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Creating a Database

Spire Installation » Creating a Database

After you have installed the Server software, you are ready to create a New Company. This is done via the Server software itself (all database activity related to Companies is managed through the Server, not the Client) Go to your System Tray in Windows, lower right…

T4A Creating Statements

T4A Statements » T4A Creating Statements

Once a vendor has been set as a T4a recipient, the user can generate T4As when they are due. See CRAs ruling for when to report. T4As are generated for the year before the date set in Company Settings -> Payroll -> Employer -> Current Payroll Year. Go to the top menu…

T5018 Creating Statements

T5018 Statements » T5018 Creating Statements

Once a vendor has been set as a T508 recipient, the user can generate T5018s when they are due. The T5018s are generated for the year before the date set in Company Settings -> Payroll -> Contractor-> Reporting Period Ending. Go to the top menu “Payroll”…

Importing New Prices

FAQs » Importing New Prices

Video Instruction – Updating Sell prices using export to Excel and Import back.

What’s New In Spire

Setting Up a Spire Backup

Spire Installation » Setting Up a Spire Backup

To create a Snapshot of Spire data you will need to do the following: Open Spire Server Tray Double click a company Choose Interval Select time to perform snapshot Select how many snapshots to save Snapshots will be saved in on the server in…

Installing Spire on a Workstation

Spire Installation » Installing Spire on a Workstation

After you have finished downloading the file, you are ready to start the Client installation. Click on the link from your Download screen (or on the file itself from your Downloads folder). You will next see the Spire Setup Wizard. Click Next to continue. You will be…

Producing a Record of Employment (ROE)

Canadian Payroll » Record of Employment (ROE) » Producing a Record of Employment (ROE)

When an ROE is required click on “Payroll->Records of Employment” You will see a list of previously produced Records of Employment. If an ROE has been remitted it will have a date and can no longer be edited or deleted. They will always be there for…

Vendors

Company Setup » Vendors

Address Defaults – Set the default address that will be used when creating a new vendor. Contact Labels – Contacts 1, 2 and 3 can have a label added to define what the contact is used for; i.e. if you always want contact 3 to be used for the buyer, then…

Entering UDF Data & Using them in Reports

User Defined Fields » Entering UDF Data & Using them in Reports

Entering data in UDFs Entering data into the fields that you created is done by going to the ‘User Defined’ tab of the module. All the formatting you applied when setting up the fields, are respected. Creating Reports on UDF data Open Crystal Reports and edit…

Converting Data

Spire Installation » Converting Data

Database Conversion from BusinessVision After you have installed Spire Server, you can import an existing BV company or restore from a Snapshot (backup). This is done via the Server software itself (all database activity related to Companies is managed through the…

Installing Spire on the Server

Spire Installation » Installing Spire on the Server

After you have finished downloading the file(s) you are ready to start the Server installation. Click on the link from your Download screen (or on the file itself from your Downloads folder). When you install the server on of the options ask if you also want to…

User Settings

Creating a New User To create a new user you will need to have access to the user settings, select User Settings from the Edit menu in the main Spire window. Once you have selected User Settings, a new window will open which will allow you click the plus icon to…

Employees

Company Setup » Employees

The Employees section is where you enter your Address Defaults for the location of employment, the Contact Labels for the employee’s contact record, the Department the employee works in and the Pay Frequency. It will use these defaults when creating a new…

Customers

Company Setup » Customers

Address Defaults – Set the default address that will be used when creating a new customer. Unique Ship To – Check this if you require each ship to ID to be different across customers. Contact Labels – Contacts 1, 2 and 3 can have a label added to define what…

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…

Mail Merge

Customers » Mail Merge

In Spire users can print or email merge the selected customers from within the customer list. To create a shorter list to send your merged document to you can create a filter for the customer list and then highlight the ones to merge with and click the merge button. …

User Defined Fields

Overview The UDF module allows you to add fields that are not included in the default Spire program. There are several types of data fields that can be added and they can then be given parameters for how the data is to be formatted. Once entered, this data can be…

Restore

Backup & Restore » Restore

To restore a Spire dataset go to the Spire tray icon on the server. You will need to log in using the Spire admin password that was created when installing Spire server, or with any other admin password that was created in Spire 3.0 or greater. After login you…

