10   Lists

Your company file consists of different types of records -customers, accounts, recurring transactions, and so on. Records of the same sort are grouped into lists.

Lists help you to keep track of the customers that owe you money, the items that you sell, the accounts or items being used, and so on. Lists can be modified to suit your requirements. For example, you can modify account and job levels to alter how they appear in reports. You can also inactivate records you use infrequently to keep your lists up to date.

Lists can be combined in a number of ways. For example, you can use a combination of custom lists, identifiers, contact logs and email addresses to create a list of customers who have contacted you in the past six months. Accounts and cards of the same type can be combined into one record. For example, you may want to combine the income accounts of two sales departments that have amalgamated, or combine the cards of two customers whose businesses have merged.

Adding a record

Lists are made up of individual records. For example, each item in your items list is a record, as is each job in your jobs list. You can add as many records as you want to a list.

To add this type of record...
Account
Card
Category
Foreign currency [ABSS Premier range only]
Inventory location [ABSS Premier range only]
Item
Job
Recurring transaction
Tax code
Time billing activity [ABSS Premier range only]

Adding records using Easy-Add

You can create new records easily using the Easy-Add feature. Accounts, cards, categories, comments, custom list items, jobs, referral sources and shipping methods can be added to your lists when entering transactions.

To create a record using Easy-Add

Let's assume you want to add a customer card while entering a sale.

  1. In the Sales command centre, click Enter Sales. The Sales window appears.
  2. Type the customer's name and press TAB. If there is no card for this customer, the Select from List window appears

  3. Click Easy-Add. A new customer card is added to your cards list. You can now complete your task with the new card.

    NOTE : Easy-Add is not available from some transaction windows In windows such as Spend Money, the type of card you want to create is not immediately obvious, so Easy-Add is not available.

Setting up tax codes

Tax codes are used to track tax paid to and by your business. Each tax code represents a particular type of tax, which is used to calculate tax on your transactions.

To create a tax code

  1. Go to the Lists menu and choose Tax Codes. A list of tax codes appears.
  2. Click New. The Tax Code Information window appears.
  3. In the Tax Code field, type a tax code (up to three characters) and press TAB.
  4. Complete the fields in this window.

    1. Enter the tax code description, type and rate. If you select the Goods & Services Tax type, also select the appropriate GST code.
    2. B The fields in this section vary depending on the tax type. Make any other selections and then click OK.

Assigning tax codes to accounts  You can assign a tax code to each account in your accounts list. The tax code you assign will then appear as the default tax code for transactions where you allocate a deposit, cheque, or a non-item sale or purchase to this account.

For example, you have assigned a tax code to your Electricity expense account. When you write a cheque to settle your electricity bill in the Spend Money window and allocate it to this account, the tax code will appear in this window by default.

To allocate a tax code to an account, open the Edit Accounts window by going to the Accounts command centre, clicking Accounts List and double-clicking the required account from the list.

Assigning tax codes to items  

Each item you create needs a tax code assigned. You can assign a tax code for when you sell an item and different code for when you buy the item. The tax code you assign will apply to sales and purchases of that item, unless you have specified that the customer's or supplier's tax code be used instead (see 'Assigning tax codes to cards' below).

Tax codes can be assigned to items in the Buying and Selling tabs of the Item Information window. For more information, see 'To create an item'.

Assigning tax codes to cards  You only need to select a efault tax code for customers and suppliers if the customer's or supplier's tax status takes precedence over that of the item or service being sold or purchased.

  • Customers tax codes Tax codes are assigned to customers in the Selling Details tab of their Card Information window. Make sure you select the Use Customer's Tax Code option. (If this option is not selected, the customer's tax code will not be used, even if one has been assigned.)
  • Suppliers tax codes Tax codes are assigned to suppliers in the Buying Details tab of their Card Information window.

    Make sure you select the Use Supplier's Tax Code option. (If this option is not selected, the supplier's tax code will not be used, even if one has been assigned.)

  • Once you have assigned tax codes to customer and supplier cards, they will be used as the default codes for sales and purchases. For example, the customer's tax code will override the item's tax code in an item sale, and override the allocation account's tax code in a non-item sale.

Finding a record

Records are stored and displayed in lists. For example, the Jobs List window lists the jobs you have created, the Accounts List window lists your accounts, and so on. When lists get long, it can take time to locate a record. Use the following tools to find a record quickly.

Tabs  Some lists are divided into separate views using tabs. For instance, the Accounts List is divided into eight tabs each representing an account type, making it easier for you to find an account. For example, if you are looking for an asset account, click the Asset tab. Within the tab window you can scroll to find a record.

Search fields  The Cards List window, Activities window, Items List window, and Locations window have a search feature that you can use to locate a record quickly. From the Search by list, select a search filter and then type a few characters in the adjacent field. Then press ENTER or TAB.

The first matching record is selected.

Advanced search filters   You can use advanced search filters such as recontact date and postcode to search for a single card or a group of cards. To do this, click Advanced in the Cards List window and enter the relevant filters to narrow your search. The Cards List window will display only those cards that fit your search criteria

Changing a record

You can make changes to:

  • accounts
  • cards
  • categories
  • foreign currencies [ABSS Premier range only]
  • tax codes
  • items
  • jobs
  • time billing activities [ABSS Premier range only]

To change a record

  1. Display the list to which the record belongs. For example, if you are making changes to an account, display the Accounts List window; if you are changing an item, display the Items List window, and so on. You can do this from the Lists menu.
  2. Locate the record you want to change in the list. Use a search method described in 'Finding a record', if necessary.
  3. Once you locate the record, click the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it. Details of the record are displayed.
  4. Make the required changes and click OK.

