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Frequently Asked Questions

Accounts Payable

Q: How do I enter and pay A/P bills?
Q: How do I void posted A/P payments?

Balances

Q: How do I input customer balances?
Q: How do I input beginning balances?
Q: How do I enter starting balances for customers?

Data Files

Q: How do I backup my data files?
Q: How do I restore my data files?

Errors

Q: Error: "since you have purchased a single user version, you cannot run more than one copy"
Q: Error Number 13: Program Line Number:0 Alias"Curstate" is not found. Module Name: Sutasdif.save

General Ledger

Q: How do I setup departments in G/L?
Q: How do I set up sub-accounts in general ledger?

Inventory

Q: How do I purge inventory items?
Q: How do I setup inventory, services & messages?
Q: How do I enter beginning balances for inventory?

Invoices

Q: How do I make an invoice?
Q: How do I void an A/P invoice?
Q: How do I enter an invoice return in Phoenix Professional Accounting?

Modules

Q: What is a module?

Passwords

Q: What is my default user id and password?

Payroll

Q: How do I setup departments in payroll?
Q: How do I setup and issue payroll checks?
Q: Payroll: Checks won't post.
Q: How can I pay my federal payroll taxes electronically?
Q: Where do you input the State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) percentages?
Q: How do you put the local withholding tax as a decimal?
Q: How do I delete a paycheck in Phoenix Lite Payroll?
Q: How do I enter past payroll in Phoenix Lite and Professional Payroll?

Periods

Q: How do I open/close a period?

Printers

Q: How do I print to the correct printer?

Purchase Orders

Q: How do I create purchase orders?
Q: How do I receive a purchase order?

Refunds

Q: How do I refund a customer invoice?

Re-Indexing Files

Q: How does re-indexing work?
Q: My program is not working properly?

Sales Commissions

Q: How do I track sales commissions?

Sales Tax

Q: How do I setup sales tax codes?

Set-up

Q: How do I setup the chart of accounts?
Q: How do I setup customers?
Q: How do I setup manufactured Items?
Q: How do I setup and use job tracking?
Q: How do I enter beginning balances for property management?
Q: How do I enter beginning balances for checkbook?
Q: How do I enter beginning balances for G/L accounts?
Q: How do I setup pre-printed forms?

Technical Support

Q: How do I obtain technical support?

Vendors

Q: How do I setup vendors?

Void Checks

Q: How do I void checks in the bank?
Q: How do I void posted payroll checks?

Q: How do I make an invoice?

A: First, you need to enter your inventory (How do I-inventory set up) or services. Then, you need to enter the customer or customers to be invoiced. (How do I- customer set up). Then you need to enter an invoice or sales order (How do I-enter orders). Once you have completed these steps, you can create, print and process your invoice.

Q: How do I obtain technical support?

A: If you need assistance with setting up your business on Phoenix Accounting, including company setup, general ledger, vendors, customers, payroll or inventory, please refer to our website for a library of online resources to get you started or contact Customer Service and one our product experts will assist you.

Additional support packages such as e-mail or phone support are sold separately. Contact Customer Service or call us at (866)581-0336 for details. You will need to have a customer identification number and the current version number of the software. To find out what version number you are using, please open the program, select the help menu, select "about" and a screen will appear with the version number.

If you are experiencing problems related to the program, it is important that you have the latest version, otherwise our support technicians will not be able to replicate, identify and resolve your problem. If you do not have the latest version ask your Service Location about our Maintenance Packages that ensure you have the latest versions each year.

Q: What is a module?

A: The program is divided into modules. A module is a program that is a part of a larger system. For example, in an integrated accounting program there are several Modules such as Inventory, Purchase Orders, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger etc.

Q: How do I open/close a period?

A: Within the exception of General Ledger, there are no options within each module to open or close a period. Each module operates on a real-time basis and DOES NOT require any opening or closing. General Ledger also does not require any closing. However if you want for security and audit trail reasons, you can close a period or a year in General Ledger. You can close a period by selecting the Close G/L Period option from the G/L menu. Payroll does not require and closing. However if you use the payroll program to track accrual of Vacation, Holiday or Sick pay, then you must select the Roll the YTD Accruals option from the Payroll / Year End Processing menu option. In addition, payroll will let you purge payroll history for a range of dates from the Payroll / Year End Processing menu option.

Q: How do I backup my data files?

A: Data backup is a very important process. Not backing up data is like driving your vehicle without insurance. We recommend that you backup after each session of data entry or before posting. In addition keep multiple sets of backup disks and rotate through these sets. Here is how you can backup your data.

1. Select the File menu.
2. Next select the menu for Data Utilities.
3. Select the menu for Backup Data Files.
4. If you are backing up to a drive other that A:, then change the drive letter and then click on the OK button.

Q: How do I restore my data files?

A: See below

1. Select the File menu.
2. Next select the menu for Data Utilities.
3. Select the menu for Restore Data Files.
4. If you are restoring from a drive other that A:, then change the drive letter and then click on the OK button.

Q: How does Re-indexing work?

A: Just as you use the index at the back of this manual to quickly search for information, the program uses index files to locate your data.

Some times the index files can get corrupted due to a variety of reasons. Some of the most common reasons are rebooting, or shutting windows without exiting the program, hard disk problems, incorrect system set up (low RAM/memory) etc. As a result, the program might give you an error message or not furnish correct information.
You can reindex as follows.

1. Click on the File menu.
2. Select the Data Utilities menu.
3. Next select Reindex Data Files menu option.
4. Click on the "YES" button. This will reindex your data files.

