Programming Log
Monday, October 8, 2007
Version 12.04
1) Autopay - we have added a new module (for a fee) that provides superintendents the ability to approve the contract pay points and purchase orders in IBSWIN which then creates invoice pay records for accounting. It looks like this feature will only available for Sage Timberline for now since we can't get any help from BudgeTrac. It will require a little more testing and fine tuning for the first users. (Download AutoPay information sheet for further instructions).
2) Option Extras - created new option to attach an option "Extra" to existing option in that specific order. Will attach the PO and cost to the selected option throughout all the option reports. Used to add additional cost / PO to an option that has already been ordered.
3) Prospect Call Follow Up Report - improvements to the call follow up report that will allow filtering by sales agent and opening (uncalled) items. Other general improvements to call follow up.
4) Management Sales Price Screen - created feature that now allows key sales dates (i.e.; release date, sales date, close date, etc,) by lot to be changed here. This will allow sales management to more easily change sales prices on sold lots by removing the date, making the change, and then replacing the sales date all in the same screen.
5) Broker Improvements - added the ability to print report of brokers by project or phase and print mailing labels for follow up campaigns.
6) Prospect Media Quality Report - new traffic report that recaps traffic that has been entered as a prospect and link to one of the media traffic sources to provide "quality" source report.
**The following changes are recent ones made for specific customers that need to be included in the 12.04 release**
1) Contract Roll - created feature that allows user to select revisions (change orders) to be included in the roll from one phase to the next.2) New Option Copy Function - added copy function to copy all options for a specific plan from one phase to another. **USE WITH CAUTION**
3) Plan Sq. Ft. - was added to selected purchasing reports (purchase orders, start order, option bid sheet, options available by sub).
Monday, November 6, 2006
Version 12.03
1) Wrap Insurance - Provide simple way to enter, track, and export to accounting wrap insurance deductions for both onsite and offsite contracts.(Download Wrap Deduction information sheet for further instructions).
2) Standard POs - allow capability to allocation one standard PO to multiple lots in a single purchase order. Use standard PO add function select a phase only (no specific lot) and you will see now by line item you can assign a specific lot.
3) Onsite Budget Report - provided way of allocating lot specific costs to the phase budget. This allows entry of budgeted costs that vary by lot and not necessarily by plan.
4) Timberline Budget export - Provide a way of exporting IBSWIN onsite and offsite budgets to create Timberline estimate records.
5) Timberline Invoice Creation - based on superintendent purchase order approvals, IBSWIN will create invoice records to update Timberline for payment processing.
6) American Contractor purchase order export - completed initial stages development for integration with this accounting system.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Version 12.02
General Improvements
If a date prior to 1985 is entered into the "lot start date" field in the sequence sheet the system will flag you to avoid errors in construction schedule.
Added the ability to purge old PO's by project from the Company Config. screen under the security tab.
Added the Contracted Subcontractor/Trade List report to also be accessible from the main Reports: Subcontractor Reports menu.
Customer Service Plus
- Added customer service user security to restrict access to either the Add Back Charges and/or Add/Edit PO's in Service Item entry screen.
- Added a new parameter to the Incomplete Service Item Status report to filter incomplete items by a specific number of days.
Purchasing Power
In the "Master Bid Phase" you will have the ability to modify the plan/elevation mix so that you can run various budget and bid reports with various "what if" scenarios. This improvement will allow the purchasing department to really see how different plan/elevation scenarios affect the subcontractor bids and the overall project budgets.
We have also added a new elevations table in the sequence sheet screen under plans. This will allow you to define your elevations and even enter different square footages per plan elevation if needed.The system will also now spread every plan/elevation from the "Master Bid Phase" to the production phases if the appropriate check box is selected in the Company Config. This will make the "Copy Contract" and "Roll Contracts" features work better by automatically using the latest cost for each plan elevation.
- For "Non-spec" homebuilders (typically non-California homebuilders) we have added a feature to simplify subcontractor "change outs" at any time during the life of a project. Start POs now will pickup the subcontractor cost at the time the start PO is generated, rather than when the plan (or option) is selected.
