SMART-MYOB Database Link

Introduction

The purpose of this link is to enable details of invoices, credits, and contractor payments which have been generated in SMART to be posted to the MYOB accounting system.

The link is an extra cost option for Smart and also requires the purchase and installation of the MYOB ODBC Direct driver. To purchase this driver, contact your MYOB Consultant or go to www.myob.com.au . In June 2005 the driver was priced at $259.

In order for the link to work correctly, both Smart and MYOB must use the same customer account numbers, service codes, and contractor names.  When operating the link you are informed if these items do not match and are given the opportunity to correct the situation.

The link will not work with all versions of MYOB. As at June 2005 versions supported included MYOB Accounting v11 or later, MYOB Accounting Plus v11 or later, or MYOB Premier v5 or later.

This link is an alternative to SMART's General Ledger Export facility, which exports only totals for each GL account. The GL Export is much more flexible in assigning GL codes (they can be varied depending on the combination of customer and service) while the Database Link exports much more detailed information but uses the GL codes assigned in the MYOB Items table. The General Ledger Export is much easier to set up and use.

The database link does not export details of parts used in a job or hourly hire records - it exports one invoice line per job.

The database link is a batch process which can be run or re-run at any time and includes many safeguards to maintain the integrity of your MYOB database. Once an invoice or payment has been successfully exported to MYOB it can't be exported again.

Once the link is in place and operating

• Customer payments must be entered in MYOB
• Customer balances in SMART must be ignored as they do not take into account entries made in MYOB.
• Credits can be entered in either SMART or MYOB.

Contractor Payments

There are two contractor payment schemes in Smart, Charge Listings and Contractor Invoices.  They are explained in the Contractor Payments section of the Smart help system.

Only Contractor Invoices are supported by the MYOB Database Link. (This is so that contractor payments may be validated before being passed to MYOB.) In other words, you must enter and validate contractor invoices before details will be passed to MYOB.

Configuration

The SMART-MYOB Database Link must be installed on a PC which also has Smart, MYOB, and the MYOB ODBC Direct driver installed.MYOB must not be running while data is being transferred. The SMART PC can be any workstation running SMART. The MYOB database can be on any PC which can be reached via the network from the PC where the database link is installed.

The MYOB ODBC Direct driver is supplied on your MYOB installation CD and updates can be downloaded from the MYOB web site at www.myob.com.au. When first installed the driver will give you access to limited information. To enable full use of the driver you need to obtain an enabling code from MYOB or your MYOB consultant (see below).

Follow the MYOB instructions to install and configure the MYOB Direct Driver. If possible, check that the installation is working by reading some MYOB customer cards into Microsoft Excel or a similar application.

If you have not done so already, download the MYOB Database Link from the Skorpion web site (instructions are supplied when you purchase the link) and install it.  To operate the link you require a compatible version of Smart which has the MYOB link enabled (you may require a new Smart enabling code). 

Preparing MYOB

There are some essential requirements for the link to work correctly.

• You may not have more than one customer with the same name in either MYOB or SMART. If you do, invoices and opening balances may be posted to the wrong account (since customers are matched by name). If you have this situation you must make the names different, for example by adding 'no. 1', 'no. 2' etc to the end of the customer name.
• You must have a MYOB Item with the item number of \c and the name of Comment to receive the opening balance (the item number is case sensitive). Choose Expense and Income accounts for this item which will be suitable for the opening balance. 
• The maximum length of a MYOB customer name which can be matched to a SMART customer name is 40 characters.

Test Configuration

Before proceeding to live use of the link you may wish to try exporting to a backup copy of your MYOB database (or the MYOB Sample company, Clearwater) to ensure that your settings are correct. 

Running the link in  Test Mode (see below) will ensure that Smart invoices and payments are not marked as exported (this will enable you to export the same items to your live MYOB database once testing is complete).

If you are testing with the sample company and the export stops without displaying an error message, MYOB may be displaying message to the effect that you are reaching the capacity limit for the trial company. If this happens, simply switch to MYOB and press the OK button on this message.

Starting the link

Start the link by selecting \Programs \Smart \MYOB Database Link from the Windows Start Menu (no login required), or from within Smart by selecting Accounts \Export/Import \MYOB Database Link from the Main Menu.

Initial Setup

The Link uses the same settings to connect to the Smart database as your copy of Smart. If you receive a connection error when starting the Link, start Smart on the same PC as the Link and log in as normal. (If you get the same error from Smart you may have a network problem.) If you have more than one Smart database and wish to switch Smart databases, do so in Smart and then restart the MYOB Database Link.

