Author: admin

New Installation Process

Key Points

  • A WilloWare product that has Minor Version 1 or above contains the New Installer (i.e. 12.1.36 has the New Installer, 12.0.35 does not).
  • Minor Version 1 (and above) will require a “complete install” on each GP client using the EXE installation file.
  • A change to the Minor Version number (i.e. 12.1.36 to 12.2.37) indicates the build includes database changes (i.e. new tables or table changes), so it requires logging-in as SA and completing the installation routines inside GP.  No users, other than SA/DYNSA can be in GP during this process.
  • Build Number changes (i.e. 12.1.36 to 12.1.37) has no database changes.  No installation routine needs to run inside GP.  The update can be installed with users logged-in, and the CNK can be pushed out using the GP Automated Updates utility.

Overview

Starting in October 2018, new builds of our software made after that date will begin including our New Installer, which will allow installing most updates without requiring running the complete installation routine (which requires getting all users out of Dynamics GP).

With the new Installer we will start incrementing the Minor Version Number when the new release of the software requires database changes (i.e. table or stored procedure changes).  The Build Number will always increment with each new release.

Our release numbers have this format: 12.0.35

This is translates to:

Major Version: 12

Minor Version: 0

Build Number: 35

The Major Version corresponds to the Dynamics GP Major Version.  For example, GP2013 is Major Version 12, so you must install a WilloWare Major Version 12 to match.

When the new installer is included in a product, the Minor Version will increment to 1 (i.e. 12.1.36).  This is needed because the new installer is going to recognize Minor Version = 1 as its “base”.

Due to the Minor Version Number change, the first installation of a new build at Minor Version 1 (or above) will require a complete installation of the WilloWare product on each GP client.  This means that the EXE installer must be run on each client, and that the CNK cannot be pushed out via Automated Updates.  The EXE installer deletes the existing product DIC file from the GP client folder before placing the new CNK.  When the Minor Version changes, Dynamics GP detect this and will not allow unchunking–the older DIC must be deleted first.

For all future releases the Minor Version will only change if the new release requires database changes (i.e. a new table, changes to a table, new or changed stored procedures, etc.).  For example, 12.1.36 to 12.2.37 would indicate the following:

  • For the first client (i.e. the server) you will need all users out of all Dynamics GP company databases, and you will need to log-in as SA and complete the installation process inside GP (which creates/updates SQL objects).
  • You will then need to run the EXE installer on each client

Many new features, and bug fixes, do not require changes to the SQL database.  For such changes the Minor Version will not change–only the Build Number will change.  If the Minor Version does not change, such as going from 12.1.36 to 12.1.37, you will be able to install the new release on GP clients while there are users in the system, and if you use GP’s Automated Updates, you can push out the CNK to all clients using that utility.

As has always been the case, when logging-in our software checks the its version installed on the GP client against the version installed on the server.  If the server has a newer build number it will alert the user that they are running an older version of our product, and then disable the product on that client.  The rest of GP on that client will continue to function normally.  This is a safety precaution to ensure an older client does not make changes to data that are incompatible with the newer build.  Some of our products, such as Extended Lot Attributes and Manufacturing Data Archive have important data integrity controls on each client, so updates should be applied to clients as quickly as possible.

What was the reason for this change?

Previously, every release, regardless of how minor, required that all users be out of the system while the installation process ran.  In many (most) cases, the only thing the installer did was update the build numbers in a tracking table.  The requirement to have users out of the system made it very difficult for many of our customers to get updates installed.

The major benefit of this change is that it will now be possible to install most updates on GP clients while users are in the system.

Another change is that the old process required either (1) Updating all companies to the current build, or (2) Disabling the product in companies you did not want to update.

With the new installer, it will now be possible to test a new build in a Test Company while leaving the Live Company alone.  To do this, create a separate GP client folder for the Test Client, install the new WilloWare build into that client folder, then log-in to the Test Company using the new Build.  When you log-in to a Company with a WilloWare product containing the new installer, it automatically updates the Build Numbers in our tracking table (WCMP9000 in the Company Database).  Note that it is important that the “test client” not be used to touch the live database because it will immediately update the Build Numbers in the Live Database causing the software to disable itself on all “older” GP Clients.

