Marks Group

Crystal Reports : Using the Format Painter

2012-01-30T16:38:00.001-05:00

In order to shorten the time it takes to make a report look nice, we can use the format painter to first, "copy" the formatting from one field, then "paste" it onto another. Formatting includes everything under the formatting options menu, including things like decimal places, currency symbol, etc.

1. Click on the object you want to "copy" the formatting of.
2. Go to Format | Format Painter on the top level menu
3. Click on the object you want to apply the formatting to

Note: Some versions of Crystal will not have this menu option, but will instead provide a format painter toolbar icon, in the form of a little paintbrush.

Crystal Reports : Creating a Verbose value from a "Code"

2012-01-30T16:30:00.003-05:00

In many instances, you'll be reporting from a series of Codes. Let's imagine that wer are Grouping a report on {ORDERS.PRODUCTCODE}, which is a three character value denoting the type of Product sold.

Values are:

- WID (Widget 5000)
- SRV (Professional Services)
- MSC (Miscellaneous)

But now let's imagine the Boss wants to see the actual Type Names on the report (so, instead of WID he wants to see "Widget 5000".

This is easily done with a simple Formula:

1. From your Field Explorer, right click on "Formulas" and select New.

2. Give your new Formula a descriptive name like {@frmProductCode}.

3. Paste in the following text:

IF {ORDERS.PRODUCTCODE} = "WID" THEN "Widget 5000" ELSE
IF {ORDERS.PRODUCTCODE} = "SRV" THEN "Professional Services" ELSE
IF {ORDERS.PRODUCTCODE} = "MSC" THEN "Miscellaneous" ELSE "Unknown"

4. Now simply Save and Exit the Formula Editor, and place the new Formula on your report. Note the final ELSE kicks out "Unknown", so if someday someone mistakenly entered in "MSV" (fat fingering the "C") for Miscellaneous, we will get an "Unknown" on the report, making it way for us to determine what happened.

Crystal Reports : Aligning Objects within the Designer

2012-01-30T16:24:00.002-05:00

Here is an oldy but a goody;

For reports that need to look like spreadsheets, or where your fields need to line up precisely, you will want to learn the Align menu.

Here is the way it works; you can Align a group of selected Objects to share the same:

- Left hand side, Right hand side
- Midpoints, baselines, etc

To make this happen, find two fields you want to Align.

1. Select both of them using CTRL-Clicking. Select the field that NEEDS TO BE ALIGNED FIRST.

2. From the top level menu, select Format | Align | Lefts (for instance)

You'll notice that all your selected objects now share the left hand side with the LASTLY SELECTED ITEM. If you get your order screwed up, simply hit CTRL-Z to undo, then try again!

Crystal Reports : Catching Value Exceptions in Formulas

2012-01-30T16:13:00.002-05:00

Here is a typical situation; you're working with a plain text date, by which I mean someone has just been entering in "loose" dates into a text field. So our values could be any one of these combinations of formatting:

1/1/12
01/01/2012
01/12
01/2012
etc...

The problem here was that I had to calculate number of days that had passed since the Date {CONTACT.CONTRACTDATE} in question, so I created a simple formula;

{@frmDateMath}
CURRENTDATE - {CONTACT.CONTRACTDATE}

Which would return the number of days passed. Now, Crystal is pretty forgiving when it comes to plain text dates. It will actually "catch" all of the examples given above.

But when we started to run the report, it kept blowing up on "bad date values". Further inspection of the database revealed that users had been entering in values like:

01/01/2010 Signed
Estimate 01/2012
...etc

Which is to say they were mixing both text and date formats within the same field. So, the natural thing you'd want to do is add an exception to {@frmDateMath} like this; (kicking out 01/01/1980 whenever a date failed)

IF {CONTACT.CONTRACTDATE} LIKE "*Signed*" THEN "01/01/1980" ELSE
IF {CONTACT.CONTRACTDATE} LIKE "*Estimate*" THEN "01/01/1980"
ELSE {CONTACT.CONTRACTDATE}

...which would prevent the formula from ever trying to perform date math on a malformed date. (Assuming all malformed dates have the words "Estimate" or "Signed" in them)

ProTip: You may find yourself providing more exceptions than logic (depending on end users, in which case it is highly desirable to go to the source and start cleaning that up :)

Crystal Reports : Grouping records by the Date

2012-01-30T15:53:00.002-05:00

I recently did a report for a client where we were summarizing (summing) Sales by Week of the Year. Remember, whenever you're summarizing values, you need to think about how those values will be Grouped; that more than half the work.

Let us imagine the database field we're Grouping on in called {ORDERS.ORDERDATE}.

So, we would first insert a Group using Insert | Group from the top level menu. Then, simply specifying {ORDERS.ORDERDATE} from the field drop down.

However, by default, Groups on Dates fall into Daily Group (or even worse, Day and Time Groups, if your software is track a time precision).

To change the Group to Weekly;

1. Select Report | Change Group Expert from the top level menu.

2. Select the Group you wish to modify, click the Options button.

3. When Crystal detects a Date Value as a Group, it displays the "The Section will be Printed" drop down. Select the appropriate interval from this list. In our case, we used "For each week".

You'll notice that now your Report is Grouped by Week (Based on {ORDERS.ORDERDATE}).

GoldMine : Setting the Calendar Time Increment

2012-01-30T11:59:00.002-05:00

Did you know that you can specify the Increments on the Daily Calendar? By default, the Daily Calendar (Go To | Calendar) divides the day into thirty minute increments. Some businesses (especially those with a lot of Phone Call volume) may wish to set this to fifteen minutes.

To do this:

1. Select Tools | Options from the top level menu

2. Select the Calendar tab.

3. Drop down the "Increment Time By" list and select your desired increment

4. OK your way out.

Try it!

GoldMine : Auto-selecting Field Contents

2012-01-30T11:13:00.002-05:00

Did you know that you can set GoldMine to "auto-select" the contents of a field when you click into it? Think of it like this; when you click into the Address bar of Internet Explorer or Firefox, the contents are automatically selected (highlighted), making it east to overwrite whatever is there by simply typing. It also makes it easy to Copy the contents of the field by simply hitting CTRL-C (the default Windows Copy command).

To set this up:

1. Select Tools | Options from the top level menu
2. Select the "Record" Tab
3. Check the box labeled "Select Contents of Fields"

You will need to log back into GoldMine when prompted to affect the change. Try it!

GoldMine : Viewing Filters in the Search Center

2012-01-30T11:00:00.003-05:00

Did you know that you can view and Activate Filters from within the Search Center?

1. Open the GoldMine Search Center by clicking on the "Search" toolbar button.

2. Click on the Filters/Groups button at the top of the Search Center.

3. You'll notice that a Filters/Groups pane has opened itself up within the Search Center. Open up either the Filters or Groups tree and select the Filter/Group you wish to Activate.

4. GoldMine will prompt you to apply a Limit on the currently selected Filter/Group. You can simply click "No.". (What that actually does is bring you to the Optimize tab of the selected Filter/Group.

5. You'll see that your selected Filter/Group is now displayed as Search Results.

This is handy as you can take advantage of the Column format of the Search Center (the Preview portion in the Filters window only shows Contact and Company name).

NOTE: The last selected Filter/Group will be "Active" for the Search Center until you Close and ReOpen the Search Center.

GoldMine : Linking Documents the Easy Way

2012-01-30T10:42:00.003-05:00

I am a big fan of Easy. Did you know that you can easily link a document to a Contact Record by dragging a file onto it from Windows Explorer?

1. Find the file you wish to link using Windows Explorer.
2. Simply drag-and-drop it into GoldMine onto the Contact Record. The Links Tab need not be open.
3. You'll see the familiar "Linked Document" window pop up. Notice that the filename is already filled in using the information from the file you just dragged into GoldMine.
4. Simply hit OK. Your Document is Linked.

ProTip: When linking documents to GoldMine, always make sure the document is linked somewhere other Users can get to it (like a Public network drive, for example).

GoldMine : Setting Tabstop Order

2012-01-30T10:32:00.002-05:00

I am a big fan of keyboard shortcuts; take for instance the TAB key. When editing a field on the Current Contact Record in GoldMine, you can hit TAB to cycle through the other fields. But you'll probably notice, depending on how much customization you've done so far, that the order might be a little screwy.

To set the field order, simply bring up the properties of any field on the Contact Record.

1. Enter Screen Design mode by right-clicking on the Contact Record and selecting "Screen Design".
2. Double-click the field you wish to modify.
3. Select the "Layout" tab.
4. Change the "Position" number on the lower right hand side to reflect where the field should appear in your TAB cycle.

To Make it Easier: Do a print screen of your GoldMine Contact Record, and print it out using Microsoft Paint or something similar. Then mark each field on the paper with their corresponding order numbers. Only THEN go ahead and edit the TAB stops in GoldMine. The reason being is that it can be easy to get "lost" when working without a map. Try it!

QuickBooks: Two Instances of One Bank Account

2012-01-30T09:37:00.000-05:00

I am a bookkeeper for a small business and created a bank account in QuickBooks and entered some Journal Entries with owner's contribution, his reimbursable expenses etc.. Unfortunately, it seems the owner decided to continue working on the data file and set up the bank account in QuickBooks to connect to his bank account on line so he can download the transactions. Now there are two of the same bank accounts in QuickBooks. How do I move the 'entries' I created into the account that is mapped to the bank online so that everything is in one place?

Response:
You can merge the two bank accounts. However, if the owner has downloaded transactions into QuickBooks, there could be duplicate data. When you reconcile the bank account, you will be able to delete the duplicate entries, if appropriate.

Note that in order to merge, you may need to unlink Online Banking before you merge and then re-set it up.

QuickBooks: Quick Help for Reconciliation Issue

2012-01-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

HELP! I reconciled the previous month and everything was OK. When I started this month’s reconciliation, the beginning balance does not match last month's ending balance! Is there a quick & easy way to sniff out the problem? Or do I need to just retrace my steps - or start over for the previous month!!

Here's a neat and different trick to isolate the differential:
• Go to your reconcile window. Refer to the previous month's paper statement and enter the previous statement END DATE and ENDING BALANCE.
• Click continue.
• You'll see the difference in the bottom right hand corner and should be able to find the problem quickly (assuming it's just one or two items).
• Check off the items so that your difference is zero, and click RECONCILE NOW.

Now the numbers will be accurate to proceed with the current month. This method enables you to get back on track without having to un-reconcile first.

For your information:It is important to first understand that there are only so many ways a reconciled previous ending balance is changed as identified below:
1. A cleared transaction is changed to uncleared status
2. The date of a cleared transaction is changed to a post reconciliation date
3. The amount of a cleared transaction is changed
4. A cleared transaction is deleted
5. A new transaction is entered with a date before the previous balance date

QuickBooks: Advice For Managing Backups In QB Professional

2012-01-30T09:32:00.001-05:00

Question: I am a CPA and have several clients who run QB Pro 2010. I also have my own copy in my own office. Normally, I take a backup of work done on site per client and then restore it to my own PC. Any tips on making this process mistake proof? What’s the actual difference between a QBW, a QBB and a QBM file? Thanks for any advice

Answer: It is not uncommon for Accounting Professionals to need to work on a client data file. However, the question is what is actually being done? That is, are they going to make changes and then give the data back to the client? In that case, they may be better off using the Accountant's Copy feature - although it does depend on what exactly you are doing with the file.

Understanding the different file types:
A QBW file is the "native" file. Uncompressed, and just the QuickBooks company file by itself.

A QBB file is a backup. Compressed a bit, and it includes other files that may be a part of the client installation, such as logo/graphics for forms, loan manager files, etc.

A QBM file is a compressed file that is more portable, usually used if you are emailing a file. It is not as complete as a QBB.

If the accounting professional takes any file back to their office other than the Accountant's Copy, and make changes that need to get back to the client – the client then cannot do any work (other than just viewing the file) on their side while the accounting professional has it. If they do, those changes will be lost when the accounting professional restores the file that they had been working on.

The Accountant's Copy process gets around that BUT there are restrictions and limitations.

Alternately, the accounting professional can choose to not bring back the file, and instead log in to their computer remotely and do your work on the original file. Then there is only one copy of the file. But that requires a good Internet connection, and a computer at their office that remains on and not in use so you can access it.

Going beyond that are more involved solutions, like using a Hosted QuickBooks installation or switching to QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks: Locking the File after It Has Been Officially Closed

2012-01-30T09:30:00.000-05:00

We are in the throes of preparing the data files to be reviewed by the CPA. That means all the changes or corrections that need to be made for the year should be done. When you send your data file to the CPA, consider that file officially closed for the year.

Your CPA will then work on the information provided, and they don’t want you going back in and changing OR deleting anything that relates to that year. If you change an old invoice or delete a duplicate bill, you’ve done just that.

QuickBooks provides a way to “lock” the data file to avoid making changes to a closed period. It is a feature called the “Closing Date” and it is very easy to use.

To do this task
1. Open the accounting preferences.
2. Click the Company Preferences tab.
3. In the Closing Date section, click the Set Date/Password button.
4. In the Date section, select the date through which you want your books to be closed.
5. (Optional, but recommended) Enter a password in both the Password and Confirm Password fields to limit access to the closed accounting period.
6. Click OK.

TIP: You will need to change the date in the “Closing Date” field manually at the end of each closing period. QuickBooks does not do that automatically for you. Set a Reminder (Company > Reminders) to ensure you don’t forget to update this critical box!

