It is usually important to know on which concepts Vouch is developed. It helps in understanding the underlying flow of the application, its user interactions, its output and presentation habits, and so forth. I am convinced that this chapter will lay the foundation of understanding Vouch in a broader perspective.

Consistency

Vouch offers a consistent user interface across all its modules and packages. Every module shares the

same space-layout
same function-key combinations
same objects embedding
same data-entry flow
same reporting flow

Security

Vouch offers multiple levels of security, internal as well as external.

Data Encryption

Vouch incorporates an online data encrypted protocol. The algorithm for data encryption is decided taking into consideration of various facts about the licensee organization at the time of installation. Data encryption is on organization level. No two organizations will have the same data encryption protocol. Data of one organization is rendered useless for another organization. Only the licensed copy of Vouch to that organization can open up its data. No chance of pilferage and theft of data.

Access Rights

Apart from the security feature outside of the package, security at execution level is also provided with powerful features. Vouch incorporates User and/or User Group based security to a level unmatched. Users are assigned about 37 global rights. These rights include

Can Add new Records?
Can Edit existing Records?
Can Delete Records?
Can Print Reports & Documents?
Can Design Reports?
Can Design Documents?
Can Import Data?
Can Export Data?
Can Browse Records?
Can Close Financial Period?
Can View Final Accounts?
Can Restore Backups?
Can Create Masters?
Can Update Masters?
Can Analyze Data?
Can Configure Module?
And many more...

 

Usage Rights

Beside this users can be restricted upto a certain date to enter Vouch. These rights are global and can be assigned to a group of users. But apart from this, Vouch allows the similar configuration on module level as well and these rights can be assigned to an individual user as well.

Record Level Security

Vouch has a unique feature of record level locking. At the first layer, records upto a certain date can be locked for Groups and it is global. And at the second layer, in every module, records can be locked based on a certain criteria which is binding to all users. By locking we mean that those records are excluded from Modify and Delete operations. Security is at its highest manifestation.

Simplicity

Vouch exposes pure business. No frills, no distractions, no mix of mouse and keyboard. Mouse is only optional NOT mandatory. Virtually every action can be carried only with keyboard though the use of mouse is not restricted.

Forms layout is reasonably simple. Font rendition is of fixed type which provides perfect visual experience. This fact is also important from data-grasping point of view. Everything aligns perfectly.

Note that simplicity does not mean lack of aesthetic beauty which is taken care of in detail. Aesthetic part is not compromised at all. Vouch is mostly a Single Document Interface which means you will ever be presented only one component of interest at a given point of execution, though, at some point Multiple Document Interface is also exposed, but that too is tightly integrated.

Reusability

Vouch offers a vide range of objects which are reusable intra-alia.

 

Reports Designer

Report Designing and Generation is a real fun in Vouch. Multi-organization, multi-year, multi-table queries can be designed and run. Even external .dbf sources can also be attached if needed. Even Vouch defined reports can be imported and reedited to suit your needs.

Document Designer

Document Generator is another tool which allows to design as many documents as are needed for a single module. Colored Invoices and Vouchers can be printed with graphical elements, i.e., bitmaps, text boxes, circles, etc. Great control can be exercised for fonts and pitches. Grids can also be defined for transactional part.

Mail Merge

A unique feature, what CAC calls is ‘Mail Merge’. This is a non formatted output. Therein user can attach reports or browsers at any location of the document and can mix it with text and fields. The only problem with this feature is the page break. But if perforation is switched on, then this feature provides a handy tool to dispatch circulars, reminders with Account Statements and/or other reports.

Labels Generator

Parallel to document generator, Label Generator is also a part of Vouch. As said, Bitmaps, Circles, Rectangles etc. can be placed in a label as well. Bar Codes 3 of 5 and 128B are also supported.

Vouchers Definer

Vouch provides a tool to define Voucher for General Ledger. Through this tool user can bypass Vouch defined Voucher for a certain Module. Under Voucher Designer user can club as many debits and credits as module in question demands. All the components of a Voucher are available as an expression. Interface is WYSIWYG.

The above functionality is extended to define an Inventory Voucher. It is more comprehensive. These two tools are the backbone of Vouch’s extended solutions. All the modules designed by user can be integrated with General Ledger and Inventory. Your accounting and inventory management is much superior to others.

Batch Vouchers

A special ‘Batch Voucher’ is provided for postings of special nature. It can be defined for any database with any condition for Amount, Debit, Credit, Narration. When executed, it generates the ‘Vouchers Single’ which in turn updates the General Ledger. This can be used in circumstances where a variable sum has to be debited or credited to certain parties based on previous invoices or purchase vouchers for the agreed difference in rates, or, subscriptions are to be debited to all the members of a club each after three months, or, interest is to be credited to parties depending upon their account statements. The list can be endless.

