April 2019

April news

Our offices will be closed on Good Friday April 21. 

DQB Release 1.58 and its list of enhancements and new features are ready for downloading from the Support/Quarterly Releases section of our website:  www.mainstreetsystems.net  

The April quarterly release for DQB 1.58 includes an important update to maintain compatibility with the latest releases of the Microsoft Windows versions and the corresponding controls for printers, scanners and other devices provided by the major manufacturers.

The Microsoft .Net Framework provides the software support for the various functions of the Microsoft operating systems such as coordination with manufacturer controls for printers and other devices, user access and control, internet services, and security measures

We have advanced the DentaLab systems to use the latest version of this framework to maintain compatibility as well as providing better performance, reliability and security.   Recently some of the labs in our user group began experiencing slowdowns and errors after updating their operating system or after installing new equipment.  These were traced to the framework and their issues were resolved by this update.   We strongly recommend that you schedule the installation of this release for your lab.

Those with an up-to-date service agreement can request the authorization codes when ready to update.   If you do not have a service agreement but would like to be able to update and to receive tech support, give us a call.

Looking ahead to May

In May, we will be honoring the USA Memorial Day holiday and closing our offices on Monday, May 27.  

We have a waiting list of prospective customers who want to synchronize DentaLab case management with the online version of QuickBooks.  Work on adapting DQB to do this has begun in April and will continue into May.

Working very well....

We and a number of labs have been very pleased with the performance of these services: 

• Advanced Backup Protocol to provide for single or multiple secure backups with a choice of media, locations and encryption levels   
• DentalRx Direct to provide a web portal for the dental offices to conveniently submit prescriptions, send digital files, lookup cases, and other communications 
• Sequenced Batch Invoicing for greater speed and efficiency in billing and matching invoices to cases for the final steps before delivery or shipment
• Shipment Tracking information can be recorded and then accessed by both the lab and the dental offices

To answer your questions...

Q: We have become very proficient with case entry and billing and want to move on to providing more customer services.  What is the best next step?

A: We are happy to hear this.  Although it is a good first step, we see that some labs limit their computer involvement to keeping track of critical dates for cases and invoicing.  For stepping up your game to focus more on customer service, here are some suggestions that have proven very worthwhile for many labs:

• Manage your cases and their workflow efficiently so that request dates and times are honored reliably.    
• Provide for capturing digital files and documents and associating them with the corresponding customer and/or case for reliable quick access. 
• Ask for doctor and contact preferences, record them and have them available to your personnel when entering and developing cases. 
• Know how to respond quickly to requests from the dental offices for special reports, case and invoice histories. 
• Give your customers the ability to submit prescriptions, send digital files, look up case status and history, request pickups and other communications via a DentalRx Direct web portal.
• Become familiar with compliance regulations for the dental industry and your government for safety, patient privacy, materials disclosure, taxation, payment processing and tune in to how QuickBooks and DQB provide the software support for these.

Q: How are other labs handling the increased competition and pressure to lower prices due to cheap labor in other countries?

A: Although this has definitely been a major concern for many labs, we see that a number of labs in our user group have continued to have success and build their businesses.  

Some of these have long trusting relationships with their customers and work to continually reinforce these.  

Many are adapting to new digital technologies to reduce their own labor costs and speed delivery times.  

Others enhance customer services such as online communications, greater use of their own local delivery services, training their personnel to listen and to be gracious, knowledgeable and accommodating to their customers, educational seminars.

Q: Some of your competitors say we could outgrow QuickBooks.  Is this true?

A: You only outgrow QuickBooks if you need to have more than 30 concurrent users in QuickBooks.   The largest labs typically only use 2 concurrent users.  Most labs use only one.   The enterprise versions of QuickBooks are SQL-based, which means they can handle very large volumes of data.   DQB is also SQL-based and is currently set for a maximum of 200 concurrent users.    Currently, the largest concurrent user count for DQB is 39. 

It is important to understand that it is the number using the software at the same time that determines the count, not the number of computer stations where it is installed.

Learn more about the levels of DQB customization

The ability to customize has been one of the strong appeals for choosing both QuickBooks and DentaLab for QuickBooks (DQB). These provide for a wide range of business models, preferences and sizes.   Here is an overview of what is possible with DQB.   Call us if you wish to discuss any of these in detail for your lab.  

Level 1 Built In Features

This level of customization is provided by choices already built into the system to provide personalization for each lab.   These are part of the design and there is no extra charge for these.  

Basic Lists: These tables give you the opportunity to enter your unique setups for customers, items and work centers, as well as a number of case-related tables such as case stages, lab notes, standard procedures, price levels, shades, tooth charts.  

Custom Fields:  You can create custom fields for the customers, items and cases tables. For each of these tables, you have up to 10 custom fields. You give each field a unique name and then can enter up 50 characters for each field.

Options / Settings:  In this menu there are many choices divided into categories for your company, synchronization, cases, invoices, purchase orders. For some of these, there are further categories such as work tickets and dashboards.  Many of these settings provide time-saving automatic actions and defaults. 

Level 2: Forms and Reports

The structure of the system has been designed to accommodate custom versions of your forms and reports. For these, we work with you to design the specifications and then use a reporting tool to develop the format. 

Labs often use the monthly no-charge time designated in their service agreement to achieve this level of customization. Supplemental time and its billing are typically very nominal in cost. DentaLab for QuickBooks has hundreds of forms and reports. The ones most commonly customized are:   

• Work Tickets 
• Invoices
• Packing Lists / Slips 
• Quality Control/Feedback Forms 
• Labels

Level 3: Larger Customizations

Beyond this, we will try to accommodate special requirements within the framework of the standard DQB system. If a lab's needs are so unique that they cannot fit into the standard format, then we create a custom version that is separate from the standard user-group version. This is a far more expensive route and typically has been chosen only by corporate groups and very large independent labs. 

Level 4: Custom Programming

This could be the solution for those who want something beyond what the above levels of customization offer.  Many of these custom projects involve synchronization with either the desktop or online versions of QuickBooks.   To learn more about what is possible, visit our alternate website:  www.customquickbooks.net

DQB 1.58 Release List

The release list is long this quarter so we would like to direct you to the Support/Quarterly Releases section of our website:  www.mainstreetsystems.net

Please call or email if you have questions on any of the updates in the list...or if you have a suggestion for the next release.  

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