OVERVIEW The Retail editions of At Your Service – Repair Centre are for retail stores, dealers, or repair depots that collect items for repair and send them off to repair shops, but do not do repairs themselves. For repair shops that do the repairs themselves, please see the Repair editions instead. There are two different retail editions to fit various sizes of repair business. Edition Databases Supported Descrption Retail SQL edition Microsoft Access MySQL Microsoft SQL Server Software for retail stores or repair depots that send out all of their repairs Retail edition Microsoft Access Software for retail stores or repair depots that send out all of their repairs For a complete comparison of features in the various editions, please see the Edition Comparison. SAVING YOUR BUSINESS TIME AND MONEY Saving Your Business Time Ÿ The time spent by your staff phoning your customers is considerably reduced when the At Your Service – Internet Utility automatically e-mails or faxes estimate notices, pickup notices, overdue payment collection notices, and status reports Ÿ The number of phone calls from your customers is considerably reduced because your customers can check repair statuses and courier shipments themselves on your web site or the repairstatus.net web site; they can receive regular report status updates via e-mail or fax; they can approve or refuse estimates via the repair status web site or by clicking on a hyperlink in the estimate they receive via e-mail Ÿ When customers do phone, current repair status and courier shipment information can be pulled up in seconds with just a few keystrokes, thereby reducing time spent on the telephone Ÿ Data entry is accelerated by dozens of time-saving features including numerous defaults that are filled in automatically; dropdown lists that automatically match choices based on the first few keystrokes; quick entry of standard paragraphs of text; keystroke macros for automated scripts; support for bar code scanners; and much more Ÿ Some standard procedures can be processed as batches rather than having to update individual records Ÿ Repair and financial statistics and patterns are instantly available to assist in quickly making accurate estimates based on past history Ÿ An analysis of bottlenecks in the various steps of the repair process help to identify areas in which time delays can be reduced and the overall throughput of the business can be improved Ÿ If your business used QuickBooks accounting software, financial data can be exported directly into a QuickBooks company file, thereby eliminating the need to re-enter the data a second time Ÿ All forms and reports can be e-mailed or faxed directly from within the software, thereby eliminating the need to print them first Saving Your Business Money Ÿ All of the time savings outlined in the previous section directly result in related cost savings Ÿ Our plain paper system eliminates the need for costly pre-printed forms; it allows faxing directly from within the program, thereby eliminating the wasted paper used when they are printed first; and it minimizes the number of printers needed Ÿ Bookkeeping and accounting expenses are considerably reduced since invoices, statements, receivables, taxes, and revenue analysis reports are automatically calculated and generated Ÿ Business revenues can be analyzed based on groupings such as makes and models being repaired, advertising methods, geographic regions, etc. in order to help you make wise financial decisions Ÿ In many areas, computer software has a high depreciation rate for a rapid business expense write-off FEATURES Customers and Vendors Ÿ Complete management of customers and subcontract repair vendors with differentiation between regular and miscellaneous (e.g. off-the-street or one-time) customers and vendors Ÿ Quick lookup, filtering, and sorting in a customizable spreadsheet view by 17 different criteria for customers and 14 for vendors; 5 specialized filters; and the ability to view and edit multiple records simultaneously Ÿ Quick entry by name, account number, or alphanumeric code Ÿ Quick lookup of current account balances and statistics for the past 3 years Ÿ Print, e-mail, or fax customer statements Ÿ Numerous analysis reports provide instant access to customer and vendor financial data, statistics, and patterns Repair Orders, Estimates, and Invoices Ÿ Efficiently track repairs through each step of the repair process with up to 26 customizable statuses (e.g. receipt, order, estimate, approval/refusal, subcontract, parts order, repair, return, invoice, payment) Ÿ Quick lookup, filtering, and sorting in a customizable spreadsheet view by 32 different criteria; 20 specialized filters; and the ability to view and edit multiple records simultaneously Ÿ Easily identify warranty repairs, repeat repairs, stolen items, and rush orders Ÿ Easily subcontract repairs to another repair business and track those repairs Ÿ Flexible billing terms including third-party billing (e.g. warranty, head office) and split billing (e.g. part under warranty and part not under warranty) Ÿ Process records individually or by batch Ÿ Print, e-mail, or fax repair orders, estimates, subcontracts, invoices, and packing slips Ÿ Numerous analysis reports provide instant access to repair financial data, statistics, and patterns Credit Notes Ÿ Create credit notes for returns and refunds Ÿ Quick lookup, filtering, and sorting in a spreadsheet view by 14 different criteria; 5 specialized filters; and the ability to view and edit multiple records simultaneously Ÿ Flexible billing terms including third-party billing (e.g. warranty, head office) Ÿ Print, e-mail, or fax credit notes Ÿ Numerous analysis reports provide instant access to credit financial data, statistics, and patterns Forms and Reports Ÿ 9 specialized forms, including all in French and Spanish Ÿ 17 repair analysis reports, including 1 in French and Spanish Ÿ 29 financial and accounting analysis reports, including 1 in French and Spanish Ÿ 23 listing reports Ÿ 2 user security reports Ÿ Customize forms and reports yourself using Crystal Reports Efficient Data Input Ÿ The intuitive user interface follows many Microsoft Office standards for a quick learning curve for those already familiar with Microsoft Office Ÿ Accelerated and standardized entry of customers, vendors, makes, models, and