Added Superintendents View to Scheduling and Purchasing menus. This is specifically designed so that supers can login to IBSWIN and updates schedules from one screen and at the same time view the PO's for that lot and be able to approve them. They will also have access to specific reports that maybe useful to them.
New user security added to restrict the user from being able to add a new subcontractor from the onsite bid entry screen.
Added a new flag in Company Config. to turn on or off the "Spread To Another Trade" question when creating change orders.
Sales Manager Plus
- Added the Elevation Premium information to the Final Closing Report.
Added a new Concession History report under the main sales reports menu.
- Added the following mail merge fields for generating merge documents: HO Ref$, Broker Co-op, NRCC$, Per Diem, and Option Deposit Received.
- Added extra user security to better control buyer cancellations and how options that have been ordered on the lot that is being cancelled is handled (eg. auto pre-plot, do not allow option cancellations, etc).
Options Plus
- Ordered Options Profit Analysis report can now be sorted by quantity ordered or by profit margin, and can show average cost and price.
- Add the ability to generate option PO's using the current option costs rather than the amount at the time of selecting/ordering the option. This is activated by selecting the appropriate flag provided in Company Config.
- Added a copy feature to the ‘Update Option Costs' screen.
Design Studio (Flooring)
- Added the Auto Flooring Price Recalculation by Product Type flag in Company Config. When this is checked off IBSWIN will prompt you when the install price is updated in the supplier screen and ask you if you wish to duplicate that cost to all other products of the same product type.
- Added Flooring Order Effective Start Date to Flooring Order Screen which can be edited if proper user security is given.
Added a flag in Company Config. to turn on Auto Adjust Standard Carpet Area when modify the flooring order. This can only be used if you are using the optional rooms function and will automatically adjust the optimal cut based to include optional room measurements.
Added PO Install Qty Is Standard Room Area flag in Company Config. to adjust the install PO's to always use the room measurement instead of the calculated measurement which could be different when using Material Cuts and Extras.
Friday, January 06, 2006
MAJOR UPGRADE TO IBSWIN - New Version 12.01This release moves us to version 9.0 of the Microsoft Visual FoxPro database. Version 9 provides the following key benefits;
Please Note that this upgrade has additional installation requirements for this version of ISBWIN to run. Please read the download instructions provided on the download page. |
Version 12.01
General Improvements
The most significant change that effects most users is the newly formated menu screens for the reports menu and the module specific setup menus. For example, is you select Reports: Sales Reports a window will open listing all of the available sales reports instead of a menu. Just check the report you want to view and select OK to run it. After running the report lBSWIN will return to that sales report window rather than taking you back to the main desktop.
A new CounterTop module is now available with this new release. If you offer a lot of counter-top, back splash, edging, and liner alternatives, it can be rather cumbersome to set them up in our current Options or Designer Plus software. CounterTop Designer takes this process to a new level and simplifies the ordering process significantly. It allows your designer to create various surface, back splash, and edging selections on the fly and accurately calculates the sales price. It then prepares the buyer agreements, supplier purchase orders, and other management reports. For a demonstration please contact our sales department.
In Company Config. under the Security tab we now provide the ability to change a Trade Code. For those that did not realize you can also change your project and phase codes as well as other functions. These functions should only be used if everyone is logged out of IBSWIN. To access the security tab you must be an admin user.
Customer Service Plus
- In customer service reports the ‘Buyers Request Detail' & ‘Status Reports' can now be run in landscape mode.
- Added a ‘Sort by Lot' function to the "Buyer Service Request Detail" report by project.
Purchasing Power
- The Direct Construction Budget report can now be exported to Excel
- The Current Budget Comparison Summary report now allows users to change how the Estimated Cost at Completion amount is calculated by using a checkbox.
- The Offsite Budget Detail report can now use Budgets as Contracts if no contract present by selecting the appropriate check box.
- In the Company Config. screen under the Security tab there is a button that will update an Contract, Budget, or Bid cost codes if they were updated and changed in the Subcontractor Trade Code screen.
