Free Webinars on YOUR schedule! They're here...

Want to learn something? Over the years, we’ve offered a continuing series of educational webinars on various software and accounting functions, but we have always had a challenge getting people to show up! I’m sure that quite a few of you have heard me complain more than once about the relatively low attendance (considering that we have several thousands of users!) at these free webinars. When asked why, users consistently respond that either the time frame doesn’t work or they simply don’t have time during the day to attend any webinar because of the demands of the job.

Bear in mind that these are not presentations where we’re trying to sell you something. They’re really not! They are about fascinating subjects like yearend closing and bank reconciliations and inventory tracking. We think of these webinars as a win-win situation. They are good for our users because they provide information about how something works or how to do something and they are free! They are good for us because if we can provide answers to commonly asked questions in a one-to-many format (one of us to many of you), that’s more efficient for us – and results in you getting your questions answered and us spending less time on the phone answering the same question multiple times.

So here’s what we’re doing. From now on, we’re recording all our webinars and making them available to you online. That means you can view/listen to them when it fits in YOUR schedule. Maybe it’s before or after school. Maybe it’s while you’re at home. It doesn’t matter because now the recordings of the webinars are available on our website (go to the Training tab/Recorded Webinars). Try http://bluebearsoft.com/training-webinars-archived.htm.

Want a shortcut? This is a list of the recorded webinars we’ve done so far, and we’re adding to this number every month. These are the titles, along with the links and a subtle hint about how many minutes they run so you can judge your time accordingly.

SchoolBooks: Receipts and Bank Deposits
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/SchoolBooks%20Receipts%20and%20Bank%20Deposits/lib/playback.html
September 2009 / Time – 24:57

Tracks: Year End Processing
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/Tracks%20Year%20End/lib/playback.html
August 2009 / Time – 29:27

Tracks: Tracking Student Store Inventory
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/Tracking%20Student%20Store%20Inventory/lib/playback.html
August 2009 / Time – 12:25

Tracks: Fall Registration Made Easier
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/Tracks%20Fall%20Registration/lib/playback.html
July 2009 / Time 30:58

SchoolBooks: YearEnd Processing
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/SchoolBooks%20Yearend%20Processing/lib/playback.html
July 2009 / Time 22:31

WebStore Session 1: Pre-Wizard Setup
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/001%20WebStore%20Pre-Wizard%20Setup/lib/playback.html
May 2009 / Time 16:33

WebStore Session 2: Setup Wizard
http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/002%20WebStore%20Wizard%20and%20Setup%20Options/lib/playback.html
May 2009 / Time 24:57

WebStore Session 3: Item and Department Maintenance http://bluebearsoft.com/webinars/003%20WebStore%20Item%20and%20Dept%20Maintenance/lib/playback.html
May 2009 / Time 26:57

You can visit these recorded webinars anytime you want. Use them for training new staff on the software, or as simple refreshers for functions you only do sporadically (like yearend stuff). And when you do view them, we’d love to hear your feedback. Did you find them helpful? What other topics would you like to see next? What could we do to improve either our delivery or the content of each webinar? Remember that the only reason these recorded webinars exist is because of you.

Ideal School Answering Machine Message

It’s back to school time and the most important thing right now is that we all remember how to laugh! Listen to this! In my opinion, this is what every school needs to have on their answering machine. This is billed as “Actual message on a school answering machine in Australia” – but I think it’s appropriate for anywhere. See if you agree.

Do you use it? That long, 60-character Purpose field in SchoolBooks

We’ve always prided ourselves for being responsive to our users and adding requested enhancements on a fairly regular basis. In an attempt to keep our software up-to-date and fresh, we usually add new features, new sorting options, new reports, or something fun (you name it) about once a year. Then every once in a while, we come back and check to see who is actually using the new stuff we added.

