This page will help you to learn the basics up to more advanced information,
it is in the order of the most commonly asked questions so starts very simply.

Search for your question as per the instructions at the very top of this page
or just start reading down.

To get quickly started we advise you to mainly follow our simple User Guide,
this is on your desktop icon and can also be found via the link at the top of this page
and also below.

You can also click the 'Contact.Me' button that is on the first screen in Platinum,
this will try to automatically answer based on your question, try to keep it simple
preferably one question at a time.

To get the most out of on-site or Internet based training, by covering
more advanced questions, we advise you to do some basics-learning first.

Brief web-based demos here
(please pause and read the descriptions first on the videos to understand what you see).

The user guide is on the desktop of any Platinum installed machine or the latest is here.

You have the 'Help Me' gel-button (bottom right of the main menu) which loads THIS Basic Help Page.

The Info Pack that informs you of most features available.

Finally the Technical Help Page for the more technical readers.

C

Please sign in as the manager instead.
You are probably signed-in as staff\reception and cannot do very much.

You can then click the bottom sections to edit the data
e.g., Click the Employee button to add or change your employee names.

Tip:
Read the top page of the user guide for that standard demo password.
It can be changed and should be for privacy and security.

C

Please see here for the basics.

To move appointments from a duplicated customer before you delete the duplicate.
(say you want to move the last appointment so you know what they have in their history)

See here.

To delete a Quick Product Sale please see here.


To delete from most other screens...

If you scroll to the far right of most of the 'grid or  e-xcel  style' windows,
you will see the 'delete' column.
Double click the empty tick box so that a black tick appears.
Go back to the main menu to save,
at this time it will be flagged as deleted and will not show again in your edit data grids.

If you make a mistake you can undelete, see the example here.

For deleting appointments, see here.

For tips on deleting employees see here.


To delete Customers...

 Single deletes:

    Open the customers profile
    Click the far right icon in the middle

 Bulk deletes:

     To see all customers in an e xcel style grid hold down the SHIFT /\ key and click the customer
     lookup button on the main menu.
     The SHIFT key sits between CTRL and CAPS LOCK bottom left of your physical computer keyboard.
     You can click any of the column titles e.g., 'Address' to sort that column alpabetically.
     
     Tip: If you do not see a grid, go back and follow the above lines exactly.

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Scroll down to the very bottom of the existing information 
using the scroll bar on the far right of the screen.

You will see a blank cell ready for a new name.

Type the name in there and any other information that you have.

You can then repeat the above to create the next line of information.


Tip:

If you wanted to order employees names on the Daybook, scroll to the far right and find the column called "THE ORDER"
and put a number in there to control their position in the line, instead of them being sorted in alphabetical order.

If you have a more complicated setup remember to set the new employee or service/treatment to the right department.
Scroll the window to the far right to see the departments list.

Troubleshooting:

When adding employee names make sure you do not have two employees with the exact same name.

If they suddenly vanish from the daybook you have accidentally moved them to another department
or you have put a letter "N" in the "Show On Daybook" column, which hides them temporarily.

See the other tip here.

C

When you do a customer lookup from the Main Menu or the Appointment-Daybook
you can search on Name, Address, Postal code or any of their telephone numbers.

You can even do a part-search so if you can only hear the last 4 numbers of a
telephone number on a shaky answer machine voice message you can still find them.

If you paste their full email address in the name box you can also search on that too.

Click the little [.] button to clear the boxes and search again.

Also see by status.

C

Sign in as the manager
Click the Employee button on the Main Menu
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and type their name in the blank box at the bottom.

They will be added to the daybook if the Show On Daybook column is set to Y
and they are scheduled to work on that day.

Please then schedule their time here.

C

When you type something you need to tell the computer you have finished.

The "Enter" key on the physical computer keyboard is used for this. (middle right -->)

You press numbers or letters and when finished submit this to the computer with the "Enter" key.

e.g.

On the manual reminders screen press number 2
then
Press the enter key on the computer keyboard to see appointments that are two days ahead

C

If you get a message from another program on your computer screen this can hide Platinum from view.

Click OK to the message or try to "Minimise" it using the top right _ button.

If not look along the bottom of your computer screen, this is called the "Start Bar"
you will see a "Platinum".  Click this to bring Platinum back as the main program you are working with.

C

This is because of the USB Pen Drive/Memory stick you use for backups.

Remove it from the computer (usually at the back) and switch off and on again.
It is trying to load off that rather than the main computers storage.(Hard disk drive inside the computer)

C

Click the 'New Customer' button on the main menu.

You would definitely put in their full name.
e.g., M Roberts - not Roberts Craig or Mrs M Roberts or the reminders will say "Dear Roberts"

To mark them as male or female; instead click the male or female picture.

C

If your report is failing somehow, locking, crashing or freezing please see here.


Always read the reports description,
this is in the top right box as you click the reports name.

Common mistakes:

On the top left of the report screen there are some arrows to move between each page.
Click one to move to the next page where you will be able to see more information.

e.g., On the employee reports you must scroll each page to see each employee


Check your date range!

With all reports, to give greatest flexibility, you must choose the start and end dates,
EVEN if it is a monthly report.


On reports where you choose a service/treatment remember that it is JUST that one specific
service/treatment it is not 'all services LIKE this one'.


IMPORTANT NOTE:

When exporting reports you are best to save it as Adobe .PDF format
(not crystal reports .RPT Format)


A repair may be needed:

Especially if the date is wrong on reports it is possible your 
computers region is set wrongly.

If not you may need repair the reports engine (or even the .net framework)
see technical help page.

C

*IF* it has ever worked, do not change any settings, please firstly see the fix-basics here.


For initial setup of receipt printer and more techy tips to help scroll down 
to the Troubleshooting section here.





Summary:

It is the responsibility of the hardware supplier to support initial/fundamental setup of receipt printers.

The crucial thing to establish here is if it ever worked in the past?
If it has worked don't touch any settings.
If it has worked shut everything off, switch back on receipt printer after 30 seconds.
Then computer on again.

This solves 99% of basic computer issues and at least a weekly restart of everything is recommended.


--

If not and has been self-installed by a 3rd party,
first establish if it is USB, Serial (COM) or parallel.

To help with this there are pictures on the "Platinum Helpful Tools page",
you can actually see the picture on screen and can compare to the physical kit.


Details:

1.

Firstly try to switch the computer and printer off completely for 30 seconds. (not a restart but an OFF!)
Then...
Switch just the receipt printer on again make sure the receipt printer has a green light on and it is on
all the time with paper in it.
Then turn the computer back on and give it another try. (a load of printouts may come out at this stage)

2. other tips

Is it on and working with paper in it properly? (red light should show if paper is jammed or not in correctly)

Are all the lights green? (not red)

Can you switch it on and off again to clear it up/reboot it? (there my be a little switch on the body of the
receipt printer)

When did it last work?

Look in "control panel"..."printers and faxes".(In Windows newer than XP type the word: printer in the bottom left search box)

see if the receipt printer is Offline - you need it to be Online.

Is the cable connected from the receipt printer not the computer 
(The RJ11. like a small USA telephone socket, or the smaller port you would find on the back of a broadband router)

You may have to unplug from the mains plug (wait 5 seconds) and re-plug it in or indeed into a different hole
(USB port).
(Note: while it is possible you will have to do this from the mains plug
       and not the back of the receipt printer which has a 'sheith' to stop accidental pulling out)

You may have to restart the computer completely?

Also check it is all plugged in from the back of the receipt printer to the back
of the computer.  Generally USB on modern kit.


From control panel ..printers..
Check the printers jobs queue are there a lot of jobs in there waiting to print?
Clear the printer queue by clicking your right mouse button on the printer
and delete all jobs. 


Message to customer once Online again:

"I don't want to test it because the drawer will open and I do not know if you have
cash in and you are not standing right there. Someone could steal some.
Please test it and let us know if it does not work."



Troubleshooting:

With serial connections a computer restart is crucial in getting it to be recognised.
(we do not recommend serial connections as they are slow.)

Also see the Epson Not Appearing In List article.

C

You should use the disk that came with the device or the manufacturers website first.

Search our tools page for Epson or Star, etc drivers here.. (Press CTRL + F to do a search)

Printer Troubleshooting is here.

C

See here.

C

*IF* it needs initial setup and has never worked, please see here.

*IF* it has already been setup and has worked in the very recent past.

Top tip:

Switch off the receipt printer and shutdown the Computer properly.

Wait 1 minute with all off.(no lights!)


Then turn the receipt printer back on.

Wait 10 seconds.


Then turn the computer back on.


This solves most problems if it *has* worked ever.


----

No luck? Try...

In Windows newer than XP
    click the bottom left orb-circle
    type:
    printers and press enter

or

In older Windows XP
    Start..Settings/Control Panel...Printers and Faxes


Locate the printer (receipt is generally in the name somewhere)

Clear the current jobs firstly to prevent printing huge amounts when it comes back on.
(right mouse click on the receipt printer/A4 printer and choose delete all job/items)

Is it On-Line?

    If not switch it on or switch it off(10 seconds), then on again.

Is it On-Line now?

    If so test away.

If not - have any data cables(USB etc) or power cables become loose or fallen out?



For cash drawer connection make sure the little telephone-type connector is pushed firmly home
in the back of the printer. (RJ11 connector)

Retry again if so, once it says Online.



More Technical:

See here.

C

If you have already fiddled with settings but are having no luck please reset here.


If it has worked *do not change wiring* or settings please follow the basics here.


Not opening at all and brand new?
---------------------------------

Is it plugged in? there should be no empty holes on the back of the Receipt Printer.
You should have 3 wires; Power, Signal and one from the Cash Drawer.

Please test that all wires can be 'gently' pulled and that they are firmly seated in their holes.

Please also test that they are not in the wrong holes.
Sometimes the plug is smaller than the hole; this is not right and it belongs in the other hole
that fits it perfectly.  Pulling gently! it may come out...

If Till/Cash Drawer Not Opening see here.



Opening too much?
-----------------
Traditionally the setup was that the cash drawer was triggered when the 
receipt printer printed, but on newer versions Platinum now opens the cash Drawer itself.

You may see this if you have upgraded/long time member.

If both are still set to open the cash drawer, we recommend only Platinum
opens it and this means switching *OFF* the cash drawer triggering on printing, see here.

For setup see here (more technical)

C

Open the appointment and click the service button.
This will show you the list of services and the currently selected one.
You can unselect or select more.

C

To see the types of eMessaging marketing you can do from Platinum see here.

If you have a large list of names,
like when you are doing a "happy christmas" message to every customer via eMessaging.
If you have the list in front of you,
simply click your RIGHT mouse button in the middle of the list.
You will get a popup menu were you can choose to tick or untick ALL the boxes.

C

Any basic prices you see can be clicked and edited at any time to cope with flexible prices.

On the final pay screen you can click the summary boxes to go back and change the prices if they are wrong or the customer is not happy.

Services and product prices can be set to nothing/zero, this will always prompt Platinum to ask you for a price.


C

See the example here

Top Tips:

We do not record your personal Windows machine password so cannot help with that.

If you forget passwords easily, try storing it on your phone or diary somewhere.

The standard manager password in platinum should be changed as soon as possible
but it is just the single word:
  manager


Steps to change passwords:

Sign in as manager
On the main menu
Click Advanced 'more setup' menu

hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 

Choose Easy Setup....Security....Secret Words....


You have many choices here.

Once you change anything here you MUST restart Platinum to pick up any changes.

Tips:

You can choose the "secret words to allow you in" area.
This allows you to set it to something else that they can all have 
OR 
blank/clear it out completely to remove the pass.word and allow anyone
to enter. Be aware that a staff member leaving can remove customer contact details 
in order to steal customers.

Removing passwords is usefull if using pin numbers to get access.
But not recommended due to data theft/malicious destruction.



You can blank-out any to clear the pass.word from being required, which gives free access IF they have access to that area at all.(areas can be blocked off)


"I want Staff to be able to selectively use:"

    A) Setup area
    B) Tools area

In both cases, the lower part of main menu is enabled for staff (so in xConfig HideManagerOptionsFromReception is set to N)
In both cases, you must set and are relying on secret pass.words to protect those areas or it is as good as them having the managers secret pass.word if none set.


In all cases please test to make sure it is what you want and non are OPEN and unsecured that shouldn't be.

C

To undelete an employee (even temporarily):

Click the Employee picture button from the main menu.

Hover over the top left (...) choose; Xtras..."Show deleted as well (Search Disabled)"

This is a list of deleted items for you to scroll far right and untick to undelete the one you accidentally deleted.

---

If this option is not available, then you are on an older version and it has been improved now.

---

Sign in as manager
Click Employee button
Hold down SHIFT on the computer keyboard and at the same time

Click 'Show all employees' which will show deleted employees

Note that this will show *JUST* deleted employees so you can undelete them

to undelete them:

Scroll to the far right of the screen using the scroll bar
at the bottom, then untick the box.

While you are there check that no-one has put a N in the "Show on daybook" column box - it should be just a letter Y only.

Important Notes:

You may have to rename them all uniquely like
Craig1 Craig2 in order to figure out which one needs to be undeleted.

Future proofing...

You should never rename any items names, for example an employee name, if you do your historical reporting
will be wrong.

e.g.
If a new employee comes in 'Jo'
If you delete 'Jo' and create 'Chris' this is fine.

But if you rename 'Jo' to 'Chris'
all the service/treatment history for 'Jo' will now be under 'Chris' which is wrong.

Tips:

.
If the appointments are in the wrong persons column I suspect they have RENAMED one staff member to another name
this is the only reason that the wrong appointments would be in the wrong persons column.

If this is what they did then that was wrong and they need to rename them back to what they were before.(ask them to show you what they did!)
OR
When undeleting you have undeleted the wrong employee name (if duplicate deleted employee names)


.
Undeleting customers is the same, on the main menu, if you SHIFT /\ click the "Customer Lookup" button for the excel-style-grid.

C

You can alter any price, on any screen, by clicking on it.

Just click and change it and click the Green Tick/OK button to save the change.

Crucial Note: Whenever you give any discount it does not change your master prices,
              it is just for the sale at 'that' one time.
              To change a price permanently, this is done via 'manager level' access
              and you then edit the master price lists from the main menu.


You can give discounts on products or service\treatments in a few ways:

1)
The simplest way is to give a % discount. You can do this at the bottom of each sales screen.

When you sell a product or service and you choose it from the list
have a look down in the bottom of the screen.

If you hover over the Discount box it will give you a selection of % options; 5, 10, 15, etc
or for a specific % number
press the ESC key (top left of computer keyboard) then type a number in the box
and press the enter key on the computer keyboard.

Your new total will be calculated, this will be the amount owed after discount.

You do not have to press the enter key, however, you can just type a number and 
click/touch the green tick and it will automatically calculate it for you.

2) changing the price itself (just for that appointment)

When choosing the customers Service/treatment from the list.
Put the mouse cursor over the price column and click
type your new amount.
You can press enter to re-total but you do not need to. You can just click the green tick.

3) Clicking the right mouse button 'discounts'

When choosing the customers Service/treatment from the list.
Make sure it is NOT red and selected yet.
Put the mouse cursor over the price column.
click your *RIGHT* mouse button and you will see a discount list
choose a discount % from the list and you will see the price get reduced by that %
NOW and only now click the service/treatment item to make it red.
This will then calculate the price

4) Changing the shopping basket price for products

Hold down the SHIFT /\ key on the computer keyboard.
Click any price in the shopping basket.
You can change just that one and it will not change the 'master' price for this product.

5)
Bulk-buy discounts
A more user friendly way to give discounts and a way that will stop you having
to answer questions about discounts all the time is:

Example:

You have a Service called "Service1" it is 50 for them to have done.

It has a discount but ONLY if two people take that service at the same time.

Create a Service called "Service1 - (2 at a time)" and give it a price of 90.
This then covers the cost of both but includes the discount too.

OR

Create a Service called "Service1 - 2 at a time discount" and give it a price of -10
Then select the service for each person and give one if them the above discount.

Mistakes:
    
    If you are on the final payment screen; about to choose a payment type like Cash or Card,
    you can click the top prices boxes, e.g., product total or product discount and that will take
    you back to change the prices.
    
    You can re-pay for any appointment again, it will not double up your financial takings figures.
    So if you make a mistake on the SAME day you can easily correct it.

    For security it will re-print the receipt.

    If you are re-paying for an appointment on a different day (e.g., you see a mistake made yesterday)
    please read the tip that you see when you get the warning about re-paying for an appointment
    for help on what to do.

C

If the steps below do not help, please check other things here.

QU
When we switch our computer on it does not go to the Windows start page.
Is there anything you can recommend we do.

ANS
Look at the back of the computer for anything small/stumpy sticking out(like a lighter shape).
Try to remove the pen drive backup from the USB port on the back of the computer
and switch the power off and back on again.
It is trying to load from that not your computers hard drive storage.

C

When you add them please do 5 rows maximum and go back to main menu to safely save them as you go.

If you need to search/edit just open the product editor from the main menu and you will see a new
blue button bottom right (...) you can search on partial names or full names e.g. tig will show all tigi, etc

you can search/edit, search/edit - it will save it each time.

To bring back a full list just enter nothing in the search box.

When you sell them via a 'Quick Sale' ou can do the exact same
but you just start to type the name and after 1/2 a second press the enter key on the keyboard.
again this will do a partial search tig gives all tigi, etc.

press ESC (top left on the computer keyboard to  r estore the full list again)

C

See here for a list.

C

Your computer screen is not set wide enough to show Platinum properly or is set 'too' wide.

Tip : Please make sure you close platinum check the screen resolution and then re-open Platinum.

Follow these very simple steps:

Close or minimise all of your open programs to show your Desktop (with all the icons).

click your Right mouse button on a blank space on your desktop (not on an icon/picture).


Now follow the instructions below for your version of Windows Operating System.

On Windows 10:

    Select 'Display Settings' from the menu
    then...
    Scroll to the bottom and select 'Advanced'

On Windows 7/8:

    Select Screen Resolution.


On Windows:

    Select Personalise, then Display Settings(Screen Resolution)
    


On older Windows XP:

    Selected properties from the popup menu

    Click tab page called 'Settings' top right.



For all versions:

    If you see a "Recommended" you are best to use that as it is what the computer
    'feels' is best for your setup.    


    Move the 'Screen Resolution' slider to 1024 by 768 to suit Platinum
    (or larger if you screen looks smaller now)


You may feel that you need to move it even more to a larger screen size
if yours is a wide screen.

CRUCIAL NOTE:

**ALWAYS close Platinum fully and restart it up to test that it all looks ok**
Platinum needs a minimum of 1024x768 screen resolution - those numbers fill the screen perfectly on a 15" inch monitor.

If some of your windows seems magnified also see here.

C

There are far better ways than scrolling through to find one and clicking it
you must read these it will speed you up no end:

See the tips here.

But to answer your question; you just need to insert some text like a line of hyphens :

-------------------

Then give it a "TheOrder" in the middle of two existing names

Name                TheOrder

Product1            10
------------------- 20
Product2            30

C

You cannot just click the top row and change the visible text there, you have to set it up properly.

To edit these labels for Service/treatments:

Easy Setup
 Manage...
  Services-Treatments...
   Price Range Labels (1..8) ...

More here.

Also see ordering any of your lists here.

C

Also see the tips on selling faster here.


QU

Can I have sections to break my services/treatments up TO MAKE THEM EASIER TO READ?

ANS

Summary

If you scroll along to the right hand side of the services and products screen,
you will see a column called 'The Order'.
Here is where you can order as you like.
The lower number appears at the top of the list.
Platinum orders alphabetically as standard. 
If any services or products have the 'same'  'order number'
then Platinum will order alphabetically within that order-number group. 



It may be better to just jot your top 10 on paper first with the number next to it
to get an idea of what you are doing here.

To order your services into whatever you like (over-riding the alphabetic order)
use the "The Order" column  - Scroll to the right on the service edit screen.

Steps :-

Sign in as manager.
Click the service button from the main menu
Scroll to the right you will see a column called "The Order". 

This allows you to override the alphabetic ordering into whatever ordering you choose. 

Do not use 1,2,3,4 as this will not let you slot others in easily in future, instead jump in steps of 10. 

Here is an example: 

Name 	           The Order 

--- Group 1 ---            10
Service1                   20 
Service2                   30 
--- Group 2 ---            40 
Treatment3                 50 
Treatment4                 60 

So regardless of the alphabetic order you are forcing it to show it in the numerical order in the "The Order" column.

We can do all of the above for you if you want us to.

If you do want alphabetic order just set all of the "The Order" numbers to 1

More Details:

It will be a learning/tweaking session to get you setup to your liking.

We will add a few headings to the service edit screen
and we may need to change them as we get it 100% correct for your business.

You can use a matrix of prices using the (1..8) button top left of the selection screen.

e.g. Service1 with Senior 'Craig' is 55, but 44 with a 'junior' Paul
     you can add a matrix of prices to make it easy to choose 
     the correct price for the work performed.

We can add a few by way of an example to help or can set it up with you over the phone.

Then when you sell the services and can see the service list 'on screen' hover the mouse
or touch your finger on the top LEFT (1..8) button for choices, then touch a service name.
if the matrix is correct you will get the correct price for that service/treatment.

A better and faster way?

Learn your shortcodes and use them.
When you see a service/treatment list you can just start to type.

This will allow you to super-quickly choose your items.
If you do not want to do that you can start typing a partial name
and it will show a selection of names with that partial name in.

To search for services by name just type part of their name instead of scroll/clicking.
You will then get a choice instead of scrolling through a big list.

You can also see the user guide available from the desktop icon which has much more info in it.

Please also see here and here.

C

Please see the very basics of ordering here.

There are two ways to sort products.

1) The normal alphabetic order.

2) A special column called 'The Order' which is a number that overrides the alphabetic order.

You can find the column called 'The Order' if you scroll to the far right when editing data.

Your new products are probably at the bottom of the list if you just added new ones.
If you set all the 'The Order' columns numbers to be the same it will then order alphabetically.

The Order column is useful to put your best sellers at the top and your worst sellers at the bottom
to make things quicker at point of sale.

C

Please see here.

Quick reminder: Use the payment inconsistency report.

More details...

Regarding till totals, here are a few issues that would seem to make it look inaccurate.

1) process any cash in and outs from the till properly via the daybook as these are removed from the till and 
so should be removed from the till totals too
(on the daybook, right mouse, Xtras....Remove cash/Cash In option)

2) customers can pay ahead, if they pay on a monday for an appointment on a Saturday
this monetary value is credited to monday not saturday as the cash, card, cheque will be in the till on monday
which is accurate.

3) ensure all appointments are green (ie. paid for in the daybook) if they are not they are ignored by the till totals report.
NOTE:The addition of products and service totals for a given day is not an accurate way
of evaluating what should be in the till for the above reasons, especially due to sundries being taken out.
Real world example


Why doesn't the Service Sales Summary added to the Product Sales Summary match the Till Total report?

by example :-

IF an appointment on the 8th was paid for on the 6th when it was first booked, 
this obviously, directly effects what is in the till on that day.
so...in a nut shell.


"The Service Summary report added to the Product Summary report won't always match the till totals
because appointments can be paid for in advance altering the till total as you are taking the money early"

Rules:

1. The Service Summary and Product Summary reports are not Till reports.
2. Use only the till report to establish if the Cash, Cheques, and Card    r eceipts match what's actually in the till.
3. Use the Service Summary and Product Summary reports to compare business growth month by month or year by year
   or for employee appraisals compared to last year/month.

It would be great if you can follow the sundries accurately, and then we can double check if there are any issues,
this report is very complex and any similar customer issues have been lookedinto at length and they were down to
the above situations, that said we want them to be 100%, if not please let us know and we will do our best to solve it.

Troubleshooting/further advice

Did you run the financial (investigation) tracing diagnostics reports 
like "payment inconsistency".....and "payments"

There could be an appointment under an appointment that you cannot see.
but The "inconsistency" or even the "payments" report should show it as unpaid and in red.

If you can find out the customer name you can delete the rogue appointment
from the main menu...customer lookup...click the correct date on the left in the list of dates 
and over on the right click history button, then delete the appointments as you normally would.

C

Yes. The day you go right through the payment process, 
using the 'Ready To Pay' button, is the day that is credited with the financial values
and therefore is the day that it will appear on the till totals.

This means that if a mistake was made on a monday, you cannot correct it on the tuesday by simply re-paying 
for it on the tuesday.(if you do this the total will appear on "tuesdays" till totals
and not mondays as you intended to happen).  This is because customers can pay ahead and 
obviously when money is take ahead it alters the till and so *should* appear on that days till totals report.

Solution
========
You can easily set 'any' paid-for appointment to paid-for on the appointment date instead.

This is instead of having to pay for it with the clock set back or anything complex/silly.

You will pay for it firstly as normal and then you can simply:

*right* mouse click on the green appointment in the daybook you will see a menu.
Choose Xtras...e-Business....Troubleshooting.....
   then     "Set this to paid for on the same day as the appointment"

This then sets the appointment that was paid for today to look like it was paid for on the appointment day.
(today being when you found a problem and re-pay or initially pay)

It will alter the payment date so that it will appear on the till totals 
for the appointment date and not the paid for date (today.)

More detailed info:

Platinum knows when you pay for an appointment and records the day for till total reports. 
If you marked an appointment as paid for the next day it would increase the takings for today.
This is always the primary reason for inconsistencies in Platinum. 
You can always see these problems in red letters on the inconsistency reports. 
They can also be corrected via the right mouse option "set to paid on the day". 
More details: 
Run the inconsistency report. 
You can get to this report via: 
Financial....Payment Inconsistency (problems) 
Always look for red text - these are problem areas.
The column headings will explain what each Y and N are in the presentation. 
The Fix: 
You can make Platinum mark the appointment as 'paid for' back on the 'same day' as the appointment. 
Its easy. 
Right click the appointment on the daybook to open the popup menu 
choose..xtras...troubleshooting 
Solution: 
Always check that everything is green and paid for before the end of the day. 
(or of course deleted if a no show-up)

C

The weekbook allows you to see all seven days for just one employee.

This is a far easier way to quickly see free spaces if you get a call that specifically asks for one employee.

There are 3 ways to get to weekbook views and there are two styles.

1. Main menu - Weekbook button

2. Daybook - clicking your right mouse button "One employee on daybook" mode

3.  Xtras... Week Book (By Day Layout) (Older style)

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  "Visit Type" codes:

   W = Walkin
   N - New Customer
   R - Requested this Employee
   D - Don't care which Employee I am with.
   C - Customer Referral

   Daybook Extra Prefix Symbols:

   L = Away or 'L'eave types (Off, Lunch, Training, etc)
   @ - Membership
   # - Appointment confirmed
   _ - when an appointment is made without selecting a visit type 
       (as that selection screen can be optionally disabled)
  ! - Dual appointment second employee on the appointment
       (may only be seen when combining symbols)

   NOTE: A room number or the first two letters of a room name can be added to the appointment prefix via the xtras... menu
         available by clicking the right-> mouse button.

  Appointment coloured "Status" codes:
  
   - = gold/booked (hypen)
   * = pink/arrived
   _ = green/paid for (underscore)
       (DARK green means a DUAL is paid for see here).

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Green is paid for and dark orange is Dual (same customer two or more appointments)
but
When it is DARK green this is a paid for Dual.

If you did not expect this, double check the due amount to make sure you have not got
overlapping appointments or one has been accidentally moved to that day.

Also see daybook status codes information here.

C

There are reports dealing with Customers and status codes/displaying data by status code in the "Customers" report group.
The one that allows you to select one status code would be used for marketing purposes.

To set a status code open their profile and hover over the (...) button, then choose Xtras..Status...

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via Easy Setup... Daybook... Departments... Advanced... use Department Drop Down

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To see more of your working day on screen:

Make the daybook letter height/sizes(f o n t   size) smaller.

You can change and audition this to find what you prefer.

Sign in as manager
On the main menu
Click Advanced 'more setup' menu

hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 

Choose Easy Setup....Daybook....General.....'the look'

then:
"I want to set the Day Book letter size (12 is standard, 8 you can see more)"

NOTE:
12 is standard, 8 you can see more.

Talk to us if this is no good to you.

You can see all reports and their descriptions in the software itself or on the web page here.

In Platinum, go to reports.
	Services\Treatments...
		"Total Monthly Service Sales By Service"

In the list look to the top and select the top option called:
[choose]
(if it is long you may need to scroll up the list to see this)


Marketing...

This report will give you each service/treatment for that time frame and you can use this to do very targeted marketing.

Hold down the CTRL key as you click next-> to enable eMessaging
to work properly.

Choose a service/treatment.

You should now be able to send eMessages of special offers to JUST the customers who have had that specific service/treatment.

Tip:

Use CTRL+A on eMessaging to select all the text in the box.

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Please see here.

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Please see the "For future changes" section here

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Some (not all) providers allow you to set this, however, you may have to contact them to change it.

Keyword:
SMSFrom

To change the SMSFrom keyword please see here

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To change the text of the voucher you just edit it in notepad.


To edit your Voucher text:
    Start...programs...alphatask....Platinum....
        Xtras.....Customer Xperience.....change voucher

The picture/image on ALL items created via receipt-printer printing is the exact same setup
see here.

C

To edit or setup the actual vouchers text see here.


One example of use:

Most users have a "My Voucher" product which they sell,
this then prints a voucher via the receipt printer. 

They then staple this inside a presentation card with their logo on (or not to save money) 

When the Customer comes back in they have services/treatments.
On paying use "ready to pay" and the "Voucher" button and typing the value in they see on the slip of paper.

Finally the voucher goes in the  c ash drawer.

(ask for an update on the gift card enhancement, allowing you to have one card for one customer and Platinum remembers the voucher values)

--

Many types of Vouchers can easily be setup in the system.

You add a voucher as a product with the word voucher somewhere in the name.

Platinum then knows to treat it differently.

You can print them via the receipt printer and then staple them into
a nice presentation card as a Gift Voucher.

The text printed on it can be a **TWO** line personal message 
e.g. Happy Birthday 
       from Craig

If the price is variable depending upon what the customer pays you
just enter a  0 (zero) as the 'sell price' to customer.

Any product with a buy price of zero will prompt you to enter a 'sell price' to the customer.

Zero priced vouchers are less flexible are they do not give 'buying incentives' (100's worth for 90, save 10 style)

Alternatively, you can print standard ones; from "YOUR BUSINESS".

Vouchers will contain your company contact details and so can look as official or professional as you wish.

Example Setup:

You normally sell a paper voucher worth 20 and you sell this for 19 as an incentive.

If you add a Product called:

Voucher 20

to your product list, with a 'Sell Price' of 18 and a 'Buy Price' of 0 (zero).

Sell this product to the customer either via Quick Product Sale or by clicking the 'Products'
picture button from appointment details when they are paying/checking out.

This is 'sell price' to the customer, this gives your financial accounting the correct values.
ie. you have received 18

Give the paper voucher to the customer for using later in exchange for products / services.

If you want some special customised system writing, let us know, we can do this also.

Top Tips:

1. Open the voucher and imediately go to File..Save
   to make sure you have rights to actually save the text.
2. To align the text correctly, just use the bottom Space Bar character
   and not the Tab key character.


Explain more....?

You need to give the 'voucher product' a name with the actual word:

Voucher

in its name.


Platinum only knows it is a voucher if you use the word:

Voucher

in its product name.


When you sell a product with the word 'Voucher' in its name:

It will prompt you with a 'two line personal message' box for you to type a message to print on the Voucher.

If you click the red cross it will cancel and not print it. 
If you type a message and click the green tick it will print it.


Vouchers sold and printed via the 'My Voucher' product are never assigned to a customers record
they are just a gift voucher that can be redeemed later by anyone, 
not necessarily the person who bought it. As it is a gift it could go to anyone.


If you do want a customer to have a 'credit' assigned to their profile you need to use the 'Tab' feature instead.


Tips:

You can add your own currency symbol or edit the Voucher by editing the voucher using the instructions just above.
BUT do not change any of the [TEXT_IN_BRACKETS] as Platinum replaces this for you.

Q
If we sold a voucher for 50 and the customer gets a service for 20 how do we put 30 change back to the voucher?
A
Most shops give cash in change or have a policy that they can only use a voucher for part
or full payment and no change is given if the voucher is less that the due amount.


Q
How do I setup Free-bee / incentive vouchers?

A
Setup the vouchers buy-price to the customer to a zero charge; or you will show it as real income
As it is a free-bee. (money off offer, etc) you can "sell" them to print as many as you like via Quick Product Sale.


See the Referral Recommend a Friend feature.


Q
Can I print todays date on the voucher?

A

use:

  [DATETIME]

To show the "printed-on" date.



Q
Can I print an expiry date on the Voucher?

A
Yes, it must be a number that you type see:
    Easy Setup...Manage...Vouchers...Set the number of days until the Voucher Expires

Xconfig:VoucherExpiryDays


For card compatibility information for suppliers see here



Troubleshooting:

.
If it is not asking you for your two line personal message,
try using the word Voucher in your product name not VOUCHER and not voucher
but Voucher (first letter Big/Capital/upper case letter)

.
My voucher does not have a value on despite me typing a sell price?

To give you greater flexibility when selling you can have a sell price and a redeem price:

Voucher when printed:

    Product name
        
        e.g. Voucher 5

The product name must have the word:

voucher

in there somewhere and IT contains the value that is printed.

There is no value printed from the cost column in the products list,
its just its name that is printed.

Example:
If you have 4 vouchers you must have 4 products,
each with a name containing the word 'voucher'
and a value in its product name for printing/redeeming so you know the redeem-value of the voucher.

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When you add a new appointment you can click the Customer Referral button.
Search for the person who is referring.
You can run monthly reports and reward them.

For more details open Report:
    Customer...Referral List and Contacts

Then read the description box.

Remember that via any report you can use Emessaging to email and SMS text in bulk.

The visit type screen must be showing when the booking is made.(as this is optional)
(xconfig:ShowVisitTypeAfterBooking)

Q
We are intending to send the people who have referred someone a voucher
is there any way of 'marking' that we have done this
or recording that a Referral voucher has been issued?

A
See above.
You can always keep info in the notes field or regularly do that process monthly,
and only choose a date range for that month then you know who has been done.
They will be only last months referrals and vouchers can be sent.

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If you have read this article before jump down to the RED BOLD areas below

******************************************************************************************************************
******************************************************************************************************************
******************************************************************************************************************
*
* CRUCIAL NOTE: setup of SMTP-Emails can be done easly, but if you need help or to change it, you will be charged.
*
*
*
*  Please read very very carefully below so that you can set it up once
*  and you can avoid delays or re-setup and charges!
*
*
*  The main issue we find is that customers use a non-business email address and then
*  ask us how they can setup a proper professional business email address.
*  To save time and expense to you; talk to your brodband Internet provider only
*  about a proper email address like: YourName@YourInternetProviderName.com and not one
*  with a personal name on it.
*
*  CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT:
*
*  We cannot use Hotmail, Yahoo, MSN, etc these common and bulk email addresses are commonly used
*  by junk mailers and so will more than likely end up in the bulk/spam folder, not the inbox,
*  they also look unprofessional. Ask your Internet provider to setup YourName@YourProvider.com
*
*
*   You will need a user name (which maybe your email address) and a password to send out emails.    
*
*   Your Internet provider has these, without them we 'cannot' set it up as 99% it will not work without.
*   Please see your paper work or contact them directly to get these details, they cannot be guessed.
*
*   If you are not happy with the email address given by them please ask them about changing it 
*   or if they can setup one with your company name on it.
*
*   We can only use an official broadband provider or website providers email service to send emails out.
*
*
******************************************************************************************************************
******************************************************************************************************************
******************************************************************************************************************


What do I need to ask for?
==========================

Your 'SMTP email' details are needed for sending out emails from Platinum,
user name and pass word are crucial.
 
Please talk to your Internet provider / broadband Internet technical support team
e.g. BT?

And ask them this:
 
"I will be sending emails out via a piece of software 
using your SMTP details, what is the correct SMTP details to use with my broadband package?"

Purely Example Options:
 
BT Click smtp.btclick.com 
BT Internet mail.btInternet.com 
BT Openworld mail.btopenworld.com 



and
 
"If I am sending out HTML emails over your SMTP Server via my broadband Internet connection
do I need to tell you I am not a spammer/junk mailer?"
 


and


"What is my user name and password for this SMTP Service."

NOTE: You might already have these details in your paperwork for the Internet - please look there first
to save the 'pennies\cents per minute' phone call.



and finally,

"Can you send me instructions to setup SMTP email via my Windows Mail or Outlook Express"





I have the SMTP-Email details what is next?
===========================================

You now need to verify that the SMTP details are correct and do work.
Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will help you set them up in Windows Mail or Outlook Express.
This is a crucial step as it will save time and they are the experts who know your details,
we do not know your details or the details they have sent you maybe wrong.


You now need to customise your initial contact details in the email templates your customers will see.
Please see here





Common Questions we get asked about this:
=========================================

Platinum emails via a service called SMTP, it does NOT use Outlook or Windows Mail.

You do not have to have this setup on your machine as Platinum is totally stand alone.
(but if settings already work in Outlook/Mail we know they are definitely right)


The process to send out to people is very simple.
The setup is easy as above but we can help you with initial setup.


Please see what messages Platinum can send out here

You could use your website providers email address but it is not recommended if you
want maximum inbox delivery. (i.e. not in their junk/bulk folder)



Troubleshooting:
================

.
You cannot use Hotmail, Yahoo, MSN, etc

.
What I would say is that for an smtp.X.com to work the SENDING email should be TheirName@X.com
That is a certain e.g., if BtConnect.com is provider of broadband and the SMTP service
anything other that TheirName@BtConnect.com will not send over the BTConnect SMTP service
or will get blocked in some way due to its anonymity!



See here for basic email troubleshooting steps.

.
When I test the settings I get an error:

    "The SMTP server requires a secure connection or the client was not authenticated.
    "The server response was authentication required."
    "Your email could not be sent. To fix this you must make a simple change to your email
     (known as SMTP authentication)."
    "AOL : Syntax error, comand unrecognised. 5.5.0 Client Authentication Required use AUTH."

It maybe as simple as putting a Y in the SMTP Auth box in the setup utility.

If you have been given a PORT number you must use that port and the above Y in the SMTP AUTH box.
try 587 as a port number if you are not running on the broadband providers/official email Internet link.


.Googles Gmail

Using port:587
If you get the error:
"The SMTP server requires a secure connection or the client was not authenticated.
 The server response was: 5.5.1 Authentication Required."

You have to enable Less Secure Sign-In in your google account.
After sign into google account, go to:
https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps


.
When setting up AOL SMTP...
Your email address: screenname@aol.com 
(Be sure to include the @aol.com or suffix) 
Incoming mail (IMAP) server address: imap.aol.com 
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server address: smtp.aol.com; port: 587 
Your user name is your AOL screen name 
Your password is your AOL password 


.
SMTP Setup utility works but ia Platinum it does not work.

If it works in setup/test SMTP util but not in Platinum
its probably the & character that is not allowed:

e.g.,
Hair & Beauty
    is the general one in their business name,
    as that is the name that is added to the subject in their sent emails by Platinum.

check xconfig:
CustomerName


(For more technical help along with actual steps and a setup wizard utility see here)

C

Most steps here apply to both Email and SMS text messages.

Most steps here apply to both Email and SMS text messages...

Initial setup?
If you have not YET ever setup eMail with Platinum please see here.
or
If you have not YET ever setup SMS Texting with Platinum please see here.


**********
* The biggest reason that messages are suddenly not going out when they have been working fine
* is due to installing brand new security software.  It may be being blocked by it; more below.
*
* As security software is constantly updated; an update can also start to 'block' platinum.
*
* To help stop this in future please read popup warnings carefully
* especially if the security software just updated itself.
* If you see a warning about Application: Platinum.exe then please "ALLOW ALL" or give "FULL ACCESS" (and not "Block")
* this will stop the blocking happening in future.
**********


Don't forget, always "back to basics"...
These steps may seem silly but we have to go from the basics upwards, especially if it HAS been working.


IF IT HAS WORKED PLEASE *BEFORE* changing anything at all...

.
Have you restarted the computer lately to refresh it?

.
Have you switched off and on the broadband providers modem(the box with lights flashing)

.
(Common issue)
Has your Internet been off lately and not working as Platinum uses this link to send messages out.

.
For automatic message to go out, like the reminders:
You must firstly open the main menu.
It which time you will see the top title bar change to "Reminders 1 Days ahead at 11am" (just as an example)

At this point you can sign out back to the Sign in  screen (Manager/Staff)
Just so long as the top title says "Reminder" then it is running.

If do you close Platinum completely no reminders, etc. will go out but it will warn you of this.


.
Has there been any very recent changes on your Internet providers side?
(they may have emailed you or you may have cancelled it?)

.
Have you moved your Internet provider to a new company?
or
have you moved your email address to a new company/provider.
You have to tell Platinum about that and add the new account details here.


.
Has the password changed for your SMTP-Email or SMS-Mobile text message account?(see above)


.
If you are using wireless to do emessaging it is really not recommended as it can disconnect and
break everything.  Get it wired Asap if you are having problems.


.
Have you recently installed new Security Software that is blocking Internet access?
(Anti-v irus or especially a new Firewall)
If so you may have said no to a question and blocked Platinum from connecting to the Internet
Please open the security software (double left click on its name - bottom right of the screen)

Find the list of blocked or allowed programs ( . exe's) 
    May be called "Application Ratings"

Choose to 'Allow', 'Approve', 'Permit', 'Unblock', 'Trust', 'Full Trust' 
or similar positive action for the main Platinum . exe program.
(generally an alphabetically ordered list)
(see one solution here and more below)



Specific to emailing (text messaging is below this)
====================

.
Can you log into the email account you get replies to and see if its full or if it still exists?
If its in box is full this can cause bounce-backs and in some cases temporarily disable the account.

.
FROM YOUR OWN EMAIL...send a test email

    (maybe from a webmail or personal mail, or even a friends email - BUT NOT from Platinum)
    send a test email to the official "FROM" email address you have that customers reply to,
    if it bounces back to you; you need to talk to your Internet provider
    as the account may not exist or may now be dead/or you wrote or typed it wrongly!

    QU

    If I can send an email from the address used for Platinum messages
    but I can't send the reminders or messages from Platinum it shouldn't
    be a problem with the email provider, right?

    ANS

    Unfortunately not, the email account you login to via a web page using a
    certain email address (HTTP-Web-based-Client) is quite different from the one Platinum 
    uses (SMTP-Email-Client) as they are different services they can be stopped or 
    have problems in their own right. Or indeed different passwords or different restrictions
    on the amounts of emails they are capable of sending out each day.

.
Ask the broadband provider if something is wrong with their SMTP email sending service.


.
Is your provider of broadband (say BTConnect) now blocking your email address (say Yahoo)
as it is not "one of THEIR email addresses"?

e.g., You have been using a Me@OldProvider.com which has been working fine,
      but now you may need a Me@NewProvider.com email address for it to work
      as the rules have changed on the new providers side.
      
      You can tell something is wrong if the SMTP address does not have the same name
      as the email providers domain name.
      
      So a Me@BTConnect.com should have a perfectly matching SMTP.BTConnect.com
      if not you need to get the correct SMTP for the email domain,
      or change your email to match the SMTP name.



.
Also see the "My eMails are Bouncing Back" tips here.


Slightly more advanced...

.
Have you just installed a new security software suite or upgraded the existing one?
Try disabling the out-going email v irus checking. This can block it as an unrecognised .exe is sending out.
Unfortunately even the best anti-v irus programs dont have a pinhole feature like a firewall.
Its all on or all off but it will give you an idea about whats going wrong. 

.
Testing basic SMTP / POP3 settings if still no luck with SMTP setup via Platinum
Its a really good idea to check the settings by setting up the email address in outlook/express/Windows mail
to check the settings do actually work.

CRUCIAL:
It is important to mention that your Internet provider must help you with this setup
it is not our responsibility to set the email accounts up via 3rd-party programs

.
If you do get new details from your provider or indeed want to audition details you think should work
you can try them by following the Email Setup Steps.





==========================
Specific to text messaging (emailing is above this)
==========================

.
If your text messages were working but you only just started to trial this service it is
possible that your trial credits/minutes have run out.  You may have had an email and not 
realised the contents, please contact them directly.

.
If you get a failure email from the SMS-text message provider please forward that on to us
for investigation.





For both:
=========

.
To see what has gone out, and any errors, always look at the Platinum work log here




Specific Software advice and steps:
===================================




.
McAfee Antiv irus / Internet Security Software

Your McAfee security software can block platinum and you have to set it to Unblock.

 
For future if it happens again to avoid any charges from us as it is a 3rd party software.
 
Look bottom right and and find the 'M'cafee icon
 
Right mouse on it and click Open Control panel / security centre
Find "Firewall" and click the >
Click the "Settings" option that will appear (probably to the right->)
Click "Program Permissions"
Scoll down and find Platinum.exe
click it
click "Edit" (bottom bit)
Click "Access" and change from "Block" to "Full"



C

Running over a wireless connection will not work, you need a constant connection and you will get 
WARNINGS IN PLATINUM because wireless signals drop-off very frequently.

You do not notice this when web browsing so it seems ok.

Please always connect a network wire to the Platinum computer.
Switch off any wireless on the computer
and then restart the computer if it was connected wirelessly.

This will ensure no wireless is enabled and no disconnection issues.

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If you have never sent messages out before see steps on how to initially setup email or SMS text messages.

Please read the crucial notes on not using wireless here.

If you have a brand new SMS Text message account please read the email the provider sent you
for setup instructions then see here.

To see the types of eMessaging you can do from Platinum see here.


In Platinum:

For 1 customer only:
    Goto customer lookup and find the customers name
    Click the customer profile button to open their details
        is there an email address and/or mobile number?
        if so click the small 'e' that is to the right of the Mobile Phone number
    
    This is the eMessaging screen.

        Type a subject and a message body
        click Next ->
        Tick the e-mail box next to the customer/s name/s
        Click the green tick at the bottom (in the middle)
        
        Wait...
        
        Look at section "4. History" and make sure there are no errors
        Refresh your e-mail.(you must do a test to yourself firstly!)

        You can also do this for ALL customers via the Main Menus eMessaging button
        or
        groups of customers via the reports button on the Main Menu where any
        customer based report criteria can be used to target very specific customers.


If you have problems:

You may need to restart your computer?

Do you have a dead Internet connection at this very second?
can you still open google.com or some webpage to check it is ok?


Editing Internet web-email templates
------------------------------------
We can recommend skilled professionals to help you with this.
You need a web page editor installed to make this easier to do yourself.
(Word is definitely NOT recommended)

In Windows newer than XP: 
   Click the start circle (bottom left)
   in search type:
   Mail everyone
   press enter

In XP:
  Click Start...Programs....Alpha task....Platinum....Xtras....
              Customer Xperience...."Change my e-Mail everyone message" 
              (all the other templates are here also.)

Editing:
   Choose "Change my e-Mail everyone message"
   change it to your custom text


Note:
Editing web (HTML) emails is a little more technical and you might need a graphics logo.

For free HTML web page template editors see here

C

QU
I've had a problem with one of the staff canceling clients for invalid reasons or I suspect them of theft!

ANS

For deep investigation we would need dates if possible.

Make sure the staff are not using the manager sign-in
(change the pass word if they are ASAP).
You loose a lot of protection if they are using the manager sign-in.

Assign pin numbers for staff; then you can track who did what but mainly
THEY know that they are being watched/audited and it may stop any issues.

If you see "customer changed" in the whats been happening report they could be
blanking/erasing the telephone number so you cannot contact them anymore and steal them as their private customers.

If you see "customer unknown" in the report I suspect that is because the staff typed "unknown" as
the customer name.

You can force staff to enter names, numbers, email and postal addresses, etc here.

To see lists of deleted appointments, especially if paid for see here.
and also see the Cancellations report.

For reducing data access for staff see here.

C

If you go to the reports screen and then choose General..."What's been happening"
you will see all your steps.

    Reports...General...What's Been Happening


If you click your right mouse button in a blank space on the appointment details screen
you can also call up this report just for that appointment.

If you want to see employee names next to each of the days events you must setup the 
pin numbers for each employee, see here.


QU

I want to find out when an appointment was cancelled and by who
but I do not have PIN numbers setup for staff.

