QUESTION: I saw on the blog that there may be QuickBooks integration. Curious how that is going and what the integration looks like? We are an avid Enterprise QB user.
ANSWER: Unfortunately, all the plans we had in line for QuickBooks integration are on hold and we don’t have any immediate plans to revisit the integration. We had planned on using a third party plug-in product that has since been bought out by a competitor and the technology we had researched will not be supported any longer by its new owners.
QuickBooks integration with InBizness should be as easy or easier than with any other FileMaker database, that hasn’t changed. You can implement any proven QuickBooks to FileMaker technology out there and InBizness with be just fine. Simply because InBizness is a well written FileMaker database product and you have full access to all levels of coding when you purchase InBizness.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Looking back and forward
Originally created back in 1992 using FileMaker 2.0. InBizness was a multiple flat file solution based upon my experiences of building software packages for various Macintosh mail order companies located out of Austin Texas. When FileMaker 3.0 came out, InBizness was completely rewritten to take advantage of FileMaker 3.0 new relationship features. Made many modest updates to the system until 2004, when FileMaker 7 came out. To take advantage of the single file / multiple table features in FileMaker 7, another complete rewrite of the system took place. In January of 2008, I found myself without a full time job and looking forward to having more control of the FileMaker design muscles I used on a day in / day out basis. I decided to look back at my almost two decades of experiences and roll out a collection of smaller and controlled updates to the package. So in 2008, seven updates rolled out for the InBizness product which included the introduction of many new modules, a new user interface and extensive documentation in the form of blog posts and tutorial movies. Also applied for and was granted FileMaker Small Business Application status, which allows me to bundle FileMaker 9 and FileMaker 9 Server for customers needing these products.
VISION GOING FORWARDWith the exception of a manufacturing element, I have most of the modules in place for the future. Some of the modules I have in place are not as robust as they could be and I think smaller incremental updates to these modules is still the way to go. At this stage, I think InBizness is in good shape to start leveraging the power of others. This includes including features provided by third party plug-ins, instant web publishing and external data sources such as SQL tables. I would like to take the documentation of the product up another level as well. I feel committed that documenting the solution is still the best quality assurance process for products such as this.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Expenses Module
During the business day, staff members may encounter expenses in which the company needs to reimburse. Using traditional methods of entering an expense report can be time intensive and then doesn’t provide a digital copy of the transaction within the system. The Expense module in InBizness is linked directly to a tab in the staff module. This allows for quick data entry for the expense and allows for custom programing to help automate the expense tracking process.
Here is a movie that shows off the introduction to the Expense module.
http://www.dwaynewright.com/inbiz/movies/update28/Expenses.mov
Here you can see the list view for the expenses module.
Here you can see the expenses tab within the staff module.
Here is a movie that shows off the introduction to the Expense module.
http://www.dwaynewright.com/inbiz/movies/update28/Expenses.mov
Here you can see the list view for the expenses module. 
Here you can see the expenses tab within the staff module.
The Correspondence Module
There are times in which you want to create a letter or fax for a client quickly and easily. Along those same lines, you may want to have a record of that correspondence available for historical reference and make that correspondence available to everyone in your business workgroup. The correspondence module for InBizness is design to do just that.
Now you can quickly create correspondence to the contacts within your clients, leads and vendor records. Data entry is quick and smooth and the print outs can even use letterhead information you store within InBizness!
Here is a movie that shows off the introduction to the Correspondence module.
http://www.dwaynewright.com/inbiz/movies/update28/Correspond.mov
Now you can quickly create correspondence to the contacts within your clients, leads and vendor records. Data entry is quick and smooth and the print outs can even use letterhead information you store within InBizness!
Here is a movie that shows off the introduction to the Correspondence module.
http://www.dwaynewright.com/inbiz/movies/update28/Correspond.mov
Friday, December 26, 2008
InBizness 2.8 Feature List
Seattle Washington - dwaynewright.com is excited to announce the immediate availability of InBizness 2.8! Below is a comprehensive listing of the changes in this upgrade. A series of movies explaining these updates is available from the dwaynewright.com web site.
NEW MODULE: CORRESPOND
So I finally needed to write a letter to someone that was in my version of the InBizness database. I've done this type of integration for dozens of clients throughout the years and somewhat surprised that I've waited this long to add this feature within InBizness. This isn't a feature rich implementation this time around but the foundation is certainly there for growth!
NEW MODULE: EXPENSES
Needed a way to quickly add expenses and thought it would be something most staff members would do from their staff record. Now later on, this will need to be more robust but I've made it ruthlessly simple in this update. So the data entry is done from the Admin tab in the Staff module but you can navigate to the Expenses module (now only available in list view) and do data entry there as well.
NEW REPORTS UNDER THE REPORTS MENU
inventory Module: Received Product By Date Range
OVERALL FEATURES: Added To The System
Added First and Last buttons for record navigation
Added a Dashboards sub menu to the Navigation menu to go directly to a specific dashboard
CHANGES TO THE SEARCHES MENU
Tweaked the Searches Menu to have module specific sub menus
Most modules now have a module specific searches menu under their custom menu ... Campaigns Menu has Campaign Searches
CAMPAIGN: Working Status
CAMPAIGN: As Needed Status
CAMPAIGN: Holding Pattern Status
CLIENTS: Active Clients Without A Follow Up Date
LEADS: Need Follow Up
STAFF: Active Only
TIMECARD: Today's Cards
VENDORS: Active Only
CLIENT MODULE CHANGES
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Client"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Needed an exclusive tab for timecard records and made this change
Rewrote the timecard payment process to use a join file, better accountability, have to manually add paid invoices to the list
Added two more client timecard tabs for timecards (need billing) and timecards (billed)
Rearranged the form layout some to consolidate Alternates
Added the ability to assign a client to a staff sales rep
Added three fields for sales rep follow up (last followup date, interval and next followup date)
Added 6 fields within a new Sales Staff tab for a sales rep to do their own specific data entry type
Changed the name of the Email / Events tab panel to now say Email / Events / Correspond
Added a tab panel and portal to view related correspondence to a client and created a custom menu to create those linked records
CONTACT MODULE CHANGES
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Client"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Create A Related Timecard Entry"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Export Record To A VCard file"
CREDIT MEMO MODULE CHANGES
Added a tab panel and associate related fields to view the invoice that may be linked to a credit memo record
DASHBOARD SALES CHANGES
Added a tab panel and associated portal to see a sales reps clients with a rolodex style alpha character filter
Added a tab panel and associated portal to see a sales reps clients via a billing address state filter
Added a tab panel and associated portal to see a sales reps invoices, sales orders, quotes and proposals
Added a portal on the main tab that shows clients and leads that require followup
Added a preferences tab to allow a sales rep to customize portions of InBizness for their specific needs
DASHBOARD MANAGER CHANGES
Added a portal that shows the staff members that have been linked to a particular manager
Added a new tab and associated portal for a manager to view the timecards of their staff by a date range
EVENTS MODULE CHANGES
Added "Constrain Found Set: Omit Complete" as a custom menu item for the Events menu
INVOICE MODULE CHANGES
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
Added a field called IsPosted for 123Sync QuickBooks Synchronization
Added an invoices Saved Searches sub menu for invoices with a balance due.
