Table of Contents

(click on any article title to move directly to that article)

The Podium--A Quick Overview of this issue

Tech Flash – – A Quick Peek at New Tools in Nexus XP 3.1.07

Feature Spotlight -- Transaction Codes

Fall 2002 Calendar of Events -- Where to find MBS this Quarter (Plus our Fall/Winter 2002 Holiday Business Schedule)

Did you know? -- Nexus XP is on version 3.1.07? Uprade today!

Definition of Terms -- Common Terms used in MBS Software

Hints and Tips - Helpful Suggestions and other items of interest

TechFAQs – Reverting Data and Maps in IMAP

Sites Unseen – Interesting Web Sites

Some thoughts from the CEO - We Paid the Price, You Reap the Rewards--by Fred Miller

Welcome to the Fall issue of the MBS Quarterly! As we approach this year’s end and our nation‘s time of thanks, we look fondly back at an excellent year at MBS, rich in the advancement of our software and an increase in the number of our software users. For these wonderful advancements, MBS is quite thankful to you our clients for your support of our company and also to our staff for their dedication to you and to our software. Without this combination, we would not be where we are today.

To help you to continue to make better use of our systems, our newsletter is loaded with new articles. Beginning on page two is an outline of some of the new features we recommend you utilize in Nexus XP. While you are on page two, look at our new feature spotlight which focuses on the applicability and use of one of the newest features in Nexus XP. This issue’s spotlight shines on Transaction Codes. We’ve also added a definition of terms article, which will examine new terms used in our software each quarter. Lastly on this page learn which is the current version of Nexus XP and how to upgrade today.

Moving on to page three learn where and when to reach us via our fall event schedule and our holiday business schedule. We also have our usual TechFAQ with a focus on reverting map and data changes in IMAP. Our hints and tips article offers a plethora of ideas on better computer usage. Just for fun, Sites Unseen has a winter wonderland theme including weather, skiing and cold/flu links.

Lastly, on page four we turn to you for suggestions on what you would like to see in our software and product line. While you are there, check out Fred’s editorial on benefiting from our recent software work with Nexus XP.

So, as you plan your winter and holiday season, stop for a moment to learn more about your MBS software systems and get new ideas for the better use of your current Windows systems.

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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.

Nexus XP 3.1.07 Features

Looking for a quick flash of the new feature list for the latest Nexus XP Version 3.1.07? Here it is, pure and simple:

• Changes to Personal Information: Business Name Support, "Do Not Contact" Management and Additional Demographic Data
• Changes to Contracts: "Do Not Contact" (at the Contract Level), Ability to Suppress Statements, Added Billing Types (Coupon, Bank Draft, Statement, etc.), added Security Type and Amount, Added Ability to edit (substitute) Item Codes for existing sales items, Added Document Control Usage
• Changes to Counselors: Added Employee Information, Added Document Control Assignment, License Type
• Added Transaction Codes and Usage in Contract Entry and Payment Entry (See our Feature Spotlight to the right of this article)
• Option to Print a Cash Receipt (upon payment entry)
• Label Printing and Mail Merge respect "Do Not Contact" settings
• Various Reports Print Transaction Codes and Receipt Numbers
• Statements respect "Suppress Statement" Setting
• Variable Percentage of Revenue can be designated as deferred
• An additional set of accounts at the sales category can be defined for posting the movement of deferred revenue to current revenue
• The Property Screen is automatically activated for Burial Services
• A new Trust Method (Deferred Full) has been added
• You are now allowed to use the same Service Reference number for multiple services
• You can override the Bonus Level a Sales Counselor has attained
• Ability to Download the Latest Updates to Nexus XP Directly through the Admin Menu in Nexus XP

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Each quarter MBS will shine our Feature Spotlight on a new product feature. This spotlight will outline the new element, its primary application and the basic steps in using it. This month’s feature focuses on Nexus XP’s new Transaction Code specification.

To use Transaction Codes, select Maintenance>Linkage to GL>Transaction Codes from the Main Menu. In the resulting window you’ll be able to create unique transaction codes, descriptions, GL account numbers, transaction types and default billing types. Then they can be applied to the various transactions as each payment is entered.

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October Events

Look for MBS at this Event!

