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News and tips for Sage 50 (formerly Peachtree), Excel, and whatever other general nerd knowledge I think will help computer users be more productive.

IQ Accounting Solutions LLC

May 2022 News & Tips

 
NEWS   SAGE 50   EXCEL
Sage 50 2019 and older won't activate.

Price Increase June 1st

End of perpetual license sales?

 
  Memorized Transactions can simplify repetitive transaction entry.   The fastest way to total a column or row, "Alt+="



News

Now is the Time to Upgrade from 2019 or Older: In previous newsletters I've talked about Sage's announcement that Sage 50 version 2019 and older can no longer be installed or re-installed because they won't activate. That is due to the Pervasive database engine used in those version no longer being supported by its publisher. While your software should continue working unless you have to re-install, I've heard from people whose older version of Sage 50 just stopped working. That alone is a good reason to upgrade. But here are two more reasons.

Prices are increasing on June 1st. Inflation is all over the news, and Sage is raising prices on June 1st.

The future of perpetual license sales are in question. I want to be clear, there has been no announcement from Sage on this, but: (1) The entire software industry is moving to subscription licensing. (2) Sage has been considering stopping perpetual license sales for years. (3) Intuit eliminated perpetual license sales for QuickBooks late in 2021. With that market pressure gone, what is there to keep Sage from going all subscription? (4) Many people suspect that Sage will end the sale of perpetual licenses before the end of the year.

If you want to stay on a perpetual license, now is the time to upgrade. Order before the June 1st price increase. Pricing is on my website at https://www.iqaccountingsolutions.com/software.html or feel free to call or email me.

If you're ready to switch to a subscription license, now is also a great time to upgrade. Through the end of May, Sage 50 users on versions 2013 - 2019 can get 50% off their first year subscription. Call or email me from pricing.


Steve Collins
IQ Accounting Solutions LLC
918-851-9713
scollins@iqaccountingsolutions.com
www.iqaccountingsolutions.com


A complete archive of these tips is available at http://www.iqaccountingsolutions.com/blog
 
 

Sage 50/Peachtree Tip - Memorized Transactions


Last month I talked about setting up recurring transactions to automate transactions that occur on a regular schedule and with the same amounts each time. But many other transactions happen repeatedly but not a fixed schedule or maybe the amounts can vary each time. In that case, memorized transactions are the preferred solution.

Memorized transactions are like templates that you create so that you can use them later to speed up and simplify the entering of new transactions. Memorized transactions are available for:
  • Quotes
  • Sales Invoices
  • Purchase Orders
  • Purchase Invoices
  • Payments
  • General Journal Entries

There two ways to create a memorized transaction.  I'll use a sales invoice as an example.

1. Go to the Maintain menu and choose Memorized Transactions -> Sales Invoices. You will get a screen that looks almost identical to the invoicing screen.  But the first field is Transaction ID. This is like all other IDs in Sage 50. The ID is required and must be unique so that it can identify this memorized invoice in the list. Next enter a brief description of this invoice. Then fill in the rest of the fields like you would for a real invoice. Normally you would only fill in the parts that you expect to stay the same when you use this to create a real invoice. If you have a customer that routinely purchases the same thing, you could fill in a complete invoice. But if you have a group of items that are commonly sold together to many different customers, you would want to enter the items but leave the Customer ID blank. When you are done, click the save button. This does not post an invoice, it just saves your work to the memorized transaction list.

2.  The alternate method of creating a memorized invoice is to start in the Sales/Invoicing screen. Fill out all or part of the invoice. Click on the small down arrow at the right edge of the Save button. Then click the Memorize button. You will jump to an already completed Memorized Invoice window where you can assign a transaction ID and description. You can also edit it before saving if you need to. This method would be common if you are already entering an invoice when you realize you may want to issue the same or similar invoice again. After you save and close the Memorized Invoice window, you will still need to save or print your actual invoice, just like you normally would.

Now that you know how to create a memorized invoice, let's talk about how to use one to create an actual invoice.

In the Sales/Invoicing window, click the down arrow at the right edge of the List button and click the Select button. You will be given a list of transaction IDs and descriptions. Just select the one you want and click OK. Everything that was on the memorized invoice will be placed on your new invoice. You can now edit, save, or print the invoice just like you could if it had been hand entered. Saving your invoice does not affect the memorized transaction.

If you ever need to change the memorized transaction, you can edit it in Maintain - Memorized Transactions.



 
 

Excel Tip - Auto Sum Keyboard Shortcut

Today's tip will be very brief, but that's appropriate because it's all about saving time. The fastest way I know to total a column or row in Excel is to use the Auto Sum keyboard shortcut, Alt+=. Simply go to the bottom of the column of numbers you want to add up, or to the right of the row you want to total, then hold down the Alt key while typing =, then press the Enter key. Excel will automatically insert a SUM() formula and select the cells above or to the left of your current cursor location.

My only warning is that if there are blank cells within the column or row you want to sum, Excel will only select the cell between your starting location to the blank cell. If you want to include cells beyond the empty cell, you'll have to select the range manually.


 

If you know other Sage 50/Peachtree users, do them (and me) a favor and pass this along to them. If you are someone that this has been passed on to, and would like to be added to my email list, you can subscribe for free at www.iqaccountingsolutions.com/signup.html or send me an email at newsletter@iqaccountingsolutions.com. If you need to change your email address or would like to unsubscribe, you can use the links at the end of this email.

Steve Collins
IQ Accounting Solutions LLC
918-851-9713
10611 E 17th Place
Tulsa, OK 74128
 
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