An accu-track asset is one for which you plan to monitor your usage so that you can determine (or improve) your usage rate for the need that the asset covers. When you add an asset, you set whether or not you want it to be accu-tracked on the More Asset Data page. (Assets are set to be accu-tracked by default, so normally you don't need to do anything.) When you set an asset to be accu-tracked, you'll get reminders to check the inventory level (or the remaining uses or the lifetime, depending on the asset type). Also, accu-track assets are shown by default on the Usage Rate Analysis report.
You acquire an asset by purchasing it, receiving it as a gift, receiving it in trade, or otherwise obtaining it for your own use.
An asset's acquired date is the date on which you acquire the asset. For more details, see asset status or In Depth: The Life Cycle of an Asset.
An asset becomes active when you start using it.
An asset's activation date is the date on which you start using the asset. For durables, it really doesn't matter. For supplies and apparel, this is when you start depleting (using up) or wearing out the asset. For more details, see asset status or In Depth: The Life Cycle of an Asset.
Your assets don't just sit there in inventory. They age. Supplies run out. Apparel wears out. Durables expire. MakeLifeEasy predicts the state of your assets by aging them. Each night, it predicts the "Days left" of each asset. That way, assets with low "Days left" will rise up on your shopping lists, so you'll know that you need to replace them.
In MakeLifeEasy, anything and everything you own is an asset.
After you buy a product, it becomes your asset.
You buy an asset to cover a need.
See also Basic Concepts: Assets.
Asset status
The state in which an asset exists in its "lifecycle".
Basically, supplies start out in "Holding"(H) status,
then become "Active" (A), then "Inactive" (I), then "Disposed" (D).
The full lifecycle is described in
In Depth: The Life Cycle of an Asset.
See also Current assets.
Automatic sign-in ("Sign me in automatically")
Check this box to let MakeLifeEasy save your username and encrypted password on this computer (for MakeLifeEasy use only). Then you will be automatically signed in on this computer.
This option is recommended on your private computer(s). If this is a shared computer (at a store, library, school, cafe, etc.) then do not check this box.
NOTE:
See the Buying Advice report.
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A capsule is a set of apparel items -- say six to twelve articles -- that, when used together in different combinations, can produce about twenty different looks (outfits). A capsule is often based on a suit and a set of separates (jackets, pants, skirts, etc.). For example, a capsule could consist of a basic suit, a jacket, a skirt, five tops, and two neck accessories. A set of just four capsules (based around four suits) can make about eighty different looks.
MakeLifeEasy helps you to build and maintain capsules using the "Add Many Wardrobe Needs" page, the "Capsule Manager" page, and the "Wardrobe Needs" list. Also see Working With Capsules.
The amount of money spent each day to cover a need. Using Cost per day, you can rank your needs on a level playing field.
See also Cost per day in the introduction.
Count, count
In MakeLifeEasy, the word "count" has two meanings: as the number of entities in a product, and as a unit of measure for "discrete" items (e.g., a 500-count bottle of vitamins). We use "Count" (with a capital "C") for the former and "count" (with a small "c") for the latter.
Count is the number of entities in a product. Usually the Count is 1, but it's more if several entities are bundled together in a pack. For example, a 6-pack of 12 floz cans of soda has a Count of 6 when purchased. If 2 have already been consumed, it has a Count of 4. A 12-pack of baseballs has a Count of 12 when purchased. See also Size and In Depth: Entering Product Size.
count is a unit of measure used when weight, volume, length, or area won't do.
See units.
Counting
See physical inventory.
Describes the amount of time an asset has left. Also describes the amount of time a need has left by collecting the days left of all the assets that cover it.
To repeat, here's the basic formula for the days left of a supply:
| Days left = (Asset's amount left) / (Usage rate) |
Pretty simple, but powerful. Here are some examples:
For a need covered by supplies or apparel, you can add up the days left of each of the assets that cover it to get the total days left of the need. Say you have a 4-pack of 32 floz bottles of spunch, and you use 4 floz/day. Then the need has 32 days left. If you buy another 4-pack, the need now has 64 days left.
