Purpose
This routine is used to create and maintain user details and their access profile to the system. A valid user is required to allow each of your users to log in to the Online Advantage system. This function can be used to create or change existing users used in both the B2B e-Commerce application and internal users who access the B2U back office business application.
Data Input
Step 1 – User Code
User Code
Enter a new, unique User Code, that does not already exist on the system for creating new users. You may select an existing user code for editing their profile. This is the code that is entered when logging in to the system to identify which operator has logged on. It is highly recommended that you allocate individual user codes to each member of your team. This is particularly important because the system performs an audit of activities on transactions and master-file changes based on user. If you share users between individuals you will not be able to accurately determine which person was responsible for the activities reported by the system. You can have as many users created on the system as you want. Online Advantage does not charge any fees based on the number of users created on a system so there is no need to share users based on that.
It is recommended that the user code itself should be memorable in some way to each user. However it should be noted that users can also login using their email address, if it is uniquely recorded against their user.
For details on the use of “codes”, see The Role of “Codes” in Online Advantage
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Step 2 – Name
User Name
Enter the name of the user. This name is displayed on all menus and reports. In particular the name is shown on audit trails and activity logs held in the system.
No Password Change Allowed
Select this option if the user is never allowed to change their password. Whilst not recommended, this does allow you to create users whose password never changes.
No. of days to Change Password
If your security policy states that users must change their password every “X” number of days, then you can enter the number of days here e.g. if you enter 60, the user will be prompted to change their password every 60 days. Note that this setting is a user specific override. If you leave this prompt blank then the default ‘number of days to change password’ setting from the Passwords function will be used for the user. It is recommended that you leave this prompt empty and have most of your users picking up the system default setting.
Note: When a password expires the user is force to change their password at login and they may be forced to use a new password previously unrecorded on the system based on the system settings in the Passwords function.
Date Password Last Changed
This displays the date when this user’s password was last changed. This is used in conjunction with the ‘No. of days to Change Password’ settings to determine the date to next force the user to change password.
Email Address
Enter the email address of the user. It is very important to have each user set up with their individual company email address. Without it recorded against the user some email based functions will be disabled.
The email address will be used in several ways within Online Advantage:
- this will be the ‘from’ email address if a user emails a report. If left blank, users will not be able to email reports from within Online Advantage
- if a user has forgotten their password, this will be the email address that the ‘forgotten password reminder’ on the log in page sends the details to
- if you are running Statements at End of Month, and the statements are emailed, then the ‘from’ email address your customer sees and replies too will be based on the user you select to run the EOD/EOM under. We recommend using a generic ‘accounts@domain.com.au’ style address where possible in this situation so replies are not going to a specific user
- you can use the email address entered here instead of the assigned user code when logging in to the system. This also applies to B2B e-Commerce users and is very useful for e-Commerce style users as they are more occasional users of the system and so more likely to forget their user code.
Direct Phone Number
Enter the direct phone number of the user, this will flow thru onto faxes and/or emails where appropriate with an appropriate 3rd party faxing facility. Also useful for internal phone number lookup.
Direct Fax Number
Enter the direct fax number of the user, this will flow thru onto faxes and/or emails where appropriate with an appropriate 3rd party faxing facility.
Disabled
Select whether you wish to disable this user or not. Once disabled, the user will not be able to log in to the system. It can be worthwhile disabling a user rather than deleting them to retain the history of their activity and audit details held against transactions in the system. Many customers also use this disabled flag to set up “template” users that they then use to copy when creating new users.
Another use for the disabled flag is to setup a “general” price override user that is on the list for allowing prices below margin or cost during Sales Order Entry. Whilst it is always better to use individual users for this, if you have significant user turnover in your sales area and would prefer to use a more general user for price/margin permissions then you can do so, but still have that user disabled so no login is allowed.