NOTE: Reindexing should be done once a month if you are NOT putting in a lot of data. Reindexing should be done once a week if you are putting in a lot of data.

Q: What is my default user id and password?

A: Please contact Phoenix Customer Representative at 866-581-0336 for access codes.

Q: My program is acting up / not working properly?

A: Always try to reindex your program: File, data utilities, reindex data files-this should put all files back in place-you should reindex your files weekly or as often as necessary when entering new data-this process is necessary for database maintenance of your software.

Q: How do I input customer balances?

A: Create a customer record, then, make an opening A/R invoice for the customer (except in Swift-you need to create the invoice using O/E).

Q: How do I purge inventory items?

A: Enter/Edit Inventory adjustments, decrease inventory to "0", then go to Inventory Maintenance and delete that inventory item.

Q: Error: "since you have purchased a single user version, you cannot run more than once copy"

A: This means the user already has the program open, they should close the current window and check the taskbar. If this does not work shut down all programs and restart your computer.

Q: Error Number 13: Program Line Number:0 Alias"Curstate" is not found. Module Name: Sutasdif.save

A: This error message appears when the user is in Payroll Setup, editing SUI and SDI State Tax Rates. Follow these steps to correct the issue:

  1. Go to Payroll>Setup>Payroll Setup
  2. Click on Enter/edit SUI/SDI rates
  3. Type the state in the "State ID" field and press Enter. It should pull up the rates that are in the system.
  4. Change all figures to "0" amount and then save.
  5. Repeat step 3 again. Now put in the correct figures and save.
That should correct the issue.

Q: How do I input beginning balances?

A: Modify chart of accounts, print chart of accounts list; GL set up under chart of accounts maintenance; delete unnecessary accounts and edit rest to fit your balance sheet.

Q: How do I setup the chart of accounts?

A: Important Note: If you want to setup your own General Ledger accounts and you do not want to use any of the pre-built accounts, then you must choose this at the time you create the company. DO THIS ONLY IF YOU UNDERSTAND ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS THOROUGHLY. If you do not understand accounting concepts thoroughly, we highly recommend that you use the pre-built chart of accounts and then modify them. This section will tell you how to setup new accounts or delete existing accounts.

First you will need to print out a chart of accounts.

1. Click on the G/L menu.
2. Click on the Reports menu
3. Click on the words Chart of Accounts Listing.
4. Print it to the printer.
5. Research the print out and see if there are any accounts that you do not need.

After you have decided which accounts you will use and which accounts you want to delete you will need to do the following:

1. Click on the G/L menu.
2. Click on the Setup menu.
3. Click on the words Chart of Accounts Maintenance.
4. Type in the number of the account you want to delete and press Enter.
5. Press the Delete-F8 button or press the F8 function key on the keyboard. You cannot delete accounts that have any transactions associated with them.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all the accounts you wish to delete.

Now that you have deleted the accounts you do not need. Now it is time to enter the new accounts you will be using. This is what you will need to do:

1. Click on the G/L menu.
2. Click on the Setup menu.
3. Click on the words Chart of Accounts Maintenance.
4. Type in the new number for the new account and press Enter.
5. Type in the new description for the new account and press Enter.
6. Choose the account type from the list of account types.
7. Press the Save-F4 button or press the F4 function key on the keyboard to save the new account.
8. Repeat steps 4 - 7 for each new account you wish to add.

Important Note: If you make ANY changes in the chart of accounts, you will need to go to the File menu and click on the Company Settings and then click on Company Setup. Then click on the tab titled Default G/L Accounts and make sure that all these accounts are in the chart of accounts by pressing the Enter key. The cursor will move from one account to the next till it gets to the Save-F4 button. Then press the Save-F4 button.

Q: How do I setup departments in G/L?

A: In order to track multiple departments in G/L you must enable and setup Departmental Tracking. This can be done as follows:

1. Click on the G/L menu.
2. Click on the Setup menu and then click on G/L Setup.
3. Place a check in the checkbox for Track Departmental Accounting and then click on the OK-F4 button to save.
4. Click on the G/L menu.
5. Click on the Setup menu.
6. Click on the words Department Maintenance.
7. Type in the Department ID and press Enter.
8. Type in the Department Description and press Enter.
9. Press the Save-F4 button or press the F4 key on the keyboard to save the new department
10. Repeat steps 7 - 9 for each department.

Q: How do I set up sub-accounts in General Ledger?

A: The General Ledger comes with standard default accounts of ASSETS, LIABILITIES, EQUITY, INCOME and EXPENSES. You do not want to change these names or general "folders" because they go by accepted accounting principles. However, you can alter and create the sub accounts/"folders" to match your needs.

By creating sub accounts, you can pull reports that itemize totals according to the folders they are in. For example, if you have a OPERATING EXPENSES folder in the general EXPENSES folder and then create another folder called UTILITIES in the OPERATING EXPENSES folder, you can pull a GENERAL LEDGER EXPENSE REPORT that will total the accounts in the UTILITIES folder and the OPERATING EXPENSES folder. The total for the UTILITIES folder will only include those accounts you have placed in that folder. The total for the OPERATING EXPENSES folder will include the total of the UTILITIES folder in addition to what ever other accounts are in the OPERATING EXPENSES folder.

