About This Release
Released - January 27, 2022
This version is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2021, release wave 2, cumulative update 2, build 19.2.32968.33504.
LS Central 19.2
LS Central is now delivered as two apps. Some code has been moved from the LS Central app to a new app named LS Central System App. The LS Central app has a dependency on the LS Central System App. The code that was moved to the LS Central System App is a code that was originally in the Toolbox .dll and is related to the POS UI. The code in the Toolbox .dll was not public, and partners could not modify the code. The code in the LS Central System app will not be public and the LS Central System App will only be published as runtime package. The LS Central System App will, in the future, hold code related to licensing to enable LS Retail to license LS Central components in the cloud.
LS Central AL code
The source code for the LS Central app is delivered in AL files that can be modified by partners. It is, however, highly recommended to make all modifications in extensions, and if you need to alter the LS Central or Business Central behavior then do that by subscribing to events.
It is LS Retail's priority to make it easy for the partners to extend LS Central. Therefore, a special section in our Support Portal (login required) is provided for partners to submit requests for new events. These requests are given priority.
LS Central extension
The release package includes LS Central and LS Central System App as runtime apps that can be installed as extensions. To install the extensions, you first need to publish them, see Publishing and Installing an Extension v2.0. Once the LS Central and LS Central System App extensions have been published, the LS Central and LS Central System App extensions can be installed using the Extension Management page in Business Central.
New or Enhanced Features
Retail
General
AutoTest and EFT: CreateTenderTypeCard Added and Other Changes
Changes have been made to the EFT Utility for AutoTests and AutoTests were added for EFT and Card Payments in POS.
Download Replication Request and Packet Data
An option to download replication requests and packet data has been added. Data download gives the possibility to get web replication data from the SaaS environment.
Request for Event Publishers
New events have been requested by partner.
BackOffice
Customer Order: Shipping Agent and Package Tracking Code
Shipping agent for Customer Order shipments can now be entered on the POS or be included in a web service that creates the customer order. You can set a default shipping agent for POSs on company level or for each store. This default can be changed just before posting when shipping on a POS.
It is possible to send a message to the customer when a shipment is posted. If the Package Tracking Number is known, you can include a tracking URL in the message. A new message is sent, if the Shipping Agent information and/or the Package Tracking Number is changed for a shipment. This information can be changed either in BackOffice or on the POS.
Data Entry Type: Print Remaining Balance
After using a gift card during a transaction, the remaining amount in points on the card is now printed correctly on the Sales Slip.
Events Added Since the 19.0 Code Freeze
Events that were added after version 19.0 was released are now available through hotfix 19.0.8.0.
Refactored SPG Profiles
Enhancements have been implemented to set up the ScanPayGo app through the ScanPayGo Profile setup in Business Central.
Send Receipt by Email for POS Transactions
You can now set up an email address on the Member Contact page and use the Send Receipt by Email field to email to that address. This works with ScanPayGo transactions.
Support Data Translation for Item HTML
An interface has been added where you can define different Item HTML field values for different language codes. There is also an option to import and export the HTML fields to Excel.
If you have a Replication Sub Job where table 10001411 LSC Item HTML is being replicated, you need to replace it with table 10001410 LSC Item HTML ML.
Web Service to Send Email With Password Code for Password Reset
A web service, which the ScanPayGo app can call to trigger an email to be sent from LS Central to the email address of the ScanPayGo user, has been created. The web service has an email address as request parameter and the response is a reset code.
When the user enters the reset code and new password, the email, the new password, and the reset code are sent by the web service to LS Central. The reset code has an expiration time set to 30 minutes.
LS Central POS
Long-running Task Indicator in POS
A long-running indicator has been added to the POS. When an action takes more than three seconds, three animated dots are now shown at the top of the page. The dots are shown after three seconds, but you can adjust the time in the POS Interface Profile.
LS Hardware Station
Locking System for EFT in Hardware Station for Manual Session Control
The LS Pay connection in LS Hardware Station has been updated for payment plugins that use manual session control. In these cases the classic method of locking the device for each method called is used. Events that are connected to EFT locking have been updated accordingly.
Scale Certification Dialog and Command Changes
- A Close button has been added to the Scale Legally Relevant (Checksums) dialog window. It allows POSs with no keyboard to close the window.
- The new POS command SCALE_DIALOG opens the dialog window.
Replenishment
Effective Inventory in Stock Coverage
The inventory used in the Stock Coverage calculation now includes the quantities from the Purchase, Sales, and Transfer Orders having their respective receipt or shipment date up until the day when the Stock Coverage is calculated. The Eff. Inventory field has been added in the Stock Coverage page as well as a report to show the inventory value used to calculate the actual coverage. You can specify which document types are to be excluded from the Eff. Inventory by using the settings in the Stock Coverage and Store Capacity FastTab, in Replenishment Setup.
For more information see Stock Coverage in the LS Central Help.
