The newsletter for
Key Operators of
DDMS Systems
Vol. 7, No. 3
Sept. 12, 2007
Comments? Tips for fellow dealers? Success stories? Ideas to improve ECi technical Support? Email keyops@eci2.com
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Key Ops Dispatch, an e-mail newsletter, comes free of charge to all DDMS® customers. |
In This Issue:
Hello from your ECi Technical Support Team! In this issue of the KeyOps Dispatch:
- Reserve Rooms for East Coast Regional Meeting By Sept. 17
- Dealer Executives Advise DDMS on Industry Trends, User Needs
- ECinteractive Features Enhanced Content from S.P. Richards
- Troubleshooting Ensite EBS Validation Errors
- Comparing Credit Card Authorization Software and Providers
- Your AutoComm II Questions Answered Online
- Export Machine Data For BEI Services Benchmarking
- Balancing Act Part 2: Auditing A/P Daily
Reserve Rooms for East Coast
Regional Meeting By Sept. 17
Ship out for Baltimore and catch valuable software training at this fall's East Coast Regional Users Meeting!
The meeting will be held Thursday and Friday, October 11-12, and focuses on office furniture and commercial office supplies. For more information and to register, see East Coast Regional Users Meeting Information.
At the elegant Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport in Baltimore, MD, we have negotiated a special rate for you of $165.00/night. This rate has been extended to reservations made by September 17, 2007. Remember, rooms sell out quickly.
ECi will bill you directly for the hotel room. However, you will be asked for a credit card when you register, which they'll use to cover any incidental expenses.
Please mention group code ECi when making your reservation. You can reserve your room using Hilton's online registration or by calling (410) 694-0808.
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Dealer Executives Advise DDMS
On Industry Trends, User Needs
The DDMS Executive Advisory Committee (EAC) met last week from Sept. 5-7 at the Hilton DFW Lakes in Grapevine, TX. The annual EAC meetings provide a forum for dealers to represent the concerns of the DDMS user community, and help improve our software for the benefit of all of DDMS customers.
Twenty advisors gathered in four break-out focus group meetings, including e-commerce, office products, office furniture, and machines & equipment. DDMS product managers presented recently released enhancements, and gave a sneak peak of exciting new features on the horizon built around our new .NET architecture and SQL databases. The advisors then provided valuable input on current industry trends and the new functionality independent dealers will need to stay ahead of the competition. They were very excited to see all the new possibilities as DDMS continues building on a modern, state-of-the-art platform.
Two retiring members received recognition for their outstanding contribution and distinctive service during their three-year terms on the EAC, including Janet Dahlke of COS Business Products and Gary Jones of Latschs.
Three other members received recognition for special contributions to the EAC: Steve Danziger of AAA Business Supplies & Interiors, Butch West of A-Z Office Resource, and Steven Woodall of Reliant Business Products.
The next advisory committee meeting will take place just before our next national user's meeting, Direction 2008, scheduled to return to the Hilton DFW Lakes in Grapevine, TX, April 26-28. — (CORRECTION: Direction 2008 is set for April 24-26, 2008)
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ECinteractive Web Storefront Features
Enhanced Content from S.P. Richards
As we announced previously, S.P. Richards Enhanced Content features are now available on Web storefronts powered by ECinteractive®. You and your customers benefit from a highly competitive online purchasing experience:
- Quicker, More Intuitive Searches
- Search Filters
- Enhanced Categorization
- Cross-selling of Accessories
- Up-Selling
- Additional Images
- Rich Media Content
- Product comparison tool
To make the S.P. Richards Enhanced Content features available to your selected customer accounts, set up your site's Global Catalog Group(s), Customer Feature Settings, Customer Groups and Users. For detailed instructions and an important clarification on the exclusion of items from custom dealer catalogs and other vendor catalogs, see Setting Up SPR Enhanced Content in ECinteractive (pdf).
For additional information, see ECinteractive FAQs and Documentation.
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Troubleshooting EnsiteEBS Validation
Your Customer Price Plans, Price Modeling, and SQL Reporting applications use a new SQL database, which requires that data adhere to specific rules.
Before importing your files into the SQL database, you must first use the EnsiteEBS Utility to validate that your data complies with the new SQL rules.
The Validate DBF Data tool in the EnsiteEBS Utility checks each record. If data is missing or invalid, you will see a specific error. Common errors include: Split Volumes, File Not Found, File Not Compressed, Duplicate Key, Invalid Date, Invalid Number, and no purchasing vendor.
