QXpress Blog

Webinar #11: QXpress Online - Sales Center & Call Center Tabs

QXpress_Mark — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:31:00 GMT

In Week 11, we will be diving into QXpress Online’s Sales Center and Call Center. These are two major features of QXpress Online that really make it stand out above the rest. Not only do you have a fully web based scheduling software with QX Online, but also a built-in complete CRM package. This webinar will go through each section of the Sales Center and Call Center, demonstrating how to create opportunities and campaigns, manage all of your activities and track customer complaints.

Simply register for the webinar by clicking on the link below, and you will receive a confirmation email with the link and login information. Click on the emailed link to login at the time of the webinar. You’ll see the presenter’s screen, and hear the presenter’s voice, so you can sit back and enjoy the live presentation.

Register for the “QXpress Online - Sales Center & Call Center Tabs” webinar on Wednesday, November 11th at 3pm EST.
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/988842794

See you at 3pm EST,
Mark

November's "Feature of the Month"

QXpress_Darrol — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:41:00 GMT

Saving Weekday Sort Codes

As you may know, sort codes in QXpress are used to determine the order of which services are to be completed. A customer’s sort code can be found in the Customer Window under the Routing & Invoicing tab.

Have you ever wanted to save multiple sort codes for your customers? In addition to saving default sort codes for a customer, QXpress can save additional sort codes depending on how and when a service appears in the calendar. First, you will have to enable the feature. To do so click, Tools > Options, select the Routing & Invoicing tab, and make sure Route by Weekday Sort Codes is checked. Before you make any changes to your routes, I strongly recommend that you backup your QXpress database. To use this feature, bring up the route in the calendar and enter the sort codes you would like to save. Once completed, click Activities > Sorting, and you will see the three following options at the bottom of the menu:

Save the sort codes for this day and crew. This will tell QXpress to use the sort codes you entered in the calendar, whenever the customers have a service scheduled for that particular day of the week and to be performed by the assigned crew, no matter the name or type of service.

Save the sort codes for this crew and service. Essentially, this works in the same way as the option above, but it will display the sort code you entered, when that particular service is scheduled for the same crew.

Save the sort codes for future recurring dates. This only applies to recurring services. When you choose this option, the sort code that you entered will apply to all occurrences in the series for that recurring service.

In the future, if you need to make an adjustment to your routes, you can just change the sort codes and save them again. If, for whatever reason, you would like to change the sort codes back to the default customer sort codes for a particular customer, you can highlight them in the calendar and then click Activities > Sorting > Reset all sort codes to customer sort codes.

Take care everybody and I hope you all enjoy your November. For those of you attending our QXpress User’s Conference from the 15th to 17th, have a safe trip and enjoy your time at Disney World. I am so jealous!!

Darrol

Webinar #10: QXpress - Irrigation Industry

QXpress_Noel — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:26:00 GMT

Next week’s webinar will show how QXpress is used in the irrigation industry, which is one of the main industries that QXpress caters to. Irrigation companies provide a variety of services, from one-time emergency repairs to maintenance contracts, to spring turn-ons and fall turn-offs, to major installation projects. This webinar will go into detail about how to schedule a one-time service with multiple parts and services. The webinar will also cover how to schedule multi-day projects, as well as how to setup custom fields to track pump locations and serial numbers. If time permits, we will also cover some basic job costing. Since irrigation is one of our core industries, we pride ourselves in being able to meet all the scheduling and routing needs of irrigation companies and we’ll demonstrate that clearly in this webinar.

Simply register for the “QXpress - Irrigation Industry” webinar by clicking on the link below and you will receive a confirmation email with the link and login information. Click on the emailed link to login at the time of the webinar. You’ll see the presenter’s screen, and hear the presenter’s voice, so you can sit back and enjoy the live presentation.

Register for the “QXpress - Irrigation Industry” webinar on Wednesday, November 4th at 3pm EST.

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/339095970

See you next week!

