Custom documents

Digitizing Your Business: A Guide to Creating Custom Documents

In today’s digital landscape, businesses need tools that adapt to their specific procedures rather than forcing the business to adapt to the software. Custom documents provide a powerful solution for digitizing everything from standard sales orders to internal HR forms.

What are Custom Documents?

Custom documents serve as versatile digital templates that capture and organize business data. Whether you need to manage sales orders, purchase orders, utility bills, or internal matters like sick leaves and project attendance, these documents allow you to digitize your unique business project procedures.

Getting Started: Authorization and Setup

To begin creating custom documents, you must have the right privileges and database access, typically reserved for administrative roles. Once authorized, you can create an unlimited list of custom documents tailored to your needs.

Defining the Header

The first step is defining the document’s “Header,” similar to what you would see on a standard sales order. Key settings include:

• Description: A clear name for the document (e.g., “Internal Project Info”).
• User Permissions: Selecting which users can edit or have “read-only” access.
• Location: Choosing where the document appears in your system, such as within a “Manufacturing” menu.
• Visual Recognition: You can assign specific icons and colors to help users quickly recognize different document types.

Customizing Your Fields and Tables

One of the most robust features of custom documents is the ability to add an unlimited number of tables and header fields. This ensures that no matter how complex your data is, there is a place for it.

Field Types

You can choose from a variety of field types to ensure correct data entry.

• Free Text & Multi-line Text: For notes and descriptions.
• Lists: Create dropdown menus for specific choices (e.g., “Shop-based” or “Internal”).
• Amounts: For financial or numerical data.
• Status Fields: To track the progress of a document.

Advanced Formatting

To maintain professional standards, the system allows for detailed formatting, including:

• Required Fields: Marking essential data (like a project description) as mandatory.
• Prefixes and Leading Zeros: Setting up specific document numbering formats.
• Default Values: You can set default values to automatically populate certain fields when a user opens a new document, which saves time and reduces manual entry errors.

Conclusion

Custom documents offer the flexibility required to manage a modern digital business. By defining specific headers, choosing recognizable icons, and customizing field types, you can create a streamlined workflow that fits your team’s exact requirements.

Layout Design and Table Structures

1. Advanced Header Customization and Grouping

To optimize the user interface, header fields should be organized into logical “Groups.” This allows for a clean separation between different data categories, such as “Invoice Details” (numbers and dates) and “Customer Details.”

Technical documentation leads should manually adjust column widths to match the data type requirements:

• Set description fields to approximately 300 pixels to ensure long strings are readable.
• Numeric fields, such as “Supplier ID” or “Amount,” should be assigned smaller, fixed widths to maximize screen real estate.

2. Setting Up Table Items

While the Header defines the record, “Table Items” allow for the capture of line-item data. This structure supports an unlimited number of tables per document.

Steps to configure “Table Items”:

1. Navigate to the “Table Items” configuration section.
2. Define the field category—specifically distinguishing between Products and Services, as this affects how the ERP handles the record downstream.
3. Add numeric fields for “Quantity” and “Price.”
4. Configure the Unit of Measure (UOM) field. This can be implemented as a “List” for strict control or “Free Text” if flexibility is required for unique items.

3. Automating Calculations with Formulas

Automated formulas eliminate manual entry errors by calculating values in real-time. The most common implementation is the “Amount” calculation.

Configuration steps for automated totals:

1. Access the field settings for the “Amount” column.
2. Input the formula: Price * Quantity.
3. Define the precision (e.g., 2 decimal places) and specify rounding rules.
4. Enable the Summarize function. This automatically aggregates all line-item amounts into a total sum displayed at the document header level.

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Advanced Logic, Scripts, and Integrations

1. Visual Cues with Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting provides immediate visual feedback to the user based on field values. This is implemented via standard if/then logic.

Example Logic Flow:

• Condition: if (Amount == 0)
• Action: Set background color to Gray.
• Purpose: Quickly identify lines with missing pricing or zero-value entries.

2. Extending Functionality with Blockly and Scripts

For complex business logic that standard formulas cannot handle, the system employs Blockly Scripts. These scripts “put the logic in the document” and can be triggered in two ways:

• Trigger Scripts (On Save): These run during the database transaction. A common use case is a script that automatically updates the final amount to 90% of the calculated value whenever a user saves the document. This ensures that the calculated data is locked and consistent.
• On-Demand Scripts: These allow for parameterized automation. For example, a “Screw Quantity” script can prompt a user for a specific parameter and then auto-generate the necessary items and quantities into the table based on that input.

3. External Data Integration and Webhooks

Custom Documents are designed to be the central destination for data from external systems.

• Webhooks and AppScripts: These enable the system to receive data from external machines or third-party software. The document serves as the landing site for these automated logs or entries.
• Read-Only Justification: Fields populated by Blockly scripts or external webhooks (such as “Amount” or “Sensor Data”) should be set to Read-Only. This prevents manual user interference, ensuring that the data remains a “single source of truth” as received from the external source.

4. Document Management and Connectivity

To manage large datasets, the system provides bulk actions including archiving, unarchiving, and deletion. Documents can also move through various states such as “Active,” “Rejected,” or “Completed.”

Connecting to Standard Modules: To integrate a Custom Document into the wider ERP workflow (e.g., linking a “Project Info” document to a standard “Sales Order”):

1. Navigate to the standard module (Sales Order).
2. Create a Custom Field.
3. Set the field type to reference the specific Custom Document number or ID. This creates a functional link between custom data and standard financial/operational records.

Pro-Tip: Beyond the digital screen, use the Report Designer to create professional printable versions of your forms. You can remove unnecessary columns and format the layout to generate physical reports or PDF summaries that match your organization’s branding.

Conclusion

Custom Documents provide a versatile framework for digitizing specific internal business procedures that fall outside the scope of standard system modules. This tool allows for the creation of an unlimited number of digital forms, ensuring that every unique organizational workflow is captured within a unified database environment.

Common functional use cases include:

• Commercial Documents: Sales Orders and Purchase Orders tailored to specific niches.
• Administrative Tracking: Utility bills, sick leave requests, and job attendance logs.
• Project Management: Internal project information and technical data sheets.