New For SAFE SQL8!

SAFE just keeps getting better and better! SAFE SQL, the eighth major release, has over 60 new features!

If you are upgprading
from a previous
version of SAFE
Read This FIRST!
Read NEW451.PDF BEFORE upgrading!

General Improvements

More Speed!

We've done everything humanly possible to make SAFE/8 use every drop of SQL2005's new performance enhancements. Virtually every aspect of the program will execute noticeably faster.

Snapshots!

 

SQL Server Standard Edition has the ability to store a snapshot of your database at any moment in time, while users continue to work, and then almost instantly restore it for individual users at any later time. Snapshots are small so they don't take up nearly as much disk space as you might think. And users who work on a snapshot can have their edits flow through to the current data! In other words, you can have a user make changes based on a prior snapshot and then update the current version of SAFE while users work! Best of all, SAFE8 supports these snapshots directly. This will allow for almost fool-proof backup and restoration of data. If you discover mistakes that are days or even months old, you can correct them, simply by loading a snapshot from the previous known 'good' state and having SAFE automatically roll that change into the current data! Finally, you'll be able to have a complete audit trail at any point in time, even if data has been deleted---the deleted data remains in prior snapshots.

Notifications!

 

 Notifications are tools where the database sends out a message based on various events. Notifications can be a pop-up message on screen, an e-mail, a page, or even a phone message using a compatible PBS. SQL2000 had some notification ability built-in, but not much---it was largely confined to paging someone or sending an e-mail if there was a catastrophic failure in the database. In SQL2005, notifications can be sent out based on just about any condition. For example, you could trigger a Notification if a customer has exceeded their credit limit, or if a particular SAFE user is attempting to update a particular table (or at an an unusual time of day.)

SQL2005 Notifications are intimately linked into SAFE8 and are comprehensive. Virtually any event that affects the database can now be monitored in Translog even if the event occurred outside of SAFE! For example, if someone attempts to access the database for any reason not through SAFE, you can get a notification e-mailed to you immediately. If someone is using SAFE outside of a certain date/time? You get a notification. If a customer attempts to place an order in Ollie for an item they have never ordered before? You can get a notification. If you can think up a rule, you can now monitor it in Translog and get an instant Notification from SQL Server. We provide the front-end through Translog---Notifications are set up using a system very similar to the current Query Manager. Here are a couple of examples of scripts you can create in SAFE to trigger Notifications:


Example #1
Procedure = 'GenerateOnePO' Combine='AND'
Field = 'VendorID' Operator = '=' Value = 'DATATEL' Combine='AND'
Field = 'POAmount' Operator = '>=' Value=1000
Message = 'A PO has been generated by ' & GLO:EmployeeID & ' which exceeds $1,000.'
SecurityID=1
Notify=1

...Send a notification to all members of Security Group 1 (Admins perhaps?) if someone in your office prints a P.O. using Vendor 'DATATEL' above $1,000.


Example #2
Procedure = 'Non-Simple Accounting'
Event = 'Any'
Time = 'Any'
Message = 'An update to your database has taken place outside of SAFE.'
SecurityID=1
Notify=1

...Send a notification to all members of Security Group 1 (Admins perhaps?) if there is an attempted update to your database that did not come from SAFE.

More Options Exposed!

 

 Oh My!

OK, so this isn't really new features per se, but we have now fully documented over 300 previously hidden Global Options. This gives you access to all manner of goodies that were previously in SAFE, but you had to ask in order to get them 'turned on'. And of course, you had to remember to always ask! Now you don't have to ask---just turn 'em on and off. You'll be very surprised at all the stuff SAFE can do.

All Transactions

Column Sorting!

 

In most data entry screens with multiple line items, you can now sort the line items by column.

Line Item Search!

 

Most transactions now have a Line Item Search. If you're entering a Release with 50 line items, you'll appreciate that you can now instantly find the one with the Vendor Notes "Don't Ship Today!" without having to scroll/open/close/scroll some more!

Sales Orders & A/R

More Flexible Summary Billing

 

When you generate a new Summary Bill, you are presented with a list of invoices which would be included on the Bill. You can then tag/untag individual invoices to assign to a particular Summary Bill. Think of this as like generating A/P Checks.

You can now have multiple Summary Bill formats and assign individual customers to each format as you go.

New Update Inventory Lock!

 

 When working with a Sales Order, you can now click on a line item and be guided through an Inventory Update Window (IUW). Essentially, this Window's purpose is to make it clearer to users when inventory is being updated--it doesn't really add any new functionality, it simply puts everything into one place for users. If you open the IUW, you are presented with various options, based on whether this is a release, PO or brokered line item. By filling out the various prompts, you can, in one fell swoop:
  • Update inventory
  • Post A/P
  • Lock the line item from further changes which would affect either of the above

This doesn't really add anything new it simply makes the process more fool-proof. For example, users no longer have to remember to print a Release Notice, or change the Status of a line item. All they have to remember is to open the IUW when a line item is complete and let SAFE do it all at once. 

 

Inventory & Forms Management

Easier Inventory Browsing

 

When viewing inventory history, you can choose to view only history since the last count. This makes display of the audit trail now, in most cases, instantaneous.

 

Easier Combo'd Purchase Orders And RFQs!

 

You asked and we comply!

When you print a P.O. from a Sales Order, you can ask SAFE to scan other open orders for line items to the same Vendor. If any are found, you can then generate a P.O. combining these line items as a single P.O. #!

And for Stock Purchase Orders, we offer a new Combo Option for cloning (This is one of those things that may take longer to explain than to use!) Now, when you clone a Purchase Order, you have the option to specify a Vendor and a Ship To Address. The cloned PO then contains the new Vendor and shows the products shipping from the source PO and then to the new address. But the clone retains the REFERENCE field to link the POs together. This lets you create multi-phase orders in just a few keystrokes!

