Christmas Tips for Your Business

Christmas Tips for Your Business

Posted on by Danny Gill

Christmas is upon us!  Whether you are closed over Christmas or have extended trading hours, there are some important things to remember.

If you are closing over the Christmas period – shut down all unnecessary workstations and devices.

  • Unplug all devices that won’t be in use, in case the Summer storms cause power surges.
  • If you are in a low-lying area, make sure all equipment is up off the floor at a safe height in case of heavy rains.
  • Make sure your backups are working correctly and ensure you have an up to date backup to take offsite over the holiday period.

Don’t just assume your backups are ok – check, check, and check again (let us know if you need some help)!

If you have some late night trading coming up, check that any overnight processes, such as automatic posting, are scheduled outside of trading hours.

If closing up before the end of December, processing end of month will be no different to normal – this is best done on the last day before closing for the holiday.

Roll over your AR, AP, and GL periods ready for January trading.

Maintaining a healthy system

This holiday period might also be a good time to do some archiving and purging of old data from your ProfiitPlus or Alchemii system, while nobody is using the software.

Some businesses remain open over the Christmas period but are a little quieter than usual. This is a great time to do some system maintenance and tie up a few loose ends. Refer to documentation on the Support Centre for guidance, or enquire about our training sessions.

If you know you have some tidying up to do but aren’t sure where to start, or just don’t want to tackle it yourself, we can take care of it for you as part of our extended Professional Services options. Give us a call today or email solutions@foresiight.com.au for more info.

And most importantly, enjoy this wonderful time of year with family and friends!

Point of Sale Equipment

Posted on by Danny Gill

Looking to update your barcode scanners, docket printers, label printers or cash drawers for your point of sale terminals?

Foresiight has the solution.

We supply only quality POS equipment with proven reliability, and you can be assured of compatibility with your POS software.

Having the right gear in place can help to create a great experience for your customers and keep your business running smoothly – and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune!

For more information or a quote on any POS equipment, send us an email at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call today on 1800 061 670.

Bulk Edit Reorder levels

Posted on by Danny Gill

A new feature to bulk enter and edit reorder levels has been introduced.

The user is able to select a range of Stock Items and can then easily edit the minimum and maximum levels for each stock item via a grid before saving these changes.

This is found under Stock and Purchasing | Other | Enter/Edit Reorder Levels (Min & Max).

You can read our full knowledge base article on Bulk Edit Reorder levels on the Support Centre.

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii v4.96 New Features

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii v4.96 New Features

Posted on by Danny Gill
Version 4.96 Features & Improvements

We have added some exciting new features to ProfiitPlus & Alchemii.  Browse some of the highlights below, or login to the Support Centre to read the complete release notes.

Edit Kits

The management of Kits has been redesigned, with a range of new features and an improved user interface. A new “Kits” tab is available via the Edit Item Details screen – this replaces the previous standalone Edit Kits feature.

SMS Reminders


A new feature has been added to Maintenance Records for sending servicing “recall” reminders via text message. This is configured via System | Setup Options.

You can configure the text you wish to send as an SMS for recall notices, and text substitutions are available to insert fields such as name, recall date, last invoice date, reference 1 – 4 (make, module, serial number, odometer, etc.). Please speak to your consultant for assistance.

Bulk Edit Reorder levels

 

A new feature to bulk enter and edit reorder levels has been introduced. This is found under Stock and Purchasing | Other | Enter/Edit Reorder Levels (Min & Max).

The user is able to select a range of Stock Items and can then easily edit the minimum and maximum levels for each stock item via a grid before saving these changes.

Keyword Search

The Keyword search function in a large number of Lookup screens has been enhanced to become a “multi-word” search. This means that each word entered is treated as an individual search term that may be located anywhere within multiple fields, rather than only matching on the search string in its entirety. This provides a simpler search process for the operator and a more effective set of results. 

StockMate

    
When processing Price Updates from StockMate, the user can now select to also queue labels for stock items with a price change.

This is just a small selection from a big list of enhancements in this release. Remember to login to the Support Centre to check out all the release notes, and be sure to contact the Foresiight Support Team to have your update installed.

Data Import and Export

Data Import and Export

Posted on by Danny Gill

Simplify Your Stock File Updates

Many industry suppliers are now providing their business customers with monthly or quarterly electronic price file updates and promotions.  Manually updating pricing can be laborious and inaccurate, which can lead to selling items below margin or incorrectly quoting customers.

Automate your price updates and stock file changes with Data Import/Export

Using the Data Import/Export module, you can update all relevant information from the spreadsheets or text files provided by your supplier, including cost price changes, with the ability to recalculate sell prices after updating.

Data Import/Export also provides the ability to upload your entire supplier catalogue into a separate lookup catalogue. This allows you to review product pricing for special orders, and transfer a product into your main stock file with a single click when you need to sell or purchase it.  Keeping non stocked items contained in a lookup file keeps your stock file clean and simple – if you don’t sell it then you won’t need to browse through it when searching for stock items at the point of sale.

In addition to importing price files from your suppliers, the Data Import/Export module also includes a number of other useful features for importing/exporting data and applying bulk updates to your system.

Call us on 07 3356 2772 or email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au for more information!

Paperless Office – Reduce Filing, Save Time & Money

Paperless Office – Reduce Filing, Save Time & Money

Posted on by Danny Gill

Sick of filing paper documents?

Its time to go paperless!

Moving from paper to digital documents can save you a lot of time and money. Accountants and bookkeepers alike love the ability to review documents on the fly. Not to mention doing your bit to help reduce your environmental footprint and reduce stationary costs.

The Paperless Office add-on provides a great way of collating information into a digital container, like a filing cabinet, that can be easily accessed and searched. Adding new information (documents) is as streamlined and effortless as it should be, and the new copy and paste support makes it easier than ever!

Paperless Office capability is integrated into various modules throughout ProfiitPlus & Alchemii. The “Paperless Office” button allows you to easily store and retrieve PDF’s, spreadsheets, bills & receipts, images, and many other types of documents in the areas of the system you do most of your work…

Customers

Suppliers

Purchase Invoices

Quotes / Orders / Jobs / Invoices

A/R Accounts

A/P Accounts

General Ledger Accounts

and more…

For more information on Paperless Office or to activate this module now, email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Manager Override Password Setup

Posted on by Danny Gill

A major change to the manager passwords system has been implemented, allowing individual manager passwords to be set directly against selected staff members (AKA Salespersons).

This gives greater flexibility to setup numerous passwords, rather than the current system of only two passwords. It also provides more detailed auditing on who is authorising transactions that require the manager password.

To set manager override passwords for staff members go to Administration | System | Edit Staff Details.

You can read our full knowledge base article on manager override setup on the Support Centre.

From version 4.95 onwards, your old manager passwords (configured in System Defaults and Store Settings) will no longer work.

This change is a part of our ongoing efforts to help you keep your business system secure and safe.

Quick Items in Invoicing

Posted on by Danny Gill

Note: This feature applies to ProfiitPlus & Alchemii versions 4.91 and newer.

What are Quick Items?

Quick Items are available in the Sales Orders & Invoicing module, providing an easy way to select a product to sell with just a couple of button clicks.  Each Quick Item is presented visually as a large button within a structured menu system, similar to the Touch Buttons found in the Cash Register module.

Typically this would be used for products that are not barcoded due to their small physical size (e.g. individual nuts, bolts, irrigation fittings), or that cannot be barcoded due to the nature of the product (e.g. soil, gravel, pavers).

Setting up Quick Items

Navigate to Sales Orders & Invoicing | System | Enter/Edit Quick Items

You will now see the Maintain List of ‘Quick‘ Items setup screen.

