Every customer and every supplier in PharmaERP belongs to a country. The Countries page is the one place where the list of countries is kept. Each country has a name, a short code, a default currency and a VAT %. A system administrator or master-data keeper uses this page to add a country that is missing, correct a name or a default currency or remove a country that was added by mistake. A second page, Country History, shows every addition, change and deletion, who made it and when.
The country you pick on a customer or supplier is used in many places. Lists show the code next to the name, for example Example Pharma Ltd. (DE). The system suggests the currency from the country. A new supplier's short code starts with the country code. Sales order and invoice lines record a country of origin and logistics pages describe a shipment as going from one country to another.
1 Before you start
Your administrator gives you ticks on the Country page of Role Master. A change to your ticks takes effect the next time you sign in.
To do this | You need this tick |
|---|---|
See the Countries menu item, open the list and open Country History | View |
Add a country | View and Create |
Change a country | View and Update |
Delete a country | View and Delete |
Without View, the Countries menu item is not shown. Without Create, Update or Delete, the matching button or icon is missing. If you cannot see what you need, see Troubleshooting.
Records that must exist first:
The currency you want to give a country must already be on the Currencies page. If it is missing, ask the person who looks after currencies to add it first.
Nothing else is needed. A country can be added without any customer or supplier.
To find the page:
Sign in, then open System Settings in the left menu. If you cannot sign in, see Signing in.
Under Master Data, choose Countries.
Country History has no menu item of its own. Open it with the Country History button at the top of the Countries page or with the clock icon on a country's row.
2 Step by step
2.1 Read the Countries page
Area | What it is for |
|---|---|
Heading System Settings · Countries | Tells you where you are. |
Buttons on the right | Country History opens the full history. Refresh loads the list again. Add Country (only with the Create tick) opens an empty form. |
Paging row | Prev, page numbers and Next move between pages. You can show 25, 50, 100 or 250 countries per page. It also shows how many countries are listed and a sort note. |
Search box | Finds countries by name, code or currency as you type. |
The grid | One row per country: Country, Code, Currency, VAT %, Last changed, Changed by, Options. |
Options on each row | Pencil = change (Update tick). Bin = delete (Delete tick). Clock = this country's history. |
2.2 Find and sort countries
Open System Settings › Master Data › Countries.
Type part of the name, the code or the currency in the search box, for example ger.
The list narrows as you type. The search looks anywhere in the name, so ger finds Germany and any other country with those letters inside its name.
Clear the search box to see every country again.
To sort, click a column heading. Click again to reverse. Text columns start A to Z. VAT % and Last changed start with the highest or newest. Empty cells always go to the end. The sort note then reads, for example, Sorted by Code · Default order. Click Default order to go back to sorting by country name.
2.3 Add a country
Use this when a customer or supplier comes from a country that is not in the list yet. You need the Create tick. First check with the search box that the country is not already there under another spelling.
Click Add Country at the top right. An empty form opens.
Type the Country name, for example Testland. Up to 200 characters.
Type the Code, for example TL. Use 2 to 5 letters or digits. Small letters are turned into capitals. Use the international two-letter code where possible.
Choose the Currency that a new customer from this country should usually get or leave (none).
Leave VAT % at 0 unless your business has agreed a figure. Use a dot, for example 7.5, not 7,5.
Click Save. You can also press Enter in any box.
The form closes, a green message Testland added. appears and the list reloads with the new country. The country can be picked straight away on the customer and supplier forms.
If the country cannot be saved, a red line appears at the top of the form and the box concerned is outlined in red. Nothing is saved. Correct the box and click Save again. See Messages you may see for each message.
2.4 Change a country
Use this when a name is misspelt, the default currency is wrong or the VAT % needs updating. You need the Update tick.
Find the country, for example Germany, with the search box.
Click the pencil in its Options column. The form opens titled Change Country — Germany, filled with the current values.
Change what you need, for example the Currency.
Click Save.
The currency list offers (none) and every currency on the Currencies page.
