Method Community

I have several custom fields in the Item table in QuickBooks. When I create a Sales Order and select items, Method is able to write to these fields (the sales order goes through fine and all data is saved). However, when I try to edit the sales order with Method, I get an error stating I cannot edit the selected field (one of the custom ones). If instead I edit the custom fields in QB, the edited data is saved and the changes show up in Method.

Here is an example of what I'm describing...

Custom field in QB: OriginalOrderDate

Step 1: Create sales order with a selected Item (standard field in QB) and the current Date/Time entered into OriginalOrderDate (custom field in QB). The order saves without error and syncs with QB.

Step 2: Open the order in Method and change the Item and OriginalOrderDate. The item is changed in QB but OriginalOrderDate is blank.

Failed solution...

I created a button with the following procedure for the On-Click event:

Update Field In Table:

  Update Table: SalesOrder

  Update Field: OriginalOrderDate

  Value From: Value From Session|Current - Date/Time()

  Where Field: RecordID = 12345

When I click the button I get an error that the field 'OriginalOrderDate' cannot be edited. If I change "Update Field" to 'Item', the button is able to update the record to a different item. This seems to be a problem with editing Custom QB fields through Method.

Does anyone know how to bypass this problem without resorting to using QB for all Sales Order edits?

Thanks!

Hi Mike,

I am going to try to replicate this in my own test account, but have a couple questions. You mention you have several custom fields for the item table, is your other custom field a date type also, or is it a text field?  Could you confirm this happens with the other custom field in the item table, if it has a different format type?  Do you know for a fact that you are going to be changing this custom date field each time, or does it depend on different circumstances?

-Ben

Hi Mike,

I just wanted to let you know that I have looked into this a little further and do see what you are saying about the custom fields not being able to change from Method, after you have create the Sales Order.  I am going to spend some more time today, working on different variations on this before I can tell for sure what is going on.  I will update this thread as soon as I have further information, but you don't need to follow up with what I was requesting in my last post.

-Ben

Hi Ben,

Thank you very much for taking the time to look into this. The items are listed in a table called SalesOrderLine which is linked to SalesOrder. Our account is set up to have QB create sales order numbers and it seems that once a sales order number is created, we are not able to edit the custom fields. I created a test order as follows..

SalesOrder table

  Customer: ABC Company

SalesOrderLine table

  Item: Chlorine Triflouride

  OriginalShipDate: 11/1/2013

QuickBooks generates a sales order number (how about 123). If OriginalShipDate is supposed to be 12/1/2013, we need to edit the record. If we pull up SO# 123 we will see:

SO# 123

ABC Company

Chlorine Triflouride

11/1/2013

If we edit the date and try to save the order, QB will not allow the field 'OriginalShipDate' to be edited. I tried to store Item and OriginalShipDate int actionresults, go to a new record, and enter the new values into the Item and OriginalShipDate fields so I could create a new line item and delete the old one (for an end user it would look as though they were editing the record even though they are just created a new one and deleting the old one). If we enter the SalesOrder RecordID info to link the new entry to SO# 123, the Item will be saved but the OriginalShipDate will not (I tried using "Insert Record Into Table" and "Delete Record From Table"). The old record is deleted but the new record cannot save data into the custom fields. QB still recognizes the order as being edited because it has already generated a sales order number. I'm running out of ideas to get around this Method bug/limitation.

To summarize, these approaches have not worked for me:

--Update Field In Table

--Insert Record Into Table || Delete Record From Table

Creating a new sales order is not an option because the entire production process would need to be restarted if the sales order number changes. I would really appreciate any ideas for a workaround or possible fixes.

I still have not been able to find a solution to this problem. Does anyone have any ideas?

Hi Mike,

I first have to apologize, I somehow must have overlooked your previous post, giving more information on this issue, I am truly sorry.  However, after some of my own testing I did replicate this issue, I noticed this for other custom fields, but if you were to change these same fields in QuickBooks, it does sync over to Method correctly updated.  I will be submitting a request to our development team to take a look at this, I will post here as soon as I get any further information.

-Ben

Mike,

I have some more information regarding this topic, however this likely is not a bug in Method, more of a QuickBooks SDK Limitation.  I did actually put a request in last week regarding this issue you are having, unfortunately there are still some others on the list with a higher priority, although I think I have come up with a solution.

