onTOPS

Happy Fourth of July, and welcome back to onTOPS! onTOPS is the e-mail magazine (e-zine) produced by TOPS Software to keep you informed about our products and services.

June was an eventful month for TOPS Software staff, and we have had several changes and promotions. Here is the news:

• Ryan Allen is promoted to Vice President of Technical Services
• Wayne Drennen is promoted to Director of Programming
• Carmen Wood is promoted to Technical Support Manager
• Andrea Drennen is promoted to Internet Services Manager
• Wayne and Andrea Drennen move to Florida to work in Clearwater office.

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 e-mailing us at Insider@TOPSSoft.com. As always, enjoy your reading, and we will see you next month!

by Andrea Drennen 

onSoftware

Bigger, Better Interface for Web Site Account Data

Great News! The TOPS Community Web Site development team has been hard at work improving the service, and boy does it show! The web upload of data from TOPS 2000™ to TOPS Community web sites has been completely redesigned to be sleeker, more user friendly, and to include more data than ever from TOPS 2000™! Take a look at the complete list of uploaded data:

Remember that TOPS Community Web Sites are fully customizable. You may pick and choose exactly which of the above data you wish to upload on an individual community basis. There is no product on the market that even compares to the TOPS Community Web Site Service!

In addition to all of the data now uploading from TOPS 2000™, you can enjoy the benefits of the many features built in to your TOPS Community Web Site; features that bring your community closer together such as email bulletins to keep residents up-to-date, eforms for residents to communicate with your management team, surveys for residents to communicate their opinions to the Board, and a community bulletin board for residents to communicate with each other.

These are just a sampling of over 50 fully customizable features that are included in your TOPS Web Site. But don't take my word for it, experience TOPS Community Web Sites for yourself! Visit our live online demos at www.topshome.com. There are two demos you can test - one for Management companies, and one for communities. Additionally, you can order a free demo CD that includes a sample web site and a presentation that you can show to your board members. To order your free Demo CD, go to www.topshome.net/topshome/demo_order.htm, or call Susan at 1-800-556-7852.

Andrea Drennen 

onSales

In the Pipeline

It's been a soggy spring here on the east coast, but the sales of TOPS Software products has been going hot and heavy all year. We expect this trend to continue because of all the new products and enhancements in the development pipeline. These include:

• TOPS Mobile PDA - a new handheld version of our popular Palm Pilot interface
• Job Streaming - accounts payable check printing can now be done globally offering our MICR check printing customers lots of potential time savings
• Maintenance Company Billing - for management companies operating a maintenance company
• Utility Billing - for communities who read meters and charge for utility usage
• TOPS On-Site™ - a new version with enhanced features for use by on-site staff
• New Web Site Functions - 12 month owner payment history and service request history are among the latest new capabilities that keep TOPS Community Web Sites at the forefront of Internet technology
• TOPS 2000™ - our programmers are working on the next version every day with lots of new features to give you even more functions and efficiency

These are just a few highlights, our programming staff is busy every day making TOPS Software better and better.

The CAI national conference in Dallas was held on May 1st- May 3rd. Bruce Gran, Director of Sales, and Ryan Allen, Vice President of Technical Services attended. At our trade show booth we had the chance to meet a number of customers from around the country and chat with them face to face. We value the feedback we get from customers and, at this show, we heard lots of positive comments about the software and our services. We also met a number of sales prospects interested in purchasing TOPS. Many of these prospects were referrals from existing TOPS customers which is also a very positive sign that our software products are meeting the needs and expectations of our customers, so they feel comfortable recommending TOPS to others.

At the CAI conference, Bruce was part of the presentation titled "Using Technology to Streamline Your Business". The session was well attended and received high marks for usable content. On the local CAI level, TOPS sponsored the cocktail hour at the Gold Coast Chapter's first "PCAM Designation Dinner". It is our intent to get active with several local CAI chapters over this next year so we can meet as many customers as possible right in their own backyard. Toward this end, we have joined a number of local CAI chapters around the country and will be joining more local chapters in the future.

Jeffrey S Hardy 

onSupport

Printing Help

With the release of version 3.10, TOPS 2000™ now exclusively uses the Windows print manager when printing all report, checks, and forms. This change was made to give consistency to the printing routines. It also allows the user to utilize any advanced printing options available with the printer. Such features can include selecting the paper tray, layout, paper quality, and alignments. These features are all dependant on the type of printer and the capabilities that it contains.

Prior to the change, TOPS 2000™ used a custom print routine to print checks and other select reports. This routine bypassed the Windows print manager. Although the decision to use the Windows print manger has given our users more functionality with their printers, it has also revealed an unexpected issue in the Microsoft print manager, as we discovered when several clients reported problems printing with dot matrix printers. Following are some tips for correcting dot matrix printer problems that can arise from using your dot matrix printer with the Windows print manager:

1. The most common issue that we have encountered is when the drivers that are being used for the printer are not compatible with higher versions of Windows. It is recommended that you check with the printer manufacturer for the correct printer driver.
2. Another situation to watch for is special properties for the printer that need to be adjusted. One client could not get more than one word to print in the top left corner of the page. After extensive investigation (and a great deal of frustration), we learned that the printer had a special setting for page size. The page size had been set to a ½ in. x ½ in. page size - just big enough for one word.
3. There are several other issues that can occur when using older dot matrix printers on newer Windows operating systems. The most important thing you can do is test the printer using other applications such as your word processor to make sure that the printer will work when printing through the Windows print manager.

Ryan Allen 

onSpecial

TOPS On-Site™

special 15% discount off the purchase price of TOPS On-Site and its optional modules through August 31, 2003.

