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User eNotes - May 2020

Presidents Comments

Rod Hatcher
As ALERE v16.0 moves forward in Development there are three major functions that are being added that may be advantageous to your company.

The first is integrating Shopify which will provide your company with an online shopping cart for your products. Sales from Shopify will flow into ALERE where the shipping and invoicing will be performed.

The second function is providing TaxJar links for handling sales tax on orders that for some companies can be time consuming because their sales are national. In addition, the tax tables in ALERE will be automatically maintained.

The third function is aimed at manufacturers. The feature, Job Cost, will address manufacturing products that require multiple work orders and purchase orders to complete. The final product will include the costs from those orders. ALERE will handle the management of the material planning and scheduling for those orders as part of the overall process.

 We expect to have v16.0 ready to release this year.

Shopify Is Coming!

Shopify Logo
E-commerce will become integrated with ALERE! The platform that has been chosen is Shopify, a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Mobility module will be used to upload items and their images to Shopify and maintain the quantities available online. Orders that are placed with Shopify will appear in ALERE.

Development is currently underway with the goal of having the integration complete for the next version of ALERE.

Login Life

The length of time that a password is valid can be set for each user in ALERE. This can be used for four purposes:

  • A company does not wish to force users to periodically change passwords
  • The company has a policy that requires passwords to be changed periodically.
  • To set a limit on the time a guest user has access to ALERE.
  • A user needs to reset a forgotten password.

Controlling the life of a password is done by going to File, selecting Maintenance, and then choosing Login Options. The following screen will be displayed.
Login Management Screen
All four password duration functions are controlled by the Life (Days) field circled in red. Leaving the field blank allows a user to keep the same password indefinitely.

Entering the number of days will require a user to periodically reset their password. The Expires field will automatically calculate the expiration date when entered.

The life of a password also permits control over how long a guest may access to the software.

Check the Reset to Blank box to clear the Life (Days) field and allow a user to reset their forgotten password the next time they start ALERE.

The Manager module has a general report called Logins which can be utilized to list users whose password is set to expire so they can be warned beforehand.

Account Transfers

When a company has more than one bank account there will often be a desire to transfer monies from one account to another. An example would be moving funds from a secondary checking account to the primary checking account. The Bank Transaction function under Bank Action in the Manager module provides an easy mechanism to do this.
Bank Transaction Screen
Start by entering the account from which the funds will be taken. Choose the Transfer (circled in red) radio button and enter a reference and an amount. The GL Journal Entry screen is displayed when the Post button is clicked.
GL Journal Entry Screen
Enter the account (circled in red) the funds are being transferred to and balance the amount. To complete the transfer select the Post button. The monies are immediately moved and a general ledger journal entry is made to record the transaction.

Unit of Measure Conversion

A unit of measure, or UOM as it is commonly known, is the unit in which the quantity of an item is measured. The UOM may be different for the same item when purchasing it, stocking it, and selling it. Therefore, there needs to be a way of automatically converting that unit of measure when going from one UOM to another.

The individual units of measure are first defined as global codes under the UOM code name. The U/M Conversion screen is then used to define the relationships between different units of measure.
Unit of Measure Conversion Screen
The screen is found in the Manager module by choosing Definition and selecting U/M Conversion. Only one side of the conversion requires entry as the other side is done for you. You may have as many U/M conversions as you may need.

Note for manufacturers. Ensure your stocking unit of measure in inventory is the UOM you use to define manufacturing quantities on a work order.

Technical Seminars - Your Source of Training

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TIW's next Technical Seminars in Easton, PA will be held in July.

The Manufacturing Seminar will be held July 20th and 21th.

The Accounting Seminar will be held July 22nd through July 24th.

Invest in yourself and keep your knowledge of ALERE up to date!

Make your reservations now at Technical Seminar Reservations or by calling Chris at 610-258-5161 x105. Current users on SMAs have certificates that entitle them to a free seat in a seminar.

Send employees to recurring training to educate them on how to use the new features in a just released version. Use it as comprehensive training for new additions to your staff to familiarize them with the capabilities of ALERE. Don't let that free seminar seat go to waste!
TIW Technology, Inc. | Phone: 610.258.5161 | Fax: 610.258.6217