AM-Win Support Solutions

In our last two newsletters we have looked at the Control system in AM-Win.

This month we are looking at the Business Options tab in the control system explaining the Job / Invoice Tab window where you will find the recurring job checkbox, job card print window, and invoice print options.

Control File Business Options

Open Others>Control System>Business Options>Business Options and the following screen will appear:-

JOB/INVOICE TAB

The Last Invoice, Job, Quote, Order, Trans, Supp Trans (last Supplier transaction), Last Stocktake Batch, Asset, Job Line and Membership and Unique ID numbers will automatically appear, as a starting point for logging transactions in the system. These numbers may be changed by typing in a new number into the fields; however, the numbers may only be INCREASED. You cannot enter a lower number than the number which appears on the screen.

The ability to change these numbers will allow you to continue your Invoice Numbers etc., from a previous system, if required. Changing these numbers is generally not recommended once you have commenced trading, using AM-Win.

Reset Last Number 

 

This button allows you to automatically get the last Invoice Number, Job Number, and Transaction Numbers etc. which were used by the system. Select the Button to “Reset Last No”Control_System. This will load the numbers onto the screen. You can then Save these details into the Control File using the “Save” button.

This feature is used when users get ‘duplicate key’ errors and you are unsure what document numbers are causing the problem. It is advisable that the document numbers not be reset without discussion with your local support staff.

Recurring Jobs

This is the latest feature that has been added to AM-Win. If this option is ticked, a new document type will be available in the new Job Invoicing screen called Rec.

This document type is designed for Invoices which need to be re-invoiced to Customers on a regular basis. At this stage, the system is assuming a Due Date of a monthly charge, however, the Due Date can be manually changed and the Recurring Invoices printed more often if required.

The information on the original Invoice entry will be retained for all subsequent Invoice prints. This is a big time saver if you are charging out monthly rentals or any type of regular charge to your Customers. Once the Recurring Jobs have been entered into AM-Win, they can be finalised, but will remain in the system as Un-finalised Recurring Jobs, ready to be finalised again and again.

You can manually finalise your Invoices at any time through the front Invoicing screen, however, we do have available a special screen in which you can tag the Invoices you wish to finalise and when processed, the Print Option screen will appear for each Invoice, so you can select to either print or email each Invoice, depending on the Customer.

Please contact your support person to assist with creating this new icon. This option is fully functional but AM-Win will be developing this function further to make the Printing/Emailing function a more automatic process for Recurring Jobs.

Job card print window options

Skip Job card Print Window - When choosing to print a Job Card, the Print Options screen automatically appears, allowing you to change printing options or the printer. If you don’t wish to have the Print Options screen appear at all when printing a Job card, then this box should be ticked. Note that a Default printer for Job cards can be set in the Printer Settings.

Print Job card Authorisation Message - Tick this box if you want the work authority text to always print on Job cards. This enables the Customer to sign for the work to be done prior to starting the Job, so there is no questionable charge on the Invoice when the Customer returns. Leave this box blank if you never want this text to print on Job cards. An example of the Job card Authorisation is below. This Format is able to be changed in the Control System in the Invoice Text Lines & Job Authorisation area.

Don’t Print Prices on Job Card - If this box is ticked, no Stock Pricing will print on Job cards. This is dependent on whether you require your workshop staff to see Invoice Pricing.

Print Owner instead of Bill To details on Job cards - Usually when an Invoice has a Bill To which is different to the Customer, the Bill To details show up on the Job card. If you want the Customer details to show up on Job cards instead of the Bill To Customer details, then tick this box e.g. in the case of Mr. Smith owning the Job Item and Fleetcard paying the Invoice, Mr. Smith will show on the Job card instead of Fleetcard. This will also provide contact details for Mr. Smith if there are any queries on the work to be performed.

Print Job Item Notes on Job card - If this box is ticked any notes that are on file for the Job Item will print automatically on the bottom of the Job card. For example, if you have notes on file for a vehicle which requires having brakes checked next service, then, if this box is ticked, this note will appear on the next Job card to be printed for that particular Job Item.

Print Job Item Specs on Job card - If this box is ticked, the system will print out a Spec Sheet pertaining to that Job Item, if any are set up in the system. A Job Item Spec Sheet relates to a setup of various headings, e.g. fuel filter, oil filter, type of oil etc., to setup a standard sheet relating to parts/specifications required for a specific make and model. It then shows the Stock Code for fuel filter, oil filter etc. The setting up of Spec Sheets can be found under the Tools menu, then Job Item Spec – labels & database and is covered in the Advanced Training Manual.

