A True Timesaver in 9.7

With the busy year-end season upon us, many of you have already upgraded to 9.7 for Sage Timberline Office and to meet the latest reporting requirements.  To maximize effectiveness and simplify workflow in your day-to-day operations, the performance improving enhancements in this upgrade version are plentiful.  Your Timberline Office system now allows your team to efficiently locate and act upon key information with a wide range of automation, workflow and process improvements.

Among the numerous enhancements in 9.7 (Summer 2010- 9.7b release) is improved integration between Project Management and Document Management with the capability of sending and archiving Project Management attachments directly to the Document Management DocuVault. 

Queries can be initiated from the Attachment window and original documents or DocuVault versions can be easily accessed and retrieved.  I remember back in the day, several of my college professors advocated the “KISS” concept – Keep It Simple Stupid.  Now that’s what I call “simplicity.”

Now the question is how do you perform Project Management DocuVault integration?  Keep in mind; attachments are able to be sent from these tasks: 

•          Change Order Requests
•          RFIs
•          Submittals
•          Meeting Minutes
•          Commitments
•          Commitment Change Orders
•          Custom Logs
•          Drawing Logs

 To send an attachment to the DocuVault for one of the above Project Management tasks:

•  Click [Attachments...].
•  On the Attachments window click the File Links tab.
•  Click [Add...] to select a document to attach or drag and drop a file into the window.
•   If the Automatically send to DocuVault check box is selected, then you can click [OK] to close the window. Otherwise, click Send Copy to DocuVault.

Now that your file has been sent to the DocuVault, you can open it from DocuVault or from the original location. In addition, you can now open a Document Management query from the Project Management Attachment window.  And for now, life is simpler.

"Chaos is a friend of mine."

As Bob Dylan once quoted, "Chaos is a friend of mine." 

Come again? Obviously, Mr. Dylan never had the all too familiar task of closing out the books at the end of the year. When we're thinking of business year-end, we think of "chaos." Installing updates, closing applications, printing 1099's, closing the fiscal year, closing the payroll year, yada, yada, yada... Determining the order you should follow for year-end tasks can be challenging, to say the least. Believe it or not, there is a method to the "year-end" madness. 

For a straightforward Q&A on timing year-end tasks, take a peek at the Year-End Resource Center on the CPA Technology website at www.cpatechnology.net. Hey, there's even a workflow diagram to help you along. 

To quote a polar opposite of the above, German novelist/essayist, Thomas Mann once said, "Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject."

Increase your chances to win more bids with the right estimating technology. View the newest estimating technology out on the market at CPA Technology's Estimating Open House - July 16, 2010

(Part of the Product Knowledge Seminar Series)

Come check out hands-on construction takeoff and estimating applications of the newest technologies that are out on the market today designed to propel winning bids into profitable projects.

Featuring New Estimating Technology:
- Construction Takeoff Software from PlanSwift
- BIM
- Digital Takeoff
and more!!!

… also a preview of the future release of Sage Timberline Enterprise, Sage’s newest CRE product developed especially for service and specialty contractors

* Open House runs from 8:30 AM-3:00 PM (Friday, July 16, 2010). Stop in anytime and stay as long as you want.

Unable to travel that day? Sign up for the Online Open House. An online participation schedule will be posted soon!

Call Bruce at CPA Technology at (610) 862-1998 or register here:
http://www.cpatechnology.net/est.html

Sage Remains Usage Share Leader in the Construction Industry

The CFMA recently announced findings from its 2010 Information Technology Survey (8th ed.) for the Construction Industry which profiles the systems, software and solutions in use by construction companies including general, heavy-highway and specialty contractors. Sage Construction and Real Estate product lines have been recognized as the most widely used application for construction estimating, job costing, accounting, payroll and project management, standing a strong favorite among general contractors.

According to the survey, Sage Timberline Office is the leading tool used among respondents for accounting, payroll and job costing, representing 24% of the market share while Sage Master Builder represents 5% making Sage the overall market leader at 29% in these disciplines. With general contractors, Sage represents the highest share of the survey participant market at 43%.

Not surprisingly, Sage is the leader among contractors using estimating software dominating 19% of the overall market share with Sage Timberline Office estimating commanding 17% of those respondents. Again, general contracting companies prefer Sage brands for their estimating needs, totaling 36% of the market share.

In the Project Management category, Sage applications lead the overall market share at 19% with general contractors representing 29% of the survey base.


For more information on CFMA’s 2010 Information Technology Survey for the Construction Industry or to see how Sage Construction and Real Estate products can benefit your business, call Bruce at CPA Technology at (610) 862-1998. See Sage product information at www.cpatechnology.net.

Free training with a professional estimator with a 14-day free trial download of PlanSwift

Stop doing construction takeoff and estimates by hand!