  1. Creating the Account Sub-group/"Folder" Name
    • Go to G/L > SETUP > CUSTOMIZE ACCOUNT SUB GROUPS.
    • You will see a directory structure on the left side and the folder/account names on the right side. Choose the parent directory you want the folder to be in. Click on NEW. A blank folder should appear under the parent directory you choose. Enter a name for your folder. Click on SAVE. Repeat process for other folder names. Remember to always click on SAVE after you are done. Close the CUSTOMIZE ACCOUNT SUB GROUPS window when you are done.
  2. Grouping the General Ledger accounts into different sub goups/folders
    • Go to G/L > SETUP > CHART OF ACCOUNTS MAINTENANCE
    • Browse or type in the ID of the Account you want to move. Hit the TAB key. The rest of the fields will be populated. Under ACCOUNT TYPE, choose the folder you would like this Account to be associated with. Click on SAVE. The general ledger account is now associated/"moved" to the group you selected.

Q: How do I setup sales tax codes?

A: Sales tax codes are required if you wish to deduct Sales Tax on an Invoice or a Purchase Order. These tax codes are also called PST taxes for Canadian users.

1. Click on the menu for O/E.
2. Click on the menu for Sales Tax Maintenance.
Hint: We recommend that the Sales Tax ID be an abbreviation of the area name or state that the code refers to. For Example: LA would be an ideal code for Los Angeles County.
3. Enter the abbreviation you wish to use into the Sales Tax ID field then press Enter.
4. Enter your description or area/state name in the description field then press Enter.
5. Enter your G/L accounts numbers in the liability and expense fields then press Enter.
6. In the Tax Percent fields enter the amounts, which comprise the total amount of tax charged (see example below).
7. Press the Save-F4 button.
8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 for each Sales Tax Code.

Tax Percentage Example
City State County Federal Total
3.0000 1.5000 1.0000 0.0000 5.5000

Q: How do I setup customers?

A: You must setup your customers before you can start tracking their invoices, balances or Accounts Receivable. Follow the steps to create your customers.

1. Click on either the O/E or the A/R menu.
2. Next select the Setup menu.
3. Click on the menu for Customer Maintenance. Complete all the required fields.
NOTE: If your customer is to be charged Sales Tax, make sure that you enter the appropriate Tax Code.
4. Press the Save-F4 button.
5. Repeat step 3 for each Customer.

Q: How do I enter starting balances for customers?

A: You can create A/R Transactions to record your customer balances as follows:

1. Click on the A/R menu option. A/R is an abbreviation for Accounts Receivable.
2. Next click on Enter/Edit A/R Transactions & Payments option.
3. Press Enter on the Edit Transaction Number field.
4. Enter the Date for the transaction and press Enter.
5. Click on Invoice for the transaction type and press Enter.
6. Type the Customer ID and press Enter.
7. Type the Invoice number and press Enter.
8. Enter the Due Date for the transaction and press Enter.
9. Type the amount of the balance owed in the Amount field and press Enter.
10. For the transaction description type the words "Balance Forward" and press Enter. This is an optional step.
11. If you have the G/L module, at this point the program will pre-fill the G/L Debit and Credit entries for you. You can change them if required or press the Save-F4 button.

Q: How do I track sales commissions?

A: In order to track sales commissions, the following items must be setup:

1. From the O/E menu select Setup and then select O/E Setup. Select the Commissions TAB. Check the Box labeled "Activate Commission Tracking". Change any other commission options if required. Click on OK-F4 to save.

2. From the O/E menu select Setup and then select Salesperson Maintenance. Enter and save all your salespeople. This includes setting up their commission rate. If the commission rate of a salesperson varies for each inventory item then leave the commission rate blank.

3. From the Inventory menu, select Setup and then select Inventory Maintenance. Make sure each applicable item is marked as Commissionable in the Additional Information tab. In addition if the commission rate is different for each item, then you can set it up over here in the Commission Amt or the Commission % fields. In most cases you would leave these fields blank and set the commission rate in salesperson maintenance. You can also repeat this process for your Service Codes in Inventory menu.

4. When you create your invoices from now you will be required to enter the Salesperson ID. After you save your invoices, you can run your Salesperson Commission report from the A/R, Reports menu.
Important Note: In the O/E Setup option (Step 1 above) you can choose if sales commission will be calculated on the Selling Price, Cost Of Goods or Gross Profit Margin. As default the program will calculate commission on the Selling Price. However if you change it to Cost Of Goods or Gross Profit Margin, then only POSTED transactions will appear on this report. If a transaction you had created does not appear on this report, then check to make sure that the transaction has been posted.

Q: How do I setup vendors?

A: You must setup your vendors before you can start tracking their purchase orders, A/P invoices or balances. Follow the steps to create your vendors.

1. Click on the P/O, Bank or the A/P menu.
2. Next select the Setup menu.
3. Click on the menu for Vendor Maintenance. Complete all the required fields.
NOTE: If your vendor charges you sales tax on a purchase order, make sure that you enter the appropriate Tax Code.
4. Press the Save-F4 button.
5. Repeat step 3 and 4 for each Vendor.

Q: How do I create purchase orders?

A: You can create Purchase Orders for your Vendors to receive Inventory items and Services from them. When you receive and post these purchase orders, Inventory and optionally A/P is updated.

1. Click on the P/O menu option.
2. Enter the Date of the Purchase Order and press Enter.
3. Enter the Vendor ID and press Enter.
4. Make sure that the Ship To Address is correct and press Enter.
5. Complete the PO header fields like FOB, Ship Via etc. When you press Enter on the PO Description field, the cursor will go to the Item ID field.
6. Enter the Item ID you wish to order and press Enter. The description of the item will show up. Then press Enter again.
7. In the Ordered column, enter the number of units that you are ordering from the vendor and press Enter.
8. The price per unit should show up in the Unit Cost from inventory maintenance. If it does not then enter the price per unit and press Enter.
9. At this point, the Tax and the Total fields are automatically updated.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 8 for each line item for this PO. Now you are ready to save this PO.
11. You can save and print this PO by checking the "Print" box and then click on the Save-F4 button. Printing of the PO is optional.
12. You can repeat steps 2 through 11 to enter more Purchase Orders.

