Attaché Supervisor. Attaché Software Australia Pty Ltd Attaché Software New Zealand Pty Ltd

Transcription

1 Attaché Supervisor Attaché Software Australia Pty Ltd Attaché Software New Zealand Pty Ltd

2 ii Publication Number Product Version Publication Date A Attaché Accounts and Attaché Payroll version 1.01 July Attaché Software Australia Pty. Limited All rights reserved. Copyright in the whole and every part of this publication belongs to the Owner and may not be used, sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or on or in any media to any person without the prior written consent of the Owner. The Owner is entitled to take legal action against any party who infringes its copyright. Attaché Software, Attaché Alex, Attaché Archive, Attaché ExpressLink and Attaché ODBC are trademarks of Attaché Software Australia Pty. Limited. Microsoft, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Windows and Internet Explorer are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Adobe, Acrobat, Acrobat Reader are trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Attaché Software does not provide legal, accounting or any other professional advice. Readers should not act on the basis of the information and instructions in this publication without seeking professional advice as to its suitability to their specific circumstances.

3 Attaché Supervisor iii Foreword This Attaché Supervisor guide contains detailed descriptions of the main supervisor-related functions of your Attaché accounting software. This guide is intended for supervisors. A supervisor is a user with full access rights to all operations in the software. A supervisor normally sets up the application in readiness for users to enter and modify business information. Installation of the software is not discussed in this guide. If you have not installed Attaché or need assistance with the installation, please refer to your Installation Guide.

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5 Attaché Supervisor 1 Contents Table of tasks... 5 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services Attaché Software products and services... 8 Contacting Attaché Software... 8 Staying up to date... 8 Productivity tools... 8 Pre-printed business stationery... 9 Attaché consultants...10 Getting help, support and resources...10 Application Help...10 Getting assistance...10 Attaché Members website online resources...11 Attaché publications...11 Training...11 About your Attaché system...12 Details of your Attaché system...12 Viewing modules installed...12 Using the System Status tool...13 Software licensing...14 Upgrading your software...15 Sample companies and forms...15 Conventions used in this guide...15 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Attaché at a glance...18 Companies...18 Supervisors and users...18 Customisation...19 Entering and finding information...19 Passwords, protections and menu access...21 Managing data...21 Supplementary files and templates...22 Reports...22 Signing on...23

6 2 The Attaché window...25 Changing the date application calendar...25 File menu...26 Attaché menus selecting tasks...27 Selecting a menu style...28 Navigating using the keyboard...29 Task screens...30 Choice of toolbars or function buttons...31 Choosing large fonts and other display properties...33 Multiple instances of task screens...33 Entering and finding information...34 Moving around using a keyboard...34 Using the Find (F2) facility...34 Using standard messages...36 Using the drill-down facility...37 Working with windows...38 Arranging windows...38 Resizing windows and task screens...38 Maintaining postcodes (Australia)...39 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies Setting up a new company overview...42 Creating a new company...42 Location of company (data) folders...43 Establishing settings...44 Using the New Company template...44 Setting up your Company Options...46 Setting up a company background...48 Checking company settings and options...49 Checking tax options...49 Checking BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation options...49 Checking general ledger options...51 Checking other module options...52 Setting up general ledger sets...52 Consolidating general ledger transactions...54 Using Company Notes...55 Blocking and disabling companies...56 Blocking access to a company...57 Disabling edit functions in a company...59

7 Attaché Supervisor 3 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users Managing users...64 Creating and modifying users...64 Setting up or changing a password...66 Setting up a user s password level...67 Setting up a default company for sign on...67 Disabling multiple incidences of tasks...68 Enabling automatic data transfer...68 Setting up a user s report options...68 Setting up user-specific transaction entry screens...69 Deleting a user...70 Managing access to companies...71 Controlling access to new companies via menu access rights...72 Managing access to tasks and fields...73 Applying password levels to fields...73 Setting up menu access rights...75 Chapter 5 Producing reports Reporting...80 Report settings and options...80 Print sequence...80 Ranges of codes...81 Test print...81 Saving report options...81 Working with default user report options...82 Copying user report options between users and companies...83 Creating and printing reports...84 Printing documents from transaction entry and lookup...85 Printing transaction lists from masterfile enquiry...86 Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink...86 Chapter 6 Managing your data Changing masterfile codes...88 Changing masterfile codes by using KFI...88 Changing locations...89 Changing product locations...89 Changing product location descriptions...91 Tracking changes...91 Turning on track changes...92 Backing up and restoring data Attaché Archive...94

8 4 Making a backup plan...95 Creating backups by using Attaché Archive...95 Restoring data by using Attaché Archive...97 Authorising access to the restore data function...98 Data integrity and maintenance...99 Using File Integrity Check...99 Using Compress Database Using Index File Optimiser Copying data files Chapter 7 Importing and exporting in Attaché Using application utilities Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink Exporting reports to other applications Data Transfer Enabling data transfer Attaché ODBC Keystroke File Import Running KFI in unattended mode Attaché Data Interchange Importing customer and supplier transactions Exporting customer transactions Index...117

9 Attaché Supervisor 5 Table of tasks Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services To use the System Status tool Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel To sign on as supervisor To select a menu style To choose to display function buttons or toolbars on task screens To set up a user s display preferences To use the Find facility when on a field To create a standard message To access a list of standard messages for a particular field To insert a standard message To drill down To arrange your open task windows To automatically scale task screens to fill the Attaché To read a postcodes file into your current company Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies To create a new company To copy the New Company template To set up or modify company options To set up or change a company background To view and/or modify the tax options To set up BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation options To check the general ledger options To set up a general ledger set To block access to a company To restore access to a blocked company To disable edit tasks in a company...59 To restore editing in a disabled company Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users To create or modify a user To expire a user s password To modify a user s password level... 67

10 6 Table of tasks To set up a default company for a user To delete a user To set up which companies are available to a user at sign on To determine a user s menu access rights in new companies To apply a password level to a field To set up or modify a user s menu access rights To set up default menu access rights To copy menu access rights Chapter 5 Producing reports To delete a user s saved report options To copy a user s saved options as defaults To copy default report options from one user to another...82 To delete a user s default report options To copy reporting and period-end options from one user to another To print a report...84 To print a transaction list from masterfile enquiry Chapter 6 Managing your data To change a product location code To change a location description To track changes to your data files To create a backup by using Attaché Archive To restore data that was backed up using Attaché Archive To allow a user to access the Restore Company from Archive option To run a File Integrity Check To run the Compress Database tool To run the Index File Optimiser To copy data files Chapter 7 Importing and exporting in Attaché To use Attaché ExpressLink to export a report To send the Customer Aged Trial Balance to Microsoft Excel

11 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services Attaché Software products and services Attaché consultants Getting help, support and resources Training About your Attaché system Conventions used in this guide

12 8 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services Attaché Software products and services Contacting Attaché Software If you d like more information about any Attaché Software products or services, talk to your Attaché consultant or contact Attaché Software. Contact information for Attaché Software can be found on the back cover of this guide or refer to the Attaché websites. Attaché Software website Attaché Members website For more information, see Attaché Members website online resources on page 11 Staying up to date The easiest way to stay up to date with the latest Attaché news is by subscribing to our news bulletins. The news bulletins contain information about upgrades and new releases, changes to business and taxation regulations, training, special events and important support issues. News bulletins are free to all licensed Attaché users, but, in keeping with our anti-spam policy, you must opt in to receive them. You can subscribe as many staff as you wish. This way you can be sure that if one staff member is sick or on leave, other staff will still receive any important news. To receive our bulletins sign up at the Attaché Members website, or send an to cbpmembers@attachesoftware.com and type subscribe plus your VIP and company name as the subject. (To subscribe additional staff, type their addresses in the body area.) Productivity tools Attaché Software develops and supports a number of tools that you can use with your Attaché system to increase productivity and get more from your Attaché data: Attaché Alex lets you send documents straight from your Attaché system to any fax or recipient. Attaché Alex service fees are based on usage and billed monthly. At around the cost of a postage

13 Attaché Supervisor 9 stamp per document, Alex is not only easy to use, it saves you time and eliminates the costs of stationery, postage and handling. Attaché ClearView provides a "top-down" view of your operations as never before, helping you to reduce debtors, stock and expenses, increase sales and manage your employees. The easy-toread dashboards let you see at a glance what is happening so you can take appropriate action. Attaché ExpressLink lets you open, save and send Attaché reports in different formats and different programs. For example, you can choose to open an Attaché report in Word or Excel, it, or save it in.html or.csv format (using AttachéExpressLink is discussed on page 108.) Attaché ODBC lets you export data, perform queries and generate reports using applications you already know such as Microsoft Excel and Word. Attaché Contacts lets you store and report on the details of an unlimited number of contacts for each of your existing customers and suppliers. Attaché Archive lets you back up your data with a simple one-step process from within your Attaché system. To find out more about these productivity tools, visit the Attaché Software website, talk to your consultant or contact Attaché Software. Pre-printed business stationery Attaché Software can provide customised, pre-printed business forms and cheques. These forms ensure consistent quality, improve the presentation of your company and are easy to use. You can purchase stationery through your Attaché consultant or directly from Attaché Software. Contact us for the latest order form or visit the Attaché Software website for stationery samples and ordering information.

14 10 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services Attaché consultants When it comes to Attaché products, expert help is always just a phone call away. Attaché consultants offer a broad range of services including: installing, setting up and upgrading your Attaché products training, advice and trouble-shooting help with end-of-year processing and other procedures hardware issues, including computer networking Your Attaché consultant can tailor a support agreement to suit your particular needs. If you don t have an agreement with an Attaché consultant, contact Attaché and we ll put you in touch with a suitable consultant. Getting help, support and resources There are various options available if you require assistance with installing, setting up or using any of your Attaché Software products and services. Application Help Attaché Software products include extensive Help within the software, including overviews of tasks and detailed descriptions of fields. Task Help with a task screen open, press shift+f1 on your keyboard or click Ta skh e l p on the Help menu to access an overview of the selected item. Field Help with the cursor positioned in a field, press F1 on your keyboard or click Help on the Help menu to access detailed information about the field. Getting assistance In association with your Attaché consultant, Attaché Software provides various types of support agreements to licensed users of Attaché products and services. By having a support agreement you can

15 Attaché Supervisor 11 be sure that professional assistance is available if problems arise or you need to carry out new or unfamiliar procedures. Our ongoing support agreements can include telephone support only, telephone support plus training, or telephone support with both training and on-site assistance. To find out more, contact Attaché Software. Attaché Members website online resources The Attaché Members website is the main source for Attaché support information and user resources. As well as software upgrades, the website has the latest news, guides and support information. Plus you can find out about training courses, special offers and new Attaché products and services. The Attaché Members website is accessible to licensed Attaché users only. To enter the site, you need to sign in by typing your VIP number and the business telephone number as registered with us. Attaché Members website Attaché publications As a licensed Attaché user, you have free and unlimited access to a library of guides on the Attaché Members website. You can easily download and print documents or read them on-screen. In addition, a number of publications are available for purchase, including special-purpose guides and training materials. You can purchase guides via the Attaché Members website or contact Attaché and we ll send you the latest guides order form. Training Your Attaché consultant can provide training in Attaché products. In addition, Attaché Software conducts regular classroom training courses in our Sydney and Auckland training centres and at scheduled times throughout Australia and New Zealand. Attaché training courses are run by qualified trainers in small groups where you can be certain of personalised attention and the

16 12 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services opportunity to ask questions that are pertinent to your particular business operations. All participants receive extensive course notes. Courses include subjects such as accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, payroll setups and processing and Attaché ODBC. Course information, timetables and registration are available from the Attaché Members website. Self-training resources and tutorials are also available from the Attaché Members website. About your Attaché system Details of your Attaché system You can find information about your Attaché system, such as your current version, VIP number, licence status and expiry, modules, and the location of your program files on the About Attaché screen. This screen also provides links to the Attaché websites. To access the About Attaché screen choose Help About Attaché. Viewing modules installed The Modules Installed tool gives you a list of the modules you currently have installed. The Modules List is located on the About Attaché screen. To access the About Attaché screen choose Help About Attaché and then click the Modules Installed button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

17 Attaché Supervisor 13 Figure 1 The Modules List shows the modules you have installed Using the System Status tool The System Status tool allows you to view details about the directory where the software is installed and the files which store the current company s data. These details include the current data path and the size and number of files being used. To use the System Status tool 1 Choose Tools Company System System Status. The Attaché statistics screen is displayed. Figure 2 Attaché Statistics screen

18 14 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services 2 Choose Directory (F4) to list file numbers and the name and size of all files in the company. The file size combines the size of the.dat and.idx files for each file name displayed. 3 Choose Page Down to view additional files. Note If you have set up more than one company, choose Next (F12) or Previous (F11) to view data for the other companies. Software licensing Your Attaché system is licensed to you by Attaché Software Australia Pty Limited. You are authorised to use Attaché and any licensed Attaché products while you continue to make payments under the Attaché Fast Track Plan. Should you discontinue payment, your licence will be cancelled. If your licence is cancelled (or it expires), you can continue to access your Attaché system to enquire on your data. However, you will be unable to edit or delete your data. Updating your licence In Attaché, once your licensing period has expired you can continue to lookup, enquire and report on existing masterfiles and transactions but you cannot add to, edit or delete your data. You will receive 30 days (or more) warning of the pending expiry. During this time you have the option to update your licence via the internet. Once the 30-day countdown commences, each time you sign on to Attaché or choose File Open Company, an information message is displayed advising of the pending licence expiry, Do you wish to update your licence now? To update your licence, answer Yes and the software will automatically attempt to update your details via the internet. Once completed, the following message is displayed: Your software licence has been updated. Please exit and restart the program for the licence to take effect. Click OK to close the dialog and then exit and restart Attaché. Note When performing a licence update via the web, Windows Vista users may experience issues connecting to the Attaché Members website. This may be due to Windows Vista User Account Control (UAC) being turned on. Turning off User Account Control temporarily (via Control Panel) while you update your licence could resolve this issue.

