What's new with Open Systems TRAVERSE and OSAS from Maple Business Software Consulting, LLC, IN, Indiana

Each month or quarter you must report taxable, non-taxable, and sales tax for each state and or locality that you make sales in. Especially if you are selling within several different taxing authorities it can become a nightmare keeping up with what you have collected and what you must remit.

Did you realize your accounting software can keep up with all of this for you? System Manager, Tax Setup is where you define all the pieces you need to collect and record sales tax.

Tax Classes allow you to assign up to ten different categories. Examples of categories (or classes) would be Taxable, Non-Taxable, Enterprise Zone, Interstate Commerce, Governmental Entities, etc. Each one of these would correspond to a line on your sales tax reporting form. For example if a customer you are selling to is in an Enterprise Zone, then you would enter that tax class when entering an Accounts Receivable Invoice for that customer. This sale would be recorded in your sales tax reports and listed separately on the line for Enterprise Zone.

Tax Locations are generally set up to represent each state or reporting entity that you must report to. Tax locations also hold the Sales tax percent that applies to each Tax Class, as well as the Sales Tax General Ledger account numbers that apply to each. Tax Locations also assign a Tax Level to each of these Locations. The tax level defines whether this is a single tax (level 1) or part of a series of taxes (level 2-5). An example of a multi-level tax would be where there is a set STATE tax amount plus a COUNTY or a LOCAL tax percent added onto the State tax, depending on where the exchange of goods took place.

Tax Groups are set up to define what Tax Locations make up a particular tax group. In the example above a State Tax Group would be set up with the State Tax Level One and the Local tax amount set up as a level 2. When using this Tax Group both the state and the local tax will then be calculated for the Customer on each invoice.

You can select whether you want these multiple tax levels within a group to print on the invoice as a lump sum total (combined) or to list each of these tax levels separately on the invoice (separate).

You set up a default tax group within the customer master file but you have the ability to change tax class, and/or tax group on each invoice. At the end of the reporting period simply run the Tax Locations List Report to see all your taxable, non-taxable and tax amounts for each class, location and group. These figures tie back to your General Ledger.

Because this is a separate file from your Sales History when you make adjustments to taxability or taxes you MUST reverse out the incorrectly taxed invoice and re-enter it taxed correctly in order for this report to be accurate.

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CES—Why You Need It

CES is an acronym for Continued Enhancement Subscription. This entitles you to receive the software free from Open Systems, Inc. for all enhancements, updates, upgrades, new releases and any Payroll Federal and State Withholding compliance changes, as well as 1099 processing for the Miscellaneous form type and updates to the Fixed Assets Depreciation tables.

Your renewal does not follow a calendar year, but renews in the month of your original purchase, so it may or may not coincide with the actual release of a new version.

Your CES entitles you to log in to www.osas.com as an E-user. Once logged in you can download Year End Check lists and other educational documents as well as see upcoming events and road shows. You can also offer suggestions on changes to the software you would like to see.

The cost of keeping your software current is approximately 17% of the original cost of the software. Should your CES lapse the cost to get your software current again can be has high as 65% of the original cost.

Keeping your software current ensures that it will continue to function at it’s optimum as new operating system software releases are made.

From a training and support stand point there is less interruption to your daily procedures when software upgrades one version at a time. This gives your employees a chance to absorb small amounts of changes to each version, rather than a major, drastic change when you jump several versions.

Is it worth it to keep your software current? Only you can answer that, BUT, like any other major investment you make you SHOULD PROTECT IT!

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Product Suggestions

Almost each year Open Systems releases a new updated version of the software. Both OSAS and TRAVERSE have been written over the years from suggestions by people who use the software on a daily basis.

Is there something you wished the software did (or did not do)?. If so, there are probably others out there that wish the same thing.

By letting Open Systems know of features you would like to see and when others suggest these same features you can be pretty sure you will see them in a future release. It’s kind of like having the software customized to your specifications.

