Period End FAQs

This page contains Frequently Asked Questions and technical notes about the year-end, month-end, and day-end procedures in ECi DDMS software. For quarter-end (item update) procedures, please see the O/PUS FAQs.

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On this page:

Day-End
Month-End
General Year-End

Year-End Hints: Your 2009 RoadMap-Specific KeyOps Is Online Now
Year-End Hints: Archiving Journals for 2009
Year-End Hints: Yes, You Can Close 2009 General Ledger Now!
Year-End Hints: Ready for 2009 Tax Reports and First Payroll of 2010
Year-End Hints: Last Minute Tips for 2009

Day-End

If I do day-end procedures manually, what are the steps?

Updated! Year End 2009 Key Ops newsletter This newsletter provides brief instructions all period-ending procedures, including day end. For day-end, it summarizes: printing invoices, printing point-of-sale tendered totals, verifying and releasing A/R batches, printing the daily invoice register, printing and releasing A/P batches, printing and releasing G/L batches, flushing completed orders to the sales journal, printing an open pick report, printing an O/E exceptions reports, purging completed P/Os, running an aged A/R trial balance report, and verifying A/R totals. It also covers suspending and reactivating automated procedure files, and making inventory counts.

How do I monitor, interpret, and apply the information in my daily reports?

Using Daily Reports (pdf) Learn to interpret and apply the information in your daily reports. Monitoring daily accounting activity helps you identify discrepancies quickly and prevents their source from becoming obscured as days and weeks pass. This document covers how to use your daily reports and other system tools to ensure your A/R, A/P and G/L information balances at the end of each day. Learn how to put the Open Pick Report, Exceptions reports, POS Tender Totals Report, Daily Invoice Register, and the President's Screen to work for you.

How do I protect my DDMS data for dedicated day-end procedures?

Protecting Your Data for Dedicated Procedures (pdf) Some DDMS system maintenance functions must be done in a dedicated environment. Dedicated functions are procedures that can only be performed when no one else is using the system, or, if performed while others are using certain system files, can corrupt the files or lock up the system. Learn what steps to take to protect these files before you commence these dedicated procedures.

My day-end proc failed. How do I reprint my reports?

Printing day-end reports manually (pdf) How to print some daily reports manually if your day-end proc fails (file: dayend-reports.pdf)

How do I request a new or upgraded automated day-end proc file for DDMS?

Custom Day-End/Month-End Proc - Terms Agreement & Request Form (pdf) To initiate a request for a custom day-end and/or month end proc, whether new or upgrade, complete this request form and fax the signed copy to ECi Sales. See also the specifications form.

Custom Day-End/Month-End Proc File Specifications Form (pdf) Once you have agreed to the terms, you will be asked to fill out this form to specify the steps and special requirements for your day-end and month-end proc(s) so that our developer can complete the work.

See also Going Paperless: Operational & Billing Efficiencies (pdf) Eliminate the costs of postage, paper, and forms by faxing or e-mailing invoices and statements with Autocomm II. This session also includes information on paperless reporting capabilities such as saving monthly and daily reports to text files, setting up multiple printers to save your text file reports for automated procs, and importing into Excel.

See also Procs Like a Pro (pdf) Proc (procedure) files can automate many of your routine procedures. From simple tasks like day-end procedures and reports to complex functions that can calculate their own date limits and modify databases, proc files can be that extra manpower you need. Learn how to run proc files as completely unattended automated functions, or set them up as an interactive program to prompt for key information and then run procedures based on user input.

See also Proc file commands that do not work under Windows (pdf) Lists the proc commands and variables that you cannot use in procs that run on the Windows platform.

Month-End

If I do month-end procedures manually, what are the steps?

Year End 2009 Key Ops newsletter This newsletter provides brief instructions on all period-ending procedures, including month-end. For month-end, it summarizes: printing the auto-bill invoices, creating finance charges, changing the current period, journalizing customer history/service quality/sales totals/hits, executing vendor period end, journalizing inventory history, journalizing MTD sales figures, journalizing inventory for the serialized/machine/service module, renaming sales journals, merging monthly journals into a yearly journal, running an aged A/R trial balance report, printing a monthly sales tax report, printing an A/P trial balance, purging and journalizing completed A/P incoices, creating and printing finance charges, purging A/R, printing statements, and building the cost of goods sold report. It also covers suspending and reactivating automated procedure files, and making inventory counts.

How do I get more out of month-end?

Getting More From Month-End (pdf) Discover new ways to use DDMS system reports to manage and grow your business. Month-end procedures are required to establish your company’s financial status as of a given date. However, month-end also provides an opportunity to analyze your business and identify trends. This document looks at additional reports you can run as part of your month-end process that will help you analyze your sales activity and identify risk areas and opportunities for growth.

How do I protect my DDMS data for dedicated month-end procedures?

How do I rename my sales journals at month-end?

Renaming Sales Journals Learn how to select a sales journal naming convention that meets DDMS system constraints and rename sales journals without encountering problems caused by duplicate file names (file:rename-salesj.pdf)

How do I merge my sales history into one fiscal-year journal?

Merging Sales Journals Learn to build a single sales journal for an entire fiscal year to make reporting simpler; at the end of each month, you move completed invoices into this year's journal (file:merge-jour.pdf)

How do I post deposit payments on furniture orders?

Posting Deposits on Furniture Orders (pdf) A common misconception is that posting a deposit does the same thing as using a pay code of prepay. Learn the important differences between these two types of advance payments and how to ensure that you are posting deposits properly.

How do I request a new or upgraded automated month-end proc file for DDMS?

General Year-End

What are the year-end procedures in general?

Year End 2009 Key Ops newsletter This newsletter provides brief instructions all period-ending procedures, including year-end. For year-end, it summarizes: to what extent year-end procedures also do month-end procedures, what to do whether your fiscal year coincides with December or any other month, printing an item catalog master listing; printing a customer master listing with history, printing a full YTD sales analysis, executing serialized inventory year-end procedure for depreciation, copying V-AUX vendor history, changing the current period, resetting finance charges, journalizing customer history/service quality/sales totals/hits, printing 1099s, executing vendor period end, journalizing inventory history, journalizing YTD sales figures, running an aged A/R trial balance report, renaming sales journals, printing W-2 forms, closing payroll, opening the new year's general ledger, and posting retained earnings. It also covers suspending and reactivating your Web storefront and any automated procedure files, and making inventory counts.

What is the maintenance schedule and advice for ASP customers?

There are three major differences in procedure for ASP customers, since ASP Support routinely maintains the ASP servers:

If you are an ASP customer, you may need to contact support to schedule a backup and day-end procedure, depending on when you plan to do year-end.
If your fiscal year-end does not coincide with the calendar year-end (December), NOTIFY ASP SUPPORT so we can run your normal month-end procedures at the end of this month. (We do not run normal month-end procedures for customers who are closing their books, because your year-end procedures duplicate the related month-end functions.)
Some of the month-end procedures are different, including the steps and conventions for renaming and merging sales journals, since ASP Support routinely maintains sales journals after year-end.

DDMS customers on the ASP platform receive separate instructions via email (Year-End Hints 2009 for ASP Customers) to reflect unique procedures.

The Special ASP Edition of the Year-End KeyOps includes all the updated features of the standard Year-End KeyOps. However, the ASP Year-End Road Map, ASP Year-End Tips, ASP Year-End Backup and Day-End Schedule, FAQs on Renaming and Merging Sales Journals, and all other procedures do not include any steps that do not apply to ASP customers.

The ASP edition is revised to reflect a new ASP Year-End Backup and Day-End calendar to help you determine if you need to schedule these procedures.

You can also get to the Special ASP Edition of the Year-End Key Ops newsletter from the ASP FAQs page.

What if I'm a UNIX customer?

DDMS customers on the UNIX platform receive separate instructions via email (Year-End Hints 2009 for UNIX Customers ) to reflect unique procedures.

