Order Numbers, Tray Numbers, PO numbers and Devices

Owned by Tony LeBlanc
Jul 07, 2022
3 min read

Every order, Rx or Stock, must have a unique order number, which can be up to 8 characters in length. The order may also have a tray number and/or a PO (or purchase order number); these last two are not required, but may be used. All 3 values appear on the order:

ANY of these three numbers can be used to request order information on a VCA-protocol device. (Some older devices, using proprietary interfaces, are limited in the job number length, and therefore must use tray number).

The limitations and uses of each number are listed here:

Order#

This is ALWAYS required. It can be an alphanumeric value up to 8 characters in length and MUST be unique for each order. If the lab desires to use this number to request on a device, it should be all numeric, as some devices and/or scanners cannot handle letters in the job number.

If used with a device scan, the order number should NOT start with a zero (0), since the VC standard stipulates that leading zeros should be stripped from a JOB request, and this could result in either a mismatch on order number or ambiguity about whether the number scanned is a tray number or order number.

Order# can be automatically assigned in Rx-Universe; the range of values to use and the length of the field can be set under Setup, Special Numbers. The entry for RX is that which controls the setting of the order number, for example:

In this example, the order number is 8 digits in length, starts at 10000000, will end at 99999999, and the current order number used is 20001000.

Tray#

Prior to version 7.51, tray number was required, but as of 7.51, it can be set as optional. This is becoming more common with labs that do not use pre-numbered trays, and use trays designed to show the work ticket, including barcodes, in a slot on the side of the tray.

To set tray number as optional (or not), set the flag on the General tab under System Settings

If used, tray number can be up to 5 digits, can only be numeric, and must be unique for active orders. If the tray number is optional, then the following conditions are true:

  • orders may, but do not have to, have a tray number

  • if tray number is optional, any connections to digital calculators will ALWAYS use order number

  • if tray number is not present, no barcode for tray will be printed on work tickets, additional documents, AR envelopes, etc. The lab should ensure that all documents that might need to be scanned contain the necessary order number and/or PO# barcode

  • if a tray number is used for an order, then it must be unique within active orders

PO #

While originally intended as a purchase order number (or other reference number from the ECP), it can be used for any purchase, and can be configured to allow devices to request based on it.

If intending to be used with devices, then the PO# MUST be 9 or more characters in length (to avoid conflicts with order and tray numbers), and should be numeric. It must also be unique within active orders, again, to avoid matching more than one active order.

To use PO# with devices, on the Devices tab in System Settings, set the following options:

This will allow VC devices to request orders based on the PO number, and will ensure that orders have valid PO#s for this purpose.