Excel not responding when running report

When a staff member is running a report in Excel they will occasionally get the following message when closing the print preview screen – This is being caused by a previous document wanting to be recovered. In order to resolve this issue you will need to locate “file manager” on your shortcuts within Hosted SIMS….

Installing MS Office 2019

The Volume Licence Agreement of this version of MS Office doesn’t provide a direct download setup as previous versions. The following are the steps needed to download and install this version. Log in to your Microsoft Volume Licence portal using the credentials provided when the licence was purchased.  Obtain the relevant MAK product code. Go…

Spring 2021 Upgrade to SIMS (v7.198) and FMS (v6.198)

The Spring 2021 SIMS Upgrade (V7.198) & FMS (V6.198) is planned to be rolled out over the weekend starting from 5pm on Friday 26th March, 2021. (Scomis Hosted users please log off by 5pm) Release notes containing detailed information on what is included in the upgrade can be downloaded below: Spring 2021 SIMS – Combined Release…

Adding Additional Student Information to a Marksheet

It is possible to add additional student information fields to a marksheet in SIMS after the marksheet has been built. This FAQ will outline how to do this, in this example via Focus>Assessment>Marksheet Entry, however this can be replicated on any marksheet in SIMS. As per above, open the marksheet you want to add the…

Create/Delete a band in Nova

Please see the following document for instructions on how to Create or Delete a Band in Nova Create or Delete a Band

FMS6 adoption of ESFA chart of accounts

Below are the latest updates regarding ESFA Chart of Accounts for academies and MATS. Ensure that FMS6 is on V6.192 (Spring) or higher. You can confirm the version via Help | About SIMS FMS. From FMS > Tools > General Ledger Setup, tab 10 ESFA Mapping. You will be able to map your general ledger…

Salary Projections show a member of staff named ZZ_GDPR_Compliance

  Salary projections in FMS shows a rogue staff member called  ZZ_GDPR_Compliance-LD (where LD = Service Term) On checking, for this example, you will find a missing member of LD teaching staff whose name has been anonymised and put to the bottom of the list.  This may affect staff in other service terms also. To…

SIMS Options 5 FAQ’S

What is the password to access Options 5? A password is required only if the Password.dat file is located in the SIMS. net folder. This is the same folder that contains OptionsW.exe. Options is accessible via the Focus menu in SIMS for all users who have been granted applicable permissions in System Manager. Users assigned to the…

Scomis Hosted Post-Migration Form Guidance

This article is the accompanying guidance for the Scomis Hosted Post Migration Form. Customers will need to check off this list to confirm that the migration has been completed so that all parties are in agreement for sign-off. This check list will be done by the contact for the school during the migration on the…

Syncing Power BI with hosted SIMS

If you are a hosted school and wish to use Power BI you will need to install a external connector on the same machine as the Power BI software. Please see more information on how to request an external connector here https://faq.scomis.org/kb12448/ When setting up the Excel Command Reporter utility, you must create a new…

Using SIMS ID to Sync SIMS Timetables with Office 365

Please see the following website for information on Syncing SIMS Timetables with O365 calendars using SIMS ID. https://id.sims.co.uk/support/wiki/102/display-sims-timetables-in-office-365-calendars Once the patch 24526 has been applied, this will also configure SSM (SIMS Service Manager) If you require the synchronising to stop, on the SIMS server you can switch the service off, it is titled ‘Send SIMS…

Linking SIMS Pay with Dinner Money Client

In order to link SIMS Parent Pay with SIMS Dinner Money on the hosted platform you will need to do the following:   Firstly a patch will be required. This patch is: 21654 Please log a request with the Service Desk asking for this Patch to be run against your schools data. Include that this…

Who can view student linked documents?

When adding a Linked Document, Communication or Medical Note there are three statuses to choose from: Public, Private and Confidential. What is the different between these statuses? Public If Public is chosen then the document/information is available to all users. Anyone can view this. Private If Private is chosen then the document/information is only available for the user…

Teachers timetables not showing in Office 365 via SIMS ID

If there is an issue with the teachers timetables not showing in Office 365 via SIMS ID, then the account details need to be given to Capita for the cache to be cleared on the account. This will then re-sync the timetable via SIMS ID to the teachers Office 365 Outlook calendar.

