Key Features  

The SunSystems 5.3 release addresses a number of issues that affected earlier versions as well as introducing additional functionality. Please refer to the New Release documentation on this site for further information relating to this new release. 

Note that this release is not compatible with Vision 5x and will require Vision 6 as a minimum.  

With release 5.3, Infor’s award-winning financial management solution offers even richer functionality through key enhancements that are outlined in this document. If you’re considering an upgrade to Infor FMS SunSystems V5.3 from a previous version, take a look at the benefits.  

User Interface Refresh  

New Menu System

The Navigation Manager menu system has been replaced by a new Navigator facility. The new menu system provides a much more attractive and usable facility, based on a model that is more similar to Outlook, with the standard menu access for each user group complemented by user defined choices for faster access to favorites, personalised queries and reports, and regular tasks.

The ability to select functions via a Shortcut has been retained, with a standardised 3 character shortcut provided.

FormRunner Refresh

The FormRunner forms interface has been refreshed by the adoption of the most current Windows controls and icons.  

Transfer Desk Interface

The User Interface for all Transfer Desk and Automation Desk functions has been fully redesigned to provide a single, more integrated and usable facility. Setup functions such as Transformation Designer, External File Designer and Transfer Profile Designer are included, making it more intuitive for users to design automation tasks, without needing to build up lower level components first.

Overall Presentation

Items such as menu structures, form layouts, sample reports and enquiries, and sample/standard Transfer Desk definitions have been reviewed and improved or extended to provide a sufficient range and quality to ensure the system is easier to use.  

Documentation

This deliverable also includes a refresh of the User Documentation, and in particular the introduction of a new Consultants’ Guide to Best Practice for Implementation of Order Fulfillment in SunSystems 5.3.

Global Security Framework

Originally delivered with SunSystems 5.2.2, the global security framework is being progressively adopted by other applications within eXFM to deliver, among other things, a secure single sign on experience across adoptive products. The global security framework is now supported by the latest versions of a range of Infor FMS SunSystems extended modules, including Vision and Procurement.

The global security framework provides SunSystems with the enhanced security functionality that enables customer to meet the demands of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.

Reporting Services

Vision Reporting Services, a new reporting and document production facility introduced with SunSystems 5.2.2, has been withdrawn in this release. The existing Report Writer Facility, based on OEM technology from Actuate, will continue to be included with this and future releases.

Query Manager

The new Query Manager option delivered with SunSystems 5.2.2 matches the query functionality of Control Desks, but provides a much more modern looking and attractive interface, with much more advanced features for data interaction. Users are able to sort data by multiple columns using standard methods (clicking on column heading), group by any column on multiple levels, filter results on the fly using a drop down list of values, or wildcard searches etc.

For SunSystems 5.3, this option is planned for release within 2 months of the main product release. As with SunSystems 5.2.2, the existing Control Desk facilities continues to be supported, providing an opportunity for a controlled transfer of query functions by customers.

Deployment Assistance

With each release we continue to strive to further improve the speed and ease of implementation of SunSystems 5. In SunSystems 5.3 Financials, we have introduced refinements of upgrade process from SunSystems 4, with a new user interface to set up the mapping of data which has changed structurally between these versions – for example, analysis and payment terms.

SunSystems 5.3 also includes new wizards to guide implementers setting up the Order Fulfillment processes. Coupled with the Best Practice guide, this will simplify and improve the quality of OF implementations.

Functional Enhancements

4th Currency

Handling of the optional 4th currency value within Financials has been extended to the remaining ledger functions:

• ·         Corporate Allocations (process historical value 4 amounts)
• ·         Asset Disposal (process 4th currency values)

Various other modifications have been made to improve the handling of the 4th currency both as a fixed currency and as a second variable currency.

Authorisations

With the increasing focus on internal controls arising from Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and related concerns, authorisations are becoming a more important feature in the provision of internal controls within Financials.

In response to customer requirements, we have enhanced the application of authorisations in Ledger Entry/Import and the payment process, introducing a better workflow for rejected transactions and improving the general presentation of this functionality. Authorisations can be invoked either purely on the basis of the transaction type or by the added inclusion of a specific condition (filter) relating to the transaction.

Analysis – Balancing

The traditional method of handling multiple reporting entities in SunSystems is by the use of different Business Units. This provides a high level of flexibility but can impose a substantial database overhead for each Business Unit defined. Where the entities are structurally very similar, an alternative approach is to hold multiple entities in a single Business Unit, using SunSystems analysis capabilities to segment transactions. However in the past, this solution has not assured the full range of controls that would be available using separate Business Units. Enhancements have already been made in the area of populating and balancing by analysis and SunSystems 5.3 will also allow the definition of rules to set and validate analysis in the following functions:

• ·         Asset Depreciation – generation of analysis on balance sheet side
• ·         Asset Disposal
• ·         Transaction Matching
• ·         Payments (consolidated bank posting)

Notes

The Notes feature was introduced in SunSystems 5.1.5 SP1. With SunSystems 5.3 this feature has been extended to make Notes more accessible and provide support in the Ledger Import function.

Market Driven enhancements

Auditability enhancements

In response to feedback from system audits, including those in line with Sarbanes Oxley, certain additional data will be captured on ledger transactions, providing a fuller audit trail – by whom and when the transaction was created, posted and last amended. i.e. this will now allow multiple events to be captured.

Ledger - Second Reference

This enhancement provides a second specific reference field, together with facilities for auto-generation of a reference. Many customers have requirements for specialised transaction numbering and certain transaction types (such as Payments and Receipts) have multiple natural references. Provision of this enhancement on a flexible, generic basis will provide for a solution to a variety of needs.

Journal Reversals / Copying

SunSystems 5.3 sees the development of a facility to automate the reversal of selected transactions and selected journals, including Payment Runs. Where errors have occurred, this facility will allocate reversals and their corresponding originals with a user-definable allocation marker, allowing these transactions to be eliminated, where required, from period movement statistics.

Upgrade Requirements

Upgrade paths are from the following earlier versions of SunSystems 5:

• ►    Microsoft SQL Server:
• ·         5.2.1 SP1
• ·         5.2.2
• ►    Oracle:
• ·         5.1.5 SP1
• ·         5.2.1 SP1

Upgrading from earlier versions will require a two-step upgrade.

Migration facilities supporting upgrade from SunSystems 4 are maintained and enhanced.

All previously released functional areas are regression tested in this release.