RELEASE NOTES IMS Utility Billing Version 6.271 4:19PM Sep/16/2011 Customer Display Adjustments Made: ---------------------------------- Vertical lines in the list of work orders, which appeared in release 6.270, were removed. Also, the titles at the top of each tab were lowered slightly. Utility Process Added: ---------------------- A new utility program was added to UBUTIL.EXE that may be used to purge duplicate customer history records. Changes to Current Balance Report: ---------------------------------- The summary page of the current balance report now includes column totals. A value of zero may now be used in the past due column of the delinquent balance filter for including non-delinquent accounts in the aging breakdown. Previously a zero was used to disable the delinquent balance filter. Blanking out the past due column is now used to disable the filter. Spreadsheet Option Added: ------------------------- A new spreadsheet generation procedure was added at "Activities, Make Spreadsheet, Rates" that will generate a list of rates by account with the option of including account name, address, and other attributes. Rate Table Manipulation Simplified: ----------------------------------- When rates are based on consumption as is typical for water service, a rate table is required to handle rates that vary depending on the consumption. Typical rate tables specify a base amount plus a charge per unit of consumption for each level of the table. There are different schemes for arranging the table. One is that the charge can be computed by entering the table at the top, computing the charge for that level of the table, and continuing to the next level of the table until reaching the level that includes the consumption of the account, and summing the charge for all levels used. In the IMS rate tables the total charge is determined by using only the level of the table that includes the consumption of the account. Differences in the unit rate at different levels is accounted for by adjusting the base charge at each level. Some users have found this confusing and non-intuitive. The changes made in this release are meant to address this issue. On the window at "Setup, Lists, Rate Classes, Change" the Base and Extra columns are no longer displayed if the computation method is Metered Usage. There are two new checkboxes above the table. The first is labeled Show Base. If this box is checked the two columns (Base and Extra) will be displayed. When entering water rates, for example, users need only to enter the consumption and the price per unit at each level of the table. The Base and Extra charges will be calculated for each level of the table as the user steps through the table. The automatic calculation will occur whether the Base and Extra columns are hidden or not. If the Disable Base Calculation box is checked the automatic calculation will not take place. If both the Show Base and Disable Base Calculation boxes are checked, things will function exactly as in previous versions of Utility Billing. Note that these changes apply only to rates using the Metered Usage computation method. Manual Meter Reading Regression Fixed: -------------------------------------- Due to changes in the way the enter key was handled between compiler version 6.3 and 8.0, when manually entering meter readings, an extra keystroke or mouse click was required to step to the next meter. Splash Window Changed: ---------------------- The full program version is now displayed in the opening banner window. Previously only the major version was shown, and the full version was available only at "Help, About Utility Billing". Compiler Version Updated: ------------------------- This application was developed using version 8.0 of the development environment and language compiler, updated from version 7.3. All of the runtime modules are also updated and may have different file names. This change is transparent to the user, although minor appearance differences in windows may be noticed, such as shading and format of field values. Installation: ------------- If this version is to be installed on a Vista or Windows 7 system where UAC will be used, the following procedure is recommended: Before installing this version, start UB and go to Setup, Configuration and set Data File Path to where the data files are currently located, even if it is currently the same folder as where the programs reside. (If the programs and data are in the same folder the Data Path will probably be blank.) Click on OK and exit UB. Install this version of UB to the directory where the UB data files are located so the data can be converted. Once Utility Billing has been started and the data files converted, you may exit from UB and move programs and/or data as required to adhere to the requirements for UAC, including copying ub.ini from the Windows directory to c:\Users\Public\Public Documents\IMS\UB. Future versions of install packages will address the dual location issue so the post-installation moving of files will not be required. If installing to a Windows XP system or if UAC is disabled none of the above procedures are necessary. Install as for previous versions. Transfers from this version of Utility Billing will require General Ledger version 4.506 or later. All UB data files that have been changed since the version being replaced will be automatically converted from any version back to 6.14. Be aware that the space required by the database tends to grow with subsequent versions, and that prior versions of changed data files are saved from each subsequent version. Be sure there is enough free disk space before starting UB. This release requires the Pervasive SQL database. Compatibility Requirements: --------------------------- General Ledger: 4.506 or later. Inventory Work Order: 2.210 or later.