Support Hub

Hi everyone,

I thought I would talk about how to electronically file the Record of Employment (ROE) from Simply Accounting to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Using the ROE web option has several benefits some of which include saving you time, reducing the amount of paper you would normally use to print copies, it is a secure method, and it's easy to use. What you would have to do is export the ROE file from Simply Accounting, then upload it to the CRA. All of this can be done in a wizard that is accessible by clicking on "File/Import/Export/Electronic Filing/Export ROE Web (Bulk File Transfer)".

NOTE: This feature is currently available in Simply Accounting 2010 and will be available in versions after 2010 as well.

For detailed steps on how to go through this process, click on the link below to view a pre-recorded webinar video. The video is about 9 minutes in length. A high speed Internet connection is recommended to view the video. However if you're currently on a light speed Internet connection or a dial up connection, the video may take several minutes to load.

http://sage.edgeboss.net/download/sage/simplyaccounting/filing_roes_using_the_web.swf

I've also provided a link below from the Service Canada website that contains information such as how to register for ROE Web, frequently asked questions (FAQ's), minimum system requirements and additional information.

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/employers/roe_web.shtml

Hi all,

From time to time, I get asked how to setup a credit card for reconciliation in Simply Accounting. In most cases the user already has credit cards setup in their company file and are wondering how to go about setting up the credit card reconciliation in Simply Accounting like their bank account. Assuming you've setup credit cards already as per this knowledgebase article, the setup of reconciliation for credit cards is a quick and straightforward process.

You'll want to follow Part B in this knowledgebase article in setting up the credit card for Reconciliation. However instead of double clicking the bank account as per step 1 in Part B of the instructions, you'll want to double click the credit card payable account (will be numbered from 2000-2999 or 20000-29999). For example, in my sample company I have a Visa setup in "Setup/Settings/Company/Credit Cards/Used" and under the "Payable Account" column the account that is currently linked is 21100 Visa Payable. I would then double click the 21100 Visa Payable account in my chart of account list, click on the "Reconciliation & Deposits" tab, put a checkmark in the box next to "Save Transactions for Account Reconciliation" and click on the "Save & Close" button. After opening the Reconciliation & Deposits module, selecting "Account Reconciliation" in the "Transaction" dropdown list, I am able to select the 21100 Visa Payable account. Then follow the rest of the steps outlined in Part B of the Account Reconciliation knowledgebase article to start the reconciliation process and make sure to have your credit card statement in front of you.

Once the steps in the Knowledgebase article on setting up reconciliations is followed, you can start clearing off transactions as per your credit card statement.

 Hi everyone,

I thought I'd talk about how to file your GST or HST return electronically in Simply Accounting 2010. Please note that you must have the Release C update or later installed first before having access to this feature. This feature is currently only available in Simply Accounting 2010 Release C and later and should be available in subsequent versions after.

I'll go over the necessary steps you must do before attempting to file electronically, the procedure on how to file electronically in Simply Accounting and how to record a transaction (depending if it's a refund or if you owe the government) after saving the electronic file on your computer.

Before you can perform the electronic filing, you’ll have to go through the steps below:

1.  Create a vendor record for the government department to which you remit taxes.

2.  Make sure you are eligible to file your GST/HST return using the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) Internet File Transfer service. To see the eligibility requirements, please click here.

3.  Review your income statement to make sure your tax and sales records are up-to-date for the reporting period.

4.  Make sure your accounts are set up to track GST or HST.

To file a GST/HST return electronically:

1.     In the Home window on the File menu, choose Import/Export, Electronic Filing, and then GST/HST Online Filing.

2.     (Optional) If the introductory window opens with a description of how GST/HST Online Filing works, click Continue. To bypass this window in the future, select Do not display this again.

3.     Enter your CRA Business Number.

4.     Select a date range for this reporting period.

5.     Select the type of sales tax that you want to report on.

6.     Select a filing method.

7.     Click Next to proceed to the next step.

8.     Fill in or verify the details for your tax return, and then click Next to proceed to the next step.

9.     (Optional) Click Print For My Records to create a GST/HST Online Filing report.

