The
Advantage Database System
Is Getting A New Look!
END
OF MONTH TAPES
Every
monthend you should be saving two pieces of media from the monthend
procedures.
1)
Daily data backup: This is the tape that is created with your
End-of-day procedures. This tapes becomes your "monthend"
tape. This is the tape backing up your data as of the last day of
the month.
If you close your A/R earlier in the month, you will save two of
these tapes each month, one for the date you close your A/R and
one for the last day of the month.
2)
History backup: This is the tape created with the End-of-month
procedures. This backupis for your history directories. History
is only backed up once a month, so this tape is a critical piece
of your tape archives.
If you must manually archive history throughout the month, you should
also do a manual backup of your history the next day. If you don't,
you will not have a backup of the new history until the next monthend.
History tapes should be saved for a minimum of three months. The
odd and even rotation is exceptable only when you know you have
good backups and that your books are in balance on a monthly basis.
When it comes to backup tapes, more is better.
We
have spent literally hundreds of hours helping customers restore
data and re-archive their history because they are not following
these guidelines. Please remember! This is your data integrity
at risk. Take the time to do it right!
WHAT END-OF-MONTH DOES!
The
end-of-month procedures process the following:
Closes Accounts Receivable
Closes
the Inventory
END
OF MONTH LOG
The
End-of-month process will print an End-of-month
log.
Read it! To prevent time critical situations the morning after
a failed end-of-month, the system will passively fail some steps
in the end-of-month processing if:
1) The system detects there is not enough space to complete an archive.
The system will skip that archive.
2) Harddrive errors prevent proper space allocation. The system
will skip the archives.
3) Options not selected for processing will be skipped.
The
End-of-month log will report all processes and their status. This
is a vital tool to determine the success of each process. Processes
not completed may be done manually when the detected issue has been
resolved.
SPACE
CALCULATIONS
The
system will calculate space requirements during the End-of-month
procedures if you turn it on:
End of month/year procedures [Enter]
Configure end-of-month defaults [Enter]
Calculate space....? [Y]es
Margin of safety..? [10]megabytes
Only
multi-stores with large "common" areas should NOT be using
the space calculation option. Every other
store
should
TURN
IT ON FOR SUCCESSFUL END-OF-MONTH PROCEDURES!
WHAT
END-OF-MONTH DOES NOT DO!
The
End-of-month process does not have anything at all to do with the
General Ledger. The closing of the General Ledger is a separate
function. Closing the General Ledger must be done separately, as
follows:
Always
verify that the General Ledger is in balance and that all batches
are empty prior to closing the month.
END
OF MONTH REMINDERS
Month-end
problems are avoidable, if you will keep the following basics in
mind.
HOW LONG SHOULD I KEEP MY TAPES?
Tapes
have become an increasingly more critical part of your system's
audit trail. Following these guidelines will ensure that, if/when
you need these tapes, you will have them. Buy quality tapes for
maximum usage and dependability. Although your archived library
of tapes may become numerous, this is not a place to cut costs.
Good tapes are the cheapest insurance you can buy for recovering
from improper procedures or harddrive problems. Following a minimum
standard is just that, a minimum.
The
real measure of how many tapes you should keep is dependant on how
frequently you balance your books. If you are balancing your books
daily or weekly, as you should, your risk is less. Those who balance
only monthly or worse are pushing their luck to not keep a month
or more of daily backup tapes. Nothing replaces timely bookkeeping
principles. If you don't have these principles in place, protect
yourself from the unknown by preserving where you are. Keep daily
tapes until you know all is well. More is definitely better.
DAILY
BACKUP TAPES: Minimum recommendation is to keep a weekly rotation.
Keep one for each day of the week. After these have been rotated
15 times, save them to be used with as a monthend tape. Establishing
a longer rotation is recommended.
HISTORY
BACKUP TAPES: Minimum recommendation is an odd/even rotation.
A three month rotation gives you a better buffer if you are slow
to balance your books.
HISTORY
BACKUP TAPES MADE WHEN DELETING HISTORY: Tapes made prior to
deleting history marked for deletion should be kept indefinitely.
These become the only audit trail you have of this history. Without
it you will not be able to restore the history, if it were ever
needed.
MONTHEND
DATA TAPES: A minimum of six months of monthend tapes should be
kept. Wise users will keep a years worth or even keep them indefinitely.
YEAREND
TAPES: The daily backup tape on the last day of your fiscal year
and the one made on the last day of your calendar year should be
kept indefinitely.
ROOT
BACKUP TAPES: The initial root backup that came with your new operating
system should be kept indefinitely. Subsequent root backups should
be kept on a three month rotation.
All
of these tapes should be write protected after they are made to
prevent accidental overwriting. Mark them clearly with the date
and type of tape it is. Store in a safe, dry, cool place off the
premises.
