The NexLAN Client Bill of Rights

Dear Clients,

NexLAN is starting our 25th year of business this month—coincidentally founded on the same day as the opening of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, but purposefully founded on the birthday of my first professional boss and lifelong mentor from my NSA days, Bobby Lyles.

If you’re reading this then you know the only way for a business to survive long term is to satisfy a market need in a productive and efficient way—in a market that is long-lasting as well.

Early on, our service offerings were broader as we were geographically limited—but recognized the secret to success is to specialize in a niche. We had expertise in flexible business accounting and financial management systems from the start, and the worldwide adoption of broadband global Internet connectivity allowed us to reach clients and truly make this our niche—now with more than 300 clients across 35 states, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Australia, Japan, and Africa.

Besides our services being delivered with midwestern aplomb (and a dash of my personal southern charm), we’ve hewed to several core values which are often conveyed via phone or email, and I’d like to formally publish those here:

The NexLAN Client Bill of Rights

1. As-Needed Services: You have a right to support services on an as-needed basis, without being wrapped up in long-term support contracts regardless of whether you needed support that month or not. NexLAN services are available in quarter hour increments with no support contract and with no minimum. To borrow a famous quote: You only pay for what you need!
2. Timely and Detailed Service Invoicing: Services should be invoiced promptly, so you see effort as it’s expended and not weeks or months later when a large amount has accumulated. You should be provided complete technical detail and not just a line item of “services rendered.” NexLAN invoices weekly to ensure we’re on track with your expectations, and we include the same information we post in our knowledge base.
3. Advance Notice of Software Licensing Invoices: You have a right to be informed of upcoming software vendor licensing renewals well in advance so you can plan ahead for cash flow purposes. NexLAN invoices for vendor renewals with at least 60 days notice.
4. Accounting Expertise: While you have a local CPA, you have a right to accounting software support with both technical and accounting expertise to ensure systems are properly configured and so you can receive ongoing accounting-related advice. While we often preface a statement with, “not your CPA talking,” NexLAN personnel are more than programming wizards. We have great experience in business process flow and accounting.
5. No Customization Copyright Claim: U.S. copyright law considers subcontract work the property of the subcontractor, which many support organizations use as a pretext to lock up the source code of work you contract for and hold it hostage. You have a right for effort you’ve paid for to be your intellectual property and not withheld from you. NexLAN expressly waives copyright claim to modifications/customizations and ensures copies of all source code are extant on your server.
6. A Client-First Focus: You have a right to support that understands this is a cooperative relationship and prioritizes your company’s success equal to theirs. NexLAN’s prime directive is “Keep money in the client’s pocket!” The reason NexLAN provides free telephone and email support. The reason NexLAN educates clients with our free monthly NewsLine. The reason NexLAN often recommends “right-sizing” (reducing system configuration) for new-to-us clients who were originally oversold. In short, NexLAN’s commitment is to provide not only the best, but the most cost-effective support.
7. A Long-Term Positive Relationship: It takes time, and time is money, for technical partners to get up to speed on your specific business needs and processes. You have a right to a trusting partnership that can support you now and well into the future to maximize the investment you’re making. NexLAN is starting our 25th year of business, recently made the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., and we still have our first accounting software client on board. Just ask for references… We have them by the buckets!

I’m often so concentrated on passing along information that I don’t take the opportunity to stop and say, “Thanks…”

Well, thanks for the partnerships we’ve grown thus far, and the opportunity to continue them many years into the future in the framework we’ve expressly outlined here!

Regards,

Kevin E. Stroud
kestrou@nexlan.com
NexLAN, LLC
https://nexlan.com 

April Release of AccountMate/LAN 12.1

While the retirement of the AccountMate/LAN platform has been announced for December 31, 2024, you can expect updates until then. The next release, dubbed AccountMate/LAN V12.1, is slated for mid-April 2022 with emphasis on payroll enhancements.

Here are some of the new features you can expect:

• Ability to email Pay Stubs to individual employees
• Ability to assign Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes in employee records
• Allows import of tips with importing timecard data that contain earning hour columns
• Separately tracks the adjusted and converted paid leave hours from the Year-to-Date and Year-to-Date used paid leave hours
• Set up a default email message when emailing reports
• Smarter search mechanism
• Option to require a bank number when recording AP invoice transactions
• Various report enhancements

The webinar discussing these enhancements and more is scheduled for April 12, noon to 1:30pm CDT. To register, please click here—and we’ll see you there. [Update: Watch the webinar recording.]

Upcoming AccountMate Classes

1. Manufacturing Module for AccountMate SQL/Express: April 21-22, 2022

There’s still time to register for this new online class for the Manufacturing module. It’s recommended for new module users to ensure the correct setup and effective implementation. It’s also recommended for existing users of the module to review their current setup, brush up on the latest features and reports, and learn how to effectively maintain their AccountMate Manufacturing solution.

