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Mobile II

How to Setup Mobile Device Tracking

Setup Mobile Devices for Tracking

You can track the mobile device the employees are carrying. This is done through the Aptora Mobile II® or the Geo Time Tracker™ app. The map communicates with the app to determine its location and then displays that location on the map. The map is updated every two minutes or by your preference. All tracking data is stored inside the Total Office Manager database. This solution provides simple and very inexpensive tracking.

Prerequisites for the Customer

  1. Own Total Office Manager and Aptora Mobile II along with an active support plan.
  2. Aptora Mobile II  is installed, operational, and updated.
  3. Own the Schedule Board Mapping System (SBMS). This is the map feature built into the schedule board.
  4. You need a GPS Tracking license for each asset you wish to track. These are purchased through Aptora. Please speak to your account manager for more information. This is separate from your Aptora Mobile II user licenses.

Enter the Mobile Devices as Assets

You need to tell Total Office Manager what devices it needs to look for and track. Please make sure all assets in Total Office Manager have the required information. The process is the same for setting up a phone or tablet.

  1. Enter an asset for each mobile device (phone or tablet) that you wish to track. You can use an existing asset, if you have already entered one.
  2. From the Asset Type list, select Cellular Device Asset.
  3. Enter the Aptora Mobile II App Device ID. Here is where to get that information: Get the mobile device and open the Aptora Mobile II app. From within Aptora Mobile II, click More > Help > About Aptora Mobile. See “Device Id:”
  4. From your mobile device, be sure Location Tracking is turned on. This is a device setting. It is usually found in Device Settings. Look for “Location” or “App Location Permissions”. You should also turn on “Use Precise Location Sharing”. These terms vary by phone and OS.
  5. The MEID/IMEI is not needed. It is for informational purposes only (to help users identify the device).
  6. From the Assign Asset to Employee list, select the employee who carries the device.
  7. From the Additional Info tab, check the Track on Schedule Board Map checkbox.
  8. Click the OK button to save and close the form.
  9. Please repeat this process until all of your devices have been entered as assets.

Accessing GPS Tracking Information

Schedule Board Map

You should now be able to see the location of the device on your Schedule Board Map. Be sure your devices allow tracking (often called Location Tracking). It is easy for users to turn off tracking, especially if they own the device. Nothing else needs to be done to Aptora Mobile II.

GEO Tracking/GPS Information

In addition to using your schedule board map, we offer you the ability to access a complete set of GPS tracking records. This information is stored in your database.

  1. In Total Office Manager, click Reports | Custom Data Views. This will open a CDV form. From the main menu at the top, click Data Views and select GPS Tracking List. You can print preview, export, or build custom reports using the data.
  2. In Aptora Mobile II, click More | Lists | GPS Tracking List. A list should open with your tracking information. This list is grouped by source (e.g.: Android, Apple, Verizon).
  3. You can expand on the Source column to see all the activity from that source.
  4. The Contact Information will display specific names and locations of the GPS coordinates (when available).
  5. You can click a button that will open a map) depending on your mobile device) and display that location on that map.

Note: We have no control over what map is opened and how those results are displayed. That operation is performed by the mobile device.

Mapping and GPS Tips

  1. All of these tracking options must be purchased. Your account manager will need to enter the correct information on their side for the system to operate. You will need to enter certain registration information that is covered in this article.
  2. You will need one tracking license per device you wish to track. These licenses are different from your Aptora Mobile II user licenses.
  3. You can set the refresh rate of your Total Office Manager map from two to ten minutes. We recommend no quicker than every five minutes. Each refresh freezes the schedule board for a moment.
  4. The device will not report its position if it has not moved a certain distance. That distance can vary by phone model and OS.

Related Topics

Troubleshooting GPS Issues – Aptora Mobile II

Troubleshooting GPS and Mapping Issues

How to Troubleshoot GPS Tracking Issues

The following steps should be followed if you are having trouble displaying your mobile devices or vehicles on the schedule board’s map.

