We’re often replacing old systems or add-on/integrated apps with new, which has the advantage of being able to use the old system as a (rough) design spec—but we don’t want to exactly replicate the old system/design, only the good parts!
The hard part is determining exactly what are the good parts of the old system are and not replicating “warts and all” in new technology that includes unnecessary parts.
To make that determination we take the approach of “Report and Screen Mapping”, which is to print every report from the system and circle/highlight the important fields, plus take a screenshot of every input and output screen with a circle/highlight of the important fields with, of course, an indication of how the two tie together in data flow.
Yes, this can be tedious, but the process is straightforward and easy to understand by the current users who have the subject matter knowledge of the old system and are thus best suited to the task. Thus, it’s the best way we’ve found to leverage the extant knowledge and experience to a genuine Requirements Specification of the new system, with any additional functionality added as necessary.
Finally, I’d like to recommend this approach for existing system as the foundation for your training and user procedures document
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Microsoft SQL Server 2016 End-of-Life
It’s now less than six months until Microsoft’s extended support for SQL Server 2016 ends—see here. That means no more security updates and patches, which is a DANGEROUS place for your accounting and financial data to be.
This directly impacts AccountMate/SQL V10.1 and prior so, if that’s you, then let’s start planning now to avoid a last-minute scramble—or worse yet, a security breach which takes down your whole operation.
Regards,
Kevin E. Stroud
kestrou@nexlan.com
NexLAN, LLC
https://nexlan.com
AccountMate: 2026 Product Training Schedule
The first Core Product Training from AccountMate this year is already underway, but no worries—you can still mark your calendar for another live, hands-on, online training this year. We’ll keep you updated here in future NewsLines as the other registration dates approach.
Registration for the April Manufacturing Module training is now open!
For any course questions or to register, email NexLAN.
1. Core Product Training
$3200/All | $420/Individual Session | $0 with Active Lifecycle
- June 3 – July 16, 2026 Registration opens April 2026 and closes seven calendar days prior to the session date.
- October 7 – November 19, 2026 Registration opens August 2026 and closes seven calendar days prior to the session date.
Core Product Course Overview | Course Outline | Course Schedule
2. Manufacturing Module – Advanced Module Training
$1050/All | $525/Individual Session
- April 15–16, 2026 Registration is open now and closes seven calendar days prior to the session date.
Manufacturing Module Course Overview | Course Outline | Course Schedule
3. Payroll Module – Advanced Module Training
$1900/All | $525/Individual Session
- September 21-25, 2026 Registration opens June 2026 and closes seven calendar days prior to the session date.
Payroll Module Course Overview | Course Outline | Course Schedule
AccountMate: A Complete List of AccountMate SQL/Express Modules
Has it been a long time—maybe years—since you looked at what’s available in AccountMate and compared that to what new abilities your business requires or could benefit from today?
This 4-page AccountMate Module Summary brochure summarizes all of the available AccountMate SQL/Express Modules in Release 13 (the current release).
You can then get more info about any module by clicking the links over to AccountMate’s site—or better yet, we’ve got a menu of module brochures all in one place for direct quick access on NexLAN’s site.
We’ll be happy to answer questions or set up a demo that shows how a module would work specific to your business. Contact NexLAN.
Acumatica: New in 2025 R2—Track Your Vendor Open Issues with Support Cases
The Support Cases you may already use in Acumatica’s CRM module to track customer issues and communication can now be used to maintain support tickets for your vendors, too.
Support Cases help you deliver better and faster information and status updates to your vendors, and ensure internally that nothing falls through the cracks. All the information you need is current and in one place; no worries if someone on your team is out on sick leave.
You can use Support Cases with your vendors to track questions like unpaid bill status and communication regarding expected delivery dates, or resolve requests for missing shipping paperwork. Or any open topic that requires follow-up.
How to set up support cases for vendors:
In Acumatica’s 2025 R2 release you can enable support cases for vendors with just a few button clicks.
