Company Profile and Preferences

In this process you have the option to use the default setup values or create the values from scratch. You can save considerable time and effort by accepting the default values, but if your company is well established, the time and effort to create the setup values from scratch is worth it.

You need to gather the following data to complete your company information especially if you are creating your company database from scratch: historical documents, latest financial reports, bank statements, customer list, supplier list, and product and services list and tax liabilities.

You will set up the new company with all the basic information including payment term, shipping methods etc. using the New Company Wizard (if you are a licensed user) or the Company Setup Checklist (if you are a cloud user).

The company information and database creation will be discussed in this session.

Prepare Company Data

Decide How You Want To Create Your Company Profile

To complete this task, do the following:

Schedule a start date for working with Connected Business then decide between the following:

1. Use default values if you want to start working with Connected Business right away.
   

   Licensed Version Users
   By choosing to use default data for a new company database, you only need to modify the values and add to them. Note that account codes, posting accounts and bank accounts will be pre‐created.
   
   Cloud Users
   Default data is available in the pre‐created database. You may modify the default values or add to them.

2. Create your new company from scratch to have your company data as complete as possible before working with Connected Business.
   
   

   Defining your company profile from scratch might take some time.

If you choose to create your company from scratch, proceed to the following:

Gather the Necessary Information and Documents

To complete this task, do the following:

You will need to gather the following information regarding all areas of your business.

1. Chart of Accounts – all used account codes, segments by area location or other criteria and budget information for required accounts.
   
   
2. Bank and Bank Account Information – bank accounts grouped by bank with current balance information.
   
   
3. Customer List – all active customers grouped by customer type and have at least 1 primary contact information.
   
   
4. Suppliers List – all active suppliers with at least 1 primary contact information.
   
   
5. Location List – all store or warehouse locations with bin information.
   
   
6. Items List – products or services grouped by categories with current quantity on‐hand by location.
   
   
7. Pricing Schemes – current promotional pricing, price list, discounts assigned to an item.
   
   
8. Tax Liabilities – list of current taxes levied on the sale, purchase, payroll, freight and others.

Create import templates or restructure your existing lists into an import template used by Connected Business.

Download all the import template files (XLS) and fill up the ones you need.Click here to download the file.

Update Account Balances

Decide How You Wish To Update Your Account Balances

To complete task, do the following:

DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO UPDATE YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCES

1. Consider the following:
   1. Start date of your current fiscal year (e.g. January 1)
      
      
   2. Interval of each period, (e.g. Monthly)
      
      
   3. The current period, (e.g. March)
      
      
   4. The amount of transactions or events that occur per period
      
      
      
2. Choose if you will import your account balances or enter historical documents.
   
   1. Import your account balances — for large volume of documents or if the current period is too far off from the start date of the fiscal year, you can import account balances in reference to a start date or “opening balance date”. You will need to determine the start date or “opening balance date” for account balances that you will import e.g. the day before the start date of your current period.
      
      

      To be able to import your account list and account balances, you will need to create your Company Information from scratch or turn off the option to use default values.

   2. Enter historical documents — for minimal volume of documents or if the current period is near the start date of the fiscal year, you can enter your historical documents from as far back as you may need within the current fiscal year. You will need to determine the periods you want to keep open for entries that occurred from the previous periods e.g. January and February.

DETERMINE THE ACCOUNTING PERIOD

1. If you decide to include historical documents that occurred from the previous months, the current period must be set to the earliest period you want to include (e.g. January).
   
   
2. If you decide to import your account balances, the current period should be the current month e.g. March. Account-related information will be discussed in Set Up Related Account Information section.

Create New Company Database

Open the New Company Wizard or Company Setup Checklist

To complete this task, do the following:

OPEN THE NEW COMPANY WIZARD (LICENSED USERS)

1. Point the connection setting to the demo database located on the machine where you want to place the new company database.
   
   
2. Sign in to Connected Business using the default “admin” user name and password.
   
   
3. Go to the System Manager Module. Then, click on the New Company option from the Company menu to bring up the New Company Wizard. Use the Next buttons to move from each step to the next.