Store Capacity Effective Inventory Settings Moved to a New FastTab
The settings that were used to specify which document types are to be excluded from the Effective Inventory in Store Capacity have been moved from the Effective Inventory FastTab in Replenishment Setup, to the Stock Coverage and Store Capacity FastTab.
Retail Budgets: Discontinue Import of Obsoleted Value Types
As announced in the LS Central 19.0 release, LS Retail only supported the import of the obsoleted Inventory Value and Sales Amount budget value types via Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for Retail Sales and Purchase Budgets until LS Central version 19.1. Therefore, the following changes:
Retail Sales Budgets
LS Retail has stopped supporting the import of the Inventory Value budget value type in the Excel spreadsheet into the Closing Stock Value of the budget entries. Please use the Closing Stock Value budget value type for the import.
For more information see How to: Work with Excel (Export/Import) for Retail Sales Budgets in the LS Central Help.
Retail Purchase Budgets
LS Retail has stopped supporting the import of the Sales Amount budget value type in the Excel spreadsheet into the Purchase Amount of the budget entries. Please use the Purchase Amount budget value type for the import.
For more information see How to: Work with Excel (Export/Import) for Retail Purchase Budgets in the LS Central Help.
Hospitality
Onbefore/After RunCommand
OnBefore and OnAfter event handlers have been added in the Hospitlity POS Commands codeunit.
Run SelectRes Command When Seating an Activity Reservation at a Table
When a dining table with an activity reservation is opened in the POS, the activity reservation is linked to the POS Transaction automatically and a POS Trans. Line is inserted with the activity reservation reference.
Table Management: Button for Sending Courses and Non-coursing Items to Kitchen
Coursing needs to be turned on for each hospitality type that uses coursing. The command KITCHEN_SENDTOKDS is used to send coursing menu types and items with no menu types or non-coursing menu types to the kitchen. The command behavior is controlled by a setting for each hospitality type.
The command LOGOFF can also be used to send coursing menu types and items with no menu types or non-coursing menu types to the kitchen. The command behavior is controlled by a setting for each hospitality type.
LS Activity
Activity Matrix Enhancements
A new Copy action has been added in the Matrix Template Card to make it easier to create new templates. If the Resource Location filter is set, only activities in that location are shown in the Matrix.
Flexible Booking Time for Activity User
A new setting has been added for an Activity user for Booking Time Flexibility. This sets a restriction on users on how "close" in time they are allowed to book a resource.
Setting a positive value in this field (60 min) means that the user is not allowed to book an activity, if there are less than 60 minutes to the activity taking place. Setting this field to -15 minutes means that the user can book an activity 15 minutes back in time. This can be useful, for example, if a customer comes in at 10:05, because then it is possible to book a time in the system at 10:00.
LS Hotels
Confirming Activities in a Reservation When Dates Are Changed
When the dates in a hotel reservation are changed and there are activities linked to that reservation, the system will now try to reconfirm those activities with the new dates.
Group Total in Hotel Group Reservation Card FactBox
A new line, Group Total Charges, has been added in the Paymaster status section in the Hotel Group Reservation Card FactBox. The line shows the total amount for all charges for all reservations in the group, regardless whether they are routed to Paymaster or to the individual reservations.
The Total Charges tile shows the total charges on the Paymaster for the group.
Hotel Res. List: Cancelled Reservations not Shown
If a reservation within a group reservation is cancelled, the reservation is no longer shown in the Hotel Res. List sub-page of the Hotel Group Reservation card. Instead, an overview of all cancelled reservations can be seen from a link in a FactBox in the Paymaster Status section.
Hotel Reservation Page: IATA No./Commisssion Field
A new field has been added on the Hotel Reservation page to store a travel agent's IATA number for the reservation.
Improved Sync Between Guest List and Reservation Children Records
Synchronization between guest list, hotel reservation children records, and activity group has been improved. For consistency, children are managed in the same way as adults in the guest list in BackOffice. Age of children has been removed from the solution; only age groups apply.
Prompt for Applying Cancellation Policy (Cancel, No Show, Early Checkout)
When a reservation is changed and cancellation policy should be applied (Cancel, No Show, or Early Checkout), the user will be prompted if these fees should be applied.
Role Budget Adjustment for Hotels
Staff Management now supports adjustment of role budgets based on statistical data derived from the hotel reservations and housekeeping. For example, you can adjust the number of reception staff depending on check-ins or check-outs, or the number of bartenders based on the occupancy rate. This information can be displayed in the Roster Scheduling page for reference during manual rostering.
Room Allocation List: Room Filters Added
New filters have been added to the Room Allocation List to enhance the room allocation experience in BackOffice.
Room Rate Change Page: Option to Apply to All Room Types
When changing the rate for a group reservation with many different room types, a new option is now available on the Room Rate Change page - Apply to all room types. If selected, the rate change will apply to all room types, if not selected, the rate change will only be applied to the selected room type.
