Method’s web based interface already allows you to create a QuickBooks Sales Order and have that Sales Order appear in QuickBooks real-time.  Slick, isn’t it?  What many QuickBooks users are accustomed to is the ability to convert a Sales Order into a QuickBooks Invoice.  Now you might ask yourself, “what’s the big deal?  If QuickBooks can do it, why can’t Method?”   I get this question all the time and it really comes down to one thing.  Can the QuickBooks SDK support such a feature?  Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t (more on that later).  Lucky for us, the SDK does support the ability for developers (like us) to take advantage of such a feature and we have now made this available to the Method Community. 

“Create Invoice” button on Sales Order Screen

The Sales Order screen now has a “Create Invoice” button located at the very bottom of the screen.  Converting a Sales Order to an Invoice is simple.  In Method, click Customer Center > Sales Order and follow these steps: 

1. Select an existing Sales Order from the left or create a new one.   
2. Click Create Invoice.
3. Each of the items from your Sales Order will appear.  Select the items you would like to appear on the Invoice by checking the checkbox and click Next.  The Invoice screen will appear, preloaded will all your customer information and include the items you selected.  Update the quantity you wish to charge, just like you would in QuickBooks, and click Save & New. 

That’s it!  Your Invoice has now been created and your Sales Order has been updated accordingly.  So what if you didn’t Invoice all the items or quantity on your Sales Order?  Method acts the same way as QuickBooks, so those items will still be outstanding and waiting to be invoiced.  

Now, remember earlier when I was talking about the SDK and what we can and cannot do using the SDK?  Sometimes we get asked if we can covert other types of QuickBooks transactions, such as an Estimate to an Invoice.  Unfortunately, our hands are tied.  Intuit decides which features the SDK will support and if the features are not added to the SDK, no developer will be able to take advantage of such a feature.  For features that are supported by the SDK, we do our best to leverage these features in Method for the Method Community.  

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

When entering a customer or vendor into QuickBooks, you already have the ability to add contact information for the main contact, as well as one additional alternate contact.  Is this sufficient?  What happens when you have more than one contact at that company such as the accountant, manager, VP, or sales rep?  In this day in age everyone has a cell phone, so if you’re like me, that alternate contact might already be used to store the main contact’s cell phone number.  Then what?  Thank goodness for the QuickBooks notes field!  With today’s new Method feature, you won’t need to worry about where to store these additional contacts and can do away with the QuickBooks notes workaround. 

Unlimited Contacts to QuickBooks Customers and Vendors

Method users will now benefit from the ability to add an unlimited amount of contacts for customers and vendors.  This means you can now track every point of contact for each of your customers and vendors without worrying about where to store this information.  Clicking on the “Add/Edit All Contacts...” button for a customer/vendor brings up a new contacts screen.  In this screen you can enter in contact information for each contact at the company.  Why stop there?  Because Method has built in CRM functionality, you can also enter in detailed activities for each contact, such as phone call conversations, emails, meetings and more.  So what happens if the fields we provided aren’t enough?  Come on now, this is Method we’re talking about.  Just add your additional fields to the new contacts table and drag the new fields onto the screen.   By the way, if you’re concerned about how to avoid certain contacts getting sensitive information, keep track of that with the “Opt Out” check boxes.  

If you’re wondering where these “additional contacts” live, they are stored in your Method account.  Of course the main contact and alternate contact for the customer and vendor are synced with QuickBooks in real-time.  

Two new features in one week – now that’s impressive!

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

As a sales representative, managing your sales opportunities is pretty important.  After all, an opportunity that is monitored and managed properly could potentially equal a sale.  Throughout a typical sales process, a sales representative would update the opportunity “stage” to match where the client currently sits in moving ahead with the sale, as well as how likely they will be to pull the trigger.  Now wouldn’t it be nice if all I had to worry about was updating my “stage” and not what probability percentage we were at?  This is especially a nuisance to update if I already know certain stages typically equal certain probability percentages.  Seeing as we use what we preach, we’ve added a little something to help out with this.