On the Case Classes screen create a new Case Class for vendor support cases. On the Details tab, under the Data Entry Settings tab, check the box for Require Vendor. You will now be able to create a support case for accounts assigned both the Vendor and Customer & Vendor type.
How to create a support case for a vendor:
Say you receive an email from your vendor asking for a follow-up regarding some unpaid bills. On the Cases form, enter the Case Class you have created for vendor support cases and enter the Business Account for the vendor requesting follow up. Once assigned, the case manager can input activities and create tasks for the case that they have or will be taking to resolve it.
For more information on Vendor Support Cases and how they could be utilized at your business, send NexLAN an email.
Most clients’ systems will update in Q2, though if you’re itching to start using the new 2025 R2 features, we can get your update started early; just ask. Got questions about support cases? You know how to reach us.
Acumatica: Watch the keynote presentations from Acumatica Summit
Last week, the big annual Summit conference took place in Seattle and, of course, NexLAN was there!
You can now watch on-demand recordings of the Day 1 and Day 2 keynotes. This is a great way to hear the latest news on Acumatica’s long-term strategy and this year’s upcoming product enhancements.
We’ll cover details of many of the cool new Acumatica capabilities in articles here this year. Meanwhile get an overview of the most exciting announcements by watching the keynotes to see what’s possible to drive real business outcomes.
And don’t forget that you’re welcome to attend Summit in person – pencil it in for late January 2026 and join NexLAN there; watch this space for details.
Day One Keynote Presentation (60 min.)
Practical guidance on leveraging the latest product innovations to unlock new possibilities- Inspiring customer success stories, actionable strategies, and best practices for growing your business with Cloud ERP
- Live demonstrations showcasing how AI is shaping today’s features and tomorrow’s capabilities
- Exciting product and business announcements that will redefine what’s possible for your organization
Day Two Keynote Presentation (75 min.)
- A showcase of the latest features and AI capabilities of Acumatica’s Cloud ERP solution
- Inspiring customer stories from manufacturers, retailers, distributors, professional services firms, and construction companies thriving in today’s competitive environment
- Insights into specific product changes and innovations designed to increase productivity, drive efficiency, and grow operations
- A look at how new AI capabilities are shaping Acumatica’s product roadmap
AccountMate Tech Note: Understanding the Effects of Blanket Purchase Orders and Blanket Sales Orders
Blanket purchase orders and sales orders are used to establish and authorize sizable orders that are to be fulfilled within a specific period for a vendor or customer, respectively.
Article #1138: Understanding the Effects of Blanket Purchase Orders and Blanket Sales Orders discusses things to note when creating blanket purchase orders and sales orders. It also explains how these transactions affect the vendor, customer, and inventory item records.
AccountMate Tech Note: Tips for Purging Transactions
Daily transactions recorded in AccountMate accumulate and increase database sizes. When the number of records increases to a point where AccountMate resources cannot efficiently manage them, it may result in slow AccountMate performance. Purging historical transactions is beneficial for efficiently using resources.
The purging process in AccountMate involves permanent, irreversible deletion of history records. Article #1163: Tips for Purging Transactions provides tips on what to do to ensure an effective data purging process.
Acumatica Technical Tips
How Do I Set Customer Specific Prices to Override the Min. Markup Validation?
Q: I have some agreed upon Customer Specific Prices that are under the Minimum Markup set for my items. How can I get the system to honor the customer pricing even when it is under the minimum markup?
A: To allow Customer Specific Pricing that is under the Minimum Markup go to Sales Order > Preferences > Sales Order Preferences. On the General tab under the Price Settings heading, for the Ignore Min Markup Validation for Prices option, check the box for Specific to Customers and save your changes.
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How Do I Set the Background Color of a Column or Row?
Q: I would like to highlight some of the rows on my Cash Flow Statement, how can I do that?
A: Here are the ways to change the background color of a row or column on a report.
