BASICS is the free single-user download version of WINCAMS32 software. (Both are part of the SIM*plicity family of manufacturing software.) BASICS is completely free with no time limit on its use. Its value can range from worthless to priceless based on the effort you expend in setting it up for your company.
A few businesses are really lucky, their sales are driven year after year by the personality, knowledge or craftsmanship of the owners. For most companies the importance of these factors eventually pales and the reality is that the transition from a shop to a manufacturing company requires competitive ability. To compete you need accurate Cost, Inventory, Production Capabilities and Customer information. BASICS can help you develop this information and use it to improve your performance. The training database reviews these features; after you are familiar with them we will supply (at no charge), a blank database or, if available, one specifically developed for your industry.
Answers to many questions can be found on our support page SIM*plicity Support - FAQ's and by reading this primer.
| Installation | Our installation program puts BASICS
in the root folder of your C: drive. No files will be placed in that
folder, but a subfolder C:\Wincams will be created for the program
files. Move the Wincams shortcut (not the ."exe" program file to your desktop. If, at a later date, you want to completely remove our program and data, simply delete the C:\Wincams folder. Please note that Wincams requires many data files to be opened and closed as you use move between features. Some virus checker software constantly monitors these files on your hard drive in addition to those received by email. This substantially slows program execution. After you trust our software, change your settings so they don't constantly filter the data files used by our software. |
| Password | If you haven't yet done so, request your password with this email link Please supply your name, company name, location, number of employees and your product or service. |
| Opening Screen | The main window on the opening screen is blank. To get started select an option from the accordion in the left window . For details on the options please read: Opening Page. |
| Important Overview | SIM*plicity uses one data entry to control all functions. For a good introduction please read Order Entry Overview. It illustrates how customer information is tied to product details and customization, scheduling and costing. |
| Order Processing | Please first read: Order Entry Tools
and MRP2/ERP Introduction.
For details on adding an order follow the steps in Order Entry Details.
To add new products view New Product Entry
.
An important feature is Order/Project Costing. This is an Order Entry display of the computed cost of an order or quotation. It is also used for "take-offs" by project estimators. |
| Inventory Control and Purchasing | For an overview go to Materials Management or follow this link for details: Inventory Control |
| Options and Features-
|
Unless you produce only commodity products, definition and control of options and features, are the keys to both profitability and productivity. Options and Features Tutorial provides basic information, for background information read Configuration for Cowards . |
| Product Engineering | Bills of Material define your products. Start by viewing the Bill of Material Flow Chart . To create your own, follow the instructions - Bills of Material - Static Bills. For background information study the Structure of Bills of Material. |
| Costing | If your company produces products (whether standard or customized) please view Product Cost Summary. If you are a job-shop or build projects you wil probably use Plan and Perform Product/Project Entry |
| Labor Reporting | Used to track orders through factories (see Order Progress Display ) and to determine actual costs of individual items on orders. Various modes are available please contact us to determine the type suitable for your company. |
| Support | Please don't hesitate to email support by using this email link , but first check the questions and answers at SIM*plicity Support - FAQ's |
| Personalize | Read the information in SIM*plicity Support - FAQ's
to personalize forms for your company and when you have reviewed the
features of our program contact us for a blank database for your industry. To adjust work days (and hours worked) or to changes the default delivery date offsets please read Production & Delivery Calendar. |
For an overview of how BASICS/WINCAMS can help your factory please read MRP2/ERP Tutorial - Introduction