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21st
Century Accounting
Technical Notes
How do I back up and restore company data
TN Number
90001
Issue/Symptom
How do I back up and restore company data with the C21
Backup/Restore commands?
Resolution/Workaround
Backup and Restore are built into the system. No setup is required.
Run Backup on your data after every data entry session that
you don't want to risk having to repeat.
If possible, for speed and efficiency, create the backup file
on a computer hard drive, either the computer running C21
or another computer on the same network.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND USING FLOPPIES
Once a backup file has been created on a hard drive on the network,
copy the backup file periodically to removable media such as a ZIP drive
or a CDRW (Read/Write CD) drive. Although the backup command supports
backing up to multiple floppies, floppies are no longer a good
backup media choice – floppies are too slow and too low-capacity. They
often develop errors over time, making the floppy backup unrecoverable.
If you backed up on multiple floppies and are having trouble restoring,
follow these instructions:
1. Start up the Windows Explorer program and leave it running.
2. Then go start the restore process. Each time you are prompted
to insert another disk of the set, do so, but before you press
a key to have the Restore continue, switch over to Windows Explorer
and highlight the diskette drive in the left pane to force
Windows Explorer to read the contents of the diskette.
3. Then go back to the Restore window and press a key for Restore to continue.
When you back up a company, the paths you enter in the Backup Company
window will be there the next time you back up. If you have only one
company, you will only need to select the company, open the Backup
Company window, and click the OK button to back the data up.
Follow these instructions to back up and then restore a company:
1. Run System/Company/Backup/Restore/Backup.
The system displays a window that lets you confirm the
(From) Company location and (To) Backup location paths.
The default company to be backed up is the currently selected
company, if one is selected. The default backup location is
the most recent backup or restore location. If necessary, you
can browse to select a different company to back up and a different
backup location. The window also offers several more backup
options.
2. If necessary to pick a company to back up, press the drop-down list icon.
Select the company you want to back up. (Select Choose a different
location and browse to the correct drive and directory, if necessary.)
3. If necessary to pick a backup file, press the Browse button.
In the "Backup location" field, select the location
for the backup and enter a name for the backup file, if you want
to give it a name different from the default. (Browse to the
desired drive and directory, if necessary.) Click Save.
4. To append today's date to the backup filename, click the
"Add date" box.
5. Click the Optimization and Verify Company options you want
the backup to use and click the OK button.
Boom! Backup backs up your company. When it finishes, press any key
to close the backup window.
The backup is a ZIP file with the name and location you specified
during the backup procedure.
Make sure your backups are GOOD
Restore a backup now and then before you need to, just as a test.
Verify that you can find your backups. Verify that your backup
medium can be read by the Restore command. And verify that
21st Century Accounting can open and read the restored data.
Some customers who never had to restore backed-up data have discovered,
too late, that their "regular" backups were not even happening.
Make sure that yours are!
Regular tape backups may give you a false sense of security. It
is VERY IMPORTANT to verify that you can find, restore, and use
backups on tape. BEFORE you find out you need to.
If you need to restore a backup, go through the same process:
pick Restore and then give the location of the backup
zip file. Follow the first set of instructions above if Restore
does not read multiple floppies. BETTER YET, DON'T PUT YOUR BACKUP
ON FLOPPIES TO START WITH (SEE "WE DO NOT RECOMMEND USING FLOPPIES" ABOVE).
Please, be very careful using Backup and Restore. They are
wonderfully simple and virtually bullet-proof, but you always
want to be very sure before you restore an older set of data
on top of newer. And, of course, you know to make a backup any time
you have entered a significant amount of data...
At least daily, probably more often. The backup is quite fast.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
90005
Issue/Symptom
How can I create a nice-looking electronic 21st Century Accounting
report that I can send to clients by email? Answer: Get a PDF writer.
Resolution/Workaround
You can use a PDF writer to create PDF files from 21st Century
Accounting reports. PDF is an acronym for Portable Document Format,
originated by Adobe Systems. Adobe's goal was to create a file format
that would allow documents to be displayed on any computer using any
operating system.
PDF files are a widely accepted standard for exchanging information.
A PDF writer produces PDF files that look exactly the same as the
original document that you created with Word, Excel, FrameMaker,
PageMaker, OpenOffice — and many other applications including
21st Century Accounting.
The recipient of your PDF file can read and print the file using
the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Your PDF writer can be acquired in one of the following ways:
1. Download a "PDF driver." A PDF driver is a software printer driver
that will create a PDF file from virtually any printable document.
Most downloadable PDF drivers have a free trial period, after
which you can purchase the driver for a price in the $10 - $60 range.
We recommend that you enter "PDF driver" in an Internet search
engine and try some of the results until you find a PDF driver that
you like.
2. Purchase Adobe Acrobat.
The current version of Adobe Acrobat is available for purchase
in the $250 - $300 range. (You can also usually find copies of
the previous version for considerably less.)
You need Acrobat (not just Acrobat READER, which is free) to
generate PDF files from your applications.
When you install the PDF driver or Acrobat, you install a "PDF printer"
(to file only). Adobe's is called "Acrobat Distiller." A downloadable
PDF driver will have a "printer" name or a procedure for providing a name.
This "printer" should automatically become available to all your
applications that print, including 21st Century Accounting. Remember that
the PDF "printer" does not print on paper. It converts the document you
select for printing into a PDF file, which you can then handle like any
other file, including printing on paper and attaching to emails.
Follow these instructions for converting a 21st Century Accounting report
to a PDF file.
1. When you are ready to prepare a report in PDF format, in the 21st
Century Accounting Print Select Options window, click Select Printer.
2. From the list of available printers in the printer selection window,
select Acrobat Distiller or the name of your downloaded PDF "printer."
3. Click the Print button.
4. The Print Select Options window redisplays. Click the Print button.
5. In the Save PDF File window, select a location and a name for the
file.
6. Click Save.
The PDF file is generated in the location you indicated. Acrobat
may then automatically open the file. Inspect the report and close
Acrobat (Exit on the File menu). The PDF report you generated is
ready to send electronically.
When you send the PDF report to someone, you might want to include
the URL to the Adobe Acrobat Reader in the "cover letter" email
that you send to the client and to which you attach the PDF report
-- in case your intended recipient doesn't already have the Reader.
Classification:
P
Fix Available
NA
return to list TN Number 90006 Issue/Symptom How do I record the purchase, distribution to stores, and sale of inventory items in order to track the value of my inventory? Resolution/Workaround Follow the instructions below for tracking inventory through the system in a way that makes the value of your inventory appear on the Balance Sheet as the inventory makes its way from company asset to multiple location asset to multiple location cost of good sold. Modify the steps appropriately if your situation involves a single location. 1. Purchase inventory from the vendor. Create a vendor invoice that debits the purchase to a company-wide Inventory account (an asset account). 21st Century Accounting automatically credits the Payables control account when you post the vendor invoice. 2. Pay for that purchase with a Payables check (in Quick Checks, Create Payments, or Manual Payments). 21st Century Accounting automatically debits the Payables control account and credits the bank account for the check. At this point, the Inventory account reflects the value of the items purchased. 3. If inventory is transferred from a central warehouse to a specific store, make a General Journal entry to transfer the value of the inventory from the company-wide Inventory asset account (a credit) to store-specific inventory asset accounts (debits). Since the inventory hasn't yet been sold, this entry just reflects the distribution of assets to the different stores. The total value of inventory assets on the balance sheet remains unchanged. 4. On some regular basis (for example, monthly), you need to account for how much inventory has been sold. Since 21st Century Accounting does not currently track cost of goods sold during customer invoicing, the value of the sold inventory should be transferred (using a GJ entry) from the store-specific inventory account (a credit) to a store-specific Cost of Goods Sold expense account (a debit). Classification: P Fix Available NA return to list TN Number 90007 Issue/Symptom I receive this message when I print the Aging reports and Activity reports: Period calculated total does not equal control account balance. Resolution/Workaround The messages are Accounting Integrity Warnings in Receivables and Payables, new in Version 2.3. You can configure User IDs in Version 2.3 to display a new "accounting integrity" warning message when the user prints the Receivables and Payables Aging and Activity Reports. A new test has been built into the system that displays the message if a discrepancy exists between customer or vendor account balances and the G/L control account balances. This message does not necessarily mean that there is a new problem in your data due to the 2.3 Upgrade. The discrepancy may have existed for some time. You may have posted in error to a control account. Or the discrepancy may have been introduced at some point by some other posting anomaly. If you see the message in Receivables, try running the Receivables Verify commands. Make a backup of the company, just as a precaution. Then run the System/Company/Verify Verify A/R Statement Aging and Verify A/R Summary Information tests with Repair enabled. If you see the message in Payables, run the Payables Verify command. Make a backup of the company, just as a precaution. Then run the System/Company/Verify Verify A/P Summary Information test with Repair enabled. If you continue to receive the data integrity warning when you print the Receivables and/or Payables Aging and Activity reports, go to these printable instructions for pinpointing and correcting the discrepancy. Classification: P Fix Available NAreturn to list
How do I FTP a backup of my data to Hilbert Software?
TN Number
90003
Issue/Symptom
How do I FTP a backup of my data to Hilbert Software?
Resolution/Workaround
First, try the Send Company Data to Hilbert Software command
on the Help menu.
If the command does not seem to work, follow these instructions.
Instructions for sending a backup of your company data to the
Hilbert Software FTP server using the Windows' File Transfer Program
(FTP) program.
First, do a backup using the 21st Century Accounting backup command.
To do this:
1. Go to the System/Company/Backup/Restore menu and select Backup.
2. Set Company location to the folder location of the company
to send (typically, that will be the default value).
3. For Backup location select a convenient place on your hard disk
(the root folder of drive C: is usually good) and, if applicable,
remove any spaces and special characters (such as '&' or periods)
from your company name (replace them with underscores if you like).
(The backup path, if any, you type when you FTP a file also
cannot contain spaces or special characters.)
For example:
C:\company_name.zip
C:\companyname.zip
4. Select the Smallest backup optimization.
5. Click OK to do the backup.
Once that is done you are ready to use the FTP program to
transfer the data. Before you start entering the FTP commands
below you need to connect to the Internet. Follow whatever
steps you normally take to establish your Internet connection.
Now, to use the FTP program you will need to start an
MS-DOS command window. To do this you go to the Windows'
Start\Programs menu. The exact location and name of the menu
item varies with different versions of Windows, but either
on the main Programs menu or in the Accessories menu you
should find an item such as MS-DOS Command Prompt or maybe
just Command Prompt. Once that window opens up you should
see a line with a flashing cursor, usually preceded by
some kind of prompt text, such as "c:\>" or "c:\Windows>".
Start typing in the following instructions. In the
instructions you are to type in the information following
the word [TYPE] on each line, pressing the Enter key after
typing each line. (You may see various status information
displayed after you press the Enter key each time.)
Two pieces of information you type are based upon your
situation. They are:
<email address> : this is your personal or company email
address, such as bsmith@isp.com. What you type will not
display on the screen, but don't be concerned about that.
