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Desktop is Flat Out the Best WayTo Access Your Modules and More
by: Robin Peterson • United Properties
Continued on page 2
News & Information for Users of Sage Timberline Office Software for April 2006
IN THIS ISSUEDesktop is Flat Out the Best Way To
Access Your Modules and More 1
Check Out Quick Check,A WelcomeNew Feature ............................... 3
Getting Started with Documents ........ 4
Losing the Fear of Public Speaking ... 5
TUG tips of the month ....................... 6
How Much is Enough? When is ItToo Much? ................................ 7
With Office Connector, You’ll Change How You Work with VitalInformation ................................ 8
TUG Calendar .................................... 11
TUG Online Training ........................... 11
TUG Resource Team Chats ................ 11
Adding Custom Descriptions ............. 12
If you find yourself in and outof several Sage TimberlineOffice modules each day,
there’s no better way to save timeand avoid license issues than byusing the Desktop. With the SageTimberline Office Desktop, youcan access any of your tasks orreports quickly—without havingto remember the entire drop downmenus in each module. Desktopallows you to login to the systemonce for security. Then, you cancomplete your tasks or view yourreports in each module withoutlogging in for eachapplication. If you areusing Accounting andEstimating, Desktop isan especially valuableasset.
Desktop enables youto add applications forspeedy access. At UnitedProperties, we have On-Screen Takeoff®,Microsoft® Word andExcel, as well as CrystalReports in Desktop.We’re about to addMicrosoft Outlook, too.
During the day, severalpeople, such as project managers,administrative and support staff,and the accounting team all usevarious software applications andSage Timberline modules. Sincewe have limited licenses for eachmodule, using Desktop reduces
the frequency of running out oflicenses. With Desktop a useraccesses the task, completes it,then closes out of the application,releasing the license for the nextuser.
Links to External and Internal SitesAs well as accessing Timber-
line tasks, with Desktop, you canquickly go to any web page thatyou visit regularly. I set up ourIntranet home page as a default.There I can get the latest companyhappenings. If you use Crystal
Reports, you probably have thefront page (or home pages) set tothe report, allowing the projectmanager or CFO to see the currentactivities for jobs or financialsthat might need daily review.Some Desktop defaults come withdirect links to Sage Timberline, aswell as to TUGweb.com. That’s all
the best information with oneclick.
When you first open Desk-top, you’ll be asked if you want toset up or open a template. For faststartup, I suggest that you use oneof the defaults for the position thatyou hold in the company andmodify your settings from there.You can add most of the folderswith one mouse click.Desktopallows you some formatting fordocking your task list. If you likeyour layout for tasks on top, at thebottom, or on the left or right (oryou can float), the option is yours.Just remember to save your layout
- 2 -
Published by theTimberline Users Group, Inc.
and sent to all members.
Board of DirectorsTom Love, President
Mike Suhovecky,Vice PresidentCharlie Auger,
Secretary/TreasurerSharon HessongBrady Burleson
Lynn BitarRobin Peterson
Jeff PavlicaKate Fitch-DavisBarbara Jensen
Publications CommitteeBrady Burleson
Tom LoveRobin Peterson
Tom MooreDebbie Hall
Carolyn Boettner, EditorMaureen Connolly,
Consultant
National AdministratorBoettner Business
ProfessionalsP.O. Box 697
Sylvania, OH 43560Phone: 419.885.9004
Fax: 419.885.9007Toll Free: 800.884.4630
Web Site
the TUG PulseContinued from page 1
2006TUG NationalConference
& Workshops
May 3 - 5, 2006Nashville
Register atwww.TUGweb.com
Hotel InformationGaylord Opryland
2800 Opryland DriveNashville, TN 37214
www.gaylordhotels.com
Room Rates: $185Reservations:
(888) 777-6779
Please state your affiliation with theTimberline Users Group for yourspecial conference rate. Room rates& availability are subject to changeafter April 3, 2006.