You can register for one or both classes; each is $400. This special class doesn’t qualify for free seats with Lifecycle Maintenance.

➤  April 21, 2022, Session 1 (3 hours) Module Setup and Master Records

➤  April 22, 2022, Session 2 (3 hours) Transactions, Reports, and GL Integration

See more info on AccountMate’s website:

• Course overview
• Course outline
• Registration page

2. Core Product Modules: June 2 – July 7, 2022

The next opportunity to attend the Core Product class is coming up in June. This online class covers nearly a dozen core modules and is spread out with two sessions per week so that you’ll still have time to keep critical work projects moving along.  Don’t forget that your company qualifies for free classes if you have Lifecycle Maintenance—see details about that in the course overview.

The training is flexible—you can take the whole class or just one or more sessions, or part of it now and part of it the next time the training is offered.

• Course overview
• Course schedule
• Registration page

3. Payroll Module: September 12-16, 2022

More details on the Payroll training to follow when registration opens in June…

Please shoot us an email with any questions or to get registered!

Acumatica Keyboard Shortcuts

When you’re using a business application on a daily basis, like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word—or Acumatica—it pays to learn the shortcuts for small but repetitive tasks.

For example, did you know that when you’ve selected a column in a table, if you hit the F6 key on your keyboard it will sort the lines by the values in that column? Or if your cursor is in a table cell and you hit F5, it will refresh the data? Try it!

In a form, using the Tab key will move your cursor to the next field faster than moving your hand from the keyboard to your mouse to do it. And Shift-Tab moves you backwards to previous cells.

Check out the list of Acumatica Keyboard Shortcuts and find a few new ones to add to your repertoire today.

AccountMate Tech Note: Reconciling the AP Past-Due Aging Report and Accounts Payable GL Account

An aging report is an important tool in the effective management of your company’s payables. If the report indicates that most of your bills are past due, this could be an indication that you are relying heavily on your trade credit.

The Past-Due Aging Report in AccountMate allows you to generate an aging summary of your invoices as of a certain date. It provides a complete list of current and past-due accounts to help you analyze the vendor balances and reconcile these balances with the Accounts Payable GL Account ID balance in the General Ledger (GL). Regular reconciliation of vendor accounts allows you to spot early any accounts payable management issues to protect the company from major problems. 

Article #1152: Reconciling the AP Past Due-Aging Report and Accounts Payable GL Account ID Balance. discusses the use of the Past-Due Aging Report and General Ledger Listing during the reconciliation process. It also provides tips for reconciling vendor balances. 

AccountMate Tech Notes: The Payroll Local Tax Table Maintenance Function and the Additional Tax Code Feature

The AccountMate Payroll (PR) module provides functionality to handle a wide variety of payroll taxation requirements. Automatic payroll processing handles federal taxation and state withholding, employer SUTA, and SDI. However, the many unique combinations of local withholding and reporting requirements require user input so that PR can accommodate each company’s specific needs.

For example, an employee may reside in one state and work in another state, so their wages are subject to taxation in both states. In certain circumstances, the employee may also be subject to both county and city payroll taxes. Article #1310: How to Use the Payroll Local Tax Table Maintenance Function explains how to automate various local tax calculation and reporting requirements.

Requirements placed upon employers by various governmental organizations cause payroll to be one of the more complex accounting functions. Federal requirements are fairly straightforward; however, the large number of states, counties, cities, and municipalities that also have requirements complicates the function. Article #1309: Using the Additional Tax Code Feature provides information about how to use the Additional Tax Code feature to automate various state tax calculation and reporting requirements.

AccountMate Technical Tips

Versions: AM12 for SQL and Express
AM11 for SQL and Express
AM10 for SQL, Express, and LAN
AM9 for SQL, Express, and LAN

Module: AR

Q: How can I write off a customer’s invoice balance?

A: You can write off a customer’s invoice balance using the Apply Payment function by performing the following:

1. Access the Apply Payment function; then, enter the Customer #.

2. Select the Invoice # in the grid; then, double-click the Adjustment field or right-click on the Adjustment column header.

3. Enter the amount to be written off in the Adjustment ► Write-off Amt field; then, click Close.

4. Click the Save button in the Apply Payment Window.

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Versions: AM12 for SQL and Express
AM11 for SQL and Express
AM10 for SQL, Express, and LAN
AM9 for SQL, Express, and LAN

Module: AP

Q: We must immediately stop using our existing bank. I already created a new bank record. What else do I need to change in AccountMate, particularly in the Accounts Payable module, so that the new bank will be used going forward?

A: You must verify the Bank # assigned to the following records and change it as you deem necessary:

· Pay code records in Pay Code Maintenance

· Vendor records in Vendor Maintenance

· Outstanding or unpaid AP invoices (amend the invoices using the AP Invoice Transactions ► Amend AP Invoice mode)

· Default Bank # in the AP Module Setup ► General (2) tab.

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Subscription Information

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