<path\filename of company backup> : this is the full
path\filename of the backup file that you created using
the 21st Century Accounting backup command. It should
be the same as the contents of the 'Backup location'
field (where you put the backup).
Now, you are ready to type in the FTP commands below.
Note: After you type the line with "put ...." the backup
should start transferring. You should see 2 messages similar to:
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for company_name.zip.
If there is a problem with the transfer, instead of
"Opening BINARY…", you may see "File not found"
or "Permission denied". This could mean that the backup
directory (the path) or the name of the backup file
contains some character which is not acceptable ("not found")
or that a file with that name already exists on the FTP server
("Permission denied"). In either case, go change the name
on the backup path and/or file and come back and reenter
the "put" statement with the new path and file name.
Once you see the "Opening BINARY…" message, it will be
some time before you get the next prompt line. How long
depends on the size of your company and the speed of your
Internet connection. The transfer can take a few minutes
to an hour or more.
*** Following are the FTP commands to type ***
*** Press Enter at the end of each line ***
*** Type everything in lower case ***
c:\Windows> [TYPE] ftp
ftp> [TYPE] open ftp.hilbertsoft.com
User (hilbertsoft.virtual.io.com:(none)): [TYPE] anonymous
Password: [TYPE] your email address
ftp> [TYPE] cd incoming
ftp> [TYPE] binary
ftp> [TYPE] put path\filename of your company backup
ftp> [TYPE] close
ftp> [TYPE] quit
c:\Windows> [TYPE] exit
*** Following is sample output from a typical, successful
FTP transfer ***
c:\Windows>ftp
ftp> open ftp.hilbertsoft.com
Connected to hilbertsoft.com.virtual.io.com.
220 hilbertsoft.com.virtual.io.com FTP server (Version wu-2.6.2-11.73.1) ready.
User (hilbertsoft.com.virtual.io.com:(none)): anonymous
331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password.
Password:
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> cd incoming
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> binary
200 Type set to I.
ftp> put c:\my_company.zip
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for my_company.zip.
226 Transfer complete.
ftp: 96263 bytes sent in 1.52Seconds 63.54Kbytes/sec.
ftp> close
221-You have transferred 96263 bytes in 1 files.
221-Total traffic for this session was 96765 bytes in 1 transfers.
221-Thank you for using the FTP service on hilbertsoft.com.virtual.io.com.
221 Goodbye.
ftp> quit
c:\Windows>
Classification:
P
Fix Available
NA
return to list
Converting data from BPI: Print invoices
TN Number 80000 Issue/Symptom BPI Accounting printable invoices (customer invoices saved for printing) are not converted to 21st Century Accounting by the BPI data conversion. Resolution/Workaround If you want or need to print BPI printable invoices, print them from BPI. You can print the BPI invoices from BPI after your data is converted. You will not be able to print them from C21. Classification: P Fix No fix required return to list
The data conversion from BPI Accounting
TN Number 80001 Issue/Symptom The data conversion from BPI Accounting to C21 Accounting appears to be hung up, especially while doing "GL Balances Adjusting Entries." Resolution/Workaround The amount of time required to convert BPI Accounting data to 21st Century Accounting is very dependent on -- - The processing power of your computer - The amount of memory (RAM) in your computer - Whether you run the conversion over a network - The size of the company being converted If any of these factors apply to your environment, we recommend that you run the data conversion overnight or over a weekend. When you start the conversion, the top bar on the conversion status bar on your desktop shows progress of the conversion as a whole. The bottom bar names the phase of conversion underway and shows the status of each "batch" converted during that phase. Some phases actually post multiple batches -- so you might see the bar move from left to right several times during a phase. This is especially true of Receipts, which usually has many small batches of deposits. The top bar moves with each phase of the conversion; the bottom bar moves with each entry of a batch being posted; the animated counter animates during the time the code is gathering, interpreting, and arranging information from the BPI files to prepare a C21 batch. So typically you see the top phase bar move, then the counter count for a bit, then the batch posting bar move. Sometimes a phase may spend a long time gathering BPI information. The G/L Balance Adjusting Entries phase almost always churns for some time before it starts posting a batch. On very large batches over a network, the progress may seem slow. If you monitor the status bar(s), however, you will see progress being made. If you'd like to see the order in which BPI data is converted, this conversion algorithm shows the order and some of the decision-making involved in the conversion. Classification: P Fix No fix required return to list
Where do I put special charges on my sales invoices? TN Number 80002 Issue/Symptom Where do I put special charges on my sales invoices? Resolution/Workaround BPI Order Entry could be configured to display a field for taxable special charges on the invoicing screen, where you could include not only freight but also any charge that is supposed to be subject to sales tax. In C21, the way to add such special charges to sales invoices is to define one or more Product List items for special charges, including freight, make them taxable or non-taxable as necessary, then include them individually on your invoices as a separate line item. Classification: P Fix No fix required in C21 for special charges on Sales Invoices. return to list
Invoicing a job multiple times with all the sales tax
TN Number
80006
Issue/Symptom
User wants to invoice a job multiple times (for partial
completion payments) with all the sales tax on the final invoice.
Resolution/Workaround
Say, for example, the total invoice amount for the job
is $1,000. The taxable amount is $1,000. The user wants to
send two invoices, the first for $500 (no tax) and the final
invoice for $500 plus the tax on the $1,000. To do this:
1. Enter the first invoice with a single invoice detail
line for $500. Make sure that the taxable column is
not checked. Distribute the $500 to the appropriate sales
accounts. Print and post this invoice.
2. When it is time to enter the final invoice, enter the first
invoice detail line for the full $1,000. Make sure that
the taxable column is checked.
3. On the next line, enter the previous invoice amount ($500)
as a negative amount, by entering either a negative quantity
or a negative price.
The second (negative amount) line must not be checked as taxable.
(You might want to enter an item description of "Previously
invoiced amount" for printing on the invoice.)
C21 will calculate the tax on the full $1,000. The invoice Total
and Amount Due is $500 plus the sales tax on $1,000.
4. Print and post this invoice.
Posting the invoice distributes $500 to the appropriate
sales accounts and the amount of the tax to the appropriate tax
accounts. The Payables\Print\Tax Report will also show the
total taxable amount and the amount of the tax for each Tax
Authority setup in the Tax Group.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix required.
return to list TN Number 80008 Issue/Symptom Users can set "Implied decimal in currency" option in System/User IDs to type cents without entering the decimal character (just like in BPI). Resolution/Workaround The default setting in 21st Century Accounting follows Windows application standards for data entry of decimal numbers. In dollar amount fields, if you enter "1 Tab," the entry is formated as $1.00. Check the "Implied decimal in currency" option in System/User IDs if you want to be able to type 198 for $1.98 or type 9 for $0.09 without having to type a decimal (period) character. Classification: P Fix 2.1B return to list
return to list TN Number 80012 Issue/Symptom Users with tractor printers including the Okidata ML184 Turbo printer (IBM version) and the Epson F100+ have reported problems printing financial reports. When printing the YTD: Trial Balance report, the first and last lines of each page are lost. Also, the captions and account names in the left-hand column do not print, although they appear in Preview. Only the dollar amounts in the right-hand column print on the hard copy report. Resolution/Workaround This appears to be a problem between Crystal Reports and certain tractor printer drivers. The workaround involves installing the Epson FX-80 printer driver using the "Add new printer" icon in the Printers folder. Point this printer driver to the port that has the physical printer attached to it. In C21, select the Epson FX-80 as the printer to print to. You also must set the Dithering to None and set the Resolution to 120x144. If the Dithering is set to Coarse and the Resolution is set to the lowest setting (120x72) (in the FX-80 Properties, Graphics tab), the account names will not print. General instructions for adding printer definitions (drivers) are in Technical Note 80031 after "Follow these steps to add a local (non-network) printer profile" and "Follow these steps to add a network printer profile." In the step, "In the next window, select the manufacturer of your printer and then select the correct printer model from the list on the right," select Manufacturer Epson and Printer FX-80. Classification: P Fix No fix required. return to list
What happens to my BPI data when I convert it to 21st Century Accounting?
TN Number
80014
Issue/Symptom
What happens to my BPI data when I convert it to C21?
Resolution/Workaround
Nothing! Your BPI data is left perfectly intact. The conversion
program creates a new company in C21 and copies your BPI records
into the C21 data structures. Please note that after conversion --
- You can continue doing your accounting in BPI while you "play with"
your data in C21. In fact, we recommend that you run parallel
for awhile as you familiarize yourself with C21.
- You can convert your BPI data repeatedly. If you forgot to
post batches, age, and close your BPI applications before
converting, go back to BPI. Post, age, and close. Then
convert that company from BPI to C21 again.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80016
Issue/Symptom
What can I do about a batch of GJ entries accidentally entered
(but not yet posted) to the wrong posting period?
Resolution/Workaround
If you enter a number of entries in the General Journal and then
discover the wrong posting period was selected, you can use
this workaround:
- Save the batch as a Recurring Batch. Highlight the batch
(now represented by a green folder) and press Post batch.
- In the Batch options window that opens, change the Batch period
to the period to which you want the entries posted.
- Post the batch.
- Delete the temporary "recurring batch."
Currently, you can change the posting period after starting
a batch in two data entry modules: Deposits and Vendor Invoices.
Classification: P
Fix
Allow changing batch period in all batch entry modules.
Fix Available
Under consideration by CPA advisors.
return to list
21st Century Accounting data entry and report preview windows
TN Number
80017
Issue/Symptom
21st Century Accounting data entry and report preview windows
are too big for my screen.
Resolution/Workaround
If you want to keep more VISIBLE windows open on your desktop
and if the default-size C21 windows seem to fill up your desktop,
you can change the resolution of your display. Try different
settings to find a display that is comfortable for you and a
resolution your video card will support without flickering. It
may take awhile to get used to the new "look," but you'll be
taking better advantage of the Windows desktop's flexibility.
Follow these steps to change your display --
1. Right mouse-click on an empty part of the desktop and select
Properties. (Or run Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display.)
2. Select the Settings tab.
3. At Desktop area or Screen area or Screen resolution (depends
on your OS), move the slider towards More by one or two notches.
Click OK or click the Test button (depends on OS).
4. At the message "Windows will now adjust..."
or "Windows will now resize...", click OK.
On NTand XP, indicate whether you're satisfied with the test settings.
5. You can also change the Font Size (location depends on your OS)
for readability.
