Product News, Tech Tips and the Inside Scoop
May 2004 l www.dsdinc.com l 619-683-9900
Up Close and Personal
by Doug Deane, President of DSD
DSD recently held its second MAS 90 Users Group Meeting of 2004 at the nearby Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley. It was well attended and a great success. If you missed it this time around, the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 13th and we hope that you'll make it. If nothing else, it's a great opportunity to meet other users, and to get some valuable MAS 90 information at no cost.
In the recent meeting, we discussed DSD's new network security survey, how to create advanced MAS 90 lookups using ALE's, and we talked about the new 4.0 release of MAS 90. What's most important to know about this release is that it's not really a software upgrade. Best virtually re-wrote the programs from the ground up, and the file similarities between 3.71 and 4.0 are just that - similarities. There is no data conversion process per se - the data must actually be migrated over to the 4.0 databases, just as though you were replacing MAS 90 with an entirely new program.
The most important things that we'd like to stress is that the upgrade from 3.71 to 4.0 is not a simple one, it's not a do-it-yourself project, and it's a conversion that must be carefully planned and conducted. You'll be pleased to know that the time and effort to upgrade is very worthwhile. The new 4.0 capabilities, customization features, reporting features and streamlined data entry screens are incredible. We strongly recommend that you schedule one of our consultants to help you with that conversion, so that you can start taking advantage of the new features as soon as possible.
Enjoy your new MAS 90 system!
-Doug
New Online Series for Customers: Managing Your Growth!
Spectrum of Sage Software Products for MAS 90 and MAS 200 Customers
As you may know, Sage Software has been conducting a Managing Your Growth seminar series over the past year in various regions. These seminars have been very well received by those who've attended, but many customers can not make it to an off-site seminar. As a result, Best now offers Managing Your Growth seminars via the Web!
See Sage Software product and solutions experts spotlight the new features of MAS 90/200 4.0, as well as the suite of Sage Software add-on solutions currently available. Witness live product demonstrations and learn how to add more functionality and efficiency to your current MAS 90/200 system.
Mark your calendar and join us for this exciting new series.
Dates
- May 19 9:00 am PT (allow 90 minutes)
- July 21 9:00 am PT (allow 90 minutes)
Customers can register at: http://www.bestsoftware.com/seminars
DSD Executive Profile
Each Month a DSD Executive is Profiled
James Woodhead, VP of Professional Services
Jim Woodhead is the Vice President of Professional Services of DSD Business Systems. Jim has been with DSD since 1989. Jim's sixteen years in this field allows him to provide outstanding leadership and support to our team of DSD professionals. Prior to DSD, Jim was a staff auditor in the audit department of the Seattle Office of Ernst & Young where he passed the CPA Examination. Jim is a graduate of University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a dual major in Accounting and Management Information Systems.
Upcoming MAS 90 and MAS 200 Classes
| Library Master and Security | $425 | Jun 14, Jul 12, Aug 9 |
| General Ledger | $425 | Jun 15, Jul 13, Aug 10 |
| Accounts Payable | $425 | Jun 16, Jul 14, Aug 11 |
| Accounts Receivable | $425 | Jun 17, Jul 15, Aug 12 |
| Inventory Management | $425 | Jun 21, Jul 19, Aug 16 |
| Sales Order | $425 | Jun 22, Jul 20, Aug 17 |
| Purchase Order | $425 | Jun 23, Jul 21, Aug 18 |
| FRx Desktop | $425 | Jun 24, Sep 23 |
| Crystal Reports (2 days) | $800 | Jul 22-23 (2-day class) |
You must sign up a week in advance of the scheduled class to reserve your spot! Late registrations are subject to availability and an additional $50 processing fee.
All classes are held from 9am - 5pm, and cost $425 per person unless stated otherwise. Lunch is provided. They are held at the DSD Building in beautiful Mission Valley in San Diego.
