BQE Software eLetter
November 2004
In This Issue
1. BQE
Software Launch Partner for New Microsoft® Small Business Accounting
2. BillQuick
and AutoReporter Recognized by The Sleeter Group
3. Certified Payrolls and AIA Billing
4. Holiday Discounts from BQE Software
5. Monthly BillQuick Quizzer!
6. BillQuick Integrates with QuickBooks Online
7. Timeslips-to-BillQuick Conversion Again
8. BillQuick Customer Profile - Looking For a Better Way
9. Project Cloning - Shortcuts to Save Setup Time
10. Current BillQuick Release Information
BQE Software Selected as Launch
Partner for New Microsoft® Small Business Accounting
The secret is out.
BQE Software, Inc. has been selected by Microsoft as a Launch
Partner (one of six). In 2005 BillQuick
will integrate with Microsoft's new Small Business Accounting software, which will be
part of the Small Business Edition of Microsoft Office.
Like with Intuit QuickBooks, BillQuick will tightly integrate with
Microsoft Small Business Accounting. Again like BillQuick and QuickBooks, BillQuick and
Microsoft Small Business Accounting will work as a single solution.
BillQuick and AutoReporter Recognized by The Sleeter Group
BillQuick, BQE Software's flagship product, was selected by The
Sleeter Group, a nationally recognized leader in software training for accountants,
bookkeepers and small business owners, as the top product in the accountant and legal time
and billing market space---both for professionals to use and to sell to QuickBooks users
in the Professional Services Industry.
More, The
Sleeter Group selected AutoReporter for QuickBooks as one of the Ten Awesome
Add-ons for QuickBooks, recommending that all the accountants and consultants
attending the QuickBooks Consultants Conference in Boca Raton, FL, November 3-5, 2004,
adopt it and have their clients adopt it.
Douglas Sleeter, Founder and President of The Sleeter Group, said:
"We looked at a number of time and billing solutions. There are a few good ones out
there, but a good time and billing system MUST tightly integrate with the QuickBooks
accounting data. Our staff is impressed by BillQuick's value for accounting firms as well
as its ability to adapt to law, engineering, architectural and other professional firms.
BQE's track record also impressed our evaluators. And no package is more seamless with
QuickBooks than BillQuick."
Mr. Sleeter also said of AutoReporter for QuickBooks: "This
is the kind of technology that should be built into every QuickBooks client system. A
professional or a small business owner using QuickBooks can save an hour, two hours,
perhaps more, every month by having AutoReporter automatically produce and deliver via
email any QuickBooks report. Many QuickBooks users don't realize this kind of technology
is available. When they do, a whole new set of expectations will rise up."
Sunburst Software Solutions for Certified Payrolls and AIA Billing for
QuickBooks
Many BillQuick customers face the challenge-or hassle-of preparing
certified payrolls or submitting AIA Billing. One solution that integrates with QuickBooks
is Certified Payroll Solution. (CPS)
The key problem is red tape. Federal Davis-Bacon Regulations or
State Prevailing Wage laws mandate weekly filing of Certified Payroll Reports and
Statements of Compliance by contractors and subcontractors. CPS solves the problem by
automating the time-consuming task of manual completion of these documents. It uses
information already in your QuickBooks company file, saving hours in processing forms each
week. CPS produces completed forms (federal, state and local) that are ready to sign and
mail.
CPS features include:
- Certified Payroll Reports tailored specifically to the user's state
- Statement of Compliance
- Option to generate the Federal Form WH-347 and WH-348 for
individual jobs
- "No Work Performed" Payroll Reports
- 6 different EEOC or Work Utilization Reports
- Generic or custom created Union or "Bona Fide Plan"
Benefit Reports
Construction Application for Payment Solution (CAPS) solves the
AIA billing headache for many contractors as well. By utilizing the Estimating and
progress invoicing in QuickBooks, double entry is eliminated.
