January 2017

This is a good time....

Because for many labs the winter months are a time when things slow down a bit, this is a very good time to take care of:

• Taking time to review your computers and software
• If  needed, updating your computers and software
• Determining if you or your personnel need more training on specific topics
  
• Making plans to implement new procedures and/or features to help your lab be more efficient and profitable.  See the topic below for some ideas.
  

For DentaLab for QuickBooks, check your About Box to see your version.   The current release is 1.48 with 1.49 scheduled to be available by the end of this month.   You can visit our website (www.mainstreetsystems.net) and find the list of updates for each release in the Support tab.   If you have an up-to-date support agreement, there is no charge for downloading the latest release.  It is quick and easy, but if you are not experienced you can call to schedule a tech support session for guidance.

If you do not have a support agreement but wish to have our ongoing support and receive updates, just call.   We will be offering reduced rates from now until February 28 to catch up for those who commit to this very worthwhile service.  

We have also noted when providing tech support that there is often a need for a review of your information systems.  In today's world, keeping your systems relatively up-to-date and your staff well-trained should be considered a utility much like electricity, heat/air conditioning, air quality.     By scheduling a small amount of dedicated time to each participating lab, we are able to provide guidance on how to improve computer performance and security in many ways, to make sure the right things are being done to protect your information and to stay in compliance for patient safety.  If you would like to review features that you have not yet implemented for your software, we can cover this too.

Those who have an up-to-date or new service agreement will be given priority, but we will endeavor to schedule time for those who do not. 

It's also time to think about ice and snow

If the ice and snow of Pennsylvania's winter months prevent us from travelling to the office, we are setup to work from our homes.   We will alternate checking on email and voicemail for your messages.  Be sure to be as complete as possible including your name, your lab name and the contact information on how to best reach you. If a speedy response is needed, it's OK to send both a phone message and an email. 

Intuit support for QB 2014 will be ending

Intuit has announced that its support for QuickBooks 2014 will be ending May 31, 2017.   The basics of this system will continue to run, but continuation of any of the features that require internet connection such as payment processing, online payroll, backup, and customer portals will require an update to a later version.  

If you are at 2014 or earlier, we recommend that you update not only for the internet features but also for the latest security features and for the possibility of needing tech support from Intuit.   To keep your lab running smoothly, it is a good idea to not wait until the very last minute to get this done. 

To answer your questions...

Q:  In QuickBooks, we can have our invoice due dates set to the last day of this month or the first of the next month but our doctors have been used to having them due at the end of the next month and this is not an option in QuickBooks.   Is there a way can we do this without manually resetting the due date on every invoice?

A: Yes you can for the cases being invoiced in DQB.   We have set up a new option in Options/Invoice Settings to specify this.  This new feature is in the upcoming release 1.49.  We can add other special settings upon request.

Q:  Have any of the labs in the DQB user group become totally paperless?

A: Although we hear that a number of labs have reduced their use (and accumulation) of paper, we have not heard that anyone has become totally paperless.   Paper invoices, packing slips or labels still go out the door with the physical cases.  Use of tablets with the DQBT workflow app can cut back on printing of work tickets, but not all labs want to supply their technicians with tablets so they continue to print the tickets.  

The most significant reduction in paper has come from doing away with the accumulation of completed prescriptions and work tickets by scanning them into digital documents and automatically indexing them for easy fast retrieval whenever needed.   There is also not a need to print a lot of analysis reports as the historical records stored on the computer can be accessed and viewed whenever needed.  

If you have found unique ways to reduce your use of paper that you would like to share with others in the group, let us know.

Some ideas for making your lab more efficient and profitable

Here are some ideas that have already proven successful for labs that use the DentaLab software:

Acquiring and storing digital images and documents with each case.  The Images supplement has been #1 add-on and also #1 in excellent results.  You are able to acquire these through a scanner, camera or from the dental offices and then access them in the very same myriad of ways you can access the case.  Having these on the computers definitely saves space and time and provides for very easy backups locally or in the cloud.

Tracking workflow on a tablet.  This apps provides for very easy marking of whether a task has been started, paused or finished by a technician.  This provides within DQB a precise location for the case when it is in progress and accurate information on who worked on the case, whether tech notes were recorded for special circumstances.  It also provides more precise timings on how long each item takes on average to complete.

Remote access on mobile devices via MyQuickCloud.  This inexpensive service provides for access by authorized users to the DQB software who are working at locations other than the lab.   You can use the user roles and security features in DQB to limit which features are available to specific personnel such as marketing/sales, drivers, and accounting/bookkeeping.  

Offering a web portal to your dental offices via DentalRx.  This supplement is offered in two ways.  One is the more traditional approach with a link to DQB from within your existing web site.   The other is to have a new website developed by Mainstreet to cover the basics of modern websites with your own story, your products and services, contact information, and the web portal.   The portals are the same for both, providing for submittal of prescriptions, transfer of digital files, requests for pickups and preferences, lookup of cases.   Both provide for customization to choose your own colors, logos, photos and marketing messages.  

An update for the tutorials

The tutorials in the Products section of our website have continued to be very useful, particularly for those new to the system.   They are one component in our arsenal of training venues that include webinars, telephone/email guidance, practice trials, the guide available from the Help button of the system, the Blog topics on our website and upon request training at our offices or onsite at a lab.

This past month we took time out of our busy schedules to do a behind-the-scenes update so that each tutorial will begin with just one click regardless of the browser being used.  As time went on after this set of tutorials was first developed, there emerged differences between the browsers.     

Let us know if there are more topics you would like to have covered in any of the training venues.

If you wish to be removed, reply to this email with the subject "unsubscribe".