IN THIS ISSUE
- Developer Message
- AIA Architect Magazine Review
- Technical Tip: Profitability
- New Software Development
- New ArchiOffice Customers
Since our last Newsletter, we would like to welcome the following new Customers who are dedicated to improving their firms efficiency and productivity with ArchiOffice or EngineerOffice:
- Aldanmark Pty Ltd
- Allen Architects, Inc.
- Althouse, Martin & Associates
- Altius Architecture + Design
- Alvin Reinhard Fritz Architects
- AMD Architecture
- Animate
- Ankenman Marchand Architects
- Blackburne Jackson Design
- Cabot Design Ltd
- Chapman Design Group Inc.
- CHAS Architects, Inc.
- Chetcuti & Associates
- Chow:HIll
- Chris Dyson Architects
- Cox Graae Spack Architects
- Craig McMahon Architects, Inc.
- CWS Architects
- Daggett Design
- Daloh Designs
- Design Drafting
- Design iT, LLC
- Dinwiddie MacLaren Architects
- Dlee Valencia Studio, Inc.
- Ecola Architects
- Environmental Design Studio
- ePeople-c Company
- Evans Heintges
- Flannery Group
- Fluidity Design Consultants Inc
- Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture
- Fore Solutions
- Formus, Inc. Architects and Planners
- Frederick + Frederick Architects
- George R. Hlavenka Architects
- Gillon Design PC
- Gunn Meyerhoff Shay Architects
- Heidi Hornaday, Architect, P.C.
- Hurley-Franks & Associates
- Hyman Hayes Associates
- Junto Architects PA
- K2A Architecture + Interiors
- Kamm Consulting
- Lab 8 Designs
- Lloyd & Associates
- LM Consultants, Inc.
- Lou Kaufman Architecture
- Luminosity
- Marengo Morton Architects
- McBride Charles Ryan
- McKinley Dang Burkart Design Group
- Mike Anderson Engineering
- MSP Architecture, Inc.
- Munro
- Negen Architects
- Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis
- Nielsen Architects
- Obermeyer Design
- OhmComm, Inc.
- OJMR Architects, Inc.
- OKW Architects
- Pearce Design Studio, LLC
- Philip Millson Architecture Ltd.
- Pieter Vandenhout N.V.
- Protek Group Pty Ltd
- Pure Architecture
- Rardin & Carroll Architects
- Reigle & Associates Architecture
- Roger Layman Architect
- Sargent Architects
- Schweizer Waldroff Architects
- Shimotsu Architecture, Inc.
- Silva Studio, Inc.
- Stephen Herlong & Associates
- Stephen Rankin Associates PC
- Summer/Wise & Associates
- Synthesis Incorporated
- The Buckley Companies
- Thomas Croft Architect
- Tugman Architects & Designers
- UK Architects, PC
I spent the second half of 2007 traveling around the country visiting
nearly 70 firms that have been using ArchiOffice. I was able to see
first-hand how you use the software; what your business problems are
and learning how we can continue to improve ArchiOffice so it serves
you better. Even though I've been using it in my own Architectural firm
for many years, it was very enlightening to see how other firms have
been using it to meet their needs.
I
want to thank all of you who have been so generous with your time and
for sharing personal information about your business practices. It's
been tremendously helpful to us. We are now hard at work developing the
new features many of you want.
Finally,
keep using our Feature Request menu option (under the Help pull-down
menu), to tell us more about the tools you want to help you do your
work better.
Steven Burns, AIA
In November Michael Tardif, Assoc. AIA, Hon. SDA, former director of the AIA Center for Technology and Practice Management, reviewed ArchiOffice in the AIArchitect article “Tools for Practice" . His review included numerous interviews with ArchiOffice customers. I suspect many of you have seen this flattering article because on the day it was published we had an enormous spike in visitors to our website.
Employee Cost Rate and Profitability
There is this seemingly innocent field available in the User Setup area for Administrators to enter the cost rate for each employee. If you correctly calculate this field, you are able to create reports in ArchiOffice that provide a bounty of information. However, so many firms have difficulty understanding the purpose of this field, and how to figure out what the cost rate is. If you want some help, please contact me and I’ll be happy to send you the cost rate worksheet template I’ve been using for years at my old firm Burns + Beyerl Architects.
Many of you know that we never stop developing our software. And for those of you who are active on our bulletin boards and blog site understand, there are major new features that we are working on and that we plan to preview at the National AIA Convention this May 15-17 in Boston.
All our customers who are current in our Support and Maintenance program receive all updates and upgrades for free. So don't worry if you've recently purchased our software and think that you should have waited - you will be receiving the upgrade for free.
Here's our Top-Ten new features you'll find in our new version we plan on previewing at the AIA National Convention in May:
- Create your own custom reports with our Report Writer.
- Create your own custom invoice templates with our new Report Writer rather than having to use Microsoft Word or Excel Documents.
- A true calendar module within our software which allows you to drag and drop events with a roll-over feature to view detail information.
- Specify which calendars you want to view by selecting employees, projects and contacts.
- Adjustable window sizes.
- Re-arrange column order on the fly and sort any column.
- Drill-Down capability for Phases and Codes. One example of this feature is that it will allow you to create sub phases in order to budget, monitor and invoice consultants separately from your own services. As an exmpale, you can drill down inside "Contract Documents" and see "Architectural Services," "Structural Engineering," and "Civil Engineering."
- Link Job Codes (and sub-codes), to specific Project Phases. This means when employees create time cards, when they select a Phase, they will only see Job Codes that are supposed to appear for that particular phase.
- Use Checklist Tasks to build time-cards. If you like, now you can allow Tasks from your Checklists to be used to create time-cards.
- Access ArchiOffice and EngineerOffice anywhere, anytime without 3rd party software. You can even run it on your iPhone!