Timberline Forum

Crystal Clear Reporting Clarified Just For You…Are your Sage Timberline Office Crystal Reports cumbersome? Not as streamlined as you would like them to be? We’ve gathered some tips from the pros and put together some top-notch suggestions made with you in mind. You can find them here.

Still not getting what you need? Why not call on Rock-Star Ego-Free  DB Data Inc Senior Consultant Gary Jacobson. He is a Crystal Reports genius! He’s done it all. From creating complex customized payroll reports for government agencies that saved thousands of dollars, to helping people customize canned reports in order to tailor them to their specific office needs.

Did I mention he’s a really nice guy gary@dbdatainc.com

Heaven knows you close every month like clockwork, but are there some
pointers that could shorten the process for you?  Is there something
MORE you can do to make your month-end life a little better?

C.P.A., C.M.A and Timberline Certified Consultant Christine Kettelkamp
put together a pretty thorough primer for you.

Wanna know her secrets? We thought you might!  Find them here…

Need help enhancing your cash flow? Wanna know more about the ins and outs of bankruptcy? Dying to find out if this economy is REALLY going to turn around? Looking to add more CPE credits to your name?

Why not sign up for the Contractors’ Strategic Boot Camp here in Phoenix? It might sound like it’s going to be hot and sweaty and strenuous but really you’ll be in a nice air-conditioned building and you’ll get a really nice lunch not to mention the mental work out and a wealth of information.

Valley of the Sun Chapter of Construction Financial Management Association has a great line-up waiting for you this June 23. There is still some room left so why not sign up, get out of the office for a day and pick up some really useful information you can use to improve the bottom line of the company you work for?  They’re even holding it on a Tuesday so you can get your Monday on as usual!

It’s centrally located at the Phoenix Airport Marriott, next to the 202,  to help keep your travel time to a minimum!  For more information go here.

If you are planning to upgrade please know that you do not need to upgrade to 9.5. You can skip right over it. Don’t worry about missing out on any enhancements by doing so – you won’t. What you will do is save a nice amount of time.

So what are you getting from 9.6?

• 64-Bit Compatibility
• Easier General Ledger Transaction Maintenance
• Estimate with Multi-Currency
• Seamless Integration between Estimating and Project Management
• Enjoy a New Project Management Wizard that lets you move jobs to archive folders
• without any drama
• Crystal Reports that let you pick value ranges from a list
• Address Book Integration from Sage CRM

  Don’t forget!!  if you plan on upgrading from 9.4 to 9.6 SKIP upgrading to 9.5 altogether.  If you have any questions or need some help all you gotta do is ask! We’d love to help.

Wednesday, I spoke with a controller who would like to start using Sage Timberline Accounting Software. She’s been flirting with the idea. Then the economy happened. Now, they’ve had to let some people go and she herself is working only three days a week. She’s doing double the work in half the time. She is not alone.

Daren and I hear this a lot from our customers. We spend a lot of time talking about our customers and the way the economy is affecting them. Believe me we’re feeling it too. At this time, Daren and I are striving to find a way to continue providing top quality services to our customers at the most reasonable price.

We spend time watching consumer trends. We understand people are changing the way they do EVERYTHING. Many pack lunches, brown baggin’ it is back in style. Some now buy their jeans at Wal Mart. Others fired their landscapers and are doing it themselves. Trimming the fat. Removing the luxuries one can easily live without.

These are BIG changes. People are changing inherently. Rethinking the way they live, their needs, the way they spend. Buying just the necessities. Dissecting their lives, analyzing their basic requirements and deciding what niceties can go.

Daren and I feel the same way. We are direct. We will tell you exactly what you need. We won’t oversell you. We take a good hard look at your business. We make an honest assessment and tell you exactly what we think you need to achieve your goals.

We’re so not into smoke and mirrors. You need to track your money. Track your jobs. Watch the money that comes in. Make sure your equipment and inventory don’t walk out the door. The basics. We can do that. In fact we’re VERY good at that.

While the economy has many companies coming back to basics – we never left. We take care of our customers. We have loyal clients and take great pride in that. Confidence is earned. A fact we never forget.

The economy will come back around. Until then, we’re here to make sure you’re still around to see it come full circle.

