LS Central (14.02) Release Notes

About This Release

Build no. - 1035
Released - October 31, 2019

This version is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, CU 04, build no. 35916.

Note:
The 64-bit client is the default client when opening the Microsoft Dynamics Business Central Windows client. The POS for the Windows client is only supported to run on the 32-bit client, which can be set up in the LS Central Start tool for the POS.

The following is a list of changes and key features in LS Central (14.02).

New or Enhanced Features

Retail

BackOffice

LS Central Code Adjusted to Microsoft Field Length Changes

In version 14.0 Microsoft extended the length of over 800 fields in Business Central. Many of those fields are used in LS Central. All fields in LS Central have now been adjusted to Business Central field lengths.

Functions and Unused Fields Removed

On account of the AL migration, two functions have been moved from table 330 to codeunit 99008922. Unused fields have also been removed from standard tables.

Infocode Discount Removed

Infocode Discount is being discontinued. In this step, all setup was removed from the standard.

LS Changes Removed from Online Map Management

LS Changes have been removed from Online Map Management.

Printing Shelf Labels

Any codeunit can now be selected to print Shelf or Item labels, regardless if the codeunit is part of standard LS Retail code or an extension from a partner.

Receipt Printing Modified Using Events

Events have now been added into all Print functions in the POS Print Utility.

Refactored Field Lookups

The following field lookups have been refactored:

  • Retail Sales Order
  • Retail Purchase Order
  • Retail Transfer Order

Retail Product Group Replaces Product Group Table

The usage of the Product Group MS table has been changed to use a new LS Central table, Retail Product Group. Fields named Product Group Code have been renamed to Retail Product Code.

Tables Added to Data Subjects Table

Three tables (Member Contact, Member Account, and Staff) have been added to the Data Subjects Table in Data Privacy.

Customer Order

External Payment Token

Support for external payment tokens has been added to the Customer Order module. Fields have been added to the Customer Order Payment table that stores the token information for payments of the type Pre-Authorization. If the payment is not authorized, the order is put on hold.

Header Status Configured to Trigger Messages to Customer

An option has been created that lets the user specify which status updates will send out a message to the customer.

Log Customer Order Status Changes

An audit trail of status changes is now being logged when Customer Orders are processed.

Overpaying for a Transaction with a Customer Order

When overpaying for a transaction with a Customer Order that you choose not to prepay for, an option now comes up and the customer can choose whether he would like to receive change back or the extra amount becomes prepayment for the customer order.

Unused Fields Removed and Links Moved to Related Documents

Customer Order BackOffice pages now display Retail pages, and links to related documents are stored in respective documents like Retail Purchase Orders, Retail Sales Orders, and Retail Transfer Orders. The linking field is Customer Order ID.

Fashion

Logical Order for Variant Dimensions

Logical Order can now be defined for Variant Dimensions. This field adds the possibility to order the presentation of the Variant Dimensions in a Variant Framework. Currently, this Logical Order field does not affect how the dimensions are arranged in the pages in LS Central.

Increased the Maximum Number of Logical Order for Variant Values

Each Variant Value can now be defined up to a maximum number of 999 instead of 35. Following this, the Logical Order field in the Item Variant Registration table is changed from Integer to BigInteger.

Refresh Variant Settings Added in Item Variant Framework

A new Refresh Variant Settings action has been added to the Item Variant Framework page. This enables the Item Variant Registration to be updated with the latest Logical Order and Variant Weight setup as defined for the Variant Values.

Variant Dimension Fields Changed from Text15 to Code15 in Item Variant Registration Table

The data type of the Variant Dimension 1 to Variant Dimension 6 fields in the Item Variant Registration (10001414) table have been changed from Text15 to Code15, to align with the Extended Variant Values (10001413) table.

These adjustments have also been done on all fields in other tables that have relations set to the above table fields. Please use the provided upgrade codeunit to copy and preserve the data in these tables.

LS Central App

LS Central App (Android Version) - Enhancing Simplified URL Settings

In the LS Central App's Simplified URL settings screen, it is now possible to add Tenant and Company.

LS Central App (iOS version) - Simplified URL Settings

The iOS version of the LS Central App now also supports adding Tenant and Company.

Additionally, the iOS version can now start up without showing settings or adding Simplified URL to iOS as in the Android version.