QuickBooks: “Sunset” of ALL 2009 Versions

2012-01-30T09:20:00.005-05:00

It’s that time of year again – Intuit’s annual “Sunset” of older versions of QuickBooks. If you are using QuickBooks 2009 then you won’t be able to use certain services and features after May 31 2012.

In a nutshell, you lose any kind of feature that uses an online service from Intuit. Any feature that is self contained in your computer will continue to work, but if it requires any sort of updates or services via the Internet, you have to upgrade to a currently supported version. This should include the following in the US Windows versions:

-- QuickBooks Assisted, Basic, Standard or Enhanced Payroll
-- Employee Organizer
-- QuickBooks Merchant Service and Billing Solutions
-- QuickBooks Email (using their server)
-- Bill Pay and Online Banking
-- Intuit Technical Support Plans and Services

This also means that you won’t be getting any more updates to your copy of QuickBooks. No more bug fixes, no more new features. Note that this should NOT affect most third-party products that integrate with QuickBooks, but you should check with your vendor to be sure. This is a key issue in some cases. If you want to reinstall your 2009 program on a new computer, that program will not be updated automatically. You may be installing the R1 release if you install from a CD. Sometimes that creates an issue where the new install cannot access your existing QuickBooks company data if it had been used with a later release.

What Should You Do?
If you are using QuickBooks, the standard answer is “now is the time to upgrade”. Upgrading should be relatively painless going from QB 2009 to 2012, although there can sometimes be problems that range from minor annoyances, to major concerns.

As a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, I will be able to help you and you should feel free to reach out.

GoldMine : Adding a Record to a Contact Group

2012-01-11T18:11:00.002-05:00

As we all know, Contact Groups in GoldMine are just lists of Customers. The lists don't change unless we add to or remove from the Group.

The new GoldMine has a really handy dandy button right on the Contact Record toolbar, the "Add To" button. This allows you to very easily add single records to Contact Groups without having to actually go into the Groups window.

From the Contact Record you wish to add,

1. Click the "Add To" button located at the top of the Contact Record.
2. Select "Contact Group".
3. Choose the Group you want to add the Contact Record to.
4. If desired, type in a Reference (this is seen in the Groups window).
5. Hit OK.

It's just that easy. Try it!

GoldMine : Auto-populate Forecasted Sale amount based on Product

2012-01-11T17:59:00.002-05:00

When Forecasting Sales in GoldMine, you can auto-populate the Amount field based on when Product you choose from the drop down.

To do this;

1. Select Schedule | Sale
2. Click on the PickList arrow for the Product field
3. To force a dollar amount for any Product in this list, click Edit and append a "//", then the dollar amount.

So, if our Product entry is "Widget", we want it to say "Widget //350.00".

Now, when you choose Widget from the Product list, an amount of $350.00 is automatically entered. Try it!

GoldMine : Keeping a Clean Inbox

2012-01-11T17:52:00.002-05:00

This can be a huge deal; having a huge Inbox. I am one of the worst offenders. My Inbox right at this moment is at about 800. Which is actually fine, it's not until you get to 2500 or so that you start to run into problems. E-mail Center takes forever to come up, you can't see downloaded new e-mail, etc.

GoldMine wants us to deal with our Inbox. This happens in one of a few different ways;

1. When Replying to an E-mail, GoldMine automatically files the original in History, alongside your Reply.
2. When Deleting an E-mail, removes the item from the Inbox and puts it into Trash.
3. You can File e-mails manually from the E-mail center itself.

That third option is for all those e-mails that accumulate, you know, the stuff that you wanna keep, but doesn't require a reply. What to do about those?

The easiest way to deal with these is to Fast File them. This gets them out of your Inbox and into the associated Contacts History.

From your Inbox, right click on a single e-mail and select Fast File. It's just that easy. It's gone into History. You can also multiply select a range of e-mails using the SHIFT key, or add single e-mail to the list with a CTRL click. I highly recommend that if you cleaning out a bunch, do it in 100 record chunks. That way, your GoldMine isn't totally tied up.

You'll notice a snappier E-mail Center all around if you keep up with your Inbox from time to time.

GoldMine : Enabling Large Fonts

2012-01-11T17:51:00.000-05:00

A lot of folks like to use "Large Fonts" in GoldMine. This can make a long day of pouring over Contact Records a little easier on the eyes...

1. Select Tools | Options
2. Click on the "Record" tab
3. Click the "Use Large Font" checkbox
4. Hit OK
5. Log back into GoldMine

You'll notice now that all the text in GoldMine is slightly larger. In some rare cases it may cause some general weirdness with Field Names being displayed properly, but this is purely cosmetic. I just switched mine to Large to prepare for this blog posting, and now I'm surprised to say I'll probably keep it this way. Kinda nice. Try it!

GoldMine : Storing Dates in GoldMine

2012-01-11T17:26:00.002-05:00

This actually came up with a client today, when trying to run a Crystal Report on some date values they had been tracking in GoldMine. Most users like to track, say, a birthdate, or perhaps a Contract Signed date.

The important thing to know here is that when we need to report on these dates in the future, they will need to be Data Type Date. You may be tempted to simply use one of the default fields in GoldMine (the "Key" fields are notorious for this) and easily start inputting your dates (i.e. 01/01/2012, 04/20/92, etc.).

A better way to do it is to create a new field specifically meant to track the date.

Note: You MUST have exclusive rights to the database and a Master user account in GoldMine to do this.

1. On the Fields tab of your GoldMine, right click and select "New Field"
2. Click the "New Field" button
3. Give your new field a name (must start with the letter "U") like UCONTRACT
4. Give your new field a description, like "Contract Signed Date"
5. Select Field Type : Date
6. Hit OK.
7. You will now see your new field on the Contact Record. Move it to where you want it.
8. Click away from your new field. Hit OK in the "Field Properties" window.
9. You'll be warned that the Database needs to be rebuilt. Click Yes.
10. After GoldMine is done rebuilding, log back in.

Your new Date field should now be "open" and accepting data. You'll notice that when you bring up the picklist for this new field, it's a Calendar Control, allow the end user to easliy and consistently input date values.

And because it's being tracked as a Date Type, it's easy to (down the road) report on say, all contracts signed in 2011, etc. You'll love yourself later.

MSCRM 2011: How to change Icons for Custom Entities

2012-01-10T13:36:00.005-05:00

MS Dynamics CRM 2011 provides the following feature that allows you to change the icons of a custom entity. This method is very simple and there is no coding required for this. The images need to be uploaded as web resources.
Following are the steps to upload an image file:

* Go to Settings, Customizations, Customize the System.
* Click New from the toolbar and select Web Resource from the list.

There are three types of icons to be assigned (Each should not be more than 10KB).
1. 16x16 pixels --This Icon will be placed in Web Application
2. 32x32 pixels --This Icon will be placed as the shortcut icon in the MS Office Outlook
3. 66x48 Pixels --This Icon will be placed on the entity form

The key advantage of MS Dynamics CRM 2011 is that it provides us the web resource utility to store all these Icons. So first we need to store all these Icons in the web resource so that we could reference them later. It is ideal to name each icon with some identifier. For instance to identify 16x16 pixels we could name it as myicon16.png. This will provide more readability. This is not mandatory but a suggestion.

* Enter the following Information in the New Web Resource Dialog:
* Name, Display Name and Type (PNG, JPG or GIF)
* Choose the file to be uploaded

Following are the steps to update a custom entity Icon:
* Navigate to Settings, Customizations, Customize the System.
* Expand the Entities node and then select a custom entity. You will notice the toolbar will show the Update Icons toolbar.
Note: You can only update the icons for custom entities. You cannot change the system entity icons.
* Click the Update Icons toolbar option.
* Within this window you can select the Web Resource of your uploaded icons. This window allows you to upload 3 different icons; 16×16, 32×32 and 66×48.
Note: Prerequisite with this window is that you have uploaded 3 different icons already to the Web Resource section.

There are only 2 icons that you can ACTUALLY change in CRM 2011 to custom entities. These are:
1. Icon in Web application (16×16, Less than 10kb, Programmatic Development Property = IconSmallName)
2. Icon for Entity Detail Forms (32×32, Less than 10kb, Programmatic Development Property = IconMediumName)

However the 3rd icon, the 66×48, is not used in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. The application incorrectly labels this as the Icon in Entity forms. Programmatic Development Property for this is IconLargeName.

The recommendation is that you use .PNG Web resources because they support transparency and good compression with a better color fidelity than GIF.
GIF, JPG, & ICO formats are supported for backwards compatibility when organizations upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Following is a link to a solution that contains some free images in the correct sizes and formats. This link also describes how to upload the solution file.

"http://www.emtecinc.com/blog/crm-blog/2011/12/19/a-custom-entity-icons-solution-for-crm/"

MSCRM 2011: Creating Marketing Campaigns

2012-01-10T13:26:00.004-05:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 allows you to track marketing program information on a Campaign record. You can track the offer, type, schedule, and financial information about the campaign. For instance, you might have a campaign that coordinates the advertising activities planned for the launch of a new product.
The following fields are tracked on campaigns and campaign templates:

* Name: This field contains the title of the campaign.
* Status Reason: This denotes the status of the campaign for reporting purposes. The default statuses are Proposed, Ready to Launch, Launched, Completed, Canceled and Suspended.
* Campaign Code: This can be either a user-entered or system-generated code for the campaign.
* Campaign Type: This provides a category for the campaign, such as Advertisement, Direct Marketing, Event or Co-branding. This field is useful in reporting.
* Expected Response: This allows you to record the expected response for a campaign as a percentage from 0 to 100.
* Total Cost of Campaign Activities: In this field, Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically totals the cost of all campaign activities.
* Miscellaneous Costs: This field records miscellaneous costs associated with the campaign.
* Total Cost of Campaign: This field contains the sum of the total cost of campaign activities and miscellaneous costs.

Create a Campaign through the following steps:
1. On the site map, click Marketing and then click Campaigns.
2. On the Campaigns tab, in the Records group, click New.
3. In the General section of the form, enter the appropriate information. The most important fields include:

* Name: This is a required field.
* Currency: If you intend to associate a price list with the campaign you must select the same currency that is specified in the price list.
* Status Reason: Click on the stage that the campaign is in the
drop-down.
* Campaign Type: Select the campaign type in the drop-down.
* Price List: If you select a price list, any opportunities arising from this campaign will automatically get the same price list.
* Offer: Enter a description of the actual offer you are contacting
customers about.
* Proposed Begin Date, Proposed End Date
* Actual Begin Date, Actual End Date

4. In the Financials section of the form, enter the appropriate
information and observe any noted restrictions or requirements as
needed:

* Budget Allocated
* Expected Revenue
* Miscellaneous Costs: Enter the total for any known costs of the
campaign that are not entered in the actual campaign activity
records.

5. In the Notes section of the form, enter any information that might be
helpful to users who will view this campaign.
6. On the Campaign tab, in the Save group, click Save & Close.

* You are now able to add Planning Activities and Campaign Activities. You can also add a Marketing List at this time.

MSCRM 2011: Web Resources: Using JScript to Hide/Show Tabs

2012-01-10T13:17:00.004-05:00

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, there are a number of Web Resources available.
They are:
*HTML Web Pages
*Style Sheets (CSS)
*Script (JScript)
*Data (XML)
*Images(PNG, JPG, GIF, or ICO)
*Silverlight (XAP)
*Style Sheets (XSL)

With the addition of the Jscript Web Resource, there is no longer a need to copy the Jscript to each of the Functions where the Jscript is needed.

In this example, we are going to create a simple JScript function which hides a tab on the Campaign Entity depending on a value in a picklist field – namely, Campaign Type. The Additional Information tab will only be show when the value in the Campaign type picklist field is set to Trade Show. (Note: Trade Show is a custom value that has been added to this picklist)

Following are the steps:

* Task 1 – Create a new JavaScript Library
* Go to Settings, Customizations, Customize the System.
* Click New from the toolbar and select Web Resource from the list.
* Enter the following Information in the New Web Resource Dialog:
* Name= “hideshowAddlInfoTabCampaign”
* Display Name= “Hide Show Addl Info Tab Campaigns”
* Type= “Script (Jscript)”
* Click the Text Editor button
* Paste the following script in to the source dialog.

Function hideshowaddlinfotabcampaigns (eventContext)
{
var option = Xrm.Page.getAttribute (“typecode”).getSelectedOption().text;
If (option == “Trade Show”)
{
Xrm.Page.ui.tabs.get (“AdditionalInfo).setVisible(true);
}
Else
{
Xrm.Page.ui.tabs.get (“AdditionalInfo).setVisible(false);
}
}

* Click OK
* Click Save and Close

* Task 2 - Attach JScript function to onLoad event handler
* Next we need to setup the event handlers on the Campaign form
* Click on the Entities
* Select Campaign in the entity list and then click OK.
* When the Campaign appears in the list of available entities in your solution, expand the Campaign node and then expand the Forms node.
* In the forms grid, double-click Information form type Main
* Now that you are in the form editor we need to attach the event handler to both the Form onLoad and the Campaign Type OnChange events.
* Click Form Properties in the ribbon to bring up the dialog.
* Click the Form Libraries Add button.
* In the lookup dialog select the “Hide Show Addl Info Tab Campaign” web resource and Click OK
* In the Event Handler section Click Add.
* In the Handler Properties dialog do the following: Function = ” hideshowaddltabcampaigns”, Check Enabled, Check Pass execution context as first parameter
* Click OK, to close the Handler Properties dialog
* Click OK, to close the Form Properties dialog

* Task 3 – Attach Jscript function to Campaign Type onChange event handler
* Next, we need to attach the event handler to the Campaign Type picklist.
* In the form editor click to select the “Campaign Type” field
* Click Change Properties button in the ribbon.
* In the Field Properties dialog, select the Events tab.
* Click the Add button in the Event Handlers grid.
* In the Handler Properties dialog do the following:
* Function = ” hideshowaddlinfotabcampaigns”, Check Enabled, Check Pass execution context as first parameter
* Click OK, to close the Handler Properties dialog
* Click OK, to close the Field Properties dialog
* Click Save and Close

* Task4 - Publish changes and see the results
* While still in the Customizations, Click Publish All Customizations in the top toolbar of the Solution Explorer.
* Close the Solutions explorer

Go the campaigns module and click the New button. The Campaign form loads and the Additional Information tab is hidden.

