Q2- 2025 System Five Enhancements

Summary of Areas Changed

• Country of Origin Labeling
• Price Quantities Feature
• Payments
• Special Orders
• Pack Size

In Q2 our Development team completed  over 60 fixes and enhancements.

Below you will find a write-up about some of the most significant enhancements.

Country of Origin Labeling

System Five now makes it easier to manage and display Country of Origin information for inventory items. This enhancement helps businesses comply with labeling regulations and improve transparency for customers.

What’s New?

You can now define and customize country of origin details directly in the Setup Wizard:

Labeling Enhancements

• Country of Origin description and image can now be printed on inventory price labels.
• A new column has been added to the data import tool for the 3-letter country code (not the description).

How to Use It

1. Clear Existing Flags: Use the “Set or Clear All Inventory” tool to reset items to “None.”
2. Apply by Criteria: Assign country of origin based on Supplier, Brand, or UPC range.
3. Customize Labels: Include country-specific images and descriptions on printed labels.

Enhanced Price Quantities Feature

We’ve completed a major enhancement to the legacy Price Quantities feature in System Five, making it easier and more accurate to manage inventory priced by bulk quantities—such as per hundred or thousand units.

What’s New?

• Improved Cost and Price Calculations
  The system now supports more precise pricing for items sold in bulk (e.g., screws, nails, wire, Jello packs), using Cost/Price per Hundred or Thousand units.

• Utility for Existing Inventory
  A new utility allows you to update existing parts with stock to use the enhanced Price/Cost Units feature—no need to re-enter inventory manually.

• Data Load Integration
  The Data Load process has been updated to include the necessary fields for seamless conversion to the new pricing model.

Who Benefits?

This enhancement is ideal for businesses that:

• Sell items in bulk quantities
• Need accurate pricing based on unit count
• Want to streamline inventory and pricing workflows

Smarter Payment Fee Handling and Slip Customization

System Five continues to evolve with new features that make payment processing more flexible, transparent, and compliant. Here’s what’s new:

1️⃣ Payment Fees Now Supported on Payments on Account

You can now apply payment fees or surcharges when customers make payments on account.

The system will:

• Automatically create a new A/R invoice
• Add a PAYMENTFEE line item
• Apply the payment seamlessly

You can choose to apply the fee using either:

• A part number (e.g., PAYMENTFEE) — taxable and customizable
• A ledger number — non-taxable and simpler

⚠️ Important: Do not select both a part number and a ledger number. If you need the fee to be taxable, use the part number method.

For setup instructions, visit the Windward Wiki. Due to the complexity and nuance here, we recommend that a Professional Services Team member do this for you.  Talk to your account manager to arrange this.

2️⃣ WebAPI / PayAPI Support for Card-Not-Present Fees

For merchants using Netepay Hosted with PayAPI, System Five now supports applying payment fees during card-not-present transactions—such as online or phone orders.

• Credit card surcharges are automatically applied based on card type
• Debit card fees require clerk input
• Fees appear on the invoice and, in the U.S., on the printed credit card slip

This enhancement helps merchants recover processing costs and maintain compliance with regional fee regulations. 

3️⃣ Improved Credit/Debit Slip Formatting

System Five now distinguishes between EMV-present and card-not-present transactions:

• EMV slips (from pinpads) are generated by the processor and cannot be formatted
• Card-not-present slips are generated by System Five and can be customized

New fields have been added to the Setup Wizard (version 7.0.3.34 and later) to help merchants adjust both merchant and customer copies of the slip. Be sure to restart System Five after making changes.

Why This Matters

These updates give merchants:

• Greater control over how fees are applied and displayed
• Improved compliance with EMV and regional regulations
• A smoother experience for both staff and customers

Updated PIN Pad Reset Options

We’ve added new flexibility to how System Five handles PIN Pad resets during invoice processing. This update improves performance and ensures compliance with EMV standards, especially for devices like the Verifone P400, which can take 2–3 seconds to respond.

You now have three options for how the system sends the PIN Pad reset command:

EMV Compliance

After a payment is made, a mandatory reset command is sent to ensure the customer’s card is removed from the PIN Pad. This check always waits for a response, as required by EMV standards. If the card is still inserted:

• The PIN Pad will beep continuously
• You cannot close the payment dialog until the card is removed

Smarter Tracking for Special Orders in Purchase Orders

System Five has introduced a helpful enhancement to the Orders tab within Purchase Orders, specifically for managing Special Orders. This update gives users more visibility into the units associated with special order items, making it easier to track and manage serialized inventory.

 What’s New?

You can now customize the Orders tab to include the following columns:

• Invoice Unit Number
• Make
• Model
• Serial Number

These fields refer to the unit attached to the invoice—the actual item the part is being ordered for—not the part itself. This distinction is important for businesses that deal with serialized equipment, such as appliance or equipment rental companies.

Previously added fields like Invoice Type and Invoice Subtype are also available, and users can click the Invoice or Unit button to open the associated records directly. 

Why It Matters

This enhancement helps:

• Improve traceability of special order items
• Reduce errors when managing serialized inventory
• Streamline workflows for businesses that customize or service equipment

For example, if you're ordering a replacement part for a specific unit (like a generator or refrigerator), you can now see exactly which unit it's tied to—right from the Purchase Order screen.

Reserve Stock Already on Order for Pack Sizes

What’s New?
System Five has enhanced the way it handles reserving stock that’s already on order—especially for inventory items managed in packs (like boxes of gloves, cases of drinks, etc.).

What Was the Problem?

Previously, if you ordered items in packs (e.g., a pack of 6) and used the “Explode Ordered Quantity” option, the system didn’t correctly let you reserve the right number of items from a purchase order that hadn’t been received yet. For example, if you ordered 1 pack (which should become 6 items), you couldn’t reserve more than 1 item until the order was received, even though you should have been able to reserve up to 6.

What’s Improved?

Now, the system correctly recognizes the total quantity based on the pack size—even before the order is received. So, if you order 1 pack of 6, you can reserve up to 6 items from that purchase order, making inventory management much smoother and more accurate.

Who Benefits?

This update is especially helpful for businesses that:

• Use pack sizes for inventory (e.g., medical suppliers, retailers, wholesalers)
• Need to reserve stock for customers before it arrives

How to Use It Make sure your inventory items have a pack size defined and the “Explode Ordered Quantity” option enabled. In the Setup Wizard, under Purchase Order Settings, set “Pack Ordering is set on each Inventory Item.” You’ll need System Five version 7.0.0.1648 or newer.

Take a look at all of the fixes and enhancements visit our Release Notes Page at

windwardsoftware.com/release-notes

Did you Know? Windward Software offers Custom Programming Services.

Customer-led development for Windward System Five focuses on creating solutions that directly address the specific business challenges faced by users. By actively involving customers in the development process, Windward Software ensures that its features and enhancements are tailored to real-world needs. This approach not only enhances the system’s functionality but also fosters a collaborative relationship with clients, driving innovation and delivering practical, effective tools for business problem-solving.

If you'd like a customization for your business please consider

Requesting A Product Enhancement

Now it's easier than ever to Update to our newest versions 

Windward has a new updater for customers on version 7.  Schedule an appointment to get the newest version with easy updates enabled https://www.windwardsoftware.com/bookings

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Customers are required to be on an active Windward Maintenance Contract or a Windward System Five on Cloud subscriber to install or receive product updates.  The Windward Maintenance Contract is a standard annual business expense for all Windward System Five users.  Windward Software is in business to support your business, and this plan allows us to bring value to you when you need us most.

The video below shows some of the resources available to Windward Clients.

Find out more on the Windward Maintenance Contract site.