I cannot find the date that the appointment was deleted on the 'what has been happening' report?

ANS

Primarily there is no "deleted date" attached to an appointment - which is your main problem.
There is a moved date and a previous employee date for auditing purposes if accidentally moved.
You can even click your right mouse button on the appointment details and see a 'Whats been happening'
specifically for that appointment.  Where it was moved from accidentally, etc.

I would say that if you are looking on the 'Whats been happening' report 
'on the day' that the appointment was DUE to happen
then it was cancelled on another day which is why you do not see it on the day it was due to happen.

Another Suggestion?

You could try running the report for the month and instead searching for the actual customers name
using the 'search' top left button, this would take the guess-work out of which day it was cancelled.

If you still cannot find it and if you did want us to research this specific case
we would have to charge you for that service and for our time on it.

This would still not tell you WHO cancelled it just when it was marked as deleted.

We highly recommend you setup the PIN numbers for each staff member
if this is crucial management information for you going forward.

C

see Easy Setup...
     Manage...Employee...
      Typing Information / Data Entry...
         I want to force staff to take...

xConfig:
CustomerPhoneNumberIsNeeded
CustomerAddressIsNeeded

C

Please see here for the basics of deleting data.

I am concerned that they will not appear on the reports if I delete them?

The financial reports and any report showing history is not aware of deletions
They report what happened and when regardless of if the product is still "Live"
or exists still as a sale item.

C

Very Important:

What you have to watch for is if you delete the employee and they still have future appointments
these will vanish from the daybook as you have deleted the employee and therefore their column.

QU

when an employee leaves how can I permantly remove them from the daybook? 
I tried deleting, but that takes out all the past appointments, which I do not want to do, 
tried putting a leaving day and that did not do it, so have had to roster her off,
which will be a pain in the future.

ANS

All history is kept - it is not deleted when you delete an employee
You will not see it in the daybook - but you will obviously see it on reports financia/audit reasons.
you will always be able to *RIGHT* mouse click a customers name on the daybook
and choose the report that shows their services history
You will always be able to do a customer lookup and see their full history.
 
So there is no dis-advantage to deleting an employee who has left the company.



To delete an employee see here

C

Any deleted appointments will not show on any reports,
the exceptions are the "cancelled appointments" and the "all date data" reports
providing you followed the cancelled appointment process it will appear on these reports only.
 
A straight deleted appointment will not show on any report as it "in theory" never happened.
This also applies to "paid for" appointments.(see below)

Maybe someone has deleted a paid for appointment?

Which may be a cause for concern if it happens a lot as it could be someone stealing.

To run a report to check for fraudulence look for red text saying:
"THIS IS DELETED" on appointments that are marked as "This is paid for" :

see:
General....      All date based data (with dates)
and
Appointments...deleted appointments by employee

(please read the description/comments top right after you click a report name)

Also see how to Drill Down to see more details.
(If you need this on a report that does not have it let us know.)

C

In Platinum, Departments are more daybook friendly and Offices are different geographic locations normally.

If you do need to report differently on income then departments are the way to go as this allows financial separation.

You can have several departments per Office.

To change the name of your office; that appear on reports, etc see here.

C

Very little.

A non-department setup has:
 employees in department 1
 Opening hours scheduler is department 1 only
 Daybook is department 1 (and user has no awareness of any others existing.)

The department setup has:

Daybook department name drop down on the top of the daybook.

you scroll to the right on most data edit screens and
set the department name in that far right drop down box
(not the daybook drop down but the edit screens on main menu)

The Department name changer can be used to change a name from the DEMOs Department1 to whatever they like.

The Opening hours utility is the same, you just set the department name instead of ignoring it.

To delete a department (at least from the daybook drop down) simply tick the box on the scheduler and
no opening hours will exist for the department for that day.


More advanced(cloning)...

Once you have a good department you can clone a new one but give it a new name, colleges only really
As demo has 4 departments but department2 is 5 minutes daybook so you may want to clone a department1 to department2
As department1 is a 15 minute daybook.


**ALL CHANGES REQUIRE A PLATINUM RESTART**

Troubleshooting:

QU

I have just been setup but when I run the General...Till total by Departments report I see nothing
or only one of my departments?

ANS

Did you click the top left arrows to move between pages?
For it to show it must have an appointment in it
that has been paid for by clicking and paying while IN that department.

C

Slightly more Technical see here

C

Firstly was this A) by accident? or B) do you need multi-departments?

A)
If by accident simply go back into the employee edit screen fro the main menu.
Scroll to the far right using the scroll bar at the very bottom.
Change them back to Department1 or whatever your main department is called.

B)
If you do need multi departments:

To show all your department buttons on the top of the daybook.

Sign in as manager.
go to Advanced 'more setup' menu on the main menu.
hover over the ... button then select.
Easy Setup...Daybook...Departments...Turn departments On
(you can also turn department buttons off here)

OR
=====================================================================
From the start menu navigate to :-
Programs.. Alpha Task.. Platinum.. Xtras.. "Only When Asked"
select
"XConfigure Platinum (only when asked)"

Enter your manager password if asked.(it is the word manager as standard/default)

In the list, search on the left hand column for:

Departments

Set it on the right to Y instead of N (it must be a capital upper case Y)

Save and Exit from XConfig

Completely Exit from Platinum to pickup the changes
=======================================================================

You can always set the employee back to department1 if you don't need multiple departments.

This will show departments on the appointment book
and can be further configured to say and look like your own department names.

C

In Platinum you have a 'department report' to split the finances up
and you can also enable 'departments' so that you each have your own button for
your own electronic diary.

This allows you to run two businesses from the same computer.

C

via Easy Setup
 EMessaging
  Reminders
   Advanced...
	"Reminder Ignores Department (enter the exact name or blank for off)"

The name must match exactly your department name, if you want to see these:

Goto reports
    General...Opening Hours by Department

This will list their name along with scheduled working hours.

C

The cash in/out report is purely for managers to see where the sundries go

(1.00p for milk)

(0.50p for change from milk)

resulting in 0.50p sundries(cash in/out balances at 0.50p)

and you want to know if the milk change came back in, im sure you know this...!

The till totals shows card and cheque amounts in order for you to resolve 

those bits of paper and ensure nothing is lost.

The cash amount is purely there for info only, ie. the total cash taken 

before sundries are removed.

The total cash in the till should be the amount shown at the bottom of the 

screen marked as

"Department Cash In till should be X"

this is less the sundry amount and this should be what is actually in the 

till in cash accounting for the sundries (cash in and out)



Anything that says "Total Income" does not account for sundries (cash in or 

out) as it is the total amount of moneys that

have come in that day.(more for interest really or for approximating 

business income or comparing with other reports)

"Department Sundries X" is the amount I think you need,

this is telling you the sundry amount ie. how much has come in and out of 

the till in total (ie. the 0.50p from milk for the day)


I think the info you need is already there, but if you have a "petty cash system",

and for Platinum to be accurate, you need to tell Platinum what the 

starting "float" values is

ie. if there is 20 pounds in the till as petty cash/float you need to tell 

Platinum this when you run the report.

C

Firstly, you need to have your customer reminder email and optionally the SMS text message setup properly.

Sign in as Manager
'More Advanced Setup'
Hover the mouse over the blue gel-button (...)
choose:
    Easy Setup...eMessaging...Reminders
    
CRUCIAL SETTING:
    How many days, before the appointment, would you like a customer to get a reminder?
    eg. 1 or *blank to switch off* 
        (When off you can tell because when Platinum starts, top left, it should not say anything about reminders)
    
Then optionally click:
    "What time do you want to send reminders out"

Note:
This is 24 hour clock - as standard it is already set at 11, and I would advise 11
(which means 11 am morning time, giving them a chance to cancel/change time)

If you wanted 2pm afternoon time you would type 14 in the box

How many days before the appointment you send reminders out is usually 1

C

If you need email setup see the area mentioned below as both sms text and email are setup from same area.

If you have not had an SMS text message account setup yet; please see here.


*********************************************************************************************************
**Please Please always test to yourself each and every time to make sure you are happy with the message**
*********************************************************************************************************

If you are already setup and running and want to change a small detail see future changes below.


Step 1.

    See how to get to easy setup firstly here.



Step 2.

    *THIS ONLY WORKS ONCE initially* - after that you have to set them separately, see future changes below.

    Choose:
        eMessages... 
    
        "**** FOR MOBILE PHONE SMS TEXT MESSAGES
              FIRST SET YOUR NAME AND TELEPHONE NUMBER - Click Here ****"

    You will be asked *two* questions.

    You will be asked for your business name 
    (keep it short so you have more room for the mobile phone text message)

    You will THEN be asked for your telephone number.

    Restart Platinum to pickup the changes.



See what else you can setup here



Future changes, for example, your main contact number changes:

    Reminder text-message text

        Easy setup...e-Messages...Reminders....Reminders text message text

    General 'message to all customers' text-message text

        Easy setup...e-Messages...set the basic message for customers


    ** Please also change any other areas that are not mentioned specifically
       as they are all there as well! **

C

Important Note:

Please check your email for a low or "out of credit" message
if you or your customers do not get SMS text messages!


Search for your customer name and make sure it has an email address
(and mobile number if testing SMS)
or
Add your own 'New Customer' with your name and email address
(mobile number if you have SMS text service setup)

Click the 'e' to the right of your mobile number to open the eMessaging screen.
(even if only email setup)
Then tick the 'Email' box to the right of your name (or Text if testing that)
Click the Green tick button bottom middle to send.
Click OK to the information message.

Wait a second...

Look in Step 4). does it show an error? If so send it to us
(copy/paste by clicking the right mouse button)
Did you get the email? If so all is working ok.

C

See here.

C

*
*Restart the computer is always the first thing to try if it normally works.*
*

Please see our emergency contact steps here.

If not it is more serious;
see the basic help here,
then...
see the technical help article on this (if you are more technical) here.



What if I have a home or back office copy?

I'm guessing your Internet is indeed running at home and business as this is fundamental?

Can you browse the Internet on both machines?

If not:

    Turn both computers off
    Unplugged the modem at both sites for 60 seconds.
    plug both back in
    Started the computer
    Give it 5 minutes to settle and reconnect.
    
C

Please see our emergency contact steps here.

If you have ever had Platinum actually running and seen data please see here instead.


*If there is no Platinum icon on the desktop and you have not typed any data in yet
*the fastest way is to reinstall from demo website.


The demo-download potential-customer gets a "Is the database running" message
and cannot see any data or gets install failures.

It maybe a very simple case of restoring the database again from the demo as Platinum has failed to do it

*Warning - do not do this if you have entered any data that you want to keep up-to your last backup*
 
After you install Platinum if you can get in but get complaints about no data or "Is database running"
Open Platinum.
Click your right mouse button up near the 'P' of Platinum
Enter your manager pass.word
Choose *Only If asked*... twice
Then  " R estore the database".

That is the first thing to try.

*IF* you have not YET ever setup and sent any messages out with Platinum please see here

This applies to both SMS texts and emailing.
The easiest way to send a message to everyone is to click the eMessaging button on the main menu.
This is everyone in the list.
Right mouse click in the middle of the customers list and choose to bulk tick all SMS's or eMails.

Remember to test a message to yourself firstly to make sure you are happy with it and save it for future use.

To send a message to yourself, a single customer or specific groups see see here.

C

If your license has expired please see here.


The Platinum User Guide has the standard Password, see the Desktop Icon on your Computers Screen.

General Computer tips:

QU
I cannot get on my computer.
I have tried putting in various username and password but it is not allowing any typing to go into the boxes.
It sys:

"UNLOCK COMPUTER
 This computer in use and has been locked.
 Only X(Y)or an administrator can unlock this computer. 
 User name (cursor flashing) 
 Passord 

ANS
It is the computer hardware probably.
Can you please switch the computer on and off? at the mains? unplug it and back in again.
It is not enough just to switch the screen on and off!

If still broken/frozen when it re-loads up:
The physical keyboard may have broken and you may need a new one.
The mouse may have broken.
Has the physical keyboard unplugged itself by accident? Check the wire runs into the back and
has not come out.
It may need new batteries if it is wireless keyboard.
Does the mouse pointer move when you move the mouse? if not the whole computer has crashed and will need restarting.
It is nothing to do with Platinum itself it is a Windows issue.

After all the above restart/switch off and on again and see if it is ok.

C

QU
A stock take sheet. Do you have one?
I Just need something by company without prices to print off to do a quick stock take.

ANS

re:reports for product name and stock numbers.

did you run the Products.....Retail stock count report

(NOTE: there are 4 different ones
       you may need to run tab aware one if you use tab based 'products')

re:re-ordering reports

    products....products that need re-ordering
 
The above is ordered by supplier but we can change these for you.


For quick re-stocking help see here

C

To switch off the demo mode but keep your data:

On the sign in screen (manager / staff / reception screen)
Right click in a blank space 
Enter your normal manager pass.word
Choose 'only when asked'
Then again *only if asked*
Then "switch off demo mode but keep my data"

See here here

OR

To clear only selected data out here.




OR
*WARNING: Read carefully!*
If you want to clear out ALL data that you have entered so far.
use the more/easy setup...'Switch off demo mode' button. 
It will only work once and will warn you that you are about to delete all data.

C

Firstly, please see the Rostering basics here.

---

The easiest thing is to set up the "off time" - the same as lunches are setup now.

And then repeat this each month - so you setup each month ahead of time.

If we take kim:
as she is off for the whole day you can roster her off completely on wednesday and sundays 
(via Advanced 'more setup' menu - roster button)

but she works Saturday 12.00am 5.00pm

so for example to set her 'off time'  up to 12:00 and then after 5:00

If you click in kims column
click the first empty cell on your daybook at your opening time 
eg. 8am 
then click the OFF button (next to lunch and training)
and set that to 2 hours.

This will show her as 'off' from 8am until 12pm when she then starts work.

When you have done this you will be asked if you want to repeat this 
you can click yes and repeat this for the month or even the year.

If you setup just one week this way you can repeat it next month very easily.

Note: 
I would advise doing this for just a few months and then do it again.
If you do repeat for 52 weeks or more it could slow down your database.

See also scheduling 'away' time here
See also rostering employees off here

C

(Ask about improvements to this feature.)

It depends if they are Rostered in individually on a day by day basis
or
if they are ticked in the "same day off each week" area on the rostering screen.

If they are set as in on a day by day basis you simply undo that one day and remove the
bold colour from that specific day.

If they are set as always off on a specific day
e.g. Wednesday is not ticked meaning they are off each Wednesday.
You would have to tick it to show them on the daybook
BUT CRUCIALLY REMEMBER TO UNTICK IT AGAIN ASAP Thursday or Wednesday night for next week
or they will get booked up when actually are not working.

Please see the Rostering basics here.

C

If you get a new delivery of products,
you can use our program to increase your stock by e.g., 20
without a calculator and without doing the calculations in your head.

If you have 20 of the exact same product delivered:

Sign in as manager.
Go to 'More Setup' on the main menu
Hover over the blue gel-button top left (...)
choose
    easy setup...manage....product...delivery
        "Add Bulk Product Totals To The Database after a stock delivery"

You can scan the product in your hand and
enter 20 in the box and click OK this will
add 20 to the stock level of the product you have in your hand
Click OK *One click only*

Tip:

*Please be very careful to not click the button twice as it will
*add the stock on twice, best to check each time that its ok.

For an easy stock take report see here

C

Please read some basic information on reports here

QU

Please can you tell me if it possible to e-mail our financial reports to our 
main branch if they were to get broadband connection?

ANS

Currently you have a few options to send reports ranging from simple to advanced:

1.
Advanced

One simpler but manual option is here

and

A more advanced/flexible way here
(NOTE: requires setup at a cost if you need help with setup) 


2.
Very Simple and automatic

You can add an employees email address to their record and it will automatically send 30 days of
appointments report to them when you close Platinum for the night
as part of the data backup process.  For very easy setup see here.

You can however very quickly do this manually.

Open the report with the correct data in it.

Click the White envelope icon with the red arrow pointing to it
(this is the export option -
 if you cannot see it hover your mouse on the icons at the top and choose 'export')


This allows you to export into Word, Excel, Text, or PDF
(Adobe reader format - a freely downloadable tool)


The nicest format that cannot accidentally be edited is the 'Adobe PDF' but they 

need to install the reader to open it on the other end

get it here (as of Aug 2008)

http://ardownload.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/7x/7.0.7/enu/AdbeRdr707_DLM_en_US.exe

or

http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-READER

if the above no longer works.

simply save the file where you normally save files, and then open your web 

or windows e-mail tool

then attach the newly saved file to the email and send it to them.

Its a 1 minute task.

Tip:
If you want employee emails stored but you *Do Not* want them to get the above appointment email
set in XConfig AppointmentReportExport to N (read top of technical help page for the XConfig basics)

C

    QU
    Once I have the program installed, will I be able to go back and add previous transactions, 
    and put in the previous dates and everything?
    Will it automatically accept these transactions from past months, 
    and arrange them in the order they should be?
    
    ANS
    We can help with that to bulk flag as paid instead of you paying for each one individually.
    Mainly you will use the calendar that pops up top Left of the daybook.
    When you click the date that is top left on the daybook you can jump between dates
    and put in appointments past, present and future.

    In truth if you have been open for a long time or even a few months it may be better just to start
    fresh with the computer and just put in customers but not their entire history.
    Even computerising your paper cards may be a waste of time if 25%+ of those customers have left the area!
    
    C
    

Barcodes are the fastest way to sell!

If you have lists from suppliers we can help you import them in one step to save typing.


In Summary:

If it has a Flat metal USB plug on the other end of the scanner
it is simply a matter of plugging it into the back of the
computer in an empty USB slot and start to use it.

First test:

For testing your hand scanner use a barcode printed on a Music Audio-CD
or a white label with very clear black barcode.
Do not use a barcode that is behind a plastic bag or clear sheet.

You can open word or notepad or word pad in Windows to test that it works.
If you see a lot of numbers appear on screen when you scan a product it is working.

If that doesn't help you will need to talk to the supplier as it could be broken.
Especially if it doesn't have lights/doesn't beep when you press/trigger it.



To train the hand scanner to know your products :-
==================================================

Go to the main menu

Click the product button

In the Platinum new product screen go to the products name
that you have in your hand ready to scan.

Put your finger below the name of the product as if you were reading a book, 
this is to keep your place.
(dont press the screen if you have a touch screen)

Scroll along to the right using the bottom scroll bar
until you see the "barcode" column.

Click in the cell and scan the bar code that is on the product
(make sure it is the right cell in the row of the product you want)

To scan you may need to press a button on the hand scanner when in position
or the more expensive ones will auto-sense a code and register it automatically.

You will see its barcode number appear in the cell.

When you sell a product simply scan it again on the "product shopping basket 
screen" to select it.

TIP : If it does not get selected when you scan it click 
      the empty little box, that is bottom left of the screen.




Barcode scanner installation on your computer (Not USB)
=======================================================

If not a flat metal USB plug its a little more complex and it might be a good idea
to print these instructions!

Please read them once before doing anything,
and then step by step again as you do it.


Steps to plug in the hand scanner :-


First completely close windows properly and make sure your computer is off.



Next find out what sort of keyboard you have.

Follow the keyboard wire down to the computer, unplug the keyboard, BUT 

remember where it went.



Is the plug flat with no pins? If so its is a USB keyboard.

Is the plug round with pins? If so it is a PS2 keyboard.



If it is a PS2 keyboard
=======================

On the hand scanners wires you will see one end that has pins, this goes 

into the computer. (see attached scanner-plugs.jpg)

Find where the keyboard plugged into the PS2 keyboard port, it will have a 

circle with lots of tiny holes in.

NOTE: There may also be a mouse PS2 port, BUT YOU CANNOT USE THIS FOR THE 

HAND SCANNER.

The words "mouse" or "keyboard" are generally written or a small picture 

will show you the difference.

Plug the hand scanner wire with pins on, into the PS2 port on the computer 

(it has just tony holes) you will need to twist it gentle until it fits.

Plug your keyboard into the spare wire that hangs out of the hand scanner, 

again it has just tiny holes.



If it is a USB keyboard
=======================

Plug the keyboard back into the flat slot that it came out of, we can forget 

about that now.

Find the PS2 keyboard port, it will have a circle with lots of tiny holes 

in.

NOTE: There may also be a mouse PS2 port, BUT YOU CANNOT USE THIS FOR THE 

HAND SCANNER.

The words "mouse" or "keyboard" are generally written or a small picture 

will show you the difference.

Plug the hand scanner wire with pins on, into the PS2 port on the computer 

(it has just tiny holes) you will need to twist it gentle until it fits.


Other info:

When you are selling products e.g., on the Quick Product Sale Screen
If your product list is very long and you do not have a barcode reader/hand scanner.
You can also type part of the product name and press enter after half 
a second to search (this will save a lot of time scrolling down)

If you are scrolling down the product list to search you shouldn't be
above is a faster way.

Also see how to print your own barcodes here

Troubleshooting:

You can reset scanners using the original 'instruction manuals' reset barcodes, generally in the back.

C

Yes, you can track them just like you can on paper cards...but without the mistakes and missing papers!

You can run a Course Report that will show you all of a customers courses.

You can run a report from the specific customers profile that will show you JUST that customers courses.

Customers can 'buy' a course based on a service/treatment they just had.(up-selling)

You can then 'pay' (remove one credit) for the subsequent service/treatments they have in future
from the payment type screen by using the Course button
(it is on the payment total screen where you see cash, card, cheque, tab)

When you pay with the course button one 'course credit' is removed from their customer profile for
the service/treatment they just had. Fast and easy. No messing with paper cards!

When the customer is paying you will be reminded to try to up-sell a course of the treatment they just had
"Did you like/enjoy it? Would you like to buy a course of it?"

Once bought the 'course credit' number will be added to their customer profile

You can set the standard number of courses that are sold from the 'More Advanced Setup' area.
easy setup...manage....courses... 'set the standard number of sessions for a course'
e.g. 6 for price of 5

NOTE:

Courses, v ouchers and Tab are quite different and can be used together.

Platinum is set as standard for 6 for the price of 5
so effectively the one they had is free.
It can be changed to any number as standard in easy setup

Redeeming Course Credits
When the customer re-visits to 'use a course credit' you just click the course button instead of 
e.g., Cash
It will then minus one from their 'course credit'

If you are computerising existing paper cards with course credit already bought you can add those partly used 
course to that customer profile.

    Search for the customer.
    Open the customers profile, hover your mouse pointer over the top left (...) blue gel-button
    Choose Courses...
    From here you can report on their existing courses, add or remove 'course credits' to their profile.

Important Note:

    It must be one course per appointment.
    You must only add one service/treatment to one appointment at a time.
    (this will be improved in future, please ask us if it has been)

To switch the course up-sell prompt off see here

For manually adding a single purchase of a Course instead of via payment process see here

For Bulk purchases of Courses instead of via payment process see here

    
more Q and A....



Q
If there are 2 courses running in tandem, how does the system know which course to take the credit from? 

A
This is the crucial concept; It knows because each course is linked one-to-one with a service/treatment.
When the appointment is booked with just that single service, when a “course credit” is used (course button is clicked)
the system knows that customer has a course credit for that specific service/treatment.

To further this example by a contrast; If a customer has a course of ServiceX all paid for a ready to go
their course credit will never change unless an appointment is added with a single ServiceX assigned
and then paid for using the course button at check-out.

So the courses are kept very separate.

There would never be two courses of the “exact same” ServiceX for one customer,
each Customers course would be an entirely different Service/Treatment.



Q
How do I put course income into the system if not sold during checkout? 
(this will be improved please ask for latest status!)

A friend of a customer came in and paid for a course for their birthday but are not actually using it now
and have not bought it through the sales process/up-selling prcess 'will they buy a course?' prompt.


ANS
You need to do a customer lookup and add the course credits for the relevant service/treatment to their record
via the top left blue gel-button(...) but you must then put the income through as well.

You can put cash through in a number of ways (right mouse on daybook..xtras...add cash to till, etc.)

You can create a product called 'Miscellaneous' or 'My Price' with a zero cost.
When you do a 'Quick Product Sale' this will ask you how much to charge.
so you can use this to 'ring-thru' odd amounts and add the course credit manually via the profile 
(...) blue gel-button



Q
Can I have more than one course running at a time (is there a limit?) 
A
No limits, you can manage multiple-courses-at-a-time,
per-customer and the only limit is one per service/treatment that you sell on the daybook.
So there must only be one appointment with only one service/treatment if using courses.


Q
Can this report be automated so that it is run daily and sits on the desktop
(or somewhere where the team can easily find it and use it?) 
A
Yes but what would be easier, and of course not out of date (reading from live-data),
would be to setup the reports shortlists for the staff login,
then JUST that one report can be listed. See more here
Data that is used on a LIVE system, when exported, is bad as it is immediately out of date!


Q
Once the course is used up - is there an historical view of the courses that they have had/used already?
A
There is a paid-with-course flag on the customer lookup screen.
Do a lookup and then scroll the customer history-dates window slightly to the right ->
The course will be removed from their record once all used up.

In terms of where are we in the course, there are multi-reports;
one specific to the customer for course use
and
a report showing all customers courses (who have outstanding courses) 



Q
I am initially computerising paper cards with courses on, not as part of the checkout/payment process?
A
Search for a customer via Customer Lookup
click the profile button to open their record
click the top left the (...) way is only used when initially computerising paper cards
or re-crediting a disgruntled customer.
it does not touch finances.



Commission payments, refunds and employees leaving but with customers who still have course credits?

Commission is given on the day. yes and not split up each time.
this is probably simpler as you did take the cash and do owe the commission to staff in fairness.
We do realise that staff leave and you may feel that retaining their commission is a good way to retain staff.

(please ask for latest status on this)
We do have a pure beauty customer who wants the % to be credited AS THE COURSE CREDITS ARE USED. 
due to people using 5 and never coming back
for the other 5. which I feel is a bit bad on the staff. but...its on the list to do.

On course reports their is a 'sold by' column this is how commissions are resolved should an employee 
leave and you have already paid them commission. 
Some owner/managers remove that commission (that is already paid) from any commission payments owed when they 
leave.




Course history auditing?

QU
I have a customer who swears they did not use all their courses up as-yet!

ANS
Course history can be seen on the customer lookup/date-history screen 
An "O" means a Course credit was used.

Steps:

Search for the customer.
Find a date of the appointment.
Scroll that little window tothe right ->
The column that is next to the date of the appointment in the history screen shows how it was paid for
(if not a mixed payment!)

If you see an O, it was "paid for" using the "Course" button, so one credit uses of their total course
credits bought
or 
"1 Course credit used"

If you wanted to see WHAT they had you would look to the right and see the service shortcode for that date.

This is giving course auditing as you can see history and what was removing 1 from their course credit
along with the treatment they had and the date.





Courses and customers splitting payments to make it more affordable
===================================================================
QU
We have expensive services/treatments and our customers split this down over two or more payments.



ANS
You can assign a split payment warning so that when they are at a certain course-credit number
it will warn the user that the customer needs to pay again for the balance of that course.

You need to set this in Easy Setup...Manage...Courses
    Standard Block At Level For A Split Payment Course

For example if your courses are always 6 sessions and your customers pay in two lots
this would be set to 3.



Taking the payment:

If they owe 300 but are only paying 150 now.
You will be asked how many sessions and how many until they need to pay more.
The calculation will be made based on this e.g. 150 owed.

You can do a % discount to get a figure that they are happy to pay
and track the remaining amounts easily instead.

Important:
The Due Amount must always match what is actually taken,
this is so that your figures on reports are correct.




When your customer comes in you can look in their history via customer lookup.
Search for their name, click their name, middle left < - -   is the history dates window.
If you scroll the history dates window to the right - - >  you will see both how the course
was paid for..
    e.g. 'Q' for cheque
or a credit was used 
    e.g. 'O'

You can also see the service/treatment amount due of the whole amount.
    e.g. 150  (of 300)

You can easily then see how much more they need to pay to continue on with the split-pay course.
    e.g. 150 more owed (to total 300; paid in two lots)



xconfig:StandardBlockAtLevelForASplitPaymentCourse

Troubleshooting

.
Upgrades where new course features are needed, tip: CourseId to Identity type.

C

To initially setup Courses please read the basics here.

QU
I need to check the courses we have currently running.

ANS
For the reports basics please read the crucial information here.

Run the report:
    Customers...'Courses of all Customers'

C

Data Privacy:

My advice is that there are two types of owner.
The ones that have been burned and the ones that have not been yet!

Protect your customer data from staff theft. Or you may feel very sorry you didn't.
We talk to lots of businesses and this happens a lot.

You can fully protect your customer data from staff theft by stopping them from seeing it and
by protecting it with secret words (pass words).

Sign in as manager
click 'more setup'
hover your mouse top left over the blue gel-button (...)
choose
    Easy setup.....privacy..
        e.g.,
            "Show customer details in Name search and daybook popup text?"

More technical via XConfig to turn it back on:

    CustomerNameSearchIncludesContactDetails
    DaybookAppointmentHoverShowsContactDetails

For reducing data access for staff see here.

C

Please see here.

Make sure your computer is logged in as a Windows Administrator
or the configuration steps will not work. (not a limited user)
Sign in as manager
On the main menu

Click Advanced 'more setup' menu
hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 
Choose Easy Setup....

Then follow the specific path you have been given to enable or disable your options.

C

This is VERY important information and will save you a huge amout of time when selecting things.

If you keep your products and services lists in order this may help to select your top 20 sellers
more quickly by clicking/touching your screen.

However, it actually doesn't matter about order as there are much more efficient ways than
scrolling through lists to find the chosen item.

We have some advanced search options available and of course barcodes for products.

Hand barcode-readers are the fastest way to get customers through your till.
You can create and print your own barcodes out if products do not have barcodes.

If you do not have one or if products do not have a code on them :-

If you choose Quick Product Sale from the main menu,
then type in a few letters of the product name
*wait a split second* and then hit the enter key on the computer keyboard
it will show any products with those letter in its name. (a partial match search)

click or touch as normal to select the product and add it to the shopping basket

Press ESC (top left on the computer keyboard) to show the entire list again.

Alternatively, if you want to search for a product range, maybe by supplier/manufacturer
you can setup the top left blue gel-button (...) - you can hover over it with your mouse 
and setup 8 ranges to reduce your products list down.

You can also do similar when selecting services.
When the service list is showing, just start typing the *short code* for the service 
and a box will pop up, type its exact full short code and press enter to select it
instead of scrolling and finding it and clicking it.

If you get it wrong it will search in the service/treatment 'name' list instead
and give you a choice of partial matches.

Just a few 'speed up' tricks.

Also see:

Range Labels.
Reducing The Product List To A Range.
Alphabetic Ordered List.

C

For the reports basics please read the crucial information here.

You have a few options based on how your business works

Do you use    v o u c h e r s?

    If so use the Financial...End of day   reports

    If not use the General...End of day   reports

Do you have multi-departments and daybooks?

    If so use a "department aware" rather than just an office end of day till total report.
    These reports split the figures into your respective departments.

Remember that you can:

    Batch print common reports
    short list reports lists to daily use/common reports
    restrict the reports list for less senior staff
    password reports for only trusted employees

While you get use to using a computer-based till these are common questions:

Also see the Till total down article.
Also see the Till does not Match article.
Also see the Till accuracy article.
Also see the Tips and till accuracy article.

Tip:

You can lock down and 'open up with secret pass words' most areas including reports:
See here

C

QU

Can I print the daily view for everyone?
OR
To stop staff hanging around the desk/computer area, we would like to highlight 
the employee and just print their bookings for a particular day.

ANS

You have three options: 

a. On the daybook, resize the employee column using the name-header (hover over the border to see the arrows
   like in excel), print the daybook using the printer picture you see near the '7' day buttons.

OR

b. On the daybook, right click the employee's column and choose 'show this employee's appointments'

OR

c. Run the appointments report for all the employees from reports...Appointments...All Appointments all departments.
   (can selectively print pages if needed but b. above is better if so)


More Details:

a.
Printing out an employee's day and a customers history directly from the daybook grid.

You can print the daybook off -as it looks at the time- using the printer picture that is over on the right 
hand side (below the 7 day move button)

This will print out what you see directly.


The daybook printing is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
and you can adjust the columns like you can in e xcel.

To widen the columns - or indeed remove a column so you can fit more on the printed page:
Hover your mouse pointer - between the column headers - so....between the employee names.
The pointer will turn into a double headed arrow.
Click and hold down to drag - this allows you to resize the columns.

If you click that printer icon on the daybook (right hand side below the 7 -> and 7 <- day move buttons)
The printer icon will print what you see - so you can customise this to look as you want it to on the page.
Hover over the printer image for a popup of more use details. 

Once you close the daybook and open it again the columns will return to how they were before.

re:for employees,one name on the page and one page for each employee to pickup and take away.

alternatively print the daybook twice (1 complete copy for front desk) and cut out strips may be a solution?
You can also change the column widths (WYSIWYG printing)

The daybook and all data grids (the e xcel style grids that are editable) are printed as landscape,
with a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) style, so you can alter columns width and it will print
as-you-see-it on screen.

Always remember that the paper is out of date as soon as it is printed. the screen will not be.
I've seen first hand, employees getting in the way of reception, so I understand!!


b.
If you go to the DayBook and *Right* mouse click in any employees column, anywhere in the cells, 
then choose the option called:"View This Employees Appointments" this will give you their appointment
day schedule, which can be printed.

NOTE: Also from here you can print the customers history by *Right* mouse clicking *ON* the specific 
customers appointment (coloured cell).and selecting "View This Customers Past Appointments" 

In the morning If you/they go to the daybook and right click in their 
employee column (anywhere) then select "View this employees appointments".
It will give them the a printable report.




c. report method
Appointments...All Appointments all departments
Some people prefer this method. It will show a very detailed page of the employees day.
You can staple it all together and it gives you details like telephone number
and what they are having done (service/treatments)

C

QU

Have just discovered that there is no means of calculating service sales by employee,
as just discovered that gross takings includes products sold.
Products does not come into service sales for comission totals in our business.

Is there another report that just gives totals for services.


ANS

see REPORTS...SALES...Services
 
There are a number there for example: 
 
Service sales details by Employee
Service sales summary by employee

M

QU

We only seem to get appointments printed for repeat bookings and it does not print one for a new booking?

ANS

Rebooking auto prints the reminder if you have a receipt printer, but there is the ability to force-print an appointment reminder
from by clicking your right mouse button on a blank space on the appointment details screen itself.

Then choose "Print Appointment Reminder".

C

Please see here.

C

After you go-live and restart Platinum you will not get the popup help messages
BUT you can click the? button (Top right) to get them back temporarily.

Clicking the '?' will give you help only once for each session.
It will not change your data or allow you to go-live and erase data. It is safe to use.

If you find the popups annoying:

.
Leave the help web page open all the time so you don't have to click '?' to get to it.

.
Click the 'Help Me' button on the main menu instead
as this is the same area and features a better word search feature.

C

Q
When creating a new customer if I put the Christian name first, that is what appears 
on the day page next to the service, 
this is a bit of a problem if you have several people in with the same Christian name, 
if I swap and put the surname first that solves that, but emails, text messages and 
letters now have their name reversed!

A
You should always put their full name in as their customers name,
first and last order, as you say for the letters, emails and text messages, 
etc. to be accurate "FirstName Surname" format.

Sign in as Manager, Go to Main Menu, Advanced 'more setup' menu, hover over the blue gel-button (...) 
(or *Right* mouse click top left in any blank space if no blue button)
Choose Easy Setup...Daybook...customers.....Firstname, Surname or full name (you have 3 choices.)

Try it - but this time there is no need to restart Platinum.

C

At all times if you need to change the text of receipts, etc., you must use notepad
you cannot use word, or wordpad(rtf).


If Platinum has not yet printed a receipt when you pay, please click here first.


If receipts are printing ok:

To configure the receipt text you need to right mouse click on the first screen in any blank space

(that is the manager staff\reception screen). 

enter your manager pass.word if asked

choose "Only when asked"... Xtras... Customer Xperience

"Change my Customer Receipt picture"
and
"Change my Customer Receipt text"
-----------
changing the text is fiddly and so make sure you have a good few minutes to get it right and test it out.

Top Tips:

Use the space bar character and not tab button.
Tab is treated differently from the same number of spaces when printed.
If you stuff is out of line use spaces not tabs!

If you need to add a currency sign add it to the top centrally above the actual figures.

---
failing that open and edit 
C:\Program Files\Alpha Task\Platinum\ReceiptFile.txt
and
C:\Program Files\Alpha Task\Platinum\ReceiptFile.BMP

Troubleshooting:

If you are running Windows newer than XP
and find you cannot save your text follow these instructions Here.

Receipt picture alignment:
Check that there are no borders on the actual bitmap you are using.

If not then move all the text one space character to the left of right this 
will centre it to the image which is always drawn in the exact same place.

OR

create a few pixels border to centre the image within the text.
one of the other should do it.

 
use:
Easy Setup...Point of sale...Cash drawer...Wizard
 
If not a option you can see, please let us know.

More here...

C

QU

I am getting some errors back to me saying it cannot send emails or mailbox unavailable

ANS

It looks like the usual sort of problems you would get if you emailed directly yourself

e.g mailbox unavailable - probably means their inbox is full or the email address is completely dead,
    but you can resend later to double check.

you can retry MANUALLY - emailing directly to an email address from your "OWN" personal email account
and see if you get the same message (99.99% you will).

sometimes the emails take a while to get through
(especially as we are cheating and doing a naughty mass mail-out)

.
Some may get blocked by your Internet provider, or their side, or any number of other reasons.
Sometimes your Internet provider will allow just 15 emails per hour or 100, 200 or 300 messages only per day to go out,
you can call them to ask about this. "Do you allow only a set amount of SMTP emails per day?"

If you do find this we have a feature "range marketing" see here.


Tips:

Do you get a test to yourself if you send just one message to yourself firstly?
*You should always do this regardless to audition your messages*

You can find out who the email that bounces belongs to by copy/pasting
it into the name box in the customer lookup screen.
(So long as there is an @ there, it will search for email address rather than the customers name)

Then on their customer profile in the notes section at the bottom 
make a note about a bad email address
and ask them when they come in what their new email is.

See the Customer Warning example here.

As a rule we advise that each customer who comes in should be asked:

Does your mobile still end 123?
Is your email still @aol.com?
Is your address still 5, ang mere?

This keeps you up-to-date and if they do go elsewhere
means that you can get them back more easily rather 
than them being "GONE FOREVER" if you have no future contact details!

More Tips...

Email address accuracy..

space bar characters are not allowed in email addresses
It is only recommended to have one customer email address on record
but if you do have 2 use a , (a comma) or ; (a semi-colon) to break multiple emails up for same customer
or it will not send any at all via eMessaging
a : (colon) will not work 
and notes in the email address are definitely out (customer profile notes is where these go)

For neither example below will go out and you do get a  w arning in the log to allow you to go back and fix
(you can search by email address remember)...

examples of bad email addressbox text:
mariam.soens@gmail.com:I think this is what she wrote  (!no comments in email addresses, put in notes!)
mm@g mail.com   (!no spaces!)
marium.hab@gmail.com:mHab@hotmail.com  (!  no colon:   but you can use semi-colon ;!)

Why my reminders may not go out, or appear in manual reminders from main menu? see here

More tips:

If the log looks like it sent most of them at least from Platinums perspective.
They could get blocked on your Internet service providers side.

If you are getting a lot of
"Too many messages"
maybe call your Internet service provider and ask them how many you can send per day from your "SMTP" account?

You can use the range marketing from the right mouse button on the customer names list
to selected the first 1000 then next day the next 1000 and so on.
This will be safer than getting blocked or black listed as a junk mail / spammer

Also IF you have a load of bad email addresses in the log that really doesn't help to see what happening in the "outgoing" logs
if you can clean them up e.g. maybe some have a # not an @ in their email address like daniel#hotmail.com
these can be easily and quickly cleaned up.

Remember if an appointment reminder shows, but is not on the daybook, it may have been moved or deleted after the reminders went out.
e.g. Reminders go out at 11am, customer calls to cancel or reschedule.


In terms of output from customer profile you can:

    a) Open Customer Related Documents
       e.g., open 1 or more templates (any file type) for a new sign up or indeed a disclaimer/accident waiver type form
            (we use this ourselves for the mail merging of info pack letters you will have receieved)

    b) Produce a mailing label just for that customers address.

C

Reversing an employee moved to a different department.

Open the employee screen from the main menu.
Find the one you moved.
Scroll to the far right.
Change the department back to the one it was.
 
None of these operations will erase any appointments.

C

When one person pays for multiple appointments:

Hold down the 'Magic' SHIFT /\ key on the computer keyboard and click each appointment
that you want to pay for. The first person will pay the whole bill.
More details are below.

Alternatives to the above:

1)  When you see the service/treatment list, click any price and change it, you can double that number
    if two people are having the same service/treatment.

2)  Use just one of the persons names instead of two names, when you come to pay it will add up all appointments with that persons name.


More Details on multi-customer appointment-based payments but paid for by one person:
============
Look at the computer keyboard
Between the CTRL and CAPS LOCK is the SHIFT key it has the symbol /\ on it.
HOLD this down
click the appointment of the person who is paying.
Click any other appointments that the person will be paying for. e.g. a friends appointment
Examine the list of customers to make sure it is right.
Click the green tick to submit it and the due amount and payment type will be shown.
Choose a payment type.
Each appointment in the list will now turn green and be marked as paid.

Alternatively:
Do two appointments with the very same customer name,
ie. use just one of their names.
When you come to pay Platinum will calculate all appointments that day with that person.

Either way allows you to easily pay for many people under one bill.




Multiple Walk-In appointments paid for by one person
====================================================
You may need your Platinum setup differently by us but
you can have one person pay for multiple peoples appointments.

This is very simple and works by holding down the MAGIC SHIFT key again
as you click the OK/tick button on the service choice screen.

Do as many of these as you need to do and then finally DO NOT hold down SHIFT
and the final total will be calculated.
This will include all walk-in appointments that you have added.

C

Is receipt printing optional? 

Yes it is.

Clients who have the 'customer wants a receipt?' question enabled
and have a cash drawer attached to the receipt printer, 
if they click No the cash drawer won't open as no receipt is printed.

Because there is no signal\document going into the receipt printer at all to trigger the cashdrawer.

In this case they would need a key to open the drawer or it can be setup in a different way to allow it to open!

To set this question on, goto:
Advanced 'more setup' menu (from Main Menu), Point of Sale,Receipt Printer,
'I want to be asked if a customer wants a receipt printed'

Restart the program completely by exiting out, and then come back in.
It will now ask if they want a receipt when they are paying.

Alternatively you can search for 
PrintAReceiptQuestion
in the
XConfig(configuration) tool
to manually set this if it does not appear in the Advanced 'more setup' menu

More see here...

C

You can click a product 20 times!
or
You can hold down SHIFT /\ key on the physical computer keyboard as you click one.

It will ask for the quantity, you wish to add to the basket and then will add them.

C

    (Note: For advanced staff auditing you need to enable PIN mode so you know who/when 
           and run the General....'Whats been happening' report for the details)

The Worklog:

You can see in the worklog when Platinum was started and stopped.

You can see a log of what reminders, etc have gone out already.

To see a day by day log of what has been sent out for X amount of time:

in Windows newer than XP
click the ORB (bottom left)
type in the word:

ReminderLog

you will see it in the list,
click to open it and go to the bottom to see todays reminders.

OR

in Windows XP
Click 'Start' (bottom left) 
then
Programs....Alpha task....Platinum....Xtras..
"Show me the Platinum Work Log"
click to read and go to the bottom to see todays reminders.

All dates are on the left (world friendly) and the events are on the right.


====

Trouble shooting Tips if it "HAS" work in the past:

Please be aware that using a web e-mail client (you open an Internet browser and sign-in to an email page) is
not using the same method as Platinum does. Platinum uses SMTP-Emailing, your webMail uses HTTP-Emailing.
You cannot compare these and say "It worked today via my Web eMail page".
If it has worked in the past it is most likely that your provider is blocking you or new security software is blocking Platinum.
If Platinum worked before and is unchanged it is not Platinum that is at fault.


Do not use wireless as it drops the connection and can stop one or all messages going out.



If Text messages are supposed to be going out and you see no mobile telephone numbers in the list
then it has been switched off! See Easy Setup..Emessaging...    and turn on the Reminder Texts, etc.
(TECHNICAL: query script "select * from XConfiguration" and look for "ReminderTextMessagesOn" set to "T" (true/on) or "F" (false/off)


On looking for problems in the log...


"The user closed Platinum. Thread was being aborted."
    This is normal, just happens when you close Platinum down and have reminders, etc running.



"Service not available, closing transmission channel.
 The server response was: resources temporarily unavailable.  Please try again later."

    This can be due to an email address that is mangled/not typed in properly.
    You may have also sent too many emails in one go, you may now be blocked temporarily, try using batches of 500 or such like.
    You can limit them by click your right mouse button on the customer list and do Email...Range



"too many message"
    Sending out too many at one time for the broadband providers liking so they block some/all from then.
    Talk to the provider about how many you can send in a 24 hrs time-frame
    and then use the email "range" feature on the right mouse button over the customer names list to only send 1000 a day or whatever.


"You might not be connected to the Internet, you need to be to send emails! Wireless connections are not recommended."
    You may be temporarily disconnecting from the Internet and Platinum needs a stable wired-up connection.
    Platinum will tell you this if you look at the top bar across the very top of your screen when Platinum is in front of you
    If it says "No Internet" you need to restart the machine and then browse to a web page to make sure it has reconnected properly.


The remote name could not be resolved: 'smtp.YourProvidersName.net' or The remote name could not be resolved: 'www.icetrak.com'
    Newly installed security software can block Platinum from talking out the Internet?


"Your email provider might be blocking these messages"
    If you send a lot- wait a day or send a set number a day(use range feature on right mouse)
    call and ask the Internet provider who many emails they allow over their SMTP-email srvice per day?


"44+44877589554"
   This is a mangled/invalid telephone number in customer profile or the managers mobile number in xconfig or the SMSPrefix is setup wrongly
   All telephone numbers should start with a zero in the customer profile not an international dialing code.

More advanced...

    .
    can you DOS ping the SMTP name from a command prompt type:
     ping send.vodafone.net
    this will tell you if A) its alive and B) the machine can talk to it.
    (this is not always 100% bullet-'proof' you may get "Request timed out." (as I do trying it now myself) and it still maybe alive, but its a start)
    
    .
    In easy setup (or Xconfig) Try replacing the SmtpServer name with its IP address from the above ping
    e.g. 212.183.156.230 instead of send.vodafone.net
    As a name is always resolved to an IP address you can eliminate that "Name Lookup" step as a possible failure point.
    
    .   
    Set up the account in Outlook or outlook express/Windows Mail instead to test the basics out-side of Platinum:
        Tools - email accounts - view/change existing email accounts - highlight account and select change
                select more settings - under the general or advanced tab enter your details,
                again you can try the IP address directly but a name future proofes you for any changes.
        Change the time-out time to Maximum if available.    
        
    .
    (**this next step may disconnect you entirely from a remote control session, or you may have to wait a few minutes to self-reconnect**)
    again from a black DOS command prompt type:
     ipconfig /flushdns
    

    
====

Trouble shooting Tips if it has "NEVER" work in the past:

"The SMTP host was not specified."    "The SMTP host name was not specified".
   The SMTP details are wrong or maybe blank/not yet specified from this message.
   Does the basic test work from 'e' next to their mobile in customer profile?
   


"The process cannot access the file C:\Program Files\AlphaTask\Platinum\ReminderLog.txt"
    Platinum cannot open the log prob. as its open in notepad or some other util. it must be closed ASAP after investigations.



"The remote name could not be resolved: YourSmsProvidersName.net"
    Its pretty conclusive that this is why its not working, the error says it does not exist
    To see if it exists or can be 'called' from your machine, test you can "PING" from the black DOS/command prompt
    (click Start ..run..cmd/command) and type:
	ping YourSmsProvidersName.net
    See if it answers the ping(your security software maybe blocking it try temporarily stopping that - look bottom right, click < to expose them all)



More Technical:
You can also see the Exceptions log if it is a more serious problem, see the admin helpers area.

C

See here.