Enter the following items:

*Name = “Test Campaign”
*Campaign Type= “Trade Show”
*Once the Campaign Type is “Trade Show” you will see the Additional Information Tab.

This is a simple demonstration that shows how the Java script only needs to be written once and can then be included in multiple On_Load, On-Change etc functions.

Crystal Reports : Using the Currency symbol for Other Things

2012-01-03T16:44:00.002-05:00

When formatting Number Objects in Crystal Reports, it's good to know what the currency field can be leveraged to do. The most common use of this is to easily provide a percentage sign, but can be used for explicit strings as well.

Keep in this is effective on a per-field basis.

1. Right-click on the Number field you wish to modify from within the Designer.
2. Select Format Field.
3. Check the "Display Currency Symbol" checkbox.
4. Click Customize.
5. Select the Currency Symbol tab.
6. Modify the Currency Symbol by clicking into it and typing whatever you wish. For starters try a %.
7. Change the Position of the Currency Symbol to be "-123%", meaning that it will appear on the right-hand side of the Number.
8. Ok your way out.

This eliminates the need to use a textbox for the %. Notice also that you can type in pretty much whatever you want into the Currency Symbol, so the sky's pretty much the limit.

Try it!

Crystal Reports : Getting New Fields to Show in the Designer

2012-01-03T16:37:00.002-05:00

A pretty basic problem, but worth our time. If Management is always creating new Fields and brainstorming new ways to use them, you will need to know how to "see" these new fields in existing reports.

This is as easy as selecting Database | Verify Database.

Crystal will then poll the Database for columns and indexes (among other things). After the "Database is up to Date" message appears, you should be able to see any new fields or new tables that have been added to the Database.

You will also notice that there is a "Verify on Every Print" option. There is no harm in enabling this, but this is usually considered overkill as even the most zealous Management can only add so many new fields.

ProTip: Certain versions of Crystal will "detect" that something has changed in the Database (i.e. a new field), and will prompt you on opening if you'd like to "Fix up the Report". Selecting Yes to this dialog is equivalent to Verifying the Database.

Crystal Reports : Turning Off Snap to Grid

2012-01-03T16:24:00.002-05:00

This is something that occasionally drives me nuts. It is very typical to have a report that mimics the look of a spreadsheet (you actually just format each field to have a Border around it like cells in Excel). However, arranging precise items like individual rows and columns may not be the easiest thing in the world. What you usually get is one or two items that for whatever reason don't want to play nice and line up perfectly.

The first thing I learned to do was move Report items by using my arrow keys, not the mouse. Select any Crystal object and try it. You'll feel a lot more control over how things line up this way.

The second thing I learned to do was occasionally turn off my Snap. Simply right-click within the designer and select (de-select, actually) "Snap to Grid". When Snap is turned off, you'll find that you can now move your objects with the finest precision. Don't forget to turn Snap back on before you add any new objects to the Layout; they will behave erratically once Snap is turned back on. A good rule of thumb is to Design with Snap On, Fix with Snap Off.

These two tips can save you a lot of grief and aggravation, especially when modifying cosmetically complex reports. (Adding a column in to stack of columns, etc.)

Crystal Reports : Dealing with (and testing for) NULLS

2012-01-03T16:06:00.002-05:00

NULLS are a pain. Because they are functionally equivalent to blanks. A NULL field and a "blank" field return the same thing; nothing. But they are technically different values and as a Crystal Reporter, you will need to know how to deal with them.

Let us consider the field {CONTACT2.USTATUS}, which tracks a customers' Service Status.

For those records with an explicit value (i.e. No Service), this is returned normally as a string.

For those records that HAD a value at some point in the past, but have since been "blanked out", these blank values are also returned normally as a blank string.

For those records where USTATUS has NEVER been written to, this will return a NULL. A NULL is "less than" a blank.

So when you propose the following Selection Criteria on USTATUS like this (selecting for anyone who doesn't have a Status);

{CONTACT2.USTATUS} = ""

This is only half of the battle. We must also test for NULL values as well, like this;

{CONTACT2.USTATUS} = "" AND ISNULL({CONTACT2.USTATUS}) = TRUE

Unlike a SQL statement, which can simply use USTATUS IS NULL, we must use the special ISNULL() Crystal function. This function returns a BOOLEAN, which is either TRUE or FALSE.

Where your particular NULLS spring up will be determined by how well-written your front end software is. For example, they are more often found in so called "legacy" systems than newer, more modern ones.

Crystal Reports : Forcing a Page Break for Each Group

2012-01-03T15:59:00.002-05:00

When using Groups in Crystal Reports (Insert | Group), you may wish to have each group appear on it's own page. Or at the very lest force a new page before the "next" Group prints.

This is easily accomplished through the Section Expert window.

1. Right-click in the "Sections" area to left hand side of your Designer.
2. Select "Format Section".

The Section Expert window will let you modify how each Report Section behaves.
In our case, we want to create a new page after each Group is printed.

1. On the left hand side of the Section Expert, select your Group Footer.
2. Then, on the right hand side, select "New Page After".

This will force the beginning of each Group to start on it's own Page. Another way to do it would be to use the "New Page Before" setting; you may find yourself trying each to get a feel for how they behave.

This can make the difference between a "messy" to read report and a nice, organized looking report. Try it!

QuickBooks: Pop-Up Messages - On or Off?

2012-01-02T20:31:00.004-05:00

QuickBooks 2012 has both good and bad pop-up messages. However, it is very annoying for a pop-up ad to happen when you are working in QuickBooks, so you must decide how to handle them..... on or off?

There are actually some good pop-up messages in QuickBooks – for example:

those that prompt or remind you to add a class to a transaction when you’ve forgotten and you’ve turned on the class tracking feature

the one that warns you when you are posting a transaction directly to Retained Earnings – which is something that you really do NOT want to do

the warnings that appear when you accidentally select a date that is 90 days in the past or 30 days in the future

the warning that will appear if you enter duplicate bill numbers for the same vendor

the warning that will appear if you enter a check number, invoice number, estimate number, etc. that has previously been used

For the most part messages & pop-ups can be controlled through settings in the Preferences section {Edit menu -> Preferences}; where you will find both personal and company preference settings. Only the QuickBooks Administrator can make changes to the settings in the Company Preferences tab when they are logged into QuickBooks in single-user mode.

Individual users also have some control over what messages appear. Take time to look at each option - there are many! For example, experienced users often choose:

Desktop View -> My Preferences tab and uncheck the Show Getting Started Window
General -> My Preferences tab and uncheck the Bring back all one-time messages
Turn off pop-up messages for products and services, and Show ToolTips for clipped textselect

Sales & Customers -> My Preferences and uncheck the Show Payment toolbar on Receive Payments and Sales Receipts forms if your company does not wish to add Intuit credit card or eCheck processing

Service Connections -> My Preferences and uncheck Give me the option of saving a file whenever I download Web Connect data and If QuickBooks is run by my browser, don’t close it after Web Connect is done – if you do not use Online banking

Many pop-up windows and messages have a “Don’t show this again” checkbox option, checking this option instead of just clicking the OK button will rid you of the annoying box for good; so taking a minute or so each time a window pops up can help you to make informed decisions and rid you of wasted mouse clicks later. While it is “easier” at the moment to click the OK button just to get rid of the window – it is a bad habit to get into.

Some advertising messages, you just can’t get rid of, for example the Do More with QuickBooks block on the Home page, but you can close it.

In QuickBooks 2012, Intuit has added a new “advertising” message to printed Employee Pay Stubs – you’ll now find a Powered by Intuit logo on each pay stub that you print for your employees. Only the QuickBooks Administrator can remove this logo by going to the Edit menu -> Preferences-> Payroll & Employees -> Company Preferences -> Pay Stub & Voucher Printing -> and uncheck the Print Intuit logo option.

QuickBooks: VOID A CHECK WRITTEN IN A PRIOR PERIOD

2012-01-02T20:26:00.001-05:00

Clients often need to void checks that were written in a prior period. However, prior period income and expenses should not be changed for various reasons such as tax returns having been prepared.

The usual option is Void Check under the Edit menu. However, this takes the original transaction and changes the amount to $0. The date of the transaction is the date the change of the dollar amount of the transaction will be effective.

To prevent a change to the prior year accounting data, the voiding of a prior period check in the current period requires the entry of a deposit for the check that is to be voided.

During the bank reconciliation process, the check to be voided and the deposit are both cleared. The memo field on both the check and the deposit should reference the voided check. This will successfully void the check in the subsequent period. Differing From Accounts may want to be used on the Deposit depending on the reason for the voided check.

QuickBooks: Are There "Others"?

2012-01-02T20:23:00.002-05:00

As you look at the informaiton posted during the past year, I hope you are not surprised to see "OTHER" as an account.

The reason is that when a chart of account has subaccounts, posting should only be made to the subaccount. You can always tell which accounts are sub accounts, because they are located under the Parent account, and are always indented.

Fix the entry:
When you see the "- Other" on a report, double click on the amount until you trace it back to the original transaction. Reclassify it to a correct sub account.

QuickBooks: It's 1099 Time Again

2012-01-02T20:16:00.001-05:00

A year has passed, and it will soon be time to send out 1099’s to the vendors and a 1096 to the IRS. So many users hope it is a simple process in QuickBooks.

Actually, the printing is the easy part, once all the accounts are properly reviewed and mapped.

Verify your 1099 vendors
1. Go to the Reports menu, choose Vendors & Payables, and then click Vendor Phone List.
2. Click Modify Report at the top of the report.
3. In the Modify Report window, on the Display tab, select Eligible for 1099.
4. Click OK.
5. Review the report on the screen for vendors marked as "No" in the Eligible for 1099 column.

If you need to send Form 1099-MISC to any of these vendors, you must set them up as 1099 Vendors.
== If you found any missing 1099 vendors, open the vendor's record, and on the Additional Info tab, select Vendor eligible for 1099 and enter the vendor's tax ID number.

== On the Address Info tab, make sure the vendor's name and address follow postal guidelines.

Verify your 1099 accounts
1. Go to the Reports menu, choose Vendors & Payables, and then click 1099 Detail.
You see the vendors you designated as eligible for 1099-related payments and the accounts you selected for tracking 1099-related payments.
2. Click Print for a paper copy of the report in its current form.
You'll need this for comparisons.
3. Click the second 1099 Options drop-down list at the top of the report and choose All allowed accounts.
4. On your computer screen, look for accounts that are missing from the paper copy of the report.
5. If an account is missing from the paper copy of the report, and you have been using the account to track 1099-related payments, set up the account as a 1099 account.

QuickBooks: Great COA Security Trick!

2012-01-02T20:03:00.004-05:00

RESTRICTING CHANGES TO THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS BY USING THE 1099 SETUP

Why is this trick needed? Any user with security authorization to create or modify "sensitive accounting activities" can make changes to the Chart of Accounts. Although these changes are made with the best of intentions, the results are not always optimal.

The Strategy Behind the Trick: You can prevent unapproved changes to the Chart of Accounts by using the 1099 Company Preference. Users with full rights or the administrator rights can still make changes. By following this 1099 setup, users will be unable to delete an account or change the type of account for any accounts you choose. Likewise, they will be unable to merge accounts. When trouble-shooting this issue, you can reverse a change in account type, however, merging accounts is permanent.

The Closing Date does not stop changes, and if charges are made, the affect all previous years.

Use the 1099 setup feature by selecting the Edit menu, selecting Preferences, selecting Tax:1099, and then selecting the Company tab. QuickBooks displays the list of possible 1099 categories. Select a 1099 Category that you will not be using in the normal course of business. For instance, if you never use box 13 - Excess Golden Parachute, then that is a great option for this trick.

Select the middle column, with the heading titled Account. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the category you have chosen (Box 13), QuickBooks displays the Chart of Accounts. Select Multiple Accounts and then manually select all the accounts you would like to protect.

NOTE: You may only assign an account to one 1099 Box. If an account has already been added in your 1099 setup, then that account is already protected.

Inactive Accounts do not show up in this selection window. You do not need to select Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable as these accounts do not allow changes of types and/or merging. If a new account is added that we want to protect, then it has to also be added to the multiple accounts selected in the 1099 Preferences.

NOTE: If you would ever like to merge an account that is protected using this method, you can simply return to this preference screen and deselect those specific accounts prior to making any changes.

GoldMine : Changing the number of Recently Viewed Contacts

2011-12-12T13:57:00.002-05:00

One of the nicest things about the new GoldMine is the list of Recently Used Contacts along the upper left hand side.

By default only five are shown, to increase the number of records in this list;

1. Select Tools | Options | System tab

2. Change the number in the "Recent Items Shown" box (the max is 99)

3. Restart GoldMine

I find this invaluable when I need a sense of who I've been working for recently for followups.