You can perform these steps repeatedly until you find the desired
display.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list
Long customer, vendor, and payee names wrap and overprint
TN Number 80018 Issue/Symptom Long customer, vendor, and payee names wrap and overprint the next line on certain printers. The report looks all right in the report Preview window, but when printed on certain printers, long names wrap and overprint the name on the next line. Resolution/Workaround The C21 Check Register, Aged Payables, and several other reports are set up properly to truncate long names when they are pulled out of the database. The problem occurs when the report is printed on certain Epson and HP printers. If the printer that has the problem is either a HPLJ4, HPLJ5 or emulates one of those 2 printers, the user should try adding a printer definition for a HPLJIII that points to the printer with the problem. Clients tried the HPLJIII driver with their Epson ActionLaser1100 and HPLJ5 printers and found that it fixed the word wrap problem. If the problem printer is a network printer, the new HPLJIII driver MUST be added first to the machine that the printer is attached to. Then the new printer must be set up to be shared. Then the user can add the new HPLJIII printer definition to all of the work stations that need to use it. Once set up, the user then selects the HPLJIII printer definition for all "Normal" C21 reports. General instructions for adding printer definitions are in Technical Note 80031 after "Follow these steps to add a local (non-network) printer profile" and "Follow these steps to add a network printer profile." In the step, "In the next window, select the manufacturer of your printer and then select the correct printer model from the list on the right," select Manufacturer HP and Printer HPLJIII. Classification: P Fix A less user-intensive fix for this problem is being pursued with Crystal Reports. return to list
How do I print checks in 21st Century Accounting with an approved MICR bank code?
TN Number 80020 Issue/Symptom How do I print checks in C21 with an approved MICR bank code? Resolution/Workaround The MICR solution for Windows developed by Wellspring Software (called PrintBoss) is now available for 21st Century Accounting. You can get in touch with Wellspring via the Wellspring Web site. Classification: P Fix NA return to list
The Print button on the report Selection options window is always dim.
TN Number
80021
Issue/Symptom
The Print button on the report Selection options window is always dim
and the report Preview window does not show the print button or
the printer setup button.
Resolution/Workaround
Your version of C21 was installed as an evaluation copy. You may
have made an error entering your serial number during installation.
Use the Help\About command to see if you have an evaluation copy.
Look on the line following the version number to see if it says
"Evaluation copy." If it does, you will need to use the
"Add\Remove Programs" command in the Windows Control Panel
(Start\Settings\Control Panel) to remove 21st Century Accounting.
Then reinstall from your CD, making sure to enter the correct
serial number. The serial number is printed on a small label
on the back of the manual and on the back of the box.
The most common mistakes are failing to enter the hyphen ("-")
or entering the hyphen ("-") in the wrong place.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix required.
return to list TN Number 80022 Issue/Symptom Customer reports that file opens that begins with these lines: "WARNING: Your version of Windows has a problem that disables the ability of 21st Century Accounting to work properly in a network environment." This error occurs when selecting a company, creating a company, or converting a company from BPI data. Resolution/Workaround This is a Microsoft bug in Windows 98 and later revisions of Windows 95, and is described in their KB article at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q192/2/76.ASP. The workaround we have successfully used is to install the Microsoft Network Client on the machine having the problem. You can follow these step-by-step instructions to install Microsoft Network Client. (Microsoft's suggested workaround to install the Dial-Up Network Adapter does not work.) Classification: P Fix The user will have to either upgrade their Windows software to a Service Pack that fixes the problem or apply the Client workaround suggested in the Microsoft KB article in order to run C21 properly. Fix Available MS bug. No fix possible in C21. return to list TN Number 80023 Issue/Symptom After converting from BPI, my chart of accounts (COA) in C21 does not match the COA in BPI. All of my income accounts are in the "Income" category, all of my expense accounts appear in the "Operating Expense" category, and some of my asset accounts are in the "Cash Equivalent" category in C21. Resolution/Workaround The conversion from BPI to C21 assigns all BPI income accounts, regardless of BPI "subcategories" or "titles" to the C21 Income category. All BPI expense accounts are assigned to the C21 Operating Expense category. Asset accounts used as checkbook accounts or credit card accounts in BPI are assigned to the C21 Cash Equivalent category. As mentioned in the window that displays after conversion completes, you can "Edit your Chart of Accounts to make use of the additional account categories in 21st Century Accounting." Use the General Ledger\Configure\Chart of accounts command to move accounts between categories. Use the online help in the COA window (press F1) to find out how to cut and then paste the accounts into the appropriate categories. See Technical Note 80024 for information on changing account category names on financial reports. Classification: P Fix No fix required. return to list TN Number
80024
Issue/Symptom
How do I change general ledger account categories so my financial
reports look the way I want them to?
Resolution/Workaround
You cannot change the account categories in the COA - those
categories are useful as categorizations for accounting purposes.
But you can change the category ("caption") names on financial
reports.
To begin with, C21 is conceptually different from BPI in that the
lines that print on a financial report are not based on the COA,
they are based on a financial report template. There are four
standard template types (Balance Sheet, Income Statement,
Trial Balance, and Cash Flow) and one custom template type
("Other"). You can define as many templates of any
type as you like, and C21 automatically provides two templates
of each type.
Each financial report is based on a specific financial report
template. Conceptually, the financial report template specifies
what the ROWS of a financial report are, while a financial report
definition specifies what the COLUMNS of the report will be.
The caption names on the financial reports are specified in the
financial report template that the report is based on, and they
are easily modifiable. For example, to change the caption names
on your trial balance reports, follow these steps:
1. Run the GL/Configure/Financial Report Templates command.
2. Double-click the Trial Balance folder.
3. Double-click the Trial Balance document.
4. Click the caption you want to change. You can open captions
by clicking the "+" to the left of the caption to see
subcaptions. Once you've highlighted the caption you want to
change, right-click on it to see your options. Choose
"Modify F2".
5. In the Caption Properties dialog box, you can change the
wording of the caption and/or its subtotal, and can change
several print formatting attributes as well. Change the
properties you want changed.
6. After changing all the captions you want changed, click the
OK button in the Financial Report Templates window.
7. After changing all the templates you want changed, click the
Save Changes button.
Your Trial Balance reports will now show the new caption values
you entered in the template.
Fix
No fix required.
return to list
Where is the check selection report?
TN Number
80026
Issue/Symptom
Where is the check selection report?
Customer wants to get a check selection report (hardcopy) to
mark off those vendor invoices that are to be paid off.
Resolution/Workaround
A "check selection" report is available in the Payables/Create
Payments command. Select the vendor invoices you want to pay.
Before you press the Print checks button to complete the payments
as displayed, you can use the Print selection button to print
a report that shows the selected vendors, invoices, and payment
amounts shown in the window at the time you print the report.
Use this batch listing as a payment selection record for review
and approval before you print the checks to vendors.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list
How do you change the date format in the financial reports?
TN Number
80030
Issue/Symptom
How do you change the date format in the financial reports?
Resolution/Workaround
C21 allows you to present dates on financial reports
in one of two formats:
a) Long
b) Short
C21 uses the long and short date styles from your Windows
settings.
In Windows you can select from a number of Long and Short date
styles with Start/Settings/Control Panel/Regional Settings,
and click the Date tab.
To select either the Windows long or short date format on a C21
financial report, you modify the report:
1. Click General Ledger on the C21 menu bar.
2. Run Configure/Financial Reports.
3. Open the folder for the type of report you want to modify
(i.e., Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Trail Balance, Cash Flow).
4. Double-click the report you want to modify.
5. Highlight the heading or column you want to modify.
6. Right-click to view the options menu and click Modify or press F2.
7. Highlight the substitution string for date
(%A for Short as of date, %A1 for Long).
8. Right-click to view the print options.
9. Highlight "As of Date" to view the date format options.
10. Select Short or Long, click OK, and save the changes.
Select "Period" in Step 9 to change the format of period and year
start and end dates.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number 80031 Issue/Symptom Windows 3.1: How do I change the printer page length on the check printer to 8.5 X 7 inches and add a printer? (See Technical Note 80084 for setting paper length in later Windows systems such as XP.) You use the Windows Printer Properties window to change the paper length from 8.5 x 11 to 8.5 x 7 inches. Follow these steps to change the paper length in Windows 3.1: 1. Go to the Windows Start Menu and select Settings\Printers. 2. In the Printers window, right-mouse click the printer used for checks and choose the Properties command. 3. Go to the "Paper" tab and select the "Custom" icon (scroll the paper types all the way to the right). 4. This step depends on your printer driver. Usually, at the "User-Defined Size" window, you set the width to 850 and the length to 700. Make sure that the "Unit" radio button is set to "0.01 inches". OK this window and the printer properties. Some printers may require you to set the width to 8.5 and the length to 7. Look at the "What's This?" Help for "Unit" to verify the unit of measurement being used. The printer is now set up for 8.5 x 7-inch tractor feed check stock. If you use the tractor feed printer for both checks and other reports, then you should consider adding a new "printer" that you use to print only checks. The new "printer" is actually a new profile for your existing printer. Follow these steps to add a local (non-network) printer profile: 1. Open to the Settings\Printers folder and select "Add Printer." This starts the Add Printer Wizard. 2. In the first window, use the "Next" button to continue. 3. In the next window, select "Local printer" and click "Next." 4. If you are adding a local printer, the next window asks which port to use. Accept the highlighted port and click "Next." 5. In the next window, select the manufacturer of your printer and then select the correct printer model from the list on the right. Click the "Next" button. 6. In the next window, turn ON the "Keep the existing driver (recommended)" radio button and then click the "Next" button. 7. In the Printer name window, add "Checks" to the end of the name that is provided as the default. The next question asks if you want this printer to be the default printer for Windows-based programs. Accept the default of "No" and then click "Next." 8. Choose the printer sharing option you prefer. Click "Next." 9. The final window asks if you want to print a test page. Accept the default ("Yes") and the select the "Finish" button. 10.Follow steps 1 - 4 above to change the paper length for this printer. Follow these steps to add a network printer profile: 1. Open to the Settings\Printers folder and select "Add Printer." This starts the Add Printer Wizard. 2. In the first window, use the "Next" button to continue. 3. In the next window, select "Network printer" and then click the "Next" button. 4. Enter the network path or queue name of the network printer and click "Next." 5. In the next window, select the manufacturer of your printer and then select the correct printer model from the list on the right. Click the "Next" button. 6. In the next window, turn ON the "Keep the existing driver (recommended)" radio button and then click the "Next" button. 7. In the Printer name window, add "Checks" to the end of the name that is provided as the default. The next question asks if you want this printer to be the default printer for Windows-based programs. Accept the default of "No" and then click "Next." 8. The final window asks if you want to print a test page. Accept the default ("Yes") and the select the "Finish" button. 9. Follow steps 1 - 4 above to change the paper length for this printer. Classification: P Fix NA return to list TN Number
80032
Issue/Symptom
How do I apply an "unapplied check amount"
to an existing vendor invoice? I entered a manual check
in Payables/Manual Payments but didn't apply it to the
vendor invoice.
-- OR --
How do I apply an "unapplied credit memo"
to an existing vendor invoice? I entered a credit memo
in Payables/Vendor Invoices but didn't apply it to the
vendor invoice.
Resolution/Workaround
Print the Vendor Activity report to verify that the check
or credit memo was not applied to the vendor's balance.
Use Payables/Manual Payments to apply an unapplied payment
(check or credit memo) to an invoice.
1. Run Payables/Manual Payments, start a new batch, and set
up the batch name and posting period you want.
