It depends on how you receive the Setup file asclub_setup.exe
The fastest way is to download it from the AS Club download page. Simply click Download, your web browser will then ask where to store the setup file; point it to your desktop. 
 
   When downloading has finished, the AS Club setup-icon will appear on your desktop. 
   Double-click it to start the installation.

 

Sure it is, AS Club has been tested on all Windows systems beginning with XP and should run without problems.
Note however that up to AS Club 2.2.3.0 on Windows 7 and greater the Windows UAC was triggered after launch (UAC = User Account Control). This was only a minor inconvenience and was caused by the name of the launcher: "updater.exe". (It seems that MS Windows interpretes any executable code in whose name the word 'update' appears as being a danger to the system... one has to hope that the bad guys won't find out ;-)
AS Club does not require an administrator account to run, any User or Guest account will suffice.
AS Club is a native Windows 32-bit application, but it runs perfectly well on 64-bit Windows versions.
 
 

AS Club can be installed on multiple computers of various descriptions that run one of Microsoft Windows operating systems. These AS Club clones access local copies of the club's database with all the member and accounting information. Keeping the local copies of the database up to date is achieved by synchronizing them with the online master copy (stored on the Austrosoft web server). This mode of operation is nowadays used almost universally, especially by mobile apps, as direct, co-operative database access over the Internet is still not feasible due to bandwidth and latency issues.  
  
 
 

As is occasionally the case with software problems, there can be more than one reason why they occur.
The message indicates only that the database configuration file (named IDAPI32.CFG) cannot be accessed at launch time. The reason for this can vary, but after installing AS Club successfully (no error messages there), the most likely explanation is that Windows denies non-privileged users access to a particular folder where IDAPI32.CFG is stored. One known case followed the installation of Windows XP SP3. It can be solved by making one particular folder shareable and you may want to try doing this first if you are running Windows XP SP3 (or a later version of Windows):
1. close AS Club if it is still running
2. launch 'My Computer' and navigate to the following folder:
    C:\Program Files\Common Files  - or -  C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files
3. right-click this folder, left-click 'Sharing and Security...' on the pop-up menu
4. on the 'Sharing' tab, under 'Network sharing and security', enable both check boxes:
     'Share this folder on the network' and 'Allow network users to change my files'
5. click 'OK', then restart AS Club
Note that later versions of AS Club store IDAPI32.CFG within the root folder structure which should make this particular error impossible.
 

AS Club is fully compatible with Windows 11, a 'clean' (virgin) installation of AS Club under Windows 11 follows the common routine.
However, if you are upgrading an operating system with an existing AS Club installation, for example from Windows 10 to Windows 11, we recommend that you perform a full installation of AS Club thereafter (after backing up your database, either locally, online or both). Relying on the automated AS Club updates may not suffice in this situation as file access errors have been reported, caused by stricter Windows 11 access privileges.
 
 
 

 
Multi-user mode allows several computers to operate on distinct local copies of the member-database; a single 'master'-copy is stored online. From time to time users 'synchronize' local and online copies.
A number of popular, Internet-enabled applications have adopted this operating principle in recent years; e.g. those familiar with the Firefox web browser may have come across its "Synchronize" feature.
AS Club multi-user mode is set up by simply running the AS Club installation on the computer you wish to add. After entering the long and short club name on the "Club Identity" page click Retrieve on page Administration to start synchronization with the online database and photo archive.
 
For practical reasons, i.e. to avoid conflicting updates of the database, we recommend a distinction between content creators and content consumers. Content creators are allowed to change the database, whereas content consumers are only authorized to view the database (they may however manage the archive of member photographs as adding or editing pictures does not affect the critical accounting data).     
 
Synchronizing the local database with the online 'master' is straight-forward:
1. as content creator who has made changes to the database that other users need to 'see' connect to the Internet and click Upload. 
2. as content consumer go online and click Retrieve. On your local computer you will create an exact copy of the database stored online, including the latest archive of member photographs. Note however that as content consumer you will lose changes you may have made to the database locally. Member photos you have changed or added will however be merged with the online archive.

 
 

This question relates to the scheduled posting of debits, controlled by settings on the MAINTENANCE • Memberships & Facilities pages. An example:

 

If set up this way, a subscriber will pay nothing when subscribed to a monthly "Newsletter".  "Parking" will only allow quarterly and monthly subscriptions - the facility will cost 20/month, longer term (quarterly) it will be free. 
The main purpose of no-charge entries is to maintain a record of subscribers in order for them to show up on reports. For instance, printing a member report (page PROCESSING • Reports • Members), with the filter option set to "Newsletter" will produce a listing of monthly newsletter recipients, even if newsletters may be received free of charge.
Note that only fields with a tick-mark will be selectable on the Members • Edit  page.     
 