GoldMine : Removing Menu Items

2011-12-12T13:37:00.002-05:00

It may sound a little strange; why would we ever want to remove Menu Items from GoldMine? If anything, we are usually looking to add items, have it "do more" for us.

Sometimes, however, less is more. Especially if we are now talking about a new user. Especially if we have put into place a good data model with supporting standards and practices. Certainly, at the least we need to "lock up" the sharp tools to prevent catastrophic mistakes from happening.

Here's how it works; one a per-user basis, you may remove specific menu items.

1. Select Tools | Users Settings

2. Select the user you'd like to Edit, select Properties

3. Select the Menu Tab

4. Use the Menu Tree to Enable or Disable single menu items for the User

5. You may save this Menu "Template" by clicking Save. This makes it easy to create one "end user" Template and then apply it to other users.

GoldMine : Sending Texts with GoldMine

2011-12-12T13:12:00.002-05:00

Did you know you can send an SMS Text message to a phone with GoldMine? I have a client that uses this to send driving directions to field service technicians.

1. Select Actions | Call Contact | Send SMS/Text Message

2. Select the appropriate phone number from the drop down (lists all the available numbers from the Current Contact record)

3. Select the mobile Carrier (AT&T, Verizon, etc)

4. Type in the Text message you wish to send

5. Click Send

Note that the SMS now appears in the Contact Record history.

GoldMine : Dealing with your Tabs

2011-12-12T12:58:00.002-05:00

We recently did a fairly large upgrade for a client from GoldMine 6.7 to 9.0, and I was reminded of how much I struggled with the new "tabbed" interface. Here are a few things I learned while getting acclimated to the "new style".

- I use a lot of GoldMine e-mail, and usually end up with a ton of E-mail tabs. Selecting Window | Close all will close all Tabs except the Current Contact Record.

- You can switch between the Tabbed Interface and the "Old Style" by clicking on the little tab with four boxes (upper left hand area of GoldMine). To re-enable the Tabbed interface, simply maximize any GoldMine "child" window.

To be honest, I learned to love my GoldMine tabs; it just takes awhile.

GoldMine : Tagging Records

2011-12-12T12:32:00.002-05:00

Did you know that you can "tag" Contact Records within your Search Center, making them a "pseudo-group"?

When viewing results in your Search Center, you can check the box on the left of each row to Tag the record in question. Once one or more records are Tagged, this becomes an "Active Filter", which means it can work with all the Filter-aware function of GoldMine. These include Building a Group, Merging an Template, Global Replace, etc.

Keep in mind that once you Tag records, they will remain Tagged (and therefore the Active Filter) until you Un-Tag them (right click within the Search Center, select Release All) or restart GoldMine.

Couple this functionality with the ability to conduct multi-level Searches (click the plus sign button in the top right of the Search Center, and you've got a very powerful tool.

MSCRM 2011: Quick Campaigns

2011-12-09T15:51:00.002-05:00

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2011, there are two types of campaigns – marketing campaigns and Quick campaigns. A full marketing campaign allows you to track the activities, costs, lists, planning, responses, and schedules of your marketing efforts.

There are some cases however, that simply require you to distribute a campaign activity, such as a letter, phone call, or e-mail, to an impromptu list without the overhead and tracking of a full campaign. With CRM Online, you can distribute a single campaign activity to a group of accounts, contacts, leads, or marketing lists through a Quick Campaign.

Creating a Quick campaign:

* In the Marketing module, click Leads in the left navigation pane. Select the records you wish to include in this quick campaign. In the Add tab of the ribbon, click the Quick Campaign button. Choose For Selected Records from the drop-down menu, which will then open the Create Quick Campaign Wizard form.
* The first page of the Create Quick Campaign Wizard outlines the steps you are about to take. Click Next to proceed.
* The next page of the wizard appears. Enter a name for this quick campaign. For the purposes of this walkthrough, we will name it “Sample Leads Quick Campaign”, and then click Next to continue.
* The next page of the wizard appears where we select the activity type and decide who will own the activities. There are a few choices, but for this campaign, we are designating a phone campaign to ourselves. In order to do this, select Phone Call in the Activity Type box. For the Assign these activities to option, select Me. Once we are done, click Next.
* Since we chose Phone Call as the activity type in the previous step, we are presented with the Phone Call form. Fill out the Subject and Description fields, and then click Next. Note that only the Subject field requires data entry, as specified by the red asterisk.
* The final step of the wizard summarizes the specifications of the quick campaign. If everything is correct, click Create to complete the wizard.
* After completion, you can verify that you have successfully created your new quick campaign by clicking Quick Campaigns in the left navigation pane in the Marketing module and seeing it listed in the view.
* The final step would be to follow up on the phone call activities generated by the quick campaign, and make the calls. The user to whom the phone calls were assigned can find them in the Workplace module, under Activities.

MSCRM 2011: Dynamic Marketing Lists

2011-12-09T15:43:00.002-05:00

One of the new features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is Dynamic Marketing Lists.

A marketing list can consist of one of the following kinds of records: Leads, Accounts, or Contacts. Additionally, getting the records on a list is a manual process. Advanced Find can be used to create and modify this list but in the past we needed to manually re-evaluate or manually remove records from the respective lists.

In some scenarios, the marketing list should be static (for example, the guest list for your sixteen year old’s birthday party) but there are even more scenarios where the people on the list you want to target is growing and in some cases shrinking.

To create a new Dynamic Marketing List:
* Navigate to Marketing->Marketing Lists->New
* From there, you’ll notice a radio button group in the middle of the window where the user has the option to select either static or dynamic. Once we provide a Name and Member Type, we will select Dynamic and save the record. Once saved, you’ll notice that you’ll have the option to add members or convert the list to a static list if you choose.
* The next step involves creating the query which will populate the dynamic list. To do this, click on the Manage Members button. This will open an Advanced Find window where you can enter a query. In this example, let’s find those contacts from Pennsylvania (PA).
* Next, click on Use Query. This results in our marketing list being automatically updated!
* So, what happens when a new Account from Pennsylvania and a Contact at that Account is added to the system? The new contact is automatically added to the list.

This list can now be used in your marketing campaigns. This new feature is a great addition to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and certainly creates a more flexible and easily managed environment for marketing managers and users alike.

MSCRM 2011: Conditional Formatting in Views in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook

2011-12-09T15:36:00.003-05:00

One of the new features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook is the ability to apply conditional formatting to records in a view. In Conditional Formatting, you specify certain criteria for those records that should be displayed differently in a view. You can set the color and font of these so that the records that match the criteria setup are then displayed in a special way. Conditional formatting is only available with Microsoft Outlook 2010.

Conditional formatting is useful because the data is then shown in a way that makes it stand out. The ability to see important data in a different style allows users to see which records in the system take priority over others. Note: The formatting you apply is applied per view.

Below are the steps for configuring the Open Opportunities view in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook with Estimated Revenue greater than $5000 in red bold text:

* In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Outlook, navigate to Open Opportunities. On the ribbon, click on the View tab and click on View Settings.
* Click on Conditional Formatting and then click on Add and give the conditional formatting rule a name.
* Click on the Font button to select the conditional formatting font style. Click on Condition to define the condition to use in the rule.
* In the Filter window, click on Advanced and then select the Field drop-down-list.
* In the list of options, select User-defined fields in folder. This will allow you to select fields from the Opportunity record. Select Estimated Revenue {number} as the conditional field, is more than as the condition, and enter 5000 into the value field. After we have configured our criteria, click on Add to List. Note: You can add multiple criteria to the conditional formatting rule.
* Click on OK in all windows. The conditional formatting will now be applied to the Open Opportunities view.

Crystal Reports : Using a specific Group Sort Order

2011-11-28T20:37:00.003-05:00

This is an oldy but a goody;

When Inserting a Group in a Crystal Report, the report then becomes automatically sorted by the highest level Group. This is usually no big deal, but sometimes, you just want a little control over "what comes first", by which I mean "what is printed on the first page".

Let us consider my father's management report for Hill's Heating. In his accounting software, Hill's Heating appears as a normal company alongside customers, so it would always appear on the sixth or seventh page of the Report, alongside the rest of the "H's".

So what I did was instead of Sorting the report on {CONTACT.NAME}, I created a Group on it instead. Then went into my Group Expert (Report | Change Group Expert from the top level menu) to enable the Specified Sort Order under Options. You'll be able to select it from the "in ascending order" drop down list.

Once you select Specified Order, the "Specified Order" tab becomes available. Here you can explicitly add the values you'd like to appear first in your "sorted" list (by selecting the items from the "Named Group" drop down list).

You will also NEED to go into the "Others" tab and select "Leave in their own Groups", otherwise any Group not defined the in the Specified Order is resigned to this "Others" category.

This way, I could force Hill's Heating to the top of my report, then resume normal sorting after that first entry was out of the way. Try it.

Crystal Reports : Using Multiple Sections

2011-11-28T20:24:00.003-05:00

Did you know you can create more Sections within your Reports?

Select Insert | Section from the top level menu.

Here, within the Section Expert, you can create multiple Detail Sections, for instance. This can be very handy when using Suppress and/or Reveal to troubleshoot a report; the idea being to "split" complex or dense areas of the report into separate Sections, making it easier to deal with them as a whole.

I actually find it most helpful to create extra Report Footers, which can sometimes help when dealing with strange subtotals and Groupings. The idea there being that I can have two "sets" of footers, each with their own summaries and fields that can then be Suppressed and/or Revealed, even by a User Parameter.

HEAT – SETTING ASSIGNMENT DEFAULTS

2011-11-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

These defaults allow you to set specifications for how assignments operate in Call Logging (and also in Web-based Call Logging).

To Set Assignment Defaults:

In the Administrator main window, select Defaults>System>Assignment Defaults from the menu bar >> The Assignment Options dialog box opens.
Select the default settings you want for assignments:

Require assignments to be resolved before call can be closed - Requires that the call be marked as resolved before the assignment can be closed.
Require an assignment before allowing call to be saved
Only allow one non-resolved assignment at a time
Enforce Acknowledge Required - Requires all acknowledge-required fields to be filled before assignments can be acknowledged.
Enforce Resolve Required - Requires all resolve-required fields to be filled before assignments can be resolved.

Note: The system administrator determines which fields in the Asgnmnt table are acknowledge-required and resolve-required by setting these flags when creating the fields.

Click OK.

HEAT - CHANGING THE DEFAULT CALL STATUS VALUES IN CALL LOGGING

2011-11-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

Call Status Values defaults allow you to change the default Call Status Values in your system, which will be reflected in Call Logging (and also in Web-based Call Logging). Default statuses are Open, Closed, and Reopened.

Note: Before you change the default values, be sure to manually add the values to your Status table.

To Set Call Status Value Defaults:

In the Administrator main window, select Defaults>Call Status Values from the menu bar. The Call Status Values dialog box opens. |
In the Select a value for "Open" field, type the status you want to replace Open (for example: Active).
In the Select a value for "Closed" field, type the status you want to replace Closed (for example: Complete).
In the Select a value for "Reopened" field, type the status you want to replace Reopened. (for example: Reactivated).
Click OK.

HEAT – CREATING COUNTERS

2011-11-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

Create and define counters for use in Call Logging. Counters can be used to automatically generate PO numbers, RMA numbers, etc.
Counters are used in AutoTask actions in Call Logging (and also in Web-based Call Logging) to automatically generate numbers. The counters available are defined in the Administrator module (although users can change some counter parameters). For example, you can set up counters for PO numbers and RMA numbers. This automates the process and saves valuable time when logging a call. A maximum of 10 counters can be defined.

To Set Counter Defaults:

In the Administrator, select Defaults>Counter Setup from the menu bar. The Counters dialog box opens.

Note: For existing counters, you can select a counter and click Edit to make changes. Select a counter and click Delete to delete the counter. Editing or deleting counters affects AutoTask actions using those counters.

Click Add. The Counter Definition dialog box opens.
In the Name field, type a name for the counter.
In the Current Value field, type a starting value for the counter.
In the Increment field, type or select an increment value for the counter.
If you want the counter to automatically reset, select the Should the counter automatically reset itself check box. Then choose a time frame (daily, monthly or yearly) and type a reset value.
Click OK.
Click Close to close the Counters dialog box

HEAT – SETTING THE ACTIVITY LOG PREFERENCES

2011-11-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

Activity Log preferences allow you to define which items and fields (called Watch Fields) the Activity Log records.

To Set Activity Log Preferences:

1. Log into HEAT Administrator, select Defaults>Activity Log>Preferences from the menu bar. The Activity Log Preferences dialog box opens.

2. Select the item(s) you want the Activity Log to record:

Auto logging-Call Logging - Enables Call Logging to automatically generate entries in the Activity Log.
Auto logging-Auto Ticket Generator - Enables the Auto Ticket Generator to automatically generate entries in the Activity Log.
Auto logging- Auto Escalation - Enables Auto Escalation to automatically generate entries in the Activity Log.
Log unsaved activities - Tracks abandoned activities from the Call Log, Detail, Assignment or Journal forms.
Confirmation on Call Close - Tracks closed Call Records.
Allow Log Changes to Closed Calls - Tracks changes made to closed Call Records.

3. Select the field(s) you want to track. Tracked fields are called Watch Fields.

4. Type a label for each Watch Field (reports refer to fields by Watch Field number). The label appears in Call Logging>View>Activity Log as well as on the Edit Activity Log Record dialog box.

