Company Settings is the list of named switches and values that decide how PharmaERP behaves for your company. Examples are whether stock is posted when goods come in or which layout a sales invoice PDF uses. Each setting has a name (Keys), a Value and a Description. Other pages look up a setting by its exact name when they need it. The page also holds Setting History, which shows who changed which setting, when and from what to what.
System administrators use this page to find, change, add and delete settings. Ordinary purchase, sales and warehouse users do not open it, but a setting changed here changes what their own pages do.
This page is a list of settings. It is not the place where you edit the company master record (company name, logo, time zone, terms). It does have settings such as companyNameBig, LogoBig, invoiceAddress and VATRegNo, which are printed on PDF documents. There are no logo upload limits or file types on this page.
The page does not check that a value makes sense. It stores whatever text you type and each page that uses the setting decides how to read it.
1 Before you start
The page is controlled by the Company page in the SYSTEM section of Role Master. Each tick allows one kind of work.
To do this | You need this tick | Ask |
|---|---|---|
See the menu link, open the list and open Setting History | SYSTEM > Company > View | Your administrator |
See the ADD button and add a setting | SYSTEM > Company > Create | Your administrator |
See the pencil button on a row and change a value | SYSTEM > Company > Update | Your administrator |
See the cross button on a row and delete a setting | SYSTEM > Company > Delete | Your administrator |
Rights are read when you sign in. If your administrator changes the Company ticks for your role in Role Master, sign out and sign in again to see the change. See Signing in.
Nothing has to exist before you open the page. To change a setting, it must already be in the list. IT normally creates settings with a release.
To find the page:
Sign in to PharmaERP.
In the left menu open System Settings.
Under the heading Company, click Company Settings.
For the change history, click Setting History at the top right of the page. There is no separate menu link.
1.1 The screen at a glance
Area | What it is for |
|---|---|
Heading COMPANY SETTING | The page name. |
Setting History button | Opens the list of every change made to the settings. |
ADD button | Opens an empty dialog to add a new setting. Shown only with the Create tick. |
Badge COMPANY SETTING | Total | How many settings match the search. Without a search it is the number of settings the page can show. |
records per page | How many rows each page shows: 10, 20, 50 or 100. Your choice is remembered in this browser. |
Search | Type part of a key, value, description or the name of the person who last changed it. The list filters as you type. |
The list | One row per setting: Keys, Value, Description, Modified On, Modified By, OPTIONS. Click a column heading to sort. |
Row buttons in OPTIONS | Pencil changes the setting (Update tick). Cross deletes it (Delete tick). |
Paging under the list | Prev, page numbers, Next. |
2 Step by step
The examples below use one case. The warehouse manager asks you to warn the goods-in team earlier about short-dated stock: packs with fewer than 9 months to expiry instead of 6. The setting is GoodsIn_ShortDated_Months.
2.1 Find a setting
Open Company Settings. The list opens with the most recently changed settings first.
Type part of the name in Search, for example GoodsIn or PDF. The list and the Total badge update as you type.
Read the Value and Description of the row. To see more rows at once, choose 100 in records per page.
To sort, click a column heading. Click again to reverse.
Only the matching rows stay on screen. If nothing appears, check the spelling. Secret values are never matched by the search. Two settings are never shown on this page, so ask IT if you cannot find one that should exist.
2.2 Change a setting's value
You need the Update tick. Before you change a setting, check what it controls and when the change takes effect (see Settings you are likely to change).
Search for GoodsIn_ShortDated and find the row.
Click the pencil button in OPTIONS. The Add/Update Company Setting dialog opens with Keys greyed out. A key cannot be renamed.
Change Value from 6 to 9.
Click Submit.
The message Company Setting updated successfully! appears, the dialog closes and the list refreshes. The row shows the new date and the name of the person who changed it. If Setting History is installed, it records the change from 6 to 9.
Only Value is saved when you change a setting. A change to Description in this dialog is not saved, although the success message appears. Ask IT to change a description.
If Value is empty, the message Warning - Please enter Value! appears. If nothing happens after Submit (no message, the dialog stays open), the save was refused. See Troubleshooting.
2.3 Add a new setting
A new key does nothing unless the program already looks for that exact name. Add a setting only when IT gives you its exact key and value. You need the Create tick.
Click ADD at the top right. The empty Add/Update Company Setting dialog opens.
Type the exact Keys given by IT. Use letters, digits, underscores and dots, at most 50 characters. Capital letters matter to the program.
Type the Value (at most 500 characters) and a short Description (at most 1000 characters) of what the setting does.
Click Submit.
