EXTRA! - Getting Started

  In many cases, newcomers to Extra! will already have an established database that they need converted to the Extra! data formats. In such cases, Extra! will be configured for the new client along with the converted database. If you will be "starting from scratch", then the following directions are a must read if you want to get off on the right foot. If any part of this setup tutorial causes you confusion, it is best to contact Dennisoft for further instruction.

Step #1 - Create Your Database "shell". By default, Extra! comes with a sample database. You will not use this database when you are ready to create your own. This first step lets you create all the files (many of them empty ones) in a new database that you will name anything that you want. This new database will be the home for all of your information.

From Extra!'s main menu, select File|Create a New Database.
In the screen displayed, enter a name for your database. Typically, this might be something like "BUSINESS" or "ABCCO", for example, if your company name is ABC Company.
Click the Create pushbutton.

The program will then create your starter files. When it finishes, close the Create a New Database window. After you do, Extra! will automatically restart. When it does, log on as usual; but this time, select your newly created database name from the Database drop field provided. Extra! will automatically display your database selection every time you log on from this point forward.

Step #2 - Enter Business Information. This next step allows you to enter basic information, e.g. Name, Address, etc. into the system so that some printed items such as invoices, for example, show your business information to the recipients of those invoices.

From Extra!'s main menu, select File|Business Information File.
In the screen displayed, enter all of the information requested. Please click on the screen's Help pushbutton for any questions that you may have on any of the requested information.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Step #3 - Populate City Lookup Table. Whenever new addresses are added to the system, the city entry is selected from a drop down field of city names from which to select. That drop down field's contents are determined by you and come from this file. Therefore, you need to simply enter the city name of every city to which you deliver into this table.

From Extra!'s main menu, select File|System Tables|City Lookup File.
Click the Add pushbutton to add a record.
Enter a city name and state into the fields provided.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Repeat this process until all cities have been entered.
Step #4 - Populate the Publication Codes Table. This file defines the various publications that you either publish and/or deliver. You must create one code for each publication that you deliver. This code defines the publication. For example, you may create a code of NYT which stands for the New York Times. Click on the Help pushbutton for important additional information concerning the entry of these codes.

From Extra!'s main menu, select File|System Tables|Publication File.
Click the Add pushbutton to add a record.
Enter the required information into the fields provided.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Repeat this process until all of the publications that you deliver are entered into the file.
Step #5 - Review and Add (if necessary) Any New System Codes. Extra! comes with several files that are used by the system as lookup files that various screens will use when you add information into the system. By default, all of these files have been populated with the most commonly used data. It is a good idea to review the content of these files and add any codes that you might need in addition to those listed. All of these files are found under File|System Tables from Extra!32's main menu. Please click on the Help pushbutton of each screen to obtain additional information for each topic. The selections are as follows:

Transaction Codes File
Bulk Category Codes File
Complaint Codes File
Stop Codes File
Sale Source Codes File
Service Warning Codes File
Building Types Codes File
Route Status Codes File
Warehouse Code File
Step #6 - Validate the Content of the Delivery Frequency Codes File. This file contains codes that define the delivery frequency of the product(s) that you deliver. For example, a code of MS may mean that an account receives Monday thru Sunday delivery and a code of S may mean that an account only receives a Sunday product. Make sure that a code exists for every delivery frequency that you use. You may delete any frequency codes that you will not be using. Please click on the Help pushbutton for additional information on adding these codes.

From Extra!'s main menu, select File|System Tables|Delivery Frequency Codes File.
Click the Add pushbutton to add a record.
Enter the required information into the fields provided.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Repeat this process until all of the frequencies that you need are entered into the file.
Step #7 - Set up Security (optional). Extra! gives you the ability to grant and deny access to various parts of the system. The Security Administration screen allows you to create entries of logon ids and passwords for those who are allowed to use the program; as well as create access levels for each user, so that only certain users can access more sensitive areas of the system. By default, Extra! comes with a default configuration that may be acceptable to you. Please click on the Help pushbutton for additional information on setting up security.

From Extra!'s main menu, select File|Administration.
Step #8 - Set up Publication Pricing. The Publication Price File is used to create subscription codes (offer codes) that determine how much you charge for various publications, their frequencies and their subscription length. This is the heart of the system; so it is extremely important that the codes you create are created properly so that customers can be billed accurately. Please click the screen's Help pushbutton for specific information on how to create these codes. It is even recommended that after you create these codes, that you contact Dennisoft to ensure that the codes you've created will work as desired.

From Extra!'s main menu, select Finance|Publication Price File.
Click the Add pushbutton to add a record.
Enter the required information into the fields provided.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Repeat this process until all of the offer codes that you need are entered into the file.
Step #9 - Set up Sales Tax Rates Table. This file is used to enter a state's sales tax rate for those states that charge sales tax and you are responsible for collecting the tax. By default, all states are already listed in the file, all you need to do is enter the tax rate for the state(s) that you will be collecting tax.

From Extra!'s main menu, select Finance|Sales Tax Rates Table.
Scroll to the state(s) desired and click on the Edit pushbutton.
Enter the state's tax rate.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Step #10 - Set up Carrier Information File. If you have distributors that deliver your products for you; or you have a distribution area that is broken up into specific geographical routes, then this file is used to define those distributors/routes. Create one route code for each carrier/route that you use. If all of your publications are mailed, you can skip this area.

From Extra!'s main menu, select Delivery|Carrier Maintenance|Carrier Information File.
Click the Add pushbutton to add a record.
Enter the required information into the fields provided.
Click the Save pushbutton.
Repeat this process until all of the routes that you need are entered into the file.
Step #11 - Modify System Configuration Screen. This file contains critical settings that Extra! will use in various parts of the system. Only the most critical for the initial setup will be discussed here.

