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ACCTivation! 2006

It's getting closer!
It's time to start thinking about the next ACCTivate! Users Conference.

ACCTivation! 2006 will be held in Arlington, TX May 4th and 5th, 2006. It's not too early to start making plans to attend.

Get more out of your ACCTivate! system.
The conference will cover a wide variety of topics such as maximizing the use of your ACCTivate! system and exploring current technology trends.

More information will be made available in the upcoming months.

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User Feedback

We're always interested in hearing from ACCTivate! Users. You're the reason that we're in business.

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to share with us, please feel free to contact us.

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Software Updates

The ACCTivate! Software Maintenance plan is designed to provide subscribers with the newest version of ACCTivate!.

This plan includes both web-updates and full-version releases. CYMA users recognize it as SMP, while QuickBooks users recognize it as part of the new SMS plan.

Either way, it's the annual subscription that provides you with updates and new version releases.

Without a current subscription, users are not granted access to those updates and releases.

Please contact the Alterity sales office for more information on your Software Maintenance plan.

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ACCTivate! 6.0 to be released soon

New version for both the CYMA & QuickBooks Editions of ACCTivate!
ACCTivate! 6.0 is currently in beta testing and is due to be released in November 2005 for both the CYMA and QuickBooks Editions of ACCTivate!.

CYMA Edition
 The CYMA edition of ACCTivate! 6.0 contains several dramatic enhancements over the most recent 5.1 version.

-         Integration with the new CYMA Version 8.

-         Enhancements consist of everything from a redesigned Product Information window to the availability of new modules such as Service Scheduling and Billing.

-         A new "Import Data" feature has been added that allows users to import products and product information from a spreadsheet directly into ACCTivate!.

-         Users with the Business Activities module can now send and track email messages with attachments from a business activity inside of ACCTivate!.

-         Several features can be displayed automatically when ACCTivate! is started. These include Business Alerts, Activity Review and Activity Scheduling.

-         Technical enhancements exist as well. The product description expands from 80 to 4,095 characters, and sales order entry performance has been improved.

-         The help files documentation has been greatly enhanced with new procedure flowcharts and "How Do I?" discussions for many common procedures that are done in ACCTivate!.

QuickBooks Edition
 The QuickBooks edition of ACCTivate! 6.0 also contains enhancements and upgrades since version 5.1 was released.

-         Changes were made to several areas of the system to improve overall speed and performance .

-         The QuickBooks synchronization process has also been enhanced to improve performance. For example, it now can handle very large QuickBooks files. Also, information is synchronized in smaller batches, which results in a faster sync time.

-         Other changes include simple modifications to enhance the overall functionality of the system.

-         For example, most address lines have been extended to 41 characters from 30 characters .

-         Also, inventory availability can now been seen on the Product Lookup window, which can save users a lot of time when choosing several products.

-         Many other small changes and fixes have been made to enhance the overall system.

Must have a current software subscription
Only customers with a current annual software subscription are eligible to receive the new version. Most customers recognize this as either SMP or SMS.

For more information or to see if your company has a current subscription please contact your ACCTivate! sales representative or log into the Help and Support section of the ACCTivate! website.

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Shortcut Buttons

A full list of the shortcut keys is available in the help files
Did you know that ACCTivate! has a whole host of built-in shortcut buttons (sometimes called hot-keys) that are designed to save you time and effort when doing the same repetitive tasks in the system?

These shortcut keys are designed to allow users to enter and retrieve information from the system with the least amount of effort. Instead of only using the mouse to click icons, many users can save time by using a combination of the mouse and shortcut keys as well.

Some of these shortcuts include pressing Ctrl-E to edit most records and Ctrl -S to save them once they're open. You can also type Ctrl -N to add a whole new record (like a new sales order) or F5 to refresh the screen if it's dynamically generated.

Use the F4 Key to open any lookup window
One of the most handy shortcut buttons that exists in the entire ACCTivate! system is the ability to open just about any lookup window in the system by pressing F4.

For example, you can use this shortcut to open lookup windows in the Customer Information window, Sales Order window, Purchase Order window, Product Information window and more.

