Copyright: Copyright by M && R Technologies, Inc.


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Company Manager

The Company Manager handles your company setup options and all of the system operating features.  Each company you setup can have their own features.  The features you define automatically activate themselves when you open the company for processing (make it the default company). Below are the feature options, the system settings you can adjust,  followed by an overview of how the Company Manager works.

 Feature Options

 Frequent Asked Questions
 Adding a new Company
 Editing Companies
 Deleting Companies
 Searching for Companies
 Company List
 Displaying/Sorting Records in the Manager Window

System Operation Settings  (stored in the company setup)

 Company address and tax rate setup
 Invoicing options
 Printing Envelopes
 Displaying a sales/information message
 Setting up invoice and statement form layout
 Changing forms, fonts and colors
 Setting up system graphics
 General, Dates, Windows, etc.

Overview

A Company is the company you run, or, for accounting firms, the companies they manage for their clients. For example, if you run a company called "Joe's Welding Service", you would need to setup a company file for this business. Company files tell the billing program how to handle transactions, when processing invoices for this company. All company setup information is handled by the Company Manager. Using the Company Manager, you can add, edit and delete companies. You can access the Company Manager by clicking on the button pictured above from the billing systems main screen. To create a new company, select the ADD menu option on the Company Menu. When you setup a new company, the program will automatically create a new customer, invoice and product files as needed. The system will tell you when it needs to create new files. The new files will be empty.

This program can manage up to 32,000 different companies at once. Each company has separate customer, invoice and product files.  If you manage (run) only one company, you will only need to setup one company file.  The company file tells the billing system how to "act". Since you can setup different options for each company, you can make them all "act" differently.  Once you setup a company it will appear in the list.  To make it the default company, click on it and select the company menu and choose 'Set As Default'.


New Company

Creating a New Company  (Company Manager)

Companies are the businesses you run. You must first setup your company before you can add any customers, products or invoices.  Also, the system operation settings are read from selected settings in your company setup.

To create a new company, open the Company Manager and select the Add option from the Company Menu. Fill in as many options as you can and then select the Save button and then close the Company Manager. The Company will now be available for use. To make any company the default company, open the Company Manager, click the company name in the list and select Set As Default from the Company Menu.  The default company is the company you are currently processing.  All system settings will be read from this file.  You may have up to 32,000 different companies.  All companies have their own customer, product and invoice files.


Edit Company

Edit Company  (Company Manager)

This feature is used to make any changes needed to an existing company file. From the Company Manager, click on the company you want  and select the Edit option on the Company Menu.  You can change, add  and remove any information at any time. When changes are complete, click the Save button and close the Company Manager. Changes will take effect immediately if the company you edited is currently set as the default company, otherwise, the changes will take effect the next time you open that company for processing (set as the default company).


Delete Company

Delete Company  (Company Manager)

This option allows you to delete a company.  Use this option if you close a business, or to delete any test companies you have setup. To delete any company, it must not be the current default company. In other words, you must have another company open to delete it. There is no restrictions when deleting companies, as the company and all of it's files will be removed even if unpaid invoices exist.

To delete a company, open the Company Manager, click on the company name in the list and choose the Delete option from the Company Menu. The company setup, customers, products and invoices will be removed.


Company List

Company List  (Company Manager)

This feature allows you to print a company list to the screen. You can modify and delete companies from the report and then print it out. You can also change the font if you choose.  Use this feature to print a report of the companies currently setup for processing.


Company Address

Address and Tax Rate Settings  (Company Manager)

 Company Address

The company address entered here should be the address where your customers will mail their payments to. You should also fill in your phone number or FAX number or email address. You have 5 lines to enter your address and phone or contact information.  You can format these lines any way you like.  For example, you may have your address on three lines, you phone number on the next line and your email address on the last line. Whatever you type in these five data fields will appear at the top of all of your invoices and statements so your customers know how to contact you if they have questions and where to mail their payments.  If you do not fill in this information, it will not appear on your forms.

 System Tax Rate

 PLEASE NOTE: If you set up a customer as Tax Exempt (i.e. the TE box has a "Y"), NO TAX will be calculated as you have specified this customer as tax exempt. There is no way to over-ride a tax exemption status at the invoice level. Only mark customers as tax exempt if you NEVER want to charge them tax, otherwise, the tax calculation can be controlled at the invoice and/or product code level.

The Tax Rate is used to calculate the tax when you prepare invoices. If you mark a product or line item as taxable and you have the calculate taxes checkbox marked, the system will charge tax for the line item. For example, some tax rates are 8.125%, which you would enter as 8.125 or for a 6% tax, you would enter 6.000 as your rate. If you do not want to charge tax, simply turn of the calculate tax checkbox. A Product (line item) invoice uses this tax setting, while a memo invoice allows you to enter your own tax amount. When a line item invoice calculates the tax amount, it will do so for ONLY THE LINE ITEMS YOU MARK AS TAXABLE. Therefore, it is no problem billing taxable and non-taxable items on the same invoice. You can also change the "tax caption" to whatever you want by entering in the text below the tax rate setting. You may want it to say "Tax:" or "GST:" or "Sales Tax:" or something else. If you leave the heading box empty, no tax amount will appear on the invoice. If you need to calculate GST or other special taxes, click here.


GST Tax

Using GST and other Special Taxes

Our program can support the GST and any other tax you may need to calculate. Here are your options:

1.  GST INCLUSIVE: Setup your product codes at the GST INCLUSIVE price and add a sales message at the bottom of your invoices which includes a notation of how the GST is calculated. Using the Forms Control Panel in Billing Manager, you can create your own message to appear at the bottom of your invoices.  You can indicate how the GST was calculated here.

2. GST EXCLUSIVE: You have two options:

A. Setup your product codes at the GST EXCLUSIVE price and mark each item as taxable or non-taxable and then set your system tax rate to the GST rate.  The tax is automatically calculated for each item marked taxable and added to the "tax" field on the invoice by Billing Manager. Using this method, you do not have to manually calculate the GST and the tax amounts that Billing Manager includes on it's reports, will reflect the GST. If you need to add an additional tax for something else, you can add it as an additional line item on the invoice. Also, since you mark the items taxable/non-taxable, you control which items are used (included) when the program automatically calculates the GST.  This method also eliminates calculation errors as it is calculated by Billing Manager and not done "manually".  You can also change the tax caption to read "GST" by editing the company setup and selecting the Company Address/Tax tab option. The tax caption is located under the tax rate setting.

B. Setup your product codes at the GST EXCLUSIVE price and then manually calculate the GST, then add it to your invoice as an additional line item.  You setup a product code called "GST" and set the price at 0.00 and add this line item to your invoice and manually calculate the GST and enter that amount on this line item.  While this method requires a manual GST calculation, by adding the GST as an additional line item, you will see the totals for GST by running your Sales Report, sorted by Product Description.  This provides you a method to total the GST monthly for tax reporting purposes. This method is also nice in that it allows you to utilize the system tax rate for another tax, such as a sales, luxury, local, state or federal tax.

In the end, it is you who will determine how you want to calculate the GST and other taxes, if any, and setup the system accordingly.  Decide which method is best for you and your company. For more information about the System Tax Rate, click here.


Invoice Options

Invoice Options  (Company Manager)

These options provide you with tools to specify how your invoices work. These options can be modified by editing the company setup and selecting the "Invoice Options" tab.

Next Invoice Number allows you to set the beginning (next) invoice number.

 Default Invoice Quantity allows you to specify what quantity appears as the default when you do an invoice.  For example, you may want to show your quantities as 1, 1.00, 1.000 or some other default display.

Default New Invoice Type specifies which type of invoice appears when you do a new billing.  You should set this option to display the invoice type you use most frequently.  You can switch to the other type at invoicing time by selecting the desired type on the invoice editor.

Default Invoice Terms is where you select the default invoice terms for this company.  If you specify terms at the customer level, they will override this setting.  If you specify terms at the invoice level, they will override these terms and the terms specified for that customer. Set this option with the payment terms you want to use when terms are not specified at the customer or invoice levels.

 Set new invoice default print flag on when checked, will cause the print invoice checkbox on the invoice option to be checked. Any new invoices will be printed a soon as they are entered. This is used by most point-of-sale type businesses.

 Prefix invoice numbers with month and year when checked, will add the month and year to your invoice numbers. This allows you to tell what month and year the invoice was created simply by reading the invoice number. For example, with this option turned on, invoice number 500 dated February 19, 1997 would be displayed as 0297500 where 02 is the month, 97 is the year and then followed by the invoice number. This feature is used for backward compatibility for our 16-bit version customers, but you may utilize this feature as well. The default setting is off (unchecked).

Print Duplicate Invoice on reprinted invoices will print the words "** DUPLICATE INVOICE **" on the invoice, if the invoice has previously been printed.  This is mainly for people who work with large companies who like to know when you are sending them duplicate invoice copies, so they don't pay you from the original invoice and the duplicate invoice.  You can use this as the flag to alert you that this is not the original invoice and that you may have already mailed the original invoice to your customer.

On new invoice, copy customer to label queue if turned ON, will copy the customer name and address into the label print queue each time you enter a new invoice.  This feature will save you from having to manually select customers into the print queue, if you use mailing labels to send out your product shipments. The On batch print, copy customer to label queue is used if you batch print invoices and want to print mailing labels for each invoice.  When you run the batch print option, the customer address will be added to the label queue for each invoice printed.

Packing Slip if turned on, will print a packing slip with each printed invoice.  This is for people who ship products.  The packing slip does not show the prices, only the products and quantities. Packing slips tell your customers what is in the package and that they will be sent an invoice for the merchandise.  Some large companies require packing slips in order to prepare product receiving reports. You can change the heading that appears on the top of the report from "Packing Slip" to something else by editing the company setup and selecting the Forms Setup tab and pressing the "Headers/Fonts/Color" button option.

File/Remittance Copy if turned on, will print additional invoice copies. You can also specify the number of additional copies you want printed. For example, you may wish to send a file copy to your customer and also keep one for yourself. This is a "catch-all" feature you can use to print file copies, remittance copies, duplicate copies or anything else that you need. You can change the heading that appears on this form. See above step. Please note that the maximum number of additional copies you can print is 5. If the value you enter is not 1 through 5, the program will replace your value with a value of (1) one. If you want (0) zero copies, turn off the file copy checkbox and nothing will be printed, no matter what the number of copies is set to.


Sales Message

Sales/Information Message  (Company Manager)

You have four lines of text to utilize when entering a sales or information message for your customers.  This message will be printed at the bottom of your invoices and statements.  Use it to tell your customers your credit policy, announce a new product or instruct customers about a new pricing list.  Anything you want!  To turn off the printing of the sales message, edit the company setup and select the Forms Setup tab and uncheck the Sales Message box.

The sales message will be centered on the invoice. You can change the fonts and/or color of the sales message text by editing the company setup and selecting the Forms Setup tab and pressing the "Headers/Fonts/Color" button option. The sales message font button is located at the bottom of the window. Click on it to change the font.


Please note that there are options on the customer setup that allow you to type in notes / comments on the customer record and print them where this sales message normally appears. Read the Add Customer topic for more about those options.


Form Layout

Invoices/Statements Form Setup Options  (Company Manager)

The Forms Setup tab on the Company Manager allows you to specify how your forms look when they are printed. Also see question #17 of the FAQ's file about speeding up printed output. Forms Setup includes the following features:

Vertical Lines when checked, will draw vertical lines on your forms.

Line Widths allow you to specify the width of the lines.

Horizontal Lines when checked, will draw vertical lines.

Box Top, Box around Invoices/Statements These three options work together. When checked, a box will be drawn around your entire forms. The Box Top setting allows you to move down the top of the box.  This setting is used for printers that start printing at the very top of the page, such as Ink Jets. Laser printers do not do this. Ink Jets also can't print to the bottom of the page and the box drawn looks awkward.  Use the Box Top setting to move the top line down so it looks more centered.

Customer Aging when checked, will display the customer aging recap at the bottom of your forms.  If you display the aging your customers will know what their account status is and you should never hear your customers say "You never told me I owed you that money".

Shading (Laser) when checked, will draw two shaded boxes on your forms. This enhances your printed output.  Laser printers handle shading well. Some other printers streak and/or smudge the shading.  Use this option only if your printer can handle it.

Letterhead Style when checked, does not print your address lines at the top of the form.  This allows you to print on your own letterhead stationery.  See FAQ's #16. Also see the Bitmap logo option below for information on how to print the form captions on your letterhead, by actually turning this feature off and utilizing another option.

Sales Message when checked, will print any sales/information  message you have entered on the Sales Message tab option, if there is enough room left on your form. See FAQ's #18. Also see topic Sales Message for more on this.

Product Codes on Invoices when checked, will display the product code column on your invoices, otherwise, it will not appear. Some people do not like to display their product codes to their customers. There is also a topic about this in the FAQ's, #13.

Move down totals for blank lines / Max Lines If you want to move the printed totals down for empty line items, check this option. This setting is used only on the last page of your invoice (the totals page). Your totals will be moved down for as many lines indicated in the Max Lines box before the invoice totals are printed. Be sure that you do not make this number so large that your sales message area does not appear or your page totals get cut off. For a good understanding of this, see FAQ's #18.  If this option is turned off, totals will print right after the last line item.

Top/Left Margins Use these settings to specify where your printer starts printing your forms.  This feature is used to make our program work with all printers and paper sizes. Overseas customers using A4 paper size may wish to adjust their margins if needed. If the text at the bottom of your invoice is being cut off, try setting the TOP margin to zero (0).

Move Addresses Right Use this option to move the address fields further to the right. This is primarily for people who want to make the addresses appear correctly in a window envelope or double window envelope. The setting entered here will be added to the left margin and all addresses, (company and customer) will be moved. For a standard number 10 envelope, you will probably needed to enter a number higher than 100 to properly move the addresses into the window(s). Also note that for best results, your forms should be folded into thirds (three equal parts).

Print Bitmap Logo when checked, will print a logo on your forms. Use the button next to this option (Bitmap Image) to select the picture file. It must be a Windows Bitmap (*.BMP) file.  Also, you should read FAQ's #15 for important information about this feature. The size of your printed logo is determined by the print resolution setting on your printer.

Don't Print Company Name/Address If you turn on (check) this option, the company name and address will not print on your forms. This is primarily for people who print a bitmap logo that includes their company name and address in the picture, however, if you want to print forms on your letterhead, with the form captions still appearing, you should utilize this feature to suppress the printing of the company name and address, without selecting the letterhead checkbox option.

