ACCLIVITY BLOG

AccountEdge 2012 comes to Canada

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:15:27 -0400

We’re excited to announce the launch 2012 into Canada, which includes all the features introduced in the US 2012 version earlier in the year, plus a few more. You can read all the details here, but the highlights include:

New Command Center-AccountEdge’s command center has been redesigned with an emphasis on usability and modernity

New Side Bar-The Side Bar lets you get to recently visited places in AccountEdge.

New Welcome Window-The welcome window that opens when you launch AccountEdge has been redesigned with new features added for ease of use.

Multiple Billing Rates-Create a matrix of billing rates, by activity, employee, and customer, so that you can charge different rates for the same activity.

Mileage Log-Whether you depreciate your vehicle, reimburse for mileage, or bill your clients for miles driven, you can use AccountEdge to track your mileage.

Manage Retainers-Set up and manage retainers in AccountEdge, keep a minimum retainer balance, and add expenses to a retainer to pay bills on behalf of clients.

And kudos to our web team for the Canadian site’s new look and feel. We especially like the Acclivity Core Values, Three-card Monte style.

AccountEdge Mobile 1.87, available now

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:15:44 -0400

AEM 1.87 just hit the App store and is available for your favorite iOS device, still at the low-low price of FREE. This release works with AccountEdge in the US, UK and Canada.

This release gave us a chance to catch our breath and fix a bunch of issues. Among them:

Fixed crashing when selecting Activity first in an Activity Slip
When upgrading from older versions, you can now save Spend Money transactions
Sort Accounts By Setting appropriately sorts the Accounts List in transactions

And a ton of little things that needed to be addressed sooner or later, and ‘later’ finally became ‘sooner’.

Now we turn our attention to AEM 1.9 (coming in June) and our 2012 Canadian release of AccountEdge Pro, due next week. This will bring our Canadian customers up to the 2012 feature set on the desktop and with it lots of new capability to support AEM as well. This will include Custom Transaction Numbers, Inventory Quantities, Item Invoices, Add/Edit Jobs, and for the first time in any country, Mileage Tracking.

We’re really psyched about Mileage Tracking and look forward to bringing it to customers in our other countries later this year. Its a natural fit for mobile users and will tie in nicely to our desktop app.

- Todd -

AccountEdge Mobile...v1.85 and beyond

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:01:51 -0400

It’s been a while since we’ve discussed AccountEdge Mobile and what the future holds. Last time we peaked behind the curtain we promised lots of cool new stuff, like:

Expenses without a Card - enter an expense on your iOS device without assigning it to a Card, just use the ‘Payee’ field.
Delete - any transactions (pre or post sync, without affecting AccountEdge desktop) or delete lines of a transaction while in entry mode.
New UI on the iPhone - doubling back to fix some UI areas when entering sales on the iPhone vs the iPad.
Custom Transaction numbering - more flexibility in creating and over-riding transaction numbers.
Open A/R - when you go to a customer’s site, you should be able to view their outstanding balance on your phone, and maybe even apply a payment.
New Jobs and Items - be able to add new Jobs and Items on your device.
Credit Card Processing - process credit card transactions (swipe or manually entered) on your iPhone/iPad.

All of those have been delivered, with the exception of Open A/R, New Jobs and Items, and Credit Card Processing. The good news is that adding and editing Jobs is ~~almost~~ done and will be in the next release (1.85), along with better searching and support for the new iPad and its fantastic retina display. Credit Card Processing is under development, and adding items will get done at some point too (although we’ve added item quantities on Item Lists and Item records). Plus, we’re working on adding:

Mileage Tracking
Quick Sale
Easy Add Customers
Receive Payments (against open accounts receivable)

We’re also hard at work on a great update that will support AccountEdge in Canada, so AEM will inherit tons of features that have been available in the US and UK. The Canadian update will coincide with the 2012 release of AccountEdge in Canada, sometime in June. Plus, once the next AccountEdge UK update is made public UK users of AEM will get a few new features as well. Later this summer, we’ll be moving on to update AEM to coincide with the release of AccountEdge in Australia, and AccountEdge International. At that point, all the localized versions of AccountEdge will support the current version of AccountEdge Mobile.

We’ve had some great feedback on our forum and on the app store. We learned that our customers have found AEM to be a critical tool for their business. We also learned that some users had hoped that AEM would mimic the functionality of our desktop apps or be able to share company files and transactions. It is a great idea and we’re constantly looking at ways to bridge that gap…

As always, keep the feedback coming. We’re listening.