In May 2008, one of the Version 5.9 changes was the lengthening of the Purpose (Description) field from 30 to 60 characters. We increased the length in Purchase Orders, Invoice Entry, Receipting/Bank Deposits – in short, everywhere throughout the software. Users had been telling us for years that they needed more room for longer and more detailed descriptions. We had held off for quite a while because it was a major change, requiring us to modify almost every data file, several of the screens, and to change the layouts on many of the reports. But we did it and that longer Purpose field has been out there in the world now for a year and a half.

So – here’s the question: How many of you out there regularly use more than the old 30 characters in your Purpose fields? Who out there is taking advantage of all that space to enter long, detailed descriptions of the transaction? Please comment and let me know. All feedback will be appreciated.

New Update Available for SchoolBooks WEB - Version 2.0

A new update is available for SchoolBooks WEB.

If you are a SchoolBooks WEB Customer, you should have received an email earlier today with the release notes. The list of release notes is VERY long because there were so many bug fixes and enhancements included. I would recommend you get it as soon as possible.

Here is my "Top Ten" list of highlights included in version 2.0:

• Tabbing in all screens has been enhanced so that you can use the Enter key to get to the next field.
• New Enhanced Reporting Engine that will allow multiple users to print reports and journals at the same time without errors.
• Improved scrolling on Bank Reconciliation screen.
• Added Receipt update window to create Bank Deposits from Receipts allowing the user to change the import type (summary or detail), date of deposit, and deposit bank.
• Added ability to choose which lines of a Purchase Order you want to pull onto an Invoice.
• Added ability to void Opening Bank Checks in Manual/Void Check Entry.
• Added new “Deposit Correction” type adjustment to the Adjustment Wizard.
• Added an “Address" tab for Purchase Order and Street Addresses in Vendor Maintenance. This means you can have a different address to print on your Purchase Orders for those vendors that have multiple addresses.
• Added Consolidated Vendor Check History Reports.
• Fixed the memo printing on Computer Checks.

Need a Refresher About Doing Year End?

Try these links to our "How To" Videos:

For Tracks: This video reviews hw to load your new students for 2009/2010, clear out last year's history and more - http://www.activeeducate.com/take-a-tour/dr-download-video.htm

For SchoolBooks: This video has everything you need to know about doing year end - http://www.activeeducate.com/take-a-tour/school-books-year-end-video.htm

Emergency? Who ya gonna call?

It’s 6pm and you’re almost finished with a very long day. You’ve installed the Tracks software on your laptop because you need an extra workstation for registration tomorrow, but now you discover something’s wrong. You click on Tracks and nothing happens. Yikes! What do you do? Who ya gonna call?

No, this isn’t a job for the Ghostbusters! And please - don’t just email your Account Manager – he/she may not see your email until morning. It’s time to remember that we have after hours support for emergencies – and that’s 24/7. How do you contact them? It’s easy. Call our regular support line at 1-888-490-1555. Listen to the message and you’ll hear the option to contact Emergency Support from that menu. Follow the directions and an actual live person (one of our senior support analysts) will call you back – in real time. We understand that sometimes challenges with software and equipment happen outside normal business hours – and we’re there to support you if and when it does. If you have an emergency – any emergency (picture a line of 300 students waiting restlessly) and you’re stuck, please call us and go to that emergency line. We’ll be there for you - we promise!

On that same note, our Support Team continues to maintain impressive low average wait times even here in the middle of August (typically our busiest phone season). Wait times for the How-To Queue are approximately 2-3 minutes and about 10-15 minutes for the Data Repair/Error Queue. It's not surprising that we’re getting lots of compliments from users about the short waits and we appreciate every single one of them. Thanks for being vocal about your approval!

So remember – if you have a problem or question, call or email Support. But if you have an emergency, don't email! Pick up the phone - no matter what time it is. We’ll be there to help!

New Update Available for Tracks and SchoolBooks Desktop - Version 6.05.18.619

A new update is available for SchoolBooks and Tracks Desktop.

This release installs an update to Crystal Reports to ensure compatibility on newer versions of Windows and some fixes for Client/Server systems. Check out the release notes for more information.