June 2009

Our New Look from Our Newest Software

This is the first newsletter we have developed with Spreading the News, our newest software for collecting contacts, developing email lists and newsletters, announcements and promotions.

A beta version of this software is available for downloading at no charge from our website.  Call us if you would like to give it a try:  215-256-4535

It's very easy to use, you can import existing emails from your QuickBooks customer table, from any CSV (comma-separated values) file or simply enter from the keyboard. It's a great way to promote your business...look below to see why E-Newsletters Are a Big Hit!

The New York Times reported today that the economy is "perking up" and many experts are giving credit to the small-to-medium businesses who have kept striving, promoting, developing.   That's us...and that's you.

Looking Ahead to July

When we began the next release, numbered 1.19, of DQB, there were only a few items on our list.   But time and the never-ending brainpower of our users added quite a few more enhancements over the past three months.   This is a fine-tuning release, with no major additions, but with a number of new reports, new searches, new choices.   The review of these will be posted on our website www.mainstreet-systems.com in the Support section.

Those who have up-to-date service agreements can call for the download codes after the Independence Day Celebrate America weekend of July 4.  Since July 4 falls on a Saturday this year, like many businesses in the USA, we will be closing mid-day on Friday, July 3.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  In our last newsletter when discussing group training sessions, we said that some things that we thought were obvious were not at all obvious to those using QuickBooks and DentaLab for QuickBooks. You asked what these were, so here are some of them:

A:
How to Schedule a Pickup:  There are two ways:  1) Choose Customer List, then a specific customer, then right-click or the Actions menu and choose Schedule a Pickup or 2) If you have DentalRx, let the dental office request a pickup.  To see and/or print the pickup list, go to the top toolbar, then Reports, then Pickup/Delivery list.

How to Customize a QB Report:   From the Report Center, choose your report, then select the Modify Report tab. If the report involves dates, select From and To in the calendars.  From the Display tab, then the list of fields, you can check the ones you want to include (uncheck those you do not want).   From Filter, choose from the criteria shown whether you want all records or selected records to limit your report.

How to Create a Custom Report for a Customer:   Follow the above instruction to customize the report, making sure to Filter to limit the report to the selected customer. Then, if you wish to reflect this in the Title, go to the Header/Footer tab to enter the Company Name, Report Title and SubTitle and whether you want the date and time, the report basis and page numbering included.

How to Get a View on Work in Progress:   Go to the DQB Report Center, then the Analysis Tab, choose a date range for cases entered, then a Product Group (or the default group for all items).  Generate the report to see work scheduled, work completed, as well as the amount invoiced.

Q:  When and where  is the next group training session?

A:  We have at this time taken care of everyone who asked to come here to our offices in Pennsylvania for group training.   We will schedule more Monday sessions upon request, as the feedback from those who came was that these sessions are very worthwhile.   We are tentatively planning a trip to southern Florida that will involve demonstrations of DentalRx and its incorporation into website design.   Let us know if you are interested in group or onsite training.  

Hasta la Vista, Vista

We wish we could say it with the same swagger that Arnold did in the Terminator.  Microsoft has announced that October 22, 2009, will be the release date for its next major operating system Windows 7 to replace Windows Vista.   Starting July 1, 2009, those who license Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate will be given an opportunity to update at no charge and in-place to the new system.   Those upgrading from XP will need to backup, then install Windows 7, then restore.  Downgrades to XP will continue to be available until the first service pack of Windows 7 is released.    

Those of our colleagues who accepted and tested the beta version of Windows 7 have told us they like it very much.    Vista had directed much of its focus to security issues at the expense of compatibility and ease of use.   It had been accepted by only about 6% of corporate America and most buyers of new equipment paid to downgrade back to XP, rather than take on Vista.   

Because we are always trying to make installations as easy as possible and Vista put a number of roadblocks on this, we will look forward to moving DQB up to Windows 7.

Why E-Newsletters Are Such a Big Hit

We first began putting ourselves on lists for emailed newsletters for our technical support because this was the only way to stay up-to-date with the latest news, trends and releases in a timely manner.   This gradually spread to other newsletters from vendors we particularly liked and now they have become a big hit with us.   Here are eight of the reasons:

1)    Unlike paper, they take up to no space, do not get lost in a pileup and we know right where to find them.  And they are good for the environment, do not cause trees to be cut down, do not pile up in the garbage.
2)    They can be placed in folders in any way we like, by source, by topic, by dates.
3)    We can run searches by word, phrase or topic to find just what we want.
4)    When we have a few moments to read, to catch up, they are readily available, easy to find.  They can be educational, informative, and entertaining.
5)    Some of them include offers, discounts and help lines available only to online subscribers.
6)    We can choose to archive them for future reference, keep them for a while for when we are ready to read them, and/or delete them with a few simple clicks.
7)    If we choose to no longer receive them, we can follow a simple instruction to unsubscribe by going to a link or replying with “Unsubscribe”.
8)    When it comes to sending the newsletters we have written, the old way involved lots of copying, printing labels, paper supplies, stamps, folding and pasting and a trip to the mailbox…the new way is to simply choose your email list(s) and click the Send button.