Difficulty Level: Beginner Level AccountMate User

 

Version(s) Affected: AccountMate 7 for SQL, Express and LAN
AccountMate 6.5 for SQL, MSDE and LAN

Module(s) Affected: SO, AR, PR

DESCRIPTION

Credit card and social security numbers are two of the highly confidential pieces of information for which businesses have the responsibility of safeguarding and limiting access. Limited, secure access to this information is necessary to avoid or minimize fraudulent acts that can arise from business transactions.

This Technical Note discusses how to activate the security feature for credit card numbers and social security numbers in AccountMate. This document also explains the effects of the security feature on the Transactions, Maintenance, Reports, and in the Table Browser and Exporter functions.

SOLUTION

Users are granted full or limited access to credit card and Social Security numbers by activating or deactivating the Show Credit Card # and Show Social Security # security features. To activate the Credit Card # security feature, perform the following procedures:

  1. Launch the AccountMate Administrator.
  2. Access the Security function from the Setup menu.
  3. Access the Group/User Setup function; then, expand the desired group to display the users.
  4. Select the user for whom you want to grant access rights; then click Edit.
  5. Select the appropriate company in the Edit User function; then, mark the Show Complete Credit Card # checkbox. Do this for each company for which you wish to grant the user this access right.
  6. Click OK to save your changes, and exit the Edit User function.
  7. Click Close to exit the Group/User Setup function.

To activate the Social Security # security feature, perform the following procedures:

  1. Perform steps 1 through 4 above.
  2. Select the appropriate company in the Edit User function; then mark the Show Complete Social Security # checkbox. Do this for each company for which you wish to grant the user this access right.
  3. Click OK to save the changes and exit the Edit User function.
  4. Click Close to exit the Group/User Setup function.

Effects of the Activated Credit Card # Security Feature

Transaction and Maintenance Functions

The Credit Card # security feature affects the following Sales Order and Accounts Receivable Maintenance and Transaction functions:
  1. Customer Maintenance
  2. Create Sales Order/Sales Quote
  3. Create Blanket SO
  4. Release Blanket SO
  5. Recurring Sales Order Setup.
  6. Create Invoice
  7. Create Sales Return
  8. Apply Payment
  9. Refund Open Credit
  10. Recurring Invoice Setup.
If a user has access rights to Show Complete Credit Card #, the Card # field in the Maintenance and Transaction functions shows the decrypted credit card #. The user also has the ability to edit the credit card information in the Transaction functions.

If a user does not have access rights to Show Complete Credit Card #, the Card # field in the Maintenance and Transaction functions displays the encrypted credit card # (i.e. ***** and the last four digits of the credit card #). The user cannot edit the credit card information in the Transaction functions.

Reports

There are some AccountMate reports that show the credit card information. These reports include the following:
  1. Sales Order Reports such as Sales Order (SQ), Sales Quote (SQ), and Blanket Sales Order.

  2. Accounts Receivable Reports such as Payment Receipt, Cash Receipts Report, and Payment Distribution Report.
A user with access rights to Show Complete Credit Card # has the option to hide, encrypt, or show Credit Card # in the SO, SQ, Blanket SO, and Payment Receipt reports. The effects of each option in the reports are as follows:
  1. Hide Credit Card # - the reports do not show the credit card number. The reports only show the Pay Code in the Payment Method field. The Payment Receipt report shows "Not Available" in the Check/CC No. field.

  2. Encrypt Credit Card # - the reports show asterisks and the credit card number's last 4 digits.

  3. Show Credit Card # - the reports show the decrypted credit card number.
The Cash Receipts and Payment Distribution reports do not have the options to hide, encrypt and show credit card #. The reports show only the decrypted credit card number if the user generating the report has access rights to Show Complete Credit Card #.

A user without access rights to Show Complete Credit Card # has the option to hide or encrypt Credit Card # in the SO, SQ, Blanket SO, and Payment Receipt reports. The effects of each option in the reports are as follows:
  1. Hide Credit Card # - the reports do not show the credit card number, but it only shows the Pay Code in the Payment Method. The Payment Receipt report shows "Not Available" in the Check/CC No. field.

  2. Encrypt Credit Card # - the reports show asterisks and the credit card number's last 4 digits..
The Cash Receipts and Payment Distribution reports do not have the options to hide, encrypt or show credit card #. The reports show asterisks and the credit card number's last 4 digits if the user generating the report does not have access rights to Show Complete Credit Card #.

Table Browser and Exporter Function

The ARCARD table, which is accessible from the Table Browser and Exporter function, stores the customer credit card #. The user can view the complete credit card # if the user has access rights to Show Complete Credit Card #. The credit card number is encrypted (i.e. asterisks and the credit card number's last 4 digits are shown) if the user does not have access rights to Show Complete Credit Card #.


Effects of the Activated Social Security # Security Feature

Starting with AccountMate 7, the Social Security # security feature can now be configured in the Edit User Security Setup. This feature does not affect the Maintenance, Transaction, and Reports functions of the Payroll module. This feature only affects how the data appears in the Table Browser and Exporter function.

The PREMPY table, which is accessible from the Table Browser and Exporter function, stores the employee social security number. The displayed information varies depending on the user access rights. The user can view the complete social security # if the user has access rights to Show Complete Social Security #. The social security # is encrypted (i.e. asterisks and the credit card's last 4 digits are shown) if the user does not have access rights to Show Complete Social Security #.


Knowing how to activate and to maximize the credit card and SSN security features in AccountMate helps strengthen your company's internal security controls.