


It is now possible to calculate sales projections for any field in the sales record and for any period of time. A weighted average of up to five past periods is used for the projection. For example, sales for the upcoming Tuesday might be based on a weighted average of the last three Tuesdays and the same Tuesday last year plus 5%. You can also override any projection by manually entering it in the daily sales window.


Currently, these projections are available in the Edit Daily Sales window and in any Sales Summary report. Shortly, these projections will be included in the employee schedule to display projected labor percentages and to ensure that the optimum number of shifts have been scheduled.


A whole new set of journal reports have been added to the Sales menu, giving you access to detailed information contained in the check journal produced by your point-of-sale system. This information is available by revenue center and by employee.


Sales Mix Detail Report


Sales mix information is now available for every menu item by ¼ hour, ½ hour, hour and by any of 32 user-defined time periods. Time periods are defined by selecting Settings / Sales Setup / Time Periods. This reports shows the number sold and sales for each menu item and menu group over a selected period of time. You can also limit the report to a particular day to view the average number of each menu item sold and average sales dollars for any day of the week.


Check Header Report


The Check Header Report contains information from each check including the time that it was open, the employee that opened and closed it, the revenue center, total comps, discounts, voids, tenders and more. Double-click on any check in the report to view all details for the check.


Check Detail Report


The Check Detail Report shows all of the details available from a check including the menu items ordered, the type of comp or discount applied and the payment type.


Payment Details by Account


This report is used to view check and payment information by account number.


Payment Details by Room


This report is used to view check and payment information by room


Payment Details by Payment Type


This report is used to view check and payment information by payment type.


Comps & Discounts Report


The Comps & Discounts Report shows detailed information about every comp or discount applied during a selected range of dates, including the comp or discount type, the check number, time, employee, etc.


Voids Report


The Voids Report shows detailed information about every void applied during a selected range of dates including the void type, the check number, time, employee, etc.


Aspect Navigator


Another significant addition to Version 4 is the Aspect Navigator.


The Navigator helps new users get up and running quickly by organizing the most commonly used features in a way that is easy to understand. A description of each feature is provided and additional documentation is available on most screens.


Beyond being a training tool, the Navigator is flexible and powerful enough to serve as the standard way of accomplishing tasks in Aspect even when a user has become comfortable with Aspect’s basic features.


Because the Navigator is completely user-defined, you can use it to create a customized front end to the Aspect Software product that meets your company’s specific needs. For example, you might list the tasks that need to be performed every day such as printing daily sales and labor reports on a page with brief instructions for completing each task. These instructions can be specific to your company and might also tell the user that certain reports should be sent to a home office by fax or e-mail. You might use another page to list weekly or end-of-period tasks. Separate pages could also be created for individual users or for a bookkeeper and a general manager. Password protection can be used to limit access to the different Navigators.


Besides accomplishing tasks in Aspect, the Navigator can be used access other local documents and programs quickly and easily. The Navigator can also be used to retrieve documents, program upgrades and other files from any Web or FTP site. For example, if your company produces training, support, financial or other documents, those documents can be stored on a Web or FTP site. Users can then access these documents simply by clicking on the appropriate Navigator controls. You might also distribute Aspect data files or point-of-sale data files in this manner.