Simply Reliable Software’s Weekly Training Series
FREE 4 HOUR BASIC TRAINING
Wednesdays are about to get even more informative. Simply Reliable will now host a FREE 4 hour training once per month. This training class is designed to provide the information those new to SmartOffice need to add and manage contacts, populate their product library, learn how to tie products and labor together, set up advanced proposal design, and create proposals. Previously this class was offered at $199 per attending group, now Simply Reliable has made this a standard benefit for new and maintenance clients.
So if you have a new employee, or need to brush up on your own skills, let is know and we will sign you up.
And be sure to ask Tom about the SRS Certification program.
Please join us Wednesday December 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 PM EDT for this week’s free training. Tom will be discussing Contacts through proposal creation in SmartOffice. Everything you need to know to get started in Smartoffice. You may begin logging into the webinar at 11:45AM EDT. Follow this link for more information.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well for those of you in the United States, chances are you are already starting, or just about to start your Thanksgiving Holiday. Well we here at Simply Reliable are no different. We are taking Thursday and Friday November 25th and 26th off. We will return to normal operations on Monday November 30th.
As with all days off our tech support lines will not be answered. But please leave us a message if there is an emergency. We have staff that monitor these messages and will try to return your call as soon as possible.
Have a happy and safe holiday! We look forward to talking with you when we return.
Control Integration with Control4
SmartOffice Control Integration with Control4If you were at CEDIA and you stopped by Simply Reliable’s booth you began hearing the term “Control Integration.” Well what exactly are we talking about you might ask. It has always been Simply Reliable’s philosophy to remove redundant tasks in our client’s everyday work flow as much as possible. It is equally important to help companies ensure accuracy in delivering the end result to their clients. And, to another point the goal to predict profitability of projects, measuring their success by how close that prediction holds true, and creating a repeatable process is also very close to Simply Reliable’s mission.
This is where control integration comes in. Once you have gone through the work of creating a proposal, regardless of which control system you sell, you must virtually repeat the process again by inputting the same data into a control system’s proprietary software. Simply Reliable has changed that paradigm forever beginning with our control integration of Control4.
The process can now go as follows; once a proposal is accepted the salesperson, an office assistant, or whomever you choose can turn your proposal into a Composer project within a few minutes. Then hand it off to the programmer for connections and custom programming. You can even name the light loads and other devices, map their location to a different room or area as in the case of the foyer containing a light switch for the front porch, and SmartOffice keeps all that info sorted.
You may have projects out there in Control4 already. Now you can import those into SmartOffice and turn them into a proposal. This could be a great way of creating a template for future jobs. Once in SmartOffice you now have all the benefits of the best project management and business software available to assist you in managing your business.
So “Control Integration” as we nick named the button (The Button That Changes Everything)that you press to begin the process does change everything. Watch the video demo of this process. Check it out! Remember this another free feature if you are a current subscriber or in maintenance and requires an upgrade.
SmartOffice Feature Spotlight: Quickspecs
Are you using Quickspecs? Well why the heck not?
Quickspecs are the quickest way to build a proposal. Yes I know that you have to spend a little time right now deciding what items go in which Quickspec group but believe me, it is worth the time. Look at it this way…You can either decide once what items go into your Quickspec groups or you can decide every time you create a proposal.
Here’s a challenge for you, try to make a proposal without using the pick product screen. You know the screen where you scroll through the list of items in your product db and add them one by one to the proposal. Don’t think it can be done? Well Tom Coffin begs to differ. He has been teaching a system of Quickspecs and Product Packages for years now. If you don’t believe me check out this video and he will show you how. Or login to the support site to see all of Tom’s videos.
Thanksgiving
As the year winds down several milestones present themselves each year. In our unpredictable custom world several dates are very predictable. They meaning your clients are shooting for a move in date. Those dates are usually presented as “We want to have Thanksgiving dinner in our new house so everything has to be done.” “We want to move in Thanksgiving weekend so make sure everything is working so we can watch the football games.” “We intend on having Christmas morning at the new house.” “We will move in the last week of the year and close out everything before we go away for January.” Or some variation.
This time of year can be very stressful on the client, the builder, the designer, and don’t forget on you and your staff. Are you planning ahead to handle the potential issues you may have to deal with. Did you get the deposits in a timely manner so that you can place your purchase orders? Now is a great time to begin to take a 30 minute review of everything you need to do to get the work out each morning. Think through what your process is and how you can assist your staff, co-workers, what have you with getting the job done with as little stress as possible.
Have you told your staff or co-workers how important they are. Have you congratulated each other for making it this far through this economic downturn? If you are out there and you are still doing business, you sales may be off a little, could be flat, or maybe you’re one of the truly prepared who forged ahead, created new opportunities and actually increased your top line and bottom line profits, hats off to you! You worked hard and hopefully learned how to deal with adversity.
Now, you can get the finals for the year in place and begin to reflect on what you did right, what you could have done better, things that need changing, and as I mentioned earlier make sure the people you are spending most of your time with know that they are appreciated. Be thankful, be helpful, give a little back, and celebrate what a cool industry you have chosen for your livelihood.