New feature: Automatic Probability % 

Clicking the “Stage” dropdown list for any opportunity will expose a new column indicating the default probability percentage associated with that stage.  Once a stage is selected, the probability percentage will automatically update to the default percentage.  How does this benefit you?  You don’t have to worry about entering in the percentage manually by typing it in.  Secondly, you don’t have to remember to do it!  You laugh, but it’s true.  Can you imagine setting an opportunity to “Closed Won” yet forgetting to set your percentage to 100?  That would totally throw off the very cool graphs I talked about last week in my blog post.  

Of course, you can always add your own stages and change the percentages to match your needs by clicking the details button (... – the three dots next to the dropdown list).  If you don’t like the default set by that stage, just type one in manually and override it.  

What’s even cooler is that a new plug-in we are releasing will also update the percentage using the same perference you set in Method.  Oops...more on that later.

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

When your sales team logs into Method this morning, they might notice a facelift to the Sales Center Dashboard.  “A picture is worth a thousand words” and you’ll see a few pictures, well charts to be exact, to help you know exactly how you’re doing.  We’ve added 4 new charts, each highlighting specific areas of your sales cycle and status.

Pipeline for Opportunities by stage

At a quick glance, your sales reps can now see the stage of each opportunity.

Since each new client starts off as a lead, you’ll be able to see the progression of that client in the pipeline and as the probability percentage increases, so will the potential sales dollars in your pipeline.

Conversion Rate

Shows what percentage of closed opportunities are “won” vs.” lost”.  

Leader board: Pipeline by user

Quickly view total open opportunities for your top 8 sales reps.

Pipeline for Opportunities by month

Instantly shows the estimated future values of your opportunities by month, based on the currently logged in sales rep. 

Oh and don’t worry, we haven’t taken away the activity calendar.  It’s just next to the “Charts” section tab now.

Enjoy the new charts.  I know I do!

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

The CPA Technology Advisor, an online and print publication, is a definitive resource for more than 40,000 tax and accounting professionals.  Last week, I was asked to be a guest for a podcast hosted by Darren Root (President @ Root & Associates LLC) and Doug Sleeter (President @ The Sleeter Group).  These two individuals know a thing or two about the QuickBooks community and it was my pleasure to spend some time discussing what Method brings to the table.  Click the link below to listen to the podcast.

Podcast - Episode 27: Method Integration

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

On January 20 @ 1:00pm EST, Valbon Shabani will continue with the next instalment of Method Field Services level 2. This level 2 webinar will demonstrate the use of the work order waiting list, going further into details and cost, equipment and other options that surround the work order.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/341916571

Title:         Community Webinar 22: Method Field Services: Level 2
       
Date:        Wednesday, January 20, 2010
       
Time:        1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

So you’re all excited to use Method.  Perhaps you’ve added a couple of new fields, edited some of the existing screens and maybe even added a few new tables of your own.  Fantastic!  Your sales team gets their hands on Method and what’s the first thing they say to you?  How can I enter in this list of potential customers?  You could ask them to type each of the leads in, but that might not go over too well if we are talking about 100 leads.   Your first instinct might be to browse around in Method and try and look for a way to do this, but I’ll save you some time and tell you there isn’t an easy way to do this.  Fear not though.  There is hope!

One of the very first things the Method Team released for the developer community was an API for Method.  This enables us and 3rd party developers to create tools that work with Method, outside of Method’s world.  To help developers get started, the developer geeks at Method created sample applications to assist with using the Method API.  One of these sample apps is an Excel import tool.  This tool uses the Method API to import records right into Method using Excel.  The video below was recorded by our very own Ryan Bell and covers how to use this sample tool, basic troubleshooting and some pretty import recommendations for using the tool. 

To watch the video, click here.

What to expect from this tool now?

The Method API Sample Excel Import tool serves its intended purpose of being a great example for developers to build on.  It’s important to remember this was never intended for end users to use and isn’t the most user friendly experience.  It does however, provide a way for users to get the information they need into Method rather than typing it in or creating their own import tool for Method.

What to expect from Method in the future?

We have full intentions to release a tool for end users and not for developer geeks.  When?  I don’t have an exact date for you, but it is in the developer queue and we do listen to feedback, so this is coming. 

Enjoy the video and hope it helps to save everyone some time.

