Advanced Accounting 8 release 10

Since the Advanced Accounting 8 r9 release, the following updates have been made to the system:

AR-C - Record Payments/Credits

Maximum number of invoices per payment session updated (was not recognizing that value set in SY-A-B)

In a negative payment situation, the amount remaining could be set to zero when not applied to anything and depending on which type option was chosen and the sequence edits.

Export paths

Based on our observations of users struggling with where to place export files and since the usual preference is the user's desktop, the default path for export files has been changed in numerous options including:

AR-F - Print Aging

AR-H - Print Cust General Info 

GL-E-C - GL Account Summary View with Drill Down

GL-Q - Export GL Transactions

IC-I - Print Price Matrix

UT-J - Export

UT-J-B  - Inventory values export (analysis and web suboptions)

UT-J-C -   Export customer e-mail address

AP-D - Pick Vouch/Inv to Pay

Prevent user from pressing the up arrow beyond the first field entry on the E-transfer screen

AP-M - Enter Recurring Vouchers

Clarify option C and new option O added:

C - Manual Check (or ACH/Paypal/etc.)

O - A/P Voucher Other Vendor is Payee

AP-M: revised option C

AP-M: new option O

AP-M new screen related to new option O

AP-N - Generate Recurring Vouchers

Adding the Recurring AP vouchers report that already existed in AP-M to this option

New enter check/payment screen for option C (manual check/ACH/other) type recurring vouchers. When choosing the bank account, it now defaults to the account set in AP-M.  After entering the check/reference number additional validation.  It also no longer defaults to the next check number associated with the checking/bank account number (set in AP-M), nor does it update the next check number field.

Other vendor is payee logic corresponding to option O in AP-M implemented.

AP-N screen when entering a recurring payment (type C in AP-M)

SO-A Enter/Change Sales Orders

Past due logic changes for cash accounts when the SY-A-B "S/O Past Due Acct Notify" option is selected.

SY-M Credit Card Setup

New option to disable pre-authorization processing in SO-A (for users of the integrated credit card interface)

E-mail

Attachment path setting issue in the event user had specific a fully qualified path for attachments resolved.

Encrypted e-mail

Spaces in passwords as well as in other options are now being handled appropriately

Customer/vendor/inventory lookups (AR, AP, IC, PO modules):

The hide/unhide inactive items when looking up inventory items was not working as intended (resolved).

Customer/product queries set focus back to the grid, and resolved problem of clearing the query when the "hide" option was in effect for customers or products.

Global file lookup (under File) now follows the same setting for hiding or unhiding inventory items as in the standard inventory lookups (previously it was also set to hide inactive items)

SO-I - Recurring S/O Entry

Show the date last generated and clarify that the order date is the start date.  Cosmetic screen changes plus add the customer order number field. Report updated to include last generation date

SO-J - Generate Recurring S/O

This option is now recording the date last generated  (which is now shown in SO-I on screen and on the expiring SO report).

PR-D - Print Payroll Checks

Additional checking for potentially duplicate check numbers.

POS-H - Post cash out transactions

AP vouchers were still being created with the old logic in terms of saving the GL distributions associated with the vouchers.

UT-G  - Addsum utilities

Accounts receivable section:

Unpost AR payment -    extensive additions to handle undoing payments with discounts, and adding warning if the payment being reversed involves cash terms and the related invoice has been unposted (since if it has,  the payment has already been reversed and does not need to unposted).

Adding two additional utilities one of which cross-checks payroll master values with payroll history (under new Payroll section), and another used in special support circumstances to restore missing line items under Sales Invoices.

General ledger section:

Balance AP and AR to detail option updated for type "C" (Credits) logic relating to respect to AP aging

Help file formats have been updated.

Abbreviation Legend

AR= Accounts receivable

IC= Inventory control

SO= Sales order

POS=Point of sale

PR = Payroll

SY = System maintenance

UT = Utilities

Splwow64.exe bad image error when printing

A long-time Advanced Accounting 7i user today experienced the following Windows error message when trying to print (immediately after a Windows 10 update):

This error message was triggered when trying to print any report (including sometimes when generating a report screen preview before trying to even output the report to a printer). This error causes the application to halt, forcing use of the task manager to end the running instance.

Prior to the Windows update (which caused a forced reboot), the user was printing to the same printer without error.  The user reported having to update his Epson print drivers as well, as part of the Windows update.

