When you're first getting started in Acumatica, the number of menus, screens, dashboards, and tools can feel like a lot to take in. The good news is that once you understand how the system is organized, navigating from one area to another becomes much more intuitive.
Acumatica is designed around modules, role-based access, searchable screens, and customizable views. Whether you work primarily in finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, or another area, the basic navigation works much the same way throughout the system.
Here are some of the main navigation tools to know as you get familiar with Acumatica.
The menu on the left side of Acumatica is organized into modules. Each module groups together related areas of the system.
For example, depending on your role, you may see modules for:
The modules and menu options you see are based on your security profile. Someone working in sales may have access to Sales Orders and Inventory, while someone in accounting may see more financial modules.
Once you select a module, you'll see the screens available within that area. These are generally organized into transaction and profile screens, along with reporting and preference options.
If you're looking for a module that doesn't appear in your main navigation, select More Items. This shows the additional areas available to you. You can then pin frequently used modules to the left-hand menu for easier access.
Throughout Acumatica, many screens open to what are known as generic inquiries. These are essentially list views that display records such as sales orders, customers, inventory items, or other transactions.
These screens are highly interactive and you can filter the information to show only what you need.
You can also rearrange columns by dragging and dropping them into the order that works best for you.
If you regularly use the same filters, you can save the view. For example, you might create a saved view that displays only open sales orders above a certain amount.
These changes can be specific to your user account, so you can organize information in the way that's most useful to you without changing another user's view.
Side panels give you another way to review information without leaving your current inquiry screen.
When available, selecting a side panel opens additional information on the right side of the screen. For example, from a sales order inquiry, you may be able to view the details of a selected sales order or customer without opening the record on a separate page.
As you move between records in the list, the side panel updates to display information related to the selected record.
This can be helpful when you want to review several transactions or customer records quickly without continually opening and closing individual screens.
There are several ways to create new records in Acumatica.
From many screens, you can select the plus sign to add a new record. Modules may also include quick action tiles that take you directly to common entry screens.
For example, if you need to create a new sales order, you can use the quick action within the Sales Orders module rather than navigating through multiple menu levels.
If there are certain screens you use every day, Acumatica's Favorites feature can make them easier to access. Hover over a menu item and mark it as a favorite. It will then appear in the Favorites menu at the top of the system.
Favorites are grouped based on their related modules, which can be useful if you regularly move between several areas of Acumatica.
You can also remove screens from Favorites as your needs change.
Your Acumatica homepage may include a dashboard tailored to your role. Because dashboards can be customized, what you see may look different from what someone else in your organization sees.
Dashboards can display metrics, charts, transaction counts, and other information that gives you a quick picture of what's happening in the system.
Many dashboard elements are also interactive.
For example, if your dashboard shows that you have 95 orders ready to ship, you may be able to select that number and drill directly into a list of those orders. From there, you can review the records and potentially take the next step, such as creating a shipment.
If you know what you want to do but aren't sure where it lives in the menu, the universal search bar at the top of Acumatica can help.
You can search for menu options such as Create Purchase Order, and Acumatica will direct you to the appropriate screen.
Universal search can also help you locate records and information throughout the system. Depending on the data available to you, you can search for items such as:
This can be particularly useful when you know what you're looking for but don't know which module or screen contains it.
When you have questions about a screen or process, Acumatica includes built-in help resources.
The universal search includes a Help Topics section that searches Acumatica's help documentation. You can use this to look up topics such as creating a sales order or converting an opportunity into an order.
You can also select the question mark from within a specific screen. This takes you to help content related to the screen you're currently using.
The help system includes reference information as well as step-by-step activities that walk through common processes, such as creating a contact.
For new users in particular, these resources can be a useful first stop when you're unsure how a field works or how to complete a particular task.
It's easy to move through several screens while working in Acumatica and then realize you need to return to something you were viewing earlier.
The breadcrumbs tool tracks the areas and records you've recently visited. You can use it to quickly return to a previous customer, contact, sales order, or other record without searching for it again.
You can also favorite certain records you're actively tracking, making it easier to return to them later.
Learning Acumatica doesn't require memorizing where every screen is located. Instead, it helps to become familiar with the tools the system gives you for finding information and moving between tasks.
The module structure gives you a logical starting point, while saved filters, Favorites, dashboards, universal search, side panels, and breadcrumbs can make everyday navigation faster.
As you spend more time in the system, you can customize many of these features around the screens and information you use most often.
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