 Diana Hall
This month we are pleased to spotlight the newest member of the VMS team, Diana Hall, Customer Support Analyst. Diana will be working with the VMS Team on our new Ventus software release and comes on board with extensive knowledge and expertise. Over the years as a military spouse, she has had the opportunity to work in a variety of industries in administration and accounting. She said that she has always enjoyed multifunctional jobs, loves learning new software, developing processes, and finding solutions to difficult problems. Even though Diana has only been with us a short while she has already become an invaluable member of the VMS team!
Personal Profile:
Originally from Kentucky, Diana is married to husband Sam, and they have three grown children. Diana has lived in cities across the United States, from Seattle and San Francisco to Boston and Washington D. C. She has achieved Advanced Leader Bronze and Competent Communicator levels through Toastmaster’s International and is nearly finished with her BA degree in Political Science. During the 80’s, Diana and her husband (chosen as one of the top ten volunteers in the nation ) were given an expense paid trip to Washington D.C to attend the inaugural festivities for President Reagan’s second term! Diana enjoys reading mystery novels, leadership/business development books, and Christian authors like, C.S. Lewis, Beth Moore and Joyce Meyers. She also loves movies and British TV. She and her husband are active in their church and are both community volunteers. And most recently, Diana and her husband have decided to adopt two small dogs to help fill their “empty nest!”
Welcome Diana Hall to VMS!
International Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration Exposition (AHR)
Jan 31st 2011 - Feb 2nd 2011 
Vertical Market Software is pleased to announce attendance of the International Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration Exposition 2011. This year's show will take place January 31st through February 2nd, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Visit Ventus Software at Booth # 1674
NEW: Map Feature on the Dispatch Board now integrates with Google!
What are the benefits to using Google instead of MapQuest?
There are many benefits to using Google Maps over MapQuest which is why many of our customers have switched to using Google already. Here are some of the biggest advantages for dispatchers using the VMS Dispatch Board:
- Full map view of all tickets on the dispatch board. Perhaps the biggest advantage for our customers is that it will give dispatchers the ability to view all work orders on the map at one time (previously, with MapQuest, only one work order could be mapped at a time).
- Get driving directions instantaneously. With all work orders plotted on the map, you will be able to quickly get driving directions from one location to another.
- Color-coded markers. The markers make it easier to identify the status of work orders at a glance (unassigned, assigned, travelling, started, on hold).
- Get work order and technician information. Click on a marker to get more information about that work order including customer, address and technician without having to go back to the dispatch board.
How can I start using this feature?
The map feature is currently in the final testing phase and will be ready for release in December. Once it is released, you can get this feature by simply downloading the regular product update from the VMS website. If you are unsure of how to do product updates, please contact our support department for help.
IMPORTANT: We highly recommend attending the free training webinar next month (scheduled for December 8th, 2010 @ 2pm central time) for a step-by-step demonstration on the key features of this enhancement and to have all of your questions answered. Please see the VMS monthly webinar schedule for details.
How much does it cost?
VMS is not charging for the use of this feature. However, there will be a cost to have your addresses “geo-coded” by a third-party vendor (this is recommended). There are several vendors that provide this service. Most of these vendors charge based on the number of addresses you have to convert.
Please contact VMS support for information on the geo-coding sites that we have worked with and their prices.
What is geo-coding?
Geo-coding is the process of converting an address to latitude and longitude coordinates. Google Maps places markers on their maps using these coordinates. If every address were converted to these coordinates every time a map was created the map could take several minutes to build and Google limits the number of codes per day per user. Instead we propose to perform a one-time, up front, batch code of your site files and store the coordinates. The geo-code process could take a few minutes to an hour or so based on the number of records. This would greatly reduce the map building process time.
In addition the VMS program will be modified so that when a new site is added, the program will automatically process the new address and store the latitude longitude coordinates.
IMPORTANT: VMS is not responsible for the accuracy of the geo-codes, locations on maps, or driving directions. We simply provide the integration between the VMS dispatch board and these services.
How does it work?
On the new dispatch board there is an option to launch a map and place the currently selected ticket on the map. The icon to launch the map is a small globe at the bottom right of the dispatch screen (currently it launches Mapquest).