To register, call Sandy McCauley at 619-683-9900 or e-mail SandyM@dsdinc.com
Webinar from Sage Software
Managing Your Growth with Sage Software
In this new online series, Sage Software product and solutions experts spotlight the new features of MAS 90 and MAS 200 4.0-as well as some of the Sage Software add-on solutions currently available. You will see these products demonstrated and learn how they can add further functionality to your current MAS 90 and MAS 200 system. By automating complex processes with new software solutions, you can eliminate time-consuming steps and improve your company's profitability. And for customers looking for more advanced capabilities, migration to MAS 500 could be just the software you need to take your business to the next level. In the convenience of your home or office, please join us for an informative online session to learn more about the right direction for your organization.
The available dates are:
- May 19, 2004 9:00 - 10:30am
- July 21, 2004 9:00 - 10:30am
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MAS 90 and MAS 200 Promotions MAS 90 and MAS 200 Existing Customer Promotions
MAS 90 and MAS 200 Family Upgrade Promotions
*Some restrictions may apply. Please contact Stephanie Smith for further details and other available promotions.
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MAS 500 Promotions
MAS 500 Existing Customer Promotions
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Up to 15% discount off Project Accounting and TimeSheet Professional
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Buy the Alerts Module and Get 15% off
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Buy the FRx Forecaster Module and get 15% off
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10% Discount off StarShip Module
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10% Discount on Silver or Gold Support Plan Upgrades
MAS 500 Family Upgrade Promotions
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25% off or 0% Financing When You Migrate to MAS 500
*Some restrictions may apply. Please contact Stephanie Smith for further details and other available promotions.
MAS 500
SQL Backup Tipsby Andrew Ault
This article is intended to provide an introduction to backing-up SQL data. Your IT department or DSD's IT Services normally make sure that good backup practices are implemented.
Standard backup software cannot correctly backup SQL database files while they are in use. Typically, databases cannot be brought off-line for backup because they need 24-hour availability. Special software must be used to backup SQL data while the databases are live and being updated.
Microsoft SQL Comes with Backup Software
MS SQL comes with the ability to make backups of live databases. Typically, this is used to backup to a data file which is then copied to tape by a separate process. This is usually accomplished by using Enterprise Manager (included with the Microsoft SQL package) to create a Maintenance Plan that includes scheduled data backup. The Transaction Logs need to be backed up as well as databases. The Maintenance Plan should also include scheduled optimizations and integrity checking.
Third Party Backup Software
Another common way to backup SQL databases is to use third party backup software that backs up live databases straight to tape. This can reduce the total amount of backup time in relation to first backing up to disk and then to tape.
Have a Backup Recovery Plan
In addition to ensuring that data is regularly being backed up, it is essential to carefully plan tape rotation, (including off-site storage) backup media testing, and to have a plan to recover from disaster. Disaster recovery should be comprehensive enough to plan for hardware failure, theft and other catastrophic events. For these reasons, current copies of installation media need to be maintained and documentation should be kept of procedures, settings and specifications.
Test Test Test
It is disconcertingly common to discover that backups do not contain data or the wrong data. Every organization must include regular and systematic testing of backup systems and media. This must include tests of media restoration. It is a good practice to restore backups on a regular basis to a non-production database and to use backup comparison tools to ensure that correct backups are being made.
For more information on MAS 500 please
contact Josh Thigpen of DSD Professional Services at 619-683-9900 or JoshT@dsdinc.com.
SalesLogix News
SalesLogix releases Service Pack 2 for version 6.1
Two weeks ago, SalesLogix released service pack 2 for version 6.1. A number of open issues were resolved in this service pack. In addition, support for Microsoft Office 2003 was added.
DSD Business Systems installed this service pack on their in-house version of SalesLogix the week that it came out. We’ve been happy to report no major issues so far. The SalesLogix OLE-DB provider appears to be faster in this release, along with more stability. We therefore recommend that all of our client who are on any flavor of SalesLogix version 6.1 log into Support Online ( http://support.saleslogix.com) download, and install this service pack. Note: In order to log into Support Online, you will need the user ID and password supplied to you by SalesLogix. If you would like assistnace in applying this service pack, please contact Mike Mahoney ( mikem@dsdinc.com) and we’ll be happy to update your installation for you.