LS Central POS

Various Changes Added to the EFT Implementation in the POS

  • An option has been added to enable a functionality in the POS to automatically check the last Card Payment in a log. If the payment is unfinished, the POS asks the PED for the last processed transaction. If there is a match, the payment is finished in the POS. This is useful if the POS or the connection to the PIN pad ends unexpectedly without the transaction finishing in the POS.
  • If the POS receives a Signature verification request from a PIN pad, the POS can now handle the request as configured in the Settings screen. The options are a) to automatically accept or reject the Signature, or b) to have the cashier decide by using a pop-up window.
  • An addition has been made to the feature of skipping printing Merchant and/or Customer receipts. These settings will be used unless a MandatoryToPrint flag is received from the PIN pad. In that case the receipt is always printed.
  • An option has been added to hold the EFT status dialog box open for X seconds before closing.
  • When storing the result from an EFT transaction in the POS Card Entries table and the Card Type is empty, the system uses the Card Type Name from LSPay to insert into the Card Type field.

EFT FOB File Available

LS Retail has created an EFT FOB file that is now available from the LS Retail Support team. In the FOB file, LS Retail has downgraded the EFT changes to the latest versions of each year (09.10 / 10.10 / 11.05 /13.05). Partners can downgrade from that version into previous versions of each year, if needed.

Allow Negative Adjustments and Other Actions

The user can now make negative adjustments and perform other actions on the POS, as long as the sales transaction has not started (the Start button has not been pressed).

API Function Added

A function has been added to POS API to get the actual field behind a column in a grid, for example when the user clicks a column in a grid.

Arguments Fields Added to LS Start

You can now specify a client user settings file for a Business Central Windows client on a LS Start button.

Device Keyboard in LS Central App

An option has been added to use a device keyboard when running in LS Central App. This can be useful as users may be more accustomed to the device's native keyboard.

NETS Certification

LS Central POS and Hardware Station with LS Pay plugin has been certified by NETS in the Nordic countries (NO, S, FI, DK) and through PayEx in the Nordic countries for the self-service POS.

New AutoLogoff Feature

An option has been added for AutoLogoff behavior in Sales Mode. Previously, the solution did not log off if the POS was in Sales mode.

Removing Member from Transaction

It is now possible to remove a member contact from a transaction without voiding the transaction.

LS Hardware Station

Setup Video for LS Hardware Station

A new setup video with instructions on how to set up the LS Hardware Station for EFT devices is now available here.

LS Pay with Worldpay Support

The LS Pay version included in LS Hardware Station now supports Worldpay PSP.

Member Management

Updating Member Information Online

A check box has been added in the Member Management setup page where the user can choose to update a member card in head office with updated points after each transaction on online POS.

Mobile Inventory

External Config Reading

LS Mobile Inventory can now read config from an external file that is pushed to the mobile device by a Mobile Management software.

An option has also been added to the app to sort a document list by expected date or ID.

Mobile POS

An ability has been added to scan card ID as barcode on a loyalty card. This is useful as it eliminate the need to type in the number.

Replenishment

LS Replenishment Role Center

A new LS Replenishment Role Center has been introduced. It offers an easy-to-use environment for retailers to access all the most commonly used Replenishment functionality, such as Assortment, Automatic Replenishment, Manual Replenishment, Redistribution, and so on.

The LS Replenishment Role Center can be set up with the Role Center ID 10012272.

Discontinuation of Demand Planner in LS Central

The Demand Planner integration has been removed from LS Central. The Items, Replen. Item Store Rec, and Replen. Data Profile entries that were previously assigned with the Replenishment Calculation Type Demand Plan have been updated to Automatic - From Data Profile.

Please make the necessary adjustments to these entries, if needed.

Sneak Peek into LS Forecast

LS Forecast is ready for preview in LS Central. The solution consists of a cloud-based forecasting engine and additional functionality in LS Central for setup, data upload/download, and to utilize the downloaded forecast in Replenishment. The cloud-based part is built on Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and uses advanced statistical forecasting techniques such as ARIMA, Additive and Multiplicative models to predict future sales demand from sales history. LS Forecast will be introduced as a new Replenishment Calculation Type.

Weekly Sales Buckets, a tool that captures the historical sales trend of an item or a group of items, is also ready for preview. It provides an overview of the item's sales distribution pattern across the week, from Monday to Sunday. This pattern is useful when the demand calculation from LS Forecast is on a weekly basis, where the pattern will then serve as distribution weights to break down a weekly demand into daily demand quantity for use with the Replen. Journal calculation.

All the relevant LS Forecast pages and components can be found in the MenuSuite under LS Retail > Replenishment > LS Forecast.