2. Select the bank account of the original unapplied check.
3. Enter a bogus check number -- one you will never use.
4. Enter the date of the original unapplied check.
5. Leave the check amount blank.
6. Select the vendor to whom the check was paid or the credit
memo was entered.
7. At Invoice number, select the unapplied check payment or the
credit memo.
The unapplied check or credit memo appears in the invoice list
with the check number or credit memo number and a negative
amount. Tab to the next line.
8. At the next Invoice number field, select the invoice you want
to apply the payment (check or credit memo) to. Be sure to
press Tab to register your selection. The system automatically
applies the unapplied payment amount to the invoice due amount.
9. Click OK, ignore "Warning: check amount is zero", save
and post the batch.
The vendor's amount due will now be reduced by the amount of the
check or credit memo.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80033
Issue/Symptom
How do I deposit the day's receipts from a cash register when
they consist of cash, checks, and credit card slips? I want
to show the credit card receipts as separate deposits, but
tie them back to the cash register total for the day (or for
some period).
Resolution/Workaround
You can set up a special Cash Receipts Journal to use when you
deposit a mix of cash and credit card receipts. You enter the
receipts as a single entry in the Deposits window. The system
records the cash and credit card portions as separate deposits.
Follow these steps:
1. Run General Ledger/Configure/Chart of Accounts and add cash
equivalent accounts for each credit card you want to track
separately.
2. Run Bank Accounts/Configure/Credit Card Accounts and set up
credit card account(s)(at least one) by assigning the general
ledger account(s) set up to track credit card receipts to the
credit card account(s).
3. Run Bank Accounts/Configure/Cash Receipts Journal and start a
new journal.
a. Name the journal "Cash and Credit Card Receipts" (for example.)
b. Select CJCR for the source code.
c. Check the box to indent the credit column (optional but recommended).
d. At Columns allowed, select "Debit - {credit card name} receipts."
(The system appends "receipts" to the name you gave the
credit card account when you configured it.)
The system automatically inserts the G/L account associated
with the credit card account name. You can edit the Prompt
if you wish.
e. Repeat Step d for each credit card for which you want to
deposit receipts separately.
f. Set up any additional accounts for distribution, such as
the income and sales taxes account(s) as Credit only entries.
g. Click OK and save the new CRJ.
4. Run Bank Accounts/Deposits and start a new batch when you're
ready to enter a deposit consisting of mixed cash and credit
card receipts. Set up the appropriate batch options.
a. At Receipt type, select "Cash and Credit Card Receipts"
(or whatever you named the journal in Step 3.a. above).
b. At Receipt amount, enter the total amount of cash to be
deposited in the bank (NOT INCLUDING credit card receipts).
c. At each credit card prompt, enter the total receipts for
the credit card.
d. Finally, credit the total receipt amount (INCLUDING the
credit card receipts) to the appropriate income account(s)
and, if applicable, sales tax account(s).
The Undistributed amount should be $0.00.
e. Enter an optional Description, click OK, and save the batch.
f. When you've completed data entry for the batch, post the
batch.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80035
Issue/Symptom
How do I record an advance payment received from a customer and
then enter the invoice when the job or delivery is complete?
Resolution/Workaround
Follow these instructions for entering an advance payment sale
in 21st Century Accounting.
1. Set up an advance payments liability account.
a. Run General Ledger/Configure/Chart of Accounts.
b. Expand the "Current Liability" category
(click the + sign).
c. Double-click <new> or press F9 to add the new account.
d. Add an account for advance payments received.
e. Click the Save Changes button when you finish or press
the Alt+V keys to save.
2. Set up a Cash Receipts Journal to enter advance payments received.
a. Run Bank Accounts\Configure\Cash Receipts Journal.
b. In the left pane, double-click <new> or press F9.
c. Enter a name for the journal; for example, "Advance Payments."
d. In the Source Code field, select CJCR Cash Register Journal.
e. Optionally, mark Indent credit column (recommended for
readability).
f. In the Columns allowed field select Credit only.
g. In the Account field, select the Advance Payment account
you set up in Step 1 above.
h. Tab to the Prompt field and type your own prompt if you wish.
i. Click OK and then click the Save Changes button.
3. Enter a deposit to record the Advance Payment received.
a. Run Bank Accounts\Deposits.
b. Double-click <new> or press F9.
c. In the Batch Options window, enter the ID of the bank
account to which the payment is deposited.
d. Enter the Deposit number or let the system generate one.
e. Enter the Deposit date if different from the current date.
f. Click the OK button.
g. In the Deposits window, at Receipt type, select the Cash
Receipts Journal (for example, "Advance Payments")
you created in Step 2 above.
h. At Receipt amount, enter the amount of the advance payment.
i. Change the Transaction date if different from the current date.
j. In the credit column enter the amount of the advance.
k. For the Description, you can enter the customer's name or any
information you wish to identify the advance payment.
l. Click OK to complete the transaction.
m. Click Save Batch to save the transaction.
n. Click Post Batch to record the transaction.
4. Run Bank Accounts\Print\Cash Receipts Journal and select the
journal (for example, "Advance Payments") to preview or print
the journal.
5. Create a Product List Item for advance payments received.
a. Run Sales\Product List.
b. Double-click <new> or press F9.
c. Type an ID; for example, "AdvPayRec."
d. Enter a description; for example, "Advance Payment Received."
e. For the GL account, select the advance payments liability
account you set up in Step 1 above.
f. Click OK and then Save Changes.
6. Process the Sales Invoice when the job is complete.
a. Run Sales\Invoices.
b. Double-click <new> or press F9.
c. Set up the Batch Options for the entry.
d. Complete the top portion of the Sales Invoice as you
normally would.
e. On the first line in the Invoice details table, enter the
product or service for which the advance payment was made.
f. On the second line, select the Product List item you set
up in Step 5 above for advance payments received.
g. In the Amount field, as a negative amount, enter
the amount of advance payment (which you have already
recorded as a deposit) to apply to this invoice.
h. Click the OK button when the invoice is complete.
i. Click Save Batch and then Post Batch to record the transaction.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80036
Issue/Symptom
Harmless internal error: "Formula field is being held: <x>,
Count = <y>" in drill down from report Preview window.
Resolution/Workaround
In some cases an internal error, "Formula field is being held:
<name of field in report>, count =
<number of times user attempted drill down>" is
reported when you close a report Preview window after drilling
down to another report. This is a harmless error returned by
the Crystal Report Writer. The problem has been reported to
Seagate (Crystal Reports' manufacturer).
This is a harmless message that you should ignore.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80037
Issue/Symptom
What is the effect of changing the Financial Report Template
setting for "Include GL accounts" from "by category"
to "explicitly" and back to "by category"?
Resolution/Workaround
When you change a Financial Report Template setting for
"Include GL accounts" from "by category" to "explicitly",
the captions are no longer associated with the general ledger
account categories and subcategories such as asset, liability,
income, and so forth. This allows you to explicitly place
accounts of any account category under any caption.
When you change the setting on that same template back to
"by category", you must reassign general ledger
account categories to the captions. Follow these steps:
1. Run General Ledger/Configure/Financial Report Templates.
2. Open the report template folder and select the template
you want to change.
3. Press Tab to move to the right pane for editing the template.
4. Make sure that "Include GL accounts" is set to "by category."
5. Highlight the first caption under which accounts appear, to
which you want to reassign the appropriate general ledger
account category.
6. Right-click or press F2 Modify to open the caption properties
window.
7. Select the appropriate category from the Category drop-down
list and click the OK button.
8. Repeat for each caption under which accounts appear.
9. Click OK and Save Changes.
Classification: P
Fix NA
return to list
How do I consolidate or summarize account totals
TN Number
80038
Issue/Symptom
How do I consolidate or summarize account totals on
financial reports?
Resolution/Workaround
You can set up financial reports to consolidate or
summarize the account totals into a single total
for a caption, rather than showing all the accounts
with their individual totals under the caption. Using
the same procedures, you can also group accounts in a
category into subcategories, printing only the subcategory
totals on the financial reports.
The key step is to select the option to suppress caption
details in the Caption Properties window. Say, for example,
you want to show all salary expenses as a separate total
on your Income Statement. Follow these steps:
1. Run General Ledger/Configure/Financial Report Templates.
2. Open the Income Statement folder and select the appropriate
income statement template, if you have multiple templates.
3. Press Tab to move to the right pane for editing the template.
4. Make sure that "Include GL accounts" is set to "explicitly."
5. Click the Show All button or press Alt+S to show all the
captions, categories, and accounts.
6. Highlight "Operating Expenses and either right-click or
press F9 and insert a caption.
7. Enter the caption text, Salary Expenses, and select the
option to Suppress Caption details. Select any other
options you want. Do NOT check "Use bold font" if you want
the "summary" caption to look like the other accounts.
8. Click OK.
9. Now move the salary expense accounts you want to include
under the new Salary Expenses caption. You may also wish
to adjust the indentation of the new caption.
10. Click OK and then click Save changes.
11. Print the Income Statement that is based on this template
to see your changes.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80042
Issue/Symptom
User tries to preview a report and gets the following error:
"Error: encountered error while setting up report properties.
DocumentProperties reported 124 error." The error number can
also be 6 instead of 124.
Resolution/Workaround
Although an error message is displayed, the report still appears
correctly in the preview window. There are 2 known reasons for
this error:
1. The user is running on Windows NT and the printer they are
trying to use is no longer physically available to print to.
2. The user's printer selection is based upon information saved
while running on Windows NT, but the error occurs when reports
are previewed from a Win95 or Win98 machine.
The workaround is to select a valid printer using the "Select
Printer" button. Please note, C21 can maintain separate
printer destinations for checks, statements, invoices, and
normal reports. Reports and each type of form has its own place
for selecting the printer destination. Printer destinations for
normal reports are set up using the Select Printer command
on the System menu. The printer destinations for checks,
statements, and invoices can be set up wherever these documents
are printed using the Select Printer button on the C21 window.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list
Canadian customer reports a crash or fatal error during
TN Number
80046
Issue/Symptom
Canadian customer reports a crash or fatal error during
conversion of BPI data.
Resolution/Workaround
If the customer's Windows Regional Settings in the Control
Panel show a date format other than mm/dd/yy (e.g. dd/mm/yy)
the conversion from BPI fails.
A workaround is to:
1. Exit C21.
2. Go to the Settings/Control Panel/Regional Settings window
and change the short date format to MM/dd/yy.
3. Restart C21, and run conversion.
After all necessary conversions are complete, the user can
go back to the Control Panel and change the regional settings
date format again. C21 works with dd/mm/yy just fine, it's
only the conversion from BPI that has a problem.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix planned at this time.
return to list
How do I write off a customer invoice as a bad debt?
TN Number
80049
Issue/Symptom
How do I write off a customer invoice as a bad debt?
Resolution/Workaround
Two methods are available in C21 for removing a customer
invoice from the system, each with slightly different
accounting implications. Method 1 is more similar to the
use of Customer Adjustments in BPI for recording an invoice
as a bad debt in your general ledger.
