5 Minutes to Read

Years of Profits

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BQE Software eLetter
March 2004 

In This Issue

1. Look Out, Outlook!
2. Winking Eye on the Web
3. Free Web i Upgrade
4. Support Tip #1 - Change, Change, Change.
5. Support Tip #2 - Eyes.

Look Out, Outlook!

Outlook, that venerable software bundled in Microsoft Office (and sold separately), holds your professional life in its hands. Every second of the day, scheduled and measured and . . .

Wait a minute, measured? No, I don’t think so.

Well, it can be.

This new, powerful add-on module allows BillQuick users to easily convert Outlook appointments into time records. And that’s not all. BillQuick’s Smart Guess technology is built in. BillQuick Assistant gets smarter as you use it.

How, you ask? (The question of an intelligent, discerning BillQuick user.)

BillQuick Assistant learns to associate an appointment to a project and activity. Not just simply storing fields in a temporary list. That’s 1990s technology, not 21^st Century intelligence. No, Smart Guess does more. It employs a complex set of rules that evaluates the patterns in your history of previous time records. Wow, fuzzy logic in your hands!

Where is all this leading? (Another intelligent, discerning question.)

A mouse click. That’s right, users who keep track of appointments in Outlook’s Calendar need only click their mouse to make an appointment a time entry in BillQuick Assistant. Employee ID, activity ID, project ID, start and end time, and more are handled automatically.

Okay, okay, no shoving. Line starts on the left. BillQuick Sales is this way. They’ll give you more information by phone at (888) 245-5669 or by email.

Winking Eye on the Web

Visualize it. Numbers constantly changing like a winking eye. Tantalizing, like eye-candy flirting with you from the next table at the Nouvea Café. You smile.

Only it’s not a person you’re smiling at. It’s time. Your time. Billable time, measured to the second and rounded to the minimum time increment you want -- automatically.

It’s BillQuick Timer, you say? Good guess. It’s stopwatch numbers do wink. It captures billable time. But, alas, it’s not BillQuick Timer.

It’s BillQuick Web i Timer!

Soon to be in beta, users of BillQuick Web i Time & Expense will have a new tool to capture every second to be billed to clients. No phone call missed, no impromptu meeting stealing minutes of your day. Not only in your office. Not only in the satellite office. Anywhere you’re connected to the Internet and your firm’s Web i web server.

Web i Timer includes all the features you know and love in BillQuick Timer.

An alarm. Adjustable recorded time. Click and change stopwatch minutes and hours, for when you forget to stop it and walk away. (Yes, we all do it once in a while).

All the time entry fields, from Project and Activity IDs to Extra and Overtime flags.

And the memo pad and spell checker. Thank goodness for the spell checker.

When your task is complete, click to send photons zipping across the Internet highways and byways to your web server. Bong! Another profitable time entry on the books!

If you want to check out the BillQuick Web i Timer beta, call BillQuick Sales at (888) 245-5669 or email us.

Free Web i Time & Expense Upgrade

That’s right, buckos, BillQuick Web i Time & Expense, v. 4.0.34, is available and ready for download by current users. Lots of fixes. New features!

It’s getting hard to breath. (Gasp!) So much new stuff. (Gasp!) So much that users asked for. Somebody's been listening to us!


Change, Change, Change. 
Projects Always Change.

Billable time should be maximized. And administrative unbillable time should hover as low as possible. Those are essential goals in the competitive world of professional services. Every little bit helps.

"Fast" takes on new meaning when changes that would otherwise take minutes or hours can literally be done in seconds.

BillQuick's Project module includes Project Change, a function that allows you to modify fields at one time in multiple project profiles. And it’s practical, not a once-in-a-while tool.

Here’s how Project Change works: A field contains Value A, say Project Status = Active. You want to change Value A to Value B, or Project Status = Completed. 

To change A-to-B: 

1. Click on the Project screen.
2. Select Completed from the Project Status drop-down list on the Change panel.
3. Make sure the checkbox is marked.
4. Click .

Not only fast, but simple too. (Don’t you wish other software had a clue about the real world?)

Project Change can modify one or multiple fields in a single pass, however, all fields changes must be A-to-B. If some fields need to change from A-to-C or A-to-D, then you need to run Project Change multiple times. It's a few more seconds, and still minutes and hours saved. 

If your needs demand more complex changes, QuickUpdate may be the solution. Call BillQuick Sales at (888) 245-5669 or email us. 

Eyes -- Communicating Billing Information

Eyes communicate the aesthetics of an invoice, as well as substantive information, to the brain. Content organization may be the reason a client wants your invoices delivered in a specific format. Aesthestics may be why you prefer that special invoice layout. It communicates the professional image unique to your firm.

Whatever the reason, BillQuick can handle it. Standard, we include over 50 different invoice templates from which to choose. You can modify any standard template or create your own using Crystal Reports 9.0. (We also offer template development services. Contact BillQuick Support at (310) 602-4030 or email us.)

Global template choices for all projects are made on the Templates tab of the System Settings screen. 

To assign a global template:

1. On the System Setting-Templates tab, click . 
2. From the Select Report File dialog, choose the desired invoice template.
3. Click .
4. Back on the System Settings screen, click .

If necessary, you can override the global setting for particular projects, assigning a different template on the Billings tab of the Project screen. To assign a project-specific template:

1. On the Project-Billing tab, select Custom from the drop-down list for the Invoice Type.
2. Click to the right.
3. From the Select Report File dialog, choose the desired invoice template.
4. Click .
5. Back on the Project screen, click .

If you’re not sure what a particular invoice looks like, click View on the Templates tab. Also, BillQuick 2003 User Guide contains sample invoices, and samples can be viewed online. In addition, you can view an invoice with your own data. Simply change the template on the Project-Billing screen, then re-print or re-preiview an existing invoice; there is no need to reverse and re-process to see an existing invoice on a different template. Repeat the process until you find the invoice that communicates the way you and your client wish.

Need a new PC?

Order your BillQuick 2003 Ready PC from our authorized Hardware affiliate Great Lakes Electronic Distributing Inc.

Thanks from the 
BQE Software Marketing Team

May Success Follow You . . . Always