Upcoming 8th Annual VMS User’s Conference May 5th- 7th 2011
Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort
The highly anticipated 2011 VMS User’s Conference
will be in Destin, Florida from May 5th to 7th at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.
As in the past, we are offering a two and a half day event with a mix of training, product development updates and round-table discussions on industry related topics. Training sessions will be offered for both the VMS and Ventus products.
The VMS User’s Conference is an opportunity for you to network with other VMS users, share best practices, provide input on product development plans, and learn more about the VMS solution and how to improve your operations. As always, there will be a mix of training on existing modules, tips and hints, new features in the current version of the
software and what you can expect to see throughout the remainder of 2011.
Why should you attend?
- Get the most value out of your software – this is an opportunity for you to see the new software enhancements and get training on how to implement them. Training sessions are presented by our software and industry experts.
- Meet other VMS customers – discuss best practices and share the current issues you are facing with customers in similar industries across the United States.
- Have input into future development of the software – meet members of our development team and let them know what is important to you for future versions of Ventus.
What Topics will be discussed at the Conference?
Here is an overview of what will be covered at the conference. A more detailed agenda will be provided before the event.
Thursday May 5th
Update on Ventus development and implementations since the last conference
Update on existing clients who have converted to Ventus and new clients who have implemented the software.
Review of process for Ventus conversion (for existing VMS users). When should your company move to Ventus?
The development plan for Ventus for the coming year
*Thursday evening: VMS cocktail reception at Sandestin Resort
Friday, May 6th
We will have several training sessions running concurrently so you can choose which sessions you want to attend.
Designing Crystal reports (Ventus)
New Google maps feature (VMS)
Mobile Data for field technicians
Month End/Year End Procedures
Service Billing – 10 things you don’t know about Service Billing
Job Costing – 10 things you don’t know about Job Costing
“VMS 101” – Questions and Answers with Linda Kennedy
*Friday afternoon: optional golf outing or other outing (to be determined)
Saturday, May 7th (morning only)
- Technical Q&A with Peter Schwier – Hardware requirements, software updates, frequently asked questions.
- Support services, customer feedback
- Round table discussions
Costs
Conference: $350 for early registration (before Mar. 31). $400/attendee after Mar. 31.
Golf tournament: $70/person
Hotel: Bayside Inn- Guest Room - Group rate of $129 per night (available for the evenings of May 4th to May 7th)
Please contact the Sandestin Golf and Beach resort to make your reservations@ 800-320-8115 or book online: http://www.Sandestin.com/22K9RC.aspx or print out this form and return. Be sure to reserve your rooms under the Vertical Market Software User Conference to get our guaranteed rate and reference GROUP CODE: 22K9RC
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
9300 Emerald Coast Parkway West
Destin, FL 32550-7268
Phone: 1-800-622-1038
How to Register
Print out the registration form, fill it out and either fax it to us at 850-478-5103 or scan and email it to lindab@vertical-market.com
Contact Information
For inquiries, please contact Angela Brutto at 1-800-476-0094 or email angelab@vertical-market.com
Answer Heating & Cooling, Inc. and Mobile Data
We are pleased to feature Brenda Burmeister, controller for Answer Heating & Cooling, Inc. in our special feature article this month. Brenda has agreed to share some of her thoughts with us in an effort to give our new and existing users of VMS Mobile Data insight into the roll out process. She will discuss what she has learned in rolling out Mobile Data to their service technicians and the major benefits the company has experienced.
In 1998 Answer Heating & Cooling came on board as one of the first beta testing sites for VMS Mobile Data. After a period of running Mobile Data on handheld PDA’s, they switched to laptops as it became apparent that the PDA’s were underpowered in available memory and processor speed.
Brenda has the following to say about her experience with VMS Mobile Data.
“Once we decided to use laptops, everything was good and Mobile Data took off. Recently we discovered a more economical method of purchasing laptops for Mobile Data by using Netbooks from VERIZON with built in air cards.”
Brenda discusses how they sold their technicians on using Mobile Data
“We showed the technicians the benefits of using lap tops with mobile data. Some of the benefits include accessing our vendor’s sites for technical support, map quest, and viewing service history. The service history report was a big hit with our service technicians. It saves time for everyone involved both dispatcher and service technician. We also allow our technicians to use the laptop for personal use; sending emails, and banking. However they are required to sign a standard IT policy form to protect the company from unlawful use.