Inactivating or reactivating a record

If you have accounts, cards, items, inventory locations [ABSS Premier range only], activities, or jobs that you rarely use-for example, a card you created for a one-off sale or purchase-inactivating them after use will remove them from selection lists. Your list of records will be shorter and finding the record you need will be easier. You can still use an inactive record in transactions by manually entering the record name

To inactivate (or reactivate) a record

  1. Display the list to which the record belongs. You can display the list from the appropriate menu or command centre. For example, if you are inactivating a card, go to the Lists menu and choose Cards, or go to the Card File command centre and click Cards List.
  2. Locate the record you want to inactivate or reactivate and click the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it. The record's details appear. For cards, accounts, activities and items, click the Profile tab.
  3. Select or deselect the Inactive [...] option. For example if you are inactivating an account, select the Inactive Account option. If you are reactivating a customer card, deselect the Inactive Card option.

Deleting a record

You can delete a record that you no longer use. However, a record must meet certain criteria before it can be deleted. For example, most records cannot be deleted if they have been used in transactions.

Deleting an account

You can delete an account if:

  • the account is not a level-1 account
  • the account has a zero balance
  • no journal entries are posted to the account
  • none of your recurring templates uses the account
  • the account is not used as a linked account
  • the account is not linked to an inventory item.

To delete an account

  1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Accounts List. The Accounts List window appears.
  2. Click the zoom arrow (⇨) next to the account you want to delete. The account details are displayed in the Edit Accounts window.
  3. Go to the Edit menu and choose Delete Account.

Deleting other records

You can only delete:

  • a card, foreign currency, tax code, item or job that has not been used in a transaction. If transactions exist, you need to delete the transactions before you can delete the record.
  • a card that has not been used in a quote, order or recurring template
  • an item with a zero quantity in inventory
  • an activity slip, provided the time billing invoice on which it was billed has been deleted or purged [ABSS Premier range only]
  • an activity, provided all the activity slips you have recorded for it have been purged [ABSS Premier range only]
  • a foreign currency record that has not been linked to a card [ABSS Premier range only].

To delete other records

  1. Go to the Lists menu and choose the list to which the record belongs. For example, if you are deleting an item, choose Items; if you are deleting a card, choose Cards, and so on.
  2. Locate the record you want to delete and click the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it. The record details appear in the Information window.
  3. Go to the Edit menu and choose Delete [...]. For example, if you are deleting a customer card, choose Delete Card.

Combining records

In some situations you may want to combine two records. For example, if you have records in your cards list for two suppliers who have merged their operations, or if you have separate accounts for two departments whose sales figures you now want to combine.

When you combine two records, you identify one as the primary record and the other as the secondary record. The primary record becomes the owner of all the transaction details (transactions, jobs, history, and so on) currently linked to the secondary record and the secondary record is deleted.

NOTE : History for closed financial years is not combined When you complete the Start a New Financial Year routine, the previous financial year is closed and your transactions are locked. When you combine records, the history for closed financial years is not updated; hence your historical reports will not display combined amounts for these periods.

Combining cards

You can combine customer, supplier and personal cards, providing that the cards are of the same type.

You cannot combine:

  • cards of different types
  • cards with different currencies [ABSS Premier range only]
  • cards if the primary card is inactive.

When cards are combined, the non-transaction card information for the primary card-such as card name, address and buying and selling details-is retained as the default information for the combined card. The transaction details for the secondary card are added to the primary card. Non-transaction information for the secondary card is deleted.

To combine two cards

  1. Go to the Card File command centre and click Cards List. The Cards List window appears.
  2. Select the primary card. This is the card that the transaction details will be transferred to.
  3. Click Actions and choose Combine Cards. The Combine Cards window appears.

    The primary card appears under the Primary - Move all transactions to list. If you want to, you can choose a different primary card from the list.

  4. Select the secondary card from the Secondary - Remove all transactions from list.

    CAUTION : The next action cannot be undone Before continuing, check that you have selected the correct cards to be combined. If you combine the wrong cards, you will have to restore them from a backup and re-enter transactions posted to those cards since the backup.

  5. Click Combine Cards. A confirmation window appears.
  6. Click OK to confirm you want to combine the two cards.

Combining accounts

You can only combine accounts that are:

  • local currency accounts [ABSS Premier range only]
  • accounts of the same account type (for example, asset and expense accounts cannot be combined) and
  • detail accounts.

You cannot combine header accounts or accounts that are linked to other accounts.

When accounts are combined, the non-transaction account information for the primary account-such as account name, description and bank details (for banking accounts)-is retained as the default information for the combined account. The transaction details and opening balance of the secondary account are added to the primary account. Non-transaction information for the secondary account is deleted.

NOTE : Budgets and job budgets not combined Budgets and job budgets for the secondary account are not added to the budgets and job budgets of the primary account. You need to revise the budgets of the primary account after combining them.

To combine two accounts

  1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Accounts List. The Accounts List window appears.
  2. Select the primary account. This is the account that the secondary account transaction history and opening balance will be transferred to.
  3. Click Combine Accounts. The Combine Accounts window appears.

    The primary account appears under the Primary - Move all transactions to list. If you want to, you can choose a different primary account from the list.

  4. Select the secondary account from the Secondary - Remove all transactions from list.

    CAUTION : The next action cannot be undone Before continuing, check that you have selected the correct accounts to be combined. If you combine the wrong accounts, you will have to restore from a backup and re-enter transactions posted to the accounts since the backup.

  5. Click Combine Accounts. A confirmation window appears. To confirm you want to combine the two accounts, click OK.