19 Attaché Supervisor 15 For more information about your licence refer to the Attaché Software website or, in Attaché, click Help About Attaché. Alternatively, contact your Attaché consultant or Attaché Software. Upgrading your software Attaché Software regularly releases software upgrades which may include changes due to new business regulations as well as new features and enhancements. As a licensed Attaché user, upgrades to all your Attaché products are free of charge. Upgrades are announced in our news bulletins (see Staying up to date on page 8) and on the Attaché Members website. Your consultant will also advise you when upgrades are released. It s not difficult to upgrade your Attaché system. You can do it yourself by downloading the new version from the Attaché Members website, where you ll also find detailed installation instructions. Alternatively, you can upgrade by purchasing the latest Attaché CD or, if you prefer, you can organise for your Attaché consultant to upgrade your system for you. Sample companies and forms Your Attaché system includes a number of sample companies that you can use to practise new procedures and carry out tutorials or other training exercises. They re also a great way to explore new features in the software when you upgrade. To use a sample company, select it from the list of company names when you sign in to Attaché. You can recognise the sample companies by the square brackets around the name, for example [SAMPLE DATA]. Conventions used in this guide Throughout this guide the elements of your Attaché system are represented in the following ways: Item Example Description Menu Masterfiles Customers Standard Charges Maintain From the function menu, choose the module, then the folder, and then the task.

20 16 Chapter 1 Attaché Products and Services Item Example Description Field name Customer Code The label for a field. Field value ABEL Information entered into a field. Button Find (F2) Click the Find button on the screen or press the F2 key on your keyboard. Key Page Down Press the Page Down key on your keyboard. Notes, cautions and warnings Notes draw your attention to important or useful information. Cautions tell you how to avoid making errors which could cause you to, for example, lose data or create extra work. Warnings tell you about the consequences of not following prescribed procedures. Note This is a note. It draws your attention to important or useful information which will increase the effectiveness of your software. Tip This side box contains tips for using the application effectively. Text in the side margin highlights helpful information tips that may improve efficiency and increase productivity.

21 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Attaché at a glance Signing on The Attaché window File menu Attaché menus selecting tasks Task screens Entering and finding information Working with windows Maintaining postcodes (Australia)

22 18 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Attaché at a glance Attaché is an easy-to-use, flexible system designed to assist with all your accounting requirements. It provides fast, accurate and detailed information to help you control the day-to-day running of your business. The volume of information your Attaché system can handle is enormous, restricted only by the capacity of your computer s hard disk or your server. The software has been designed with clear easy-to-read screens and plain-english messages to ensure smooth, speedy operation. You can tailor the software to suit your specific needs by selecting from the many features and options available. Companies Each set of business records you work with is called a company. Any number of different companies can be set up the only limitation is the capacity of your computer. For more information see Setting up a new company overview on page 42. Using the Sample Data companies If you wish, you can start using Attaché as soon as you have installed it. You can explore the software using the supplied Sample Data company to see how the details are organised and gain an understanding of how the software works. For more information see Sample companies and forms on page 15. Supervisors and users The software includes two users which are already set up Supervisor, which has full access rights to all operations and cannot be deleted; and Sample, which has limited rights (for example, Sample cannot set up companies or users) although this can be altered. For more information see Signing on as supervisor for the first time on page 24 and Managing users on page 64.

23 Attaché Supervisor 19 Customisation Appearance and display A number of different display options are available for the Attaché window and task screens, which can be set up on a user-by-user basis. Display options include choice of menu style and the toolbar appearance. For more information see Task screens on page 30 and Managing users on page 64. General ledger sets General ledger sets provide enormous flexibility in directing general ledger information for reporting and for posting purposes. Each set contains groups of account codes to be updated. A set must be allocated to each customer, product and supplier. For more information see Setting up general ledger sets on page 52. Design your own transaction-entry screens You can design multiple transaction-entry screens, as well as userdefined screens for individual users. For more information see Setting up user-specific transaction entry screens on page 69 as well as the Screen Designer Guide. Design your own forms (print layouts) You can design a virtually unlimited number of different forms (print layouts) for your various business needs, including cheques and combined cheque/remittance advices. For more information please refer to the Forms Designer Guide. Entering and finding information Find (F2) When you cannot remember a code you can quickly look it up using the find facility. Several search sequences are available that make it extremely easy to find any code. For more information see Using the Find (F2) facility on page 34. Standard messages Standard messages allow you to store information that is used often and thus avoid repeatedly typing the same details. You can create any

24 20 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel number of standard messages which can then be accessed throughout the software. For more information see Creating standard messages on page 36. Notes Notes options let you record additional details on each individual masterfile record. For example, with Supplier Notes you might add notes about contract terms and significant telephone conversations or with Payroll Notes you might keep track of details such as training attended and personal history. Notes, such as major system events or changes, can also be added to each company. For more information see Using Company Notes on page 55. Drill-down facility Drill-down facility lets you quickly access documents, transactions and masterfiles from within task screens. Fields that have drill-down capability are indicated by a red corner. For more information see Using the drill-down facility on page 37. Document delivery service The Attaché Alex document delivery service lets you automatically and fax documents created in your Attaché system, such as invoices, statements, orders, remittance advices and pay advices. You can test that your system is Alex-ready by choosing Tools Company AlexConnect Test Connect to Attaché Alex, which also installs the software component of Attaché Alex. You can install or upgrade Attaché Alex by choosing To o l s Company AlexConnect Install or Upgrade AlexConnect. Attaché Alex is one of a range of tools that can enhance your Attaché system. For more information see Productivity tools on page 8. For complete information on installing and using Attaché Alex please refer to the Attaché Alex User Guide.

25 Attaché Supervisor 21 Passwords, protections and menu access Access to companies Supervisors can determine the companies that are available to each user on the Companies List when they sign on. If a company is not available to a user on the Companies List then they have no access to (or knowledge of) that company. For more information see Managing access to companies on page 71. Passwords To help secure your information, each user should be required to enter a password to sign on to Attaché. Passwords can also be used to limit access to certain tasks, such as user-specific transaction-entry screens. For more information see Setting up or changing a password on page 66. Password levels Password levels can be set for each user, and then assigned to certain fields to prevent unauthorised users from accessing the field. Use this facility in conjunction with menu access rights to secure your data. For more information see Applying password levels to fields on page 73. Menu access rights You can protect access to information by specifying which tasks or menu functions each user can access. This ensures that users only have access to the information that they require. For more information see Setting up menu access rights on page 75. Managing data File Integrity Check You can check for data errors at any time. For more information see Using File Integrity Check on page 99. Compress Data and Index File Optimiser You can compress your files to gain more operating speed and disk space. For more information see Using Compress Database on page 101 and Using Index File Optimiser on page 102.

26 22 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Backing up and protecting your data You use Attaché Archive to create backups of your Attaché data and to restore data should it become necessary. Attaché Archive is accessed via the File menu. For more information see Creating backups by using Attaché Archive on page 95. Attaché Archive is one of a range of tools that can enhance your Attaché system. For more information see Productivity tools on page page 8. Supplementary files and templates Your Attaché system includes supplementary files such as templates, form layouts and tax scales (for Attaché Payroll). From time to time these files are updated, such as when the tax office changes tax scales. Updates are announced in our news bulletins and are available for download from the Attaché Members website. Your Attaché system also includes a current Australian postcode file, and updated Postcode files are available from the Attaché Members website. For more information see Maintaining postcodes (Australia) on page 39. Reports Standard reports Your Attaché system contains a wide range of standard reports. Reports can be sent to a printer, to the screen, or to a disk file. With Attaché ExpressLink (see below), reports can also be sent to other programs and via . Selections and printing requirements for each report can be stored by each user, and can be copied from user to user and company to company. For more information see Producing reports on page 79. Attaché ExpressLink Attaché ExpressLink lets you open, save and send Attaché reports in different formats and different programs. For example, you can choose to open an Attaché report in MS Word or MS Excel, it, or save it in HTML or CSV format. For more information see Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink on page 86.

27 Attaché Supervisor 23 Attaché ExpressLink is one of a range of tools that can enhance your Attaché system. For more information see Productivity tools on page 8. Signing on When you start Attaché, the first screen is the Sign On screen. You sign on by entering a User Name and Password. For information on passwords in Attaché, see Setting up or changing a password on page 66. You can choose from three selections when signing on: Tip To use Attaché with the Sample Data company, select Sample Data on the Companies List. Using the Sample Data company allows you to practise data entry and become familiar with new procedures without affecting your live data. Select Work with my usual company if a default company has been set up for you and you want to work in that company. (If a default company has not been set up, the Companies List see Figure 3 on page 24 is displayed.) For more information see Setting up a default company for sign on on page 67. Select Choose another company to work with if you want to work with a company other than your default company. The Companies List is displayed and the last company that you accessed is highlighted. Either accept the highlighted company or choose another company to work with. Select Sign on without selecting a company if you want to sign on without opening a company. Only the File and Help menus will be available.

28 24 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Figure 3 The Companies List shows the companies available to the user at sign on Tip By default, SUPERVISOR s password level is set to 9 (the lowest level). You might like to change it to 1. See Setting up a user s password level on page 67. Signing on as supervisor for the first time When you install Attaché, a user named SUPERVISOR (that has full supervisor rights) is automatically set up. SUPERVISOR has full access rights to all operations in the software. SUPERVISOR cannot be deleted and SUPERVISOR s rights can only be altered by SUPERVISOR. If you are using Attaché for the first time, sign on as supervisor. To sign on as supervisor 1 Start Attaché; the Sign On screen is displayed. 2 In the User Name field, type SUPERVISOR. 3 Leave the User Password field as it is. 4 Choose Sign on without selecting a company. The application window, with File and Help menus only, is displayed. Now that you have signed on for the first time, Attaché Software recommends that you: create a password for the user named SUPERVISOR (so that others cannot sign on as supervisor). For more information see Setting up or changing a password on page 66 set up yourself as a user (choose File Set Up and Delete Users). For more information see Managing users on page 64.

29 . Attaché Supervisor 25 The Attaché window The Attaché window has these main elements: Title bar, which shows the name of the company you are working in (as selected from the Companies List at sign on) Menu bar, which indicates the menus available The company background, which can be different for each company (see Setting up a company background on page 48) Taskbar, which shows a variety of information including: messages about the task you are working in when Insert mode is activated by showing Ins the time and date. Click the date to launch the Attaché calendar (discussed below). Changing the date application calendar Attaché includes a calendar, accessible from the taskbar at the bottom of the window, where you can change the Attaché application date. The application date is set by default to your operating system date but you can change it. To change the application date, click the date on the taskbar (or press Alt+D) and type a new date in the Enter New Date field. Figure 4 Changing the system date

30 26 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel File menu The File menu gives you one-click access to functions such as Sign On and Exit, user and company setups, Attaché Archive and Keystroke File Import (KFI). The File menu is always available, regardless of whether a company is open. The options on File menu that are displayed to each user can be controlled via menu access rights, which is described in Setting up menu access rights on page 75. Figure 5 The Attaché File menu Menu option New Company Open Company Close Company Set Up and Delete Companies Description Closes the company you are working in and opens Set Up and Delete Companies where you can create a new company (see Creating a new company on page 42). Closes the company you are working in and opens the Companies List to choose a different company. Closes the current company (without closing Attaché). Only the File and Help menus will be available. Opens Set Up and Delete Companies where you can create a new company or set access options to a company (see Creating a new company on page 42 and Blocking and disabling companies on page 56, respectively).

