Release Update v25-47

CATAMA is introducing a comprehensive configuration and template system for mobile homes (motorhomes, campervans, and recreational vehicles). You can now create, manage, and save complex vehicle configurations as reusable templates. The new system consists of two main components: the Camper Configurator for individual vehicle configurations and the Template Manager for reusable templates. In the Configurator, you can enter all vehicle-specific details: standard equipment, optional extras, technical modifications, add-on packages, and individual customizations. Each configuration is linked to all relevant customer data, vehicle details, and equipment features. The Template Manager allows you to save frequently sold configurations as templates – for example, "Premium Motorhome Standard Equipment," "Family Plus Package," or "Off-Road Camper Basic Version." When creating a new order, you can then select a suitable template, and all defined equipment features will be automatically applied. The system also manages terms and purchase prices for the configurations. You can see in real time which equipment options incur which costs, allowing you to calculate quickly and accurately. The configurations are seamlessly integrated into the document processing – from the initial inquiry and quotation to the final purchase agreement, you maintain an overview of all vehicle configuration details at all times.

The vehicle damage report has been expanded from a simple text field to a multi-line text area. You can now record detailed damage descriptions with multiple paragraphs, structured lists, and detailed explanations – without the text appearing cluttered on a single line. This is particularly important when documenting accident damage, prior damage to used cars, or comprehensive condition descriptions during vehicle handovers. At the same time, the recording of purchase prices for orders has been optimized: The field for the order purchase price is now designed as a conditions field, meaning you can enter not only a simple amount but also currency, discounts, special conditions, and other commercial details. The system automatically calculates the margin between the purchase and sales price and displays it in reports and analyses. At a glance, you can see: Which orders are particularly profitable? Where are the purchase costs higher than planned? This transparency helps you continuously improve your calculations and work more efficiently.

The inventory report for Mobile has been enhanced with intelligent filter options specifically designed for car dealerships and workshops with their own vehicle inventory. You can now filter specifically for consignment vehicles and stock vehicles. Consignment vehicles are those you sell on behalf of a customer but don't own – it's crucial to clearly distinguish these from your own inventory. Stock vehicles are vehicles you own and are ready for sale. The new filters allow you to switch between these categories with a single click or view both together. Additionally, you can see relevant inventory metrics for each vehicle: How long has the vehicle been in your inventory? What costs have been incurred (storage fees, maintenance, etc.)? How is the value developing? The filter also considers combined scenarios: For example, you can display "All consignment vehicles that have been in your inventory for more than 90 days" or "Stock vehicles with a purchase value exceeding €30,000." This provides valuable insights for your inventory management: Which vehicles are tying up capital for too long? Where should you implement price reductions? You can save the filter settings and define them as the default view, so you don't have to reconfigure them every time.

The article search has been enhanced with a powerful search type feature that significantly speeds up your daily work with the article master data. You can now explicitly define the search criteria: article number, article description, manufacturer's article number, EAN/GTIN, supplier's article number, or free text across all fields. Previously, you often had to perform multiple searches if you were unsure whether information was stored in the description or the article number. Now, simply select "Search in: Article Description" and enter "Brake Pad"—the system will then search only the description fields. Alternatively, you can select "Search in: Manufacturer's Article Number" and enter the OE number provided by the customer. The search type selection appears as a dropdown menu directly next to the search field and is immediately available. The system remembers your last selection, so you don't have to reconfigure it for the next search. Particularly convenient: In the document editor (quotes, orders, invoices), you can select the search type directly when adding articles. They work faster because the results are more precise and no irrelevant hits are displayed. For large product databases with tens of thousands of entries, this filter offers a tremendous speed advantage.

The OCR-based vehicle data import has been fundamentally redesigned and optimized for use with stock and used vehicles. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) allows vehicle data to be automatically extracted from photos or scans of vehicle registration documents and imported directly into CATAMA. Previously, this process was sometimes prone to errors, especially with older or illegible documents. The new version now recognizes the following much more reliably: Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), date of first registration, mileage, technical data, owner information, and all other relevant fields from vehicle registration certificates Part I and II. The system automatically checks the recognized data for plausibility: Is the date correct? Is the VIN formatted correctly? Are the technical data accurate? If there are any uncertainties, the corresponding fields are highlighted in yellow, and you can make manual corrections. The import wizard guides you through the process step by step: photograph or upload the document, wait for automatic recognition, check and confirm the recognized data, and the vehicle is created in the system. The entire process now takes only a few seconds instead of several minutes of manual input. This is particularly valuable when purchasing multiple used vehicles or when registering consignment vehicles.