OPEN THE COMPANY SETUP CHECKLIST (CLOUD USERS)

1. Sign in to Connected Business using the user name and password provided by Connected Business Support.
   
   

   Should you need to create a new database, you will need to inquire about this from Connected Business Support.

2. Go to the System Manager Module. Then, click on the Company Checklist Form option from the Company menu to bring up the Company Setup Checklist. Use the Next buttons to move from each step to the next.

Enter Company Information and Create Database

To complete this task, do the following:

CREATE NEW COMPANY DATABASE (LICENSED USERS)

1. Have all the necessary reports, historical documents and import files ready.
   
   
2. Go to the Company Detail page of the New Company Wizard. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions below.
   
   

   Company Information
   Company Name	-
   Database Name	e.g. MyCompanyDatabase
   Country	Default includes all 238 countries. The country detail determines postal code settings, telephone format and country settings. To modify the country details, double-click on the value inside the Country field.
   Address	-
   City/State/Postal	Default includes over 70,000 default postal codes. The City, State and County fields are filled in when selecting a postal code.
   County	-
   E-Mail	-
   Website	-
   Federal Tax ID/ VAT Registration No.	e.g. 123456789
   Sales Tax ID /Company Registration No.	e.g. 20105689745
   Telephone / Ext	-
   Fax / Ext	-
   Home Currency	Default includes 158 default currencies.
   Company Language	-
   Logo (Image file of your company logo)	e.g. atleast 250 x 250 jpeg, png, gif image.
   Use Default for All Required Modules	If Yes, default account codes, posting accounts, GL class templates and bank accounts are created.

   
   
   
3. Specify the name for the new company database. (Must not contain spaces or special characters).
   
   
4. Enter your full company name and enter general information about the company such as address, contact numbers, Tax ID, home currency and language, and logo.
   
   
5. To have Connected Business use the default values, check the Use default setup for all required modules option. If creating the new company from scratch, uncheck this option.
   
   
6. Click “Create Database Now!” to start creating the database.

MODIFY COMPANY INFORMATION (CLOUD USERS)

1. Have all the necessary reports, historical documents and import files ready.
   
   
2. Go to the Company Detail page of the Company Setup Checklist.
   
   
3. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions – Company Information.
   
   
4. You may modify the company name and entergeneral information about your company such as company name, address, contact numbers, Tax ID, home currency, language and logo.

Set Up Company Basics and Preferences

To complete this task, do the following

SET UP PAYMENT TERMS

Payment Terms are used to determine the payment method, due date, discountable days and interest charges.

You will find default payment terms in Connected Business to give an example of how payment terms are set up. You can add, modify these payment terms as needed. You can delete these payment terms as long as they are not linked to payment groups or other records.

1. Go to the Payment Term page.
   1. Click on the New button to create a new payment term.
      
      
   2. Double-click on the payment term on the list to edit the payment term.
      
      
2. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions below.
   
   

   Payment Terms
   Sample Payment Terms	Sample Values
   Cash	Due Type Net Days – From Invoice Date End of Month Calendar monthly Seasonal	Net Days – From Invoice Date
   	Term Days	1
   	Payment Type: Check Credit Card Cash/Other External System Card Google/Paypal/Other	Cash/Other
   	Discount Type Amount Percent
   	Discountable Days
   	Discount Amount
   	Interest Charge
   1% 10 NET 30	Due Type Net Days – From Invoice Date End of Month Calendar monthly Seasonal	Net Days – From Invoice Date
   	Term Days	30
   	Payment Type: Check Credit Card Cash/Other External System Card Google/Paypal/Other	Cash/Other
   	Discount Type Amount Percent	Percent
   	Discountable Days	10
   	Discount Amount	1%
   	Interest Charge

SET UP PAYMENT TERM GROUPS

Payment Term Groups will group payment terms by payment type, credit card gateway used or filter applicable payment terms for wholesale or retail buyers on your web store.

You will find a default payment term group, “DEFAULT” in Connected Business to give an example of how payment term groups are set up. You may edit this payment term group and include payment terms you may have created.