To setup Quick Categories, click on the Quick Categories tab and click the Add button to add a Category. Enter a name for this Category, and select a Parent Category if required.  Categories can be nested multiple levels deep, to enable grouping of products for easy navigation during Invoicing.

Click the Save button and you will now see the Category under your List of Quick Pick Categories.

To setup Quick Items, click on the Quick Items tab and click the Add button to add a Stock Item. Enter a Stock Code, Description, and Category.  If a Location is selected, this Quick Item will only be displayed on terminals at that Stock Location – this is useful for multi store or multi location systems.

You can also set a background colour & text colour.

Once completed, toggle back to the Quick Items tab and you will now see the new Quick Item created in the list.

Using Quick Items in Invoicing

When raising a Sales Invoice (or Quote, Order, etc.) you will now be able to see the “Quick Item” button at the top.  Clicking this button will pop-up your customised Quick Items screen. 

First, select a Category…

…and then a Quick Item.

The selected product will now be added to your Invoice.

Need a hand?

If this is a feature you’d love to use but it all sounds like a bit too much work to get started – our Professional Services team can help out. Just give Foresiight a call on (07) 3356 2772, and for a small fee we can arrange to setup your Quick Items on your system for you.

ProfiitPlus v4.95 New Features

ProfiitPlus v4.95 New Features

Posted on by Danny Gill
Version 4.95 Features & Improvements

We have added some exciting new features to ProfiitPlus & Alchemii.  Browse some of the highlights below, or login to the Support Centre to read the complete release notes.

Manager Override Password

A major change to the use of manager override passwords has been implemented. Manager passwords are now set directly against selected Staff Members (aka Salespersons). This gives greater flexibility to set numerous passwords, rather than the previous method of a store-wide manager password that may have been shared amongst multiple staff.

This subsequently enables more detailed auditing on who is authorising transactions that require the manager password. Set up is via Administration | System | Edit Staff Detail | Detail tab.  


Negative Stock On Hand Report

A new report has been created for reviewing negative stock on hand – to help identify products being purchased or sold under the wrong Stock Code. This report can be printed per stock location or for all stock locations: Administration | Stock | Negative Stock on Hand Report.

Maintenance Records

A new feature to set an internal “Warranty” account is available in Maintenance Records. This would be used where a warranty job is to be performed for a “Unit” but the parts & labour are to be invoiced against an internal account, rather than the owner of the Unit. This is configured via Maintenance Records | System | Set Up Options | Warranty Account.  


Special Buy In’s

A new label design is available to print labels for Stock Items that were purchased in for a customer via a Sales Order, also known as “Special Buy In’s”. These labels can be generated after entering a Purchase Invoice or a Delivery Docket. The label design can be customised to print the customer details, the ordered item details, the Sales Order number, and more. Please contact Support for assistance to configure this new feature.

Productivity Report

A new sales report is available via Report | Sales Analysis | Productivity Report. This report will show revenue by Major Group for the date selected, the current month to date and the two previous months. It includes a summary showing value per sale, item count per sale, and some other productivity metrics.  

 
 

Quick Invoice Search

New search options are now available via the Invoice Enquiry by number lookup to allow the user to search for subtotal, by customer name and keyword search. The “total” search allows a customisable variance – e.g. find an invoice that was approximately $100, plus or minus $5.    

Purchasing

Auto Generate Purchase Orders will now remember certain criteria selections when choosing a regularly used Supplier.  After generating an order, most selections will now be automatically saved for next time you order against that Supplier.

Supplier Catalogues

The Supplier Catalogue (Lookup Catalogue) stock list has been enhanced with new filtering options to assist with a more intuitive search.  Also added is the ability to multi-select Stock Items to transfer to the main stock file.  This is a powerful feature when, for example, you wish to start stocking a new range of products from a Supplier.  

Printers Setup in ProfiitPlus/Alchemii

Posted on by Danny Gill

Step 1
To setup printers in ProfiitPlus/Alchemii go to Sales Orders/Invoicing | System | Setup Options – Invoicing

Step 2
Select default receipt printing to docket, invoice or neither for Cash sale, account sale and “cash only” acct sales

Step 3
Select your default invoice printer for your terminal. This can be set under “Default invoice printers“. 

If you use multiple invoice printers you can tick an option which allows the operator to select which printer they want to print to.

Step 4
If you have a docket printer please tick the “Docket printer attached” option and select your docket printer. 

We recommend using Bixalon, Nexa or Epson docket printers with our software. 
There are also more options for docket printing by clicking on the “Docket Printing” button.

Step 5
Most docket printer settings are as follows :

  • Printer Emulation = Epson or Text   
  • Max Character Per line = 42   
  • Lines before cut = User Defined   
  • Lines after cut = User Defined   
  • Cut String = 027105

Cash drawer settings are as follows: 

  • Cash Drawer = (Set this to your docket printer)         
  • Open String = 027112000025250 (If you double click in this box it will auto fill)

Step 6

If signature pad is in use please select the correct brand/software of the signature pad.

Also tick “barcode scanner in use?” if the terminal is using barcode scanners. 

Click the OK  button once finished. 

How to Print Barcoded Product Labels

Posted on by Danny Gill

There are a number of different ways to print barcoded labels within the system. The following steps describe a simple method for printing individual or one-off labels.

Open the Labels Queue

From the Stock & Purchasing module, click on Receiving | Print Labels.

Add Labels to the Queue

Select a product by entering the Item Code in the Stock Code box or double-clicking to use the Lookup function.

Select the desired label type for your labels before adding it to the list. Note that you must have created the corresponding label “design” first. Speak to your Support Consultant if you need assistance with this.

In the Number Required box, select the number of labels you wish to print.

Now click the Add button.

In the Pending Labels grid you will see the labels that you have chosen to print. You may queue up as many labels as you wish before printing them.

Now click on the Print Button (the print job won’t start just yet).

Select Labels to Print

Select which Label Type to print, this will print each label request in the queue for that particular label type. Remember that you may have queued up label requests for other label types – they won’t be included in this print run.


Select Print Options

Make sure the correct printer is selected. You can change printers buy clicking the Change button. You can also click the Options button to make sure your label dimensions are set correctly.

Once your settings are correct, use the Save options permanently checkbox to save the settings for next time, then hit the Start button.

All Printed Ok?

Now your labels should have printed out successfully. If that’s the case, click the Yes button to remove these label requests out of the queue. If there was a problem printing, you can select No to leave the labels in the queue for later.

Conclusion

This is just one method of printing product labels. You can also queue labels in bulk from other parts of the system – for example, when receiving stock from a Supplier.

If you need some help with label printing, please contact the Foresiight Support Team.

If you are new to the label printing functionality or would like to customise the layout of your labels, our Professional Services team can help to get you set up.

RDX Backup Bundle

RDX Backup Bundle

Posted on by Danny Gill
Many small business owners are not aware that they are not sufficiently protecting their business against data loss. Simply backing up your data isn’t enough – do you review and monitor your backups and take a backup off site?

It is recommended that you not only perform your backup on a daily basis, but keep multiple versions of these backups. This will ensure that you can restore not only the files from the previous backup, but also an earlier version if required. Backups should not remain in the same building as the data they are backing up. Your backup should be taken offsite, either by means of cloud hosted storage, or external drive/tape backups.
 

BUSINESS BACKUP BUNDLE

Bundle Includes:

  • Tandberg RDX USB Caddy
  • 2x Tandberg RDX Cartridges

$1,499 inc

This proven solution is a favourite amongst Foresiight clients

ENQUIRE NOW
Bundle Includes installation and setup of Veeam community edition backup software.