10.   Click Save this GST/HST return file to save a copy of your electronic tax return on your computer. The location of the file is indicated.

11.   After you have successfully saved the file, click Go to the Canada Revenue Agency web site to upload your tax return file. The CRA will issue a confirmation number after the return is successfully submitted.

There are currently 2 methods to file electronically on the CRA website. The links are listed below:

NOTE: You will see a topics section underneath the "ready to file" button in the links below that go over things such as eligibility, hours of service, your Internet browser,  before you start, FAQ's, etc. It may be beneficial or helpful to read over these sections before uploading the electronic file to the CRA.

GST/HST Internet File Transfer: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/bsnss/gsthst-tpstvh-ift/menu-eng.html

GST/HST Netfile: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/bsnss/gsthst-tpstch-ntfl/menu-eng.html

Recording your GST/HST payment or refund

After you save the electronic GST/HST return file on your computer, Simply Accounting prompts you to create a transaction.

Recording a refund

1.     If you are recording a refund, select either Payment from a customer or Credit note from a vendor.

2.     In the Invoice Details section, record the payment transaction:

a.        In the customer or vendor list, select the government agency to which you remit your tax return (generally Receiver General.

b.        Enter an Invoice Number, e.g., GST Q1.

c.        (Optional) If you entered any amounts in the GST/HST electronic form that were not tracked by an account, the total amount is displayed as an Adjustment Amount. To maintain accurate records, you need to select or create an account to track this amount. In the Adjustment Account box, select an existing account. Consult your accountant if you have any questions about how this account should be handled for all future transactions.

d.        Click Create Invoice for Refund.

e.        Choose to either open the Payments window or pay later and then click Finish.

Recording an amount owing

1.  If you are recording an amount owing, record the payment transaction in the Invoice Details section:

a.        In the vendor list, select the government agency to which you remit your tax return (generally Receiver General.

b.        Enter an Invoice Number, e.g., GST Q1.

c.        (Optional) If you entered any amounts in the GST/HST electronic form that were not tracked by an account, the total amount is displayed as an Adjustment Amount. To maintain accurate records, you need to select or create an account to track this amount. In the Adjustment Account box, select an existing account. Consult your accountant if you have any questions about how this account should be handled for all future transactions.

d.        Click Create Invoice for Payment.

e.        Choose to either open the Payments window or pay later and then click Finish.

Hi everyone,

Every now and again I get asked by clients "how do I move the fiscal year end date back"? Some reasons why they need to do this is because the incorrect fiscal year end date was entered in when the company file was created, a change in the fiscal end date was decided by the owners and was approved by Revenue Canada, partnership ceases to exist, sole proprietor sells the business, etc.

NOTE: Make sure that all Simply Accounting windows are closed before going into your settings such as Invoices, Reports, Payments, etc. You'll also need to make sure that you're in single user mode and logged in as the "sysadmin" user or a user with full accounting rights. I would recommend you create a backup prior to changing the fiscal year end date as well.

You can change the fiscal year end date by going into "setup/settings/company/information" on the home screen of Simply Accounting. You can then click on the "calendar" button to the right of fiscal end and select your date. However you may get a prompt or message that says "Invalid date. The Fiscal End date must be later or equal to the Latest Transaction date" when changing the fiscal end date. This means that the fiscal end date you've chosen is before the latest transaction date. For example when looking in "setup/settings/company/information" you see the following details:

1. Fiscal Start - Sept 1, 2009
2. Fiscal End - Sept 30, 2010
3. Latest Transaction - Sept 7, 2010

You want to change the fiscal end date to Aug 31, 2010 but get the error message mentioned earlier. You can only select a date that is equal to or after Sept 7, 2010 as this is your latest transaction date. Even if you reverse the transaction(s) done on Sept 7, 2010 it will not delete the transaction but rather post a reversing transaction. This is part of Simply Accounting's audit trail process that is part of the program. You can restore a backup prior to the Sept 2010 transaction(s) being posted , change the fiscal end date, advance the fiscal year and then post your transaction(s) after Aug 31, 2010. I've provided a Knowledgebase article below on this topic as well.

