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June 2009 In this edition
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Latest Version
AM-Win latest version is 7.611 and is available on the website downloads page.
If you are using a version prior to 7.608 do not download and install this update. If you wish to upgrade your program please contact your Supporting Consultant.
Survey
Please note that there is no new survey this month.
Feed back and submissions
Want to submit and article or a joke - the e-mail address is webmaster@am-win.com.au We appreciate your feedback and submissions so send them in and those published will win a link to your website.
Is your Support Contract due for renewal
Phone Support for the Financial Year End.
A support entitlement or agreement is an agreement from us to you to supply a certain level of support over a fixed period at a fixed cost. An agreement can be considerably less expensive than casual or ad hoc support costs and it is your insurance policy against the times when things go wrong.
A client with a support entitlement is more likely to request support because of the fixed cost than a client on a casual support basis who will suffer a problem, or worse still, try to correct a problem because of the additional costs involved.
At AMWin we prefer to know about our client's problems so that we can fix them and we would certainly prefer to correct a problem for you, rather than not only having to correct the problem but sort out the additional mess because you tried to fix it yourself.
Casual rates for Support are charged by your Supporting Consultant and a support contract can be considerably less expensive than casual or ad hoc support costs. These charges only apply if you do not have a current support contract.
Support Agreement costs vary depending on the number of users that operate your system. Make sure your phone support contract is current for the End of Financial Year End!
Please contact your local Supporting Consultant for more information. Get in quick to organise your support contract before the busy time of the End of Financial year sets in!
Government Investment Allowance - A 50% tax deduction
In the 2009/10 Federal Budget the Rudd Government has expanded on the previous 30% tax deduction (also known as an Investment Allowance) for businesses. The scheme is now divided into two categories, small business and all other businesses.
A small business for the purpose of the tax deduction is classified as a business with a turnover of less than $2mil per annum. These businesses will benefit from a 50% tax deduction to be claimed on applicable assets. This is to replace the previous 30%, meaning the total tax deduction business can claim is 50%.
All other businesses with a turnover of more than $2mil per annum the same policy still applies and they still get a 30% tax deduction on asset purchases.
These tax deductions are on top of any normal depreciation claimed for the
asset.
Legislation to implement the Tax Break is currently before parliament and should
be passed into law soon.
Requirements
Business will be eligible to claim their relevant tax deduction if they fit in the following criteria:
Small Business
If you purchase an eligible asset for more than $1,000 between 13 December 2008 and 31 December 2009 and have installed for use by the 31 December 2010 then you can claim the 50% Tax Deduction. The asset must cost more than $1,000.
All Other Business
If you purchase an eligible asset for more than $10,000 between 13 December 2008 and 30 June 2009 and have installed for use by 30 June 2010 then you can claim the full 30% Tax Deduction.
If you cannot meet the 30 June 2009 deadline then any assets you purchase between 31 June 2009 and 31 December 2009 and installed for use by 31 December 2010 will be eligible for a 10% Tax Deduction.
The tax deduction will apply the year the asset is bought i.e. an asset bought in June 2009 will apply to a companies 2008/09 tax return and an asset bought in December 2009 will apply to the company's 2009/10 tax return.
What can be claimed?
Assets that are eligible will be tangible depreciating assets used in carrying on a business, for which a deduction is available under Division 40 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA97). These examples are general in nature and for specific advice you must consult your accountant or the Australian Taxation Office.
Some examples of this include:
· Vehicles used for business use
· Computers & office equipment
· Medical & Dental equipment
· Commercial and heavy vehicles
· Warehouse & factory equipment
· Heavy machinery & yellow goods
· Retail and restaurant equipment
The tax break is for new, tangible depreciation assets, and as such some assets cannot be claimed. These include:
· Second hand assets
· Land
· An item of trading stock
· Intangible assets eg. computer software
· Any assets that receive capital allowance deductions under Subdivision 40 F of
the ITAA97
Examples of the Tax Deduction
Here are two examples of the Tax deduction and how it affects the business.
A Small business with a turnover of $1mil p.a. buys a new delivery van costing $50,000 in December 09. Because the asset price is more than $1,000 in their 2009/10 tax return they are entitled to claim a $25,000 (50% of $50,000) tax deduction. This is in addition to any tax deductions that would normally be claimed on the asset.
A Business with a turnover of $3mil p.a. bought a backhoe for an all inclusive cost of $60,000 on 20th May 2009. As the cost is above the $10,000 threshold they can claim 30% of $60,000 which equals $18,000.
In the 2008/2009 income lodged by the business it would be entitled to claim a tax deduction of $18,000. This is in addition to any tax deductions resulting in the usual deprecation of the asset.