Rows: To change the background color of a row, go to Finance > Preferences> Row Sets. Create a new record for the report, or select the report from the list if it is already in the grid. Find the row you want to highlight and in the Style field define the Backgr. Color. Save your changes.
Columns: To change the background color of a column, go to Finance > Preferences> Column Sets. Create a new record for the report, or select the report from the list if it is already in the grid. Find the column you want to highlight and in the Style field define the Backgr. Color. Save your changes.
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How Can I Make an Adjustment to an Employee’s PTO Bank?
Q: How can I adjust an employee’s PTO Bank? Our sick pay did not rollover at the beginning of the year as expected.
A: You can adjust an Employee’s PTO bank on the PTO Adjustment form. Here are the steps:
- Go to Payroll > Transactions > PTO Adjustments and click the plus sign in the header to create a new adjustment.
- Using the Type of Adjustment, enter the Description, and then use the plus sign above the grid to add the employee(s) who need their PTO Bank adjusted.
- Enter the PTO bank that needs adjusted, the Adjustment Hours, and Adjustment Reason for the employee. The Adjustment Hours can be positive or negative, depending on your goal.
- Release the PTO adjustment.
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How Do I Issue a Refund for Payment in a Closed Period?
Q: I am trying to send a customer a refund for a payment they made and am getting the pop-up “Error Inserting AR Payment record raised at least one error. Please review the errors. Error: The <FinPeriod> financial period is closed in the <CompanyName> company.” How can I issue the customer a refund?
A: To issue a refund to your customer you will need to reopen the closed period that the payment was made in. To issue the refund, do the following:
- Reopen the closed financial period by going to Finance > Processes > Manage Financial Periods.
- Change the Action to Reopen and select the period that the original payment was recorded in and click Process.
- You can now go back to the Payments and Applications form and Release the refund.
- It is recommended to go back to the Manage Financial Periods screen and close the periods you just opened so that no further posting can be made to those periods.
AccountMate Technical Tips
Can I Sort a Sales Report by Revenue Code?
Versions: AM10 for SQL and Express (and higher versions)
Module: AR
Q: Is there a sales report that can be sorted by revenue code?
A: Yes, the Invoice Line Item Report can be sorted by Revenue Code.
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How Do I Update the 1099 Year?
Versions: AM11 for SQL and Express (and higher versions)
Module: AP
Q: My 1099 current year in AP is outdated. How do I update my 1099 year? Is there a 1099-year closing in AP?
A: There is no 1099-year closing in AP. To update the 1099 year, select the latest year in the AP Module Setup ► 1099 Setup ► Current 1099 Year list; then, click the OK button. Then do the procedure again (i.e., launch the AP Module Setup, select the latest year shown in the Current 1099 Year drop-down list; then click the OK button) until the desired year is displayed.
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Can I Set Up a Default Email Message When I Email Reports from AccountMate?
Versions: AM11 for SQL and Express (and higher versions)
Module: SM
Q: Is there a way to set up a canned message when you e-mail reports from AccountMate?
A: Yes, you can set up the canned or default message in the Report Export/Email Setup ► Email Body area for the applicable report.
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What Earning Codes Accumulate Paid Leave?
Versions: AM11 for SQL and Express (and higher versions)
Module: PR
Q: What earning codes will accumulate paid leave hours?
A: This is configured by marking the Earning Code Maintenance ► Default Leave Settings ► Accumulate checkbox. This only applies to earning codes for which the type is Regular, Overtime, Holiday and Leave. For the Holiday and Leave earning code types, only paid leave codes that accrue on a Per Hour Work basis can accumulate leave hours. The Default Leave Settings tab will display only the applicable paid leave codes.
Notes:
- The Accr checkbox for the paid leave code in the Employee Maintenance ► Paid Leave tab must be marked for AccountMate to accrue paid leave hours.
- The Accrue Leaves checkbox in the second Apply Payroll/Payment window must also remain marked to accrue paid leave hours.
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