Disclaimer: At the time of announcement, this update release was intended for Sage 300 users in the North American region. They will presumably be available for end users in Asia like yourself at a later date.
Sage 300 received a Version 2023.0 update which was pushed out to customers in September 2022 (include link and anchor text to 2023.0 content), and the ERP software received the 2023 Product Update 1 in December 2022. Both of these updates are expected to be made available for end users in Asia like yourself at a later date.
Version 2023.0 of Sage 300 brings improvements to the Web Screen for Sage 300cloud as well as improvements to CRM integration, amongst other general improvements.
The 2023 Product 1 Update builds upon that with further enhancements to the Sage 300cloud Web Screen, along with new features and improvements to the desktop screen of the main Sage 300 ERP software.
Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that came with Sage 300 Version 2023.0, as well as 2023 Product update 1.
Improvements Coming With 2023 Product Update 1
New Features And Improvements For Desktop Screens
With 2023 Product Update 1, Sage will include the newUser Activity Report for Sage 300 customers.
Only available to the administrator user account, this grants login/logout information permissions in the Administrative Services module. It generates a user activity log which includes:
- Login
- Logout
- Open a Screen
- Close a Screen
- Eviction
The report will also display the following columns:
- Date and Time
- Company ID
- Action
- Platform
- Screen ID
- Screen Name
- Computer Name/Address
On top of this, the update will also add a new checkbox, “Enable User Activity Logs”, to the existing Database Setup desktop screen when editing the system database. This allows Sage 300 to start or stop recording user activity for companies in this system database.
New Improvements For Sage 300cloud Web Screens
New improvements for Sage 300cloud web screens include:
- New web screens for Project and Job Costing:
- Revise Estimates: Allows you to enter changes to project estimates.
- Post Transactions: Revise Estimates has been made available for posting.
- New web screens for Inventory Control
- Bill of Materials: Can be used to set up bills of materials if you’re planning to assemble or repackage inventory items, to create a supply of ‘master items’ to sell.
- Assemblies/Disassemblies: Can be used to enter and post assemblies and disassemblies of master items from component items.
- Related functions in Inventory Control:
- On the Post Transactions screen, post assemblies/disassemblies.
- On the Posting Journals screen, print posting journals for assemblies/disassemblies.
- On the Transaction Listings screen, print transaction listings for assemblies/disassemblies.
- On the Transaction History Inquiry screen, allow a drill down to assemblies/disassemblies documents.
- On the Stock Transaction Inquiry screen, allow a drill down to assemblies/disassemblies documents.
Improvements That Came With Sage 300 2023.0
Improved Security
With the 2023 version, the security of Sage 300 has been enhanced in the following ways:
- User Passwords
In Sage 300 Database Setup, on the Advanced Security Settings screen, there’s now only one option to require complex passwords. The complexity requirements have been increased, and passwords must now include at least one of each of the following:
- Lower case letter
- Upper case letter
- Number
- Special characters (such as * or #)
- Systems and Databases
Sage has made some technical upgrades and enhancements to improve the overall security of Sage 300. If you’re currently using a previous version of the ERP software, you may need to make some corresponding changes to your system setup.
New Improvements For Sage 300cloud Web Screens
Some of the new improvements for the Sage 300cloud web screens include:
- New Web Screens for Project and Job Costing
- Account Set: Allows you to create groups of general ledger (G/L) accounts, which you can then assign to contracts to identify the G/L accounts to which you post Project and Job Costing transactions for each contract.
- Charges: you can use this to record amounts that you charge your customers for services, or fees for which you have not incurred any direct costs such as registration fees or pre-payments on a project.
- Update Retainage: If you use retainage accounting, you can use this screen to enter opening retainage balances for contracts you are transferring to Project and Job Costing from another job-costing system. You can also use this screen to update the retainage payable or receivable for contracts, projects and categories.
- New Setup Reports are now available in the following Web Screens:
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- General Ledger
- Tax Services
- Bank Services
- Inventory Control
- Order Entry
- Purchase Orders
- Project and Job Costing
- New keyboard shortcuts are now available for the navigation menu. You can use these to move around the menu, and open screens with the press of a few buttons.
New Improvements For The Windows Start Menu
Sage has improved the organisation of Sage 300 items on the Windows Start menu, to help you find what you need more easily.