Bill of Materials

Inventory » Bill of Materials

*Note: This functionality does not require the optional add-on, Production Manager If an item is set as manufactured it will have a components tab. You can see very visually if you have enough stock to be able to build the item. The green dots mean that there is…

Purchase Orders

User Settings » Purchase Orders

Close Purchase Order – Can close a purchase order to purchase history. Edit Purchase Tax Flags – Allow user to change the default taxes that were added from the vendor. Issue Purchase Orders – Can issue and send PO to vendor. Receive Purchase Orders – Can…

Equipment

Company Setup » Equipment

The optional “Service Manager” module is configurable to match a companies requirements. Each field in the module can be named as required. Prompt for Reading – The field called ‘Reading’, by default is for when an item is serviced…

Batch Receivables – & EFT

Accounts Receivable » Batch Receivables – & EFT

Batch Receivables Setup Before using accounts receivable batches the user will need permission set for their login in User Settings/Accounts Receivable. For EFT deposits a GL account must first be selected in Company Settings/Special Accounts/AR Accounts. It is…

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…

Custom Reports

Reporting » Custom Reports

Custom reports for Spire are saved on the server in one of 2 places. If the report is required for all companies then save it on the server in C:\Programdata\Spire\Reports If the report is just for one of the companies then it is saved on the server in…

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…

Payroll

Opening Balances » Payroll

When creating opening balances for employees the items that should be set before posting a payroll in Spire is the vacation owed, (which should total in the GL to the liability account set for accrued vacation) and the advances owing (which should total in the GL to…

Introduction

Welcome to Spire Spire is a business management solution for small and mid-sized businesses. Our software is developed with an intuitive interface and a robust database that uses modern technology for efficiency, flexibility and scalability. With Spire, organizations…

Searches

Filters/Searches/Exports » Searches

Each module of Spire includes a search box at the top of the list. Word(s) can be entered and the list will be filtered to the records that include the word(s) searched for. For the first word entered it will include partial words, but if another word is entered then…

Sales Order Salesperson Settings – What Happens

Sales Orders » Sales Order Salesperson Settings – What Happens

Default salesperson for a sales order. These settings apply when creating a sales order. The user can always override these settings, unless the user setting-> Sales Orders->Edit Salesperson is unchecked. If user setting -> Salesperson –> Default Salesperson is…

General Ledger

Opening Balances » General Ledger

The easiest way to enter the general ledger opening balance is to enter it as one large journal entry. The memo can be entered as something like “Starting Open Balance”. To accomplish this the user must first turn off the GL, otherwise they will not be able…

Processing Sales Orders

Sales Orders » Processing Sales Orders

Save – Saves the order but leaves it open. This is useful if you are creating a sales order and the customer wants the order number. Even though the order number is displayed, it is not permanent until saving because another user on the network may save…

Spire Installation

Hardware Requirements Spire Server Spire Server is supported on the following Microsoft Windows editions: Windows (not Home editions) 8.1 Windows (not Home editions) 10 Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2016 Minimum Recommended 2.4 GHz…

Accounts Payable

Opening Balances » Accounts Payable

The usual method for entering accounts payable opening balance is to simply enter one transaction for each outstanding invoice. The other way to post the opening balance is to import it as an AP transaction which in the end has the same result as entering it…

Accounts Receivable

Opening Balances » Accounts Receivable

The usual method for entering accounts receivable opening balance is to simply enter one transaction for each outstanding invoice. The other way to post the opening balance is to import it as an AR transaction which in the end has the same result as entering it…

Modules using Multi-Currency

Multi-Currency » Modules using Multi-Currency

Multi-Currency is used in various places in Spire. General Ledger – Journal entries can be made posting to foreign and base accounts. NOTE: The base and foreign amounts as well as the rate are editable prior to posting. Accounts Payable – All items…

Customers

Creating or Editing a Customer Select ‘Customer’ from the main menu and then click the + (plus) button. This will bring you to the customers main address screen. If creating a new customer the minimum data entry required is the customer code and a…

Purchase History

User Settings » Purchase History

Access Purchase History – Gives access to PO history and is added to the user’s main menu. View Historical Cost Prices – Can see the cost from historical POs Copy Purchase History Order – Can copy a historical PO to a new PO. Credit Purchase History Order…

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. Add/Edit Vendor To add a vendor, click the + (add) button and to edit an existing vendor click the vendor in the vendor list…