5. Click OK..

QuickBooks: Alerts

2011-11-28T20:01:00.004-05:00

Alerts are important messages about QuickBooks or your business that appear in your Reminders list. For example, you might receive an alert that there is an update to QuickBooks that you need to download.

TAKE ACTION ON AN ALERT
-Go to the Company menu and click Reminders.

-Click the alert you want to take action on.

-If you click an alert with a lightning bolt next to it, QuickBooks connects to the Internet for the information you need.

You can only dismiss an alert from the Reminders list window.

DISMISS AN ALERT
-Go to the Company menu and click Reminders.

-Right-click on the alert you want to remove and choose Mark As Done.

VIEWING ALL ALERTS

-Go to the Company menu and click Alerts Manager.

-You'll see a list of all alerts that have appeared on the Reminders list. This list includes all alerts that you've dismissed.

-In rare instances, this list will not display an alert because the alert was a time-sensitive one that has expired. Also, alerts may not display on the list because they're no longer relevant.

Crystal Reports : Using formulas to count

2011-11-28T20:00:00.004-05:00

Using simple Summaries (Insert | Summary) in Crystal is great, don't get me wrong, but they are inflexible. For instance, when summarizing (trying to get a count) on {INVOICE.INVNUM}, ALL invoice numbers are evaluated, including duplicates (unless a Distinct Count is being used).

Which usually is fine, but there is always some sort of exclusion to be made; we only want invoices that DON'T begin with "000150" because it a House Account, etc. And you could handle this within your Selection Criteria handily enough; but let's imagine that it screws up other parts of the report; excluding House Accounts impacts other Subtotals, etc.

So to accomodate this little pickle, we will use a formula to count, one record at a time. This is actually a very popular Crystal Technique and you see it a lot in older, more "veteran" reports.

Create a formula called
{@InvoiceCount}
IF MID({INVOICE.INVNUM}, 1, 6) <> 000150 THEN 1 ELSE 0

So what the formula is doing is evaluating the first six digits of the Invoice, and if it ISN'T a House Account, it returns 1 (we want to count it), otherwise it returns 0 (we want to exclude it).

Now, create a simple Summary on {@InvoiceCount} and make it a SUM operation, this way you get a count of only the records you want (for the particular task at hand), without sacrificing any existing Selection Formulas or Summary operations.

Crystal Reports : Grouping records by the Date, ignoring time precision

2011-11-28T19:47:00.004-05:00

Here is something very handy when you start to deal with databases that track both a date and time precision for records.

Let us imagine we are trying to group call records based on {CALLLOG.CREATEDATE}, but when we create a simple Crystal Group on this field, we end up with a bazillion little groups, like this; (may look different depending on your database back end)

01/01/2011 13:45:015
01/01/2011 13:47:001

...so on and so forth. What we are really after is "calls per day", so instead of Grouping on the raw database field, let us Group based upon a formula;

{@frmCreateDate}
DateValue({CALLLOG.CREATEDATE})

The DateValue function returns only the date portion of the field, so now you'll only have one group for each unique "day" in your database.

I've always been a huge fan of grouping on formulas, it allows you total control over what values are being "grouped on", essential when dealing with less than pristine data sources; here you could even choose to exclude certain values, or build in any logic you'd like. Try it.

QuickBooks: Customer Total Balance Invoice

2011-11-28T19:46:00.002-05:00

Q: How do I carry a balance forward to a future invoice and show payments made?

A: Open the invoice (or the form you want to change), click customize (on the tan menu), click customize data layout, on the footer tab click payments/credits, balance, then click layout designer and get things positioned.

This is a question I see/get often. Don't forget you can customize invoices as freely as you want. When you have time, create a few "practice" invoice templates and try colors, moving the logo, adding/subtracting columns.

Now is the time to consider re-branding your image for the new year.

QuickBooks: Returned Goods

2011-11-28T19:35:00.002-05:00

As the Holiday season approaches, I see a great deal of impulse purchasing. This is good for my clients that sell product. However, I can anticipate the question I get often..... "How do I properly return items into inventory after it is has been sold and invoiced if the customer returns something?"

The answer is - use the credit memo. I liken the credit memo as the opposite of an invoice -- the invoice sends the product out and collects the money, the credit memo brings the item back and refunds the money and returns the item to inventory.

Crystal Reports : Offloading Selection Logic into a Formula

2011-11-28T19:22:00.002-05:00

Here is a nice technique to use when your selection criteria starts to get out of control; offload the "heavy lifting" to a formula, then just reference that formula within the Selection Expert.

For instance, let us imagine our Selection Criteria needs to test for multiple things; {CONTACT.STATE} should be either NY, PA or NJ, AND {CONTACT.SOURCE} should be "XMAS 2011" AND {CONTACT.LASTESTIMATE} is at least $100 but no more then $500.

Now, the Selection Criteria for that would look something like this;
{CONTACT.STATE} IN ['PA', 'NY'] AND {CONTACT.SOURCE} LIKE "*XMAS 2011*"
AND
({CONTACT.LASTESTIMATE} >= 100 AND {CONTACT.LASTESTIMATE} <= 500)

Note the use of enclosing parenthesis around the last two conditions; we want the LASTESTIMATE to be BOTH greater than 100 and less than 500.

But you are a Crystal Reporter, and know deep in your heart that someday, someone will need you to change this report. Here is how I would handle the same situation; I would create a separate formula for each condition, thusly;

{@frmState}
IF {CONTACT.STATE} IN ['PA', 'NY'] THEN TRUE ELSE FALSE

{@frmSource}
IF {CONTACT.SOURCE} LIKE "*XMAS 2011*" THEN TRUE ELSE FALSE

{@frmEstimate}
IF {CONTACT.LASTESTIMATE} >= 100 AND {CONTACT.LASTESTIMATE} <= 500 THEN TRUE ELSE FALSE

Now, once those formulas are created (and can be viewed right within the report itself, making troubleshooting very easy), you can use them in the Selection Criteria like this;

{@frmState} = TRUE AND {@frmSource} = TRUE AND {@frmEstimate} = TRUE

This leaves lots of room for compounding, making changes, and plugging in the eventual Parameters. Try it!

QuickBooks: Send Letters Through QuickBooks

2011-11-28T18:46:00.003-05:00

Many people do not consider QuickBooks anything more than their financial software. However, you can use it for other things as well, such as sending letters via Microsoft Word.

To get you started, QuickBooks includes a set of prewritten letters that you can send to customers, vendors, employees, and others. You can modify the letters to suit the needs of your business, and even create new letters.

QuickBooks lets you select the letter recipients and pick the type of letter you want to send. Each letter type corresponds to a template (created in Microsoft Word) that combines text with QuickBooks fields.

QuickBooks creates a Word document containing the letters, each one starting on a new page, and fills the fields with data pertinent to each recipient. For instance, a collection letter includes the customer's name, outstanding balance, and list of overdue invoices.

With the holidays arriving, why not consider sending holiday greetings to all your customers, vendors, employees, and names on the Other List. Here is how to create a letter from scratch:

- Company menu -> Prepare Letters with Envelopes.
- Click Customize Letter Templates
- Choose what you want to do. * Create a new letter template from scratch.

- Click the type of letter template you're creating.

Your choice affects where your letter template will be available. For example, when you prepare a collection letter, you can choose from the list of collection letters that come with QuickBooks as well as any that you created.

- Name the template.

Note: Remember to make the name unique so that you don't overwrite an existing letter template you might want to use later.

A blank letter template opens in Microsoft Word.

- Write and format the letter template in Microsoft Word.

- While you're working in Word, use the QuickBooks toolbar to insert fields into your letters.

If you don't see the QuickBooks toolbar you can reopen it. In Word 2000, 2002, and 2003, go to View > Toolbars. In Word 2007 go to Add-Ins.

- Save the document in Word using the document name you entered in QuickBooks.

To use this template immediately, return to the Letters and Envelopes wizard and click Use Template, then follow the onscreen instructions to prepare your letters.

QuickBooks: Are Your Windows Open?

2011-11-28T18:28:00.006-05:00

When I work with clients, I so often find that they don’t close all the individual windows that have been opened. They get opened by clicking on the icon or menu option for a task, and then another, and another....

One way to see how many windows are open is to select the Window menu option, which gives you a list of some of the open windows. There are people that will have more than 10 open, so this list is not all that helpful.

Another option is to use the Open Window List feature. Select View and then Open Window List. This opens a sidebar on the left that will list all the open windows, listing the most recently used window first.

What about when you close the file? If the file is then closed with all those windows open, they may remain open when the file is reopened, based on the preference set. If so, it will take a very long time to load as the file is trying to bring it back to the state it was upon closing.

The solution.... close your windows when you leave. --- Window -> Close All

The Thin Line Between Love And Spam

2011-11-28T18:04:00.001-05:00

As the email marketing services have become more prevalent in today's marketing efforts, so has the ability for the common email newbie to become the next spammer. Email clients intercept your well intentioned emails for garbage, folks delete others based solely on the images, and junk folders continue to get filled leaving you unable to successfully deliver your promotion or newsletter on which you have worked so hard.

So how do we battle this? How do we make sure that our messages get to their intended recipient? There are a few things that I will lay out here, but keep in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting those messages mailed out and read. Email marketing has become a science in itself, but it's a heck of a time to get involved if you're not already.

Watch your language -- Avoid words that spam killers look for like "free" and "money". While you mean well, if your email has these words in it it may well end up in a junk folder, or even worse, eliminated at the mail server where no one ever sees it. Some of the email services like ConstantContact.com actually have an "anti-spam checker" to give you an idea of whether your email will be seen as legit or spam by most filters.
Avoid too many images -- Let's face it, pictures are usually worth more than the words on the page. That's who we are, we love pictures. However, the tendency is to have way too many images which then become "marketing noise". Remember, you want to tease the reader making them want more. That's where you make those images hyperlinks to your web page or links to your product pages, really reeling them in. Oh, and before I forget -- NO TEXT AS IMAGES! Keep in mind; many email clients (Outlook for example) do not download any images until the reader gives it permission. If you have very little text and all images (including text banners that are images), your email will just look like a bunch of empty boxes with red x's, prompting for download -- at that point, tendency is to just delete it as there's nothing to attract the reader.

Always use the KISS method -- Remember, the objective of your email is to lead your reader to your website, drop you an email, or even give a call. Keeping that in mind, don't put too much on your email that they won't read it. As readers, we tend to be lazy -- get to the point or end up in the trash in many cases. You want to drop hints for promotions or articles, using the phrase "click here for more" as much as possible. In a newsletter for instance, a few well-placed paragraphs with "click for more" at the end of each allows the reader to pick and choose which articles pertain to them. The click through is the real success factor in email marketing as getting them to visit and spend time on your website is time that they did NOT spend at your competitor. Back to keeping it simple, just don't put too much on the page. Like the point about images, too much text, side bar menus, links, etc. can turn off your reader which is the worst case scenario.

This may sound a little overwhelming, jumping into a new area of technology always is. However, this is not meant to scare you off, just encourage you to move slowly and surely into email marketing. It's a wide open field and quickly becoming the most popular way of getting your message out. It's more cost effective them direct mail, and reporting on who's reading it, who's forwarding it, and who's not getting it is more readily available to you. With all email services you can get these reports which are almost immediate unlike your direct mail campaigns. However, just be sure you're careful before you jump or you'll end up in the trash.

When Do I Move to the Cloud?

2011-11-28T15:31:00.003-05:00

Last article, I wrote on what the difference is between the two cloud scenarios: Full hosted web applications vs. hosting your servers at a “server farm” to get the most out of support, hardware, etc. Being that most companies still utilize a client-server type application (they’re very hard to get away from) in some type of form, I’d like to focus on the latter type of cloud.

Server hosting is a beautiful thing no doubt, but we have to be smart (as with anything) that we’re making the right choice at the right time. In my travels, I’ve been to some really interesting places where the company’s server is housed in a very tight, cramped, dark, dusty area which we all know is not good for a server that’s up and running 24x7. Dust and heat are the killers for these machines, and honestly who can afford to create a refrigerator style of data center where it is 60 degrees all day long, dust mats at the entry way, etc. all for 1 or maybe 2 servers?

So, when do we move up to server hosting? This is a very individual answer of course, but I get people to start perusing hosted environments when they’re just about to buy a new server. You’ve seen the signs: the server starts to get real loud (sounds like a 747 is taking off from the backroom), shuts down every once in a while and takes forever to come back up, or maybe it’s just not compatible with today’s software as we move towards more 64-bit client-server applications. Next step when you see these signs is to get a quote from your IT support person, whether onsite or outsourced, where the quotes can range (trust me, I’ve seen it) anywhere from $2000-$8000 for purchase, set up, and configuration. If feeling brave, you can even go to Dell or HP’s websites and start shopping, but I know I glaze over as soon as I start to customize – I just don’t know all the ins and outs of hardware.

To me, this is the first step in comparing costs in hosting or buying new machines. While making those comparisons, some advantages of going the hosted route to keep in mind:

If going hosted, let the experts choose the servers for you. Chances are they already have the hardware and they’ll move you to a virtual environment that’s already in place, which is monitored constantly. You may get your own server or share one that is split into multiple virtual servers (don’t worry, it’s secure).
I’m not out to replace your IT guy, but with most hosting companies they provide their own support staff which is part of the bundled pricing. Again, if you’re in good cahoots with your IT guy, arrangements can be made that they still do the support work, but maybe the contract price will be slightly lesser (there’s some flexibility here) on both sides.
We’re a mobile oriented society now and it’s only increasing. Smartphones, tablets, and netbooks are allowing us to run our desktops from almost any platform. A hosted environment puts that desktop of yours in the virtual space, allowing for any of the above to be used to manage that desktop. We’re no longer tied to the desk, but we’re at the mercy of bandwidth – I say let someone else handle the bandwidth managing up-time, speed, and security.