CPE Opportunity16 - 24 Credits
CPA participants who attend all sessions will receive 16 CPE credits. In addition,attendance at the 2006 Workshops will earn 8 CPE credits. TUG’s CPE registrationpolicies and procedures will be available to all participants. To request a certificate,check the appropriate box on the front page of your registration.
Timberline Users Group, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boardsof Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on theNational Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority onthe acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registeredsponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 FourthAvenue, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org.
for the next time you accessDesktop.
Applications and Internet LinksAdding an application or
setting up your Internet links issimple. From your folder you’vecreated, right click and select Addto my tasks. Here, choose a file,application, task or web link.Once you have the choice, Desk-top allows you to select theapplication. Remember, this doesnot have to be a Sage Timberlineapplication and can be any appli-cation that runs from your harddrive. Once you’ve selected thetask or application, you can nameit and place it directly into aspecific folder where you’llaccess it.
I’ve found that the easiestway to add web links or favorites
is to open a web site, then copyand paste the link into the AddWeb Link Address field thatappears when you select theoption to add a web link. Then, aswith tasks or other links, I placethat link into the folder I’vecreated or selected.
After you have completedyour setup, make sure you save itas your default Desktop. With afew steps, you’ve greatly in-creased your productivity.
Sage Timberline Officeversion 9.2 has many other newfeatures and uses for Desktop.You’ll hear lots about them at thesession, Desktop Tips & Tricks, atthe 2006 TUG National Confer-ence, along with news aboutwhere Desktop is headed in thefuture. Leave your desk for a fewdays and come to the conferenceto learn all about Desktop.
- 3 -April 2006
For years my Top Ten list ofmost desired enhancementshas included a one-step
process for printing hand checks.Those nasty onesie and twosiechecks that happen daily are aworkflow annoyance, requiringthree separate processes, to firstinput and post the invoice, thenselect it for payment, and finallyprint the check.
Along comes Quick Check.Released in version 9.2 of SageTimberline Office, Quick Checkprovides the perfect workflowsolution. In one step, you canselect the bank ID for this check,enter the check amount, the checkdate (great for post-dated checks)and the invoice or invoices forpayment. The process allows foreither input of new invoices orselection from invoices that arealready posted, in the same waythat Manual Check does. QuickCheck will queue up each checkseparately and print it. If you areusing Piracle’s Create-a-Check,Launch will find each of theseseparate *.txt files and print themin succession.
The process is simple:
1. In AP, click on Tasks, RecordManual/Print Quick Checks.
2. Enter Bank ID. A CheckNumber will prompt fromCM. Enter Check Date,Vendor and Amount.
3. The cursor will drop downinto the Invoice fields. Hereyou can either List or F4 topick an existing postedinvoice or enter a new in-voice.
Check Out Quick Check,A Welcome New Feature
by: Eire Stewart • JP DINAPOLI COMPANIES, Inc.
4. The Distribution box willopen. Complete the InvoiceEntry process.
5. If paying multiple invoices,repeat Steps 3 and 4.
6. Click on Print Check. ThePrint Instructions windowwill open. Complete the printprocess as usual.
7. Enter any additional QuickChecks.
8. Click Finish.
9. If using Create-a-Check,execute Launch and print asusual.
For our company, an addedadvantage of Quick Check hasbeen the ability to select the bankwhen entering the check. This haseliminated errors on checks, suchas those moving funds from onebank to another that are originat-ing from a bank other than thedefault AP bank for that entity. Inthe past, we had to enter the checkand then remember, before print-ing, to change the bank during theSelect Invoices for Paymentprocess.
Quick Check also allowsfor partial payment of invoices,payment with a Joint Vendor, andpayment to a Summary Vendor.
We’ve been using QuickCheck for two months now, andit lives up to its name. We haveseamlessly queued up as manyas five checks, each from adifferent bank, without a hitch.Quick Check has been easy touse and time effective. I havecrossed one more thing off myenhancement list.
