3-3-2009 Updates of cvlTracker

Many updates have been posted in the 3-3-09 upgrade. The following list explains the main improvements and their uses. Included in this update are many user interface changes. These changes were made with careful consideration to your needs. All users of cvlTracker should read this newsletter in order to gain a greater understanding of the changes that have occurred in the cvlTracker system.

Marking Time Billable:

This is the biggest and most anticipated change in cvlTracker! If you mark time “billable” it will show up as an invoice line item regardless if you chose to bill the job hourly or as a fixed fee item. We have changed the code of the system to consider how each project type is being invoiced. It is important that you inform all users of the system that this is how the system will react to time being added. If the project is a fixed fee project the billable checkbox will NOT be checked as a default. If the project is being billed hourly the billable checkbox will BE checked as a default. These settings are adjustable but this is how the system will react as a default.

Bulk updates on the job’s timesheet:

The job’s timesheet displays all time entries and expenses for a job. We have now incorporated a quick way to update multiple time entries.

To access this feature go to the job’s timesheet page>check any one or multiple checkboxes next to the time entries you would like to adjust> six hidden drop downs will appear at the top of the page (Employee Name, Project Type, Billing Category, Status, Billable, Invoice). Make your adjustments and finally press the update button.

Task List Editor

The task list editor has been upgraded to work like multi-phase projects. Remember entering a task list will be used as a phase in a multi-phase project. The same great keyboard shortcuts have been incorporated: T=new task, S=new subtask, SHIFT + ENTER=save new row.

Invoice Terms:

On the setup page we have added a new setup item called “Invoice Terms.” Use this setup item to setup all of your invoice terms. When creating the invoice you can double click on the terms field and a drop down will appear showing all terms that are setup.

Request an invoice template:

We have had this service for awhile, however, we wanted to point out once again that you may request a very specific invoice template based on your company’s needs. To do this go to the setup page and use the “Request an invoice template” page in order to do this.

Pre-Billing Worksheet:

Do you ever want to know exactly how much you should be billing for profit before you create an invoice? You can use the “Pre-Billing Worksheet” to determine this. You can access this report in 3 areas.

1.       Right click on the job’s quick information popup and choose the pre-billing option.

2.       You can view this on the job’s timesheet on the 3^rd tab.

3.       Lastly, you can create multiple pre-billing worksheet PDF’s on the unbilled project items page. Use the button at the bottom of this page.

 Crew & Drafting calendar display settings:

Have you ever wanted to change what is displayed on the crew/drafting calendars? It is now possible to change what is displayed using the settings button on these calendars. The display options include: Client, Project Name, Job’s Due Date, Section-Township-Range.

You can also change the default display dates. Choose how many days you would like to display before and after the current date.

Project Labels:

We have created a new page for project labels. Use this page to print labels that will fit on a project folder. This can be used as a substitute for work orders.

Application Settings:

There are several changes that affect your cvlTracker program. These settings are adjusted using the application settings page. You can locate this page under “setup.”

1.       We have added a setting that will allow you to change the size of the menu icons. If you are using a smaller monitor this may be helpful to decrease the menu width.

2.       We have added a setting in application settings that controls the radius that helper projects are searched. You may edit this to any distance that you would like. Our default is 0.5 miles.

3.       Many more changes have been added to this page, however, any adjustment to these new settings should be first confirmed by your cvlTracker representative.

Bulk Printing of Invoices:

We have created a new page that will allow you to print multiple invoices. This page is found under: Reports & Charts>Print Bulk Invoices

Form View for Timecards:

We have added a new view to timecards. This view is a form view. This will allow the user to add time using a different format. This may be a very useful page for users that do not like the week view of timecards.

Default pay category:

Setup default pay category for employees: This will allow you to select the default pay category that should appear in the pay category drop down on all time entry pages. Set this up on the employee pay rate setup page. Employees>Pay Rate

Update of unbilled items to Non-billable:

We have added a new feature to the unbilled items report which allows the user to mark unbilled items as non-billable. You may use this feature to change expenses and time as non-billable items. Since you can check multiple line items this will allow you to clean up your unbilled items data with a quick easy to use interface. To access this feature go to Account>Unbilled Project Items. At the bottom of the page is a button called “Mark Non-Billable”. Select items to which you would like to mark as non-billable and press this button.

Bulk Printing of Employee Timecards:

 We have added a new feature to allow you to print employee timecards in bulk. To use this feature go to the selectable timecard screen and choose the “Bulk Timecard Print” tab.

Reimbursable Employee Expenses:

When adding expenses from the timecard pages the user can now choose an option for reimbursement. These expenses will still need to be approved by an administrator of the system by using the “Items Pending Approval” panel on the control panel page. Two new reports have been created in order to support this feature. The first is found under the “My Pages” menu which will allow the logged in user to check the approval status of his/her reimbursable expenses. The second is an overall reimbursable expenses report found under the “Reports & Charts” menu item.

User Permissions:

We have changed the way user permissions are setup. We have now changed this to a page by page permission instead of rights within pages. We believe the same security can be reached with this new setup while keeping the setup very simple and intuitive.

Preview Invoices:

Preview or draft invoices are now saved in the system. This will allow you to create preview invoices and then come back at a later time and continue work on these invoices. This also allows for a new feature of managerial approval of invoices before they are saved to the system.

If you would like to allow users to create invoices but not to save the invoice to the system until a manager approves the invoice, please let your cvlTracker representative know. This is a setting found within application settings.

Over reconciliation:

We have created a new setting that will give you the option to control reconciliation of time. You can now control if you want an employee to have the ability to OVER reconcile time or if the employee must reconcile time EXACTLY for the time they were punched in. By default the employee may OVER reconcile. If you would like this setting changed please contact your cvlTracker representative.

cvlNotes:

You can now setup cvlNotes to send automatically to your email address. To control this feature you edit the employee details under Employees>Setup. You will find the option in the cvlNotes section.

CRM advances:

We have updated our contact management. Contacts now have cards which contain the contact details. You can keep track of contact notes and much more. To access this feature open the “Client Detail” page and then click on the contact card icon. The contact details are also accessible on the rolodex.