onTOPS

Welcome to onTOPS, an e-zine produced by TOPS Software to keep you informed about our products and services.

We have a number of very exciting announcements for you this month regarding a special release of TOPS MaintCo™, the free release or our new Custom Report Export Utility, and the imminent release of our new Online AP Approval feature. We also have two new employees to tell you about, a report on the CAI National trade show and Expo, our 2005 trade show schedule, a list of updates to the program, and so much more!

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 Ezines@TOPSSoft.com. As always, enjoy your reading, and we will see you next month!

by Andrea Drennen 

onSpecial

TOPS MaintCo™ Limited Release

Only $1,995.00 to the first 10 customers!

TOPS Software is proud to announce a brand new program available on limited release right now. TOPS MaintCoT allows those management companies who have a maintenance division to have a completely integrated solution with TOPS 2000T.

Because there is full integration with TOPS 2000T and because of the accounting and administrative tools built into TOPS MaintCoT, it is certain to be much simpler and more efficient for you to run your maintenance company using TOPS MaintCoT than any other software you might be using now.

TOPS MaintCoT automatically sets up every community you manage as a "customer" for the maintenance company. In addition, every homeowner can be pulled in as a customer if you do "in-unit" maintenance work. You can easily add outside customers to the customer file as well.

As new Work Orders are created, a scheduling tool allows you to see open jobs and the staff assigned, so you can assign the new job to a staff member who has available time to do it. There are monitoring tools that the division manager may use to view the status of open jobs.

A complete Accounts Receivable module geared towards maintenance company operations is included. Charges are posted to maintenance company customers, payments are then entered against specific jobs. At any given time, you can see the balances due from customers and print customer statements or balance due reports.

The full retail price for TOPS MaintCoT is $3,995, but under our initial limited release you may purchase it now at the reduced price of $1,995. This price will stay in effect until either 10 copies have been sold or December 31, 2004, whichever comes first.

On January 1, 2005, an Introductory price of $2,995 will go into effect and will stay in effect until June 30, 2005. Effective July 1, 2005, the price for TOPS MaintCoT will increase to its full retail of $3,995.

So don't delay, call Sales at 800-760-9966 and put in your order now for TOPS MaintCoT at the Limited Release price. Orders will be strictly cut-off after the first 10 customers have purchased, so act quickly and save on this sure to be popular new module from TOPS Software!

Jeffrey S. Hardy

onSoftware

What's In the Works At TOPS Software

TOPS 2000™ is the most widely used application for the management of condominiums and homeowner associations. One reason for our success is that most of our staff has come from the management industry, and we know what our customers need from their software. We use this background along with suggestions and feedback from customers we when plan new capabilities.

We know that you rely on us to continue enhancing TOPS to give you new capabilities and efficiencies, so you have the tools you need to succeed in a competitive environment. We have a plan for where TOPS is going, and we thought you might find it interesting and helpful to know that plan.

Projects Available now or in next 6 months:

• TOPS MaintCoT - Announced in another article in this newsletter - TOPS MaintCoT allows a management company to maintain a maintenance division. The program may be run within TOPS 2000T, or stand-alone. Available Now.
• Utility Billing Module - Track individual unit billing from meter readings for associations with shared utilities. The program can even handle the complex charges that coincide with utility charges. The module is fully integrated with the owner's account and the general ledger in TOPS 2000T.
  Available Now.
• Custom Report Export Utility - Create custom reports with your favorite report writer, including MS Access, Excel and Crystal Reports. Includes the General Ledger, Owner Database, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Check Reconciliation modules, and will be offered free of charge to customers via the Internet Updater.
  Available Now.
• Online AP Bill Approval - If you have a TOPS community web site, AP Bills can be entered in TOPS and uploaded to the community web site where they can be reviewed and approved by community officers, which then releases them for payment in TOPS. This can eliminate the need to get officer signatures on checks-a real time-saver.
  In beta test now.
• Phone Messenger - Take phone messages inside TOPS 2000T. Full interface with homeowner data. Create Service Requests and issue Work Orders from the phone messages (Work Order module required). Keep a phone history log by community.
  Under development now.
• Calendar/Organizer - Each user can keep a calendar or appointments, reminders and a "to do" list. It will interact with some of the TOPS modules to pull in scheduled events.
  Under development now.
• More Email Capability - option to email notices rather than print. Also, email statements of accounts to homeowners. More email capabilities throughout TOPS.
  Under development now.
• PDF Reports - Print all key financial reports to a .PDF file so they can easily be emailed to community officers and others.
  Under development now.
• New Additions to Job Streaming - Add the ability to globally print bills, statements and coupons. Also post recurring transactions, then auto close the fiscal period.
  Under development now.
• And More! - this is only a list of some of the highlights. Version 3.2 will be released next year with hundreds of program changes and an all new way of tracking owner balances. A fresh overall look to TOPS, but with the same familiar way of working, will be part of this new release.

