MicroKeySoftware,Inc.

Presents

ALARMS-1
Copyright 1998 Micro Key Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This software is protected by United States and Canadian copyright laws and by International treaty provisions. Micro Key Software, Inc. authorizes you to make a copy of the software for the sole purpose of backing up our software and protecting your investment from loss. Otherwise, it is illegal to make copies of the program and its related printed materials without the written permission of Micro Key Software, Inc. In particular, it is illegal to give a copy to another person or company. Published by Micro Key Software, Inc. Copyright 1998 All Rights reserved

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents....................................................................................................................................3 Getting Started......................................................................................................................................11
Minimum System Requirements.........................................................................................................................11 Files Maintenance................................................................................................................................................11 What Rules Do I Define First?............................................................................................................................12 The Command Line................................................................................................................................................13 General Setup......................................................................................................................................................14 1. Name and Address of Company..................................................................................................................14 2. Define Printer Information..........................................................................................................................14 3. Assign Default Reports Printer....................................................................................................................16

Accounts Receivable System................................................................................................................16

1. Terms of Company.......................................................................................................................................16 2. Enter Employee Information........................................................................................................................17 3. Classification (Tax) Codes...........................................................................................................................18 4. Sales Category Codes...................................................................................................................................19 Reserved Sales Codes.............................................................................................................................................20 5. Payment Types and Rates............................................................................................................................21 6. Re-Set Invoice Number................................................................................................................................24 7. Division Codes............................................................................................................................................24

Service Tracking System......................................................................................................................25

1. Work Order Number Set-Up........................................................................................................................25 2. Types of Service Category Codes................................................................................................................26 3. Warranty/Service Contract Codes................................................................................................................27 4. Default Work Order Phrases........................................................................................................................28 5. Alert Late Notice Days.................................................................................................................................30 6. Bill Services with Auto-Bill.........................................................................................................................32

General Subscriber Data......................................................................................................................33

1. Municipality Codes......................................................................................................................................33 2. Installed Equipment Codes...........................................................................................................................34

Central Station Data.............................................................................................................................35

1. Alarm Condition Abbreviations...................................................................................................................36 2. Message for Call List Form.........................................................................................................................36

Job Costing System...............................................................................................................................37

1. Jobs Type Category Codes..........................................................................................................................38 2. Labor Rate Information................................................................................................................................38 3. Assign Job Number Sequence......................................................................................................................38

Inventory Tracking System..................................................................................................................39

1. Enter Vendor Information............................................................................................................................39 2. Start Inventory Tracking..............................................................................................................................40 3. Add/Update Inventory Items........................................................................................................................41

Subscriber Information........................................................................................................................45
Entering Account Numbers.................................................................................................................................49 Using a Pop-Up Selection Box............................................................................................................................51 Entering Account Titles.......................................................................................................................................51 Automatic Billing Information...............................................................................................................................52

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Installed Equipment Information........................................................................................................53 New Subscriber File Entry...................................................................................................................55 General Subscriber Information..........................................................................................................63
Deleting Subscribers............................................................................................................................................63

Subscriber System Information...........................................................................................................64

Contracts Tracking System..........................................................................................................66

Add/Update Contract Item......................................................................................................................................66 Contract Information Report...................................................................................................................................68

Automatic Billing..........................................................................................................................69
Automatic Billing Setup.......................................................................................................................70
Payment Cycles Chart......................................................................................................................................73 Pro-Rating Recurring Revenue Bills................................................................................................................74

Bill Recurring Revenue........................................................................................................................77

Setting up your Default Settings.............................................................................................................................79 Printing to the Printer versus Printing to a File................................................................................................84

Dealer Billing for your Large Accounts..............................................................................................86

Setting Up the Records...........................................................................................................................................86 Creating your Dealer Billing style Recurring Revenue Invoices........................................................................87

Inserting Additional Charges on Recurring Billing...........................................................................88 Weekly Billing of Recurring Revenue.................................................................................................90

Initializing the Weekly Billing Feature..................................................................................................................90 Billing your Weekly Accounts............................................................................................................................90

Accounts Receivable Operations..................................................................................................93

Enter New Sales....................................................................................................................................94
Indicating Who (which Salesman) will get Credit for this Sale.......................................................................95 Enter a Sales Category Code............................................................................................................................95 Enter Tax Status of Item...................................................................................................................................96 Enter the Sale Date...........................................................................................................................................96 Completed Invoice Information..............................................................................................................................97 Entering a Deposit while Creating an Invoice........................................................................................................98 Special Commands on the Completed Invoice Information screen........................................................................99 Credit Memos....................................................................................................................................................100

Invoice Printing Menu........................................................................................................................101

Print All Un-Printed Invoices............................................................................................................................102 Setting your Invoice Printing Defaults..............................................................................................................103 Laser Printer Formats.....................................................................................................................................105 Non-Laser Printer Selections.........................................................................................................................106 Re-Print One or a Group of Invoices.................................................................................................................108 Subscribers Outstanding Invoices....................................................................................................................111 Invoice Printed as Installation Form..................................................................................................................112 List Invoices (Un-Printed or Months)..............................................................................................................113 Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices....................................................................................................................115 Make Copies of Print Files............................................................................................................................117

Post Payments Received.....................................................................................................................119

Search.............................................................................................................................................................119 Money.............................................................................................................................................................120 Overpayments.......................................................................................................................................................122

Amt2Post........................................................................................................................................................123 Deposit...........................................................................................................................................................124 Cancel-Chk - Canceling a Posted Payment....................................................................................................125 Choosing the right Payment Reversal Option................................................................................................127

Open Credits: Apply..........................................................................................................................130

Invoices..........................................................................................................................................................131 Credit..............................................................................................................................................................131 Applying the Credit Amount................................................................................................................................132 Reporting Pending and Applied Credits.........................................................................................................133

Draft Auto. Payments.........................................................................................................................134 Credits Issued......................................................................................................................................138 Month Ending Procedures.................................................................................................................139 Late Charge Assessments...................................................................................................................141

Accounts Receivable System......................................................................................................147 Reports........................................................................................................................................147

Ledger Card for Subscribers.............................................................................................................149 Accounts Receivable Report...............................................................................................................152 Subscriber Statements........................................................................................................................157
Statement Printings Default Choices...................................................................................................................158

Cash Receipts Report.........................................................................................................................162

Active Month Reporting.......................................................................................................................................163 Reconciling your Daily Deposit...........................................................................................................................164 Closed Month Reporting.......................................................................................................................................164 Summary by Batch Control Number....................................................................................................................165

Issued & Applied Credits...................................................................................................................166 Pending Credits & Deposits...............................................................................................................167 Bills: Pro-Rated & Service.................................................................................................................169 X-Port Collection Letters...................................................................................................................170
Menus, Menus, Menus..........................................................................................................................................172

Taxes Billed & Collected Menu..........................................................................................................173 Report of Taxes Actually Collected...................................................................................................173 Sales Taxes Invoiced by Class Code..................................................................................................176 Classification Code Sorted Invoices...................................................................................................178 By Tax Class by Sales Category.........................................................................................................179

Recurring Revenue Reports.......................................................................................................181

Average Recurring Revenue..............................................................................................................182 Preview Recurring Revenue...............................................................................................................184 Recurring Revenue Report.................................................................................................................186 Contracts Extended Values...............................................................................................................187

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Earned Rec. Revs. By Year................................................................................................................189 Deferred Rec. Revs Report.................................................................................................................191 Monthly Earned Rec. Revs.................................................................................................................194

General Data Lists and Labels...................................................................................................195

General Information List...................................................................................................................196 Print/List Subscriber Information.....................................................................................................198
Short Format Listing......................................................................................................................................198 Regular Format Listing..................................................................................................................................200

Label Printing Selections....................................................................................................................201 Installed Equipment List....................................................................................................................203

Monthly Sales Analysis Menu....................................................................................................204

Monthly Sales Analysis Report..........................................................................................................205 Sales Analysis Report for the Actual Receipts..................................................................................207 Receipts by Salesman for Sales Category Codes..............................................................................208 By Salesman by Sales Category with the Detail................................................................................209 Tax Classification Sorted Taxes Invoiced Data................................................................................210 Invoice Listing with Detail for an Open Month................................................................................211 History of Sales for an Individual Subscriber...................................................................................212 Employee Sales Sorted by Sales Category Code...............................................................................213 Year to Date (or Closed Month) Sales Analysis................................................................................215 On Line Date Reported by Salesman Code Entered........................................................................216

Draft Automatic Payments Menu..............................................................................................217

Automatic Bank Draft Entry.............................................................................................................218 Post Automatic Bank Drafts..............................................................................................................219 List Automatic Bank Drafts...............................................................................................................220

Inventory Tracking System........................................................................................................221

How to Start Inventory Tracking......................................................................................................222
About Your Options.............................................................................................................................................222 Starting Procedures...............................................................................................................................................223

Enter Vendor Information.................................................................................................................224 Add/Update Inventory Item...............................................................................................................225

Assigning Part Codes............................................................................................................................................225 About Kits.............................................................................................................................................................226

Start Inventory Tracking...................................................................................................................228

Identifying the Master Inventory File for Multiple Company Users....................................................................229

Inventory Received / Adjusted...........................................................................................................230

Inventory Tracking Reports.......................................................................................................231

On-Hand Inventory Report................................................................................................................232 Re-Order Inventory Report...............................................................................................................233 Usage of Inventory by Group.............................................................................................................234 Kits On-Hand / Re-Order Report......................................................................................................235 By Technician Usage Report..............................................................................................................236 Using the Inventory Tracking System Daily Operations..............................................................237
Enter the Quantity of Inventory Received............................................................................................................237 Enter the Quantity of Inventory Used...................................................................................................................237 Re-order Inventory as Required............................................................................................................................237 Analyze the Results..............................................................................................................................................238

Job Costing System.....................................................................................................................239

Starting the Job Costing System........................................................................................................240 Jobs Type Category Codes................................................................................................................241 Assign Job Number Sequence............................................................................................................241 Labor Rate Information.....................................................................................................................241 Enter New Jobs & Expenses...............................................................................................................243
Entering your Job Cost Information.....................................................................................................................243 Entering the Job Cost Detail.................................................................................................................................246

How to mark a Job as Completed......................................................................................................247

Report on Job Information.........................................................................................................248

Job Cost Reports Getting the Results.............................................................................................249
Defining your Job Cost Reports Parameters...................................................................................................249 Choosing the right Job Cost Information report...................................................................................................250 Alphabetic (by Subscriber) Job Cost Report.....................................................................................................250 Job Expenses/Profits Report by Job Number....................................................................................................250 Salesman Order Job Expenses/Profit Report.....................................................................................................250 Crew Code Order Job Expenses/Profit Report..................................................................................................250 Types Limited Job Expenses/Profit Report.......................................................................................................251 Booked and Job Costed Sales by Month Report...............................................................................................251 List All Jobs using a Short Report Format........................................................................................................251

Tools Tracking System...............................................................................................................252

Install New Tool Category....................................................................................................................................253 Tool Tracking Maintenance..................................................................................................................................253

Tools Tracking Reports Menu...........................................................................................................255

Tools by Code and Location.................................................................................................................................255 Report of Tools by Site.........................................................................................................................................255 Year-End Valuation Listing..................................................................................................................................255 Deleted Tool Listing.............................................................................................................................................255

Service Tracking System...........................................................................................................257

Setting your Companys Service Tracking Parameters...................................................................258
Alert Late Notice Days......................................................................................................................................259 Bill Services with Auto-Bill.................................................................................................................................259 Default Work Order Phrases.................................................................................................................................261 Recurring Fire Alarm Inspection Requirements...................................................................................................263

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Write Up Service Requests.................................................................................................................264

Special Command Line choices............................................................................................................................265 Special Function Key Choices..............................................................................................................................266 Entering Service Request Information..................................................................................................................268

General System Information..............................................................................................................270 Print Service Request Forms..............................................................................................................271

Selecting Which Work Order(s) to Print..............................................................................................................274

Completed Service Requests..............................................................................................................276

Packing Files to Reclaim Disk Space...................................................................................................................278

Look Up Service Histories..................................................................................................................279 Recurring Service Requirements.......................................................................................................280

Service Tracking Reports Menu.................................................................................................284

Report of Services Performed............................................................................................................286 Technicians Performance Report......................................................................................................287 Service History Report.......................................................................................................................289 Annual Inspections Due......................................................................................................................290 No Service Since Report.................................................................................................................291 Eligible for a Service Contract...........................................................................................................294 Determine Excessive Services.............................................................................................................295 Installed Equipment Listing...............................................................................................................296

Maintenance of Vehicles Menu.................................................................................................297

Vehicle Maintenance Tracking..........................................................................................................298
An Overview.........................................................................................................................................................298

Maintenance Cycle Rules...................................................................................................................299 Enter Vehicle Information.................................................................................................................300 Get Vehicle Mileage List.....................................................................................................................301 Services Required Report...................................................................................................................301

Special Operations & Procedures..............................................................................................303

General Ledger Linking Set-Up.........................................................................................................304
What to do After the General Ledger Linking has been Completed....................................................................307

Update Pay Rates by Pay Type Code................................................................................................310 Purge Records Permanently...............................................................................................................312 Change Account Numbers Screen.....................................................................................................313
Changing Billing Address or Service Status and its Effect on the Subscribers Balance....................................314

Sales Tax Rate Increases....................................................................................................................319 Edit Pro-Rated and Service Bills.......................................................................................................320 History Conversion Utility.................................................................................................................321

Universal Look-Up Utility..................................................................................................................322

Appendix.....................................................................................................................................325
Appendix A Automatic Dialing.......................................................................................................325
Using the Automatic Dialing Feature...................................................................................................................326 Resetting the Automatic Dialing Feature.............................................................................................................326

Appendix B Backup Procedures.....................................................................................................329

What should I Backup?.........................................................................................................................................329 How Often should I Backup?...............................................................................................................................330 How do I Backup?................................................................................................................................................331 What Backup Methods are available and acceptable?..........................................................................................332 Even-Odd Daily/Weekly/Monthly Backup Method.............................................................................................335 Backup Commands...............................................................................................................................................336 Introducing MSBACKUP.....................................................................................................................................337 "TEACHING AN OLD DOG A NEW TRICK" METHOD................................................................................340

Appendix C Your Countrys Definitions - for our International Users .....................................343 Appendix D Database Structures....................................................................................................347 Appendix E Printer Selection and Management...........................................................................361
An Overview of Printer Setup..............................................................................................................................361 Defining Your Printers.........................................................................................................................................362

Normal Printing Procedure................................................................................................................366 Appendix F Filters: Special Selection Criteria..............................................................................369

Predefined Filters..................................................................................................................................................369 Defining a Filter Creating Your very Own Special Selection Criteria..............................................................370 Subscriber (and Prospect in PROS-1) Database Structures...........................................................................372 Field Comparitives - .and. .or. .not. ..................................................................................................................375 Syntax Considerations..........................................................................................................................................376

Appendix G Starting with a New Subscriber..................................................................................379

Entering a SubscribeR: From Start to Finish........................................................................................................379 Updating a Subscriber record for Service Tracking.............................................................................................380 Opening a New Subscriber File............................................................................................................................381

Appendix H - Special Configuration Tips.........................................................................................385

Single Computer Users:........................................................................................................................................385 Novell Network Users:......................................................................................................................................385 Lantastic Network Users:.....................................................................................................................................386 Editing a Configuration File.................................................................................................................................387

Appendix I Installing Upgrades......................................................................................................389

To install the Upgrade Disks onto your computer...First.....................................................................................389 Multiple Companies..............................................................................................................................................389

Appendix L - Lantastic Printer Information....................................................................................393

Networking Printers with Lantastic......................................................................................................................393 Lantastic Printer Installation.................................................................................................................................394

Appendix P Passwords Instructions...............................................................................................405

Creating Menu by Menu Access and individual User Names and Passwords..................................................405 Accessing Menus by Password ............................................................................................................................407 Passwords by Company........................................................................................................................................408 Passwords with Command Access Levels defined...............................................................................................408 Identifying the Last User to Modify a Record......................................................................................................409

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Special Passwords used throughout ALARMS-1.............................................................................................409

Index............................................................................................................................................411

M I C R O

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Getting Started Lets Go!

Minimum System Requirements You must have the right computer. You will need an 80386 or higher with at least 2 Megabytes of RAM and a Hard Drive with a minimum of 100 Megabytes of free space. Any new computer that runs DOS or Windows will accommodate this system. You will also need an Epson compatible dot matrix printer or an HP compatible Laser printer. Files Maintenance

There are some things that must be done before entering your Subscribers and beginning to take advantage of the power of ALARMS1 . These start up operations are completed in the Files Maintenance program supplied with ALARMS1 . To run this Files Maintenance program, from the DOS prompt type FILES and press Enter. Sign on with your User ID and Password (by default the User ID is MANAGER and PASSWORD is your password). Network Users must first make the drive where the program is installed the default drive. Change to the \alarms directory ( cd\alarms). Type ANET-F and press Enter. Your Network Administrator may create a Menu selection to access this program.

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This Files Maintenance Menu presents an array of choices used at various times to properly set up the rules that you want this program to follow. You cannot use the program without first creating these (your) rules. In some cases we have supplied some sample rules. What Rules Do I Define First? To ensure a consistent data entry pattern, certain things must be pre-defined in this system. You certainly wouldnt want a specific piece of Installed Equipment, Type of Sale, Employee or a Police Department referred to several different ways - based on the whim of the current operator performing the data entry. To prevent this type of data anarchy, Codes (think of them as abbreviations) are established for certain types of information. The operator uses these Codes to represent the information rather than typing out the information itself. General Setup rules define your Printer access and your Company Name. Accounts Receivable rules govern entering Sales, assigning salesman codes, establishing Sales Taxing requirements, your companys Name and return Address, recurring revenue Pay Rates, payment Terms and your starting Invoice number. Service Tracking System rules govern how you will categorize Service Calls, identifies Technicians and sets your starting Work order number. Central Station Data rules govern alarm Conditions that will be identified, your Call List verification report format, Central Station Operators (if you employ them) and the information for Police and Fire department responses. Job Costing rules are established later in the Tracking Inventory System and Job Cost Information menu selections.

Once you have decided which part of this ALARMS1 system you want to start first, go to its specific Your First Steps section. These Your First Steps instructions will present everything that must be done to use that set of program features. These will be presented in the order listed above.

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THE COMMAND LINE

Most of the screens into which you may enter information have a Command Line of choices at the bottom. This Command Line indicates the actions you may take on the information presented on that current screen.
Figure 1 The Command Line

By pressing the First Letter of the word for the desired action (or, using your cursor keys to move to the word representing your desired action and then pressing Enter) that action will be started. Pressing Page Down while Adding or Modifying a record will stop that action and you will be asked if you want to save your work.

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General Setup

Your First Steps

1. Name and Address of Company

Who are you? Whenever a Report is printed or a plain paper Invoice, Statement or Work Order is printed, you will want your company identified. To do so, from the Files Maintenance Menu select Name & Address of Company and enter your Company Name as you would want it to appear on Reports and Invoices.
Figure 2 Name & Address of Company

Then enter the Address, Telephone, Fax number, etc. that you would want to appear at the top of an Invoice or Statement as your companys Return Address. Press Page Down when you are finished if you have not returned to the Files Maintenance Menu.
Figure 3 Company Address Information

2. Define Printer Information

Where are your Printers? How many Printers are available? From the Files Maintenance Menu select the Other Files Utilities Menu and choose Define Printer Information. If you are using ALARMS1 on a single computer running DOS and see the following screen with LPT1 LOCAL WORKSTATION PRINTER defined, you are finished. Choose Quit to exit to the Other Files Utilities Menu.

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In all other cases, particularly when this system is installed on a Network, choose Re-Set (the Password is OK2RESET) to reset the system to the screen shown below.
Figure 4 Printer Definitions

If you are using a Network to share Printers (Programs and Files) among several Work Stations, depending on which Network you are using, follow the directions below: Novell Networks: You are finished. The program loaded all of your Network Printer definitions automatically and all you need is to Assign your Default Reports Printer (see below). Windows Networks: You are finished. The program uses whatever printer is defined as your Default Printer in the Windows Desk Top| My Computer|Printers settings. All you need is to Assign your Default Reports Printer (see below) as the LPT1 LOCAL WORKSTATION PRINTER. Lantastic (and similar Peer-to-Peer Networks): You are not finished. 1. All shared Printers must be accessed using the same Port Identifier (i.e., LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) from all Workstations. 2. Once you have performed that redirection within your Network, then simply Modify the Printer Name for LPT1..LPT3 to match what is installed on your Network.

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3. We suggest you use LPT1 as your personal (Local) printer and LPT2-LPT3 as the Network Printer(s). 4. Finally, you will need is to Assign your Default Reports Printer (see below) as the LPT1 LOCAL WORKSTATION PRINTER or whatever is universally normal for your network.
3. Assign Default Reports Printer

You must select the Default Workstation Printer for each computer using the software. Why? What printer do you normally want to use? Do you want that printer to be normally selected as your Default Printer? To do so, from the Files Maintenance Menu select Assign Default Reports Printer . If you are using a single computer with just one printer attached, assign your Default Reports Printer as LPT1. If you are using a single computer with more than one active printer port in use, assign your (preferred) Default Reports Printer. If you are using a Novell Network, you must assign your Default Reports Printer, the one you will normally use. This will be done at EVERY Workstation. Otherwise, assign your Default Reports Printer as the most commonly used Network Printer.

Accounts Receivable System

Your First Steps
1. Terms of Company

When your Company makes a Sale and so creates an Invoice for that Sale, that Invoice is assigned a Sale Date and a Due Date. The difference between these two is your Companys Terms of Sale (i.e., 30 Days, 10 Days, Due on Receipt of Invoice, When you get around to it).

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Figure 5 Setting your Company s Terms of Sale

If you want your Invoices to state that they are Due Upon Receipt, enter a zero (0). We do not recommend this because all Invoices are immediately Past Due the moment they are created. Normally you will provide Terms of 10, 15, or 30 Days from the Invoice Date before you consider the Invoice to be Past Due. Enter the number of Days you will allow for payment. Once you have entered the appropriate number, save it.

Figure 6 Save the Company Terms

2. Enter Employee Information

Each Subscriber is assigned an Employee Code representing the Sales Person responsible for that customer. It may be the Sales Person who originally sold the account or someone subsequently assigned to that account. Later, you will also use Employee Codes to identify Technicians who have completed Work orders, and (optionally) Operators who have processed alarms. To enter your Companys Employee Information, from Maintenance Menu select Enter Employee Information. the Files

Create Employee Codes based on the Employees Initials and complete the remaining information as shown. Press Page Down when finished. Save the record when requested.

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Figure 7

3. Classification (Tax) Codes

Taxes - They are inescapable. And as a Company, Sales Taxes are worse because you have to Pay them and Collect them from other people, as well. If you NEVER charge Sales Tax, you must identify a single Taxing Authority with a Tax Classification Code of X and a Description of NON TAXABLE SALES. That Classification Code (X) must be assigned to each Subscriber record. If you charge Sales Tax on anything, create a Tax Classification Code for each Sales Taxing Authority for whom you must collect that Sales Tax.

To identify your Sales Taxing Authorities, from the Files Maintenance Menu select Classification (Tax) Codes. Add as many Tax Classification Code records as required to identify all Sales Taxing Authorities to whom you remit Sales Taxes. In some areas different rates of sale tax are assessed for different types of products or services. If the Taxing Authority has implemented multiple rates of sales tax, enter the most commonly used rate as Rate #1 and the other rates below that.

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In some states, different rates of sales tax are charged depending on the Subscribers location within that state. If there are no more than three such rates, enter them as Rate #1..#3. If there are more rates than three percentage rates, or separate reporting requirements necessitate a separated breakdown, define a Tax Classification Code for each County (or whatever governmental authority requires it). If you do business in several states and each requires you to charge Sales tax, make a Tax Classification Code record for each state.
Figure 8 Defining Tax Classification Codes

A Tax Classification Code must be assigned to each Subscriber record.

4. Sales Category Codes

Whenever a Sale is made an Invoice must be created to record that Sale. Invoices may have any number of items on them. Each item on an Invoice is assigned a Sales Category Code.

ALARMS1can report sales sorted by these Sales Category Codes.

To define the Sales Category Codes you will use, from the Files Maintenance Menu select Sales Category Codes. Enter the Code, Description and (if there is one) the usual price charged for the service being defined. Any Sales Category Code that begins with NOTE will be considered just that. A Comment Line on an Invoice, having no value and not to be reported.

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R E S E R V E D S A L E S C O DE S
Certain Sales Category Codes are RESERVED for a particular purpose. These Reserved Sales Codes may not be used for any purpose other than that specified below. These Reserved Sales Codes are used to denote a Finance Charge (sometimes referred as a Late Fee), a generic Parts Code, a generic Note designator which is used to create an Operator defined Note Line on an Invoice, and for all of your Recurring Revenue Sales Categories. Recurring Revenue Sales Category Codes are labeled R-1 through R99. NEVER use R- (that is an R followed by a Dash) for anything but a Recurring Revenue Sales Category Code. In addition, all Recurring Revenue Sales Category Codes must be labeled one to 99 (as in R-1, R-2, R-3..R99). The Reserved Sales Category Codes are: F/C FINANCE CHARGES NOTE P R-1..99 (With No Description or NOTE1..NOTE99 with Descriptions) PARTS :

RECURRING REVENUE ITEMS

Figure 9 Sales Category Codes

A Sales Category Code may be up to six characters in length. Its Description may be up to 35 characters. When a Sales Category Code is used in

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the Enter New Sales screen, the Description and default Price (if one has been entered) are displayed automatically. The NOTE Sales Category Codes begin with NOTE and are followed by one or two letters, numbers or punctuation marks entries may be up to 70 characters in length. If you do not want to include an item on Sales Analysis Reports grouped by Salesman, answer Yes (Y) to the Exclude from Employee Sales Report question. If youre no longer using a Sales Category Code and want to eliminate it from the list, use the Combine command to combine its transactions with another (typically Misc.) category code. If you are linked to the General Ledger System GL-1 then you will also be required to enter the General Ledger Sales Account number for this type of Sale.
5. Payment Types and Rates

When you define your Subscribers Automatic Billing Data, you will assign a Pay Rate(s) to the specific service(s) being billed to that Subscriber. Subscribers sign up for these services at different times. Subscribers may be billed different amounts for the same services. If you wanted to Increase the Pay Rate for a specific group of Subscribers paying a certain price to the Pay Rate being paid by another Subscriber group, it would be quite tedious and time consuming. To make the task of Pay Rate Maintenance much easier, you will define Payment Types (codes) with their corresponding Pay Rates (amounts) and then give each Automatic Billing record one of these defined Payment Types and Rates codes. These Pay Type Codes will represent a specific group of Subscribers paying either: 1. A Specific Amount that later may be increased by a specific Amount. 2. Any Amount that later may be increased based on a Percentage of Increase. Whenever you want to change the Pay Rate of a specific Group of Subscribers, based either on an increase to an exact Amount or based on a Percentage Increase, you would change that Pay Rate or Percentage Rate on this screen. Indicate that an Update should be processed. Then choose Update Pay Rates by Pay Type Code in the Other Files Utilities Menu to globally enforce that increase.

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To define these Payment Types and their corresponding Pay Rates or Percentages, from the Files Maintenance Menu select Payment Types and Rates. First, choose whether you will be entering Codes and related information for Rate based increases or Percentage based increases.
Figure 10 Define By Percentage versus By Pay Rate selection

Rate Based Increases require a Payment Rate Code, the Amount per month this code represents, and a brief Comment about the purpose of this Pay Rate Type code.
Figure 11 Pay Rates Increased by Amount

Percentage Based Increases require a Payment Rate Code, the Percentage that this Subscriber group will be increased by, and a brief Comment about the purpose of this Rate code.
Figure 12 Pay Rates Increased by Percentage

Once you have completed your entry, you must save the information.
Figure 13 Save the Pay Rate entry

After Saving the record, you will be asked if this entry should be considered a pending Active Update Request for your Recurring Revenue Files. Unless you

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answer Yes (Y) to this question, the Update Pay Rates by Pay Type Code procedure in the Other Files Utilities Menu will skip this particular Pay Rate code when processing rate increases (see Update Pay Rates by Pay Type Code).
Figure 14 Setting the Update Pay Rate status

Answering Yes to this question will not cause this rate to be increased globally. It will simply notify the Recurring Revenue System that this item is eligible for increase when the Update Pay Types and Rates process is executed later.

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6. Re-Set Invoice Number

Figure 15 Set Invoice Number

Your Invoice Numbering may start at 1 and end at 999,999. We suggest you dont start your Invoice Numbering at either. Once you set the starting point, the system will supply Invoice Numbers when you (or it) creates a new Invoice. Invoice numbers are not skipped or deleted. If you Delete an Invoice, its Invoice number is recorded as a Canceled Invoice. To set the starting point for your Invoice Numbering sequence select Re-Set Invoice Number in the Files Maintenance Menu.. Press Modify and enter the Next Invoice Number to be used. Press Page Down and Save the entry. If, because of some hardware failure or other anomaly you must re-set the Invoice Numbering sequence, be sure that the OK field is marked Yes (Y) and the Hold field is marked No (N). See Subscriber Information and Using the Accounts Receivable System sections shown later in this manual.

7. Division Codes

If your Company has more than one Office (Division) providing services to your Subscribers. You have the Subscribers in that Division mail their payments to that Divisions address rather then to your home office. However, all of the accounting transactions are actually done at your home offices location. If this is the case, you may want to implement the Division Codes feature.

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By assigning a Division Code to a Subscriber you are telling the system to print a different Return Address on any Invoice, Statement or Work Order created for that Subscriber (than the one youve defined in the Name and Address of Company screen). From the Files Maintenance Menu select the Other Files Utilities Menu and choose Name and Address of Divisions.
Figure 16 Define Division Codes

Enter a one or two character Division Code and then enter the Name and Address information as you did when entering the Name and Address of Company information originally.

Service Tracking System

Your First Steps
This section assumes that you have already completed Your First Steps which are explained in the Getting Started: Accounts Receivable System section of this manual. If you have not done so, you must complete the following steps explained in that section. 1. Name & Address of Company so your work orders have the proper company information printed on them. 2. Enter Employee Information so you can identify all of your Technicians.
1. Work Order Number Set-Up

Service Tracking requires Work Orders. Work Orders require Numbers to keep track of them. To assign your Work order Numbering sequence, in the Files Maintenance Menu select Work Order Number Set-up.

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Figure 17 Set Next Work Order Number

Work Orders may be numbered from 1 to 99,999. Enter the starting Work Order Number you wish to use and Save the entry. Thereafter the system will assign Work Order numbers sequentially.
2. Types of Service Category Codes

How many Warranty Calls have we made this week? How many Call Backs have you done this week to re-fix something? How many Pre-wire trips have you made this week? How many Paid Labor service calls have you completed this week? How many To be able to answer these questions, your Work Orders must be categorized when they are entered (or completed). By doing so, the system will be able to sort the Completed Work Orders into groups thereby providing this type of information. The Types of Service Categories you wish to track are identified by defining Types of Service Category Codes found in the Other Files Utilities Menu selected from the Files Maintenance Menu.

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Figure 18 Defining Service Category Codes

The Service Category Code shown in the illustration above MUST BE DEFINED. It is used to identify a completed Work Order for an Annual Inspection of a Subscribers (alarm) system. Many others may be defined also. The list below suggests some additional standard Service Category Codes that you may want to use. AIBC RECL SERV WARR ADD1 SVCT INST PREW DOWN Annual Inspection & Battery Check Recall to re-Repair item Paid Service Call Warranty Related Services Add on to existing system Service Contract Coverage Installation of Ordered System Pre-Wire Installation Download Procedure

3. Warranty/Service Contract Codes

Extended Warranties and Service Contracts come in many varieties. If your company offers any type of Extended Service Agreements, you will need to establish Codes and Descriptions for them unless the only choices you offer are Yes (Y) they have full service extended warranty coverage and No (N) they pay for whatever repairs are required. If you offer a Parts Only, Labor Only, Full Service and maybe Annual Inspections Only types of Extended Service Agreements then these must be categorized. To do so, from the Files Maintenance Menu select the Other

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Files Utilities Menu and choose Warranty/Service Contract Codes. Warranty/Service Code is assigned to each Subscriber.
Figure 19 Extended Warranty and Service Contract Codes

Add as many as required. Be sure to enter a code for No (N) with the appropriate Description such as PAYMENT REQUIRED UPON COMPLETION because the Description for the Warranty/Service Code assigned to a Subscriber appears on all of that Subscribers Work Order(s).
4. Default Work Order Phrases

The standard Work Order has wording printed on it that you may want to Modify. We suggest you initially use the default wording. Once you have printed several Work orders and gotten feedback from its users, carefully plan your Default Work Order Phrases. To Modify the default phrases from the Main Menu of ALARMS1select the Service Tracking System and then choose Default Work Order Phrases. Each section of the Work Order that has User Definable Phraseology will be displayed. Carefully compare the Default Work Order Phrase displayed with your revised script. Be sure that it will fit in the space provided and is an appropriate statement to replace the default phrase. Each Work Order section will be detailed below with the default phrases shown and comments as to their purpose. 1. Signature Line Text. This is the statement that appears above the place where the Subscriber signs for the service when it is completed.

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Figure 20 Signature Line Phrases

2. Payment Information Text. Depending on the Subscribers Warranty or Service Contract Status and your companys description of an Extended Warranty Agreement you may want to modify the Extended Warranty Agreement line and the Warranty Coverage line.
Figure 21 Payment Information Phrases

3. Office Use Only sections Text. This is the area associated with the Extended Warranty and Payments Requirement sections of the Work Order. Depending on what types of Extended Warranty Agreements you provide, you may want to Edit the If They are Covered by a Warranty section. This will allow you to reference the appropriate Warranty Coverage Phrase that will be printed below the Subscriber Signature Line. This Warranty Coverage Phrase will be the Description assigned to the Extended Warranty Code which you have assigned to this specific Subscriber.

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The Extended Warranty Agreement Coverage line may also need the same type of editing to reference the Warranty Coverage Phrase if you have defined your own types of Extended Warranty Codes. (See Warranty/Service Contract Codes above.)
Figure 22 Phrases used at the Bottom of the Work Order

Once you have finished editing these phrases, save your entries.
Figure 23 Save revised Work Order Phrases

5. Alert Late Notice Days

How many times have you sent a Technician to a Subscribers premises for a Service Call when they hadnt yet paid for the last one (or for their Monitoring, etc.)? You can be given a No Service Warning on Past Due Subscribers when Service Requests are created.
Figure 24 Past Due Reminder Setup

This feature will remind your operator when they Write Up a Service Request that the Subscribers Account is Past Due. From the Service Tracking System Menu select Alert Late Notice Days and enter the number of Days Past Due that Subscriber must be before the Operator receives a No Service Warning. An example of that Warning appears below.

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Figure 25 Past Due Warning Message

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6. Bill Services with Auto-Bill

After a Service Call is Completed, usually less that 50% have to be billed for those Services because of Warranty obligations, New Installations of pre-paid Pre-Wire agreements. For those that do need to be billed, most require a very simplistic Invoice - basically one that refers to the Services performed, the Work Order Number assigned, the Date of Service and a Charge for the service(s) that were provided. Those few Service Calls that require a detailed Time and Materials type of billing must be Invoiced through the Accounts Receivable System in its Enter New Sales screen. For the majority that can be billed with the simple format described above, you may have the system automatically bill these calls by allowing it to Bill Services with Auto-Bill found in the Service Tracking System Menu.
Figure 26 Auto-Bill Password Entry.

Enter the Password to allow access to this feature (see the Password Maintenance Section in Appendix P for this password).
Figure 27 Allow the use of the Auto-Bill feature

Indicate that you want to allow the Auto-Bill process.

Figure 28 Enter Service Billing Sales Category Code

Enter the Sales Category Code that will be used for these Invoices.
Figure 29 Save the entry

Save this entry. See Subscriber Information and Using Service Tracking System later in this manual.

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General Subscriber Data

Your First Steps
This program, is one of the most powerful Accounts Receivable Systems available, and also a Data Management System. Virtually all of your data revolves around your Subscribers. Once you have started using the Accounts Receivable System and Service Tracking System in the ALARMS1 program, you should build your database. Make you files computer files not paper files whenever possible. Paper gets lost but computers rarely do, and if they do (get stolen or break), restoring a Backup regenerates your files. You cant do that with paper. You can record virtually any important piece of information about your Subscribers in this system. This section assumes you have completed Your First Steps in the Getting Started: Accounts Receivable System and Service Tracking System sections of this manual. If you have not done so, you must complete the following steps explained in those sections.

1. Name & Address of Company so your Invoices, Statements, Reports and Work Orders have the proper company information printed on them. 2. Enter Employee Information so you can identify the Subscribers Sales Person. 3. Classification (Tax) Codes to specify the Sales Tax Rules for a Subscriber who is subject to Sales Tax. 4. Warranty/Service Contract Codes to identify any Extended Warranty arrangements you have with your Subscribers.
1. Municipality Codes

Police, Fire and Ambulance response information is stored in a central place. Each Subscriber is assigned a Municipality Code that attaches the Subscriber to its related Emergency Response information. These Municipality Codes that represents this response information are entered through the Files Maintenance Menu in the Municipality Information screen. By having a central place for this response information, if a response telephone number changes, by changing it on the Municipality Information screen, it will be changed on all related Subscriber records.

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The Municipality Code may be 1 to 3 characters in length and include Letters, Numbers and some punctuation. If you have only a few towns to record, use initials to represent these areas. If you have many areas to enter, consider using the first letter or two of their names and follow that by a number (e.g., if using two letters, 1..9; or if using only one letter and two numbers, 01..99). Once you have chosen your Coding method, be consistent. Enter the Name and Address of the Municipality and the name of each response type available. Note that Registration and Permit requirements may be recorded for informational purposes only.
Figure 30 Enter Emergency Response Information

2. Installed Equipment Codes

What have you installed in the Subscribers system(s)? You may record as much or as little detail in this area as you deem necessary. As you do so, instead of typing out the long name of a particular key piece of installed equipment, create Codes representing that equipment and in this manner, you will only need to enter the code - the code will supply the description.

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Figure 31 Installed Equipment Codes

To enter the Codes and descriptions for each type of equipment you install, from the Files Maintenance Menu select Installed Equipment Codes. Enter a Code (up to eight characters) and include Letters, Numbers and some punctuation. Description may be up to 35 characters in length. See Subscriber Information and Entering General Subscriber Data later in this manual.

Central Station Data

Your First Steps
As you build your Subscriber database, your Subscribers Central Station Data should be entered. This includes Zone Code Information, Opening and Closing Events, Account Testing requirements and their Call List names and phone numbers. Whether you are subcontracting with another Central Station to provide your Company with Central Station Monitoring Services or are operating your own Central Station, this information should be entered. If you are doing your own monitoring (and using CENTRAL1to do it), you will - as a matter of necessity enter this data. Even if you subcontract your Monitoring to a Third Party, you should have your Subscribers Monitoring related information securely stored on your Own Computer. In the event of their failure, a catastrophe or your desire to switch to another Central Station or to start doing your own monitoring, you will want this information on hand. This section assumes you have completed Your First Steps in the Getting Started: Accounts Receivable System and Service Tracking System and General Subscriber Data sections of this manual and have already entered all of your Subscribers.

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If you have not done so, you must complete the following steps explained in those sections.

1. Name & Address of Company so your Invoices, Statements, Reports and Work Orders have the proper company information printed on them. 2. Enter Employee Information to be able to identify each Subscribers Sales Person of record. 3. Classification (Tax) Codes to specify the Sales Taxing Rules for a Subscriber who is subject to Sales Tax. 4. Warranty/Service Contract Codes to identify any Extended Warranty arrangements you have with your Subscribers. 5. Enter your Subscribers.
1. Alarm Condition Abbreviations

As you enter Zone Information, the Zone Codes you define will be assigned an Alarm Condition Code which represents the event that this Zone Code is reporting to your Central Station. From the Files Maintenance Menu select Alarm Condition Abbreviations. The most commonly used Condition Codes will have been entered for you. You may Add as many more as you may require.
Figure 32 Alarm Condition Abbreviations

The Condition Code may be up to three characters, the Description up to thirty. You must also indicate which alarm events are to appear on which reports. The Opening and Closing (O/C), Alarm (Daily Alarm Activity) and All Events (used with Central Station program only) Reports.
2. Message for Call List Form

Once you enter your Subscribers Call List Information you will want to send them a form periodically verifying the notification information you have on file.

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This program can print a Call List Verification Form for each Subscriber (with this information entered).
Figure 33 Message for Call List Verification Form

Before doing so, from the Central Station Data Menu select the Message for Call List Forms and enter the message that you will want to appear on this form. After entering your message, you will be asked if you want to include Call List Information on your Opening and Closing Reports that this system can print. Answer accordingly.
Figure 34 Put Call List on Opening & Closing Report

See Subscriber Information and Central Station Data later in this manual.

Job Costing System

Your First Steps
Are you actually making money from your Installations? This and many other Job Cost related questions can be answered by using the Job Costing and Inventory Tracking Systems. This section assumes you have completed Your First Steps in the Getting Started: Accounts Receivable System and Service Tracking System and General Subscriber Data sections of this manual and have already entered all of your Subscribers.

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1. Jobs Type Category Codes

Your Company may only install Burglar Alarm Systems, but that is unlikely. You probably install Fire Alarms, CCTV, Telephone Systems and Home Automation Systems as well. To get a report of how you are doing within a specific Job Category, you must first define your Jobs Type Category Codes and their Descriptions which is found on the Job Costing Information menu.
Figure 35 Define Job Type Categories

2. Labor Rate Information

Some Installation Technicians earn more money per hour than others. Some vehicles cost more to purchase and operate than others. However, its relatively easy to establish an AVERAGE Cost of providing a MAN HOUR of LABOR at a Job Site. This average hourly rate should include OVERHEAD for vehicle, gas, insurance, lost time, and a portion of your General and Administrative Expenses. In other words, your LABOR Rate should be in the $40 - $60 range. To set your Job Costing Labor Rate, from the Job Costing Information menu select Labor Rate Information. Enter the Labor Rate that you have determined reflects the true cost of providing an Average Hour of Labor at a Job Site.
Figure 36 Setting Job Costing Hourly Labor Rate

3. Assign Job Number Sequence

You may assign Job Numbers manually or automatically. If you have a specific Job Numbering method that has been in place for a considerable amount of time, just continue to use that method. If you are new to Job Costing, have the system assign your Job Numbers. To do so, from the Job Costing Information menu select Assign Job Number Sequence.

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Figure 37 Starting Automatic Assignment of Job Numbers

Enter the desired starting number.

Figure 38 Job Numbering Start Up

See Using the Job Costing System later in this manual.

Inventory Tracking System

Your First Steps
Where has all of your Inventory gone? How much is it worth? Which Parts do I need to Re-Order? Who used those Parts? These questions require you to Track Inventory Usage. The Inventory Tracking System is best started in APS1 where you can Add and Update Inventory Items, Issue Purchase Orders for them, and have them automatically posted to ALARMS1 at the same time. However, if you are going to use the Inventory Tracking System without APS-1, from the Job Cost Information menu, select the Inventory Tracking System.

1. Enter Vendor Information

The (preferred) Vendors who manufacture, distribute or in some other manner, ship products to you should be identified. If you are using APS1 then these will be entered automatically as you enter Inventory in that program. If not, from the Job Cost Information menu, select the Inventory Tracking System and choose Enter Vendor Information.

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Figure 39 Enter Vendor Information

Enter an APS Number (in a similar manner to entering ARS Numbers in the system - see Entering Account Numbers later in this manual) and name for those Vendors from whom you acquire Inventory.
2. Start Inventory Tracking

Once you have identified your Vendors and even if you have started the Inventory Tracking in APS1 you must still start the Inventory Tracking System here, as well. From the Job Cost Information menu, select the Inventory Tracking System and choose Start Inventory Tracking.
Figure 40 Start Inventory Tracking

Enter the Password to implement this feature (see Appendix P for Password Information).
Figure 41 Enter Inventory Linking Password

Then Start (or Stop) Inventory Tracking by answering Yes (Y) or No (N).
Figure 42 Initiate Inventory Tracking

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If you are going to Link to the APS1 Inventory Tracking System (the recommended method), you must enter the Path to that program. Otherwise, leave this entry blank.
Figure 43 Setting the Path to APS-1

Enter the Path to your Master Inventory Data. This may be the Path to the main programs location (in the \ALARMS\ directory) or, if you are using the Multi-Company capability, to another Company. It should be the Path to the Location of the Inventory Files to be used by this set of Company Data.
Figure 44 Enter Master Inventory Path

3. Add/Update Inventory Items

Once the Inventory Tracking System is started, to enter your actual Inventory, from the Inventory Tracking System menu select Add/Update Inventory Item. The Part Codes you use to identify specific types on Inventory may be up to sixteen characters in length and include Letters, Numbers and Punctuation. The Description may be up to 35 characters in length. The APS Number should be the one assigned to the Preferred Vendor, the Vendor from whom you usually buy this product. Retail, Cost, On Hand, and Re Order @ are exactly what they indicate. The Desired Quantity is the maximum amount you would want to re-order (e.g., if you had 1 and your desired Quantity was 5 the Re-Order report would tell you to order 4).

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Figure 45 Add Inventory Items

For additional information see Using the Inventory Tracking System later in this manual.

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Subscriber Information Define Your Accounts

After completing Your First Steps explained in the GettingStartedsection of this manual, Your Next Step is to enter Subscriber Information. Although there are several places that allow you to enter Subscriber Information, the best one (the easiest screen that requires the least amount of data) to use is the Subscriber Information screen which is found within the Accounts Receivable System menu. As with all data entry screens within the ALARMS1 system, this screen has a command line at the bottom of the screen. Select Add by pressing the first letter (A) or using the cursor keys to move to the desired word (action) and pressing Enter. Enter the information requested. At any time you may press Page Down to exit Add or Modify mode. Save the record. If you have failed to enter mandatory information you will see a reminder message, usually offering a PopUp Selection Box that displays the valid entries from which to make your choice. (See Using a Pop-Up Selection Box below.)
Figure 46 Subscriber Information screen

The chart below lists each request field and discusses its purpose.

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FIELD IDENTIFIER Account Name

DESCRIPTION Enter Title. the Subscribers Account

For Commercial Subscribers, enter their companys name as it would appear in the Telephone Book. For Residential Subscribers, enter the Name in the Military format (Last Name First, First Name and Middle Initial Last) using a Tilde (~) to separate their Last and First names. (See Entering below.) Attention Account Titles

Enter any routing information that may be required such as the Accounts Payable persons name or your primary contact within that company. For Residential Subscribers, enter nothing.

