Margin Master Handbook
Introduction
Part I · Installing
- Prerequisites
- Firewall and Network Requirements
- Microsoft Edge Download Block
- SQL Server Authentication Setup for IT Administrators
- Antivirus and Endpoint Security Exclusions
- SQL Server Tools
- Install or Upgrade SQL Server Express
- Install or Upgrade SQL Server Management Studio
Part II · Introducing the Main Window
- A Tour of the Main Window
- The Menus
- The Button Row
- The Main Data Grid
- The Summary Section
- Banners and Badges
Part III · Initial Configuration
- The Options Window
- Store Configuration
- Miscellaneous
- Export Options
- Vendor Settings
- POS / Connections Tabs
- Background Service
- AI Assistant (Experimental)
- How POS Import Works
- Supported Point-of-Sale Systems
- Data Import Workflows
- RockSolid POS Import
- Epicor Eagle FTP Import
- Epicor MySQL Compass Import
- Transact POS Import
- Paladin POS Import
- Falcon POS Import
- Spruce POS Import
- Bistrack POS Import
- RockSolid Max POS Import
- ECS POS Import
- Prosperity POS Import
- Catalyst POS Import
- Westlake POS Import
- MI9 POS Import
- AS/400 POS Import
- CounterWorks POS Import
- Dimension POS Import
- PacSoft POS Import
- ProStix POS Import
- Sympac POS Import
- Propello POS Import
- EagleVision POS Import
- MySQL/Compass Connection Configuration
- ECI VPN Requirement (Spruce, RockSolid MAX)
- Propello POS Integration Guide
- MI9 Data Pipeline — Import to Main Table
- Troubleshooting: Epicor Import Brought In 0 SKUs
- PACE POS Import
- Advantage POS Import
- General Store POS Import
- J-3 POS Import
- KeyStroke POS Import
- AutBusSystem POS Import
- Tomax POS Import
- Enterprise POS Import
- Computakey POS Import
- Redisell POS Import
- DART POS Import
- MIB POS Import
- Substruct POS Import
- DMAS POS Import
- RODS POS Import
- Procom POS Import
- Agility POS Import
- Acumen POS Import
- Cruise POS Import
- LSandE POS Import
- Retalix POS Import
- DIBCorp POS Import
- GMROI POS Import
- ECi Advantage POS Import
- Sunray POS Import
- ActivantAutomotive POS Import
- IBS POS Import
- Versys POS Import
- RMS POS Import
- TAMS POS Import
- Integrasoft POS Import
- Dynamic POS Import
- Microsoft ARS POS Import
- CDS POS Import
- Spartan POS Import
- Nitterhouse POS Import
- Jeds POS Import
- Theisens POS Import
- Emery Jensen POS Import
- SMS Pro POS Import
- Burdens POS Import
- Intact POS Import
- Bloom Retail POS Import
- NCR Counterpoint POS Import
- Horizon POS Import
- Cloud Vendor Data Sync
- Data Aging and Freshness Warnings
- Resetting Vendor and POS Data
- Rebuild Data and Rebuild Selection Lists
- Troubleshooting Vendor Sync
Part IV · Customizing the Workspace
Part V · Basic Application Functionality
Part VI · Learning Margin Master
- Understanding the Strategy Hierarchy
- Pricing Strategies
- Creating a Strategy Step
- Updating and Deleting Steps
- Reviewing a Strategy and Running It
- Shared (Premade) Strategies
- SKU-Level Exceptions
- Manage Custom Groups
- Strategy Execution Cloud Tracking
Part VII · Advanced Topics
- Importing from Excel
- Cost Break Analysis
- Cost Break Strategies
- Min/Max Strategies
- Strategy Backup & Restore
- Add Items from Catalog
- Store Grouping
Part VIII · Updates, Troubleshooting & Help
- Data Diagnostics and Missing Index Recommendations
- System Diagnostics
- Margin Master Cannot Save Settings
- SQL Server 2025 Express vs. Full License
- Support Issue Management
- Catalog Lookup
- What's New After an Update
- Version History
- Documentation and the Help Buttons
Appendix
- CTLD — Do It Best Catalog File
- MARGIN_MASTER — Ace Catalog File
- PCDITEMXREF — Do It Best SKU Classification File
- SAP_ZONE_PRICE_MARGIN_MASTER — Ace Zone Pricing File
- PCDPRODCLASS — Do It Best Product Classification Hierarchy File
- SAP_STORE_DEPT_ZONE_MARGIN_MASTER — Ace Store Zone Assignment File
- Taxonomy — Ace Product Classification File
- Mapp_Pricing — Ace MAP & IMAP Pricing File
- margin_mstr_plano — Ace Planogram File
On This Page
Part II · Chapter 5 — A Tour of the Main WindowUpdated 2026-09-09
Banners and Badges
What is this?
