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'The Electronic
Newsletter For Users
Volume IX #10 |
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SAFE/9
Released!
The ninth major release of
Simple Accounting is now available!
The industry-leading SQL Server based application has been updated with
seventy new features to further enhance your productivity. Major new features
include: Universal Locator, Instant Messaging, User-Defined Business
Reminders, Calendar Sharing, Custom Categories for Contacts/Customers and
Products, Prior Period Inventory Auditing and Instant RFQs, Tag'N'Edit, JDF-compatible
Spec Sheets and POs,
XML Style-Based Reports and integrated scanning functions!
Whew! That's a lot. But you can get more details on SAFE/9 here.
Upgrade Information
Existing Users Of SAFE/8
will
automatically be updated at no charge as a part of your Remote Support
Service agreement. You will be informed when the update is to take place.
Please read carefully the Upgrade Advisor you will receive before this date.
We'll give you a chance to digest all that. Next time, we'll start a series of tutorials on how to use these new features.
Til Then!
Happy Anniversary Suntower Systems!
Yes, it's now been twenty two years. Some
things change but some things never will. Yet again, our Red
Wings chase the Stanley Cup. Faces change (Dominic's back in goal yet
again?) But we keep
chugging along with pretty much the same line-up from 1985. So, as has become
something of a tradition here, we're once again offering our annual Customer
Loyalty Rewards to all you wonderful customers as a way to say 'Thank you!' for
partnering with us lo these many years.!
Effective immediately, your business will receive a credit equal to $100 for every year you've been a registered user of Simple Accounting (up to $500). Use it as you will. At the least, it will buy your company a custom report that might shave an hour or two off a particular clerical task every month (and how much is that worth). At most (and you know who you are, you swell people!) it might pay for a SAFExtensions module such as MS OfficeXtensions which lets you 'print' to Excel or Word, integrates Outlook mail and calendar functions into the SAFE Contact Management functions and lets you use Office utilities like spell-checking directly in SAFE.
OK, Here's The Fine
Print.
1. You may use the Program Discount towards any SAFExtension, custom programming
or forms design we offer.
2. The discount may not be used on any invoices billed prior to May 15, 2007.
3. You must take advantage of your discount by June 30, 2007.
4. You can pre-pay if you like for specific work to be scheduled with this discount, but you can't just send in a check to be used 'on account'.
5. This offer POSITIVELY ends JUNE 30th, 2007. That's IT!
Wherever you fall within the spectrum of SAFE longevity, please accept this as a token of our appreciation. Thanks, and, as they say, 'Many More!'
Til Next Time!
SAFE/9 New Features: Inventory!
Prior Period Auditing!
This finally rounds out the
process we started in SAFE/7 - where we began storing period by period
snapshots of forms usage. However, until now this was limited to products
under forms management for specific customers. Now, all products,
for general inventory as well as managed items are tracked for each
accounting period.
So now, all products, regardless of
ownership, can store a beginning and ending balance, usage and
value for each period at each Site. And each product can store an unlimited
number of periods of summary information. Also, each period's information
can be locked. What it all means:
a. You can store and review an unlimited number of periods of summary
information for each Product and Site. There is no longer a two year limitation
on usage reports.
b. Product Usage can be locked at the end of every G/L Period just like A/R
and A/P. Note that this lock is completely independent of a customer's
forms management period.
(Let's stop right here to clarify: If a product is customer owned or under
forms management for a customer, the product will be tracked twice for each
period---once according to the customer's accounting period---which can
begin on any day of the month, and also according to the G/L Period; again
just like A/R and A/P. Therefore, you'll be able to run Forms Management
Reports from your customer's point of view---their accounting period,
but also from your point of view---your accounting period.)
RFQ Enhancements!
1. You can now create an RFQ
directly from any line item on any Sales Order, simply by dragging and
dropping the line item onto the Request For Quote Browse. The RFQ can be for
the same customer, or you can edit the information to suit a new prospect
with similar needs.
2. You can now select alternate ship from addresses for all standard RFQs
(pre-existing designs will require a form re-draw.)
3. You can now convert multiple RFQs from the same established Customer ID into a single Sales Order in one fell swoop. The limitations are as follows: Each Product ID must already exist and it cannot be assigned to another Customer. In other words, if the Product ID was borrowed from another Customer or is not a part of your Distributor Owned Inventory it's a no-go.