Sources & Disclaimer
Any advice given in this article is of a general nature and is for illustration purposes only. For specific advice on the Investment Allowance please visit the Australian Taxation Office or consult your accountant.
The Federal Government has issued a Media Release explaining the Small Business and General Business Tax Break and some Frequently Asked Questions in PDF format explaining many details of the policy on the web at www.ato.gov.au
Procedures to follow before processing End of Year
This document is available in PDF format. Click here to view, download or print.
AMWIN Levels Two and Three will only allow you to process a Year-End during the last month of the usual financial year, which in the case of Australia, is June or for New Zealand, in March. At any other time the system will only allow you to process a Month End.
One of the most frequently asked questions at the end of the financial year is " do I also need to do a month end" The answer is NO as the system processes the usual month end entries during the year-end process as well as other entries which are specific to year-end. However, you will still be required to do your Business Activity Statement and close your GST period when they are due in the normal way.
Before starting the process of your Year End, there is a “To Do List” to follow prior to commencing your End of year rollover. Please ensure that prior to processing the Year-End, you are confident that you have performed the steps outlined in this document and that you are ready to continue with the rollover process.
Accountants
It is a good idea to talk to your accountant about what reports they want and what information they expect. Your accountant will charge you to prepare and finalise your financial figures and as such the more efficient you are and the easier you make it for your accountant, the less you will have to pay for his / her services.
Finalising Jobs in Progress
Before processing your year end, you may also wish to ensure that all of your work in progress jobs have been finalised, or at least as much as is possible, to ensure your customers receive their bill early and you get paid quicker.
To obtain a list of all un-finalised jobs open Reports/Workshop/Jobs in progress.
You are then asked to complete a date range in which to look for the un-finalised jobs e.g. 01/07/08 to 30/06/09. You also have the option to put in your sales person’s initials and print it off person by person by using the Status Only or Exclude Button, (if you use this facility). Then click on GO.
Enter a date range in which to look for the un-finalised jobs e.g. 01/07/08 to
30/06/09. You also have the option to put in your sales person’s initials & print it off person by person, (if you use this facility)
The report will provide you with all un-finalised jobs awaiting input from you. Either they are jobs in progress not finished (in which you will carry them into the new year) or jobs that have been forgotten about (which you will need to finalise) or Jobs that were never started, (which you will need to delete).
Finalising outstanding Purchase orders
Before processing your year end, you may wish to ensure that all of your orders in progress have been finalised, [or at least as much as possible is finalised] to ensure that you can claim all valid expenses in the current financial year and as such reduce your tax liability. This will also ensure the maximum input credits for your GST
Reviewing purchase orders
Before processing your year end, you may wish to ensure that all of your purchase orders in progress have been finalised too, or at least finalised as much as possible, to ensure you can claim all valid expenses in the current financial year and as such reduce your tax liability. This will also ensure the maximum input credits for your GST.
To obtain a print out of your current purchase orders, select from the menu, Reports/Stock/Orders & Deliveries/In Progress.
You can then select Purchase from the Report Type list box, don’t worry about selecting a supplier code, then click onto the small gray dropdown box next to the word Order to select O/No. You can then select your dates i.e. 01/07/08 to 30/06/09 and then click on GO.
All of your outstanding purchase orders will be listed so that you can review them and decide to either Delete, Finalise or leave them to carry onto the next financial year, if you are still waiting for parts or goods
Bank Reconciliation.
It is advisable to also do a Bank Reconciliation. You should have been performing regular and accurate bank reconciliation’s on a regular basis and so reconciling prior to the end of the year should be the same simple process.
It is important to remember to process any bank charges, loan payments, lease payments or any other direct debit or automatic payment which goes into or out of your bank account. These can be forgotten as they only appear on your bank statement and you don't get a remittance posted to you each month to remind you of the transaction, so they can easily be forgotten about.
Do not to forget to process Bank charges, Loan Payments, Lease payments or any other direct debit or other automatic payment that goes into or comes out of your bank account. As these only show on your Bank statement each month and you do not get a remittance posted to you each month to remind you they can easily be forgotten.
Stock-take
Prior to processing the end of the year you may wish to perform a Stock take and update your stock records with the current on hand values. It is advisable for this report to be completed BEFORE you process your Year End rollover.
You should also check that your 1040 (all stock held) account matches your stock average cost on the stock valuation report. The Stock Valuation Report will give you a quantity average EX GST and a grand total average cost value of stock. To run this report you go to the Reports menu, select Stock> Valuation Report. This figure is found at the end of the report.
