Minutesmatter & Minutesmatter
Solutions,
Inc.
February 2004 - Vol. 2 No. 2
Fires, Put Them Out Forever!
Ever made a mistake? All of us have. It is not bad to make a mistake once, but twice, there is really no excuse for that. There's always a solution. After a mistake has been made, decide how you can ensure that it never happens again. Put a system in place either on paper or in your head, make it your philosophy to always do the same thing the same way. I know I have said that before; I guarantee making that your philosophy will change your business. Doing the same thing the same way every time is my philosophy, however, just let your guard down and see what happens.
Let me share something that happened in my business several weeks ago. A commercial client called and asked us to duplicate a treatment that we did a year and half ago. It is a corner office of the president of the company. Who would think that he would move to another office in that building? We had made pleated draperies in a texture weave fabric and added a simple wood cornice to conceal the traverse rod. Seems simple enough to duplicate right? Well, yes for the draperies, fabric and fullness that is a snap. As most all of you know, we use Minutes Matter Work Orders to write up all of our work orders to ensure consistency. So, all the details for the draperies are easy to duplicate. Now, that simple wood cornice is not going to be a snap to duplicate; since I had not created a work order! I finally recalled that we had purchased the molding from Lowe's. Since the cornices were 12' & 14' long, we were concerned about getting them up to the 4th floor so the cornices had to be cut into two sections. I was also trying to remember how we made some kind of tongue and groove joint to join the long cornices and why.
Here is my solution to ensure this problem never repeats itself. We will make color copies of any item we do not order from a vendor. First of all, I should have created a work order for that wood cornice. My reasoning for not doing that; it was just a simple cornice, painted to match the trim. Second, if I had made color copies of the molding pieces, I would not have had to waste a hour looking for left over pieces of that trim, which I finally did find. From this point on, we will make color copies of those special items used in a job i.e., specialty buttons, molding pieces, etc. Paint color is another thing that should be noted and placed in a clients file. Record the name of the paint manufacturer, formula and an actual sample of the paint.
Designers it would be a good idea to get copies of work orders from your workrooms. Designers should have a copy of each work order for the same reasons listed above.
Use preprinted forms for as many daily tasks as possible. Preprinted forms make doing the same task the same way every time much easier.
The moral of this story: You cannot make too many notes on your work orders.
Q
u i c k B o o k s T i p . . .
Merging
Data
Merging accounts, customers or vendors can be very valuable when you want to consolidate data in QuickBooks. Accounts, customers or vendors cannot be deleted if you have used them in a transaction. You can, of course, check the box to make them inactive, which is located in the Edit window. Sometimes it is easier to merge. For instance, you may have two accounts in your Chart of Accounts that are similar and you have used them both. Merging these two accounts can make your P&L look cleaner. Or, maybe you created two entries for the same client accidentally and used both names.
To merge an account, simply right click on the bad account, select Edit and rename it the exact same name as the good account. QuickBooks will prompt with "This name is already being used. Would you like to merge them?" See the screen shot below. If you do not see this message, you did not type the exact same name your data will not be merged. Repeat the procedure.
Merging is a quick and simple solution when there are duplicate accounts or names.
Another Note:
The Interior Design Affair hosted by Design Arts Seminars will be sponsoring a all-day seminar in Tempe, AZ on March 19, 2004. I will be conducting a three hour QuickBooks class "Taking QuickBooks To The Next Level". For more information regarding the entire day visit www.designarts.net/tempe.htm to view and print a brochure or call 1-800-264-9605. Minutes Matter Solutions, Inc. is one of the vendors helping to sponsor lunch for the attendees. We will also be demonstrating Minutes Matter Studio during the extended lunch time.
A S i t e T o
S e e .
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Stop Those Pop-Ups
Are you tired of those annoying pop-up's when you're surfing the web? Go to this website and download this free toolbar from Google with a pop-up blocker http://toolbar.google.com. This toolbar installs under your regular browser toolbar.
You can see in the screen shot below that there have been 87 blocked pop up's. In two weeks this pop-up blocker has blocked 87 pop-ups. That means I have not been interrupted nor have I had to click to close 87 pop-up messages. This toolbar has been a great time and aggravation saver for me.
6" Goblet Pleats - Studio Can Do That!
Ever wanted to illustrate the impact a 6", 8" 10" or even 12" goblet would have on your client's treatment? Now you can, with the help of Studio.
- Drag a goblet drapery panel onto your workspace from the Drapery folder.
- Drag a single goblet from the Heading, RP's, Tops, Ties folder, located in the Embellish folder.
- Place the single goblet over the top of existing goblet on return side, shrink goblet in width slightly.
- Press CTRL D (Duplicate) 4 times.
- Place the last goblet on the lead edge side.
- Draw a box around all the individual goblets to select all goblets.
- Press the Line to Top button (located on the bottom toolbar) to line up all individual goblets to top.
- Press the Space Across button (located on the bottom toolbar) to space goblets evenly.
- Press CTRL G (Group) to make goblets one object.
- Lengthen or shorten goblets to desired size.
- Use the dimension tool to check the actual size of goblets.
- Create two pages in Studio i.e., one page with 4" goblets and one page with 6" goblets.
- Illustrating these types of custom details will sell you and your ideas to your client!
