AccountEdge Knowledge Base

Preferences Menu

System

If you would like the software to automatically check for software updates when starting, select this option.

If an update is found, you will be given the choice to select one of the following options:

• Install Update: If you choose to install the update, the update will automatically download. When the download is complete you will be instructed to Install and Relaunch the software.
• Remind me later: If you choose Remind Me Later, the next time the software is started, you will be reminded of the update. However, it must be at least 24 hours or more, since the last check was done, for the software to remind you of the update.
• Skip this version: If you choose to Skip This Version, this version will be skipped on future automatic checks. However, the update will be available via the Check for Updates option located under the AccountEdge menu.

AccountEdge Network Edition only

If you want lists and reports you are viewing to update automatically whenever information is added, changed or removed by other users, select this option. If you don't select this option, you will need to choose Refresh All from the Window menu to update the information you're viewing.

If you want to use Timeslips Accounting Link (TAL) with your software, select this option. TAL enables you to export your account list to Timeslips (a third-party time and expense tracking system) and to import general journal entries from it.

If you select this option, you will be prompted to either export your accounts list immediately or later.

If you want to record sales, purchases and other transactions in foreign currencies, select this option. Note that once you begin recording transactions in other currencies, you cannot deselect this option. You should leave this option deselected if you conduct all your business in one local currency.

If you want to be reminded when you attempt to record a transaction that doesn't have a job assigned to it, select this option. Note that to change this option you must have single-user access to the company file.

If you want to assign a category to each of your transactions, select this option. If you want to make entering a category mandatory for every transaction, select Required. If you want to make entering a category optional, select Not Required. Note that to change this option you must have single-user access to the company file.

If you want to assign a department to your transaction, select this option. Select Warn if you want to be reminded when you attempt to record a transaction that doesn't have a department assigned to it. Note that to change this option you must have single-user access to the company file.

If you want to enter time billing units for hourly activities in units other than whole hours, select this option. For example, if your company bills for time in 12-minute units, select this option and then select 12 from the list. One time billing unit will now equal 12 minutes. Using 12-minute billing units, you would enter 1.5 units on an activity slip to record 18 minutes of time worked.

When you're viewing records by hours/units in time billing windows throughout your software, your entries will be displayed in the units you specify here. However, timesheets and time billing invoices will display your billable units as whole hours.

For example, assume you bill for time in 6-minute units, and you create an activity slip for 10 units. Then, you create an invoice in the Prepare Time Billing Invoice window to bill that activity slip in full, or to bill for 10 units. The invoice you create will display 1 in the Hrs/Units column of the line item for the activity. Your customer knows that you're billing for an hour of your time, even though you think of it as 10 six-minute units.

If you want to round time that is clocked using the timer in the Enter Activity Slip window to a particular minute increment, select this option. Select to round Up To the Next, Down to the Previous or To the Nearest increment and enter the increment.

For example, if you want to round the actual time you clock with the timer up to the next minute, choose Up To the Next and enter 1 in the field. Now, if you clock 21 minutes and 32 seconds of an activity, 22 minutes will be entered automatically in the Actual Units field.

If you want to include items on time billing invoice, select this option.

Timesheets are used to track employee hours for payroll and time billing purposes. If you want to use timesheets, note the following before you select this option:

• If you mark the preference to use timesheets for payroll only, the hours you enter in timesheets will be used to calculate your employees' payroll.
• Hourly employees are paid exclusively from timesheets.
• Salaried employees are always paid their recurring pay amounts. If you make any entries to their timesheets, pay for their timesheet hours is added to their recurring pay amounts.
• If you select this preference and choose to use timesheets for payroll and time billing, the hours you enter will be used to calculate your employees' payroll, as described above. Additionally:
  • The hours you enter in an activity slip will appear in the timesheet (if you select the Include Hours on Timesheet option in the activity slip) and used for payroll.
  • If you select an activity when you make a timesheet entry, an activity slip is automatically created.

If you select this preference, you must also select the day you want to appear as the first day of the week on the timesheet. Select the day using the My Week Starts on field.

