Service Mobile App Help and User Guide

1. Sicon Sage 200 Web API Pre-Requisites

Requirements

• The Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2 must be installed on the Sage Application server.
• An appropriate Service login must be created on the domain. This is detailed in the “Create Service Account” section below.
• A Sage Web User license must be applied to the Sage instance. These must be purchased via Sage directly.

Create Service Account

Create a new Domain User that will be used to access Sage 200, such as DOMAIN\SiconWebAPI. Select the ‘password never expires’ option, and make the user a member of your Sage 200 Users Active Directory group.

Give the account permission to log on as a service. This can be performed under the “Local Security Policy” option found on the Active Directory server.

Open Sage System Administrator.

Right-click ‘Users’ then select ‘Update Users’ from the drop-down menu. Press OK to link the new Sage User.

Right-click on the user and choose properties, then click ‘Is Web User’, then while still on the user properties screen click the ‘Company Access’ tab and select the companies you require the WebAPI to access. The more companies accessed, the higher the memory usage of the service will be, so it is recommended to keep it to a minimum. Then Click OK.

2. Mobile App Download iOS & Android

These versions of the Sicon Service Mobile App are for use with Sicon Service for Version x.18 or above.

Sicon Service Mobile uses Sicon’s Web-Api* to communicate with Sicon Service for Sage 200.

*Sicon’s Web-API can only be used to integrate a Sicon Module to Sage 200, it is not sold as a standalone module/integration tool.

For details on how to download either the Android or iOS version please see section 5.14 – Mobile Set up on the main Service Help and User Guide https://www.sicon.co.uk/user-guide/service/#5-14

3. Configuration within Sicon Service

Prior to the App being downloaded, you will need to ensure the Mobile Tab in the Service Settings has been completed before commencing the Service Mobile part of your project.

The Web URL is the mobile site address which would have been pre-configured during the Service Mobile install.

4. Logging in to the App

Once installed and configured, the mobile user will be required to enter the Web URL, their Username and Password, (all are case sensitive and are as set up during configuration):

Click the Login button.

If the Web URL details are entered incorrectly, the user will see a message.  If the user scrolls right through the message, it will provide an indication of the issue.

In our example above, the message is explaining that it could not find the file location and when I checked the details I had entered, I had missed out some characters within the Web URL address.

If the User Name or Password is entered incorrectly, the user will see a ‘Login Failed’ message either showing ‘Incorrect Password’ or ‘Username xx’ not found – for example:

Once corrected, the user will be able to login by entering their details and selecting Login.

5. App Home Screen

When a mobile user first logs on after configuration & set up or when there are no sync’d/downloaded items/appointments, they will see the screen below:

To Sync , the mobile user will need to select the sync icon in the top right hand corner:

The App will sync the users appointments.  Then the user should select the Top Left Menu icon:

6. Mobile Users Home Screen

The menu expands to show you the following options to select from, each giving you different information:

6.1. Appointment List View

If selected, this will show you the working appointments.  NB: by default, past and completed appointments are hidden.

The screen icons indicate the different type of appointments.  In this example, the symbol of a van, calendar, time and number of miles shows that this appointment is a travel appointment.

The actual appointment shows the company name, date, scheduled start time and postcode (if added onto the case), along with the case number, in the example above, case 73.

The appointments list quickly allows you to see your upcoming appointments, with options to show past and completed appointments.

If the mobile user chooses to show completed appointments, icons are used to indicate their state.

Completed appointments will have a green icon.

6.2. Vehicle Stock Levels

This option will show stock in the users (engineers warehouse) Sage 200 locations. NB: by default, it hides stock with a zero qty.

Whilst working on the mobile device with the case, the mobile user can add stock (parts) from their warehouse (van stock) to the case.

6.3. Receive Stock Option

If the service administrator has created a stock transfer and despatched parts for the engineer to use whilst working on the appointment, they can be accessed by tapping once on the details below:

During the appointment, the mobile user will select ‘Receive’ to acknowledge they have the parts to be used on the case during the appointment.  If parts are not used, they can be left in the van stock.

The parts must be ‘Received’ before they can be ‘Used’ or ‘Left on Van’.

The last option is ‘Sync’, which takes the mobile user back to the Home screen where they can then select the Sync icon in the top right hand corner.

7. Exit Option

If at any point the mobile user selects the ‘Exit’ Icon:

They will be prompted to confirm that they are sure they want to log out.

If Yes is selected, then the mobile user will need to enter their login details again to continue with their appointments and/or sync for further work.

8. Accessing the Appointment

Travel and/or Work Appointment

When the mobile user is ready to access the appointment, they will tap on the relevant appointment.

If travel appointments have been created, they would select the travel appointment first, at which time the contact information from the case will be displayed.

The mobile user can choose to click on the email link to send an email, select the phone number to auto dial (perhaps to advise them of their ETA) or zoom in on the map.

If they need further guidance with relation to the address, if they click on the ‘direction arrow/icon’ next to the address, google maps will open.

9. Booking Journey Start & End Times on Travel Appointments

The mobile user would complete their work travel appointment first, choosing to enter their journey start and end times before selecting ‘Submit’.

