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Table
of Contents
(click on any
article title to move directly to that article)
The Podium--A
Quick Overview of this issue
Tech Flash
– TRAC$: Getting the Most
from Your Receivables
Feature Spotlight - Cremation
Services
Spring 2003 Calendar of Events - Where will MBS be this
Quarter?
Did you
know? - MBS has been working on their on-line FAQs
Hints
and Tips - Helpful Suggestions and other items of interest
TechFAQs –
Creating a list of available spaces in IMAP
Sites
Unseen – Interesting Web Sites
Some thoughts from the CEO - Upfront Cash for
your AR by Fred Miller
Special Feature:
Utilizing Unapplied Cash |
The PodiumHappy Spring! We at MBS hope all of you are
having a productive 2003 and that the season is beginning to show its beauty around you.
At MBS it has already been a
busy year filled with the anticipated release of Nexus XP v. 3.2, as well as the
excitement of meeting with so many old and new friends at the March 2003 ICFA convention
in Las Vegas.
To help your year be as
productive and positive as possible, we are utilizing the opportunity of our newsletter to
communicate great ideas for using our software and your own PC.
Starting right off on page
two, techFLASH will discuss how to use your MBS system to get the most out of your
receivables through TRAC$. If you have a crematory of any size, don’t miss the
Feature Spotlight, which is also on page two. This article focuses closely on the enhanced
Cremation Services feature of Nexus XP in version 3.2 and includes details on using this
element of your updated system. Learn even more by reading our Definition of Terms with
two Nexus XP concepts—PINs and Unapplied Cash— and also learn how to get more
from your system by visiting our online FAQs in the Support Subscriber section of our MBS
web site.
Once you are ready to move on
for more education, make the most of your computer with our Hints and Tips section. Our
TechFAQs focuses on IMAP with details on how to get a complete list of your available
space inventory from your cemetery maps. Just for fun, our Sites Unseen focuses on
gardening and home improvement web sites to help you—and us—get more enjoyment
and productivity out of our homes and gardens. We also encourage you to visit many of the
industry events suggested on our Events calendar on page three. Who among us wouldn’t
want to go to the convention in Hawaii!?
Stop on page four for
information on getting cash up front for your Accounts Receivables and a special Nexus XP
feature on utilizing unapplied cash in your organization and software system.
Again, Happy Spring! Enjoy!
Return to Table of Contents |
| ©Copyright
MBS, Inc. January 2002 For
Article Suggestions, Copies or Requests, please email Tom Balducci at tbalducci@mbs-intl.com.
For Site Corrections or Suggestions,
please email jmcquiston@mbs-intl.com.
Thank you. |
| techFLASH
TRAC$: Getting the Most from Your
Receivables
Who doesn’t have a problem with
delinquencies? Keeping up with accounts receivable sometimes is quite the battle, but
imagine if you could prevent the delinquencies you are faced with every month before they
occur.
Many of our software clients are aware of our
TRAC$ system for accounts receivable tracking, but don’t realize it was created as a
system to prevent delinquencies. Many also don’t know that the TRAC$ add-on is tied
directly into Nexus XP, which means that the necessary information for TRAC$ to run
properly is already in your Nexus XP system. Once the add-on program is loaded, TRAC$ can
even be accessed from the Nexus XP menu.
Working hand in hand with Nexus XP, TRAC$
reads information stored in Nexus XP’s data files to obtain ownership information,
calculate delinquency amounts and determine due dates. After accessing this data, TRAC$
can automatically combine it with letter templates created uniquely by each company to
create mail merge documents and labels. This information can also be displayed for further
scheduling based on triggers and dates determined by the customer, as well as utilized for
active collections calling. Payment and contact information are then stored in the system
and can be used in future contacts with the organization’s customers.
Prevention is handled by TRAC$ allowing and
scheduling customer contact prior to payment due dates. Through this you can use TRAC$ to
schedule reminder letters before the due date occurs, which in turn helps your clients
avoid late fees and you avoid the expense of collections.
The flash is that this is all available
today. TRAC$ is currently loaded as a link from Nexus XP so that it can be added on at any
time and run directly with information already in Nexus XP to prevent the delinquencies
many organizations are faced with each day.
Return to Table of Contents |
| Feature
Spotlight: Cremation ServicesThis issue’s feature spotlight shines on
the management of Cremation Services, which while having always existed in Nexus XP,
received a boost in version 3.2.
Utilizing this feature in
Nexus XP allows you to record critical and often required information related to each
cremation service as it happens.