Options Plus
- Options Detail report now has a check box to include any color selections that have been added to an option.
Designer Plus (Flooring)
- Under Flooring Reports we have added an new Ordered Pad Product Listing report.
- Added option to include extras when copying the Measurements and Take Offs to another phase.
- Optional rooms can now be checked of in the Measurements and Takeoffs screen. Doing so will omit these rooms from the the flooring order screen but can be added using the Optional Room button.
Designer Plus (Window Coverings)
- Add the ability to round the buyers order in the Windows Ordering screen similar to the one found in Flooring. The flag for this function can be found in the Company Config. screen.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Version 11.05
General Improvements
In the Tools menu we have added an "IBS Program Log" that will list the most recent modifications.
Sales Manager Plus
Automatedbuyer letters can now be generated by the "sales date" or "2nd estimated close dates". To default is the 2nd close date. To change this setting go to the sales tab in the company config screen.
Add Customer Service phone and fax numbers to the Outlook Subcontractor Export under the Tools menu.
Customer Service Plus
Purchasing Power
Options Plus
- Options flag in Company Config provides the ability to change an ordered option from a regular option to a Pre-Plot and visa versa.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Version 11.04
General Improvements
- In Setup - Setup Users - General Tab - you now can set the color for the screen grids to make it easier to read. Each user can choose their own color.
- Webview Additions -
a) added selection within IBSWIN to display active homebuyers and subcontractors user IDs and passwords
b) Completed the initial release of ServiceView for homeowner service request entry and tracking via the Web.- Tractime Interface completed for Pocket PC field updating and advanced scheduling features.
Options Plus / Sales Manager Plus
- Added variable "Option Book Disclaimer" of up to 530 characters. Now you can enter your own custom verbiage.
- New "Cash Option" payment type that allows you to differentiate cash "options" from "financed" options.
- New "Closing Summary" report by lot - accessed from the Buyer screen "Print" button.
- Added "Manage Sales Prices" selection in Setup-Sales menu. This allows the sales manager to update pricing and print price schedules by project / phase.
- Introduced OptionMagic add-on module that allows placement of electrical options and prints plan diagram. Automatically updates your option order with the selected options.
Designer Plus (Flooring)
- Added ability to hide columns on the Flooring Order screen and other "pop up" menus.
- Added ability to hide columns on the standard Flooring Contract, change the "title" and "disclaimer".
- Added "rounding" option on the Flooring Contract.
- Added flag in "Company Config-Flooring" to set the retail price to zero for extras with standard products.
- Added fields in "Company Config-Flooring" to include in the retail price markup for sales tax and freight per unit.
Customer Service Plus
- Added new "Daily Service Log" report - very useful for tracking daily activity.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Version 11.03
Sales Manager Plus
Expanded the functionality of PMI calculations by adding columns for various loan percentages:
95% loan - 0 - 5% down
90% loan - 5.1 - 9.9% down
85% loan - 10 - 19.9% down
80% or less - no PMI calc.
Modified the Sales Cost button in the Project screen so that IBSWIN can automatically calculate the Prepaid Costs and Fees by the number of months (or days) as applicable. These will appear in the Prospect or Buyers screen where these can be changed on a per lot basis if necessary.
The Mortgage Interest Rate can now be modified from within the prospect or buyer qualifying screen when you are selecting the loan you wish to qualify with.
Added a Special Assessment (Mello Roos) field under the expanded plan button for each plan in the sequence sheet.
Add a minimum and maximum loan amount column to the first mortgage screen to make sure loan amount meets the criteria of the loans you are offering. You can also set the minimum down payment % for each loan.
Added 25-30 character description for uploading graphic files so that pictures (JPG) and documents (PDF) can be easily found and identified.
Added Reservation system using the R type prospect code. We have included the logic to track and report reservations.
Flow Sheet report now has the ability to print by Selected Phases, suppress sales price, and include reservations.
Added Contingency Type code table to Sales: Setup which can be selected in the buyer screen.
New sales reports include; 1) Final Closings, 2) Closing Hotsheet, 3) Sales & Traffic Summary (added reservations to this report).
