Here's the lowdown on BillQuick Retainers from last month's BillQuick Quizzer.

BillQuick supports both client retainers and project retainers. For any retainer invoice or "request for prepayment," it can be generated from the Retainer History screen (View, Retainer History). In addition, project retainers can be generated from the Project screen. 

When generating a retainer invoice, it does not matter whether it is for the client or a particular project. This distinction is made when you record receipt of the retainer amount.

1. Client Retainer - On the Payment screen, select View By: Customer, select the customer, skip selecting a project, select Payment Method, check Apply as Retainer, and enter the amount.

2. Project Retainer - For a project (engagement, matter, job, etc.), record the retainer exactly as above, except now select the project to which it belongs.

3. Bonus! - BillQuick also records overpayments (unapplied amounts) as "on-account" amounts. They are treated as a client retainer or project retainer depending on how the payment is recorded.

As one of your billing decisions, you can apply any retainer (or amount on-account) to a billing record on the Billing Review screen to reduce an invoice's Net Bill Amount. You must completely apply a project retainer before you can apply a client retainer to an invoice. Similarly, a retainer can be applied to all or part of an invoice as a type of payment on the Payment screen.

Back to Retainer History. This efficient screen shows:

• Total retainers paid by client and project

• Applied retainers by client and project

• Available retainers by client and project

• Payments received by client and project

• Invoices with applied retainer amounts by client and project

In addition, you can print several reports: Client Retainer Summary, Retainer History, and Account Details.

BillQuick 2006 IS COMING!
Beta Testers Wanted

BillQuick 2006 will begin its final phase of development in several weeks. A key part of that effort is front-line, real-world people testing the new software.

Higher overhead costs. Raises for staff and managers. That means updating bill rates and cost rates. But you forgot to change rates before staff and managers started entering hours in 2006.

No problem.

Update Rates

To update default employee rates:

1. From the View menu, select Employees.

2. Sort and filter the grid list until it contains the employees whose default employee rates require updating.

3. Select the Rate tab.

4. Select the first employee, change the default bill and cost rates, and click .

5. Repeat for each employee.

If you use special bill and cost rates (service fee schedules), do the following:

1. From the Project menu, select Create/Review Project.

2. Select the Billing tab.

3. Next to the Service Fee Schedule (SFS) field, click .

4. To keep an existing SFS for future reference or in case a client receives special FY2005 rates in FY2006, click , define the SFS, then select it for the project. The new rates will be used for future time entries.

5. If you do not need to save an existing SFS, simply change the bill rate (and cost rate, as needed). When you close the screen, the changes are saved and will be used for future time entries.

6. Repeat these steps for each SFS and for Expense Fee Schedules as needed.

Update Time Entries With The Right Rates

To change entries with incorrect rates, do the following:

1. Identify the employees and time entry dates involved.

2. Select Time-Expense, Sheet View from the menu.

3. Select View By: Employee, enter the employee ID,  choose Period=Custom, and enter the first and last date for the time entries you want to correct.

4. Click .

5. Click .

6. On the Change panel enter the correct bill rate and cost rate.

7. Click to update the time entries with corrected Bill Amount and Cost Amount.

Whether you have used BillQuick for a week or for months, whether you are an accountant, architect, engineer, attorney, consultant, or another professional, you have the same wishes --

• Implement BillQuick firm-wide ASAP

• Optimum use of BillQuick for your firm

But, it's the new year. You have other things to do. Billable hours to generate. Still, you want your return on investment in BillQuick to kick in sooner rather than later. You want to make more non-billable hours into billable ones. You want to more tasks.

Here are a few suggestions to make your wishes come true.

1. New users can quickly populate their firm databases using capabilities built into BillQuick. Rather than days spent manually entering data, you can electronically move data from a variety of programs into your BillQuick database. And you can transfer data from one source or multiple sources.

• Timeslips Conversion - Convert clients, projects, employees, activities, expense codes, time and expense entries, invoices and payments from Timeslips (version 10 or better) to BillQuick. Select File, Timeslips Conversion from the menu, then follow the wizard. See Help for more information.

• QuickBooks Integration - After defining how you want to integrate data between BillQuick and QuickBooks, select Get Data from the Accounting, QuickBooks Accounting menu. For an easy-to-follow guide, download Getting Started with QuickBooks Integration. Also, you can practice the process without worrying about messing up. It's okay to delete a BillQuick database that's not right and create a new one (if you haven't started processing time, expenses and bills). If you have questions, call BillQuick Support.

• Microsoft Small Business Accounting Integration - Just like QuickBooks, you can populate your BillQuick database with data from MS SBA. Check out BillQuick-Microsoft Small Business Accounting Integration Guide for step-by-step instructions.

• Sage Peachtree Complete Accounting Integration - Again, populate BillQuick with data from Peachtree. (An integration guide is in the works. Watch the BillQuick Web Site.)

• Import/Export Utility - For data in another time & billing system, Excel or a custom Access database, use BillQuick's Import feature. You can transfer all or selected data in a comma- or tab-delimited file to the desired field in your BillQuick firm database.

2. When time pressure is high, consider implementing new BillQuick capabilities in stages. Many new BillQuick users start with managers and staff entering time and expenses into BillQuick. Self-learning orientation can be found in the BillQuick 2005 Getting Started Tutorial. In addition to building a beneficial habit, managers have time and expense (e.g. work in progress) reports available to support their billing decisions. Then after a month or two, you would move to stage 2: billing clients through BillQuick. Stage 3, utilizing practice management information more fully, follows one or two months later. During this stage managers would choose which of the many BillQuick reports they prefer to manage their firm.