31 Attaché Supervisor 27 Menu option Keystroke File Import Sign Off User User Preferences Change User Set Up and Delete Users Restore Company from Archive Archive Current Company Exit Description Opens the Keystroke File Import (KFI) screen to import data (see Keystroke File Import on page 113). Signs off the current user and closes the company the user was working in. Opens User Preferences to set the user s Attaché display options including menu style, font, icon size and toolbar appearance. User Preferences also lets you reset your password. Signs off the current user and opens the Attaché Sign On screen for someone else to sign on. Opens Set Up and Delete Users where you can establish a new user and set a user s display preferences, access rights and permissions (see Creating and modifying users on page 64). Starts Attaché Archive in restore mode (see Restoring data by using Attaché Archive on page 97). Starts Attaché Archive in order to take a backup (see Creating backups by using Attaché Archive on page 95). Closes Attaché. You will be prompted to complete or cancel any open tasks. Do not turn off your computer (or press Ctrl+Alt+Delete) to exit the software as this may cause data corruption. Attaché menus selecting tasks The Attaché menu consists of four levels: menu title, such as Masterfiles, Transactions or Reports module, such as Customers, Products or Payroll function, such as Special Pricing or Employee Details task, such as Enquire, Maintain or Delete Throughout all Attaché Software resources, menu paths to select tasks are written in the following way: Menu title Module Function Task. For example, Masterfiles Payroll Employee Details Enquire.

32 28 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Selecting a menu style Attaché provides a choice of three menu styles so that each user can use the menu style that they prefer. The chosen menu style applies across Attaché, regardless of the company selected. The menu styles are: Drop-down style (see Figure 6 on page 28) Tab style (see Figure 7 on page 29) Tree style (see Figure 8 on page 29) Users can select their own menu style, as described below. In addition, supervisors can establish a user s menu style in Set Up and Delete Users (see Managing users on page 64). Neither takes precedence the software uses the most recently selected display options. Figure 6 Drop-down style menu, which is the default for new users To select a menu style 1 Choose File User Preferences to display the User Preferences screen. 2 Select the menu style you require under Preferred Menu Style. 3 Choose Accept (F9) to save your settings, then choose Close (Esc) to close the task screen. 4 Choose File Change User to sign on again and begin working with your chosen menu style.

33 Attaché Supervisor 29 Figure 7 Tab style menu Figure 8 Tree style menu Navigating using the keyboard If you prefer, you can select tasks, move from field to field within a task, and select all functions (such as Accept, Find, Save, etc.) by using the keyboard instead of the mouse. Whilst you can use any of the three menu styles with the keyboard, the Windows drop-down style menu is recommended as it is the quickest and easiest to use with the keyboard. For more information about menu styles see Selecting a menu style above.

34 30 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel To use the keyboard to select a menu title when using the drop-down menu, type the underlined character in the menu item (for example, type T for Transactions) while holding down Alt on your keyboard: (Alt+T). To select remaining menu items in the path, type the underlined character only (without Alt). For example, to select the menu path Transactions Products Stocktake Create Work Data, type: Alt+T then type P then S then C. You can also use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to move through the menu lists. When the required menu item is highlighted, press Enter to select it. Within task screens, you can use the Ta b or Enter key to jump from field to field and the function keys (F1, F2, F3, etc, at the top of your keyboard) to select the function you require. For more information about using the keyboard within tasks see Moving around using a keyboard on page 34. Task screens Most work in Attaché is carried out in task screens, such as the one shown below. Attaché includes a number of options for the appearance of tasks screens, including whether to use function buttons or toolbars, font size, icon size, and so on. Display preference can be set up for each user and apply across all companies.

35 Attaché Supervisor 31 Figure 9 A typical task screen. Note that the title bar shows the name of the task, in this case Customer Maintenance Choice of toolbars or function buttons Function buttons and toolbars are used to select different actions and options within a task, for example Accept, Save, Copy, Cancel and so on. Each user can choose whether their task screens display function buttons in the screen footer or toolbars at the top of the screen. Function buttons can be displayed with text only or with icons, and toolbars can have regular or large-sized icons. Function buttons and toolbars perform identical actions and with both you can use the keyboard to select the required action. However, toolbars include additional icons for edit functions such as Cut, Paste, Standard Messages and KFI, which are described below. As with the choice of a user s menu style (discussed on page 28), the supervisor can establish each user s display preferences in File Set Up and Delete Users or the user can set their own in File User Preferences. To choose to display function buttons or toolbars on task screens 1 Choose File User Preferences to display the User Preferences screen. 2 Select a display option under Task Toolbar Appearance. If you select Use toolbars, you may also wish to tick the Use large icons on toolbars checkbox under Display Properties. 3 Choose Accept (F9) to save your settings.

36 32 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel 4 Choose File Change User to sign on again and begin working with your chosen display options. Working with toolbars (additional edit functions) The toolbar includes icons to carry out additional edit functions which are not available on function buttons (but can be accessed using the keyboard). These are: Icon Task Keyboard Description Cut Ctrl+X Copies the contents of a field from the cursor position to the end of the field and clears the field. Copy Ctrl+C Copies the contents of a field from the cursor position to the end of the field. Paste Ctrl+V Pastes the copied text in the field from the cursor position onwards. Undo field Ctrl+Z Returns the contents of a field to the value when it became the focus. Clear field Ctrl+Delete Clears the contents of a field from the cursor position to the end of the field. KFI Ctrl+F9 Opens the Keystroke File Import dialog box (see Keystroke File Import on page 113). View standard messages Insert standard message Shift+F2 Shift+Enter Opens the standard messages dialog box and allows you to insert the selected standard message (see Creating standard messages on page 36). Inserts the selected standard message. (You must type the standard message number in the field before you select the Insert standard message icon.)

37 Attaché Supervisor 33 Choosing large fonts and other display properties In addition to selecting a menu style and whether to use toolbars or function buttons, each user can set additional display properties including font and icon sizes and screen colours, which then apply across all companies. To set up a user s display preferences 1 Choose File User Preferences to display the User Preferences screen. 2 Tick the Select screen colours from Windows Display Properties checkbox if you want your Attaché task screens to use the colours set under Windows Display Properties. Note The Attaché screen elements (such as status, title and scroll bars, etc) that are affected when you select this checkbox will depend on variables such as your Windows version and the settings selected under Windows Display Properties. 3 Tick the Use large fonts checkbox if you want to replace regular size fonts with large size fonts. 4 Tick the Use large icons on toolbars checkbox if you want to replace regular size icons with large size icons on your toolbar. This checkbox is only available if you select Use toolbars under Task Toolbar Appearance. For more information see Choice of toolbars or function buttons on page Choose Accept (F9) to save your settings. Multiple instances of task screens In Attaché, you can open multiple instances of the same task at the same time so that you can, for example, work on several invoices or timesheets simultaneously or open more than one enquiry screen. To open another task screen simply select the task and open it as you normally would. To move between task screens either use Control+Tab or choose the Window menu and then select the required task from the list. The ability to have more than one instance of a task can be disabled on a user-by-user basis. To do so, choose File Set Up and Delete Users and set the Disable multiple instances of tasks checkbox to Yes.

38 34 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Entering and finding information Attaché has several features that simplify the entry and viewing of information. Moving around using a keyboard The following table describes using the keyboard to move around task screens in Attaché. Key(s) Backspace Down Arrow, Enter, Tab End Home Left Arrow Page Down Page Up Right Arrow Shift+Tab, Up Arrow Insert Delete Ctrl+Delete Right-click Notes Deletes the character to the left of the cursor. Moves the cursor to the next field on the screen and accepts the information in the current field. Moves the cursor to the first blank position after the last character. Moves the cursor to the beginning of the field. Moves the cursor one character to the left. Not available in numeric fields. Displays or moves the cursor to the next screen or page. Displays or moves the cursor to the previous screen or page. Moves the cursor one character to the right. Not available in numeric fields. Moves the cursor to the previous input field and accepts the information in the current field. Inserts characters in a field, moving any existing characters to the right as you type. Not available in numeric fields. Deletes the character to the right of the cursor or selected characters. Deletes all characters to the right of the cursor. In alpha fields only, positions the cursor on a specific character. Using the Find (F2) facility The Find facility allows you to find information and enter fields quickly. The Find facility is not available on all fields only those

39 Attaché Supervisor 35 where you can search previously entered lists of codes for a particular value, such as product codes, postcodes and customer codes. Figure 10 Find is available on fields with previously entered lists of codes, such as customer codes To use the Find facility when on a field click Find (F2) press F2 on your keyboard click the magnifying glass icon on the side of the field double-click in the field. Using the Jump (F3) key In selected fields the Jump (F3) key is available when you choose Find (F2). Use this key to jump straight to a particular code or to change the way the list is sorted. Jump (F3) also allows you to search by description. For example, if you are searching products, you could search for the word video. All products containing the word video will be found. Using the one-character find Some fields can be completed by entering a single letter. For example, when choosing a rounding option for amounts in Customer Options, in the Invoice Rounding field enter the letter N. The selection Nearest will be entered in the field.

40 36 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel If you enter an invalid letter or if you click on the magnifying glass icon, a list of all possible selections is displayed. Figure 11 Rounding Types selections Selecting from found items When you use any of the above find methods, a list of possible entries is displayed. Use one of the following methods to choose an item from the list: double-click on the required item use the up arrow or down arrow key to highlight the required item and then press Enter. (The Page Up and Page Down keys move to the top or bottom of the list.) Using standard messages Standard messages are used to store often repeated text. They can be accessed from any field except numeric fields. Some examples of standard messages are: descriptions for sundry lines, for example Sundry purchases comments for invoices, for example Assembly required messages for transactions, for example One-off sale comments on pay envelopes, for example Time sheet due Wednesday You can create any number of standard messages. Tip Click Find (F2) to see a current list of standard messages. The Sample Data company includes common message examples. Creating standard messages To create a standard message 1 Choose Setups Company Standard Messages Maintain. 2 In the Message Number field, type a message code. A message code can be up to four alpha-numeric characters.

41 Attaché Supervisor 37 3 In the Message field, type the message text. 4 Choose Accept (F9) to save the message. Using standard messages To access a list of standard messages for a particular field press F2 on your keyboard while holding down the Shift key (Shift+F2), or choose the Standard Message icon on the toolbar (see Choice of toolbars or function buttons on page 31). To insert a standard message type the message code into the field and press Shift+Enter, or choose the Insert Standard Message icon. Using the drill-down facility Attaché includes a drill-down function that makes it easier to find and retrieve information. If drill-down is enabled on a field, a small red triangle appears in the upper right hand corner of the field. Figure 12 A red corner on a field such as the two Sales fields shown above indicates that you can drill down To drill down double-click on the field tab to the field to highlight it and then press Enter

42 38 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel tab to the field to highlight it and select Lookup (F9) on screens where the Lookup function is available. So, for example, you could: double-click on an order number (or highlight the order number and press Enter) after you select Orders (F8) in Masterfiles Customers Customers Enquire, to view the order on the order lookup screen. double-click on a product code (or highlight the product code and press Enter) when looking up an order in Transactions Customers Orders to view the product masterfile. Working with windows Using the Window menu you can quickly and easily view all open tasks, select a task and close a task. You can also arrange your open tasks by choosing to tile or cascade them. The Window menu is only available after you select a working company. Tip An alternative method for switching between tasks is to press Ctrl+Tab to flip through each screen. Arranging windows To arrange your open task windows Choose Window Tile horizontally to arrange horizontally. Choose Window Tile vertically to arrange vertically. Choose Window Cascade to arrange in cascading order. Arranging your icons If you have minimised any Attaché tasks or menus, choose Window Arrange Icons to arrange the icons neatly across the bottom of your screen. Resizing windows and task screens Attaché uses the standard Windows approach to resizing windows and screens. You can resize Attaché windows by dragging their borders, and they can be maximised and minimised.

43 Attaché Supervisor 39 To resize a window, place your mouse cursor on the window s horizontal or vertical border and then click and drag to the desired size. You can resize both horizontally and vertically at the same time by dragging the corner of a window. Attaché windows and screens also include Minimise, Maximise and Close icons on the title bar which reduce the screen, increase the screen to fill the window and close the screen, respectively. Scaling task screens In addition to regular resizing of screens, you can scale the contents of a screen by pressing the Shift key as you drag the screen border. To scale and maximise the screen, click the maximise button while holding the Shift key. Automatically scaling task screens to fill window A user can be set up so that task screens are automatically maximised to fill the area of the application window. To automatically scale task screens to fill the Attaché: 1 Choose File User Preferences to display the User Preferences screen. 2 Select the Scale task screens to fill window checkbox. 3 Choose Accept (F9) to save your settings and then sign on again for the change to take effect. Maintaining postcodes (Australia) Your Attaché system includes a current Australian postcode file, and updated Postcode files are available from the Attaché Members website. Tip Even for countries that do not use postcodes, you can still set up a list of place names to assist accurate data entry. Postcodes can be used in Customers, CashRegister, Suppliers and Payroll. When adding or modifying customers, suppliers or employees you can search using the find facility in the Suburb and/or Postcode fields.

