June 2024

Some important alerts

For those synchronizing DQB with QuickBooks Online

There has been a steady beat of improvements to the online versions of QuickBooks.  If you have not done so already, we strongly recommend that that you download the update to DQB 1.76.   This is available from our website www.mainstreetsystems.net in Support/Quarterly Releases.  When ready to download:  

• Contact us by phone or email for the current authorization codes. 
• If this is your first download and you would like to have some help, contact our tech support to guide you.

For those with high resolution screens

After an abundance of requests, Microsoft has finally updated their .Net software to provide for much better displays for the devices with high resolution screens.   We have made the adjustments needed for this and applied them to DQB 1.76 after its initial release in April. The download release on our website now includes this update.   We will be making these an official part of DQB 1.77 due to be released in July.  For DQB, you can check the About box in your menu to determine whether you are at release DQB 1.76.

Looking ahead to the summer months

For the USA Independence Day on Thursday July 4, our offices will be closed.  For Friday July 5, we will not be scheduling any support sessions or updates, but will check for email and voicemail messages. 

Typically the excessive heat waves do not arrive here in Pennsylvania until July, but this month we already have experienced power outages due to overloads for air-conditioning.  We urge you to read the article below on being prepared. 

DQB continued support for both QB desktop and online

We have gathered articles from our recent newsletters that cover QuickBooks desktop vs. online into several white papers that cover our support and the latest news for both of these.  For those planning to transition to online, we have also developed guides to explain the differences and the process.  You can request email copies of these:  

• DQB Continued Support for QB Desktop and Online 
• DQB Transition from QuickBooks Desktop to Online  
• DQB Synchronization with QuickBooks Online

If you have been using QB Pro, Premier or Enterprise and have decided to transition to QB Online, here are several important considerations:

Advance Planning:  Be sure to let us know your plans so that we can work with you to schedule and work out the details well in advance.

QB Online Conversion Protocols and Maximums:  Review the documentation from us and from Intuit on the protocols for backing up your information and the maximum number of targets you can transfer to the online version. If your QB company file holds many years of information, you may need to condense before the transition to the online version, a process that can take many hours to complete.

QB Sales Tax Changes:  Here again is an excerpt from our newsletter on this:   For both the desktop and online versions, it is in QuickBooks that you setup the components for taxation that determine whether to tax and the tax rate when QB creates the invoice.  When you request printing of the QB invoice in DQB, the program accesses QB for the invoice record and this will include the tax whenever applied.

For many years, the taxation protocol in the desktop versions of QuickBooks has been easy to master. In Edit/Preferences/Sales Tax, you indicate that you will be charging sales tax, establish each sales tax item with its name, rate, tax authority and account. You can also record due dates and whether the tax will be due when paid (cash basis) or upon invoicing (accrual basis).  If there are multiple taxes, you can create a hierarchy of liability accounts.   For taxable items, you check on the taxable indicator.  For taxable customers, you check on the taxable indicator and assign the tax item.   Then when invoicing, these components determine the tax and the liability.  

It is important to note that this protocol has been changed in the online versions of QuickBooks.  It has become more complex and may require careful review and coordination with your professional accountants.  We have been told that it is the location of the ship-to address for each invoice will be used to determine whether to tax and the tax rate. The liability will be based on the date of the invoice (accrual basis) even if you are registered as a cash-based business.  

To help with this, DQB 1.76 includes having both the bill-to and ship-to addresses available in a number of display screens and reports. If you have not already done so, it is best to enter both the bill-to and ship-to addresses even when they are the same.  

To answer your questions....

Q:  If we decide to transition to QuickBooks Online, do you have any recommendations for the best time to do this? 

A: Ideally, the best time to do this is after you have reviewed what is involved in the transition and planned for the changes.  We strongly recommend that you complete and verify your month-end processes in the desktop versions and then begin the new month in the online.   Also plan for time to train your staff on working with the online version.  Be sure to let Mainstreet know of your plans and reserve adequate support time for the transitions involving DQB, DentalRx and Lab Lookup.   

Q:  Is there a way to search for the cases that include a specific item? 