Field Length Increased for Primary Keys

The length of the primary keys in the following tables have been increased to support up to 20 characters (Code20):

  • Code field in Replen. Template (10012201)
  • Code field in Replen. Data Profile (10012224)
  • Code field in Allocation Rule Header (10012328)
  • Name field in Retail Sales Budget Name (99001555)
  • Name field in Retail Purchase Plan Name (10012400)
  • Name field in Lifecycle Worksheet (10016303)

The lengths have also been increased for all the fields in other tables with relations set to the above table fields.

Open-to-Buy: Multilevel and Blocking

Improved Open-to-Buy Accessibility and Calculation

A Retail Sales Budget can now be assigned with a default Open-to-Buy (OTB) View Code. This enables the budget to be easily opened and presented in Open-to-Buy View.

It is also possible to define the Calculation Level in the Retail Sales Budget, to determine if its Open-to-Buy View should be calculated on budget level only, or also include the details. The level of details depends on the Budget Type (Division, Item Category, Product Group, Item, or Item Hierarchy).

For more information see How to: View Retail Sales Budget in Open-to-Buy View in the LS Central Help.

Open-to-Buy Checks on Purchase Order and Allocation Plan

The Open-to-Buy Check is a tool that enables the Retail Sales Budget and its Open-to-Buy values to act as an upper limit for related item purchases. It can be used to check if a Purchase Order or Allocation Plan violates the Open-to-Buy value of a sales budget.

For more information see How to: Perform Open-to-Buy Checks on Purchase Order and How to: Perform Open-to-Buy Checks on Allocation Plan in the LS Central Help.

Open-to-Buy Calculation Using Scheduler Job

It is important to ensure that the Retail Sales Budgets and Open-to-Buy values are always updated in order to keep the Open-to-Buy meaningful. The Open-to-Buy can be updated manually, or set up to be calculated periodically with a scheduler job. It is also possible to set up multiple scheduler jobs for the calculation to run in parallel.

For more information see How to: Schedule the Calculation of Open-to-Buy in the LS Central Help.

Replenishment Journal Calculation Performance Improvements

Replenishment Item Exclusion Rules

The definition of whether a group of items should be excluded from Replenishment calculation is made simple with the Replen. Item Exclusion Rules. The rules can be defined up to the Retail Product Code level and can be based on factors such as items created before a certain date, no item sales since a certain date, and items with zero inventory. If needed, the process can also be automated with a scheduler job by using the Calculate Replen. Item Excl. report (10012331).

For more information see Replenishment Item Exclusion Rule in the LS Central Help.

Replenishment Journal Calculation Performance Improvement

When a Replenishment Journal is being recalculated, the deletion of its existing data (for example Replen. Journal Details) prior to the recalculation has been refactored. The latest test shows that the time taken to recalculate the Replenishment Journal has been reduced by up to 67%.

Web Service

Web Service 2.0

The following web services have been created according to the Web Service 2.0 framework:

  • CreateNewCardForContact - replaces MM_NEW_CARD_FOR_CONTACT
  • DeletePostransBackup - replaces DELETE_POSTRANS_BACKUP
  • DeletePostransSusp - replaces DELETE_POSTRANS_SUSP
  • GetAndReserveSerialCoupon - replaces  GET_RESERVE_SERIAL_COUPON
  • GetCustomerCard - replaces IM_GET_CUSTOMER_CARD_01
  • GetDocument – replaces IM_GET_DOCUMENT
  • GetDocumentList – replaces IM_GET_DOCMENT_LIST
  • GetInventoryLookup - replaces  GET_INVENTORY_LOOKUP
  • GetItemCard - replaces IM_GET_ITEM_CARD_01
  • GetTransHeaderList - replaces GET_TRANS_HEADER_LIST
  • GetTransStatementCode - replaces GET_TRANS_STATEMENT_CODE
  • GetVendorCard - replaces IM_GET_VENDOR_CARD_01
  • RetailMessageUpdRcpStatus - replaces RETAIL_MESSAGE_UPD_RCP_STATUS
  • SendPosTransBackup - replaces SEND_POS_TRANS_BACKUP
  • SendPosTransSusp - replaces SEND_POS_TRANS_SUSP
  • SendSerialCoupon - replaces SEND_SERIAL_COUPON

  • MobilePosFloatEnt - replaces WEB_POS with parameter FLOAT_ENT
  • MobilePosPostPrecalc - replaces WEB_POS with parameter POSTPRECALC
  • MobilePosPriceCheck - replaces WEB_POS with parameter PRICECHECK
  • MobilePosRefund - replaces WEB_POS with parameter REFUND
  • MobilePosRetSave - replaces WEB_POS with parameter RETSAVE
  • MobilePosRetSuspended - replaces WEB_POS with parameter RETSUSPENDED
  • MobilePosSave - replaces WEB_POS with parameter SAVE

Hospitality

New Restaurant Role Center

A new Restaurant Role Center for restaurants using table management - new ques have been added that show the restaurant performance (Gross Turnover, Amount per guest, Revenue per seat hour, Table turnover), current status (Occupied Tables, Total Free Tables, In-house Guests, Available Seats) and day summary (Total Guests, Transactions, No-Shows, Canceled Reservations).

