Overview

Some of the setup items have default settings, for example Program Settings, while others require data input.  If your data has been converted by Orchid, you may find that some of the setup menu items may have data already present, although you should spend some time checking that it is accurate.  Certain setup items are compulsory for the program to work; for example you must setup premises so that the movement book can be maintained.  The optional setup items simply allow you to describe farming events more accurately; for example, the haulier that was used to move a batch of animals.  The table below shows the setup menu items.

* = optional setup item

Setting Up Premises

A premises is a registered holding which is defined by the Ministry; it exists for the purposes of official record keeping.  Once all premises that you trade with have been setup, the program can maintain the movement book and generate the correct records for notification to the BCMS (requires the BCMS Link module).  The diagram below shows a farming situation where there is a main herd premises and three other premises with whom the business trades; each one needs to be defined in the Setup | Premises window.

If you have had herd data converted by Orchid, you may find some of the premises that you deal with already defined. 

1. Ensure the Premises tab is showing in the window.  Click the add new record button .  The data entry boxes are:
   
   Holding Details:
   Main Holding. Where a holding is part of a group of holdings, you must select the parent holding. For instance, some farms have multiple herds that are registered to different holdings but have a main office where mail etc is normally directed as the records are kept there.
   MHS Licence Number, Type and Farm Business Unit. These details are only required if you wish to send your animal movements to BCMS electronically.
   Holding Number. The County should be two digits, Parish three, Holding four, and Herd two

Personal Details:
Title, Initials and Surname. Enter the details of the registered keeper of the animals.
Holding Name. This must be entered as it is used in the Premises drop-down boxes when you buy and sell animals. If you are unsure what the Holding name is, you should be enter the business trading name.
Address, Post Code and Telephone Number. Enter the details of the registered holding. This is used in certain reports including the movement book report.

2. If you are responsible for reporting movements to and from the premises that you are defining, place a tick in the "I am responsible..." check box.   You should tick this item for your main herd premises because you are responsible for reporting all "ON" and "OFF" movements for your farm.  As a further example, where you are entering the details of a market premises, do not tick the box because you not responsible for the movements.  Some more complex farm business arrangements may involve reporting movements for other farms; in this situation you would tick the box for that premises.

3. The drop-down box for selecting an Alternative premises for reporting movements will only be available for use when the "I am responsible..." check box is ticked.  This option is only to be used when you are taking responsibility for reporting movements for another premises and need to report those movements via another holding. 

Setting up a Herd

If you have just installed the program, and decided to input data manually, a herd will be created from the information you provided in the setup wizard.   You may wish to set up a second herd.  When you set up a herd, it must be assigned to its registered herd premises.  This is achieved via the Setup | Herds menu item (shown below).  Create a new blank line by clicking on the last line in the grid and then pressing the tab key several times until the new line is created (or you can use the down arrow on your keyboard).  Type in the herd code, and name.  To select the herd premises, click in the premises column and then click the drop down box;  this will reveal a list of all the premises that you have defined in the Setup | Premises menu.

To change between herds, use the File | Change Current Herd menu.   When you have done this, the Herd name will appear at the extreme bottom right corner of the program screen.  You can now input animal details into this herd.

Several of the other Setup items work in the same way; that is, you create a new line in the grid, enter the data and then save it