Do You KnowWhat’s New?
W ith eachrelease ofSage
Timberline Officecomes a host ofenhancements, fixesand changes. ReleaseNotes will give you a detailedoverview of what’s new in the versionof software you have loaded. Whilenot all enhancements or fixes mayaffect every user or every company,don’t overlook this great resource.
Organized by General Topics,then Application, Release Notesdisplays New Features, followed byFixes and Database Changes. Inversion 9.2, Release Notes you’ll find89 pages of information.
Did you know about these newfeatures?
■ Reconciliation Tools andReconciliation Reports for mostapplications.
■ Crystal Reports: Sage Timber-line Office will now use theCrystal 10 format.
■ Accounts Payable: QuickChecks, a simple solution forprinting hand checks.
■ Billing: Quick Bill is nowavailable for contract-basedjobs.
■ Payroll: Modify Check Formshas been enhanced to allow forbetter security of employeeinformation.
■ Project Management: A host ofupdates have been made toCommitment Change Order.
■ Property Management: AmendLease now allows changes toLeases that were incorrectlyterminated.
■ Service Management: FilterView and Vendor Lookup havebeen updated, and field sizeshave been increased.This is just a partial list of the new
tools and enhancements available in the
latest release. To read the full list from
any application, click on Help, Docu-
ments and select
ReleaseNotesAcctMgmt.pdf. Now you
are in the know about what’s new!
✔ ✔
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The ProjectManagement(PJ) application
contains many toolsthat help track yourcommon constructionproject documents.These include trans-mittals, RFIs, meetingminutes, submittals,correspondence log,and drawing log. Youmight be thinking thatthe learning curve onthese six tasks has tobe overwhelming.Once you understandthe basics, you’ll slideright along the curve.
Last Job Concept
Quite often, whenyou log into ProjectManagement, you’llperform a variety oftasks for a singlejob—before you moveon to the next. Forexample, you mightrecord some RFIs anddrawings for a givenjob, and then puttogether a transmittalto send out some ofthe job documentation.
In PJ Settings, by checkingUse last job, you’ll make entry ofdata for the same job easier. Withthis option, the Last Job that youused will pre-fill when you moveto a different document. WithProject Management in the 9.2version of Sage Timberline Office,the Last Job even pre-fills if you
the need for themanual entry of thejob ID.
A visual aiddisplaying the value ofthe last job alwaysdisplays in the lowerright corner of theProject Managementapplication frame.
Document Navigation
Beginning ProjectManagement usersfind that navigating toan existing documentis a challenge. If youremember just a fewsimple concepts, thisproblem is alleviated.
Concept 1:Whenever you launcha Project Managementdocument task, theprogram assumes thatyou are creating a newdocument. So, as youenter or return througha pre-filled job ID,you’ll notice that theprogram will incre-ment the document ID.For example, if the lastRFI for job 03-001was 47, the next time
you enter the RFI task for job 03-001, the program will default theRFI ID with ID 48. The task isthen ready for the new RFI. For anew document, this is prettystraightforward.
A frequent mistake comes innavigating to an existing docu-ment. Using the example above,let’s say you want to pull up RFI
Getting Started with Documentsby: Dennis Stejskal, Director Software Services
Management Information Services
leave the application and comeback.
Another side benefit of thissetting comes when you printreports. Many Project Manage-ment reports provide the option toprint a selected Job, All Jobs orthe Last Job. If you’re workingwith a particular job, then the LastJob option can be used, alleviating
- 5 -April 2006
Losing the Fear ofPublic Speaking
by: Brady BurlesonTierdael Construction Co.
Did seeing this headlinegive you a chill? Did thepalms of your hands start
to sweat? Did you imagine athousand faces staring at you? Ifso, don’t worry. You are normal. Ithink more people would chooseto jump out of an airplane than togive a speech.
