Resolving common issues with Lacerte Appointments Manager

Table of contents:

Cannot see appointments on one computer but can been seen on other computers on the network

This situation can occur if the Option Path on your computer is pointing to a location that is different from the computers that are able to see the appointments.

1. Within Lacerte, press the F10 key to open the Tech Support Info window.
2. In the System Information tab, scroll down the list and take note of the Option Path.
3. Compare this path to the other computers in the office that are able to see the appointments.
   •  If your Option Path is different, then you will need to change it to be the same as the other computers.
4. From the Settings menu, select System File Path and then Change.
5. In the Change To box, type in the network path, the same as the other computers able to see the appointments.
6. Select OK on the Information message, and select OK again to shut down the program.
7. Re-open the program and check the Appointments applet.

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How to repair the Appointment Manager

First, ensure that all other users are closed out of Lacerte and the Appointment Manager, then follow the steps below:

1. From the Tools menu, select Appointments. 
2. In the Appointment Manager, go to the Tools menu and click Re-index Appointments. 
3. When the re-index is complete, close the Lacerte and the Appointment Manager. 
4. Open Lacerte and test Appointment Manager

If the problem continues, the appointment files may be corrupt and will need to be restored from a backup.

The appointment files are appointmentsYY.db and are located in the programs Option Path. If unsure where your Option Path is located, open the Lacerte program and press F10. Scroll down and locate the Option Path. 

If a backup is available, manually copy the appointmentsYY.db files from your backup to your Option Path. 

If a backup is not available, contact technical support for assistance on manually repairing the appointment files.

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Another option would include renaming the corrupt appointment files and transferring the appointments from the prior year

1. Open the Lacerte and press F10. 
2. Right-click on the Option Path and click on Copy.  (ex. C:\Lacerte\23Tax\Option23) 
3. Close Lacerte. 
4. Go to Start and then Run. 
5. Right-click in the Open box and click Paste. This should paste the option path in the field. 
6. Click OK. 
7. Scroll down and right-click on appointmentsYY.db and click Rename. Rename the file appointmentsYY.old. 
8. Open Lacerte and test Appointment Manager.

You should be able to get into the appointment manager now, however, you will not have any appointments. Either restore the appointment files from a backup or import your appointments from the prior year. 

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Appointments do not display in client list after bridging appointments into the new tax year

Closing and restarting Lacerte allows the appointments to be loaded into memory so they will display in the client list column that is added to display scheduled appointments.

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Appointments appear when they are printed, viewed by day, week, or month, but do not show up when viewing by client

When appointments are created, make sure to select the taxpayer's name by clicking the Browse button next to the Client Name field. This will insert the Client Number and Client Name in the appropriate fields. 

If the client number has been typed-in or changed, and does not match the client number when selecting from the Browse menu, appointments will not be available when viewing by client.

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Will appointments, preparers, and appointment manager bridge function when preparer is no longer present?

No, the preparer's appointments will not be lost. Appointments are assigned to a preparer based on specific selection inside Appointment Manager. They are not based on the Preparer field in Client Information Screen 1.

If a preparer is present in Options one year and not in a future year, that preparer's appointments will still get bridged to the future year. However, since the preparer to whom they belonged in the prior year is no longer present, that preparer will not have their own column inside the All Preparers tab of Lacerte Appointment Manager. Instead, the appointments will appear in the All Preparers column of the All Preparers tab.

To assign an appointment to a different preparer:

1. Open Appointment Manager by going to Tools, then Appointments. 
2. Select the All Preparers tab. 
3. Right click on the desired appointment in the All Preparers column and select Modify Appointment. 
4. Select the down arrow for the first field, Preparer, and choose the name of the new preparer.
5. Select OK. 

The appointment will now appear in both the All Preparers column and the column for the chosen preparer.

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Why am I missing appointment or calendar information when other workstations are not?

Missing appointments, on a stand alone computer, are only likely to happen if you have a file corruption. Call support for help restoring the correct files from your backups.

If you are part of a network, other workstations may or may not have the same issue. 

If other workstations have the same problem, the solution is the same. 

If other workstations can see the data fine, you should reset your System's File Path to match the location of the other workstations.  Follow the steps below.

1. From the Settings menu, select Systems File Path and select Change. 
2. Confirm that the path listed is not the path that other workstations are using and correct it.
   • The correct setting can be found by comparing the same settings on a working workstation.
3. Restart the program for the changes to take effect.
4. Check your calendar for the missing appointments.
5. Call support should you have any problems or questions.

• Note: Verify the Preparer is pointing to the correct Preparer

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When attempting to view appointments for certain months, an error message appears

This message is generated due to a corruption in the Appointment/Calendar database files.  

1. From the Tools menu, select Appointments.
2. In the Appointment Manager, go to the Tools menu and click Re-index Appointments.
3. Check to see if the Appointments can be viewed. 

If the issue persists, then restore from backup the appointmentsYY.db files into the \OptionYY\ folder. 

If there is not a backup of these files, then it may be necessary to rename these files and reenter the appointments.

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