Once you write it out once, it should 'remember' descripsion when you start typing the same thing in rows below.

Alternatively, you can use deprtment numbers to cut down on the typing (e.g., 1 for 'North', 2 for 'South'.

OR - Just start each description with either North or South and this will help sorting/analysing.

As for general time saving, I can only think of the usual F6 for copying above, Shft F6 for adding one to the above cell (e.g., for adding 1 to invoice number/date above) etc etc.

Yes, just entering stuff is the best way to practice - no amount of reading how to do something matches the experience of actually doing it.

As Richard says above, useful shortcuts are F6 to copy the field immediately above, and 'Shift-F6' to copy it and increment the value (which only happens on certain fields or data types - numeric and date IIRC).

Another one is F4 to call up a list of accounts - this works in the nominal code, sales ledger account and purchase ledger account fields, and a few others where there is a menu of things to choose from.

With dates, don't forget that you only have to enter the month and year if they differ from the month and year today. (So if entering 12th March, 2017, just enter 12 and press tab to move on to the next field. If entering 12th February, 2017, just type 122 and press tab.)

F7 inserts a line in a batch data entry screen - which most people don't need to do because you can enter things in any order, but it can be handy once you have more experience and pre-plan data entry. Similarly, F8 will delete a line.

When you're inputting a value, and you put an amount in the net field, depending on the tax code in use, the VAT amount will usually be worked out automatically - but in some instances, you might need to work out the VAT from a gross amount. Just enter the gross amount in the net field, and press.. er, I can't remember now if it's F9 or CTRL-F9 (The latter, I think) - this will do the calculation for you.

As you will almost certainly already know, the 'tab' button will move from one field to the next - and if at the end of a line in a batch screen, will take you to the start of the next. (I say almost certainly, because this is standard behaviour in most programs that have 'field' based data entry - yet I often see people enter data in one field, then use the mouse to click into the next field, and so on!)

Another thing I often see people NOT doing is properly (by which I mean FULLY) setting up supplier (and to a lesser extent, customer) accounts - which means the defaults for that supplier aren't set; the normal tax code, and nominal account in particular. Although it's not always so, the goods from most regular suppliers will be going into the same (or similar) nominal accounts each time, and will usually have the same VAT treatment.

That's just a few off the top of my head. There may be more that I can't think of right now.

Edit the following day: Using Sage and used F9 to work out the VAT from the gross, and remembered that when I wrote the above I wasn't sure, so I've now clarified it. This, really, reiterates what I've said: It's down to practice and experience. A lot of these things are so second nature that if we try to remember them, they're easy to forget!

-- Edited by VinceH on Monday 27th of March 2017 12:02:31 PM

If you're reasonably okay with a keyboard in general, then it's probably just a matter of practice and experience.

If you're general keyboard skills are weak, that'll be a factor - but that's also an area you can improve with practice, so boils down to the same thing.

As for the nominal codes in Sage, that's also something that will come with practice - the more you use it, the more those codes will start to work their way into your memory, all by themselves. You won't remember them all (especially as they won't always be the same with different companies), but you'll find that you'll start to remember some of those you use more often. For the others, you'll either start to remember the general ball park area*, or you'll begin to instinctively know roughly where you'd expect to find it.

* The default nominal codes are reasonably logically laid out, with all the codes below 4000 being on the balance sheet, and all those from 4000 upwards being profit and loss. Within those ranges, you'll usually see that (for example) those starting with a particular number usually go in a particular section on a balance sheet or profit and loss account. I won't list the ranges - instead, make it an exercise for yourself to look at a list of the nominal codes in one of your practice set ups, and see how they relate to where things go on a set of accounts.

I'm afraid it was indeed there in 2006/7 - I'm pretty sure it's been a standard function since the DOS days.

It's useful to be able to 'cross out' text (sometimes for good reason, sometimes for humorous effect, and some forum software has a button to do it - but not the software used for this one, apparently, so to (mis)quote the seven dwarfs...

Hey ho, hey ho, it's off to work the HTML editor we go...

thanks for replies

Are you using two sales ledger accounts? You could change the default nominal code and/or department

MrsV wrote:

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What exam are you studying for e.g. Is it IAB or AAT? What level ?

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I am doing aat level two. I am preparing for computerised accounting exam. We will use sage during exam.

VinceH wrote:

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With dates, don't forget that you only have to enter the month and year if they differ from the month and year today. (So if entering 12th March, 2017, just enter 12 and press tab to move on to the next field. If entering 12th February, 2017, just type 122 and press tab.)

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With dates, if I'm entering several from the same month I'll change the program date to that month so I only need to hit 12 as above. Never knew about the F4 and calculator thing. I'm using that all the time and was wondering why there was no keyboard shortcut for it.

Last years version of sage has two calc net shortcuts - F9 and F3! Bloody annoying. I tend to use the calc net button, but in that same version the calc net option is at the top of the screen and the save is at the bottom. Hope they sacked the person who had that dumb idea. Think they have reverted back for the new software, although Ive not got it to check. Had a phone call yesterday offering sage cover at £1500+ pa for sage pro but it comes with downloadable software (rather than a perpetual disc) so when I said I wanted the disc option he lied and said it was no longer available. He also advised that they dont JUST do cover, you can only take it with an upgrade. But they now offer up to 10 companies and 10 users for the same price. Kept that story up right until the end of the call, after having listen to me have a few rants about why downloadable is not an option for all clients needs and generally throwing back a reason why everything he said was rubbish re the cloud and sage never listening to their customers, when he finally admitted a perpetual licence on a disc was fully available....but only for the next year or two. He was still trying his sales patter as I put the phone down.

Cheshire wrote:

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Last years version of sage has two calc net shortcuts - F9 and F3! Bloody annoying. I tend to use the calc net button, but in that same version the calc net option is at the top of the screen and the save is at the bottom. Hope they sacked the person who had that dumb idea. 

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I tend to use "Alt   S"  when I save to avoid using the mouse as much as possible.

Hi Faye
OMG - that import option has saved a lot of time in the past. Takes a while to get the file right the first time if you are not used to it, knowing what goes where, but once mastered a doddle!

Sage have supposedly improved their Bank feed for Sage 50 products so it can be used for companies, but Ive not seen nor used it yet (maybe shouldve used the freebie ticket offered to the sage summit to find out!) but if they bank with certain Banks they can just do a mass import (for up to thousands of items per month +) via a product called Bankline. They need the right bankline module and its only provided by NWB and RBS but has been feeding data into Sage since the 1990s.