C/o Address

Enter any routing information such as Building Names or Suite Numbers. Enter the street address of the Subscriber. Enter the appropriate information. Enter the area code and Telephone Number at the Subscribers premises. Is this Subscriber a Commercial (C) or Residential (R) type of account. Is this Subscriber subject to Late
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Fees for Past Due Invoices (Y or N). Service # Enter a Service Department Account Number. We recommend that this be their actual telephone number without an area code. (See Entering Account Numbers below.) Enter their Central Station Identification Digits which is their account number at the Central Station. (See Entering Account Numbers below.) Enter the Installed Equipment Code that represents their Control Panel. Enter any Note or Comment that should be generally seen when this Subscriber is viewed. This is the Dealer Billing switch. Answering Yes will enable Dealer Billing for this group of related accounts. (See Dealer Billing in the Automatic Billing section of this manual.) Enter the User defined ARS Number for this Subscriber. (See Enter Account Numbers below.) If this Subscriber is billed at a separate address than this service Location, enter a Location Code (LOC) using up to three characters, preferably the last three digits of their CSID. (See Entering Account Numbers below.) Enter the Employee Code youve defined in Files Maintenance for the Salesman responsible for this

CSID

P:

Notes

DB

ARS Number

LOC:

Salesman

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Subscriber account. Class: Enter the Tax Classification Code representing the Sales Taxing Authority to which this Subscriber is required to pay Sales Taxes. If non-taxable, enter an X. Div: If you are using the Name and Address of Divisions feature, have already defined one or more Divisions in Files Maintenance and this Subscriber has been assigned to one of these Divisions, enter their Division Code here. If this record represents a Billing Address Only and no service is provided here, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). If you want to establish a Credit Limit (used as a reminder to the Operator who must Enter New Sales), enter that Credit Limit here. If this Subscriber is Taxable, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). If this Subscriber is Taxable, enter their Sales Tax Percentage rate here. This rate must also have be en entered in the Classification (Tax) Codes screen for the Tax Classification Code assigned to this Subscriber. If they are subject to more than one rate of Sales Tax, enter the most commonly used one. Self Mailer If this Subscriber will have their Recurring Revenues billed on a Self Mailer form, answer Yes (Y),

Bill-To Address

Crd Limited

Taxable

Tax Rate

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otherwise answer No (N). Open/Close If this Subscriber requires that they be sent and Opening & Closing Report periodically, enter the code representing the frequency that these reports must be submitted (i.e., D = Daily, W = Weekly, B = Bi-weekly, and M = Monthly). If this is one of several service Locations that is being Billed to a separate Billing Address, and you want this Subscribers address eliminated from that Invoice when it is created, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). If this Subscribers System(s) has an extended warranty coverage, enter Yes (Y) or enter one of the specific Warranty/Service Contract Code defined in Files Maintenance, otherwise answer No (N). Enter the Subscribers Fax Telephone Number, if its available. Enter (if desired) a one to four character expression that later may be used to select a group of Subscribers in a Listing or Label setall with this Sort Code.

No Address

Service Ctr (Contract)

FAX No. Sort

Account Balance, Pending These items are maintained by the Credit, Date and Amount of system. You dont enter Last Payment, Date and information in these fields. Amount of Last Sale

Entering Account Numbers The phrase Account Numbers means many things to many people. Here, Account Number refers to three items, each explained below.

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1. ARS Number - It stands for Accounts Receivable System Number. This is a character expression defined by the Operator that represents a Subscriber (group) being billed to a particular address. This group may have only one occupant - the Subscriber itself - or have many occupants that are service locations, all being billed to one address - the Billing Address. Is this case the Service Locations and the Billing Address itself are all members of this group and get the same ARS Number. If a Residential Subscriber, the ARS Number should consist of the first three letters of their Last Name followed by the first two letters of their First Name, followed by the number one (1) which is used to eliminate duplicates. Therefore, if two or more Residential Subscribers have the same three letters, two letter combinations, use 2, 3, 4, etc. to differentiate them. If a Commercial Subscriber., the ARS Number should consist of the first three letters of their First Business Name (eliminating The and similar words), followed by the first two letters of the Next Word in their Business Name, followed by the number one (1) which is used to eliminate duplicates. Therefore, if two or more Commercial Subscribers have the same three letters plus two letters combination, use the number 2 (, 3, 4, etc.) to differentiate them.

Location Codes - If a Subscriber is billed at one address and Serviced

at one or more different addresses, all of the subordinate Service Locations must get a Location Code (LOC: in the Subscriber Information screen) in addition to an ARS Number. A Subscriber record with a Location Code will not be properly billed unless there is another Subscriber record with the same ARS Number and no Location Code. In other words, the record with No Location Code represents the Billing Address for a Multiple-Subscriber group. Subscribers may be instantly Retrieved and/or Listed by their ARS Number, Location Code combination. (Also see Change Account Numbers Screen in the Special Operations section of this manual.)

2.

CSID - The Central Station ID is the account number assigned by

the Central Station and programmed into the Subscribers Control Panel. It usually includes a Receiver and Line Card number as well as a three or four digit account number. Entry of a CSID is optional. Do not use the CSID field for any other purpose. Subscribers may be instantly Retrieved and/or Listed by their CSID.

3.

Service # This Service Account Number is assigned to all

Subscribers for whom you provide Service. Billing-To Only addresses do

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not get a Service Account Number. We strongly suggest that you use their Telephone Number (without an area code) as their Service Account Number. Subscribers may be instantly Retrieved and/or Listed by their Service Account Number. Using a Pop-Up Selection Box Whenever information is entered in the Subscriber Information or Automatic Billing Data screens certain fields are mandatory others are optional. Many of these mandatory fields use Codes that you have previously defined within the Files Maintenance Menu. When the mandatory field must be filled with information you have entered in Files Maintenance, you will be presented with a chance to see the appropriate Pop-Up Selection Box.
Figure 47 Do you want a Pop Selection Box?

Answering yes (Y) will activate the Pop-Up Selection Box. Use the cursor keys to highlight the appropriate choice and press Enter to actually make your selection.
Figure 48 Making a selection from a Pop-Up Selections Box

Entering Account Titles Your Subscriber has a Name, but that name is not necessarily the way you would enter their Account Title.

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You will probably want Commercial Subscribers alphabetized without being ordered by a The , A or other prefix, but want that prefix Printed when an Invoice or Statement is sent; and youll want your Residential Subscribers alphabetized by their Last Names, then their First Names but still their Invoices Printed with the First, Last and suffix name format.. To accomplish this feat, use a tilde (~) as the order separator. Examples follow: ACTUAL NAME JOHN M. SMITH, JR. THE ABC DISTRIBUTORS, INC. DR. MICHAEL BENNET, MD JOHN ANDERSON COMPANY HARRIET & ANDREW BROWN, SR. ACCOUNT TITLE ENTRY SMITH, JR.~ JOHN M. ABC DISTRIBUTORS, INC.~ THE BENNET, MD~ DR. MICHAEL JOHN ANDERSON COMPANY BROWN, SR.~ HARRIET & ANDREW

The examples above illustrate most of the cases you will encounter in entering Subscriber Account Titles. The list on the left shows the name in its natural form and how it will be printed on Invoices, Statements and Work Orders. The list on the right shows the correct way to enter that Subscribers name as an Account Title. Basically, as the illustrations above show, the information is reversed from the place where the tilde (~) is inserted in the Account Title and the tilde itself is ignored.

A U T O M A T I C B I L L I N G I NF O R M A T I O N
Once you have entered your Subscribers, from the Subscriber Information or the New Subscriber File Entry (see below) screens within Accounts Receivable System you may enter their Automatic Billing Data. For detailed instructions about the Automatic Billing of your Subscribers Recurring Revenues see the Automatic Billing section of this manual.

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Installed Equipment Information Defining Their System

The Subscriber Information, New Subscriber File Entry and Open New Subscriber File screens all offer a Zoom (Z) command line selection which enables you to enter detailed, item by item system information. (Sometimes access to this screen requires two Zooms.)
Figure 49 Installed Equipment Information screen

The Installed Equipment Information screen requires that you identify the System Type using one of the Alarm Condition Codes previously defined in Files Maintenance (see Alarm Condition Abbreviations in the Getting Started section of this manual). Each System Type designation may have up to 999 Segments identified. Number the segment accordingly. The segment must have an Equipment Code selected from one of the Installed Equipment Codes youve defined in Files Maintenance (see Installed Equipment Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual). If this Segment reports as a distinct Zone Code at your Central Station, enter that Zone Code. Enter the Location within the premises, a Description of the Equipment and/or its related purpose, and the Subscribers Key Pad ID if the Segment displays as a specific Key Pad number. Enter the Serial Number of the Segment, if appropriate (you can Retrieve by this specific Serial Number later), the Floor where the equipment is located
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and the Installation Date of this Segment. You should also enter the Warranty Expiration date as well. You may Print an Equipment Listing at anytime by pressing the F9 function key from here and from other screens throughout this program.

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New Subscriber File Entry Providing More Detail

A far more complex screen is available to enter Subscriber information. It offers many more fields to record information relating to your Subscribers. On the Accounts Receivable Menu, this screen is referred as New Subscriber File Entry. Elsewhere, it is called Open New Subscriber File. The reason for the different names is to remind you that there is a difference in the available options and functionality in each Menu where this screen is available.
Figure 50 Open New Subscriber File

In each Menu where this screen is available, the Command Line differs and/or certain other functionality varies as well. In the Accounts Receivable System Menu the New Subscriber File Entry selection does not permit Deletions but it does permit access to the Subscribers Automatic Billing Data and the Installed Equipment Information screens.

Figure 51 The Command Line from the Accounts Receivable Menus New Subscriber File Entry and the General Subscriber Data Menus Open New Subscriber File screen.

In the General Subscriber Data menu the Open New Subscriber File selection also does not permit Deletions and it does not permit
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access to the Subscribers Automatic Billing Data but it does allow access to the Subscribers Installed Equipment Information screen. In the Files Maintenance Menus Other Files Utilities Menu there is also an Open New Subscriber File selection. Here however the command line is different and several functional situations are different as well. Deletions are permitted here (with the proper Password and Level or Access Rights - see Passwords in Appendix P) and the ARS Number, CSID and Service Account Numbers may be Modified here without the associated information being transferred to the new account numbers assigned. On the Files Maintenance Menus Other Files Utilities Menu there is also an Open New Subscriber File selection that is useful when you desire to transfer information from one account to another for various reasons. (See the Change Account Numbers screen later in this manual.)

This Open New Subscriber File selection in the Other Files Utilities Menu does permit access to the Subscribers Automatic Billing Data but it does not allow access to the Subscribers Installed Equipment Information screen.
Figure 52 Open New Subscriber File Command Line in Files Maintenance

This Open New Subscriber File (or New Subscriber File Entry) screen has four distinct information area boxes you for you to complete. 1. Account Numbers containing the ARS Number, Location Code, CSID and Service Account Number fields relating to this Subscriber. 2. Subscriber Service or Billing Location Information containing Account Title, Address, and Telephone Number for this Subscriber. 3. Account Dating and Coding containing the Codes and Dates the system uses to calculate Tax, Classify Subscribers, charge Late Fees and direct emergency response to this Subscriber. 4. System and Service Information containing the recurring service requirements, system description, some codes representing key equipment, directions and additional contact information for this Subscriber.

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The chart below lists and describes each of these fields. GROUP/FIELD IDENTIFIER DESCRIPTION

1. Account Numbers
Service Acct # Enter a Service Department Account Number. We recommend that this be their actual telephone number without an area code. (See Entering Account Numbers above.) Enter their Central Station Identification Digits which is the account number assigned by the Central Station. (See Entering Account Numbers above.) Enter the User defined ARS Number for this Subscriber. (See Enter Account Numbers above.) If this Subscriber is billed at a separate address than this Location, enter a Location Code (LOC) of up to three characters, preferably the last three digits of their CSID. (See Entering Account Numbers above.) If you are using the Name and Address of Divisions feature, have already defined one or more Divisions in Files Maintenance and this Subscriber has been assigned to one of these Divisions, enter their Division Code here.

CSID

ARS Number

Loc

Div

2. Subscribers Service or Billing Location Information

Subscriber Enter the Subscribers Account Title. For Commercial Subscribers, enter the companys name the way
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it would appear in the Telephone Book. For Residential Subscribers, enter the Name in the Military format using a Tilde (~) to separate their Last and First names. (See Entering above.) c/o Address Account Titles

Enter any routing information such as Building Names or Suite Numbers. Enter the street address of the Subscriber. Enter the appropriate information. Enter the area code and Telephone Number at the Subscribers premises. If this Subscriber is being monitored and their Zone Code Information fits a pattern that has already been defined, enter the CSID assigned to that Generic Zone Code Information. (See Using Generic Zoning later in this manual.)

St. Address City/State/Zip Telephone

Generic

3. Account Coding
Acct Type

Dating

&
Is this Subscriber a Commercial (C) or Residential (R) type of account. Is this Subscriber subject to Late Fees for Past Due Invoices (Y or N). If this Subscriber is Taxable, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). If this Subscriber is Taxable, enter

Late Fees

Taxable

Tax Rate

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their Sales Tax Percentage rate here. This rate must also have be en entered in the Classification (Tax) Codes screen for the Tax Classification Code assigned to this Subscriber. If they are subject to more than one rate of Sales Tax, enter the most commonly used one. Tax Class Enter the Tax Classification Code representing the Sales Taxing Authority to which this Subscriber is required to pay Sales Taxes. If non-taxable, enter an X. No Address If this is one of several service Locations that is being Billed to a separate Billing Address, and you want this Subscribers address eliminated from that Invoice when it is created, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). If this Subscriber will have their Recurring Revenues billed on a Self Mailer form, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). If this Subscribers System(s) has an extended warranty coverage, enter Yes (Y) or enter one of the specific Warranty/Service Contract Code defined in Files Maintenance, otherwise answer No (N). Enter the original Sale Date for this Subscriber. Enter the original expiration date. Warrantys

Self Mailer

Serv Agreement

Sold Warr On Line Date

If the Subscriber is monitored, enter the date they originally went on line
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with your (contract or own) Central Station. O/C If this Subscriber requires that they be sent and Opening & Closing Report periodically, enter the code representing the frequency that these reports must be submitted (i.e., D = Daily, W = Weekly, B = Bi-weekly, and M = Monthly). If the Subscriber is being monitored, enter the Municipality Code youve defined in Files Maintenance that corresponds to the Governmental Authority that provides Police, Fire and Medical response for this Subscriber. Enter the Employee Code youve defined in Files Maintenance for the Salesman responsible for this Subscriber account. Enter the Pass Code this Subscriber will use to verify their identification during a telephone conversion with your Central Station.

Municipality Code

Salesman

PsCd

4. System Information
Notes

&

Service
Enter any Note or Comment that should be generally seen when this Subscriber is viewed Enter the directions to the Subscribers premises. We recommend that you use Map Coordinates from a Map Set specified by your Company along with a brief comment. Enter the Dialer Communication Units telephone number. By choice, this may either be the
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telephone number to which it is attached, or the number it dials to communicate with your Central Station. Be consistent. Tel#1 Enter a Reference Telephone Number. This may be either a Work or Home telephone number as appropriate. Enter a Reference Telephone Number. This may be either a Work or Home telephone number as appropriate. Enter the Subscribers FAX number. This field is used to define a recurring service and/or inspection requirement dictated by a Service Contract. Using a Pay Cycle Code (see Pay Cycles Code Chart in the Automatic Billing section of this manual), enter the pay cycle code representing the frequency that this service or inspection must be performed. System Enter the systems generic name (i.e., BURGLAR ALARM, SPRINKLER SYSTEM) that requires the inspection. As above in S/C #1, this field is also used to define a recurring inspection requirement dictated by an additional Service Contract. Enter the second systems generic name (i.e., BURGLAR ALARM, SPRINKLER SYSTEM) that requires the inspection.

Tel #2

FAX # S/C1 Code

S/C2 Code

System

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The information below will be Remember that the information printed on each Work Order entered here is seen by your Technicians and your Subscribers. created for a Subscriber. Panel Enter the Installed Equipment Code that represents their Control Panel. Briefly describe where it is. Enter the Installed Equipment Code that represents another key item within their system. Briefly describe where it is. Enter the Installed Equipment Code that represents another key item within their system. Briefly describe where it is. Enter the Installed Equipment Code that represents another key item within their system. Briefly describe where it is. Enter a general description of the components in the Subscribers system If needed, enter additional general description of the components in the Subscribers system.

Where Eqp#2

Where Eqp#3

Where Eqp#4

Where C1

C2

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General Subscriber Information

Because the New Subscriber File Entry (also called the Open New Subscriber File) screen is complicated by reason of the many fields of information that must be entered we provide two separate screens that allow this information to be entered in a less cluttered format. Power Users may soon tire of these simpler screens and opt for the more complex one-stop entry format. The choice is yours.
Figure 53 General Subscriber Information screen

From the Main Menu, select General Subscriber Data menu and choose the General Subscriber Information screen. All of the fields on this screen have been previously defined except the Temp Notes and Remove On fields. These are used to enter a Temporary Note or Comment that is to flash on screen (until the specified date) whenever this Subscriber is viewed. Once the date entered in Remove On has passed, the message will no longer flash but it is preserved on this screen for later use. Deleting Subscribers On the General Subscriber Information screens Command Line there is a Password Protected (see Password Information in Appendix P) selection called Delete. Caution: This choice will remove every record associated with this Subscriber. It should only be used with extreme caution. The Accounting,
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Service and Central Station related records for this Subscriber will all be deleted with this selection.

Subscriber System Information Work Order Related Information

As you use the Service Tracking Systems features (see Using the Service Tracking System later in this manual) you will most certainly Write Up Service Requests and Print Work Orders. The Work Orders have places for certain useful information that your Technicians will refer to often as they prepare their work for the day.
Figure 54 Subscriber System Information

With the exception of the SC1 and SC2 Code and Keys information, all of the fields entered on this screen will appear on the Regular Work order. The more information you enter on this screen, the better prepared your Technician will be to service your Subscribers. Although most of this Subscriber System Information may be entered in the New Subscriber File Entry (also called the Open New Subscriber File) screen, those screens are complicated by reason of the many fields of information that must be entered.

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Power Users may soon tire of this simple screen and opt for the more complex one-stop entry format. The choice is yours. What is most important is that you do enter the information.

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Contracts Tracking System

Contracts Monitoring, Service and Lease contracts and UL Certificates are the lifeblood of the Security Industry and represent the true value of your alarm company. Keeping track of when and which of these contracts need to be renewed is a chore best done by ALARMS-1. From the General Subscriber Data menu select the Contracts Tracking System.
Figure 55 Contracts Tracking System menu

ADD/UPDATE CONTRACT ITEM

Select Add/Update Contract Item. Subscriber and Zoom to Enter the Information. Retrieve the appropriate Subscribers Contract

Press Add (or Modify to change existing information) and enter a Contract Control Number (usually their CSID although it may be any letter

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or number combination) and the expiration date(s) of the contract type(s) to which this Subscriber has subscribed. Additional comments may be entered when needed. UL Certificates may also be tracked here. If this Subscriber has a certificate on their system, enter the Certificate Number, extent of Coverage and the certificates expiration date.
Figure 56 Contract Information screen

Figure 57 Contract

There is a special Contract command line choice on this screen. Selecting Contract will allow you to selectively Modify the expiration date of a specific Contract Type without passing through all of the screens other fields as would occur if you were using the Modify command.

Press the letter corresponding to the Contract Type that needs to have its expiration date modified and enter the number of years that this contract has been extended. Additional contract records for the same Subscriber may be added when necessary.
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C O N T R A C T I N F O R M A T I O N R E P O RT
Once you have defined your Contract Information, at any time thereafter you may request a Contract Information Report. By specifying the appropriate report dates and indicating the type of Contract Renewals you want reported, you will see a list of those Subscribers whose specified Contract(s) will be expiring within those dates.
Figure 58 Report of Contracts Due for Renewal

Select the type of contract you want reported (or choose All) and then choose the order in which these are to be listed (i.e., Title, CSID, ARS Number or Service Account number). Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates for this report (by default - the first and last day of the next month) and print the report in the normal manner.

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Automatic Billing

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Automatic Billing Setup Invoicing Recurring Revenues - Made Easy!

Being able to Automatically Bill your Recurring Revenues is the greatest time saver available in this system. Setting up your Automatic Billing Data properly and then using the Bill Recurring Revenues feature will save you countless hours of work while also assuring accuracy in the billing of your Recurring Revenues.

ALARMS1 does not forget.

Before you define your Automatic Billing Data, you must define your Recurring Revenue Sales Category Codes in Files Maintenance (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual). The Automatic Billing Data screen is accessible from several locations throughout the program. In Files Maintenance in the Other Files Utilities Menu select Open New Subscriber File, or from the Main Menu select the Accounts Receivable menu and choose either the Subscriber Information or the New Subscriber File Entry screen. Press Zoom (Z) on the command line to see the screen illustrated below.
Figure 59 Automatic Billing Data screen

This is a very powerful screen. It will accommodate the automatic billing of virtually any Recurring Revenue situation your company has. It is also simple for you to use.

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Two items entered in the Subscriber Information screen have an effect on this Automatic Billing Data entry and subsequently on how you will Bill Recurring Revenue. 1. Self Mailer - If you indicated that this Subscriber was to be billed using Self Mailer forms, only two (one if this is not the billing address) items may be billed on a Self Mailer form due to the limited space available of those forms. 2. No Address Line - If you specified No Address Line, then this Subscribers address line information will be excluded on Recurring Revenue Invoices, only IF this is a subordinate service location being billed to a different billing address.

Enter a Recurring Revenue Code chosen from one of those Sales Category Codes that have been entered in Files Maintenance (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual). The default description of that Sales Category will be displayed to its right. If you enter an invalid code, a Pop-Up Selection Box will present the valid options. Enter the Starting Date for this service. If you enter a Starting date that is prior to the current date, it doesnt matter what date you enter. However, we strongly suggest you enter the approximate date that you actually started providing this service. Future Billings - You do not want a service to be billed now, but do want it billed in a later month (as when you have sold a Service Agreement that may not be billed for almost a year). Enter, as the Starting Date, the Date of the first day of the month PRIOR to when that service is to begin being billed. (This is done so that you can bill in advance for that service.) Enter the Payment/Month for this service. In most cases, fees billed for Recurring Revenues are based on a Monthly Rate. We recommend you base all of your Recurring Charges on a Monthly Rate. If you have a situation where the fee is a Lump Sum amount (it is not evenly divisible into a monthly fee without introducing rounding errors), you must enter that Amount here and use the appropriate special (Lump Sum) Payment Cycle Code (see the Payment Cycles Chart below).

Enter the appropriate Payment Cycle Code. Invoices may be automatically generated on a Monthly, Bimonthly, Quarterly, Semi-annual or Annual basis for these Recurring Charges. The Payment/Month will be multiplied by the appropriate number (based on the Payment Cycle Code you enter here) to arrive at the correct billing amount.

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Enter the appropriate Payment Type code (which represents the Amount they are paying for this service). Choose from one of the Payment Types and Rates that have been entered in Files Maintenance (see Payment Types and Rates in the Getting Started section of this manual). If you enter an invalid Payment Type Code, a Pop Up Selection Box will display the valid codes from which you must make your selections.

If this Recurring Revenue item is Taxable enter the appropriate Tax code (Y/N/1/2/3), otherwise enter No (N). (See Classification (Tax) Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual.) Enter the Description of what this Recurring Revenue item is being Billed For (the default description will already be entered but you may modify it if required). Enter any Purchase Order Number or other explanatory note that will better ensure prompt payment in the Note/PO# field. One Month Free for Annual Payment 1. If this Recurring Revenue item is to be billed Annually 2. It has been assigned a Monthly Rate (not Lump Sum Fee) 3. They are to receive one month free for paying for the service Annually (as an incentive for your Subscriber to pay annually rather than monthly or quarterly). 4. Answer yes (Y) Month Free, otherwise answer no (N).

If this Recurring Revenue item is being billed for a specific period of time (as in a Lease with a specific expiration date or a Time Payment Plan), enter the Date of the last day of the final month this item should be billed. If this is a (Time) Installment Payment Plan, enter their starting Balance Due. Each time this item is billed, the Balance Due will be reduced by the billed amount and so displayed on that Invoice. There are some items that are billed based on a month rate that really are for a different period (e.g., annual inspections). To exclude the Monthly Rate Statement on the Recurring Revenue bill answer Yes (Y) to the Exc.Mo.Rate question.

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Payment Cycles Chart

Cycle
Monthly

CodeandStartingMonth
13 (optionally 14, 15 and 16 if you are using the Weekly Billing feature) 21 = JAN, MAR, MAY, JUL, SEP, NOV 22 = FEB, APR, JUN, AUG, OCT, DEC

Bimonthly

Quarterly

31 = JAN, APR, JUL, OCT 32 = FEB, MAY, AUG, NOV 33 = MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC

Semi-Annual

61 = JAN, JUL 62 = FEB, AUG 63 = MAR, SEP 64 = APR, OCT 65 = MAY, NOV 66 = JUN, DEC

Annual Quarterly (Lump Sum)

1 - 12 = Annual Service Starts with this Month 91 = JAN, APR, JUL, OCT 92 = FEB, MAY, AUG, NOV 93 = MAR, JUN, SEP, DEC

Annual (Lump Sum)

Use the Annual Pay Cycle Code + 70 (i.e., 1 = 71 .. 12 = 82)

Biannual (Lump Sum)

EVEN Years: 24-29 for months 1-6 and 34-39 for months 7-12. ODD Years: 41 - 52 (add 40 to the month number)
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Pro-Rating Recurring Revenue Bills

When you have entered new Subscriber Information and Zoomed and entered their Automatic Billing Data there are times when you should ProRate their billing to the next Billing Cycle that you established for them. 1. One way to do this is: Divide their Monthly Rate by 4.3 to calculate their Weekly rate. Divide the number of days between their On Line Date and the effective Date of first Service Invoice that will be created by 7. Multiply the number of Weekly units billed by their Weekly rate. 2. Another way is: Calculate the number of days between their On Line Date and the effective Date of first Service Invoice. Multiply their Monthly rate by 12 to get their Annual rate. Divide that amount by 365 to get their Daily rate. Multiply their Daily rate by the number of days calculated above. 3. Allow ALARMS1to do it. Assuming you have selected #3 above, use the Invoice command line selection on the Automatic Billing Data screen. If you have entered a Start Date that is beyond the current date, you are signaling that you may want to Pro-Rate this Recurring Revenue Item.

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Figure 60 Prorate Recurring Revenue Item

Press Invoice (I) and indicate that you do want to prorate. Enter the starting date for the Service and the ending date for this pro-rated period.
Figure 61 Entering the Start of the Pro Rated Period

Figure 62 Entering the End of the Pro Rated Period.

Remember, be sure to extend the Pro Rated Period through to the end of the billing month if you bill your Recurring Revenues a month in advance. In the example shown above, the Start Date is June 1, 1998 and the Pay Cycle Code is 31 (therefore the first automatic billing will be for July 1998 service). When prorating the start up of their service you would prorate from the actual start date (in this case May 22, 1998) to the last day of the month prior to the month that automatic billing procedure will actually bill for. The Pro-Rate request is placed in the pending Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices queue found in the Invoice Printing Menu on the Accounts Receivable Menu. Later, by selecting this choice and answering a few brief questions the system will create all of the Prorated Invoices you request here. See Invoice Printing Menu in the Accounts Receivable Operations section and Enter Additional Charges for current Auto-Bill Procedure later in this Automatic Billing section of the manual.
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Bill Recurring Revenue Automatic Billing

Once the Automatic Billing Data for each Subscriber has been defined, you will want to Preview Recurring Revenue (see Preview Recurring Revenue in the Accounts Receivable Reports sections of this manual) to ensure that you have defined it correctly. When appropriate, from the Accounts Receivable Menu choose Bill Recurring Revenue. Figure 63 Bill Recurring
Revenue menu

Select the form you will be using. Each Month (or each Week if you have instituted Weekly Billing explained later in this section) you may Bill Recurring Revenue on two separate types of Forms (Invoice forms are the default unless you have designated a Subscriber to be billed on a Self Mailer form). The Subscribers assigned that type of form will be billed - assuming they are due to be billed - when that form type is selected. The first four are Invoice forms, the next three are self mailers forms that contain a mailing envelope, Invoice and return remittance envelope all in one, Only Post is considered an Invoice form type (it generates Invoices but does not print them). In addition, the Automatic Dealer Billing & Posting Procedure bills your Dealers (and other Subscribers) with a large number of Service Locations. (See Dealer Billing for your Large Accounts later in this section.)

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B I L L I N G

D A T A

You will be required to answer a series of Questions relating to how you would want your Recurring Billing Invoices produced. Most (but not all) of these questions and more importantly their answers are saved as your Default Settings.

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S E T T I N G U P Y O U R D E F A U L T SE T T I N G S
The first time you Bill Recurring Revenue you must be sure to reset your default settings. The questions leading up to the Re-Set request are outlined below and explained in detail later. 1. Select your form, confirm that you do want to do your Automatic Billing, 2. Confirm that you have completed a special Backup in case your system fails during this procedure, 3. Enter the Sale Date for these Invoices, 4. Enter the number of the month your are billing, 5. Confirm the service period message, 6. Re-Set Default Invoice Printing Choices. Once your form is selected and youve requested to Re-Set your Defaults, continue to answer the questions relating to the way you want your Invoices printed, then print the Invoices (preferably to a file. See: Printing to a File below).
Figure 64 Bill Recurring Revenue Now?

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The chart below states each question you will be asked with a detail explanation of each.

Question or Configuration Issue

Explanation or Description * Items with a Asterisk are not set as Default Items

Do you want to do your * This is (almost) your last chance to Automatic Billing Now? change your mind. Answer accordingly. Did you make your Special * This is a Batch Process. Be sure you Recurring Revenue Backup have a current backup before continuing in (Y/N)? case of a system failure during this procedure. (See Making Backups - Your Most Important Job in Appendix B.) Enter the Date (Sale Date) to * Because you may generate your be Printed on these Invoices. Recurring Revenue Invoices at any time for any month, you must enter the Sale Date that these Invoices should be posted to. Enter the Number for the * Enter the number (1-JAN .. 12=DEC) of Month you are Billing. the Months Recurring Services you are billing. Message representing * Enter a phrase (FOR SERVICE STARTING Service Periods Starting OCTOBER 1997) indicating the start of the Month. service period for which you are billing. This will appear on all Invoices. Re-Set Default Printing Choices? Invoice Initially answer Yes (Y) and thereafter only if you wish to make changes. The questions and answers listed below may appear in a different order than presented depending on the form you have selected. Apply Pending Credits from This is an Open Item Accounting System. Deposits that Match All Payments, Credits and Deposits must Invoices Balance (Y/N)? be matched (Applied) to Invoice(s). Note that the Subscribers When your Subscriber makes an Pending Credit Amount: Overpayment (e.g., by paying an Invoice AND a statement for the same Invoice) it is 1. MUST be a Deposit
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(usually from Overpayment)

an recorded as a Deposit against a future sale.

2. MUST EXACTLY match the Once that Sale is Invoiced, the Deposit amount of the Recurring may be Applied to that Invoice manually Revenue Invoice being using Open Credits Apply. created, OR If an advance Deposit exactly matches a 3. The Deposit must be an new Invoice being generated with the Bill exact Multiple of that Recurring Revenue process, it may be Invoice. posted (Applied) automatically to that Invoice as that Invoice is created. Answer 4. Will be posted accordingly. automatically to the Invoice if 1-3 are correct. Post ALL Available Credits 1. If you have answered Yes (Y) to the (Deposits & Credit Memos) Apply Pending Credits from to Invoices (Y/N)? Deposits? question above. This procedure will apply 2. If you want to have the system Apply Credit Memos first and ALL available Pending Credits Deposits second to their (regardless of whether they are from currently created recurring Credit Memos or Deposits) to the revenue Invoice (up to the Invoice being created during the limit of the value of the Automatic Recurring Revenue Billing Invoice being created for the process, answer Yes (Y) here as well. Subscriber). Available Credit Memo(s) are applied first, Deposit(s) are applied second. Do you want Subscribers If the Subscriber has existing Invoice(s) Previous Balances shown on that are not paid, do you want that these Invoices? previous balance shown on these Invoices? Answer accordingly. Show Unapplied Pending If the Subscriber has a Pending Credit Credits when applicable Amount that was not automatically applied (Y/N)? (see above), do you want that Pending Credit Amount shown? Answer accordingly. Print the Telephone Number If you save copies of these Invoices for on the Invoices (Y/N)? later reference during a collection call back procedure, you may want the Subscribers
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Telephone Number printed on the Invoice. Answer accordingly. Include Credit Card If you select a form that allows for the Information on Return Stub Subscriber to complete and return a (Y/N)? Payment Remittance Slip (rather than a copy of the Invoice) you may indicate if you accept Credit Cards for payment. Answer accordingly. Is your Laser Compatible? 100% HP Have you selected the Laser Form and are you using a 100% HP compatible Laser Printer? Answer accordingly.

Print Period Covered You have already defined the Message Words below each item representing Service Periods Starting (Y/N)? Month. Because an Invoice may contain multiple Recurring Revenue items, each billed for different service periods, you may want to specify the exact service period being billed for each item (in addition to the existing 3 Months @ $35.00/Month or similar message that is already printed). Answer accordingly. Enter the Credit Cards you Answer accordingly. You will be asked this Accept. question only if you have selected a form with a Payment Stub and have indicated that you do accept Credit Cards. Print the Central Station ID Answer accordingly. Number on these Invoices (Y/N)? Do you want the Attention As you entered your Subscriber line shown on these Invoices Information you had an Attention field that (Y/N)? could be completed. If that was used in the normal manner (for mail routing efficiency or contact person identification) answer yes (Y). If it was used for internal messages, answer No (N). Select messages(s) from * If you have defined special reusable NOTES in the Sales Category NOTES in the Sales Category Codes Codes File (Y/N)? screen in Files Maintenance and want to
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use them here, answer otherwise answer No (N).

Yes

(Y),

Enter the NOTE number as * Enter the Note Number (number only defined in Sales Category without the word NOTE). This may actually Codes. be a letter or number. Print your Company Name * Are you using pre-printed Invoices with & Address lines on the your companys return address Invoice (Y/N)? information on them? If not, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No(N). Enter you Companys Terms * By default the normal Company Terms for Payment of these will be displayed. You may reset them Invoices. temporarily for this run of Invoices if required. Did you make your Special * If you are linked to the General Ledger General Ledger Backup you will be reminded that you should also (Y/N)? have made a matching GL-1 backup as well. Answer accordingly.

Not all questions will be asked on all forms. The questions vary according to the form youve selected and the answers youve given previous to the current question. Once you have completed the questions, Print the Invoices. (See: Printing to the Printer versus Printing to a File below).

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Printing to the Printer versus Printing to a File

Computers are very reliable. Printers are very reliable. Networks are very reliable. In other words, sometimes they fail. If you have a Batch Process that involves Printing (such as the Bill Recurring Revenue procedure), we suggest that the printing be sent to a Temporary Print File on your Hard Drive as the batch process runs. This enables the computer (and network, if one is being used) to deal with the Automatic Billing process alone (thereby greatly reducing the chance of failure). Once that process is completed, the Invoices are safely posted to the Subscribers accounts and written to that Temporary Print File. They may now be printed (and re-printed) as often as required (thereby protecting you from Printer Failure). To print to a file, simply select File (F) when the Print Command Line is presented.
Figure 65 Printer Command Line

Enter the file name you would like to use. You may include a DOS Path in front of the file name. Do Not Use Spaces in a file name and always start it with a letter. You may use Letters, Numbers and underlines (_). Do Not Put An EXTENSION on your file name. An Extension of .PRN is automatically attached.
Figure 66 Enter Print File Name

Once you have completed this Printing process, your Print File is created. To actually send that file to your Printer (so you really get a copy) choose Make Copies of Print Files which is available on the Invoice Printing Menu and the General Subscriber Data menus.

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Figure 67 Making Printed Copies of Print Files

Enter the directory in which you stored the desired Print File. By default it will be the \ALARMS\ directory where the system is installed. If you specified a Path other than that when you created the Print File, enter that Path here. Be sure to end your entry with a backslash (\). Then enter the name of the Print File (without the .PRN extension).
Figure 68 Print File Name entry

If you do not know (or cant remember) the Print Files file name, just press Enter and a list of available Print Files will be displayed in a Pop Up Selection Box.
Figure 69 Pop Up Selections of pending Print Files

Select the file to be printed and Print as normal.

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Dealer Billing for your Large Accounts

Subscribers may be billed at one address but Serviced at another. You may have a large group of Subscriber Service Locations all being billed to the same billing address.

S E T T I N G U P T H E R E C OR D S
If the number of these Service Locations is large (many dozens, hundreds, etc.) consider billing their Recurring Revenues using the Dealer Billing method. This Dealer Billing format creates a more condensed Invoice where 1020 more Service Locations will appear on each page of the Invoice, greatly decreasing the length of the Invoice. There is also a Re-cap section at the end that summarizes the charges in a concise manner. To establish a Dealer Billing group: Enter the Billing Address (as a Bill To Only Address). Enter each Service Location (same ARS Number but a unique Location Code). Modify the Billing address and enter a Yes (Y) in the DB (Dealer Billing) field. Answer Yes (Y) to the Update any Service Locations?question (see below). Modify the Billing Address (again) and answer No to the DB (Dealer Billing) field and answer No (N) to the Update any Service Locations?question to remove the Yes on the Billing Address but leave them all on the Service Addresses records.

Figure 70 Update Service Locations for Dealer Billing?

This will globally set the Billing Addresses subordinate Service Locations to a Dealer Billing format first. Then reset the Billing Address to being just a Billing Address with the Dealer Billing question answered No (N). It is much faster than individually locating each Service Location, Modifying the record to insert a Yes in the Dealer Billing field and then re-saving the record. After defining your Dealers subordinate Service accounts, enter their Automatic Billing Data under each subordinate Subscriber record in the normal manner with the following exceptions:

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Define special Recurring Revenue Sales Categories (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual) for the Service(s) and Amount(s) billed. Each type of Recurring Revenue must be defined and that type must always be billed at the same Rate. Therefore, define special Pay Types and Rates codes for your Dealer Billing amounts. Use these special Recurring Revenue Sales Categories and Pay Type rate codes when defining their Automatic Billing Data.

C R E A T I N G Y O U R D E A L E R B I L L I N G ST Y L E R E C U R R I N G RE V E N U E I N V O I C E S
Once you Dealers Subscribers are defined properly, and its time to bill them, from the Bill Recurring Revenue menu select Automatic Alarm Dealer Billing & Posting Procedure. Answer the questions presented and the Invoices will be created automatically. Accounts marked Yes (Y) in the DB field will only be billed for their Recurring Revenues by executing the Automatic Alarm Dealer Billing & Posting Procedure. They will not be billed when printing regular Invoice forms or Self Mailers. After you have performed the Automatic Alarm Dealer Billing & Posting Procedure, select Print All Un-printed Invoices on the Invoice Printing Menu and those Dealer Bills will be printed.

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Inserting Additional Charges on Recurring Billing

Sometimes you may want to include an additional one-time charge on a Subscribers Recurring Revenue Invoice. If your Central Station also functions as an Answering Service you may want to include the Customers Over Call charges, or some other type of special one time service fee may be required for a limited group of Subscribers. Whatever the reason, it is easy to add additional charges to a Recurring Revenue Invoice about to be created without having to use Enter New Sales. From the Bill Recurring Revenue Menu select Enter Additional Charges for current Auto-Bill Procedure.
Figure 71 Pending Pro-Rated/AutoBilled Items

From this screen you may add, modify and delete existing Auto-Billed, Prorated and other special Charges entered here, using the Auto-Bill feature in Service Tracking (see Bill Services with Auto-Bill in the Service Tracking section of this manual). You might also use the Invoice command line option in the Automatic Billing Data screen to create pending charge records (explained previously in this section under the heading Pro-Rating Recurring Revenue Bills). Retrieve the Subscriber that you want to add (modify) additional charges that are to be included in the next Recurring Revenue procedure. Zoom. Add, Modify or Delete these charges are needed.

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Each record must have a valid Sales Category assigned and must have a description for the charges and the quantity and charge itself. The Tax status must also be indicated. Additional Note lines may also be included by adding items with the Sales Category Code of NOTE. The entered Items will appear on the Subscribers Recurring Revenue Invoice in the order entered here (press the List command to see that order). You may Modify, Delete and Add any number of additional lines as required.
Figure 72 Entering Pro-Rating & Service Bill Entries

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Weekly Billing of Recurring Revenue

Why would you want to bill recurring revenues Weekly? This feature is designed for those companies that have a large number of accounts who are being billed and are paying for their Recurring Revenues Monthly. The process of Printing Invoices, stuffing envelopes, affixing postage and mailing a very large number of Invoices can be disruptive to the normal workflow in an office. To help alleviate this, you may institute Weekly Billing of Recurring Revenues which will enable you to group those Subscribers who are being billed Monthly for their Recurring Revenues into as many as four segments and each of these segments may be automatically billed at a different time. Subscribers that are billed Quarterly, Semi-Annually and Annually are always Invoiced when you initially select to bill recurring revenue for a particular month. Also, the standard monthly Subscribers (those with the regular 13 pay cycle code) are billed in that initial month billing as well. But, once you have initialized Weekly Billing, you will be able to use Pay Cycle Codes of 14, 15 and 16 to represent Monthly Billed Accounts that are to be billed in the second, third and fourth billing cycle within the same month respectively.

I N I T I A L I Z I N G T H E W E E K L Y B I L L I N G F E AT U R E
Create a file in the \ALARMS\ directory where ALARMS-1 was installed named ACMWEEKS.DBM with the text WEEKLY BILLING. You may use any text editor, word processor, etc. to do this as long as the file name is ACMWEEKS.DBM. Decide how many times a month you want to bill your monthly accounts. Evenly (approximate calculation is fine) divide these accounts into groups. Assign the appropriate Pay Cycle Code to their Automatic Billing Data record(s). The first group will remain with the standard 13 monthly code. The second will get 14, the third 15 and the fourth 16. You do not need to use all groups. If you do not want any monthly accounts billed when you bill your Quarterly, Semi-Annually and Annually billed accounts, do not use the 13 pay cycle code.

BILLING YOUR WEEKLY ACCOUNTS

First, bill your recurring revenue for the month in the normal manner (see Bill Recurring Revenue above). Then, when you want to bill the next cycle,
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select Billing Recurring Revenue from the Accounts Receivable System menu and choose the form you want to use. Answer the first questions in the normal manner. When asked which monthly Cycle you will be billing, enter the month number (again - as you have already billed this month at least once) to be billed. Confirm that you do want to do a (another) Weekly Billing this month.
Figure 73 Do you want to bill Weekly?

Then enter the Weekly Cycle (2, 3 or 4 for Pay Cycle Codes 14, 15, and 16 respectively) that you want to be billed.
Figure 74 Next Weekly Pay Cycle?

Thereafter, all other questions will be the normal ones presented whenever you bill your Recurring Revenues.

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Accounts Receivable Operations

Once you have completed your Start Up procedures (see the Getting Started section of this manual), entered your Subscriber Information and their Automatic Billing requirements, and established their current balance, you are ready to start Accounts Receivable Operations. This section will explain how to use all of the functions that you will need to perform on a daily basis to properly maintain your Companys Accounts Receivable records.

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Enter New Sales

Aside from creating Invoices when you Bill Recurring Revenue, you must frequently Enter New Sales for Installations, Service Calls and system Additions. A manually created Invoice may have any number of Detail Items and any number of Comment Lines. Each chargeable item may or may not be Taxable (assuming the Subscriber is Taxable). Until a Payment is posted against an Invoice, the Invoice Line Items may be Deleted, additional Line Items may be added and spelling mistakes corrected.
Figure 75 To Enter New Sales, Retrieve the correct Subscriber

From the Accounts Receivable System menu select Enter New Sales to create an Invoice. Retrieve the Subscriber record representing the service location where the product(s) or service(s) were provided. Zoom to the Enter Order Detail screen. Follow the instructions below: As with all ALARMS-1 screens, there is a command line. This command line on the Enter Order Detail screen will change based on what you are currently doing.
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In this case, press Add to start entering a new Invoice (Enter a New Sale).
Indicating Who (which Salesman) will get Credit for this Sale

By default, you Identify the Sales Person based on the Employee Code assigned to this Subscriber in the Subscriber Information (or Open new Subscriber File) screen. The Employee Code assigned to the Subscriber will be the Employee of Record for this Sale. If you do not have a Sales Staff, or have a very stable staff where the person who is identified as the Salesman of Record in the Subscriber Information screen will undoubtedly be the correct Sales Person for this Sale, you need to do noting.
Figure 76 Confirm Salesmans Employee Code

However, if you want to have the ability to identify which Sales Person or Technician has earned credit for each Sale, create a simple text file called ACMEMPCD.DBM with the word EMPLOYEES in it. Put that file into your \ALARMS directory (where the program was originally installed). Thereafter, each time you start a new Invoice, you will be asked to confirm the Sales Persons Employee Code (with the default being the currently assigned code).

Each detail item on an Invoice must be assigned a Sales Category Code from among those defined in Files Maintenance (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual). When you enter the code, the Description and Price (if a Price was actually assigned) and a Quantity of one (1) will be displayed. You may Modify the Description, Quantity Ordered and the Amount Charged for Each, as needed. Using NOTE as the Sales Category Code will allow you to enter a note line of up to 70 characters.

Enter a Sales Category Code

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Figure 77 Enter a Sales Category Code

Enter Tax Status of Item

Is Item Taxable? If the Subscriber is Taxable, then you will be asked this question. If not, this field will be skipped. Answer Yes or No as necessary. If you have defined Multiple Sales Tax Percentage Rates for the Tax Classification Code assigned to this Subscriber (see Classification (Tax) Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual), you must confirm the exact Percentage Rate that should be charged on this item. Note that International Users may also be asked about their GST (Canada), VAT (Britain), or some other National/Federal Sales Taxing status of this item just before it is saved. (See: Multiple Country Set-Up System in Appendix C found later in this manual.)
Figure 78 GST to be Charged?

Enter the Sale Date

Finally, enter the Date you would like to record this Sale. Because the system will allow you to pre date and post date sales, you will be offered the current date as the default but you may enter any Sale Date that is not within a Closed Month (see Month Ending Procedures later in this section). This is especially useful when starting the system because it allows you to properly enter the original sale date of old unpaid invoices so they will be properly aged on the Accounts Receivable Report and will be able to be charged a Late Fee when Late Charges are assessed.
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Save the item when requested to do so.

Figure 79 A Completed Detail Item.

As we mentioned earlier, the Command Line will change on this screen depending on what you are doing. In the example above, after you Enter Order Detail your choices are limited to Add (enter another item on the current Invoice being built), List what has been entered on this Invoice so far, and Zoom (or Quit) which will tell ALARMS-1 that youve a finished with this Invoice. Press Zoom (or Quit) to indicate that you want to complete the Invoice. You will be asked to confirm your decision to mark the Invoice as completed.
Figure 80 Are You Finished?

C O MP L E T E D I N V O I C E I N F O R M A T I O N
There are a few additional steps that must be taken to mark an Invoice as finished. You must confirm the Due Date of the Invoice which is based on your Companys Payment Terms (see Terms of Company in the Getting Started section of this manual). The Due Date is calculated by adding the number of Days defined as your Companys Terms to the Sale Date of the Invoice.

