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It's Music To Our Ears -- MBS's customers are singing our praises

Tech Flash – Automatically dock toolbars in IMAP.

Feature Spotlight - National Catholic Cemetery Conference

TechFAQs - Learn how to change the first payment due date after a contract has been saved.

Sites Unseen - Interesting Web Sites

20th Anniversary - It's MBS' 20th Anniversary

Now Is the Time - To Move Up To Nexus XP/IMAP

Some thoughts from the CEO - Has your data been taken hostage?

… because they’re playing our song, “Zip-puh-de-do-da.” They’re all singing it. Our clients - Independents, Profits, Not-For- Profits, Religious, Municipal, combos, single and multi-location, large and small all singing the praises of MBS’s NEXUS XP. The team at MBS suspected that NEXUS XP was taking performance to new levels of stability and efficiency, but it wasn’t until our clients chatted with us at the conventions this Spring and Summer that we had it confirmed.

It occurred to me that we should run an ad in our trade magazines that shared the genuine praises MBS was receiving for Nexus XP. I didn’t want to be charged with misquotes or exaggeration so picked up the phone and said, “I want to run an ad that features comments that our clients have about MBS – our programs, our support, our company…whatever you want to say.”

The responses I got back ranged from the straightforward to the witty, but they were all highly complimentary.

“The data conversion and transition were smooth,

Nexus XP works and the service is just great.”

That was from Rich Peterson with the Archdiocese of Seattle.

How ‘bout this assessment from Glen Porter at Highland Memorial Park in Milwaukee,

“World Class Product, World Class Support ”.

I love just superlatives.

Here are some super definitive phrases most of which didn’t make the ad: “Month end closings have never been easier.”: “I like Nexus XP’s flexibility…”;

“Versatile Commission module… absolutely love (it).”; “I look forward to the many enhancements each year.”; “The instant downloading of upgrades keep us current with the latest improvements.”; “With Nexus XP, training our personnel is a snap.”; “I just love Nexus XP, it is so much easier…and faster”.

Clients had good things to say about virtually every facet of the Nexus XP program-the commissions, trusting capability, delinquency handling, period close, auditing, and reporting capability.

But it is our support team that thoroughly “WOWs” our clients. Every response included good things about our support. Read on…

“I can trust a timely response from the friendly support staff.”
Kathy Philpot, Archdiocese of Louisville.

We at MBS loved this comment.

“The support is outstanding – you get to talk tocommon sense people, not geeks.” from Ann Kilzer at Curlew Hills, Palm Harbor, FL.

This observation from Rick McGlaughlin at Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh,

“Terrific Support – I don’t care how you describe terrific. This is it – Period”.

Rick added a couple more --

“The Task Center is really cool, man.”
And, “Online upgrades are so easy; your Doberman can do it”

To our thoughtful contributors, we sincerely thank you. Feel free to pat yourself on the back for selecting MBS as your software provider. For the rest of you…forgive us for this unabashed bragging; we could not help ourselves.

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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.

MBS President Fred Miller attended the National Catholic Cemetery Conference in Palm Springs, CA in September. As usual, the NCCC staff put on a quality conference with plenty of opportunity to chat with old friends, make new ones, and even conduct business. We even found time for some great pictures.

