1 Selection Events from the Main toolbar, and then select the Related Product tab.
2 Click a Related Products group box.
3 You can now search for a miscellaneous product as well a self-study product.

New Exhibitor Tab in Events File Maintenance

You can only link Firms to events if they have been “activated” as exhibitors on in Firms File Maintenance. You can only link people who are employees of a firm that is flagged as an exhibitor.

AM4 includes the ability to link employees so you can track them as event attendees, eliminating the need to include them as registrants for the event. With this in mind, the event nametag program now has an option for printing nametags for exhibitor employees in step 3 of the configuration options.

We hope this new feature will enhance detailed tracking and reporting of exhibitor activity.

Journal Entry Templates: The program used for entry of manual journal entries has two new buttons that allow you to save any journal entry as a template and retrieve it for future use. The templates get saved to a file with the user’s initials as the file extension. The default location for these files is the “JETemplate” folder off the main Am4 folder.

There are three components of press releases in AM4: an article, press releases related to the article, and the media firms which publish the press releases.

Articles
To create a press release, you must first create an article. This item contains the text to be published, the article’s title, a unique item code (created by AM4), and a general and specific type for the article.

To create a new article

• Select Options > Media > File Maintenance > Media Article Masterfile. The Find a Media Article window appears.
• Click OK to open the first article in the table.
• Click New on the Navigation Toolbar. An empty record appears.
• Add the article title, article text, and a general and specific type.
• Click Save on the Navigation Toolbar.

Note
You can also open Article Maintenance by clicking Article Maintenance on the Press Releases tab of the Media tab of Firms File Maintenance.

Press Releases

Once you create the article, you can now create a Press Release. Press Releases allow you to track the firms to whom you’ve sent the article. You can only send an article to a firm that is flagged as a Media firm.

To add a press release

• Find the article you want to add as the press release in Articles File Maintenance, and then select the Press Releases tab.
• Click Add Press Release. The Select the Media Firm that published the press release window appears.
• Find the firm that published the press release and then click OK. The Add New Press release window appears.
• Enter the Press Release Date (required), the Press Release Size, and a description of the press release, and then click Save. AM4 saves the record and the press release now appears in the Press Releases grid. The Press Release will also appear in the Press Releases grid on the Media tab of the firm.

To Delete a Press Release

• Find the article with the press release you want to delete in Articles File Maintenance, and then select the Press Releases tab.
• Select the Press Release you want to delete in the grid.
• Click Delete Press Release. The Delete Press Release dialog appears, asking if you want to delete the press release.
• Click Yes.

To Edit a Press Release

• Find the article with the press release you want to edit in Articles File Maintenance, and then select the Press Releases tab.
• Select the Press Release you want to edit in the grid.
• Click Edit Selected Press Release. The Edit Press Release window appears.
• Edit the record and click Save.
  

The new tab also includes several new categories. AM4 now includes the following rating categories:

• Objectives Met
• Relevance
• Materials
• Facilities
• Food
• Prerequisites
• Time Allotted
• AV Equipment
• Overall

We hope this change allows you to quickly access and evaluate event and leader ratings, and manages any additional evaluation needs.

To add a name to a distribution list

• Select the name you want to add to the list in Names File Maintenance.
• Click the Envelope icon on the Main Toolbar. The Name and Address window appears.
• Click Add Current in the E-Mail Distribution List section at the bottom of the window.

Once you have created a distribution list, you can view all the email addresses on the list by clicking View Current in the same E-Mail Distribution List section of the Name and Address window.

When you are ready to send the email, click Send Emails. An empty email document will appear addressed to the people you selected in the distribution list.

If you have a standard nametag format, this will allow you to print nametags for committee meetings or other events—not just CPE courses. Also, this allows you to quickly print another nametag if a person’s nametag is lost or damaged.

To print a nametag for a specific person

• Select Options > Events > Reports – Registrations > Nametags.
• Go to configuration option 2.
• Select One selected person. A dialog appears that explains that all other configuration settings will be ignored if you select a specific person. Click OK to close the dialog.
• Select the person for which you want to print the nametag.
• Click Run.