1. Go to the Payment Term Group page.
   1. Click on the New button to create a new payment term group.
      
      
   2. Double-click on a payment term group in the list to edit the payment term group.
      
      
2. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions below.
   
   

   Payment Term Groups
   Sample Payment Term Group	Sample Values
   DEFAULT	e.g. COD, Credit Card, NET15EOM, NET30, NET30 2%7, NET60
   CREDIT CARD	e.g. Credit Card, Credit Card (Authorize.NET)
   NET TERMS	e.g. NET15,EOM, NET30, NET302%7, NET60
   CASH	e.g. Cash, COD
   ONLINE PAYMENT	e.g. Paypal

SET UP SHIPPING METHODS

Shipping Methods are used to determine the means of delivery and freight charges. You may create the following shipping methods with freight calculation:

1. If your company has its own means for delivery, you can set up your own shipping methods and apply a freight charge scheme by order value/percent, by weight or flat rate.
   
   
2. If you use a certain shipping carrier or service, you can set up the carrier service options as your shipping methods and use real‐time freight calculation.
   
   

   You will find default shipping methods in Connected Business to give an example of how shipping methods are set up. You can add, modify these shipping methods as needed. You can delete these payment terms as long as they are not linked to shipping method groups or other records.
   
   Shipping carriers and real-time freight will be discussed in Customer Relations.

1. Go to the Shipping Method page.
1. Click on the New button to create a new shipping method.
   
   
2. Double-click on a shipping method in the list to edit the shipping method.
   
   
2. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions below.
   
   

   Shipping Methods
   Sample Shipping Methods	Sample Values
   By Weight Charge	Freight Charge Calculation (By Weight)	LBS From and LBS To: 0.1-1 = $10 freight charge (Item Unit Measure must have values for weight.)
   Order Value Amount	Freight Charge Calculation (By Order Value)	Amount From and Amount To: $1 - $99 = $20 freight charge $100 – above = $0 (free shipping)
   Standard Delivery	Freight Charge Calculation (By Flat Rate)	Freight Charge Rate: $25
   User Entered	Freight Charge Calculation (None)	None (freight charge will be manually entered on orders)
   Pickup	Freight Charge Calculation (Pick-up)	Pickup (no freight charge)

SET UP SHIPPING METHOD GROUPS

Shipping Method Groups are used to group like shipping methods based on carrier, freight calculation, and availability to specific regions e.g. domestic or international.

You will find a default payment term group, “DEFAULT” and “WEBSHIP” in Connected Business to give an example of how payment term groups are set up. You can edit these shipping methods groups to include new shipping methods you may have created.

1. Go to the Shipping Method Group page.
1. Click on the New button to create a new shipping method.
   
   
2. Double-click on a shipping method group in the list to edit the shipping method group.
   
   
2. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions below:
   
   

   Shipping Method Groups
   Sample Shipping Method Group	Sample Values
   DEFAULT	e.g. All shipping methods
   DOMESTIC	e.g. UPS Ground, UPS Express
   INTERNATIONAL	e.g. UPS Worldwide Express

CONFIGURE GENERAL SYSTEM PREFERENCES

Company Preferences determine the general settings to use in the system e.g. default skin/theme to use or the number of records to display in the search list.

Default settings are provided; you may skip this step in the setup if you do not need to change anything.

1. Go to the Company > Preferences page. Click on the Edit button to bring up the Preferences form.
   
   
2. Refer to the Field Notes and Descriptions below:
   
   

   Company Preferences
   Preferences	Default Values
   General Preferences	Enable Audit Trail?	Yes
   	Enable Text Case Formatting? Normal case Title Case lower case UPPER CASE	Normal case
   	Company Skin	Mac Skin
   Printing Preferences	Auto-close print dialog if selected option is “Printer”	No
   	Turn-off printing notification	Yes
   Search Settings	Number of records to search	100
   Exception Settings	Error log format: Database XML Event log	Database
   	Error log file location	C:\Program Files\Connected Business\Connected Business 1.0
   	Email error log	When clicked, attempts to send error log to Connected Business using the logged in user email account.
   	Maximum log file size	20 mb
   Fax Provider	Fax Service Provider	@fax.tc