BENEFITS OF USING RDX TAPES

Easy

RDX cartridges combine the portability and reliability of tape-based backup solutions with the speed and simplicity of a hard disk drive.

Fast

Utilizing USB 3.0 and SATA3 data speeds of up to 600MBps, read and write access is near-instant allowing users to work directly with the data on the media as if the drive was internal to the system.

Solid

RDX drives are built tough, meaning knocks and drops don’t mean lost data. Plus valuable data can be further protected through Tandberg Data’s RCE encryption software, ensuring complete peace of mind.

Portable

The RDX media is small and durable allowing the drive to be taken off-site for archiving.

ENQUIRE NOW

Creating an Invoice or Credit in Accounts Payable

Posted on by Danny Gill

Accounts Payable invoices are used for entry of non-stock invoices and credits, the detail lines are allocated to General Ledger codes.

These transactions can be transaction matched to another invoice or credit or allocated in a payment run.

You may want to consult your accountant/bookkeeper regarding General Ledger accounts to be used when creating Invoices/Credits for clearing account discrepancies such as bad debts or rounding.

Open Accounts Payable | Maintenance | Enter/Edit Invoice Batches 

Click the New button to begin a new AP Invoice Batch

Add the following header information for this batch:

  • Batch Date (defaults to today)
  • Financial Period (defaults to current period)
  • Batch Total

Each batch may contain 1 or more Invoices/Credits.

In the Invoices grid, enter the following information for each Invoice/Credit that you wish to process:

  • Supplier ID
  • Invoice Number (always enter an invoice number that is unique to this Supplier)
  • Invoice Date
  • Due Date
  • Description
  • Amount – total will be positive for an invoice and negative when creating a credit note
  • Settlement discount (if applicable)

In the Detail grid select the appropriate GL account/s and update the GST where applicable. More than one GL account can be used per invoice to break up the expense.

Once you have double checked the details entered, select Process Now – then follow the prompts to print and post.

Your Invoice (or Credit) has now been created on the Creditor account and will be posted through to the General Ledger.

Foresiight System Housekeeping

Posted on by Danny Gill

In order to ensure the accuracy of your data, there are a number of steps that can be followed on a regular basis to maintain your system.

Performing these simple maintenance tasks will help prevent anomalies that might arise in your stock and customer records.  This is particularly important in systems where a number of users simultaneously edit Stock Items and perform administration tasks.

Housekeeping

A number of options are available in the housekeeping list that we recommend you use to keep your ProfiitPlus/Alchemii system healthy.

The first four menu options should be run regularly for most businesses. Often these processes will run through without actually needing to change or refresh anything – but it’s a quick and easy way for you to ensure everything is in check.

Recalculate Committed Stock

This function will review all open (unposted) Sales Invoices and Jobcards and update the current Committed quantity for each Stock Item. You can run this weekly, monthly, or just as required.

Recalculate On-Order Quantities

This function will review all open (unfulfilled) Purchase Orders and update the current On Order quantity for each Stock Item. It’s a good idea to run this before you generate your automated orders or enter any large Purchase Orders.

Record Current Stock Valuation

This function will take a “snapshot” of the current quantity and value of all stock on hand (for all stock locations). This can be useful for auditing purposes and is recommended to be run at the end of each month and/or the end of each financial year.

Recalculate Customer Balances

Customer accounts within the Accounts Receivable module contain detailed information about invoices, credits, payments, and all other transactions on that account. In other areas of the system, a much simpler account balance “sum” is used to quickly and efficiently display just the current total outstanding balance of the account. Occasionally this can become out of sync with Accounts Receivable and needs to be refreshed.

This function is used to update any Customer account balances that have become out of sync. It is recommended to use this each month before your statement run.

The next two processes would be used rarely, if at all, on most systems.

Data Compactor

Compacting data reduces the complexity of stored information, we highly recommend that you backup your data before running this process!

Re-Build Indices

This function re-builds the indexes of a selected table or all tables in the database. This is not normally required as part of your regular maintenance. Please speak to your Foresiight support consultant before running this process!

Ask Us How

Every business is unique and uses the system in different ways. In some cases these processes should be run every week, for others monthly is fine or simply ad-hoc when required. Please speak to your Foresiight support consultant for advice specific to your business.

Please Note: Data Compactor and Re-build Indices don’t need to be performed as part of normal maintenance. Only use these facilities where absolutely necessary or if instructed to by your Support Consultant.

StockMate v1.50 Major Release

Posted on by Danny Gill

Exciting news from Foresiight – we have released a major new version of StockMate with a number of new features, including LIVE connection to your stock list!

Check out the feature list below to find out more, and contact the Foresiight Support Team today to install your update.

Overview of new features and improvements released in StockMate Version 1.50

Instant Submit Submitting counts from your StockMate device to ProfiitPlus/Alchemii is now INSTANT!  No more waiting for a synchronisation process to be triggered

LIVE Stock
Direct linking to the ProfiitPlus/Alchemii Stock File means your list of products is now LIVE – new Stock Items and current On Hand counts are all reflected immediately on your StockMate device.

Product Images
View your product images and thumbnails on your StockMate device!

Promotion Pricing
The Price Check screen now displays any active promotions for the selected product.

Smarter Stocktakes
The Stocktake process now lets you know if you scan a product that has already been counted in your current session, and offers the opportunity to replace or combine the counts.
The current freeze point quantity and date is now visible on the Stocktaking screen.

Stock Adjustment Reasons
Stock Adjustments now support selecting a “Reason Code”.  The adjustment automatically goes to the correct GL account and a meaningful adjustment description is recorded in the audit trail.

Benefits

What are the benefits of having a StockMate device?

  • Save time stocktaking and purchasing
  • Help your staff to get out from behind the desk and onto the floor
  • Significantly reduce data entry errors – no more need to write it on a scrap of paper and decipher later
  • Live upload of scanned stock via WIFI
  • User-friendly touch screen interface

For more information on this please contact Foresiight on 07 3356 2772.

New Customer Portal

Posted on by Danny Gill

We have moved our Support Centre which includes all of our knowledge base articles. Click here for our new Support Centre and bookmark the new website link.
To request login credentials, please call support on
(07) 3356 2772 or email us using the link below.

Email Us

We are also currently in the process of moving all open tickets to our new support centre, you may receive an email notifying you of the new ticket ID. This will not require any action on your behalf.

Please note – you can still submit a support request as normal by sending an email to support@foresiight.com.au or by phoning our support line.

Did You Know? Add & Editing Users

Did You Know? Add & Editing Users

Posted on by Danny Gill

Maintaining Users

Maintaining User permissions in ProfiitPlus or Alchemii is quick and easy. Review your system today to ensure your Users have access to just the functions that are applicable to their role.

Navigate to Administration | System | User Menu Options (Access)

Setting Up Users

Click the Add button to add a new user. 

Enter a new username and password in the empty fields provided. You can also force the User to change password on next login by ticking the checkbox.

You can copy permissions from an existing User, by simply choosing the appropriate User from the Select User Name to Copy Permissions From drop-down and clicking Copy Permissions.

If you want the User to have access to change datasets via the Main Menu, then tick the Allow change of dataset (Business) options. This allows the User to change businesses or switch to the training system.

To make the User an Administrator, tick the box Operator is System Administrator.

It is recommended that only one or two Users be made Administrators within any business.

Dashboard

There is an option to show the dashboard on the main menu for the User. For each User, you can opt to display Sales Data only, or All Data which includes account balances. Alternatively, you can set the option to No which will not show the dashboard at all.

The Access Level option is used in conjunction with Customise Options to hide/display some information, such as cost prices. If you have this option enabled, set the Access Level for each User to suit the setting in your Customise Options (found in Administration | System | Customise).