Purchase Order List

Purchase Orders » Purchase Order List

This list may not be in the same order because the columns can be moved and removed. Also some columns, like costs have security settings so some users may not see them at all. Order No – Purchase order number. This is assigned sequentially when creating the…

Templates

Optional Add-ons » Production Manager » Templates

The Production templates tab is where the components are defined for production orders. They are otherwise known as ‘BOMs’ or ‘Recipes’. When a new production order is created the user can select the template from which to derive the order. …

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…

Misc

Company Setup » Sales Orders » Misc

Point of Sale Always prompt for customer – If set to prompt, each time a user creates a POS order, they will be prompted to enter a customer. Otherwise a default ‘cash’ customer can be set and used. Accumulate Items – If an item is added to a POS order more…

Sales Order Header

Sales Orders » Sales Order Header

To create a new Sales Order in Spire, begin in the main Spire window and select “Sales” from the left navigation menu. Once on the Sales section, you select the “Plus” icon located above the main window to open a new sales order. A new Sales Order window…

Stock Reports

Reporting » Stock Reports

All stock reports are saved on the server in C:\Program Files\Spire\Reports. !Do not edit these reports and then leave them in this location. All changes will be overwritten when a new version of Spire is installed.

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…

Configuring Your Custom Fields

User Defined Fields » Configuring Your Custom Fields

Configuring your custom fields Make sure you first have access to design the UDF structure. To add new fields to one of your modules, go to the tab “User Defined” within one of the records. In this example we will add some fields to the sales order. *Note: Data…

Bill To:

Sales Orders » Sales Order Header » Bill To:

This tab displays the customers bill-to information and contacts. They are added to the order when it is first created. Therefore if the customers address and contact info changes while an order exists, the order will no longer match what is in the customer record.…

Sales Orders

Sales Order List – Menu Items This list may not be in the same order because the columns can be moved and removed. Also some columns like costs, have security settings so some users may not see them at all. Refresh – Allows you to view orders that…

Macros

Inventory » Macros

Macros are a collection of items that will be added to an order when a macro item is selected. Once on the order the items (Macro substitutions) are no longer associated with the macro item and have individual cost and sell prices. To set an item as a macro select…

Ship To:

Sales Orders » Sales Order Header » Ship To:

This tab displays the customers ship-to information and contacts. They are added to the order when it is first created. Therefore if the customers address and contact information changes while an order exists, the order will no longer match the customers record.…

Opening Balances

When starting new with Spire and the company is not using a migration from another product, the GL and sub ledgers require opening balances. Each of the sub ledgers need to balance to the General Ledger. For instance if the Inventory that is entered or imported has a…

Inventory

User Settings » Inventory

Validate Product Code ― User must us a valid product code when editing inventory Add Warehouse ― User can add a warehouse to the company Modify Warehouse ― User can modify a warehouse in the company Delete Warehouse ― User can delete a warehouse in the…

Sales Payment Balancing

If the company takes several forms of payment then the following is the procedure to balance the payments against the invoices/POS processed. On the top menu go to Sales/Cashout Reports Add a new batch for the period to be balanced and give it a name, such as…

Changing Fiscal Period

Company Setup » General Ledger » Changing Fiscal Period

The company’s fiscal periods can be changed by shortening the current year. This will then start ‘Next Year’ one month past the shortened year. This can only be accomplished if there are no transactions beyond the last month of ‘Next…

Payroll Year End

Canadian Payroll » Payroll Year End

*NOTE: New Feature Even though the payroll year end has been completed the user can still back date a payroll timecard to the previous year just in case it needs to be done. Timecards done in the previous year will use the correct year’s tax tables. !Payroll…

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…

Accounts Receivable

When first going into accounts receivable the aged list will be shown. This list can be sorted and filtered. Add – Adds an AR entry. View Receivables – Opens the receivables records for the selected customer. Apply Finance Charges – Applies…

Inventory

Inventory List – When inventory is selected from the main menu, the inventory list is presented to the user either the last way they left it, or using the default, if it was set by the user. It remembers column position, width and the column it was sorted…

Reports

Company Setup » Reports

In the Reports section, you will be able to adjust your security preferences on how your company can process reports. Disable security – With this setting, all users will have access to all reports for the modules that they have access to. Enable Security –…

