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Communications
Sales Orders » Sales Order Header » Communications
Any number of communication notes or alerts can be added to an order, to track customer conversations or anything important to be remembered. Read the Communications manual topic for additional information. Communications can be shown as banners when an order is…
Communications
Settings » Communications
The communications tab appears in most modules and master records. It allows a user to enter notes that can then be assigned to either the current user or another user for follow up on the specified date. While it is not a Customer Relationship Management system it can…
Communications- (CRM)
Communications- (CRM)
The communications tab appears in most modules and master records. It allows a user to enter notes that can then be assigned to any user for follow up, perhaps by a specified due date. Notes can be configured to alert users to their existence, either in a pop-up…
Communications Examples
Communications- (CRM) » Communications Examples
Example communications Inventory – Add a note if someone notices that there are not the correct quantity in stock in the warehouse. Assign to the warehouse manager to do a count. Customer – Put an alert on the customer for their birthday so if you add a…
Communications Banners
Communications- (CRM) » Communications Banners
When editing records in Spire that have Communication Notes saved, many different record and transaction types will display these notes as banners at the top of the record, with colour to identify the note status and the ability to scroll through multiple notes. This…
Communications & Attachments
Inventory » Communications & Attachments
The communications tab allows storing notes in items, assigned to a particular user for follow up on a specified date, including file attachments or links to web URLs, and give an alert when it is chosen on transactions. Notes can be added to inventory items for…
Emails as Communications
Email » Emails as Communications
When editing a record or transaction that supports emails, the Communications tab not only shows the list of Notes saved as alerts or reminders, but also a list of all emails generated and sent to them. From here you can view what had been sent in the past, Send…
When you send emails to customers or vendors or employees, either as simple communications or with reports or forms attached, you can maintain and view the list of emails before and after they are sent, and easily recall previous emails for the purpose of…
Reports
Communications- (CRM) » Reports
From the Communications list screen and the reports toolbar button, you can select one or more communications to print reports for the selection, or print the reports for all records. Communication Notes – Print a list of communications, including who is…
Employees
User Settings » Employees
In the Employees section, you will assign permissions this user will be able to view, modify or export. Access Employees – Allows opening the employee list tab within the Payroll module. Add Employees – This setting allows the user to add new employees Edit…
To-Do List on Login
Communications- (CRM) » To-Do List on Login
When Logging In When you log in and there are communication notes that are due or overdue, a “To-Do” list will be presented. By clicking the Edit button, you can see the details of the communication. When you mark an activity complete, it will no…
Version 3.9
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.9
New Features An Email module allows for more flexible ways to send emails, and also maintain sent emails as communications for reference or resending. Creating emails and templates now support more formatting and attachment options. The Sales order…
General Ledger
User Settings » General Ledger
Access Budgets & Forecasts ― Allows the user to access the Budgets and Forecasts module. Access General Ledger ― Allows the user to access the General Ledger module. Alert Recurring Entries ― If there are recurring entries defined and they are due to be…
Version 3.0
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.0
*Spire 3.0 and up does not support Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. (2008r2 is OK) Technology Upgrade Spire’s programming tools were upgraded to allow for great new future enhancements including mobile and web applications. Add more columns to sales…
Accounts Payable
User Settings » Accounts Payable
Void Transaction ― Allows the user to void payments and reverse other accounts payable transactions. Purchases cannot be Voided regardless of this option selection. Choices are: No Yes – Keep Original date Yes – Modify date View A/P Communications…
Accounts Receivable
User Settings » Accounts Receivable
View A/R Communications ― Allows the user to view records on the Communications grid for the customer. Edit A/R Communications ― Allows the user to add or edit records on the Communications grid for the customer. Export A/R Communications ― Allows the user to…