This help topic does not include Verizon troubleshooting steps. That link is below.

GPS Troubleshooting Step by Step Guide

First Step: It is important to know if all of your assets are having this problem or just some of them. If just some of them, look for differences in the setup and hardware for the working and non-working devices. You should also check to see if GPS data is being saved to the GPS Tracking Data list. Check Location Tracking settings. These things are covered in more detail covered below.

  1. Does the Aptora software receive GPS information? Check Total Office Manager and Aptora Mobile II’s GPS Tracking Lists to see if data is being received. Aptora Mobile II has a GPS Data List. In Total Office Manager, there is a Custom Data View for GPS data. Pay attention to any devices that are working versus those that are not.
  2. The Aptora Mobile II app must be running for this system to operate. Verify that the app is running on the phone or tablet.
  3. Is Location Sharing turned off? Keep in mind that many mobile devices can and will block GPS (location) data from being shared. A user might get a message informing the user that their device is being tracked. The user can turn this off. There may not be anything that Aptora can do about that.
  4. Location Tracking must be set to “Always Track this Device” and not to “Track this Device Only When in Use”. Depending on your device, the operation of these options might be a little different.
  5. Check to make sure that each mobile phone or tablet has been entered as an asset in Total Office Manager. Double check to make that the “App Id” has been entered correctly. If you uninstall the app from a mobile phone or tablet, you will have the option of deleting the app only or the app and its data. If you delete the data, the App Id will be different when you reinstall it and you will need to update the App Id in Total Office Manager.
  6. Apple specifically needs to have Location Tracking on (of course). Important: It MUST be set to “Always”. The “Precision Location” needs to be turned on.
  7. Android needs to have “Location Tracking On”, and the app must be set to “Allow All the Time”. The “Use Precise Location Sharing” option needs to be turned on.
  8. Check to make sure that the Devices button is depressed on the map’s toolbar. That button toggles tracking on and off. This only affects how you see devices on your schedule board map. It has no effect on whether or not the devices are being tracked.
  9. Do you have enough licenses? The Aptora GPS Tracking license count must be equal to or greater than the number of assets with this option checked. For example, if you setup ten assets to track and you have five actual tracking licenses from Aptora, your map will display only five assets. Check to see how many assets have the “Track on Schedule Board Map” option checked and compare that to how many licenses you have purchased. Your Aptora Account Manager can tell you how many you own.
  10. You should make sure you are on the latest version of Total Office Manager and Aptora Mobile II. If that is not practical, check the Release Notes to see if there have been any related fixes or updates.
  11. If the problem is related to tracking a mobile device, please check to see if there are any updates available for that mobile device. This often resolves the issue.

Advanced Info for Aptora Support

Initial Steps and Questions

  1. Have they entered and activated the assets correctly?
  2. Does the number of assets match their number of tracking licenses?
  3. Is the problem with Verizon, AMII app, or both?
  4. Do any of the units show up on the map (some or none)?
  5. If some, are they always the same ones that show and do not show?
  6. If some, do they have anything in common such as OS or device brand/model? If yes, gather that information.
  7. Is there GPS data in the database for the devices that do not show on the map?

These steps can only be followed by an Aptora Support Agent.

  1. Double check the Advanced Troubleshooting Steps first.
  2. Check to make sure that the client’s Equipment and Service Agreements have been entered and are correct in Aptora’s Company File.
  3. Check the client’s license count. To avoid problems or confusion, be sure they have not setup more Assets than they have licenses.
  4. The Istruck field in the database should be set to 1.
  5. The TrackonSB field in the database should be set to 1.
  6. For Apple Issues: Apple specifically needs to have Location Tracking on (of course). However, it MUST be set to “Always Allow” and the “Precision Location” needs to be turned off. Note: The Always Allow is not common for most apple users but we do not always track even with that setting set. We only track when the app is opened. Our app does not work properly if that Apple setting is set to “Only While Using”.

