Ostendo Update Notes from 20 December 2007 – What’s New

Ostendo Update Notes from 20 December 2007 – What’s New

Point of Sale (New Module)

We have included a completely new module called POS (Point of Sale) in this update. Some of the key features are:

1)       Multi-Site and Multi-Station functionality (Sites are linked to the User profile, which sets it for that session)

2)       The ability to flag POS lines as either Counter, Picked Up from Warehouse or To be Delivered

3)       The ability to set the POS Order as a Workshop Order – therefore allowing for a required date, reference and instructions to be entered before printing a         simple Workshop sheet.

4)       The ability to set the POS Order as a Lay-by Order – therefore allowing for a lay-by period, terms and progressive payments

5)       Simple keyboard/scanner user interface

6)       Cash Drawer, scanner, receipt printer and pole display capability

7)       Cash expense and office drops handled

8)       Multiple barcodes for single products

9)       The ability to define barcodes for colour and size types of combinations

10)   Linked interactive images while in the POS screen

11)   Full End of day processing

For more detailed information on the POS module please refer to the updated Functionality help within Ostendo.

Note: In January / February 2008 Update we will be providing the Rental and Hire functionality along with additional reports and automated feed ins from E-Commerce web sites.

Graphical Workflows by User (New Program & Functionality)

We have added a new program into the Ostendo directory (called ‘ostdesigner.exe’), which is referred to as the ‘Ostendo Graphical Designer’. This Designer is a tool that enables you to create graphical representations of your business flow and then display it within the Ostendo desktop. Individual objects within that workflow can then be linked to programs, reports, views or even scripts, therefore providing a simple way of representing a user’s daily activities.

This feature can be turned on or off by user, and each can also be associated with their own unique business workflow. We have provided a sample Operational Workflow called ‘SampleWorkflow.dat’ (can be found in the Ostendo directory) that can be used as a base. To link to the sample go to the ‘User Security & Options’ screen and you will find a new tab called ‘Workflow’ – from there you can enable workflows and point to the sample file.

For more detailed information please refer to the Ostendo Reference Help and also to the specific Help within the Ostendo Graphical Designer.

Adding Extra Options to Related Screen Menus

We often get asked to add additional links into the related button menus in screens, although we have added what we believe to be the standard options there are always specific requirements. To accommodate this we have upgraded the Custom Menu scripting to include a few more features:

1)       When you set up a Custom Menu Script, you can now specify that it is specific to a screen

2)       There are 2 main types of related options: 1 to 1 relationship and 1 to Many relationships. As an example a 1 to 1 related menu option would be where you link to the Customer screen from the Sales Order, whereas a 1 to Many relationship would be where you link from a Customer to all open Sales Orders for that Customer. To facilitate both these options we have added some extra scripting functions – see the following for detailed examples:

Example script for adding a 1 to 1 Related menu option (From the Sales Order screen to the Detail tab in the Customer)

Create a new Custom Menu script called ‘Current Sales Customer’ and flag it as ‘Add to screens related Menu’ and select the ‘Sales Orders’ from the drop down. Then copy and paste in the following (from Begin to End.):

begin

SetScreenParameter(‘KEYFIELD=CUSTOMER’); {This sets the key field in called screen}

SetScreenParameter(‘SOURCEFIELDFORVALUE=CUSTOMER’); {This is the field value from the Order to be passed}

SetScreenParameter(‘TABINDEX=1′); {This sets which Tab the called screen will display in 0=List 1=Detail}

RunSystemAction(‘Sales’,'Customers’); {This actually calls the screen based on Module & Screen name}

end. 

After the above has been pasted in, ‘save’ the script, close and then go to the Sales Order screen and you should see that there is a new appended ‘Related Menu’ option at the bottom called ‘Current Sales Customer’

Example script for adding a 1 to Many Related menu option (From the Customer screen to Display a List of Orders and then drill down into the Sales Order) 

Create a new Custom Menu script called ‘Current Sales Orders’ and flag it as ‘Add to screens related Menu’ and select the ‘Customers’ from the drop down. Then copy and paste in the following (from Var to End.):

var

TheSQL,TheOrderNo,TheCustomer : string; {Declares the variables used}

begin

TheCustomer := GetSourceFieldValue(‘CUSTOMER’); {Gets the value from the Originating Screen}

