Sunflower Systems Useful Software Tips

Generate reports in the Background

Generating reports using the Background button* in Sunflower Assets 4.5 provides you several advantages over the standard way of running reports (i.e. using the eXecute button):

• Several reports can be generated at a time (as opposed to one at a time with the eXecute button)
• Reports display in a separate window (as opposed to the same window with the eXecute button) – this allows you to continue working in Sunflower while the report is being generated
• More efficiently manages large quantities of data – decreases the likelihood that the system will “time out” while you’re waiting for the report to finish
• Can be configured to send email notification when reports are generated

To run a report in the “Background”, simply click the Background button when you reach the output format section of the report generation process.  Follow the instructions on the screen to continually check the status of the report, and open the report when ready.

*To enable the Background feature in Sunflower Assets 4.5, please follow the configuration guidelines provided in the Sunflower Enterprise 4.5 installation manual and CD.

Utilize Offsite Locations (Street Address, City, State, etc.)

Does your organization have a need to track items being used at Locations that don’t necessarily conform to your standard Location structures (e.g., property on pass at an employee’s home)?  Administrators have the ability to configure an Offsite Site value, with which users can capture street address, city, and state information.  Need to run a query of items at a user’s home address?  Just use the Offsite Site parameter coupled with the User name, and the result will tell you every asset that user has at their home.

Use the check mark (Resolution) toolbar button to view resolution information

If you ever find yourself viewing an asset’s Summary and History and wishing you knew more about that asset’s specific resolution history, click the Resolution toolbar button, (the button with the check mark).  This will navigate you to the Lookup Inventory Asset Resolutions screen, which shows detailed information about an asset’s resolution history.  Here you can view who found it, where they found it, what time the resolutions were captured, and which review campaigns the resolutions were valid for.  Also, you can view the entire history of an asset’s resolutions.  So if you have scanned an asset once a year for the last ten years, you’ll see every scan and its details - along with every review campaign linked to that asset - over that ten year period.  It’s a great tool for auditors wanting to know more about an asset’s history, and it’s a great way to see the long-range physical inventory results of your assets.

 “Who is this Person?”

If you’re like many large organizations you probably have several employees with the same name.  This could lead to confusion when adding a Custodian or User name to your asset records.  One way to determine if you’ve entered the correct person when creating an asset record is to use the Person button on the toolbar.  This button allows you to view specific information about that person, such as Address, Phone Number, Fax number, Email Address, Title, and more.

An alternate way to review the Person information is through the Details tab on the Summary and History screens.  Just click on the magnifying glass to the right of the Custodian/User’s name and you’ll be able to view all the information mentioned above.  Keep in mind, however, that for any of this information to be available you’ll have to interface it from your HR system, or enter/update it manually when you have employee changes.

“If you can’t find it in Summary and History, you didn’t do it to the asset record.”

The Summary and History screens are among the most powerful in Sunflower because they contain all the information you need about an asset - from acquisition to disposal and everything in between.  Use the Timeline tab to get a snapshot of the changes made to the record over time.  If you only want to see specific changes, filter by Events, Open Requests, Closed Requests, Resolutions and more.

If you need more context – like where an asset was located and who the user was during a specific period - use the Details tab and scroll back through time.  Review the Effective Date as you scroll to see when that information was pertinent to the asset.  If you’re having trouble tracking down certain assets during your physical inventory process, try using this functionality as a means of tracking down those assets; perhaps they somehow migrated back to a former User or Location.

Retagging an Asset

What happens if you find an asset in a closet with no barcode sticker, then query Sunflower by serial number and see that the asset is in the system?  Most organizations would stick a new barcode on the item, which would require the barcode number (Identifier) in the system to then be changed.  Sunflower provides this capability, called a “retag”.  A retag is simple:

1. Enter the Maintain Inventory Assets screen
2. Query the asset by serial number (or enter the old Identifier, if known, and Tab) – this brings up the asset record
3. Type the new Identifier over the old, then Tab – you’ll be told that continuing will “retag the asset from old Identifier to new Identifier”
4. Click OK
5. Update other asset information as needed
6. Save the record

Once you save, click on the Summary and History button on the toolbar.  On the Timeline you’ll see an Ongoing Event called Inventory Asset Identifier Change.  Click the Details tab, then scroll back in time.  The Current Identifier field at the top right part of the screen will maintain a history of the old Identifier, while the new Identifier will remain in the Identifier field on the top left.

One final tip: you can still query an asset by its old Identifier, but once you do so the asset record will show up with the new Identifier.  In other words, that old Identifier is forever linked with the new Identifier, thus preventing it from ever being re-used in the system.

