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Select Tools -> Options -> General System Options
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PPS Generated Numbers
When you first enter the system, these to numbers will be set to 1. However there may be a need to alter these if, for instance, you have undertaken a data conversion from a previous system. For example, if you have converted 1550 Client records then the Next Client Number should be set at 1551.
The next ID number is used to allocate a unique internal serial number to insurance companies, Doctors, Club/Associations and Other Invoicees so that Private Practice Software can differentiate between them.
IMPORTANT - If you are using more than one main PPS Licence and are planning to use "PPS Sync" so that you can share data between your separate copies of PPS, then we strongly recommend that you set up a different numbering series for each of the above numbers. This will help to avoid confusion later when data that has been entered on one system is synchronised with another system.
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Tax Settings
You can select how PPS refers to sales tax. The default is VAT, which is the
country-region w:st="on">UKcountry-region> name for sales tax.
If you are VAT (sales tax) registered then you can choose to include VAT and set the current rates. You can then apply these rates when setting up your Standard Charges and Stock Items. (The VAT rate can also be changed when creating charges.)
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4.
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Back Up Prompt
You can select how days elapse before the system prompts you to make a back up of your system. (Selecting 0 will disable the backup prompt.)
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Archiving Activities
You can archive your old completed activities (reminders, messages, e-mails, etc) periodically by selecting the number of weeks after an activity has been completed before archiving it.
Activities are archived when the Database Maintenance->Reindex all Data Files option is run.
Note: You can still choose to view archived activities when necessary whilst viewing the activities list.
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Faded Background
If you have a screen capable of displaying True Colour (32 Bit) then you can select to use a faded background for each screen.
Note: To find out if your screen is capable of displaying True Colour (32 Bit) you can check and/or change your display settings from the control panel on the Windows START button.
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7.
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Client Log Transaction List – Status Colours
You can select to either display this list in colour or black. When displayed in colour, the client transactions shown in the client log will appear in one of the four "status" colours used throughout PPS (Green,
Orange, Purple and Red). This gives a quick visual indicator of the status of any record while browsing the client log.
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Activities
Activities in PPS are a way of keeping a record of contacts, telephone calls, letters, etc. that you have with your Clients or Third-Party contacts. Activities can all have a specific PPS User, and Practitioner assigned to them, and can be scheduled for completion in the future or immediately. Activities appear in the Client Log for each client, as well as on the Activities List and the Task List. A System of colours is used to denote activities that are: Due – Green; Not yet due – Orange; Completed – Purple and Overdue (task list only) – Red.
See Also: Activities – Activity Types Allocate
See: Payments - Allocating Backup
A Back up is a simply a copy of your data. It is very important to back up your data. PPS provides you with an option to make a back up copy of your data. The back up of your data can be used in conjunction with the “Restore” option if your data ever needs to be restore after a computer failure. It is quick and easy to make a back up copy of your data. It is your responsibility to make a back up copy regularly – at least EVERY DAY - and store this AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER. To run the back up option in PPS, select from the PPS Menu: Tools – Back up. This screen has options to include data from the various folders as part of your PPS database. These include the main DATA folder, your Letters folder, Charts folder, etc. You can select to back up all of these folders, or as many as you want for each back up copy. Running the Back up option produces a single file – this is a ZIP file which is a common type of “compressed” file. You can select to encrypt the file which automatically issues a password with the file, so that the data contained within the file cannot be accessed except by the PPS restore program (this password is also specific to your own PPS system). You can select to copy the back up file to an external disk or drive. You can copy the back up directly to a CD provided that you have formatted the CD correctly first. To copy to a CD, you must use your CD Writer software to format the CD in such a way that you are able to simply “drag and drop” files in windows explorer (or my computer) directly onto the CD. Change
See: Cash Desk; Modify Client
Client records are the hub of your PPS database. PPS refers to these records as “Clients” rather than “Patients” because PPS is used across a variety of business and clinical disciplines, some of whom use the term “client” and others use “patient”. A client record can have either minimal details entered, such as first name and surname, or can be a comprehensive range of details including full address/contact details, alternative addresses, DOB, sex, “known as”, full profile details including “source of introduction”, occupation (plus a range of entries you can set up yourself). In addition you can associate a variety of third-parties to clients such as doctors, insurance companies, etc. The more comprehensive the details you store for each client, the greater the opportunities to use these details in your reports and mail-merge operation. For example, by recording the “source of introduction” for each client (such as yellow pages, local advert, recommendation, etc.) you can run almost any report in PPS to show a breakdown by “source of introduction”, for example “practice revenue” by “source of introduction” will show where you earn the most money from – thus where you should concentrate most on your advertising! Conversion
See: Data Conversion Country
Country is one of the Address fields on the main client details screen, and on the third-party contact details screen. If you normally deal with clients all in the same country, you do not need to enter these details. You can select Country as a breakdown, or criteria for most PPS reports, for example a breakdown of your practice revenue by Country. Data
Data is a general term that refers to all your records. In computer terms, data is any piece of information that you can change, so this includes your normal records (client records, billing, appointments, etc.) and other information such as letter layouts, invoice templates and so on. PPS allows you to “back up” your data, which means to make a second copy of all your data. See: Back Up; Database for more details. Database
The PPS Database can be stored in a separate location on your computer/network from the main PPS application files. This would apply to a PPS installation on a network where the PPS Application files are installed onto each computer, and the database is located centrally on the network. There is the option to change the database location as part of the initial installation of PPS, and there is also a separate “database only” installation available if the database is to be installed onto a computer such as a server where PPS will not be used on that computer – servers often reside in a “back office” and are not used as a desktop computer. Doctors
See: Contacts (Third-Party) – Contact Types; Client –Third-Party Contacts Find
See: Search Important
You can flag information as “important” while recording your clinical notes. For more details see: Consultation – Important information. Include
This is a term used in the PPS Reports Wizard – on step 3 of the selections for your report. On most reports you can select to “include” a selection of details on the printed report. You can un-tick any items that you do not want to include. The “Include” options only apply when the report is printed or previewed – if you are exporting the report to a file or mail merge, then the “include” options do not apply. List
List is the term used to describe information that either appears on the screen or on a report in rows and columns. The term List is also used in PPS as a list of items such as menu, or list of entries such as a look up table. See also: List style diary. Log
See: Client Log. Maintenance
See: Database Maintenance. Options
PPS has a screen on the PPS Tools menu called Options. This screen can be used to set up a wide variety of system settings that affect the way that PPS works. You can make your changes to these areas and press the OK or Apply button to save your changes. The Options screen has four tabs along the top: General, Custom Client Fields, Set Up Client Contacts, and Clinical Notes. See the entries under each of these sections for more details, for example Options – General. PPS
PPS is the acronym for “Private Practice Software”. Private
See: Clinical Notes – Public/Private; Custom Forms – Public Private Reminders
See: Activities; Appointment - Reminders Select
A term used when you choose something on the screen. Some PPS screens have a <Select> button, this normally means that you pick an option, or entry in a list, then click the <Select> button. This will “select” your chosen entry and proceed to the next screen, or return to the previous screen with your chosen entry selected. Set Up
See: Medical History – Setting Up; PPS – Setting Up; Custom Form – Maintenance; Users – Setting Up; Letterhead – Set Up Status
See: Client Status Sync
See: PPS Sync
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