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a future!

 



News Column


 

 

ACCTivation! 2006

It's time to start thinking about the next ACCTivate! Users Conference.

ACCTivation! 2006 will be held in Arlington, TX May 4th and 5th 2006. It's not too early to start making plans to attend.

The conference will cover a wide variety of topics such as maximizing the use of your ACCTivate! system and exploring current technology trends.

More information will be made available in the upcoming months.

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User Feedback

We're always interested in hearing from ACCTivate! Users. You're the reason that we're in business.

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to share with us, please feel free to contact us.

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Software Updates

The ACCTivate! Software Maintenance plan is designed to provide subscribers with the newest version of ACCTivate!.

This plan includes both web-updates and full-version releases. CYMA users recognize it as SMP, while QuickBooks users recognize it as part of the new SMS plan.

Either way, it's the annual subscription that provides you with updates and new version releases.

Without a current subscription, users are not granted access to those updates and releases.

Please contact the Alterity sales office for more information on your Software Maintenance plan.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

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Feature Story: Microsoft Small Business Account

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Tech Tips: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

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Featured Add-on: Business Activity Management

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Doings@ACCTivate!: New faces at ACCTivate!

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Releases and Updates: Credit Card Processing

 


 

 

 

ACCTivate! Partners with Microsoft for Small Business Accounting Launch

Redmond, WASeptember 7, 2005

Ron Souder, President and CEO of Alterity, Inc., participated along with Bill Gates of Microsoft in the launch of the new Microsoft initiative in the small business arena.

 

Alterity was one of 12 independent software vendors (ISVs) invited to the software launch in Redmond. Mr. Gates thanked the ISVs who have committed to extend the value of Microsoft® Office Small Business Accounting 2006 with products such as ACCTivate!.

 

Ron gave a series of presentations and demonstrations to the attending industry leaders and press on the newly integrated ACCTivate! with Small Business Accounting 2006.

 

Ron was quick to add that the widely accepted functionality of ACCTivate! changes little in the new version.

 

The first shipment of ACCTivate! for Small Business Accounting 2006 is anticipated in October 2005.

 

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Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in ACCTivate!

Full and powerful CRM functionality is built into ACCTivate!
One of the most frequently asked questions about ACCTivate! is "Does it have a CRM module?"

The answer is both yes and no!

Better than having an add-on module that is called "Customer Relationship Management", the entire ACCTivate! system is inherently a CRM system in and of itself. From the ground-up, it has been designed to have CRM functionality worked into each and every aspect of the system.

This allows you, or any authorized ACCTivate! user, to have access to a wide collection of customer data in the system. The best part is the data in ACCTivate! is interrelated. It's easy to locate customer specific information when needed.

This means that when you open a customer record in the Customer Information Window, you have instant access to the main company information, multiple contacts in the company, multiple ship-to addresses and typical customer related information. It's all there for your easy access.

However, ACCTivate! doesn't stop there. Because this information is shared across the whole system, as soon as you open the customer file you have instant and up-to-date credit information, you can see a list of all of the customer's orders, and you can see a full list of every product that customer has ordered and more.

Having all of your customer's information at hand and easily accessible allows you to better manage just about every aspect of the relationship that you have with your customer. Imagine having quick access to your customer's last order when they call and say, "give me what I got on my last order". You can do this on the fly in ACCTivate!. That's how the system has been designed.

This is not a bolt-on product, but instead a methodology of handling all of your relationships with each customer that is interwoven into the very fabric of ACCTivate!.

The end result is a system that provides you with the tools needed to keep and maintain strong customer relationships.

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Featured Add-on

 

Business Activity Management Module

Manage and Track your Business Activities
One of the most powerful time and energy-saving resources available to ACCTivate! users comes from the proper implementation and use of the Business Activities Management module.

 

This module allows any organization to properly manage just about any type of information that needs to be documented, categorized and stored for review at a later date.

 

It can do this because it's completely configurable to work for any company in the way that they do business. Each activity is stored as its own unique business activity, complete with a full description and categorization along with the specific action that needs to be taken.

 

Business Activities Management can really help to keep track of hundreds of different types of activities in a typical business.