Proper authorization is
ensured by recording the person who authorized the cremation and a set of check boxes
indicating the presence of a signed death certificate and a Justice of the Peace or
Medical Examiner release. Additional detail captured includes whether the deceased is
embalmed, their gross weight and height , who is presenting the body, and the entry
container. A Cremation Card can be printed for to accompany the remains once these fields
are completed.
Operationally, the system
retains the starting and ending date and time of the cremation and calculates elapsed
time. You can identify the retort used, the retort operator, processor and cleaner and
define the exit container used for the cremains. We can also identify any associated
Contracts for financial details and associated Services for references to burials,
entombments or inurnments. A medallion or tag number can be associated with the cremains
and comments can be entered to provide as much additional note taking as desired.
Multiple Dispositions can be
entered allowing for a complete record of the movement of the cremains until final
disposition.
Access and enter information
by selecting Cremations from the Transactions menu bar in Nexus XP. After
selecting this menu option, operators are allowed to either select and edit an existing
cremation by selecting the desired service and clicking <Edit> or to add a
completely new service by clicking the <Add> button.
Should your facility operate
a crematory of any size, be sure to investigate the enhanced cremation service features of
Nexus XP and learn how it can serve you.
Return to Table of Contents |
| Calendar of EventsApril
April 27-30 Western
Cemetery Alliance Annual Conference—Kohala Coast, HI
April 30-May 3 Catholic
Cemeteries of the West Annual Convention—San Francisco, CA
May
May 4-6 New York State
Association of Cemeteries—Albany, NY
June
June 8-10 North and South
Carolina Cemetery Associations 8th Annual Joint Convention—Myrtle Beach, SC
June 12-13 Kentucky
and Indiana Cemetery Associations First Joint Convention and Trade Show—Louisville,
KY
Visit our complete events
calendar at http://www.mbs-intl.com/Events.htm
Return to Table of Contents |
...MBS has been
adding new FAQs to their web site?
Over the past several months MBS has been updating their Nexus XP and IMAP FAQ
lists for their support subscribers web pages. Be sure to check these out for new ideas
and quick answers to your most common questions.
Return to Table of Contents |
Control the CD Eject
Function and More from Your Taskbar (Win 2000)
If you have a computer tower
case that rests on the floor, it may be bothersome to reach down and push the Eject button
on your CD-ROM drive. Windows 2000 Professional allows you to play, pause, stop, and eject
CDs from the taskbar. By right clicking the CD Player icon, you can also select any track,
jump to the previous or next track, and create and edit play lists. To add this capability
to your taskbar:
1. On the Start menu,
point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and
then click CD Player.
2. On the Options menu
in CD Player, click Preferences.
3. In the Preferences
dialog box, on the Player Options tab, click the Show Control on task bar
check box.
4. Click OK.
Aren’t you dashing?
(Microsoft Word)
What separates the word
processor from a typewriter? Typographical experts (also known as "font nerds")
insist that it's the word processor's ability to use typographically correct dashes
instead of minus signs—specifically, an em dash instead of two minus signs and an en
dash instead of one minus sign. So, how can I insert these characters into my
documents?" Easily, as follows:
1. To type an em dash, press
Ctrl + Alt + the minus sign on the number keypad.
2. To type an en dash, press
Ctrl + the minus sign on the number keypad.
Of course, continue to use
the minus sign to indicate subtraction, if the need ever arises.
Make like a banana and
split (MS Excel)
Sometimes, being able to look
at two or more areas of your worksheet at the same time is really helpful--like when
you're creating a formula in row 200 that refers to cells in rows 3 and 5. No problem. You
can split your Excel 97 or higher window to view two or more parts of the same document at
the same time. Here's how:
1. Click on the split bar
(the tiny box on top of the vertical scroll bar or at the right of the horizontal scroll
bar) or choose Window>Split
2. When the double-arrow
pointer appears, drag the split bar to the desired position.
3. Use the scroll bars to
display the appropriate worksheet areas in each window.
When you're finished,
double-click on the split bar(s) to remove it (them).
Date a Cell (MS Excel)
To insert today's date into a
cell, click on the cell and then simultaneously press CTRL + ; (The control and semicolon
keys).
Change the Default Number
of Sheets (MS Excel)
To change the default number
of sheets that appear in a new Excel workbook, go to Tools>Options and pick the General
tab. Change the Sheets in New Workbook number.
Spread Out! (MS Excel)
If you've got a workbook with
lots of tabs, you may not have enough room to display them all. But you can display as
many as possible by adjusting the tab split box:
1. Point to the tab split box
(the tiny box to the left of the horizontal scroll bar, just left of the left arrow).
2. When the double-arrow
pointer appears, drag the box to the right to shrink the scroll bar and make more room for
tabs.