Added new tab panels called Customer Sat and it contains a tab panel with related info from credit memos, returns and support calls.
Added the ability to create related credit memo, return and support call records from the Invoice custom menu
LEAD MODULE CHANGES
Added a new green button labeled call, which automatically creates a new event and auto enters it as a call
Added a custom menu item under leads "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Lead"
Added a custom menu item under leads "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under leads "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Added three fields for sales rep follow up (last followup date, interval and next followup date)
PROPOSAL MODULE CHANGES
Updated the print out for the proposal record to have the new header format that was added to the invoice module in the 2.7 update.
Added a button called lower in the dialog box for proposal milestones. This is used when you paste content into the proposal milestone description that is in upper case. This allows you to make the entire section lower case and then you can clean it up accordingly.
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
PURCHASE MODULE CHANGES
Made the previous listing of purchase order searches a sub menu under the purchase menu.
Updated the printed purchase order layout to a more streamlined look and feel
QUOTE MODULE CHANGES
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
Added a quotes Saved Searches sub menu for open and closed quotes.
SALES ORDER MODULE CHANGES
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
STAFF MODULE CHANGES
Added an option for staff members to be automatically taken to their staff record and events tab when first opening InBizness.
Added a manager id field to assign a staff member to a manager (which is also a record in the staff table)
TIMECARD MODULE CHANGES
Reorganized the Timecard form view to have a more streamlined look and feel.
Added button and associated script to add incremental, this allows you to preserve the daily timeline but associate the new time card record with a different client / campaign.
Added a button and custom menu option to rename the window pane equal to the title of the timecard record. This allows you to be able to keep multiple timecard record windows open and know which is which.
Added a script and custom menu option that is used to edit a timecard with auto enter data in critical fields for reports. I created this for my selfish needs like recording my daily blog posting time but it can be edited for your own business needs.
VENDOR MODULE CHANGES
Added a custom menu item under vendors "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Vendor"
Added a custom menu item under vendors "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under vendors "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Added a tab panel and portal to view related correspondence to a client and created a custom menu to create those linked records
VENDOR BILL MODULE CHANGES
Updated the printed vendor bill layout to a more streamlined look and feel
UNDER THE HOOD - CUSTOM FUNCTION CHANGES
Added CF_ListToCommas, a custom function from Nick Stockbridge downloaded from briandunning.com
Added ProperSentence, a custom function that David Head of UlearnIT helped me out with.
Added SuperTrim, a custom function from Debi Fuchs downloaded from briandunning.com
UNDER THE HOOD - CUSTOM MENU CHANGES
Added Dashboard as an option from under the Navigation menu, goes to the appropriate user role dashboard
UNDER THE HOOD - VALUE LIST CHANGES
Tweaked the Event Type value list to include the options of Called In, Called Out and Follow Up.
Added a value list that only shows staff members that are in a manager role
NEW MODULE: CORRESPOND
So I finally needed to write a letter to someone that was in my version of the InBizness database. I've done this type of integration for dozens of clients throughout the years and somewhat surprised that I've waited this long to add this feature within InBizness. This isn't a feature rich implementation this time around but the foundation is certainly there for growth!
NEW MODULE: EXPENSES
Needed a way to quickly add expenses and thought it would be something most staff members would do from their staff record. Now later on, this will need to be more robust but I've made it ruthlessly simple in this update. So the data entry is done from the Admin tab in the Staff module but you can navigate to the Expenses module (now only available in list view) and do data entry there as well.
NEW REPORTS UNDER THE REPORTS MENU
inventory Module: Received Product By Date Range
OVERALL FEATURES: Added To The System
Added First and Last buttons for record navigation
Added a Dashboards sub menu to the Navigation menu to go directly to a specific dashboard
CHANGES TO THE SEARCHES MENU
Tweaked the Searches Menu to have module specific sub menus
Most modules now have a module specific searches menu under their custom menu ... Campaigns Menu has Campaign Searches
CAMPAIGN: Working Status
CAMPAIGN: As Needed Status
CAMPAIGN: Holding Pattern Status
CLIENTS: Active Clients Without A Follow Up Date
LEADS: Need Follow Up
STAFF: Active Only
TIMECARD: Today's Cards
VENDORS: Active Only
CLIENT MODULE CHANGES
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Client"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Needed an exclusive tab for timecard records and made this change
Rewrote the timecard payment process to use a join file, better accountability, have to manually add paid invoices to the list
Added two more client timecard tabs for timecards (need billing) and timecards (billed)
Rearranged the form layout some to consolidate Alternates
Added the ability to assign a client to a staff sales rep
Added three fields for sales rep follow up (last followup date, interval and next followup date)
Added 6 fields within a new Sales Staff tab for a sales rep to do their own specific data entry type
Changed the name of the Email / Events tab panel to now say Email / Events / Correspond
Added a tab panel and portal to view related correspondence to a client and created a custom menu to create those linked records
CONTACT MODULE CHANGES
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Client"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Create A Related Timecard Entry"
Added a custom menu item under clients "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Export Record To A VCard file"
CREDIT MEMO MODULE CHANGES
Added a tab panel and associate related fields to view the invoice that may be linked to a credit memo record
DASHBOARD SALES CHANGES
Added a tab panel and associated portal to see a sales reps clients with a rolodex style alpha character filter
Added a tab panel and associated portal to see a sales reps clients via a billing address state filter
Added a tab panel and associated portal to see a sales reps invoices, sales orders, quotes and proposals
Added a portal on the main tab that shows clients and leads that require followup
Added a preferences tab to allow a sales rep to customize portions of InBizness for their specific needs
DASHBOARD MANAGER CHANGES
Added a portal that shows the staff members that have been linked to a particular manager
Added a new tab and associated portal for a manager to view the timecards of their staff by a date range
EVENTS MODULE CHANGES
Added "Constrain Found Set: Omit Complete" as a custom menu item for the Events menu
INVOICE MODULE CHANGES
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
Added a field called IsPosted for 123Sync QuickBooks Synchronization
Added an invoices Saved Searches sub menu for invoices with a balance due.