A special edition of the Year-End 2009 Key Ops for UNIX platform includes all the updated features of the standard Year-End KeyOps. However, the ShutDown and Backup steps and all other procedures do not include any steps that do not apply the UNIX operating system.

You can also get to the Special ASP Edition of the Year-End Key Ops newsletter from the UNIX FAQs page.

Year-End Hints: Your RoadMap-Specific KeyOps Is Online Now for 2009

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 — Once again we look ahead to a whirlwind holiday season, with year-end procedures in the wintry mix! This is the first in a series of messages to help you prepare for year-end. The focus of this message is what's new this year, the recommended way to read our revised Year-End KeyOps newsletter, choosing a road map that fits your business, and starting your checklists to prepare to close this year's business.

What's New for Year-End 2009?

In the Year-End 2009 KeyOps, you will find timely answers and checklists on navigating your Roadmap of period-end procedures, printing tax forms, and archiving this year’s data. Our 21st annual KeyOps, Year-End 2009 Edition — with updated filenames, years, and news — is now available on our Web site (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm).

Greener Than Ever: The Year-End KeyOps 2008 newsletter is again published only online in Adobe Reader PDF format, as part of ongoing initiatives to go green and paperless. To markup your PDF files the paperless way, the latest free Adobe Reader desktop software (link to Adobe download) lets you use Comment tools to highlight and cross out text (links to Adobe help) and add "sticky notes" (links to Adobe help) and checkmarks using a Sign-Here stamp (links to Adobe help). (Comment tools do not appear in browsers, but are in the desktop Reader software once you save the PDF & open it on your machine.)
www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Reader/8.0/help.html

New SQL Report for A/R Trial Balance: Have you ever wanted to re-create an A/R trial balance from a prior year? Previously this was not possible after closing general ledger. But in DDMS 8.19 or higher, SQL A/R Trial Balance reports let you specify an aging date and 30, 45, 60, or 90 days past due, for all unpaid invoices at the end of a period. We'll publish more details soon. (Meanwhile, you can find general instructions in Setting Up & Using SQL Reports for DDMS.)

Executive Dashboard: Rest assured, the new Executive Dashboard (in DDMS 8.19 and higher) does not change your year-end procedures. It provides a graphical, SQL-based, realtime, privileged overview of your company’s cash flow, with totals based on data previously presented in the text-based (PD) President’s Screens. For detailed instructions on using this new tool, see Executive Dashboard (pdf).

Close G/L Period At Your Convenience: Did you know? If you're running DDMS 8.13 or higher, you don't have to wait to close General Ledger while you make all postings. If you find postings later that need to be added or corrected, you can reopen prior year periods as needed for batch postings, and re-close those periods afterward. For detailed instructions, see Close G/L Period (pdf).

Federal Payroll Tax Changes: The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has added another row to its federal payroll withholding tables for taxes to be paid in 2010. This requires an enhancement to the DDMS (L4) Federal Payroll Tables screen. We'll publish more details soon.

ECi DDMS Professional Services for Period End: As your business partner, ECi is committed to expanding our services portfolio to meet the growing needs of your business and the market. This year, we launched DDMS Professional Services, staffed with the most knowledgeable and passionate resources in the industry. Our objective is to help the independent dealer community improve performance by developing and implementing best practices in business processes and ecommerce. New offers include O/PUS loading services and other period-ending process help, expanded report writing offers, PlanetPress variable data printing, reduced rates for graphical implementation training and other one-on-one training at reduced rates. For details, contact ECi Sales at 866-374-3221.

Note: UNIX and ASP dealers will receive separate instructions via email.

What Do I Do First to Prepare for Year-End?

Consider using this checklist of 7 steps to prepare in advance:

__ Answer a few questions online to determine which RoadMap is best for you, and get access to a RoadMap-specific edition of your year-end instructions
(www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/roadmap/). Read all procedures that are required for your business, and be sure you understand all your steps.
__ Read "Year-End Tips" on page 4 and plan accordingly. For example: Check your (LM1) Period End Procedures parameters, and make sure the month number is set for when you intend to perform each year-end procedure. Plan to update your federal tax tables for payroll between your last payroll in 2009 and your first payroll for 2010; we will notify you via email when the updated instructions are published. Also, please note ECi offices are scheduled to be closed for national holidays.
__ As you read your Year-End KeyOps, we recommend highlighting each step's checkboxes. For example: Pencil in questions to ask your Support Team. Highlight one color for steps you must do. Highlight another color for steps you will postpone, but need to return to later. Cross out steps you do not have to do. When you actually perform each step, place a checkmark in that step's box to keep track of where you are.
To markup your PDF files the paperless way, the latest free Adobe Reader desktop software (link to Adobe download) lets you use Comment tools to highlight and cross out text (links to Adobe help) and add "sticky notes" (links to Adobe help) and checkmarks using a Sign-Here stamp (links to Adobe help). (Comment tools do not appear in browsers, but are in the desktop Reader software once you save the PDF & open it on your machine.)
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Reader/8.0/help.html
__ If you have contractors and/or employees in the United States, read "FAQs on Preparing to Print 1099s and W-2s in December" on page 5 and plan accordingly. For example, order appropriate stock to print your tax forms. For each contract laborer in your Vendor database, make sure the vendor ID is entered in the Acct # field, so it will print properly on the 1099.
__ Use the "Worksheet: My Renamed Journals" on the last page of your Year-End KeyOps. For example, look up each journal parameter screen and note the unit or volume where the journal resides. Then, compare the recommended naming conventions to the filenames you used for previous years; If your naming conventions differ, mark them on the worksheet.
__ Check for related year-end messages on our Web site.
www.DDMS.com/support/massfax.htm
__ For detailed instructions, see your online help and related Period-End FAQs www.DDMS.com/support/faq/period-end.htm

If you have questions about your procedures after these preparatory steps, contact ECi DDMS Technical Support as soon as possible.

When are ECi's Holiday Closures?

ECi will be closed to observe the following holidays:

Christmas holiday Thursday and Friday, Dec. 24-25, 2009.
New Year's Day holiday on Friday, Jan. 1, 2010.

However, 24/7 Support will be available when calling our standard ECi DDMS Technical Support number, 800-366-4778.

As always, calling ECi DDMS Technical Support during a holiday or outside of business hours (7 AM to 7 PM Central Time, Monday through Friday) is billable unless you subscribe to 24/7 Support services.

Meanwhile, we wish you safe and happy holidays!

When does ECi Offer Saturday Support?

We offer complimentary Period-End Saturday Support via fax and e-mail on:

Saturday, January 2, 2010
9 AM - 4 PM Central Time

During Period-End Saturday Support, you can send questions relating to day-end, month-end, year-end, and quarter-end O/PUS procedures three ways:

Email: ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com
Fax: 682-831-9909
Online: https://support.ECiSolutions.com

There is no charge for period-end support requests submitted via fax or email during the scheduled hours.

However, Saturday Support is available only for questions about your period-end procedures, including day-end, month-end, year-end, and quarter-end O/PUS procedures. All other issues must be referred to our standard Saturday or 24/7 support services, which may be billable.

All phone calls during Saturday Support will be routed to the 24/7 service and are billable if you do not subscribe to the 24/7 service.

Can I Schedule a Personal Walk-Through of Just My Procedures?

The year-end call load crunch prevents your regular support team from providing individualized, step-by-step walk-throughs.

However, ECi Professional Services can help. We have expanded our services portfolio with O/PUS loading services and other period-ending process help, expanded report writing offers, PlanetPress variable data printing, reduced rates for graphical implementation training and other one-on-one training at reduced rates. For details, contact ECi Sales at 866-374-3221.

How Can I Get Training on Year-End Procedures?