In most cases due to negative stock, incorrect stocktaking, resetting of average costs etc, these figures will not balance out. If they do not balance you should attempt to investigate why to remedy the problem. If this search is proving to be fruitless, then transfer the out of balance amount from your 1040 (or appropriate stock account) to your 7020 (cost of sales account) using a journal entry.
Then check your Income statement Year to Date figure equals your un-appropriated profit figure on the balance sheet. These two figures should be the same. If they are not, then you will have to do some further investigation to seek out the unbalanced entries.
Ledger Cleanup.
NOTE: If you delete an
account which was used in a previous financial year but has a current zero
balance (which would be the case for income and expense accounts which have not
been used in the current year) then when printing or viewing reports for the
previous years these reports will NOT balance because these ledger accounts no
longer exist.
As a result, it is recommended that you do not delete any ledger accounts, but mark them as being suspended. Do this by changing the name of the ledger to “unused” and then changing your general ledger masks so that they do not come up in any screens when selecting the revenue, journal and expense buttons.
You can match the total on the analysis report to the 1030 account on your trial balance. These figures should be the same.
Once you have taken care of all of that…you are ready to start the process of rolling over your year end.
Reconciling your ledger accounts
Check that your 2020 account matches your creditor list from your trial balance and debtors aged analysis report. You can match the total on the analysis report to the 1030 account on your trial balance. These figures should be the same.
In the event that they are not, you can track down the event or transaction that has caused the out of balance to occur.
The way to check these transactions is by going into AMWIN Tools, selecting the Check Trans & Master File option from the Others menu.
Then select the customer, supplier or ledger option and click on the process button. This will provide a list of any customer, supplier or ledger transactions, which do not balance in your system. You can then print this list and investigate each entry.
Transaction Audit Report
To print this report go to AM-Win and under the Reports> accounting menu, select Transaction-Audit Report.
Then choose your selected options and dates
This will display a list of any out of balance transactions that have occurred within your system.
How to do a stock take or stock transfer
The Stock Transfer/Stocktake menu option allows you to do a Stock take, or to do a Stock Transfer. To get started, Go to the Stock menu in main AM-WIN and choose Stock Transfer/Stocktake from the dropdown menu
The Stocktake/Transfer window will appear.
To do a Stocktake
This option allows you to enter the Actual quantity of the stock items you have in stock. The discrepancy is automatically allocated to the 9010 General Ledger account. If you wish to allocate the discrepancy to another account then you should use the Stock Transfer option.
To make this selection, click on the circle near Stocktake and a black dot should appear in the circle next to the word “Stocktake” near the Selection at the top of the window.
Left click on the Insert button and the Select Stock or Alternate Stock window will appear.
Select the stock you want and click on the Select button. This will return you to the Main Stocktake/Transfer window where your stock item will be displayed as well as the on hand quantity and actual quantity of that item is displayed.
By using the arrows next to the Actual field, you can change the Actual quantity of this stock item. Once this is done, Left click on the Update button. This will transfer the information into the main part of the window, and will also display the Out By amount (on Hand quantity minus Actual quantity).
Left click the Insert button to insert another stock items and keep going until you have finished all your stock.
Then click on the Process Button once the stocktake has been completed.
You can use the Report Button to print out a report of your stocktake to show any discrepancies.
Then click on the Close button to exit.
How to do a Stock Transfer
This allows you to transfer stock in or out of the system and allocate the discrepancy to a particular general ledger account. For example, you may wish to transfer stock used on your own vehicles out of stock, and allocate the expense to a vehicle maintenance account. Or you may wish to allocate stock items to warranty account or to a promotions account if stock is supplied or used without an invoice being raised for the sale.
To do a Stock Transfer, left click in the circle next to Transfer near the Selection at the top of the main window. The Actual field will be changed into a Transfer field.
Click on the Insert button and the Select Stock or Alternate Stock window will appear.
Use the arrows next to the Transfer field to select the quantity to be transferred. Click on the Update button.
PLEASE NOTE: If you transfer a positive amount it will reduce the stock by that amount, if you wish to increase the stock, then you should transfer a negative quantity
Then you can click on the Insert button to insert more stock items. Once you have entered all the stock items you require, then Click on the Process button when you have completed your stock transfer.
A Ledger Code window will appear.
If the ledger code displayed is correct, click the Ok button. Otherwise, click on the button :Ledger Code next to this field. This will bring up the General Ledger window
Select the General Ledger account you want, and click on the Select button. Then click on the Ok button in the Ledger Code window.
