UDS Green Industry Software, Inc. Newsletter
April 25, 2001
About backup and price changes and a bunch other.
Topics in this newsletter:
Enforcement of Software License Terms
Support Charge Price Increase
Reorganize, Reorganize, Backup, Backup and Reorganize Do it More!
Creating Redundant Copies of Important Information if Version 6
Version 6.5 Development: TAGmaker
Version 6.5 Development: Fully Automated Data Exchange with XML
Website Downloads and Updates
Brian Rambles on Again
Travel Schedule (Subject to change and modification)
AA Version 6 how do you like it?
The User Conference
Stricter Enforcement of Software License Terms
Current business conditions have forced us to examine our business model and change it to better match today’s conditions. A critical part of our business model has been support and upgrade sales to existing customers.
A component of our model that has been far below expectations for several years is our upgrade and system enhancement income. This is the income we should realize when you add ActiveApplications users to your network.
We have reduced the license fees for adding users to your networks. This makes it less expensive to create larger networks of users.
Our license to you specifies a maximum number of simultaneous AA users in your network or every POS station should pay a user fee. As a larger portion of your business accounting tasks are handled by AA, your company can continue to grow. We take no credit for your hard work in growing your business but we think we have helped you control your growth with less effort.
We have traditionally been opposed to registration restrictions and statistics being imbedded into AA but we have considered such restrictions and may implement some. We have relied on the honor system for collection of those license fees. In economies like those of today these revenues are helpful. Over the next few weeks we will be examining twenty years of sales analysis and upgrades to determine the number of users your licenses allow. When you get your assessment please compare the number of users you have to what our records indicate. If you have exceeded the number provided or our records are not correct contact Brian at 800 626-7247 Extension 203 or email brian@udsgis.com with the corrected number.
We would rather not have to modify AA to have imbedded user restrictions. We would rather focus on what has to be done to make ActiveApplications better. Times have changed and we now must collect a reasonable portion of the additional user revenue.
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It has been several years since our support charges have increased. We understand how difficult it has some times been to pay what we have asked but the reality is the support charges must go up. Effective immediately the structure and cost of support plans are changing. Outstanding and unpaid support offers are withdrawn as of 4/22/02. You will be offered support by the following plan structure. We regret having to raise prices but it is a reality of the current market.
A more detailed description is available on our web site and will accompany your next support invoice. We are able to offer these plans at this price because the administrative costs of these standard support packages is kept to a minimum. Prompt payment is appreciated to avoid lapses in correction releases.
Level I Support Updates and unlimited Phone and Email Support …….$3,100
Includes user conference and 2 hour maximum response time. Each call
is handled as a high priority basis.
Level II Support Updates, unlimited Email, 10 phone calls per year …. $1,900
Level III Support Updates and unlimited Email Support ………….…... $940
48 Hour Maximum response.
Level IV Release level and correction releases only …..……...……..… $600
No support is provided without additional charge. See the incident support charges listed below.
These are offered as supplements to the above standard plans. They will enhance your support level without costing as much as full support for the full year.
Six months unlimited telephone support …………………………...… $1,400
Only available with Level III support
Five Email Incidents per year with Level IV Support ………………… $200
Paid prior to service. They unused portion expire on support date.
Single Email Incident with Level IV Support …………………………. $100
Telephone Support per Incident with Level III or IV Support ..……….. $200
Telephone or Email Support w/o Support (Fee Prepaid) .………………$500
Spring is Here !!
Reorganize and Backup your Database more often now.
When business is starting to peak, “Unrecognized Database” is an error we all like to avoid. If you see this error reported by your system, it means the Database format has been damaged to the extent that the application can’t make “heads or tails” about the data it contains. Your data is the business transactions you have worked so hard to gather, organize, and enter into the system.
The only remedy for this error is to “Reorganize” your database but it may not be successful. If reorganizing is successful, you can continue on your way. If reorganizing is not successful, you will most likely have to rely on restoring the most recent backup of your database. The amount of work completed since your last backup is the amount of work you will have to do over. So the most important question in your mind at that point will be: How recent is my last backup?
