Project Name

Quote Manager Application – (QMA)

Industry

Manufacturing (Glass and Aluminium)

Requirements Overview

  • Sage ERP Accpac 5.6 Custom Module to process job estimates raised in the “V6” estimating application through the quoting lifecycle.
  • Integration into Accpac’s Project and Job Costing, Purchase Order and Inventory Control modules.
  • Softtech’s “V6” Estimate Integration (using XML).
  • Sage ERP Accpac 5.6 Integration (Project Job Costing, Purchase Orders and Inventory Control modules).
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database.
  • 64-Bit Server Environment.
  • Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0+.
  • Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista – 32 Bit Workstation Environment.
  • Microsoft Terminal Server.

Challenges

This project required a quote management application within the Sage ERP Accpac 5.6 environment that would enable the user full control and flexibility of processing job estimates raised in the “V6” estimating application, through the quoting lifecycle and into Accpac’s Project and Job Costing, Purchase Order and Inventory Control modules.

The Quote, Customer Quote and Job forms within the Quote Management (QMA) Application required the ability to allow user modifications at detail and multiple summary data levels. This included the ability to handle multiple job phases attached to the QM Quote’s based on phase statuses. Quote and Job forms additionally required visual indication of user modifications.

The Quote Management Application also required flexibility in allowing the user to choose whether they were creating a new quote, updating an existing quote or an existing job – including the handling of estimate revisions from the “V6” estimate application.

Solution

To accommodate the flexibility required to manage and preview the data, we chose to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (C#) and the Sage ERP Accpac Advantage API (the .NET libraries used to integrate with Accpac’s business object layer).

The Quote Manager application “Quote” screen and “Job” screen provides access to both the Quote/Job detail level as well as summarised levels. Access to summarised levels was provided via record drill-down and drill-up icons. User modifications to data at lower levels required data at high levels to be re-summarised. This allowed the user the flexibility of changing data such as quantities, item pricing at the Quote/Job detail and summarised levels.

Different coloured cell highlighting is used to indicate various changes/flags to the data – such as missing values or discrepancies between what was estimated from “V6” and what is in QMA.

The Quote Manager application “Main” screen allows the user to direct the imported “V6” estimate application estimate or revised estimate data to a new quote, an existing quote or an existing job by allowing the user to manually define or select via record finders the QMA Quote or QMA Job and specifying the job phase that the data relates to.

Results

The benefits provided to the client:

  • An application that integrates with the organisations current/future business models.
  • A secure application that integrates their Sage ERP Accpac application seamlessly with their existing “V6” estimate application.
  • An application that offers the user full lifecycle control of the quote management process from importing “V6” estimating application data through to Sage ERP Accpac 5.6A Project Job Costing, Purchase Order and Inventory Control modules.
  • An application that allows automated updates to existing QMA quotes, QMA customer quotes or QMA jobs from the “V6” estimate application including estimate revisions.
  • An application that allows user flexibility in the handling of multiple phases of a Quote.