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Figure 81 Completed Invoice Information

Enter any final Comment you desire, confirm that you do not want to make any additional changes and the Invoice will be Saved. However, if you have accepted a Deposit on this Sale and have not yet posted this Payment, you may enter that Deposit on this Completed Invoice Information screen.
Figure 82 Posting a Deposit on the Completed Invoice Information screen

E NT E R I N G A D E P O S I T W H I L E C R E A T I N G A N INVOICE
Enter the Amount of the Deposit Paid, the Deposit Date (when it was or will be Deposited in your Bank), a Check Number or some other type of Payment Reference Number and the Deposit Slips Batch Control Number. The Batch Control Number represents that this Payment is to be recorded and
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filed within this set of Payments (see the Post Payments Received instructions later in this section).

SPECIAL COMMANDS ON THE COMPLETED INVOICE I N F O R M A T I O N SC R E E N

The Completed Invoice Information screen has a special Command Line with just Modify, List, Print and Quit. 1. Modify will allow you to change the Due Date and Comment line. 2. List will display the 20 oldest Invoices for this Subscriber. These will include unpaid Invoices from a month and Paid Invoices from months that have not yet been closed. 3. Print will allow you to immediately Print the currently displayed Invoice using the Default Invoice Printing Settings established in the Invoice Printing Menu (see below). 4. Quit will return you to the Enter New Sales screen where you may Retrieve another Subscriber or Quit again to the Accounts Receivable System menu.

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Credit Memos From time to time you may want to issue a Credit to a Subscriber. This may be due to an adjustment to satisfy the Subscriber or in payment for a Referral for a new account. Whatever the reason, Credit Memos are created in Enter New Sales by simply entering a Minus Amount in the Amount field on the Enter Order Detail screen.
Figure 83 Enter a Credit Memo

After entering a minus Amount you will be asked to confirm you wanted to do this. When the Detail item is saved, the minus sign is moved from the Amount field to the Quantity field. This is OK because 2 x -$5.00 and -2 x $5.00 equal the same -$10.00 amount. It is necessary because the sale item may be an Inventory (Part) item that is being tracked by the Inventory Tracking System and so it would need to subtract 2 (the -2 Quantity it converts to) from the Inventory Usage Report. You cannot force in a minus Quantity, only ALARMS-1 can. Add as many Credit items as required then Zoom to the Completed Invoice Information screen and finish the Invoice in the normal manner. It will note that This is a Credit Memo when you are finished.

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Invoice Printing Menu

Once you Enter New Sales, you will want to those Print Invoices. From the Accounts Receivable System menu select the Invoice Printing Menu.
Figure 84 Invoice Printing Menu

1. Print All Un-Printed Invoices will do just that. It will examine all Invoices in the system and Print a copy of any that have not yet been printed or have been Modified since it was originally printed 2. Re-Print One or a Group of Invoices will allow you to selectively reprint certain Invoices, either a specific one or a Range of Invoices (from one number to another number in sequence). 3. Subscribers Outstanding Invoices will reprint all outstanding Invoices for the Subscriber you designate (the default selection will be the ARS Number of the most recently viewed Subscriber). 4. Invoice Printed as Installation Form will print an Installation Form (an Invoice formatted with no Pricing, only Quantities and Descriptions) for the designated Invoice Number. 5. List Invoices (Unprinted or Months) will, depending on how you answer, print a listing of all Invoices created in the month you specify or print a listing of all Invoices that have not yet been printed (or have been Modified since their last printing). 6. Auto-Billed and Pro-Rated Invoices will Generate and Print Invoices for all pending items in the Auto-Bill (Invoicing requests created within the Service Tracking System) and Pro-Rated (Invoicing requests created in the Automatic Billing Data screen) items file.
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7. Make Copies of Print Files will allow you to print Invoices, Recurring Revenue, Statements and Reports originally sent to a file. Each of these selections will be explained in detail below: Print All Un-Printed Invoices As Invoices are created (or later modified) they are marked internally as Unprinted. Because of this, you do not need to track which Sales (Invoices) you have or have not actually remembered to print. ALARMS-1 keeps track of this for you. To print all Un-Printed Invoices from the Accounts Receivable System menu select the Invoice Printing Menu and then select Print All Un-Printed Invoices.
Figure 85 Printing Un-Printed Invoices

Answer the questions outlined below. Pay special attention to your Defaults. If you have not set your Invoice Printing Defaults (or are not sure of those settings) ask to Re-Set the Defaults. Invoices may be printed to a file or to paper (an actual Printer) - not to your screen. Notes may be added to the Invoices as they are printed. These Notes are not permanently saved within the Invoice record. They are just printed on this batch of Invoices and are used as Greetings, Company Announcements or Reminders for your Subscribers.
Figure 86 Selecting Messages

These NOTE codes and their corresponding Notes are (may be) predefined in the Files Maintenance program within the Sales Category Codes screen (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual). If you have predefined Notes and want to use them here, answer Yes (Y) and supply the Note Code (not the work note, just the code suffix) when requested to do so.
Figure 87 Enter the Note Code for these Invoices

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If you enter an Invalid Note Code or answer No (N) to the Select Note(s) ? questions you may type in your Note manually. Two such Notes may be entered. Each Note may be up to 70 characters in length. These Notes will appear at the bottom of the Invoice.
Figure 88 Enter the Message manually

You may specify a Printed On date for Invoices. This is especially useful if you Post or Pre Date Invoices. If no date is entered, no Printed On date will be on these Invoices.
Figure 89 Enter the Printed On Date

You may reset the Default settings for Invoice Printing. These settings determine the type of format and printer you will be using and other variables you can control. Be sure to reset these when you first start using the system (you may not like our choices).
Figure 90 Re-Set the Invoice printing Defaults?

See Setting your Invoice Printing Defaults below. Print the Invoices.
Figure 91 Choose the Printer and Print

Setting your Invoice Printing Defaults Choices, its all about choices. Invoices are printed on forms or plain paper, on Laser or Dot Matrix printers, with or without certain types of formatting.

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These choices may be predefined by Resetting the Invoice Printing Defaults as you print invoices. The questions you will be asked about the Default Settings will often depend on the answers you gave to the last default setting question. All of these questions will be described below. To reset the Invoice Printing Defaults answer Yes (Y) to the Reset Default Invoice Printing Choices? question.
Figure 92 Do you want to Reset the Invoice Printing Defaults?

In ALARMS-1 we refer to the Subscribers Accounts Receivable Control Number as their ARS Number. Some people think of this as an Account Number (although many use the term Account Number when they are referring to their Central Station ID Number). You may set the way the Invoice Form refers to their Accounts Receivable Control Number as either their ARS or Account Number.
Figure 93 ARS Number or Account Number

Some Companies save copies of Invoices for future reference they find it useful when making collection calls. Although we do not recommend this procedure, if you do use these Invoices for reference, it may be useful to have the Subscribers Telephone Number printed on them. Answer accordingly. An Invoice may be reprinted whenever its needed until its paid in Full and the month in which it was Paid has been Closed. Thereafter, it is still available in their Ledger Card Report.
Figure 94 Print Phone Number on Invoices?

Most Companies will use the Attention line on the Subscriber Information screen to assist the Company receiving the Invoice in routing it to the appropriate person or department. Some Companies use the Attention line
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for Internal Use Only. If you do not use the Attention line for internal purposes, have it printed on the Invoice (it will appear above the Account Name line).
Figure 95 Include Attention line?

In most cases you will want the Subscribers Previous Balance (if they have one) shown on a new Invoice as a reminder to them that they still have other outstanding Invoice(s). If you want their Previous Balance shown on the Invoice, answer accordingly.
Figure 96 Show Previous Balance?

Most companies acquire Pre-Printed forms with their Company Name and Logo (see the enclosed Safeguard Order Form). However, if you are printing your Invoices on Plain Paper you will want your Companys Name and Address printed on them. Answer accordingly.
Figure 97 Print your Company Name and Address?

What Printer type are you using? The answer would be either a 100 % HP Compatible Laser Printer, a Laser work alike (non-HP or one of various Ink Jet or Bubble Jet printers), or a non-laser printer.
Figure 98 Using a Laser Printer?

Laser Printer Formats

If you are using a Laser Printer or compatible Ink Jet or Bubble Jet Printer and can set the Page Length to 66 Lines Per Inch and the default Font to a nonproportional 10 characters per inch font on that Printer, answer Yes. Otherwise, answer No. If you answered Yes above and are using a true HP Laser (or a compatible Laser Printer that guarantees 100% compatibility to the HP printer standard) answer Yes to the compatibility question. Otherwise, answer No.

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Figure 99 100% Compatible Laser?

If a Laser format was selected, the Invoice will print with a Remittance Stub at the bottom. Does your Company accept Credit Cards for Payment and do you want to have Credit Card Information printed on the remittance stub? Answer accordingly.
Figure 100 Include Credit Card Information on Stub

If you do accept Credit Card Payments, indicate the Credit Cards that you accept.
Figure 101 Credit Cards Accepted

Select the desired Printer and Print the Invoice(s).

Figure 102 Print the Invoices

If you answered no (N) to the Laser Question explained above, you are indicating that you will be using the non-Laser formatted Invoices. In this case, a different sequence of questions will be asked as you set your Invoice Printing Defaults. How condensed do you want the Invoice information to appear. You may have the printer skip a line between each item for clarity.
Figure 103 Skip a line between Invoice items?

Non-Laser Printer Selections

Indicate whether you are using continuous tractor fed forms produced with an additional perforation 2/3 down the form to accommodate a remittance stub.

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Figure 104 Using Remittance Stub format?

If you selected the Remittance Stub format on Continuous forms, as with the Laser format above, you will be able to specify whether you accept Credit Cards for Payments and which specific ones will be accepted by your Company. Select your Printer in the normal manner and Print the Invoices.

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Re-Print One or a Group of Invoices From time to time you may need to Re-Print an Invoice or a sequence of Invoices. If you know the Invoice Number or the Range of Numbers to be printed, from the Accounts Receivable System menu select the Invoice Printing menu and choose Re-Print One or a Group of Invoices.
Figure 105 Re-Print Invoices

Answer the questions outlined below. Pay special attention to your Defaults. If you have not set your Invoice Printing Defaults (or are not sure of those settings) ask to Re-Set the Defaults. Invoices may be printed to a file or to paper (an actual Printer) - not to your screen. Notes may be added to the Invoices as they are printed. These Notes are not permanently saved within the Invoice record. They are just printed on this batch of Invoices and are used as Company Announcements or Reminders for your Subscribers.
Figure 106 Selecting Messages

These NOTE codes and their corresponding Notes are (may be) predefined in the Files Maintenance program within the Sales Category Codes screen (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual). If you have predefined Notes and want to use them here, answer Yes (Y) and supply the Note Code (not the work note, just the code suffix) when requested to do so.
Figure 107 Enter the Note Code for these Invoices

If you enter an Invalid Note Code or answer No (N) to the Select Note(s) ? questions you may type in your Note manually. Two such Notes may be entered. Each Note may be up to 70 characters in length. These Notes will appear at the bottom of the Invoice.

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Figure 108 Enter the Message manually

You may specify a Printed On date for Invoices. This is especially useful if you post-date or pre-date Invoices. If no date is entered, no Printed On date will be on these Invoices.
Figure 109 Enter the Printed On Date

You may reset the Default settings for Invoice Printing. These settings determine the type of format and printer you will be using and other variables you can control. Be sure to reset these when you first start using the system (you may not like our choices).
Figure 110 Re-Set the Invoice printing Defaults?

(See Setting Your Invoice Printing Defaults below.) Do you want to Re-Print one or more Invoices? Respond accordingly.
Figure 111 One or More Reprints?

If you selected to print One (O) Invoice, enter that Invoice Number.
Figure 112 Enter Invoice to be Re-Printed

If you selected to print a Group of Invoices, enter the Starting and Ending Invoice Numbers.

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Figure 113 Starting and Ending Invoices to be Re-Printed

Print the Invoice(s).

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Subscribers Outstanding Invoices Many times a Subscriber who is Past Due in their Payment will request a copy of all of their outstanding Invoices. Whether this is to stall or a legitimate request does not matter. This is a very simple request to comply with. From the Accounts Receivable System menu, select the Invoice Printing menu and choose Subscribers Outstanding Invoices. As with the other Invoice Printing selections, you may enter Note(s), set the Printing Date and Reset the Invoice Printing Defaults (see above).
Figure 114 Re-Print Subscribers Outstanding Invoices

Then you must identify the Subscriber for whom you want these Invoices printed.
Figure 115 Selecting Subscriber for Invoice Reprint

Enter the Name or ARS Number of the Subscriber.

Figure 116 Identify the Subscriber

Confirm your selection.

Figure 117 Is this the correct Subscriber?

Print the Invoice.

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Invoice Printed as Installation Form For those Companies that create detailed Invoices with complete system specifications, you may want to print those Invoices as Installation Forms when the job is assigned to a technician. The Installation Form format is quite similar to an Invoice except that all Pricing is stripped from the form.
Figure 118 Print an Installation Form

As usual, you will be able to insert two Note lines of your choosing. Then you will be asked to enter the Installation Date (versus the Print On Date as would be the case with an Invoice). Then enter the Invoice Number that is to be reprinted as an Installation Form.
Figure 119 Invoice Number for Installation Form

Print it in the normal manner.

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List Invoices (Un-Printed or Months) This selection (to print a list of the Invoices created during a specific month) has many uses depending on the way you answer its setup questions. From the Accounts Receivable System menu select the Invoice Printing menu and choose List Invoices (Un-Printed or Months).
Figure 120 List Invoices

This report will: 1. Print a Monthly Listing of all Invoices (an Invoice Register). Choose Numerical Listing by Month (N)
Figure 121 List Invoices choices

Enter the Starting and Ending Dates for the report. By default this will be the first through the last day of the month following the most recently Closed Month. Then confirm your date selection.
Figure 122

Print in the normal manner. 2. Print a List of all Invoices that are Un-Printed created but not printed, or Modified since they were printed. 3. Choose Unprinted (U). Then decide whether you want to mark the Invoice that will be listed as having already been printed. You might want to mark them as having already been printed if you are just starting the system and have entered all of your outstanding Invoices but do not really want to actually print them.
Figure 123 Mark Invoices listed as Printed.

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4. Print an Interim Listing of Invoices for a defined set of Days within a Month. As in #1 above, you will enter the Starting and Ending Dates for the report. Although the default will be the first through the last day of the month following the most recently Closed Month, you may enter whatever dates you wish (within a given Open month). Then confirm your date selection. In any case, once you have made your selections, you may choose whether this is to be printed using a Wide Carriage format. You do not need a Wide Carriage Printer to take advantage of the Wide Carriage format (which provides more detailed information than the standard format).
Figure 124 Use the Wide Carriage Format?

If you have a 100% HP Compatible Laser Printer or have a Dot Matrix, Ink Jet or other printer that you can manually set for Condensed mode you may print a Wide Carriage (132 column) format on a standard 80 column printer. If you do request the Wide Carriage format, you must indicate whether you are actually using an HP Laser printer.
Figure 125 Using a Laser Printer?

Once you have made your choices, select your Printer and print in the normal manner. Note that only the regular (not Wide Carriage) format may be printed to the screen as your screen can only display 80 columns.

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Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices You define your Subscribers Recurring Revenue rules in the Automatic Billing Data screen within the Subscriber Information or New Subscriber File Entry screens. As you do, you may - using the Invoice command line option - Pro-Rate the Subscribers Recurring Revenue to the next month they would normally be billed ( see Pro-Rating Recurring Revenue Bills in the Automatic Billing section of this manual). You Complete a Service Request in the Service Tracking System (see Auto-Billing Service Calls in the Service Tracking System section of this manual). As you do, you may elect to automatically create an Auto-Bill item for basic service calls (complex service calls with parts, detailed descriptions and separate labor charges must always be billed in the Enter New Sales screen).

Figure 126 Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoice

Once Subscribers have been Pro-Rated or Auto-Billed, you may print these special Invoices prior to the next time you Bill Recurring Revenue. Any Unprinted Auto-Billed or Pro-Rated Invoices will be added to the Subscribers next Recurring Revenue Bill automatically if they have not already been printed here. To automatically create Invoices for your Auto-Bill and Pro-Rated items, from the Accounts Receivable System menu select the Invoice Printing menu and choose Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices. You must make some choices before these Invoices will be printed. (You must also have already Re-Set Default Invoice Printing Choices for the Bill Recurring Revenue feature as well - see Re-Setting your Invoice Printing Defaults in the Automatic Billing section of this manual.)
Figure 127 Using a Laser Printer?

Answer the Laser Printer question based on the Printer you will be selecting. If you have indicated a Laser will be used, confirm whether it is 100% HP Compatible.

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Figure 128 HP Laser Compatible?

Enter the Sale Date to be used when these Invoices are created and printed.
Figure 129 Sale Date for Pro-Rated Invoices

Enter any message(s) you want on these Invoices, either from the NOTE items created within Sales Category Codes screen or manually here. (See above)
Figure 130 Select you messages?

Are you using plain paper or pre-printed forms with your Company name and address information already printed on them? Indicate whether you want your Company information printed on the Invoice.
Figure 131

You may choose to print these Auto-Bill Invoices at any time. However, most of these Invoices relate to Service Calls that have been completed and to Recurring Revenue related services that are already being provided. Therefore, you may want to shorten your normal Company Terms (see Terms of Company in the Getting Started section of this manual) for these Invoices.
Figure 132 Enter the Terms for these Invoices

If you are linked to the GL-1 General Ledger System it reminds you that an interim backup should be made.
Figure 133

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Select your Printer and Print the Invoices in the normal manner.

Make Copies of Print Files Reports, Invoices and Statements may all be printed to a FILE for temporary safe keeping and then later actually sent to a Printer. This is especially important when you are creating a long, complex report or billing your Recurring Revenues and would not want to restore and start over if your printer failed. These Print Files are standard ASCII Text files with printer configuration codes included. Once you have created a Print File, to actually Print it, from the Accounts Receivable System menu select the Invoice Printing menu and choose Make Copies of Print Files. You will be asked to specify the Path to your Print Files (by default it will be the \ALARMS directory where the program was installed). Enter the directory where you sent your desired Print File or press Enter to accept the default.
Figure 134 Make Copies of Print Files directory

Enter the exact name of the file including its .PRN extension.
Figure 135 Enter Name of Print File

If you do not remember the exact name, press Enter to see a Pop-Up Selection Box with all the Print Files located in the directory you specified above.
Figure 136 Choose your Print File

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Thereafter, select your Printer and Print in the normal manner. Do not send a Print File to another File.

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Post Payments Received

Payments come in many forms. Deposits on work that has not yet been Invoiced. Overpayments for Invoices that were accidentally paid twice, normal Checks and Cash payments on outstanding Invoices and Credit Card or Direct Deposit payments for all of the above.
Figure 137 Post Payments Received

From the Accounts Receivable Menu, select Post Payments Received and Retrieve the Subscriber who has made the Payment (whatever type it was). Except for Direct Deposits and Automatic Charges to Credit Cards, all other types of payments are entered (Posted) through the Post Payments Received screen.
Search

If you know the Invoice Number but not the Subscribers Name or ARS Number to whom a Payment is to be Posted, select the Search command line option.
Figure 138 Search by Invoice

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Enter the Invoice Number. If that Invoice exists as an Unpaid Invoice, the Subscriber to whom that Invoice was assigned will be displayed. Once the appropriate Subscriber has been located, press Zoom. Pay special attention to the Command Line that is displayed on this Invoice Information screen.
Figure 139 Post Payments Received, Invoice Information screen Command Line

In addition to the usual familiar commands, there are several special Payment related choices. These are Money, Deposit, Cancel-Chk, and Amt2Post. Each of these provides specific functionality that you will need from time to time and will be explained individually below. After you Retrieve the Subscriber who has made the Payment and pressed Zoom to go to the Invoice Information screen, the Invoice that is displayed (assuming that the Subscriber has an outstanding Invoice) will be the oldest one. Oldest order is actually based on the sequence that they were entered regardless of the Sale or Due Date that was assigned. In most cases it will be the oldest Invoice by Sale Date unless you have back-dated and postdated Invoices for this Subscriber while you were Getting Started.

Figure 140 Post Payments Received, Invoice Information screen.

Money

To Post a Payment to an Invoice, first Retrieve (R) the appropriate Invoice. By default, the oldest Invoice will be presented first.
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Press Money (M). Enter the Payment Date which, by default will be the current date, and the Amount Paid which, by default will be the Balance Due on the displayed Invoice.
Figure 141 Entering Payment Information

Enter a Check Reference Number or a minus code (using the codes in the box to the right) for the type of Payment Method other than Check (which would not have a payment reference number). Enter the Deposit Slips Batch Control Number. By default, it will be the number of the current day of the month. You may change it as required. This Control Number may be the day of the month (in the example above September 30, 1997 would have a Control Number of 30) or some other number you assign (from 1 - 99) to identify this Payment as belonging with other Payments within a like Category. The Control Number may group Payments: 1. Posted on the same Deposit Slip. 2. Entered in the same group of Credit Card Charges all settled as a batch. 3. Entered as a lone Payment for a special case. 4. Any other set of one or more Payments deemed to belong together in a specified group. Payments may be reported by their Control Number using the Cash Receipts Report selection on the Accounts Receivable Reports Menu (see the Accounts Receivable Reports section later in this manual.) Once the Payment is Posted, Save the entry.

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Figure 142 Saving a Payment entry

OVERPAYMENTS
From time to time a Subscriber will send too much money. This may arrive in the form of separate payments received at different times (e.g., they pay the Invoice and your follow up reminder Statement) or as a Payment in excess of what is actually owed. There are two different ways to post an Overpayment. 1. Post it using the Money command and simply enter the Amount Paid as the greater amount received rather than the current Invoices balance. You will see a Warning Message indicating that you have overpaid the Invoice.
Figure 143 Posting an Overpayment

Accept this Payment entry. A message will be displayed telling you how much has been entered as an Overpayment.
Figure 144 Message for Overpayment

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Save the Payment as an Overpayment/Deposit entry. An Overpayment is actually an advance Deposit for a future sale.
Figure 145 Save the Overpayment

Once saved, the Subscriber will have a Pending Credit Amount representing this Overpayment. This will appear in their Subscriber Information screen and on the Invoice Information portion of the Post Payments Received screen as a Pending Credit. In addition, assuming that the Subscriber has no other outstanding Invoices, they will have a negative Balance Due of the same amount as the Pending Credit amount.
Figure 146 Pending Credit Amount

However, instead of posting an Overpayment this way, you may want to use the Amount to Post (Amt2Post) command instead.
Amt2Post

When the Subscriber sends a Payment that covers more than one Invoice or Invoice(s) with an overpayment, use the Amount to Post (Amt2Post) command instead of the Money command. By doing so, the program will automatically distribute the money received from the oldest to the newest Invoice(s) and post the remainder as a Pending Credit. Simply hold down the Enter key until it tries to Retrieve another Subscriber. This tells you its finished (or it will beep to alert you to an Overpayment). Enter the Payment amount.
Figure 147 Enter the Amount to Post

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Enter the Check Reference Number.

Figure 148 Enter the Check Number for Amount to Post

Enter the Payment Date (the current date is the default).

Figure 149 Enter the Payment Date for the Amount to Post

Enter the Batch Control Number (see the discussion above).

Figure 150 Enter the Control Number for the Amount to Post

Confirm your entries.

Figure 151 Confirmation of Amount to Post information

Thereafter, press and hold the Enter key until it tries to Retrieve another Subscriber. This tell you its finished (or it will beep to alert you to an Overpayment).
Deposit

When you receive a Payment from a Subscriber and that is an advance Deposit for a future Sale, post it as a Deposit. Use that command line choice. Confirm that you do want to Post a Subscribers Deposit.
Figure 152 Post a Deposit?

Enter the Payment Date, Amount Paid, Check or Reference Number and batch Control Number in the normal manner. Save the Overpayment/Deposit entry.

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Figure 153 Posting a Deposit

Once you have saved the Deposit, the Subscriber will have a Pending Credit Amount representing the amount of this (and any other previously posted and still Unapplied Overpayments, Deposits and Credit Memos). All Deposits, Overpayments and Credit Memos must eventually be Applied to Invoices (see Open Credits: Apply later in this section). Pending Credits appear in the Subscriber Information screen and on the Invoice Information portion of the Post Payments Received screen as a Pending Credit. In addition, assuming that the Subscriber has no other outstanding Invoices, they will have a negative Balance Due of the same amount as their Pending Credit amount.
Cancel-Chk - Canceling a Posted Payment

Payments may be reversed: Checks bounce, Subscribers change their minds and stop payment on Deposits, Credit Cards get turned down (or charged back) and automatically posted Auto Drafts get rejected (see Auto Drafts later in the section). These are the facts of life pertaining to Payments from Subscribers. You will be presented with various questions relating to the date, type and purpose of the Payment (Deposit, regular Payment, Overpayment, Credit Card or Auto Draft entry) to be canceled depending on its origin and whether the month in which it was received was closed. To cancel a previously posted Payment, select Post Payments Received, Retrieve the appropriate Subscriber, press Zoom and choose Cancel-Chk from the command line. Assuming that the Payment was either Posted to an Invoice, or Posted as a Deposit and later Applied to an Invoice, enter the Invoice Number to which this Payment was applied..
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Figure 154 Enter Invoice Number Paid with Canceled Check

If the Payment was a Deposit that had not yet been Applied to an Invoice, just press Enter as there would be no Invoice number to enter. You will be given several options from which you may select.
Figure 155 Invalid Invoice Number on Check Cancellation

We will discuss these options later. For now, lets assume that you did enter a valid Invoice Number and you are continuing with the Cancellation. Enter the Amount of the Check to be canceled. The default amount will be the amount that was previously paid on this Invoice. If the check thats being canceled represents a partial payment, be sure to adjust the amount.
Figure 156 Amount to be Canceled

Enter the Date that this Payment Reversal should be recorded. Ideally this should be the Date the notification was received. Later, as you enter a Batch Number, consider assigning a number beyond the 1 - 31 sequence used for normal monthly deposit transactions.
Figure 157 Enter Payment Reversal Date

Enter the original Check Number that you are canceling. This will provide the proper Audit Trail on the Subscribers Ledger Card Report.
Figure 158 Enter the Reversed Checks Number

As noted above, consider assigning a Batch Control Number beyond the 1 31 sequence used for normal monthly deposit transactions.

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Figure 159 Control Number for Check Reversal

Save the Payment Reversal entry.

Figure 160 Save the Reversal

Choosing the right Payment Reversal Option

If you do not have an Invoice Number because the Payment to be Reversed was from a Deposit, or the Payment was Posted in a month that has subsequently been Closed, no Invoice number will be available (or accepted).

1. In this case you would select Other Options (O), unless you have simply entered an incorrect number (in which case you would select Try Again) or youve changed your mind for some reason (select Quit).
Figure 161 Other Options when Canceling a Check

If the Invoice Number was not entered because the Check to be canceled was a Deposit, choose Deposit (D). Enter the Amount of the Deposit that is to be canceled.
Figure 162 Enter Canceled Deposit Amount

Confirm that this is the Amount to be Canceled.

Figure 163 Correct Amount to Cancel?

Then enter the Transaction date for this Cancellation. Ideally this should be the Date the cancellation notification was received. Later, as you enter a Batch

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Number, consider assigning a number beyond the 1 - 31 sequence used for normal monthly deposit transactions.
Figure 164 Transaction date for Cancellation

Enter the original Check Number of the Deposit that is being canceled. To maintain a proper audit trail it is important that you do use the actual Check Number that was Posted. If you are not sure of it, it is available in the Subscribers Ledger Card.
Figure 165 Enter Check Number that is being Canceled

Finally, enter the Batch Control Number to be assigned to this cancellation. As noted above, consider assigning a Batch Control Number beyond the 1 - 31 sequence used for normal monthly deposit transactions.
Figure 166 Canceled Deposit Batch Control Number

2. If the Invoice Number you entered was Valid, but was from a Payment that was Posted in a month that has already been Closed, select Closed (C). This process will attempt to rebuild the Invoice that had been purged from the system because the month was closed in which its final payment was made. You will be asked to confirm the Invoice Number youve entered (which is the one that was Paid in a Closed month on which you must now cancel a Payment) as the valid Invoice to which the canceled check was originally posted.
Figure 167 Confirm Invoice Number

You must enter the Amount to be canceled (see previous example above) and then enter the Original Sale Date of this Invoice. This information is available in the Subscribers Ledger Card.

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Figure 168 Enter Original Sale Date of Invoice whose Payment is being Canceled

As before, you must enter the Transaction date and the original Check Number of the Payment that is being Canceled and the Batch Control Number for the cancellation. Finally you will be asked to confirm that you do want this Payment Reversal and Invoice recreation procedure executed.
Figure 169 Save Cancellation Request

In review, you may Cancel a Check from a Deposit, a Normal Payment, or a Payment made within a Month that has already been Closed. Once the Payment is canceled, the Invoice will be recreated with that Balance Due and it will again appear on that Subscribers Statement and your Accounts Receivable Report.

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Open Credits: Apply

This is an Open Item Accounts Receivable System. This means that each Accounts Receivable related transaction item (i.e., an Invoice, Payment, Deposit, Credit Memo) is tracked individually and remains Open until it is Applied to another Open Invoice. In Post Payments Received, you are taking a Payment item and you apply it to an Open Invoice item. If a Payment item exists that has not been specifically Applied to an Open Invoice (it was posted as a Deposit or Overpayment) it represents an Open (Unapplied) Credit. If a Credit memo exists that has not be applied to an Open Invoice, it too represents and Open (Unapplied) Credit. These Unapplied Credits whether from Overpayments or Credit Memos must be Applied to specific Invoices. Pending Credits are Overpayments, Deposits and Credit Memos that have been entered in ALARMS-1 but have not yet been Applied to specific Invoice(s). A Subscriber with a Pending Credit will show a Pending Credit amount on the Subscriber Information and the Apply Subscriber Credits screens.
Figure 170 Subscriber Information screen showing a Pending Credit amount

All Pending Credit amounts (originating as Deposits, Credit Memos and Overpayments) must eventually be Applied to Open (unpaid) Invoices. Choose the Open Credits: Apply screen found on the Accounts Receivable System menu.

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Retrieve the appropriate Subscriber (in case there are multiple Service addresses billed to one Billing Address, it must be the Billing Address record). Note the command Line.
Figure 171 Open Credits: Apply screens command line

In addition to the regular items found on most all command lines, there are two special commands called Invoices and Credit. There are explained below.
Invoices

Press Invoices (I) to see all Unapplied Invoices and Credits Memos for this Subscriber.
Figure 172 Invoice Listing using the Invoices command

The Subscribers Pending Credit amount may exceed the sum of the outstanding Credit Memos. If so, the difference represents one or more Deposits (or Overpayments which are basically the same thing) to be Applied. Make a note of the Invoice and Credit Memo numbers that will be involved when you take an outstanding Open Credit and proceed to Apply it.
Credit

To Apply an Open Credit press Credit (C) and answer the questions as presented. Enter the Invoice Number to which you will Apply the Pending Credit.
Figure 173 Invoice to be Credited with Pending Credit amount

If you enter an incorrect Invoice Number, or enter a Credit Memo number by mistake, you will get an error message that offers you the chance to select from a List of valid Invoices.
Figure 174 Incorrect Invoice number warning

Answering Yes will display a Pop-Up Selection Box with the available valid selection(s).
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Figure 175 Choose the right Invoice

Once you have chosen the Invoice, the Invoices Balance Due will be displayed and you will be asked to enter the Credit Memo number that is to be Applied to this Invoice.
Figure 176 Enter Credit Memo number

There are two possible responses to this request. 1. Enter the Credit Memo Number. If you enter an Incorrect Credit Memo number or an Invoice number instead, you will get an error message and may request a valid list.
Figure 177 List the Credit Memos?

2. You are applying a Deposit, there is no Credit Memo number. In this case, simply press Enter. You will be asked to confirm that you are Applying a Deposit.
Figure 178 Was this Pending Credit a Deposit?

Enter the Check Number with which that deposit was Paid. If it was not a Check, enter the Payment Code originally used to post this Deposit.
Figure 179 Enter Check Number for Deposit to be Applied

A P P L Y I N G T HE C RE D I T A M O U N T
Once the source of the Pending Credit has been identified (whether a Credit Memo or Deposit), enter the Amount to be Applied to the selected Invoice. By default, the lesser of the Pending Credit or Invoices Balance Due will be offered.
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Figure 180 Enter Amount of Pending Credit to Apply

Enter the Transaction Date. By default its the current date. This is the date of record for applying this Pending Credit amount to the selected Invoice. If you must charge and then remit Sales Taxes and do so on an As Collected versus an As Billed basis, this will be the Pay Date of that Sales tax.
Figure 181 Enter Date Pending Credit was Applied

Once the entries have all been entered correctly the transaction will be saved automatically.
Reporting Pending and Applied Credits

To determine what Pending Credits exist in the system, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Pending Credits and Deposits report. To review what Credit Memos, Deposits and Overpayments have been applied to Invoices, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Issued & Applied Credits report.

(See the Accounts Receivable Reports section of this manual for more information on the purpose and usage of these reports.)

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Draft Auto. Payments

Getting Paid Automatically! What a Concept! If you can arrange with your Subscribers to automatically Draft their Credit Card or Bank Account for payment of their Recurring Revenue Invoices, the time saved and prompt payment will completely offset the extra expense involved with these types of transactions. If you are permitted to accept Credit Cards, half the battle is won. If you can arrange with an intermediary to process your periodic Bank Draft requests, youve gone all the way. Within ALARMS-1 the Subscribers who pay automatically are tracked and their account automatically credited with little effort. To start the process of Drafting Automatic Payments: 1. Make the appropriate arrangements with the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Credit Card Processing organizations of your choosing. 2. Define each Payment that is to be periodically Debited from your Subscribers accounts. From the Accounts Receivable System Reports Menu select the Draft Auto. Payments Menu and choose Automatic Bank Draft Entry.
Figure 182 Automatic Bank Drafts

a. Each Subscriber who is going to be automatically debited for a Recurring Revenue Payment must be defined in the Automatic Bank Drafts screen. b. Enter the ARS Number of the Subscriber who will make the Payment. c. Enter a number from 1 to 999999 representing the financial organization to whom you will actually send the payment request.
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These are user assigned and later you can print lists of all entries assigned this particular number. d. Enter the exact Amount (taxes included) that must be Paid to satisfy their Recurring Revenue Invoice. e. Enter the Credit Card Companys Name or the Bank ID Number from whom you will be requesting Payment. f. Enter the Account Number (either Credit Card or Checking Account).

3. Post your Automatic Bank Draft payments. From the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Draft Auto. Payments Menu and choose Post Automatic Bank Drafts.
Figure 183 Post Automatic Bank Drafts

Enter the Date that these Automatic Payments are to be recorded. This date must be within a Month that has not been Closed and After the date that the Recurring Revenue Invoices were Posted that month (see above).
Figure 184 Enter the Sale Date of the Invoices to be Paid

Enter the exact Sale Date that was assigned to the Recurring Revenues Invoices for this period. During the Posting Process, the system compares all Invoice Sale Dates and Amounts to the Sale Date you enter here and the Amount entered in the Automatic Bank Drafts Entry screen. Those that match both exactly will represent the Payments that must be posted in this Automatically Posted Payments cycle. Enter the Password to activate the procedure (see Passwords in the Appendix P section of this manual).

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Figure 185 Enter the Automatic Posting Password

4. Print the Cash receipts Report for these Payments. Once the Automatically Posted Payments cycle has finished, you will be asked to Print a Cash Receipts Report to list these payments (see Cash Receipts Reports in the Accounts Receivable Reports section of this manual).
Figure 186 Report of Automatically Posted Payments

Answer each question presented by pressing Enter. The Default Answers are Correct and should simply be accepted as presented. 5. Charge the appropriate accounts. Using the Cash Receipts Report printed in step #4 above, charge each account in the appropriate manner (Credit Card Charge or EFT transaction). 6. Validate the Auto Draft Listing periodically. From time to time you should ensure that the Automatic Bank Draft Entries are correct. This Audit of the Auto Drafts requires that you List Automatic Bank Drafts and compare that list with whatever supporting documentation you have that authorizes automatic payments. This report may be printed for one Bank Number or one Bank ID only, or for all of them.
Figure 187 Choose report limitations as required.

If you choose to limit the report to one Bank Number or Identifier, you will have to enter that specific Number/Identifier.

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Figure 188 Enter the Bank Number/Identifier required

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Credits Issued
From time to time you may need to force a Credit onto an Invoice. This may be required because of a system failure or other malfunction that is out of the norm. Using the Credits Issued screen is almost identical to using the Post Payments Received screen. The end result is the same also, the Invoice(s) become Paid. The screen is Password Protected (see Appendix P Passwords later in this manual). Do not use this screen unless a Software Support person has recommended it. It is not to be used normally for applying a Credit to an Invoice. That process is accomplished by creating a Credit Memo in Enter New Sales and Applying that Credit Memo to an Invoice in the Open Credits: Apply screen.

Retrieve the appropriate Subscriber, Zoom and press Credit. Apply the Credit in the same manner as you would a Payment using the Money command in Post Payments Received (see the Post Payments Received section earlier in the section).
Figure 189 Credits Issued

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Month Ending Procedures

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) dictate that accounting records be maintained and that these records be grouped by Accounting Periods. The Accounting Periods supported within ALARMS-1 are the Month and the Calendar Year (GL-1 also supports a Fiscal Year that does not end on December 31st). GAAP requires that reports be available that represent a snap-shot view of the Companys financial position at the end of each (or start of the next) accounting period. To have these reports be final and therefore a reliable view of the results of that accounting period, these Accounting Periods must be Closed. By Closing an Accounting Period you are preventing an Operator from accidentally posting a Sale or Payment to that period once its final reports have been produced (an extraneous Posting would of course change the status and accuracy of those final reports). You should endeavor to Close a Month immediately after that month is over (allowing only enough time for the completion of the posting of all transactions related to that month). Even after a month is closed, you may Cancel Checks relating to Payments received in that Closed Month, you may reprint outstanding Invoices (until the month is closed in which the final payment was received on the Invoice), and you may reprint most reports as well. All Accounts Receivable transactions are permanently stored in the Subscribers Ledger Card for future lookup. Closing a month properly archives that months accounting transactions thereby making them better protected from system failures. It protects you data from accidental postings. It makes your system run Faster and more efficiently.
Figure 190 Month Ending Procedures

To close your month in Accounts Receivable, from the Accounts Receivable System menu select Month Ending Procedures. Enter the
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Starting and Ending Dates for the Month to be Closed. Please accept the dates offered automatically. These are the correct dates.
Figure 191 Close this month?

Confirm the month to be closed. When you first close a month ALARMS-1 will determine the proper first month to be closed. This will be the oldest month in which transactions have been entered. Thereafter close all months in sequence - without skipping any. Be sure to make a Backup prior to closing a month. A Month Ending Procedure must execute from start to finish without interruption. If you have a system failure during a Closing Procedure your data might become damaged. A restored Backup provides an easy recovery from this type of failure. If you are linked to APS-1 and or GL-1 you will be asked to confirm that those have also been backed up.
Figure 192 Did you Back Up your Files?

Most companies actually Save their Backup (disks, tape, zip disk, etc.) along with their End of Month Files as part of the permanent records of the company. Confirm that you do in fact want to perform this Close.
Figure 193 Close this Month?

You will then be asked a series of questions relating to the printing of Invoices and Reports. Answer accordingly. If you indicate that a critical report has not been printed you will be offered the opportunity to print it now. Then you must reconfirm that you want to close the month. Late Fees for Past Due Invoices may be automatically assessed while the month is being closed, or you may calculate your Late Charge Assessments at a different time in of month.

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Figure 194

Indicate whether you want to Charge Late Fees during this procedure (see Late Charge Assessments later in the section for an explanation of how to answer the Late Charges related questions). Answer the questions related to Late Charge Assessments. If you do assess Late Charges during this Month Ending Procedure you must print a final sales report when requested to do so as Late Fees are Sales and must be reflected in this months final Sales Analysis Report. Thereafter the Month Ending Procedure is automatic. You will be notified when it has completed the process.

Late Charge Assessments

Unfortunately, your Subscribers do not always pay their bills on time. But as a for-profit business, you need a method to encourage your Subscribers to do so as often as possible. One commonly used method is the assessment of a Finance Charge and or a Late Fee to anyone who does not pay his/her Bill(s) within the allowable time. ALARMS-1 charges a late payment penalty based on a set amount (a Minimum Late Fee) or a percentage rate (a Finance Charge), depending upon which would be greater. Whether you are assessing Late Fees and Interest based Charges while performing a Month End Procedure or using the Late Charge Assessments feature, the questions (and your subsequent answers) are the same and our explained below. To assess Late Fees when not performing a Month Ending Procedure from the Accounts Receivable System menu select Late Charge Assessments.

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Figure 195 Late Charge Assessment Procedure

Enter the Posting Date (the date these Interest charges and Late Fees will be posted to the Subscribers Accounts). Enter the Interest Posting Cycle - called an Assessment Period. This feature is enabled ONLY if you bill recurring revenue Weekly (see Weekly Billing of Recurring Revenues in the Automatic Billing section of this manual). Note that if youre not using the Weekly Billing feature - meaning that you are billing your recurring revenues only once each month - you will not see this question at all.
Figure 196 Weekly Billing Users must enter an Assessment Cycle

If you are billing your recurring revenues weekly, you will have many different Due Dates for recurring revenues throughout the month. To be sure that each Subscriber is provided the same Grace Period you may assess late fees by assessment period which will allow you to specify a different grace period for each weekly billing group of Subscribers. If you want everyone billed/assessed a Late Fee regardless of billing date, enter zero (0) otherwise enter 1, 2 or 3 following the list below: 1. Assesses Late Charges on Subscribers with Invoices Due from the 1st to the 9th of any month. 2. Assesses Late Charges on Subscribers with Invoices Due from the 10th to the 19th of any month. 3. Assesses Late Charges on Subscribers with Invoices Due from the 20th and beyond.

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Confirm that you actually do want to post these late charges. (This is your last escape route if you selected this procedure in error.)
Figure 197 Post Late Charges?

You must now define the Terms and Conditions to be used to assess these Late Fees. The Rate and Minimum Charge information will be printed on all Invoices and Statements of Subscribers who are not Late Charge exempt.
Figure 198 Minimum Late Fee

To truly encourage your Subscribers to pay their Recurring Revenue and any other outstanding Invoices promptly you must institute a severe Minimum Late Fee for not paying on time. We suggest $5.00. This means that the Late Charge assessed a Subscriber with Past Due Invoice(s) will be $5.00 unless the percentage rate based charge (defined below) is greater. They will not be assessed the $5.00 Late Fee AND the Interest Charge - its one or the other, whichever is greater. Once the Minimum Late Charge is established, you must indicate the date these Late Charges will be Due and Payable.
Figure 199 Due Date for Late Charges?

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1. Do you want actual Invoices to be printed for these Late Charges? 2. Do you want to print an Invoice Listing exclusively with these Invoiced Late Charges? If you answered Yes (Y) to either of these questions, answer Yes (Y) to the question below, otherwise answer No (N).
Figure 200 Print Late Charge Invoices?

Sales Taxing Issues come into play with Late Charges. Some states require Late Fees to be Taxed, most states do not charge Sales tax on Late Charges. Answer accordingly.
Figure 201 Sales Tax on Late Fees?

If they are, enter the State Code of the State that does charge Sales Taxes on Late Fees.
Figure 202 Which State charges Sales Tax on Late Fees?

If you are linked to the GL-1 General Ledger, enter that states General Ledger account for Sales Tax Liability.
Figure 203 Sales Tax Liability Account

Confirm that this is the Sales Taxing situation you need.

Figure 204 Confirm Late Fee Sales Tax setup

Once you have taken care of the Sales Taxing of Late Fees you must set your Interest Percentage Rate for Late Charges based on the Dollar amount of what is Past Due.
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Figure 205 Set Late Charges Percentage rate

Late Fees are based on the Gross Amount of what is Past Due. In other words, all Past Due Invoices are added together and that Past Due Balance is multiplied by the Percentage rate and compared to the Minimum Late Fee to determine how much of a Late Charge will be assessed. If the Subscriber has a minimal past due balance - for instance $10.00 of less - you probably do not want to assess them a $5.00 Late Fee. Set the minimum amount subject to a Late Fee.
Figure 206 Minimum Amount subject to Late Fee

Thereafter the process runs automatically - displaying each Subscriber it is examining. If you chose Late Charge Assessments you will be returned to the Accounts Receivable Menu when it is finished. If you were Charging Late Fees during a Month Ending Procedure, you will be asked to reprint a Monthly Sales Analysis Report. Your month ending closing will continue from there.

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Accounts Receivable System

Reports

There are so many reports available in the Accounts Receivable System Reports Menu that this entire section of the manual will be devoted exclusively to how to select, print and properly use them. From the Accounts Receivable System menu choose the Reports Menu.

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Figure 207 The Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu

Many of these report selections actually take you to a subordinate menu with many additional selections. We will first discuss the selections that actually execute a Report directly and then cover the Report sub-menus.

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Ledger Card for Subscribers

Who bought what, when did they buy it, and when and how did they pay for it? Speaking of payments, what check number did they use and on what deposit slip was it put into the bank? Wow! This information in a paper based system was traditionally contained on a Ledger Card. They were difficult to maintain, often had missing or erroneous entries and therefore were not always completely dependable but always very time consuming to maintain. ALARMS-1 maintains the Ledger Card for Subscribers automatically. To print or View a Subscribers Ledger Card select Ledger Card for Subscribers on the Reports Menu. Rarely, you may want to print all of your Ledger Cards. Answer accordingly.
Figure 208 All Ledger Cards?

Assuming that you answered no (N) to this question, you will need to select the Subscriber for whom you want a Ledger Card. How do you want to make that selection?
Figure 209 How do you want to select the Subscriber?

A - Will allow you to enter an ARS Number of a Subscriber (by default you will be offered the ARS Number of the most recently Retrieved Subscriber). Enter the desired ARS Number or press Enter to accept the default.

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Figure 210 Enter the ARS Number for the Ledger Card

T - Will allow you to enter the Account Title for a Subscriber (by default you will be offered the Name of the most recently Retrieved Subscriber). Enter the desired Account Title or press Enter to accept the default.
Figure 211 Enter the Account Title for the Ledger Card

L - Will present a List of Subscribers in a Pop-Up Selection Box. To select the desired one by highlight the desired Subscriber and press Enter. Q - Quit this report. It will return you to the Reports Menu. Once you have selected and confirmed your Subscriber, you may start the Ledger Card at a specific Date of your choosing.
Figure 212 Need a Starting Date for this Ledger Card?

If you ask to select a Starting Date you must then enter that date.
Figure 213 Enter Starting Date for Ledger Card Report

The date must be no newer than the end of the last month that was closed. Select the desired method, either Printer, File or Screen and then print or view the Ledger Card Report as needed.

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Figure 214 Ledger Card sample

Ledger Cards may be Printed or Viewed on your Screen. When viewed on screen you have a command line with Next, Previous and Quit to help you move through the report. Note that the Previous option returns you all the way Back to where you started!

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Accounts Receivable Report

Who owes us what and for how long? Whos Past Due? How much is owed to our Company as a whole? Which Salesman has the most Past Due accounts? These and many more questions can be answered with your Accounts Receivable Report. This report has several formats available. You also will have several ways of selecting who will be listed on the report. The questions you are asked when you first select this report will determine who will be listed and how it will be used. From the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Accounts Receivable Report. This report may be printed with the Detail (each Subscriber that meets the criteria you set to be listed) or Totals Only (summary Accounts Receivable totals for the Company as a whole). Choose which way you want the report printed.
Figure 215 Detailed or Totals Only Accounts Receivable Report?

