Blog | Micro Business Systems

Welcome to the new Micro Business Systems website!

Posted by Karen in Announcements, Musings on June 27, 2011 | no comments

Welcome to our website, and thank you for visiting.

If you visited our website prior to June 2011, you’ve noticed a big change. We used to have a lot of information posted about the products we support, and not much else. That was really helpful to anyone who knew exactly what “product” they were looking for. Well, in our line of work, people don’t go shopping for “products” unless they want to waste a lot of time and money. Most people search the web for answers to their problems. I know I do. Sometimes I need to know how to do something with what I already have, like get the ball-point ink out of my husband’s shirt. And sometimes I’m looking for a system to solve or prevent a problem, like an emergency notification service for my mother who lives by herself. In the latter case, I know I’ll need to buy a service, but I don’t know which one, and I’m not educated in this area, so I hope to find a person who can give me the straight scoop on what’s available.

So keeping in mind a principle that is dear to me, “do unto others as you would have done unto you”, we have completely changed the focus of our website to help you find answers. We’re still going to have information about products. But we will talk more about issues and solutions. We will explore issues of business management, government compliance, technical problems, and daily operations, all with a primary objective of providing an answer or solution. This is how we work every day with the clients we serve, and our website is finally coming in line with our business practice.

I am passionate about my business, which I view as a vehicle to help improve the quality of the lives of people, and by extension, their businesses. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you for being here.

Cyrus Aram of HP to Speak at January 2012 meeting of PMI-CCVC

Posted by Karen in Project Management on January 17, 2012 | no comments

Cyrus Aram, the Director of Strategy & Operations for Hewlett Packard, is January’s featured speaker for the Central California Valley Chapter of PMI. I have heard this man speak, and he is truly dynamic and fascinating. Click here to get the flyer with the meeting details, or call me if you have questions.

Community Medical Centers CPMO Jamie Franklin to speak at December 2011 Meeting of PMI-CCVC

Posted by Karen in Project Management on November 27, 2011 | no comments

Jamie Franklin, the Chief Project Management Officer for Community Medical Centers, will speak regarding their recently deployed electronic health record system project. Click here for details.

Ian Woodall to Speak at November 2011 meeting of PMI-CCVC

Posted by Karen in Project Management on November 13, 2011 | no comments

Ian Woodall, author of The Tao of Everest, will be the featured speaker at the November 2011 meeting of PMI-CCVC (Project Management Institute – Central California Valley Chapter). Click here for details: PMI-CCVC November 2011 Meeting. Please contact me if you have any questions.

MAS90/200 Tip: How to Record a Vendor Purchase made by Credit Card

Posted by Karen in Knowledgebase, Tips and Tricks on November 10, 2011 | no comments

You issued a purchase order to a vendor for an item. The vendor provided a receipt or invoice for your records. You followed the normal process to receive the item and receive the invoice in the PO module, and now the AP module shows that you owe payment for the invoice. This is as it should be.

But, wait! You gave the vendor a credit card to pay for the item. Now the credit card statement arrives and the charge for the item is on it, so now the system thinks you owe the credit card company for the item also. What can you do?

The solution is simple!

The Devil is in the Details

Posted by Karen in Musings on October 8, 2011 | no comments

I recently consulted with a client who was going through an audit with an outside agency. During this process, the client discovered that the staff person who had been hired into the controller position some months ago actually had little or no knowledge of detailed bookkeeping/accounting processes. When he was hired, the books were clean, and all daily/weekly/monthly procedures were fully documented in exact detail. He was the happy recipient of all these good things. There are many companies do not have clean books and well-documented procedures, so these were truly gifts.

Now, those of us who have worked in accounting know how quickly the books can become unbalanced when good procedures are not followed, and when information is not examined and verified. It seems as though the new hire got in over his head and decided to fake it. He didn’t follow the procedures, and he made up journal entries to force balances to the detail reports. That went on until the audit. Then all was revealed.

The best advice I can offer to owners or executives who are responsible for the bottom line is do your own auditing. Take those big-picture top-level reports and drill down into the details. You may or may not find the devil hiding somewhere, but you won’t know unless you look. The truth, be it good or bad, is in the details. Be vigilant!

2011 Walk to Defeat ALS

Posted by Karen in Uncategorized on September 7, 2011 | no comments

This is very short notice, but I just received information about an event taking place this coming Saturday, September 10, 2011. The event is a fundraiser walk and auction to benefit the ALS Association. ALS is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This event is happening at beautiful Kearney Park in Fresno. For more information, visit this website: www.alsabayarea.org

I am writing about this because a friend of a friend here in Fresno has had ALS, for 11 years. It is astounding that she is still alive. Less than 10% of people diagnosed with this disease live more than 10 years from time of diagnosis. Most die within 2 to 5 years from diagnosis. The ALS Association needs our support. Again, visit the website to look for ways you can help. Thank you.

MAS90/200 Tip: How to Void a Check

Posted by Karen in Knowledgebase, Tips and Tricks on August 18, 2011 | 4 comments

Have you ever needed to void a check in MAS90/200, but weren’t sure how to go about it? Have you tried to void a check but received unexpected results? Let me unveil the mystery of how to void a check in MAS90/200.

First, it is important to understand that MAS90/200 has its own terminology for voiding checks, and it may be a little different than what you have been used to. I will give you some definitions.

VOID check: To mark a check number as void.

REVERSE check: To put money back in the checking account, and either bring back the vendor payable, or simply reduce the expense or offset account.

MAS90/200 Tip: Missing Checks – Beware!

Posted by Karen in Knowledgebase, Tips and Tricks on August 17, 2011 | no comments

Did you know that it is possible to print a check in MAS90/200, and then make it disappear without leaving a trace? It’s an opportunity for someone to steal money from the company. What can you do about it? Contact me and I will tell you how it can happen, and what may be done to prevent it.

Further, accounting activities should be segregated to minimize the risk of embezzlement.