This Spring you can learn new Sage Timberline Office Skills and save your boss some cash.  If you sign up before May 31, 2009 you can get the lessons you want for $100 less.

Beef up your reports by taking Report Designer or Crystal Reports lessons or pump up your payroll skills with Payroll Power Pack.

The nice thing about Realtime Learning is that you can sit at your own desk, use your own computer and still get to work with a live instructor.  Not only can you interact with the instructor you can also interact with others taking the online class. You’ll save $100 off the cost of your registration.

You can sign up for the class at http://www.sageu.com/.  Don’t forget to enter promo code SAP053109.  Deadline for the $100 savings is May 31, 2009.  Happy Learning!

Sage Timberline Office users have enjoyed Pay-Per-Minute support services for years now but the times, they are a changing.

So if you are used to paying by the minute for phone support please take note that Sage Timberline Support will soon end that service. 

As of April 10, 2009 Sage will NO longer offer Pay-Per-Minute support calls. After April 10, if you need to make support calls you will need to upgrade your current support plan to either Essential Care or Premier Care phone support plans.

Moving to the next level, EssentialCare, means you will receive unlimited phone support. If you do not wish to upgrade then feel free as always, to give me or Daren a call. We are always glad to help!

One Final Note…
There is a change of address you will also want to jot down. 
As of April 1, 2009 Support Renewal Payments MUST be sent to…

SAGE
14855 Collections Center Dr.
Chicago, IL 60693

You know the time I’m talking about – the time when you have to go through piles of invoices and Applications for Payment(AFP).  Does the time it takes you to sort them all out, then match them to a Project and then a Project Manager make you want to run screaming from the office?

If so you’ll definitely want to read on. We know EXACTLY which product  you’ll need to cure your headaches.  Best of all it is internet-based which means you don’t even have to be in the office to use it.  You can work from home or your boss can check in on it from the beach he or she is sunning on!

GC Pay does everything electronically.  No need to write a check.  The transaction goes from your bank to theirs with just a few key strokes.  It’s quick and easy.  There is NO software to install! All you need is a web browser.  It allows you to keep all of your AFP info in one place and in one format. Best of all you it integrates beautifully with Sage Timberline Accounting Software.  can be up and running with GC Pay in just 24 hours!  It also allows you to…

• Be up&running in just 24 hours…
• Quickly link subcontractor progress payments to general contractor payments…
• Dramatically reduce the time you spend checking for mistakes…
• Instantly submit, approve or reject any AFP…

The list of features is too long to place here.  But if you want to know more, and we know you do, click right here!

No more filing cabinets, no more paper invoices…REALLY!!!Have you spent hours, even days searching for a document your boss needed three days ago? Remember how frustrating that search was?  If your paper trail has turned into a paper avalanche, Timberline’s Document Management is definitely something you want to consider – a paperless office.

It’s easy to use and can be a real time-saver! Document searches will take you only seconds, not days.  Scan the document, assign a folder, lock it up in a virtual safe and shred the paper document.  That’s right, shred the original!

It’s a quick and easy installation, it integrates seamlessly with Sage Timberline Office  and we can have you up and running in a day.  Daren and I will be more than happy to talk to you about the many benefits Document Management can offer you and your business, all you gotta do is call!

What would you give to have little helper elves remind you of mission-critical issues?  Many of our DB Data Inc customers tell us they are bombarded daily with information.  It’s just too much to keep track of.  Enter our elfin helper  which comes in the shape of software called My Assistant.  This third-party software integrates beautifully with Sage Timberline Office.

It’s a virtual  helper.   One that never forgets to do what you ask it and is SO precise it does ONLY what you ask it to do.  Guess what?  Your prayers have been answered!  Your imagination is it’s ONLY limitation.  Really.

Lien waivers almost up?  Job costs over budget?  Is a vendor’s insurance about due?  Someone celebrating a birthday?  My Assistant alerts you right away.   Gone are the days of not knowing.  Best of all this assistant never sleeps in and never calls out sick! 

This easy-to-install and easy-to-use software savior is just a phone call away.   Remember,  Daren and I are always here to help make your life at the office a little bit better!