An entity is one single thing ...
An entity is an "individually wrapped" portion of a product: a single can, bottle, box, bar, etc.
In most cases an entity is the same thing as the product itself.
For example, for a single bottle of shampoo, the product is the bottle of shampoo and so is the entity. An entity is different from a product when the product's Count is greater than one. For example, for a six pack of soda, the product is the six pack, and the entity is a single can.
However, there's an exception to the above statement for products like vitamins, where there are "individually formed" portions of the product (capsules, tablets, pills, packets, softgels, sticks (of gum), etc.) within each "individually wrapped" portion. In this case you have a choice: you can use the "individually wrapped" portion (e.g. the bottle, box, etc.) or you can use the smaller, "individually formed" portion (the capsule, pill, etc.) Your choice depends on how you want to take physical inventory of the asset (e.g. by the bottle or by the pill) and other factors. See Size measures for more details.
Usually, you'll want to choose the smallest entity you can (e.g., pills), but you do have a choice. Regardless of which method is used, this equation must always be true: The total size of the product equals the count of entities multiplied by the size of each entity.
You can use folders to organize your needs into a need tree.
Folders provide a useful way to organize the needs in your database,
providing logical places to create and store your needs.
A folder is either a top folder or a subfolder.
A top folder often corresponds to a type of store; for example, "Food".
A subfolder could be a store department, aisle, section, shelf, specific product type,
or something else that helps you organize your needs. Here are some examples:
If it helps, you can use these store-type folders.
But you'll probably have at least some folders of your very own;
maybe something like this:
An asset will become inactive when you stop using it. There are two cases: First, an asset will become inactive when it reaches the end of its useful life. For durables, when the asset expires, it becomes inactive. For supplies, when the asset is depleted (used up) or expired, it becomes inactive. For apparel, when the asset is depleted (worn out) or expired, it becomes inactive. Also, an asset can become inactive because you choose to stop using it before it has reached the end of its useful life.
An asset's inactivation date is the date on which you stop using the asset for good. (If it's only temporary, you pause the asset.) For more details, see asset status or In Depth: The Life Cycle of an Asset.
Here are the main cases where inventory management data is inherited in MakeLifeEasy:
In most cases you can override the inheritance. You can do this when MakeLifeEasy displays the data to you before you save it, so that you can make changes.
See also Override and Learning.
To be provided.
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Keywords are used to search for items
(needs, assets, products, etc.) in your database.
You can use the wildcard character (*) in keywords.
For example, the keyword "wat*" will match with "watch", "water", and "watermelon".
Kit
To be provided.
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The date on which the status of an asset was last checked, that is, the last time you took a physical inventory of the asset. For example, if you verified that a box of Blue Rego was half used up on 6/1/02, then 6/1/02 is the last checked date of the asset.
The lead time given for a need determines how soon it shows up on your shopping list before the assets covering it will be depleted (run out, wear out, expire, etc.)
One of the more powerful features of MakeLifeEasy is that you develop your own personal database of purchase and usage data, which you can use to improve your purchase and usage patterns. Over time, you and your database will "learn" about how you purchase and use products.
One of the simplest ways MakeLifeEasy learns is by doing the opposite of inheritance: saving new data back "up" and "over" to your reference data. The inheritance feature copies your known data for new folders, needs, and assets. This is used as a starting point. But you can also do the opposite: when you learn more about how quickly you use assets, how many uses you get out of them, or how long they last, you can save this knowledge for future use by pushing it back up the tree.
Another way MakeLifeEasy learns is by monitoring how you use assets, sensing how your usage rates will change, and suggesting intelligent changes to your usage rates. You can control this manually using the Usage Rate Analysis page.
Also, keep in mind that this is only the first version of MakeLifeEasy. We've got several improvements in the works. Start building your database now for future analyses that we'll provide.
A level check is a check of an asset's inventory level (how much is left).
This is sometimes called "taking inventory" or "physical inventory"
Standard levels at which to check assets are provided by the checkpoint reports.