Technical Information on GPS

The following information is technical and meant for those with a desire or a need to know more about how the system works.

  1. When the credentials are entered into the SBMS, they are saved to the database. At this time, we don’t attempt to validate those credentials.

GPS and GPS Tracking Related Topics

Troubleshooting Steps for Verizon

More About the GPS Data Retrieved

Tips For Locating Tasks and Items in the Field Service Mobile App

Field Service App Search Tips

Having trouble finding things while in a work order or invoice using the field service mobile app?

  1. Be sure users know they can search descriptions. Have them think about unique strings that would only be found in the task or item they are looking for. The following string might help you locate a motor replacement task and avoid all the single capacitors. Example: “and 7.5MFD”.
  2. Your item/task description is more important than the item/task number. Take time to enter good descriptions.
  3. Be consistent with your naming and description conventions. Example: 1/3HP or 1/3 HP. 1075RPM or 1075 RPM. 7.5 MFD or 7.5MFD. You can do either, but always do it the same way.
  4. Understand the difference between searching with “Like/Contains”, “Exact Match”, “Starts With”, and “Ends With”.
  5. Turn off the mobile device preference that auto adds a space after a word. When people add a search word, we have seen the device add a space to the end of the term. The space is considered to be part of the search term. That can cause the user to think the search is not working. You might wish to turn off auto correct too. These preferences are NOT part of Aptora Mobile II. They are preferences in your device.

Defining Four Levels of Software Assistance

Software Help and Assistance Comes in Four Levels

Aptora puts a lot of resources into training its employees on its products. There are basically four levels of software knowledge. We want to share these levels with you. We believe it will be helpful to know what to expect from the people you are speaking with at Aptora.

Account Managers

Account Managers typically have four-year college degrees or higher. They typically do not come from a bookkeeping, accounting, or business background. They have good written and verbal communication skills. They have good knowledge of the various features found in our software programs. They can show people how the features generally work. They answer questions like “can the software do. . .”. Account Managers are very comfortable giving public presentations. They receive at least one hour of organized product training each week. They are not qualified to be bookkeepers, accountants, teachers, or consultants. They do not necessarily have extensive knowledge of bookkeeping procedures or understand mid-level accounting concepts.

Software Technical Support Agents

Most of our have college degrees. Many have worked in the field of bookkeeping. They have gone through no less than 240 hours of training before taking support issues. They receive at least one hour of organized training each week and attend Aptora University annually. Technical Support Agents often have areas of specialization. For example, they may know one software program far better than others, or an agent may have specialized knowledge regarding payroll, flat rate pricing, and performance-based compensation. Technical Support Agents have the knowledge to explain the basic purpose of each form and all the controls on that form. They can explain the fundamental purpose of each report and generally where the information is coming from.  They can provide documentation and help users understand that documentation.

Technical Support Agents do not necessarily understand business processes found in real-world situations. They cannot address questions that would be best answered by an IT professional, accountant, or business consultant. A Technical Support Agent can tell you how to create a new Chart of Account.  They cannot advise you on if you should create a COA, what to call it, or what type of account to use. Please see this article for more information: https://www.aptora.com/tips/scope-of-technical-support/

Software System Trainers

A trainer is a top-level Technical Support Agent with knowledge of bookkeeping best practices and basic accounting. Trainers are considered “Full-Charge Bookkeepers”. They typically have several areas of software specialization. Trainers can deliver effective public presentations.

They are not able to answer questions that would be best answered by an IT professional, business consultant, or accountant. Trainers don’t address questions that are specific to how the software could be used for a user’s particular business processes. Trainers teach software and bookkeeping fundamentals of the software and the students use that information to determine how they will use the software for their way of doing business. Trainers provide the same type of teaching that you might expect from a college level professor.

