​PO Number, PO Date, Terms and Order Instructions have been added to all of the Sales listings -- Orders, Order Line Items, Invoice, Invoice Line Items, and Payment Line Items -- so that the PO and any notes can be followed all the way through from Order to Commission paid

If your Agency's primary key for tracking Customer engagement is the PO, Users can access that field in all of the Sales listings.  This makes it very easy to filter and sort by PO Numbers and Dates in all of the screens, to find what you are looking for.

Order Terms and Order Instructions are more free-form fields that are used in various ways by different Agencies.  The "Terms" can be the delivery and payment terms as captured from the manufacturers' reports, or can be more generic notes as added by the User.  The same applies to the Order Instructions as either a miscellaneous field captured from a report -- and can certainly be different fields from each of the Manufacturers -- or simply notes about the disposition of this particular Order.

The key is these entries will follow the Order through its lifetime in the system.

​To help find possible data inconsistencies, 2 more views that will show duplicate entries were added in the same manner as the existing "Duplicate Orders" View under "Orders":

• added View "Duplicate Purchase Orders" under "Orders"
• added View "Duplicate Invoices" under "Invoices"

Duplicate Orders View will list all Orders where the Order Number is found more than once.  The same filtering is done for Duplicate Purchase Orders, the same PO Number more than once; and Duplicate Invoices, with the same Invoice Number more than once.

This filtering happens regardless of the Date for each of those items, so the same Order Number that occurs twice on different days would be shown...  In some (perhaps odd) cases this might be normal and can be ignored.  In some cases, that might be exactly what you were looking for.  This is the purpose of Views, to help the User find entries which may otherwise be difficult to locate.

• Order Acknowledgements
  Import an Order report, POS report, or Order Acknowledgement report from your manufacturers or other business partners.  New entries will be added to the system; entries that match existing PO Numbers will be updated or added to.
  
  
• Invoice Shipping Report
  When the merchandise leaves the warehouse an Invoice is generated for the shipped goods.  If you received this report, you can import it into your system.  Just as Orders match up to POs, Invoices match up to Orders.  Shipping Quantities can be confirmed and Anticipated Commissions matched up for accuracy.
  ​
  
• Commission Statements
  When the commission check comes, import the report that comes along with it.  Confirm paid Invoices on the Payment Entry, reconcile commissions, forecast outstanding commissions due.

Any of these reports are optional -- you could import the first and last, skipping the middle, and still have a complete picture of the process.  Likewise, you can skip right to the end and just import the Commission Statement to track payments across multiple lines.  And, of course, each manufacturer will send you different combinations of these reports, so each line could have any or all of these that are imported as they are received.

Working remotely isn't new to manufacturers' reps.  Most reps have home offices due to, among many reasons, the large distances within their territories, which makes it impractical to get to a central office.  While the bulk of the work force is only recently learning about the benefits and pitfalls of working remotely, reps have long known what it takes to adapt to an everchanging environment.  

There are definitely some big differences in working from home pre-pandemic, and working from home during the pandemic, but there are lessons to be learned from manufacturers' reps. 

1.  Be prepared

• Get dressed like you're going to the office
• Plan your week - schedule your time leaving room for unexpected problems
• Plan your sales calls - respect your customer/clients time

2.  Add value

• Know your customer - go above and beyond; they can find regular information online themselves
• Follow up in a timely manner - be dependable, make sure you respond to them quickly
• Send articles or links to blog posts that will interest them

3. Learn new stuff

• Educate yourself - technology offers new ways of doing business; make sure you know how to use it well
• Keep up-to-date on new industry rules and regulations
• Know the latest COVID-19 guidelines for the states where you do business

4. Set work/life boundaries

• Stick to a regular work schedule as much as possible
• Take breaks - they help reduce stress
• Make the most of family/friends time

5.  Stop & Smell the Roses

• Life's short - enjoy yourself

There are a few cases where manufacturers will send out sales and commission reports with Account Numbers that are not unique, with more than one customer or location represented by a single number.  Some examples include:

• Multiple branch locations, such as individual retail locations with a central billing location.
• Trace sales reports that show the End Users to which goods are shipping.
• Design house that uses contract manufacturers in their OEM products.

For these case, the Account Number being used by the manufacturer doesn't track to the location within the Rep Agencies territory, or necessarily to the same sales rep as might be assigned the main billing location.  It is, of course, important to get the correct location and correct sales rep for each Invoice, especially in cases where bonuses or split commissions are paid based on those sales.