Lifetime (Expires)
An asset's lifetime is how long you expect it to last before it expires,
becomes obsolete, goes out of style, or otherwise comes to the end of its usefulness.
Likelihood To Sell
This is a property of an asset that you assign:
If you'd consider selling it, how likely would you be to sell it.
If you're unsure, use a large likelyhood, say 80-100%. Be open-minded.
You might be pleased with the results.
Location
The location of an asset specifies where the asset physically exists. Usually you don't need to specify a location for an asset or a need. You only need to specify a location for an asset if it's important that you know where it is.
You can also specify a location for a need. This may be useful if you need the same thing at two different locations,
and they are managed differently. However, it's usually better to pool these into a single need.
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The management type is used to determine how you want to age an asset.
You can also manage things that don't fit these names well, like services and re-used assets.
For more details, see management types.
Master shopping list
Your master shopping list is just all of your individual shopping lists (by top folder) put together. Sometimes this is referred to as your "shopping lists". See shopping list.
A need is an item that's on your shopping list, or will be in the future.
See also Basic Concepts: Needs.
Need consistency
Need consistency refers to whether you've used a standard need for your own.
Here are the codes for need consistency:
| -STD---------- | A standard need that you're not using |
| -STD+mine- | A standard need that you ARE using |
| ---------mine- | A NON-standard need that you're using |
In general, the more you can use standard needs, the better. You'll have access to more accurate shared data, and merchants can make you better offers. But everybody's different, so don't hesitate to use custom needs when you need them. Also, when you need custom needs, a good technique is to create them "below" standard folders. You can get most of the benefits of the standard folders that way.
So, in general, try to use "-STD----------" or "-STD+mine-" folders and needs when creating new folders and needs, and reduce your "---------mine-" folders and needs in favor of "-STD+mine-" folders and needs when you can. See Standardizing Your Folders.
The state in which a need exists. The two main states are Active (A) and Inactive (I). See In Depth: The Life Cycle of a Need.
Needs are arranged in a hierarchy of folders just as files are arranged on your computer...
...with one difference: you can have multiple needs with the same name at the same location in the tree, and they can have the same name as a single folder at that location. This allows you to have the same (named) need for different situations, and to have them next to a folder that holds more specific needs. For example, you can have this organization:
Here's some common terminology for hierarchies or "trees":
Notes are freeform text that you can add to any record for your own use. Every type of record can hold notes, including receipts, receipt lines, products, assets, needs, etc.
Since you have several places where you can store a note, try to "hang" your notes on the correct record type. For example, say a product you buy contains a potentially harmful additive. Hang that note on the Product, not the Asset, nor the Receipt, etc., so that you can always see the note when you want to repurchase that product.
A bid from a seller to cover one or more of your needs with one or more of their product or service offerings.
An offer can be created by an agent.
So an offer from a non-selling agent is really a "suggestion".
"Offline" merchants are "brick and mortar" merchants, i.e., those "not on the internet". An offline receipt is one received from an offline merchant.
"Online" merchants are internet merchants, i.e. those offering goods for sale on the World Wide Web. An online receipt is one received from an online merchant.
In many cases inherited data (usually inventory management data) can
be changed ("overridden") by viewing the data in a page and changing it before saving the data.
See Inherit.
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An asset becomes paused when you temporarily set it to a paused state.
The asset will stop depleting until you re-activate it.
For more details, see asset status or
In Depth: The Life Cycle of an Asset.
Person
An asset's person specifies who owns or uses the asset.
Similarly, a need's person specifies who has that need.
Usually you don't need to specify a person for an asset or a need.
It may be useful to assign a need to a specific person
if you want to break down expenses by person or cost per day by person.
A person is a specific type of user.
Physical inventory
Taking physical inventory is the process of checking how many assets you currently have. For example, say you've bought four bottles of shampoo. If you've elected to accu-track that asset, the Check Asset Levels < report will remind you when it's time to check when half is left. When you check your shampoo level and find that you have 2-1/2 bottles left, you've taken physical inventory of that asset. In other words, you physically went in and inventoried it.
An asset's purpose specifies what the asset can be used for.
Usually it's not needed.
