The Alaska
Department of Labor has developed On-line web services for Quarterly
Contribution Reporting. Why should I buy your program? —
The
biggest draw back to using the State's On-line form is you have to either
manually enter the wage information (in which case it is probably just as
quick to keep on doing things the way you have been) or create a file with
wage information to import. QuickBooks is not capable of doing this.
The Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter can now generate the Comma Delimited (CSV)
Export files for uploading to the State. No more fouling around with Excel
trying to format the information properly.
The "Alaska
Quarterly SUI Reporter" can import all of your wage
information, on your own computer and produce the Alaska Quarterly
Contribution Report in just a matter of minutes. What's your time
worth? Top
Do I need Microsoft
Access® in order to use the program and if so, what version? —
You do not
have to have Access in order to use the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter. It
was written using the Developers Edition of Microsoft Access®
2000. If the end user does not have Access 2000 on their computer, an
installation routine will automatically detect this and install what is called
Access 2000® Runtime. If you do have Access 2000 installed,
the runtime will not be installed. Installation of the database files is
still required however. Top
ØPC with
a Pentium 75 MHz or higher processor; Pentium III 500 MHz or higher
recommended
ØMicrosoft
Windows 95 OSR2 or later operating system, or Microsoft Windows NT Workstation
operating system version 4.0 Service Pack 3 or later
ØFor
Windows 95 or Windows 98:16 MB
of RAM for the operating system, plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for Access
ØFor
Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 Service Pack 3 or later:32 MB of RAM for the operating system, plus an additional 8 MB of RAM
for Access
ØFor
Windows XP:64 MB of RAM on a
Pentium II 300, minimum.
ØAvailable
hard-disk space needed on the computer if Access 2000 is already installed.
(Number indicates typical installation. Your hard-disk usage will vary
depending on configuration. Choices made during Custom installation might
require more or less hard-disk space):Typical
complete installation: 24 MB
ØAvailable
hard-disk space needed on the computer if Access 2000 is NOT installed.
(Number indicates typical installation. Your hard-disk usage will vary
depending on configuration. Choices made during Custom installation might
require more or less hard-disk space):Typical
installation: 161 MB
ØAccess
Runtime requires Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher or Office 2000.
ØCD-ROM
drive
ØSuper
VGA or higher resolution monitor; XVGA recommended
ØMicrosoft
Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse, or compatible pointing device
ØAny
Windows compatible printer; Inkjet or LaserJet printer recommended
ØAny
current version of Intuit QuickBooks®, QuickBooks Pro®
or QuickBooks Premier®Top
What is included with the purchase
of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter and how much does it cost? —
The Alaska
Quarterly SUI Reporter comes on CD and installs like any other program.
The total cost of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter is $50.00US excluding
shipping and may be ordered from this site. Top
How many copies of the program do
I need to purchase for my Business? —
You only need
purchase one(1) copy of the SUI program if it is used at one location. You
may use the Software on all single computers, terminals or workstations of a
multi-user computer or local area network that are the sole property of ONE
BUSINESS/LOCATION. If your business does Payroll Tax preparations for
other businesses you may process as many company reports as necessary, from your
business location. Top
My business does Outside
Accounting Services for other businesses. Can I install the program at
each location? —
No. The
program is Copyrighted and does not allow distribution or installation at more
than one(1) business location. It is recommended that you have the
individual businesses purchase the program, in this case, so they can retain
ownership of it if you should cease to provide services to them. Top
What is the latest Version of the
Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter and how do I get an Update or Upgrade? —
The most recent
Release of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter v2002
is - v2002.40.25
The most recent Release of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter v2003
is - v2003.28.25
The most recent Release of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter v2004
is - v2004.16.25
The most recent Release of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter v2005
is - v2005.04.25
If you Registered your program after having installed it, you should receive
notification via E-mail when an Update or Upgrade is available. If you did
not receive a notification you may obtain the latest Update by going to our Download
Page. To receive the latest Upgrade, you may order
from this site. Top
What is the difference between an
Update and an Upgrade and do I have to pay for them? —
An Update
is a new FREE Release of the program that may correct known bugs, provide
additional features or extend the life of the program by complying with changes
made by Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Employment Security
Tax Division.