Join one of our two-hour Web-based training sessions, free in December. You can choose from two dates:

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, 10 am - noon CST (completed)
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009, 1 - 3 pm CST

Learn how to navigate the roadmaps, parameters, reports, and applications that are critical to DDMS year-end procedures going smoothly. Understand the flow of year-end, general ledger, and archiving processes, including new steps to sync your EBS SQL data properly before archiving journals.

To reserve your seat on this popular class, register now on our Virtual Class System!

What Year-End Hints are Coming Up?

We will continue to email you practical Year-End Hints every week through the end of the year. These hints are answers to the frequently asked questions we get every year, along with the questions we are getting this season.

Here's a sample of upcoming topics (dates subject to change):

Shutdown, Backup, and Flow
General Ledger and Related Topics
Vendor, Payroll, and Printing 1099 and W-2 Forms
Renaming and Merging Journals
Last-Minute Year-End Hints

We'll post all these hints on the Period-End FAQs and Mass Emails pages of our Web site.

I Have Other Questions. How Do I Contact Support?

As you know, year-end is the busiest time of the year for ECi DDMS Technical Support. Our call load may triple on some days. Some people wait until they're almost closing their books before they look at the latest Year- End KeyOps. Unfortunately, that means everyone has questions at the same time, and waits longer for Support at crunch time.

We encourage customers to take proactive steps early on, using the resources that our Year-End Task Force is making available.

As always, you can contact ECi DDMS Technical Support four ways:

online: https://support.ECiSolutions.com
email: ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com
toll-free: 800-366-4778
fax: 682-831-9909

If you have feedback or comments on the Key Ops newsletter itself, please email keyops@eci2.com. We welcome your suggestions!

Year-End Hints: Archiving Journals for Year-End 2009

Dec. 9, 2009 —To help you prepare for year-end, this second bulletin in a series of hints is here to answer your frequently asked questions about renaming journals:

When and How Do I Rename My Sales Journals?

Renaming your sales journals is a dedicated function that is part of the general month-end procedures.

First, make sure you are following the “Year-End Roadmap” on page 3 of the Year-End Key Ops newsletter. Before renaming your sales journals, you should have completed the following procedures:

Suspend Web Storefront and procs
Shutdown and backup
Day-end procedures (particularly steps related to printing and releasing order entry and accounts receivable batches, and flushing orders to JOUR-S)
Month-end procedures (particularly changing the current business period, various period-ending steps,and, if applicable, the auto-billing steps.

Then, follow the instructions under "FAQs on Renaming and Merging Sales Journals" of the Year-End Key Ops newsletter:

"When Do I Rename My Sales Journals?" summarizes the preparations that must be completed before renaming sales journals.
"How Do I Choose a Naming Convention?" describes the DDMS system constraints on naming sales journals, and how to ensure you can store 120 sales journals on one volume.
"Why do These Errors Occur When I Rename Sales Journals?" describes two common errors, why they may occur, and how to eliminate them.
"Can I Merge Sales Journals into a Single-Year-to-Date File?" lists the exact steps to merge sales journals to make reporting easier.

Remember, everyone MUST be out of Order Entry and at the main menu before you rename your sales journals. However, going into maintenance mode or stopping TBL Utilities is not absolutely necessary for this particular procedure. If you see “File Operations Failed” during the procedure, this means another process in TBL Server is accessing JOUR-S; simply Stop Utilities in TBL Server, and try again..

Note: DDMS uses the (LGA) Sales Journal Parameters screen when retrieving order history. When renaming journals, specify Y at the “Update (LGA) Journal Names When copying or Renaming” prompt. This will ensure that order history searches will include the renamed journals.

For more detailed instructions, see File #84: Renaming Sales Journals.

Should I Sync SQL Data Before Renaming Journals?

Yes. A “changes only” ( or delta) sync of various data should be complete before renaming your journals, ideally after a reboot and before placing in maintenance mode while TBL Server is running.

In DDMS 8.16 and higher, it's a simple matter of launching the EBS SQL Import Panel, then right-clicking and selecting Execute Now on SalesOrderDelta, AccountsPayableDelta, AccountsReceivableDelta, PurchaseOrderDelta, and PurchaseOrderDelta.

We've revised related instructions in the following sections of the Year-End KeyOps newsletter:

Shutdown on page 6
Tips on page 4
FAQs on Renaming and Merging Sales Journals (after Month-End steps)
FAQs on Renaming A/R, A/P, and P/O Journals (after Year-End steps)

For more detailed instructions, see Using the EBS SQL Import Control Panel
(www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/faq/utilities/EBSSQLimport.pdf).

What If I Get an Error While Renaming New Journal Files?

We have updated the journal renaming procedures to ensure that your history screens and reports for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Purchase Order include all the indices, acknowledgement, invoice, and special line details you expect. (See FAQs on Renaming A/R, A/P, and P/O Journals after the Year-End steps in your Year-End 2008 KeyOps Newsletter.)

NOTE: As you rename the journal files, if the file is not found or does not exist, first double-check that you typed the filename and unit correctly. If you entered them correctly, check your parameters to see if your system has been creating those files:

For JNL-AR-SPC, rename to JNL-Ø9-SPC. This file contains special text lines from archived paid account receivable invoices, if the Journalize Purged Invoices parameter in your (LA2) A/R Parameters screen is set to X. You'll find this file on the same volume as JNL-AR and JNL-AR-POI; check your (LA4) parameters for the volume serial.
For JNL-AR-POI, rename to JNL-Ø9-POI. This file stores the purged A/R invoices that contain purchase order numbers, if the Build Customer P/O Index field in your (LA2) A/R Parameters screen is set to Y. Again, you'll find this file on the same volume as JNL-AR and JNL-AR-SPC; check your (LA4) parameters for the volume serial.
For JOUR-P-SPC, rename to 2ØØ9-P-SPC. This file contains archived special text lines (comments) from purchase orders. It is built if your Archive Specials during Purge field in your (LF) Purchase Order Parameters screen is set to Y. You'll find this file on the same volume as JOUR-PO; check your (LF2) parameters for the volume serial.
For JOUR-P-ACK, rename to 2ØØ9-P-ACK. This file is an acknowledgement index to match your received invoices to your original purchase orders. It is built when you purge your completed purchase orders or when you reindex JOUR-PO from the (SR) Purchase Order Reports screen, as long as your Build Ack. Index for JOUR-PO field in your (LF) Purchase Order Parameters screen is set to Y. Again, you'll find this file on the same volume as JOUR-PO; check your (LF2) parameters for the volume serial.
For JOUR-P-IND, rename to 2ØØ9-P-IND. This file is an index that lets you view purchase orders in item number order. The original JOUR-P-IND is created when you reindex JOUR-PO. You can use the text-based (SR-R) Purchase Order Reports screen to reindex archived P/O journals. If you reindex 2ØØ9-PO, it will create 2ØØ9-P-IND, but reindexing takes much longer than renaming. Again, you'll find this file on the same volume as JOUR-PO; check your (LF2) parameters for the volume serial.

For more information on these files, see the online help topic, Understanding Accounts Receivable Files and Understanding Purchasing Files.

Why Use the My Renamed Journals Worksheet from Year-End KeyOps?

For your personal reference, the back page of the Year-End KeyOps Newsletter features a Worksheet: My Renamed Journals.

The worksheet is designed for you to review your naming conventions for the journals you rename throughout month-end, year-end, payroll, and general ledger procedures. It includes the new index, acknowledgement, and specials files. The last column shows any journal parameter screens that should be updated with your renamed journals, so that your history applications can find the data.

If your archive journals use a different naming convention or unit/volume serial, note it on the worksheet. We hope this worksheet proves helpful to you!

Why do we (MI-M) Merge Monthly Sales Journals?

Merging monthly sales journals into a year-to-date file is an optional step at month-end. But it is frequently used to make year-end reporting easier.

For more information, see “Can I Merge my Sales Journals into a Single Year-to-Date File?” in your Year-End KeyOps newsletter.