C

**
First, If messages are not going out,
       please read the basic help for issues with sending messages out here
**

---Then---

A Reminders list can be blank if the reminders have already run/be sent that day and the system protects you from RE-reminding them
by accident.

Please ensure any Electronic Marketing you do via eMessaging to all of your clients is done AFTER the reminders
have gone out or they will clash.  Only use eMessaging at the end of the day to be safe.

When the customer registered via website (via iBook; Platinums Internet booking system)
or 
when you typed them in on their first visit day, did you unticked the boxes about being 
contacted for reminders and marketing? Look on their customer profile, are the boxes ticked?
Only if ticked they will show on the list.


If none on the below help you always tell us the names of the people in question so we can research without asking you for them?


FOR SMS-Text only...

  Do they definitely have their mobile numbers in the system?

  Are the mobile numbers definitely 100% correct in the system?

  Can you open the work log and see if their numbers or names are in the worklog?(search for keyword worklog in the help)

  Do you still get the sent-confirmation email from the SMS text provider company?
    If so, do you see the reminder number in those emails?

    Do you have enough SMS Text credits still? Check your emails carefully for a top-up reminder.

  Can you tell us the names or mobile numbers of those who did not get a message,
  so that we can ask the SMS provider why they did not get a reminder?


For Email also...

    Do they have blank e-mail AND mobile numbers, if so they will not show.

    Is the customer NOW deleted even though they have an associated booking that has NOT been deleted.
        (Opening the appointment will tell you if the customer is deleted)
    

More Details...

If the reminders have already been sent out you will not see anyone in the manual reminder list available from the Main Menu.
So be careful when using that as an indicator.
They do not appear in the list if they have already had a reminder.

Remember that the computer also must be on and connected to the Internet to send reminders at your specified time
(see top title bar in Platinum for this time)
If the computer was off or off the Internet it cannot send the reminders.



Other resons the reminders may not go out/will not send reminders:

Your customer must have a mobile and/or email as a minimum
If there are no contact details, it cannot work so doesn't show.

OR

Have you recently sent out marketing messages to EVERYONE? It is better to do this after hours, this ensures they do not clash
with reminders being sent out.
If a person has been contacted once that day they will not be contacted again with the automatic methods like reminders.

OR

Your customer specifically said they do not want any contact, reminder or marketing, and your staff member unticked the privacy boxes.
This will then remove them from the list.

OR

If you have already sent a reminder (you may have done if you rebooted Platinum)

If staff book it on a Wednesday after the reminders have gone out they will not get a reminder
for the appointment on the Thursday. 
Because when the reminders had gone out they had not booked the appointment yet.

If an appointment was MOVED to another day AFTER reminders have been sent it would 
not appear in the daybook but would appear in the worklog of reminders that have already been sent out.

If Platinum is off when the reminders were meant to be sent out or the Internet was disconnected.(see worklog)

If the computer was off on a Sunday your reminders will not go out for Mondays appointments. In this case we recommend
you do a manual reminder Saturday night as part of your cash-up and close processes.

If you are looking at reminders late at night please bear in mind that if your 
computer goes into the next day
that the reminders will be tomorrows
(i.e. please keep in mind that after midnight it is the next day to the computer - well and you!!)

Worklog of individual reminders:

*IF* your reminders are being sent out automatically.
If a reminder run has already happened your customers are flagged as already reminded - to stop duplication.
This means that when you go to reminders from the main menu you will not see them as they have already been reminded.
I think this is what you are seeing!

The log is a good place to look to see if the reminders have gone out:

see worklog here


Solution?

To test; Create a new customer and new appointment and try the manual 'reminders' again (main menu button) this ensures
         that a log of the above situations do not apply.

C

This feature allows you to rebook the very same services that a person had in the past. Very Quickly.

If you click the daybook in the persons preferred time.
Then search for their name.
Then ask them if they want the same as last time (or indeed anytime in the history list)
Simply double click the date on the left in history list to rebook those exact same services.

Its a real time saver!

C

*PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU CLICK AND RUN this utility program HERE
*IT WILL SETUP an example SUNBED setup FOR YOU which may be helpful to get an idea
*Then read THE STEPS BELOW in PART 2 for you to customise it to your own setup




The above will set an example sunbed setup for you to tweak yourself using the info below...

The basic idea is this, by example :-

You sell the customer a sunbed course "50 minute sunbed course".
In Platinum this is a product.

Then they come back in to redeem the minutes "5 minutes of course used"
In Platinum this is a service.

The "Tab" in Platinum is a customer specific credit but can be used for sunbed minutes also.

The "50 minute sunbed course" product has a tab value 50,
which is credited to the customers 'sunbed course minutes' on their customer profile.

By selling a "5 minutes of course used" service to the customer.
5 minutes are removed from the customer sunbed course credit.




Summary of how to setup sunbeds data
====================================

A customer buying a sunbed course buys a product with a tab value e.g., "30 Minute Sunbed Course". 
This value goes on their customer profile record. 

A customer using the minutes buys a service with a tab value e.g., "3 Minutes used" 
This value gets removed from their customer profile record.




More Details:

you sell a product (a sunbed course)

this product has a tab value.

this charges up tab credit of sunbed minutes on their profile.

when they come in you provide a service of 3 minutes on the sunbed.

this service has a tab value.

which is removed from the customers tab credit on their profile.


*As part of an appointment, sell a sunbed product to a customer eg. _Vertical Tanning 150 minute Course*

*How?
*
*From appointment details you simply click the product picture on the very bottom right,
*then click the course "_Vertical Tanning 150 minute Course"
*
*Click the green tick
*
*get them to pay for it e.g. in cash, by clicking the 'Ready to Pay' picture button (middle right --> on appointment details)
*
*What about using the course on an actual future visit?
*
*when they come again to use the course you select the service called '_Vertical Tanning 2 Minutes of Course used'
*
*then when they pay always click Tab picture button (this can be changed to a sunbed picture easily if easier for you)*
*
*At any time, to see how much they have on their tab, do a customer lookup from the menu menu with their name,
*then click the More Details button (middle right --> of the screen) below the red cross used to delete customers.
*the system can also be setup to show the number of minutes left on the course, next to their name, when you do a customer lookup.




PART 2

If you need more detailed info please read below...
---------------------------------------------------
For sunbeds we use a thing called a 'TAB'.

A 'TAB' is very flexible and can be used in many ways, one of which is for sunbed courses.

A 'TAB' is really like a bar tab.

A 'TAB' is a way of tracking money that is paid up-front for a batch of services like a sunbed course.
  
A 'TAB' can be negative, so the customer owes the business money.

A 'TAB' can be money or minutes depending how your business is setup in terms of special offers, etc.
 
Which is then the same as a 'Bar Tab' really in principal.
 
It reduces each time the service is used by a customer eg. 10 minutes on the sunbed.

*From now on the 'TAB' will be called 'course' as you are using it purely for sunbed courses!*

When using Platinum, if you do a customer lookup you will see how much -credit is left on the sunbed course to the 
far right of their name and contact details. eg. C Kelly-Soens, 07711513054, 1, MyAddress - 60


Sunbed setup example
====================

From the main menu click the product picture button.
create a new product called "60 pounds Sunbed course"

For sunbeds a course is bought of say 60 minutes, at a pound a minute.

There is now a product called "60 minute Sunbed course"

The customer buys this and pays for it up front with, say, cash.

60 minutes goes on the course total

Make sure to assign Tab to a customer when they buy sunbed tab credits see here
or if more technical:
XConfig: CustomerLookupForQuickProductSale must be Y



How to reduce the course for each usage?
========================================

After their sunbed the reception person asks if they have a course :-
 
If yes, they click the Sunbed course button (Tab) on the pay screen

The course will then be reduced by service purchase.
 
Reception books them in with a "5 minute Sunbed course Service"
This service costs 5 pounds.
They have just had one session of 5 minutes and that costed 5 pounds.
 
they pay with the "course button" option on the payment screen instead of cash, cheque, etc.
This can be changed to a sunbed picture.
When they pay with course the 5 pounds that the service costs, is reduced from their course.
At all times the receptionist sees how much is on the course as the customer pays.
When the course is zero, or about to go into negative, the receptionist is warned.




Variable prices?
================
 
If they get 60 minutes of 60 pounds for a bulk buy
BUT
there is another bulk buy for 30 minutes which costs 40 pounds
This is variable prices, the more they buy the cheaper it is.

The system can handle this too.

There is no simple and straight way to predict the cost per session/minutes used.

In this case 1 service per different type of price needs to be set-up.

i.e. From the main menu, Create a product called "40 pounds Sunbed course" 
     then create the folowing services:
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 1 minute used"
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 2 minutes used"
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 3 minutes used"
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 4 minutes used"
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 5 minutes used"
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 10 minutes used 
     and finally
     "40 pounds Sunbed Course - 15 minutes used
 
As the customer has each amount of time, say 10 minutes service on sunbed, the correct amount of money
is reduced from the course, as it is already setup.

When using sunbeds, the course picture button that you see in the demo that appears among the other
payment types (like cards, cash, etc)  can be replaced by a sunbed picture, this is to make is simpler
to understand for new employees.






===========  In Other Words  =============





Sometimes it helps to describe it another way...

Please read this all twice b4 calling so you know / have a flavour of it.

The tab is for money paid up front for a batch of services.

It reduces each time the service is used by a customer.

The tab can be negative, so the customer owes the business money.


Which is then the same as a bar tab really in principal.

Sunbed Example
============
For sunbeds a tab is bought of say 60 minutes at a pound a minute.
There is a product called "60pounds Sunbed Tab" (see A below) 

OR "60 minute Sunbed Tab" (see B below)

The customer buys this and pays for it up front with, say, cash.

60 pounds goes on the tab.(A) 

or 

60 minutes goes on the Tab (B)



How to reduce the Tab?
======================

After their sunbed the reception person either :-

A) When Tab is money

Opens the "show all customers" screen from the main menu

Opens their customer record by typing their name.

reduces the Tab amount by the correct "monetary" amount that matches the amount
of minutes they had.

or

B) When Tab is minutes

Opens the "show all customers" screen from the main menu

Opens their customer record by typing their name.

reduces the Tab amount by the correct number of "MINUTES" they had.

or

C) Tab reduced by service purchase

Reception books them in with a "5 minute Sunbed Tab Service"
This service costs 5 pounds.
They have just had one session of 5 minutes and that costed 5 pounds.

They pay with the "tab button" option on the payment screen instead of cash, cheque, etc.

When they pay with tab the 5 pounds that the service costs, is reduced from their tab.

At all times the receptionist sees how much is on the Tab as the customer pays.

When the tab is zero, or about to go into negative, the receptionist is warned.



Variable prices
===============

If they get 60 minutes for 60 pounds for a bulk buy
BUT
there is another bulk buy for 30 minutes which costs 40 pounds.

This is variable prices, the more they buy the cheaper it is.
there is no linear way to predict the cost per session/minutes used

In this case 1 service per different type of price needs to be set-up.
ie. product is called "40 pounds Sunbed Tab" and there are then associated
"40 pounds Sunbed tab" - 5 minutes used, 10 minutes used,
15 minutes used service's. as different services.

As the customer has each amount of time, say 10 minutes service on sunbed,
the correct amount of credit is reduced from the Tab, as it is already setup.

C

The user guide has a section on rostering off employees,
look for the section on 'booking leave time'.

The roster screen is very very easy to use and is found on the Advanced 'more setup' menu.


You can choose to roster "day by day" which is very flexible
or
you can roster "same day each week" which is far faster for part time staff.


From the daybook you can also setup half days and time off like lunches personal appointments
and sickness "away times".  This is by the daybook so that you still see the persons name at the top.
 

This is by far the best way, as it removes them from the daybook so there can be no 
accidental bookings on days off.

If they are not on the daybook you know they are not working that day.

To select whole days off for an employee, go into Rosta (found on Advanced 'more setup' menu) select the employee
from the drop down menu at top and double click all Wednesdays that she is off so they appear 
in bold, the employee will not appear in the daybook for those days.

Roster Feature:

To mark an employee off for a whole day, click Roster on the Advanced 'more setup' menu.

Instructions
Select the employee who will have the day off.
Double click the dates they will be taking off or to select multiple days, 
click and dragging multiple dates and click the 'select all these' button.

Click 'OK' to Return to the Main Menu
Notice that the Day Book will now not show their name 
on the days you have set them as off.
Nice and tidy and no mistakes!


AWAY TIME feature:

To specifically set their start times each day you would have to book
'time away' for them each day, once you do this for the first week you can
repeat this as many times as you need to, to cover your year.

Click an empty cell under the employees name first; select the 'away time' type, eg. LUNCH
Select the whole day out in BLUE or just a few minutes and add notes if necessary at the bottom, 
it will ask if you want to repeat this for X number of weeks......so its easy to setup the month quickly.

Once setup you can change them easily, and if you need the same done next 
year, as it was this year, we can sort out a copy of the leave times from last year.

So its very flexible and once you have setup the first week you never have to do it again.


See also rostering and off time here.

C

Yes, please see the options here

****
* If your Internet is Wireless it will often drop off and you have to try again to connect
* in a few minutes.
* We *only* recommend a wired connection for remote access and electronic marketing.
****


To send us a backup of your information for investigation instead make sure you can
open any web page and run this.

If you are waiting for us to do some work on your computer please run this link
to stop your computer disconnecting from the Internet.


Your 'Log Me In' is offline just now, we use this to take over the computer to help you.

Maybe your Internet has disconnected?

If Internet is ok check your Log Me In is enabled and online?

 Look bottom right,
 the white circle with blue background and 3 white circles(or the grey square icon with 3 circles)
 hover over it and it should be enabled and online
 if not - right click disable, then , right mouse enable again.


If you do not see any icon with circles in look for the '< button' and click it
this will slide away and show you all the little icons available in the "tray".

If not, maybe restart computer, which solves 99% of these issues?

Tips:

1.
It is not the icon at the bottom of the screen by the clock that says 
"currently connected to network X. Access local and Internet"

read back above and look for the bit about the '< button'


2.
if you leave the computer on and make sure that there are lights on 
the Internet-modem box you got from your Internet provider 
- make sure its not switched off with the lights!!

3.
Check your computer does not automatically switch itself off here

Tip:

When we connect to you, even if that computer is showing "ONLINE",
this status may not have been updated yet, especially if you have switched the computer
off and have not put it back on again.

You may also need to restart the computer.

If all of the above do not work or you cannot see them Connect to us
using THIS link (Option C) instead and we will try to help you.

C

Yes there are lots of levels of reports.

The way the custom list of reports works is; 
you hold down the "Magic" SHIFT key on the computer keyboard.
(the shift key is the one that makes an 'a' into an 'A' above CTRL and below CAPS LOCK)

If you hold this down while logged in as Manager,
from the main menu hold down the shift key 
and at the SAME time click Reports picture button.

It will give you the custom list, this list can be completely customised for your usual reports.

You can do this easily yourself if logged in as manager.

Login as manager
Open the reports screen from the main menu
look top left
hover your mouse or touch the blue gel-button (...)
choose customise...
then choose which option you want manager shortlist / reception shortlist
next simply click the reports you want and they will appear in the bottom box
if you make a mistake you can click the one in the box to remove it
click the green tick button once you are happy.

C

This really works for any payment type, of course you have your 
own method of refunding a card via your bank/card swipe machine.

Cards are always best refunded this way for proof.

Cash is easy.

Cheques maybe via Cash instead (assuming the cheque cleared of course)
Cheques should be refunded via a cheque just for a paper trail.

2 example situations:

IF A Full Refund
----------------
The entire bill is refunded

Do a customer lookup from the main menu for the customer wanting the refund.
Click one of the dates on their history area.
You should see the details of that specific history.
Click the history button to open up the specific details and allow editing.
Click Delete this. Say Yes.

This will remove the payment and the history from the system and any finacial reports.
As if it never happened.


IF A Partial Refund
-------------------
This means they return a product but dont want a service refunded.


In all situations, if you take cash out of the till you have to tell the system about it.
*Never open the till with the key* - if you do your end of day total will not match.
If you open the  c ash drawer via the system you will be forced into telling the system why
and how much and this makes sure your till total at the end of the day is right.

To do this *Right* mouse click anywhere on the daybook and select:
Xtras...Cash In, or Cash Out

This allows you to tell the system about it and therefore update your till reports

You might type:

Refund 

and:

30

and give the customer 30 in cash.

The end of day total will show 30 less cash in the till.

The report under General...'Cash In and Out' will show:

"Refund 30"

C

Each column is just like E xcel.
If you move the mouse in-between the columns.
You will see the arrows.(the mouse pointer changes <|>)
click the left mouse and hold down.
Drag left or right to change the column size.
C

For a regular and automatic way see here.

You can run reports that contain customer details and target them with email and SMS-text mobile phone marketing.
This is called "eMessaging from reports".

There are good examples of use if you click the report name and read the description that is top right.

Steps:

Sign in as manager
    Reports...
        Customer...Least Recent Customers

This allows you to target people who have not been in for X amount of time 
and market to them(electronic or postal), click the report name and read top right for descriptions and an example.

C

For one-off specials to customers who have not visited for a while see here.

QU

I would like to send out to all customers who have not been in for (for example) 
4 weeks (thats 42 days) and to be automatically sent every month a reminder (until they tell us not to)

ANS

You can use the Platinum proactive features.

To edit the template see here


Once you are happy with the look of the template
that you have edited in the above steps switch it on:

    Sign in as manager
    On the main menu
    Click Advanced 'more setup' menu
    hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 
    Choose
        Easy Setup... eMessaging... Come back and see us (proactives)

set the number of days e.g., 42 = 6 weeks
and if you are sending out text messages then set that template text up also with your contact details on.


Please read some important reports basics here


For other features and basic email setup see here

C

That computer is off now unfortunately.

I think its shutting down itself after so many minutes of not being used.

To stop this if you can click your *right* mouse button on the desktop in a 'BLANK' space.

(Note:when you first start the computer up, after you log-in, all the little coloured picture 'icons' is your desktop)

If Windows XP:
  Choose properties

If Windows newer than XP
  Choose Personalise

Then:
  Click screen saver
  Click power... Options button
  make sure the 'standby' and (if there) the hibernate are set to 'never'
  Click OK to save

That will stop it switching itself off and we can get on to do the work.

C

(If you have not yet set any contact details on your email templates see here)


Once you have done the above; you may need to change a telephone number or name, etc.

There is an option to quickly change one line in all your email templates
or indeed the fully qualified picture:

    See how to get to easy setup firstly here

Sign in as an administrator user or it may not work.

Easy Setup...
        eMessages...
            Advanced/Setup....
                    "easy email template editor HTML templates"


This allows you to type a word and replace it with another word,
e.g., if your name or your contact number changes.


Once you have done the above, do a quick test to yourself to check your results.


To test to see if it has worked:

    Go to eMessaging from the main menu.
    Click Next
    Click Preview
    
    Your changed contact details should now be on the bottom of that preview page.



Only read below if you do not have the above option
or you are changing a lot of the template and not just one simple word, number or link.

*This is more advanced, please read all of this once quickly to get a idea
and then read again to process it properly*

Once an editor is installed, all emails are editable from the menu option:

Start... Programs... Alpha Task... Platinum... Xtras...
        Customer Xperience... Change my Reminder e-mail

While I do not advise having any pictures in emails
(as they are frequently just put in a persons junk/bulk/spam/trash e-mail folder)
it is possible to have a picture in an email sent from Platinum.

If you right mouse click you can edit it and change the wording
if you have a web page editor.
(MS Word is definitely NOT recommended)

For a more simple way to edit - open e-messaging from the main menu, choose an email template 
or just type your e-mail message in, click next ->, click 'Change my e-Mail'. 

If you have a proper HTML Web Page editor you can edit this yourself at this stage,
(MS Word is NOT advised)
but if you just get a load of text that you do not understand, and you want to edit these yourself,
buy one of the 'creating Web Pages for Dummies' books, they are simple and step by step.

If stuck all these files can be *right* mouse clicked and opened for editing with notepad.

here
C:\Program Files\alpha task\Platinum

e.g.
C:\Program Files\alpha task\Platinum\Reminder.html

Troubleshooting:

How do I edit HTML web pages? easily!! 

C

If you have turned it on already you need to follow the steps below straight away.

it will send out a thank you message on mobile SMS and email
to any one who visited that day and has spend more than 10.

You need to edit the SMS message to include your details.
    See the easy setup area. eMessaging.....thank you's

You need to edit the HTML web email that goes out to contain your details also.

install a free HTML editor from: Here

more info on where the 'thank you' web-email file is that you need to edit: Here

but you will be editing the file called ThankYou.html instead of reminder.html

C

There are a few ways, we advise you to send them this article to read.

A PDF may be very large and so it is not recommended to send it as an attachment unless very small (50k maximum in size)
a larger file sent to e.g., 2000 people may take weeks to upload as each is attached one by one.


Web Hosting:
You can ask them to host it on a web page, then simple add the direct link in your message.


Convert to HTML web email:
Ask them to convert it to a HTML web document.


The chosen option must have fully qualified URL paths to images.


More details are here.

C

There are a few ways to send more complex emails out:

*At all stages please run a check to yourself\friends to make sure its working and approve the content*

Each suggestion please try to yourself/friends and see what works best on different email clients.
(Web or Windows)


A) You can attach the file as a file attachment. Some email clients will show this as a picture.


Host the picture on the Internet and then...

B) Create a single web page with this as the only picture on it and send that as a link in the email body.

or

C) Create a single web page with a single picture on it and tell Platinum to use that as the email body.


All will work but its a preference thing from your side.

What we do advise for 100% in-box delivery is very pure text and no pictures
(as opposed to it going in Junk mail/spam/trash/bulk folders)
read more below...


Also read big time-saving steps info here

======

Option A) Expanded....

With Platinum eMessaging you can give any file as the attachment to send to the customer.(smaller the better)
  
more info here


======

Option B) Expanded....

I would host it remotely on a web site/space firstly (upload it to the Internet)
then have a link on the page to the picture:

Like this...

Hello,

Click here for latest offers:
http://www.mySite.com/Ima ges/MarketingPicture.jpg


======

Option C) Expanded....


Have a web page which is JUST the picture the contents of that web pages would be:



<html>>

  <body>>

      <img src="http://www.xpectworld.net/ima ges/HtmlEmails/Header.jpg" />

  </body>

</html>




You can give a raw .HTML file as the text to send to customer/s, see here.




Why no picture is best:

We always recommend a simple message with no pictures if you do want to get in the inbox we have some
who have great success with this but we always have to overcome peoples desire to "look more professional"
this is fine but a professional looking email in the junk folder is as good as non at all.





You can however do it with as many extras as you like:

With Platinum you can attach RAW HTML so you have as much flexibility as possible to do as complex
and fancy an email as is possible.

On .html files you import you can use normal Hyper linked words as it is a normal web page
BUT
remember it and images must be full http:// path as they will get it as a web EMAIL not a web page.

What you may not have is the HTML skills to achieve what you want
and may need a 3rd party HTML web page expert.





A note on customising the message to the customer:

If you do get a 3rd party to design an e-newsletter (.html template file)
you must tell them to have the [NAME] tag in it.

Either way, each subject of the email will always contain the customers name
so even if it does not end up in the inbox it is likely to be seen at some stage.

Always have your .html template file with [NAME] in it
as this will be replaced by Platinum with their name.

This will not work on an external web link to another page
e.g. http://www.YourSite.com/This_Months_Offer.html
as that external STATIC page has not passed through Platinum
(Platinum pre-processes .HTML text to swap the template [NAME] with their name).

If your web person is half good they should be able to make a dynamic
web page that takes a parameter and displays their first name anyway.

Show them this:

http://www.YourSite.com/This_Months_Offer.html?[NAME]

If the above link was in a page pre-processed by Platinum it would allow you
to send the persons name into the page as a parameter for displaying.

C

QU

I did a test to myself first (as you recommended)
The e-mail appeared but with a note over the picture area saying it's functionality had been 
disabled by out look as a security measure, and if I wanted to download the picture, I must click it. 

ANS

The picture issue:

It is to stop junk mailers/spammers knowing that their picture was loaded by you (privacy issue)
it does explain this in Outlook next to the button you click to show the images.

This is very specific to the email client e.g. Outlook,
most web-based clients will just show it.

I think most people do click to show pictures in Outlook
but there is nothing we can do about it automatically, unfortunately.

C

Firstly check with the customer that it is a valid email address before deleting it.

They may have quoted it to you wrongly, or indeed you may have typed it wrongly!

This does not mean it is a dead email address for example if you see:

.
"user is over quota"
this means their inbox is full and in a days of an hour it will be clear again.(maybe!)

.
"Relaying denied,Authenticate with your username and password first"
Try ticking the box on the SMTP setup utility and running the test again.

.
"Relaying not allowed - please use SMTP AUTH  : Mail delivery failed: returning message to sender"
This means that the SMTP must be setup with a user name and pass.word
and the AUTH tick box ticked, if concerned about the number of bounce backs
and the provider does not allow AUTH mode then you need to use another SMTP email provider.



You may be best to give it a second chance before removing it or changing it.

See the Customer Warning example here

Then add a note in the profile notes to check the email address once you have then in again.

When you search it will alert you in red that there is a customer warning for that customer.
See the customer profile notes.

Ask them about their email address!
Fix it and clear the warning flag in the same way that you set it.

Also see Troubleshooting emails here.

C

The main advice is "ALWAYS ALWAYS" do a test to yourself firstly.

Even after doing the preview button that is at the top of the screen.
Next send to a few friends and maybe your own personal top two email addresses.

Make sure you are happy or your customers will not be!



--- Sending a message to just 1 customer, a small select group or all your customers? ---

See here.



QU

Can I export my email addresses and use a 3rd party website to send out from?

ANS

There is definitely no need to use that 3rd party website to export email addresses, send messages out, etc.
Further to this you will then be in the mix with all the other junk mailers and there is zero
guarantee that any of your messages will get through as they could already be a black listed/IP service
and go straight to junk (do not pass go!).



To import a web page that is created by a '3rd Party Web Page Developer' and send it see here.



Also see Troubleshooting emails here.

C

*Warning: Simplest is best.
*         If you use basic eMessaging with no pictures they are far more likely to see it in their inbox!*
*         If it is fancy with pictures it is far more likely to end up in the junk mail folder!

This is far more advanced to create yourself, (edit:but see the link at the end)
but very easy to import and send if created for you.

These are the steps to allow you to import your own pre-written HTML file.
These are generally created by a 3rd party professional but you can do them yourself.

Sign in as manager
Add a new customer called _TEST with your email address (and mobile if needed)
Goto eMessaging (for sending out to all customers)

Click Next-> as you are using a pre-defined HTML document (raw web page) 
and not typing your own message.

You will see your customers list.
(_TEST should come first in the list - save you some sore eyes scrolling)

Click you right mouse button in the middle of the list:
    choose emails...xtras....add html file
    find your .html file on your computer

hit the preview button to check its ok in the browser

once happy tick the boxes on the right (if you want to do them all easily,use your right mouse button for options)

Send to yourself using the green tick at the bottom of the screen


NOTE:
If it is a raw .HTML file from a 3rd party company; then you can
use that but it would need modification of its main body
unless you just want a subject to the email with your
name on it and the offer/deal details in the subject.

More Simple:
To create your own Web Emails see some tips here.

More Advanced:
See some basic techniques for editing Raw HTML yourself here.

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Troubleshooting failures/returned unsendable emails:

Has your broadband Internet provider changed? If so you need to set it up with thte new provider see here.

.
You can try sending an email directly to it from any other manual account (your own personal or business email) and see what comes back
before deleting it from their record.

.
Check E-mail Address with the customer and flag them as needing talking to more here

.
This could be that the provider is failing them due to anti-spam/junk mail engine reasons.

Can you add or re-use a test customer, with your own email,
save, then do a customer lookup, then eMessage yourself using the little 'e' to the
right of the mobile number box and send a test email to yourself,
see if you get it yourself - if so there is not much we can do.
 
If you get it its probably a corrupted address or anti-spam/junk mail policies on the ISP (Internet service provider)

Alternatively their inbox is full (space quota reached) it will say this on the email failure you get back.

If stuck, forward us a failure so that we can see why? that would help a lot!

.
It has stopped at e.g., 100 of 200

sometimes your SMTP email provider can block them or will only allow 100 emails a day.

take a note of the number it is on now (e.g., 100 of 200) tomorrow use the RANGE option 
(right mouse on list email...)
this allows you to tick only numbers 101 to 200 in the list.

You may be able to pay for a more 'business' level Internet service allowing more per day!?! ask.

.
See the Remote Name Resolved error.

More Tips:

If a automatic process like reminders doesn't run or fails or no log entries or customers say they didnt get them:

Your Internet was down/not working.
Or
your computer was off during the sending times?
(I must be on say 1 hour before and 1 hour after the sending times)
Or
Your computer was MEGA MEGA busy and it couldnt work properly
as the reminders thread is a background task so as not to interfere with daybook/database use.
(Mega busy would be something like copying a huge file or digitising a video camera movie)


Official info about not getting black listed as a junk mailer/spammer/phisher:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.shtm

http://www.truste.org/pdf/How_Not_Look_Like_Phish.pdf

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If for UK use then yes; please see here.

(CRUCIAL: search for 'tax in my country' in this help page and read that firstly for your own tax setup.)

It depends which country you are in, for UK and similar all prices going into Platinum should *include* the Tax.
For USA, Canada and some of europe it should exclude the tax which is added at the point of sale.


If you have entered all your prices already *without* tax 
we can help to automatically change them all to include your tax.(just a 2 minute job for us)

Ask your supplier if their products price lists include the tax?


UK products (and services) will always include the local tax in terms of data entry.

The tax amount can be added if you scroll to the right on the product edit screen.
This tax amount can be set to any standard amount so you do not have to set it each time.

Our Theory is this:
The customer is at the till and that is where they pay the whole amount including the tax.

We think it is simpler this way.

There are tax reports to show products and their pre-tax price.
and stock worth pre-tax so you do have all the facts and figures.

==What should I do in future?==

Firstly, verify that the prices you are entering from your product suppliers includes the tax or not.
(UK/Europe is usually inclusive of Tax.
 USA is usually exclusive of tax due to different tax rates in the different states. 
 Canadian Provinces should be the same, same for Australia if each state has a different tax)

Calculate any tax% on top of services and add it to the service price.
and
Calculate the tax% on top of products and add it to the product price.

*All prices going into Platinum include the tax so it makes no difference to the software really.*

Again if you want us to do it just shout, its a 2 minute job to add the tax on for you

if you want features or changes to this let us know.

If you get product lists from your suppliers we can examine and quote you for massaging and importing them into Platinum
and at the same time add the tax% to the price to include the tax amount in the figures.

If tax rates change see here.

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Tax In My Country

If your tax rate changes in future see here.


In Platinum you can setup a Country and Local tax rate for each service, treatment or product.
This gives you maximum flexibility with different tax rates on different items and the zero tax items.

You can do this manually via the Service/Treatment button on the main menu. (scroll to the right)


How do I setup tax rates in Platinum for my country?

There are two ways with Platinum.

Option 1.
    All prices including tax are show to the customer always 
    All price lists INclude tax on all shop floor price tags/labels
    (UK\England tends to work this way
      to customers 'what you see is what you pay')

    e.g.
	England   17.5% country tax on services
              17.5% country tax on products

Option 2.
    All figures need tax adding before charging the customer.
    All price lists EXclude tax on all shop floor price tags/labels
    (USA/Canada tends to work this way
      to customers 'the price you see needs the tax ADDED before you pay')

    e.g.
	Canada   5% country tax on services (GST)
             5% country tax on products (GST)
             0% local tax on products (PST)
             8% local tax on product (PST)

All tax settings can be setup easily:-
Sign in as manager
More setup button
Hover over the (...) blue gel-button
Easy setup....eBusiness..Financial...Tax

Please write down your country and local taxes before you begin!

Tips:
UK - you do not need to set anything just put your prices in WITH tax.

UK/Europe is usually inclusive of Tax.
USA is usually exclusive of tax due to different tax rates in the different states. 
Canadian Provinces should be the same (Country General = GST   ,   Local Province = PST), 
same for Australia if each state has a different tax.



Tips:

If USA etc and it still seems to be adding the tax into all figures
make sure you set the option called "add tax at the till" or it will not calculate properly.



Zero Tax rate for all products or services/treatments?

A zero should be typed in both the tax boxes; Local and Country.

In "easy setup" set the default\initial tax value to zero also so that each new item gets a zero tax value too. 




Tax Setup with examples:

Platinum can be setup for Service and Product tax.

Further it can be setup for Country and Local Taxes for each of products and services.

How?

Sign in as Manager
'More Advanced Setup'
Hover over the blue (...) gel-button

choose:
Easy Setup...e-Business....Financial...Tax...

Then Country or Local

CRUCIAL NOTE: 
You do not put the % in, just the numbers and the dots e.g. 17.5


e.g. UK you would set just the Country Tax:

Country Product tax to 17.5
Country Service tax to 17.5
(the others will be set to zero as standard)

e.g. USA

Country Product tax to 0
Country Service tax to 0
Local   Product Tax to 7
Local   Service Tax to 0 (default is actually zero so no need to set it)

e.g. In Canada you would set both Country and Local Tax (State/Province):

Country Product tax to 5
Country Service tax to 5
Local   Product Tax to 8
Local   Service Tax to 0 (default is actually zero so no need to set it)

You can always talk to us for help in setting up the tax amounts in your country.

For USA,canada,australia :-
choose
'Tax is ONLY added to the bill at the till (USA, Canada, Australia)'

Technical:

We can of course help with this but you can add extra tax breakdown details to receipts.

    PST       [LocalTaxForServiceAndProducts]
    GST       [CountryTaxForServiceAndProducts]


See the example calculation of UK VAT here

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In recent versions you can change all of a tax value from one to another
e.g. 17.5 to 20 or 20 to 17.5

It will change them all in a nice one step process.

easy setup..
 e-Business..
  Financial...
    Tax...
      Tax Advanced...
         Bulk change all tax figures (works on all non zero values)

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QU
Can I log clients that want an appointment but we are fully booked up?
If we have a cancellation it tells us so we can call them and get them booked in the empty slot.

ANS
You need to use the Waiting List feature.
You need a 2012 version of Platinum (bought or upgraded in 2013 onwards)

Add an employee called just:

Waiting

Add fake appointment to that 'Waiting' column on the daybook so if someone cancels you can call them immediately.

No reminders will be sent to these people.

Important notes:
Delete them all before you do the end of day reporting so they do not affect finances.

Never change the employee name from 'Waiting' or it will not work properly!

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The Tab is something virtual that is bought and kept on a customers record,
similar to a v oucher, a deposit, or a bar-tab type concept.

The current tab value can be seen and changed from the "Customer Profile Page 2"
    (open the customer profile and click the more details button, middle right.)

The tab can also be shown when you do a customer search for speed/convenience.
    (Customer Name (TAB Value) style format)

The difference between tab and v oucher is that with tab there is no 'paper v oucher' that the customer keeps,
the system holds the info but you can still get an audit of use.

V ouchers can be given to someone as a present for example, a tab is personal and stored on the customers profile.
(see the 'More Details' button middle right button below red X delete button).

Tab credit, for example, would only be given to trusted customers. 

The reason it will not appear on the financial report for end of day is
that when a customer uses their tab credit in exchange for services, it is not really money coming in.

It is 'TAB' usage, the money came in when the tab was charged up earlier on.

To add tab to your database that is worth 100 but costs the customer 90 as an incentive

Add a new product with name 'Tab 100'
Set Sell Price to 90
Buy price to 0 (zero)
Set Tab to 100

You can now sell a Tab 100, it will cost the customer 90 but give the customer 100 to use.


Explain It?

If on monday someone paid 100 pounds to top up the tab.

You could open their appointment details, click Products, click Tab 100, Click the green Tick.
Click 'Ready to Pay' - pay with for example cash.
Once paid for this will charge up their tab by 100.

OR 
(if they do not have an appointment)
You could go to their Customer profile, click 'More Details...', and enter 100 in their tab box instead.

On Mondays end of day it would show a product sold for 100 pounds called a Tab100 (for example)
as 100 pounds was ACTUALLY taken for a product
then on tuesday if someone bought 100 pounds worth of services 
on the tab, the tab would be all used up and a zero value.
this would not show financially on the end of day as money taken in.
because it was shown as money taken in on monday when the TAB WAS ACTUALLY SOLD.
as opposed to being used on the services the next day.

Tab, courses and v ouchers are all quite different and can be used together.


Troubleshooting:

QU
When a client has paid for a treatment in advance we put it on as a TAB 

ANS
You shouldn't do that. If they pay ahead for an appointment just choose 'ready to pay' from
the appointment details screen and turn it green.
Then on the day the customer comes back in you already know it is paid for as it is green.

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ANS

You should always set your Platinum installed computer to have an A4 printer as standard(default printer)
This is the cure for this 'slim view' issue.

If your default printer IS an A4 printer and you are still getting this slim report view, then let us know.

Platinum does not need the Receipt printer to be the default printer in order to print to the receipt printer.

Platinum is told the receipt printer name via the easy setup... (in 'More Advanced Setup' screen)
It then prints directly to that receipt printer. Regardless of the Default A4 printer.

This is because the default printer is the receipt printer,
set the default to the normal A4 printer by clicking your right mouse on the A4 printer.

More Solutions:

If there is no A4 printer which is usual in this scenario add a dummy A4 printer as below:

---------

In XP:-

Click bottom left 'Start' button
from the windows "Printers and Faxes".... "Add Printer"....option

----------

If newer than XP:-

Click the bottom left circle (Orb) this is the search.

Type In the word:

printers

choose printers from the list

--------

Then with all:

Add a printer.
Add a Microsoft.."Generic" A4 printer 

try again after restarting Platinum.

If using a receipt printer :-

set the XConfig tag

NormalPrinterName

in XConfiguration utility to the exact name of that A4 printer.
(you can also use 'More Advanced Setup'...easy setup...)
 
If you do it wrong Platinum will tell you it cannot find the printer name set in XConfiguration.

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One to watch here. It depends upon how the business works with regard to tips.

1. If the tip is taken straight away at the time.
2. Or put in a jar at the time.
3. Or jotted at the time on a manually written list and then removed at the end of the day and equally distributed to all involved employees.
4. Logged against the employees record in the computer.(needs to be set to zero again after payout see below for how...)

Example
=======
When a customer needs to pay and the amount is 18
If the customer pays with cash, card or cheque and gives 20 total
Platinum assumes that the extra (the difference) will either by taken directly out of the till as a personal tip.
OR
Platinum assumes that at the end of the day this amount will be removed from the till and equally 
distributed as a group tip.
The extra will always be removed from the "total cash in the till" amount on the till totals (end of day) report.
Alternatively if you want to get the computer to record all tips simply *RIGHT* mouse click on the daybook under
the employees column. Choose Xtras...add a tip to this employees record.
You can see the total tips on their employee record manager...main menu....employee....(scroll to the right)
Don't forget to set them to zero again after you pay the tips out. Example: 'overpayment' is taken away from the till cash.
and assumes that staff take this out in cash even if paid on the card. So if its a 55 bill and the Platinum user puts through 60
as paid by customer on card, the till total report should show 60 in cards but 5 less in cash.


see xconfig: OverPaymentInCashOnly

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If you click the more details... button which is found on the customer profile
there is a customisable list of methods by which they heard about the business.
And of course a corresponding report to show the breakdown.

These steps will allow you to add to the "how did you hear about us" items:

1.

count the total number of items that you currently 

have in the drop down box and write that number down.

for example 10



2.

Click 

Start...Programs....Alpha task...Platinum....Xtras....Helpful Stuff....
    "Add a new How Did You Hear About Us item"



3.

replace all the text in the box "The Name" with your chosen 

"new name"



replace all the text in the box "The Description" 

with the same new name (can be a bit longer)


replace all the text in the box "The Order" in the 
bottom box with with a number that is +1 more than you wrote down before, for example, if you wrote 10
use 11.

if you want it to come before that, use 5, etc.

NOTE:

You can set "The Order" to a smaller number which 

will insert it into the middle of the list, for example, if you choose 6.



Click OK, it will tell you when finished.



Repeat this for each item you wish to add.

Do a standard % off for staff. Then its easy.
Just hover over the discount box after a Quick Product Sale and set it.

Or

You can change the price manually just click and type over it.


You can do a Quick Product Sale then pay with the In-Shop button? 
 
This will work if you do not make profit on staff sales as it removes it from stock but not as profitable income.

You would have to lookup the BUY price of it in the products screen.

Consult your Accountant but it is probably not legal to remove VAT when selling to staff.

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* You can mail merge customer details from the customer profile if you just wanted to send one letter
* You can also mail merge all customer details into letters 'via eMessaging',
* click your right mouse in the middle of the customers names list.
*  choose 'Postal...'
* See the example here


Sticky Labels Method
    Below is quite complex have a read here first; as it may suit and be very simple.


If you want to cover all customers on the database, set the report start date to before you started using Platinum.

You can just target the people who have been registered within the past month by just covering the last month with the start and end dates.

My advice would be to print each of your letter TEMPLATES out firstly from the exported report after editing the exported Word document directly.

Then print the main body of the message on the same piece of paper that just came out of the printer.

So, to explain what I mean by TEMPLATE, these will be just the customers addresses, logo and your letter title printed with no letter body yet.

You will print the template firstly, and when finished, you will then put the template letters through the printer again with your proper letter-body-text on them.
This allows you to re-use the template again and again on future letters.

Steps:
Set a large start and end date range.
Click Next
Once loaded click the Export button.
Export to Word format
(NOTE: You cannot edit the mailing letters text in the report viewer within Platinum
       you have to export to word to edit it)
Open the document in Word
Do a search and replace for the standard title to replace it with the title you want 
eg. 
    Hold down the Ctrl key and tap the H key or select from the top menu Edit...Replace
    In the 'Find What...' box paste the current letters title eg. 'Your Letters Title Here'
    In the 'Replace with...' box type your new letter title for all the letters, eg. Happy Christmas
    Click the 'Replace All' button
    
Do this Search/replace for any other text you want to replace

If you do not want to print to the same page twice as advised above, and you have just a very brief message
you can search and replace the 'Your letters content here' piece of text and replace it with your customer message.

If you do want to print to the same page twice you would need to search and replace 'Your letters content here' with nothing
so that your final message can be seen properly.

Your final message body should be in the format: Times New Roman, size 14

Once you have the template created make sure you save and keep it safe for using again in future.
You can then re-print them out and print a different letter-text-body over it.

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You will need to do some graphics editing here, 
If you do not have a logo already we can put you in touch with a graphics expert.

You can of course completely blank the image to print nothing. (in MSPaint Ctrl+A then DEL)


Click the Start button...Alpha task...Platinum...Xtras...Customer Xperience....

choose
"Change my Company Logo for postal letters etc"
---
failing that option being available:

search for, open and edit CompanyLogo.bmp
It is normally here:

C:\Program Files\Alpha Task\Platinum\Report\CompanyLogo.bmp

When you open this .bmp type file, if it opens in a preview program which does not allow you to edit it,
simply right mouse click on the file instead and select Open With....Paint.

Failing this or if you find Paint unfriendly or limited in options, please visit your local 
computer shop or buy a graphics editing program from the Internet,
once installed this should open .BMP files for editing automatically.

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If you right mouse click on the customer profile page.
You put the full path to documents you regularly send out to customers eg. c:\FOLDER\FILENAME.DOC
You can very quickly mail merge them with their personal name and contact details.

Or you can just open up usual documents they can then all be opened very quickly from the right mouse 
on the customer profile saving you searching for them each time.

Steps:

search for a customer 
open their profile 
click the 'e' next to their mobile number 
click next-> as you are using a word document not typing in text to send. 
right click on the customers names list 
choose: 
      postal..."mail merge these customers"

choose a word format document (a .doc file)

you can mail merge a document with customers details instead of typing them in.

It will print out straight away.

Where is the template to show me what to do?

C:\program files\alpha task\Platinum\Mail-Merge-Example.doc

You can literally use this as a starting point (template) and save it as a different name.

See the example here

See the Technical Help for more about setup and customisation.

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Open Platinum as the 'manager'
on the main menu click the reports button

(if it does nothing when you click you are not in as the manager.)

    click the + next to Customers
    
        There are several options here including:
    
        If you want to mail ALL customers select 
            "MailingLabels 3x7 A4"
        
        if you want to mail customers in a certain country select
            "MailingLabels 3x7 A4 By Country"
            
        enter the country eg. England and click OK/Finish

        and by birth date.

As you click each one please read the descriptions (top right)

How?

Buy some sticky labels, (they must be 3 across and 7 down)
put the mailing labels/A4 paper in your printer as per yuor own printers instructions
for it to work properly.

*TEST 1 page firstly or you will waste a load of paper:*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click the printer picture at the very top of the screen
under the "Print range" box, select "Pages"
type 1 and again 1 in the boxes to just print one page
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it looks ok and the address is in the sticky label correctly, then print away,
but but every few minutes check that they are still lined up on the paper.

Also if you make a mistake or run out of paper or have to go home! next time you can
just print a range. Also if you make a mistake or run out of paper or have to go home! next time you can
just print a range of pages instead.

Also see the ideas and examples here

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It is the same as removing quick product sales please see here.

C

For general Delete advice see here.


For Quick Product Sales, please see here.

C

For how to generally delete most data from the lists please see here.

QU

I have a Quick Product Sale (or any item in customer history) that I need to change or delete.
Please could you let me know how to do this?


Summary:


To delete a quick product sale (or any history) is not difficult but you do need to be a little careful. 

They are called quick product sales, 
as that is what they are and so are done 
at time of sale and should not have any 
reason to be removed at a later date.
 
If you do need to delete one, 
you need to be aware of its name and price.
 
Go to Customer Look up from Main Menu
 
Hold down the SHIFT key (the one that gives you a capital letter) 
and type the word QUICK, press Enter and 
All quick product sales will appear.
 
You need to find the date of the one you 
need to delete, if many on same day, look for the price that matches the one you need to delete. 
You then open the history (right hand side button) .
 
As it has been paid for you need to unpay 
it first by setting it as Arrived 
(using the Customer has arrived button) and then 
go back in via the same History Button and use the Delete This button.




More details...


Change one...

ANS

You need to try to resolve issues on the day they happen because if you do not
any "re-paying" will effect 'todays' till totals.
(there are simple ways around this, but it is not ideal)

If you are just deleting it should be fine.

Open the customer lookup *from the main menu*

Hold down the 'SHIFT' key and keep it down
(see between CTRL and CAPS LOCK usually with a /\ up arrow on it)

Now do a name box search for just the word:
QUICK

Wait a second while it searches....

Choose 'Quick Product Sale' from the list (if there is anything else in the list.)

You will see a list of dates on the left.

you can click one date on the left and the history button on the bottom right will
allow a delete via the appointment details you are already familiar with.
You can also re-pay if needed.

Tip:

    If you press enter without typing anything in at all
    you will get a list of everything, including the Quick Product Sales.

Deleting one...

Specifically for Quick Product Sales...

If you do a customer lookup with the SHIFT key held down 
(on the computer keyboard - bottom left - generally above the CTRL key)
you will get all customers AND special features (of which Quick Product Sale is one)

So...
Customer lookup.
Hold down SHIFT
Type the word:
quick
let it search for 2 seconds
make sure it says "Quick Product Sale" in the box

click a date in the list 
and then the history button (bottom right)
use 'delete this', or indeed edit it to put it right and then re-pay for it!

C

Can you tell me can I get a report saying how much 
each employee has taken each day independently and 
collectively?

If you mean something for you to print out daily 
and give them privately (their own daily total), 
as well as one for you that adds them up for maybe 
your accountant?


You can run the"Service Sales 
Summary"report, I have attached a screenshot for approval.

This report allows you to print a page each of 
their bookings that day and the cash amount taken.
At the very end of this report, maybe for just you 
to keep, it does a grand total of money taken for the day.


goto ..."Sale's" group
then ..."Service Sales Summary"the specific 
report


Here is the description for the 
"Service Sales Summary" Report

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUOTE :

"This report shows detailed information about 
service sales, for example, when and who performed it, 
the price and which customer it was sold to, for 
any length of time required."


Commission % Based
================

There is the "Employee's Group......Service 
Commission Summary Report" - for commission %employee's.


Salary Based
==========

There is the "Employee's Group......Payroll 

Summary Report" - for salaried employee's.



