All About Verification Lists

Last reviewed: 12/19/2006
Article ID: R10793

The information in this article applies to:

• Tabs3 Billing Software Versions 14, 12, 11, 10 & 9
• Tabs3 Accounts Payable Software (APS) Versions 14, 12, 11, 10 & 9
• Tabs3 General Ledger Software (GLS) Versions 14, 12, 11, 10 & 9
• Tabs3 Trust Accounting Software (TAS) Versions 14, 12, 11, 10 & 9

SUMMARY

Verification lists make it easy to confirm what activities have been done by whom. This article provides detailed information about the various verification lists available in the software.

• What Are Verification Lists?
• Verification Lists and User IDs
• Sections of the Verification Lists
• Temporary Verification Lists
• Record Limits in Verification Files
• Searching for Text or Numbers
• Deleting Verification Lists
• Optional Verification Lists in Tabs3
• Drill-down Editing Capabilities
• Complete List of Verification Lists

Verification lists are lists of activity that has occurred. They are completely distinct from their corresponding data files. For example, the Tabs3 Fee Verification file contains information regarding fee transactions that have been added, changed and deleted--it does not contain any actual fee transactions. Fee transactions are kept in separate transaction data files. Verification lists are used to verify data that has been entered, changed or deleted, or that certain processes have been performed in the software.

Verification lists are available immediately upon exiting the corresponding functions. For example, to access the Fee Verification List in Tabs3, enter the Fee program (File | Open | Fee) and then press the Escape key to close the program. If there are entries in the Fee Verification file for your User ID, you will be prompted to print, preview or delete the Fee Verification List. The available printing options vary from file to file, and are used to control whether certain fields are included in the list as well as the order in which the records print. For more information on the options available, press F1 on any verification list window to access the corresponding online Help topic.

Tip: Examples of the various verification lists are available in the Sample Reports section of each manual.

Verification Lists and User IDs

The entries in each verification data file are stored by User ID. Entries appearing on one user's verification list will not appear on any other user's list. For example, if a user logs in to Tabs3 with the User ID BOB and adds a new payment record, a user logged in as STAN will not see the record on the payment verification list. If Stan wanted to see the entry that had been made by Bob on a verification list, he would first have to log in to Tabs3 using the User ID BOB.

Tip: In Tabs3 Version 10.7 or later, User IDs assigned to the Manager Access Profile have the option of printing a verification list for all User IDs without having to log in using each User ID individually.

Sections of the Verification Lists

Data entry verification lists contain three sections of transactions:

• Transactions that have been added
• Transactions that have been changed
• Transactions that have been deleted

The first section contains transactions that have been added using the User ID that was used to print the verification list. Like most verification data, the information in this section will continue to accumulate until the user's verification list is deleted. The information shown here may change if the transactions themselves are changed using the same User ID. If another User ID changes one of the transactions shown in this top portion of a user's verification list, the transaction information in the new entries section of the first user's verification list will not be changed.

Data entry verification lists may also have a section for transactions that have been changed by the User ID that was used to print the list. The information in the Changed Entries section is independent of the information in other sections. (Note:  If an existing transaction is opened and re-saved, it will write to the Changed Entries section whether an actual change was made or not.)

The last section is the Deleted Transactions section. Transactions that have been deleted by the User ID used to print the verification list are listed in this section. In addition to appearing in the Deleted Transactions section, if the transactions were originally added by the same User ID that deleted them, *deleted* will appear in the amount column for the original transaction in the top section of the list (provided the user's verification list has not been deleted in the interim).

Examples

Example 1 - New Entries Section

If User ID BOB is used to add a fee for $200.00, and then under the same User ID the amount is changed to $175.00, Bob's Fee Verification List will show the original transaction with an amount of $175.00 (provided Bob has not deleted his Fee Verification List in the interim). If User ID STAN is then used to change the same transaction to an amount of $225.00, Bob's verification list will still show the original transaction with an amount of $175.00.

Example 2 - Changed Entries Section

Based on Example 1, the Changed Entries section of Bob's verification list would show a transaction with a New amount of $175.00, and the Old amount of $200.00. The Changed Entries section of Stan's verification list would show the same transaction with a New amount of $225.00 and an Old amount of $175.00.

Example 3 - Deleted Entries Section

If User ID BOB is used to add a fee for $75.00, and then under the same User ID the transaction is deleted, Bob's Fee Verification List will show the original transaction in the section that contains new entries, with *deleted* in the amount column. The Deleted Entries section of Bob's list will also show the original transaction as it was entered.

 

Some functions, such as the Change WIP Transactions program in Tabs3 and the Transfer Invoices Between Vendors program in APS, have temporary verification lists. This means that if you do not print the list when prompted, you will not get another chance later; the verification information is automatically deleted when the prompt is cancelled. Most verification lists, however, continue to accumulate information until they are deleted. Examples of this type of verification list include the Fee Verification List in Tabs3 and the Journal Entry Verification List in GLS.

Each verification file is limited to a maximum of 10,000 records per User ID. For example, if there are four User IDs configured in System Configuration, the Tabs3 Fee Verification file could contain no more than a total of 40,000 records. If any User ID reaches the maximum of 10,000 records in a single verification file, the user's verification list must be deleted before the user will be allowed to access the associated function. For example, if User ID BOB has 10,000 records in his fee verification list, Bob will not be able to access the Fee program until the list is deleted. Other users, however, are still able to access the Fee program (provided that they have not also reached the record limit).

