Letter from the President

Transcription

1 Letter from the President Dear Valued Advantage Customer, Every day we have many exciting activities going on at ECi Advantage that contribute to the betterment of our products and services and benefit you, our customer. I feel that, as a part of the ECi family, you might enjoy hearing about our focus on process improvement, goals with the ECi Advantage product, and ultimately our team that makes up the other half of the Advantage family. So, starting with this edition of the quarterly newsletter, I will present a regular update on Team Advantage. As you are probably aware, we have made several changes within the LBMH Division at ECi during the past year. As the Advantage product grows, it s important for us to make sure we have the right team, in the right roles, focusing on the right things in order to support our customers to the fullest. Scott Stanford contributed greatly to the product and our customers during his time here at ECi Advantage, and for that we are grateful and wish him the best in his future endeavors. We have made changes in every department and want to make sure we share with you our direction, our progress, and ultimately how these changes affect you. In the coming months, we will go into more detail on our focus within each department including sales, implementation, product management, development, support and QA. We ll kick off this series by discussing the new ECi Advantage Advisory Council (EAAC). We have seen the need to make sure our infrastructure model supports future growth efficiently. To that end, we have created an Advisory Council of independent companies, made up of members of different size (both revenue and user count), product mix, region and co-ops. The EAAC will not only help drive future development of our products and offerings but will also work with customers to ensure our products are supporting best practices, keeping up with trends in technology, and incorporating features that will help you compete in your respective marketplaces, drive revenues north and drive costs south. We created the Advisory Council specifically as a way to interact directly with you, the customer, to make sure we are meeting your needs. We at ECi are honored to be your technology partners. I look forward to bringing these updates to you so that you know how we are working for you. Please feel free to reach out to us whenever you have a question or a suggestion. We love hearing from you! Here s to a successful summer season! Sincerely, Todd Harkness, President LBM & Hardlines ECi Software Solutions Todd Harkness President, LBM and Hardlines ECi Software Solutions Content ECi Connect Conference REGISTER NOW!... p. 2 Product Management Notes... p. 2 Holiday Schedule... p. 2 Current Software Versions... p. 2 Legacy and Next Gen Training Videos Now Available... p. 3 Legacy Webinar Schedule... p. 3 Next Generation Webinar Schedule...p. 4-6 Product Spotlight: Remote Backup... p info@ecisolutions.com

2 Dallas, TX Hyatt Regency Dallas September Registration for Connect is well underway! The national users conference features intense training on Advantage software both Legacy and Next Generation. In addition, you will be able to network and learn from other users of Advantage software, plus meet partner vendors who offer the latest in business management tools. We are very excited to announce this year s keynote speaker, Vince Papale! His journey from humble working class beginnings and troubled home life to successful professional athlete and businessman to cancer survivor is a story that will inspire you. We have many more surprises in store for Connect. So stay tuned! Don t miss out! Register now! Product Management Notes ECi Advantage Product Manager, Bill Johnston, has many exciting things to present this quarter! New Next Generation product features include: Configurable Audit Reasons Users can now deselect the modules in which they do not wish to require audit reasons Avery Label Templates Inventory labels now have standard forms for Avery labels #5160 and #22806 Updated Demand Purchase Users can now allocate all or part of an item quantity to an existing stock order on an individual item basis Weighted Tallies For a tally item, configure the components with percentages so that POS order entry can automatically calculate component quantities based on the percentages Ship Complete Stop a sales order from being invoiced until all items and quantities on the order have been fulfilled Footer Messages on Cash Slips Cash slip receipts can be configured with a footer message in POS Forms Quick Return at POS Click the Quick Return icon, select the invoice, and all items on the invoice will be populated into a new order as returns And 77 additional enhancements! Another enhancement we are really excited about is the ability to send error messages directly to the Support team. Not only will our staff receive a notice every time you get a system error message, you can also include relevant details about you were doing when the error occurred in the comments. This is especially helpful for us because we will know from your comments what was happening, and we will have the more technical details of the exact error message, when the error occurred, what was happening on the system when the error occurred, and so on. This will allow us to fix your issue more quickly than ever! Holiday Schedule ECi offices will be CLOSED on the following dates: Fourth of July: Thursday, July 4 Labor Day: Monday, September 2 Thanksgiving: Thursday & Friday, November Christmas: Tuesday & Wednesday, December Current Software Versions As of May 10, : LEGACY: NEXT GENERATION: Please contact support at , option 1, to request software updates. p. 2

3 Legacy and Next Gen Training Videos Available Each month new video training sessions are added to the website. The Support team just reviewed and approved three new Legacy General Ledger videos that explain the General Ledger Header Setup, Adding New G/L Accounts and how to handle the GL Close. Most videos are designed to be short, to the point, and cover a targeted aspect of the software, like Inventory Count Sheets. More information will be added each month. Next Generation videos include Physical Inventory, Bank Reconciliation, Accounts Payable, and more. The website is A login and password is required. Please contact support at , option 1, to obtain this information or Advantage_ support@ecisolutions.com Legacy Webinar Schedule These classes are for ECi Advantage Legacy customers with software product versions less than Webinar training is conducted via conference call and online meeting. The call opens 10 minutes before the meeting start time. The instructor is available to assist people in accessing the website so training begins on time. Attendees will be able to see the entire process and ask questions during the class. All class times are 10am and 1pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). Registration is required by 4pm CDT 48 hours prior to the class. Attendance is limited to 12 companies per webinar. invitations are sent with the link to the online webinar, conference call and other class materials. Without the , there is no access to the class. Classes will be cancelled if no one registers 48 hours prior to the class date. Reserve a spot by calling , option 1, and talking with the operator or someone from the Support team. All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT). Questions? Please call Amanda at , option 1 p. 3

4 ECi Advantage Next Generation Webinar Schedule This schedule is for ECi Advantage Next Generation Customers using the ECi Advantage Next Generation software versions less than Webinar training is conducted via conference call and online meeting. The call opens 10 minutes before the meeting start time. The instructor is available to assist people in accessing the website so training begins on time. Attendees will be able to see the entire process and ask questions during the class. All class times are 10am and 1pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). Registration is required by 4pm CDT 48 hours prior to the class. Attendance is limited to 12 companies per webinar. Questions? Please call Amanda at , option 1 p. 4 invitations are sent with the link to the online webinar, conference call, and other class materials. Customers that are already using the system can reserve a spot by calling , option 1, and talking with the operator or someone from the Support team. All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT)

5 All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT) p. 5

6 All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT) Product Spotlight: Remote Backup Does your data live only on your server? Are you still performing manual backups? If you answered yes to either of those questions, p. 6 then your data is at risk. Remote Server Backup from ECi Advantage can alleviate that risk. How? The backed-up data is available to you 24/7 via a secured Web portal Your database is automatically back up daily outside of business hours and files are available immediately You can call Advantage when support is needed no need to contact multiple parties Data is stored for up to 18 months Get Remote Backup today!