Chat Transcript – March 2008
Product: Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS)
Topic: Open Forum (any topic)
Date: Thursday, March 6, 2008
Questions about upgrading
Q: I’m still using RMS 1.3 (with a Microsoft maintenance contract), and I would like to test drive 2.0 before converting over. My partner has been no help. How can I proceed to test RMS 2.0?
A: You can make a back up of your 1.3 database and restore it on a machine that is not used in the live environment (1.3 and 2.0 cannot co-exist on the same machine) and test 2.0.
It is very important that you call into support and request the latest hotfix before you upgrade your 1.3 database up to 2.0. There have been some issues with the matrix import that have been fixed in the latest hotfix.
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Q: How do I get a test key for RMS 2.0? I have a CD, but I don't want to return my dongle until I have fully tested and converted over.
A: You should be able to order a Trial Key from your partner or by calling our Sales Operations team at 1-800-456-0025.
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Q: My reseller informs me that RMS 1.3 dongles are no longer available and I must upgrade to 2.0. Is this the case?
A: I believe that is the case. However, for a definitive answer you would need to talk to someone on our Sales Operations Team. You can reach Sales Operations at 1-800-456-0025.
Questions about customization
Q: Can you create your own wizards for RMS SO? If yes, do you have a sample code for creating wizards?
A: Unfortunately, we do not have a way to create custom wizards, nor do we have any sample code for this type of customization.
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Q: We’re doing some in-house reports using Microsoft Excel and RMS. Does Microsoft have any OLAP cube for RMS?
A: OLAP SDK is currently not available or supported with RMS and Excel.
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Q: I cash checks and typically charge a percentage (e.g., 1%). Is there a way to set up RMS to automatically calculate this fee and charge that percentage by entering check amount?
A: You may want to try creating a new Tender Type for "Check Cashing". You could then create a new Currency which adds a certain percentage to the value of the default currency, such as ".99" to reduce the payout by the amount of the 1% fee. You could attach this currency to the new Tender Type you created.
Q: Would the percentage charges show up in the Z report? Would I be able to keep track of total charges per day, etc.?
A: Here are some steps that may work and allow you to report as needed.
There should be one line for Discounts on the Z report; and if you only use the discounts for check cashing, that would report what you need.
1. Set up an non-inventoried item with the item lookup code of "Check" and description of "Check Fee", with a $0 price, and mark the "Must enter price at POS" check box.
(Note: You could setup a different item for each type of check you accept: Payroll Check, 3rd Party Check, etc.)
2. In Store Operations POS, add the Check item to the transaction.
3. The dialog to enter the price appears. Enter the full amount/face value of the check. In my example the check is $100.00, so I enter $100.
4. Discount the item via SHIFT+F3 to set the item to the charge they are requiring. So, if the charge for a third-party check is 2.5% for instance, enter 97.5% discount. In my example, the item is discounted to $2.50.
(Note: You can automate the discount steps by creating a macro for each percentage amount you charge. So, if you charge four different percentages depending on the check type or other variables, just have one macro for each discount amount.)
5. Go to the Tender window (press F12). In the Check tender line, enter the full amount/face value of the check ($100 in my example). Click OK.
6. The Change Due to the customer will show as $97.50 in cash, which is the check amount less the fee you charge for cashing it.
If you use this method and the figures you need are not on the Z report, I would think that between the Detailed Sales report (where you'd see total fees collected) and the Tender Summary report (where you’d get the total check amounts tendered), you should be covered.
Q: That might work. I'll try it.
A: OK. You may also be able to set this up as a tax depending on your business process; and then exclude the tax from your accounting setup (or change where the tax is posting). However, I have not played around with this method.
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Q: I set up a “check ID” message for alcohol items; however, if I scan multiple different alcohol items, the “check ID” message appears on every item I scan. Is there a way to limit the message to once per transaction?
A: There is not a way that I know of to do this; but it might be possible through a 3rd-party add-on. You can take a look at the Solution Finder to see if anything has been developed. You will want to filter on Works With - Retail Management System.
Another option would be to post your question in one of the other Newsgroups to see what others are doing in this situation. The public discussion board is available to everyone.
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Q: I would like to print random discount coupons as part of my sales receipt. Is this possible? Sample code would be appreciated.
A: Currently, we do not have any code that could implement what you do. However, there may be third-party add-ins available to do something like this. Please check the Solution Finder or the newsgroups.
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Q: Is there any way we can alter the RMS Store Operations POS/Manager Login screen to third-party login (e.g., fingerprint scanner or smartcard reader)?
A: There is not a way to alter the login screen. However, if the device can send text to the Login dialog box, this should work; and I seem to remember that someone was working on an add-on for this. You may want to check the Solution Finder to see if there are any products listed that do this. Another option would be to post your question in one of the other newsgroups to see if anyone is using something like this.
Questions about hardware
Q: I recently installed RMS 2.0; however, I keep getting the error "Warning 926: The scanner driver was not found." Scanner works and scans in RMS, but I can't get rid of the error. I'm using the Metrologic Voyager 9520 scanner.
A: It sounds like you have the scanner enabled on the register (Manager | Database | Registers | Register List | Properties | Scanner); and if this is a keyboard wedge scanner there is not a need to have it enabled. I would try disabling it and then restarting POS to see if the error goes away and you are still able to use the scanner.
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Q: I've been experimenting with changing the logo printed on our receipts and getting mixed results. Are you able to give me some direction on the image types supported, such as resolution, picture size, file size, etc.? I'm using an Epson TM88.