Moving Fiscal Year end date back

This is a relatively simple procedure, just click and drag the column borders when in the Form Designer, but the question comes up often in the Support Center.

The Problem: When the user clicks and drags, the whole table (all of the columns) moves.

The Cause: The table is selected. 

The Solution: Deselect the table by clicking anywhere outside of it.

Be careful to click on the column border only when the mouse pointer turns into two opposing arrows.  If you click on the columns when the mouse pointer looks like a hand, the whole table will get selected.  You will know that the table is selected if the mouse pointer turns into 4 arrows when you move it over the table area.  To deselect the table, just click anywhere outside of it, such as the gray area outside of the form.  You will know that the table is deselected if the mouse pointer looks like a hand again.  .

Take a look at this very short video for a demonstration on how to change the column width.

Hi all,

If you have a foreign currency bank account set up in Simply Accounting there will probably come a time when you have to correct the home currency balance of this account. Due to fluctuating exchange rates that occur daily for foreign currency, over time you may find that the home currency balance is incorrect but the foreign currency amount is correct for the bank account. For example, let's say a US bank account you setup has a USD(US dollar) balance of $1000 but the CAD (Canadian dollar) balance is showing as $700. Today the exchange rate is $1 USD = $1.10 CAD therefore the $1000 USD should be evaluated to $1100 CAD. How would you fix this in Simply Accounting?

To resolve this issue you would go through the following steps:

Note: You should open the general journal, or miscellaneous transactions window, for posting all the following entries. Open this journal from the main window in Simply Accounting.

1.     Find the difference between the current balance (in CAD$) and the desired balance (in CAD$).

a)       If the current balance is too high, Credit the US$ Account by $1 and Debit the Exchange Account.

b)       If the current balance is too low, Debit the US$ Account by $1 and Credit the Exchange Account.

2.     In either case, use the difference between the current balance and the desired balance plus 1 as the Exchange Rate for the transaction. Post it.

3.     Do the exact opposite of the last transaction, except use an exchange rate of 1.

So based on our example above, the solution would be as follows:

US$ Account balance $1000 USD is evaluated to $700 CAD.

Today the exchange rate is $1 USD= $1.10 CAD hence$1000 USD should be $1100 CAD.

The desired balance is $400 CAD higher than the current balance in Simply Accounting. 

Debit US Bank Acct $1 USD with an exchange rate of (1100-700)+1 = 451 and Crediting the Exchange Account in the amount of 1

Then Credit US acct $1 USD with exchange rate of 1 while Debiting the Exchange Account in the amount of 1

By posting this adjustment it will fix the CAD balance of the US bank account while keeping the USD amount the same.

Hi all,

As you may already know, Simply Accounting Intelligence is now available for Simply Accounting 2010 users! Simply Accounting Intelligence is a new reporting tool that you can use with Simply Accounting 2010 Release C and later versions. Currently this feature is available for Premium, Enterprise and Accountant's Edition users. This is a new feature that is available for a fee that offers more reporting options that are currently available in the program as well as more customization of reports.

Simply Accounting Intelligence reports are Microsoft Excel based and is integrated with your Simply Accounting program. Reports that are built with this reporting tool are automatically refreshed with your Simply Accounting data which will save you a lot of time. You'll find that a dashboard is ready to be used right away and there is no setup required on your part. You can find very quickly information such as metrics, revenues and who your best customers are. There is also a 30 day free trial available if you want to test this new feature out first.

For more information click on the link below.

http://www.simplyaccounting.com/lp/intelligence/?WT.mc_id=SAI_hp_0610

I've also broken down each section of the Simply Accounting Intelligence site below (You can also access these links from the link provided above):

Pre-Recorded Webcast

30 day free trial

Product Information

Brochure

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Resource Centre

The Simply Accounting by Sage Knowledgebase is a great online resource for technical support and how-to articles related to the program. It is updated and reviewed on a daily basis, ensuring the most relevant and accurate information.