Password reset

You can also reset a password for a User by pressing the Reset Password button. You will be prompted to enter a new password for the selected User.

The Menu Map button allows you to print all of the modules currently licenced in your system. This will give you a guide on what the User can access.

The Cleanup button runs a quick check within the system to see if any modules have changed or don’t exist anymore. This runs the process for every User in your list.

Choosing Modules for each User

By clicking on a User and then the Modules tab, you will be able to select which parts of the system you want this User to have access to. Each module is listed on the left hand side, with each menu option within that module listed to the right.

You can turn on everything for one module by unticking that module, then ticking it.

To save time when adding Administrator Users who have access to all functions, you can click on the Set All button which will tick every option for that User. You can also hit the Clear All button which will untick everything.

The recommended process for “normal” Users (i.e. not Administrators), is to first use the Clear All button, then selectively switch on just the functions that they will need.

Setup User Email (Optional)

You can setup email addresses associated with a username if you choose to do so. You will need to enter your mail server details as well as the User’s email details.

Please note: You might need to add authentication details to connect to your email provider.

These details will be used as per your system choices in Administration | System | Communication Settings | Host Email Settings. Each option that has the User box ticked will use these User Email settings, in preference to the system-wide email address.

Deleting a User

To delete a User, select the User from the list and click the Delete button. That User will no longer be able to log in to the system.

Foresiight StockMate

Posted on by Danny Gill

StockMate Kit

Each kit comprising:

  • Android Mobile Scanning Terminal with hand strap
  • StockMate Device Licence
  • Software installation & device configuration
  • Online user training

Your best mate for stock control

ENQUIRE NOW

BENEFITS

What are the benefits of having a StockMate device?

Enables live upload of scanned stock via WIFI – No manual docking process needed

Significantly reduces data entry errors – no more need to write it on a scrap of paper and decipher when you get back to the counter/office

Saves time stocktaking and purchasing

User-friendly touch screen interface that your staff will love

STOCKMATE FEATURES

What can you do with your stockmate device?

Stocktakes – Easily scan items for simple use within rolling (Interim) stocktakes without the need for stocktake worksheets

Stock Adjustments – Scan damaged stock and process write-offs when you find them, rather than later after you have amassed a collection in the stock room

Stock Transfers – Easily pick and pack products for transfer between stores so you can get the stock transferred quicker!

Price Checks – Don’t leave the customer waiting – get them the price they need while you are on the floor with them

Stock Receiving – Save the guessing game, scan the products as they come in to make sure you have received all products you have been invoiced for

Purchase Orders – Create your purchase order while you are walking around the store, where its easiest to see if the shelf is looking low on stock

Shelf Labels – Paired with the price check function, ensure you are always showing the correct price on your shelves saving customer confusion

Sales – Have those bulky products ready to go on an invoice for the customer, saving the guessing game when you get to the front counter

e-PayDay Single Touch Payroll for Australian Businesses

e-PayDay Single Touch Payroll for Australian Businesses

Posted on by Danny Gill

Meet all your ATO Single Touch Payroll Reporting requirements without breaking the Bank!

For over 30 years e-PayDay have been providing software that covers your payroll needs no matter what type of business you have. Cost-effective Australian Made Payroll Software that is comprehensive and easy-to-use. e-PayDay is designed to make payroll simpler for any small to medium sized business.

Foresiight Approved

Foresiight supports and recommends e-PayDay payroll software. It is used by many of our customers all over Australia. e-PayDay includes a feature for exporting a payroll journal in Foresiight’s format. This can then be quickly and easily imported into your General Ledger and posted as you complete each payroll run.

e-PayDay features

Awards and Agreements

Pay Types

Leave Accruals

Taxation

Superannuation

Salary Sacrifice

SuperStream

Electronic Funds Transfer

Emailing Pay Advice Slips

Payroll Costings

Payroll Tax Calculation

Accounting Integration

Comprehensive Reporting

ATO Compliant with Single Touch Payroll Reporting

and much more . . .

Electronic Transfers

Transfer Pays using any Financial Institution that is a member of the Australian Bankers Association.

Pay Superannuation using SuperStream.

Single Touch Payroll reports automatically sent directly to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) every pay period in real-time.

Start employees easily with myGov employee commencement (coming soon).

For more information on e-PayDay, contact us at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Foresiight can help get you up and running with e-PayDay, or we can put you in touch with an e-PayDay expert to answer any questions.

You can also check out the e-PayDay site here to learn more: https://www.e-payday.com.au/desktop-single-touch-payroll

Reach more customers with online sales

Reach more customers with online sales

Posted on by Danny Gill

One of the responses we’ve seen from COVID-19 is how consumer behaviors have changed during periods of restricted social interaction. We are now more than ever relying on online shopping for our buying needs. A great option for businesses today is to add another sales channel to take advantage of new opportunities that exist beyond your physical location. eCommerce can help you do that.

Having a great website is just the first step in your business’ journey to increasing revenue opportunities.  As your online presence grows, it will quickly become obvious that there is a need to minimise the burden of manually maintaining stock information and sales transactions across multiple systems.

Foresiight ProfiitPlus and Alchemii business management software can be linked directly to your online store with our purpose-built eCommerce Interface module.  Automatically publish stock updates to your website including descriptions, pricing and inventory levels.  Once a customer makes a purchase online, a Web Order is automatically created in your ProfiitPlus system, ready for your staff to pack and send.

No more double handling of data – keep your inventory always up to date. And keep your customer sales history all in one place, no matter where they transacted – online or in store.
The eCommerce Interface add-on module has been built to integrate with two popular eCommerce Systems, Magento and Neto, giving you the freedom to choose the platform that best suits your business’ needs.

Magento is a mature eCommerce platform, used by a huge number of online businesses both in Australia and throughout the world. Magento is available in both enterprise and open-source versions, meaning Web designers can implement the core system and then extend its functionality by writing custom modifications or adding plugins.  A marketplace is available with an enormous number of plugins and extensions, providing popular functionality such as Payment Gateways and Shipping Extensions. Many integrations are also available for more specific features such as email marketing and social media.

The possibilities are endless with Magento, but this can come at a cost – the work involved to design and deploy a heavily customised Magento eCommerce system can be significant, so most Web Developers will tend to charge a little more than you might spend on some other more basic platforms. Still, this is a great solution for established businesses looking to build upon an online sales platform that allows maximum flexibility, and is based on proven and widely-supported technology.

Neto differs significantly from many other platforms in that it is provided entirely as a Software-as-a-Service solution, meaning the eCommerce software environment is hosted on Neto’s own servers. As a business using Neto, you pay a regular monthly subscription fee that includes the use of the platform and software updates, as well as the hosting and maintenance services.

The SaaS nature of the Neto product means that the time to get up and running can be relatively short. After completing a few simple forms with some details about your business, a sample site can be setup and launched the same day.

A number of modestly priced site templates are available “off the shelf”, providing a quick and easy way to apply some colour and an impressive look and feel to your site. Of course, a polished and professional site will require some help from a specialist web designer and more investment.
The Neto Marketplace provides a host of optional add-on features such as payment gateways, marketing, analytics and shipping integrations.  Another key Neto feature is the eBay integration, allowing you to manage your eBay listings and Orders all from within the Neto ecosystem. Both eBay Orders and Neto Orders flow through to your Foresiight ProfiitPlus/Alchemii system via the eCommerce Interface module, combining with your traditional in-store and phone order sales to give you true multi-channel sales capability.