End of Day
========

General Group....Till Totals (End of Day) - this 
shows the totals throught the till, cash, cheque, initial float in the till for the day.

QUOTE:

"This report shows information about the state of 
the Till (ie. Cash, Cheque values etc.. 
This report is usually run at end of the day 
but it can apply and be used for any length of time required."


Chair Rental
=========

This requires setup,you can 
of course call for advice.

You need to have a "Daily Rent" amount in 
your employee's record, 
    

    Goto main menu,
    

    then click the Employee icon, 



find their name (put your finger above the screen on 
their name), then scroll along to the right until you see "Daily Rent". 


For example, Put a 10 in there if they pay you 10 a day to rent the chair,

    IMPORTANT: you must roster them off on thedays they DON'T work for the report to be correct,
               OR THE CALCULATION WILL BE WRONG.



Then make sure they have a "Started On" date, which 
they will get automatically when you first add their name to the database.


If they leave your employment mid-month make sure you add an Ended Date to their
employee record, again for calculations.
    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is a full description next to each one of the 
reports for even more help.


Remember all reports work for any length 
of time, so you can run it weekly, or daily, 
but leave it as it first is which is the "today 
only" range.


Officially you have to pay for new reports and you can request them at anytime.


Please remember that our reports are a guide only, 
please cross check them with your
own figures for your first month until you are 100% happy and confident 
in them, however, we have tested them extensively.


Also, please remember to take a backup of your data 
away from your business for safety on a weekly basis.

C	
  

How do we set our emails 

  to alert us when we receive them, instead of having to press send/receive all 

  the time? this is from out look express, if you have outlook 

professional, it should be similar



it should be off tools, maybe, it is on out look express
look for "check for mail every....." and set it to 1 minute



also do you have speakers?
if not get some and you can setup a ring when you 
get e-mail, you could even have it very loud so you hear it 
anywhere in the office.



this is what I have setup and its great as it rings 
when an new email comes in. Easy to setup.

goto

Start...settings control panel...sounds and audio 

devices....click the Sound tab page....

scroll right down to the list in the bottom bit 

"program events"

and fine 

"New Mail Notification" and anything else that 

looks email related

and click it first

then click Browse... and find a sound to play 



eg. there maybe some already in the drop down 

box

click the play icon > and listen.




Finding an email in outlook?
============================
right click personal folders in out look
    advanced find...
type something meaningful; email is best in 'from'
if not do a search word
and from drop down 'frequently-used text fields'


C

The Pen drive/USB stick backup is optional if you have the online backup service.

So while not always needed now...I would do once a week minimum so you know 100% you have one.

Same as anything you can never have enough backups!

Please see backup basics here.

C

**This information is only applicable if you have our Off-Site backup service**


Is the system automatically linked to back up daily? i.e., we don't have to do anything?

Platinum is at heart a database.
This has an engine which is running all the time.
To do a backup in the middle of the day will slow your computer and customer experience will suffer.
We advise you to backup last thing at night by closing down completely.
When you backup like this the backups and MyAppointments.pdf will be copied offsite to your online drive automatically
and so are there to cleanly recovery your data to a time when all appointments were paid
and in a state where you closed for that day.

Aside from this you don't have to leave your computer on overnight to do a backup out of hours (electricity costs and wear and tear).
You are in control of the backup rather than assuming it is working, you close down and view the summary Platinum shows
to be 100% sure it is working.

If we need to recover will we do it via our email? 

The Platinum.zip backup file is held on the computer itself, on your USB backup drive (if you have one in when Platinum closes)
and also automatically saved to your online drive when you have the off-site backup service.
(All of these things happen when you shut down Platinum after hours).

It does go without saying that if there was a failure you would call us immediately for help,
however if your computer has failed completely the benefit is that you are not at the
mercy of the local computer shop to recover your backup. You are in control.

With this service your backup is saved to your online drive and you can login to your email providers account
via a web browser and copy the file back to a new computer to be restored.

Please see backup basics here.

C

*CRUCIAL NOTES*

If your computer fails in future please ask your local supplier/repair shop to try to save your
information. If you are not backing up this can save you loosing everything.

BUT.. please do backup!!


Summary...

Buy *2* 'USB Pen Drives' from your local computer shop 
you will be swapping them and keeping one at home for safety.


Pop the pen drive in the machine. 
There is a picture of one here.
Wait for 10 seconds for the pen drive to 'register' itself
and then close Platinum so it says "backing up"
then look at the summary that it shows for an up-to-date backup.
    Check this date is today/now.


To see if you backup is working see here.



Important Tips...


1. If your computer fails you must not put your backup device back in the machine or it could be overwritten!!

2. Starting-up (Rebooting) a computer with a pen drive inserted may stop it booting properly,
   just remove it and try again.

3. You *cannot* just drag the "Start Platinum" icon from the desktop to the pen drive this does NOT do a backup!!

4. Can I take a backup home and run it there?

   No, you cannot simply take the backup pen drive home and have a fully working system for use at
   home it is like having a Word processor .doc file, you still would need a Word processor program
   to open it.
   You need Platinum fully installed on a home computer WITH a valid license. (lease or purchase)



We will never remove or delete any of your data without asking you first, this includes your demo/mess-about
data.  Any upgrades or maintenance we do will never remove any data without asking.






More Details:

Please remember to backup your hard work and take it **off-site**!

If your computer dies all your important information would be lost.. forever.

This is why it is crucial to backup an external storage like a USB pen drive?

If you can buy *2* 'USB Pen Drives' from your local computer shop 
(you will be swapping them and keeping one at home, the smallest will do, don't pay a lot eg. 128+ Meg)

Pop one in a spare slot in your computer 
(its obvious... at the front or at the back - It goes in one way, don't push hard, turn it around instead)

Once the pen drive is in for say 10 seconds and has installed/setup/settled, then close Platinum.
the message about backups or the black screen must open and close itself. Never click the X to close it.

Now when you exit Platinum it will backup to this for safety incase your computer fails
(you see a black screen or message saying 'please wait backup up...')

-*leave it in the computer all week*-
then take this home once a week and copy it to your home computer for extra safety.(fire/theft at business)

*************************************************************************************************************** 
*ALWAYS CHECK THAT THE DATE AND TIME ON THE FILE IS TODAYS by hovering over the Platinum.zip (compressed file)*
***************************************************************************************************************

Currently we recommend buying 2 and keeping one at home/in a safe and the other in the computer itself,
then each week swap them so that you ALWAYS have a backup off-site.

We are delighted to help if needed - as its very very important to have an off-site backup.



=======================
More detailed Steps? :-
 
Platinum backs up your entire data to your hard drive to c:\Platinum.zip 

C:\ is your C Drive the Root folder - ie. the very first folder possible

If you have a pen drive in it will also write a backup to that automatically (if letter C: to J:; but not D: assumes CD/DVD)
 
It does this every time you close down via the "Exit" button.
 
You can backup manually anytime from the Advanced 'more setup' menu, off the Main Menu.

Use your cd burning software, zip drive or a removable USB Pen Drive
and burn/copy the file called c:\Platinum.zip
(It is too big for a floppy disk.)

Each time you do this please make sure the date on the Platinum.bak file is current,
and take this off site for safety.(You may get a summary to check after a backup has finished)
 
Please remember to do this weekly as even a weeks worth of information is a lot to re-do!

===============================
How do I get to the c:\ folder? 

------------------
For Windows newer than XP:
------------------
Click the Start Circle-Orb (bottom left circle button)

In the search box Platinum.zip (get the latest one - hover over it to see the date and time)

Copy this to your USB removable Pendrive or burn it to your cd/dvd as a safe backup.

You should also regularly e-mail this to a friend or home for safe keeping.

----------------------------
For Windows XP Via Keyboard:
----------------------------
Look at the computer keyboard, very bottom left, 
between the Ctrl and Alt keys
is a key with a flag (that looks like a wavey cross) on it and it might say the word START.
This is the 'Windows' key.
Hold this button down and at the very same time press the E key once only.
Another windows will pop up.

Look to the left and click the (C:) 
Look inside the folder and on the right you should see Platinum
Copy this to your Pendrive or burn it to your cd/dvd as a backup.
If there is more than one file called Platinum, copy or burn them all.

The best advise is: 

'Leave the pen drive in your machine, exit Platinum each night to backup, 
 take pen drive home and copy each week to home computer in case of fire or theft at business address'



Note on previous backups or errors in backing up and wanting to go back to a previous days backup.
The c:\install\Platinum.old - the previous version of the main .zip renamed to .old, holds the previous days data.

Troubleshooting Steps: here
More Technical Info  : here

For basic backup instructions see here.


The main daily check should be when you close down at night to do the backup
you will see a summary,
check there are two items in the list (local computer and external pen drive) and
that the dates are "right now" and that should be ok.

Maybe weekly open the backup on any computer and check the date of the
actual database backup file.

Steps:

The Platinum.zip holds both a data and a setup backup, e.g. your name and passwords

Open the Platinum.zip on the pen drive by double clicking it
double click the install folder
you should see a platinum.bak which is the actual data backup.
scroll to the right and check the date is current.

C

To initially setup SMTP emails we recommend you follow this guide here.
as it will setup your templates with your name and contact details on easily.

QU

It said I was sending an e-mail and text message to me  but I did not get it?
(e.g., till takings total for the day, or low stock alerts, etc)

ANS

You will need a text message account and an email account.(follow above link to setup email)

Contact us and we can setup the sms text message account; same day.(charges apply)

Your broadband provider will do a free email account. See here.

To setup your managers e-mail or mobile choose:

Main Menu...'More Advanced Setup'.....
Hover mouse over top left blue gel-button (...)
Choose:
    Easy Setup....Manager....
    
    Click:
        "Set Managers mobile"

type/change it to the chosen mobile number. then click the green tick.

(do the same for email)

Restart to pickup changes.

Technically: you must have broadband, or be connected to dial-up at the time.
             (a more advanced 'Local SMTP Queuing' can be setup to get the emails sent out via dial-up)

Thanks,

C

*CRUCIAL: You have to setup a pin fir yourself before switching on the pin request feature or you will be locked out!*

In the employee record...

On their record in the employee edit screen from the main menu type a pin number in. 
(It can be letters or numbers or a mix I would use a maximum of 4
 or its too hard to rememer - but you can do up to 50!)
this must be totally different from everyone elses
make sure you give yourself one too.

Then you need to enable pin in the Advanced 'more setup' menu
(right mouse click on the Advanced 'more setup' menu in blank space - like top left)

choose
 Setup....
	Security...
		Pin Security....

You have options including:

Pin to open cash drawer
Pin to enter the system at all - this audits the session so you can see who did what when!

always restart the program when a change is made to the configuration.

Pin numbers can be entered by hand, magnetic swipe card, non-touch swipe card, thumb print reader, eye scan!

This will then audit their entire session, in the report:
  General....'What's been happening'

*They must remember to finish their session and go back to the sign-in screen,
*or someone else can use their session. Or set the pin-lock time-out to 30 seconds if they have issues.*


For card compatibility information for suppliers see here

C

Qu

We want to better control our professional stock, e.g. In-Shop use consumables.
An employee will select what they have used with each client and it will keep a running total.

Ans

Yes, its pretty easy.

As a tip we have a lady who pops all 'used' containers in an 'empties bin' 
and then processes them at the end of the day.

If you add your 'In-Shop use' Stock into the products list as you do for customer vended products:

but begin each name with the letter    z
so as not to confuse them with customer vended stock.

They will then all come at the end of the list as it is alphabetically ordered.

so...
When you use a new pack of productX.

From the main menu:
Hit 'Quick Product Sale' then scroll to the bottom and choose your In-Shop use 
productX.

Click the green tick button as you normally would.

Now instead of selling it as cash, card, cheque - hit the 'In-Shop' button instead.

If this is not setup already, you can then get the system to ask you 
WHO is using the In-Shop product.

This allows you to report on who is using In-Shop products.

It also allows you to re-order stock for different suppliers just the same along 
with your normal 'customer vended' products.

Let me know if this makes no sense, or if you think it won't work for you
or if you need to chat more about it.

C

*******

Below is information that will allow you to change a picture by giving it the existing(old) images
full location on the Internet and then giving it the new pictures full location on the Internet.

You can read this straight away or get more basic info by reading the big time-and-money-saving
steps here.

(If you do know how to edit web pages(HTML) please do NOT use Microsoft Word,
 notepad will be ok worst case or of course your favourite web page editor.)

*******

If a picture needs adding or changing extensively in future,
you need to get a proper web page developer involved as we only do an initial simple version.
(we can recommend one of course)

You can do simple edits yourself easily but I would advise you that the easier way is to get
someone else to do it (a 3rd party). Then there would be a cost unless you know someone personally
who can do web pages as a favour.

We do not do this ourselves (no web page hosting or web page creation) but can recommend 3rd parties.

NOTE: To quickly change the picture there is a new easy utility, see here.



For example enabling and editing the proactive 'come back and see us' email template:

It is very easy for you to do, especially if you have edited your own web pages/web sites before.

If you already have the reminders email template done already:
    C:\Program Files\AlphaTask\Platinum\Reminder.html

What you need to do is to get your favourite .html web page editor and edit:
    C:\Program Files\AlphaTask\Platinum\Proactive.html

Your picture MUST be already web-hosted e.g., :
    http://www.MySite.net/ima ges/MyHeaderPicture.jpg

If you compare Reminder.html and Proactive.html you can see.

I would copy Reminder.html and save it/overwrite Proactive.html
and then change a few words.


Slightly more technical info: 

Platinum can load a .html web page directly in for sending out to customers.
So you have a huge amount of flexibility.

Make sure you have the full path to your new picture
eg. http://www.myPictures.com/MyNewPicture.jpg

you can tell it is ok and correct by pasting this full path into a web browser
you should then see your picture.

Open the .html file in this folder here:
C:\Program Files\alpha task\Platinum
 
e.g.
C:\Program Files\alpha task\Platinum\Reminder.html

search for the text
.jpg            (or .gif if this is not found)
hold down the Ctrl key bottom left of the keyboard and hit the letter F on the keyboard once.
type .jpg and find/search/ok

this should show the entire path to your web-hosted picture.
eg.
http://www.mywebsite.com/ima ges/myimage.jpg

Change this to whatever you like but it must be the FULL path eg. http:// etc


More Details:

If you feel brave or indeed do have a friend who can edit such things, we are also quite happy to talk 
to them but its not rocket science to even a novice.

HTML File Locations:
C:\program files\alphatask\Platinum

If you fancy learning search for an eBook:
"Building A Website For Dummies" eBooKerz website

Let me know if I can help more - or indeed If you found this all useless!


If stuck all these files can be *right* mouse clicked and opened for editing with notepad.





The older way is not recommended (you CANNOT use any pictures when using word - it doesnt work with them)

(Word is definitely NOT recommended)

Note: to edit in word you cannot use any pictures.

The easy way to edit is via your favourite HTML editor.

Open the Web HTML E-mail template

    you might need to right mouse on the shortcut and select edit or even

"Open With..."

from the List.

Troubleshooting:

Do not import picures from the web into a Microsoft Word document. 
It will store them locallly and not keep the web link
(this is not what you want because when you send it to 
 someone else they do not have the picture locally on their machine! only you do!)

C

Membership management:

Expiry dates can be set and automatic warnings of expiry shown.

From their customer profile hover over the top left (...) button...eBusiness...Membership.

This is checked on making appointments giving a count-down a month before expiry.

Expiry reports (All customers via the main reports screen or one customer via the above area).

Membership expiry-warning-mode is enabled automatically at 30 days if you set any customers expiry date, but is configurable (xconfig:ExpiryWarningDays).

A drop down of expiry date options is there for easy selection of 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Added xconfig tag: ExpiryKeyWord.

Tip:

The membership expiry report is available via the Customers Profile hover over the top left (...) button.

C

  

NOTE: If you need remotely get access to a work computer from home please see here.

If you have two computers on the same site and they share a printer for example. (LAN setup)
Your computer is not setup to allow the remote desktop as standard for security.

If you go to:

Start....Setting/Control panel....System
    ....Remote tab page.....Remote Desktop.....

Tick the box that says Allow users to connect remotely to this computer

Let us know when its done and we should be able to do the rest then.

c

This is a slightly more techy/buzzwords article you should firstly read the basics here.

VPN - Virtual Private networking.
A secure way to cheaply connect two computers by using the Internet.
e.g., Home-office to shop/office

You can connect up to the Platinum database in your office / shop,
 and via VPN you can connect another copy of Platinum to the office/shop one,
 it would then act as if you were sat in the office/shop, you can do everything 
 from home,

 You would then have to purchase or lease 2 licenses one for office and one 
 for home.

 We have many customers with this setup. Broadband is highly advised at 
 both ends but not crucial.

 They can also connect from home to multiple sites, you can setup each 
 office/shop name
 and choose it from a drop down from the main menu, once selected, again it 
 is just like siting
 there at the remote computer.


 One of our customers uses a 3G mobile card and talks to Platinum from all 
 over the world from their laptop.

 We do also have a free option using free 3rd party software which allows you to take direct control.
 There is a small setup fee but no more to pay.(currently, but as it is 3rd party we cannot guarantee this forever)
 Any other questions please ask away.


 QU
 
 If the VPN connection is setup on a laptop and it is stolen what are the implications?
 
 ANS
 
 If you are concerned about this you should not tick the box to allow the pass.word to be remembered.
 You should immediately change your passwords if you have them in a text document on the computer!! 
  
 More advanced info, setup steps, etc. here

 C 

  
Open the Daybook from the Main Menu

On the top left is a calendar showing the 

current daybook day

Move your mouse pointer above this 

calendar

Click this calendar with your left mouse 

button

Select your date to move to and click the actual 

day

The daybook will jump ahead.

C	
  

Run the XAuction version of Platinum.
Go to reports from the main menu
Click the + next to "Products"
"Click Auction Bids By Dates" report
Set your start and end date range and click Next ->

Description

"This report shows each Customers Bid on a Product 
in an Auction, for any length of time required, you can Auction any Product in 
the database."

C	
  

You should never alter your Windows computer time
or date to anything but the correct date or time.

This is normally synchronised with Microsoft but it can be wrong.


If the time is wrong follow these steps:

"Right" mouse click on the clock (bottom right)
Select Adjust Date/Time
Click on the hour or minute or second and press the delete key DEL

    or the Backspace key <---

This will remove the existing number.

Now type the new time in the box
use the Tab Key on the keyboard to move along.

Click OK to save if happy.

C

  

When you trial/demo Platinum you get 30 days premium support (email and telephone)
after that time you can use the self-help 'Help Me' button in Platinum or email support
which has a small annual cost.

or

pay for full telephone support.

This is designed to be fair to you; why pay when you don't need telephone help?

--

If you pay for premium telephone support the UK local call rate number
is 0845 680 0019 or +44 845 680 0019 - worldwide callback if needed!

If you have problems or questions this is the number to call.

--

If you do not pay for telephone support please click the 'Contact Me.' button
on the first screen for the email help.  Please enter your email address and double check it.

If you have requests for a new feature to be added,
we are always interested in your request,
let us know Asap so it is not forgotten.

C

To pay with part voucher and part another payment 
(like cash)

When you are about to select the payment type 

on the screen that tells you how much the 

customer needs to pay:


Tick the box at the bottom that says 'tick to pay with two types'
click the Cash button (if it is a part cash payment)

You will notice that the cash button shrinks slightly
and the message tells you to choose another type
next click the Voucher button
This will then ask about how much each amount is

eg.

How much on cash eg you 

could type 20

How much on voucher eg you could type 20  (you may not be asked this Platinum may assume the rest is on voucher)

    It will now ask/prompt you for each amount, for each of the two types,
    it will minus the first amount from the total for you on the second payment amount
    prompt.

    Advanced:

    IF you are good with the keyboard rather then the mouse
    
    Hold down the shift key on the keyboard throughout the whole thing until you are
    asked how much (the shift key is the long key below "Caps Lock" and above "Ctrl" key on the keyboard)


Important Till / income notes:

You are not showing the same amount twice, if when paying with a voucher instead of clicking 
cash/cheque/creditcard, you click voucher.
 
Platinum will then recognise this and will not take into account the second 'amount'.
 
When using vouchers, you must always use the report below for cashing up purposes:-
 
Reports..... Financial.......Till Total By Department (end of day, Voucher Aware)


    Troubleshooting: Some people do not see it shrink and continue clicking the first
    payment type. Don't!!



Tip:

Keep your transactions seperate!

If a customer wants to use the vouchers straight away, please put the voucher sale
through, take the money and put it through the system.

Once that is done then let them use the vouchers as you would by clicking the 
Vouchers button instead of Cash, Cheque or Card.

C

  

Platinum is built to be very simple and easy to use.
For the advanced user who knows the system well the simplicity can be 
annoying and slow to use.
There is a faster way of working with it.

A Use By Example:
"You want to very quickly alter the balance of employees appointments so 
that one person is not very busy and others are not doing anything, you need 
the daybook open and a report open at the same time.You need tomove the appointments in the 
daybook and quickly re-run a report each time to ensure the distribution of work is equal."

Steps:

Go to the Main Menu
Click Daybook
Hold down the Ctrl Key with your left thumb (bottom left of keyboard)
Tap Tab Key (left side above CAPS LOCK key)

This will take you back to the mainmenu WITHOUT closing down the daybook

Click Reports and choose one and run it.

Now use Ctrl and Tab to get back to the Daybook which is still open.

Remember that you now have 3 screens open Main menu, daybook, reports.

This feature can save you a lot of time especially when the rosta screen 
tells you that there are appointments that need moving before you can roster
a person off for the day, you can quickly switch between daybook editing
and the roster screen.

IMPORTANT: when you have finished this sort of activity, close all screens 
down to just main menu, so that only the main menu is left this is to make sure 
you do not slow the computer down by having more and more screens open.

C

  
	
Platinum has eMessaging features that allow postal, mobile phone texting and emailing you should use these instead of a 3rd party.

To Export from Platinum
=======================

if you open the report click the image of an envelope with a red arrow 

pointing to it to export

select excel as export type open .xls right click the row that 

the report description tells you to click select copy if you paste into 

notepad they are all there fine



you might be able to just paste this into your e-mail client BUT if not:



To purify via Word
==================

paste the list into word

from the menu select Edit ...Replace

type

^p

into the Find box meaning 

paragraph

and a normal space character in the 

replace box 

(depending upon your e-mail client and how it 

breaks up email addresses- a ; or , might do it even, not as 

clean)

click "Replace ALL" button
use the list as you will.

C

  

(This assumes it has been setup correctly)

To trigger the batch reports (currently for today only)
you need to click Reports from the main menu.

On the report choice screen that opens 
hold down the shift key and at the SAME time 
click the NEXT-> button that is bottom right.

This will open and automatically print and then close each report 
you may see them on screen, just leave it for a few seconds.

If you tell us your list of daily reports we can set this up.

C

  

Initial information on setting up flavours here

In Platinum reports Goto

    Customers....

        Contacts of Customers Interested in a Product Flavour

You can easily use the emails 
or mobile numbers for e-messaging them.

The Platinum eMessaging feature found from main menu allows 
very easy and very powerful personalised customer electronic messaging, working directly from 
all customer based reports.

Description (can be read again in Platinum)

"This report shows customers contact details who 

have either bought a product flavour in the past, or has expressed an interest 

in a product flavour. You can always export any data by clicking the Red arrow 

top left of the report screen. As your data base grows this report will take 

longer to run, please do not run it at peak trading hours. This allows you to 

contact your customers to maintain the relationship, for example, for thank you 

for the business type messages, this works for any length of time required. Run 

the report, export to Excel using the red arrow, to select all emails click the 

header of row L and copy, to select all mobile numbers click the header of row J 

and copy."

C

You have a few options please read carefully...


Simple cash only business example
=================================
Imagine...

Yesterday you sold a product for 20.

Today it gets returned and you take 20 out of the
till to refund the customer.

You must tell Platinum cash has been taken out or the till report at the 
end of the day will show 20 less than it should

Steps:
Go to the daybook from the main menu
right mouse click anywhere in the grid
choose Xtras....
choose "remove cash"
type in 20, press enter
type in the reason eg. "A refund of 20 due to wrong purchase", then press enter
To return stock amount to correct number go in as manager
go into product edit screen and add one to the product stock number.
(deleted appointments with stock automatically return the stock to the correct number)




Refunds - products refunded on a Credit Card, cheque or cash
============================================================
Go to the main menu.
Look top left at the (...) blue gel-button
Hover your mouse over it
select refund..

There is also a refund report which you should check after you finish.
    Financial..Refunds



Credit Card Refund if no option above is available
==================================================

Refund the amount as you usually would to the customers card.
or
Refund them in cash and follow the top step for "cash only business"
(that maybe simpler for you)

If it is a complete refund delete the appointment to remove it from financial reports.

If a partial refund alter the appointment figures to this exact amount
and then crucially REPAY for it or your financial reports will be wrong.

There is no doubling-up of figures when you re-pay for any appointment.

C

Please see here.

C

If you wanted to see prices of new equipment click here.

Click here for full backup and restore instructions, 
perhaps when you are moving to a new machine or you JUST have a backup after a computer failure.

C

  

If you need to send paper letters in envelopes with sticky labels please see here.


eMessaging - Especially eMailing can take a long time and it is not advised to 
             do it during working hours as it will lock your machine up.

Steps:

Once happy click Next On the "Easy e-messages" 
screen Click the Preview button to view what your customers will 
get (we have put this together and it is editable if you dont 
like it just dont change any [TEXT THAT IS IN BRACKETS] as this is 
replaced by Platinum - but you can remove it if you do not want it)



If not happy close the preview and click "edit" 
button to change it, you can edit it in your favourite 
HTML web page editor but DO NOT use Microsoft Word.



If happy right mouse click on the customers list and select 
"Select All E-Mail", this will save you double clicking each one.



You can then just untick some or tick which ever you want - just 
double left click them.



When happy click the Green Tick OK button and 
wait.....you will get a message when finished.



In future be aware that this is best done at the 
end of the day as it may take a good while to complete.



Crucial:

It is better to always preview and always run a test on your 
*own* 'Test-Customer' with your e-mail address/mobile
to ensure its working ok.

This saves mistakes and embarrassment.
Then if happy send out to everyone.

C

  

See Customer Growth here.

In terms of seeing how many are on the book there
is a report for this, and it allows you to print out
month by month the customer count per employee to 
ensure their client base is growing.

Employees Group...Customer Count...

This report it will allow you to compare employees customer counts, as you have said,
in order to fairly distribute new customers between them.

Description

"This report allows you to easily see exactly how 
many customers an employee has within any date range. It may be used to 
see if employees client groups are growing by setting the end date to the end of 
last month, running and printing that report, and then comparing the totals when 
setting it to the end of this month. Normally you would set the start date to 
before your business started, but works for any length of time required."


Run this report from each date range that you are 
interested in, and print it to compare
for example, running a report with an end date of the end of 
september will show total unique customers that have had jobs,broken down 
by employee.

see the report description below too. 

the office and grand total are at the bottom too for when you 
expand to more office/sites!!!

the graph is not the sexiest, but allows you to very clearly see 
the differences.

REPORT DESCRIPTION

"This report allows you to easily see exactly how many customers 
an employee has within any date range. It may be used to see if employees 
client groups are growing by setting the end date to the end of last month, 
running and printing that report, and then comparing the totals when setting it 
to the end of this month. Normally you would set the start date to before your 
business started, but works for any length of time required."

Also see Employee Growth here.

C

  

"re:You say you can do a report listing customers by employee that would be great,
 but what info would you work from for this?"



This might not be exactly what you want (as of july 

2006)

BUT

if all your customers are marked as requesting an 

employee in Platinum it makes it much easier



Run the report under Employee Group

 ...called...Customers who 

requested an employee



Description

"This will show you details of customers who have 

ever requested an employee, it allows you to select an employee before it runs 

the report. This is useful if an employee is going on holiday and wants to tell 

their regular customers. This can be saved to excel format and then copied into 

an e-mail to be able to send them all a message. This applies to all customers 

in your system."



i hope this is all good.

C

  

I have set the "Automatic" reminder time to 11am 

because you said you call customers with reminders from the 

morning, this will e-mail and text message your customers 

between 11am and 12am.



If you do still call them yourselves manually, if it is after 11am,
please ask them if they got the message or not
(e-mail or text).



(messages can sometimes not go out up to an hour after 10am)



now...you *do not* need to do this but 

FYI



If you do want to see who will be 

remindedabout the next days appointments you can use the "manual" reminder 

screen.

For example there are3 appointments on 

Thursday with mobiles- no-emails though.



to do this:

Go to main menu

Click Reminders



This is a simple 3 step process,



1.Choose the day. if you enter a number in the box 

and press enter it will update the day name so you can see what day the view is of.

You can also see all the customers in the list for 

that day, these of course are all customers who have an appointment that day. 

A number 1 in the box shows tomorrows reminders.



2. Click the empty tick box to the far right of the 

customers name and appointment details, you can choose what medium you send 

the message to them, by ticking the boxes, this allows 

you to JUST choose 1 customer if eg. they are late and you want to text them to 

ask if still coming.

When you tick the box you have to move off it to 

show the tick (i dont know why)



3. Read the message bottom left this will be sent 

to the customer and can be changed if needed, eg. Are you still coming? to a 

customer who is late.



4. Click the green tick GO button (bottom middle of 

the screen)



on this manual screen you can choose to send a text 

message or an email or both at the same time to just 1 or all.



but remember this is the manual reminders so you 

should not click the green Go button here 

as you now have the totally "automatic" reminders 

switched on and you dont have to think about it at all.



BUT out of curiosity, you can do a fake appointment 

on the daybook with yourself and your email and mobile details properly filled 

in and then run this manual reminders screen from main menu.



then find your name,

tick both the e-mail and the SMS text message tick 

boxes next to your name and appointment,

and then click the green tick GO button in the 

middle at the bottom.



you should get an e-mail and sms text message very quickly.

this will all work now, I tested it tonight. You 

are on a free weeks trial of the text messages. 



I will let you know how much it is at the end of 

the trial so you know your average spending

on text message reminders and we can go from 

there.



If you are not happy with the HTML e-mail that I 

have quickly done for you, you can change it at

C:\Program 

Files\alpha task\Platinum\Reminder.html



If you are not happy with the text message open 



"XConfigure Platinum"

in the 

"Only When Asked" section

then scroll down to 

SMSReminderMessage

you will easily see the existing 

message

a top tip is to just keep the characters to a 

mini    

or about the same as they are to avoid any problems 

sending them(more cost if it does two messages)



To see a day by day log of what has been sent out 

for X amount of time please goto...

Start...Programs....Alpha task.....Platinum....Xtras.....

    "Show me the Platinum Work Log"



I hope you have good feedback, it definitely takes the impressiveness up a gear.

Troubleshooting and useful info: here

C

*Please read carefully before attempting to use the Flavours feature*


Important:
If you have Product and flavour icons on your desktop near the Platinum icon please use those icons instead.
If not...
From the main menu click the Advanced 'more setup' button.
Look down to the second section labeled "Advanced e-Marketing".







Product Group is a broad category,it is a top level name,
e.g., 
    It is usually your business name or a high level name for a product 
    range e.g. Shampoo
    
Product Flavour is anything that comes under that broad category of a Product Group,
this might be a specific Product Range name.


Organise Groups

Allows you to tell Platinum which "Product Flavours" belong to which "Product Group"


Organise Products

Allows you to tell Platinum which actual products belong to which "Product Flavour"


When a customer buys a product, Platinum Automatically profiles those customers as interested
in that "Product Flavour" and you can then market to them in future, with Platinum e-mail or text messages.


This is all useful if you want to report on product use broken down by a "Product Flavour"
e.g., which range is selling best.


Setting up
==========

Summary:

On each screen there is a small very top middle box that you needed to click/select firstly.

Then click each item in the middle box to assign products to flavours, or the flavours to a Group.


So...

You must always choose a flavour from the little box that is very top middle.

If its in the top section it means it is NOT set to any flavour

If its in the bottom section it means it IS set to the flavour in the little top middle box

Always click NEXT-> to save your changes




How do I use it?

Add your Product Groups via the "Product Group" button

Add your Product Flavours via the "Product Flavour" button



Associate your Flavours into Groups by clicking the "Organise Groups" button.
(or see computer desktop screen icon if above does not work)


This screen works by first setting the "Product Group" in the top box. 

you will see all of your "Product Groups" in the top box.

 If you hover the mouse over the box or touch the box on screen it will show itself.

 Click or Touch a 

"Product Group" 

 (The list will not go away by itself and you need to move away from it with the mouse,

  this allows you to quickly view your current choices.)

Once you are happy with your choice of "Product Group" select one of the unassigned "Product 

Flavours" from the middle box by clicking it.

 If you have just added a new "Product Flavour" it should be there ready to be assigned to a 

"Product Group".

If you make a mistake or click the wrong one, simply click in the very bottom box to remove it 

from the selection.



Finally Associate your Products into Flavours by 

clicking the "Organise Products" button

 This screen works exactly the same way as the "Organise Groups" screen.

 This time the very top boxcontains the FlavourNames.

 Select a Flavour in the same way as above

 Then add or remove Products from the middle and bottom boxes until you are happy.





*At all times you must finish by clicking the Next 

-> button on the bottom right or your last change will not be saved.*



Note:

The screens are all Automatically saving your work and choices.

If you move the top drop down box to another 

selection, anything you have chosen will be saved.

If you do not want it to save, click the close 

window button (normally an "X" on the top right of the window)

this will then not save your last edit.

The best way to get to grips with this is to play about. 

Unless you are running Windows newer than XP this needs setting up properly by us.

IMPORTANT:
Remember to hover your mouse over the top name bit and it will show your choices in a list,
hover over the one you want to select, click it and then move your mouse away to make the list disappear.

Click the first icon on the far left to add a group 
you probably only need one.
eg. YOURNAME Products.

Editing in future:

Add new flavours to 'Product Flavour' first then
use 'organise groups' to add that new flavour to the 'Products' Group.
then add you new product as normal, then use 'organise products' to assign the product to a flavour.

Tips:

.
To see what is assigned to what now; run the report here.


.
If your product flavour report does not match your expected total you have not assigned
a product to a flavour and therefore it cannot show on the report!
(go back into product edit screen on the menu menu,
 then quit out and you will be asked to do this)


.
Please do close it down after you have used it.
It is very graphical and may slow your machine down.

C

  

When the till totals are down...

Another reason that the till total may not match the
sum of product and service sales for the day
is if an appointment has ALREADY been paid for...

Example:

If it was paid for on the monday for an appointment 
on the saturday, saturdays till total will be down that amount as it 
was already taken on the monday and included in the mondays till 
total report.

This is correct behaviour.

If you find a mistake when checking the NEXT day and repay it will 
put the monies through today which is not right when you click Ready-to-pay
read the popup message carefully for the steps to fix that.

C

  

Once you have actually send a delivery to a customer,

ie. you have put one through Platinum and entered the order into Platinum using 
    the "order manager"

do a customer lookup from main menu for that same 

customers name or postcode

then click their history button (bottom right)

then click "order status" (bottom right)

then scroll down and see the tracking link,



click it, this will open a web page with their tracking,



remember that it will only work once in the delivery companies system.

C

  

The screen is very simple but more details are here.

If you have just added a new product and it is not 
appearing on your "product summary" or "product details by flavour" reports

Platinum should have asked you when you added a new product if you wanted to
assign it to a flavour.


To see what flavours are in what groups run the report:

    Products...Show Groups and Flavours


Alternative information
=======================
(If no question when adding products,
 please run the icon on your desktop "Update new products with flavours"
 and then just Click GO on the program that runs.)

Data Rules :-

A product name must have a post-fix of the flavour name eg. Group - Specific

eg. 
flavour name =
"Specific"

product name = 
"Product"

Then the product will be assigned into the "Specific" 

Flavour and appear under the "Product" Section on the flavours report.

C

  

See here.

This will also allow you to open an appointment
when you have deleted the appointments customer.

C

  

if you wanted to see which day was the best 
financially over a period of time
here is an example of one way:

sign-in to Platinum and open the reports screen 
from the main menu

use the first date box to select the monday also 
select the very same monday in the second box too,
this means the report will only be for the one day.

then select the following report....

Platinum Reports

General

   Till Totals (End of day)

print it off (or use the export button top left to 

export it to excel, word, PDF.)

do this for each day you are interested in 
examining over the period and print then compare them all total wise.

this also allows you to check the breakdown against 
credit card receipts, cash in a till/box/pouch, and cheques
to make sure you have not accidentally dropped a 
cheque. or someone is not lifting from the till, etc.

you can of course use any of the reports in this 
way, day by day, week by week, month by month, 
year by year, or your entire business life.

If you are not familiar with what a "float" is it 
is the money put in the till at the start of the day
for use as customers change or petty cash to buy 
milk, papers, etc.

Also see here.

C

  

There is a sent log of messages (Text and e-mail) from the Platinum menu.

click the windows "Start" button (bottom left colourful circle/Orb)

        Programs..Platinum..What's been Sent Log
        
This is in date order so scroll to the bottom firstly.

Also see the Last Message sent out to an individual person here.

C

  

Open the daybook as the manager sign-in

(go to the department IF applicable)

    right mouse on the middle of the daybook

        choose Xtras..... 

Then decide if you want to add or remove cash from the till

Enter the amount 

Enter the description

You can see an audit of this on either the "What's been happening" report
or the "Cash In/Out" report

Both reports are found under the "General" report group.

These values will be added or removed as applicable from the till total
in the "till totals(end of day)" report.

C

You should contact us Asap to prevent you from losing any data if you think your system has problems.


Is there any way that we can speed up the screen changes in-between moving 
onwards and backwards with the next/back. 

---------------------------------------

Don't exit Platinum until the final end of day backup-shutdown,

i.e., apart from when you shut down at night (recommended for auto backups)

The system remembers screens and so works better if you dont actually close it all day.

If you open appointment details a second time first thing after opening 

Platinum you will see it is a lot faster, you lose this when you exit completely as it has to 

remember it again, rather than using the last one it opened/remembers.

Make a rule not to exit the application at all, all day, and then if you are 

still not happy I can look into it.

Windows software can hold on to memory sometimes - to free it by telling Windows to "Garbage collect"
click the _ that is top right of your Platinum screen.  Then click Platinum again at the bottom.

If this still does not help, close Platinum and re-open.(recommended daily to do an automatic backup)
If this does not help please restart your machine.      (recommended weekly to keep it fresh)

See more info here.

C

My touch screen is not accurate or I have to touch it hard to get it to click?

If the touch screen doesn't work properly when you touch it e.g., the pointer jumps about 
It is not setup properly and just needs 'calibration' an option from the Windows Control Panel.
(for more techy details scroll to the bottom of this page and click 'Technical Help' and search that page)


This 'could' be a hardware issue and you should report it if so.

Before you do try this :-

Calibration Steps.

In Windows newer than XP 

Click bottom left and type ELO
if one is in the list press the enter key on the computer keyboard
if not select ELO Touch systems

In XP 

Open the control panel - Bottom left, click "Start"...settings control panel.
You may see ELO with a blue/white icon


this is a calibration utility designed to increase the accuracy of the area you intend to touch.

Click calibration (if not shown click through each of the tab pages until you see the button)

NOTE:
You can try the same for whatever your manufacturer is. Look in the control Panel.


Use Tips:

Use the flat of your finger on touch screens, this will increase the accuracy,
dont use the top tip of the finger like you are prodding the screen.

also press and hold for a second rather than "clicking" the screen,
pause slightly and then drag. experiment really.

If this doesnt work use the flat of your thumb with 
your fingers resting on the top or the side of the screen, almost as if you are 
wiping something off the screen "upwards" with your thumb.

This is much better, feels more solid, less likely 
to slip, but not as comfortable.

If you did not buy from our preferred supplier each touch screen is different,
they even have different controlling software for Windows,
so its really tough to manage, but any more difficulties let us know.

However our standard suppliers drivers are on our tools page.

C

  

If you seem to have lost all of one employee's appointments, then you have accidentally
deleted that employee.  This is easily undeleted and it will bring back the appointments too
please see here.


or..

If one appointment has been move or deleted,
rather than having to call a customer use the "what's been happening" report 
this can be found under the "General" report group.

Set the start and end dates appropriately to cover 
when the appointment might have been first added to Platinum.

When the report has finished running 
click the binoculars/search picture button on the top left toolbar.
type the customers name or part of their name.

This will show you when the original appointment was made.

C

The most valued employee report shows the GROSS 
amount an employee was involved in bringing into the business.

So if an appointment was shared in any way ie. a dual 
those figures should not be totalled and taken and 
added to a grand financial total,
as they would be adding appointment totals twice.



At the bottom of each report that is a red 
explanation text, there is also
an explanation on the right when you select a 
reports name on the left.


To quote the report:-



"Dual appointment totals 
are credited to each employee equally, therefore the total shown is what each 
employee was involved in taking, not the total taken over all."



In light of this I have removed the totals from the 
bottom as they are misleading.
This report is still very useful, but I feel you 
will have to ignore the support/junior
persons figures as they will of course be inflated 
as they were involved on the more
expensive appointments with an Advanced/Expert employee.



In short this is informational only and not a real financial total report.

See also customer based methods here.

C

  

see here.

C

If you have lists from suppliers we can help you import them in one step to save typing.

You can train product barcodes into Platinum from the Product Screen from the main menu.
You can then simply scan them at point of sale.
You can also print out their names and barcodes instead if for some reaason they
do not have barcodes on the product.


*IF* you have Excel setup on the computer,

Click the Start button; bottom left of your screen:
Programs....Alpha task...Platinum....Xtras....Helpful Stuff....Load the Platinum
Product Barcodes Template in Excel

This is a very helpful template sheet that can be edited with customers product name
and barcode details.

This is shipped with Platinum for your convenience.

The product code of your individual products forms the unique barcode.

It very simply allows you to type your product code and it will create the barcode
for you with no hastles. Product codes are usually underneath the barcode on the product,
the numbers underneath the barcode.

Once you have them all typed up you can print them for scanning on the front desk
or take them down to trade shows for scanning when you have made a sale.

We provide this as a helpful tool for you
but we sorry we are not experts in  e xcel  and cannot answer specific e xcel  questions.

Crucial Tip:

Barcodes work better printed on photo paper with best quality printing,
that way the barcoder can pick up the lines better.


Slightly more technical but important:

When you install Platinum it installs a barcode FONT called Free 3 of 9 Extended.

This is used by the above excel sheet, you can print this out
and easily and quickly sell products to customers using a hand scanner.

The important thing to note when putting barcodes together is that the
"3 of 9" barcode MUST have a * before and a * after it,
then use the barcode font to convert it to a readable "3 of 9" barcode in the 
same way as you would change a font from "Times new roman"
to "aerial"   f o n t   for example.

C	
  

  

The quick product sale is normally a sale of a product without an actual appointment.

The quick product sale takes the current time and the current date
and that is where it will sit in the financial and sales reports.

This means if a customer buys a product AFTER cashing up
it is our advice, to note it down, and only run it 
through Platinum as a Quick Product Sale it in the morning of the next working day.

Quick product sales CAN be configured so that you can log which customer 
has bought the product,
this is important for when you decide to do any product marketing (letters, 
email, mobile phone) as you 
know who buys what, and can direct market to them, and adds to the power 
you have by using the Platinum system.

C


Hi

'Cashed' up this evening, ran end of day totals etc.

Then had a quick product sale!! (which of course we could not refuse) 

on the old till this would reflect in tomorrows totals. It will be in the 

PDQ (credit card readings) machine for tomorrow but how would I get it in 

tomorrows totals?

I am assuming if I ring it in tomorrow as new I will have 2 product sales 

showing in end of week figures..................



Any ideas what if anything we can do if this happens??
  

  

Please see here

C

  

See the example here.

  

Please see here

  

*IMPORTANT NOTE*

                If you pay your employees a commission on services
                you MUST put in two completely separate appointments
                but with the exact same customer.
                
                If you do not, the commission will go to the second employee
                on the dual job - as the system thinks that they are most senior
                and the first employee is just a fixed-salaried junior or trainee 
                who does not get commission at all.
                
                Two separate appointments but with the same EXACT customer will split
                the commission based on each employees service charge.


Firstly click a cell in the day book that has 
enough room for your dual appointment,

ensure that the two employees have free time for 

the new appointment.



when the appointment opens you should see the 

services list

(if you do not see 

the services list, simply click the services picture)



select the two services that your customer 

wants



on the first service click in thedrop down 

arrow boxin the column called "employee".



select your employees name



in the column called "order" select wether they are 

first or second to do the service on the customer.



repeat this for the next service that they want, 

selecting the employees name and the order that they 

perform the service for the customer.



an example would be 



Service1 S1 

C 1st

Service2 S2 

Ann2nd



if Service1 HAD to be performed before 

Service2

C

  

Open the reports screen from the Platinum main menu.

In the Step 1 area of the screen

Open the Employee reports group up (click on the + to the left).

Click on the the "Busiest Employee" report.

You will see the reports description

 Quote

  "This report shows information about your employees workload. 
For example, the report will show who has worked the most jobs and the least 
jobs. This can apply to any length of time required."



In the Step2 area of the screen

Select the first month range, so if you want to see September, select the first until the end of 
september.


Click Next to to run the report

Repeat the process for any other months that you want to compare.

You get the employee name AND the total jobs worked for each month.


Don't forget you can save any report to word, excel, pdf or rich text format instead of wasting paper
by clicking the "export report" button on the top left.

Also see Customer Growth here.

C

  

Platinum backs up your entire data to your hard drive to:

c:\install\Platinum.bak
It does this every time it closes down via the "Exit" button.

You can use the backup inside Platinum to backup to 
an external disk from the Advanced 'more setup' menu off the Main Menu.

Floppy disks are old and too small, use your cd burning 
software, zip drive or a removable pen drive
and burn/copy the file called 
c:\install\Platinum.bak

Each time you do this please make sure the date on the 
Platinum.bak file is current,
and take this off site for safety.

QU
When we hit the Platinum Advanced 'more setup' menu/back up to floppy nothing 
happens!

Your security/anti-v irus software is blocking it, allow the Platinum program in the setup.

C

       As soon as you delete them write their name down so you dont forget it.

       Go to the Platinum main menu.

       Look at your computer keyboard and look at the bottom left of it.

       You will see the keys called 'Ctrl' and 'Alt'  directly above them will be the 'Shift' key

       The shift key is generally a very wide key and is the key you use to get bigger letters (Upper case letters)

       Hold down the shift key, and while it is still held down, click the Customer Lookup button on the main menu.

       This will open a grid style edit windows (just like excel)

       To show all customers click the button top left.

       To show all customers 'including' deleted customers, hold down shift again and click that same top left button.

       Scroll down to find your deleted customer. *Do not do a name search just scroll down the entire list*

       On the deleted customer row scroll along to the right, untick the 'deleted' box by double left mouse clicking it.

       Go back to the main menu to save your changes.

To help find inconsistencies in your till totals:

Run the following report and always read the red letters at the bottom of reports for help:

Platinum Reports....Financial Tracking(diag).....Payment Inconsistency (Problems)

Quote:
This report shows what was due for each appointment and what was actually taken for that appointment, 
watch out for any errors in red, please read the notes at the bottom of the report for vital information, 
it can be used for any length of time required.

Other things to think about:

Do you ever take money out of the till without telling Platinum you have done?

Do you ever get someone paying ahead for an appointment? 
(paying on monday but for an appointment booked for friday?)

    This could also be by accident:
    Could you have paid for a *future* appointment by mistake which boosted the figures up
    If you think you may have run the report below called "Payment Day Inconsistency (Problems with WHEN appointments were paid for)"

The above all change the amounts in the till - if you do not tell the system 
it will not add up to what you expect.

You can run 6 diagnostic/inconsistency reports to see why:

Reports:

     Financial...(could be under "financial investigation" if you have a newer version)
            
            Due Amount
            Due Amount Inconsistency (Problems)
            Due Amount Inconsistency for Services (Problems)
            Payment
            Payment Day Inconsistency (Problems with WHEN appointments were paid for)
            Payment Inconsistency (Problems)

========================

Troubleshooting Payments - "If inconsistency reports don't help you"

I would assume that if the amounts are more that someone
has put a greater number in as the payment taken amount

run the Payments Report to find that larger amount.