The form closes, Germany saved. appears and the row shows the new values with your name under Changed by and the time under Last changed. If you save without changing anything, nothing is recorded and Last changed stays as it was.
The currency you give a country is only a suggestion for new customers and suppliers. Customers and suppliers that already exist keep their own currency.
PharmaERP takes the company's home (base) currency from the currency of the country your own company is registered in. If you change that country's currency, the home currency shown on invoices and payments changes for every user the next time they sign in. The page gives no warning. Do not change it unless the business has decided to and agree it with finance first.
If two people change the same country at the same time, the last save wins. Both changes appear in Country History.
2.5 Change a country's code
A code change needs extra care because some records copy the code when they are saved.
Click the pencil on the country's row and type the new code.
Click Save.
A question appears: Change the code of Testland from TL to TX? Sales order lines already saved with TL keep TL. Only new entries use TX. Click OK to go ahead or Cancel to stop. With Cancel, nothing is saved.
After the change, every list that shows the name with its code uses the new code at once. Records that copied the old code keep it: saved sales order lines, the country of origin on invoice lines and the short codes of suppliers added before the change (for example TL-ABC-00012).
2.6 Delete a country
Use this when a country was added by mistake or twice. You need the Delete tick. A country can only be deleted when nothing uses it. A country cannot be switched off instead: it is either in the list or deleted.
Find the country and click the bin icon in its Options column.
A question appears: Delete the country "Testland"? It is deleted only when nothing uses it. The delete stays in Country History. Click OK or Cancel to stop.
If nothing uses the country, it disappears from the list and Testland deleted. appears.
If customers, suppliers, cities, orders or other records still use it, nothing is deleted. A red message says where it is used, largest numbers first, for example: Germany cannot be deleted. It is used by 284 purchase order(s), 22 sales order line(s), 18 customer(s), 11 supplier(s) and 1 more place(s). At most four kinds of record are named; the rest are counted as "more place(s)". The message stays for about 15 seconds.
What happens to the records that use a country:
Records that use the country are never changed or removed by the page. A refused delete leaves everything as it was.
To remove a country that is in use, first move the records that name it to another country (ask the people who look after those customers, suppliers or orders), then delete it.
After a successful delete, the country is gone for good. If you add it again, it is a new country and records that still referred to the old one are not linked to it.
Country History keeps the deleted country's last name, code, currency and VAT %.
2.7 Read Country History
Use Country History to answer "who changed this and when?", for example when a customer was given an unexpected currency. You need the View tick.
On the Countries page, click Country History (all countries) or the clock icon on a row (one country).
The newest changes are at the top. Use the search box to find a country, a field (for example VAT), a value or a person. Click a column heading to sort.
Click a country name in the grid to see only that country's changes. Click all countries to go back. A country that has since been deleted shows as one country (now deleted).
The first rows for each country are History started rows. They hold the values of the country on the day the history was switched on.
Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
When | Date and time of the change, in company time. Newest first by default. |
Who | The PharmaERP user who made the change. For a change made outside PharmaERP, a database login and computer name appear instead of a person. |
Via | ERP (blue badge) = made in PharmaERP. SQL (amber badge) = made outside PharmaERP. |
Country | The country's name at the time. Click it to see only that country. |
What changed | Which value changed (Name, Code, Currency, VAT %) or a marker: Created the country, Deleted the country, History started. |
From / To | The value before and after the change. — for a new country, a deleted country or a marker. |
2.8 See how a country is used on customers and suppliers
When someone adds a customer or supplier and picks its Country, the system fills the Currency box with that country's currency. The person can still pick another currency before saving. On the customer form, the list of company bank accounts is also reloaded for that currency.
For a supplier, the short code that the system creates when the supplier is saved (if the Short Code box is left empty) starts with the country code, for example BE-ABC-00012. Customer short codes do not contain the country.
3 Messages you may see
3.1 In the Add / Change Country form
A red line appears at the top of the form and the box is outlined. Nothing is saved until you correct it.
