Are your recurring tasks recurring?

2 minute read time.

Recurring task management (GESABA) is a great feature. We can set up tasks to run automatically after hours or on some other predetermined schedule. This means no dialing in after hours to execute the tasks. No kicking yourself because you forgot to run the Stock Accounting interface yet again.

The only problem with not having to manually run the functions is: out of sight, out of mind. We still need to regularly monitor that the recurring tasks are not just recurring, but also finishing successfully.

Where do we do this and what should we be looking for? Head to Query Management (AREQUETE). To start, check out the Status for each Task Code.  For each line, you can click the action card and select Parameters to see which ones were used or Log to review the activity or errors generated by the running of the tasks.

 Here are the definitions of the Status codes with some tips on what to look for:

  • Standby: the request has not yet been started.
    • Have these tasks been sitting there for a long time?
    • Are there multiples of the same task waiting in line?
  • In progress: the request is in the process of being executed.
    • Are the tasks taking longer than usual?
  • Finished: the request has finished without errors.
    • Even though there were no errors, check out what was generated by the running of the task.
    • If nothing was generated, check the dates, sites or other parameters that were used by function
      • Click the lines’ action card and select Parameters which will show you the setting for that run.
      • To change them for future executions, click Parameters under Recurring task management (GESABA).
  • Aborted: the request was interrupted.
    • Why was it stopped and do I need to get this task restarted or rescheduled?
  • Error: the task has terminated on an error.
    • Review the Log as soon as possible.
    • It is easier to deal with an error while the transactions are fresh in everyone’s minds.
    • Resolving the errors will speed up the processing as the program doesn’t have to keep going over these problem transactions.
    • Check the Sage Knowledgebase for assistance in resolving these errors.
  • Held: the request is part of a group in the process of execution or it is blocked manually by an interruption.
    • Is this in process to run or do I have an interruption to investigate?
  • Kill: A user has requested the termination of the request.
    • Why was it killed and do I need to reschedule this task?
  • Immediate: the task has been submitted for immediate processing (via the intermediary of a file)
  • Warning: the task ended on a non-blocking error code (GERRBATCH variable<100).
    • Review the Log to determine the origin of the warning.
Parents
  • Very insightful, thank you for that break down!

    I have a question you may or may not be able to shed some light on. We utilize the recurring tasks for a few different things but recently (past 6 months) our delivery invoicing task, which runs multiple times a day, has been getting hung up (sitting in "In progress" for far too long when it should only take 30s-2mins) on the same over overnight task. Do you know what could be causing this? Maybe an issue with running tasks too close together (doesn't seem to effect any of our other tasks that occur at different times of day), the fact that we run the same tasks multiple times a day, CC hold on a specific customer, a record being locked by a user or something along those lines?

    For instance this has happen twice already this week and its Wednesday. So when I come in in the morning I have to interrupt the hung task, wait a few minutes for the record locks to clear, then run the delivery invoice generator manually and update AR's invoice posting batch. It almost always happens (90% of the time) to the same start time of the task. 

    We have tried altering the task start time to add more space between tasks and changing the task's parameters but it doesn't seem to help. It doesn't happen every night or to the task when it runs during the day, so it makes it harder to pinpoint what's causing this to happen.

    I know you may not be able to answer this question with the information I have given you, that's fine, I was just curious if any of that sounded familiar to you or if you knew of some common reasons recurring tasks get stuck in that "In progress" status that I could troubleshoot.

    Thank you in advance for any insight you may be able to provide!

    -John

  • Hi John, It could be a number of things. What version and patch level are you on? If you are on v7, u8 or u9 and using Sage Sales tax or credit cards, check out knowledgebase article  76565. If that doesn't resolve the issue, check in with Support so they can help you troubleshoot. 

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