Help With Procedures in CATS

Here you can find detailed steps to completing essential procedures in CATS, as well as suggestions for improving the information you get out of CATS. Keep in mind that some of these procedures can be accessed only by the Supervisor or users with administrative access.

Accounting

Counterparty Accounts

Credit and Exposure in CATS - Working with credit and exposure in CATS.\

Transactions

Entering Receipts - Data entry of receipts into CATS.
Entering Disbursements - Creating disbursements in CATS.
Printing Checks - Instructions on printing checks from CATS.
Creating General Journal Entries - Instructions for entering non-bank transactions into CATS.
Modifying, Reversing, and Deleting Transactions - How to modify, delete, or reverse transactions from the general ledger.
Transaction Reports and Journals - Printing lists of disbursements, receipts, and other transactions.
Bank Transfer - Entering a bank transfer.
Authorization Scan - Authorizations for Past due invoices and credit limits.\

The General Ledger and Reports

The Ledger Scan - Using the general ledger scan to review, void, and modify transactions.
G/L Maintenance - Adding, Reviewing, and Changing G/L Codes.
G/L, Financials Reports - Reports that show an overview of the Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, G/L Statement and Income Statement.
The Budget Feature of the G/L Scan
Bank Statements - Reviewing bank statement reports.\

Counter-Party Account Codes

Adding a New Counter-Party Account - Creating a new counter-party account code for use in CATS, including bank codes.
Printing an Account Statement - Ways to print an account statement in CATS.
Using the Multiple Address Tool - Adding an address to a company that has multiple addresses.
1099 Reporting Tutorial -
Using the Accounts Names and Address Feature - Use the Accts: Name/Addr feature to quickly access and update account information.
Printing an Envelope - How to print an envelope in CATS.\

Accounting Maintenance and Updating

Isolating a Period - Isolating a period to freeze data as of a certain date.
Closing the Year - The procedure to close the financial year in CATS and move the accounting periods forward.
Bank Reconciliation - Reconciling your bank statement with your general ledger in CATS.
Import Bank Transactions - Import and clear transactions from your bank or credit card statement.
Accounting Setup - CATS allows the user to define a monthly period.\

Divisions and Departments

Currencies

Using Multiple Currencies in CATS - How to set up and use multiple currencies in CATS.\

Codes & Terms

Creating and Modifying Terms - How to create Shipment Terms, Payment Terms, Weighing Terms, B/L Terms, and Trader codes, and what these codes do in CATS.
Product, Category, Subcategory, and Description Codes - Setup and management of these four code types, all related to materials for contracts.
Other Traffic Terms - Management of codes for Location (AF/XD/WH), Vessel, Voyage, Traffic Status, Pier, etc.
Cost-Related Codes - Destination, Port, Country, Crop Year, etc. Excludes General Cost Code setup.
Certification Level - Feature that adds value or cost to material.
Cost-to-Exdock - Adding specific costs to table that will apply to contracts\

Contracts

Contract Main Screen - Takes you through all menu items on the Purchase and Sale main contract screens and explains what they do.
Contract Entry Tutorial - Creating a contract in CATS.
Batch Add Contracts - Batch Adding Contracts in CATS.
Creating Contract Confirmations - How to manage written contracts (contract confirmations).
Contract Confirmation Templates - How to create a contract confirmation template.
Contract Items - An overview of the item screen and its menu.
Contract Status Report - How to create a report that shows the signature status of all contracts.
Using Contract Flags - Add, modify and maintain contract flags.
Buyer/Seller History - How to see buyer or seller history.\

Special Contract Types

Special Contract types in CATS - How to create special contract types in CATS.\

Costs

Itemized Costings Overview - How to use contract item-based costs.
General Cost Codes - Setting up the Cost codes area and tying codes to G/L accounts.
Cost Analysis - Setting up templates for cost codes.\

Futures Trades

Adding, Liquidating, and Moving Forward Hedges and Trades - How to change and add hedges and trades in CATS.
Price Fixing/Hedging Tutorial - Manage the operations for hedging and futures against a physical trade.
Creating Price-Fixing Letters - How to create a price-fixing letter.
Trade Data Entry/Review - Adding Spec and non-physical trades, or attaching and unattaching physicals to trades.
Futures Reporting - Overview of futures trades to compare on one report.
Setting Up the Futures Exchanges and Products - Create exchange products and set up monthly prices for each.\

Invoices

An Overview of the Invoice Screen - An explanation of the boxes on the invoice screen and what each menu item does.
Creating Inventory Invoices - How to add purchase and sales invoices, select inventory, change items, and post invoices.
Creating Vendor Invoices - How to add non-inventory invoices.
Making Payable Grid Invoices - Create an invoice from a list of items on a report or match a vendor’s invoice grid.
How to Update Invoices - Modifying, Finalizing, Reversing, and Updating Invoices.
Invoice Types - A detailed description of default invoice types.
Invoice Templates - How to add and edit invoice templates.\

Invoice Procedures

How to Unpost a Current Year Invoice - Instructions for unposting an invoice.
Invoice Batch Processing - How to perform operations (print, post, delete) on multiple invoices.
Change Invoice Due Date/Remark - How to modify the Due Date or Remark on a posted invoice.
Using an Inventory Subledger - How to set up and use CATS to create automatic Inventory value, COGS, and Deferred AP entries for inventory when invoices are posted.

