Copying a Meeting Product

If you need to create multiple meeting products that have similar setups, Personify offers a Copy Product functionality to make this process easier and less time-consuming. The Copy Product functionality allows you to take the setup of an existing inventoried product and copy over any or all of its parameters, including GL accounts and pricing setups, by simply checking off the parameters you want to recreate for the copied product, whereas the “Create New Product for Meeting” option only copies the master product information.

This functionality is available for all Product Types and appears as a task (Copy this Product) through the Related Tasks taskbar when viewing a product on its Product Maintenace (PRODUCTCENTRAL) screen.

The Copy Product screen consists of two tabs:

·            1 – New Product to be Created
Used to set up the general product information, such as Product Code and Product Description.

·            2 – Copy Parameters
Used to define the parameters that should be copied from the old product to the new product.

The Copy Parameters functionality allows you to copy any or all parameters of a product including the following:

·            GL Account Parameters

·            System Accounts

·            Revenue Accounts

·            General Parameters

·            Rates and Prices

·            Components

·            Cancellation Fees

·            Web Text Info

·            Shipping Fees

·            Subsystem-Specific Parameters

·            Sub-Products

·            Meeting Locations

·            Requirements

The only value that must be new is the Product Code.

To create a new product by copying an existing:

1.    Once the original product is set up on the Product Maintenance screen, click Copy this Product from the Related Tasks task category.
The Product Copy screen displays with information on the original product appearing at the top of the screen, as shown below.

2.    On the New Product to be Created tab, enter the Product Code of the new product.

The Product Code MUST be different from the original product.

3.    If necessary, select a new Parent Product.
This value defaults from the original product, but may be changed as needed.

4.    Select the Product Class of the new product.
This value defaults from the original product, but may be changed as needed.

5.    Enter the Product Description and Invoice Description.

6.    If necessary, modify the Start Date/Time, End Date/Times, and Date Available for Sale.
These values defaults from the original product, but may be changed as needed.

As of 7.4.2, when copying a meeting product, for the first pricing record for each rate structure, the system will set the price Begin Date to be the Available Date plus the time between the source meeting product Available Date and pricing Begin Date of first pricing record for that rate structure. Thereafter, the system will set the price Begin Date for each subsequent price for the rate structure to be the meeting Start Date of new meeting minus the same amount of time between the source meeting Start Date and the price Begin Date of the pricing record for the rate structure that’s being copied, unless that results in a Price Begin Date less than the Available Date. If the calculated Price Begin Date of the new pricing record will be less than the Available Date, the system will calculate the difference in months or days between the Price Begin Date of the pricing record being copied and the previous pricing record, and set the Price Begin Date on the pricing record being created to be the Price Begin Date of the previous pricing record that was created on the new product plus the calculated difference in time.

7.    Click Next.
The Copy Parameters tab display, as shown below.

8.    On the Copy Parameters tab, select the appropriate radio button in the System Accounts section.

·            Use Default System Account
When selected, Personify pulls the Product_Account values from the FGL_Product_Account_Default table for the subsystem.

·            Copy System Accounts
When selected, Personify copies the Product_Account record from the original product.

9.    If necessary, check the Impose Mask on System Accounts checkbox.

When checked, you must enter a GL Account Mask so Personify validates that the resulting account exists in the Financial General Ledger Account Master table.

If it does not exist in the table, then a warning is issued and the user must define these accounts manually.

10.  Check the appropriate checkboxes in the Revenue Accounts section.

·            Copy Revenue Accounts
When checked, Personify copies the records from the Product_Revenue_Distribution.

·            Impose Mask on Revenue Accounts 
When checked, you must enter a GL Account Mask so Personify validates that the resulting account exists in the Financial and Accounts Receivable system.

If it does not exist in the table, then a warning is issued and the user must define these accounts manually.

11.  If necessary, enter the GL Account Mask.
This field is enabled if either of the “Impose Mask” checkboxes are checked.

When checked, it will accept a mask and then update the account based on this mask. The system must validate that the resulting account is a valid account.

GL account numbers are created with segments that represent the same type of item for all GL account numbers. You can define the pattern for the GL account here.

12.  Check the appropriate checkboxes of the parameters to copy.
The parameters include the following:

·           Rates and Prices

·           Components

·           Cancellation Fees

·           Web Text Info

·           Shipping Fees

13.  If necessary, check the Copy Subproducts checkbox.
Theses are the Subproducts originally created for the meeting product, such as handouts or pamphlets.

When checked, the application copies over any subproducts associated with the original product. Note the setup of the subproduct remains the same. You may need to update its availability dates to align with the new product.

14.  If necessary, check the Copy Meeting Location checkbox.
This is the location you selected within the Meeting Products section of the product’s General Setup screen. You may have entered a location and/or a Facility.

When checked, this links the new product’s location to the previously selected location and/or Facility product.

15.  If necessary, check the Copy Requirements checkbox.
These are the inventory requirements, such as a podium or microphone, added to the original product.

When checked, this copies over the same inventory requirement for the meeting product as the original product.

For more information, please see Defining Meeting/Session Product Requirement Inventory.

16.  Review all your fields, and after review, click Copy Product.

If no errors occur, the new product opens on the Product Maintenance screen.

If you receive an error stating, "Another object with the same key already exists,” return to the “New Product to be Created” tab and make sure you entered a Product Code different from the original product’s code.

This process does not automatically validate the product. You still need to click Validate Setup, as with other product setups, to finalize the product.

While the Copy Product functionality can copy the Web Text Info from the original product’s e-Business control, you should open the new product’s setup and review the e-Business to ensure it’s active and appears only when desired.