Q: How do I receive a purchase order?

A: When you create and send a purchase order, you will receive the items from the Vendor. At that point you must receive and post the purchase order to update Inventory and optionally the A/P module.

1. Click on the P/O menu option.
2. Click on the menu Enter/Edit Received Purchase Orders.
3. Enter the number of the P/O that you are receiving in the Rcvd P.O. No. field. Note: If you don't know the PO number that you are trying to receive you can click on the Browse button to look up the list of open PO's.
4. Make sure the information on the Received PO is correct i.e. Date, Vendor ID, Ship to Address & Due Date. Press Enter on the PO Description field.
5. At this point you should be at the Item ID field. Press Enter to go to the Units column. Enter the number of units you received on this PO and press Enter.
6. In the Price column, type in the cost per unit and press Enter.
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 for each line item on this Received PO.
8. Enter any freight for this PO and press Enter.
9. Now you are ready to save this Received PO. You can print this Received PO by checking the Print Received PO box and then pressing the Save-F4 button.
10. Now that you have entered in your Received Purchase Orders you can post them to update Inventory and A/P.
NOTE: To update A/P, make sure you do the following first. From the P/O menu select Setup, and then select P/O Setup. Make sure there is a check for "Create Unposted Transactions in A/P", and then click on OK.
11. Next click on the P/O menu option.
12. Click on the menu Post Received Purchase Orders.
13. Enter the date you want it to post to and click the OK button.
14. This will post your Purchase Orders and update inventory. In addition an uposted bill will be created in A/P which you can pay later through the A/P menu.

Q: How do I enter and pay A/P bills?

A: This will tell you how to enter bill to pay and how to pay them.

You should first setup your Vendors as follows:

1. Click on the menu A/P.
2. Click on the Setup menu and select the menu "Vendor Maintenance".
3. Enter a Vendor ID and press Enter.
4. Complete the information for the vendor and click on the Save-F4 button.
5. Repeat step 3 & 4 for each vendor.
6. At this point you are ready to enter your bills and pay them.
7. Click on the A/P menu.
8. Click on the menu Enter/Edit A/P Bills & Credits.
9. Type the Date for this transaction and press Enter.
10. Type the Vendor ID and press Enter.
11. Make sure the Invoice radio button is checked, and press Enter.
12. Type the invoice number for this bill that you have received from the Vendor press Enter.
13. Type the Due Date for this bill and press Enter.
14. Enter the amount for this bill and press Enter.
15. Enter the discount if any and press Enter.
16. Press Enter till you get to the G/L Account ID column. This will bring up your Accounts Payable account number. Press Enter to continue.
17. Enter a description for this transaction and press Enter.
18. Make sure that it has the correct amount in the Credit column. If not then type in the correct amount and press Enter.
19. Next go to the second line. You should be in the G/L Account ID column. This is where you need to enter the offsetting account. (The account the money is being debited to like an operation expense or an asset account. You can use the Browse-F3 to find the account you need) Press Enter to continue.
20. Make sure that it has the correct amount in the Debit column. If not then type in the correct amount and press Enter.
21. To save these transactions press the Save-F4 key. At this point you have just entered a bill.
22. You can now use the A/P Pay Bills (Auto or Manual) option to pay this bill with a check.
23. Now you can update the General Ledger by posting the transaction. Click on the A/P menu.
24. Click on the menu "Post A/P Transactions".
25. In the "Post Transactions To G/L To This Date.." field make sure you type in the date for the month you want to post these transactions to G/L.
26. Click on the OK-F4 button to post to the G/L module.

Q: How do I setup inventory, services & messages?

A: If you create Invoices or maintain inventory, you must setup your Inventory Items, Service Codes or Messages as follows:

1. Click on the Inventory menu and click on the Setup option.
2. Click on the option Inventory Maintenance.
3. Complete the required fields.
Hint: Be sure to mark the items taxable if they are taxable.
4. Press the Save-F4 button to save the item.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each Item. You can select Service Maintenance for services that you provide and Message Maintenance for messages that you can enter on in Invoice.
NOTE: You cannot edit the following fields from an inventory item: Average Cost, Unposted Returns, Units In Stock, Units on Order, Units on Backorder, Units for Sale, Units on PO and On Hand Dollars. These fields MUST be adjusted by Receiving Purchase Orders or by using the Inventory Adjustment feature. For more information please refer to page.

Q: How do I setup manufactured items?

A: Manufacturing feature is required for companies that maintain product kits or assemble inventory items from individual components. Here is how you can setup Manufactured Items.

1. Click on the Inventory menu and click on the Setup option.
2. Enter the Inventory ID and press Enter.
3. It should show you the description and current units for this item.
4. Click on the Manufacturing/Raw Materials Tab. This should bring up the Raw Material Components screen.
5. In the field titled Item ID for Raw Materials enter the Item ID of the individual component that will be used to manufacture this item and press Enter.
6. Enter the Units for each item and press Enter.
7. Press the Save F4 button to save it.

Q: How do I enter beginning balances for inventory?

A: In order to update the Units in Stock and the Cost Of the Units in Stock, you must use the Inventory Adjustment option. In addition, you can use this option to enter the starting balances for your inventory items. Here is how you can adjust an item.

