Install an application

An application is a wrapper around a group of objects and menus that work together to fulfill a function. This wrapper is published in an XML file, which you can then install in tenant environments.

Access to certain features in Customization Services or Platform Services are based on your administrative privileges. See the table below to determine what kind of administrator you need to be for each feature. Learn more about Permissions for Customization and Platform Services.

Feature Permissions needed
  • Custom fields
  • Smart events
  • Smart rules
  • Smart link clicks
  • Smart link fetches
  • Business user type
  • Limited or Full administrative privileges
  • Permissions to the Customization Services or Platform Services application
  • Custom applications, including hosted files
  • Custom packages
  • Custom objects
  • Custom menus
  • Conversion and import maps
  • Email templates
  • Platform Triggers
  • Unique indexes
  • Workflows
  • Document templates

Only full administrators can edit page layouts on standard pages.
  • Business user type
  • Full administrative privileges
  • Permissions to the Platform Services application

Only full administrators can access Platform Services features because only they can change the behavior of Sage Intacct pages.
  • Approving the installation of custom applications with user-defined dimensions (UDDs)
  • Business user type
  • Full administrative privileges
  • Permissions to the Platform Services application
  • Permission to approve installation of custom applications with user-defined dimensions (granted by a different administrator)

We recommend limiting this permission to one or two admin users who control the authorization and installation of applications with UDDs.

The installation of applications with UDDs must be authorized. There might be an associated cost for the company installing the application, UDDs cannot be uninstalled after they are in use, and transaction and report processing times can increase as UDDs are added.

Install an application

You can compile the properties, components, seed records, and user-defined dimensions for an application into a single XML file. This approach makes applications portable and easy to share. Applications also include changes that you make to standard object pages, such as new sections or tabs.

If an application that includes changes to standard object pages is undeployed or deleted from a company, the page customizations for the standard object remain unless they’re manually deleted. A company can install multiple applications with changes on the same standard object pages. However, newer installations of applications cannot change what previous applications installed.

To install a custom application from an XML file:

  1. Go to Platform Services > Platform tools > Install application.
  2. Select Choose file and select the XML file for the application you want to upload.
  3. Select Install. The results depend on the type of installation:
    • If a version of the application already exists in the company, Intacct updates it with the version you upload. Otherwise, Intacct loads the file as a new application.
    • If the application includes UDDs and its installation has not been authorized, you’re prompted to generate an email authorization request to send to the appropriate administrator. After authorization is granted, you must restart the process to install the XML file.

To see a list of applications:

  • Go to Platform Services > All > Platform tools > Applications.

Authorize the installation of a custom application with UDDs

If an application includes one or more user-defined dimensions, a full administrator with permission to Authorize installations must provide approval before a second administrator can install the application.

Authorization is required for the following reasons:
  • There can be an associated cost for the company installing the application
  • UDDs cannot be uninstalled after they are in use
  • Transaction and report processing times can increase as UDDs are added

Administrators cannot grant themselves permission to authorize the installation of applications with UDDs. Instead, one administrator grants this permission to another. If a company has only one active administrator, an exception is made to this rule. An organization might designate one administrator and one backup with this permission. For role-based permissions, Intacct recommends creating a new role with this permission. Then, assign this role to one administrator and one backup.

When an attempt is made to install a custom application with UDDs, a dialog states that authorization is required, and an email template is generated. The To field for the email is populated with the names of any administrators with permissions to authorize these installations. If you’re such an administrator, you might receive such an email from your custom application provider.

To authorize the installation of a custom application with UDDs:

  1. If you receive an expected email requesting authorization to install a custom application with UDDs into your company:
    1. log in to the company.
    2. Select the link in the email to begin the authorization.
  2. If you do not have an email request, you can authorize the application as follows:

    1. Go to Platform Services > All > Platform tools > Applications.

    2. Under Requests for authorization, select Approve on the line for the application to authorize.
    3. In the dialog that appears, select Yes and then select OK.

View the application data structure

When you’re developing a complex application, it's sometimes helpful to get visual feedback on how all the objects in the application are related. A Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagram shows all the objects and relationships within your application.

Although the diagram shows relationships between custom and standard objects, it does not show relationships between standard and standard objects. To see how a standard object is related to other standard objects, look up its object definition (Platform Services > All > Objects > [Object name]).

To view the data structure (UML diagram) of an application:

  1. Go to Platform Services > All > Platform tools > Applications.

  2. Find the application that you want to view, then select the application name.
  3. Select View data structure. A new window displays standard objects in uppercase and custom objects in lowercase.

Reorder custom applications

Let's say that the order in which you built or installed your applications does not match how frequently you use them. You can change the order in which custom applications appear in a list.

To change the display order of applications:

  1. Go to Platform Services > All > Platform tools > Applications.

  2. On the Applications list, select Reorder applications.
  3. Select the application that you want to move, then select the arrow buttons to move the application up or down the list. Continue to move applications until they’re listed in the desired order.
  4. Select Save.
    Refresh your page for changes to take effect on the main menu bar.