To print nametags for a specific group of people

• Select Options > Events > Reports – Registrations > Nametags.
• Go to configuration option 2.
• Select Standard names selection criteria. A dialog appears that explains that all other configuration settings will be ignored if you specify selection criteria. Click OK to close the dialog. The SELECTION CRITERIA – Nametags screen appears.
• Specify your criteria and click Run.

Note
As mentioned above, any other settings in the configuration options will be ignored if you select either of these options.

There are three basic components to Promotion Tracking in AM4: File Maintenance, Linking, and Communications. First, you must add the promotion to Promotions File Maintenance. Then, you can link specific events, products, and other items to the promotion. Later, when you generate a communication about the promotion – via email, fax, labels for a mailing, mail merge, export, etc. – AM4 creates a journal record for everyone who received the communication.

Promotion File Maintenance
Let’s first look at Promotion File Maintenance in Options > Utilities > File Maintenance > Promotion Masterfile. The module contains four tabs:

• Details. Primary information about the promotion, such as title, start date, and end dates.
• Links. Allows you to link specific events, committees, and other items to the promotion.
• Products Links. Allows you to link specific products to the promotion.
• History. Displays all communications for the selected promotion. Also allows you to Edit, Add, or Delete a specific communication.

Details tab
In a moment, we will look at how to link an item to Promotions File Maintenance, but first, let’s take a closer look at the data stored on the Details tab.

The Details tab contains the following fields, all related to general information about the promotion.

• Promotions Code. A system assigned unique code that identifies each promotion. It is composed of the last two digits of the year, the users initials, and a 3 digit sequence number that increments as each new promotion is defined during the year.
• Start Date. The date the promotion begins.
• End Date. The date the promotion ends.
• Title. The title of the promotion.
• Description. The full description of the promotion.
• Record Added. The add information of the record (date and user’s initials of person who added the record).
• Record Updated. The update information of the record (date and user’s initials of person who updated the record).

Use the same procedure as in any other File Maintenance module in AM4 to add this information to the Promotions Masterfile:

From the Promotions File Maintenance window

• Click New from the Navigation Toolbar
  -or-
  Press Ctrl + N
  -or-
  Select File > New.
• Enter any relevant information.
• Save the record.

Linking
Once you have added a promotion, you can then link events, products, committees, and other items to it on the Links and Products Links tabs. These tabs contain the following “link” fields:

Links tab

• Events. Allows you to link the promotion to one or more events.
• Committees. Allows you to link the promotion to one or more committees.
• Contribution Marketing Source. Allows you to link the promotion to specific contribution marketing sources. (You can assign a Contribution Marketing Source while processing a dues payment.)
• Promotion Group. Use this field to define sets of codes that allow you to group similar kinds of promotions.

Products Links tab

• Self Study. Allows you to link the promotion to self-study products.
• Advertising. Allows you to link the promotion to advertising products.
• Miscellaneous Sales. Allows you to link the promotion to miscellaneous sale products.
• Publications. Allows you to link the promotion to publications.

To link an item to the promotion, click in the appropriate list box. A window appears which allows you to select a specific item to link to the promotion.

For example, if you click the Events link field, the Select Events window appears, allowing you to select one or more events to link to the promotion.

Communications
The third component of tracking promotions is Communications. Communications allow you to record and track specific communications related to the promotions. (As mentioned above, these can be emails, faxes, labels for a mailing, etc.)

You can create communications in two places: the History tab of Promotion File Maintenance and the Record Promotion window, which you can access from the Export Data screen or the Completed Label Options screen.

Adding a communication from the History tab
To add a communication from the History tab, simply click Add Communication. Then, enter the Communication Date (required), the Communication Method (required), and the Description (optional). Finally, click Save. AM4 saves the communication.

Later, you can review when and how communications were sent for the specific promotion, and track how well they worked. For example, if sales for a specific product increase significantly after a promotion, the promotion worked as intended.

Adding a communication from the Export Data or Completed Label Options screens
Another way to add communications to a promotion is by clicking Record Promotions, a new button that appears at the end of an export or label run. This allows you to create communications “on the fly” as they are created via the AM4 label, mail merge and export programs.