1. Click on the Inventory menu.
2. Click on the menu for Inventory Adjustments and then select Enter/Edit Inventory Adjustments.
3. Press Enter on the Transaction No field.
4. For the Transaction Type, select Increase Inventory and press Enter.
NOTE: You can also select Decrease or Replace Inventory if required.
5. Type in the Date and press Enter.
NOTE: If you have G/L installed, this transaction will automatically be posted to G/L for the date entered.
6. Type the Description for this transaction and press Enter.
7. Enter the Inventory Item ID and press Enter. It should show you the description and current units for this item.
8. In the Adjust Quantity By, enter the total units you want to increase the Units In Stock field. After you enter this number, the New Units In Stock will automatically displayed. Press Enter to continue.
9. Type in the Unit Cost and press Enter.
10. If you want to change the default selling price, type the Sell Price and press Enter.
11. You can type in the other fields as required.
12. When you are done, press the Save-F4 button to save the transaction.
13. The inventory file is updated automatically.
14. You can repeat steps 3 through 12 for other inventory items.

Q: How do I setup departments in payroll?

A: If you track payroll for multiple departments then you should setup your department before entering any employees.

1. Click on the Payroll menu.
2. Click on the Setup menu and select the Payroll Setup menu option.
3. Next click on the Payroll Department Maintenance button.
4. Type in the Department ID and press Enter.
5. Type in the Department Name and press Enter.
6. Press the Save-F4 button to save the new department. Note: If you have the G/L module installed, the program will use the default chart of accounts for the Employee, Employer & Deductions. If you are using your own chart of accounts you will need to change the accounts numbers to match your account list.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each department.

Q: How do I setup and issue payroll checks?

A: See below

Step 1: Select the Payroll Setup option from the Payroll/Setup menu. Set up your employee Deductions.

Step 2: Select the Payroll Setup option from the Payroll/Setup menu. Select the Edit SUI/SDI/CA-ETT Rates option. Set up your employer contributions for these taxes if any. If your state has an employee contribution, it is already entered for you. The employer contribution for this tax only applies to some states. If you are not sure, contact your State Tax board to determine your employer rate.

Step 3: Select the Payroll Setup option from the Payroll/Setup menu. Select the Employees Maintenance option.

Step 4: At the very minimum, enter the following Employee information:

Personal Tab

  • Employee Name
  • Marital Status
  • Department ID (If you are not sure, enter the number 1)
  • Social Security Number
  • Tax Table ID
  • EIC (Earned Income Credit) Status

Earnings Tab

  • Pay Frequency
  • Pay Type
  • Regular and Overtime rate if Employee is Hourly or Annual Salary for Salaried or Commission Base for Commissioned employees.

Withholdings Tab

  • Enter the Federal and State exemptions based on what the employee is claiming on the W-4 Form.
  • If your city or county charges income tax, enter the city rate. NY City residents do not have to do this. If you are not sure about the city/county income tax, contact your city/county officials for more information.
  • Fill up other fields as required.


Step 5: From the Payroll menu, select the Auto Process Payroll Checks and then select the Auto Pay Payroll Checks option. You will be automatically presented one employee at a time. After typing in the hours press the Next key to go the next employee. After all the employees are processed, you will be able to print the Payroll Worksheet report and then print the Payroll Checks.

Step 6: Select the Post Payroll option to from the Payroll menu. This will post the payroll checks.

Step 7: At this point your payroll processing is complete. You can print your payroll reports from the Reports menu.


Q: How do I setup and use job tracking?

A: You are required to have Job Tracking Module to be able to follow steps below. If you do not have one, please contact your Phoenix Customer Representative at 866-581-0336.

Step 1: From the Job menu, select the Setup menu option. Check the Activate Job Tracking option and click on the OK button.

Step 2: From the Job menu, select the Job Maintenance menu option. Complete the fields for the job. At the very minimum you should enter the information for the Job ID and the Description fields Click on the Save-F4 button to save the information. Repeat this step for all your jobs.

The Job ID is a required field on all your transactions. Sometimes you may not want to enter in a Job ID for a transaction. For such situations you can create a "dummy" Job ID like the number 99. You can then use the number 99 on all transactions on which you do not want to enter a Job ID.

Step 3: When you create an invoice in Order Entry, you will be required to enter a Job ID. When you post the invoice, the Income portion of the job will increase

Step 4: When you create an A/P Transaction or write Check via the Bank Manager, you will be required to enter a Job ID. When you post these transactions, the Expense portion of the job will increase.

Step 5: From the Job menu, select the Job Profitability Statement menu option. In the Job ID field, enter the ID of job for which you wish to obtain the profit. Make sure you select the correct date range. Click on the OK button to print the report.

Important Note: Only POSTED transactions will appear on this report. If a transaction you had created does not appear on this report, then check to make sure that the transaction was posted and it had the correct Job ID on it.

Q: How do I enter beginning balances for property management?

A: This section is designed to get you quickly up and running with Property Management. It will walk you though the steps of creating Buildings, Units and Tenants. You will also be shown how to enter the monthly rents and the previous balances for your tenants. If you have detailed questions about a specific screen, you may refer to the appropriate section in the Property Management manual.

Step1: From the P/M menu, select the Setup menu and then select the Building Maintenance option. In the Building Maintenance screen, at the very minimum type the Building ID and the Building Name for each of your buildings or apartments.

Step 2: From the P/M menu, select the Setup menu and then select the Unit Maintenance option. On the Unit Maintenance screen, at the very minimum type the Building ID, Unit ID, Rent, and the Period for which the rent is charged. Repeat this for all the units in each of your Building(s).

Step 3: From the P/M menu, select the Setup menu and then select the Tenant Maintenance option. On the Tenant Maintenance screen at the very minimum type the Tenant ID, and the Tenant Name.