	Rick Touchette with the Archdiocese of Albany has been an MBS software user since 1990 when he was still at the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. This makes Rick and Albany, with their multi-location, multi-user system, one of our longest term users. They have mapping, too.
	Rich Peterson with the Archdiocese of Seattle openly testifies that he and his competent staff are believers in MBS, their software and support. Rich’s cemeteries rate with the best because of his leadership and the rapport that he has with his staff and the enthusiasm that he shares with them.
	Deacon Terry Mulcare, CCCE, is another long-time friend. From his days in Galveston-Houston to his relatively new home at the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Terry has been a welcome visitor to the MBS booth. Terry and staff are currently upgrading to the latest version of Nexus XP and adding TRAC$ to their solution suite from MBS. TRAC$ is MBS’s powerful delinquency prevention and control program.
	Chuck Freebold from Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery in the Diocese of Palm Beach stopped by to chat with Fred’s wife’s favorite guy. A relatively new client, Our Lady Queen of Peace started with Nexus XP and has already added mapping. Congratulations to Chuck and his staff.
	Father Jim Fritzen and his staff at the Archdiocese of Syracuse are in the process of making the change to MBS after a lengthy and careful study of what was best for them. We are proud that their efficient and highly professional staff selected MBS, and we look forward to their start up.
	The next to sign up with MBS is expected to be The next to sign up with MBS is expected to be Rick Davis and Fresno Catholic Cemeteries. Rick’s plan is to get started on Nexus XP and add mapping as soon as possible. Rick is relatively new to the industry, but he brings knowledge, dynamicism and a fresh perspective into the industry and Fresno Catholic Cemeteries. Rick’s plan is to get started on Nexus XP and add mapping as soon as possible. Rick is relatively new to the industry, but he brings knowledge, dynamicism and a fresh perspective into the industry
	Another Diocese that MBS hopes will join the MBS team is the Diocese of Albany headed by Monsignor Baver. How pleasant it was to learn how knowledgeable the Monsignor was about how cemetery management software is supposed to work. Fred will be visiting with Msgr. Baver and his staff in November.
	Tom Alter with the Diocese of Fort Wayne has been a Friend of Fred since before the O.J. Simpson Bronco ride through Los Angeles. We watched it together in Indiana while working together on a Strategic Plan for the Indiana Cemetery Association, which, by the way, is still in play. We are still waiting for Tom to get on board MBS’s train. As with so many others, MBS will be there when needed.

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TechFAQs

Sites Unseen

Time to Seek Out Savings

Sites Unseen focuses on Comparison Shopping Sites just in time for the Holiday Season. In one month more that 21 million shoppers visited these sites.

www. BizRate shopping

Wide variety of products rated, p riced at several different retailers.

www.Overstock.com

Variety of products offered at exceptional prices.

www.NexTag.com

Comparison-shopping search engine. Find the best prices on millions of products sold by online stores, small businesses, and individuals.

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.

20 Years!

Now is the Time

Now is the Time to Move Up to Nexus XP/IMAP

Jobs Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003

A company must usually depreciate newly purchased equipment over a period of 3-5 years. Under this new act certain property, including computers and software, is eligible to be expensed in the year of purchase rather than being depreciated. For this year the expensing election increases to $100,000 with a cap of $400,000 for equipment put into use after May 5, 2003. Even if your accountant says that your purchase doesn’t qualify a bonus depreciation break was also passed that allows for 50% depreciation on software vs the standard 30%. This year’s tax act is a sweet deal for companies wanting new equipment and software . Check this out with your CPA.

The Hostage Takers: Data For Ransom by Fred Miller

Every cemeterian knows that their company data belongs to them…legally. But once that data is digitized for use in software, it is transformed into a unique format that only the software provider reads and comprehends.

This reality opens the door for vendors to hold your data hostage when you elect to change software providers. Should you have to pay a ransom, sometimes exorbitant, to get the data dictionary for your data to make it readily usable by the new provider? Is their goal to keep you locked in as a client by making it too expensive to leave a frustrating situation?

Our observation is that this deplorable data-for-ransom scenario is becoming more common. This trend is destructive to the industry. The best way to shut it down is to bring it to light and arm cemeterians with the knowledge of how the process of changing software is supposed to work.

Most clients that MBS picks up these days are cemeteries that are already automated, but for one reason or another have decided to change to MBS. Rarely, and I do mean rarely, an MBS client will decide to change vendors.

Regardless of the reason that a client wants to change, it is our position that the transfer should be made as easy as possible for the cemetery to accomplish. The key to success is the data conversion.

Data coming from one system is basically in the form of a set of tables….rows and columns of numbers and words, each of which represents a piece of information that must be put into the receiving system. Knowledge of what each set of numbers or words represents is the most important factor in providing a timely and accurate conversion.

The descriptions used to define the various columns of numbers coming out of one system are called the data dictionary. With the data dictionary, a programmer has the knowledge of where this column of data from the old system goes into his. There are, of course, other complications that can be difficult to overcome, but without the data dictionary, the process is reduced to finding a needle in a haystack.

To accommodate change, MBS includes our data dictionary as a menu item easily obtainable by the new vendor. This process minimizes operational disruption and the cost to the cemetery of making the conversion.

None of our competitors provide their data dictionary in this fashion. Why not?

There is no justifiable reason not to provide whatever is needed to facilitate change. No one should want to retain a dissatisfied customer who wants to make a change. Our industry is one of the last to adhere to high standards of cooperative and ethical conduct between clients and providers. Let’s not let that change

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