Windows

If you want the To Do List window to appear whenever you open your company file, select this option. The To Do List contains reminders and gives you quick access to the tasks that need your attention.

If you want to retain the sizes and locations of the windows you use in your company file, select this option. If you don't select this option, the windows will resize to their default settings when you reopen the company file.

If you want to display currency symbols in the transaction windows, select this option. If you want to show or hide currency symbols on your reports or forms, select the relevant option in the Reports & Forms view of the Preferences window.

If you want to type and select accounts by their names instead of their numbers when recording transactions, select this option. For example, if you would prefer to select the rent account by typing "Rent" instead of "6-2639", you would select this option.

Note that if you select this option, the accounts will be sorted by account name instead of by account number in the Search lists.

If you want to type and select items by their names instead of their numbers when recording transactions, select this option. Note that if you select this option, the items will be sorted by name instead of by number in the Search lists.

If you allocate identification numbers to each of your cards, and want to type the IDs when recording transactions instead of the card names, select this option. Note that if you select this option, the cards will be sorted by ID instead of by name in the Search lists.

If you want to use the Easy-Fill feature when typing record names and numbers in fields, select this option.

For example, if you type the first few characters of a customer's name in the Customer field of an invoice, the Easy-Fill feature will automatically fill in the rest of the record name for you. If several records match the characters you are typing, it will fill with the first matching record.

If you usually type long descriptions and memos in transaction line items, select this option. When you select this option, the field you are typing in will expand to show you more of the description or memo.

If you don't select this option, you'll only able to see the characters that fit in the default width of the field, however you can scroll within the field to view the text that is not showing.

If you want to click the default button in any window (indicated by a dark border) by pressing the Enter key, do not select this option.

If you want to move between fields in a window by pressing the Enter key (like the TAB key), select this option. Note that following exceptions:

• In text boxes where you can enter multiple lines of information (such as address fields), the Enter key moves the insertion point to the next line in the text box, while the Tab key moves the insertion point out of the text box and into the next field in the window.
• When you're entering line items for sales, purchases and other transactions, the Tab key moves the insertion point to the next column but remains on the same line; the Enter key, however, moves the insertion point to the next line, where you can begin entering a new line item.

Select this option to automatically check spelling each time you record a transaction.

Click to change the default fonts used in your AccountEdge software's windows.

Click to open the Spelling Preferences window and set your spell check preferences.

Reports & Forms

Select the method of aging you want to use when analyzing the account balances of customers and vendors. You can use daily aging periods of any length you like; you also can use monthly aging periods.

The selections you make will affect the way information is displayed in the Analyze Receivables and Analyze Payables windows, on plain-paper statements and on the summary and detail versions of the following reports: Aged Receivables, Aged Payables, Receivables Reconciliation and Payables Reconciliation.

You can choose to use:

• Daily Aging Periods - 1st: __ Days 2nd: __ Days 3rd: __ Days: If you want to age sales and purchases based on a particular number of days for each period, select this option and then enter the period ranges. For example, if aging periods of 7, 14 and 21 days are common in your industry, enter 7 for the first aging period, 14 for the second aging period, and 21 for the third period.
• Monthly Aging Periods - Identify By: If you want to age sales and purchases based on monthly periods, select this option and then select whether you want to identify your aging periods by months (July, August and so on), or by month numbers (1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 3+ months).

If you want to display currency symbols in reports, select this option.

If you want to print currency symbols on your forms, including checks, statements and invoices, select this option.

If you want to customize and filter your reports before displaying or printing them, select this option. If you don't select this option, the report will be generated using the default filters unless you click Customize in the Index to Reports window.

If you want to automatically display the Advanced Filters window when you print or email a batch of forms (for example, using the Print/Email Invoices function in the Sales command center), select this option. You should select this option if you regularly use an advanced filter or often want to change the form template that is used.

If you don't select this option, you can click the Advanced Filters button in the Review Forms Before Delivery/Printing window to access the filters.