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Please enter the country's name. | The name is empty. | Type the name and click Save. |
The name can be 200 characters at most. | The name is too long. | Shorten the name. |
Please enter the country's code: 2 to 5 letters or digits, for example DE. | The code is missing, shorter than 2 or longer than 5 or has other characters (spaces, dashes). | Type 2 to 5 letters or digits, for example DE. |
VAT % must be a number with 2 decimals at most, for example 20 or 7.5. | VAT % is not a number, uses a comma or has more than 2 decimals. | Use a dot and at most 2 decimals. |
VAT % must be a number, for example 20 or 7.5. | VAT % is not a plain number. | Type digits and a dot only. |
VAT % can have 2 decimals at most. | VAT % has more than 2 decimals. | Round it to 2 decimals. |
VAT % must be between 0 and 100. | VAT % is above 100. | Enter a value from 0 to 100. |
A country named "Germany" already exists. | Another country has this name. Capital letters do not make a name different. | Use the existing country or correct the spelling. To check, search the list on the Countries page. |
The code DE already belongs to another country. | Another country has this code. | Choose another code or open the other country and check whether it is the same one. |
That currency is no longer in the Currency list. Please pick another. | The currency was removed while your form was open. | Pick another currency. If the one you need is gone, ask the person who looks after Currencies. |
This country no longer exists. Please refresh the list. | A colleague deleted the country while your form was open. | Close the form and click Refresh. |
The country could not be saved. Please try again. | The save failed, for example the connection dropped. | Click Save again. If it repeats, tell your administrator the time it happened. They can look it up in the Error Log. |
Create right on the Country page (Role Master) is needed. | You tried to add or change a country without the Create or Update tick. | Ask your administrator to tick Create or Update for your role on the Country page of Role Master, then sign in again. |
3.2 Questions you are asked
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Change the code of X from A to B? Sales order lines already saved with A keep A. Only new entries use B. | You changed a code. | Click OK to go ahead or Cancel to stop. Old saved records keep the old code. |
Delete the country "X"? It is deleted only when nothing uses it. The delete stays in Country History. | You clicked the bin. | Click OK to try the delete or Cancel to stop. |
3.3 After a delete
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
X deleted. | The country was unused and is now removed. | Nothing. |
X cannot be deleted. It is used by ... | The country is still used. Nothing was changed. | Leave it. If it really is a mistake, ask the colleagues who look after the customers, suppliers or orders named in the message to change their country first, then try again. Also see Delete a country. |
X cannot be deleted: other records still use it. | The database found another record that uses the country. Nothing was deleted. | Treat it like "cannot be deleted. It is used by". If you cannot find what uses it, tell your administrator. |
The country could not be deleted. Please try again. | The delete failed, for example the connection dropped. | Try again. If it repeats, tell your administrator the time it happened. They can look it up in the Error Log. |
Delete right on the Country page (Role Master) is needed. | You do not have the Delete tick. | Ask your administrator to tick Delete for your role on the Country page of Role Master, then sign in again. |
3.4 Success
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
X added. | The country was added. | Nothing. It can be picked on customer and supplier forms now. |
X saved. | The change was saved. If you changed nothing, the message still shows but nothing is recorded. | Nothing. |
3.5 When a list cannot be shown
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
The countries could not be loaded. Please try again. | The list could not be fetched. This also appears if your rights were taken away while the page was open. | Click Refresh. If it repeats, tell your administrator the time it happened. See Troubleshooting. |
The history could not be loaded. Please try again. The grid stays empty. | The history could not be fetched. | Click Refresh. If it repeats, tell your administrator the time it happened. |
Country History is not installed on this database. (yellow box) | The history has not been switched on for this database. The Countries page still works, but changes are not recorded and the history stays empty. | Tell your administrator. |
3.6 Messages from the old "add country" box
Some old forms still have a small box that adds a country by name only. It shows these messages in a browser alert.
