SEPTEMBER 2009

Welcome to the September edition of the Jonas Insider! Fall is a busy time of year for Jonas, stay updated with current events by reading through our monthly newsletter.

September’s Featured Article was published in  the July/August issue of CFMA Building Profits Magazine, reproduced here with permission.   “Three Things You Can Learn from Your Software Provider” should be of special interest to all Jonas clients.

Our Important Reminders section announces U.S. Payroll tax changes that will become effective October 1, 2009.

Check the News and Events section for information on this week’s User Group Conference in Toronto.  Also in this section, find out if Jonas will be exhibiting at a tradeshow in your city.  User Groups and tradeshows are a great opportunity to meet Jonas staff and get your questions answered.

Make the most of your Jonas Software! Take advantage of our online training classes without leaving your office. This month Jonas invites Matt Stevens, author of Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day, as a guest speaker to discuss Overhead Costing and Application for Construction Companies in our Upcoming Training Webinars section.

Get acquainted with another member of Jonas’ highly-trained support staff, Merlyn Tugano, in the Know Your Support Rep section.

Do you think you’re a Jonas Software expert? Test your knowledge in our FAQ’s and Helpful Hints section provided to you by our support team.

If you have missed previous issues of the Insider, please click here.

We want to hear from you!  If you have ideas or suggestions for improving the Jonas Insider, please forward these to us via e-mail.

New in the October Insider

Commencing with the October edition of the Insider, we will be including a new segment entitled Stump the Staff.  We are asking you, our clients, to submit questions you would like answered in upcoming editions.  We will publish the best questions on any Jonas topic, complete with the answers from your Jonas Support staff.   Your name will be entered in a draw quarterly to win valuable Jonas prizes!  You can enter as many times as you like.  Send your entries to Kevin Sharma. 

Three Things You Can Learn From Your Software Provider
By: Brian M. Andrew

"If today’s CFMs have a mantra, it’s probably something like: I can accomplish more with fewer resources. I know I can, I know I can . . . For example, tighter credit markets have pushed CFMs to find better ways to monitor profitability and cash flow. And for many construction companies, overhead reductions have placed bigger burdens on newly downsized accounting teams.

Both of these scenarios drive the need for greater efficiency through process improvement. In their quest to become more efficient, CFMs frequently turn to their trusted business partners and advisors for assistance.
Consultants and CPA firms, along with industry associations and colleagues, are the obvious “go-to” resources for insight. Yet, there is one partner that is often overlooked: the construction software provider and its professional staff."

To discover Three Things you Can Learn from Jonas Software, click here.

October 1, 2009 U.S. Payroll Tax Changes

Withholding Tax changes for New Jersey and Wisconsin,  effective October 1,2009 are now in the Product Updates on the Jonas website. There is no need to wait until the final September payroll.  The changes are date-sensitive and will “kick in” only when appropriate allowing you to download the changes anytime in advance.

Note:  New Jersey tax changes only affect those whose YTD earnings  will be in excess of $400,000.00.

A separate Payroll ONLY Update for versions 11.6, 11.8, 11.9, and 12.0 has been created for clients wishing to onlydownload the payroll changes.

For clients wishing to do a full Product Update, payroll changes are only available in versions 11.8, 11.9, and 12.0.

The highly anticipated 2009 Jonas User Group Conference is just around the corner. This year we are offering a two-day event with courses specific to what you do in Jonas. With three concurrent sessions, you can choose to attend all presentations related to accounting, project management or service management. This is an opportunity for you to network with other Jonas users, share best practices, provide input on product development plans, and learn more about the Jonas solution and how to improve your operations. As always, there will be a mix of training on existing modules, tips and hints, new features in version 11.9 and what you can expect to see in version 12.0. There will also be presentations on current industry-related topics. 

Why Should You Attend?

• Get the most value out of your software – this is a chance for you to see the new software enhancements and get training on how to implement them. Training sessions are presented by our software and industry experts.

• Meet other Jonas customers – discuss best practices and share the current issues you are facing with customers in similar industries across North America.

• Have input into future development of the software – meet members of our development team and let them know what is important to you for future versions of Jonas.

Location One:


Venue: 
Accor Novotel Toronto Centre
45 The Esplanade, Toronto ON

Date and Time: 
Thursday September 24, 2009: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Friday September 25, 2009: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Cost:
$600

Accommodations: 
Group rate of $174 CDN per night has been arranged. Please call (416)367-8900 for reservations.

*Click here for Agenda

Location Two:


Venue: 
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino
3770 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Date and Time: 
Thursday November 12, 2009: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Friday November 13, 2009: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Cost:
$500 before September 30th, $600 after

Accommodations:
A group rate of $59 has been arranged for November 11 and 12. If you are staying for the weekend, the rate is $129. Please contact 1-800-311-8999 and choose option 2 for reservations and reference group code XJONAS when booking. To book online click here.