Duplicating Asset Records Through Maintain Inventory Assets

If you need to add more than one asset of the same Manufacturer/Model Number combination through the Maintain Inventory Assets screen, you should be using Sunflower’s “Duplicate” feature to create additional asset records.  Let’s say you’ve received 10 Dell 3500 Inspiron laptops:

1. Add and save the first Dell asset record
2. Once saved, hit the F4 key on your keyboard (or, follow the menu path Functions> Record> Duplicate)
3. The Identifier and Serial Number of the first asset record will disappear, and you will see the word Duplicate at the top of the screen
4. Enter an Identifier and Serial Number for the second Dell asset record
5. Update additional information as needed, such as User and Location
6. Save the record
7. Repeat steps 2-6 until all 10 asset records are in the system

Exporting Reports to Microsoft Excel

Exporting your most useful reports to Excel may be easier than you think.  Once you submit a report:

1. Choose Text file export (where available)
2. Save file to Desktop
3. Rename file, adding .csv to the end of the file name (e.g. file name.txt.csv)
4. Hit the Enter key on your keyboard
5. Choose Yes to approve the change – this changes the Text file to an Excel file
6. Open Excel file and manipulate columns as needed

Note: To get this to work properly, you may have to go to your computer’s Control Panel first, and uncheck the “Hide extensions for the known file types” box in Folder Options/View

Save keystrokes and time - set up your Steward code as a default value

Do you get tired of typing in your Steward code every time you add an asset through Maintain Inventory Assets?  If so, follow the steps below to populate your Steward code automatically when adding an asset:

1. Go to the Admin module, select People, select Enter Personal Parameter Values
2. Hit the Find button (the flashlight) to enter query mode
3. Type MANAGEMENT in the Category field
4. Type DSTEWARD in the Code field
5. Hit the Find button once more – you will now see a description that says Default steward
6. Next to Value, under Default steward, type in your Steward organization
7. Hit the Save button

Now when you enter Maintain Inventory Assets to add an asset, you should automatically see your Steward code.

Quickly Generate Your Favorite Reports – Without Time Consuming Data Entry

Use the Previously Run Report feature in Sunflower to quickly generate your most commonly run reports - without having to re-enter the report parameters.  Each report generated in Sunflower is assigned a unique number called a Selection Criteria.  This number can be found on the cover page of each report, and can be used to run the same report, with up-to-the-minute information, just by typing in the Selection Criteria number.  To use this feature:

• Generate your most commonly run reports using the exact parameters you’d like to see on each.
• Once each report is generated, take note of the Selection Criteria number on the cover page.
• Next time you run the report, navigate to the Reports module.
• Click on the Previously Run Report menu item.
• Enter the Selection Criteria number and Submit.

Once you execute, the report will give you all the real-time information you need.  To verify this, check out the cover page – it contains the same parameters you entered the first time you ran the report.

“The Flashlight is your Friend”

Are you taking advantage of Sunflower’s powerful query capabilities?  From most screens in Sunflower you can use the Find (flashlight) button on the toolbar to queue up the specific asset records you need.  For example, if you need to retire several assets because the room they were located in burns down, use the Find button, enter the specific Location parameters, and quickly query and retire all the assets in the room.  Or, if accepting several asset transfers into your organization at once, use the Find button – in conjunction with the Requested radio button in the Query Criteria screen – and all the assets that have been requested for transfer to your organization will populate the screen.

And what if you need to move all the assets from one room into another due to a renovation?  Simple: access the Change Inventory Asset Information screen, enter the new Location at the top of the screen, then use the Find button to generate a query for all the assets at the prior location.  Once you Save, all the assets will be updated from the old location to new.

Resolutions and the Review Module

If you are currently using the Review module, keep in mind that Sunflower uses a variety of Resolutions to define the types of ‘touches’ that can be valid for your review campaigns.  The more obvious Resolution types include Barcode Scan and Online Physical. (Both mean someone has physically found and accounted for the asset).  As a way to minimize manual data entry, Sunflower can also log resolutions as outcomes of events.  For example, if an asset gets a location update or is transferred to an internal organization, Sunflower will automatically log resolutions for each of these events, since in each example someone has physically moved the asset.  Or perhaps  you log regular maintenance activities on your assets; these can be valid Resolutions as well.

To decide which Resolutions you should use, think about the many different Ongoing Events that occur to your assets each day, and how you can use Resolutions to help you execute your review campaigns more quickly and efficiently.