» Sage 300 2014

Sage 300 2014 Release Notes

Thank you for choosing a Sage accounting product.

This file contains important information about Sage 300, including information about product changes that are not in the documentation.

General Information

• We’ve updated Sage 300 2014 with a fresh, modern look and feel to make it easier to find information and complete tasks:

• On the desktop:

  • Redesigned icons improve the experience of navigating to programs and screens.
  • A ribbon-style toolbar helps you find tools and commands quickly and easily.

• On a selection of frequently used screens:

  • Redesigned buttons (such as the Zoom button and the Finder) are clearer and more meaningful.
  • Required fields are now clearly indicated with an asterisk.

• When you sign in to Sage 300 2014, you may be asked to update your user profile with your job role and email address. This information helps us:

  • Design new features and improvements for Sage 300 to help you work more effectively.
  • Provide you with helpful information relevant to your job role, such as tips and suggestions to make your work faster and easier, or details about promotional offers.

  You can view and change information in your profile (including job role and email) on the Users screen in Administrative Services.

  To learn more about how information is collected and used for the Sage Advisor Product Enhancement Program, see the Sage Privacy Policy, available at na.sage.com/Sage-NA/privacy-policy.

• Sage 300 2014 supports Return Material Authorization (RMA). However, RMA is not included with Sage 300. You must install it separately.
• Sage 300 2014 supports upgrades only from versions 5.6, 6.0, or 2012.
• If you use the Web Deployment option (distinct from the new portal), note that:
  • Sage 300 2014 does not support the DCOM remoting channel for Web Deployment.

  • Adobe Reader is now required to view and print reports in PDF format. To download the latest version of the free Adobe Reader software, visit http://get.adobe.com/reader.

• You need a unique activation code for each Pervasive installation.

  If you use Pervasive PSQL as the database engine for your company and system databases, you must have a unique activation code for each computer on which you install this software. You cannot install the software with a code that has been used on another machine.

  A unique activation code is issued for each copy of the software that you purchase. (For more information about Pervasive licensing requirements, see the chapter on license administration in the Pervasive PSQL User Guide.)

• If you use workstation setup, you must also run Sage 300 Intelligence Reporting workstation setup (located in BX62A\WSSetup) on every workstation where you will view and use Intelligence Reporting screens.
• You require version 2014 (internally versioned as 6.2A) of all core programs that you plan to use.

  If you use Canadian Payroll or US Payroll, you also require version 2014 (internally versioned as 7.1A) of these programs.

  Note: You must install Sage 300 before installing payroll programs.

• If you are upgrading from a prior version, you must upgrade all Sage 300 programs to 2014 at the same time. Sage 300 2014 programs do not work with programs from earlier versions.
• MSXML (Microsoft XML Core Services) 4.0 is installed with Sage 300, and is required to use Sage 300.
• Sage 300 2014 includes SP8 for SAP Crystal Reports® runtime engine. Report printing is faster with SP8 than with the previous update of this runtime.
• Diagnostic messages created by Sage 300 ERP no longer appear in the Windows Event Viewer (for example, messages referring to “invalid Sib” or “invalid Pib” numbers).

Known Issues

• Sage 300 uses components of Microsoft Internet Explorer to display help topics. If the Enhanced Security Configuration setting is turned on for your browser, you will receive an error message when you try to display certain help topics. To display help correctly for all topics and to prevent the error message, you must add the following site to the list of Trusted sites in Internet Explorer: about:security_A4WCONTAINERXP.EXE.
• If you are using Sage 300 on a workstation in a client-server environment, you could have trouble viewing help. For example, your browser might display the message "Page cannot be displayed." For a solution, see Sage 300 Knowledgebase article 21452, or Microsoft support article 896054.

Compatibility with Other Programs

Sage 300 is now compatible with:

• Microsoft Office 2013 32-bit
• Sage HRMS 2014

Sage 300 is also compatible with the following Sage solutions:

• Sage Mobile Sales. Sage Mobile Sales is a tablet app that lets your sales team display your product catalog, check product availability, create quotes and orders, and process payments in the field.
• Sage Mobile Service. Sage Mobile Service is a smartphone app that lets your field service team review customer history, manage work orders, take before and after photos, and process payments onsite.
• Sage Billing and Payment. Sage Billing and Payment is a web application that automates the delivery of invoices and receipts and lets you accept electronic payments.