Summary

Build Number change only = can be installed with users in the system

Example: 12.0.35 to 12.0.36

Minor Version change = must run complete install process with all users out of GP.  Full install from the EXE installation file must also be run on each client.

Example: 12.0.35 to 12.1.36

or

Example: 18.1.5 to 18.2.6

 

 

Complete Count Release 2018-10-10

V12.1.36 / 14.1.26 / 16.1.19 / 18.1.9
* Mass Add/Update: added “Min. Items/Day” setting to control how many items are assigned to a count per day when the number of days per count is greater than the number of items to be counted. For example, if 20 items are to be counted every 90-days, a “Min. Items/Day” setting or 2 would assign two items to be counted per day.
* NEW: The Installer will now allow installing new builds on a client without requiring all users to be out of the system. Going forward, “running the install” inside GP will only be required when the Major or Minor Version Numbers change, but it will not be required with each Build Number change (12.0.35 is Major 12, Minor 0, Build 35). CompleteCount will still disable itself on a Client PC if it has an older Build.

Functional Currency Decimals

Dynamics GP allows setting the Currency Decimal Places on an Item to a larger number than the Company’s Functional Currency Decimal Places (FCDP)  For example, an Item could have 5 currency decimals ($12.00124) but the FCDP (which governs the General Ledger) only allows 2 currency decimals ($12.00).  What happens when you add inventory to the system with this sort of setup?  Read on to hear the Halloween Story of the Disappearing Inventory Value.

As mentioned above, this tale starts with Dynamics GP when the Functional Currency Decimal Places is set to 2 and Item Currency Settings are more than 2.

Item TEST6 has 5-decimals. The rest of the story uses this 5-decimal Item because it exaggerates the loss of value.

Create an Inventory Adjustment.

The IV Transaction Line table in the SQL database (shown below) has the correct unit cost, but GP has already rounded the Extended Cost. The value that should be in EXTDCOST is $0.00499 (which is the quantity of 499 multiplied by the cost of $0.00001).  Since the FCDP is 2, GP looks at the 3rd decimal place value and rounds. In this case it rounds to zero. So the extended cost is zero.

The Inventory Posting Journal reflects this:

And the GL Distribution Register is all zeros:

The Purchase Receipt Layer (or “FIFO Layer”) shows the correct quantity, but it too was added at the rounded cost:

No Journal Entry is created because GP sees this as a zero-dollar transaction.

The same situation occurs with Purchase Orders. Although you can enter a Unit Cost to five decimals, it is immediately rounded to 2-decimals in the Extended Cost, which results in zero dollars.

This can also be seen in the PO Line table:

The PO Receipt shows the correct Unit Cost, but Extended Cost is rounded to zero.

When the PO Receipt is posted, just like the Inventory Adjustment, it creates a Purchase Receipt Layer with the correct quantity, but zero dollars.

Item Transaction Inquiry shows the two transactions with the correct Unit Cost. With two receipts of the item, there should now be 998 * $0.00001 = $0.00998 in inventory, but neither of these transactions hit the GL, so the inventory account would still show $0.

Using $0.00001 highlights the effect, but the same thing occurs when the actual inventory value is $523.55449. In this case you lose $0.00449 because the transaction gets rounded to $523.55.

In theory, over a very large number of transactions, there might be enough rounding up and down that the effect averages out. However, it is certainly plausible that you have a manufacturing process which creates a large number of transactions that all lose a significant amount of value.

Avoid the Ghost of Lost Value by avoiding the setup described above.  Make sure the Item Currency Decimals setting does not exceed the FCDP setting.

LeanMFG Release 2018-10-08

V12.0.35 / 14.0.24 / 16.0.14 / 18.0.6
* MO Entry: addressed issue that could cause an “imbalanced transaction” at the GL under the following circumstances: (1) Multi-currency is not enabled, (2) Functional Currency Decimal Places (FCDP) is two, (3) Labor Input Items have more currency decimals than the FCDP, and (4) Labor Input Items have a total cost that does not round evenly to the FCDP. LeanMFG attempts to retain as much cost accuracy as possible, so when there are multiple non-inventory Input Items (labor/overhead), it calculates the total cost all all non-inventory inputs and then rounds that amount to the FCDP, which is debited to the WIP account. The cost of each individual non-inventory Input Item is then rounded to the FCDP and added as credit distribution on the Journal Entry. Sometimes rounding the total of the costs is a slightly different value than rounding each individual cost and then adding them. When that happens, the variance will now be added or subtracted from the last non-inventory (increasing or decrease that non-inventory cost by 0.01).

