New features in Pastel Accounting Version 11: Base

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1 Softline Pastel is proud to release Pastel Accounting Version 11. This latest version of Pastel not only includes enhancements to the software, but also meets the VAT requirements when sending electronic documents, as set out by SARS. So now more than ever before, you should ensure that you re on the latest version of Pastel. To find out more about these SARS requirements and how Pastel Accounting Version 11 has met them, click here. New features in Pastel Accounting Version 11: Base Electronic documents Softline Pastel is a South African business which means we re able to keep abreast of SARS requirements and consult with local tax law experts. Click here to find out more about SARS electronic document requirements and how Pastel Accounting Version 11 complies with these. Pastel IronTree online data backup Data is what keeps your business alive, so make sure it s always backed up. Click here to find out how you can do this directly from Pastel Accounting Version11. Audit Trail of Electronic Tax Documents You could be requested to list all electronic documents issued. The new Audit Trail of Electronic Tax Documents report will indicate electronically issued documents for you. Click here to read more about this feature. Changes on Tax Report A note has been added to the Tax Report to display possible reasons for differing amounts on Tax Control Account and the actual VAT Control General Ledger. Read on to find out more about this change. Pastel Fax

2 You can now fax Pastel documents directly from your Pastel Accounting software. For a small monthly fee and a low cost per fax, you can register for this time and money saving new feature. Click here to read more about this feature. New features in Pastel Accounting Version 11: Multi Currency Foreign Currency Invoices A new field has been added which will detect that an invoice is in a foreign currency and the field will automatically be populated with the necessary information. Click here to find out more about this. Reminder Message You can now set a reminder message to for the user to check the exchange rate where correct spot rates are necessary. To find out more about this benefit, click here. New features in Pastel Accounting Version 11: Bank Manager We have modified and added features to Bank Manager to allow for more options and customisation. Additional formats now available

3 Cost codes Validations Default Tax or Forced Tax New features in Pastel Accounting Version 11: Point of Sale Point of Sale has been enhanced with user-friendly new features: USB compatibility Supervisor Audit Trail Logo for Slip Printing Supervisor Dashboard Drill Down on Reports Touch Screen Interface

4 Meet all of SARS' requirements with Pastel Accounting Version 11 Do you invoices, debit notes or credit notes to your customers? If so, do you meet SARS requirements for electronic documents? If you transact with electronic documents rather than the traditional hard copy paper version, like most businesses do these days, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) requires that all of your electronic invoices, credit notes and debit notes meet certain requirements. As with most SARS requirements, noncompliance can come with hefty penalties. The most important requirement is that documents must be sent in a format with at least 128 bit encryption a standard PDF won t do. In addition, the customer must agree to receive electronic documents from the vendor under the conditions set out by SARS. Problem solved with Pastel Accounting

5 The newly released Pastel Partner and Xpress Version 11 meets the SARS requirements for the issuing of electronic documents. Because Pastel is a South African business we ve been able to consult with the experts in South African tax law so you can rest assured that an upgrade to Version 11 will keep you requirementcompliant. How it works Not all PDFs are encrypted by default, but the latest version of Pastel will do it automatically for you. Encrypted PDFs are denoted with a lock at the top left side of the document. Encryption is enabled through PDF at the time of issuing the document so there s no need to change settings in the new version of Pastel software. And what else? The transmitted electronic document will be considered as the original document and must bear the words Computer Generated Tax Invoice. Any copies generated by the system thereafter, whether ed or printed, must bear the words Computer Generated Copy Tax Invoice. It s important to remember that if the electronic version is the main document, a hard copy version cannot be sent as mere good measure. If the client wants a hard copy version, they must request to receive a copy of the original. When it comes to record keeping, both you and your client must retain the documents in readable and encrypted form for a period of five years from the date of the supply. This holds true for your accountant too. As a Cover customer, you can upgrade your old version of Pastel FREE. Ensure you receive your pack that will be couriered over the next few months, by updating your delivery details on our Customer Zone. Upgrade today & meet SARS' requirements at no additional cost!

6 Electronic documents Softline Pastel is a South African business which means we re able to keep abreast of SARS requirements and consult with local tax law experts. Electronic documents, which include tax invoices, debit notes and credit notes, must be transmitted in a format with at least 128 bit encryption. All PDF documents generated in Pastel Accounting Version 11 will automatically carry 128 bit encryption. In addition, the recipient must agree to receive electronic documents. A sample letter of consent is available in Pastel Accounting Version 11 another great reason to install your upgrade. Pastel IronTree online data backup This latest software version also includes an option to register for Pastel IronTree, a secure online backup service which will safely store all of your electronic documentation, where you can access it 24 hours a day. SARS requires companies to retain invoices for five years from the date of the last invoice issued to any customer. With Pastel IronTree, you can rest assured that all of your important documentation is being backed up for you, which you can retrieve whenever you need it.

