Upgrading Reckon Accounts
Why is it important?
Every year we have customers ask us why they need to upgrade their Reckon Accounting software and question the cost involved in doing so. There are several reasons to keep your software up to date and this article will outline some of them.
Reckon sunset policy
The first thing to consider is the Reckon Sunset Policy. Basically what this means is that Reckon will only provide live technical support for current versions of software the versions immediately preceding them. Why? The best way to explain this is to liken the accounting software to cars. How many car dealers offer support for old makes and models of cars?
Software developers continue to develop software to work on newer operating systems. It’s simply not viable to continue to inject valuable resources into making their software work on obsolete operating systems like Windows XP. There is only one exception to the Sunset Policy and that is where users on sunsetted versions are upgrading to the current version.
Tax table updates
The next thing to consider is compliancy. Reckon will only provide tax table updates for current versions of software. The tax tables cannot be added manually therefore the only way to be able to install the tax tables is to be on the latest version of software. In short, if you want your payroll to calculate superannuation and taxes correctly, you must be on the latest version in order to be able to install the tax patch.
Providing your accountant with up to date information
At the end of each accounting period most users will take a backup or an accountant’s copy of their file to their accountant for taxation preparation. Can you imagine the headache this creates for accountants when clients provide their backups in old versions? How many versions of software would accountants have to have installed if they were supporting all clients on old software? Guaranteed, your accountant will be much happier if you provide a backup copy in the latest version of software and also provide them with your product information details. To access the details of the software you own, open your Reckon Accounts file and simultaneously hold down the CTRL and 1 key. A Product information window will appear showing you what version of software you are using. Always provide your accountant with this information as well as your administrator password.
Additional new features
With each upgrade, Reckon invest a vast amount of resources into their accounting software providing better functionality for users. Each year additional new features are added from feedback Reckon receive from partners and users alike. The new features in Reckon Accounts 2014 desktop and hosted versions include;
- Barcode on Purchase Orders
o You can now use your barcode scanner to scan your items directly onto purchase orders by simply adding the new barcode column to a purchase order template. This enhancement will save you time with its speed and accuracy.
- Reckon BankData
o By signing up with Reckon BankData you can download your banking transactions straight into Reckon Accounts 2014. After downloading, you can then manually match these transactions to the ones already in your Reckon Accounts file. It isn’t a direct bank feed in that transactions link automatically from your bank to your accounting software but it will save you time in data entry.
- Simple Chart of Accounts
o A simpler chart of accounts has been added to the setup interview enabling new company files to be setup with a straightforward chart of accounts. Again a time saver if you need to create a new file and re-key the chart of accounts.
- Superannuation Inclusion
o A new inclusion window has been added to the payroll wizard for the wage item called inclusion. This window lists all of the superannuation pay items that are setup in your data file, allowing you to select the ones that will affect the wage item you are creating.
- Leave Accrual reports
o Two reports have been added to the employee and payroll area of Reckon Accounts 2014. The leave accrual summary report and the leave accrual detail report. From this release of Reckon Accounts, the leave accrual summary report shows you the amount of leave your employees have available and the amount they have used to date. Drilling down on the leave accrual summary report opens the details report which gives you more information on the selected employee, including how much leave they have accrued. As part of this new feature, from this version of Reckon Accounts onwards, you will be able to view the employee’s historical leave on their pay slips and pay cheques.
- Advanced search in item list
o The advanced search feature that has been available in Reckon Accounts Enterprise for many years in now available in Pro and Premier versions.
- ODBC Driver
o The ODBC (Open database connectivity) driver is now compatible with Reckon Accounts 2014 Pro and Premier versions.
As Reckon are not planning on sending out upgrade discs this year, you can download both the latest software and the upgrade guide from the following link:
http://www.t3partners.com.au/accountingsoftwa.html#.U5edsvmSxrU
If you wish to have a CD sent, you will have to advise Reckon or contact us to organise it for you. Please be aware, that you will still need to download the tax patch for the software once it is released later this month.
Upgrade properly
Looking after your sensitive financial information is not just about paying your annual fee for upgrade, you must ensure you take every precaution to upgrade your data properly top avoid data loss and corruption. Some clients are more comfortable having a professional upgrade their software and data files for them but if you opt to do it yourself, ensure you follow the upgrade guide very carefully as it has specific steps depending upon which version you are upgrading from.
In addition to carefully following the guide we would recommend following some additional steps to ensure the accuracy and integrity of your data.
- Check if your computer is compatible with the latest version. These details can be found in your upgrade guide.
- Make sure there is no Accountants copy in existence.
- Take a safe backup.
- NEVER upgrade over a network.
- Ensure you turn off your anti-virus prior to installing.
- Resort all lists.
- Verify your data.
- Ensure you have rebuilt your file several times prior to upgrading.
- Ensure you have no transactions in online banking waiting to be sent to the bank.
- Create a suite of reports before upgrading and then once the upgrade is done, check the same reports in the newer version are exactly the same.
- Ensure you have printed copies of your last reconciliation details reports.
- Ensure you know how to re-configure your BAS as Reckon will lose the configuration.
- Ensure you know where your logos are located in case you need to re-load them.
- Take a screen shot of your product information to ensure you know where your data files live.
T3 Partners have developed an extensive data integrity process that we always follow when upgrading our client’s files because the integrity of your data is very important to us. Why not book in for a lesson to learn how to perform your own upgrade or perhaps just book in so that one of our friendly consultants can take the worry our of it and just do it for you.
