Dear AccountMate Clients,
While we had snow flurries just three days ago, Spring is definitely on the way and I’m enjoying running the local trails and seeing the trees and vegetation begin to bud. Soon the wildflowers will be in bloom, so in the spirit of “Spring Potpourri” here’s three quick items of interest:
1) Most AccountMate installations are set to allow “two digit year entry” and we’re starting to get calls from clients getting unexpected results when entering dates for the year 2010 and beyond. The default setting in many AccountMate installations is that “years less than 10 are for the 21st century and will begin with 20” and “years greater than or equal to 10 will begin with 19”. Now that we’re less than nine months from the year 2010, it’s probably time to update your system to push that window back to, say, “20” – so that two digit years up to “19” will be recognized as 2019. Where this is set varies slightly depending on the platform and version of your AccountMate installation, but look for this in your “Admin program” under “Century Setup” or “Company Setup.” If it’s not immediately obvious where the setting is at, feel free to give us a call for free 15 minutes of support and we can walk you right to it.
2) AccountMate has recently redesigned the Registered User Home Page on their website, providing information specific to you with links to upcoming webinars, replays of past webinars “on demand”, and other online learning and training resources. If you have an active AccountMate software maintenance plan, then hit the following link to the new “End-User Support Center” to check it out: http://www.accountmate.com/enduser/eu.asp. Your end-user Support ID required to login is available in your AccountMate program under <Help><About>
3) I received a call from an excited client just a few days ago about a really neat function they had just stumbled across – the Executive Summary, which is available in SQL 7.4/7.5 and LAN 7.1. I understand new functionality is rapidly added in AccountMate build and version updates (another reason to keep your software maintenance agreement active!), so you might have missed this one which has major “Wow Factor“. The Executive Summary is a button in the Power Toolbar that provides an instant real-time snapshot of the following information:
- Open sales orders, and period-to-date sales orders and shipments
- Backordered PO, and period-to-date purchase orders and receipts
- Receivable balance, un-invoiced shipments, and period-to-date invoices, receipts and adjustments
- Payable balance, accrued receipts, and period-to-date invoices, payments and adjustments
- Receivable and payable aging
- Total inventory value
- Total bank balance
On the running front: I’m at that most uncomfortable time for a serious marathoner: the taper. That’s when mileage ramps down in the three weeks prior to the target race so that you’re well rested and fully energized for the big day. What’s uncomfortable about it is that well trained runners hate to sit around and not run when they feel so good – especially now that the temps are often in the 50s and we’re getting some sunny days. But, rest and then carbo-loading are known to be the formula for success so I’ll suffer through. Stand by for results from the inaugural Illinois Marathon, my pacing overnight at the McNaughton 150-miler, and the Boston Marathon in next months NexLAN/AccountMate NewsLine.
Regards,
Kevin E. Stroud
NexLAN, LLC
https://nexlan.com
Updated Payroll Tax Subscriptions for COBRA Credit Function
If you use the Payroll Module in your AccountMate installation, then you should have received a “Special Announcement” from us on Monday, March 30th, regarding the release of an additional update per your payroll tax subscription to accommodate the “Employer COBRA Credit” as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed in February of this year.
For complete details, please see our archived Updated Payroll Tax Subscriptions for COBRA Credit Function NewsLine and please contact us with any questions.
While this update is not required to be installed if you have no ex-employees taking advantage of the reduction in the cost of COBRA coverage, AccountMate’s timely production of this update is a great example of the benefits of being on a supported version of the software!
Free Integrated Fixed Asset Module Webinar
We’ve heard from numerous clients, and AccountMate has undoubtedly heard from far more, that an integrated Fixed Asset Module is required.
To satisfy that demand, we’re happy to announce the integration of Bassets Fixed Asset System, which shares much of the technology used in the core AccountMate system.
A free hour-long webinar to demonstrate its flexible import/export capabilities, intelligent data entry, numerous depreciation and calculation methods, plus over twenty standard reports and an integrated custom report writer is scheduled for noon CDT on Thursday, April 16th.
If you would like to attend please contact us, by replying to this e-mail or sending an e-mail to nexlan@nexlan.com, to sign up for the webinar.
Tech Note: Positive Pay Files
A key enhancement introduced in AccountMate 7 is the ability to generate a Positive Pay file that can be sent to your bank. This file helps protect your company from check fraud by identifying the check transactions you authorized.
While the use of Positive Pay files has gained wide acceptance, there is no single file format prescribed for all banks. AccountMate currently supports the Positive Pay file formats of a select number of banks. This TechNote identifies these banks and expounds on the layout of each supported Positive Pay file format. Click the title of the article below to access the document.
Article 1269: Sample Positive Pay Output File Format
Technical Tips
Versions: AM7 for SQL and Express
AM7 for LAN
AM6.5 for SQL and MSDE
AM6.5 for LAN
Module: AR
Q: I noticed that each time I record a customer payment using the AR Apply Payment function, two journal entries are created. It first recognizes a liability GL Account ID by recording a customer deposit against a receivable from the customer; then, it recognizes the payment and reverses the liability GL Account that was created prior to recording the payment. Why do these extra transactions occur?
A: The system behavior you describe is by design. The receipt of payment and its application to an invoice may or may not take place at the same time. Whether a payment is applied to an invoice immediately upon receipt or it is applied at a later date, the receipt will always be posted first to a Customer Deposit GL Account ID.
When the payment amount is fully applied to an invoice immediately upon receipt, the Customer Deposit GL Account ID will be cleared of the payment and the payment amount will be applied against the Accounts Receivable balance. When the paid amount is not fully applied to an invoice during apply payment, the balance goes to the Customer Deposit GL Account ID and shows as a customer open credit.
■ ■ ■
Versions: AM7 for SQL and Express
AM7 for LAN
AM6.5 for SQL and MSDE
AM6.5 for LAN
Modules: PR
Q: I need to change one state’s SUTA Rate; however, when I accessed the State Tax Tables Maintenance function I noticed that the SUTA Rate field in every state is inactive. How can I update the SUTA Rate?
A: To update the SUTA rate for each state, access the PR Module Setup function and select the State tab. Select the state that you wish to update; then, enter the new rate in the SUTA rate field.
The new SUTA Rate will not be displayed on the State Tax Tables Maintenance window; however, the system will use the new SUTA rate in the PR Module Setup function for future transactions and when you perform Recalculate SUTA.
■ ■ ■
Versions: AM7 for SQL and Express
AM7 for LAN
AM6.5 for SQL and MSDE
AM6.5 for LAN
Modules: IC, PO
Q: I created an inventory item with an average cost method and did not enter any unit cost. I checked the Inventory Maintenance and verified that the average cost is zero. Then, I created a purchase order for this item and received the goods. When I accessed the item’s Inventory Maintenance again and went to the Settings tab, the Average Cost field is still zero. Why is the average cost not updated with the PO receipt transaction? What did I miss?
A: Go to the item’s Inventory Maintenance\Settings tab and verify whether the Update On-hand checkbox is marked. If this box is unmarked, then the on-hand quantity of the item will not be updated with the PO receipt transaction. In this case, the on-hand quantity will still be zero causing the item to have zero average cost.
Subscription Information
If there is someone else in your office who would like to receive this NewsLine, please email newsletter@nexlan.com. In the meantime, browse through our archives.
If you would like to discontinue your subscription to this NewsLine, please click here.
