Big Business makes it easy to enter and access information about your business. Its consistent, intuitive interface means that you can get to work quickly, without having to learn a lot of new techniques.
This chapter includes instructions on the conventions and features that are used throughout Big Business. It's important that you learn this material now, because the rest of the guide assumes that you know these basic techniques.
This chapter includes instructions on these and other topics:
• Signing in
• Using toolbars and menus to access the features you need
• Using Big Business windows, including how to enter information, use lists, and so on
• Using features that you see throughout the program, such as searching, memorizing transactions, and printing
After you have completed this chapter, you will know the basics of using Big Business. The rest of this guide includes instructions for using specific features. The organization of the book parallels that of the program, so it's easy to find the instructions you need.
You start Big Business like any most programs, usually by double-clicking its icon. Unlike most programs, however, Big Business has security provisions that determine who can use the program and what features they can use.
The way that security is implemented at your company can vary. In some cases, all employees may have access to all features. In other cases, access to certain features may be limited. For example, access to bookkeeping features may be limited to those in the accounting department. The Big Business security system is based on passwords, which are assigned by an administrator.
The first time someone signs in, no users or passwords have been entered. However, a predefined user called Administrator is included automatically with Big Business. You can sign in as the Administrator to begin working with Big Business. The Administrator has access to all features, but no password. If security is an issue in your business, some of your first tasks should be assigning passwords and access privileges to the employees who will use Big Business.
Normally, users can sign in by selecting their name from a list in the sign-in dialog box. However, the Administrator can disable this feature for security reasons.
To sign in:
1. Double-click the Big Business icon.
The sign-in dialog box appears.
• Type your name. Enter your password.
• Click to choose your name from a list. (The Administrator can disable this feature.)
2. Click the down arrow next to the Name field, then choose your name from the list. If you are the first person to sign into Big Business, select Administrator from the list.
Tip: You can also type your name into the Name field. Type the first few charac- ters of your name and then press the Tab key to fill in the rest.
3. Type your password into the Password field. If you are the first person to sign into Big Business, leave the password field blank.
For security, bullets appear rather than the characters you type. 4. Click the OK button.
The Big Business toolbar appears at the top of the screen.
Signing Out
Signing Out (6343)
When you're finished using Big Business, you can Quit or Switch User:
• Quitting shuts the program down until you start it again. You quit Big Business in
the standard way--by choosing Quit from the File menu or typing Command-Q.
• Switch User leaves the program running, with only the sign-in dialog box displayed on the screen. Anyone who wants to use Big Business needs to enter a valid employee name and password.
To prevent unauthorized access to your data, it's a good idea to sign off when you leave your computer unattended for a long time.
Understanding the Structure of Big Business
Understanding the Structure of Big Business (6345)
To make it fast and easy to find the right features for the tasks you need to accomplish, the Big Business user interface is organized according to related business functions. Each group of related functions has its own toolbar, which you use to access tasks and information concerning a single aspect of your business.
There are eleven toolbars: MyDesk, Customer, Vendor, Item, Banking, Note, Info Center, Employee, Category, Bookkeeper, and Maintenance. For example, the Customer toolbar contains the features you use to keep track of and interact with customers. The Banking toolbar contains the features you use with your bank accounts.
The MyDesk toolbar is an exception--it contains features from other toolbars that you group together for convenience.
Each toolbar has a number of features:
• The toolbar icon represents the related group of business functions.
• The toolbar selector allows you to change toolbars.
• The selection of tools changes as you move from toolbar to toolbar. You click tools to access the windows used to perform tasks or view information.
• A distinctive color stripe, which also appears in windows associated with the toolbar.
The figure below illustrates the Customer toolbar.
To Understand the Structure of Big Business
To Understand the Structure of Big Business (6346)
When you hold the mouse pointer over a tool in the toolbar, a descriptive label
appears. When you click a tool, a window appears.
Every window in Big Business is unique because it is designed for a specific purpose. Some windows are used to enter and store information about a particular subject--customers or vendors, for example. Other windows are used to enter transactions. For example, clicking the Invoice tool in the Customer toolbar opens a window where you produce customer invoices.
In some windows, you can click tabs to see different aspects of the information contained in the window.
For example, in a Customer Card, you can see basic information about a customer company, view a list of all transactions involving this customer, and keep track of notes and documents relating to the customer.
It's important to keep in mind all the information in Big Business is part of the same database, even though you enter it in different windows accessed through different toolbars. Information that you enter in one window may appear in many places. For example, when you enter a product or service into an Item Card, that information is used in quotes, sales orders, and invoices opened from the Customer toolbar as well as purchase orders and bills opened from the Vendor toolbar.
Using Toolbars
Using Toolbars (6347)
The toolbar offers an easy way to see and use the features of Big Business. It contains a toolbar icon along with tools representing different windows and features.
There are several ways to change from one toolbar to another:
• By using the toolbar pulldown menu the toolbar icon
• Choosing a toolbar from the Toolbar menu
• Typing Command-T (next) or Shift-Command-T (previous)
When you change toolbars, you have access to a different set of tools. Clicking a tool opens a window. In some cases, a dialog box appears first. For example, when you click the Vendor Card tool, you see a dialog box that lists all of the Vendor Cards that have already been saved. You can choose the card you want or create a new one.