Added new tab panels called Customer Sat and it contains a tab panel with related info from credit memos, returns and support calls.
Added the ability to create related credit memo, return and support call records from the Invoice custom menu
LEAD MODULE CHANGES
Added a new green button labeled call, which automatically creates a new event and auto enters it as a call
Added a custom menu item under leads "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Lead"
Added a custom menu item under leads "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under leads "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Added three fields for sales rep follow up (last followup date, interval and next followup date)
PROPOSAL MODULE CHANGES
Updated the print out for the proposal record to have the new header format that was added to the invoice module in the 2.7 update.
Added a button called lower in the dialog box for proposal milestones. This is used when you paste content into the proposal milestone description that is in upper case. This allows you to make the entire section lower case and then you can clean it up accordingly.
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
PURCHASE MODULE CHANGES
Made the previous listing of purchase order searches a sub menu under the purchase menu.
Updated the printed purchase order layout to a more streamlined look and feel
QUOTE MODULE CHANGES
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
Added a quotes Saved Searches sub menu for open and closed quotes.
SALES ORDER MODULE CHANGES
Added a sales rep id field so that a record can be linked to that sales persons dashboard
STAFF MODULE CHANGES
Added an option for staff members to be automatically taken to their staff record and events tab when first opening InBizness.
Added a manager id field to assign a staff member to a manager (which is also a record in the staff table)
TIMECARD MODULE CHANGES
Reorganized the Timecard form view to have a more streamlined look and feel.
Added button and associated script to add incremental, this allows you to preserve the daily timeline but associate the new time card record with a different client / campaign.
Added a button and custom menu option to rename the window pane equal to the title of the timecard record. This allows you to be able to keep multiple timecard record windows open and know which is which.
Added a script and custom menu option that is used to edit a timecard with auto enter data in critical fields for reports. I created this for my selfish needs like recording my daily blog posting time but it can be edited for your own business needs.
VENDOR MODULE CHANGES
Added a custom menu item under vendors "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Call Vendor"
Added a custom menu item under vendors "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Called Me And Left Message"
Added a custom menu item under vendors "AUTO ENTER EVENT: Follow Up In 7 Days"
Added a tab panel and portal to view related correspondence to a client and created a custom menu to create those linked records
VENDOR BILL MODULE CHANGES
Updated the printed vendor bill layout to a more streamlined look and feel
UNDER THE HOOD - CUSTOM FUNCTION CHANGES
Added CF_ListToCommas, a custom function from Nick Stockbridge downloaded from briandunning.com
Added ProperSentence, a custom function that David Head of UlearnIT helped me out with.
Added SuperTrim, a custom function from Debi Fuchs downloaded from briandunning.com
UNDER THE HOOD - CUSTOM MENU CHANGES
Added Dashboard as an option from under the Navigation menu, goes to the appropriate user role dashboard
UNDER THE HOOD - VALUE LIST CHANGES
Tweaked the Event Type value list to include the options of Called In, Called Out and Follow Up.
Added a value list that only shows staff members that are in a manager role
Thursday, December 18, 2008
FAQ: How Customization Affects Upgrades
QUESTION: If I have you customize the software how does that affect upgrades?
ANSWER: There is no effective way to automate significant FileMaker structure changes between file versions. We do the best we can to fully document what has changed between each version of InBizness and what customization we do for our customers. We focus on a modular design method in every thing we do and that is helped in a large part by the features available in FileMaker Pro Advanced.
So customers that have previous customized versions of InBizness can take a look at what has been offered in the latest update. If there is a number of “must have” features in that update, they can purchase that version and then integrate that code into their customized version. In some cases, those new features can be added into their version within minutes. In all cases, the integration time is a fraction of the effort of building those features from scratch.
If you navigate to the movies section of my web site (http://www.dwaynewright.com/movies.html), you can see a series of movies on the philosophy of the design that supports these integration goals.
ANSWER: There is no effective way to automate significant FileMaker structure changes between file versions. We do the best we can to fully document what has changed between each version of InBizness and what customization we do for our customers. We focus on a modular design method in every thing we do and that is helped in a large part by the features available in FileMaker Pro Advanced.
So customers that have previous customized versions of InBizness can take a look at what has been offered in the latest update. If there is a number of “must have” features in that update, they can purchase that version and then integrate that code into their customized version. In some cases, those new features can be added into their version within minutes. In all cases, the integration time is a fraction of the effort of building those features from scratch.
If you navigate to the movies section of my web site (http://www.dwaynewright.com/movies.html), you can see a series of movies on the philosophy of the design that supports these integration goals.
FAQ: What is your upgrade policy for future releases?
QUESTION: What is your upgrade policy for future releases of InBizness?
ANSWER: Most upgrades need to be handled on a quote basis. A rule of thumb is that owners of previous versions of InBizness can purchase the latest version for the difference between the two versions. I do have three bundles that include free updates of InBizness for a period of time. Unlike most shrink wrapped products, we can negotiate customized upgrade policies to best support your business in its future growth.
ANSWER: Most upgrades need to be handled on a quote basis. A rule of thumb is that owners of previous versions of InBizness can purchase the latest version for the difference between the two versions. I do have three bundles that include free updates of InBizness for a period of time. Unlike most shrink wrapped products, we can negotiate customized upgrade policies to best support your business in its future growth.
The InBizness Relationship Graph Read Me
I recently tweaked the relationship graph for the upcoming InBizness 2.8 release of InBizness. I thought I’d go ahead and include a draft of the read me document that is within the graph itself and include a snapshot.