Allocation Enhancements

Dining Area Data Archiving

This is necessary to reduce the size of the database tables used every day in dining table management. As a result you can now view Dining Area Statistics to find out the table turnover for each day for the dining area and dining area sections. You can run a report to archive dining area data (dining table history entries and dining area plans) or let the Scheduler run the archiving at the end of the day.

Allocation Panel Performance Improvements

A paging menu has been added to the Allocation panel to reduce menu button uploading.

Activity Dining Synchronization

An activity dining reservation is updated when the reservation is canceled, registered as no-show, and completed within table management.

Reorder Lines in Various Groups, Deals, and Modifiers

It is now possible to reorder lines in the following pages: Item Modifier group, Cross-selling group, Time modifier, Text modifier, Item modifier, Deal modifier offer lines, Infocode group, Aggregate Profile groups.

Table Management Enhancements

  • Table join is now valid in all layouts until dis-joined - a table is automatically dis-joined when the table is freed.
  • Combined dining tables appear in the dining allocation panel just like normal dining tables.
  • New Dining Reservation Entry type: Walk-in. This entry is created for allocation/reservation whenever guests are seated directly to show that the dining table(s) is reserved for the dining duration, just as when guests are seated on dining tables with reservations and on a waiting list.
  • Dining duration can be set for each period of a time schedule. Time schedule periods are used to build dining area plan templates and dining area plans. Dining duration can be variable, depending on period and day and the number of guests involved.
  • A Seated Dining Reservation Entry is moved to Dining Reserv. History Entry once the dining table is free. The history entries can be viewed in the Dining Reserv. History Entries page.
  • Change dining table type for a table in design mode in POS.
  • New command, TBL_CHGTBLTYPE, replaces TBL_SHP_RECT, TBL_SHP_SQUARE, TBL_SHP_ELLIPSE, and TBL_CAPACITY.

Kitchen Display System (KDS)

  • New type of Kitchen Display Stations - Customer Facing Display (CFD). This is a display that faces towards the customers and is commonly used in Quick Service Restaurants. The display shows when an order is ready after it has been bumped from the Expeditor.

  • It is now possible to show Deals in the KDS with a deal header within a chit for clarity.

LS Activity

New Role Centers for Activity and Member Management

This rework was needed to better fit the Business Central Web Client. Membership Group has been added to the Membership role center, where the user can define these groups and get a summary of active members per week. These groups can be defined afterwards or on the fly in the group summary view.

Compressing the Matrix View

It is now possible to hide unavailable slots in the matrix view for improved viewing.

External Availability and Capacity Framework

It is now possible to have Dining Table Reservations get the capacity and dining duration from the Dining Area Plan instead of using the LS Activity capacity setup. This is an open framework so other Activity Types can also make use of external capacity queries, if needed.

LS Activity Web POS

LS Activity is fully Web POS enabled from this release.

LS Staff Management

  • The Staff Management functionality for the Web POS has been enhanced to fully support the Web POS for LS Central.

  • New role center for Staff Management which is more in line with the Business Central design guidelines.

  • Weekly rosters give you the ability to create and work with weekly rosters instead of the full month.

  • Salary Periods for analysis let you compare staff costs between different periods either with monthly periods or salary periods.

  • It is now possible to assign an employee part of the day, even when he or she is registered as unavailable for other parts of the same day.

LS Core

LS Core is a rapid implementation process that gives customers the ability to implement LS Central using a combination of preconfigured and template data elements to minimize the complexity of the configuration and operation of the solution.

The available download includes:

  • Two RapidStart packages for Evaluation and Production company setups:

    • A package containing all the Evaluation data which can set up a company in demonstration mode for exploring and testing: LS14.02.W1.EVAL.SAMPLEDATA.rapidstart
    • A package containing only Setup data, which can help to set up a production company: LS14.02.W1.PROD.SETUPDATA.rapidstart
  • Profiles.xml - contains POS Profiles
  • Others.xml - contains POS commands and some other essential setups.