You may feel nervous stand-ing before an audience becauseyou want to do well. This nervous-ness usually brings the feeling ofbutterflies in your stomach.However, this nervousness isbottled ENERGY. Don’t try tosuppress it. That doesn’t work.Suppressing energy only dividesyour efforts between trying todeliver the information and tryingto control the nervousness.
Instead, try using that ner-vousness/energy the way that aprofessional athlete does.Most athletes will admitto being nervous rightbefore they compete.Why? They are taking arisk. They know that alleyes are on them.They’re isolated fromthe comfort of thegroup. At the momentthey compete, they channel theirnervousness/energy into success-fully completing the task. They’velearned to use the energy, notsuppress it.
For you, also, the energymust be focused on completingthe task. The task is not control-
ling thenervousness;the task isdeliveringthe message.Don’tbecomeconfused.When you concentrate completelyon delivering the message to eachlistener, and use the energy todrive your delivery of the mes-sage, then you don’t have time totake your pulse until you arefinished.
The natural release of thisnervous tension is through yourpersonal communication tools oryour delivery style. When speechtime comes, look at people, usegestures, smile, speak, and useyour space. If you start with a
sound knowledge of your mate-rial, your energy willdrive the message home.Make your butterfliesfly in formation!
Now, where canyou get the techniquesto help channel yournervousness/energy?Improve your speakingskills? See how to make
the best use of all those visualaids? At the Losing the Fear ofPublic Speaking session at thisyear’s TUG National Conferencein Nashville. Sign up today andyou’ll be more confident tomor-row.
(Adapted from TheBusiness of Speaking fromCahill Associates.)
45. It is common for users to enterthe job ID and see the RFI pre-fillto the next RFI number, say 48.Many users then change the pre-filled RFI number (i.e., 48) to theexisting RFI (i.e., 45), assumingthe program will pull up RFI 45.This is not what occurs. Becausethe task assumes that you arecreating a new document, theprogram displays a Duplicate RFIwarning when you attempt to savethe document.
Concept 2: In order to pull upan existing document, you mustuse the Find, Next or Prev (Previ-ous) buttons located on the rightside of the Project Managementscreen. The Find button willpresent a selection list windowwhere you can navigate to thedesired document ID. After youselect the ID, the main RFI willpre-fill with the existing docu-ment.
The Prev and Next buttonswill pull up the correspondingdocument based on the value ofthe current selection. So, if youwere looking at RFI number 23,the Next button would pull up 24,and the Prev button would, ofcourse, pull up 22. The Prev/Nextbuttons work within the con-straints of the specified job. So,when you hit the first or lastdocument for a given job, the Prevor Next button will be disabled.You can’t use Prev or Next tonavigate to documents acrossmultiple jobs.
Try these steps to ease yourway along the Project Manage-ment learning curve. The 2006TUG National Conference willoffer a full session, Using PJDocuments, where you can learnmany other tips about workingwith transmittals, RFIs, meetingminutes, submittals, correspon-dence log and drawing log.
- 6 -
If you have started your designand discover that you need to
change the sort order, you willhave fewer chances of problemswith the design if you remove alltotals and any formulas that useASUM’s first. Change the sortorder, then redo the ASUMformulas and add your totals backinto the design. Most of the timethis will do the trick and you willnot have to create the design overagain.
Report Designer
When looking at your BankRegister inquiry, a lot of
times you really only want to seerecent information. Often all youwant is the last 30 or 60 daysrather than wading through tons ofold detail. You can easily edit andsave your standard Inquiry so thatyou see a limited date range oftransactions.
1. Open Inquiry Designer
2. Go to [Tools], [Formulas],[Cash Management] and clickon [New].
3. The Public Formula Entrywindow will open. In thelower right hand corner, clickon [Index] and slide down to[System fields]. Click [Ok].
