When you first install single user Sage 50 and Instant Accounts Plus and you get straight into the software with no security set up at all.  If you wish to create alternative logon ID’s for different users however – even in a single user environment – then you have the choice in Company Preferences->Parameters to switch on Access Rights.

If you tick this box then you will then need to use the default Sage logon name when you log in, even if you have not set up individual user names. Every Sage 50 Accounts and Instant Accounts software has a default logon name of MANAGER with a blank password. This includes the demo data.

The mistake many users make however is to set up user names for staff members with passwords associated with them, but never actually change the MANAGER password to something secure. It also needs to be a memorable password – as you may not use it very often – but selected tasks can ONLY be done from the MANAGER logon – such as the Delete user button on the new View User List page in Sage 50 Accounts 2012. This allows you to remove users from the user list who are no longer logged in to Sage as their computer has crashed or network stopped working. (This replaces the method of deleting the queue.dta file in older versions of Sage).

The option for changing the password is the Settings Menu, but you should make sure you use something you will never forget as retrieving the manager password is not an easy thing to do. For all other users however if they forget their passwords then the MANAGER logon can view these in the Settings->Access Rights area of the program. Even users given Full Access cannot view this when logged in.

So the moral of this blog post is change your Sage MANAGER password to aid security, but don’t forget it as you may need it some day!

For more useful Sage Instant and Sage 50 user tips then check out the Sage category on this blog.