Adding companies to a group

Adding a new company to the group

Commands in the File, Link menu are used to control which companies are included in the group module.

When setting up a new group file, the first step is to add those companies forming the group to the system. To do this choose File, Link, New group member, and then select the computations for the group companies which either correspond exactly to the group period or which overlap to some extent with the relevant period. This is done by using the <Ctrl> or <Shift> keys to select multiple companies to add to the group from the dialog box.

The system will load the computations for each company in turn, and create entries on the group schedules for that company. This may take some time for a large group.

Note: To speed up the process of loading files, the File, Open dialog includes a check box, which allows a file to be loaded without its corresponding linked files; this functionality is mainly aimed at users who have large groups and want to load the group module quickly. The file remains linked to the underlying computations, however, these will show as old links.

Once loaded and linked, the individual company computations will be saved and closed. Note that if you wish to continue working on the underlying computation you will have to re-open it (Choose File, Open).

The group file should be saved when it has been set up and at regular intervals thereafter, as there is no auto-save on these files.

When a newly built company is added to group the following error message will often be displayed: "Update required Group simplified & payment arrangement settings differ." This is because a new company file is initially set to be without both group simplified arrangements and group payment arrangements, while the group will assume the company should be included in both. To include the company as part of these arrangements then chose File, Link, Update Companies. Otherwise, change the flags on the Group's O schedule (Group members) as appropriate.

Navigator organisation

To access the file navigator, press F5 or select View, Navigator. When viewing group module schedules in the Flat view, the schedules will be ordered alphabetically. When viewing group module schedules in the Folders view, the schedules will be ordered by company.

Linking individual companies into the group module

The companies will be linked into the group matrix in the order in which they were added. The rows and columns on the schedules may be re-ordered using the Edit, Move menu. The companies should appear on the A schedule (Group summary).

If the group period and the period of account of one of the selected files do not intersect (i.e. there is no common period), the file will not be linked into the group and an error will be shown on screen.

The user can add additional companies in subsequent sessions; however, care must be taken to ensure that the same company is not added to the group twice.

Period of account

A company can only be a member of one group file corresponding exactly with its period of account. If a computation file has already been linked to one such group file, then it cannot be linked to another. An error will be shown on screen if this is attempted. In order to allow for non-corresponding periods, a company can be attached to a second group if its period of account does not match the group period.

Naming convention

The software stores the name of companies in upper case format only. For presentational purposes, the Group module converts this upper case name in to a format where only the first letter of each word is capitalised (can be amended through Format, Cell, Text).

Non Abacus companies

It is possible to include in the Group module a company whose computations have not been prepared in the software. To do this, develop a Non Abacus company schedule from any of the principal schedules, and enter the appropriate details.

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