Noel

Webinar #9: QXpress Online - Customer Portal Tab

QXpress_Kevin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Halloween is just over a week away and it’s amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun. Speaking of fun, this week’s topic is sure to be a hit. Many customers I’ve been speaking with are requesting help with customization because they want their clients to work interactively with their website. Now that you are getting familiar with QXpress Online, it’s time to step up your knowledge and learn how to make use of some of the more powerful tools available in QX Online. This week’s webinar on customer portals is sure to please, and I think you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to get up and running.

In this webinar, I will show you how to create and input passwords and portal usernames, and how to create your own customer portal in minutes. I will also show you how easy it is to customize the screens that are available in the portal.

Register for the “QXpress Online- Customer Portal Tab” webinar on Wednesday, October 28th at 3pm EST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/211006939

This webinar is surely going to be one of the most important for QXpress Online users, so be sure to be on time.

See you at 3 on Wednesday,

Kevin Burke

Webinar #8: QXpress - Plumbing & HVAC Industries

QXpress_Mark — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:36:00 GMT

In week 8, we will be looking at QXpress Scheduling Software and how it can be used in the plumbing and HVAC industries. In this webinar we will cover how to setup crew groups, schedule a one-time job (with multiple job items), when and how to use the waiting list, print/email work orders and invoices, schedule projects (involving multiple crews), as well as how to create custom fields. If time permits, I will also demonstrate how to customize a work order template.

Please click on the following link to register for the “QXpress - Plumbing & HVAC Industry” webinar on Wednesday, October 21st at 3pm EST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/330498963

See you on Wednesday,
Mark

RSS Feeds - What, Why and How?

QXpress_Mark — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:04:00 GMT

So, you’ve been checking out our blog and you keep hearing about this RSS feed that you should subscribe to, but you have no idea what it is or how it works. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, and hopefully by the end of my blog entry you will be an RSS feed expert. But, before I get into RSS feeds and why they can make life easier for you, let’s consider what life is probably like for those of you who aren't using RSS feeds.

I’m sure everyone has their favorite sites that they like to check regularly, whether it be the site of a local newspaper, a gossip site, a forum, or the ever popular Facebook. Currently, to see if new information has been posted, you need to visit the site and look through the articles to see if anything is new. Having to check every single site to see if new information has been posted is quite time consuming, which can be a problem. That is, of course, unless time isn’t an issue (which is very rarely the case!).

So what is an RSS feed?

An RSS feed is a way for you to get new information without having to visit all of your sites. It is as if your favorite websites have you on a mailing list and send you an email saying, “just wanted to let you know that there is new content to checkout.” All you have to do is follow a few simple steps to subscribe (if the site has an RSS feed setup) and the rest is done automatically for you.

How do you identify a website with an RSS feed?

Unfortunately, not all websites have RSS feeds, and in such cases, you will still need to visit the website to see if any new content has been posted. If a site does have an RSS feed setup, you will see the logo shown to the left. To take advantage of an RSS feed, you’ll need to make sure you have an RSS reader, subscribe to the feed, and voila- you are all done.

You're probably now wondering what an RSS reader is. An RSS reader is a program or add-on to a program that stores all of your feed updates for you to view. There are many free ones available, but I’m going to focus on Internet Explorer/Outlook 2007 and Firefox readers, since these are commonly used.

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Go to a site with an RRS feed. For our example we will be going to
http://qxpress.com/cs/blogs/default.aspx
3. In the top of the IE toolbar or the address bar you’ll notice the orange RSS logo shown above. Click the logo.
4. This will take you to another page where you will see the option to subscribe to the feed. Make sure to click the Subscribe to this Feed link.
5. You are now all set. That was easy, wasn’t it?!

Internet Explorer has been setup to notify you when new blog posts are available. To check if there are any updates, follow the steps below.

1. In Internet Explorer, click on the star or Favorites Center at the top left of your screen.
2. Click Feeds.
3. The QXpress Blog will now be listed there and will be bold if new information is available.

