Feature Highlights: SYSPRO 8 2020 R2

SYSPRO Avanti lets you customize applications (such as adding scripts to change the behavior of form fields or grid data) or extend the capabilities of any application to display more information, either from the SYSPRO database or from any external application.

All applications in SYSPRO Avanti or SYSPRO generally comprise grids, form fields, charts, notepads and toolbar buttons. You can also add user-defined customized panes to any application which can contain a grid, form or a number of other types of controls.

To customize aspects of the SYSPRO application in the core product, you would previously right-click on a form field, toolbar, grid column header or docking pane window title, which enabled you to access the VBScript Editor, add a customized pane or to generally access customization capabilities.

All customization capabilities in SYSPRO Avanti are controlled by a single program: Customize Application which you can access from the Settings icon in any application. The program is only available if the VBScript security option is enabled and are not logged in as a role.

The program provides the following capabilities:

• List views

  • Add a custom column

  • Edit a VBScript

  • Apply conditional formatting

  • Add or remove a grid column's visibility

  • Remove a custom column

• Form fields

  • Edit a script for a form or form field in the application

  • Add or remove a field’s visibility in SYSPRO

  • Remove a custom form field

• Toolbar buttons

  • Edit a script for any toolbar button used in the application

• Custom form fields

  • Create or modify a custom form field

  • Add a custom form field to the application

  • Add a field from an associated master table to a form

  • Add a scripted field to a form

• Additional components

  • Create your own customized pane or component

  • Add a pre-built component to the application

• Customized panes

  • Edit or remove any existing customized panes

  • Reset the layout for the application

Considerations:

• You can also access the Customize Application program with identical capabilities from the gear icon in core SYSPRO..

• In SYSPRO Avanti, it is typically a two-stage process for a web view to be enhanced with new content or controls:

  1. Customize the application to add capabilities.
  2. Modify the web view using the Visual Designer to position the new controls or content.

Individual operators can define the following personal preferences in SYSPRO Avanti by selecting the Personal Settings option from the icon (Settings) on the home page:

• Define the company date for all operators, or temporarily for the current run of SYSPRO Avanti.

  This is dependent on the operator having the correct security access.

• Reset the saved settings for window positions and grid layouts.

  SYSPRO Avanti automatically saves window positions and changes to grid layouts by operator. However, you can now reset these to their default values using the links provided.

• Configure your own Office 365 credentials.

You can modify the contents of any SYSPRO Avanti grid by using the following capabilities:

• Conditional formatting

  This lets apply formatting against any column in the grid based on simple rules.

• Custom columns

  You can add columns to the grid based either on custom form fields or from master table data.

  The custom columns that can be added are determined by the keys that are available in the grid columns.

• Column sum | Column average | Row count

  You can select any numeric column to be either summed or averaged.

  If you select to display a row count, this is then displayed in the grid footer for the first column in the grid.

• Edit a macro

  You can create a script to execute against the grid for various events, such as when the grid is populated with content, or when a grid's contents are about to be submitted to the database.

You can add toolbar items to a web view using the Visual Designer.

Select the Add toolbar item option from the left or right-hand side of the Visual Designer to add items to the left or right-hand side of your web view.

You can configure SYSPRO Avanti to automatically run a program when you log into the system. Open the browser URL and append a question mark, followed by startup parameters using the following syntax:

?StartupParameters=/prog=xxxxxx /link=y

where xxxxxx indicates the name of the program and y indicates the entry to be used in the program.

The login page is displayed first if you haven't enabled the Keep me signed in option on the login page. The program defined in the startup parameter is then launched once you are successfully authenticated.

You can now create a series of tasks (i.e. programs) in SYSPRO Avanti that can be executed sequentially by selecting the Task Automation workspace option from the icon (Settings) on the home page.

A task item can run a program or report and can be scheduled to run on a certain day and, optionally, recur daily, weekly or monthly. Programs can also be automated so that they apply specific values to form fields.

When a task group has completed, the executed tasks are then displayed in the Task Messages grid.

Applications in SYSPRO Avanti are designed to display most information in a single page and, where appropriate, the use of pop-up windows enables additional information to be surfaced.

Lists such as these are displayed by default in pop-up windows that can be re-sized and repositioned in the browser. However, you can change this behavior using the Visual Designer to make these lists appear in the single page.

Some windows are displayed as modal, meaning that you can't click behind the window and that you must first complete the task within the current window before returning to the previous screen.

You can now move and re-size these modal windows as required. The position and size of the window is then automatically remembered so that it is repositioned to the same location when the window is displayed again.

In a move aimed at further easing the workload on system administrators, all the options from the System-wide Personalization program have been moved to the Setup Options program. This forms part of the process of consolidating SYSPRO setup options into a single centralized program (the previous release saw the relocation of all the System Setup options to the Setup Options program).

Toolbar options in numerous programs have been relocated to improve the navigation experience.