Headers/Fonts/Colors button let you change the form heading, fonts and colors used when printing. Click here for setting options.


Headers/Fonts/Colors

Headers/Fonts/Colors  (Company Manager - Forms Setup tab)

Form Caption Headers The four options allow you to specify the caption that appears on top of your forms.  You may use some forms, for specialized tasks and this provides you with greater flexibility.

Invoice Column Headers allow you to create your own column headings. You can specify headings for both product and memo invoices. The Statement Note allows you to place any one-line notice or special instructions on your forms.  By "blanking out" any of these options, you will not see any printed output.

Fonts and Colors These six buttons allow you to specify fonts and colors for each of the six form features. You can use any font on your system for these.  If your printer supports color, you can select that as well. This provides you with greater control over how your forms look when they are printed. You can also select bold or other text attributes to enhance your documents.


General Options

General Options  (Company Manager)

The General tab allows you to specify other system options. Features include:

Date Formats are used by our International customers to specify the date format they use.  DO NOT SWITCH BACK AND FORTH. Choose one setting and then do not change it again after you have entered records. Note: the invoice list window will display dates in Year/Month/Day format regardless of this setting. This setting is only used to display dates on invoices and statements and other options.

Next Customer/Account Number Use this to enter the next customer number. Some people like to start at a high number for their account numbers.

Auto-copy to shipping when checked, will cause the Auto-Copy to Shipping checkbox to be turned on when adding and editing customer setups. This feature is used to easy data entry.  The shipping address will appear on your invoices if you enter one, otherwise, blank out the shipping address if you don't use it and it will not appear on your forms.

When Displayed... allows you to specify if these Manager Windows are displayed full-screen or in their default size. Since these windows accumulate a lot of data, you may wish to display full-screen.

Display Aging Chart when checked, will cause the Aging Chart to appear after the invoice aging calculation is complete. The Aging Chart provides you with a visual representation of your receivables.

Show Button Hints when checked, allows you to see the hints when you hold the mouse over a button.  Please note that this setting is only read during startup of the billing program.

Require Audit Trail when checked, will not allow invoices to be modified or deleted. This means to adjust or delete an existing invoice, a new invoice must be added for the adjustment required, providing a secure and detailed audit trail. Audit trails are required by some companies and accounting firms. Also note that when a password has been setup for this system, editing and deleting companies require the password to be entered before any changes to the company setup options can be processed. This insures that once a company option has been defined, only the person with the password can modify it.


System Graphics

System Graphics  (Company Manager)

The system graphics options allows you to customize the colors, fonts and graphics used during operation of the billing program. These features are designed to provide "visual" references to the company you are processing and to provide you with options to specify fonts and colors used by the system. Features include:

Main Screen Bitmap Background If checked, will tile a bitmap against your main screen background.  This allows you to specify different graphics for different companies to "visually" identify them.  Select the button below (Bitmap Image), to select a bitmap from your computer.  We have included a few which you may use. If you do not tile a bitmap, the color indicated in your windows setup is used.

Invoice Editor/Managers Fonts The Invoice Editor font and colors may be selected here.  Visually impaired or color-blind users can specify larger fonts and/or colors in the editor and Manager list windows.  NOTE: for the sake of system performance, we have limited the manager fonts to fixed-pitch fonts.  These Managers can handle massive amounts of data, which display much faster using fixed-pitch fonts.


Printing Envelopes

Printing Envelopes  (Company Manager)

When using the Customer Manager, you can click on a customer in the list and print their name and address on an envelope.  You can use different size envelopes and print in Landscape or Portrait Modes. Which mode you use depends on your printer.  In general, if you feed the top edge of an envelope into your printer, you should be in portrait mode. If you feed the right or left edges in your printer, you will need landscape mode.  The options below allow you to move the printed output so that it appears correctly on your envelope. Please note that these settings depend on what type of printer you use, however, since the settings  provide so much flexibility, you can print envelopes on ANY printer that is capable of printing envelopes. Call us if you need help. Options are:

Line Spacing specifies how many dots-per-inch (DPI) to space printed lines.  If you use large fonts, you will need to increase this value. Note: If you use large envelopes you may want to increase this setting.

Top/Left Margins specifies how many dots-per-inch (DPI) to space horizontally and vertically to begin printing.

Send Address Left specifies how many dots-per-inch (DPI) to space before beginning to print to Send-to address (the customer name and address).

Font Button allows you to select the font used when printing on the envelope. You can use any fonts, colors or text attributes that you wish. This font will be used to print the entire envelope.

Print Envelope in Landscape Mode when checked, specifies the envelope will be printed in landscape mode, otherwise, portrait mode is used. In general, if you feed the right edge of the envelope into your printer, you will need to be in landscape mode. If you feed the top edge of the envelope, try portrait mode. Then use Top and Left Margin settings to adjust the printed output to conform to the size envelope you are currently using.

Use Ship-To Address when checked, will print the shipping address for this customer instead of the billing address.  This allows you to use envelopes for mailing products and/or mailing invoices and statements.

Print Company Return Address when checked, will print the address for the current default company, in the return portion of the envelope. If you use envelopes which have a pre-printed return address on them, turn this option off (unchecked).


Password Setup

Password Setup  (Tools Menu)

You can setup a password to protect your system from being tampered  with. From the Tools Menu, select Password Setup. You must then enter a password TWICE. You must enter the same password exactly BOTH times. Your new password will then be displayed. You must enter the password EXACTLY as shown to enter the system next time! Upper and lowercase letters matter! This allows you to create some very good passwords. For example: 'PassWord' is not the same as 'Password' because of the uppercase 'W'. If you use uppercase letters you must type them in as uppercase. When the system is password-protected, a password must be entered each time you try to modify or delete a company setup. This is done so that if you have employees who work in the system for you, they will not be able to modify the company information. Only the person who knows the password will be able to change company setup options. NOTE: there is also an audit trail feature in this program found on the company setup under the General tab option. This allows you to restrict editing and deleting invoices. See that feature for more on this.

 You can remove your password protection at any time, by selecting the Password Setup option on the Tools menu and entering a "blank" password (do not enter anything) TWICE. You must first enter the password or you will not be able to edit the current  password setup.  This will clear the current password. Please remember your password or you will NOT be able to get into the billing system next time you try to start it!!


Invoice Manager

The Invoice Manager manages all invoice options, such as creating, editing, deleting, viewing and printing invoices. You can get to  the Invoice Manager, by selecting the File Menu from the Main Screen or clicking on the picture button shown above from the main screen. Below is a list of available options, followed by an overview of the Invoice Manager.

 Feature Options

 Frequent Asked Questions
 Adding a new Invoice
 Create Repeat Billings
 Editing Invoices
 Deleting Invoices
 Searching for Invoices
 Viewing Invoices
 Printing/Batch-Printing Invoices
 Filtering Customer Invoices
 Timer - Billing Time/Hours
 Saving/Recalling Line Items/Memo Data
 Displaying/Sorting Records in the Manager Window

 Overview

Billing Manager PRO uses an "open" invoicing system which allows you complete control of what you bill and how you do it. It is our opinion that we have designed the easiest, most powerful and customizable billing program which can be used by anyone! It is designed for both small-offices and the Corporate World alike! You can bill  time, products, services, freight, taxes, fees, leases, labor, etc.  This program can invoice your customers for anything! You can save and recall line items, setup customers and products on the fly, print invoices with any fonts and colors, calculate  interest charges, speed-sort reports, built-in timer, date-selection  calendar, partial-payments, deposits on account and much more!  It's EASY, POWERFUL and designed for everyone!

Because of the double-clicking mouse features that can be used to select customers and products, and the fact that you can save  and recall line items, you can easily create a new invoice in under  20 seconds!  You can have up to 99 lines (about 4 pages) on each invoice. If you need more, you can create separate invoices using the same invoice number and appending an "A,B,C, etc" to the end. For example, you could create 4 invoices for 390 line items using invoice numbers, 123A,123B,123C and 123D. You can also "recap" these invoices using the   Customer Statement. Customer Statements are processed using the Customer Manager.

If you are tracking projects, you can use the key code field to enter project codes. You can list the invoices in the Invoice Manager by this field.  There is also a Key Code Report on the Report Wizard, which can sort and sub-total invoices by key code or the Tax Report will sort key codes for PAID records. You can also setup special product codes for projects and use line-item invoices. The Sales Report can sort and sub-total on product codes.


New Invoice

Creating a New Invoice - Invoice Manager

To create a new invoice, open the Invoice Manager and select New from the Invoice Menu. An invoice has two parts, a header record and the detail record, both of which are entered on the same screen. The invoice Header Record is where you select the customer, enter the terms and assign a date and invoice number. The Detail Records are the line-items or memo data you apply to the header record. This topic explains how to enter the header record.  For help entering the detail records  click here.

 Invoice Header Record

First, you must  select a customer by clicking on the customer picture button in the top left corner of the screen or press the Enter key after opening a new (empty) invoice.  The Customer Manager will appear.  You can double-click on a customer name to quickly select that customer and close the window.  You may also setup, modify and delete customers from the Customer Manager, therefore, you can add a customer on the fly!  See the Customer manager topic for information about adding and manipulating customer information. Once a customer has been selected, you will see their name and account information appear at the top of the screen and their current aging status at the bottom of your screen.

Next, you must enter an invoice number or press the tab key to except  the default and go to the next field.  Use the tab key to move around your fields while doing data entry.  You can also move to any field by clicking your mouse on it. A single-click will activate the field and a double-click will activate, then highlight the contents, for over-typing or deleting.  You can use numbers and letters in you invoice numbers. You may also specify the next invoice number in your company setup. All invoice numbers must be unique, as duplicate invoice numbers are not allowed within the same company.

The invoice date is entered next.  You can type in a date or select the "..." button to select from the calendar.  We suggest you pick from the calendar because you always enter a valid date and it requires no keyboard input.  When you enter a date here, the date is stored in memory for subsequent invoices to ease data entry. Each time you change the date, it becomes the new memory date. When you selected the desired, tab to the next field.

The Notes/Comment box allows you to enter any comments, Purchase Order Numbers, Sales person, special instructions or notes to the customer.  This will appear on the invoice. Use it to attach a reference to the invoice.

The Key Code box is a special user-defined field. Use it any way you like as it can be very powerful tool to allow you to "classify" your invoices.  The key code can be a sales person, stock code, method of payment, sub-company code, department number, etc.  You can view the  invoices in the Invoice Manager by this code.  Furthermore, you have  a Key Code Report (See Report Wizard) which can sort and sub-total  by key codes!  This field is optional, however, it can be a very powerful tool for tracking special information.

The Payment Terms can be specified at the Company, Customer and here at the invoice level.  Any terms entered here will override any terms specified at the other levels. Simply select a term from the list.  To create new terms, simply type in a new payment term. You will be prompted to add this term to the terms file when you press the Ok button to finish your invoice. You can also modify and delete terms by selecting the Edit Payment Terms from the File Menu on the main screen. We strongly encourage you to use "some kind" of payment term. "Net 30 Days" or "Due on Receipt" are standard payment terms.

The Statement Note  will only appear on the Customer  Statement, next to the invoice number. Use it if you send out statements to indicate a payment check number, service description, Purchase Order Number or whatever you want your customer to see! If you do not enter anything in this field, the billing system will place "generic" information in this field when printing statements, like "invoice", "deposit", "payment", etc. Using  a good statement note can really help your customers when they read your statements.  If you only send out statements to your customers, you should use the statement comment field and enter a description about was sold on that invoice. Furthermore, a statement comment can help you identify the transactions when you are viewing the customer's statement on your screen. Therefore, entering a statement comment can be beneficial to you even if you do not send out statements!

Click here for help entering the body of the invoice.


Detail Records

Adding Detail Records to the Invoice

The Detail Records store your line items and/or memo data information. You can use either invoice type at any time. You can add up to 99 lines on product invoices and 25 lines on memo invoices. If you make mistakes and need to edit invoices, simply select the edit option on the Invoice Manager. On the right side of the invoice, above the line items, is where you select the invoice type as either a memo or line-item invoice.

The Memo Invoice has a limit of about 1850 characters, which is roughly a lengthy paragraph of information. All sentences entered will use word-wrapping, however, since a fixed-pitch font is used, you can "space" the text if you want to format your lines. Memo invoices are a way for you to add any text on the invoice.  This allows you to include a lot of detail information you may want to explain to the person on their billing.  You also enter your own invoice net and tax amounts. Note that the billing system will indicate how much tax is due on the net invoice amount, but it will not enter this amount for you. On a memo invoice, we have no way of knowing how much of the invoice total is taxable, so it is up to you to enter the correct tax amount. You can save memo data to a file and recall it at will. This is for people who bill out the same things to different customers. To find out how to save line items, click here.

 The top button moves to line item# 1, the middle button moves to line item# 50 and the bottom buttom moves to line# 99. These 3 navigational buttons are found on the invoice, next to the buttons below. Please note that these 3 buttons are only active for line-item invoices. The Line-Item Invoice is much different than the memo invoice. It allows you to create Product Codes (Product Manager) for the items that you sell and add them to your invoices. To add a line item, simply  double-click on the product code field or type in a product code and press the Enter key.  Using the mouse is the fastest way because you can double-click on the product, once the Product Manager is displayed! Once you add a line-item, tab to the quantity field if you need to change the quantity or double-click on the next line. Note that while you are adding line items and changing quantities, the invoice amount changes to reflect the current items. You can also type in something in the description field to add a line item to an invoice. This is helpful if you want to add a note under the line-item. The only requirement for adding a line item to an invoice, is that text occupies the description field.  Click the OK button when the invoice is completed to add the record. You can modify the invoice later by selecting the Edit option on the Invoice Manager. You can also run the Sales Report, sorted by Product Code for a list of items you have sold during the selected period.

There is also a print invoice checkbox on the left side when entering invoices.  If this option is turned on, the invoice will be printed as soon as you press the Ok button.  This is mainly for people who do Point-of-Sale type of transactions.  You can also set this option to be turned on by default by using the company setup invoice options. This ensures that all invoices will be printed after they are entered. If you would rather batch-print your invoices, click here for instructions.

You can also use the built in timer to bill your time. For instructions on using the timer, click here.