.Click here to see a demo on how to use the knowledgebase

If you encounter any problems while trying to use the Knowledgebase, please take a look at this page for troubleshooting steps

Visit http://www.simplyaccounting.com to start the search

Hi all,

I thought I'd talk about duplicate deposit slip entries that show up on the bank reconciliation screen in Simply Accounting as this question comes up from time to time in support. Why is this happening? The reason why this is occurring is because the sales invoice payment was posted into the same bank account you're depositing the money to. If this was done, then you may see duplicate deposit slip entries in the bank reconciliation screen. You'll either see 3 separate deposit slips in the reconciliation with 2 deposit slips showing the same amount in the "deposits" column and 1 deposit slip with the same amount in the "withdrawals" column. Another thing you may see is 1 deposit slip with the amount in the "deposits" column being double the amount of the "withdrawals" column. Essentially the deposit and withdrawl amounts are cancelling each other out in both cases and the difference left is the amount that was deposited into the bank account.

I've provided an example below to illustrate in more detail what is happening:

1. You open "Receipts"(found in the "customers & sales" or "receivables" button on the left in "enhanced view") , select the customer in question, locate the invoice you want to make payment for, enter in the "amount received" column in the amount of $50, enter in the date, verify the "receipt no." is correct and select the "1060 Chequing" account in the "Deposit To" dropdown list and post the transaction
2. Open "Reconciliation and Deposits" or "Make Deposit" (this is found by clicking on the "Banking" button in "enhanced view"), select "deposit slip" in the "transaction" dropdown list, select the "1060 Chequing" account in the "account" dropdown list, and click on the "select" button in the "cheques" section
3. In the "Add Cheques to Deposit Slips" window that appears, the "1060 Chequing" account is selected in the "From account" dropdown list, the deposit slips are highlighted, the "add" button is clicked on and then the OK button is clicked
4. This brings us back to the screen in step 2 and the deposit slip is then posted

 You open the Reconciliation and now you find 1 Deposit Slip with an amount of $100 in the "deposits" column and an amount of $50 in the "withdrawal" column or you could see 3 separate slips (2 slips with a deposit amount of $50 and 1 slip with a withdrawal of $50). So what is the reason why it's showing like this in the Reconciliation screen? This is due to the fact you're telling the program to deposit $50 in the 1060 chequing account when you posted the transaction in Receipts, but when you're posting the deposit slip, you're telling the program to withdraw $50 from the same 1060 chequing account selected in step #3 above and then deposit $50 back into the 1060 chequing account when doing step #4.

What can you do to avoid seeing this in the Reconciliation screen in the future? Instead of posting the sales invoice payment in Receipts to the chequing account, you can post it into a Petty Cash, Cash To be Deposited or Cash Clearing account (this account may need to be created if you haven't done so already). Select the bank account you want to deposit the slip into i.e. Chequing account. Then when going through step #3 above, select the "Cash" account you deposited it to in the "from" dropdown list, add the cheques and then post the deposit slip. When opening the Reconciliation screen you should see 1 deposit slip with the amount only in the "deposit" column. I do find some users prefer not to use this method which is ok. If that is the case you can clear the transaction in the bank reconciliation (either the 1 deposit slip with the amount in "deposits" being double the "withdrawals" amount or clearing all 3 transactions).

Hi all,

With the payroll and product updates being released for Simply Accounting 2009 and 2010 recently, I thought I'd go over how to locate the update you just downloaded if you forgot where you saved it or aren't sure where it was saved. Before I go over how to do this, you may find that it is downloaded in the default locations below:

Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Sage Software\Simply Accounting\Download

Vista/Windows 7: C:\users\public\documents\sage software\simply accounting\download\

Currenty the latest release for Simply Accounting 2009 was Release F and for Simply Accounting 2010 it was Release C. So when you're looking in the default location look for the following:

