Creating a record
Forms, required fields, where dropdown choices come from, and how a document gets its number.
A list that accepts new records carries a primary button on its toolbar. What opens is a form: fields with labels, the required ones marked, hints where a rule is not obvious from the label.
Where the choices in a dropdown come from
| Kind | Where it comes from | Who can change it |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed list | Declared in the screen itself — typically a small, structural set. | A release. |
| Configuration list | A classification list under Platform → Configuration, per company. | An administrator, immediately, with no release. |
| Lookup | Live records of another kind — an account, a supplier, an employee, a cost centre. | Anybody who can create that kind of record. |
The distinction is worth knowing when a value you need is missing. A missing configuration value is a five-minute administrator task. A missing lookup value means the record it points at has not been created yet.
Line grids inside a form
Documents made of a header and lines carry the grid in the creation form. Add rows, pick the account or item per row, and the running total updates as you type. A journal will refuse to save unless its debits equal its credits — the check is in the posting service, not in the screen, so it holds however the journal arrived.
The document number
Whether you type the number or the platform allocates it is configuration, per document type, per company:
- System generated — the platform numbers it and refuses a number you supply.
- Manually entered — the number becomes a required field on the form.
- Either — the number you enter wins; otherwise one is generated.
Master data ships as manual entry (item, supplier, customer, employee, patient, asset, GL account) and transaction data as system generated. Either can be changed. Numbers are unique per company, not globally — every company’s first purchase order is PO-000001.
Which unit the record lands in
A new record defaults to the business unit selected in the top bar, and the unit is editable on the record. If you work in one unit most of the time, set it as your default in your preferences and stop answering the question.
If you are entering many records at once, do not type them one at a time. Every list screen accepts a spreadsheet — see Importing a spreadsheet.