Timer

Using the Timer  (found on the invoice)

There is also a built in timer if you bill your time.  To start the timer, open a new invoice and press the Start Button above line items. Then close the invoice window and minimize the billing program to allow you to use your computer to do other things. The timer will still run as long as you don't close the billing program. When  your ready to bill the customer, select the billing icon and open a new invoice, stop the timer and enter the decimal amount provided to your hourly rate product-code on the line item or type it in somewhere on your memo invoice. You can use a line-item or memo invoice to bill your time.

You can also use our system to track your time for different projects. See FAQ's #28 for more on this.


Save Lines

Saving and Recalling Invoice Line Items/Memos   (found on the invoice)

If you want to bill the same products or services over an over again, you can save the invoice detail to a file and recall it at any time. There is a file for line-item invoices and one for memos.  Which file used depends on which type of invoice you are doing.  The program will automatically open the correct file when recalling invoice detail into the body of your invoice.

 The top button moves to line item# 1, the middle button moves to line item# 50 and the bottom buttom moves to line# 99. These 3 navigational buttons are found on the invoice, next to the buttons below. Please note that these 3 buttons are only active for line-item invoices.

The buttons displayed above are found on the invoice. When doing an invoice, hold the mouse cursor over the button for a brief description of what the button does. In order of appearance left to right, they are:

The first group of four buttons:

1.  Select a product. (add a new line item)
2. Erases all line items or memo data.
3. Erase one line item.
4. Recall saved line items/memo data created by button #4 below.

The second group of four buttons:

5. Save current line items/memo data to file (overwrites old data).
6. Clears the current line for entering a comment in the description field.
7. Closes the invoice (cancels).
8. Loads the Windows Calculator.

When preparing or editing an invoice, click on the correct bitmap button to carry out the desired action, as listed above. Note that you use button #5 to save the line items and #4 to recall them. Buttons #1, #3 and #6 only work with line-item invoice types. When you save new line items, the invoice comments and statement comments are also saved in the file. These features will save you many hours of invoice preparation time.


Edit Invoice

Edit Invoice  (Invoice Manager)

This feature is used to make any changes needed to an existing invoice. From the Invoice Manager, click on the invoice you want and select the Edit option on the Invoice Menu.  You can change, add and remove invoice information.  If the invoice has previously been printed, the system will ask you to confirm the edit option, before the invoice is displayed. The reason is that you  should not make any changes to an invoice after it has been mailed to your customer, or the documents will no longer match, which could create problems when posting payments.  If you have already mailed the invoice, we suggest that you prepare another invoice for the required adjustment.  For instructions about how to create invoices, click here.


Delete Invoice

Delete Invoice  (Invoice Manager)

This option allows you to delete any unpaid invoice, however, you can also delete deposits on account.  If you need to delete an invoice that has been paid, create a credit invoice which will cancel out the first one. You can void invoices by creating offsetting credit invoices, which will cancel out the first one. SEE FAQ's #9 for more on this. Once an invoice has been paid it will be removed when you use the "Delete Paid Invoices" option on the Tools Menu.


Find Data

Find/Search Records  (All Manager Windows)

This feature works from all four Manager's.  It will change the information displayed/searched depending on which Manager you are currently working with.  For example, using the Invoice Manager, you can find invoices/payments. Using the Product Manager, you can find products.

You must enter the "text to find", then select the find button. For example, if you were searching invoices by date, you could enter  09/12 for a list of invoices containing 09/12 in the date. When records are displayed, you can further sort the data by column, by clicking on the column header.  You can also expand or decrease the column width by using your mouse and moving it over the vertical line that separates the column headings. The cursor will change shape and while holding the mouse button down, move the mouse right or left to change the column width. When you find what your looking for, double-click in the first column of that record and the program will goto that record in the Manager's display list and close the find window.

When searching Invoices, the fields searched are Customer (Account) Number, Date, Invoice Number, Key Code and Short Name. When searching Customers, the Name, Phone and the first four address lines are searched. For Products, the Product Code, Product Description and Price are searched and for Companies, the Name, Number and first four address lines are searched.


List Sort

Displaying Records (Sorting)  (All Manager Windows)

The Display Menu works on all Manager's and provides you with different ways to view and sort the items listed in the Manager's window. Depending on which Manager you are currently working with, you will have different viewing options.  Please note that all data in these fields are "strings" (not numeric fields) and therefore sort from left to right. The whole idea behind these viewing options is to allow you to sort "like data" together on the screen. For example, a sort by customer number, invoice number or date.  This can be helpful when looking for particular information. To search and locate records, use the Find option. To learn more, click here.


View Invoice

View Invoice  (Invoice Manager)

Use the view option to view invoices on your screen.  This is simply an option to allow you to view an invoice without having to print it.  Simply click on the invoice you want in the Invoice Manager and select the view option.


Print Invoice

Print/Batch-Print Invoice  (Invoice Manager)

To print a single invoice, simply click on the invoice you want in the  Invoice Manager and select the print option. If you have the file copy and/or packing slip options turned on (Company Manager - Invoice Options), they will also be printed.

You can also batch-print your invoices.  This allows you to print invoices after hours or while the computer is unattended.  Select this feature from the Invoice Manager.  All invoices which have never been printed will be selected.  You will be notified of the number of invoices there are to be printed.  Packing Slips and/or File Copies will also print if you have those options selected (Company Manager - Invoice Options).


Customer Filter

Customer Filter  (Invoice Manager)

While using the Invoice Manager, you can "filter" the display to list invoices/payments for a particular customer.  This allows you to display only records for that customer.  To filter the list, click on an invoice or payment for the customer you want and select the Filter button. To clear the filter, click on the Filter button again. You can only filter one customer at a time.  Also note, that any of your reports may be sub-totaled by customer, (Report Wizard).


Set Repeat Billing

Create Master Repeat Billing  (Invoice Manager - Invoice Menu)

This feature allows you to turn any unpaid invoice into a repeat billing that will be auto-created by the system at the time interval you specify. With this feature you can auto-generate invoices every week, month, quarter or any other time frame you need!  For example, if you rent pagers and charge your customers $15.00 a month for rental, you can setup a $15.00 repeat billing invoice for each customer and have the system create the invoices for you each month!  This feature is extremely powerful and will save you countless hours of data entry! This feature alone, is worth the price of this entire billing system!

To start, enter an invoice for the customer you want to repeat bill. You can use a memo or product invoice, depending on what you want to bill and how you want it to appear on your Sales Report. You could setup a Product Code for "Monthly Pager Rental" or enter these words in a memo invoice. When you create the invoice, make it as "generic" as possible, i.e. do not include a specific month or date in the body of the invoice. You will be able to enter specific dates and comments when you create the invoices.

The invoice number must be 5 characters or less! We use the remaining spaces to add to the original invoice number when we generate repeat billings. For example, if you create an invoice number of 250, when a repeat billing is created from this invoice, the invoice number will be 250G1, 250G2, 250G3, etc. The "G" means "generated billing" and is followed by a number that represents the number of created invoices, i.e. an invoice number of 300G25 means that this repeat billing was the 25th generated invoice from the master billing invoice number 300. This provides you with an excellent audit trail and makes the customer statement easy to read.

After you create the invoice, you can make it a repeat billing by using the Invoice Menu on the Invoice Manager and selecting the "Repeat Billing Setup" option. You will need to select the "Generate invoices from this master record" checkbox and then enter the number of months/days between invoices. If you want to create invoices once a month, enter 1 and select the MONTH option. This tells the system to generate this invoice every month. If you want to bill every quarter (3 months), enter a 3. If you want to create an invoice every year, enter a 12 (every 12 months). Do not use half-months, (i.e 1.5 months)! You should use the DAYS option if you need this. For example, if you want to bill a customer every 10 days, select the DAYS option and enter 10. After entering the number of MONTHS/DAYS, enter the date you want to begin creating invoices.

Please note that you can change the setup options at any time by clicking on the invoice and selecting the Repeat Billing Setup option again. Be CAREFUL when changing these settings! We suggest that you make all invoices due on the same day of each month, so you only need to create invoices once a month, rather than once a day! If you get a new customer, setup their repeat billing to match all of your other customer "due dates" and enter another invoice to charge them for the time between NOW and the next repeat billing cycle. If you work with MANY repeat billings, you may also consider breaking up your monthly billing cycle into two cycles, making half due on the 1st and half due on the 15th. This makes it easier to manage a lot of accounts, with regard to printing and mailing invoices and/or statements on a regular basis. Also, you may wish to consider putting your customers who pay by credit card on one cycle and those who pay by check on another cycle to make it easier to handle payments. How you design your billing cycle(s) is completely up to you, so give some thought about how you want to do it before entering ALL of your repeat billings!

Once you have the repeat billing setup information complete, click the Ok button to change the invoice to type R (Master Repeat Billing). The amount of this invoice will then be subtracted from the customer and company account balances as this invoice is no longer "due". It is now a Master Repeat Billing and only the (type G) invoices created from this master record will be added to your accounts receivable balances. Likewise, type R invoices do not appear on your reports (only on the Repeat Billing List Report), only the invoices created from them. You can edit a type R invoice by using the Edit option from the Invoice Manager. You can also use this feature to change the number of days/months you entered by selecting this option later. After a billing has been generated, use this feature to view number of billings created and when the next scheduled creation date is. To stop a type R billing from creating further invoices, simply delete it using the Invoice Manager - Delete option.

To find out how to create invoices from Master Repeat Billing records, click here.


Create Repeat Billing

Repeat Billing Wizard - (Tools Menu)

Use this feature to create repeat billings from the Master Repeat Billing invoices you currently have on file. For information on how to make a Master Repeat Billing, click here.

First, select a date to search for billings due through this date. Select the "..." button next to the date field to launch the calendar. Double-click on the date from the calendar and the program will display selected records. Once you have the records selected, enter the information below to create the invoice header record, such as invoice date and comments that will appear on each created invoice. For example, if you are billing a monthly service, enter comments like "March 96 Service" or "March Pager Rental". The comment field will appear on both invoices and statements. This will ensure your customers see the comments on their invoice and/or statements, depending on which document you send them.

When the invoice date and comment fields are complete, press the "Create Invoices" button to have the system create all the invoices. That's all there is to it!  It's fast and painless to create repeat billings. For best results, we suggest you create your repeat billings on the same day of each month or period.  This way, your customers will know when to expect their invoices and/or statements.  If they do not receive the billing, they can call you and let you know. Also, you will get in the habit of running the Repeat Billing Wizard on a "set schedule", which is good for you and your customers!


Customer Manager

The Customer Manager manages all customer options, such as creating, editing, deleting customers and printing statements and envelopes. You can get to  the Customer Manager, by selecting the File Menu from the Main Screen or clicking on the picture button shown above from the main screen. Below is a list of available options, followed by an overview of the Customer Manager.

 Feature Options

 Frequent Asked Questions
 Adding a new Customer
 Editing Customers
 Deleting Customers
 Searching for Customers
 Customer List
 Printing Envelopes
 Printing/Viewing/Batch-Printing Statements
 Displaying/Sorting Records in the Manager Window
 Creating/Printing mailing lists/labels

 Overview

The Customer Manager provides you with all the tools you need to enter and modify your customers.  Using this manager, you can also print a customer statement and/or envelopes with your company name and customer address. Each company you setup will have their own customer file. There is no limit as to the number of customers you can have for each company.

When preparing invoices, click on the picture button above to select a customer for that invoice.  The Customer Manager appears. You can double-click on the customer to select them, or you may add a new customer and then select them.


New Customer

Creating a New Customer

First, you must enter a customer (account) number or press the tab key to accept the default.  You can change the starting customer number by using the Company Manager and selecting the "General" tab option. Although this field is named customer number, it is not a numeric field. You can enter letters and numbers. For example, you could create a customer number as "100C" or "100". If you use numbers or numbers followed by letters,  the program will automatically increment the number each time you setup  a new customer, otherwise, you will need to enter them manually.

Next, you must enter a customer/company name. This name will appear on their invoices and statements.  A customer number and name are the only fields required to setup a new customer. Each customer name must be unique, i.e. no duplicate customer names are supported. See the FAQ's for more about duplicate customer names.

The Short Name is entered next. The program will automatically add a short name, which you may want to change. The short name appears on your reports (Report Wizard) instead of the full customer name. You should build as much meaning as possible into your short names, so that you can tell which customer it is by looking at the short name.

The Customer Type box allows you to enter any type of classification you may want to assign to your customers. You create your own customer types for your own special use, or you may wish not to use them at all. For example, you may deal with book and magazine vendors. You could classify these customers as "Book" and "Magazine", so that when you select or modify these customers, you know which type they are. You can also sort your label print queue by this field, allowing you to create custom mailing lists. See Mailing List Sort Code below.

The Tax Exempt (TE) field is used to mark a customer as Tax Exempt by entering a "Y" into this field.  If you deal with customers from out of state, you may want to mark them as tax exempt. When you do an invoice for this customer, the calculate tax checkbox will be disabled and the label will say "Tax Exempt". This will cause the system to not calculate tax for this customer. Be careful here! If you do not charge tax for a customer you should have, you may be liable to pay the tax yourself!

You can also specify a Credit Limit for your customers. This allows you control over how you extend credit.  If you specify a credit limit, the system will check the credit limit when you prepare invoices and warn you if they are exceeding this limit. If you need to place a customer on credit hold, see the inactive/credit hold option below.

The Payment Terms can be specified at the Company, Invoice and here at the Customer level.  Any terms entered here will override any terms specified at the Company level. Simply select a payment term from the list.  You can modify and delete terms by selecting the Edit Payment  Terms from the File Menu on the main billing screen. You can always override the default payment terms for a customer at the invoice level.

The Billing and Shipping Address is entered next. The billing address is where you should send invoices to for payment. The shipping address is where you ship merchandise to. These addresses will appear on the top of your invoices. If you do not ship products, do not enter a shipping address and it will not be displayed on the invoice. You can also use the copy billing and clear shipping buttons to manipulate the data. If the auto-copy to shipping is turned on (checked), the billing address will be copied into the shipping address.  Once copied, you can make any changes specific to the shipping address, if needed.  You also have two fields for phone numbers. The phone number entered under the billing address is used by the system as the main contact number, while the one under the shipping address can be an email address, fax number or additional phone number.

Use the Mailing List Sort Code if you want to print mailing labels and sort them by postal (ZIP) code. You should enter the postal code in this field. When you add a customer to the label print queue, this field will allow you to sort label print queue by this code. You can use this field for another type of sort field, if you do not plan to sort your labels by postal code. For example, you may wish to create an additional "customer type" field.