To change toolbars:
1. Click the toolbar name to open the pulldown menu.
A list of toolbars appears.
2. Select the toolbar you want.
To Open a Window from the Toolbar
To Open a Window from the Toolbar (6348)
To open a window from the toolbar:
1. Click the tool for the window you want to open.
2. If you see a dialog box, select an item in the list.
3. Click the OK button.
The dialog box disappears and the window that you chose opens.
Tip: You can also double-click to open the window you want.
Using the Toolbars and Tools Menus
Using the Toolbars and Tools Menus (6349)
You can use menu commands instead of the toolbar to open windows. This option is particularly helpful if you decide to hide the toolbar.
You use the Toolbars and Tools menus in combination to open windows. The Toolbars menu is equivalent to the toolbar selector. It allows you to choose among the eleven Big Business toolbars.
The Tools menu is equivalent to the array of tools in the toolbar. The current selection in the Toolbars menu determines which tools appear in the Tools menu.
To use the Toolbars and Tools menus:
1. In the Toolbars menu, choose the toolbar you want.
A checkmark appears next to the toolbar you select.
2. In the Tools menu, choose the window you want.
3. If you see a dialog box, select from the list and click the
button. The dialog box disappears and the window that you chose opens.
Using Big Business Windows
Using Big Business Windows (6353)
Every window in Big Business is different because it is designed for a specific purpose. However, windows follow the same conventions and share many user interface features. (These same conventions and features are also used in the dialog boxes that you see in Big Business.)
Three common features of Big Business windows are Action Buttons, Tabs, and Line Items.
Using Action Buttons: OK, New, Cancel
Using Action Buttons: OK, New, Cancel, Delete (6354)
The upper right of each window contains action buttons that control features like printing, saving, and so on. Not every window contains every button, but the buttons always appear in the same order from right to left. The following table lists the buttons in the order they appear.
Use the OK button when you're finished working in a window. Your input is saved or accepted and the window closes.
Use the New button when you want to save your changes to a window but continue working. After saving the window you're working on, Big Business displays a new window of the same kind.
Use the Cancel button to close the window without saving your changes or taking any action.
Using Action Buttons: Delete, Duplicate, Memorize
More Action Buttons: Delete, Duplicate, Memorize (6355)
Use the Delete button to delete the current record. For example, if you open a Customer Card that you no longer need, you can click the Delete button to delete it. Big Business prevents you from deleting records that have data associated with them. For example, you can't delete a Customer Card that has a transaction history.
The Duplicate button creates a record just like the one that's currently displayed. You can use this feature to save time when you need to create several records that share much of the same information.
Use the Memorize and Recall buttons to save recurring transactions for later use. If a customer has a regular order, for example, you can memorize it to save time.
Using Action Buttons: Print, Attach, Export
More Action Buttons: Print, Attach, Export (6356)
The Print button prints the contents of the current window.
The Attach button creates a new note with the current window as an attachment or attaches the window to an open note.
The Export button saves the contents of the window as a text file.
Using Action Buttons: Find, Listing, Carry Forward
Using Action Buttons: Find, Listing, Carry Forward (6357)
Use the Find button to search for other records of the same type you're working on. The button changes to reflect the kind of record you're searching for, but always contains a magnifying glass.
The Listing button opens a list of the records of the same type you're working on. If you click the Listing button in a Vendor Card, for example, you see the Vendor Listing dialog box, the same one used to open Vendor Cards.
Carry Forward buttons allow you to use the information in a current transaction window to create the next logical transaction window. For example, you can carry forward the information from a quote into a sales order or invoice.
Using Tabs
Using Tabs (6359)
You can click the tabs located in the upper left of many windows to see different information. For example, a Purchase Order window has three tabs. The Purchase Order tab displays basic purchase order information like vendor name and the items on order. The Expanded tab displays additional purchase order information like order type, requested by, and stock for the items on order. The Shipment tab displays information about which items on the purchase order have been received.
Some information is constant in the window. For example, the vendor name and address in a purchase order continue to be displayed even when you click the Shipments tab. However, the vendor fields are gray, indicating that you can't make changes to them when you are viewing shipment information. You can change the vendor fields only when you click the Purchase Order or Expanded tab to view basic purchase order information.
To view different information in a window:
• In a window, click the tab that represents the kind of information you want to see.
Moving Between Fields in a Window
Moving Between Fields in a Window (6360)
When you open a window, the cursor is usually located in the field in the upper left
corner. There are two ways to move from field to field in the window:
• You can use the mouse to point and click at fields where you want to enter infor-
mation.
• You can use the Tab, Enter, or Return key to move from field to field. When you use one of these keys, the cursor moves one field at a time in a left-to-right, top-to- bottom pattern. Holding down the Shift key when you press the key reverses the order.
The information you enter into Big Business windows is not actually written into the database until you save the window you're working in. Unsaved information is not available to other windows. For example, a customer's financial history doesn't include an invoice that you have prepared but not saved.
There are two ways to save data:
• Clicking the OK button or pressing Command-S saves what you've entered and closes the window.
• Clicking the New button or pressing Command-N saves what you've entered and opens a new, blank window of the same kind you're working in.
If you enter information or make changes that you don't want to save, you can click the Cancel button or the close window box. Big Business asks if you want to save your changes before closing the window.
Quit
Anytime you are not using Big Business, please choose Quit from the File menu or application menu.