Marlon, I got a notice like that from Quickbooks maybe 6 months ago. I irked me because I didn't want them to be able to force me to upgrade when my 2004 edition was doing just fine.
I started using the following workaround. 1. Rather than emailing invoices directly from QB via their email gateway, I now save each completed invoice as a PDF in the subdirectory of the client that I'm invoicing. 2. From my email program, I then originate an email to the client and attach the PDF invoice. This process may take a few more seconds than the older, mail-from-QB process but it has worked out well otherwise and I feel that I am less of a victim of Intuit's marketing machine. Also, when I need to follow up with the client regarding payment status (which happens all too often these days) I can just go back to the original email that I sent them and forward it to the client along with a polite inquiry as to the payment status. jack Marlon K. Schafer wrote: > Hi All, > > I just got a notice that Quickbooks is going to REQUIRE an upgrade in order > to continue to keep sending out bills via email. And we have all of 1 month > or so to get it done.... I HATE Intuit and would like to replace them. > > Here's the work flow in our office. > > New customer calls in. > Fill out signup sheet with all needed customer data. > Assign static ip to customer. > Enter customer billing info into Quickbooks. > Enter all customer data into Access. > Enter customer username and pass into RADIUS. > Enter customer email account(s) data into email server. > Enter customer data into Postini (if they purchase the filtering). > Type customer signup sheet info into word doc and store in customer folder. > Generate installation work order. > Fill out check list showing what steps have been completed. > > This has worked nicely in the past and "only" takes about 30 minutes to > accomplish. But now we're growing too fast and have gotten too big to > maintain this. Between tech support calls etc. the office manager is having > to bring in extra help. It's only a day per week and it's good for there to > be two people there at least part of the time. No one should work alone all > of the time. Plus, if she wants to take some time off she will have someone > trained in the basics so we'll likely need to keep some extra help around no > matter what. This mechanism also gives us a lot of double checks, redundant > data points etc. With Access and Quickbooks we can run a very nice mix of > reports etc. > > We do NOT have a customer trouble ticket mechanism other than the file on > them. We don't track customers on a per call basis. That's not too bad > because we're still small enough that we can normally remember problem > customers. > > This would probably be a good time to change everything though. > > In my perfect world, I'd have a billing system (that handles all of the > taxes for different communities etc.), trouble ticketing, auto server > configuration AND deconfig. I'd want good reporting capabilities. > > I've looked at some of the commercial systems out there, but at $1 or more > per month per sub for a full blown system I'd rather keep putting that money > into the local labor pool. > > Freeside looks pretty good but I don't do programming or server admin work > in-house. I don't mind hiring someone to set it all up etc. and to take > care of the server. But it has to be an affordable solution too. > > What are people using? Do you like it? > > If you had it to do all over again, what would you do? > > Vendors please feel free to hit me up. > marlon > 509.988.0260 > Or talk to Apryl in the office 509.982.2181, she'll know more about what she > does day in and day out. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > -- Jack Unger - President, Ask-Wi.Com, Inc. Serving the Broadband Wireless Industry Since 1993 Cisco Press Author - "Deploying License-Free Wireless WANs" WISPs - Do you know where your customers are? For wireless coverage mapping see http://www.ask-wi.com/mapping FCC Lic. #PG-12-25133 LinkedIn Profile <http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackunger> Phone 818-227-4220 Email <jun...@ask-wi.com> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
