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January 2020

DentaLab NewsJanuary 2020
from Mainstreet Systems & Software

FAQ  DentaLab News

 

To start the new year

We are currently having an open period from January 6 to 18 with extra technical support for those who have not updated their systems in a while so that they can meet the current industry standards for both computers and dental labs. We are pleased that a number of labs have scheduled review and update sessions. 

To help those who are just getting started with case management, we are offering this month a 20% reduction on DQB Starter bringing the one-time license fee of $500 down to $400.

We are also offering specials this month to help those who want to offer the DentalRx web portal to their customers, as well as accessing and storing digital files:  

  1. The DQB Images/Digital Documents Supplement is reduced by 20% from $400 to $320.  
  2. To upgrade from DQB Starter to Standard and license DQB Images/Digital Documents, the combined fee is reduced from $600 to $480.

Call or email before January 31 2020 if you wish to take advantage of these savings.

More good ideas in the January release for DQB 1.61

The January release will include updates for DQB Starter, DQB Standard and DentalRx.   It is in the final stages of testing and will soon be posted in the Support/Quarterly Releases section of our website:   www.mainstreetsystems.net

Here are some of the highlights:

  1. In DQB Work Centers for the Master Schedule, you can setup new definitions for your work week for scheduling cases. 
  2. Customer Alerts were previously displayed during the Case Entry process, but now you can also setup alerts specifically for: Advance Bill/Estimate, Invoicing/Credit Memos and Schedule Pickups
  3. For dental group practices and doctors who want more than one billing account, we have expanded the selection fields to Transfer/Clone from one customer to another. 
  4. In DentalRx, we have added new features for labs registered to received digital scans directly to their email or web locations from the major providers of digital dental technology such as 3M, 3Shape, Carestream, Cerec, iTero, Planmeca, Sirona.  

All of these enhancements have been in response to suggestions from our dynamic user group.

No holidays for a while, but...

There is definitely the possibility of snow and ice here in Pennsylvania and if the roads are declared not safe to travel, we will work from home.  If you see news of this and need our support, it is a good idea to both email and call.   As long as we have power, we will be able to tune into our office computers and yours as well.  We will be using Verizon Digital Voice to have the office phone calls directed to our smartphones.

 

    Easy, versatile software for the modern dental laboratory.

To answer your questions...

Q: We like to review the pricing of the case items to make sure they were entered correctly.  Should we add the prices to our work ticket?

A: You can request customization of your work ticket to show the prices.   An alternative that already exists is to go to the Action menu while in Case Entry, then select Advance Bill/Estimate.  This will give you a format very similar to the invoice that you can review.   If any of the case items are not correct,  you can return to the case item grid.  You can, if you wish, edit the description and/or price of each line item in the advance bill.   Click on Estimate and then Print to generate a paper copy that can accompany the work ticket.  You can choose to have the advance bill remain until the case is invoiced or delete it. 

If invoicing the case individually, the advance bill information will first populate the invoicing screen. You can choose to use this as is or edit it further.  If invoicing in a batch, the advance bill information will be used to create the invoice. 

Q: Why have you chosen Amazon Web Services for the internet-based features of DQB and DentalRx?

A: There are a number of solid choices for web hosting whenever you wish to have cloud-based access.  The major ones such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft all have highly secured data centers in multiple locations.  All of these have security measures that far exceed any that can be provided in a standard office environment.   Knowing that the Amazon shopping services use AWS and noting that we have never experienced downtime, lack of access or slowdowns when using these over many years, we wanted to definitely test this possibility for ourselves and our customers.  

We first tested hosting of QuickBooks, DQB, DentalRx on AWS with success and next recommended this to several customers who also experienced a high rate of success in access and performance when offering the DentalRx web portal to their customers.     Other factors in our choice of AWS have been the affordable costs, flexibility for storage needs and top notch communications and support. 

If anyone would prefer one of the other major vendors for their specific needs, we could review and test this.


      With the same look and feel of QuickBooks.

Keeping track of discounts

In some dental labs, every customer is billed at the same standard price.  In most dental labs, however, prices and discounts are often negotiated and promised for specific dentists or dental groups.  Some of the important features in DQB as well as QuickBooks include:

  1. Keeping track of these special prices
  2. Making sure pricing promises are fulfilled when billing
  3. Letting the doctors know when they are receiving special prices and/or discounts
  4. Keeping track of the cumulative amounts granted for different types of discounts  

In the January release, we have added still another convenience for this aspect of the business with the expansion of the customer alerts specifically for invoicing.  We have also updated our white paper on DQB Discounting that covers the alternative methods and tracking that are available to you.   To help guide both yourself and your staff, you can request that we email you a copy.

On classifying your products and services

A request from one of our labs for guidance on how to respond to one of their dentist's request prompted us to review the ways your items can be classified.  The dentist wanted to know how much they spent for Ortho lab services last year.  

We guided the lab to Basic Lists-Sales Categories to setup a category for Ortho and then select the items to be assigned to this.    The next step was to select the dentist in the Customer Center and then request Sales Analysis by Sales Category for the 2019 calendar date range. 

When deciding how to classify your items, it is important to tune in to the end results you want.  These can be for your review and analysis as well as being able to respond to any requests that might come your way from your customers and those involved in the management of your business.   Here is what is available to you in DQB and QuickBooks: 

In Basic Lists, you can also setup a Product Group, then select items for this for use in the Production and Sales Analysis Reports.  In DQB Standard, the Customer Center also includes a number of reports for one customer that make use of these classifications. 

One important distinction between Sales Categories and Product Groups is this:   You can assign an item to only one Sales Category.   An item can, however, be assigned to multiple Product Groups.  For instance, if you have setup a Product Group for New Items, an ortho item may be assigned to this as well as one or more Ortho product groups. 

When the items are first set up in QuickBooks, you also classify them with the Type field.   The most frequent Type is Service, but others in use in the dental labs are Inventory, Discount, Sales Tax, Subtotal.  If taxation is required, you also define whether or not they are taxable.

Once items are synchronized into DentaLab, you can in Basic Lists-Items further define whether they are Billable, Materials Disclosure, Technician/Labor, assigned to a Work Center, pre-assigned to a Technician, assigned to a QuickBooks Class and/or have a Schedule Factor and Days for the Master Schedule.

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Customization is available for all products.

Contact us at 1-800-257-4535 or www.mainstreet-systems.com.

"I really wanted to say thank you for all your understanding and patience during the last few weeks. I am sure to go far with this system now, the versatility is endless with it, and I am confident that the support is second to none."

Christopher Kelly
Orthoplant Dental Lab
Sydney, Australia


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