Order List

Optional Add-ons » Production Manager » Order List

Production Order list Refresh – Refreshes the list of production orders for changes that others have made. Filters – Sets filters to see just the production orders required. Search – Enter the word(s) to find info from the header or details of…

Production Orders

User Settings » Production Orders

View Production Notes – Can see the production notes. Edit Production Notes – Can edit production notes. Export Production Notes – Can export production notes. Change Component Cost – Can edit the component cost. !CAUTION – allowing this setting…

Company Setup

Company Settings Once you have Spire installed on the system you will need to modify both the company and user permissions in accordance with your specific internal requirements. Begin with the Company Settings. Once you have clicked on Company Settings in the…

User Info

User Settings » User Info

Navigate to the User Settings section from the Edit menu in the main Spire window. You will need to select the Username you wish to configure the settings for, in this case we will use the BARRY username. User Name – The code the user logs in with First Name…

Batch Payables

Creating a Batch A Batch can be created from the AP list by highlighting the vendors to pay or by not having any of the list highlighted and click the batch button, or selecting batch view and then add. The user can set a filter prior to selecting. . The batch…

Currency Revaluation

Multi-Currency » Currency Revaluation

Used to revalue GL accounts because of current rate changes. The user must have the setting Users/Currency/Revalue Currency to be able to run this function. The revaluation process can be run for ‘Today’s’ date or the user can select a past month(s)…

Customer Code Change

Utilities » Customer Code Change

Customer code change allows the user to change the customers code and once applied it changes the code in all of the tables where that customer was previously posted. Once applied it will be as if that customers code always had the new code. No history of the old code…

Inventory Code Change

Utilities » Inventory Code Change

Inventory code change allows the user to change inventory codes and once applied it changes the code in all of the tables where that the item was previously posted to. Once applied it will be as if that inventory code always had the new code. No history of the old…

Vendor Code Change

Utilities » Vendor Code Change

Vendor code change allows the user to change the vendor’s code and once applied it changes the code in all of the tables where that vendor was previously posted. Once applied it will be as if that vendors code always had the new code. No history of the old code…

General

User Settings » General

Access Communications – Allows user to have access to the Communication module. Add Sales Tax – Allows the user to add new sales taxes. Allow Change Division – User can switch divisions. Allows Change Warehouse – User can switch to another warehouse. Confirm…

Accounts Payable

User Settings » Accounts Payable

Void Transaction ― allows the user to void payments on all accounts payable. User can be set to: No Yes – Keep Original date Yes – Modify date View A/P Communications ― allows the user to view all accounts payable notes Edit A/P Communications…

Purchase Order Header

Purchase Orders » Purchase Order Header

Main Vendor – The vendor’s code and name Vendor Order Number – A confirmation number given by the vendor for this PO. Notes – This note comes from the vendor record in a field called ‘Notes’ Used for that one important item…

Customer Open AR Items

Accounts Receivable » Customer Open AR Items

Header Open Customer – Opens the customer to see all their information including sales history and open sales orders. Apply Finance Charges – Applies finance charges to this customer. This relies on the finance charge rate being set in Company…

Special Accounts

Company Setup » General Ledger » Special Accounts

Special Accounts are required to setup the company’s integration between the GL and the sub ledgers. It is important that these are selected carefully as this controls the company’s financial information. The user that sets these up should have a good understanding…

Vendor Open Items

Accounts Payable » Vendor Open Items

Header Open Vendor – Allows the user to open the vendor to see all information including purchase orders not yet closed. Navigation – Navigates from vendor to vendor in the order that the list AP list was in. Contact Info – Shows the vendors…

Filters

Filters/Searches/Exports » Filters

Filters can be saved and include the actual filter, the columns selected, the column position and the sort order. Useful Filter Examples Inventory requires ordering – Filter = ‘Suggested Qty” is not equal to 0 Inventory not sold in 2 years…

Inventory

Company Setup » Inventory

Warehouse Multiple Warehouses – Select if you require more than one warehouse. Receiving/Transfers Post adjustments to GL – When adjustments are made they will get posted to the GL. Default Adjustment Account – Default GL account to post inventory…

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…

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…

Version 3.2

What’s New In Spire » Version 3.2

Quick Purchase Order PO can now be issued, received, invoiced and closed in one step Improve UDF user interface Ability to drag and drop fields to a different position, or even a different page. Add UDFs to API UDFs are now available to 3rd party developers in…