Important Note: If you wish to create a separate income statement for each building, you must type the Building ID (which this tenant will occupy) in the Department field. If prompted to add the Department, select YES and add the Department ID. For more details please refer to Tracking Income By Building section in the Property Management manual.

Step 4: When you have completed the information on the tenant maintenance screen, click on the OK Button. You will be asked the following question - Tenant saved, move in now? If you wish to move the tenant into a unit, answer with a Yes. If you do not wish to move the tenant, answer with a No. You can always move a tenant in to a unit later by using the Move Tenant In menu option.

Step 5: If you had answered the move in question with a Yes, you will be presented with a Move Tenant In screen. Complete all the fields on the screen. Make sure you type in the Building ID and the Unit ID, which this tenant will occupy.

Step 6: Next you will be asked to enter Recurring Charges. An example of a Recurring Charge is RENT. You can enter the Description, Amount, Period and the Next Due date on which this charge is to be applied. Make sure you enter the date as the next month???s date. We will enter any past balances for tenants in a later step. You can enter multiple charges for each tenant. To do this, simply press the Next button. When you have entered the RENT information for the tenant, press the Save-F4 button.

Step 7: You will now be asked if you wish to receive a deposit from this tenant. If you wish to receive a deposit, answer with a Yes. If you do not wish to receive a deposit, answer with a No. You can always enter a deposit later by using the Enter/Edit Tenant Transactions menu option.

Step 8: If you had answered the Deposit question with a Yes, you will be presented with the Enter/Edit Tenant Transactions screen. Complete all the fields on the screen, including the deposit amount. When you click on the Save-F4 button, you can print a receipt if required.

Step 9: Repeat Step 3 to Step 8 for each tenant.

Step10: After you have saved all your tenants, you can now enter any balances that they owe from the past. To do this, select the Enter/Edit Tenant Transactions screen. Leave the Transaction Number empty and press Enter. Next change the Transaction Type to One-Time Charge. Type the Tenant ID, the Date of the last charge owed, Description and the Amount owed. Press the Save-F4 button. Repeat this process for all the tenants that owe past balances. If the tenant had a credit balance from the past, then you can enter the amount as Credit Adjustment.

Step 11: At this point you can print your reports from the P/M Reports menu

Q: How do I enter beginning balances for checkbook?

A: Please see below:

1. To enter the starting balance for the checkbook click on the menu option Bank.
2. Click on the menu Enter/Edit Checkbook.
3. Choose Deposit from the drop down box as the Transaction Type and press Enter.
4. Enter the optional vendor information. If no vendor is needed then press Enter till the cursor gets to the Date field. Enter the correct date and press Enter.
5. In the field with the word "Amount" on the left-hand side you need to enter the amount of the beginning balance and press Enter.
6. In the Memo field you can enter a memo if needed and press Enter.
7. In the Reference field add a reference number if needed and press Enter.
8. In the Checking Account field, make sure that you have the right checking account number (from the chart of accounts) that you wish to have the deposit entered into and press Enter.
9. In the Disbursement field enter the account number from which the money came from - such as account #31010 Owners Equity, or any other Capital/Equity account. Owner's Equity would be an example of an Owner starting a company with their own money (out of pocket). Press Enter to continue.
10. Once you have completed filling out the form click on the Save-F4 button.

HINT: You can repeat the steps above for any other checking accounts, savings accounts or any other bank account that needs a beginning balance.
At this point you will have saved the transaction and updated you chart of accounts with a beginning balance.

11. Make a backup using the backup button on the toolbar.
12. From the Bank menu select the Post Checkbook menu option.
13. In the "Post Transactions To G/L To This Date.." field make sure you type in the date for the month you want to post these transactions to G/L.
14. Click on the OK-F4 button to post to the G/L module.

Q: How do I enter beginning balances for G/L accounts?

A: If you are using General Ledger, you must follow these steps:

1. Enter, verify and post starting balance information in all the modules (like Bank Manager, Customers, Vendors, Inventory etc.) other than G/L. It is very important to verify and then post the information before going to the next step. The steps to enter information for each module are listed later on in this document.

2. After you have entered and posted information for the other modules you must then print your G/L Balance Sheet and Income Statement. Usually as a result of the posting in step 1 above, these balances may not match your actual Balance Sheet or Income Statement. In such a situation you must make Adjusting Journal Entries to correct the account balances. You can make adjusting entries using the Enter/Edit G/L Transactions option in the G/L menu. You can enter G/L Transactions as follows:

3. From the main screen of the program, click on the G/L menu.

4. Select the Enter/Edit G/L Transactions option.

5. Once the G/L transaction screen opens, type JE in the Journal Source field and press Enter.

HINT: Do not use AP, OE, PY, AR, CK, IV, or PO in this field because these "codes" are reserved for use by the program exclusively.

6. Enter the Journal Date you want for this transaction and press Enter.

7. At this point the cursor should now be in the "Account ID" column. Type in an account number (such as 11010 for checking). If you do not know the account number click on the Browse-F3 button to view a list of accounts. (If you clicked on the Browse-F3 button, select the account you wish to make the entry and press the OK-F4 key or double click on the desired account).

8. After selecting the account, the account number should show up in the Account ID column. If it does then press Enter.

9. If the account appeared in the column and you pressed enter your cursor should now be in the description field. In this field you may type the nature of the transaction such as the words "Beginning Balance". You may abbreviate it by typing "Beg. Bal."

10. Once you have entered your description please press Enter to move to the Debit column. (Pressing Enter again will take you to the Credit column.) Type in the amount of the debit or credit followed by pressing Enter.