1. Run Sales/Invoices to record a credit memo for the customer,
applying it to the original invoice. In the Item details tab
enter a single line that has a Description only (for example,
"bad debt"). The qty will default to -1 and you can enter the
amount of the original invoice in the price column. The
resulting credit memo exactly voids out the original invoice.
In the GL distribution tab you can enter an expense account
for "Bad debt" or whatever you want. This will credit
Receivables and debit the "Bad debt" expense account.
2. Run Sales/Invoice Updates to void the original invoice.
This reverses the receivable and all the income
accounts associated with the original invoice, thereby
reducing income (and therefore your sales tax liability).
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list
How do I look up a customer by invoice number when
TN Number
80051
Issue/Symptom
How do I look up a customer by invoice number when I enter a
customer receipt?
Resolution/Workaround
In the customer ID or name field in the Deposits window,
right-click or press F3 to find the customer ID by the
invoice number.
The receipt documentation (a check, for example) may provide
only an invoice number (no customer ID or name), or the
customer name may not correspond to the ID or name you
know the customer by. You can look up the customer ID by
entering the invoice number in the Find dialog. After you
right-click or press F3 for the Find dialog, enter the
invoice number and press Tab. (Be sure to use the correct
invoice number format and case.) The system displays the
customer in the field below the invoice number field. Press
the OK button in the Find dialog to continue. The system then
displays the customer in the Deposits window.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list TN Number
80053
Issue/Symptom
In Bank Accounts/Reconciliation I find transactions under the
Deposits Tab that are also included in another deposit.
Resolution/Workaround
A customer payment tendered that you record in Sales/Invoices is
posted to the Cash Receipts control account in the Control Account
set that is assigned to that customer. (See Receivables/Configure/
Control Accounts.) If you have defined a Cash Receipts control
account that is also defined as a Bank Account, the system posts the
payment to the bank account, where it shows up as a deposit when
you run Reconciliation for that bank account.
Since bank accounts are also available for entering deposits in
Bank Accounts/Deposits, this situation could cause an
overstatement of Deposits when you record the actual deposit
if the payment already posted is AGAIN entered as a receipt in
a deposits batch.
To avoid posting customer cash receipts twice, follow the
instructions below:
1. In Receivables/Configure/Control Accounts, change the Cash
Receipts Account from your Bank Account to a Cash Equivalent
account that is NOT defined as a bank account. (Create such
an account if necessary and call it Cash Clearing.) This
allows payments entered into Sales/Invoices to be posted to
this cash clearing account instead of to your bank account.
This reflects the acceptance of the receipt from the customer
and the storing of that receipt in a cash drawer. Customer
payments posted to this non-bank-account will not show up
when you run Reconciliation.
2. You can deposit customer payments in one of two ways:
When you are ready to make a bank deposit that includes payments
recorded in Sales/Invoices, run Bank Accounts/Deposits. Assuming
the payment was posted to the cash clearing account as described
in Step 1 above, enter a "Receipt Type" of "Other" and press the
Tab key. The "Other receipts" data entry screen is displayed.
Enter a name for the deposit. It is not necessary to identify
Invoice numbers for this type of receipt. Cash payments have
already been recorded against the invoices in Receivables.
For the distribution account, enter the cash clearing account you
defined as the Cash Receipts control account. Enter the amount of
the deposit that represents the cash payment(s). Complete the
deposit, save, and post the deposit.
OR
Configure a Cash Receipts Journal that provides the cash clearing
account described in Step 1 above as the account to be credited
for the deposit of customer payments from the cash drawer. Select
this Cash Receipts Journal for the "Receipt Type" when you enter a
deposit that includes payments that were recorded in Sales/Invoices
and that were posted to the cash clearing account as described in
Step 1.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix required.
return to list TN Number
80054, 80054a
Issue/Symptom
How do I apply an "unapplied receipt amount" to
an existing customer invoice? Run Receivables/Apply Credit
Transactions.
Resolution/Workaround
You entered customer receipts in Bank Accounts/Deposits
but didn't apply them to the customer invoices the receipts
were intended to pay (you applied the receipt to "all").
Run the Receivables/Apply Credit Transactions command
to apply the receipts to invoices.
1. Use the Receivables/Apply Credit Transactions window
to apply customer credit against open invoices for the
customers you specify through the date you specify,
starting with the invoices with the earliest due dates.
Run this command to apply customer credits that were
inadvertently left unattached and to avoid showing
credit transactions as negative amounts on customers’
statements.
This process is also performed automatically for balance forward
customers when you print statements.
Classification: P
Fixed
return to list TN Number
80055
Issue/Symptom
User receives message "Error: Unable to set up report ...
failed to create CDO32 object for table 'chk' (or 'arij'
or 'brec')... Unable to register cdo32".
Resolution/Workaround
You may receive the error message and not be able to proceed
if the registered drive and path of the CDO32.DLL file do
not correspond to the actual location of the file for any
reason or if there are missing .DLLs. This can happen if you
have multiple 21st Century Accounting instllations or if the
registered drive letter is taken by a new device. The simple
solution is to register the correct location of the CDO32.DLL
file, which is in your C21 BIN directory. If the registration
attempt reports missing .DLLs, the user can reinstall or we
can provide the missing .DLL files.
FIRST, if possible, uninstall all installations of C21 and
reinstall C21 in the desired location. As with any Windows
application, having multiple copies of the software on a
computer or on a network can create problems.
If uninstalling and reinstalling a single copy of C21 do not
solve the problem, follow these steps to register CDO32.DLL --
1. Open a DOS window. (Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt)
2. Change directories into the 21st Century Accounting BIN
directory of the C21 installation you are running.
(CD C:/C21/BIN if you installed in the default location.)
3. Type "regsvr32 cdo32.dll" (no quotes).
If Windows reports that the registration was successful,
try the action that gave the error in C21. If the attempt
gives the same error message, get in touch with
Hilbert Software.
If the registration attempt reports missing .DLL files,
reinstall C21. If you then continue to receive the error
message, get in touch with Hilbert Software.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix required
return to list TN Number
80056
Issue/Symptom
Printing C21 reports from workstations on a LAN, user receives
"Btrieve error: I/O error" from all workstations due to embedded blank in path.
Resolution/Workaround
The errors are caused by an embedded blank in the path due to
the mapping of the workstations to the C21 installation on the
server. The reports print from the server (where C21 is installed).
From workstations, the following errors are generated:
1. Btrieve error: I/O error.
2. Error opening file. File could not be opened: "<FILENAME>",
at file location: "pathToCompany/<filename>.btr"
3. Unable to get last error from CRW on an error return from
start print job. Do you want to see more detail?
4. Error: unable to get last error from CRW on an error return
from start print job.
Error: error while starting print job for report filename.rpt
Error: print engine reported error Error detected by database
DLL. (534) at location PEClosePrintJob
The customer's path to the data was: "\\server\server c\c21\data\Company."
The embedded blank in the drive volume "server c" seemed to cause
the problem. In this case, on each workstation, the customer mapped
drive E: to "\\server\server c" thus making the path from the workstation
"E:\c21\data\Company" which causes reports to print correctly from the
workstations.
The user should check the "Reconnect at logon" checkbox to maintain
the correct mapping.
Classification: P
Fix
N/A
return to list TN Number
80057
Issue/Symptom
On certain Laser and ink jet printers, dates in the Windows
format MM/DD/YYYY are not printing the first character of
the date on statements. Thus "12/01/2000" is printing on the
statement as "2/01/2000."
Resolution/Workaround
Customers have reported the truncated date on both Laser forms:
the Laser statement (plain paper) and the Laser statement (side
by side).
Change the Windows short date format to MM/DD/YY. Follow these
steps:
1. Close 21st Century Accounting.
2. Run Start/Settings/Control Panel and select Regional Settings.
3. Click the Date tab.
4. At Short date style, select MM/DD/YY from the drop-down list.
5. Click OK and close the Control Panel window.
The long date is currently only used for financial reports.
Long dates in financial reports are not truncated due to
length because the dates only appear in fields that can word wrap.
Classification: P
Fix
This problem will be fixed on a future build.
return to list TN Number
80058
Issue/Symptom
After installing and running Version 2.0 of C21, a Win95 or
Win98 machine hangs when you shut down the computer.
Resolution/Workaround
It seems that on W95/W98 a conflict between Pervasive software
and Microsoft's OS software can cause this hang condition.
To stop hanging upon shut down, Pervasive suggests the following:
1. On the computer that has the problem use the
Start/Programs/Pervasive/Pervasive Control Center menu item
to start the Pervasive Control Center.
2. You will see a screen that says "Control Center Root" in the left pane,
and an icon for Pervasive.SQL 2000 Engines in the right pane.
Double-click on the Pervasive.SQL 2000 Engines icon.
3. You should then see an icon representing the name of the
computer in the right pane. Double-click that icon.
4. You should then see 2 icons in the right pane, one called
Databases and one called Configuration. Double-click on Configuration.
5. You should then see 3 icons in the right pane: Server,
Client, and Client-16 bit. Double-click on Server.
6. You should then see several folders in the right pane.
Double-click on Communication protocols.
7. In the right pane is a list of parameters, one of which is
Supported protocols. Double-click on Supported protocols.
8. You should see a popup window showing the selected protocols
on the right. In the Selected panel, click on NETBIOS and
then click on the "<" button to deselect that protocol.
9. Exit the Pervasive Control Center. It may tell you that the
configuration changes will only take effect when Pervasive
is restarted. Answer Yes.
10.Reboot the computer.
Computer shut-down should now happen without hanging.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix planned at this time.
return to list TN Number 80059 Issue/Symptom After installing Version 2.0 of C21, a Win95 or Win98 computer pops up the Dial-Up Networking connection dialog whenever I select a company on a different computer. Resolution/Workaround This is a Windows 98/95 problem, on computers configured for Dialup Internet access. When C21 attempts to access a database on another computer, the operating system automatically attempts to connect to the Internet, even though C21 is NOT attempting to access the Internet. There are two possible workarounds for this situation:
return to list
How do I apply a credit card payment to a posted invoice?
TN Number
80062
Issue/Symptom
How do I apply a credit card payment to a posted invoice?
Resolution/Workaround
Because there is not currently a straightforward way to apply
credit card payments to posted invoices, we suggest this procedure:
Do not post the invoices until you know what the method of payment
is going to be. You can save the invoices in an open batch,
and you can still print those invoices to hand to customers
without posting them. Then, after you know the method of
payment, enter it as appropriate in the open invoice batch and post.
However, if you still need to post credit card payments to posted
invoices, follow these steps:
(1. You have already posted a batch of invoices for customers for
whom you now now need to enter the credit card payments.)
2. Run the Sales/Invoices command to create a new invoice batch.
3. For each customer for whom you have a credit card payment, enter
a Credit Memo (Trans. type of Credit Memo/Return).
Do NOT specify an invoice number in the Apply to field. The
desired result for applying a credit card payment will not be
achieved.