Software and Business Consultants

They have advanced support and teaching capabilities. They can deliver individual and group presentations at the highest level. They have the communications skills, knowledge, and assertiveness to act as a business coach or consultant. Consultants have good knowledge of how contracting businesses are managed. They understand bookkeeping best practices as well as basic accounting. Consultants can work through a client’s businesses processes and create specific procedures for using Aptora’s software. Consultants can help users with advanced software setup and financial controls. Consultants can resolve data issues and complex problems. They can identify software features and abilities that need to be added or modified and discuss those options with the client.

Consultants do not have every answer, but they are capable of getting any answer.

Related Software Support Topics

Scope of Software Technical Support

Scope of Software Technical Support

What Software Technical Support Agents Can and Cannot Do

If you have a question about the way Total Office Manager™  works, the best way to get an accurate and immediate answer is to consult the online help system (what you are in right now), and other areas of our website. Please also check our YouTube channel here.

Maybe 95% of all the technical support questions that we answer are answered in the on-line Help system.

The Scope of Technical Support

Technical support agents address questions related to what features are available, where to find those features, and what those features were designed to do. They are not trained to offer business or accounting advice. For example, a support agent can tell you how to create a new Chart of Account.  They cannot advise you on if you should create a COA, what to call it, or what type of account to use.

Technical support cannot address questions for or help you with, software that Aptora does not sell. For example, we cannot help you setup your email in Outlook or Google Mail. We cannot help you import into MS Excel. We cannot help you fix problems related to your network or internet access.

Technical Support avoids addressing questions that would be best answered by an IT professional, accountant, or business consultant. Aptora can recommend an IT company if you do not have one that you are comfortable with.

Consulting and Training

Aptora’s training department will provide detailed answers to questions normally addressed by accountants and business consultants. We offer onetime services as well as ongoing consultation. We also offer onsite consulting that provides in-depth, hands-on help, that is specific to your company’s situation.

Accounting Bookkeeping Firm Recommendation

Aptora can recommend a great accounting firm called RA Tax and Accounting. Aptora’s president, James Leichter, is part of that accounting firm. They provide regular bookkeeping, accounting, tax preparation, and advanced Total Office Manager consulting. RA Tax and Accounting are the small business experts specializing in the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and related industries.

Aptora Pros

Be be sure to join and participate in our Facebook Group called Aptora Pros.

Participants share ideas, ask questions, and toss around ideas. Aptora actively participates in this group and we would love to see you there.

Related Software Support Topics

In addition to software support, Aptora offers training and consulting. Please see this topic for more information.

This topic explains the levels of support offered by the various departments at Aptora.

 

Definition of a Software “Bug”

Introduction

A software defect (bug) is an error or flaw or condition where the program is not doing what it was designed to do. A bug does not include a difference of opinion or the absence of a feature or capability.

Examples

  • A bug might be an error screen. In Total Office Manager this is usually a form with a predominantly yellow background.
  • A bug may also be a mathematical error on a report or a form.
  • A typographical error or formatting issue can be considered a bug.

A Bug is Not

A bug does not include a difference of opinion on how the software should work beyond Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) compliancy. A bug is not the absence of a feature or capability.

Aptora’s Software Feature Request System

Introduction

Aptora’s Feature Request system allows our users to author, comment, and vote on software ideas. It is a great way to make sure your opinions are heard. It is also a great way to make sure that your ideas are documented and organized so that Aptora can give your answers on your requests.

General Capabilities

Submissions can only be made by registered users. When an idea is submitted, it is not yet public. Aptora approves them and they are then posted (public). This is done several times per day.

Ideas can be voted on and commented on by any registered website user. Aptora employees often comment and ask questions; including our president James Leichter. This system is actively monitored by Aptora.

Users can add one feature request per day. The idea is to try and get users to think about what is most important to them. They can vote up to eight times per day. Users can vote on their own ideas and the ideas of other coworkers. They can only vote once per idea.

