Sage 50cloud Accounts New Feature: Data Management
When you have a really large data set ...
Posted by Alison Mead on 27/06/2022 @ 8:00AM
I have always been a huge advocate of good housekeeping in Sage 50cloud to keep data clean and your accounts efficient and have blogged about this before. Sage has introduced a new management tool to make the deletions of old accounts and data simpler ...
If you want a hand with the new Sage 50cloud data management tool then do get in touch!
You do need to keep your records for a certain amount of time for compliance reasons, but as long as you have regular data backups you could go back to if needed, or even better if you archive your data annually as part of your year end process, then you can keep just your more recent records in your live data and refer to the backups or archives for compliance purposes.
"How do you switch Data Management on?"
If you want to take advantage of the new Data Management feature first you need to switch it on, so the system can warn you when data volumes are approaching recommended limits. The feature is in Settings->Company Preferences->Parameters and is a check box entitled 'Enable Data Management'.
If you have a really large data set and you are getting constant warnings that you are not ready to deal with, you can switch the warnings back off and still use the new tools as and when you want to rather than when you are told by the system.
You also need to be logged into your company as either the manager, administrative user or a user with full access to the software. If you are a user with partial access then this area may not be visible to you until your access rights are updated.
Reviewing your Data:
Backup and archive - it is always advised before you follow any processes which will remove data that you at least backup and preferably archive your data first so you can still view the deleted data after it has been cleansed from your live data.
Review your data - this window shows you the current number of transactions, invoices, customer and supplier records and compares it to recommended levels.
You will then be given links to do each of the following:
Remove audit trail transactions - this takes you to clear audit trail
Remove invoices - this is the part I like best in the system - in the old days you had to decide what invoices you wanted to delete and do a search based on dates and hit delete - this new system allows you to give a date up to which you want invoices deleted and remove with one click. If your data is huge I recommend doing this in smaller chunks or the system might look like it has crashed when it is still working.
Review and remove customer records - a list of customer records which can be deleted is brought up and you can select the ones you want to remove and delete. This can catch people out as if you have just created a new customer and have not posted any transactions to the account yet these could be suggested to so I would look carefully and make sure you are just deleting old dormant records not any new ones.
Review and remove supplier records - this is exactly the same as for customer records.
So, now there is no excuse for data going back years and years and having lots of 'do not use' accounts in your Sage data which slows your processing and reporting down.
If you need any help or support in upgrading your software to v28.1 or want an extra pair of eyes to watch over how you are using this new data management tool then do get in touch for a handholding session.
Until next time ...
ALISON MEAD
Would you like to know more?
If anything I've written in this blog post resonates with you and you'd like to discover more about the new Sage 50cloud data management function, it may be a great idea to give me a call on 01604 261655 and let's see how I can help you.
Alison loves bookkeeping and supporting bookkeepers. She has been helping clients to be better bookkeepers in Sage 50 for over 24 years and has been Xero Accredited in accounts and payroll for a number of years too.
She specialises in a very unique hand-holding method of training, helping bookkeepers and business owners to use their accounts software as and when they need support in setting up and producing their invoices, reports and financial information.
Alison combines her role at Silicon Bullet with her Forever Living network marketing businesses and is often to be seen at business networking meetings as she likes to keep busy.
You know what they say: if you want something done well ask a busy person!
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