Custom Logs or Custom Fields or another option

Question

Hello, 
 If you wanted to take information that you usually put in a excel spreadsheet and add it to Sage for everyone to use, how would you do it? 
 Example - Tile: 
 Tile in Contract - Tile Color - Tile Approved by - Tile Ordered - - Tile Cost - Tile in Stock - Location - Tile installed 
 I would also use to keep of Plans, Permit, Coping, Filter etc. 
 Would you use Custom Logs, Custom Fields or another option? I would love to see some samples of what you use. 
 Thank you~ 
 Katheruine

MikefromOhio · Answer

There are a couple of ways we store extra information in the system. We use custom fields extensively, however we rarely work with them directly within Sage. Rather, when we create them, we mark them as ODBC readable/writeable and then use Access (which allows writebacks into the system) or, alternatively, in Excel using Office Connector Write. This allows us to group information into related dashboards without having to jump between different screens and tabs.. As an example, for our homebuilding operations, we use custom fields on each job to record sales information (buyer name, name, contract dates, contingency details, broker info, etc). We use similar fields in AP to monitor global contract numbers and extra info used to populate contract documents. So while we can see and report on it within Sage, we tend to interact with it using Access or Office Connector Write. This also helps alleviate one issue with Custom Fields, which is that they can't easily be renumbered or rearranged once established. If you add a custom field or stop using one, you just rearrange the Excel or Access dashboard. One big downside is that changes to Custom fields via ODBC leaves no audit trail. 
 For AP related info, consider establishing custom items within Subcontractor Compliance Management.. 
 For date sensitive information, consider using Unit Accounts in the General Ledger. This is an often overlooked gem in the system. Unit accounts are special GL accounts that can be used to store period related information of any kind - contract backlog, employee head counts, property SF, closings, etc. You can make one sided journal entries with them or use them with a contract account. They will show on your trial balance, so you may need to adjust your reports to show them in a separate section or exclude them. Ours are all numbered so they show up last on the list (on our system with base accounts 99000 and above) 
 There is an Issue Manager built into Info Assistant, that may be able to handle some items, however I've rarely seen it used. 
 Since custom fields are difficult to change once established, we rarely use them for larger checklists. We do these all in Access or Excel and then use ODBC or Office Connector to bring over info from Sage. 
 Hope this gives you some ideas.

Sage Construction & Real Estate

Custom Logs or Custom Fields or another option

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