The Inactive/Credit Hold option allows you to flag this customer as inactive or place their account on hold. When you try to do an invoice for this customer, the system will warn you that they are on inactive status.  You can also use this  option to flag any customer that needs "special handling", since this option does not prevent you from invoicing the customer. It is intended to be only a warning/attention flag.

Use the Notes/Comment box to enter any special notes about the customer. It can be additional phone numbers, notes about the last conversation you had with them or anything else that you need. This field is limited to 200 characters, therefore, you may need to delete old notes to make room for new ones. You can also print the contents of the notes on a customer's invoices and/or statements, (see below).

Use the Print Notes/Comments on Invoices/Statements options to specify if you want the contents of the Notes/Comments box to print on the invoices and/or statements for the customer. The notes will print where the Sales Message normally appears, overriding the sales message text. Our customers have asked us for ways to print special information from specific customers on their invoices, such as special handling instructions or directions to the customers place of business, so we added this feature to accomplish that. Please note that you can stop the sales message / customer notes from printing on all invoices by editing your company setup and turning off the "print sales message" option on the Forms Setup tab option.


Edit Customer

Edit Customer  (Customer Manager)

This feature is used to make any changes needed to an existing customer record. From the Customer Manager, click on the customer you want  and select the Edit option on the Customer Menu.  You can change, add  and remove any information at any time, even if you are in the middle of doing an invoice!


Delete Customer

Delete Customer  (Customer Manager)

This option allows you to delete a customer if they have a zero balance and if they do not have any invoices on file. See FAQ #20 for more information about this. We strongly suggest that you print your customer list (Customer Manager), before you remove any customers in case you ever need to research old data on hardcopy reports.


Customer List

Customer List  (Customer Manager)

This feature allows you to print a customer list to the screen. You can modify and delete customers from the report and then print it out. You can also change the font if you choose.  Use this feature to print a report of your current customer database.


Customer Envelope

Printing Customer Envelopes  (Customer Manager)

This feature allows you to print a customer name on an envelope. Your company name/address appears in the return address portion and the customer name/address in the send-to address area.  To print an envelope, click on the customer you want in the Customer Manager and then choose the print envelope option on the Customer Menu.

Please note that your printer must be able to print envelopes or you won't be able to use this feature. Also you are not limited to any specific envelope size. You can use larger envelopes by adjusting the print margins, (see below). You can specify different envelope sizes/options for each company, however, you can only have one envelope setting/layout defined for each company.

You have complete control of the font/color used and the margin settings. These settings are stored in your company setup (Company Manager). You can change these settings by editing your company setup and selecting the "Envelopes" tab option.  Read the online help once you get there for setting envelope printing options.


View Statement

View/Print/Batch-Print Customer Statements  (Customer Manager)

Use the Customer Statement option to view statements on your screen. This  is simply an option to allow you to view a customer statement without having to print it.  Simply click on the customer you want in the Customer Manager and select the Statement Menu - view/print option. You can also filter between paid and unpaid invoices.  The statements are used to list all invoices, payments and current account balances for your customers. The statement is an excellent tool to see the transactions that have been processed against a customer account. While viewing the statement, you can print it by selecting the print button. See FAQ #5 for the difference between invoices and statements.

You can also batch-print your statements. This feature is used if you want to mail monthly statements to your customers. Only customers that you select using the Statement Selection Options will be printed.  You can batch-print your statements after hours or when the computer is unattended.  You can also mail statements as often as you need, however, we suggest you mail out your statements on the same day of each month.  This way, your clients know when to expect their statements and can notify you if they do not receive one.  When you select this option, the date you ran your last batch statements  will be displayed.


Get Statements

Statement Selection Options/ Batch-Print Statements

The statement selection window appears during the batch printing of Customer Statements (Customer Manager).  It allows you to select which customers should receive a statement. The Account Balance options allow you to select all customers with a non-zero balance, or only those with balances over 30, 60 and 90 days old. Since statements are the tools used to notify your customers of their account activity and current account balance, you may wish to send out statements monthly to all customers who have an account balance over 30 days, or create a special statement for only those customers with very old account balances over 90 days! You may also want to charge these customers a finance (past-due) charge. Use the Interest Wizard to create the finance charges and then run the customer statements to show the new account balances including late fees.

You also have the option to select between all activity or only unpaid activity. If you select all activity, all payments, invoices, credits, repeat master invoices and deposits will appear, paid or unpaid. If you select the only unpaid option, only transactions which make up the current account balance are listed. We suggest using the only unpaid option because it saves paper and doesn't confuse your customer by listing all their account detail. It only lists items your customers currently owe you for. The all activity option is normally used when you are trying to reconcile a customers account balance and would like a printout of all of their account history.


Edit Terms

Edit Payment Terms

This utility allows you to add, modify and delete payment terms. To add a new term, click the Add button and enter the new term in the edit box at the bottom. After entering the new term, click the Ok button. To edit a payment term, click on the term in the listbox and select the Edit button. The terms will appear in the edit box below. Make any changes and then select the Ok button. To delete a payment term, click on the term and then select the Delete button. When your done making changes, select the Close button.

Payment terms tell your customers how you expect to be paid. You can create any terms you wish, but we suggest you use some kind of terms when preparing invoices. For a few examples of payment terms and what they mean, click here.


Label Wizard

Label Wizard - Tools Menu

The Label Wizard allows you to create/print mailing lists/labels. We have included four label layout files for the most common mailing label sizes. These label layouts should work on laser printers. If you use an Ink/Bubble Jet printer, you will have to adjust your top and possibly the left margins.  You can also create your own labels if you have a different size label you want to use! We also have option settings to allow the system to automatically print labels when adding or batch printing invoices. Use the Label Wizard to mail invoices, packages, statements and notices to your customers using mailing labels.  Our Label Wizard is a very powerful tool you can use to create any type of mailing label that you need!

The first thing you need to do is OPEN a layout file. All layout files end with a ".LBL" in the file name.  Please note that the last layout file you had open, will automatically be opened by the billing system. If you want to open a different layout file, use the File - Open menu option. The layout files tell the billing system what margin settings and other options to use when printing labels. We have defined (included) the following layout files for your use:

A5160.LBL - Avery laser label #5160 (1 inch by 2 5/8 inch)
A5161.LBL - Avery laser label #5161 (1 inch by 4 inch)
A5162.LBL - Avery laser label #5162 (1 1/3 inch by 4 inch)
A5163.LBL - Avery laser label #5163 (2 inch by 4 inch)

You will need to purchase these mailing labels from your local office supply store. Once you have a label layout file open, you are ready to add the customers into your mailing list window, unless you have one of the features turned on to automatically load customers into the print queue. To create your own label sizes, see below.

To add a customer address to your mailing list, double-click your mouse on the list window and the Customer Manager will appear. Left-click on the customer you want, then right-click your mouse and choose "add to label queue". Add all the addresses you want using this technique and then close the Customer Manager. You can also use the 0-30, 31-60, 61-90 and Over 90 day buttons to extract all customers with a balance due in any of these aging categories.  You would use these buttons if you are mailing statements or using the Form Letter Wizard to send out past due notices. For more about the Letter Wizard, click here. You can also use the picture buttons to add and delete all records in the queue. To see what each button will do, hold your mouse over the button for a brief description of what these picture buttons do. You can also use the Records Menu to preform these tasks.

 We also have two "auto-copy" features located in the company setup, under the Invoice Options tab called "On new invoices, copy customer to label queue".  If you have this feature turned ON, the customer address will automatically be copied to the label list window each time you do a new invoice OR you can turn on the "On batch print, copy customer to label queue" to have customers loaded into the queue after you batch print your invoices/statements. There will be a mailing label for each invoice/statement printed. Please note that the Label Wizard does not need to be open to add items to the label list. You can go directly to the Customer Manager and start adding customer addresses at any time. The Label list queue will hold these addresses until you exit the billing system or clear the list queue. To save these addresses into a mailing list file, see below.

Once you have the items you want in your list window, you can sort the list by clicking on the column heading. Note that the Sort Code column contains the mailing list sort code you entered when you setup your customer. This code can be anything you wish, however, if you want to sort your mailing list by postal (zip) codes, you should enter the correct postal code when you setup your customers. When you sort your list, the mailing labels will be printed using the sorted order. To delete an item from the list, click on the FIRST column of that record and choose the DELETE option from the Records Menu.

You can also create your own mailing lists. Once you have all the customers selected for your mailing list, select the Save to File option on the Records Menu and name your mailing list using an extension of ".LST", for example "BOOKS.LST". Long file names are supported. Use the Load from File menu option to open an existing mailing list. When you open a mailing list file, the records will be added to the current record list. This allows you to load multiple mailing lists at the same time!  When you print mailing labels, the system will obtain the current customers address during printing. Therefore, if you change the customer address, the new address will be used when the labels are printed.

Once you have the addresses sorted in your list window, you are ready to print your labels. If you start printing on a partially-used sheet of labels, you will need to enter the starting label number. Labels are counted from left to right, with the left label on row one being label number one. You can also print multiple copies of each label by entering a number into the "Copies of each label" box.  Please note that you can print a sheet of labels for your company address by setting up your company name and address in the customer file and selecting this record into the label list window and entering a value into the "Copies of each label" box. When your ready to print your labels, select the Print Labels button.

To create different label layout sizes, you must first open an existing layout file and then make any layout setting adjustments, enter a new layout description and then save it to a file. When entering layout settings, it is VERY helpful if you print out the Calibration Ruler located on the Label Menu. Then use the ruler to "measure" the DPI (dots per inch) of the label you are creating by holding it up to the label sheet in front of a light.  Be sure to include the spaces between labels when you measure the labels width and height. The ruler draws a line at every 25 dots per inch and a bold line at every 100. When you select the "Use Shipping Address" checkbox, the shipping address will be printed on the label instead of the billing address on each customer record. This setting is also saved with your layout settings. Use the Font button to select the font style used when printing your labels. The font and style are also saved in your layout file.

If you create a large label, like the A5163.LBL file, you can also have your company name, address and optional bitmap logo printed in the return address portion of the label. You should only use this option if the label is large enough to print both addresses. This is for people who only want to apply ONE label on their packages. For best results, you should include the option of drawing a line between the addresses.  This makes the label easier to read. You can also adjust the width of the line and/or changes to text that appears next to the shipping address. For example, you may wish to use "Mail To:" or "Send To:" or "Ship To:".  Please note that all of the options for large labels are only active if the "Print company return address" checkbox is selected.

After you define a new layout, be sure to save it to a file that ends with ".LBL" so that it will appear in the File Open selection window. The billing system will automatically open the last layout file you had open when you start the program.  If you want to select a different layout file, use the File - Open Menu option.


UK Orders

How To Order This Product - United Kingdom

The preferred method of ordering this product is by payment with your credit card (Mastercard or Visa), to our credit card order line at Ensign Systems (voice), or by sending a fax.

If you would rather pay by Money Order or cheque, click here

EASY REGISTRATION BY CREDIT CARD

Financial Freedom (R)
Billing Manager PRO (32-bit) - Product Code: FFBMPRO 32BIT

You can order with Mastercard or Visa from Ensign Systems by any of the following methods:

1) calling our credit card order line on 0181-776-8477
2) by sending a fax to us on 0181-776-8477
3) by CompuServe E-mail to: 106305,635 (Allan Weller)
4) by America Online E-mail to: ENSignPub
5) send postal mail to Ensign Systems, 21 Tredown Road, Sydenham, LONDON SE26 5QQ

We take orders Monday to Friday up to 5:30 P.M. If you are ordering from abroad then a credit card purchase is easy - credit card companies take care of the currency exchange rate. When ordering by credit card, please quote the cardholder's name, exactly as it appears on the credit card, together with the expiry date. The delivery address must be the same as the cardholder's address.

Quote the full product code, FFBMPRO 32BIT, which costs only £49 inclusive VAT, plus £1.50 handling anywhere in the UK and Channel Islands.  Elsewhere in the EEC please add £2.50 postage. Non-UK business customers may only claim VAT exemption by providing a valid Company VAT registration number at the time of ordering on headed paper.

The software will be supplied on 3.5" High Density Disk.

You may refer all enquiries about the status of delivery of your order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licences, non credit card orders etc to the numbers and address shown above.

We will always dispatch the latest version directly to you, usually within 24-36 hours by First Class Post, but please make allowance for the occasional postal delay. If you have not received your software within 10 days then please notify us immeadiately by telephone or fax.


Order Form - UK
FF Billing Manager PRO 32-bit Version 1.3 Order Form

If you want to order other than by Credit card please print this form using the "File-Print Topic" menu option, complete the information required, and send it to the address below. If you wish you can affix a mailing label below instead. Cheques should be suitably endorsed with the cheque card guarantee together with expiry date of the guarantee card, and made payable to Ensign Systems. Corporate cheques should be acompanied by a signed Purchase Order or a purchase request on headed paper.

Name / Company: _________________________________________________

Address Line1: __________________________________________________

Address Line2: __________________________________________________

Address Line3: __________________________________________________

Address Line4: __________________________________________________

Phone Number : ____________________________________

This program will be supplied on a 3.5" high density disk. If you have other requirements please telephone us.

Where did you find our product? ____________________________________

Comments:

Billing Manager PRO is £49 inclusive VAT, plus £1.50 postage anywhere in the UK & Channel Islands. Elsewhere in the EEC please add £2.50 postage.

Payment must be in £'s Sterling. Overseas customers may pay by International Money Order or by Credit card. Cheques must be drawn in £'s Sterling upon a UK based bank (software will be despatched upon receipt of cleared funds).

Send with cheque or money order to:

Ensign Systems
21 Tredown Road,
Sydenham, London, SE26 5QQ

For information contact -
Telephone/Fax: 0181-776-8477
CompuServe: 106305,635
Internet: ENsignPub@aol.com


Product Manager

The Product Manager manages all Product options, such as creating, editing and deleting products. You can get to  the Product Manager, by selecting the File Menu from the Main Screen or clicking on the picture button shown above from the main screen. Below is a list of available options, followed by an overview of the Product Manager.

 Feature Options

 Frequent Asked Questions
 Adding a new Product
 Editing Products
 Deleting Products
 Searching for Products
 Product List
 Displaying/Sorting Records in the Manager Window

 Overview

The Product Manager provides you with all the tools you need to enter and modify your product codes.  Product codes work with both line-item and memo invoices and allow you to setup the products you sell. When you create an invoice, you then add the product on the line-item and change the quantity, if needed. This option will save you numerous keystrokes as well as provide you will valuable information about what you sell. Each company you setup will have their own Product file.  There is no limit as to the number of Products you can have for  each company.