From Extra!'s main menu, select Utilities|Configure System Settings.
The 1st tab displayed is Entry Defaults. Assuming that you have performed the steps in the order indicated within this document, select a default city from the drop field presented. The default city is simply defined as the city that you most frequently deliver. Do likewise for the state entry. At this time, the Zip Code field will be empty since no customers have yet been entered into the system. Therefore, type in the most commonly delivered zip code. Next, select the default Bill Class that you will use to bill the majority of your customers. Please click the Help pushbutton for additional information on understanding this selection. Finally, select a default Billing Frequency. Again, please refer to Extra!'s help file for information on this setting.
The 2nd tab, Billing Cycle Setup is critical. Here you will tell the system through which period of time you have billed each Billing Class that you will be using. Extra! has the ability to bill its accounts in any way that the subscriber desires. For example, you can have some customers billed in 28 day increments; while others are billed by calendar month; yet others by term. You need to know at this point how your customers will be billed. If, for example, you will only be billing customers by calendar months, then the only entry you will be concerned with is the Last Monthly Bill Thru Date. All other fields will be left alone. Below is a sample setup that assumes that one will bill his customers in any way that they desire. Therefore, every field will be populated. Again, if you won't be billing by any of the methods shown, just leave that field empty.
Let's assume that I am starting to enter customers in October, 2005.

I decide that if I have any Term billing customers, that I will bill them every 45 days. 45 is an arbitrary number. This setting means that each term customer's billing period will be 45 days. (Note that this is a setting that is rarely used) To accommodate this type of billing, I will enter 45 into the Base # of Days in a Term Billing Cycle field.

I decide that if I have any customers that want to be billed in 4 week increments, I need a date in the past that will be the official start date of when those four week cycles will begin. Try to use a date in January of the previous year. (I won't explain why). I enter 1/5/04 into the 28 Day Month Start Date field. This date starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday. Once entered, Extra! will keep track of the latest 4 week cycle ending date for the current and future years.

The Last Weekly Bill Thru Date is reserved for billing Stores only. The date that I enter needs to be last date that my stores were billed through so that my new records will be billed effective the very next day (Typically a Monday). All of my store accounts were billed through 10/16/05, so that's the date I enter.

I decide that all the new customers that I will be entering in October will have balances and bill thru dates through the end of October. Therefore, I will need to tell the system that I have billed all monthly accounts through October. I will enter 10/31/05 into the Last Monthly Bill Thru Date field. Please note that it does not matter if some accounts are billed beyond 10/31/05. This will be covered in step #12.

I decide that all of my Term billing customers have been billed through 10/24/05 and will be billed in increments of 45 days thereafter. I enter 10/24/05 into the Last Term Bill Thru Date field.

Based upon my initial setting for the 28 Day Month Start Date, I determine that all of my current 28 day month customers are billed through 10/09/05. I enter this date into the 4 Week Month Bill Thru Date field. This date is determined by starting with the 28 Day Month Start Date and counting 4 weeks at a time until I arrived at the date 10/09/05.

Anniversary Date accounts are accounts that always billed on the day of the month in which they start. For example 1/15 thru 2/14 or 1/15 thru 4/14. The start of the billing cycle is always the same day of the month in which they received their first paper. Based upon a review of my records, I determine that the last anniversary bill thru date was 10/15/05. I will enter this date into the Last Anniversary Bill Thru Date field.

The 5th tab, Miscellaneous Settings has options that you will need to consider before entering your first customer. Please click on the Help pushbutton to determine whether or not you will need to activate any of these settings. Of particular importance is the Maintain Routing File setting. This is ON by default. If you are building a database from scratch, it is recommended that you turn this feature OFF until you have finished entering your subscriber database. This will allow you to add customers without the system constantly warning you of unroutable addresses.
Step #12 - Enter your customers. Adding customers is a 2 step process. First, a customer record is created, then a service is added to the record thereby activating the account.

Select File|Subscriber Records to begin adding customers to the database.
Click the pushbutton with the green plus sign (+) to open the customer add screen.
Fill in the required fields then click the Save pushbutton to save the record.
Next, click on the Service Tab. At the bottom of the screen, click on the Add Subscription pushbutton. Fill in the required fields. If you are building your database from scratch, it is imperative that you populate the Override Fields section. Doing so gives you the ability to quickly enter the account's current bill thru date and starting balance. If you don't use these fields, Extra!32 will perform a balance calculation based on the start date that you enter and the resulting balance may not be what you want. The rule of thumb is this: The Balance you enter must be the actual balance through the Bill Thru Date that you enter. Suppose for example, that you have an account that has a balance of $20.00 through 10/31/05. You would enter $20.00 into the Starting Balance field and 10/31/05 into the Bill Thru Date field. If an account has a credit balance of -$20.00 through 10/31/05, you would enter -20.00 into the Starting Balance field and 10/31/05 into the Bill Thru Date field. If an account has a zero balance through 12/31/05, even though you've told the system that all accounts have been billed through 10/31/05, you simply stay with the rule of thumb. Enter 0 as the Starting Balance and 12/31/05 as the Bill Thru Date. Extra!32 will bill the customer at the right time in the future.
Continue entering you accounts until finished.
This covers the most basic setup for Extra2. There are a lot more features that need to be explored. Some you may need, some you may not need. It is important that you explore its other features as well so that you don't miss out on any of the tasks that Extra2 can do for you. Read Extra!'s help files and don't hesitate to call for help whenever you have questions!

If you are using the Windows Vista operating system, then the help files will not open when you click on any Help pushbutton. Click here for the solution to this problem.