For more information about these solutions, visit www.sagemobileapps.com.

For a complete list of compatible programs, database platforms, and operating systems, see the Sage 300 2014 Compatibility Guide in the Sage Knowledgebase (https://support.na.sage.com/selfservice/viewdocument.do?externalId=26777).

Installing Sage 300

For detailed instructions on installing Sage 300, see the Sage 300 Installation and Administration Guide.

Note: Version 2014 installs components that support the deployment of the Sage 300 Portal. The installation program installs Java Runtime Environment and Sage 300 Tomcat silently. (Tomcat is installed as a private instance in your Program Files folder under \Common Files\Sage\Sage 300 ERP\Tomcat.)

Important! If you are using Windows Vista or later, you must log in as the Windows administrator user the first time you run Sage 300.

Important! If you upgrade to a later version of Sage 300, you must install all released product updates for that version before activating your data to avoid possible data corruption issues.

Important! Sage 300 Payroll 2014 (7.1A) is compatible with Sage 300 2014. However, it must be installed separately.

^ Back to top

Removing Sage 300

Before removing Sage 300, you must:

• Close all instances of the Sage 300 Desktop.
• Close all applications that integrate with Sage 300.
• Stop all Sage 300 services that are running, such as Sage 300 ERP .Net Remoting Service and Sage 300 ERP Tomcat.

To remove Sage 300 2014 programs:

1. In Windows' Control Panel, click Programs And Features.

2. Open Uninstall Or Change A Program, and then:

   • To remove all Sage 300 ERP programs, double-click Sage 300 2014.

   • To remove individual Sage 300 programs:

     1. Click Sage 300 2014, and then click Change. (Do not double-click Sage 300 2014.)
     2. Click Modify, and then use the Select Features screen to select the programs you want to install and clear the selections for programs you want to remove.

^ Back to top

System Manager

New Features and Improvements

System Manager 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• Improved user management for LanPak and IAP licenses. The LanPak Users and IAP Users screens have been combined into a new Current Users screen, which provides information about users who are currently signed in, helping you decide who to ask to sign out.

  In addition to the information that was displayed in the LanPak Users and IAP Users screens, the Current Users screen displays:

  • Contact information for users.
  • Information about user activity, such as the screens each user is using.
  • Information about users who are signed in without using a license, such as Timecard users.

  Also, you can access the Current Users screen at any time, even if the maximum number of users for your LanPak or IAP license are signed in.

• New job role and contact information fields on the Users screen. Four new fields—Job Role, Phone, E-mail 1, and E-mail 2—allow you to specify a user's job role and contact information. Also, a new User receives e-mail from Sage with information relevant to job role option indicates whether a user consents to receive e-mail from Sage.
• Sage 300 2014 now supports Microsoft Office 2013 32-bit.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Visual Process Flows

New Features and Improvements

Sage 300 2014 includes the following new features and improvements for visual process flows:

• Three new visual process flows. We have added process flows for Canadian Payroll, US Payroll, and Project and Job Costing.
• Enhanced Link feature. When customizing process flows, you can now link elements to programs, reports, macros, and other process flows.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Sage 300 Portal

Program Requirements

• The Sage 300 Portal:
  
  • Uses Java technology to support "back-end" server processes. It requires Apache Tomcat 6 and the 32-bit version of the Java 6 Runtime Environment, which are installed automatically if you select the Portal option during installation. Apache Tomcat is installed as a Windows service with the name Sage 300 ERP Tomcat.

    Note: 64-bit versions of the Java Runtime Environment are not supported.

  • Uses its own database to store portal-specific information, such as landing-page customizations, shortcut preferences, and other settings for users. We recommend that you set up the portal database in a database separate from the Sage 300 company database.
• You must use Microsoft SQL Server (full or Express edition) to create your portal database.
• If you use Internet Explorer as your browser, note that you must use Internet Explorer 9 or later to open the portal.