There are now three menus (Sage 300, Sage 300 Admin Utilities, and Sage 300 Support Utilities), instead of the single menu prior to the 2023 update.
There are also new items added to the Sage 300 Admin Utilities menu, allowing you to use the following features without needing to open Sage 300:
- Data Activation
- License Manager
- Current Users
You’ll need to uninstall your previous version of Sage 300, before installing Sage 300 2023.
Improvements to CRM Integration
On the E/W Sage CRM Setup screens, you can now enter up to 60 characters in the Sage CRM Server Name field.
If you’re using Sage CRM integrated with Sage 300, when changing the customer contact name (on the Contact tab of the A/R Customers screen), you can indicate whether and how to update information in Sage CRM.
Questions About 2023 Product Update 1 And Sage 300 2023?
Both the Sage 300 2023 update, as well as the 2023 Product Update 1, brings improvements to the web screens for Sage 300cloud.
Other new features and improvements have also been brought to the classic desktop screen, as well as other functionalities.
If you’d like to know more about Sage 300, click on the image below to download the fact sheet for the ERP software.
Highlights Of Sage 300 2022 Product Product Update 2
More Secure User Passwords
With 2022 Product Update 2, Sage has made some changes to the way user passwords work in Sage 300 in order to bolster security measures for the ERP software.
To make use of these changes, go to Sage 300 Database Setup, and navigate to the Advanced Security Settings screen. A new increase required complexity option now allows you to require user passwords which include at least one of each of the following:
- Lower-case letter
- Upper-case letter
- Number
- Special characters such as * or #
You can also specify a minimum password length, which will require users to use passwords which are at least 8 characters in length.
Email Documents Using Microsoft 365
You’ll now be able to set up Sage 300 to email documents using Microsoft 365.
To do so, select Microsoft Graph in the new Email Service field on the Email tab of the Company Profile screen.
You can learn more about setting up email options in Sage 300 here.
Enter Job-related Documents In Accounts Payable On Sage 300cloud Web Screens
If you’re currently using Sage 300cloud through its web screens, 2022 Product Update 2 will now allow you to enter and work with job-related documents on all Accounts Payable (A/P) transaction entry screens.
Send Test Emails Using Microsoft Outlook On Sage 300 Desktop Screens
If you’re currently using Sage 300 on the classic desktop screens, 2022 Product Update 2 will now let you send test emails using Microsoft Outlook when you’re setting up your Company Profile. Click on the Email tab in the Company Profile screen to do so.
Highlights Of Sage 300 2022 Product Product Update 1
2022 Product Update 1 brought improvements solely for Sage 300cloud web screens. These are as follows.
Enter Job-related Documents In Accounts Payable
With 2022 Product Update 1, you’ll be able to enter and work with job-related documents on the A/P Invoice Entry screen.
Improved Process For Printing Custom Reports
Printing will now work the same way for customised SAP Crystal Reports as it does for other reports.
When printing, the SAP Crystal Reports viewer will not display a preview. Instead, the Export Report screen will now appear in a new browser tab, and it will provide options for saving the report to a file.
If you’d like to print a physical copy of the report, you must first save the file in the PDF format, and then sent it to your printer from the PDF file.
Improved Way Of Entering Information in Certain Fields
New buttons are now available for selected fields, that will allow you to specify a value more quickly and easily. You can go to the first or last value, or alternatively to the next or previous value.
Vendor Number Field For Sage 300. Source: Sage
The image of the Vendor Number field above illustrates the change that comes with this update.
Improved Sign-in Experience
A fresh new look has been applied to the Sage 300cloud web screen to improve the sign-in experience.
Additionally, if you’re prevented from signing in due to an issue, an informative message explaining what went wrong will be displayed.
Questions About 2022 Product Updates 1 And 2 For Sage 300 ERP And Sage 300cloud?
The 2022 Product Updates 1 and 2 brings various general improvements that enhances security and streamlines emailing in Sage 300.
In addition, it also brings a wide range of improvements specifically to the Sage 300cloud web screens, such as working with job-related documents and printing custom reports, to name a few.
If you’d like to know more about Sage 300, click on the image below to download the fact sheet for the ERP software.
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