Setup Order
Overview
💡This page lists every item on the Setup menu and the order in which to set up BOS Pro, with links to the pages that explain each step.
- The order is a guide, not a fixed sequence. You come back to some setups later, for example, to add the services a new press needs.
- Some setups are not on the Setup menu, for example, Staff and Branches (Main Menu > Office > My Organisation).
- The person doing the setup needs the right user access, for example, Setups > Settings & Defaults - Access Allowed (see User Access).
Setup Menu
The items are listed in the order they appear on the menu. The estimating setups you need depend on your version: Standard Estimating, Product Estimating or both (see BOS Professional Versions).
| Menu Item | What It Sets Up | See |
|---|---|---|
| Settings & Defaults | The general settings, statuses, lookup lists and alerts. | Settings, Statuses |
| Customers | The customer records (the same list as the Customers module). | Customers List View |
| Suppliers | The supplier records (the same list as the Suppliers module). | Suppliers List View |
| Accounting | The chart of accounts, VAT Types, Entry Types, currencies and the other accounting setups. | Accounting Setup Tutorials |
| Cost Centres | The departments and machines whose costs give the hourly rates for estimating. | Cost Centres |
| Printing Types | Standard Estimating: the kinds of printing, each with its Parts, inks, presses and Substrates. | Printing Types |
| Materials | The Material records (the same list as the Materials module). | Materials List View |
| Ink Groups | Standard Estimating: the sets of inks added to a Part. | Ink Groups |
| Services | The services used on estimates and transactions, with their categories. | Services |
| Presses | Standard Estimating: the printing machines, with their sizes, rates, speeds and waste. | Presses |
| Packaging | Standard Estimating: the packaging options for estimates. | Packaging and Despatch |
| Despatch | Standard Estimating: the despatch (delivery) options for estimates. | Packaging and Despatch |
| Parts | Standard Estimating: the Parts a job is made of, for example, a cover or the text pages. | Parts |
| Products | Product Estimating: the products and the Parts, Substrates and finishing they can use. | Products |
| Costings | Product Estimating: the sets of Material, service and outwork costs added to an estimate. | Costings |
| Price Lists | Markups or discounts on the sell prices for groups of customers. | Customer Price Lists |
| Cylinders (Flexo) | Standard Estimating: the cylinders of your flexo presses. | Cylinders and Dies (Flexo) |
| Dies (Flexo) | Standard Estimating: the cutting dies of your flexo presses. | Cylinders and Dies (Flexo) |
| Form Designer | The output templates, such as the Quotation and Tax Invoice forms. | Form Designer |
| Actions | Version 26.04 and later: custom one-click steps for users. | Actions |
Setup Order
| Step | Set Up | What to Do | See |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your company and estimating model | Enter the company details and masthead on My Organisation's Output tab. In Settings & Defaults, set System > Version, which decides the estimating models you use. | Output, BOS Professional Versions |
| 2 | Branches (if you have more than one) | Create the branches and their settings before the other records, because users, customers and Entry Types are linked to branches. | Branches |
| 3 | Staff and user access | Add the staff, set their passwords and PINs, and set each user's access. Copy the settings from one user to the next to save time. | Staff and User Settings Setup Tutorials, User Access |
| 4 | General settings, statuses and lookup lists | Work through the groups of general settings, check the statuses of each module (Editing, Accounting and Inventory), and fill in the lookup lists. | Settings, Statuses |
| 5 | Accounting | Set the financial year, then the chart of accounts, VAT Types, Entry Types, currencies and bank import options. | User and General Account Settings, Chart of Accounts, Entry Types, Multi-Currency, Bank Imports |
| 6 | Customers and suppliers | Create the customer and Supplier Categories, the Price Lists, then the customer and supplier records. | Customer Settings and Categories, Customer Price Lists, Creating and Editing Customers Tutorial, Creating and Editing Suppliers Tutorial |
| 7 | Materials | Create the Material Categories, Inventory Locations and units, then the materials. You can import standard Materials and prices from the Online Library. | Material Categories, Material Locations, Units, Creating and Editing Materials Tutorial, Online Library |
| 8 | Cost Centres and services | Calculate the Cost Centre hourly rates, then set up the services that use them. | Cost Centres Process Guide, Services |
| 9 | Estimating | For Standard Estimating: Printing Types, Ink Groups, Presses, Parts, Packaging and Despatch, and for flexo, the cylinders and dies. For Product Estimating: Costings, then Products. | Standard Estimating, Product Estimating |
| 10 | Output and emails | Link the output templates to the modules, and set up the email settings, Email Stationery and Email Templates. | Output, Emails |
| 11 | Approvals and Actions | Set up approval checklists for the transactions that need them, and Actions (26.04 and later). | Setting up Approvals, Actions |
| 12 | Production | Set up the Work Shifts, Production Stages and Planning Board settings, then the Tracker app. | Production Planning Setup Tutorials, Tracker Setup Tutorials |
| 13 | Point of Sale and Service Manager (if you use them) | Set up the Point of Sale settings, payment methods and cash-up denominations, and the Service Manager categories, statuses and responses. | Point of Sale Setup Tutorials, Service Manager - Setup and Settings |
| 14 | Opening balances and stock | Enter the opening balances of the accounts, customers and suppliers, and the opening stock. | Accounting Take-On Balances, Opening Stock Checks |
| 15 | Check and go live | Enter a few test transactions through the whole Transaction Flow and check the output, the ledger and the stock. Then set the Financial Close Off Date for the period before you went live. | Transaction Flows, Financial Close Off |