- Todd

Total Weight and Units on Forms AccountEdge Pro 2012 introduced...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:51:39 -0400

Total Weight and Units on Forms

AccountEdge Pro 2012 introduced a couple new fields on forms including invoices and packing slips. Now you can add a field for Total Number of Units and Total Weight for a sale as well as extended weight for a line item on your invoice.

This videos covers where you can find those fields and how to add them to your forms.

-Tom

Adding, Removing and Updating Credit Card Numbers If you...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:57:51 -0400

Adding, Removing and Updating Credit Card Numbers

If you process credit cards through AccountEdge, you might be interested in an enhancement that was introduced in update r16.1.4 of AccountEdge Pro 2012.

Executive Summary
You will now be able to capture a customer’s credit card details for future use without having to process a sale. Check out the video above to see how this works.

The Long Version
Previous to this update, when processing credit card payments through AccountEdge, you had the ability to save a card’s details for future use. To be accurate, the software doesn’t actually store credit card numbers but instead asks ACH Direct’s PCI Compliant Payments Gateway to store the card and return a payment ID. This ID represents the card so that if you need to process another sale with this card, we simply tell ACH Direct’s gateway to charge a particular Payment ID for a given amount. This helps you stay PCI Compliant.

As a matter of fact, when you’re entering in a credit card number or swiping a card, you’re actually doing so on an ACH Direct hosted payment form. It’s being entered directly into their PCI compliant servers.

A problem that some of our customers were running into was that it was great to be able to check that box to tell AccountEdge to store this card for future use during a sale, but what about when that card expires or when you are receiving a card number in advance of a sale? There wasn’t a method to enter in a card without actually processing a payment.

In this update we now give you the ability to go to the Payment Details tab on a customer record in the Card File and remove the Payment Method (essentially removing the Payment ID from AccountEdge) as well as adding a new payment method (a new credit card). In this case a new ACH Direct payment form is displayed to enter in a credit card number and we’ll store the Payment ID for use in the future. Unfortunately, you can’t swipe a card for future use. That’s a no no in the PCI world.

This could be useful if you, for example, sell maintenance plans where a plan might not start until next month but you want to collect the credit card number ahead of time. Another example of its usefulness is when a credit card expires or the customer simply wants to change up the card. You can now easily replace what’s there with a new card at any point.

Check out this short video to see how this works and if you’re on an older version of AccountEdge, this might be a good reason to upgrade (shameless plug).

-Tom

AccountEdge Mobile 1.8 is now live on the app store for your...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:36:17 -0400

AccountEdge Mobile 1.8 is now live on the app store for your favorite iOS device. In this new version we focused on item quantities ‘as of’ your last sync. Now you’ll be able to view your quantities on hand in the item list and item popovers (the list you select from when doing an item sales transaction). Also, when you tap into the details screen for any item, you’ll see the quantity available, committed, on hand, and on order. Plus, your item custom fields and lists are now working properly.

Keep in mind, all this data as is of your last sync date, so we suggest you sync often if you need up to the minute balances of item quantities on hand.

Here is a video that will show you how all this works

- Todd -

Different Ways to Enter Dates

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:50:32 -0500

Recently I heard from a new customer who was looking for a shortcut for entering dates. They were switching from a competitive product that shall remain nameless (it started with a “Q”). I explained that we do have date shortcuts, but that they’re a bit different from what they were used to. They were pleased.

This had me thinking that maybe our date shortcuts need some publicity. Do you know how to use the space bar to bring up the calendar? How to use the + and - keys to adjust dates? And then there’s my favorite: did you know you can type in 17 to make the date the 17th of that month?

If you answered “no” to the above, maybe a date-entering video is in your future?

-Tom

We’re happy to announce that AccountEdge Mobile 1.7 is now...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:59:58 -0500

We’re happy to announce that AccountEdge Mobile 1.7 is now live in the App Store.

In this release you’ll find the ability to:

Sort columns
Create item invoices, and
Customize transaction numbers

Watch the video for details on the great new features, or just go get the free download.

At this time, AccountEdge Mobile 1.7 only works with AccountEdge Pro 16.1.3 or higher in the US. Support for the UK, Canada and Australia versions coming soon.

New Fields Available on Sales Reports We’ve standardized...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:22:00 -0500

New Fields Available on Sales Reports We’ve standardized Sales Reports so that they have the same fields as other reports in AccountEdge. This short video goes through some of the fields and shows you how to add them to your custom reports. -Tom

New Custom Sales and Statement Templates AccountEdge Pro v2012...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:14:13 -0500

New Custom Sales and Statement Templates

AccountEdge Pro v2012 comes with over 30 new custom sales and statement templates. We’ve created some with tear off remittance slips, a variety of different colors and different layout options. This quick video shows you a few of them.