Whether you selected Detail or Totals Only, you will be asked if you are using a Laser Printer.
Figure 216 Using a Laser for this Report?

If you selected Totals Only, you may now print the report in the regular manner. If you selected to have a report with Detail, there are several additional questions that must be answered so the report is printed the way you need it this time.

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Figure 217 Selecting who will be included in the Accounts Receivable Report

The report may be printed with All Subscribers (somewhat limited by the questions you will ask later) or for just One Subscriber. If you select to list just One Subscriber, as with the Ledger Card you need only enter their ARS Number when asked. If you want to limit the report to only one service address among many that are billed to a specific ARS Number (one with a separate Billing Address) enter a Location Code when requested to do so, otherwise leave the Location Code field blank. If you selected to list one Subscriber only, you may now print the report in the regular manner. If you selected to print All Subscribers, You may limit the report to Sales made by a particular Salesman.
Figure 218 List for One Salesman Only?

If you request the report for One Salesman, you will have to enter their Employee Code. You may limit the report to Sales made by a particular Division. If you have defined Division Codes and have assigned Division Codes to certain Subscribers you may report by Division.
Figure 219 List for One Division Only?

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If you request the report for One Division, you will have to enter the Division Code. You may enter a Special Selection (see Special Selection Criteria later in this section) to have the list filtered in a specific way.
Figure 220 Need a Special Selection?

If you requested to make a Special Selection, enter your Special Selection Criteria when requested to do so. You may limit this report to only those Subscribers that are already Past Due meaning they have one or more Invoices whose Due Date has passed and are unpaid.
Figure 221 List Past Due Subscribers Only?

Most of the time you will be printing the Accounts Receivable Report to track and follow up on Past Due accounts. Once each month, on the last day of that month (after you have completed your posting for that final day), you should print a Totals Only Accounts Receivable Report for your permanent records. Otherwise, you will be printing reports mostly for groups of Past Due Subscribers. If you request that the report be printed for Only Past Due Subscribers you may further tune the report to your specific needs. Start by entering the number of Days the Subscriber must be Past Due to be included on the report.
Figure 222 How many days past due?

In certain cases you may want to view on screen (or list to paper) Subscribers that are within a certain range of Past Due such as only those who are 30 - 60 days past due or 75 - 99 days past due, etc. If you want to limit the selection is this manner, enter the Maximum number of Days Past Due the Subscriber may be to be included on this Report. If you want to see everyone who is the number of days past due that you specified above, enter nothing.

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Figure 223 Maximum number of days past due?

Whether or not you have limited this Detailed Report in any way there are a few additional questions that must be answered to finish formatting the report. Indicate whether you want to see the Total of all the Pending Credits that have affected the Totals on this report.
Figure 224 Total Pending Credits?

Finally, indicate the general format of the report.

Figure 225 Regular or Short Format?

This may be a Short Report Format that is simply a list of Subscribers with their Account Name, contact information, Balance Due and *Aging Breakdown. This may be the Regular Report Format provides all of the above and the chance to include much more detail including a List of Invoices, current account status and address information. * Aging on an Accounts Receivable Report is the process of accumulating sums of Invoices based on their Due Dates. Those that are Current are Invoices that have not yet become Due. The Sum of the Invoices that are Due are grouped by their Age past the Due Date and on this report are listed by 1 30, 31 - 60, 61-90, and over 90 Days Past their Due Date. With the Short Format, you may request an Address line as well.
Figure 226 Include the Address

You may also request a Condensed format. This is available if you are using a Dot Matrix Printer that may be easily switched to a Condensed Mode with its front panel controls or are using a 100% HP compatible Laser Printer. If you have not previously indicated that you are using a Laser Printer, the Dot Matrix requirement will be displayed with the question.

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Figure 227 Condensed Format?

Print or View the report as desired.

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Subscriber Statements
From time to time, to enhance your collection efforts, you will want to send an account re-cap to your Subscribers listing all of their Past Due Invoices. These account re-caps are called a Subscriber Statement and may be printed by selecting Subscriber Statements on the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu. A Subscriber Statement is basically a Detailed Accounts Receivable Report with mailing information and an optional payment stub included. As with the Accounts Receivable Report explained previously in this section, there are several choices you may make to select who actually gets a Statement Printed (and Statements can only be Printed, not viewed on screen). Because Statements are mailed to Subscribers, you may want to include a Message line or two on them. Either request to select an existing stored Message (from the Sales Category Codes screen in Files Maintenance) or you may define your own.
Figure 228 Select an existing Message?

Enter the Message Number(s) or type in your Message(s). Then decide whether you want to reset your Statement Printing Defaults. These defaults must be set at least once (the first time you print statements).
Figure 229 Reset the Statement Defaults?

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Figure 230 Choosing your Statement Printing Defaults

There are two basic Statement Formats, a Laser and a Regular format. The Laser format is a more formal appearing Statement but requires a Laser, Ink Jet or other similar type of printer. If you have a 100% HP compatible printer, the output will be the best. Indicate whether you have a 100% HP compatible Laser Printer.
Figure 231 HP Compatible?

For other Laser look-alike printers, set your default Page Length to 66 lines and choose a font that supports ASCII text box characters and prints a nonproportional spaced letter at 10 characters per inch. If you have selected to use a Laser Printer as your default selection there are a few Laser format related questions that must be answered. Include Credit Card Payment Information on Return Stub? Laser Statements include a Return Remittance Stub. If you accept Credit Cards for Payment you may have Credit Card related information included on the Remittance Stub (i.e., the Card Holders Name and Address, Account Number and Expiration date, Credit Cards accepted, etc.). Print your Companys Name and Address Lines on these Statements? Indicate whether you are using a preprinted form that already has your Companys Name included.

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Do you want the Telephone Number on your Statements? Do you want the SUBSCRIBERS phone number printed on these statements? Do you want the Attention Line printed on these Statements? If you use the Attention line for internal notes, answer no (N), otherwise answer yes (Y). Enter Credit Cards Accepted. If you have indicated that you do accept Credit Cards for payment, enter those that you accept. Alternately, if you have selected the Regular format as your default selection there are still a few format related questions that must be answered. Print your Companys Name and Address Lines on these Statements? Indicate whether you are using a preprinted form that already has your Companys Name included. Do you want the Telephone Number on your Statements? Do you want the SUBSCRIBERS phone number printed on these statements? Do you want the Attention Line printed on these Statements? If you use the Attention line for internal notes, answer no (N), otherwise answer yes (Y). Include a Remittance Advice bottom on the Statements? Are you using a continuous form that has an additional perforation to accommodate a remittance stub? Include Credit Card Payment Information on this Return Stub? Statements with a remittance advice stub may also include Credit Card information. If you accept Credit Cards for Payment you may include Credit Card related information on the Remittance Stub (i.e., Card Holders Name and Address, Account Number and Expiration date, Credit Cards accepted, etc.). Enter Credit Cards Accepted. If you have indicated that you do accept Credit Cards for payment, enter those that you accept. The Regular format will print properly on virtually any printer. Once you have selected your defaults you must specify which Statement(s) you want printed.
Figure 232 Print All, Some or One Statement?

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All Statements (A) will do just that, print all statements for Subscribers who have one or more outstanding Invoices (the total number may be limited later by some choices you are about to make). If you select to print All Statements you may limit these to only those Subscribers who are Past Due (e.g., have one or more Invoices that are Due and their Due Date(s) have passed.
Figure 233 Print Only Past Due Statements?

You may request to have Statements printed for a specific group of Subscribers who were all Due on a certain day by indicating so and then entering the number of days ago those specific Invoices were Due. This will enable you to send follow up statements to just those individuals who were billed for their Recurring Revenues last month (or whenever) and are now past due. In this manner you can tailor a special message reminder specifically for them.
Figure 234 Only for a specific day?

Otherwise, when printing Statements only for Past Due accounts you may specify the number of days past due they must be before they will receive a Statement.
Figure 235 Number of Days Past Due?

Finally you may enter a Special Selection Criteria to further filter your Subscribers. (Entering Special Selection Criteria is explained in the Appendix F section of this manual.) Some Statements (S) will allow you to select the Starting point (by ARS Number) for this batch of Statements (statements print in ARS Number order). This choice will print ALL Statements from this point on in ARS Number order without the ability to further limit your selection.

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Figure 236 Enter the Starting Point

One Statement (O) will allow you to enter the ARS Number of a Subscriber for whom you want to print a statement. The most currently viewed Subscriber will be the default selection. Print you statements in the normal manner.

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Cash Receipts Report

To see a listing of all payments posted in the system with specified dates or for a specific Subscriber, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Cash Receipts Report. By responding appropriately to the starting questions you will be able to use this Cash Receipts Report for many purposes. These are: Reconcile the accuracy of your daily bank deposit. Summarize a months receipts. Examine a specific Subscribers payment history. Review the details of a current or closed months deposit(s). Provide a Payment Summary by Batch Control Number.

The system stores Payment History in two separate files, an Active file (containing all Payment transactions for months that have Not been Closed) and a Closed file (containing all Payment transactions for months that Have been Closed). Within these files, these transactions are further separated by the Month. Select the type of file to be used for the report.
Figure 237 Active or Closed Month reporting?

Because these Payment transactions are grouped by month, select the month to be listed.
Figure 238 Enter the Month Ending Date

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A C T I V E M O N T H RE P O RT I N G
This report may show each Payment transaction or simply a summary total.
Figure 239 Details or Totals only?

Regardless of whether you selected Detail or Totals Only, you may have the totals (and detail if requested) include all payments for a month or only those within selected dates.
Figure 240

When you select Complete Months (M) information (as you would if printing a final Cash Receipts Report during a Month Ending Procedure), you may have the report sorted by the Subscribers Tax Classification Codes of those who have made payments. This may be useful if you are reporting Taxes on a Collected Basis and are in a state that has very complex Sales Tax Reporting requirements.
Figure 241 Sort by Tax Classification?

If you selected to report by Dates, by default you will be offered the current date for both the Starting and Ending Dates for the report. This is because this report is usually used while Reconciling your Daily Deposit (see below).
Figure 242 Enter the Starting Date

After you have entered the Starting and Ending Dates for this report, you may further limit the list to Payment transactions that were assigned a specific Control Number. Again, this is because most of the time this report will be used while Reconciling your Daily Deposit and each Deposit slip is assigned its own unique Batch Control Number.

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Figure 243 Report by Batch Control Number?

If so, enter the desired Batch Control Number to be reported. Be careful. If you selected Dates and entered a specific day (starting and ending dates were the same), entered a Batch Control Number, but used the same batch control number for other days, you will get those transactions listed for that days transactions only! Similarly, if you selected by Dates rather than by Month and entered dates covering multiple days, then entered a Batch Control Number that was only used one day, only that one days transactions will be listed.

R E C O NC I L I N G Y O U R D A I L Y D E P O S IT
Before you actually take your days payments to the bank you should reconcile the Bank Deposit Slips entries with those that were entered in ALARMS-1. To do so, Post Payments Received. Print a Cash Receipts Report for that day and batch Control Number. Compare the report to the Bank Deposit Slip. They should both agree. Adjust entries as required and repeat as needed. Attach a copy of the Deposit Slip to the Cash Receipts Report and save it until the end of the month. Once the month is closed you need only save a full listing of all Receipts.

CLOSED MONTH REPORTING

This form of the Cash Receipts Report has a slightly different group of questions to provide some difference in functionality. You may select All (A) or One (O) Subscriber to be reported. Selecting One will enable you to see a Cash Receipts Report for all Payments ever made by the individual Subscriber whose ARS Number you are requested to enter.

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Figure 244 All or One Subscriber?

Selecting to list All Subscribers will allow you to choose whether you want a report for a single month or an entire year.
Figure 245 Report by Month or Year?

If you select to report by Year, you must enter the year Ending Date. The year ending date offered will be the ending date of the last closed month of the current year. You may change it to a previous year if you wish. You must also indicate whether you want Detail (probably not) or Totals only. If you have selected to report by Month, you must specify which month is to be reported (it must be a Closed Months ending date), whether you want it limited to a specific Batch Control Number from that month and whether you want Details or Totals only. These last two items operate the same way as an Active periods report.

S U M M A R Y B Y B AT C H C O NT R O L N U M B E R
Each Cash Receipts Report, whether printed with Detail or Totals Only, has a summary re-cap included. This re-cap will list each Batch Control Number reported and the Amount of the Payments reported under each. If the report is printed for a specific month or dates within a month, this recap shows each Bank Deposit Slips totals. If it is a Closed Period report for the current or any previous Year, the re-cap lists All Transactions posted under those numbers for any month within the period being reported. All of your Receipt transactions are permanently saved until you delete them using the Purge Records Permanently selection in the Other Files Maintenance Utilities menu.

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Issued & Applied Credits

Sometimes Credit Memos are created to offer a Subscriber some compensation for a Referral or other business related adjustment. Sometimes Subscribers give Deposits in advance of a billing for future work. Sometimes Subscribers over pay or twice pay an Invoice. From time to time you may force a Credit onto an Invoice using the password protected Credits Issued screen, usually at the recommendation of one of our Software Support Technicians, to correct a system anomaly. In the Accounts Receivable System menu under Open Credits: Apply you assign Deposits, Overpayments and Credit Memos to specific Invoices to pay off these Invoices and use up these Pending Credits. As with the Cash Receipts Report detailed above, you must answer a series of questions to define from where and specifically what Credit related information you want reported. The questions and reasons are the same. Answer them accordingly.

To report what Credits (whether from Deposits, Overpayments, Credit Memos or blanket Issued) were applied to what Invoices, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select Issued & Applied Credits. Answer the questions as required to get the information needed.

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Figure 246 Issued and Applied Credits Report.

What is this report used for? It is an Audit Trail Report. It details how certain unusual transactions were processed through the system. These transactions include all entries performed in the Open Credits: Apply and the Credits Issued screens. It details which Deposits and Credit Memos were Applied to what Invoices within specified dates. The report must cover either dates with a Closed or an Open accounting period. Its sister report is the Pending Credits & Deposits Report explained below.

Pending Credits & Deposits

Credit Memos are created to offer a Subscriber some compensation for a Referral or other business related adjustment. Subscribers send Deposits in advance of a billing for future work or pay twice for an Invoice. Each of these transactions creates a Pending Credit. A Subscribers Pending Credits are summarized on the Subscriber Information screen in total only. This report will enable you to see the detail of where the Pending Credit is coming from. Eventually all Pending Credits must be Applied to Invoices in the Accounts Receivable System menus Open Credits: Apply screen (see Open
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Credits: Apply in the Accounts Receivable Operations section of this manual). To see a detailed listing of all Pending Credits and Deposits, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select Pending Credits & Deposits and answer the questions to customize what you will get.
Figure 247 Pending Credits for One Subscriber?

If you only want to review a specific Subscribers Pending Credits and Deposits answer Yes and enter their ARS Number (which by default will be the most recently viewed Subscriber). Print the report in the normal manner.
Figure 248

The report will list each Subscriber that has a Credit balance along with the detail of what makes up that Pending Credit amount.. It is summarized at the bottom.

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Bills: Pro-Rated & Service

This will assist you in your use of the Pro-Rated Invoices feature. This feature is available using the Invoices command line selection in the Automatic Billing Data screen, or the Auto-Bill feature available in the Write Up Service Requests. This report will list all pending Pro-rated and Auto-Billed items. Please see Pro-Rating Recurring Revenue Bills in the Automatic Billing section and Auto-Billing Service Calls in the Service Tracking System section of this manual. To see a list of the Pending Invoice Items that were previously created either with the Pro-Rating or Auto Service Billing features, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu, select Bills: Pro-Rated & Service. The pending invoice items listed on this report must actually be Invoiced using the Invoice Printing Menu selection called Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices. There are no configuration questions for this report. Simply select it and print it in the normal manner.

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X-Port Collection Letters

Printing Statements for Subscribers who have Invoices that are unpaid and past their due date provides an excellent reminder for them to pay. But sometimes they dont. Usually the next step (after a telephone call or two that brought no response) is to send a Statement with a Collection Letter of some form. Typically you will have two or three levels of Collection Letters depending on how many days Past Due the Subscribers account is. If you have our companion product PROS-1 you may link ALARMS-1 to it for the purpose of creating these Collection Letters while you are printing your reminder Statements. The process is as follows: Create two or three Collection Letters in PROS-1 representing the different levels of payment demand you want to convey to your Past Due Subscribers (i.e., a pleasant reminder or balance due, a strong 2nd notice reminder, a demand payment or will cancel). These letters will be reused each time you run this process so this step is only done once (see the PROS-1 manual for instructions on how to create these letters). Be sure to establish your Companys data link in PROS-1 using its View/Select Active Prospects main menu selection. Return to ALARMS-1 and from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select X-Port Collection Letters and enter the Path to PROS-1.
Figure 249 Enter Path to PROS-1

You will be presented with a Pop-Up Selection Box containing the Prospect and Company Paths youve previously entered in your PROS-1 program. Choose the Company and Path combination that represents THIS Companys data set. Enter one or two Letter Codes. You must enter the appropriate Letter Code for at least one and at the most two levels of reminders that you want to be printed during this run. If you enter an invalid Letter Code you will be offered a Pop-Up Selection Box to select the proper letter.

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Figure 250 Enter Letter Code(s)

Enter the Days Past Due numbers for each Letter Code entered. By default the first will be for the 45 Days Past Due and the second will be 75 days Past Due letters but you will be able to reset these.
Figure 251 Enter #1 Letters Number of Days Past Due

You may also request that Labels be created during this process. If you are sending collection letters in envelopes that do not have address windows you will need Labels for this mailing. Answer No if you will be using Window Envelops.
Figure 252 Need Mailing Labels?

Depending on your answers, at some point you will be offered the opportunity to save many of these entries as the future defaults. This will make it easier the next time you run this process as you will not have to remember all of these answers - they will be offered as your default answers. If you are doing a special run and will not normally be answering the questions in this manner later do not save your answers as the default.
Figure 253 Save these as Defaults?

You will also be given the opportunity to make a Special Selection. This will enable you to further filter who will get a Statement during this run.
Figure 254 Make a Special Selection?

Finally, you will have the opportunity to put one of two note lines on the Statements that are about to be printed. Do so and include a reminder to Read the enclosed letter. It contains important information about your account!
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Print the Statements in the normal manner. If you are using three stages of Collection Letter follow-up, simply re-run the procedure and enter only one letter code (for the Final Notice type of letter). Enter the Days Past Due appropriate for that letter. Do not save these as your default answers. Go to PROS-1 and print all Unprinted letters. These will be printed in the order that the Statements were printed. Collate and mail the Letter/Statement combinations.

MENUS, MENUS, MENUS

The remainder of the selections on the Reports Menu will lead you to additional sub-menus. Each of these sub-menus contains a list of related reports (e.g., reports on a sub-menu deal with the same general category of information). These menus and their purposes are: Taxes Billed & Collected - Provides all Sales Tax related information. Recurring Revenue Reports - Provides Average, Preview and Deferred revenue information relating to Recurring Revenue Invoices. General Data Lists & Labels - Provides lists and labels of Subscribers in various formats. Monthly Sales Analysis Menu - Provides many Analysis Reports relating to Sales calculated on an as Billed basis and on an as Collected basis. Draft Auto. Payments Menu - Provides a system for Entering, Tracking, Posting and Reporting Payments that are to be Automatically Deducted from Subscribers Checking and Credit Card Accounts.

Each menus Selections will be described below.

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Taxes Billed & Collected Menu

From the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Taxes Billed & Collected menu. Use this menus choices to track and report your Sales Tax Liabilities.
Figure 255 Sales Taxes Collected and Billed

Report of Taxes Actually Collected

Some states allow a Company to Report and Pay Sales Taxes on an As Collected basis. Most states do not (they require Sales Taxes to be reported and paid on an as Billed basis). If Cash (an as Paid versus as Billed) Basis Sales Tax reporting is permitted in you state and you want to report your Sales Tax Liabilities in this manner, you will use this report to do so.

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Figure 256 Month or Year to Date report?

From the Taxes Billed & Collected menu choose the Report of Taxes Actually Collected. Choose whether you want a report for a specific Month or for an Annual (or Quarterly) reporting period. You must also indicate whether you want each payments related Invoice information listed. If you selected to report by the Month (M) you must enter the Month Ending Date for the report. By default you will be offered the starting and ending dates of the most recently finished (but not necessarily closed) month. If you selected a Year to Date (Y) report, you may enter the starting and ending date for the report which may be from two to twelve months in length. By default it will be the first day of the current year to the current date. Modify these defaults as may be required, confirm the dates, and print in the normal manner.

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Figure 257 Sample Taxes Collected Report

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Sales Taxes Invoiced by Class Code

Most States require a company to remit their Sales Tax Liability based on their Sales rather than Collections. To print a list of Invoices and their related Sales Taxes, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Taxes Billed & Collected menu and choose the Sales Taxes Invoiced by Class Code report. This report requires that a master file be updated when ever new Subscribers are added to the system. Indicate whether any new Subscribers have been added since the last report was issued.
Figure 258 Added New Subscribers?

Choose whether you want to report a specific Month (M) or get a Year to Date (Y) listing. Indicate whether you want the report to include a detailed listing of each Invoice created during the period youll specify.
Figure 259 Month or Year to date report?

If you select Month, enter the Month Ending Date. By default it will be the oldest Month that has NOT yet been Closed. The Year to Date selection allows you to enter any Starting and Ending Date. However, only those months that have been Closed are reported so when entering the Starting and Ending dates be sure to include only those months that have already been Closed. Finally you may request that the report include only one Tax Classification group. If you ask for only one, you must enter the desired Tax Classification Code.

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Figure 260 One Tax Classification Only?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 261 Sample Sales Taxes Invoiced by Class Code report

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Classification Code Sorted Invoices

There is another variation of a report to list all Sales (and any related Sales Taxes sorted by their Tax Classification Code) that were billed. This report should only be used to list months that have not been Closed! It is primarily designed for Canadian Users who need this to list and report their GST Taxes. To print this Classification Code sorted list of Invoices and their related Sales Taxes, from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Taxes Billed & Collected menu and choose the Classification Code Sorted Invoices report. Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates (by default they will be the oldest month that is not closed). Indicate whether youve added Subscribers since last printing this report. Print the report in the normal manner.
Figure 262 Sample Classification Code Sorts Invoices report

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By Tax Class by Sales Category

Frequently a Company will be conducting business in more than one state or county that assess their own specific Sales tax Rate. These separate Sales Taxing Authorities are defined in the Classification (Tax) Codes screen in Files Maintenance. It is also not uncommon to be required to report to specific governmental units (cities, counties, states, etc.) on the types of sales made, as well. This is usually required when you must pay a Mercantile Tax (based on gross sales of a particular type or types within a certain governmental jurisdiction). To make this reporting requirement manageable, assign a specific Classification code to each Subscriber within these areas. Then use the By Tax Class by Sales Category report found in the Taxes Billed & Collected menu to calculate the results automatically.
Figure 263 Sales Sorted by Tax Class and Sales Category Code

Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending dates for this report. You may request to see the Detail of each Sales Item if required (this will make a very long report and is not recommended unless you are conducting a detailed audit).

Figure 264 Sample By Tax Class by Sales Category report Page 179

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Recurring Revenue Reports

From the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Recurring Revenue Reports menu. Use this menus choices to track and report your Companys Recurring Revenue Sales, Recurring Revenue Sales Previews, and provide a report of the Average of the Recurring Revenues being billed by your Company.
Figure 265 Recurring Revenue Reports menu

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Average Recurring Revenue

On average, how much Recurring Revenue is the Company billing each month? How much of each Recurring Revenue Sales Category is being billed? How much are contract Installment Payments? These and many more questions may be answered with the Average Recurring Revenue report available from the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu within its Recurring Revenue Reports menu. Once this report is selected, you must answer a series of questions to specifically define what you want reported. You must first indicate whether you want the Detail of each Recurring Revenue record listed.
Figure 266 Show Subscriber Detail?

If you requested Detail, this will enable the Audit feature to examine each Subscriber record and determine whether or not they are being billed when they should be. (If they have a CSID assigned but have no Recurring Revenue records defined.) It can also determine when they are being billed and shouldnt be. (They are marked as a Billing Address and yet they have a Recurring Revenue record defined. That Automatic Billing Data record should be moved to a service location.) If you did not request Detail you may still request the Audit information.
Figure 267 Include Audit Information?

If you did request Detail, you will be asked if you want All your Subscribers listed or just those with Recurring Revenue already defined.
Figure 268 All or Recurring Revenue Subscribers?

Each Recurring Revenue record is assigned a Start On date indicating when that item may start being billed to the Subscriber. If you often assign Start On dates sometime into the future (for contracts that may not start for several
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months or so) you may want to have all Recurring Records with a Start On Date past a certain date eliminated from the reports calculations.
Figure 269 Specify a Cut Off for Start On Dates?

If you do, enter the appropriate Cut Off date when requested.
Figure 270 Skip Subscribers after what Start On Date?

Sometimes you may want to evaluate the Average Recurring Revenues generated by a specific Salesman. You may be paying them a commission based on these revenues or using them as part of their annual evaluation. In either case, if you want this report for a specific Salesman (the Salesman of record for a Recurring Revenue item is represented by the Employee Code assigned to that Subscriber) indicate so and enter their Employee Code.
Figure 271 Average Recurring Revenues for One Salesman Only?

Finally, select the order that you want the Subscribers listed on this report (if you did not select to have Detail included in the report you may not be asked this question).
Figure 272 Order for the List?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 273 Sample Average Recurring Revenue Listing

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Preview Recurring Revenue

How much will be billed next month for Recurring Revenue? What sales categories will be billed? Who exactly will be billed for what? These questions about your Recurring Revenue will be answered using the Preview Recurring Revenue report. From the Reports Menu select the Recurring Revenue Reports menu and then choose Preview Recurring Revenue. Enter the Sale Date that you will be using when you Bill Recurring Revenue.
Figure 274 Enter Sale Date of Recurring Revenues to be previewed

Enter the Month you want to Preview (1 - 12). Then decide whether you want to see the Detail of all that will be billed (versus only the Totals by Sales Category of what will be billed).
Figure 275 Enter Month Number to be Previewed

You may also request to see a Preview for one Subscriber only (to validate your setup entries). If so, enter their ARS Number. By default, it will be the last Subscriber you viewed.
Figure 276 Preview One Subscriber?

You may request to see the Detail of each item that will be billed. If you do, enter and confirm that Subscribers ARS Number and Account Name.
Figure 277 Show the Detail of the Preview?

You may also request that their Start-On Date be included on the listing.

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Figure 278

Print this report in the normal manner.

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Recurring Revenue Report

For those users who will never need more than nine types of Recurring Revenue Sales Categories (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual) you may use this Recurring Revenue Report to calculate your Average Recurring Revenues. From the Recurring Revenue Reports menu, select the Recurring Revenue Report and indicate whether you want Subscriber Detail listed.
Figure 279 Show Subscriber Detail?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 280 Sample Recurring Revenue Report (short format)

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Contracts Extended Values

If you never sold another System, how much are the remaining payments on your contracts currently in force actually worth? What are your Contracts Extended Values? From the Recurring Revenue Reports menu select Contracts Extended Values and decide if you want the Detail of each Subscribers Contract included in this report.
Figure 281 Include Subscriber Detail?

If you have requested Detail you must specify what sequence you want to list the Subscribers.
Figure 282 Print Report In What Order?

Enter the length of your Contracts. The length may be two (2) years to twelve (12) years. This number is then compared with the Start On dates (and any Ends On dates - in case there are some special contracts that end prior to the normal five years) that youve defined in the Automatic Billing Data screen(s) for each Subscriber.. Therefore if no Ends On date is defined, the contract is assumed to run for the period of years you specify below starting with the Start On date and running for the Term you specify below.

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Figure 283 Enter Contract s Term

Enter the Starting and Ending Dates for this report. The system will offer default choices for these dates but you must confirm them (in case the offered defaults do not match your contracts terms exactly).
Figure 284 Enter the Starting Date for the report

Enter the Recurring Revenue Code (1 - 99) that you want reported (you may only calculate the Extended Value of similar Contract types on the report).
Figure 285 Enter Recurring Revenue Number

Print the report in the normal manner.

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Figure 286 Sample Contracts Extended Values report

Earned Rec. Revs. By Year

When you Bill Recurring Revenue, how much of that billed Recurring Revenue will actually be Earned Revenue? In other words, during the current fiscal year, how much of the services for which you have billed your Subscribers have actually been provided? The portion of those automatically billed services that have actually been provided is defined as your Earned Recurring Revenue. If some portion of those services that were billed during the current year have not yet been provided then that portion of the billed Recurring Revenue for these services has not yet been earned. How much of your Recurring Revenue should be deferred to the following year? If you are a rapidly growing company that bills their Recurring Revenues on a Quarterly or Annual basis in advance, then implementing a process of Deferring Unearned Revenues may reduce (defer) your current Federal Income Tax obligation. However this type of financial reporting is complicated and usually requires a high degree of accounting skill in-house or a good off site accountant to properly track and report your Earned and Deferred Revenues. This report will be one of the tools supplied with this system that you will use to report Earned and Deferred Revenues and transfer the information onto your Financial Statements. If you have implemented Earned and Deferred Revenues tracking as part of your Financial Statements preparation then you may need to know your Earned Recurring Revenues by Year. From the Recurring Revenue Reports menu select Earned Rec. Revs. By Year .

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Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending dates for your Companys Fiscal Year. By default this will be the current calendar year. This report only lists transactions from Closed Months!
Figure 287 Enter the Starting Date for Earned Recurring Revenues Report

The report may List All Subscribers that were billed during this fiscal year (but that would make a very long report). Answer this question as required. If you do choose to list All Subscribers then you will need to specify a Recurring Revenue Number to be listed (as listing all Recurring Revenue Codes and Billed Amounts would simply be too long of a report). Do you Bill Recurring Revenue up to a month in advance of when the Service will start, or are your Invoices dated within the month that your service for them actually starts? Most companies bill somewhat in advance of when the service starts. If you bill (Date your Recurring Revenue Invoices) at least one day prior to the month for which the service will start being provided, answer yes (Y) to this question.
Figure 288 Bill in Advance?

Print the report in the normal manner. This report will show the Earned Recurring Revenues for each month of the Fiscal Year that you specified. All Recurring Revenues that have been billed but have not yet been earned in the defined Year will be listed in the Deferred column. Figure 289 Earned Recurring Revenue by Year

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The calculations work as follows: The value of one month of the Annual Billing created eleven months prior to the currently specified year is distributed to the first monthly column on this report. The value of one month of the Quarterly Billing created two months prior to the currently specified year is distributed to the first monthly column on this report. The value of one month of the Annual Billing created ten months prior to the currently specified year is distributed to the second monthly column on this report as is the value of the second months billing from those Annual Invoices created eleven month prior (see #1 above). The value of one month of the Quarterly Billing created one month prior to the currently specified year is distributed to the second monthly column on this report as is the value of the second months billing from those Quarterly Invoices created two month prior (see #2 above). In this manner all Recurring Revenue Invoices are distributed into the appropriate monthly columns on this report. The value of one month of the Annual Billing created in the second month of the current year is shown in the deferred revenue column. The value of one month of the Quarterly Billing created in the eleventh month of the current year is shown in the deferred revenue column. In this manner all Recurring Revenues that have not yet been earned are summed and shown in the deferred revenue column of this report. The report will round each months totals to the nearest whole dollar amount.

Deferred Rec. Revs Report

The Earned Recurring Revenues Report above shows that certain portions of your Recurring Revenues may be counted as unearned until the month this service is actually provided. That unearned revenue is called Deferred Revenue and is shown in a Deferred Revenue column on that report. This Deferred Recurring Revenues Report shows the Deferred Revenues summarized in that column of the Earned Recurring Revenues Report but extracted starting with a specified month. With this report you may see how
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much of the previously billed Recurring Revenues should be deferred in the months immediately following the most recently Closed month. If you have implemented Earned and Deferred Revenues tracking as part of your Financial Statements preparation then you may need to use the Deferred Recurring Revenues Report. From the Recurring Revenue Reports menu select the Deferred Rec. Revs. Report. Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending dates for the starting point you want reported. By default, this will be the month immediately following the most recently closed month. This report only calculates Recurring Revenue transactions from Closed Months! Decide whether you want to list All Subscribers who were billed for Recurring Revenue in that period. If so, you will have to specify the Recurring Revenue Sales Category Code (R-1 to R-99) that you want reported otherwise the list would be too long. If you select not to list All Subscribers, then the report will calculate all Earned Recurring Revenues for the month you specified above.

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The report will list each month of the year following the starting date you entered above and show, by month, the deferred revenues for that month. Each columns (months) total is rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount.
Figure 290 Sample of the Deferred Recurring Revenues Report

The example above (a worst case scenario) is for a company that primarily bills Quarterly and has already billed for November (Invoices were dated in October) and has Closed October. By closing October those transactions have become available for this report. All of Octobers Recurring Revenue has been deferred into subsequent months (they bill a month in advance). Some of the future months have Credits offsetting existing billings that have not been earned and a small Annually billed recurring revenue has also been taken into account.

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Monthly Earned Rec. Revs.

If you have implemented Earned and Deferred Revenues tracking as part of your Financial Statements preparation, then you may need to use the Monthly Earned Recurring Revenues report. From the Recurring Revenue Reports menu select Monthly Rec. Revs. This report will show the Recurring Revenue that your Company has Earned in the specified month. Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates for the report.
Figure 291 Enter Starting Date for this Report

Decide whether you want to list All Subscribers who were billed for Recurring Revenue in that period. If so you will have to specify the Recurring Revenue Sales Category Code (R-1 to R-99) that you want reported otherwise the list would be too long. If you select not to list All Subscribers, then the report will calculate all Earned Recurring Revenues for the month you specified above.
Figure 292 A Sample of the Monthly Earned Recurring Revenue report

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General Data Lists and Labels

Many times you will want to print a list of your Subscribers, sometimes filtered in certain ways to restrict who actually will appear on the list. The same is true with Labels. What kinds of information should be on the list? This is determined by how the list is to be used. There are many Subscriber Information Reports available throughout ALARMS-1. This sub-menu selection contains several that you will find very useful under certain circumstances. From the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select General Data Lists and Labels. Each menu selection will be explained below.
Figure 293 General Data Lists and

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General Information List

This report will list each Subscribers name and address, and the status of the account (date and amount of last sale and payment, current balance and pending credit amounts, etc.). Optionally, it will also include Automatic Billing Data record(s).

You may print a General Information List for one Subscriber by selecting One (O) and entering the ARS Number. By default, that will be the last Subscriber viewed. You will get the Long Format style report (see below). If you choose to list All Information Sheets, you may make a Special Selection to filter the list so that it includes only those Subscribers that fit your current reporting needs.
Figure 294 Special Selection Criteria?

(See Special Selection Criteria in the Appendix section of this manual.) You may then specify the sequence in which the list will be printed.
Figure 295 Select the order of the list

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Finally, you may choose the Short (S) format which excludes their Recurring Revenue information or the Long (L) format for this report.
Figure 296 Print the Short or Long Format?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 297 Sample of the General Information List (long format)

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Print/List Subscriber Information

This selection offers two other Report formats and several sub-formats depending on the way you answer its set-up questions. This will probably be your most-used report selection when you need a list of your Subscribers. As with other reports in this system, this report may also be filtered using a Special Selection Criteria or a pre-defined filter file (see Special Selection Criteria in the Appendix F section of this manual) to limit which Subscribers will appear on the list. You must (as usual) designate the sequence in which this list is to be printed. You must choose from a Regular (R) or Short (S) Format listing.
Figure 298 Regular or Short Form?

Depending on which format youve selected, you will be asked a series of questions that will allow you to customize this list to your current needs.
Short Format Listing

Because this is a densely formatted report, to improve readability, you may want to skip a line between each Subscriber. However, if your list will include many Subscribers, to save paper you may not want to skip any lines.
Figure 299 Skip a Line between

The Short Format list is available in three configurations: 1. A Collections Call List. 2. A Customer Referral List. 3. For internal use only, condensed Subscriber Information lists.
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To determine which format you get, indicate whether this list will be used for Collections or Referrals (the least selected choices).
Figure 300 Will this be a Collection or Referral List?

Answering no (N) will provide you with the standard Short Format and allow some additional custom formatting to occur. You may request an On Line Date by Salesman report format.
Figure 301 Sample of the On Line Date by Salesman Report

If not, you may request to have the Subscribers address line information included and/or their Installed Equipment information. The Installed Equipment information may be included within the On Line Date by Salesman format, too.
Figure 302 Sample of the standard Short Format list with Address Line included

The Subscribers Equipment Listing may be included on several report formats. If you are asked the question, it may be included on the list.

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Figure 303 Installed Equipment Listing included on Short Format report with Address Line included

The Regular Format list is always for internal use only. It is designed for use by your Service Department and those other individuals within the company who require access to lists of system related information. When you choose the Regular Format (after making any required Special Selection and choosing the sequence in which the list will be printed), you will be asked if you want Installed Equipment information included.
Figure 304 Sample of the Regular Format with Installed Equipment Codes included

Regular Format Listing

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Label Printing Selections

As with most of the reports available throughout ALARMS-1, you will have the opportunity to select from previously defined Data Filter Files or specify the Special Selection Criteria created specifically for this Label set.
Figure 305 Printing Labels

Once you have decided on the set of Subscribers for which you want Labels printed, you must choose the type of Label (Regular, Rolodex or Custom) and the sequence in which you want these Labels printed. This is accomplished by making the appropriate Command Line choice and in some cases selecting an additional parameter.
Figure 306 Label Printing Command Line

The Alphabetical choice offers a Standard or Custom Label format. The Standard Format is basically a normal Mailing Label (name, address, city, state and zip). The Custom Label may be defined in whatever format that you want for $20 directly from Micro Key Software, Inc. The Custom Label prints on whatever label stock you require (and told us about when you ordered the Label). The Standard Label by default prints on One Across tractor fed labels that are 3 inches by 15/16 inch. If you choose the Regular Format and are using a 100% HP compatible Laser Printer and have 8 by 11 inch sheets of Laser Labels (20 per sheet with two columns of 10 labels each) you may specify the Laser Printer format when asked. Figure 307 Using a 100% Compatible
Laser Printer?

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If you have selected a Custom format, these Custom Labels must be printed to a Local Printer (if you are operating on a Network) or to the default printer (on a Windows 95 computer) or to a File for later use.
Figure 308 Send the Custom Labels to a Printer or File?

If you choose to send the Custom Labels to your local Printer, you may request that a Sample be sent first to assist you in the proper alignment of the Labels in the Printer. The printer must be on-line and ready when you make this selection. If you choose the Standard Label format, you may also request that a Sample be sent first to assist you proper alignment of the Labels in the Printer. However, in this case, you will be able to select and print to any available printer that has been defined in the system. The Zip Order choice simply allows you to sort the selected Subscribers by Zip Code. For network Users, this process will temporarily lock all users from using the Subscriber file. CENTRAL-1 users may not use this selection. The Rolodex choice prints the standard 2 by 4 inches - tractor fed Rolodex cards. Rolodex cards must be printed to your local printer. The Sorting choice allows you to specify whether you want the Labels in ARS Number, Account Title, CSID, Service Account number or, if you are not using CENTRAL-1, a user defined special sequence.

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Installed Equipment List

Installed Equipment information available in Subscriber Lists above may also be printed individually for one Subscriber at a time. This is useful if you need to provide detailed information about a specific Subscribers system to a Technician.

Figure 309 Print Installed Equipment List

You must enter the Subscribers Service Account Number. By default, this will be the Account Number of the last Subscriber that was viewed.
Figure 310 Sample Installed Equipment List

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Monthly Sales Analysis Menu

The Monthly Sales Analysis Menu provides access to many reports that will help you analyze your Companys Sales efforts. These reports can sort your Sales Information based on Sales or based on Receipts from those Sales.

Normal accounting procedures require you to report sales as they are made regardless of when they are paid. But if you are paying sales commissions, you may not want to pay those commissions until you company has been paid for
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the sale. The reporting available here can accommodate both of these issues equally well.

Monthly Sales Analysis Report

This report is available with Detail, Super Detail or Totals Only formats. It reports the Sales (new Invoices created) within a given month. It is used to report sales for a month that has NOT BEEN CLOSED. This report should be printed (in the Totals Only format) during a Month Ending Procedure (see Month Ending Procedures in the Accounts Receivable Operations section of this manual). If you do enter a Month Ending Date of a month that has already been closed, the report will list only those Invoices billed in the specified month that have not yet been paid, up to and including the last month that was closed. Enter the Month Ending Date for this report. By default that will be the last day of the current month, or if you are Closing a Month, the last day of the month that you are closing.
Figure 311 Enter Month Ending Date

The report may be printed with the Detail (D) of each Subscriber with each Invoice number and amount billed to that Subscriber for the specified month and those same Sales sorted and summarized by their Sales Category Codes. If Totals (T) is selected, the months Sales will be sorted and summarized by their Sales Category Codes.
Figure 312 Detail or Totals Only?

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If you have selected Totals only, you may request that each sale item be listed (an Audit Trail Listing) that was billed under all Sales Category Codes that month.
Figure 313 List the Sales Detail?

This selection, along with the Invoice Printing Menus List Invoices report executed for a whole month, provides an outstanding detailed analysis of all Sales Activity for the month. Subscribers may be assigned Division Codes (see choose Name and Address of Divisions under Division Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual) and later, sales may be reported by those Division Codes. If you are using Division Codes and want a report limited to only one of these, request by Division and enter the desired Division Code.
Figure 314 Report by Division?

Print these reports in the normal manner.

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Sales Analysis Report for the Actual Receipts

This report will provide a list of all Receipts sorted by the Sales Category Code under which the original sale was Invoiced, and rounded to the nearest whole dollar. You must enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Date of the report. You may request from one day up to one month.
Figure 315 Enter the Starting Date for this Report

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 316 Sample of the Report of Sales Sorted by Actual Receipts

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Receipts by Salesman for Sales Category Codes

Often, Companies pay Commissions based on Receipts rather than Sales. In this manner they ensure that the Sales Person is more committed to the company actually getting paid for the sales made. The Receipts by Salesman for Sales Category Codes report is designed to provide the information that you will need to calculate sales commissions based on gross sales receipts of specified sale categories during a defined period.
Figure 317 Enter Starting Date for Employees Sales by Receipts report

Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates for the report. Then indicate whether you want to report only Non-Excluded Sales Category Codes (see Sales Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual).
Figure 318 Report only NonExcluded Sales?

Each Sales Category Code is marked whether it should or should not be excluded from the Employee Sales Reports when that Sales Category is first defined. Generally this feature is used to eliminate reporting certain Sales Categories that are not eligible for commission or need not be seen by the Sales Department such as: Finance Charges, Service Sales, certain types of Recurring Revenue Billings, etc. This will shorten the report considerably and only show the information really required by the Sales Department or Payroll Administration.

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By Salesman by Sales Category with the Detail

Within a specific month, how much did you receive from what was sold (at any time in the past) by what Salesmen? Who actually paid it? These are the questions the By Salesman by Sales Category with Detail report will answer. This report is used primarily to track payments for sales that are subject to the payment of a commission. As with all these Receipts based Sales Analysis Reports you must enter and confirm the Starting and Ending dates for the report and decide whether to report only the non-excluded Sales Category Codes (reporting only those that are tracked by the Sales Department). This report may also be printed for only one Salesman rather than the whole companys sales staff. To do so, answer that you want the report for only One Salesperson and then enter that persons Employee Code.
Figure 319 Receipts by Sales Category for One Salesman Only?

You will also have the opportunity to request to show the Subscribers On Line Date. Figure 320 Sample of the Receipts by Salesman
with Detail report

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Tax Classification Sorted Taxes Invoiced Data

If you are charging Sales Tax and/or a GST or VAT tax as well, this report is designed to provide you with the information you will need to complete your Federal and State Sales Tax Reports. It reports Sales not Receipts. It must be printed immediately prior to closing the month on which it is reporting. You must enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates and indicate whether you have changed your Subscriber data since the previous months report was printed.
Figure 321 Have you Added any new Subscribers?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 322 Sample of the Sales Sorted by Tax

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Invoice Listing with Detail for an Open Month

See List Invoices (Un-Printed or Months) in the Invoice Printing Menu area of the Accounts Receivable Operations section of this manual. It is the same report.

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History of Sales for an Individual Subscriber

Although the Ledger Card Report will list all Accounts Receivable Transactions for a specified Subscriber in date order, there are occasions when you may want to view their Sales Transactions only. To do so, choose the History of Sales for an Individual Subscriber report from the Monthly Sales Analysis Menu and enter and confirm the desired Subscribers ARS Number. By default, this will be the most recently viewed Subscriber.
Figure 323 Enter ARS Number for Sales History Report

Print the report in the normal manner. In the example below, notice that even the Notes placed on an Invoice (see Note Line 1..4 examples below) are reported as well to provide a very clear picture of what and why these sales were billed. The report prints in Date Order.
Figure 324 Sample of a Subscribers Sales History

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Employee Sales Sorted by Sales Category Code

This report is Sales based not Receipts based. It is used to track new Sales made by your Sales employees in a specified week, month or longer period. Although you may enter any Starting and Ending dates for the report, these dates must all fall either within a period of Open Months or a period of Closed Months (weeks, years).Figure 325 What Sales period do you want
to report?

Monthly (M) will allow you to enter and confirm Starting and Ending Dates for a specific Month. You may request a report for an Open or Closed Month. By default, the dates offered are the Starting and Ending Dates for the month following the most recently closed month. Weekly (W) will allow you to enter and confirm any Starting and Ending Dates within any month. You may actually request a report for as little as One Day up to the whole month. By default, the dates offered are the Starting Date of the current month and the Ending Date will be today. Yearly (Y) will allow you to enter a Starting and Ending Dates to report either the current Year to date Sales results or any previous Year to Date results. The Dates should be from periods that have already been closed. By default, the dates offered are the Starting Date of the current year and the Ending Date of the last month that has been closed.

Once you have entered and confirmed the reporting period, as with all of the other Sales Analysis Reports, you may choose to report only non-excluded Sales Category Codes. You may also ask that all sales detail be included as well.
Figure 326 List Detail on the Employee Sales by Sales Category report?

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In the sample below, a small portion of sales for a month is being requested. This example shows the report version with Detail.
Figure 327 Sample of Employees Sales report with Detail

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Year to Date (or Closed Month) Sales Analysis

If you want a Sales Analysis Report for Month(s) that have been closed and do not want them divided and sorted by the Salesmans Employee Code use the Year to Date (or Closed Month) Sales Analysis report.
Figure 328 Sales Analysis for a Closed Period

The report may be printed for one closed month or an entire year.
Figure 329 Report one month only?

You must then enter the Ending Date for the calendar Year or Closed Month depending on how you answered the question above.
Figure 330 Sample of the Sales Analysis Report for a Closed Month

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On Line Date Reported by Salesman Code Entered

Of the new Subscribers recently sold by your Company, which of them were placed On Line during a specified period of time? If you pay commissions based partially on how many accounts a Salesman places On Line, or for any other reason you desire to see how many and who were the Subscribers placed On

Line within a defined period, use the On Line Date Reported by Salesman Code Entered report.

