Available 4.4 Product Updates

4.40.0.1 product update
4.40.0.2 product update
4.40.0.3 product update
4.40.0.4 product update
4.40.0.5 product update
4.40.0.6 product update
4.40.0.7 product update

The following is a list of enhancements in the Sage MAS 90 and 200 version 4.40 release:

• Updated Sage MAS 90 and 200 Desktop Content
• Data File Multi-Segment
• Expanded Customer Number
• Expanded Item Code
• Persistent Zoom Setting on Report Preview
• Alias Item Substitution for Inventory Items

• Pre Migration
• Parallel Migration
• Link Maintenance Utility
• Sales Order History Report Printing Utility

• Maintenance and Data Entry Changes
• Utilities Menu

• Synchronized History Tables
• Enhanced Physical Count
• Reporting Capabilities
• Batch Entry for Inventory Transactions
• Increase in Decimal Precision
• Standard Cost

• Drop Shipment Auto Generation
• Data Entry Changes
• Auto Reorder and Auto Generate Order Selection

• Enhanced Customization Capabilities

• Global Changes
• New Setup Menu

• New and Enhanced Views

• Global Changes

• Import Job Maintenance Changes
• Export Job Maintenance Changes

• New Business Framework Modules
• Dual Grid Entry
• Personalization
• Hyperlinks
• Right-Click Menu
• Business Intelligence Data Access to Ad-Hoc Reports
• Reports and Forms
• Memo Manager
• User and Date Timestamps
• Setup Wizards
• Fiscal Year and Period
• Flexible Security
• Batch Manager
• Advanced Lookup Engine (ALE)
• Object Interface - API
• Period End Processing

Updated Sage MAS 90 and 200 Desktop Content:

• From your new Business Desktop, you can access the following if you have Internet access:
  • Sage MAS 90 and 200 Community Forums
  • Latest training and support information
  • Customer Newsletter for news and product information
  • Submit and track your product ideas, needs, and preferences

• Sage MAS 90 and 200 now support segmented files. Data files that are reaching the 2 GB limit will now be segmented. Adding the segmented feature available in ProvideX will enhance the product's ability to handle large data files. For example, the previous need to purge data from history files when the files reached the 2 GB limit has been eliminated. Index and sort files for modules that have not been upgraded to the Business Framework will not be segmented.
• The Rebuild utilities in Sage MAS 90 and 200 are now enhanced to accommodate segmented files and a progress meter will appear when running the rebuild process.

• The customer number field is now expanded to 20 characters, from 7 characters in previous releases. (The division number remains at 2 characters).
• Expansion is implemented by company, accessed from the Accounts Receivable Setup Options window.
• The expanded field allows you to add information within the customer number. For example, if you have customers with multiple locations, you can add the city or telephone number within the customer number to identify a unique account.

• The item code field is now expanded to 30 characters, from 15 characters in previous releases.
• Expansion is implemented by company, accessed from the Common Information Setup Options window.
• The expanded field allows you to add information within the item code. For example, you can use the UPC code as the item code, or add a portion of a vendor name to the number to easily identify the source vendor for a similar item that you purchase from multiple vendors.

• The Report Preview option in Library Master User Maintenance allows each user to set their own default zoom setting to view reports.
• After you establish your zoom preference, you will be able to preview reports at your preferred setting.

• In all data entry windows, you can now enter alias items and the item code associated with it will be substituted for the alias item entered.

• You can now analyze and prepare your General Ledger and Inventory Management files before migrating your existing data to Sage MAS 90 or 200 version 4.40.
• Depending on the Sage MAS 90 or 200 version you are migrating from and the module installed or activated, the following tasks will appear in the Pre Migration task to assist you and your Sage business partner in preparing your source data prior to migration.
  • General Ledger Account Validation Report
  • General Ledger Special Characters Report
  • General Ledger Out of Balance Report
  • General Ledger Future Years Utility
  • Item Code Validation Report
  • Inventory File Comparison Report
  • Inventory Balancing Utility

• The Parallel Migration Wizard provides you with the ability to migrate from your Sage MAS 90 or 200 3.x or 4.x source data, to version 4.40 in a phased process, while continuing to operate your business running on your current system.