4. Enter a single Invoice detail Description that says something like
"Payment tendered", with a zero amount.
5. Then, in the Payment Tendered part of the screen enter the credit
card used and the amount of the payment as a positive number.
This will result in a negative balance for the credit memo.
6. In the Statement Descr. field you might want to say
"Credit card payment" or something other than Credit Memo/Return.
When this entry is saved and posted, it will properly reduce the customer's
balance by the amount of the payment, and the credit card payment will be
properly recorded in the credit card register report. The credit card G/L
account will be debited and the Receivables account will be credited for the
amount of the payment. The only thing missing is that the CM will not be
"applied" to the invoice. The Customer Activity report will show both
transactions as outstanding. These two transactions can be tied together
using the procedure documented in Tech Note # 80054 if it is important to do so,
otherwise you can ignore this fact.
The payment will show properly in the Receivables Receipts Journal. The only
thing that looks unusual is the customer statement, which shows both
the credit card payment and the credit memo. The balance on the statement is
correct; it's just that the credit memo really shouldn't have to be there.
We will investigate the possibility of getting statements to leave off that
transaction, since it actually has zero effect on the customer's balance.
After posting the credit memo with the credit card payment, the payment
amount is in your G/L as a debit in the credit card account, the same as if
the credit card payment had originally been applied to the invoice at
posting time. You still have to "move" that amount from the credit card
account to your bank account using the Bank Account/Deposits program, as
described in the Help topic "Depositing Credit Card Receipts."
When you do this deposit step, you don't need to do a separate receipt
for each credit card payment. A single receipt for the daily total should
be sufficient.
Classification:P
Fix
Future release.
return to list TN Number
80063
Issue/Symptom
After installing Version 2.0, when user tries to run C21 they
get an error stating that "W3BTRV7.DLL" could not be found.
Resolution/Workaround
This is caused by the PATH environment variable not referencing
the PVSW\BIN folder as it should after the Pervasive install.
To verify that this is the cause of the problem, start a DOS box
(MSDos Prompt in W98, Command Prompt in NT). Type "path"
and press Enter. Search the resulting path string for reference to
the pvsw\bin folder. There MUST be one! If it is there,
then there is a different problem and this tech note does not apply.
If the PATH does not include a pvsw\bin folder, there are
three possible causes of the problem. The most likely is that the
PATH is incorrectly set up in the \autoexec.bat file. To check this,
1. Go to Start/Run, enter "notepad c:\autoexec.bat" and click OK.
2. Look for a line that says PATH or set PATH= and make sure that everything
to the right of the space or = is enclosed in quotes. For example, change
PATH c:\pvsw\bin;%PATH%
to
PATH "c:\pvsw\bin;%PATH%"
3. Be sure to change ALL lines that set the PATH to have the value
completely enclosed in quotes, not just the one that adds pvsw\bin
to the path.
It might be a following statement that causes the problem. The
problem is caused by elements in the path list that contain
blanks - if not quoted, they will cause the path statement to only
get part of the list.
4. Use the File/Save, then File/Exit menu to quit. The system will have
to be rebooted for any changes to be effective.
If there is no line at all in the autoexec.bat file that references
pvsw\bin, then the Pervasive installation must not have completed
successfully. In this case, use the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs
program to uninstall Pervasive.SQL 2000 and then reinstall it.
Classification: P
Fix
A programmatic fix is being researched.
return to list TN Number
80064
Issue/Symptom
After installing C21 Version 2.0, a DOS application that uses
Btrieve can no longer access its data files. Common error
status is 20. One application that had this problem
is the Dumphy tax prep package.
Resolution/Workaround
Problem occurs on W95, W98, and Windows ME systems. The problem
is due to the fact that old Btrieve DOS apps need a special
piece of Pervasive in order to access their data using the
new PVSW engine. Go to Start/Run and run the "btrbox95"
application. You should see a new icon in the system tray at the
lower right of the screen. Dos applications should now run OK.
This program is also available in the
Start/Programs/Pervasive/Pervasive2000/Utilities/BtrBox95 command.
No problems running DOS apps on Windows NT or Windows 2000
systems have been reported so far.
Classification: P
Fix
NA
return to list
What are printer manufacturer Web sites where I can go
TN Number 80067 Issue/Symptom What are printer manufacturer Web sites where I can go to download the latest printer drivers? Resolution/Workaround When users have printing problems, especially on forms (checks, invoices, statements, 1099s, and W-2s), make sure that they have the latest version of the appropriate printer driver before trying to determine what the problem is. Frequently, downloading current printer drivers from the manufacturer resolves the problem. Web sites for common printer vendors: HP: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html Brother: http://www.brother.com/E-ftp/softwin1.html Epson: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/index.jsp Lexmark: http://www.lexmark.com/us_home.html Okidata: http://www.okidata.com/ Panasonic: http://www.panasonic.com/support/software/printers.html QMS: http://www.qms.com/usa.html Classification: P Fix Install current printer driver and try again. Fix Available NA return to list TN Number
80068
Issue/Symptom
There are too many transactions to reconcile when I convert my
data from BPI to 21st Century. I want to use use bank
reconciliation in C21 but don't know how to get started.
Resolution/Workaround
If you didn't use BPI Bank Reconciliation or if your BPI data
was set up in certain ways, the data conversion may bring across
a very large number of old bank transactions that show up as
unreconciled for the bank account you select the first time you
open the 21st Century Accounting Bank Accounts/Reconciliation window.
For your first reconciliation, you may simply want to mark those
old transactions as cleared. You can enter any Statement Opening
Balance that is necessary to force the numbers to agree so that you
can "Finish" (that is, "post") the reconciliation.
Then, the next time you run Reconciliation, only current bank
transactions will show up to be reconciled with your bank statement.
For that reconciliation, you enter the correct Statement Opening
Balance from the bank statement.
We recommend that you keep all general ledger bank accounts "pure"
— so that the C21 general ledger bank accounts reflect only the
transactions that actually pass through the accounts at your bank.
Press the Shift+F1 keys for window level Help for Reconciliation.
Right-click at any field (even read-only fields you can't tab into)
and select Help from the options menu for information about that field.
Classification: P
Fix
N/A
return to list
What forms (checks, invoices, and statements) does
TN Number
80069
Issue/Symptom
What forms (checks, invoices, and statements) does 21st Century
Accounting support?
Resolution/Workaround
21st Century Accounting currently supports the following
Deluxe forms:
Provider / Form Form # Envelope #
---------------------------------------------------------------
Dynamic Systems
Laser Stub/Check/Stub HIL-2123 DW-84 & SS-DW-84
Laser Check/Stub/Stub HIL-2113
Tractor check HIL-1313
---------------------------------------------------------------
PrintBoss (Wellspring Software)
Check 532xx
---------------------------------------------------------------
Deluxe Forms
Stub/Check/Stub check 81175 91564
Check/Stub/Stub check 81064 91534
8.5x7.0 Tractor check 91175 91564
Laser Invoice (Deluxe) 81319 91503 (one window)
91551 (two windows)
C21 plain paper Invoice Plain paper 91503 (one window)
91551 (two windows)
Tractor Invoice 91319 91503 (one window)
91551 (two windows)
Side by side Laser Stmt. 80405 91551 (two windows)
91503 (one window)
C21 plain paper Stmt. Plain paper 91551 (two windows)
91503 (one window)
Tractor Stmt. 91328 91500 (two windows)
91508 (one window)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Classification:P
Fix
NA
return to list
How do I collate copies of forms such as checks?
TN Number
80083
Issue/Symptom
How do I collate copies of forms such as checks?
Resolution/Workaround
Here are some general guidelines for handling copies and collation
for special forms, using checks as an example.
Most newer printers support printing copies configured as --
"Collated" (check1, check2, check3, check1, check2, check3) or
"Uncollated" (check1, check1, check2, check2, check3, check3)
1. Run the System/Company/Preferences command and go to the Forms tab.
Set Copies to the number you want to print (including the original).
(To collate correctly, you also must indicate the number of copies
in the printer setup window, in Step 2 below.)
2. Go to Windows Settings/Control Panel/Printers, highlight the
printer you use to print checks, right-click on the printer name,
and select Properties from the menu.
Find and click Printing Preferences. Set Copies to the number
you want to print (including the original) and turn Collate off or on
as you desire. Then restart the 21st Century accounting program and
print some checks. If this works the way you intend and you do not
use the printer for other purposes, the setting is correct.
(The Printer Properties interface is different for different
versions of Windows, so this note can't tell you exactly where
to find Printing Preferences or the Collate/Uncollate setting.)
If you use the printer for other purposes, we suggest that in Windows
Settings/Control Panel/Printers, you add a new printer definition that
is for the same physical printer, but one that you can configure solely
for the number of copies of checks to print and whether or not to collate.
Then in 21st Century accounting software Preferences, select that printer
definition as the check printer and configure it for the number of
desired copies of each check.