CAPS' features include:
- Print on plain paper and/or original AIA G702 and G703 documents
- Automatically calculates fixed or variable rate retainage contracts
- Generate Retainage Requisitions throughout the contract or after
the work has been completed
- Shows Sales Tax splits on taxable contracts based on tax on
original contract and tax on change orders
- Comes with over 30 contract documents that can be customized.
For more information, go to the Sunburst
Software Solutions web site or call them at (802) 895-4929.
Holiday Discounts from BQE Software
To show our holiday cheer, we're offering 20% off BillQuick online
training courses and 20% off an annual Standard Support Contract or Gold Support Contract.
Think of all that extra cash to spend on your loved ones. Take the
offer you want most---or both of them!
BillQuick Online Training Courses
20% Off BillQuick Online Training Courses (course
content)
- BillQuick 2004 Introduction
- BillQuick<-->QuickBooks Integration Basics
- BillQuick 2004 + BillQuick<-->QuickBooks Integration Basics
- BillQuick 2004 Intermediate
- BillQuick 2004 Advanced-1 on 1
Annual Support Contracts
BQE Software offers two types of annual support contracts:
Standard and Gold.
Standard Support includes unlimited telephone and email support
for one year. Separate annual contracts are available for BillQuick and each of its add-on
modules. The fee depends on the number of licenses you have for a product. When you have a
Standard Support Contract, you receive an extra 10% off the BillQuick upgrade price.
Gold Support includes Standard Support plus
"Maintenance." Maintenance means you receive the next upgrade to the covered
product at no charge, PLUS additional special promotional discounts during the term of the
support contract. With a Gold Support Contract for BillQuick, you would receive BillQuick
2005 at no additional charge.
Make your Holiday Wish and contact BillQuick Sales at (888)
245-5669 or Sales@bqe.com.
BillQuick Quizzer
$50 For The Right Answer
It's time for BillQuick Quizzer. Be one of the first 10 BillQuick
users to email the correct answer to BQ-Quiz@bqe.com and you win $50 in BillQuick Bucks!
You can apply your winnings to any BQE Software product or service.
Be sure to email us quickly with your answer. Date-time stamps on
received emails determine the winners.
Don't know the answer? Guess! This month you have a 1 in 5 chance
of guessing right.
And now to this month's quizzer. Pens up. . .
The number on an invoice can be changed:
A. After applying a payment to it.
B. Before marking it printed on the Invoice Review screen.
C. When creating a new invoice on the Manual Invoice screen.
D. Before or after marking the invoice printed on the Invoice
Review screen.
E. B & C
Hurry and send your answer to BQ-Quiz@bqe.com. You could
be a winner!
BillQuick Integrates with QuickBooks Online
Released last month, the latest update to BillQuick adds the
ability to integrate with QuickBooks Online. And there's no extra charge!
QuickBooks Online connection rules (timeouts, sign-in codes, etc.)
restrict integration processing to On-Demand Synchronization. Also, records are sent to
and received from QuickBooks Online in batches. Batches are limited to 1,000 records. Of
course, you can send and received as many batches as needed.
As QuickBooks Online advances its capabilities, so will BillQuick
integration with it.
Timeslips-to-BillQuick Conversion Again
Got someone you know whose unhappy with Timeslips? Maybe the
software left their data a little less stable. Maybe they want real project management,
not jumping through hoops.
Well, they've got a choice. And if you check out this month's
promotion, they can save a lot of cash for the holidays by buying now.
You can tell them the TS2BQ conversion utility is a free bonus
from us. And that it converts more information than any other Timeslips conversion program
available.
See the October
2004 BQE Software eLetter or download the Timeslips-to-BillQuick
Conversion Guide for more information.
BillQuick Customer Profile - Fox and Fiorino
"Looking For a Better Way"
Does this remind you of a fellow professional?
"We knew there was a better way," says Alan Fox, CPA, a
partner in Fox and Fiorino, P.A., an accounting firm in Reisterstown, MD, near Baltimore.
"We entered time into an accounting package's time sheet, then our admin person
rekeyed it into another program. Billing was another step. And we didn't get the reports
we wanted.
