Anyone whose name appears in your Boulevard software (in either the Customer, Unit, or Address lists) can be added to a Name List in the List Builder. Creating Name Lists simplifies mailing labels, call notes and group email. LuAnn also uses this list to enter the same call note for all recipients of this postcard.
Our Customer Service Department is frequently asked how to handle discounts properly. We suggest a simplified, easy-to-follow method. One of two things that are most important to identify first is whether the gift is a Section 1 or a Section 2 item. Based on that, here are our suggestions.
If the item being given to the customer is a Section 1:
Add the item to the invoice.
Tab across to the Discount column and type 100 (or the applicable percent of discount being given).
a. If other discounts are being given as flat dollar amounts, such as on a discontinued product, manually calculate the total discounts and add a Dollar field in the lower left corner of the invoice.
If you collect tax on the discounted amount of product, right-click on the invoice and verify that ‘Tax Before Discounts’ is unchecked. (If you’re uncertain if your Boulevard software is set up to tax before or after discounts, go to Preferences under the File menu. Select the Sales tab. The second checkbox is ‘Compute sales tax before discounts’ on invoice. If this is checked your Boulevard will calculate tax on the retail value at all times. If the box is unchecked, your Boulevard software will calculate tax on the invoice after any discounts given.)
Using the new, 2011 feature, Discount Type, make your selection (E.g. Hostess Credit).
By following these steps, Boulevard will remove the item from inventory, show the retail value of product as a sale, and show the retail value of the product given away in the ‘Gift Section 1 column‘ on your Weekly Accomplishment Sheet. By showing the offsetting discount amount in this way, you are reducing your tax liability against money you did not collect.
If the gift is a Section 2 product, the steps are even simpler.
Add the item to the invoice.
Tab to the Type column on that line and select Gift.
That’s it – as simple as can be. By following this suggested method of handling a Section 2 gift, the customer will not see the price you paid for the item and the value of the gift will appear in the PCP column on the WAS. The reason we recommend handling the transaction this way is because the Section 2 product is a write-off when it is bought. No discount should be shown; instead, just zero the price for the customer’s benefit. Now her history will be accurate showing what Section 2 items have been given to her.
Other Types of Gifts
There are always other situations where we find ourselves giving a gift of Mary Kay product. For the best advise, make sure you check with your tax advisor. Your Help menu has a variety of topics and selections to help in the Business Tips chapter.
With the Avenue™ application for Windows® Mobile and Blackberry™ devices, you have the ability and freedom to take the most important Boulevard information with you. Why not have your business information at your fingers tips whenever and wherever you need it, even when away from your computer?
Access profile information for Customers and Address list contacts along with the ability to view up to two years of their purchase history. Need to know the production or contact information for a consultant in your team or unit? With Avenue you’ve got that too.
Dial any phone number directly from Avenue using your device dialer. And if your device has email capability, email directly from Avenue application. These convenient features make it easy to stay in touch with customers and stay on top of the details even when you’re busy.
The Trip Log is an excellent tool that allows you to record business mileage while you’re out and about without having to write anything down. We didn’t stop there. Would you like to have your inventory at your fingers tips? How about the ability to create an invoice for those spontaneous on-the-go sales we all love to get? With Main Street Software’s handheld application, that’s possible, too!
Once home, just synchronize your device and everything is updated between Avenue and the Boulevard software on your computer. No internet or browser connection is required to run or synchronize Avenue with your computer. Safe, secure, and convenient – Main Street Software makes business mobility easy!
We’re taught that setting a goal is the first step toward achievement. Follow-through is key, though. In your business, this means tracking.
Weekly Accomplishment Sheet & Personal Sales Tracking
Unit or Area recognition is often based on retail product sold during the seminar year. From Preferences inside Boulevard software, click on the Weekly Accomplishment tab and ensure Base YTD totals on Seminar Year is checked. The New Year-to-Date Sales Total on the Weekly Accomplishment Sheet will now reflect your seminar year sales.
To view your sales, from under the Utility menu select Weekly Accomplishment (or by selecting the dollar sign symbol from the main toolbar). Then File and Print Preview.
When retrieving weekly accomplishment information, if a message appears that tells you the seminar year is undefined, return to Preferences and select the Seminar tab this time.
