In this issue...
An update is available -
Version 7.2.15 (click
HERE to download it
now, if your EMA subscription is current)
RPMS Remote User Strategies
Custom Reports System Added
Progress on the Inventory Feature
An
update is available - Version 7.2.15 top
This month we are providing an on-line update for all EMA-covered
customers. To be able to run this update you must be an EMA
subscriber
through December of 2005 or beyond, AND you must currently be running
Version 7.2.13 or higher (only a few rep firms were running Version
7.2.14.) Click
HERE
to download it now
Instructions for downloading and processing the update are in Word
format
right
here. If you believe that you are eligible to install
this update, you may want to double check to be sure that you have
applied the EMA code you were sent when you last enrolled. From
within
RPMS, click Help, then About RPMS V7. The last line of the
message
indicates the last EMA coverage code applied. The update will not
run
if the EMA Covered Through date is prior to December 31, 2005.
This update has some enhancements that lay the groundwork for new
modules, including the Inventory feature, the RPMS Remote User system
and the internal Custom Reports system, as well as a few minor patches
and fixes. The complete details of the contents of the update can
be
found
right
here.
RPMS Remote User
Strategies top
A hot topic among rep firms we talk to is the ability to let remote,
off-site users run the RPMS system. There are a number of
strategies
rep firms use to make it happen. We'll outline three of them here.
The first and simplest way is just to install a copy of RPMS
at another location and
send that location periodic backups. That's the 'free' way - but
the
user on the other end
can't make any changes. Or rather, they could, but those would
get
over-written by the next restore of fresh data. It does NOT
violate
the RPMS license agreement to do this. Unlike web-based systems,
our
licenses
are enforced for simultaneous
data-entry locations. Some
rep
firms couple this strategy with the Security feature and passwords that
limit access to only a certain salesrep's information.
The second way is to get a remote system that can send orders back to
the
agency. We call these RPMS Remote User systems, and they're
useful
for people that want to have order entry done
from more than one location, or by laptop-carrying salesreps. If
you
don't already own it, it costs
the agency $995 for the E-Data Wizard (which uses a free map to load
new orders
entered by the remotes) plus $200 for the annual E-Data EMA. Each
remote subscription is $75
per
year. With this system the remote users run a full-blown RPMS
with
which they regularly E-mail new orders as attachments back to the
agency. A synchronize command
on
each remote system will refresh data back from the agency.
The third way is to get a remote-control software product like
GoToMyPC,
plus a workstation in the office for the user that wants to work
remotely. You set up
that extra PC in the office just like another workstation on the LAN
(assuming all your workstations can get to the Internet.) You
install
GoToMyPC ($180 per year per host or less) and pay RPMS $400 for the
extra seat +
$75 per
year. That fee buys you another seat on the LAN, capable of
entering
orders, running reports - anything really. The remote user
controls his office computer over the Internet using his GoToMyPC
subscription, and it's just like he's sitting there working in the
office.
Terminal Server and Remote
Desktop Connection are a couple of other options that agencies have
deployed successfully for remote users - but
they're not really do-it-yourself options, so you'll need a pretty good
network tech.
Below is a table that lists the options described and the various pros
and cons. If you've got questions, Steve or Angela or Jim would
be
happy to discuss them with you!
Method
|
Up Front Cost
|
On-going Annual Cost
|
Pros
|
Cons
|
Backups restored to other
systems
|
0
|
0
|
Off-site storage of backup data is always
a
good idea.
Very inexpensive. Can use the Security feature to lock out remotes from
reading certain areas.
|
Not real- time - data only as current as the
most recent restore. No updating from the remote
location.
|
| RPMS Remote User System |
$1,000 for the E-Data Wizard
|
$200 for agency system + $75 per remote user
subscription
|
Remote order entry. Does NOT require
Internet
access full time. Great for laptops not connected. Great
performance.
The E-Data Wizard can be used with other upload maps if purchased |
Can't do other types of
updating, like customers, shipments, etc. Remotes require
a current EMA subscription
|
| GoToMyPC |
$400 per simultaneous seat for RPMS, plus an
extra PC for
each remote user.
|
$180 per remote for GoToMyPC subscription, +
$75 per extra user for RPMS
|
Can do it all - update customers, add/change
orders, add activities, etc. Best of all remote control solutions we've
tried. Try it before you buy it option, and volume pricing from
GoToMyPC for multiple Remotes.
|
Requires that an Internet connection is working
on
both ends. Mild performance hesitation, sometimes. Be
sure your
network can support another seat.
|
Custom Reports System
Added top
After downloading the 7.2.15 update, you may notice a new selection on
the Reports menu in the Reports engine, called Custom. The list
you
see when you choose that option is the current list of Custom reports
that we've integrated directly into the RPMS system.
We've done custom reports for some time, but this is the first time
we've integrated them into the actual RPMS software - they've typically
been stand-alone features. You won't be able to run any of these
custom reports unless you buy a license for them - but we want everyone
to be able to see the setup forms and titles, to get an idea about what
they do.
We get ideas from customers all the time about reports, and what would
be useful. As the folks that design, write and support the RPMS
software system, we hear it all. We also have an idea about what
ought
to be included as a 'standard' report, and what should be purely a
custom report.
For example, the one we've just completed that you'll see, called
"Commission Statement with Product" was written for our customer
Quest-Rep. Jim Noe from Quest Rep asked us if we would include
products on commission statements for salesreps. There are some
problems with doing this, that primarily have to do with the fact that
rep firms don't record payments on a line item (product by product)
basis. They show an
invoice paid or partially paid or
split
between multiple sales reps - but they don't do that for each
individual line item. So RPMS has never included products on the
commission statements, because in many cases it would be misleading and
therefore difficult to support, or simply not very useful to include.
But Quest Rep really wanted this - it would work very well for their
business - so they offered to pay for the development of it as a
custom product. Since it needed a lot of the stuff that was in
RPMS
already, we used this as an opportunity to create our first integrated
custom report. The idea is known as '
Aggregated
Customization.' What that means is that we can create custom
software - typically an expensive way to go - but then offer that
custom software in an economically
efficient way.
Your agency can buy a license for this particular custom report, and
Quest-Rep
will earn a commission. Likewise you can order and pay for a
custom
report of your own, which we'll display as available for anybody that
wants to buy it - then you'd earn a commission, if somebody else turned
out to want the very same thing.
When you buy custom reports that are already written, you pay only half
of what the original customized version cost. Of that, a 20%
commission goes to the company that originally ordered and purchased
the custom report. (FYI, the "Commission Statement with Product"
is
available for $400.00)
What's clever about this is that RPMS has a greater incentive to offer
customization at very reasonable prices, and perhaps to make more money
in the process. The sponsor of the custom report, in addition to
getting the product that they really wanted, has a chance to get it's
development paid for by other users. And other users that
like or need such a report will pay less than half of what they might
have paid in a pure custom environment.
For a pdf sample of the report "Commission Statement with Product" or
for more information about a custom report of your own, please
send us an E-Mail.
Inventory Feature
Progress top
We're continuing our work on the much anticipated Inventory feature,
and expect to have a Beta site (or several!) very soon. Whether
the inventory you need to track is bought and re-sold by a distribution
arm of your company, or is consigned inventory, this feature will
integrate seamlessly with your RPMS Pro rep software. LIFO, FIFO,
Standard, Average and Last cost methods are supported. If you had
a V6
or DOS version of our Inventory feature and you now wish to reacquire
that feature for your V7 system, please let us know. For
information
about the Inventory feature, please
contact our
sales department at RPMS.
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