Margin Master Handbook
- 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
- A Tour of the Main Window
- The Menus
- The Button Row
- The Main Data Grid
- The Summary Section
- Banners and Badges
- 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
- 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
- Importing from Excel
- Cost Break Analysis
- Cost Break Strategies
- Min/Max Strategies
- Strategy Backup & Restore
- Add Items from Catalog
- Store Grouping
- 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
- 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
The Main Data Grid
What is this?
The Results grid is the centre of the main window: one row per SKU per store, showing what the item costs, what it sells for today, what the vendor suggests, and what it will sell for once you apply a future price. Everything else in Margin Master either narrows what this grid shows (selection boxes) or changes the numbers in it (the Future Price panel and strategies).
Walk through it in the app: lesson 1007 — Grid, guide 2010 — When one SKU's price looks wrong and lesson 2024 — Typing a price by hand. Margin Master can walk you through these steps live: turn on Training / Guide Mode from the Help menu, then type the number into the Lessons & Guides box — or ask Margin Master support to run it with you.
What each row shows
The standard column view shows, left to right:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Store Number | The store the row belongs to (multi-store databases have one row per store) |
| SKU | The item number as your point of sale knows it |
| Department / Class | Your point-of-sale department and class |
| Vendor Product Group | The vendor's product grouping for the item |
| Description | Item description |
| Retail | The vendor's suggested retail (for Ace stores the column is titled Ace Retail) |
| Level 1 / Level 2 | The vendor's alternative price levels |
| Last Price Change | When the item's price last changed in your point of sale |
| Store Cost | What the item costs you |
| Current Price | What the item sells for today - yellow cells |
| Future Price | The price Margin Master proposes - green cells, with an arrow |
| Last 12 | Units sold in the last twelve months |
| On Hand | Units in stock |
| Pricing Strategy | The vendor's pricing strategy code for the item (for Do it Best stores the column is Awareness Code) |
Other vendor views add columns such as Current Margin, Future Margin, Impact, Velocity Code, Vendor Number, Vendor Name and CPFPDif (the difference between current and future price). Any column can be shown, hidden, renamed or re-ordered - see Edit Columns and Field Manager.
Current price and future price
The two prices are colour-coded so they stand out in a wide grid:
- Current Price cells are yellow. This is today's price from your point of sale.
- Future Price cells are light green. A green ↑ next to the value means the future price is higher than the current price; a red ↓ means lower; no arrow means the two are equal. An empty future price (0.00) means nothing has been proposed for the row yet.
A future price only becomes real when you export it to your point of sale - see Printing and Exporting.
The narrow symbol columns
Two very narrow columns carry an icon instead of a value. Hover the icon, or the column header, for an explanation.
| Header | Shows |
|---|---|
* |
A padlock on items whose future price came from a specific rule: a margin rule, a fixed retail, a cost break, another price level, another SKU, a custom group, or another rule. The symbol inside the padlock says which - see The Lock Column. The column appears automatically for Ace Hardware, Emery Jensen and Do it Best stores once any item carries a lock |
Z |
A vendor logo on items that have zone pricing - the vendor publishes a different price for your zone than the national price |
Working in the grid
- Sort by clicking a column header; click again to reverse. For multi-column sorts and saved presets use Edit Sort Sequence.
- Filter a column from the funnel in its header.
- Resize a column by dragging its edge; re-order by dragging its header. View > Reset Columns restores the default widths.
- A running total at the bottom of the grid reads Total Last 12 is N for the displayed rows.
- Right-click a row for Copy Sku # to Clipboard, Show Sku Detail (the item's history and every price level in one window), Add Sku to Custom Group and Delete Sku.
These are standard grid features and are covered in more depth in Working with the Grid.
Tips
The grid shows what your selections allow. If a SKU you expect is missing, press F12 (Clear ALL Selections) and check the SKU-type drop-down on the button row is set to Show ALL Skus.
Column layouts are saved as column views. Make your changes, then save them from Edit Columns so they survive the next start.
Common Questions
Q: Can I type a price straight into the grid? A: By default no - prices come from the Future Price panel and strategies so every change is reproducible. Support can enable direct future-price editing for a store when there is a good reason.
Q: Why are some rows missing a Future Price entirely? A: Nothing has proposed a price for them yet. Run a strategy, or select them and use Apply on the Future Price panel.
Q: I do not see the Future Price column at all. A: Mi9 stores work from the store-group tables instead and do not show a per-row future price.
Q: What does "Total Last 12" at the bottom mean? A: The sum of the Last 12 column (units sold in the last twelve months) for the rows currently displayed.