(with its help you should easily see the larger amount)

============

*Crucial* remember that users may go ahead and start re-paying today for appointments yesterday
further throwing out their reports. Ignoring the important  w arning messages.

You can use the new report .... financial investigation ...."payment day inconsistencies" to establish if 
they have been messing and re-paying today for appointments yesterday - which puts the till total UP for today.
As the system things they took money today.

============

C

See
    Reports....Financial....Payments.
    (it maybe under financial investigation depends upon your Platinum version)

This is a dump of all the payments for the day range you choose.


There are two other reports that may help.

Sign in as Manager:
Open reports
Financial...report group
    Bankable totals - there are two options - cash or cheque and card payments.
    
Also see how to Drill Down to see more details.

C

As an example:

Lets book Chris off each monday morning for the next 3 weeks. 
Under the Chris column, if you click an empty cell in the daybook say at 9am, 
you then see your 3 leave types, 
eg. Lunch, Off, Training. Click the Off button. 
Then set the start time to say 3 hours top left. 
Click the green tick. 

You will now be asked to repeat this for the next 3 weeks.(optional regular)

Say yes. (if you need alternate weeks simply delete the middle weeks OFF time on monday morning)
You can jump forward 7 days with the 7 -> picture button that is middle right on the daybook.

If a person is off for a whole day you should use the roster on the 'more advanced setup' option
on the Main Menu.


See also rostering and off time here

Look at your computers keyboard, look at the very bottom left of the keyboard, 
you will see the 'Ctrl' and 'Alt' keys,
on most keyboards there is another key in the middle of these keys,
it looks like a flag blowing in the wind, this is known as the 'Windows Key'
Hold down the 'Windows Key' with your thumb and with it held down tap the D key.
This will 'minimise' all your open programs but still keep them open,
you can now open other programs or click icons on your desktop.
To 'maximise' Platinum again, so you can use it, click its name on the very bottom bar.
        
C
        

Note:
If you also need to change your email templates see here



You will need to do some graphics editing here.
If you do not have a logo already I can put you in touch with a graphics expert.

Click the Start button...Alpha task...Platinum...Xtras...Customer Xperience....

choose
"Change my Customer Receipt picture"
---
failing that option being available:

Search for, open and edit the Receipt image at its normal location:
Program Files  \AlphaTask\Platinum\ReceiptImage.bmp

When you open this .bmp type file, if it opens in a preview program which does not allow you to edit it,
simply right mouse click on the file instead and select Open With....Paint.

Tip:

If you are copying your own image make sure it asks you to overwrite or it is the wrong name or wrong location.

In the microsoft paint utility you can shrink down a large picture like you would have on a website:
 see top menu bar...Image...resize/skew...
    set both the horizontal and vertical to 25%



Troubleshooting:

Does your receipt text overlap the image header?
If you have an image, and say it is 4 lines in height.
You need to leave those initial 4 *BLANK* lines in the receipt text file
before you start having any text to print.


Failing this or if you find Paint unfriendly or limited in options, please visit your local 
computer shop or buy a graphics editing program from the Internet,
once installed this should open .BMP files for editing automatically.

Audition this new logo and tweak as needed.

C

Can I see which member of staff have taken the booking as an audit trail

* CRUCIAL:
* You must set a pin code for yourself in the employee screen
* or you will get locked out when you set the pin code access on.



We call passwords 'secret words' as its a bit less techy!

The two main secret words are the main manager or reception ones.

Manager : normally just the word 'manager' but can obviously be changed.(see above article)

Reception : blank at the start for easy demo access but can also be set if needed.



Other Areas that are OPTIONALLY lockable for data safety:

customer lookup - searches of customer details can be locked down if need.

report access - can be split to supervisor, manager, reception, managers daily shortlist 
                and the full managers list depending upon who you trust.

e-messaging (electronic marketing and manual customer contacts - vie email and SMS Mobile phone)

manual reminders - one person can have the secret word to do this on a daily basis 
                   (can be totally automatic also - completely hand-off auto-reminders)
change main customer details - to prevent the person leaving from deleting their customers details.

open customer details page 2 - to prevent anyone giving away free credits/minutes to a customers account.



Further:

You can lock the session or the  c ash drawer and require a pin code to open it.
If you pin lock the  c ash drawer it allows you to audit in a report who opened it.
If you pin lock the session - each employees steps through the system are audited 
                              and you can report on who did what and when.
(no more "It wasn't me!")

You can setup a time out period where it will lock after X seconds and needs the pin again to get access. 

You can setup a number of characters so that it automatically submits the pincode
(i.e., no need to press the enter key on computer keyboard)

Pin codes can be number or letters or combinations of letters and number can be as long or as short
as you need. 4 characters would be the recommended minimum really. Our system works with manual pin entry on the
keyboard=free/cheapest method, magnetic swipe cards, magic wand cards, biometric(finger print reading) 
and eye scan - covering all budgets.

You must assign pin codes to all of your employees:
Sign in as manager.
On main menu click Employee.
choose a persons name and scroll to the right until you see the 'Their Pin' column.
Here you can type, swipe or scan to register that employee with their unique pin code.

You can then set all security options from:

Main Menu...Advanced 'more setup' menu....hover over the blue gel-button (...)
        Choose easy setup...Security

You can also use these pin codes to monitor staff time keeping
right mouse click on the Main Menu in a blank space.

For data protection tips from staff see here.


Development for you:

If you want some area locked down with a secret word - just ask if it doesn't do it 
we can build that in for you.

C

QU

When setting up the EMPLOYEE section I have found that if I put the full name in, that's what appears on the 
daybook, THE EMPLOYEES FULL NAME, is there a way of having the full name in this section but only the first 
name appear in the daybook.

A
No im sorry you have to just use their first name as whatever you type will appear on the daybook.
I have jotted this down as a future feature, but it will go on a priority list dependent upon other 
customer requests.

C

The till should open automatically when you click a payment type, when you pay for an appointment.

If you need to open the till at another time:

Go to the daybook,
Right mouse click anywhere in the grid of boxes, under any employees name.
Choose Xtras....
Choose Open The Cash Drawer - This may need setting up:- 
    
    Easy Set Up...Point of sale...cash Drawer...SetUp Wizard


This can be secured with a Pin Number/password for extra security or disabled completely.

    .
    Set the Cash Drawer Secret Word for restricting use:
        Easy setup..Security..Secret Pass Words..Cash Drawer
    
    .
    To disable:
        (2010 Q3 versions onwards)
        Easy setup..Point of Sale...Cash Drawer..Setup Wizard.....
            Right Mouse opens the cashdrawer?
            
                or with technical help   XConfig:CashDrawerOpensFromDayBookRightMouseClick


Other options:

Use the key to open the cash drawer.

Look behind or under the cash drawer for a lever/switch or button that opens the cash drawer.

More here...

C

Please see the very basics of ordering here.

C

If you are a large chain business or in future when you become a large chain, with many offices/sites, 
you can centrally control ALL of you information from one single Platinum copy, 
for example you could increase all service prices each year from maybe your laptop on your yacht??

At this stage the Office becomes relevant but for now it may not be relevant.

C

If you made a mistake when you were first ask you can change it:

Easy Setup...Manage...Office

If you do not have this option ask the technical help to run the script:

Update office set name = '[NEW_NAME_HERE]'
GO


C

Platinum allows you to auction off any product on your database.

This is called XAuction and uses Internet web pages to show and allow customers to register and bid on products that are up for auction.

Image and small image are used within XAuction to show all your products that are up for auction to registered customers, 
if a customer clicks a small image of a product, they can see a larger image of the product, as is common in web pages and auctions.

Web Link is used within XAuction so that a customer can click and buy it straight away rather than bid in the auction.

A Bit More Technical?
In all cases, the information you enter into these columns will be of the full path format e.g. http://www.YourDomain.com/XAuction/Ima ges/ProductImage.jpg

C

Quite simply this allows you to note manager level comments about services, 
this is a free text column and allows you to make any special
notes you feel appropriate, or indeed leave it completely blank!

e.g. "This discount only lasts until January"

C

Slightly More Advanced Technique Warning!
-----------------------------------------
As a tip that is well worth knowing:

On the computer keyboard you can hold down the 'Ctrl' key 
and tap the 'Tab' key.
This will flick between the Platinum screens without closing them and going back to the main menu each time
this will keep your daybook from closing and resetting to the start opening time, for example.

You can also do a similar thing to flick between opened and running programs in windows.
Hold down the 'Alt' key on the computer keyboard and tap the 'Tab' key.
This will flick between programs without you having to close them each time.

NOTE: The 'Tab' key is located above the Caps Lock key, just in case it is not spelt out!

C

Please talk to us before bulk ordering anything to discuss your plans but
Barcodes are the exact same for both vouchers and magnetic swipe cards please see here

C

Platinum can handle any unique code up to 4000 characters so it is crazy flexible!
(numbers or letters or any combination of them)

Platinum just takes a string of text, so if you open notepad or word and then ensure the cursor
is flashing, then swipe the card.  If it produces a code
(and it is unique which it should be) it will be fine with Platinum.

Our only concern is that the machine used for reading/scanning will work with the suppliers cards.
(generally solved by sending a sample for testing, please ask before bulk buying any!)

You can instead use a Hand barcode scanner.

These have in the past been unable to read very small fonts on small bottles, etc.
We tell people to print at highest quality if they self-print barcodes.

More technical information here

QU

If I am using mag strip cards for the staff or loyalty cards.
How do I encode the stripe with the data, is this done via your system?

ANS

When you get your reader you MAY also get a program which allows encoding, 
(Depends upon the system you get)
BUT
When you get the cards they will be encoded already with a unique code,
I would never change this as you then have no guarantee that 
the customer loyalty card has a unique number and is actually unique to the customer.

We have a recommended provider of cards see here.

C

If you now want to start using loyalty you can reset all loyalty points here.


With Platinum customer loyalty does not have to cost you anything to setup.

Loyalty is actually recorded automatically so no need for expensive cards IF you do not want them.

There is no need to enter or use a customer loyalty code to record their loyalty.

The system will record as you pay for the appointment and increase their loyalty amount.

Currently it is a one to one; one point per pound/dollar spent, but ask us for an update on this.

When you 'redeem' it is very flexible and you can convert from loyalty points to tab (cash credit)
E.g., you can do anyone who has 5000 points and credit their account with just 1% of that as 'cash credit'

Remaining points can then be set to zero OR can be rolled over like mobile cell phone minutes.


Customer Loyalty Cards

Alternatively, if you have budget we can organise barcoded and magnetic swipe cards
along with the card reader but this starts to cost you.

It is used to uniquely identify a customer in order to give them customer loyalty points or credits.

So it is one number or code per customer - no customer must have the same code.

In future, these reward points can be redeemed by the customer and converted into cash or simply used in 
return for goods.

The customer loyalty code can be just numbers or just letters or any combination of letters and numbers.
eg. 1000   or  H12 or B500 or SpA1q2w3e    these are all correct codes.

To setup customer loyality on Platinum is easy:

From Main Menu click Advanced 'more setup' menu.
*Right* mouse click top left.
Easy Setup....Manage....Customers.....Loyalty....Switch on customer loyalty
Then Restart Platinum

To setup a customer with a loyalty code:

Open the customers profile (do a customer lookup)
Go to 'More Details' to get to page 2 of the customer profile
Find the Loyalty box
Click in the box to put the cursor in the box ready to type
Type in the loyalty code OR use the hand scanner to beep the code into this box from the barcode on the 
customers loyalty card
Give them the card to use each time they come in.

Cards?
You can buy cards that have a unique number on already and use them with either a hand scanner to beep them 
in to Platinum,
or you can type the numbers in yourself from these cards.

If cost is an issue, or you just want to test it for free,
you can just give them a simple number written on a business card that they keep safe 
this will keep it free/cheap.



Steps for simple, free, loyalty cards:

Simply get paper cards printed with your company contacts and logo on, etc

Give them one with a unique number "written" on the back of it for just them.

(Keep a track of the current highest number somewhere, maybe in a paper diary, then add one to it each time you give it out so
 each customer has a totally unique number. eg. start at 1000)

When the customer wants to pay, you ask if they have a loyalty card
if yes, 
when Platinum asks you for the loyalty code,
take the card and type the number off the back into Platinum.
If it is a barcode card, just beep the barcode when Platinum asks for the loyalty code.

Of course you can buy more expensive cards with barcodes on that you can scan and beep with your
hand scanner, its all totally flexible!



For card compatibility information for suppliers see here



*CODA1*
Loyalty mode and points are switched on as standard to switch them off please see the technical help page.


As a part of the payment process 
(when you click 'Ready To Pay' from appointment details)
you will now be asked for the customer loyalty code during all payments,
here you could just type the number off the back of the card
or use the hand scanner to beep the code in from a barcoded loyalty card,
scanning would be faster.

Keep your customers coming back easily and possibly almost a free feature, its up to you!

Tips:

Can you change the loyalty points the customer gets per sale/item? (no, but ask for an update on that)
or
Can you set up the loyalty points so that for every X spent 1 point is given and every point is worth X cash equivalent?

The amount the customer gets credited with is decided when you 'convert loyalty to tab'. 
Click the easy setup button on main menu, then click the convert loyalty to tab button for a full explanation
before you do this.  Backup firstly in case you make a mistake.

CRUCIAL NOTE:
As for an update but we are working on a solution,
if you are using sunbed minutes you must NOT use the 
'convert loyalty to tab' option on the 'more setup' menu.

Tab is used to track remaining sunbed minute credits.

As they want to redeem them, you must manually convert the loyalty points, 
and do a discount instead of a mixed tab payment.
*We have it on the TODO so please ask about status*




If you delete a person's transaction details after stating that they have paid. 
Does that person retain the loyalty points even if the payment was canceled at the last minute?

No, if they paid and cancelled the pay process at the final stage no points are awarded.
If you do have to give a refund you have to manually remove those points,
you do this from the customer profile. Click the 'More details...' button (middle right --> of profile screen).


*Troubleshooting*

a) How do I switch loyalty off?
   Look at *CODA1* above - set it to N not Y

C

Yes, you can do a variety of data tasks, see the data management area in easy setup.

For Loyalty Points:

We recommend clicking "Convert Loyalty to Tab" firstly via the easy setup button on Main Menu.
Then clear all the existing loyalty points.
You can do this by putting in a large number like 10000 when asked, this will more than likely remove
all customers loyalty points.


    Easy Setup...eBusiness...*Only when asked*
            Maintenance and Performance...
                "Set all customer tab values to zero"

    Easy Setup...
      Manage...
       Customers...
         Loyalty...
          "When loyality points are converted to tab; zero everyones loyalty total?"


Any problems; See how to Zero Loyalty Points here.

C

My Storage can be found by opening a customers profile (top right button on any search screen)
Then clicking the 'more details...' button that is middle right.

My Storage allows you to store whatever extra custom info you want about a customer,
this could be the amount of credit they have left on a pre-pay course, 
how much they owe the business for back payments for products or services,
how many children they have,
important medical details or contraindications (see here)
even their nickname,
its completely up to you and you can even show the result on each customer lookup!

The box will just store what you type and then show it again when you open the screen again on that customer.

To make it very easy to use, you can set the title of each of the boxes to whatever you like.

See also here.


How?

Sign in as manager
click 'more setup'
hover your mouse top left over the blue gel-button (...)
choose
    Easy setup.....manage....customers...profile....
    
Set each of the 'My Storage' titles to whatever you like, 
if you are not going to use any of them, just blank/remove all text.

Remember to close and re-open Platinum to pick-up these changes.

================== TECHY ====================

A quicker but more techy way is to Configure 'My Storage' via XConfig
Open XConfiguration : (See the very top article on the technical help page)
                            http://www.XpectWorld.net/help/THelp.html#openXConfig

In XConfiguration Search for the keyword on the left hand side.

So for example you can set labelMyStorage1      to just the words    Pre-Pay Course        
and remove the text from the rest if you are not going to use them.

Options are:

labelMyStorage1           (currently set to 'Custom area')

labelMyStorage2           (currently set to 'here you')

labelMyStorage3            (currently set to 'can choose')

labelMyStorage4             (currently set to 'the names!')

C 

There are two parts to this and you might have to experiment to get what you want, but it is very easy:

An example configuration:

a) HourStart        to 1

b) HourInterval     to 3

-------------------------

a) sets the first pink line - this is generally set to 1 IF the whole-hour is the first row on the daybook 
   So if the daybook starts at 7am this should be set to 1.

b) sets the number of lines that are NOT whole-hours.
   So if the daybook starts at 7am and has 15 minute time slots this should be set to 3

To Configure this:

Open XConfiguration : (See the very top article on the technical help page)
                      http://www.XpectWorld.net/help/THelp.html#openXConfig

search for HourStart (in the list on the left) and enter 1
then
search for HourInterval (usually below it, in the list on the left) and enter 3

Save and Exit

Close Platinum completely and re-open it.

C

Sign in and on the main menu,
click the reminder picture button (bottom row left hand side)
you can then tick which customers you want to remind 

*This will need setting up properly eg. if you dont already send out e-mail and text message*
*reminders you need to customise the messages.*

This allows you to manually send out reminders if you miss the run due to the computer being off.

Tip1:

If you type 0 (thats zero) in the top box, it will send to everyone today, but you will see the appointments
and will know you are on the right day.

Tip2:

When it is first setup, so you feel secure, ask your customers if they got their text reminders, daily, etc
 
The Platinum at home must be on at the time that you have set (e.g., 11am)
(i would keep it running all the time really to save the memory-stress as it can be an hour between 
e.g. sometime between 11 am to 12 pm)
 
It must also be connected to the Internet (or secure VPN connection if you have a home\back office copy).

C

(This is fixed in the latest version on download)

If you are selling stock with a hand scanner and you keep getting an out of stock message
look at the first product in the list - is it zero stock? if so set it to the correct stock
or set it to -1,
this will fix it and you should not get this message anymore.

C

If you use XConfig (download the latest one as it says in the technical help, 
the latest one allows you to search in the bottom box 
which makes it a LOT faster)

use search/scroll down and find on the left
ReceiptPrinterName

enter your full A4 printer name on the right, 
exactly as it appears in the printer and faxes list 
(use right mouse on the printer name, click rename, 
right mouse again and copy the text for accuracy)

You can print to a Virtual PDF printer using this method,
but if you have Microsoft Office installed with the 
Microsoft Office Document Image Writer 
printer 

you can put
Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
in the box instead and it will show the receipt as an image on the screen rather than wasting paper.

Once again for speed buy a USB receipt printer, we built Platinum 
with a parallel receipt printer which worked but I recommend USB
and definitely not Serial! too slow.

C

 
Platinum is head office compatible, from the reports to each part of the system.
 
You can connect to any of your businesses from anywhere in the world.
 
You could, for example, sit on a beach in Florida, with an Internet laptop and change your service prices in Rio,
or check how much money they have taken that month, that day, or the entire life of the business.
 
It needs proper setup but to give you an example that may or not work with demo data, (but you can see the possibilities)
 
I believe it should say YourSite  and  MySite  in the choice box on the main menu, this would obviously be different physical businesses.
 
You would need a VPN secure connection to your business (the office/shop would be a VPN host computer sitting on the Internet)
 
 
To Enable:

From Advanced 'more setup' menu (off Main menu) E-Business...Head Office...This is Head Office.

OR

Via XConfigure - Search or scroll down to:
 
ThisIsHeadOffice

and set it to Y on the right

exit and save

restart Platinum completely

 
C

Q

We are sometimes asked what was paid last time by a client.

A

if you do a customer lookup,
then click on a date in the middle left section
then check the correct details are in the middle right section 
details, results, etc.
then click the bottom right button called History....!!
you can actually alter this data again so be careful.

C

Providing you book whole days off in the roster, yes you can.
(Roster is found on the Advanced 'more setup' menu off the main menu)

You can get a count of the days worked by a person 
and days off that they have had, winthin the date range you choose.
 
NOTE: This does not count two "half-days" as one full off day.
but only counts in whole days booked off in the roster.

You can seethis report:
 
Employees...Days Worked report.     (Make sure you do 365 days for a year)

Description:

This report shows the days an employee worked and the number of days booked off on leave, 
this works for any length of time required. NOTE: To cover a week you must select Monday to Monday, 
also if they appear to have worked too many days, check that they are booked off in the Roster found 
from the main menu. This does not cover half days off, only rostered full days off, 
for any length of time required.

C

*This information is still useful but Platinum now learns the durations - employee by service*

Sign in as manager level

from the main menu click the Advanced 'more setup' menu (bottom right only when in as manager level)

click your right mouse button anywhere in blank space, eg. top left

Click:

Setup....Daybook....General....

"Set the standard number of boxes an appointment takes up"

then enter 1 in the box and click the green OK tick. (2 will give you 2 blocks, 3 will give you 3 blocks, etc.)



*OR, IF THE ABOVE IS NOT AVAILABLE*

an ALTERNATIVE METHOD - a more Advanced Mode

Run XConfig from the programs... Alpha Task Platinum Xtras Only when asked....XConfigure

paste the following tag into the search box at the bottom:

    DayBookBookingTimeDefaultDropDownItemNumber

press the enter key on the computer keyboard

type a 1 in the box on the right which is at the very bottom of the window and press the enter key on the keyboard

click Exit and Save

(NOTE: If you have no search box at the bottom of XConfiguration
 download the new version from 
 http://www.XpectWorld.net/Help/THelp.html#openXConfig
)

C

Sign in as manager level

from the main menu click the Advanced 'more setup' menu (bottom right only when in as manager level)

click your right mouse button anywhere in blank space, eg. top left

Click:

Setup....More Setup Options...

paste the following tag into the search box at the bottom:

    CustomerAuthorisationNeededForAppointment

press the enter key on the computer keyboard

type an:
N 
in the box on the right which is at the very bottom of the window and press the enter key on the keyboard

click Exit and Save

(NOTE: If you have no search box at the bottom of XConfiguration
 download the new version from 
 http://www.XpectWorld.net/Help/THelp.html#openXConfig
)

C

I want to set up commision for the employees. 
I have gone to the employee screen, but unsure what to put in the pay box? 

Unless you need to calculate salary you leave the pay box empty.

C

Right mouse click in a blank space on the Advanced 'more setup' menu, then choose:
Setup...Daybook...General...The Look... 

NOTE: in this area there is also: 'I want darker lines' and 'I don't want darker lines'

First try the 'I want darker lines' - see if you are happy with that.

if not use:
'Set the Line colour (do not touch unless helped)'

The standard option is Grey, so they look darker, but you can change the colour to whatever you like:

Here are your colour options, it must be exactly the same as this, you can see the colour in the chart below:

http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_colornames.asp

If you break your daybook by spelling a colour wrongly and it will not open or gives errors
 - set it back to Grey or set it to the 'I don't want darker lines' option.

C

Question:

We want to be able to set a target for each employee, and set it that they get 10% commision over and above this target.

Suggestion:

Currently the closest we have to this report is :

Employee....Service Commission Summary With Salary

Description:
This report shows how much to pay employees who are mainly salaried 
but also receive commission for service sales above a certain amount 
related to a multiple of their salary. For example, if an employee 
receives 10% commission on their service sales above a certain threshold, 
this will be calculated and added to their monthly salary, as an example, 
for the salary multiple enter 3, if the bonus has a threshold of above 
3 times the annual salary, enter 10 if the commission percentage is 10 
percent, giving a result of 10 percent of any service sales above the 
salary multiply threshold, this is added to the salary for the chosen 
date range, for example 28 days, working for any length of time required.

The above report WOULD work for you IF:
a) your employee DOES actually HAVE a salary!
and
b) your employees target is X times that salary

C

Question
Not the computer sound as we play music via the computer we just do not want all the sound effects!

Answer
There are no sound effect with Platinum?

It is the windows sounds, try this:

click Start....settings .....control panel.....sounds and audio devices.....
click the "sounds" tab
here you can add and remove the various sounds that windows will play for different events.

An event might be a  w arning, or a message box popping up on screen.

If any annoy you, you can scroll, click it, audition/play it, if it is the one you do not like
simply set the drop down to none, instead of its name.

If you want to get rid of ALL sounds (recommended) simple set the sound scheme to "No Sounds".
This will, however, still allow you to play music.

C

It is really only that useful if you have broadband and it will send it at the time
but if you do want to setup your managers e-mail choose:

Main Menu...'More Advanced Setup'.....
Right mouse click top left in the empty space
Setup....Manager....
click
"Set Managers e-mail address for re-order stock emails, etc"
(mobile number can be set here also)

type/change it to the chosen e-mail address.

Technically: you must have broadband, be connected to dial-up at the time (not recommended)
                  or have local SMTP Queuing setup to get the e-mail to work.

Thanks,
C

This is called multi level pricing.

It is based on the level of the employee. (their skill level basically)

You have to setup data in both the employee edit screen (where you edit their name)
and
You have to setup data in the service edit screen (where you edit service name and price)

Setting up Employee
===================
From the main menu - open the Employee edit screen.
Find the name of the employee who is a higher skill level.
Scroll the window to the right until you see the column name 'Level' at the top.
Set this (as an example) to number 1 (make sure this number 1 is in the correct employees row)

Set the less experienced/less expert/less senior employee to level number 2, etc.
Then Juniors/Beginners/Novices to level 3, etc

Save by going back to main menu.

Setting up Service
==================
From the main menu - open the Service edit screen.
Find the name of the service that has a higher price if done by the above expert level 1 employee.
Scroll the window to the right until you see the column name 'Price1' at the top.
Set a level-1-only price under this column.
Price2 should always be the price of a skill level 2 employees.

Now when you sell a service (or even move an appointment on the daybook to this employee)
you will pickup the higher price 'totally automatically'.

Commission will then be increased in line with their own 'skill level' per service price.


Common Mistakes:

A Level 3 employee does not have a level 3 price in the master service/treatments list from the main menu


Tip:

If you need to "insert" a new Price level between 2 existing price levels e.g., you promote an employee as they are qualified, etc.
just create a new specific name for that price, you do not need to insert it between the existing two.
Then assign that new one to that employee, even though it is not in numeric order the prices you setup for that specific level will be correct.

Also see here

C

Quite a hidden but helpful feature.

Hold down the 'Magic' SHIFT key on the computer keyboard
and then click 'Move This' on appointment or Leave screen.
 
This puts you in 'copy this' mode and allows you to copy whatever it is.
 
For example a common appointment or a common lunch break for all.
 
Thanks,
 
C

QU

There are some clients that prefer to be called by surname and then the majority of younger ones prefer first name.
I know I can change globally for showing names on appointment book but can I choose for each client?

ANS

You should always store full names in the system.  The daybook can show first or surname or full name.

A silly but workable way would be :-

Put the younger ones in as Chris Soens and put the older ones in as Soens Craig
that way the daybook will show Chris for younger and Hanlon for older.

This is not recommended as your marketing would then say "Dear Soens" which is bad! 

C

If you log in as reception you have to type secret words to get access to customer lookup, etc
if you go in as manager you have full access.

so if you staff use manager, they need to be JUST using reception.

There are multiple areas that need secret words, eMessaging, reports, customer lookup, manual reminders
and each can be given a different secret word for more trusted employee's

you can clear the reception secret word and it will just let them in without asking...to save time.

you can also do card-with-barcode scanning, magnetic swipe card, passover electronic cards and
even finger-thumb print access too, with a fully audited session in the what's been happening report.

C

There are many reasons but you must tell Platinum about any money movements or it cannot be accurate.

Are you using the Cash In / Out (sundries) logging feature of the system?
its right mouse on daybook...xtras... money In   and    Money Out
this will update the till totals for the end of day with 
eg.
Money Out:
1.00 Milk

Money In:
0.20 Change from Milk

this will make the till more accurate.  Basically you should never open the till with the key.
If you always do it from Platinum you are always telling Platinum the money going in or out of the till.

C

To see the types of eMessaging marketing you can do from Platinum see here.


Yes this is possible,

If you add a service to the system called 'Special Offer X' you can run a report to see how many customers have 
used it in a set period.

If the report does not have the exact info you want we can customise it fully to your business.

Run this:
Sign In as manager
Go to reports
    Services....Total Monthly Service sales by Service

Then choose your service name from the drop down list.

C

*A more advanced options is available please ask us, the information below still works*

In the case of, say, a young child and its mother,
both appointments will come under the mothers name,
so it will then add the two upon payment time.

You can have the exact same customer with appointments in the same
or different departments.

In other words, upon payment time it will add up all UNPAID 
appointments that day, for that customer, anywhere that day.

This is exactly the same method for any two individuals, put them through as 
the same persons name.

Admittedly this could be better, as the second persons history will be either lost
or incorrectly logged in the system along with the wrong person.

If the persons history IS important (i.e. they are not a child)
Another way is to simply put them through as two different appointments with
two different customer names, go through the payment process twice 
and take just one payment, its that simple.

The result is the same.

C

Regarding the Suppliers:
If you sign in as manager, then go to the Advanced 'more setup' menu from the main menu,
you will see suppliers picture button.
Click this.
You can add and change suppliers details from here.

===========================================================
You can generate an invoice from an appointment if a customer asks for one see below.

But if you wanted to put a sundry item into the system you can:
Click Daybook from the main menu
RIGHT mouse click in the middle of the daybook (for options)
Choose Xtras.....
Choose Add cash or Remove Cash.
This is how you would for example take out cash from the till for milk and then put the change back in the till.

PLEASE NOTE:
It is important to know that for the till to be the same as the computer is tell you it should be, 
you must tell the computer every transaction (in other words don't open the  c ash drawer with a key, 
always use the system and tell it the amounts going in and out.)

C

Switching Staff Time Keeping On/Off

Firstly sign in as manager 
Go to the employee edit screen

Firstly assign yourself a pin code on your manager record(employee edit screen),
(scroll to the right and you will see a column called "the pin")
this allows you to always get in no matter what happens security wise.

Next assign pin codes for each employee who you want to be monitored;
(2 to 4 characters at most so they dont forget but you can do 50 characters 
 and use a plastic personal ID card and barcode/swipe machine/eye or hand scanner system)

Next *right* mouse click the main menu in a blank space (top left is best).

Choose Time Keeping.....then arrives (or leaves)
at this time you will be asked to type your pin or swipe your security card.

Type the employee pin or swipe their Id card to log their start and end times.

To then see when staff started and ended their working sections run the report:
    Employees.....Time keeping by employee

C

If you keep customers names and sales (not just do them all as a quick product sale).

You can re-print any invoice report (and you can export any reports also for emailing invoices)

You need to have invoices setup if you have never used it before:


Initial Setup:

Firstly your name, company-business details like VAT/Tax code and incorporation/Company code
and optionally bank details must be setup by us, please send them over?

Techy Note:The initial demo setup has an executethis.sql with this script as standard see #ChangingBusinessName


Steps to use it:

This is a very quick process.

An appointment must be paid for to generate an invoice from it.
If paid in cash, card, cheque it is a final transaction.

However,
an appointment can be paid for on the 'Tab' if the customer has not actually paid yet.

This then flags them as owing your organisation money and puts it on their personal 'Tab' Credit.

Then to open an invoice simply:

    *right* mouse click on the paid for appointment detail screen
and choose:
    e-business.....create an invoice from this


More detailed steps:

Once you know how to do invoicing it is super fast and simple to generate them.
Money owed will then be available in a report for "chasing-payments" purposes.

Steps:

Create a new appointment in the day book for the customer/business (type their name in lookup)

You must do a service and a product for an invoice to be generated:

    Choose to sell a Service with this appointment.(service list should come up automatically)
    Click the service called Invoice - then click the green tick.

    Choose to sell a Product with this appointment.
    Choose an appropriately priced product in the correct currency and set the correct t.a.x. value!!
    (to see a very long product name:
     hover your mouse exactly between the column headers of name and price 
     when the mouse pointer changes to a doube headed arrow 
     then double click your left mouse button to auto expand that columns width to see all information
     you can now see the entire product names)

Choose a product name.

Click the green tick.

Always check the total.

Click 'Ready To Pay'

For unpaid invoices pay with 'TAB' not any other method 
- this will then be flagged as money owed and appear in the TAB report.

Open the appointment (it should now be green and paid for)

Right mouse click in any blank space....
    choose 
       e-Business....."create an invoice from this"

wait for invoice generation...
(ignore any  w arnings that the invoice might thow up when you run it. they will make no difference.)

Export to PDF to e-mail to the customer:
    Top left click the small disk icon - if you hover it will say "export report"
    From the drop down box select   "Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf)"

You can of course add your own product name and costs - but the sell price must always include the VAT for UK GBP.

=========
DISCOUNTS (for example a pre-T.a.x. 99 purchase with a 30 discount to give 69)

The UK golden rule is that discounts must include the Tax when entered.
    USA Canada is pre-tax and tax is added at the checkout/final due amount.
    (search for 'tax in my country' for more info)
Discounts must be entered with a - (minus sign) firstly before the discount value. 
(eg. a 300 discount would be entered as -352.5     - this includes the UK Tax at e.g., 17.5%)

When you click a DISCOUNT in the product list - due to its price being zero - 
  you will be asked to type in a value.

C

*THE LOYALTY SCHEME IS SWITCHED ON AS STANDARD and is giving one credit per X spent automatically*

First read the basics here

Consult with us for important info about sunbeds and tab use.

QU

I want to be able to allocate to clients 1 point for every X 
they spend and this to automatically added to there tab value in their customer profile account?

ANS

You need the loyalty scheme switching on!

You then -every now and again- go to the  
'loyalty to tab converter' that is on the Advanced 'more setup' menu (off the main menu)
and it will simply explain how it works - or call if it doesn't explain it simply!!!!

Sign in as manager
goto Advanced 'more setup' menu
right mouse click any where top left of the screen
you get a menu
click easy setup....
click:
    Manage.....Customers.....Loyalty....Switch on

do a dummy run and make sure it does not need more setup
add a test-customer or your name and sell something. then
see if it gives you a point per pound.(configurable soon)

C

Yes, please see our 'technical help page' here

C

For Franchising advice please see here.

Please also see the basic remote access options here.

Q
Have downloaded Platinum from your web site and I will load onto the computer and also 
another copy to my laptop. I want to link the shop and home/office and view all using my laptop.
Can you please advise how to setup so that I can try out this setup?

A
Ok, best way is let us do it here for you but 
if you do want to have a go yourself, its very step by step and simple,  
there is loads of help on the technical knowledge base here.


 
Q
If I have one business that is busy and I want to put in two terminals 
(so that check in and out can be done by two employees at the same time) can this be done? 
If so do I need two computers, how would this be set up?

 
A
Yes it can be done we have a special feature that refreshes the daybooks every 10 seconds so each 
screen is in sync with the other.

You need two separate computers currently 

    We tried to source a computer software and second VGA graphics card system 
    so 2 keyboard and 2 mouse can share just the one computer but it only worked
    on Windows 98. If you can find one we would be very interested to hear about it.

C

Open Platinum.
Click the Contact me button (bottom middle)
look top left you can see a little H letter.
 
Click this - now choose open, yes, OK, continue to any messages that popup during the next few phases
 
Double click the 'Run Me' to run it!
Once you see the small Platinum image:
Double click the first option first on the left.(if not reaction try the next one down or email to schedule)

Let us know on email you have done this and we can take over to help out.(or call)

C

Question

I just made a mistake and I want to know how can I get it back
i was changing the order in products but by mistake I deleted the name, 
now I don't remember wish one was there, 
how can I go back so the name shows up again?

Ans

If you have saved it will be gone, but if you are still on the cell Hold down Ctrl and press Z
this will go back to the original value but only if you are in the same cell still.

If you saved already:

See the What'sbBeenbHappening report here

You could even look back in this report and see when you first added it.

C

Question:
I was wondering about my other stock, this stock is not for sale, 
more the back bar inventory, do I still have do it manually?

Answer:

Re-Ordering:
Yes you can also run a report on stock that needs reordering. 
If you read the user guide it tells you about it.
Its really important that you find time to read user guide to get the most out of it.
Partners too. so they can tell you things if you are chatting.  
Its quite short really lots of pictures.

If you find you are spending your free time on the paper work or anything extra,
tell us about it and we will try to help by adding it to the system. anything.

Regarding "In-Shop" product use - 
Add it as a product - when you use it on a customer 
Click 'Quick Product Sale' from the main menu.
Then choose the product. click it.
Then click the green tick to finish.
Then on the 'payment types' screen click "In-Shop"

This will not show on your finances as income.

Thats how! There is no need to do it manually.

C

If you have been setup and are already sending mobile SMS text messages
read below, if not talk to use about our free SMS text message trial.

Instructions:

Login as manager
Go to main menu
Goto Advanced 'more setup' menu
Right mouse click top left in a blank space
Choose Setup.....Manager....Set managers mobile number
pop your mobile in.

C

Templates:

If you want to see them or add to them please do.

Goto Main Menu...
    Goto E-Messaging
        Click on or hover over the blue orb with ... on it

You will see the list of saved e-mail and SMS text message templates.

You can open, remove or add these for future use. (double clicking also opens them)

This allows you to very easily send mass marketing messages or just single messages
and save them for future 'slight changes' and sending again eg. the month name for the special offer.

C

The first thing is that you must tell the system:
    Do a quick product sale then use "In-Shop" and not a payment type like cash.
 
Assuming you are doing this:
 
Products

    Product Use by Employee (In Shop)

    and

    Product Use by Flavour (In Shop)

C

If you open the main menu.
Hold down the SHIFT key on the computer keyboard.
   then at the same time click the Customer Lookup button.
You will get an excel style data grid rather than the usual customer lookup.
This allows fast editing of data in volume.
At the bottom is the number of records you see in the list

This is, more or less, an accurate number of the customers in your database.

C

There are a few ways to change prices.

a) simple = discount at the bottom left of the services and products screen.
   enter a value and press enter on the computer keyboard to re-calculate the new price.

b) You can alter directly any price you see in the list
   so when you sell a service to someone, you can click the service price and
   change it directly to another value - greater or smaller. 
   
   Then always press the enter key on the computer keyboard to re-calculate.
    
Either way, always check the total at the bottom of the screen before clicking the green tick 
to continue.

C

if you are buying different batches of product that say you get a discount on
you would need to put them through as say 
ProductA batch1    11pounds
and
ProductA batch2    12pounds

but if you are talking about different sizes or weights of product
eg. 
ProductA 6oz

ProductA 12oz

or 

ProductA Large

ProductA Small

then having different names  like this is the way to go

C 

=====================
OPTIONALLY
To see what the original appointment payment method was (if important)
Login as manager and open the reports:
Set the start and end dates to the day of the refunded appointment and run the:

Financial...
    Payment Inconsistency(problems)

Find the appointment.
This report this will tell you how it was paid for in the past - as you are about to re-pay for it now.
=====================

if you go back into the actual appointment 
click services to list them for this appointment.

if a discount style refund
    change the price: click it, change it, then press enter on the computer keyboard to accept the new price

OR if a straight refund of one service
    click/touch the service to remove it outright

Look at the total, is it now correct?

Click the green tick to accept the changes.

Open it again and then click 'Ready to Pay'    (ignore the  w arning as it is already paid for)

This will then properly re-calculate the commission less the refund
make sure you make a note on the appointment that X amount was refunded
just so you know yourself for future.

VERY IMPORTANT:
IF the refunded appointment is today ignore this - you are finished.

If the refund was for an appointment in the past:
To stop the values appearing on your till total for today (as it is now marked as paid for today instead)

*Right* mouse click on the green appointment in the daybook you will see a menu.
Choose Xtras...e-Business....Troubleshooting.....

then "Set this to paid for on the same day as the appointment"

This then sets the appointment that was paid for today to look like it was paid for on the appointment day.

It will alter the payment date so that it will appear on the till totals 

for the appointment date and not the paid for date (ie. it will now mess up todays till totals by appearing on them)

C

Question:

How do we book a person who is my client but having a service with another employee.
Then the client is coming back to me for their final service, 
when we book an appointment in another employees column it picks up their prices!
When we change the price on the appointment then they are charged twice for the same service
how do we book this appointment but without been charged the wrong prices or over charge 
because it is a service they are only doing for me temporarily?

Answer:


 
It is possible in two ways:
 
1. Preferred Way
 
Create two "Different" appointments.
but
With the SAME customer.
 
One new appointment will be with cherr with the customer eg. "Chris"
 
Another new appointment will be with Kristy with the SAME customer eg. "Chris"
 
ONLY put the services that each person does for each appointment  - do not put the same services for both appointments
or it will charge twice.
 
 
 
*OR*
 
 
2.
change the price on the service from appointment details screen in the list - click - type - press enter
Check the total is correct.
 
(NOTE: This is NOT the master list from the main menu it is just the one single appointment price you are changing)
 
 
 
*THEN FOR EITHER 1 or 2*
 
 
 
re-Open one single appointment and click 'Ready to Pay'
 
It will then remember that there are two appointments that day and pay for both in one.
 
C

Yes, run any report and click the export button - it has a save/disk icon on it.

(as a  w arning the first option .rpt is useless for most people to open,
 we recommend .PDF for read-only reports - like you would send to an accountant)

C

It is possible to email and Mobile text message (SMS) people who miss appointments.
This is useful because it is an ice-breaker and stops them from never returning due to embarrassment.

To customise the messages that are sent out to your business name and number.

You can find it via the "Advanced 'more setup' menu", off the main menu:

Right mouse click

Choose...
    Easy setup.... 
    under "e-messages"...
    choose "no show"

Change the actual 'No Show' text message

OR

if the above is not found go direct to XConfiguration tool - XConfig tag is:
NoShowAutoContactSMSMobileMessage
 
C

Question:
When you click on reception it pauses then we get a drop down box at the bottom!!!!!
THEN IT CRASHES

Answer:
You have (i think) turned 'head office' mode on. This needs further setup:
e.g. VPN to your remote sites and proper remote database connection addresses.
 
You can switch it off again.
Go to Advanced 'more setup' menu and right mouse top left near the 'P' of Platinum
Easy Setup.....e-Business....Head Office.....This is not Head Office.

C

Hello,

There are 3 ways really to sell a product:

1. quick product sale from the main menu.

2. from appointment details - click the product button (it shows the same screen as 1. above)

3. from the checkout process - you get a prompt to up-sell products to the customer before they actually pay.

Thanks,

C

Q
So if you press cash by mistake when it was supposed to be a PDQ sale, can this be rectified afterwards? 

A
Platinum can accept any number of re-payments without it increasing the income - so in this case you would just click
ready-to-pay "again" from appointment details and hit "Credit Card" as normal - it would then overwrite as if you never 
hit cash by mistake in the first place.

Note:
There is an important note given when you re-pay - please read it.



C

Q
The key on the left shows a light green colour which means paid but no dark green is mentioned.
A
Dark green is a dual that has now been paid for. 
A Dual will appear orange and means that a customer has services with more than one employee.

C

Q
If you drag and drop an appointment from one employee to another, and the two do not operate on the same price level, does the 
system alter the price of the booking accordingly? 

A
Yes providing the data is setup correctly, 
ie. the employee has a level and the specific service has a price at that level.

C

If you go to the main menu....Advanced 'more setup' menu
hover of the blue gel-button with ... on it
Here you can almost completely customise the program yourself.

Goto 
easy setup....
    point of sale...
        appointment/sales process...
            up-selling...
                rebooking...

    then select
    "i dont want to be asked about rebooking customers"

its dead easy.

C

Platinum will put back the product into stock only if an appointment has been cancelled/deleted 
- if an appointment is not deleted it will assume the stock has been sold.

Always deal with non-green appointments in the daybook each day to avoid problems.
Golden Rule = If it is not green it needs to be deleted or paid for to turn it green.
==========================================
Go through reports in "size" order:

Product Sales...
            Total monthly Product sales
            Product sales summary by Day
            Product sales summary by Employee

Finally
If you look at "Product Sales Details" and choose a start and end date (e.g., the whole month) 
that is a good place to look as it will show you all the individual details (each transaction).

*BUT - ignore any "by flavour" if you have not asked to be setup for this yet.*
==========================================
Other Info:
Do you use the "In-Shop" button when you use a product on a customer in the shop?
This can effect stock level if you do not use it and just take the product and use it.
You must always tell Platinum when you take stock for use in the shop only (not sold to a customer)

C

(try pressing the enter/return key when you want to search-it will be very fast then)

If you have a fast, modern computer and you want it to search automatically
as you type rather then waiting for 1.5 seconds for the auto search press enter/return key instead of waiting.

C

(CRUCIAL: search for 'tax in my country' in this help page and read that firstly for your own tax setup.)

UK Only

If you get a new product in that is not yet on your product list. 

You want to add it to Platinum.

First make sure the tax is not already added.(ask supplier)

You can get the price that your supplier has said you should sell it at (RRP)
and add the tax amount to it e.g., 17.5

To do this use this calculation:

price divided by 100

then multiply that by 117.5 which adds that extra 17.5% on.

e.g. 10.00 divided by  100 = 0.1   
     multiply that 117.5 (for your 17.5% tax - for price increase including UK tax)
     will give you    11.75    
     which is   10.00  plus the tax which is just 1.75.

C

The most common reason is a wireless connection - don't run it on wireless.

For any reminders or eMessaging you need to wire the computer or it could disconnect.

When browsing you don't notice it so it seems ok.

For Platinum it must be a strong and stable connection all the time.

Platinum checks each email/Mobile text SMS to see if its still connected to the Internet.

If not you get that message!

C

If you are backing up on to a pen drive (as we keep telling you to!!)
and if you can get another modern computer on the Internet
we can restore you and get you working again with in the hour
of a computer breakdown. 

See ComputerFix section here.

This is the Platinum software and not your hardware - your hardware is covered by the supplier.

C

QU
My Daybook - when I book one customer with two employees, two services:
I usually put #1 and #2 how come it fill the appointment for both tech at same time 
and not one first than the other?

ANS
you need to set the:
 
Start
processing
end times
 
and also the 
 
service1   employee1   1st
service2   employee2   2nd   

1st and 2nd are the boxes on the far right when you select your services.

C

You can run these reports for your accountant or to see the in-stock money worth:

    Product...
                  retail stock count
                  profit by employee

    Sales - Product...
                Product sales summary by day
                OR
                Product sales summary by employee

C

In terms of reports. if you can detail which ones you want I can assign them to the restricted report list for manager, or indeed reception can have a restricted list.

Its a windows notepad.exe job and its .XML so let me know your list and I will do it for you

but just in case you want a crack at it....

C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum

ReportsCustomisedList.xml

This is the managers customised list of reports. Simply hold do the SHIFT key as you click the reports icon on the main menu
it is as standard setup with the most common reports that a manager will run daily.

-----------------
        
ReportsRestricted.xml
 
This is the receptions list of reports - if you trust them you can let them see 1 or more management reports.



-----------------

TopReports.xml           

Allows you to hold down the SHIFT key as you click NEXT-> on the reports choice screen and it will run the report and print them in a batch
to save you time (yes don't select a report just click Next->)

The rule is that if the report accepts a value, like the above Till Totals does, that you put it last in the list.

-----------------

Have a look at what is there already as it suits most with the odd change.
Again pop the list over or even quicker would be a live skype and we can do it together

C

QU

If I have a client who wants to have 3 services how do I enter it into the system,
bearing in mind that each service will be performed by a different person who will need to be paid their 
relevant commission based on the end of day report?

ANS

Two Ways:

1) A separate daybook for each (preferred : for reporting on how each area is doing)

    See the first few lines here for info about turning the departments on:
    (ignore after Easy Setup....Daybook....Departments.....Turn Departments On.)

    http://www.xpectworld.net/help/THelp.html#DepartmentImages

    restart Platinum to pickup the change

OR

 

2) 3 separate appointments, each with a different employee, BUT with the exact "same customer".

    Either way when you pay Platinum knows it is with the same person so the bill/due amount is 
    all 3 appointments in total

    Also commission will be charged to each employee also - but they must be separate appointments.

C

How often do people pay with cards?

If your card company charges 0.75
Add a new service with price of 0.75 with a 'The Order' column value of 999 to put it at the very bottom.

If they pay with a card click the service amount in the black box on the final pay screen,
then scroll to the bottom of th service list and click your 0.75 service.

This will add it into the bill to charge them.

If this happens a lot then how would you like it to work?
If you can think of a better way, let us know we can build it in for you!

Thanks,

C

No.

