To create a new company within your current installation of SFM, from the Current Year menu select the Utilities sub-menu. From the Utilities sub-menu select Company Maintenance and press the Insert key on your keyboard.

1.1 Requesting the Activation Key

Before you start this process, you need to submit the company name to accounts@shireburn.com so that you can receive the activation key of the new company. It is important at this stage that you need to submit the company name in the desired format, if all in blocks letters or proper case. It is important that you include all the formatting required including full stops, brackets, etc. Once you submit this to accounts@shireburn.com you will receive the activation key for the company.

1.2 Creating the New Company

When in the company maintenance screen and after pressing the Insert Key (using the keyboard) the system will ask for the company name.

Enter the company as submitted to Shireburn Software Ltd. As previously stated in this document, it is important that the company name be exactly as the name submitted to Shireburn as otherwise the activation key would fail.

Enter the activation key as received from Shireburn Software Ltd. and click on the Validate button. Should the activation key fail, please check the name of the company with the one submitted and make sure that it includes the right format including the proper case, dots, etc.

The following are the fields required to create the new company

This is the date from where to start the financial year of the new company. You will not be able to post accounting entries with a transaction before this date. Should the financial year is from 1st January to 31st December but the company is incorporated half way through the year, you may opt to create the financial year from 1^st July to 30 June of the following year. In this case, please make sure that you run an end of year before 1^st January of the following year. Through this process, the system will align with the required financial year period.

This is the end date of the financial year. The financial year has to cover a full calendar year and the system will not let you create it otherwise. Please make sure that you enter the right financial year dates, as you will not in a position to change these dates.

You need to identify the base currency of the company. The system will provide access to the currency database on the current company and you can create any base currency from the list. Should the required currency is not within the list, you need to exit from this screen and create the necessary currency code in the currency file (Support Currencies). You may opt to create this new company from another existing company that has the required currency code.

If your accounting periods are monthly, enter the value 12. If the accounting periods are of weeks duration, 4, 4, 5 weeks enter the value of 13. Do not leave the number of weeks blank.

If you want the system to generate invoice numbers, credit notes number, etc, automatically you need to check the associated check-boxes. The system also allows the user to start these numbers from a desired offset (defaulted to 0). Note that in automatic mode, the system will add one to the current number and therefore if you want to start from 1,000 you need to enter 999.

The system provides the option to copy a chart of accounts from another company. If you tick the ‘Copy Chart of Accounts from another company’ check-box, you will select from which company you want to copy the account list. When you confirm the system will create the new company that will be available from the company list as soon as you open up SFM.