As the number of transactions increases during the Spring season, you must reevaluate your current backup schedule. If your company backs up every night, consider an extra backup at a mid point in the workday. Using Windows Copy/Paste feature your system administrator can quickly and easily make a duplicate image of your database. Save this copy to your server’s hard drive or perhaps even to a different system if available. Use your own best judgment to determine when and how often but ask yourself this: Can I afford in this my busy season to go back as far as my last backup and do it over? Should I take steps to insure a more current backup?
Why do databases get “messed” up in the first place? Well, that’s a good question and it depends on many things like stability of your network, communication error rates, proper use of computers, activity level and its’ inherent ability to maintain itself, and a combination of “all of the above”. Usually the exact cause is unknown. UDS clients must “Reorganize” their databases on a regular basis to insure fewer problems. It is a genuine method of preventative maintenance. During this busy period you should “Reorganize” your database more often. If you currently reorganize once a week and business is picking up, you might consider reorganizing once each night right after your backup. If business levels are keeping your 4 or more Active Accounting workstations busy a full 8 hours a day, you should seriously consider reorganizing twice each day. Once each morning or night and perhaps once at the mid point in your business day would make the most sense.
In Summary: Reorganize often and regularly to help prevent database errors and backup your database at short enough intervals to make having to restore from backup, should it be necessary, as painless as possible.
If your company is busy all day long it is difficult to find time during the “normal” day to perform the backup chores that keep your system secure from major data loss. You may not be able to copy the information because you cannot get everyone out during the middle of the day. You could loose a whole days work. Consider less than ideal but better than nothing redundant backup method.
ActiveAccounting Version 6.1 allows you to automatically make an XML copy of orders, invoices, purchase orders and estimates when saving data. These copies can be made automatically and are not part of your database so if your database fails you still have computer readable copies of the orders and invoices your personnel created that day.
They can be easily imported into your system. It is not an automatic recovery method yet but at least you do not have to key all the orders in again. Several steps must be followed to have this method.
1) The Control File XML tab must be updated to reflect which objects you want to save
2) Once your data is reorganized or backed up the stored orders must be deleted from the XML folder or they will continue to accumulate and eventually eat your hard disk. You will need to work out a procedure to get this done. Contact support to discuss the possibilities.
3) If recovery is necessary then you will have to import and save the previously created items one at a time. Eventually we will release the automatic import feature so they can be added in again automatically.
4) It only works for Orders, Invoices, Purchase Orders and Estimates.
Try this out for a day you should notice very little difference in the speed of your program. Let us know how your test works.
Development for the next release of ActiveApplications is under way. For the next release we will be working on XML data exchange capabilities, Handheld (Pocket PC) devices and web enabling AA as general topics. Our primary effort will be on a new version of TAGmaker.
If you have TAGmaker related suggestions or requests let us know ASAP. We have made significant progress on this version of TAGmaker and could wrap it up in a few weeks. We intend to accomplish several objectives.
Make it easier to use for a new user
XML enable tag printing between network elements
Combine design and print into one program
Allow printing of keyed information not in your database
Allow changing of the information before printing
Enhance alignment capabilities
Make it compatible with more than one data format (multiple databases)
XML is an evolving standard data exchange that allows data to be passed from one system to another for processing. The classic example is an order from a web site that gets sent (emailed) from an Internet based host to a back office server for order fulfillment and processing. The systems are separate and only the order moves from one system to the other.
In the past, the order was keyed recorded at the web site by the user. A copy of the order was then keyed into the main system by a keypunch operator. Today it is done with a program and an XML file and the main system processes the order automatically.
How we have it working in AA version 6.5 is that when the order is saved an XML copy is also created automatically. This copy is then periodically compressed into an XMZ file with other orders and other information. This XMZ file is emailed to an Outlook mailbox. An AA program monitors the Outlook inbox for the XMZ file. When one appears in the Inbox it extracts the orders into XML input folder. The input files are then read and imported into a database and the UDS.exe is notified that it has records to process. The UDS.exe then reads the record, opens a window to process the order and saves it. If errors in the data are found the window remains open and the operator will eventually have to correct the order before it can be saved.
If all goes well a system no longer needs to have a direct network connection to take the order. The order taking computer does not even need to be an AA system. Due to the modular nature of the application it allows for the creation of much larger networks of associated but separate computers.
Part of development in this release is perfection of this technology into a usable integrated application. Before it is ready for release the term “order” will be replaced by any XML object compatible with ActiveApplications. This objects could be invoices, estimates, POS transactions, Purchase Order, Plant Tag print requests and many more functions.
