Q&P Newsletter for February 2004

5 December 2005

Volume 14 – Issue 1
Contents
  • A Word From Dave’s Desk
  • Backup
  • Data Dictionary Update
  • Technical Tips
  • Support Hints & Tips
  • New Modules
  • Dealer Days
  • Dealer News

A Word From Dave’s Desk

Happy New Year to all our customers. I hope that you had a well earned rest over the Christmas period, even if it was only for a few days. I was talking to a printer the other day who had spent many years in the industry. I asked him how he coped with the usual rush of last minute orders at Christmas. He replied that rather than asking when did the customer want the printing, he asked when did they need it. This meant he got a better idea of the customer’s requirements and it often gave him a few days’ extra breathing space in which to do the printing.

Backup

Every year at least one of our users has their computers stolen over Christmas. You can replace your computers in a few days. We can replace the Quote & Print Software but it is impossible to replace your data. Remember to make an extra backup of Quote & Print before you leave for your holidays and keep it off site. Do not leave any backup disks or tapes near your computer. Keep them in a separate part of your office, preferably in a fireproof safe. If you use tape backup ensure that at least two members of your staff know how to restore the data. Also ensure that your computer hardware support person can read the tape on another computer in case the tape drive is stolen along with the computer. Consider using the standard Q&P backup to a zip disk as then your distributor can assist with restores.

Data Dictionary Update

The file conversion programs have been written. Your distributor will be contacting you shortly to arrange a convenient time to do the data update.

Technical Tips

With every release of Quote & Print the program gradually increases in size. Also increasing in size or memory footprint are screen savers, email software, internet browsers, etc. Sometimes all these programs can conflict causing strange errors. A simple solution is to increase the amount of RAM your computer has. In some cases increasing the RAM from 64 Mb to 128 Mb has been beneficial. Another good idea is to disable all screen savers. This can be easily done from the desktop. Contact support if you don’t know how to do this.
Remember with XP it is always a good idea to update to the latest set of patches. This can be done from the Microsoft update site.

A screen for all occasions. You can have your own custmised screen appear when you start Q&P. Create a bit map file called MYBMP.BMP and store it in the root directory of your PC. Make the resolution 640x480. This bit map will be displayed when you start Q&P as follows QPV4.EXE/MYBMP. If you are using citrix or terminal server then the startup screen can take a long time to display. You can have an alternative menu system by starting Q&P as follows QPV4.EXE/16COLOURS.

How full is your hard disk? If you are storing large amounts of data on your file server you can sometimes fill it up. When this happens you will get bizarre behaviour from most of your software (including Q&P) which stores data on the server. Check to make sure that you have sufficient free space. Always try to have at least 100 Mbytes free.

Support Hints & Tips

I am surprised to learn the number of users who are not making use of their reporting and, in particular, the Job Analysis report that is part of the Quotes/Jobs module.
It is a simple report and very quick to run. By selecting the sort order of “Quote to Jobs Hit Rate” and report on “Customer Code” and a suitable quote date range, it is easy to see which customers are the most loyal.

At the bottom of the report will be the customers with a low conversion rate and these are the ones that can be followed up. They can be approached to discover why more jobs are not forthcoming or are they just using you for price comparisons. By reporting on “Quote Type” or “Rep” it is similarly easy to discover what type of work is most successful or which reps are most productive. A reminder that users should keep the Windows software on their computers up to date.

This can be done by downloading the latest patches and drivers from Microsoft. Windows 98 users can sometimes improve performance by disabling/enabling Drive Write Behind. This can be found in My Computer/Control Panel/System/Performance/File System/Troubleshooting. Users should check with their Q&P distributor or network administrator first before changing any settings in this area.

New Modules

During 2003 we have developed two new Q&P modules.
Emailer: This module lets you do group emails to your debtors, creditors and sales contacts. The email can be straight text or in html format. Each email is personalised with the name of the person it is going to. Staff who have a common email address are grouped together on one email.

Kits

Many printers are using Quote & Print for forms management. Kits is an extension to this. For example a bank loan kit could be a presentation folder, 2 different sorts of brochures, a CD, pencil, writing pads and rubber. The kit module allows your customer to order only the kit while enabling you to track all components in the kit.

Details of these modules can be found on our web site
www.quoteandprint.com.au

In 2004 we plan to release our Bin Manager module. This will allow printers doing forms management where each stock item is stored on several pallets to keep track of each pallet. Where the stock has come from several print runs, each with a different price, then the Bin Manager will let you work out the total value of your stock even though each bin has a separate price per thousand. It is also useful in ensuring that the oldest stock is shipped first or for tracking down obsolete/out of date stock so that it can be discarded.

If you would like to trial any of the new or existing modules we can provide you with temporary registration numbers. This will let you trial the module for a month.

Dealer Days

At the end of last month all the Australian and New Zealand distributors came together for our annual 2 day dealer conference. This annual get together allows the Quote & Print distributors to learn all the new features within Quote & Print that have become available in the past 12 months. They can also share their experiences on installing and training new users, and pick up the latest in Windows troubleshooting techniques.

Dealer News

CALPRINT Qld
Ph (07) 3325 2739

As the last User Group meeting was fairly successful for the small number who attended, another will be scheduled as soon as convenient after the holiday period. Discussion will be about the latest version of Q&P and some new modules. There may also be some demonstration on the reporting in Q&P and some tips on user definable letters, including the invoice layout. Users will be notified individually of dates.

A reminder that Calprint Systems Pty Ltd is the Q&P distributor for Qld. The new contact details for Alan Alexander and Calprint Systems are 36 Gleneagles Crescent, Albany Creek, Qld 4035, Phone (07) 3325 2739, Fax (07) 3325 4069. Mobile 0409 530 241

BEAUT SOLUTIONS NSW
Ph (02) 9747 9099

We have moved. Beaut Solutions t/a Quote & Print Solutions is now located at 76 Burwood Road, Burwood, NSW 2134
Quote & Print Solutions “Open Night” We will be hosting an “open night” for our customers in February 2004 at our new premises. Invitations will be sent out shortly.

TAYLORED SYSTEMS NZ
Ph (09) 812 8506

Congratulations to Printsprint at the Auckland University of Technology for installing Q&P. They have found Q&P to be very user friendly.

PRINT MIS SA
Ph (08) 8261 9917
On November 1st last year Print-MIS Solutions had its first birthday. It certainly has been a huge learning year for me and I now look forward to the New Year with great enthusiasm. In November I was in Sydney for two days for the Q&P Dealer Days.
It was great to catch up with the other dealers from the different states and NZ and discuss issues and ideas. Interestingly the issues and ideas can be similar or they can be quite different so to be able to discuss them as a group like this has to be a big advantage for all the Q&P Users.

_______________________________

Beloran Pty Ltd
Developers of Quote & Print Software
Suite 2, Level 2, 28 Burwood Rd, BURWOOD NSW 2134
PO Box 136, Strathfield NSW 2135
Email admin@quoteandprint.com.au