-Tom

Redesigned Welcome Window The Welcome Window got an overhaul...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:07:27 -0500

Redesigned Welcome Window

The Welcome Window got an overhaul with AccountEdge Pro 2012. Besides its good looks, you’ll find an RSS feed providing tips and timely information, a link to get you to support quickly as well as a new Company File Maintenance menu. This menu allows you to upgrade, restore a file, verify, etc. directly from the Welcome Window without having to open a company.

This short video takes you on a very quick tour.

-Tom

Updated 1099 Assistant Release 16.1.2 was made available today...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:21:35 -0500

Updated 1099 Assistant
Release 16.1.2 was made available today for AccountEdge Pro 2012 (choose Check for Updates to download). This update includes not only payroll changes and enhancements/bug fixes, but also an updated 1099 Assistant.

The IRS changed the rules for printing Form 1099-MISC. You are now required to EXCLUDE any payments made to vendors via credit card, debit card, Paypal and other similar payment processors.

For more information on this change, check out this earlier post on the 1099 changes.

The video above covers the changes to the 1099 Assistant that was made available for AccountEdge Pro 2012 customers and steps you through the process of generating 1099 and 1096 forms.

-Tom

Activity Slip Security Preference If your company tracks and...

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:44:07 -0500

Activity Slip Security Preference

If your company tracks and bills for their time, you might be interested in this new feature introduced in AccountEdge Pro 2012.

A new security preference setting allows you to hide certain information from those tracking time. For example, maybe you have a graphic designer tracking their time but you don’t need them to see the rate at which you bill them out or the fields for adjusting the hours or dollars billed. Now you’ll be able to set who can see what by user in AccountEdge.

This video shows you how to set that up and how it can be used.

-Tom

What's this 1099-K and how does this affect 1099-MISC forms?

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:58:00 -0500

If you receive funds via a credit card, debit card or online payment providers (e.g. PayPal), you’ll most likely be receiving a 1099-K form this year.

The IRS is looking to collect from those who may not have reported all appropriate payments, especially those through PayPal. Merchant account providers and sites like PayPal will be sending the new Form 1099-K to their merchants.

How does this affect 1099-MISC forms and AccountEdge?

The IRS decided (a bit late) that the 1099-MISC form that is typically sent to some vendors should not include credit card, debit card, PayPal, etc. payments. If included, the party on the receiving end would likely be hit twice for the same payment.

At the end of next week, we’ll release an update to AccountEdge Pro 2012 that will help you to exclude these types of payments a bit easier. The Print 1099 function will be also updated so that it will automatically exclude payments from certain accounts; for example: a credit card liability account. You will be able to select which accounts to exclude payments from.

You’ll also be able to drill into each 1099 vendor, view payments and decide which, if any, to exclude. This is where it gets a little complicated. In AccountEdge, we can’t tell if a payment was made with PayPal or even a debit card. So you’ll need to drill into a vendor if you make payments to them via Debit, Credit or Paypal so that you can exclude those payments.

We’ve also made a few other changes to help make this process a bit easier, so be on the lookout for an update coming to AccountEdge Pro 2012 at the end of next week.

You can find a video covering the new 1099 Assistant here.

Does this affect my Schedule C?

Although the IRS is requiring the new 1099-K and changes to the 1099-MISC for 2011 tax year, they’ve decided not to require you to split out income by payment type on the new Schedule C.

Starting in tax year 2012 (not this coming April) you will likely be asked to split out your income based on payment method. (see box 1a on the 2011 Schedule C) The 1099-K would let you know the amount from those payment sources for box 1a. In the instructions for the 2011 Schedule C, you will notice that you are not asked to split out the 1099-K payments this year.

If you’re using a previous version of AccountEdge and plan on sending out some 1099’s, you may want to consider upgrading to AccountEdge Pro 2012 in order to obtain this updated Print 1099 functionality.

-Tom

Detailed Invoice Statements Version 2012 introduces the ability...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:58:00 -0500

Detailed Invoice Statements

Version 2012 introduces the ability to create Detailed Invoice Statements. Statements typically are a summary of outstanding invoices. With this new option you can create statements that include the line item detail from invoices. You might want to record sales during the month but instead of sending out multiple invoices, you can send out this new detailed statement for the entire month.

This short video shows you how to setup these new statements.

-Tom

Ending and Starting Your Payroll Year

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:25:14 -0500

If you do the bookkeeping or accounting in your company, you’re probably getting ready for the end of your payroll year (and beginning of the new year). This post covers a good approach to the end of the payroll year in AccountEdge and specifically which steps you should take, and in what order to make the beginning of the year and W-2s go smoothly.

