Time Zone, Entry Date and Transaction Date when Creating Stock Transactions

This document describes how you set up time zones and how entry dates and transaction dates work.

An entry date can also be named as a registration date. A transaction date can also be named as a reporting date.

In some functions, where the user manually enters stock transactions, a defaulted transaction date and time are suggested. This date can be changed by the user.

The suggested transaction date and time are always the local date and time, depending on the time zone settings.

The entry date is the date the stock transaction was created in the system. This date is set automatically.

Outcome

  • A time zone is defined.

    The time zone created in 'Time Zone. Open' (DRS045) is connected to 'Place. Open' (MMS008). The place is connected to warehouses, places of loading, places of unloading, and more.

  • A description is created of the entry date and transaction date and how these interact with the time zone.

    The registration date and time are part of the primary key for stock transactions, and should always be considered the "machine time." The registration date and time are created automatically and cannot be changed.

    Registration time in stock transaction history file (MITTRA) includes:

    • RGDT – Registration date
    • RGTM – Registration time

    Transaction time in (MITTRA) includes:

    • TRDT – Transaction date
    • TRTM – Transaction time

    The transaction time is used mainly for accounting purposes. It can be changed in some functions.

Before You Start

No prerequisites are needed.

Entry Date and Entry Time

The entry date and entry time are part of the primary key for stock transactions, and should always be considered the "machine time" (in other words, the point of time when the stock transaction was created in the system). The registration point of time cannot be changed by users.

The entry date is not affected by the time zone settings in (DRS045).

Transaction Time

The transaction time is used mainly for accounting purposes, and can in some routines be changed by users who manually enter stock transactions in the system. The transaction time is also used to calculate physical inventory differences.

Note: The transaction time is always proposed by the system. This proposed date is always expressed in local time for the warehouse in question. Local time is the time zone defined in (DRS045) and connected to the place in (MMS008) which is connected to the warehouse in (MMS005).

Time Zone

The 'Number of hours from UTC' field in (DRS045) indicates the number of hours and minutes by which the current time zone deviates from UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). Note that UTC replaces Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Time zones earlier than UTC must have a minus sign after the time.

Example:

Sydney 10:00
Tokyo 6:00
Stockholm 1:00
Washington DC 5:00-
Los Angeles 8:00-

Time Zone '&SYS'

Time zone &SYS must be entered in (DRS045). &SYS is the time zone used internally in M3. When no time zone is entered for a location, local (&SYS) time is used. This means that no conversion of time is done.

The following section describes how to define the time zone &SYS.

Workflow for Defining Time Zone

  1. Start 'Time Zone. Open' (DRS045/B). Enter an ID for the time zone and the year of when the definition for the time zone is valid and the hemisphere.

  2. On the E panel, enter the description and name.

  3. The number of hours from UTC indicates the number of hours and minutes by which the current time zone deviates from UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). Note that UTC replaces Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

  4. The Daylight Saving Time indicates if this is used for the current time zone. If it does, you must enter the daylight savings time start date, the daylight savings time end date, and adjustments.

Define Time Zone '&SYS*

The 'Hours from UTC' field for time zone &SYS should be set to the time difference between the M3 BE server machine time and the UTC time. Then the correct time will be displayed, for example, on a printout that is connected to a user who is connected to a certain time zone.

Example 1

The M3 BE server is located in the U.S. time zone (U.S. Eastern Time). The 'Hours from UTC' field for U.S. Eastern time zone is 6-. Then you must set the 'Hours from UTC' field for time zone &SYS to 6-.

Example 2

The M3 BE server is located in the Central European time zone (CET). The 'Hours from UTC' field for CET is 1. Then you must set 'Hours from UTC' field for time zone &SYS to 1.