Not unless you want i.book the Internet booking\reservation system.

or 
2 way SMS appointment reminders (the customer can reply and it goes straight into your 
                                 electronic diary/daybook as red for NO I cannot make it and * for Yes)

or
Online auction - you can auction off any of your products - ebay style.

or
eMessaging - Electronic Internet marketing - SMS Text messages to mobile cell phones and of course email.

C

Firstly, Close your LIVE Platinum down to go into the training mode one.

The Training mode one is for people to use and abuse without destroying real LIVE data.

Don't forget to close the TRAINING version fully before using the LIVE version again.

While in TRAINING mode you will be warned all the time to stop any accidents!


Windows XP ONLY:
----------------
Close LIVE Platinum completely
Click Start (bottom left)
Alpha task...Platinum...Xtras..."TRAINING ONLY, NOT your real information Start Platinum for Training"


Windows newer than XP ONLY:
------------------------
Close LIVE Platinum completely
Click the orb/circle bottom left
type:
TRAINING ONLY
press enter if there is only one in the list to open it.

C

Q
When I print my labels they print off landscape, 
so I change the set up on the printer menu to Portrait which is ok but then it misses people off!

A
You may need to set it to landscape or portrait it really depends upon your printer.

While in testing just pop one blank normal A4 sheet of paper
in the printer and then cancel the print job
so you can test but not use up a load of paper.
Compare this A4 sheet to your labels sheet and see if it WOULD print ok.


Are you labels definitely 3x7? (it will say on the report the number of lables needed per sheet) 
Make sure you are not scaling bigger or smaller than your sheet.
    ie. try scale to A4 in printer properties, etc. 
        if scaled to A4 already try leaving that alone (leave as Normal etc.)

C

QU

I would like to send sms messages to all my customers to thank them or wish 
them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

ANS
1) You must have enough credit to send out the text messages to this many people.
 
Do you know how much credit you have on the account? Ask you provider, we can provide contacts.
 
2) To send you would sign in as manager
   on Main menu click eMessaging - allows you to list and send a message to all customers (postal,email,mobile)
   You can quickly tick all the boxes by right mouse clicking on their names and 
   choosing Mobile Cell Phone... 'select all SMS Text messages' (the same for email which is free)

   You can even select a range if your budget does not allow all to be sent, do the other half next week/month.
 
Click green tick to send.

C

QU
I have a problem with the booking it wont allow me to do any bookings?

ANS
This is generally if you work alone and only have one column in your daybook - really.

I would say that you have rostered yourself off on holiday on that date!!!!!!!
Check this in Advanced 'more setup' menu....Roster - choose your name (its probably the only one)
and check for bolded dates, unbold them by double clicking.
(or single click if the date is already selected)

C

QU

I have a new product in the store for sale, one employee sold it before we have a chance to add it
How can I mark it as sold in database without changing the initial stock amount?

We started with 10 but sold one yesterday so now the real stock is 9.

ANS

If you sign in as manager
Click Product icon
Then find the product in the list
Look to the right (you MIGHT have to scroll right)
You will see reorder and stock level figures.
Edit away!

Alternatively you can always do a quick product sale today.


For quick re-stocking help see here

C

Have a look on your physical computer keyboard for the buttons "prnscr" or "printscr" or "prtsc" and press it.

NOTE:
You may have to press a combination of buttons to achieve it.(SHIFT or Alt or CTRL or Fn Func Function)

Open microsoft paint or your favourite graphics editor.

Paste it in. (from the top 'edit' menu or right mouse...paste)

If nothing pastes you did not do the screen dump/print properly

The Microsoft Paint program will create a huge file if emailed as Bitmap (.BMP) so when you save shrink it down:

        Do a File....Save As
        Save it as .PNG (portable network graphic)
        This is for the best quality and smallest size-ratio
        (if not .jpg of .gif or worst case .BMP which are very large)

Save with a name and location you can remember (my documents/my pictures or desktop worst case)

Attach to an email to send to someone or open it to print it out.

More info...

Microsoft Paint can be found from the Start...Programs ...Accessories menu)
or running this might work %SystemRoot%\system32\mspaint.exe
or even do a Windows Search for mspaint.exe and click it.

*Save it somewhere you will remember!*

Tips:

If you are doing it via web mail (you load a webpage like hotmail in an Internet explorer browser)
you would have to attach an image file as you can't paste a picture I don't think.

but if you are doing it through a windows program mail-client (outlook/express windows mail)
you may be able to paste it directly in (hold down CTRL + press the 'V' button on the keyboard or from the top left menu Edit...Paste)

C

You said:
I do have a bit of a problem because I have PRODUCT_SALES in the daybook as an employee 
so all retail taken outside appointments is put under that.
 
I say:
You should do a quick product sales from the main menu instead - this is what it is for.
(i.e., Non-appointment product sales)

if you pay with commission a "which employee?" question can be added (if it is not setup already)

For speed, you can *right* mouse click the daybook and choose Xtras...Quick Product Sale.

C

You must export to a format you can actually read!

My advise is adobe reader (.PDF) format, this is the best bet as many computers can read it.
(if not download from www.adobe.com or search for adobe reader and download and install it)

If you do want to read the .RPT (not recommended) it is readable in "crystal reports" 
You can buy it but its not cheap or free!

C

Important Note:

Barcodes save you a huge amount of time and frustration
we recommend that you spend the time to train them in.
Major super markets use them and so should you for the same reason.
It is cheap and faster to get customers through the till!


Set up the (...) product search blue gel-buttons.

When you sell a product (maybe via quick product sale from the main menu)
you can see the product list
look TOP LEFT.
you will see a blue gel-button (...)

move your mouse to this and it will drop down options
(same as the (1..8) does on the service sale screen)
 
choose one to reduce your list down to that 'Product Range'

To show the full list again press the ESC key (top left of the computers keyboard)
this will show ALL products again. Or you can click the empty one at the bottom.

===Setup===

You can set these up very quickly based on your product range name.

To set these up:
Sign in as manager.
Go to Advanced 'more setup' menu.
Hover over the blue gel-button (...)
Choose easy setup...Manage...Products...Range Labels 
(then click any of the 1 to 8 buttons to set the label on it)
*RESTART PLATINUM TO PICKUP ANY CHANGES*

===How it works===
If you set up button1 and type:
Range1 
as its name.

Then change your product names and add the: 
Range1 
to the END of its name.

Giving you a product name like this:
Product 1 Range1

When you select Range1 from the (...) button
any products with that Range1 text in its name
will be shown in the short list.

Troubleshooting:

If you have too few letters you will get unexpected results.

as well which you might not want so try to keep the letters to 5 or 6 if possible!

C

At the top of each sales screen is a blue gel-button (...) or (1..8)

These can be used to reduce your lists down to make it easier to choose different ranges
of products and is very useful to quick select products(if you did not buy a hand barcode scanner)
or do not have products with barcodes.


More Technical but a faster way to set them on-mass:

Another way is to open the configuration program and edit the list directly
if you do it now yourself you will be able to change it quickly yourself in future:

On the first sign-in page (manager / reception page)
*RIGHT* mouse click in an empty space
choose 'Only If Asked'
            then XConfiguration Utility

type the pass/word:
manager    (is the standard one but can be changed)

type in:

Price1ButtonLabel

you will see your first service sale screen (1..8) gel-buttons text.

You have 8 of these, Price1ButtonLabel  ->    Price8ButtonLabel

Your top screen should also scroll to these lists and you can then edit them directly.
-----------------
do the exact same for the (...) product quick find buttons (which are below the service ones in the top list):

type in:
ProductRange1ButtonLabel

this is your first product button (...) choice

you have 8 of these:

ProductRange1ButtonLabel  ->  ProductRange8ButtonLabel

Tip:
1. You can also scroll the full list down to these options and click on the left and edit them directly.

C

It is better to ask your legal team about this one.
 
I know technically we can protect your data by passwording it and 'encrypting' it.

Your Platinum system has a password for manager and (optionally) reception 
so if the computer was stolen they could not get in anyway as it would be locked against that with a password.
 
Even with a printer attached, in terms of employees printing information off and stealing customers:
There are passwords for manager and the reception user cannot get into the reports as standard to
print them off. 
 
As reception user the "Customer Lookup" needs a password 
so again this is protected from printing off customer data.
 
We can give certain 'trusted' staff/employees access to certain areas if they are not the manager.
 
In terms of physical theft from premises:
I think they would be more interested in selling the hardware rather than selling anyones data.
 
It also does not have "credit card data" or anything and you are not saving credit card data
or anything like that on the system, so in terms of the law I believe you are well covered.
 
What I do know from my degree courses is that a customer can ask that you post to them any 
electronic data you have on them within 30 days of the request. This is their legal right.

From a Google search:

The Data Protection Act 1998 governs the use of personal information through
the eight data protection principles.   

These principles require that personal information is:

.processed fairly and lawfully
.processed for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and 
.not further processed in any way that is incompatible with the original purpose 
.adequate, relevant and not excessive 
.accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
.kept for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it is being used
.processed in line with the rights of individuals
.kept secure with appropriate technical and organisational measures taken to protect the information  

C

Other Methods of learning:

Brief web-based demos:
http://www.xpectworld.net/DemoMovies.html

You have the DVD movie on disk at the back of the info pack we sent through.
(sound stops half way through as its the free one)

The user guide is on the desktop of any Platinum installed machine or here:
http://www.xpectworld.net/CustomerDownloads/userguide.html

You have the 'Help Me' blue gel-button on the main menu which loads this:
http://www.xpectworld.net/help/help.html

The info pack that informs you of most features:
http://www.xpectworld.net/CustomerDownloads/infopack.html

Technical Help:
http://www.xpectworld.net/help/Technicalhelp.html

For setup\training on an Internet connected computer please open:
This(Option C)

 
(most of the time there is no need to call
 but if you do not see someone take control please then do call!)

C

QU
I do not have access at work and therefore will run the marketing messages etc at home at night.
It will not be used as a live system for bookings as I rent a room and they do the bookings
therefore do not have the space or capability for the system at front desk.
 
ANS
No, the system does not have to be linked to the Internet at all.
 
The only need for the Internet is for eMessaging.

For email and sms text messaging customers and if you need technical help, 
then we can hop on your machine and help out very quickly.(recommended) 

As long as you can connect at the time you would want to do these, 
then the system can be used complete with out an Internet connection.

For home use you need a laptop or another license for your home computer.

Crucial: Wireless is not good for marketing due to disconnections. You should always hard-wire
         your computer when doing bulk emailing, SMS mobnile phone text messaging (eMarketing)

M

DUEL
An appointment that is with two members of staff will show in orange as a dual booking, 
ie: two people both working on the same client. 

AWAY
is any time you want to show that a member of staff is not available, 
these can be booked specifically for lunch, training or time off with the facility to add notes if required. 
You book this by clicking on the time in the daybook and you will see in the middle of the screen the buttons 
to click for time off.
You can also SHIFT click one of the existing 'most common' types and you will see a great many more 
e.g. maternity, etc
You can then add to these if needed.

APPROVED
Will be shown in red and happens when you rebook a client. 
It copies the exact appointment the client has just had so it flags the future appointment in red, 
really just a way of highlighting that you need to check it does not require amending an any way.

Also if there is an Internet booking via your website (setup and one-off fee needed) 
it will optionally show it in red so you double check it.

M

Yes.
We can change the wording of the source for you 
(although we would require an Internet connection to get on and do it!)
just let us know what you would like to see, although have you noticed there is 'other' as an option
and then an area to write a note if that helps.

M

QU
if I have a special on a particular service/treatment then 
the cost is sometimes different or do I need to do it as another entry in the services?
 
ANS
Yes, you can alter the individual service price (and the same for a product sale), 
when selecting the service from the list of services,  
if you click on the price shown in the column for the service you are choosing, 
you can then manually change to whatever price you want for that client. 

It will only stay at that price for that one 'appointment'. 

If you want something different for a longer period of time or many customers, 
I would probably suggest an added item in the service list.

If you want to do a special and see how it performed or indeed send an offer in future
JUST to the people who used that special you would put that in as a new service/treatment.

M

Go in as manager
Go to reports...customers...."potential customers contact by appointment date and employee"
Hold down the CTRL key on the computer keyboard and at the same time
Click the NEXT-> button
Choose the employee in question
Their email and sms text message can be specified (use the blue gel-button to save or load)
Click Next->
Check and verify the list to make sure you are happy with it.
(If you want to know the cost, or just how many emails and mobile phone numbers, use the statistics option)
right mouse - email..select all   same for sms text messages
click the green tick to send.
progress through the list will show at the bottom of the screen

C

You must first setup Platinum with your outgoing email details, see here.

For basic info see the Low Stock Alert section here.


The following setup steps are very easy.
 
Switching the managers End of Day total eMail (ON or OFF)
=========================================================
Sign in as manager
on main menu click Advanced 'more setup' menu
hover over the blue gel-button (...)
choose Easy Setup...
    Manage...
        choose:
        "Send the end of day total to the manager?" *
 
 
The only way to STOP low stock messages is to erase the managers email address completely.
This may be an option for you as you don't want the end of day totals.
Alternatively you can just switch off the message that comes up on screen when the product hits the re-order level.
This still sends the email but does not tell you!

Switching OFF the low stock on-screen messages (only the popups)
==============================================
Sign in as manager
on main menu click Advanced 'more setup' menu
hover over the blue gel-button (...)
  Choose Easy Setup
    Point of sale...
       Appointment/sales process...

 choose
    "I don't want to be told when a low stock warning goes out to the manager" *
 
Erasing the managers email(NO low stock\End of day totals, or any other manager messages)
==========================
Sign in as manager
on main menu click Advanced 'more setup' menu
hover over the blue gel-button (...)
  choose Easy Setup...
    Manage...
      Set managers email address
      (then remove all text in the box and click the green tick)
 
 
Always restart Platinum after any changes.

To turn them back on see here.

C

If you have never had this working please set it up here.


Sign in as manager

Goto Advanced 'more setup' menu

blue (...) gel-button

    easy setup...
      Manage...
        Send the end of day total to the manager
    
    
or

the slightly more technical way:
    
    'More Advanced Setup' options

This loads up a little box - type your manager pass.word to let you in 

    (press enter on keyboard to enter pass.word)

select, copy, paste the line below into the longest box near the very bottom:

SendTotalAmountsTakenForTheDayToManager


press enter key

Change the value on the bottom right to Y (instead of N)

restart Platinum

You will still have to say Yes to send these out to the managers mobile.
The reason it must ask is that you might want to close Platinum,
but it not be the end of the day!

C

Firstly, on the daybook, look near the bottom of the screen, but just above the Mon-Sun buttons
(that you use to flick between days).

You might see a scroll bar - click, hold and drag to the right. You may now see the other employees.
(if some employees need to be first on the daybook edit their details 
 and set their number in the column called "The Order" - This will override alphabetic order)

IF Not!

Sign in as manager
Go to the Employee edit screen in the setup area.
Are all the employees there? if not one may have been deleted.
If they are all there scroll to the right with the scroll bar at the bottom.
Check that all employees have a captial Y in the column called "Show On Daybook".

If Not!

There are two "styles" of daybook
1. All employees squashed together
2. a set column width for each employee and a scroll bar to move to see them all.

As standard Platinum comes as style 1.
This may be no good for you if you have a lot of employees and want to see customer names clearly.
Because each column will be very thin and not show you very much information.

See the next article down for how to set the width.

 ||
 ||
 \/

C

If you want to setup a specific width of column for each employee 
perhaps if you have a lot of employees and also want to see full customer names:

sign in as manager
goto 'More Advanced Setup'
hover over the blue gel-button (...)
    easy setup...daybook...general..."the column width"
choose:
    "Auto Size Day Book Column Width To Fit All Employees (squash them up)"
set to N
then in the same place but:
    "preferred Day Book Column Width (set above to N)"
Tip:
must be a numeric whole number e.g. 80 not 80.5
For example  

80  = 10 columns on screen the rest would need to be scrolled over to.
125 = 7 or 8 columns across at a fixed column width.

BUT If you DO want all employees squashed up:

sign in as manager
goto 'More Advanced Setup'
hover over the blue gel-button (...)
    easy setup...daybook...general..."the column width"
choose:
    "Auto Size Day Book Column Width To Fit All Employees (squash them up)"
set to Y


*Any configuration changes you must restart Platinum to see the change*


C

Its very simple.

Close and quit/exit Platinum - completely.
Make sure it does a backup (the usual black screen)

Open your email and send an email to us.(or reply to this message)

Before you click 'send', attach a file to the email.

Attach this File:

C:\Install\Platinum.zip

This is all your latest data and your configuration.

It may take a while to attached/send as it will be quite a big file.

C

It will be because they had valid future appointments even into and after the date range you are using.
Did you delete them from the employee edit screen? or did you just put an N in the "Show on daybook" column.

If you didn't delete them try deleting them now and they may go.

If not then you would have to individually delete all unpaid appointments for those old employees.

Is it possible to ignore/cut off from the report the old staff? or are they integrated into the figures?

Eventually those future appointments with old staff will not occur anymore 
and you won't get this problem going forwards.

Let us know if its a big issue and we can selectively delete unpaid-for appointments.

C

Also please see the Rostering basics here.

The rostering of departments off (the right mouse option on the roster screen) 
was written especially for organisations to easily do a block book-off like holidays.

But if you do that and then roster back IN you will have to do it on a one by one basis.
ie. use the roster to roster back in, but just dont go through the 'right click' department mode
use it as it is when roster first opens.

C

Important Notes:

    As the software grows info below can easily change and require more memory.
    
    Please see the recommended Hardware/Specification summary.


To see how much memory you have:

Open your Internet explorer Internet browser. (not in firefox, etc)

Tap the 'Alt' key on the computer keyboard (bottom left between Ctrl and the space bar)

You should see a menu along the top - choose Help...about

Choose 'system info' details.
find 'Total Physical Memory'

this number should be at least 1000.00 MB (which is 1 gig/1000 meg) ABSOLUTE MINIMUM BUT NOT RECOMMENDED

If it is that or more e.g. 2,024.00 MB (2 gig/2000 meg) this should be fine.

C

.
Sometimes Platinum computers will need optimising, please consult with us about this.

The most common reason is that the computer has been on for a long time,
for technical reasons it is not fresh and needs to be restarted or shutdown and switched back on again.
This will solve most of the slowdown cases and you should close Platinum each night to do the backup.


Also see "Make Platinum Faster" here

Technical note: You should check your hard disk drive is not corrupted see here.  

C

Please see here.

If you have other freezing or crashing problems please see here.

If reports are the only thing crashing/freezing please see here.

If your computer crashes early before Windows even loads see here.


In Summary:

If your computer is freezing...

    If the machine does not respond at all it is the machine.

    If everything else works but Platinum...
        It is probably Platinum or some of the Microsoft components we use behind it.



Important:
If it has worked fine for a long time and suddenly slows down, or locks up, please see here.




If the whole machine locks, it is not Platinum, but check your mouse and keyboard to see if their
batteries are dead.  Not all have batteries but we definitely do NOT recommend a wireless mouse or keyboard
because of this dead battery issue.


We have had Platinum freeze sometimes and a simple physical disk check has solved it
this should be the first thing to try just before you go home at night here.



Also see "Make Platinum Faster" here.

If your computer is slow or suddenly slows down...

Its probably not Platinums fault if it is suddenly happening, but we have put some tips together for you.

.
Always Restart the computer - the classic - especially if the machine is on all the time day and night.
(try at least a weekly restart but nightly is better especially as closing down also does the backup!)

.
Add more memory to the computer: See here.

.
Increase Virtual Memory...

Important Note: Windows newer than XP it does this automatically...

But in Windows XP
Start....Control Panel....system....In system properties click "Advanced" Tab....
...Click Settings under Performance section.....In performance Option click Advanced Tab.....
....In Virtual Memory Click the "Change" button
Click the C: drive and make sure there is a black circle next to "System Managed Size"
if not click the empty circle to the left of it and then click the "Set" button on the right.
(Do this for any other drives in the top list - ie. You just did C: so sameIF E:, F:, etc. exist)



. Free up more hard disk space 

The hard disk stores all your information long-term 
If it is full you can get problems.
In Windows XP
Right mouse click the C: Drive icon
Select Properties
Where you see the picture of the pie charge click Disk Clean-Up(it will calculate and then follow its instructions)
(By the way if the pie chart shows mostly Used Space - see the colour key - then I would say you have low disk space - this might help but
you might need a bigger hard drive or clean things up a lot more) 

.
Test your computers physical memory here.
 (after hours due to the long time it takes to run)


.
Do a physical disk check see here.

.
We have had a report of a change of surge protector stopping the computer freezing.

For faster computer/memory advice see here.

For memory upgrading advice see here.

C

Subject: Thank You
Dear Craig,
I felt it was time to give you a huge pat on the back and say a genuine 'thank you' from Myself and 
on behalf of the business, for all of your support with the system,
and help sorting out the odd mess. We do appreciate your efforts which we know are above and beyond the call of duty.
Kind Regards
Leigh

ANS
I'm very sorry I'm not there physically as I'm sure I could help
but if it will not go into Windows we can't take over remotely to help.

Unfortunately, you will have to take it to the place you got it or a local shop
(I think the local PC world have a "ge ek squad" desk who can help you).

Or do you have a local friend who is good with computers.

It sounds like it maybe the "motherboard" if it does not even beep or keeps beeping.

Try to switch it off for an hour if it has been on 24/7 as it may have overheated.

If they want more than 150 to fix it, it maybe worth buying a new one And getting the
"old hard drive" put inside the new box so you can get to your old files.

However fixing your old computer would be the simplest and quickest way to get you back up and running.

In terms of Platinum please ask them to preserve the platinum.zip file which is your backup.
You would also want them to save your personal files, the best way to do that is to get your
"old hard drive put in the new computer as a secondary data drive".

If you have recently exited platinum and have had a USB pen drive backup plugged in then
look on that pen drive on another computer. You will see a MyAppointments.PDF and this will
show you the months appointments which can be printed to help you.

We can move your platinum database/schedule to a laptop or new computer temporarily
but we charge 50 UK pounds, but this includes then moving it to a final permanent computer in future.

C

You should contact us Asap to prevent you from losing any data.

. 
The best way is to add more computer memory 2000 meg minimum(2 gig) (but 4000meg; or 4 Gig as it is known - is recommended)
(see above "How Much Computer Memory Do I Have?")
This should be quite a cheap way to speed your machine up. Or upgrade the computer/buy a newer one if it is older than 2 or 3 years.

If an upgrade is not possible/affordable try the following steps and re-try at each step:

.
Do you leave your computer on all the time?
If you do then try to restart it each morning to freshen it up. (clear memory, etc)
When you start your computer in the morning, please let it settle down for 2 minutes, before opening Platinum.
If you do not you may open two copies of Platinum which will slow down the computer.(Platinum does check for this but it's not infallible)

.
If it slows down during use you can clean up the memory very simply by going back to the Sign-In
screen which performs a memory clean.  If not you can close and re-open Platinum.

During use you can also use the top right minimise button  _  (look top right you have three buttons _ [] X)
This will hide (minimise) Platinum. Then simply look along the bottom of the screen and click 
Platinum again to open it up again (restore/maximise)
This is a quirk of Windows and will force it to clear your memory up.

    

.
Switch off extra colours and graphics in "Windows":
XP
==
Click, Start..Settings..Control Panel...System..."Advanced" Tab page...
under "Performance" click the settings button then choose
"Adjust for best performance"

Right mouse click on the desktop and choose properties.

choose the 'settings' tab page. Set the colour quality to 16bit in the drop down box.
(you only really need 32 bit if you are a games player)

Try Platinum again you may need to restart Platinum.


.
Follow our other machine speed-up tip links here, here
and daybook slow-down tips here.



Visual optimisations to make older machines work faster
=======================================================

.
You can turn off the graphics and animation in Platinum, if you have a very slow/old computer.

Sign in as manager
On the main menu
Click Advanced 'more setup' menu

hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 

use your manager pass.word or if not changed use the word manager

type the folowing (you will see it appear in the long box near the bottom as you type):

Backgrounds


press enter on the computer keyboard

on the left at the bottom shoud be:

GraphicsModeForUserControlBackgrounds


on the right change the Y to an N

Exit and save

Restart Platinum to see the changes.


more...
(same again but xconfig search for the word: panel    
 and put an N in the 4 or so boxes to disable fancy graphics for panels, etc)





.
(more techy)
Disable the "Themes" Windows Service (Windows control panel..admin tools...services)





Last Resort If machine is very old
==================================
If that is no good follow the above steps again but this time type:

GraphicsMode

and set to N

this will be more of an improvement.



Older Machine?

It is running slow or the screen is flickering, I am running on an older computer.

If your computer is not very very old firstly see "Make Platinum Faster" here

Try this:
From Main Menu go to "Advanced 'more setup' menu"
Move you mouse pointer up to the top left.
Click your *right* mouse button.
This should popup a menu.
Choose:
Setup.....
e-Business....
Platinum Team ONLY....
Graphics OFF (restart)
 
Exit/Quit/Close and then re-open the Platinum program.
 
Your High Quality Graphics will now be turned off and it will be a lot faster for you
if older equipment/computer. 


Technical note: You should check your hard disk drive is not corrupted see here.

C

This is a tips sheet we have developed over the years to help business owners:


re:we had problems with a virus that got onto our computer system.

Something that people do not know is that even if you have anti-virus software and security,
if your staff say 'Yes' to run a downloaded virus it can do damage and your machine can get infected.

The solution?

Ideally: *Internet and email should not be allowed by your staff.*

A virus cannot then get in again.

It is very simple.

**These tips are recommended based on actual problems our customers have had in the past.**

Your business computer should be treated differently from a home computer.

It should be respected and cared for far more than a home computer is.

This means only you can use it or is limited to trusted staff members only.
Internet should be passworded, Windows now has "Windows Live Family Safety"
a fr ee download to password and restrict websites and programs from being run.

On the 'Business machine' Staff members, Friends and Family are banned and it is up to you to make this very plainly clear.

If you Download Files from the Internet on your Business critical "business machine"
then you are 100% asking for trouble from viruses.
If you download and open attachments from email you are also asking for Big trouble.

For you, yourself, for Business use never open an Attachment on the Business Machine it will be a virus and will destroy it.

If you *have* to open an email attachment do not open it unless it is "business related"
and from someone you know and are expecting from. e.g. A mortgage offer; not a joke from a friend.
Do not open pictures, movies, jokes on your business-critical "business machine".

You will get a virus very quickly.  It will cost you money.

Do not let young family members on your business computer as they will download email attachments,
open dodgy websites and download from them and pretty much trash your business critical computer.
Thus ruining your day.
       
Lastly, you should never switch off or disable ANY security features on the computer.

Microsoft.com only
Search for:
"Windows Live Family Safety"
(you must not get it from anywhere else as it may be unsafe!)

See also Locking the Internet and Removing Viruses.

C

For other online safety info see here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not support this or any other product other than Platinum
                for help with it you need to talk to them directly or another technical 3rd party
                but as always we are giving you some advice to save you some money.



I know what you mean!

Another customer uses this:
 
iWEBLOCK

it is an Internet explorer locker / passworder 

you can google and find it.

It will stop them messing about all day

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not support this or any other product other than Platinum
                for help with it you need to talk to them directly or another technical 3rd party.


C

You can shrink column widths in the same was as you can in excel.

Hover your mouse pointer - between the column headers.

The pointer will turn into a double headed horizontal arrow.

Click and hold down to drag - this allows you to resize the columns.

Wider to hide them or thinner.

When you go back to the main menu the columns do not stay that width,
they will return to default again.

C

This is highly unusual; and not at all recommended,
we have to say that in future they may stop the service working this way
and it will then need setting up with a user name and pass word.

To initially setup SMTP emails we recommend you follow this guide here,
it will ask you for your name and contact details and setup your templates very easily.

--
If you have already setup your templates, maybe you have already had this running
and have changed broadband supplier. If you do want to just change those details
or try it yourself you can do its dead easy:

Go in as Manager
Goto 'More Advanced Setup'
Hover over the blue gel-button (…)
Easy setup….eMessages…Outgoing email details

Then click

    "Set Smtp Server name"

Type/paste in your OWN providers SMTP details:

    smtp.YOURPROVIDER.com

read any further instructions

restart Platinum to pickup the change

Our tips are that you need the user.name and pass.word and you can get blocked for not using it
or it may fail in future.  You must ask them for those details first before setup.(sometimes call centre
staff have limited knowledge but calling again and getting a "better read" staff member maybe required!)

C

Our strong advice on attachments would be that due to the way Platinum works
it would take a long time to send them!

It is however possible...

    Click your right mouse button in the middle of the customer list in eMessaging:
        select EMail.....Xtras....add an attachment


The most efficient way would be to have a link instead and you do see them all the time:

    "Click *Here* to see our special offers"

(the *Here* above will be a link to a downloadable file 
Purely as an example e.g. www.yourSite.com/Downloads/offer1.pdf
- this is more efficient to sent out to people as there is no attachment 
so the sending out time is hugely less (multiplied by the number of people)
and you are less likely to go in junk mail folders - which defeats the whole object anyway!)

The downside is that you will have to be able to GET e.g. the .PDF above
onto the Internet in the first place (upload it)

We have 3rd parties who help with this sort of thing? (easyspace.com are good and not expensive)

With some very managed providers, that are more expensive, you can send an attachment to them
and they host it and tell you were it is but there is then a cost involved.

We do not do this but can recommend 3rd parties to help you with this and web marketing.

Other Info:
It can be an attachment - but if its big file it will take AGES to send out

To stop emails you send just going into a persons 'junk mail box' Platinum sends one email 
at a time to one customer at a time. 

This is good because it means your emails are more likely to get through.

It is actually easy for us to create a template with your usual headings and maybe footers.

Then all you need to do is have a set name for the main picture "mainPicture.jpg" and upload 
a different picture each time you do marketing.
BUT 
a different picture with the SAME name, over writing the old picture on your "web space".

This is easy and fast.

The attachment way is no good as the customer would have to open the attachment to see it
and this in itself can get it blocked due to security.

More on attachments...

It is not efficient to send attachments one by one which is the same as with any email client.

Especially large attachments. It gets slower to send due to the way Platinum tries to 
get around the junk mail engines by sending one email at a time 
rather than looking like a bulk/spam mailer with lots of CC or BCC to different addresses
in just one email.

C

If you need to change your email templates text see here.


This can mean one of two things:

A) You have a new email address you would like to use that you are happy with.
or
B) You do not yet have an email address that is more "business like"




If A)...

You must set both of these:(To and FROM)

Easy Setup...
    E-Messages...
	"Set e-messaging FROM e-mail address"

Easy Setup...
    E-Messages...
	"Set e-messaging TO   e-mail address"



Reminders:(sets all other eMessaging up like happy birthdays and proactives too)

Easy Setup...
  E-Messages...
     Reminders...
        "Set appointment reminder FROM e-mail address"


Tip: If your email changes let the SMS Text message company know asap
     so you get your low-credit reminders.






If B)...

We cannot give you a new email address or change your existing email address,
this will be your Internet providers job. (or maybe even your website suppliers job)


We would have to try the new email address and see if it actually works from Platinum!

Your Internet Provider may stop you using this to send out emails as it is not 
your official email address that they have for your Internet connection.

If it is your official email e.g. @BTConnect.com when you have BTConnect Internet
it should work.
If it is a different @DomainName you would definitely need to call them
and add this new one to your safe-list/white-list/relay-list with them
so you can use it to send out emails.

We do have a new feature "reply to",
but again these can get blocked by anti - spam engines for security reasons

e.g. to stop people sending from help@paypal.com and a 'reply to' hacker@yourhacked.com
     to stop people tricking you into giving financial details.(or 'phishing' activity)

If its a privacy from staff issue, use the current one for only work
and create a new email for personal?

C

To see your templates right mouse click on the first sign-in screen in any blank space.
Choose 'only when asked' then 'xtras' then 'customer xperience' you will find them there.

When testing that things work don't forget to add test appointments asap in the day *BEFORE* your
reminders run – (it may have already run by now? I set it up to run at 11am mostly)

To see if the reminds have run yet:

click bottom left (the old XP start button now the Windows newer than XP circle/orb) 
and type:
Work log
(with the space)

Open that and scroll to the bottom
If it shows current dates and times then its already run for today.

You can of course run it manually just for you
Via the Reminders (bottom left under the 'tools' section on main menu)

C

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have entered any real appointments you will need to talk to us before changing 15 to 5 minute cell-blocks.


To schedule employee work hours and days see here.


QU
How do I set the hours of the day that we are open in the day book?


Sign in as Manager
goto 'More Advanced Setup'
Click Roster
hover your mouse top left over the blue gel-button (...)
choose the scheduler by day (15 or 5 minute daybook cell blocks)
    
    "I want to set the opening hours..."
        You can choose 5 minutes or 15 minutes.

Follow the simple instructions
Close and reopen the daybook to check the results

Important:

If you have a complex setup, you can verify what opening hours, on what days, for what departments you have setup via a report:
  General...."Opening Hours by Department and Day Of Week"


You have only hours to play with here so if you start at 9:30 you need to put 9 and
manually block 'away time' OFF for the 2 blocks for 30 minutes.

To book a day where your business is not open just put the hours starting a 9 and ending at 9.


Tips:

.
Please think carefully about this one and choose a closing hour that covers all of
your business situations, eg. summer longer opening hours, wedding specials, etc.
You can however change them whenever you like even temporarily.

.
Always take a look at what is to be setup, the hours and days (and departments if used)
any similarities or patterns?

e.g. are Monday and Friday and Saturday the same opening hours.
(if so you can save time by doing them first all in one go; just change the day name)

.
Are all hours the same for each department? if so set Mondays opening hours and run it each time for
each department.


Troubleshooting:

When you open it you will see it is set to 9am until 9:45 (9 to 21)
It is in 24 hour clock so 17 is 5pm.
You cannot put 17:15 only whole numbers.

You must use the 24 hour clock. 19 being 7pm, 20 being 8pm 

Always think carefully about opening hours:
do you ever open earlier? summer wedding parties,etc, etc?

Technical note:

The drop down durations also need to be set if not 'cloning' a department (see tools page)
but cloning is highly recommended instead.

C

****************************
* UK ONLY ignore if not UK *
****************************

All prices entered into Platinum must include the tax if you are UK.

Suppliers lists often do not have the tax added due to tax rate changes/different state/province taxes.

You can add you own local and country tax using this:
http://www.xpectworld.net/CustomerDownloads/utils/EasyProductTaxCalculator.zip

Just to re-iterate, this works on the 'day it was added basis' – allowing you to not worry about any past 
products that already have tax added.

It will also add tax % to both buy and sell prices (if you have them)

If Tax% changes in future we can do a similar hotfix to change them all.

Also if just a one-off

You can calculate vat tax Percentages in excel
=A1*17.5%
will give just the  vat tax amonut   of  an amount in cell A1

Print this out:

http://www.xpectworld.net/CustomerDownloads/images/CustomerProfile.png

Laminate about 10 of them to protect them from getting destroyed.

Get a dry wipe non-perm black marker.

give them to the customers to fill in while they are waiting.

Tell them that it is for future special offers, emailed, ssm-texted, etc.

C

We can set it up how you like but its a conversation we need to have.

We even have utilities to calculate and add the Vat/Tax in to the price-mix
easily with just one click.

There is of course the reports on VAT/Tax in the stock worth reports
which show you your stock worth, with and without Vat/Tax, and VAT/Tax amount as a separate total.

C

QU
We have a new employee starting tomorrow and one employee that finished last saturday. 
Is there a way to add the new one on the day book only from tomorrow? 
And delete the other one only from today?

If I delete her what will happen to historic and financial reports?

ANS
Sorry no you cannot do that. If you need that very badly/often we can build it for you.

You would have to add the new staff tomorrow. And delete the old tomorrow.

You can however add the new girl today if you need to book appointments against her.

Make sure that you delete one and add a brand new one
Don't rename the employee name or you don't have the ability to 
Check history and finances properly on the new employee

Are you sure that the old employee does not have any future appointments?
We can help with moving appointments on-mass from old to new employee


If you delete the employee it will not affect your finances.
BUT
She will not appear on the DAYBOOK anymore.
She will still appear on any historic reports.



C

Missed Lunches

QU
if a staff memer is booked at lunch at say 1.00 until 2.00 and a client phones or walks in for
an appointment during the lunch time, and the staff member is prepared to skip lunch
and do it, how would you book that in?

ANS
You would click the blue 'away' lunch appointment, and then reduce the lengh, delete it or move it down, etc.
This would free that slot up completely or give you a bit of time for an appointment.

C

Split Appointments

QU
We do a lot of split appointments (one member of staff starts the client and another member finishes them)
when we tried to do that using the services screen and selecting the different member on the far right column.
when we went back to the dayBook it was showing the full split appointment under both staff members.

ANS
You missing step was to select the 1st and 2nd position next to the employees name.
This will then correctly split the appointment giving you the all important "processing time"
where the staff member can be busy elsewhere.

For a free trial please see here.

To selectively remove only some data please see here.


A few crucial notes:

If you have entered any data that you want to keep you must not go-live yourself.
If you do you will lose your data.
We do however recommend a couple of days of 'gloves-off' playing about with the system,
this is because as soon as you are live and everything you do is 'real and taxable' 
you start to treat the system differently.
 - you do always have the TRAINING MODE of course. (search this help page for that)

We can go-live and selectively remove data, e.g. your demo/trial mess about 'not-real' appointments

*If* you have no information that is important go-live like this:

Sign in as manager, 
from main menu go to Advanced 'more setup' menu
If you are still in demo mode you will see 'Switch OFF Demo Mode'
You will be able to turn off just the popup help and leave the demo mode data untouched.
Or
You can go ahead and remove all demo /trial data ready for real information.
Or
You can selectively remove only some data instead.

CRUCIAL NOTE:

Please enter only 5 rows of data into the grid at a time and then go back to the main menu which saves.
If you do not and you make a mistake or someone pulls the power plug out you will lose data.
*PLEASE SAVE EVERY 5 ROWS*

Finally:

We will give you monthly licenses until your software copy/s are paid for,
which helps both parties to stay on top of reminders of payments.
You then get a perennial license and are added to our licensing database system.(Platinum powered!)

C

We have a preferred supplier of text messages, you will be sent 
their details and your local provider will call you to setup a trial account
to save time please read their email carefully for setup instructions.

Please see here for our suppliers contact details.

You will also be sent an email that allows you to easily setup that account with Platinum.

Next step?

After setting up the account on your computer,
you need to customise the text that goes out to your customers!
Then finally run a test to yourself.


To easily setup the template text of the actual 'Text Message' :-

    See here


Always restart Platinum to pickup the changes.

C

QU
I want to send various reports to my Accountant/Home by email, how do I set this up please?

ANS 
You first need to export the Platinum reports to your documents folder on your computer. 

To do this, go into the report you want to send by email.
 
At the top **LEFT** of the StickyMailingLabels report page, you will see some small icons, 
click the one which looks like a disk (its probably very top left "Export")

(*NOTE:This is not the top right button 'eMessage Them' not that one*)

A window will open, check it is going to save to your documents and settings/My Documents folder, 
enter the name you would like the report saved as and using the drop down options,
save as an adobe acrobat report .PDF type. (DO NOT SAVE AS .RPT crystal reports as no-one can read this format)

Click Save

A little box will appear that says Export Complete once finished.

You will now find that report in your documents and settings/My Documents folder.
 
To send as email attachment:

On your email message, on the tool bar you will see 'Attach', generally with a picture of a paperclip, 
click this,
it will take you to your My Documents folder where you will click onto the report that you want to send
(you may send more than one with your email) and click Attach.

You may have to wait a few seconds for it to send to your email provider.
 
Then send your email as normal.

For a much more flexible but technical solution please see here.

M

QU

On certain days of the year we hold 'events' which require the client to pay a deposit.
How do we put this through the system so it's knocked off the total amount left to pay?

ANS

Method 1. (Preferred and only in Platinum versions 2009 Q3 onwards)

Deposits intelligence

Deposits can be taken via Cash, Card or Cheque.
The value is stored as a Deposit and the figures are accounted for as income "that day".

Click your right mouse button in a blank space on any appointment details screen.
choose.. e-business.."Deposit Taken".

Deposits are only attached to a specific appointment.

You are warned when paying for an appointment that a deposit has been taken for that customer.
(If approved the "Due amount -less the- Deposit" is calculated and the deposit is
 flagged as redeemed for reporting purposes)



Delete Deposit?

To delete a deposit, simply open the related appointment and put another deposit through as a zero amount.
    So you can put a zero in as a desposit to delete it from the appointment it is on.

or

You can do a customer lookup and see the history on the left, scroll down/click the history
   you will see "DEPOSIT" is shown in the comments box and can be deleted the same as any
   appointment can via the history button and the delete button.

                       
                       

To see how much a person has paid later on:

Search via customer lookup and click the drop down to show the current customers deposit value 
(the same as tab and courses short codes do)

There is a deposit report for all customers (customer...deposits by date)
Customer deposit report available from the customer profile.(e-Business menu)
	
A deposit (if it exists) you're warned and can be redeemed on payment screen.(ready to pay must be clicked)

How?

Deposits are settable from right mouse on appointment (e-business menu)
e.g. 100 due on day, 50 deposit can be taken and logged.


More info...

There are two other ways that you can see "individuals" deposits more easily that the Customer...Deposits report.

1) Customer Profile...top left (...) .... payments...deposits..report
2) Customer lookup - do a search and crucially click their name to see their deposit amount e.g. D=19.00  (no click and it will not show D=)

======


Method 2. Via a "Deposit" named service

Add a service named "Deposit" in the master service/treatments list from the Main Menu

Give it a zero price.

When you take the deposit click the daybook somewhere "today" 
In customer lookup find the customer who is paying the deposit.
Add a "Deposit" service to the appointment "today" 
and alter the price (by clicking on it) to the exact deposit amount.
Pay for it using the "ready to pay" button

The deposit is now registered with them for future reference.
If you want to be 100% accurate alter the future appointment to be X-deposit amount less.
As they already paid X-deposit amount up-front.


======


Method 3. Via Tab (informational purposes only not via financial reports)


Tab will not work for you if you want to see the deposit on the financial reports.
Tab is only useful if you keep deposits in a combination-safe "until the day" of use.



You can use the TAB feature to do this - 
then when they come in you pay with a mixed payment of Cash and TAB.

You do a mixed payment by ticking the little box at the bottom of the Total Due final screen
(where you choose cash, cards, cheque, etc)

To set the tab you :-

open their profile. 
click the 'more details' button (middle right -->)
and you will see a 'Tab Credit' field. 
Pop their deposit number in there.

If you need more info let me know. 

NOTE: The tab method does not appear on financial reports.

C

This is not Platinums fault.

You have hit one of the hotkeys to rotate your screen.

This should be turned off as standard on setup, in our view, but is often set as on unfortunately.


Look down at the bottom right of the screen there is a 
slanted blue icon 
"intel extreme graphics" or Screen/VGA/Graphics related wording

THIS IS WHAT is often USED TO accidentally
FLIP the SCREEN UPSIDE DOWN

can you please right click it...
	Graphics options
		tray icon  -  tick disable

(This will prevent anyone fiddling and accidentally doing it.)


To try to flip it back try holding down CTRL and ALT on the computer keyboard
Then pressing one of the arrow keys <- -> or up and down (also F3 F11 F12)

Switch it off permanently:(highly recommended)

Open control panel
Find the intel icon (or similar VGA display utility for your model of video card: Nvidia, Ati Rage)

Hotkey Tab page
    Untick to disable
also:
Rotation tab page
    Untick to disable


Restarting the computer will probably not help, worst case you can system restore to yesterday if possible.

Troubleshooting:

Sometimes the TRAY icon is disabled so you do not see anything bottom right
you then need to open Windows Control Panel...customise display properties or resolution.

Here you can choose Properties...then Hot Keys or rotation or angle. untick that to disable it.

(all the above maybe slightly different but this is the area you need to set it off)

C

Here is info on our Birthday Features:-

    You can send out happy birthdays - on the customers birthday via letter, SMS or Email.

    You could also just run a report to send a birthday gift to select customers.
    To Run a report on birthdays coming up see:-

        Reports...Customers...Birthday Letters


QUOTE: 

"
This report shows all customers whos birthday is in the specified number of days time, for example, 
if you choose the number 2, it will show all customers whos birthday is in 2 days time with their 
postal address. This allows you to post them birthday offer letters, which you can export into Word 
for editing by using the export button, or type your own standard letter and print again over this template, 
your    f o n t     should be Times New Roman, size 14. The picture can also be changed from the programs menu. 
On your bottom bar, 
click Start..AlphaTask..Platinum..Xtras..Customer Xperience ..Change my Company Logo 
    for postal letters etc. Make sure the customer has a full address or they will not appear.
"

This allows letters to be sent out but a text message is cheaper than a postal stamp so may be a 
preference depending upon the age of your customers. Older people tend to not have mobiles or emails.


Setting up Birthday Messages

Sign in as manager
On the main menu
Click Advanced 'more setup' menu

hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 

Choose Easy Setup...eMessages...Birthday

    Choose... "Send customers a Happy Birthday message on their Birthday?"

NOTE: Please change to a Y or N only.


If you have a Mobile Phone SMS text message account set up the SMS message and choose to turn SMS Messages on!

Create a test customer in the database with a birthday of tomorrow (or change a test customers date of birth
to tomorrow).

When you reminders go out your 'happy birthday' message will also go out to you and any customers with a
birthday ON THE SYSTEM - are you happy with it?


More Technical:

Open this with Internet Explorer and make sure it is customised to your business name:-

C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum\HappyBirthday.html

If you are not happy you can edit it with any 'HTML' web-page editor, see here.

C

QU

Can we have a report set up to be automatically generated at the end of each day without the need to 
access the full reports?

ANS

Yes if you send us a list of what you want we can setup the ShortList.

(hold SHIFT and click the reports button - it will show you the shortlist)

we can customise this completely.

We can also do a similar thing with batched/automatic printing the reports (bar the till totals)

You can simply hold down the SHIFT or CTRL key to print out your daily reports
(again needs setting up for you individually)

if you just 'hover the mouse'(don't click) over the Next--> key on reports choice screen
it will give you popup help.

To create your own shortlist easily :-

Sign in as manager, Go to reports, hover top left (...), customise...

=====

More techy:

you can edit :-

C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum\

TopReports.xml - CTRL run batch
ReportsCustomisedList.xml - manager shortlist (hold down SHIFT key on computer keyboard and click Report button)
ReportsRestricted.xml - trusted staff shortlist - need to assign secret pass. word to the report button first

C

If you sign-in as manager.
On the main menu choose 'Advanced More Setup'
Hover over the blue gel-button (...)
Choose...
    Easy Setup....Point of sale.....Receipts...

"I always want to print a second receipt automatically for our own use"

Restart Platinum.

C

If you do not sell courses in your business and have accidentally turned this on...

Sign in as manager
Click the button called Advanced 'more setup' (bottom right)

hover over the (...) blue gel-button that is top left

Choose 
    Easy setup...point of sale....appointment/sales process

up-selling...

then:
    "I don't want to be asked if the customer wants a Course of the service they just had"

C

All times used are from your Windows computer time.
this is the only source.
if you hover your mouse bottom right on the time clock
if hover does not show you anything click.
if not double click.
this will allow you to correct your time,
which is probably wrong.

If moving the time forwards you do not need to do anything.

BUT

If you are moving the time back keep Platinum open during this whole process
or you may find that you cannot get back in until the Windows time reaches
the old time again.

C

Sign in as manager
On the main menu
Click Advanced 'more setup' menu

hover your mouse over the blue gel-button (...) 

Choose Easy Setup....Manage....On Screen Keyboard.....switch it off

C

The supplier name is not editable in the drop down box when entering products.

you have to go to the 'more advanced setup'

and click suppier to edit them.

C

QU

I sometimes have a customer who has two bookings. One in the morning and one in the evening.

When they come to pay after the first appointment it will add BOTH appointments together.


ANS

yes the system will add up all the appointments that day WITH THE VERY SAME CUSTOMER 
and try to charge the customer whenever you pay.

However, It will not add up any green paid for appointments, even if with the same customer.

In that situation you would have to take all the money after the second appointment is finished.

OR

Only book the second appointment after the first one is paid for.

OR

Take all the money for both appointments after the first is finished.

I hope that helps you.