The dispatch board shows tickets divided into unassigned and assigned groups and the assigned tickets divided by technician.
When setup to use Google Maps and you click on the map globe a windows browser will launch with each ticket on the current dispatch board marked on the map according to status: unassigned ticket markers are blue, assigned are green, travel start are yellow, started are red and hold tickets are purple. On the left side of the screen are the tickets in order with the site name. The top of the window will display the current dispatcher, date and time the map was built.
When you click on a marker on the screen or on a ticket entry on the right side of the screen an information map displays. If the ticket is assigned the technician is also displayed.
You can get driving directions between 2 markers by clicking on each marker, creating 2 info boxes, highlighting the address of the starting marker, right clicking on it and selecting copy and then pasting the address into the “To Here” box of the ending marker and clicking on the button.
Above the directions on the right of the page is an email link that will launch the default email client and copy a link of this map for sending directions. To send only the directions on the screen you will have to manually copy and paste them into the email body and then send.
For more info on this new feature be sure to sign up for the Google Maps webinar scheduled for December 8th, 2010 @ 2pm Central Time. Call (800-476-0094) or email Linda Bishop to sign up !
Google Map Feature added to Dispatch Board
Date: Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
Session Length: 1 hour
Session Time: 2:00pm Central Time
Location: WebEx (login instructions to be provided upon registration)
Cost: No Charge
Trainer: Martye Beck
This webinar will cover the following items:
- Overview of features available
- Explain concept of Geo-coding – latitude/longitude map coordinates
- Examine site that provides geo-coding service
- Create login and receiving api key
- VMS installation and setup
- Process for populating latitude/longitude in site file
- Export site file addresses
- Upload file for conversion
- Run conversion
- Download converted file
- Import coordinates into site file
- Look at dispatch board map function
- Create a Google Map
- Explain map components and display functions available
- Answer questions
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 Year End Closing and W2 Processing
Date: Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
Session Length: 2 hours
Session Time: 1:00 pm Central Time
Location: Webex(login instructions provided upon registration)
Fee: $200 per connection
Trainer: Nelda Schoppert
This webinar will cover the following items:
- Discussion on closing the year for payroll and what files
should be backed up before closing.
- The affects closing the year has on payroll when checking
'remove terminated employees'
- How to make changes to tax withholding tables for state
and federal.
- Do you need to close the previous year (2010) before
doing the first payroll for 2011?
- Will VMS print the transmittal copies?
- Can W-2's be printed for municipality and state with or
without federal information?
- Discussion on how to determine if year-end closing has been
done, to prevent users from accidentally closing the year twice.
- What reports need to be printed before closing?
- Discussion on how W-2 information can be edited after
closing the year for federal, state and local information.
Please note: Normal VMS documentation on year end processing will be available via the normal web update/download procedures.
To register please call or email Linda Bishop: (800)-476-0094.
Server Requirements for the VMS program
IMPORTANT: Do you plan on purchasing a new server in the near future? If so, please read this tip before making your purchase.
Recently, questions have arisen when VMS clients using the graphical/synergex product have upgraded or replaced their servers. So in an effort to clarify the hardware/software requirements, Peter Schwier/ VMS Technical Support Analyst, has supplied the following information:
As many of you know, the VMS product runs on Synergex runtime. The version most of you have (Version 8) will run on 32 bit systems for both the client and the server and on 64 bit systems for the client. Version 8 of the Synergex runtime cannot run as a server on a 64 bit system.
What are your options?
You will have three choices when getting a new server:
- Get a 32 bit server
- Run 32 bit Windows on 64 bit hardware
- Upgrade to Synergex Version 9. Synergex does charge a one time fee for this upgrade and the costs vary depending on the number of users you have. Please contact VMS support to find out the exact cost for your company.
Please Note - If you choose to upgrade to Version 9 you will need to upgrade each workstation, in addition to the server, to the new version.
With any software, always be sure to find out what the hardware requirements are for that software before you purchase anything.”
If you should ever have questions about hardware/software requirements, please do not hesitate to give us a call @ (800)476-0094 or email: support@vertical-market.com.
VMS Referral Program
Please click image to open up pdf document.
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