Getting Started with Short Message Service

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Version: Getting Started with Short Message Service/2.0/August 2010

Contents

Contents
Lesson 1: Short Message Service in Tally.ERP 9
1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................1
1.1.1 Steps to Configure SMS in Tally.ERP 9...................................................................................................... 2

Lesson 2: Configuring Short Message Service

2.1 Configure Tally.ERP 9 for SMS ....................................................................................................................4
2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.1.4 Register Mobile Number(s)......................................................................................................................... 4 Enable SMS................................................................................................................................................. 7 Authorise User to SMS................................................................................................................................ 9 Connect Company to Tally.NET ............................................................................................................... 11

2.2 Access Information via SMS ........................................................................................................................12 2.3 Change SMS Suffix ........................................................................................................................................12

Lesson 3: Natural Query Language ........................................................................................................................... 15

3.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................15
3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 3.1.5 3.1.6 3.1.7 How it works ............................................................................................................................................. 15 Rules ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Quick Tips ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Natural Query Language for the Business ............................................................................................... 17 Business Vocabulary References .............................................................................................................. 21 Business Vocabulary that is ignored during interaction .......................................................................... 22 Natural Query Language for the System .................................................................................................. 23

Lesson 1:

Short Message Service in Tally.ERP 9

1.1 Introduction
Short Message Service is a text communication service component of a mobile communication device. Short messages are exchanged between mobile phones using standardised communication protocols. It is widely used for quick and short communication among mobile phone subscribers. The term SMS is used as a synonym for all types of short text messaging, as well as the user activity. The availability of business information on the fly without any dependency is the need of the hour for any business owner or a salesman who remains out of office for long hours. Accessing information from anywhere keeps the business owner and the sales man updated and also enables them to take the right decision at an appropriate time thus helping the business owner in contributing towards the positive growth of the business and staying ahead of the competitors. Using the available spectrum of technologies, gadgets with a combination of simple English language Tally.ERP 9 is enabled to access information from anywhere via the Short Messaging Service. A simple yet convenient solution to get the business information at finger tips while you are on the move without carrying any advanced gadgets or implementing a complex setup. The authorised users can access information from the respective company by posting a query to extract information using Natural Query Language. Based on the query posted, the system extracts the required information from the respective company connected to Tally.NET and sends back a reply to the authorised users mobile phone in a short span of time.

Short Message Service in Tally.ERP 9

1.1.1 Steps to Configure SMS in Tally.ERP 9

Configuring Tally.ERP 9 for SMS is simple four step procedure which is detailed in the forthcoming chapter titled Configuring SMS in Tally.ERP 9. The Four Simple Easy steps to configure SMS are 1. Register Mobile Number(s) : The SMS response/reply is sent to the mobile number of authorised user provided in My Profiles option of the Control Panel. Click K: Control Centre > enter Users Email ID and Password > click W:My Profile and enter the required mobile numbers. 2. Enable SMS: Activate the capability to request for information via the SMS F11: Features > click F4: Tally.NET Features or press F4. 3. Authorise User to SMS: Authorise the user to request for information and receive the response accordingly. You can authorise the users in Gateway of Tally > F3: Cmp Info > Security Controls > Users and Passwords and set Yes to Allow SMS Access. 4. Connect Company to Tally.NET connect the required company to Tally.NET Gateway of Tally > click F4: Connect or press F4. After having configured the company successfully, you can send the SMS Query to 566779<9> Where: <9> is the SMS Suffix or a unique number assigned to the company connected to Tally.NET, the SMS Suffix available are between 0 to 9 based on the connection sequence. Example: To know the Cash Balance as on 16-Aug-2010 Just Type: Cash Balance as on 16/08/2010 Send to: 5667791 Shortly you will receive an SMS with the following text: Closing Balance of Ledger Cash for 16-August-2010 15,000 Dr.