Complete Count Release 2018-09-27

V12.0.34 / 14.0.24 / 16.0.17 / 18.0.7
* Mass Add/Update: changed how the Set/Update Count Date utility works. It now has options to choose “work days”, and it will allocate groups of items to be counted on each work day within the Count Interval. For example, if 100 items need to be counted every 10 days, the utility will assign 10 items to be counted each day (assuming those are all “work days”) (#20185182).

GP PowerPack Release 2018-09-19

V12.0.125 / 14.0.68 /16.0.36 / 18.0.8
* TWK-SOP: Auto-Open Customer Detail: addressed issue that caused Customer Detail Entry information to not save if the user used the mouse to click into the Customer Number field on the Sales Transaction Entry window, rather than tabbing into it (#20185112)

MFG PowerPack Release 2018-09-19

V12.0.138 / 14.0.85 / 16.0.51 / 18.0.12
* Sales Forecast Integration: re-enabled ability to import a negative forecast so that Appending can be used to perform net change adjustments.
* Item Copy: added a change to the Item Master using dexterity (all of the copying is done via SQL) so it causes any 3rd Party Item Master triggers to fire.
* Quick Disassembly: window now remembers settings on a per-user basis so that each time the window opens the previously used options are selected automatically.

Consulting Toolkit Release 2018-09-18

V12.0.23 / 14.0.17 / 16.0.13 / 18.0.5
* Virtual Triggers: (1) Rewrote VT trigger registration routine to make it more efficient with a large number of triggers, (2) Changed method of choosing databases so they can be marked (checkboxes) rather than manually entering database IDs. The databases window also now has Mark All/Unmark All buttons.

Complete Count Release 2018-08-29

V12.0.33 / 14.0.23 / 16.0.16 / 18.0.6
* Mass Add/Update: addressed issue that caused duplicate key error when adding items to a Stock Count with multi-bins when there were items with multiple quantity types (i.e. In Use/In Service) in the same bin (#20185059)
* XLLink: added options to export Quantity Available and Quantity On Hand

LeanMFG Release 2018-09-13

V12.0.34 / 14.0.23 / 16.0.13 / 18.0.5
* MO Entry: (1) Addressed issue that caused error “Cannot insert value NULL into column TRXQTYTL” after clicking the Build Picklist button when using a Multi-product BOM that has no input or output items. (2) Added handling for MO with only Labor input with/without cost (i.e. $0 inputs). (3) Added handling for zero cost input Inventory items. (4) Post button now enables on a Manual MO after Inputs & Outputs have been entered. (5) Addressed issue that allowed bypassing Add New Item check on the Inputs tab.

Complete Count Release 2018-08-29

V12.0.32 / 14.0.22 / 16.0.15 / 18.0.5
* Stock Tag Submission: addressed issue that could cause a duplicate key error when moving Complete Count records to history tables. When this happens, the GP Stock Count updates correctly but the Stock Tag Printing information does not get moved to history (#20184931).

MFG PowerPack Release 2018-08-27

V12.0.137 / 14.0.84 / 16.0.50 / 18.0.11
* Serial/Lot Mass Generate: (1) Addressed issue that caused Global lot/serial mask to revert to the item’s mask when generating multiple lots. (2) Addressed issue that caused the Quantity per Lot Number to revert to the Lot Quantity instead of using the Lot Split Quantity. (3) Lot Split Quantity was incorrectly reverting the the Lot Quantity. (4) Lot Split Quantity from the Global Lot Mask is now applied to all Lots. (5) The quantity of Lot Numbers, and Quantity per Lot, now correctly handles the remaining quantity when the Lot Split Quantity does not divide evenly into the Lot Quantity.

