Set Up – Overview

Prelude Desktop products are complete and integrated systems to help you manage your business.

Elements of the system must be configured to meet your particular needs and business model. This is done through the Parameters pages. In this help file the details are contained in the Set Up and Parameter sections.

In the Set Up section we will introduce the minimum parameters required to get you started. Then we give an overview of all the parameters in Parameters – Overview and finally go through all the parameter pages in turn.

We suggest you use Company 01 for your main business data and retain Company 00 to create copies for future use. Company 00 has features for general housekeeping and we recommend it is kept as is.

First, it would be a good idea to create a copy of Company 01 – see Create New Companies. You can then always revert back to this copy if you wish to start again.

You can complete and/or vary the company configuration at any time as your business needs or preferences change in Set Up – Company Details.

When you have done this you will be ready to input your Opening Data.

Company Configuration – Set up whatever parameters and security that you require:
– When using the system for the first time.
– When creating a new company – see Create New Companies.
– When your business needs change – you may need to process data in a different way than before.
– When expanding and/or reorganizing your business
– When you need to restrict user access to companies – create a password to be input each time the company is selected. See Set Up – Company Details.

Preparation:
– Ensure all other users are off the system.
– Select the source Company – See Change Companies.
– If editing an existing company ensure you have an up-to-date backup of the company data both before and after making any changes – see Back Up & Restore Company Data.

Filing Control Documentation:
Print the details entered as a .pdf – run Print a List of Parameter Settings and keep this in a secure place, noting the date on the printout.
If you subsequently need to make changes to the details reprint and date the output. You may consider changing company passwords – keep a note of what these are and the date on which they changed in a secure place. You may consider taking a backup of the new company before entering any data so that you can revert back to it if necessary and storing this in a backed up folder with the notes.