If you are using Outlook 2007, then you are in a little bit of luck. Outlook 2007 will automatically download new feeds as an email, so you don’t have to open Internet Explorer. After you setup the Feed in IE, Outlook will automatically add it as a folder in your Inbox, making it a whole lot easier than having to search your favorite sites all the time.

I know some people prefer using Firefox over Internet Explorer, so below are the steps to setup an RSS feed in Firefox.

1. Open Firefox.
2. Go to a site with an RRS feed. Again for our example we will be going to
http://qxpress.com/cs/blogs/default.aspx
3. In the Address bar you will see the orange RSS logo shown above. Click the logo.
4. This will take you to another page where you will see the option to subscribe to the feed. Make sure to click the Subscribe to this Feed link.
5. You will get a prompt asking where you want to save this, and I’d recommend creating a “Feed” Folder.
6. You are now all set.

Viewing your RSS feeds in Firefox is a little different. To view them, click on Bookmarks and then go to your “Feed” Folder that you have setup. You will then see the QXpress Blog and all recent postings. This is where you will also see other feeds that you subscribe to.

That’s it! If you’ve followed my instructions, you are now officially subscribed to the QXpress Blog’s RSS feed! You’ll now be able to see when new entries have been posted without the hassle of visiting the blog on a regular basis to check for updates. Remember, you can follow these same steps to subscribe to RSS feeds on your other go-to sites. I hope this post helps you out and, at the very least, makes your life a little easier.

Mark

Webinar #7: QXpress Online - Customer, Vendor & Employee Center Tabs

QXpress_Noel — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:27:00 GMT

So far in the webinar series, we have covered the basics of QXpress Online- account preferences and the Field Services tab. Next week we will be going into a little bit more detail, exploring the Customer, Vendor and Employee Center tabs. Each of these tabs deal with separate, but important, parts of your day-to-day business operations and with QXpress Online, you will be able to manage these areas with ease. This webinar will go through each tab and discuss how you can add and edit customers in the Customer tab, setup subcontractors in the Vendors tab and adjust time sheets in the Employees tab. As always, all the changes made in QXpress Online will synchronize to QuickBooks in real-time.

Simply register for the “QXpress Online - Customer, Vendor & Employee Center Tabs” webinar by clicking on the link below, and you will receive a confirmation email with the link and login information. Click on the emailed link to login at the time of the webinar. You’ll see the presenter’s screen, and hear the presenter’s voice, so you can sit back and enjoy the live presentation.

Register for the “QXpress Online- Customer, Vendor & Employee Center Tabs” webinar on Wednesday, October 14th at 3pm EST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/460659219

See you next week,

Noel

October's "Feature of the Month"

QXpress_Darrol — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:49:00 GMT

From time to time, techs and crew members are unable to come into work due to vacation time, personal appointments, and sick days. Have you ever wanted to see this time in the QXpress Calendar so you can plan around it? If you use the Day/Week view in the calendar, it is possible to view these times with the “Block Availability” feature. This will allow you to display their unavailable times in the calendar, so you don’t accidentally schedule jobs during that time.

To use this feature click Lists > Techs. The Tech Setup screen will appear. Click Block Availability. This will display a list of all instances where a Tech has had their availability blocked for a specific amount of time. To create a new time, click Add. A new window will appear allowing you to configure the time that the Tech will be unavailable for. Simply select the date range, start and stop times, and the days of the week this will apply to. Enter a reason, which will be displayed in the calendar, and select which Tech(s) this will apply to. Click OK to close and save the entries, and once you refresh the calendar you will see that a black box appears in the time slots that you indicated.

For more information about the Crew Setup and My Calendar screens, click here to view the QXpress User’s Manual and refer to Chapters 3 and 7.

Have a wonderful October,

Darrol

Webinar #6 - Landscaping Industry

QXpress_Kevin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:52:00 GMT

It’s hard to believe October is already upon us! With color-changing leaves and cooler temperatures already in Toronto, fall is certainly settling in quickly.

