Merge item cards

Fred Office Plus

Overview

There will often be a case in the store where there are duplicate item cards.

This can be caused by:

1. Inventory mismanagement.
2. Drug-linked item being created because Fred Office Plus could not find the drug code associated to an item card.
3. Store accidentally created another item unaware that the item card already exists.

Item cards cannot be deleted, so the only solution is to merge them.

Steps

1. Open one of the item cards you want to merge.

   It does not matter which one is newer or older, as the process of merging will enable you to select which elements you want to keep.

2. From the Tools menu, select Merge.
   
3. Search for the other item card you wish to merge. In the below example, we are selecting TEST 2.
   
4. Click Next. You will be prompted to choose which card details you want to keep:
   1. Which Item code and Description to keep.
   2. Which Item card price to keep.

   3. Which Stock Qty to keep or add both together.

      Adding both together is always the safest option, as it will balance both stock cards when merging.

   4. Which Barcode (Alias) to keep or add the barcodes of both items.

      Choosing both is also the safest option.

   5. Choose the Supplier of the item card.

5. After completing these steps, you will reach the final screen where you have the option to Merge now or Add to the merge queue.
   

   In some cases, stores may find that the Merge Now option is not available. This is primarily because one or both of the item cards have a large transaction history. When one of the cards has extensive history, Fred Office Plus will not allow you to Merge Now, as this may freeze the Fred Office Plus system. Stores will need to add these items to the merge queue overnight.

6. Click Finish.

Troubleshooting: what happens if the store has queued up a merge overnight but the merge did not happen?

This is likely due to an issue with the server. For the merge to happen, the computer running the Fred Office Plus service must be turned on. (In most cases, this is the server.)

To troubleshoot, determine whether the server was running overnight.

Server was not running overnight

For smaller stores with only one or two computers, it is likely they turn off the Fred Office Plus service machine when they leave. This results in the merge failing to initiate, as the computer is turned off and the merge cannot happen.

The solution for this is to ensure the computer is on the following night so the merge can run.

Larger stores with dedicated servers usually do not come across this problem, as their servers are constantly running.

Server was running overnight

For larger stores where the server has been running overnight and the merge failed to happen:

1. Restart the Fred Office services.
2. Wait overnight and check again the next day.
3. If the problem continues, contact Fred Support.

Related links

Merge products (Fred Office Plus Online Help)