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Thank you for investing in InBizness by dwaynewright.com! InBizness is a very robust FileMaker CRM product and has a very intense relationship graph to support all the connections within the database. We decided to implement the classic Anchor / Buoy design methodology for InBizness. If you are unfamiliar with Anchor / Buoy design, there are multiple resource articles on the internet including articles on our FileMaker Relationships Explored blog.
The graph itself is currently organized into three large vertical columns. The first is dedicated mostly to the staff and staff dashboard related features. This area will be growing significantly over time. The second column will contain base table anchors starting with the letter A through the letter H and is organized into alphabetical order. The third column will contain base table anchors starting with the letter I through the letter J and is organized into alphabetical order. You can quickly navigate to a base table by using a type ahead feature. For example to quickly jump to the base table occurrence anchor for the Leads module, simply start typing L E A and you will see the relationship graph quickly lead to that associated table occurrence.
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Click this image to get a larger view of a small portion of the relationship graph.
-------------------------------------
Thank you for investing in InBizness by dwaynewright.com! InBizness is a very robust FileMaker CRM product and has a very intense relationship graph to support all the connections within the database. We decided to implement the classic Anchor / Buoy design methodology for InBizness. If you are unfamiliar with Anchor / Buoy design, there are multiple resource articles on the internet including articles on our FileMaker Relationships Explored blog.
The graph itself is currently organized into three large vertical columns. The first is dedicated mostly to the staff and staff dashboard related features. This area will be growing significantly over time. The second column will contain base table anchors starting with the letter A through the letter H and is organized into alphabetical order. The third column will contain base table anchors starting with the letter I through the letter J and is organized into alphabetical order. You can quickly navigate to a base table by using a type ahead feature. For example to quickly jump to the base table occurrence anchor for the Leads module, simply start typing L E A and you will see the relationship graph quickly lead to that associated table occurrence.
------------------------------
Click this image to get a larger view of a small portion of the relationship graph.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
InBizness 2.7 Feature List
Seattle Washington - dwaynewright.com is excited to announce the immediate availability of InBizness 2.7! Below is a comprehensive listing of the changes in this upgrade. A series of movies explaining these updates is available as well by clicking here.
NEW FEATURE: Role Based Dashboards
Added Manager Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Accounting Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Sales / Marketing Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Customer Service Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Information Tech Role Based Productivity Dashboard
DASHBOARD MODULE CHANGES
The role based dashboards were rolled out with minimal features but here are some of the features included at initial rollout
Information Tech Dashboard:Tab and Portal to show staff user log in activities and filtered by date range
OVERALL FEATURES: Added To The System
New Searches custom menu to automatically take you to a saved search in an InBizness module.
To help support more role based features, added fields to track what privilege set created and modified records in each table.
Added the ability to click the icon in form and list views to quickly install the FileMaker menu set for Full Access users
Added a global field that has the company address information on one line, without any carriage returns
Added a button and script to allow the printing of topics from the InBizness help module
Added a new custom function from briandunning.com / Ilya Shuvalov called IsWebClient
Added a table and process to capture staff user session log in data
NEW REPORTS UNDER THE REPORTS MENU
Invoice Module: Fiscal Quarter Report In CrossTab format
Timecard Module: Billable Timecards By Month / Week Report
Payments Module: Payments By Month / Type
Payments Module: Payments By Day / Type
CLIENT MODULE CHANGES
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed client record
Added a tab for Batch Email actions to link contact records to campaigns
Added a new Timecard tab With filtered ranges between a start and end date
Added a sub tab panel inside of the Background tab and added a QuickBooks related subtab
CAMPAIGN MODULE CHANGES
Added a tab for Batch Email actions
Added a portal to see linked batch email contacts
Added a link / portal / tab from a campaign record to lead contact records
Added a button to send one email to all batch contacts via a BCC setting
Added Create Related Timecard to the Campaign custom menu
Consolidate the tabs Linked Files / Products, Emails & Invoices as a sub tab in a new Linked Records tab
EVENTS MODULE CHANGES
Added button "Add Similar Event" to the Events dialog to create events with the same linked client / campaign
Added a text button next to the event details in the event dialog layout to insert from the last record visited
INVOICE MODULE CHANGES
Updated the printed invoice layout to a more streamlined look and feel
Added button and custom menu option to save an invoice as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location
LEADS MODULE CHANGES
Added the key id for a campaign to create a link from a lead to a single campaign
Added the ability to create a new quote from a lead record
Added a tab and portal to show quotes that have been placed into the system for a lead
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed lead record
Added the + button next to the contact name field in the address info section to quickly add that person to the related contacts table
Added a script / button to automatically create 8 follow up events for a lead record
PROPOSAL MODULE CHANGES
Discovered a need to build proposals that do not have a dollar amount assigned to any of the listed milestones. This helps lead the way to creating a type of requirement proposal to list milestone needs before assigning a dollar value to them. I updated the proposal to zero out any reference to a dollar amount in those situations.
Added the ability to flag a milestone from a proposal as a template, these can then be found in the new template tab. You can copy a template milestone and paste it directly into the currently viewed proposal.
QUOTE MODULE CHANGES
Added custom menu, buttons and associated scripts to convert a quote to a sales order
Added a link from quotes to leads, now leads can create quotes, because of this ...
Instead of showing related client address information, created address fields that auto enter either lead or client address information
Updated the printed quote layout to a more streamlined look and feel
Added button and custom menu option to save a quote as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location
SALES ORDER MODULE CHANGES
Updated the printed sales order layout to a more streamlined look and feel
Added button and custom menu option to save a sales order as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location
Added a field that signifies if that staff member goes to the main screen or the dashboard on open
STAFF MODULE CHANGES
Added a button in the events & timecard tabs to set the date range to yesterday
SUPPORT MODULE CHANGES
Added the list view for support records and column sort for issue date, customer and status
Added the ability to create linked events from a support record and a tab to see related events
TIMECARD MODULE CHANGES
Added buttons and associated scripts to view related Campaigns, Staff and Events from a Timecard record
VENDOR MODULE CHANGES
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed vendor record
Reorganized the vendor form view layout to have the large horizontal tab format
Added relationship to vendor bills from vendor record with new tab panel and associated portal record
VENDOR BILL MODULE CHANGES
Add a button / script that will automatically carry over the line items from a purchase order to a new line item on a vendor bill
UNDER THE HOOD - VALUE LIST CHANGES
Added a new value list called Contact_type that has the options of client, lead or vendor.