In order to retrieve information for seminar year-to-date, the seminar year selected must be entered. For our customers on the premium Product Update Service, the summer CD will update this information for the upcoming year.
Queen’s Court of Sales Tracking
Unlike the Weekly Accomplishment Sheet, the Queen’s Court dialog shows the retail credit you have earned from Mary Kay® based on product orders placed throughout the seminar year. This is an excellent tool for tracking Queen’s Court of Personal Sales. It shows a list of all product order totals in the current or previous seminar year as well as the total retail value of all orders and the Queen’s Court qualifying amount. To view personal production entered into your Boulevard software, click on the Product menu, then Order. In the Maintain Orders dialog select the Queen’s Court button.
Additional information can be found in the Help by hitting the F1 key at any time in either of these areas of Boulevard.
We’d love to hear if you met your seminar goals and about your walk across stage in July! You can do it – and we’re here to help.
To add automatic renewal for your upgrade, you can access and update your information by logging into our website using the email address and password we have on file for you. Not sure what your password is? Your password can be emailed to you by clicking on the link on our site. If you’re not sure what email address we have on file for you, feel free to contact us directly.
We release an upgrade to your Boulevard software once a year in June. Automatic renewal is the best way to go. You not only save money, but stay up-to-date with minimal effort. This year the upgrade renewal will process on Wednesday, June 2nd. Don’t miss out – you could save up to 45%!
Here are a couple of tips regarding product replacements. First, always create a new invoice for a returned product; do not edit the original invoice. This is a new transaction. Boulevard’s invoicing feature is flexible. If the customer is returning product(s) to you, you can indicate new products returning to your shelf, products you’ll submit to the company for replacement, plus items she will be paying for.
Second, input the day code on the invoice when the product is returned. This information will transfer to the Product Replacement dialog. If you forget to put the day code on the invoice or do not know it at the time, just enter it directly into the Product Replacement dialog.
When you are ready to process the product replacement in your Boulevard software, view the list of products to be returned (upper portion) and designate them as being returned to Company.
In the lower portion of the dialog, select replacement products. We recommend printing a copy before clicking OK.
Your Boulevard software generates an order and places it in Boulevard for you! Use your printed copy to complete the replacement product order with Mary Kay.
Upon receipt of the replacement products in the mail, just receive the replacement order from the Maintain Orders dialog using the same procedure you use on a regular product order.
For more information on product replacements, from inside your Boulevard Help search topic, ‘Returning products from customers to Mary Kay‘.
If you choose not to use all or some of the products you received from any of the Mary Kay® conferences you attend as personal use, add them to Boulevard to sell to customers . There are a couple of different ways you can do this.
Option #1:
Create a product order for the free items.
Change the sales tax rate to 0%.
Override the order discount and input 100%.
Remove the shipping cost.
Place and receive the order and you’re done!
Option #2:
Edit the physical count for each item received. Be sure to enter a zero wholesale amount.
By using either of these methods, your Boulevard software provides the most accurate financial records for your business.
Keeping your program updated with the correct sales tax helps to ensure your customer invoices and company product orders are calculating properly.
If your tax rate is not accurate in Preferences, your invoice and order totals cannot calculate properly thus your tax records will not be accurate.
You can read all about setting sales tax from inside your Boulevard software. From the Search tab in Help, search topic Set Preferences for invoices and orders.
If your tax rate decreases, contact Mary Kay® or a tax consultant in your area to determine if you are eligible to reclaim some or all of the difference in tax. Our customer service representatives can then help you retrieve the applicable information from Boulevard.
Click here to watch a movie tutorial about the List Builder feature. You can also view it within your Boulevard software’s comprehensive Help program. Choose Working with the List Builder (Name List) from the list of Movie Tutorials in Boulevard Help.
(If you’re uncertain if your Boulevard software is set up to tax before or after discounts, go to Preferences under the File menu. Select the Sales tab. The second checkbox is ‘Compute sales tax before discounts’ on invoice. If this is checked your Boulevard will calculate tax on the retail value at all times. If the box is unchecked, your Boulevard software will calculate tax on the invoice after any discounts given.)
To view your sales, from under the Utility menu select Weekly Accomplishment (or by selecting the dollar sign symbol from the main toolbar). Then File and Print Preview.