Eventually users evolve into a fourth stage: Expanded features use, customized invoices and/or reports, and adopting add-on modules to further adapt BillQuick to their firm and convert more non-billable hours into billable time.

3. In a time-pressured situation, an alternative to the staged approach is Guided Learning. When self-learning is not right for your firm, you can turn to efficient role-based training courses taught by experienced BillQuick trainers. With live training via the web, you can cost-effectively get everyone up to speed on time and expense entry in 90 minutes with BillQuick for Timekeepers. A 2.5 hour web session teaches billing setup and processing options and shortcuts. QuickBooks integration training is also available. You can even customize training to your firm - for one person or everyone.

 4. When you have used BillQuick for a while and you want to gain still greater benefits from it, there are several ways to expand your knowledge.

• Talk to BQE Account Manager. Tell them what you want to do, what areas you want to improve. They will guide you to features and to add-on modules that deepen your benefits with the BillQuick Family.

• Browse the BillQuick web site, browse the BillQuick Help file, and review information in the BillQuick User Guide (talk to your account manager to purchase a copy).

• Tap the experience and knowledge of BillQuick Trainers by scheduling a BillQuick 1-on-1 Training session. You can preset the topics or interact in a dynamic question-and-answer format.

Save on Add-Ons and Guided Learning

Add-Ons and Guided Learning, OH YEAH!

January brings savings on BillQuick Add-On Modules and BillQuick Role-Based Training.

20% Off All Add-ons

20% Off BillQuick Role-Based Training

Need a little more capability to convert non-billable hours into billable time? Need tools to capture time and expenses in the field? Want staff in a second office or staff who work from home to gain fast, controlled access to BillQuick? Need to schedule and manage project resources?

BillQuick Add-Ons

Then now is the time to save. Choose one or as many BillQuick add-on modules as you want.

• Agent for automating monitoring of time cards and scheduling and delivery of reports

• Web i Time and Expense, Web i Billing, Web i Reports, and Web i Client & Project for browser-based access to BillQuick via the Internet, an intranet, or your internal network

• BillQuick CE and BillQuick Palm for capturing time and expenses on your PDA (including cell-enabled devices)

• eTools for emailing time, expenses and other data to/from your office, with only a click to update your firm database

• BillQuick Assistant for making your Microsoft Outlook appointments and tasks into BillQuick time entries

• Resource Allocator for a "company-wide" view of Project Management, Resource and Task Assignment, Project Timeline and Staff Schedules

• Additional user licenses

Remember, you receive 20% off one or as many add-ons as you want through January 31, 2006.

BillQuick Guided Learning

Want to speed up your BillQuick return on investment? Time pressures keep pushing self-learning efforts down the to-do list? Prefer your managers and staff be guided through learning BillQuick by an experienced trainer?

Then January is a good month for you! BQE Software offers FIVE role-based training courses, all web-based for greatest flexibility and lowest cost. Choose the guided learning that is right for your firm.

1. New Employee Orientation

2. BillQuick for Timekeepers

3. BillQuick for Billing Managers

4. BillQuick<-->QuickBooks Integration

5. BillQuick 1-on-1 Training (customized training)

Until January 31, 2006, you receive 20% off one, two or more courses and one or more attendees in a course. Take your training courses now, or schedule them later. You receive 20% off regardless.

Contact BillQuick Sales at (888) 245-5669 or Sales@bqe.com.

Monthly BillQuick Quizzer
Win $50!

Never taken the quiz before? Really?

It's a wonderful opportunity to take a quick detour to learn about a beneficial feature. And if that is not enough, you can win $50 credit on account to apply to upgrades, add-ons, training, additional licenses, custom invoices and reports - any BillQuick product or service.

Of course, you need to be one of the first 10 people to respond correctly to win the $50.

Want to try? Here's this month's BillQuick Quizzer question:

Which statement about BillQuick "approval" features is true?

1. The manager identified in each project record determines who will be notified on the Navigator or Reminder screen when submitted time entries await approval for billing.

2. The employee associated with an expense code is responsible for approving the expense before it can be billed.

3. The Draft Invoice feature allows managers to prepare invoices for review before they are approved (finalized) and sent to clients.

4. BillQuick Agent allows a firm to select approval responsibilities for billable and non-billable time and expenses and the approval chain for invoices.

5. A person responsible for approving employee and consultant time would click a link on the Navigator screen to display the associated entries in Sheet View.

6. A, B and C

7. B, C and D

8. A, C and E

9. A, B, C and D

10. All are true.

11. All are not true.

Hurry and send your answer to BQ-Quiz@bqe.com. You could be a winner!

Lisa, Heather and Andrea were the first three BillQuickers to win $50 when they answered the December Quizzer correctly. If you're wondering about the answer, see the first article in this month's BillQuick eLetter.

Current BillQuick Release Information

BillQuick 2005 and QuickBooks 2006

BillQuick 2005 has been tested with QuickBooks 2006. Everything is A-OK.

BillQuick does not integrate with QuickBooks Simple Start.

Macintosh Compatibility

Quick reminder: BQE Software is compatible with the Macintosh in two ways: The Web i add-on module or by using Virtual PC.

Latest BillQuick 2005 Version

BillQuick 2005 v. 6.0.124. For details, see the BillQuick 2005 Update Log File.

Various fixes and general improvements throughout BillQuick, including Billing Review, Payment, Manual Invoice and Memo features..

Latest BillQuick 2004 Version

BillQuick 2004 v. 5.0.102. Click to view the changes.

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), go to the File menu and select Get Updates. When you exit BillQuick, the update automatically installs.

If desired, you can download the latest BillQuick 2004 update from the BillQuick web site. Click 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