April, 1998
WHAT'S NEW IN ADVANCED ACCOUNTING 5.1?
In addition to the enhancements and new features found in over 70 program options that were made in 1997, here is a brief summary of some of the new features that we've added to Advanced Accounting for 1998:
MORE TERMS: No longer are you limited to just 9 terms. Not only can you now have as many terms as you'll ever need (up to 999), you can further specify whether a given terms type is to be used just for the customer side or for the vendor side or for both. And, for the first time, the system will now handle end of month (EOM) terms and the ability to handle fractional term discounts like 2.5% or 1.75%. Every program in the system (over 40) has been changed to interface with this new terms capability. You can now look-up terms by term description and also can now simply type in the terms number without looking up the terms at all if you wish.
INVENTORY MOVEMENTS: This second major new feature tracks every movement or value change involving "regular" (non-inventory) inventory items. This is tracked down to the location level. With the new inventory transaction file, you can see the complete history of an item including sales, receipts, adjustments and location transfers through a new reporting option in the I/C module. When you adjust an inventory item you further now have the option to specify the reason for the adjustment. Not only does the inventory movements feature track the units, value and reason for the change but it also keeps track of the computer's actual date when the transaction occurred in addition to the "posting" date.
SALES ORDER SHIPPING DATES AND MORE: Advanced Accounting 5.1 now has a separate shipping date field that can be input either during sales order entry, at the time of invoicing or even after the invoiced has been posted through a new menu option. In the sales order history you can now further see what the system date was when the invoice was actually posted, who printed the invoice before it was posted (if you use system passwords) and what the cost of goods sold was for the order. And then there are due dates . . . .
DUE DATES: Users now have the ability to confirm/override/specify the actual due dates of invoices, A/R vouchers and A/P vouchers. Due dates interface with the new terms file and users can adjust due dates (S/O invoices can be adjusted even after having been posted). Three new reporting options "report on" the new due dates fields.
CONTROL DATE AND OTHER SYSTEM HANDLING OPTIONS: A new control date feature now gives users the ability to NOT allow anything to be posted prior to a certain date. If internally you have "closed" out a month, you can now stop accidental postings that would otherwise change your closed out numbers. Users can now also configure the system to globally change "F2" look-ups to default to either code or name in connection with customers, vendors, G/L codes and inventory. Users can also control whether the system asks them the "look at" question when entering the A/P-A, A/R-A and I/C-A programs. Point of sale message lines can be replaced with something other than "Thank you for shopping at" and the question concerning whether sales order invoices printed correctly can be removed so that the system automatically marks them as having been printed correctly (which then frees up the invoicing program for multi-user access). Phone numbers can be set-up to print on sales order invoices and purchase orders.
OPTIONAL NEW MENU FOR WIN95 PC's: This new front end provides an integrated environment for launching either the Windows or DOS mode of Advanced Accounting. It will warn users when Advanced Accounting has already been loaded in a user's task bar (it can be safely loaded more than once but sometimes users load it more than once without realizing it). Date/time/calendar functions are provided along with an easy way to review 1997 and 1998 update information. An integrity check for the [btrieve] section is provided. This new menu stays in the background while Advanced Accounting is running and can be accessed at any time. Here's a sample of how the menu looks "behind" Advanced Accounting:
CD-ROM INSTALLATION: Advanced Accounting is now shipped on a CD-ROM and can be installed either in a DOS only mode or in a Windows mode. The Windows installation allows the user to remove the installation using the control panel on a WIN 95 machine because it is now a 32-bit install. The DOS only mode installation contains a copy of every file "uncompressed" which will be useful in technical support situations. All of the latest updates are included in one installation making the installation process much simpler as well as faster and less prone to a diskette-based error. For users wanting diskette-based installation, however, that is still available.
ADDSUM QUOTES AND ADDSUM UTILITIES: These have been updated for the new terms handling.
DAYKIT ADD-ON: DAYKIT is our employee time clock and human resource management software. It was designed to interface with Advanced Accounting (although it does not require Advanced Accounting). It requires WIN95 or NT and a running demo is included on the CD-ROM distribution disk.
OTHER PROGRAMS: Many cosmetic and enhancements to other programs have been made throughout the system. Enhancements and fixes for problems reported and features suggested by users will continue to be made on a continual basis along with features that help to decrease the need for support.
New and upgrade users obtain the latest features through the purchase date of the program. Existing 5.1 users can obtain ongoing updates to the program in one of two ways: (1) through the purchase of a subscription whereby monthly updates are downloaded from our web site or (2) through the purchase of a subscription and support account whereby we automatically send via diskette or E-mail the monthly updates (including integrating the updates into modified systems) - this option includes a basic level of support as well. For further information, please contact us.