-
Business Article: The Architectural Firm: Practice or Business?
-
Business Article: Clients from Hell (and Other Love Stories)
-
Business Article: The Architecture Firm: Allusion, Illusion and Delusion
-
Tips/Tricks: Create an ArchiOffice Server Bookmark
- Tips/Tricks: Easily Change Invoice Labels
BUSINESS ARTICLE
The Architectural Firm: Practice or Business?
This is part two in a series of articles focusing on commonalities I identified during a two
year period visiting more than 200 architectural firms (small and large). Spending between one and 5 days within these offices,
I was privileged to observe their operations and culture. Based on my experiences, I identified three, strikingly common and
problematic characteristics regardless of the size of firm or type of work they did.Read the full article here.
BUSINESS ARTICLE
Clients from Hell (and Other Love Stories)
We’ve all experienced the “client from hell.” I am doing research in preparation for an educational seminar dealing with this serious topic and would
like your help by sharing your own stories with me. Anonymity is expected.Read the full article here.
BUSINESS ARTICLE
The Architecture Firm: Allusion, Illusion and Delusion
A few years ago I was given an “offer I couldn’t refuse”, to sell my Chicago-based, 17-person architectural firm.
During the following 24-months, I visited nearly 200 architectural firms (small and large), all around the country.
I was able to spend anywhere from one to 5 days within these offices, learning how they operate and observing their culture.
This was an amazingly enlightening experience.Read the full article here.
TECHNICAL NEWS
As a Senior Support Specialist at BQE Software Inc., Pam McGinty has many years of experience supporting thousands of ArchiOffice customers. In addition to her work on our
support desk, Pam also conducts many on-line training seminars and private, one-on-one training courses. For customers in the Chicago area, Pam provides on-site training sessions for their administrators,
principals, project managers and general office staff. Here, Pam provides her own tech-tips based on common questions she has encountered from users.
Create an ArchiOffice Server Bookmark
Sometimes it's necessary for an ArchiOffice client computer to clear their Java cache. When this is done, you'll also lose the startup icon/shortcut on your desktop that the ArchiOffice Server places there. And since clearing the Java cache doesn't happen that frequently, you'll probably not remember the IP address for the ArchiOffice Server. A really simple way to store this is as a Favorite or Bookmark in your browser. Next time you have to type in the URL to the ArchiOffice Server so it launches the Client - make sure you bookmark it. Next time, you won't need to go hunting through your notes to find out the IP address.
Easily Change Invoice Labels
Before you get all excited, this isn't about making custom invoices (which is possible, but not "easy'). This feature is something that we've found many administrators of ArchiOffice aren't even aware of. In the Preferences>Billing area - is a section called "Labels". If you want to change the labels that appear on the invoice template, this is where you control it. For example, if you use "Invoice Header B" and you don't like the label "PAYMENT NUMBER" that appears on the invoice and instead want it to read "Invoice #" simply
find the Field called "Invoice Number" and change the label from "INVOICE NUMBER"
to "Invoice #". It's that simple. There are a possible 97 different labels you can change for the various invoice templates and Summary Reports.