• The Link Maintenance Utility provides you with the ability to view or change paths to memo attachments, office templates, and Paperless Office PDFs on your system. You can correct or delete links to the files, and copy or move the files to a different location.

• You are now prompted to run the Sales Order History Report Printing utility before converting your data to the current version.
• This utility now prints the final copies of the following reports:
  • Customer Sales History Report
  • Monthly Recap by Product Line Report
  • Monthly Recap by Warehouse/Product Line Report
  • Monthly Recap by Warehouse Report
  • Monthly Recap by Division Report

• You can now add miscellaneous charges and comments on the fly in Bill of Materials Maintenance, Option Bill Maintenance, and Option Interaction Maintenance. Also, an extended item description has been added to these tasks.
• You can now post miscellaneous charges by warehouse and view the general ledger segment the miscellaneous charges will post to.
• An Item Quantity Inquiry button and the Item Memo window have been added to the Bill of Materials Maintenance, Option Bill Maintenance, and Option Interaction Maintenance tasks. Also, the Item Memo window has been added to all data entry windows.
• The Lot/Serial Distribution button has been added to the Production Entry and Disassembly Entry windows.

• A new utility to purge Bill of Materials history has been added to the Utilities menu to remove history data for production, disassembly, and engineering change records.

• The 4.40 architecture creates a relationship between the Item Transaction History table and the period posting and summary history tables. All period posting and summary history tables will now have corresponding detail transaction records. The benefit of the new architecture is that the period posting tables, summary history tables, and detail transactions tables will always be synchronized and if the period end dates are changed, the tables can be recalculated to synchronize the data.
• During conversion, transaction records are reconciled with period posting and summary history tables. If the detail records do not match the summary history or period posting tables, the conversion process will now create missing detail records to force the synchronization.

• When you want to do a physical count and get an accurate determination of your inventory at a specific point in time, you will be able to print a report containing all the inventory details in your system, with space for your warehouse employees to record an item quantity as they perform the count.

• You can now select Portrait or Landscape format for the following reports.
  • Inventory Detail Transaction Report
  • Inventory Valuation Report
  • Inventory Sales Analysis
  • Sales Promotion Report

• The Batch Entry feature in Transaction Entry allows each user to have their own working batch for receipts, transfers, and adjustments that can be printed and updated independently.
• You will be able to select specific lot and serial numbers, or a range of lot and serial numbers to reduce unnecessary keystrokes.
• Unique batch numbers will allow more than one user to enter data in the same task and print and update independently without affecting other batches.

• The number of decimal places has been increased to four in Inventory Management, which is now consistent with the four decimal places in Bill of Materials. This is now set up in Common Information Options.
• Cost of goods sold, inventory counts, and profitability reports now provide management with more granular financial information.

• Inventory items can now be valued at zero dollars and relieved from inventory at zero cost.
• You can now print current or historical standard cost on the Inventory Valuation Report by Period, Inventory Trial Balance report, and the Inventory Detail Transaction Report.
• You can now print the Inventory Valuation Report by period.

Purchase Order Enhancements

• For each individual sales order line item, you can now automatically generate a drop shipment, regardless of whether or not a primary vendor has been identified.
• If a sales order contains more than one drop-shipped item to be purchased from the same vendor, only one purchase order will be created to order all of the items. This streamlines the ordering process and reduces the number of purchase orders to issue and track.

• In the Purchase Order Entry window, the user login ID is now displayed.
• In some data entry windows the weight and weight reference can be entered.
• The Item Memo window has been added to all data entry windows.

• New selection options have been added and grouped appropriately to enhance functionality.

Customizer Enhancements

• Custom Office allows you, your administrator, or your business partner to modify your system screens to program events to run without user interaction. These modifications persist across upgrades, so your customizations do not have to be reapplied to future releases.
• Your business partner can create these modifications at their office, export them, and e-mail them to you to easily install on your system.