Reports

Report of Open Invoices - A report listing all invoices that have open balances.
Provisionals Not Finalized Report - A report listing all invoices that have not been finalized.
One Invoice Statement - Accessing a statment for one invoice.
Printing a Monthly Invoice Listing for One Account - Access invoices for one account within a specified time period.\

Loans

The Loan Feature - Use this feature to add and assign collateral to a loan.
Loan Statements
Printing the Collateral Report - Find details about loans and/or collateral on loans.\

Reports

Creating and Modifying Reports in CATS How reports work in CATS, including record selection, using orders and subtotals, and creating or changing columns on reports.
Exposure/Credit Report - How to run a CATS report that will show the exposure/credit for one account.
Recent and Favorites Reports - Finding and printing recently printed reports.
Managing Reports and Report Ownership - Managing CATS reports using the report ownership feature.
Setting Up the Report Scheduler - Using the report scheduler feature to automatically print reports.
Using Custom Fonts and Colors in Reports - Change the fonts and colors on HTML report outputs.\

Position Reports

Open Position Report - Creating and printing reports that show the position (open or other) of contract items.
Open Position Quick View - Quick view of creating/printing open position reports.
Inventory Report - Using reports that display inventory (purchase contract items).
Inventory Transaction Reports - Creating and printing reports of invoice items.
Contract History Report - Using a report that shows an at-a-glance view of contracts.
Difference Reports - Check the difference in records between two versions of the same report.
Exception Reports - Setting up exception reports.
Net Physical Report - Creating a report that shows entire physical position entered into CATS.
Overall Position Report - Setting up an overall position report.
Tracking Report - Setting up a tracking report.
Production Report - Setting up a production report.\

Production

Using Production to Convert Material - Converting inventory from raw material to processed good.
Creating Traffic Documents from Production - Generate traffic documents from the production.
Rebagging Material - Use production to simplify the process of converting from shipping containers to bags.\

Traffic and Location

An Overview of the Location Screen - Explanation of the location screen and menu options.
About Location Screen Marks - An overview on marks on location screens.
Allocating Location Screens - How to allocate purchases to sales.
How to Subdivide Location Screens and Split Inventory Items - Subdividing location screens.
Batch Traffic Screen Listing and Changes - Filtering a list of location screens and changing values on them.
Copying Location Screen Information - Copying information from one location screen to another.
Managing Weight Reductions - How to reduce weight on contracts.
Scanning Traffic Screens - Using the traffic screen scan.
Traffic Screen History - An overview on tracking on a traffic screen.\

Orders

Creating and Modifying Traffic Documents - Working with traffic documents in CATS.
Scanning Traffic Orders - Using the traffic order scan.
Creating Order Templates and Internal Orders - How to create multiple templates for different order types and when to use internal orders.
Creating Vendor Orders - How to manage vendor roles, vendor order templates and create vendor orders.
Past Due and Credit Limit Warnings - How to manage credit limit warnings on traffic orders.
Trucking Charges on Traffic Forms - How to create a trucking charge on a traffic form.\

Reports

Types of Traffic Reports - Common traffic reports and how to set them up.\

danger

The following links discuss a feature that requires consultation with NDS:

Free Allocation

Allocating from a Location Screen - Allocating material from the location screen to a sale using free allocation.
Creating a New Sale when Allocating - Create a matching sale when allocating from the location screen.
Allocating from a Sale - Allocating material from a sale to a location screen using free allocation.\

Sampling

Adding, Reviewing, and Managing Samples - Working with sampling results.
Creating and Working with a Sample Order - Creating a sample order (SO) and adding a sample to it.
Sampling Report - Run a sampling report.\

Utilities and Maintenance

Getting Started With CATS - Detailed information on how to set up CATS.
Selecting a New Printer in CATS - Picking a new printer for a CATS user.
How to Create and Edit Remarks - Creating and editing saved notes in CATS.
Setting up an Online Backup - Working with CATS backup tool.
Setting up Automatic Issue Monitoring - How to use the automatic issue reporter.
Setting up Email Notifications - Using the email notifications.
Users and Rights - How to create users and modify rights.
Users Preferences - How to set up user specific settings.
Tracking Operations and Errors - How to access and print tracking files.
Using the Question Mark Feature - How to access and use the question mark feature in CATS.
CATS Home Screen - Customizing the CATS Homescreen.
Document Manager - How to attach documents in CATS.
Work Scheduler - How to schedule automated processes to run independently at a specific time and date.
CATS Quick Search - How to access and use the CATS Quick Search feature.\