GENERAL
LEDGER CLOSING DATES
At
the end of the fiscal year when you close the General Ledger year,
the system will clear the "Closing date" for each fiscal
month. These dates, found in the "Fiscal period dates and G/L
header configuration" screen two, are used by the system to
determine your fiscal period date ranges. If you have not yet entered
this year's closing dates, you must do so for accurate accounting
periods. Even if you are not using the General Ledger, update these
closing dates appropriately.
PROGRAMMING
REQUESTS
When
submitting programming requests for custom enhancements or changes,
please do so in writing. Software Support is not the proper avenue
for programming suggestions or requests. If you have an idea or
request always submit it in writing, clearly marked as a programming
request. Forms are available to more clearly identify your fax as
a programming request. Once submitted your request will be processed
and a quote will be faxed back to you. A signed and returned quote
will then be scheduled for development. Currently programming development
is being scheduled on approximately a 90-day turnaround.
If
you have not updated these dates, do so today!
Period
1: January Locked: N Closed: Y Closing date:
01/31/1998
Period
2: February Locked: N Closed: N Closing date:
02/28/1998
Period
3: March Locked: N Closed: N Closing date:
03/31/1998
Period
4: April Locked: N Closed: N Closing date:
04/30/1998
SALES
TRANSACTION REPORTS
Have
you missed the option to view today's sales and cash activity from
Point-of-sale? The option to view today's sales transaction by workstation
is available from the Point-of-sale screen. Check it out!
Point of sale menu [Enter]
Enter, edit orders/quotes/estimates [Enter]
Password
[F2] Menu of options
Sales Transaction report [Enter]
If
this option does not appear on your screen at the bottom of the
list, special authorizations have not be configured.
Sales rep personnel menu [Enter]
Add, change or delete sales reps [Enter]
Highlight your rep record [Enter]
[F8] Special authorizations
Enter [Y]es to "Sales Transaction report"
[Insert] to save the change.
UPDATE
BEGINNING BALANCES
At
the end of your fiscal year, when you closed the General Ledger
year, the system updated the balance sheet accounts with new "Balance
at beginning of the year" amounts, reflective of the ending
balances. As you finish posting entries and adjustments to your
yearend balances, the "live" data area no longer reflects
the new ending balances. Most choose to update the "Balance
at beginning of the year" fields only after all yearend changes
are completed. Others choose to update them more frequently to keep
their "live" area up to date. Whichever method you prefer
updating the
"Balance
at beginning of the year" fields may be done as follows:
STEP ONE: Configuration
and utilities [Enter]
File repair and fix-it [Enter]
General Ledger fixes [Enter]
Update balances from alternate area [Enter]
Use the [F7] query to select the "yearend" data
area
STEP TWO:
General Ledger [Enter]
Maintenance procedures [Enter]
Add, change or delete G/L accounts [Enter]
Select your current year retained earnings
account. Screen 3, zero the amount.
[Insert] to save.
Select the prior year retained earnings account. Screen 3, add the
amount you zeroed in the current year retained earnings to the amount
shown here. [Insert] to save.
STEP
THREE:
General
Ledger [Enter]
Posting procedures [Enter]
Repost YTD balances from G/L detail
After four years of development the Database Version of the Advantage
System is getting a new look. Configuration is critical to your
success within the software. To assist in that process many of the
configuration screens, maintenance screens and menu's are being
rearranged.
System administrators will find all administrative type of processes
have been moved to their own menu. Options that are used only in
the original setup or only as directed by Software Su pport are
now found on the Administrative procedure menus. Restricting access
to the Administrative menus should reduce a ny risk of user's experimenting
with sensitive options.
The Inventory item maintenance screens have been rearranged to group
the configuration options in a more consistent layout. All fields
relating to cost or prices are now on the same screen. All fields
relating to purchasing are now found on one screen. The first screen
contains all fields specific to the setup of the item.
In an effort to restore quick movement between menus, redundancy
such as "Add, change or delete" type options have been
renamed. Dropping these descriptions have allowed us to more effectively
use the option of typing in the first letter or two of the menu
option for the cursor to highlight the desired option. These quick
keys will improve efficiency between menus.
The
new look of the Database Version will make its debut with the May
1998 release.
End -of-day procedure successful
Save End- of- day tape as "Monthend" tape.
End -of -month procedure successful
Read the End- of- month log to confirm success.
Save End- of -month tape as "History" tape.
Post all General Ledger batches.
Confirm the G/L is in balance.
Close the General Ledger. |
1)
When I buy insulation, I buy it by the roll, but they charge
me by the MSF. Can the Database do that?
Absolutely.
Within the item record the vendor record may be updated with these
conditions. Highlight the "Primary vendor" record and
press [F9]. Highlight the vendor you wish to update
and press [Enter]. Change the "Purchasing unit"
to be roll. Change the"Pricing unit" to be MSF.
2)
Is there some help available to assist in balancing my A/R?
The
"Reference files" are a source of documentation for multiple
subjects or procedures within the Database. Within the "Reference
files" , "Software", "General Ledger" is
a document of "Frequently Asked Questions'. Balancing procedures
for A/R and A/P exist in this document.
3)
What do I do if my archiving fails during End -of- month?
