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MAS90/200 Tip: How to Change the Default Search Operator

(Or, I don’t want “Begins with”, I want “Contains”)

In any MAS90/200 window where you can get a list of data, for instance, inventory items, the normal default Search option at the bottom of the list defaults to “<primary field> begins with”. Many users find it easier and more convenient to switch the default search to something other than the primary field, and also to make the default operator be “contains”.

As an example, if you get a list of inventory items, and most of the time you know some part of the description of the item that you are looking for, you may customize your system to always Search “<Description> Contains”.

This is how the default window looks:

ItemList6 300x227 | MAS90/200 Tip:  How to Change the Default Search Operator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Cautionary Tale for Air Travelers

An interesting thing happened when I flew back from Sage Summit in Maryland this month. At Baltimore Washington International airport, I was randomly selected to be tested for explosives residue. It’s a simple test. A guard runs a giant cotton swab over the palms of your hands and then inserts the swab into a machine. In my case, the machine’s alarms bells and lights went off, and a paper ticket began spewing out of the machine’s mouth. Then I got special treatment.

No, seriously! I didn’t have to wait in line with all the other travelers and place my personal belongings – backpack, purse, computer, cell phone, shoes, and jacket – into gray trays while trying not to infringe on the personal space of the person in front of me and at the same trying not to hold up the people behind me. I got to place my personal belongings into gray trays with no one around me while being watched by a guard who had taken a personal interest in me. After successfully passing the full-body scanner test, (oh wait, I had to do that twice because the guard running that machine forgot to tell me to place my hands above my head,) another guard performed a full-body pat-down. Then I waited as another guard gave all the orifices of my personal belongings the same explosives-residue cotton-swab test. My bags and shoes passed, thank goodness! I’m not sure what would have happened next if any of them had set off more bells, lights, and paper tickets, and I don’t think I want to know. Because first of all, I’m fairly certain that whatever comes next would make me miss my flight. And second of all, I suspect body cavity searches might be next, along with terrorist interrogation tactics, and who wants to go through all of that? It would make for a good story, but here is where my story stops.

The man who probed my bags asked whether I had put on hand lotion that morning, and yes, I had. He said that my lotion probably contained glycerin, which likely triggered their nitroglycerin sensor. Well, there you go.  As most lotions contain glycerin, my word of advice to anyone who travels by air is this: ignore your dry skin and forego the lotion until you have cleared all security checkpoints.

Sales Tax Rate Changes for California

Most of you are aware that the sales tax rate for California decreased by 1% starting on July 1, 2011. Well, if you didn’t know, now you do. It is important that you make this change in your accounting system, whether you use Sage MAS90, Sage MAS200, Sage BusinessWorks, CounterPoint v.7, CounterPoint SQL, or any other system. Many of our clients made the change themselves back on July 1st, or called for help. I’m still finding clients who haven’t gotten around to it yet. If you need help, email or call us. It’s not difficult, but you may not remember what to do since these changes happen infrequently. We can tell you how to make the change, or simply remotely connect and make the change for you.

One noteworthy item is that the special Farm tax credit has not changed. For instance, in Fresno County, the sales tax rate is still 2.725.  So in each county, whatever the special rate was prior to July 1st, is still the same rate now.

 

For Anyone Who Speaks

If you ever need to speak, and I mean out loud so that other people can hear you, there is an excellent book I can recommend, “Confessions of a Public Speaker”, by Scott Berkun. The author covers a lot of issues that we all deal with at some point in our lives, whether or not we ever stand on a stage to say something. This book is an easy read, quite entertaining, and doesn’t inspire epiphany so much as it reminds us of things we’ve already learned or just intuitively know. If you’re not comfortable being called on to stand up and say something in front of a small group of peers, this book will help. If you look forward to being called on to stand up and say something in front of any size group make up of any kind of people, this book offers really great logistical and practical tips, and references many resources.  I read the entire book flying to and from Sage Summit last week. Enjoy!

941 Form Changes for 2011

If you need the 2011 941 form for Payroll, download it here.

This update is compatible with the following versions of Sage ERP MAS90/200:

  • 4.40.0.00 – 4.40.0.04 (already included with 4.40.0.05)
  • 4.30.0.17 – 4.30.0.21 (already included with 4.30.0.22)
  • 4.20

Prior to performing Payroll period-end processing and Quarterly 941 Printing, the following steps are required:

1. Complete all payroll entries and update.

2 .Using Windows Explorer, browse to ..\MAS90\Reports\.

3. Rename the following files in the ..\###-###\ and ..\###-xxx\ folders (where xxx = company code):

a. PR941A.rpt (example: PR941A.rpt.2010 rpt)

b. PR941P.rpt4. Install the 2011 Payroll Update.exe.

This enhancement is included in versions 4.30.0.22 and 4.40.0.5.

Payroll Tax Table for MAS90/200 3rd Quarter 2011

Effective 07/01/2011, the FUTA rate is now 0.6%. Be sure to finish your normal quarter-end processing for Quarter 2, and then download and install this tax table: 2011q3TTU. Let us know if you have questions or need help!

Welcome to the new Micro Business Systems website!

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.

 

Successful Migration from Old, Unsupported, Accounting System While Maintaining Existing Workflow

The Problem:

Premier Carrier had been using an antiquated accounting system, which the software developer actually discontinued and stopped supporting. “We had been able to continue using the system since then because the data entry piece worked well enough, however, finding entries to edit has always been cumbersome and time-consuming,” stated Donna Goliti, with Premier Carrier, Inc.

The company knew it was just a matter of time before their old system wouldn’t support their needs any longer, so the search started for a replacement. Their primary objective was to find a system that would be supported while making the accounting functions easier, faster, and more reliable.

Premier Carrier talked to several software vendors, but none had a solution that worked the way the company needed to work. The systems would require Premier Carrier to change and adapt to those systems, and they all seemed cumbersome with no option for customization. This changed however, when they talked to Karen O’Lane at Micro Business Systems about Sage MAS 90.

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