FAS for Peachtree Version 2003.1 Release Notes Welcome! Welcome to the 2003.1 version of FAS for Peachtree. Please read this document in its entirety. It contains important information that you should know before using FAS for Peachtree. Installation Before starting the installation, please close all other applications and restart your computer. This will ensure that all programs that may cause installation conflicts are removed from memory. Sybase, the developer of the database engine included in this product, has brought to our attention information regarding the use of database files in certain configurations. Specifically, they are discouraging the practice of accessing data files that are not on the same physical machine as the database engine (the program that controls access to the data files). So, what does this mean for you? For the vast majority of our customers this information will have no impact. Anyone that has installed our products and continues to operate them in their default configurations is not impacted by this information. The default configurations for our single-user products access data on the local machine (where the database engine is located) and the default configurations for our network products access data where the server is installed (also where the database engine is located). However, it is not recommended that single-user products be used to access data on shared network drives. It is also not recommended that network products be used to access data on different physical machines from their server. If data files are stored on a different physical machine than where the database engine is currently installed, it is recommended that the data files be copied to the same physical machine as the database engine before they are accessed. If you have additional questions about this issue and its impact on your use of one of our products, please contact Technical Support at 1-800-336-1420 or visit our Web site at www.peachtree.com/fas. A technical release bulletin regarding this issue, titled "Accessing Database Files via a Network Share," is also available from Sybase. To read this document, go to the Sybase Support Search page at http://support.sybase.com/fd_search.html, and search for document number 47922. Known Issues Averaging Convention for Method AD Pursuant to the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, you can now elect to use a 9-year life when depreciating under the Alternative Depreciation System for New York Liberty Zone (NYLZ) Leasehold Improvement property. In prior releases, when choosing a property type of R, regardless of the estimated life you entered, the system would use the midmonth averaging convention. To support this new provision, the system was changed to use the half-year averaging convention if you entered an estimated life of less than 20 years, a property type of R, and a depreciation method of AD. After receiving some complaints about this, we've decided to revert back to the behavior of prior versions of the software. The system now uses the midmonth convention, rather than the half-year convention, when you select property type R and a depreciation method of AD. Please note the following exception: If you select a property type of R, depreciation method AD, and an estimated life of 9 years, the system assumes it is NYLZ Leasehold Improvement property and uses the half-year averaging convention as required for this type of property. Requiring Entry in User Fields FAS for Peachtree allows you to require users to enter data in a field (by using the Customize Fields dialog box). If you select this option for a field, then FAS for Peachtree does not allow you to save a new asset unless data is entered in the field. A problem could arise if you require entry in one of the User fields (User Field 1 through 5) and then attempt to add an asset using the Add Asset Wizard. The Add Asset Wizard does not have an option for entering data in the User fields. Therefore, FAS for Peachtree does not permit you to create an asset by using the Add Asset Wizard if you have required entry in a User field. You can solve this problem by following these steps: 1) Select Customize/Fields from the menu bar. 2) Select User Field 1 in the list box. 3) Make sure the entry in the View field is something other than "Require Entry." 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 for User Fields 2 through 5. You can then use the Add Asset Wizard to enter assets. The Best logo and Best Software are registered trademarks of Best Software, Inc. FAS for Peachtree is a trademark of Best Software, Inc. Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.