The Delete Button
Use the Delete button in Transfer/Stocktake to delete a stock item from the transfer or stocktake after you have already pressed the Update button.
Left click on the item in the main part of the window so that it is highlighted. Then Click on the Delete button.
The Clear Button
Use the Clear button to clear all the details in the Transfer or Stocktake to start stock take.
How to rollover your end of year - AM-Win Level 2 and 3 users only
This document is available in PDF format - Click here to view, download or print.
This document refers to functions in version AM-Win 7.5 [and later versions] levels two and three. If you are not sure which level program that you have, open AM-Win and check in the top left hand corner in the blue bar and you will find the information.
Earlier versions may be different and we recommend that you update your AM-Win to the latest version. To do this please contact your local supporting agent. Owners of earlier versions will be able to use this document to assist them with end of year processing although there may be some differences in screen layouts and processing sequences.
AMWIN levels two and three will only allow you to process a year-end during the last month of the financial year, which in the case of Australia is June or March in New Zealand. At any other time the system will only allow you to process a month end.
One of the most frequently asked questions at the end of the financial year is " do I also need to do a month end" The answer is NO as the system processes the usual month end entries during the year-end process as well as other entries, which are specific to year-end. However you will still be required to do your business activity statement and close your GST period when they are due.
Before Processing the Year End
To do list prior to commencing End of year rollover.
Ensure that prior to processing the year-end you are confident that you have performed the steps outlined in this document and that you are ready to continue.
Make sure that you have made at least two backup copies of your data prior to processing year-end. Don't forget - do two backups preferably to CD, ZIP disk or to USB Stick. Do not under any circumstances backup to multiple diskettes. Use a separate backup device for each of your two back-ups in case one turns out to be faulty.
What if I forget to do a backup?
You are going to get a bill [and it'll be a doozy] from your supporting Consultant if he/she has to sort out your problems because you didn't backup your data, and you will have to re-key a great deal of information in the process. You pay money to insure your vehicles in case of mishap. Back-ups are an insurance policy that costs you nothing; furthermore unlike your vehicles your business data can't be replaced. Simply put DON'T FORGET.
Make sure that everyone is out of AM-Win
Note that the year-end process and backups can only be run when no on else is currently in the AMWIN program or any other associated modules including History/Bank Rec, Winparts, Auto Service Manager etc.
If you attempt to process a year-end rollover with other users on a network or other modules open your back-up data will be incomplete and corrupted. Refer to What if I forget to do a backup to see what may happen if you do not ensure that everyone is out of AM-Win or it's modules [History/ Bank Rec etc] when you process end of year.
Some staff members have a tendency to sneak back in to the system "just to have a look at something" so it's best to advise everyone that the system will be down for a short time then go out and turn off every computer on the network. Threaten them all with a near death experience if they even look at their computer before you advise them that you have finished.
Ensure that you have not performed any other work in the current session of AMWIN.
If you are unsure then exit out of AMWIN, redo your backups and then go back into AMWIN and proceed to run your End of Year.
Rolling over Year End - The Process
To run the Year end select the Ledger/ GST end of month/year/ end of month/year option and the year end processing window will appear automatically stating that you are running the year end process.
The above screen shows you that AM-Win will update and roll forward your accounts from June to July.
You will notice that you have the option to back-up your data to your hard disk first, prior to running the year-end process. This will create an internal AM-Win backup kept within your AM-Win files.
Click the yes checkbox as it is recommended that you back-up your data to your hard drive even though you have already made 2 backup copies [haven't you] to a portable backup media device.
Saying no to close GST period will allow back posting entries into the previous month.
AM-Win has a separate process for the GST period end and for the month/year end processing. This means that you can process the end of month/year rollover and close off your GST period at any time prior to the next month end process.
Until the GST period is closed you are able to back post invoices, purchases, cheques, journals etc. In fact all transactions except for BAS payments and standing journals can be back posted to the previous month once you have rolled over to July.
We recommend that you check the No checkbox when asked to do your BAS statement and close your GST period. [see above image]. Note that if you close your GST period now you will not be able to post transactions back into last financial year [previous month].
Housekeeping Functions
There are also two other housekeeping functions shown in this screen, which allow you to remove redundant stock, the other is to auto flush old history invoices according to your settings in the job item master file. It is recommended that these housekeeping functions be performed by the AMWIN tools program rather than during the year-end process and we strongly suggest that you tick the "no" check buttons at this time.
Processing in the new financial year
You are now ready to begin processing transactions for the new financial year.
Click the Continue button at the top right hand side of the Month/Year end-processing screen.
