BQE Software eLetter
April 2005
In This Issue
1. Announcing . . . BillQuick 2005!
2. Now
Estimates in BillQuick 2005
3. Manage
Timers from the Windows Desktop
4.
BillQuick Training - New and Improved!
5.
BillQuick Quizzer - $50 For The Right Answer
6. Current
BillQuick 2005 Release Information
Announcing . . .
BillQuick 2005!
See why our pride is overflowing.
Starting at 9 a.m. Pacific Time, Thursday, April 14, BillQuick
2005 will be available for downloading.
How do you get your copy of BillQuick 2005?
Gold Support Customers, Prepaid Upgrade Customers
If you have a current Gold Support Contract
for BillQuick or you purchased the BillQuick upgrade during the
pre-release promotion during March 2005, watch your email. You
will receive an explanation how to download the upgrade as well as your BillQuick 2005
license and registration keys.
In addition, if you have Gold Support for various add-on
software, you will receive email describing how to upgrade the
modules to their 2005 versions.
For customers who purchase a manual and/or asked for a BillQuick
CD to shipped, BQE Software begins shipping Friday, April 15th.
Other BillQuick Customers, BillQuick Prospects
Want to check the new Document Management? Retainer History? Timer
Control? Write-Up/Write-Down? BillQuick's new integration with Intuit Payroll Services
Complete Payroll or new QuickBooks integration features? Maybe you're interested in
another of the 150 new and improved
BillQuick features.
Maybe you're just curious.
That's okay. Come to www.BillQuick.com and download a trial copy of BillQuick 2005. While you're there, download a trial
copy of Agent 2005, BillQuick Palm or CE 2005, or any of the other BillQuick family of
modules.
Thinking about Upgrading?
Here's what you do. . .
Check out the new and improved features.
Download
a trial copy of BillQuick. It installs in a different directory than BillQuick 2004. Just
don't convert your database yet.
Watch your mail box. You will receive
an upgrade offer in the next few days.
Call BillQuick Sales at 888-245-5669
and order your upgrade (we're confident you will).
Now Estimates in BillQuick 2005
You asked for it, you got it.
By definition an estimate feature should allow you to list
activities and expenses and amounts for each. Clients need to see the details before
signing off. Too often that's where estimates end in many software applications.
Not in BillQuick. Estimates come alive. In addition to Service and
Expense tabs for viewing different aspects of the estimate, you can track Percent Done for
each activity and expense. Nice touch, but there's more.
With a click, you can turn an estimate into a manual invoice.
Moreover, BillQuick can use the Percent Done to calculate the bill amount for the invoice.
Wait, there's still more. BillQuick also tracks previously billed
amounts. Your client can see the total billed to date based on work completed AND what's
been billed. With this more complete information, your invoice better communicates the
situation.
Do It From The Windows Desktop
Timer is a very popular tool for capturing time. Multi-tasking
staff and managers reports increases of 5% to 25% more billable hours per month. One
partner who switched from a paper timesheet to Timer - he has five to nine Timers open at
one time. They help him capture 15% more billable hours. Annualized at his partner billing
rate, that's over $17,000 in additional revenue to his firm.
Not a bad way ROI on BillQuick software, training, etc.
In addition to user interface changes in 2005, Timer now lets you
control all timers from the Windows Desktop.
When you open your first Timer, BillQuick automatically starts up
Timer Control. You see all open Timers, whether they are running or stopped, and elapsed
time for each one. In the status line you can see the code and description for the
activity being tracked.
From Timer Control you can start and stop any open timer, open a
new timer, and open BillQuick's Desktop to add a memo, log time and perform other time
tracking tasks.
So, do it from the Windows Desktop.
BillQuick Training - New and Improved!
What? You thought we only improved the BillQuick Family of
software?!?
No way, my friends.
BQE Software expanded and refined its training offerings. Rather
than traditional Introduction, Intermediate and Advanced courses, BillQuick training is
now role-based. In addition, for the first time we offer training for two valuable add-on
modules, Agent 2005 and Web i Time & Expense.
Not all past BillQuick training courses were retired. BQE Software
continues to offer QuickBooks Integration and Advanced 1-on-1 (repurposed and renamed)
training courses.