11. Move to the Account ID column on the next line down using your arrow keys on your keyboard (Or you can use the Enter key).

12. On this line you should make the offsetting entry to create the "in balance" situation. Please refer to a sample of a double-ended entry at the end of these steps.

13. Repeat steps 4 - 9 as necessary to enter beginning balances on the remainder of your accounts requiring a beginning balance.

14. Once you have completed filling out the form click the Save-F4 button.

15. At this point you will have saved the transaction and updated you chart of accounts with a beginning balance.

16. Make a backup using the backup button.

Commonly Used Terms In General Ledger

Debit: Application of Money (+)
Credit: Source of Money (-)

Q: How do I setup pre-printed forms?

A: This program supports various styles of forms (Invoices, Checks and Statements). When you go to print any form like a check, you can select the appropriate Form Style at that time. You can order the Pre-Printed Forms like checks, invoices, statements, W-2, and 1099 forms from our national supplier Phoenix Forms.

Important Note: This program is designed to print on forms supplied by Phoenix Forms only. You may have alignment problems with forms supplied from a different manufacturer. We guarantee compatibility only with forms supplied by Phoenix Forms.

Please refer to the on-line Forms Brochure included with the program for information on ordering forms or FREE SAMPLES. You can order the Pre-Printed Forms like checks, invoices, statements, W-2, and 1099 forms from our national supplier Phoenix Forms. For placing an order or obtaining FREE FORM SAMPLES, Phoenix Forms can be reached at (800) 2-BUY FORMS

Q: How do I print to the correct printer?

A: You can select your printer in two ways:

1. Select the Printer Setup option from the File menu to bring up the standard Printer Setup window.
2. At the time of printing your reports, do the following:

Step 1: Select your report output to go to the Printer.

Step 2: A Printer Setup button will be enabled at this point. Click on this Printer Setup button to select the printer.

Important Note: As this program uses the standard printer drivers that are available with Windows, refer to your Windows manual for more information on Printer Setup.

Q: How do I void posted A/P payments?

A: A/P -Pay A/P Bills -Void A/P Payments

Q: How do I void checks in the bank?

A: Click on Bank then Enter/Edit Checkbook browse for the transaction, select the check, then click void.

Q: How do I void posted payroll checks in the professional version?

A: Click on Payroll-Setup-Employee Maintenance-Input Employee ID then Checks select check and push VOID.

Q: How do I refund a customer invoice?

A: Go to O/E then Process Invoices - Then Enter/Edit Invoice Returns. Create this invoice and after posting will nullify original balance due.

Q: How do I void an A/P invoice?

A: Issue a credit adjustment (a/p, enter bills and credits, bring up vendor, choose credit issue by vendor, put invoice # to apply to, enter accounts to apply-system will automatically reverse when credit adjustment is completed using this process).

Q: How do I enter an invoice return in Phoenix Professional Accounting?

A:
See Below

  1. Pull up the customer in the Smart Customer Manager.
  2. Click on the Invoice Button on the bottom left corner of the Smart Customer Manager Window.
  3. Change the Type on the top left corner of the Invoice Window to Invoice Return.
  4. Change Payment Type to Check.
  5. Everything else will mirror the Invoice you are refunding.
  6. Enter in the Total Refunded amount in the Paid Amount Field on the bottom left corner of the Invoice Window.
  7. Click on Save.
  8. Go to OE and post the Invoice Return.
  9. Go to Bank Manager and open the Enter/Edit Checkbook.
  10. With the cursor in the Transaction Field, click on Browse and locate the Customer and click on OK.
  11. On the bottom right corner of the Checkbook Window, click on Print.
  12. Print out the Check.
  13. Post the Check.

Q: How do I purge inventory items?

A: Enter/Edit Inventory adjustments, decrease inventory to "0", then go to Inventory Maintenance and delete that inventory item.

Q: Payroll: Checks won't post.

A: Cancel and rerun payroll-this is usually caused by stepping out of sequence when creating payroll.

Q: How can I pay my federal payroll taxes electronically?

A: The IRS encourages all businesses to make their federal payroll tax deposits electronically, using a service called the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). After December 31, 1999, the IRS intends to assess a 10% penalty against businesses which do not use this electronic system to make their federal payroll tax deposits. Note that if you do not have employees and do not issue payroll checks, then this does not apply to you.

The tax payments that the IRS requires to be paid electronically are those taxes that are reported on the IRS Forms 941 and 940. That is, federal income tax withholding, Social Security tax (FICA), Medicare tax and Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA). The FICA (941) and FUTA (940) reports from your Phoenix Accounting software will provide you with all the information you need to make your electronic tax deposit payments.

Fortunately, using the EFTPS is a fairly easy process. The steps are outlined below:

  1. First, you must register your company to use the EFTPS. To do this, call 1-800-555-4477. You will be sent a registration kit which you will need to complete and send back. You will then be issued a Personal Identification Number (PIN code).
  2. Once registered, you can choose to make your federal tax deposits in one of two ways: either with a telephone voice response system or by using EFTPS software on your computer.

If you are making federal tax deposits for just your own company or for just a few companies, then it is faster and easier to use the telephone voice response system. The IRS will provide you with complete instructions on using this system. It basically involves making a toll-free call and using your telephone keypad to enter your federal tax ID number, PIN code and tax payment amount. The phone call will take just a few minutes and you will be done.

If you provide payroll services for many companies, it may be faster for you to use the EFTPS software. With this software, you can make the federal tax deposit for up to 100 companies all at once. The software is free. You simply have to request it when you register with EFTPS. The software requires Windows 95 or better and a modem in your computer. EFTPS provides all of the technical support for using this software.