Additional Information

• Use the Configure Portal screen, available in the Database Setup utility, to create a connection to the portal database.
• Sage 300 uses the port number to identify particular Microsoft SQL Server or SQL Express databases on a server. If you have more than one instance, you must assign a unique port number to each instance in your database software, and then specify the port number for the portal database in the Configure Portal screen.

Troubleshooting the Sage 300 Portal

Note: The installation program sets required properties in IIS, and you should not have to change them. For more information about these settings and for troubleshooting tips, see Chapter 5 in the Installation and Administration Guide.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Accounts Receivable

New Features and Improvements

Accounts Receivable 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• Improved help and documentation. We've revised Accounts Receivable help to improve search results, enhance the readability of help topics, and make it easier for you to find important information and instructions.

  We've also added a new Accounts Receivable User's Guide, available in Docs\62A\ENG.

• New options for Sage Billing and Payment customers.

  • On the A/R Customers screen, the Sage Billing and Payment Customer option allows you to specify that a customer is a Sage Billing and Payment customer.
  • On the A/R Invoices screen, the Include Sage Billing and Payment Invoices option allows you to specify whether to print invoices created in Sage Billing and Payment.
  • On the A/R Statements/Letters/Labels screen, the Include Sage Billing and Payment Customers option allows you to specify whether to print statements for Sage Billing and Payment customers.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Accounts Payable

New Features and Improvements

Accounts Payable 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• US tax forms updated. The 1099 and 1096 forms have been updated to meet the following changed IRS specifications for 2013:

  • The alignment and positioning of some information has been changed so that it prints in the correct place on these forms.

  • The 1099-MISC form now includes the following boxes:

    • 11 Foreign tax paid
    • 12 Foreign country or U.S. possession

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

General Ledger

New Features and Improvements

General Ledger 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• When printing the G/L Transactions Listing, you can now print a report that spans multiple fiscal years and periods.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Inventory Control

New Features and Improvements

Inventory Control 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• A new Allow Duplicate Serial Numbers option on the Options screen. This option allows you to specify whether multiple items can be assigned the same serial number.

  Note: Clearing this option does not change existing assigned serial numbers, so any existing duplicated serial numbers remain.

• A new Unit Cost field on the Lot Numbers Inquiry screen. This field displays the unit cost for items in a lot, calculated based on the quantity of items in the lot and the total cost of the lot.
• A new Use As Default option on the Bills of Material screen. This option allows you to specify a default number to use for a BOM item when it is entered on the I/C Assemblies/Disassemblies screen. This information is also displayed on the Bills of Material report.
• Four new fields enhance integration between Sage 300 and Sage Inventory Advisor.

  • On the Location Details screen:

    • Inventory Minimum (SIA). This field allows you to specify the minimum quantity of an item that must be in inventory at a location.
    • Lead Time (SIA). This field allows you to specify the lead time to allow when ordering goods.

  • On the Vendor Details screen:

    • Order Minimum (SIA). This field allows you to specify the minimum quantity of an item that you must order from a vendor.
    • Preferred Vendor (SIA). If you purchase an item from multiple vendors, this field allows you to specify a preferred vendor for the item.

  Note: Information in these fields is used only by Sage Inventory Advisor (SIA).

• On the Lot Numbers screen and the Serial Numbers screen, you can now change the stock date.

  Note: If you change the stock date, the expiry date is recalculated automatically.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Order Entry

New Features and Improvements

Order Entry 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• You no longer need to edit the OERPT.INI file to switch between datapiped and non-datapiped invoice forms.
• You can now specify whether miscellaneous charges are discountable by default. To do this, you edit the [ApplyInvoiceTermsDiscountToMiscCharge] setting in the OE.INI file. For more information, see Knowledgebase article 21367.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Purchase Orders

New Features and Improvements

Purchase Orders 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• A new Entered By field on transaction entry screens (Requisition Entry, Purchase Order Entry, Receipt Entry, Invoice Entry, Return Entry, and Credit/Debit Note Entry) indicates who entered the transaction.

