Design Concepts
Lynx was designed to be as consistent and easy to use as possible. Learning to use the system, however, will be much easier if you understand the following design concepts. In most cases, if you simply read the screen, the function you want to do will be self-evident. Nevertheless, keeping these concepts in mind will help in your understanding of how the system works.
1. The system is organized into nine separate "functional areas".
- One (called Company) has to do with your company itself.
- The next seven (called Customer, Bookkeeping, Delivery, Inventory, Service, Tanks, and Reports) have to do with the various aspects of running your business.
- The last one (called Help) will give you detailed information on how the entire Lynx system works.
2. To figure out how to do something in the system, think of the logical category it fits into and start there. For instance . . .
If you want to find a customer (or something about a customer), start by going to the Lynx Main Menu and left-click on Customers and then follow the Drop-down Menu from there.
If you want to enter customer invoices (a bookkeeping function), start by going to the Lynx Main Menu and left-click on Bookkeeping and then follow the Drop-down Menu from there.
If you want to check something about one of your routes, start by going to the Lynx Main Menu and left-click on Delivery and then follow the Drop-down Menu from there.
3. Here's a few examples of how logical the system is to use . . .
On any given day, things will happen in your business that trigger some function to be performed using Lynx. For each of these events, you simply go to that particular part of the system and perform the specific function. Example:
| Event | Go To | Perform This Function | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You get a new account | Customers | Add a Customer | ||||
| You want to schedule service | Service | Add, Chance, Delete Service Orders | ||||
| You need information about a customer | Customers | Find a Customer | ||||
| You make a delivery | Bookkeeping | Add a Delivery Batch | ||||
| You want to print a delivery report | Reports | Delivery Reports | ||||
| You get payments in the mail | Bookkeeping | Add a Payment Batch | ||||
| You buy a tank | Tanks | Add, Change, Delete Tanks or Equipment | ||||
| You want to pay a bill | Bookkeeping | Accounts Payable | ||||
4. Across the top of most screens are a series of buttons that always mean the same thing within any given functional area.
If you are in the "Tank" part of the system and you left-click the "Find" button, it will show you how to Find a Tank.
Conversely, if you're in the "Customers" part of the system and you left-click the "Find" button, it will show you how to Find a Customer.
5. Any time you're dealing with money (such as receiving payments, entering invoices, or paying a bill), it's always done in a "batch".
Batch processing involves grouping like-type transactions together and calculating a control total for that batch. Then, after the batch is keyed into the system, the totals are matched to make sure everything was entered correctly.
6. Use the ten key pad (on the right side of your keyboard) when entering any invoice batch:
You can significantly speed up your data entry by using the ten key pad instead of using the number keys across the top of your keyboard:
- For help on this, see How to Use the Numeric Keypad.
7. There is a difference between the words "delete" and "remove"
When you "delete" something (like a person from an account) that person is literally gone and no longer exists in the system.
When you "remove" something (like a tank from an account), that tank is no longer associated with the account but still exists in the system (in the yard tank pool).
8. Use "Preferences" to modify the system to perform they way you want.
Within the Lynx system are "preferences" that can be set by you to direct the system to act in certain ways. For instance:
Use the company preferences to activate the Accounts Payable and General Ledger modules, to turn on auto backup, to specify the default route, etc.
Use the account preferences to tell the system if an account should have statements sent to it or not, whether finance charges apply, whether or not they're on a budget payment plan or not and , if so, at what rate and starting when, etc.
Use the invoicing preferences to select various default General Ledger accounts, to choose the print formats you want to use, to select the number of decimals to use for your prices and costs, etc.
9. Be aware of the "Option" buttons located throughout the system.
Using the functions available by left-clicking the Option button is a handy way to quickly perform certain functions that pertain specifically to the window you're working on.
10. Different parts of the system are color-coded for easy reference. For example:
BLACK headings are used for Invoicing screens, such as . . .
YELLOW headings are used for Accounts Payable screens, such as . . .
TEAL headings are used for Journal Entry screens, such as . . .
BLUE headings are used for Payment screens, such as . . .
11. When in doubt about how to do something, use the Lynx Help System by left-clicking on . . . any 
button or 
button or the word Help on any screen, such as . . .