The report may be printed by Month, for any specified period from a day to a month (Weekly), or for any Year to Date period desired. Select the period type to be reported, then enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates for the report. Print in the normal manner.
Figure 331 Sample On Line Date by Salesman report

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Draft Automatic Payments Menu

Having your Subscribers pay for their Recurring Revenue Invoices automatically allows them to have fewer bill-paying responsibilities and your Company to be paid in a timely and efficient manner. It is truly a win-win situation. There are many systems that allow you to automatically draft (execute an order to withdraw from) Checking or Credit Card accounts. The work is knowing which Subscribers are to be automatically charged, what and when those charges are to be posted into your Accounts Receivable System, and properly tracking those payments thereafter. The Automatic Bank Drafts Systems is designed to accommodate these processes. From the Accounts Receivable Systems Reports Menu select the Draft Auto. Payments Menu.
Figure 332 Automatic Bank Draft Management Menu

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Automatic Bank Draft Entry

The Automatic Drafting of Recurring Revenue Payments starts with defining them. You must identify each Subscriber who will be paying the Recurring Billing automatically by selecting Automatic Bank Draft Entry screen from the Draft Auto Bank Draft Menu.
Figure 333 Automatic Bank Drafts entry screen

Subscriber ARS Number is entered to identify the Billing Address. Your Number for Bank or Credit Card is entered to identify which institution. This is any number from 1 to 999999. Payment to be Drafted Automatically must be the exact amount of the Invoice including Sales Tax (and GST or VAT Tax) if applicable. Actual Bank Identifier or Card Name should either be the Credit Card Number (and optionally its four digit Bank Identifier) or the actual Banks Identifier Number. Subscriber Credit Card/Account Number should be the Checking or Credit Card Account Number to be charged for this Payment and the expiration date. Enter a record for each payment that is to be automatically drafted.

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Post Automatic Bank Drafts

Once you have made an Automatic Bank Draft Entry for each Subscriber who has arranged to pay by Bank Draft or Credit Card, you should Post Automatic Bank Drafts approximately when you will actually be drafting these accounts. Figure 334 Post Automatic
Bank Drafts

Enter the Posting Date for these Payments. Enter the Sale Date of the Invoice Group entered when you selected the Bill Recurring Revenue procedure for this month. Enter the Password (see Passwords in Appendix P of this manual). The process runs automatically thereafter. Print the Cash Receipts Report for these specific postings when requested to do so.
Figure 335 Print the Cash Receipts Report

Accept all of the default answers offered while initializing the report. What will happen? 1. Each Sale that is dated with the Sale Date you entered above will be examined.

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2. When the Gross Amount, of an Invoice created on that day, matches the Payment to be Drafted Automatically that you entered in the Automatic Bank Draft Entry screen, and 3. A Payment is posted (just as if you manually selected Post Payments Received and entered it) and reported on the Cash Receipts Report. This means that the ARS Number assigned to the Invoice and the ARS Number defined in the Automatic Bank Draft Entry screen must match, and the Invoice Total (tax included) of that Invoice must match the Payment to be Drafted Automatically defined on that same screen.

List Automatic Bank Drafts

Using this report, you may see a listing of the Automatic Bank Drafts that you have defined.
Figure 336 Automatic Bank Drafts List

You may report all Bank Draft records or just those for a specific Bank Number (from 1- 99999) that you defined. Instead you may limit it to one specific Bank Identifier.

In either case, you must enter the desired Bank Number or Identifier if you choose to limit this report in this manner.
Figure 337 Automatic Bank Drafts Listing

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Inventory Tracking System

You buy parts, you use parts, you will loose parts and people will - on occasion - steal parts. Keeping track of all of those parts is the job of the Inventory Tracking System.
Figure 338 Inventory Tracking System Menu

Although much of the Inventory Tracking System is contained within the Accounts Payable Module (APS-1), this section will explain in detail the Accounts Receivable (as well as the Sales, Installation and Service) related functions of the Inventory Tracking process. General information about ordering and receiving Inventory (which are the Accounts Payable related functions) will also be available here but be sure to

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reference the APS-1 manual before starting unless you will not be using that program at all.

How to Start Inventory Tracking

ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS
There are four usage levels available within the Inventory Tracking System. 1. Enter Vendor Information and identify Inventory in the Add/Update Inventory Item screen. Then use the Parts Codes that youve defined along with Sales Category Codes when you create Invoices for your Sales and Services. 2. The above plus Start Inventory Tracking to actually Track the Count and Value of your Inventory noting when it is received and when and by whom it is used. 3. The above plus link ALARMS-1 to the APS-1 Inventory Tracking System (and vise versa) and Start Inventory Tracking in APS-1 as well to institute Purchase Orders for parts and then track your Inventory Purchases. All of these inventory purchase transactions will simultaneously update Inventory counts and values in ALARMS-1 and Inventory Sales and installations will do likewise in APS-1. 4. The Above and implement the Job Costing System along with Inventory Tracking. Typically they are done in the order presented. Although there is less to understand all at once, (you get to learn the concept of Inventory Tracking a little at a time), this creates a problem when you get to Step 3. In that step you will need to re-enter your Inventory in APS-1. However, we recommend you initiate Inventory Tracking as a linked system with APS-1 (by completing steps 1, 2 and 3 at the same time). In this manner, almost all the data entry detailed below will be accomplished through APS-1 which will automatically send it to ALARMS-1 during the parts data entry and purchases Invoicing process. You must Buy Inventory before you can Install (Sell) Inventory. So it is more logical to implement Inventory Tracking in this linked completely at the start manner. The choice is yours, either step by step with a little more data entry or all at once with the APS-1 system doing more of the work. The following sections assume you are proceeding in a step by step manner and will also comment on the APS-1 Linked method where applicable.
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S T A R T I N G P R O C E DU R E S
Assuming you are starting with ALARMS-1 alone you must: 1. Take a physical count of your inventory and establish a current value for each part. 2. Enter Vendor Information for each Vendor from whom you purchase inventory. 3. Add/Update Inventory Items of each Part you wish to track. 4. Enter the counts in the Inventory Received/Adjusted screen. 5. Start Inventory Tracking and link to APS-1 if available. 6. Use the appropriate Parts Codes whenever you use a Part for an installation or service call and are recording the transaction in the Enter New Sales, Service Tracking or Job Costing systems.

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Enter Vendor Information

Each Part that you define will be assigned a Preferred Vendor Code. This code represents the Vendor from whom you usually order this particular part. You cannot enter a Part until you Enter Vendor Information. Enter an APS Number and Account Name for each Vendor from whom you purchase the Inventory items that will be defined in this system.
Figure 339 Enter Vendor

A Vendor is assigned an APS Number in a similar manner to an ARS Number that you assign to a Subscriber. Following that method you would use the 1st three letters of the first word of the companys name and the 1 st two letters of the second word of the companys name followed by a number as required to prevent a duplicate APS Number. If you were using APS-1 program and had decided to start inventory tracking as a linked system initially, as you enter your Vendor Information there, the APS Number and Account Name would be automatically transferred here. Therefore you would not need to enter that information here at all.

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Add/Update Inventory Item

Count your Inventory items. Group them by type or function. Establish wholesale and retail Values for each Part. Decide which parts you want to actually track. (It is probably not useful to track parts with an individual value of less than $10.00.) Once you have determined the parts you will actually track, enter those parts in the Add/Update Inventory Item screen.
Figure 340 Add/Update Inventory Items

A S S I G N I N G P A RT C O D E S
Part Codes may be from 1 to 16 characters in length. Letters, numbers, spaces and basic punctuation (dashes, underlines and slashes) are accepted. Plan your part codes in advance. Perhaps different types of parts will be identified by the first and second letters of that category or a manufacturers name may be represented in the first couple letters. Remember that each part may also be classified with a Group code of one to four characters, numbers, spaces and basic punctuation (dashes, underlines and slashes). Parts lists may be printed in Part order or Group Code plus Part Code order. Once you have entered a Part Code and the description of that part as you would want it to appear on an Invoice or a Report, you must complete the remainder of the screen. The list below describes each of the remaining fields that must be completed on this screen to properly define a Part record. 1. Retail List The List Price of this Part that you would normally charge a Subscriber if you were creating a Time & Materials type of Invoice.
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2. Dealer Cost The actual price your Company pays for this Part its value. 3. Desired Quantity The quantity you would optimally want to have OnHand immediately after a Re-Order was received. In other words, it is used to determine the number of parts that must be reordered by comparing the number On-Hand with the Desired Quantity. The difference will be the recommended amount to reorder. 4. Re-Orders @ - When the Quantity is equal to or less than the Re-Order @ value, the Part will appear on the reorder list with the recommended amount to be reordered calculated as described in #3 above. If there are certain parts in your Inventory that you never want to re-order automatically (only ordered by special request), enter zero (0). 5. On-Hand This is the current number of these Parts that is Inventory today. 6. APS Number The APS Number of the Vendor from whom you would prefer to reorder this particular Part. 7. Group # - The optional Group Code that categorizes this Part in some useful manner. 8. Kit (Y/N) Is this Part Code actually a User Defined Kit?

ABOUT KITS
A Part Code may actually represent a Kit that your Company (instead of a manufacturer) has defined. But what are User Defined Kits anyway?

Often, you will use a Control Panel from manufacturer D and a Gel Cell Battery from Company U and a PIR from Company M and a box of Contacts from Company S and a Siren from Company A to install an alarm system in a typical Subscribers home. You may use additional parts in some cases another PIR or additional Contacts but virtually every system uses the basic set of parts described above. The question then arises: If you use those parts in each Residential Installation, why not establish that set of Parts as a User Defined Kit with those parts in it? In this manner, if you use this Part Code in the Enter New Sales, Job Cost Information or Completed Service Requests screen the system will know that you actually used all of those items that make up this Kit and so make all of those Inventory Adjustments automatically.

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This, of course, will be a tremendous time saver and will assure a higher degree of accuracy. You should create as many User Defined Kits as required to make repetitive Parts data entry simpler and more reliable.

Once you enter a Part Code and classify it as a Kit you may then Zoom to the Components of ??? Kit screen. This is where you will actually specify the Part Codes and quantities of each that will make up the Kit you are defining. A Kit may have any number of Component Parts. Components must be Parts that have already been defined in the Add/Update Inventory Items screen You cannot enter a Component Code without first entering it as a Part Code. Therefore, plan your kits in advance by first defining all of the components that will make up these Kits (remember that these will all have to be reordered as individual Parts).
Figure 341 Defining the Components that will make up a Kit

Enter the Part Code and Description for the Component of the Kit. Enter the number required in the Kit. Once saved, the system will indicate the Quantity Currently On Hand. A Kit may have any number of Components and up to 999 of each Component within the Kit. There are Reorder Reports (see Inventory Tracking Report later in this section) that will automatically calculate the required number of individual Components that must be ordered to make up the desired number of Kits.

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Start Inventory Tracking

Once you have defined the Vendors from whom you purchase Inventory and the Parts (and Kit) Codes you will be using, you can Start Inventory Tracking. This is the procedure that will enable you to tell ALARMS-1 that it should start counting. Optionally, you may link to the Accounts Payable Systems Inventory Tracking System as well. When you link to APS-1, it alerts Accounts Receivable to start talking to the Accounts Payable System (and likewise when you Start Inventory Tracking in ALARMS-1 it will alert Accounts Payable to start talking to the Accounts System). Figure 342Receivable Enter Password to Start
Inventory Tracking

To turn on the Inventory System select Start Inventory Tracking, enter the Password when you are requested to do so (see Passwords in the Appendix P section of this manual) and indicate whether you want to start.
Figure 343 Start Inventory Tracking?

Figure 344 Enter Path to APS-1

If you are going to be linking to the APS-1 Inventory Tracking System, then enter the Path to that program. If you will not be linking at this time, just leave this field blank (by pressing Enter with nothing in the data entry box).

Enter the Path to the Master Inventory File. By default this should be the drive letter and directory in which you installed ALARMS-1. Be sure to end the path with a backslash (\). Figure 345 Enter Path to Master
Inventory File

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I D E NT I F Y I N G T H E M A S T E R I N V E N T O R Y F I L E F O R M U L T IP L E C O M P A N Y U SE R S
ALARMS-1 has multiple company capability. You may maintain the Accounts Receivable records for any number of independent companies or departments within your Company. The desired Multiple Company is selected by choosing View/Select Active Company. Each Company data set may have its own independent inventory counts and values, or Inventory counts and values may be combined into one primary Master Inventory File.

The result would be that you could Sell Inventory from each subordinate company but it would be pulled from the Master Inventory file. And if linked to APS-1 (and vise versa) regardless of which Company Bought or Sold Inventory, the Master Inventory File would contain the combined totals for quantity on hand and value. Why use a Master Inventory File? In many cases where a company has divided itself into departments for accounting purposes their Inventory is actually kept and managed in one place by one department head. In that case, it simply makes sense to have all Inventory On Hand, Reorder and Usage reports centralized. The choice is yours... If you are using the Multiple Company feature but want inventory counts and values centralized on one report set decide which of the companies will be the Master and then enter that path as you Start Inventory Tracking in each company. If you want each Company to maintain its own Inventory count and value, then enter the path to that specific companys data.

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Inventory Received / Adjusted

If you are not linked to APS-1, this screen is used to enter Inventory as it is received. If you are linked to APS-1 and some of the Quantity On Hand numbers shown for the same Part Code in the two programs do not agree, use this screen to adjust the actual Quantity On Hand to reflect the correct number. If you are or are not linked to APS-1 and, for some reason, the On Hand count for a particular Part Code does not agree with the actual count (after taking a physical inventory of your stock), you may use this screen to adjust the actual Quantity On Hand to reflect the proper count. If you are linked, whenever you make an adjustment using this screen, you must also go to APS-1 and adjust those values, as well.
Figure 346 Enter Inventory Received screen

Select Inventory-In (I) and enter the Quantity Received. If you are making an Adjustment of the Quantity On Hand, use a positive or negative number representing the quantity change that is required.
Figure 347 Enter the Quantity

Save the Inventory Transaction Entry when requested to do so.

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Inventory Tracking Reports

Without Reports there would be no Inventory Tracking System. Reports are what tracking is all about. Reports must answer questions. How much is my Inventory worth? How many of these Panels do we have in stock? What needs to be reordered? How much should we reorder? Who is using all of this equipment?

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On-Hand Inventory Report

This report selection offers several formats. The format that will be printed is based on the way you answer a series of questions. Your answers will depend on your current needs.
Figure 348 Report of Inventory On-Hand

If printing a Master Inventory Listing to show the Part Codes and Descriptions of all defined Inventory items, you would not need the Quantity On Hand to appear on this report. In most other cases, you will (the default response is yes). If this list is to be given to someone who does not need to know the retail and wholesale princes of your Inventory items you may exclude this information from the report. In most other cases you will want this information included (the default response is yes).
Figure 349 Show Prices on report?

The report will list your Inventory items in Part Code order or in the Group Code (and within that Group in Part Code) order. Indicate your preference.
Figure 350 List in Part or Group Code order?

Print the report in the normal manner.

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Re-Order Inventory Report

This report will list those items whose Quantity On Hand is equal to or less than the Re-Order Quantity defined for the Part Code in the Add/Update Inventory Items screen. You may exclude items from the report with a zero (0) Re-Order Quantity. Figure 351 Inventory Re-Order
Report

As with most other Inventory related reports, you may specify whether you want the Inventory items listed in Part Code or Group Code order.
Figure 352 Part or Group Code order?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 353 Sample Inventory Reorder Report

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Usage of Inventory by Group

As you become more involved with the Inventory Tracking Process, you will want to get different views of how you are consuming Inventory. One way would be to analyze your Usage of Inventory by Group codes assigned when you entered your Inventory items. When you select this report, you must enter and confirm the desired Starting and Ending dates for this analysis. Note that this report is only valid for months that have not yet been Closed using the Month Ending Procedures selection on the Accounts Receivable Figure 354 Usage of Inventory Menu. by Group

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 355 Sample of the Usage of Inventory by Group report

There is also a re-cap of the Taxable Parts Sales, including the amount of Sales Taxes that were charged, at the end of the report.

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Kits On-Hand / Re-Order Report

The availability of User Defined Kits greatly simplifies Reordering, Tracking and Invoicing Inventory items. To assist you in knowing what Inventory Items need to be reordered to attain the desired quantity levels of the Kits that you have defined, print the Kits On-Hand/Re-Order Report. As this report prints, you may request that it actually resets the Kits availability value and Cost based on the reported amounts. We suggest you do so each time you run this report as some parts that make up these Kits may have been sold separately thereby reducing your overall Kit availability.
Figure 356 Reset Availability & Cost values?

Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 357 Sample of the Kits Analysis Report

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By Technician Usage Report

You know which Technicians completed what services and installations in a given period. You can easily calculate what Inventory they should have needed for them. This report will enable you to actually list the Parts recorded as having been used by each Technician within a specified time period.
Figure 358 Parts Usage Report by Technician

Figure 359 Sample of the Parts Usage Report by Technician

Enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates for this report. Print the report in the normal manner.

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Using the Inventory Tracking System Daily Operations

Once your Parts Codes are defined and youve Started Inventory Tracking, what is next?

E NT E R T H E Q U A N T I T Y O F I N V E N T O R Y R E C E I V E D
If you are linked to APS-1, as you acquire Inventory by using the Enter New Purchases or Completed Purchase Order screens, the number of new parts received is automatically sent to ALARMS-1. If you are not linked, you must select Inventory Received/Adjusted in ALARMS-1 to enter the quantity of Parts that were received.

E NT E R T H E Q U A N T I T Y O F I N V E N T O R Y U SE D
Once you acquire Inventory it must be used to be of any value (profit wise) to your company. Inventory is used in one of three ways. 1. It is sold to a Subscriber by being itemized as an Order Detail line within an Invoice created through Enter New Sales. 2. It is delivered and installed at a Subscribers premises and reported as part of a Service Call entered through the Write-Up Service Request screen or later in the Completed Service Requests screen using the available Inventory command line selection. In this case it should Not Be Billed using a specifically defined Part Code in Enter New Sales but instead would be billed using the generic PARTS Sales Category Code. 3. It is delivered and installed at a Subscribers premises and reported as part of an Installation and entered through the Job Costing Information system as an Inventory item. In this case also, it should Not Be Billed using a specifically defined Part Code in Enter New Sales but instead would be billed using the generic PARTS Sales Category Code.

R E - O R D E R I N V E N T OR Y A S RE Q U I RE D
Use the Re-Order Inventory Report and the Kits On-Hand/Re-Order Report to identify which Parts need to be reordered. If you are linked to APS1 then Enter a Purchase Order for these parts.

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A N A L Y Z E T H E R E SU L T S
Using the remaining reports, keep track of what is happening with your Inventory.

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Job Costing System

Why implement Job Costing? What will be gained by doing so? Is it worth the time and effort required to properly enter and review the Job Costing Information?
Figure 360 Job Cost

This section will explain the start-up procedures, daily operation, and the reporting capabilities within this system. As with most of your management responsibilities, it is having access to the right reports that helps you know what is really happening within your company.

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Regularly accessing and studying these reports will help you to better understand where you are and are not making a profit within your company.

Starting the Job Costing System

Almost all of what must be done to use the Job Costing System will have been done before you actually are ready to start using it You must enter your Subscriber Information, Employee Codes for Technicians, and if you are going to track your Inventory parts costs exactly, you must have defined those parts in the Inventory Tracking System. Optionally you may want to actually Start Inventory Tracking. In the Job Costing Information menu there are three screens that must be accessed before using the Job Costing System. Those screens and their purposes are outlined below. 1. Jobs are categorized by that Jobs Type (i.e., a Burglar Alarm, Fire Alarm, Closed Circuit TV, etc.) and so Jobs Type Category Codes that you want to track must be defined. 2. Jobs are assigned a Job Number. You may assign them or you may have the system Assign a Job Number Sequence . We recommend you have the system assign these. 3. Labor charges must be applied to a Job. Labor charges are based on the number of man-hours worked. Therefore, your Companys Labor Rate Information must be defined. This Job Costing System does not try to calculate the exact number of dollars that a certain specific Technician cost the Job. Instead the Labor Rate used should reflect the AVERAGE cost of a man-hour for the AVERAGE Technician performing service and installation work. It should INCLUDE an Overhead Charge for benefits, vehicles, miscellaneous expenses, etc. We suggest a Labor Rate in excess of $45.00 per hour. A Detailed description of these steps is found below. Once you have completed these steps, you may select and Enter New Jobs & Expenses and thereafter, Report on Job Information.

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Jobs Type Category Codes

To enable the ability to get a Report on Job Information based on the type of the Job, you must define the types of Jobs you want to track.
Figure 361 Enter Job Type Codes and their related Descriptions

Enter a Job Type Code up to four characters in length. These may be letters, numbers, spaces and basic punctuation marks. Enter a Description of that Job Type Category Code. You may define as many Job Types as may be required.

Assign Job Number Sequence

Indicate whether or not you want the system to assign the Job Costing Systems Job Numbers (the recommended way).
Figure 362 Assign Job Numbers?

If you do, enter the starting Job Number.

Figure 363 Enter the Starting Job Number

Labor Rate Information

At some point within a Job Costing System, the overhead for your Technicians must be accounted for. This Job Costing System does not try to
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calculate the exact number of dollars that a certain specific Technician cost the Job. Instead, the Labor Rate is used to reflect the AVERAGE cost of a man-hour for the AVERAGE Technician performing your service and installation work. This rate should INCLUDE the estimated Overhead Charges for Employee benefits, service vehicles, miscellaneous operating expenses, etc. We suggest a Labor Rate in excess of $45.00 per hour.
Figure 364 Enter Hourly Labor Rate

Enter and confirm your desired Labor Rate.

Once you have completed these three set up steps, you are ready to use the Job Costing System.

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Enter New Jobs & Expenses

A Subscriber may have any number of outstanding Jobs defined. These Jobs are defined in the Enter New Jobs & Expenses screen found in the Job Costing Information menu. Retrieve (R) the appropriate Subscriber. Press Zoom. Figure 365 Enter

E N T E R I N G Y O U R J O B C O ST I N F O R M A T I O N
Defining a Job is simply a matter of entering pertinent information about that Job and your estimate of what the expenses will be to complete it. Press Add to start a new job. 1. Enter the Employee Code for the Salesman responsible for this Job. 2. Enter the Job Date. This should be the date the Job was actually Booked. By default it will be the current date. 3. Enter the Gross Sale Amount (excluding sale tax) of this Job. 4. Enter the Job Type Code (selected from among those previously defined) that best represents the type of Job this is.

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5. In the Estimate section of the screen: a. Enter the Estimated Recurring Revenue based on its Monthly Rate. b. Enter the Estimated Man-Hours that will be required to complete this Job. c. Enter the Estimated Value of the Inventory required to complete this Job. d. Enter the Estimated Value of Materials (general operating supplies) required. e. Enter the Estimated Value of any Other Expenses that might be incurred. f. Enter the Estimated Commission Due for this Job. g. Enter the Estimated Sub-Contractors Fees, if any, that will be required. h. Enter the Crew (Technician) Code for who is responsible to complete this Job.
Figure 366 Sample of Job Cost Information Estimate

Save the record when requested to do so. The Labor COST will be calculated as will the total Estimated Cost, Profit/Loss Amount and Actual v. Estimated

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difference (the Actual Cost will be a minus value of the Estimated Cost because No Costs have yet been entered). Each Job that you have defined has its own Memo Pad accessible with the F3 Function key. This is used to enter any general comments about this Job that may be useful later when reviewing the results in a Job Cost Report.

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E N T E R I N G T HE J O B C O S T DE T A I L
Once your Job Cost Estimate has been defined, you may start entering the Detailed Information relating to the actual expenses incurred for this installation. To do so, press Zoom to view the Job Cost Detail screen. Command Line. Note the

The Job Cost Detail screen has a very special Command Line designed to assist you in quickly entering the Expenses incurred on this Job. In addition to the normal Retrieve and List type of commands there are specific command words provided for the entry of the Expense Types youve defined in the Estimated section of the Job Cost Information screen.
Figure 367 Enter Job Cost Detail screen

1. Hours Allows you to enter a specified number of Man- Hours for this Job. 2. Inventory Allows you enter the Part Code(s) and Quantity used for Inventory items. 3. Material Allows you to enter the Value of Materials used for this Job. 4. Comm Allows you to enter the actual Commission(s) Paid for this Job. 5. Other Allows you to enter the Value of any Other Expenses incurred on this Job.

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6. Subs Allows the entry of any Sub-Contractor Fees required to complete this Job. For 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 above you will need to identify the Amount, Date and Company or Purpose of the Expense. For item 2 you will need to enter the Part Code of the Inventory item(s) required, and the Date and Quantity used. As soon as the Expense entry is saved, the Job Costing System creates a Job Cost Detail expense record as illustrated above. When you Quit (Q) this screen, you will notice that the Job Cost Information screen has been updated with the Actual section now reflecting the added expense(s) youve just posted in the Job Cost Detail screen.

How to mark a Job as Completed

Once you have entered all of the Costs associated with a Job and that Job has been Completed, it must be marked as such. Select Enter New Job from the Job Cost Selections menu. Retrieve the appropriate Job and Zoom. From that Job Cost Information screen select Complete from the command line and enter the Due Date, confirm the Crew Assigned code and answer yes (Y) to the Completed question.

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Report on Job Information

This menu selection provides access to a sub-menu that offers various ways of viewing the current status of your defined Jobs. Although there are many report selections on this menu, the resulting reports themselves are for the most part, formatted almost identically. What will be different is: the way in which Subscribers are chosen to be included, which Job Types or sets of Jobs will be listed, and the grouped order in which the list will be presented.
Figure 368 Job Cost Reports Menu

The final result is: it provides a powerful way for you to look at individual Jobs Expenses and Profits, and the performance of the company (salesmen or groups of Jobs) overall.
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Job Cost Reports Getting the Results

D E F I N I N G Y O U R J O B C O ST R E P O R T S PARAMETERS
Most of the Job Cost Reports require you to answer a series of questions that will better define which Subscribers and Jobs will be included. The first five reports on this menu will all ask the following questions: 1. Do you want to include the Jobs Memo Pad on this report? Each Job that you have defined has its own Memo Pad accessible with the F3 Function key. Indicate whether you want the Memo Pad information included on this report. Figure 369 Include Memo Pad
Information?

Figure 370 2. Every Job must eventually beList (marked as) Completed. These reports may Which Jobs? be printed for completed Jobs, Jobs that are not completed or for all Jobs. Indicate your preference.

3. You may include All Jobs that meet the specified Completed criteria or Jobs for only One Subscriber. If you specify for one Subscriber only, you must identify that Subscriber by Account Title or Service Account Number.
Figure 371 List Jobs for One or All Subscribers?

4. You may further define which Jobs will be included by limiting the report to Jobs with specified Sale Dates or Completion Dates. If you choose to do so, you must indicate which limitation you need (by its Sale or Completion Date), and then enter and confirm those dates.
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5. Finally, you must decide whether you want the complete Job Cost Detail information included on this report.
Figure 373 Include Job Cost Detail on the report?

Once you have answered these questions, print the report in the normal manner.

C H O O S I N G T H E R I G H T J O B C O ST I N F O R M A T I O N RE P O RT
Select the desired report, answer the questions (as described above) as required to produce the information that is needed and print the report in the normal manner. Alphabetic (by Subscriber) Job Cost Report This report will list Job Expenses and Estimates in Alphabetical order for all or just one Subscriber. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner. Job Expenses/Profits Report by Job Number This report will list Job Expenses and Estimates in Job Number order for all or just one Job Number. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner. Salesman Order Job Expenses/Profit Report This report will list Job Expenses and Estimates in Salesman order for all or just one Salesman. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner. Crew Code Order Job Expenses/Profit Report This report will list Job Expenses and Estimates in Crew Code order for all or just one Crew. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner.

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Types Limited Job Expenses/Profit Report This report will list Job Expenses and Estimates by a Job Type of your choosing. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner. Booked and Job Costed Sales by Month Report This report will list Jobs Booked within Dates you will specify in Salesman order and within Salesman, in Job Number order for all Salesmen. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner. List All Jobs using a Short Report Format This report will list basic Job Information in Job Number order for all or just one Job Number. Answer the questions (as described above) as required. Print the report in the normal manner.

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Tools Tracking System

If your business uses very specialized tools or equipment that is expensive or difficult to replace, or rents this type of equipment, you can use the Tools Tracking System to help you keep track of where it is and who has it. From the Job Costing Systems Job Cost Selections menu, choose the Tools Tracking System Menu.
Figure 374 Tools Tracking System Menu

You must define the types of tools you wish to track in the Install New Tool Category screen, enter the Tools you will be tracking in the Tool Tracking Maintenance screen, and report the status and location of your Tools with the Report Tool Information menu selections.

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I N S T A L L N E W T O O L C A T E G OR Y
Each type of tool you wish to track must be defined. To do so, select in the Install New Tool Category screen. Enter a Tool or Part Number (a tool code of your choosing), its Description and Part Value. If you will only be renting this tool, indicate so in the Rental Tool field.
Figure 375 Define Tool Categories to be Tracked

Once youve defined a Tool category, it is available in the Tool Tracking Maintenance screen.

TOOL TRACKING MAINTENANCE

There you would Retrieve (R) the appropriate Tool or Part Number and Zoom (Z) to the Item & Location box where specific information relating to where this tool is located may be entered. Add (A) a Job Number and the appropriate Subscribers Service # (Account Number), the Date Moved (date this item was placed on that job) and its original Purc. (purchase or Rental) Date. Subsequently you may Modify (M) these Dates as needed.

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Figure 376 Tool Tracking Maintenance screen

Later, if you transfer this Part or Tool to another Job site, using the Transfer (T) command, enter the Job Number and Service # of where this Tool was transferred. As you add additional instances of this Tool in the Item & Location box, the Quantity box will be automatically maintained. Using the Tools Tracking Reports Menu (see below), you can list tools by Code and Name, report where they are (or should be) and get a year end valuation of your major tools inventory.

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Tools Tracking Reports Menu

Once you have defined your Tools and entered their location(s), use this Tools Tracking Reports Menu to list tools by Code and Name, report where they are (or should be), and get a year end valuation of your major tools inventory.
Figure 377 Tools Tracking Reports Menu

TOOLS BY CODE AND LOCATION

To list one - or all -of your defined Tool Types in Tool Code order and then by their Location, select Tools by Code and Location. Indicate whether you want the tools value included and whether you want a summary report for one tool only or all of your tools.

REPORT OF TOOLS BY SITE

To list one - or all - of your defined Job Site Locations that you have indicated Tools are located, select Report of Tools by Job Site . Indicate whether you want the tools value included and whether you want a summary report for one Job Site only or all of them.

YEAR-END VALUATION LISTING

You may list the Value of all Tools owned and Rented with the Year-End Valuation Listing.

DELETED TOOL LISTING

To list all Tools removed from service within specified dates, use the Deleted Tool Listing.
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Service Tracking System

As a service company, you will get requests for Installations, Services, Repairs, Additions and Corrections to your Subscribers systems. The process of keeping track of who needs to be where and when they should be there, and storing and reporting the results is the job of this Service Tracking System. Figure 378 Service Tracking

From the Main Menu select the Service Tracking System menu.

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Setting your Companys Service Tracking Parameters

In the Getting Started section of this manual there are instructions on how to define certain critical types of service related Codes and information pertaining to your service department and this Service Tracking System. These are: 1. Enter New Employees. 2. Work Order Number Set-up. 3. Types of Service Category Codes. 4. Warranty and Service Contract Codes. Be sure youve viewed each of these data entry screens and supplied the required information. Then, from the Service Tracking System menu, complete the following screens: 1. Alert Late Notice Days. 2. Bill Services with Auto-Bill. 3. Default Work Order Phrases. 4. Recurring Fire Alarm Inspection Requirements Once these entries are completed, you are ready to use the Service Tracking System.

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ALERT LATE NOTICE DAYS

How many times have you dispatched a Service Technician to a Subscribers premises and the Subscriber has not yet paid for the last time you sent them there to service their system? This is a wholly unsatisfactory way of doing business. However, with the time it takes to look up every Subscribers account status each time they request service, it is not likely that you and other operators will always remember to do so. The solution is to have the program remind you of this automatically. To have the operator alerted when a Subscribers account has become Past Due whenever they attempt to Write Up a Service Request, select Alert Late Notice Days and enter the number of days Past Due that a Subscriber must be before the Operator is alerted to that status.
Figure 379 Enter the desired number of Alert Late Notice Days

Thereafter, whenever you Zoom and attempt to Write Up a Service Request the Operator will be alerted if this Subscriber has any Invoices that are 30 (or whatever was the number of Days you entered above) or more days in arrears. It does so by displaying an alert message for the Operator indicating the situation.

BILL SERVICES WITH AUTO-BILL

Most service calls are provided at no charge (for Warranty or Service Contract visits) or incur only a basic Labor or Trip charge (for a minor repair or annual inspection). A much smaller percentage of your service calls require a detailed time and materials based billing. To simplify the billing of the majority of those service calls that require only a Labor based charge and basic description of the services that were provided you may institute the systems Auto-Bill feature. By doing so, while marking the Service Call as completed, you will be able to order that an Invoice be created for this service charge with a simple key press.
Figure 380 Enter Password to implement the Auto-Bill feature

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Enter the Password to enable this feature (see Passwords in Appendix P of this manual).

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Confirm that you do want to implement this Auto-Bill feature.

Figure 381 Allow Auto-Bill feature?

Each Sale that is recorded in the Accounts Receivable System must be assigned a Sales Category Code. Enter and confirm the default Sales Category Code you will want to use for your Service Call charges. This code may be changed during each actual Auto-Bill procedure.
Figure 382 Enter default Sales Category Code for Auto-Bills

DEFAULT WORK ORDER PHRASES

The Regular Format Work Order form has several phrases incorporated in it that are user definable. We suggest that you dont. Use the program for a while before attempting to modify these phrases. When (and if) you desire to so do, remember that if you Mess Up really badly, you may restore the systems defaults by erasing the \ALARMS\ACM_WOF.DBM file.
Figure 383 Defining the Default Work Order Phrases

The Subscriber (or their representative) is asked to sign when the work is completed. You may define the sentence(s) that appear above the signature

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line for this purpose. The Signature Line entry may be up to four (4) lines with forty-five (45) characters in each line. In another area of the Regular Work Order format there are general instructions regarding the Subscribers Payment Terms in relation to their Work Order.
Figure 384 Phrases for Payment Instructions

Complete this screen with the words you would prefer. Then print at least one Work Order for each case to be sure you have entered phrases that will make sense to the Subscriber when that Payment circumstance is presented.
Figure 385 Extended Warranty Coverage

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At the bottom of the Work Order there are longer comments relating to Payment Terms and Warranty or Service Contract coverage. As before, complete this screen with the words you would prefer. Then print at least one Work Order for each case to be sure you have entered phrases that will make sense to the Subscriber when that Payment and Extended Warranty circumstance is presented. Figure 386 Save the revised Work

Once you have finished entering or revising these three selections and completed the items in Files Maintenance relating to the Service Tracking System, you are ready to go.

R E C U R R I N G F IR E A L A R M I N SP E C T I O N RE Q U I R E M E NT S
If your Company must perform periodic Fire Alarm Inspections mandated by government regulations, there is a special way to accommodate this need within the normal Recurring Service Requirements procedure offered later in the section. The special feature will allow you to separately request all Fire Alarm Inspections that are due in the current month, have Work Orders created automatically for them, and then print all of these Work Orders as a separate batch. This separate batch of Fire Alarm Inspection Work Orders will have an entirely different format than your normal Work Orders. They will list all Fire Alarm (and other system) components in a unique manner to assist the technician in performing their inspection properly. You must also define all the components of the Fire Alarm System in the Installed Equipment Information screen (see Installed Equipment Information in the Subscriber Information section of this manual). There are only two steps required to activate this feature: 1. Using the DOS edit command, create a text file named ACMFIRE.DBM in the \ALARMS\ directory on the drive where ALARMS-1 has been installed. Enter the word FIRE into that file. 2. When defining your Recurring Service Requirements, use the SC1 field to define the Recurring Fire Inspection Requirement cycle code and
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be sure the word FIRE appears somewhere within the Reason field next to it.

Write Up Service Requests

The telephone rings and it is a Subscriber with a service or system related question. From the Main Menu select the Service Tracking System menu and then choose the Write Up Service Request screen.
Figure 387 Enter Service Request screen

This screen will provide your Operators with most of the information they need to converse with your Subscriber in a way that gives that Subscriber the feeling that you actually know who they are. This screen is divided into Location and System information sections. The Date of the Last Service Call will be displayed at the top (assuming one has been recorded). In addition to this information, there are special Command Line and Function Key choices to assist the Operator in providing better service to this Subscriber. Note the phrase This System is within its Warranty in the Location section of the screen (phrase may vary slightly depending on program version). It appears immediately to the right of the Warranty Ends (expires) date field. This part of the screen will always tell the Operator the status of the Subscribers account in relation to Warranty or Service Contract coverage, or the complete lack of it.

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SPECIAL COMMAND LINE CHOICES

Invoices This selection will present you with an abbreviated listing of the outstanding Invoices for this Subscriber. The Subscribers current Balance is displayed in the Location section of the screen. To see the Invoices responsible for that Balance, press Invoices (I).
Figure 388 Invoice listing

History This selection will present a Listing of all previous Completed Figure 389 History Service. It includes the listing Technician who performed the service, the date of that service, the service type code and a brief description of what was done.

Sched This selection starts the Schedule Listing dialogue.

Figure 390 What Schedule is to be listed?

All Scheduled Work Orders may be listed, or you may choose to limit the list to those assigned to a specific Technician or those scheduled within a range of dates. These last two choices will require you to enter the desired Technicians code or the desired Dates. Dial - If you have a modem attached to your computer and it is connected to an outside telephone line, pressing Dial will automatically dial the Subscribers telephone number. Press the space bar when they answer. WO-Find This selection will allow you to locate the Subscriber record based on the input of an open Work Orders number. Enter the Work Order Number and the system will move you to that Subscriber record. If no incomplete Work Order matches the number you will see a message to that effect.

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Figure 391 Enter the Work Order Number to search for.

The following pages explain how to use the special functions and commands available in the Write Up Service Requests screen.

S P E C I A L F U NC T I O N K E Y C H O I C E S
The three available function keys that you will use most often are shown on the bottom of the Write Up Service Request screen. Their purpose and usage is described below. Alt+F2 Retrieve This is the special Subscriber Finder Dialogue Box
Figure 392 Subscriber Finder

By default the Search will be on the Subscribers Account Title but by pressing the Alternate key with F2, F3 or F4 you may switch the search to the ARS Number, Service Account Number (usually the telephone number) or CSID respectively. Just enter the appropriate information for the type of search you are making and that Subscriber will be listed. Highlight the exact one and press Enter to retrieve the record. F3 Memo Pad Each Subscriber has three - free form Note Pads attached to the file. These Memo Pads allow you to enter comments

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about this Subscriber, their system, and conversations you have had. In addition, the Service Ticket itself also has its own Memo Pad. F9 Equipment List By pressing F9 you will be able to print a list of all Installed Equipment defined for the current Subscriber. Often you will do this to provide the Technician with a detailed listing of all that is installed on the premises.
Figure 393 Installed Equipment Information report

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Once you have retrieved the correct Subscriber, to go to the Enter Service Request Information screen and press Zoom. Press Add to create a new request for service.
Figure 394 Enter Service Request Information

Enter a Priority number (from 1 9) and the code for the Service Type of this request. The defaults for the Requested On date and Scheduled date will be the current date. Modify these as required. Enter the name of the person requesting service, the Condition(s) being reported and any related Comment(s) about the problem. Save the record. To schedule this Service Request, use the Schedule command line selection. Once you determine when the work is to be done, use the F6 Time-Slot function to enter the appropriate information.
Figure 395 Time Slot function

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Enter the Scheduling Instructions, Slot Number (see Assigning Time Slots below), Technician code and the Scheduled date. Press the Page Down key when you are finished. Assigning Time Slots In the service business, it is very difficult to predict exactly when a Technician will arrive at the Subscribers premises unless it is the Technicians first stop of the day. Problems often take longer to find and repair than expected. We recommend that you use the concept of Time Slots instead. Defining and Explaining Time Slots to your Subscribers Because an exact arrival time by your Technician is difficult to predict, we suggest that you tell your Subscribers which Time Slot has been assigned (i.e., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) for that day. Then, in subsequent conversations with that Subscriber, you can estimate when the Technician will be there (you are assigned his fourth time slot today and he is just finishing up his second). Reporting Time Slots Internally If you are following this procedure when you print an Open Service Requests Report listed by Technician you will see the Work Orders scheduled for that Technician listed in Time Slot Order. Sample Open Work Order List The sample below shows a typical Open Work Order Report entry. Below the Schedule date (11/11/1997 in the left column) is the number 1 (#1) indicating that this is the Technicians first stop that day.
Figure 396 Open Work Order Report

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Once the Work Order is entered and scheduled you may press the F9 function key to get an Installed Equipment List and then print the actual Work Order by selecting the WO-Print command line choice. If you are using the Inventory Tracking System and want to pull an Inventory item, use the Inventory (Invty) command (see the Inventory Tracking System section of this manual).

General System Information

Sometimes the system information section of the Write Up Service Request screen does not show what the Operator needs to understand the Subscribers question or reported problem. To help with this, the Operator has access to the more detailed Subscriber System Information screen (see Subscriber System Information in the Subscriber Information section of this manual). This screen cannot be modified when it is accessed through the Service Tracking System. Once you have retrieved the appropriate Subscriber in the Write Up Service Request screen you may exit that screen and select the General System Information screen.
Figure 397 General System Information

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Print Service Request Forms

Work Orders or Service Request Forms or Installation Forms or whatever you wish to call them are formal printed documents that specify that a Subscriber (or your Service Department) has made a request that service be provided at a Subscribers premises. It must also indicate the type of service required. Service Request Forms (Work Orders) may be printed individually when you actually Write Up Service Requests or in sets (grouped by dates, Technician, scheduled status, etc.) later using the Print Service Request Forms selection. When you select the Print Service Request Forms you will be asked if you want to print any Blank Forms. If you do, enter the number desired. Then decide if you want to reset the default Print Work Order selections. We suggest you do so at least once to define the way you want your Work Order Figure 398 Reset Forms printed.
Defaults?

There are two general formats used to print Work Orders: the Regular, and the Invoice format. Most companies use the Regular format, but if your company primarily does service work based almost exclusively on time and materials billings, then use the Invoice Figure 399 Print usingformat. the
Regular format?

If you select the Regular format, there will be some questions that are only asked with this choice. You may include any Service Memo Pad entry made for the Work Order and the Subscribers Service History appended as a Page 2 to the Work Order.

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This means that every Work Order printed will have at least two pages. The first will be the normal Work Order itself and the second will contain the free form notes and comments made by the Operator in the specific Service Memo Pad of the work order being printed.

Figure 400 Include Service Note Pad and History?

Indicate whether you will be printing your Work Orders with a Laser Printer. Laser formatted Work Orders are slightly different that the normal Regular format and you may want to print a sample of each as the non-laser format may Figure 401 Using a format may not be printed on a dot be printed on a Laser printer but the Laser Laser? matrix printer.

If you do specify a Laser, when asked, indicate whether it is 100% HP Laser compatible. The Regular Work Order format includes an area to enter the parts charges, labor cost, trip charge, tax and total for the services provided along with an area to describe payment information and any previous balance due. If your Technicians never collect service fees after completion of their work, you may want to exclude the billing related information from the Work Order form. This not only eliminates confusion about how and when payment will be required, it provides additional space for descriptions of the services and parts provided. Figure 402 Exclude Billing
Information?

Assuming that you do want payment information on the Work Order, there are some payment-related issues that must be defined. On the Payment Information area of the Work Order, there is a place for a Site Visit charge (you may call this a Trip Charge). Indicate how you want this fee described.
Figure 403 Site Visit or Trip Charge?

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The remaining questions will be asked regardless of the form type you have selected. If you are using pre-printed forms which already have your companys return address printed on them, you will not want the program to supply that information. Figure 404 Print Companys Name
and Address?

As you enter information about your Subscribers, you have the opportunity to define the original Sale Date and the systems Warranty Expiration Date in the Open New Subscriber File screen. Indicate whether you want this information printed on Work Orders.
Figure 405 Include Warranty and Sale Dates?

Some companies want the Subscribers CSID printed on Work Orders, others Figure 406 Include CSID on Workissue. Indicate your preference. do not. It is a convenience versus security
Orders?

If you requested the CSID to be included, you may also request to have the Dialer Telephone number included as well.
Figure 407 Include Dialer Number?

The Subscriber may have a unique Password Defined (other than the CSID) that identifies him/her to an Operator while testing the system or aborting a false alarm. You may have that Password information included on the Work Order.
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If you want Billing Information shown on the Work Order, you may also want the Subscribers previous Balance shown there as well. Indicate whether you want the Previous Balance shown on the Work Orders.

At this point you have reset all of the available defaults for printing Work Orders. None of the questions listed and explained above will be asked again unless you request that the defaults be reset again.

SELECTING WHICH WORK ORDER(S) TO PRINT

Figure 409 Which Work Orders are to be printed?

If you have activated the special Recurring Fire Alarm Inspections function, the choices will be slightly different than above. You may choose to print only those Work Orders with FIRE as their assigned Service Type code. They will print using the special system inspection format.
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Figure 410 Work Orders to be Printed Selection Box when Recurring Fire Inspections feature has been activated

Service Requests (Work Orders) may be selected for Printing based on their Schedule Date, their Work Order Number(s) or whether they have previously been printed at all. As a practical matter, you will probably use the Schedule Date (D) choice more often.
Figure 411 Enter the Schedule Date to Print

By default the date that is offered is tomorrow. To print by a range of Work Order Numbers (N), enter the starting and ending number desired. The Starting Number must be a valid Work Order that has not yet been marked as Completed but the ending number may be any number greater. Figure 413 Enter Work Order Number range
to be printed

If you choose to print all Unprinted Work Orders, there are no other choices to make as a Work Order is or is not Unprinted. Print your Work Orders in the normal manner as you would any other report.

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Completed Service Requests

Once the required work has been completed, you must enter certain information pertaining to these Completed Service Requests. The accuracy of this information (i.e., Service Date, Cost, Time, Description, etc.) is vital. Most Service Tracking Reports are based on the information you enter here. To complete a Work Order, select Completed Service Requests from the Service Tracking System Menu. Retrieve the appropriate Subscriber using either the Alt+F2 Subscriber Finder, or the Search or Retrieve command line options. Press Zoom to the Enter Completed Service Information screen and Retrieve the outstanding Work Order that you want to Complete.
Figure 414 Completed Service Request

The Enter Completed Service Information screen allows you to identify what actually occurred when the Technician completed the Subscriber or Service Departments service request. Select the Service command to enter this information. You must enter the date of the service, Technician who performed the service, the number of hours that the service required and the Cost to the Company or Charge to the Subscriber that was incurred. Then, a Service Type Code must be assigned and a Description of the services performed entered. If the description will be quite long (exceeding the
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70 characters limit of the Description field) use the F3 Service Memo Pad first to enter a detailed description, and then use the Description line to summarize (for use as a quick reference) that detail.
Figure 415 Enter Completed Service Information

The completed Service information will appear similar to the example below.
Figure 416 Completed Service Information

When asked, indicate whether you want to make any more changes to the information youve entered, and Save the record. If you have initiated the AutoBill feature for your completed Service work, you will be asked whether you want to include this Service Calls charges with the next Automatic Billing.
Figure 417 Include in next

If you answer yes (Y), the Service Call Billing Information box will appear. You may press the Page Down key to accept all of the defaults or Modify the wording as required. However, you may have entered a description that is more appropriate for internal use than for explaining a service process to a Subscriber. Look at the default phrases carefully before saving them.

