Payroll Software by Medlin Accounting

Medlin Accounting Software

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)


Medlin Accounting
1461 Sproul Ave
Napa, CA 94559
707-255-4475
FAX 707-255-9266

Medlin
Home Page
Payroll Software

 

General Questions

  • How do I get help with a problem?
    • The program manual and this FAQ are good places to start.  You may contact us by e-mail, Fax: 707-255-9266, and by voice: 707-255-4475.  You do not have to be a registered user of Medlin to ask for and receive help.
  • How do I print the program manual?
    • Open the program, click "Help", then click "View / Print Manual".  This opens the manual using your word processing program.  To print the manual, use the word processor's print function.
    • You can also open the manual using this link.
  • What if I have a Mac?
    • We do not have any programs designed for the Mac. We have heard some Mac owners have been able to use a "Windows Emulator" to successfully run Medlin on a Mac, but we have not tried it ourselves.
  • How do I use Medlin for more than one client or business?
    • Open one of the Medlin programs.  Click "File", then click "Add New Client" and follow the on-screen instructions.  To open Medlin for a specific client, click "Start", "Programs", "Medlin Accounting", then click the shortcut for the particular client.
  • Can I use my A: drive as my data drive?
    • You can, but we strongly recommend you use your hard drive for your data files, and reserve the floppy drive for making backups.  For safety, Medlin saves data as it is entered.  Since a floppy drive is the slowest part of the computer, you would notice a large decrease in program speed.  The other issue is data integrity.  Windows sometimes "caches" data in memory.  If you remove the diskette before Windows actually writes the data, you may lose or damage your data files.
  • How and why would I turn off "disk caching"?
    • There are some potentially serious problems with "Write Caching".  Instead of relying on the individual program to decide when data should be saved, Windows decides when to save your data!
    • To turn off disk caching: Click "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Performance", "File System", "Troubleshooting", then check the "Disable write-behind caching for all drives" box.
    • Click "OK" to save the change.
    • With the speed of modern computers, you will rarely notice any performance change, and you will greatly decrease the chance of losing data.
  • How can I find out what version of Medlin I am using?
    • The version number is listed on the opening screen.  You can also click "Help", then "About" or "Version".
  • Why do I get a message saying "using #### data with the #### program may cause data loss" (#### represents a year)?
    • This is a warning message shown if you reinstall an older version of Medlin after using a newer version.  For example - reinstalling the 2005 payroll software program after using the 2006 payroll software.  Answer "No" to this question until you have contacted us for more information.
  • What should I do if I get a "damaged data file" error?
    • First, test the drive for errors.  Once you are sure the drive is "healthy", you can restore the data files from a backup.  If there is no backup available, you will need to delete the existing data files, then rebuild the data.  The list of all Medlin data files can be found in the Program Manual.  If you send us the data files, we will try to repair them for you.
  • What should I do to help prevent data loss?
    • There are those who have lost data, and those who will.  The power will go out, someone will hit the power switch accidentally, the disk drive will start to fail, etc.  The ONLY protection you have is to keep several sets of backup files.  Keeping good backups is inexpensive, compared to the time it takes to locate and reenter your records.  Also, to better protect your data, you may wish to disable disk caching.
  • Can I buy the source code?
    • Our source code is not for sale.
  • Do you sell custom versions of Medlin Software?
    • On rare occasions we will customize our programs for an additional fee.  Generally we do not make changes where the data files would be incompatible with the standard versions.  For example, we would not create a version of our Payroll Software with extra deductions.
  • Does Medlin sell or rent their customer list to other companies?