When the MYOB Database Link window opens (see below) click the Configure button for access to the configuration settings. You should only need to change these settings when you first set up the MYOB Database Link, or if you want to change the MYOB database (for example, to switch from the test company to the live company).

ODBC (DSN) Name	(Not required - do not make an entry here unless directed to do so by SMART support staff.) This is the name used to refer to your ODBC connection.  If you don't know it, click on the three dots (...) to the right of this label and choose from the list.
MYOB Program	This is the location of your MYOB program. If you're not sure where that is - Right click on the shortcut you use to start MYOB Choose Properties Copy the Target: setting
MYOB Database	This is the name of the file which holds your MYOB information. By default, this is in the folder where your MYOB program is installed. However, it could also be any other folder on your PC or network. The MYOB database file has a suffix of .dat or .myo, e.g. the database for the sample company is called Clearwtr.dat or Clearwtr.myo. If you don't know where the database is kept, select Search from the Windows Start menu and look for files called *.dat or .myo. You can also select the database from a list by clicking on the three dots (...) to the right of this label.
MYOB User ID	The login name used to access MYOB. When MYOB is first installed the User ID is Administrator.
MYOB password	The password used when you log into MYOB. When MYOB is first installed, this password is blank.
Start from Invoice	If your SMART system has been in operation for some time and you don't want to export all the invoices it contains, specify a starting invoice number here. If you later change your mind you can specify an earlier starting number and the earlier invoices will be exported in the next run.
Start from Payment	If your SMART system has been in operation for some time and you don't want to export all the payments it contains, specify a starting payment number here. If you later change your mind you can specify an earlier starting number and the earlier payments will be exported in the next run.
Test Mode	If this box is checked, items in SMART will not be marked as transferred. These means that you can carry out testing with the MYOB test company (or a backup of your MYOB database) before connecting to your active MYOB database.
Setup Mode	If you check this box, customer details and opening balances are transferred to MYOB (individual invoices or credits are not transferrred).  See Transferring Customer Balances, below.

Transferring customer balances

Follow the instructions in this section if you wish to transfer current SMART customer balances to MYOB as an opening balance.

• Before transferring customer balances you must apply any unallocated payments or credits.
• Press the Configure button on the opening screen to access the Configuration settings.
• Check the Setup Mode box.

After pressing the Next button you can select whether to export All Customers, Customers with balances and activity since a specified date, or only Customers with outstanding balances.

Any Customers which have previously had their opening balances exported will appear in the list and their opening balance will not be transferred. Their balance will be brought up to date next time you export invoices to MYOB.

Operating the Link

Once you have the link operating, the opening window will be displayed (see below).  To see the configuration settings, click the Configure button.

The Smart-MYOB link carries out a series of checks to make sure that the information being exported from Smart is going to be acceptable to MYOB. Press the Next button to carry out each check in turn.

Selections

You would normally only choose Repeat Previous Export if there has been some sort of system error and you suspect one or more invoices was not exported. Once an invoice or payment has been exported to MYOB it will be skipped over if you try to export it again, so you can make this selection without the risk of creating duplicate entries.

Common Buttons

You can press the Help button at any time to view the help system (this information). For updated information, see the User Documentation section of the Skorpion web site. 

Press the Show Matches button to show how SMART Customers and Service Codes have been matched up with their MYOB equivalents.

You can press the Close button at any time to close the Link window without losing your work.

Checking for MYOB customers which don't appear in Smart

The first check is to see whether all MYOB customers appear in Smart.

You may have customers which don't need to appear in Smart, e.g. if they don't trade any more or if you invoice them for goods or services which are not tracked by Smart.

However if customers appear in this list there's a possibility that the customer may be in Smart but under a slightly different account name.  (Customers are matched on the customer name.) If you allow this situation to continue there is a chance you may inadvertently create a second account for the same customer in MYOB.

Generally speaking, it's best to add these customers to Smart  or link them to existing Smart customers (just press the appropriate button, for each customer). 

Checking for invoiced Smart customers which don't appear in MYOB.

The next check is for customers which appear in the invoice run but don't appear in MYOB. Again, it's possible that the customer is in MYOB but has a slightly different spelling. The invoice export cannot proceed while one or more customers appear in this list. Use the buttons below the list to resolve the situation.

• Press Add selected to MYOB to add the currently highlighted customer to MYOB. Please note that MYOB must be running on this PC before export can take place.
• Press Add all to MYOB to add all the customers in the list to MYOB. Proceed with caution; you would normally only choose this option when first setting up MYOB. At other times it will be easy to inadvertently duplicate an existing customer (by using a slightly different spelling).
• Press Link to existing MYOB customer to choose from a list of MYOB customers. The name of the SMART customer will be changed to the same spelling as the MYOB customer. Again, proceed with caution - if you inadvertently select a MYOB customer with a totally different name you will get unexpected results!

