You can increase the length of the first section of your Job IDs up to the character limit of 10 (excluding punctuation). Other changes require a key change performed by Sage Expert Services.

Considerations

• Any jobs added with the new format will print at the end of your reports.
• Reports will sort from shortest to longest length if you have varying lengths of Job IDs.
• To modify this sort order, customize your reports to sort numerically instead of by length.
• You can create up to three sections with a maximum of 10 characters (excluding punctuation).
• If the Job Cost shares data with Estimating, refresh the Estimating data. Go to Estimating, Database, Database Settings, and click Refresh Data. The will update the section size. You can't edit the section from within this window.

Change the first section

Change the size of the first section of a Job ID.

1. Have all operators exit all Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate applications.
2. Make a backup of your data. 
3. Launch Sage Desktop.
4. Rename the Master.jcm to XMaster.jcm.
   • You can quickly find the file by typing master into the file name field and selecting the Master.JCM
5. If you use Project Management, you must also rename your Master.pjm file to XMaster.pjm.
   
   CAUTION:

   Don’t open the Job Cost or Project Management applications until you complete all steps. You'll rename the files back to their original names in steps 12-13 below.

6. From the File menu, select Company Settings, Custom Descriptions.
7. Click in the Description field for JC Job.
8. Click Set Up Sections.
9. Increase the Size for Section 1 as needed. Don’t change the size for any other sections.
10. Click Test Entry to verify the size is adequate, and then click Close.
11. Click OK to exit Custom Descriptions.
12. Rename the XMaster.jcm back to Master.jcm.
    • Search X to locate the file faster.
13. If you use Project Management, you must also rename the XMaster.pjm back to Master.pjm.
14. Go to Job Cost, Setup, Jobs.
15. Enter a new Job ID to verify the format is correct. You can delete the job if you don’t need it.

Other changes to the format

Other changes to the job ID format require a Key Change.

1. Download and fill out the attached Key Change Form.
2. Attach and email Sage Expert Services (SES) to get an estimate and schedule the key change.

Attachment: KeyChangeForm.doc

Can I change the Cost Code ID format?
Can I change a formatted ID without a Key Change?