The BillQuick
2005 roster of training courses include:
New Employee
Orientation
BillQuick for
Staff
BillQuick for
Project Managers
BillQuick for
Principals/Partners
BillQuick for
Billing Staff
BillQuick<->QuickBooks
Integration
BillQuick<->Small
Business Accounting Integration
BillQuick
Administrator Training (in development)
Train the Internal
Trainer (in development)
BillQuick 1-on-1
Training
Web i
Time & Expense Training
Agent 2005
Training
Why role-based training? Because you want and need information
that is directly pertinent to your job.
Staff and subcontractors need to know how to enter time and
expense entries into BillQuick - fast, efficient, and accurate. Ideally, you want to enter
them through a function that is "easy." Of course, what is easy for you may be
unfamiliar to someone else. So the trainer shows you options. By the end of the course,
you will be ready to test drive the three time entry screens, maybe even choose one right
away. Also, you will know how to submit time and expenses for approval, how to enter
extended memos for entries, print verification reports, and much more.
Similarly, project managers need to understand the controls they
have over projects, from contract types (billing methods), contract amounts, budgets and
special bill rates to project management reports, pre- and post-billing profitability, and
more. You need to know how to maximize the timeliness of information so corrective action
can be taken but without impacting accuracy. You want to know what reports are available,
where the information comes from, and so on. You need both a 100 foot view and a view from
the trenches. That's the job.
In contrast, principals and partners need a similar 100 foot view,
knowing how information is captured and flows through BillQuick, and how it flows to
QuickBooks or Microsoft Small Business Accounting. You need to understand billing
decisions from the point of setting up a project with a service fee schedule and custom
invoice format to applying percent complete or other decisions to a billing record in
order to generate an invoice that communicates exactly how you want. And you need
information - reports - that help you manage operations and your firm overall. Your job is
running the practice (and maybe being chief bottle washer too).
That's what drives the new BillQuick 2005 Training. If you have
two jobs, take two courses.
And after you learn what you know and know what you don't know,
you can purchase custom training for your specific needs. BillQuick 1-on-1 Training is a
3-hour block of time during which one of our National Certified BillQuick Trainers
will discuss and meet your needs. And if you need more time, just purchase another 3-hour
block of time.
Of course, if you prefer on-site training for your staff or
yourself, our National Certified
BillQuick Trainers are available.
To learn more, click
here.
Monthly BillQuick Quizzer
Win $50!
Test time, ladies and gentlemen.
Caution! Beware of tricks!
Can you tell if there is a trick in the question below or not?
Willing to try for 50 BillQuick Bucks?
Ready? Pencils up . . .
Assuming you have been granted the appropriate security
permission, how do you change regular time entries into overtime time entries?
A. Mark the Overtime box on the Sheet View screen for each
time entry.
B. Highlight the time entries you want to change on the Sheet
View screen, click the Change button, change the Overtime flag to True on the Change
Panel, and click Okay.
C. Mark the Overtime box on the Calendar View screen for each
time entry.
D. Mark the Overtime box on the Timer screen for the time
entry.
E. A, B and D
F. A and C
G. A and D
H. B and C
I. C and D
J. A, B and C
K. None of the above
Hurry and send your answer to BQ-Quiz@bqe.com. You could be a
winner!
Current BillQuick Release Information
BillQuick 2005 and QuickBooks 2005
BillQuick 2005 has been tested with QuickBooks
2005. Everything is A-OK.
Macintosh Compatibility
Quick reminder: BQE Software is compatible with the Macintosh in
two ways: The Web i add-on module or by using Virtual PC.
Latest BillQuick 2005 Version
BillQuick 2005 v. 6.0.88.
Latest BillQuick 2004 Version
BillQuick 2004 v. 5.0.100. Click to view the
changes.
If you have Internet access but do not allow
BillQuick to automatically download updates (you turned off AutoUpdate in the Other 2 tab
on the Preferences screen), go to the File menu and select Get Updates. When you exit
BillQuick, the update automatically installs.
If desired, you can download
the latest BillQuick 2004 update from the BillQuick web site. Click Save when
prompted. Next, run the setup program from the folder in which it was saved.
Happy BillQuicking!
Thanks from the
BQE Software Marketing Team
May Success Follow You
. . . Always |
