Advanced Leased Storage Overview

Purpose of this document

This document outlines the setup and processing related to Advanced Leased Storage and Invoicing when Food Banks lease out a portion of their storage space.

Ceres Object release 6.00.00 is required for the functionality described in this document.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Overview
• Setup
• Processing Adv. Leased Storage Transactions
  • Product Receipt
  • Product Pickup
  • Item Charges
  • Viewing Adv. Leased Storage Ledger Entries
• Billing Lessees
  • Automatic Billing
  • Periodic Billing
• Advanced Leased Storage Reports
  • Leased Storage Cust. Inv. Summary by Lot No.
  • Leased Storage Cust. Inv. Summary by Bin Code
  • Leased Storage Cust. Item Detailed Transactions

Overview

The Advanced Lease Storage module was designed to meet the detailed requirements of managing a leased storage facility. It contains the ability and flexibility to accurately record the day to day transactions, provide reliable inquiry and reporting both internally and externally to the client’s leased storage customers.

Due to the fact that the warehouse storage locations used for leased storage are shared with the food bank’s operations it is necessary to facilitate the sharing of warehouse locations within Ceres as well. It is not possible to run the leased storage operation completely autonomous from the food bank.

Setup

1. Set up a new Receivables Account and Revenue G/L Account for Leased Storage transactions. G/L Accounts can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “Chart of Accounts” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Chart of Accounts” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Chart of Accounts” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Note: Make sure the Direct Posting field on the General FastTab IS NOT toggled on the Accounts Receivables-Cold Stge account and IS toggled on the Cold Storage Revenue account(s).

Note: You can add an optional Storage Fees G/L Account for recording the leased monthly storage fees in a separate G/L Account from the other Leased Storage revenue.

2. Set up a new Agency Posting Group for Leased Storage Transactions. Agency Posting Groups can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “Agency Posting” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Agency Posting Groups” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Agency Posting Groups” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

The Posting Group is linked to the new Receivable G/L Account that was set up in Step 1.

3. Complete the setup on the Adv. Leased Storage Setup page. Adv. Leased Storage Setup can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “Adv. Leased Storage” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Setup” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Setup” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Complete the setup on the Adv. Leased Storage Setup as follows:

1. Select a No. Series for Lot Nos.
2. Select a No. Series for Pallet Nos.
3. Link the Revenue Account field to the new Revenue Account you set up in Step 1.
4. If applicable, link the Storage Fees Account to the new Storage Fees Account you set up in Step 1. Otherwise, select the Revenue Account as the Storage Fees Account if you would like all revenue (monthly storage fees and transaction fees) to post to the same account.
5. Toggle Auto Post Sales Orders if you would like to automatically post the Sales/Agency Orders that are created when posting the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal for items being Received.

4. Set up a new Leased Storage Location. Locations can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “Location” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Locations” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Locations” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

In the below example a new LS-DRY Location was created.

Create at least one Zone for the leased storage transactions. More Zones can be set up if necessary.

Create at least one Bin for each Zone. Check the Leased Storage field in the Bin setup for each Bin that will be used for leased storage transactions.

5. Navigate to an existing Agency Card for each Lessee or create a new Agency, if necessary, and toggle the Adv. Leased Storage Customer field on the Information FastTab.

6. Create Leased Storage Items for each Adv. Leased Storage Agency. The Adv. Leased Storage Item List can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “adv. leased storage” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Item List” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Item List” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Click New to open a new card page and fill in the related fields or select Manage à Edit to edit an existing Leased Storage Item.

Note: Be sure to fill in the Qty. per Bulk UOM field to indicate how many of the Each Unit of Measure exists on a Bulk Unit of Measure. In this example, there are 100 Eaches on each Pallet. Also, be sure to select the appropriate UOM for creating Storage Fees on the Storage Fee UOM drop down selection field.

7. Create Units of Measure and their related fees for each Adv. Leased Storage Agency/Customer. The Adv. Leased Storage Customer UOM List can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “adv. leased storage UOM” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Customer UOM List” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Customer UOM List” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Click on New to open a new card page and fill in the related fields or select Manage à Edit to edit and existing Leased Storage Customer UOM.

The associated Fee will be charged to the Agency each time a transaction of the related Entry Type is posted in the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal. You can set up multiple UOMs for the same Entry Type and Agency No. by simply selecting different Starting Dates. This feature is useful to increase/decrease the fees for some time in the future. For example, if in October 2023, you desire to implement a fee increase starting in January 2024, you could create a new Unit of Measure for all the same field values and a Starting Date of 1/1/2024. Then at the end of day on December 31, 2023, you would fill in the Ending Date on the previous Unit of Measure with 12/31/2023 to deactivate it.

