Timberline Forum

Crystal Clear Reporting Clarified Just For You…Are your Sage Timberline Office Crystal Reports cumbersome? Not as streamlined as you would like them to be? We’ve gathered some tips from the pros and put together some top-notch suggestions made with you in mind. You can find them here.

Still not getting what you need? Why not call on Rock-Star Ego-Free  DB Data Inc Senior Consultant Gary Jacobson. He is a Crystal Reports genius! He’s done it all. From creating complex customized payroll reports for government agencies that saved thousands of dollars, to helping people customize canned reports in order to tailor them to their specific office needs.

Did I mention he’s a really nice guy gary@dbdatainc.com

We just received an email from one of our clients telling us they were going to be upgrading their Timberline this weekend from 9.4 to 9.6. They wanted to know if we had any “resources or information for their IT consultants”. And of course we did! DB Data Inc’s Senior Consultant Gary Jacobson offers the following advice if you plan on upgrading your current system.

“The most important thing to do is to read the ‘Getting Started’ guide carefully before you start to make sure you know the steps and procedures well. This upgrade moves some program files to a new location (in order to be compliant with Windows Vista and future operating systems), and so it also requires a new shared folder and an additional mapped drive.  The ‘Getting Started’ guide explains all that, but sometimes it’s a little confusing. You can call me, or have your IT person call me, if you want to just go through a rundown of what to do before you get started.”

Need more information? Got a different issue that needs solving? Feel free to email Gary at gary@dbdatainc.com.

Accounts Payable

The Problem:
The exempt, on-hold and join check status no longer displays in Enter Invoices or Change Invoices

What You Really Need To Know:
Sage Timberline knows about the issue and will soon issue a fix. Be assured that the issue is isolated to the display itself. The Exempt, On-Hold and Joint Options are working just as they always have.

Why’s it doing that?
The addition of distribution grid lines adjusted the items that will display in the Enter Invoices and Change Invoices screens.

Payroll

The Problem:
The format you added to the phone number field is not retained after saving the employee.

How To Fix It:
If you imported your employee phone number using ODBC and there is no formatting, retype the whole number, or use Cut and Paste, and then add the format.

Why’s it doing that?
Payroll automatically adds formatting to employee phone numbers (xxx)xxx-xxxx when setting up a new employee. However, if you import the employee information using ODBC, the employee phone number may not be formatted correctly and adding the formatting will not be recognized without changing the number.

Install

The Problem:
You’re getting an Error 1904 message.

What it means:
This means the install failed to register multiple dlls.

How To Fix It:
Uninstall and reinstall Pervasive on the server or the affected workstation.

Why’s it doing that?
Pervasive was not correctly installed on the computer.

Property Management

The Problem:
The Property Management Comparative Occupancy Analysis does not run for February.

How To Fix It:
Go in and change the design formula named “Test on February” from Month-As of Date (Design Formula) = 2
to Month-As of Date (Design Formula) >= 2

Hope this helps!

A client just emailed me to ask “The AZ state withholding payroll tax went up effective 5/1, how does this information get into Timberline?” She also wanted to know if she should have employees fill out new A-4 Forms.   Okay…here’s the situation.

On May 1, 2009, Arizona upped the amount of payroll tax withholding. Here’s what you need to do to bring Sage Timberline Payroll up to speed.

Connected to the internet, use DOWNLOAD TAXES in payroll to download the newest update. (If you want, you can also view a list of the latest tax updates and future tax updates from there as well.)

There is a checkbox that asks if you want to update taxes, say yes and your taxes should be updated. If your computer is not connected to the internet you can download these files from another computer that is connected and then install the tax file on the proper computer.

As to whether employees should fill out new A-4 forms our Senior DB Data Inc Consultant Gary Jacobson says it’s not necessary.  But he does think it might be worth doing so that 1)employees are aware of the changes and 2)it will allow them to make any adjustments they feel are needed.

As always Daren and I are more than willing to answer any questions you might have. Never hesitate to contact us!

If you are planning to upgrade please know that you do not need to upgrade to 9.5. You can skip right over it. Don’t worry about missing out on any enhancements by doing so – you won’t. What you will do is save a nice amount of time.

So what are you getting from 9.6?

• 64-Bit Compatibility
• Easier General Ledger Transaction Maintenance
• Estimate with Multi-Currency
• Seamless Integration between Estimating and Project Management
• Enjoy a New Project Management Wizard that lets you move jobs to archive folders
• without any drama
• Crystal Reports that let you pick value ranges from a list
• Address Book Integration from Sage CRM

  Don’t forget!!  if you plan on upgrading from 9.4 to 9.6 SKIP upgrading to 9.5 altogether.  If you have any questions or need some help all you gotta do is ask! We’d love to help.

Daren doin' his thing!

Daren and I really enjoyed the opportunity to attend the 2009 Construction Technology Fair offered by the New Mexico Chapter of American Subcontractors Association. We also enjoyed making the drive to Albuquerque because it gave us a chance to get out of the office and take a road trip!

It also allowed us to visit with many of our clients face-to-face, which is becoming way less common these days. It also provided people withthe opportunity to talk to us about some of the reasons they would like to upgrade to Sage Timberline Accounting Software.

One Controller I spoke with would dearly love to have the option to drill down into invoices and purchase orders. Of course Timberline does that beautifully. It is, according to her, one of the main reasons she wants to convert to Timberline.

Something else on her wish list — she would like to be able to lock in a purchase order. Once written she wants NO one else to be able to enter and change it. It’s a situation that has caused her more than one headache in the past. Sage Timberline Accounting Software also offers that option. With a few security settings she can lock everyone but herself out, ensuring people can only read and not change the Purchase Order.