Change is the new normal.  We're all dealing with the chaos of change brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, and learning to adjust to new rules.  For many, one of these rules is a change in work location - home (WFH).  Adapting to a new work environment can be very challenging and stressful. 

Surprisingly we've learned from a UK study, that while all generations are finding it challenging to work from home, Millennials and Gen Zs are having an especially hard time adjusting to remote work.  Without a formal office structure they find themselves less productive, more disorganized, unsure how to prioritize tasks, and feeling disconnected from their co-workers.  They also feel left out of the loop on daily company activities and find it more difficult to give or get project updates.
​

If you were caught off guard by the Coronavirus and your company disaster plan didn't include how to deal with a health pandemic, you were not alone.  Even emergency preparedness agencies worldwide were not prepared for a disaster of the magnitude of the Coronavirus.

However it's never too late to revisit and revise your disaster plan or, if you don't have one, develop a plan.
  
In 2017 "Be Red Cross Ready with Disaster Planning" was written to remind rep firms to develop a disaster plan if they didn't already have one.  Although the business disasters discussed did not include a health pandemic, the basic steps for planning are still valid.

​When starting your plan, identify each type of disaster you could face.  One plan does not fit all disasters.  Make sure your written plan is clear and concise so everyone knows what is expected of them before, during, and after disaster strikes.
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The first in the "CRM in the Pandemic Era" blog series, "Tracking New Guidelines", talked about the challenges facing on-the-road reps now that the economy and businesses are starting to re-open.  Step One was to implement or set up a disaster plan to navigate through the pandemic crisis.  An important part of your plan is to use your CRM System to keep all team members informed of the various guidelines set by government - local, regional, statewide, and/or national - and by each individual company in Phase 1 of the re-opening. 

Some areas of the country are now moving to Phase 2 of their re-opening plans and many of the guidelines from Phase 1 are changing.  Staying abreast of the continual updates can be confusing and time consuming.  Utilizing and sharing the information in your CRM system keeps everyone in your agency up-to-date on the changes.

Once you have captured the latest rules and regulations for doing business, you need to start tracking your contacts' preferences for communicating and doing business.

​Now more than ever you need a great Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database.  The way we interact with our customers, prospects, and users has dramatically changed.  The new normal [or (ab)normal as I’ve heard it called] for doing business is changing state by state (some states - city by city, or region by region), and week by week.  It can get complicated if you're on the road making calls.  That is if anyone is even on the road these days.  

Some businesses are shut; some are open but their physical office is not open and their employees are working remotely; some are open with employees in the office, but not allowing visitors or vendors into their building; some are open with no changes.  And each business has it’s own guidelines that their employees must follow.  Eventually it all becomes one big jumble.

Pandemic, flatten the curve, essential business, social distancing, Zooming, Zoom-bombing, WFH, doom-scrolling, - these are just a few of the new slang and vocabulary terms that are infecting our lives along with COVID19.  The normalcy of hanging around the water cooler to catch up on the latest happenings, stopping by a co-workers desk to show them the latest figures, taking a customer or prospect to lunch, traveling to a conference is now on-hold.  In just a few short months CHANGE has become the new normal.  We're all having to learn new ways of living and working and continually adjusting to the next wave of CHANGE.   

Businesses are starting to reopen and along with this CHANGE we're learning new ways to interact with business associates, teammates, co-workers, friends, and even family.  Face masks are required and social distancing is creating challenges inside and outdoors.  All of these CHANGES have increased our reliance on technology.  We're now working from home and holding virtual meetings for just about everything. 

After the great response to our newest version of the MRSware browser-based interface, MRSweb, we are pleased to release it for everyone.  With this release, one in which a much greater number of the features of the traditional MRSware Desktop software are available via web browser, on both desktop and mobile devices,  we are pleased to also feature a new Price Package "Team" edition.

The Team package focuses on smaller businesses with 1 to 4 users, providing the essential features that agencies need to track their multi-line sales and commission numbers.  We are doing away with per-User fees for this package, and instead have a single, low price that includes up to 4 Users and 4 Sales Territories.  

Details on the new package are available on our Pricing page.  And, of course, all existing and new Users of the Business and Plus Packages also have access to and enjoy all the new features in the MRSweb interface.

