Electronic Program Updates

As a user of our software you are probably entitled to update it to the latest version at any time, the only proviso being that the software is covered by current software maintenance. To have current maintenance, the software should be within it’s original cover period from sale (usually a year), under maintenance contract or under a rental agreement.

  • We are continually refining and developing our software. Updates can be done on as much as a daily basis. We don't 'hold back' software for specific release dates - our software is released as and when it has been written and tested.

Click here for instructions on how to install your program update.

  • Keep up to date with the latest software changes with our news.

Customer Retention Centre

Three refinements have been added to the customer retention centre.

  • Workshop "Thank You" letters are now blocked by vehicle rather than job. This means that if a vehicle has many jobs completed within a close date range then multiple letters of thanks are not produced.
  • Service and MOT reminders now produce a combination reminder if either service or MOT is due within the current period but the other is due within twice the period. The effect is to produce fewer reminders as there is a greater chance of a combination reminder instead of a reminder each for MOT and service.
  • It is now possible to hold a retention action. A hold is temporary and will cause the action to be omitted on the current occasion only.

Reporting to E-mail And SMS

Some newer standard reports depend on the existence of specific print parameter records for text messages (sms) and e-mail. These print parameter records are now automatically created as required removing the need for manual user configuration.

Sales Order Invoicing

The "Order Invoicing" option has been given the Windows look-and-feel facelift.

  • As this part of Platinum has been given the Windows look-and-feel the Home (on-line help) and End (functions) keys now work the way Windows uses them (i.e. Home goes to the beginning of whatever you are accepting and End goes to the end) so you should use the alternative help keys listed below:
    • The F11 key should be used for the on-line help.
    • The F12 key or the "Functions" menu should be used to access the function keys available.
    • Buttons have been given a shortcut key (F?) for use in Macros and anyone not wanting to use the mouse.
    • Windows may be repositioned and changed in size - these changes will be remembered from one Platinum session to another.
    • The columns in lists can be moved or resized by dragging the heading for the column you wish to configure - these changes will be remembered from one Platinum session to another.
    • Any tabs can be moved by dragging the heading for the tab to the new position - this new position will be remembered from one Platinum session to another.

The option to invoice all eligible accounts has been extended to automatically allocate corresponding deposits, to alleviate the need for unnecessary user intervention during the invoice run. Where a cash sales account has not paid for the full value of the goods however you will still be prompted for payment details.

In addition, a second "invoice all" mode has been added which will skip any accounts or invoices requiring user intervention, allowing you to process the bulk of your invoice run unattended.

Reporting on Mobile Phone Numbers

It is now possible to extract a mobile phone number from a string for the purpose of reporting.

Functions

$MOBILE
  • Extract a mobile number from a string.

Web Daemon and Browser Daemon integration

Our "Web Daemon" Windows service, used by our "Platinum O+" hosted e-commerce webshop system and some third party e-commerce systems, has been enhanced with much closer integration with the "Browser Daemon" Platinum module on which it relies.

  • The Web Daemon now starts the Browser Daemon silently in the background as and when it is needed so that you do not need a scheduled or log-on task to start it.
  • The Web Daemon and Browser Daemon now work as soon as your PC has started up and no longer requires you to log in to the desktop first.
  • The Web Daemon and Browser Daemon have been enhanced to work better when multiple customers are using your website at the same time.
  • The Web Daemon and Browser Daemon can now be instructed to temporarily shut down in order to allow backups to proceed without error (SXBackup update coming soon).
  • Note: The Web Daemon service will need to be downloaded and installed from the Web Daemon page on our Knowledge Base to complete this update.

Vehicle Search Results

The results from a vehicle search are now sorted to show in stock vehicles at the top making it easier to find the vehicles you are most interested in.

Extra Online Trade Store Account Levels

Our "Platinum O+" hosted e-commerce trade webshop system has been extended to allow you to create your own extra web account levels. These allow you to more finely categorise your customer accounts into groups which can then have various web features enabled or disabled.

Also, previously "global" webshop settings can now be configured for different account level groups individually. These are:

  • Stock Availability: Control what stock availability levels are shown for each web account level.

Finally, a new setting has been added, also configurable for each web account level:

  • Default Order Notes: Lets you define what gets initially shown in the "Order Notes" box when a customer places an order on your online store.

For more information, please see our Knowledge Base articles:

Workshop Job Mileage

It had been reported that using "Add/Edit Vehicle" from the "Vehicle" field would reset the "Mileage" on the Job to Zero even if the "Vehicle" did not change. This has been corrected to only reset the "Mileage" if the "Vehicle" code changes.

Real Time Labour Logging

The "Vehicle Workshop" Real Time Labour Logging screen has been given the windows look and feel.

  • As this part of Platinum has been given the Windows look-and-feel the Home (on-line help) and End (functions) keys now work the way Windows uses them (i.e. Home goes to the beginning of whatever you are accepting and End goes to the end) so you should use the alternative help keys listed below:
    • The F11 key should be used for the on-line help.
    • The F12 key or the "Functions" menu should be used to access the function keys available.
    • Buttons have been given a shortcut key (F?) for use in Macros and anyone not wanting to use the mouse.
    • Windows may be repositioned and changed in size - these changes will be remembered from one Platinum session to another.
    • The columns in lists can be moved or resized by dragging the heading for the column you wish to configure - these changes will be remembered from one Platinum session to another.
    • Any tabs can be moved by dragging the heading for the tab to the new position - this new position will be remembered from one Platinum session to another.

You are now able to set up the labour logging so that instead of directly creating a new labour job item each time a technician logs off a job, the time spent is allocated against existing labour items on the job. A technician can do this by scanning a barcode for the labour item when he logs on instead of scanning one for the job as a whole. By doing this and by using the new reporting tools available, you will be able to more easily identify the strengths and weaknesses of your workshop.

You are now able to log "downtime" for a technician; the time that is not spend working on a particular job. A colour coded overview shows what each technician is currently doing.

A technician is now able to add stock items to the job he is working on simply by scanning its barcode.

There is now a "Labour Activity Report" that shows a list of activity for each technician over a designated time period and a summary of the total time spend on each type of activity as a summary.

Extra Analysis Positions for Logistics

The number of analysis positions has increased from three to nine. This gives more freedom to further filter and categorise jobs.

Personnel Planning Privacy Groups

Alongside the "Private" option in "Tasks Outstanding" (as well as, now, "Diary Entries") you can now specify a "Privacy Group". This is a group to which you can add other users who you want to be able to see the private task or diary entry in question.

  • Privacy Groups and group membership can be maintained either through the new option in "Reports & Parameters" -> "Maintenance Options" -> "System Administrator" -> "Add or Edit Privacy Groups", or via F6 on the "Personnel Planning" page of "User Maintenance".
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