Whilst the Neto platform is not quite as customisable as a system like Magento, it still has more than enough features out of the box to suit most retail and wholesale businesses, and the list of core features and add-ons is growing constantly. Another bonus is that you are dealing with an Australian business, developed and supported right here in Brisbane (just like Foresiight). For these reasons and more, Neto has rapidly become one of the most popular eCommerce platform choices for Australian businesses.

Whatever your business requirements, wholesale (B2B) or retail (B2C) – there is a solution to suit. Talk to your Foresiight Support Consultant today if you would like to know more about how to get the most out of your online presence.

For more information on eCommerce integration, email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Foresiight Mini POS Bundle – clear the clutter!

Posted on by Danny Gill

Is your counter area cluttered with big old desktop workstations?
Are you still running outdated and unsupported Windows 7 systems?

Foresiight has the solution – our Mini POS systems feature a powerful small-frame Intel PC in a case that’s smaller than a docket printer!

Stop putting up with big, old clunky systems that are slowing down your business. Update today with an easy and affordable solution from Foresiight.

Enquire Now

Just send us an email at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call on 1800 061 670 to order now, or to find out more. We ship Australia-wide and can configure your new system remotely.

ESET Antivirus

Posted on by Danny Gill

ESET is here to secure your computers and devices, protect your precious data, and keep your company know-how safe. ESET Antivirus protects users just like you across 200 countries and territories worldwide, helping them to use and explore all the great opportunities of the Internet.

What does ESET stand for?

Essential Security against Evolving Threats

How does ESET Antivirus work?

Its antivirus engine uses advanced heuristics, machine learning, and cloud-based scanning to effectively detect and eliminate the latest malware threats without slowing down your computer.

Can ESET protect while web browsing?

Yes it can. The ESET Online Scanner runs from your web browser, checks for and (optionally) removes malware. ESET offers multiple layers of protection against malware and can prevent your computer from infection.

Can ESET help with Spam emails?

Yes it can! The Antispam engine available in various ESET products assigns a spam score to each email message it scans and uses that score to determine the course of action (deliver email, deliver to junk email folder, etc.).

Foresiight recommends ESET Antivirus. In recent years we have found ESET to be one of the most effective solutions for detecting and blocking threats.

For pricing or more information on ESET Antivirus email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

SMS Free Trial

SMS Free Trial

Posted on by Danny Gill

SMS Free Trial

SMS marketing is a vital part of getting your business’ name out there in the mobile-focused world we live in. In fact, most people use SMS every single day.

SMS is becoming an increasingly essential part of effective marketing in businesses today and it is a very cost effective solution.

SMS is a great way to keep in touch with your customers (and sometimes even suppliers). It is also essential to building your brand and is a great tool to use to send your customers exclusive deals, surveys, insider information & even run contests! 

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii includes functionality to send SMS messages directly from various parts of the system – not just for marketing, but also for Order fulfilment, Job completion notifications, and more.

SMS messaging that is integrated into your business management system is big driver of efficiency in business. A simple button click can save a lot of time spent on phone calls. And just as importantly, many consumers actually prefer this method of communication.

We are offering a free trial! If you would like to trial the SMS features in ProfiitPlus/Alchemii, contact us and we will setup your integration for free and give you a batch of SMS to send out to your customers.

Email or phone Foresiight on (07) 3356 2772 to get connected today.

Click here to read some more about integrated SMS functionality.

Foresiight Training Packages

Foresiight Training Packages

Posted on by Danny Gill

Well here are Foresiight we offer affordable and valuable training sessions for our valuable customers.

Are you a new user of ProfiitPlus or Alchemii, and want to get started on the right foot? Or perhaps you just feel like you need to brush up on your knowledge of certain parts of the system?

Standard training packages are now available for each of the following topics:

Bookkeeping/Accounting Introduction

This training session is designed to provide an overview of how to use the day-to-day accounting & bookkeeping facilities within the system.  Primarily focusing on the General Ledger module, we will also touch on the flow of information from other parts of the system.

Topics include:

General Ledger journals

Searching through GL transaction history

Making adjustments

Closing off periods and end of year roll-over

Bank reconciliations

Management reports incl. Balance Sheet and P&L

BAS

Chart of Accounts

Accounts Payable

This training session is designed to provide an overview of how to maintain Creditors and use the Accounts Payable facilities within the system.  Primarily focusing on the Accounts Payable module, we will also touch on the flow of information from other parts of the system.

Topics include:

Entering invoice batches

Updating supplier account details

Regular Creditor payments

Non-Creditor payments

Manual Creditor payments

Transaction matching

Balance adjustments

Reporting

Accounts Receivable

This training session is designed to provide an overview of how to maintain Debtors and use the Accounts Receivable facilities within the system.  Primarily focusing on the Accounts Receivable module, we will also touch on the flow of information from other parts of the system.

Topics include:

Account enquiries

Updating customer account details

Issuing account statements

Transaction matching

Balance adjustments

Invoice batches

Payment/banking batches

Reporting

Overdue accounts

Credit limit and credit hold

Training is delivered by a Foresiight Consultant either remotely (online), on-site, or at Foresiight’s training rooms in Brisbane. You will be able to have up to 2 participants that may attend.

Duration will vary depending on content and participants – Please allow between 1 and 2 hours.

All training packages are priced at $220 per session

Call us on (07) 3356 2772 or send us an email at support@foresiight.com.au to book in a training session.

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii Version 4.93 New Features

ProfiitPlus & Alchemii Version 4.93 New Features

Posted on by Danny Gill

Customer Notes

The Customer Notes system has been re-designed.  You will notice the notes are split into individual text bubbles which can be individually printed, edited, or deleted. There is a new feature to mark a note as Private, this will mean the note cannot be printed and can only be edited or removed by the creator of the note.
The list can be sorted oldest to newest and each note records date, time and user information.

The new notes functionality has been added to:

Admininstration | Edit Customers

Accounts Receivable | Enquiry

Loyalty | Member Maintenance

CRM | Customers and Enquiry

Maintenance Records | Enquiry | Jobs by Accounts

AR Enquiry Screen

New filtering options have been added to the Accounts Receivable Enquiry screen, to easily locate account transactions within a pre-defined date range – for example, the past 90 days. The list can also be filtered by transaction type, such as Invoices, Credits, Payments, or Adjustments.

Paperless Office documents are now highlighted in the A/R Enquiry grid in a new column named “Doc”, with an icon to indicate that this Invoice has a paperless office document directly attached. To easily access this attachment, right click with the mouse and select “Open Paperless Office”.

eCommerce

Download individual or a range of web orders

Orders can now be downloaded manually by a specified range of Order numbers, or for an individual Order number. This can be useful where an incomplete Order from a previous day was not collected in the normal automatic synchronisation processes. This feature is available via Download Orders in the Management Console.

Product Insights

The extended Product Information frame has been added in the Process eCommerce Orders screen. This displays all of the key details about the currently selected line item.

Customer Keyword Search

The Keyword Search function in Customer Lookup Lists throughout the system has been enhanced to become a “multi-word” search. This means that each word (or partial word) entered is treated as an individual search term that may be located anywhere within a Customer Code, Customer Name, Phone Number, or Address. This provides a simpler search mechanism for the operator and a more effective set of results.

For example, you might enter the search term “JANE BERS”. This would display any customer named Jane from the suburb of Berserker.

Item Detail info Panel

In the Display Item Details screen, a new information panel has been added along the bottom of each tab to display quantity Available, quantity on Purchase Order, and quantity on Sales Order.

Purchase Invoice Number length

The maximum size for a Purchase Invoice Number has been increased from 10 characters to 20 characters. This has been implemented throughout the system from Stock and Purchasing through to Accounts Payable with screens, reports and entry points all accommodating this increase in character length.