Classification:
P
Fix Available
NA
return to list TN Number 80084 Issue/Symptom Windows XP: When I print 8.5 X 7-inch checks on a tractor feed printer, the printer advances for a 8.5 x 11-inch form rather than a 8.5 x 7-inch form. How do I change the printer page length? Resolution/Workaround If your tractor printer driver supports printing custom forms, you need to use a custom form with a paper size of 8.5 X 7 inches. Follow the general guidelines below. The instructions below apply to computers running XP SP2. Use these steps as a guide to identifying the appropriate commands. Other operating systems such as Windows 2000 may differ slightly in details. 1. Run Windows Start/Settings/Control Panel/Printers. In the Printers window, run File/Server Properties. 2. In the Forms window, click to check the box at "Create a new form." 3. In the "Form name" field, type a name, such as "7-inch check form." 4. In the "Form descriptions" panel, click "English" and enter the Paper size: Width = 8.5 in Height = 7 in For "Printer area margins," enter the smallest margins your printer will accept. 5. Click "Save form" and close the Print Server Properties window. 6. Still in the Printers window, highlight your printer, right-click, select Properties, then click the Printing Preferences button. 7. Click the Advanced button. 8. In the Advanced Options window, make sure that your custom form from Steps 3 - 5 above, "7-inch check form" (or whatever you named the form) is the "Paper Size" and that the other settings are correct. 9. Click the buttons OK, Apply, and Print to approve your selections and close the window. Now start 21st Century Accounting and select your company. 1. Run System/Company/Preferences and select the Forms tab. 2. At Checks, select the 7-inch check form (Deluxe Tractor Check 091175, for example) and click the Select Printer button. 3. Select your tractor printer, click the Preferences button, then the Advanced button. 4. In the Advanced Options window, make sure that your custom form from Steps 3 - 5 above, "7-inch check form" (or whatever you named the form) is the "Paper Size" and that the other settings are correct. 5. Click the buttons OK, Apply, and OK to approve the selections and close the window. Now test the check on a 7-inch check form: Click the Preview button and view the test form. Load some paper that prints 7-inch check forms in your tractor printer, and click the printer icon in the top border of the report Preview window. Problems printing a 7-inch check on a tractor-feed (also called impact) printer may be because your printer does not support custom forms on your Windows operating system. Consult your local computer expert and/or printer specialist. If you use the tractor feed printer for both checks and other reports, then you should consider adding a new "printer" that you use to print only checks. The new "printer" is actually a new profile for your existing printer. Follow the instructions in Technical Note 80085. Classification: P Fix Available NA return to list TN Number 80085 Issue/Symptom I want to use my tractor feed printer for both checks and other reports without having to switch Printing Preferences back and forth. The guidelines below show you how to add a new "printer" that is actually a new profile for your existing printer with different Printing Preferences. The order and wording of the windows may differ according to your version of the Windows operating system. Follow these guidelines to add a local (non-network) printer profile: 1. Run Start/Settings/Printers and select "Add a printer." This starts the Add Printer Wizard. 2. In the first Wizard window, use the "Next" button to continue. 3. In the next window, select "Local printer ..." and click "Next." 4. The next window asks which port to use. Accept the highlighted port and click "Next." 5. In the next window, select the manufacturer of your printer and then select the correct printer model from the list on the right. Click the "Next" button. 6. In the next window, turn ON the "Keep existing driver (recommended)" radio button and then click the "Next" button. 7. In the Printer name window, type "Checks" at the end of the name of your printer, which is provided as the default. The next question asks if you want this printer to be the default printer. Accept the default of "No" and then click "Next." 8. In the Printer Sharing window, select the option to share the printer and enter a name or to not share, according to your company procedures, and click "Next." 9. The final window asks if you want to print a test page. Click "Yes," click the "Next" button, then click the "Finish" button on the Add Printer Wizard summary page. 10.Change the Printing Preferences for this printer by running Start/ Settings/Printers, Properties, Printing Preferences. Select the preferences that are appropriate for your check forms. Click the "Advanced" button on the Paper/Quality tab and select the custom paper size if you use the 7-inch check form. (See Technical Note 80084.) Follow these guidelines to add a network printer profile: 1. Run Start/Settings/Printers and select "Add a printer." This starts the Add Printer Wizard. 2. In the first Wizard window, use the "Next" button to continue. 3. In the next window, select "A network printer ..." and click "Next." 4. In the "What printer do you want to connect to?" window, select the appropriate option for connecting to your network printer. (You may want to ask your network administrator for help.) Click "Next" and select the printer if you chose that option. Click "Next." 7. In the Default Printer window, accept the default of "No" and then click "Next." 9. The final window asks if you want to print a test page. Click "Yes," click the "Next" button, then click the "Finish" button on the Add Printer Wizard summary page. 10.Change the Printing Preferences for this printer by running Start/ Settings/Printers, Properties, Printing Preferences. Select the preferences that are appropriate for your check forms. Click the "Advanced" button on the Paper/Quality tab and select the custom paper size if you use the 7-inch check form. (See Technical Note 80084.) Classification: P Fix NA return to list TN Number
80073
Issue/Symptom
Some Win98 users' problems in 21st Century Accounting are solved
by running MSCONFIG and turning off some programs that Windows
loads when you start up.
Resolution/Workaround
Various memory, printing, and network performance problems are
solved when Win98users run the msconfig program and turn off applications
that do not seem to be required. These probably include Windows
programs users are not even aware of. Follow these steps on a
Win98 computer:
1. On the Windows menu, run Start/Run.
2. Enter msconfig in the "Open" box and click OK.
3. Select the Startup tab in the System Configuration window.
4. Uncheck the boxes that refer to programs you don't ever use,
specifically LoadPowerProfile on desktops (not laptops)
and any programs you downloaded from the Internet but don't
often use (such as, for example, RealPlayer).
5. Leave checked the boxes for Scanregistry, Taskmonitor, Systray,
and Pervasive.
6. Click Apply and reboot if required.
Classification: P
Fix
No fix required.
return to list
Version 2.1C has a problem that causes Finance Charges and
TN Number
80074
Issue/Symptom
Version 2.1C has a problem that causes Finance Charges and
Recurring Charges to post incorrectly. (The posting code
has not changed and is correct; the batch is created incorrectly.)
All FCs or RCs in the run are posted to the first customer in
the list of eligible customers.
Resolution/Workaround
If you have run into the Finance Charges or Recurring Charges
problem that posts incorrect charges, run the following recovery
procedure.
1. Install Version 2.1D.
2. Run the Receivables/Finance Charges or Receivables/Recurring
Charges command.
3. Click the Void button.
4. Enter the Transaction date on which the incorrect entries were
posted.
5. Click OK.
The Invoice Updates window opens, showing the entries
(invoices with a status of "Void") that were created
automatically by voiding the posted charges.
6. Review the Invoice Updates in the batch, if you wish. You can delete the
Invoice Updates you do not want to post.
7. Post the batch of Invoices Updates created by the Void utility.
8. Run the Finance Charges or Recurring Charges command again to generate
the correct charges for each affected customer.
Classification: P
Fix Available
2.1D.
return to list
Where can I get Windows training and tips for new users?
TN Number 80075 Issue/Symptom Where can I get Windows training and tips? I am a new Windows user. Resolution/Workaround Go to the following sites on the Web for information about Windows, online tutorials, recommended books, and other training tools for new Windows users. (The following URLs were valid at the time this technical note was published. Go to the site's Home page if you aren't sure you are in the right place.) http://www.learnthat.com/courses/computer/windows/ http://www.geekgirls.com/index.htm Use your search engine to find more sources for Windows training on the Internet. Classification: P Fix Available NA return to list
How can I import general journal entries into 21st Century Accounting?
TN Number
80076
Issue/Symptom
How can I import general journal entries into 21st Century Accounting?
Resolution/Workaround
An Add-In program to C21 is available for importing general journal
entries in the same format that BPI could import. This Add-In program
is available to customers free of charge.
Currently there is no "generic" format for importing
general journal entries from another application into C21.
Applications that generate data to be imported generate their
data in a wide variety of formats. Each format must be analyzed
separately for import.
Customers who want to import general journal entries in
custom formats can buy a customized Add-In program for $250.
To develop a customized Add-In program that imports your
general journal entries, we require:
1. A sample import file
2. A description of the data in the file.
Classification: P
Fix Available NA
return to list TN Number
80077
Issue/Symptom
When you void a receipt that included credit card deposits,
only the first part of the transaction is voided.
A deposit that contains a cash receipts journal entry that
included credit card deposits is posted in the Deposits Journal
as two separate entries:
(a) one for the cash receipt
(b) and one for the transfer of the credit card deposit
from the credit card account (assigned in
Bank Accounts/Configure/CC Accounts) into the bank account.
When the receipt is voided using the Bank Accounts/Void/Receipts
command, only the first part of the transaction (a) is voided.
Resolution/Workaround
To properly void the second part of the receipt (b) so that
it is recorded in the Deposits Journal, you can enter
a negative receipt. Follow these steps:
1. Run the Bank Accounts/Deposits command.
2. Start a new deposit for the correct bank account.
3. Enter a new "Other" receipt for the negative
of the amount of the original credit card deposit.
4. Enter the credit card account for that credit card
(assigned in Bank Accounts/Configure/CC Accounts)
as the G/L distribution account, and post.
The bank account for the deposit will be credited and
the credit card clearing account will be debited,
thus reversing the (b) part of the original deposit.
You could use a general journal entry to credit/debit
the G/L accounts properly, but the entry would not show
in the Deposits Journal.
Example:
Suppose you originally enter a cash receipts journal deposit
for a total of $500 cash and $200 Visa receipts
(total of $700 income). The transaction shows on the
Deposits Journal as RJ-nnnnnn for a total of $500,
and deposit xxxxxxxx:Visa for a total of $200.
You use the Bank Accounts/Void/Receipts command to void
the RJ-nnnnnn transaction, but it won't let you pick
the xxxxxxxx:Visa transaction to void. To void that part
of the transaction, use Bank Accounts/Deposits, following
Steps 1 - 4 above. Enter a new "other" receipt for a total
of -$200, selecting the Visa credit card account as the
affected G/L account. Enter "void xxxxxxxx:Visa" in the
statement description field of the deposit screen, and post.
The Deposits Journal will now show 4 entries for this voided
transaction: the original RJ-nnnnnn and xxxxxxxx:Visa deposit,
a RJ-nnnnnnV entry and a new RJ-yyyyyyy entry for the
final negative receipt.
Classification: P
Fix Available Future Revision
return to list
How to record Payroll advances in 21st Century Accounting.
TN Number
80078
Issue/Symptom
How to record Payroll advances in 21st Century Accounting
Resolution/Workaround
The following is the most efficient way to pay and account
for a Payroll advance in 21st Century Accounting.
1. Create an asset account in your chart of accounts
called "A/R - Payroll Advances" (if you don"t already have one).
Be sure to put the account in the Current Asset category.
2. Create a Deduction factor in Payroll. Call it "Advance".
The deduction should NOT be subject to any taxes. Employee
contribution method is "Amount per pay period" and G/L Account is set to
the asset account in step 1. Ignore any warning messages about the
account.
3. Configure employees who may receive advances to have
the "Advance" factor. Set the default amount to zero.
4. When you want to issue an advance check, go into Calculate Payroll,
select the pay frequency containing the employee who is getting
the advance, select that employee and press F2.
Zero out all other income and deduction factors. Be sure to zero out any
accrual hours (e.g. sick or vacation), as this paycheck is not intended to
reflect time worked. Find the "Advance" deduction factor and enter a negative
amount for the amount of the advance check. Net pay should reflect that
amount, and the tax and deduction fields should all still show zero.
5. Print the check and close the pay period. The asset
account in the COA will be debited to reflect the fact that there is a
receivable from the employee, while the bank account is credited to reflect
the check amount. None of the tax liability accounts are involved.
6. In subsequent normal Payroll runs, you can have the employee pay
back the advance. When the pay is calculated for the employee who
received the advance, enter a positive number in the "Advance"
factor to show that pay is being deducted. Taxes will be calculated
based on the employee"s normal earnings, the payback on the advance
is deducted from the Net pay after taxes.
After the checks are printed, the asset account will be credited for the
amount of advance paid back on the check.
7. If it is desirable to have a scheduled payback from the employee
(e.g. pay back the advance in installments), you can configure the
employee and put in a number for the amount that is to be repaid
on each pay check. That amount will automatically show in each
subsequent paycheck. You will have to manually remember when to remove that
factor (or set the amount to zero) when the entire advance has been
repaid.
A nice feature of paying advances in this way is that the "Advance"
deduction shows on the earnings report for employees only when the value
is nonzero. Therefore, any employee who either needs to repay an advance or has
overpaid on an advance (due to a Payroll entry mistake) will show the "Advance"
factor on the earnings report. Once an advance is repaid, the "Advance" factor
no longer shows on the earnings report for the employee. In the G/L, advances
show up as assets until they are repaid, reflecting the fact that a pay advance
is a loan secured by the promise of repayment earned through future
work.
