Track Serial Numbers

Instant Quote Professional allows you to track all serial numbers sold or purchased, including 2 search screens for quickly finding the exact invoice or purchase order that contained the serial number. This is very helpful in checking the invoice and/or purchase date for warranty information. You can even have the system create 'blank' serial entry records determined by the part's category.

Create Quotes using a Configurations Wizard

Configurations allow you to set up configuration records for the basic items you sell, which will step the user through creating a new quote or invoice (users are free to create new quotes & invoices directly on the screen as well). This feature drastically reduces training needs for new employees so they can begin quoting and invoicing right away. Additionally, using the configurator reduces errors and omissions by allowing the user to validate their quote or invoice to double check the configurations against required parts. The configurator, shown below, steps the user through the basic part categories, or parts, that are required for a set configuration.

Part Rules / Auto-Additions

This powerful new feature allows you to setup base parts and relate them to other parts. By doing this, you can enable prompting to add related parts, automatically add related parts, or require related parts for a valid configuration using the configurator. This feature is sure to make extra money for your business by suggesting related parts that might otherwise be missed.

Setup main part and associate with other parts in the screen above, then set your part rule

The above screen shows a prompt for the part rule "Suggest Associated Part"

Customer Equipment / Asset Tracking

New to version 7 is the ability to track customer equipment and assets. In the Customer screen, you can now see all equipment that you track for a given customer, including the warranty expires date, last serviced information, and current equipment status (in for repair, etc.). Quick action functions allow you to create a new Job for the selected equipment, or to quickly create a new equipment record from an Invoice Serial Entry record.

New Launching Menu

Notice the Invoices button in the ribbon toolbar below. This is a new Access 2007 split button (pictured in 1st picture above). Clicking the top portion of the button will open the Invoices screen. Clicking the bottom portion of the button will open the menu allowing you to access the Invoices screen, or brand new Invoice searching screens. Each major screen button below (except Reports), has a search screen in the lower half of the dropdown button.

For those wondering where all the "File" - or "Tools" commands have went in the new version, notice the office button pictured below (the round, top-left button). Clicking this button, with no screens opened, will open the options shown below, including access to the Setup options screen, for adding your logo, setting your markup preference, tax rates, etc. With a screen open, the Office button will reveal display printing options.

Clicking the Office Button will open the menu shown above. Here you can access Setup options, enter your key, etc.

Powerful Search Features

Instant Quote Professional version 6 now offers a vast improvement in searching your database over past versions. There are many search screens throughout the program. On each major screen, you will find full-screen search facilities, as pictured below:

Click the lower-half of the split menu button shown above to reveal search options (or search button in each screen)

Just open the search, then click the dropdown carrot arrow on ANY column heading. Then you can use Text Filters option, and the search text "Contains" option to search for any text.

Click the down arrow circled above, in ANY column heading to reveal powerful searching options

New Quote Form w/ Part Pictures

Version 6.40 introduced, for the first time ever, a Quote Form with individual part pictures for each line-item. These pictures come from the Parts screen, and allow you to send a quote form to your customer with pictures.

Search / View All Customers

The screen below is a brand new screen allowing you to browse and search your entire customer database. It is accessed using the split button menu above for Searching Customers. Notice the bottom of the screen has a built in search. Typing in a search phrase will automatically search all the columns for the text entered. Double-clicking a record in the company name or address fields will open the customer screen shown in the next section.

Customer Screen

Below is the customer screen, with the refreshed Office Access 2007 look. Notice that the customer screen has it's own ribbon / menu bar at the top of the screen. The notes section will now support rich text, and will have a memo notes history. Many functions have been moved up to the menu bar area, and the main contact / billing address has moved to the main page. Notice the buttons in the menu ribbon for "Shipping / Additional addresses", "Call Log", "Customer Options", and "Customer Files Manager". These have been moved to their own screen, so you only need to open them when needed. As you open more screens, other screens that are already open will be added to the tabbed interface (Search / view customers, and Customers screen are both open - shown below).

Payments Screen

Below is the Payments screen. Most functions have been moved up to the menu bar area. Now it will be much easier to find common functions, such as making a payment, previewing a report, or searching all payments. A new search option for Searching the current Customer's payments is now included, thus giving 2 search options for payments. Additionally, from the Customer screen, you can easily search Payments, Quote History and Invoice History, all from one location. Payment Notes will now support rich text, allowing you to draw attention to important notes for your customer.

The Payments Screen - View all Customer Invoice and Payment history

Service Screen (Job Order Tracking)

Below is the Service screen. Most functions have been moved up to the menu bar area. Now it will be much easier to find common functions, such as creating a job, job check-in tasks, previewing various job forms, or searching all jobs. New search options for Searching the current Customer's service history, searching all job line-items / parts, and searching all work needed items are now included. Additionally, from the Service screen, you can easily find and view the quote the job was created from, as well as the invoice that was created from the job. Job check-in information has now been moved to the top-left of the service screen.

The Service Screen

Track detailed information regarding your Job Order by clicking the "Work Needed / Hour Tracking" button on the service screen. You can enter all tasks required for the job, as well as the time required to complete, and total mileage, if traveling on-site. Reports are available in the Reports screen for total hours by employee, and total mileage.

The Service Screen - Work Needed / Hours Tracking

Purchase Screen

Below is the Purchases screen. Most functions have been moved up to the menu bar area. Now it will be much easier to find common functions, such as creating a new purchase, auto-purchases, checking on serial numbers, viewing payments, and RMA's. New search options for Searching All P/O's, searching the current Supplier's service history, searching all line-items, Serial Numbers and searching all payments and RMA's have now been included. Additionally, from the Service screen menu, you can quickly see if you have pending items you wish to add to a new purchase by looking at the P/O Scratch Pad button in the toolbar ribbon (shown below).

The Purchases Screen - Create Purchase Orders to your Supplier's

Reports Screen

Below is the Reports screen. This is where you will go when you want to run any available report for Customers, Quotes, Parts, Invoices, Financial / Tax Reports, Inventory Stock, etc. Most reports support entering date or other criteria. Leaving most criteria blank will show all records. Quickly build a list of your favorite reports for easy access!

The Reports Screen - Over 90 reports available!!

Instant Billing Add-In Screen

Below is the new Instant Billing screen. Instant Billing will still be an add-in that requires the purchase of an additional key, however, Instant Billing will now be contained within the Instant Quote Pro program file. Additionally, the existing data from Instant Billing will be imported into the main database. New features have also been added with two new search options to allow searching of all billing records, and all detail line-items contained within the billing records. Microsoft's new .PDF writer will be supported when e-mailing batches of invoices, so you will be able to e-mail as .pdf invoices.

Instant Billing Add-In - Setup Billing Records / Run Batch Recurring Billing

After you setup all your customer billing records, clicking the "Create Batch Invoices Now!" button, pictured above, will open a preview of all invoices that would be created. You can accept all, or selected invoices.