Paperless Office Copy and Paste

Copy and Paste support has been added to the Paperless Office subsystem – the user may now copy a file and paste it as Paperless Office attachment using the right-click menu. Drag and drop support has also been introduced.

Custom Fields

Where the Custom Stock Fields Add-on is licenced, there is a new property to add a document link. This is separate to the image link and will hold such document types as PDF, Excel, Word, Text, CSV and other file types.

Documents and files can be viewed directly from Display Item Details screen by clicking on the attachment link.

Did You Know? ProfiitPlus Integrated SMS Functionality

Did You Know? ProfiitPlus Integrated SMS Functionality

Posted on by Danny Gill
SMS Key features

SMS is a great way to keep in touch with customers (and sometimes even suppliers). ProfiitPlus/Alchemii includes functionality to send SMS messages from various parts of the system.

Before using SMS you need to register your system – please contact Foresiight Support and we can help set this up for you.

There are a number of areas that you can send an SMS from:

• Your Customer List in the CRM module

• The Sales Entry screen – when you update the status of a transaction (e.g. ready for pickup)

• The bulk marketing facility in CRM

• Loyalty module & more.

Email or phone Foresiight on (07) 3356 2772 to get connected today.

Status Code Setup

One of the most powerful ways to utilise integrated SMS is the Status Codes on Sales Documents.  You can setup status codes to text predefined messages to the customer, to keep them updated on the progress of their sale.  Go to Sales Orders & Invoicing | Sales | Settings | Enter/Edit Status Codes.  Select your status code to modify the SMS text and flag for an operator prompt:

Status Codes
Sending an SMS from the Sales Screen

Whether you are invoicing through Customer Relationship Module or Sales & Invoicing, you can utilise the SMS prompts on sales documents when setting or changing a document status.

Start your sale as normal and proceed to the Header Tab of your sales document.

ProfiitPlus SMS from Sales

Select your contact from the drop down list where applicable – this will allow SMS messages to be sent to the individual Contact’s mobile phone number instead of the primary customer mobile number.  Select your status from the “Status” drop down box.

If you have a predefined status setup (per above) you will automatically be prompted to send an SMS with a prefilled message, which you can review and edit before sending.

If you haven’t set predefined messages, you can simply click the “SMS” button beside the status at any time to send a custom message to the account or contact mobile number.

SMS Text

Enter your text message in the dialogue box and note the number of available characters at the bottom of the screen.  Note that your message must include an Opt-Out message, so this can not be removed.

Click OK to send your message.

Fore more information Email or phone Foresiight today on (07) 3356 2772 to find out more.

It’s easy to get started, and the only cost is for the SMS messages that you utilise.

Are you ready for June 30?

Are you ready for June 30?

Posted on by Danny Gill
END OF YEAR

Our support team has compiled a quick list of must-do items, reports and checks to ensure you don’t look back in coming months and realise you missed an important end of year step! For more information click the following link to view our User Guide on End of Year. https://foresiight.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003022467-End-of-Year

Things you can do NOW:

Run AR & AP reconciliation reports – Check these with the GL Balance and ensure that you are in balance.  If there is an imbalance between AR/AP and your General Ledger Control accounts, seek assistance straight away.  You can contact your accountant for advice, or book some consultancy time with our specialists.
Run AR/AP Sub Ledger Verification Reports – This is located in General Ledger | Reports and ensures that all batches posted from AP and AR have made it into your General Ledger.  As above, if you find an error here, seek advice asap or book a consultancy session.
Run Trial balance and ensure the movement columns balance – If an end of year close hasn’t been performed for the previous year, there can be an imbalance in the total columns, but your debit and credit movement columns should always balance.  Seek specialist advise if this is not the case.
Check Stock Valuation matches the GL Stock account – If you have been adjusting average stock values throughout the year and not adjusting the General Ledger to reflect this, you may need to do some end of year journals to bring this valuation back in line. This is best done after a full stocktake, unless you have been performing regular rolling stocktakes throughout the year.
Post all sales and purchase invoices – Ensure that all invoices are posted to AR and AP where possible.  If overnight posting is active you can let this run, or you can manually post sales so you can take your backup for the end of year.

Tasks to complete ON June 30

At the close of business, post all sales and purchase invoices where possible.  If you have overnight posting, ensure that you are able to take a backup after posting before trade starts for July 1.  You can manually post in Sales Orders & Invoicing | Sales | Update Sales & Payments.
Run your AR and AP Aged Balances Reports – These reports can’t be printed retrospectively so if you need these reports for your accountant, run them now – note that you can save them to PDF, Excel or Text for future use. It is a good idea to be doing this on a monthly basis in case you need to refer to previous months’ reports.
Run a Stocktake Valuation Report and save to PDF or Excel. Again, this cannot be run retrospectively, so it is a good idea to run this report at the end of each month and save a copy.
Update your AR Period – if your purchase invoices have been entered for June, you can also update your AP period, you can manually change the period on single invoices in Stock Receipting. NOTE: you may need to first open the 2021 financial year – just go to General Ledger | Periods | Open/Close Financial Periods and in the box in the lower right corner type 21 and click OK.
TAKE A BACKUP!  It is best to take a full backup of your data as at 30 June in case this is needed down the track.  It may also be a good time to copy to the training system, just in case you’ve forgotten to run any reports. You can copy to training in Administration | Other | Copy to Training System.
Archiving & Purging

Archiving & Purging

Posted on by Danny Gill

Over a period of time, a huge amount of historical data can accumulate within your ProfiitPlus/Alchemii database. Whilst the system is developed to efficiently handle very large numbers of transactions, some significant speed improvements in day-to-day processing can be achieved by archiving or purging unused data.

Certain data, such as financial movement and sales transactions, is very valuable for reporting on, learning from and benchmarking against for several years after its creation. But there are a lot of other examples of data that quickly diminishes in value as time passes, and in some cases may lay completely dormant for many years.

As an example, a record of completed Purchase Orders is useful to have for some time after each P/O is filled, but eventually this data becomes redundant and for most businesses is of little use after a couple of years.

The following Archiving & Purging options can be located in Administration | System | Archiving and Purging

To learn more about these processes, follow the link below to the Foresiight Support Centre and login with your credentials, or request a user name and password. Performing an Archive or a Purge can be quite daunting the first time (and even the tenth time!). This in-depth User Guide will explain each of the steps in detail.

https://foresiight.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001215056-Archiving-Purging

If you don’t feel comfortable enough to undertake this on your own, Foresiight can perform these tasks on your behalf at our standard hourly consultancy rate. We also offer the option of doing this after hours, when your users are out of the system.

For more information on Archiving and Purging and our other maintenance services, email Foresiight today at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

COVID-19 Information

COVID-19 Information

Posted on by Danny Gill

The world is going through an extraordinary time with the outbreak of COVID-19 and we all need to be strong and work together to contain the spread.

A large number of Australian businesses and their employees have already been impacted greatly, particularly in sectors such as travel, accommodation, and hospitality.

At the same time, we are seeing some better outcomes in other industries that have not been as heavily impacted – such as hardware & industrial supplies, landscaping supplies, irrigation, and wholesale.  Some industries, such as pharmacy, are even experiencing an upturn.

With that in mind, we all share a willingness to keep business running and the economy ticking over to the extent that is possible, whilst adhering strictly to social distancing guidelines and other important government recommendations.

We have provided some useful information and links below for your reference.

Economic Response to the Coronavirus

If you are operating a Business, there are a number of stimulus packages and other forms of assistance available to you.

Relief for commercial tenants

The Government has announced a mandatory code of conduct for commercial tenancies to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

JobKeeper Payment for employers and employees

Following registration by the eligible business, the Government will provide $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee for a maximum of 6 months.