NEW FEATURE: Role Based Dashboards
Added Manager Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Accounting Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Sales / Marketing Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Customer Service Role Based Productivity Dashboard
Added Information Tech Role Based Productivity Dashboard
DASHBOARD MODULE CHANGES
The role based dashboards were rolled out with minimal features but here are some of the features included at initial rollout
Information Tech Dashboard:Tab and Portal to show staff user log in activities and filtered by date range
OVERALL FEATURES: Added To The System
New Searches custom menu to automatically take you to a saved search in an InBizness module.
To help support more role based features, added fields to track what privilege set created and modified records in each table.
Added the ability to click the icon in form and list views to quickly install the FileMaker menu set for Full Access users
Added a global field that has the company address information on one line, without any carriage returns
Added a button and script to allow the printing of topics from the InBizness help module
Added a new custom function from briandunning.com / Ilya Shuvalov called IsWebClient
Added a table and process to capture staff user session log in data
NEW REPORTS UNDER THE REPORTS MENU
Invoice Module: Fiscal Quarter Report In CrossTab format
Timecard Module: Billable Timecards By Month / Week Report
Payments Module: Payments By Month / Type
Payments Module: Payments By Day / Type
CLIENT MODULE CHANGES
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed client record
Added a tab for Batch Email actions to link contact records to campaigns
Added a new Timecard tab With filtered ranges between a start and end date
Added a sub tab panel inside of the Background tab and added a QuickBooks related subtab
CAMPAIGN MODULE CHANGES
Added a tab for Batch Email actions
Added a portal to see linked batch email contacts
Added a link / portal / tab from a campaign record to lead contact records
Added a button to send one email to all batch contacts via a BCC setting
Added Create Related Timecard to the Campaign custom menu
Consolidate the tabs Linked Files / Products, Emails & Invoices as a sub tab in a new Linked Records tab
EVENTS MODULE CHANGES
Added button "Add Similar Event" to the Events dialog to create events with the same linked client / campaign
Added a text button next to the event details in the event dialog layout to insert from the last record visited
INVOICE MODULE CHANGES
Updated the printed invoice layout to a more streamlined look and feel
Added button and custom menu option to save an invoice as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location
LEADS MODULE CHANGES
Added the key id for a campaign to create a link from a lead to a single campaign
Added the ability to create a new quote from a lead record
Added a tab and portal to show quotes that have been placed into the system for a lead
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed lead record
Added the + button next to the contact name field in the address info section to quickly add that person to the related contacts table
Added a script / button to automatically create 8 follow up events for a lead record
PROPOSAL MODULE CHANGES
Discovered a need to build proposals that do not have a dollar amount assigned to any of the listed milestones. This helps lead the way to creating a type of requirement proposal to list milestone needs before assigning a dollar value to them. I updated the proposal to zero out any reference to a dollar amount in those situations.
Added the ability to flag a milestone from a proposal as a template, these can then be found in the new template tab. You can copy a template milestone and paste it directly into the currently viewed proposal.
QUOTE MODULE CHANGES
Added custom menu, buttons and associated scripts to convert a quote to a sales order
Added a link from quotes to leads, now leads can create quotes, because of this ...
Instead of showing related client address information, created address fields that auto enter either lead or client address information
Updated the printed quote layout to a more streamlined look and feel
Added button and custom menu option to save a quote as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location
SALES ORDER MODULE CHANGES
Updated the printed sales order layout to a more streamlined look and feel
Added button and custom menu option to save a sales order as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location
Added a field that signifies if that staff member goes to the main screen or the dashboard on open
STAFF MODULE CHANGES
Added a button in the events & timecard tabs to set the date range to yesterday
SUPPORT MODULE CHANGES
Added the list view for support records and column sort for issue date, customer and status
Added the ability to create linked events from a support record and a tab to see related events
TIMECARD MODULE CHANGES
Added buttons and associated scripts to view related Campaigns, Staff and Events from a Timecard record
VENDOR MODULE CHANGES
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed vendor record
Reorganized the vendor form view layout to have the large horizontal tab format
Added relationship to vendor bills from vendor record with new tab panel and associated portal record
VENDOR BILL MODULE CHANGES
Add a button / script that will automatically carry over the line items from a purchase order to a new line item on a vendor bill
UNDER THE HOOD - VALUE LIST CHANGES
Added a new value list called Contact_type that has the options of client, lead or vendor.
Monday, December 8, 2008
InBizness 2.7 Now Available
Seattle Washington - dwaynewright.com is excited to announce the immediate availability of InBizness 2.7! This incremental upgrade to the popular open framework FileMaker CRM solution contains a number of enhancements including ...
Support For New Business Role Based Dashboards
New Saved Searches Custom Menu
Four New Reports That Can Be Executed From The Reports Custom Menu
Shared Contact Records Can Be Linked To Multiple Clients, Vendors Or Leads
Updates Look And Feel To Printed Invoices, Sales Orders And Quotes
Additional Support For Proposal Template Milestones
Enhanced Linking Between Vendor Bills And Purchase Orders
And Much More
When purchased, you can customize InBizness to meet your individual business needs. That means you can add small tweaks to large redesigns for all layouts, relationships, scripts, tables, value lists and security schema. InBizness has one of the largest entity modules including clients, contacts, vendors, leads, staff, proposals, quotes, sales orders, invoices, invoice payments, inventory, campaigns, media library, timecards, purchase orders, vendor bills, finances, credit memos, returns, support calls and more!
For more information regarding InBizness, please visit http://www.dwaynewright.com/solutions.html
Dwayne Wright
dwaynewright.com
Snohomish, Washington 98296
info@dwaynewright.com
Support For New Business Role Based Dashboards
New Saved Searches Custom Menu
Four New Reports That Can Be Executed From The Reports Custom Menu
Shared Contact Records Can Be Linked To Multiple Clients, Vendors Or Leads
Updates Look And Feel To Printed Invoices, Sales Orders And Quotes
Additional Support For Proposal Template Milestones
Enhanced Linking Between Vendor Bills And Purchase Orders
And Much More
When purchased, you can customize InBizness to meet your individual business needs. That means you can add small tweaks to large redesigns for all layouts, relationships, scripts, tables, value lists and security schema. InBizness has one of the largest entity modules including clients, contacts, vendors, leads, staff, proposals, quotes, sales orders, invoices, invoice payments, inventory, campaigns, media library, timecards, purchase orders, vendor bills, finances, credit memos, returns, support calls and more!
