Table of Contents
Introduction
Now that you have MicroBase
How to use the Query Builder
Contact Us
Introduction
MicroBase is designed for the small to intermediate business to hold contact information, automate invoicing, and filter through that data to display information about your customers the way you want to see it. Designed with over twelve thousand lines of code, it allows you to do the following …
1. View, create, and edit contacts (a stored record on a customer).
2. View, create, and edit unlimited memo’s that have unlimited size for each specific contact.
3. Grant various different level’s of access to your employees (Read only, Edit, or Administer)
4. Create queries using the Query Builder so you can filter specific contacts for Invoicing, Mail Merge, or simply to navigate. The Query Builder also has a feature called DynaDate which allows you to choose which part of the date you wish to remain static, and the rest of the date is built on the fly whenever you wish to use that query by providing a drop down date selection, and rebuilding the date using only the parts of the DynaDate field that are dynamic. You can also make your queries Private, or allow anyone to see / use them. Administrators can view all queries created.
5. Invoice your customers based on a query you designed using the Query Builder.
6. Preview and print Invoices that have been created on a per contact basis.
7. Create a letter to send to your customers using the Mail Merge feature. This feature allows you to use a query (or build a new one), design a letter or open one you created (RTF format), and send to your printer automatically generating a header with your logo, their mailing address and name in Envelope #10 format. So all you need to do is fold, insert, stamp and mail.
8. Add or invalidate various payments. Credit card numbers are pre-verified using the LUHN10 algorithm to ensure correct data entry. All calculations are done automatically.
9. Select which taxes are to be calculated on a per customer basis. When entering a new customer, all applicable taxes for the region / province you select are selected.
10. Use current tax rates based on the region / province your contact resides in.
11. Send e-mail to, and browse your customers’ website with the click of a button.
12. Edit prices and names of services you offer.
13. Edit prices and names of itemized services you offer. Itemized services are reset to zero for each contact after their invoice has been created and printed.
14. Discount choice customers on specific services you provide.
15. Enter referral discounts / coupon codes in the Payments window.
16. Access your database over the Internet from the comfort of your home.
With low system overhead and high performance, MicroBase allows you to store and access over one million contacts lowering your TCO (Total cost of operation). The built in feature “Update”, ensures that you always have the latest version of MicroBase a single click away.
Now that you have MicroBase
So you have MicroBase, but you have some questions? Read the following for answers to most commonly asked questions. If you do not find a solution here, you can call MicroBase for free technical support up to 90 days from your first installation of MicroBase.
Question: How do I create a new customer?
Answer: You can create a new customer by pressing the button on the Main form that has a picture of a checkmark in it.
Question: How do I delete a contact?
Answer: You can delete a contact by clicking the button on the Main form that has a picture of a big ‘X’ in it.
Question: I just hired someone, and would like to give them access to the database, but I don’t want to give them my username and password. How can I do this ?
Answer: First, you must have administrative access to the database. Next, under the Administration column on the left on the main form, click Employees. You will need a valid social insurance number for their record. Simply fill in all the information, and if the SIN is unique, when you click the button that has a picture of a checkmark in it, it will create a new entry, otherwise, it will update the person in your employee database that has the SIN specified.
Question: I just fired someone, so I no longer want them to have access to the database. How do I remove their access?
Answer: As stated above, you must have administrative access to the database. Next, under the Administration column on the left on the main form, click Employees.
Select the person you wish to remove by clicking on their SIN in the list to the right. Click the button with the big ‘X’ in it to remove them.
Question: How can I add a Memo for a contact?
Answer: To create a new memo, go to the ‘Memo’s’ tab on the main form. Next, select ‘Create new memo’ from the drop down list. Type your note in the large white box, and click the button [SAVE].
Question: How can I edit a Memo for a contact?
Answer: To edit a memo, go to the ‘Memo’s’ tab on the main form. Next, select ‘Edit selected memo’ from the drop down list. In the big list below, select the memo you wish to edit. The note will show up in the large white box. Make your changes by typing in the large white box, and click the button [SAVE].
Question: How can I delete a Memo from a contact?
Answer: To delete a memo, go to the ‘Memo’s’ tab on the main form. Next, select ‘Edit selected memo’ from the drop down list. In the big list below, select the memo you wish to edit. The note will show up in the large white box. Click the button [CLEAR] then click the button [SAVE].
Question: I have a service listed at X amount of dollars, but I want to give them a discount because they have been a good customer. How can I discount this item?
Answer: First, select the item you wish to discount from the Top list of services on the Billing tab in the main form by clicking it once. Wait about one second, and it will change into edit mode. You will see this because the selection will change, and display a square box in the first column of the item you selected. Next, type the amount you wish to discount, and click anywhere outside of the item for the change to take effect.
Question: I have a customer who bought X amount of an item I offer. How do I enter this into their record?
Answer: First, select the item that they purchased from the Bottom list of services on the Billing tab in the main form by clicking it once. Wait about one second, and it will change into edit mode. You will see this because the selection will change, and display a square box in the first column of the item you selected. Next, type the amount of the item they purchased, and click anywhere outside of the item for the change to take effect.