Only one check may be issued per employee in any given pay period,
so it may seem cumbersome to have to close a pay period in order
to issue a single advance check. However, 21st Century Accounting
allows detailed reports to be printed for closed pay periods, and also allows
easy voiding of paychecks in closed pay periods. Therefore, after concluding
the printing of checks for a pay period in 21st Century Accounting and printing
the Payroll register, the pay period should be closed immediately.
After the pay period is closed, opening a new pay period for a special check
(e.g. an advance) requires nothing more than running the Calculate Payroll module.
Classification: P
Fix Available NA
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How do I move 21st Century Accounting to my new computer?
TN 80079 TN Number 80082 Issue/Symptom Paying Payroll Taxes by electronic payment and updating 21st Century Accounting Payroll tax remittance information. Resolution/Workaround If you decide to pay your federal and state Payroll taxes by electronic check, you should record the payments in Payroll/Print/ Remittance Checks to keep your Payroll data current and correct. The IRS provides the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). Many states accept electronic payment of Payroll and SUTA taxes. The example below uses federal taxes. Use the same procedure to record electronic payment of any Payroll tax in 21st Century Accounting. Example: Pay Federal Taxes by Electronic Payment The EFTPS is Web-based. To enroll in the EFTPS, go to EFTPS-Online. You create a profile with your EIN, your bank's routing number, your bank account number, and other information that identifies your business to the IRS. You will receive a PIN and a password by ground mail. When it's time to make a deposit, simply log in to EFTPS-Online and make your electronic payment. To Update 21st Century Accounting Payroll Remittance Data You record the EFTPS payment in 21st Century Accounting to keep your books up-to-date and so that you can continue to use Remittance Checks as a reference that tells you what you owe the IRS at any given moment. 1. Run Payroll/Print/Remittance Checks. 2. Enter the bank account from which you made the EFTPS payment. 2. UNCHECK the Print Checks option. This will record the payment without printing a paper check. 3. Select the remittance vendor or vendors for federal taxes. (US FIT, US SS, and US Med can all have the same remittance vendor.) The other vendors (federal unemployment tax, state, and local taxes) should NOT be selected for this example. 4. Click OK. 5. In the Remittance Checks disbursement window, enter a check number well outside the range of your normal checkbooks. The unusual number will identify the payment on reports such as the Check Register and General Ledger Activity and in the Reconciliation window. 6. If necessary, adjust the payment information to reflect the correct amount due and the correct G/L distribution and click OK. (Review Tech Note 80081 if the current federal tax liability amount is not correct.) 7. Click Post Batch when you're ready to post the payment. 21st Century Accounting records the payment as a manual disbursement check with the check number you provided. The federal remittance due is reduced by the amount of the "check" you recorded and the current tax liability for each federal tax included in the "check" is reduced appropriately. Just remember that this "check" is actually an electronic payment. Classification: P Fix Available Future Release return to list TN Number 80086 Issue/Symptom How can I get a report that shows "wages subject to" without actually accumulating the tax lability? Resolution/Workaround To accumulate the wages subject to a tax without accumulating any tax liability, you create a user-defined tax with zero employee and employer contributions. Assign the tax to appropriate employees and run your normal payrolls. Print the Taxes Activity report for the tax you created to see the wages subject to the tax. Detailed instructions: Run Payroll/Configure/Tax Calculations 1. Select " return to list 21st Century Accounting provides a complete conversion of your BPI data.
For the smoothest and most complete
possible conversion, you should convert at the end of
an accounting period after you have posted all open batches,
entered all period adjustments, closed
A/R and A/P periods, and closed the Payroll
pay period in BPI Accounting.
Unposted batches will not be converted.
If the BPI company includes Payroll data,
complete payroll processing for the pay period,
close the pay period, and, in BPI, print the
Employee Complete Information report in ID order for All to disk.
(Show me how to do this.)
The procedure for converting a BPI company to
21st Century Accounting:
On the 21st Century Accounting menu, run System/Company/Convert/from BPI data (GL, AR, AP, OE, PR).
The conversion program will look for a BPIES directory
and point the Windows browser there. You select the company you want to convert.
The program automatically creates the 21st Century Accounting data structures
and then automatically moves all of your BPI data into the new structures.
When the conversion is complete,
the conversion program displays for your review a log
that describes "decisions" made by the conversion program during the conversion.
And it's done.
Edit current Payroll tax liability in Configure/TaxesIn the Configure/Taxes window, the current tax liability, an editable field, is tracked for each tax by 21st Century Accounting. The liability amount in this field is updated by every Payroll transaction that affects taxes withheld. It is the default amount used when you print Remittance Checks.If the Payroll tax liability amount does not agree with your current books, you can adjust the amount in the Current liability field in Configure/Taxes so it agrees with your record of outstanding liability for this tax. The system uses the amount shown in this field as the amount you owe the remittance vendor for this tax when you prepare a Remittance Check. To edit the liability If the liability amount is incorrect, you can correct the ongoing liability amount in Configure/Taxes on a per tax basis (recommended) or you can correct the liability amount(s) every time you prepare a Remittance Check in the Remittance Checks window (not recommended!). In Configure/Taxes To edit the amount in the Configure/Taxes window, right-click on the "Current liability" field and select "Override current liability" from the options menu. Enter the outstanding liability from your records, press the Tab key, then click OK and Save changes. This modifiable field allows you to synchronize the Print/Remittance Checks function with your current records. In Remittance Checks The tax liability amounts may not be correct for several reasons:
TN Number 80087
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How do I set up Earned Income Credit?
TN Number 80088
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Please explain how Receivables Aging works.
90002 Issue/Symptom
Resolution/Workaround
This document describes how 21st Century Accounting derives
the numbers in the aging buckets on the Aged Receivables,
Customer Activity, and Customer Analysis reports and on Statements.
The document also explains how the minimum payment amount is
calculated on the customer's statement.
The description uses the "default" aging buckets:
Note that in 21st Century Accounting you can change the number of days in each bucket and specify the "aging date" when you run each of the reports.
The operations in the Billing Cycle Checklist window are arranged left to right in the recommended order of Receivables business cycle procedures.
The required payment on the customer balance is the greater of:
To calculate the minimum payment that shows on the statement,
the statement report adds the total amount of past due minimum payments
and finance charges to the required payment. The required payment amount
is calculated and aged each time the billing cycle is aged/closed.
The total customer balance - sum (past due payments and past due finance charges)
becomes the new "current" balance for the customer account.
The required payment on the customer balance is the lesser of:
To calculate the minimum payment that shows on the statement,
the statement report adds the total amount of past due minimum payments
and finance charges to the required payment. The required payment amount
is calculated and aged each time the billing cycle is aged/closed.
The total customer balance - sum (past due payments and past due finance charges)
becomes the new "current" balance for the customer account.
For a regular balance forward customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
For a revolving customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
For a fixed payment customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
Fix Available:
How do you calculate finance charges?
Issue/Symptom
Resolution/Workaround
The following describes how 21st Century Accounting derives finance charges. Finance Charges (FCs) are reported on Finance Charge Detail, Aged Receivables, Customer Activity, and Customer Analysis reports and on Statements.
The operations in the Billing Cycle Checklist window are arranged left to right in the recommended order of Receivables business cycle procedures.
Open item. System uses Level method to calculate FCs for all Open Item type customers.
Balance forward. System uses Level method to calculate FCs for all Balance Forward type customers.
Revolving. You choose either Level method OR Average daily balance (ADB) method used to calculate FCs for all Revolving type customers. The system uses ADB method if you check "Use ADB method (revolving customers only)" in Configure/Finance Charges.
Fixed payment. System uses Level method used to calculate FCs for all Fixed Payment type customers.
You can establish two FC rates and a balance over which to apply the second rate so you can apply different rates to accounts when they run higher balances.
Open Item type customers pay FCs on the sum of the outstanding balances of all invoices and recurring charges whose due dates are earlier than the date you assess the FCs.
Balance Forward type customers pay FCs on the outstanding past due balance (minus FCs and new payments received, if any) whose due date is earlier than the date you assess the FCs. Balance forward customer invoices are not considered past due until after they have been aged.
Level Method FCs for Revolving type customer accounts are applied to the current total balance (excluding previous finance charges), minus current period charges and payments received.
Fixed payment type customers pay no FCs unless they miss a payment. FCs are applied to the outstanding fixed payments whose due dates are earlier than the date you assess the FCs, minus the total of any current payments received.
The number of transaction days is the number of days since the last aging date, that is, the last date you entered when you ran Age/close cycle in the Billing Cycle Checklist window.
The system multiplies the ADB by the finance charge rate (set in Configure/FCs) to calculate the FCs. If the ADB is below the minimum balance (set in Configure/FCs) no FC is applied.
This description uses the "default" aging buckets:
Note that in 21st Century Accounting you can change the number of days in each bucket and specify the "aging date" when you run each of the reports.
For an open item customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
For a regular balance forward customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
For a revolving customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
For a fixed payment customer:
01/31/05 statement:
02/28/05 statement:
03/31/05 statement:
Fix Available
S Corporations that pay accident or health insurance premiums
on behalf of a 2-percent employee-shareholder must include
those payments as income for federal income tax withholding
purposes on the Shareholder's W-2.
To accomplish this, you set up a zero-value noncash benefit
for all shareholders. Then use employee adjustments (quarterly
for 941; yearly for W-2) to increase the noncash benefit
and the earnings subject to FIT by the premium payments.
This adds the premium payments to taxable income on 941s
and W-2s.
Setting up the Noncash Benefit
1. Run Payroll/Configure/Noncash Benefits
1. Run Payroll/Configure/Employees
Making the employee adjustments once per year (and quarterly
to affect the 941) --
1. Run Payroll/Employee Adjustments.
The amounts will show on W-2s and 941s.
Classification: P
S Corporations that reimburse 2-percent employee-shareholders for accident
or health insurance premiums must include those reimbursement payments as
income for federal income tax withholding purposes on the Shareholder's W-2.
To accomplish this, you set up an income for all shareholders.
Then use Calculate Payroll periodically to reimburse shareholders for
the premium payments. This adds the premium payments to taxable income on 941s
and W-2s.
Setting up the Income
1. Run Payroll/Configure/Income
1. Run Payroll/Configure/Employees
Reimbursing employee-shareholders on a regular paycheck.
1. Run Payroll/Calculate Payroll. For each employee-shareholder --
Reimbursing employee-shareholders on a separate check.
1. Run Payroll/Calculate Payroll. For each employee-shareholder --
The amounts will show on W-2s and 941s.
Classification: P
Hire Act credit adjustment for 21st Century Accounting
If you are taking advantage of the Hire Act credit, you will need to make some adjustments to your accounting in addition to the changes that were needed for the 941. After you have submitted the Q2 941, make the following adjustments in the accounting system and Q3 941:
If the Q2 941 shows an overpayment, then specify the period that has July 1, 2010 in it for the entry. If you have no outstanding balance in Q2 (line 15=0) then you put this GJ in the period that includes April 1, 2010.
If the 941 shows an overpayment for the second quarter on line 15:
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