8. The same card page in Step 7 above can be used to setup Item Charges (Ancillary Charges), such as Re-palletizing or Shrink Wrapping. The associated Fee will be charged to the Agency each time a transaction of the Entry Type of Item Charge (Ancillary Charge) is posted in the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal. Agency No. can be left blank for an Item Charge if you would prefer that all Agencies be charged the same fee for this Code. You can set up multiple Item Charges for the same Entry Type and Agency No. by simply selecting different Starting Dates. This feature is useful to increase/decrease the fees for some time in the future. For example, if in October 2023, you desire to implement a fee increase starting in January 2024, you could create a new Item Charge for all the same field values and a Starting Date of 1/1/2024. Then at the end of day on December 31, 2023, you would fill in the Ending Date on the previous Item Charge with 12/31/2023 to deactivate it.

Note: If the Ancillary Charge Code, does not exist it can be created by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “ancillary” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Ancillary Charges” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Ancillary Charges” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

9. Create an Adv. Leased Storage Journal Template. Adv. Leased Storage Journal Templates can be created by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “leased storage journal” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Journal Template” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Journal Template” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Create at least one Adv. Leased Storage Journal Batch (Related à Template à Batches). This batch will be used to enter and process transactions through the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal.

10. On any Location, whether new or existing, that you plan to store Leased Storage Items, you need to decide if you would like to round up partial pallets for the purposes of calculating Storage Fees. 

Navigate to an existing Location Card for each storage location and find the “Round-up Full Pallet on Storage Fee.” on the Bin Policies fasttab. If selected, any quantity of product on the Bulk UOM will be treated as a full Bulk UOM. For example, if the Bulk UOM is a pallet which normally holds 100 Cases, a pallet with only 1 Case will be considered as a full pallet for Storage Fee calculations.

Processing Adv. Leased Storage Transactions

Product Receipt

1. The Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal is used to receive items that are being stored. The Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “adv. leased storage item” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Update the fields in the Leased Storage Item Journal:

Posting Date: Input the date the pallets were received.

Entry Type: Select Receive

Agency No: The lessee’s Agency No.

Branch Code: Enter, if applicable.

Location Code: Select the Location where the product will be stored.

Item No: The lookup in this field shows only those items related to the Agency entered above.

Description: The description will default with the Item Description, however, it may be overwritten or amended.

Code: Enter the Unit of Measure for the item being Received. The lookup on this field shows only those UOMs related to the Agency entered above.

Bin Code: Enter the Bin Code where the item will be stored. The lookup on this field shows only those Bins related to the Location entered above.

External Agency Lot No.: Enter the Agency’s Lot   number, if any. This will aid in the search for a specific lot if the product is stored in multiple locations and is being requested by the Agency.

Quantity: Enter the Quantity being received. Once entered, an internal Lot No. will be assigned automatically and the Fee Amount for the receipt will be calculated.

If the Code entered is the same as the Item’s Bulk UOM Code, then you need to run the Create Pallets function. The function will separate the Quantity into separate lines of quantity = 1 and assign a Pallet No. to each line, as shown below.

Select Post to post the Journal.

Product Pickup

1. The Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal is also used to record the pickup of product that is being stored. The Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “adv. leased storage item” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Update the fields in the Leased Storage Item Journal.

Entry Type: Select Pickup.

Posting Date: Input the date the product is to be picked up.

Agency No: The lessee’s Agency No.

Branch Code: Enter, if applicable.

Location Code: Select the Location where the product is stored.

Item No.: Enter the Item No. that is being picked up. The lookup list for this field is limited to the items being stored for the Agency entered above.

Description: The description will default with the Item Description, however, it may be overwritten or amended.

Code: Enter the Unit of Measure for the item being picked up. If the product was received as the Item’s Bulk UOM, then the Item can be picked up as either the Item’s Bulk UOM or the Item’s Each UOM (for example, Pallet (Bulk) or Case (Each). The lookup on this field shows only those UOMs related to the Agency entered above.

Bin Code: Enter the Bin Code where the product is stored. The lookup for this field lists only those bins that are assigned to the Location Code entered above. 

External Agency Lot No.: Leave this field blank. It will be filled in automatically when the Lot No. field is filled in.

Lot No.: Enter the internal Lot No. for the product being picked up. The lookup for this field lists only those Lot No.’s that are being stored for  the Agency entered above. Once the Lot No. is selected, the External Agency Lot No., if any, will be retrieved.