44 40 Chapter 2 Attaché look and feel Reading in a different postcodes file If you wish to use a postcode import file that is different from the one supplied, it must be an ASCII file and in a specific layout. The layout for the file is placename postcode (for example ABBOTSFORD VIC 3067). To read a postcodes file into your current company 1 Choose Setups Company Postcodes Read File. The Update Postcode from ASCII File screen is displayed. Figure 13 Update Postcode From ASCII File screen 2 In the Path & File name field choose Find (F2) or browse to the location of the file, for example C:\Download\Postcode.txt 3 Choose Accept (F9). The file contents are read into the application and a summary screen is displayed.

45 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies Setting up a new company overview Creating a new company Establishing settings Setting up your Company Options Checking company settings and options Setting up general ledger sets Using Company Notes Blocking and disabling companies

46 42 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies Setting up a new company overview Each set of business records you store is referred to as a company. Any number of different companies can be set up the only limitation is the capacity of your computer. There are five main tasks that need to be carried out in order to establish and set up a new company: 1 Create a new company, in which the company s data will be stored. 2 Establish settings, usually using the New Company template. 3 Set up your company options. 4 Check settings and options. 5 Set up general ledger sets. Each of these tasks is described below. Creating a new company A company must be set up by a user with appropriate access rights, such as a supervisor. If you wish, you can enter an abbreviated company name that will be displayed on the title bar when working with the company but it is not the name that will print on reports. The name that prints on reports is entered in Company Options, described in Setting up your Company Options on page 46. Tip Do not include spaces so that the path can be easily copied and pasted in s, Windows Explorer and other applications. When entering a location for your company, you may use mixed case (upper and lower case letters). Attaché Software recommends that you keep the name short to minimise errors. See also Location of company (data) folders below. To create a new company 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 From the File menu, choose Set Up and Delete Companies. The Set Up and Delete Companies screen is displayed. 3 In the Company field, type a name for the new company, for example INSTANT HIRE.

47 Attaché Supervisor 43 4 When asked to confirm the addition of the new company, choose Yes. 5 In the Location field, type the file path to the directory where you want to store the new company data, for example C:\ATTACHE\INSTANT. (For more information see Location of company (data) folders below.) Figure 14 Set Up and Delete Companies screen 6 Choose Accept (F9). 7 When asked C:\ATTACHE\INSTANT or directory does not exist. Allow creation of new directory? choose Yes. 8 Choose Accept (F9). A message appears in the status bar at the bottom of the screen indicating that the addition of the company was successful. 9 Choose Finish (Esc) to return to the Sign On screen. A new company has now been created. You should now complete the steps below to establish settings for your new company. Location of company (data) folders When setting up a company, you tell the system where to establish the data files for the particular company (at step 5 above). The company must be located on the same physical drive as your Attaché program, and preferably (but not necessarily) under the program folder.

48 44 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies You can use relative or absolute paths. Relative paths are recommended where the data is located under the program folder (for example, Sample\Accounts rather than \Attache\Sample\Accounts). UNC (universal naming convention) paths are recommended where data is not stored under the program folder (for example, \\servername\data\attache7\sample\accounts rather than F:\attache7\sample\accounts where F: is data on the servername. If you are unsure of how to set up the data path, talk to your Attaché consultant or contact Attaché. Establishing settings Using the New Company template is highly recommend as it will save you a great deal of time setting up a company. Applying the New Company template copies a chart of accounts and a general ledger set into your new company. This is a basic chart you may wish to alter it to make it more relevant to your business. After applying the template, you need only check that the options suit your business and make any adjustments required. If you do not use the New Company template, you must design and enter a chart of accounts and at least one general ledger set. Most option fields have default values however you should work through these options before entering any masterfile records or transactions. Caution If you are unsure of the chart of accounts function or structure, see your accountant. Do not proceed without a correctly structured chart. Using the New Company template (Before you copy setups from the New Company template ensure you have created a new company. For instructions on how to do this see Creating a new company on page 42.)

49 Attaché Supervisor 45 To copy the New Company template 1 As supervisor, sign on to the company to which you wish to apply the New Company template. 2 Choose Tools Company System Copy Data Files. The Data File Copy screen is displayed. 3 In the From Path field, type C:\ATTACHE \TEMPLATE \ ACCOUNTS (where C:\Attaché is the location of your Attaché program files). 4 Ensure all the options are set to Yes. Figure 15 Data File Copy first screen 5 Press Page Down to move to the second screen. 6 Set all options to Yes.

50 46 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies Figure 16 Data File Copy second screen 7 Choose Accept (F9). 8 Restart Attaché and sign on to the company again. The setups from the New Company template have now been applied to your company. You should now enter your company options, as described below. Setting up your Company Options The Company Options screen is used to record company details such as the company name and address, contact information, currency details and other settings to apply company-wide. You can also set up a company background (which fills the application window background) so that users can easily identify one company from another. For more information see Setting up a company background on page 48. To set up or modify company options Help Choose Help (F1) on any field for a description of the field. 1 Choose Setups Company Options Company Options. The Company Options screen is displayed.

51 Attaché Supervisor 47 Figure 17 Company Options screen 2 Choose your country and type the company name, address, currency and other information in the appropriate fields. The name entered at Company Name will appear on reports. Caution Choosing a particular country will affect the way the software performs various tasks. For example, if you set Country to New Zealand, the software labels the Business Number field as "GST Number" instead of "Business Number", and if you set Country to South Africa, the software labels the GST Calculation field as "VAT Calculation" 3 Complete the selections on the screen. For more information about the fields choose Help (F1). GST Calculation choose whether you want the system to use GST. See Checking BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation options on page 49. Prompt for archive? see Automatic prompting to create a backup on page 97. Confirm masterfile additions set to Yes if you want a confirmation message to display each time a user attempts to save a new masterfile record. Edit notes in enquiry set to Yes to allow notes to be edited in masterfile enquiry and enter a Password level if you wish. See Notes on page 20 and Applying password levels to fields on page 73.

52 48 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies 4 If you wish to set up a company background, choose Background (F7) (see Setting up a company background below). 5 Choose Accept (F9). 6 Choose Close (Esc). Setting up a company background In Attaché, you can have different backgrounds for different companies so that it s easy to identify one company from another. Attaché includes a number of backgrounds to choose from. As well as a number of colourful pictures and textured backgrounds, the selection includes a number of plain colours that are suitable for computers that can only display 16 or 256 colours. To set up or change a company background 1 Start Attaché and sign on to the company for which you wish to set up a background. 2 Choose Setups Company Options Company Options. 3 Choose Background (F7). The Select a background dialog box is displayed. Figure 18 Different backgrounds are available, grouped by theme 4 Browse to the folder of your choice within BACKGROUNDS. 5 Double-click on default.htm or click Select button to select the background. The screen refreshes instantly and the selected background is displayed.

53 Attaché Supervisor 49 Checking company settings and options Default options for most settings are copied to your new company (especially if you applied the New Company template), but it is essential to review each option screen to check that the options suit your business requirements. Checking tax options You may include up to 12 tax rates. It is important to establish an appropriate set of rates to handle your taxation reporting requirements. If in doubt, talk to your accountant or financial advisor. You can add, modify or delete tax descriptions and/or rates at any time. Descriptions on rows 1 and 2 have default values (as shown in the table below). The description for row 1 may be changed but the rates for these default tax codes cannot be changed. Description Rate Exports NotIncluded Descriptions from row 3 onwards can be amended to suit your business needs. The Post to BAS Effective From option determines whether transactions entered prior to the date specified can be updated to the BAS. Only transactions that have been updated to the BAS can be deleted. To view and/or modify the tax options 1 Choose Setups Company Options Tax Options. 2 Check that the tax rates are appropriate for your business and modify them if necessary. 3 Choose Accept (F9). 4 Choose Close (Esc). Checking BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation options (Before checking and modifying your BAS/GST options, ensure you have turned on GST/VAT reporting in your Attaché system. To do so,

54 50 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies in Company Options (Setups Company Options Company Options) check that you have selected the correct Country and that the GST Calculation checkbox is set to Yes. For more information see Setting up your Company Options on page 46 and refer to the Attaché GST Handbook.) Information for the Business Activity Statement (Australia) or GST Return (New Zealand) is collected using the appropriate BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation program. Within BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation, you specify: the BAS/GST Return boxes with which to associate each of your tax codes your Accounting method your Reporting method your Lodgement method To set up BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation options Help Choose Help (F1) on any field for a description of the field. 1 Choose Setups Company Options BAS Funds or GST Return Allocation. The Setup BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation screen is displayed. 2 Choose your Accounting method. 3 Choose your Reporting method. 4 Choose your Lodgement method. 5 Choose the appropriate allocation for each tax code for both sales and purchases. 6 When all tax codes have been allocated, press the Page Down key to see the Period to Lock/Unlock field. You may lock one or more periods. A locked period cannot be updated or have the audit report purged in the BAS/GST Return Update program. If you are unsure how to allocate tax codes for your BAS/GST Return, ask your financial advisor or accountant for assistance.

55 Attaché Supervisor 51 For more information on managing GST with your Attaché software, please refer to the Attaché GST Handbook. Note Changes should only be made to your BAS Funds/GST Return Allocation options at the end of a reporting period (preferably at year end). Any change to your Accounting or Reporting method must be approved by the appropriate authority (such as the Australian Taxation Office or the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department). Checking general ledger options If you are using the General Ledger module, you need to check your general ledger options. To check the general ledger options 1 Choose Setups General Ledger Options General Ledger Options. The General Ledger Options screen is displayed. Figure 19 General Ledger Options screen Help Choose Help (F1) on any field for a description of the field. 2 At the No of Periods field, type the number of accounting periods in your financial year. (This is normally 12 but set up 13 periods if you wish to produce financial reports every four weeks rather than monthly.) 3 Set the Current Period to the current period. 4 Select a Period Heading for each period. 5 Type the account code for the Bank Account you normally use.

56 52 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies 6 Use the Code Print Format field to show a special format for the code when printed, as shown in the examples below: Account Code Print Format Result on reports xx-xxxxxxx A xxxx-xxx-xx A Set the Password Levels to prevent unauthorised users from changing details (see Applying password levels to fields on page 73). 8 The Tax Details area will be displayed if you selected Yes to Ta x/ G ST Calculation in your company options (see Setting up your Company Options on page 46). In this case, type the appropriate codes for your Tax Paid Account and Tax Received Account. 9 Select your Ta xty p e. The tax type can be Inclusive or Exclusive. 10 Ensure the Ta xr a t eis correct. (If you applied the New Company template the current default rate of or in New Zealand is displayed.) Checking other module options The New Company template enters default setup options for all core Attaché Software modules, including Customers, Suppliers and Products & Services. Before beginning to enter transactions, check the setup options for each module you have installed as you may need to alter some options to suit your business needs and/or add your own headings, document numbering and invoice rounding requirements. For more information on checking these options, see the Attaché At Work guide. Setting up general ledger sets General ledger sets tell the application to which accounts to allocate customer, product and supplier transactions. Once they have been

57 Attaché Supervisor 53 correctly set up, you no longer need to look up the general ledger code for a transaction. Note General ledger sets cannot be set up until the chart of accounts has been entered. You can set up as many general ledger sets as you require to manage your business. If you use the chart supplied with the New Company template, you will probably only need the general ledger set included in that template. A general ledger set can be accessed with the Customers, Order Entry/Invoicing, Products, Suppliers and Purchasing modules regardless of whether you have purchased the General Ledger module. Note Payroll handles the General Ledger in a different way. Refer to the Payroll User Guide for more information. To set up a general ledger set 1 Choose Setups Company General Ledger Sets Maintain. 2 If you applied the New Company template, in the Set Code field choose Find (F2) and then select GL Set 01 - Standard. If you did not use the New Company template, enter a set code and name, for example 01 and Standard. 3 Check that each code is suitable or enter appropriate codes. Note that the General Ledger Set Maintenance screen has two pages (both shown below). To move from one page to the other, use PageUp or PageDown on your keyboard. 4 Select Yes/No for each account you wish to consolidate. For more information see Consolidating general ledger transactions on page Choose Accept (F9).

