Collaboration

Sharable file format

GrandTotal uses a data format that can be edited by multiple users simultaneously. This eliminates the need to manually set a synchronization method. The file is simply placed in a shared folder on Dropbox1, iCloud Drive2, Google Drive3 or similar4 and all involved people are able to work on it at the same time.

All devices must have the same version of GrandTotal installed.

1 Dropbox is recommended. It is by far the most reliable and fastest service.
2 iCloud Drive is known to randomly lose data and being slow. Do not use without Time Machine activated.
3 With Google Drive the "Mirrored" synchronization method must be selected in the settings.
4 Do not use network shares (NAS) such as afp or smb.

File information

Use File menu to display the File Information.

In the Log you can see if the cloud service has synchronized all data correctly or if there are errors.

Check the Devices section to see if all your machines are in sync. The devices section has to be open on all the devices you like to test. If a device won't show up, it does not have opened the same company file as the others.

Encryption

Files can now be protected using a password. For this, save a copy in the File menu and set password there. The encryption is done according to the modern AES256 standard. A strong password should be used - this can be stored safely in the keychain. If a password is forgotten, the data will be irretrievably lost.

Data protection

The end-to-end encryption of the data makes it impossible for third parties (including the cloud provider) to read the data. The data is only decrypted during it's use within GrandTotal.

Changing the password

To set a new password use the menu File/Save copy and assign the new password to the new file.

Backups

Backups are created automatically by Time Machine. If Time Machine is not active, an adequate alternative must be used.

Manual backups

Backup copies can also be created from the File/Save a copy menu or by duplicating the file in the Finder.

Multiple companies

By using the new file format, multiple companies or mandates are also possible. New companies are created using the File menu.

Licenses

Please read here about the required licenses.