The order overview has been enhanced with an important filter function: You can now specifically filter for orders based on the date the corresponding invoice was created. This function is particularly relevant for your finance and controlling processes. Imagine you want to see all orders that were processed in October and invoiced in November – this filter makes that possible. You can define a date range (e.g., "Invoice created between November 1, 2025, and November 30, 2025"), and the system will display all matching orders, regardless of when the order was originally created or when the vehicle was in the workshop. This is crucial for accurate accrual accounting: Revenue must be allocated to the month in which the service was invoiced. With the new filter, you can generate monthly revenue reports that include precisely the orders that were actually invoiced in the respective month. You can also use combined filters: "Show all warranty orders whose invoices were created in November and which are still unpaid" or "All orders from customer XY that were invoiced in the last quarter." The filter function works in real time and displays the results immediately – even with large datasets containing thousands of orders, performance remains excellent thanks to optimized database queries.

CATAMA now offers the option to display internal comments and notes directly on printed order invoices and stock slips. Using the new configuration option CONFIG_TEMPLATE_ORDERINVOICE_DISPLAY_INTERN_COMMENT, you can define system-wide or per document type whether internal comments should be included. Internal comments are notes that you would normally only enter for your own employees – for example, "Customer insists on original parts," "Vehicle will be picked up on Friday," "Special discount already agreed upon with the boss," or "Attention: Payment arrears on previous orders." When you activate the new option, these comments appear in a specially marked area on the printed document. This is particularly useful for internal documents such as stock slips, workshop orders, or picking slips, which are not sent to customers anyway. Your employees in the workshop or warehouse can then see all the important information directly on the document without having to look it up in the system. This reduces queries and prevents misunderstandings. For customer documents such as final invoices, you can, of course, leave the option deactivated so that internal notes are not visible externally. The notice appears in a discreet but easily readable format at the end of the document. A disclaimer (e.g., "Internal Note:") clarifies that it is not customer information.

A new feature allows you to edit stock vehicles directly from within the context of internal invoices. When creating an internal invoice for a stock vehicle—for example, for preparation costs, pre-sale repairs, or maintenance—you can now open the full vehicle editor with a single click and adjust all relevant data. Previously, this required leaving the invoice editor, switching to the vehicle module, finding the vehicle, editing it, and then navigating back to the invoice—a cumbersome process involving several clicks. The new direct link opens the editor as an overlay window, so you're immediately back in the invoice context after editing. Typical use cases include: You've just entered repair costs for a used vehicle and want to update the vehicle history simultaneously; you're invoicing preparation costs and want to set the vehicle's condition to "ready for sale" at the same time; or you're recording maintenance work and want to update the current mileage in the vehicle master data. The editor displays all vehicle data, including technical details, condition assessment, cost breakdown, and sales status. Changes are saved immediately and are available system-wide. This saves a huge amount of time and prevents important vehicle data from being forgotten to be updated.

The purchasing overview has been enhanced with powerful new filter options to help you better understand and manage your procurement processes. You can now filter by various criteria: supplier (show all purchases from a specific supplier), time period (last week, last month, custom), status (open, partially delivered, fully delivered, canceled), order value (e.g., all purchases over €5,000), and payment status (paid, unpaid, overdue). Filters can be combined as needed: "Show all unpaid purchases from supplier XY in the last quarter" or "All purchases over €1,000 that have not yet been fully delivered." The system automatically calculates totals and statistics for the filtered selection: total order value, average order value, and number of items. At a glance, you can see: Which supplier has the highest volume? Where are there outstanding delivery commitments? Which invoices are still due? You can save your filter settings as favorites and access them again with a single click. Exporting the filtered data to Excel is of course possible, allowing you to process the data further or share it with your tax advisor. The new inventory creation function has also been updated and now works even more reliably when generating inventory lists.

