November – December 2015

activate users on demand. The office has a local icon on their computer to review the summary, edit as needed, then pull the payroll information directly into Sage 100 Contractor through Daily Payroll, ready to process as usual. All T&M billing, job cost reports, and equipment reports are supported and processed without interruption, just like you handle them right now! Summaries of the time submitted to the office can be emailed to the Foreman so they can confirm and agree with the total hours, creating accountability. Intrigued? Give us a call to reserve a spot in our next invitation-only demo. —CMW Syscon Field Data Connector Updates and Tips from Syscon One of the biggest issues our clients share with us is the time and effort it takes to collect data from the field and shop staff. Monday becomes a tug-of-war to get all the time in, on-time, accurately, and process payroll by the pay dates. Have you tried to read the writing on timesheets that have been faxed, or pictures from a phone, or even hand-written time that has been brought to the office? You’d think they’re all doctors based on the handwriting! In reviewing timecollection products, we found some great ideas, but they were not flexible enough to address unique cost code needs; how equipment is reported; Service versus Contract time; last minute changes; collecting client signatures, and so on. What about security when a phone or tablet is lost or stolen with all that data on them? We have created a bridge between Sage 100 Contractor and mobile phones/ tablets to address these needs, while being flexible enough to customize for your company’s data structure. The Syscon Field Data Connector begins with an app (not a website browser) on the cell phone or tablet in the field. Time can be entered by person, or for a crew, and reviewed by the Field Supervisor. Client signatures can be captured along with equipment used in the field. A summary is available for the field to check before submitting to the office. The office can control adding new users, changing user passwords, and Activate or DeSage 100 Contractor What do we ‘fix’? We see all kinds of data errors and have some pretty special tools to fix them. Some of our clients are not familiar with what can be done, so we thought we’d share some recent things we took care of; what do you need? -A payroll check run was posted to the wrong period; we moved the posted records to the correct Posting Period without voiding and re-creating the records. -A large commercial roofer accidentally posted over 100 AP invoices and checks to the wrong period. We moved them all to the right period, that night, and they made their deadline. -Due to some network connection problems, there were audit errors for the Vendor totals; we fixed the errors; the result was a clean Audit. -After being purchased, a roofer needed specific data tables for the new company’s financials. We pulled the specific data to meet their requirements. — CMW ———-—– Syscon, Inc. 15 Spinning Wheel, Suite 218 Hinsdale, IL 60521 (630) 850-9039 VOICE (630) 850-9040 FAX Did You Know? Sage 100 Contractor I’m always surprised to see people enter the numbers on their calculator, then re-type into the software; it’s just too easy to invert a digit or make an error. Have you used the internal calculator? In any number field, enter the first number, hit an operator key ( + - * / ), and the calculator comes up. Continue with the calculation. If the answer is correct, hit enter again and the result is entered in the field. Just need to check? Hit the function key F3 and the calculator will come up at any time Do you know what F2 is for? How about F5 and F9? —CMW Is there a tip you would like to hear about? Holiday Schedule Thanksgiving—Celebrating Nov 26th and 27th Christmas—With Family and Friends Dec 24th and 25th News Years—Resting January 1st November/December 2015 -- 1 of 2 - Anti-Spam, News, and Reminders 20 Years with Master Builder/ Sage 100 Contractor We’ve released the first three video interviews with ’interesting’ experiences we’ve had in our 20-year history with this product, the original owner, and the changes in ownership—Intuit, then Sage. The fourth short video interview with Larry Wendt is coming out in November. All four span the very first training in California which ended with emergency surgery, the upgrade from DOS to Windows, the cowboy bar and more. Anyone who knows Larry also knows that he can tell a great story— enjoy! CMW Anti-Spam— Can’t Live with it, Can’t live without it! Anti-Spam services are absolutely necessary. We have clients whose filters capture 99.98% of the mail that comes into their firewall, allowing the rest to go through to their staff. Imagine the chaos if all this junk actually got through! We also have clients who feel a little annoyed when they have to check their spam filter for messages. These get ‘caught’ by the filters because of an attachment, wording that is suspect, or a client/vendor who has been black-listed, as examples. As inconvenient as this might be, even known senders can be compromised without their knowledge, putting your network at risk if you open their email. To learn more, ask your tech or give us a call. —CMW Hear what our clients are saying about our techs... ‘Your service is always great! So happy we have an IT Company that is so proactive!’ - Jill, Affordable Fire ‘Lenny is a wonderful tech, always as helpful as he can be!’ - Monica, Apex Favorite Internet Browsers Here’s what our analytics tell us: -Chrome 45% -Internet Explorer 27.5% -Safari18% -Firefox 7.3% -Edge 2.2% What’s your favorite? Looking for a few Great Techs If you know a great Network Tech who might be a good fit for our team, we’d love to see their résumé and give them a call. If they are invited to join Syscon and accept, we’ll send a thank you gift for your efforts! —CMW 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 attended the ’Breaking the Chains’ ribbon cutting for the Phoenix Rescue Mission’s new facility; truly a community effort! Sage 100 Contractor The SQL release is targeted for April/May of 2016. All Custom Programs will be impacted. Watch your mail for updates from Syscon, or call with questions. Nov/December 2015 Larry presented a mock-up website for Grass Root Picks to help voters get educated on local issues and candidates. -- 2 of 2 -