March – April 2016

has received a great deal of praise (see our website), along with eyeopening information. We encourage all of our construction clients to include their accounting, estimators, and project managers in this regular review. We are updating this product for compatibility with the SQL backend release, version 20, slated for the Spring of 2016. We have a Beta test of the v20 release (since we’re third party developers) and are very excited to continue offering our custom Over/Under billing tool to our contractors. Intrigued? Give us a call for more details. — CMW/LAW OverUnder Billing—WIP Updates and Tips from Syscon OverUnder Billing, Work in Progress (WIP) Mention ‘Work in Progress’ in a construction setting, and you’ll get different definitions and explanations about what this means. For our Subcontractors, it is a way to measure the expenses against the budget, determine the percentcomplete, and therefore, measure revenue earned compared to revenue booked on a job. Many years ago (more than we thought!), Syscon wrote a custom Over/Under billing report that integrates with Sage 100 Contractor (formerly Master Builder). The goal was to create a report that would help our contractors determine the status on a job each month or quarter, providing required financials, or project management tools, depending on the size of the company. A well-constructed WIP report provides a concise summary of the progress and projected profitability of each job. We’re excited to see the recent CFMA initiatives to educate their membership and others in the construction space with several ’deep dives’ into the process—great news for all! We have built many Work In Progress (Over/Under billing) tools over the years. For our Sage 100 Contractor clients, our custom program How to Contact Syscon We made a commitment several years ago to have our phones answered by our staff during regular work hours, rather than going to an automated phone system. In our 31st year of business, we know this is still the right way to handle your calls. We also have a staff person monitoring our Customer Support email box during regular hours. The Techs and Consultants are at client sites, so this is the best way to make a request and receive a timely response. So what about requests during non-business hours? We have arrangements for that, too! Feel free to email or leave a voice message if there’s no emergency, but if you need immediate assistance, her e ar e the steps: - Call the main office number, 630-850-9039 - Choose 4 from the main menu - Provide your name, a number to call you back, a brief description of your issue, and any timeconstraints We have a rotating emergency notification schedule and our techs take turns. Whether you email Customer Support, call during the day, or call off-hours, we’re ready! —CMW Syscon, Inc. 15 Spinning Wheel, Suite 218 Hinsdale, IL 60521 (630) 850-9039 Did You Know? Sage 100 Contractor I’ve watched a lot of users click the Save icon to leave a screen. You may not have thought about it, but if you had accidentally changed a field, you just saved the change! I recently had three different clients with odd changes for someone’s Federal withholding. They had checked everything and couldn’t figure out what had happened; it must be a bug in the software, right? Come to find out that the pay frequency had accidently been changed to Annual, which drastically changes the withholding amount from the tables. If you are just looking things up, clear the screen when done, rather than using Save. —CMW Upcoming Events March 17th and April 21st webinar demo of Field Integrated Time System (Pilgrims) March/April 2016 -- 1 of 2 - News, Updates, Reminders—30 Years! Apple isn’t virusproof after all We’ve seen virus attacks on Apple products, but most of the time we hear ‘Apples don’t get virus attacks’ which we know isn’t true. Hackers have dabbled in attacks against this product line, but it’s a much smaller target, so we haven’t seen as many attacks...until now. Recently, Apple acknowledged it had to shut down a ransomware attack. As the Apple user base grows, they will be a more attractive target. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the reality. If you have a Mac, we strongly recommend purchasing, installing, and maintaining anti-virus software. Talk to any of the techs if you have questions! — CMW Do you have a plan? We all have key staff members with unique knowledge, deep knowledge, of our business and its internal processes—I have several! What if one of those key people had a life-changing event and became unavailable? Sound like I’m trying to be dramatic? Keep reading... Five years ago I was one of those people, and I have to tell you, our staff was outstanding, above and beyond; I am so blessed! How did we weather that storm? I have to ask; do you have procedures for critical functions? If you needed someone to come in and run your payroll, and you called Syscon, do you have the passwords for the EFT site? Do you have a procedure that your backup person could follow? What about the person that does your billing; do you have the rates and unique guidelines documented so someone else could get the invoicing out? If you couldn’t sign the checks, do you have a backup plan? Does your staff know which attorney to call, and what plans are in place if the owner were in a car accident or worse? No one wants to discuss worst-case scenarios but planning ahead is so important. Consider what critical roles would need to be covered if a staff person were unavailable; do you have a procedure that could be followed? Do you know all the things that person touches? This is a reminder that life sends us unexpected curves. Take this opportunity to tell your staff how valuable they are, and get their critical tasks in writing, for you, and for the them. —CMW If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? (See Page 1 for the answer) Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence— Anonymous Love what we do? Love how we do it? When you refer someone to Syscon and they become a client, we’ll reward you for your time, and thank you for your vote of confidence. Contact Brian Bruns at Syscon to share the contact details and sign up. Syscon, Inc. 15 Spinning Wheel Suite 218 Hinsdale, IL 60521 630-850-9039 Voice 630-850-9040 FAX Catherine led a staff book study, Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. Lots of great discussion; highly recommended! Sage 100 Contractor Lots of hype about version 20 this Spring. Proceed slowly— there are compatibility issues with all third-party software due to these changes! March/April 2016 Larry is presenting two webinars in April and May with the National Mason Contractors Association. -- 2 of 2 -