KB Category: AccountsMate

The Issue

AccountsMate uses ODBC to link to Sage 50 companies. A company record is held in the AccountsMate configuration for the organisation for each company connection and contains the ODBC connection. This works fine when the data is stored on the same area on one machine even if that is shared across a local area network because we can use the same path or UNC path to reference the data path in the ODBC connection string for that company.

However, if the Sage Remote Data Access (RDA) is used to allow remote users to access the Sage data this can cause an issue. Because, by default when you set up an RDA connection to a company, Sage takes the next available data folder (by number e.g. C:\ProgramData\Sage\Accounts\2022\Company.004). This may not be (and is unlikely) the same on each PC that has access to the RDA data. So AccountsMate can not have one consistent company connection record in its configuration.

To get over this there are a number of methods:

1. Create the same path on each pc for the RDA company. There is an option to override the folder name used in RDA when you set it up. Create one that indicates the name of the company so that the folder is the same on each RDA pc. This takes extra setup in RDA and may not be feasible if companies are already set up.
2. Create a company connection record in the AccountsMate configuration for each pc connection to each company. This can be confusing as there will be multiple company records in AccountsMate and the user will need to use the correct one for their pc.
3. Create “symbolic links” in Windows to the company data paths.

The first two methods above can be done following the relevant documentation for Sage RDA or AccountsMate and as they have issues as outlined in italics we will not be covering them further here but will focus on option 3 which is the recommended method and should work in all  cases.

Solution – Create Symbolic Links in Windows

This method uses Windows symbolic links to create a symbolic folder name linked to the company data folder on the pc. The symbolic link  name and path should be the same on each pc and point to the company data path on that pc (which maybe different on each pc).

To do this,

On each PC:

1. Go to a common area on the pc e.g C:\ProgramData\Sage\Accounts (i.e. the Sage 50 root data folder)
2. At a Command Prompt (ran as administrator), create a symbolic link (e.g. SageLocalDemoData below) to the company data path required (e.g. \ProgramData\Sage\Accounts\2022\DemoData\ACCDATA below) – sample command below:
   mklink /d SageLocalDemoData \ProgramData\Sage\Accounts\2022\DemoData\ACCDATA

In AccountsMate Configuration – Company Maintenance add the symbolic link to the Connection. e.g.

If AccountsMate displays this error at start up.

it normally indicates that the Pc name may have changed since installing AccountsMate or some of the AccountsMate files have been copied from another machine.

To resolve this either

• rename the Pc back to its original name
• OR reapply the license. – from “Windows Button – AccountsMate – Installation String” – enter the correct license string and click ok.

AcocountsMate allowed exporting Sage 50 to Excel (and other sources) from its original design, but the Excel Integration feature is the next step which allows combining Sage 50 data with Excel features (e.g. formatting, formulae, macros, etc.).

Using this, users can create customised Excel reports from live Sage 50 data.

The video link below demonstrates creating a customised Profit and Loss report with live Sage 50 and Excel functionality.

The following user guide will get you started using AccountsMate  and provide a reference to help you use all of its features.

AccountsMate User Guide

The link below is to a brief tutorial video which shows you the main features of AccountsMate.

AccountsMate Tutorial Video

Introduction

A new version of AccountsMate (Pimbrook’s enhanced Sage 50 enquiry tool) has been released and provides the following features:

1. New transaction line enquiries.
2. Cost at time of sale.
3. New fields in Supplier and Customer transaction enquires.
4. Use of custom field labels.
5. Support for latest versions of Sage 50 (up to v29).
6. Test company connections.
7. Performance improvements and fixes.

AccountsMate is available free of charge to our clients as part of our Sage 50 support service. For more details, including a demonstration video, see this link -> AccountsMate For Sage 50 Overview

Details

Updating

Once the new version of AccountsMate is available it will be downloaded automatically the next time a user opens the application,  just accept all questions and the software update will be installed (note, you will have to be connected to the internet and have administrator permissions for the PC).

Versions

To confirm that you are using the new software, check the versions under Help – About, they should be as follows.