A common problem in the parts trade: You import a current price list from your supplier, but the items you already have in stock retain their old prices – leading to inconsistencies in your calculations. CATAMA now elegantly solves this problem: When uploading a new price list (via supplier or manufacturer import), a new option, "Update stock items," appears. Activate this checkbox, and the system automatically updates all items you already have in stock with the new prices and information from the price list. This includes: purchase prices, sales prices (if included in the price list), item descriptions (if product names have changed), technical data, and availability information. The update process is intelligent: The system first checks which stock items are affected by the new price list (matching via item number, manufacturer's part number, or EAN). Then it displays a preview: "47 stock items can be updated." You can review the list and decide whether you want to update all or only specific items. After the update, you receive a detailed report: Which items were changed? What price changes were made? The system logs all changes, allowing you to track when each price was valid. This ensures your margin calculations and sales prices are always up to date.

In document processing (quotes, orders, invoices), you can group items into packages – for example, an "inspection package" with several sub-items such as oil change, filters, brake fluid, etc. Previously, the order of these package items was fixed. Now, you can freely sort the items within a package using drag and drop. Simply drag individual items to the desired position, and the order is saved immediately. This is important for a logical and professional presentation: you can arrange the items by importance, workflow, or alphabetically. The items will then appear in exactly this order on the printed quote or invoice. The function is intuitive: click the handle icon next to an item, hold down the mouse button, and drag the item to its new position. Visual feedback shows you where the item will be inserted. The new sorting applies to the screen view as well as all printed documents and PDF exports. The selected order is also retained when copying a document. This prevents confusion and ensures a consistent presentation across all document types.

Previously, there was a limitation with deposit invoices (those documenting a down payment or security deposit): VAT could only be calculated correctly if a tax rate was already defined in the parent document (e.g., order or quote). This caused problems if you wanted to create a deposit invoice before the final order had been fully priced. This limitation has now been removed: CATAMA now calculates the tax for deposit invoices independently and correctly, even if no tax rate is defined in the parent document. The system automatically applies the standard tax rate configured for your business (usually 19% in Germany). You can also adjust the tax rate manually if needed. The calculation is transparent: you see the net amount, tax amount, and gross amount clearly separated. If the final order is later created with a different tax rate, the system recognizes this and can make the corresponding adjustments during final invoicing. This is particularly important for international transactions or special regulations such as reduced tax rates. The new logic ensures correct tax documentation and prevents problems during tax audits.

CATAMA now offers a comprehensive template system for email cover letters when sending documents. In the system settings, you can individually define the default introductory text for each document type when you send the corresponding document. The new template fields can be found under "Settings → Email Templates" and include: quotes, order confirmations, invoices, payment reminders, dunning letters, delivery notes, and all other document types. You can define custom text for each template – for example: "Dear Sir or Madam, as discussed, please find enclosed our quote for the repair of your vehicle. We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Sincerely, Your Workshop Team." The text can contain placeholders that are automatically populated with real data: {CUSTOMER_NAME} for the customer name, {DOCUMENT_NUMBER} for the document number, {VEHICLE} for the vehicle description, {DATE} for the date, and many more. When you send a document via email, the email form opens with the appropriate template text already pre-filled. You can still customize the text if needed before sending the email. This saves a tremendous amount of time because you don't have to type the same standard text every time. At the same time, you ensure that all emails are professionally written and consistent – ​​especially important when multiple employees are sending emails.

All email templates are managed centrally in the system settings and can be edited from there at any time. You'll find a clear list of all available templates with a preview of the current text. With one click, you open the editor and can customize the text. The editor offers basic formatting options: bold, bullet points, and inserting links. You can also use HTML code if you require more advanced formatting. A placeholder overview shows you all available variables and explains what data they contain. A preview function allows you to view the text with sample data before saving it. This ensures that the placeholders function correctly and the text is easily readable. The templates are stored in the database and are immediately available to all users – no activation or deployment is required for changes. You can also create multiple template versions and switch between them: a formal version for business customers, a more personal one for regular customers. The system remembers the last used template for each customer, so the appropriate version is automatically suggested for the next email. A version history feature shows you all previous versions of a template, so you can revert to an older version if needed.