Customize Order Entry with Unlimited Optional Fields

Order Entry supports Sage ERP Accpac Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator, a separately licensed package that you can purchase and use with any edition of Sage ERP Accpac.

Sage ERP Accpac lets you customize your accounting system by adding any number of fields to accounting records, accounting transactions, and transaction details. You can choose whether transaction fields flow through to other subledgers or to the general ledger.

Within Order Entry, you can specify unlimited optional fields for Miscellaneous Charges, Orders (header and detail), Shipments (header and detail), Invoices (header and detail), and for Credit/Debit Notes (header and detail).

The Copy Orders function also supports optional fields since it creates transactions.

Because several Order Entry reports let you select records by optional fields, you can easily analyze your data in ways that are especially relevant to your business.

Optional field information can be transferred to G/L

When you create general ledger transactions in Order Entry, the program passes the optional field values used in a transaction to General Ledger if:

• The optional fields are the same as the optional fields assigned to the affected account in General Ledger.

• The optional field settings specify that optional field information be passed to the type of account used in the transaction.

The values then appear in the General Ledger journal entry for the account, as well as in the Optional Fields report.

Optional field settings

To see the accounts that are affected when you post a certain kind of transaction, select an optional field you created for that type, then click the Settings button. Note that different accounts are affected by transaction documents and transaction details.

Using the Optional Fields Setup Form

Before adding optional fields for Order Entry, you must first define optional fields for Sage ERP Accpac using the Optional Fields form in Common Services.

Once you set up system-wide optional fields, you use the Optional Fields form in the O/E Setup folder to define optional fields for the following records and transactions:

• Miscellaneous Charges.

• Orders and order details. (You define optional fields separately for the complete transaction and for transaction details.)

• Shipments and shipment details. (You define optional fields separately for the complete transaction and for transaction details.)

• Invoices and invoice details. (You define optional fields separately for the complete transaction and for transaction details.)

• Credit/debit notes and credit/debit note details. (You define optional fields separately for the complete transaction and for transaction details.)

The Copy Orders processing function also supports optional fields, since this function creates transactions.

For each optional field, you can specify a default value and indicate whether the optional field will be automatically inserted, depending on the type of field.

Security for Optional Fields

If you use security with Order Entry, you need permission to add or change optional fields, as follows:

• Setup Maintenance.This authorization lets you add or delete optional field setup records in the Optional Fields form.

• Transaction Optional Fields.  This authorization lets you add or delete default optional fields for Orders, Shipments, Invoices, and Credit/Debit Notes.

Contact your administrator for security permission changes.

Global Locking for Optional Fields

The Optional Fields setup form is globally locked. This means that while the O/E Optional Fields form is open, you cannot run other processes in Order Entry.

If other Order Entry forms are open, you cannot save changes in the O/E Optional Fields setup form. You can modify optional fields setup records only when all other users have left Order Entry, and all other Order Entry forms are closed.

Validated Optional Fields

If an optional field requires validation, you can select only a value that is assigned to the optional field in Common Services. (If the optional field allows blanks, you can leave the default value field blank.)

If the optional field does not use validation, you can select a value from Common Services, leave the field blank, or enter any value that is consistent with the type of field (yes/no, text, number, date, amount, and so on) and does not exceed the maximum number of characters permitted for the optional field.

Optional field values are restricted to the lengths that were defined in Common Services.

Auto Insert Option

When you add optional fields to Order Entry (in the O/E Optional Fields setup form), you can choose to have them inserted automatically into the O/E record. This option is available for all records and transactions.

Set to Yes If Auto Insert is set to Yes, the optional field and default field value set for the field will automatically appear in the particular form to which you are adding the optional field.

Set to No If Auto Insert is set to No, the optional field will not appear by default in the form to which you added the optional field. You will have to select it during data entry.

Note: You must have Transaction Optional Fields security access to add optional fields that have the Auto Insert option set to No.

Optional Field Settings

If the optional fields specified for Order Entry transactions and transaction details match optional fields in General Ledger transactions, the O/E optional field data can automatically pass to General Ledger.

You can — and should — restrict the flow of information that is passed to General Ledger when you post transactions that use optional fields. The Optional Fields setup form lets you specify groups of accounts for which values for an optional field can be passed to G/L.

When defining an optional field for use with transactions, click the Settings button. A separate form opens, listing the groups of accounts that are affected when you post transactions of the type for which you are defining the optional field. Select from the list all the account groups for which you want to pass values to General Ledger when you post transactions that include the optional field.

Important!Note that while all account groups are initially selected for new optional fields, you need to consider carefully the purpose of the optional field you are defining. You should send values to General Ledger only for optional fields that require financial analysis, and only to accounts where they are required.

You do not need to send optional field information for analysis that is performed only in Order Entry. If you routinely send all the optional fields you use in Order Entry transactions, your General Ledger may become unwieldy, and you may also slow down processing considerably.

Once you define optional fields for Order Entry, you can assign them to particular records or use them in transactions.

Adding/Deleting Optional Fields

Adding Users with security access to Setup Maintenance can add or delete optional fields in Optional Fields setup. The optional fields that can be added are restricted to the optional fields defined in the Optional Fields setup form in Common Services.

Deleting If you attempt to delete an optional field, Order Entry will check the appropriate records and display an error message if the optional field you are deleting is being used. You must first delete the optional field from the appropriate records, or post the transactions.