Cash Payables Transaction Thru AP Account

DS0684

Cash Payables Transaction Thru AP Account

Problem Definition

ACME Co is a focused network of community and social websites that include G*****.com, T*****.com, A*****.com, and L*****.com. They use Dynamics GP as their ERP system.

To support a reporting requirement of their Auditor, ACME Co needs to create Payables Transactions with the following distributions when the transaction is entered with either a cash or check payment:

1.       Cash Account (standard GP)

2.       Purchases Account (standard GP)

3.       Debit AP account

4.       Credit AP account

The entries in #3 and #4 in the list above are not standard GP functionality. ACME Co would like to automatically add these accounts to the Payables Transaction Distributions.

Design Features

Payables Transaction Entry

There is no user interface for this enhancement.

When a Payables Transaction is entered through the Payables Transaction Entry window and the following criteria is met:

  1. Payment Type equals Invoice, Finance Charge or Misc Charge AND
  2. An Amount is entered in the Cash and/or Check fields

The enhancement will add the following two entries to the Distribution Accounts during posting of the Payables Transaction. Posting is supported through the Payables Transaction Entry window and the Payables Batch Entry window only.

  • Debit to the Accounts Payable Account set in the Posting Accounts Setup Window for the amount(s) entered in the Cash and Check fields combined. The Account Type will be set to PAY.
  • Credit to the Accounts Payable Account set in the Posting Accounts Setup Window for the amount(s) entered in the Cash and Check fields combined. The Account Type will be set to PAY.

In the example below, an AP Invoice has been entered for $1,000.00 with a corresponding $1,000.00 Cash Payment entered at the same time:

The enhancement will add a credit and debit entry to the default Accounts Payable account (Account Type = PAY) for the amount entered in the Cash and/or Check field on the Payables Transaction Entry window during the posting process:

Payables Distribution Zoom

The debit and credit to the Accounts Payables Account will be visible in the Payables Distribution Zoom window for posted Payables Transaction Documents which have been updated by the enhancement.

Pricing & Downloads

We are excited to announce a couple of small changes to our website that we hope will improve you life!  Well…that might be overstating things a bit, but we hope the changes will help you do your job more efficiently, or make a product decision just a little bit more quickly.

First, our Price List is now available on our website.  Just click the PRICING button (or at the top of the webpage, click MORE >> Pricing).

Second, the Downloads page no longer requires a password.  Just click the DOWNLOADS button (or MORE >> Downloads), select the GP Version, and download the software you need.

 

GPPowerPack Release 2018-08-02

V12.0.124 / 14.0.67 /16.0.35 / 18.0.7
* TWK-SOP: Use Item’s Default Site: modified behavior so it sets the Site ID before leaving the Item Number field. Since SOP defaults the site on a new line to the Site ID from the previous line, this change prevents getting prompted to add an Item-Site combination based on the previous lines Site ID. It will now also revert to the Default Site ID on the SOP Header if the Item being entered does not have a Default Site assigned.
* TWK-POP: Duplicate Items Warning: NEW. Warns user if the same Item Number is entered more than once on a Purchase Order.

MOGenerator Release 2018-08-02

V12.0.84 / 14.0.59 / 16.0.37 / 18.0.4
* MORI: (1) MO Query-addressed issue that could cause the query to not save, (2) Override IV Doc Number with MO#-this new user preference setting on the MOGen window causes MORI to override manufacturing when it creates Inventory Adjustments. Instead of using the default Next IV Adjustment Number, the adjustment will be created using the MO# plus a suffix for each subsequent Adjustment (such as MO00123*1, MO00123*2, MO00123*3 and so on). This option was added to address a condition reported in very high volume environments with multiple MORI processors where the normal GP logic that generates the Next IV Document Number allows two nearly simultaneous processes to receive the same Document Number.

GPPowerPack Release 2018-07-24

V12.0.123 / 14.0.66 /16.0.34 / 18.0.6
* TWK-SOP: Auto-Open Customer Detail: addressed issue that caused Customer Detail Entry to pop behind SOP Entry if user clicked on Customer Detail Entry with the mouse rather than using the keyboard (#20184512)
* TWK-SOP: Display Ship Weight in Title Bar: added a setup option to control whether shipping weight for kits comes from the Kit Item or the Components.