• AccountsMate Console 2.2.0
• AccountsMate Plugin 2.2.0

Feature Details

1. New Transaction Line Enquiries

New Sales/Purchase Order and Invoice Line Enquires have been provided. This allows users to enquire from the line detail perspective making information like customer and product sales/purchases much easier to get.

2. Cost at Time of Sale

The cost at the time of a sale has been added. This is not currently available in standard Sage 50 and so allows AccountsMate users to report more accurate cost of sales and profit figures. The application uses the product audit transaction list in Sage 50 to find the nearest cost price to the date of the sale for a product.

3. New Fields in Supplier and Customer Transaction Enquiries

The following fields have been added to the Supplier and Customer Transaction Enquiries.

• Extra Reference
• Nominal Account
• Department

Also the Line Type (i.e. Stock/Service) have been added to Sales/Purchase Order, Invoice & Analysis Enquiries.

4. Custom Field Labels

AccountsMate will now display the Custom Field Labels from Sage 50 (e.g. for Customer/Supplier Analysis Codes & Address Lines and Product Categories). This will make enquiries more readable.

5. Support for Latest Versions of Sage 50 (up to v29)

The latest versions of Sage 50 are now fully supported.

Support for Sage 50 v27 including the following new fields

• EORI Number & INCO Terms – On Customers/Suppliers
• OSS Country of VAT & OSS Reporting Type – On Sales Order and Invoices

Support for Sage 50 v28 including the following new fields

• Is CIS Transaction – On Customers/Suppliers
• Attachment Added – On Customer/Supplier Transactions

Support for Sage 50 v29 including the following new fields

• Delivery Address EORI Number – On Sales/Purchase Orders
• Analysis 4–6 – On Customers/Suppliers
• E Mail 4-6 – On Customers/Suppliers
• ORI Number – On Sales/Purchases
• Company Reg No – On Customers/Suppliers

6. Test Company Connection

When changing companies the application will now allow users to test the connection to the new company before trying to load data. This allows quicker confirmation of the connection to the new company.

7. Performance Enhancements and Fixes.

Improved Refreshing of Data across all enquiries. This is done by loading the data in batches and shows the progress of the refresh. It also allows the user to cancel. The total records are displayed when a refresh is complete.

The following fixes have been included in this release.

a. Correct the error when displaying Product details from another enquiry.

b. Load Customer details when called from the Quote Enquiry.

c. Show the correct related data (e.g. customer communications, etc.) when clicking on the first row of an enquiry.

d. Sales Invoice Enquiry – show the lines of a sales invoice when only one invoice is loaded. Also show the invoice number first and sort by this in the default layout.

e. Remove the error when an extra Product field is added to the Order & Quote Enquiry.

This error (“can’t find file”) can occur when applying a new update in AccountsMate. From our investigation this seems to be a permission issue related to the security set up of Windows on the computer.

To get around this, you need to run the AccountsMate executable program directly from the installation folder instead of a shortcut (i.e. from the desktop or task bar). You can do this as follows.

1. Locate the correct folder in Windows File Explorer this is normally “C:\Program Files (x86)\PTServices\AccountsMate”.
2. Click on the application executable file AccountsMate.exe (it maybe just displayed as AccountsMate) – see below
   
3. This will run the AccountsMate program with the correct full permissions to apply the update.
4. Follow the instructions to apply the update.
5. Once the update is applied AccountsMate will close, from that point on you can run AccountsMate as normal (i.e. form the desktop or task bar shortcuts, etc.).

There may be issues downloading the AccountsMate installation, these are normally due to browser or computer security settings.

The following may help:

Microsoft Edge Browser

The download may be blocked as shown below

To release this, click on the 3 dots (…) and select “Keep” and continue as instructed.

Chrome Browser

Chrome often will not even prompt you about a blocked file. It just seems to do nothing. In this case, try clicking on the 4 dots in the chrome bar to bring up the menu and select “Downloads”

This should show the AccountsMate blocked download, click this and the “Windows Protected your PC” screen should appear.

Other Issues

If you have further problems, try using a different browser. you can copy and paste the download link.

If you can, try disabling your firewall and/or any anti-virus temporarily which may be blocking the download.

Finally, consult with your IT provider and ask them to allow the download.