Show Room Number on POS and New Prompt Parameter for POS Command HOTELCHARGE2ROOM
If a hotel reservation is linked to a transaction on the POS, you can now show the room number on the POS by using the POS tag HTL-ROOM. This is useful to show directly on the Charge to Room button which room the charge will go to.
There is also a new PROMPT parameter (optional) on the POS command HOTELCHARGE2ROOM, which can be set to let the POS prompt for room number even if the transaction is linked to a hotel reservation. This is useful if the transaction is linked to a room but you need to make the charge to another room.
The format of the command is: HOTELCHARGE2ROOM <TenderType>;PROMPT
Tape Chart: Balance Indication
New icon indicators to show balance indication have been added to the Tape Chart, in the upper-right corner of the reservation. If there is a balance on the reservation, a bill is shown. If there is no balance, a check mark is shown. Finally, if the reservation is part of a group that is paid by paymaster, an arrow is shown to indicate that balance is moved to the group.
LS KDS
Kitchen Service Utility: New Option
A new option, the Restaurants filter in the Kitchen Service Utility, lets the user select which restaurants the service should get the Kitchen Order Tickets (KOTs) for. It is possible to select more than one restaurant, if they share the same kitchen. If no restaurant is set, the service will get all KOTs created in LS Central.
A restaurant will be displayed in this list, if the Kitchen Prod. System in Use field on the Store Card, the Kitchen Printing FastTab, is set to Yes.
Staff Management
Rostering Enhancements
Previously, when an employee was part of a roster list, but did not have any roster assignment, the employee was removed from the roster view at confirmation. Although the user could add the employee back to the roster view, if needed at a later stage, this was not convenient if you had temporary or replacement workers that you wanted to keep on the roster schedule view in case you needed to assign the employee later as replacement or additional worker. This has now been changed so that employees without roster assignment are not removed from the roster view at confirmation.
Also, if an employee has a fixed monthly salary, the monthly cost was previously assigned to all rosters that the employee was assigned to, but now the employee is only assigned to his or her "base" default work location.
Staff Management Break Setup
Break settings are now per shift, but if you also add a role, you can set up different breaks for each role. A blank role is the default for the whole shift.
The purpose of this is to be able to have different break times within shifts, based on the role. For example, cashiers might go to lunch at 12:00, but waiters at 13:00. Normally, this setup is only needed when using a Staff Management Schedule to provide availability for activity resources based on staff schedule.
Improved Integration With Standard Employee Card
The actions on the Activity Resource Card have been re-arranged to be more in line with the standard Business Central Employee Card layout. It is now easier to open the related BC Employee Card directly from the Activity Resource Card with the Assist Edit button in the Employee field, which is in the integration section of the page.
POS Commands
The following POS command is new in LS Central 19.2:
- SCALE_DIALOG - Displays information regarding the scale certification.
See the LS Central Help and the corresponding Excel list with filters for a complete list of POS commands.
Other
LS Central Help
The Hospitality part of the menu tree in LS Central Help has been updated and its structure reorganized.
Fixed Issues
Retail
General
Variant Lookup Shown for Item With no Variant Framework Setup
Previously, items with variants (but no Variant Framework) would show Variant Lookup without any values to select. Now, however, the Pop-Up Menus are used for these Items.
Cannot Add Customer to a Sale on POS
When you start a transaction at the POS and enter an item and then a customer, an error would occur. This has been fixed.
Item Distribution Is not Working
When one location was distributed to a list of locations, replication data was not cleared between locations, and therefore accumulated data was replicated to the locations. This has been fixed.
BackOffice
LSCUpgrade.UpgradeRetailImage Fails
Some lsmedia links were not formed as expected by the upgrade routines. These links are now handled like no lsmedia links.
Table 27 Update Preactions Created When Statement Is Posted
Do not create preaction for item modifications if values in fields Cust is Adjusted or Allow Online Adjustment are changing.
Fashion: Variant Creation With Item Import Journal
An issue where the Included in Variant No. setting in the Variant Dimension Code was not working when variants are created using the Item Import Journal, has now been fixed. From now onwards, if you have activated the Included in Variant No. setting for a Variant Dimension Code, creating its variants with the Item Import Journal will have the relevant Variant Value included in the Variant Code.
LS Central POS
Configurations for Scale Text not Used When "Qty and Price in Descr" Is True
When the Qty and Price in Descr. check box in an Interface profile is set to true and a scale item is sold, the text that is displayed in the journal is now using the Price per unit configurations from the Functionality profile.
Replenishment
Replenishment Calculation Type Filter Issue for Like-for-Like Items
An issue in Replenishment calculation, where items assigned with the Like for Like calculation type are being picked up from the Replen. Stock Demand Worksheet and added to the Replenishment Journals, even though the Replen. Template has been set up to exclude items with Replenishment Calculation Type Like for Like, has now been fixed.