Archiving
may be done manually when no other processes are running on your
CPU.
End of month/year procedures [Enter]
End of month history archive menu [Enter]
Choose the archive you wish to process.
Enter the YYMM code for the month to archive.
Do not change the "Earliest date to keep".
Accept the default.
4)
What happens if I did not archive last month?
The
next time you archive, the month you skipped and the current month
will archive into one month. The result of this may cause some confusion.
In instances where a report may ask for YYMM code, you would have
to remember that you had included two months into one month. It
may cause difficulty in finding the history you are looking for.
To
avoid this confusion, it would be preferable to take the time to
archive the missed month prior to the next month-end. This would
keep the months separate.
5)
When I run inventory reports by vendor, I don't seem to get the
records I expect. What am I doing wrong?
Inventory
reports run by vendor will only include items if there is a vendor
record for that item, even if the "Primary vendor" is
the selected vendor. If there is no vendor record for that vendor
in that item's record, the system will not qualify that item.
6)
How do we get our states new payroll tax tables?
If
your state has changed tax tables, it is your responsiblity to notify
us. Fax or mail us a copy of your state's annual tax tables.
We will modify the tax files and modem them to you within 24 hours,
Monday through Friday.
7)
We would like to start using the Understock report for ordering.
How do we start?
Start
by running the report, choosing the option to save it to a file.
You will get a report exactly of what the system determines that
you need. Once imported into a purchase order (Choosing [F2]
from the PO item entry screen) the order will change to reflect
how you must by it by that specific vendor.
At
this point, how each vendor record is setup will determine how the
system will auto-order. Box quantity, order partial box quantities,
minimum order quantity, pricing unit and purchasing unit all are
read to determine how each item will be ordered. If these are not
configured properly, the suggested order will not be useful, so
take the time to get the configuration setup correctly.
After
taking the time to setup your item records and vendor records properly,
you will begin to reap the rewards of a quicker and more accurate
ordering process.
IMIGIT:
Accounts Payable Voucher entry module
This
month we will discuss the Accounts Payable module and how it interfaces
with the Imaging software.
In
the Company header configuration, on page two, there is the option,
"Enable the Imaging software". This option
allows the user to turn on or off the Imaging software interface
with the Accounts Payable voucher entry routines. Always remember
to press[F1] and read the help screen before changing
any configuration options. When the answer is set to `N' (No),
Voucher entry will function normally having no interface with the
Imaging software. When the answer is set to `Y' (Yes), Voucher
Entry will send scanner commands to the Imaging software package
causing a scanned image to be attached to your voucher record.
Voucher
Entry saves the voucher data when the user presses [Insert].
The Imaging interface will then display a message to the screen
that says "Insert document into scanner then press `Enter'".
The user should place the vendor's invoice onto the scanner and
then press the [Enter] key. Voucher Entry will then
send a command to the Imaging software to scan the
invoice,
assign an Image Number, and file the image in the Accounts Payable
filing cabinet. The Image Number is assigned to the voucher data,
so the image may be viewed at a later time. The Imaging software
will then display the scanned image to the screen for the user to
view. This process takes place each time a voucher is saved. If
the vendor's invoice is multiple pages, or if there are other documents
that need to be attached to the voucher, the user may place all
pages on the sheet feeder of the scanner and all will be scanned
together. If the scanner does not have a sheet feeder option, the
process will then involve multiple steps. Select the voucher from
the query screen and press the right mouse button. The Imaging software
will display a small menu on the screen near the mouse pointer with
a `scan/add' option. Place the next page to be imaged on
to the scanner, select the `scan/add' option from the menu,
and the page will be added. Repeat this step until all pages have
been scanned. If the user wants to view images that have been assigned
to a voucher, select the voucher from the query screen, press the
right mouse button for the imaging menu, and select `view'.
The imaging software will display the first page of the scanned
images to the screen. Using the mouse, the user may then select
the next page, and so on, until all have been viewed. Simply click
the left mouse button on the voucher entry screen to return to the
voucher entry module.
The
Image number is the connection between the Advantage data and the
Imaging data. This number is passed from the Accounts Payable voucher
to the Gerneral Ledger account detail records. What this means is
that the accountant/comptroller may view the G/L detail and, via
the right mouse button, also view the scanned images from the voucher
record that created this G/L entry.
We
hope this gives you an idea about how the Accounts Payable module
interfaces with the Imaging software. Next month we will discuss
the Accounts Receivable/ Imaging interface.
This
is a Voucher Entry Screen sample in Imigit.
The
Imaging Software Package not only saves time during the day to day
operations, it saves money too!
-
Employees may view source documents directly on their on screens.
-
No more digging through vendor folders, customer files or storage
boxes.
-
Postage fees drop on statement mailings.
-
Fewer employees can now accomplish the same task in less time.
-
You may attach customer's material lists, site maps, etc...to
their sales orders, and view them on screen.
Don't
delay, be the first lumber yard on your block with imaging capabilities.
Available now from your Advantage Business Computer Systems sales
representative.