Create Product codes for freight, consulting, project codes, merchandise, labor, hours, anything! Your sales report can tell you what products were sold and returned during the specified time period. With information like this, you can tell what products are your best sellers, what certain customers are buying and give you the figures to track inventories.  Therefore, Product codes not only save you time but they also provide you with valuable sales information. Furthermore, Product codes also allow you to setup project codes or departmental codes to track special information. Product codes are very powerful and can "classify" your data any way you need!

To find out more about products and how to add them to your  invoices, click here.


New Product

Creating a New Product

First, you must enter a Product Code You can enter letters and numbers. For example, you could create a Product code like "Tire-16" or "Ship20". You can create any type of codes you need. Each new code you setup must be unique to this company as duplicate product codes are not allowed. See FAQ #13 if you don't want the product codes to appear on your invoices.

Next, enter the product price.  This price is the price   you charge your customers for this item.  This price will appear on the invoice and will be multiplied by the quantity to determine the line-item total price.  You can enter the price as 1 or 1.00 or 1.000, as there is no limit or requirement on the decimal places. Also, you may want to setup no-charge or zero-amount product codes.  For example, if you add items to an invoice you want to track but do not want to charge customers for. Another example would be if you charge freight. Setup a freight product code for a zero amount and add it on your invoice. Then fill in the amount of the freight for that particular invoice.  This allows you to see freight as a separate total on your Sales Report.

Next, you must mark this item Taxable or Non-Taxable. If you charge customers tax and have the tax-calculation checked on the invoice, the system will automatically calculate tax.  When tax is calculated, it is done for only the line items marked taxable, not the entire invoice. Therefore, it is easy to bill taxable and  non-taxable items on the same invoice. For more on taxes, click here.

Next, you must enter a Product Description. This description can be anything you want and will appear on the invoice as the item being sold.  Both you and your customers will see this description, so you should make at as descriptive as possible. You have 32 spaces in which to enter your product description.

Finally, if you want to enter any special notes/comments about this product, such as purchase price, product source and/or phone numbers, you can enter it here.  Some vendors, like to put complete product descriptions in the notes box to help them describe the products to their customers. Use this box any way you like.


Edit Product

Edit Product  (Product Manager)

This feature is used to make any changes needed to an existing Product code. From the Product Manager, click on the Product you want  and select the Edit option on the Product Menu.  You can change, add  and remove any information at any time, even if you are in the middle of doing an invoice! Use this feature to keep your product prices current and your product codes up to date.  You can also print a product list by using the product list feature.


Delete Product

Delete Product  (Product Manager)

This option allows you to delete a Product code.  You may delete the codes at any time.  If you discontinue a product, remove it using this feature.


Product List

Product List  (Product Manager)

This feature allows you to print a Product list to the screen. You can modify and delete products from the report and then print it out. You can also change the font if you choose.  Use this feature to print a report of your current Product List.


Online Calendar

Date Selection Calendar

The calendar provides you with a visual date schedule and selection options.  The calendar is available to all options that require a date to be entered.  It is much easier to select a date from the calendar because you can do it all with the mouse. To access the calendar from any date field, click on the "..." button next to the date.  You may also manually enter your dates if you wish, as using the calendar is not required. You can also access the calendar from the main screen by selecting the Tools Menu.  This allows you to review upcoming or past months for planning purposes.

Once you have the calendar open, you can change the month or  year by using the drop-down lists. Once you have the month and  year selected, double-click on the day.  The calendar will close  and the date field will be updated with the date from the  calendar. Please note that the calendar displays the current year and three previous years, as well as the next three years. If for some reason, you need to enter a year not listed, simply type it in the drop-down box heading or manually enter your date instead of using the calendar.


Payment Wizard

Payment Wizard   [image]   (Tools Menu)

The Payment Wizard provides you with all the tools you need to record (post) payments from your customers.  It handles regular payments, deposits on account and partial payments!  You can even enter all three types of payments during the same posting entry! "Posting payments" means the same thing as recording payments. When you post a payment, you are simply entering the payment information for that customer, marking the correct invoices as paid.

You must first select a customer, using the customer selection picture button in the upper left corner of the screen. Next, enter/select the  payment date, enter a statement comment and the  payment amount. You can select your date from the calendar or enter it manually.  The statement comment will only appear on the Customer Statement. The paid amount you enter must equal the amount of the check or payment you received. Once you enter these items, you are ready to start posting invoices (marking invoices as paid). For more help and information on why you post payments, click here. Everyone should read this!

When you select a customer, all of their open (unpaid) invoices will  appear in the listbox on the left.  Your task is to make the invoices listed in the right listbox equal the payment amount. If you do not, the post button will not activate and you are out-of-balance. The ">", ">>","<" and "<<" buttons allow you to move items from one box to the other. In most cases, you will be moving invoices from the left box to the right box, unless you need to move one back. When the payment amount is entered, if it matches the customer balance, the system will automatically move all invoices from the left box to the right box and all you have to do is select the post button to finish!

If the payment amount does not match the customer balance, you will need to move the invoices from the left box to the right box, which are being paid by this payment, using the buttons listed above. Move only those  invoices which are being paid. Once the invoices in the right box match the payment total, the post button will activate and you will select it to finish.

To post a  partial payment, click on the invoice in the left box that you want to apply this payment to and select the Partial Payment button, then enter the partial payment amount and select the Ok button. The partial payment will then be placed in the left box and a "P" will be placed next to the invoice in the left box, indicating a partially-paid invoice.

To Post a  Deposit On Account, click on the Deposit On Account button under the right box and enter the deposit amount and select Ok button. The deposit amount will appear in the right box. If it equals the amount of the payment, the post button will activate, then select it to finish. Deposits don't do anything accept "hang around" until you offset them against other invoices. Deposits will always appear in the left box until you move them to the right box and use them to offset future invoices. A deposit is listed in the Invoice Manager Window with code "D" and a deposit which has been taken (offset against other invoices), appears as code "T".


Help Posting Invoices

It is the essence (or bare minimum expected) of a good billing program to track unpaid invoices.  That is why if the customer balance does not equal the amount of the payment, you must mark each invoice as paid individually. There is no logical way around it. If we allowed the system to go in and randomly select the invoices that added up to the payment amount, you would have a major problem very quickly.  What if the customer has eight (8) invoices for ten (10) dollars each and sends you a payment for four (4) of them.  Which four do you pick?  You can't just pick the oldest ones because the customer may have had a problem with one of those invoices and decided not to pay it.  If you had already marked it as paid, that's when the problem starts to snowball on you.  Once you post an invoice as paid, that's it, it's paid!  The same holds true when you balance a  checkbook, when you mark the check cleared and balance  your checking account, the check is marked as cleared, that's it, YOU cleared it!  Make sure when you clear items, you clear the correct items.  This software makes this process very easy by showing only open invoices for the customer you have selected, however, you have the final say over which invoices are cleared and which are not. Please know what you are posting!

 That is why we are going to tell you to call your customer and find out which invoices they are paying when you are not sure!  We can't stress the importance of doing this strongly enough!  If your customers do not reference the invoice numbers on their payments, please ask them to do so.  You can also send a remittance  copy with your invoices, (see Company Manager - Invoice Options).  M & R Technologies, Inc. will be unable to help you out of this mess if you do not post payments to the correct invoices.  If you are unsure, wait until you can get in contact with the customer before you post the payment.  At a minimum, you should do two things religiously each day you post your payments, make sure you know what invoices to mark as paid with each payment posting session and balance your cash receipts! For help balancing your payments, click here.


Balancing Your Payments

At the end of each day, you should total your cash receipts and run the Payment Register Report (Report Wizard), sorted by date and balance your cash receipts for that day to the report total for that day. If your daily cash receipts  do not balance to the figures on the report, you did not record  all your cash receipts into the billing system!  It is very  important that you balance this after posting payments,  preferably, on a daily basis. It is much easier to balance  daily rather than weekly or monthly because you have less  transactions to balance and you have not already deposited the payments.

 If you do not balance your billing system to your actual cash receipts, you will have no way to verify the integrity of your financial data!  In other words, some customers that have made payments, might still show a balance due because you did not enter their payment and balance your daily cash receipts.  Not only would your customers become angry with you, but you would be very unhappy when you run your Payment Register for any selected month, and it does not balance to the deposit amount shown on your monthly bank statement.  Depending on your volume, you may choose to only record payments once or twice a week. Make sure all payments are recorded that were deposited into your company bank account.


Booking Discounts

If you decide to offer customer discounts, you must decide how you will handle and account for them.  A discount is usually classified by companies as a "cost of sale". This means that a discount is an "extra added expense" of doing business.  How you will classify discounts depends upon how you have structured your business.  You may want to consult a CPA on how you should classify discounts.  In any case, you should be able to identify discounts taken on your monthly Sales Report.  Billing Manager can do this for you if you follow the guidelines below.

The first thing you should do is change your terms to reflect the fact that you now offer a discount.  A discount of one or two percent of the invoice total is standard.

In most cases, your customers will not take your discount unless it will add up to a significant savings for them.  The bottom line is that leaving the money in their bank account will usually draw more interest for them than if they paid you early and took your offered discount. Therefore, if you offer a discount, you should not be discouraged if customers do not pay you early.

Depending on your invoice volume, you have two ways to book discounts so that you can see them on your sales report.  When you issue a customer an invoice, you should NOT include the discount amount on the invoice.  If you did, and the customer does not take the discount, you would not be able to record the payment, as it would not match the invoice amount.  Remember that you must mark an invoice completely paid in full in order for it to be removed when you delete paid invoices.  If a customer does take a discount, you should generate a credit memo (the Memo Invoice feature is a good tool for this), for the amount of the discount and clear both the invoice and the credit when posting the payment.  It is not necessary to print the credit memo as the credit is actually transparent to the customer.  All the customer knows is that if he/she pays the invoice early, they may deduct your discount amount from their invoice.

Let's look at an example.  Suppose you setup your terms as "2% 10 Net 30".  This means the total invoice is due within 30 days from the date of the invoice, however, your customer can deduct a 2% discount if they pay you within 10 days.  Also suppose that you send a customer an invoice for $100.00 and the customer pays you within 10 days and takes a $2.00 discount.  Of course, the customer payment will only be for $98.00 and your invoice will be on the system for $100.00.  You must post the payment so that the $100.00 shows on your sales report and so does the $2.00 credit for early payment.  To do this, first issue a credit invoice for a $2.00 credit using the Memo or Line-Item Invoice options. You should use a description or Product Code such as "discount taken" so that you can identify the credit when it appears on your Sales Report.  After issuing the credit, post the payment transaction of $98.00 to the customers account by using the Payment Wizard.  Then clear the original invoice for $100.00 and also clear the credit for $2.00.  Both the original invoice and the discount will now appear on your Sales Report.  It's really a simple process once you get started and you can generate a credit invoices very quickly for all discounts taken.  At the end of the month, when you run your Sales Report, you can see how many discounts were taken.  Additionally, when you run the customer statements, both you and the customer can see the discount amount on their statement.

The second method is used if you have a large volume of discounts taken. If you have a customer who takes many discounts on a single check, you may choose to add up the total of all the discounts on that check and do a single invoice credit memo for the entire amount.  Then clear all of the invoices on that check including the credit invoice to properly post the check.  Offering your customers discounts for early payments does require additional processing by you, however, it is advantageous to collect your money as soon as economically possible.  You may decide that the additional processing does not out way the early payment and choose not to use discounts at all.


Define Terms

Terms Examples

Terms allow you to specify to your customers how you expect to be paid.  You can create any terms you want. Below is a list of common terms and what they mean. You can modify, delete and define new terms by using the Terms Setup option on the File Menu (main screen). You can also create a new payment term when adding a new invoice by typing in the new payment term.

Due on Receipt - Payment due when invoice is received.

Net 30 Days - Pay net amount within 30 days from invoice date.

2% 10 Net 30 - Customer can deduct a two percent  discount if paid within 10 days, otherwise the net invoice  amount is due within 30 days of the invoice date.


Backup Files

File Backup  (Tools Menu)

Use the backup utility to periodically backup your data files to a floppy disk.  In the event of hardware failure, having a backup will allow you to restore your system to the way it was on your last backup date.  We strongly encourage you to backup your files!  It only takes a couple of minutes and can save you hours of aggravation.   WARNING:  M & R Technologies will not be able to help you restore your system if you do not maintain a backup disk!  NOTE:  Only your data files are backed up, not the program files.  Always keep your program diskette in a safe place with your backup disk.  You will probably need both disks if you experience hardware failure. When you backup your data files, all customers, Product Codes, invoices, companies and various setup files are all saved to the disk.

Please note that the maximum backup capacity of this program depends on your drive media. We do not span backups over multiple diskettes. Those type of floppy backups are already available to you using Microsoft Backup that came with your Windows 95 program. If you have large amounts of data, you must use an alternative backup solution, if using diskettes. You may however, backup to a large storage media, such as zip drives and other removable type of media drives. We DO NOT recommend backing up to the same drive that your billing program is on. You should backup the files to a different drive, preferably, a floppy disk or a removable media drive.

When you backup for the first time, you should insert an empty, FORMATTED disk and then select the drive letter.  Select the Backup button and the backup will begin.  The program will notify you when the backup is complete. Then place the disk in a safe place.  The next time you backup, you can use the same disk/media.  The old backup files will be replaced with the new backup files. If you receive an error message during the backup, your disk/media is either full, unformatted, bad or not inserted into the selected disk drive.

In the event that you ever need to restore your system from your backup files, copy all the data from the backup disk into the directory where your billing program is and run the Rebuild Data Files option on theTools Menu. The system will then be current as of that backup disk.


Order Product

How To Order This Product

The preferred method of ordering this product is by payment with your credit card.  This is also the best method for International orders. DO NOT SEND YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION TO M & R TECHNOLOGIES! IT MUST BE PROCESSED BY PUBLIC SOFTWARE LIBRARY (PsL) AS DESCRIBED BELOW.

If you would rather pay by check or Money Order, click here.

EASY REGISTRATION BY CREDIT CARD
PLEASE READ ALL OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS. THANK YOU.

