How To Make Global Changes

You can make global changes to your database. The following example is actually a complex sequence used to modify and recalculate all transactions, and update all totals in Collect! based on the updated calculations. You can use the techniques presented here to perform many different operations.

Commission Rates And Calculations

Let's assume you started using Collect!, and weren't aware that the commission rates are percentage, i.e. a fifty percent commission rate is entered as 50, but you assumed that they were a fraction. So for a 50 % commission you typed 0.5. Now you've gone through a month of entering transactions, and all commissions were calculated by Collect! with a 0.5% commission.

This won't be a pretty picture at month end when you generate invoices and find your income is somewhat lower than expected.

If you entered 0.5, rather than 50, transaction records and daily totals will be incorrectly calculated. If this is the first set of invoices you have generated using Collect! then it won't impact past statements.

The Commission Rate Change procedure following produces global changes to records. This procedure corrects the commission rate in all debtors, and then adjusts and recalculates all transaction records. This process is automated where possible. If you want to experiment with some of the capabilities of Collect! in this manner use the Demodb Database. Or backup your database before making these changes to ensure you can recover in case of error. You should also review all clients to make sure their commission rates are correct.

Macros

The following procedure uses macros. If you are not familiar with the concept of a macro, you may wish to refer to your How To Use Macros for further information. However, the procedure provides step by step instructions. It is imperative to enter keystrokes in macros exactly as they are shown, or results will be unpredictable.

Assumptions

It is assumed that all commissions have been automatically calculated by Collect! and are up to date, and there are no zero value transactions in your list, nor are there any fixed charges. If these conditions are not the case, then the macros will not function correctly.

Selecting Records

The following procedure changes the commission rates, commission and taxes in all transaction records. You can limit the modifications to only those transactions which have a certain commission rate or range of rates if you require. Please search the Help Index for Selecting Records for more information.

Changing The Commission Rate For All Debtors

Manually changing debtor commission rate can be done using the following steps.

1. Open the first debtor in the list.

2. Move to the commission rate field.

3. Enter 50 and press Enter.

4. Press Page Down to move to the next debtor.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for all debtors in the list.

Automatically Changing Debtor Commission Rates

If all your debtors have the same commission rate, the above process can be automated by recording and playing a macro which changes the commission rate for all your debtors.

Start at the right spot:

1. Open the first debtor in the list.

2. Move to the commission rate field.

Start recording the macro:

1. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

2. Choose Record Macro - the word RECORD should appear at the
top right of your screen.

Enter the keystrokes to record:

1. Press the Delete key 5 times to make sure the Commission field is cleared.

2. Type 50 for a 50 percent commission rate and press Enter.

3. Move back to the commission rate field using the Up Arrow key.

4. Press Page Down to move to the next debtor.

Stop Recording the macro:

1. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

2. Choose Repeat to List End to stop recording and cause the macro to repeat until the end of the debtor list is reached.

3. Press 'Y' to acknowledge stopping the recording. The word RECORD should extinguish.

At this point you have recorded a short sequence of keystrokes which change the debtor's commission rate, and have built a macro which will replay these keys until it detects the end of the debtor list.

WARNING: When you play this macro ALL debtor commissions in your system will be changed.

Play the macro:

1. Make sure you are on the debtor form on the Commission rate field before playing this macro.

2. Press Shift+F2.

The macro will now loop through all debtors in the list changing the Commission Rate.

Updating Transaction Commission And Taxes

This routine requires three steps for proper operation:

First, all commission amounts and taxes will be preset to a known number.

Second, the commission percent will be altered without changing commission or taxes.

Third, all commissions and taxes will be recalculated.

WARNING: If you have manually entered commission amounts different from what Collect! calculated, then you should not use this procedure.

Start at the right spot:

1. Start from the Main Menu.

2. Press Alt+B to pull down the Browse menu.

3. Select Transactions to open the Browse Transaction list.

4. Press Ctrl-Home to move to the top of the list.

5. Press Tab until the cursor is on the Commission field.

6. Press F4 to enter Edit mode.

Clear all the commissions and taxes

1. Type 1.

2. Press Enter.

3. Press F4.

4. Type 1.

5. Press Down Arrow.

6. Press Left Arrow.

7. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

8. Press R to Record Macro to start recording a quick loop.

9. Press Y to clear any existing macros if so prompted.

10. Type 1.

11. Press Enter.

12. Type 1.

13. Press Down Arrow.

14. Press Left Arrow.

15. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

16. Press R Repeat Macro to stop recording.

17. Press Enter to confirm the loop.

18. Press Shift+F2 to start running the macro.

19. Press any key when the macro has reached the end of the list.

All commissions and Taxes will be preset to 1.

Next we will preset the commission rate.

Enter the new Commission Rate

1. Press F4 to return to Browse mode.

2. Press Ctrl+Home to go back to the first transaction in the list.

3. Press Enter to open the Transaction form.

4. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

5. Select Record Macro to start recording.

6. Press Y to clear any existing macros if so prompted.

7. Press Down Arrow once to move to the Next button.

8. Press Left Arrow once to move to the Commission Rate field.

9. Type 50.

10. Press Enter.

11. Press N to delay recalculating tax.

12. Press N to delay recalculating commission.

13. Press and then release the Ctrl key to move to the OK button.

14. Press Page Down to move to the next record.

15. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

16. Press R for Repeat Macro to stop recording.

17. Press Enter to confirm the loop.

18. Press Shift+F2 to start running the macro.

19. Write down the direct payment amount of the last debtor, if any.

20. Press Escape to return to the Main Menu.

All commission rates will be preset to 50 percent.

Next we will recalculate all commission amounts and taxes.

Recalculating Taxes And Commissions

Start at the right spot:

1. Start from the Main Menu.

2. Press Alt+B to pull down the Browse menu.

3. Press T to select Transactions.

4. Press Ctrl-Home.

5. Press Tab until your cursor is on the Direct field.

6. Press F4 to switch to edit mode.

7. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

8. Choose Record Macro.

9. Press Y to clear the existing macro.

10. Press Down Arrow.

11. Press Y to recalculate tax.

12. Press Y to recalculate commission.

13. Press Down Arrow.

14. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

15. Press R to select Repeat Macro to stop recording.

16. Press Y to confirm the loop.

17. Press Shift+F2 to start running the macro.

18. If there was a direct payment on the last record which you should have written down earlier, press F4 and enter it the amount in the Transaction Direct field.

19. Press Escape to return to the Main Menu.

All commissions and taxes should now be recalculated. Please confirm that this is the case.

Recalculating Daily Totals

1. Start from the Main Menu.

2. Press Alt+B to pull down the Browse menu.

3. Select Daysheets.

4. Press Ctrl-End.

5. Press Enter to open the Day form.

6. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

7. Choose Record Macro.

8. Press Y to clear the existing macro.

9. Press Page Up.

10. Press Shift+F1 to open the Macro menu.

11. Select Repeat to List End to stop recording.

12. Press Y to confirm the loop.

13. Press Shift+F2 to start running the macro.

14. Press Escape to return to the Main Menu.

All daily totals should now be recalculated. Please confirm that this is the case.