Frequently Asked Questions for Version 6.6

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

With the input of our technical support staff we have added some of the most frequently asked questions about our software program. We hope you will pick up some new ideas as well as find answers to your software questions.

Please scroll down to the question you are looking for.

Q: It's 2005 and all of my transactions are automatically returning to the date 12/31/04.

Q: How do I create a customer invoice?

Q: How do I receive a customer payment at a later date?

Q: What do I need to do to correctly configure my memory for ONTOP?

Q: Why does my printer work in Windows, but not in ONTOP?

Q: How do I add a printer to the ONTOP System Manager?

Q: How do I print a check register?

Q: How do I reverse an already posted invoice?

Q: How do I write off a previous amount due or customer balance?

Q: How do I create a Periodic Transaction (eg. monthly subscription payments)?

Q: How do I print address labels?

Q: How do I set up my ONTOP network?

Q: How do I export my customer list?

Q: How do I set up customer referrals and rewards?

Q: It's 2005 and all of my transactions are automatically returning to the date 12/31/04.

You need to change the date range in your System Manager.

From System Manager, select Utilities.
Select Config.
Change the "Latest Entry Date" to 12/31/2005.
Change the "Current Year" to 205, press "Enter".
If 205 is not in your system yet, a lookup screen will appear with a list of Year Definitions.
Press the "Insert" key to add a new year.
- Enter a start date of 1/1/2005
- Enter a code of 205.
- Enter a heading of 1/05-12/05.
- Press "Enter" to choose 205.
Press "Control + Enter" to save the changes.

Q: How do I create a customer invoice?

From the Receivables Module:

Select C for Customer

Type the first 4 letters of the customer to search, or press the Insert key to add a new one.

While highlighting the customer, press Alt+T for Transaction

Select I for Invoice

Header:

Invoice number: Press Enter to generate an invoice number
Date: Today's date - unless otherwise stated
Cust. Order: A brief description of the purchase
Ship: Shipping address - only change if shipping address is different (look up in additional addresses)
Via: How it is shipped (eg. UPS, F-9 to look up)
Freight: Amount of shipping charge
Desc: Invoice number and brief description
MSG: 1 - standard (or message of your choice, F-9 to lookup)
Loc: DEF (or alternate location, F-9 to lookup)
Sales person: Varies (F-9 to lookup)
Terms: Varies by customer (F-9 to lookup)
Tax area: Varies by customer (F-9 to lookup or leave blank)
Stat: Leave blank
Format: 01

Body:

Enter each line item (or import from a previous invoice Alt+I). For stock items enter stock # or use F9 to look-up. For non-stock items use a manual line item - /m (GL account must be entered for /m items).
Alt+P to Print. You are given the option to receive payment after printing. Yes only if payment is in hand. No if no payment.
P to print. After printing you are given the option to Post. Do so if you are certain all is correct.

Note: After posting the invoice, you can view the history by highlighting your customer from the main customer list and pressing Alt+H for History and T for Transactions. Each posted invoice will be listed. You can press Enter on any invoice to view the contents.

Q: How do I receive a customer payment at a later date?

From the Receivables Module:

Select C for Customer

Type the first 4 letters of the customer to search, or press the Insert key to add a new one

While highlighting the customer, press Alt+T for Transaction

Select P for Payment

Press Enter to accept the customer name

Amount: The amount being paid by customer

Date: The date of the payment

Bank: The bank code for the account that the payment will be put into (ie #1 for Checking - F9 to look up)

Deposit: The form of deposit being made (ie C for check, V for Visa etc. - F9 to look up)

Deposit Slip Details: Enter the appropriate information for the check or form of payment provided.

Q: What do I need to do to correctly configure my memory for ONTOP?

You will need to make changes to the Config.sys file, the System.ini file and the Autoexec.bat file. These files can be accessed in Windows 95 by pressing the start button, selecting "Run" and typing "Sysedit." After you have made the changes, you will need to save them (Alt-F+S), and reboot the computer.