To add a communication using this method, you must first run an export or create labels. Then, from either the Export Data or Completed Label Options screen, click Record Promotion. The Select Promotion to Post Communication Records for Persons window appears.

From here, you can add a new promotion or communication just like you can in Promotion File Maintenance. However, this screen also allows you to add the communication information to each person’s names record that appears in the export or label run. You can do this by clicking Add New Communication or Use Selected Communication.

Communication tracking for each Name selected in an export, label run, or mail merge
If you add a communication, you must enter and save the communication just as you would in Promotions File Maintenance. But when you add it after an export, label run, or mail merge, AM4 displays a dialog just after you save the communication and asks if you want to add the communication information to all persons selected in the label run or export. If you click OK, AM4 adds a record with the promotion information to the new Mktg tab in the person’s Names File Maintenance record.

You can also add the communication to each person’s record by clicking Use Selected Communication. The only difference is that the communication already exists, so the dialog appears immediately and asks if you want to add the communication information to all persons selected in the label run or export.

Note
If you need to delete a communication record from a person’s Mktg tab, select the communication in the Promotion History grid on the Mktg tab in Names File Maintenance and click Delete Selected Promotion Communication. This might be necessary if you cannot complete a communication, as when mail is returned undelivered.

Promotion Tracking and Analysis
The standard names selection criteria now allows the selection of persons who received specified marketing communications.

In the future, CDS will develop additional reports to provide summary, statistical and detailed information on activity by persons who receive promotion communications.

Location
Options > Names > Reports – Statistical > Member Retention Statistics

Configuration options
The Member Retention Statistics report has four configuration options.

• Step 1
  Specify the number of years the report will cover.
  • Ten years
  • Five years
  • Three years
• Step 2
  Specify the Report End Date. (This is the date that the report will use as the ending date for each year.)
• Step 3
  Specify All Members or Selection Criteria.
  • All Members (All members will be included in the report.)
  • Selection Criteria (Only members who meet the criteria you specify in the Selection Criteria utility will be included in the report. Selection Criteria screen appears after you click Run.)
• Step 4
  Enter title to print on report.

Data returned
The Member Retention Statistics report returns the number of members who joined the society in a year, and – of the people that joined in that period – returns the number who were terminated or resigned in each of the subsequent ten, five, or three years, depending on which you specify.

It also provides a percentage of those who dropped compared to the number who joined in the first year.

Summary data
Returns the cumulative percentage of those who dropped for each year compared to the total that joined in the first year.

Also returns the total number who dropped for the entire period.

Remarks
None.

To send an email to everyone in a selected event

• From Events File Maintenance, select the event with the registrants to which you want to send the email.
• Click Envelope on the Navigation Toolbar.

Note
To hide the addresses from other recipients, you can copy them to the BCC field and type your email address in the To field.

To assign a curriculum to a specific session

• Select the conference with the session to which you want to add the curriculum in Events File Maintenance
• Select the Sess (Sessions) tab and click Add/Edit Sessions.
• Select the session in the Select Sessions to Edit drop-down.
• Click the Curriculum field in the bottom right of the window and add the curriculum.
• Click Save, and then click Cancel to close the window.

To send an email to a registrant from the Regs tab

• From Events File Maintenance, select the Regs tab.
• Scroll the Current Registrations grid to the right to reveal the Email column.
• Click the email address of the registrant to which you want to send email. The email client appears with an open document to the selected email address.

Location
Options > Events > Reports – Summary/Statistical > AICPA Event Registrations and Fees

Configuration options
The AICPA Event Registrations and Fees report has five configuration options.

• Step 1
  Specify one event or events within a specified date range.
• Step 2
  If date range is selected in Step 1, specify the date range of transactions to report. (Default date range is beginning of time (blank) to current date.

Data returned
The Ratings Summary report returns the following data for each event.

• The begin date and end date for the event.
• The location of the event.
• The event vendor.
• The number of people who attended the event.
• The number of evaluations entered for the event.
• Ratings comments for the event.

Summary data
The report summarizes the following data:

• Discussion leader’s knowledge of subject.
• Discussion leader presentation skills.
• Quality of Materials.
• State objectives met.
• Discussion leader’s engagement of participants.

Remarks
This is currently the only report in AM4 that includes ratings comments.

