Dear AccountMate Clients,
I read an interesting article a couple weeks ago about software getting “rusty” – which cited numerous excellent points how, just like owning an old car, software takes regular maintenance (payroll updates and modifications to comply with changes in business rules) and older versions don’t have the functionality of new models (did you know that the very last car to be have a factory-option cassette deck was the 2010 Lexus SC-430?).
Most importantly, though, it can often cost more to keep old software running than to replace it due to incompatibilities with newer server and desktop operating systems and MS-Office products. This then impacts your entire operation, as updates to other critical areas can be “held back” to maintain compatibility with the aging parts of your information infrastructure.
Thus, in our experience, updating financial management systems more than about four years old is almost always cost effective – even more often if you’ve had significant changes in your business model, such as expanding your customer base or product/service offerings.
And, once updated, AccountMate’s LifeCycle Software Maintenance Agreement makes staying up to date compelling as the budgetable annual fee provides, among other things, all build and version updates. Since our services to install/update is a billable event, we typically recommend clients install “every other build” – but we provide a list of all the updates included in the latest release so that you get to make the decision if there’s new “have to have” functionality just released.
On the running front, my Boston Marathon (April 18th) training is at its peak and I can’t wait for “the taper” to begin in two weeks. I also had a great time last month hosting a friend, Irish ultra-runner Tony Mangan, for a couple days. He’s currently RUNNING AROUND THE WORLD – and details of his journey are online at http://www.theworldjog.com/blog/. I’m so jealous…
Finally, our thoughts and prayers at NexLAN go out to everyone affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We have numerous clients with family and friends there, and I lived in the area for three years in the early/mid 90s – just a few miles from Hachinohe, where I competed as one of the very few gaijin in local running and shogi competitions. Nihon ga koishii…
Regards,
Kevin E. Stroud
NexLAN, LLC
https://nexlan.com
End-User Core Product Training: 11-13 May, 2011
End User Core Product Training class will be offered at the AccountMate headquarters in Petaluma, California on May 11-13, 2011 (Wednesday through Friday).
This 3-day course covers the installation and implementation of AccountMate/SQL V8 and discusses the key features in each of the core financial modules: General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Sales Order, Upsell Management, Accounts Payable, Purchase Order, Bank Reconciliation plus basic Inventory Control features.
While an excellent course for those end-users new to AccountMate, even experienced end-users are welcome and can expect to increase their application skills.
Please contact us for pricing and to sign up. Complete class details are here.
Pre-requisites: Attendees should have a good understanding of basic accounting concepts and work flows in an accounting software.
Free Vertical Solutions Webinars
AccountMate is hosting several vertical solution webinars. If you are interested in attending any of the below webinars please hit <reply> to this e-mail, or send directly to nexlan@nexlan.com letting us know which webinar you would like to attend, and we will be glad to get you registered. Seating is limited so please register early if you are interested.
ShipIT Shipping Solution – Thursday, March 24, 2011 – 12-1 CDT – This fully integrated shipping solution will allow you to process shipments from within the Ship Sales Order and/or Create Invoice Screens. It allows you to create multiple packages/boxes and automatically calculate the weight of them by using the weight field from the AccountMate inventory. In addition, it automatically and accurately calculates the insurance value for each package and allows you to assign 3rd party billing from account number stored in the AccountMate customer record, all seamlessly integrated. Supported Carriers; UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, LTL (Roadway,Con-Way,Yellow, Etc.) with BOL printing.
Bassets Fixed Assets – Thursday, April 21, 2011 – 12-1 CDT – Bassets Fixed Asset System allows companies to simplify the management of their business assets, control costs, maximize tax savings and meet all their asset reporting requirements. Bassets is scalable from tens to hundreds of thousands of fixed asset records. It easily interfaces fixed asset data with the AccountMate Software’s General Ledger with its powerful depreciation export.