When and How Do I Rename My A/P, A/R, and P/O Journals?

Renaming accounts payable, accounts receivable, and purchase order journal files in the (ZF7) screen is a mandatory step among your year-end procedures. It ensures that you properly archive your growing data, as your business grows and the software is enhanced. The act of renaming these journals notably speeds up the response time of A/P History, A/R History, and P/O History and related applications.

First, make sure you are following the “Year-End Roadmap” on page 3 of the Year-End Key Ops newsletter. Before renaming these journals, you should have completed the year’s final A/P, A/R, and P/O purges during your general month-end procedures.

"FAQs on Renaming A/P, A/R, and P/O Journals" (right after the year-end steps) include the following instructions:

"Should I Rename A/P, A/R, or P/O Journals?" pinpoints the best time to rename Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Purchase Order journals, and lists the exact steps along with recommended naming conventions that adhere to DDMS system constraints.
"How Do I Access Renamed A/P, A/R, or P/O Journals?" lists the exact steps to list each renamed journal in its corresponding parameter screen, along with an important note if you use Electronic Invoicing.

Can We Automate Renaming Better? (Get a custom month-end proc upgrade from Professional Services!)

Problem. Does your month-end proc stop in January?

Every year, dozens of dealers find that their month-end automated processes (“procs”) fail at the end of January. This is common among our most loyal, long-time customers whose procs were originally designed years ago.
The common cause of these calls is an outdated journal file naming convention. The old (original) journal convention and custom automated process “proc” script only allows you to keep a year’s worth of journals in the working folder.
Every year, those journal files must be manually moved to a new archive folder. If a dealer forgets to perform this procedure or doesn’t know how, their old month-end proc stops. It’s designed NOT to overwrite last year’s journal with the new month’s data, as a safety measure to prevent data loss.
But the month-end proc failure has been cause for confusion and frustration every year.

Solution: Professional Services can update your proc script.

Several years ago, DDMS developed a new journal naming convention that allows you to keep multiple years of journal data in the same folder.
DDMS also designed a proc script that will automatically rename the journals according to the updated naming convention.
ECi DDMS Professional Services is offering a limited-time offer to update customers’ older proc files accordingly.

Benefits. Why use this new script and naming convention?

Avoid failure of month-end procs every end of January.
Automatically rename your DDMS journal files the right way every month throughout the year!
Keep multiple years (up to 10) of journal data where you can easily find it in History screens.

Next Steps. Contact Sales at 866-374-3221 today!

For a limited time, you can sign up to get your month-end proc updated with the right journal naming convention and renaming script at a very reasonable reduced fee of $75.
We’ll deliver your proc upgrade in January.
Ask about other ECi Professional Services: For a very reasonable fee, you can spend more time with family and friends over the holidays, and trust the experts to update your O/PUS catalog and close out the year!

What's the recommended sales journal renaming convention?

File# 84: Renaming Sales Journals shows how to select a sales journal naming convention that meets DDMS system constraints and rename sales journals without encountering problems caused by duplicate file names (file:rename-salesj.pdf). So does the Year-End KeyOps newsletter.

How can I make it easier to report on a year's worth of sales?

File #85: Merging Sales Journals shows you how to build a single sales journal for an entire fiscal year to make reporting simpler; at the end of each month, you move completed invoices into this year's journal (file:merge-jour.pdf)

Where can I archive multiple years of purged P/O journals?

Suppose you want to keep multiple years of purged P/O journals. If you are using the (SRR) screen, you must create identical P/O archive journals and purge each journal by a different date range. For detailed instructions, see File #235: Purging Purchase Order Journals By Date Range (pdf).

Year-End Hints: Yes, You Can Close 2009 General Ledger Now!

Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 — To help you prepare for year-end, this third bulletin in a series of hints is here to answer your frequently asked questions about closing your books:

Should I close General Ledger now, or wait to finish all postings?

Yes, close now.

Thanks to the Closing G/L Period feature in your DDMS Chart of Accounts window (released in DDMS 8.13 in 2007), you no longer have to wait to close General Ledger while you make all postings. It is easier than ever to close general ledger on the final day of the fiscal year.

So for example, after closing your 2009 books, you can reopen any 2009 period to add or adjust postings at your convenience throughout 2010.

The only reason to wait is if you still haven't finished postings from 2008. Once you roll to 2010, the books for 2008 are no longer allowed to re-open. So, any postings that should still apply to 2008 should be made before you close 2009. Of course, assuming you've closed your books for 2008, you will be able to use the Close G/L Period feature, and reopen 2008 periods as needed.

What If I Have Trouble Viewing History after closing General Ledger?

There are two methods to correct issues in viewing G/L history after you've closed General Ledger:

The file compression ;SPCCMPJR instructions are provided in detail at the end of the General Ledger section of the Year-End KeyOps.
Alternatively, if you prefer to use Data Dictionary on specific files, see Fixing Field Definitions With Data Dictionary Utility

How do I use the Close G/L Period feature?

To set the closed period, go to the DDMS G/L Chart of Accounts window in graphical software, and use the View menu to select the Close G/L Period option. Then in the New Closed Period box at the top of the window, enter the Period and Fiscal Year you wish to be closed. For example, to keep batches from posting to period 12 of 2009, enter 12 and 09, enter a reason, and click OK. For detailed instructions, see Closing G/L Periods.

Later, if you find postings that need to be added or corrected, you can reopen prior year periods as needed for batch postings, and re-close those periods afterward.

Why would I want to post to a closed period?

Here's an example: your accountant informs you that a posting from period 6 of the prior fiscal year is wrong, and needs to be corrected.

Using the Closing G/L Period feature, you can:

Post late entries to a previously closed period.
Add records to the previous year’s chart of accounts.
Change categories and subcategories.
Change the budget figures.

How do I make a posting to a closed G/L period?

Well, you can't actually release a batch to a closed G/L period. But you can specify that the period prior to it is closed, which leaves all subsequent periods open. Once a period is open, you can make postings to it as needed (even adding new G/L accounts and changing categories and budget figures), then release the batch and use the Close G/L Period tool to restore it to the proper period.

How do I reopen a period for posting and releasing batches?

The new Closing G/L Period window is used to set the Current Closed Period, and all subsequent periods will be open.

For example, assuming you closed your books at the end of 2008, the Current Closed Period is fiscal 08, period 12. All periods after that are open for posting.

But let's say you want to post to fiscal 08 period 06, which is currently closed. You need to temporarily set the Current Closed Period to the period immediately before it: fiscal 08 period 05.

When you do so, all periods after fiscal 08 period 05 are open, including period 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, and 13, and all periods in fiscal 09.

After you make your posting to fiscal 08 period 05, and then release the batch, we recommend setting the Current Closed Period back to fiscal 08, period 12. Later, when you're ready to close your 2009 books, you'll follow the Closing G/L instructions in your Year-End KeyOps.

With the new Closing G/L Period feature, how did it change my G/L closed periods?

Before this feature was released in November 2007 in DDMS 8.13, only periods 12 and 13 were open to posting after you closed G/L for the year.

During the installation of DDMS 8.13, all the previous year's G/L periods were kept open to postings. So, for 2007, periods 1-13 were open, as were periods 1-13 of 2008. After installing version 8.13, you were instructed to close period 11 of the last fiscal year.

What is Period 13?

Period 13 was designed for postings that do not affect period 12 entries.

For example, the depreciation schedule for items such as vehicles or furniture allows you to devalue a certain amount each month. At the end of the year, your accountant may advise you to update the depreciation amount to reflect a new depreciation schedule. After you have closed G/L, you can post entries to period 13 through the graphical G/L Posting application or the text-based (K) General Ledger Posting screen.

How do I revert back to the way it was, and keep those periods closed to batches & postings?