Many QXpress desktop users belong to the landscaping industry, and now that fall has arrived, there are only a few weeks left for most landscapers to complete their final projects of the year. Before you start getting ready to prepare for next season, why not take 30 minutes to attend next Wednesday’s webinar on QXpress for the Landscaping Industry? By participating in this webinar, you’ll see how QXpress landscaping software can make your business more efficient, and if you are currently using QXpress, it’s a great opportunity for a refresher course as your landscaping season is winding down.

The topics that will be covered next week include creating estimates with time and material, creating estimates using a flat rate, converting awarded estimates into pending services, scheduling visits for a landscaping job (assigning multiple crews across multiple days), closing off completed jobs at the end of each day, and also at the end of a project (for both time & material and flat rate invoicing). If time allows, I will show you a couple of reporting features in QXpress that are useful for job costing. For those of you who use subcontractors, I’ll also show you how to track subcontractors and generate vendor bills that sync to QuickBooks.

I hope to help you understand how QXpress can make your daily processes more efficient, as I outline how QXpress is used in the landscaping industry.

Please click on the following link to register for the “QXpress - Landscaping Industry” webinar on Wednesday, October 7th at 3pm EST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/892113739

See you at 3 on Wednesday,

Kevin Burke

Click here to read a QXpress landscaping software case study.

Webinar #5: QXpress Online - Field Services Tab

QXpress_Noel — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:40:00 GMT

Another great week, another great webinar on QXpress Scheduling Software. Yesterday Kevin led a webinar on QXpress desktop for the pest control industry, and in case you missed it, you can view the recording by clicking the link in the comments section of the “Webinar #4: QXpress – Pest Control Industry” blog entry.

In the upcoming webinar we will be focusing on the heart of QXpress Online- the field services features. We have tried to incorporate QXpress desktop’s great features into one powerful little web-app called QXpress Online, and the Field Services tab is the engine that keeps this program humming. In a quick and efficient manner, this 30-minute webinar will discuss the main scheduling and routing options available within QXpress Online's Field Services tab.

The webinar will cover how to schedule a one-time service within the Field Services tab, add materials to a service, print a route sheet and work order, as well as accept payment from a client in QXpress Online upon job completion. The final step will be posting the scheduled job as an invoice to QuickBooks in real-time and viewing the invoice in QuickBooks. Once we’ve successfully completed our one-time service, the webinar will move onto recurring services and demonstrate how time and material can also be collected through the Field Services tab. We are very proud of the changes we've made to the Field Services tab since the program was released and I am hoping to show some of these changes if time permits.

Simply register for the “QXpress Online- Field Services Tab” webinar by clicking on the link below, and you will receive a confirmation email with the link and login information. Click on the emailed link to login at the time of the webinar. You’ll see the presenter’s screen, and hear the presenter’s voice, so you can sit back and enjoy the live presentation.

Register for the “QXpress Online- Field Services Tab” webinar on Wednesday, September 30th at 3pm EST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/403809778

See you next week!

Noel

Webinar #4: QXpress - Pest Control Industry

QXpress_Kevin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:43:00 GMT

Are you in the pest control industry? Are you currently evaluating QXpress or are you a current user who wants to make sure you are using the program proficiently? If so, then please join me for week 4’s webinar on QXpress for the Pest Control Industry.

In this week’s webinar,we will cover how to schedule recurring monthly visits that are charged on a per visit basis, as well as contracted customers. This webinar will also go into detail about how to add one-time jobs to the waiting list, how to dispatch these services from the waiting list, how to add one-time jobs to the calendar, as well as how to add materials used to jobs. I will also discuss how to close off your completed jobs at the end of the day, including the steps needed for job costing and producing an invoice that syncs to QuickBooks. If we have time, I will also show you how to create customized termite renewal letters.

There is a lot to discuss in this webinar, so please make sure that you login on time to avoid missing any critical parts. I hope to help you understand and achieve the most out of QXpress.