For more information regarding InBizness, please visit http://www.dwaynewright.com/solutions.html
Dwayne Wright
dwaynewright.com
Snohomish, Washington 98296
info@dwaynewright.com
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
FILEMAKER: Startup Script That Branches Based On Privilege Set
From Dwayne Wright - Certified FileMaker 9 Developer
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright
I recently made an update to a client database and I thought I’d share this to you via this blog. I have an InBizness customer that wants their clients to have access to a small piece of their data. So we created a separate file and have it hosted on thedroolingdog.com. This file has FileMaker Instant Web Publishing turned on and it setup to only allow these clients to see their own records. The main InBizness system will periodically synchronize data with this web based file.
In the main InBizness file, we have a script setup to allow the data entry person to setup their web account access. This script will use the “Add Account” script step to create the credentials in the web version of the file and then email the client the account name / password credentials.
Then in the web file, the startup script detects if the user that just signed in is assigned to the ClientContact privilege set. If so, it goes to the contact layout, does a find for their account record and hides the status area.
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright
I recently made an update to a client database and I thought I’d share this to you via this blog. I have an InBizness customer that wants their clients to have access to a small piece of their data. So we created a separate file and have it hosted on thedroolingdog.com. This file has FileMaker Instant Web Publishing turned on and it setup to only allow these clients to see their own records. The main InBizness system will periodically synchronize data with this web based file.
In the main InBizness file, we have a script setup to allow the data entry person to setup their web account access. This script will use the “Add Account” script step to create the credentials in the web version of the file and then email the client the account name / password credentials.
Then in the web file, the startup script detects if the user that just signed in is assigned to the ClientContact privilege set. If so, it goes to the contact layout, does a find for their account record and hides the status area.
Monday, November 17, 2008
FILEMAKER: Report Custom Menu Reorganization
From Dwayne Wright - Certified FileMaker 9 Developer
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright
There is a related movie on this topic! CLICK HERE!
Well, the time finally has arrived in my InBizness product evolution to put my reports in sub folders under the Reports custom menu. It really didn't take me as long as I thought. I simply took the previous report that had all the reports in it, duplicate it and then remove the report custom menu items that I don't want.
Here you can see the previous reports custom menu for InBizness.
Here you can see the new reports custom menu for InBizness.
I was even able to add the module specific report sub menu to the modules custom menu.
=
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.
© 2008 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com
The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright
There is a related movie on this topic! CLICK HERE!
Well, the time finally has arrived in my InBizness product evolution to put my reports in sub folders under the Reports custom menu. It really didn't take me as long as I thought. I simply took the previous report that had all the reports in it, duplicate it and then remove the report custom menu items that I don't want.
Here you can see the previous reports custom menu for InBizness. 
Here you can see the new reports custom menu for InBizness. 
I was even able to add the module specific report sub menu to the modules custom menu. =
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.
© 2008 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com
The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
InBizness 2.7 Changes For Sales Orders, Invoices, Support and Vendor Bills
SALES ORDER MODULE CHANGES
Added button and custom menu option to save a sales order as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location.
Updated the printed sales order layout to a more streamlined look and feel.
INVOICE MODULE CHANGES
Added button and custom menu option to save an invoice as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location.
Updated the printed invoice layout to a more streamlined look and feel.
SUPPORT MODULE CHANGES
Added the list view for support records and column sort for issue date, customer and status.
Added the ability to create linked events from a support record and a tab to see related events.
VENDOR BILL MODULE CHANGES
Add a button / script that will automatically carry over the line items from a purchase order to a new line item on a vendor bill
Added button and custom menu option to save a sales order as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location.
Updated the printed sales order layout to a more streamlined look and feel.
INVOICE MODULE CHANGES
Added button and custom menu option to save an invoice as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location.
Updated the printed invoice layout to a more streamlined look and feel.
SUPPORT MODULE CHANGES
Added the list view for support records and column sort for issue date, customer and status.
Added the ability to create linked events from a support record and a tab to see related events.
VENDOR BILL MODULE CHANGES
Add a button / script that will automatically carry over the line items from a purchase order to a new line item on a vendor bill
InBizness 2.7 Changes For Quotes
QUOTE MODULE CHANGES
Added custom menu, buttons and associated scripts to convert a quote to a sales order
Added a link from quotes to leads, now leads can create quotes, because of this ...
Instead of showing related client address information, created address fields that auto enter either lead or client address information.
Added button and custom menu option to save a quote as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location.
Updated the printed quote layout to a more streamlined look and feel.
Added custom menu, buttons and associated scripts to convert a quote to a sales orderAdded a link from quotes to leads, now leads can create quotes, because of this ...
Instead of showing related client address information, created address fields that auto enter either lead or client address information.
Added button and custom menu option to save a quote as a pdf document and allows you to store the document location.
Updated the printed quote layout to a more streamlined look and feel.
InBizness 2.7 Changes For Proposals And Leads
PROPOSAL MODULE CHANGES
Discovered a need to build proposals that do not have a dollar amount assigned to any of the listed milestones. This helps lead the way to creating a type of requirement proposal to list milestone needs before assigning a dollar value to them. I updated the proposal to zero out any reference to a dollar amount in those situations.
Added the ability to flag a milestone from a proposal as a template, these can then be found in the new template tab. You can copy a template milestone and paste it directly into the currently viewed proposal.
LEAD MODULE CHANGES
When first introduced, the leads module didn’t have a very robust set of options but it continues to gain more speed with each new release. Here is a listing of the changes made for leads within InBizness 2.7.
Added the key id for a campaign to create a link from a lead to a single campaign.
Added the ability to create a new quote from a lead record and added a tab and portal to show the quotes that have been placed into the system for a lead.
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed lead record.
Added the + button next to the contact name field in the address info section to quickly add that person to the related contacts table.
