Upgrading Your Collect! Version 8

This topic discusses upgrading Collect! Version 8 databases to the latest Collect! release, using the automated upgrade procedure.

These instructions are for version CV8.0.22 and newer. If you are running a build of Collect! that is earlier than this, please get in touch with Administration at 250-391-0466 option 3 for upgrading options.

It is recommended that you have a recent, COMPLETE backup of your Collect! system prior to any upgrade procedure.

Please refer to Help topic, Preparing To Upgrade Your Database before upgrading.

Preparing Your Databases

Perform these steps on your Server!

1. Run maintenance on your Collect! Version 8 database.

2. Make sure you have user 99/99 and Exclusive for all steps.

3. Examine and clean up all data, removing blank or unnecessary records.

4. If you report accounts to credit bureaus, please switch ON "Use METRO2 format" in your Credit Bureau Setup and let Collect! convert your Metro Contacts to the new format that Collect! Version 11 uses.

5. Make a copy of the database as a precaution.

6. Recalc all accounts.

7. Rebuild Lists.

8. Ensure that your working Collect! folder is named simply "cv8" and that you do not have other folders named "cv8" on your computer. The automated upgrade looks only for a folder named simply "cv8."

This folder MUST be on the root of your drive. For example: C:\cv8 or D:\cv8 and NOT like this: C:\my documents\cv8

The upgrade procedure looks on every drive, starting with your C:\ drive. If it does not find a cv8 folder on the C:\drive, then it will look on other drives on your computer.

Upgrading Large Databases

Collect! copies your entire cv8 contents to its upgrade folder prior to upgrading, excluding help, tutorials and backup folders. This process may take quite a while if you have a very large database. Please refer to Help topic, Custom Upgrade for Technicians for details.

Performing The Upgrade

1. To ensure that the operating system is not holding on to files, reboot your server.

2. Install the latest Collect! Version 11 Build 5 on your computer. By default, Collect! will install to a cv116 directory. New shortcuts on your desktop will be named "cv116," "cv116 Server" and so on.

3. Start Collect! Version 11 by selecting the icon named cv116. After you enter your Company Name, Collect! will prompt you when it sees that you have a cv8 folder on your computer.

Prompt to Begin Automated Upgrade

If you do not see this prompt, please look in the cv116\bin folder and delete the "upgrade" folder. Then start Collect! again.

4. Select the CV8 button and then select the database you want to upgrade into Collect! Version 11. Select ALL if you want Collect! to upgrade DATA, DEMO and PROS databases.

Prompt to Select Databases to Upgrade

If you have additional databases in your Collect! Version 8 that you want to upgrade besides these three, please get in touch with Technical Services for assistance.

Collect! proceeds to copy your Collect! folder to the "CV11\bin\upgrade" folder for processing.

5. Once the copying has completed, Collect! exports your databases and performs the upgrade. If Collect! detects differences as it upgrades your financials, you will see the Upgrade Financials Changes help page displayed and discrepancy contacts will be created. Please refer to the "Discrepancy Contacts" section below for details.

6. After the upgrade process has completed, sign into DATADB to complete the upgrade. You MUST use a Level 99 operator!!! At this stage, Collect! will rebuild its internal lists for report codes, access rights and import definitions.

If you upgraded DEMO and/or PROS too, then sign into DEMODB and PROSDB as well to complete the upgrade and examine results. You MUST use a Level 99 operator!!!

Examining Results

1. Examine Addresses in Company Details and Clients. Make sure all data in there. Please refer to the "Client Addresses" section below for more information.

2. Examine your configurations and make sure everything is as you expect. Areas to examine are noted below.

WIP Options

Account Matching Setup - this is important because there are new options in versions CV11.6.2.7 and CV11.6.2.9 that enable a Shared Notes Tab and Cascading Notes.

There are also writeback reports available on the Member Center to assist with checking software switches in Debtor Group Tab, Member Setup window to enable en masse the Cascade Notes and Share Notes new features. These new features will not appear until the check boxes on existing inventory are enabled.

Place the writebacks from the Member Center package located in Utility Reports and Snippets, "Group Notes -
Cascading and Share Notes Tab" into your NEW Contact Plan process to check these switches after batch grouping for new accounts go forward.

