Question:
How do I synchronize data changes from Sage Accounts to Act! using Act! Link for Accounting?
Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro (UK edition), Act! Premium (UK edition)
Version: v18
Integration: Act! Link for Accounting
Environment:
Third Party: Sage 50 Accounts, Sage Instant Accounts
Answer:
There are two methods you can use to synchronize changes from Sage Accounts to Act! when using Act! Link for Accounting:
Configuring an automatic sync schedule (recommended)
Note: This should only be configured from the server. Do not configure this on workstation computers.
Part 1: Setting up the Schedule
1. In Act!, click Accounting > Settings
2. Click the Service tab, then click Add
3. Fill in the fields as follows:
- Name: Provide any name you like for the process (ex: AutoSync)
- Action Type: Ensure SageImport is selected from the drop-down
- Schedule: Choose when the first sync will take place and how often you want it to happen. (Recommended: no more frequent than hourly)
- Keep for: this refers to how long you want to keep the sync log history (accessible from the History tab of the Setup Service screen)
- Email Notification (optional): Enter your Email address, SMTP Host, user, and password if you would like email notifications of whether the sync completed successfully
4. If you have experienced any performance issues when using Act! Link for Accounting, the following action types can be performed:
- Shrink: Shrinking data files recovers space by moving pages of data from the end of the file to unoccupied space closer to the front of the file. This frees up space in the Datawarehouse to improve performance.
- Reindex: Rebuilds one or more indexes for a table in the specified database.
5. Click OK when finished
Part 2: Installing and configuring the Act! Link for Accounting service
1. Close Act! and browse to the location where you downloaded and saved the Act! Link for Accounting installation files.
2. Double-click the installation file for the Act! Link for Accounting service.
3. On the Welcome to the Act! Link for Accounting (Sage Accounts-UK) Service Setup Wizard screen, click Next.
4. If desired, click Browse… to browse to and select a custom installation directory, otherwise click Next to continue the installation process.
5. On the Confirm Installation screen, click Next to begin installing.
6. Once installed and the Install Complete screen appears, click Close to close the Setup Wizard.
7. On your desktop, double-click the Act! Link for Accounting Service icon.
8. Under the Service section, enter a windows Administrator account name and the password
Note: It is recommended to use “localsystem” to start this service. For more information on this account, please see the following Microsoft article:
9. Under SQL Server, enter the SQL Server name into the Server field.
Note: You can find and copy this information by opening Act! and clicking Accounting > About
10. Under the Databases section, click the Add button to browse to your Act! PAD file. You can add multiple databases here if necessary.
Note: If you return to this screen to add any additional databases in the future, you must click Restart in order for the service to recognize the new databases added.
12. Once finished entering in the appropriate information, click Start to start the service to complete the setup and configuration of automatic sync.
Manually synchronizing
1. In Act!, click Accounting > Settings
2. Under Import Sage Data, click Update Sage Data
3. When prompted, click Yes to proceed
4. Once completed, click Yes on the prompt to close Act! for the changes to take effect