  Note: On the Purchase Order Entry and Requisition Entry screens, the Entered By field replaces the Source field.

• You no longer need to edit the PORPT.INI file to switch between datapiped and non-datapiped purchase order forms.

• Two new fields on the Vendor Details screen enhance integration between Sage 300 and Sage Inventory Advisor:

  • Order Minimum (SIA). This field allows you to specify the minimum quantity of an item that you must order from a vendor.
  • Preferred Vendor (SIA). If you purchase an item from multiple vendors, this field allows you to specify a preferred vendor for the item.

  Note: Information in these fields is used only by Sage Inventory Advisor (SIA).

• If you do not allow negative inventory, you can now specify whether this setting is strictly enforced. To do this, you edit the [NegativeInventory] setting in the PO.INI file. For more information, see Knowledgebase article 21367.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Canadian Payroll

New Features and Improvements

The Sage 300 2014 DVD includes Canadian Payroll 2014; and the January 1, 2014 payroll tax update.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

US Payroll

New Features and Improvements

The Sage 300 2014 DVD includes US Payroll 2014; and the January 1, 2014 payroll tax update.

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

^ Back to top

Sage 300 Intelligence Reporting

New Features and Improvements

Sage 300 Intelligence Reporting 2014 includes the following new features and improvements:

• Improved Report Designer with new Task Pane. Report Designer now includes the Task Pane, which was previously available as an add-in. You use the Task Pane to create reusable pieces (Excel functions) that you can assemble to create a report. These pieces communicate with a powerful in-memory processing engine that significantly improves reporting speed and performance. Also, the Task Pane now supports alpha-numeric account number ranges.

  The Layout Generator now uses the same in-memory processing engine as the Task Pane, resulting in similarly improved reporting speed and performance.

• New row sets in Report Designer. Reduce time spent editing rows in reports by defining customized rows that can be used in any report.
• New financial reports. Four new reports—Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Financial Ratios, and Financial Forecasting—are now available. These reports are similar to those available in Financial Reporter.
• Fresh, modern look and feel. Report Manager and Connector now have a ribbon-style menu that makes it faster and easier to find features. We've redesigned the Report Designer, Lock Report screen, and demonstration reports to make it easier to find information and complete tasks. We've also standardized all icons and replaced the old "processing" image with a more informative progress bar.
• Improved Report Manager. Report Manager includes the following improvements:
  • Report property columns are now automatically sized so all text is displayed.
  • The report tree has been visually simplified to make it easier to resize.
  • Context menus are simpler and include options that are more relevant.
• Improved Report Viewer. The Report Viewer now opens at the same size as when it was last closed, and stays open when running reports.
• Improved on-screen password security. When entering a password in Security Manager, the password now appears as asterisks instead of the actual characters of the password.
• Improved container import. You can now rename a container during import (for example, if it has the same name as an existing container).
• New report ID for union reports. The new report ID makes it easier to identify reports to include in a union report.
• Support for Microsoft Excel 2010 64-bit Edition.
• Support for Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. Benefits include faster installation and improved stability and experience when using Excel.
• Ability to disable Direct Query tool.
• Ability to restrict access to reports based on Security Manager roles.

Known Issues

• If you have multiple versions of Microsoft Excel installed, you may need to manually load the Report Designer Task Pane Excel Add-in.
• If you use exclusions in account and row set rules, exclusion accounts may appear when you drill down to balance.
• If Sage 300 Intelligence Reporting was installed by a user other than you (for example, an administrator), you must open Microsoft Excel before running reports in Report Viewer or Report Manager.
• In Report Viewer, an "Open File - Security Warning" message appears for every report you view. (This message should only appear once, when you first open Report Viewer.)

• If you use Microsoft Excel 2013, and you save a report template in Report Manager using Save Excel Template:

  • When you run the report in Excel, an “External Data” message may appear. You can proceed by clicking Yes.
  • If the report template has a timeline, the timeline does not retain its filters.