A few months before we rolled out Mobile Data, during our weekly service meetings with our technicians, we would discuss the benefits/goals of the program. Our training room is equipped with a projector, so we were able to connect to a laptop and demonstrate what the program looked like and what it was capable of doing. Before we rolled it out to the rest of the group, we asked for a volunteer to start using mobile to give us feedback. When the time came to officially roll out VMS Mobile Data, we brought all the technicians in for training. Since some of the technicians did not use computers on a regular basis, we asked them to limit their use during the first week to just the basic features, such as acknowledge, travel, start, and stop so they could get the feel of it. The following week we scheduled another training session to review the billing process including: parts, flat rate, customer service history reports, and other miscellaneous items. As new features are added to VMS Mobile Data and as new technicians are hired, we continue to have periodic training sessions.”
Brenda talks about the major benefits they have experienced in running VMS Mobile Data.
“Mobile Data has helped reduce overhead costs with our dispatcher and service biller. It has also freed up enough office time that we do not have to hire another person to help during the busy seasons. The field technicians’ time is utilized more efficiently by having the information they need available at their finger tips. After using Mobile Data, I will never go without this product again.
And lastly, customers have even commented on how much easier it is to read their invoices now that they are printed out instead of in our technician’s handwriting!”
Answer Heating & Cooling, Inc., located in Freeland, Michigan has been in business since 1976, and is owned and operated by Jerry Kipfmiller and Richard Dvorak. They are one of the largest HVAC dealers in the Tri-City area, with a service base of 90% residential and 10% commercial and installation sales consists of 25% residential, 5% new construction, and 70% commercial. They have 44 employees, including eight Service Technicians who use VMS Mobile Data and one in training, two Comfort Specialists, a Commercial Maintenance Sales Person and twelve Installation Technicians. Answer Heating & Cooling's mission is not only to sell, but to educate by offering free seminars at their facility teaching the HVAC consumer about: indoor air quality, economical use of heating and cooling equipment and offering Geothermal seminars.
Our sincere thanks to Answer Heating & Cooling, Inc. and a special thank you to Brenda Burmeister for sharing her insight and knowledge with our readers.
Why More VMS User's Are Adapting Field Mobile Data
Based on the number of requests from our users who want to see the Ventus applications we are scheduling another overview session on this exciting product. Details of the presentation are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Session Length: 1 hour
Session Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm Central Time
Location: WebEx (login instructions to be provided upon registration)
Cost: No charge
Trainer: Jim Snyder
This webinar will cover the following:
- VMS users are adapting Mobile Data to include:
- Technology behind Mobile
- Equipment options for your technicians
- Pricing structure
- Full demonstration to include:
- Complete processing of work order by field technician
- Processing of mobile work order through completed ticket entry in VMS back office software
- Discussion on how best to roll out Mobile Data to your technicians
We expect a high number of attendees for of this session and would encourage you to sign up as soon as possible.
To register please call or email Linda Bishop: (800)-476-0094.
Ventus Power Reporting: How to Make Reports Work for You
Date: Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Session Length: 1-2 hours
Session Time: 1:00pm Central Time
Location: WebEx (login instructions to be provided upon registration)
Cost: $200
Trainer: Diana Hall
This webinar will cover the following:
- How to determine which reports can be customized.
- Keys to Report Filtering: Understanding the Report Options “Filter” criteria.
- Keys to Field Settings: Customizing basic report elements (headers, fonts, column widths, etc.).
- Demonstration of advanced functions: Adding fields and understanding how the sub elements of the report work.
- Review of how to use report search, edit document set up, export in different formats.
- Discussion of how reports work together.
We expect a high number of attendees for of this session and would encourage you to sign up as soon as possible.
To register please call or email Linda Bishop: (800)-476-0094.
Payroll End of Quarter Closing
How to End the Quarter in Payroll
Who says you can't do two things at once? There are two sets of accumulator files that need to be cleared back to zero for BOTH the Month totals and Quarter totals each Quarter. The benefit of using the End of Quarter Program is that it resets both the Quarter-To-Date and the Month-to-Date accumulator totals to zero in one easy step.
- In the Payroll Module Miscellaneous Menu, Choose End of Quarter closing.
*NOTE: The files used with this program are:
VMS Filename:
EMPLOYEE FILE
STATE/CITY/LOCAL WAGE AND TAX FILE
Computer Filename:
PREMPL.IS1/.ISM
PROTAX.IS1/.ISM
- A message will prompt you to be sure to have a current back up and to print the following reports before proceeding.
- Employee Totals
- Deduction Report
- Hours Worked Report
- Federal Tax Report
- State Tax Report
- Cost Center Report
- UC3 Report
- At the Do you want to continue? prompt, click on Yes to continue with the End of Quarter program.
Click on No if you selected the wrong program or if you need to go back and do the back
up or run reports first.
- If you select Yes, processing will be automatic. The Payroll menu will display when processing is completed.
VMS Referral Program
Please click image to open up pdf document.
|