Simply Accounting 2009 CDN Release F payroll update: sa_2009fcpup1.exe

Simply Accounting 2010 CDN Release C product update: sa_2010ccpu1.exe

Simply Accounting 2010 CDN Release C payroll update: sa_2010ccpup1.exe

Simply Accounting 2009 US Release F payroll update: sa_2009fupup1.exe

Simply Accounting 2010 US Release E product update: sa_2010eupu1.exe

Simply Accounting 2010 US Release E payroll update: sa_2010eupup1.exe

If you find that the updates aren't located in the default location, you can do a search in Windows to try and locate the update if you're sure that it was downloaded onto the computer. When searching, type in the name of the update you're searching for as shown above and the search will give you the search results. Normally it will tell you where the update is located on your computer in the search result screen. At this point you can double click the update exe file or browse to this location using Windows Explorer or double cick on the "My Computer"("Computer" icon in Vista and Windows 7)  icon on the desktop (or click on the Windows start button on the bottom left of your screen), double clicking the C drive, and going to the folder path that was specified in the search results. Then you can double click the update exe to start the installation wizard for the update. I've provided some links below on how to do a Windows search in the different versions of Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7).

Please keep in mind there are 2 parts that must be done with the updates. After downloading the update, you must install the update. On some occasions I've spoken to clients who think downloading the update is the same as installing it. This is not the case as downloading the update is the 1st part of the process and installing the update would be the 2nd part. Think of it this way, when you're at the gas station to fill up the car on gas, you choose which octane (regular, premium, etc) you want first before pumping the gas into the car. You can't pump the gas before selecting the octane right? This is similar to the update. You can't install the update without downloading it first. Think of the download as selecting the octane and the pumping of gas as installing.

How to search for files in Windows XP

How to search for files in Windows Vista

How to search for files in Windows 7

Hi everyone,

With the implementation of HST starting July 1st in BC and Ontario, I'm sure a lot of you have either created the HST tax code or are in the process of doing this in Simply Accounting. A question that does come up a lot when speaking to our clients is, "why am I missing the GST and PST tax column in the Sales and Purchase Invoice screen after creating the HST tax code?" This is a great question and I thought I'd talk about why this is happening.

As you may already know, before creating the HST tax code, you'll have to setup the HST sales tax in "Setup/Settings/Company/Sales Taxes/Taxes". Once the sales tax is setup here, then you can go to "Setup/Settings/Company/Sales Taxes/Taxe Codes", to create your HST tax code. Now in most cases, you'll find in  "Setup/Settings/Company/Sales Taxes/Taxes" you already have GST and PST setup as a sales tax. By adding a 3rd sales tax (in this case HST), this will eliminate the GST and PST tax column in the Sales and Purchase Invoice because Simply Accounting was desgined to have a maximum of 2 sales tax columns listed separately. As soon as a 3rd sales tax is created it will remove the GST and PST tax column and create a single "Tax" column in both the Sales and Purchase Invoice instead of adding a 3rd sales tax column.

You can still see the tax breakdown by clicking on the "magnifying glass" icon to the right of the "Tax" amount (above the "Total") or by double clicking on the word "Tax".

Hi all,

I thought I'd talk about the topic described in the title as I've gotten this question in chat support as well as our phone agents have been asked this question too. After opening the program, clients notice that the text in the home screen and/or in modules i.e. Invoice, Payments, Receipts, etc appear cut off or unreadable. Also certain buttons such as the "browse" button when opening a company file or restoring a backup is not fully visible or the word "browse" isn't appearing.

In my experience the issue described above in the title usually happens when the font size is changed in Windows Vista or Windows 7. The location where to adjust the font settings are slightly different. Most likely the font size was set to "Larger" or a "Custom DPI" setting larger than 120. The fix is to change it to the default size ("Default Scale" for Vista or "Smaller - 100 % default" for Windows 7). If the default font size is too small for you I find changing to "Medium - 125 %" for Windows 7 or a "Custom DPI" size of 100-106 seems to do the trick. You can try a larger DPI size like 110 or higher, but I find the closer you get to 120 DPI is when the issue occurs again. The links below are from the Microsoft Knowledgebase on how to adjust the font size for Windows Vista and Windows 7 respectively.