To try this new feature

• Select and event in Events File Maintenance for which you know there are registrants.
• Select the Regs tab.
• Scroll to the right until the email column is visible.
• Click the email address of a specific person. The email client will create a new email item addressed to the person you selected.

Note
The default A/P address preference is the person’s General Preference.

• The person is not flagged as an Event Leader, Legislator, or Legislative Contact. The person also must not have an Ethics file.
• The person does not have an MOA balance, does not owe the society money, and does not have a credit balance.
• The person is not on any mailing lists. (See the Lists page to remove a person from a mailing list)
• There is no file maintenance, registrations, product sales or accounts payable vouchers on or after a date that you specify.

(Please note that these criteria will appear in a dialog just before you begin the routine.)

To run the Flag Inactive Non-member Records for Deletion

• Select Options > Names > Special Routines > Flag Inactive Non-member Records for Deletion. A dialog appears outlining the steps in this documentation.
• Click OK. The Flag Inactive Non-member Records for Deletion window appears.
• Select all Non-member types you want to include.
• Enter a date on or after which individuals to be flagged do not have any activity. Activity in this context means transactions, such as registrations and product sales.
• Enter a date on or after which individuals to be flagged do not have any file maintenance. File maintenance in this context means changes to their record, such as the addition of a certification date and number, entering a birth date, and the addition of any mailing lists to the person’s record.
• Click Flag Records. A dialog appears, confirming you want to flag the records.
• Click OK. AM4 will clear any existing D’s from the Print Flag field, scan the Names file for activity and file maintenance on or after the specified dates, and then insert D’s into the Print Flag fields accordingly.

When the routine finishes running, you should print a roster and select names with a Names Print Flag of “D” in the Selection Criteria. (To create a Names Roster, select Options > Names > Reports – Rosters > Roster.) Review the roster for any people you do not want to delete.

If you do not want to delete certain individuals, delete the “D” from the Print Flag field.

When you are ready to delete the records, contact CDS Support.

Notes
Remember, this routine clears all existing D’s from the Print Flag field before running.

You must contact CDS Support for the actual deletion so that we can create a backup, answer any questions you may have about deleting the records, and prevent mass deletions that may invalidate large amounts of data. Since users flag, and then review records flagged for deletion, the actual deletion process performed by CDS will only take a few minutes.

To run the Event Vendor Count report

• Select Options > Events > Reports - Vendor > Vendor Counts.

To print Acknowledgements for new registrants

• Select Acknowledgements not previously printed in Step 3 of the configuration options of Options > Events > Reports - Registrations > CPE Acknowledgements.

To clear the Acknowledgement print date for new registrants

• Find the person with the Acknowledgement date you want to clear in Names File Maintenance.
  
• Select the Event tab.
• Select the event in the Event Registrations grid.
• Click Anywhere in the Registration Details section to the right of the Event Registrations grid. The Edit Event Ledger window appears.
• Delete the date in the Acknowledg. Date field. The next time you print Acknowledgements and select Acknowledgements not previously printed, AM4 will include an Acknowledgment for this person.
  

To export committee assignments from Options > Names > Export > Export/View Selected Names Data

• Select Options > Names > Export > Export/View Selected Names Data.
• On Step 3 of the configuration options, select Committee/Position Assignments in the Select Table drop-down field.
• Select Comem – Committee and Position Assignments in the grid.
• Run the export. AM4 will export the names of the committees on which the person served for the specified date range, as well as his or her committee position assignment.

System administrators can specify whether or not a dues payment requires a value in this field for all contributions entered in AM4 on the Dues tab of System Preferences (in File > System Preferences > Dues tab.)

You can export this field and use it to specify selection criteria in Options > Names > Export > Export/View Selected Names Data and other reports and routines that use Names selection criteria. You can also specify a Marketing Source in the Contribution Summary and Contributors Listing reports.

To assign a member solicitation method to a member

• Find the person to which you want to assign the solicitation in Names File Maintenance.
• Select the Data tab, and then select the Primary data and Codes tab if it is not already selected.
• Select the member solicitation method in the Member Solicitation field and save the record.

Note
To add member solicitation codes, right-click on the field.