From within the core SYSPRO 8 product, you can locate the toolbar options from the context-sensitive menu when you right-click a data record in a list view. Some toolbar options now have a separate Options pane that is typically hidden on the left of the window, but expands when selected.

From within SYSPRO Avanti, tools are located in the top right-hand side of the program (or above the data grid). You can also view additional information by clicking the hyperlink against data records in list views.

As part of the effort to decrease SYSPRO's footprint on the file system, you can enable the new Persist operator UI settings to SQL setup option (Setup Options > System Setup > System-Wide Personalization) to store all operator UI settings files in the SysSettings table of the system-wide database (usually stored in the \Base\Settings folder).

From SYSPRO 8 2020 R2 the License Manager is used to select and import a provided license. The license information resides in the AdmSystemLicense table of your system-wide database in Microsoft SQL Server.

From SYSPRO 8 2020 R2 all software that requires the license will automatically locate the current license in the system wide database.

If you are using the SYSPRO Cloud ERP environment, the license import is applied automatically.

From SYSPRO 8 2020 R2, enhancements to SRS architecture cater for the migration of content to the system-wide database:

• Document and report printing
• Report archiving
• Report scheduling
• Report customization

The custom reports and documents mentioned above are automatically uploaded to Microsoft SQL Server during the minor database upgrade to SYSPRO 8 2020 R2

All future custom reports and documents, archived reports and documents and other SRS-related files will be stored in Microsoft SQL Server.

In addition, the document archiving architecture has been changed to save the archived documents to the company database when SYSPRO is run in a SYSPRO Cloud ERP environment.

The SYSPRO Bot set of skills now lets you query purchase order balances, GRN details and ledger balances.

These new skills include:

• PO Balance Query

  This skill lets you view purchase order balance details.

• PO GRN Query

  This skill lets you view summary purchase order details and GRN information.

• PO GRN Detail Query

  This skill lets you view detailed purchase order details and GRN information.

• GRN Query

  This skill lets you view GRN details.

• General Ledger

  This skill provides the new General Ledger menu within the SYSPRO Bot.

• GL Query

  This skill lets you view ledger details.

• GL Balance Summary Query

  This skill lets you view the module, ledger control and recalculated difference information.

New custom searches are available to the Skill.GLBalanceSummaryQuery skill that lets you query the ledger for a specific module and period without having to enter this information manually.

• GLModule
• GLModulePeriod

The Inventory Stock Take Tickets QueryBusiness object: INVQ62 business object generates stock take tickets for items you are counting within a warehouse and prints the report using the Stock Take Tickets program.

The Inventory Label Print ReportBusiness object: INVQLP business object generates and prints up to 9999 labels for every selected stock code using the Inventory Label Print program.

The Sales Order Label Print ReportBusiness object: SORQLA business object generates and prints up to 9999 labels for every selected sales order or dispatch note using the SO Label Print program.

SYSPRO Point of Sale capabilities have been extended so that customers can now process credits against all kit type items directly in SYSPRO Point of Sale (previously this would have to be performed manually in the core SYSPRO product).

Kit types can now be credited either from the original invoice, or manually in the Credit Note program (available from the Store menu) or Manage Credit Notes program (available from the Store Management menu).

Requirements:

• Default bins must be defined in SYSPRO for parent and component lines for the warehouse.
• The ShowKitComponentLines element in the SystemConfig.xml file must be enabled (i.e. its value must be defined as true).

Limitations:

• This doesn't apply to the Point of Sale, Manage Quotes and Exchanges programs (available from the Store menu).
• Lot, bin and serialized items in kits are not supported. Therefore, this does not apply if the Multiple bins option is enabled.
• Kit type F is not supported, so you cannot enable the Ship from default bin option in SYSPRO Point of Sale.

The print template design process in SYSPRO Point of Sale has been simplified to use SYSPRO Reporting Services to support custom documents. This replaces the previous printing designer (Stimulsoft).

SYSPRO Point of Sale lets you monitor, control and report on all petty cash transactions to improve governance at branch level.

Petty Cash Query

The new Petty Cash Query program (accessible from the Query menu) lets you query, review and reprint petty cash transactions. You can search petty cash transactions by branch, document number, or date range.

Petty Cash Transactions

The existing Petty Cash transaction screen improves traceability for petty cash transactions by including petty cash document numbers for all petty cash transaction types.

Petty Cash Report

The existing Petty Cash Report caters for petty cash document numbers, as well as a reprint capability.

To enable the printing of the new receipt numbers, you need to update the petty cash template with the latest default template or dictionary and add the field onto the existing report.

Branch Settings

New options were added to the Petty Cash tab of the Branch Settings program that let you define transaction limits for petty cash expenditure and receipts, as well as configure whether supervisor authorization is required when limits are exceeded. The options are disabled by default:

• Enforce Petty Cash Expenditure
• Petty Cash Expenditure Limit
• Enforce Petty Cash Receipt Limit
• Petty Cash Receipt Limit

The existing access control within SYSPRO Point of Sale lets administrators more closely control various aspects of supply chain transfer functionality to improve governance at store level.