58 54 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies Figure 20 General Ledger Set Maintenance first screen Figure 21 General Ledger Set Maintenance second screen Consolidating general ledger transactions When setting up your general ledger set, you can choose to consolidate transactions for each general ledger account. Consolidated transactions create fewer transaction entries in the general ledger. If you decide to consolidate transactions you will not be able to see the details that comprise each transaction, thus making reconciliation difficult. Instead, only totals of transactions can be shown. Prior to posting to the General Ledger, it is recommended that the General

59 Attaché Supervisor 55 Ledger Posting report for each module be printed in unconsolidated format. This will allow reconciliation of consolidated transactions once they have been posted to the General Ledger. Reports General Ledger Postings Within each module you can access the General Ledger Postings report, such as from Reports Customers Transactions General Ledger Postings. The report has a date range so that you can list the transactions which can be posted within a given date range. The report is available in four levels of detail, as listed in the following table. Field Unconsolidated Tra ns a c t i o ns Consolidated Tra ns a c t i o ns Consolidated by Day Summary Rate Shows the full details of every transaction and is the equivalent of the old Detailed option. In addition, information is shown as to which of the transactions will be consolidated on posting to the General Ledger. Shows full details of the transactions except that those transactions which are shown as consolidating will now just show the consolidated figure. Shows full details of the transactions except that those transactions which are shown as consolidating will now just show the consolidated figure, provided that the transactions have the same date. Shows the total of all transactions for each General Ledger account regardless of whether they are set to consolidate. Using Company Notes Company Notes are useful to keep track of major system events and important information, such as the creation date of the company, the dates of significant reviews and housekeeping, and any key system events. To create a company note choose File Set Up and Delete Companies. Select the company you want to write a note for and then choose

60 56 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies Notes (F4). Write your comments on the Notes screen. When finished select Accept (F9). The date and your user name are automatically stored in the Entered and Author fields when you save. Figure 22 Using the Notes feature in a company Blocking and disabling companies You can temporarily or permanently block access to companies and disable editing in companies. You can also type a message to be displayed when a user attempts to open or edit a locked or disabled company to let them know, for example, why the company is locked and when it will be available again. When using block access or disable editing, you can apply password levels so that the restrictions apply only to certain levels of users. For more information see Applying password levels to fields on page 73. To block or disable editing in a company choose Set Up and Delete Companies on the File menu.

61 Attaché Supervisor 57 Blocking access to a company In Attaché, supervisors can block access to a company at any time. For example, you might want to block access while you are carrying out maintenance tasks, such as period end and special maintenance. When blocking access, you can use Notes (F4) to enter a message to display to users who attempt to access the blocked company. The information message advises that the company has been blocked and which user blocked it. Figure 23 Example of the information message which displays when a user attempts to access a blocked company To block access to a company 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Select File Set Up and Delete companies and select the required company. 3 Set the Block user access checkbox to Yes. 4 Type a password level from 1 to 9 in Password level, if required. 5 Accept the default in Blocked by, or over-type with another name if you wish. (The name appears in the information message which displays when a user is denied access to a blocked company.) 6 If you don t wish to write a message to display with the standard information message, choose Accept (F9).

62 58 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies 7 If you wish to write a message to display with the standard information message (for example, to explain why you have blocked the company or when it will be available again) complete the following steps: 8 Select Notes (F4) to display the Company Notes screen. 9 Choose Blocked access message then choose Accept (F9) to open the Notes screen. 10 Type your message, for example: Company blocked temporarily for maintenance. To add another line, press the Ta b key twice to move to the next row. Each line you type appears on a separate line in the information message. Figure 24 Entering the message that will be be displayed to users attempting to access a blocked company 11 When finished, choose Accept (F9) to save and exit Notes. 12 Choose Accept (F9) again to save. Restoring access to a blocked company To restore access to a blocked company 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Select File Set Up and Delete companies and select the required company. 3 Set the Block user access checkbox to No.

63 Attaché Supervisor 59 4 If you added a comment when blocking the company, choose Notes (F4) and delete the message. 5 Choose Accept (F9) to save. Disabling edit functions in a company Attaché allows supervisors to disable users ability to carry out maintenance tasks at any time, at company level. Maintenance tasks are any tasks which allow a user to create, edit, maintain or delete data, including company data, and are generally referred to as editing. Non-maintenance tasks are enquiry, lookup and reporting. To disable maintenance tasks in a company choose Set Up and Delete Companies on the File menu. When disabling editing, you can use Notes (F4) to enter a message to display to users who attempt to access the disabled company. The information message advises that editing in the company has been disabled, and which user has disabled it. Figure 25 Example of the information message which displays when a user signs onto a disabled company To disable edit tasks in a company 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Select File Set Up and Delete companies and select the required company. 3 Set the Disable edit functions checkbox to Yes.

64 60 Chapter 3 Setting up and managing companies 4 Type a password level from 1 to 9 in Password level, if required. 5 Accept the default in Disabled by or over-type with another name if you wish. (The name appears in the information message which displays when a user is denied access to maintenance tasks for the disabled company.) Figure 26 Entering the message that will be be displayed to users attempting to access a disabled company 6 If you don t wish to write a message to display with the standard information message, choose Accept (F9). If you wish to write a message to display with the standard information message (for example, to explain why you have disabled the company or when it will be available again) complete the following steps: 7 Select Notes (F4) to display the Company Notes screen. 8 Choose Disabled edit functions message then choose Accept (F9) to open the Notes screen. Type your message, for example: Available after 2pm on 1 July. To add another line, press the Tab key twice to move to the next row. Each line you type appears on a separate line in the information message. 9 When finished, choose Accept (F9) to save and exit Notes. 10 Choose Accept (F9) to save.

65 Attaché Supervisor 61 Restoring editing in a disabled company To restore editing in a disabled company 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Select File Set Up and Delete companies and select the required company. 3 Set the Disable edit functions checkbox to No. 4 If you added a comment when blocking the company, choose Notes (F4) and delete the message. 5 Choose Accept (F9) to save.

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67 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users Managing users Creating and modifying users Deleting a user Managing access to companies Managing access to tasks and fields

68 64 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users Managing users You can set up any number of users, however only the number of licensed logins can access the software concurrently. (To find the maximum, see Details of your Attaché system on page 12.) The software includes two users which are already set up: Supervisor, which has full access rights to all operations and cannot be deleted or altered; and Sample, which has limited rights (for example, Sample cannot set up companies or users) although this can be altered. This chapter discusses how to manage users, including creating, setting up and modifying their display options, security and access settings and passwords. Creating and modifying users A user can only be added and deleted by a user who has appropriate access rights, such as a supervisor. Most user options and settings are entered in Set Up and Delete Users (choose File Set Up and Delete Users), including password details, display options and default company, and whether you want the user to be able to add new companies or users, restore companies from Attaché Archive and so on. To create or modify a user 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The first Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed.

69 Attaché Supervisor 65 Figure 27 Set Up and Delete Users first screen 3 Type a name for the new user and press Enter. 4 Choose Yes when asked to confirm that you want to add this user. 5 If you wish to Copy setups from another user, select the name of that user. 6 Choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. Figure 28 Set Up and Delete Users second screen 7 Complete the selections on the screen. For more information choose Help (F1) and see also: Setting up a default company for sign on on page 67.

70 66 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users Controlling access to new companies via menu access rights on page 72. Setting up or changing a password and Setting up a user s password level below. Selecting a menu style on page 28. Choice of toolbars or function buttons on page 31. Disabling multiple incidences of tasks on page 68. Enabling automatic data transfer on page Choose Companies (F7) to set up which companies will be available to the user on the Companies List (see Managing access to companies on page 71). 9 Once all the user s settings are complete, choose Accept (F9) to save. Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen. 10 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen. Tip Users can also expire their own password by selecting Change password at Sign On in User Preferences. They will be prompted to enter a new password the next time they sign on. Setting up or changing a password To modify a user s password the supervisor must expire the user s existing password. The user will be required to enter a new password the next time they sign on. You should ensure that the user sets this new password as soon as they sign on to prevent unauthorised access to the system. To expire a user s password 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed. 3 Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user and then choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. 4 In the Password Expired field, choose Yes. 5 Make sure all other options are correct and then choose Accept (F9). Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen. 6 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen. The next time the user signs on they will be prompted to set up a new password.

71 Attaché Supervisor 67 Setting up a user s password level You may wish to raise or lower the password level that a particular user has. A password level can be applied to certain fields that contain critical or sensitive company information, in order to control which users can view or edit the information. For more information see Applying password levels to fields on page 73. To modify a user s password level 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed. 3 Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user and then choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. 4 In the Password Level field, type in the number for the new level of access. The default is level 9 which is the level with the least access rights. For more information see Applying password levels to fields on page Make sure all other options are correct and then choose Accept (F9). Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen. 6 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen. The new password level applies from the next time the user signs on. Setting up a default company for sign on In Set Up and Delete Users you can establish a default company for a user, which is then associated with the Work with my usual company option on the Sign On screen. This makes it easier for the user to quickly sign on and start working in the company they most often use. (If you do not set up a default company for a user, the Work with my usual company option defaults to the last company the user was working in.) To set up a default company for a user 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed.

72 68 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users 3 Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user and then choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. 4 In the Default Company field select Find (F2). 5 From the Companies List, select the company you wish to be this user's default company and then choose Accept (F9) to save. Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen. 6 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen. This company will now open when the user selects Work with my usual company at sign on. Disabling multiple incidences of tasks In Set Up and Delete Users you can prevent a user from being able to open the same task twice at the same time. For example, you can prevent a user from opening more than one invoice or time sheet at the same time. To prevent a user from opening a task more than once at the same time, in Set Up and Delete Users set the Disable multiple incidences of tasks? checkbox to Yes. The user will only be able to open the task once at any given time. Enabling automatic data transfer You can choose to automatically start Data Transfer whenever a specified user signs on to a company. To do this, in Set Up and Delete Users set the Autoenable Data Transfer? checkbox to Yes. The selection made in this checkbox applies across all companies and is subject to the menu access rights set up for this user. For more information see Data Transfer on page 112. Setting up a user s report options Report options are selections such as printers, ranges and sequences, record selection and so on. These options can be saved on a user-byuser basis. Report options for a user can be: saved as the user makes the various selections during reporting (see Saving report options on page 81)

73 Attaché Supervisor 69 copied from default options which you have set up (see Working with default user report options on page 82) copied between users and between companies (see Copying user report options between users and companies on page 83) deleted (see Deleting a user s default report options on page 83). Setting up user-specific transaction entry screens Attaché includes default transaction entry screens, which display the most commonly used fields. These screens can be tailored to suit your business needs. In addition, each user can have their own data-entry and lookup screens for each customer and supplier transaction type. This means you can create screens where the user can see only the fields they need. Access to user-defined screens can also be password protected. For information on creating transaction entry screens please refer to the Screen Designer Guide. Turning on user-defined transaction entry screens To make user-defined screens available, enable the option under the Setups menu: for customer transaction screens choose Setups Customers Options Invoicing Options or Setups Customers Options Other Options for supplier transaction screens choose Setups Suppliers Options Purchasing Options. On the selected screen, set the User selected transaction screens checkbox to Yes. If you wish to use password protection to control user access to customised screens, type a password in the Password field and then select Accept (F9) to save. Selecting the user-defined screen for transaction entry Once a transaction screen has been created for a user (refer to the Screen Designer Guide for information on how to do this), it is then available for that user when entering transactions. To select the user-defined screen, open the appropriate standard transaction entry screen, for example Transactions Customers Invoices Create, and then choose Screen (F7). A screen selection popup

74 70 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users box is displayed. To open the user-defined screen, enter the name of the screen or use Find (F2) to locate it. Figure 29 Selecting a user-defined transaction entry screen This selection is automatically saved. The next time the user accesses the task, their user-defined screen will be displayed (rather than the standard screen). To change to a different screen, choose Screen (F7). To copy or delete user-specific transaction entry screens see Setting up a user s report options on page 68. Deleting a user Only users who have permission to add and delete users, such as a supervisor, can delete users. To delete a user 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed. 3 Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user and then choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. 4 Choose Delete (F6).

75 Attaché Supervisor 71 5 Choose Yes when asked to confirm that you want to delete this user. The user is deleted and Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen. 6 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen. Managing access to companies In Set Up and Delete Users, supervisors can determine which companies are available to a user on the Companies List at sign on (see Figure 3 on page 24). If a company is not available to a user on the Companies List then they have no access to (or knowledge of) that company. In addition to completely restricting access to a company, you can temporarily or permanently block access to a company and/or disable editing in a company. For example, you might want to block access while you are carrying out maintenance tasks, such as period end and special maintenance. You can also apply password levels so that these restrictions apply only to certain levels of users. For more information about these functions see Blocking and disabling companies on page 56. To set up which companies are available to a user at sign on 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed. 3 Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user and then choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. 4 Choose Companies (F7) to display a list of all companies in your current data path. 5 Use Available/Unavailable (F7) and All Yes (F11) or All No (F12) to indicate which companies the user can access. Companies that are not available to the user are shown in red. These companies will not be shown on the Companies List. 6 Choose Accept (F9) to save. Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen.