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

On January 13 @ 1:00pm EST, Ryan will be taking a 2nd look at Method Warehouse. We will be looking at some more advanced features of Method Warehouse. We will be covering how to setup the MRP Calculator, as well as how to use the locations section of warehouse.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/134615874


Title:         Community Webinar 21: Method Warehouse: Level 2
       
Date:        Wednesday, January 13, 2010
       
Time:        1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

Last week we released a big new update to Method platform, so in keeping with tradition, I get to put my "geek hat" on and announce some of the goodies.

Of the many new features, here are some highlights:

1. "Add New" event added to dropdown fields

We added a new event to dropdown fields called "Add New".  When you are designing and customizing your screens you can edit your dropdown lists, go to step 2, and choose the "Add New" event.  When you add actions here, such as showing a popup screen, the "<Add New>" will appear as the first option in your dropdowns when you publish.

Why is this important?  We had the "Button Click" event before, which added the "..." button to dropdowns, but it isn't always obvious to your staff to click on the "..." to add new entries.  Also, this gives you an extra set of actions if you want to use the "Add New" event for adding new entries, and using the "Button Click" event for doing something else, such as automating data entry on the screen.

You'll start to see dropdowns with the "Add New" event gradually making their way into standard screens shortly as we push out new updates, but it is a feature available now on your own customizations.

2. No longer having to click Update on grids

The "Save" and "Save & New" buttons just got a lot smarter!  Now they check to see if you have a grid that is currently being edited, and if so, they click the "Update" link on the grid for you.  What does this mean?  Well, for example, imagine you are creating an Invoice in Method.  Previously you would have to choose a customer, add the line items, click Update on the grid, and then click Save & New.  Now data entry is a lot more convenient and lot more like it is in QuickBooks, since you no longer have to click Update on the grid in order to save the Invoice, you can just add the line items and then click Save & New directly.

3. "SQL Override" for grid columns (very advanced)

This is not for newbies!  But it is super powerful, and something we have started to use on customization jobs and in Method Mobile. 

When we were developing Method Mobile, we saw the need to have more than one field in the same grid column, so that the screen could stretch vertically on a mobile phone.  At the same time we were getting requests on our customiztions jobs such as "I want to be able to look at all my customers and have a column in a grid that shows me total dollars spent on invoices" and "I want to look at all my opportunities and see who has only had a single phone call".  We couldn't do that with our grids before, at least not cleanly, so we created a way to actually override what goes in a grid column with either a summary or count from other related tables, or to just free hand type field names so that multiple fields could be combined together.

4. Method Mobile beta begins with Method Field Services

Finally, we're ready for everyone to test out Method Mobile!  We're starting it off for users of Method Field Services, which you can import for free from Customize > My Account if you are a Method Full Blown user.

BROWSER SUPPORT

Windows Mobile - Right now we have it tested and working on Windows Mobile 6.0, Windows Mobile 6.1 and Windows Mobile 6.5 browsers (Professional only, not Classic).   WM 5.0 browsers are a no-go.

Safari (iPhone).  We haven't focused here yet.  Windows Mobile was the target for this first phase, and we'll be worrying about Safari starting next week (it really should take hardly any time now that we have Windows Mobile done, since Safari is a far superior browser).

Blackberry & Android - We haven't done any work optimizing for Blackberry or Android (yet).

HOW TO LOG IN

Simply go to https://www.methodintegration.com/method/mobile.aspx on your mobile device and log in as you would normally.  It will show you all the mobile-optimized screens.  In your account, assuming you have Method Field Services installed, you should see we have pushed in 3 mobile-optimized screens:

"Work Orders" (FieldServiceMOB_WorkOrders)

"Customers" (FieldServiceMOB_Customers)

"TimeSheet" (FieldServiceMOB_TimeSheet)

Note: logging in via a mobile device means that you are still logging into Method.  So it will log you out of regular Method since you can't be logged in twice with the same User Name.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR *OWN* MOBILE SCREENS

Like all other Method screens, you can make your very own mobile app using Method!  You can modify the existing screens we have provided, or create your own from scratch.

To create your own from scratch:

1. Under Customize > Screens, create your own screen like you normally would.

2. Click Advanced in the designer screen.

3. Place a checkbox in "Optimize for Windows Mobile device.".

4. Click Finish.

5. Design your screen and click Publish.  Your screen is only viewable via the mobile.aspx login (listed above).  It will not show up in regular Method.