Vendors
User Settings » Vendors
View Accounts Payable ― Allows the user to see the customer’s outstanding transactions on the Accounts Payable tab when editing the customer. The ability to create entries is controlled by another User Setting for Accounts Payable. Add Vendor ― Allows the…
Shipping Methods
Settings » Shipping Methods
On Sales Orders and drop-ships to customers on Purchase Orders, a Shipping Method can be assigned for calculating Freight Charges and tracking the shipment online. You can open the list of shipping methods from the Edit menu. Code – An alphanumeric code of…
Calendar
Settings » Calendar
The calendar is related to the communications module. Communication notes that have a follow up date automatically get added to the calendar. You can open the Calendar either from the Edit menu or the Module list on the left side. Depending on user security settings,…
Calendar
Calendar
The calendar is related to the communications module. Select ‘Calendar’ from the main menu and communication notes with a due date will be show on each respective day that they are due. You can decide if you want to see completed or unassigned tasks, and…
General
User Settings » General
Access Communications – Allows user to have access to the Communications module. Add Sales Tax – Allows the user to add new sales tax records. Allow Change Division – User can switch divisions if this feature is enabled. Allows Change Warehouse – User can…
Customers
User Settings » Customers
Access Customers ― Allows the user to open the Customers module. Add Customers ― Allows the user to create new customer records, either from the New button or from copying existing customers. Delete Customers ― Allows the user to delete customer records.…
Purchase Orders
User Settings » Purchase Orders
Access Purchase Orders – Allows the user to open the Purchases module. Add Purchase Orders – Allows the user to create new purchase orders, either from the New button or from copying existing POs. Add Requisitions to Open PO – Processed Requisitions are…
Mail Merge
Customers » Mail Merge
Spire integrates with Microsoft Word to create a Mail Merge database based on selected customers, to print or email documents such as mailing labels or communications for all of them, containing personalized customer database information. In the Customers module,…
Version 3.10
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.10
New Features 3.10.4 Communications Notes are displayed as banners when opening a record, with colour based on alert or due date status. Bank Reconciliation and Import support posting bank transactions on the fly, and matching and display improvements. …
Production Orders
User Settings » Production Orders
View Production Notes – Allows the user to view records on the Communications grid for Production Orders or Production History invoices. Edit Production Notes – Allows the user to add or edit records on the Communications grid for Production Orders or Production…
Open Inventory
Sales Orders » Sales Order Details » Sales Line Details » Open Inventory
You can highlight an item in the sales order grid and access information about this inventory item from the toolbar button. You have full view and edit access of this item as user security allows, and are able to see open or historical transactions for this item,…
Vendor Open Items
Accounts Payable » Vendor Open Items
When viewing the Accounts Payable for a specific vendor, a screen appears with vendor information and a list of open transactions. Header Open Vendor – Allows the user to open the vendor to see all information including purchase orders not yet…
View Notes Due Today
Tools » View Notes Due Today
When you sign into Spire, if there are any communications notes with a Due Date equal to today or earlier, the Due Today screen with this notes list appears. If you want to access this list after the screen is closed, you do not have to log back into the company.…
Customers
Customers
Creating or Editing a Customer Select ‘Customer’ from either the main menu or the top Customers menu to see the list of customers. Click the plus button to create a new customer, or highlight an existing customer and click the pencil button to edit. …
Customer Open AR Items
Accounts Receivable » Customer Open AR Items
When viewing the Accounts Receivable for a specific customer, a screen appears with customer information and a list of open transactions. Header Open Customer – Allows the user to open the customer to see all information including sales history and open…
Email Messages
Email » Email Messages
When emails are saved or sent, they are available to be seen, edited or resent from the Email module and the Messages tab. You can edit any single email message to send it, make changes or resend it if it has already been sent before. If you create a new email from…
