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On the pages that follow, you will find answers and solutions to the questions and problems you may have. Check here first.
• Common Questions
• Tips & Tricks, FAQs
• Download Manuals
has been finished and invoiced?
We suggest that you keep your old projects so you can use that information to review your business and aid in producing future estimates for similar projects. DesignSoft is able to archive or copy your project into another folder so it is out your way but still available for future use. To archive a project simply display the project and select Archive under the Display menu. We also have an add on module utility program called Batch Archive & Delete that allows you to archive many projects at once. See our order form for pricing.
Time & Billing Online: Under the Project menu, select 'Archive.' Check the project to archive and click to archive. You may view them at anytime, but only the Unlimited Subscription Plan allows you to reactivate or unarchive the project for further use.
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An estimate is produced the same way a regular project is. You initiate the project by giving it a number (some users put the letter "E" at the end of the project to indicate that it is an estimate or proposal.) Then enter the description of the potential project as you wish it to show on the estimate. Once the "estimate" project has been started simply go to the entry screen and go down the list of fee and expense codes and enter the anticipated number of hours or dollars for each category. Once finished click the "Estimate/Report" button on the DesignSoft Navigator and choose your estimate format. (estimate formats are set up exactly like an invoice or statement formats) Once chosen you will see a list of your projects. Select the estimate project you just created and your estimate will appear. You can make any final changes on the estimate itself and you can save it as a document for future use. Once your estimate is finished you may wish to archive it to your archive folder or another folder (if you have Batch Archive & Delete) that holds just estimate projects. You can also use the estimate project to bill from once the projects is finished. Chances are that your real project file will not match the estimate down to the penny. So by restoring the Estimate project and billing from it you have a quick and easy way to bill your client with out making many changes to the invoice.
Time & Billing Online: There is quoting feature now built in. Under the Project menu, select Fee, Expense, or Cost entry. At the top of any of those screens, check the quote box. This will earmark the entry to be used in 1) preparing and printing a quote (under the Billing menu), 2) on the Project summary screen, 3) or on the Summary and Quote Comparison screens under the 'Reports' menu. Custom quotes can be prepared by establishing a quote format and then creating and printing or downloading the resulting file.
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You can use the original estimate project to bill from once the projects is finished. Chances are that your real activity project file will not match the estimate down to the penny. So by restoring the estimate project and billing from it you have a quick and easy way to bill your client with out making many changes to the invoice. For information on creating estimates see the item above.
Time & Billing Online: On the Project summary screen there is button that will take you to the Adjustment screen. Here you can make additions and subtractions that will appear on the invoice if you wish to document them. Otherwise you can define an invoice format under 'Billing' that just shows the quoted amounts and then use that format to create your invoice.
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How do I
share my accounting data with my accountant?
You can provide your accountant with monthly, quarterly , or annual
accounting information as a print out or a tab spaced text file in Mac or
Windows formats. The Profit and Loss and the Accounting Activity reports
are probably the reports your accountant will be interested in. Simply run
the required report and either print it out between the two dates needed or
select "Export As Text" under the Payables or Receivables menu.
This file can then be E-mailed as an attachment to your accountant or sent
directly on a disk.
Time & Billing Online: Because it is an online application, you can
allow access from any location, including your accountant's office. You can create a
user account for them and then restrict their access to the rest of the application
through User Groups under the 'Setup' menu.
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Year-End Checklist
Time & Billing Online: Because all of your data is stored in one place (online) there is nothing to move or rename. The only thing you have to do is to reset your project numbering formula if it contains the year, and therefore is date driven.
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How do I keep track of prepayments
or retainers with Time & Billing?
Prepayments or retainers can be entered into the project just like any other time
or expense entry. Simply start a fee or expense code named prepayment or anything
else that best describes it for you and then make the factor or mark up "-1.00000".
If the client prepays $5000 toward the project then make the entry using your prepayment
code and it will send an entry to the project of $ -5000. This will offset $5000 real
time and expenses on your final invoice and show on your invoice listing as a prepayment.
The balance remaining will be correct and will show what the client owes you less the
deposit(s).
Time & Billing Online: On the Project summary screen there is button that will take
you to the Adjustment screen. Here you can create 'incremental' entries that can be earmarked as
retainers, downpayments, or staged billings. An invoice format can be defined to create invoices
for them.
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Can more than one person use Time & Billing?
Yes as long as they use it in turn. We suggest that you either install
the software on the machine of the individual that uses the software 51%
of the time or more or that you install it on a server. In either case have
the remote users make an alias of the all the DesignSoft applications you use
and copy them to the desktop of their machines. If the software is in use by
another user it will ask the user to try again later. If you have multiple
people using the software we suggest that you get in, do what you need to do,
and then quit the application so your associates may access it when needed.
This also brings up an import point and that is are you having billable people
do non-billable work? If so it's best to deem one person responsible for
maintaining the system.
Time & Billing Online: Oh yeah! You just need to create a user account for everyone
that you wish to have access.
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How do I do scheduling with Time & Billing?
Scheduling and tracking are easy with Time & Billing but it does require
that you use our DesignSoft Search & Report module available with
the Creative Billing Complete Bundle or by itself. First you need to
set up a fee code for each category of business you will be needing
to schedule. Of course these codes should have a $0 rate as they will
never be used to bill from. To schedule an activity or indicate a due
date simple make an entry into the project you are scheduling for and make
sure that the date entered is the due date that you need the activity
completed. Once entered into the various projects you can use Search and
Report to bring up all the items that are due for today, tomorrow,
all week, actually any date range you can imagine.
Time & Billing Online: Not really applicable at this time.
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I just got a
new computer, how do I move
Time & Billing with out losing anything?
The easiest way to move DesignSoft Creative Billing to your new machine is
to copy the entire DesignSoft folder (Be certain the folder is closed and
the application is not running) over the network to the new drive on the
new computer. If you are not connected via network then use a Zip disk or CDR.
There is no reason to reinstall the software and its components.
Everything you need to run DesignSoft Creative Billing and it's modules are contained
inside the DesignSoft folder. There are no extensions or other items outside the
DesignSoft folder that you have to be concerned with.
The only set up necessary is to go to Page Set Up inside the DesignSoft
invoice, estimate, statement, and custom report formats and then save the formats
with the page set up settings.
Time & Billing Online: Another great reason to use the online version—
absolutely nothing to move! It all stays in the same place.