Q: Where do you input the State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) percentage?

A: Please go to Payroll > Setup > Payroll Setup > Enter SUI / SDI / CA-ETT Rates. Please select the appropriate tax tables. You will notice that once you do so, fields for SUI and SDI are automatically filled. As each state and region mandates a different rate, please check with you state government for the most current rate. Each year, all registered companies under the jurisdiction of the taxing authority should receive a letter, or be otherwise notified, of their rates and wage base limit.

Q: How do you put the local withholding tax as a decimal?

A: Please go to Payroll > Employee Maintenance > Withholdings > City Tax %. If your state withholds 1.5% of wages for this then please enter 1.5, as the number in this box is interpreted as a percentage.

Q: How do I delete a paycheck in Phoenix Lite Payroll?

A: See below

  1. Select Payroll / Reports / Payroll History. Run the Payroll History for the date range that the check(s) is in and the employee(s) that you are deleting the check for. Run the detail report. Print the report.
  2. In order to delete the payroll check(s) you will need to create a negative entry.
  3. Go to Payroll / Process Payroll / Enter Edit Timecard Enter a timecard for the employee(s) that you need to delete the payroll check for. Put in the same NEGATIVE hours as the check you wish to delete. F4 Save the timecard.
  4. Go to Payroll / Process Payroll / Generate Payroll Enter the payroll period for the check(s) you are deleting. Enter the employee number for the check(s) you are deleting. Press F4 Save. You will get a message there is a negative check. Press OK.
  5. Go to Payroll / Process Payroll / Add/Edit Worksheet. You will see the first employee that you processed payroll with negative timecard. Verify the NEGATIVE time and gross pay. Enter a NEGATIVE EIC if the employee has an EIC refunded in their check. Select the Taxes tab and verify that there are NEGATIVE amounts in the tax fields to match the check you are deleting. If the amounts are not the same as the check enter the NEGATIVE amount to match the check. Select the Deductions Tab and verify that there are NEGATIVE amounts in the deductions to match the check you are deleting. If the amounts are not the same as the check enter the NEGATIVE amount to match the check. Press F4 Save and a pop up window will appear. Verify the amount matches the check you want to delete in NEGATIVE dollars. Select Save As Negative Check so you have a trail of the deletion. Press F4 Save. Press the next button if you have additional employee checks to delete and repeat steps above. When completed press close-esc.
  6. Go to Payroll / Process Payroll / Print Enter the check number to match the check that is being deleted. Press OK-F4 You will get a pop up window saying there was a break in the sequence check numbers. Select the check box next to the check number that you are deleting. Press print-F2.
  7. Go to Payroll / Post Payroll Backup the database before posting. Press OK-F4
  8. Select Payroll / Reports / Payroll History. Run the Payroll History for the date range that the check is in. Run the detail report. Print the report. Verify that the check was deleted

Q: How do I enter past payroll in Phoenix Lite and Professional Payroll?

A: See below

  1. Assemble accurate totals for each employee for each quarter or portion of a quarter for:
    a. Gross Wages


    b. Social Security withheld
    c. Medicare withheld
    d. Federal Tax
    e. State Tax
    f. Local Tax
    g. All other deductions (e.g., Medical Insurance, Child Support, Garnishments, etc.)
    h. Total Net Pay
  2. Assemble the same totals for each employee for the remaining quarters.
  3. Go to Payroll>Manually Process Payroll>Enter/Edit Timecard. For each employee,
    a. Under Hours, enter 1
    b. Under Rate, enter the total Gross Wages paid to that employee for the first quarter.
    c. Tab Over to Wages. The total should be the same as the total in the Rate box.
    d. Click on Save.
    e. Repeat steps “a” through “d” until the data for the first quarter have been entered for all employees.
  4. Go to Payroll>Manually Process Payroll>Generate Payroll
  5. When the Box “Completed Payroll Generation” appears, click on OK.
  6. Go to Payroll>Manually Process Payroll>Edit Payroll Checks. Fir each employee,
    a. Confirm that the Gross Wages figure on the Earnings Tab for the period 1/1/03 – 3/31/03 is correct.
    b. Click on the Taxes tab, and enter in the appropriate boxes the exact amount of taxes withheld for each tax category.
    c. Click on the Deductions tab, and enter in the appropriate boxes the exact amount withheld for each deduction category.
    d. Click on the Earnings tab, and look at the four (4) boxes at the bottom of the page: Gross Earnings, Taxes, Deductions and Net Pay. The figure in the Net Pay box should be exactly equal to the Total of all checks written to that employee for the period 1/1/03 – 3/31/03. If it is not, reexamine all the data entered for that employee. When the Net Pay figure is correct, click on Save, and repeat the process for each employee. If at any time you are prompted to recalculate taxes, click on NO.
  7. When all the Tax and Deduction figures for all employees have been entered and Saved, go to Payroll>Manually Process Payroll>Payroll Worksheet, and print out the Payroll Worksheet Report. Review the figures for each employee, and, if they are correct;
  8. Go to Payroll>Manually Process Payroll>Print Payroll Checks. Simply Print the payroll checks on plain, white paper.
  9. Go to File>Data Utilities>Reindex Data Files
  10. Go to File>Data Utilities>Backup Data Files and back up your files to a floppy disk.
  11. Go to Payroll>Post Payroll and, when prompted for a Date, post the payroll to 3/31/2003.
  12. Now proceed to repeat the entire process outlined above for the remaining quarters. When you reach Step 11 (Post Payroll) use the dates of the last calendar day for each quarter. E.g., 6/30, 9/30 and 12/31.

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