A:  Yes, you will need to set up a product group for the search item.   You may want to keep this product group, give it an appropriate title such as Search Cases for Item and then specify the item each time you use it.  The menu option is in Cases, then Production and is named Special Items by Product.   You first select a range of case enter dates, then the product group.  The criteria area at the top includes other options such as limiting the search to a selected customer group. 

Q: Which QuickBooks version are you currently recommending?

A:  DQB synchronizes with both the desktop and online versions of QuickBooks.  The choice is up to you.   If you have been using one of the desktop versions (Pro, Premier or Enterprise) you can continue to use it.   If you use any of Intuit's web-based services such as payment processing or payroll, since 2022 you would have had to already update to an annual subscription.   If not, you can continue with your Pro or Premier version, but will no longer receive updates or be supported by Intuit.  Enterprise continues to be Intuit's most capable offering and has required a subscription for a number of years. 

Intuit has said they are firmly committed to continue offering and supporting Enterprise. We and others have asked Intuit to offer a more limited but less expensive version of Enterprise for those who prefer its capabilities and want to have the option to keep their data in house or at a location of their choice.

The online versions are based on annual subscriptions and are purchased directly from Intuit.   For these, we recommend the Advanced version if you want to have capability comparable with the desktop versions.  If not, the lesser versions Essentials and Plus will work.  On the QuickBooks website are the latest charts that outline the differences.   When you choose online, your data will be stored on Intuit servers.

When you need to train someone to work with DQB

If one of your staff members experienced with DQB is still available, first have them show and train the new person on your most frequently used options.  In addition:

1. If you have established preferences or protocols, be sure to review them. It's a good idea to document these as well.
   
2. Let them know which versions and supplements you have chosen as well as the others available. 
3. Cover how DQB synchronizes with QuickBooks, what occurs in QuickBooks and how to contact their support if needed.
4. Cover which transactions require administration level permission for Microsoft, Intuit QuickBooks, and DQB.
   
5. Let us know the name of the new person and their email to receive monthly newsletters and other communications.
   

Next, cover and encourage ongoing use of the resources available for education, guidance and trouble-shooting.  These include:  

1. Your DQB service agreement to receive guidance from Mainstreet along with our contact information 
2. The user manual available from the Help button within DQB
3. Our monthly newsletters covering lots of topics, questions, tips and techniques
4. Our website www.mainstreetsystems.net includes product information, tutorials, recent monthly newsletters, and a blog with in-depth topics
5. Our library of white papers on many topics involved with case management

In addition to severe weather, be prepared for the worst....

There are many who firmly believe that if you are prepared for the worst scenario, it will never actually happen.  But just in case it does, know that those who have taken the initiative to be prepared can recover much more easily and fully then those who have not.   

Just this month we received an urgent call for help from a lab whose local IT service made changes that disrupted their ability to access both QuickBooks and DQB.  Another experienced multiple power outages due to the heat.  Along the way, our support team has encountered a variety other issues where either recovery or transition was urgently needed.  These have included:   

• Employee errors. sometimes deliberate misdeeds
  
• Equipment failures
• Updates for other components of their system
  
• Internet malware  
• Water damage from leaking roofs and weather-related flooding 
• Smoke and fire damage
  
• Theft    
• Power spikes and outages
  

Here are some of the vital preparation steps to assure your system can be restored:   

1. When you purchase a license or subscription, be sure to record and keep in a secured location the critical information such as the product name and version, serial or registration number, the logins and security fields, relevant dates such as purchase/expiration, how to contact the vendor/provider.   
   
2. Be sure to keep your software and its support up-to-date with either automatic updates or an ongoing service agreement.
   
3. For your profile and records here at Mainstreet, let us know of any changes relevant to your system, your authorized personnel, and any other information that would be helpful to keep your system running smoothly.   
4. Assure that your information is backed up to one or more secure locations/media on a regular basis.  We recommend that the backups be directed to both local and web-based locations and performed at least once each workday. Ideally, having automatic backups at specific intervals and having them secured through encryption with software such as the Advanced Backup Protocol can add reassurance that you can always recover.
5. If working with local consultants for your hardware/network, be sure they provide documentation for your system, your power supply, backup/restoration protocols and any security protocols that they have set up.
   
6. Provide training to your key staff members so that the above resources and information can be accessed whenever there is an issue.

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