Windows Vista: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Make-the-text-on-your-screen-larger-or-smaller

Windows 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Make-the-text-on-your-screen-larger-or-smaller

Whenever a new company is created, it starts out in History Mode.  From talking to clients, I found that a lot of them quite understand what History Mode is, what you should be doing in it and when is it ok to close it.  Understandably, this is especially true for brand new clients, creating a company file for the first time.  Hopefully I can shed some light on History Mode and its importance.

As I mentioned earlier, every newly created company starts off in History Mode.  This allows the user to enter opening balances for accounts, historical transactions, YTD amounts for employees and opening quantities and values for inventory.  I will go into each one of these in detail.

Entering opening balances for accounts

Whether this is an existing business or a brand new one, you will have some opening balances to enter.  For a brand new business it might just be the opening balance of the bank account and Owner Equity account.  For an existing company you will probably have a whole Trial Balance full of accounts to enter opening balances for.  While in History Mode, you can enter the opening balances by double clicking on the account in the Chart of Accounts and entering the balance in the Opening Balance field.

Historical Transactions

When you enter an opening balance for the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable accounts, you need to show what outstanding invoices make up those opening balances.  You would do that by entering these invoices as Historical Transactions in the “historical transaction” tab of the vendor/customer records.  Keep in mind that a historical transaction does not create a journal entry and thus does not affect the balances of any accounts.

Historical YTD amounts for employees

If you created your company, or started using the payroll module, after the calendar year has started and some payroll has been processed, you will need to enter the YTD amounts for that calendar year as historical amounts.  This is done in the various tabs of the employee record.  You will see a Historical Amount column in the Taxes, Income and Deductions tabs and this is what you would enter the Year To Date amounts that have been accumulated before you started using the Payroll module.  As with other historical transactions, entering the amounts does not affect the balance of any accounts nor does it create a journal entry.  It is assumed that you will have accounted for those amounts in the opening balances the payroll related accounts.  HINT: while in History mode, payroll taxes will not be calculated automatically. 

Historical Inventory

In the inventory record of each item you will see the History tab.  This is where you would enter the opening quantity and value for each item.  Again, as with payroll and A/P and A/R, the historical amounts do not affect the accounts or create a journal entry.  You should account for the values in the opening balances of your inventory asset accounts. 

Once you are finished entering the historical data, you can close History Mode by going to the History menu on the home screen.

Hi everyone,

I thought I’d go over some tips and tricks when creating backups. I’ve listed them below in frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) format as we get these questions quite a lot in support:

Why are my backups increasing exponentially in size every time I create one? I’m also finding from time to time, the program locks up or freezes and the backup isn’t successfully created.(NOTE: This issue occurs for users who are using Simply Accounting 2008 and later)

I usually find the reason for this exponential growth in size is because the backups are being saved in the SAJ folder. Starting in Simply Accounting 2008, the database was changed from Microsoft Access to MySQL. With this change, the database in Simply Accounting is made up of a Sai file and a SAJ folder. Saving the backups in the SAJ folder will cause the exponential growth in size and in some cases cause the program to lock up or freeze. This isn’t a recommended place to save backups as I’ve found in some instances, saving backups here for long periods of time can cause damage to the database itself.

How do you confirm if the backups are being saved in the SAJ folder? Click on “File/Backup” in Simply Accounting’s home screen and double check in the “Location” field that it isn’t being saved in the SAJ folder. If it is, click on the “browse” button and choose a different folder other than the SAJ folder to save the backup to. Once you do this, then try creating a backup. If you find this doesn’t work, click on “File/Properties” in the home screen of Simply Accounting. Take note of the “Company File” (the name of your database) and the “Location”. Close the program, then use Windows Explorer or the My Computer icon (Computer icon in Windows Vista and Windows 7), to browse to the location of your database. Double click the SAJ folder and remove ONLY THE BACKUPS in this folder. Once this is completed, re-open your database and try creating a backup again outside of the SAJ folder.

What should I name my backup file? Whenever I try creating a backup, it says I’m going to “overwrite it and if I want to continue”? What does this mean?