The following screen will appear only if labeled to print in the control file. If this screen does not appear, reports can be printed at a later date. However it is important that your aged customer and aged supplier reports are printed by the end of July as once you have rolled the month from July to August you will not be able to reprint the aged customer and supplier reports for 30 June.
If you wish to have a printout of your stock valuation, this must be printed just prior to rollover, as the stock valuation report will always print as at the current point in time.
Don't print your end of year reports until you have completed all of your back postings.
We recommend that you do not print end of year reports until you have completed back posting all transactions. The reason is easy to understand. If you print your entire end of year reports as of the 30th June and then back post transactions then all of your printed reports will be incorrect and will not reflect the back-posted transactions.
If you wish to view or print reports for the previous year such as trial balance, sales & purchases etc etc, then you can do so by selecting the required year when printing or requesting such information.
AMWIN retains up to 21 years of financial data at any one time and retains Job service History for an unlimited period.
Select the Cancel button and say yes to confirm cancellation of printing.
At this point the system will automatically process any standing journal entries that you have previously set up in the program.
You will now be shown the Year End Processing Screen
Do not under any circumstances select the Change GST Period or Method.
Now is a good time to ensure that no one else is in the AM-Win program or any of its modules. - Yes up out of the chair and have a look - there's always someone that thinks it won't hurt to finalise this invoice or to check a price.
Now select the Click here to process button.
Your computer and AM-Win will now process the end of year transactions.
The following events will occur during the year-end process:
Any ledger balances in account 4000 and above will bring forward a zero carried forward balance and the accumulative balance of all these accounts will be carried forward into the 3030 un-appropriated profit account
Any account below 4000 will have the balance carried into the new financial year.
All year to date transactions will be moved back one financial year with zero transactions carried forward. This means that you can still print or do an inquiry on any ledger for any previous year.
The system will then update the carried forward balance and aging for all customers & suppliers and reset the turnover figures to zero.
The system will then process stock year to date and month to date figures to zero.
The current month is set to July and the year-end date is forwarded one year
Printing your End Of financial Year reports.
Once you have finished back posting entries into the previous financial year you should then close your GST period to ensure that no further entries can be back posted. Once this is done you are then ready to print your end of year reports.
What reports to print.
The following reports are generally considered essential as part of your end of financial year reporting.
Customer Aged analysis. [Debtor's ledger]
Supplier Aged analysis. [Creditor's ledger]
Trial Balance
Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Invoice Register
Stock Valuation Report
Wage reports (If you use the wage system)
Optional Reports
The following reports maybe printed as part of your year-end reporting but are generally considered not essential unless you or your accountant require them specifically.
GST Report (if not intending to back-post)
Bas Report (if not intending to back-post)
Cash Bank Activity
Ledger Activity (very long report)
Customer Activity (Very long report)
Supplier Activity (Very long report)
Stock Sales by Group
AM-Win Lite users only
This document is available in PDF format - Click here to view, download or print.
How to rollover your end of year
If you are not sure which level program that you have open AM-Win and check in the top left hand corner in the blue bar and you will find the information in the top left of the screen.
AMWIN Lite will only allow you to process a year-end during the last month of the financial year, which in the case of Australia is June or March in New Zealand. At any other time the system will only allow you to process a month end.
One of the most frequently asked questions at the end of the financial year is " do I also need to do a month end" The answer is NO as the system processes the usual month end entries during the year-end process as well as other entries, which are specific to year-end.
If you are an AM-Win Lite user then you must print your reports before you roll the end of the financial year.
In AM-Win Lite processing your GST period is also part of the End of year process and therefore must be performed as part of the end of the financial year rollover therefore you should print all the GST reports that you usually print during your normal GST period closure.
What reports to print.
The following reports are generally considered essential as part of your end of financial year reporting.
Customer Aged analysis. [Debtor's ledger]
Supplier Aged analysis. [Creditor's ledger]
Trial Balance
Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Invoice Register
Stock Valuation Report
Before Processing the Year End
Ensure that prior to processing the year-end you are confident that you have performed the steps outlined in this document and that you are ready to continue.
PLEASE NOTE: Make sure that everyone is out of AM-Win!!!
The year-end process and backups can only be run when no on else is currently in the AMWIN program or any other associated modules including History/Bank Rec, Winparts, Auto Service Manager etc.
If you attempt to process a year-end rollover with other users on a network or other modules open your back-up data will be incomplete and corrupted.
Refer to What if I forget to do a backup to see what may happen if you do not ensure that everyone is out of AM-Win or it's modules [History/ Bank Rec etc] when you process end of year.