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Country name required | The name box was empty. | Type a name. |
Country Name is required, | The name was empty. | Type a name. |
The Country Name is already exist !!! Please choose other Country Name | That exact spelling is already in the list. | Pick the existing country. |
Not able to create new country. | The country could not be added. | Add it on the Countries page instead. |
3.7 Access and sign-in messages around the page
What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
No Countries item under Master Data | Your role has no View tick on Country. | Ask your administrator to tick View for your role on the Country page of Role Master, then sign in again. |
The Access Denied page | You opened the page (for example from an old link) without the View tick. | Same as above. See also Signing in. |
You are taken to the sign-in page | Your session ended or you were refused. | Sign in again. See Signing in and Login Security. |
A browser alert: You have no enough permissions to request this resource. | The system refused an action your role does not allow. | Ask your administrator to check your ticks in Role Master. |
4 Troubleshooting
4.1 I cannot see the Countries page or a button or icon is missing
If you are a user:
Check what is missing. No menu item means no View tick. No Add Country button means no Create tick. No pencil means no Update tick. No bin means no Delete tick. The clock icon needs only View.
Ask your administrator for the tick you need.
After your administrator changes your ticks, sign out and sign in again. The change applies only at the next sign-in.
If you are an administrator:
Open Role Master and find the role of the person.
On the Country page, tick View, Create, Update or Delete as needed and save.
Ask the person to sign in again. If it still fails, see Sign-in problems.
4.2 A person can still add or delete after their tick was removed
The ticks are read when a person signs in. Until the person signs in again, they keep the old rights. Ask them to sign out and in or see Login Security for how sessions are handled.
4.3 The list is empty or says it could not be loaded
If you are a user:
Click Refresh.
If the search box has text in it, clear it. A search that matches nothing shows an empty grid.
If you are sent to the sign-in page, your session ended. Sign in again, see Signing in.
If it still fails, tell your administrator the time it happened.
If you are an administrator:
Check that the person has the View tick on the Country page of Role Master.
Look for an entry at that time in the Error Log and send it to support.
4.4 A country I added does not appear on the customer or supplier form
Click Refresh on the Countries page and check that the country is in the list.
Close the customer or supplier form and open it again. Other pages show a change the next time they are opened.
If the country was added or changed outside PharmaERP (for example by a database correction), other pages can take a while to show it. Ask your administrator.
4.5 A new customer or supplier got the wrong currency
Open the Countries page and look at the Currency of that country. The form only copies it.
If it is wrong, change the country as described in Change a country. Customers and suppliers that already exist keep their own currency, so change those on their own pages.
Many countries may suggest the same currency (often EUR). Check the currency on a new customer or supplier before saving.
4.6 Country History is empty or shows a yellow warning
This means the history is not switched on for this database. Changes made now are not recorded.
Tell your administrator. Switching it on is a database job.
4.7 The history shows a database login instead of a person
A change made outside PharmaERP (Via shows SQL) has no PharmaERP user. The Who column then shows a database login and computer name. This is normal. Ask your administrator who made such changes.
5 Good to know
A country has no status and cannot be switched off. It is either in the list or deleted.
A code change does not reach saved records. Choose the code carefully when you add a country.
The check for "in use" does not see everything. It finds customers, suppliers, cities, orders and other records that point at the country. It does not see country codes written on invoice lines, country names on logistics pickups or the company settings that list countries. Only delete a country you are sure was added by mistake.
Changing a name changes it at once in every list. Names already written on logistics pickups keep the old name.
The old "add country" box on some old forms adds a country with a name only (no code, no currency) and does not notice a name that differs only in capital letters. Add countries on this page instead.
Saving a country sends no e-mail or notification and does not touch stock or totals.
Everyone with the View tick sees the same countries and the whole history. Countries have no owner.
The VAT % is recorded and shown on the list. No other page uses it.
On a phone-sized screen the menu stays open over the page and the grid scrolls sideways. Use a laptop for this page.
See also: Currencies, Role Master, Error Log, Signing in.