NPD Update 3.47 (07/23/00)

 

About This Update

Note: Items 1 through 3 below were in version 3.46, which was only available for download. They apply only to Washington Post Agents.


SPECIAL NOTE: When you run NPD the first time after installing this update, several minutes will be required for NPD to make a major change to the database to support the NIE Vacation Donation feature. Depending on the size of your database and the speed of your computer this may take anywhere from a minute to 25 minutes.

The following modifications have been added since the last update of 05/30/00:

 

  1. Paper Account Number (PAN) – The PAN replaces the Prepay Account Number. The PAN applies to all customers, not just PrePays.
  2. On the Subscribers switchboard, the Paper Account Numbers button has been added to provide entry for existing customers. The printout from the Post should be in the same order as the screen. You may want to start entering the PAN with new subscribers even if you wait on entering the PAN for existing subscribers..
  3. On the Special Functions switchboard, the Prepare Agent 2 Post File button is used to prepare a file for the Washington Post. DO NOT PREPARE THIS FILE UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY THE WASHINGTON POST.
  4. Home and work phone numbers that are prefixed with a letter or the character *, #, or @ will not print on the full-page bill stub. Also, numbers prefixed with a * will be left off the Agent 2 Post file. (See #3 above.)
  5. A new feature, NIE Vac Donation, has been added. New vacations can be marked Donate Credits to NIE. In this case, a NIE Vac Donation charge is entered to offset the vacation credit, leaving the customer’s balance unchanged. Sales taxes are handled a bit differently, but it all works out. The Financial switchboard’s Transactions for Period can be used to list the NIE Vac Donations for any period. Once this is operational and I have your feedback, I will add a report to print an annual receipt for customers. Also, I’ll probably write a special report to replace the Transactions for Period report.
  6. The agent Transaction sort codes now run from A to Z instead of from N to Z. NPD needed the N code for the NIE vacation deduction, so a Z was prefixed to all user transaction sort codes. Now NPD uses A through Z, and agents use ZA through ZZ, plus Z0 through Z9. The database change to accomplish this takes a long time. See Special Note above.

 

Call or email if there are any questions or problems.

 

Earl O. Merrill

Acorn Data Systems, Inc.