Turn of Job card Tear Off - Cardboard Job card paper is available, which has the front side clear for printing of Job card details. The back of the form has various lined sections to enable you to record time clock times, record additional parts used with qty and price fields etc. The bottom of this form has a tear off section which has the Customer details and Job card Number printed on. This section can be separated and attached to a piece of equipment for tracking purposes.

Print Job card Payment Details - If this option is ticked when a Job card is printed the following details will print at the bottom of the Job card, allowing the Customer to choose the Method with which they will be using to pay for the Job.

 

No. of Ruled Lines to print on Job card - Use the up and down arrows next to the “No. of ruled lines to print on Job Card” box to set the default number of ruled lines which you would like to print on Job cards. These lines may be used by the mechanic to advise additional information regarding the Job card, such as additional work, parts etc. Generally, for a standard type Job, 6 lines are normally sufficient.

Job Authorisation String – You are now able to create your own Job Authorisation String. (Refer to "Turn of Job card Tear Off" above).  In fact you can have multiple Strings to choose from. The Job Authorisation String is a small message authorising the work on the Job to be completed, and prints at the bottom of the Job card. The Customer can then sign below this Authorisation to approve the work to be completed. The Job Authorisation String can be created from the Invoice Text Lines & Job Authorisation section of the Control System. Nominate the Text String number you would like to use.

INVOICE PRINT WINDOW OPTIONS

Ignore Print Preview Window - If this is ticked, when you click on the Print Button with Invoicing, Reports etc., the ‘Print Options’ window will appear. Once the ‘Go’ button is selected on the Print Option window, the document will print automatically, without showing you a Print Preview first. If you wish to see a Preview first, leave this option un-ticked. There will remain some sections within AM-Win, where a Print Preview will always happen regardless of this setting, such as Customer History where invoice details may need to be viewed, but not necessarily printed.

Show GST on Line Items on the Invoice - You can set your Invoices so that each time you print an Invoice the GST value appears line by line for each item on your Invoice. Therefore when the Print Option window appears after you have finalised an Invoice the “Show GST on Line Item” tick box will be automatically ticked.

Print Business Details on Inv’s, Letters, Statements/Crdts - If this option is ticked, your Business Details will print on Invoices, Credit Notes, Quotes, Letters and Statements. If you have preprinted stationery then you will leave this option un-ticked.

Do not print company name on Inv or POS - If this box is ticked, the company name will not print on Invoices. This option should be used if you have preprinted stationery which already has your company name only printed. This option would generally be used for a franchise chain.

Print Line Amounts on Invoice - If this box is ticked, then the individual line totals for each Stock Item will be printed on the Invoice per line. If it is not ticked, only the quantity of each Stock will be printed on the Invoice and an overall total for the Invoice.

Print Labour Hours on Invoice - If this box is ticked, then the quantity (number of hours) of Labour will appear on the Invoice per line, as well as the dollar value amount for that Labour line. If it is not ticked, then a Labour dollar will appear on the Invoice per line, but not a Labour quantity (number of hours).

Combine Labour Hours - If this box is ticked, then the Invoice will appear with only one total labour amount at the bottom of the Invoice. This will be the accumulated total of all Labour lines entered on the Invoice. If this is not ticked, then a separate amount will appear for each line of Labour on the Customer Invoice. As an example, view below the individual line entries on the Job, then the result on the printed Invoice.

 

Print Qty and unit price on the combined labour line – This option is used in conjunction with the option of Combine Labour Hours. When the Labour hours are combined on the Job they normally only show a total dollar value of the Labour. If this option is ticked, then the overall quantity and average price per hour will be displayed, as well as the overall dollar value for the Labour for the Job.

Print Stock Codes on Invoice - If this box is ticked then the Stock Code will appear next to the Stock Item on the Invoice, otherwise the Stock Part Number will not be printed at all. 

Business Tips

Word of Mouth Marketing on Steroids.

Growing by word of mouth is one of the smartest ways you can go…

Why Word of mouth as a business strategy?

Highly profitable: Very cost effective, delivers what customers want to listen to, gives users a massive competitive advantage in the market place and has the potential to grow exponentially.

