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Year 2000 bug a concern for small businesses

By Richard Morochove

First published April 2, 1998

Big banks and government organizations are spending millions updating their mainframe computer systems to correct the Year 2000 problem. Even your desktop PC isn't immune from this bug.

How can a small business protect itself from the millennium bug?

The bug is the result of a programming shortcut. Decades ago, when computer memory was expensive, programmers saved valuable memory and storage capacity by using only the last two digits to represent a year, 68 instead of 1968. When the century advances, calculations that depend upon dates may not work.

Even today, a retail point of sale system may reject a credit card that expires in 2000. The point of sale system maintains only two digits for the year and calculates the card is 98 years past its expiry date. This affects many accounting systems and will become a more serious problem once transactions dated in 2000 are entered into the system.

"I think it probably cost us about $25,000 to upgrade our computers and $5,000 to upgrade our software," said John Frankel, president of The Investment Shop. The Toronto-based deposit broker has eight employees who use eleven PCs.

Frankel was already planning to upgrade his computer systems, but became concerned when he heard of the problems caused by the millennium bug. He started the upgrade last summer because he feared having to line up for help if he left it too late.

"It isn't enough to assess that you don't have a Year 2000 problem in your little operation," said Frankel. "It's not just what I do, it's what my suppliers do."

He plans to ask the financial institutions that handle the deposits of his clients if their systems are Year 2000 compliant.

The millennium bug is a complex problem that affects the interaction of computer hardware, operating system software, applications software and any forms or templates used by the applications. In order to be fully Year 2000 compliant, all four of these elements must be able to properly handle dates in the next century.

Most, but not all, PCs sold since 1996 are Year 2000 compliant. Some non-compliant machines can be upgraded relatively easily by replacing the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) chip. Other chips can be fixed by a piece of corrective software known as a patch. Contact your computer dealer or manufacturer to find out which solution is best.

Sometimes you may want to replace the computer, particularly if you need to upgrade to software that requires more powerful hardware.

There are programs that test if your hardware can cope with the next millennium. This testing software can be a timesaver if you must check a number of personal computers. But if you have just a few PCs, you can perform the following simple test that doesn't require any special software.

Change the time and date of your PC to 11:55 p.m., Dec. 31, 1999. Turn the computer off for 10 minutes. Then turn the computer on and check the date and time. Non-compliant systems will show an incorrect date, such as one in 1980 or 1900. In addition, some computers don't recognize that 2000 is a leap year and will skip over Feb. 29.

Remember to reset your computer back to today's date after performing this test. A note of caution: if you've installed any time-limited software on your PC, then I do not recommend you perform this test. Advancing the date could trigger the software expiry date and render it useless. To be absolutely safe, perform a complete backup of your computer before the test.

According to Microsoft, its 32-bit operating systems, such as Windows 95 and Windows NT, can handle dates through to 2099. Windows 98, the system upgrade to Windows 95, will be available on June 25 and include new software patches that correct certain BIOS chips for the Year 2000 bug.

The Apple Macintosh can handle dates past 2000, but that doesn't mean Mac users have nothing to worry about. Some Mac software applications can't handle dates in the next millennium and must be upgraded.

The millennium bug potentially affects all software applications that make use of dates. This includes all accounting applications, as well as many spreadsheet models and databases.

Most developers of accounting packages have Year 2000 compliant versions of their programs ready now or scheduled for release by the end of this year. Check with the developer to determine if you require upgraded software.

If you've developed a spreadsheet model or database form for your business, you'll need to check out how it handles dates. Even if you're using a Year 2000 compliant version of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet, the spreadsheet calculations may not work properly if you enter the year with just two digits. You'll need to convert the dates to four digit years.

After installing all the required upgrades, there's no substitute for thoroughly testing your complete computer system to make sure the hardware, operating system, applications and templates all work properly. CW

Richard Morochove, FCA, is a Toronto-based computer consultant.

Copyright ©1998 by Morochove & Associates Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be copied or distributed by any means without our prior written permission.

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