The above are just a few reasons, to look into hosting, but a cost comparison is necessary. Go ahead, add it all up: IT support costs, hardware costs, upgrading workstations, online backups, etc. and see how the numbers compare. You may find that a per user monthly cost, while it sounds daunting at first, over the span of a few years would match out to what you would spend over time supporting your own internal network and hardware. You’ll still need some support for your network and machines to access the cloud but it will of course be significantly less. However, after all that comparing, even if the cloud is higher, the benefits of a hosted environment far outweigh those of keeping it in house, allowing us to sleep better at night knowing our “stuff” is in good hands.

GoldMine : Display two Contacts Simultaneously

2011-11-14T16:32:00.000-05:00

Did you know you can view multiple GoldMine records simultaneously?

By default, GoldMine displays one contact record at a time. If you also want

to open other contact windows simultaneously, follow these steps:

Select Window | New Contact Window. This will bring up the Contact List.

From the contact list, select the second contact you wish to see and
double click on that contact.

This opens the second contact window. You will see a second record tab at
the top of your screen. Then, select Window | Tile Horizontally for a side
by side view or Cascade Windows for a Vista-style window display

This option is particularly useful when you wish to compare two contact
records in GoldMine. It saves time by eliminating the need to alternate back
and forth between the two records.

GoldMine : Setting up Spell Check for Outgoing E-mail

2011-11-14T16:24:00.003-05:00

A lot of users never bother to set this up, and I am the worst offender. But this is really a good idea; set up your e-mail to spell check itself before going out. Sure, it takes a little while to "set up" (i.e. teaching it to recognize words it think are misspelled, but actually aren't).

1. Select Tools | Options | E-mail | More Options | Advanced
2. Check the box labeled "Auto spell check before sending".

Now, when sending GoldMine e-mails, you will get the Check Spelling window.
You will need to "Add" any words that constant appear in your industry, or you can choose to "Ignore" them. The main idea is that once the dictionary has been added to after awhile, Spell Checking becomes more less painless and pretty much takes care of itself. Try it!

GoldMine : Relinking a History item to a different Contact

2011-11-14T16:21:00.002-05:00

Did you know you can actually relink an existing history to a different contact? (Doing this will "move" the History to the new contact)

1. Find the History item you wish to re-link (everything excepting e-mails is allowed).
2. Right click on the History Item and select Properties.
3. Click on the little black arrow button to the right of the Contact Name, near the top of the History dialog window.
4. The Search Center will now prompt you to search for the appropriate Contact, do so normally, then double-click on it.

The History is now linked to the Contact you just searched for, and this change should be reflected in the associated History tab.

GoldMine : Securing Picklists

2011-11-14T16:16:00.002-05:00

Did you know that you can configure any one particular Pick List to make it easy (and consistent) for users to enter in data?

1. Bring up the Pick List for any field you like by clicking into the field and hitting F2.
2. Click on the "Setup" button.
3. Here are a few of the most popular options:
a. Unchecking "Allow Blank Input" will force the end user to enter in a value.
b. Checking "Force Valid Input" will force the end user to enter in a value that matches a Pick List item.
c. Pop-up when selected does what it says; pops up automatically when the end user moves to the field.

I have a lot of clients that protect the integrity of the data model with just a few modifications to existing picklists. My advice is to start slow with this process; try configuring a few fields at first, then expand as you get a feel for how the changes affect the end users.

GoldMine : Carrying over Completion Notes

2011-11-14T16:11:00.004-05:00

If you're using Automatic Followups in GoldMine, then you might want to set up your History Notes to "flow" to the followup activities;

1. Go to Tools | Options
2. Click on the Schedule Tab
3. Check the box next to "Carry over completion notes when scheduling follow-up calls"

Having this checked will copy the Notes from the currently completed item to the Automatically Scheduled Followup Item.

MSCRM 2011: Creating Recurring Appointments

2011-11-14T16:11:00.003-05:00

The following steps detail how to create a recurring Appointment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011:

* Click on Activities in the Workplace area of the Navigation Pane.
* Click on Appointment in the Ribbon and then choose Recurring Appointment.
* Give the Appointment a Name and then click on the Recurrence icon located on the ribbon under the Recurring Appointment tab, to get options for setting up a Recurring Appointment.
* First you set the Start time, and End time, which will automatically update the Duration. You will also notice that the Start Time, End Time, and Duration are automatically pulled from the Appointment when you click on the Recurrence icon.
* Next you set the Recurrence Pattern, whether it is Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. Then you set how often it will occur, these options will differ depending on which Recurrence Pattern you choose.
* Finally you can set the Range of Recurrence (or duration), the Start range of when the recurrence starts, and the End range of when it will end. For the End range you can set it to have no end date, so it will never stop recurring, to end after so many occurrences, or to end by a certain date.
*Click Ok and Dynamics CRM will automatically create a Recurring Appointment.

You will also notice at the top of the window - “Only the first 15 instances of this series will be displayed in the Calendar”, which means that the appointments will still occur, they just won’t show more than 15 at a time in your calendar.

GoldMine : Using dBase expresions in picklists

2011-11-14T16:05:00.002-05:00

Did you know that you can use an xBase expression as a picklist item?
You simply need to add the expression to the picklist, prefixed by a tilde (~), like this:

~contact1->contact

Try it yourself; let us imagine we have a value in KEY1 that we'd like to easily copy to the Activity Code of a new history item.

1. Select Complete | Unscheduled Call | Outgoing Call.
2. Bring up the Picklist for the "Code" box by clicking into it and hitting F2.
3. Click "New"
4. Paste in the following text as the new picklist item : ~contact1->key1

Now when an end user selects that item from the picklist, it will copy in the value from the KEY1 field. Any Contact1 or Contact2 field is allowable. Have fun!

MSCRM 2011: Creating an Email Template

2011-11-14T16:04:00.003-05:00

If you find yourself drafting the same email over and over again as you work or searching for a sent email to copy and paste text from, in Microsoft Dynamics CRM it’s easy to create an email template to use over and over again to save yourself time when completing your daily tasks. Below are the steps for creating an email template:

* Click on Settings and then Templates in the Business Area of the Navigation Pane. Click on Email Templates.
* Click on New and Select the Template Type. This will determine what entity the email will apply to.
* Add the Title (Name of the Template), Description (Description of what the template is used for), Subject (This is the actual subject line of the email created)
* In the body of the email, you can add merge fields to pull data directly from CRM. To Add a Merge field, Click on Insert/Update, Select the data field values by clicking on ADD and choosing the fields to be included.
* Select the Record type that the field is related to and then the field. You can also add Default Text to be filled if there is no data to be merged:
* Once the template has been saved, you can also add attachments to be sent with the email by clicking on New E-Mail Attachment and selecting your attachment.
* Save and close and the template it is now ready to be used.

You can now use the template and send an email directly from a record in CRM.
To use a Template:

* Open a Contact Record, in the Add tab, Choose Email.
* In the email, choose Include/Insert Template and select the template.

The merge fields will be automatically filled in and you are now ready to send the email without having to recreate the same one each time.

MSCRM 2011: The Reading Pane in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

2011-11-14T16:01:00.001-05:00

The reading pane can be turned off at a user level for the duration of your Microsoft Outlook session by doing the following:

* In the Entity that you working with (i.e. Account, Contact, Lead etc), go to the View Menu and choose the Reading Pane drop down.
* Choose Off.

This will turn off the Reading pane for this entity for the duration of your Outlook session. The next time you log into Outlook and look at the Entity, the reading pane will be back on.

If instead you would like to turn off the Reading Pane for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Outlook Add-In for All Users for an Entity, you need to customize the Entity as follows:

* In CRM, go to Settings, Customization, Customize the System.
* On the Main Form for the entity at the bottom in the Outlook and Mobile area, uncheck the Reading Pane in CRM for Outlook.
* Save and Publish the Entity

HEAT – What is an Edit Set

2011-10-31T12:03:00.000-04:00

An Edit Set is a working copy of your database. More specifically, it is a working copy of your table, field, form, and grid definitions. This working copy acts as a snapshot of your system that a system administrator can work on without affecting a live system. This allows you to save and work on your Edit Sets refining them over a long period of time.

Edit Sets utilize their own interface. This interface provides a user-friendly format and several wizards/editors to help you create and modify your system to meet the specific needs of your organization.

Use an Edit Set to:

• Create, edit, and delete tables.

• Create connections to External tables.

• Create, edit, and delete Table Types.

• Create, edit, and delete Views.

• Create, edit, and delete fields

• Define field attributes (size, format, flags, Validation features, etc.).

• Create and design forms.

• Create, edit, and delete grids.

HEAT - connect to external database

2011-10-31T12:02:00.000-04:00

External tables, are tables that exist outside the HEAT database and can be used for the purpose of retrieving information. Example: Your Asset Management system may reside in a database other than HEAT. Your Heat Administrator can configure Call Logging to validate detail screens based on information in your asset management system. You may also have a database containing customer information which you need to validate from.

HEAT External tables are intended to help reduce duplication of data across dissimilar back-end systems and allow access to company-wide information from within the HEAT Call Logging module.

Note: External tables are very similar to HEAT tables with two notable exceptions: Fields cannot be added or removed Data cannot be changed from within HEAT – in other words, you can only view the data which resides in the external database.

The Call Logging module can read data directly from any supported data source. The external data is acquired through a real-time ODBC connection, so it is always current and never needs to be synchronized.

External Connections

External connections are HEAT representations of an ODBC data source. External connections are created using the Connection Manager in the HEAT Administrator module. When defining the external connection, the system administrator can determine how users log on to the data source and how the data source is used by the Call Logging module.

HEAT - simple search defaults

2011-10-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

Simple Search defaults let you create default lists of fields to Simple Search in Call Logging (and also in Web-based Call Logging). The search returns a group (Call Group or Customer Group) of records that meet your criteria. Creating default lists reduces the time and effort spent setting search criteria. For example, if you commonly Simple Search for Call Records logged on the same day, you could add the RecvdDate field to the list to instantly search for Call Records by date. The default lists of fields are presented in the Simple Search submenus on Call Records and Customer Records.

You can designate up to 25 fields to include in each Simple Search default list.

To Set Simple Search Defaults:

In the Administrator Dashboard, click the Simple Searches link in the Set System Defaults section (or, in the Administrator main window, select Defaults>Simple Searches from the menu bar). The Simple Searches dialog box opens.
Click either the Call Ticket tab (to set Simple Search fields for Call Records) or the Customer tab (to set Simple Search fields for Customer Records).
In the Table Name drop-down list, select the table containing the field you want to include in the Simple Search default list. If you select a Compound table (Subset or Detail), you must also select a Table Type (otherwise a default Table Type of System is selected).
In the Field List, select the field(s) you want to appear in the Simple Search default list, then click Add. The added fields include the table name as a prefix to the field name. Fields are listed this way in the Simple Search submenu.
Click OK

HEAT – Understanding HEAT Compound Table

2011-10-31T11:55:00.000-04:00

A Compound table in HEAT, is a special System table that exists as one table in the database, but can function as multiple tables in the user interface. In other words, one physical table exists, but multiple sub-tables appear in an Edit Set and in Call Logging. Each contains its own unique combination of fields (which are acquired from the one physical Compound table), displays its own form, and uses its own security. The sub-tables, called Table Types, control what table information (fields) appears in each sub-table. Customer Types, Configuration Types and Call Types are all examples of Table Types.

For example, the Profile table is subcategorized by Customer Types. These sub-tables acquire their information from the Profile table, but they function as individual tables displaying their own combination of fields, possessing their own forms, and using their own security.

HEAT contains four Compound tables:

Profile - The Profile table stores information specific to a customer. It can be subcategorized by a Customer Type. Each Type appears as a separate Profile sub-table and is displayed as a separate Profile form, but the information all exists in the main Profile table. The HEAT Demo data contains several predefined Customer Types, which can be modified, and you can create your own Customer Types.
Subset - The Subset table stores key information specific to a call about the customer. Since the Subset table normally gets its information from the Profile table, Customer Types defined for the Profile table also control the Subset table.
Config - The Config table is part of the Customer Record, and contains information about other elements of the customer environment, such as computer hardware and software, training, HR Benefits, storeroom equipment, inventory, IT settings, or registrations. It can be subcategorized by a Configuration Type. The HEAT Demo data contains several predefined Configuration Types, which can be modified, and you can create your own Configuration Types.
Detail - The Detail table stores specific, detailed information about a call. It can be subcategorized according to a Call Type. The HEAT Demo data contains several predefined Call Types, which can be modified, and you can create your own Call Types.

QuickBooks: The Business Owner Pays for Expenses

2011-10-24T21:23:00.001-04:00

Many times an owner pays for small expenses from their pocket while out shopping and it is likely to happen as we get nearer the holidays. So, how you handle it depends on the situation.

1) If the owner is being paid back immediately or the near future

• Write a check and use the expense tab to list all the appropriate expense accounts and their portion of the total amount.
• You can also enter into the petty cash bank register, building that debt until such time as you write a check to clear the owner’s amount and put funds back into the petty cash box. Otherwise create a bank account called owners

2) If there is no intent on being paid back

• Create a journal entry to the owner’s equity account and in the account block enter owner-name equity investment – and offset it with the expenses.