• Purchase Order and Bill of Materials Miscellaneous Charge Maintenance tasks can now be set up and maintained in one location.
• You can now view and compare purchase and quantity history for current and previous years for miscellaneous items.
• The Purge Item History utility has been added because period end closing is no longer required, yet occasionally, regularly item history purges may be desired.
• The new Miscellaneous Item Detail Transaction Report has been added to provide a detailed listing of miscellaneous, charge, and special items.
• You can now retain item history for a minimum of two years for all items and transactions.
• The new setting to expand item codes is accessed in Common Information Options.
• The maximum number of decimals allowed has been increased to four decimal places in Common Information Options.
• In the Miscellaneous Item History by Period report, additional options to print data have been added.

• The Common Information module now has a Setup menu which includes the following tasks:
  • Common Information Options
  • Unit of Measure Conversion Maintenance

• New and revised views for the Inventory Management, Purchase Order, and Bill of Materials modules have been added to Business Insights Explorer:
  • Item Quantities by Warehouse View - New
  • Item View - Enhanced
  • Item Transactions View - Enhanced
  • Open PO By Vendor Name View - New
  • Purchase Order View - Enhanced
  • Vendor History Purchases View - New
  • Vendor History Receipts View - Enhanced
  • Bill of Materials View - New
  • Component Where-Used View - New

• The module will now streamline your warehouse processes by allowing shipping and receiving staff to collect data rapidly and accurately.
• UDFs are now supported in new Bar Code API (Application Programming Interface) implementations to add unique important information to items, such as expiration dates to serial or lot numbers. That information now converts to a bar code, and then prints and correctly scans into your system wherever the Bar Code module is used to capture data.
• Your Sage MAS 90 or 200 imports are still supported with your existing scanning hardware, and radio-frequency handhelds are now supported for new or existing customers who want to move to this type of equipment.
• Bar Code will now be able to scan both sales orders and sales order invoices to support a variety of workflows.
• To simplify the resolution of import errors, a new Rejected Import Maintenance task has been added for conditions such as invalid item codes or insufficient quantity available in a lot/serial tracked item. The reason for the rejection is clearly stated to make it easy to determine how to resolve the issue. In most cases, the correction can be made and the transaction can then be re-imported directly from this new task.
• You can now retain import history for a minimum of ninety days in Bar Code Options.

• All data entry business objects now allow an existing line item in the Detail file to be modified. The LineKey field is now displayed in red and its value must be provided to edit an existing detail line. If the value provided is blank or invalid, a new detail line will be added from the import record.
• The ability to import lot and serial distribution records is now included in the related header import.
• A Skip Source Data Truncation check box has been added to allow the import of items that have an extended description.
• Record types are now included in the Job Import Log.
• All Bill of Materials bill components including Bill Header, Bill Detail, Bill Options Header, Bill Options Detail, Bill Options Interactions Header, Bill Options Interactions Detail, and Bill Options Categories can now be imported using the Bill Header business object.

• A new job perform has been created to remove trailing separators when exporting data.

• New in Inventory Management, Purchase Order, and Bill of Materials, the Business Framework functionality now flows throughout the main sections of the Sage MAS 90 and 200 system.

• The dual grid entry design allows each user to personalize the data entry screens to work the way you want to work - rearrange, hide, and more without engaging a programmer.
• You can drag-and-drop to move the grid line or column position so your data entry order can match your workflow.
• When you rarely use a column of data, that category can be grouped into a secondary grid, and positioned below or beside the primary grid, whichever you prefer.
• If a line entry mistake is made when you are entering data, you can cancel and re-enter the line entry.

• The Sage MAS 90 and 200 Business Framework™ enables flexible personalization for each user, such as resizing and simplification of screens, saving settings and establishing default printers, streamlining workflows by removing unnecessary tabs and fields, and establishing user-specific desktop dashboards that allow you and your executives to monitor the pulse of your business.

• Hyperlinks provide you with easy access to related tasks with a single click. Easily jump to maintenance from a data entry screen. For example, within Purchase Order Entry, click the vendor number, terms code, and ship-to address hyperlinks. Using hyperlinks reduces your access time, cuts down on errors, and minimizes the number of keystrokes that are required to gain access to a related piece of information or task.