76 72 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users 7 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen. Controlling access to new companies via menu access rights You can also restrict a user s access to a company by removing (or limiting) their access to the menus in that company their menu access rights. For more information see Setting up menu access rights on page 75. When setting up a new user, you can determine their menu access rights for any new companies that are created in future. To determine a user s menu access rights in new companies 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose File Set Up and Delete Users. The Set Up and Delete Users screen is displayed. 3 In the New Company Menu Access area, choose the required option for this user: None prevents user from accessing any new companies that are created. This is the default option. Full gives the user full menu access rights to all new companies that are created. Copy from default if you have already set up default menu access rights for this user and you want these defaults to apply to all new companies when they are created. See Setting up or modifying a user s default menu access rights on page 77. Copy from user allows the user access to new companies based on the default menu access rights of another user. Use Find (F2) to select the user you wish to copy from. See Setting up or modifying a user s default menu access rights on page Choose Accept (F9) to save. Attaché returns to the first Set Up and Delete Users screen. 5 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the screen.

77 Attaché Supervisor 73 Managing access to tasks and fields Attaché includes a number of functions that you can use to restrict a user s access and rights: the Companies List, which determines which companies a user can access (see Managing access to companies on page 71) a password to sign on to Attaché and to access specified functions, such as user-defined screens (see Setting up or changing a password on page 66) a password level, from 1 to 9, which restricts a user s ability to modify or view critical or sensitive information (see below and Setting up a user s password level on page 67) menu access rights, which controls which users can access particular menus and tasks. Menu access rights is described below. Applying password levels to fields The Password Levels function allows you to restrict the ability of users to modify or view critical or sensitive company information. Note that this function does not stop users from accessing actual tasks. To do this, use the Menu Access Rights function (see Setting up menu access rights on page 75). There are nine password levels, 1 to 9. Level 1 has the greatest level of access; level 9 has the least. The default level for a new user is level 9. Users with the password level specified for a particular field (or a greater access level) are able to view or modify that field. For example, if you allocate a user password level of 5 to General Ledger Bank Reconciliation Modify, only users with a level of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 will be able to modify reconciled Bank Statement pages. The restricted functions and their associated modules are: Transaction Period Entry (General Ledger) Bank Reconciliation Modify (General Ledger) Other Module Batch Modify (General Ledger) Enquiry Cost Display (Products) Enquiry Cost Display (Customers) Consolidate Orders (Customers Invoicing options)

78 74 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users Delete Backorders (Customers Invoicing options) Requisition Approval (Suppliers Purchasing options) Purchase Order Complete (Suppliers Purchasing options) Purchase Order Modify (Suppliers Purchasing options) Product Price Update (Suppliers Purchasing options) Edit Notes in Enquiry (Company Options, Customer Options, Product Options, Supplier Options, General Ledger Options) Delete Payment Summaries (Payroll) The following example shows how to use the Password Levels function to restrict users access to the Cost of Sales and Gross Profit % fields in Customer Enquiry. To apply a password level to a field 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Setups Customers Options Customer Options. The Customer Options screen is displayed. 3 In the Enquiry Cost Display field, set the password level to 5. Figure 30 Customer Options with a password level of 5 entered at the Enquiry Cost Display field 4 Choose Accept (F9) to save the changes. If you are unsure whether your changes to password levels have taken effect, you can test the access rights of any user. If you sign on as a user with a password level less than 5 (such as 6, 7,8 or 9), certain functionality of the software will no longer be visible.

79 Attaché Supervisor 75 For example, in the Customer Enquiry screen in Masterfiles, the Cost and Gross Profit % fields for the customer are greyed out, as shown in the figure below. Figure 31 Customer Enquiry screen. The Cost and Gross Profit fields are greyed out, indicating that the user does not have access rights to this information Setting up menu access rights By default, a user s menu access is determined by the selection entered at New Company Menu Access in Set Up and Delete Users (see To determine a user s menu access rights in new companies on page 72). However, the Menu Access Rights function allows you to control which users can access particular menus or tasks. Only a supervisor should have access to this function and only a supervisor should be able to change the access rights of other users. Note To completely exclude a user from a company, make it unavailable to the user on the Companies List. For more information see Managing access to companies on page 71. When access rights have been set up or modified, they are activated the next time the user signs on and accesses the company. Menus will reflect the new access rights. For example, if a user has been denied

80 76 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users access to a module, for example Suppliers, it will no longer appear on menus. Note This function is not affected by the Password Level assigned to each user (see Setting up a user s password level on page 67). Tip To restore full access rights to a user, copy the access rights of the supervisor (who has full access and cannot be modified). Setting up or modifying a user s menu access rights To set up or modify a user s menu access rights 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Setups Company Menu Access Menu Access Rights. Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user. 3 Ensure the Modify rights for this user. 4 Choose Accept (F9). The Menu Access Rights screen is displayed. Figure 32 Menu Access Rights screen 5 Select the menu levels you want the user to be able to access. Select the Menu (for example, Masterfiles, Transactions) and the Module (for example, Customers). 6 Select whether to hide menu tabs or select Yes or No to individual menu items. 7 Choose Accept (F9) to save.

81 Attaché Supervisor 77 Setting up or modifying a user s default menu access rights Attaché lets you create default menu access rights for each user, which then allows you to: copy the user s default menu access rights to another company copy the user s default menu access rights to another user choose to have the defaults apply whenever a new company is created. Default menu access rights also apply when no company is selected. To set up default menu access rights 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Setups Company Menu Access Menu Access Rights. 3 On the Menu Access rights screen, select the required user and then make a selection from the Options area. 4 Choose Accept (F9) to move to the next screen. Figure 33 Select the menu access rights for the user 5 Make adjustments to the menu access rights, as required. 6 When finished, select Set Default (F5) to save the menu access rights as defaults for this user. To make these default menu access rights apply automatically to this user whenever a new company is created, choose File Set Up and Delete Users. In the New Company Menu Access area choose Copy from default.

82 78 Chapter 4 Setting up and managing users Copying menu access rights from another user When creating menu access rights for a user, you can copy an existing user s access rights. Once copied, you can then modify them as necessary. Tip If you set up master users to copy access rights, enter a password against these users for added security. To save time, particularly if you have many users, you can set up new users as master users with menu access rights for a particular role in your business, such as sales or accounts. You can then copy these menu access rights to other users. To copy menu access rights 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Setups Company Menu Access Menu Access Rights. 3 Type the user name or choose Find (F2) to locate the user. 4 In the Copy rights from another User field, enter the user name whose access rights you wish to copy. Figure 34 Copying menu access rights from one user to another 5 Choose Accept (F9). The user s new access rights can then be modified as necessary, as described in Setting up menu access rights on page 75.

83 Chapter 5 Producing reports Reporting Report settings and options Creating and printing reports

84 80 Chapter 5 Producing reports Reporting Your Attaché system contains a wide range of standard reports. Reports can be sent to a printer, to the screen, or to a disk file. With Attaché ExpressLink (see below), reports can also be sent to other programs and via . Selections and printing requirements for each report can be stored by each user, and can be copied from user to user and company to company. Most reports can be directed to a printer, to the screen or to a file. You can print reports to your default printer or to any printer you specify. Attaché ExpressLink lets you open, save and send Attaché reports in different formats and different programs. For example, you can choose to open an Attaché report in MS Word or MS Excel, it, or save it in HTML or CSV format. You can also print reports directly from the Print Preview screen. For more information see Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink on page 86. Report settings and options Attaché standard reports typically have margin, paper size and orientation settings which you can alter to suit your needs. Most reports can be directed to a printer, to the screen or to a file. Each report also has a number of options which control the various sequences, selections and ranges available for that report. These can be copied from user to user and company to company. You can also set up default options, which you can then copy to another user or company. Print sequence The print sequence controls the order in which the details print on the report, for example Customer Code and Document Sequence. Certain sequences require details to be sorted before printing (which can take additional time). Other sequences are indexed and will print almost immediately.

85 Attaché Supervisor 81 Ranges of codes You may enter a range on a report if you want to show only a certain range of codes (for example, a range of customer codes or a date range). If you want to show all codes, do not enter a range. If more than one range is entered, only codes within all ranges are included in the report. Figure 35 Selecting ranges for the Sales Register report Test print Before printing documents such as cheques, you should check that your stationery is correctly lined up by selecting Testprint (F12) in the appropriate report screen. Saving report options Each user can save their usual options for each report. When using the report again, if no options need to be altered the user can simply choose Print (F9). To save selected options, choose Save (F5). Deleting a user s report options To delete a user s saved report options 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Tools Company System Copy User Options.

86 82 Chapter 5 Producing reports 3 In the From User Name and From Company fields, select the nominated user and company. 4 Choose Delete (F6). Working with default user report options You can create a set of default report options and selections (such as printer, ranges, output sequence, special report options and record selection), which you can then copy to any new or existing company. Once you have set up default options for one user you can also copy these to another user's default. Setting up default user report options To set up default options for a nominated user, first establish their required report options and selections in one company. When you are satisfied with your selections, you can then copy these saved options as their default options. To copy a user s saved options as defaults 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Tools Company System Copy User Options. 3 In the From User Name and From Company fields, select the nominated user and company. 4 In the ToUse rn a m e field, select this user again but now leave the To Company field blank. 5 Choose Accept (F9) to copy the user's saved report options as their default options. These default options are now available to copy to other companies and users. Copying default report options between users To copy default report options from one user to another 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 In the From User Name field, select the user you wish to copy from and leave the From Company field blank. 3 In the ToUse rn a m e field, select the user you wish to copy to and leave the ToCo m p a ny field blank. 4 Choose Accept (F9) to copy the default options to the selected user.

87 Attaché Supervisor 83 Deleting a user s default report options To delete a user s default report options 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Tools Company System Copy User Options. 3 In the From User Name and From Company fields, select the nominated user and company. 4 In the ToUs e r N a m e field, select the user you wish to copy to and leave the ToCo m p a ny field blank. 5 Choose Accept (F9) to save. Copying user report options between users and companies Saved reporting and period end options (such as printer, ranges, output sequence, special report options and record selection), can be copied between users and companies. Caution When copying report options from one user to another, be careful not to include report options which contain references to specific local printers. To copy reporting and period-end options from one user to another 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Choose Tools Company System Copy User Options. 3 In the From User Name and From Company fields, select the user and the company you wish to copy from. 4 In the ToUs e r N a m e and To Company fields, select the user and the company you wish to copy to.

88 84 Chapter 5 Producing reports Figure 36 Copying options between users and companies 5 Choose Accept (F9) to copy the options. Creating and printing reports Most reports can be directed to a printer, to the screen or to a file. You can print reports to your default printer or to any printer you specify. To print a report Help Choose Help (F1) on any field for a description of the field. 1 From the Reports menu, choose the desired module, function and report, for example Reports Customers Sales Reports Sales Values. 2 Select the desired ranges, sequence and other options. For more information see Report settings and options on page Press Page Down to move forwards between screens. 4 In the Document Output or Output Device section, choose the desired option or options.

89 Attaché Supervisor 85 Figure 37 Customer Sales Report Print Output Device screen 5 If you want to use a printer other than the one displayed, choose Printer (F6) and select the desired printer from the list. When None Selected is displayed, the report will print to your default Windows printer. 6 If you want to save the settings, choose Save (F5). 7 Choose Print (F9). Printing documents from transaction entry and lookup With Attaché, you can send customer and supplier documents directly to print, fax or from transaction entry and lookup screens. You can also mark documents as printed, choose a special form code and add inclusions if sending by or fax. Customer and supplier transaction entry and lookup screens include an Output (F2) function which is available when a document is selected. When you choose Output (F2), the standard document output screen appears, enabling you to send your document directly to print, fax or . This screen is identical to the document output screens for reports (described above), except that two additional fields are available: Mark document as printed lets you flag a document as printed Form Code for this run field lets you choose a layout option for the document. Use Find (F2) to choose from a list of layout options.

90 86 Chapter 5 Producing reports Printing transaction lists from masterfile enquiry You can print lists of transactions from masterfile enquiry in Customers, Suppliers, Products/Services, General Ledger and Payroll. You can choose the date order that the information is reported and whether to send the information to printer or screen. To print a transaction list from masterfile enquiry 1 Open the masterfile enquiry screen and select the desired masterfile record. 2 Choose Tra n s ( F 5 ) if you wish to display a transaction list or Orders (F8) to display an orders list. 3 If printing a transaction list, you can choose Options (F8) to select the date order in which you want the information reported and whether to include zero balance transactions. After making your selections, choose Accept (F9). 4 Select Output (F2) and select Printer or Screen. 5 Choose Print (F9) to output the list. 6 Choose Finish (Esc) to close the masterfile enquiry screen. Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink Attaché ExpressLink is one of a range of tools that can enhance your Attaché system. For more information see Productivity tools on page 8 or talk to your Attaché consultant. Attaché ExpressLink lets you open, save and send Attaché reports in different formats and different programs. For example, you can choose to open an Attaché report in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, it, or save it in HTML or CSV format. You can also print reports directly from the Print Preview screen. The ExpressLink toolbar also includes tools which assist you to view and move around a report. To access the various ExpressLink options, go to the desired report and select Screen as the Output Device and then Print (F9). This opens the report in print preview mode with the ExpressLink toolbar displayed across the top of the preview screen. For more information on using Attaché ExpressLink see Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink on page 108.