User Settings » Email
In this section you will set permissions for the Email module, and the name and email address for both outgoing mail and where recipients can reply to. If left as default, the email settings will come from the email configuration in Company Settings. Below is the…
Territories
Settings » Sales » Territories
Territories are a way of grouping customers or sales orders for the purpose of filtering or reporting. They can be used to assign regions such as provinces or states, or any other category to classify customers. Territories can also be used in the Price Matrix module…
Inventory
User Settings » Inventory
Access Inventory ― Allows the user to open the Inventory module. Access Inventory Adjustments ― Allows the user to see open and posted inventory adjustment transactions in the list screen. If the Add Inventory Adjustments user setting is also not selected, then…
Production History
Optional Add-ons » Production Manager » Production History
After production orders have been completed, they are not simply deleted, but instead are moved to the Production History list, where you are able to inquire or report on old orders, create a new order by copying, or reversing an order to undo the produced inventory.…
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor List The vendor list shows all vendors by default but the user can set filters and layouts to customize the view as they require. In addition to adding, editing or searching for vendors, you can select one or more vendors and create and send emails to…
Version 3.3
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.3
New Features Add Spire Server Administration with these new features: See this video - Can be run from any workstation on a network - Add ability to upload a maximum 4cm x 4cm Logo in gif, png or jpg format - Add ability to read and download log files…
Salespeople
Settings » Sales » Salespeople
Salesperson codes may be created to assign to customers and sales orders. This allows filtering or even restricting to a specific salesperson, and creating reports to calculate earned commission. You can open the list of salespeople from the top Sales menu. Code…
Filters/Searches/Exports
Filters/Searches/Exports
Users can create and save filters and then combine searches with them, and then export them To Excel which will include the selected layout along with the headers and sort order. Video instruction – Filters & Searches
Excel Pivot Tables
Tips & Tricks » Excel Pivot Tables
By utilizing Spire’s filters and exports, users can export data to Excel and then create a separate spreadsheet with pivot tables to analyze the data many different ways. Then each period just re-export the data and simply refresh the Pivot Tables. By creating…
Standing Orders
FAQs » Standing Orders
Video Instruction – How to create standing orders with an invoice repeat cycle.
Importing New Prices
FAQs » Importing New Prices
Video Instruction – Updating Sell prices using export to Excel and Import back.
Version 2.8
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.8
Auto Update – In the Spire Server Tray the user may be presented with notification that a Spire upgrade is available. Otherwise click on Help -> Check for updates and they will see what version(s) are available and will be prompted to upgrade. Once the server has…
Mail Merge by Exporting from List
Tips & Tricks » Mail Merge by Exporting from List
This video shows how to create a mail or email merge from exported Spire lists.
Customer Specific Part Numbers
FAQs » Customer Specific Part Numbers
Video Instruction – How to create a list of item numbers specific to a customer that map to your inventory items in Spire.
Version 3.4
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.4
New Features Source Deduction Remittance for Canadian Payroll New new module has been added that calculates the source deductions and then pays them through accounts payable. See this link for instructions. Video Instruction
Sales Order
User Settings » Sales Order
Access Sales Orders – Allows the user to open the Sales Order module. Add Ship Via – Allows the user to create new Shipping Method records. Add or Edit Sales Orders – Allows the user to create or modify Sales orders with selected types. Editing an order…
Contract Cost
FAQs » Contract Cost
Video Instruction – Shows how to set a contract cost for a customer. Using price matrix to assign a contract cost to an item for a customer. A special sell price can also be set. See this link for full explanation. “
Version 2.1
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.1
Add Optional Service Manager (Equipment tracking module) Improve all Sales Tax behavior to make all 4 tax fields available as configured, allow any tax to be set as recoverable Add timecard_entries table to improve Timecard data structure Add Items tab to Sales…
Sales History
Sales Orders » Sales Order Header » Sales History