The Changes are as follows:

CONFIG.SYS

device=c:\windows\himem.sys /testmem:off
device=c:\windows\emm386.exe RAM
dos=high,umb
files=100

SYSTEM.INI

[NonWindowsApp]

CommandEnvSize=1024

AUTOEXEC.BAT

path=c:\ontop6 (Use appropriate ONTOP6 drive letter - C: or F: )

Note: you may just need to add this to the existing path statement. This is done by placing a semi-colon at the end of the existing path and then typing f:\ontop6; Example: Path=c:\windows;c:\windows\command;c:\ontop6

Q: Why does my printer work in Windows, but not in ONTOP?

Your printer must be configured to work within ONTOP.

Exit ONTOP and press the Windows 95 start button.
Click Settings.
Click Printers.
With your mouse, Right click on the printer icon.
From the pull down menu, select Properties.

A printer properties box will appear.

Click the Details Tab
Next to the box that says Print to the following port, click the arrow to view available printer ports. Select the appropriate printer port (this may already be done for you). The driver will automatically be filled into the box below.
Click Spool Settings.

Check the Print Directly to the Printer box. Click Ok.

Click Port Settings.

Verify that the Spool MS-DOS Print Jobs checkbox is Unchecked. Click Ok.

Click Apply from the Details screen. Click Ok.
Click on the X in the upper right corner of the Printers Screen to close the window.

Your printer has now been configured to work in ONTOP.

Q: How do I add a printer to the ONTOP System Manager?

Some printers may not exist in the ONTOP System Manger and therefore must be added.

To see if your printer exists, enter the System Manager module.

From the main screen select Printers.
Select Commands.

A list of printers will appear on the left side of the screen.

Type the first few letters of your printer manufacture to search for your printer.
If your printer is listed, you are in good shape. You can exit the System Manager and choose the correct printer when printing within ONTOP.
If your printer is not listed, you will need to add it. This may require obtaining command codes from your printer manufacturer.

To Add a printer:

Highlight the printer that most resembles the one you would like to install (ie, if installing an HP laserjet 6P printer, and HP laserjet II is the closest description listed, highlight the laserjet II).
Press the "insert" key to add the new printer.
Change the name of the printer to match the printer you are adding.
Type in the correct setup string, ending string and command codes (ie pica, elite etc). These are the codes from your printer manual.
When finished entering the correct codes, press "Control + Enter".
Now from the printer list press "Alt + P" to print a test page.
If the test page looks ok, your printer has been successfully added. If any lines on the test page do not look correct, the command codes for the incorrect fields must be changed.

Q: How do I print a check register?

There are two ways to print your check register or account transactions.

To print a summary of a specific account, enter the GL module and Banking. With the specified bank highlighted, select Statements ("Alt + S"). The "statement from" field will be showing 1, press "Enter." The "statement to" field will be showing 999999, press "Enter." All transactions for the current year will be displayed on your screen. (NOTE: Only reconciled transactions will be displayed. For an accurate list first reconcile your account).

From the GL module, select reports ("Alt + R"). Select Account Transactions ("A"). The account code is the account number for the account you want to report on. (eg. Checking account = 2100). If you would like your report to reflect only the one account, enter the same account code in the "to" field. If you would like your report to reflect more one account, enter the account code you would like to finish with in the "to" field. (leave to from and to fields blank to report on all accounts). The "date from" and "date to" fields should be filled with the range that you would like your report to reflect. In a checking or cash report, select "C" for cash transactions in the next field. The following two fields can be left blank. Press "Enter" to print the report. After the report has been built, you can print the results to your printer by selecting "P" or to your screen by selecting "S."

Q: How do I reverse an already posted invoice?

A Customer invoice cannot be altered once posted. Therefore it is necessary to create a new invoice for a negative amount to offset the original invoice.

Create a new invoice header for the same customer. Be sure you use the same location, dept., and shipping method as the original.
Import the contents of the original invoice by pressing "Alt + I" from the body and select the invoice number to import.
Press "Enter" on each line item to edit it. Change the quantity amount to a negative number (e.g. If the quantity is 2, press the minus (-) key to make it -2 and if the quantity is already negative, press the plus (+) key to make it positive).
Press "Alt + P" to post the reversal invoice.