4. Choose [System Date] andwrite a formula of “SystemDate – 30”. Click [Ok]. Savethis formula as “Last 30”.
5. Now click on [Inquiry],[Inquiry Manager], [CashManagement], [Bank Regis-ter] and [Change]. This willopen the Change InquiryWindow.
6. To make this change perma-nent, you will need to removethen later replace certaincontrols. To do this, click on[Options], and check of the“Allow modified view to besaved” box. Click [Ok].
7. Now click on [Define Levels]and select a bank account to
Inquiry Designerbring up the Bank register –Transactions screen.
8. Click on [Condition] and adda condition of “AccountingDate Greater or Equal to Last30”. To access the “Last 30”formula in the [Value] field,click on [List Items], [Index],[Public Formulas].
9. Now close the inquiry. Aprompt will come up reading“Save changes to table view –Transactions?” . Click [Yes].You will be returned to theChange Inquiry window.
10. To retain this change, clickon [Bank Register] and[Options]. Unclick check the“Allow modified view to besaved” box. Click [Ok] and[Close].
Now when you open theTransactions screen of the BankRegister Inquiry, you will see onlythe last 30 days of transactions. Ifyou need to see older items, youcan easily remove the conditionfor that one time by click on[Conditions] and [Delete]. Thisformula could easily be modifiedfor 45 days or 60 days if this is theinformation you want to see.
The “last 30” formula can beused in other applications as wellbecause it is based on SystemDate rather than informationstored in a specific module. Useit to view or print recent Receiv-ables or use the formula in reverseto see just those transactions olderthan 30 days by creating a condi-tion that is “less than or equal toLast 30”.
How to Include Retention andNet Invoice Payout on theSame Check
Do you sometimes get to thefinal invoice with a vendor
that has a net amount and theretainage and you want to pay thewhole amount? Well, here is how!
During the “Select Invoicesto Pay - On Screen, check the box“Retainage Invoices Only” whenyou select invoices for payment.Timberline will then prompt youthat there is more than just theretainage amount to pay with “PayRetainage along with RemainingAmount?” Respond “Yes” to paythe retainage and open invoice atthe same time.
Viola, there you go!
Accounts Payable
TUG Tips of the Month○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
- 7 -April 2006
Whether it’s money,“toys” or databaseitems, you reach a point
where you need to ask yourself,“How much is enough?” Or, “howmuch is too much?” The more weaccumulate, the more we mustmaintain—and that also meanshaving a maintenance plan.Otherwise, all that we accumulate,no matter how useful initially,becomes useless eventually.
Like most of us, with eachcost estimate, you probably addmore items, variables, formulas,and assemblies, all with theintention of being more efficient.After a while, you have a powerfultool, but one that may even be outof control. If that happens, stepback, review and condense it intosomething fine-tuned and flexible.
To avoid “one-time” itemsand an ever increasing database, Ihave a phase labeled Job SpecificAllowances, and I even have many“job specific” items in manyphases. These are items with unitsof measure, a simple crew, andempty place holders for unit costs.
I find two methods helpful indealing with material pricing. Oneis to use price links. A typicalexample is concrete. Let’s say4,000 psi concrete may cost $90/cy, whether it is in footings, wallsor slabs. These materials can belinked so that when one ischanged in the database (orestimate), all can be updated at thesame time. Another example issteel items typically priced by $/ton.
Whether you’re directly inSage Timberline or using the
Database Editor, a key field towatch is the Material UpdateColumn. This tells you how old thepricing is. To find old items
quickly and update them, I’vecreated a filter in Database Editorusing this Material Update field.
Another method is to haveone item for labor and anotheritem for material. Using concreteas an example again, you couldhave Place Footing Concrete andPlace Wall Concrete for labor.Material could be Concrete,4,000psi for Footings and Con-crete, and 4,000psi for Walls.Here I leave the material pricingempty in the database. This showsup well on a typical spreadsheetlayout as BOLD and highlighted,
prompting the estimator to getcurrent pricing for the concretematerial.