This tab allows you to see all historical sales invoices for this customer, not yet completed and closed to history. There are two sub-tabs, one for the list of invoices and the other for the list of items from those invoices. On either sub-tab you can search for,…
Year End
Tools » Year End
This function controls the 3 available Fiscal Years, moving Last Year into History, pushing This Year and Next Year into the next older column, and creating a new Next Year. This mostly affects General Ledger transactions, and some processing is highly recommended…
Version 2.4
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.4
January 2017 Canadian Payroll tables Improved Payroll Year End Procedure Prevent payroll year end from being done more than once Block users from posting timecards in January without first performing payroll year end Ability to post payroll timecards to last year…
Payment Terms
Settings » Payment Terms
Define rules for calculating the due date and early payment discount date and amount for customer and vendor invoices and debit memos. Default terms codes can be assigned to customers and vendors. Also see a list of records and open transactions where the terms code is…
Warehouses
Settings » Inventory » Warehouses
Warehouses are associated with inventory item storage and transactions including purchasing and sales. When the option to use Multiple Warehouses has been enabled in Company Setup, you may create additional warehouse records in order to separate inventory item quantity…
Promotions
Settings » Sales » Promotions
Promotions are added to price matrix records, for grouping items together for quantity break pricing specials. Colour may be optionally applied to sales order lines to indicate a price matrix promotion is used. You can open the list of promotions from the top Sales…
Production Manager
Optional Add-ons » Production Manager
Production Manager add-on lets you control inventory with pinpoint accuracy, reduce unplanned expenses and improve cash flow. Efficiently plan production from beginning to end and track progress with real-time information on raw materials, costs and production…
Purchase Order Header
Purchase Orders » Purchase Order Header
The Purchase Order Header contains a number of toolbar buttons that control status maintenance and perform functions on the purchase order as a whole. The toolbars at the top are displayed regardless of which purchase order tab is open. Open Vendor – Opens…
One Time Vendors
Accounts Payable » One Time Vendors
Misc Payments To enter a combined invoice and payment for a vendor that does have a saved record in your company data, create a new transaction from the Open Accounts screen, and for the vendor selection choose ‘One Time Vendor’. In addition to the…
Locations
Locations & Profit Centers » Locations
Each user can be restricted to a specific location, or allowed to choose any location without restriction. This is configured in User Settings in the General area. When you log into Spire or use the Change Location menu selection, the screen has a place to see the…
Version 2.2
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.2
2.2 New Features: • The last of the technology upgrades • AR and AP multiple invoice discounts • AR and AP void transaction (not just Payment) • AR and AP payment application over several invoices • Purchase Order line…
Sales Payment Balancing
Sales Payment Balancing
If the company takes several forms of payment, then the following is the procedure to balance the payments against the invoices and Point of Sales processed. On the top Sales menu, select Cash Out Reports. Add a new Cash Out batch for the period to be balanced and…
Multi-Currency
Multi-Currency
The multi-currency module allows a company to operate in other currencies besides the base used for GL reporting. Invoices can therefore be sent to customers and payments can be accepted in their own currency, and Purchase orders can be sent to vendors and be paid…
Profit Centers
Locations & Profit Centers » Profit Centers
To be able to use the profit center feature for redirecting the posted revenue account, you have to be allowed access from a User Setting in the Sales Order area. When editing a sales order, you can select the profit center in the Order Details section of the Main…
Levies
Settings » Inventory » Levies
Whenever an inventory item, particular specialized charges may be required to include such as environmental levies or deposits. Levy codes can be defined as flat or rate charges and assigned to items. You can open the list of levies from the top Inventory menu. …
Keyboard Shortcuts
FAQs » Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcut F Keys F1 – Launches the manual with context sensitive help F2 – Cancels a sales order F5 – In sales and POS brings up the invoice and payment screen F6 – Exits the sales order F7 – In a sales order it brings up the sales…
Receiving Negative Inventory
FAQs » Receiving Negative Inventory