Jeffrey S. Hardy

onTheUpdater

TOPS 2000™ Updates

Please be advised that the Internet Updater is restricted to customers on a current maintenance support agreement. If you are interested in our support plans, please go to http://www.topssoft.com/Support/MSA_plans.htm.

Custom Report Export Utility

Today marks the official release for TOPS' new Custom Report Export Utility! This is a utility that will allow you to export TOPS data into an Access database where you can design custom queries and reports from a series of logically ordered tables. You may design custom reports from the data using your favorite report writer, or any ODBC compliant report writing engine. The custom report export utility is being offered without cost to every customer on a maintenance support agreement through our TOPS Internet Updater. Periodically, we will release updates to the utility that include more modules and additional sample reports designed by TOPS Software.

Once you have performed the update, you can find the new Utility in TOPS 2000™ as the last option under the Utilities menu, called "Custom Report Export Utility".

Before you begin using the utility, we highly recommend that you read the documentation, which is available online in our User Manuals section under the Companion Manuals heading: www.topssoft.com/Support/Manuals/index.htm. Since this also involves creating custom reports, you should already be familiar with MS Access or another ODBC compliant database report writer. TOPS does not provide support on your custom reports; only on the data export process.

Instructions on updating your files are included below. If you would like to learn more about the utility and how it works, check out the article on the topic later in this issue.

Updates to the Internet Updater

We have added a couple new features to the updater. In the standard TOPS 2000™ update we have added the option to send a community to support via FTP. The new feature is found under Utilities, Transfer Community to TOPS. This will compress and FTP the current community to the technical support department. This option should only be used if you are having problems with a particular community, and are working with a tech representative to fix it. If you use this feature without the direction of a technical support representative, please contact support@topssoft.com to let us know you have sent a community, and why.

The second new addition to the Internet Updater is "Help Files". "Help Files" is found on the Internet updater as a module to check. This option will download all of the help files including the TOPS 2000™ Manual, Payroll Manual, Digital Signature Manual, and Utility Billing Manual. The reason that we have this as a separate download is that the sizes of these PDF files are rather large, and can take a while to download.

How to Update Your Files

1. Make sure you are logged into the computer that will be performing the update. (If you are updating in a networked environment, update the server first, as a workstation, and then run the update on each workstation.)
2. If it is open, close TOPS on your computer.
3. Connect to the Internet and navigate to www.topssoft.com/Downloads.
4. Under "Program Updates" click the GO button.
5. Click Open, to run the update from the current location.
6. When the TOPS Web Updater appears, click the down arrow next to 'Select Module to Check' and Choose TOPS 2000.
7. On the bottom right, ensure that the "Workstation Only" option is selected.
8. Click the "Begin Update" button. (The system may prompt you for a User ID. If so, enter in your TOPS Customer ID)
9. Once the update is complete, you can close this window and re-open TOPS 2000T.

TOPS Programming Department 

onSales

Notes from CAI's Community Leadership Forum and Expo

Property Management Systems, Inc (TOPS Software) was a proud exhibitor and attendee at CAI's Fall Conference held in New Orleans, LA, October 28 - 30, 2004. It was good to see a well-attended conference and leadership forum. Many present clients of TOPS software came by the booth to say hello and to check out the latest functionalities about to be released. Along with AtHomeNet and Association Ready, we held a breakfast session premiering our interface to their products and services. The future of interconnected business solutions for the association management industry was discussed and demonstrated bringing synergies and economies of scale to the fore of a historically low profit industry. We are very excited about this partnership and are sure this is going to revolutionize the way business is done in the community association industry!

We announced the addition of a custom report export utility that will allow TOPS users to create and customize reports by using MS Access, Excel, Crystal Reports and any report writer software you chose. TOPS MaintCo, a new program for managing a maintenance arm of a management company, was demonstrated and is about to be released in the near future. Utility Billing was also shown and is currently available. We will be releasing v3.2 in the next few months that has many exciting new features - please stayed tuned!

2005 Trade Show Schedule

• 01/08/2005:       CAI - SE FL, Coconut Creek, FL
• 01/22/2005:       CAI - Mid-AZ, Phoenix, AZ
• 02/03-04/2005:   CACM NoCA Expo, Oakland, CA
• 03/04/2005:        CAI - Suncoast, Clearwater, FL
• 03/05/2005:        CAI - Wash Metro, D.C.
• 05/19-21/2005:    CAI Nat'l Conf, Tucson, AZ
• 11/19/2005:        CAI - NE, Burlington, MA

Bruce R Gran, CMCA®, AMS™, PCAM® 

onSupport

Custom Report Export Utility

This is perhaps one of the most exciting articles I have had the opportunity to write in a very long time! I have the pleasure of announcing the newest tool in our TOPS 2000™ arsenal - the Custom Report Export Utility. This utility has been in development for two years, and it is the first time we have been able to provide you, our customers with an easy way to extrapolate your important data, and create custom reports in your favorite report writer, be it MS Access, Crystal Reports, or any other ODBC (object database connectivity) compliant software, even Excel! This provides you with unprecedented control over your own data, and I haven't even told you the best part yet--this utility is being provided completely without charge! All you need is a maintenance support agreement to access the Internet Updater, and you can have your very own copy of this amazing new tool.