Projection Report - created alternate sorts.
Expanded security in the Buyer Options entry screen to allow deletion of options as long as no purchase orders have been generated.
Added new Loan Types: Interest Only and Conforming/w 2nd
Purchasing Power
In Indirect/Offsite Contract Categories dded new Detail Items button so that you can predefine items that make up your different offsite contracts. It includes the following fields: 1) Item description, 2) Unit of Measure, 3) Unit Price & 4) Trade Code. These items become available as pull down selections for both Budget Detail entry and Offsite Contract Detail and can also be modified in these screens.
New Roll Contracts menu selection in Onsite Contracts allows mass copying of contracts from one phase to another. Contracts with valid pay points will automatically be spread. Included is a report to let you know the new contract numbers and is the spread was successful.
When awarding a bid contracts are now automatically spread.
Options Plus
In Setup: Options menu we have added Update Option Costs and Update Option Prices. Both provide a faster way of updating option costs (by trade) or prices (by option group).
Customer Service Plus
Numerous customer service reports can now be printed with a greater variety of selections and filters.
Designer Plus
Completed the Floorplan Magic interface and Window Designer.
Added ability to factor in sales tax and freight cost per unit into the calculation of the retail price in Supplier Prices. This will only work as long you are allowing the retail price to be automatically calculated using the auto markup percentage. This will only work on a go forward basis unless you let the system recalculate your current prices
Other General Changes
Added the new Subcontractor License Expiration report from within the Subcontractor setup screen Print button.
Monday, August 9, 2004
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New updates have been added to the 11.02 that are not listed in the update below. These include:
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Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Version 11.02
General Enhancements/New Modules
New Design Studio module that includes Flooring, Window Coverings, and other graphical presentation features.
New Company Inventory Status Summary report. This is run from the Sales Reports menu.
Purchasing Power
Expand unit cost field in all Offsite Budget, Bid, and Contract screens to 3 decimal places.
Improvements to the Offsite Bid Comparison Report - added Bid Budget dollars.
Construction Scheduling
New Construction Efficiency Report.
New Subcontractor Schedule Report.
Options Plus
Auto Option Numbering feature has been improved in the company config. It will now allow you to select the numbering gap between options so that you can have space to insert new options to your catalogue.
Monday, February 9, 2004
Version 11.01
The 11.01 release of IBSWIN represents a significant upgrade from Microsoft Visual FoxPro version 6.0 to 8.0. We have attempted to keep the same look and feel and yet take advantage of some of the new features available. In addition, we have included some specific requested feature improvements that are outlined below by module.
General Enhancements
Add note field per lot in the sequence sheet - to be used to enter pre-plot option info to print on an alternative sequence sheet.
In Subcontractor setup screen - move Export Sub code to 2nd column in the screen.
Expanded Profile screen and report in the Subcontractor setup. We added expanded license and insurance tracking fields that transfers to contracts automatically.
Option to lock-out Users from logging into the IBSWIN System for various maintenance reasons (administrator rights only).
Added ABOUT IBSWIN info in Company Config screen that will indicate the date and time of the program version.
Purchasing Power
New Original Budget vs. Current Budget Report in Purchasing Reports.
Created bid form for an offsite budget entry that can either be Faxed and created an Excel file format that can be attached to an Email and sent to the subs and used as a bid template.
Expanded Insurance / License tracking fields and an expiration warnings when entering bids or contracts where dates have expired in the Contract Tracking report.
Onsite Contracts - warning message if the lot detail and cost detail
screen totals do not balance.In both Offsite and Onsite Bid entry screens - Modified the Save button to not exit user from the bid entry screen but only save current info. There is an Exit button. Also, added Set Up Subs button in these screens to allow direct access to the subcontractor setup.
Expand quantity field in all Offsite BudgeTrac, Bid, and Contract
screens to 3 decimal places.Improvements to the Offsite Bid Comparison Report - added Bid Budget dollars.
Customer Service Plus
Print room description on the service inspection form.
Add date range selections to the following reports; a) Incomplete Item Status, b) Item Status Summary.