When inventory is allowed to be sold or consumed so that the on-hand quantity is below zero it means that the item is potentially sold to the customer at the the wrong cost. Let’s look at this example. Item INSDB55 Average Cost $100 On-Hand negative 2 Sell…
Version 3.8
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.8
New Features • Budgets and Forecasts module • Add ability to add unlimited contacts to all modules and set different contact types, converted from previously used contact labels • Total Current Component Cost field added to the Kit Components tab of…
Server Administration
Tools » Server Administration
Spire administration can be accessed from any workstation on the local area network. The administration is browser based and can be accessed from the Tools menu and choosing Server Administration. For more complete information regarding Spire Administration functions,…
Phases
Settings » Phases
Phases are user-defined statuses that can be assigned to Sales, Production and Purchase Orders for the purpose of identifying where in the work flow a particular transaction is. Phases are connected in a chain, proceeding from one to the next. User security is…
Contract Cost
Price Matrix » Contract Cost
The contract cost option in price matrix allows the cost of an item to be set for a customer or group. The true margin is shown when the item is sold to the customer and the inventory GL account is credited with the amount that was paid for for that inventory item.…
Accessories
Inventory » Accessories
Accessories are additional items that are included with this item when added to a sales order. Any number of accessories can be defined for an item. From the Accessories tab, you can add or remove items for inclusion as order accessories, and open a highlighted…
Email Templates
Settings » Email Templates
Email templates can be used throughout Spire for sending email merges with customers and vendors and transactions. A template can be setup so that you do not have to type the email subject and body each time it is sent. Some of the merge fields can also be used to…
User Defined Fields
User Defined Fields
Overview The User Defined Field (UDF) module allows you to add and use fields that are not included by default in the Spire program. There are several types of data fields that can be added, with optional formatting parameters if desired, if you have security rights…
Purchase Orders
Purchase Orders
When you need to purchase more inventory items for resale or production, you can create orders directly from the Purchase Orders module or from approved and processed Requisitions. When editing a purchase order, the window is divided into three separate areas for…
Source Deduction Remittance
Canadian Payroll » Source Deduction Remittance
Check these settings in Company Settings->Payroll before using ‘Source Deduction Remittance’ Module Select remittance frequency Setup CRA vendor for paying deductions Once all timecards are posted for the reporting period, go to the top menu …
Searches
Filters/Searches/Exports » Searches
There are multiple ways that Spire allows you to locate the desired record of choice, either from grids or entry. Search Box Each module of Spire includes a search box at the top of the list. This search feature looks into most of the text fields in the database…
Accounts
General Ledger » Accounts
A list of accounts is displayed in a grid, which can be filtered or searched within. Export – Used to create an Excel file from the contents of the grid, either the entire list of accounts or only those displayed through a Filter or a Search. Add –…
Version 3.1
What’s New In Spire » Version 3.1
*Spire 3.0 and up does not support Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. (2008r2 is OK) Payroll • Add Vacation Pay expense account to Payroll Department to allow Vacation Expense to post to a separate GL Expense Account • Add default Benefit and Deduction…
Point of Sale
Point of Sale
The Point-of-Sale (POS) module is a quick way to enter sales that can be quickly and easily processed, even without the use of a mouse. The keyboard shortcuts are always visible at the top of the screen in the toolbar, which can be used instead of using the mouse to…
General Ledger Year End
General Ledger » General Ledger Year End
At any given time Spire has 3 years open that users can post to. They are Last Year, This Year and Next Year. Typically companies work in This Year but that is not a requirement. By working in This Year Spire allows you to back date and post date transactions 1 year…
Macros
Inventory » Macros
Macro items represent a collection of other items specified on the Macro Substitutions tab. These differ from Kitted items in that Macro items are completely replaced by their substituted items when added to sales orders and are not referenced in order or invoice…
Requisitions
Requisitions