The final step is to allocate the credit to the original invoice.

From the customer screen, select Transaction("Alt + T").
Select Payment("P")
Leave the amount at zero, ONTOP will know you want to allocate existing credit to an outstanding invoice.

Q: How do I write off a previous amount due or customer balance?

From the receivables module, select Customers.

Press "Alt + T" for Transaction.

Press "J" for Journal.

The Customer Journal Entry screen will now be displayed.

If the correct customer name is in the "Customer" field, press "Enter" to continue. If the wrong customer is in the "Customer" field, use the F9 key to look up the correct customer.
From the "Transaction" field, press "Enter" to generate a transaction number. Press "Enter" again to move to the description field (underneath the customer name).
In the "Description" field, type your description (eg. Write off � late fees).
In the "Date/Dept" fields, verify the correct date and enter the department if applicable.

Terms in this case are not important so type in NET.
The "Salesperson" field can be left blank or filled with the initials of the person handling the transaction.
The "Tax Area" field will already contain the default area.

After pressing "Enter", You will be in the "Entry Description" field.

The "Entry Description" will be automatically filled with your description from the "Description" field above.
In the "Amount" field, enter the amount being written off and press the minus (-) key. (A write off must be a negative amount.
Leave the "Cost", "Tax" and "Inc" fields at zero.
The "Int"(Interface) field should be WO for write off. If you don't have a write off interface, you can create one by pressing the F9 Key and then the "Insert" key. You may need to go into your chart of accounts and set up an expense account called something like "Bad Debts." This is the account you will put into the "Sales" field of the interface.
The "G/L" and "His" fields should both be marked "Y."

After entering through the "His" field, you will now be able to post the transaction.

Press "Alt + P" to post the transaction.

Now you will need to allocate the write-off towards the amount due. First "Escape" out of the Journal entry until your customer is highlighted in the customer list. (this should mean pressing the "Escape" key three times).

With your customer highlighted, press "Alt + T" for Transaction.
Press "P" for Payment.
Press "Enter" to get past the "Customer" field.
Press "Enter" again, leaving the "Amount" field at zero.

You will now notice a list of outstanding credits and outstanding invoices. Your write-off should be listed in the outstanding credits box. The invoice reflecting the amount due will be listed in the outstanding invoices box.

Select the write-off by pressing the "Spacebar".
Press "Control + Enter" to move to the outstanding invoices box.
Use the "Spacebar" to tag the invoice you are allocating against.
Press "Alt + P" to allocate the credit against the invoice.

You have now successfully written off a past due balance.

Q: How do I create a Periodic Transaction (eg. monthly subscription payments)?

Some customers pay the same amount every month. In the case of a monthly subscription with an annual duration, a Periodic Invoice may be created. It is recommended that Periodic Invoices all occur on the same day, or on a few designated days.

Create a Periodic Invoice for future payments.

From the Receivables menu, select "Alt+D". All Periodic Invoices will be displayed.
Press the "Insert" key.

A new Periodic Invoice will be created.

Enter the customer code or use F-9 to look up.
Every = 1 month, 0 days (or frequency of invoice).
Next invoice = First date you would like the invoice to be generated. For example: If the first payment was received 1/31/05, the next invoice will be generated 2/28/05.
Maximum = Usually the amount of months in contract, or leave 0 if unknown.

After "Enter" is pressed, an invoice will appear with the current date ("Alt+D" will also access the invoice).

"Enter" through the date, because dates on Periodic Invoices are based on the "next invoice" date specified above.
Customer Order = Order of reference # if desired.
Ship = Leave blank.
Via = Leave blank.
Description = Description of service (eg. HBO Monthly Service).
Press "Control + Enter" to jump to the line item.
Line item = Inventory item (eg. HBO, Support agreement).
Disc = % discount if any. If none, leave at 0%.
Price = Price of monthly service.

