Getting Started

EZScale is designed to be easy to use! But when you consider all that EZScale does... interfacing with scales, printing custom designed tickets, interfacing with your accounting software, generating custom reports and controlling user access and activity logs, you can imagine that you may need some help getting EZScale configured and ready for use.

This Getting Started section will give you an overview of the basic setup tasks that need performed to use various features of EZScale. The amount of work you need to do will depend on whether you are just evaluating EZScale or ready to implement EZScale fully.

Regardless of your specific needs, we recommend that you contact SSI Consulting Group or an authorized service provider to discuss your specific situation. SSI Consulting Group offers numerous technical support options including on-site and advanced services to ensure that you get the most out of EZScale.

Basic Setup Steps

To effectively use EZScale, you will need to address one or more of the following steps...

License Registration

EZScale is protected by a License Manager. After registering EZScale, an .SLX file will be created in the program directory. It is important to backup this file and keep it in a safe place. This file will be required to restore your license should you ever have a harddrive crash and need to reinstall Windows and EZScale. Click here for more information the License Manager and backing up the .SLX file.

User Accounts and Privileges

When you first install EZScale, there is one DEFAULT user defined and the password for that user is blank... nothing... unassigned. The DEFAULT user has full privileges and all new users that you create will be based on the privileges assigned to the DEFAULT user.

The first thing you may want to do is setup one or more administrative users with full privileges and secure passwords, then disable the DEFAULT user. If you are just evaluating EZScale and aren't yet concerned about security, you can skip this step and continue to log on as the DEFAULT user. You can always change users and privileges later.

Select Maintain | Users from the menu.

Create one or more new administrative users and assign them secure passwords. It's a good idea to create more than one administrator account with full privilege just in case you accidentally delete one.

Make sure the administrator have full privileges to all areas of EZScale, especially to the Users Table. If you you remove privileges from all users to the users table, no one will be able to add, delete or modify users later.

Before you go any further, try logging off EZScale and logging back on as one of the administrators.

Next, logged in as an administrator, select Maintain | Users and lookup the DEFAULT user.

Change the DEFAULT users privileges to what you would want a new user to start with since all new users are based on the DEFAULT user. You can even assign a starting password for all new users if you want.

Check the Inactive box and save the record. By setting the DEFAULT user as inactive, no one will be able to log onto EZScale using the DEFAULT account but you can still create new users based on this profile.

Tickets

To print a Ticket from EZScale, you either need to create a new design or use one of the pre-designed tickets included with EZScale, and point to the ticket in the Options.

Design Steps

To design a new ticket, you must use the Ticket Designer. . If you are satisfied for now using a predefined ticket, you can skip this step and start with the Ticket Options Settings below.

Select Tools | Ticket Designer.

Design a new ticket and save it taking note to remember its name. Click here for details on using the Ticket Designer.

Ticket Options Settings

You must tell EZScale what ticket designs you want to print. If you don't do this, EZScale won't print any tickets, even though they may be designed.

Select Tools | Options | General Tab.

Under Tickets To Print, click the open file icon next to the first field.

Locate a ticket design and open it. The full path and name will be entered into the Options.

You can add up to three tickets, but you only need one to start with. See the Options | General Tab for more details.

You may want to add a Next Ticket ID. If you leave this blank, your first ticket will be numbered one (1).

Click OK to save your changes.

Scale Interface

If you would prefer to simply enter weights manually for now, you can skip to the Scale Option Settings below. However, if you are going to interface your computer running EZScale directly to a scale or scale head for automatic input, you will need a couple of things:

A scale or scale head with RS-232 communication capabilities.

The scale or scale head technical manual showing the wiring schematic or cable requirements, communication parameters settings, command and data stream formats. These may be called different things by different manufacturers so look carefully. You may have to contact the scale or scale head manufacturer for this information.

The necessary cables to connect between the scale or scale head and computer running EZScale.

After you have obtain the above information and hardware, follow the manufacturers instructions to connect your scale to the computer running EZScale. Click here for more information.

Scale Option Settings

Select Tools | Options from the menu then select the Comm Port tab on the Options dialog.

