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"DATASMITH PAYROLL 9.5" (the newest version of DATASMITH Payroll) is here!  Watch this space for weekly updates on new features!  Some of the exciting new features already demonstrated include:

• NEW SYSTEM FEATURES
  • MOM's here to help!! Our unique Mouse-Optional Menu system tames the "accountant's least favorite peripheral device" (Accounting Today)!
    • Use a mouse if you want to: no problem.
    • Use your keyboard and touch-type through the program if you're not yet a member of the "click clique": no feature is inaccessible or made awkward; operation is convenient and natural. Touch-type operation is provided for comfortable and efficient data entry.
  • New features accessible from pull-down menus via keyboard or mouse
    • Change working data path
    • Change current password. Once in a while you need to access protected critical functions: these require the Master (or Security Officer) Password. Now you can change the password being used for the current session right from a pull-down menu and continue (no need to exit the program and log in again!).
    • Printer definition. The printer definition screens are accessible from each major menu in payroll.
    • Master File status. This screen is even more useful now, with displays for the current User, Help, and Program directories.
    • What Next?  Tells you where you are in the Payroll Cycle and what the next major step is.
    • Diagnostic functions
      • Memory report
      • Print line count
      • Repeat detail n times
      • Unattended Operation control
  • Five Kinds of  on-line HELP! DATASMITH Payroll 'REAL HELP'(tm) adds the equivalent of 160 new manual pages ...all on-line and available at the touch of a key!
    • Current Menu Item definition This kind of HELP answers the question "What does this selection do?"
    • Table of Contents search Look up a topic of interest and find out "how to..."
    • General Help (navigation, etc.) Don't remember what the highlighted letters mean? Start here...
    • Specialized Help (state-specific tax notes, etc) Select the tax table for a state and activate Specialized Help to get notes on state withholding, notes on any peculiarities in withholding rules or methods, and instructions on how to set up employees for withholding in that state.
    • Local Practice: Help for doing things YOUR way Create your own HELP using only a text editor. A great way to remember special instructions for a particular client!
    The DATASMITH REAL HELP(tm) system is a true context-sensitive Help system. It "knows" where you are in the payroll cycle and what you are doing now!
  • A great new print manager!
    • Handles output to printer, screen, or text file on disk.
    • SCROLLING SPEED CONTROL lets the operator actually read the screen no matter how fast your CPU is!.
    • New!! PAGE UP to redisplay the part you missed as it went by on the screen...even when the report is hundreds of pages long! Review the part you missed and then scroll back to the end...or cancel if you've seen enough! 
    • New!! Support for high-end laser printers with PJL (Hewlett-Packard's Printer Job Language) capability!  Some of the new network printers need extra control codes to tell them what language you're speaking: DATASMITH Payroll can automatically handle these printers. 
    • Supports up to four printers. You don't have to use laser checks just to get laser-quality reports from the system: you can use both!!  This feature greatly simplifies operation...cuts down on paper changes, check stock inventory, etc.!
    • PAUSE allows time to fix a printing problem without starting all over again!
    • CANCEL allows you to kill the job immediately if you want to.
  • Great Network Support!
    • Each Printer can be designated and automatically handled as a Network/Shared printer or a Local/Dedicated printer. Once set up,  the operator need not be concerned about the difference: DATASMITH Payroll will automatically take extra care not to tie up shared printers for one second more than absolutely necessary, and will always put the printer back the way it found it.
    • Two or more workstations can share a payroll data file for simultaneous reporting.
    • Two or more workstations can share "smart" program modules across a LAN...even if the workstations are using different desktop operating systms!
  • Runs in as little as 384 KB of RAM!  We've all been through the pain of an upgrade to a "bigger" machine with "lots" of  RAM only to find out that our old programs will no longer run...not enough RAM!!?!  The real problem is that more and more "system overhead"  for sound, FAX, modem, network connection, etc. is being crammed into "conventional memory".  We'll help you out by bringing out a new version which actually requires LESS memory than its less-capable predecessor!  Sure, we'll use any extra memory you have available to improve performance...but payroll can be run successfully even when your system is mis-configured or severely overloaded!
  • Powerful new utilities for installation, update, uninstall cover virtually any environment, including Windows 95 and OS/2-Warp, and network installations. specific installation utilities make installation  and configuration of your desktop easy.
• DATA PATH AND VIDEO MENU CHANGES
  • Data Path Library contents can be displayed BOTH alphabetically by Select Code AND alphabetically by User-Assigned Payroll Name.
  • Browse through existing directories or create new payroll data paths...right from Data Path Library selection.
• REPORTS
  • BROWSE for Employees if you can't remember their employee ID! Instead of entering the employee ID, you can browse through the employee file by Name, Social Security Number, Zip Code, or Department...OR by ID in order to make your selection! This feature operates quickly and easily whether you have 10 or 10,000 employees!
  • Extended Accounting Journal Preview Reports now show the SOURCE of each account number!! No more hunting through the Company, Department, and Employee screens to find that number with the wrong digit: one glance and you KNOW where it was entered!
  • Deduction Report is now available for old periods as well as the current pay period. Select the subject pay period from a convenient list which displays all the pay dates within an operator-chosen time frame.
• MASTER REPORTS
  • Employee Master List is now available in handy one sheet/employee form as well as the original all-in-one list.
  INITIALIZE AND UTILITIES
  • The new KEYFILE MAINTENANCE program allows you to build ALL keys with one selection!
  TAX TABLE MAINTENANCE
  • A new screen shows you the "last revised" date on each tax table so you can quickly determine whether your tables are current.
  • Specialized HELP gives you convenient, on-line access to tax notes for all states at the touch of a key!
  JOB COST REPORT
  • A new job list preparation/edit facility makes this report easy to use. Convenient REPRINT selection allows you to obtain as many Job Cost Report copies as you want without processing delays.
  • Now you can view the entire Job Cost Report on the screen! The new print manager allows you to scroll LEFT and RIGHT in order to see all the columns of this 130 column report!

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