An Upgrade
is a new Version of the program that allows you to import the latest QuickBooks®
data. Updates currently cost $40.00US and may be ordered from the Download
site. The update is then mailed to you. Top
I am upgrading to QuickBooks 2005
can I still use the program to process the SUI report? —
Depends.
If you purchased Version 2005
of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter, it is capable of Importing QuickBooks
v2005. If you should own Version 2004
or earlierof
the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter you will need to Upgrade in order to
process the next Quarterly report.
If past history
is any indication of what will happen latter this year, Intuit will probably
come out with a new version of QuickBooks sometime around December. After
they release a new version it takes approximately a month to develop a new
version of the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter to be able to import the
data. For this reason, it would be a good idea to wait on installing the
latest and greatest version of QuickBooks until you have processed the final
quarter's SUI report. Top
Installation and Setup...
Nothing happens
when I insert the CD into the computer. How do I install the program? —
If your computer
is properly setup to automatically launch CD's when they are inserted, a Setup
Help screen should appear. If it does not, you will need to start it
by Clicking on <Start><Run> and type in Z:Install.hlp (where
"Z" is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive), to begin the process. Top
I recently changed computers and
copied the database files to the new computer. Why won't it work? —
Even if you have
Access 2000 installed on a new computer, you must still use the installation CD
to install the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter because other ActiveX Controls get
installed as well. These other files make certain features of the program
work. The only file(s) you must retain from the old computer is the
SUI(Default).mdb and/or company.mdb file(s) that you have created.
The default installation location of these files is "C:\Program Files\SUI".
After you have done the installation on the new computer, copy these files from
your old computer to the new one, placing them in that folder. Top
I have Access 2002 (a.k.a. Access
XP) installed on my computer. Can I remove the Access 2000 Runtime that
was installed? —
It is possible
to uninstall the Access 2000 Runtime and run the program using the Access 2002
database engine, however it is not recommended as it requires advanced computing
skills. That having been said, there are two things you must do after the
program has been installed...
Locate the
shortcut that was created during the installation in the
<Start><Programs><Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter><SUI
Reporter>. Right click on the shortcut and choose
"Properties". The "Target" should look something
like "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE"
"C:\Program Files\SUI\SUI.MDB". Select and delete the first
part that points to MSACCESS.EXE, including the space after the ending
quotation mark, leaving just the "C:\Program Files\SUI\SUI.MDB"
part, with the quotation marks. Next copy the path
"C:\Program Files\SUI" and paste it into the "Start in"
field. Be sure to include opening and closing quotation marks here as
well. "Apply" and close the shortcut. If you created
any shortcuts to your Desktop, you will either have to edit them as well or
copy the shortcut you just modified and paste it to your Desktop, replacing
the existing one.
Then you can
go to <Start><Settings><Control Panel>, open the
"Add/Remove Programs" and remove the Access 2000 Runtime program.
If, in the
future, you should receive an update and/or upgrade to the Alaska SUI Reporter,
you may need to perform these steps all over again.Top
Operation and
Troubleshooting...
There is no manual
that comes with the program. How do I use the program? —
The program has
been designed with a very easy to use interface. All of the instructions
on what to enter or do appears in the screen that you are using. If you
should need additional assistance with the program, you may be able to find the
answer here, in the FAQ's. It can be easily reached by clicking on the
Menu Item <Help><Online Help> or clicking on the
button on the Toolbar from within the program. Top
Do I have to keep
QuickBooks closed while using the Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter? —
No. In
fact you don't need to shut down QuickBooks at all. You must however Close
the Company file you are working on during the Import procedure. Once
the new data has been Imported, you can open the Company file back up. Top
This is the first
time I have used the program and there seems to be an awful lot of data
entry. Do I have to do this each time? —
No. The
first time you do a Company's report there is quite a bit of information that
QuickBooks either does not contain or cannot be imported. A lot of this
information seldom changes though so you need only enter it once. The
program stores this reusable data in a database file so it can be re-used on the
next report. Usually, after this information has been stored, it takes
only about 5 minutes to do the entire process, start to finish. Top
I process Payroll
Tax Reports for various companies. How do I keep each Company separate? —
Company data is
stored in the database file that is selected in Step 3 of the Data Import
window. It is important that read the on screen instructions.