Some best practices for designing.

A. Small screens are much faster than big screens, so limit how much you put on them.

B. Use tabs instead of regular sections to prevent unnecessary grid loading.  Grid loading can slow screens down considerably.

C. Design with up to 2 columns wide.

D. Put fields up and down instead of left and right.

E. Limit how many columns you put into grids.  You can always have hidden columns that you show when you really need them.

This is just the start of the Method Mobile beta, so please give lots of feedback on the forum.  If you have any problems, please make sure you tell us exactly what device you are using and the browser version you are using, as there is a wide range of mobile browsers.

There are also many standard CRM features coming out during January that we have planned.  Danny will be letting you know about them as they come out.

Happy new year,

Paul

Seasons Greetings, Joyeux Noël!, Boas Festas!, Buone Feste, Ii holide ezimnandi, Sarbatori Fericite!, Frohe Weinachten!, Feliz Navidad, Mele Kalikimaka, Wesołych Świąt, Boldog Ünnepeket

On behalf of the Method Team, I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday season!  May your holidays be filled with love, joy and laughter as you celebrate the season with your loved ones.

Thank you for your support and commitment to Method in 2009 and we look forward to bringing you fantastic new updates, support tools and as always, excellent customer service in 2010.

If you plan on reaching The Method Team during the holidays, please take note of our holiday hours:

Thursday, December 24th (Chistmas Eve):  9am – 4pm EST

Friday, December 25th (Christmas Day):  CLOSED

Thursday, December 31st (New Years Eve):  9am – 4pm EST

Friday, January 1st (New Years Day):  CLOSED

Aside from the above, it’s business as usual!

Have a safe and joyous holiday season, and I’ll be in touch in the New Year!

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

On December, 23rd @ 1:00pm EST, Valbon Shabani will continue with the next instalment on objects in Method. This level 2 webinar will cover additional objects with a focus on the calendar object, date picker and time picker objects.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/845975707

Title:         Community Webinar 20: Introduction to Method Objects - Level 2
       
Date:        Wednesday, December 23, 2009
       
Time:        1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

On Wednesday, December 16 @ 1:00pm EST, Ryan will look into some advance actions such as Loops through tables and grids, also looking at the Email and Start Conditional Statement actions.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/716454403

Title:         Community Webinar 19: Advanced Actions: Looping and Conditional Statements
       
Date:        Wednesday, December 16, 2009
       
Time:        1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

In 5 months, we’ll be headed to Atlanta, GA as Gold Sponsors for the Scaling New Heights 2010 Conference.  If you didn’t attend last year’s conference, you definitely want to get involved this year.  Why?  For starters, this conference is packed with intermediate and advanced training on QuickBooks products for consultants and accounting professionals.   Better yet, new for 2010, Joe will officially be launching the Level 1 Certification training and has added a Method Training and Certification track.  Excited now?  I thought so.

I attended this conference last year and was very impressed, especially with it being Joe’s first swing at the conference.  The new venue looks fabulous and is an excellent opportunity for Method Solution Providers to prepare for their Level 1 Certification. 

For those consultants who are new to Method and wonder what added value it can bring to a QuickBooks user, check out this webinar Joe did a few weeks ago.  It’s meant to be a teaser of what’s to come while at the conference. 

Click here to view Joe Woodard's "Can you really do that in QuickBooks - Part 2"

For more information on the conference, you can click here.  Or, if you’re ready to sign up and head to Atlanta in May, click here to register.  If this is how you first heard about the conference, please be sure to let Joe know on your registration form under “How Did You Hear About Us?”

See you all there in t-minus 165 days.

In June we announced the beginning of the Method Solution Providers Pilot Program at the Scaling New Heights Conference in Atlanta.  The pilot program allows members from groups such as Scaling New Heights, The Sleeter Group, QuickBooks ProAdvisors, Intuit Solution Providers and Microsoft Certified Professionals to get involved with Method as a Consultant or Account Manager without being certified.  Method Solution Providers are provided with Method accounts to use in their own business and are also granted access to exclusive webinars, conducted by yours truly.  Since June, the Method Solution Providers Pilot Program team has grown very quickly.  In fact, within one month of returning from The Sleeter Group Conference, our team of Consultants and Account Managers has grown by over 30%.  Impressive?  I’d say so.