​The 2019 ISSA/Interclean Show is once again being held in "Glitter Gulch" - Las Vegas.  Even with a full schedule of educational sessions, workshops, certification programs, networking events, as well as the tradeshow exhibit floor, I'm sure you'll find time to enjoy the "City of Lights" (Nevada style). 

Here's a sneak peek at our totally redesigned web app - MRSweb:

​During our training sessions we mention, and I often reiterate or hear repeated to me, the comment "there are so many ways to do the same thing in your software".  It is true.  The reason why was just reinforced yet again when I was working with other software -- that software was designed based on the way people work, or the way most people work, or the way the designers thought most people worked, but woe be you if you yourself don't work that same way.

iOS update to version 13 has been released.  It has come to our attention that a bug was introduced in their update that is causing their Mail app on the iPhone to not be able to download emails from Users' Mailboxes.  ZDNet confirms accounts by some users experiencing this issue.

The next expected update to iOS version 13.2 is scheduled to be released on 9/24/2019.  For those users that are experiencing this issue, there are a couple of options that work to replace the built-in iOS Mail app:

• webmail.eyond.net
  Our webmail site is already set up and ready for use.  Just open Safari on your mobile device, enter the URL, and login with your Email Address and Mailbox Password (the same you use on your phone).
  
  Users can also add a Shortcut to the iPhone Home page for the site, and/or Bookmark it for easy reference.
  
  
• Use another Email App, such as Outlook for iOS
  Outlook on iOS has been tested and works well to connect to users' MRSware Mailboxes.  Make sure to select "use custom settings" and "IMAP" when adding your account.  The settings are the same you used with the iOS Mail app.

Hopefully, the next iOS update resolves these initial update issues, but if not and in any case, you do have options.  And all of these options can be setup and used interchangeably, so that you always have access to your email no matter what one app might do or errors an update might cause.

Windows 10 Mail is the free, pre-installed email client that comes with Windows 10.  Just like you would use your pre-installed email app on your phone or tablet, you can use this free and included Email program on your Windows Desktop to connect to your MRSware Mailbox(es).  Some of the nice features that it allows for is integrated desktop alerts that pop-up and then park themselves in the Windows notification panel.  It also has an integrated Calendar program that can sync your calendars from various sources, including MRSware Sync, to provide a unified events view.
​

MRSware Settings

The settings you will need are the same as you use on your phone, namely the IMAP settings for your company.  This includes using your email address and Mailbox password, which can be set separately and differently than your MRSware Desktop password.  To get your specific company settings, please contact MRSware Support or ask your company's MRSware Administrator.

Likewise, to sync your Calendar to Windows 10 Mail, make sure your Administrator as added the Sync settings for your account, and can provide you with the login they created for your when doing so.
​

6. Click the Sign in button to verify your settings and add your account.

​
At this point you are done and will see your new email account in the list of Accounts on the left-side of the Mail app.  Click on your newly added account to see the Inbox and all your messages, matching what you see in MRSware.  Due to the magic of IMAP, any changes your make in the Mail app will also be reflected in MRSware Desktop, and any other email apps your use, including ones on your phone and tablet -- everything will show the same everywhere you look.

The 47th annual PTRA Conference is being held at the beautiful Marriott Sawgrass Golf Resort and Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL from May 1 - 4, 2019.

The conference is jam-packed including keynote addresses, workshops, breakout sessions, business meetings, RepMix, Vendor tables, a golf tournament, receptions, banquets, and a guest tour to St Augustine.  In addition to all of this is the invaluable opportunity to learn from and network with your peers.

In today's business, technology is a must, but just having a full bag of technology tools is only going to get you to par.  Actually developing better strategies, practicing discipline in implementing your tactics, and learning to use all the tools in your bag will score you more wins.   

EYOND, Inc is looking forward to talking with you, during the conference, about what you really need from technology to reach your business goals.  Stop by to see MRSware, Google Calendar Sync, Pulse Notifications, and preview MRSware CRM.   

To schedule a meeting, use the form below or call us at 866-795-8386 x1 or e-mail us at [email protected]. 

We look forward to seeing you at the Sawgrass Resort!  

It's been 21 years since the ISSA Show was last held in Dallas, TX.  I was still a manufacturers' rep juggling my time with national sales meetings, booth schedules, customer meetings, looking and interviewing for new lines, and attending keynote and trade show presentations.  Just another week in the life of a rep - Ha! Ha!  I must say I don't miss the mad rush, but the best things about the show are the networking opportunities, the chance to see what's new in the industry, and the hands on learning.