Application Mode
Choose the application mode this user is authorised to access. It allows you to control what application modes within the Online Advantage suite of systems this user can login too. The options currently available are:
- ‘Any’ – this user may log into any of the Online Advantage applications
- B2B – this user may only log in to the Business to Business e-commerce portal (assuming you have signed up for this mode)
- B2R – this user may only log in to the Remote Rep CRM portal (assuming you have signed up for this mode)
- B2C – this user is for the Business to Consumer “Retail” e-commerce portal (assuming you have signed up for this mode)
When you set the application mode to something other than ‘Any’, the remaining user settings in this User Details function which are not relevant for the e-Commerce application user are hidden. This setting is also used in reporting to distinguish the ‘B2B’ e-commerce users from the internal ‘B2U’ application users.
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Step 3 – Change Password
This is the users password that will be requested after entry of the user code when logging on to the system. This password prevents other users entering the system under someone else’s user code.
New Password
Enter the new password. The password must conform to the password validation rules set up by the system administrator in the system settings using the Passwords function.
Confirm Password
Reconfirm the password by typing the same password again to ensure you have typed it in correctly since you’re unable to see the characters on the screen.
Remove Password
Select the option to remove a password from a user. This will effectively disable the user since the system no longer allows entry without a password.
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Step 4 – User Defaults
This section covers the entry of default settings for this user’s profile that will often be used during transactions entry to make data input more efficient. The defaults here are for specific frequently used data entry inputs within Online Advantage.
Default Customer
Enter the default customer code for this user. This customer code is defaulted into Sales order Entry when creating a new sales order. This is of most use where Sales Orders are being used for cash sales and the customer code represents a generic ‘cash sale’ account for most of the transactions.
Default Branch
Enter the default branch code for this user. The user can change/select another branch, but if they use a particular branch more often than most this is a useful default. Particularly useful when performing a GL posting.
Default Division
Enter the default division code for this user. Works the same as the default Branch above.
Default Bank
Enter the default bank code for this user. The bank code entered here defaults for Cash Receipts and Bank Reconciliation.
Default Location
Enter the default location code for this user. The location entered here becomes the default for any manual stock transactions, and as the issue location in Sales Order Entry. It also becomes the default Stock Location when the user performs any Stock enquiries in the system.
Rep Code
Enter the default rep code for this user. The rep code entered here becomes the default for Rep Displays, and the creation of new Sales Orders if the customer is not associated with a rep code already.
Buyer
Enter the default buyer code for this user. The buyer entered here is used as the default buyer when creating new purchase orders.
Default Price List
Enter the default price list for this user. The price list entered here is defaulted wherever price lists are entered in Online Advantage. For example, in price maintenance or manufacturing specification entry.
Document Prefix
Enter the document prefix to be used for transactions created by this user. The Document Prefix prompt allows for the entry of a character that can be used as a prefix to all system generated document numbers. As an example, the letter “L” can be entered in as the document prefix on all the “London” branch users. Thus all the documents they created would be prefixed by the letter “L”. This covers invoice numbers, statements, orders, quotes etc. For more details see Document Prefix.
No. of Labels in Order Entry
Enter the default number of labels to be used during Sales Order entry. This is to establish a default number of despatch labels to be printed during order creation for this user. This is only for those companies who print delivery labels at the order entry time. You would need to know how many labels are needed for the docket in question ahead of picking the order. If you know this, or can predict it, then the “expected” number of labels to be printed can be entered here to allow a default at this prompt. It should be noted that the actual number of labels to be printed can be overridden on an order by order basis.
Note: If you plan to print delivery labels once an order is picked/packed and ready for despatch then you should leave this prompt blank and let the number of labels required be entered by users later in the despatch process.
Default Note Category
Choose a Default Note Category for the user. This is used by the CRM application, where a Sales Rep can log in to the portal during or after a site visit to record a customer note about their visit. Having the Default Note Category saves the user from having to select the category which can save time. especially if the user entering the details a their smart phone or tablet whilst “on the run” to their next meeting.
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Step 5 – e-Commerce Options
Override Start Index
Optionally enter a starting e-commerce Catalogue ‘Index’ if required. When one exists for a User, on login to an e-Commerce portal (e.g. B2B or CRM) the User will have their product catalogue start at this index. If not present on the User the index recorded on the Customer will be the starting point. If there is no setting on the User or the Customer the top level ‘root’ index of the catalogue will be used by default.