{We only want to display Sales Orders for that Customer}

TheSQL := ‘select sysuniqueid, OrderNumber as “Order Number”, Customer as “Customer”, OrderDate as “Order Date”, OrderStatus as “Status”, OriginalOrderAmount as “Order Value” from SalesHeader where (Orderstatus = ”Open” or Orderstatus = ”InProgress”) and Customer = ”’ + TheCustomer + ””;

TheOrderNo := DisplayData(TheSQL,’Select an Order for Drilldown’,'Order Number’);

if (TheOrderNo <> ”) then

begin

setscreenparameter(‘keyfield=ordernumber’); {This sets the key field in called screen}

setscreenparameter(‘keyvalue=’ + TheOrderNo); {This is the selected field value from the Displayed List}

setscreenparameter(‘tabindex=1′); {This sets which Tab the called screen will display in 0=List 1=Detail}

runsystemaction(‘Sales’,'Sales Orders’); {This actually calls the screen based on Module & Screen name}

end;

end.

After the above has been pasted in, ‘save’ the script, close and then go to the Customer screen and you should see that there is a new appended ‘Related Menu’ option at the bottom called ‘Current Sales Orders’

Bills of Material – Planned Costs & Pricing

We have added a new tab in the Bill of Material screen for displaying the total rolled up costs for the assembled product, and the ability to enter a planned mark-up % to calculate an estimated unit sell price.

Note: In the next release we will be adding in the ability to Modify/Build a Bill of Material within a Sales/Job Quote line – This feature will be very useful for the Engineer to Order environments (unlike the custom product environment where rules can be pre-defined).

Jobs & Assembly Orders – Cost Transferred from Line to Purchase Order

We have added an additional flag in both the Job & Assembly Rules screens to enable either to transfer the planned costs to Purchase Orders. This is useful if costs are negotiated/confirmed at the Job/Assembly and then used as the basis for purchasing, as opposed to generating the purchase prices from standard buy price rules.

Jobs – Prices changed with Costs Flag

We have added an additional flag in the Job Rules to allow the automatic default of the flag within the Job Line (Price is changed with Cost, Markup or Margin). Useful if pricing for Jobs is usually derived from costs.

Sales Orders – Price Change Logging

We have added in the ability to display the history of sales line price changes by user and time. There is a new icon just to the right of the unit price field that displays the audit history.

Multi Site – Financial Postings

We have added the ability to set the Site (Branch/Division) Name against the User. The Site Name is then automatically added to financial transactions and therefore allows for cost centre mapping to be defined for each site. See ‘Cost Centre Mapping by Site’, ‘Sales Matrix Mapping’, ‘Labour Matrix Mapping’ & ‘Currency Codes’ for this additional facility.

Customer Statistics – Extra Tab & Payment Drilldown

We have added the ability to drill down on the Outstanding Invoices tab to display any Payments made (right click with mouse). We have also added a new tab called ‘Item Sales History’ which displays a list of all products, quantities & prices invoiced to that specific customer.

Using Colour, Size & Grade in Orders

We have improved the functionality of using Colour, Size & Grades in Sales & Job Orders. If planned variants (eg: 3 Blue ones and 5 Yellow ones) are keyed into the originating order these are then transferred to the Purchase Order line and subsequently to the Purchase Receipt.

Allowing formatting of Emails from Call Centre Screen

We have added the ability to format the content of emails sent from within the Call Centre (when call required further action). The formatting is specified in the Reporting ‘Configuration-Specific Email Text’ screen. The fields available are all fields in the CALLNOTES table, and the structure of the subject and body follows the same syntax as specified in the Reference Help.

Item Barcodes (New Screen)

We have added a new screen for defining multiple barcodes for Item codes. The idea is that where there are different barcodes by supplier, or where you may be using characteristics such as colour & size; barcodes can be defined to represent these. Although currently this is primarily used in the Point of Sale module, it is also used in the standard search facility (if advanced searching is enabled in the System Settings).

Direct Invoicing – Selecting Catalogue Items

We have added the ability to use Supplier catalogue Items in Direct Invoicing. This will not generate the requirement to purchase. The assumption is that you are using the catalogue like a non-stock list for pricing purposes only.

Purchase Receipting – Posting of Supplier Invoice

We have added the ability to automatically post the Purchase Invoice if created from the receipt screen. This effectively allows a one step receipting and invoicing process.

Various Small Fixes & Improvements

Various other smaller issues and enhancements that have been reported to us have also been fixed in this update.