If you want all of your payroll categories to appear with their corresponding year-to-date amounts on the paycheck stubs, select this option. When you select this option, your accrual balances (carry-over and YTD) will appear on paycheck stubs.

If you want to change the default fonts you use in your reports, click this button.

If you want to change the default fonts you use in your forms, such as checks, invoices, statements, purchase orders and mailing labels, click this button.

If you want to change the default subject and message you use when you email your sales, purchases and statements, click Email.

Banking

If you want to create a log entry for every check that you record, select this option.

If you want to create a log entry for every receipt that you record, select this option.

If you don't usually print checks using your software, select this option.

If you want the payee's name to appear in the Find Transactions window (Memo column), Transaction Journal (next to the date of the transaction) and Bank Register (Payee column), as well as in several related reports, select this option. If you don't select this option, the text that appears in the Memo field will appear instead.

If you want to be alerted when you attempt to record a check with a number that's already been used, select this option.

If you usually hold onto money you receive for a while before depositing them into your checking account, select this option. When you record receipt transactions, the default option will be to deposit the money into the undeposited funds account. When you actually deposit the funds into your checking account, you would then record a deposit using the Prepare Bank Deposit feature in the Banking command center.

If most of your receipts are made directly into your checking account, don't select this option.

Sales

If you want to automatically print, email, fax or save to disk your sales (except Miscellaneous sales) when you record them, select this option and then select your preferred default action from the list.

Note that the form template that will be used when automatically printing, emailing, faxing or saving a sale is the form that's selected in the Printed Form field of the Selling Details view of the customer's card.

If you want to automatically print a packing slip when you print an invoice or order, select this option. If you select this option, you need to select whether you want to print packing slips when printing invoices only, orders only, or both invoices and orders.

If you want to automatically print a mailing label when you print an invoice, order or quote, select this option.

If you want to be alerted when you select a customer in the Receive Payments window that has outstanding credits with your company, select this option.

If you want to automatically apply customer payments to the oldest outstanding invoices when recording payments in the Receive Payments window, select this option. You can redistribute the payment to other invoices if you want.

If you want to show the customers' purchase order numbers in the Receive Payments window and Settle Returns & Credits windows instead of your invoice numbers, select this option.

If you want to create a log entry every time you record a sale for a customer, select this option.

If you want to be alerted when you attempt to record a sale that has a invoice number or customer purchase order number that you have already used, select this option. If you select this option, select whether you want the alert to appear only when duplicate invoice numbers, customer purchase order numbers, or both invoice numbers and customer purchase order numbers are detected.

Note that if you select this option, it may take more time to record a sale. Note also that the selection you make in this field will determine which records are checked for duplicate numbers when importing sales.

If you enter a quantity in the Backorder column of an item sale, an order will automatically be created for the items when you record the sale. If you want to assign the invoice's number to the order that is automatically created, select this option. If you don't select this option, the next available invoice number will be allocated to the order.

If you want to retain the invoice number assigned to a quote when converting it to an order or invoice, select this option. If you don't select this option, the next available invoice number will be used on the order or invoice.

If you want to delete a quote when you change it to an order or invoice, select this option. This preference does not apply to progress billing quotes.

If you have signed in to your company file as the Administrator, you can choose whether you want to be warned or prevented from recording an invoice when the customer's credit limit will be exceeded as a result of recording the sale. If you want to be alerted, select this option and then choose the default action:

• Warn and Continue: If you just want to be alerted that the customer's credit limit has been exceeded or the sale you are entering will exceed it, select this option. You can choose to continue with the sale or cancel it.
• Prevent Unless Overridden: If you want to prevent users from recording sales for customers whose credit limits have been exceeded or will be exceeded as a result of recording the sale, select this option and then enter the override password that will allow them to go ahead with the sale anyway. You should only give this password to users who are authorized to approve sales to customers who exceed their credit limit.

If you want to setup and manage a retainer, select this option.

Select this option if you want to track changes made on quotes and orders.

If you want to set the default credit terms provided to your customers, click this button. The default terms will only apply to new customer records you add to the Card File.