 
    

The smallest font size utilized on the AS Club screen display is 7 point, depicted on the screenshots below. If small text on your monitor resembles that on the left picture, you may want to check whether the Windows ClearType™ option has been enabled on your system. The screenshots below show the noticeable difference ClearType makes: 

ClearType Off	On

This problem is very unlikely to occur on Windows 7 and later, but on (ancient) Windows XP turn on ClearType by right-clicking free space (the background) on your desktop, left-click Properties on the pop-up menu, then the Appearance tab and the Effects... button. 
Mark Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts, then select ClearType from the combo box beneath. 
If ClearType is not turned on, AS Club attempts to turn it on permanently and system-wide but this works only if AS Club has administrator rights.

Visitors is a predefined membership category intended for visitors and temporary club members.
 
Two AS Club features support Visitor Accounts:
 
1. Suspending/Reopening of accounts. Upon departure of a visitor his/her account can be suspended and may stay so indefinitely without consuming system resources. On return of a visitor, one mouse-click can reactivate the account. (Suspended accounts are exempt from AS Club support and maintenance charges). 
 
2. A Statement of Account, may either reflect the most recent month end figures or optionally include up-to-the-minute transactions. The latter can be issued at any time (e.g. before a visitor leaves). A new single-account Print button has been added for this purpose on the PROCESSING • Output • Statements page; it is duplicated on the MEMBERS • View page. 
Clicking Print 000003 would produce a to-date statement of account 000003, whereas clicking Generate Statements would create month-end statements. 

 

3. All other AS Club features can also be utilized, e.g. visitor accounts can be scheduled for automatic debiting like any other account, etc.
4. The new statement type works with all membership categories.  
Note that suspended accounts are taken into consideration when the tally of sub-accounts is calculated.

It's actually quite simple:
Members make contributions to club finances. The payments members make are accounted for in the global club-account, the moneys themselves most likely ending up in a bank account. 
Members are however not paying directly into the big pot, the funds are rather collected via club sub-accounts to make accounting transparent.
Each membership type has its own sub-account - that makes it easy to see how much members of each category are contributing to the whole. Likewise, all other chargeable services the club offers - AS Club knows them as facilities and, for lack of a better word, transactions - own club sub-accounts that collect funds on behalf of the global club-account. 
On the other hand, members are financing the whole enterprise, so they need accounts where their contributions are recorded. AS Club knows them as member accounts and maintains one for each member. The way AS Club sees it, each member account is connected to one or more of the club sub-accounts, and each connection quantifies: how much is to be charged, how often, starting when, ending when.
Once this has been established (by the club manager), AS Club applies the necessary charges automatically and this is referred to as the billing cycle.

You can, and there is a description of it on the Help-page Maintenance • Database • Memberships (and also on the neighbouring Facilities page). The feature is called One-Off charges. To activate it, do the following:

1. go to the sub-account in question, e.g. "Ordinary Boating Member",

 

the cursor points to the field you need to activate

2. click to create a tick-mark and preset the field to any amount you like.
Click Commit to make the change permanent   

3. Switch to the Members • Edit page: under Membership categories a new square yellow button has been created (hovering the mouse cursor over it shows the preset amount). 


 
4. Clicking this button assembles a debit transaction which can then be posted from the ACCOUNTING • Debiting and Crediting page. Before committing it, you may change amount and/or reference.  

Steps 1 and 2 of this procedure applied to the Maintenance • Database • Facilities page create the same buttons for Facility sub-accounts, which can be used in the same way.
 

You create a sub-account by opening it on one of 3 pages (see also question 3.1 below):
MAINTENANCE • Database • Memberships 
MAINTENANCE • Database • Facilities 
MAINTENANCE • Database • Transactions
Which page you choose depends on the type of sub-account you require. The "Tutorial" has more on the differences between sub-accounts.
Once sub-accounts have been opened, they appear automatically on the relevant pages. In that sense, you cannot or need not  'switch' to them. For instance, on the MEMBERS • Edit page you'll find the Membership and Facility sub-accounts you have opened so far. Here you switch sub-accounts by clicking on the sub-account you want to use. Example: sub-account Junior Boating Member
 

Membership and Facility sub-accounts enable automated debiting. You select a Start Date and a payment interval, and AS Club will debit the member account with the chosen amount, at the chosen intervals, beginning on Start Date.
Transaction sub-accounts appear on the  ACCOUNTING • Debiting and Crediting page.
 
The answer is therefore that you rather switch member accounts (by selecting account numbers from the navigation panel on the left). For each member account you then have access to all sub-accounts (on the pages mentioned).
Please drop us a line if you wish to be more specific about your question.