When a feature request receives fifteen votes from other users, it will be considered for action. If we accept the feature, it will be scheduled. Users will be notified of progress. Even if a feature request receives fifteen votes, we may reject that request. After a certain period of time, Aptora will mark requests that have not received enough votes to be considered as Rejected. We will add comments as to why we made that decision.

We have a help topic that explains what makes a great feature idea.

Offers to Contribute Money

There is a “Go Fund Me” type of system. Users may offer to make a monetary contribution to the feature request. When submitting an idea, you can offer a contribution. You may offer to contribute to other ideas as well. Two or more contributions can be offered by the same user for the same feature request. Users will be able to see a running total and the names of those who have made a pledge.

There is no obligation to offer a contribution or to make the contribution once the feature is decided on. If Aptora wishes to except the paid programming job, we will contact each person that offered and ask them if they still wish to go through with the offer.

If enough money is pledged, Aptora may elect to do custom programming. This work could become available for all users. It may be offered for free or for an extra fee. The idea behind this system is to allow users to join together and raise money to have software work performed that would otherwise not get done or not be considered a priority.

Notifications

Notifications go out for the following events:

  1. Admin gets an email when a feature request is entered. I can add other Aptora employees.
  2. Admin receives notifications when an idea is ready for review. I can add other Aptora employees.
  3. Author of a feature request is notified when their idea is approved to be posted (we approve the idea before it is posted for consideration)
  4. Author notification when idea is created and under review
  5. Author notification when idea is published after being under review
  6. Author notification when status changed to review
  7. Author notification when a comment is made
  8. Author notification when status changed to approved
  9. Author notification when status changed to declined
  10. Author notification when status changed to in progress
  11. Author notification when status changed to completed
  12. Author notification when status changed to duplicate (we might merge duplicated ideas)
  13. Author notification when someone votes on their idea
  14. Voter notification when status changed to review
  15. Voter notification when status changed to approved
  16. Voter notification when status changed to declined
  17. Voter notification when status changed to in progress
  18. Voter notification when status changed to completed

Future Work

We may add a notification to all users when a feature request is added. We don’t have that now.

 

What Makes a Great Feature Request

We Want Your Great Software Ideas

So you have a great idea on how to improve our software. Well, we’d like to hear about it. We don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm, but before you send us your idea, there are a few things that we would like to tell you with regard to what makes a great software feature request.

A great feature has the following things in common. The bottom line is that we tend to add the features that have the most appeal for the least amount of effort. AKA: The most bang for the buck.

  1. The feature would benefit the vast majority of our users.
  2. Your request should be extremely clear and well written. Include examples that help get the point across. Explain how this feature will provide benefit to other companies. No offense meant but we don’t have time to call and ask people to clarify what they meant.
  3. This feature should be fairly easy to use and understand for the end-user.
  4. This new feature would not create a lot of confusion or problems for those who do not need it or want it.
  5. It will not alter the way others are already happily doing their jobs.
  6. Not everyone may like your approach to the problem. So this new feature must not cause a backlash from other users who think your idea was poorly designed.
  7. The work needs to be fairly simple and straight forward for us to consider it.

Submit your feature request here. Don’t forget, you can always consider paid custom software programming.

The Five Question Assessment

Here is How Aptora Grades a Feature Request

On a scale of 1 through 5, with 1 meaning “No. Not at All“, 3 meaning “Maybe or For the Most Part“, and 5 meaning “Yes. Absolutely for Certain“, rate the feature request using the following five questions:

  1. This feature will greatly benefit and appeal to the vast majority of software users. Score ________ x 2.5 = ________
  2. This feature will offer a lot of great benefits for not a lot of programming labor hours. Score ________ x 2.25 = ________
  3. This feature will make Aptora’s sales demonstrations more powerful and increase buying urgency. Score ________ x 1.5 = ________
  4. This feature will be very easy to use and will not increase Aptora’s technical support burden. Score ________ x 1.25 = ________
  5. This feature will not interfere with users that do not wish to use it. Score ________ x 1.0 = ________

Total Points: ________ x 2.5 = Final Score: ________

How We Select a Feature

Several Aptora employees carefully consider these questions and score each feature request. We place a large emphasis on broad appeal and a lot of benefits for not a lot of labor hours and expenses. We want a feature that when people see it, they instantly see the value and say “Wow. That’s awesome. We would be absolutely nuts to try and manage our company without that feature”.