categories Ÿ Quick entry of geographic information for Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States Ÿ Dozens of configurable defaults automatically fill in data based on specific conditions; and dropdown lists automatically match choices based on the first few keystrokes Ÿ Standard notes allow for automatic entry of paragraphs of text; and simple keystroke macros allow for automation of standard processes Ÿ Spell check in American-English,  British-English, French, and Spanish, with support for a custom dictionary Ÿ Supports standard bar code readers, digital cameras, and Topaz electronic signature pads Ÿ Attach digital photographs, ESIGN-compliant electronic signatures, files, and Internet hyperlinks as attachments to most records Ÿ Import data from comma-delimited or tab-delimited data files, or QuickBooks company files Ÿ Window bar allows for quickly switching between multiple windows in maximized mode Flexible Data Output Ÿ View forms and reports on-screen, print, send by e-mail or fax, or export to any of 16 industry-standard file formats Ÿ Plain paper system allows direct printing of business logos, digital photographs, and electronic signatures so that they are included on e-mails and faxes, and it eliminates costly pre-printed forms Ÿ Supports multi-bin printers to work with letterhead or different colored paper for each form copy; printer duplexing to reduce paper consumption; and bar-code label printers Ÿ Export data to comma-delimited or tab-delimited data files, or QuickBooks company files Ÿ Links to Microsoft Word for quick creation of letters, envelopes, and labels Ÿ Many window views are customizable to meet individual users’ needs Effective Communication Tools Ÿ Stay connected with your customers and vendors via printouts, e-mail, fax, SMS text messaging, and automatically generated web pages Ÿ Web-based repair status tracking Ÿ Automated sending of some forms, reports, and status updates via e-mail, fax server, or SMS text messaging Ÿ Automatic shipment tracking for ANC, Canada Post, CanPar, DHL, FedEx, Purolator, UPS, and United States Postal Service Ÿ Automatic mapping and driving directions via MapQuest Database Connectivity and User Security Ÿ Choose between Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Access back-end database Ÿ Automatically supports multiple users on a local area network; or easily share the database across multiple physical locations using Windows terminal services, Citrix Presentation Server, or other standard connectivity software Ÿ Automatic background backups of Microsoft Access databases; or manually save a zipped database backup Ÿ Archive old data from Microsoft Access databases to a secondary database Ÿ Password login for each user Ÿ Administrator can assign read/write/print access to each module and report Ÿ Administrator can log and analyze the view/edit activity history of a particular user or record SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS The requirements outlined below are necessary to run At Your Service – Repair Centre. While the program will run with the minimum configuration, the recommended configuration will provide a more comfortable working environment. Component Minimum Recommended Operating System Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/20031 Windows 2000/XP/2003 Processor Pentium compatible 1 GHz Pentium 4 compatible or higher Memory 128 MB RAM 512 MB RAM or more Disk Space 200 MB free hard disk space 300 MB free hard disk space ore more Database MDAC 2.6 or higher MySQL 5.02 with MySQL Connector/ ODBC 3.51.12 (optional) Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or higher server or desktop edition2 (optional) MDAC 2.6 or higher MySQL 5.02 with MySQL Connector/ ODBC 3.51.12 (optional) Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or higher server or desktop edition2 (optional) Input Devices Keyboard and mouse Bar code reader (optional) Digital camera (optional) Topaz 1x 5 signature pad (optional) Keyboard and mouse Bar code reader (optional) Digital camera (optional) Topaz 1x 5 backlit signature pad (optional) Video 800 x 600 video display 1024 x 768 video display or higher Printers Inkjet or laser printer One or more laser printers One or more label printers (optional) E-mail Connection to an SMTP mail server or a MAPI mail client (optional) Connection to an SMTP mail server or a MAPI mail client (optional) Fax Fax printer driver or Microsoft Fax or Captaris RightFax or a subscription to an on-line fax service3 (optional) Fax printer driver or Microsoft Fax or Captaris RightFax or a subscription to an on-line faxservice3 (optional) Text Messaging A subscription to an on-line SMS text messaging service3 (optional) A subscription to an on-line SMS text messagingservice3 (optional) Web Browser4 Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher5, Netscape Navigator 7.0 or higher, Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or higher or another browser that supports CSS and JavaScript (optional) Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher5 (optional) Word Processor Microsoft Word 8.0 or higher (optional) Microsoft Word 8.0 or higher (optional) Network 10 Mbps (optional) 100 Mbps or higher (optional) Internet Dial-up or dedicated connection (optional) High-speed Internet connection (optional) Remote Access Citrix Presentation Server or Microsoft Windows Server Terminal Services or Symantec pcAnyWhere (optional) Citrix Presentation Server or Microsoft Windows Server Terminal Services (optional) Accounting Software QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise editions for both Canada and the United States 2002 or higher (optional) QuickBooks Pro, Premier, or Enterprise editions for both Canada and the United States 2004 or higher (optional) Report Customization Crystal Reports 9 or higher (optional) Crystal Reports 9 or higher (optional) 1 AYS will still typically work on Windows 95/98 First Edition/NT but they are no longer officially supported 2 SQL Server software required only for Repair SQL and Retail SQL editions 3 See Setup Communications within the software for supported on-line fax and text messaging services 4 Also required by your customers for on-line repair services 5 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 is included on the At Your Service installation CD