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Figure 418 Service Call Billing Information

There are six pieces of information that must be stored to make a valid Automatic Billing record. The purpose of each item is explained below: Serviced The date the service call was actually performed. Sales Code The Sales Category Code to be used for this Service related Sale. Charge The Amount you will charge the Subscriber for the Service(s). Tax Is this item Taxable? Indicate the tax status of this service. For A Description of the service(s) that were actually performed. Description A message to the Subscriber referencing the specific Work Order.

Once you have accepted or modified this information, save the billing information record. These pending service invoices are printed later using the Invoice Printing Menu selection called Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices (see Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices in the Accounts Receivable Reports section of this manual).

P AC K I N G F I L E S T O R E C L A I M D I S K SP A C E
When you exit the Completed Service Requests screen, you will be asked if you want to Pack the Deleted records to Reclaim Disk Space. When you complete a service record, it is deleted from the current service record file and moved to the completed service records file. The deleted current record is actually not removed from that file, it is only marked as a record to be hidden from view and is only later removed when a Packing process is executed. Packing requires a Lock of the Service File. If you are not using a Network Version, always choose to Pack the Files when requested to do so. If you are sharing your system on a network, be sure no one is in the Service Tracking System before you request that the files be Packed.
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Packing at any time will Pack (actually remove those records, re-index the file and reclaim the disk space) all deleted records in that file, not just the ones you have recently accessed.

Look Up Service Histories

Once a Service record is completed, it is automatically stored in that Subscribers Service History file and will be listed when you select the History command in the Write Up Service Requests screen. On occasion, the information entered when a Work Order has been completed is inaccurate, misspelled or insufficient. To correct data entry errors, update the service history for omissions, and to look up service records for any other reason, select Look Up Service Histories on the Service Tracking Systems menu. Retrieve or Search for the Subscriber and Zoom to the Completed Service Information portion of this screen.
Figure 419 Completed Service Information section of Look Up Service History screen

Use the command line in the normal manner. Press F3 to add to or modify the Service records Memo Pad information and use the Modify command to change the information presented on screen.

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Recurring Service Requirements

All Systems need periodic service and inspection to ensure their continued proper operation. Subscribers will enter into agreements with your Company to provide those services and inspections automatically usually as part of an Extended Warranty Agreement or Service and Maintenance Contract. To effectively manage these arrangements you must have a reliable way to be reminded when these periodic service obligations will occur.
Figure 420 Create Recurring Service Requirements?

This procedure will actually create Work Orders each month for those Subscribers in need of a periodic Inspection. They will also appear in the Open Service Request Report as Unscheduled Work Orders and so need to be called to be scheduled.. Your Recurring Service Requirements are defined by entering S/C 1, and optionally S/C 2, Codes. You must also enter the Reason (enter the Systems type to that is to be inspected) for these codes. This information may be entered either in the Subscriber System Information or New Subscriber File Entry screens found in the General Subscriber Data and Accounts Receivable Systems menus respectively. These S/C 1 and S/C 2 fields are used to define a recurring service and/or inspection requirement dictated by your Service Contract arrangement. Using a Pay Cycle Code (see Pay Cycles Code Chart in the Automatic
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Billing section of this manual), youll enter the cycle code representing the frequency that this service or inspection must be performed. Then, youll enter the Reason the systems type or generic name (i.e., BURGLAR ALARM, FIRE/SPRINKLER TEST) that requires the periodic inspection.
Figure 421 Defining Recurring Service

Once the Recurring Service Requirements, have been defined they must then be requested for each month as it arrives. To post these, from the Service Tracking Systems menu, select Recurring Service requirements. 1. Confirm that you do want to initiate this procedure. 2. Enter the Request date for these Work Orders (see illustration below). 3. Enter the number of the Month for which you are generating Inspection Work Orders.
Figure 422 Recurring Service Month?

4. Enter any Message that you want inserted as the Comment on the Work Orders. 5. Enter the Priority Number for these Work Orders (1 9).
Figure 423 Enter Priority

6. Enter the Service Type Code for these Work Orders (probably AIBC) from among those that have been defined in Files Maintenance (see Types of Service Category Codes in the Getting Started section of this manual).
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7. If you have activated the Recurring Fire Alarm Inspections function, and want to Post only the Fire Alarm Inspections for this period, be sure to enter (and have previously defined) a Service Type of FIRE.

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Figure 424 Enter Service Type Code

8. If you have activated the Recurring Fire Alarm Inspections function, indicate whether you do want to Post only the Fire Alarm Inspections for this period.
Figure 425 Post Fire Alarm Inspections Only?

9. Confirm that you want the process to continue. 10. Note that if you have activated the Recurring Fire Alarm Inspections function and have posted your Recurring Fire Alarm Inspections, you may immediately return and Post all other Recurring Service Requirements. 11. Be sure, however, NOT to use FIRE as your Service Type code.

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Service Tracking Reports Menu

Properly creating, tracking and completing Work Orders is critical to the successful operation of your Service Department. But good service management requires that you ask good questions and get valid answers for those questions. How much work are your Technicians doing in comparison to others with the same responsibilities and job skills? What service types are you tracking and among these, how many are requested each month? How many service calls are too many and who among your Subscribers has required too many service calls this year? Who should be sold a Service Agreement and who should not? When should you solicit for the Service Contract(s) (or whatever your company calls an extended warranty arrangement) that your company offers? Who needs Annual Inspections and have not actually contracted for them?

These and many similar questions can be answered with the reports available within the Service Tracking Reports Menu.

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From the Service Tracking System menu select the Service Tracking Reports Menu.
Figure 426 Service Tracking Systems Reports Menu

The first two selections are also available from the Service Tracking Systems menu, but are included here for your convenience. They are documented above. The other reports are provided to assist you in tracking and managing your Technicians productivity and quality of work, and in managing the sale and profitability of the extended warranty agreements and service contracts your company offers.

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Report of Services Performed

Each Work Order is assigned a Service Type code when it is completed. You may print or view a list of all services that were performed within a specified period and have these Completed Service Requests sorted by Service Types. From the Service Tracking Reports Menu select the Report of Services Performed. Enter and confirm the desired starting and ending dates for the report. By default, these will be the first and last days of the most recent full month. You may change these starting and ending dates to what is required.
Figure 427 Report of Services Performed

This report may simply list the Work Order Number and some brief information, or include the actual description of what services were actually performed. Select your preference.
Figure 428 Show the Description of the Work?

Print the report in the normal manner. The report segment below shows how one of the Service Type Codes is listed.
Figure 429 Sample Report of Services Performed

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Technicians Performance Report

Comparison and competition are good for measuring and enhancing productivity and effectiveness. This is as true with your Technicians as it is with your Salesmen. This Technicians Performance Report will help you measure one Technician against another, then be able to compare performance to the overall company results.
Figure 430 Enter dates for the Technicians Performance Report

Enter and confirm the starting and ending dates for the report. By default, these will be the first and last days of the most recent full month. You may change these starting and ending dates to what is required. This report may be formatted in two ways: 1. Sorted by Technician with all Completed Service Requests listed in Work Order Number sequence within the dates specified. 2. Sorted by Technician and sub-sorted by Service Type Codes, then showing all Completed Service Requests listed in Work Order Number sequence within the dates specified.
Figure 431 Sub-Divide by Service Type?

Optionally, you may also request that the description of the service that was provided also be included on the report.
Figure 432 Include the Description line?

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Print the report in the normal manner.

Figure 433 Sample Technicians Performance Report

In the example above, the report is sorted by Technician and sub-sorted by Service Type. In the report segment below, the sort is only on the Technician and the description was requested.
Figure 434 Reported by Technician with the Description line included

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Service History Report

In the Write Up Service Requests screen, you may use the History command to view previous services provided for the currently selected Subscriber. However, sometimes a printed copy of the Subscribers Service History should be given to the Technician to help him/her better diagnose the Subscribers current problem.
Figure 435 Select the Subscriber for printing a

To do so, exit the Write Up Service Requests screen and choose the Service Tracking Reports Menu and select Service History Report. Choose the selection method you want to use to pick the desired Subscriber. The Service Account Number and Account Title information, by default, will be that of the most recently viewed Subscriber. Enter their Title or Service Account Number when requested to do so. Optionally you may request a Pop-Up Selection Box listing from which to select your Subscriber. Once you have selected the Subscriber, enter and confirm the Starting and Ending Dates for the report. You may also, request that the F3 Service Memo Pad notes beFigure included. 436 Sample

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Annual Inspections Due

For the Subscribers that you are obligated to service and inspect periodically, you will use the S/C 1 and S/C 2 Codes feature to identify who will automatically have Work Orders created when inspections are required. For the remainder of your Subscribers who should have an annual inspection performed - but have not contracted with your Company to do so - we suggest you identify them with the Annual Inspections Due report. Then you may solicit for the Annual Inspection and Battery Check procedures when you need service work to fill a Technicians day completely. Consider having your Technicians make at least one paid Inspection call per day to help offset the basic expense of their vehicles. It increases profitability, keeps your systems running right, maintains regular contact with your Subscribers, and helps prevent false alarms and the liability exposure of a nonperforming system. To ensure that this report is accurate, whenever you actually do an Annual Inspection be sure to enter the Service Type Code as AIBC. Select the Annual Inspections Due report and enter the date from which no Annual Inspection (a Completed Service Requested assigned a Service Type Code of AIBC) has been recorded. They will then be listed.
Figure 437 Enter the No AIBC Since date

You may include all of your Subscribers (who need an Inspection) on this report or only those Subscribers who have some type of ongoing Service Agreement.
Figure 438 Include Everyone or only those with

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Once you have made these choices, you may print the report itself or print Labels for those Subscribers who would be included on the report. Usually you will print the Annual Inspections Due report first (as a call back tool), and then print the Labels for a follow up mailer.
Figure 439 Print the Report or Labels?

Figure 440 Sample Annual Inspections

No Service Since Report

Some of your Subscribers will have service agreements that require you to periodically inspect their systems components and operation. You will implement the S/C 1 and S/C 2 Codes feature to identify who will automatically have Work Orders created when these inspection services are required. However, many of your Subscribers do not have this service and often decline your suggestion that they have an annual inspection procedure performed. These are the Subscribers who potentially will drift away from lack of contact with your company, and whose systems may in fact not be functioning properly and therefore present a potential liability for your Company. Occasionally, print the No Service Since Report to identify these Subscribers and notify them in writing and by telephone that you believe an inspection is in their best interest. By doing so, you will get many of them to agree to the inspection service and will have relieved your company of the liability potential for ignoring their systems operation.

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As we have said before, consider having your Technicians make at least one paid Inspection call per day to help offset the basic expense of their vehicle. It increases profitability, keeps you systems running right, maintains regular contact with your Subscribers, and helps prevent false alarms and the liability exposure of a non-performing system.

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Figure 441 No Service Since Report

Enter the date from which no Service Call has been recorded. Subscribers with no service call since that date will be listed. In the example above, if no service has been recorded since October 31, 1996, then they will be included on this report (or Label set). Indicate whether you want to list only those Subscribers with Service Agreements or include everyone. Choose whether you want the report format itself, or Labels for those Subscribers. Print the report in the normal manner.

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Eligible for a Service Contract

Service Agreements, when sold in volume, can be quite profitable and can be a very important part of your Companys recurring revenue base. In valuing your Company, gross Recurring Revenue is considered regardless of its source. In addition, your Subscribers purchased their system to provide themselves with peace of mind. Having a system that is fully protected at a pre-set cost will enhance that feeling and therefore help ensure that the Subscriber will remain Your Customer (and not someone elses).
Figure 442 Selecting who will be included on the Eligible for Service Contract report

This report may include all Subscribers who do not have a Service Agreement, or only those Subscribers whose Warranty is about to expire or has just recently expired within the last 30 days. Indicate which format you want. Print the report in the normal manner.
Figure 443 Sample of the Eligible for Service Contract report

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Determine Excessive Services

If you are offering Service Contracts to your Subscribers, they must be properly managed to track those Subscribers who are abusing the privilege. If you plan to offer another Subscriber a Service Contract, you may want to be sure they are not already requiring an excessive level of service.
Figure 444 Entering the period to Report Excessive Services

To Determine Excessive Services, you must enter and confirm the starting and ending dates to be considered by the report. Indicate how many service calls you consider to be excessive in the time period youve defined.
Figure 445 Enter what number is to be considered excessive

As this report will list each Service Call performed for any Subscriber included on the report, you may want to have the F3 Service Memo Pad notes printed as well. Indicate your preference.
Figure 446 Include Service Notes?

Print the report in the normal manner.

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Installed Equipment Listing

Whenever an Operator presses F9 for an Installed Equipment list, they are executing the Installed Equipment Listing report. Therefore, the easiest way to get this information is to Retrieve the appropriate Subscriber on any screen that offers the F9 option. The Installed Equipment Listing report will be automatically printed for that selected Subscriber.
Figure 447 Enter Service Number for Installed Equipment Information report

If you select this report from the Service Tracking Reports Menu, by default, the Service Account Number presented will be that of the most recently viewed Subscriber. Print the report in the normal manner.

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Maintenance of Vehicles Menu

Most service industry based companies have more than one vehicle being used by their employees. These vehicles need periodic maintenance just like the systems the drivers of those vehicles service. The Maintenance of Vehicles Menu provides the tools you will need to implement and track a good preventive maintenance program for your service Figure 448 Maintenance of fleet.
Vehicles Menu

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Vehicle Maintenance Tracking

AN OVERVIEW

To use the system, follow the steps below. 1. Establish your Maintenance Cycle Rules so it knows how and when you want maintenance services performed on your fleet of vehicles. 2. Enter Vehicle Information so the system knows what vehicles it is supposed to track. 3. The Get Vehicle Mileage List will be used to enter what has been done. 4. The Enter Vehicle Information screen will be accessed to update the database on the maintenance services that have been performed. 5. The Services Required Report will be used to remind you of which services need to be provided when and on what vehicles. The sections below will discuss each of these steps in detail.

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Maintenance Cycle Rules

To track vehicle maintenance, you must know what you are supposed to be tracking. This screen will enable you to define the service cycles you want to maintain on your vehicles. These Maintenance Cycle Rules define, both in terms of time as well as miles, the Lubrication, Oil Change, Transmission Service and Tire Rotation cycles you want followed.
Figure 449 Enter the desired Service Cycles

Enter the number of Days allowed between each of these service procedures and then enter the number of Miles allowed between them.

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Enter Vehicle Information

Each vehicle that is to be tracked must be defined in the Enter Vehicle Information screen. Once properly defined, more things than Lubrication, Transmission and Tire Rotations may be tracked.
Figure 450 Enter Vehicle Information

These include the Acquisition and Vehicle Information number, the normally assigned Driver, Insurance and Loan Information, License Plate Expiration and State Inspection reminders. Notice the command line. There is a special Update command. Each time vehicle maintenance is performed it should be recorded using the Update command. With this command, the License Number, current Mileage, and all fields in the Maintenance Information box may easily be updated. Whenever an Invoice for vehicle services is processed, that information must also be entered using this same Update command.

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Get Vehicle Mileage List

Periodically, you should print a Get Vehicle Mileage List and confirm the current mileage for all vehicles being tracked. The list is then taken to each vehicle and (or the driver of that vehicle reports back) the mileage is recorded on that list. An operator then uses the Update command on the Enter Vehicle Information screen to record this information.
Figure 451 Sample of the Get Vehicle

Services Required Report

Periodically (at least once each month but more often is even better) you should print the Services Required Report and inform the Drivers of the reported vehicles what service(s) must be performed. When this report is selected, you must enter the effective Service Date of the report. The current date is the default, but you may change it as required.
Figure 452 Vehicle Services Required Report

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Special Operations & Procedures

There are several special operations and procedures used within ALARMS1 to enhance the functionality of the system. Each of these is explained in this section.

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General Ledger Linking Set-Up

At some point, you will want to automate your Companys General Ledger so you can have virtually instant Financial Statements and be less dependent on your accountants schedule to acquire them. This General Ledger link procedure should not be executed until your General Ledger programs (GL-1) start up procedures have been completed (see the General Ledger manual which was supplied with GL-1). The Start-Up Procedure has been established to allow the items in your General Ledgers chart of accounts used by the Accounts Receivable System to be pre-defined by the Companys accounting supervisor. By doing so, during daily operations, you may be assured that all transactions of a like kind are posted in a like manner. Once your general ledgers account balances have been established and matched to the current state of your Accounts Receivable Systems balances, you may perform the link. In the Files Maintenance Menu, select General Ledger Linking Set-Up. Enter the required Password (see Appendix P for Password Information) and respond to the questions as presented.
Figure 453 General Ledger Interface Instructions

Important - Once these General Ledger accounts have been entered you must also: 1. Enter General Ledger account numbers for all Sales Category Codes. 2. Enter General Ledger account numbers for Inventory Parts that were previously defined. 3. Optionally, if you collect Sales Taxes for more than one Sales Taxing Authority, a tax liability account number must be entered for each Tax Classification Code.
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See the Getting Started section of this manual for information on Sales Category Codes and Classification (Tax) Codes and the Inventory Tracking System section for Inventory related information.

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Answer Yes (Y) to the linking question shown in the graphic above and then supply the following information: 1. Enter the Path to the General Ledger Program (i.e., C:\GL\, F:\GL\, etc.). Be sure to end the path with a backslash (\). 2. Enter the Miscellaneous Sales account number that youve defined in GL-1. This is used to post the miscellaneous/shipping charge field shown in the Completed Invoice Information screen in Enter New Sales. 3. Enter the Accounts Receivable account number that youve defined in GL-1. As new sales items are billed, the system will Credit billed amount(s) to the appropriate General Ledger Sales Account (you will define these in the Sales Category Codes screen later) and Debit Accounts Receivable for the same amount(s). 4. Enter the Advance Deposits account number that youve defined in GL1. Advance Deposits and overpayments by a Subscriber are Liabilities until later when the Deposits are applied to Invoices using the Open Credits: Apply screen. When the Deposit or overpayment is entered in Post Payments Received, the system will Credit the Advance Deposit account and Debit your default Cash account for the same amount. 5. Will you be using Multiple Cash Accounts to post your Receipts? If you routinely deposit your receipts directly into various bank and savings accounts, answer this question Yes (Y). If you deposit into one account but later transfer monies into other accounts, answer No (N). If you answer yes, as you Post Payments Received, you must enter the General Ledger account number representing the cash account to which this amount will be deposited. 6. Enter the Cash Accounts account number either for the One Account you will be using or for the most common account among your multiple accounts that will be used. 7. Will you be using Multiple Departments? Although we recommend that you start your General Ledger System with one department only, if youve decided to use Multi- Departmental account procedures, answer Yes (Y), otherwise answer No (N). 8. Enter the Department this Company or Division will post to. This may be the only department defined in GL-1 or will be the most common department number that will be posted to if you have defined and intend to implement multiple departments within your General Ledger System.

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9. Do you Collect Sales Tax for more than one Taxing Authority? If Sales Tax is collected for and remitted to different States, Counties or other municipalities, they must be separately tracked (and remitted) within the system. If this is the case, answer Yes (Y). 10. As Sales Taxes are charged, the system calculates them based on the Sales Tax rate(s) entered for the Subscriber. This amount is posted as a Credit to the default Sales Tax Liability account entered below (or the specific account defined in Classification Tax Codes if you indicate multiple taxing authorities). The Debit is posted to the Accounts Receivable account for a like amount.

W H A T T O D O A F T E R T H E GE N E R A L L E D G E R LINKING HAS BEEN COMPLETED

Immediately after answering the last question, your responses are saved automatically and youre returned to the menu. You must then select the Sales Category Codes screen and modify every defined code (except NOTE) to enter the appropriate General Ledger Account number. By doing so, each Sale Item on an Invoice will be posted to the correct (pre-defined) sales account number. If you are collecting sales tax for more than one sales tax authority, you must then select the Classification (Tax) Codes screen and modify every defined code to enter the appropriate Sales Tax Liability account number for that taxing authority. Finally, if you have defined any Inventory Part Codes, from the Main Menu select Job Costing System and choose Inventory Tracking System, then Add/Update Inventory Item. Enter the appropriate General Ledger Account number for the sale of each part. Thereafter, as you Enter New Sales, Apply Open Credits and Post Payments Received no apparent new functionality will be present but these accounting transactions will all be posted automatically to the General Ledger as they occur.

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The exception to this will be the requirement of entering a Cash Account Number or Department Number for transactions if you have implemented Multiple Cash Accounts or Departments.
Figure 454 Enter Department Number

For Multiple Departments Users, when entering a Sale or Payment you must indicate the appropriate department number for the current transaction. For Companies using Multiple Cash Accounts, as payments are entered you must enter the Cash Account to which this payment is to be posted (the default will be that account specified during the linking procedure).
Figure 455 Enter the Cash Account for this Payment

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Update Pay Rates by Pay Type Code

Pay Type Codes representing specific Pay Rates for Services billed as Recurring Revenue items are predefined in Files Maintenance. These Pay Type Codes represent specific Payment Amounts that are to be modified by Rate by simply resetting the regular price for the service to a new fixed price, or changed by a Percentage having their price adjustment based on a percentage increase. To implement this capability, each Automatic Billing Data record must have the appropriate Pay Type Code assigned. Thereafter, when the Company chooses to increase the monthly rate paid for a particular service within a particular group of Subscribers (all of whom have the same Pay Type Code) two simple steps globally establish the increase. 1. In Files Maintenance choose Payment Types and Rates. Retrieve the Pay Type Code that needs to be change. Modify the screen field, changing the Payment Amount to the new Rate to be charged or Percentage of Increase. As you save the record, request an Update in the Recurring Revenue file.Figure 456 Modify Pay
Rates

2. In Files Maintenance choose the Other Files Utilities Menu and select Update Pay Rates by Pay Type Code. Request that an Update be processed. Enter the Password when requested to do so (see Appendix P - Password Information). 3. You must choose whether you want to Update by the new Percentage entered or by the Value (monthly rate) you set for the Pay Type Code.

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4. The system will then search through your Recurring Revenue records (as defined in the Automatic Billing Data screen). 5. Each record that has a Pay Type Code assigned that has been marked to be Updated in the Payment Types and Rates screen and is of the type selected above (Percentage or Value of the new Rate) will have its Payment Amount Modified in the appropriate manner. When completed, this procedure will return you to the Other Files Utilities menu.

Figure 457 Update Pay Rates

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Purge Records Permanently

As Accounting records are moved from Active months to Closed months, Service work orders are Completed and moved to the Service History File, and Jobs in the Job Cost System are completed, these records are all stored in an Archive File still readily accessible by the system. Eventually, you may want to permanently remove (Purge) these records from your system to reduce the overall size of your database, remove records that are no longer required, and to allow certain reports to be executed more quickly. These archived files are grouped as Service, Purchases, Receipts, Jobs, and Taxes Paid files. These files are purged based on a Date that you supply. All records, dated prior to that Date, will be permanently removed from the system.

Therefore, the first step is to backup your current set of data.

From the Files Maintenance Menu, select Other Files Utilities and then choose Purge Records Permanently. The command line on this screen will offer Service (S), Purchases (P), Receipts (R), Jobs (J), and Taxes Paid (T). Choose the record type you wish to purge.
Figure 458 Purge Records

Enter and confirm the date on or before which you want this history to be permanently deleted. Then enter the Password (see Appendix P for Password Information). Thereafter, the process proceeds automatically and will alert you when it is finished. Depending on the speed of your computer, and the type and size of your records youve chosen to purge, this procedure may take from a few minutes to an hour. Based on the record type youre purging, do not close a month or Post Payments Received (Purchases, Receipts or Tax Paid), access the Service Tracking System (Service) or do any Job Costing System (Jobs).

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Change Account Numbers Screen

A Subscribers ARS Number and Location Code combination, CSID and Service account number are unique to that Subscriber. Records are attached to the Subscribers file based on those codes. ARS Numbers link all accounting related items to the Subscriber, the CSID links the Central Station related data and the Service number links Service History and Open Work Orders. Under normal circumstances, because changing one of these codes would unlink those records from the appropriate Subscriber or worse, accidentally link them to another Subscriber, this is simply not permitted within the program. But sometimes you must change these codes. The ARS Number is based on the Subscribers Name and if that name changes, the ARS Number should be changed also. The Service Number is based on the Subscribers telephone number. Subscribers may change telephone numbers whenever they choose. You may need to reassign a CSID for many reasons. A special screen is provided to accommodate these situations. In Files Maintenance, select the Other Files Utilities Menu and choose the Change Account Numbers Screen.
Figure 459 Change Account Numbers Screen

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Retrieve the appropriate Subscriber, choose Modify and enter the changes affecting the record (i.e., new Phone so enter the phone and change the Service number, new Name so change the Subscribers name and their ARS Number accordingly, CSID changes as required) and save this record. By using this screen to change account numbers, all links to the existing accounting transactions, service history and central station data will be preserved.

C H A N G I N G B I L L I N G A D D R E S S O R SE R V I C E ST A T U S A N D I T S E F F E C T O N T HE S U B S C R I B E R S BALANCE
If you have made an ARS Number or Location code change, you may need to use the X-Bal or Cred-Adj command on this or another Subscribers record or even add another Subscriber record within the Subscriber Information screen thats found in the Accounts Receivable System menu. When changing ARS Numbers or Location Codes, there are three situations that may require same additional steps to ensure account balance and Ledger Card Report accuracy: 1. A Subscriber who is already in your database requests that his Invoices should now to be sent to a separate Billing Address. 2. A Subscriber who already has a Billing Address record to which their Service Locations Invoices are being sent now requests that this Billing

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Address be removed and that all Invoices are now to be sent directly to their one and only Service Address. 3. A Service Location for a Subscriber wants to be split from other Service Locations being billed to a common Billing Address. This means that this Service Location now wants his Invoices sent directly to it while the remaining Service Location(s) being billed to the main Billing Address remain as they were. Each of these cases will be discussed below with the required proper steps explained. 1. Adding a Billing Address to an existing Account a. Make a note of the Subscribers current Balance and any Pending Credit amount, then go to the Files Maintenance program (FILES). b. At the Files Maintenance System menu, select the Other Files Utilities Menu (O). c. Choose Change Account Number (C) and Retrieve (R) the Subscriber who is requesting the change to a separate billing address. d. Modify (M) this Subscribers record by inserting a Location Code (LOC) of your choice (we suggest the last three digits of the CSID). e. Press F-4 to access the Billing Address information box. Complete the requested information. Press Save (S) and then exit the Files Maintenance program. f. In ALARMS-1, select Accounts Receivable System (A) menu, and choose Subscriber Information (S). g. Retrieve (R) the billing address for this Subscriber (that was just created in the Change Account Numbers screen using the F-4 function key). h. If the Subscriber had a Balance or Pending Credit (see step a. above), use the X-Bal command to enter that Balance and/or Cred-Adj to reset their Pending Credit amount on this billing address record.

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Figure 460 Change Account Number screen with Billing Address information box displayed.

2. Removing the Billing Address of a Service Location a. Retrieve (R) the Billing Address on the Subscriber Information screen. b. Make a note of the Subscribers current Balance and any Pending Credit amount. c. Use the X-Bal command to enter a 0.00 Balance and/or Cred-Adj to reset their Pending Credit amount to 0.00 on this billing address record. d. Go to the Files Maintenance program (FILES). e. At the Files Maintenance System menu select the Other Files Utilities Menu (O). f. Choose Open New Subscriber File (O) and Retrieve (R) the Billing Address record. g. Delete this record. h. Choose Change Account Number (C) and Retrieve (R) the service location of the Subscriber who is requesting the elimination of their Billing Address.

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Figure 461 Change Account Number screen with Billing Information box displayed
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i. Modify (M) this Subscribers record and remove their Location Code (LOC). Save the change and then exit the Files Maintenance program. j. In ALARMS-1 select Accounts Receivable System (A) menu, and choose Subscriber Information (S). k. Retrieve (R) this Subscriber (that just had their Location Code removed in the Change Account Numbers screen) l. If the Subscriber had a Balance or Pending Credit (see step a. above), use the X-Bal command to enter that Balance and/or Cred-Adj to reset the Pending Credit amount on this billing address record. 3. One of several Service Locations, all assigned to the same Billing Address, now wants its Invoices sent directly to that Service Location a. This change will affect ONLY future transactions and those Invoices directly billed to that specific Service Location (excluding Recurring Revenues). b. Go to the Files Maintenance program (FILES). c. At the Files Maintenance System main menu select the Other Files Utilities Menu (O). d. Choose Change Account Number (C) and Retrieve (R) the service location of the Subscriber who is requesting the separation from its Billing Address. e. Modify (M) this Subscribers record, assign it a new ARS Number (not previously used and different from the current Billing Address ARS Number) and also remove their Location Code (LOC). f. Note the new ARS Number, save the change and then exit Files Maintenance. g. In ALARMS-1 select Accounts Receivable System (A) menu, and choose the Reports Menu (R) and select the Accounts Receivable Report (A). h. Print an Accounts Receivable Report with Detail (D) for One (O) Subscriber - entering the new ARS Number youve just assigned as the desired Subscriber to be reported. If there is a balance due or pending credit memo, make a note of it. i. Quit the Reports Menu and choose Subscriber Information (S).
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j. Retrieve (R) this Subscriber (that just had its Location Code removed and a new ARS Number assigned in the Change Account Numbers screen). k. If the Subscriber had a Balance or Pending Credit (see step h. above), use the X-Bal command to enter that Balance and/or Cred-Adj to reset the Pending Credit amount on this billing address record.

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Sales Tax Rate Increases

You must have properly assigned Classification (Tax) Codes (see Classification Tax Codes in the Getting Started section on this manual) to your Subscribers. Thereafter, when a Sales Taxing Authority changes the percentage rate of the Sales Tax that is charged within their jurisdiction, it is an easy process to reset your affected Subscribers' Sales Tax Percentage Rates to the revised (increased) rate. In Files Maintenance go to the Other Files Utilities Menu (O) and select Sales Tax Rate Increases (S).
Figure 464 Update Sales Tax Rates?

Respond with a yes (Y) to the Update? question and enter the password (see Password Information in Appendix P of this manual). The two different ways to Update these Rates are by State Code or by Tax Classification Code. The Update procedure will reset each Subscribers default Sales Tax Percentage Rate to the new percentage rate you supply here for all those in the Group (state or tax class) you select.
Figure 465 Update by State or Tax Classification?

Choose the Update method, then enter the Tax Rate and either the Classification (Tax) Code or State Code to identify the Group to be Updated. Finally, indicate whether you want to proceed with the Update. Thereafter, the process is automatic and will display a message when it has completed the Update.

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Edit Pro-Rated and Service Bills

Sometimes you may want to include an additional one-time charge on a Subscribers Recurring Revenue Invoice. If your Central Station also functions as an Answering Service, you may want to include the Customers Over Call charges, or some other type of special one time service fee may be required for a limited group of Subscribers. Whatever the reason, it is easy to add additional charges to a Recurring Revenue Invoice about to be created without having to use Enter New Sales. From the Other Files Utilities Menu select Edit Pro-Rated & Service Bills.
Figure 466 Pending Pro-Rated/AutoBilled Items

From this screen you may add, modify and delete existing Auto-Billed, Prorated and other special Charges entered here, using the Auto-Bill feature in Service Tracking (see Bill Services with Auto-Bill in the Service Tracking section of this manual). You might also use the Invoice command line option in the Automatic Billing Data screen to create pending charge records (see the Automatic Billing section under the heading Pro-Rating Recurring Revenue Bills). Retrieve the Subscriber for whom you want to add (modify) additional charges that are to be included in the next Recurring Revenue procedure. Zoom. Add, Modify or Delete these charges as needed. Each record must have a valid Sales Category assigned and must have a description for the charges and the quantity and charge itself. The Tax status

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must also be indicated. Additional Note lines may also be included by adding items with the Sales Category Code of NOTE. The entered Items will appear on the Subscribers Recurring Revenue Invoice in the order entered here (press the List command to see that order). You may Modify, Delete and Add any number of additional lines as required.
Figure 467 Entering Pro-Rating & Service Bill Entries

History Conversion Utility

If you have entered Alarm Histories in older versions of ALARMS-1 and would like to convert them to the latest format, use the History Conversion Utility to do so. In Files Maintenance go to the Other Files Utilities Menu (O) and select History Conversion Utility (H). Select the period you wish to convert and proceed. If you are using CENTRAL-1, this process should be selected there. If there are no history files to be converted, it will say so.

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Universal Look-Up Utility

Sometimes you need to locate a Subscriber, Payment Record, Sale Item, Zoning Information, etc., and you have very little to use to identify the record for which you are searching. Using the Universal Look-Up Utility, you will probably be able to locate the desired record with some small extraneous piece of data. The Universal Look-Up Utility (U) is available on most sub-menus through the ALARMS-1 program. If you select this option by mistake, select the Quit (Q) option, otherwise press the Look-Up (L) choice.
Figure 468 Universal LookUp Utility

Some Concepts about the Universal Look-Up Capabilities: Information is stored in fields. Sets of fields that contain related information make up records. These records are contained within a database sometimes called a file. You may search a specified database (i.e., Subscribers, Receipts, Sales, Zones, etc., file) with a user defined piece of information to locate the record(s) that contain that information. If you choose, you may specify (and limit the search to) the Field name where the system is to look for that information. Figure 469 Choose the File
to Search

Choose the file to search.

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Once the database file is selected on which the search will be performed, a list of available search fields in each of its records will be displayed. If you want to locate a record based on a piece of information in One of these Fields, highlight that field and press Enter. If you want to search all the fields in the record for the information, select All of the Above.
Figure 470 Selecting the field(s) to search

Enter the information that will best identify the record you want to find. This Search String may be letters, numbers or punctuation. Once entered, the procedure will search each record of the type youve identified above for the piece of information entered as your Search String.
Figure 471 Enter the Search String the information to be used to locate the desired record

It will either look in the Search Field you specified above or look in all of the fields in all records if you selected All of the Above. If a record is found containing the Search String information you entered, it will be displayed. Note that the Search String may be located ANYWHERE within the field (or all fields if so requested) youve specified. In the example below the letter A was entered as the Search String and the Account Name field was to be searched. The results show that an A was found in the middle of the line.
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Figure 472 Locating your desired record

Once a match is found for the information you entered as the Search String, that record is displayed and becomes the default record. You may request to continue the search if the located record is not the one you need or answer no (N) to select the displayed record. At anytime during the search process you may press the Space Bar to abort the search procedure. You will then be offered the opportunity to abort the search or continue again.
Figure 473 Continue Search?

When you exit this screen, you will be given the opportunity to attempt another search or quit the Universal Look Up procedure and return to the menu.

If you have searched for a Subscriber, that located Subscriber record will be displayed the next time you access any screen containing Subscriber Information.

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Appendix

Appendix A Automatic Dialing

ALARMS-1 will automatically dial the telephone number of any Subscriber currently displayed on screen (with a telephone number defined). To activate this feature you must properly answer the questions presented at initial start up. 1. Enter COM Port Number for your Modem (COM 1 or 2 only).
Figure 474 Enter your Modems Com

Figure 475 Exclude this area code

2. Enter the Area Code NOT to be Dialed. If you always enter your Subscribers area code even entering those within your own area code, you may enter your own area code to indicate that this one should not be used when dialing this group of Subscribers, otherwise enter nothing.

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3. If you need a dialing prefix to access an outside line, enter the prefix here (such as having to dial 9 for an outside line or 10-321, etc. for a long distance special calling service). Press Enter if none is required.
Figure 476 Enter Dialing Prefix

4. If you need to dial a suffix number for account identification or calling card access, enter that number here. Press Enter if none is required.
Figure 477 Enter a Dialing Suffix

USING THE AUTOMATIC DIALING FEATURE

Once you have defined you Modems location and its usage rules, Dialing is virtually automatic. From any Subscriber Information screen that offers the Dial or Call command line option, just press Dial (sometimes offered as Call). The Dial Tone will be accessed and the Subscribers premises telephone number will be dialed through your defined modem. If your modem has a speaker, you will actually hear this process. When you hear ringing at the Subscribers premises, pick up your handset (connected to the telephone line assigned to the modem) and press the Space Bar to talk (and/or disconnect the Modem).

R E S E T T I N G T H E A U T O M A T I C D I A L I N G F E AT U RE
If you need to change the parameters originally defined for your Modem (i.e., you move the modem to a different port, you start or cancel the Automatic Dialing feature, your area code changes, etc.), just erase the file that contains your modems settings. To do so, at the DOS prompt, type: del \alarms\acmmodem.dbm Then, restart the program and complete the steps described above, again.

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Appendix B Backup Procedures

It seems that every other page of this manual says that you have to make another Backup. Why are we being so careful? It's your business that's at stake here and if you don't back up when you should, who will? The rule for backup frequency is simple: If you won't mind doing it all over again since the last back up, don't bother... But if the last backup is "bad" or defective when you need it, you might have to do everything over again...The procedures we recommend on the following pages are designed to prevent this from ever happening. If you follow them carefully, you'll never have to worry about starting all over again. If you don't - you may. There are several questions (and choices) that are always asked about Backups: 1. What should I backup (programs, data files, everything on the hard disk)? 2. How often should I backup (daily, weekly, monthly, or occasionally)? 3. How do I backup (what "DOS" commands are needed)? 4. What backup methods are available (disk, tape, other hard drive, etc.)? This section will answer each of these questions and explain why. You'll find that there are choices that you must make depending on how much data is entered into ALARMS-1TM (and other programs you may be using), how frequently it's changed, whether you are using a Network (or just one computer), and what backup device(s) you have available to use. How and when you backup is still your choice. Here we will try to give you the knowledge you'll need to make the right decision.

WHAT SHOULD I BACKUP?

Assuming that you always keep the latest Upgrade Disks for each program you are using (in a safe and secure place), there is really no need to back up these programs over and over again during your regular (hopefully daily) backup procedure. In the case of ALARMS-1TM, all files that must be backed up (that cannot be recreated by the Program or Upgrade disks themselves) have a file name extension that begins with .db*. This means that whether you're using ALARMS-1TM, CENTRAL-1tm, APS-1TM, GL-1TM, PAY-1TM, REPORTS-1TM, PROS-1TM, or SERVICE-1TM, as long as you have a valid backup of all the files that have that .db* extension - in each of the sub-directories these programs are using, you'll be
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able to recover from most any type of database or hardware failure that may occur. However, from time to time (usually at least once each month), it's a good idea to backup everything on your computer and save this backup indefinitely (at least for a year). This is because this full backup will contain many other files from many other programs that you'll be using (not from MICRO KEY SOFTWARE) that you might not know how to backup (or simply forget to do so regularly).

H O W O F T E N S H O U L D I B AC K U P ?
Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Occasionally at Other Times to are actually all correct answers! This is because the most frequently recommended backup procedure is as follows: 1. Daily: Backup all critical data at least once each day (or on any day that any changes, additions, or transactions were made) using the "Even-Odd Daily/Weekly/Monthly" method detailed below. Always save the paper detail of whatever was entered into your programs for several days. Mark the packet for each day's work with a unique batch control number, preferably the one used while posting payments. If a full week passes with no problems (there is no need to restore a backup and re-enter certain days data), you may then file what is necessary to save and dispose of the unneeded portion of the paper detail. 2. Weekly: Each week a backup of all critical data should be made, and that backup set should be removed from the premises. A water leak (or fire) could easily destroy you disks (tapes) in a box in your office. Even a fireproof safe can allow damage to disks and tapes should the time or temperature of that fire exceed the safe's rating. Remember Hurricane Andrew, the Storm of the Century in '93 or El Nno, and other natural disasters are completely unpredictable. Make sure that at least one set of backups of your business data is stored, at all times, nowhere near that business. This may seem like an over-reaction and we hope you'll never need it, but reality is reality, and Murphy always wins these kinds of battles. 3. Monthly: Periodically (and once each month is ideal) a complete backup of everything stored on your hard disk(s) should be backed up. This backup is best stored in a bank safe deposit box. It is the final disaster recovery fall back you'll have and we want you to be confident that it will be there when you need it.

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Never remove a backup set from the bank safe deposit box unless you have replaced it with another newer backup. We actually know a case where the disks were removed to remake the monthly backup set (rather than having a separate set of backup disks), it was never done (not in time anyway) and was later needed very badly. Don't make that mistake! 4. Occasionally: Certain batch processes (Recurring Billing, and Month Ending Procedures in all our programs) must run from start to finish without interruption. If the process fails for any reason, a backup must be immediately restored, the files Indexed, and the process re-run. It's much easier to recover from this type of situation if you make a backup of just what is needed when it's needed. The backup procedure usually doesn't take that long and the potential time saved - if an immediate restoral of your data is needed - is worth the effort. Simply stated, if you've come to the end of the day and you've worked on your computer(s) that day, make a backup.

HOW DO I BACKUP?
What "DOS" commands are needed to make a backup? This of course depends on which program's data you are backing up. However, there is a simple template we can offer here that can easily be adapted to any program's data (even those that are not from MICRO KEY SOFTWARE). First, let's test whether you have a backup program installed. At your DOS prompt (usually referred to as your "C>" prompt) type the word backup and press <ENTER>. You'll get an error message like " Source Drive Not Specified" (or similar) if you have the backup command properly installed. If you get an error message like "File not found" or "Bad command or filename" it means that your backup command is not available from your default directory or is not installed. Call MICRO KEY SOFTWARE if this occurs and we will attempt to provide some possible solutions to this, problem. In ALARMS-1TM, all data for your primary company (or, if you are not using the multiple company capability of this program, your only company) is located in a directory called "\alarms\" on the hard disk drive where it was originally installed. For those using only one computer this is usually (but not always) drive "C:". For those on a "Network", this is usually (but not always) drive "F:".

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Similarly, the APS-1TM files are in an "\aps\" directory, the GL-1TM files in a "\gl\" directory and the PAY-1 files in a "\pay\" directory. SERVICE-1TM and REPORTS-1TM files are always found along side those used by ALARMS-1TM or CENTRAL-1tm in the "\alarms\" directory. PROS-1 files will be where ever you decided to put them when that program was first installed. This might be in the " \alarms\" directory, but could also be in a "\pros\" or "\prospect\" directory. You must know on which drive you've installed your programs! In any case, the "DOS" backup command syntax for ALARMS-1TM is as follows (assuming you are using MSDOS 5.00 or lower):
backup c:\alarms\*.db* a:

Please Note: If you are using a newer version of DOS, Version 6.00 of higher or Windows, you must use the MSBACKUP command supplied with them. The MSBACKUP changes required in your backup procedures are explained later in this section.

If you've installed the program on a drive other than drive C:, substitute that drive letter. For those of you who are using the multiple company selection feature, you must make individual backups of each company's database files using different sets of disks for each.

Each of these additional companies should have been installed in a subdirectory below the "\alarms\" directory. Assuming that this is the case, the backup command to save the data files for the additional companies is:
backup c:\alarms\company2\*.db* a:

Substitute the correct drive letter and directory name that's appropriate. The a: at the end is the floppy disk drive where this backup is to be sent. If you want to use your drive b: instead, just use a b: in place of the a: in this command.

WHAT BACKUP METHODS ARE AVAILABLE AND ACCEPTABLE?

Floppy Disk, Tape, Another Hard Drive, and Zip Disks are the most common types of backup solutions used today. They'll be explained below including their pros and cons.
Please Note: Often more than one method is used. You can never have too many backups!
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1. Floppy Disk - By far the most common and least expensive and still one of the most reliable methods of backup. With the newer high density disks having a capacity equal to 3 or 4 standard double sided double density floppies, fewer disks (and less time) are needed to backup. When backing up, you would use the backup commands explained on the previous page. A caution is needed however when using floppies. Always re-format the disks you're using repeatedly at least once each month. From frequent handling, these disks often develop bad sectors (small areas on the disk that can no longer be reliably read). This condition usually will not be recognized when making a backup but will cause errors when attempting to restore that backup.

2. Tape - This has become an accepted method for backup. Some Tape Backup Systems (there are literally dozens available) may be installed in place of one of your floppy disk drives inside your computer. Others are "external" devices that are connected to your computer by installing a "card" into one of the "slots" on your computer's mother board which are accessible at the rear of your computer. Others may be connected to the computers parallel (printer) port. Once installed, they are work about the same way. They come with their own version of software that can pass instructions to this Tape Drive telling it which files you want to back up to tape (and sometimes when you want this to happen). The backup commands that youll use must be supplied by the manufacturer from whom you got your Tape Drive. Usually you create a "script" of what you want backed up. Use the examples shown in the section on "What do I backup?" to determine which files are to be saved to tape. The most important consideration when deciding to implement a tape backup method is: Do you clearly know how to restore files and have you seen it tested (it's successfully restored previously backed up files). 3. Hard Drive to Hard Drive - If you have installed a Network and also have hard disk drives installed on any of your workstations, you can backup (actually you'll "copy") the database files from the File Server's hard disk to one of the local drives (if there's enough space available). Although this cannot be your primary method of backup, it is ideal for the backups needed before Automatic Billing and Closing Months. To make backup from one hard drive to another, follow the instructions below:
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a.

Make a series of directories on your local hard drive that match those on your file server (i.e., "md\alarms", "md\aps", "md\gl", etc.). Change to each of those directories one at a time as needed (i.e., "cd\alarms", "cd\aps", "cd\gl", etc.). Copy the necessary files from the file server directories to the appropriate directory on the local computer's hard disk drive (i.e., "copy f:\alarms\*.db* c:\alarms", "copy f:\aps\*.db* c:\aps", "copy f:\gl\*.db* c:\gl", etc.).

b. c.

Please Note: If you are using Novell Netware command for the "copy" command. 2.x or 3.x for your network operating system, substitute the "ncopy"

The fault of hard drive to hard drive backup is that there is only one copy. If the backup data is good, but you write over it with a backup that's got bad data in it, you've destroyed your good data backup with a bad data backup. That's why this method cannot be your primary back up system. However, as mentioned above, for "temporary" backups, those that are made just before a special process is run like Automatic Billing or Month Ending Procedures, this method is quick and simple, and quite satisfactory for that purpose. For regular backups though, use either Tape or Floppy Disks. Please read the section (following) called "Even-Odd Daily/Weekly/Monthly Backup Method" to see in what manner backup "media" (the Tapes or Disks themselves) are handled. You must have a method! This method is simple to follow and very reliable from the standpoint of being able to recover from a system failure. So in summary, Backup - Backup - Backup! Daily, Weekly, Monthly, before Closing a Month and before Billing Recurring Revenue, make a Backup. A Backup is something that's talked about many times in our manuals.

It cannot be over-emphasized.