Short Message Service in Tally.ERP 9

The diagram below depicts the SMS functionality in Tally.ERP 9

Figure 1.1 Query Information via Short Message Service

Lesson 2: Configuring Short Message Service

2.1 Configure Tally.ERP 9 for SMS

Prior to accessing the business information via SMS it is essential to configure Tally.ERP 9 which is shown in four simple steps. Register Mobile Number(s) Enable SMS Authorise Users to access information Connect Company to Tally.NET

2.1.1 Register Mobile Number(s)

It is essential to register the mobile number(s) before connecting the company to Tally.NET. You need to provide the mobile numbers in My Profile option which is available in the Control Centre. To enter the mobile numbers follow the steps shown: Go to Gateway of Tally or Company Info menu Click K: Control Centre or press Ctrl + K The Login As Remote Tally.NET User screen appears Enter the required E-Mail ID in Your E-Mail ID field Enter the password in Your Tally.NET Password field

Figure 2.1 Login As Remote Tally.NET User

Configuring Short Message Service

Press Enter The Control Centre screen appears as shown

Figure 2.2 Control Centre

Click W: My Profile or press Alt+W

Configuring Short Message Service

The My Profile screen appears as shown

Figure 2.3 Change My Profile

Select the required salutation from the list of Salutation displayed Enter the required name in the Name field. Type the required mobile number in Mobile No(s) field Press Enter Press Enter once again to complete the entry

In

case the information is already available, provide the required mobile number(s) only.

To

enter multiple mobile numbers, type the required mobile number in the blank field provided and press Enter to move to the next line.

Configuring Short Message Service

The My Profile screen appears as shown:

Figure 2.4 Change My Profile

Click Yes or press Y to save the details Press Esc and return to Gateway of Tally or Company Info menu

2.1.2 Enable SMS

After providing the mobile numbers and prior to connecting the company to Tally.NET, you need to enable the SMS feature and provide a short name for the company. To enable the SMS feature follow the steps shown: Go to Gateway of Tally Click F11: Features or press F11 The Company Features menu appears Select Tally.NET or press F4

Configuring Short Message Service

The Tally.NET Features screen appears as shown:

Figure 2.5 Tally.NET Features

To enable Tally.NET set Security Controls to Yes while creating/altering a company. case you have configured Tally.NET earlier, you can continue to retain the existing configurations and enable SMS access.

In

In the SMS Details Access section Set Yes to Enable SMS Access to avail business information using the Short Message Service. Provide a short name for the company in SMS Company Name, the companys short name must not exceed eight characters.

Configuring Short Message Service

The Tally.NET Features screen appears as shown:

Figure 2.6 Tally.NET Features

2.1.3 Authorise User to SMS

The last step involved in configuring SMS for the required company is to enable the respective user(s) to access information via SMS. To enable SMS access for a user(s) follow the steps shown below: Go to Gateway of Tally Click F3: Cmp Info or press Alt+F3 The Company Info menu appears Select Security Control > Users and Passwords

Configuring Short Message Service

The List of Users for Company screen appears as shown:

Figure 2.7 List of Users for a Company

Select Tally.NET User from the list of Security List displayed Enter the required email id of the user in Name of User field In order to allow the user access business information via SMS set Allow SMS to Yes.

The In

above configuration is required for a new setup only.

case you had configured the user(s) for a company earlier then set Allow SMS to Yes for the required user(s) only.

Similarly, the remaining users can be allowed to access business information via SMS.

Select End of List

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Configuring Short Message Service

The completed List of Users for Company appears as shown:

Figure 2.8 List of Users for a Company

Click Yes or Press Y to accept the configuration

2.1.4 Connect Company to Tally.NET

On completing the above configuration, the user has to connect the required company to Tally.NET in order to access information via SMS. To connect the company to Tally.NET click F4:Connect or press F4 in Gateway of Tally. On successfully connecting the company to Tally.NET A message appears in the calculator pane as shown:

Figure 2.9 Connected to Tally.NET

You will receive an E-Mail containing the following details Company Connect Name: The companys short name as provided in SMS Company Name field. SMS Suffix: A unique number allotted to each company. It is added at the end of the service number while sending the SMS request.

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Configuring Short Message Service

2.2 Access Information via SMS

On successfully completing the setup, the user can extract business information by sending a query via SMS to the specified number from the mobile phone. The system in turn extract the required information and sends back the result to the users mobile phone. To access information via SMS just type the query in your mobile phone and sent it to the specified number as shown: <Query> to 566779 <9> Where:
Query:

is a business query to extract information from the connected company 566779: Common Number to which the short message is sent by the user. <9>: Is the SMS Suffix - a unique number assigned to each Company for a user. Example 1:To know the closing cash balance on September 30, 2009 In your cellphone type the following Cash Balance as on 30/09/2009 Send it to 5667791 In a short duration you will receive an SMS with the following text: Closing Balance of Ledger cash as on 30-Sep-2009 is Rs. 2,970.50
When

a single company is connected the SMS Suffix is defaulted to 1. SMS Suffix when more than a Single Company is connected

Provide SMS

Suffix are limited to a maximum of nine companies. The SMS Suffix can be any number between 1 to 9. When 0 or 1 is suffixed the SMS queries data from the company having the SMS Suffix as 1.