C

On the receipt printer Platinum can print:

A Receipt
    with promotional offer and loyalty points
An appointment reminder slip(instead of writing)
Personalised vouchers
Price lists to give to customers if asked.

Any printable report see here.

C

For editing of the reminders text that goes out to customers see here.

For all receipt printer options see here.


To change the text search here for the word:

receipt text

it is in the exact same area.
C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum\



In Windows newer than XP, you need to have a bit more "power" to edit,
so click the circle/orb (bottom left of your screen).
type in:  notepad

in the list click your right mouse button when over the word notepad
choose open\run as administrator

open and edit
C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum\AppointmentReminderCardFile.txt


In Windows XP, open notepad and edit the above file.


C

Windows XP does not have UAC ignore this page in that case; it is only more recent versions.

There are two ways and it depends upon if you are talking someone through it
or doing it yourself and if you have the Admin Helper utility open.

.
Talking someone through/and or no Admin helper open:

Click bottom right on the Circle-Orb.
Type "user acc"
Click "user accounts"
Turn User Account Control On / Off


.
If you have Admin Helper open and in Admin mode:
Click the "MSConfig for UAC" button
You will see the option to disable UAC normally bottom of the list.



In all cases Restart the computer.
VNC will be like XP then and it will not kick you off each time.



NOTE:
For security you should re-enable the User Account Control (UAC)
as soon as possible after sorting out connections or issues.

C

QU

Can we put a standard treatment time against services?
So that when its chosen it automatically puts in its length of treatment\services?

ANS

You will find that Platinum learns these as you use the system.
 
Try putting in two appointments with the SAME treatment\service, SAME employee, BUT different customer.
 
The first time it will be 15mins, [], []
 
Set this to say 45mins, [], []
 
Do another appointment and you will see it has learned that the
employee and the service\treatment takes 45 mins to perform.

C

QU

I am getting the end of day takings message but I have added myself in as an appointment for tomorrow 
at 5 but im not coming up on the list of manual reminders for tomorrow?

Do I have to tick all the reminders in that list every day before they are sent?
or does the system do it automatically?

ANS

re:reminders
you can have it working totally automatically - completely hands off
OR
do it manually. remind just a few, etc.
depends on budget I guess.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

re:if not appearing in the list see here

C

Also see some basics here.

QU

I entered new services, because we are extending what we do.
The service is in there with prices and everything
but when I put it in the electronic daybook as an appoinment I can't see the price!
Just a blank.
It only gives me the service name.

ANS

In your employee record you are probably 'level' 2
If you open your employee edit screen and scroll to the right to the 'Level\Skill' Column.

This means that you have to put your prices in the level 2 box for those services 

They will then come up when it is an appointment in the daybook
under your daybook column.

If you put the appointment in with an employee with a 'level' of 1
the prices will show properly because an employee with level 1, charges price 1!

But that is no good for you! So move them to Price Column 2 if you are level 2 (for example)

Also see here

C

QU

have booked a customer in for service/treatments but only one
price is coming up. I have set both to 'arrived'.

ANS

Create two separate appointments but with the EXACT SAME customer
(check you dont have two with same name)

When you create the second appointment with the exact same customer 
BOTH should go a brownish colour (Dual)

When you pay it should show a red box at the bottom of the payment 'due amount' screen
and it should say "this customer has 2 appointments this day and this is all they need to pay"

Once paid for BOTH should then turn a dark green.

Tips:

If one is green and paid for it will not try to charge for that again.
e.g. someone who came in earlier in the day and already paid for that session.

C

The employee is either rostered off on the day you are looking at
(try moving to another day - are they there?)

OR

You have moved their employee record to another department.
(Open the employee record and scroll to the far right -> 
is she in department 1? I guess she has been accidentally moved to department 2.)

OR

Check that the employee record has 'show on daybook' column 
set to Y (not N or something accidentally typed).


If you have a lot of employees on the daybook see here

C

QU

Multiple bookings for the same person, i.e., a few services/treatments for the same client,
is the easiest way to book one treatment then keep going back to the day book and do a new booking?

ANS

It depends upon commission payments and report calculations of that commission.

Do you pay commission? 

If it is one service/treatment with one employee and then with the same customer 
another service/treatment but with another employee.
Yes - to split commission properly they must be 2 separate appointments with the same customer.

but

If it is the same employee same customer - and back-to-back - no breaks
just click however many service/treatments you like, it will create a big block
there is no limit really.

If there is a break/processing time then add that in the duration dropdown
(middle one of Start, Processing, End time).

but

If there are two services/treatments back to back 
and the customer is with the employee the whole time.

The split is not needed.
As the employee is busy the whole time and the customer is being treated all the time.

If you do pay commission and it is with 2 employees you do need to put in two appointments
so the commission report is correct.

If you do not pay commission then you can just do a dual
(choose 2 services and then choose the employee from the box on the right. 
 You also need to special 1st and 2nd)

C

From main menu go into
REMINDERS
by selecting the 'day' that you want at the top left of the screen
i.e., 1 day ahead, 2 days ahead etc

highlight the number in the box and type the number you want.

This will list all appointments on that day.
 
To select the clients that you want to send a message to,
double click against their name under the column headed Text or email,
this will display a tick in the box.
 
If you Right mouse click on this screen it will display the options available,
eg: to change the clients name to first name only, 
    to select a range or select all for eMail, SMS or postal, 
    and to view costs and statistics of how many emails and mobile phone numbers are in the list.

You can then hit the Green Tick and the messages will be sent.

Finally, check in the 'Whats been sent box' to check that there are no errors.

M

Sign is as manager.
Go to Advanced 'More Setup'
Hover your mouse over the top left (...) button
choose
    Easy Setup.....EMessaging.....Reminders.....Reminder Text Messages.....Switch off reminder Text Messages

C

QU

Using 'customer lookup' - it is taking forever listing them, looking for errors, changing them 
and having to relist them and scroll down from the top again.

ANS

yes if you 
sign in as manager
HOLD down the SHIFT key (between CTRL and CAPS LOCK)
and click the 'customer lookup' button.
You get an excel style grid.

Make sure you go back to 'main menu' each 5 new records or 5 changes
to validate your data and save it safely.

Scroll to the far right and tick the box to delete the extra customers.

C

QU
Struggling to open Platinum; should I just be patient it says looking for updates.

ANS
Issues can be to do with other copies running on same computer
but logged in as other user but it usually warns you.

Is there a warning bottom RIGHT from your security software?

Any approval/Yes No. Allow connection questions? Allow run.

If you hae two systems/screens running at the shop,
it may also not be able to connect to the other machine
which is where all the data is actually stored.

It will tell you this however.

You can try the usual restart on both machines.
Give them a few minutes to 'settle' once you have signed in
and the desktop is loaded and then try again.

If it says there is another copy running already,
You may be running it under two different user names/user accounts on the same machine
please run it under one at a time.

also try to open Platinum and wait for it to open rather then keep clicking it
this can open multiple copies and give you this message.

C

QU
The text and emails are going great. Just a quick question though, 
We are closed on Mondays therefore the computer is off Sunday and Monday so do Tuesdays reminders go out?

Ans
If the computer is off when your reminders are due to be sent it will not work.

e.g., if set to 11am to send out reminders

the computer must be on at 10:59 to 12:00
to ensure the reminders go out.

However, on your day off it will not send.

So...you have to do Tuesdays manually, build this 'Saturday Night step' into your business operations manual!

on your last night before you have a day off. e.g., Sunday Night
Sign in as manager
Go to reminders button (manual reminders)
pop a 2 in the box 
press enter
make sure the correct date is showing (e.g., Tuesday)
right click in the middle of the customer names and choose to tick all the messages you want to send
(NOTE: there are two lots, email and sms mobile text message - both must be ticked to send out both types)

click the green tick.

check the 4. History for any problems.

Alternatively leave the computer on all the time - or just over the days you are not working.

NOTE:
Both the computer and Platinum need to be left running and Platinum
needs to have been on to the main menu at least once.

C

QU
stock used in shop is put in house, name selected... report shows name 
but all amounts show 0 zero.

ANS
any product that is used in-shop will, by design, not show on any report or if it does will be a zero
as it is not classed as profitable income,
it is used in-shop not sold to a customer to make profit.

BUT
you still want to remove one from your stock level.

run this report instead to see facts and figures:

Product...Product use by employee

you can also assign products to flavours (suppliers or brands) and run a report that breaks it down in more detail.

C

QU
I have just tried to pay two bills and they both came up 0.00

ANS
You probably entered a zero in the course up-sell-prompt - you must click Cancel (red cross) instead.

C

Also read big time-saving steps info here

QU

can I have the path to a picture for my marketing be locally on my pc?
e.g. c:\ima ges\mypic.jpg

ANS

No.
When the Internet email (HTML text) arrives at the customers browser or email client
it cannot read from your computer so needs to be 'public' and accessible to everyone
e.g.
http://www.mysite.com/ima ges/image.jpg

------- 

I am sending out some special offers on email how do I attach a picture?

Q
When I send myself a test or look at the preview via the 'Preview' button there are 2 empty boxes.

A
The way it works is any pictures cannot be attached but instead need to be hosted 
on a web page: 
http://www.MyWebsite.com/ima ges/MyHeaderPicture.jpg 

Do you have a web person who can help? We have preferred web people we can recommend.
The cheap way is to use one of our utilities and find a picture that is ALREADY on the Internet 
(as in above example) our utility easily changes the picture from the tree one that is our standard 
to the one you choose.

Its a simple process - but again it must be already on the web. 

Can you find a picture you like on the web? if you are passionate about the picture you have 
you need to get them hosted on a web page.

Let me know if you need more info.
(I have not seen the two picture you sent, they did not come through at all just empty boxes) 

Note also that you can right mouse click on the customer list in eMessaging and choose to
attach any file to the email you send.



More self/free hosting help...

QU
On the email marketing is it possible to add pictures, photos, etc?

ANS
If it is a one off picture that you do not care if it disappears
after a few weeks or month you can use a 3rd party website to 
to store or 'host' the picture on.  If it is a company logo
you may want to seek advice from your local web page developer
about self-hosting to make it permanent(this will cost you).  We can recommend people.

Purely as a free hosting example (which may not work in future):
photobucket.com

C

You can copy appointments with the same customer name.

If you drag an appointment as if you are going to MOVE it somewhere else.

BUT

before you let go of the left mouse button 
hold down the SHIFT key on the computer keyboard (this is above the CTRL and below the CAPS LOCK)

this will copy it. 

this means you will not have to do customer lookups for the same customer
each appointment - if they have multi appointments that day.

- you can simply 'drag, SHIFT, let go of button - and it will copy the same customer
name but with no services/treatments yet.

For other departments or days you will have to click the appointment
Hold down the 'SHIFT' key
click 'move this'. 

follow the instructions to paste it.

C

Clear the password out (erase all the text)

    Easy setup..security..secret words..customer profile....

then set the 'customer details more details'

clear the password from that box - restart Platinum to pickup change.

C

We can't access any reports!

If it has worked you should try restarting Platinum  or the whole computer.

Are you signed in as Manager and not staff which will be a restricted user
and may not allow you to get to some or any reports?

--

If you can see and can run a report but get an error as it is about to be shown.

You need to log out of Windows and login with an administrator (admin) level account
the one you are in now does not have enough power to see the reports.

Click bottom left (ORB/Circle in Windows newer than XP; or 'Start' button in XP)

Click 'Log Off'

Then ask the boss or your administrator for the password or get them to type it in for you.

C

Options:

try uninstalling and re-installing that web cam.
try the windows wizard from control panel that allows you to capture rather than via their web cam util.
    If that fails Platinum will fail until thats fixed.
try the same brand of webcam as you have at home, that is far more likely to be standard and work.
upgrade the webcams drivers from the providers website.
finally re-install Windows to fix any WMI driver issues.

Sorry to say that external stuff is very hard to get going as we cannot control it.
Platinum just uses the standard WMI drivers built into more recent Windows versions.

C

Sign in as manager
Click employee from the main menu
Find their name
Scroll the screen to the right using the bottom scroll bar until you see the commisison and salary columns.

C

If you are walk-in only business.

On the Main menu.

Click the Quick Product Sale and Quick Service Sale buttons.

You always have a walk-in button on each of the customer lookup screens
also for walkin clients.

We do recommend that you always try to log and store some customer contact
details for future marketing use.  If you do not you lose a lot of power
for boosting your quiet days.

C

to pay for say a father and his two sons on the same bill.
as you click the green tick on the service list
HOLD DOWN the SHIFT key /\ on the computer keyboard
this will not pay for that one at that time and you will not see the payment options

(if you do see the payment options you have done it wrong! the SHIFT key is below CAPS LOCK and above CTRL)

next choose another employee name and do another services list
and again hold down the shift key.
then do the fathers service but this time DO NOT HOLD shift key down
this will add up all the bills of any yet unpaid for.
which will be the two sons AND the fathers bill too.

If this doesn't work you may need to be in the WALKIN-ONLY mode of Platinum

C

For basic information on Platinum's Internet Booking System (ibook) please see here.


An item will ONLY appear in the drop down if the "Tab" columns value is blank/empty (scroll to the right on the service/treatments list to see this column)
and 
there is a price to the customer.

If both these conditions are true it will show in the iBook drop down list.

To hide any items fro the iBook list put a zero 0 in the Tab column (as opposed to having it blank/empty/nothing in the box in the Tab column)
or indeed remove/blank out the price to the customer if that is acceptable.

Tip:

On the main menu click the service/treatment button, when you see your data, scroll to the right using the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen.
You will see the 'TAB' column heading.

For more technical help please see here.

C

See Platinum's Internet Booking System(iBook) Setup here.
e.g. of a business use website/iBook Demo here.


QU

Could I send out our page on the web site for making appointments?

ANS

You can use eMessaging on the main menu to send a message to all your customers on the database
that would work just be aware that a real domain is fine but an IP address can get blocked or junk mailed.
e.g.
     http://www.MySite.com/iBook    might be ok    

but
     http://189.254.34.131   will almost certainly end up in junk or deleted via junkmail server



*There is a small one-off charge for setup but you get iBook as standard with Platinum, no on-going charges.

C

"We used to write important notes all over the appointment book
 and now we are finding we using bit of paper that get lost or a book that does not get looked at throughout the day."

Steps to setup a jotter for daily notes:

Open Platinum 
got to Main Menu
click the right mouse button on the Main Menu (or hover over top left ...)
choose
    "Open My Jotter"

Set in place a policy that each morning, evening or shift change they open the jotter
to see if there are any special notes.

You can also add a comment to the area at the bottom of the appointment details 
this is then shown on the daybook and when you hover over appointments for specific-appointment notes.

Troubleshooting:

I cannot edit or change the text?
It is being opened in Word Viewer probably, you need to associate the .rtf file extension with Wordpad again.
See below.

C

To change which program starts when you double-click a file, follow these steps: 
Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start button, and then click Explore. 
Click a folder that contains a file of the type that you want Windows to open in a program that you select. 
Right-click the file and, depending on the programs installed on your computer,
complete one of the following steps: 
Click Open With to choose the program that you want. 
Point to Open With, and then click Choose Program to choose the program that you want.
The Open With dialog box is displayed. Use one of the following methods to select
the program that you want to use for this file type: 
In the Programs list, click the program that you want to use. 
Click Browse, locate and then click the program that you want to use, and then click Open. 
Click Look for the appropriate program on the Web to browse the Internet for the program that you want to use. 
Click to select the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box if it is not selected. 
Click OK.

If it is a normal appointment you can just delete it and create another one if needed.

It will then not show on the financial reports.

It will however show on the deleted appointments report.

Also read about re-paying for appointments if you make a mistake here.

C

If you have just made a mistake and there is only one appointment for that customer for that day
i.e. it is not a dual
you can always simply pay again and the previous mistake will be erased.

So in short you can always pay again and the figures will not "double up" your income on reports.

Also read about if you forget to pay for an appointment yesterday here.

C

Please read some important reports basics here


Here is what I do...

just before I click NEXT-> to run the report I HOLD DOWN the CTRL key
(below SHIFT /\ but to the left of ALT - generally)

Hold this down as you click NEXT-> I hold it for a few seconds
(but to be honest it shouldn't be necessary).

If you forget these steps just hover your mouse over the NEXT-> button 
and the 'popup help' will remind you.

Then on the report - if the results look good - top right click 'eMessage Them'

Save or re-load your old messages using the top left (...) buttons

click Next->

choose who you want to send to :-

RIGHT click the list to select only a few e.g. top 'range' of 100,
or all email but not mobile, etc.

C

You should contact us Asap to prevent you from losing any data.


Also see 'Make Platinum Faster' here

Minimise / close all running programs and click your RIGHT mouse button
in the middle of your desktop (not on an icon in an empty space)
choose properties (or customisation in Windows newer than XP)

You could knock the colours down to 16 from 32 bit.
You could also knock the Windows XP style down to 
    classic so it is grey rather than fancy colours.
This will help speed things up a lot on a slower/older machine.
All desktop backgrounds and colours can be switched off on very very slow machines
it would then be grey but faster.
There are many many setup options on the advanced 'more setup' menu (right mouse click top left near the P of Platinum)

C

You can switch the right mouse on daybook xtras..'open cash drawer' option on or off.

You can also optionally require their pin code to open it so that 'they' know, that 'you' know if opened.

You can also add a password to it, the same as the In-Shop button, etc. to lock it down to certain employees

Please see the 'easy setup' area (...) 
from the 'more setup' button 
on the 'main menu'

Here you can optionally secure the till with a pin code 
and even switch the opening of the till from daybook completely off.

C

If you need to change the customer name that an appointment is set to see here.


The below steps will give them loyalty points on product sales
and allows for more buying pattern profiling and marketing in future.

Steps:
Read the very top of this page for how to get into the easy setup area.

Easy setup...Point of sale...Appointment/sales process....quick product sale

    "I want to record which Customers bought products via Quick Product Sales"

(for minutes based courses you need this on.)

XConfig:CustomerLookupForQuickProductSale

C

QU
How do I amend whats been paid out? one of the girls put 80 paid out for milk instead of 0.80.

ANS
The easiest way would probably be to add cash to the till (same method as removing it)
and instead add the difference of 79.20 (80  - .80p = 79.20)
make sure your description says "mistake correcting from 80 milk"  something you will remember in future

C

*****
*DO NOT USE THIS WITHOUT TALKING TO US ABOUT IF IT IS SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR SETUP*
*****

Take a look at the daybook.
Find who is going to pay?

Hold down the SHIFT /\ key on the computer keyboard.
Then click that person while you still have the SHIFT key held down.

A box will popup with that persons name in. 
That person is going to pay for the group.

Now click the other appointments on the daybook that the person will pay for
and they will also appear in the box.

If you make a mistake click the person to remove them.

Once happy click the green tick to be taken to the payment screen.


If you cannot remember the "SHIFT /\ click" you can right mouse and choose the multi-customer payment wizard option.


more info...

This will also add up other appointment this day if in different departments


Other Options that are *not recommended* but will work:

1.
Manually add both appointments together with paper/calculator
e.g., husband/wife, friends, multi children

2.
Using the daybook (comments section)
Double the appointment length and do one after the other with name set as
Chris (Craig)
i.e., put (Craig) in the comments at bottom of appointment details.

3.
Use same name on both appointments (potentially becomes dual (orange) make a note in 
the comment field which person is which.
Can also do this with families of young children for services

C 

For Bulk purchases of Courses instead see here.

Manual adding of courses and selling via Quick Product Sale:

If a customer has declined a course and you have answered NO to the up-sell propmt
but at the pay screen the customer has decided they will take a course after all,
you would then have to sell the course via a different method.


You need to manually add the course into their profile.
 
Put the money through as a quick product sale from the main menu
 
(You will need to firstly add a product with a zero value
 so that you can select it at these times.
 With a zero value Platinum will ask for the price at the time of that sale.
 The description can be worded to your choice)
 
It will give a receipt and accounts for the income.

You can then go to their customer profile and top left use the blue gel-button (...) 

Choose:
 
    Courses...
        Add .... 

C

(ask us if this has been improved)

For manually adding a single purchase of a Course instead see here

QU
A lady who is getting married paid for a load of different treatments.
e.g., 2 of one, 4 of another, over 500 worth which she paid for but not all booked so no up-sell prompt.
Is there an easy way to put them all on, obviously not one course so a bit more complex.

ANS
Put the money through as a quick product sale "my price"
which is a zero price and will ask how much they took type the amount
It will give a receipt and accounts for the income.

You can go to their customer profile and top left use the blue gel-button (...) 
choose
    ...courses...add .... 
to add each of them to the profile.

but instead; if it doesn't happen much, she could jot them in the notes instead of adding to the profile
or
if they are common add them to the 'MyStorage' area on customer profile page 2.

C

Sign in as Manager 
Go to the main menu 
Go to the report screen 

1.Click the + next to Customers.... 
  Scroll down and Click on "New Registrations Exportable (E-mail and mobile)" 
  Click the report name once. Then *crucially* read carefully the top right description text.
  (This also tells you how to export and extract emails/mobiles if you want to use another program to send out)

2.Set your date range. This will show you registrations between those dates only. 
  e.g., if you only do this every month, only set it from the1st to the end of the month. 

Hit Next-> to run the report. 

Export to Excel instructions are provided but...

"This report shows information about all new customers entered on to the computer by reception, 
or though Internet registrations, with the latest first, for any length of time required. 
It will only show customers who are happy to get contacted, if you click the red arrow top left 
you can export the list of emails and mobile numbers. There is a total shown at the bottom. 
INSTRUCTIONS:Open the report, export it to excel format, open the exported excel .xls file, 
delete the report header text, right mouse click on Column C and click copy for a list of 
mobile numbers, right mouse click on column E for a list of emails, paste into a text editor like word, 
save, send." 

NOTE: 
The e-messaging feature of Platinum allows direct postal and eMarketing over e-mail and sms-text messages
"without" exporting.

More....

Platinum can load-in a raw .html file and send that to your list see here.

You can choose groups and even by service/treatment.

If you click the eMessaging button on the main menu that is the entire list of everyone you have, all ready to go.

C

The steps below are for you to setup email marketing or reminders for first-time use,
after this if you *change your contact details*
you have to search for your old name or number instead and change it bit-by-bit.
e.g., in future, to change just a telephone number, see here.



Initial setup information and steps:
===================================
There are many eMessaging 'Email templates' see here.

The step below allows you to easily setup the initial contact details on ALL "EMAIL templates".

This will change them all easily rather than doing it by hand.

Once setup you can enable them in future and know they are all ready
with your name and contact details on.

*THESE INSTRUCTIONS ONLY WORK ONCE initially*

Carefully read the messages, you are told to setup your name firstly,
and then your contacts.
Clicking the green tick each time.

See how to get to easy setup firstly here

    Choose Easy Setup... E-Messages...
        then click "**** FOR EMAIL MESSAGES FIRST SET YOUR NAME AND CONTACTS
                         - Click Here ****"






If you want more control you can attach .HTML documents to one-off marketing and
you can download a free .HTML file editor to edit the eMessaging Templates here


For more features and setup see here







============
============ OLDER METHOD if the above option does not exist ============
============



Choose:
    eMessages...Advanced
        "Bulk File Editor for changing your HTML templates"


To set your business name
=========================
Replace the words :
Search Word

with :
YourName

(the above is not your actualy business name by the way it literaly is the word YourName
which is a place-holder in each of the files for the proper business name)

replace:
Replace Words < br />

with just YOUR OWN NAME (yes your real business name now that you want to see on the emails to customers)

Click the 'Replace them all' button



To set your contact details (may have to restart the bulk file editor program)
===========================
Replace the words :
Search Word

with:
YourContacts

(again the above is literally YourContacts not your real contacts just yet)

replace the words:
Replace Words < br />

with your own contact details, one on each line. e.g., 

1, My Street
Area
City
Postal code
telephone

click the < /BR> button to put the proper enter characters at the end of each line.

so it reads...

1, My Street< /BR>
Area< /BR>
City< /BR>
Postal code< /BR>
telephone< /BR>

Click the 'Replace them all' button


This time there is NO NEED to Restart Platinum to pickup the changes.

C

See how to get to easy setup firstly here

choose:
Manage...Departments....
    "Add, Rename, Delete Departments (*RESTART PLATINUM AFTERWARDS*)"

click the drop down box and choose 'change' to rename a department name.

See notes in yellow about deleting - it would be better to rename it as "zUnused" instead.

When adding new departments you must setup the daily opening hours
AND
the drop down start, processing and end times for each new department. 

*YOU MUST RESTART PLATINUM TO SEE ANY CHANGES*

C

QU
We are rostered off in September but have now changed our holiday plans.
How can I see when people are rostered off and how can I roster them back in?  

ANS
It should be just a matter of UN-bolding the dates you want back in.
the exact opposite of how to bolded them to roster the employeee off for that day

if you click the? on the main menu
then go back into platiunum.
then click more/advanced setup button (bottom right)
then click roster
you will get a popup which will explain things.

To roster back in just click the date until it is unbolded.

C

Are you using the daybook feature:
    right mouse, then  xtras ... menu then Add/Remove Cash?
    
If not that report will indeed be empty!

That report is not about money taken for appointments, it is about cash removed or added to the till
(sundries or money for milk, papers, magazines, etc).

C

QU
When they want to book themselves out for things you can only put training or dinner.
Sometimes it would be useful for them to be able to add why time is booked out.
This way other people looking at the system can see why people are booked out, as they may need to know, could be client orientated.

ANS
You can easily add your own, but there are already a lot of extra options, not just Off, Lunch and Training.

Click a cell in the daybook.
You will see a message in the middle of the screen giving you intructions.

It says to hold down the SHIFT /\ key and click one of the buttons e.g. Lunch, to show the full list of options.

Choose one from the list or follow hte instructions to add your own.

NOTE:
If you click any of the blue 'away' appointments,
If you type text into the bottom 'comment' box in the Appointment Details. 
This text appears next to customers name if <-horizontal space for it->

C

Platinum converts to the proper case as you leave each field.
It will make the first letter of each word/name an upper case.
It will make postal codes all upper case.
It will ignore email.

C

Please read the basic backup info here.

QU
We are getting the following error when we put our pen drive in to back up.
"Disk cannot be written to because it is write protected".

ANS
See if you can just write to the pen drive itself by opening and right mouse clicking
and see if you can create a normal text file.
It may have a little switch on it and you have flicked it on accidentally.
Or some need a password to get access, take a look at the documentation.(paperwork or Internet search)

C

QU

On 2 way sms's how do we reply? is it something in Platinum or just stand alone?

ANS

All basic SMS text messages can be setup so that the person can reply with
any message they like and this will come to a specific mobile of your choosing or
can be read out on a normal land line if that service exists.

The SMS text company needs to setup your reply/Sender Id to your mobile phone.
That's a chargeable service to setup, but you have to mention it (or xconfig:SMSFrom)


You may be happy with this and not need 2-way.


Interactive two-way SMS is about the reply side of it.
The customer replies to your automatic appointment reminder text
with a simple YES or NO if they can make the appointment or not
if they cannot attend it will email you and turn the appointment red
for deleting/re-assigning to a waiting-list customer.


The other way costs you 100 setup from us,
you need a 'Professional' version of Windows,
and a covering charge to the SMS text company.

If a customer says "no can't make it" Platinum will get a message
and the appointment will go red in the daybook and you get an email.
(only just now - working on text alerts of cancellations - ask for update on that.)

You can always click an appointment and use eMessaging to contact any customer, email or mobile SMS.
(click the 'e' to the right of their mobile number or the 'email' link next to their email address)

You can even SHIFT /\ click any telephone number to dial it with your mobile or via skype.com

C

If you have an end of day till-total problem, first see the basics here.

Issue:
A payment problem, doubling up figures.

Customer paid 'twice' and it showed 28 instead of 14, 
He made it gold (trying to unpay for it) 
and still shows 14 on end of day

We have checked all inconsistency reports and shows no payments FOR TODAY.

Tip1:
Open appointment. open service list. click green tick. check total b4 re-pay. re-pay.
This can correct any issues.

We deleted the troublesome one and the daily report still had 14 showing!
put back in appointment and paid, showing 28 on end of day report.

Tip2:
Is it a pure dual, that is 2 appointments entered separately?

To see go to the customers history from the customer lookup from main menu. You will see two of the same dates.

You can delete them using the history button (bottom right) if so. It maybe a corrupted appointment I think.

Tip3:
There is a report called "not paid on the day" in financial investigation

Customers Error:
An appointment in January next year was accidentally paid for TODAY.

Notes:
I had asked if customer in question had rebooked 
Platinum user said no, so I shrugged off thoughts of paid for rebooking by mistake!
but it was that despite   w arnings when paying for a future appointment.

C and M

If you have not yet setup Vouchers or just need to change the text see here.


*Please ask for an update on this as Platinum is being continually improved*

QU

1. If we sell a gift voucher through product sales, this goes down to the member of staff that sells it but they do not receive commission on the voucher sale.
2. When the voucher is redeemed, a treatment is booked with an employee and the method of payment is voucher - 
   does this generate a service sale which the employee could receive a commission on?  i.e.  is this sale shown as a service sale in the reports that can be run for the month.
3. We are planning on running an offer soon where for a set price a client can receive 5 treatments.  I assume that this should be put through as a service sale course of treatments.   
   However, the person selling the course of treatments may not be the person that actually carries out the treatments - what is the best way around this to ensure that the employee  
   doing the treatment receives commission?

ANS

1. We will look into this as it should do. Do you have a zero price for your voucher and then put in the amount? This maybe why
   If you only have a few vouchers maybe try to put the actual amounts in e.g. Voucher 20 - price 19, etc. This may then calculate properly as it has a proper product price.

2 and 3. At the moment courses are credited at the time of sale and not on a 'as-used' basis
     we have another request for it to work this was so your request will push that feature request higher up our priority list.

     However as a stop gap the course report you can run from the customer profile does show who initially sold it to the customer
     in order to help with these calculations.

C

*This information applies to all Platinum users but
 if you are not a training college scroll to *CODA1* just below*


How do I add new employees to a department (students to a class)

Click the employee button from the main menu.
Scroll to the very very bottom
Add an S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9 and S10
as your new employee names. (Student 'generic' names)

Then scroll to the far right and choose the department (class)
that they are in to properly assign them to that new class.

This will create another 10 employees (students) and show them on the daybook.




*CODA1*

If you need to create a brand new department (class) for employees (students)
you need to use the add new department utility. 

(Get some technical help but 

    Start (bottom left)
    Programs...Alpha task...Platinum...
      Xtras..
        Helpful Stuff...
           Open the Class-Department Clone utility

If you do not have this please ask us for setup help or
see here, use CTRL+F to search for the "CLONE utility")

Remember to check that the SOURCE department being cloned shows on the daybook as this is the model for the rest
and it needs to be right!

We generally set these departments/classes up for you initially.

C

QU
Platinum and the Roster Calendar how do I make the employee's 'day off' look more BOLD/Dark
and obviously an off day?

ANS
Every machine is different but you can change the 'font' or letter size to help.

Go into easy setup. If you have not already the instructions are here

choose easy setup...Roster...
click
"Roster Calendar Font Size e.g. 12"

Make this number a bit smaller say 10 or even 8.

You must close and open Platinum to pickup this change.

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You can turn that  w arning off via easy setup.

Point of Sale...
 Appointment\Sales Process...
	"I don't want to be told that the customer is early"

Or the Xconfiguration tag is:
AcceptablyEarlyForAppointmentMessageWarningOn

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SMS Text Message Templates setup instructions...

**
** Always test your eMarketing or reminders to yourself before unleashing on your customers!! **
**

If you have already setup your SMS Text message
and need to change them please see the section called "For future changes" here.


It is a great idea to have a reply number to reply to or call, this can be a landline or a mobile.
(The landline phone will ring and the text message will be read to you, check with the provider please!)

To setup your contact number and your name on the SMS text messages please follow these instructions:

See how to get to the easy setup area here

Choose Easy Setup... E-Messages...
        then click "**** FOR MOBILE PHONE SMS TEXT MESSAGES FIRST SET YOUR NAME AND TELEPHONE NUMBER - Click Here ****"

Carefully read the messages, you are told to setup your name firstly, and then, your telephone number.
Clicking the green tick each time.

If you do not have this option please talk to us for alternative help.

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See how to get to the easy setup area here
    
    easy setup....e-Business...Financial....Accounting....Add the accounting module.

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See how to get to the easy setup area here

    easy setup... manage... rooms... room Name 1, etc

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Simply choose two of the same product.
Hold down the SHIFT key on the computer keyboard
at the same time as you have the SHIFT key down
click the second price down.

On the popup enter a zero. To not charge the customer
for that second item.

C

This is the user name that you see on your computer when you are sat at it.
You need a none-blank password, see here.
You need an administrator-level user/account (they usually are).

C

See here.

C

An all-in-one computer has the 'screen' and the 'computer box' in one box all together.

Use a key to unlock the flap and press it or lift it up.

You should then see a small button to press to turn it on.

You should then close the flap and lock it to stop people switching it off.

C

See also how to add a 'bad customer' warning here.


There are several ways to remove appointment data or delete data generally.

General Delete advice: here.


Making transactions null and void:

If a customer cancels their appointment or does not show up (no show) you can:

Click the appointment.

Look to the right and click delete or cancelled.

This will now not show on financial reports as it has been flagged as cancelled/deleted.



Testing Data:

Use the *Training Copy * Test Data Only* option from the Start..program files...Alpha task...Platinum...Xtras menu
or
At the end of your testing phase we can remove the test data for go live.
or
Go Live! from the 'main menu'...'easy setup menu', to remove all and start-a-fresh.


We can selectively delete test appointments for your go live.

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**Before you do anything please send the message to JUST yourself and make sure you are 100% happy with it.**

Please first see the marketing basics here.


If you can only send out a set amount per hour or per day,
you can send out to just the first 100 one day.
Then the next 100 the next day.
(To make sure they all get through and are not blocked because you are over your allowance!)

You can find it if you right mouse click on the list of customers in eMesssaging.
Choose: 
   Email...."Select email range"

You can select just the first X number in the list to ensure they get through.



The right mouse button has loads of options for you:

In the middle of the eMessaging customer names list click the 'right mouse button'.

Click :
Email or Mobile SMS 

Click :
"Range"

You can use this to select just 1 to 100 or just 500 to 1000, or whatever you like.


You can also slow down the sending out rate see here.

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On the roster screen from the easy more setup from the menu menu.
Click your right mouse button in the blank space that is top left.
or hover over the (...) blue gel-button

You can roster off whole "Departments" from there

C

Goto:

Control Panel > Ease Of Access Centre > Make the computer easier to see

Untick the "Turn on magnifier" button

C

You can setup the receipt printer to act in different ways depending upon what you want it to do.

Click bottom left "Start" (or the circle/Orb if Windows newer than XP)

Click Printers and faxes (you may have to find that via control panel)

Find the receipt printer in the list

Click your RIGHT mouse button on it

The "General" tab page should open if not click it at the top of the sub-window

Click the "Printing Preferences" button

Click the "Document Settings" tab page.

Here you can decide how you want the receipt printer to work.

(Do not alter the "cash drawer" setting as this should be fine as-is)

To control how and when the receipt printer cuts or feeds the paper after each print-out
click the "Paper Source" (NOTE: the standard\default is < Document[Feed, Cut]> )

You should choose from the list really, but there is a "Custom" option if none of
the standards suit your requirements.

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****************************************************************************************
*Officially we do not support Microsoft Accounting, you can email them directly however*
*but here is some common info that we have been asked                                  *
****************************************************************************************

We hope to integrate Platinum more and more with Microsoft Accounting.
Let us know in what way you would like it integrated if you have any ideas.
 
We use Microsoft Accounting as its free to you and to save us lots of work
duplicating the features.
You get a less expensive package in Platinum that rivals the
features of the most expensive packages.
 
Setting the password:

You have roles and can block people and the link at the bottom talks about changing
passwords. 
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/accounting/HP011211141033.aspx

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Installing from a disk.

Installing Anything really.

Try first to pop the disk in and see if it autoruns.

If not:

Press Windows Key and E. (or open Windows Explorer)

Go to the DVD or CD-Rom (maybe drive D: or E: but probably not C:)

Look for the autorun program on the root of the disk.

If no autorun.exe program is on disk:

do you see install.exe or setup.exe?

Still no luck? try going into sub-folders and see if any installers are in there?

C

There are lots of reasons see:

here
here
here
and here

C

add these to the receipt text:

    PST       [LocalTaxForServiceAndProducts]
    GST       [CountryTaxForServiceAndProducts]

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I wonder if it has been turned off accidentally, it is always on as standard.

It should remember the last one and re-use that timing.

Here is the easy On/Off switch to check:

Easy Setup...
  Manage...
    Services...
	 .."Intelligent Service Durations Manager On (Y or N) *DON'T CHANGE THIS*"

Or if not there/can't find it use xconfig tool:
http://www.xpectworld.net/Help/THelp.html#openXConfig

Tag for the bottom long box for searching:
IntelligentServiceDurationsManagerOn

Either way restart Platinum fully to pick up the change.

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Its very hard if its not easy to find them

I assume if a persons name was e.g., 'Gemma Sim' you looked under:

just:
sim

just:
Gemma

put her full email address in the name box to search by email instead of name:
gemmasim@email.com

could you have spelled her name wrong on the database? try GEMA for example.

Failing all this you woul dhave to email them to ask for their telephone number to look them up from that.

C

All fields have a maximum number of characters to store. 
2000 in some areas and 4000 multi-language compatible in other newer areas.

Think of it as an excel table, with columns that are a set width.

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First read the basics here

1.
Is it a number or code YOU have assigned to each customer?
It must be stored in the customers Loyalty Code box in the 'more details' area?

Manage...
  Customers...
     Loyalty...
        "Customer Name Search Includes Loyalty Code (Y=we search on codes, swipe a card or type names)"


This will allow searching by name and by this ID code (number or letters or a mix) and also shows that Id on the list when searching to the right of their name.


OR


Is it a number Platinum has assigned automatically? (just a basic customer Id number probably 4 digits)
2.

In Easy Setup

Manage...
 Customers...
   Profile...
      Searching...
         "I Want To Be Able To Seach On CustomerId if Customer Cards Are Used Due To Complex Names"



This will allow searching by name and by this numberic ID
and also shows that Id on their Profile above their name.

See more technical steps here.

C

Contact Details: http://www.icetrak.com/

Firstly, see the example here for a more convenient method that is 99% accurate, if you do not have this option please read below.


The instructions below allow you to see exactly WHAT was sent from the SMS Text message providers end
to save time we have added a similar feature to Platinum that is extremely accurate to what was intended
to be sent out. In 99% of the time this will be exactly the same as you would see below but far more
conveniently from within Platinum.


open this page:
http://www.icetrak.com/icetrak1a

user.name in box 1:

pass.word in box 2:

On the left click:
        IceTrak...Outbound....SMS

tick any box next to the mobile number/date of message you are intereted in:
then tick the magnifying glass icon (view)

The middle column has the date the text was requested to be sent.

Do not forget to scroll the history using the PAGE up and page down with the black arrows that are top middle.

This facility only holds 7 days worth of data.

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It is possible that your CAPS LOCK, SCROLL LOCK or NUM LOCK was accidentally on.

Windows generally complains about CAPS LOCK (middle <-left on your keyboard above SHIFT)
Just press the button again to switch it off.



Switching SCROLL LOCK and NUM LOCK off?

Take a look at your keyboard, especially on laptops, generally top right-> you will see some little lights.
e.g., ScrLk or N.Lock written above them

This is the problem.

If they are white try to just find a key on your keyboad (mayb top right->) and press it, if the light goes out great. Try again.

If they are blue or a different colour try finding the FUNC or SHIFT key on your keyboard (generally bottom <-left) and hold down the 
key on the <-left and tap the key on the top right->.

Example:

I see a little light top right-> that says ScrLk above it, it is blue-ish. I hold down the FUNC key bottom <-left and tap the SCROLL LOCK key.
The light goes off and I can type normally again.

If you can get into Windows but not Platinum open notepad and try to type. Does it look ok, if not play with the above?

C

QU
I am just setting up and using the 'Tab' feature.
When I clicked tab it added the amount to the client to pay next time rather than reduced the tab off the amount.
There was 6.25 in there that should have been reduced off 32 but instead it added the 32 to what the client owed on tab.

ANS
There are two ways the tab is reduced:

1.

manually by editing the tab value in the customers profile....more details.

2.

Selling a service with a tab value reduces the tab value on a customers record 
e.g. selling a service "Sunbed use:5 mins"  with a tab value of 5,   reduces the tab by 5 credits

In contrast:
Selling a product with a tab value charges up the tab on a customers record
e.g. buying a "Sunbed 60 minutes" with a tab value of 60,   gives them 60 credits on the tab)

 

There is one way the tab can be wrong after removing some credit,
which is a mistake in the initial value.
e.g., the customer thinks thay have X but they actually have less.

For investigation, given a customer name, there is a tab report detailing pre-booking and post booking tab values.


Loyalty points on the other hand are 'increased' based on a sales due amount.
e.g., 1 point per pound spent.  (This could be what you are seeing and not the tab?)

C

If you accidentally move an appointment you can go to the report.
    General...."Whats been happening"
and see where it was where it is, who it WAS with and mainly who moved it (if you use pin-entry to the system)

We have a "Appointments Can Only Be Moved By Move Button" mode

switching it to Y stops the drag-drop of appointments on the daybook. (staff can make mistakes and you may not want it on)

You get 3  w arnings when drag droping but sometimes this is still not enough!


Load Platinum

   Easy setup.. 

      Point of Sale...

          Troubleshooting...

                   "Appointments Can Only Be Moved By Move Button (not by mouse or touch screen)"

C

A report can be run to show you any issues with appointments that
are paid for firstly in one department/class and then moved to another department/class.

When you get the duplication of the same total in different classes
in your financial figures, in your till total report you need to run this report
to find out the Date, time and customer who needs to be re-paid for.


Open the reports selection screen and choose:
    Financial Tracing (Diagnostic)

                "Department/Payment Inconsistency (classes)"


Run it for the day that has an issue in the till totals.

Write down the customer name and the date and time of the appointment that is in red. (should only be one in the list)

Open customer lookup from the main menu and search for that customer.
Click the appointment date in their history (<-left hand list) then the 'History' button that is bottom right->


Click 'ready to pay' button and re-pay for it again.

This will make it paid for in the correct department/class again.

C

If you export data out of Platinum your data is immediately out of date so that is not recommended.

Platinum also employs advanced techniques to make sure your emails go in the customers inbox
and not in the junk/trash/spam/bulk email folder.

You can install a template editor and click the "change my email" button to do more fancy fonts, etc.

You can also get a professional web page created for you with all the bells and whistles and tell Platinum
to use that.  We recommend this and can put you in touch with skilled professionals.


Basic name or telephone number changes here.


Install a free template editor here.


Importing web text into Platinum (HTML text) here.

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Try switching on the computer in the morning, then log-in as your user name so you can see your desktop
and the "Start Platinum" icon.

**but do not touch/run anything yet.**

Giving it 5 minutes to settle itself down.

Then, right mouse click on the "start Platinum" icon and choose "open".
This will make sure you only open one copy.

I suspect that the computer is busy still when you try to open Platinum.
You then try again, maybe multiple times, and they all clash against each other
as all trying to run at once and you get the "Platinum-Main has stopped".

If the above is ok, let it settle for less minutes until you find out how much time it needs.

I suspect the main thing is trying to open it and then again trying to open it.

If still no luck we can try upgrading your Windows newer than XP to a free Service pack from Microsoft
to see if that helps.

If you have been altering some files or desktop icons please check that the path
to platinum.exe is correct still, as per a demo setup.

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Want a computer repair? see here.

You do need to backup everything ASAP if its freezing, maybe the hard-drive-storage is about to break.

We can help easily if you have Internet?

But if not :-

a) Is the pen drive full? (delete old files or buy a new/bigger one)
b) Can you see any files already on the pen drive?
c) Can you plug it into a different port that you would not normally? e.g., at the back not the front
d) Try renaming the Platinum.bak file on the PEN DRIVE to Platinum.old1
   close Platinum down and then take a look at the date to see if its current.
   the Platinum.bak on the pen drive maybe locked or similar.

It does sound like you need to do that backup asap.

You can still get a v irus on a non-Internet connected computer especially if you are using a pen drive back
and too between an Internet connected computer at home.
Do you have an up-to-date anti-v irus of at all?

More Technical Info  : here.

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Can you save any dates, see here.

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In XP Goto:
 Start..Control Panel...Locale (or regional and language options)
 
In new Windows click bottom left () circle/orb and type:
 region
 
 
 Check that it is correct e.g., UK / English if in England. 
 The correct time zone if in the USA, etc.

 You can also set the currency sign here if needed.

 The fine-tuning-settings should never need changing manually
 just change the drop down boxes value.

Tip: If the date of birth doesn't save properly
     you need to set this to your correct world location.
     
     If enforcing dates of birth check this and the format of dates is correct for your area.
     You can tell if it is set wrong as 01/01/1900 will save. If in UK and if 12/31/1980 does save
     your date format is set wrongly.
     
     If still having trouble try setting it to a different region and then back to your region.
     e.g. USA and then back to U.K.
     
     Check all Tab pages in region are set to your region.
     Make sure tab 1 is not UK and tab 3 USA.

If all else fails read about repairing the .net framework and reports engines.

Note:
Locale/region/language - must be set/tested ON the normal everyday user. not simply via our admin user.

C

If its annoying or confusing it can be switched off very easily via easy setup:
 
Easy Setup...
    DayBook...

        Customers...

then click
"Show contact details and appointment details when the mouse is over an appointment"
 
change the Y to a capital  N.
 
(can change it back if you change your mind, etc.)

C

Yes - you can do that no problems.

All images are backed up so nothing you do will be lost.

Please do not fiddle if the machine is a "live in-use business machine" as it may stop working.

All images exist in these directories:

C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum
 e.g.
 The main background image file is: Main.png

and

C:\Program Files\Alphatask\Platinum\Images
 e.g.  
 The department1 button is 8a.gif 
 The Receipt image      is ReceiptImage.bmp

More receipt image editing info here.


Tips:

If you are copying your own image make sure it asks you to overwrite or it is the wrong name or wrong location.



For changing your eMessage email templates (.HTML templates) see here



To customise/setup screen colours:

 On the first sign-in screen.
 Look bottom right you can see the (...) button.
 Hover over it and choose:
    Colours....
    
    Some colours may clash with text and make text invisible if so
    you can reset to our standard colours or re-choose your own.

C

Yes so long as it has good cold/cool air circulation.  A computer can be put in any position you like, it makes no difference.

If it slows down or you hear the fan inside the computer taking off like a helicopter you will need to
put a small fan in their also with it to keep the cold air running around the computer.

A computer will run its best in a fridge, just to give you an idea about them and heat. (but don't put it in your fridge please!)

Watch out for a lot of heat sources like radiators or even hair dryers!

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Sign in as Manager.
Main Menu
  via Easy/More Setup
    e-Business
        *Only when Asked*
            Initial Setup
                Change Data

You have a few options here to quickly clean up data like removing test appointments and test customers.

e.g., Delete customers, Clear booking history, etc.

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Open the Main Menu.
Hold down the SHIFT key /\ on the computer keyboard and click the "Customer Lookup" button 
bottom right is a label with the total number of customers on your database.

There are also "Customer Count" reports under the Customers... report section.

Tip: If you did not see an excel style grid then you did not hold down the SHIFT key.

C

QU

I am entering the services/treatments and prices. With some the price is decided at the end of the appointment subject to the 

amount of service/treatment received.

ANS

You can have different prices for different skill levels of staff and also you can change the prices by just clicking on them at
point of sale and changing them directly, they will be re-calculated then for the due amount to the customer.

Some people will create a zero priced service/treatment called "UNDECIDED" also if it all needs 'toting-up' later.

You can also click your right mouse button on any appointment in the daybook 
and then choose Xtras....Colour code....Red - to mark any appointment as red for further "investigation" or "Approval"

But most click the price shown and change it, you can make detailed notes on each appointment as to how many "shots" if the receptionist and the 

emplopyee are different people?

The same goes for products, if you put a zero priced product in, as you select it for sale, Platinum will ask for the amount to charge.

