All of the ideas and recommendations below are rooted in real feedback captured through the AHA Ideas Board. This gives us a clearer, more authentic view of where improvements can be made and highlights opportunities that truly matter to our users.
Below you will find a write-up about some of the most significant enhancements.
Easily identify stock designated as “Display” in System Five™. A dedicated display part is created for each display item, so it’s instantly recognizable on invoices and distinct from regular boxed stock — reinforcing the right processes from sale through to delivery.
High visibility on invoices. Display status appears directly on the invoice, so every department recognizes a display item immediately.
Separate tracking and analysis. Display stock is tracked independently from standard inventory for cleaner reporting and decisions.
Optional linked pricing. When enabled, price updates to the original part automatically flow to the display part — covering Cost, List (fixed pricing only), Wholesale, Extra, Freight and Duty.
Color-coded button. The Display Stock button changes color — blue (no display stock), orange (has display stock) and green (is the display item).
Prefix or Suffix workflow. Choose how new display
part numbers are built (for example DIS-<part> or
<part>-DIS).
Display items are handled differently from boxed stock, and staff need to know at a glance. By surfacing display status on invoices and keeping display stock separately trackable, this enhancement reduces confusion, supports special delivery requirements, and helps ensure customers receive exactly what they expect.
Highlight key information about inventory items at a glance. Assign up to ten distinct flags to each item — ideal for marking non-stock, discontinued or not-returnable merchandise — visible across the Inventory Item, Part Find, Invoice and Design Inventory Report.
Up to ten definable flags. Tailor flags to your needs for flexible categorization of inventory items.
Personalized styling. Each flag has its own color and font so staff can recognize and differentiate them instantly.
Visible where it counts. Flags appear on the Part Find screen, the Inventory Item and the Invoice, so front-of-store staff see them at every step.
Part Load support. Flags can be applied during the Part Load process once they’ve been defined in System 5.
Design Inventory Report. Review single or multiple flags per item for stronger tracking and analysis.
When an item needs special handling, that information has to reach the right people at the right moment. Color-coded, customizable flags shown across the screens staff already use mean important attributes, like “non-stock” or “not returnable” — stand out immediately, supporting faster, more accurate decisions.
Capture critical customer contact data at the point of entry. This enhancement makes the Mobile (SMS) number field required when adding a new customer, purpose-built for businesses that communicate with customers by SMS through Message Media.
Required at customer creation. A warning reminds staff to complete the Mobile (SMS) field whenever it’s left blank on a new customer.
Built for Message Media SMS. Ensures the mobile data needed for SMS messaging is consistently captured.
Configurable by business. SMS isn’t relevant for every customer, so the requirement is optional and can be switched on only where it’s needed.
SMS is only as good as the data behind it. Sales staff focused on closing transactions quickly can miss mobile numbers, which limits SMS for deliveries, orders and service updates. Making the field mandatory reinforces best practice, closes data gaps, and helps businesses get full value from their Message Media investment.
Print labels directly from the Part Find screen as part of your normal search workflow. Previously, users had to open each individual SKU to print a label, now you simply select a line item and click the Label button on the toolbar.
Print from search results. Print labels straight from the Part Find screen without opening individual SKUs.
Single-part clarity. When multiple lines are selected, only the highlighted part is printed — avoiding unintended bulk printing.
Clear system feedback. Built-in messaging tells users when label printing isn’t supported for a specific item type.
Every extra screen is lost time on a busy floor. Printing labels at the point of search removes unnecessary steps, helps frontline staff respond faster when restocking or tagging items, and keeps users focused within the Part Find interface.
Label printing isn’t supported for Virtual Warehouse parts, Select Lot parts or Serialized Units, and the system will say so if attempted. Regular serialized parts are supported; individual serial units trigger a message instead.
Keep sales and warehouse teams in sync automatically. Using System 5’s internal messaging, the salesperson listed on the invoice is notified the moment a special-order item is received, no manual follow-ups, and existing workflows stay unchanged.
Automatic notifications. The salesperson on the invoice gets a toast popup for each special-order item received.
Delivered regardless of login. If the salesperson isn’t logged in, they’re notified at their next login
Accessible anytime. Messages can be reviewed via Appointments → Mail → Office Mail.
Salesperson on the label. The Label Designer now adds the salesperson’s name to special-order labels, helping prevent items going to the wrong customer.
Daily Receiving Report column. The salesperson’s name is available as a customizable column for better oversight of received special orders.
Special orders are tied to a specific customer and salesperson, so a missed hand-off can mean the wrong person gets the stock. Automating the notification, and adding the salesperson’s name to labels and receiving reports, keeps everyone informed, cuts manual correspondence, and helps ensure each special-order item reaches the right customer.
Stay current with less effort. Beginning with System Five 8.0, the System Five Updater automatically checks for locally available updates each time the software starts, helping ensure users always have access to the latest approved version without needing to manually look for updates.
Automatic update checks. System Five now checks for locally available updates every time the application is opened.
Seamless installation. Approved updates install automatically during startup with no additional action required from staff.
No user setup needed. The process runs in the background without requiring users to configure settings or initiate updates manually.
Administrator-controlled deployment. Site administrators decide when a new version is approved and deployed, ensuring updates align with business requirements and schedules.
Consistent version management. Once approved, updates become available across the site, helping keep all workstations running the same version.
Keeping software up to date is one of the simplest ways to gain access to new features, enhancements, and fixes, but update processes are often delayed because they rely on manual action. By automatically checking for approved updates and installing them during startup, System Five reduces administrative overhead, helps maintain version consistency across the business, and makes it easier for teams to benefit from the latest improvements as soon as they are made available.
Take a look at all of the fixes and enhancements visit our Release Notes Page at
windwardsoftware.com/release-notes
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.
Find out more on the Windward Maintenance Contract site.