ANSWERS Distribution Management System

Release Notice and Update Instructions

Version 4.5

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Distribution Management System

Release Notice and Update Instructions

Version 4.5

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Enhancement Features Summary

Preparing for Installation

Installation Instructions for Windows Servers

General

Inventory Management

Purchase Orders

Order Processing

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Payable

General Ledger

Web......

Answers Enhancement Suggestions Guidelines

Introduction

The following pages outline the enhancements that have been made to ANSWERS version 4.5. It is not the intent of this Release Notice to fully describe each new feature or the details for implementing and using these features. For this type of detail information, you should refer to the appropriate section of the on-line help. On the following pages, you will find the changes listed by application. Instructions for preparation and installation of the upgrade to the new version can be found on the first few pages of this document.

The last "complete" or “official” release of ANSWERS was version 4.4. You must be running this version or later in order to install this update. If you have not yet upgraded to version 4.4, then you mustfirst install the upgrade to 4.4 before proceeding with installing this upgrade to 4.5. Failure to install updates in the proper order will result in an unusable system until both data and Answers programs are restored from a good backup.

Any specific system requirements or other software changes needed in order to use a feature have also been noted. This means that any enhancement features requiring an update of your AcuCobol software. In addition, it may be necessary to answer certain new configuration questions before a certain feature or enhancement will be available on your system. These questions should be answered appropriately once you have finished installing your update.

This release can be downloaded from our web site for customers with broadband internet access.

Enhancement Features Summary

The Answers 4.5 release includes many exciting new features. Below is a summarized list of some of the highlighted features you will find in this release. Please refer to the detailed listing by application found later in this release notice for additional information on the features listed below as well as other features not listed here. Always refer to the on-line help for complete operating instructions and explanations of program features.

General

The Answers Report Viewer has been enhanced to allow making it larger or smaller than its previous size as well as starting out with a default height matching that of your monitor. It can then be resized as desired from there.
The ability to send text messages from specific areas in Answers has been added.
The ability to send an Answers user a text message from the Answers Instant Messaging window has been added.
The ability to send a text notification to specific users when the Daily O/P Registers fail to complete successfully has been added.
Any Answers form that can be previewed can now also be saved as a file right from within Answers after you have finished previewing the form.
Instant Messages are archived into a history file once read whether they were received and read on-line or received while off-line and read later. These archived messages can be viewed by the recipient or sender using the expanded Message Viewer program.
Archived Report Management has been enhanced to allow only loading reports for a desired date range and/or user to speed up the loading process. It also now indexes reports for faster loading in the future.

Purchasing

A Vendor Shipping Information field has been added to the purchase orders.
A large message can now print across the top of the body on Ship Date Acknowledgement Request forms reading “THIS IS NOT A P/O” to further clarify to the vendor that this is not a new P/O.
A “Search All” option has been added to the P/O and P/O History Searches.
The discount fields on Purchase Order line items has been increased to allow up to 3 decimal positions in addition to 2 integer positions (i.e. 99.999).

Order Processing

The Reference field that can be entered on orders (either in the Edit Billing Address window or the Manufacturer Rep Order window) has been expanded in size from 16 to 40 characters.
The ability to print a “Pro-Forma Invoice” has been added.
Ability to post freight charges for different carriers to different G/L Accounts.
An option to send customers a B/O Status Report has been added.
A Prospect System has been added.
Batch Scanning of Pick Tickets to Invoices has been added.
The Previously Quoted Items window has been updated to include a “Use Price and Cost” option.
The ability to send a customer a text or email notification that backordered items have shipped has been added.
Auto-Sending of Invoices can be now be enabled or disabled on a per order basis.
An optional configuration option can warn users when auto-send invoices are released or invoiced, giving them an opportunity to make any additional changes.
Stock Numbers can now be changed on the Detail tab of Order Entry by entering a new number or by searching for a new one. It is no longer necessary to delete the old line and insert a new one.
Options have been added to the Quote Searches and Inquiries to make it easier to pinpoint the “Scheduled Shipment” quote items.
A “Purchases History” window has been added to Order Entry.
A “Manual Cost Order” flag has been added.
When printing Pick Tickets, if only ONE copy is being printed, the user will be able to select the “form name” for that copy.
The discount fields that can be entered on order or quote line items has been increased to allow up to 3 decimal positions in addition to 2 integer positions (i.e. 99.999).
The Price Discounts field that can be defaulted from the customer or changed on the order or quote header has also been increased to allow up to 3 decimal positions.
The Edit Kit Components window in Order/Quote Entry now allows adding a kit to a kit which in turn adds all the components of the sub-kit into the main kit automatically.
Kits on sales orders and quotes will now allow up to 260 components (up from the previous maximum of 60).
The discount fields on Price Exceptions and Schedules have also been increased to allow up to 3 decimal positions.
Ability to enter a List Price less a Discount in the Pricing Scratch Pad in Order Entry on non-stock items.