Financial Freedom (R)
Billing Manager PRO (32-bit) - Product# 11717P

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public (software) Library (PsL) by any of the following methods:

1) calling 800-242-4775 (USA only)
2) calling 713-524-6394 (outside USA)
3) by FAX to 713-524-6398
4) by CompuServe Email to 71355,470.
5) send postal mail to PsL at P.O. Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705 USA.
6) From our internet web site: http://www.mrtec.com and go to the Billing Manager PRO page and look near the bottom of that page to order.

Orders are taken by PsL, Monday through Thursday till 6 P.M. and Fridays till 12 noon. THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY. Credit Cards also allow our overseas customers to order very easily without worry about currency (rate) conversions, because the credit card companies take care of this for us!

When you order from PsL, you must provide them with the cardholder's name, exactly as it appears on the credit card plus the billing address for the card.  The credit card companies require this information to allow PsL to process your order.

When ordering, give them product# 11717P for Billing Manager PRO (32-bit), which is $69.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling for US and Canada, $8.00 S/H elsewhere. The product number tells PsL what program you want and where they should forward your registration information. Please be sure to reference this number when you order.

Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, non-credit card orders, etc, must be directed to M & R Technologies, Inc. at the address or phone number below.

To insure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify us the day of your order and we will ship the product directly to you. You will not need to send us the registration form if you order by credit card. The latest registered version of the software will be shipped to you within 24 hours.  For inquiries contact: M & R Technologies, Inc., P. O. Box 061298, Palm Bay, Florida  32906-1298 or Phone/Fax: (407) 951-2268.


Order Form

Financial Freedom (R) Billing Manager PRO Version 1.3 Order Form

Please print out this form using the "File - Print Topic" menu option and complete the information below.  Then send it to the address below. Please Note: You can affix a mailing label below instead of writing in your address.  Orders paid by check will be held 10 days to allow for the check to clear the bank. Payments by Money Order will be processed right away.

Name / Company: _________________________________________________

Address Line1: __________________________________________________

Address Line2: __________________________________________________

Address Line3: __________________________________________________

Address Line4: __________________________________________________

Phone Number : ____________________________________

What HD disk size would you like?  3.5 _____  or 5.25 _____

Where did you find our product? ____________________________________

Comments:

BILLING MANAGER PRO is $69.95 + $4.00 shipping and handling for US and Canada, $8.00 S&H elsewhere. Florida residents must add $4.43 Sales Tax.

PAYMENT MUST BE IN USA DOLLARS. Overseas customers can obtain an International Money Order at your local Bank/Post Office or pay by credit card.  We have many overseas users!

Send with check or Money Order to:
M & R Technologies, Inc.
P. O. Box 061298
ATTN: Product Registration
Palm Bay, Fl. 32906-1298  USA

For Information:
PHONE/FAX: (407) 951-2268.
EMAIL: info@mrtec.com
WWW: http://www.mrtec.com


Report Wizard

The Report Wizard allows you to create reports that tell you what you have billed, payments you have received and your current accounts receivable. These reports also have tools that allow you to sub-total and sort, providing you with ways to view specific information. You can get to the Report Wizard, by selecting the  Tools Menu from the Main Screen or clicking on the picture button  shown above from the main screen. Below is a list of report types,  followed by an overview of the Report Wizard.

Report Types

 Invoice Register
 Payment Register
 Accounts Receivable/Aging Report
 Sales Report
 Key Code Inquiry/Sales
 Tax Report/Collections by Key Code
 Repeat Billing List

Related Topics

 Aging Chart
 Customer List
 Product List
 Company List
 Frequent Asked Questions

 Overview

The Report Wizard uses various reports which provide you with different types of information, which you can manipulate to provide you with powerful reporting options.  To use it, select a report type. To find out what each type of information the reports  provide, read their topics listed above.

After you select a report type, you need to enter the dates you want to search for.  Enter a TO and FROM date.  This allows you to create your own reports.  If the report spans multiple months and is sorted by date, the system will provide you with monthly sub-totals.  After you have entered the dates, select the View button to produce the report on your screen.

To custom sort your reports, use our Speed-Sort feature. Double-click your mouse on any non-numeric column,  (not the column heading) to sort your report by that column,  or select the column number from the sort by drop down list.   Speed sorting is fast and turns your report into a powerful, customized source of information! When you sort a report, if you have the sub-totals checkbox marked, the system will sub-total on the sorted column. Once the report is displayed the way you want it, you can change the fonts and/or print it out. You can also save the report to a file, for importing into your favorite word processor, allowing you to customize it further. Using the different report types allows you to extract whatever type of information you need. Read each report type for details about what information each provides. NOTE: if you use large fonts on your reports, you may want to use the printer setup button provided to print in landscape mode. This provides for "wide" report printing.


Invoice Register

Invoice Register  (Report Wizard)

Use this report to list invoices you have created. This report does not care if the invoices are paid or not. It's job is to provide you details of what you have billed. If you want to obtain information about what has been invoiced, use this report. The dates you enter on the Report Wizard determine what records will be displayed, if any exist. The Invoice Date field is used when searching for records.

You can sub-total on any non-numeric column by double-clicking on the column. See Speed-Sorting in the Report Wizard Overview. You can sort and sub-total this report by Invoice Date, Invoice Number, Customer Number or Customer Short Name. For example, to see a list of invoices you have billed to a customer, sort the report by Customer Number.


Payment Register

Payment Register  (Report Wizard)

Use this report to list payments you have received. This report will only extract items which have been paid. If you want to obtain information about what has been paid, use this report. The dates you enter on the Report Wizard determine what records will be displayed, if any exist. The Paid Date field is used when searching for records.

You can sub-total on any non-numeric column by double-clicking on the column. See Speed-Sorting in the Report Wizard Overview. You can sort and sub-total this report by Paid Date, Invoice Number, Customer Number or Customer Short Name. For example, to see a list of payments you have received by date, sort the report by date.


Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable  (Report Wizard)

Use this report to list all invoices which remain unpaid. These invoices make up your accounts receivable balance for this company. This report will only extract items which are not  fully paid. If you want to obtain information about who owes you  money, or how old your unpaid invoices are, use this report.  This report does not require you to enter dates because all unpaid records will be displayed.

All selected records are grouped into four aging categories, 0-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days and over 90 days. For more about the aging categories maintained by this system and the use of the Aging Chart tool, click here. This report also lists the age (in days) of each unpaid invoice.

You can sub-total on any non-numeric column by double-clicking on the column. See Speed-Sorting in the Report Wizard Overview. You can sort and sub-total this report by Category, Invoice Number, Customer Number, Customer Short Name, Invoice Age or Invoice Date.  For example, to see a list open (unpaid) items by customer, sort the report by Customer Number.


Aging Chart

Aging Chart  (Tools Menu)

The Aging Chart provides you with a visual representation of your accounts receivable balance.  This tool, along with the Accounts Receivable Report (Report Wizard), is designed to allow you to  get a handle on your unpaid invoices and help you to collect  your receivables!  The chart will flag invoices which are past due, allowing you to contact the customer and find out why payment is late.

This billing system maintains your invoices grouped into four aging  categories, 0-30 days (cyan), 31-60 days (green), 61-90 days (yellow)  and over 90 days (red). These four categories are represented on  the Aging Chart with the four colors listed above. The whole chart represents your total accounts receivable and each color represents the percentage of your accounts receivable by aging category.  For example, if you see more red on your report than any other color, it means the majority of your accounts receivable are over 90 days. For a list of the invoices that make up each color, run your Accounts Receivable Report on the Report Wizard, sorted by category. To see the amount for each color using the Aging Chart, hold the mouse over the color. To see your total receivables, hold the mouse anywhere outside the colors, but somewhere on the chart.


The idea of the Aging Chart is to keep your unpaid invoices current and within your payment terms. For example, if your payment terms are net 30 days, it means customers must pay their invoices within 30 days.  Therefore, you should never see any green, yellow or red on your chart. When you do, it means it's time for you to make some phone calls to find out why you have not been paid.


Each day you start up your billing program, the system will automatically calculate the aging totals and display the chart if you have unpaid invoices.  If you do not want the Aging Chart to appear after the calculation, you can turn it off by editing your company setup and selecting the General tab option and turning off the 'Display Aging Chart after calculation' checkbox.  You can also view the Aging Chart at any time by selecting that option from the Tools Menu on the main screen.


Sales Report

Sales Report  (Report Wizard)

The Sales Report is the only report which lists the line items and Product Codes from your invoices, providing you with a list of product sales. If you want to obtain information about what  products/services you have sold, use this report. The dates you  enter on the Report Wizard determine what records will be  displayed, if any exist. The Invoice Date field is used when  searching for records. This report is also very wide and will be printed in landscape mode.

You can sort (group) and sub-total sales together by Product Name, Product Description, Date, Invoice Number, Short Name or Customer Number. For example, you could see products sold by customer by sorting your report by customer number or short name. Likewise, you can see your total sales by date, when sorted on the date column.

If you track inventories, this report will tell you what items moved out (sales) and what items came in (returns) for your inventory records, when you sort the report by product code.


Key Code Inquiry

Key Code Inquiry  (Report Wizard)

Use this report to list invoices you have created by user-defined  key code. This report does not care if the invoices are paid or not.  It's a Key Code report for what has been billed. If you want to see collections by Key Code, use the Tax Report. The  dates you enter on the Report Wizard determine what records  will be displayed, if any exist. The Invoice Date field is used  when searching for records.

This report is extremely powerful!  The Key Code is entered when you prepare an invoice.  You can use any kind of Key Codes you want, create your own!  Key Codes provide you with a way to view  items by sales person, department number, credit card type,  sub-company number, project code any anything else you can think  of. By using the Key Code field on your invoices in combination with this report, you can extract information however you need! For example, if you have sales people that you pay commissions to, you can use this report to tell you what sales were made by salesperson. This is only an example of the hundreds of different reports you can make.

This report is identical to the Invoice Register Report, except that the Customer Number field is replaced by the Key Code field.


Tax Report

Tax Report/Collections  (Report Wizard)

Use this report to list payments you have received. This report will only extract items which have been paid (collected). This report is identical to the Payment Register, except that the Tax field and Key Code fields are used. When records are selected for this report, the Paid Dates are searched. If you want to view sales by Key Code, use the Key Code Inquiry Report.

Taxes are due when collected as specified by your Taxing Authority. This report will show you what taxes have been  collected. Furthermore, using the Key Code field, this report will show you what collections you have booked by Key Code,  when sorted by the Key Code column. For more about what you can do with Key Codes, see the Key Code Inquiry Report.


Repeat Billing List

Repeat Billing List  (Report Wizard)

Use this report to list all master repeat billings (type R) that are currently on file. This report will show the master billing invoice numbers, when the next billing is due to be created and how many invoices (type G), have been created from the repeat billing master.  This report is designed to provide you a list of your current invoices that generate repeat billings. Please note that the column marked "C" (code) will indicate an "M" for repeat billings on a monthly cycle and a "D" for billings on a daily cycle. To stop a type R invoice from generating future billings, simply delete it using the Invoice Manager. If you would like to view the type "G" invoices, use the Invoice Register or run the Customer Statement, depending on what information you are looking for.

Repeat billings allow you to have the system generate repeat invoices for your customers.  It is a VERY powerful feature! To find out how to setup master repeat billings, click here. To find out how to generate repeat billings from master invoices, click here.


Interest Wizard

Interest Wizard  (Tools Menu)

The Interest Wizard is a tool provided to allow you to charge your customers interest charges for overdue accounts. If you decide to use this feature, we suggest that you create interest charge invoices on the same day of each month, to avoid over-charging customers. Once you generate your first interest charges, the system will store your settings for future charges.  We also suggest that you backup your system before you generate interest charges. Once you create interest charge invoices, you will need to delete each one manually, if you made a mistake.

First you must select the aging category to apply interest charges, over 30, 60 or 90 days. Only customers with a balance in the aging category you specify will be selected.  Once an aging category has been selected you must specify which type of late charges you want to calculate, either using an interest rate or a flat rate fee.

 For interest rate calculations, enter the monthly interest rate to charge. For example, if you want to charge interest at 18 percent annually, enter 1.5 (18 percent divided by 12 months = 1.5). The maximum interest charge is regulated by law, so whatever you decide to charge should not be more than what is allowed by law. Next, enter the minimum interest charge to create. Interest charges which are less than the minimum amount, will not be generated.

For Flat Fee charges, select the flat rate checkbox and then enter the amount of the flat rate charge. All customers will be charged this flat rate no matter what their past-due balance is. When you select a flat rate calculation, any values in the interest percentage and minimum interest charge boxes are ignored. Therefore, any customer who has a past-due balance in the aging category you select, will be charged the flat rate fee. Please note that the flat rate is not stored in the data files for subsequent use, like the interest calculations are. Therefore, you will need to select the flat fee checkbox and enter a flat fee amount each time you calculate interest charges.

After entering the above data, press the Scan button to view the customer account balances which meet your selection criteria and the amount of interest charges or flat rate fees that will be applied to each account. If you are satisfied with the selection and interest charge calculations, fill in the invoice date and any comments below. You may also select a special payment term for these late charges. Late charges are generally due on receipt, but you may enter any terms you wish.

The Mark Invoices as Printed checkbox allows you to mark each interest charge invoice as having been printed. This option is for people who do not want to print the invoices to send their customers because they send out monthly statements instead. Also, if you do not mark the interest charge invoices as printed, they will appear when you batch-print your invoices. If you send monthly statements, you will probably want to mark interest invoices as printed.

When you have all information entered correctly, select the Generate Invoices button to have the system generate the late charge invoices and add them to the master files. When the system is done creating invoices, you will be asked if you want to print a report of the invoices created. Once these invoices  are created, you can modify and delete them, just like any  other invoice.


Delete Paid Invoices

Delete Paid Invoices  (Tools Menu)

Use this feature to remove old, paid invoices. We suggest you leave at least three years of invoices on file, however, if you process a large amount of billings, you may want to remove them sooner. To remove the invoices, you must select a date from the calendar. Only invoices which are paid and are older than the date you select will be removed. Once these records have been removed, they will no longer be available to any of the system reports or options, as they will be permanently deleted.

We suggest that you run your Invoice and Payment Registers for the records which you will be removing. This way, you will have a hard-copy report to use if you ever need to research old data.