New POS Commands

  • ACTLIST - List activities
  • ACTSTATUS - Change activity status
  • CO_CANCEL_ORDER - Cancel Customer Order
  • EDITACTIVITY - Edit Activity field - parameter field number
  • EDITRESERVATION - Edit Reservation field - parameter field number
  • EFT_RECOVER - Check if last failed Card Entry can be recovered
  • RESLIST - List reservations
  • TR-A-TIMELINEPAGE - Table Allocation, press Timeline Page button.

See the LS Central Help and the corresponding Excel list with filters for a complete list of POS commands.

Fixed Issues

BackOffice

Detailed Receipt Report not Showing Item No.

The Detailed Receipt report showed Line No. where Item No. was expected. The report now shows the Item No.

Error Posting Retail Picking

A Dimension error that occurred when Retail Picking was posted has now been fixed.

Location Profile not Updated in Inventory Lookup Table

The Location Profile was not updated in the Inventory Lookup Table. This has now been fixed.

Posting Sales Entries Using Batch Posting

It is now possible to post Sales Entries through Batch posting.

Quantity per Unit of Measure not Updated

Quantity per Unit of Measure was not being updated when a UOM on the Mobile Inventory app was changed. This has now been fixed.

Replication Counter Statement Lines not Increased

The replication counter for Statement lines is now updated when a Statement Line is added by codeunit 99001456 Statement Calculate.

Retail Buyer Role Center

Opening Sales Price Worksheets in Retail Buyer Role Center returned an error. This has been fixed.

Retail Module Page Update

The Retail Module page has been updated with the latest LS Retail object range.

Retail Sales Return With Discount

Inconsistency in price during a sales return involving discount has been fixed.

Store Dimension Posting in Inventory Transfer

An error that occurred when LS code was moved to subscriber has been fixed.

WS Default Data Codeunit (99009514)

The function that creates default data tried to create data for fields that have been deleted. This has now been fixed.

Customer Order

Customer Order Cancellation Fixes

  • It is now possible to cancel customer orders at the POS.
  • The put-back process for a customer order canceled at the POS has been put in place.
  • It is now possible to cancel customer orders from BackOffice.
  • It is now possible to cancel customer orders from eCommerce.

Error in Recalculating Sales Order Lines

Recalculating lines connected to Customer Orders is now done for both open and released Sales Orders.

Rounding Error Fixed

A rounding error in a Sales Order created from a Customer Order has been fixed. This error could occur if there were discounts in the Customer Order.

Refund Not Posted Correctly

Customer Order Refund with connection to Workflow is now posted to GL accounts according to setup.

LS Central POS

Compressed POS Lines

When scanned, POS lines were being compressed, even if the setup in the POS Functionality Profile said not to. This has now been fixed.

Duplicate Receipt Number

A receipt number was duplicated when it was suspended. This has been fixed.

Error When Creating Member Contact on POS

It is now possible to create a Member Contact on the POS with Server Log Level set to ALL.

Voiding a Transaction With Store Coupon

Voiding a transaction with a store coupon and then reuse it at another POS was not possible. This has now been fixed.

Z Report Printing Error Fixed

A printing error that occurred when a printing a Z report in the web client has now been fixed.

Z Report Error in an Online Database Fixed

When a Z report was done in an online database, all suspended transactions had to be finalized. The function was not taking into consideration if EOD was being made for one terminal and the statement method was by Staff or by POS.

LS Hardware Station

Error Loading Log Files in LS Hardware Station 14.1.1.951 Fixed

The LS Hardware Station Management portal now displays only today's log file in the Log panel.

The Toolbox already has a functionality that creates only one log file per day to limit the size of the log files. Following this change, the Management portal did not display the current log file properly. This has now been fixed.

Error Printing Large Data

LS Hardware Station had an issue with printing large data that has now being resolved.

Exception Handling in Logo Printing

LS Hardware Station now handles empty values within print requests that are required for a specific print line to work (for example a logo). Instead of throwing an exception, the Hardware Station now uses a default value.

The following issues in LS Hardware Station have also been fixed:

  • When viewed full-screen in an Edge browser, part of the screen does not work.
  • In the Web POS, all information is missing on the Create Customer Order page.
  • Clicking an "inactive" button in a matrix in the Web POS generates an error.
  • Autologoff does not work in Hospitality.
  • Autologoff does not work in the Web POS.
  • LoadMenuPermissions does not run after logoff then logon.
  • Logging off on modal panels does not show the offline panel.
  • Computer name on a terminal causes a .NET Framework Interoperability error at logon.

Member Management

Unable to Select a Member Contact Attribute

It is now possible to select a Member Attribute Value from the lookup list when you add a Member Attribute to a Member Contact.

Member Contact Phone Number

Phone number information for Members is now retrieved from the Member card instead of the Customer card.