The following functions within the Manage SCT's program can now be controlled at Branch, Role, User and Device level:

• Add Item
• Edit Item
• Add Other
• Delete Item
• Allocate B/O
• Release B/O
• Invoice SCT
• Cancel SCT
• Update Header

Access Control

The new Access Control program (available from the Setup menu) serves as the interface for all newly added or existing access control items that have been enhanced. It lets administrators define the following types of visibility and/or functionality where relevant:

• Visibility

  These options let administrators define what functions (i.e. controls) are visible to operators, by selecting one of the following permission levels:

  • Collapsed: The function is hidden from the operator.
  • Visible: The function is visible to the operator.
  • Inherit: The system must check higher up in the access control hierarchy to determine the function’s visibility.

  All current controls default to Visible, but any new controls added in future will default to Collapsed.

• Functionality

  These options let administrators define the functionality available to operators, by selecting one of the following permission types:

  • Deny: The function is disabled.
  • Allow: The function is enabled and requires no supervisor authorization to proceed.
  • Allow (Auth req): The function is enabled but requires supervisor authorization to proceed.
  • Inherit: The system must check higher up in the access control hierarchy to determine the function’s accessibility.

  All current controls default to Allow, but any new controls added in future will default to Deny.

The following programs in SYSPRO Point of Sale have been enhanced to assist operators to quickly identify stock availability and bin locations when adding a sales order or quote:

• Manage Orders (available from the Store Management menu)
• Point of Sale (available from the Store menu)
• Manage Quotes (available from the Store menu)
• Exchanges (available from the Store menu)

Administrators can now define an operator's visibility access (within the Access Control program) for the following display fields when adding sales orders or quotes:

• Quantity on hand
• Default bin

This increased visibility provides operators with vital information when they need it.

Improved transaction tracking and governance has been included in SYSPRO Point of Sale by providing an audit trail of all data changes relating to transaction processing and printing. You can now monitor, control, and report on key functions (e.g. granting of discounts).

You can configure which audit trails you require in the new Audit Trail Setup tab of the System Settings program. The new audit trail reports (available from the new Audit Trails menu tab in SYSPRO Point of Sale) include:

Supervisor authorizations

Two new programs (Header Authorization Audit Trail and Detail Authorization Audit Trail) detail all occurrences where a supervisor authorization has been applied to a sales order or quote header change (e.g. tax override, credit notes, price margin, etc.).

Detail line deletions

A new Line Delete Audit Trail program details all occurrences where a line has been deleted from a quote or sales order.

Special Discounts

A new Price And Discount Audit Trail program details any change made to a price or discount on sales order or quote lines in the Point of Sale or Manage Quotes programs (available from the Store menu).

The report also indicates whether a supervisor authorization was applied, including the details that were applied.

Document Printing

A new Print Audit Trail program provides an audit trail of any printing or reprinting of sales invoices and quotes performed in SYSPRO Point of Sale.

Changes to Ship methods

A new Ship Method Audit Trail report provides an audit trail of any changes made to the ship method on quotes and sales orders in the Point of Sale or Manage Quotes programs (available from the Store menu).

The report also indicates whether a supervisor authorization was applied, including the details that were applied.

Tax Code Changes

A new Tax Code Audit Trail report details any changes made to tax codes on quotes and sales orders in the Point of Sale or Manage Quotes programs (available from the Store menu).

Considerations:

• The EnableAuditTrailLogging element in the SystemConfig.xml file can be enabled or disabled per site.

• The new audit trail database (SysproComp_POS_AuditTrails) contains the following new tables:

  • _SystemAuditTrailPrinting

    This stores an audit trail of any prints performed.

  • _SystemAuditTrail

    This stores audit trail-specific information.

Limitations:

• Supply Chain Transfers are not included in the audit trail reports as SYSPRO Point of Sale posts SCT-related information directly to SYSPRO in real time. However, you can access SCT information directly from the SorAdditions, SorChanges and SorCancelled tables.
• Transactional data is not replicated in the SYSPRO company database to offline branches.

You can now automatically apply the discounts given on the original sales order when processing an exchange or cross shipment of an RMA.

When adding RMA cross shipment details, the discounts from the original invoice are displayed by default at header or line level, as per the original sales order. If the RMA is not linked to an invoice, the discounts set up against the customer are displayed by default. These can then be accepted or updated when generating the sales order for replacement goods.

When an item was returned, and the sales order is created for the replacement goods, the discounts from the original invoice are applied to sales order by default. The discounts can then be accepted or changed.

New eSignatures can be applied to RMA transactions to improve governance and control. These let you manage and secure the RMA process and cover adding and changing RMA's as well as adding, changing, receipting and crediting RMA lines.