The page first checks that no setting with the same key exists. Capitals are ignored in this check. The message Company Setting created successfully! appears and the list refreshes.
A setting added here is never stored as a secret. Passwords, client secrets and similar values must be added by IT.
2.4 Delete a setting
Delete a setting only when IT confirms it is no longer used. You need the Delete tick. Deleting is permanent. The only copy of the old value is in Setting History, if it is installed.
Find the row.
Click the cross button in OPTIONS.
The browser asks Are you sure you want to delete this Company Setting? Click OK to delete or Cancel to keep it.
The message Company Setting deleted successfully! appears and the list refreshes. The page does not check whether the program still uses the setting. Deleting a setting that a page needs makes that page fall back to a default or fail. For example, the HSN code rule on sales invoices fails without its setting.
The success message appears even if nothing was deleted. Always check that the row has gone.
2.5 Read the Setting History
Use this when behaviour has changed and you want to know who changed which setting and when. You need the View tick.
On Company Settings, click Setting History.
The list shows every change, newest first, with the columns When, Who, Via, Setting, What changed, From and To.
Type in Search (key, field, value, Via or person) or click a setting name to see only that setting. Choose 25, 50, 100 or 250 rows per page.
Click all settings to go back to every setting. Click Refresh to reload. Click Company Settings to return to the list.
How to read the lines:
A changed field shows its old value in From and its new value in To.
Secret settings show a lock and the word hidden instead of values.
Created the setting, Deleted the setting and Audit started mark the start, the end and the first record of a setting.
Via ERP means the change was made through the ERP. Via SQL means IT changed it with a database script. A script change shows the computer and program instead of a person's name.
When is shown in your company's time zone.
2.6 Make sure a change reaches the users
Some settings are read every time they are needed. Others are copied into each user's session at sign-in and kept until sign-out.
After changing a setting that takes effect at next sign-in, ask the affected users to sign out and sign in again or wait until their session ends.
Check the effect yourself on the page that uses the setting, after you sign in again.
The Clear Cache link in the top bar does not refresh this copy. Signing in again does. See Dashboard for what Clear Cache does.
3 Settings you are likely to change
"At once" means the program reads the setting each time. "Next sign-in" means users get the change when they next sign in. Switches count as on only for ON, TRUE, YES or 1. Anything else, including a blank or a typo, counts as off.
Setting | What it controls | When and what if missing |
|---|---|---|
Enable_Stock_On_Hand | Switch: stock is posted on goods in and goods out | At once. Off if missing. |
Warehouse_Stock_Check | Switch: goods in and out are blocked when stock would go negative | At once. Off if missing. |
Warehouse_Hub_V2 | Switch: the newer Warehouse Hub page | Page at once, menu link at next sign-in. Classic page if missing. |
GoodsIn_ShortDated_Months | The goods-in check warns below this many months to expiry | At once. 6 if missing. |
WarehouseHub_GoodsInPending_Days_Back | Older goods-in pending deliveries load separately as Overdue | At once. 60 if missing. |
AutoClose_PO_Days_Back, AutoClose_PCM_Days_Back, AutoClose_SI_Days_Back, AutoClose_SCM_Days_Back | Creating a new document closes old ones older than this many days. -1 turns it off. | At once. Off if missing. |
PO_PDF_Euro_Number_Format | Switch: euro purchase orders print 2.045,25 | At once. Applies when the supplier currency is EUR. |
SI_PDF_Euro_Number_Format | Switch: euro sales invoices and proformas print 2.045,25 | At once. Applies when the customer currency is EUR. |
PDF template settings, such as purchase_order_pdf, sales_order_pdf_template_1, purchaseCreditMemoPDF, salesCreditMemoPDF, delivery_note_sales_pdf, goods_out_note | Which layout prints the PDF | Next sign-in. The PDF cannot be produced if missing or wrong. |
Company details such as companyNameBig, LogoBig, invoiceAddress, VATRegNo, contactNo, contactEmail, EORI_No, BankAccountNo, BICcode | Printed on PDFs | Next sign-in. Blank on the PDF if missing. |
Payment_Due_Days | Default payment due days for customers and the invoice due date | Next sign-in. |
HSN_code_country_id | Customer countries for which HSN codes are not applied on sales invoices | Next sign-in. The HSN check fails if missing. |
Link_At_Add_SI_Drawer | Switch: the newer Add from SO drawer on sales invoices | At once. Off if missing. |
Expiry_Canvass_Enabled | Switch for asking customers to accept short expiry | At once. The menu link changes at next sign-in. |
About 13 settings in the list are not used by the program at all, for example TimeZoneById and VAT. Changing them changes nothing.