2.3 Change SMS Suffix

SMS Suffix is a unique identification number allotted to each company when it is connected to Tally.NET. The first company connected to Tally.NET gets the SMS Suffix Number 1 for the respective user. The SMS Suffix increments correspondingly as the number companies connected to Tally.NET increase for that user. The SMS Suffix is limited to nine companies only, i.e., nine companies only can be accessed via SMS for an authorised Tally.NET User. While querying for information, when the user does not provide the SMS Suffix the system assumes that you are querying with the company having SMS Suffix 1 and responds accordingly. Assuming that you have a number of companies connected to Tally.NET for querying information and you needs to query the information from the 7th company frequently, then you will have to send the query to specified number suffixed with 7 which may be a little cumbersome. Instead Tally.ERP 9 provides you the flexibility to change the SMS Suffix to a desired number.
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Configuring Short Message Service

To change the SMS Suffix for the required company follow the steps shown: Go to Company Info menu Select Login as Remote User The Login As Remote Tally.NET User screen appears Enter the Administrators E-mail ID in Your E-Mail Id field. Enter the required password in Your Tally.NET Password field.

Figure 2.10 Login As Remote Tally.NET User

Press Enter The List of Remote Companies screen appears as shown

Figure 2.11 List of Remote Companies

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Configuring Short Message Service

In the set of Online Companies displayed Select the required company Click C: Chg SMS Suffix The Change SMS Suffix screen appears as shown

Figure 2.12 Change SMS Suffix

Type 1 in the New Suffix field

The List of Remote Companies screen appears as shown:

Figure 2.13 Changed SMS Suffix

The SMS Suffix can also be changed from your mobile phone by typing Change <Present Suffix> <New Suffix> Example : Change 7 1 and send it to 5667790

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Lesson 3: Natural Query Language

3.1 Introduction
Natural Query Langauge is an interface between the user and company connected to Tally.NET. It uses plain simple English to query and extract information while you are away from the business location. In short Natural Query Language is the way of communicating naturally following the grammar or syntax of the respective language or the way communication happens between two people. To query information from the connected company, the user needs to type the required words using the mobile phone and send it to the number provided. The system is designed to extract information from the respective company connected and sends back the information to the requestors mobile.

3.1.1 How it works

Tally.ERP 9 understands your query which is in the form of Natural Query Language. It has a set of defined rules and uses plain simple English to communicate. When a user requests for information using via SMS. Tally.ERP 9 receives the query and converts it to an understandable format which inturn extracts the required information from the connected company and responds back to the respective user with information in readable format.

3.1.2 Rules
To use SMS Suport you need to follow the set of rules shown below: The Natural Query Language is capable of delivering a single value for a given query, It will not deliver multiple values as the results delivered need to be within limit of characters specified for SMS. You cannot request for a list of pending bills as it may exceeds the specified limit. Short message serive response is defaulted to the previous object. Most objects in Tally.ERP 9 are enabled for access via Natural Query Language Interface. While querying for Company details without any specification, the system defaults the query to a selected Company. On further querying for address, the system defaults it to the company address and returns the Company Address to the requestor mobile. E.g.: The previous query requested for party balance followed by another query for the address. The system returns an SMS with Party Address. While querying the user must provide correct name of the master. Adding master type prefix would help Natural Query Language Interface to understand the query better.

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Natural Language

Consider a situation where a company has Sundry Creditor Ledger named Ajay Kumar and another cost centre/employee named Ajay Kumar. When a query is posted, Natural Query Langauge Interface finds it difficult to handle the request. By default, the system tries to deliver the best match or information encountered first. To overcome this prefix Master Type (Ledger) to Ajay Kumar in order to differenciate between the employee/cost centre and Ledger.

When a user queries for Ajay Kumar the system tries to find and lists all matching objects such as Ajay, Ajay Malik, Ajay Kumar, Kumar, Kumar Krishnan etc. This can be avoided by enclosing Ajay Kumar withih double quotes which makes it specific to deliver. Link Masters like Bills, Batches, Orders etc. contain numbers as part of their names. This causes ambiguity and the query may yield multiple results. To deliver accurate results all link masters must be prefixed with the link master type. Example: "Bill 0001 Pending Amount", Batch 01234 Expiry Date etc. When two masters/objects are queried the system considers them as primary and secondary returning cross values. E.g.: Closing Balance of Ledger Expenses for Cost Centre Mumbai Branch, the system currently supports Cost Centre/Ledger and vice versa as cross masters.

