What’s New Sybiz Vision 21.00 - 21.12

Important Information

21.00

Basic Authentication being deprecated for Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft have begun to move towards Multi-Factor Authentication for Office 365, deprecating the currently available Basic Authentication. Sybiz users are able to utilise this additional security within their solutions from version 20.10. Basic Authentication will continue to be available in Sybiz solutions until Microsoft disable it in the second half of 2021.

Deposits in Pay and Process

If you have been using Deposits prior to version 20.10 please be aware that the negative and positive nature of deposits has changed. If you have customised reports or transaction documents that are displaying deposit information, these will need adjusting.

Upgrades to Microsoft.NET Framework

Version 21.00 of Sybiz Vision utilises Microsoft.NET Framework version 4.6 and therefore some custom add-ons may require updating if you are upgrading from a version older than 19.00. Older operating systems may also be required to download .NET updates prior to installation of Sybiz 20+.

Operating system compatibility

Certain older operating systems (Microsoft Windows XP, some versions of Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Server 2003) and Microsoft SQL Server (2008/2008R2) are not compatible with Sybiz 21.00 - if uncertain consult your Authorised Business Partner prior to upgrading.

21.10

Changes to line note behaviour

When a line note is added into a new transaction, users will only be able to see the first 5 lines of the note and pixel scrolling will be disabled. This will not limit the amount of data users can enter into a line note. Once the transaction has been processed and can no longer be interacted with, all line note data will be viewable and scrollable. (CR210646353, CR201044676, CR200944521, CR191142632)

Date range reduction when adding documents to transactions

When adding documents to transactions, such as returns and credits, the default date range has been limited to 12 months, speeding up the loading process for users. Dates prior to 12 months can be located by inputting the date of the transaction. Sales, purchase and manufacture orders being turned into deliveries and invoices are not restricted by these dates. (CR210646292)

The Pay and Process screen has changed

Changes have been made to the user interface of Pay and Process. The terminology of the totals has now changed to read Rounding, Remaining and Change. The transaction date has also been included in the top left of the screen and the sales total has been moved to the top right of the screen. (CR210345773)

Stocktake and tracked item behaviour change

Serial and lot numbers being generated on the fly for items that have not yet been recorded display as negative stock. Now, stocktakes being started that include tracked items with serial numbers allocated in negative stock will display an error advising the negative items cannot be counted. A stock transfer will be required to resolve any negative items. 

Changes to grid editing

User interaction with grid editing in Product Maintenance has reverted to a previous behaviour. Editable grids are now only editable inline and the column order is fixed. (CR200844353)

Changes to Transaction Aging

The ‘Days from next month’ trading terms have changed such that a transaction due in the current month will be aged as current, until the day on which it is due has passed. A transaction due in a future month will show as ‘Future’ aging. Previously, situations could arise in which transactions due in the current month and in future months would all show as current, making it difficult to distinguish. Once transactions based on these trading terms become overdue they are aged on a monthly basis.

Behaviour change in Service Invoice Run Wizard

The default behaviour of printing has changed in the Service Invoice Run Wizard. Now, instead of choosing print or email, the system uses the ledger settings to determine the normal method for output. These output methods can be overridden from the wizard. For more information about this change, see the enhancement below. (CR180838741, CR210345587)

DevExpress upgrade

Version 21.10 of Sybiz Vision utilises DevExpress version 20.2.8.

Emailing en masse just got easier

More versatile emailing options now allow users to send bulk emails from a dedicated or group account as well as maintaining individual settings if needed for single transactions. When configured, bulk emails such as statement or periodic billing runs can be set up to use different mail systems, accounts and From and Reply-To addresses, enabling mass emails to process through intelligent spam detection or paid email options.

In addition to separate bulk email options, users are now able to set alternative From or Reply-To email address per transaction type on email templates (overriding standard and bulk email settings). This allows certain transactions and any subsequent replies to be sent/from to different teams or mailboxes where required, giving users greater control over their communications. (CR190741319 & CR201044779)

Responsive report security

Reporting in Sybiz Vision has become more responsive and secure. Each individual report template now has its own security settings, allowing users to see unique reporting information based on their role and permissions. Build specialised reports for departments or regions by tailoring who is able to access, edit, delete or create new reports, or specifying what roles are able to view certain layouts.

Existing report templates will need to have permissions customised for unique requirements, whilst new report permissions can be configured in role settings at the time of creation. (CR180738301 & CR180738303)

Transaction template security

The ability to add, edit or delete transaction templates and layouts are now able to be restricted to specific users via role permission settings giving businesses greater control over transaction modifications and updates. (CR190139821)

Sales in the palm of your hand

Stay focused on what matters with Sybiz’s first unique role-based mobile application, Vision Sales. Built from the ground up for iOS and Android devices, the first of a series of Sybiz mobile solutions delivers an intuitive sales interface connected to your Sybiz Vision database.

Tapping in to Sybiz Vision’s sales orders and quoting functionality, users can create, manage, process and drill down into transactions to deliver faster, more personalised customer service from their smart device. 

A whole new world with Web API

The possibilities with your Sybiz Vision solution have evolved in a major way with Web API functionality ready for our new mobile apps. Only a short time after it's initial release, the Web API has already been expanded to include new extensions, enhancing the capability for transactions and more. 

Web API is a framework that enables secure access to Sybiz Vision data and transaction processing engine via the HTTP standard, allowing you to connect your solution to additional devices such as tablets, mobile, point of sale machines and more. Get ready to achieve more with Sybiz Vision than you ever imagined possible.

Multi-Factor Authentication for Microsoft Office 365

Sybiz customers that use Microsoft Office 365 as their Email Type in Sybiz Vision can now utilise the added security of Multi-Factor Authentication. 

Multi-Factor Authentication can be enabled in Sybiz Vision by selecting File > Options > Email Options and then unticking the Login Required checkbox. Select the ellipses on the Server field and login using your Microsoft credentials as demonstrated in the short video below.

Please note that Multi-Factor Authentication will not accept personal Microsoft account credentials and users must have a corporate login.

21.10

Delete records en masse

A new Mass Delete Wizard gives users the ability to delete large amounts of data in Sybiz Vision quickly and easily. This is especially time-saving for managing changes to entire product lines and price scales.  Users simply export their chosen data, select items to delete and then import the modified data back in using the Mass Delete Wizard. Where records could not be deleted, the wizard provides a downloadable file for user review. Paired with existing import functionality, wholesale changes such as replacing Product Suppliers are a breeze. (CR170935352 & CR190942153)

Transaction corrections just got easier

Users now have the ability to correct both the aging date and delivery methods for transactions after they have been processed, making quick fixes simple. (CR190741653, CR201044746)

Saved state settings on grid column auto-filter

Changes made to grids using the individual column auto-filter, now save to the users state and will be applied each time the grid is used, until changed. (CR180437239)

Save filter options on grids

Users now have an option on standard grids to save filter options on a grid by grid basis. When this new option is turned on, any filters applied across the software will be saved to the users state for that grid. The default option is set to off, however users can activate this on each grid by right-clicking on the header row and selecting Turn Save Filters On. (CR210646309, CR210646258) 

Total amounts for multiple lines and groups on grids

Different total amounts are now shown in the footer area of Enquiry grid screens when individual, multiple and grouped lines are selected, making it a simple process to see totals at a glance. For example, if no lines are selected, the total amount will show, however when multiple lines or grouped lines are selected by holding down the CTRL button and clicking each line or group, the total amount will show for all lines selected.  (CR201245073)

Total Adjustment functionality on Purchase Invoices

Purchase invoices now function in a similar manner to Sales invoices where users are able to adjust the total cost across an invoice. When Update Lines > Total Adjustment is used, a negative landed cost is applied and a GL discount line is automatically added to offset the total price. (CR200643743)

Create Purchase Invoices directly from approved Purchase Requisitions

Purchase invoices can now be created directly from approved Purchase requisitions simply by right-clicking on the approved purchase order line in the Purchase Requisition Management grid and selecting Create Purchase Invoice. (CR210646364)

New Custom Web Queries

An extension has been made to Sybiz Vision's Web API, allowing new custom web queries to be added from directly within the software. This extension will allow third-party developers to securely allocate specific user permissions to run certain queries, preventing unauthorised access. (CR210646380)

21.00

New interactive custom field types

Three new responsive custom field types are now available: Email, File and URL. Each field is interactive, meaning you can create a new email to a customer or supplier, navigate to a file on your network or link to an external URL with a simple click.

Appearance types on custom fields

The visibility of custom fields can now be adjusted on a per field basis. Custom fields can be made visible (and editable), read-only (cannot be edited but are visible), or hidden (not visible or editable). Hidden fields can be useful for tracking data behind the scenes, whereas read-only fields are great for capturing data updated through importing or workflow breakpoints. (CR190942077)

New Suggest button on Purchase Orders

Now, when ordering from a specific supplier, it's a simple process to work out what else you might need to order from them. The new Suggest button on the Purchase Order transaction screen provides fast access to the Suggested Purchase Orders functionality for the relevant supplier. Users can then make the most of their orders by topping up to the minimum value, topping up to the free in store value, reviewing priority sales orders, or grouping the data and choosing based on what items Sybiz Vision suggests. (CR201044770)

Greater insight into Suggested Purchase Orders with Sales Quote Quantities

The Suggested Purchase Orders function now shows additional columns showing outstanding sales quotes in the system to help users determine how much stock they may need to order. Approved, Pending and Total quote quantities are now displayed, giving you greater insight into your order requirements. (CR191242884)

Performance Improvements to Suggest Purchase Orders

Significant speed and performance improvements have been made to the Suggested Purchase Orders and Top Up Supplier functions, enabling thousands of records to be loaded in seconds. 

Consistent behaviour for transactions created from Sales Quotes

Sales transactions created from Sales Quotes now use the same behaviour as head-office/branch-office transactions, making these actions more harmonious. (CR191142676)

Enhancements to multiple delivery processing

Additional validations have been added to Deliveries when Sales Picks are used to reduce errors when processing multiple deliveries on fully picked orders. (CR200543678)

Report contact information for deliveries

Contact details of couriers or other delivery intermediaries (phone, email, and website) can now be included as part of a Delivery Method, making it easier to arrange and track these services. (CR191242822)

Create credits from returns

Users now have the ability to create a credit from a return of inventory products for sale and purchase transactions, streamlining the returns process further in Sybiz Vision. Re-stocking and freight charges on returns can be easily added into the same transaction on a new line. (CR191242853)

More precision with Stocktakes

The default product Unit of Measure (UoM) is now displayed within the Stocktake grid and Stocktake report, giving users greater certainty that the quantities they are counting and entering are accurate. (CR200744091)

Filter products within a Bin

Users can now filter products that exist within a Bin when creating a stocktake, to give a better understanding of stocktake requirements. When performing the stocktake, this does not count stock only within that bin but rather filters the products for easier selection. (CR191042491)

Time allocation for CRM tasks

Allocate specific due and follow up times for tasks, leads and opportunities created in CRM. Sort activities by Due On date and time in the Activities grid to quickly see when your tasks are due each day. In addition, times for Created On, Started On and Modified On fields will all now show time elements in the grids. (CR200142950)

Connecting to customers

Users are now able to select contact details from an existing customer record within Leads, Opportunities, Service Items and Service Requests, connecting sales and service to customers seamlessly. (CR190340421)

Multi-tasking capability for editing multiple records, transactions and ledgers

Users can now open and edit multiple records and transactions simultaneously, affording greater capability for multi-tasking. Sybiz Vision users are no longer required to close a record or transaction being edited in order to edit another.  

This functionality is not limited across ledgers. A user can, for example, be in the middle of creating a sales transaction, then open a customer case file for editing without the need to first close the previous screen. (CR201144869)

Receive and process Deposits with ease

Deposits in Pay and Process are now received, edited and refunded from a dedicated option in the ribbon bar, allowing users to more quickly and clearly manage deposits in transactions.

If you are already using Deposits, please ensure you read the important information at the top of this page.

Controlled data exports

The standard grid export function is now connected to the new standard report security rights, meaning users need to have specific permissions granted to export and print data such as Customer or Supplier lists. (CR190941988)

Generate standard reports from custom grids

Users can now generate standard reports from custom grids, such as Customer, in the same way as they can from standard grids. Simply right-click to print or preview. (CR190440592)

Improvements to Sales and Purchase Management grids

Transaction custom fields are now available within Sales and Purchase Management grids, enabling users to customise their sales and purchase processes further. (CR191042486)

Improved Service Enquiries

Meter Readings in Service Item Enquiries now includes data from Meter Billing runs, making reviewing these readings a simpler process. (CR180938852)

Enhanced clarity for Job Cost offsets

Users are now able to see more detail, such as the Job Stage and Cost Centre assigned to a Job Cost, when offsetting costs via Job Journals, allowing greater ability to determine the best costs to offset against. (CR171236177)

Custom descriptions for Meter Servicing

Meter servicing now allows for a custom description for service requests to better describe the individual requirements of each service item, especially in cases where the same generic description is used across multiple products. (CR190240072)

Aged Balance listing and Statement Report Improvements

Changes have been made to improve the Aged Balance listing and Statement Reports for Debtors and Creditors, including adjustments to invoice appearance in Future columns and foreign currency exchange adjustments for transactions. (CR200443545, CR191142706)

Reprint multiple transaction documents with different templates

When reprinting multiple transaction documents of the same type, users are now able to select which template they want to use for the transactions. (CR190841736)

Exclusive calculations on tax

Withholding and Voluntary Tax are now calculated using exclusive figures in the Cashbook, making these tax calculations on purchase invoices for suppliers more accurate. (CR170834970)

Improved descriptions for new financial years

Improvements have been made to new financial year descriptions for consistency and clarity in new and existing companies. (CR200443547)

Improved font size responsiveness

Sybiz Vision now responds more efficiently to increased font sizes, making viewing your data clearer on different screen resolutions and devices.

