Introduction
This topic will cover the use of a tool called Database Checkup Utility.
WARNING
This tool is usually used by our technical support specialists to detect and fix troubles with your company file. This tool should only be used by accounting professionals or others only at the direction of Total Office Manager’s technical support.
You should maintain good backups of your Total Office Manager data (company file). Be sure that you test your backup procedures and files to make sure the backup is actually good.
Form Access
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From the main menu, click Tools | Utilities. Select Database Checkup from the list.
Usage
The Database Checkup Utility will scan your company file looking for conditions that can cause you problems such as an out of balance condition, incorrect account balances, or erroneous data.
Database Checkup will often suggest a fix and perform the necessary procedures to make the fix. Other times, the fix will need to be made manually with the help of a qualified support professional.
Note: This tool is only available to users with the accounting or administrator permission.
Example Usage
Your general journal indicates that Total Office Manager is out of balance. You suspect you may have a transaction, like a check, that is causing the problem. The Database Checkup can locate any check with a total amount that is not equal to the sum of all of the items on it. These will be displayed on a list so that you can quickly open and fix them. You can rerun the Database Checkup Utility until all problems are solved.
Field & Button Definitions
- Scan (Drop-Down List) – Select which record set you wish to examine for problems.
- For example: If you suspect that you have a check that did not save properly or is out of balance, select Out Of Balance Transactions. See below for definitions of each record set.
- Scan (Button) – After selecting a record set from the Scan drop-down list, click the Scan button to initiate the scanning process.
- Select All / Unselect All – After a scan the output will be displayed in the results area of the form. The Select All/Deselect All buttons are used to check or un-check all of the checkboxes in the results area.
- Fix Selected – Depending on the situation, the Fix Selected button may be available. To use this functionality, first select the desired records from the results area of the form, then click the Fix Selected button.
Record Set Definitions
Follows are the available record sets available from the Scan drop-down list.
- Checks/Bills with Missing Dates – Searches for both checks and bills having missing date fields.
- Customers – Conducts a search through all of your contacts looking for problems.
- Find Orphaned Records – It is possible for a record to become disassociated with related records in a database. This is rare but it can happen to any program that uses a database. An example could be a customer that has a corrupted index. Total Office Manager may not show this customer on any list but it is still there; perhaps causing problems. This selection will locate orphaned records allowing you to delete them (that is the only way to deal with this problem).
- Invoices/Sales/Credits – Allows you to validation of the average cost on Invoice Items where changes in inventory impacted the inventory valuation for that date.
- Items – Searches all of your invoice items (like parts, sales tax items, etc.) looking for problems. These problems include incorrect account type selections. Example: You have selected a liability account when you should have selected an income account (a common problem).
- Missing GJ Entries – Searches for missing entries in the General Journal.
- Out of Balance PR Hours – Searches payroll for any out of balance timesheet hour entries.
- Out of Balance Refund Checks – Searches for refund checks having out of balance amounts.
- Out of Balance Serial Numbers – Reviews purchase transactions to make sure the number of serial numbers purchased matches the number of serial numbers entered
- Out of Balance Transactions – Sometimes records are saved that do not balance. Total Office Manager usually catches these problems and forces you to correct the condition, but it can still happen. An example may be a check with a total amount that is not equal to the sum of all of the items on it. If you suspect this or wish to check for this condition, select this option.
Results Grid Definitions
The output of a search will be displayed in the results area of the form. Columns of the grid are defined as follows:
- Name/Number – Depending on the scan run, this column will display either a name, the record number, or the database ID of the transaction. This could be the name of a vendor or customer or it could be a check number. It depends on the type of record. If you are running a scan which is analyzing the general journal (aka register), the number displayed will be the record’s primary table ID.
- Type – This is the type of record. Example: Check, vendor, customer, journal entry, etc.
- Problem – Total Office Manager displays the problem with the record here.
- Suggested Fix – Whenever possible, a fix will be suggested.
Step-By-Step
- In the Scan drop-down list, select one record set in which to scan.
- Click the Scan button to begin.
- Note: No changes will be made your data from the scan process alone.
- If problems are detected, they will be listed in the results grid area. Check the checkbox for each problem you wish to fix. Sometimes the program will offer to fix the problem. Other times you may only receive suggestions on what you can do to remedy the problem.
- Click the Fix button if available.
- Repeat as needed.
Tips
- This tool should be used prior closing the books for any month or year. It should also be use anytime a problem is suspected by a knowledgeable Total Office Manager user.
- If this tool is not available in the menu, you probably don’t have permissions to use it. Please see your company’s own Total Office Manager administrator for help.