If more than one estimatoruses Timberline, it can be achallenge to share these databaseupdates. We have 17 licenses ofEstimating across four offices intwo states. I’ve encouraged ourteam to include a database “issuedate stamp” in the database foldername. An example of this isBudget 2006 02 n v9_2. Thisgives the database type, year,month, issue, and version.
To speed up access, we havecopies of the database on thenetwork and also on local harddrives. The databases are typicallypassword-protected to preventunauthorized changes or acciden-tal deletions.
As more and more of yourTimberline users increase theirknowledge and skills with thesoftware, they also become moredemanding. It’s difficult todedicate time/staff to the task ofdatabase maintenance and up-dates. To keep the tool useful andaccurate, maintenance is critical.Avoiding this could result in verycostly mistakes.
Whether you invite everyoneto a free lunchtime discussion, e-mail requests, or institute a formalcorporate “database item to addrequest,” you can find a way toensure that everyone knows howmuch to keep and how long tokeep it. That way, you’ll all beworking with the most accuratetools possible.
How Much is Enough?When is It Too Much?
by: David Hough • LeChase Construction Services, LLC
- 8 -
Imagine yourself sitting in yourconference room about toshow your company the latest
in Sage Timberline Office-ori-ented technology. You start with aspreadsheet, like the one below,that lists the major areas that yourcompany needs to watch in orderto effectively manage the busi-ness.
Then, all jaws drop becauseright there, in your meeting—thanks to Office Connector—youare able to:
• Demonstrate, on the fly, howthe company can define itsown work processes;
• Instantly drill down into thedetails;
• Show how information canbe written back fromMicrosoft® Excel to SageTimberline Office, followinga plan you put in place;
• Create a graph of profitabil-ity with data from ProjectManagement; and
• End your presentation with alist of jobs, including acolumn that, when selected,shows a map of how to get toa particular job.
Amazing? Yes, and easy, too,with Office Connector. OfficeConnector for Timberline andExcel is the flagship product linefor Portland, Oregon-based Event1 Software, Inc.
With Office Connector,hundreds who use Sage Timber-line Office have a strategic edge inproductivity. In today’s competi-
With Office Connector, You’ll ChangeHow You Work with Vital Information
by: Event 1 Software, Inc.
Using Office Connector, you could easily create a spreadsheet like this.
You can instantly create a map like this to show a job site or other location.
tive business world, these OfficeConnector users can operate moreeffectively without adding re-sources. Every day Office Con-nector generates financial state-ments, rent rolls, union reports,cost to complete reports, work inprogress schedules, and more.
Imagine the Uses
“We’ve been using the OfficeConnector software for close totwo years, and it’s a wonderfulproduct,” says Hal Goldblatt,Corporate Software Specialist forRhodes Homes, a Las Vegas-based
home builder. “We’ve used theOffice Connector to analyze datafrom the General Ledger, CashManagement, Job Cost, Payroll,and Accounts Payable. In creatingnew uses for this fine product, thepossibilities are only limited byour imagination.”
Goldblatt says, “In myopinion, this product adds thou-sands of dollars of productivity foronly pennies of investment.”
The Office Connector Suite
The Office Connector Prod-uct Suite includes:
- 9 -April 2006
• OC Query– Pull information into
Excel from Timberline, and• OC Write
– Write information fromExcel to Timberline ODBCreplaceable fields.
How Office Connector Works
The key to OfficeConnector’s effectiveness is theease with which even a noviceuser can connect to TimberlineOffice records from within Excel.
“We’ve changed how peoplework with their information,” saysJames Coyle, a founding partnerand President of Event 1. “Prior toOffice Connector, most end userswould either hire someone tocreate queries for them in Excel,or give up on automating theirworkbooks.”
Historically, there have beenthree ways to get information intoExcel:
1. Manually type informationinto each cell.
2. Save a report printout as atext file, or “send” informa-tion into Excel from CrystalReports (a product of Busi-ness Objects).