Market driven: People love to talk. People believe trusted advisors over adverts by a ratio of 2000 to 1. People love to provide solutions to other people’s problems. They love to be seen as the person to go to for advice on who is the best to use for a product or service. If you solve people’s problems they will talk about you.

Customer retention: Price is not always the driver. Value is of much greater importance. E.g. ‘not only is the product or service good, but the product support, end user involvement, recognition of our issues and the tailor made solution is worth the extra we pay for it’.

Product customization: Customers love when their own ideas have been listened to and incorporated into a design solution. They feel as though they own the product or service and are keen to share their success with others. 

Staff retention: People love working for a company where customers love the product or service, can easily identify that a difference is being made, where their input is asked for, used and respected. Happy staff = happy customers.

Customer preference: We all prefer to use products or services that have been recommended to us. 

Problem solving: Who are the best people to resolve a problem with a product or service? The designers or those who use it every day? Customers prefer openness and honesty and respect when someone asks them for help. Why? Because it is in their own interest.  

Business processes: With WOMM as a business strategy, business processes become more customer oriented rather than cost oriented. No company ever grew by just cutting costs. Product support becomes a marketing opportunity not just another cost centre. New product development involves customers; sales now includes moving customers from satisfied to raving fans; staff now have the authority to resolve customer issues quickly and see the results making a difference to the end user.

Spreading the word

The 21^st Century has come up Social Media Marketing. a totally different concept of word of mouth marketing.

Social media is like word-of-mouth marketing on steroids. Where once word of mouth relied on your customers talking to each other over a drink or dinner and mentioning your services and their experience with you in conversation by chance you can now, with the use of a well targeted social media campaign ensure that your message goes out to an incredibly wide audience.

Is Social Media the Future of Marketing?

Not exactly; ‘social media’ is the past, the present and the future of marketing! Social marketing really is nothing new; what’s changing is the mediums in which it occurs and our ability to engage with these mediums. Before mass marketing, how did most people decide which products and services to buy? Simple, just ask a friend.

People’s purchasing decisions were based on recommendations from trusted sources rather than direct appeals from the businesses themselves. Ask anyone in sales what their best leads have been and their answer will be ‘referrals’ every time. The reason for this is that the hard work of earning customer trust has already been done for you; the customer trusts their friend and therefore already trusts your business.

So, if the majority of leads coming into your business are referrals from people endorsing your product, the effect on your bottom line is going to be substantial. Referrals have the best conversion rate of all enquiries because the ground work has already been done for you. They’re basically already sold, and this is the whole theory behind a solid social media strategy; taking the power of word of mouth and multiplying it.

The idea behind creating a social media presence on mediums like Facebook is that it gives your customers the ability (and hopefully, the desire!) to recommend your business to their family, peers and friends alike with the click of a button. In this sense, you don’t have to wait for a person to ask their friend to recommend a certain product or service; they’ve already Liked you on Facebook or linked to your blog or Twitter. The potential customer has already seen the referral through their online networks without needing to ask for it.

A full page press ad or billboard sign just doesn’t have the same audience pull it used to; and it’s entirely a one-way communication with your potential clients. Social media marketing is interactive and powerful. You can answer customer questions and concerns in a transparent and positive way. You can build trust and create raving ‘fans’ for your business that will promote you within their networks. With the arrival of the internet and online social media, that’s a lot of people and some serious word of mouth.

Windows Tips

Interactive Tutorials from Microsoft

While doing some research for this newsletter we found two Microsoft sites containing interactive guides that may be useful for Office 2007 and Office 2010 users.

Office 2007 user interface

Use Office 2003 menus to learn the Office 2007 user interface

These well made interactive guides show you where your Office 2003 menu and toolbar commands are located in Office 2007. Covers Access 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Excel 2007, Word 2007, Outlook 2007.

The guides are interactive and can be downloaded for later use. 

Office 2010 user interface

Use Office 2003 menus to learn where menu and toolbar commands are in Office 2010 and related products.

These well made interactive guides show you where your Office 2003 menu and toolbar commands are located in Office 2010. Covers Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Project, Access, Infopath, OneNote, Publisher and Visio.

Click here for the Office 2007 versions   -

Click here for the Office 2010 Versions 

Printable Maps

If you require a printable list of all menu and toolbar commands and their new locations, download and open the menu-to-ribbon reference workbook for your product from the above links. All of these open as Microsoft Excel workbooks, so you'll need to have a version of Excel on your computer to use them.