Inventory

Serial numbers were expanded in maximum size from 16 to 40 characters.
The Miscellaneous/UPC number field that can be used to retrieve inventory items for bar coding, Inventory Inquiry, Order Entry, and P/O Entry was expanded from 16 to 40 characters.
Inventory Cross Reference Part Numbers are now accessible for the item being added, edited, or viewed from the Options pull-down menu bar in Inventory Maintenance and Inventory Inquiry.
The Inactive Inventory Report has been modified to provide the direct Export to Excel function.
Stock Receipts Entry can now be configured to allow, warn or prevent multiple users from using it simultaneously.
Inventory Adjustments will now allow you to press the <F1> key to search for a Stock # if you prefer not to have to use the mouse. Likewise you can press the <F2> key to search for a G/L Account #.
The Inventory Search now has options to include or exclude Nonstock items, Inactive items, Discontinued items, as well as an option to show them regardless if they have any quantities.
A new option is available in Stock Receipts Entry to access Inventory Maintenance on items setup in Inventory to allow updating fields such as Vendor Part #, UPC Codes, etc.
An Inventory Master Export to Excel has been added.
An option to update transaction history for all items in a physical inventory update has been added.
An option to print/export the committed sales orders and quantities has been added to the physical inventory count sheets.
When setting up standard kits in Inventory Maintenance, you can now add another kit to a kit and have all of its components automatically added to the kit you’re in without having to add each one individually.
Kits being built for on-the-fly assembly in Order Processing can now contain up to 260 components (up from the previous limit of 60).
The discount fields that can be setup as defaults on Inventory items has been increased to allow up to 3 decimal positions in addition to 2 integer positions (i.e. 99.999).

Accounts Receivable

An Invoice Method column has been added to the Hot List, Aging, and Customer Payment History tabs of the Credit Management WorkCenter.
Customer Ordering Information can now be displayed automatically in Customer Inquiry.
Copies of invoices can now be saved for attaching, copying/pasting, dragging/dropping, or replying to emails sent to you as opposed to you having to send a new email with the invoice copies.
The Ship-To Address Search/Inquiry/Maintenance now provides double-click functionality.
The Contacts Search window now allows pressing the Enter to make selections.
“Pending Invoice” totals have been added to Customer Inquiry and the Credit Management Work Center to show users at a glance the amount of sales orders currently invoiced for the customer that will be updated that night by the Daily O/P Register.
The default Sales Discount % field that can be entered on customers has been increased to allow up to 3 decimal positions in addition to 2 integers (i.e. 99.999).

Accounts Payable

A/P Invoice Entry will now allow distributing an invoice for just freight amongst items or customers on one or more P/O’s and Release’s that have been previously received.
The Vendor # Change program will now allow merging two vendors together similar to how customers and inventory items can be merged.
A/P Invoices and Credits now offer additional configuration options and per-invoice options to control the level of detail at which they are posted to General Ledger.
The A/P Invoice Entry program will now also prompt the user to run the Cash Disbursements Journal in addition to the Purchase Journal if the Prepaid or Direct Check functions are used to pay invoices.
Invoices can now be edited, if needed, during Automated Check Writing.
Automated Check Writing will allow paying an invoice with a discount, even if the discount is not automatically selected (earned). Invoices can also be paid without a discount if desired.
Selected Check Writing will now provide an option to allow taking a discount when the discount is not selected automatically. Users can also choose to not pay with discount in Selected Check Writing.
A new search by Invoice Amount has been added to Account Analysis and Analysis History in Vendor Inquiry.

General Ledger

Check Reconciliation and Bank Reconciliation (including deposits, credit cards, and journal entries) now all allow searching for transactions such as by date, check #, amount, payee, source, card type, etc.
A G/L Account # Change option has been added to allow converting or changing general ledger account numbers.
The G/L Account # Search now allows sorting and searching in Account # sequence in addition to the default of Alpha Key sequence.