Some staff members have a tendency to sneak back in to the system "just to have a look at something" so it's best to advise everyone that the system will be down for a short time then go out and turn off every computer on the network. Threaten them all with a near death experience if they even look at their computer before you advise them that you have finished.
Ensure that you have not performed any other work in the current session of AMWIN. If you are unsure then exit out of AMWIN, redo your backups and then go back into AMWIN and proceed to run your End of Year.
Make sure that you have made at least two backup copies of your data prior to processing year end. Don't forget - do two backups preferably to CD, ZIP disk or to USB Stick.
DO NOT under any circumstances backup to multiple diskettes. Use a separate backup device for each of your two back-ups in case one turns out to be faulty.
What if I forget to do a backup.
You are going to get a bill [and it'll be a doozy] from your supporting Consultant if he/she has to sort out your problems because you didn't backup your data, and you will have to re-key a great deal of information in the process
You pay money to insure your vehicles in case of mishap. Back-ups are an insurance policy that costs you nothing, furthermore unlike your vehicles your business data can't be replaced.
Simply put DON'T FORGET.
Rolling over Year End - The Process
To run the Year end select the Ledger/ end of month/year option and the month/year end processing window will appear automatically stating that you are running the year end process. Note that the top field will show "year" instead of the usual "month" and that the screen shows the words "Year End".
You will notice that you have the option to back-up your data to your hard disk first, prior to running the year-end process. This will create an internal AM-Win backup kept within your AM-Win files. Click the yes checkbox as it is recommended that you back-up your data to your hard drive even though you have already made 2 backup copies [haven't you] to a portable backup media device.
Ensure that you have not performed any other work in the current session of
AMWIN.
If you are unsure then exit out of AMWIN, redo your backups and then go back
into AMWIN and proceed to run your End of Year.
If you are sure that you have checked and completed the above procedures click the continue button. Your computer will now back-up your data to your hard drive. When back-up to hard drive is completed the following screen will be displayed.
Click to process.
AM-Win will now perform the end of year rollover. On completion the first screen of your normal GST closure process will be displayed. Complete the GST closure process as per normal.
The system will then display a message that the year-end has been successfully completed and advising you to close AMWIN and restart the program.
At this point we would advise you to reboot your server after closing AMWIN. You are then ready to begin using AMWIN in the new financial year.
Windows, Word and Excel Tips
Windows
Google and interest based advertising
Google has announced a new technology for Internet advertising that they call Interest-based Advertising. This allows Google to determine the type of products you are interested in and to display advertising to you that meets your interests.
For example you may be using your computer to research buying a new car. Google tracks the sites that you visit and will display ads promoting new car sales on subsequent web pages that you visit
Google uses cookies to track the sites that you visit. When you visit a website that displays ads from Google a cookie will be stored on your computer that will give you an ID number. This number will not personally identify you, just your computer. It does not store any personal information. As you continue to surf around the web, each site that has Google ads will see if you have this cookie on your system. If you do, it will report back to Google telling them that you visited the site.
Since many sites on the web have Google advertising, you can begin to see how this works. You may visit many sites a day that report to Google and Google keeps track of the kind of sites you visit and in turn shows you ads about products that relate to the sites that you visit.
Now, lets talk about the privacy part of this situation. I am sure that many of you out there are saying "I don't want Google tracking me". However Google is not really "tracking" you. They are simply looking at the types of sites your computer goes to. It does not use any of your personal info such as name, address or email. It simply assigns a random number to your computer.
You can read about it here on Google's interest based advertising page.
MS Word
Clearing All Tab Stops in a Paragraph
Tab stops allow you to modify the horizontal position at which text is positioned on a line. If you want to get rid of all the tab stops that may be set for a particular paragraph, it's easy to do using the technique in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)
There may be times when you want to clear all tab stops for a certain paragraph. For instance, you may decide that you want to reset all the tabs—it is just easier to start with a clear slate, so to speak. To clear all the tab stops for a paragraph, follow these steps:
Make sure the insertion point is in the paragraph whose tab stops you wish to clear.
Versions prior to Word 2007 - Display the Tabs dialog box
In Word 2007, display the Home tab of the ribbon; click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group, and then click the Tabs button. In previous versions of Word select the Tabs option from the Format menu.
Click on "clear all"
Click on "OK"
Controlling Widows and Orphans
Got singular lines at the bottom or top of a page? These are often referred to as widows and orphans, and Word allows you to make sure that they don't occur in your documents. Here's how to format your paragraphs to account for them. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)
In typographical terminology, widows and orphans are closely related (no pun intended). These terms refer to one (and sometimes two) lines of a paragraph left by itself on a page. A widow is the last line of a paragraph left by itself at the top of a page; an orphan is the first line of a paragraph left by itself at the bottom of a page. You will want to avoid both widows and orphans in your documents, as they break up the flow of the text and tend to distract the reader.