**If you can think up some clever rules to manage this we own the software and can change it for you, we would need some basic ground rules
on how you calculate this, if possible?**

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Follow the basic outgoing message troubleshooting BEFORE changing any settings please!

(Slightly more technical but not bad at all.)

When sending reminders or marketing via email or SMS text messages.

Failure Sending Mail. The remote name could not be resolved.

SMTP or SMS errors when sending out emails or text messages.


Summary:

If you install or re-install security software,
it can easily effect Platinums ability to send out messages over the Internet.
e.g., Your Norton Internet Security is now set to "Block All" traffic
      coming out of the Platinum.exe main program.

Open the Internet Security program (bottom right there will probably be an icon in the system 'Tray')
Double click or click your right mouse button on it and choose open.

Search for "Fire Wall Rules" or similar like Blocking, security, Internet security, personal firewall.

Scroll down the list and look for Platinum Main .exe or similar and "BLOCK ALL".

You need to change this to "ALLOW ALL" or PERMITTED or similar positive term rather than negative!

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To make this obvious you can click your right mouse button on their customer profile.

Or use the (...) button that is top left.

Select Xtras.....Warning.....Add a warning ON/OFF

You can flag a customer as a warning so it will alert you when they visit in future.

Please then look them up again and you should see the red warning square top left.

You should also make some detailed notes on their profile notes area.

See also here.

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Yes.  You can assign their locker number to their profile
and when you search it will show the customers name and locker number.

Steps:

Click More details....where the "Tab/Sunbed Minutes"  box is this label can be changed to "Locker Number"
and the locker number can be typed in there.

These numbers will then appear next to the customers name:
CustomerX (200)


Set it up as per Tab customisation setup here

Yes, you can get : "Full-Name (Tab Value)"


"Point of Sale..."

    "Tab..."

        "I want to see the customers current tab value on the customer lookup"


(XConfig Tag : CustomerListShowsCurrentTabValue)


-


and to customise the tab field text you can use:


Easy Setup:
  Customers...

     Profile...

         "Set the Tab Field Title"

(XConfig Tag : TabFieldTitle)

C

from:

easy setup

    E-Messages...

        "Set e-messaging pause after e-mail (slows it down, if problems at high speed)"


OR via XConfig:
    
    PostEMailSendSleep

This is in milliseconds (1 second = 1000) so, for example, to give only 15 emails per hour set this to:

250000

(250000 milliseconds = 250 seconds = just over 4 minutes between each email is sent = 15 per hour)

Just be aware that 1000 customers will take more than 4000 minutes and so would need to be left for 70+ hours
(this is over a weekend or in stages using the 'Range' feature found via the right mouse button while on the customers name list in eMessaging)


You can also send out a set amount per day see here.

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When closing down I constantly get an error message telling me there is no disk in the drive
in the black dialogue box the message is 'copying the backup to your pen drive'

Empty Still-Camera-Card / SD Readers on the computer:

  These can be the cause of that "No Disk In Drive", we recommend that you disable them if you are not using them?

Please see more techy info here

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Did you go live? Do you get any error messages produced?

If not they are being re-ordered and maybe at the bottom of your list.

They are ordered by the    "The Order"   columns numeric-order and then by their 
own name-alphabetic-order.

It is possible that you are not seeing them as they are re-ordered
and put at the bottom of the list.

If you use the bottom right (...) to search instead you may find it faster.

C

Windows has "Administrator" and "Limited" level users - limited can do less, they have less power, but is safer to have staff set to Limited as
they cannot destroy things as easily!

Officially, Platinum only works as an administrator level user which is why the warning shows.

    e.g. backups may not work unless logged in as an Admin level user.

Platinum tries to warn you and indeed tries to set itself up initially to cope with Limited user use.


I guess if you are happy with its use it is just a warning.

You need to go in as admin to run reports.

See more technical help.

C

See the example here here as this is the main cause.

Please also read some important reports basics here

If not...

QU
Printing to an A4 printer is chopping off the top and left hand side of the page.

ANS
*I strongly suspect this is not Platinum and a problem with your printer or its setup.*


We can send you an A4 test .PDF with big height and width (or use one of your word documents that is full A4 height
(our .PDF invoice we send you is a great example as its full screen, try printing that)


"
Open the .PDF file.  It should be a full A4 height and width document.

Print it.

If that doesn't print properly it is your printer settings, rather than Platinum, that are wrong and you need to adjust them from:


  Start....Control Panel....Printers.....

        Then click your right mouse button on the A4 printer and choose properties from the list.
        Somewhere here there will be a Zoom option or some width and height "cropping" settings.

        If not you can try to uninstall and re-install the printer as it is not setup properly.

        Or talk to the shop that sold you the printer or email or call their help line, it will probably be very easy to fix and they will have seen it before.

C

Please read some important reports basics here

If your report looks thin on screen please see here

Q
When going to print reports can I adjust the width of the page reducing it in size for printing? 
A
*you would have to check your printer, or that print-outs page properties.
Please try web searching the printer providers website for more information on setup.
 
Q
Where there are separate pages for each employee at the end of the day is there a way of putting them on one
page for printing on a half day the employee may have only done a few clients and it seems a waste of paper
to print a whole sheet of A4 with just that on and another A4 for any others the same! 

A 
*What you see on screen is what you get printed from these reports,
see if you can find another report that gathers all info together?
The Appointments....All appointments does but it depends upon WHAT facts a figures you want on there.
 
Q 
Can reports be printed off on the receipt printer?  Say if we just wanted an end of day cashing up totals.

A
You can try exporting to Adobe PDF format and then printing.(top left of report)
Printing that PDF to the receipt printer via the Windows list of printers.
(this has worked for some but depends upon printer brand)
If you right click the report choice screen or use the top left (...) button
it will also allow you to set your DEFAULT Windows printer which can be the receipt printer.
(requires proper setup but will work if Platinum already prints a receipt out.)

C

It is actually sorting them by alphabetical order, its just that you have entered the text as:

Mrs Soens
or
Miss Soens

So all it has to go on is the letter M then the letter 'I' then 'R' then 'S'

We recommend full names only in the name box.  No Mr, Mrs, etc.

There is a tick box for Male or Female on the customer profile
and you can add a warning and a note in their profile if they particularly
don't want to be called Mrs, etc.


To more usefully order the information on your screens please see here

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You can type in any data, but it may take you a long time; we can help instead.

Please note: It is a very technical job to import data yourself but can be done to avoid costs.

If you can get products lists from your supplier, up to 3 or 4 depending on how long they are.

Any data we import for you will need to be examined and we will charge you a small-and-fair amount for
our time to save you a lot of typing.

See the 'extra costs' area here.


There can be more but often the data areas are:-

Customer
    (This maybe a basic e xcel sheet)

Product names and barcodes
    (e xcel direct from suppliers, can be very large, and very complex lists, please remove what 
    you do not sell to save time all around)

Services/treatments
    (may get complex as sometimes multiple prices based on employee skill level)

Departments/Class names
    (Opening/Working Days/Hours of the above)

Employee/Student names
    (usually a student name is a generic S1 and are assigned that at the year start or this 
     needs changing each year)

NOTE:
    Usually employee names, service/treatments lists are short enough to type in yourself.
    It is the products lists importing that are the big time saver.

Also see the more technical article 'Data Importing Basics' here

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See the technical article 'Data Importing Basics' here

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If you get this user name and pass word prompt (username password)
this is a Windows or 'network issue' not a Platinum one.

Restarting the computer may get it to work immediately (the usual trick!)
 
If not please contact network support and say "My computer has lost access to one of the network shared drives"
thats the info they need to know.

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If you put/drag any icon from a program into the startup folder it will run it when the computer opens.

Click Start (bottom left flag Icon)
Programs..
Find the "Startup" item
Drag any Icon into there, any at all to start that when the computer starts.
(more specifically this is when the user you are setting it up on starts their login session)

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Backup and restore instructions for your Platinum data and setup are here.


Please Please Please make sure you have a recent backup in place before the old computer goes completely.

Preferably the whole machine (to an external hard drive)

or

make sure your USB pen drive backup has a Platinum.zip file.

Inside that Platinum.zip file a folder  \install   with a  Platinum.BAK  file inside it with todays date and time on it.(up to date)

If it is a simple repair of Windows XP (not a format or change of partitions) it should be totally fine.

Before you do anything, if able to open Windows up can you do a system restore from inside Windows?
This may fix your issue (required XP Service Pack 2 onwards, lots of info on system restore here and on the web)


Platinum is always 100% compatible with latest versions of Windows as we work pre-release with Microsoft.

What I would be very careful about is if the existing hardware you have ALL have drivers for the new Windows version.
    Receipt printer? Cash drawers? A4 printers? Sound cards, keyboards, mice, etc. May not be compatible.

Our advice:
    Use the original Windows disk to repair Windows
        (no driver issues, no compatibility issues with existing software on new Windows Version)
    Upgrade fully from windowsupdate.com
    Buy a quality external hard drive with a good backup software
        and backup the machine so you can restore it if this happens again.

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NOTE: This is purely the email that alerts go to and Contact.Me form replies,
      it is not the email address that you send eMessages to customers from.
      To change the address customers see go here.

Click the manager button and sign-in with the password.
Click Easy/More setup button on main menu.
Hover your mouse over the top left gel-button (...)

Go into easy setup...manager....set manager email   (and mobile if needed)

Technical Note: Always use easy setup not directly via xconfig.

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If you need one for customer; one for your records see here.

You can re-pay for an appointment *on the same day* to produce a receipt.

If it is not on the same day you need to produce an invoice.

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You can product duplicate receipts at each printing; it is an option from the Easy Setup.

BUT it is not on request - once switched on it prints it whether or not the main customer receipt is printed or not.

It is a receipt that is always printed for storing in the till.  Regardless of card, cheque or cash it gets printed anyway.

You can however pay for an appointment twice without it effecting your financial report.

You can re-pay for an appointment as many times as you like but it will not show as multiple takings.

From appointment details screen you can only manually print an appointment reminder or create a professional invoice.

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Please see here for a basic overview.

Then use the report called:
    Customers...New Registrations.

Set the date range e.g. This year

Run the report and check the list before sending email or mobile text messages.

You may also like to see the report:
    Customers...100 Most Valued Customers.

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eMessaging allows you to choose groups of customers and send a "message" to them.

There are electronic methods; like email and mobile SMS-texts but also postal methods.

At any stage, if you see a list of customer names, you can use all methods to contact them,
providing you have all of their contact details.


If it is your first year of trading run the postal address label report using Sticky Labels.


A more advanced and selective method is using eMessaging to Mail Merge Letters.

Finally, a not so easy method is the re-printing technique.

Tip:

There are third party companies that will handle posting letters out given an excel spreadsheet of names and addresses
you can also export these lists by using the top left "Export" button on any report screen.

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If you have changed it at all it is very easy to change back/fix.

These are the tags you need in your reminder template.

[NAME]
[APPOINTMENT] 
[EMPLOYEE]

They are all optional I believe.

We can email the original unchanged reminder.html

This is its location:

c:\program files\Alphatask\Platinum

There are several .html files in this location by the way, different templates.



SMS Text reminder - Standard template:

Reminder:Hi [NAME].Your appointment is on [APPOINTMENT]. With [EMPLOYEE].YourName YourNumber

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Platinum is fully compatible with all EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) equipment
 - cash drawers, receipt printers, barcode hand scanners, webcams 
 and pole display/customer facing displays (for due amount, etc)

We can price these up from your local supplier along with estimated delivery times.

We always advise you to talk to your bank about a card processing machine 
what they recommend, etc as this covers you legally or any fraud issues 
it would also be faster if tight time scales to get it from the bank.

If you do want a physical machine that Platinum talks to they are very expensive
it is cheaper to type the value in to the machine itself.

We do also have a couple of Internet based credit card processing capabilities, e.g. WorldPay

In terms of the receipt printer and card printer sharing,
usually a credit card machine has its own mini-printer inside.

If the credit card machine has a Serial, Parallel or USB printer attachment 
then i'm sure it is possible therefore to attach a printer to save money.

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You need to talk to us immediately please!

There is a special backup done before you go live to help with this situation:

see c:\install\OldBackups\platinum-pre-golive.bak

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See also admin users and Platinum article here.

(old XP tends to do this)
no other user in control panel...users 

restart the computer
you needs to go to safe mode first F8 on bootup of windows.

choose safe mode and then see control panel..users

setup another admin user if needed from there.

for security the administrator user is hidden but usually has a blank password 
if you are in safe mode.

NOTE:safe mode will be slow to open and slow to use.

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Reports:

	Appointments… By Visit Type (Takings)
                Or
                  Visit Type Count
                Or
                  Visit Type Count by employee

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If you move providers sometimes you can ask them to keep the user name and password the same and 
just change the "SMTP Server" name.(see below it is in the same area as SMTP-password)


If a password changes Platinum must be told via the options below, if you do not have these options see here

 via Easy Setup:
 
    SMTP-Emails:

        eMessages...Outgoing email details (Smtp Details)...Set SMTP Password

    SMS-Text:
    
        eMessages...Outgoing Mobile Text details (SMS Details)....Set Password

or via XConfig:(older versions)

 SMS-Text Messages:

    SMSP

 SMTP-Email:

    SmtpPwd

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Our advice on eMarketing is to only do one a month maximum or they will get numb to it.

Here is what Platinum does to try to protect you from them thinking its
spam/junk/bulk mail and try to get it in the in-boxes of your targets.

1. Mainly it puts their name on the email subject line, if your name is there,
   even if it goes into the junk folder your very likely to read it.
2. Advanced techniques to fool the spam filter engines:

    a) Platinum sends one email at a time, not a big CC or BCC list which makes it look legitimate.
    b) A different persons name per email and a different date time stamp per email makes them look unique
    c) Intelligent email footer makes it look like THEY emailed
       you first and you are simply replying to them:


        [MAIN MESSAGE BODY] then Platinum adds...

        ----Original Message-----
        From: [YOUR_EMAIL_ADDRESS]
        To: [THEIR_EMAIL_ADDRESS]
        Sent: [A DATE AND TIME ONE_HOUR_EARLIER]
        Subject: [THEIR_NAME] - [A SUBJECT]

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The reminders are completely automatic, the easiest way is to ask customers if they got a reminder!
 
You never have to go to the manual reminder button on the main menu to send them,
it really is hands-off automatic.

To Check:
When you are in the main menu in Platinum, when you look top left in the title bar
it says something like "Platinum - Reminders 1 day ahead 11hrs" - that means you have it switched on properly.

Verifying the reminders went out:
Open the manual reminders from the main menu,
if the list is empty the reminders have gone out for the day already.

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See the example here

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*BACKUP BEFORE RUNNING SO YOU CAN GO BACK IF A MISTAKE IS MADE*

Sign in as Manager.
Main Menu
  via Easy/More Setup
    e-Business
        *Only when Asked*
            Initial Setup
                Change Data...
then...
"Update All Sell-To-Customer Prices By X Amount
 (e.g. 5 is 5% increase on all products and services/treatments)"

*DO NOT PUT THE % IN JUST THE NUMBER BY ITSELF*

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Please read some basics on product sales here.


More advanced...

The ability exists for products to be stored to e.g. Department3 for separate reporting of those figures from
other departments.

This is a very simple feature and does not allow editing once set. You must delete the product as if it
was a Quick product Sales if you make a mistake, it will be assigned to the customers name.

XConfig:

ProductsStoredToDepartmentId

Set to 3

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If you do not have the password for the account.

You can probably click the password reminder options giving it the email address that it sends the email out to.

C

Do a Windows search for the files name that you have lost.
(click bottom left on the Windows circle/orb symbol (start search).
When this opens you need to tellit to search the whole computers hard drive storage disk.

Click advanced search (on top right->)

then 'Location: "Local hard drives"'
    from the drop down list that is top middle

and finally tick the box on the left to search all files.

then clck 'Search' again to submit the altered search options.

Wait....and see if your file appears.


As a last resort try undeleting a file here

C

Try finding a file first here


Deleted a file?

Did you save a blank file over it? if so it maybe gone completely.

But if its just missing for some really odd reason you can recover it providing
there has not been a lot of data written to the disk in the mean time.

Always recover to a new drive or disk like a USB pen drive so the original
disk is as untouched as possible.

If you have deleted a file accidentally there is a great utility available
from piriform on recuva.com but only get it form that website no others.
(NEVER google for it due to v iruses)

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***
* Warning: This will send your schedule to your chosen staff member, please make sure you trust them.
***

Easy Setup...
    Privacy...

        Send Employee Appointment Schedule on Email (needs email in employee record)


Then simply add their email address to their staff record.

XConfig: SendEmployeeScheduleEmail


Troubleshooting:

If you are a larger organisation make sure the user/machine has access to c:\MyAppointments.PDF


For a much more flexible but technical solution please see here.

C

If you have not yet downloaded the free trial please see here.

We need to take a look to help you Please connect us up to help:

Please run this link; option C). for us to help:




More Technical?

See here.

C

We recommend you use an A4 printer for the reports but you can print to the receipt printer.

An A4 printer is better because you/your accountant can more cleary read them.

Canon printers are very good and refill at a cartridge world or similar refill-shop to save money.
If you buy a cheap printer they will get you on the expensive ink!

On the reports choice screen look top left
Hover your mouse over the (...) gel-button
Choose "print to....receipt printer"

*Don't forget to set it back to your A4 printer*

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Sign in as Manager
on the main menu click the Employee button.

Find the person and scroll to the far right with the bottom scroll bar.

You can:

 a) delete them or 
 b) just hide them from the daybook if they will still get paid commission
    on Quick Product sales.

a)
Next to their name tick the 'delete' box that is far right -->

b)
Check that the employee record has 'show on daybook' column set to N to hide them.
(or Y to show them again)


More important information on deleting an employee is here



Hiding Departments now they have no employees in?

Use the 15 minute Roster utility tick or zero the boxes to remove
the department name from the drop down for each day.

C

QU

An employee is leaving (and may not be coming back).
How do I mark them out after this day?
I need to know now so bookings do not get made after their leaving date.

ANS

Firstly let all staff know not to book them in as leaving if appropriate,
maybe with a date on the screen on a sticky note.

To stop accidental bookings, I would roster them off EACH FULL DAY from the next day after their leave
and once they have actually left, then remove them from the daybook completely.

(Note: I do not mean create a blue lunch/Off I mean use the roster feature to remove them from the daybook)


Firstly:

To roster/schedule them off from a set date see here.

then once gone:

To completely remove or hide an employee from the daybook see here.

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In fairness you should buy it from the supplier of your hardware
but if this is not possible this is our preferred supplier here!

C

You should contact us Asap to prevent you from losing any data we have a computer fix service.



Protect yourself from your staff!
Even with anti-virus software on your computer if your staff open attachments and browse the web
and install software they can easily accidentally let viruses take control of your computer.
They must be told that it is not their computer and that they are not allowed to open email attachments
and especially not install software from the Internet.  In short they must not say yes to anything.



    


.
Be aware that a virus can popup security warnings making it look
like it is a real message, but in fact it is just the fake/con trying
to get you to go to a website to pay them.



Please note that not all rootkit detections are a threat.  Other security software can cause it
but msinfo32 can tell you what's installed.


See our 'Internet Safety' Tips here
and
for more advanced steps see here.

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A restart of the computer is a classic
or
plugging it into another USB port/slot on the front or back of the computer.
(that usual re-senses that it is there.)

Are your batteries dead if it is a wireless keyboard?

Swap it for another that you know works.

Sorry other than that if you have swapped it out its a bit mysterious
you may have to talk to original computer supplier unfortunately.

Or put in the original Windows install disk and perform a repair,
its easier than you think.

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When entering customer data anything personal about them should go in the customer profile notes (at the bottom)

For history; anything appointment specific should go in the:
    Details, Results, Comments boxes - but only specific to that appointment

You can then do a customer lookup and click each date to see the history for each appointment.

You should not move or re-copy each appointments history to the new appointment or you
you then lose the easy-view-history based on date feature.
    
Also see Services/Treatments History report here

C

If you click your right mouse button on a good number of screens there is the full history "by-date" report

    eBusiness..."Services/Treatments History"

C

For a log of all messages going out see here.


This is useful if they say they did not get an appointment reminder when you charge for cancellations.

Customer profile top left (...) hover button
    Xtras.. Contact.. Last Message Sent

(Ask us about an update; but currently this only works for SMS text messages.)

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In short; You will be asked to REPEAT book when you RE-Book as standard.

When you rebook a customer you are then asked to rebook a number of times.

This is exactly the same as booking multiple regular away times,
like lunches, etc. see here.

You can also do this from any appointment.
Open the appointment.
Hold down the SHIFT /\ key on the computer keyboard.
Click the 'MOVE THIS' button (below it should say SHIFT click to copy)
Follow the instructions if you want to repeat them for the same customer each week.

You can also use SHIFT drag on the daybook to copy appointments, and you get the same
repeat copy question again.


Repeat bookings by a specific date here

C

QU

When a client rebooks, if they choose a specific date, like the day before a wedding,
rather than using the set rebook buttons (1 to 8).

Can I go to the specific date requested?


ANS 

Yes you can do repeat bookings by date, you have two ways of doing this.


1.
Use the calendar by clicking the date in the top left hand corner,
you can move to exactly the correct date requested and the appointment will be copied.

2.
If it is a rough date the customer wants?
Estimate the number of weeks away that the particular date the client has requested falls in.
Click on the number of weeks to jump ahead quickly and then move through the days and weeks
to find a date they are happy with.

3.
Specific Date?
Skip the re-booking from the day book, 
click the date in the top left hand corner and double click on the date that you want. 
This will take the daybook to that date and you can book the appointment in as new.
 
M

QU
We are looking at receipts and need to resolve them back to the customers booking?

ANS
If you have the End Of Day Till Total report open,
you can click on 'More detail' button.
This will show you all the payments for that day (or any other timescale)

Far easier is to run the report in Financial Diagnostics(tracing):-

Payments
or
Payment Inconsistency

Also see how to Drill Down to see more details.

M

The currency sign is picked up from Windows for the reports.

So it is locale/region that is set wrongly.

See how to set it here

C

On the main menu hover over the (...) top left

    Price Lists...

You can zoom-the-view or print from here as it is the standard report viewer page.

C

QU

Is it also possible to lengthen the text messages character allowance in e-messaging?
When sending promotional texts to clients its very difficult to fit the entire message in!

ANS

Talk to the text message company 'first' to extend the number of characters
there will probably be a charge.
(If you use IceTrak; Talk to them firstly THEN see this special program to make things easier)

Open xconfig here

Type in the long bottom box or scroll/Search for and change the tag:

SMSLength

Our preferred suppliers default is normally 130

Always restart Platinum after any configuration changes.
 
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If you are new to our family,
and Platinum is asking for a license key (not pinlocked) see here.

or 
    
you are currently using Platinum,
and it says 'Pin Locked', this means your annual license/free trial is over please see below.

C

If you have just paid you will need an updated license please talk to us.


Step 1.
    Please try clicking the @ button
    it is bottom right of the first sign-in screen.


Step 2.
    Check your in-box for an email from us to see why you are expired,
    or to see steps to help you more easily renew a license.

Please check your junk/trash/bulk/spam folders also for that email.



If nothing above works; please connect us up to help you:

    Open and click option B) here.

Then contact us on the *emergency contact details* here.


More info...

Our license engine should give you a license if your payments are ok
or you have already fully bought a perennial license.

If you click the @ button that is bottom right of the first sign-in screen
it will issue you another license code.

If not you will have to connect us up on the above link to investigate why.

At all times your attempts to get a license will trigger an alert our side
and we will investigate if it has expired.

If we have setup the permanent remote control on your machine we SHOULD be able to get on
however this is not always the case so if it is more urgent click the above link.

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QU

If I have a new staff member starting and I only want her in the system on certain days,
how do I put her column in for say only 2 days per month.
I went onto "Roster" but I have to double click the days they don't work.
Is there a shorter faster way of doing this?

ANS

From the Main Menu

    More Advanced Setup..

        hover your mouse over the top left (...) blue gel-button

            "I want to roster employees who are off the same days each week"
            


(If you do not have the above please use the normal rostering as below)

Open the roster calendar screen
you will be using your mouse to drag-drop
click and hold down the left button
drag over/select ALL days for the month

Now click the button at the bottom of the screen to mark them all OFF.

Then double left click to unselect JUST the 2 days in the month
that the person does not work.

C

QU

Someone has brought a product back and is changing it for something else
how do I put that through the system?
 
The best way is via a refund and then a new purchase.

The refund will add the stock number back to take care of that.

Then just sell them the new product as always.

Alternatively, Credit Notes, etc are up to you really, but you can always make anote on
their record in tehir profile or even mark them with a warning.

C

You need to create a New service/Treatment from the main menu
but you have probably not scrolled to the far right to set its department,
then it will only show on that specific departments services/Treatments list.

This is designed to help receptionists with these rules and it can get very complex
so ask us about the possibilities.

Also read about self learning appointment durations here.

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If you open some reports (mostly financial) and double *left* click any date or names
you will 'drill down' into the transactions that day,
this allows you to see which customer, the payment type and also the amount paid.

Other reports may give Customers names and contact details if you double click
the items to get more detailed information.

C

See here.

A)

RIGHT MOUSE ON DAYBOOK mode

use the RIGHT MOUSE on daybook... Quick Product Sale.
(recommended)

OR

B)

Do a 'fake' appointment on the daybook, for Quick Product Sale or another common
customer name, one per Quick Product Sale. 




If it is very important you should disable the main menu Quick Product Sale
option for now and use this method A).


Easy Setup...

    Appointment\Sales process...
        Quick Product Sale...

                    Multi Departments...

                        "I want financial separation- I only want to do QPSales from right mouse on daybook (if so set to N)"

OR if more technical:

    xconfig: QuickProductSaleMainMenuEnabled         to    N
    there is also a:  QuickProductSaleMainMenuDisabledMessage

    which is currently set to:

    This option is disabled from the Main Menu.^Please open the daybook and choose your department first.^^

    Then RIGHT mouse click on the daybook,^finally select Xtras...Quick Product Sale to assign it to the correct department.




If you find Quick Product Sale convenient from the Main Menu and most are sold to one department
just make sure staff only use main menu Quick Product Sale for your main departments
sales, then option B) for hte rest.
(BTW you can change to department X if your first department is not ID number 1.
 The department clone utility shows ID's in the (brackets) next to the name in the dropdown)


As a BTW, option A) was created years ago, before the knowledge base text, and neer used since
which is why your questions on it have not been answered (and why we did not instantly know the answer)
Appologies for that.


I will keep you updated on progress if you can please bear with us
if all from the Main Menu it will be perfect/simpler to train staff?

C

See here.

For basic backup instructions see here.


If you backup each night, on the USB backup memory stick is a file called
MyAppointments.pdf (Adobe Reader/PDF format document)

This can be used as a quick reference sheet on say a laptop to contact customers
or just to see what the customers are having done on the day.

It holds a full months worth of appointments so even a less frequent backup will help.

You can also buy a UPS - Uninterruptible power source which would give you a few minutes
of battery backup to your mains power for short power breaks.

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Please see report:

    Financial... Gross Takings By Employee With Average Spend

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We are all in one big family; we are a co-operative organisation.

When one person asks for a new feature everyone may pickup
that feature in future.

If you upgrade you then get all new features.

We add your feature request to your Wish List and we tell you 
when it is finished, but it could take a while to complete.

If others ask for the same feature it gets a higher priority
and you may get it sooner.

To guarantee and get the feature far sooner you can pay for
the service instead of waiting for it and we will write it ASAP.

C

You simply put the FULL email address in the NAME box of the customer lookup screen.

C

Yes, you can edit the receipt text at any time.

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If you like your marketing message, both SMS-Text and email you can always save
or remove them by using the top left (...) gel-button

You can also keyword search here if the list is long.

If you require more advanced .HTML web page style marketing to be sent please see here.

C

See the Demo Movie here.

You can re-assign any appointment/sale from one customer to another customer.
    On the daybook click the appointment,
or
    Search via the Customer Lookup button on main menu.
    Choose the date from the list and click the history button to open the appointment.
Choose a date, hit history. (..) top left)

Use the top left (...) button 'on appointment details' screen.

    UNLOCK : Change customer name

Lookup the new customer as normal using the top boxes.

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Simple example:

    Price before tax (NET) = 10

    to add the tax at 17.5% multiply by 1.175

    GIVING 11.75

    TO remove it you can just divide 11.75 by 1.175
    (thats the price 'including' tax divided by 1.175)


BUT to find the actual tax amount we have to be careful:

    We cannot use the final grand total to calculate 17.5% of,
    because the total includes the tax already(gross price).

    We want to know what the amount was before tax was added first.

    Instead multiply gross total by 100 and divide by 117.5
                (if 17.5% tax was added in the first place)

    so do (11.75 * 100) / 117.5

=======

[more complex from google]

RULE:- To find the amount of a bill before VAT at 17.5% was added,
multiply the amount including VAT by 100 and divide the result by 117.5.


People have found difficulty here when they needed to work backwards from a bill
whose total includes VAT (value added tax) at 17.5% to find out what the bill would have been before the VAT was added. 
The easiest way to explain how this is done is to take an actual example. 
Suppose that a bill which includes VAT comes to £1602.70. We want to know what the amount was before VAT was added. 


DANGER!   You can't work out this answer by finding 17.5% of £1602.70 and then taking it off.
The reason for this is that the 17.5% is of the original amount of the bill and not the final £1602.70.

We'll save writing by calling the amount before VAT was added 'Pre'. 
Then, working in £, we know that 

 'Pre' + 17.5% of 'Pre' = 1602.70

so we know:

 'Pre' + (17.5) 'Pre' = 1602.70
     -----
      100 

so:

 (117.5) 'Pre' = 1602.70
  ----
  100

so:

 'Pre' = 100 x 1602.70 = 1364
     -------------
          117.5

The total of the bill before VAT was added was £1364. 

We can make a general rule for this if we let 'T' stand for the total of the bill including VAT at 17.5%. 
We want to find 'Pre', the amount of the bill before VAT was added. 
Using the same argument as above, we get 

'Pre' = 100 x 'T'
    -------
     117.5

C

QU

We are having problem when reading our reports on our USB backup pen drive or sent via email.
It seems to have stored into .rpt file and non of our computer systems are able to open it.

ANS

You should save as Adobe .PDF instead as a lot of computers will open this.
If not you can click and get the machine to search the Internet and install the viewer.


Helpful direct link to a fast PDF viewer here.


A .rpt is crystal reports file and you need to pay for that program.

C

QU
I am writing a note when they confirm is there an easier way?

ANS
On the daybook.
If you click your right mouse button.
Choose "This customer has confirmed".
When you want to know if it is confirmed you can see at a glance
as there will be a # next to their name.

C

IMPORTANT:

You should get a professional to backup your personal files.
Preferably the entire machines data.

You need to get us to help you so you do not lose any data.
   


C

Have you recently changed something in easy setup?

Please undo it, as a tip we suggest.

Main Menu...More Setup..Easy setup...
    Manage...Products...

            Show products with a stock level above (set it to -1)

        and also try

            Out of stock alert threshold (set it to -1)

C

There is no direct history of the previous prices of products
but you can simply look at the report:

    Sales Products...Product sales details
    
Choose a start and end date range BEFORE you changed the price/s.

You will see the product name and the price it was sold at.

Be aware it could be discounted; so check two or more to be sure!

C

Please see the basics of taking a photograph here.

Webcam images just take up raw hard drive space and are generally 'compressed' down to be as small as possible.

C

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox

Firefox is just a browser like Internet Explorer. 
One important difference is it downloads files without running them,
you need to look bottom left to say yes to download a file.

If installed it generally takes over from Internet explorer. 
BUT Platinum can still open it like it does for Internet explorer
for the help page from the help me button on the main menu, 
contact me will all work the same.

Firefox used to be called netscape(I think; also can be called Mozilla Firefox).

It is more strict on security and so people use it.
It is also shipped with a lot of 3rd party software.

NOTE:
when downloading a file (e.g. new license)
you will see a list of files.
click open or run on the top one which may be called help.zip(runMe .exe).

Important:
If you have to download a file with firefox browser make sure to remove it from the desktop,
especially a .exe or you may run it in future accidentally.
(e.g., putting back your license and expiring it with an old one!)
My strong advise is not to use firefox,
instead "if you see no Internet Explorer icon" click Start
(or bottom left Orb in Windows newer than XP)
click "run"
type: iexplore
press the enter key on the computer keyboard

This will run Internet explorer in most cases.
It does amaze me that firefox leaves a persons desktop so messy but it does create a barrier
to stop them running things without warning.
If you have no other option, you should cut/paste,
not copy any downloaded files from the desktop to clean it up)

C

To help you; on the computer is a PDF file document called:
c:\MyAppointments.pdf

which has your months appointment list report in it to help after a failure.


Question:

a) Has your computer completely stopped, will it not even start up?
or
b) is it only the license that has expired?
or
c) Your only other alternative is to take the computer home and connect to the Internet.


a)  If your computer does not even start or switch on(black screen)
    you need to contact the computer supplier.
    (before you do make sure your USB pen drive is out of the computer and try to switch on/off again)

    If not a license/pinlock try restarting the computer this often fixes minor issues,
    especially if it has been on for a long time.

b)  License/pinlock?

We will send some links to help with that, 
please check your junk/spam/trash/bulk folder in your mail for that link.

C

QU

We only have one special piece of equipment as it is expensive or not often used.

If we have a few treatment rooms but only one of them contains this machine,
is there the ability to limit the usage of the equipment so we cannot double book it? (facility management)

ANS

If the equipment 'cannot' be moved; you can use room numbers which will help:

see here.
and here.


If the equipment 'can' be moved from room to room an extra column on
the daybook headed with the "Equipments Name" will allow everyone to see when it is booked out.

You will flag the appointment with a room number as in the above link.

Staff and rooms/equipment can further be broken down into departments
e.g. Hair, beauty, treatments, massage, sunbed, etc

C

QU

Some staff are junior or are not able to carry out all the treatments,
is it possible to set up staff with limitations to the treatments they do?

ANS

There are a few ways ranging from simple to more flexible/advanced as below.

Staff can be given a skill level.

The simplest way is to not give a price to the treatment\service they are unable to do
at that still level.(a price-skill matrix)

You then get a warning during the booking process so staff know that employee cannot
do that treatment/service even if a new employee or new receptionist is using the computer.

See skill to price levels here.

See a more advanced method called "Employee Service Matrix" here.

C

Any option on the blue gel-button is also on the right mouse button,
its just a nice convenience. (hovering drops down instead of clicking)

So if you click your right mouse button in an empty space you get the 
same drop down menu as the gel-button will give you.

C

If you are using remote access from home does it show as offline?
You need to have the computer on and the Internet on at the business
to get on from home.
Perhaps someone has switched the computer off?

You can switch the computer off remotely when you finish to save power.

C

The Basics...

Some courses of treatments or services may be expensive.

If you offer split-payment terms while a customer uses their course;
warnings can be setup so you do not forget to take ALL the money for
the complete Course.


When the customer starts a Course they still get the full course credits
on their profile as if they paid for the lot in one go e.g., 6.

BUT.. you set up a "Block At" level to help .


What is a "Block At" level?

It is a number setup for your Customers Course and when your customer 
uses up their you will get a warning that they must pay again.






I made a mistake how do I change a customers course "Block at" level?

In their profile
    Courses...Change this customers courses...
        Xtras...
            "Change 'Block At' Level...(Payment Warning)"

Pick the Treatment/Service of the customers Course.

Set the new "Block At" level.





Setup steps...


Switching the "Block At" mode on.

  Main Menu...more setup..  
    Easy setup(top left  <--  gel-button)
        Manage...Courses
    then:
    "Set the Standard Block At Level For A Split Payment Course"

e.g. set it to 3 if your customers pay in 1/3's so that when staff
     go to add, open or "pay" via course button it will warn you they
     need to pay more.


In this area you can also set the standard number of "course credits"
that a customer gets on their profile when they start on a course.
This is the same whether they pay for it up-front completely or
they pay for is in a split-payment style.

    "Set the Standard Number Of Sessions For A Course"

e.g. *IF* you are using the "Block At" mode above you would set this to 6

This is used when calculating how much to charge the customer

'Full course price' divided between the 'Total number of Sessions for the course'
e.g.

120 total due / 6 sessions = 20 each session, then using 2 at a time = 40

So the Customer pays 3 lots of 40 (120) for their course of 6.

C

Employee Service Matrix.

Easy Setup...
    Manage..Employee...
        "Employee Service Matrix (Advanced:set only the services/treatments each employee can do)"

Set the employee name at the top.
Click each service/treatment that they CAN do.
Click Next-> to save.
Your daybook services/treatments list will only show what you selected to prevent mistakes.

Also see Staff Skill and Price limitation features here.

C

If you are scrolling and searching this is a very slow way to sell please see here.

Easy setup..
    Manage...Products..
        "Set the Scroll Bar size"

Increase the number, to make it bigger, to show more items in the list.

C

You firstly need to add to a list of conditions if the standard ones are not enough.

Then from the customers profile screen.

 Hover top left (...)

    Xtras...Medical..."Add Customer Medical Conditions"

Select any from the top list to add
or
click the already assigned items to remove them from the bottom list.

When you open an appointment you will get a warning about a medical condition.

C

If you have a webcam, or video camera, you can take a Photograph.


There are two areas for photographs.


. Customer profile Photograph 

it will be placed on the second page of the clients profile..

To see this:

Do a customer lookup (from Main Menu or click an empty daybook cell)
Click the 'Customer Profile' button
Click 'More Details' middle right of the customer profile screen

Click 'Take a Photograph'.





. Appointment Photograph

If you open any appointment and click your RIGHT mouse button in any blank space.
From that area you can Add, Open or Remove a Photograph.

To compare Photographs:

    Do a customer lookup from the Main Menu.
    On the left will be their visit dates; click one.
    On the bottom right will be a History button.
    You can open their historic appointment and Open multiple photos.




. Signatures

There is an Authorised screen – this can be used as it flags the appointment as being authorised and a date and time.

If you do need the electronic signature you would need to buy a tablet PC to capture the 
signature (1000 pounds from Compaq is a good one)

But most keep this signature on paper. 

C

Please see here.

C

If the appointment is with the same exact customer on the database, the later appointment is ignored from the reminders process.

It is possible that the customer in question is duplicated on the database.(two with exact same name)
In that case they would get two reminders because to the computer it is two different clients with appointments.
(but to us of course the name and contact details look the same.
 Add a note in the profile to see if it is the same client.)

C

Are there times down the left hand side of the daybook on the blank day?
	If so the opening hours setup is correctly done.
Are there no employee names along the top of the daybook?
	If no names they are all rostered off.
Are all employees ticked, as off each day each week in the roster area?
Are any missing employee names rostered off on the calendar?


If you have made no recent changes:

    Try closing and reopening the daybook
    then
    Close / Open Platinum to do the backup/end of day close.
    then
    Restart the whole computer (switch off and on again)
    if it has been on for many days.


If you have recently added a department you need to setup the opening hours for each day
see here.

Do you have Employee names for the new department?

C

When you add/remove cash only do it when you are on Daybook 1 (Department 1)

If you do it on any other e.g. Department 2. and have no other sales for that
department 2 the sundry item will not appear.

C

(NOTE: These steps apply to any web mail you can receive in your inbox created in any Web Email creation Website)

Initially, please test a basic version to yourself as a proof of concept as always.


You were asking about comparible features to websites that send emails to a bulk email list.
We have looked and can confirm that you can design and export Web Emails
and import them into Platinum for sending out en-mass to your customers.


Steps:

Design and send the email to yourself.
    (maybe from a template, the simpler the better, no images or with just one image, see below for sites)

Open/Preview the email and if it looks ok:

    On the browser/sent email body; click your right mouse button.

    Do a "View Source" option (or View 'Page' Source)
        (if not seen on the menus use top right / cog-wheel icon or Press ALT key to see the File Menu options
         or top menus...the 'View' menu...Page Source)

    Pictures must be fully qualified http:// ... .jpg  the full thing must be able to be pasted into a browser and shows.

If so this "Raw HTML" (web email language) can be used to import into Platinum for sending out very easily.

Now save it as [YourName].html somewhere for safe keeping/sending later,
maybe in a folder called 'Marketing' under your 'My Documents'.

Next import it easily into Platinums eMessaging area, see here.

Sites:
 
    www.MailChimp.com
        There is a video on there as an introduction.


C

If a link is not 'clickable' (highlighted) when you read it in your email client:

Start at the http: to the left  < - - .
    (Position your mouse pointer at the first letter 'h').
Hold down your LEFT  < - -  mouse button.
Keeping it down; drag to the right  - - >  hand side to highlight the text of the web page.

In the middle of that highlighted text click your Right  - - >  mouse button.
Choose copy from the popup menu.
(if the highlight vanishes you did not click your RIGHT  - - >  mouse button in the middle of the highlighted text)


Next...

Go to your internet browser and in the address bar at the top:

Click your right  - - >  mouse button.
Choose paste.

Press enter to submit the web page.


For this to work you need to copy from the left  < - -  side http:/    right to the     .html
The WHOLE thing in your browsers address bar.

The whole entire link.
It may appear split over different lines on your email client,
if so remove all spaces and make it one line please.

C

Please see here.

C

Most online websites use sessions not URL based tracking so:
http://www.Website.com/ShoppingCart.asp
would never show a person what you saw at the time as
it has no specifics about e.g., product id 

if it was URL based:
http://www.Website.com/Products.aspx?id=17263f
you may have a chance.

Either way the best way is to run it in a new browser window to test it.

C

The file is called Platinum.zip 

If you go and log in via skydrive.com 
use your normal email and a password we will have setup for you(changable anytime)
you can click the folders and see that file.

Check the date is today (or recently).

You can then download it like any other file and see if it opens.
You will see Install and program files folders (thats data and setup/configuration respectively)
If it does open its 99.9% likely to be ok as a backup.

but...
Personally I would still do a weekly backup to a local pen drive,
so you know 100% it is definitely done, but thats just the way I am!

C

If the steps below do not help and you need to move to a new computer see here.


If your computer has broken you will need to talk to the supplier of that computer.

We cover Platinum Software Support only.

If your computer does not turn on when you press the button on it.
(you do not see the screen light up and then Windows load, and you can log in)

You need to talk to your computer supplier as this is a computer/operating system issue.

---

If you *can* login to Windows and you see your desktop/icons
and if you can see the "Start Platinum" icon.

Run Platinum, if at this stage you have problems we *can* help you.


Here are a few common issues:

.Pinlocked/License expired? See here.

.Database not running? Try restarting the whole computer, if not see here.

.MSI file needed? (this is more serious and you need to contact us.) if technical see here.


Want a repair? See here.

C

To prevent any of your data being lost you should get us to help you Asap.

.
If it will not turn on at all, or Windows does not load up, you need to talk to the computer supplier, please see here.


.
If you can load up and login...(or the system seems slow) we need to help you.

    
 You must always still do a Virus Check! (we do if we help you)

C

Options...

1. Anti virus blocking exe being run.
    This is highly likely as it works elsewhere
    and is a new file (<24hrs) which is virus like for organic viruses.

2. download is of a corrupt .zip file (less likely, as if actually opens but possible)
     Download on another machine and copy across netwrork, etc.
    Execute locally not over a network shared drive = less access rights/full trust locally.

3. (longer shot)minimum framework maybe  v2 SP2 

If so here is a link that you must update machine to firstly:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=1639

e.g., xp would be filename: NetFx20SP2_x86.exe

C

Please see the latest advice here.

This is the same as getting a second license or a home license, please see the options here.

C

xconfig:
ManualReminderDaysDefault 1
AutoReminders N

C

We just found a disk error that means your disk is failing at ‘some stage’ in the future.
We have no idea how long it has been damaged like this.

Check disk gives:
Error:
156288320 KB total disk space.
4 KB in bad sectors.

We have taken a backup of platinum here and on your backup drive, purely as a favour.(if plugged in)
Please do your normal Platinum backup asap.

**
Please send any personal and business files that are crucial to yourself asap via email or
please backup all personal files immediately to another computer/online store.
**

You need to “Ghost” the hard drive to a new one.
You will find a local shop that can help with this,
or you can read how to do it yourself online.

If you find that this work is expensive
it may be better to buy a new computer and flat screen.

We do not advise you to get an all in one system (screen and computer in same box)
because if one part goes wrong the whole thing has to go to the shop.

If you get a new computer please keep the old one for a while so you know you have all files.
Unfortunately we cannot help move personal files, we can only help with Platinum related data restores.

C

It shouldn't sense the printer if it doesnt exists. maybe uninstall it?

(Unsure on your plan you see)

If you intend to still use it just rename it to remove the word receipt 
then platinum thinks its an A4 normal printer and ignores it.

C

It sounds like you have correctly set the new end time already.

I think it sounds ok what you have done.

Your last slot would be a :45.
e.g. 7:45

If you do need slots from 8 onwards
I would suggest a closing time of 8:30 or even 9pm.

Please also see the Rostering basics here.

C

Please see the basics here.

C

A manager needs to set a secret password for each area via the easy setup area.

Please see the basics here.

C

If you have not YET ever setup eMail with Platinum please see here.


We can do all this for you; but there is a charge for the work (link below).

You first need to re-set your SMTP settings

You need to ask your internet provider for SMTP Gateway
The username and password for the providers account.

NB: This must not be a webmail (ie Yahoo, Hotmail) and the account must be set up and active even if you do not use it..


To test the new settings you need to go to;

Easy set Up…..Emessaging…..Advanced/SetUp… SMTP Set Up Utility

Fill in all the fields

Use an email address of your own for the TO field so you can make sure the test is ok.

Send a Test

If all OK, save settings.. NB This will override your current settings with the old provider.

You must restart Platinum for the change to take affect.

We would recommend you do one further test of a test email to your own email address to check all working and all contact details are as you need.

You can now send emails out.



*If* your contact details have changed then you need to amend all the HTML pages within Platinum.

Easy and fast way:




If that does not work for your setup:

There is a Bulk Change Utility to help with this here.



It will download and you need to double click help.zip(runMe .exe)


You need to add the current wording into the Search Word and add the new contact details to the NewWord
NB If more than one word then you need to click the 
 before clicking the ‘Replace Them All’ button.


This will change all search words to the new words in all Platinum HTMl templates (Happy Birthday/Reminders/ Proactives etc)


Please remember if you are unsure of doing any of this yourself,
we can schedule to do the changes for you at a charge as per here.

M

In the Customer's profile...
    Right click your mouse

Choose:

    Xtra's.....Discount.....Add

Enter the % value (Numeric only) that the customer will get off their next booking.

The next time the customer comes in, the % discount is automatically deducted from their bill.

The % discount is then removed for any further bookings, so it is a one off reward.

C

EPOS

Electronic point of sale (or service) - the till basically.



Peripherals (extra hardware)

In the EPOS world, this is a receipt printer, cash drawer, barcodes scanner, security swipe card, etc.
In computing, generally, anything that is EXTRA to the computer (even the monitor screen)



HTML

The most common basic web page language.



x64 versus x86 (64 bit)

x64 is newer, and can handle more memory than an x86 system,
once x64 software is released it will run faster then x86 software.

To establish what you have click Start/Orb bottom left,
click your RIGHT mouse button on "Computer" it should say your Windows Version
and this is a good (99% correct) indication.
You can however install an x86 Windows version on x64 physical hardware and it would still work.


XP does NOW have both 32 and 64 bit versions
but initially Windows newer than XP was first home-based-Windows to introduce 64 bit versions.



Opera browser

It is a Internet web page browser and in theory nothing to do with our workings.
If any browser opens and shows .html web pages its A-ok with our help pages.




Flash-Shockwave from Adobe-macromedia  or  Silverlight from Microsoft  or  Java

The animated webpages you see all use one of the above 99.9% of the time
(any page with animation)
If Java is not working and it should be you get a jigsaw puzzle piece symbol/icon
but the others will direct you to download the latest version.



Virtual Printer - prints to the screen

e.g.
Microsoft XPS Document Writer - a virtual printer installed as standard on Word/office machines
    (in 2003 version anyhow)


See also the technical help buzzwords(link at top of page)

C

If you are UK/Northern Ireland please see the options here.
For worldwide; please email for a quote.

Please see 'extra costs' here.
    

For information on paying us please see here.

Please see here.

If you are more technical don't forget to read the Platinum 'TECHNICAL' Help