3. Learn to use Microsoft®
Query to pull the data directlyfrom Timberline into aworkbook from within Excel.
The first two options aresimple, but time-consuming.According to Coyle, “If you senda report into Excel from Crystal,or import it from a text file, youhave to manipulate the informa-tion each time you update yourworkbook. That’s time you spendover and over again. The costreally adds up in lost productiv-ity!”
Instead, Office Connectorallows you to “pull” informationfrom Sage Timberline Officerecords while you are in Excel.Once that information is pulledand placed in the workbook, theworkbook (query) rememberswhere the data came from. Thisenables you to refresh the infor-mation quickly and easily.
Coyle explains that OfficeConnector complements all theother tools that Sage TimberlineOffice offers for analyzinginformation. In addition to SageTimberline Office standardreports, end users can createtheir own reports using Timber-line Report Designer or CrystalReports.
However, a report design isprimarily used to examineinformation on the printed pageor on the screen. If you wish tointeract with your Timberlinedata, possibly combining thatdata with non-Timberline infor-mation, most people choose touse Excel.
Even experienced users ofMicrosoft Query are impressedwith Office Connector. WithOffice Connector you can:
• Change the data source for aworkbook with one clickand have the workbookrefresh with informationfrom the new data source.
• Allow the conditions for aquery to be tied to cells onyour spreadsheet:
– Change a job, and all thecost codes instantly change.
– Change the data range,and see transactional datarefresh for the new dates.
• From a cell in a workbook,reach into Timberline and
– Count records (e.g., num-ber of unposted transactions),or
– Sum amounts (e.g., the costfor a range of dates).
• Advanced users can learn tocombine information frommultiple Timberline datafolders into one workbook.
Terrus Uses Office Connector
In the fast-paced world ofreal estate management, and withclients demanding more informa-tion on the fly, Terrus Real EstateGroup, in Des Moines, Iowa,needed a solution that couldproduce more sophisticated, yetpresentable reports withoutincreasing their already heavyworkload.
“Once we saw the power ofOffice Connector,” says PhilAkason, Chief Financial Officer,“we didn’t look any further. Letme put it this way, if they tookOffice Connector away from ustoday, it would be a huge stepback for our business.”
“I tell everyone how muchbetter Office Connector has mademy job and my life,” adds KalliSaland, Accounting Manager ofTerrus.
“Property managers loveExcel,” notes Saland. “They liketo add comments to the financialinformation we provide, whichthey can do with Excel, but notwith other types of reports.”According to Saland, by usingOffice Connector, Terrus “savedsix to eight hours per week of dataentry for one report alone.”
In addition to the return oninvestment from time saved,Office Connector can also cutdown on the need for other prod-ucts at Terrus, reducing the
Continued on page 10
- 10 -
number of Crystal licenses fromsix to two.
Terrus uses Office Connectorin a variety of ways, including:
• Trend Analysis
• Variance Comments
• Weekly Construction Reports
• AR Agings
• RT Hours Report used forPayroll
• Vendor ID Reports
• Approved Suppliers Reports
• Lease Expirations
• Straight-line Rent Calcula-tions
“Terrus is an exceptionalcompany with extraordinaryvision,” says Coyle, “and thevision to work more effectivelydrives innovation.”
Pricing, Updates and Services
Office Connector is sold by“concurrent use” or floatinglicense. The first year of softwareupdates are included in the priceof the product. Each additionalyear is a per-user rate based on theproduct(s) owned.
In addition to products, endusers may acquire services di-rectly from Event 1, includingonline training, phone support andconsulting.
Pricing information onproducts and services is availableat the Event 1 Software website,www.event1software.com. Selectthe Office Connector product,then Pricing.
About Event 1 Software
Based in Portland, Oregon,Event 1 Software has been aleading integration softwaredeveloper specializing inintegration with TimberlineOffice since 1998. Event 1 Soft-ware is a family-oriented businessaimed at increasing productivityand effectivenessin order to free people to dothe things they enjoy most.For more information, contact:[email protected] or call(503) 546-7576.