91 Chapter 6 Managing your data Changing masterfile codes Changing locations Tracking changes Backing up and restoring data Attaché Archive Data integrity and maintenance Copying data files

92 88 Chapter 6 Managing your data Changing masterfile codes A option under the Tools menu allows you to change customer, supplier and product/service masterfile codes. Any change in code updates all related detail and transaction files. Before you attempt to change a masterfile code you should always back up your company data. If the change does not complete successfully you can then restore the data from the backup. You should also ensure that no users are accessing the company data before you start, or you will be unable to make the change. Once you start this process the company is blocked to all other users until the change is complete. To change a customer, supplier or product masterfile code choose Tools Company Utilities and select the desired option. An information message is displayed whenever you attempt to change a masterfile code, asking you to confirm that you have a current backup of the company data. Select No if you want to close the screen and complete a backup first. Select Yes if you have already made a current backup and you wish to continue. In the Old Code field, select Find (F2) to choose the customer, supplier or product/service masterfile that you wish to change. In the New Code field, type the new code you wish to use. The new code must be unique. If you are changing a product masterfile code and you are using Multi Location, you will be prompted to choose whether or not you want to change the masterfile code for this product in all locations. If you wish to change product codes in selected locations only, set the Change code for all locations? checkbox to No. In the Location field, use Find (F2) to choose from a list of locations. When all fields are completed, select Accept (F9). A new masterfile record is created, using the new code. The data from the old record is copied to the new record and the old record is then removed. The code is changed in all related files. Changing masterfile codes by using KFI If you are using Keystroke File Import (KFI) to change masterfile product/service codes, you must set the KFI up in the form: Old

93 Attaché Supervisor 89 Product Code, New Product Code and ensure that you do not use Y or <F9> after the codes. This also applies when using KFI to change masterfile codes for customers and suppliers. Changing locations Changing product locations Change Product Location, on the Tools menu, lets you change product location codes. (Note that you can only run Change Product Location in companies which are set up to use Multi Location, under Setups Products Options Product Options.) When you change a product location, a new masterfile record is created using the details entered in New Location, the masterfile is filled with the data from the old record and the old record is then removed. The product location is changed to the new code in all related files. You can change all product locations at once or change just one at a time. If you choose to change all locations, you can also select a group range if you wish. In Report Options you can choose to run a report which lists all changed and/or unchanged locations in either a summary or detailed format. Note Before you attempt to change a product location, ensure that you have backed up your company data. If the change does not complete successfully you can then restore the data from the backup. As a reminder, an information message is displayed whenever you attempt to change a product location asking you to confirm that you have a current backup of the company data. You can select No to close the task and complete a backup first or Yes if you already have a current backup and you wish to continue. To change a product location code 1 Choose Tools Company Utilities Change Product Location. An information message is displayed, asking you to confirm that you have a current backup of the company data. 2 Choose Yes to continue or No to close the task and take a backup first.

94 90 Chapter 6 Managing your data 3 In Change location for all products? choose Yes to change the location of all products or No to change the location of a single product only. 4 Enter the current location code in Old Location or choose Find (F2) to search for the location code. You can also leave this field blank this will select all product codes with a blank location. Note If Multi Location was originally set to No when product details were entered and it was later changed to Yes, all existing products will default to a blank location code. If you leave the Old Location field blank and no product code range is selected, all product codes with a blank location will be selected. 5 Enter the new product location code in New Location. This field cannot be left blank. Group Range is available only if you answered Yes to Change location for all products? in Step 3 above. 6 If Group Range is available, choose Yes if you want to select location codes to change by product group and then enter the product group range in First Group and Last Group. Choose No if you don t want to select a product group range. 7 In Report Options choose Yes if you want to print a report or No if a report is not required. 8 If a report isn t required choose Accept (F9). Answer OK at the prompt to complete the change of location code. Or, if a report is required choose your report options: To list all changed locations choose Yes in Show changed locations. To list all unchanged locations choose Yes in Show Exceptions. To print a basic report choose Yes in Summary report only to list the Product Code, Product Description, Old Location code and description, New Location code and description, Group code and Status (Location changed or Code exists - not changed). To print a more detailed report choose No in Summary report only to print the details above plus additional fields included in the Product Listing. 9 Page Down to select your output options. 10 Choose Accept (F9). Answer OK at the prompt to complete the change of location code.

95 Attaché Supervisor 91 Changing product location descriptions As well as changing product location codes (described above) you can change the description assigned to each location code. The Location Description will display and print on reports throughout the software each time that location is accessed. Once a description is entered for a location, that location will be included on the Location Find facility. Note Note that you can only run Location Maintenance in companies which are set up to use Multi Location (see Setups Products Options Product Options). To change a location description 1 Choose Setups Products Locations Maintain. 2 Select the required Location Code. 3 In the Description field, type the new description for the selected Location Code. 4 Choose Notes (F4) and record a note about the change if you wish. 5 Choose Accept (F9) to save the new description. Tracking changes To assist you to better manage your data, Attaché allows you to keep a record of each and every change made to selected files, including masterfiles and transaction files. You can track details such as who made the change, what was changed, the new and old values and the date and time of the change. You can decide which files and tasks to track, on a company-bycompany basis. Changes made via Data Transfer or Attaché ODBC can also be tracked. All changes are recorded in an audit file, which is stored in the company data path. You can view the audit file by using Attaché ODBC. (For more information see Attaché ODBC on page 113.) The audit file also records which files and menu tasks have been selected for tracking and details of any changes made to these tracking selections. For example, if Employee Masterfile is being tracked and

96 92 Chapter 6 Managing your data tracking is then turned off, the audit file will record details of the user who turned tracking off, the date and time, etc. Unlike tracking of your data files, this type of tracking cannot be turned on and off it is always present. Turning on track changes To track changes to your data files 1 Sign on as supervisor. 2 Select the files you wish to track on Tools Company Track Changes Track Files. (Selecting files to track is described below.) Although any (or all) files in the system can be tracked, Attaché Software recommends that you begin by tracking relevant masterfiles only, until you become more familiar with this feature. 3 Select the menu tasks you wish to track, on Tools Company Track Changes Track Tasks. (Selecting tasks to track is described below.) 4 If you use Attaché ODBC or Data Transfer and you want to track these changes too, select the relevant checkbox on To o l s Company Track Changes Other Options. 5 Choose Accept (F9) to save the options. 6 Sign on to the company again for track changes to take effect. Selecting files to track To select files for tracking choose Tools Company Track Changes Track Files and select the files you wish to track.

97 Attaché Supervisor 93 Figure 38 Select the files you wish to track Tip In both Track Files and Track Tasks you can choose Copy From (F6) if you have already set up tracking for one company and you wish to copy these settings. You can use All Yes (F11), Master Yes (F4) or Trans Yes (F7), to switch tracking on for all files, all masterfiles or all transaction files, respectively. However, if you use All Yes (F11), the audit file may become very large. We recommend that before turning on Track Files you consider which specific files you need to track to suit your business circumstances. Selecting tasks to track To select tasks for tracking choose Tools Company Track Changes Track Tasks. Choose the menu item you require in Menu Bar. Notice that as you click through Menu bar, the Level 2, Level 3 and Track Task options change accordingly, to reflect the menu structure in Attaché. Now move to Level 2 and make a selection and then repeat for Level 3. Finally, choose the specific tasks under Track Task (or use the All Yes (F11), All No (F12) and Copy From (F6) functions.) Sign on again for tracking to take effect.

98 94 Chapter 6 Managing your data Figure 39 Select the tasks you wish to track Example 1: To track all masterfile maintenance tasks which modify Payroll masterfiles, including employee details, bank accounts and standard pays, select Masterfiles in Menu bar and then select Payroll in Level 2. Now choose All Yes (F11) and then Accept (F9). Example 2: To track all masterfile tasks which modify the Customer masterfile, select Masterfiles in Menu bar and then select Customers in both Level 2 and Level 3. Now choose All Yes (F11) this instantly selects all tasks listed under Level 3 Customers in Track Task. Choose Accept (F9) to save. Backing up and restoring data Attaché Archive The information stored on your computer is extremely valuable. If your computer is damaged or stolen or if it malfunctions, you may lose information which cannot be recalled, thus requiring work to be redone. To prevent such situations it is essential to develop a backup plan whereby you regularly take backups which are then kept in a safe place, preferably off the premises. End-of-period backups are especially important. Separate backups outside your normal backup plan should be taken at the end of a

99 Attaché Supervisor 95 period and these backups should be kept off the premises permanently. Backing up, or taking a backup, means making an exact copy of your files. Your Attaché system includes the Attaché Archive backup and restore tool. Attaché Archive lets you back up (and restore, if necessary) your Attaché data from within your Attaché system. Note Attaché Archive is licensed and installed separately from your Attaché system. To check if it is installed, choose File Archive Current Company. If you do not have Attaché Archive, a message will be displayed advising you that Archive is not installed. For more information on obtaining Attaché Archive see Productivity tools on page 8 or talk to your Attaché consultant. If you use other software to back up your data, always back up all files in your data directory (except for the files in the DOCUMENT subdirectory, if present, which are temporary files). Do not use incremental backups with Attaché because they can cause data corruption. Making a backup plan You should not rely on just one backup. Backup media can become unusable from wear and tear or your data can unknowingly be corrupt at the time you create a backup. Set up a rotation plan using at least three to five backups. Use each backup in turn and never back up on the same set twice in a row as you may be copying over your only good copy. If you run more than one company in Attaché, a separate set of backups must be kept for each company. An important part of a good backup plan includes keeping a comprehensive backup diary. It should include the date, time and a brief summary of work completed since the previous backup was taken. Creating backups by using Attaché Archive Attaché Archive can prompt you to create a backup whenever the last user exits a company and can be run on demand.

100 96 Chapter 6 Managing your data Each time you run Attaché Archive, it creates a single file containing a compressed copy of the contents of your company data directory (excluding the Alex Documents folder the KFI Data folder, if you use these tools). If you use PowerLink, those data files are also copied. To ensure that Attaché Archive has write-access to the folder where it creates backups, it stores them under the Attaché program folder, in a folder called ARCHIVE, which it creates. Backups are stored in separate folders for each company, under the Archive folder. Each backup file is named with the date and time it was created, and the name of the company. If you wish, you can use Windows Explorer to locate an archive file and then rename it according to your own conventions. Figure 40 Archive files are named with the date and time each was created Creating a backup on demand You can create a backup at any time by running Attaché Archive from the menu. To create a backup by using Attaché Archive choose either File Archive Current Company or To o l s C o m p a ny System Archive Data. The first time you use Attaché Archive, you will be prompted to type in the activation key supplied with the software. After you enter the activation key, choose OK to continue. This begins the backup process - you can see the names of the files scroll by as they are archived. When finished, the message Data archived successfully is displayed at the bottom of the Archive screen.

101 Attaché Supervisor 97 While the backup is being created, you can stop the process by selecting the Cancel button. In this case, no backup is created and the message Data archived failed is displayed at the bottom of the Archive screen. Automatic prompting to create a backup As well as choosing to run Attaché Archive from the menu, you can set up your Attaché system to remind you to make a backup. Each time the last person exits or signs off from a company, the software can ask whether to create a copy of the company s data. Figure 41 You can set up the software to prompt the last user to create a backup To make the query appear, for each company choose Setups Company Options Company Options and set the Prompt for archive? option to Yes. (To turn off the automatic prompt so the question no longer appears, set the Prompt for archive? option to No. In this case, the software neither displays the prompt nor runs Attaché Archive when the last user exits or signs off.) Note To prevent the loss of your important data, make sure you store your backup files securely. Attaché Software recommends that after backing up your data with Attaché Archive, you copy the file to removable media such as CD or DVD and store it securely in separate premises. Restoring data by using Attaché Archive Restoring data is the process of copying data from the backup copy back onto your computer, thus returning the data to the state it was in at the time of the backup. It is always necessary to restore into an empty directory to ensure the ongoing integrity of the data. You then need to re-enter any information which was added to your files since the backup was taken.

