Electronic WICItem Maintenance

Allows the store to view and maintenance eWIC eligible items

From the ICL Main Menu select 1 – File Maintenance Menu and press [ENTER]

The File Maintenance Menu appears. Select 1 – PLU File Maintenance and press [ENTER]

The PLU Maintenance menu appears. Select 4 – Electronic WIC Item Maintenance

The Electronic WIC Store and State Parameters screen appears.

Click the button (as shown above)

The Electronic WIC State Maintenance screen appears. DO NOT edit or delete any of the settings on this screen.

Press [F5] or click

The Electronic WIC Item Maintenance screen appears

Only items that are currently in the store’s PLU item file ANDin the Approved Product List (APL) will be displayed.

  • By default, all items in this list should have a checkmark in the Enable column
  • Use the [ ] and [ ] arrow keys or the [Page Up] [Page Down] keys on the keyboard to scroll through the items
  • Pressing [Enter] on the line item highlighted in blue will add/remove the checkmark in the Enable column

The Enable flag in Electronic WIC Item Maintenance determines what items are or are not eligible for eWIC redemption at the time of purchase. The WIC/ WIC CVV flag in PLU Item Maintenance no longer makes an item WIC “eligible”, but will simply place a “W” after the item description on the customer/cashier display.

If an item is disabled in Electronic WIC Item Maintenance by a store user it will remain disabled until a store user manually enables the item. The nightly APL import process does not override a user’s changes to Electronic WIC Item Maintenance.

  • Press [Esc] to return to the Electronic WIC State Maintenance screen
  • Press [Esc] to return to the Electronic WIC Store and State Parameters screen
  • You must click to apply any changes!!!

eWIC Program Notes

Variance

Your state may have established a maximum reimbursement amount for certain WIC items or categories. It is recommended that your store follow these pricing guidelines as the state will only reimburse the maximum amount regardless of your store’s actual retail price.

At the time of purchase the transaction will process with all items at the store’s retail price; the reconciliation process completed by the state will compare the store’s retail price to the allowed maximum and adjust accordingly. This adjustment process is known as a “Variance”. The daily variance amounts can be obtained from MicroTrax (please see chapter 9.1 - MicroTrax - eWIC.docx).

Least Expensive Brand

Some states require that the least expensive brand/UPC of a WIC eligible item be the only brand/UPC available for purchase to a eWIC customer. For example, if the store has DSD Milk half gallons for .99¢ and SAL brand milk half gallons for .79¢ the DSD milk must be “disabled” in Electronic WIC Item Maintenance. Though both items are eWIC eligible, and on the Approved Product List, the store will only be reimbursed for the state’s approved maximum amount.

Neither SAL Host maintenance nor the APL import process can compare item prices to state maximums and enable or disable items; this must be done by store management.

Item Mapping

Allows a user to link item codes to the eWIC Approved Product List

Example: A store weighs and wraps loose tomatoes – an eWIC approved item – and assigns a unique PLU code to the item, a PLU that is not included in the APL

Mapping Items – Step 1

  • Identify the items your store sells that are WIC eligible but do not appear in the state Approved Product List
  • For the example in this manual a tray wrapped produce item (tomatoes) will be used
  • The tomatoes are WIC eligible, but the random weight PLU programmed in the produce scale is not in the state APL
  • Verify the store PLU code is flagged as a WIC or WIC CVV item

From the ICL Main Menu select 1 – File Maintenance Menu and press [ENTER]

The File Maintenance Menu appears. Select 1 – PLU File Maintenance and press [ENTER]

The PLU Maintenance Menu appears. Select 1 – PLU Maintenance and press [ENTER]

Mapping Items – Step 1 (continued)

  • Locate the item record(s) in the PLU file
  • In the example above the Tomatoes are a random weight UPC code
  • If the item has a random weight UPC code that is generated by the produce scale the code is entered into the ISS45 item file as follows:
  • 20010000000
  • Press [ALT] + [U] or click
  • Verify a checkmark appears in either the WIC Item or WIC CVV field (it does not need to appear in both fields)
  • If a checkmark does not appear in either field, press [Enter] on the keyboard until the cursor appears in the WIC Item or WIC CVV field
  • Press the [Space bar] key to place a checkmark in the [ ]
  • Press [F2] or click to save your changes

You may update another item using the same process as above or press the [ESC] key until you return to the PLU Maintenance menu.

Mapping Items – Step 2

  • You will now need to access the WIC Link Maintenance application to “map” a path for the store PLU to the state APL.
  • Press [F11] to return to the Save-A-Lot Browser.

Click the [Utilities] link.

Enter your USER ID, PASSWORD, and then click the button.

Mapping Items – Step 2 (continued)

Click WIC Link Maintenance

The WIC Link Maintenance application will appear

Mapping Items – Step 2 (continued)

The State field will default to your state; no action is required in this field.

In the Store PLU/UPC Number field enter the code to be added to the APL as it appears in your ISS45 item file

In the State APL PLU/UPC Number field enter the state approved code to which the item will be linked.

In the example above the store code for tray wrapped Tomatoes is 200100 00000. The item will be linked to APL code 3151, the universal PLU for Tomatoes.

If you are not sure of what codes are in the APL or what code to “map” to, pages 2 – 4 of this manual describe accessing the APL file to view its contents.

Click

A successful “map” is indicated by the fields clearing all data.

You may now map another item.

  • When mapping is complete you must press [Esc] on the keyboard to close the WIC Link Maintenance application.

Mapping Items – Step 2 (continued)

Errors

If the error above appears, the State APL PLU/UPC Number you entered does not appear in the APL. Retype the code or choose another code.

If you are not sure of what codes are in the APL or what code to “map” to, pages 2 – 4 of this manual describe accessing the APL file to view its contents.

The above error indicates the Store PLU/UPC Number you have entered does not have the WIC Item or WIC CVV field enabled or the item is not in the ISS45 item file. Review page 8 of this manual for assistance.

Simply click to continue and retry your entry.

Mapping Items – Step 3

  • Once the items are mapped the updated Approved Product List must be sent to the registers
  • !!!This step will cause a brief (30 – 45 second) interruption at each register as the updated file loads. The register cannot be used during this time
  • If a transaction is in progress the update will occur when the transaction is finished, not during.

From the ICL Main Menu select 1 – File Maintenance Menu and press [ENTER]

The File Maintenance Menu appears. Select 1 – PLU File Maintenance and press [ENTER]

The PLU Maintenance menu appears. Select 5 – Electronic WIC Import

Mapping Items – Step 3 (continued)

  • Verify the file nameKYICLAPL.APL is highlighted by the blue bar (if not, usethe [ ] and [ ] arrow keys to select it)
  • Click the button
  • An asterisk should appear to the left of the file name (as shown above)
  • Click
  • An “Are you sure?” warning will appear
  • Click Yes to continue

A black screen will appear briefly while the updated APL file is built – DO NOT close this window!

The interruption at the lanes will now occur

Press the [ESC] key until you return to the blue ISS45 sign on screen.

Mapping Items – Step 4

  • You must now Enable the mapped items using the instructions on pages 2 – 4 of this manual.
  • The items will not be eligible for eWIC purchase until they are enabled!

13.1 - eWIC Item Maintenance1