If you ARE NOT going to interface to a scale, you can uncheck the "Enable Comm Port" option. Click OK to save the changes and you are done. However, if you ARE going to interface to an attached scale, continue on!

On the Comm Port tab, you must set the communication settings to match those of your scale. For more information see the Comm Port tab help.

Next, select the Scale Codes tab and define the applicable fields. These fields tell EZScale how to parse information sent from the scale. For more information see the Scale Codes tab help.

Finally, select the Scale Settings tab and set the applicable fields. These fields tell EZScale how to read the weight fro the data sent by the scale and how to command the scale to send weights or zero itself. Again, for more information see the Scale Settings tab help.

When you are finished configuring the above three tabs, click OK on the Options dialog to save your changes.

Data Transfer

If you plan on transmitting (exporting) ticket detail for import by your accounting software or other purpose, you need to define the export file format, which fields to include, export file name to append data, etc. If you aren't ready to export ticket detail to other software, you can skip this section.

Select Tools | Options from the menu then select the Data Transfer tab on the Options dialog.

Select which type of file you need, Comma Separated Values or Fixed Length Fields (available in EZScale ver. 1.3x or later). You may need to see your accounting software documentation (or other software you want to import to) for details.

Click the Define Transfer Fields button and use the Transfer Fields Builder to select the fields, order, labels, sizes, etc. that will be transferred. When you are finished, click OK to save your definition.

Finally, back at the Options dialog on the Data Transfer tab, you need to set a destination path and filename for the transmittal (exported) data. Data will be appended to this file. You can either type the full path and file name or click the open file icon next to the first field and use the dialog to locate the directory and create a filename.

When you are finished, click OK on the Options dialog to save your changes.

Table Initialization

EZScale has the ability to associate a considerable amount of information with each ticket printed during the ticketing process such as truck, customers and vendors, truck weight limits, jobs, job phases, purchase orders, dollar and weight limits for purchase orders, inventory, stock levels, pricing, pricing levels, tax codes and rates and much more. Each of these items is automatically initialized with a DEFAULT record so you could skip this section and start ticketing immediately. However, you'll get the best sense of EZScale's full capabilities if you at least review and enter some additional data into each of the tables.

There are two categories of tables, primary and support. Primary tables include customers and vendors (called CV's for short), jobs, purchase orders, inventory, etc. Support tables are used to further classify (support) the primary tables.

For example, there are CV Types and CV Address Types support tables. The CV Types support table lets you define an unlimited number of classifications for primary Customer Vendors table such as Customer, Vendor, Both, Non-Profit, Government, Division, etc. And the CV Address Types support table lets you define an unlimited number of address classifications such as Bill To, Ship To, General, etc. that can be associated with the primary Customer Vendor table.

Because the support tables determine to some degree the type of information you can associate with the primary tables, you'll typically want to define the support tables first. For example, if you need five (5) price levels associated with each inventory item, you'll want to define those price levels in the support Price Levels table before you start entering inventory items in the primary Inventory table.

First setup the Support Tables that you plan to use under the Maintain menu. Support Tables are those at the bottom of the menu below the horizontal divider in the menu. Our best advise is to take a look at each table, study the fields that are available on the form and read the help for each form. You can get to the specific help for each form by pressing F1 while viewing the form.

Next, enter data into the Primary Tables that you plan on using (except for the Tickets table) under the Maintain menu. Primary Tables are those at the top of the menu above the horizontal divider in the menu. Again, before you start entering data, take a look at each table, study the fields available on the form and read the help for each form. You can get to the specific help for each form by pressing F1 while viewing the form.

Report Design

EZScale ships with some standard reports, but you may want to define your own to suit your management needs. EZScale lets administrators design reports that general users can use but not modify. If you just want to work with the samples reports provided by EZScale, you can skip this section.

Select Tools | Report Designer from the menu.

Follow the directions for the Report Designer form to create your reports. Since this can be a bit tricky, we've also included a Report Designer Tutorial that you may want to refer to.

After creating your reports, save them and exit the Report Designer.