A score of 92 or higher has a great chance of being accepted.

How to Write Your Feature Request

Here is the easiest way to write a good feature request. Simply answer three questions in the form of a single concise paragraph. We will ask for details if needed.

  1. I am a _____________________________.
  2. I would like to be able to ______________________________________________________________________________________.
  3. This is because ____________________________________________________________________.

Example

I am a dispatcher. I would like to be able to see work orders that have not been completed because we are waiting on parts. This is because ordering, receiving, and distributing special order parts is essential to completing service calls, and hard to keep track of.

 

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

― Steve Jobs

Database Configuration, Maintenance, Optimization, and Backups Tips

Introduction to Database Maintenance and Optimization

IMPORTANT: Your database may not be getting backed up. If you are not on Aptora’s hosting plan, please read this important help topic.

Your Total Office Manager (and related software such as Aptora Mobile II) company information is stored in a Microsoft(r) SQL Server(r) file. That file needs regular maintenance and backups. Improper database maintenance is the leading cause of slow software performance and stability problems.

This article is meant for IT professionals familiar with MS SQL Server. It explains what database maintenance is and why it is important. We cover the basics of database backups and offer some database configuration tips.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Aptora takes care of this for all hosted (cloud) users. If you are hosted (on the Aptora cloud), you do not to read any further.

Summary of Steps

  1. Users need to setup a backup system within SQL Server. It is not sufficient to just backup the computer. If that is all you do, the company file (database) will NOT be backed up. If the hard drive fails, the company information is gone forever.
  2. They must back up Document Link related files.
  3. SQL Server must be carefully setup. There are a lot of options, settings, and preferences. Getting them wrong means slow performance or worse. Most companies and IT people get them wrong.
  4. They must also setup SQL Server so that it will run maintenance on the database including  Reorganize index pages, rebuild indexes, update statistics on the indexes, shrink data and log files by removing empty pages, backup database and transaction log, perform internal consistency checks, and cleanup tasks.
  5. They must also carefully update MS SQL Server for speed, security, and stability reasons.

We take care of all of this for our cloud users. Read no more. :)

Tables, Queries, Indexes, and Keys

Your Total Office Manager data is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server Database. That database includes tables. Tables look a lot like worksheets in MS Excel. This is where the bulk of your database is stored.

When Aptora software needs information, it runs a query. A database query is a request for data from a database. Many times, the request is to retrieve data; however, data can also be manipulated using queries.

In order to make queries faster, databases include indexes. Inside indexes are Keys. Keys might be thought of as a “card catalog” or a set of bookmarks.

A database index allows a query to efficiently retrieve data from a database. Indexes are related to specific tables and consist of one or more keys. A table can have more than one index built from it. The keys are a fancy term for the values we want to look up in the index. The keys are based on the tables’ columns.

We Must Maintain Indexes

The performance of your indexes, and therefore your database queries, will degrade as you indexes become fragmented. The Rebuild Index task does a very good job of rebuilding indexes to remove logical fragmentation and empty space, and updating statistics. As such, it is very important that you schedule this task to run regularly.

On the other hand, the Rebuild Index task is a resource-intensive task. In addition, as an index is being rebuilt, locks will be placed on the index, preventing anyone from accessing it while the rebuilding occurs. Any queries trying to access this index in order to return the required results will be temporarily blocked until the rebuild is complete. As such, the Rebuild Index task is considered an offline activity, to be run when as few people as possible are accessing a database. In general, this means during a scheduled maintenance window.