Joe Woodard and I first connected over LinkedIn back in February of this year.  Since then, Joe has been actively using Method in his own practice and providing it as a solution to many of his clients.  Method has become a vital part of his consulting business.  Joe has not only invested time in learning Method customization, but he has also developed Pendulum – an online timesheet application that integrates with QuickBooks.

I’m very happy to announce a new partnership between Method Integration and Joe Woodard, President of Creative Financial Software.  Joe Woodard is now the only endorsed trainer and writer for the Method Solution Provider certification in the U.S. and the only recognized author of The Official Method Solution Providers Reference Guide.   Starting in 2010, Joe will also be conducting a series of Method Certification Boot Camps, which will supply Consultants and Account Managers with the knowledge required to provide Method consulting services.  Joe’s experience with Intuit products, strong consulting background and passion for learning Method, makes him an asset to the Method Solution Providers team and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on board.  Electronic copies of The Official Method Solution Providers Reference Guide will be available, free of charge, to all members of the Method Solution Providers Pilot Program.  The guide is meant to prepare Consultants and Account Managers for the certification exams.

The release of the guide and certification will help to launch the Method Solution Providers Program out of its pilot next year.  During the remainder of the pilot, I plan on conducting new webinars and, of course, listening to your much needed feedback.  For those of you who are not participating in the pilot program but would like to, please feel free to contact me directly at d.docouto@methodintegration.com or 1.888.925.6238 ext. 708.

Stay tuned for more information on the Method Solution Providers Pilot Program as it becomes available.

Cheers,

Danny Do Couto
Method Integration

Back in October ‘07, we were newbie’s to The Sleeter Group.  Having only heard about the Awesome Add-On award at that year’s conference, we were determined to win it.  Just a little over 2 years later, I was honored to accept this award on behalf of the Method Team in Orlando, FL.

The “Awesome Add-on for QuickBooks” award, presented by The Sleeter Group, recognizes a product that has superior integration with QuickBooks, overall design, outstanding features and conformance with appropriate accounting standards that make it an effective solution for many businesses.  Method hit each of those requirements and was one of only nine selected as an Awesome Add-on for 2010.  Needless to say, we were pretty proud when we heard about winning.  So what sort of criteria is considered when choosing a winner?

• Shows superior design, implementation and features.
• Integrates with QuickBooks using best practices of the QuickBooks SDK programming guidelines.
• Uses appropriate transaction types and field population for recording data into QuickBooks so as to preserve and/or enhance the standard reporting features in QuickBooks.
• Conforms to good accounting principles and operating standards.

This awards ceremony took place during the second day of the conference, but on Monday and Tuesday, I got a chance to show Sleeter Members the latest and greatest in Method.   It felt awesome being able to see so many familiar faces in the audience.  What made me even more pumped and excited was seeing the light bulb go off for the new faces in the crowd.  It made that knot in my stomach, which I get each time I present, all worth it (you laugh, but its true!).  My presentations tend to always be followed by questions starting with “Do you mean this...?” and “I can really do that...” and that’s when attendees start to get it and think of practical applications where Method can be used.

At our exhibitor booth, we were buzzing, talking to Sleeter members, new attendees, current Method users and current members of the Solution Providers team.  I reflected where we were at our first year at Sleeter.  Back then, when we were asked “What does your product do?” we would say “Anything you want it to do!”- Yikes!  I cracked a joke about it during my presentation but it just goes to show how far we’ve come along.

So where are we going to be 2 years from now at Sleeter?  You’ll have to wait and see, but I can say that our team is growing, or motivation is high and we are ready to bring Method to the next level.  Watch out!    One last thing, don’t forget to sign up for our RSS Feed.  It’s the best was to stay up to date with the latest and greatest in the world of Method.  Just click the following link to subscribe.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/methodblog

Danny Do Couto, Katie Riley and Paul Jackson holding our 2010 Awesome Add-On Award

Doug Sleeter, Danny Do Couto and the other Awsome Add-On Award Winners