 

Here are a few examples:

Customer Service Management

When a customer calls in with a complaint, a question about a bill, a question about a product or anything else, simply create a new business activity while they're on the phone to get started. Then, depending on the nature of the call, you can enter their information and even link this new activity to a specific sales order or to a specific product.

 

If necessary, assign this activity to someone in the company for that person to follow-up with by a certain date. When they finish dealing with it, they can reassign it to someone else, or mark it as complete.

 

RMA Management

Again, because the system is open-ended, you can fully manage just about any type of information or activity that is needed in your company.

 

Of course, this includes RMA management. When a customer wants to return an item that they have purchased, simply create a new business activity with the relevant information entered into it.

 

Give that activity number to the customer as a RMA number. If it's written on the paperwork that comes with the returned package, anyone in the company can access the RMA number and take the necessary action to complete the RMA.

 

Other Management Tasks

The needs of your company and your own imagination are the main constraints for how the system works. Consider these other uses:

 

Customer Complaints

Vendor Negotiations

Warranty Claims

Employee Suggestions

Sales Opportunities

General Maintenance

Special Purchasing Tracking

... and more.

 

Remember, because ACCTivate! is built to accommodate custom reports designed in Crystal Reports®, reports can be authored that provide a full management view of any of these business activities.

 

For more information on how the Business Activities Management module can help your company, call or email your ACCTivate! representative.

 

Online training classes for this module are available as well.

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New faces at ACCTivate!

More new people at Alterity, Inc.
We're doing something right! Each month we are contacted by more and more companies that are interested in learning about what ACCTivate! can do for them. From those prospects, we have earned the business of dozens of new companies that are now running the ACCTivate! system.

To accommodate this steady growth, we have added two remarkable and skilled talents to the ACCTivate! team. They both bring high-levels of professionalism and expertise with them to Alterity.

Armin Sebran
Armin joined the ACCTivate! team earlier this year and handles new accounts in the Western region of the country. He comes to us with a very impressive resume of software and technology sales.

His professional experience includes being an independent sales agent for various educational software packages, a regional and district sales manager, an account executive and even a trainer. This background has provided him with the necessary skills to make the transition into the ACCTivate! team very smooth and beneficial.

Armin holds both BA and MA degrees from the University of Tulsa, with special emphasis in the cultural anthropology of technology and social change. His education has suited him well to understand how a solid software system can change the way that each employee does his or her job.

Among his hobbies include travel, music and photography. He lives in the greater Dallas, Texas area with his wife and two children.

Joan Loignon
Joan came on board with Alterity in August as a trainer and has also brought with her an impressive resume and skill set that includes training, consulting, systems implementation and more.

She has a substantial background in information technology with a special focus on accounting systems development. This background has allowed her to jump in and very quickly become a handy contact for many new customers that are just getting started and existing customers that require additional training resources.

Previously, Joan was employed as a Controller and Information Technology manager by one of the largest independent commercial jet maintenance and service providers in the United States. She's also worked as an accountant and a sales director as well.

Joan has called several southern states home during her professional career and currently resides in the greater Dallas, Texas area.

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Releases and Updates

 

Coming Soon – Credit Card Processing

Credit Card Processing for QuickBooks Users
The ACCTivate! development team is hard at work on several new features and enhancements to the ACCTivate! system. At the top of the list is a module that will allow Credit Cards to be taken and entered for an order inside of ACCTivate!.

This module will only be available for QuickBooks users, as it will rely on QuickBooks Merchant Services to process the credit cards online. You will be able to enter the credit card information directly into ACCTivate!.

It will then be processed online and all relevant information will be passed over to QuickBooks during the synchronization.

Keep your eyes open for this module.

EDI Manager Module in full swing
One of the newest modules that has been released is the EDI manager. EDI, which stands for Electronic Data Interchange, is becoming a more frequent requirement from many trading partners in the business world.

The ACCTivate! EDI manager gives companies the ability to electronically exchange purchase orders, invoices, advance shipping notices, requests for credit and organizational relationship information.

A full fact sheet on EDI is available on the ACCTivate! website in the Fact Sheets section.

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Alterity, Inc.
2012 East Randol Mill, Suite 219
Arlington, TX 76011
Phone: 817-870-1311
Fax: 817-546-2211
Web: www.acctivate.com