Added a script / button to automatically create 8 follow up events for a lead record. These events can be staggered over time and can include by phone call and email activities.
Discovered a need to build proposals that do not have a dollar amount assigned to any of the listed milestones. This helps lead the way to creating a type of requirement proposal to list milestone needs before assigning a dollar value to them. I updated the proposal to zero out any reference to a dollar amount in those situations. Added the ability to flag a milestone from a proposal as a template, these can then be found in the new template tab. You can copy a template milestone and paste it directly into the currently viewed proposal.
LEAD MODULE CHANGES
When first introduced, the leads module didn’t have a very robust set of options but it continues to gain more speed with each new release. Here is a listing of the changes made for leads within InBizness 2.7.
Added the key id for a campaign to create a link from a lead to a single campaign.
Added the ability to create a new quote from a lead record and added a tab and portal to show the quotes that have been placed into the system for a lead.
Added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed lead record.
Added the + button next to the contact name field in the address info section to quickly add that person to the related contacts table.
Added a script / button to automatically create 8 follow up events for a lead record. These events can be staggered over time and can include by phone call and email activities.
InBizness 2.7 Changes For Campaigns, Events, Staff And Timecards
CAMPAIGNS
The campaign module had a number of changes added for version 2.7 and working with campaign events has never been more powerful.
BATCH EMAILS TO RELATED CONTACTS
Added a tab within the campaign module to facilitate sending Batch Email actions to contacts that are related to that campaign record.
After selecting the contacts you want to link, you can type in an email subject, message and even include a file enclosure. You can click a single button to create one email with all the contacts email addresses in the BCC field and transfer that email to your FileMaker compatible email application.
EVENTS
The events module had a few smaller updates, mostly to make the process of entering data a little easier and more productive.
Added button "Add Similar Event" to the Events dialog to create events with the same linked client / campaign.This is very similar to a duplicate record command but allows you to change some of the key fields.
Added a text button next to the event details in the event dialog layout to insert from the last record visited. This can be quite useful when you are entering a batch of events that are very similar in nature.
STAFF
The event and timecard tabs in the staff module allow you to see those related records via a date range. There are a number of buttons that allow you to quickly set the start and end dates. For version 2.7, we added a button in the events & timecard tabs to set the date range to yesterday.
TIMECARDS
Timecard records can be linked to almost every module within the InBizness system. For version 2.7 Of InBizness, we added buttons and associated scripts to view related Campaigns, Staff and Events from a Timecard record.
The campaign module had a number of changes added for version 2.7 and working with campaign events has never been more powerful.
BATCH EMAILS TO RELATED CONTACTS
Added a tab within the campaign module to facilitate sending Batch Email actions to contacts that are related to that campaign record.
After selecting the contacts you want to link, you can type in an email subject, message and even include a file enclosure. You can click a single button to create one email with all the contacts email addresses in the BCC field and transfer that email to your FileMaker compatible email application.
EVENTS
The events module had a few smaller updates, mostly to make the process of entering data a little easier and more productive.
Added button "Add Similar Event" to the Events dialog to create events with the same linked client / campaign.This is very similar to a duplicate record command but allows you to change some of the key fields.
Added a text button next to the event details in the event dialog layout to insert from the last record visited. This can be quite useful when you are entering a batch of events that are very similar in nature.STAFF
The event and timecard tabs in the staff module allow you to see those related records via a date range. There are a number of buttons that allow you to quickly set the start and end dates. For version 2.7, we added a button in the events & timecard tabs to set the date range to yesterday.TIMECARDS
Timecard records can be linked to almost every module within the InBizness system. For version 2.7 Of InBizness, we added buttons and associated scripts to view related Campaigns, Staff and Events from a Timecard record.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Contact Module Updates For InBizness 2.7
In the InBizness 2.7 update, there is only one change made to the module overall.
LINKING ONE OR MANY CONTACTS TO A CAMPAIGN
Added a tab in the contacts module that allows you to link a current client or the entire found set of contacts to a particular campaign record.
Client Module Updates For InBizness 2.7
In the InBizness 2.7 update, we added a number of smaller enhancements within the Clients module to link even better with other InBizness modules.
LINKING TO AN EXISTING CONTACT
A contact may be involved with many clients vendors and even leads. With InBizness 2.7, we added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed client record.
Clicking the Add Existing Contact button will bring up a dialog listing of current InBizness contacts. From the list, click an Add button and that contact will be linked to the original client records.
CLIENT TIMECARDS BY A DATE RANGE
We already had a tab that allowed you to see the timecard records associated with a client record. In the InBizness 2.7 update, added a new tab & portal that allows you to see the client timecard records between a start and end date range.
LINKING TO AN EXISTING CONTACT
A contact may be involved with many clients vendors and even leads. With InBizness 2.7, we added the ability to link an existing contact record to the currently viewed client record.
Clicking the Add Existing Contact button will bring up a dialog listing of current InBizness contacts. From the list, click an Add button and that contact will be linked to the original client records.
CLIENT TIMECARDS BY A DATE RANGE
We already had a tab that allowed you to see the timecard records associated with a client record. In the InBizness 2.7 update, added a new tab & portal that allows you to see the client timecard records between a start and end date range.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Reports Menu Continues To Evolve With Inbizness 2.7
This is probably going to be a staple for many a future update because we continue to uncover the needs for more and more reports over time. Sometime in the near future, I expect we will introduce sub folders by module but we are not quite needing that yet.
Invoice Module: Fiscal Quarter Report In CrossTab format
This report allows you to see a year at a glance and each quarter is broken down by quarter in four rows.
Timecard Module: Billable Timecards By Month / Week Report
This report allows you to view timecards that are billable broken down by month. It is further broken down by weeks of the month. Many weeks are spit across two months, so it is possible you will see two lines for week 23, if that week is broken across two months.
Payments Module: Payments By Month / Type & Payments Module: Payments By Day / Type
These reports allow you to see payments broken down into month or day and by type. The monthly report is more for analysis and the daily reports can be helpful in reconciling daily deposits.
Invoice Module: Fiscal Quarter Report In CrossTab format
This report allows you to see a year at a glance and each quarter is broken down by quarter in four rows.
