FAQs


How do I get a licence?

Can I have more time to make my evaluation of the software?

Where can I access the most recent version of the software?

Does Onion need Sage software to be installed on the same machine?

Onion hasn't been able to automatically detect my company data, what do I do?

Does Onion report overdrawn bank balances as liabilities?

I haven't performed my year end yet. Can I still get monthly reports for the current year to date?

Can I report on other years or custom calendar periods with comparatives?

What size of client can Onion deal with?

What about data security?

Can Onion provide departmental analyses?

Can Onion do Charity accounting?

Can Onion do Budgets?

What about group consolidations?

I'm having difficulty with copy and paste between two workbooks refusing to ignore hidden rows. What can I do?


How do I get a licence?

First, you must download and install the 30 day free trial. That way you're sure the software will be worth the licence fee before you part with your money!

During the initial evaluation period (and coming to the end of your licence period) you will be provided with a countdown of the number of days to the end of your licence period. If there are any days left, there will be a [Continue] button (see below) which will bypass the licensing process and take you to the Onion software.

When you decide to buy a licence, you will be asked to supply the Installation Code from your machine. You get the Installation Code by clicking on the copy icon to the right of the Installation Code box in the Onion software Product Licence dialog (see below). This places a copy of the Install code on the clipboard on your computer.

It is a simple process that is repeated for each machine:


Go to www.onionrs.co.uk and go to the Onion for Sage Licence details where you will see these details:



 

  • Enter a unique name in the box labelled Your Computer to identify which computer you captured the Install Code from 
  • Click in the box labelled Install Code and press Ctrl+v to paste the Install Code on your clipboard into the box
  • Click on Add to Cart
  • Repeat the process for each additional machine

Following confirmed receipt of payment we shall email an Unlock Code to the registered email address.  The Unlock Code should be copied to your clipboard using Ctrl+c (be careful not to include any additional characters before or after the code) and then pasted into the Onion Product Licence dialog using the paste clipboard icon to the right of the Unlock Code box. Clicking Register will activate the 365 day licence for the software.

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Can I have more time to make my evaluation of the software?

We understand that, sometimes, time just gets away from you. Or, maybe, you had reviewed an older verson of the software and want to have a look at the most recent developments. Just call our helpline (+44 (0)28 9581 9815) and they'll be happy to provide a temporary licence.

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Where can I access the most recent version of the software?

We keep the versions in your downloads area up to date with the most recent minor version number. For example, if you order the v4.0.0.x download at a time when the most recent version is v4.0.0.30, and we subsequently release v4.0.0.31, the new version 4.0.0.31 is immediately available via your v4.0.0.x order in your downloads area. The complementary templates downloads are also kept up to date with later releases. 

Additionally, the Onion version downloadable from the home page without logging in will always be the most recent version.

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Does Onion need Sage software to be installed on the same machine?

Onion doesn't require functioning Sage software on the same machine. All you need is ODBC access to your Sage data from the machine on which Onion is installed. Your Sage software installation disk contains an ODBC Install folder containing the software necessary to install the appropriate ODBC driver on any number of additional machines. There is also an ODBC driver installer in any Sage installation at a location such as C:\Program Files\Sage\Accounts\ODBC32. Open this and select "Setup" which will open a Wizard to install the "Sage Accounts ODBC". Even a single user Sage licence will allow ODBC access from any number of additional machines.

If you install Onion on a machine with only the Sage ODBC driver, but not the Sage program, you will need to follow the instructions in the next section "Onion hasn't been able to automatically detect my company data, what do I do?" to tell Onion where to find your company data.

If you have difficulties or questions please call our helpline on +44 (0)28 9581 9815.

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Onion hasn't been able to automatically detect my company data, what do I do?

There is an < Add / Remove a company > option when selecting a company.  

To find out where a company's data file is located: in Sage, select Help | About and note the location.

If you continue to have difficulties please call our helpline on +44 (0)28 9581 9815.

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Does Onion report overdrawn bank balances as liabilities?

So long as you've configured your chart of accounts to display an overdrawn bank position as a liability, Onion will do the same.

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I haven't performed my year end yet. Can I still get monthly reports for the current year to date?

Yes, it is transaction based and not limited by the balances maintained by Sage.

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Can I report on other years or custom calendar periods with comparatives?

Yes. Use the Change reporting year tickbox when running Onion. 

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What size of client can Onion deal with?

Onion uses transaction based reporting. The bigger the company, the more transactions. Consequently, whilst it may still be possible to create an Onion workbook for a very large company, it may not be practicable because of the size of the Excel file generated or because the processing time becomes too long. Small companies (e.g. the Sage demo company) should process in 40 seconds or so. Obviously bigger companies take longer. We're aware of customers running Onion on quite large data sets. In the event that you encounter an Out Of Memory error message using Onion (only likely with very large data sets), please download Onion Extra which has the same functionality as Onion but is known to work with data sets as big as 1,300,000 transactions.

We'd appreciate feedback on running times / file sizes for your companies via our Contact Us page.

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What about data security?

Secuity is the user's responsibility.  Be careful how you use and store Onion outputs. Use Excel's document encryption options by all means, but be aware that Excel passwords are notoriously easy to crack. Another option is to zip the Onion workbook using a password protection capable zip program (e.g. 7-Zip) .  Do your own investigations and testing and decide what is best for you.

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Can Onion provide departmental analyses?

Yes.  You can filter data by Department and Onion produces departmental TBs to interface with a free template for enhanced departmental presentations.  Contact Us if you'd like to know more.

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Can Onion do Charity accounting?

No.  Depending on demand, we might add it to our "to do" list.  Let us know if you'd like this facility via our Contact Us page.

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Can Onion do Budgets?

Yes, the Onion workbook incorporates standard budget reporting at present.  Additionally, we have a free Budgeting template designed to work with the exportable Onion TBs to provide extremely flexible off-system department level budget maintenance and reporting capabilities. Contact Us if you'd like to know more.

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What about group consolidations?

Yes, we have a free template that provides a user customisable approach to consolidation incorporating consolidation adjustments. Contact Us if you'd like to know more.

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I'm having difficulty with copy and paste between two workbooks refusing to ignore hidden rows. What can I do?

If you find that copy and paste between workbooks refuses to ignore hidden rows it might be that the two workbooks are in different instances of Excel. Try opening the two workbooks from the same Excel screen.

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