And speaking of hands on learning, we hope you'll take the time to meet with us to learn more about MRSware, preview the brand new MRSweb 3.0, and take a look at Pulse notifications.

Our brand new web interface - MRSweb 3.0 - allows you to access your MRSware data with any device  No set up on your part - just login and start using.

Pulse notifications provide your sales reps with key information via e-mail.  You choose the information and the frequency of the notifications - daily, weekly, monthly...  No work on your part.  We do all the set up and deliver the notifications for you.  

To schedule a meeting, use the form below or call us at 866-795-8386 x1 or e-mail us at [email protected].

​We look forward to seeing you in the Big D!  
​​

You work for a company, it has resources that you make use of and have to share with other members of your company.  You can add those resources to MRSware so that they appear in everyone's calendar, can be reserved for events, and everyone can see when a particular resource is available or busy.

Typical resources are things like conference rooms, projectors, and office tools.  However, they can also be things like Demo Equipment, especially large pieces that are shared; or even Product Samples or Catalogs that are being distributed on sales calls.

AIM/R's 46th Annual Conference is being held September 12 - 15, 2018 at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, CA.  This year promises to be a record breaker with over 500 attendees.  Napa Valley is a premier vacation destination and whether you're visiting for the first time or the 15th time, you won't be disappointed.  

Although there will be lots of fun activities, make no mistake, this is a working conference.  This organization is serious about making the most of the time they have together.  The agenda has everything from Special Presentations to panel discussions to round table discussions to workshops to panel discussions and more is planned.  There's also plenty of time for networking and of course, stopping to talk with the vendors set up in the lobby.

MRSware invites you to talk with us about your software needs anytime during the show.  Look for us outside the conference meeting rooms.  You can set up an appointment in advance by filling out the form below or calling us at 866-795-8386 x1, or just stop by to see what MRSware can do for you.

We look forward to seeing you in Napa! 
​

Two new Dimension have been added to the Sales and Commission as well as the Sales Summary Analysis cubes in Data Analysis.  Dimensions in Data Analysis allow the User to pivot the analysis cubes in different ways to extract more meaningful data.  The addition of these two new fields further the Users' ability to inspect sales and/or commission numbers for greater meaning.

Business Country

In addition to the already existing State, City, and Zip code Dimensions, the Business Country Dimension allows Users to see where their international sales are coming from.  Drag the Business Country Dimension to the left side to get a view of all the Countries that are producing sales; expand a country to see the Customers within that area that are being sold to.

Issued
​
The Issued checkbox appears on the Invoices in Invoice Entry.  The intended use of the Issued checkbox is to differentiate Orders that have not been shipped by the Manufacturer from Invoices that have been sent.  Using Search Invoices, it is easy to pull up a list of un-Issued Invoices; likewise Users can filter on the Issued column in the Invoice listing.

In Data Analysis, the Issued Dimension allows for a similar reporting mechanism.  Drag the Issued Dimension to the lefthand-area to see the "True" (Issued) and "False" (not Issued) values in the grid to the right.  Filtering out the True values will give you accounting for all of the Orders that are pending, while looking at the True (filtering out the False) will show you just sales and/or commissions for Invoices that have been sent out by the Manufacturer.

• updated Sales and Commission Analysis
• updated Sales Summary Analysis

​With the new year upon us, a common activity is to send out year end summaries to our customers.  In this light, we have made some updates to the ever-popular Customer Snapshot report.

First, and most importantly, we greatly improved the speed of the report when running it for a full year-to-year comparison.  In other words, when you select those 1/1/2017 - 12/31/2017 dates, the report will now much more efficiently and speedily do those calculations for year-to-year percentage growth numbers.

We've also updated the By Month section of the report so that it gets rid of what would have shown a blank year, as most agencies have not started entering data for the new year yet.  Instead we now see a recap of 2017 and percentage growth versus 2016, using those same 1/1/2017-12/31/2017 dates.

A couple of cosmetic changes were also made, specifically for those of you who might be sending or sharing these Customer Snapshot reports with your key accounts: 

1. We've added the "Report Title" parameter (commonly seen on some of our other reports), which allows you to add your own title or summary to the report.  For example, you might put something like "Thank you for a great year.  Here is a recap of how your business with the Manufacturers we represent has grown over the last year.". 

