Runtime - October 1999

Here we go again

Just when we thought our association had listened to our pleas about the shows on Sunday, we get next year's schedule and this time it STARTS on Sunday.

I think we've had all the scenarios over the years. One year it was setup on Sunday. And, of course, the official AFRDS rules state that the booth must pass inspection at the end of setup day.

Another year, all the meetings were on Sunday (along with the floor being open) and we couldn't voice our opposition without violating our own position….

At those shows that went over Sunday, we would put a sign in our booth letting people know we would be there on Monday.   We would hear how slow the day was.  So why do we keep doing it?

I know of at least one board member who has an almost exact opposite view from mine. He wants the shows on Sunday….. thinks it is the best day to have it. The difference, is, he's got a board vote and I don't.

Perhaps one of these years, we should refuse to pay our dues and not show up -- but the shows are always so wonderful for us…. and we ARE a CHARTER Member of AFRDS… so we'll continue to complain and hope that enough of you who agree will do the same until the attitude is changed.

Pearl Harbor Is Safe

This statement was Written on Sept. 6, 1941 by journalist Clarke Beach. For a nationally respected newspaper……. (Taken from the book At Dawn We Slept by Gordon Prange.)

Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world, with one chance in a million of being successful. Besides having more  powerful defenses than any other post under the American Flag, it is protected by distance.

Ultra (DOS) & Great Plains Accounting (DOS)

We have successfully created a bridge program that enables the totals from a school tally to be exported from Ultra and imported into Great Plains for the purpose of generating an invoice and updating inventory. We can also get prize data into Great Plains.

We neither sell, nor support Great Plains Accounting, but if you are using it, we can get data into it. It does require an extra $1500 module from Great Plains and some programming from us-- so its not a "cheap" conversion, but it surely beats re-entering line by line into an accounting program.

WinUltra and Accounting

DACEasy

A couple years ago, we attempted to merge our WinUltra with the DOS version of DACEasy Accounting (only because we know DAC) but were never satisfied enough to release it.

Now, DACEasy has a windows version and we are working with a 3rd party vendor to see if we can do the same thing with DAC that we did with Great Plains.

Security

The Pearl Harbor article was part of a recent sermon I heard about security. Here's another from that sermon....

The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully-loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relieve his fear, he asked, "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied, "Whenever it breaks!"

Software Notes

Ignoring Inventory Is Even Easier In WinUltra v1.2

Ever since we added an inventory module to Ultra, we've had distributors who don't want to use that part of the program, yet frustrated about having to create an inventory file. In v1.2, you never have to "go there".

Scanner News

Record Scanner Day

In a 24-hr period, we ordered 14 scanners. But wait . . . its not 14 new users. Just two new users. The rest are ordering ADDITIONAL scanners for expanded packing lines.

Types of Scanners available

• Hand Gun. We use a top of the line, industrial-strength gun, but we now have started shipping a second, lower end handgun that early reports coming back give rave reviews.
• Counter. Like the grocery stores, the counter scanner lets you  use both hands to move product across.
• Pedestal. The pedestal sits vertically and you have both hands free to pass product in front of it.
•   360 Degree. Present product to the scanner with less concern about where the bar code is.

Is Ultra Y2K Compliant?

The short answer is - no problem....because the only thing Ultra does with a date is print it.

In most cases, all the hype about Y2K is just that— hype. The problem will be with programs that make calculations based on date.  For example, if your accounting program (or your computer) is NOT Y2K compliant, and you calculate interest on past due balances.... and the date reverts to 1/1/00, then suddenly your customer’s account will have 100 years of past due interest.

One way to check your computer and software is to change the date on your computer.  The date we suggest using is 2/29/00 because next year is a leap year.  Then check all your software.

How One Office Became Y2k Compliant

After an office meeting in which the boss told everyone he wanted them to make his company completely compliant.  One secretary made the following changes:

JanuarK / FebruarK / MaK / JulK

Catalog Order Form Designators

The industry continues to shift to the catalog order form, here’s a summary of the advantages and concerns for numeric, alpha and alpha-numeric product designators.

Numbers (numeric) - advantages

Data entry stays on the numeric keypad. Item Number + Enter and Quantity + Enter….. is very fast entry.

There is less potential for confusion. With numbers, there are only 10 possible characters.  If you see a vertical line, it must be a number 1, not a lower case L or an I.

Numbers - cautions / concerns

You have increased potential for overlap of designators from multiple vendors.  You CANNOT use two brochures together that have ANY duplicate numbers.

Letters (alpha) - advantages

More combinations with fewer characters. With each numeric designator you have only 10 possibilities, but with letters you have 26. So distributors with large numbers of items can still use a 2-digit alpha system to identify them.

Fewer digits means more columns on the order form. Most forms have three, but with a two digit catalog identification, it is easier to get a fourth column.

Letters - cautions / concerns

Greater potential for misinterpretation.   What is that vertical mark? Is it a #1, a lower case L or an I?  Is that a U or a V? O or Q?

Increased potential for data entry error. We  instruct our data entry personnel to keep the left hand on the order form to keep track of where they are -- and the right hand over the numeric keypad. As soon as an alpha character is involved, one hand must move. In addition to the decrease in speed caused by moving hands, you have an increased opportunity for the wandering hand to come back to the WRONG place.

Combination (alpha-numeric) - advantages

It is easier for vendors to have unique numbers and reduces the potential for the duplicate designators between vendors.  Obviously, a 'D101' and 'S101' are unique.

Combination (alpha-numeric)  - cautions/ concerns

You have the same problem described above where one of your hands will have to move.

Consideration for the future

For those who want to consider automated data capture (scanning the order forms), numbers are better than alpha and alpha-numeric is not very good.

Want to be a Tally/Pre-Pack Service Provider?

With the new anti-small distributor strategy expressed by some of the suppliers in our industry, there will be opportunities for those of you who want to expand your operation to including offering tally and pre-pack services for those customers being dropped by the company that is discontinuing its pre-pack service. We want to enable you to do that in such a way that is profitable for us both.

As you know, QDP's copyrighted Ultra and WinUltra Order Tally Software is licensed for single company use and explicitly forbids use for companies operating as separate entities with different names.   In addition to reserving our right and announcing our intention to cut off violators from future software and tech support, we consider unauthorized use of our software to be actionable (ask your lawyer what that means) and may exercise our legal rights accordingly.

Check out the QDP Web Site

We've been working hard to expand our web site, especially in the area of Tech Support. We're adding to it almost daily so that our users can have 24hr access to answers to your questions and solutions to your situations. Check it out at www.QDPCorp.com/techsupport/winultra20.htm

Read about the Bottlenecks in Fundraising at www.QDPCorp.com/news/technology.htm and check out the specials at www.QDPCorp.com/news/specials.htm . Specials change periodically and not all of them are published here. Currently, see a list of older computers, software and more.

Supply & Scanner Notes

We always encourage you to order supplies before you have to have them as we do not guarantee availability. We’re in relatively good shape on all but pack slips with labels. I recommend ordering what you need for the remainder of the Fall.

We have just received word of the availability of six refurbished PSC scanners which we will sell at 50% off the list price. If you want a back up or need to expand your line, call John.

Last Modified:  05/27/2008