As always, seats are limited, so please click on the following link to register for the “QXpress- Pest Control Industry” webinar on Wednesday, September 23rd at 3pm EST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/211091915

See you at 3pm on Wednesday,

Kevin Burke

Webinar #3: QX Online - Account Preferences Part 2

QXpress_Mark — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:55:00 GMT

It’s hard to believe that we’re already going into week 3 of our weekly webinars, and that means we’ll be focusing on QXpress Online once again. As many of you saw, Kevin did an excellent job demonstrating the basic setup of QXpress Online account preferences in week 1. Unfortunately, for those of you who missed the webinar, it was not recorded Therefore we couldn’t post a video for you to watch it at a more convenient time. But don’t worry, you are in luck.

In week 3, we will be going over the basic setup of QXpress Online account preferences once again. If you attended Kevin’s webinar in week 1, you are more than welcome to come back for a “refresher,” but please know that the same information will be covered this week. If you missed week 1, then I encourage you to register for week 3 so you can see how to setup QXpress Online account preferences firsthand. If you can’t make this week’s webinar either, you’re still in luck, because webinars are now being recorded.

For your viewing convenience, webinar recordings will be posted shortly after the webinar concludes, so you can watch them at your leisure. These recordings will be posted in the comment section of the blog entry that announced the topic and registration for the webinar. For example, we just posted a recording of yesterday’s QXpress “Lawn Maintenance Industry” webinar led by Noel, in Noel’s blog entry from last Thursday titled “Webinar #2: QXpress- Lawn Maintenance Industry.”

On Wednesday, September 16th, we will take a look at each QXpress Online screen, spending the majority of the time covering how to setup your account preferences and default settings. This will include understanding the difference between tabs and tab links, how to setup your tabs and tab links, setting up tab groups/ roles, creating and modifying users, modifying tab groups and roles for employees, changing the look of your QXpress Online account, understanding the QuickBooks tab and adding apps to your account.

So, as I said above, if you missed week 1 or want a refresher, you'll want to sign up for week 3 below. If it’s anything like our first QXpress Online webinar, spots will fill up quickly, so register today. If you attended week 1's webinar and are comfortable with QXpress Online’s account preferences, then be sure to join us when we return to QXpress Online in Week 5. We will be exploring the Field Service Tab in QXpress Online, so keep an eye out for the blog entry containing the link to register.

Reserve your seat for the QXpress Online “Account Preferences Part 2” webinar, on Wednesday, September 16th at 3pm EST.

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/144893098

Looking forward to it,
Mark

Webinar #2: QXpress - Lawn Maintenance Industry

QXpress_Noel — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:42:00 GMT

We held our first QXpress Online webinar yesterday and we had quite the turnout. We were blown away by the number of registered attendees and Kevin did a great job demonstrating why QXpress Online has been generating so much buzz since its release back in June. With week 1 under our belts, it’s now time to look forward to what we have scheduled for week 2's webinar.

If you’re a lawn maintenance company and you’re currently evaluating QXpress desktop, you are in for a treat. In week 2 of our webinar series, we will be taking an industry-specific approach to scheduling, routing and invoicing in QXpress. If your company provides lawn maintenance services, then "Webinar #2: QXpress – Lawn Maintenance Industry" is for you.

The webinar will first cover how to setup proper crews and crew groups, then move onto scheduling one-time services, as well as recurring services, and finally, show how job costing and time tracking can effectively calculate material and labor costs. If you are a company that relies heavily on recurring weekly and bi-weekly visits (whether they are pay per visit or under contract) and have thought about incorporating job costing into your day-to-day operations, then this is a demo that you do not want to miss. If we get the same kind of turnout as we did in week 1, spots will fill quickly, so sign up right away.

Simply register for the webinar by clicking on the link below and you will receive a confirmation email with the link and login information. Click on the link to login at the time of the webinar, and once in session, you’ll see the presenter’s screen, which is accompanied by audio. Sign up today to evaluate QXpress from the comfort of your office!

