Section 5
FASTPOST

FASTPOST is a special entry module that makes entry of items that have been barcoded with the customer account number and amount due very fast!

FASTPOST is licensed as an add-on module to the standard RASWIN so if you do not have a license to this module, it will not be active on your menu and you won't be able to use it.

Assuming it is available at your site, you select it from the main menu, as shown below:

FASTPOST Screen Dispaly

The FASTPOST entry screen will be displayed, as shown below: The first thing you will do is select the FASTPOST "Key". This is a code that tells RASWIN what type of documents you are processing. For example, you might have "AR" for accounts receivable invoices, "UB" for utility bills, etc. You can click on the "<" and ">" arrow buttons to select a different FASTPOST key value.

As you do this, RASWIN will read the setup values associated with each particular key value. These settings tell RASWIN what transaction code is to be used, and define the scan line.

For example, it needs to know answers to these questions: "What is the starting position of the account number within the scan line?", "How many characters are in it?", "What is the starting position of the amount value?", and lastly, "How many characters are in the amount field?" These values are all stored in the table that defines the FASTPOST settings - which you define with Table Maintenance functions.

To start processing, click on the New Batch buttion on the left side of the screen below the FASTPOST Key entry area. RASWIN will automatically assign a batch number for you. These numbers increment automatically by one each time you asked for a new batch.

If you want to you can enter a "batch total" value in the entry field on the right side of the screen. This is used as a cross-check for your entries to ensure you scanned all the items and is compared against the scanned total as items are entered.

In the main entry field you will then begin to scan your items, one at a time. As the scanner reaches the end of the scan line, it will automatically add the line to the grid, using the parameters defined in the FASTPOST setup table (explained earlier) to split the scan line into the account number and payment amount values.

In the above examples, two items have been scanned in to RASWIN. The "Difference" field is shown in red, because we did not enter a batch total before we started scanning. Once this is done, assuming the items scanned total to the amount entered in the batch total field, the field will turn "green" ( Green: GOOD!, Red: BAD! ) Note that RASWIN shows the total number of items scanned, how long it has taken (total seconds), and average time per item. These figures are recalculated each time you complete a scan. The total dollars is also adjusted with each scan, and compared to the pre-entered (or post- entered) batch total in the "Difference" field.

If you need to adjust an item because the customer paid a different fee than was coded on the document, you can simply click on that field in the grid and re-enter a different amount. This would be done, for example, if their utility bill was $99.95 and they rounded up to an even $100.00 when they sent in their check. This is why it is important to run a tape on the payments (checks) BEFORE processing the items through the scanner - it will help you be sure that you have not mis-posted any customer accounts.

When you are done scanning, you will click the PROCESS button to turn the scanned items into line items on a standard receipt. From this point forward, the receipt is completed like a standard receipt - you process payments, print the receipt (if needed) and you are done. You will find that once you get the rhythm of processing items with FASTPOST down, it will take about 1 to 2 seconds per item to get the batches posted.

We recommend that you keep your batch size to about 50 items or so - this makes it easier to locate errors in your batches - and you won't feel too bad if you just give up on the batch entirely and start over. If you have larger batches (100 items or more) it is "bad karma" (for most of us) to have to discard that much work.