Miscellaneous Tools

Some reporting tools are also designed to cater some specific needs. These are:

Generator. Its sole purpose is to club certain values, either absolute or called from some databasCatalogs, basically ‘catalog’ is designed as a filter protocol to be used in Reporte, which may be used as a filter condition.
Reporting Periods, this feature is handy in Report Analysis, either when consolidation of browsers or reports is executed or when graphical representation od data is called based on periodicity factor.
Data Servers, a tool under which auto delivery of selected records one-by-one is performed and the calling object performs certain action on the delivered record. This tol is solely a component of Report Generator.
Period Servers, like Data Servers this tool delivers the beginning and ending dates to confine a report after verifying from the user. This is also a component of Report Generator.
Query and Message Servers, a tool which takes as parameter alias of the module we are concerned with and record identity and displays asked values from that source in a boxed window which essentially is user defined. For example, we may ought to view the current balance and city of an account while staying on the vouchers data entry screen.

Recovery Tools

Computers are essentially an electronic media and hence prone to accidents unavoidable. Also at times and under the running conditions these tends to misbehave. To adjust to these tendencies, Vouch provides some tools, viz.,

Reindexing. Vouch allows the user to reindex either all or selective modules. This tool recreates the index headers and if some anomaly is being experienced in this regard is set right.
House Keeping. This tool is also available for selective or entire modules. Under this data sources are rewritten and all deleted records are discarded. In database language it is called ‘Packing’ the database. This tool must be used periodically to keep databases trim. Also rewriting a database necessarily recreates the indexes and hence application becomes more efficient. A technical aspect well known to the users.
Deletion of All Indexes. This tool deletes all indexes and at the next module entry recreates them again. The effect is similar to House Keeping except it does not pack the database.
Rewriting of Books of Accounts. This utility posts the debits and credits in the General Ledger of all vouchers, user as well as Vouch defined, and creates new master voucher file. If experiencing problems in financial statements, this utility must be executed. A periodical execution of this utility is recommended.
Rewrite Books of Inventory. This utility is similar to the above. Each module is equipped with ‘Update’ feature. This utility updates the module in question with its related sources, if one exists and defined to update that source.

Generic Notes Hookable to Every Records

Vouch provides a mechanism to put notes for each record in any module. A note pad is opened when F12 is pressed and user can jot down the details freely. One note cannot be more than 65000 character and this is the only limitation. These notes can be attached to any record of any module. A note may contain any number of tokens if required so and info about each token can be retrieved separately.

Self-defined Ledgers

Vouch offers a tool to design your own ledger like general ledger. Modules can be attached to the master ledger and vouchers can be defined for thus designed ledger. At runtime vouchers thus designed will be posted into that ledger. The other standard features of a ledger, such as, statement of accounts can be obtained in the same manner as from general ledger module. Rewriting of books can also be performed. Module which will be assigned the status of master must have some numeric configurable fields to make this utility functional.

User Control

Almost all above functionality is controllable via user-rights

Flexibility

Vouch employs very high degree of end-user configuration protocol for application, modules, and right down to field level.

Almost all the fields in a table can be redefined to contain those facts which govern at that moment. A complete range of API is provided to define rules for those fields.

Connectivity

Vouch offers a sufficient range of tools to connect to external world dynamically, viz.,

Dynamic email embedding.
SMS (Short Message Service) sends and receives, via mobile phone and/or via HTTP gateways, with authentications.
Sharing documents, reports, data, and more with external agencies using Vouch.
Submitting formatted data to Microsoft's Excel and Word.
Accepting field inputs from serial communication devices.
Extendibility

Vouch offers tools to extend the application. Program Editor, Module Generator, Menu Designer, etc. are few of them.

Module Designer

Vouch has surpassed the notion of being an Application Package. It is now a Developer’s Package. One can develop his own modules integrated with Vouch modules, design documents and reports, integrate menu system and export the project. Then that project will run as any application of Vouch runs. Of course, he has to obtain a fresh license for each site separately.

Menu Designer

For tangible and meaningful control of Vouch components for various users, Vouch allows to rebuild Menu System wherein user can place various components in a manner useful to a group of users. When designing a Menu, user is presented with all the Menu Options, Reports, Utilities, User Defined Modules for selection. A multi-level menu may be designed. As many menus can be designed as are required. This increases the acceptability.

Program Editor

One can develops his own routines to perform certain actions through the integrated Program Editor. The routines thus developed can be used with any other object supporting this functionality. This is indeed a really powerful freeing you from the cluches of static usage. You are never confined to programmer's mercy.

 

Explanation above is more of a descriptive nature than instructions oriented. It is included herein because it will help understand the length and breadth of Vouch canvass.

 

 

Vouch, the software that GROWS with you