Windows 10 – Should You Upgrade?

We’ve recently received several calls from customers wanting to know if our software is compatible with Windows 10 and whether they can upgrade their computers.  The answers are yes and maybe.

Is your computer being used as a server?
If you are using your computer as a server for our accounting software the answer is NO. (This applies to Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 upgrades as well.)

In order for our software to work properly on these operating systems, the database needs to be converted to a Microsoft SQL platform, which requires some billable time from Datatech. If you would like more information on the advantages of moving to SQL or if you are already planning a server upgrade, please contact barak@datatech-it.com.

On the SQL platform a dedicated server is required.  To help alleviate some of the cost, Datatech has designed low cost “appliance servers”. If you are ready to upgrade your system, we can provide a package that includes a new server along with the conversion to SQL.

Can I purchase a new Windows 10 computer or upgrade my existing workstation?
We are currently building new computers with Windows 10. If you are interested in receiving a quote for a new Windows 10 computer from Datatech, please contact Barak at the email above.  Consideration should be made for your network devices (printers, scanners, etc).  If you have old equipment that may require driver updates, you may want to wait to purchase a Windows 10 system.

We have upgraded computers from Windows 7 and 8.1 to 10. In both cases we didn’t have any issues running Datatech software on the workstations.  However, we did encounter a couple of hardware issues with the Windows 7 upgrade. The sound quit working when the upgrade was complete. We were able to fix the problem by downloading and updating the drivers. There is also an unresolved issue with one of our printers, which we are still working on. Others who have upgraded have reported issues with the new Microsoft email and web browser programs.

At this time, because of these issues, we recommend waiting to upgrade your existing system. The free Windows 10 upgrade will be available for a full year. As the update is released to more users, bugs and other issues will get resolved.  You might save yourself some headaches by waiting a little while!

Billing growers for sick pay

The new Sick Pay Leave Act for California adds a new overhead cost that farm labor contractors will need to pass on to growers.  In general, there are three approaches that we have talked to our customers about using:

1. Estimate sick pay that will be paid out and increase your commission percentage rate to cover these costs.
2. Bill growers for sick pay accrued by employees when the sick pay is earned.
3. Bill growers for sick pay paid to employees when the sick pay is taken.

All of these approaches have their pros and cons.  If at all possible, it is best to settle on one method for billing for sick pay for all of your growers.  This article will discuss the various methods and planned features to support them.

When Enrolled Employees Stop Working…

Many of our customers have been seeking a way to help them determine which employees stop working shortly after becoming Eligible for Insurance Benefits. Where employees are not exiting employment through a formal separation process, office personnel are not made aware that these employees are no longer working. Thus we would like to point out a feature that already exists in the current version of our Human Resource Management (HRM) software that may be useful in identifying these employees during the grace period allowed by your carrier to cancel coverage.

Employees in the Ag Industry regularly leave their employment without giving notice to their employer. While the Update Date Terminated Utility in the HRM software has assisted many in keeping legacy employee files up-to-date, it is not capable of being as precise in regards to employee activity that is more recent than a month or so in the past.

Sick Pay Hourly Rate Calculation Update

An amendment to the California Paid Sick Leave law provides an alternative option for calculating the sick pay hourly rate for variable pay rate employees. Employers may now use the employees weekly “regular rate of pay.” This weighted average calculation takes the total wages paid to the employee divided by the hours worked, to calculate the employees average hourly rate. This rate is then applied to the sick pay hours taken.

Either this method or the 90 day average rate method may be used.  A longer period may be desired in operations that have a short harvest season and therefor some weeks the employees hourly rate may be drastically higher than other weeks in the 90 day window.  Operations that pay bonuses or commissions on certain weeks may also prefer a longer average calculation method.  However, one method should be established and documented for employees.