Draft Orders Only
Use this setting to determine the type of order an e-Commerce user has the ability to create. If your B2B customer would like to control which of their staff can place sales orders via your e-Commerce portal, you can use the ‘Draft Orders Only’ setting to ensure a given user cannot make online purchases. This setting is e-Commerce specific and has no effect in rest of the Online Advantage system.
Punch-out Operation
If this user is for e-Commerce use and the user is accessing your B2B portal from their e-procurement system you can set the punch-out format to be used here.
Default Note Category
Choose a Default Note Category for the user. This is used by the CRM application, where a Sales Rep can log in to the portal during or after a site visit to record a customer note about their visit. Having the Default Note Category saves the user from having to select the category which can save time. especially if the user entering the details a their smart phone or tablet whilst “on the run” to their next meeting.
Primary e-Commerce Customer
Enter the primary e-commerce customer to associate with this user. If this user is created for login to the B2B e-Commerce application, then enter the customer account this user is associated with. This is the primary account, so when the user logs in to e-commerce, they will see account details for this account. This effectively locks that user into that customer account. Any information they see will only relate to that customer. The B2B system will assume any transactions they perform are for this primary customer unless the user has “Additional e-Commerce Customers” allocated.
If the user maintains e-commerce details for multiple accounts, you enter additional accounts at the next prompt. That way you don’t need to set up one user per customer account.
Additional e-Commerce Customer
Enter the additional e-commerce customer accounts you want this user to be able to interact with. There is no limit to the number of additional customers you can associate with a user. When this user logs in to the B2B e-Commerce system, they will be able to ‘toggle’ between the primary account and other accounts entered here via a drop down list of all the entries here. This allows them to view details and place orders across a number of customers within the one B2B portal session without having to log off and then login as a different user.
The additional users are entered in the form of a list. Choose the Customer you want and click Add to add the customer to the list.
Click the delete icon in the grid to delete the customer from the list.
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Step 6 – OA Options
Select the required settings for the user. This will affect what is shown and what functions user’s have access to on Online Advantage screens.
| Option | Behaviour |
| Stock Enquiry – Costs | Ticked: User sees cost details for products in Inventory displays. User sees cost and GP figures in Sales Analysis summary. Un-ticked: User does not see cost details for products in Stock displays. User does not see cost and GP figures in Sales Analysis summary. |
| Stock Enquiry – Prices | Ticked: User sees pricing information for products in Inventory display Un-ticked: User does not see pricing details for products in Stock display |
| Stock Enquiry – show prices Exclusive of Tax (Default: Inclusive) | This ONLY applies if Stock Enquiry – Prices is ticked. Ticked: User sees prices for product exclusive of tax in Stock display Un-ticked: User sees prices for products inclusive of tax in Stock display |
| Display Credit Limits | Ticked: User sees credit limit and credit status wherever customer code is entered, including the Customer display Un-ticked: User does not see credit limit and credit status wherever customer code is entered, including the Customer display |
| Purchase New Order Options | Ticked: User given the option to build PO’s from replenishment details Un-ticked: User does not get a replenishment build option in PO entry |
| Allow Electronic Document Delivery Override | Ticked: User is allowed to override document delivery settings Un-ticked: User may not change electronic method of sending document |
| Option | Behaviour |
| Allow Purchase Order Build in Order Entry | Ticked: If out of stock items that are set to automatic replenishment via purchase order are entered into a sales order, the user will be given the option of creating purchase orders from within SOE Un-ticked: The user does not have the option of creating purchase orders via SOE |
| Payments Allowed in Sales Order Entry | Ticked: The user will see an extra step in SOE to enter deposits or full payments on orders. Note: This also switches off the ability to split orders by line item location entry. Un-ticked: The user will not have the option to enter payments against Sales Orders in SOE |