Your connection is not Private. Net::ERR_CERT_REVOKED

If you are experiencing the below error, please follow this guide to bypass the error and gain access to the Scomis Hosted Webclient. The error seems to have occurred on Mac OS systems due to the way that the keychain certificates are accessed from its browsers. This follows on from a change made from the…

Arranging for supply teacher not in SIMS or part of an organisation

If you need to arrange cover for a supply teacher not in SIMS or part of an organisation then you need to take the following steps: Focus >person> manage classroom staff Click new and complete the persons details> click continue Tab 1 – Add the basic person details Tab2 – Add the class information Tab…

External Directory does not point to sims.net directory in Options

Within Options if you receive the error message ‘External Directory does not point to sims.net directory’ when selecting Implementations, you will need to set the file path for SIMS to G:\SIMS .net (make sure to leave a space between the sims and .net).

Creating Contract Letters and Documents

The Contract Printing shortcut within Hosted SIMS is no longer supported. The Contract Letters and their contents from the shortcut can still be used but the contents should be checked with either the Local Authority or whoever supplies the HR Support for the school. Scomis no longer provide support for producing Contract Letters.

SWC – Calculate all details button is missing

If you experience this issue then you need to go to Tools | Statutory Return Tools | School Workforce Census Settings. Put the tick in ‘Allow editing of Base Pay Data’. When you reopen your SWC the calculate all details button should appear. KB27219

Nursery Funded Hours and Extended Funded Hours split across more than one Provider

If parents split nursery hours across two providers, the hours have to be shared when recording in SIMS at the two sites. The recording in SIMS is via Tools | Statutory Return Tools | Update Early Years, and update the ‘Funded Hours’ and if applicable the ‘Extended Funded Hours’ columns. For Extended Funded Hours, the…

Editing Academic structure

If you need to make changes to an academic structure such as adding or removing a teacher training day you can do so by going through the following steps – Select Routines | School | Edit Academic Year to display the Create Academic Year wizard. You will not need to worry about defining the school…

FMS Salary Commitments for all Teachers – are showing incorrectly.

When all staff in a particular service term in FMS are showing incorrectly, this is usually due to a new pay award being entered into SIMS Personnel. Earlier in the year, for budgeting purposes, the known or anticipated % pay increase for September may have been added in FMS. Once the pay award is entered…

Who can see a Student’s Linked Documents

When attaching a document to a student record through linked documents you will be offered 3 options. Public, Private or Confidential. If Public is chosen then the document/information is available to all users. Anyone who can view student data can view this. If Private is chosen then the document/information is only available for the user…

Autumn 2020 Upgrade to SIMS (v7.196) and FMS (v6.196)

The Autumn 2020 SIMS Upgrade (V7.196) & FMS (V6.196) is planned to be rolled out over the weekend starting Friday 13th November 2020 Release notes containing detailed information on what is included in the upgrade can be downloaded below: Please note:SIMS have released a “Consolidated Workstation Patch 1” – for the issue of being unable to…

SIMS Pay BACS Reference

The BACS reference should be the full budget code without spaces – example. G120G12341234 being made up of [Phase]G[School Number][Item Code].

Post 16 Programmes of Study – New information required for 2020-2021

New fields have been added in in the Post 16 Programmes of Study table for 2020-2021 in line with rollout of T Levels Programme Type, Start Date, End Date, Planned End Date, Status and Reason (if withdrawn) are required for the Autumn 2020 census for all Post 16 students.  Students are deemed to be on…

T Level Qualifications

T Levels are new 2 year technical qualifications which include an industry placement and are equivalent to 3 A levels. The first 3 T Level qualifications have been rolled out for Post 16 students in September 2020.  A T Level Transition 1 year programme is also available for students who want to start a T…