xTupler #8 | August 2009
Dear Community —
We have a lot of exciting announcements to make this month. The first is the upcoming release of version 3.3.0 of xTuple ERP. The details are below, but in summary, it was the most collaboratively-designed (and coded) release yet of xTuple ERP. You'll be particularly pleased if you are a distributor with inventory to manage at various sites, or if you operate in a country with a complex VAT and other tax structures.
The tax enhancements were designed by a working group of users from five continents. A special tip of the hat to Aptsource Software, our partners in Kolkata, India, who contributed a major chunk of the development effort.
We've also moved further into the e-commerce arena with some new free offerings. We power our own web site with the open source Drupal content management system, and our xChange online marketplace uses the Ubercart add-in module for e-commerce. We're distributing this Ubercart order connector for free on the xChange, as well as a similar package for osCommerce (another leading open source webstore). More info below!
Best regards,
BC Wilson
Director of Internet Communications
Are you selling online yet?
You can find all three free e-commerce integration solutions from xTuple for download from the xChange.
You can download and use any of these three solutions right away, or you can use them as a basis for further, more complex integrations between xTuple and an e-commerce site. If you decide to modify or extend them, or if you use them as a basis to connect to a totally different e-commerce platform (we have our eyes on Magento...) we hope you'll consider sharing them with the community here at xTuple.
We've provided these free tools primarily as usable examples of the two methods for integrating xTuple with an external e-commerce engine. Ubercart and Yahoo Stores both connect to xTuple via the XML method, where the orders placed on the store are exported into an XML file and then imported into xTuple. The osCommerce connection, on the other hand, uses our database APIs to insert data directly from the web store into xTuple.
Check out the docs section for more information about xTuple e-commerce integrations, or head over to the xChange to download the xTuple e-commerce integration files now.
xTuple ERP 3.3.0 - Release Candidate now available!
We have just posted the Release Candidate of xTuple 3.3.0 on our SourceForge.net site. This version is a major step forward, with a number of important new features, including Distribution Resource Planning (DRP), improved VAT and international tax support, and improved support for e-mail throughout the product. The full list of important features, with links to more information, appears below.
Distribution Resource Planning* (sponsored)
Improved VAT and international tax support (contribution and sponsorship)
Improved E-mail/ integration support for Batch Manager ** (sponsored)
Support for export to ODF, CSV and HTML
Copy to clipboard support for lists (contributed)
Indented Work Order (contributed)
Integrate xTuple user with Postgres user
Support added to make xTensions translatable
Support added to open core screens from script
Ability to reverse and void Cash Receipts
Consolidate all customer information on to one screen (sponsored)
New option to make forwarding trial balance fully automatic
For more information about this and future versions, please view our product Roadmap.
New in the xChange
In addition to the e-commerce connectors, we've packaged up some of our standard offerings and added them to the catalog on the xChange. You can now buy and download a 5-user license for Standard Edition or Manufacturing Edition, directly through the store.
You can also find prepackaged support bundles, including Installation Support, Expert Hours, and Production Support.
Confused about the different types of support? Read more about support options.
You can always contact us directly at 757-461-3022 to speak to our sales team during business hours (8am to 6pm, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday).
Partner Showcase
Dr. Will Bralick founded Paladin Logic - a service disabled veteran owned small business - in 2007. During and after his 20-year career in the Air Force, Will was involved in many large-scale, enterprise system developments. His goal is to build a successful, employee-owned science and engineering business beginning with his own area of expertise: software engineering.
Paladin Logic has been an xTuple partner since 2008 and has sent its entire technical team to the xTuple training. They are particularly well-suited to building well-engineered, customized solutions. The open-source, platform-neutral nature of xTuple attracted Paladin Logic as the best solution for the diverse customer base in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex.
Dr. Bralick's combination of technical depth with the breadth of management experience from his military career helps him lead Paladin Logic in the development of innovative solutions to their customers' most complex and challenging problems.
When he's not leading and managing Paladin Logic, Will is a defenseman on his ice hockey team. Yes, he plays ice hockey in the summer in Texas. His other interests include chess and public speaking. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Buckley Foundation for Communications.
Employee Showcase
If there were a contest for the best use of stealth technology, the award would surely go to Monique McBride! With her very calm demeanor, Monique quietly moves through the office in her black Ugg boots in much the same way that she quietly and calmly works with xTuple customers to provide support which consistently earns her rave reviews!
Aside from her keen sense of style, Monique brings a wealth of practical knowledge to the xTuple team. Before joining us in 2008, Monique implemented xTuple as a customer at an electronics hardware manufacturer in 2004.
Monique is one of the friendly voices you hear on the other end of our Support line. Additionally, Monique is actively involved with our Quality Control group - advising and developing scenarios for testing and she's also an important contributor to the internal development and testing of the xTuple applications.
Monique's heroes include Ira Glass, Paul Pierce, and Cesar Milan. Monique hopes to one day be able to dog whisper her own chihuahua, Nina.
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