Tales From Tech 2 - Issue: 12

In today's edition, I want to discuss one of the most important topics that I have ever discussed in this newsletter - a topic that affects us all in a deep and profound way. What I want to discuss is:

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.

WE INTERRUPT THIS EDITION FOR A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

VERSION 8, THE LATEST RELEASE OF POWERCHURCH PLUS, IS NOW AVAILABLE!

WE WILL BE REPLACING TODAY'S EDITION WITH IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OUR LATEST UPDATE.

Well, I guess I'll have to shelve my original topic for another day. Instead, I'll take a few minutes to tell you about some of the great, new features in Version 8. I think you'll like what you see below. So, read on.

You know, thinking about something I can no longer remember reminded me of that old saying: If you put the goose in the frying pan and the gander in the fire, you will reap what you sow.

OVER 20 NEW REPORTS HAVE BEEN ADDED THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM

Yes, you read it right, there are OVER 20 NEW REPORTS in Version 8. There are new reports in the Family Mailing List, in Personal Profiles, in Contributions, in Fund Accounting and on and on and on. Plus, all reports have been redesigned using the popular Windows font, Arial. And, when printing reports, you can now print a range of pages. I could go on and on, but Tales From Tech 2, Volume 14 is going to go into more detail on the built-in reports. So, I'll leave some of the details until then.

NEW MAIL MERGE OPTIONS

When creating mail merge files, you now have four different file format options you can choose: Comma Separated Values, Excel Spreadsheet, dBase and WordPerfect DOS.

BACKUP TO ZIP DISKS

The backup and restore interface has been redesigned. Not only is it easier to use, but now you can even backup to high capacity diskettes - including Zip disks!

(Important note: Version 8 will backup to any removable drive. CD-Recordable (CD-R), CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) and hard disk drives are typically not seen by the Operating System as removable drives and so the built-in backup utility will not backup to these drives.)

ADDITIONAL PHONE NUMBER FIELDS

Two new fields in Family Mailing list and four new fields in Personal Profiles have been added to accommodate more phone numbers. You also have the ability to define the types of phone numbers available and change the phone type for each person or family. This is done under Family Mailing List Setup and Personal Profile Setup. Volume 15 of Tales From Tech 2 will go into some more detail about all of this.

UNLIMITED NOTE FIELDS

In Family Mailing List and Personal Profiles, new note fields have been added where you can enter an unlimited amount of text.

INCLUDE NAMES OF INDIVIDUALS ON FAMILY PICTORIAL DIRECTORY

When creating the Family Pictorial Directory, there is a new option to include the names of every family member.

PRINT ONE LABEL PER HOUSEHOLD

When printing mailing labels, there is a new option to print only one label per household. This option is available when working in the Personal Profiles, Activities and Skills, Attendance and Ministry Services modules.

RECORD CHECK NUMBERS WHEN ENTERING CONTRIBUTIONS

When entering contributions, you now have the option to enter the check number of the donation. You can turn this option on or off under the Contributions Setup Options screen.

NEW PLEDGING SYSTEM

Each contributor can now have more than one pledge to the same fund, as long as the pledge period dates do not overlap. Plus, you can easily apply a gift to next year's pledge or to a pledge that has expired. The year end pledge process has also been redesigned to help you automatically add in next year's pledges, based on the current year's pledges. You can also mass delete expired pledges. I'm planning to go into a lot more detail on pledges and contributions in Volumes 16, 17 and 18 of Tales From Tech 2. (Of course, you know what they say about planning, don't you?)

REMOVED THE 9 LINE LIMIT FOR ACCOUNTING TRANSACTIONS

You can now enter as many lines as needed for accounting transactions recorded through Fund Accounting and Accounts Payable.

ENTER NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FIGURES

When planning your budget for the next year, you can now enter those figures into PowerChurch Plus before closing the current accounting year.

HOURLY PAYROLL CALCULATION

Now when you process payroll checks, you can enter the number of hours worked and PowerChurch Plus will calculate the wages. There's going to be a lot more detail on this in Tales From Tech 2, Volume 13 and so, be watching for that.

SEEN ENOUGH? WOULD YOU LIKE TO ORDER VERSION 8?

By now, you may have seen all you need to make up you mind. If not, an update announcement should be arriving by mail soon with additional information. If you are ready to order, just give us a call at (800) 486-1800. Current users of PowerChurch Plus can upgrade for just $129 plus shipping and handling.