*Agenda to follow



For more information on the User Groups contact Angela Brutto.

UPCOMING TRADE SHOWS

Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCA) Annual National Conference

Visit our tabletop display
September 26-29, 2009
Jonas Software is proud to announce its attendance and Silver Level Sponsorship at the 2009 Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCA) Annual National Conference. This year's show will take place September 26-29th at the San Francisco Marriott in San Francisco, CA.

Click here for more information on the show.

Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Service Managers Forum

Visit our tabletop display
October 1-2, 2009
Jonas Software is proud to announce its attendance and sponsorship at the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Service Managers Forum. This year's show will take place October 1-2, 2009 at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans, LA.

Click here for more information on the show.

Overhead Costing and Application for Construction Companies
2 Hour Online Course

Date: Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Internet WebEx
Cost: $200 per connection

Featured Guest Speaker: Matt Stevens
Matt Stevens is a management consultant who works only with construction contractors. He has been practicing since 1994. He has been in the industry over 30 years and has worked for Specialty and General Contracting Firms. He worked for FMI as a management consultant from 1997 to 2002.

McGraw Hill published his book, Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day. Matt has held hundreds of seminars and has advised dozens of clients.


Topics will include:

• The Nature of Cost in Construction Contracting
• Cost Affects All Parts of a Construction Firm’s Financial Picture
• Cost of Managing Labor versus Material
• What is Overhead
• What generates Overhead
• Where Does Accurate Cost Data Come From?
• Application of the Right Cost Application System: Dual Rate
• Allocation of Overhead to Labor vs. Material
• Proof and Testing
• Summary

Q. Canadian Payroll - How Do I Reverse/Cancel an Employee’s Direct Deposit?

A. You can only cancel a direct deposit from a PREVIOUSLY updated pay period.  The first step is to Setup a New Pay Period; you can use the same pay ending date as the original or choose a new date.
Note: This process will remove the pay from payroll and any distributions but will not send a reversal across to the bank. 
Next go into Manual Pay/Correct Prev. Pay and complete the following steps:

1. Enter Company Code
   
2. Enter P/R Code
   
3. Enter Employee Code
   
4. Choose "Adjustment Correction For An Earlier Pay"
   
5. Enter 1 under Manual Pay # (or hit enter)
   
6. Hit Enter through Union Field (change if necessary)
   
7. Click on the earnings button
   
8. Enter in applicable earning code (e.g., E01 for regular earnings)
   
9. Enter in distribution (where the earnings were charged to initially)
   
10. If hours, enter in hours as a negative, if amount (other earnings) enter in amount as negative.
    
11. Hit enter to accept default pay rate or change if required
    
12. Repeat steps 9-12 for any additional earnings
    
13. Click on Ok and then Click on Deductions and Benefits button.
    
14. Simply enter in all applicable deductions and benefits (again enter in as a negative).

    On the right hand side you will see the totals for earnings and deductions and the resulting net pay so you ensure it matches the direct deposit and you have not missed any deductions.

15. Enter memo/wage information (EI Insurable Earnings (M01), CPP Pensionable Earnings (M06) and Pension Adjustment (M07, if applicable).  To enter these amounts you can either page down further in the Deduction/Benefits screen to codes M01-M07 or just click on OK and system will prompt you to go to these codes.

If you are unsure what amounts go into these fields, refer to the Pay Journal.  At the bottom of each employee record is a Misc/Wages section that lists these amounts. 

It is very important that these fields are entered in, as they will affect T4’s at the end of the year. 

Once the Memo/Wage information is entered you can click on OK and then click on post as long as the net amount is correct.  You can then enter in the next direct deposit to cancel or if that is it click on F4 to print. 

In order to update the record to the employee's file you must continue through the payroll process as normal, print the Pay Journal, Cost Allocation Report and Payroll Update.  If required you may enter in any new pays through your regular time entry method and then continue through the normal process.

Q. I tried to change my menu design in Jonas, but the system would not allow me to do so. Why?

A. Jonas does not allow users to change their own menu design. This is a security feature to prevent unauthourized access. Users must contact the Jonas Administrator within the company (in most cases the controller). If they require access to new modules, then the written consent of the company’s administrator is required before Jonas support can address the request.

Q. What version of Jonas should I download from the Jonas website for a product update: pu119.exe or PU119DN.EXE?

A. Construction clients must download the PU119DN.EXE file as this will allow access to the Design Your Own Forms module.

What can be done if I deleted my information by accident?
Can I retrieve it?

Jonas does not have a recycle bin. You would have to get the information back from your backup. If you are able to restore the backed up file from your backup tape to a folder such as your Custom folder – not the DATA folder (being careful not to overwrite the existing file by renaming it) then Jonas programmers may be able to read the back up file and merge the deleted information with the production data set.  Note that in the case where multiple files were involved, it would be better to do a full restore and to reenter the lost data.