Customise the Quick Access Toolbar

It's great when you can create a menu somewhere that allows you to access your most used commands quickly without wading through different menu levels.

Enter the Quick Access Toolbar found in your office applications.

The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) can be customized to hold the most frequently used commands in a particular program. Each Office program is configured independently, as it will have particular tasks unique to that program. Here's the way to configure the Quick Access Toolbar in Word.

Let's add the “Quick Print” option. This will let you print documents with a single click, rather than having to go through the print dialogue box.

Click the down arrow at the end of the QAT to open the customization settings, then click on "Quick Print" to add

 

The Quick Print icon is now in the Quick Access Toolbar. Now, we can add some more commands by clicking on “More Commands”.

 

The check mark next to "Quick Print" indicates that the option is turned on. Select "More Commands" for greater customisation.

The “Word Options” window will open, allowing you to select other commands found in other Word Ribbon tabs. Simply select the command that interests you in the “Choose Command” box, and click the “Add >>” button in the middle. The new command will show up in the QAT on the right.

Shift+End to Delete a Line of Text

This shortcut is a winner if you need to delete a line of text.

Place your cursor at the beginning of the line you want to delete and press Shift+End.   This selects the line of text to be deleted. Now press delete or backspace to finish the job! The line is deleted and you're at the beginning of the line ready to type.

Excel print area tips

Define print area

Excel allows you to define easily the portion of your worksheet that should be printed. To set the print area, follow these steps:

1. Select the worksheet you want to print.
2. Display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon.
3. Click the small icon at the lower-right of the Page Setup group. Excel displays the Page Setup dialog box.
4. Make sure the Sheet tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

   

   Figure 1. The Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

5. In the Print Area field enter a range representing what you want printed.
6. Click on OK.

In step 5 you can enter either an actual cell range (such as A2:G35), or you can enter a name that has been assigned to a range. Excel even allows you to specify multiple parts of the same worksheet that should be printed. To do this, simply enter the ranges (or names) separated by commas, for example, B3:F14,B19:F30.

You can also use the mouse to select the print area. To do this, click first in the Print Area field (this causes the insertion point to appear in the field). Then use the mouse to select the cells that you want included. As you select a range of cells, the address of the range is automatically shown in the Print Area field.

Clearing the Print Area

Earlier in this article we showed you how you can set a print area within a worksheet. This special area is used to define exactly what range you want printed. At some point you may need to delete the print area. (By "delete" I mean to get rid of the special area designation, not the information contained within that area.)

To clear the print area, follow these steps:

1. Display the Page Setup tab of the ribbon.
2. In the Page Setup group, click Print Area. Excel displays a menu containing two choices.
3. Choose Clear Print Area from the menu.

Print Multiple Print Areas on a Single Printed Page

Margaret set up her worksheet just the way she wanted, and then defined two non-contiguous [separate] areas on the worksheet as her print area. She first selected A1:C5, then held down the Ctrl key as she selected E3:G5. This selection was then defined as the print area. When Margaret printed the worksheet, each of the selected ranges (A1:C5 and E3:G5) printed, but they printed on separate sheets of paper. Margaret was hoping to get them on a single sheet of paper.

This happens because Excel automatically prints separate ranges on separate sheets of paper; there is no way to configure Excel to do this printing differently. There are a couple of things you can try as workarounds, however.

First, you could print multiple pages per sheet of paper. Follow these steps

1. Set your two ranges as your print area, as you have already done.
2. Press Ctrl+P. Excel displays the Print dialog box.
3. Make sure the destination printer is properly selected at the top of the dialog box.
4. Click the Properties button. Excel displays the Properties dialog box for the selected printer.
5. Browse through the available tabs and controls. You are searching for one that allows you to set multiple pages per sheet of paper. Set this control so that 2 pages are printed per sheet of paper.
6. Click OK to close the Properties dialog box.
7. Click OK to print the worksheet.

The result, for most printers, is that Excel combines two printed pages on a single sheet of paper. It does this by reducing the size of each of the two pages and printing them in landscape mode on the page. If you cannot find a control that allows you to specify multiple pages per sheet (step 5), it may be that your printer driver doesn't offer this capability. In that case you won't be able to use this workaround and will have to try the next one.

The next solution involves simply creating a "print" worksheet. This sheet can contain references to the original data ranges, combining them on a single worksheet. You can then print the consolidation worksheet, as it will contain only the information you want sent to the printer.