Most assets have only one purpose throughout their lifetime,
so you won't need to specify a purpose - it will be obvious.
For now, you can use the purpose in any way that you like.
See also repurposing an asset.
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A receipt consists of a header and one or more lines. The header contains overall data about the receipt, including the date, the seller, and notes.
A receipt consists of a header and one or more lines. Each receipt line describes a specific product acquired on the receipt. The receipt line data includes the quantity purchased, product purchased, and total price paid for that line.
You search for items (needs, assets, products, etc.) in your database by entering one or more keywords. MakeLifeEasy will find all items that contain the keyword(s) provided. You can use the wildcard character (*) in keywords. For example, the keyword "wat*" will match with "watch", "water", and "watermelon".
See also browsing.
A shopping list is a set of needs defined under a single top folder in your need tree. Sometimes we refer to your "shopping lists", which is all of these individual shopping lists put together, also called your master shopping list.
A shopping schedule defines the time pattern that you prefer to use to shop at a specific type of store (e.g. a grocery store, drugstore, etc.). MakeLifeEasy can synchronize your needs so that they tend to need fulfillment on your scheduled shopping dates, reducing the time you need to spend shopping.
The purpose and use of these schedules is defined in How To... Use my shopping schedules.
When you are done using MakeLifeEasy, you can just close your browser. This will end your session. You don't need to sign out. However, you can use sign out to turn off automatic sign in.
The "environment" in which a need exists. Examples:
Size is the starting amount of a supply entity available to consume.
That is, it's the number and unit of measure for each individual entity in the product.
For example, if you buy a 6-pack of 12 floz cans of cola, the size is "12 floz".
For durables and apparel, the size is always "1 count".
See also Count and In Depth: Entering Product Size.
Size measures
A unit price slice, entity, product, and asset may all
contain different amounts. Here's the distinction:
| Size term: | Example: | Amount: |
| Unit price slice | 1 oz shaving gel | 1 oz |
| Entity | 7 oz (can) Edge shaving gel | 7 oz |
| Product | 4-pack of 7 oz cans Edge shaving gel | 28 oz |
| Asset | 2 4-packs of 7 oz cans Edge shaving gel | 56 oz |
See also Unit price slice, Entity, Product, and Asset.
A subfolder is a folder defined under a top folder in the need tree. Subfolders are often called just "folders". Subfolders are used to organize your needs within a top folder. For example, if you need mustard and ketchup, you can place them under the top folder "Food" and the subfolder "Condiments".
A top folder is a folder defined at the top level of the need tree. Often, but not always, a top folder is the name of a type of store. For example, here are some of the standard top folders provided in MakeLifeEasy: Apparel (Children's), Apparel (Men's), Apparel (Women's), Appliances, Art & decorations, Baby care, Cleaning, Computers, Food, Health & Beauty, Home Improvement, and Jewelry & valuables. You can create your own top folders, but use the standard folders as much as possible to organize your needs.
If you enter a usage rate (for a need or an asset) in "1 asset(s) per time period", (for example, "1 asset(s) every 6 week(s)"), then that time period ("6 week(s)") is the "typical rebuy interval" (or "TRI") for the need. That is, if you use one asset every six weeks, you need to go shopping to cover that need every six weeks.
Can you see that your "re-buy" rate of a need is, over time, the same as your usage rate? Unless you're stocking up (or using up a big pre-stocked inventory), you will use all the assets that you buy, so your "rate of buying" is the same as your "rate of using".
| Over time, a need's Typical Rebuy Interval (TRI) is the same as its usage rate. |
You may find it easier at first to enter an asset's usage rate using a typical rebuy interval. Then you can "refine" it later to a more precise "usage" format, with help from MakeLifeEasy. For example, you can enter a starting usage rate of "1 asset(s) every 6 week(s)" and later you can refine it to "2 oz every 1 day(s)", as MakeLifeEasy helps you to determine this more precise rate. In addition, another reason to "refine" the need's usage rate is to get accurate unit price data for supplies and apparel. See unit prices.
See usage rate.