7 Audit Trail of Electronic Tax Documents You could be requested to list all electronic documents that have been issued. At the time of the original issue of the document, Pastel will automatically flag whether the individual documents were issued electronically, and they will appear on the new Audit Trail of Electronic Documents report. Changes on Tax Report The Tax Type Report displays the amount of the Tax Control Account, which is the balance on the actual VAT

8 Control General Ledger account and does not necessarily tie up to the sum of the items listed on the report. To highlight the importance of reconciling this report, we have added a note to the report which will display possible reasons for the difference. This note will only display when there is a discrepancy. Pastel Fax You are now able to fax Pastel documents directly from your Pastel Accounting software. Once you have registered for this feature, your program will be automatically configured to send faxes such as invoices and statements to your customers. Set up customer fax numbers within the Pastel customer record, and faxes can then be sent as a default or on request. You will also have access to a web interface offering delivery reports per fax sent, which includes the ability to resend or forward faxes. This feature will save you money on fax machines, toner cartridges, paper and fixed line rental costs, as well as being more efficient and user-friendly than manual faxing. This service is available in South Africa only and is a paid for service, with a minimum monthly charge.

9 Foreign Currency Invoices The VAT Act requires that the value of the documents be displayed...in the currency of the republic.... To cater for this, a new field called Total invoice amount displayed in home currency has been added to the Forms Designer which you can add to the documents layout. This field will automatically detect that the invoice is in a foreign currency, and the field will be populated with the necessary information, for example: For VAT purposes, the Total Rand equivalent is R6, at today s (01/03/2010) exchange rate of $ to R1.00. If the document is not a foreign currency document, this field will not appear on the invoice. Reminder Message In order to assist you in ensuring that the correct spot rate is entered in the invoice, an option is available per user. If this setting is on and you move between invoice lines when an invoice is prepared in a foreign currency, you will receive a reminder message to check the exchange rate.

10 Additional formats now available You can now import downloaded bank statements from Mercantile Bank and Bank of Athens. In addition to these two new banks, we ve also included general CSV format, so should you bank with one of the institutions not supported by Bank Manager, you now have the ability to format the downloaded bank statement to include only the information required in the CSV format. The CSV format only requires the date, description and amount of the transaction.

11 Cost codes If you make use of the Cost Codes, you will be pleased to hear that we ve included the Cost Codes in Bank Manager, which will allow you to allocate the relevant Cost Code to the transaction before you import the transactions into your Cash Book. Cost Codes can be added to the account coding and splitting of transactions for future use. Validations As with normal Cash Book processing, certain control accounts cannot be used. We have now included validations in Bank Manager to not allow control accounts such as Customer or Supplier Control Accounts, Retained Income and Foreign Bank accounts to be allocated in Bank Manager.

12 Default or Forced Tax When using General Ledger accounts set to Default Tax Type or Forced Tax, these tax types will be set in Bank Manager. Previously, these settings were not used, and each line in Bank Manager would have to be changed. USB Compatibility Support for Posiflex USB Cash Drawers and Pole Displays has been added.

13 Supervisor Audit Trail With the introduction of the per field, per user access, we added an option for the field to be changed by using the supervisor password. We have now included a report which will reflect these changes. This report will show the date and document number, the operator name and that of the supervisor who allowed the override, as well as indicate what that change was. For example, if a price needed to be changed and the user required the supervisor password to do so, the report would reflect this action as Authorised a selling price change. Logo for Slip Printing We have made it quick and easy to include your company logo on the till slip. Under Setup...Post Slip Picture, you can simply browse to find the.jpg or.bmp file and select the size of the image. Point of Sale will then reformat the till slip to automatically include this logo.

14 Supervisor Dashboard A Supervisor Dashboard is now available, and will reflect graphs showing information such as Top 20 Customers, Top 20 Items, Sales by Operator, Sales by Payment Type, and Sales by Salesman. With full drill down capability on the graphs, the dashboard provides a birds-eye view of the day-to-day happenings in your Point of Sale environment. Drill Down on Reports All reports originating from a source document will now have full drill down capability. This functionality will make day-to-day queries fast and easy.

15 Touch Screen Interface This interface pulls through all functionality available to operators, but in a touch screen friendly format. Larger buttons are used to ensure touch accuracy, and easily programmable buttons are made available for your top 14 selling items to speed up processing.