^ Back to top

Sage CRM Integration with Sage 300

New Features and Improvements

Sage 300 2014 Integration with Sage CRM 7.2 includes the following changes:

• Windows Server 2003 is no longer supported. Sage CRM 7.2 supports only Windows Server 2008 R2 and above.
• Sage CRM Solo is no longer supported.

For information about new features in Sage CRM 7.2, see the Sage CRM Community website.

For a complete list of customer-facing changes and upgrade information for Sage CRM integrated with Sage 300, see the Sage CRM Integration Upgrade Guide.

For system requirements and instructions on setting up Sage CRM integration with Sage 300, see the Sage CRM Integration Guide.

Known Issues

• If you are upgrading from a previous version of Sage 300 integrated with Sage CRM:

  • During the upgrade process, you may see a warning message stating that the CheckPhoneEmail script has found some discrepancies. If you see this message, you can safely proceed with the upgrade; any discrepancies will be resolved automatically when you install Sage 300 Integration for Sage CRM.

    Note: After upgrading Sage CRM, you should always upgrade Sage 300 Integration for Sage CRM (the Sage CRM-side integration component). After upgrading Sage CRM and the integration component, you can use the Sage CRM phone/email checker (CheckPhoneEmail.exe) to identify any customized areas where changes to database tables may have caused discrepancies in phone and email data. For more information, see Chapter 8 of the Sage CRM v7.1 SP2 Installation and Upgrade Guide.

  • After upgrading, you may need to clear your browser cache to see the new features added for the 2012 release.
• If you do not use Pervasive PSQL, but you install Sage 300 Pervasive sample data, the following error messages may appear:
  • When activating the Sage 300 integration (EW) component in Sage 300: "Internal error. EW Library: Cannot open EW.INI file."
  • When using the integrated Quotes and Orders screens in Sage CRM:
    • "Unable to download the schema from the server."
    • "Unable to create resource class."
• Sage 300 ERP Web Deployment screens opened from Sage CRM are supported only in Internet Explorer.
• If you use Internet Explorer 10, we recommend using Compatibility View for Sage CRM screens.

  If you use Internet Explorer 9, we recommend not using Compatibility View for Sage CRM screens. To turn off Compatibility View for your Sage CRM website:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Compatibility View Settings.
  2. If your Sage CRM website appears in the Websites you've added to compatibility view field, select the website and click Remove.
  3. Make sure the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View and Display all websites in Compatibility View options are not selected.
•  The following known issues may occur when using the integrated Quotes and Orders screens in Sage CRM:
  • When printing documents, the buttons on the Print window respond as expected, but sometimes appear styled as labels instead of buttons.
  • When working with an order or a quote in Sage CRM, if you open the Custom Fields panel, information below the panel is pushed down out of view. Before you can scroll down to view it, you must click anywhere inside the document header (except the Custom Fields panel) to restore the scrollable area.
  • If you use Internet Explorer, column labels in the table sometimes disappear when you click the scroll arrow in the table. If you click the scroll arrow again, the labels become visible.
  • If you use Internet Explorer, vertical scrollbars may not appear in Finders in the table after you click a Finder for a header field. To work around this problem, you can:
    • Avoid using Finders in header fields before entering details.
    • Open the screen in another browser (Firefox, Chrome, or Safari).
    • Click the Advanced Search link in the Finder (where available).
  • If you use Internet Explorer 10, the Continue button in quote and order detail screens may not be fully displayed.
  • If you open a quote or order from the Recent tab, the vertical scroll bar may not work or you may see two scroll bars. To correct this problem, refresh the screen.

  • If you use optional fields with long lists of available selections, the ends of the lists may be cut off.

^ Back to top

Improved Help and Documentation

We've revised help for the following Sage 300 programs to improve search results, enhance the readability of help topics, and make it easier for you to find important information and instructions:

• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• G/L Consolidations
• Intercompany Transactions

We've also added the following new user's guides, available in Docs\62A\ENG:

• Accounts Receivable User's Guide
• Accounts Payable User's Guide
• G/L Consolidations User's Guide
• Intercompany Transactions User's Guide

This release also includes French- and Chinese-language versions of Inventory Control help and the Inventory Control User's Guide.

^ Back to top