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| Name | Base Type |
Unit Price Units |
Factor To Unit Price Units |
| count | count | count | 1 |
| floz | volume | floz | 1 |
| ft | length | yd | 0.3333333 |
| g | weight | oz | 0.03527396 |
| gal | volume | floz | 128 |
| kg | weight | oz | 35.27396 |
| lb | weight | oz | 16 |
| liter | volume | floz | 33.81402 |
| mcg | weight | oz | 0.00000003527396 |
| mg | weight | oz | 0.00003527396 |
| ml | volume | floz | 0.03381402 |
| mtr | length | yd | 1.093613 |
| oz | weight | oz | 1 |
| pint | volume | floz | 16 |
| quart | volume | floz | 32 |
| sqft | area | sqft | 1 |
| yd | length | yd | 1 |
For more information:
The unit price of a product is the price of the product divided by the number of unit price slices in the asset. This is exactly the same way it's calculated by a store. The unit price of an asset is calculated the same way. The average unit price of covering a need is the average of the unit prices of the assets that have covered that need.
NOTE: The need-level unit prices will only include assets with units having the same base type as the need's "usage rate units". If your need's "usage rate units" are in "asset(s)", you won't get accurate unit price data for supplies and apparel. To fix this, you can convert your need's "usage rate units" to specific units of measure (e.g., oz, floz, count, etc.). See typical rebuy interval.
| Product units are compatible with usage rate units having the same Base Type, and with usage rate units of "ENTITY(s)". |
This table is simply an expanded diagram of the rule.
It shows which usage rate units can be used for the product units you provide.
| Management Type: |
Product Units Allowed: |
<= For these product units, use these usage rate units => |
Usage Rate Units Allowed: |
| DURABLES | count | => | n/a |
| APPAREL | count | => | use(s) |
| SUPPLIES | Count-type: count (special cases only) |
=> | Count-type: count, and ENTITY(s) |
| SUPPLIES | Weight-type: g, kg, lb, mcg, mg, oz |
=> | Weight-type: g, kg, lb, mcg, mg, oz, and ENTITY(s) |
| SUPPLIES | Volume-type: floz, gal, liter, ml, pint, quart |
=> | Volume-type: floz, gal, liter, ml, pint, quart, and ENTITY(s) |
| SUPPLIES | Length-type: ft, mtr, yard |
=> | Length-type: ft, mtr, yard, and ENTITY(s) |
| SUPPLIES | Area-type: sqft |
=> | Area-type: sqft, and ENTITY(s) |
The Universal Product Code (UPC) is the industry-standard unique identifier
used on all manner of goods for sale.
Most consumer products have a 12-digit UPC.
It's shown here in both numeric and bar code format.
This is what the store's scanner reads.
In MakeLifeEasy, use the number under the bar code including the numbers before and after the bar code on each side.
See also ISBN.
Every time you wear an apparel asset, you have used it.
A usage rate is the rate at which you use up a supply or apparel (re-usable) asset. Supplies "run out" and apparel assets "wear out".
The basic usage rate for a supply is always measured in "standard units/day".
So, for example, your usage rate for milk will be measured in floz/day (that is, fluid ounces per day),
because fluid ounces are the standard units for milk.
However, you and/or MakeLifeEasy may easily convert this to other equivalent units, for example:
The basic usage rate for an apparel (re-usable) item is always measured in "uses/day", and this may also be converted to equivalent values, for example, "uses/month".
Note that durable assets are not used up or worn out (at least, not before they are expected to expire). So, durable assets don't have usage rates; they have lifetimes only.
| Your usage rates are a key element for providing automatic buying, freedom from shopping, and for learning to improve your purchasing and usage of products. |
See also usage rate units and typical rebuy interval.
An asset's user specifies who or what uses the asset.
Similarly, a need's user specifies who or what uses that need.
A user is like a person, but can be more general, including a car, a pet, or anything that has needs.
Usually you don't need to specify a user for an asset or a need.
It may be useful to assign a need to a specific user
if you want to break down expenses by user or cost per day by user.
For example, it can be used to break down maintenance expenses by car.
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