4. You can now combine RFQs onto a single sales order, or add a converted RFQ to an existing Sales Order.
Product Categories!
As we discussed a few issues ago, you are no
longer limited to four Product Categories. A Product may be linked to any number
of Categories.
Product Specs In JDF
Compatible Format!
The ability to store Product
Specification Sheets in Adobe JDF compatible format is now a standard feature. A
fully standard JDF file may be included with any e-mailed purchase order.
Manufacturers can send this attachment directly to a compliant digital press.
Tag 'n' Edit!
The Products Browse now supports Tag
'n' Edit which means that you can perform bulk edits on your Products in one
easy step. Use the Query Tab to mark the Products to be edited, open the
Tag'n'Edit Window, select a field, select a new value, and all the tagged
records are instantly updated.
Til Next Time!
Ciaran's
Corner Q/A: To Upgrade SQL 2005?
Q: You've
been talking about SQL 2005 since SAFE/8 but frankly, we can't justify the
expense as most of the 'benefits' you talk about aren't things we would
use. Is there anything in SAFE/9 that makes the upgrade price for SQL Server
2005 worth the cost?
A: Well, there's truth. And then there's truth. My guess is that many of you simply won't consider upgrading to SQL 2005 unless dragged kicking and screaming. First, here's the short policy:
SAFE/9 will function with a base feature set with either SQL 2000 or SQL 2005. And in fact, you can also use MySQL or Oracle. The base feature set is basically 'SAFE/7'. However, any new feature that involves the database, is simply not available in SAFE/8 or SAFE/9. So, if the feature set suits your needs? No need to move. We're such nice people! As we add more and more features to SAFE, the feature set will obviously diverge from this baseline.
The Paradox!
Ah, but there is a
conundrum. A paradox. A real puzzler: If you don't have the features to play with, how do you realise that
you need them? Years ago, I swore I'd never get TIVO. ...er... until I got TIVO.
Now, you'd have to get Charleton Heston to pry my DVR out of my cold, dead
fingers. I didn't realise how life-changing it was to be able to see hockey
games any time I wanted.
And... The Offer!
We don't advertise it
much, but we have always been willing to install a temporary demo
company for existing users. If you have access to a SQL Server 2005
installation, we'll configure SAFE to allow you to use that database in addition
to your current 'live' installation. And we will do so at no charge to you. All
you need to do is either:
a) Download the SQL Server 2005 Express engine and install it on one test computer. This is a completely free single user database engine that will co-exist quite happily with most installations of SQL Server 2000---in other words you can have both engines running at the same time. This is the simplest way to try the SQL2005-specific features without affecting other users of your live version of SAFE. Get it here. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=220549b5-0b07-4448-8848-dcc397514b41&DisplayLang=en
b) A more rigorous test can be performed by installing the SQL 2005 Enterprise Trial Edition. This is the full meal deal. Install it on your server free of charge and try SQL Server 2005 for 180 days! Learn about it here: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/default.mspx
Once you have either of these in place, just give us a shout and we'll do the rest, again, at no charge to you.
No Free Lunch!
You may wonder if any of this applies to you the user of the free
version of SQL Server. As we try to tell you, at some point there is no free
lunch with Microsoft. Once your database grows beyond 4GB in size, Microsoft expects you to
pony up for a paid 5 licence version. So I guess one strategy is to wait until
that event. Sadly, 4GB doesn't buy what it used to. If you use Translog, for
example, you'll reach that limit fairly quickly, even if your monthly order
volume is low. Further, at some point in the next few years, Microsoft will stop
supporting SQL Server 2000. There is already talk that the next version of
Windows Server will require SQL Server 2005.
And In Conclusion
There are a number of
features in each new release of SAFE that are real winners (the new Universal
Locator being particularly great for me this time around.) But you can't find
out just how wonderful these are if you don't have SQL Server 2005. To give you
the ability to try these in your office, we offer a free demo company
installation. All you need do is install free versions of SQL Server 2005;
either the single user Express Edition or the 180 day Enterprise Trial. At some
point, regardless of your feature needs, it will be necessary to upgrade
to SQL Server 2005---either your database will outgrow the limits of the free
edition you're now using, or because Microsoft will stop actively supporting SQL
Server 2000 (probably in 2009). So for that last reason alone, it may make sense
to investigate SQL Server 2005. want it, that is.
Til Next Time!
Ciarān Marron
Technical Support Manager
End of E-News From The Suntower, Volume IX #10
