It's About Time

Easy Way to Add New Contacts to Outlook

Adding new contact information to Outlook is always something that gets put off until I have more time, so it never happens.  As a result many of my Outlook contacts only have a name and email  address.  Now there is an easier way.  Forget the copy and paste command.   I just found a product called AddressGrabber.  All you need to do is highlight the name and address information from anywhere:  emails, web pages, on-line directories, etc.  and with a click of the mouse the information is automatically added to your contact list.  This will work with Outlook, ACT! or Goldmine.  I also like the fact that it can detect duplicates.

They have a 30-day free trial so you can try it out and see if it saves you time. 

Timeslips Billing Tips

There are a couple of helpful billing options that I always recommend to my clients.  You can access these options in Generate Bills; Options.

• The Billing Summary Worksheet is a report that will print after all the invoices have been printed.  It give you a one-line summary of each bill that was printed during that billing run. I recommend that you print it as a PDF file and save it in a folder where you keep copies of your invoices.  It's a quick way to review all the bills that were sent out at any given time and it also gives a grand total of the billing

The other option is Print a Separate PDF for each client.  This is great if you have a paperless office.  You will have a separate PDF file copy for each invoice that you create.  You can then save these copies to your billing folder.  I always recommend keeping PDF file copies of all invoices.  It is particularly useful on those occasions when "Reprint" bills does not have the invoice copy that you are looking for. 

You will select "PDF" in the print options in order to activate this function.  It does not work if you select "Adobe PDF" from the "Printer..." selection.  Invoices should be printed twice.  First using the print selection "PDF"  and second using the printer option in either "Printer" or "Printer...". Invoice approval is done after the second printing to assure that these invoices will also appear in "Reprint Bills"

Timeslips: New Accounts Receivable Balances

When you are setting up Timeslips for the first time, you will have some clients that have open invoices that were created on your previous system.  How do you get the balances into Timeslips so you can apply payments?

The easiest way to do this is to use the "Invoice" function in the Accounts Receivable Entry:

Select "Invoice" from the "Type" drop-down window.  Next select the client.  Press enter.

Enter the date.  Enter a description that will let you know that this was an opening balance invoice as opposed to one that was generated from Timeslips.  Enter the correct invoice number as well as fee, cost and interest amounts.  Click on the Save button.  This invoice will now appear on the list of open invoices to be paid.

This method will not provide you with any slip detail.  You should maintain your old billing system for reference purposes.

Timeslips: Features Enabled or Disabled

Every year Timeslips adds new features to the software.  Most of the time, I love the new capabilities, but every once in awhile, they come up with something I find annoying.  One of those features is the Outlook link.  In the older versions, it was installed by default.  If you didn't want it, you had to disable the feature.  Many of you probably like the synchronization with Outlook, however, if you have a long list of clients in Timeslips or Contacts in Outlook, the synchronization can be painfully slow. 

If this is something you don't want to use, simply go to Setup, Features Enabled.

  Scroll down the list until you find the Outlook link.  All you need to do is click on "Disable this feature".  While you are here, you might want to look through the list of other feature that you seldom or never use. 

One other good candidate for "disabling" is the the "Time Estimated" field on the slip entry screen....who uses that?

Smartphone Comparisons

As many of you may know, the Palm Pre made its debut this week.  How does it compare to the iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile devices, or BlackBerry?  If you are in the market for a new phone, the choices can make your head spin.  All the phones have different operating systems with a host of features.  Then you need to decide on who provides the best service in your area.  Is it AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon and do they support the phone that you want?

I recently read an article in the New York Times that actually provides you with a road map for making a good decision.  Making the right decision can be critical, depending on how much you depend on your phone.  Personally, I use my Blackberry almost as much as I use my computer, and on some days, the cell phone gets more use. 

When I first purchased my BlackBerry a few years ago, I was just thrilled with the fact that it had a real keyboard and I could send and receive emails.  I never gave a second thought to Web Apps or navigation tools.  I'm still pretty happy with my BlackBerry, but  lately I've been experiencing some strong iPhone envy.  Those phones are just so slick!  

I can't wait to see what's available next year when my current contract expires.  I imagine I'll be digging out that New York Times article to help guide me through the maze.

Exercise While You Work... Continued

Since there was so much interest in my last article on the Exercise Ball, I decided to continue to write about the work/exercise combination. 

 Now you can have a Treadmill Desk.  This isn't an entirely new idea.  What makes this one different is that you can add the desk option to any treadmill.  So now you can dust off that treadmill that you never have time to use and just attach the Treadmill Desk.  You'll be answering emails and jogging in no time. 

Notice the cool cup holder and phone stand!

Windows 7 - What's New?

The new Windows 7 is scheduled to launch on 10/22.  One of the nicest new features is the Search function.  It groups your files into categories.  It even allows you to search more than one hard drive and multiple PC's on your network.  The task bar has been redesigned with thumbnail previews and one of the things I like is the one-click access to frequently used commands, files and web sites. 

If you would like to see more, take the Windows 7 tour

Peachtree Free On-Line Test Drive

You can now "test drive" Peachtree without the "free trial" offer.  Just click on the Test Drive link on the side panel.  This is a fully functional copy of Peachtree that you can access over the web.  There is no download to your computer.

Have You Lost Your Focus?

Therre are so many distractions to keep us from focusing on the task at hand....beeps, buzzes, vibrations, things popping up on our desktop screen.  All of these things were designed to make our work life easier, but as we acquire more and more of these things, we find that we can no longer concentrate on one task until it is completed.  At the end of the day, we may wonder where the time has gone and what have we accomplished.  You might want to read "17 Ways to Kill Common Distractions". 

On-Line PDF Conversion Tools

Most of us can't live without PDF, however, the price of a full copy of Adobe can be a financial burden in many companies and firms.  I recently found this article on the "Best Free Online PDF Conversion Tools".    The "free" refers to a free trial copy.  If you want to keep it, you still need to pay for it, however, the cost is less than one of the advanced Adobe versions and in some cases, you get more features.