To resume the previous G/L flow, first set up passwords in the General Ledger Close Period Passwords Parameters. Then, go to the new Close G/L Period dialog box and close period 11 as instructed in the handout, Closing G/L Periods (www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/faq/accounting/gl-ClosPer.pdf).

This will limit prior-year postings to periods 12 and 13, just as before.

How do I protect closed periods from misentered postings?

You can set passwords for this new function in the new graphical General Ledger Close Period Passwords Parameters.

If you set up a Close G/L Period Password, you are prompted for this password when making a change to a closed business period.

If you set up a Closed Period Password, you are prompted for this different password when trying to post to a closed fiscal period. This applies to G/L posting, A/P posting, voiding checks, the (W) [E] Build Cost of Goods Sold Batch function, the (W) [F] Print Allocation Batches function, and using the (QR) [D] Print Checks function. When posting to a closed period, a warning message appears when performing any of these functions.

In addition, releasing batches to closed periods is still prohibited. So, after closing a period, if a batch contains postings to a closed period, the (W) [A] Print G/L Batch function will not release the batch until you reopen the period. The G/L Batch report warns you that no batches were released due to posting to a closed G/L period.

I entered my password, but why won't my G/L batch release to the old period?

If you have closed the period and setup the new graphical General Ledger Close Period Passwords Parameters, you can make a G/L post to a closed period by entering your password. However, releasing a batch to a closed period is still prohibited.

If you then attempt to use the the (W) [A] Print G/L Batch function to release the batch, your G/L Summation report will return the following message:

* * * * WARNING - NO BATCHES RELEASED * * * *

* * * * POSTING TO CLOSED G/L PERIOD  * * * *

If a G/L batch includes postings to a closed period, you must reopen the period in question (by setting the Current Closed Period to an earlier period), and then release the batch.

What Else Should I Know About Other G/L Topics?

The Year-End KeyOps newsletter includes several frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to general ledger:

"FAQ: What is Period 13?" on page 21 describes what to do with postings that you do not wish to affect period 12 entries, such as devalued depreciation schedule.
“FAQ: Can COGS Print After Year-End?” on page 21 describes how to complete your cost of goods sold postings after closing general ledger, and how to print the report when you are ready.
“FAQ: Posting Retained Earnings” on page 21 explains that although you can post retained earnings any time after closing general ledger, they are generally the first new entry. TIPS: Set the (LJ) G/L parameter for Do Not Release Out of Balance Batches to blank or N. Post it as a single-sided entry to period 00 of the new fiscal year. While most batches are released at day-end, you must manually release this batch, specifying period 00 to 00.
“FAQ: Why do President’s Screens Look Wrong After Year-End?” on page 24 explains that the (PDA) and (PDC) screens show last year’s figures until you actually begin business for the new fiscal year, and when new data will appear.
"WORKSHEET: My Renamed Journals" summarizes the journal renaming schedule and recommended naming conventions. It offers space for you to note the units where each journal is stored on your system, and mark any variations in your naming conventions.
"What If I Have Trouble Viewing History after closing General Ledger?" is a new section that suggests ways to compress files to correct issues in viewing G/L history. The ;SPCCMPJR instructions are provided in detail. Alternatively, if you prefer to use Data Dictionary on specific files, see Fixing Field Definitions With Data Dictionary Utility
(www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/FAQ/utilities/datadictionary.pdf)

How Do I Release Finance Charges After I Apply Them?

After applying finance charges to G/L, you can release them during your month-end procedures. In this way, you can file the finance charges with your period-end reports, and prevent them from being mixed up with next year's A/R batches.

During your month-end procedures, you first create finance charges in the (O) screen, as described on page 13 of the standard Year-End Key Ops newsletter.

Then, print an A/R Batch Report and release the batches. You can tab through the batch field or limit the report to batch 9XX9, where XX represents the location (For example, if your G/L location is 4, limit to batch 9049).

What if Period 1 is out of balance after closing G/L?

If you have closed out the year and are out of balance for period 1, it may be one of two issues:

Retained Earnings may require adjustment.
You may have missed setting an account to be carried forward in the G/L Chart of Accounts window. This applies to books 1, 2, and 3.

What If I'm Running Software Older Than DDMS 8.13?

Since 2008, the G/L instructions in the Year-End Key Ops newsletter assume that you have loaded DDMS version 8.13 or higher. This change was to eliminate extraneous steps that no longer apply.

If your DDMS software is older than version 8.13, please refer to the 2007 Edition.
www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/koarchive.htm

There are two critical differences in the 2007 instructions:

If you are not closing general ledger on the same day you perform year-end procedures, there are important instructions on page 19 of the 2007 edition to change your G/L release password temporarily. This will keep day-end processes from releasing G/L batches into files that are not yet closed. The need to change this password was eliminated in 8.13 when DDMS was enhanced to allow you to reopen closed G/L periods as needed for batch postings.
If you are on DDMS software older than 8.11.20, be advised that you will need to manually rename the GLD-Master drill-down file based on the convention you specify for GL-MASTER according to the ZF7 step on page 20 of the 2007 Edition, even if you don't use G/L Drill-Downs. This step was eliminated in DDMS 8.11.20, when the General Ledger Chart of Accounts year-end function was enhanced to automatically rename the GLD-Master drill-down file based on the convention you specify for GL-MASTER.

If you do not wish to do these steps manually, consider loading a software update via the ECi Customer Support Portal (https://support.ECiSolutions.com).

How Do I Avoid Chart of Account Errors If My G/L Archives Are Separate?

With few exceptions, most dealers use the recommended renaming schemes outlined in the Year-End KeyOps, and keep their archived General Ledger files in the volume serial defined in the (LØ) Global Master Parameters.

There is an issue that affects dealers who choose instead to keep archived G/L files in separate volume serial. When they try to access prior year charts of accounts, the system cannot find the CHART-CAT file. A software issue has been turned in as QC#50024, but we do not anticipate a resolution to be released before you must complete year-end procedures.

Note: No action is necessary if you keep renamed G/L Archive files with all your other G/L files in the volume serial defined in (LØ).

To make sure you can avoid this error, follow these steps when you close G/L (perhaps just after you rename GLD-MASTER):

Check the volume serial defined for G/L in your (LØ) Global Master Parameters. In DDMS, double-click the Keyop Menu icon, double-click Parameters, then double-click Text-Based Parameters, and select Global Master Parameters by typing Ø. Look for the two-character volume serial shown for G/L in the lower right section.
Compare it to the volume serial defined in the (LJ1) General Ledger Archive Parameters. In DDMS, double-click the Keyop Menu icon, double-click Parameters, then double-click Text-Based Parameters, then select General Ledger Parameters by typing J, and then select the [1] Archived Files action code.
- If the archive G/L volume serial defined in (LJ1) is the SAME as the G/L volume serial defined in (LØ), NO ACTION IS NECESSARY.
- If the archive G/L volume serial defined in (LJ1) is DIFFERENT than the G/L volume serial defined in (LØ), you will need to copy CHART-CAT into the G/L archive volume serial, by following the steps below.
Double-click the Keyop Menu icon, then double-click System Utilities. The (Z) Master Utilities screen opens. In the Enter Utility Type field, type C. In the Enter Subset Number field, type 2.
The Enter the File to Copy From prompt appears. Type the following: CHART-CAT
If the cursor does not automatically move to the Unit # field, press TAB.
In the Unit # field, enter the unit number on the list at the top of the screen that corresponds with the G/L volume serial name defined in (LØ).
In the Volume field, press TAB to accept the default volume serial.
The Enter the File To Copy To prompt appears. Type the following: CHART-CAT
If the cursor does not automatically move to the Unit # field, press TAB.
In the Unit # field, enter the unit number on the list at the top of the screen that corresponds with the archive G/L volume serial name defined in (LJ1).
In the Volume field, enter the unit’s volume serial and press TAB.
The “N=Normal copy R=Recover deleted records, I=No duplicate keys” prompt appears. To eliminate duplicate records when copying the file, type I
The system copies the file and repeats the prompt Enter the File To Copy From. Press the Escape key to exit.

