Frequently Asked Questions

Q:

Has anyone loaded version 7.6? Did you have any issues?

A:

"Yes we just updated last week and so far no problems"

"No issues other than bugs that were there before but no new ones we have seen"

"I processed update for 7.6 on August 5, 2006. The update seemed to take a little longer than normal and the installation of the update has visually changed."

"The main issue I encountered was the time that it took to process the update on the workstations. Some took in excess of 20 minutes. There were a few computers which required additional attention after running x:\wintam\asupdate.exe as the software did not load and produced errors which were cleared up by deleting the wintam folder running x:\wintam\tamini.exe /r and rerunning x:\wintam\asupdate.exe /rr."

"Overall the update ran well and I experienced no other problems than workstation related issues."

"We upgraded a week ago with no issues. I haven't noticed any difference at this point."

The ASCnet newsgroups have several threads regarding this very topic.

Q:

We are looking @ ordering new cheques and realize that they now must be pre-numbered. I would like to ask how other agencies are dealing with this. It is my thought to keep our own number system as well and use that for our records.

A:

"We have had pre-numbered cheques for a long time. It was too much work to try to keep the number sequence the same. So we call the pre-printed # the "control number", and the TAM number the "cheuqe number." We record both numbers on our cheque requisitions, or on our A/P invoices. ie 12345/12789. When we put stop payments on a cheque or we need to check on-line to see if a cheque has cleared we use the control # as that is what the bank uses. By recording both these numbers on our back-up , it is easy for us to find what we are looking for in either TAM or on the bank side."

"When ordering cheques, you can actually request that the first number on your cheques be whatever you want it to be. So, if an Agency is utilizing Tam for their Numbered cheques and assuming their latest system cheque # is 6174, then when ordering new cheques they can request that the new pre-numbered cheques begin at 7000 which would allow the system number to correspond with the new printed cheque numbers. The Agency would just need to estimate the approximate numbering they would require on the new cheques."

"We use CHCQ - as an activity to issue cheques, these activities are sent to a single user, Activity specific to a bank account We use CLCQ - for another bank account, also sent to the same gingival. additional activities can be created for additional bank accounts The activity is attached to the payee, be it Vendor, Customer, Company etc, the body of the activity houses the payee details as in GL, description payee name, these details can be cut and pasted as the cheques are created. The single user is responsible to create the cheques, this process allows numbering to remain synchronized with the pre printed cheques. The cheque runs can be daily, or weekly as per you office requirements. Printed cheques are sent for signature and are then distributed to whom ever requires them or they are mailed out, again internal office procedures will vary We have been using this system since Nov 04 on three main bank accounts, the only numbering resetting required has been when the printer "ate" a cheque."

"From my understanding the serial number does indeed need to be the special ink, so it will have to be preprinted. However, the serial number and the printed number at the top do not have to match. So at first I thought it would be ok to just let our system number the cheques as we normally do, but then I wonder what happens when we want to put a Stop payment on a cheque. Will the bank require the serial number as that is what they are tracking? We won't know what the serial number was. They say the serial number would be the number which will show on a bank statement but I have not had to rely on that so far when reconciling. So if you find out before me about what draw backs we will encounter if we just let the system # the cheques separate from the serial number, let me know. Also, we'll have troubles if you have cheques in more than one spot (even within a controlled chq issuing process this could be encountered) - how to divide up numbers? Does an office ever sign a few cheques ahead with 1 of 2 signatures for emergencies when staff is not there when you need them? Those numbered cheques would be out of sequence too."

"You are correct, it becomes necessary to keep both numbering systems. We have had prenumbered cheques for years, and also keep the system #. There is a place on the cheque printing routine to enter the "prenumbered #", and the system will track this. When you run a status of accounts report for the cash journal it will show both numbers. The only place where this is a problem is when you are reconciling, it will only show the applied systems number, and not the prenumbered number. Hence, you must cross reference from the status of accounts report if you do not have the returned cheque. This will be important when the bank stops returning our cheques this year. I believe that Applied is addressing this for the reconciliation problem. Hope this helps."

"We are doing exactly as below and keeping our same system numbering. The pre-number is assigned by the printing company on the bottom left of the cheque and does not interfere."

"We let TAM keep the numbering for us. So what we do is if TAM next check number is 500 and we need to order cheques, we then estimate how many cheques we will use before the pre-printed cheques arrive. For example if TAM is saying that the next cheque is 500 and we will use approximately 100 cheques before the order arrives then we will instruct the bank to start pre-numbering the cheques at 600. To ask the q's of the users group you need to set up an email account within your outlook. The users group will be able to assit you and set you up with a password. Once you have your account set up, inside outlook you would click on VIEW, then GO TO and click on NEWS, from that point you treat it just as if you would any email."