• The right-click menu provides you with contextual accessibility for a logical business workflow, or the most common action(s) that you would make from the screen you are currently using. This reduces the amount of time spent locating the same functionality from the top-line drop-down menus. For example, in Item Maintenance, you can quickly access related tasks such as Warehouse Maintenance, Transaction Entry, and the Inventory Sales History Report.

• The Business Framework allows more flexible and sophisticated user access, such as the powerful Business Insights Explorer, Dashboard, and Reporter.
• Business Insights Explorer provides data-centric views into your business for ad-hoc inquiry, drill-down, and drill-around capabilities using an intuitive interface with drag-and-drop, sort, filter, calculations, color highlighting, and the ability to save personalized private or group views.
• Business Insights Explorer views can be quickly converted to a chart on the fly to display your information the way you want to see it and share it.
• Views and charts can be e-mailed or exported to Microsoft Excel, Word, Access, XML, a Web page, and a Microsoft query for on-demand reporting.
• Because UDFs are linked throughout the system, the data is available in Business Insights Explorer, Business Insights Reporter, and Crystal Reports.

• Popular benefits of the Business Framework include flexible options for reports and forms, which enables user personalization, more efficient workflow, reduced keystrokes, and simplified report selection. In addition to Business Insights Explorer ad-hoc reporting, your traditional report data can be filtered to a specific range of data.
• All reports can be customized using Crystal Reports and Custom Office.
• Output choices include viewing on screen, printing to selected printers, PDF, using Paperless Office to send the report data through e-mail, and exporting the report data into Word or Excel.
• You can make selections based on straightforward terms such as: yesterday, today, tomorrow, last week, last month, 30 days or older, and so forth.
• Workflow is now streamlined to allow users to return to the report selection screen after previewing and printing reports to adjust selection criteria, vary data range, and more.

• Memos, an electronic version of a Post-it™ note, can follow the workflow throughout your system to inform each user of any important information about the order, customer, or vendor.
• Settings allow the system administrator to determine if, where, and how the memos automatically open.
• You can attach documents to your memos, such as vendor purchase information, to make sure they are visible.

• Most actions are recorded and identified by the user who performed them and date and time stamped as to when they occurred. This provides you, other users, the administrator, and company management with valuable traceability information.

• Intuitive Windows-standard wizards assist you and other users in setting up and activating new modules or functionality in your system.
• When you purchase a new module, such as Inventory Management, or set up a new company the wizard will walk you through the available options. Also, when you use Business Insights Reporter, the wizard walks you through the report selection and filter process so you get reports with the data presented the way you want to see it.
• Business Insights Reporter users are not required to understand detailed data file structures; rather, they are provided with a simple list of business information, such as year-to-date sales or cost of goods sold. The selection can then be made based on meaningful terms to get the data the user wants to include in their report.

• The Business Framework allows each company to operate without the requirement to close each accounting period or year in General Ledger or other modules. Therefore, you can obtain a snapshot of your company's financial position at any time by running reports for current, past, or future periods. This functionality is available for the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bill of Materials, Inventory Management, Purchase Order, and Sales Order modules in version 4.40.

• Powerful security settings are set according to each role in your company. This flexible security enables you or your administrator to determine what type of activities, down to the task level, are allowed. For example, you may want to allow an accounting clerk to view Sales Order information, but not allow the ability to create or modify a sales order. You may also want the sales order entry person to be able to create and modify sales orders, but not have the ability to modify the credit terms.

• Increase your processing efficiencies using Batch Manager to create, verify, and merge batches. Effectively manage batches by numbering, modifying, or grouping using the Batch Entry feature. With unique batch numbers, more than one user can enter data in the same task and print and update independently, without affecting other batches.

• You can now resize ALE windows.

• Automatically provided as part of your system, the Business Object Interface enables integrations with other business applications through an interface layer. It enables tight integration capabilities, enforcing all business rules. These APIs can be used with Customizer to automate tasks such as creating a single-click reversing journal entry using a Visual Basic script.
• The Business Object Interface also empowers third-party developers to efficiently write add-on specialized programs for your Sage MAS 90 or 200 system.

• A new task, Period End Report Selection, was added to the Period End menu in Inventory Management and Purchase Order.