| Allow Invoice Ageing Date Entry | Ticked: The user will be able to enter an ‘Ageing Date’ on the order used to age the invoice based on selected terms Un-ticked: The user will not be able to enter an ‘Ageing Date’ to use on invoices for selected terms |
| Disallow Picking Dockets in Order Entry | Ticked: The user will not see the Print Picking Docket option in SOE Un-ticked: The user will have the Print Picking Docket option in SOE |
| Disallow Invoices in Order Entry | Ticked: The user will not see the Print Invoices option in SOE Un-ticked: The user will have the Print Invoices option in SOE |
| Fast input mode | Ticked: Fast input will be the default product input in SOE Un-ticked: Normal line item input will be the default product input in SOE |
| Quantity on hand All Locations | Ticked: The user will see the quantity ‘Available’ for each non-minor stock location in SOE if the ‘Quantity On Hand’ option is also ticked Un-ticked: The user will see the quantity ‘Available’ for the issuing stock location ONLY in SOE if the ‘Quantity On Hand’ option is also ticked |
| Credit Stopped Orders | Ticked: The user receives a warning message if the customer fails credit check after entering the customer code in SOE Un-ticked: The user does not see a message if the customer fails credit check after entering the customer code in SOE.Note: The order still goes to credit hold and the user can still release from credit at the end of SOE if they have access to credit releasing |
| Quantity On Hand | Ticked: User will see the quantity ‘Available’ for the product. Which details are shown is dependent on the ‘Quantity on hand All Locations’ option Un-ticked: User will not see the qty available for the product during SOE |
| New Order Options | Ticked: User is given options to Convert Quote, Commit Draft or create a new Sales Order from Replenishment data at the start of SOE Un-ticked: User is excluded from these options in SOE |
| Quantity Price Breaks | Ticked: User sees any quantity price break details for products in SOE Un-ticked: User does not see quantity price break details in SOE |
| Override Mandatory Customer Order Number | Ticked: The mandatory/optional behaviour for the customer order number will be the inverse of the system wide setting Un-ticked: The mandatory/optional behaviour for the customer order number will match the system wide setting |
| Disallow New Customer in Order Entry | Ticked: The ‘New Customer’ button in Sales Order Entry will not be available to this user. Un-ticked: The user will have access to and be able to create new customers during Sales Order Entry. |
| Disallow New Customer in Point Of Sale | Ticked: The ‘New Customer’ button in Point of Sale Entry (Special orders and Laybys) will not be available to this user. Un-ticked: The user will have access to and be able to create new customers during Point of Sale Entry. |
Step 7 – Advanced Options
Audit Procedures
The system has three levels of user auditing that can be set on a user by user basis. The available options are:
- Choose ‘Yes’ to create a log of procedures executed by this user
- Choose ‘No’ if a log of procedures is NOT to be recorded for this user
- Choose ‘Default’ for the logging of procedures to be determined by the system wide ‘Audit User Procedures’ setting in System Options.
Full System Access
Select the system access for this user. This setting has different results depending on whether you are logging in via Terminal Emulation or Browser.
For Browser:
If you have chosen ‘Direct’ or ‘Yes’ to full access, then the user will have access to the Process Scheduler, plus access to the Advanced step in the Report Designing tools, and will be able to Edit, Copy and Delete reports and download the Report Designer software.
For Terminal Emulation:
If you select ‘No’ then anyone logging in with this user code will be locked into the terminal emulation menus. This means that the user can only perform functions displayed on their specific menus. They will not be allowed access to the more powerful Terminal Control Language (TCL) level. The “Break-Key” is also disabled for any operators that are locked into menus.
Entering ‘Yes’ will allow the operator to access TCL by typing TCL at any menu. Choosing the ‘Direct TCL’ option forces the user to TCL directly on login. This is most often used by technical/support staff.
Debug Mode
Select this option to set the user to debug mode. This logs various technical audit data for the purposes of investigating any issues that may be occurring for a user and need investigation. It should not be left turned on indefinitely as it does require additional system resources.