PlanSwift, fully integratable with Excel and Sage Timberline Office, is a powerful and fully customizable software program that provides contractors and estimators with the fastest and easiest way to accurately complete construction takeoffs. With PlanSwift's visual point-and-click interface, users can drag and drop individual products or assembled product groups directly onto a digitized blueprint. PlanSwift calculates the takeoffs automatically - saving users valuable time and effort when they bid on jobs. PlanSwift is committed to top-notch customer support and offers a free, personal, one-hour training session with a professional estimator. PlanSwift's feature rich environment includes the ability to integrate with external applications, files and data, see-through and comparative plan overlays; measure square, linear and metric footage, pitch and angles; and email, update, and store plans using industry standard CAD and image files. For today's construction and building professionals, PlanSwift is the ultimate, easy to use, takeoff solution.

Download a Free 14 Day Trial of PlanSwift



View a flash slideshow!

Call Bruce at CPA Technology - (610) 862-1998 for more information.  You can also visit the PlanSwift page on our website for more information.

Spring 2010 Timberline 9.7 Enhancements Released!

The more efficiently your business management system allows your team to locate and act upon key information, the faster and easier they can do their jobs. That’s why we’ve enhanced Sage Timberline Office to provide everyone on your team with a wide range of automation, workflow and process improvements to make it easier to get more done in less time, including:

1. Simplified reporting and data analysis with new tools that are familiar and easy to use.
2. A higher degree of work process automation so your team  has the freedom to focus on other tasks
3. Easier ways to share documents and manage internal approval processes making your entire team (and business) more efficient.

Features Include:

• Simplified Installation
• Document Management Rules-based Routing
• Technology Updates
• More Comprehensive Tax Filing Capabilities & Improved Payroll Management
• BIM–Estimating Quantity Takeoff Integration
• Advanced Assembly Databases
• Excel-based Reporting—Office Connector Starter for Sage

For a demo, call CPA Technology at (610) 862-1998.

Timberline 9.7 Enhancement Brochure: Download PDF

Are You "REALLY" prepared for Year-End?

Year-end is closer than you might think, and we would like to help you make a smooth transition by providing information that you can use now to resolve potential issues in the future.

If you process your Payroll through Timberline Office, visit our Year-End Resource Page for important year-end information regarding your Timberline Office software.

http://www.cpatechnology.net/yearend.html

CPA Technology Newsletter- Fall/Winter

Read CPA Technology's 2009 Fall/Winter's Newsletter edition for some important updates, Timberline Year-End information and more…

CPA Technology, LLC - Leading provider of business software solutions for the Construction and Real Estate industries in the Philadelphia Metro Region since 1971!

Read “The Net” – Fall/Winter 09, Volume II

Helpful Hint for the Upcoming Holidays (I Sent a Holiday Card to....Oh Wait....Did I???)

(Q): Help! How can I use Accounts Payable to track which AP vendors we send holiday cards to each year?

(A): You can actually use Timberline Office to record and report on your company's sent holiday cards! Just follow the steps below to create a custom field that tracks which Accounts Payable vendors you sent holiday cards to:

1) From the File menu, select Company Settings > Custom Fields (for v 9.5.x and later) or Data Folder Settings > Custom Fields (for v 9.4.x and earlier).

2) In the Available Records list, select AP Vendor.

3) Click [Edit] and then click [Add].

4) In the Description box, type Sent Holiday Card.

5) In the Type section, select Check Box.

6) Click [OK] and then click [Close].

7) Click [OK] to close the window that appears.
Note: Upgrade your files to add this custom field to your other data folders. The next time you use the Upgrade Files tool in TS-Main (Tools > Upgrade Files), vendor custom fields from other data folders are added to the vendor custom fields on the folder you upgrade.

8.) In Accounts Payable, from the Setup menu, select Vendors.

9) Click [List], select a vendor, and then click [OK].

10) Press ENTER, and then select the Custom Fields tab.

11) You now have a check box that you can select to indicate that you sent this vendor a holiday card. You can use this field in reports and conditions.

12) Click [Save] and then click [Close].

Sage Timberline Office Users...Go Green! (& Save a Tree or Two!)

Looks like everyone and everything is "going green" nowadays and has quickly become the "hot, cool trend." Is your business concentrating on becoming more environmentally friendly?

On top of adopting the standard "green" practices such as recycling office supplies, replacing company cars with hybrids or installing solar panels into your commercial space, have you thought of other ways, specifically in the software you use on a daily basis or through your network infrastructure? Going green cannot only preserve our world's natural resources, but it can also save your business money.

In an effort to save a few more trees (and a few more bucks), here are a few tips for you Timberline Office users to reduce the amount of paper when printing from STO:

• Print preview your reports to verify the information is correct before you print to paper


• Save and file electronic copies instead of paper copies. Print your reports to a .prn or .pdf and save them to a designated location on your computer's hard drive disk or on your network.


• Set your printing defaults to print to file.


• Use selection criteria to limit the number of pages that print for the report.


• Send copies of reports by e-mail instead of printing paper copies and handing them out.

To jump on the "green" bandwagon, I'm going to conclude by stating "please consider the planet before printing this page." Pass it on via email - you'll help save a tree, reduce desk clutter and save your friends and co-workers from adding to the avalanche of "needless paper." :)

CPA Technology's Spring/Summer 2009 News!

Read the latest from CPA Technology...leading provider of business software solutions for the Construction and Real Estate industries in the Philadelphia Metro Region since 1971!

Read "The Net" - Spring/Summer 09, Volume I