Agresso 5.5.3 Enhancements
The Agresso project team have convened focus groups for certain areas of functionality to review processes. These groups have identified key areas in which we can make improvements. Over the past few months we have been working our way through these requirements and details of the first release of these improvements are listed below. Further releases are planned for October and January.
Following this initial phase we are looking for focus group members to help review Expenses, Sales Orders & Income, Projects & Research, and Reporting which will be the focus of development released after January. If you would like to be involved or have any comments please get in contact through email.
Enhancements to be released 3rd September
Purchasing
Printing Purchase Orders
Purchase orders are currently printed and posted to suppliers. This relied on users waiting for requisitions to convert to purchase orders to be able to print them. There are also the costs associated with printing and postage.
- Seven suppliers have now been set up on a pilot basis to be able to receive purchase orders automatically by email when the requisition has been approved through workflow. The requistioner will receive an email confirmation giving the purchase order details and number.
The suppliers included in this pilot are:
ARCO
Kall Kwik
Bunzl Cleaning Supplier
Ralph Allen Press
D & G Office Interiors
Bridgend Office Furniture
SDL Group
Additional Marketplace Suppliers
- A number of new suppliers are being added to marketplace over the next few weeks:
Blackwell’s went live on 20th August
Office Water Coolers is due for release on 3rd September
Brakes is due for release on 10th September
RS Components is due for release by the end of September
Once the switch over has been made, all orders to these suppliers will need to be made through the marketplace. All users who have ordered goods in the last 18 months through these suppliers have already been contacted about these changes. Further suppliers will be added on a progressive basis.
Items usually coded as Estates Products
- On the requisition entry screen if you order a product identified as an Estates product the account code defaults to 4607 and you are asked to complete a work order number instead of a project. To continue you need an account number to replace 4607.
> There is now field help created to provide you with alternative account numbers. A more detailed guide 
is available should you need it.
Ordering Zero VAT rated items from a supplier who can charge VAT
- When ordering food items or books from suppliers who can charge VAT, requisitions were created with VAT on all items overstating your commitment.
> We have now coded these products so that they pick up the correct VAT treatment.
New projects with non-standard VAT recovery
- When a new project is created any non-standard VAT recovery codes should be updated for use in the requisition entry screen. This could be significantly delayed.
> A new report has been created for the VAT accountant to identify those codes not yet updated to ensure the correct VAT treatment is applied.
Missing Goods Received Notification
- Invoice payments were being delayed due to goods receiving not being completed in a timely fashion.
> All users with missing goods receiving tasks (MGRN) receive a reminder after 7 days. The Payments Office is also notified.
Internal Orders
Estates Charges
- When Estates charge you for work it is for a single amount. In order to get further detail you needed to raise a query with Estates.
> There is now a report available providing you with a detailed breakdown. A more detailed guide is available.
PI Desktop
Research Project Budget Summary
- Users had asked for a single summary view of Research Project budgets
> This is now available in the Research Desktop in the same reports folder as the PI desktop. It is visible in Self Service and Smart Client. The available budget only includes those areas which are controlled by the PI (i.e excludes income, overheads etc.). There is a link beside each project to a report of all transactions so that a detailed view is readily available.
General Ledger
bif Error Report
- The standard error report produced when a journal is entered using a bif does not identify the error.
> A new report has been created to replace the error report which identifies the error.
Category Fields
- There has been some confusion regarding what values are recorded in the cat1 to cat7 fields in the General Ledger.
> A new report has been created which lists all available information types.
> There is also now a report to show all account codes and descriptions. Further details about both of these reports are available in a guide .
Internal Traders
Central Stores Dispatch Notes and Picking Lists
- Central Stores dispatch notes and picking lists had insufficient delivery information.
> New documents have been created to improve efficiency.
Future Priorities
The next set of items that we are working on for the releases in October and January will include:
- Updates to the way commitments function within Agresso. This will include providing accurate commitments with no time delay. Reports will also need to be reviewed and updated to reflect these changes.
- Creating bif’s that will pass through workflow.
- Improvements to the Estates recharge report considering accrual transactions, uncharged transactions and additional filtering.