The Data File Integrity Check (DFIC) and Archive File Integrity Check (AFIC) are important tools used to test data files for valid information and structure. The DFIC can be run from any Tabs3 and PracticeMaster program via Utilities | Data File Integrity Check, whereas the AFIC is run from Tabs3 Billing via Utilities | Archive Integrity Check.
If errors are found when the DFIC or AFIC is run, a report is available to preview or print out. The report provides information on the error(s), including the Error Code and where the error is located in the system (e.g., field, file, client, etc.). DFIC Error Codes can be found in Knowledge Base Article R11653, “Data File Integrity Check Errors,” and AFIC Error Codes can be found in Knowledge Base Article R10771, “Archive File Integrity Check Errors.” These articles provide links to information on what the error means, potential causes of the error, and how to resolve the error.
But when and how often should you run the DFIC and AFIC? We recommend running these checks at the following times:
- Before backups.
- During month-end procedures.
- When moving the data to a new server.
- When updating the software to a new version.
- If anything unusual occurs in the software, such as loss of network connectivity or loss of power, or when a fatal error occurs and after it is corrected.
It is very important that errors are taken care of right away. Ignoring errors in the data can compound into larger issues, making the original error more difficult to correct and in some cases not possible. Since some errors require restoring the data, ignoring these errors for long periods of time can lead to data loss, or the need to have your data repaired.
When was the last time you ran the DFIC or AFIC? You can easily see when each of these utilities has been run via the Support Log.
To use the Support Log to determine when a DFIC and/or AFIC have been run
- From the View menu, point to Log Files and select Support Log.
- Next to Features, select Specific.
- In the Select Features window, select Data File Integrity Check and/or Archive File Integrity Check (Tabs3 Billing only).
- Click OK.
- Click Print.
The DFIC and AFIC can be set up to run when opening the program or at a specific time using a startup option of “/DFIC” or “/AFIC”. Using a startup option in conjunction with a batch file can automate your DFIC and AFIC to run at any time, including after regular business hours. More information on startup options is available in the program’s Help using “startup options” for the Index keywords. Information on automating tasks can be found in Knowledge Base Article R11034, “Automating Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Maintenance Tasks.” Take the time now to verify how often your firm is running the Data and Archive File Integrity Checks so that you can implement any necessary procedural changes.
Help keep your data error free by running the DFIC and AFIC regularly.
It’s Friday the 13th and, true to the superstition surrounding the date, nothing is going right today. You keep working but are amassing a list of things gone wrong.
You ran this month’s bills, finalized, and ran the Update Statements program a couple of weeks ago. Your boss wants to see productivity figures, but when you run Productivity reports, you realize you forgot to advance the current reporting month! None of the most recent figures are correct.
- Starting with Version 18, all period-based reports in Tabs3 Billing are now date based, which means they can be run for previous months and no longer rely on advancing the current reporting month. The following reports can now be run for any period:
- Timekeeper Productivity Report
- Category Productivity Report
- Timekeeper Profitability Report
- Productivity Report by Category for each Timekeeper
- Productivity Report by Tcode for each Timekeeper
The temporary bookkeeper finalized last month’s reconciliation while you were away, but this month things don’t look right. You look a little closer and find a big mistake – the bookkeeper finalized without the reconciliation balancing! If you restore your data, you’ll lose a month’s worth of data. You’ll have to add manual journal entries to work around the temp’s errors.
- Starting with Version 18, reconciliations can be undone so that adjustments can more easily be made without restoring from a backup.
An attorney tells you to go ahead and split the fees and costs for a client. You run the utility, and ten minutes later he recants – the client just called to add an additional party to the split. This party needs to be added to the current bill, but the split’s already been made.
- Starting with Version 17, you can reverse the split billing process for individual clients (Maintenance | Transaction Related | Undo Split Billing). This allows you to easily reverse the split, make any necessary changes, and then split fees and costs again.
You just found out that your firm is getting audited, and you need financial information for the last several years. While opening each archived GLS Client to print out the necessary reports, you discover that there are a couple of years missing. This was before your time, but you’ll still need to talk to the boss and do the extra work.
- Starting with Version 17, you no longer have to archive clients and can store unlimited years of journal entries. This makes it easier to run the reports you need for internal purposes, or if you are audited. In addition, you no longer have to close the month or year in GLS, and you can use date restriction settings to ensure journal entries from prior periods cannot be edited.
You wake up, it’s still dark out, and your heart’s pounding. You look at the clock and it’s one in the morning. After some deep breaths, you lie down and close your eyes, falling back asleep almost effortlessly because you know you’re on the current version of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster, and you have every GLS Client archived back to inception, so these horror stories can’t happen to your firm. Besides, there isn’t even a Friday the 13th in October this year.
Older software versions are sometimes a ghost of what could be. Ensure you stay current and get all of the latest updates. For steps to download and install the latest version of the software, visit Knowledge Base Article R10154, “How to Download Files from Software Technology, Inc.’s Download Pages.”
Over the next few months, we will go through some of the best features of our new online newsletter format. This month, we’re going to talk about our newest feature – printing the full newsletter.
You can now print the current month’s full newsletter right from newsletter.Tabs3.com! Simply click the View / Print Full Newsletter link above the Feature Article to view the full newsletter,
and then click Print Full Newsletter.
You can also print the full newsletter for past months. Simply open the month you want to print via the Archive section, then follow the same links.
You can opt to print the full newsletter directly from the Print Preview page or you can save it as a PDF to view offline later.
Have an idea for a future newsletter article? Send us an e-mail at newsletter@tabs3.com!
When you need to refund or reverse credit card payments, you want to be able to do it with the least amount of hassle. Tabs3 Billing and Trust Accounting Software (TAS) are designed to automatically issue a ProPay refund or reversal when appropriate.
Knowledge Base Article R11708, “Credit Card Refund Best Practices,” provides information on how ProPay handles credit card reversals and provides processes for reversing, refunding, or deleting credit card payments or transactions in Tabs3 Billing and TAS.
Be sure to check out this article so that you are using the recommended methods to refund or reverse ProPay credit card payments.
Our Knowledge Base can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at support.Tabs3.com. You can also access our Knowledge Base while in the software by selecting Help | Internet Resources | Knowledge Base.
Did you know that you can drag files other than those generated via Tabs3 and PracticeMaster software into the DropBox? This can really come in handy when you are e-mailing multiple files of mixed origins to clients, co-workers, or other third parties; when you want to save related items together in a mutual location; and more.
Once all of the desired files are in DropBox, simply select the files and choose the desired option. If you want to e-mail a group of files in the DropBox, click the e-mail icon to attach all of the files to a new e-mail message. Alternatively, you can drag the icons into the new e-mail message. If you want to save all of the files to a mutual location, click the save icon; you will be prompted to save each file individually.
Note: Files that have been dragged into DropBox are not removed from their original location.
Do you know how to restore from an incremental backup? Make sure you are familiar with the process of restoring before you need to do it. Incremental backups work by backing up the full dataset, and then only backing up those files that have changed from then on. This means that if you need to restore, you cannot just restore to yesterday’s incremental backup because that is only one piece of the picture. The files in Tabs3 and PracticeMaster are all connected. If only some of the files are restored, then information is missing from other files and errors can occur in the software. Instead, if a restore is necessary, you must first restore the last full backup and then restore every incremental backup in order. For more information on how your backup system works, and if it is the right system for you, talk to your IT professional.