The only question left is – how soon does she want us to install her new software?

When Quickbooks is no longer good enough…

The view from our booth!

We also spoke to a business owner who is moving into commercial construction. He has outgrown Quickbooks and wants to upgrade – Timberline Software Accounting is what he’d like to move up to.

It makes complete sense, especially in today’s economy. This is the time to tightly track your works in progress, aggressively control your costs, build precise bids that will not only be awarded but come in profitable and of course there’s always the added benefit of providing peace of mind.

Sage Timberline is the best way to ensure you reach your business goals and your personal goals. Your business is a means-to-an end, right? It’s what provides for you and your family so that you can enjoy life. In the end Sage Timberline is way cheaper than therapy and is exactly what you need to sleep better at night.  Daren and I look forward to the next Trade Show. We hope to see you there!!  

The ladies who made it all happen!

Landscaping companies  may want to pay special attention to this post.  The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services made a major change to its I-9.  Although it’s been a couple of weeks since the change happened, I thought I should post it here just in case it slipped by you.

Last year the USCIS decided it needed to update the list of acceptable documents for Employment Eligibility Verification.  As of April 2009, expired documents are no longer acceptable.  The government reasons that expired documents make it a whole lot harder to verify a person’s true identity.

The government has outlined it in great detail and put it in an easy-to-read 65 page PDF for your reading pleasure!  You can find the revised list and the listed changes by clicking here…

Wednesday, I spoke with a controller who would like to start using Sage Timberline Accounting Software. She’s been flirting with the idea. Then the economy happened. Now, they’ve had to let some people go and she herself is working only three days a week. She’s doing double the work in half the time. She is not alone.

Daren and I hear this a lot from our customers. We spend a lot of time talking about our customers and the way the economy is affecting them. Believe me we’re feeling it too. At this time, Daren and I are striving to find a way to continue providing top quality services to our customers at the most reasonable price.

We spend time watching consumer trends. We understand people are changing the way they do EVERYTHING. Many pack lunches, brown baggin’ it is back in style. Some now buy their jeans at Wal Mart. Others fired their landscapers and are doing it themselves. Trimming the fat. Removing the luxuries one can easily live without.

These are BIG changes. People are changing inherently. Rethinking the way they live, their needs, the way they spend. Buying just the necessities. Dissecting their lives, analyzing their basic requirements and deciding what niceties can go.

Daren and I feel the same way. We are direct. We will tell you exactly what you need. We won’t oversell you. We take a good hard look at your business. We make an honest assessment and tell you exactly what we think you need to achieve your goals.

We’re so not into smoke and mirrors. You need to track your money. Track your jobs. Watch the money that comes in. Make sure your equipment and inventory don’t walk out the door. The basics. We can do that. In fact we’re VERY good at that.

While the economy has many companies coming back to basics – we never left. We take care of our customers. We have loyal clients and take great pride in that. Confidence is earned. A fact we never forget.

The economy will come back around. Until then, we’re here to make sure you’re still around to see it come full circle.

This Spring you can learn new Sage Timberline Office Skills and save your boss some cash.  If you sign up before May 31, 2009 you can get the lessons you want for $100 less.

Beef up your reports by taking Report Designer or Crystal Reports lessons or pump up your payroll skills with Payroll Power Pack.

The nice thing about Realtime Learning is that you can sit at your own desk, use your own computer and still get to work with a live instructor.  Not only can you interact with the instructor you can also interact with others taking the online class. You’ll save $100 off the cost of your registration.

You can sign up for the class at http://www.sageu.com/.  Don’t forget to enter promo code SAP053109.  Deadline for the $100 savings is May 31, 2009.  Happy Learning!

The American Concrete Institute has just kicked off its 2009 Spring Convention in San Antonio.  Many convention-goers are talking about, that’s right, you guessed it, the economy. Like the rest of us they worry about their own economic futures. That’s why President Barak Obama’s plans to spend heavily on renewing Amerca’s infrastructure has their full attention.

The plan dedicates billions of dollars (that’s billions with a “b”) to building new bridges and roads throughout the United States. Government spending on this scale will certainly drive up demand for materials such as cement, crushed rock and gravel.  Arizona alone is slated to receive $522 million for highway funding .  That is a LOT of concrete, cement and asphalt.  It will also offset the huge drops in commercial and residential construction. To put it into perspective – President Obama’s project would be one of the largest of its kind since the 1950s, when the interstate highway system was created.

This news comes on the heals of the latest forecast from the Portland Cement Association  It also foresees a rebound in 2010.   More good news…exports of cement and concrete from the U.S. increased 4.5 percent in 2008. And overall, U.S. cement and concrete exports have increased since 2001.

Couple that with the Obama Stimulus Package, and the industry’s future is looking strong. A fact the National Concrete Masonry Association wants to capitalize on.  In a letter sent to Congressional leaders, NCMA cited $18 billion in approved highway and bridge projects that could be put to contract in 90 days, creating 35,000 for every $1 billion of investment. That in turn would put laborers to work, put money in their pockets giving traction to those who are at the very core of the American economy.

All indicators tell us that the Cement and Concrete Industries will weather this economic storm. When the economy gains traction and steamrolls forward, will you be ready for it? If you’d like to explore just how well your current way of tracking financing is working for you, we’d love to help. We know Sage Timberline Office continues to consistently out do the competition! Let us help you maximize your money with the finest tracking avilable.  We’d love to talk with you!