Return to Table of Contents |
TechFAQs
Q: I have IMAP and I’d like a list of all of the
available spaces in the cemetery. How do I do that?
A: Open any of your MapViews. Click Query>SQL
Select on the top menu bar to open the SQL Select window. In the SQL Select window,
place your cursor in the from Tables box and use the tables drop down box to
select the name of your space layer. Then place your cursor in the where Condition box,
and use the columns drop down box to select the C01_Prop_Status column. Next
type ="A" after the column name. When the where Condition box
reads: C01_Prop_Status = "A", click <OK>. You will be shown a
browser window with all available spaces in it, and the total number of available spaces
shown in the bottom left corner of the IMAP window.
Return to Table of Contents |
Sites Unseen
This
issue’s focus is on those summer favorites: Gardening and Home Improvement. Check out
these pages for great tips and information!
www.hgtv.com
Home and
Garden TV
www.bhg.com
Better Homes
and Gardens
www.thisoldhouse.com
This Old House
http://www.garden.org
The National
Gardening
Association
Sites Unseen
is a list of interesting, informative and helpful Web sites we thought might be useful to
you. If your cemetery or cemetery-related business has a Web site, e-mail the
address to us at tbalducci@mbs-intl.com. |
| Upfront Cash for your AR by Fred MillerAt one time or another most of us have
applied for a business loan from a financial institution. They may have decided that your
business was a good risk and offered to lend you money based on your accounts receivables.
To make it a go, you sell your receivables to the bank or other institution. The problem
has always remained that banks have not understood our industry.
These institutions then decide which of your
customers’ contracts are credit worthy and which are not. For approved contracts, the
bank may discount your principal up to 20% or more and keep all of the interest to
boot. Finally, if any of these contracts cancels, guess who is responsible? Oh, well, life
never was meant to be fair.
Or was it?
MBS has partnered with Sterling Financial
Services to provide a better way for qualified cemeterians and funeral directors.
Look at the advantages:
You make the credit decision about your
customers.
You collect all of the Principal
and Interest.
Your current receivables are eligible for the
program.
Your customer stays your customer.
You get immediate funds availability; full
contract advance within 48 hours.
You receive the full value of your accounts;
no discounting
You are free from much billing and
bookkeeping; Sterling does it.
You have online access to customer account
details.
And more, for MBS clients the payment
records are automatically downloaded to Nexus XP, and the funds are allocated just as
your staff had collected the money and made the entries. Trust and commission accounting
is just like always, because the recording of payments in Nexus XP is unchanged. The
difference is that you get the preneed contract money up front and your staff does less
work.
To take part in this marvelous opportunity,
you fill out qualification papers, which are approved by Sterling and a Line of Credit is
established. You borrow against the LOC to the extent that you choose and transfer
receivables to Sterling to cover the amount. Sterling then collects the money directly
from the client and credits your account with the entire amount of the payment. Based on
your credit rating, you pay an affordable monthly interest fee on the outstanding advance.
There are no hidden fees.
Now there is an inviting way to fund a
building or just help out your cash flow. You don’t have to be an MBS customer, but I
can’t think of a better reason to become one and to pay for your MBS software. Just
call MBS for more information and to get started on the paper work. Everything is very
confidential.
Return to Table of Contents |
| Special Feature: Utilizing Unapplied CashIn our last issue’s Feature Spotlight we
discussed Inactive Contracts. This concept also briefly directed attention on the related
and very important topic of Unapplied Cash Accounts (UAC), which are used frequently with
Inactive Contracts. To round out this discussion, below we’ll focus exclusively on
UAC’s and their application within Nexus XP.
UAC’s were developed in
Nexus XP v.3.2 to allow customers to put money into their own private account with a
cemetery or funeral home for later use. For example, if a company were to develop an
inactive contract with a customer, but still require some details before finalizing the
contract, the organization would be able to accept a payment and place it in the
customer’s own UAC without a contract number. This money could then be applied
directly to the contract when it was finalized at a later date. The money could
alternatively be held in the client’s account for any unforeseen service charges,
which might be applied at a later time.
When unapplied cash is first
deposited, no revenue or sale is counted, but cash is instead deposited into a unique UAC
for each customer. This money will then show on the receipts reports as a cash deposit.
Future deposits from the same individual can also be placed into the same account with the
same effect. For the time that money remains in a UAC, it is not applied to a particular
sales program or department as it is not associated with a contract or related elements.
Later, when the money is
required for a contract or service, it can be withdrawn from the cash account and applied
to the new contract as a downpayment or applied as payment for services. At that time the
money is rerouted into all appropriate funds and accounts.
When a contract is finalized
or services performed, you can access the customers UAC to shift the money from unapplied
cash to the source of the downpayment.
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