Hide TE Functions
Select this option to hide the ‘Terminal Emulation’ functions from the user. This is for browser based systems with no LAN or VPN access and hence no ability to have secure ‘telnet’ access to the system. With this option checked, any ‘green screen’ style terminal emulator functions on the menu are hidden from the user. It is recommended this be set for most users.
Startup Procedure
Enter the startup procedure for the user if using ‘Terminal Emulation’. This is the startup procedure that will be executed first when logging in to the system. For browser based users this should always be set to ‘PY.BS’ in order for ‘Terminal Emulation’ to function correctly from the browser menu.
Terminal Definition
Enter the default terminal definition for this user. This defines the terminal emulation being used by the user (e.g. Host Access, Wintegrate, Accuterm, Console etc) so that the screen formats correctly. For browser user’s this should be ‘ACCUTUV’ as Accuterm is the only green screen option available for browser.
Use OA desktop Email
Select this option if you would like to use the OA message facility to send emails when you click on an email address. If not selected the default email utility for your PC is used e.g. Microsoft Outlook. When using the OA messages, the communication is recorded in the user’s outbox in OA.
Classificaton Code
Each user can be classified into one or more user classifications. The classifications can be used to set security access to procedures for a group of users, or to send internal messages to a particular group of users. Some examples of classifications might be Purchasing Users, Accounts Users, Sales Reps.
The classifications are entered in the form of a list. Select the classification code and click Add to add to the list.
Click the delete icon in the list to remove the classification code from the list.
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Step 8 – Access Option
Access Option
Select how System Access will be specified for this user. The access option determines how you want to create the user’s access profile. The available options are:
- Allow Access to All Procedures – select this option if you want to allow the user access to ‘ALL’ procedures/functions in the system. Recommended for System Administrators only
- Choose Custom Access Settings – this option requires that you define the access settings for the user
Step 9 – Access
There are a variety of access options available that can be set as follows depending on the type of user you are setting up.
System Access
This option is ONLY available when you have selected ‘Custom Access’ for the user. There are three sections available to use as follows:
Analyse Menus – you can use this facility to select a user’s access from the full menu structure starting at the Main Menu. It will provide you with the ability to view all menus items in a folder-like structure and allow you to enable or disable access to the menus and functions within all the levels across all the modules in the system. Click on the individual Menu folders to view the sub-menus within. As you move through the menus you can select/deselect those items you want to give access to, and also where available set ‘Read Only’ access for a given procedure for the user you are creating/editing. Once you have reviewed all the menus and selected the access you want to provide this user, click ‘Next’ and the system will populate the “Allowed Menus” and “Barred Procedures” functions with the results.
Allowed Menus – provides a list of the menus that the user has access too. This list can be pre-populated using the “Analyse Menus” function or manually created by selecting each menu code and clicking ‘Add’ to add to the list. Click the delete icon in the list to remove a menu from the list. If a menu does not appear on this list then the user will not see it as part of their available menu options when they login.
Barred Procedures – is a list of procedures (functions) that the user does NOT have access too. This is a way of explicitly preventing a user from seeing and accessing specific functions. This list can also be pre-populated using the “Analyse Menus” function or manually created by selecting each procedure code and clicking ‘Add’ to add to the list. Click the delete icon in the list to remove a procedure from the barred list. If a procedure appears on this list then the user will not see it as part of their available menu options when they login.
Additional Procedures Allowed
This is a list of additional procedures (functions) that the user is allowed access to. This is a way of explicitly allowing a user access to a specific functions, even though they might not have access to other functions within a module. There are times when you want a user to have access to a function even though they do not have access to the module/menu it belongs too. The ability to release orders from credit stop from Sales Order Entry is a good example of this type of function. This list is created by selecting each procedure code and clicking ‘Add’ to add to the list. Click the delete icon in the list to remove a procedure from the list.
Read Only Access
This is a list of procedures (functions) that the user has READ ONLY access too. This allows the user to have the function, and see the data/information contained within, but they are prevented from changing the data in any way. This list can be pre-populated using the “Analyse Menus” function or manually created by selecting each procedure code and clicking ‘Add’ to add to the list. Click the delete icon in the list to remove a procedure from the list.