Your ECi Support team recommends specific methods to address each error. Sometimes the software can logically make up for invalid data. Sometimes it’s actually OK to import a blank record. In many cases, however, it means manually correcting or deleting specific records.
For details on how to read the Validation error log, how to address each error, and a table that describes the best application to view and change individual records per file, see Troubleshooting Ensite EBS Validation Errors (pdf).
See also: Using the EnsiteEBS Utility Program (pdf) and 11 Tips on Validating DBF Data With EnsiteEBS Utility (pdf).
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Comparing Credit Card Authorization Software and Providers
ECi is working closely with credit card authorization processing service providers to provide alternatives to TSYS® (formerly Vital) POS-Partner and VeriSign™ Payflo Pro®.
Approval Link 4.0 for NET1 Payment Solutions has given U.S. dealers the following advantages:
- Achieve tighter integration and more responsive customer service due to ECi's relationship with NET1.
- Process Level III line item detail with fewer limitations.
- Automatically reconcile delayed captures of funds with authorization.
- Use Web services to look up transactions from your browser.
- Eliminate the need for a separate machine for authorization software.
For a detailed comparison, see What are the main differences between Approval Link versions? For answers to other questions on our credit card processing software, see Approval Link Credit Card Processing FAQs.
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Your AutoComm II Questions Answered
Your support and product management team has amassed a collection of documentation and frequently asked questions about AutoComm II, including:
- Do I need a new system?
- Is AutoComm I being phased out?
- How do I create a fax cover sheet?
For answers to these and other questions, see AutoComm Fax & Email FAQs.
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Export Machine & Equipment Data
For BEI Services Benchmarking
In Version 8.12 of DDMS Machines & Equipment edition, a new application extracts dealers’ serialized information to create reports for BEI Services (www.beiservices.com).
The information allows dealers to compare their performance with other dealers of the same type, geographic location, or other criteria. In addition, the generated report is used by BEI to determine rewards in their intense tech compensation program.
For details, see Sending Data to Business Equipment Information Services (pdf).
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Balancing Act Part2: Auditing A/P Daily
In Part 1 of this series (last month), you learned why it’s important to audit daily, how to use your day-end reports to collect the key totals, and how to use our spreadsheet to automatically calculate sums and variances to make sure A/R is in balance.
In this Part 2, we discuss Accounts Payable. If you are live on A/P, you may find it helpful to audit it regularly, using the following totals:
- Your previous day’s (QR-B) Totals-Only Trial Balance reflects your starting balance.
- Your A/P Batch Report total reflects what has newly posted to the A/P Trade account (201-01 by default) in general ledger.
- Your (QR-C) A/P Check Register Grand Total also reflects your current A/P Trade.
- The current (QR-B) Totals-Only Trial Balance sums postings in AP-MASTER. Run this before posting any A/P checks for the current day.
- The sum of your previous day’s (QR-B) Trial Balance and the current A/P Batch Report total should match the current (QR-B) Trial Balance. If not, A/P is out of balance by the difference, which can assist in troubleshooting.
To learn how to find the A/P amounts for auditing, see Balancing your A/P (pdf).
Note: There is a slight difference from the A/R audit: The (QR-B) Totals Only A/P Trial Balance and the (QR-C) Print A/P Reports and Release Checks are not standard day-end procedures.
- (QR-B) was traditionally recommended monthly. To obtain the proper total in AP-MASTER for your daily audit, run this report at day end BEFORE entering any new A/P postings for the following day. To avoid printing unnecessary detail, specify Y to Suppress Invoices. To learn how to run a (QR-B) Trial Balance, see the online help topic, Printing the A/P Trial Balance Report. The (QR-B) trial balance can be added to your proc file if necessary, anytime after the steps to print and release the (QR-A) A/R Batch Report. See Proc File FAQs for more information.
- (QR-C) is only run when you pay invoices, to ensure a unique check number corresponds to each paid invoice. To learn how to run the (QR-C) A/P Check Register Report, see the online help topic, Releasing A/P Checks.
For a spreadsheet to help you balance A/P, see DDMS Daily Audit Log for Accounts Payable (xls). It gives you space for a month of daily A/P audits per location. Simply carry over last month’s (QR-B) Totals-Only Trial Balance, and fill in your current batch total, current (QR-B) Total, and current (QR-C) Checks total, as you file your day-end reports. The spreadsheet will calculate any variance, and the variance column's background color will indicate whether your A/P master file is greater than the G/L A/P Trade account, or vice versa.
In Part 3 of this series, learn how what adjustments may be needed if A/R is out of balance.
For additional information about Accounting in DDMS, see Accounting FAQs.
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