To Document or Not To:
As I blend a Shakespearean reference into my blog, that is the question. It seems the industry is split into three camps; you have the document everything down to the last wire, some documentation of critical path such as control systems, and the we don’t waste time on drawings and documentation we just put it in.
Documentation is a philosophy. It is a “Best Practices” mentality. But is there a financial argument for documenting? You bet there is. Of course, SmartOffice users who are adept at using product assemblies know the value of including all the little pieces parts it takes to put a system together. Design, documentation, and drawings force you to think through exactly how systems are going to be connected together and how they are going to interact. This knowledge helps the project manager to ensure all the parts necessary to get the job are sent out to the job. This saves on return trips which in turn saves labor time, gas, and gets you on to the next project sooner which increases productivity.
It is good stewardship towards your clients future when you provide an as-built design package upon the final payment. This shows the client, builder, architect, designer and other professionals that you are not the stereo guy or the TV guy, you are a design professional and the design work you do is highly specialized and important to be able to access that information in the future in case of changes or additions. In fact when you provide these documents it virtually ensures that no matter what they want to add in the future they are going to call you due to your in depth level of understanding of their home. As new items come to market you can install these items far more cost effectively than someone else. Another financial win for you.
I know I might sound preachy but I have always been on the side of documenting everything. I hate surprises in the field. I want my “floor maps” as I called them back after the prewire with all the devices crossed out after verifying all the drops have been made. I want the wiring diagrams to hand to my programmer before any wire has even been pulled. This allowed us many years ago to manage 60 control projects at a time and created a process so that the only thing truly custom may have been brand or device changes and specific scene programming which turned custom projects into Custom as standard.
How do you get started? First sit down and flow chart all the things you do from proposal to final invoice. Develop pre-engineered solutions and document the needed parts to install each item. The brands may or not matter it is the architecture you want to document and think out how you will install this each time in a repeatable fashion. What numbering or labeling paradigm might you want to use. (Time for ugly self promotion) If you are a SmartOffice user a lot of what you need is automated and I can help you work through how to accomplish this planning process to ensure success. Now decide how you will develop floor plans, block schematics, and rack drawings so that you can communicate what is expected to your field personnel. Next develop your process for validation of these practices.
Now you are well on your way to a repeatable, process that will increase customer satisfaction, relieve stress, and put more money in your pocket.
SmartOffice Feature Spotlight: Dashboard Reports
Have you seen the dashboard lately. We have taken out some features that were not being used very often but we have added in several reports that many users are finding very useful.
In addition to the % of completion report we always had we have added in a proposal breakdown report to show you the cost to date and cost to complete of all active projects for your company in several different categories. We have also added in a sales pipeline report. Find all active projects by any staff member, or all staff. Search by project status or even a date range. Use this to see what is coming in and what is closing out.
There are some powerful features available in these reports so check them out. If you are using v6.9.3.2 or later you can find them on the dashboard page (My SRS > Dashboard). Special thanks goes to Brian and Dave at Atlantic Smart Technology, Inc. in Jupiter, Fl.
Proposal Reports
The Reports section under Proposals has been changed and now has some new features.
There are two different type of reports: Unfiltered and Filtered.
Unfiltered Reports includes the follow reports:
Cover Only
Scope of Work Only
Terms Only
Labor Detail
Labor Breakout
Summary by Zone
Summary by Discipline
Filtered Reports includes the follow reports:
Material List
Material List without Cost
Delievered Material with Selling
Delievered Material with Zone and Discipline
Delivery Ticket by Make
Delivery Ticket by Zone w/ Barcode
Print PDF Cut Sheets
Color Selection Report
Product Transfer Sign-Off
Material Request
Dimension List
Product Status Report
Filtered Reports can be filtered by several options:
Zone
Discipline
SubZone
Make
Phase
Filtered Reports can include several options:
Show Accessories
Show Associated
Include Discount in Line Items
Include Labor in Line Items
Include Miscellaneous in Line Items
Show Prices
Proposal Only
Proposal & Related Change Orders
Project Summary
Simply Reliable Software’s Weekly Training Series
Contacts and User Privileges
Please join us Wednesday November 18th, 2009 at 12:00 PM EDT for this week’s free training. Tom will be discussing Contacts and User Privileges in SmartOffice. You may begin logging into the webinar at 11:45AM EDT. Follow this link for more information.
More Free Training Every Month!
Wednesdays are about to get even more informative. Simply Reliable will now host a FREE 4 hour training once per month. This training class is designed to provide the information those new to SmartOffice need to add and manage contacts, populate their product library, learn how to tie products and labor together, set up advanced proposal design, and create proposals. Previously this class was offered at $199 per attending group, now Simply Reliable has made this a standard benefit for new and maintenance clients.
So if you have a new employee, or need to brush up on your own skills, let is know and we will sign you up.
And be sure to ask Tom about the SRS Certification program.
© 2002-2009 Simply Reliable Software