Am I correct that you have replaced the 2 custom fields available from Quickbooks under Lists->Items, so Field1 and Field2?  After some testing, I have confirmed that Method has the ability to read/write to these 2 custom fields, but not edit/modify.  This is why you cannot make changes in Method once you have created these items.  However, take note of the Other1 and Other2 fields offered in the Method "SalesOrderLine" table, found by going to Customize->Tables/Fields, then edit the SalesOrderLine.  These 2 custom fields sync with the 2 fields in QuickBooks, labelled Other1 & Other2, which can be found by opening a Sales Order in QuickBooks, manage the Sales Order Template you are working with, and go the "Columns" tab from the "Additional Customization" button.  Here you can make these 2 fields active on the screen/printout, and change their visible names.  Keep in mind, they sync with the Other1, Other2 fields in the SalesOrderLine table in Method, so the original "Sync" names will not change. You should have the ability to edit/modify these two fields, and can make any changes you want after adding the items to the Sales Order.  

Please let me know if this work around helps you.  If I get any further feedback on this subject, I will make sure to post it here.  

Take a look at my screenshot below of my custom SalesOrder screen in Method.  If you look at the grid, I have added 4 custom fields.  Fields SO_Date2 & SO_Name2 are based off field1 & field2 in QuickBooks, I can add them, but I am not able to modify them from within Method.  Now notice Other1 & CustomSOOther2, these are actually the Option1 & Option2 fields from the SalesOrderLine table, with these 2 fields, I can add them to my grid, and change them all I want after I have synced my Sales Order.

Hi Ben,

Thank you very much for the input. Unfortunately, we are currently using Other1, Other2, and the 15 available custom fields in the QuickBooks Items list. The behavior I am seeing is this (using field names from your screenshot):

If you change the Item (for example, Blackmore decides he wants a rainbow) the changes will save without errors. If you open the Sales Order in QB, you will see that the custom fields (in your case SO Date2 and SO Name2) are blank. The changes you make to Item, Description, Other1, Other2, etc... are all saved, but any custom fields are overwritten with null values.

I'm not sure if this is unique to our QB configuration or if it is a permission problem (Method does not have edit/modify rights on those fields) but if I could edit the standard QB line item fields without losing the data in the custom fields we would be able to make most of the necessary edits. If you do not see the data in the custom fields disappear when you edit a line item (like Quantity or Item), please let me know. That would be very helpful information.

Thank you,

Mike

Mike,

I think your last explanation gave me a better understanding of what is going on.  So I believe you are saying, you can create a Sales Order in Method, add a few line items, edit the custom fields and there are no issues.  However, if you decide to use a different line item, other than the original, you are saying this all gets blanked correct, is that correct?  If this is the case, I believe it is because when you replace one item for another in the SalesOrderLine grid, the grid is actually dropping the original item, so because the custom fields are essentially assigned to each item, it would require new values from the start.

Also, have you tried exporting your SalesOrderLine table from Method, I am curious if seeing this table and all the fields might help you see things a little better.  Please let me know either way, I want to make sure I am understanding your situation better.

To add to this, I did just notice specifically what you are talking about for fields SO Date2 & SO Name2, if I change my line item from what I have to a "Rainbow", custom fields seem to stick, all.  But when I press the save button and reload the sales order in Method, the Other1 & Other2 fields actually remain, however the SO Date2 and SO Name2 get wiped out.  If this is what you are referring to, I believe this is again related to the original item actually getting dropped behind the scenes, so the references in the backend made to this original item don't line up with the new item, does this make any further sense?

-Ben

"when I press the save button and reload the sales order in Method, the Other1 & Other2 fields actually remain, however the SO Date2 and SO Name2 get wiped out.  If this is what you are referring to, I believe this is again related to the original item actually getting dropped behind the scenes, so the references in the backend made to this original item don't line up with the new item"

Yes, this is the problem I am seeing. Do you know of a way to get around this?

Mike,

Off-hand I can't really think of an easy way to do this.  I would think you could possibly save these values to shared action results for these 2 fields in the grid for the top item on a "Lose Focus" event.  Then do something like add a button so after you have filled these grid rows with new Line items, when you click the button it will add the value of these two fields back to the grid.

-Ben