Requisitions are authorization requests for purchasing or producing items, often created by staff who are not the decision-makers in what to buy and how much. Requisitions can be made from many different modules, and when approved they are included on purchase orders,…
Payroll Year End
Canadian Payroll » Payroll Year End
Payroll timecards are not allowed in the new calendar year until the prior year payroll has been closed. You must perform the Payroll Year End procedure in order to start creating these new timecards, otherwise an error will appear: Even after the payroll year end…
Spire Server Admin
Spire Server Admin
Spire Server Administration provides browser-based access to maintain your company databases, users, reports, and other areas of Spire that are typically general to all companies and not specific to one. You can open the Server Admin from any workstation on the local…
Service Manager
Optional Add-ons » Service Manager
The Service Manager add-on gives you quick access to all service records, making it easy to track the history of each piece of equipment. It will help improve customer satisfaction and increase the efficiency of your service business. Features: Track equipment by…
ODBC Setup
FAQs » ODBC Setup
Video Instruction – How to setup a 32 bit Spire ODBC connection. Upgrading to 64 bit ODBC Crystal Reports 2020 is now 64 bit and will require a 64 bit PostgreSQL ODBC driver to develop or edit reports. The current 64 bit driver can be downloaded from This…
Standing Orders
Sales Orders » Standing Orders
Repeat Cycles Standing orders will typically will be repeated for the customer, perhaps on a regular schedule that you can assign using the Repeat field on the order. When a Standing order is shipped and invoiced, the order is not cleared from the list so that it is…
Adding Items to an Order
Sales Orders » Sales Order Details » Adding Items to an Order
There are multiple ways you can search for and locate item codes for adding to a sales order. The easiest way to add an item to a sales order is to create a new detail line in the grid, either from the Add button or by clicking in the last blank row, and type the part…
Version 2.5
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.5
Spire 2.5 Feature Additions User Defined Fields (UDF’s) have been added to list views Click Here for instruction User defined fields are now visible on the list views and can be filtered, searched, sorted and exported. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for…
New Install
Spire Installation » Installing Spire on the Server » New Install
*Note – Spire Admin does not work with Internet Explorer. Upgrade to Microsoft Edge or use Chrome, Firefox or Safari. All of which are HTML5 complaint. A new installation requires that certain attributes be provisioned on the Spire server. These steps occur…
Sales Order Header
Sales Orders » Sales Order Header
To create a new Sales Order in Spire, you typically would start from the Sales module, clicking the ‘+’ button in the toolbar. You can also create new sales orders from the Inventory List or within editing a customer or when copying a Sales History invoice.…
Version 2.3
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.3
Attachments on Employees Job Costing Click here to go direct to job costing in the manual, including video instruction. We’ve made the Job Costing module easy with the use of tabs and eliminated the cumbersome task of entering jobs one at time on pop-up screens.…
Version 2.6
What’s New In Spire » Version 2.6
Spire 2.6 Feature Additions Unlimited number of payment methods Click Here for instruction Removed the limit of 7 payment methods for sales orders and POS Added the ability to round invoice/POS payment to nearest 5 cents for penny rounding Click Here for…
Upgrading to this Version
Upgrading to this Version
Prior to installing the most current Spire version and converting data, below is a synopsis of what to expect and plan for, when updating from different older major versions. Specific areas of the database may need to be optimized prior to conversion, and other areas…
Production Order
Optional Add-ons » Production Manager » Production Order
Once a production order has been created it can go through several steps before it gets built and received to inventory. Click on the add or edit icon to open a production order. Header Toolbar Save – Saves the production order and leaves the window…
Accounts Payable
Accounts Payable
The Accounts Payable module is the place to enter vendor transactions that do not originate from Purchase Orders, such as office expense invoices or vendor payments. The module grid on the Open Accounts tab lists all vendors that have open transactions, with aged…
Direct Deposit
Canadian Payroll » Direct Deposit
To be able to provide payroll direct deposit for your employees, you first have to configure your company banking information on the General Ledger bank account and the EFT Settings tab, as specified on the Payroll Department. Choose the EFT file format that your…