How to #1 - How to #2 - Quickbooks tip- AOL Warning
Public speaking tips - Community Events (new)

OUTBREAK ALERT:
Protect Your PC Against the Zipped Trojan Spam Attack

In short - make sure you anti-virus is up to date!

Not being able to access a web site can be frustrating, especially if it is yours. Try the following steps to troubleshoot the problem: (if the problem continues, go to the next item)

1. Press <CTRL> <F5> to "refresh" the site from the web. (this does a reload of the page)
2. Can you access any other sites? (MSN, Yahoo, etc) (we are trying to figure out if all sites are affected. If you cannot access any page - then check your connection to the internet, then check if the cable/DSL is functional)
3. Can you access the web site from any other computer in your location or another location? (is it this machine, or all machines at your location?)
4. Go to http://whatismyip.com to find out what your Internet address is - request the company hosting the site to check if you have been blocked. If so, can they unblock your IP. (with all the hackers out there it is possible that your address may accidentally be put into a "blacklist".
5. If all this fails - then you can call the hosting company (if you can figure out who it is), or you can contact an IT professional to dig deeper into the real issue.

We never receive calls from people who can't access the Internet. No one ever has this problem - right? Ok, so when you stop laughing, you can read the following for the next time this happens to you. (if step 1 doesn't fix the problem, go to step 2, etc)

1. Start by rebooting your computer. When it comes up - open a web page
2. Turn off your DSL/Cable modem and your router. Count to 5, turn them on. Wait 3 minutes for everything to come up and sync - try the web page again.
3. Look at the lights on the DSL/Cable modem. The following lights should be on: Power (should be solid), DSL/Cable (solid - this is your connection to the Internet), Internet (flashing - shows traffic on the network), Ethernet (flashing - this is the connection to your network) - If these lights are not on, call the DSL/Cable company.
4. Check all connections on the router and your computer. At one client the cable from the cable company was loose and it did not function. It looked fine - we just had to physically tighten it to make it work.
5. If these steps did not work, then try them one more time and check everything very carefully.
6. If all else fails - we are a phone call away.

Do you reconcile your bank accounts?

Sometimes, people do not reconcile their bank accounts because the deposits do not match.
In order to make your deposits match, deposits should be made to the "Undeposited Funds" account. Try the following the next time you receive payment from your customer:

1. Click Customers / Receive Payments
2. Select the appropriate customer. Their open invoices will be displayed.
3. Choose which invoices have just been paid, or enter an amount and Quickbooks will try to figure it out for you.
4. Click Save & Close (or Save & New if you have more receipts)

When you are ready to go to the bank, try this

1. Click Banking / Make Deposit
2. A listing of money received will be displayed. You can "Select All". Click "OK"
3. Make sure the correct bank account is selected next to "Deposit to"
4. Click Print / Deposit Summary Only - choose your printer
5. Endorse your checks, and take the printout above to the bank!

As long as your deposit matches the printout in step 4 - your bank statement will match Quickbooks.

Bonus tip - you can check Banking / Online Banking / Set up account for on-line access to see if your bank has an electronic interface to download your statements directly into Quickbooks.

As most of you know, we are not big fans of AOL. AOL does not ask your permission to place lots of software on your machine. You already have a firewall (or two in place) and it will add a third; you may have anti-virus software - and it will add its own; you may not want software to reconfigure your router - but AOL installs PortMagic anyway. AOL software does not play well in office networks either - but for now let's focus on a specific issue.

This months warning is about the AOL ANTI-VIRUS software. Apparently, their anti-virus software arbitrarily decides which OUTGOING emails it will delete and which it will allow. We had an experience with a client this month, where their OUTOING OUTLOOK EMAIL was deleted by the AOL anti-virus software - so the intended recipient never received it. This was a conclusive test - believe us.

We removed their software, installed Norton Anti-virus and all was well. Now all of this client's clients receive their email.

Tuesday Tips at Tatnuck April 24 -  May 29 (Every Tuesday)

Business professionals have an opportunity every week to develop their public speaking skills.  Jacki Rose of Top Performance will present a new tip each week that you will be able to implement immediately to increase the impact and results of your presentations.

This event is free!  Plus the first 10 people to arrive will receive a FREE CD on “11 Steps to Powerful Public Speaking!” 12 pm – 1 pm at Tatnuck Bookseller & Café, 18 Lyman Street, Westborough. For more information email jacki@jackirose.com, or call 508-381-1529, or visit: http://publicspeakingcanbefun.com.

Feel free to send us comments or requests for future topics.  You may also forward this email or link to someone else who may appreciate the information.  The link for our newsletters is: www.swiftecit.com/news