At any time you can press the Show Matches button to see how MYOB and Smart customers are linked. If you have linked the wrong customers you can change the customer name in Smart or MYOB to unlink them. To refresh the list after making such a change, press Previous and then Next.

Service Codes

The code (abbreviation) for any Smart service which is invoiced or paid in the export run must be matched by the number of a MYOB Item.

If one or more Smart Service Codes aren't matched by a MYOB Item, they will be shown in the following window:

You have two choices

1. Change the code used by Smart (the letter M in the above window) to match the item number used by MYOB. This will not harm Smart or your Smart history in any way but it may affect your operators, who will have to learn the new code(s).

To change the Smart code, select \Maintenance \Service Codes from the main Smart menu.

2. Change the MYOB Item Number to match the Smart code (or add a new item). Changing the Item Number will not harm MYOB or your MYOB history in any way. The new item number will be displayed on reports, including for entries made before you changed the item number.

To add or change a MYOB item number, press the Inventory button on the main menu, then select Items List.

If the service listed has (not sold) shown after it then it appears in the MYOB Items list but does not have I Sell This Item (see below) checked. You must check this box before invoice export can proceed.

If the service listed has (not bought) shown after it then it appears in the MYOB Items list but does not have I Buy This Item (see below) checked. You must check this box before payment export can proceed.

If the service listed has (inventoried) shown after it then MYOB has the I Inventory This Item box (see below) checked. This could cause the Smart link to fail if there is insufficient stock on hand to meet invoice requirements, so it must be cleared (turned off) at all times.

Important: Don't forget to check I Sell This Item and (if you will be paying others to do this service) I buy this item in the above window and then select the appropriate tax codes.

Once you have made changes, press Recheck Export Run to see whether all service codes are now in order.

Checking for paid contractors which don't appear in MYOB.

This window will not appear unless you choose to export payments.

MYOB Suppliers and SMART Contractors are matched by name. If you have chosen to export payments, any contractor names which don't have a match will appear in this list.

In some cases the names may only have slightly different spelling.

You will not be able to proceed with export while names appear in this list.

• Press Add selected to MYOB to add the currently highlighted contractor as a MYOB Supplier. Please note that MYOB must be running on this PC before export can take place.
• Press Add all to MYOB to add all the contractors in the list as MYOB suppliers. Proceed with caution; you would normally only choose this option when first setting up MYOB. At other times it will be easy to inadvertently duplicate an existing supplier (by using a slightly different spelling).
• Press Link to existing MYOB supplier to choose from a list of MYOB suppliers. The name of the SMART contractor will be changed to the same spelling as the MYOB supplier. Again, proceed with caution - if you inadvertently select a MYOB supplier with a totally different name you will get undesirable results!

Exporting Invoices and Payments

Once all the preceding checks have been completed, export will commence.

If the export appears to stop, switch to MYOB and click OK on any message boxes which may have appeared.

Details of progress are shown in the box.

If an invoice or payment has been previously exported (an invoice or payment number with the same date is found in MYOB), it is skipped.

Warnings may occur in some cases (see invoice 18 above). In most cases these can be safely ignored. However, you should check invoices which generate warnings in MYOB to ensure that they appear correct.

As long as the word 'exported' appears next to the invoice or payment number, MYOB has accepted the item.

If any single invoice or payment fails, the export run is halted (items exported up to that point remain exported). If you can, resolve the problem and then restart the export by pressing the Previous and Next buttons. If a solution is not obvious, contact Smart support for assistance.

Enabling MYOB to use your SMART link

 In MYOB software, information about your company’s MYOB software license is held within the company data file itself. To connect SMART to your company file you must update that licence.

In order to connect SMART to MYOB, please follow the steps below:

1. Call 1300 555 151 and select the option “to connect an add-on solution to MYOB”. You will be required to quote the SMART Add-on Solution activation number - 0150892 - and your MYOB serial number.
2. Open the company file and login using the Administrator ID and Password. In the case of a multi-user system, you should use the ‘Single User’ option.

3. Once logged in, from the ‘Setup’ menu select ‘Company Information’.

4. Choose the ‘License’ button at the bottom left of the Company Information screen.

5. Follow the onscreen instructions to update the license information held within the company file.

Once these steps have been completed, the file will be activated for your Add-on Solution and SMART will be able to integrate with your MYOB company data file.

© Skorpion Pty Ltd 2006