Here's how it works: You choose the data you want to export from TOPS 2000™, and that data is exported into a Microsoft Access database (.mdb). The data is logically organized into easily laid out tables with field names in plain english so it is easy for you to know what is what. You may then open the database directly in Access or your favorite ODBC compliant report writer, and create custom reports based on the data. Any time you perform an export, the tables will be replaced with the new data, but the rest of the database will remain untouched. This means that you can save any reports that you have created without the fear of them being replaced the next time you export data.

To support you in using the interface, we have created a number of sample reports, and our documentation includes a complete database dictionary so that you can easily identify fields, and create reports with the data you need. TOPS Software does not support the actual custom reports, only the export utility, so we do recommend that you invest in some training in your report writer of choice, or assign the task of creating reports to a member of your staff that is versed in a report program.

Currently, the Custom Report Export Utility allows you to export data from the Owner Database, General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Check Reconciliation modules. We plan to release regular updates to the program in the future to include additional modules from TOPS 2000™. You can get your own copy of the current program today, through the TOPS Internet Updater. See 'On The Updater' in this issue for instructions on getting this incredible new program.

Andrea Drennen

onTheSpot

New Employees At TOPS

We have hired two new employees here at TOPS Software. Stephanie Riffle joins our Administration team as an administrative bookkeeper. She will be working out of our corporate office in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Brian Shaw has joined our Support Team in the Clearwater, Florida office. Brian will be training in Web Support and TOPS 2000™ technical support. We asked them to introduce themselves to our customers, and here is what they had to say:

Stephanie Riffle

Hello to everyone, my name is Stephanie Riffle. I just came aboard here at TOPS in the Gaithersburg, Maryland office on November 1st, 2004. I've brought along with me over 7 years of Accounting and Administrative experience.

In my spare time I enjoy reading non-fiction books, spending time with my friends and family and constantly spoiling my 4 godchildren!

Even though I've only been with TOPS for a short time, everyone here has been extremely kind, helpful and hospitable. I've felt like a member of the family since my first day! I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone and working with them. Thanks for this wonderful opportunity!

Brian Shaw

Hello to all, my name is Brian Shaw. This is my first week at Tops and I find everyone to be extremely nice and helpful. I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and then I moved to Florida in 1985. For the last few years I have been pursuing my BS In Technology Management. I am now taking my final class for the completion of my degree. In my spare time I like to golf, watch football and surf the net. I am happy to be a part of TOPS Software, and I look forward to growing with the company for many years to come.

onLine

Online AP Approval in Beta Test Stage

Our Online AP Approval program is nearly ready for release to all web site customers! This feature adds the most functionality between TOPS 2000™ and community web sites yet!

Online AP Approval is available from the Board Only section of the private side of the community web site, but logins are restricted to specific individuals set up in TOPS 2000™. Each login is given a specific level, from Invoice Entry to Approval Levels 1, 2 and 3. Invoices may be added either in TOPS, or on the web site by a user with 'Invoice Entry' level. Regardless of where the invoices are entered, the data is synchronized so that all open AP items are visible in both TOPS and on the web site.

Once invoices are loaded on a web site, board members who have been assigned an approval level may log in, review open items, and approve invoices for payment. You may define a minimum number of approvals on an invoice, or additional approvals based on amounts. For example, you might require a minimum of two signatures for every invoice, but a third signature is required for invoices over $1,000.

Once the correct number of approvals have been received, the approved invoices will be synchronized back to TOPS, where they are marked to be paid. The accounting staff can then print checks on the approved invoices. If you have purchased MICR Check Printing with Digital Signatures, you can even take it a step further by printing the authorizing signatures directly on the checks, thus avoiding altogether the need to take a pile of invoices and checks to every board meeting seeking approval and signatures.

When the invoices are paid and checks are posted in TOPS, the data is synched again with the web site, providing a list of paid invoices that stays on the web site for 30 days. Additionally, The web site keeps a list of disapproved invoices, which are also synched to TOPS to allow the accounting staff to take the appropriate action.

We hope that you will be as excited about this new functionality as we are! The feature is currently in the beta testing phase, and we will be releasing it, at no additional charge, on all community web sites within the next month. The portion of the program that runs in TOPS 2000™ will be made available on the TOPS Internet Updater at the same time.

Please contact web sales at 1-800-556-7852 or websales@topssoft.com for further information on this incredible service.

Andrea Drennen

offTopic

Bizarre Movies for That Special Holiday Gift: 

Remember those old educational films you were subjected to in high school? How about the training videos from the fast food restaurant where you worked through college? Better still, did you ever see the series of films that Mr. T hosted to help teach values to kids? Check out these and more at Five Minutes to Live, a web site that sells the most impossible to find holiday gift - a piece of the past!

http://www.5minutesonline.com

onCall

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