Product Suggestions are found on your tool bar above Traverse and can then be either printed and then faxed, or emailed directly to Open Systems if your email service has been set up within TRAVERSE.

You can also log onto EVAR and send your suggestions.

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General Ledger Audits and Statement Verification in OSAS

A new report found in Resource Manager, Company Setup will go through your Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, and Resource Manager applications looking at all General Ledger account numbers used in the setup of the application.

The report will list any missing or incorrect General Ledger account numbers used anywhere in the set up of the application. The report will list the File, the Record, Field Name, General Ledger Account used, and whether it is missing or not found in the General Ledger. With this information you can then go to the set up of the application and correct or include the proper General Ledger Account numbers.

In General Ledger, Management Reports the report ‘Financial Statement Verification’ can be run for one or all Content Files within your General Ledger. It will determine any missing General Ledger Account Numbers within a specific Content file or it will list any duplicate General Ledger Account numbers within a Content file.

The content files is what defines the General Ledger account numbers that appear on your financial statements.

Running this report periodically insures that your financial statements are correct and include all necessary account numbers and no duplications.

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Lookups in OSAS

Did you know that when you are in any Vendor, Customer, Employee, or Item field that you can lookup the proper ID by several methods. In text view when you select F2, or in the graphical mode when you select the lookup button a “sort” appears at the top. When you select the insert button you can then change the sort.

For example in Accounts Payable when you ‘lookup’ you can then press the ‘insert key’. Once selected the sorts that open up to you are Vendor Class, Distribution Code, Name and Priority Code. If you select the sort NAME then as you type in the name it will take you to the series of names that begin with what you are typing in.

When you are unsure of a particular ID you have several ways to look up this ID.

In Accounts Receivable you can lookup by Name, Phone, Sales Rep, State/City, Zip code and credit limit.

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Mid Year Verification of Taxable Wages in Payroll

To quickly verify that the taxable earnings for your W2 reporting are correct run the ‘Earnings and Deduction Register’ in summary form for Year to Date. Next run the Withholding Report year to date.

For FWH (Federal Wages) and SWH (State Wages) deduct any 401k, HSA, IRA, 125 Cafeteria plans, etc. This result will be your taxable FWH as found on the Withholding report.

For OAS and MED (Social Security and Medicare wages) deduct only HSA and 125 Cafeteria plans. This result should be your taxable OAS MED EOA and EME. Remember if you already have someone over the Social Security Limit of $106,800.00 you will also need to deduct the dollar amount they are above the limit.

Usually any local taxes are not excluded from any pre-tax deductions. With that said, the local wage taxability should normally be the same as your Gross Wages with out any deductions.

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Auditing Subsidiary Ledgers

Within the General Ledger application there is an ‘Inquiry’ as well as a ‘Report’ that will compare the Open Invoice Tables in Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable and the Inventory Valuation to the respective General Ledger account balances.

To look at the Inquiry go into General Ledger, Inquiry, Subsidiary Ledger Audit Inquiry. Select the Period and the Year you want to audit, click the ‘Refresh’ button and the balances of the General Ledger accounts are compared to the Subsidiary files and any differences listed.

To print this same information go to General Ledger, Management Reports, Subsidiary Ledger Audit Report. Enter the period and the month you want to compare and print the report that lists the balances of the Subsidiary Ledgers and compares them to the respective General Ledger account balances for the period requested.

Running the report or looking at the inquiry once a month will insure that your Subsidiary Ledgers are in balance with your General Ledger account balances.

If these do get out of balance begin by looking for source codes in the General Ledger Detail that are not specific to the application. For example you should only have source codes of AP in Accounts Payable and AR in Accounts Receivable. Any M1 source codes can get these ledgers out of balance.

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Maple Business Software Consulting LLC

59113 Timber Trail

Goshen, IN 46528

574-742-9241 - Office

574-312-8056 - Cell

574-975-2755 - Fax Number

email: rvandaele@maplebusinesssoftware.com

Visit our website at www.maplebusinesssoftware.com Phone: 574-312-8056