How Do I Keep Day-End Procs from Releasing my G/L Batch?

Note: This only applies if you are still on a version older than DDMS 8.13.

Are you still posting to periods 1-11 of the year you are ending, and therefore not quite ready to start the next? You may need some time to finish your books before you are ready to release the first general ledger batch for the new year. However, if you use a day-end proc, it probably releases these batches automatically.

To temporarily prevent your proc file from releasing G/L batches, follow these steps:

Go to the (LJ) General Ledger Parameters screen. (In graphical software, double-click the Keyop Menu icon, and then double-click the Parameters icon. When the (L) Parameters screen appears, make sure your Caps Lock is on, and type J.)
Select the [C] Change action code.
At G/L Location, accept the default location by pressing TAB, or specify a different location.
Tab to the Passwords: Release field. Carefully write down the current password; you'll need to restore this password later. If there is no password, make a note of it; you must use a temporary password to stop the proc file.
In the Passwords: Release field, type a new temporary password, specifying from one to four characters.
Save your change by pressing ENTER.

IMPORTANT: When you are ready to release the first general ledger batch for the new fiscal year, you must repeat this procedure, specifying the original password in Step 5. (If there was no password originally, press the space bar until you completely erase your temporary password.)

DDMS recommends that you disable all day-end and month-end procs before doing year-end. For detailed instructions, please see File # 27: "Disabling proc files at year-end" (www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/faq/period/proc-dis.pdf) and "Suspending/Reactivating Your Web Storefront and Procs" on page 6 of the Year-End 2008 Key Ops newsletter (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm).

Year-End Hints: Ready for 2009 Tax Reports and First Payroll of 2010

Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009 — To help you prepare for year-end, this fourth bulletin in a series of hints is here to answer your frequently asked questions about payroll, tax tables, the vendor year-end function, and printing W-2 and 1099 forms:

How Should I Prepare to Print W-2s and 1099s?

As you plan ahead for vendor and payroll year-end procedures, be sure to order appropriate stock and adjust vendor IDs or parameters as needed.

The Year-End Key Ops newsletter (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm) includes "FAQs on Preparing to Print 1099s and W-2s" on page 5 with the following topics:

"Should I Print Dot Matrix?" Learn the rationale behind our recommendation. We have a list of some commonly used carbonless form stock.
"Should I Print Laser?" Some adjustments are necessary to print W-2s and 1099s on a laser printer. We have a list of some commonly used laser form stock.
"How do I Set Up W-2 and 1099 Laser Printing Parameters?" Learn the exact steps to adjust your parameters for laser printing.
"How Do I Set Up My Printer?" Note the characters per inch and lines per page settings that may be required.
"How Do I Print Names Correctly on W-2 Forms?" Use the Swap Name parameter if employee names are entered last name first in the Personnel Master database. If you do not use the Swap Name parameter, the spacing will be incorrect.

REMINDER: Be sure to your order your W-2 and 1099 stock early! You may use the recommended form stock provided by TOPS(R) or locate comparable stock from another vendor. For more information, see “FAQs on Preparing to Print 1099s and W-2s” on page 5 of the Year-End 2008 Key Ops newsletter (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm).

Both the W-2 and 1099 report formats in DDMS print "2-up," where there are two employee records per page, and each record is 8 1/2" wide x 5 1/2" tall.

How Do I Set Up Vendors to Automate Printing 1099-MISC?

To help you automatically print 1099-MISC forms, DDMS Version 8.10.42 and higher provides simple fields and prompts that are easy to set up your vendors.

The Vendor Remit/Settings tab has a set of three new fields under 1099 Settings, as shown below.

Select the 1099 Required option for each vendor who is a contract laborer in the United States.
In the Tax ID field, enter the payee's tax identification number that should be printed on the 1099-MISC form.
In the Print YTD Amount in Box field, you can specify where it should print on the 1099-MISC form, indicating the type of miscellaneous income you are reporting this vendor, such as rents (1), royalties (2), other income (3), federal income tax withheld (4), and so on.

To determine what Tax ID and YTD Box number to use in these fields, please refer to the IRS instructions for the 1099-MISC form (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf).

The (VD-4) Personnel/Payroll Reports screen option to print 1099s gives you a new prompt, as shown below in bold: "Only print Vendors with the field "1099 Required" checked Y/N?" If you checkmarked the 1099 Required option in your Vendor Remit/Settings tab for your U.S. contract laborers, answer Y to this prompt.

15:47:53        (V) Personnel/Payroll Reports  rev. (10/30/03)          12/05/06
================================================================================
  A. Print Personnel Report.
  B. Print Payroll Register.    Type ?. (P=Period, C=Check Reg, Q=Qrtly)
                                Release Checks Y/N ?.  Period ?12

  C. Print Payroll Checks.      Alignment Form Y/N ?.  Starting Check #........

  D. Print State & Fed Reports. Type ?.                Code From ?. To ?.
                                1. State Quarterly     3. Federal W/2's
                                2. State PIT & SDI     4. Federal 1099's

  E. Historical Reports.        Type ?.                P=Period Y=Year ?.
                                1. Deductions Register 4. Wage Summary
                                2. 401k Deductions     5. SRA Deductions
                                3. Cafe Deductions
  Order (N=Name, #=Number) ?.                      From ?../../..   To ?../../..
  From Name ?.............................. #....  Dept. From ?.... To ?....
  To Name   ?.............................. #....  Group From ?.    To ?.
  Only print Vendors with the field "1099 Required" checked Y/N ?.
                            Printer ?P1  Copies ? 1
================================================================================
                          Enter Requested Function [.]

For detailed instructions on using these new features, see your online help.

How Do I Postpone the Vendor Year-End Function?

Executing Vendor Period End performs the year-end function for Vendors. It moves the amount displayed in YTD Total in the Vendor database to Last Year Total.

Some dealers want to postpone the vendor year-end function until they can post outstanding invoices. If you postpone vendor year-end, you must not print or release any checks for the new fiscal year.

Note: If you are using 1099s (contract labor forms), you must Execute Vendor Period End at the end of the calendar year, after you have run your 1099s. If you are not using 1099s, you may perform this step at the close of your fiscal year or calendar year.

During your year-end procedures, you can postpone the vendor year-end function when you are in the (MK) Period End Functions screen:

In graphical software, double-click the Keyop Menu icon, then double-click the Operational Procedures icon, and select [K] Period End Procedures).
To postpone this function, space out the letter Y in the Execute Vendor Period End field. You may execute the remaining period end functions.

After posting outstanding invoices, when you are ready to complete vendor year-end:

Make sure you have completed 1099s if required for any U.S. contractors.
Go back to the (MK) screen and space through every field in this screen except the Execute Vendor Period End field, where you must specify Y. Then press Enter to execute Vendor Year-End.

How Do I Set my (LH-N) Personnel Parameters?

We recommend that in the Personnel Screen, H-N, you use the “last name first” naming scheme. In other words, the last name is followed by a comma and then the first name, as in “DOE, JANE.”

Before printing W-2 forms, check the employee names in the (H-N) Personnel Master screen (in DDMS, double-click the Personnel Menu icon, and double-click the Personnel icon). The (H) Personnel Master screen appears.

If all personnel records show the last name first, followed by a comma (such as “DOE, JANE”), no changes are needed in the Personnel Master database.

If any personnel records show the first name first (as in “JANE DOE”), please select the [C] Change action code and use the last name first scheme (“DOE, JANE”).

After all payroll records use the last name first scheme, you should still enable the Swap Name parameter as instructed on page 5 of the Year-End Key Ops (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm). To do so:

(LH-N) or Keyop Menu icon > Parameters icon > [H] Payroll/Salesperson: At the “Do You Wish Salesperson Program?” prompt, type N.
The Swap Name parameter in the middle of the screen must be set to Y.