If you are doing a new Business's report for the first time, you
must create a new database file to hold the information. This is
done (as explained on screen) by typing in a new name in the drop-down
box. When you do, message prompts will guide you rest of the way. If
you import multiple QBW files into the same MDB file, it will corrupt the
database by mixing employees from both. Note: You will want to keep the
name of the new MDB database file fairly short in order to be able to read it in
the drop-down box.Top
I process Payroll
Tax Reports for various companies. There are Employees listed that do not
work for the company I am working on. What's up? —
The most like
cause is from importing multiple QuickBook's QBW files into the same MDB
database file. For instance you imported both Company A and Company
B into the SUI(Default).MDB database. You must create a new
database file to hold the information for each company. To correct
the problem, you will need to do the following...
From the
Data Import screen select the corrupt MDB file from within Step 3.
Click and
drag across the entire name of the MDB file so it is fully selected (if it
isn't already).
Press the
<Delete> key on your keyboard to delete the corrupted database.
Create two
new MDB database files by typing in a new name in the drop-down box from
within Step 3 of the Data Import window. Follow the on screen
prompts.
Re-Import
the correct Company.QBW file into the appropriate Company.MDB
database file.
Note:
Since you had to delete the database files, you will have to re-enter the data
in the other screens for each company. Top
My Company did not
have any Payroll during the Quarter that needs to be reported. Do I still
have to file a report? —
Yes. Go
through the Steps / Windows within the program as usual and the SUI
Reporter will generate the appropriate report to mail. For more
information go to http://www.labor.state.ak.us/estax/faq/as5.htm.
Top
After Importing the
QuickBooks data into the SUI Reporter I get an Error Message showing a list of
employee's that have no Social Security Number. Why can't I proceed beyond
that point? —
The SUI Reporter
relies heavily on the Social Security Number to keep employees and their
particular wages in sync. If more than one employee does not have a SSN
the program cannot reliably determine which wages go with which employee.
The same is true if different employees were given the same SSN from within
QuickBooks. For this reason, the problem must be corrected within
QuickBooks and the data re-imported in order to produce the Alaska Quarterly
Contribution Report. Other side benefits of forcing this correction are
not having to worry about the problem next quarter and not receiving Notice for
the Department of Labor regarding missing or incorrect Social Security
Numbers. Top
Why do I see
Employees listed that no longer work for my Company? —
There is no
reliable way to have the program automatically delete employees that are gone
for good. If they have been entered into QuickBooks, their name will be
imported. There are, however, Filter buttons that are at the bottom of the
Employees screen that will let you filter out such individuals when you are
entering Employee Codes. In any case, if these former employees did not
receive wages for a particular quarter, they will not appear on the Alaska
Quarterly Contribution Report. Top
Why do my Employee
monthly counts appear to be incorrect? —
There
could be any number of reasons. Please keep in mind that the State wants
to know the number of employees that worked in the payroll period that covers
the 12th of the month, not the number of employees that worked during the month.
Some
employers do not pay all of their employees within the same pay period.
I.e. - They may pay wage earners every week but only pay the salaried employees
twice a month. Also, some employers pay wages immediately after a pay
period ends and others wait a week or more before paying. For these
reasons, you cannot determine who worked in the pay period that covers the 12th
of the month by looking at the date of the check.
To
make matters even more complicated, QuickBooks has no reports that can filter on
Payroll Start and End Dates. The Alaska Quarterly SUI Reporter can however
import the Pay Periods Start and End dates so it can then determine, from those
dates, who worked on the 12th, most of time.
The most glaring
exception is the 3rd month of the quarter. Since the program does not
import any data beyond the Quarter Ending Date that is being reported on, there
may be payroll checks entered in the following quarter that included employees
that worked on the 12th of the previous month. Usually, this only effects
employers that pay on a Monthly basis. In any case, you can manually
examine and change the employee counts by following the on screen instructions
within the program. Top
I need help with a
different issue. Who do I contact? —
If you run
across an issue that isn't answered here, please refer to information on our Contact
Info page. Top
button on the Toolbar from within the program. 