Web

Options have been added for viewing and accepting quotes from the website.

Preparing for Installation

Every attempt has been made to insure that you can install this new version of ANSWERS in a relatively simple manner; however the following steps must be followed in order to insure success. Additionally some installations occasionally require special attention due to things such as multiple companies, customized programs changed in the past, etc. If you feel that you may have problems due to an unusual aspect of your system, please contact Data Resources Corporation before starting your installation. As mentioned earlier, it is extremely important that you should only attempt to upgrade if you are currently running version 4.4 (any version of 4.4.xis acceptable) released in September 2013 (or later). If you are unsure, go to HelpAbout Answers from the Answers Menu before starting the update procedure.

The following steps should be performed regardless of your type of server. Once these steps have been completed, you should then proceed to the proper section of this manual depending upon the type of system on which you have ANSWERS installed.

1)Due to changes in the format of the following files, it is necessary to run and update the following journals before installing the update. Failure to do so will result in a loss of information from that particular journal being updated into other files such as General Ledger and the history files associated with it. Once the update has been installed, this could result in Invalid Format file errors and you will not be able to update them with the new version, thus the reason it is important to check and run each one of these now.

Stock Receipts Journals (for all warehouses or all users if configured to post separately)
Users need to update to all batch scanning filesprior to loading the update (for all users and all warehouses). The layout of the scanning file has changed and previously printed pick tickets will not be accessible from the batch scanning file after the update is loaded unless they are reprinted.
All Mass Inventory Maintenance Requests need to be updated prior to loading the update. The format of this file has changed and will be removed during the update process so any un-updated requests will be lost.
All Mass Price Changes that were entered but delayed going into effect by entering an Effective Date need to be updated prior to loading the update. The format of this file has changed and will be removed during the update process so any un-updated Mass Price Changes will be lost.

2)Perform a Full System Backup. This backup will save your current version of ANSWERS programs and related files. This backup could be extremely important in the unlikely event you would have problems with the installation and would need to restore your system to the previous version until the problem could be resolved.

On most Windows based servers, the ANSWERS programs and related files are actually stored on a “partition” of the disk drive and is usually referred to as the “D:” drive. While the Windows server operating system and other system related programs are typically stored on the “C:” drive. Therefore when doing a full system backup, it is critical that you insure the “D:” drive (or the drive where ANSWERS is located, if it is not “D:” on your system) is included in the backup.

Unix servers typically should have their “root” disk (/dev/root) backed up in order to protect the current copy of ANSWERS. This is normally done under SCO Unix Open Server 5 from the graphical administration screen (typically accessible by pressing <CTRL>-<ALT>-<F5>) –or- under earlier versions of SCO Unix (version 4.x) by typing in “sysadmsh”.

3)Perform at least one or more data file (daily) backups. This backup is also extremely important and could be critical if something were to go wrong during the installation procedure with the conversion of your data files.

4)If you are starting the update procedure in the late afternoon or evening hours and you think there is any chance that the update process will still be running at the time your automatic end-of-day is scheduled to run, then you should disable your automatic end-of-day for tonight. It can then be turned back on tomorrow once the update completes. Another alternative is to schedule it to run earlier and get it done for today, before you start your upgrade install process, and then tomorrow change the time back to the normal time that it runs. It is extremely important that the end-of-day routines do not try to run while the update is in progress.

5)Once you have completed all of the steps in this section and feel as if you are prepared for the installation, then proceed on to the next section of this manual to perform the actual installation.

Installation Instructions for Windows Servers

1)Refer to the “Preparing for Installation” checklist provided on the previous pages before starting the update procedure to insure it is safe to begin.

2)Login as the “Administrator” on the Windows Server console. This will require you to know the administrator’s password.

3)Load the ANSWERS Update onto your system. After you have down-loaded the update from our website, then use Windows Explorer or My Computer to locate the update file you downloaded. Our website suggested saving the download file into the “answers” folder on your server (which you should have access to from both the server and from client P/C’s). However, this was only a suggestion and the file can be downloaded from our website to any machine and folder on your network as long as you remember where it was saved. Once you have found the down-load file, double-click on it to start the installation and proceed onto the next step.