MOGenerator Release 2018-07-16

V12.0.83 / 14.0.58 / 16.0.36 / 18.0.3
* MORI: (1) Error Log- added button to “hide” errors. This changes records errors to a new status code so they are no longer displayed in the error log window. (2) Changed how conversion to Base UofM is handled in the MOPick table to account for a UofM Schedule that has circular conversions. (3) Changed timing of when a “split” MO is created during a partial receipt so that all errors checks must pass before the split MO is created. (4) Added Edit MORI Data window (accessible from Error Log window GoTo button) to facilitate manually changing data in the MORI tables from inside GP.

Trying Our Software

In additional to being fully functional in Fabrikam, all of our software is also fully functional, without registration keys, in <TEST> companies.  There are two benefits from this:

First, you can download and test our software using your live data without needing a temporary, time-limited key.

Second, if you already have our software but are not registered for all of its features, you can test ALL functionality in the <TEST> company without changing your registration key.

In short, all functionality of all of our modules is always available in a <TEST> company.

In case you are not familiar with a <TEST> company, here’s a quick overview.

Dynamics GP has a little feature that is not well documented, which provides support for Test and Historical company databases.  To enable this feature, put <TEST> or <HISTORICAL> at the end of the Company Name, as shown below:

<TEST> must be placed at the end of the Company Name (i.e. “WilloWare Inc. <TEST>”).

The primary effect of this is that it Zeros the Employee Count so the Employees in a TEST or HISTORICAL Company do not affect payroll.

It also causes a warning to pop-up during login to help alert users that they are not in the live company:

And, it will also cause WilloWare software to enable full functionality.

NOTE: During log-in you will receive a warning that the software is not registered.

MFG PowerPack Release 2018-07-09

V12.0.134 / 14.0.81 / 16.0.47 / 18.0.8
* Item Copy: addressed issue that prevented the Excel Import utility from creating new Items when the spreadsheet did not contain additional columns (E and beyond).
* Quick Disassembly: addressed issue that caused “Illegal address for field ‘Reason Code'” when user closed window while it was processing the disassembly (#20182763).
* Service Equipment Suite: added check that SVC Setup has been completed before enabling SVC Equipment Suite.

Grant SQL All Objects

It is commonly thought that the grant.sql script (found in the GP Folder\SQL\Utils\) takes care of security at the SQL Server level by granting access to DYNGRP to all of the SQL objects used by Dynamics GP.

It doesn’t!

We recently had a support case where the user was getting the following error:

The EXECUTE permission was denied on the object ‘MFG_FUNC_Component_BOM_Type’

The function is part of the Manufacturing Module, but our Export Indented BOM feature in MFG PowerPack uses the function.

We asked the client to run grant.sql to fix the issue.  The user still had the error.

At that point we knew there were only two options: (1) the User ID wasn’t assigned to DYNGRP, or (2) there was something wrong with grant.sql.

A quick look at grant.sql and the problem was obvious–it grants security on Tables, Views and Stored Procedures.  It does not grant security to Scalar Functions or Table Valued Functions.

An updated GRANT.SQL script is below.  It covers all of the SQL objects listed above.

Download GrantAll.zip (it contains a text file): GrantALL 

 

 

MFG Data Archive Release 2018-06-20

V12.0.24 / 14.0.15 / 16.0.10 / 18.0.1
* First GP2018 Release
* Added new tables to the archive. If an MO has already been archived using a prior build, the archive routine will “catch up” on the new tables the next time the archive utility runs. The new tables are:
MOP1003 – MOP_MOVar_HIST
MOP1004 – MOP_MO_Variance_Material_Hist
MOP1006 – MOP_Item_MSTR_Qty_Var
MOP1009 – MOP_WIPCostChanges
MOP1012 – MOP_MO_Variance_Material_Hist_STD
MOP1015 – MOP_WIPOverrideHist
MOP3000 – MOP_Variances
* New Archive Processor window: a new bulk copy archive routine achieves a significant decrease in the time required to archive MOs.
* New locally installed PDF documentation, and context sensitive CHM help