Inventory Count

Inventory count is a module used to aid in the counting of inventory quantities for individual or groups of inventory items. Counting inventory is an important part of keeping your system up to date and accurate with regard to quantities. Properly and regularly…

Accounts

General Ledger » Accounts

Export – Used to export the filtered list and column order to Excel. In the screenshot example above this list is sorted by account number and has a filter set to see all rows where ‘Debit Balance’ and ‘Credit Balance’ is not 0.00…

Inventory Details

Inventory » Inventory Details

Inventory Header Warehouse – The warehouse that this item is in. This will not appear if warehousing is not turned on in company settings Part Number – This items code Description – This items description Status – The status of the item.…

Processing / Invoicing

Company Setup » Sales Orders » Processing / Invoicing

Enable process status – When enabled, the Process feature will be turned on. Enable Shipped status – When enabled, the Ship feature will be turned on. Allow processing orders twice – Will allow an order to be processed more than once if the user has…

Data Dictionary

Reporting » Data Dictionary

Table (linked) Description Table List and Description List of all tables in Spire addresses All Address records ap_batch_items Saved Accounts Payable payment batch items ap_batches Saved Accounts…

Purchase Order Details

Purchase Orders » Purchase Order Details

This is where items are added, edited and received on a PO. *Note that the item that is highlighted on a PO shows its status in inventory. The user can see Available, On Hand, Committed, Back Ordered, On Order, and Expected Due Date. Add – Adds a new line…

Optional Add-ons

The following section will provide you with an overview of the available Add-on modules for Spire. This includes the following Add-Ons currently available for Spire: Production Manager Service Manager Canadian Payroll User Defined Fields

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. “

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…

Point of Sale

The Point-of-Sale (POS) module is a quick way to enter sales that can be processed without the use of a mouse. There are keyboard shortcuts always visible at the top of the screen. If there is a url set in Company Settings/Sales Orders/Misc/Home Page then it will be…

Promotions

Settings » Promotions

Promotion reasons can be added to a price matrix record. When used, the promotion code will have a name and (optionally) a colour on the sales order line. Code – A code for this promotion Description – The description of the promotion code Cumulative…

Price Matrix

Spire’s Price Matrix allows the user to set pricing for customers and groups of customers in many different ways. Add/Edit Price Save – Saves the price. Save & Close – Saves and closes the price. Copy – Copies a price record. Whse –…

Kit Components

Inventory » Kit Components

A kit is a collection of items that are included when the item is sold. Those items can be consumed in the background or shown on the order depending how the kit is setup. When an item is set as a kit, there is no process involved in assembling them like there is for…

Salesperson

User Settings » Salesperson

Add Salesperson ― User has permissions to add a salesperson to the company Edit Salesperson ― User has permissions to edit a salesperson in the company Delete Salesperson ― User has permissions to delete a salesperson from the company Export Salesperson ―…

Main Tab

Sales Orders » Sales Order Header » Main Tab

Once the customer is selected the customers credit information will be displayed, If the credit limit background is red this means that the customer is over the credit limit or has unpaid invoices beyond their terms. The user must have the security setting…

Purchase Orders

Job Costing » Purchase Orders

Purchase orders can be directed to a job as long as the GL account used is an expense or cost of goods account. To select a job for a purchase order either select from the header, after which each line of the PO will be populated with the selected job… …

Inventory Adjustments

To setup inventory adjustments go to Company Settings/Inventory and select a default GL account that adjustments should be posted to. This should be a cost of goods account that writes off the inventory. There is also an optional setting to post a markup percentage…

One Time Vendors

Accounts Payable » One Time Vendors

Misc Payments To enter a miscellaneous payment to a vendor that does not exist, select ‘One Time Vendor’. In addition to the info for a regular vendor the user also enters the vendor address. *Note – A vendor will be created with a numeric…

Sales Order

User Settings » Sales Order

Access Sales Orders – Sales orders gets added to the users menu Add Sales Orders – Can add Sales orders Add Ship Via Allow AR Payment Allow Change Phase – User can edit the phase that the order is currently in. Allow Fill Back Orders – The ‘Fill…

Sales Order Details

Sales Orders » Sales Order Details

Add/Insert – Inserts a blank line above the highlighted line so the user can keep items grouped. Delete – Deletes the highlighted line Comment – Brings up a comment dialog. The user can either enter miscellaneous comments or select from…