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January 2020 | Issue #87
 
Current Releases: SM 8.0.083 (1/6) | AW 3.5.056 (11/6)
A 20/20 View of ACEweb - 1/23 2:00 CDT
ACEware Software Update - 4/8 2:00 CDT
ACEware Systems Newsletter - Information to Run Your Program
Sending Emails From SM Through Outlook
email_laptop.jpg
I want to begin by saying sending emails by relay (the current way to email) is the preferred way. For various reasons, you may run into obstacles with using relay, so we've created another option for those of you who need a workaround:  Sending emails via Outlook. Using Outlook isn't problem-free, but it may resolve issues for those who are not permitted to use relay.

This option is available in Student Manager 8.0.083 or later.  To use Outlook, everyone that sends email needs to have Outlook and the Student Manager email module already installed. Installation is a snap! Go to Email Settings and type "OUTLOOK" as the SMTP Server Name. Send emails as you usually do, but make sure that Outlook is running at the same time, and that you have the same permissions in Outlook as you do in Student Manager. For more on that, ask your technician for the documentation on using Outlook.

One advantage that you gain with Outlook is that a copy of the email is saved in your Sent folder, which means that you can easily resend the email when needed.

Enjoy the Outlook option for emailing!  

Contributed by Matthew Olson
Change in Membership Behavior
We are sorry to do this, but there is a slight change going forward with Memberships. We hope to do this as seamless and painless as possible.

The main change is in the Membership Code on the course. We've changed it to being solely the Catalog code. It has always been both the Membership Code and the Catalog Code on Membership Courses, but now it is just the Catalog Code. As a result of this change the Membership Code is now assigned in the Fees for the course. Each Fee will need a code (they can all be the same). Also, when you run .083 for the first time, it will automatically set any Fee that doesn't have a Membership Code filled in (like I said, we're trying to make this painless for you).

The reason for the change was that people were getting confused because we had the Membership Code in two places. The Fee always overrode the one in the Catalog field, so this change is seamless if you were already putting your code in there anyway. I even put a popup box when you save a Membership Course and there is a Fee missing the code to help you remember.

Hopefully this makes sense going forward, especially for those of you doing membership for the first time. Those of you who have used memberships forever will have to remember to set this, but it will become old hat quickly enough.
 
Contributed by Matthew Olson
High Expectations for ACEware 2020
Happy New Year!  ACEware has entered this new year/new decade with renewed determination to make sure you know what you have available with your software package. We want to eliminate -- well, at least decrease -- the number of times we hear, "I didn't know the software could do that!"

We  need YOU to join us in the effort. Challenge yourself and your team to take advantage of the many resources and learning opportunities we make available. Share what you know and what you learn with your team of ACEware users in your unit.

Here's what you can expect from us in 2020 in support of this effort:

Expect an email from ACEware to the ace-listserve the first week of each month. This email, sent now from Constant Contact, will share the learning opportunities for the month. (Action for you:  Open this email, scan through it, complete the recommended action items immediately!)
Not getting these emails? Contact me and we'll get that resolved!

Expect monthly user webinars providing information about Student Manager and ACEweb. Many times, the webinars will provide training on a very specific element or a tool within your software. (Action for you: Set aside time to attend them! Can't attend? We'll get you the recording to watch.)

Expect a monthly e-newsletter (around the 15th) with user tips and tricks, a report of the month, and information about other training opportunities available. (Action for you:  Open it, give it a quick read, share with others!)

Expect quarterly webinars that demonstrate new features and enhancements added to Student Manager and ACEweb. (Action for you: Attend the webinar or view the recording that is available - know what's new!)

New ! Expect webinars in partnership with NCCET and ACEware customers about Continuing Education issues.  (Action for you:  Watch for the announcements soon!) 

Expect ACEware to be there for you. We listen to your concerns, requests, and ideas. (Your action:  Contact your technician when you have a concern or even a question!)

Expect us to contact you if we haven't heard from you in awhile! We really want to know how things are going.

Expect a great conference in June! This is the best place for learning about your software. You'll hear from ACEware AND other users. You'll leave saying "I learned so much about the many things I can do with Student Manager and ACEware!"  (Action for you:  Get registered, use your scholarship funds, join us for big learning and networking opportunities!)

