Printing Product/Price/Barcode Labels with BlueBox

BlueBox has a nifty Product/Price/Barcode label printing and new Label Template management module.

Find this module on the Inventory Dashboard:

Firstly we'll look at creating and managing Label Templates:

You can add as many templates as you require.

When adding a label template follow these guidelines:

• The template should be created using CSS with metric sizing (ie mm).
  
  
• Remember that padding on DIV boxes increases the overall size of the box, so rather nest embedded DIVs if you want to add padding to an exact-sized external DIV.
• Image links should include the full URL (ie from HTTP://)
• You can add template-specific settings which will over-ride the label printing parameters:
  
  

Now that you have a template there are 2 scenarios for printing labels:

• Printing labels for stock/items from inventory or item-data
  
  You'd use this method to print price-labels, barcode-labels, shelf-labels etc
• Printing labels from the items listed on a document
  
  You'd use this method to print labels for goods received or goods despatched normally.

Printing Labels for Stock/Items:

• Use the filter to select the item/s you want to print labels for:
  
  
• View the list and apply the settings you require for your labels (if they have not already been applied by the template if you selected one in the previous filter):
  
  
• View, print or send to PDF as required.

Printing Labels from Documents:

• You can print labels directly from the document view:
  
  
• Or you can search for the required document by using the filter:
  
  
  
  
• Once you have selected the document or clicked directly through from the button in the document view, you will see a list of all the items on the document. Apply the settings you require for your labels (if they have not already been applied by the template if you selected one in the previous filter).
  
  
• View, print or send to PDF as required.

Setting Label Template Defaults within Item Data:

• You can specify within each item what it's default label template is, and this template will be used whenever the label engine is run and no specific template is selected:
  
  
  
• You can also toggle an item as 'requires label reprint' (as per screenshot above) and if this is set to yes the item will be listed when the filter for 'Print Labels for Stock/Items' is set:
  
  
  
• Once the label print-run has been sent then all the 'yes' flags on these items will automatically be set back to 'no'.

New Debug Error Logging Module

A new debug error logging option has been added to BlueBox. This will help track down and replicate issues on live systems.

To turn on, the "debug_log_errors_to_file" variable should be set to 1 in the conf file. The system will then begin logging all errors to /engine/logs/errors.html

The format is simplistic (to try keep the file size down), but contains a fair amount of data. Error data includes the error description, date/time, user and BU/LOC ID, IP address, URL and referring URL, user's browser, as well as a backtrace and the $_POST data (if any).

Price Embedded Barcodes in BlueBox ePOS

Newly added to our BlueBox ePOS Module is the ability to read price embedded barcodes.

This feature is added as a plugin, and can be configured to read as many different styles of price embedded barcodes as required.

The normal standard for price embedded barcodes is to embed a EAN barcode (13 digits including checksums) with a product barcode (or sku_code) and price. The purpose for these barcodes is to allow for dynamic pricing at point of sale, embedded in a quickly scannable barcode.

The syntax for the barcode is normally something along the lines of:

TTBBBBCPPPPPC (eg 2000017000336)

where TT is the trigger number for the price-embedded barcode (eg 20) and
BBBB is a 4 digit barcode (or sku_code) (eg 0001) and
C is a checksum digit (ignored) and
PPPPP is a 5 digit price in cents (eg 00033 = 0.33)

To add plugin to BlueBox ePOS simply add as many plugin statements as required for the number of price embedded barcode styles you require eg:

{price_embedded_barcode|string_length|prefix|sku_start_pos|sku_end_pos|price_start_pos|price_end_pos|conversion_ratio}

becomes

{price_embedded_barcode|13|20|3|6|8|12|1000}

These can be repeated next to eachother in the plugins areas, as required, eg:

{price_embedded_barcode|13|20|3|6|8|12|1000}{price_embedded_barcode|13|27|3|6|8|12|0}

A while back we added the Formbuilder to BB2 - it's purpose is to allow consultants and support staff to 'build' forms for customers based on existing classes/data tables.

Essentially it pretty-fies the form, allows for multiple columns, removes unwanted fields and allows for overriding the description of fields easily.

Up until now these formbuilder forms have had to be added via the formbuilder module - and we have 2 'default' formbuilder forms in the system namely : Add Creditor and Add Debtor.

Now we have added 2 new bbsettings so that PHP coders can quickly apply formbuilder to their calsses by default without the need for complex insertin into the Formbuilder class.

There are 2 bbsettings:

var $bbsetting_formbuilder_fields=array("field","field");

This one is required and is simply the list of fields from the current class that you want included in the formbuilder form.

and

var $bbsetting_formbuilder_fields_settings=array("field"=>value,"field"=>value);

This one is not required, but give you the option of overriding any of the default formbuilder settings that are applied when this is not set.

Automated Forex Gains and Losses in BlueBox

BlueBox has an automated way of dealing with the gains and losses which occur when a payment is finally attached to a debtors or creditors invoice.

It looks for a gain/loss between the base currency value in the invoice vs the base currency value in the payment.

If there is a gain/loss is check the following to see if it can automate the application of a suitable adjustment document (ie direct debit/credit note) to be applied to the invoice to correct the loss:

• The payment must be in the same forex currency as the invoice
• The payment must be for the full amount of the invoice (not just the balance owing)
• There must be a bb_sales_debtors_direct_debit_notes_types named 'Forex Gain Adjustment'
• There must be a bb_sales_debtors_direct_credit_notes_types named 'Forex Loss Adjustment'
• There must be a bb_procurement_creditors_direct_credit_notes_types named 'Forex Gain Adjustment'
• There must be a bb_procurement_creditors_direct_debit_notes_types named 'Forex Loss Adjustment'
• The must be a nominated GL account for gains in the bbsetting: bb_finance_general_ledger_accounts > bbsetting_forex_gains_account
• The must be a nominated GL account for losses in the bbsetting: bb_finance_general_ledger_accounts > bbsetting_forex_losses_account

Once these pre-requisites are confirmed to be in place the system will automatically add the required DR/CR notes each time a forex invoice is paid in full.

Inline Forex Base Currency Value Calculator for BlueBox

BlueBox includes forex specifications that allow you to manually set the forward rate and spot rates for any currency inputs in the system.

Until recently, if you wanted to over-ride the current spot rate for a currency value you would have to calculate the forward rate manually and then input it into the FR input box.

There is now a target base rate input field which automatically calculates the related FR rate to match the base rate that has been input:

Stripe Now Part of BlueBox Payment Gateways

BlueBox has recently added the Stripe Payment System to it's list of available payment methods/gateways.

A typical Pay Function would work like this: