Feedback

[jrbanks]

In versions 6.x and 7.05 we were able to enter non-inventory items into the pricesheets and contract pricing.  For the non-inventory items we selected a default warehouse when we set each item up.  Then with a small change in the pricing stored procedure we were able to have pricesheet and contract pricing for non-inventory items.  We have to have that for our business.  I'm shocked that Sage hasn't thought to allow this as a feature.  Now in 7.4 I can no longer enter a non-inventory item in price sheets or contract pricing.  The easy solution to not having a warehouse was to look up the default warehouse set up with the item and use that whsekey.  Below is the change to spimIMSItemGetItemPrice that makes this work.  Now we are stuck and will not be upgrading to 7.4 because Sage broke the pricing by not allowing us to enter non-inventory items.   This capability is extremely important.  We have many non-inventory charges that are specific to a customer such as fuel surcharge, unloader, etc.  I went in behind the scenes and entered a non-inventory item directly into the tables and this still works.  Now we are looking at either having a source code level change to 7.4 or going to a competing product that allows more pricing flexibility than MAS500.   This small change by Sage would make life much easier for the MAS500 community.  This should be a feature that is implemented by Sage and not something Sage is trying to stop.   We are trying to avoid having to have source code changes to the UI as these get in the way of applying upgrades and service packs. 

/* IF Warehouse Key is passed in as 0 (zero), then check for a defualt whse key in item file. */

IF (@_iWhseKey = 0)

BEGIN

/* SELECT @_iWhseKey = NULL Sage Code Commented out by Jim Banks */

/* Get default warehouse key for item to pass in so Non-Inventory item pricing works */

SELECT @_iWhseKey = DfltWhseKey

FROM timItem WITH (NOLOCK) 

WHERE ItemKey = @_iItemKey

END

/*I am aware that this could be improved on to set the @_iWhsekey to null if no DfltWhseKey exists, but I didn't need that so I didn't add code for that.*/

[MCarlise]

MAS 500 has never supported pricing for non-inventory items, which is why you had to make your modification. There was a defect in version 6.30 (if not before) and reported to Sage from a customer using version 7.0. At the time it was deemed a medium issue and scheduled to be corrected in the next version, since the actual pricing of the non-inventory item was correct (Standard Item Price) in Sales Order Entry. The fix was released with version 7.30

We do understand your frustration and have been reviewing the enhancement request. I do see that it is on the Ideas site (if initials mean anything, it could have been you that entered it). Since we cannot put every enhancement in the next product version due to resources (as much as we would like to) we review the enhancements and work with Product Management, Support, the forums and contact customers directly to select the enhancements that will help the most customers.

I would recommend anyone who finds this enhancement important to log onto the Ideas site and vote and write comments for this idea.

https://www11.v1ideas.com/SageERP/MAS500/Idea/Detail/2456

Thank you,

[jrbanks]

What  you are calling a "defect" was a few lines of code away from being perfect.  We have been using contract pricing and pricebooks for non-inventory pricing from the beginning.  This has been tested and working since 2003.  It's crazy that this is just on the ideas list.  Now we have to pay a third party to undo the fix of the supposed "defect" so we can enter non-inventory items.  The real defect was not supporting non-inventory items in pricing in the first place.  It was a easy fix.  The only limitation was we could only have one warehouse per non-inventory item.  That was good enough as we only use one warehouse per location.   We have a couple exceptions where we just created a different non-inventory item for that warehouse for the same non-inventory charge.   So again, you made MAS500 useless for us without paying to fix the new bug you put in the software.   I've complained about non-inventory item pricing since 2003.   Nothing important ever gets done with Sage.  It seems the product gets worse and not better. 

[lscade]

Jim - What we often find in software development is that one man's defect is another man's unintended feature. In this case, an oversight in the original design allowed you to use an unintended feature to your advantage. Other users reported the oversight as a "defect" and requested we address it as such. Apparently, there are valid business use cases on both sides of the discussion. Obviously, it is never our intention to remove functionality that customers like yourself require to run their business, nor to cause you to incur additional expense to continue to do so. We make every effort to ensure the best quality and usability possible for the majority of our customer base.

As product manager for Sage ERP MAS 500 I find myself in the position of needing to gauge the demand for contract pricing and pricebooks for non-inventory items. Obviously it is important to you. If in fact we find that there is a sizable demand for this from others like yourself, we will prioritize your request appropriately.

Linda Cade - Product Manager, Sage ERP MAS 500

[jrbanks]

Linda,

If you survey MAS500 users you will find that most of them would like this functionality.  I have talked to a number of MAS500 resellers and developers who have had to work around the system with non-inventory items.   We also see that the ability to put a negative qty on non-inventory items in SO has been added.  Thats a good thing.  We have been having to add our pallet and bag returns in the AR invoicing process in 7.05.  Having negative qty on non-inventory items is great in SO, but without non-inventory item pricing our users would have to remember each customer's pallet or fuel surcharge.   That's not a good thing.   Having non-inventory pricing and negative qty in SO turns SO into a customer service dream.    Billing errors and confusion can be eliminated as well as many man hours of admin work.  Again, please don't be defensive.  Non-inventory pricing is a requirement for every business to some degree.  

You will find that many MAS500 users have simply created dummy inventory items to work around the non-inventory item pricing issue.  That's not the correct way to handle it.  We'd like to avoid dummy inventory transactions if possible.   Certainly, from a database and accounting perspective the logic should be evident.