I suggest that clients name their backup file with the date that it was created. This makes it easier for the user to determine upon first glance of the list of backups they see on their computer, when the backup was created as opposed to going through the restore backup wizard to find out this information. As the filename cannot contain any special characters you can enter in a name for the backup such as Jun 2 2010 ABC company. Not only will this will help determine when the backup was created as previously discussed but it will also help you see which company this backup is for (especially for users who open multiple company files in Simply Accounting).

The overwrite prompt will occur when creating a backup if a backup with the same filename already exists in the same location you’re trying to create a new backup. For example let’s say you created a backup with filename of Backup XYZ company on the desktop. You then decide to create another backup to the desktop with the same name of Backup XYZ company. When you try to create another backup you’ll find that you’ll get the overwrite and if you want to continue prompt. The prompt is letting you know if you continue with creating the backup it will replace the existing backup. Although you could continue to overwrite or replace your backups each time you create one, I find it to be more beneficial to have multiple copies of your backups created at different dates. This way if you do need to restore a backup for any reason you have more options to work with instead of just the one backup. It’s also good to have multiple copies of backups at different dates just in case the one backup you have can’t be restored for whatever reason.

I’m currently using Windows Vista (or  Windows 7)  and can’t create a backup. I have double checked that my backups are not saving in the SAJ folder and it looks like it’s successfully created, but when I look in the location where it’s saved, it’s not there

When creating the backup double check that it is not saving to the C:\Program Files folder. Programs can still be installed in this folder, but I find that saving your company file, backups, documents, etc can be problematic due to the enhanced security in this location. This is tied into the User Account Control (UAC) that was introduced in Windows Vista and has been carried over to the Windows 7 operating system. When clicking on “File/Backup” you find the “Location” is set to the Program Files folder, click on the “browse” button and select another folder to save the backup to that is outside of this location. Then try creating your backup.  

Hi everyone,

When opening a Sales or Purchase invoice in Simply Accounting 2010 are you getting the following error message "Unhandled Exception has occurred in a component in your application"? You'll find that there are 3 fixes to this issue below. However you don't need to go through the fixes in the order they appear below. Depending on your situation you'll find 1 solution will work for you and the others may not.

NOTE: Before going through the solutions below, make sure you're logged in as the "sysadmin" user in single user mode. Also make sure no Simply Accounting windows i.e. Invoice, Reports, etc are open before going into your settings.

Solution #1

1. Click on "Setup/User Preferences" from the home screen of Simply Accounting
2. Click on "View" near the top left of the screen
3. You may notice a "blank name" after "Inventory & Services" with 2 boxes that are unchecked. If this is the case, put checkmarks in these 2 boxes and click the OK button to save your changes (If you're in the Enhanced View, the blank name with the 2 checkboxes to the right of it will be after "Employees and Payroll")
4. Then click on "Setup/Settings"
5. Click on the "+" button next to the "blank name", then click on "Names"
6. In the "Project Title" field to the right, if this is currently blank, enter in a name such as Projects or Job Sites (Please note you should avoid using special characters such as apostrophies, hyphens, etc as using them in the name will result in the same error message when opening invoices)
7. Click OK to save your changes and try opening a sales and/or purchase invoice

After following this solution you can go through the following steps if you want to remove the projects module.

1. Click on "Setup/User Preferences" from the home screen of Simply Accounting
2. Click on "View" near the top left of the screen
3. Click on the 2 boxes next to "Projects" or "Job Sites" (if you didn't use "Projects" or "Job Sites" as the Project Title, you should see the name in this screen) and click OK to save your changes
4. The projects module will now be hidden or removed in your home screen. You can turn it back on in the future if you'd like by putting checkmarks in the 2 boxes next to Projects in your user preferences

Solution #2

1. Follow the instructions outlined in THIS knowledgebase article on how to run the DButil

Solution #3

1. Click on "View/Customize Transaction (or it may say Journals)" in the main screen of Simply Accounting
2. Click on the "+" sign besides "General Journal" and select "Tabbing Order"
3. On the right hand side see if the option for "Custom Tabbing Order" is selected
4. If "Custom Tabbing Order" is selected, select the "Default Tabbing Order" option
5. Make sure you change the tabbing order for all modules by following the same steps above