Margin Master has no status bar. Instead it tells you about things that need attention in three ways: badges (pills) in the window's title bar, banners across the top of the work area, and - for the two situations that stop work - a full-window notice. This page lists every one, what it means and what to do.
Title-bar badges
Badges appear at the right of the title bar only while their condition holds, so most of the time there are none. Hover a badge for detail; most can be clicked.
| Badge | Colour | Meaning | Click |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support Issue 1234 / 3 Support Issues | Blue (new), orange (in progress), purple (ready for testing); flashes when there is new activity | You have open support issues | Opens the Support Issues window |
| Installing update… 42% | Blue, pulsing | A new version is downloading in the background. You can keep working; nothing restarts until you say so | - it becomes Update Ready when the download finishes |
| Update Ready — Click to Restart | Green | A new version has downloaded and installed in the background | Restarts into the new version - Automatic Updates |
| Update Available | Blue | A new version was found but could not be downloaded | Retries the download |
| Demo Mode | Orange | You are working in the demo database, not your store's | - see Demo Mode |
| Data Aging | Amber; red and pulsing when overdue | Vendor data or point-of-sale data is older than your aging threshold, or POS data has never been imported | Opens the Data Aging View |
| .NET Runtime Damaged — click to repair | Red | The Windows .NET runtime Margin Master runs on is damaged | Starts the repair - Install or Repair .NET |
| Vendor Data Updating — working (2/6) and similar | Blue, pulsing | A background data update is running (vendor data, point-of-sale data or an app update) | Shows live status |
| New vendor data ready — click to load | Green | A background update finished; the grid still shows the old data | Loads the new data |
| … update failed — click for details | Red | A background update failed | Shows the error |
| Click to update data | Amber, stays until clicked | New data was received but the rebuild was postponed to keep the window responsive | Rebuilds now (a full rebuild; a few minutes on large databases) |
Banners across the top
Two yellow banners can appear above the selection panel:
| Banner text | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Offline License Mode - N days until revalidation required | Margin Master could not reach the licensing server at startup and is running on the last good validation. N counts down | Restore the internet connection before N reaches zero; the next successful start clears it. See Network & Firewall Requirements |
| Could not reach your point of sale — showing data from your last import, Tuesday, August 25 at 6:10 AM (3 days ago). | The scheduled point-of-sale import failed; you are working on the previous import | Check the POS connection (Part III) and run Data > Get POS Data. If no earlier import exists the banner reads no previous import is available |
Full-window notices
| Notice | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| License Expired (red, over the selection panel) - Your license has expired or is invalid. Please configure your store to validate your license. | The license could not be validated | Press Configure Store to re-validate; contact Margin Master support if the renewal has not been processed |
| Background Data is Processing with Continue Anyway | A background job is rebuilding the data the grid depends on | Wait, or press Continue Anyway to work on the current data while it finishes |
Please Wait
Long operations - imports, syncs, strategy runs, rebuilds - dim the window and show a Please Wait panel with a line of progress text. The heartbeat text still working (m:ss) means the job is running even when the message has not changed for a while.
Common Questions
Q: A badge disappeared before I could click it. A: Success badges fade after a short while. Anything that still needs you - a failed update, data waiting to be rebuilt - stays until you act on it.
Q: Where are error messages shown? A: Errors that stop an action open a dialog. Conditions that do not stop you - stale data, offline license, updates - use the badges and banners above, so you can keep working.