This great product is like a well kept secret. No one seems to know what it is or what the benefits are. Well let's reveal the "secret" and tell you why you should consider buying it for the communities you manage.

TOPS On-Site™ does no accounting; that needs to be done at the main office where there is proper supervision and control. Instead, it is a standalone "administrative only" version of TOPS intended for use at remote offices or at managed communities that have local staff or volunteers who want to perform their own administrative duties, like issue Work Orders, handle CC&R violations, or, more simply, be able to view the owner database, print mailing labels, print owner reports and send customized form letters to the owners. TOPS On-Site™ offers these popular TOPS modules:

• Owner Database
• Work Order (optional)
• CCR Enforcement (optional)
• Pool Pass (optional)
• Guard Gate Security (optional)

Why should you be interested in TOPS On-Site™? Simple. Anything the remote office staff can do using TOPS On-Site™ saves the main office staff from having to do it. Less time spent by the main office staff translates into more communities managed with less time and effort by the main office staff. So TOPS On-Site™ is a win-win situation for any management company.

But there is more to it than just being a "standalone" version, it can actually "talk" to your main office version of TOPS 2000™. You can export the owner database to TOPS On-Site™ on a regular basis to keep the records at the remote office in sync with TOPS 2000™. Also, the remote office staff can upload the locally maintained Work Order, CC&R Enforcement, Pool Pass or Gate Security databases back into TOPS 2000™ on your main office computer so you have a duplicate copy of the data they are entering through TOPS On-Site™ where it can be stored and backed up.

TOPS On-Site™ is so easy to use and well designed, that it has even been purchased by companies that don't use TOPS 2000™ for their accounting. These companies wanted the capabilities that our CC&R Enforcement, Work Order and Guard Gate Security modules had to offer but weren't able to change accounting software to get them. TOPS On-Site™ was the convenient solution for them.

TOPS On-Site™ is very affordable too, starting at just $395 per installation. It is sold modularly so you can pick and choose which extra modules suit your needs.

To make TOPS On-Site™ even more appealing, we are offering a special 15% discount off the purchase price of TOPS On-Site™ and its optional modules through August 31, 2003. Don't delay, contact sales today at 800-760-9966 to order a demo of TOPS On-Site™ so you can see the benefits yourself. Then place your order to buy it for your remote offices or managed communities by August 31st to get the special, discounted price.

Jeffrey S Hardy 

onLine

TOPS Web Site Developer Conference

Every six months the TOPS Community Web Site development team gets together with our sales and support departments to determine which new features we will be adding to the service, and to ensure that we are all on track with the direction the service is going. The conference takes place over a two day period, and this time, was held in our new Clearwater, Florida office. As always, the conference was extremely productive, and we all came away with a sense of purpose and resolve to continue to make the TOPS Community Web Site Service the best on the market.

This session we had 60 individual customer requests for changes and updates. The great news is that nearly every request was accepted as an action item for our update list. Our developers certainly have their work cut out for them! In the end we walked away with 96 items on our "To Do" list. Here is a sampling of the planned improvements:

• More interactivity between CC&R/ACC and web site: Allow owners to make an architectural request or report a violation online and that data will download into TOPS 2000T
• More interactivity between Work Order and web site: Allow owners to create a service request and that data will download into TOPS 2000T. Manager may then choose to add as a service request or upgrade to a work order.
• More interactivity between Gate Security and web sites: Allow owners to enter visitors and vehicles online. This data will download into TOPS 2000T and populate running versions of TOPS Guard Gate.
• More interactivity between Pool Pass and web sites: Allow owners to enter passes online up to a limitation defined in TOPS 2000T. This data will download into TOPS 2000T.
• Add a "Drill Down" functionality to Work Order and CC&R records so owners can view more detailed information on each record. (Including pictures!)
• Add "Custom Page" functionality that uses the new WYSIWYG text editor to allow administrators to add custom pages without having to add a module. (No HTML Knowledge Necessary!)

These are just a sampling of the many exciting things coming down the pike for the TOPS Community Web Site Service. As you can see this is a constantly evolving product that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Now is the time for you to begin taking advantage of the many wonders a TOPS Community Web Site can afford you! For more information on this product, to view a live demo, or to order a free CD complete with a demo web site and a presentation, visit www.topshome.com.

Andrea Drennen

onSpotlight

Century Management Services

In lieu of our standard interesting fact, we decided to end this issue by sharing with you a testimonial written by one of our management company clients - Century Management Services.

Century Management Services is a Full Service Professional Property Management Firm offering the personalized and individual services required to meet today's specialized community needs. In offering this kind of service and commitment we needed a management software that would not only help us accomplish these goals, but also share in the vision we have for the future needs of our communities. We found all this in TOPS 2000™. By utilizing the full capabilities of the software we are able to streamline each individual department and, in turn, are able to provide our communities with the service and commitment that we promise.

By far, the best product that TOPS Software offers, besides their management software, is the Community Web Sites. When we approached our communities offering them this product, they were curious and interested. After showing them a demo they were not only surprised; they were more excited than we were! As of today, most of the communities we manage now have Community Web Sites.

By having these web sites we have found that we can keep the homeowners within the communities better informed and more in touch with what is going on in their community. The web sites allow us to better serve the homeowners in the community by allowing them to view their account information, violations, architectural approvals, etc. and also get important documents pertaining to the community 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Being able to offer these types of services after business hours is priceless.

I want to thank all the people at TOPS especially Andrea, Wayne and Brandon for all their help and support with the web sites. Great Job!! Keep up the good work.

Michael Grosso, Century Management Services, Inc.