Restricted Branches
This function allows you to create a list of branches that a user is restricted too. Particularly useful facility in a multi-branch operation as it can be used to prevent users performing transactions outside of their “areas of influence”. Once the branches are listed, the user will only be allowed access to items associated with the branches entered here e.g. customers, purchase orders, sales orders. stock etc. Look here for more details on branch restrictions.
Restricted Memo Categories
The system Memos (or Notes) can be categorised on creation and this facility allows you to nominate what Memo/Notes Categories this user can use. The user will only be allowed to see memos/notes within this restricted list throughout the system.
Enquiry Options to Appear First
Note: this relates to the ‘Terminal Emulation’ version only. If you require certain enquiry options to appear first in the list of options, enter the enquiry procedure code here, and the options to appear first.
Enquiry Options not Allowed
Note: this relates to the ‘Terminal Emulation’ version only. If you require certain enquiry options to be disallowed for the user, enter the enquiry procedure code here, and the options to disallow.
Point of Sale Access Levels
You can control the functions that are available within Point of Sale Transactions for the user by setting the Point of Sale Access Level here. The functions available for each Access Level are configured using the Point of Sale Settings function.
Step 10 – Printing Options
Batch Options Allowed
Note: this relates to the ‘Terminal Emulation’ version only. Select to allow batch option current time, individual or system administrators queue.
Default Printer Queue
Enter the default printer for this user. This printer will be the default choice when printing reports unless the system finds specific printers assigned for use via the Standard Special Form Queues function or specific Electronic Document Delivery (EDD) settings.
Scheduler Access
This defines the way this user can access items scheduled in the Process Scheduler.
- All – means a user cannot schedule End of Day procedures, but can see ‘All’ reports scheduled by themselves or other users
- End of day – means a user can schedule End of Day procedures and also see ‘All’ reports scheduled by themselves or other users
- None – means the user has ‘No’ access to the Process Scheduler
- Own – means a user cannot schedule End of Day procedures, and can only see the reports they have themselves scheduled in the Process Scheduler
For ‘Terminal Emulation’ spooler function access, ‘All’ or ‘End of Day’ means the user can view other user’s reports via the spooler routines. ‘Own’ means the user can only access their own report items via the print spooler functions.
No Network Printing
This option switches off the option to print to a network printer for this user. Refer to No Network Printing for full details. If you do not see this option here, then it may be that network printing has been switched off already at the system level via System Options.
Special Forms
Special Forms are print functions that have some specific function – like Invoice, Statements and Purchase Orders, as opposed to a general report. Sometimes these stationery documents have a dedicated printer with specific paper loaded like Cheques for example. You can define a specific print queue for special forms for the user here. This might not be required depending on the system wide special forms settings made via the Standard Special Form Queues function.
Note: When launching reports/printing, in order for the ‘default printer’ and ‘special forms’s to be allocated by the system, the ‘Using Electronic Document Delivery’ flag must be enabled in System Options.
Special Form Code
Choose the form the user will be printing to a specific printer from the list available.
Special Form Queue
Select the special form printer queue that should be used for this specific form.
Special Form Report Code
If this user needs to print forms in an alternate format, enter the report code for that alternate format here. This means that you can have user specific formats for such documents as Invoices etc. This allows you to change the formats used for groups of users i.e. a branch
Force Printing
By choosing this option, the document will print directly to the specified printer with no override print choices provided to the user. In other words, fully automatic. Saves time, but disables the ability to do anything differently.
Click Add to include the form and associated selections to the ‘special forms’ list. Click the delete icon in the grid to delete the form from the list.
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Step 11 – User Roles
User Roles are a way of organising users into specific business roles so that menus and functions can be presented to match the user’s role. The presence of any role entered here will cause the main menu to appear in the ‘desktop’ format when the user logs in.
User Roles are entered in the form of a list.
User Role
Select the role to place the user under and use the Add button to add it to the list.
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