TPDb
Team Purchasing Database - TPDb can be used to manage expenditures on grants or contracts as the users in the lab enter purchase requests. Users will find it easy and natural to use. It runs on top of Microsoft Access, and Windows XP or 2000 so their machines should already have all they need to run it. The product allows the user to quickly create purchase requests from a database of suppliers and items with just a few clicks of the mouse. Those orders are then immediately available to the PI where he/she can check against available grants and account codes to make sure the funds are available for expenditure.

Implementation of our product will speed up your purchasing process and greatly reduce common errors found with a paper or Excel Spreadsheet based purchasing process. TPDb allows a lab manager or Principle investigator the ability to see all orders in the system and make corrections, approve them or send them back to the user for correction, or to purchasing for acquisition. Purchase orders can be sent directly to the vendor with the click of a button. The software has checks to prevent users from selecting the wrong supplier. It provides the you with instantaneous decision support when approving a purchase with a pop up check that allows you to verify funds for each subcode in your grant/budget before you place an order.

User Interface  
The whole system is built around a fast point and click user interface. No Data has ever to be entered twice. The longer a lab uses the system the more efficient it will become. Just by regular use, TPDb will capture more and more of the data you use everyday.

Installation
TPDb is designed to be installed on a local area network or LAN. The data file for the database should reside on a machine that can serve the data via a shared drive or folder out to every client machine for TPDb. You may use the server machine as a location to install TPDb on as well. The application must reside on each client and the data file must reside on only the server machine if the users wish to share data and purchasing information.

Network support
TPDb allows all the users that have login in privilege to access the database. It relies on the Microsoft network to provide accessibility to the shared drive.

Data Sharing
TPDb allows you to share information between users to enhance productivity. Information sharing is determined by the Database Security model you set as you install the application. This model works for installations that have one or several PI's that need to get control over purchasing in their lab. Although the sketch shows three users, you could have dozens of users sharing data. TPDb utilizes groups to accomplish a second level of data sharing. The two tier data sharing method allows you configure TPDb so that grant/budget and purchase data is only shared by users within the same user group. Every user gets assigned to one or more groups. TPDb then controls what information is available to each user based upon his TPDb login group name. Users in group 1 are not allowed to see purchase and grant information from users in group 2 for example. But, TPDb will allow them to share and co-author the supplier and item lists so that all users can take advantage of that data.

User States and Privileges
TPDb comes with user levels and groups. Each level has privileges assigned to it that controls access to functionality within the product. For example the general user does not have access to add additional users.

Using the DBSecurity form you can set the User Levels to match the way your business works. For example; you may set the general lab user to only be able to enter purchase requests. You can set the PI level user to have the privilege to enter orders, review orders, print purchase orders, change information about himself, but not be able to change an order that has been submitted, delete an order or add users or change passwords other than his own. The PI status is for the lab Principle Investigator. Finally you might set the Admin user level to have all privileges in the system.

TPDb Concepts
Item numbers, Supplier ID's, Grant ID's, are considered relative data meaning that there are relationships set up with other data in the database based on these values. Changes made to relative data ripple through all the relationships. That is the nature of a relational database. Most of the time it is natural to have data update every where it is used. There are times when you don't want that to happen and TPDb has safeguards employed to prevent you from accidentally changing relative data that needs to be locked for safe keeping.

Enter data once and use it everywhere is the advantage of a database. Once you or anyone using TPDb enters Items and or Supplier data it is immediately available for everyone on the team to use for purchases. Everyone benefits from using the system, relieving some of the extra work associated with looking up supplier and item data.

Features

• TPDb gives the Lab Manager/ Principal Investigator, or Group Manager the ability to see all orders in the system and make corrections, approve them or send them back to the originator for corrections.

• The user can communicate directly with vendors via email to place an order with the click of a button.
• The software has checks to prevent an order from going to the wrong supplier or having incorrect budget items, or grants, or contracts specified.
• The point and click user interface was built to be intuitive and easy to use in order to minimize training.
• TPDb has a pop up check for the manager that allows him to qualify funds instantly for each accounting subcode in his grant before he places the order.
• New account totals are calculated instantly to ensure that all purchases are balanced with the approved grant or contract accounts.
• The software has a tool for rapid input of legacy accounting data from current spread sheets to quickly enable any lab to use the system without time consuming data entry. A legacy template spreadsheet is provided.
• Item Data is related to the Supplier Data, preventing purchase requests to the wrong supplier and enabling rapid order tracking.
• The reporting module builds quick reports to show how funds were spent via vendors, items, experiments, or grant/contract.
• TPDb tracks every option the user makes while in the system for security and accounting control.
• TPDb prevents the general user from making critical data changes that would adversely affect the reliability of the data by controlling user privileges.

• Once purchases are set to Received status they are archived for safe keeping.

Benefits 

• TPDb eliminates the need to search for paper purchase orders to answer questions about a past purchase or to check the items in when they are received.

• Supplier Data is kept in one place for all users. Orders can be processed via email instantly to supplier sites. No more need for bulky supplier catalogs that take up valuable lab space.
• Users can place order from their desktop, await approval, and purchase items with relatively little data entry.
• TPDb makes the right data available at all times to the users based upon their need to see.
• TPDb improves communication over a paper based system by utilizing your existing email client to notify users to take action.
• The Group Manager or PI will always have the latest order information available to him/her for decision support speeding up approval and accounting of grants and contracts.
• TPDb will reduce wasted time spent on the phone placing orders by allowing email of purchase order directly from the system to the vendor.

System Requirements are as follows:

• PC with 2 Ghz processor or faster

• Windows XP Home or Professional, Windows 2000 (with msadox.dll v2.7)

• Microsoft Access 2000 or later

• Shared Disk with Network access for Database data to reside on. 

• Note: This disk must be maintain consistency in name and connection for the application to find its data and operate properly.

• 100baseT Ethernet connection preferred.

• Microsoft and TCIP network connectivity

• 25 Mb Free disk space for application

• Estimated 100 mb free disk space for approximately 1 years data for 10 users

• Msadox.dll   Version 2.7  

Microsoft Access 2000 Library References

• Microsoft Access 10.0 Object Library

• Microsoft Access  DA0 3.6

• Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.1 Library

• Microsoft CDO For Exchange 2000 Library

• Microsoft Data Access Components Installed Version

• Microsoft Internet Controls

• OLE Automation

Fore more information contact

info@biomationsystems.com