A full list is in the help files
A complete list of the shortcut keys exist in the help files for ACCTivate! 5.1 and higher versions. To access this list, press F1 (another shortcut button) when in ACCTivate! and search for "Shortcut Buttons" in the search field.

 

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Featured Add-on

 

Business Activities
Service Scheduling and Service Billing

Two of the newest modules to the ACCTivate! system
The Business Activities Management module really is its own suite of products. In addition to the main Business Activities Management module are plug-ins that expand the functionality dramatically.

Business Activities Management exists in its own right as a great way to track and to stay on top of a good variety of topics and issues that your business faces each day. However, many Business Activities involve the management of time and materials for services (or non-product activities).

To help customers manage these activities, we have developed additional tools to help schedule time (Service Scheduling) and labor and materials (Service Billing).

Service Scheduling
If your business is designed around scheduling tasks and organizing employee time, then the Business Activities Service Scheduling module may be a great solution for you to help manage your company's routine.

The Business Activities Service Scheduling shows a list of all daily tasks and allows you to assign these tasks to any employee that you desire. The board neatly organizes tasks for each employee in their own column and displays all unassigned tasks in a general column.

The Business Activities module allows you to keep track of just about any type of diverse business activity, including service jobs that require the scheduling of employee time.

Moreover, if you need to balance your workload, you can quickly move tasks around from one user to another. Just click on the task and drag-and-drop it from one person's column to another. This will automatically re-assign and save the task to the new employee's list of tasks for that day.

Service Billing
This module allows you to easily bill for work done on service and sales activities by allowing you to add labor and materials directly to any service activity that you are tracking. This will allow you to more easily bill for what you put into a service call.

Once the service call has been completed you can quickly
produce a service order and invoice for extra labor and materials used. The end result is a tool that assists you in managing the costs related to your service calls. All charges that are related to the initial service call charges are collected and stored in one simple Business Activity.

Solutions for the way that you do business
When used together, these modules can dramatically help your business become more organized and efficient when it comes to handling the processing of Service Activities.

For more information on how these modules can help you, please contact your ACCTivate! sales representative.

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ACCTivate! Team Members

We're bursting at the seams with great people!
Clearly, one important reason for the success of the ACCTivate! system, and Alterity, Inc. in general, is the number of high quality employees that have joined the team over time.

Nowhere is this more true than with Michelle Barr and Lisa Michael, employees who know what customer service means and how to get the job done right.

Michelle Barr
 Michelle has been associated with Alterity since 1999 and became a full time employee in March 2004. Recently, she migrated into the position of Implementation Manager and has worked hard to help all new customers become operational as smoothly as possible.

Many ACCTivate! users have spoken with Michelle on the phone as she has helped assist them during their training period. Her diligence helped build the satisfied customer base that we have today. She's a key player in the ACCTivate! team.

Her software consulting and training experience spans several different accounting packages for customers in all industries. Michelle claims that her favorite time spent with clients includes brainstorming new and creative ways of solving business problems using both ACCTivate! and Crystal Reports®.

She holds an AA degree in Accounting and a BS in Computer Information Systems. This background has prepared her well for her current duties.

Michelle and her husband live on their bird hunting preserve near Austin, Texas. Out of the office, she uses her free time to pursue volunteer work, fishing and tennis.

Lisa Michael
Lisa recently joined Alterity as an Implementation Specialist and has instantly jumped into the position to be an impact player.

She comes to us with an impressive resume of education and experience. She has practical experience in a wide variety of business related subjects including accounting, customer service, business analysis, quality assurance, project management, marketing and more. She even worked as a substitute teacher.

Lisa earned her BBA in Management from The University of Texas at Arlington. She has worked steadily and now boasts over 10 years experience in the application of her education to a variety of groups in the state of Texas, such as national wholesalers, rail carriers and emergency room medical facilities.

Lisa and her family live in the Arlington, Texas area where she enjoys a healthy mix of activities from spending time outdoors, watching her favorite NFL and MLB teams, and reading her favorite authors' latest books.

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Alterity, Inc.
2012 East Randol Mill, Suite 219
Arlington, TX 76011
Phone: 817-870-1311 | Fax: 817-546-2211
Web: www.acctivate.com