  

This is not hard but it may be somewhat time consuming, depending on how many member accounts you need to open (please contact us if your member records are already in some computer-readable format, we may be able to help with the conversion). 
Generally, begin by deleting the currently active database from the Administration page (click MAINTENANCE • Database • Administration)
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the red 'Restart' button. The entire database will be cleared of all user data. 
Then switch to the MAINTENANCE • Database  • Club Identity page and enter your club's particulars. 
Next declare the sub-accounts your club will be utilizing: 
Proceed to the Memberships page and define the membership types your club provides (remember to hit the F1-key if in need of help).
Items on the Facilities page result in sub-accounts just as Memberships. The difference? While only one membership can be (must be) active at a time, no such restriction applies to facilities. 
Important to note is that both sub-account types support automated, scheduled debiting at 1/3/6/12 months intervals (disregarding the One-Off feature at the moment).   
For sub-accounts requiring manual posting of debits/credits at random intervals use the Transactions page.
Create, edit or delete personal titles on the Titles page.
Having set up the club sub-accounts, proceed to the Members • Edit page and begin to open member accounts, clicking the "New" button once per account. An account comes into existence the moment you click "Commit", provided no error is reported. 
To correct errors, make the necessary changes, then click "Commit" again. You can change anything, except the account number.


  

Deleting member accounts is straight forward provided they show only the opening balance and no other account movements - in other words, they have not been activated yet.
  
A) If this is the case, do the following:
  
  1. Switch to page PROCESSING > Statistics > Overview
  2. Click button Process
  3. A table opens up showing all member accounts that may potentially be deleted;
      click the red Delete button for each account to be removed
 
B) The first movement on a member account activates it and it can then no longer be deleted. However, provided an account is fully settled and shows a naught-balance, it can be 'archived', i.e. removed from the active portion of the database. To archive an account, take the following steps:

  1. Switch to page ACCOUNTING > Accounts Archive   
  2. Of the two nav panels, select the desired account from the left one
  3. Click Suspend
  4. The account will be archived by moving it to the right nav panel

Should you need to re-activate the account later on, you can do so by clicking the Reopen button after selecting the account from the right nav panel.  


  

By default, AS Club is set up to dispatch email (and SMS) through the Austrosoft SMTP server. You may wish to utilize another email server for email dispatches though, preferably the one your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has allocated to your email account. If your club has a website, it will often be best to route email through the SMTP server assigned to your website, as ISP's frequently impose limits on the number of emails per time interval. 
 
To assign an SMTP server click the 'Setup Email Service' button on the Email page (click PROCESSING • Email). You can either enter your own email settings or use the alternative "factory preset".
Please note that many email providers will only let you use their SMTP server (for outbound mail) if your sender address (the "From"-address) is registered with them.

The time taken to send out one statement depends mainly on two factors: the data volume per statement and your Internet connection, i.e. its speed and quality. As statements of account are not identical and have to be sent out individually, their number is a multiplier. 
The file size per AS Club-produced statement rendered to email (HTML) could be around 15 KB on average. Speed and quality of your Internet connection combine in the 'throughput'-figure, measured in bits (or bytes) per second. In most cases the throughput when sending from your computer ('uploading') will be significantly lower than when receiving ('downloading'), often by a factor of 3 to 5, sometimes even higher. 
The new multi-threaded AS Club email dispatcher should be able to keep your transmission running at full line speed. If your upload speed is 100 KByte/sec, ~ 7 statements/sec will be sent out.   

The second option sends identical copies of a document as 'blind carbon copies' (BCC), resulting in only one message being dispatched to the email server which passes it on to all recipients. This mode is triggered when you select 'Bulk Email (+ opt. Attachments)' from the combo box on the PROCESSING • Output • Email page. In this case, the optional "zipping" of attachments is recommended as it can help to overcome the multitude of spam filters that are nowadays scanning emails.

AS Club is being offered internationally, which makes personal support on site all but impossible, especially given the affordable price point of the product.
Given the nature of problems computer users can face, it is sometimes more effective for issues to be resolved via email rather than over the phone, but users are free to choose their means of communication. There is no restriction on the number of enquiries a user may make. 
  
The on-line support system serves to deliver new program versions and updated files automatically. This happens in the background, AS Club remains fully functional during downloads and no user action is required.
 
A special feature of AS Club is a single-click database submission system. This is a big boon should Austrosoft ever require the actual user database for diagnostic purposes: data compression is applied to the database to reduce its volume (it will generally be brought down to around 10% of its original size), the data contained is encrypted to make it indecipherable to third parties und the resulting password-protected "zip-archive" is automatically transmitted as an email attachment to Austrosoft, where proper testing and diagnosis can take place. 
In case of such an emergency, you only need to:
 
1. connect to the Internet, 
2. select PROCESSING • Output • Email, 
3. select   AS Club Database => Austrosoft  from the combo box,
4. enter a brief description of the problem 
5. execute by clicking 'Send'

We will get back to you after receiving your message.