Analyze performance by shipment date and commission received date
Unfortunately, many sales agencies no longer receive copies of invoices. The first time an agency knows about a sale is upon receipt of the commission statement or check. These agencies typically enter date into the software from commission statements.
The dilemma? When should an agency account for the sale: when it actually occurred (based on the invoice date), or when the agency entered the transaction? Most systems account for the sale at the time when the agency receives the check and processes it into the system (the process month). For example, if a check is received in March, the agency processes it in March even though the sale occurred in January. This means sales histories are skewed and never reflect actual sales that happened during any given period.
Flexible data analysis to meet your needs
With dynaMACS Standard System, you have the ability to analyze performance based on either the month when the sale occurred (also known as post month or sale month), or in the month when the agency processes the transaction (the process month).
The optional Dual Analysis feature enables an agency to keep historical records based on both the month of sale and the month of processing. Normal processing doesn’t change, there are no extra steps for your data entry operator, but you have an additional set of historical data that’s invaluable for analysis purposes.
During data entry, the operator sees both the “post month” (based on the invoice date) and the process month (when the agency records the sale).
Why having two sets of numbers is useful
When an agency records sales by the process month, it is difficult to accurately discuss past sales with manufacturers and customers, who record by sales month. However, an agency with dual analysis is able to tie numbers out to the manufacturer /customer’s books, but also has a second set of numbers to close the month and analyze performance based on a fixed period.
Pros and cons of both analysis methods
Sale (post) month:
- Pro: Sales figures for a given time period closely match the manufacturers’ figures.
- Con: Because sales figures for previous time periods are constantly being updated, it is difficult to get a handle on agency performance this year versus last year.
Process month:
- Pro: At the conclusion of each month, it is easy to compare agency performance to the same period last year (and year-to-date this year versus last).
- Con: Agency sales numbers do not tie out to manufacturer or customer sales figures.
With Dual Analysis, you don’t have to choose. Both sets of numbers are at your fingertips, with no extra data entry work!
Sales Entry Audit Report: Both the post month (based on the invoice date) and the process month (when the agency records the sale) appear on this report.