Tag Multiple RFQs!

 You can now tag multiple RFQs for the same Vendor and combine all RFQs onto the same Sales Order!

RFQ Customer Pricing!

 You will be able to directly enter a Customer Price when you convert, rather than just a mark-up from your costs.

Accounts Payable

Recurring Bills

You can now convert any A/P Bill into a Recurring Bill with a single keystroke.

Create Vendors From Checks!

You can now convert any payee on a check in the Check Register into a Vendor with one keystroke.

Create Bills From Checks!

You can now convert any Check Register entry into an A/P Bill. So if you write a check to a one-time vendor, you could for example, convert them into a 'real' Vendor and automatically make that transaction their first entry into their A/P history.

Vendor Warning Notes!

These are similar to the existing Customer and Product Warning Notes. Special notes can appear whenever you select a Vendor for a P.O. for example.

Reporting

Pivoting!

Any column in a report can immediately become a group with a subtotal without having to design a new report or save a Query. In essence, you can flip any report on it's side.

New Outputs!

 PDFXtensions is our most popular SAFEXtension. Well, SAFE/SQL8 will introduce another SAFEXtension MSOfficeXtensions(tm). Any report you print can now be 'printed' directly to a Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word document!


Like Queries, all options are 'saveable' for immediate recall when you want to re-print.

Column Formatting
 

 Most reports will now all you to make formatting changes to individual columns at run-time. These include:
  • The colour of individual columns
  • The font of a column (including bold or italics)
  • Whether a column is hidden or not.

This last one is big. So many of you have written custom reports (or had us do so) simply to remove one or two columns from an otherwise unchanged report. Now you don't have to! Simply turn 'off' the columns you don't need and print away.
 

Finishing Touches
 

 There are a number of new Report Options which will further help you tweak your reports and forms. These include:
  • Print Bare: Print only detail information, with no column or page header info. This is great if you print reports to pre-printed forms, or export data and don't want to have to edit the file to remove pesky page numbers and so on.
     
  • Font Chooser: You can now choose the main font to print when the report runs.
     
  • Duplexing: If your printer supports double-sided printing, you can turn this on/off for each report.
    Print Selected Pages: You can now select a range of pages to print directly from the Print Options menu, without having to open Print Properties. And, as a double bonus, you can now select individual pages to print, a la MS-Word (eg. 2,7,13,41)!
     
  • Alert On Completion: It may seem a bit ridiculous at first, but this turns out to be quite useful. You can now tell SAFE to ring a bell when your report is completed printing.

SQL Server Reporting Services: Report Builder

 

 Many of you started using Reporting Services in SAFE 7. Or rather, you started using reports that we created for you which ran on Reporting Services in SQL2k. Many of you love the cool look of Reporting Services reports (especially your clients) and everyone loves how fast they run. On the other hand, very few of you had the courage to seek out a third party report writer and write your own reports. Well, if you get Workgroup or Standard Edition, you now get the included Report Builder and it's a doozy. It's packed with slick, slick features (like the ability to click on any report group and instantly display or hide details!), graphs and charts. If you are comfortable with the SAFE ReportWriter, or have any experience creating reports in Excel, you'll be a whiz with the new MS Report Builder.

Ollie And WebSAFE!
 

…or WebSAFE and Ollie! The inner workings of these two programs have always been proprietary. This is no longer the case. Both Ollie and WebSAFE are now available in a fully open-source version, written with industry standard ASP scripts. So what does that mean? It means that any competent web designer (not just us) can be engaged to completely modify the look and feel of your on line ordering system. Don’t like the color scheme? Change it! Want to add a completely different order entry screen? Go right ahead! Need different reports! Create them yourself! The code is all there for you (or us) to work with.

How To Obtain This Upgrade
1. To obtain this upgrade, go to www.suntowersystems.com/downloads/safeee/setupex.exe Run this program on your server.
2. There are new passwords for this upgrade. Your existing installation password will not work! Please contact us for an updated password.
3. If you have any custom forms from Suntower Systems do not run SETUP until you have received updated forms from us!
4. It is critical that you backup your complete SIMPLE folder and your SQL Server databases before you run SETUP. If your SQL Server database is not stored under the SIMPLE folder, then that must also be backed up.

Note: Make sure you have a complete backup of your SQL Server database. Many backup programs do not properly back up SQL Server databases! The surest way to make a database backup is from within the SQL Server Enterprise Manager!
5. When you run SETUP, read the installation options carefully so as not to overwrite any existing data! Install only the Program and no data files besides the Sorts and Filters!
6. As we have been saying: you will not be eligible for this upgrade if your RSS subscription is not current. You will be charged an additional $180.00 to upgrade to SAFE 8 from SAFE 7 if your support contract is not current by May 15, 2006. If your version of SAFE has not been upgraded to Version 7, you will be charged an additional upgrade fee to receive version 8.

IMPORTANT STEPS TO FOLLOW WHEN UPGRADING!
1. Backup your current database before you begin!
2. Test your backup!
3. Install SAFE SQL 8.0, making certain that no users are logged into SAFE
4. Open SQL Query Analyzer
5. Open the "SQL 8 Database Update Script.SQL" file.
6. Press <F5> to execute this script and convert the database to be compatible with SAFE 8.
7. Close SQL Server Query Analyzer and start SAFE 8.
Congratulations! You did it.

What's Next?

Want to know what's up next for SAFE? While we're not prone to discussing 'vaporware', we do update Simple Accounting four times per year, so we do know which features are coming with the next minor update. To find out, click here:

What's Next For SAFE?