After "Enter" is pressed, the "Renewable Item" screen will appear.

Note: This screen will only appear with renewable items such as subscriptions.

Reference = Account # or other type of reference of your choice.
Start date = Date you would like your first invoice to be created (beginning date of subsciption).
Period = 1 (will be transferred from amount above).
Supplier = Name of service supplier (eg. HBO, Showtime).
Renew = Yes if renewable service, no if payment will be complete after maximum period.

Your periodic invoice has now been created. Press "Escape" to exit, the new periodic invoice will now be displayed.

Note: Each month when a new Periodic Invoice is created, the description dates under the line item will not change to reflect the correct subscription dates (they will remain the same as the original periodic invoice.)

To change the description while in the invoice screen, go to the line item and press "Alt+D". Remove the date and reference information and press "Control + Enter". Do not remove any other descriptive text.

"Enter" through the quantity, price, discount and cost fields until the "Renewable Item" box appears. Change the date to the current period being invoiced and press "Control + Enter" to complete the transaction. The new date will now be displayed as the line item's description. The description can be changed at any time by pressing "Alt+D" and then re-entering the information.

Generating Periodic Invoices

Go to the Receivables module.
Press "Alt+D" (Periodic Invoice).
Press "Alt+G" to generate.
Press "Escape" to return to the Receivables screen once invoices have been generated.
Press "Alt+P" from the Receivables main menu to print invoices.
Use the "Spacebar" to tag all invoices listed.
Press "Control + Enter" to generate the invoice reports.
Choose "P" to print all invoices.
Ok to post all printed invoices = yes.

Congratulations, you have now finished generating all of your Periodic Invoices.

Q: How do I print address labels?

If you just need a label for one customer, use the Reports option on the Customer screen.

From the customer list in Accounts Receivable, highlight the customer name you would like to create a label for.
Press "Alt+R" to select Reports.
Press "L" to select labels.
A list of report formats will be displayed on your screen. Choose the label you would like to print and press "Enter." You have the option to print to your screen first to view the label.

Note: Common label choices are A1 and L1.

To print groups of labels, use the User Defined Reports option in the Xtra AR Reports module. This option gives you greater flexibility. You can print labels for customers in one zip code, customers with invoices in a specific date range, or customers with one salesperson.

From the XR module, select "Customer."
Select "User Defined Reports."

The following screen will allow you to define the parameters that you would like to base your report from. If you leave a field blank, all options will be used.

Q: How do I set up my ONTOP network?

NETWORKING WINDOWS 95 COMPUTERS: PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKING

When connecting 2 or more workstations, information from a host computer (server) must be shared with other computers (workstations). In most cases the C drive of the server computer will be shared and given a name that can be recognized by both itself and the workstations connected to it.

Typically the network drive is called "F", but can be given any letter.

IMPORTANT: You must perform the following steps before installing ONTOP, or you will be required to rebuild your system menus and batch files (described elsewhere).

ON THE SERVER:

From the start menu select RUN.

Type "SYSEDIT." A number of screens will appear. Click the screen entitled "Autoexec.bat."

On the first line of the Autoexec.bat screen, type "Subst F: C:\" (assuming F is the server drive letter you are using. Change to the appropriate drive letter if not). If there is anything else on the first line of the Autoexec.bat, move it to the line below "Subst F: C:\". The server will now see the C drive as the F drive. This is required to run ONTOP from a workstation and a file server simultaneously.

Reboot the server

After the server has rebooted, verify that the new drive exists by using the Windows Explorer

Next, right click on "My computer"

Select explore by left clicking.

Right click on the C drive.

Choose Sharing.

Under the Sharing tab, select Shared as.

Set the share name to "Server Computer name"-C (Example: "Server-C")

Set access type to Full

Install ONTOP onto the server only. The command to type is "Install F:"

MAPPING WORKSTATIONS TO THE SERVER:

On the workstation computer Select "My computer."
Select Explore.
Select Network Neighborhood.
Double click the machine name "Computer name"-C.
Highlight the folder now showing and right click on it.
Choose Map Network Drive.
Drive = F.
Path = "\\Server-Computer\Server-C"
Check Reconnect at Logon.