Previewing a verification list makes it possible to automatically search the contents for any string of letters or numbers. For example, suppose you need to know if the name "Anderson" appears anywhere on a certain User ID's Tabs3 Cost Verification List. Use the following procedures to search the list:

1. Start Tabs3 and log in using the User ID of the verification list you want to search.
2. Select File | Open | Cost.
3. Press Escape to exit the Cost program.
4. Select the desired configuration options for the Cost Verification List and click OK to proceed.
5. Select the Preview option and click OK.
6. Click the Search button at the bottom of the Cost Verification List preview window.
7. In the top left corner of the preview window, enter Anderson in the Find field.
8. Click First to locate the first occurrence of "Anderson" in the list (if any).
9. If necessary, click Next to advance to the next occurrence of "Anderson."
10. The First, Prev, Next and Last buttons can be used to cycle through multiple occurrences of the contents of the Find field.

In the same window that allows printing a verification list, the option to delete the list is also available. When a user deletes a verification list, all entries in the verification file for that User ID are deleted. Other users' verification lists are not affected.

Tip: In Tabs3 Version 10.7 or later, User IDs assigned to the Manager Access Profile can optionally delete verification lists for all users without having to log in to Tabs3 using each User ID individually.

Because verification files are merely lists of activity that has occurred, deleting a verification list has no effect on the actual records in the corresponding data file. For example, if you delete the Tabs3 Fee Verification List, no fee transactions are affected. Only the fee verification information is deleted.

Each program can be individually configured to allow users to delete verification lists without first printing them. If this is not done, any verification list containing information that has not yet been printed cannot be deleted. For example, if a user logs in to Tabs3 with the User ID BOB and adds three new fee entries, Bob's Fee Verification List cannot be deleted until it has been printed. If the list is then printed but not deleted, and Bob adds another fee entry later, the Fee Verification List must be printed again before it can be deleted, since it contains new information. The following procedures can be used to configure the software to allow deletion of verification lists without first printing them:

• Tabs3
  1. Start Tabs3 and log in using a User ID that has rights to access the Customization program.
  2. Select Utilities | Customization (all other users must exit Tabs3 in order to allow changes to be made in Customization).
  3. In the Verification Lists section at the bottom of the Main tab in Customization, select the Allow deletion of verification lists after display or save check box.
  4. Click the Save button on the toolbar or press Ctrl+S to save your changes.


• APS
  1. Start APS and log in using a User ID that has rights to access the Customization program.
  2. Select Utilities | Customization (all other users must exit APS in order to allow access to the Customization program).
  3. Select the Allow deletion of verification lists after display or save check box.
  4. Click the Save button on the toolbar or press Ctrl+S to save your changes.


• GLS
  1. Start GLS and log in using a User ID that has rights to access the Edit GLS Client program.
  2. Select Utilities | Edit GLS Client (all other users must exit GLS in order to allow access to the Edit GLS Client program).
  3. Click the drop-down button next to the Client Number field and select Client 1 from the GLS Client Lookup window.
  4. Select the Allow deletion of verification lists after display or save check box.
  5. Click the Save button on the toolbar or press Ctrl+S to save your changes.


• TAS
  1. Start TAS and log in using a User ID that has rights to access the Customization program.
  2. Select Utilities | Customization (all other users must exit TAS in order to allow access to the Customization program).
  3. In the System Options section at the bottom of the Main tab in Customization, select the Allow deletion of verification lists after display or save check box.
  4. Click the Save button on the toolbar or press Ctrl+S to save your changes.

Tip:  It is recommended that users print and delete their verification lists regularly to avoid excessively large verification files. Verification files that contain large amounts of data can cause certain functions like the Data File Integrity Check program and the Backup Data Files program to take longer to complete. Furthermore, deleting a full verification list in a network environment can take up to 30 minutes or longer.

Optional Verification Lists in Tabs3

Tabs3 can be configured to create or disable certain transaction-related verification lists. The Verification Lists section of the Main tab of Tabs3 Customization (Utilities | Customization) includes the following check boxes:

• Create List for Fees - Enables the Fee Verification List
• Create List for Costs - Enables the Cost Verification List
• Create List for Payments - Enables the Payment Verification List
• Create List for Client Funds - Enables the Client Funds Verification List

Selecting one of the corresponding check boxes causes the creation of lists that include any entries made by any user after the change is saved in the Customization program. Clearing one of these check boxes and saving the change causes Tabs3 to stop adding information to existing verification lists, but does not delete existing lists.

Drill-Down Editing Capabilities

In Version 10 and later, the Tabs3 Fee, Cost and Payment Verification Lists have drill-down editing capabilities, in Version 11 and later the GLS Journal Entry Verification List has drill-down editing capabilities and in Version 12.2 and later the APS Invoice/Manual Verification list and the TAS Transaction Verification list have drill-down editing capabilities. When displayed using the Preview option, you can drill down to individual records allowing you to edit data directly from the Preview window. For example, suppose you preview a Fee Verification List and notice a transaction that needs to be edited. In the Preview window, mouse over the reference number or description for the transaction in question and it will be highlighted in yellow. Clicking the highlighted transaction will open the Fee data entry program with the transaction selected, allowing you to edit the transaction as desired. (Note: If for some reason the record shown on the verification list has already been deleted, the data entry program will open to a blank record.)

Using the same technique, you can highlight and click a transaction's Client ID, Chart of Account Number, Vendor Number or Trust Account ID to open the Client Information, Chart of Accounts, Vendor Information or Trust Account Information program to the specified record.

The following tables contain the descriptions and file names of all verification files, sorted by system. 

• Tabs3 Verification Lists
• APS Verification Lists
• GLS Verification Lists
• TAS Verification Lists

APS Verification Lists

GLS Verification Lists

TAS Verification Lists

¹ The characters ???? represent the Verification ID assigned to the User ID whose information is stored in the file. For example, if User ID BOB has a Verification ID of 0001, the file A3AV0001.DTA would be the data file containing Bob's APS Invoice/Manual Check Verification List.

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