Word allows you to automatically control single-line widows and orphans in your documents. To control widows and orphans in your documents, follow these steps:
Put the insertion point in the paragraph that has either the widow or orphan text.
Display the Paragraph dialog box. (In Word 2007 display the Home tab of the ribbon and click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group. In older versions of Word click Format | Paragraph.)
Display the Line and Page Breaks tab.
Make sure the Widow/Orphan Control check box is selected.
Click on OK.
MS Excel
Time and date shortcuts
Excel provides keyboard shortcuts for a variety of purposes. This tip examines two such shortcuts, designed to allow entering times and dates quickly. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)
If you are looking for a quick way to enter the current date or time into a cell, Excel provides an excellent shortcut. To enter the current date, just select a cell and press Ctrl+; (that's the semicolon). Closely akin to that is entering the time, which is done by using Ctrl+: (that's the colon).
These shortcuts work even when you are entering formulas. For instance, let's say you wanted to have today's date as a string (within quote marks) in a formula. All you need to do is enter your formula, up to the first quote mark. Then type Ctrl+; and the date appears in the formula. Type your closing quote mark, and you can continue with your formula.
Sorting Huge Lists
Got a huge amount of data you need to sort in a worksheet, but Excel doesn't seem to be sorting it correctly? Here's some great information on why this may be happening and what you can do about it. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)
In an office environment, it is not uncommon to load huge lists of data into Excel that have been generated by programs different than Excel. You can then use Excel to massage and analyse the data to suit your needs.
One common task is to sort the data list. If you sort your list and then find out that the sort wasn't don't properly, this can be very disconcerting. There are three possible reasons that a list won't sort properly.
First, the list could include blank rows or columns. If this is the case, then you can only sort the list properly by selecting the entire list before doing the sort. When you rely upon Excel to select the list automatically, it stops at blank rows and columns, which of course affects your sorting.
Second, the list could be so large that you just don't have enough memory to perform a complete sort of your data. The only solution for this is to sort the list on a different machine, or add more memory to your computer.
Third, the list could contain numbers that are formatted as text. Either the original file contained characters that Excel cannot parse as numbers (such as a minus sign to the right of a number), or Excel's import filter just decided to misinterpret the data it was reading.
In reality, it is this third possibility that is the most likely when importing information into Excel. Let's say that you sort a list based on a particular column, and the list seems to "start over" again in the middle. For instance, it sorts from 1 to 1000, and then starts again at 1. This is a dead give away that the second set of values (the second 1 through 1000 range) consist of cells formatted as text rather than as numbers. Why? Because text is always sorted to appear after regular numbers. To convert the text values into numbers, try these steps:
In a blank cell, enter the number 1.
Select the cell and press Ctrl+C. This copies the cell to the Clipboard.
Select the cells that you think contain numbers formatted as text.
Display the Paste Special dialog box. In Excel 2007, display the Home tab of the
ribbon and click the down-arrow under the Paste tool at the left side of the
ribbon. Select Paste Special from the resulting menu. In older versions of Excel
choose Paste Special from the Edit menu.
Make sure the Multiply radio button is selected.
Click on OK.
Delete the cell you created in step 1.
When completed, any numbers formatted as text are converted to their numeric equivalents. You can then try to re-sort the data list.
You should note that the above steps won't work if the text-formatted values imported into Excel have any text, other than a space, in them.
Some programs add the ASCII character 160. This character is sometimes called a "sticky-space." It looks like a space, but doesn't act like one.
The extraneous text must be removed before you can make the text into numbers. You can, of course, use the Find and Replace feature of Excel to get rid of any non-numeric characters in a range of cells.
Note:
Please note that we do not provide support for our Word and Excel tips as they are provided by a third party. If you need further information why not try using Google - Cut and paste the heading of our tip into Google's search box. You'll be amazed at the information available.
Aboard the Pacific Dawn
From Dennis - your newsletter editor
One of the reasons that your newsletter is late this month is because I was lucky enough to spend last week cruising on P&O's Pacific Dawn, the subject of many news bulletins last week because of an alleged swine flu outbreak.
The Pacific Dawn is a magnificent ship. Six thirty AM on a warm Queensland morning, cruising along effortlessly at around 25 Kph was a smooth and quiet experience, where the only sound was the wash from the bow as it passed through the deep blue waters off the north Queensland coast. If you're stressed and want to unwind this is definitely the way to do it.