Form Letter Wizard

Form Letter Wizard  (Tools Menu)

The Form Letter Wizard allows you to send out notices/ letters/ announcements to your customers which include specific information from their account, such as name, address, account balance, last payment and more. The Forms Wizard is actually a rich text word processor like Windows WordPad which came with Windows 95. You can use ANY word processor you like, as long as it can create rich text documents (*.rtf), otherwise use ours. A rich text document allows you to use any fonts and colors, as well as bulleted and underlined text. You can create very nice documents! If you know how to use WordPad, you will be able to use our word processor as it is very similar to WordPad. We have also included all of the standard cut/paste/copy features associated with word processors.

   The top arrow on the left adjusts your left margin and the arrow on the right, your right margin. The arrow under the left one is used to indent a paragraph. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST HILITE THE DATA WITH YOUR MOUSE BEFORE USING THESE ARROWS. The same is true for any of the text formatting options. For example, if you have the word "Invoice" in your letter and you want to change the font, double-click on the word "Invoice" so that it is hilighted, and then select the font you want.  To hilite more than one word, click your mouse and hold the button down while moving the mouse over all the text you want to select, then release the mouse button. Once you have text hilighted, you can use the font button to set the font/color or use one of the individual font controls (name/size). You can also use one of the seven format buttons (bold, italic, underline, right aligned,  centered, left aligned or bullet style [in that order]) to format the selected text. We have examples of these features in the WELCOME.RTF document included.

You type the document, adding the KEYWORDS in the text where you would like the customers account information to appear. We have provided over 25 keywords which you can place anywhere in the text of your letter. To see an example, open the Form Letter Wizard and then open the WELCOME.RTF document.  Please note that all keywords must be in UPPERCASE letters!  You can see all the keywords available by using the keyword drop-down list in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.  When the document is printed, it will replace the keywords with the actual information from that customers account. Once you have your letter ready, save it to a file with an RTF extension so that it will appear in the File-open dialog box which displays all files with an RTF (rich text format) extension.

When you are ready to print your letters, the program will use the Label Print Queue to get the list of customers you wish to print letters for. If you do not have any customers listed in the print queue, click on the Queue button to open the Label Wizard and add the customers you want. The program will print a letter for each customer listed in the queue. When you are done printing letters, you can then go to the Label Wizard and print mailing labels for all your letters, if you desire. For information on how to use the Label Wizard click here.


Frequent Asked Questions

Frequent Asked Questions - Please Read!

 Please Note: If you want to enter practice records and setup dummy customers, use the TEST COMPANY provided with this program or setup your own test company.  You can delete companies even if they have unpaid invoices. This feature is used if you close a business, however, you can also setup a practice company and delete it when your done! M & R Technologies is committed to helping you get started. If you need help, read the questions below then contact us at the addresses listed in the About option located on Billing Manager's Help Menu. To setup a new company read question #2.

1. You have Company, Invoice, Product and Customer Managers in this program.  What are they and how do I use them?

 The "Managers" provide you with tools to add, modify, view and delete data.  For example, when using the Invoice Manager, you can add, edit, delete, view and print invoices. All of the current invoices are listed in the window. Simply click on the invoice you want and choose an option.  To make this system EASY to use, all Managers function the same, they just manage different data.  Some options, such as add, edit, delete, close and help are found on all of the managers, but some managers have other features.  For example, you can only print envelopes and statements from the Customer Manager but not from the Product Manager. Please note that because of the way we designed our system, you can actually setup, edit and delete products and customers in the middle of doing a new invoice! On the fly! Our managers are very powerful tools!

NOTE: you can also right-click your mouse on the list for a pop-up list of editing options.

2. How do I setup MY business?

 From the main menu, click the File Menu and choose Company Manager. From the Company Menu, select ADD and fill in as many options as you need then click the save button and close the Company Manager window. This new company is now available for use. You can edit any of the company data by opening the Company Manager and clicking on the company you want in the list and selecting EDIT from the Company Menu.  To make any company in the list the default company, double-click on the company in the list or choose the Company Menu and select Set As Default.  The currently selected default company is used when adding and editing data. To read further on how to setup your company click here.

3. What is the Default Company?

 This program can manage 32,000 different companies all with separate customer, invoice and product files.  The default company is the company currently open for processing.  All of the system options are stored at the company level, such as tax rates, printing preferences, company name, etc.  If you only run one company, you will need to set it as the default company only once.  The system will automatically open the last company you were working on when you open the billing program.  To set any company as the default, open the Company Manager and double-click on the company you want.  The currently selected default companies name appears in the other managers windows.

4. Where do I set the system options?

The "heart" of the billing system is located in the company setup. The system options are all set at the company level, allowing you to define different options for different companies.  This is great if you run a bookkeeping service as you can modify the company options to suit your customers requests!  To change any system options, open the Company Manager and click on the company you want, then select EDIT from the Company menu. NOTE: If you assign a password to this billing system, the password must be entered in order to allow changes the company setup options. This allows you to restrict people from changing your system options.

5. What is the difference between invoices and statements?

You prepare invoices to apply charges and credits to your customer balances, (See next question).  The statements, which you can run at any time, list all invoices, payments and current account balances. The statement is an excellent tool to show you what transactions have been processed against each customer (account) number.  Some businesses send out only statements to their customers, while others only send out invoices.  Some do both. It's up to you to decide which works best for you. You should send out statements to your customers when you want to "remind" them what their current account balance is and what invoices remain unpaid.

6. How do I issue customers credits for returned merchandise?

Simply create an invoice and indicate the quantity as a negative number. For example, if you sold a customer 5 widgets and they return 2, do an invoice for -2 widgets.  This will cause the invoice to have a credit balance, which will be subtracted from the customer balance.  You will also see the 5 products sold and the two returned on your Sales Report. If you bill your customers using the memo invoice, simply enter a negative amount in the invoice amount to create the credit.

7. What is the difference between a product invoice and a memo invoice?

You have two ways to invoice customers. The product invoice allows you to setup product codes and enter these codes on each line item of the invoice. This provides you and your customer with an itemized listing of what was sold.  You will see these items on your Sales Report.  A memo invoice allows you to select ONE product code (entered in the product description box) and type in a paragraph of text to appear on the invoice. Whatever you type in the product description box will appear on your Sales Report for each memo invoice.  Product invoices automatically calculate the invoice and tax totals, while memo invoices require you to enter these amounts. Which type of invoice you use is up to you.  You can use both if you choose.

8. I made a mistake on an invoice.  Can I fix it?

Yes. Simply open the Invoice Manager, click on the invoice and select the EDIT option from the Invoice Menu.  You can add, delete and modify invoices so long as you have not posted a partial-payment (type "X") against it. You can modify any invoice that is not type "X" or type "Z". See question number 21 for more on type codes and also see next question.

9. What can I do to fix a partially-paid (type "X") invoice?

You can't modify an invoice that's partially-paid (type "X"). Normally, you wouldn't need to "fix" a paid invoice anyway, so this typically is not a problem unless you've posted a partial-payment (type "X") to the wrong account.  If you do, you still have options available to correct that. If you want to fix a non-partially paid invoice, simply use the EDIT option (see #8 above).

 You can enter another invoice to make an adjustment to the customer balance.  You can adjust a customer balance by entering a credit invoice to reverse the original charge or you can add an invoice for a partial amount to increase the customer balance or issue a partial credit to reduce the customer balance. Many people like to use the memo invoices for adjustment entries unless they are product related, because they can type in the comments about why this adjustment was needed and cross-reference invoices. Just keep in mind that invoices are simply the mechanism you use to place charges and issue credits to your customers.  What you charge and credit is up to you.  If you post a payment to the wrong invoice (very difficult to do, but it's possible), you should do another invoice to get the charge back on that customer balance. When you print your customer statements, only unpaid invoices will appear, so the erroneously paid invoice will not appear. You can also use the same invoice number and attach a "C" to the end to indicate "corrected". For example, if you need to make an adjustment for invoice number 100 and it's paid, enter another invoice with an invoice number of 100C for the adjustment entry. Using this technique provides you with a good audit trail.

10. Do I need to print the invoice when I create it?

No. You don't need to print invoices at all if you only send out statements. You can use the batch print option in the Invoice Manager to print all unprinted invoices or you can click on the invoice you want and select the print button.  There is also a batch print feature for statements located in the Customer Manager.

If you run a Point of Sale type of business, setup the billing program to print an invoice after you enter it and enter the payment amount when creating the invoice.  The system will mark the invoice paid and automatically print the invoice! At the end of the day, run your Payment Register report, sorted by date, which will total your daily receipts. The Report Wizard allows you to select custom dates, so you can effectively create your own reports.  We're great at Point of Sale! If you except credit cards, you can also use the Key Code during the invoice setup to enter "AMEX", "VISA", "MASTERCD", "CASH", "CHECK", etc.  This allows you to sort your Key Code Report by user-defined type. In this example, you are sorting your key code by "payment type" so you can tell what was sold and how it was paid for!  The Key Code field is very powerful! Use it to provide some type of additional/special reporting requirement.

11. Can I calculate GST or other special taxes?

Yes. For information on how to do it, click here. See question number 30 for information about our International setup options!

12. I don't charge tax. Can I eliminate the tax field on my invoices?

Yes. Open the Company Manager and select the company you want and EDIT the company setup. Select the Company Address/Taxes tab. Blank out the tax heading caption below the tax rate amount.  Then select the save button and close the Company Manager. The next time you process an invoice for this company, if the invoice tax amount is zero and if the heading is blank, the tax fields will not appear on the invoice.

 However, we have found it is sometimes a good idea to let the tax field appear with a zero amount even if you don't charge taxes.  The reason is that when a customer looks at an invoice, they can see the tax field with a zero amount and know that they were not charged tax and that it was not "built into" the product prices.  If you and your customers know you don't charge tax, you can remove the tax field.

13. Can I remove the product code field when printing invoices?

Yes.  Edit the company setup and select the Forms Setup tab. Make sure that the "product codes on invoices" checkbox is not selected, (unchecked).  Click the save button and close the Company Manager. Since you have eliminated a column from the invoice, you can increase the  size of the font used to print the body of the invoice text. See next question.

14. Can I customize my invoices and statements?

Yes. You can print with lines, colors, fonts, shading and even add a bitmap logo.  These settings are found in the company setup under the "Forms Setup" tab.  You have numerous options here and are bound to find the options you want. For details on the different options, click here.

15. I created a bitmap picture logo and added it to my invoice but when it prints its very small, what can I do?

You will need to create a larger bitmap image. The reason is because the print resolution that your printer uses is much better than that of your screen, so the logo prints smaller.  We could have defined an area on the layout and "stretched" the picture into it, but this will result in a distorted image.  We choose not to limit the size of your bitmap.  You must simply make your image larger.  Please note that by increasing the size of your bitmap requires more ink/toner from your printer and therefore might not be a good idea if you print a large amount of invoices. Also, the size of your printed logo is determined by the resolution setting of your printer! In other words, your logo will print larger at a 300 DPI (dots-per-inch) setting than it would at 600 DPI. Try a 300 DPI setting before using a 600 DPI setting to allow your pages to print faster, as printing at 600 DPI is slower. You can get to your printer setup by using the Windows Control Panel - Printers option.

16. I already have my own logo on my letterhead stationery. Can I print my invoices and statements on my letterhead?

Yes.  Edit the company setup and select the Forms Setup tab. Make sure that the "Letterhead Style" checkbox is selected, (checked).  Click the save button and close the Company Manager. You may also want to turn the "boxes around invoices" and "boxes around statements" options off, eliminate some of the lines and change your margin settings.  You can also change the fonts used to print the forms to match the font(s) on your letterhead. When the letterhead style is used, your company name and address will not be printed at the top of your form as this information should already be on your stationery.

17. I have a small printer. Is there anything I can do to speed up the printing of my invoices?

Yes, you have several options, but first notice that when you print an invoice or statement, the status bar on your screen will indicate when the billing program has sent the document to your printer. It is almost instantly, so it is not the billing program that is taking a long time, it's your printer.  You are probably printing with a lot of fonts, lines and other graphics, which will slow down your printer.  In general, lines, picture logos and shading slow down your printer the most, followed by the type of fonts you are using. Try turning off some of the graphics printing options and also consider printing with a fixed-pitch font to increase printer output. Since this is strictly a hardware issue, you may want to experiment using different settings until you gain the best printing performance. Laser printers are the best at producing lots of graphic output. Ink Jet printers are pretty good but generally don't print lines very well or produce a "smudged" output.  Dot Matrix printers are the slowest and do not print graphics very well, unless they are one of the 24-pin models, however, they can be slow too.  Also see question number 15 for an explanation of DPI. You may be printing at 600 DPI and a setting of 300 DPI prints much faster.

18. I changed the size of my invoice body font and now the sales message doesn't appear on my invoices? What's going on?

The Sales Message only appears if you have it "turned on" and there is enough room at the bottom of the invoice to print it. Additionally, you probably have the "move down totals for blank lines" turned on (Forms Setup). This setting causes the billing program to move down the invoice totals for as many lines as indicated in the "Max Lines" setting (Forms Setup). You can do two things. Turn off the "move down totals for blank lines" option or set the "Max Lines" number to a smaller value, like 20. This will create the extra room needed at the bottom of your form for the Sales Message. Please keep in mind that printing your line items take precedence over the "Max Lines" setting. Therefore, if you have the Max Lines setting at 20, but have 21 line items on your invoice, 21 lines will be printed and you may not see your Sales Message because your font is so large, there was not enough room at the bottom of your invoice to print it. We do not limit the size of your fonts.  You should be careful when changing these settings.

19. Can I print more than one copy of the invoice? What about packing slips and remittance copies?

Yes, by editing the company setup and selecting the "Invoice Options" tab, you can specify an additional file/remittance copy and/or a packing slip. You can change the headings on the top of these forms by using the "Headers/Fonts/Color" button on the Forms Setup tab. For example, you may wish to send your customers the invoice accompanied by a duplicate invoice copy and keep a file copy for yourself. To do this, turn on the File Copy option and set the number of copies to 2. Then change the file copy form heading to "Duplicate Invoice" or "File Copy". The maximum number of additional file copies you can print (in addition to the invoice and packing slip) is (5) five. Also, at any time, you can always print another copy of an invoice while using the Invoice Manager and selecting the print option. These options work during batch printing and when printing a single invoice.

20. I have a customer with a zero balance that I want to delete but the system tells me they have invoices on file and I can't delete the record. What can I do?