Billing Tree / ACH Setup - this is important because there is a new option in version CV11.6.2.6 that provides the choice between allowing the Posted Date to remain blank with Recurring ACH arrangements, instead of the legacy default that would prefill the Posted Date with the date the arrangement was set up. This older standard necessitating that a site to use the "Statement uses Payment Date" switch in the Company Details to avoid future dated ACH payments from being included in a current month statement. The new functionality maintains an unrealized/blank for the Posted Date until a Reconcile ACH History process finalizes the payment, thus allowing a site to function for performance and remittances using their Posted Dates.

WARNING: If you were using the Company Detail switch for "Statement uses Payment Date" and wish to change your processes to rely on Posted Date instead, contact Technical Services for an assessment: you may need writebacks to blank out existing Posted Dates on not yet due ACH payments and to have Accounting, Recovery and Performance reports re-pointed to use the transaction Posted Date field instead of the transaction Payment Date field, if applicable.

Options, Sounds and Colors

Reports and Printing - make sure your Letter Service settings are accurate.

Credit Bureau Reporting - examine the Credit Bureau Setup form for all the subscriber codes and settings.

Payment Posting Options - very important to check these settings

Payment Plan Setup - very important to check these settings

3. If you are using header include files in your reports, you will want to copy the "cv8\styles" folder contents into "CV11\bin\styles" so that the header include files will be correct.

4. Test print several reports.

5. Input your new license into Collect! Version 11.

Passwords

Passwords are case-sensitive in Collect! Version 11 so all users must type in the correct case when entering their passwords to sign into Collect!.

All Operators must have a valid Password. If the upgrade is not able to decipher the Operator's Password for any reason, for instance, if the Password is missing or is in asterisks, then the upgrade resets the password to lower case User ID and switches ON "Must change password next login."

Any passwords that were changed by the upgrade will be noted in the "_upgradelog.txt" file located in the "CV11\bin\upgrade" folder.

If an Operator cannot sign in with their old password, please check the upgrade log. The Operator should sign in with their User ID in lower case as the Password and they will be prompted to enter a new Password.

Prompt to Enter a new Password

Selecting the CANCEL button will return you to the Welcome to Collect! screen.

All Operators with valid Passwords will have the same Password in the new upgraded Collect!. However, the password system is now case-sensitive.

Notes

Notes must be "Saved in files" before upgrading to Collect! Version 11. If they are saved in the notes.rec in the old version they will not come across in the upgrade.

Client Addresses

Collect! Version 11 does not have a Client Address 3 line. If you had data in this third address line in your original database you will have to take care of this after the upgrade. Select Tools from the top menu bar and then select Utilities from the drop-down choices. Select Update Client Addresses from menu that displays. Please refer to this Help topic for details about the options you have for updating your client addresses and reports that use them.

Web Host

Many changes have been made to the Web Host. You may want to take advantage of the new Web Host. However, if you have your own customized pages, do not copy over them! Otherwise, you can copy the Demodb Web Host into your Masterdb if desired.

Update Printer Control Codes

If you are coming from an early Collect! Version 8, you will want to update your printer control codes and set your operators to print "Via Device Context."

Discrepancy Contacts

If you are coming from an early Collect! Version 8, you may notice differences in your financials due to code enhancements made in Collect! Version 8.2.2. You have several options for managing these contacts created during the upgrade.

Metro 2 Format

Collect! Version 11 reports credit only in Metro 2 Format so you have to make sure Metro contacts are converted to this format prior to going up to Collect! Version 11.

Technical Notes

During the automated upgrade procedure, Collect! copies your entire cv8 folder and performs the database exports and upgrades from there. Your original cv8 folder is left intact. A copy of all your original Version 8 files may be found in the cv116\bin\upgrade folder. Alternatively, you can place a copy of your Collect! into the upgrade folder as described in Help topic, Custom Upgrade for Technicians.

You may empty the cv116\bin\upgrade folder if desired, but please do not remove the upgrade folder or Collect! will prompt to upgrade again the next time you sign into Collect! at the Server. In other words, Collect! looks for an "upgrade" folder in the cv116\bin folder. If it finds one, it hides the upgrade prompts.

During the upgrade, Collect! backs up the existing MASTERDB folder (and DEMODB, PROSDB folders, if you upgrade all your databases.) You can remove the masterdb_bak, demodb_bak and prosdb_bak folders. These are the databases shipped by default with Collect!, not your data.

Summary

The automated upgrade procedure exports all the Version 8 databases that you choose to upgrade and upgrades them into Version 11.6. This is the same process that would occur if you did this upgrade manually. However, the automated upgrade is quicker, less prone to user error, and involves very few steps.