If you choose not to follow this recommendation, you may see a slight spacing discrepancy on the top "Employer" copy of the W2 form. When the names in your Personnel records are shown with first name first (as in “JANE DOE”), part of the name may overlap some text on the top of the W-2 form. All other forms print everything properly; this slight spacing discrepancy only affects the top “Employer” copy. If you wish to avoid this spacing discrepancy, follow the steps above to use the "last name first" scheme in your personnel master and enable Swap Name.

How Do I Update my (L4) Federal Payroll Tables for 2010?

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has issued new federal tax withholding tables that are applicable for wages paid in 2010. These were published in IRS Publication 15, “Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide (Including 2010 Wage Withholding and Advance Earned Income Credit Payment Tables),” which has been revised effective Dec. 17, 2009 (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf).

To reflect these tax changes, you must update your (L4) Federal Payroll Tables screen before your first payroll for 2010. The best time to make this update is after you close Payroll and print all reports and W-2s for 2009. Some reports in the payroll-closing procedures read from the (L4) screen, including W-2s.

Before you print payroll checks for wages paid in 2010, please complete these four steps:

Make sure you have closed Payroll and printed all reports and W-2s for 2009. For more information, please see your Year-End Key Ops: www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm
Adjust the federal tax withholding amounts on your (L4) Federal Payroll Tables parameters screen. To assist you in this procedure, see the updated Setting (L4) Federal Payroll Taxes for 2010: www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/faq/accounting/payFedTax10.pdf
Adjust the parameters as needed on your (L5) State Payroll Tables screen. Please note that the cost of keeping up with the tax rates for every state is prohibitive for DDMS. You are responsible for researching your own state tax withholding amounts. Please consult your state resources.

After completing these steps, you are ready to print your first payroll checks for 2010.

You are responsible for determining exactly how the tax laws affect your payroll. Please consult your accountant and the IRS Web site: www.irs.gov

How Do I Enter the New Payroll Tax Withholding Tier?

On Dec. 17, 2009, when the IRS published its tax withholding rates for 2010, the tables included a new tax tier. Since the (L4) screen was designed to accommodate only 8 tiers, this will require either a software update (to be announced soon) or a temporary workaround to specify the new tax withholding rate in the Personnel Master record for employees where the new tier applies.

The new tax withholding tier applies to single employees who will gross more than $375,700, and to married employees who will gross over $381,400. If you do not have employees who meet this earnings threshold, no action is required.

If you have employees who meet this threshold, we have included the temporary workaround in Setting (L4) Federal Payroll Taxes for 2010. Once DDMS software is released with new rows on the (L4) screen, we will provide updated instructions.

How Do I Pay my Employees a Bonus?

If you are live on DDMS Payroll, you may wish to pay a different bonus amount to each employee. You can do so by performing a separate “bonus check” run that does not include base pay amounts or benefit deductions, but instead lets you enter enter different bonuses for each payroll account.

As with every pay period, you’ll use the [S] Set Period action code of the text-based (I) Payroll Update screen to clear the last pay period’s data, limit to a payroll group as needed, and specify deductions. When preparing a bonus, however, you can skip entering hours, clear out unneeded deductions, and then specify bonus amounts.

Note: Normally, vacation/sick leave and benefit contributions are deducted from each regular paycheck. However, for this extra bonus-only paycheck run, you may wish to deduct only government taxes and withholding.

Then you’ll use the [F] Figure action code to calculate payroll totals. When paying a bonus, however, you’ll set the Commission Only prompt to Y so that deductions will be calculated only for bonus pay.

Finally, you’ll print the bonus checks using the (VBC) Print Payroll Register and (VC) Print Payroll Checks report screen options as usual.

12:18:19              (I) Payroll Update  Rev. (06/13/03)               12/15/08
================================================================================
Action [F] A=Add, C=Change, D=Delete, I=Inquire, S=Set Period, F=Figure, V=Void
================================================================================
Id #     Name :..............................  Code ?.  Base $......... Group :
Remarks :..................................................
Hours Vac. :..... | Exempts  | Ins $____.__ Advances  (5) $____.__
Regular    :___._ Used :..... | S.S   ?_ | (1) $____.__ Loan Of $.......
Time & 1/2 :___._  Per ?___._ | Fed.  ?_ | (2) $____.__ Repayment (6) $____.__
Double     :___._ Sick :..... | State ?_ | (3) $____.__ 401k Ded.     $____.__
Triple     :___._ Used :..... | City  ?_ | (4) $____.__ Comm./Bonus   $_____.__
------------------ Per ?___._ ----------------------------------  SRA $____.__
Gross       S.S.      Federal     State      City     Deduction     Net
$______.__ $______.__ $______.__ $______.__ $______.__ $______.__ $______.__
Medicare $______.__   SDI $____.__
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
_From __To_ Total    _From __To_ Total    _From __To_ Total    _From __To_ Total
...
ENTER HOURS ?___._ AND GROUP CODE ?_
...
COMMISSION ONLY Y/N ?Y

For detailed instructions, see "Setting Up Bonus Checks in DDMS Payroll" (www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/faq/accounting/paybonus.pdf)

Year-End Hints: Last Minute Tips for 2009

Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009 — To help you prepare for year-end, this fifth bulletin in a series of hints is here to answer your frequently asked questions about your Web storefront connection, backup and shutdown steps, month-end vs. year-end, finding detailed instructions, printing optional reports, and more:

Why should I set up a Site Maintenance Schedule for Period-End Procedures?

You want customers and prospects to visit your ECinteractive®/Dealer Station®/is.D-Force®/is.D-Force®2 Web storefront site at their convenience. But sometimes your back-office DDMS® server is offline for period-end and maintenance procedures. A Scheduled Maintenance message for your Web storefront can help you protect your business' reputation.

Whenever your DDMS server is offline, your Web storefront is unable to connect to your back-office gateway. Therefore, it will not be able to sync up with your DDMS history, contracts, or inventory records, which limits what a customer can do. If your customers try to log on to your Web storefront, the Web server will still be able to notify you via email that users are trying to access your site. If you want to control what your customers see when your back-office DDMS server is offline, you should set up your site maintenance schedule to show a Scheduled Maintenance message.

For detailed instructions, see page 6 of standard Year-End Key Ops newsletter (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm), or see the ECnteractive FAQs for Specific Features under the topic, "How do I set up my Offline for Maintenance Page?"

Should I do Month-End Only [MK] Steps Before I do Year-End [MK] Steps? And what if I Did?

No. If you are closing your books in December, DO NOT perform the [MK] steps twice during the same period.

In the standard edition of the Year-End KeyOps, the "Month-End Only in December" section includes [MK] steps that would duplicate what you do during year-end steps. That's why we developed our RoadMap-specific editions.

NOTE: The (MK) programs are designed to execute similar tasks at month-end and year-end. If you perform the (MK-Y) Year-End procedures after the (MK-M) Month-End Only in December, you have processed files and moved data to fields for the previous period twice.

If you indeed perform (MK) steps twice in the same period, the only solution is to restore your files from the backup tape made prior to executing (MK-M) month-end steps, and then instead do General Month-End and then Year-End (MK-Y).

Just follow the Road Map that applies to your business, and you will be completing the proper procedures in the recommended sequence.

For best results, answer a few questions online to determine which RoadMap is best for you, and get access to a streamlined RoadMap-specific edition of your year-end instructions. Unlike the standard edition, your RoadMap-Specific edition eliminates branching off into redundant steps, saving you time and trouble.

In (MK) Change Current Period, why does Y change to M?

When your cursor is in the Change Current Period (L2) field of the (MK) Period-End Procedures screen, the bottom of the screen shows M=Month, Blank=No.

When you perform Year-End procedures, specify Y for Year-End for the sake of consistency, since that's what you specify for your other databases.