Continued from page 9
- 11 -April 2006
April 19, 2006Iowa Local Chapter Meeting
April 27, 2006 Nebraska Local Chapter Meeting
May 3-5, 20062006 TUG National
Workshops & ConferenceNashville, Tennessee
May 18, 2006 Dallas Local Chapter Meeting
May 25, 2006 Nebraska Local Chapter Meeting
June 21, 2006Iowa Local Chapter Meeting
July 20, 2006 Dallas Local Chapter Meeting
August 16, 2006Iowa Local Chapter Meeting
September 6, 2006 Nebraska Local Chapter Meeting
October 6, 2006 Nebraska Local Chapter Meeting
October 18, 2006Iowa Local Chapter Meeting
November 6, 2006 Nebraska Local Chapter Meeting
December 13, 2006Iowa Local Chapter Meeting
May 9-11, 20072006 TUG National
Workshops & ConferenceGrapevine, Texas
April 5 Document ManagementApril 12 Beginning Report WriterApril 14 Crystal with EstimatingApril 19 Basic Cash ManagementApril 26 Desktop Tips & TricksMay 19 Estimating WBS Sorting-LocationMay 24 Service ManagementJune 7 Beginning Inquiry DesignJune 14 Modifying Crystal ReportsJune 16 Estimating Scheduling IntegratorJune 21 Beginning Financial Statements
There is no charge for online training. This is one of themany benefits of membership in the Timberline Users Group.Webinars are held at 12:00 noon Eastern time atTUG.webex.com.To participate, email the TUG office [email protected]. You will receive an email confirming yourparticipation and with instructions for logging on and joining theaudio portion of the session. Keep watching the Pulse for anupdated calendar. Register Early. Space is limited to 30seats.
TUG Resource Team ChatsJoin us at www.TUGweb.com
April 4 1:00 Eastern Service ManagementApril 5 1:00 Eastern Project ManagementApril 12 1:00 Eastern ITApril 13 12:00 Eastern Specialty ContractorsApril 13 3:00 Eastern General Contractors
May 2 1:00 Eastern Service ManagementProject Management meet at TUG Conference - TBAMay 10 1:00 Eastern ITMay 11 12:00 Eastern Specialty ContractorsMay 11 3:00 Eastern General Contractors
June 6 1:00 Eastern Service ManagementJune 7 1:00 Eastern Project ManagementJune 14 1:00 Eastern ITJune 15 12:00 Eastern Specialty ContractorsJune 15 3:00 Eastern General Contractors
Online Training Opportunitiesfrom TUG
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Custom Descriptions area great way of adding totransactions or creating
uniform references that can becondition and sort in Reports.Custom Descriptions are availablein 30 difference Timberline fields!As an example, create customdescription in CM for differentDeposit types, such as PartnerDistribution, Management Fee, orInvestment Maturity. Anotheridea is to customize Lease OptionDescription to include 24 Months,36 Months, First Right of Refusaland common option terms.
You can create CustomDescription from any Module.
Here are the steps:
1) Click on [File],[Data FolderSettings],[Custom Descrip-tions].
Adding Custom Descriptionsby: Eire Stewart • J.P. DiNapoli Companies
2) Slide down to any field witha “pull down” box in the“Custom List” column.
2) Slide down to any field witha “pull down” box in the“Custom List” column.
3) Highlight the desired fieldand click on [CustomizeList]. The Customize ListSetup box will open.
4) Click [Add} and type thename for this customizeddescription. Click [Okay]
5) Now use the “Move” arrowsto move the new descriptionup or down on the list. It issometimes easiest to placethe descriptions inalphabetica order, especiallyif you have more than five orsix.
6) You can also set the Defaultdescription from this screen.You may want to choose themost common descriptionused.