Run Database Maintenance button

This process will rebuild and reorganize the indexes in your database. We provide a manual method for your convenience.

This process should be done automatically using a system that your IT person sets up with SQL Server Management Studio. You should also be performing a backup of your Total Office Manager database.

Backup Your SQL Server Database

This important topic should be discussed with your IT person.

We generally recommend that you use the Simple Recovery Model. This is done inside Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. Backing up your server is NOT enough. You must create a backup file of your company database for your backup system to have something to back up.

SQL Server Simple Recovery Model

Source: https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertutorial/4/sql-server-simple-recovery-model/

Explanation

The “Simple” recovery model is the most basic recovery model for SQL Server. Every transaction is still written to the transaction log, but once the transaction is complete and the data has been written to the data file the space that was used in the transaction log file is now re-usable by new transactions. Since this space is reused there is not the ability to do a point in time recovery, therefore the most recent restore point will either be the complete backup or the latest differential backup that was completed. Also, since the space in the transaction log can be reused, the transaction log will not grow forever as was mentioned in the “Full” recovery model.

Here are some reasons why you may choose this recovery model:

  1. Your data is not critical and can easily be recreated
  2. The database is only used for test or development
  3. Data is static and does not change
  4. Losing any or all transactions since the last backup is not a problem
  5. Data is derived and can easily be recreated

Type of backups you can run when the data is in the “Simple” recovery model:

  1. Complete backups
  2. Differential backups
  3. File and/or Filegroup backups
  4. Partial backups
  5. Copy-Only backups

MS SQL Server Editions and Versions

There are several editions available. Most of our users will be able to use the free version called SQL Server Express. You should use version 2016. It is possible that version 2008 R2 will work but we do not guarantee it. We test using SQL Server 2016 and this edition is much faster than all previous editions.

Microsoft offers SQL Server Standard and Professional editions. The Standard edition is not free and will be required for database files that exceed 10GB. We recommend that you consider the Standard edition when your database file reaches 4GB. That extra margin will allow the Transaction Log file to grow during the day.

Compatibility Level

The compatibility level is associated with each database. It allows the behavior of the database to be compatible with the specific version of SQL Server it is running on.

Have you IT professional check your SQL Server Database Compatibility Level to make sure that it matches your SQL Server Version. This step is very important for speed and stability. It is also critical for Aptora’s software updates to properly update your company database. Aptora takes care of this for all hosted (cloud) users.

SQL Server Version and Native Compatibility Level
SQL Server 7.0 = 70 (Not Compatible)
SQL Server 2000 = 80 (Not Compatible)
SQL Server 2005 = 90 (Not Compatible)
SQL Server 2008 and R2 = 100 (Not Compatible)
SQL Server 2012 = 110 (Not Recommended)
SQL Server 2014 = 120 (Not Recommended)
SQL Server 2016 = 130 (Recommended)
SQL Server 2017 = 140
SQL Server 2019 = 150

Recommended Backup Software

SQL Server Standard Edition does not include the ability to back up its files. You can purchase an inexpensive program to do this for you. We use and like SQL Backup Master. We are not affiliated with the company that makes this product.

Related Content

Creating Automatic Backups

How to Create a Backup w/ Server Utility

How Subtotals and Group Item Totals Work

Introduction

There is a lot of confusion with Group items and that group item’s total amount line.

There are Group items and there are Subtotal items. These work differently by design.

Group items have a line at the bottom of that group. That line is a total for that group item and that group item only. A Subtotal is a total for all items directly above the subtotal, up to the last subtotal. Subtotals ignore any subtotals above them. In other words, subtotals add everything up since the last subtotal above it.

When it comes to using subtotals, the total of a group item is considered one amount. If you have an invoice with just three group items and a then a sub-total, the subtotal will add up all three group items.

Tip: We have no way to subtotal the subtotals. We have had clients ask.

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No thanks, I don't want to grow my business.
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