Purchases

If you want to automatically print, email, fax or save to disk every purchase transaction (except Miscellaneous-type purchases) when you record it, select this option and then select your preferred default action from the list.

Note that the form template that will be used when automatically printing, emailing, faxing or saving a purchase is the form that's selected in the Printed Form field of the Buying Details view of the vendor's card.

If you want to be alerted when you select a vendor in the Pay Bills window that has outstanding debits with your company, select this option.

If you want to automatically apply vendor payments to the oldest outstanding bills when recording payments in the Pay Bills window, select this option. You can redistribute the payment to other bills if you want.

If you want to show the vendors' invoice numbers in the Pay Bills and Settle Returns & Debits windows instead of your purchase order number, select this option.

If you want to create a log entry every time you record a purchase from a vendor, select this option.

If you want to be alerted when you attempt to record a purchase that has a purchase order number or vendor invoice number that you have already used, select this option. If you select this option, select whether you want the alert to appear only when duplicate purchase orders, vendor invoice numbers, or both purchase order numbers and vendor invoices are detected.

Note that if you select this option, it may take more time to record a purchase. Note also that the selection you make in this field will determine which records are checked for duplicate numbers when importing purchases.

If you enter a quantity in the Backorder column of an item bill, an order will automatically be created for the items when you record the bill. If you want to assign the bill's purchase order number to the order that is automatically created, select this option. If you don't select this option, the next available purchase order number will be allocated to the order.

If you want to retain the purchase order number assigned to a quote when converting it to an order or bill, select this option. If you don't select this option, the next available purchase order number will be used on the order or bill.

If you want to delete a quote when you convert it to an order or bill, select this option.

If you want to set the default credit terms provided by your vendors, click this button. The default terms will only apply to new vendor records you add to the Card File.

Inventory

If you want to allow the sale of items that you don't have enough of (that is, the sale would result in an item quantity and item total value of less than zero), select this option.

If you want to enter a standard cost in your item records and use that price when entering orders and bills, select this option. If you don't select this option, the last purchase price of the item will automatically be used when you create an order or bill.

Note that you can change the price on the purchase, if you want.

Security

If you don't want to allow changes to be made to transactions once they have been recorded, or if you want to prevent transactions from being deleted, select this option. If you do need to make corrections to a transaction, you will need to reverse it (by selecting Reverse from the Edit menu when the transaction is displayed) and then re-enter it.

If you want to be able to edit or delete transactions, do not select this option.

If you want to prevent changes from being made to any transaction dated within a certain period, select this option and then select the date up to which you want to lock. You won't be able to add, edit or delete transactions dated prior to the date you select.

This option can safeguard against making entries in a period that is being, or has been, reviewed by your accountant. If you need to record a transaction dated within the locked period, either deselect this option, or change the locked period date.

If you want to be reminded to back up your company file every time you close your company file, select this option.

If you want to print a session report every time you close your company file, select this option. The session report lists all of the transactions that have been recorded during the current session.

If you want to be alerted each time you enter a future date in a transaction, select this option. You can still use the future date if you want. Note that you can use the Future Dated Transactions report to list all transactions that are dated later than the current session date.

If you want to check your company file for database errors each time you back up your company file, select this option. If you select this option, the Check Company File for Errors option in the Company File Backup window will be selected automatically.

If you want to be reminded to check your company file for database errors each time you open your company file, select this option.

If you want to mark your company file as a Read-only file, select this option. If you select this option, your company file will be flagged as a Read-only file not allowing any transactions to be added, edited, or deleted. Note that using this option will protect the file from being altered in any way.

If you want to maintain an audit trail of the changes made to your company file over time (for example, changes to transactions, tax codes, accounts and preferences), select this option. The Audit Trail report lists the changes that have been tracked, the dates and the user IDs that made the changes.

This button is only available if you have signed on to the company file with the Administrator user ID. If you want to set up user IDs and passwords, select this option. When setting up a user ID, you can specify which windows and features the user is restricted from accessing.