Use the Customer Manager and edit the customer record. Mark the customer as inactive by using the "Credit Hold/Inactive Account" checkbox option. This will cause the system to flag this customer as inactive if you try to do another invoice for them.

You can delete a customer with a zero balance if they have no invoices on file, however, if any invoices are present, you will not be able to delete them.  The reason is that if you viewed or printed the invoice(s) for this customer, there would no longer be any customer data present and we would not know who this invoice belongs to.  When you use the Delete Paid Invoices option, any paid invoices are removed based upon the date you select. When you delete the paid invoices for this customer, you will then be able to delete them permanently from the customer database. Simply mark this customer as inactive and then permanently remove the customer when you delete old, paid invoices.

If you want to enter practice records and setup dummy customers, use the TEST COMPANY provided with this program or setup your own test company. You can delete companies, including all their invoices, customers and products, even if they have unpaid invoices.

21. What are the transaction code types displayed next to each invoice in the Invoice Manager?

These codes allow you to tell what type of transaction you are viewing. These codes can also be explained by double-clicking on an invoice in the Invoice Manager. Code "I" means regular invoice, "D" is a deposit on account, "T" is a deposit taken (offset against other invoices during payment posting), "Z" is an invoice that has had partial payments applied to it and "X" is the actual partial-payments. Type "R" is a Master Repeat Billing record and type "G" are generated invoices from a type "R" record. These codes also appear on your reports.

22. What is the quickest way to see a customer's aging totals and account balance?

Open the Invoice Manager and double-click on any one of the customer's invoices. Not only does it show the customer aging, it also lists the last invoice number, payment and current account balance.

23. How can I view all the transactions against a single account number?

You have two ways. The best way is to view the customer statement for the customer you want. The statements are located on the Customer Manager. Another option would be to open the Invoice Manager and click on an invoice for the customer, then click the Filter button. This will list only the transactions for your customer, sorted by whichever display option you are currently using, (Display Menu). Click the filter button again to clear the current filter.  Note: a colored box is drawn around your invoice list when the filter is ON.

24. I bill the same service every month. Do I have to type the same line items on each invoice?

No, that would not be much fun! You have two choices! When doing an invoice, you have an option of saving the current line items to a file or reading in the lines from a saved file. This works with line-item and memo invoices. Also, your comments and statement note are saved in the file. To do it, create the invoice you bill each month and then save it to a file, then each time you create a new invoice, select the customer and recall the saved  line items into your invoice. Unless you need to make any changes specific to this invoice, simply click the Ok button to create the new invoice. It's fast and simple to bill the same services or products over and over again. For complete instructions,click here.

We also have a Repeat Billing Module built into this program! It allows you to setup master invoices and have the system automatically generate invoices for you!  It doesn't get much easier than that! For details on this feature, click here. Repeat billings are a breeze with our program!

25. I have an Inventory Tracking program. Where can I get the information I need to plug into my inventory system?

This information is obtained by running the Sales Report. Our Sales Report, sorted by Product Code, will list all products sold and returned for the selected period. You should enter the totals shown on this report into your inventory system. We also have customers who created a spread sheet program to track their inventory and plug the numbers from the Sales Report into their spread sheet. Although our program does not track inventory, it provides you with the information you need, if you decide to use an inventory tracking program.

26. My customers give me deposits all the time. Can this program handle deposits?

Yes, in fact we think our system handles them the best, because you can have as many deposits as you wish and "offset" them against any invoice(s) or let the system do it for you!  You record deposits on account using the Payment Wizard. Once you enter a deposit, it will deduct that amount from the customer balance. Deposits show up with a transaction code of "D" and just "hang around" until you offset them against invoices.

For example, you book a $40.00 deposit on one of your customers accounts and a week later you send them an invoice for $100.00. When you run this customer statement, the balance due is now $60.00. When you receive this payment, use the Payment Wizard to record the $60.00 payment by marking the deposit and invoice as paid. Together, these amounts match the payment amount and the post button will activate.

You also have another option. You can delete deposits, so you could delete the deposit when your ready to bill your customer. Then enter an invoice for $100.00 and show a $40.00 paid amount, leaving a balance due of $60.00. All this information will then appear on the invoice you send your customer.  Which method you choose depends on whether you send your customers invoices or statements.  Try it both ways and see which method works best for you.  For details how to enter a deposit, click here.

27. I entered a $100.00 deposit from my customer and later I did a $100.00 invoice. The customers account balance is zero, but the deposit and the invoice still appear on my Aging Report. How do I get them off the report?

Go to the Payment Wizard, select this customer and enter a payment amount of zero, then move the $100.00 deposit and the $100.00 invoice into your payment posting window and the post button will activate. When you press the post button, the system will mark those items as paid, removing them from your Aging Report, offsetting them against each other. The reason they still appeared on your Aging Report was because you never "marked" them as being paid.

When you post a payment to a customers account, if the payment amount matches the customers account balance, our billing system will mark all deposits, partial-payments and invoices as paid automatically by moving them into the posting window and when you press the post button, everything is marked paid. But this did not happen in the example shown above because the deposit was recorded first and when you did the invoice, it only brought the account back to a zero balance. Since the account balance was zero, you did not have a payment to record (balance due) and the items were never "marked" paid. You accomplished this when you entered a zero payment amount and offset the invoice and deposit against it.

Because of all the flexibility we have provided for deposits, we believe you will find this program a real joy to use and it's EASY!

28. I need to track and bill my time on different projects. Is there any way I can do it using your system?

You bet!  Simply create different project codes by setting up Product Codes for the different project numbers/items/cost centers, etc. that  you want to track (Product Manager). The Sales Report, sorted by Product Code will total the costs associated for each project. We also have a built in timer which makes it easy to calculate time spent, located on the invoice editor. You can track your time as specific as you need to!

29. Can your system print mailing labels for my packages?

Yes, and more!  Not only can you create your own label sizes, you can also create custom mailing lists!  If you use a large label you can also print your bitmap picture logo on the label.  And, if that's not enough, we provide options for auto-copying customer addresses to the label print queue when creating invoices or batch printing! We have also pre-defined four (4) popular label sizes for you to use. For details about using our Label Wizard, click here.

30. We use a non-American date format. Do you have an option for displaying the date in another format?

Yes, we have many overseas customers!  The date format can be specified by using the General tab option in the Company Manager. This allows you to display your dates in DAY/MONTH/YEAR format. For more on this, click here. Also, we have built in support for A4 paper size and you can use the margin settings to make your invoices "fit" perfectly when printed!

31. I do sub-contract work and need to bill one customer for many different (3rd party) jobs and work sites.  Do I setup each job site as a customer?

No, you should only setup one customer number for the company you do sub-contract work for. This is who will pay you and who you should send the invoices and statements to. The rule to follow here is, if the person/company will not be paying you directly, do not set them up as a customer. They don't owe you the money and you will never be billing them.

What you want to do is setup the company who will be paying you as a customer. Then, for each job you do for them, prepare an invoice and enter the job location, persons name, work order number or brief description of the work done in the statement comment field on the invoice. The statement comment field is very important here as it only appears on the customer's statement. When you run the statement for your customer, you will see the date of each job, the work location, the amount you charged, what the customer has paid you and what their current account balance is. You can attach the copy of each invoice to the statement if your customer wants backup detail. If you do not want to use the statements, you can send your customer the invoices instead. Use the Notes/Comments/Reference field on the invoice to enter the work location and/or job description. This field prints on the invoice.

If you use parts or other supplies, you can set them up as products and bill your customer using the Product Invoice. If you would rather type a long description of what type of work you did, you can use the memo invoice. It's easy to bill third-party charges with our billing system!

32. I charge all my work to one product code when billing my customers, but later, I want to move the charges from that product code and split the charges against different product codes. Can I do this with your system?

Yes, Accountants call this a journal entry. Journal entries allow you to transfer charges from one product (project) code to another, or split the charges over several codes. An example would be if you did consulting and used a "consulting" product code when you bill your clients. But for your own bookkeeping purposes, you would like to allocate the charges for the consulting product code to what type of work you actually did, like computer consulting, business consulting, tax consulting, labor, parts, etc. You could use these product codes when you bill your client, but if you don't want your client to see these individual charges, you will need to do a journal entry.

Simply create a Product Invoice for a ZERO amount. You should also setup a special customer number called "Journal Entry", so you don't enter these invoices on your customer accounts. Then enter a negative amount for the product code you want to take the money away from and then add a line item for each code you want to split the money over. For example, if you charged a client $50.00 using the "consulting product code" and want to split the money evenly over a "labor" code and a "parts" code, you would enter an invoice for zero amount and add three line items to that invoice. The first line would be for -50.00 to the "consulting" code, the second for 25.00 to the "labor" code and the last for 25.00 to the "parts" code. The total of these lines equal zero and will not affect your accounts receivable balance. When you run the Sales Report, sorted by product code, you will see the journal entries moving the money from one code to the others. Another example would be if you book sales commissions. You would not want your customers to see the commission entries on their invoices, you would want to use journal entries to reclassify the charges.

33. I have two different customers with the same name, but your system does not allow duplicate customer names. What can I do?

Use a middle initial or "Mr." or "Mrs." or a building number or something else to make the second customer name unique. Duplicate customer names make it very difficult for you when you do invoices and post payments, because you can easily get the two customers mixed up. For this reason, we do not allow identical customer names. We realize that sometimes you may have more than one customer with the same name, you will just need to enter them slightly different from each other. In fact, over time, you will come to realize why we did this and be glad that we did. We know! Our old 16-bit billing program allowed duplicate customer names. We sold thousands of copies! In the end, it did more harm than good, so we no longer allow duplicate customer names.

34. Can I fax my invoices through my computer to my clients?

Yes, but you will need to have the fax software installed on your computer. When you have fax software properly setup, you will see another printer in your Windows Print Setup, usually called "fax" or something similar. With the "fax" printer set as your default Windows printer, all printed output is sent to the fax instead of the printer.

All you need to do is use the printer setup option on Billing Manager's File Menu, to set your default printer as your fax program and then print an invoice as you normally would. Windows will then re-route the invoice to your fax software instead of the printer. The fax printer will remain the default Windows printer until you either exit the billing program or use the Printer Setup option to change default printers.

35. I entered a new invoice and the line items do not appear in the same order as I entered them when I print the invoice. What happened?

This can occur after you have deleted an invoice. This will not happen if you use the rebuild data files option on the Tools Menu AFTER you delete the invoice and BEFORE you enter the new one. This is only a problem for people who need their line items printed in the exact order they were entered and does not happen when using memo invoices.

When you delete an invoice or line-item, the line item(s) are only marked as deleted. They are not physically removed from the data file. When you add a new invoice, we will use any lines previously marked as deleted over again to store the new line items.  We do this so that your data files do not become "bloated" with deleted records, however, on your next invoice, the line items may get "re-arranged" to fill in the new line items over previously deleted records. This is typical of any database management system, including ours. If you need your line items to appear in the exact order you enter them, you must rebuild the data files after you delete an invoice. When you rebuild the data files, all items marked as deleted are physically removed from the databases.

36. Why is the Print Invoice Checkbox dimmed on the invoice? Why is the checkbox under it dimmed?

You are editing the invoice. The print invoice feature is only active if you are adding a new invoice. When checked, the invoice will be printed after you finish entering the invoice. This is mainly for Point of Sale type transactions.

The checkbox under the print invoice checkbox is the calculate tax checkbox. If this option is dimmed out, you do not have your tax rate specified in the Company setup options or you don't charge tax. This will also happen if you have setup your customer as tax exempt. If you mark a customer tax exempt, the system will not allow you to calculate tax on their invoices. The tax checkbox allows you to turn off (override) the tax calculation for any specific invoice. Please note that if you try to edit an invoice, after setting a different company tax rate, the invoice will be re-calculated using the new tax rate. Only one tax rate is used by this billing system when calculating tax. If you have different tax rates, set up different Product Codes for them and add the different tax rates as line items on the invoice. They will appear on your Sales Report.

37. Why is there no place on the invoice to enter a shipping charge?

There is! You can bill anything with our system, but you need to enter it as a line item on the invoice. This is not an oversight on our part. We designed the system this way on purpose! Simply setup product codes for all the different shipping methods you use, such as UPS, FEDX, etc. You can even make codes for FEDX-1DAY, FEDX-2DAY, etc., depending on how specific you want to track freight, or you can just setup one generic code for shipping and handling. If you have one set rate, enter this amount when you setup the product code, otherwise, create the product code using a zero amount. When you add the freight line item to an invoice, enter the amount of the shipping charge on that line item for that specific invoice. This allows you to have a different shipping charge for all your invoices.

The reason we want you to do this is simple. When you run your Sales Report sorted by product code, all "like-items" (products) will be sorted together and sub-totaled. Therefore, you will be able to tell how much income you made from shipping/handling and the freight charges will not be "lumped" together with the product cost, so you will get true calculations for product sales since the freight is sub-totaled separately from the other products. Furthermore, if you always ship UPS for example, you will be able to tell how much your UPS bill will be that month since all the shipment costs for UPS are totaled on your Sales Report.

Using billing systems that only allow you to enter a freight amount on the invoice lock you into having to classify all freight by only the one freight category. Our system lets you setup as many freight categories as you wish and then will sub-total all types on your Sales Report! This is one of the many reasons we like to call our program the "king" of billing systems.  Setup product codes for freight, products, hourly charges, special taxes, labor, services, anything. Be as specific as you like when you create your product codes and create codes for everything you bill your customers.

38. Can I create an audit trail or password-protect the system?

You can do both! You can use the "Require System Audit Trail" checkbox on the company setup (general tab option) to turn on the audit trail. When this option is ON, editing and deleting invoices is not allowed, requiring a new invoice to be entered for the required adjustment. Furthermore, if you assign a password to this system (Tools Menu), the password must be entered before changes to the company setup options can be made. These two options provide you with the means to make your billing system very secure!

39. I turned the shading option on and all it does is print lines in the shaded area. Why is this happening?

This happens if your printer is printing less than 300 DPI (see question number 15 for explanation and settings of DPI). For the shading to work properly, use a 300 or 600 DPI setting on your printer.

In Summary:

If you've made it this far, you know you are using a very powerful billing program!  We have every feature you could possibly want!  But what is even more amazing, is that this system is EASY TO USE! We are getting new customers from "other" billing programs all the time! We hope you enjoy using our program. To contact M & R Technologies with other questions, please see the "About" option on Billing Manager's Help Menu. Thank you!