Pallet No.: If the product being picked up was received using the Item’s Bulk UOM, then select a Pallet from the lookup list. The lookup for this field lists only those pallets that are currently being stored for the Agency entered above. 

Quantity: Enter the Quantity being picked up. If the Code entered above is equal to the Item’s Bulk UOM, the Quantity is limited to 1. Once the Quantity is entered the Fee Amount for the pickup will be calculated.

Select Post to post the Journal.

Item Charges

1. The Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal is also used to record Item Charges (Ancillary Charges) related to the product that is being stored. Examples of these charges are re-palletizing product, shrink wrapping, etc. The Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “adv. leased storage item” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

Update the fields in the Journal.

Entry Type: Select Item Charge (Ancillary Charge).

Posting Date: Input the desired date.

Agency No: The lessee’s Agency No.

Branch Code: Enter, if applicable.

Location Code: Select the Location where the product is stored.

Item No.: Enter the Item No. that the Item Charge is related to. The lookup list for this field is limited to the items being stored for the Agency entered above.

Description: The description will default with the Item Description, however, it may be overwritten or amended.

Code: Select the desired pre-defined code for this Item Charge.

Bin Code: Enter the Bin Code where the product is stored.

External Agency Lot No.: Leave this field blank.

Lot No.: Enter or select the Lot No. for the product being stored.

Pallet No.: Enter or select the Pallet No. for the product being stored.

Quantity: Enter the applicable Quantity. Once the Quantity is entered the Fee Amount for the Item Charge will be calculated.

Select Post to post the Journal.

Viewing Adv. Leased Storage Ledger Entries

1. Once the Adv. Leased Storage transactions have been posted, you can view them by navigating to the Adv. Leased Storage Item List. The Adv. Leased Storage Item List can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “adv. leased storage” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Adv. Leased Storage Item List” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Adv. Leased Storage Item List” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

                Select the Item and navigate to Related à History à Ledger Entries.

Billing Lessees

Automatic Billing

1. When the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal is posted with any line having the Entry Type of Receive, the system will automatically create an Agency Order for the applicable Agency, billing the Agency for the Fee Amount calculated on the line.

2. You can view the Agency Order by navigating to the Agency Orders list. The Agency Orders list can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “agency order” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Agency Orders” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Agency Orders” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page. An example follows:

After reviewing the Agency Order, you can post and/or print it normally.

3. If the Auto Post Sales Orders field on the Adv. Leased Storage Setup field is checked, the Agency Orders created following the posting of the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal will post and print automatically.   In this case, you would navigate to Posted Agency Invoices to view the Posted Agency Invoice.

Periodic Billing

1. Periodically, usually once per month, a user will run the Create Adv. Leased Storage Customer Invoices. This process will invoice all Leased Storage Agencies for Storage Fees on Items in storage during the period since the last run of this process and any previously unbilled charges for transaction fees and Item Charges posted through the Adv. Leased Storage Item Journal.

The Create Adv. Leased Storage Customer Invoices can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “create adv.” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Create Adv. Leased Storage Customer Invoices” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Create Adv. Leased Storage Customer Invoices” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page.

2. Select the desired Posting Date on the Request Page and click OK.

3. When the process is finished, a dialog box will appear to inform the user of how many Agency Orders were created, as shown below:

4. You can view the Agency Order by navigating to the Agency Orders list. The Agency Orders list can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “agency order” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting “Agency Orders” from the results in the Go to Pages and Tasks section OR by selecting the “Agency Orders” menu action (if present) from your Role Center home page. An example follows:

Advanced Leased Storage Reports

There are three basic Advanced Leased Storage reports. The reports can be accessed by selecting “Search” from the Dynamics 365 Business Central Banner and entering “LSC” in “Tell me what you want to do” then selecting one of the three report results in the Go to Reports and Analysis section.

Leased Storage Cust. Inv. Summary by Lot No.

This report summarizes the Leased Storage quantity on hand for each Agency by Item and by Lot No. as of a given date. Enter the desired As Of Date and any applicable filters.

Leased Storage Cust. Inv. Summary by Bin Code

This report summarizes the Leased Storage quantity on hand for each Agency by Item and by Bin Code as of a given date. Enter the desired As Of Date and any applicable filters.

Leased Storage Cust. Item Detailed Transactions

This report details the Leased Storage posted transactions for each Agency by Item including Lot No. and Pallet No. (if applicable) in chronological order by Lot No. and Pallet No. (if applicable) as of a given date. The default “As of Date” is the current WorkDate.

This report will provide the ability to accurately audit a specific Leased Storage Customer Item showing the complete transaction history. Enter the desired As Of Date and any applicable filters.