A third option involves using the Camera tool. This tool allows you to capture dynamic pictures of different areas of your worksheet. The Camera tool is not available, by default, on any of Excels ribbons. Instead, you need to add it to the Quick Access toolbar.

1. Click the Office button and then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.
2. At the left side of the dialog box click Customise. (See Figure 1.)

   

   The Commands tab of the Customise dialog box.

3. Using the Choose Commands From drop-down list, choose All Commands.
4. Scroll through the Commands list until you find Camera. (Oddly enough, it has a small camera icon to the left of the command.) Select the command by clicking on it.
5. Click the Add button. The Camera command moves to the right side of the dialog box.
6. Click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.

You are now ready to use the Camera tool. Follow these steps:

1. Select the cells or range of which you want a picture taken. For instance, select A1:C5, the first part of the area you want to print.
2. Click on the Camera tool. The mouse pointer changes to a large plus sign.
3. Change to a different worksheet, preferably a blank one.
4. Click where you want the top left-hand corner of the picture to appear. The picture is inserted as a graphic on the worksheet.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4, but select the other range you want printed (E3:G5).

Now you can manipulate the two pictures the same as you would any other graphic—stretch, resize, crop, or move them; whatever. The picture is not really a picture, however, even though it behaves as one. Instead, it is dynamic, meaning that if the contents of the original ranges are changed, then what is shown in the picture changes, as well. You can also print the worksheet containing the camera pictures, and they will appear on a single page.

Note:

Please note that we do not provide support for our Word and Excel tips as they are provided by a third party. If you need further information why not try using Google - Cut and paste the heading of our tip into Google's search box. You'll be amazed at the information available.

Whoops

Jokes

The Church Dinner

A group of friends from the Cottonwood Baptist Church had a get together on a regular basis at each others homes, have dinner, socialise and play games.

When it came time for Al and Janet to be the hosts, Janet wanted to outdo all the others.

Janet decided to have mushroom-smothered steak. But when she saw how much they cost , she told her husband, "We'll have to forget the mushrooms - they cost too much."

He said, "Why don't you go down in the pasture and pick some of those mushrooms? There are plenty in the creek bed."

She said, "No, some wild mushrooms are poisonous."

He said, "Well, I see the cows eating them and they're OK.

So Janet decided to give it a try. She picked a bunch, washed, sliced, and diced them for her smothered steak. Then she went out on the back porch and gave Ol' Spot (the yard dog) a double handful. Ol' Spot ate every bite.

All morning long, Janet watched Ol' Spot and the wild mushrooms didn't seem to affect him, so she decided to use them. The meal was a great success. Janet even hired a lady from town to help her serve. She had on a white apron and a fancy little cap on her head

After everyone had finished, they relaxed, socialised and played dominoes.

About then, the helper lady from town, came in and whispered in Janet's ear. She said, "Mrs. Williams, Ol' Spot just died." Janet went into hysterics. After she finally calmed down, she called the doctor and told him what had happened.

The doctor said, "That's bad, but I think we can take care of it. I'll call for an ambulance and I'll be there as quickly as possible. We'll give everyone enemas and we'll pump out everyone's stomach. Everything will be fine. Just keep them calm."

Soon they could hear the siren as the ambulance was coming down the road. The EMTs and the doctor had their suitcases, syringes and a stomach pump.

One by one, they took each person into the bathroom, gave them an enema and pumped out their stomach. After the last one was finished, the doctor came out and said, "I think everything will be fine now," and he left.

They were all looking pretty weak sitting around the living room when the helper lady came in and said, "You know, that fellow that ran over Ol' Spot never even stopped.”

Declining memories

An elderly couple had been experiencing declining memories, so they decided to take a power memory class where one is taught to remember things by association.

A few days after the class, the old man was outside talking with his neighbor about how much the class helped him.

"What was the name of the Instructor?" asked the neighbor.

"Oh, ummmm, let's see," the old man pondered. "You know that flower, you know, the one that smells really nice but has those prickly thorns, what's that flower's name?"

"A rose?" asked the neighbor.

"Yes, that's it," replied the old man. He then turned toward his house and shouted, "Hey, Rose, what's the name of the Instructor we took the memory class from?"

Until next month

 

Office, Excel and Windows logos are the property of Microsoft and are used for reference points only.