Reserve your seat for the QXpress “Lawn Maintenance Industry” webinar, on Wednesday, September 9th at 3pm EST:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/901730010

To view the September webinar schedule, click here.

See you next week!
Noel

September's "Feature of the Month"

QXpress_Darrol — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered about the invoicing options available in QXpress? You’ve probably noticed that by default, QXpress places all of the services onto one invoice for a customer and wants to print the invoices right away. However, you can change this to suit your needs.

QXpress Invoicing Features:

In the “Step 1 of 2 Generate batch invoices” screen, you have several options (depending on the invoice type) that you can choose from. One of the options is to Skip Print Invoice Screen. This will tell QXpress not to display the print preview screen when the invoices have been generated. This is helpful to any users who only print from QuickBooks, or who want to print their invoices at a later time.

Another option is to Skip Post to QB Screen. Leaving this checked will prevent you from being prompted to post your invoices immediately after generating your invoices. Any users who wish to save time and post all of your invoices at once will find this option useful. If you uncheck this box, the “Post to QB” screen will appear and you can post your invoice(s) right away.

Lastly, there is the Separate Invoices Per Service, option. This option, when checked, allows your customers to have separate invoices for each service generated. Note that this option is not available for the Type 1 or 4 “End of billing period” invoice types. So, if you have a customer who has multiple services that need to be invoiced, this will allow each service to have its own invoice.

There are two additional options for Type 1 and 4 "End of billing period" invoice types. If you use classes in QuickBooks, QXpress will allow you to create invoices for only specific classes. This will be useful to users who use classes to organize multiple businesses in QuickBooks and wish to separate their invoice batches by class. In addition, you have the option to separate invoice-only services that are to be printed (type 1) or emailed (type 4).

For more details on invoice options in QXpress, feel free to refer to Section 8 in the QXpress User’s Manual.

I wish you all a pleasant September, and I'll be back with my next feature in October.

Darrol

Webinar #1: QX Online - Account Preferences Part 1

QXpress_Kevin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:45:00 GMT

The much anticipated QXpress and QXpress Online webinars are only 1 week away!

Many potential and current users have been requesting that we hold webinars for QXpress, and with the new QXpress Online out on the market, it is a great time to launch webinars on both products. As Noel mentioned in his previous blog, Weekly webinars to begin this fall!..., we will be alternating between QXpress Online and QXpress desktop webinars each week. The QXpress and QXpress Online webinars will make it easy to learn how QXpress or QXpress Online can work for you, without the hassle of downloads and installations. Simply register for the webinar, receive a confirmation email with the link and login information, and click on the link to login at the time of the webinar. You’ll see the presenter’s screen, which is combined with audio, so you’ll feel like the presentation is taking place right in front of you in your office.

The first topic to be covered on Wednesday, September 2nd is “QXpress Online- Account Preferences Part 1.” This webinar will explain how to setup your account preferences and default settings in QXpress Online. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to: set up your default account preferences, setup your default display information, understand the difference between tabs and tab links, setup your tabs and tab links, create and modify users, as well as modify tab groups and roles for employees.

If you are curious about QXpress Online or are a new user, please join me in the webinar on September 2nd at 3pm EST. If you are unable to make this webinar, don’t worry, because we will be holding QXpress Online webinars every other week at the same time (3pm EST). So, be sure to block your calendars so you can attend QXpress Online webinars in the future.

September’s webinar schedule is as follows:

Webinar #1: Sept. 2 QXpress Online - Account Preferences Part 1

Webinar #2: Sept. 9 QXpress - Lawn Maintenance Industry

Webinar #3: Sept. 16 QXpress Online - Account Preferences Part 2

Webinar #4: Sept. 23 QXpress - Pest Control Industry

Webinar #5: Sept. 30 QXpress Online - Field Service Center Tab

Please click on the link below to register for the QXpress Online “Account Preferences Part 1” webinar, on September 2nd at 3pm EST.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/287244690

See you there!

Kevin