Please note that the system will change your Y to an M because it produces the same result. This is not an error. Both M and Y will change your current period.

Why Should I Perform Backup More Than Once?

Following the recommended sequence of saving backups and audit trail tapes for your Road Map can save you significant time by avoiding rework:

We recommend backing up your data immediately before performing the day-end procedures. This will ensure you can restore your system in case problems occur during day-end procedures.
We recommend backing up your data again immediately before performing the month-end procedures. This will ensure you can restore your system in case problems occur during month-end and year-end procedures without the need to re-do day-end procedures.
After finishing Month-end/Year-end, you have the option of backing up your data again. This will ensure you can restore your system in case problems occur after month-end/year-end procedures without the need to re-do those procedures. Once again, this step is optional.

Why Do I Have to Shut Down TBL Server During Backups?

Occasionally, ECi DDMS Technical Support receives calls from customers trying to restore DDMS files from a backup tape. In some cases, we have found that the customer’s backup is incomplete, and the files cannot be restored.

Many important DDMS files remain open when TBL Server is running. When a file is open or in use, it cannot be backed up. So it is important to shut down TBL Server to ensure a complete backup.

For detailed instructions on backing up your DDMS files, see “Backing Up Your DDMS Files in Microsoft® Windows 2000.”

To learn how to verify that your backups are good, see “Making Sure Your Backups Are Good.” Note: If your backup log shows errors or skipped files, contact Support.

To learn how to restore files from a backup tape, see “Restoring From Backups under Windows 2000.”

Why is the (Z-E6) Level R Reboot part of my Shut Down procedures?

The (Z-E6) Level R (reboot) shutdown is commonly used to properly take your system out of maintenance mode.

During year-end, it is listed as the first step of your backup procedures, as described on page 6 of the standard Year-End Key Ops newsletter.

For year-end procedures, a Level R shutdown is used to reboot the DDMS system, ensuring that all data in cache memory is written to the disk. Using this function also will prevent damage to your data files by clearing cache memory, closing files, and emptying buffers.

The Level R Shutdown is performed through the [ZE6] Master Utilities screen (In graphical software, double-click the Keyop Menu icon, then double-click the System Utilities screen, select the [E] View utility type, then select subset number [6] System Shutdown, and then enter level R).

For more information about checking processes and placing your system in maintenance mode, see Protecting Your Data for Dedicated Procedures (pdf).

Where Can I Find Detailed Instructions for Year-End?

Year-End Key Ops is intended to supplement, but not replace, your online help and Period-End training. Its instructions are not meant to be exhaustive field-by-field documentation. For additional instructions after you've navigated to a screen, please refer to online help. In DDMS, select Contents from the Help menu.

For more detailed instructions on procedures, we've compiled the following links:

System Shutdown. Frequently, the cause of an incomplete backup is failure to properly shut down TBL Server before performing a backup. Your system will not back up any file that is currently being used. See the tech note, Protecting Your Data for Dedicated Procedures.
File Backup. For information about ensuring you are backing up your new SQL data, what options to select in your Windows backup, making sure your backups are good, and restoring files, see FAQs on Backups.
Day-End and Month-End. Most dealers use automated procedure files, or "procs," to run their day-end and month-end procedures. At year-end, you may find it more convenient to do these steps manually rather than wait for the procs to finish. Some standard settings and keystrokes are shown in the form to request a new proc file.
Year-End. All our current Year-End Hints messages and related FAQ files are posted on our Web site under General Year-End FAQs.
Payroll Tax procedures in Accounting FAQs
Payroll and Personnel online help topics
Vendor Additional Period-End Procedures in online help
Closing General Ledger. For notes about G/L journal parameters, retained earnings, and posting to last year's G/L after you've closed it, See General Ledger information under Accounting FAQs
Inventory Counts. For details on setting up stocking classes, clearing on-hand quantities, taking and entering physical counts, G/L adjustments, using critical inventory reports (such as the On-Hand Catalog Report and the Inventory Extended Dollars Report), and maintaining accurate inventory (including the optional Cycle Counts program), see the handout, Count Less, Sell More.
www.DDMS.com/Resources/Support/faq/inventory/InvCtrl.pdf

We hope these resources are helpful! If the Year-End KeyOps, documentation, and training leave you with specific unresolved questions, call us as far in advance as possible. Your ECi support team is happy to answer.

How Do I Print "Last Chance" Year-End Reports?

In the Year-End Key Ops newsletter (www.DDMS.com/support/pubs/keyops.htm), the Year-End section gives you one last chance to print certain optional reports using the current year's history before performing the year-end function for various databases.

For detailed instructions on running those optional reports, follow the links below:

(R) or Reports Menu icon > Custom Inventory Reports icon: Print an Item Catalog Master Listing sorted by hits. This report, which shows how many times an item has been placed on invoices this year, is an optional part of your year-end procedures.You can limit the sort to items with a range of hits between 1 and 9999. You may also want to limit the report to the first 2,000-5,000 records, depending on the size of your business. This step is optional. However, this is your last chance to print this
report using the current year’s history. See Printing the Inventory Hits Report (pdf).
(N) or Reports Menu icon > Custom Customer Reports icon: Print a Customer Master Listing w/History before performing the year-end function for the Customer database. This step is optional. However, if you opt to clear the Hits in Customer History Total Sales, this is your last chance to print this report using this year’s history. You can sort by:
- sales (See Printing a customer report sorted by sales (pdf) or
- hits (See Printing a customer report sorted by hits (pdf).
(UR-F) or Reports Menu icon > Standard Sales Reports icon > [F]: This step is optional. But to include year-to-date figures for the current year in your Full Sales Analysis, you must print the report at this point. If you print the report after performing the year-end function for Salesperson History, the YTD column on the report will be incorrect. See the online help topic, Full Sales Analysis.

How do I Print Financial Statements in Graphical?

Close to the end of the G/L steps of the Year-End Key Ops newsletter, there is an optional step to print Financial Statements (this includes Profit & Loss and Balance Sheets). We advise doing so only in graphical software, instead of in the text-based (W-C) screen.

For detailed instructions on graphical financial statements, see Financials (pdf). In this document, you'll learn how to prepare your Chart of Accounts by assigning the critical Categories and Subcategories. Build Financial Profit & Loss (P&L) statements and balance sheets. Either print them or view them on screen just by making a few simple selections.

If you instead use the text-based (W-C) report, please note that it requires a previous step of (W-D), building the tables. If you require detailed instructions for the text-based software, see the standard documentation on G/L Financial Statements:

Where Can I Learn More About Inventory Counts?

A checklist of Inventory Count procedures are included in the Year-End Key Ops. For more detailed instructions, see:

Inventory - Count Less, Sell More. In this complete Inventory manual, you'll learn how to set up and manage inventory through DDMS: setting up stocking classes, clearing on-hand quantities, taking and entering physical counts, G/L adjustments, and using critical inventory reports such as the On-Hand Catalog Report and the Inventory Extended Dollars Report. This will also look at ways to maintain accurate inventory, including the optional Cycle Counts program.

Should I Purge Furniture Work In Progress (WIP) at Year-End?

Some furniture dealers use the Work In Progress (WIP) and After-the-Fact (ATF) add-on applications to monitor and adjust cost detail as their projects progress. We recommend purging all balanced WIP and ATF information at year-end.

When you make changes to WIP information in ATF and post it, the system updates the ATF-BATCH file, which is stored on the G/L volume serial. Until you release the information, you can return to the After the Fact window and make as many corrections as necessary. After you release it, the information is removed from the After the Fact window. In addition, both the Work in Progress window and the GL-BATCH file are updated with the changes you made.

To purge balanced WIP accounts, you can use the After the Fact window. You can limit the purge to a specified cutoff date. You can also save the purged information to an archived file.

For detailed instructions, see Furniture Work in Progress,

I’m on UNIX, not Windows. How Are My Procedures Different?