21.05

Making Tax Digital (MTD) Fraud Prevention Headers extension

Introduced in version 21.05, new required information (product name, timestamp, IP address and others) can now be sent as part of the MTD message header in Sybiz Vision, improving security and keeping your Sybiz solution compliant with this important legislation for our UK customers.

21.10

More flexibility with how you use Sybiz Vision

Non-modal screens have been extended across the software, allowing multiple windows to be open at once while still interacting with other areas of the software, including editing and viewing. Certain functionality such as Lookups and Company Options remain modal, meaning you must close them before navigating elsewhere in the software. (CR210646425)

New additions to default options in Vision Search

Stock takes and stock transfers are now available in Vision Search as a default option, making these items more easily searchable from within the software. (CR200243056)

Add new delivery addresses on the fly

Users now have the option to add new delivery addresses to sales transactions during processing. With a simple right-click, a once-off delivery address can be added against the transaction without affecting the permanent customer record. (CR210345780)

Access customer and supplier special prices from Product Enquiry screens

Customer and Supplier special prices can now be seen directly from the product enquiry screen, speeding up the process when evaluating special prices for products. New Customer Prices and Supplier Prices menu options are available from the left side menu under the heading General. (CR200343388, CR160730649)

Improvements to Customer Enquiry screens

Outstanding transaction grids in Customer Enquiry screens now support multi-select, where multiple lines can be selected at once by pressing CTRL on your keyboard and clicking each relevant line. Total and outstanding amounts displayed will also adjust depending on the selected lines. Simply right-click and all selected transactions can be previewed or emailed straight to the customer from Sybiz Vision. (CR200744210, CR200243097)

Significant speed improvements for serial numbers

The speed when adding serial numbers for tracked products during transactions has been significantly improved and users will see speeds jump by up to 100x. (CR161031630)

Custom grid enhancements

Custom grids can now be combined into customised groups in the ribbon bar, giving users cleaner and logical dropdown and sub-menu lists. In addition to this, the number of allowed object types available in custom grids has been expanded. (CR210245556, CR210245430)

Service Action screen improvements

The Service Action screen now has a Location field on the header menu, matching other transaction screens. When used, this will auto-populate the line location field when products (IC lines) are added. This functionality has also been extended to the Job Cost screen. (CR200844368)

Meter Billing screen extensions

There is now an extra column (Customer) in the Meter Billing screen to make it easier for users to choose which account is preferable to invoice in different scenarios, Customer or Invoice Customer. (CR210345709)

New Meter Reading Enquiry

Users now have access to a new Meter Reading Enquiry screen (General > Reading History) that presents a list of all processed meter readings, whether processed by billing or reading. (CR180938852)

Service Invoice Run improvements

The Service Invoice Run Wizard now includes more options for Analysis Codes and provides an option to use the Customer Analysis Code so that total sales per customer can be analysed using this process.

Users now also have the option to override invoice output from within the Service Invoice Run Wizard. Customer invoices will still use the default ledger option for that customer (i.e. email or print), however end users will be able to modify this option during the service invoice run process. (CR180838741, CR210345587)

Descriptive information on exported Charts

Now when charts are exported, descriptive information is included by default, such as the company name, to better identify the data that has been exported. This option can be turned on or off and does not affect the information in the live window or save to the software. (CR180136325)

Default override option for Pay and Process

There is now a default override option for Pay and Process located in Device Settings. This new option lets users nominate their own preferred payment process method for the device without affecting any other devices. This is especially useful for front line and back office staff who may routinely take different payment types. (CR210445971)

Additional flexibility to change what payment options are presented to the end user can be achieved by using the breakpoints module. (CR210746575)

Better control over contract and special pricing for Head and Branch Offices

There is now a checkbox option available to use contract and special prices for Branch customers. Users can now turn this option on or off for each Head Office for more customised preferences. (CR191142607)

New Product Location ID

Users now have greater flexibility to modify information before re-importing data with an additional unique product identifier. A new column has been included as part of the import process which, if used, will act as one of the two required product identifiers. For example, this will make it much easier to change a supplier for a set of products en masse.

Touch Mode is no longer in BETA

Touch Mode in Sybiz Vision is no longer BETA stage. Enabling Sybiz Vision for touch screens has never been easier!