Mid-Atlantic States Cemetery and Funeral Conference (PA, NJ, MD, DE, VA) October 16-18, 2002 Atlantic City, NJ

November

Thanksgiving Holiday—MBS Offices Closed—November 28-29, 2002

December

Christmas Holiday—MBS Offices Closed — December 24-25, 2002

January

New Years Day—MBS Offices Closed—January 1, 2003

Visit our complete events calendar at http://www.mbs-intl.com/Events.htm

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Did

If you are a current Nexus XP customer on our maintenance and support plan and are not on version 3.1.07, be sure to talk to us at 800-844-4447 about getting your free upgrade.

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Conveyance Date: Once property is paid in full, businesses often issue a document (i.e. a Deed, or Warranty Conveyance) granting the right to use the property. The date this document is issued is the Conveyance Date.

Hotlinks: Found in both Nexus XP and IMAP, hotlinks are used to link these programs to items such as images, documents, web sites and contracts. Any file that your computer opens normally can be hotlinked.

Look for more definitions in coming issues and your software user guides.

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Hints & Tips

Hint (Win 9.X, XP)

Rearrange the programs on your Start menu. If you use some programs more often than others, why not rearrange them so that they're easy to get to on your Start menu?

1. Go to the Start menu and select Programs.

2. To move a program to a new position, simply drag the icon to its new location.

Tip (Win 9.X, XP)

Is the right side of each page truncated when you print Web pages? How can you correct this? Start with your Internet browser. Select File>Page Setup, and make sure that the left and right margins are set to an appropriate size (0.5 inches on both sides should work). Next, Select File>Print and check for scaling, zoom, or other settings that may alter the size of the printed image. Finally, check your printer’s settings to make certain that they are set for the size of the paper in the paper tray. Following these steps should do the trick.

Hint (Win XP)

Windows XP is configured out of the box to routinely scan for and download updates to Windows XP automatically. While convenient for those with very fast Internet connections, and for people who forget to check for updates, it can be a nuisance if you are still using 56k or, even worse 33k modem connections. To control or disable automatic updating, open the System icon in Control Panel (or right-click My Computer and select Properties), and choose the Automatic Updating tab. To check for updates manually, open Internet Explorer and select Windows Update from the Tools menu.

Tip (Word 9.X, XP)

When working on a large document, you may need to be able to view two parts of it simultaneously. For example, you need to refer to a paragraph on page 2 to help you with what you're typing on page 10. Why not split the screen? The split screen allows you to view the document in two separate windows at the same time. To split the screen, select Window>Split. Your pointer will become a horizontal line. Position this line where you want your document to split and click once. Your single window divides into two windows at this point, each with its own scroll bar. You can now scroll back on the top window to view the earlier portion of the document while viewing your latest edits in the bottom window. To remove the split, simply choose Window> Remove Split.

Just a heads up for all of our Windows 95 users. We are starting to see an end to support for Windows 95 throughout the software industry. If you haven’t upgraded your operating system yet, it might be a good time to start planning a transition to a more current system.

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TechFAQs 

A: Yes. Select File > Revert Table from the top menu bar. IMAP will ask if you’d like to discard the changes to your table. Click the <Discard> button and IMAP will remove any changes you have made since your last save or when you opened the file (which ever is more recent). This is also very useful if you are creating test case scenarios with new spaces or lots and want to revert to the originals after the tests.

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Sites Unseen

In honor of a new winter weather season…

The Center for Disease Control’s Flu in the United States Page

The weather channel for the latest winter weather updates

Sites Unseen is a list of interesting, informative and helpful sites we thought might be useful to you. MBS does not vouch for the quality or consistency of these sites.

As a part of MBS’s ongoing work to better meet the needs of our clients, we encourage you to let us know what you think about our software and to let us know what you would like to see added to that software.

While we can’t promise that each suggestion will make it into a future upgrade to the system, we can promise that each suggestion will be seen by our development department and will be considered for inclusion. If the suggested idea is technologically feasible and can benefit the industry, you can bet that you’ll find it or a version of it in upcoming editions of our software.

Thanks in advance from the crew at MBS!

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The MBS Research and Development team has spent six years in an all-out push to keep the cemetery industry at the forefront of the latest technological advancements, i.e., the Y2K changeover, the DOS-to-Windows progression, Microsoft’s FoxPro platform upgrades and the ever evolving hardware that is faster and more stable with the power to process gargantuan data loads.

For a more complete list of many of the new features in Nexus XP, be sure to check out our TechFLASH on page 3.

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