Method Community

I am trying to create a form for our sales reps to enter data from a sales call into. 

I am having problems creating a dropdown entry form to simplify this for the reps.

They need to select the supplier and based on that selection give them a dropdown list of items by that supplier to choose from.

a. is that possible

b. do I need to create a new table to with just the supplier and items listed to pull data from?

Also is it possible to have these reports linked to the customer account under the activities section?

BartH:

a. is that possible

Yes.  Definitely.

BartH:

b. do I need to create a new table to with just the supplier and items listed to pull data from?

For a dropdown, you're best to create a new table since you can also create a screen to edit that table at the same time.  How many suppliers and how many list items?   You could create a separate table for each but I think your best bet is to put everything in one table then use filters to show/hide elements based on the selection from the first drop down.

BartH:

They need to select the supplier and based on that selection give them a dropdown list of items by that supplier to choose from.

Your table layout would be simple with 2 fields - supplier (which would be dropdown) and items.

BartH:

They need to select the supplier and based on that selection give them a dropdown list of items by that supplier to choose from.

I would setup your page with sections as tabs and make your first tab select a supplier and the second tab select items.  To change this option click the Advanced button while in the screen designer.

I put an action on text change for the first dropdown to load the second section and filter the dropdown for items based on the selection from the first dropdown.

Your second section for items could be grid based if you needed to select more than one.  You could then add a third section for additional information then processing to make the layout clean.

~C

If I create a new table would I have to go in and update the table everytime we get a new product or is there a way to setup the table to pull information as it is updated in QB?

Method_Chad:

How many suppliers and how many list items?

 As far as the suppliers and Items we have probably 15-20 suppliers and over 200 total items from those suppliers.

Method_Chad:

I put an action on text change for the first dropdown to load the second section and filter the dropdown for items based on the selection from the first dropdown.

Your second section for items could be grid based if you needed to select more than one.  You could then add a third section for additional information then processing to make the layout clean.

As far as the action on text change and update the values is that real heavy duty coding in the screen? or is there a short cut on an existing screen that I could "cut and paste"

BartH:

If I create a new table would I have to go in and update the table everytime we get a new product or is there a way to setup the table to pull information as it is updated in QB?

After syncing, all your items from QB should be available in Method - to see the item list change your tab group to QuickBooks then click the Lists > Items tab and table link.  

BartH:

As far as the action on text change and update the values is that real heavy duty coding in the screen? or is there a short cut on an existing screen that I could "cut and paste"

I wouldn't call it heavy duty coding but it would require customization.  If you haven't done any then I highly recommend reviewing our webinars, help center for reference and of course our forums for questions if you get stuck.

There's no short cut to your solution from an existing screen but if you want to learn you could make a copy of an existing screen to reverse engineer how it's built.  

You could also hire a consultant for some training or to do the work for you.

~C

I must be missing something.  I created a new table using only the vendor name as a dropdown and the Items.  When I go to view the table that I created it is blank.  Will this not update as items are added in QB?  Will I have to add the items individually as we get new items and suppliers to this user created table?

BartH:

When I go to view the table that I created it is blank.

If you're trying to view the table contents from Customize > Tables/Fields then you won't see anything here.  The only way to view table data is through a grid on a customized screen or to export the table from Customize > Integration Tools.

Your best bet when creating a table is to use the option to automatically create a screen for it.  This way you have a custom screen built to view/edit the table.

BartH:

Will this not update as items are added in QB?

No.  There might be some confusion here with custom tables - tables you create in Method will not sync over and become available in QB.  It really sounds like you should use the item list data that's already available to Method from QB and add a few custom fields to the item table.

BartH:

Will I have to add the items individually as we get new items and suppliers to this user created table?

If you went with a custom table for both items and suppliers then yes.  If you utilize the exiting items table from QuickBooks then you could add new items directly in QuickBooks.  I'm just thinking here that you might be able to solve this quite easily by using custom fields in QuickBooks.  Before you get too far along in planning and execution I'd try some customization on your own first to get the hang of it.  I would also recommend some 1-1 time with a consultant on staff here to get you up to speed quicker and to help with planning your project.  They can help you avoid pitfalls or bad design decisions before you get too far.

To put you on the right path, play around with custom fields in QuickBooks.  You can put a custom field on your items called vendor and this will sync back and forth from Method without any customization required.

~C