Dear AccountMate Clients,
We usually meet “orphans” (what we call existing AccountMate end-users without an AccountMate Business Partner) at very inopportune times. Often their system has been running for years, and we’re contacted as a result of a server crash or some other type of catastrophic data corruption which forces them to look for help.
Our first question is always, “How’s your backup?” Unfortunately, it’s not unheard of that there isn’t one – and that’s when things get REALLY scary…
I really do wish I could say this is a rare occurrence – but it happens at least once, sometimes twice, a year that we’re contacted by an orphan in dire straits with absolutely no backup of their data.
In the best case scenario, the data is recoverable for only a few thousand dollars from a disk recovery service – plus days of lost productivity while shipping the drives out and then getting the data back.
In the worst case scenario, the data is completely lost – and then it’s a manual/expensive/time-consuming process to figure out what customers owe them money (and how much), what open orders are owed the customers, what is owed to the vendors, important payroll information for tax filing and W-2 reporting, status of inventory and manufacturing orders, and on and on…
Since an organization’s financial management system is really their “nervous system” – the loss of it can make the company resemble the walking dead in a low budget Zombie movie!
While we’re not a network services company, everyone knows the key components to a well-designed backup strategy:
- Regular, automated, FULL backup – at least nightly – of both the data and front-end financial management programs
- Off-site rotation of the backup media – at least weekly – to outside the physical location of your office (think “in the event of a fire”)
- Occasional verification that the backup is “restorable” – at least every other month – which is a great opportunity to update your Account Mate “test company”
Keep in mind that data stored in a SQL Server isn’t backed up as simply as “flat files”, like Visual FoxPro “dbf” files or Word or Excel documents. So you need backup software that’s SQL-aware – or you need a script that backs up the SQL data to a flat file on your server’s harddisk coordinated with your simple backup software.
Contact us for a sample such SQL script – and note we also offer a user-friendly means of interactively backing up your SQL data to a flat file “on demand”. Our NexSQLBack™ utility doesn’t require any AccountMate source code and is very handy for saving a snapshot of your data just prior to performing your month-end closing, or starting a physical inventory count, etc.
As you may have guessed by now, the motivation for sending this Special Edition of our NewsLine is we just pulled a new client through an extremely difficult situation which a good backup strategy would have completely avoided. So contact us to continue the discussion, which we’d like to have your network support personnel in the loop for, to make sure you’re not playing the starring role in the next Zombie story!
Regards,
Kevin E. Stroud
NexLAN, LLC
https://nexlan.com
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.
M-Files Document Management (Motive Systems) – Thursday, October 20, 2011 – 12-1 CST offers a complete professional feature set including fast search, secure user access permissions, check-in / check-out, version control, workflow and notifications, fast offline and remote use, support for scanning paper documents and email, web access and a robust interface for connecting to front end business tools such as AccountMate. Simplifying the way documents are managed and tracked in the accounting process will improve the efficiency and accuracy with which companies manage their bookkeeping and related processes and tasks, such as filing tax returns, conducting audits, processing accounts payable and receivable, etc.
ACCU-DART Warehouse Management – Thursday, November 3, 2011 – 12-1 CST – A real-time integrated warehouse & inventory management solution. Using radio-frequency, bar-code technology, ACCU-DART enables warehouse staff to instantly update the AccountMate system. Functions can be performed using R/F scanners and/or through AccountMate directly. ACCU-DART functionality includes: shipping sales orders, receiving purchase orders, put aways, picking, bin transfers, warehouse transfers, bin replenishment, physical counts, serial/log control and more.
X-Charge Payment Processing – Thursday, November 10, 2011 – 12-1 CST –Enables clients to integrate their credit, debit, check and gift card transactions with their AccountMate software system. X-Charge merchants benefit from streamlined processes, network flexibility, improved reconciliation and meaningful reporting tools. Accelerated Payment Technology offers merchants low rates on credit card processing integrated with their point of sale, ecommerce and mobile systems; supported by world class 24/7 support.
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