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E VE N - O D D D A I L Y / W E E K L Y / M O N T H L Y B A C K U P METHOD

Having a set procedure to follow for performing Backups will reduce the chance of your forgetting to do it altogether, or doing it improperly. The most universally accepted method for backup is as follows: 1. You must backup every day using a specific set of disks (see below). 2. Have Four sets of pre-labeled backup Disks (Tapes, Zip Disks, etc.) sets. 3. Label your Daily backup Disks (Tapes, Zip Disks, etc.) sets as Even and Odd. 4. Label another set Weekly and a fourth Monthly. 5. Use the Even or Odd sets on Even and Odd numbered days of the month. 6. Use the Weekly set at the end of each week (this may be a Friday for Accounting only systems or a Saturday or Sunday for Central Stations). 7. Use the Monthly set on the last day of the month (or perhaps just prior to Closing your Months in the accounting system). We strongly suggest that your Monthly set be saved permanently. 8. Move the Weekly set Off-Site at the end of that day. Recycle it the next week.

If you use this procedure faithfully you will almost never have to re-key more than a days transactions even under the most severe circumstances, and even in those, a weeks rebuild may be all that is necessary.

A word about your backup Disks and Tapes.

As you use these items repeatedly for backup, they eventually will loose their formatting. To ensure that your backups will restore your data properly when needed, we suggest that you re-format your daily and weekly sets periodically (Daily sets once a month and Weekly sets quarterly).

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BACKUP COMMANDS
When backing up ALARMS-1TM databases and running DOS 5.00 or earlier you will use the command:
backup c:\alarms\*.d* a:

Substitute a different drive letter if your program is not on Drive C>. (See the MSBACKUP instructions later in this section if using DOS 6.00 or higher.) This command backs up the data for the Primary Company Only. If you are using the Multi-Company capability in ALARMS-1TM, the databases for the other companies are not backed up with this command. You must issue separate backup commands for each company. Two backup command examples are shown below. In example #1 below the secondary company's data is stored in a subdirectory called "\company1"; and in #2 it's in a sub-directory called "\alarms\store2".
#1.backup #2.backup c:\company1\*.d* a: a:

c:\alarms\store2\*.d*

Please Note: Remember that each company's database files must be backed up separately.

Another very important backup consideration is how to co-ordinate backups when using ALARMS-1TM, APS-1TM, PAY-1TM and GL-1TM together in the "linked" mode. The answer is simple: When you backup one, backup all. Label and keep these backups together as a SET.

If you must restore one, you must restore all!

If you are Billing your Recurring Revenue and have a system "crash", restore the GL-1TM data for that company when you restore that particular company's ALARMS-1TM data. If Inventory transactions have been made in the related company's APS-1TM during an Enter New Sales process that failed, restore the APS-1TM data, too.

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One of the most common problems we see is with Users who have defined more than one company, but do not backup the data stored in their second (third, fourth, etc...) company directory. Do not make this mistake. Use the set of disks Labeled "WEEKLY". Re-Label the Backup Disk(s) with the Month and Year. Save them! With these disks, you'll have a complete set of your Accounts Receivable "Books" for this month. Once the Backup is completed. Format and label a new set of "WEEKLY" Disks. If you are linked to the General Ledger (GL-1TM) and are going to assess Late Charges on Past Due Invoices, you must also make a backup of that program now as well. Should this procedure fail (due to a loss of power, computer failure, etc.), you need to restore both the ALARMS-1TM and the GL-1TM backups to recover.
Please Note: From time to time (and once a month is a good time), after closing the month, re-format your "EVEN" and "ODD" daily backup disks. The disks that are used regularly for daily backups can become damaged from dust, dirt, and static. Re-formatting them will restore the disks to their original quality or show you through error messages that the disk(s) are "bad".

Always backup your databases prior to billing your Recurring Revenue.

This Automatic Billing procedure must run uninterrupted from start to finish. If it fails for any reason (the power goes out - the computer locks up your printer stops for some unexplained reason - you're having a bad hair day), follow these steps to recover: 1. Restore the backup just made by exiting the program. prompt issue this command to restore your database files.
restore a: c:\alarms\*.d*

At the DOS

2. Go to Files Maintenance and select Files Indexing & Upgrades ("F") and choose Index ("I"). (See Files Indexing and Upgrades.)

INTRODUCING MSBACKUP
With the advent of new technology there comes the inevitable change. Not all of it is good, but most of it has great intent and purpose in mind. With MS DOS 6.xx, you must either change your system to use the old backup command or you learn how to use the new MSBACKUP program.
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Both options will be discussed. Please read about both options before making a final decision about which method is the right method for you. Please note: Actual commands entered at the keyboard are shown in BOLD and it is assumed that you will hit the ENTER KEY following a BOLD statement. "EASY WAY OUT" METHOD!

STEP 1. You can use the old BACKUP.EXE command on your computer with DOS 6.X, but you must make some minor adjustments to your existing setup. First, you need to check to see if the BACKUP.EXE command exists on your computer. To do so, get to your DOS prompt and type BACKUP and read what the computer says. If it says INCORRECT DOS VERSION you can skip to STEP 3. If your computer says BAD COMMAND OR FILE NAME you need to check a couple more things before continuing. If your computer has a hard drive installed, change to your C drive (C:), and then type CD\DOS to change to the DOS directory. Your prompt should look similar to this C:\DOS>. If your prompt looks like this C>, type PROMPT $P$G . Once you are in the DOS directory, type DIR BACKUP.EXE and see if a file comes up. If you do find a file you will need to edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to set your PATH correctly. This is beyond the scope of this manual. If you need help with this step please call us. If your computer says FILE NOT FOUND then you can proceed to STEP 2. STEP 2. If you are at this step, chances are you do not have the BACKUP command on your computer, so your job will be to get the command into your existing computer. If you have another computer that has MS DOS Version 5.0, you're in luck. Simply take a disk to your DOS 5.0 computer and put it in a floppy drive (substitute your drive letter as needed) and type the following command from your C:\> Prompt: COPY C:\DOS\BACKUP.EXE A: This will copy the backup command onto that disk. Take this disk over to your computer with DOS 6.xx and put it in drive A:, and from a C:\> prompt type: COPY A:\*.* C:\DOS This will now put the backup command into the DOS directory. If you cannot get a copy of the BACKUP command from one of your computers, you may download it from our BBS; however, this is your last option, strike three, go directly to Teaching an Old Dog a New Trick method. STEP 3. The last thing you need to do is edit your CONFIG.SYS file to make sure one of the lines (usually the first line) says DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE This is a command that tricks DOS into thinking that your computer is really using a different DOS version than what you loaded when you started your computer. Now you just need to reboot your computer so any changes you
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made in your CONFIG.SYS will take effect. Now you can sit back and relax because the backup command will work just like it did before you upgraded to DOS 6.XX! Finally, to tell SETVER that it is to use the DOS 5.0 version of Backup.exe and Restore.exe. Type C:\DOS\SETVER BACKUP.EXE 5.0 and press Enter. Then type C:\DOS\SETVER RESTORE.EXE 5.0 and press Enter. NETWORK USERS BEWARE! Loading the SETVER command on some of your computers may create other problems for that computer. SETVER contains a table with the names of many programs. The SETVER program is used to trick some programs into thinking that you are using a different version of DOS than what you are actually using. Sometimes this table will contain Network Specific programs like NETX.EXE, EMSNETX.EXE XMSNETX.EXE. By loading the SETVER command in your CONFIG.SYS you may accidentally tell one of these network specific files that you are running a different DOS version. This can create many problems with this computer and running other programs from the network server. To check this situation, reboot your system and make sure that you can view the information that is displayed after your computer loads NETX.EXE. (or the EMSNETX.EXE or XMSNETX.EXE commands.) Directly after you attempt to load this program the computer will give you a message like Running on DOS V5.00 for example. If this version number is not the version of DOS you are actually running then your are experiencing SETVER trickery. You need to Edit the SETVER table to remove the program that is being tricked into thinking you are running the wrong DOS. This is done quite simply by typing SETVER C:\DOS NETX.EXE /D. In this example, SETVER is the command, C:\DOS is where the SETVER table is located, NETX.EXE is the program that you wish to remove from the table, and the /D parameter instructs SETVER to DELETE NETX.EXE form the table. If you are using EMSNETX.EXE just substitute EMSNETX.EXE for NETX.EXE as follows SETVER C:\DOS EMSNETX.EXE /D. This will remove the offending
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program from the SETVER table; however, you should reboot your computer to reload your network files and verify that the changes you made have corrected the problem.

" T E A C H I N G A N O L D D O G A NE W T R I C K " M E T H O D
Now: The most dreaded option, teaching an old dog a new trick. To keep up with the ever changing technology, we recommend this option. Learn how to use MSBACKUP. To fully teach you how to use MSBACKUP is beyond the scope of this manual; however we will start you down that magic road. STEP 1. If you have never run the MSBACKUP program, the first thing you have to do is Configure MSBACKUP to work on your computer. To do this, type MSBACKUP from the DOS prompt and follow the instructions on screen. Most people should be able to perform this step if you make sure to read what is being said and usually accept the DEFAULT choice offered for each question because it is usually the right answer. When you have completed this process, the computer will tell you that you are now ready to make valid backups on this computer. At this point, you should return to the main menu of MSBACKUP. If you are somewhere other than this (like at a DOS prompt), simply type MSBACKUP to get back into the program. STEP 2. From the main menu of MSBACKUP, you have several choices. Select the BACKUP option. If you are using a mouse, simply move the pointer to BACKUP and click once on the left button. Keyboard users can use the tab key to move the highlight bar over to the BACKUP button. The MSBACKUP program is a very intricate program that may seem cumbersome at first, but once you learn how to use it, you will realize its value. When you first start MSBACKUP you will see it searching through the directories and files you have on your hard drive. Once it has finished making its catalog of the drive, you will see the main menu of MSBACKUP. (Windows users will have to improvise as some of the steps may not exactly match these instructions.) It is here that you will instruct the program what you want to backup. STEP 3. There are five selections in the menu that must be configured and I will go through them in the order that you will encounter each. (If you are using a Mouse you can use that instead of the TAB key to move the highlight bar as needed.) The first item to configure is SETUP FILE. This option tells the program what catalog to use. The catalog has a detailed list of what is on your hard drive and what files were backed up. This is a very powerful feature as you can have multiple catalogs for different backups on your machine (and someone elses
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too) so this helps in making backups from computer to computer. For now, you can leave that alone ( the default is DEFAULT SET No Description) by accepting the default value. Press the TAB key to go to the option BACKUP FROM. Move the highlight bar by pressing the arrow keys to highlight the drive that contains the files that you want to backup. Once you have the drive highlighted, you can hit the tab key to move you to the next option which is SELECT FILES. This option allows you to specify which files, that now exist on your computer, are to be backed up to your floppy drive. Hit the <ENTER> key and you will see a directory listing of the hard drive you selected from the previous option. The program is displaying the catalog of the drive to you. In laymens terms, you now have a graphical display of all the files and information that is contained on your hard drive. Once again, you can use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar down to the directory that you wish to backup. Let us suppose you want to make your daily ALARMS-1 backup. Move the highlight bar by pressing the arrow keys until the bar rests on the directory labeled ALARMS. (Dont do this now, read on a little before hitting the upcoming space bar command!) When you have the directory name highlighted press the <SPACE BAR> to backup the entire directory (this is known as a FULL BACKUP). At this point, you will see an arrow now indicating that you have tagged this directory for backup and you will also notice that the files listed in the box at the right all have check marks next to them. There are a couple of ways to change what files in the directory are to be backed up and which files are to be excluded. Let us assume that you just want to backup the data files for ALARMS-1 (i.e. Data Base Files only) instead of pressing the Space bar, you would simply highlight the ALARMS directory, then you would select the Include Option. (You can do this by either pressing ALT-N or by pressing TAB or by selecting this option with a mouse.) You would now be presented with another screen that will show you the path to the directory in which the files are located. (For example, if your ALARMS program is installed on your C: DRIVE your Path should say C:\ALARMS.) Press the tab key to move the highlight bar to File. Now, change this field to backup only the files you need; in our example, you should make this field say *.D*. After making the appropriate change, press <ENTER> and you will be returned to the previous screen. STEP 4. Move the highlight bar (using the TAB key) until you have highlighted the word OK, and then press the <ENTER> key. You will now be back

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at the Main Menu. Press the TAB key to go to the next option (which is BACKUP TYPE). Make sure this says FULL, if it does not, press the enter key and move the highlight bar to FULL and press enter. Hit the TAB key to move to the next option, Backup To, and use the highlight bar to select the floppy drive where you want your data to be placed. STEP 5. The last step is to hit the TAB key to move the highlight bar to the option labeled START BACKUP. Once you have the START BACKUP option highlight, hit the ENTER key. Youre now making your backup!

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Appendix C Your Countrys Definitions - for our International Users

For our Users who do business in and out, or just outside of the United States, we support several Address, Zip (Postal) Code, Date and Currency formats, and certain special Taxing situations. To activate this feature, at the Files Maintenance Menu, hold down the [SHIFT] key and press the F1 function key.
MICRO KEY SOFTWARE Multiple Country Set-Up System

Inside United States Only US and Canadian Subscribers Canada Subscribers Only British Subscribers Only Special Definitions Only View/Select Active Company Quit Multiple Country SetUp

98 Version Copyright 1998 MICRO KEY SOFTWARE, INC All Rights Reserved

Look at the Menu choices. Move the highlighted menu selection bar to the appropriate selection using your cursor control keys and press <ENTER>. Press Quit ("Q") and answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment?" question. You will be returned to the Files Maintenance Menu. This menu's choices are detailed below. 1. Select Inside United States Only for standard formatting. 2. Select Canada Subscribers Only or US and Canadian Subscribers to allow the dollar sign ("$") to represent money, provide longer fields for State Codes so they will accept Province information, allow free form entry of Zip Codes and Alpha-numeric Postal Codes, and retain the "(999)999-9999" Area code plus telephone number format for entering your phone numbers. If you select Canada Subscribers Only, answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment?" question. You will then be asked for your Goods and Services Taxing ("GST") Information.

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Charge Goods & Services Tax ("GST") on All Sales (Y/N)? Y Are Province Sales Taxes charged on "GST" Tax Also (Y/N)? N

Please Note: Most Provinces do not charge Sales Tax on the "GST" Tax, but some do. Answer appropriately.
Enter the Tax Rate for this Goods & Services Tax 7.00 Enter your "GST" Tax Identification Number

Please Note: You must enter your assigned "GST" Tax Identification Number.

3. Selecting British Subscribers Only will allow the pound sign to be used in place of the dollar sign for money, two fields for the City Entries, and allow free form Postal Codes and Phone numbers, and use the "British" Date format. 4. If you have other special formatting requirements, select Special Definitions Only and answer the questions related to your Money Sign, Value Added Tax situation and desired Date Formatting.
Use Dollar "$", Pound " ", Rand "R", or Yen " " (D/P/R/Y)? D Desired Date Format (A)"MM/DD/YY",(B)"DD/MM/YY",(C)"DD.MM.YY" (A/B/C)? A

Request or Question
Inside United States Only

"Answer" -

Explanation

<ENTER> - No options or choices are required if this item is selected. Just answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment...?" question.

US and Canadian Subscribers

<ENTER> - No options or choices are required if this item is selected. Just answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment...?" question.

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Request or Question
Canada Subscribers Only

"Answer" -

Explanation

<ENTER> - Answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment?" question. 1. This choice allows a much larger "State" field to accommodate Canadian Province names. 2. Answer Yes ("Y") to the "Charge Goods and Services Tax on All Sales?" question. 3. If local Province Sales Tax is charged on GST Tax as well, answer yes ("Y") to the "Are Province Sales Taxes charged on GST Taxes also?" question. If not (as is the case in most but not all Provinces), answer No ("N"). 4. Enter the GST Tax Rate. 5. Enter your GST Tax Identification Number, if required. Press <ENTER> for this choice. 1. Then decide on the desired Date format and enter the appropriate letter code and then answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment?" question. 2. Answer Yes ("Y") to the "Charge Goods and Services Tax on All Sales?" question which will establish your VAT system. 3. Answer no ("N") to the "Are Province Sales Taxes charged on GST Taxes also?" question. 4. Enter the VAT Tax Rate. 5. Enter your VAT Tax Identification Number.

British Subscribers Only

Special Definitions Only

<ENTER> to select 1. Specify which Currency Type notation you wish to use (Dollar, Pound, Rand, or Yen). 2. Choose the Date Format that best fits your country's normal usage. 3. Quit the Multiple Country Set-Up menu and answer Yes ("Y") to the "Save this New Country Formatting Assignment?" question.

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Appendix D Database Structures

Every piece of information about Subscribers, their Payments, Sales, Service histories and Central Station is stored in Databases. These databases have Records individual units of data about a specific Subscriber, Payment, Sale, etc. The actual pieces of data are stored in Fields. This section is designed to assist you if you are making a Special Selection by defining a Filter (see Appendix F Special Selection Criteria) or performing as Universal Look Up and need to know the exact Field Name within a certain database. Its is, by its very nature, Technical in character. Subscriber Database: ACMSUB.DBF
# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Field Name ACCTNAME ACCTNUMBER ACCTTYPE ADDRESS_CO ADDRESS_ST ALADATE ALARMCODE ARSNUMBER ATTENTION BALANCE CEN_TESTS CRED_BAL CHANGE_ID CITY CLASSIFIED CSID DIVISION EMPLOYEE Type Character Character Character Character Character Date Character Character Character Numeric Character Numeric Character Character Character Character Character Character Width 30 14 1 30 30 8 3 8 30 12 1 10 4 20 4 8 2 4 2 2 Dec

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19 20 21 # 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

EVENT_TIME GENERICID INTEREST Field Name KEYS KEYPADTYPE LASTAMOUNT LASTPAYAMT LASTPMT LOCATION LASTSALE LASTUPDATE LOCATIONCP LOCATIONK1 LOCATIONK2 LOCATIONTI LOCATIONTR LDISABLED MEMOLERT NO_ADDRESS NOTES_COMM ONLINEDATE OFFLINEDAT PAGEWHO PANELTYPE PARTS_CW PARTS_RW PASSWORD

Numeric Character Logical Type Logical Character Numeric Numeric Date Character Date Date Character Character Character Character Character Logical Logical Logical Character Date Date Character Character Character Character Character

5 8 1 Width 1 8 10 10 8 3 8 8 20 20 20 20 20 1 1 1 49 8 8 3 8 49 49 15 2 2 Dec

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46 47 48 49 50 # 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72

DURESS PHONEREF1 PHONEREF1X PHONEREF2 PHONEREF2X Field Name PHONETHERE PHONETHERX PHONE_DCU PHONE_FAX RUNADATE RUNATIME RUNACNT SALEDATE SELFMAILER SERVICE LASTSERVED SC1CODE SC1REASON SC2CODE SC2REASON SHIPTO SORT_CODE SPCL_COMM STATE STKGROUP TAXABLE TAXRATE

Character Character Character Character Character Type Character Character Character Character Date Numeric Numeric Date Logical Character Date Numeric Character Numeric Character Character Character Character Character Character Character Numeric

15 13 4 13 4 Width 13 4 13 13 8 5 3 8 1 1 8 2 17 2 17 1 4 1 20 1 1 6 3 Dec

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73 74 75 76 77 78 79 # 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94

TELCOPART TIMEZONE TOPCREDIT TOWNCODE TRANSFORM WARRANTY ZIP Field Name SYSTEM NOTES CENTRAL DIRECTIONS TEMPCOMM TEMPCOMMD OPEN_RPT AREAS CSHOLD PASSCODES DEALERCODE DEALERNAME DEALERBILL ZONECODE ULGRADE

Character Character Numeric Character Character Date Character Type Memo Memo Memo Character Character Date Character Character Logical Logical Character Character Logical Character Character

8 1 10 3 8 8 10 Width 10 10 10 49 49 8 1 8 1 1 3 30 1 5 3 Dec 2

End of Subscriber File.

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Recurring Revenue Rules: ACMSUB_R.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Field Name ARSNUMBER LOCATION R_SALETYPE R_PAYAMT R_PAYCODE R_TAXED R_PAYTYPE R_START_ON R_END_ON R_FREE R_DESCRIPT R_NOTE R_BALANCE R_EXMO_RT SELFMAILER NO_ADDRESS R_CHANGED R_CHANGEID Type Character Character Character Numeric Numeric Character Character Date Date Logical Character Character Numeric Logical Logical Logical Date Character Width 8 3 4 10 2 1 3 8 8 1 35 70 10 1 1 1 8 3 2 2 Dec

End of Subscriber Recurring Revenue File.

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Invoice Header (Totals) File: ACMINV.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Field Name ARSNUMBER BALANCEDUE COMMENT DUEDATE IS_CREDIT INVNUMBER INVTOTAL LOCATION PAID PARTIAL PAYDATE PRINTED SALEDATE SHIPPING TAXPAID TAXTOTAL TOTALSALE TAX_REPTD GST_AMOUNT Type Character Numeric Character Date Logical Numeric Numeric Character Character Numeric Date Logical Date Numeric Numeric Numeric Numeric Numeric Numeric Width 8 10 35 8 1 6 10 3 1 10 8 1 8 10 8 10 10 8 8 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Dec

End of Invoice Header (Totals) File.

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Invoice Detail lines File: ACMDETL.DBF (Detail History stored in same file format ACMDETAC.DBF)
# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Field Name AMOUNT ARSNUMBER LOCATION DESCRIPT INVNUMBER QUANTITY SALEDATE SALETYPE TAXED DTAXRATE TAXCODE EMPCODE NON_REPORT GSTEXEMPT Type Numeric Character Character Character Numeric Numeric Date Character Character Numeric Character Character Logical Logical Width 9 8 3 70 6 9 8 16 1 6 1 4 1 1 3 2 Dec 2

End of Invoice Detail lines File.

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Receipts & Deposits File: ACMREC.DBF (Receipts History stored in same file format ACMRECAC.DBF)
# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Field Name ARSNUMBER LOCATION CASH CHECK_NO CLASSIFIED INVNUMBER PAYDATE PAYMENT BATCH_NO Type Character Character Logical Numeric Character Numeric Date Numeric Numeric Width 8 3 1 8 4 6 8 10 2 2 Dec

End of Receipts File.

Sales Taxes Paid File: ACMTAXPD.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Field Name PAYDATE CLASSIFIED ARSNUMBER LOCATION INVNUMBER TAX_REPTD RECEIVED TAXED_SALE PMTPERCENT Type Date Character Character Character Numeric Numeric Numeric Numeric Numeric Width 8 4 8 3 8 8 10 9 5 2 2 2 3 Dec

End of Sales Taxes Paid File.

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Open Service Requests File: ACMSRV.DBF (Completed Service ACMSRV_O.DBF)

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Field Name ACCTNUMBER CHARGE COMMENTS CONDITIONS DATEOFSERV DESCRIPT SRV_TYPE HOURS PRIORITY REQ_BY REQ_DATE SCHEDULED TECHNICIAN TIME_SLOT WONUMBER SCHED_INST PRINTED SERVICE Type Character Numeric Character Character Date Character Character Numeric Numeric Character Date Date Character Numeric Numeric Character Logical Memo

History
Width 14 9 49 49 8 76 4 7 1 10 8 8 4 2 6 49 1 10 2 2 Dec

stored

in

same

file

format

End of Service History File.

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Sales Category Codes and Inventory File: ACMTYPES.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Field Name DESCRIPT PRICE SALETYPE QUANTITY PART PRICEIN APSNUMBER ARSNUMBER NON_REPORT REORDER SA_ACCOUNT LKITCODE PARTGROUP NWANTED Type Character Numeric Character Numeric Logical Numeric Character Character Logical Numeric Numeric Logical Character Numeric Width 70 9 16 9 1 8 8 8 1 6 3 1 4 9 2 2 2 2 2 Dec

End of Sales Category Codes File.

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Subscribers Installed Equipment File: ACMEQUIP.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Field Name ACCTNUMBER SYSTEMTYPE SEGMENTID EQUIPCODE LOCATIONEQ EQUIPNOTES ZONECODE SERIAL_NO KEYPADID INSTALLED WARRANTEED LASTUPDATE CHANGE_ID FLOOR NOTES Type Character Character Numeric Character Character Character Character Character Character Date Date Date Character Character Memo Width 14 3 3 8 20 35 5 15 3 8 8 8 4 2 10 Dec

End of Subscribers Installed Equipment File

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Subscribers Call List & Passcode Information File: CEN_CALL.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Field Name CALLNUMBER CSID NAME PHONENUM TITLE PAGER_INFO PASSCODE KEYS ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP Type Character Character Character Character Character Character Character Logical Character Character Character Character Width 1 8 30 13 12 1 15 1 30 15 10 10 Dec

End of Subscribers Call List & Passcode Information File

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Subscribers Zone Code Information File: CEN_ZONE.DBF

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Field Name ALARMCODE CALL_LIST CALL_WHO CSID DESCRIPT OCT_CODE PRIORITY RESPONSE VERIFY ZONECODE CSHOLD RESTZONE RESTMIN PAGEWHO Type Character Character Character Character Character Character Numeric Logical Logical Character Logical Character Numeric Character Width 3 9 1 8 50 1 1 1 1 5 1 5 3 3 Dec

End of Subscribers Zone Code Information File

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Appendix E Printer Selection and Management

A N O V E R V I E W OF P R I NT E R S E T U P
You can have access to more than one printer from within the ALARMS1TM program. This means that you'll be able to actually select your Printer (from among all those that you've defined) when you print a Report, Invoice, Work Order, Statement, etc. To start this capability you must Define your Printers in Files Maintenance, then Assign your Default Reports Printer, and finally Select the desired Printer as needed when you're actually printing. In Files Maintenance, choose the Other Files Utilities Menu ("O").
Figure 478 Printer Definitions screen

Two items on this Menu relate to Printers: Define Printer Information and Assign Default Reports Printer. Choose Define Printer Information ("D") to see the screen shown above. You'll have one of two situations with which to deal when defining your Printers: 1. You are using only one computer (not running on any type of a network) and have one or more printers to define (which are directly attached to this computer). 2. You are running on a Network (Novell, Lantastic, Windows 95, etc.) and have several printers available to some or all of the workstations. These printers may be "local printers" (only available to the operator at

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that particular computer), or "network printers" (printers that have been made available to any of the network's Users). If you are on a Novell Network, during the installation procedure, the Install Program automatically defined all of your Novell Network Printers. These Novell Network Printers will be identified as such in a "Novell Queue" box shown below the screen's Printer Definition Box, otherwise this box WILL NOT APPEAR.

DEFINING YOUR PRINTERS

To Define Network or non-Network Printers, or to Add LOCAL Printers to the list of automatically defined Novell Printer Definitions: Choose Add ("A") from the command line. You may add any number of Local and Non-Novell Network Printers. (See Special Considerations When Adding Printers below.) Enter a Name for the Printer you want to define. This should a name that clearly describes that Printer to its users. Enter the DOS Name for the "Device" this Printer is attached to. The Device Name can either be the actual Port the printer is connected to (the actual connector located on the back of your computer that you've plugged the printer cable into), or the Port's Name that you are re-directing to a Network Printer. The valid Printer Port Names are: a. LPT1, LPT2, LPT3 (for the three possible parallel printer ports). b. COM1, COM2 (for the two possible serial printer ports).

Special Considerations When Adding Printers

If you are not using a Network and, therefore, your computers are not connected to one another, you probably have only one (or perhaps two) printer(s) in your office. If you have a sufficient number of parallel and/or serial ports on your computer to connect these printers, do so and define them in the Define Printer Information screen.

Also, be sure to later decide which one will be your Default Reports Printer and enter that selection in the Assign Default Reports Printer screen.

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If you are using a Network, you have three possible paths to take depending on what Network Operating System you are using. Below is a discussion of each of these.

Novell Netware Users: Assuming that you've installed the Novell specific ALARMS-1TM Upgrade, your Network Printers will automatically be defined. However, you must define any "Local" Printers that you want to have among the list of available printer selections. Each individual User on a Novell Network may now define the preferred Default Printer (see Defining Your Default Reports Printer below). Generally, if many Network workstations have their own local printers, it's best to simply define one "LOCAL PRINTER" at "LPT1" which anyone may then select as their personal default printer. LanTastic Network Users: See the separate Appendix Section L for LanTastic Users. Other Network Users: If your Network is not one of the two mentioned above - it probably is Windows 95 or Windows NT. You must Define your Printers within Windows then Define one Printer (LPT1 Local Printer), make it your Default Printer, and use your Window's Printer Management System to choose the desired Printer. Once you have defined your Printer Information, you next must assign your Default Reports Printer. Three possible cases exist here, also. You are not using a Network. Go to the Other Files Utilities Menu in Files Maintenance, choose the Assign Default Reports Printer ("A") screen (see screen illustration below), and Assign a Default Reports Printer. You are using Novell Netware to operate your Network and to manage your Printers. With the Novell Version of ALARMS-1TM, you must Assign a Default Printer for each individual computer if that person will ever do any printing.

This means that each User on the Network must go to the Other Files Utilities Menu, choose the Assign Default Reports Printer ("A") screen (see screen illustration on next page), and select his/her own personal Default (preferred) Printer. You are using LanTastic to operate your Network and you've previously made some printers (within Lantastic) available as Network Printers. Go to the
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Other Files Utilities Menu, choose the Assign Default Reports Printer ("A") screen (see next page), and Assign one Default Reports Printer. This Default Printer will be used by all workstations on the Network as the Default, but may be temporarily changed by any User when the Print Job is actually processed. If no Default Printer was previously assigned, you will see the message shown below. Press the <SPACE BAR> to continue

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The Select Default Reports Printer "Pop-Up" Selection Box will appear.

Using the cursor keys, move the highlight bar to the desired printer. Press <ENTER> to select it. You must assign a Default Workstation printer to be able to print a report. Once you've selected your Default Reports Printer, you may later change that Selection by returning to this screen and pressing Modify ("M"). To modify your currently selected Default Reports Printer, simply re-select the Default Printer from the Pop-Up box.

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Normal Printing Procedure

Each time you choose to print a Report, Invoice, Statement, etc., you will be presented with a Print Choices command line at the bottom of the screen. This Print Choices command line appears as follows: 1. The currently selected (Default) printer will be shown. 2. You'll be asked to Print_Now ("P") - it will be the choice that is highlighted. 3. You may press <ENTER> to accept that selection, answer Yes (" Y") to the "Printer Ready?" question and print. 4. Or you may choose to "print" to your Screen (S) or a File (F); or Change (C) the currently selected printer to another one of your own choosing.
Figure 479 Printing

If you want to send your Print Job to a printer other than the "Current Printer Selection", choose Change_Printer ("C"). Using your cursor keys, highlight the desired printer in the "Pop-Up" Printer Selections Box that will appear. Press <ENTER> to make your selection. Next, choose Print_Now ("P") and proceed as usual. If you select to Print to a File, enter the File Name using normal DOS file naming conventions. The Files Name should start with a letter, contain letters, numbers, but no spaces. The system will automatically add an extension of .PRN. You may also specify a Path in front of the files name.

Figure 480 Printing to a File

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Appendix F Filters: Special Selection Criteria

When printing certain Subscriber Reports, Lists or Labels, you will be offered the choice to define "Special Selection Criteria". Defining a special selection criteria means: 1. You want to place a filter on the Subscriber (or some related) database to screen out those Subscriber records you do not want to see listed (thereby displaying only those that you do want to see listed) 2. Define with a filter those Subscribers that you do want to see listed. Special Selection Criteria phrases are entered in a Selection box (see the screen illustration below) and then validated by ALARMS-1 for proper syntax. That syntax follows the DBASE III Plus programming language context with some enhancements (and short cuts). If you subscribe to our Software Maintenance & Support Agreement service you may call us anytime for help designing your Special Selection Criteria. When a Filter is permitted, you will normally be offered a Special Selections screen similar to the one illustrated below. You may use a Predefined Filter (see below), you may choose one of the standard selections (i.e., by Municipality, Sale Dates, Account or Panel Type), or request to make a Special Selection Criteria (S). Figure 481 Special Selection Criteria
Choices

PREDEFINED FILTERS
These database filter expressions may be predefined by typing them into an ASCII text file (using the DOS Edit command). At your DOS prompt in your \ALARMS\ directory, open a file with an extension of .DFF and type in the filter expression for your desired special selection criteria.
Figure 482 Select a Predefined Filter?

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If you want to use a previously defined Data Filter File, answer yes (Y) and enter the Path to where youve stored your data file filter(s) and then select the appropriate File Name from the Pop-Up Selection box that will be presented.

D E F I N I N G A F I L T E R C RE A T I N G Y O U R V E R Y O W N S P E C I A L SE L E C T I O N C R IT E R I A
When you want to "custom" select a specific group of Subscribers for a Report, List or Label run, choose Special Selection Criteria ("S") when this choice is offered. In many cases, your Selection Criteria may be applied to different databases. If offered this choice, enter the database that contains the Information on which your Filter is based. When in doubt, choose Subscriber Figure 483 Which database will you be Information (S).
selecting from?

After making this choice, you will be presented with a Special Filter Criteria Choices screen containing the most commonly used field names within the database youve chosen. There are others that may be used as well (see Appendix D Database Structures in this Appendix section of the manual). Figure 484 Special Filter Criteria Choices screen Enter
your Selection:

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Type in your special Selection Criteria to create the proper desired database filter. The listing below shows the names, data type and purpose of each field in the Subscriber database. Entering these field names and then assigning them values creates a special selection criteria.

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S U B S C R I B E R ( A N D P RO S P E C T I N P R O S - 1 ) D A T A B A S E S T R U C T U RE S
B = Both; S = Subscriber; P = Prospect Field# Field Name B) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ACCTNAME ACCTNUMBER ACCTTYPE ADDRESS_CO ADDRESS_ST ALADATE ALARMCODE ARSNUMBER ATTENTION BALANCE CEN_TESTS CRED_BAL CITY CLASSIFIED CSID DIVISION EMPLOYEE EVENT_TIME GENERICID INTEREST KEYS KEYPADTYPE LASTAMOUNT Character Character Character Character Character Date Character Character Character Numeric Character Numeric Character Character Character Character Character Numeric Character Logical Logical Character Numeric 30 14 1 30 30 8 3 8 30 12 1 10 20 4 8 1 3 5 8 1 1 8 10 2 2 2 B P,S B B B S S P,S B S S S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S S S P,S S S S Prospect's Name QuickTele,Service Accnt # Account Type (R, C, etc.) C/O Address Street Address Date of Last Alarm (CS-1) Last Alarm Zone Received PRO Number, ARS Number Attention Line Current Balance Test Signal (CS-1) Pending Credit Amount City Tax Classification Code Central Station ID Division Code Salesman Code Last Alarm (CS-1) Generic CSID Active Prospect, Interest Possess Subscriber's Keys Equip. Code #4 Amount of Last Sale Type Width Dec Use Description (S or P or

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24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

LASTPAYAMT LASTPMT LOCATION LASTSALE LASTUPDATE LOCATIONCP LOCATIONK1 LOCATIONK2 LOCATIONTI LOCATIONTR MEMOLERT NO_ADDRESS NOTES_COMM ONLINEDATE PANELTYPE PARTS_CW PARTS_RW PASSWORD PHONEREF1 PHONEREF2 PHONETHERE PHONE_DCU SALEDATE SELFMAILER SERVICE SC1CODE SC1REASON SC2CODE

Numeric Date Character Date Date Character Character Character Character Character Logical Logical Character Date Character Character Character Character Character Character Character Character Date Logical Character Numeric Character Numeric

10 8 3 8 8 20 20 20 20 20 1 1 49 8 8 49 49 10 13 13 13 13 8 1 1 2 17 2

S S S S P,S P,S S S S S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S S S S P,S P,S P,S P,S S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S

Amount of Last Payment Date of Last Payment Location Code Date of Last Sale Date of Last Update Salutation, C/P Location Equip. Code #4 Location Permit Number Equip. Code #3 Location Equip. Code #2 Location Alert for Memo Pad Referral, No Addr on Bill Notes & Comments Lead Date, On Line Date Lead's Source, C/P Code Components Line #1 Components Line #2 Subscriber's Password Reference Phone #1 Reference Phone #2 Premises Telephone FAX Phone, Dialer Number Original Sale Date Visited, Selfmailer Status, Service Contract R/C #1 Code, S/C #1 Code R/C#1 Lett., S/C#1 Reason R/C #2 Code, S/C #2 Code

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52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72

SC2REASON SHIPTO SORT_CODE SPCL_COMM STATE TAXABLE TAXRATE TELCOPART TIMEZONE TOPCREDIT TOWNCODE TRANSFORM WARRANTY ZIP SYSTEM NOTES CENTRAL DIRECTIONS TEMPCOMM TEMPCOMMD OPEN_RPT

Character Character Character Character Character Character Numeric Character Character Numeric Character Character Date Character Memo Memo Memo Character Character Date Character

17 1 4 1 20 1 6 8 1 10 3 8 8 10 10 10 10 49 49 8 1 2 3

P,S S P,S S P,S P,S P,S S S S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S P,S S

R/C#2 Lett., S/C#2 Reason Billing Address Only Sort Code Spec Comm. Code (CS-1) State Taxable (Y/N) Tax Rate Charged Equip. Code #3 Time Zone Code (CS-1) Credit Limit Mkting Area, Muni. Code Wants, Equip Code #2 Recall Date, Warranty Zip (Postal) Code Memo Pad Memo Pad Memo Pad Directions When, Temp Comment (CS-1) Appt Date, Temp Comm Ends O/C Reporting (CS-1)

Each time you enter a special selection phrase you are asking the program to "filter" out the Subscribers (or Prospects) that don't match the selection rule(s) you've entered. UPPER(CITY)="KISSIMMEE".AND.ACCTTYPE="R" UPPER(ACCTNAME)="MER".AND.SERVICE="Y"

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In the first example above, you've asked for a list of Subscribers in a certain city that are marked as Residential Subscribers. In this case you are filtering out anyone in any other city and even if they are in that city, they will be excluded if they have not been marked Residential ("R") in the Account Type field. In the second example, you've asked for everyone whose ACCTNAME field begins with "MER" and who has a Y entered in the SERVICE agreement field. Several important syntax items are included in these examples. If the field you are specifying allows upper and lower case letters to be entered, to make a valid comparison you must put that field's name after the word UPPER and enclose that field name in parenthesis. A and a are different to a computer. Kissimmee nor does MERCER equal Mercer. KISSIMMEE does not equal

You use the "UPPER" command because your model (your example) of what is to be selected (which always follows the field name and is put in quotes) may have been entered "KISSIMMEE", "Kissimmee", "KIssimmee" or many other possible ways, either in Upper or Lower Case letters. Computers see lower case letters as different (and unrelated) to upper case letters. Because of this, you'll want the program to internally convert what was actually entered in the CITY or ACCTNAME fields to all upper case letters so that the system will see if they are actually alike.

F IE L D C O M P A R I T I V E S -

.AND.

.OR.

.NOT.

Because more than one case is being presented in this filter, the word AND (with a period on each side of it) "connects" these two cases (what the City should be and what the Account Type should be) into one special selection phrase. Other "words" are available to control the filter expressions you'll enter. They are .OR. and .NOT. and can be used with each other such as the example below. Balance is a field used in the Subscriber database. This filter will show Residential (accttype="R") Subscribers that owe more than $100 and Commercial accounts over $200. (balance>100.and.accttype="R").or.(balance>200.and.accttype="C") Here we want to see listed only those Residential Subscribers with a Balance Due of more than $100.00, or Commercial Subscribers with a Balance Due of more than $200.00. Two additional things need to be explained here.

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1. The use of conditional signs in addition to Equal (" =") used for Greater than (">"), Less than ("<"), Greater than or equal to (">="), and Less than or equal to ("<="); and the use of Parenthesis where you have two multi-part conditions (each condition set should be surrounded with a parenthesis). 2. Use the conditional signs as you would use the words, and be sure to group sets of conditions (when you're defining more than one) in Parenthesis separated by the ".AND." ".NOT.", ".OR." or combinations such as ".AND..NOT.". Below is an example of how .NOT., and .AND..NOT. are used together. In this example, you want to see listed those Subscribers whose Sort Code field has something entered in it and their CSID field does also (neither one of these field is "empty"). .NOT.EMPTY(SORT_CODE).AND..NOT.EMPTY(CSID) Finally, all these special filter expressions have used valid "Field Names". Many of these are shown on the screen when entering your Special Selection Criteria and all of them are shown in Appendix D (above). These field names are what the program actually calls the data types for which you are filtering. As a general rule, you enter the Field Names, connect or modify them with any logical symbols needed (you may use "<", "=", ">", "<=", ">=", ".AND.", ".OR." and .NOT. with your entry), and enter any literal phrases, if needed.

SYNTAX CONSIDERATIONS
a. All literal words or phrases must be in quotes. b. To create complex selections using multiple "AND" or "OR" relationships, these must be entered as ".AND.", ".NOT." and ".OR.". These special words must have a period (".") on each side. c. Only Currency and Pay Codes do not require Quotes when these values are entered. d. And dates - ugh - must be entered as follows: CTOD('01/01/80'). The "CTOD" means that you want the program to Convert TO Date the expression you've placed in quotes within the parenthesis. Don't try to understand it - just do it that way and it will work. And while we're on the subject of Dates, today's date is entered: DATE(). Example #1: To print a list of Commercial (Type = "C") Subscribers who live in Pennsylvania and owe you money now, you would type the following:

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ACCTTYPE="C".AND.STATE="PA".AND.BALANCE>0 Be careful when entering numbers to use the zero (0) not the Oh (O). Notice that no spaces are needed between any of the filter expression's words. All comparison expressions (what the state should be, what the account type should be) except Currency and Pay Codes (which are actually numbers) require quotes. Example #2: To print a list of all Residential Subscribers living in an area with a Zip Code of 19010, you would type the following: ACCTTYPE="R".AND.ZIP="19010" Notice that even the Zip Code requires quotes around it because although in the United States these are all numbers (and with Zip+4 there is a dash), in all other countries Postal Codes are a combination of letters and numbers and sometimes additional punctuation. Example #3: To print a list of Subscribers who owe $1,000.00 or more, you would type the following: BALANCE>=1000.00 Here you need not put the amount in quotes because it is an actual number.

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Appendix G Starting with a New Subscriber

E NT E R I N G A S U B S C R I B E R : F R O M ST A R T T O F I N I S H
This chart is presented to give you a basic step-by-step procedure for entering a Subscriber in the Accounts Receivable System. It is not intended to replace the specific sections in the manual (shown in italics) which explain these steps in detail.

Entering Subscribers into Purpose or Step

Before entering a Subscriber, you must determine whether the correct Salesman, Tax Classification, and Sales Category Codes have been established for this case.

Procedure
Determine the Salesman Code that will be assigned to this Subscriber, the Tax Classification Code required, and the Sales Category Codes that will be used for the initial Bill (for the new sale) and later for Recurring Revenue(s). Be sure that each of these have been defined in Files Maintenance.

Enter the Subscriber.

Using the Subscriber Information screen found in the Accounts Receivable System's menu, enter the Subscriber. Pay special attention to how you enter the ARS Number and the accuracy of the Account Type, Late Charge status, Classification, Salesman, and (only if needed) Division Codes, Tax status and Rate, and then establish a Credit Limit (if desired). If the Billing and Service Addresses will be different, enter them as separate records but with the Same ARS Number. The record with the Service Address (if NOT also the Billing Address) gets a Location Code assigned to it.

Enter Automatic Billing information.

If this Subscriber will be billed for some type of Recurring Revenue, using the Automatic Billing Data screen found in the Accounts Receivable System's menu, enter the Automatic Billing information. After assigning a Start Date sometime in the future, either create a Pro-Rated bill here for the service from when it will start to when the next automatic bill will be issued, or be sure to include that amount in the Invoice for the installation itself (see below).

Bill for the Installation.

Using the Enter New Sales screen found in the Accounts Receivable System's menu, enter the Invoice for this Sale and for any part of their Recurring Revenue(s) that need to be billed manually (if not already done in the Automatic Billing Data screen). You may enter a deposit on this sale as you create the

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Entering Subscribers into Purpose or Step

Post the Deposit

Procedure
invoice if you did not already enter it as a deposit in Post Payments Received (see below). If you received a Deposit on this sale and have not yet entered it, using the Post Payments Received screen found in the Accounts Receivable System's menu, enter the money received. Using the Open Credits: Apply screen found in the Accounts Receivable System's menu, Retrieve this new Subscriber, look up the new Invoice, select Credit, and following the instructions for applying a Deposit (not a Credit Memo), apply this previously recorded Deposit to this newly created Invoice. Using the Invoice Printing Menu found in the Accounts Receivable System's menu, Print the Invoice and either deliver to that Subscriber for personal collection at time of completion (the preferred way), or mail it immediately. Enter General Subscriber and System Information (if now available), create a Work Order for this job and install the System. (See the chart below.)

If you previously entered the initial Payment from this Subscriber as a Deposit in Post Payments Received, you must Apply that Deposit to this Invoice now. Print the Invoice

Finishing the Job.

U P D A T I N G A S U B S C R I B E R RE C O R D F OR S E R V I C E TRACKING
This chart is presented to give you a basic step-by-step procedure for updating your General Subscriber Data information to better utilize the Service Tracking System. We assume here that you're already using the Accounts Receivable System and have completed the steps in the chart above.

Service Tracking System Purpose or Step

Complete General Subscriber Information screen.

Procedure
Using the General Subscriber Information screen found in the General Subscriber Data Menu, Modify the new Subscriber's record (which will already be there because it was entered in Accounts Receivable) so you can include the CSID, Sale and Warranty Dates, Municipality Code and any special Notes or Directions. Using the Subscriber System Information screen in the General Subscriber Data Menu, enter any information available to you about their system. This should include a general description (in Components #1 and #2), the Control Panel and other key Equipment items, and their Locations, and the On Line Date, Password,

Enter the System Information and recurring service requirements.

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Service Tracking System Purpose or Step

Procedure
Generic CSID, etc. as required. If you are responsible for providing the Subscriber with periodic inspections, enter the appropriate SC1 Code and Reason (and SC2 also, if needed).

Write Up a Service Request

Using the Write-Up Service Request screen found in the Service Tracking System's menu, enter a Work Order for the new Installation. Using Print Service Request Forms found in the Service Tracking System's menu, print the installation Work Order. Attach whatever in-house document you use to explain the exact details of this installation to this Work Order form. Go to the Completed Service Requests screen and Retrieve this Subscriber. Use the F3 System Note Pad to enter any special information required to be known about this system. Then Zoom. Use the F3 Service Note Pad to enter special information about this particular step in their installation process. Then enter the Technician and Service Category Codes, Time, and a brief note about this installation. If another service visit is needed, immediately return to the Write-Up Service Request screen and enter a Work Order for the next Installation or follow-up visit that will be required.

Print the Work Order

Mark this Service Request form as Completed.

Enter the Contracts Tracking Information.

Using the Contracts Tracking System menu found in the General Subscriber Data Menu, enter the Monitoring (Service, Lease, or UL ) Contract expiration date(s) and information. Using the Central Station Data menu's many selections, enter Zone Code, Call List, Pass Code, and Opening/Closing information as required.

Enter the Central Station Information.