10. Work Appointment Menu Items

To access the actual work appointment details, to book work time and work detail, swipe right (over the contact for case/address) or tap the menu icon on the top of the screen.

The menu options are as follows:

1.  Contact Info
2. Case Overview
3. Attachments
4. Tracking Notes
5. Arrival Signature
6. Equipment Linked to Case / Service items
7. Equipment Questions
8. Parts: Case Parts Screen
9. Case: Logging Work Done
10. Logging Work Appointment Start & End Time
11. Departure Signature

10.1. Contact Info

This shows the case contact details along with a map.

10.2. Case Overview

Shows the scheduled/planned start and end times, (as entered by the service admin team in the case within sage 200, the case type, any customer purchase order number and the case description).

10.3. Attachments

These are attachments that may have been added to the case within sage 200.

Mobile users can add additional attachments by selecting the    +icon (which in turn would sync back to the case within Sage 200).  They may want to take pictures of the equipment they are onsite fixing to detail any damage etc.

The date and time shows when the attachment was added.

10.4. Tracking Notes

If tracking notes have been added onto the case and flagged as being visible to the mobile user  https://www.sicon.co.uk/user-guide/service-manager/#8-2 they will be visible here.

The mobile user can add tracking notes for this work appointment/case, which in turn will appear back on the case within Sage 200 once a further device sync/upload has been performed.

10.5. Arrival Signature

The first action for the mobile user would be to obtain an arrival signature (if enabled within Sage 200>Service>Settings>Mobile tab) Please refer to Section 5.11 of the Service Help and User Guide: Mobile Tab https://www.sicon.co.uk/user-guide/service/#5-11

If enabled, the mobile user would obtain the signature as required and select ‘Submit’.

Housekeeping Note: if multiple engineers are attending the same appointment, normally the team leader/project lead would obtain a signature from the customer and the team leader/project lead would sign for the other engineers or indeed they could self-sign.

10.6. Equipment Linked to Case/Service Items

This screen lists the faulty equipment item(s) or equipment to be serviced that are associated with the case appointment.

In the example above no location is displayed, but if a location and sub-location had been specified against the equipment record, they would be displayed here.

10.7. Equipment Questions

The blue icon shows there is an equipment question.  When selected the following screen will show:

Any questions flagged within Service in Sage 200 as being mandatory will need to be answered before the work appointment can be flagged as complete.

In our example above, it was a simple Yes or No question. Other options include free text and selections from a drop down list.  Please refer to section 4.11 of the Service Help and User Guide for more information. https://www.sicon.co.uk/user-guide/service/#4-11

10.8. Parts/Case Parts Screen

This screen shows parts allocated to the case.

The  icon indicates this part needs action, if the Orange! icon is selected.

The following action/confirmation is required as to whether the part was used and allocated against this case/against said piece of equipment OR not required, but left on Vehicle (in engineer’s van stock).

When an item is selected the mobile user will confirm how many items are being used from their van stock.

The user can select the quantity to use by using the + or the – buttons.

The Blue Lorry  icon indicates that this part is in a stock transfer on the case and has been picked & despatched and is therefore in transit.

The action required is for the engineer to ‘Acknowledge’ they have received it, (it may be that service admin team sent the part by courier to the engineer or sent to the customers’ reception desk in order for the engineer to pick up).

To acknowledge the mobile user would select ‘Receive’.

Once the Engineer confirms the parts have been used, they are visible on the ‘Case Parts’ screen and can be selected from the bottom of the screen via the ‘Used’ Icon.

Once the parts have been confirmed as being used, they will be listed on this appointment.

The engineer can add additional parts (from his van stock) onto this screen if required.  These will show on the case within Sage 200 once the device is sync’d.

10.9. Case: Logging Work Done

Once parts have been handled, the engineer would then log work done in the text box available.  This could include any equipment questions answered, tracking notes or attachments reviewed.

The work log screen is where the mobile user can describe the work they have done and any further work that may be required, (further action notes would then be picked up in the office to determine if any further action is required).

If there are further actions required on a case, the engineer would detail the Work Done and add Further Actions in the text box.

If all actions are completed, the engineer can detail Work Done and tap the Work Complete slide bar.  This action will hide the Further Action text box.

When ready to submit work, the user can select ‘Submit’ and if there is no more work action required,

10.10. Logging Work Appointment Start & End Time

This is where the mobile user would enter the start and end times of work time to be booked to the case appointment, both arrival and departure times are required.  The system will automatically calculate the duration.

NB: this can be configured to set the times from signature to departure,  In this instance, the engineer cannot change  the times.

10.11. Departure Signature

If configured, upon departure an email address can be added for a full work report to be emailed to the customer immediately.  For more information, please refer to the Sicon Service Help and User Guide section 8.10: https://www.sicon.co.uk/user-guide/service/#8-10

11. Logging Out

Like most mobile apps, there is no technical reason why you need to fully log out each time you finish with the app.  However, for security reasons, when the mobile device could be left un-attended, to avoid unauthorised usage of the app, Sicon would advise logging out each time you are finished with the app. For individual company policies on this, the mobile users should discuss with their employers directly.

