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SUMMARY: Proven tips to make
working in Clients & Profits easier.
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Back up your Clients & Profits database every day
Backing up to a reliable medium like tape or cartridge
is important. There are software programs for backing up
that are very good, like Dantz Retrospect. Trying to
backup to floppy disk is time consuming and risky, since
they are less reliable. If just one floppy is bad, your
entire backup is unusable. In addition to making daily
backups, you should be making weekly and monthly backups
as well. Those backups should be rotated out to another
site so you have fairly current and older backups at two
different locations at all times.
Always open Clients & Profits by double-clicking
on the application, not the database
Clients & Profits always opens the last-used
database automatically--even if you double-click on the
database itself. It does this for consistency, so that
the same database is opened automatically each time. If
you use more than one database, you may not realize which
one you're using. Users may not realize that the fact
they have entered live data into two different databases
for days, even weeks. Then, they call us thinking that
their database has lost information. The result is many
hours of reentering data! Opening the Clients &
Profits application allows you to really know what
database you are opening. Everyone should do it.
Always press the Tab key to move from field to field,
instead of using your mouse
Clients & Profits features error checking while
you're entering information. Every part of the system
offers some degree of checking for correct client
numbers, vendor codes, and resource initials. This
prevents invoice and job costs from being saved and
posted to accounts that don't exist. If you mouse click
past a field, you are preventing the program from
performing an important function that is meant to help
you work more accurately.
Use Lookup Lists
The Lookup Lists provide you with current information
about the database at all times and from all parts of the
program. The menu bar across the top of your screen has
the Lookup menu. You can choose lists for Clients, Job
Tickets, Staff, Vendors, Chart of Accounts, Status Codes,
Task Table, Groups, Purchase Orders, and Job Types/Spec
Sheets. Choose the Update icon to get the most current
list available, the Add icon to add new items (except for
job tickets, chart of accounts or PO's) to the file or
the Print icon for a hard copy of the list. The lists are
sortable in ascending or descending order.
Always quit Clients & Profits by choosing Quit
from the File menu--don't just turn off your
computer
Quitting properly tells Clients & Profits that
you're no longer using the system. It also logs you out
of the database, freeing up a slot for another user. If
you don't quit Clients & Profits using the Quit
command, the database still thinks you're using it.
Always proof--and check--proof lists before you
post
This is a step that can save you more work and time
down the road. By proofing your work before you post, you
check to see if there are any data entry errors or if
there has been an incomplete line item entered (maybe
some power fluctuation interrupted the saving process.)
This proof list gives you a chance to check your work and
gives you a hard copy of what you are going to post. If
you ever need to see what you posted on a certain day,
perhaps to reenter it, you will have good reference
material to use. To print a proof list, go to the File
Menu for the part of the program you are working in and
select Post. In the Post window, the option to print
proof list first is selected. You can print to your
screen or to the printer. Printing the proof list gives
you a permanent record of transactions to be posted.
Always print a Trial Balance at the end of the
month--and make sure it balances
The Trial Balance shows the beginning, current month,
and ending balance for each G/L account. The balance of
the assets, liabilities, and equity is always zero-if
not, you've got unbalanced journal entries somewhere. If
so, you'll need to then print journal reports to look for
one-sided entries. It is best not to enter new work until
the current month is balanced-otherwise it can be
difficult to track down old, unbalanced entries. To check
several months at once, print the Year-to-date Trial
Balance. This financial report shows a lot in one glance.
It's printed in two parts-the first 6 months and the
second 6 months. Look at the total line for Assets,
Liabilities and Equity. It will be zero if you are in
balance. What is helpful here is besides seeing that you
are in balance, you can scan future months to make sure
that there have been no stray entries posted to future
dates. By catching these errors at the end of the month,
you could unpost, edit the date and re-post.
Check the Suspense account often--make sure its
balance is zero
The Suspense account is included in every database and
serves a useful purpose--it captures amounts that were
posted to nonexistent G/L accounts. Even though you proof
your work, something might slip through and get posted
that has an incorrect general ledger account number. The
part of the transaction that is wrong will post to the
suspense account. Using the reference number, you can
track down the source document that made this journal
entry. You can determine what the correct account should
have been and correct it. Or, maybe something was posted
to the suspense account on purpose. Perhaps when an a/p
invoice was posted, you weren't sure which general ledger
account to debit. You could debit suspense (which will
keep the financial reports in balance) and decide later
what to do. But don't forget to reverse the transaction
out of suspense.
Check your posted journal entries in your General
Ledger
Each time an invoice from Accounts Receivable or
Accounts Payable, a check from the Checkbook, or a
payment from Client Payments is posted, an automatic
entry is made into the General Ledger. You can look up
these entries by the prefix they are given plus the
invoice or check number. The prefixes are as follows:
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Prefix:
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Posted from:
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AR#
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Accounts Receivable
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AP#
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Accounts Payable
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CK#
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Checkbook
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PMT#
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Client Payments
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This prefix determines whether an entry belongs on the
various journal reports. Entries that don't begin with
one of these four prefixes are considered part of the
General Journal. Entries you make directly into the
General Ledger have a reference number that you give them
at the time of entry. The audit trail, journal, and
general ledger reports also display these reference
numbers, so you can easily find the transaction you need.
Always report error messages and other strange
behavior to your system manager
Errors can happen anytime, for all kinds of reasons.
But not all errors mean you've lost your work. Be aware--
and don't ignore--error messages when they appear. Write
down exactly what they say and report it to your systems
manager and/or call Clients & Profits, Inc. right
away. Catching problems early can prevent a worse
thing--like totally losing your databases--from
happening. If anything strange or out-of-the-ordinary
seems to be happening to you as you work, report that,
too. Responding quickly to situations as they come up can
keep them from becoming big problems.
