“What could go wrong?” I ask. Three hours, two do-overs, and a desperate appeal to the software gods later I get the answer. I didn’t carefully read all of the instructions and supporting material and guessed wrong when I wasn’t sure.

I’m the kind of person who frequently gets into trouble when following instructions. Assembling household items rarely goes right for me the first time. Often it’s because I fail to clarify a vague or confusing instruction. Other times I simply assume that I know what I’m doing and find out later that I don’t.

Even though I’m not an expert on Sage Timberline Office, I’d like to help you avoid unnecessary pain and suffering. Judging by the complexity of the “9.8.0 Update 2” instructions, here’s what I would probably do wrong:

Make an incorrect assumption - I assume that Update 1 is a prerequisite to Update 2. Later I read the “Release Notes for 9.8 Updates” and find out that I could have skipped Update 1. That’s a few hours of my life that I will never get back.

Do it the hard way - After spending 7 hours updating the 14 workstations in the office, I go back and read the “Notes” near the top of the page and find: “you can use Sage Installation Manager to streamline the installation of updates on your Accounting server and workstations.” Arrrgh!

Misinterpret the big warning - Instruction 4 clearly states “Double-click 980AccUpdate2.exe only once.” In spite of the warning, I start the update application twice, either because the server is set to use single-click, or by realizing too late that the note to instruction 6 is a repeat of the instruction 4 warning.

Not allow enough time - Things would go wrong then I wouldn’t get the software back up before it’s needed by others.

No one likes to experience problems with an update. Here are three things you can do to avoid making mistakes like the above:

1. Read all of the instructions and notes before you begin. Just like in the sixth grade exercise where the last instruction tells you to do only the first of several complex instructions, reading everything is probably the best way to avoid pain and embarrassment.
2. Ask for clarification of vague instructions (even if you are male).
3. Don’t blindly follow someone else. Ask why a colleague or support person’s directions differ from the written instructions and be sure you are doing it correctly before proceeding.

If you still get into trouble, call Sage Support or one of Ledgerwood’s excellent consultants
who have many years of experience with the software behind them.

Good luck with the Update.

What do you do to avoid these kinds of problems with an update?

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