Some additional Bassets Fixed Asset System highlights:
- Ability to dynamically calculate fixed asset depreciation on-the-fly for historical, present and future periods
- Provide over 20 standard fixed asset reports and a custom fixed asset report writer [Crystal Reports]
- Calculates fixed asset depreciation for any Period and can run historical reports and generate future projects
- Allows for complete/partial transfer and disposal of fixed assets
- Addresses many Fixed Asset Depreciation Methods including: MACRS (GDS), Alternative MACRS (ADS), Declining Balance deprecation, Sum of the Years Digits, Remaining Balance over Adjusted Life, and Straight line depreciation
DocuFire Fax & E-mail Management System – Wednesday, April 27, 2011 – 12-1 CDT – DocuFire Server is a multi-user document management and communication system designed to automate all aspects of AccountMate customer and vendor communications. With DocuFire Server, all your Invoices, Customer Statements, Sales Quotes, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders and Direct Marketing documents can be faxed or emailed by PDF (and/or printed) right from your desktop, saving you thousands of dollars in postage and mailing costs. All without re-keying any data.
Acme Point-of-Sale – Thursdsay, May 19, 2011 – 12-1 CDT – Acme Point of Sale is fast, feature rich and user friendly. Acme is designed from the ground up as true point of sale that interfaces to a multitude of POS hardware for a complete solution. Our credo “Keep the Lanes Moving” addresses the main needs of retailers and resellers… Be fast, flexible, fault tolerant and fool proof.
Acme includes our traditional user interface and our awesome “gotta see it” touch screen.
We are load tested to 25 lanes, 2,500 transactions per hour, 250,000 items and 250,000 customers. To keep the lanes moving with large databases we include multiple PLU’s per item, printable bar coded price books, Merge Scan, Super Find (think Google) and much more.
Tech Note: Understanding Custom Paper Size in AccountMate
Laser and inkjet printers are the most commonly used printers, but some companies choose to print checks and customer statements on dot matrix printers. Checks for dot matrix printers typically do not measure 8 1/2 x 11 inches; thus, it is important for AccountMate users to understand how to use the Custom Paper Size feature to successfully print checks on dot matrix printers.
Article 1104: Understanding Custom Paper Size in AccountMate
Tech Note: New and Enhanced AccountMate 8 Reports
Reports are among a business’s most important tools. Reports provide information and reference relevant to not only managerial users but also to users involved with daily data entry. AccountMate 8 has enhanced reporting capability to enable all users to more efficiently gain the information that is most important to them. This TechNote provides a look at the new and enhanced reports available in AccountMate 8.
Article 1293: New and Enhanced AccountMate 8 Reports
Tech Note: How to Activate and Set up the Bank Reconciliation Module in an Existing AccountMate Installation
As many of you begin to move your version 6.5 clients to versions 7 and 8 the subject has come up regarding adding the Bank Reconciliation module as a part of the upgrade. The Bank Reconciliation module gets information from other modules such as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and Payroll; therefore, certain procedures must be performed to prepare the Bank Reconciliation Module for use. This week we would like to call your attention to previously a published article that will facilitate this implementation.
Technical Tips
Versions: AM8 for SQL and Express
AM7 for SQL, Express and LAN
AM6.5 for SQL, MSDE and LAN
Module: PR
Q: Why is the Edit Wages button in the second Apply Payment/Payroll window disabled?
A: The Edit Wages button in the second Apply Payment/Payroll window is disabled when you are applying additional payment for any employee, 1099 payment for an independent contractor, or payroll for a time card employee. You can edit the assigned earning codes or wage amounts using the following functions, whichever is appropriate:
- Additional/1099 Payment function
- Time Card/Piece Work function
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Versions: AM7 for SQL, Express and LAN
AM6.5 for LAN (Builds LN603 and LN604 using Upgraded Payroll)
Module: PR
Q: I cannot get a newly created paid leave code to show in the Employee Maintenance ► Paid Leave tab even after I clicked Refresh. Why?
A: Perform the following:
- Access the Earning Code Maintenance function.
- Enter in the Earning Code field an earning code that is assigned a Regular or Overtime Earning Type.
- Access the Accumulate Paid Leave tab and mark the Accumulate checkbox for the newly created paid leave code.
- Access the Employee Maintenance ► Paid Leave tab; then, click Refresh.
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