The Ticketing Process

After you have completed the Basic Setup Steps, you are ready to start ticketing. Ticketing is the process of weighing a truck or container and generating a ticket, receipt, invoice, etc. for the load. What you call the ticket is up to you!

All ticketing is done from the Ticketing form. The basic steps are...

Open the Ticketing form by pressing the F9 shortcut key or selecting Tasks | Ticketing under the menu.

When a truck or container is ready to be weighed, select the truck ID from the drop down list. If you didn't initialize any trucks, you may only have a DEFAULT record. Remember, you can add a new truck ID at any time by opening the Trucks table. As soon as the the truck is added to the Trucks table, you'll be able to select it here.

Select any other fields on the Ticketing form that you want to specify such as job, job phase, purchase order, inventory item, etc. You don't have select any. It's up to you how much information you want to associate with this ticket.

If your computer is attached to a scale and it is configured and enabled, you should see the current scale status or weight in the status bar. You can view a larger scale display by selecting View | Scale Display from the menu. If you do not have a scale attached and configured, or if it is not enabled, then you will have to enter weights manually on the keyboard.

Now we are ready to get a Tare Weight for the truck. If you are receiving material and the truck starts loaded and ends up empty, we call that a loaded tare operation. EZScale can handle loaded tares, but that's not what we're explaining here.

Click the tare button on the Toolbar to display the Tare dialog. If you are working manually, click the manual option, enter the tare weight then click OK. If your scale is working, the scale weight will automatically update in the weight field. When you are ready to accept the weight, click OK.

The tare weight will automatically be transferred to the Ticketing form and it will saved with the current truck record. By saving the tare to the truck record, the next time you select this truck for a ticket, the tare weight will already be there and you won't have to tare it again unless you have a reason to do so. You can re-tare as often as you want and EZScale can even keep a history of your tares.

Now that we know the tare weight, you can load the truck.

After the truck is loaded and the scale is stabilized, you are ready to capture or enter the Gross Weight for the truck with its load.

If your scale is attached and working properly, the gross weight should automatically appear in the Gross Wt. field of the Ticketing form. If you the scale is not attached, enabled or working properly, you will have to enter the gross weight manually.

Even if the scale is attached and working properly, you can switch between automatic and manual mode by clicking the Manual icon or Automatic icon on the Toolbar.

After you have entered the weight, EZScale should update the Net Weight. If you have associated purchase orders and inventory with prices to this ticket, the Purchase Order information will be updated also.

If you are receiving payment now for the load and/or if you simply want to see the Charges associated with the load, click the Charges tab. Enter any payments received, payment method, etc. that you want to record.

You are now ready to print your ticket. Click the Print icon on the Toolbar. EZScale will do some validation and may display a warning message if there are concerns.

If there are validation concerns, such as mismatched customer vendors between the purchase order and job, an unstable scale reading, etc., you will be given an opportunity to return to the ticket to correct the concerns.

Once the validations are satisfied, EZScale will print you ticket, automatically clear the ticket form, and increment the Ticket ID to the next value. If you had associated jobs, purchase orders, and/or inventory items with your ticket, EZScale also adjusted quantities, dollars, etc. in those associated records.

You are now ready to ticket your next load and to repeat the process.

An important convenience feature of EZScale to note is that if you select a truck that has been previously loaded (except for the DEFAULT record), EZScale will lookup and recall the job, job phase, purchase order, etc. associated with the truck the last time it was ticketed. This can save considerable time when trucks keep making multiple trips for the same job, job phase and/or purchase order.

Summary

Above is just an overview of the ticketing process. EZScale has many advanced features to further support the ticketing process including loaded tares that we already talked about, receiving payments at a later time, voiding tickets, etc. Security features and logs can be enabled to track scale and operator activity to ensure system integrity and operator honesty.

How you use EZScale will depend on your needs and creativity configuring and using the features available. After seeing the power and flexibility of EZScale, many clients see the advantage of having SSI Consulting Group or an experienced authorized solution provider assist in setup, configuration and operator training to ensure that you receive maximum benefit. But rest assured, once EZScale is set up, it's name (EZ - Scale) will bear out to be true!