For those with remote users, please contact Mike Mahoney (mikem@dsdinc.com) for advice on how to apply this service pack properly so that all the remote users are upgraded as well.
For more information, please contact Mike Mahoney (MikeM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900).
SalesLogix 6.2 Coming Soon!
We’ve received advance notice of the release of SalesLogix version 6.2 this summer. Despite the version number that they are calling it, this is by no means a “minor” release.
There are many changes and many new features in version 6.2. It would take a 60 page document to list all the changes and new features. However, some highlights of new features include..
- A new customer service module that creates and manages tickets from within the Sales Client. (no more having to run both the sales and support programs.)
- Automatic log-in feature. A nice option for those who get tired of logging into Windows and then logging into SalesLogix.
- Completely re-designed opportunity management system. This includes new product entry, new sales processes that are flexible, new opportunity statistics, and the ability to update multiple opportunities on one screen. Generate sales proposals from Microsoft Word, instead of from Crystal Reports.
- Completely re-designed ticket system for customer service or support. Elimination of multiple tabs that made using tickets cumbersome. Ability to manage tickets from within the sales client. Re-design of contracts to make it easy to assign tickets.
- Completely re-written speed search engine and user interface.
- VCR style buttons and new icons on sales and support screens.
- De-duping of contacts and accounts while entering a new contact or account.
- For you techies, non-modal forms are now supported and views can extend beyond Account/Contact/Opportunity.
Changed features include..
- Display the data grid and the detail record on the same screen No more toggling with F8 back and forth.
- Support client forms brought up to VB format and fully integratable with the sales client.
- Multi-Currency support.
- All dates and times store in GMT but displayed in your local time. This makes it much easier for customers who have branch offices in different time zones.
- One-to-many tables available in Microsoft Word mail merge.
- Release your own groups to other users.
- Quickly copy contact info to the clipboard to paste into other programs.
Because this is such a drastic change from versions 5.x, 6.0, and 6.1, careful planning needs to be made before upgrading. DSD Business Systems will be receiving a “release-candidate” version for in-house testing in early June. We anticipate the new version will be available to all customers sometime in mid-summer. While we would like all our SalesLogix clients to upgrade soon after availability, we ask that you please allow two-three weeks to pass after official release to let DSD fully test it out. It’s far better if we find the software bugs in our production system prior to subjecting our clients to new software.
For more information, please contact Mike Mahoney (MikeM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900).
SalesLogix
TipsProblem: When creating an e-mail from inside of SalesLogix with Outlook XP, many users get the following error message: “OLE Object Not Registered.”
Solution:
- In Outlook XP, up on the menu bar, click Help and
then About Microsoft Outlook.
- Click Disabled Options.
- Highlight slmn.dll and slxab32.dll.
- Click the Enable button.
- Click Close.
Problem: When creating a remote user or remote office database, you get the following error message: “stpExecSQL_CreateDB returned error: Invalid usage of the option_dat in the CREATE/ALTER database statement.”
Solution: Remove any spaces to the right of the user name prior to creating the database.
For more information, please contact Mike Mahoney (MikeM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900).
TeleMagic Tip
In version 4 or version 5, there are a number of errors that can occur when a users initially runs TeleMagic. Some of the more common ones are…
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“An unknown error occurred in TeleMagic. Shutting Down.”
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“Unable to initialize the FaxMan Database.”
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“Access Denied”
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“Unable to install the Fax Driver.”
All these errors have the same solution: The user that is logging into TeleMagic is not local administrator of the machine they are running on. (Note this has nothing to do with network security settings.) Have a network administrator add that user to the list of administrators for that machine. The errors will then go away.
For more information, please contact Mike Mahoney (MikeM@dsdinc.com or 619-683-9900).
MRCA California Magnetic Media
MRCA California DE6 Quarterly Unemployment Magnetic Media allows the generation of magnetic media (diskettes) compliant with the California Quarterly DE6 Wage Information as required by the State of California Employment Development Department
"Beginning with tax year 1995, employers are required to make their report of contributions and wages (section 1088 (a) (1) of the California Unemployment Insurance Code (CUIC) by magnetic media if the employer is required to report W-2 data to the federal government by magnetic media. Currently, the federal government requires employers with 250 or more W-2s to file by magnetic media. The magnetic media filing threshold of 250 or more employees applies only to California employees. Multi-state filers who have less than 250 California employees will not be required to report on magnetic media, however, they are encouraged to do so."