Some settings, such as the document storage ones, are for IT only. Every upload and download in the ERP depends on them. Do not change them without IT.
4 Messages you may see
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Warning - Please enter Keys! | You clicked Submit on Add with Keys empty. | Type the key given by IT, then click Submit. |
Warning - Please enter Value! | You clicked Submit with Value empty (Add or change). | Type the value, then click Submit. |
Company Setting Key already exists ! | A setting with this key is already in the list. Capitals are ignored in the check. | Close the dialog, search for the key and change the existing setting instead. |
Company Setting created successfully! | The new setting was saved. | Check the new row. If you are not sure the save worked, reload the list. |
Company Setting updated successfully! | The change was saved. | Check the value. The description is not saved. If your session had ended or your right was removed, this message can appear although nothing was saved, so reload the list and check. |
Are you sure you want to delete this Company Setting? | You clicked the cross button. | OK deletes the setting. Cancel keeps it. |
Company Setting deleted successfully! | You confirmed the delete. | Check that the row has gone. The message also appears when nothing was deleted. |
something goes wrong please try again, if problem continues please report this bug to administrator | The Add or Update dialog could not be opened, for example because your role has no Create or Update tick. | Sign in again. If it continues, ask your administrator to check the Company ticks for your role in Role Master. |
The setting audit is not installed on this database. | Setting History is not installed, so no changes are recorded and nothing is listed. | Ask IT to install the history. Until then nobody can see who changed a setting. |
The setting history could not be loaded. Please try again. | The history list failed to load. | Click Refresh. If it fails again, sign in again. If it still fails, tell your administrator and see Error Log. |
Access Denied | You opened the page without the View tick. | Ask your administrator to tick Company > View for your role in Role Master, then sign in again. See Signing in. |
No message, the dialog stays open after Submit | The save was refused or failed. | See Troubleshooting. |
5 Troubleshooting
5.1 The list is empty or stays empty
If you see the sign-in page or Access Denied, your session has ended or your role lost the View tick. Sign in again. See Signing in.
If the page opens but the list stays blank or loading, sign in again and reload.
If it still does not load, ask your administrator to check the server problem in the Error Log.
If you are looking for a setting that should exist, clear the search box first. Two settings are never shown on this page, so ask IT if one is missing.
5.2 Submit does nothing and no message appears
This means the save was refused or failed. Nothing was saved.
If you are a user:
Check that Keys is at most 50 characters, Value at most 500 and Description at most 1000. Shorten the text and click Submit again.
Close the dialog, sign in again and retry.
If it still fails, ask your administrator.
If you are an administrator:
Open Role Master and check the role: Company needs Create to add and Update to change.
Ask the person to sign out and sign in again, because rights are read at sign-in.
If the problem continues, check the Error Log for the time of the attempt and send the entry to support.
5.3 A success message appeared but the value did not change
Your session may have ended or your right may have been removed, after you opened the page.
Sign in again. See Signing in.
Open the page, find the row and check the value.
If it is still old, make the change again.
5.4 The change is saved but users still see the old behaviour
Look up the setting in Settings you are likely to change. If it says "Next sign-in", users must sign out and sign in again.
Clicking Clear Cache does not help for these settings.
If the setting is a switch, check the value is exactly ON, TRUE, YES or 1. Any other text counts as off.
5.5 A page broke after I deleted or changed a setting
Open Setting History and click the setting name to see its old value.
Ask IT to add the setting again with the old value or enter it yourself if IT gave you the exact key. See Add a new setting.
If you changed the value, change it back. Ask the users to sign out and in if the setting takes effect at next sign-in.
5.6 Setting History shows nothing
If the yellow notice says the setting audit is not installed, ask IT to install it. Changes made before it is installed cannot be recovered.
If you filtered by a setting name, click all settings.
6 Good to know
Some changes reach users only after they sign out and sign in again. About 30 settings work this way.
The headings Modified On and Modified By are swapped. Modified On shows the person and Modified By shows the date. Sorting by Modified On sorts by name.
Anyone with the View tick sees secret values, such as passwords, in plain text in the list and in the change dialog. Give the Company page only to people who may see them. Setting History hides them.
Saving can fail silently if a key or value is too long, a right is missing or your session has expired. After an important change, reload the list and check the value.
Do not type HTML (text in angle brackets) in a value or description. The list shows it as formatting.
Two administrators editing the same setting: the later save overwrites the earlier one. Setting History keeps both changes.
Saving a setting creates no number, status, owner or notification and nothing else is updated.
Without Setting History installed, nobody can see who changed a setting. Check with IT that it is installed on your company's database.
See also Role Master, Members, Signing in and Error Log.