LeanMFG Release 2018-06-13

V12.0.32 / 14.0.21 / 16.0.11 / 18.0.3
* Install/Upgrade: added checks for temp tables remaining from a prior upgrade to prevent an attempt to re-upgrade the tables (#20183874)
* MO Entry: addressed Illegal address for field ‘BuildPicklist’ in script ‘AbortForShortages’ error caused by closing window while picklist is being built (#20183844)

GP PowerPack Release 2018-05-29

V12.0.121 / 14.0.64 /16.0.32 / 18.0.4
* SOP Doc Print Options Defaults: addressed issue that caused field not found error is user quickly closed the Sales Print Options after it opened (#20181312)
* Extended Lot Attributes: (1) Addressed issued that cause ELA to not save the core GP attributes on an MO Receipt, (2) Connected ELA to Manufacturing PowerPack’s Serial/Lot Mass Generate Utility. ELA will now open for each Lot created by SLMG.

MFG PowerPack Release 2018-05-29

V12.0.133 / 14.0.80 / 16.0.46 / 18.0.7
* Serial/Lot Mass Generate: integrated into GP PowerPack’s Extended Lot Attributes. If ELA is registered and enabled, the ELA Attribute Entry window will pop-open for each Lot Numbered generated.
* Quick Disassembly: changed routine that retrieved average cost for the actual cost raw materials to use a weighted average, and also take into account reverse issues.

LeanMFG Release 2018-04-09

V12.0.30 / 14.0.19 / 16.0.9 / 18.0.1
* First GP2018 Release
* Item Engineering: (1) creating Item Engineering records is now REQUIRED. Missing Item Engineering records will generate a warning to that effect if they are used in MO Entry.
* MO Entry: (1) Addressed issue in posting that left empty batch records in Batch Header/SY00500 (#20180802). (2) Added routine during installation that checks for empty LeanMFG batches and removes them. (3) Addressed issue that caused “selected record has been deleted by another user” error after clicking the Build Picklist button. (4) Added posting indicator that appears on the window while the posting process is running. (5) New posting routine prints Transaction Posting Journals rather than Inquiry Journals.
* Vendor Approval: NEW- Vendor Approval functionality. Enabling Vendor Approval will require that a Vendor is approved for purchase of an item before the item will be allowed on a PO.
* Added additional controls to keep LeanMFG transactions from being viewed in IV Transaction Entry.
* Doc Type Details: (1) Changed labels on Journal Printing options, (2) New Option: Show Unit Cost Warning–if enabled, shows a warning message if posting Output(s) would create split cost layers because the input costs do not divide evenly into the Output unit cost.
* New locally installed PDF documentation, and context sensitive CHM help

MFG PowerPack Release 2018-03-26

V12.0.131 / 14.0.78 / 16.0.44 / 18.0.5
* Quick Disassembly: (1) Added support for disassembly using a Manufacturing Order as the source, (2) Added support for Inventory Reason Codes on the Quick Disassembly window.
* PowerATP: (1) Added logic to handle an Intersite Transfer created by an RTV where the Return Item is different than the Out Item (#20180797). (2) Added exclusion for SOP Voids so the ATP query does not catch them while they are being moved to history (#20180081)
* Serial Mass Entry: (1) Addressed issue in Item Transaction Entry that caused the Total Serials Selected to display the Quantity Required
* Indented BOM Report: (1) Added more columns, (2) Added new BOM Export Query window from MFGPP Setup to allow editing the query so that columns can be added/remove/renamed or additional tables joined to the query.

MFG PowerPack Release 2018-03-26

V12.0.130 / 14.0.77 / 16.0.43 / 18.0.4
* Serial/Lot Mass Generate: (1) Addressed issue that caused Next Lot Number to not increment correctly if a Global Lot Number was not being used. (2) Added warning if Global Serial/Lot Number functionality is enabled and Item Class Serial/Lot Numbering setup exists (the features should not be used at the same time)
* Item Class Serial Numbering: (1) renamed to Item Class Serial/Lot Numbering and extended its functionality to Lot Numbers. (2) Added warning if Global Serial/Lot Number functionality is enabled and Item Class Serial/Lot Numbering setup exists (the features should not be used at the same time)
* Updated WW Internal Resources