11 onTOPS

March 2003

onTOPS

Welcome to onTOPS, an e-zine produced by TOPS Software to keep you informed about our products and services. Our Sales Department has remained very busy since the first of the year. Normally, sales of TOPS Software begin to slow down around the end of January. Because TOPS is primarily an accounting software, most new customers want to make the switch at the beginning of a new year. So sales are always robust in the 4th quarter and spilling over into January for all those customers trying to get started on TOPS along with the new year. But this year, sales have continued at a high pace all the way up to this point - late March. I think this is a testament to the great product we have created, which is really filling the needs of our marketplace.

As evidence of our commitment to keep our software at the forefront of this industry, in this issue we will be talking about several new, exciting products that are in the works and will soon be available, changes to existing products to make them even more useful for you, and a seasonal module that is very popular at this time of year.

We look forward to hearing your feedback about the e-zine. Please let us know what things you liked, what you would like to see, and any suggested articles by emailing us at ezines@topssoft.com. As always, enjoy your reading, and we will see you next month!

Jeff Hardy 

onSoftware

Job Streaming

Even though this new module was just released a few months ago, our customers tell us they would REALLY like to see some Accounts Payable functions added to streamline their processing even more. Well, we listened and are currently working to add this capability to Job Streaming.

Very soon, we will be releasing the ability to GLOBALLY post Recurring A/P Invoices and print A/P checks without having to go to each community to do it. What a timesaver! Of course there will be protections about overdrawing bank accounts, duplicate invoices and insurance expiration dates for vendors.

Everyone who has purchased Job Streaming will automatically get this new functionality at no charge. If you haven't bought Job Streaming yet, I recommend you contact Sales at 800-760-9966 or sales@topssoft.com to get more information. Prices may be increasing soon for this popular module, so you'd better not delay!

Jeff Hardy 

onSales

Things In The Pipeline

We are always working on new products, add-ons, and features for our customers. Here is just a brief glimpse into projects that are in the works with release dates between now and the end of this year:

• TOPS Mobile PDA
  A redesign and rewrite of our very popular Palm Pilot interface so it will work not only with the Palm, but also with Pocket PC and many cell phone PDAs. You will no longer be limited to PDAs using the Palm O/S, you can pick almost any PDA including newer ones with the brighter screens for outdoor use. New capabilities have been added too, like Board of Director listing and the Community Fact Sheet. In addition to being a great field inspection tool, this new version gives the on-call manager who must handle an emergency all the information needed to do so effectively.
• Utility Billing
  Define up to 5 separate utilities in EACH COMMUNITY to track resident usage, charge residents for the usage, print utility bills, and keep a full history of the charges for every home.
• Credit Card Processing
  A new way to automate cash receipts while offering owners the convenience and benefits of charging their recurring fees. Studies by a major credit card company show that people want the ability to put recurring charges on credit cards - so TOPS Software will meet the demand by giving you the ability to handle credit card charging right within TOPS 2000™. It will also allow charging for one-time Special Assessments, Estoppel (resale package) fees, Work Order costs, CC&R Fines and other miscellaneous fees. More on this as we get closer to the release date.
• Calendar/Organizer
  Track To Do's, appointments, reminders and more right within TOPS 2000™. Alarms can be set for the appointed time. Each user can have their own personal Calendar/Organizer which they maintain. There is also a global Calendar/Organizer for use by management to remind about general events and activities.
• Maintenance Company Billing
  This new module will change the Work Order system so it works globally across all communities and has a customer file for non-managed customers. There are tools for quickly entering a new Work Order and assigning to available staff after browsing currently assigned Work Orders, along with jobs and staff management tools for checking the status of in process Work Orders. Bill the responsible party for the Work Order charges. If the charge is a community expense, an A/P invoice will automatically be created in that community payable to the Maintenance Company. There are many other capabilities too for our customers who run maintenance company divisions.

Jeff Hardy 

onSupport

Spring is Around the corner

For many of our clients, this has been a winter they will not soon forget. Snow, ice, more snow, more ice, and then rain blanketed your areas over and over. Now that you have finished digging out, it is time to move on. Tax time deadline is almost here and after that we can all breathe a sigh of relief. As we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we can begin the process of cleanup. This cleanup can be something as tedious as finishing all the "rainy/snowy day" projects to getting new clients onboard. Whatever your needs, we are here to help. There are resources and technicians available to help you decide the best way to tackle some of those things you put off since last year.

We need to take advantage of this time to reorganize not only our people but our offices and computers as well. Use the system to its fullest and it will help you in the long run. Some of the ways we can do this is by revising our form letters, Board/Committee Rosters, Flex Data and even doing updates to our owner's records. Some communities send out flyers at this time of year asking for updates to phone numbers, car information, etc. By keeping this up-to-date it will help you be able to maintain the information required to run efficiently and effectively.

If you have a project and don't know the best way to handle it, please feel free to call me and together we can make a plan of action. After all spring cleaning doesn't have to be a chore, and you'll feel much better when those "rainy day" stacks are off your desk and your "to do list".

Editor's Note: Cathy Flynn is the corporate trainer for TOPS Software. If you have a question related to training, feel free to send her an email at Training@topssoft.com

Cathy Flynn 

onSpecial

Now is the time to Buy Pool Pass!

Do you have to handle pool pass distribution and track membership? Well the TOPS 2000™ Pool Pass module makes this a snap and is very timely to consider now with most community pools opening for the summer in late May. With the Pool Pass module you can maintain pool membership records for each home in the community. This includes member names and ages along with other information. A digital picture of each member can be stored in the records.

From the membership records, pool passes can be printed in several formats including a self-laminating pass (Avery #5361) with the member's picture printed on the pass. There are tools for setting parameters so that delinquent owners do not get pool passes too. Membership reports, some with balances due, can be printed at any time and given to screeners at the pool so they have the most updated information.

This module loads right into TOPS 2000™ and can be accessed from the owner database menu. The members can be selected from the TOPS 2000™ owner database or manually entered. Different membership types can also be tracked. At a cost of only $399, this module is a real bargain and this is the season that you should consider it.

Jeff Hardy 

onLine

TOPS Community Web Sites: 12 Month Owner Payment History Added!

Here's another instance of how we listened to feedback from our customers. Our Community Web Sites interface with TOPS 2000™ so that owners can view information about their home such as the current balance due, last payment information, Work Order, CC&R and ACC records, and more uploaded to the web site on a regularly scheduled basis. This information is available to homeowners through a unique login 24/7 so they don't have to contact the office to get this information. So this is already proving to be a good timesaver for the office staff as well as a real convenience to the homeowners.

A number of our web site customers suggested that we also upload the past 12 months of owner's payment history so owners can not only view their balance due but also view the details of their charges and payments that adds up to the current balance due. We listened, thought this was a good idea too, then started work on this change. We have recently completed the programming for this new capability and are currently in the testing phase. We expect to roll this change out to all TOPS Web Site customers within the next month.

If you are interested in our TOPS Community Web Site Service with all these great capabilities and more, please contact WebSales@topshome.com or call Web Sales at 800-556-7852.

Jeff Hardy

onTopic

Endnote: 

Dorothy Parker was once asked her opinion of the two most beautiful words in the English language. Parker's reply? "Check enclosed."

Parker, Dorothy (1893-1967), American writer, critic, and wit

www.anecdotage.com

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