Let's set and meet some high expectations together!  End 2020 with a clearer vision of your software capabilities!

Contributed by Sharon Brookshire
Concierge Support Services from ACEware
Are you ready for the next level of service from ACEware? In June, we announced our Supplemental Support Package, which is generating some excitement from you who need someone who can serve as the Keeper of the Flame for your ACEware software.

A more appropriate name for this service might be Concierge Services! The Merriam-Webster definitions of concierge include:

1:  a person in an apartment building especially in France who takes care of the building and checks the people who enter and leave

2: chiefly US :  an employee at a hotel whose job is to provide help and information to the people staying at the hotel

Our ACEware definition could be: 
3: uniquely ACEware:  a user support specialist from the ACEware Systems corporation who provides database clean-up and support above and beyond the existing services available in the primary support and maintenance agreement.

Additional services include semi-annual data clean-up, report writing, ACEweb review, software training, quarterly software updates, second scholarship to our users' conference, and an express registration or data capture page development. See the details here and contact me when you're ready to update to concierge support!

Contributed by Sharon Brookshire
Schedule Reminders
There are a couple dates to remember in January that  you should be aware of.

Thursday and Friday, the 16th and 17th, we will have the staff retreat.  This slows down our response time to respond to phone calls and emails. We will be checking emails on breaks throughout the retreat.   If you have an emergency (system is sown)  call our 800 number and press 0. 

Stein and Lindsay will be on the road today, the 15th, but the rest of us will lend you a hand! 

Monday is a federal holiday and ACEware is closed; most of you are closed too. The emergency cell phone will be activated. Call in and press 4 to reach someone if needed.

Thank you for your understanding while we make plans for 2020! 

Contributed by Matthew Olson
Tip of the Month:  Customizing Your Confirmation Emails
Did you know ACEweb has many ways to customize the email confirmation received when a student registers for a course (and the notification you get when they do)?

ACEweb uses the text file: "regconfirm.txt" located in your templates folder as the default confirmation template, so keep in mind that making any changes to it will change all confirmations going out. If you want to have a custom confirmation for just a particular course, check out our help guide on " custom registration confirmation."

You can easily change the default subject line in your email confirmation by editing out the Xs in the following section at the bottom of your template, and then making your change:

Did you know that ACEweb can also add a calendar attachment to the confirmation email so that users can add the date of the course or event to their calendar*? Simply take out the Xs in the VCAL section:
(* the user must have a calendar that supports the use of .ics calendar files to use this feature)

Want to spice up the look and feel of the confirmation email? We fully support the use of HTML in the template, so you can add your institution logo, links, etc!
 
Detailed information on customizing this template, and many more can be found in our online help guide.
 
If you have a question about if something can be added or changed to your email templates and you can't find it in the help guide, don't hesitate to contact your tech!

Contributed by Jason Allen
Report of the Month: 1 Line A/R Aging Summary
When creating an invoice in Student Manager, you are creating a specific type of payment record. Once that invoice number has been assigned, in order to correctly pay it, you must "Apply Payment (to invoice)". If you just create a new payment, the invoice will not be cleared. This can result in a paid registration showing up as having money owed since the invoice is still outstanding. And we have a report to help you detect that.

You can use the Aging Report to check invoices, which allows you to scope the report by dates, courses, and payer. Additionally, you can filter the report to show only outstanding, overpaid, non-zero balances, or all invoices.

From Reports - Invoices - Run Aging Report


By default the first date is 30 days prior to the current date. You can change this if you want to check invoices more than 30 days out.

The default report will give you an individual invoice for each registrant. Using the 1 Line A/R Aging Summary report from additional reports will give you a list of all invoices that match the criteria.

With no scoping you get this:

However, if specifying the Firm


You get this:


Using the Aging report gives you an easy way to keep up on invoices and not allowing them to go unpaid.

Contributed by AJ Giliberto

To your continued success in the new decade!

- Chuck, Sharon, AJ, Jason, Joe, Lindsey, Matthew, Mike, Stein, and Susan

 ACEware Systems
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Fax: 785.537.6811

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7480 Dyer Road
Manhattan, KS 66502

 

We appreciate hearing from you! If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about this newsletter, please contact sharon@aceware.com

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Aceware Systems
800-925-2493 | matthew@aceware.com | http://www.aceware.com
 


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