If you have not been to our www.udsgis.com web site recently you should go take a look at how the Internet is used to enter orders.
Website and Downloads
The Active Applications web site has gone through some gradual yet significant changes in the last few months. You will notice that on the Version 6 downloads page, there are summary entries for each download. Click on the text and a description of the updates, corrections, and changes is made visible. It is very important that you read these descriptions. There may be instructions on what needs to be done to fix a problem or just an explanation of the program changes. This is our quickest method of keeping you up to date on what has been done.
The most obvious of the changes is the change in the login method. The new login method has allowed for greater control and better information to UDS as to who has logged in. The control comes from having an account expiration date on each login. If you fail to send in your support agreement payment, the date will expire, not allowing you to login and download the updates. As is indicated in this newsletter, we are changing our support agreement options. There will now be an option for just downloads and updates. This will give you continued access to the downloads page of the web site.
Please continue to go to the www.ActiveApplications.com web site on a regular basis to check of any new updates. An up to date program is a happy program.
Brian’s Rambling Commentary
(because I write the newsletter and run the company)
This past year has been a tough one for UDS. The economic times have forced me to make changes I would rather not. It seemed one crisis followed the next and it forced me to evaluate our business plan. Like all companies that have been around a long time, we were way too set in our ways and changes should have been made earlier that were not.
The relationship between support charges and new business has always been a subject of discussion at our company. Should new sales subsidize the cost of support? Do new sales derive from quality support? Does it cost more to get new customers than what they are worth to the company? Over the last 22 years sales and support have had a mutually beneficial relationship. Both parts of the business have contributed to the overall success and perpetuation of the business.
I believe that has been mutually beneficial to your company and mine. Over that time we have been able to select customers that understood our success and theirs were linked. The better the software we produced the more your companies would benefit. Maybe it was reluctantly that you participated in the mutual success but all of you that have been customers for any length of time have contributed.
We at UDS owe a tremendous debt to each of you for your participation and referral of new business. Through your participation we have been able to stay focused on the green industry as we developed our software. Without your referral business we would not have stayed in business and you would not have had better software to use in your business. Changing software is very expensive for any company. Not having to change vendors has saved you a great deal of expense.
The release of the revised ledger system culminates 22 years of effort to get to the point where ActiveApplications can compete with any accounting software package in the general market up to the most expensive and encompassing products. The SQL version of AA provides us the ability to scale up to the point where we can service any green industry company and all but the largest few companies in the world.
This has not been without sacrifice and commitment on your part. Many times you stuck with us during changes in applications that you did not want to learn but we made to serve a broader green industry market. In return you were getting far more function than you initially purchased.
Changes to ActiveApplications that you may think you do not want are still occurring as we web enable your software to provide you more options in how you process your information and where your data originates.
With the sudden demise of the stock market, consolidation in the green industry, and the complicating factors from 9/11, our new account sales have fallen to the point where there is no longer mutual support between our business segments. Sales have been flat for nearly three years but last fall they were even worse. This winter has been a little bit better but not where it should be. This spring has finally seen the business turn back up.
Over the past year we have removed many thousands of dollars in expenses from the company and have a leaner meaner and more effective sales effort. We have accomplished this while improving our support level, enhancing our software and making the quality of our programs better. We have done it with fewer people by extensively using Internet technology to increase our efficiency and keep our costs low.
I believe we have done our job at getting our expenses in line with our potential income. It is with the greatest of reluctance that we must now increase support charges to carry more of our fixed costs. I believe we have earned your trust over these many years by providing good and well supported products at the lowest cost possible. The reshaped business will enable us to compete in a changed world
UDS Upcoming Travel and Trade Show Schedule
May 20 to 29 West Coast
July 15 to 17 Ohio Florist Association Trade Show (In the East Sales Booth) Columbus Ohio
August 2 to 4 Southern Nursery Association Trade Show Atlanta Georgia
August 14 to 16 (maybe) National Christmas Tree Association Meeting Grand Rapids Michigan
August 22 to 24 Farwest Oregon Nursery Association Trade Show Portland Oregon
The above schedule is down significantly from previous years. If we are going to be in your area and you would like to schedule time contact brian@udsgis.com