Optimize Processes and
Eliminate Overheads
To survive the current economic slowdown, businesses
must optimize processes and eliminate all overheads related
to repetitive tasks. BillQuick 2009 is packed with features
to achieve process optimization and therefore offset the
slowdown with improved productivity.
--- Shafat Qazi, CEO, BQE Software
New and improved features in BillQuick 2009 focus on
improved productivity in your firm. More billable hours and more
time to find and nurture project opportunities is not the only
benefit. When the market turn upward again, your firm will get
more done faster than the competition who balled themselves up
into a cocoon hoping to survive.
Here are a few of the top productivity enhancers.
File Linking
You can now attach scanned documents,
graphics, and other electronic files to many records. Letters,
contracts, receipts, consultant invoices, other vendor bills . .
. anything that's digital can be linked to a project, expense or
other records.
Linked files makes it easier and faster for project managers,
owners/principals and others to access the supporting
information they need. No more keeping the client waiting or
having to call them back.
In short, with file linking and BillQuick's Project Journal
features, you have virtually everything you need in one place.
There's much more to this feature. See this month's
User Tip
article.
Mobile Phone Interface
 Now
part of Web Suite and updated with an improved user interface, Web
Suite automatically detects you when you access your company data from
a smart phone. It immediately adapts to the smaller form factor,
adjusting navigation and data forms to both the smaller screen
and to the type of device you have.
Mobile has been extensively tested on the iPhone (left),
Blackberry and Treo devices. It is estimated that Mobile will
work on 75% of the smart phone devices in use today.
Mobile works anywhere you have a communication signal. You
can capture time while you're at a client's office or in your
car. (Yes, Mobile includes a Timer for automatic tracking of
time.) Expenses can be handled anywhere -- an airport or while
you wait in your truck.
When you click Save, the items are added to your company
database. No upload or import. Project managers, principals,
staff and admin can immediately produce up-to-date reports and
generate bills.
Built-in Report Customization Tools
(Click to enlarge)
BillQuick 2009 now includes more built-in control over
reports.
First, you can customize the font, size and color for text on
reports. You can also change the sort order of data in a report.
In short, you can adapt the report to you or the primary user of
the information, making it more efficient to scan and review.
You can save these settings to use when printing the same report
in the future.
You can also easily put a report in anyone's hands. In
addition to printing or exporting a report, the new Report
Viewer allows you to email a report in PDF, Word and Excel
format. (You can also do this with an invoice or statement.)
Finally, advanced users can fine-tune more detailed control
items to match what a manager needs or prefers. You can suppress
data, size and position items, control the size, alignment and
tool tip format, and set borders, add drop shadows and tighten
horizontal information.
Agent Workflow Automation
(Click to
enlarge)
Already one of the highest time-leveraging workflow tools in
BillQuick, the Agent module was tweaked to increase productivity
of administrative staff and management more. The screen above
shows that project managers (for example) can now be notified at
the same time that employees are reminded that they are late
entering in their hours. You can also choose the time of day to
check time cards and run scheduled reports.
(Click to enlarge)
And for the reports you schedule, admin and managers do not
need to turn off receiving a temporary report. You can now
specify both a start date and an end date for any scheduled
report. Even small tweaks like this result in a little more
billable time or increased productivity.
Automatic Email Notifications When Time or Expense Submitted
(Click to enlarge)
Many firms today need to turn time and expenses into invoices
ASAP. Or managers who review time and expenses are out of the
office a lot.
This is where the new automatic email notification feature
speeds up the process. Each reviewer can choose to turn on the
automatic email notification. Then when employees and vendors
submit time and expenses, they receive an email at home, in the
office, on their smart phone, or their laptop. Admin no longer
need to email managers when time and expenses are submitted.
In short, you speed up processes, workflow and cash flow.
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