Help with your energy bill

If you can’t pay your bill on time, you may be able to delay payment, pay your bill off in smaller amounts, and avoid disconnection.

Increased Instant Asset Write-Off

The Government has lifted this threshold to $150,000 for assets that are either installed or ready for first use by 30 June 2020.

Access to credit for small businesses

The Government will provide a guarantee of 50 per cent to small and medium enterprise (SME) lenders for new unsecured loans to be used for working capital.

Assistance to help pay the wages of apprentices or trainees

Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage paid during the 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.

ATO – Tax support

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is providing relief for some tax obligations for businesses affected by the outbreak.

Qld Government – Payroll tax relief

Measures include refunds of payroll tax for 2 months, a payroll tax holiday for 3 months, deferral of payments for 2020.

Support for Individuals and Households

If you are employed (self employed or other), you will want to take note of the Centrelink payments in case you are stood down in your position or made redundant. We have listed some links below for more information.

Increased and accelerated income support

The Government is temporarily expanding eligibility to income support payments and establishing a new, time-limited Coronavirus supplement to be paid at a rate of $550 per fortnight.

Early Access to Superannuation

Individuals affected by the coronavirus can access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21.

Australian Government The Treasury – Supporting Individuals and Households

The Australian Government is providing financial assistance to Australians to support them through the Coronavirus.

 

MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19

Australian Government World Health Organization

Department of social services

How can I prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Practising good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene and keeping your distance from others when you are sick is the best defence against most viruses. You should:
  • wash your hands frequently with soap and water, including before and after eating, and after going to the toilet
  • cover your cough and sneeze, dispose of tissues, and wash your hands
  • avoid contact with others (stay more than 1.5 metres from people)
  • stay at home if unwell.

Call the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The phone number of your state or territory public health agency is available at www.health.gov.au/state-territory-contacts
If you have concerns about your health, speak to your doctor.

 

A Positive Outlook

Please remember, our number one priority must be the health of ourselves and those around us.  But secondary to that is maintaining our livelihoods – we must remain positive, take advantage of the measures put in place to help, and believe that we will come out the other side of this and prosper as individuals, as businesses, and as a country.

Foresiight Joins Vela Australia

Foresiight Joins Vela Australia

Posted on by Danny Gill
Vela-Australia

Exciting news for Foresiight

I am excited to announce that effective from 1st March 2020, Foresiight Software became part of Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU), through its Vela Software Operating Group division. As part of the acquisition, Foresiight Software will operate as an independent company within Vela Australia and we will continue to service all our current customers across Australia.

What does this mean for you?
It will be business as usual but business beyond usual.

This is the beginning of a whole new world of opportunity. Backed by the global might of Constellation Software Inc. we will be looking to not only continue to service our customers but to grow the business, products and services even further to provide the best experience and a critical competitive edge for all our customers.

The strategic and operational support provided by Vela Australia will allow us to extend our market reach as well as facilitate future development and innovation that will deliver benefits and complementary new offerings.

We look forward to the ongoing successful growth of the company into the future and the continued strength of our ongoing business relationships with our customers, which are at the heart of what drives our business.

For further information on Vela and Constellation Software Inc, please visit www.velasoftwaregroup.com.au

Yours sincerely,
Steve Williamson
General Manager of Foresiight Software
Foresiight Server Maintenance

Foresiight Server Maintenance

Posted on by Danny Gill

Foresiight is a business services company.  Our focus is to help our clients’ businesses grow and become more profitable.

Our core service is providing the business management software that helps customers to achieve these goals.  However, we also provide other services such as Foresiight Server Maintenance.

Here at Foresiight we have a small team of technicians dedicated to maintaining and supporting the technology that you rely on to run your business – that is your servers. Our technical team services the south-east Queensland region with on-site maintenance and installations, as well as other parts of Australia with our remote technical services.

We take pride in our work and will not settle for anything less than complete customer satisfaction.

servermaint-1

Foresiight Server Maintenance

Our Foresiight technicians will monitor your server on a weekly basis and also includes an extensive monthly check. This includes tasks performed on your server (or servers) to ensure optimum performance.  Server Maintenance can also reduce the likelihood of unexpected downtime.

Our Weekly Server Maintenance Checks include:

  • Check backup results
  • Review virus activity and perform antivirus software updates
  • User security checks
  • Review hardware error logs
  • Review software / operating system error logs
  • Install operating system patches and updates
  • Monitor disk space and performance
  • Check that all users, groups, computer names, domain controllers are still current and being used

Our Direct Debit arrangement provides you with an affordable monthly payment option.

For more information on Server Maintenance email us at solutions@foresiight.com.au or call us on (07) 3356 2772.

StockMate version 1.22 major release

StockMate version 1.22 major release

Posted on by Danny Gill
Foresiight,-Our-Services_Product-Feature_Customer-Benefit,-Linkedin,31.07.19

StockMate version 1.22 has been released and some great new features have been added:

  • * Stock codes are now displayed in each of the list views, making it easier to differentiate between similar items rather than relying on just the product description.
  • * We removed the separate decimal entry box for quantities – now the user can instead just type in the decimal place when required.
  • * You can now see full product descriptions (both description lines 1 & 2) right throughout StockMate.
  • * In each of the list views you can now choose what sequence you would like your products to be displayed. Sequence by description, order of items being scanned or by stock code.

Numerous other improvements were released in StockMate v1.20 and v1.21, so be sure to speak to your Support Consultant to learn more if you haven’t already updated to the latest version.

Want more information on StockMate? Please contact us.

Protect Your Computers This Storm Season

Protect Your Computers This Storm Season

Posted on by Danny Gill
UPS protects from power failures

Are your computers protected from the threat of power failures?

We all know that when a bad storm hits it can cause power failures, which means any electrical appliances that are not on backup power will stop working immediately. This can potentially be damaging to your computer equipment, and can even result in data loss.  Added to this is the problem of POS systems going offline, and the ensuing scramble to revert to manual systems.

All of this can cost your business a lot of money in terms of damaged equipment and lost revenue.

Using high quality uninterruptible power supply (UPS) equipment can help protect your Servers & Workstations against damage from unexpected power failures or unclean power. UPS devices provide constant power backup to your system, ensuring that there is no interruption during short power outages and brown-outs. In the case of a complete black-out, the right UPS will allow you sufficient time to shut down safely during longer power outages.

Importantly, a good UPS will also filter out bad power fluctuations, protection your equipment from serious damage.

It really is vital to have your power protection in place before the summer storms begin to hit.  Foresiight can get your systems UPS-protected from as little as $198.

Contact us on 1800 061 670 for advice and pricing on the right UPS equipment for your business.

Know Your Backup

Know Your Backup

Posted on by Danny Gill

How Well Do You Know Your Backup Routine?

Many small business owners are not aware that they are not sufficiently protecting their business against data loss.  Simply backing up your data isn’t enough – do you review and monitor your backups and take a backup off site?

A good functioning backup allows a company to have piece of mind. It’s important to know you are protected not only when a malicious attack happens to the computer network, but also when a file is accidentally deleted or modified. A good working backup allows you to be up and running again with minimal downtime.

It is recommended that you not only perform your backup on a daily basis, but keep multiple versions of these backups. This will ensure that you can restore not only the file from the previous backup, but also an earlier version if required.

Backups should not remain in the same building as the data they are backing up. Your backup should be taken offsite, either by means of cloud hosted storage, or external drive/tape backups.

Foresiight have backup solutions to suit a range of budgets and requirements. If you would like to discuss backup options, or would just like some advice, don’t hesitate to call us on (07) 3356 2772.