For example, with AccountEdge, you can only print W-2s for 2011 while your 2011 Payroll Year is open, BUT you can’t run a payroll in 2012 until you start a new payroll year. So, you could run your W-2s first thing in January, but a better approach would be to make a backup of 2011, start your new year, then use that backup to run W-2s at the end of January.

There’s also the question of when to load the 2012 payroll tax tables. (hint: after you Start a New Payroll Year)

So here’s my recommended approach for the ending and starting your payroll year.

Run Your Last Payroll
Straightforward enough. Process your last set of pay checks for 2011.

Make a Backup of 2011 (VERY IMPORTANT)
With this approach to your year end, you should make a backup after your last payroll. Give it a name that includes “2011”, so you know that this is the final backup for 2011, and that includes your last payroll. This backup will be used later in January to run your W-2s and 1099s. You should consider going to the Setup menu, choosing Preferences/Security, then choosing “Mark Company File as Read-Only” to prevent you from entering data into your backup of last year once you start a new year.

Start a New Payroll Year
Use the assistant found under the File menu to start your new payroll year. Once you do this, you’re officially done with the 2011 payroll year and won’t be able to run paychecks. You also won’t be able to run W-2s for 2011, which is why you made a backup in the prior step.

Install Updates and Load Tax Tables
You can install the update itself immediately after your last payroll, but it’s important not to load your new 2012 payroll tax tables until you are in your 2012 payroll year. Because the Social Security maximum changed for 2012, these tables have an effect on W-2s and 941s.

Run Your First Payroll for 2012
You’re ready for your first payroll of the year. Be on the lookout for new payroll updates though. Many states tend to approve their changes too late in the year for us to include in the first payroll update, and many end up approving them after the new year, and even into February.

W-2 and 1099s
When you’re ready to run your W-2s and 1099s for the year, restore that very important 2011 backup you made earlier. This backup is important because it contains your final payroll and 1099 numbers used on these forms. Once restored, run the “Prepare Payroll Tax Forms” assistant, found in the Payroll command center (top right corner) or “Print 1099s” option, accessible from the payroll or purchases command center.

Close Your Backup
Once you’re done with W-2s and 1099s, don’t forget that you’re in your old 2011 backup and enter transactions by accident. Close your backup file, and open your current company file before you begin entering transactions for 2012.

That should do it. If you have questions or need some help, please check out the Help system for End of Period Procedures or check out the Discussion Forums, Knowledge Base, or contact us via the Support Center.

Tips for Upgrading to AccountEdge Pro 2012

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:18:19 -0500

We’ve made some changes to upgrading and where we store files with AccountEdge Pro 2012. The videos below cover some of the basics as well as what’s new about upgrading that will help the process go smoothly. Topics include:

-Company files, forms and other files are stored in a new location
-Upgrading now starts from the Welcome Window
-How to upgrade/move your forms, graphics, custom reports, etc
-Be sure to check for updates after installing
-New Mac system requirements
-How to register and where you’re serial number can be found

How to Upgrade Video Playlist

January 2012 Product & Payroll Updates

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:49:00 -0500

The January 2012 Product and Payroll updates are available for the following products listed below.

These updates should be installed only after running your final 2011 payroll.

The U.S. 2012 updates include 2012 payroll tax changes, product enhancements and address several defects. These updates is recommended for all v2012 customers.

Canadian releases include 2012 payroll tax changes and support for creation of Electronic T4 XML files which can be used to submit to the CRA.

US
-AccountEdge Pro 2012 Mac and Windows r16.1.1
-AccountEdge Network Edition 2012 for Mac r16.1.1

-AccountEdge 2011 Mac and Windows r15.0.10
-AccountEdge Network Edition 2012 Mac r15.0.10

Canada
-AccountEdge 2011 r15.3.3 for Mac and Windows
-AccountEdge Network Edition 2011 Mac r15.3.3

Use the Check for Updates function in your software (Help menu on Windows or AccountEdge menu on Mac) to learn more and install these updates.

Mileage Tracker AccountEdge Pro 2012 introduces Mileage Tracker....

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:48:00 -0500

Mileage Tracker
AccountEdge Pro 2012 introduces Mileage Tracker. Create a mileage log to keep the IRS happy and bill clients for miles. This short video provides an overview of how to set up and use Mileage Tracker.

-Tom

Statement Invoices AccountEdge Pro 2012 includes new custom...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:42:33 -0500

Statement Invoices

AccountEdge Pro 2012 includes new custom fields that allow you to create an invoice with your customers’ aged open balances, as you might find on a statement. We’ve also included new custom invoice forms with these aging fields or you can add them to your existing forms.

Here’s a short video demonstrating how to use the new fields, as well as more info on the customized forms.