2. We have put your Agency's name in the header, so that is now reads "Your Company Name - Customer Snapshot".  As these reports get passed around, why not have your agency highlighted as much as possible.

Feedback and enhancement requests are always welcome.  Happy New Year.

The Order Printout report shows the details of an Invoice, Order, Purchase Order, or Quote in the system.  Now an additional piece of information can be optionally shown over the Vendor and Sales Rep section of the report, the Payment Date(s).

When a Payment is entered into the system, a Date is selected for that Payment.  Typically this date is either the check date or the deposit date, depending on how your agency recognizes revenue.  The dates shown on the report are this Issued Date of the Payment(s) on which the Invoice appeared.  For partially paid invoices this will be more than one date, the date of each of the partial payments; if all commissions were paid on one Payment Entry, then there will just be the one date.

​

​​
To show these fields, check the box on the Parameters dialog when you run the report, "Show Payment Date(s)?".

​
​If you don't make Payment Entries in your system, this addition doesn't effect you.  If you don't want to show the Payment information, leave the box unchecked.

The addition to the report allows one to find when a particular invoice was paid; or that it was not paid yet.

Sometimes you find that your Agency is doing something different and need some custom reporting, whether it is a very industry-specific type of metric that you are chasing or perhaps just a different way of expressing some data than what MRSware has available in it general reports.  For those cases, we offer the Metabase Dashboards platform as a solution.
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​Drive sales and revenue by using MRSWARE Custom Dashboard Packages. EYOND, Inc. has the technical expertise in reporting and analytics creation to deliver customizable dashboards created from your MRSWARE data. Custom dashboards provide you with better insights into your business allowing you to make smarter, more educated decisions. 
​

Explore – Create – Visualize – Share 

Discover the wealth of information within your MRSWARE system and reveal the intelligence with MRSWARE’s customized dashboards. Now you too can experience the benefits of Business Intelligence (BI) without the high cost of traditional BI software applications and IT consultants. 

​With MRSWARE Custom Dashboard Packages you have the ability to visualize (via web browser) and deliver (via e-mail notifications) valuable insights to your sales team. Give your team access to real-time data on any device with a web browser or in any email client, allowing them to analyze and quickly act on the information. 
​

MRSWARE Custom Dashboard Packages**:

•  Sales Models 
• Activity Models 
• Opportunity Models (TBA) 
• Goal Models 
• Project Models (TBA) 
• Line Profitability Models (TBA) 

Dashboard packages include: 

• Set up of dashboard server 
• Set up of dashboards for selected data models 
• Send invitations to MRSWARE Users 
• Training of company point person – 30 days included 
• Technical support – 30 days included for each package

​** See MRSWARE Package Price Plans for the MRSWARE Custom Dashboard Packages pricing
​

​The Association for Independent Reps (AIM/R) will be gathering in Seattle October 17 - 20th at the Westin Seattle.  Their theme this year - "Disruptive Leadership - Prepare to Change the Game" - should prove to be another provocative topic.

With over 400 attendees and sessions including Keynote speakers Dave Mitchell on leadership best practices, Sandra Long on organizational leadership and coaching, and Colin Puckett, Head of Seller Marketing at Amazon Business, sightseeing for guests, and lots of networking opportunities, it should be another fantastic conference.

To see the latest innovations with MRSware, please set up an appointment to meet with us during the conference or stop by our table outside the main meeting rooms any time during the seminar.  You can set up an appointment by filling out the form below or by calling us at 866-795-8386 x1 for Sales.

​Be sure to sign up or call early to get the time you prefer.  See you in Seattle!

We have released (and been using internall for quite some time) a new version of our webmail offering.  Webmail allows Users to login to their MRSware Mailboxes without having to set anything up ahead of time -- this is handy when using a shared computer at a convention or hotel, or for everyday use in place of Outlook or MRSware Desktop mail.

Note that we have changed two things in the website address:

1. https, for secure access to your Mailbox.  Using encryption in the connection will prevent eavesdropping when connecting to the website over public wifi.
2. webmail.eyond.net domain, to allow users to continue to access the old webmail site at http://webmail.mrsware.com for the time-being...  Eventually we will redirect the old site to the new service, but wanted to give everyone a chance to login before making the change permanent.

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