102 98 Chapter 6 Managing your data Attaché Archive includes a restore function which allows you to easily select which backup you wish to restore. Backups are stored and displayed separately for each company. Each time you access the restore function, it displays the existing backups for the company for which you last created a backup. You can display the backups created for other companies by clicking the Open icon or choosing File Open Location in Attaché Archive. Attaché Software recommends that you always restore data to an empty folder. Note Prior to restoring, rename your current data directory. This way, during the restoration process, the software will recreate the data directory and place the restored data in it. When you are sure you wish to retain the restored data, you can then delete the renamed directory and its contents. To restore data that was backed up using Attaché Archive 1 Ensure all users are logged out of Attaché. 2 On the File menu, choose Restore Company from Archive and press Accept (F9). (If this option is not available, see Authorising access to the restore data function below.) The Archive Restore screen is displayed. 3 Click the backup file you wish to restore and choose the Restore icon (or right-click on the backup file and choose Restore). If the file you want to restore is not listed, click the Open icon (or choose File Open Location) and browse to the folder containing the file. 4 In the Restore Data dialog box, type or browse to an empty folder in which to restore the data. 5 Click Restore. 6 Click Close. Authorising access to the restore data function To prevent unauthorised users from restoring a backup and potentially overwriting live data, you can control access to the Restore Company from Archive option on a user-by-user basis.

103 Attaché Supervisor 99 To allow a user to access the Restore Company from Archive option 1 Sign on as Supervisor and select File Set Up and Delete Users. 2 On the Setup & Delete Users screen, enter the User Name and then select Accept (F9) to move to the main screen. 3 On the main screen, set the Can restore from Archive checkbox to Yes. 4 Choose Accept (F9). Data integrity and maintenance Attaché contains a number of tools that check data for errors and assist in maintaining data. These are: File Integrity Check Compress Database Index File Optimiser Each is discussed below. Using File Integrity Check There may be times when your data becomes corrupted. Examples of how this might happen include: hardware malfunctions power fluctuations incorrectly copying or restoring files Furthermore, when you process a task the system makes updates to many different files. For example, when processing a customer invoice, as each line is accepted the following data and index files are updated: Invoice and order header file Invoice and order detail file Invoice and order header extension file Invoice and order detail extension file Customer masterfile Customer transaction file

104 100 Chapter 6 Managing your data Customer general ledger interface file Product masterfile Product transaction file Sales analysis file The File Integrity Check tool checks that each data record has a corresponding index record. If any mismatches are detected, the system reports an error. There is also the possibility of some files not being updated resulting in an accounting imbalance. Note File Integrity Check does not report on accounting imbalances. File Integrity Check should be run on a regular basis, such as weekly (or even more frequently if you have problems with the reliability of your computer and/or network). If you have a power outage you should also run the File Integrity Check on all data and index files. If errors or wrong counts are found, a message is displayed beside the corrupt file. In this case it is always necessary to restore all files from your most recent backup. You will then need to re-enter any information entered since that backup was taken. If you suspect further problems may occur, run the File Integrity Check on the restored data before re-entering information. If necessary, you may need to revert to an earlier backup. Note If you are unsure how to restore from a backup, talk to your system administrator or Attaché consultant. For more information see Getting help, support and resources on page 10. To run a File Integrity Check 1 Choose Tools Company Data Checks File Integrity Check. 2 Select the files to check. To select all files, choose All (F5). 3 Choose Accept (F9). The files are checked and a status summary is displayed. 4 Choose Print (F9) to print the summary, if desired. 5 Choose Close (Esc).

105 Attaché Supervisor 101 Figure 42 File Integrity Check status summary Dealing with File Integrity Check errors If errors are found using the File Integrity Check tool 1 Restore all files from a previous backup. 2 Run the File Integrity Check again to check that the restored data is not corrupt. Note If you are unsure how to restore from a backup, talk to your system administrator or Attaché consultant. For more information see Getting help, support and resources on page 10. Using Compress Database The purpose of the Compress Database tool is to reduce the size of data files after doing bulk deletions of transactions. When compressing, the existing file is not deleted until the new file has been compressed. Therefore, you will need enough room on your hard disk to hold an extra copy of each file being compressed.

106 102 Chapter 6 Managing your data Remember to always take a backup and run a File Integrity Check before running the Compress Database function. Caution Do not run Compress Database if there are File Integrity Check errors. The Compress Database tool does not fix corrupt data. The integrity of your data will be compromised whenever corruption is dealt with by the Compress Database tool. To run the Compress Database tool 1 Choose Tools Company Data Checks Compress Database. 2 Select the files to check. To select all files, choose All (F5). 3 Choose Accept (F9). The selected files are compressed and a status summary is displayed. 4 Choose Close (Esc). Using Index File Optimiser The Index File Optimiser tool allows you to increase the speed of file access, making searching for data and building reports faster. This is achieved by rebuilding and packing the index files in the most efficient order. You can select to optimise all or only selected files in the current company. The Index File Optimiser does not detect errors or remove corrupted data. To get the most benefit from this process you should run a File Integrity Check to ensure none of your data is corrupt prior to running the Index File Optimiser tool. You would normally process an Index File Optimiser in the following cases: after the initial details and balances are entered for a module after a number of deletions to increase the speed of accessing information. Choosing Stop during the optimise process results in an incomplete optimisation. You will need to re-process the Index File Optimiser on this file.

107 Attaché Supervisor 103 To run the Index File Optimiser 1 Choose Tools Company Data Checks Index File Optimiser. 2 Select the files to index. To select all files, choose All (F5). 3 Choose Accept (F9). 4 When the index optimising is complete, choose Close (Esc). Copying data files The Copy Data Files tool allows you to copy data, including form layouts and screen layouts, from one company to another. You can copy data and/or setup files from any directory. If files already exist in the destination directory, a warning is displayed from which you can choose to continue with the copying process which will overwrite those files. Before using this function, Attaché Software recommends that you take a backup of the company you are copying to, in case you accidentally copy over data that you need. To copy data files 1 Choose Tools Company System Copy Data Files. The Data File Copy screen is displayed. Figure 43 Data File Copy first screen

108 104 Chapter 6 Managing your data Figure 44 Data File Copy second screen 2 In the From Path field, type the path to the files you wish to copy, for example C:\ATTACHE \ COMPANYNAME \ ACCOUNTS. 3 Select the types of files you wish to copy (see Options for copying data files below). 4 Choose Accept (F9). A message is displayed indicating that the files have been copied. 5 Choose Close (Esc). 6 Exit and restart Attaché. Options for copying data files The following table describes the options available when copying data files. Copy option Copy Data Files Copy System Files Copy Default Report Parameters Report Writer Library Description Copies all data from the path specified. Menu Access Rights for all users and General Ledger Sets are also copied. Copies company options from the specified path. Copies saved report selections for each user from the specified path. Copies all Report Writer report setups from the specified path.

109 Attaché Supervisor 105 Copy option Copy Ordering / Invoicing Setups Copy Purchasing Copy Graphical Cheque Layouts Copy Customer Layouts Copy Payroll Layouts Copy CRT Description Copies all (or the selected) Customer screen and form layouts for use with Customer Order Entry and Invoicing. Copies all (or the selected) Supplier and Purchasing screen and form layouts. Copies graphical Cheque, Cheque/Remittance, and Remittance Advice forms from the specified path. Copies graphical statement forms from the specified path. Copies graphical Pay Advice and Super Guarantee forms from the specified path. Copies Customer Recurring Transactions screen and graphical form layouts from the specified path.

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111 Chapter 7 Importing and exporting in Attaché Using application utilities Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink Data Transfer Attaché ODBC Keystroke File Import Attaché Data Interchange

112 108 Chapter 7 Importing and exporting in Attaché Using application utilities Attaché has a number of tools and modules that provide solutions to specific issues and work requirements. These include: Attaché ExpressLink Data Transfer Attaché ODBC Keystroke File Import (KFI) Attaché Data Interchange (ADI) Each of these modules is discussed below. Exporting reports with Attaché ExpressLink Attaché ExpressLink is one in a range of tools that can enhance your Attaché system. For more information see Productivity tools on page 8 or talk to your Attaché consultant. Attaché ExpressLink lets you open, save and send Attaché reports in different formats and different programs. For example, you can choose to open an Attaché report in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, it, or save it in.html or.csv format. You can also print reports directly from the Print Preview screen. The ExpressLink toolbar also includes tools which assist you to view and move around a report. To access the various ExpressLink options, go to the desired report and select Screen as the Output Device and then Print (F9). This opens the report in print preview mode with the ExpressLink toolbar displayed across the top of the preview screen. Figure 45 Attaché ExpressLink toolbar

113 Attaché Supervisor 109 The icons you see on your ExpressLink toolbar depend on the software installed on your computer. For example, if you do not have Word or Excel installed, the icons for these programs will not appear on your toolbar. The toolbar icons and their functions are described below. Icon Close (Esc) Microsoft Excel Microsoft Word Browser Save Notepad Print Zoom Out Description Closes the report preview screen. Opens the report as a Tab Delimited file in Microsoft Excel. Opens the report as a HTML document in Microsoft Word. Opens the report as a HTML document in your default browser. Opens a dialog box which allows you to choose a file name, file type and location for the saved report. Opens the report in Notepad as a text file. Opens a selection box which allows you to select a file format in which to the report. Opens a new mail message in your program and displays the report in the body of the (HTML) or includes the report as an attachment (Tab Delimited or Te x t ). (Note: to create an which opens with an attachment, your program and operating system must support the Microsoft "MailTo" protocol. See note below for more information.) Sends the report to the printer selected in your saved user options. If no printer is selected, your default Windows printer will be used. Changes the viewing size of the report by ten per cent each time you click Zoom Out, to a minimum of twenty per cent of the original size.

114 110 Chapter 7 Importing and exporting in Attaché Icon Zoom In Page Up Page Down Up Arrow Down Arrow Description Changes the viewing size of the report by twenty per cent each time you click Zoom In, to a maximum of three hundred per cent of the original size. Note: If you zoom out or in on a report and then choose to it in HTML, the report appears in the in its reduced or magnified size. To return to the original size you need to reopen the report. Moves up through the report. Moves down through the report. Moves up one line. Moves down one line. Note Provided your application and operating system fully support the Microsoft "MailTo" protocol, you can use (F7) to automatically create a new with an attachment (such as a PDF of your report). If the "MailTo" protocol is not supported, a simple workaround is to select Save (F5) to save the report and then create an and attach the report. Note that the "MailTo" protocol may not work with Microsoft Outlook Express. Attaché Software has developed special programming techniques to give some versions of Microsoft Outlook Express the ability to add attachments. To test if your version of Microsoft Outlook supports the "MailTo" protocol, type one of the following in the Windows Start Run dialog: mailto:to@example.com?subject=subject&attachment="c:\example.gif" mailto:to@example.com?subject=subject&attachment=""c:\example.gif"" Make sure the file you want to attach (i.e. Example.gif) exists in the path specified. Now choose OK. If the "MailTo" protocol is supported, an should be created with Example.gif (or the file of your choice) attached. If you are using an program that does not support Microsoft's "MailTo" protocol, the attachment will not be added. However, this is not a fault or defect in your Attaché system it is simply a characteristic of your program.

115 Attaché Supervisor 111 Exporting reports to other applications To use Attaché ExpressLink to export a report 1 From the Reports menu, choose the desired report, for example Reports Customers Sales Reports Sales Values. 1 Select any required ranges. 2 Press Page Down to go to the last selection screen. 3 If required, choose Portrait or Landscape for the report. 4 Under Output Device choose Screen. 5 Select Print (F9). The report is displayed on the preview screen. Using the Attaché ExpressLink toolbar located at the top of the preview screen you can choose an export format for the report, print or view it, or move around within the report. 6 Select an option from the toolbar, depending on what you wish to do with the report. If you have other tasks you want to complete with the report you can return to the report preview screen at any time to access ExpressLink. 7 When you are finished working with the report, select Close (Esc) to return to the Output Device screen. Example of exporting a report with Attaché ExpressLink Let s assume you want to display the Customer Aged Trial Balance in Microsoft Excel. To send the Customer Aged Trial Balance to Microsoft Excel 1 Choose Period End Customers Transaction Reports Aged Trial Balance. 2 Select any required ranges. 3 Press Page Down to go to the last selection screen. 4 Select Screen for the output device. 5 Choose Print (F9). The Customer Aged Trial Balance is displayed in the preview screen with the ExpressLink toolbar across the top. 6 Click the Microsoft Excel (F2) icon on the ExpressLink toolbar. Microsoft Excel opens in a new window and displays the report.

116 112 Chapter 7 Importing and exporting in Attaché 7 You can now work with this report as you would normally work with any Microsoft Excel file. 8 To save the report choose File Save As to open the Save As dialog box. Navigate to the location where you want to store the report and rename it if you wish. You may also want to change the file format from the default Text (.txt) to Microsoft Excel Workbook (.xls) so that the report will automatically open in Excel in future. Data Transfer This module allows other Windows applications, such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access, to request data from your Attaché database. For more information on using this module see the Data Transfer User Guide which is included with the module. Enabling data transfer Data is not transferred until requested by the client application, however, the data transfer service must first be activated from within Attaché. Tip If you wish to enable Data Transfer every time you select a company, you should choose Auto-enable data transfer in Set Up and Delete Users. To activate the data transfer service choose Tools Company Data Transfer Enable Data Transfer. Figure 46 Enabling data transfer