Processing your End of Financial Year

Posted on by Danny Gill

The full user guide can be found in the Support Centre at www.ppsupport.com.au

End of  Financial Year

Step 1. Complete your normal end of month procedures.
Print your aged balance reports for Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.
For tax reasons, you will probably need a valuation of your stock at 30 June. You should print a
stock valuation report from Stock and Purchasing. For helpful hints on discrepancies and checking
the value of your product groups please see the End of Year User guide.
Ensure the Periods are changed for Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and General Ledger to
the beginning of the new financial year.

Step 2. Take a backup and store in a safe place as your End of Year backup.

Step 3. Generate any End of Financial year reports required by your accountant.
Remember to run the Financial Report Preparation before generating any General Ledger reports.
General Ledger | Reports | Financial Report Preparation
Preparing information for your accountant
1. If not done so already, make sure all batches relating to the financial year just finished have been
posted.
2. Run a report preparation (General Ledger | Reports | Financial Report Preparation) for the period
yy01 to yy12 (where yy = current financial year).
3. Print the General Ledger trial balance (General Ledger | Reports | Trial Balance).
This will only print a few pages.
The following two reports could print hundreds of pages. Your accountant may or may not
require them – you may like to consult him/her before you print. (They can be printed in future if
required, as long as you have not purged transactions).
4. Print the General Ledger audit trail (General Ledger | Reports | Transaction
Audit Report). Note – this is a huge report. In practice, most people do not print this.
5. Print the General Ledger (General Ledger | Reports | Print General Ledger).
Note – this is a huge report. In practice, most people only print this report for selected accounts as
requested by their accountant.
6. If your accountant wishes to see the transactions that make up the balance on individual
accounts, the Account Detail report is good for this.
We recommend that you do a year end close after preparing the reports for the accountant.
Go to General Ledger | Year End | Create Year End Closing Batch. This will create and post a
special “closing” General Ledger transaction batch.

Step 4. After you receive the final balance sheet from your accountant, you will need to
make some adjusting entries for the previous year, to bring your accounts into line with those they
have prepared. Your accountant should be able to assist you with this.
If you have created the Year End Close Batch you will need to run the Undo a Year End Close to
adjust the figures and then rerun Create Year End Closing Batch.
You can do this procedure as many times as you require

Helpful Tips for Stocktaking

Posted on by Danny Gill

Here are some helpful hints and reminders to make all that counting worthwhile.

  • Ensure that all Stock Receipts (Purchase Invoices / Delivery Dockets) have been entered, if those products are to be counted.
  • The optimal time to perform a Stocktake is outside of trading hours – it’s difficult to accurately count your stock when customers are walking around your store with a basket full!
  • Remember to set your Stocktake Freeze Point before you start counting. This takes a snapshot of the current quantity On Hand for all stock at this point in time. Later, when the Generate Stocktake Adjustment Batch process is initiated, this snapshot is what is used to determine the difference between your “theoretical” On Hand quantities and your “physical” counts in order to determine the required adjustment quantities.
  • Take note of committed stock (i.e. products that are on an incomplete Invoice or Jobcard):
         • Where the stock is committed prior to being counted, the committed quantity must be added onto the count.
         • Where the stock is committed after being counted, the committed quantity must be ignored
  • Use your StockMate Device! It will save a huge amount of time and reduce errors when compared to using paper-based Stocktake Worksheets.
  • If you generate an Interim Stocktake, any products that are not counted will not be adjusted.  If you wish to bring a product back to nil on hand, you will need to enter a Stock Count of zero.
  • Make use of the List of Items Without Count report – this will be useful when stocktaking by Supplier or by Product Group.
  • Check your Stocktake Discrepancy Report – it is advantageous to run your eyes over this report to ensure counts are accurate, double-checking any high value products as well as those with a large discrepancy to be adjusted.

The difference between Interim and Full Stocktakes.

Interim Stocktake – will adjust only items that are counted.
Full Stocktake – will adjust all items.  Items with a quantity on hand, but no count entered, will be adjusted back to zero.

*Always take a full backup of your system when processing a Full Stocktake

StockMate

Instant asset write-off increased

Posted on by Danny Gill

From the 2nd April 2019, the ‘Instant Asset Write-Off’ has increased to $30,000. This means that any capital purchases such as computer equipment/hardware and some software purchases can be instantly deducted if acquired between the 2nd April and 30th June in this financial year (rather than over the useful life of the asset).

Computer equipment such as servers, workstations, handheld devices, printers and scanners can all fall under the instant asset write-off.

Certain software purchases are also eligible, but the criteria is a little less clear-cut so we would advise speaking to your accountant about exactly what qualifies under the instant asset write-off.

For more information, see the below article published by the Australian Tax Office.

Instant asset write-off increased and extended

The threshold has increased to $30,000, and has been extended to 30 June 2020.

The instant asset write-off now also includes businesses with a turnover from $10 million to less than $50 million. These businesses can claim a deduction of up to $30,000 for the business portion of each asset (new or second hand), purchased and first used or installed ready for use from 7.30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019 until 30 June 2020.

Businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million can also claim a deduction for each asset purchased and first used or installed ready for use, up to the following thresholds:

  • $30,000, from 7.30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019 until 30 June 2020
  • $25,000, from 29 January 2019 until before 7.30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019
  • $20,000, before 29 January 2019.

Your business clients can’t immediately claim a deduction for individual assets that cost $30,000 or more. They can continue to deduct these over time using the small business pool or the general depreciation rules, depending on their turnover.

For the above article:  https://www.ato.gov.au/Tax-professionals/Newsroom/Your-practice/Instant-asset-write-off-increased-and-extended/

For details and examples of the instant asset write-off scheme: https://www.ato.gov.au/business/depreciation-and-capital-expenses-and-allowances/in-detail/depreciating-assets/simplified-depreciation—rules-and-calculations/

For info on deductible software: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Depreciation-and-capital-expenses-and-allowances/In-detail/Depreciating-assets/In-house-software/

 

Windows 7 & Server 2008/R2 End of Life in 2020

Windows 7 & Server 2008/R2 End of Life in 2020

Posted on by Danny Gill
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Microsoft Windows 7 & Server 2008/r2 will stop releasing security updates on the 14th January 2020.

What does this mean? Well Microsoft will stop releasing security updates. The products keep working, but you are now exposed to a whole world of security vulnerabilities.

As with Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows XP, there is a fair bit of panic and uncertainty surrounding this change. Industries seem to be particularly affected, as they prefer to cling onto stable operating system platforms for much longer than the general public.

Here are a few handy links in regards to end of life for Microsoft Windows 7 & server 2008/r2.

https://www.techradar.com/au/how-to/how-to-prepare-for-windows-7-end-of-life

https://community.connection.com/windows-sql-server-2008-2008-r2-end-life-coming-soon-now/

Did You Know? Browse Email Log

Did You Know? Browse Email Log

Posted on by Danny Gill

ProfiitPlus Tip of the Month

Would you like to check if your emails are being sent out of ProfiitPlus successfully? Well did you know you can do this in the system.

We have a Browse email log and correspondence feature in the ProfiitPlus System.

You can view the email log by going to the following:

ADMINISTRATION | SYSTEM | COMMUNICATIONS SETUP | BROWSE EMAIL LOG

In Browse Email Log you see what emails have been sent or undelivered. Under status your emails will either show a green S (sent) or a yellow U (undelivered).

 

You can also re-send an email from Browse Email Log, plus there is the option to purge old email log entries

all email log entries.

You can view the email log for a particular customer by going to the correspondence tab:

Go to CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP | CUSTOMERS

In your customers box you will see a correspondence tab near the top right corner.

This will show you the email log for an individual customer.