The same error occurred when trying to print text out of Notepad, i.e. it was not specific to the accounting software application.

This is not a Windows error message that we have previously encountered, but apparently is one that has been around since the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 through to the present.  As outlined here by Microsoft with respect to 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Window Server 2008 R2:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/splwow64-exe-process-doesn-t-end-after-a-print-job-finishes-in-the-64-bit-version-of-windows-7-or-windows-server-2008-r2-c6a0c299-66d2-7d8c-0877-6ced0836269b

Splwow64.exe is "used to translate the [print] driver model of a 64-bit operating system and a 32-bit program."

The cause of the error as earlier reported by Microsoft was that splwow64.exe was staying in memory longer to increase system performance after the print job had finished.  But that was not the case here. The user had rebooted his PC more than once, yet the error persisted.  It was not a case of splwow64.exe remaining in memory after a print job.

Checking the user's installed printers, we noted that a second identical printer referencing the same Epson model was present (but oddly named, as if installed by something automatically). The user had not noticed it before.  We switched the default printer to this other/duplicate installed printer driver, and everything started to work again. It was as if the update had corrupted the drivers of the printer that was previously the default.

There are various potential solutions to fix this problem should it arise in your environment.  The first one to try (and even though we did not use it, nor were we aware of it until today) is to determine whether the Windows 10 (or 11) printer/printing troubleshooter will fix the problem. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box and type: 

ms-settings:troubleshoot

and click on OK.   Then click on Printer, and run the troubleshooter. Select your printer from the list, and wait for the scan to complete. If it shows up after the scan, click on "Apply this Fix" and then restart your PC.

If that doesn't fix the problem, there are other possible solutions including updating the printer driver or uninstalling/reinstalling the printer driver; rolling back the last update may be another temporary solution.  If the message pops up after a print job (which wasn't the case in this situation), restarting the print spooler under Services and/or adding a registry key for the splwow64.exe timeout value may help eliminate the error.  

The error message received today by our customer included the unfortunate (and highly confusing) instruction to "install the program again" yet this issue had nothing to do with the accounting software program nor its internal report designer.  Never attempt to reinstall or restore our software without contacting us first.

Advanced Accounting 8 release 9

We are pleased to announce the availability of release 9 in the Advanced Accounting 8 series as we continue to develop, support, and enhance programs included in this software package.  In addition, we have recently updated and enhanced its signature capture capabilities.

Some of the updates include (see legend at end):

AR-E statements: resolved issue involving batches when using non-encrypted settings and adding troubleshooting information in the send e-mail program for non-encrypted e-mail.

AR-J Print customer labels: resolved issue when specifying dollar thresholds

Consistent handling of type "C" vendor credits in AP-B, AP-D and in the Addsum synch customer/vendor transactions utility

New IC-B-B customer special prices report option.  (Print price list is now IC-B-A.)

IC-J global price changes - add support for also changing special prices plus record locking improvements

PO-B print PO's - when saving preferences, the preview option wasn't being set if changed, resolved

Multiple PO prepayment handling in AP-B and PO-D (which now can handle multiple prepayments per a single invoice received in PO-D) improved

POS-J  configuration:  clerk list wasn't refreshing when new clerk added; resolved

PR-D payroll check posting has an additional validation to prevent duplicate check  numbers from being processed  

Direct deposit (PR module) enhancements (standard support included in the program but requires some special setup); e-mail notification program updated

SO-A improving price matrix decimal precision regardless of end user settings (same issue addressed in IC-A)

SO-F/N print invoice - multiple copies (with different invoice header verbiage that is user defined) and also e-mailing at the same time is now possible

SO-F/N print/reprint nvoices - new option to show tax rate

SO-I recurring SO entry - adding support for a recurring order generated every 3 months  (SO-J not required to be updated to support this change )

The help file formats have all been updated (PDF version is now 614 pages long).

Legend for module abbreviations above:

AR = Accounts receivable

IC = Inventory control

SO = Sales order

PO = Purchase order

POS = Point-of-sale

PR = payroll

In addition, and building on some past work incorporating signature capture in the POS module, we have integrated this option into the SO module (not as a standard feature inasmuch as it requires a separate hardware purchase plus both our software and software from the manufacturer of the device).   

 

Topaz T-LBK462-HSB-R and our interface via the SO module of Advanced Accounting

Signatures are associated with invoice numbers and can be retrieved via SO-N invoice reprints.