For our ePAY BACS software users, you may be aware that BACS is changing the way their system works to enhance the level of security when making payments.
These changes are necessary because the internet community is adopting new security certification protocols, which will affect the requirements for accessing various secure services.
This will require a future upgrade of your existing ePAY software to facilitate the changes as the current versions will not be compatible.
We will be shortly contacting all relevant users to discuss and make further arrangements as necessary.
If you have any queries or are interested in utilising BACS payment software, please do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected].
The reconciliation process is often overlooked, but as you appreciate, it is a vital part of any accounting function. It is important from an accounts perspective to run through this process every month as a way of double-checking to ensure the accuracy of your data. Even with strict controls in place, there is always the potential for inadvertent errors.
General tips for reconciling your accounts include (but are not limited to):
- Printing reports from the peripheral ledgers, such as Invoice & Credit Notes, Receipts/Payments and Adjustments
- Printing and reviewing your Debtors/Creditors reports
- Comparing your debtors/creditors balances with the respective Nominal Ledger Control accounts
- Bank Reconciliation
- Ensuring that any transactions waiting to be transferred have been processed via the relevant transfer routine in Nominal > Utilities.
- Run your period end processes once you are happy with the figures in your accounts (You must always take a backup before such processes).
It is also imperative to retain copies of any reports printed prior to any period end process so that they can be referred to at a later date if necessary.
Intsys Training can offer a dedicated training session to advise you on suitable reconciliation processes tailored to your requirements. For more information please contact [email protected]
By default, Pegasus Opera 3 automatically maintains a log file that records when users log on and off the systems. Each entry in the log includes the date and time of logging on or off, the terminal name and user ID. You can view the contents of this log file using the View Event Log command. You can disable this facility by clearing the User Event and User Logs option on the System Preferences form.
When running this Event Log command in Pegasus Opera 3 it will ask you to fill in some parameters. For example the dates, this will let you extract activities from a range. This is very useful as you will not need to go through a all activities if you know more or less what log you are looking for.
If you have more than one company and many users this is certainly not a problem as Pegasus Opera 3 will let you choose your preferred criteria to search entries for. This means you can choose which company and which user/s in that company you would like history for.
Note: Depending on the amount of activity associated with the system, this log can become quite large and may require clearing once in a while. If you select the Clear Event Log option on the Reorganise System Files dialog box, this log file is cleared of all entries.
For help on how to view the Event Log and a detailed step by step guide, look at our Tips & Tricks article now.
Change your Background and default webpage in Pegasus Opera 3
There are many features in Pegasus opera 3 that make your life much easier. One of the many is being able to change your default background and webpage. This is a preference and can be changed to whichever website at your request.
This preference will allow you to view any webpage and set it as the background of Pegasus Opera 3. This webpage will only appear when you launch Opera and can be closed at any time. You can have anything from Google, to the Intsys UK Ltd Website (www.intsysuk.com).
If the ‘Use Opera 3 Info Centre’ box is ticked, this box defaults to the address of the Opera 3 Info Centre portal, however as previously stated you may change this to whatever you want. Alternatively you may also remove the default webpage completely and not have one set. Once this has been set up, you will be able to navigate that webpage within Pegasus Opera 3 which at times can come in very handy.
For help on how to Change your Background and default webpage in Pegasus Opera 3 and a detailed step by step guide, look at our Tips & Tricks article now.
10 tips to boost cash flow and profitability with Pegasus Credit Management
Cash flow – the ability to generate enough cash at the right time to meet liabilities - is one of the most common inhibitors of business growth and a key reason for insolvency, affecting profitable and unprofitable companies alike.
If you look at a typical manufacturer as an example, it is easy to see how setbacks in cash flow can occur. The manufacturer might buy raw materials on credit before manufacturing the goods before they become stock. These goods are then sold on credit which depending on the payment terms, might be anything from 14 days to three months. During this time, they must pay for overheads and wage bills. If customers pay on time then this cycle is very efficient. Unfortunately in the real world, creditors can be slow to pay and when delays occur, the cycle breaks down.
As we move into a phase of economic growth, the ability to accurately anticipate cash flow has never been more important. Although you cannot always control when customers pay, the good news is that through instilling greater rigour and diligence across the order cycle, a huge step change can be achieved. Here are our 10 tips for improved cash flow:
1. Where possible capitalise on financing options such as loans to help mitigate against the impact of cash flow volatility.
2. Run regular credit checks on your customers. Circumstances can change quickly, so ideally this should take place every six months.
3. Ensure you know the history of your largest customers. For example if directors have a history of bankruptcy, a degree of caution may be necessary.
4. Be bold. If a customer regularly defaults on payment terms, are they worth the resources it takes to service them and chase down payments? It might seem counterproductive to turn away business but could positively impact the bottom line.
5. Consider your credit terms and consider introducing 14 day payments or small deposits for the largest customers. Look into offering a small discount for early payment.
6. Invest in a robust Financials software which generates invoices automatically and in a timely manner, provides alerts when payments become overdue, and facilitates immediate action to recover debts.
7. Ensure you have a clear credit control policy in place and create standard letter templates to recover late payments.
8. When chasing payment, always act appropriately. Be firm, polite and diplomatic.
9. Monitor your cash flow closely and in real time. Dashboard applications will give you a clear picture and in an easy to understand format, helping you prepare for things going wrong.
10. Review cash flow processes and resources on a regular basis and set realistic targets to ensure continued improvement.
The nature of business means that certain events will always fall outside of your control. However through adhering to the above suggestions, you will substantially improve your cash flow, reduce risk, and be well positioned to capitalise on business growth as the upturn continues to gather pace.
For more information on the new Debt Management, take a look at this article and video.
Every company has a profile record which stores the company name and address details as used by certain reports and documents produced from the system.
In the data path you can find the drive and folder location of the data files of the company. Your data is usually located in:
\\your server \O3 Server VFP\Data
In the following Tips & Tricks article you can learn how to find:
Key benefits of salary sacrifice in Opera 3 Payroll
It’s included as standard with Opera 3 Payroll
It’s very quick and simple to set up
Salary sacrifice can be used for both pension and non-pension sacrifices
A pension salary sacrifice can be based either on a defined value or on a percentage
Salary sacrifice information is printed on the payslip
Sacrificed values are included in pension contribution reports and pension contribution files
Pension salary sacrifice values are shown on the Employee History form
The employer’s NI saving can be added to the pension contribution