3.1.3 Quick Tips

Remove the SMS signature from your mobile phone. The signature is appended to the end of the message sent and makes it difficuly for Natural Query Language Interface to understand. While referring to a Masters it is essential to prefix the Master Type. E.g.: Ledger Cash. Use the full names rather than partial names which result in wrong information E.g.: Querying for ABC & Co rather than ABC may provide wrong or inadequate information. What you see is what you get (WYSWYG). Information you see is also the possible source of information in Tally.ERP 9. E.g.: You see the ledger address in Ledger Master screen, similarly you see the Return on Investment in Ratio Analysis report. While querying it is essential to use the exact names that you see as these titles or prompts return a value. Even though vocabulary is growing to support similar names, sometimes the Natural Language Interface may not understand what you had asked for. Be straight! Do not use words that are not necessary. Ask Tally.ERP 9 what it has or what it knows. When the information you are querying is not forming a part of the data then Natural Query Language Interface will not be able answer the query posted. Cannot Ask Value of Working Capital Kotak Bank Statement Purchase orders today Sales bills yet to make today

Ask Working Capital Ledger Kotak Bank Address Closing Balance/Account Number

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Natural Language

Ask

Cannot Ask Cancelled vouchers today Sales Vouchers Today Vouchers statistics today

Todays Receivables Payables (As two separate Queries) Quick Ratio Current Ratio Queries) (As two separate

Todays Amount

Receivables

and

Payable

Quick Ratio, Current Ratio

Aravind Kumar Debit Closing

Debit transactions of Arvind Kumar

For an easy understanding of queries using Natural Query Language on various areas of the product we have broadly classified them into the following categories: Business System

3.1.4 Natural Query Language for the Business

The set of commands displayed in the table are illustrated as an example only to get you started on the SMS feature. You can try them out from your mobile phone initially and once you get to know how it works, you can completely adopt the Natural Query Language to extract information from the connected company. This set of commands from your mobile phone will return the appropriate of the respective ledger or the report. Word Possible Aliases Receipt Outstanding Receivables Receivable Bills Receivables Bills Receivable Bill Receivable Bill Receivables Works Objects Ledger Group Company for Values Delivered Returns a receivable value for the specified ledger for a defined period or date. Returns a receivable value for the specified group for a defined period or date Returns a receivable value for the defined period or date for a selected company

Receivables

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Natural Language

Word

Possible Aliases Rcpt Outstanding Rcpt OS Receipt OS Receipts Receipt Payables Payable Bills Payables Bills Payable Bill Payable Bill Payables Payment Outstanding Pymt Outstanding Pymt OS Payment OS Payment Payments Total Outstanding Outstanding Total Outstanding Bills Bills Outstanding Bill Outstanding Bank Receipt Bank Rcpt Bank Rcpts Bank Debit Total Bank Debit Totals Bank Dr Total Bank Debit Bank Debits

Works Objects Ledger

for

Values Delivered

Returns a payable value for the specified Ledger for a defined period or date.

Group Returns a payable value for the specified Group for a defined period or date.

Payables

Company Returns a payable value for the defined period or date of the selected company

Ledger Company

Outstanding

Returns a outstanding value for the defined period or date for a Ledger Returns a outstanding value for the defined period or date of the selected company. Returns the Debit Transaction total for a specified Ledger for the defined period or date. Returns the Debit Transaction total for a specified Group or Bank group for the defined period or date. Returns the Debit Transaction total for a given Ledger, Group OR Bank group in case of company for the defined period or date.

Ledger Group

Bank Receipts

Company

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Natural Language

Word

Possible Aliases Bank Pymt Bank Payment Bank Pymts Bank Credit Total Bank Credit Totals Bank Cr Total Bank Credit Bank Credits Cash Receipts Cash Receipt Cash Rcpt Cash Rcpts Cash Debit Total Cash Debit Totals Cash Dr Total Cash Debit Cash Debits Cash Payments Cash Pymt Cash Payment Cash Pymts Cash Credit Total Cash Credit Totals Cash Cr Total Cash Credit Cash Credits BSheet BalSheet

Works Objects Ledger Group Company

for

Values Delivered Returns the credit transaction total for the specified Ledger for a defined period or date. Returns the credit transaction total for the specified Group or Bank group for a defined period or date. Returms the credit transaction total for the given Ledger, Group OR Bank group in case of company for the defined period or date. Returns the debit transaction total for specified Leger for a defined period or date Returns the debit transaction total for specified group for a defined period or date Returns the debit transaction total for given Leger, Group or Cash group in case of company for the defined period or date Returns the credit transaction total for the specified Ledger for a defined period or date Returns the credit transaction total for the specified Group for a defined period or date Return the credit transaction total for the given Ledger, Group OR Cash group in case of company for the defined period or date. Returns the Balance Sheet Debit/Credit total for a defined period or date.