QuickBooks: Reports for ALL payments due within a date range

2011-10-24T21:22:00.000-04:00

I recently received the following question: “Is there a simple way for me to create a report that will show all the payments due for a given date or date range for a specific days need to pay them? For example, if we have rent due, or weekly payroll, credit cards, or regular bills”

Not having seen this person’s data file, the best I could provide is a generic response – Yes - but there are assumptions.

Assumption 1: All vendor bills are entered into the accounts payable system. --- Reports -> Vendors and Payables -> A/P Aging detail.

Assumption2: Bills or Checks are memorized. -- Lists -> Memorized Transactions

QuickBooks: Turning Off the Online Payment Link in QuickBooks Invoices

2011-10-24T21:17:00.001-04:00

While working with a client recently, I noticed the link on the invoice for the Intuit PaymentNetwork. When I asked if she subscribed to the service, she said no, but did not know how to take it off the invoice. It just “sort of showed up”.

Unfortunately, QuickBooks has a tendency to try to force this on the users, and it has been a source of complaint for many. If a client tries to click the link to make payment, and you are not subscribed to the service, they get message reading “Your vendor is not signed up to receive payments." How embarrassing is that!

How to turn it off? The simplest thing to do is to just un-check the show online payment link box in the lower left of your invoice. However, that isn’t a permanent fix. Every new invoice will have that box checked. What you need to do is to change your preference settings.

Select Edit and then Preferences. Select the Payments preference and click on the Company Preferences tab. There are two boxes to make sure that you un-check in the bottom of the screen.

New invoices will not have the links, usually. In some cases, though, the first invoice you create after making this change may still have the box checked. Watch that – uncheck it and future invoices should be OK.

Note that all existing invoices that you have will not be changed – if they were checked before, they will still be checked. So you should keep an eye on this.

QuickBooks: File Size & DB File Fragments Matter

2011-10-24T21:14:00.001-04:00

The size of your QuickBooks file and the number of DB File Fragments determines the health of your QuickBooks company data file. Most people don’t periodically check the health of their QuickBooks file to help prevent data corruption – mainly because they don’t realize that they should or even how to go about it. However, it is important to periodically check this information just to see how healthy your file is or isn’t.

To check the size of your own QuickBooks file – with QuickBooks open press the CTRL and the 1 keys at the same time OR press the F2 key at the top of your keyboard – this will open a Product Information window.

There are three important things to review:
1) File Size for QuickBooks Pro or Premier, files around 150 MB may start to experience some problems. If your file hovers around 250 MB, it may be time to consider starting a new data file. Note that QuickBooks indicates the file size in “K” while the recommendations are in “MB”. The general conversion is to move the decimal to the left three places. So, file size 180932 K is roughly 180 MB - a fairly large file; this is confirmed by the fact that there are 17583 total transactions in the file

2) DB File Fragments – Less than 10 is recommended, but anything under 20 DB file fragments means that your file is pretty healthy; while anything over 20 means your file is sick!

3) List Limits – In QuickBooks Pro and Premier, you can only have 10,000 accounts, 14,500 total names or 14,500 items. If your company needs more list capacity, then an upgrade to QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions may be needed. Otherwise, creating a new file provides an opportunity to clean up the lists and delete things.

There are some things that you can do to try and repair you QuickBooks file yourself:
• Rebuild you company data file and check the Product Information Window after to see if the number of DB file fragments has been reduced
• Create and restore a Portable company file and check your results
• Seek the help of a professional to repair your data file or create a new one.
Keeping your QuickBooks data file healthy means that it will perform better!

QuickBooks: Billed Costs Disappear if you Void, Delete, or Change an Invoice

2011-10-24T21:12:00.000-04:00

If you link costs or time to a customer or job, it's very easy to include those amounts when you create an invoice by selecting the add time/costs button, or directly selecting invoice by time and expenses.

However, once the costs have been linked to a saved invoice they're marked as "Billed". Changing the invoice in any way that eliminates any of the billed costs does not return the costs to a "billable" status.

If you void or delete an invoice that contains billed costs, QuickBooks displays a message. Many users misinterpret this message …thinking it means that QuickBooks will take the logical step of removing the Billed status from expenses that were on the invoice and return them to the Billable status that lets you add them to a future invoice.

Here's how to make those expense costs and time charges billable again:

For expenses/costs you linked to a customer or job, choose Reports | Jobs, Time & Mileage | Unbilled Costs by Job. The window that opens doesn't show the costs you want to recover – it may have no listings at all.

For Time charges, choose Reports | Jobs, Time & Mileage | Time by Job Summary. The window that opens displays time charges that are recorded, but doesn't differentiate between billed and unbilled charges.

1. Select the Date range that covers the dates for which costs/time were marked Billable (or select All as the Date range).
2. Choose Modify Report.
3. Move to the Filters tab.
3. Choose the Billing Status filter and change it to Billed.

When you click OK the report window displays all the Billed costs or time charges for the date range you selected. Now you can drill down into each applicable transaction and change the billing status by clicking the Billable field so it is marked with a checkmark.

The costs and/or time charges will be available when you create the next invoice.

Crystal Reports : Displaying Hours and Minutes

2011-10-24T14:51:00.001-04:00

Let us suppose we would like to summarize the amount of minutes in a phone call report, but express the grand total in hours and minutes. This is more easily accomplished using the "Display String" of the field in question. This allows us to create the summary field as normal.

1. Create a summary field to SUM your {CALLS.MINUTES} field
2. Right click on the summary field itself
3. Click on the "X-2"button to the right of "Display String"
4. Paste in the following formula :

local numbervar Hr := Truncate(CurrentFieldValue/60);

local numbervar Mn := Remainder(CurrentFieldValue,60);

Totext(Hr,0) + "Hours " + ToText(Mn,0) + "Minutes"

Pro Tip : The CurrentFieldValue function returns the current field value of the field being formatted. This allows easy code reuse.

Crystal Reports : The Exclusive OR

2011-10-24T14:50:00.001-04:00

Most of you will have been comfortable using just "AND" and "OR" as boolean operators when creating crystal formulas. Once in awhile, however, we will need to use the "XOR" operator. This "exclusive" OR will only return TRUE if either of the conditions is true, yet return FALSE if both or none of the conditions is true.
Let us imagine a user database that tracks software class certifications. There are two fields, {USERS.CLASS1} AND {USERS.CLASS2}, which represent two classes any one user may have taken. To determine which users have completed just ONE (i.e. field is not null) class, but not BOTH or NONE, use the "XOR" operator thus:

ISNULL({USERS.CLASS1}) = TRUE XOR ISNULL({USERS.CLASS2}

Crystal Reports : Viewing the Report Selection Criteria

2011-10-24T14:49:00.000-04:00

When the Selection Criteria becomes very complex for any given report, I often find it helpful to display the whole Selection Criteria right on the report.
To do this, you need to insert a "Special Field" from the Field Explorer.
Select Insert | Special Field.
Drop down the Special Fields list.
The field we want to insert is Record Selection Formula.
You will also notice that the Group Selection Formula is also available here.

Crystal Reports : Counting Unique Records

2011-10-24T14:48:00.000-04:00

When creating a "Summary", using the Count function may not be desirable. It is often the case that a report must only return the number of unique contact records, as other tables (i.e. History) may contain multiple rows for each customer.
Select Insert | Summary.
Select the fieldname you wish to summarize.
Make sure to select Distinct Count as the Summary Operation.

Crystal Reports : Calculating Age

2011-10-24T14:46:00.000-04:00

One of the many things you will want to do with a bona-fide date field is calculate age.
Crystal makes it easy for us here; as long as we're comparing two date type fields, we can perform simple math.
Let us suppose that the date field in question is {CONTACTS.SOURCEDATE}, which represents when a particular prospect was imported into our database.

1. We can see how many records were imported in the last seven days

{CONTACTS.SOURCEDATE} <= CurrentDate() - 7

2. Or how "old" any particular record is, expressed in days

CurrentDate() - {CONTACTS.SOURCEDATE}

3. To calculate the age in years, we must use the Crystal DateDiff function:

DateDiff("yyyy", {CONTACTS.SOURCEDATE}, CurrentDate())

The "yyyy" specifies we want the answer in years; "m" and "d" are also options (months and days, correspondingly)

GoldMine : Assigning a Password Policy

2011-10-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

Another new security measure in GoldMine is the ability to set a password policy. This is done system-wide and applies to all users.

To do this, go to Tools | Configure | System Settings.
Click on the "Password Policy" tab.
You can set a minimum length, whether or not to block after three unsuccessful attempts, and also save a password history that cannot be repeated.

To set up password expiration, this is done on a per-user basis.

1. Go to Tools | Users Settings
2. Change the "Valid for Days" value.

You'll notice the "Next Change" date becomes activated after you choose x number of days.

Caveat; I once worked in a place that forced password changes every month. And as you walked around the office, on virtually every desk (usually on a stickynote) was each users password. So I guess the moral of the story is to use with care.

MSCRM 2011: Adding the LinkedIn Interface to a CRM form

2011-10-17T14:23:00.003-04:00

In the sample below I will show you how to integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM and LinkedIn. I found a post from Leon Tribe (an MVP for Microsoft Dynamics CRM) that explains it clearly for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Below are the detailed steps:

* Save the below html code to an html file (Copy and paste into Notepad and then do a Save As)

<html>
<head>
<script src="http://www.linkedin.com/companyInsider?script&useBorder=no" type="text/javascript"> </script>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<span id="getlinkedin"> </span>
</center>
<script type="text/javascript">
var parentForm = parent.frames.document.crmForm;
new LinkedIn.CompanyInsiderBox("getlinkedin",parentForm.all.companyname.DataValue);
</script>
</body>

*Go to CRM, Settings, Customizations, Customize The System, Web Resources and Click the New button.
* Give the Web Resource a name and specify the type as a Web Page. Browse to the location where you saved your html file, select it and then press the save button.
* Customize the lead entity by going to Settings, Customizations, Customize the Solution, Entities, Leads, Form and add the Web Resource to the Main Form. Open up the Main Form, click the Insert tab and select the Web Resource that you just created.
* Save and Publish

You will now see a windows on the Lead form for the LinkedIn interface. When you change the Lead record’s Company, the LinkedIn window is adjusted to show you who you know that works there and a link to show everyone else that works there that you may have access to.

MSCRM 2011: Operators in a Workflow

2011-10-17T14:19:00.002-04:00

There are 6 different operators that can be used in an MSCRM 2011 Workflow:

* Set to: This operator is used to set the value of the field of any data type.
* A new operator introduced in CRM 2011 – Append with: This operator can only be used with text field. It will append specified field's value or the default value to the existing value.
* Clear: This operator can be used with all data types. This will clear the field's value.
* Increment by: This operator can only be used with decimal fields. This will increment the existing value with the specified field's value or default value.
* Decrement by: This operator can only be used with decimal fields. This will decrement the existing value with the specified field's value or default value.
* Multiply by: This operator can only be used with decimal fields. This will multiply the existing value with the specified field's value or default value.

Bulk or Mass edit is a great feature in CRM that allows us to edit multiple records at a time. However, it will only allow you to set the value, you cannot perform the above operations in bulk edit. With the help of workflows, we can perform the above operations on multiple records.

GoldMine : Taking a Phone Message

2011-10-17T14:17:00.002-04:00

For those of us who still have a receptionist or like to take messages in "person" over the phone, GoldMine can help organize this process.

Imagine I am calling into your organization and you need to take a phone message for a different sales rep to call me.

1. The first thing you do is navigate to the "Justin Hill" contact record. This is important, as virtually everything you do in GoldMine affects the "Current Contact Record".

2. Select "Message" from the GoldMine toolbar, or select Actions | Message from the top level menu.

3. You now see the "Phone Message" dialog window. You'll notice this item is already attached to the Justin Hill contact record. All you need do now is:

4. Specify the GoldMine user that should get this message from the top right drop down list.

5. Type in a simple message in the "Message" box. If more room is needed for notes, simply use the "Notes" area below. You may also choose to use the checkboxes which indicate the purpose of the call.

The assigned user will see this call on their GoldMine calendar alongside other Calls, Appointments and Actions.

GoldMine : Adding Columns to the Search Center

2011-10-17T14:13:00.002-04:00

Did you know that you can change the columns seen in the Search Center?

1. Open up your Search Center by clicking on "Search" from the GoldMine toolbar.

2. Click on the "Columns" button within the "top strip" of the Search Center.

3. Click on the "Column Selection" button.

4. To add columns to the Search Center, you must move the appropriate fieldname from the "Available Columns" to the "Selected Columns" list.

Do so by singly selecting an item on the left, then clicking the forward arrow button. Reverse the procedure to remove columns from the Search Center view.

Pro Tip : This is a nice way to build columns for a list, as you can right-click within the Search Center and select Output To... | Excel.

MSCRM 2011: Adding CRM Modules to the Navigation Pane in Microsoft Outlook 2010

2011-10-17T14:09:00.007-04:00

In Outlook 2010, the Solutions Module service won't let you simply drag and drop as you were able to in Outlook 2003 and 2007. Here is an alternative that uses the Shortcuts view in the Outlook Navigation Pane and allows you to quickly access your most frequently used Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 areas (Accounts, Contacts, Leads, etc.) within the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Outlook Client.

* Right-click on Shortcuts and Choose New Shortcut Group.
* Name the Group “CRM”.
* Right-Click on the “CRM Group” and Choose New Shortcut
* The Add to Navigation Pane will be displayed – choose the CRM Module that you wish to add to the CRM Shortcut
* Continue until all the modules you wish to add have been added.