"We're always looking for a better way-to offer services, to
increase billable hours. Productivity is critical. Having real-time access to management
information is critical too. We checked out several practice management packages, but they
demanded too much admin time, lacked the real-time feedback we required, or didn't provide
management information needed to efficiently manage our firm."
The pain is very common. Inefficiencies are hindering rather than
helping advance the firm's goals. Here's the bottom line on how BillQuick helped Fox and
Fiorino.
[Alan continues:] "Let me quantify this for you. Before we
implemented BillQuick, our admin person, Kathy managed time sheets and rekeyed them into
another program. Her non-productive/non-billable hours were significant. Kathy now has
less overtime. Financial results to our firm reflect an increase in revenues and cash flow
of 10%, and 15%, respectively.
"In other words, BillQuick met its requirement: Make us
money. BillQuick was found and implemented because we're always looking for better tools
and better ways to manage our firm."
Share Fox
and Fiorino's story with a professional whose looking for a better way.
Project Cloning
Shortcuts to Save Setup Time
There's four ways to setup a new project.
1. Enter data into a new record on the Project screen.
2. Clone a live project or a template project record to a new project record for one
client using the Clone function on the Project screen, then edit a few fields as needed.
3. Clone a live project or a template project record to multiple clients using the
Clone function on the Project screen, then edit a few fields as needed.
4. Clone a live project or a template project record to a new project record while
setting up a new client on the Client screen.
Let look at 3. and 4.
Mass Cloning to Multiple Clients
Depending on your practice and preferences, you may decide to
maintain projects by year. That is, a project will be used for a year, then renewed for
the next year. Many firms prefer this method to clearly demarcate annual activities
associated with a project.
In BillQuick, you can shortcut the processes described in 1. and
2. above by mass cloning. Essentially, you can copy one project record containing basic
and required information to as many clients as desired. For example, say an accounting
firm has 1,000 clients, 350 of which receive business tax preparation services. To mass
generate 350 new business tax preparation projects records for 2004, you would:
1. On the Project screen, setup one new 2005 business tax
preparation project record with required and desired information. Give it a unique ID
using the form CLIENTID:ServiceType, where CLIENTID is the ID assigned to the client, and
ServiceType is the type of service being provided. For example, ACERCORP:BusTxPrp04. Click
the Save button.
2. Click the Clone button.
3. On the Project Cloning windows, select the project record
you just created.
4. Check the Clone for Selected Clients box (below the
Project ID field).
5. Hold down the Control key and click each client for whom
you want a new business tax preparation project record. Scroll the list by clicking on the
vertical elevator buttons.
6. Review the selected clients, then click OK. As BillQuick
creates copies of the source project record, the client's ID is placed in the Project Code
field and the ServiceType (BusTxPrp04) goes into the Phase field.
This technique makes it easy for anyone viewing the project ID
(code + phase) to understand what the project is for and what time and expenses to charge
to it.
New Client + New Project = One Task
For situations when you deliver a particular service to new
clients over and over, for example, Business Contracts in a law firm, you can setup both
the Client Record and the Project Record at the same time using the Add New Project
feature on the Client screen.
Using this feature is straightforward.
1. On the General tab of the Client screen, mark the Add New
Project checkbox.
2. In the Copy From field, select the live or template
project record you want to clone to create the new project record.
3. The Code field defaults to the Client ID chosen for the
new client. You can change the value if desired.
4. Optionally, you can enter a value in the Phase field. In
this instance, Phase can be used to indicate the ServiceType, for example, BusContract.
5. When you click Save, the new client record is saved and
the project record is cloned and saved.
6. Review the new project record and edit fields as needed.
Current BillQuick Release Information
The latest version of BillQuick 2004 is
5.0.86. It includes enhancements and minor fixes. To view a log of the changes, click here.
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), first turn on the AutoUpdate feature, then select Get Updates
from the File menu. When prompted to install the update, click Yes.
If you have a large number of computers to
update, or you prefer to download the update from the BillQuick web site, click here and select 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 |