Timecard Module: Billable Timecards By Month / Week Report
This report allows you to view timecards that are billable broken down by month. It is further broken down by weeks of the month. Many weeks are spit across two months, so it is possible you will see two lines for week 23, if that week is broken across two months.
Payments Module: Payments By Month / Type & Payments Module: Payments By Day / Type
These reports allow you to see payments broken down into month or day and by type. The monthly report is more for analysis and the daily reports can be helpful in reconciling daily deposits.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
FAQ: Blending Into An Update
QUESTION: How do I incorporate my changes in the version of InBizness I purchased with a new version that comes out? Are you sure my changes will be compatible with your new features.
ANSWER: A FileMaker Developer that offers open FileMaker solutions, has a more difficult enhancement path than others. That is because our users probably have already implemented design changes of their own. Their changes may not work well with our enhancements. We don’t have the ability to easily integrate the changes our clients have made to a previous version. There is no easy way around this problem.
As an open framework developer, all I can do is try to explain what is within each update. If you decide to purchase the update, there will need to be a blending of the two. In most cases, users have a copy of FileMaker Advanced and they harvest the code from the update and place it within their version of InBizness. After doing the appropriate testing, they roll out this new blended version to their users.
ANSWER: A FileMaker Developer that offers open FileMaker solutions, has a more difficult enhancement path than others. That is because our users probably have already implemented design changes of their own. Their changes may not work well with our enhancements. We don’t have the ability to easily integrate the changes our clients have made to a previous version. There is no easy way around this problem.
As an open framework developer, all I can do is try to explain what is within each update. If you decide to purchase the update, there will need to be a blending of the two. In most cases, users have a copy of FileMaker Advanced and they harvest the code from the update and place it within their version of InBizness. After doing the appropriate testing, they roll out this new blended version to their users.
InBizness 2.7 Non Module Specific Overall Updates
Overall changes are not module specific and sometimes are not that grand on first look. This includes custom menu changes, value list updates, custom menus, global fields and the like. Again, not that grand but can have a huge benefit to the overall system.New Searches custom menu to automatically take you to a saved search in an InBizness module. In the 2.7 update, we only added the saved searches for the purchase order module but that is just the tip of the iceberg and this feature is sure to grow over time.
Added the ability to click the icon in form and list views to quickly install the FileMaker menu set for Full Access users. So you don’t have to use the FileMaker Advanced custom menu option to get back to the standard FileMaker menus.
Added a new value list called Contact_type that has the options of client, lead or vendor.
Added a global field that has the company address information on one line, without any carriage returns. This was used in the reworking of many of the transaction printouts.
To help support more role based features, added fields to track what privilege set created and modified records in each table.
Added a new custom function from briandunning.com / Ilya Shuvalov called IsWebClient. This hasn’t been used within InBizness 2.7 but I imagine you can see where this is going in a future update. FileMaker Instant Web Publishing is a great feature but it has a few odd quirks that would likely require a unique layout for each module to support web enabling features. So being able to determine in a quick method if a user is using FileMaker or a web interface can become key in many of the navigation operations.
Added a button and script to allow the printing of topics from the InBizness help module.
Added a table and process to capture staff user session log in data.
================
HERE ARE SOME SNAPSHOTS OF THE ABOVE LISTED UPDATES
================
Here you can see the new custom search custom menu.
/>Here you can see the icon in the header in form and list views. This is now a button that will install the standard FileMaker menu set verses the InBizness custom menu set. 
Here you can see the contact type value list. This helps you identify contacts based upon what module they are currently associated with. 
Here you can see the new single line address global field that is used in the revised printouts for invoices and other transaction based modules. 
Here you can see the fields we are using to track what privilege sets created and modified a record. 
Here you can see a quick look at this new custom function for tracking the current client session. 
Here you can see that we actually have printing capability to help topics. This would be used more for your internal help documentation for your customized version of InBizness. Most help information about InBizness (the framework application) is online. 
Here you can see the table that we use to capture staff log in and log out history. This snapshot is from the IT dashboard.
Friday, October 31, 2008
InBizness 2.7 Role Based Dashboards
Database dashboards are not a particularly new thing and independent developers have been adding them to their solutions for years. This may be the first appearance of a FileMaker framework application that has this sort of implementation. In this implementation, you can assign a role to your staff members via the staff module and you can select if they open automatically to their dashboard or the traditional InBizness main screen. In the InBizness 2.7, we have added dashboards for Customer Service, Sales Staff, Accounting, Information Technology and Workgroup managers. Traditionally, when we introduce a new module within InBizness, we try to not overload it with features you may not want. As we release each following update, these modules get more and more customer requested features. This is also the case with the InBizness role based dashboards. For the most part, each dashboard has its own layout and that layout is designed to have multiple tables for role based views. In these tabs, you can add buttons and portals that are specific to that business role. On exception in this update was for the Information Technology Dashboard. Here we included a Tab and Portal to show staff user log in activities and filtered by date range.
CUSTOMER SERVICE DASHBOARDDesigned for growth and to eventually show customer service members alerts that pertain to support calls, products that need to be returned and credits that might need to be issued to customers. We foresee this screen to interface mostly with the clients, contacts, invoices, payments, events, credit memo, return merchandise and customer support modules.
SALES STAFF DASHBOARDDesigned for growth and to eventually aid sales professionals to see the leads and quotes they need to follow up upon. Can be used to show saved searches to target what they need to do in their business day. We foresee this screen to interface mostly with the clients, contacts, leads, quotes, sales orders invoices, inventory, campaign, events and support modules.
ACCOUNTING DASHBOARDDesigned for growth and to eventually to aid the accounting related actions such as deposits that need to be done, breakdown of income by type, QuickBooks integration status and more. We foresee this screen to interface mostly with the clients, contacts, vendors, invoices, payments, inventory, purchase orders, finance, bank deposit, events and credit memo modules.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DASHBOARDDesigned for growth and to eventually aid the in house technology support professional including some of the technical management needs of InBizness itself. We foresee this screen to interface mostly with the staff, media and support modules.
WORKGROUP MANAGER DASHBOARDDesigned for growth and to eventually to aid managers in the support of the members of the workgroups they manage. This can include views of timecard records, tasks, correspondence and much more. We foresee this screen to interface mostly with the staff, clients, contacts, leads, quotes, sales orders invoices, inventory, campaign, events and support modules.
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