While the Swine Flu scare kept us from visiting our planned destinations along the way everyone on board believed that it was a sensible decision. Imagine 2000 passengers descending on Port Douglas or Cairns and infecting the local population. Definitely a sensible decision.
Passengers were not only asked to report to the ship's hospital if they suffered from colds and sniffles as well as any flu like symptoms but also underwent mandatory testing by a contingent of doctors and nurses who were brought on board to complete the task of testing all 2000 passengers.
Fortunately one of the main symptoms of swine flu is a high temperature so most passengers were tested simply by sticking an electronic thermometer in their left ear and answering a simple questionnaire.
Where anyone had symptoms remotely resembling swine flu swabs were taken and sent by courier boats back to land for testing by the health department. Despite all the media hype and some very irresponsible reporting, not one passenger was diagnosed with swine flu.
As you have probably heard in the news P&O compensated all passengers on board for in their words "not delivering the holiday cruise that they promised us". Sure we didn't leave the ship, sure we didn't see the places we were going to see and sure we came back three days early but P&O and their crew from the Captain down provided a great holiday, fantastic food, brilliant entertainment and overall an adventure that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
There were many opportunities to take photos of my favourite subject [boats] as they came and went collecting passenger samples for testing at various spots along the coast between Sydney and Port Douglas. For those who share my passion or are just interested I have posted some of the shots taken below.
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| Department of Health boat collects samples off Port Douglas | |
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| Life boat being lowered from Pacific Dawn. A little girl slipped over and broke her arm and she was transferred to the hospital at Airlee Beach. | |
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| Police boat off Coffs Harbour | |
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| Various tug boat shots - Above is the tug stirring up the mud as she pulls Pacific Dawn into dock in the Brisbane River. | |
Jokes
Today's your lucky day
Paddy had stuffed his life up and was now seated comfortably in the electric chair waiting for his sins to catch up with him.
The Warden said - it's time Paddy - are you ready
Paddy says - yes warden I'm ready
The Warden flicks the switch and instead of a crackle of blue sparks nothing happened.
The Warden turns it off and flicks the switch again - nothing happens
Third time lucky - the switch goes up and down again but nothing but silence.
Well Paddy - Today's your lucky day - the chair won't work and under Irish law once we have tried three times we believe that God doesn't want you to go. You're free to go.
Whaaaai says Paddy - It's your lucky day - I'm an electrician by trade - let me have a go at it for you - I reckon I can fix it.
The Warden leaves him to it and comes back an hour or so later and Paddy's got bits and pieces of the chair all over the floor.
How's it goin' Paddy - found the problem yet.
Sure did said Paddy - but today's your lucky day and I'm glad you asked me to look at it - this things a bloody death trap
1955
A crusty old Infantry Sergeant Major found himself at a gala event downtown, hosted by a local liberal arts college.
There was no shortage of extremely young, idealistic ladies in attendance. One of them approached the Sergeant Major for conversation.
She said, "Excuse me, sir, but you seem to be a very serious man. Are you this way all the time, or is something bothering you?"
"No," the Sergeant Major said, "just serious by nature!"
The young lady looked at his awards and decorations, and said, "It looks like you have seen a lot of action."
The Sergeant Major's short reply was, "Yes, a lot of action."
The young lady, tiring of trying to start up a conversation, said: "You know, you should lighten up a little... relax and
enjoy yourself."
The Sergeant Major just stared at her in his serious manner.
Finally the young lady said, "You know, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but when was the last time you made love?"
The Sergeant Major looked at her and replied, "1955."
She said, "well there you go, you really need to chill out and quit taking everything so seriously... I mean, nothing since 1955, isn't that a little extreme?"
The Sergeant Major, glancing at his watch, said in his matter-of-fact voice, "Oh, I don't know... It's only just 2130 now."
How deep dya reckon it is
There were these two guys out hiking when they came upon an old, abandoned mine shaft.
How deep dya reckon it is says one. Dunno says the other - throw in a stone and see how long it takes to hit the bottom. So they threw in a stone and waited for the sound of it striking the bottom, but they heard nothing. So they threw in a rock and waited. Still nothing.
They searched the area for something larger and found a railroad sleeper. With great difficulty, the two men carried it to the opening and threw it in. While waiting for it to hit bottom, a goat suddenly darted between them and leapt into the hole!
The guys were still standing there with astonished looks upon their faces from the actions of the goat when a man walked up to them. He asked them if they had seen a goat anywhere in the area and they said that one had just jumped into the mine shaft in front of them!
The man replied, "Naaah. Couldn't be my goat, mine was tied to a railroad sleeper.
Until next month
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