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The ERP Workspace

The ERP workspace, sometimes called the role centre, is the first screen for anyone who works in the ERP. It shows what is waiting for them, the figures their role is measured by, one-click starts for what they do most and the documents they touched last, all limited to their roles and companies. There is nothing to build: it follows the roles and company access you grant.

Where to find it

The workspace has no menu entry of its own. It is the Admin Panel home page for anyone holding an ERP role, shown under the greeting, and the Admin Home button at the top of the admin menu brings it back from any screen. What it shows is decided by:

Admin Panel → ERP - Setup:

  • ERP Setup — the ERP roles and Company access tabs

What is on it

  • Company: one company, or All my companies. The choice is remembered on that browser.
  • Search the ERP: finds documents, customers, suppliers, items, projects, accounts and assets as you type.
  • Quick actions: for example Raise a requisition, Log time, New quote, Post a journal, Reconcile the bank, Record a receipt, Invoice match queue, Stock enquiry, Approve time, Asset register, ERP Analytics and ERP Setup, each shown only to the role that uses it.
  • Your figures: the role's ERP Analytics measures with a six-month trend. Finance sees Revenue, Operating profit, Cash and bank, Receivables outstanding and Payables outstanding; Payables sees Payables outstanding and Days payables outstanding, and so on. A balance shows today's value; a flow shows the financial year to date. The measures come from ERP Analytics.
  • Waiting for you: the work queues for your roles.
  • Your recent documents: documents you created or changed in the last 60 days.
  • Group overview: for architects and for Finance or Reporting holders who read two or more companies, a row per company with Revenue FYTD, Op. profit FYTD, Receivables, Payables, Periods open and Bank lines. Select a company code to switch to it.

The work queues

Each queue shows how many items are waiting, the oldest or largest few, and a link to the screen where you deal with them.

  • My approvals (everyone) and Requisitions to approve (Approvals).
  • Requisitions to order and Orders awaiting approval (Purchasing); Invoices on match hold (Payables).
  • Timesheets due (Time & Expenses) and Timesheets to approve (Projects).
  • Overdue customers (Receivables or Finance) and Open sales documents (Sales).
  • Items below reorder point (Inventory); Maintenance due (Fixed Assets).
  • Unreconciled bank lines and Periods to close (Finance).
  • Report schedules needing attention (Reporting); ERP setup (Administration), listing red and amber checklist rows.

Using it day to day

  1. Sign in. The workspace opens on the Admin Home page.
  2. Choose a company, or leave All my companies to see every queue across your companies.
  3. Work down Waiting for you, opening each queue's screen from its link.
  4. Use Your figures to see the month's position. With All my companies chosen and two or more companies, Finance and Reporting holders see group figures in the group currency, with a note on how intercompany trading was treated.

What goes wrong

  • No workspace on the home page: the person holds no ERP role, or the ERP module is switched off.
  • "You hold an ERP role but no company has been opened to you yet": grant the group company access.
  • A queue has a count but no link: the person's roles do not open that queue's screen. The count stays so the work is visible.
  • "Choose a company above to see its figures": the figures need one company, or a group whose companies can be translated into one currency.

Worked example

A finance manager holds Finance and Reporting with Post on two companies. On Monday morning their workspace shows Unreconciled bank lines 46 across two accounts and Periods to close 1 (last month for the subsidiary). Your figures shows group revenue for the year to date. They press Reconcile the bank, work the oldest account, then open Periods to close and land on the Periods tab of Ledger & Finance.

Recommendations

  • Start the day on the workspace, not on individual menu entries: it shows everything waiting across your roles.
  • Keep company access tight: the workspace is only as focused as the companies a person can read.
  • Use All my companies for queues and a single company for figures.
  • Point new users to the User Guide: its ERP section explains the workspace in the product itself.