Question: How do I access the Query Builder to create a new query?
Answer: There are three places where you can build a new query from.
1. Click the Query button under the General column on the right on the Main form. Click the blue text on the bottom of the form that says ‘Build’.
2. Click the Mail Merge button under the General column on the right on the Main form. Click the blue text at the top right of the form that says ‘Build’.
3. Click the Invoice Wizard button under the Administration column on the right on the Main form. On ‘Step 3’ click the blue text on the top right of the form that says ‘Build’.
You must have either Editor, or Administrator access to the database to see this feature.
How to use the Query Builder
To use the Query Builder, see ‘How do I access the Query Builder to create a new query?’ to open the Query Builder form. On the first form, you will see a drop down box with a list of Table Names, and just below it, a list of field names that are in the table selected using the drop down box. Beside each field is a check box. Check or uncheck which fields you wish to use to build the query, and then click the blue text at the bottom that says ‘Next Step’. On the next page you will see three fields.
1. Fields
2. Operator
3. Look for
To the right of these fields, you will see another drop down box ‘SQL’, and just below, a list box. Select a field from the drop down list ‘Fields’, and you will notice the form change based on the type of information that field is. For example; if you select ‘NextBillDate’, because this field holds Date information, it will display a Date-selection drop down box, and beside it there will be three check boxes for the DynaDate feature. To use the DynaDate feature, select a date you would normally search for, eg, April 01, 2003. Now suppose you want to use this query on the first of every month, simply check DynMonth, and DynYear. This will build this part of the query so that the Day remains the same as you selected, but because the Month and Year are dynamic, you will be provided with a drop down date selection every time you run this query. So to run on May 01, 2003 (as in the example above), when you run the query, select any Day in May, 2003, to filter for May 01 2003. This feature works in the same manner for any combination of the DynDate boxes. If all DynDate boxes are unchecked, the query will be created with a static date that can not be changed on execution.
Another example is if you selected ‘Services’ from the drop down list ‘Fields’. You will see a list box ‘Light-up’ (so-to-speak), and you can check or uncheck which service you wish to look for. If the far right column to the check box is ‘0’ (zero) then it will look for anyone with that service as False. If the far right column to the check box is ‘1’ (one) then it will look for anyone with that service as True. If the far right column to the check box is ‘_’ (underscore) then it will look for anyone with that service as False or True. To reset an item back to ‘_’ (underscore) state, double-click it. To reset all items back to ‘_’ (underscore) state, click the blue text just above and to the right of the list box that says ‘Reset’. The value is set to ‘0’ (zero) if the item is checked, and then unchecked. The value is set to ‘1’ (one) if the item is checked.
All other selections from the ‘Field’ drop down box are self-explanatory.
The next step, is to select an ‘Operator’. This is important as it determines how the information in the database is compared to the information you wish to find.
= Means : Equals
Looks for : Exactly what you type.
<> Means : Does not equal
Looks for : Not what you type.
LIKE Means : Similar to
Looks for : Contains what you type.
NOT LIKE Means : Equals
Looks for : Exactly what you type.
> Means : Greater than.
Looks for : Value in database is larger than value you specify.
< Means : Less than.
Looks for : Value in database is smaller than value you specify.
<= Means : Less than or Equal to.
Looks for : Value in database is smaller than value you
specify or equal to it.
>= Means : Greater than or Equal to.
Looks for : Value in database is greater than value you specify
or equal to it.
The ‘Look for’ field is where you put the information that you wish to look for based on the ‘Field’ and ‘Operator’ you have selected.
Click the blue text above the bottom left list box that says ‘Add’ to add the parameter you specified to the query. Repeat these steps until you have created all criteria for which you would like to filter the database by. The field ‘SQL’ allows you to select how you want the next parameter you specified to be added into the query.
Example of ‘OR’:
I want to look for anyone who’s first name is ‘John’ OR who’s first name is ‘Frank’.
Example of ‘AND’:
I want to look for anyone who’s first name is ‘John’ AND ‘Terminated’ = TRUE.
To remove a parameter from the list, simply click it to highlight it, then click the blue text that says ‘Remove’ which is just above and to the right of the parameter list box. Click the blue text that says ‘Next’ on the bottom right when you are ready to proceed to the final step. Here you can type a name for the query. This is how you will identify it any time you go to use it, so make it something easy to remember, and specifies the basic concept of what the query does.
For example : ‘Active Customers for the 1st’.
If you wish to make this query only visible to yourself, and to Administrators, you can do so by clicking ‘Store as private query’ so that it has a check-mark beside it. The large text box at the bottom of this window is for advanced users if you wish to cross verify the SQL query syntax before saving, with the addition of the following custom formats where applicable.
#DYNDAY# = Dynamic Day
#DYNMONTH# = Dynamic Month
#DYNYEAR# = Dynamic Year
Once you are satisfied with the Query syntax, the name you chose, and the privacy level, you can save this query by clicking the blue text at the upper right of the window that says ‘Save query’.