A: We have Knowledge Base article 835959 - How to add a store logo to a receipt in Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System Store Operations (login required).
Q: Can you print two color logos with RMS and Epson TM-T88IV receipt printer?
A: I see that the Epson TM-T88IV does support two-color printing (red and black); but this has not been tested.
Questions about issues
Q: We’re running 2.0.0114 with Headquarters and six stores. We’re using global customers, and two stores have reported that when they create a new customer, the E-mail Address field is already grayed out. They can enter data into all fields except E-mail Address. A search of the Knowledge Base returned nothing.
A: Would it be possible that the cashiers that are logged in have security enabled blocking the E-mail Address field?
Q: Yes, security could be an issue, I will check that. I will also run a database check and reindex.A: That would be a good start. Also, you may want to verify whether or not it happens for every cashier.
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Q: I'm having sporadic RMS Store Operations POS 2.0.0114 crashes when printing the transaction receipt (both CC and Cash). When this happens, the CC transaction is in the CC batch but no further trace of this transaction exists (no journal, etc.). What would cause this?
A: This type of issue is almost always network or hardware related. You may need to uninstall and reinstall your receipt printer OPOS drivers. If you are using Epson OPOS, make sure that you select Common Control Object (CCO) instead of Epson Control Object (ECO) when you go through the install.
Also, you should verify that your network is not causing the problem. Please reference Knowledge Base article 930301 - Common errors and troubleshooting steps for network connectivity problems in Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System Store Operations or in Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System Headquarters (login required).
Q: If it was network related, why would it only happen during receipt printing? I can see that this could be hardware (printer) related, but why would this only happen maybe once in every thousand transactions or so? Why not journal before printing?
A: I have also seen this happen if you use a custom HTML status bar. There are some problems with name resolution. We have had cases that resolve these issues by moving the "Named Pipes" network protocol ahead of "TCP/IP" in the Client Network Utility and also in the SQL Server Configuration Manager if you are using SQL Server 2005.
Q: We are not using any custom HTML status bar(s), but I'll move the Named Pipes ahead of TCP/IP (if not there already) and see if this fixes this problem. Why not journal the receipt before printing?
A: That would be a good product suggestion. You can access the RMS Product Suggestion Program by clicking the following Web site:
http://connect.microsoft.com/dynamics
The Microsoft Community is a public forum where you can submit suggestions for Microsoft products and see suggestions that others have made. Community participants vote for suggestions, and Microsoft uses the votes to help prioritize features in upcoming versions. Each month, Microsoft will respond to the suggestions with the most votes.
Q: I used to submit product suggestions, but nothing ever comes out of it (or we have no way of knowing if anybody even looks at it or what's going on), so I quit wasting my time on putting in suggestions. Please advise.
A: At Microsoft, we believe in listening to you and responding to your needs with innovative and effective business software solutions. That’s why we continue to provide to you a product suggestions and feedback tool. Your feedback is delivered directly to the appropriate product development team which ensures that the people who work with our software day after day get the chance to help shape how future versions of our software will work. You are able to suggest product features and enhancements any time of the day or night, all year long.
To be as affective as we can, we recommend you search previously submitted feedback and suggestions and vote on suggestions which have already been submitted by someone else. Remember, the more votes, the more likely an item will make it into the products in the shortest timeframe. If your suggestion has not been already entered by someone else, you are able to enter a new one.
Questions about what’s next for RMS
Q: Love the articles on the Using Microsoft Dynamics RMS site. Any new ones planned for the near future?
A: Thank you for the compliment. We are absolutely planning additional articles. We're trying to do one a month, but our efforts on Service Pack 2 have kept us a little busy recently.
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Q: You've mentioned Service Pack 2. Does that mean we will see another service pack before version 3?
A: Yes.
Q: Is SP2 just going to be a rollup of released hot fixes, or are we going to get new features?
A: SP2 will provide new features and a rollup of hot fixes.
Q: OK, in what timeframe are we expecting SP2? And then Microsoft has indicated in the past a direction on V3 should be available in Q1 2008. As we near the end of Q1, is there any indication on when we might have V3 direction available?
A: We're limited in what we're able to say about upcoming releases. I can tell you that SP2 is coming soon.
Q: Can you talk about the new features that SP2 will add?
A: Unfortunately, no. But we'll provide detailed information along with the SP2 download.
Q: Why is RMS v3.0 treated as a top secret? Since it's obviously delayed, why can't you provide us with at least a new release date (or timeframe)? Why not release a list of enhancements and new functionality?
A: Release information is distributed to Partners and customers by the Product Management and Marketing teams. The Experts on our chats are typically members of the Support, Development, and Test teams. This gives you access to some great product knowledge, but I understand how frustrating it is that we can't answer your release questions. Partners might be able to obtain additional information from the Sales Manager for their region.
Q: Suggestion - Maybe next chat talk, have a marketing and sales manager present to talk about RMS SP2, SP3 and version 3.0. It could also be a good webcast.
A: I'll look into it, but support chats like these are not typically used to distribute release announcements.
Miscellaneous questions
Q: Does the Microsoft Dynamics RMS group ever do webcasts?
A: Not so far. What would you like to see?
Q: QRP reports.
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Q: How do you become a Beta tester for RMS?
A: You would want to let your Partner know that you are interested in this; and they should be able to work with Microsoft to add your name to a list of customers interested in participating in the Beta.