When the mobile user logs out fully of the mobile app*, if there are outstanding items to uploaded back to Sicon Service within Sage 200, the app/screen will display as per the example below:

12. Last Sync Date & Time

For the mobile users reference, on the mobile device in the bottom left hand corner the date & time of the last sync is shown.

13. Case Sync Completed Warning within Sage 200 Service Case

If a mobile user has sync’d and downloaded information to their device and a service user accesses a case to make a change, they will be warned that the mobile user has sync’d.

If the Sage 200 Sicon Service User makes any  changes, they would not be seen by the mobile user until they run a sync/downloaded again and they could be carrying out work unnecessarily.

If the Sage 200 service admin team see this message they should contact the engineer by telephone to make them aware that there have been changes to the appointment and to ask them to sync/download again.

The diary screen shows a downward arrow to indicate they have downloaded an appointment.  A warning will be given if they try and delete the appointment.  appointments can be deleted or moved, but we would expect a call to the mobile user.  The Red Pin icon indicated that the mobile user is onsite.

14. Within Sage 200 Case – Post Sync / Upload

Within the appointment in the case in Sage 200, the information from the tablet can be seen.

Attachments that may have been added by the engineer.

Details of answers to equipment questions:

Within Sicon Job Costing on the Job related to the case, confirmation of mobile users time and parts used costs has been posted to the job:

15. Trouble Shooting

Company Service Administrators would be able to assist mobile users with their app by using a remote connection such as Quick Support/TeamViewer: Remote Control which offers iPhone Support, the service administrator would be able to use this remote software to connect in with the mobile user (as if they were using it).

This may be beneficial if the mobile user is new and needs some assistance on the use of the app.

Any trouble shooting for synchronisation issues between the App/Sicon’s Web Api/Sage 200 would be something the companies system admin person carries out or the company’s Business partner support team.

This is not something that users should be looking to investigate.

When troubleshooting our mobile apps, there are a few steps to follow that can help resolve the issue or assist with gathering information to speed up the diagnosis by our support team.

Step 1

Our mobile apps use our WebAPI to retrieve data from Sage, so ensuring this is running and accessible is the first step. It’s likely to have been exposed as one of the following and it will be necessary to find out this URL or access the Sage Server.

1. http://{Sage_Server_Name}/Sicon.Sage200.WebAPI
2. https://{Identifier}.{CompanyName}/Sicon.Sage200.WebAPI

Step 2

You should be able to access this URL from the device you’re having trouble with. If you cannot, you may be on the wrong network, be using the wrong URL or you may be having network problems.

Step 3

If the URL prompts for a username and password, this is a good sign. An administrator should be aware of a “Servicing” password that will grant access to this portal, it will have been configured during the installation process. The username is always “admin”, the default servicing password is also “admin”.

Step 4

If successful, the following page should appear:

There are 6 areas within the WebAPI portal that can help with troubleshooting that have been labelled above:

1. Enable String Expiries – If an enable string has expired, that product will no longer function in Sage and as such the associated mobile apps will no longer work either. Expired strings will be shown in red. An exception to this is that the “SM Mobile” enable string will also activate the WebAPI.
2. Loaded Modules – This section will show the loaded Sicon Modules in the WebAPI and in later builds it will also show the last updated date. Is it important that after an update to Sage Modules that the WebAPI can obtain these updates – instructions for this are provided in the “Module Upgrade Process” section on the portal.
3. Company List – The company list shows the companies that are accessible to the Web User that the WebAPI is running as. To add companies, give your selected Web User access to that company in Sage Administration. If you’re using Sage 2011, only one company is accessible so this is not shown. In newer versions, you can also “pre-load” reporting services for each company if you wish, which will ensure they can run and reduce the time it takes to generate the first label/report requested. If they do not start, the log can be viewed.
4. Service Status – There are 2 services that are now installed with the WebAPI, a Reporting Service and an Update Service. The Reporting Service may not be necessary depending on the products you’re using, but the Update Service is important in simplifying the process of updating the WebAPI when Sage Modules are updated. Both can be started from the WebAPI portal if required.
5. Log – This is the main log for the WebAPI, which will contain any errors that occurred when sending/requesting data from the mobile apps or from other third party software. Errors are highlighted in red to make them easier to find and will often have a matching request entry before them that may also be useful when diagnosing issues. The error log entry and matching request entry together are invaluable for diagnosing problems.

If the above trouble shooting points have been investigated, and an issue still occurs then the systems administrator should contact their first line support this may be the Business Partner or Sicon directly which ever has been agreed between the customer and their Business Partner.

16. Release Notes

The release notes page shows which release of the system includes new features or issues resolved.

At the release of Sicon v21 we announced that going forward, we will only be supporting Sage 200c and as such we are able to drop the year from our version numbers. We moved from 201.201.0.0 to 210.0.0.

New features detailed in the Release Notes relating to Pre-Release versions will not be detailed in the current Help and User Guide until the end of development phase.

17. New Features & Important Information