OP E N I N G A N E W S U B S C R I B E R F I L E
All of your basic Data Entry processes may be completed in one screen, except Central Station Zone, Call List and Open/Close Information. The Open New Subscriber File screen found in the Other Files Maintenance Menu in the Files Maintenance program, or the New Subscriber File Entry screen found in the Accounts Receivable Menu along with its available Zoom screens, provide you with all of the fields needed to properly define a Subscriber. However, as was explained in the Getting Started and Subscriber Information sections of this manual, this is a very complicated screen. Once you have completed the charts above for several Subscribers, you may want to try using this screen to enter one Subscriber.
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You'll either love it or hate it. If you find it too complicated, or you lack the information required to complete it, don't use it. If, on the other hand, you generally know all that is required on that screen when you first enter a Subscriber, using that screen to enter the Subscriber will save many steps (moving from menu to menu). Whether you decide that you'll use this screen regularly or not, at least give it a chance after you've become familiar with the ALARMS-1TM system.

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Appendix H - Special Configuration Tips

changes to your system's configuration files as needed. This document assumes that you are using DOS 5.0 or higher. Those still using DOS 3.3 should call for instructions.

Please read the following information carefully and make the appropriate

S I N G L E C O M P U T E R U S E RS :
During the upgrade procedure you are asked if the program can create or modify your CONFIG.SYS file. Make sure you answer Yes (" Y") to this question. If you answered No ("N") to this question you will need to check your CONFIG.SYS for the following: FILES=70 and BUFFERS=nn (where nn is a number that is divisible by the number 8, i.e., 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, etc...) (See "Editing a File" below).

N O V E L L NE T W O R K U S E R S :
Once you've installed an upgrade for either ALARMS-1 or CENTRAL1 , you must check your system's configuration. Our installation program can only change the CONFIG.SYS file of the specific computer on which you actually installed the upgrade. You must also check this file on all the other work stations (networked computers) that will access any Micro Key Software program. The FILES statement in each CONFIG.SYS file should be at least FILES=70 and the BUFFERS= statement must be a number divisible by the number 8 (i.e. 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, etc.). If a CONFIG.SYS file does not reflect these settings, you must manually edit it with a text editor like the EDIT command or some third party program (See "Editing a File" below). Also, make sure that each computer has either a SHELL.CFG file or a NET.CFG file. The NET.CFG file can be located in the root directory of your computer (where your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are located) or it can be located in the directory with your NETX.EXE network driver file. The SHELL.CFG file must be located in your root directory! (i.e. C:\>). Here is what needs to be in one of these (either the SHELL.CFG or NET.CFG) files.
FILE HANDLES=70 CACHE BUFFERS=0

To locate these files, at your C:\> prompt type the appropriate line shown below.

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DIR \SHELL.CFG /S DIR \NET.CFG /S

The command will show the directory path of the location of the file. If you do not find these files on your computer, create one using a text editor. Once again you can use the edit command to create the file. Change to the appropriate directory and type:
EDIT SHELL.CFG

or
EDIT NET.CFG

You will either see a blank screen or a screen containing the data in the existing SHELL.CFG or NET.CFG file. Make the additions/corrections as needed. Please check all work stations on your network for these settings!

L A N T A S T I C NE T W O R K U S E R S :
During the upgrade procedure you are asked if the program can create or modify your CONFIG.SYS. Make sure you answer Yes ("Y") to this question. Whether or not you answered No (N) to this question you will need to check your CONFIG.SYS for the following entries: At the File Server where the programs were installed: FILES=255 and BUFFERS=nn (where nn is a number that is divisible by the number 8, i.e., 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, etc...) At all other workstations on the network: FILES=70 and BUFFERS=nn (where nn is a number that is divisible by the number 8, i.e., 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, etc...) If you're using a version of Lantastic that is less than version 6.0, you must check your STARTNET.BAT file for the SHARE command. Your SHARE parameters should be similar to these:
SHARE /F:4096 /L:200

If you are using Lantastic 6.0 of higher, we strongly recommend adding the SHARE command to your existing STARTNET.BAT file to override the internal share program built into Lantastic. The STARTNET.BAT file is usually located in the \LANTASTI\ directory.

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E D IT I N G A C O N F I G U R A T I O N F I L E
If you have DOS 5.0 or higher you may use a program included with DOS called EDIT. It is a very simple TEXT editor like a simple word processor. If you wanted to edit your CONFIG.SYS file you would change to the ROOT (C:\>) directory where that file exists. Change to the appropriate drive and then change to the ROOT of the Drive by typing
CD\

Unless you are an expert with DOS, we recommend making a backup of the file before editing just in case you really make a mess of the file. To make a backup of your CONFIG.SYS file type:
COPY CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.MKS.

To edit your CONFIG.SYS file type:

EDIT CONFIG.SYS

Press <ENTER> and if the file exists, you should now see a screen that has some text on it. (It may look like Greek, but that's ok!) You will see a cursor and can move that cursor around by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. This program is just like a typewriter but it's a little more forgiving. You can just start typing if you want to add statements to your CONFIG.SYS (or whatever) file, but in most cases you are going to be modifying an existing file. Just move the cursor to the line that contains what you want to change and type what want, then use the Delete ("DEL") key to remove what you don't want. When you are finished editing your file you can save the information and quit by typing:
ALT-F X

You will be prompted with "Loaded file has not been saved. Save it?". <Yes> is highlighted by default so all you need to do is hit the <ENTER> key. Please note that any changes you have made to either your CONFIG.SYS or NET.CFG file will Not Take Effect until your computer is rebooted. Therefore, whenever making changes, be sure to logout of your network and restart your computer.
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Appendix I Installing Upgrades

T O I N S T A L L T H E U P G R A D E D I S K S O NT O Y O U R COMPUTER...FIRST

MAKE BEFORE

COMPLETE

DIRECTORY

BACKUP

STARTING THIS UPGRADE!

backup c:\alarms\*.* a:

If you are using ALARMS-1 and CENTRAL-1 be sure to install the ALARMS-1
Upgrade first!

If using Novell Netware, use F:\ for your Drive letter instead C:\. If you have ALARMS-1TM installed anywhere but on your Drive C:\, substitute that drive letter. See Appendix H for information on setting your Files and Buffers count in your CONFIG.SYS file at each workstation on your network.

To enable you to restore everything in the event that the Installation fails for some reason, this backup saves everything (programs, indexes, and data) in the \alarms directory. See Appendix B for information on making Backups. After you Backup, put the ALARMS-1TM Upgrade Disk #1 in your floppy Drive A>. Type:
a:install

Answer any questions presented. It's best if you accept all the choices given, except specify the correct Drive letter ("c", "d", 'f', etc...) where your \alarms\ directory was originally installed. This Upgrade Installation completes a Single Company Installation including Upgrading and Indexing your files. If you have any questions call (800)
451-0040

M U L T IP L E C O M P A N I E S Entering the Path to ALARMS-1

Like all MICRO KEY SOFTWARE, this Program is "multiple-company" capable. You may operate any number of companies simultaneously - each with their own Subscriber (customer) files, service histories, account balances, etc.
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When you installed ALARMS-1TM for the first time, the install program automatically followed the directions presented below and installed your data in the primary company. That primary company was installed (along with the programs themselves) in a Directory called "\ALARMS\" on the hard disk drive you selected.

To enter an additional Company:

1. Create a Directory "under" the \ALARMS\ directory with a name that represents the company to be installed. As an example, if you owned a separate company that installed Closed Circuit TV Systems, you might call that company's directory "\CCTV". So you would issue the command as follows to make that directory.
md\alarms\cctv

2. Change to that directory.

cd\alarms\cctv

3.

Type this command to create a blank set of database files in the new company's directory.
\alarms\dataset\anetudat

You will see a program create and list many files.

Please Note:

You Must perform step 2 and 3 whether installing this additional company for the first time or are just installing an Upgrade that you've received.

4. From the Files Maintenance menu select View/Select Active (or Desired) Company ("V"). 5. Press Add ("A"), then Select 2 (or the next unused company number). Enter your new Company's Name and press the <ENTER> key. 6. Enter the DOS "Path" to indicate where this new company's files are stored. In the examples below we have used "company2" as the directory name. a. Substitute any directory name desired. Usually it is entered as "C:\ALARMS\company2", or "F:\ALARMS\company2" for Novell Network Users, and"\ALARMS\company2" for most other network installations such as LanTastic .

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b. Once you've identified the new company's database "path", Press Select ("S") and Select your newly entered Company's number ("2"). This will cause the program to immediately perform the Upgrade and Index procedures automatically. 7. Perform ALL Files Maintenance steps for each new Company including entering a Company Name, starting Invoice Number, Company Terms, and entering all the system's Code Information (i.e., the Employee, Municipality, Sales Category Codes, Classification Codes, etc.)! 8. Enter this Company's Subscribers and follow all the Start-Up Procedures outlined earlier in the manual. When Upgrading, you must repeat each step for EACH COMPANY.

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Appendix L - Lantastic Printer Information

NETWORKING PRINTERS WITH LANTASTIC
This document is provided to help you manage the installation and modification of printers and printer definitions on your LanTastic network. You should read this section completely before attempting to Add or Modify your LanTastic Printer Definitions. Once you have defined Printer(s) on your Network as Shared Resources and identified these printers at each workstation, it'll be easy to Define your Printers in ALARMS-1TM. So before defining Printers in ALARMS-1TM, there are some steps to consider. Unless you have many work stations with many printers that are to be shared on your Network (in which case your "in-house" LanTastic "Guru" (Network Administrator) will need to make whatever printer settings he deems necessary), follow these steps: 1. Define all of your Printers that are attached to SERVER(S) and are to be Shared Resources on your network using the LanTastic "NET_MGR". 2. All local printers (printers that are attached to WORKSTATIONS which are not SERVERS) should be attached to LPT1 or a COM (1..2 if serial device) port. Each workstation on your network should use LPT1 (or COM2 if a serial device) for its own local printer (if one is attached). All machines on the network should use LPT2 and LPT3 (and COM1, if needed) to identify the available Network Printers. 3. At each work station, by editing the LanTastic "STARTNET.BAT" file, redirect the local printer "ports" LPT2 and LPT3 to the available Network Printer Resources. If a local printer on a SERVER machine is also defined as a Shared Network Printer (that machine has been designated a SERVER and its Printer has been defined as a Network Resource), then that printer's actual port address (which may be "LPT1", "COM1", etc...) should be re-directed - using the LanTastic STARTNET.BAT file - to LPT2 or LPT3. 4. The concept is to have all network printers assigned to the same "ports" at each work station on the network. By doing it this way, your printer definitions in ALARMS-1TM will be consistent from station to station on your network.

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LANTASTIC PRINTER INSTALLATION

When you originally installed your LanTastic Network Operating System, you chose either to select the default @PRINTER, or the CUSTOM printer definitions if the machine was defined as a "SERVER". If you selected the @PRINTER option, you told the Network that this printer was on a specific computer ("machine name" such as "SERVER1") and the printer was attached (by default) to the LPT1 printer port of that computer. However, if you choose CUSTOM, you told the network to use a printer definition that you would specifically define (later). In either case, once you successfully installed the LanTastic Network Operating System, you had to use the LanTastic "NET_MGR" program and define those CUSTOM printer connections and in some cases, Modify the @PRINTER definitions. This would need to be done on any SERVER machine on which you had selected the CUSTOM definition during the installation procedure or which has a printer attached to a port other than LPT1. Also, if any Computer has a Printer that is not attached to its LPT1 port and that printer is to be a Shared Network Resource, you should re-define it as a CUSTOM printer.

Please Note:

Printers are only definable as Shared Resources if they are attached to machines that you have also designated as a SERVER (instead of a WORKSTATION) machine.

Complete the instructions that follow after you have loaded the Lan Tastic Operating System (by running the STARTNET.BAT file).

Modify Existing "@PRINTER" Definitions

The LanTastic Network Manager program ("NET_MGR") provides for the redefinition of your computer's "Shared Resources". From the C:\> prompt type NET_MGR to access this LanTastic utility for managing the network environment. You will see a screen similar to the one shown below.

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LANtastic (R) Network Manager V4.10 Main Functions

(C) Copyright 1991 Artisoft Inc.

Individual Account Management Group Account Management Shared Resources Management Server Startup Parameters Audit Trail Maintenance Queue Maintenance Password Maintenance Boot Image Maintenance Control Directory Maintenance <<< Select this option

Select Shared Resources Management by using your cursor keys to highlight it and pressing <ENTER>.
Resource Name => Local Path/Device

. @MAIL @PRINTER A-DRIVE B-DRIVE C-DRIVE => C:\LANTASTI.NET => MAIL => LPT1 => A: => B: => C:

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If the @PRINTER definition is wrong because the printer is not actually attached to LPT1, change the @PRINTER definition. To do so, simply highlight @PRINTER and press <ENTER>. You will get a screen that looks like the one below.

NET_MGR USING: C:\LANTASTI.NET

(C) Copyright 1991 Artisoft Inc.

Resource Name => Local Path/Device

. @MAIL @PRINTER A-DRIVE B-DRIVE C-DRIVE => C:\LANTASTI.NET => MAIL => LPT1 => A: => B: => C: Output Device LPT1 LPT2 LPT3 COM1

COM2

Using the Output Device pop-up screen, highlight the correct port (such as LPT2 in the illustration above) and press <ENTER>. Done! To exit program press the <ESC> (escape key) until you get to a DOS prompt.

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Defining " CUSTOM " Printer Definitions

If you identified this as a SERVER with a CUSTOM printer during Installation, and have not already done so, run "NET_MGR" again to actually specify the Printer's Name and the "port" address to which this Printer is actually attached.

Please Note: Installation is

The only Network Printer Resource that will be completely defined during the LanTastic @PRINTER. Any CUSTOM Printers must now be identified.

In NET_MGR select Shared Resources Management.

LANtastic (R) Network Manager V4.10 Main Functions (C) Copyright 1991 Artisoft Inc.

Individual Account Management Group Account Management Shared Resources Management Server Startup Parameters Audit Trail Maintenance Queue Maintenance Password Maintenance Boot Image Maintenance Control Directory Maintenance <<< Select this option

When you select Shared Resources Management, the next screen will display all Resources that were previously defined (during Installation). If you have not already done so, you need to Add any CUSTOM Printer (without the @PRINTER name) and identify which "port" address (Output Device) it's attached to.

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Here will be the list of Network Resources already defined.

NET_MGR USING: C:\LANTASTI.NET (C) Copyright 1991 Artisoft Inc.

Resource Name => Local Path/Device

. @MAIL @PRINTER A-DRIVE B-DRIVE C-DRIVE => C:\LANTASTI.NET => MAIL => LPT1 => A: => B: => C:

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Let's say you named a Printer "@LASER" during the Lan Tastic Installation Procedure. You would have to Add this CUSTOM printer definition (that you specified during Installation) using the NET_MGR program. That's what we are about to do here. To Add a Printer Definition to the Resources List, press the <INSERT> key on your keyboard and your screen will look like the one below. The "@" sign at the beginning of a "Resource Name" identifies this as a Printer Definition. Enter the name of the CUSTOM Printer you previously identified during the LanTastic Installation and that was subsequently added to your "STARTNET.BAT" file.

NET_MGR USING: C:\LANTASTI.NET

(C) Copyright 1991 Artisoft Inc.

Resource Name => Local Path/Device

. @MAIL @PRINTER A-DRIVE B-DRIVE C-DRIVE => C:\LANTASTI.NET => MAIL => LPT1 => A: => B: => C: Enter resource name

@LASER

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In our example we chose @LASER. Once you have finished entering the Printer's Name, you must enter the Output Device ("port") to which this Printer is attached (see below).
Resource Name => Local Path/Device

. @MAIL @PRINTER A-DRIVE B-DRIVE C-DRIVE => C:\LANTASTI.NET => MAIL => LPT1 => A: => B: => C: Output Device LPT1 LPT2 LPT3 COM1

COM2

You'll now see that this new line is inserted into the Network Resources list. Essentially what you have done is made the Printer on this SERVER machine available to the everyone on the Network.

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Identifying each Work Station's Printer Availability

After you have Defined all of your Network SERVER Printers, each WORKSTATION and SERVER must have those Printers identified (and if necessary, correctly re-directed). Your Network Printer information is identified in each machine's STARTNET.BAT file (which is accessed by LanTastic whenever the Network is started). For WORKSTATION machines (those that were not designated as a SERVER), identifying each workstation's available Network Printers is best done by simply re-installing the Network Operating System with the Lan Tastic "INSTALL" Program and properly noting each available Printer Resource in the "Printer Connections" section of the Installation screen. For SERVER machines (those that are designated as a SERVER), or WORKSTATIONS with complex STARTNET.BAT files, editing the STARTNET.BAT file is probably the best way to identify Printers.

Please Note:

If you are going to re-install LanTastic, you must erase the old installation first.

In either case, the goal here is to have each machine's LPT1 reserved for that station's local printer, and then use LPT2 and LPT3 for identifying (redirecting printer output to) the Network Printers. In other words, you want is to have all WORKSTATIONS on the Network "see" LPT2 and LPT3 as the same Network Printer. To accomplish this, go to each machine and make sure that LPT1 is used for its local printer. a. b. SERVERS will have it identified as @PRINTER connected to LPT1. WORKSTATIONS should have NO LPT1 device identified at all. This is because a local printer that is not being shared on the Network is automatically attached to printer port PRN - which by default is LPT1.

Next, be sure that Network Printers are redirected to LPT2 and LPT3. a. SERVERS must have their STARTNET.BAT file edited to redirect their own Network Printer(s) to the same "ports" ("Device Names") that are being used to address these Printers by each WORKSTATION on the Network.
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b.

WORKSTATIONS must have their STARTNET.BAT edited to redirect each of their Printer "ports" to the correct Network Printer so that the same "ports" point to the same Network Printers at every WORKSTATION.

The STARTNET.BAT file is a plain ASCII text file, just like your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files. It can be edited with DOS's EDLIN or EDIT utilities, or any word processor program [as long as you can (re-) save the file in plain ASCII text format]. The STARTNET.BAT file is usually found in either the "root" directory ("C:\") or the LanTastic sub-directory ("C:\LANTASTI").

Editing your "STARTNET.BAT" File

LanTastic uses the "STARTNET.BAT" batch file to store information on how to set up the way a particular machine (WORKSTATION or SERVER) should "behave". Changing the information in this batch file will change the behavior characteristics of this machine (the next time it's restarted). The LanTastic command that tells the Network how to Re-Direct Printers (and Drive Designations) is "NET USE". If you view your existing STARTNET.BAT file you'll probably see several references to "NET USE" already entered. Look at these for comparison, and then see the directions for editing the STARTNET.BAT file below. Within the STARTNET.BAT file are the commands that tell LanTastic what Network Resources are available. These Network Resources include the location and availability of Network Drives and Printers. The batch file command that instructs the Network on where these Resources reside, and what to do with them, is "NET USE". It is not only valid within a STARTNET.BAT file, but in fact may be used within any batch file (like your AUTOEXEC.BAT). A complete discussion of how to use this command to instruct the Network on the availability and location of Printers can be found on the next page. The instruction format for the NET USE command is as follows: (The command itself) (LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, COM1, or COM2)

1. NET USE 2. Port's Name

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3. Name of Server where Resource is Defined - it must be preceded with two backslashes ("\\") and followed by one backslash ("\"). 4. Printer's Name as defined at that SERVER machine. The name must be preceded with the "at" sign ("@") which tells LanTastic that this Network Resource is in fact a Printer.

To assign (or "attach") a Network Printer Resource to one of your computers "port" addresses (Device Names), use the NET USE command as follows:
NET USE LPT2: \\SERVER1\@PRINTER

This particular NET USE command tells this machine to use the Network Printer defined as @PRINTER that's been installed on the machine designated as SERVER1 elsewhere on the Network. Thereafter, when using this machine, if you tell ALARMS-1TM that you have a Printer at LPT2 (even though you don't but SERVER1 does), and you choose that printer when printing a report, the report will automatically be printed on that @PRINTER Network Printer that's attached to SERVER1's machine. Therefore, if you are using LanTastic for your Network Operating System, when defining Printers within ALARMS-1TM assign the Device Name (LPT2, LPT3, etc...) and Printer Name (@PRINTER, @LASER, etc...) that you used with the NET USE command above. Make each machine on the Network "see" the same Printer at the same "port" address by using the same NET USE commands throughout.

Please Note:

Even the SERVER that has the actual Printer may use the NET USE command to "re-direct" that printer to a different "port" address on the same machine.

Keep in mind that the goal here is to have each machine's LPT1 reserved for that station's local printer, and then use LPT2, LPT3, etc... for identifying (redirecting printer output to) the Network Printers. In other words, you want to have all WORKSTATIONS and SERVERS on the Network "see" LPT2 and LPT3 as the same Network Printer.

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Appendix P Passwords Instructions

you already know, the Master USER ID "MANAGER" and Master Password "PASSWORD" allows complete access to all the program's menus. Instead of Full Sign On access, a User's access may be Limited to Individual Menus, as well. To do so, create User Names in the User Password Maintenance screen. Each User Name will be assigned its own Password and the Menu Name it is allowed to access. Usually we recommend that the "User Name" actually represent a department or the actual menu it allows access to. Just as the "MANAGER" User Name allows management full access to the entire system, "ARS MENU" can allow access to the Accounts Receivable System's menu, and "SERVICE MENU" can allow access to the Service Tracking System's menu. Signing on with one of these specially created User Name and Password combinations allows access only to that one menu defined when this User was entered (and to any menu available from that menu). Therefore, a person with a User Name and Password that takes them to the Service Tracking System Menu, can not access the Accounts Receivable System Menu unless they had another User Name and Password that allowed access there. Any number of USER Name (ID) and Password combinations may be created as needed to set up Menu by Menu access. To do so, you must get to the Password Control Center of ALARMS-1 (called the Maintain User Passwords screen).

ALARMS-1 provides Password Protection on a Menu by Menu Basis. As

tm

C R E AT I N G M E N U B Y M E N U A C C E S S A N D I N D I V I D U A L U S E R N A M E S A N D P A SS W O R D S
Run the "FILES" (Files Maintenance) program. Passwords can only be defined, changed, or deleted from Files Maintenance! Once theyre defined, you can only use them in the ALARMS-1TM program.
Figure 485 Accessing the Maintain User Passwords screen

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At the Sign-on screen, enter "ANET" as the USER ID and "PASSWORD" as the Password (instead of the "MANAGER" and "PASSWORD" combination you normally enter). You will see the Maintain User Passwords screen. Here you may create as many USER ID's and PASSWORDS as needed. Remember you should create at least one USER ID and Password for each of the Menu Names listed. Each Menu in ALARMS-1tm has a unique Menu Name. These Names are used internally by the ALARMS-1tm software to identify the function (menu choice) you want to access next. By "calling" that name, ALARMS-1 displays that Menu or Procedure. For instance, when you select a Menu Choice from the Main Selections screen, the letter you press (or words you highlight) stands for one of those Menu Names and therefore causes that Menu to be called and displayed on screen. Previously, we asked you to type "ANET" as a USER ID and "PASSWORD" as the Password. Notice the Maintain User Passwords screen (below) shows the User ID ("ANET") and the Password ("PASSWORD") you entered AND the code name for the Menu you wanted (called "ACMUSER") which in this case is the Maintain User Passwords menu. So the "Menu Name" that actually allows Password Installation is called "ACMUSER".
Figure 486 Maintaining User

Also, take note of the command line. It functions the same as all ALARMS1 command lines. To Add a new USER ID and Password, press Add ("A") and complete the screen just as you would in any other part of the regular program.

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Enter a USER ID (up to twelve characters), a Password (up to eight characters) and the Menu name (up to eight characters from the list of choices shown below) for that combination to access. Enter a Level Code of "1". The "1" is Optional - because Level by Level Password Protection allows several choices (see Passwords by Command Access Levels later in this Appendix). Enter an Employees Initials (Optional for Last Person to Change the Record - Tracking System). You may change the Password for the "MANAGER" User ID by Retrieving the "MANAGER" User ID and pressing Modify ("M") then entering the Password you want to use. If you delete the "MANAGER" User ID, you must immediately enter another choice for the "ACMMAIN" menu or you will not have any Password that allows unlimited access. You may NOT duplicate the USER ID, but you may duplicate Passwords and Menu Names. Therefore, consider using "generic" USER ID's such as "SERVICE MENU" or "CENTRAL MENU" and, if needed, add suffixes to the USER IDs to give each user an individually owned Password for each Menu they may access. As an example, the User Name could be SERVICE-3 or CENTRAL-3. Pressing List ("L") at the command line of the Maintain User Passwords screen will show a list something like the one below. Your list will be different. Note that all the Passwords list as PASSWORD - not as what they actually are for security. Name: ANET Name: BOOKS Name: MANAGER Password: PASSWORD To Access: ACMUSER Password: PASSWORD To Access: ACMARM Password: PASSWORD To Access: ACMMAIN

A C C E S S I N G M E N U S B Y P AS S W O R D
Below is a complete list of the Menus and their System Names that may be Password Protected and the Contents of each. When asked for a Menu Name, enter the Menu name that corresponds with the system you want that User's Name to access. Menu Name ACMMAIN ACMARM ACMAR6M ACMIM Description of Menu Names Main Selections Menu Accounts Receivable Menu ARS Reports Selections Inventory Tracking System

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ACMSUBM ACMSERM ACMCSM ACMJOBM ACMRECUR ACMMAIN

General Subscriber Data Service Tracking Menu Central Station Menu Job Costing Menu Bill Recurring Revenue Also, the Files Maintenance Program

PASSWORDS BY COMPANY
If you are using the Multi-Company capabilities of ALARMS-1 and want each company restricted by its own set of User ID's and Password (so each time you change Companies you must re-enter a valid Password for access to that Company) follow the directions below: 1. Change to the \ALARMS directory ("cd\alarms"). 2. Create the following file using the DOS COPY CON command: copy con acmallpw.dbm passwords F6 3. DOS will report 1 file(s) copied. 4. The program will now automatically require a new User ID and Password combination be entered whenever a new company is selected. <ENTER> <ENTER> <ENTER> (Press the F6 Function key)

PASSWORDS WITH COMMAND ACCESS LEVELS DEFINED

You may enter an access "Level" when defining User ID's and Passwords in the Maintain User Passwords screen accessible through Files Maintenance ("FILES"). Level Blank allows. Command Line Access Provided Add/Modify/Delete anywhere their User ID/Password combination

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1 allows. 2 3

Add/Modify/Delete anywhere their User ID/Password combination Add/Modify anywhere their User ID/Password combination allows. Retrieve and View only, where their User ID/Password combination allows.

I D E NT I F Y I N G T H E L A S T U SE R T O M O D I F Y A R E C OR D
Whenever a Subscriber Information or Automatic Billing Data record is changed, the date it was changed and the employees initials that made the change will be displayed on screen (indicating the last person to have changed that record). To implement this feature, you must enter their Employee Code in the Employee field accessible through the Maintain Users Passwords. Enter a separate User Name, Password and Menu Name combination for each Employee that will be using the system, assign them their appropriate Level of Access and enter their Employee Code 1. =Full Rights for Add, Modify and Delete 2. =Modify and Add but cannot Delete 3. =Look Up Only Thereafter, each time this Employee signs on to the program, they will have their Employee Code recorded as the systems current user and so if a record is added or modified, their Employee Code will be shown as the last person to have changed that record.

S P E C I A L P A S S W O R D S U SE D T H R O U G H O U T ALARMS-1
1. 2. Password to Permanently Purge Archived Files = OK2PURGE Password to access the Credits Issued screen which should not be used for normal Credit situations = OK2CREDIT

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Password to X Balance or Crd-Adjust (which should not be used for normal situations) a Subscriber's Balance in the Subscriber Information screen in Accounts Receivable = OK2FIX Password to change the Subscriber's ARS Number in the Open New Subscriber File screen = OK2CHANGE Password to delete a Subscriber in the General Subscriber Information and the Open New Subscriber File screens = OK2KILL Password to Update Pay Types Rates = OK2UPDATE Password to establish Service Call Auto-Billing in the Service Tracking System's Completed Service Requests screen = OK2BILL Password to Update Sales Tax Rates = OK2TAX Password to Open Completed Job in Job Cost Information = OK2OPEN Password to Start Inventory Tracking = OK2LINKPARTS

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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Index

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Account Name...........46, 105, 155, 184, 224, 323 Account Testing................................................35 Account Title46, 51, 52, 56, 57, 150, 202, 249, 266, 289 Accounts Receivable Operations75, 93, 168, 205, 211 Accounts Receivable Report96, 129, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 317 Accounts Receivable System24, 25, 32, 33, 35, 37, 45, 50, 52, 91, 94, 99, 101, 102, 108, 111, 113, 115, 117, 130, 133, 134, 135, 139, 141, 147, 148, 152, 157, 162, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 173, 176, 178, 181, 182, 195, 217, 228, 261, 280, 304, 314, 315, 317, 379, 380, 405 start up procedures.......................................16 Add/Update Contract Item................................66 Add/Update Inventory41, 222, 223, 225, 227, 233, 307 Additional Charges on Recurring Billing..........88 advance Deposit...............................81, 123, 124 Alarm Condition Abbreviations...................36, 53 Alert \Late Notice\.................................258, 259 Alert Late Notice Days......................................30 Amount to Post...............................................123 Amt2Post.................................................120, 123 Annual Inspections Due..........................290, 291 Appendix.........................................................325 Apply an Open Credit......................................131 Apply Pending Credits.................................80, 81 Apply Subscriber Credits................................130 APS Number................................40, 41, 224, 226 ARS Number47, 50, 56, 57, 68, 86, 101, 104, 111, 119, 134, 149, 150, 153, 160, 161, 164, 168, 184, 196, 202, 212, 218, 220, 224, 266, 313, 314, 317, 318, 372, 379, 410 Assign Default Reports Printer.......................361 specify your preferred printer.......................16 Assign Job Number Sequence..................38, 241 Audit Trail........................126, 167, 206, 395, 397 Auto-Bill Billing Service Calls with32, 75, 88, 101, 115, 116, 169, 258, 259, 261, 277, 320 Auto-Billed & Pro-Rated Invoices75, 115, 169, 278 Auto-Billed and Pro-Rated Invoices................101 Automatic Bank Draft134, 135, 136, 218, 219, 220 Automatic Bank Drafts Systems....................217 Automatic Billing21, 47, 51, 52, 55, 56, 61, 69, 70, 71, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 84, 86, 87, 88, 90, 93, 101, 115, 142, 169, 182, 187, 196, 277, 278, 281, 310, 311, 320, 333, 334, 337, 379, 409 Automatic Dialing...................................325, 326 Automatically Posted Payments............135, 136 Average Recurring Revenue...................182, 183 Backup Procedures.........................................329

Backups80, 329 Bank Deposit Slip....................................164, 165 Batch Control Number98, 121, 124, 126, 128, 129, 162, 163, 164, 165 Bill Recurring Revenue71, 77, 79, 81, 84, 87, 88, 90, 94, 115, 184, 189, 190, 219, 408 Bill-To Address..................................................48 Billing address..................................................86 Billing Address48, 49, 50, 59, 86, 131, 153, 182, 218, 314, 315, 316, 317, 374, 379 Billing Address Only..................................48, 374 Booked and Job Costed Sales........................251 By Tax Class by Sales Category.....................179 By Technician Usage Report..........................236 Call List Information...................................36, 37 Canada Subscribers................................343, 345 Cancel a previously posted Payment.............125 Cancel-Chk..............................................120, 125 Canceling a Posted Payment..........................125 Cash Receipts Report121, 136, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 219, 220 Central Station Data.....................12, 35, 37, 381 Central Station Monitoring...............................35 Change Account Numbers50, 56, 313, 315, 317, 318 Check Reference Number.......................121, 124 Checks and Cash payments...........................119 Checks bounce................................................125 Classification (Tax) Codes.................................... assignment, usage and purpose18, 33, 36, 48, 59, 72, 96, 179, 305, 307, 319 defining Sales Taxing Authorities.................18 Classification Code Sorted Invoices..............178 Closing an Accounting Period........................139 Collection Letters...........................................170 COM Port Number...........................................325 COM1, COM2...................................................362 Command Line...................................................... controlling a data entry screen....................13 company terms.................................................83 Completed Invoice Information97, 98, 99, 100, 306 Completed Service Requests226, 237, 276, 278, 286, 287, 381, 410 Condition Codes..........................................36, 53 CONFIG.SYS file..............................................385 Configuration Tips...........................................385 Contract Control Number..................................66 Contract Information..................................66, 68 Contract Information Report............................68 Contract Type...................................................67 Contracts Extended Values...................187, 189 Contracts Tracking System......................66, 381 Country SetUp.................................................343 Credit Card Information..................................106 Credit Card or Direct Deposit payments........119

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Credit Card Payment Information...........158, 159 Credit Cards......82, 106, 107, 125, 134, 158, 159 Credit Limit.......................................48, 374, 379 Credit Memos........................................................ Entry, Usage and Assigment to Invoices81, 100, 125, 130, 131, 132, 133, 166, 167 Credits Issued.........................138, 166, 167, 409 Crew Code Order Job Expenses.....................250 CSID 47, 50, 56, 57, 58, 66, 68, 182, 202, 266, 273, 313, 314, 315, 347, 358, 359, 372, 376, 380, 381 Current Printer Selection................................366 Custom Label..................................................201 Customer Referral List....................................198 database filter expressions............................369 Database Structures.......................347, 370, 372 DCU 60, 349, 373 Dealer Billing...................................47, 77, 86, 87 Default Settings..................................78, 79, 104 Default Workstation printer............................365 Deferred Revenues..................189, 191, 192, 194 Define Printer Information..............................361 entering your printers...................................14 Defined Data Filter..........................................370 Defining a Job.................................................243 Defining Your Printers.....................................362 Deleting Subscribers.........................................63 Departments............................................306, 308 Determine Excessive Services.......................295 dialing prefix...................................................326 Division Codes....................................................... sub-dividing your Subscribers24, 25, 153, 206, 379 Draft Auto. Payments Menu....134, 135, 172, 217 Drafting Automatic Payments........................134 Due Date of the Invoice....................................97 Electronic Funds Transfer..............................134 Eligible for a Service Contract.......................294 Employee Code17, 47, 60, 95, 153, 183, 209, 215, 243, 409 Employee Information.....................17, 25, 33, 36 defining your Employee Codes......................17 Enter New Sales21, 32, 48, 88, 94, 99, 100, 101, 115, 138, 223, 226, 237, 306, 307, 320, 336, 379 Enter Order Detail...............................94, 97, 100 Enter Service Request Information................268 Entering Account Numbers.............40, 47, 49, 57 Entering Account Titles........................46, 51, 58 Equipment Code....................................47, 53, 62 Equipment List................................203, 267, 270 Equipment Listing.............................54, 199, 296 Estimated Cost................................................244 Extended Warranties and Service Contracts...27 Files Maintenance................................................. start up procedures.......................................11

filter expression..............................................369 Finance Charges.......................................20, 141 Financial Statements..............................189, 304 Fire Alarm Inspections............263, 274, 282, 283 General Data Lists & Labels...........................172 General Information List.................................196 General Ledger21, 83, 116, 144, 304, 306, 307, 337 General Setup....................................................... mandatory starting procedures....................14 General Subscriber Data33, 35, 37, 55, 63, 66, 84, 280, 380, 381, 408 General System Information...........................270 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. . .139 Getting Paid Automatically.............................134 Group Code..............................225, 226, 232, 233 GST tax for Canada96, 178, 210, 218, 343, 344, 345, 352 History Conversion Utility...............................321 History of Sales for an Individual Subscriber.212 Increase the Pay Rate.......................................... Subscriber Rate Adjustments.......................21 Installation Date.......................................54, 112 Installation Forms...................................112, 271 Installed Equipment information....199, 200, 203 Installed Equipment Information. .53, 55, 56, 263 Installing Upgrades.........................................389 Installment Payment Plan.................................72 International Users.........................................343 Inventory Received.........................223, 230, 237 Inventory Tracking Reports............................231 Inventory Tracking System39, 40, 41, 42, 100, 221, 222, 228, 231, 237, 240, 270, 305, 307, 407 Invoice Listing with Detail..............................211 Invoice numbers.................................................... set up, assignment and reporting.................24 Invoice Printed as Installation Form......101, 112 Invoice Printing Defaults102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 111, 115 Invoice Printing Menu75, 84, 87, 99, 101, 102, 169, 206, 211, 278, 380 Invoice Printing selections.............................111 Invoice Register..............................................113 Issued & Applied Credits........................133, 166 Issued & Applied Credits report.....................133 Job Cost Detail................................246, 247, 250 Job Cost Reports............................................249 Job Costing Information. . .38, 237, 239, 240, 243 Job Costing Labor Rate....................................38 Job Costing System37, 39, 222, 239, 240, 241, 242, 247, 252, 307, 312 Job Expenses/Profits Report..........................250 Job Number.......38, 240, 241, 250, 251, 253, 254 Job Number Sequence....................................240

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Job Type Code........................................241, 243 Jobs Type Category Codes..............38, 240, 241 Kits User Defined in Inventory Tracking System226, 227, 228, 235, 237 Label Printing..................................................201 Labor Rate Information.....................38, 240, 241 Lantastic............................................................... tips and tricks for users of15, 361, 363, 386, 393, 394 Laser Printer82, 105, 106, 114, 115, 152, 155, 158, 201, 272 Late Charge Assessments..............140, 141, 145 Late Charges for Subscribers.........................142 Late Fees............................................................... defining, charging and assigning20, 46, 96, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 for Past Due Invoices47, 56, 58, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 Ledger Card for Subscribers...........................149 Ledger Card Report.........104, 126, 150, 212, 314 List All Jobs....................................................251 List Invoices (Unprinted or Months)..............101 Location Code47, 50, 56, 57, 86, 153, 313, 315, 317, 318, 373, 379 LPT1, LPT2, LPT3............................................362 LPT1/LPT2............................................................. locating your printers....................................14 Maintain User Passwords.......405, 406, 407, 408 Maintenance Cycle Rules.......................298, 299 Maintenance of Vehicles................................297 Make Copies of Print Files............................102 Make Copies of \Print\....................................117 Make Copies of Print Files................................84 Master Inventory.......................41, 228, 229, 232 Message for Call List Form...............................36 Minimum Late Charge.....................................143 Modem 325, 326 Month Ending Procedures96, 139, 205, 234, 331, 334 Month Free........................................................72 Monthly Rate Statement...................................72 Monthly Sales Analysis Menu.........172, 204, 212 Multi-Company..................................41, 336, 408 Multiple Cash Accounts..........................306, 308 Multiple Country Set-Up....................96, 344, 345 Multiple Departments.....................................308 Municipality Code...............................34, 60, 380 Name & Address of Company.........14, 25, 33, 36 Name and Address of Company............................ enter your company name............................14 Name and Address of Divisions............................ defining Company Divisions......25, 48, 57, 206 NET.CFG file....................................................385 network printers.....................................362, 393

New Jobs & Expenses............................240, 243 New Subscriber File Entry52, 53, 55, 56, 63, 64, 70, 115, 280, 381 No Service Since Report..............................291 Novell tips and tricks for users of15, 16, 334, 361, 362, 363, 385, 389, 390 On Line Date........59, 74, 199, 209, 216, 373, 380 On-Hand Inventory Report..............................232 One Month Free for Annual Payment................72 Open Credits81, 125, 130, 131, 138, 166, 167, 306, 307, 380 Open Credits Apply...........................................81 Open Item Accounting System.........................80 Open New Subscriber File53, 55, 56, 63, 64, 70, 273, 316, 381, 410 Opening & Closing Report....................37, 49, 60 Opening and Closing.............................35, 36, 37 Other Files Utilities Menu14, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 56, 70, 310, 313, 315, 316, 317, 319, 320, 321, 361, 363, 364 Overpayment.......80, 81, 122, 123, 124, 125, 130 Pack files to reclaim space from deleted records278, 279 Pass Code..................................................60, 381 Passwords Instructions..................................405 Past Due Subscribers........................30, 154, 170 Pay Cycle Code.......................61, 73, 75, 90, 280 Pay Cycle Codes of 14, 15 and 16....................90 Pay Type Codes...............................................310 Payment Cycle Code.........................................71 Payment History..............................................162 Payment Reference Number.............................98 Payment Reversal...........................126, 127, 129 Payment Summary by Batch...........................162 Payment Type Code..........................................72 Payment Types and Rates.................................... coding your Subscriber's Pay Rates21, 22, 72, 310, 311 Payment/Month.................................................71 Pending Credit Amount.......80, 81, 123, 125, 372 Pending Credits81, 125, 130, 133, 155, 166, 167, 168 Percentage Based Increases............................22 Pop-Up Selection Box. 45, 51, 117, 150, 170, 289 Post a Payment to an Invoice.........................120 Post a Subscribers Deposit............................124 Post Automatic Bank Drafts...................135, 219 Post Payments Received99, 119, 120, 123, 125, 130, 138, 164, 220, 306, 307, 312, 380 pre-defined filter file.......................................198 Predefined Filter.............................................369 Preview Recurring Revenue.....................77, 184 Print All Un-printed Invoices.............................87

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Print All Un-Printed Invoices..................101, 102 Print Choices...................................................366 Print File......................................84, 85, 117, 118 Print Files..................................................85, 117 Print Service Request Forms..................271, 381 Print to a File...................................................366 Print Work Orders..............................................64 Print your Companys Name and Address158, 159 Print/List Subscriber Information...................198 Printer Port Names.........................................362 Printer Selection and Management................361 Printing to a File....................................79, 83, 84 Pro-Rated and Service Bills.................................. Add, Modifyt, List, Delete............................320 Pro-Rated Invoices..................115, 116, 169, 278 Pro-Rating............................74, 88, 115, 169, 320 Purchase Order.........................................72, 237 Purge Records.........................................165, 312 Quantity On Hand............................230, 232, 233 Rate Based Increases.......................................22 Re-Order Inventory Report......................233, 237 Re-Order Quantity...........................................233 Re-Print One or a Group of Invoices.......101, 108 Re-Set Invoice Number......................................... setting your Invoice number sequence........24 Receipts based Sales Analysis.......................209 Reconciling your Daily Deposit...............163, 164 Recurring Fire Alarm Inspection............258, 263 Recurring Fire Alarm Inspections...........282, 283 Recurring Revenue Code..........................71, 188 Recurring Revenue Report..............................186 Recurring Revenue Reports172, 181, 182, 184, 186, 187, 189, 192, 194 Recurring Revenue Sales Previews................181 Recurring Revenues48, 52, 59, 70, 71, 75, 86, 87, 90, 91, 117, 135, 142, 160, 181, 183, 184, 186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 317 Recurring Service Requirements263, 280, 281, 283 Remittance Stub.....................106, 107, 158, 159 Report of Services Performed........................286 Report of Taxes Actually Collected.......173, 174 Report on Job Information..............240, 241, 248 Report Tool Information..................................252 Reporting Pending and Applied Credits.........133 Rolodex 201, 202 Sales Analysis Report.....141, 145, 205, 207, 215 Sales Category Code............................................. usage, assigning and reporting19, 20, 32, 89, 95, 96, 179, 192, 194, 207, 208, 213, 237, 261, 278, 321 Sales Category Codes........................................... defining your sales type groups....................19 Sales Tax18, 33, 36, 48, 59, 96, 144, 163, 172, 173, 176, 210, 218, 307, 319, 344, 345, 410

Sales Tax Percentage rate.........................48, 59 Sales Taxes Invoiced by Class Code......176, 177 Sales Taxing Authorities...................................... Classification (Tax) Codes............................18 Salesman21, 47, 60, 95, 152, 153, 183, 199, 208, 209, 215, 216, 243, 250, 251, 372, 379 Salesman of Record..........................................95 SC1 and SC2 Code............................................64 Search command............................................119 Select Default Reports Printer.......................365 Self Mailer.......................................48, 59, 71, 77 Serial Number...................................................53 Service Account Number50, 56, 203, 249, 266, 289, 296 Service Agreements..........................27, 293, 294 Service Call Billing..........................................277 Service Category Code.....................................27 Service History........271, 279, 289, 312, 313, 355 Service Information.............................................. on completed Work Orders.....56, 60, 276, 279 Service Locations.................50, 77, 86, 315, 317 Service Tracking Parameters.........................258 Service Tracking Reports276, 284, 285, 286, 289, 296 Service Tracking System12, 25, 28, 30, 32, 33, 35, 37, 64, 101, 115, 169, 257, 258, 263, 264, 270, 276, 278, 279, 281, 285, 312, 380, 381, 405, 410 Service Type Code..........................276, 281, 290 Services Required Report.......................298, 301 SHELL.CFG......................................................385 Sort Code...........................................49, 374, 376 Special Selection154, 160, 171, 196, 198, 200, 201, 347, 369, 370, 376 Special Selection Criteria154, 160, 198, 347, 369 Start Inventory Tracking40, 222, 223, 228, 229, 240, 410 Start Up Procedures............................................. Getting Started..............................................11 STARTNET.BAT file.........386, 393, 394, 401, 402 State Sales Tax Reports.................................210 Statement Printing Defaults...................157, 158 Statements only for Past Due accounts.........160 Sub Contractors Fees....................................244 Subscriber Information24, 32, 35, 37, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 63, 70, 71, 74, 82, 93, 95, 104, 115, 123, 125, 130, 167, 195, 198, 240, 263, 270, 314, 315, 316, 317, 324, 326, 370, 379, 380, 381, 409, 410 Subscriber Statements...................................157 Subscriber System Information 64, 270, 280, 380 Subscribers Outstanding Invoices.........101, 111 System Requirements........................................... Minimum Hardware Requirements...............11

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Tax Classification Code18, 19, 48, 59, 96, 176, 178, 304, 319, 372, 379 assigning a Subscriber Sales Tax rules.......18 Tax Classification Sorted Taxes Invoiced Data210 Tax Rate......................48, 58, 319, 344, 345, 374 Taxable Sales to Subscribers48, 58, 72, 94, 96, 234, 278, 374 Taxes Billed & Collected172, 173, 174, 176, 178, 179 Technicians Performance Report...................287 Telephone Number on your Statements.........159 Terms of Company................................................ setting your company's payment terms.......16 Time Payment Plan...........................................72 Time Slots.......................................................269 Tool Category..........................................252, 253 Tools by Code and Location...........................255 Tools by Job Site............................................255 Tools Tracking Reports..........................254, 255 Tools Tracking System...................................252 Types of Service Category Codes... .26, 258, 281 Unapplied Credits...........................................130 Universal Look-Up Utility................................322 Update Pay Rates by Pay Type............................. increasing Recurring Revenue payments21, 23, 310 Upgrade Disks.................................................389 Usage of Inventory by Group..........................234 User Defined Kit..............................................226 Value of all Tools owned................................255 Vehicle Information........................298, 300, 301 Vehicle Maintenance......................................298 Vehicle Mileage.......................................298, 301 Vendor Information.............39, 40, 222, 223, 224 Warranty Expiration..................................54, 273 Warranty/Service Contract Code................49, 59 Warranty/Service Contract Codes27, 28, 30, 33, 36 Weekly Billing................................73, 77, 90, 142 Weekly Cycle.....................................................91 Windows................................................................ tips and tricks for users of11, 15, 202, 332, 340, 361, 363 Work Order Number Set-Up..............................25 Work Order Phrases....................28, 30, 258, 261 Work Orders25, 26, 33, 36, 52, 64, 263, 265, 269, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 280, 281, 284, 290, 291, 313 Write Up a Service Request..............30, 259, 381 Write Up Service Requests64, 169, 264, 266, 271, 279, 289 X-Port Collection Letters................................170 Year to Date (or Closed Month) Sales Analysis215 Zone Code Information.......................35, 58, 359

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