For more information, contact Kim Clark at 619-683-9900 or KimC@dsdinc.com.
APIC California DE-542 Printing
APIC has been designed to allow the user to automatically scan for Vendors that meet the requirements of the State of California for DE-542 reporting. When Vendors are found that must be reported to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) department, records are created in the new DE-542 contractor file and they are flagged as needing to be reported. The user may elect to print the DE-542 form for those Contractors, or they may be written to a magnetic media file, and submitted on a diskette.
Penalties for Non-compliance: According to www.edd.ca.gov/taxrep/de542faq.pdf, "The EDD may assess a penalty of $24 for each failure to comply within the required time frames. Also, a penalty of $490 may be assessed for the failure to report independent contractor information if the failure is the result of conspiracy between the service-recipient and service-provider."
DSD Business Systems has worked with the State of California to ensure that users of this module will be in complete compliance with the new laws.
APIC does not modify standard MAS 90 or MAS 200 programs so it is likely to be compatible with other A/P enhancements. Check with us to confirm that. The only change to the existing MAS 90 or MAS 200 system is the addition of the new DE-542 menu selection in the Accounts Payable module.
APIC contains these new reports:
- Contractor Listing: This new report is available from the DE-542 Menu, or via the print button in Contractor Maintenance. It allows the user to list all Contractor records that have been created in conjunction with DE-542 printing. The report can be printed in Summary or Detail, it can be limited to just those Contractors who have pending DE-542’s, or a range of Contractors may be selected.
- DE-542 Selection Register: This new report is available from the DE-542 Menu, and lists all Vendors who have been flagged for DE-542 submittal. This report informs the user if there are any problems with the Contractor’s information that might cause submitted DE-542’s to be rejected by the State.
- DE-542 Form Printing: This new report prints contractor information in the format specified by the State. They may be mailed or faxed to the EDD. This report also allows the user to print a packet of test forms for submittal to the EDD, and it allows the user to adjust the position of the printout on the page.
- DE-542 Magnetic Media: This new program creates a submittal file, for those users who wish to send a diskette instead of faxing or mailing the forms. It also allows the user to create a test file for submittal to the EDD.
For more information, contact Kim Clark at 619-683-9900 or KimC@dsdinc.com.
Avoiding Computer Viruses
by Andrew Ault
It's mean out there. Malicious hackers and nefarious organizations are hard at work to take control of your computer. It is important for you to take steps to avoid your computer being taken over for their use. In addition to reduced functionality, this could result in the leaking of your company data or even bringing your company network down.
Don't Open Attachments
Ok, it is true that e-mail attachments are often the most expedient method of sharing data over a distance. If you expect a message from someone with an attachment, then it is safer to open and use the data than an unexpected attachment. Quite often, fully updated e-mail systems will not allow you to receive attachments of programs. It is a common practice to have the sender rename a needed executable with another file extension so if can be send and received - and renamed to the original extension when received. Beware that even if a message appears to be from someone you know, it could be from a hacker.
Keep Your Machine Patched
Your IT department or IT Services should systematically ensure that computers in your organization are kept up to date. This will help keep many vulnerabilities from being exploited.
Read Web Installation Dialogs! Don't Install that!
When viewing web content, it is common to be asked to install a "needed component". Unless you are certain of what the component is and its source, do not install it. Some people are pretty quick at saying "yes" to installation dialogs. Malicious individuals and organizations take advantage of this to get people to install their software. Many times it is very difficult to uninstall these components - by design.
Scan Your Machine
Make sure and use virus scanners. It is good practice to scan your machine once per week.
For more information, contact DSD IT Services at 619-683-9900.
All prices and offers are subject to change without notice. Copyright 2004 , DSD Business Systems, San Diego, CA. All rights reserved.