Bank Payments

Ledger Group Company

Cash Receipts

Ledger Group Company

Cash Payments

BalanceSheet

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Natural Language

Natural Query Language Closing <Ledger> Sales Receivables Bills Receivables Payables Bills Payables Outstanding Nett Loss Profit Turnover Diff in opening bal Stock value Closing stock value Stock closing value Closing stock quantity Stock closing quantity, Closing stock qty Stock closing qty VAT VAT payable VAT to pay Purchases Sales Ratio Quick ratio Current ratio Equity ratio Debit ratio Operating cost Return on investment ROI Return on invest Balance of

Function Returns the closing balance of the respective ledger Returns the closing balance of Sales Ledger Returns the closing balance of Sales Ledger Returns the Amount Receivables Returns the Amount Payables Returns the outstanding amounts Dipslays the Nett Loss Returns the Profit Returns the tunover Returns teh amount of opening balance Returns the Stock Value

Closing Balance of Sales

Returns the closing stock value

Returns the VAT Payable amount

Returns the closing balance of Sales and Purchases respectively

Return the respective values for the words sent by SMS

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Natural Language

Natural Query Language Return on working capital Return on wkg capital Return on working cap Return on wkg Cap Inventory turnover Net available stock Nett available stock Phone number of <Ledger> Mobile Number of <Ledger> Account number of <Bank Ledger> PAN Number/ Income Tax Number <Ledger> Closing balance of Cost Centre Branch Office for Ledger Fixed Costs

Function Returns the Working Capital value

Returns the Net Available Stock value Return the phone number provided for the respective ledger Return the phone number provided for the respective ledger Returns the account number of the respective bank ledger Returns the PAN Number / Income Tax Number of respective ledger. Returns the closing balance of the Cost Centre, Branch Office for the respective ledger

3.1.5 Business Vocabulary References

The table below shows the words and possible aliases used that can be used while querying information using SMS Masters Word Ledger Group Cost Centre Cost Category Godown Stock Group Stock Category Stock Item Currency Unit Budget Possible Aliases Ledgers Groups Cost Centres, Cost Centers, Cost Center Cost Categories Godowns Stock Groups Stock Category Item, Stock Items Currencies Units Budgets

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Natural Language

Link Masters Word Bill Batch Tracking Number Order Possible Aliases Bills Batches Tracking Numbers Order

Business Vocabulary Reference (Object Specific Values) Word Name Address Closing Balance Balance, Cl Bal Possible Aliases Works for Objects Works objects for most Ledger, Values Delivered Name of the object specified Address list separated with space Closing Balance as on given date

Company, Employee

Most Objects

3.1.6 Business Vocabulary that is ignored during interaction

In the business vocabulary certain words will be ignored when a valid meaning is not found in the data. The table below shows the set of word that are ignored while querying information from your mobile. About And Been Display Give How Me Nos Please Quantity Show Than Thx Want When Year Amount Are By Does Has I Month Of Pls Regard SMS Thank Total Was Why You Account As Can Far Have In Much On Plz Regards So Thanks Using What Will Amt At Company For Hello Is My Or Provide Reply Tally The Value Whats With An Be Could Get Hi Many No Pl Qty Should Tell They Values Whats Would

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Natural Language

3.1.7 Natural Query Language for the System

The system commands are reserved word that are used exclusively to communicate with the system or reset the context of queries. These commands will not allow the user to extract any information from the connected company. Natural Query Language Hello Hi Tally U There You there Are you there User User Name Who am I Company Cmp Database Name Thank you Thanks Bye List Full List Reset/* Context/* Functions it checks for availability of connection with Tally.NET or the availability of a respective company.

Returns the name of the authorised user.

Returns the name of the company

Reciprocates accordingly

Returns the list of online companies that you are authorised to access Emails a list of online and offline companies that you are authorised to access Resets the context of earlier queries Returns the context of the previous set of queries.

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