Note: When Logging on from a workstation, the server must already be running or the workstation will not find the F drive.

NETWORKING WINDOWS 95 COMPUTERS: PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKING AN EXISTING ONTOP INSTALLATION (REBUILDING SYSTEM MENUS & BATCH FILES)

1.Set up your server and workstations as described in the Networking Windows 95 Computers: Peer-to-Peer Networking document.
From a DOS Prompt, change to the ONTOP6 directory by typing "CD\ONTOP6".

Changing the Company Data Path in ONTOP.

Enter the ONTOP System Manager by typing "ON SM".
Press Alt+S for the System menu.
Select Companies. A list of companies will be displayed.
Highlight the company you would like to edit and press Control+Enter.
A path such as "C:\ONTOP6\DEMO" will be displayed
Change the path to "F:\ONTOP6\DEMO" (or f:\ontop6\"directory name").
Repeat steps 4-8 for each company.

Changing C-drive references in the ON.BAT file to F-drive.

From the DOS Prompt, in the ONTOP6 Directory, Type: "EDIT ON.BAT"
Replace all instances of "C:" with "F:"
Save the File and Exit.

Changing C-drive references in the ON??.BAT files to F-drive.

From the DOS Prompt, in your ONTOP6 DATA Directory(e.g. F:\ONTOP6\DATA), Type: "EDIT ONAR.BAT"
Replace all instances of "C:" with "F:"
Save the File and Exit, or
Repeat this process for each of the following module batch files as appropriate for your installation: ONAP.BAT, ONCM.BAT, ONGL.BAT, ONIC.BAT, ONPR.BAT, ONSM.BAT, ONSH.BAT, ONSM.BAT ONXR.BAT ( also ONFI.BAT, ONBU.BAT, ONTI.BAT, ONWO.BAT � if installed ).

Updating PBNEXT.BAT in all companies.

The last step is to update the module changing batch file. To do this, start ONTOP System Manager by typing ON SM.
Go to the Utilities Menu by pressing ALT+U.
Select the Menu option by pressing the letter M.
Exit the Menu option by pressing Escape.
Go back to the System menu by pressing ALT+S.
If you have more than one company, select the next company, then repeat steps 2-5.

Q: How do I export my customer list?

You can generate several reports using the Xtra AR Reports module.

Select User Defined Reports and generate an ASCII delimited export file. This file can be imported into Excel or another software package. You may first want to design a custom report format in the System Manager module, so you can export only the fields you want.

Q: How do I set up customer referrals and rewards?

Tip #1 How do I create a credit for a customer that has provided a referral?

In the Accounts Receivable module access Main =>Adjustments => Journal Entry. Select the customer to receive the credit. Press Enter for the next transaction number and enter a description such as "Credit for Referral." The $ amount entered should be negative.

The "INT" or inventory interface should be setup with the appropriate Sales and Suspense G/L accounts. We suggest using a "Referral or Commissions" account. Set GL="Y" and HIS="N." (This will update accounting and transaction history, but not customer sales history.) Be sure to Post. Now, this credit can be applied to a future invoice.

Tip #2 How do I write a reward check to a customer for providing a referral?

In the Accounts Receivable module access Main =>Adjustments => Refund Customer to record the check. Select the customer to receive the check and enter the positive $ amount. Press Enter to Post.

Then go to Main => Adjustments => Journal Entry to offset the check. Select the next transaction number by pressing Enter. Enter a positive $ amount, and choose an interface setup with the appropriate Sales and Suspense G/L accounts. (We suggest using a "Referral or Commissions" acct.) Set GL="Y" and HIS="N." Now choose Receive Payment from the Main menu to allocate the refund check against the adjusting entry.

ONTOP Systems Inc.
7410 SW Oleson Road #110
Portland, Oregon, 97223 U.S.A.
Phone: (503) 977-0200 Sales: (800) 326-6867
Web: www.ontop.com Email: mail@ontop.com