This will allow easy access to those CRM modules that you use most frequently.

GoldMine : Using Favorite E-mail Folders

2011-10-17T14:09:00.005-04:00

Did you know that you can add items to the "Favorite Folders" area in the GoldMine E-mail Center?

1. Hit F5 to bring up your E-mail Center (or select Go To | Mail from the top level menu)

2. Within the E-mail Center "Folder Tree" (upper left hand side), right click on the mail folder you'd like to add to your Favorites.

3. Select "Add to Favorite Folders". You'll now notice that your Folder now appears within the Favorites list.

I find it handy to add the previous months "Sent" folder to my Favorites, then remove it when the next month passes (by right-clicking the folder and selecting "Remove from favorite folders").

GoldMine : Using Custom E-mail Folders

2011-10-17T14:04:00.002-04:00

Did you know that you can create and manage "custom" e-mail folders within the GoldMine E-mail Center?

1. Hit F5 to bring up our E-mail Center (or select Go To | Mail from the top level menu).

2. Right click on your "Inbox" folder, then select "New Inbox Subfolder".

3. Type in a new name for your Custom Folder.

Now you can drag messages from any other Mailbox folder into the new one. We have many clients that have, for instance, separate Inbox Subfolders for each "type" of E-mail (i.e. Client Related, Internal, etc).

Crystal Reports : Grouping on a Formula

2011-10-03T15:29:00.002-04:00

One of the most effective techniques I've learned is how to group on a formula.
Think of it this way: the logic of the formula can be whatever you want it to be. So, any "high-level" corporate logic can be expressed here.
Take for example a table called HISTORY in which are listed history items per user.
Let us create a formula that will "kick-out" a value based on HISTORY.DATE.

IF {HISTORY.DATE} > CURRENTDATE - 30 THEN "History within 30 Days" ELSE
IF {HISTORY.DATE} < CURRENTDATE - 30 THEN "History beyond 30 Days" ELSE
{HISTORY.DATE}

Now this formula can be used as a Group.

You will notice that the last line is an ELSE {HISTORY.DATE}. This is because if a {HISTORY.DATE} does NOT fall into our formula criteria, then it will be "skipped". The final ELSE works as a "catch-all".

Crystal Reports : Group Tree Missing

2011-10-03T15:29:00.001-04:00

Very recently a client asked: "where did my Group Tree go?"
They were referring to the left-hand windowpane where the Groups are displayed in a hierarchical view.
You may enable or disable the Group Tree by selecting View | Group Tree from the top level menu.

Crystal Reports : Changing JOIN Types

2011-10-03T15:28:00.002-04:00

Within the Visual Linking Expert (Database | Visual Linking Expert), we can create JOINS between the tables that make up our report.
For those of us that have more complex needs or a more modular (relational) database (i.e. many tables) may need to use different kinds of JOINS. The "default" JOIN type is INNER.

1. Within the Visual Linking Expert, right click on a "link" (right on the line).
2. Select "Options".
3. At the bottom right of the window, you may select a JOIN type. All the expected types are listed (i.e. LEFT OUTER, RIGHT OUTER, etc).

Note: Changing this will impact your expected recordcounts. It is advisable to be familiar with all the JOIN types before modifying.

Crystal Reports : Crystal Reports : Displaying Parameters with Multiple Values

2011-10-03T15:28:00.001-04:00

When using a parameter that accepts multiple values, you will notice that you can't just drag it onto the report. We must pass it to the "Join" Crystal Function to "split" the values out.

Our parameter field is called {?UserID}, and accepts multiple values.

Create a formula with the following code:

Join({?UserID}, ", ")

This will return all UserID values within the {?UserID} parameter, separated by commas.

Crystal Reports : Displaying the starting and ending dates within a Range

2011-10-03T15:23:00.000-04:00

If you are using a date parameter that is Ranged (i.e. a single parameter field that prompts for a starting and ending date), you will probably want to display these dates on the report. This helps prevent confusion as to what data is included in the report. To do this, we will need to create two formula fields, one for the starting date and one for the ending date. The formula fields will use the Minimum and Maximum Crystal functions.

For this example, our parameter field is called {?DateRange}

Formula field #1 (Starting Date) : Minimum({?DateRange})
(Pulls out the minimum value of our range)

Formula field #2 (Ending Date) : Maximum({?DateRange})
(Pulls out the maximum value of our range)

HEAT – Reset User ID’s

2011-09-29T12:28:00.000-04:00

You can reset Login IDs at any time. This is a useful feature if there is a power failure, because once power is restored and the computers are turned on, HEAT assumes that anyone logged on before the power failure is still logged on.

To Reset a Login ID:

In the Administrator Dashboard, click the View Current Users in the System link in the System Security section (or, in the Administrator main window, select Security>User Status from the menu bar). The User Status dialog box opens, listing the users in the your system.
Select the user whose account you want to reset and click Reset. To reset all user accounts at once, click the Select All button.

Note: To select more than one user account at a time, press the Ctrl key.
Click Exit.

HEAT – Lock and Unlock User Accounts

2011-09-29T12:26:00.000-04:00

You can lock user accounts to prevent users from logging on to the system. This feature is useful if you need to place a temporary hold on a Login ID.

To Lock a User Account:

In the Administrator Dashboard, click the View Current Users in the System link in the System Security section (or, in the Administrator main window, select Security>User Status from the menu bar). The User Status dialog box opens, listing the users in the your system, displaying the Login ID, the user name, and, in the Status column, the module(s) the users are logged onto.
Select the user whose account you want to lock, then click Lock. The user Status changes to Locked. To lock all user accounts at once, click the Select All button.

Note: To select more than one user account at a time, press the Ctrl key.
Click Exit.

To Unlock a User Account:

In the Administrator Dashboard, click the View Current Users in the System link in the System Security section (or, in the Administrator main window, select Security>User Status from the menu bar). The User Status dialog box opens, listing the users in the your system.
Select the user whose account you want to unlock and click Reset. To unlock all user accounts at once, click the Select All button.

Note: To select more than one user account at a time, press the Ctrl key.
Click Exit.

HEAT – Add a crystal report to the Heat Form

2011-09-29T12:23:00.000-04:00

You can add a command button connected to a Report Shortcut, so that you can run a report directly from a Call Logging form with just one click. Report Shortcuts are links to reports (.rpt) shipped with HEAT (Answer Wizard) or created by you. Report Shortcuts makes it easier to run frequently used reports because report settings are already established.

You can only connect Report Shortcuts to command buttons appearing on the Call Log, Detail, Subset, Assignment, and Journals forms. You can do this by either clicking and dragging the Report Shortcut from the Report View panel, or by adding a command button, then associating that button with the desired Report Shortcut.

To Add Report Shortcut to a Form Using the Report View:

Open the form with which you want to work. The Form Editor opens, displaying the form.
Locate the desired Report Shortcut on the Report View panel. Click the drop-down arrow to filter the report list by audience (View).
Click and drag the Report Shortcut onto the form. A command button is added to the form. The command button can be resized, if needed.

HEAT – Add an Auto Task to a Form

2011-09-29T12:20:00.000-04:00

You can add a command button connected to an AutoTask, so that you can run the AutoTask directly from a Call Logging form with just one click.

You can only connect AutoTasks to command buttons appearing on the Call Log, Detail, Subset, Assignment, and Journals forms. You can do this by either clicking and dragging the AutoTasks from the AutoTask View panel, or by adding a command button, then associating that button with the desired AutoTask.

To Add an AutoTask to a Form Using the AutoTask View:

Open the form with which you want to work. The Form Editor opens, displaying the form.
Locate the desired AutoTask on the AutoTask View panel. Click the drop-down arrow to filter the AutoTask list by audience (View).
Click and drag the AutoTask onto the form. A command button is added to the form.

After you add the command button, you can:

Add an image to the button (refer to "Add Images and Pictures to Controls").
Format the appearance of the button (refer to "Dynamically Change Text Colors on Controls").
Include the button in the tab order on the form (refer to "Set Tab Order on Forms").

To Add a Command Button to a Form and Connect the AutoTask:

Open the form with which you want to work. The Form Editor opens displaying your form.
On the Form Editor toolbox, click the Command Button tool. Your cursor becomes the Command Button icon.
Click the form where you want to place the command button. A command button is added to your form. The command button can be resized, if needed. By default, the word COMMAND appears on the button.

To remove the word COMMAND from the control, right-click the control and select Attributes. The Attributes dialog box opens. Click the Text tab, then highlight the word COMMAND and delete it.

You now need to manually associate the command button with the desired AutoTask. Select the command button to which you want to connect the AutoTask.

From the Administrator menu bar, select Control>Connect>Auto Task. The Select a Task dialog box opens.
Select the View containing the AutoTasks you want to display, either Team or Global.
In the list of Tasks, select the AutoTask you want to run when the command button is clicked.
If the AutoTask you want to run is not available, you can add it by clicking the Add button. You must then set specifications for the AutoTask in the dialog boxes provided.
Click Save. The AutoTask is connected to the command button. The AutoTask now runs automatically when you click the button on the form.

Note: Because Administrator and Call Logging share AutoTask functionality, any additions, edits, or deletions made to AutoTasks in one module appear in the other module. For this reason, you should use caution when working with AutoTasks.

After you add the command button, you can:

Add an image to the button (refer to "Add Images and Pictures to Controls").
Format the appearance of the button (refer to "Dynamically Change Text Colors on Controls").
Include the button in the tab order on the form (refer to "Set Tab Order on Forms").

To Disconnect an AutoTask from a Command Button:

• Select the command button, then select Control>Connect>Disconnect.

QuickBooks: The Audit Trail

2011-09-26T16:12:00.003-04:00

As you begin to think about the end of the year clean-up, you may need to become a detective and drill down to locate specifics.... especially deletions and modifications. This can be a cumbersome task, but using a good tool -- THE AUDIT TRAIL -- will make it less so.

The Audit Trail is the tool QuickBooks uses to automatically track all the additions, deletions, and modifications made to transactions in your data file. The audit trail ensures that an accurate record of your data is maintained.

How do I create this report?
1. Go to the Reports menu and click Accountant & Taxes.
2. Click Audit Trail

What happens to audit trail information when you clean up the data file?
During the file clean-up process, QuickBooks removes all audit trail information tracked for transactions deleted during the clean-up process.

The Audit Trail report lists each accounting transaction and any additions, deletions, or modifications that affect that transaction.

QuickBooks: Bounced Check NOT a New Sale

2011-09-26T16:07:00.002-04:00

A QuickBooks client asked: When you receive an NSF check, the recommended method is to reissue the invoice plus any NFS charges. Does this also correct your accounts receivable detail?

The answer is yes, it does. Unfortunately, most companies will eventually deal with one or more bounced checks. New users follow Intuit’s method found on the QuickBooks help screen, which can be difficult to understand, so I’ve attempted to simplify it.

1. Leave the original receive payment and deposit transaction as is because payment was actually received and deposited.

2. Immediately reduce your checking account for the amount the bank charged for the bounced check by using "write checks" or enter directly into the bank account register. The payee name is up to you, but code to the account "bank charges" and enter the customer name in the customer/job field.

You will record a new receivable invoice or statement charge for the amount the customer owes to you (the bounced check, the bank fee and your own fee if applicable*). This new invoice or statement charge will put a charge in the bank register thus reducing the bank account amount by the amount of the bounced check.

On the new invoice:
• The first line item is "Bounced check” (set up as an “other charge” item, coded to the bank account).
• The description should be “Bounced or Returned Check”. You may want to also manually enter the customer’s check number in the description field.
• The first line amount is the original/bounced check.

When this invoice is paid, the A/R will be reduced, the bank register will be increased, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, you have NOT recorded a new sale for this specific charge.

On the new invoice:
• Enter a second line item called "bounced check bank fee" for the amount your bank charged you for the bounced check. (set up as an “other charge” item, coded to the account "bank charges".)

When the invoice is paid, this charge will offset the charge you entered in step 2 above.

If you are re-depositing the original check, go through receive payments and use the new invoice. In the memo field type "redeposit" of ck #xxxx. Note that the customer will still owe you the bank fee and your own fee if applicable*.

*If you charge your own fee, you must set up a new Other Charge item, such as “MY BUSINESS FEE”, and code it to Other Income.

Then when the new invoice is paid, you will have cleared the accounts receivable, offset the withdrawal of the original bounced check, offset the bank charges, earned something for your trouble and MOST IMPORTANTLY, you have NOT recorded a new sale for this specific charge.

QuickBooks: Don’t forget…!

2011-09-26T16:06:00.000-04:00

It is not uncommon to get so busy the standard monthly bills can be issued late. The more invoices you have, whether received in the “snail mail” or via e-mail, the more chance there is for one or more to be paid after the due date. This can cause multiple problems, especially if these late payments include credit cards and/or loan payments.

There are ways to avoid this concern:
• Use bill pay through your business bank and have an automatic payment scheduled every month for release.
• Memorize the bills in QuickBooks.

If you have several memorized transactions that you always enter on the same day, you can save time if you group them together.

You memorize your rent payment check, your vehicle insurance payment check, and utility payment into a group as each transaction occurs at the end of each month. You would create a group perhaps titled “End of Month”. Then, you could either have QuickBooks enter the grouped transactions automatically at the end of every month, or have QuickBooks remind you when it's time to recall the grouped transactions.

Create groups on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis to help you get past the anxiety of forgetting when your automobile registration, or estimated tax payments are due.