Commusoft Plumbing and Heating Software

Upgrading Security

2012-01-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

Many of you wont realise that under-pinning CommuSoft is an incredibly complex role based security system. This unique custom security system designed by our engineers allows us to give certain users certain privileges. You will know it from the 'role' option when adding a new user. The higher the number the greater their access.

We're about to start rolling out some changes.

We've noticed that certain roles are getting more access than maybe they should do. We've also shifted around some features giving you more information and more features. This means some features which we used to charge for, we're now giving away free!

We're going to start rolling out these changes to companies over the next few weeks. This roll-out will be automated and will happen silently overnight.

What does this mean for you?

Apart from the new features some security preferences will change, some users will see slightly less and some slightly more. This wont be drastic but is something to look out for.

Development in 2012 - What to expect

2012-01-03T03:04:00.000-08:00

As you can see from last year's amazing number of features and modules, we have worked tirelessly to improve the system. 2012 will be no different. We will be working around the clock to ensure CommuSoft continually grows.

Unlike 2011 though, where we were constantly adding new mobile devices, features, modules and improvements, in 2012 we will be concentrating on improving infrastructure. This means improving our networks, improving performance, re-writing large portions of our existing system to make it more scalable.

What improvements will I see throughout the year?

There will still be improvements throughout the year, we have a few nice changes planned. However, this year will be more about the changes you cannot see rather than major new modules or improvements.

How long will this take?

We expect the project to take between 12-18 months depending on whether we run into any major problems, although at this stage we're feeling confident.

Why are we doing this?

I'm sure you'll be thinking, why bother? Why not keep improving the system as this is what's helping to improve my business. Well, without the underlying network, without the ability to continually scale CommuSoft we're going to run into a number problems, the key one being expanding and scaling the CommuSoft system. We also want to provide better, more reliable systems which can only be achieved by making these 'under the bonnet' improvements.

These changes are incredibly important. They will under-pin the future of the CommuSoft system and help us push forward into the future. We thank you for your continued support and ask that you keep an eye on this blog for future updates. Please do not call our Support Team about development as it monopolies our phones.

What a fantastic year, here’s a round-up of what’s been achieved

2011-12-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

What a year, CommuSoft has gone from strength to strength! I thought it was important for both us internally and our customers to get the ‘big picture’ of just how much has been achieved in just 1 year. CommuSoft are an incredibly aggressive company, building new partnerships, creating new software and building our team with the sole purpose of providing the best possible software.

Mobile has been our focus

Its not a surprise that we've been strongly focused on our mobile development. In less than a year we've released:

Our iPhone app (and 7 subsequent versions!)
Our Android app (and 7 subsequent versions!)
Our Blackberry app
Our iPad app (coming soon)
A major rewrite of our Windows Mobile app

Wow, how many other software companies have released quite so many major upgrades to their mobile division... none! We've aggressively developed and released more mobile applications than any of our competitors.

Not only that, but we've pioneered credit card and debit card processing on your mobile phone, something which saves up to £33.00 per month on card processing machines.

CommuSoft: Online

Our main online application has also had a number of major improvements, 6 in total! We ended 2010 with a major rewrite, v3.5 (something which a number of you will remember). Since then we've released 6 updates to the system, that's nearly 1 every 8 weeks! What other software company can boast that?

These have included some brilliant new features:

2 weekly diary view
Cash allocation system
Credit and Debit card processing
Brand new estimate user interface
Dozens of new reports
Mini app allowing your private customers to book jobs in online
Hundreds of tweaks and changes
Boiler manual integration

This is only a small list compared to the hundreds and hundreds of tasks we completed this year alone.

Brand new customer login portal

We've already blogged about this fantastic new update to the Customer Login portal, but its important to reiterate it here. Its another major free upgrade we've made in the last 12 months!

This fantastic change has come thanks to the hard work of a number of our customers who was using the previous v1.0 system and recommending ways in which we can improve the system.

Referrals - make money from CommuSoft

We felt it was about time customers were rewarded for encouraging their friends and colleagues to use CommuSoft. We started the 'recommend a friend and get a month free campaign' late this year, and its been a big success. With a growing number of customers using CommuSoft we've been able to reinvest heavily into R&D and development of the whole system.

SAGE and Quickbooks interface

With an ever growing number of customers using CommuSoft it was evident we would need to build integrations into other systems. The first major partnerships CommuSoft made this year was with two companies Adept Ltd. and Consolibyte who provided technology to CommuSoft allowing us to build and provide interfaces into popular accounting systems.

This technology has been improving ever since and we're happy to announce that these interfaces are running smoothly making the lives of our customers easier.

Logo of CommuSoft's R&D product

R&D

CommuSoft started its R&D development program this year, this is a platform that allows for us to experiment with new technologies and new ideas. We hope to see a number of these investments pay off next year, but until then we're keeping quiet about what's been going on!

Here is a sneak peak (icon on the right) of the up and coming product which we hope to launch next year.

Free training

Lets not forget the improvements in our training program which was introduced this year. We now provide weekly training sessions, posting them up online www.commusoft.co.uk/help. These are made available free of charge to all our customers.

Security

CommuSoft integrated SSL encryption this year. This further helps protect user data and session information as well as going towards our PCI level 2 compliance.

Support and Transparency

Its been a great year for customer support, we've introduced new administrative systems that help us track and control all support calls that come in. We're able to keep customers up-to-date by email letting them know important information quickly and without confusion. This has been a great help in simplifying the CommuSoft experience and proving how dedicated we are at providing top quality support.

So what is in store next year?

That is a good question, here is something we have already announced:

28 new certificates including Gas, Oil, Electric and PAT tests

You should start seeing these in the first quarter of 2012.

Next year we will continue our development efforts, we will be working on a number of upgrades to the system, although we are unable to let you know what these entail yet. You'll find out more closer to the time.

I'll finish by thanking anyone who emailed in a suggestion, all our development team, our support staff and anyone who helped to make CommuSoft the product it is today.

Power Supply Issue

2011-12-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

Today we experienced a power interruption to one of the server racks which restricted access for a number of customers. The network engineers jumped into action almost immediately and replaced the faulty part and powered the server rack up in record time.

We apologise for the inconvenience,

Christmas Holidays

2011-12-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

Our office will be closed from noon on the 23rd December 2011 to the 4th January 2012. We would like to take this chance to wish everyone a happy holiday and a successful new year!

I would love to tell you we will be hard at work building great software for next year... but the truth is we'll be mainly eating too much and staying as far away from our computer screens as possible!

[Edit:]

We've decided to shut slightly earlier on the 21st at 5pm. We'll still be available via our support@commusoft.co.uk email in case of emergencies. Please note we will be back to work on the 4th January 2011.

Christmas Server Maintenance

2011-12-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

This message is to inform you of emergency maintenance that is being performed to the power infrastructure powering the CommuSoft Network. This work is being performed in line with our supplier’s recommendations.

This maintenance work is scheduled for between 2300 BST on the 2nd of December and 0600 BST 03rd of December. Our engineers will power down the network for no more than 240 minutes whilst the work is being carried out.

We will have system engineers monitoring the system to ensure that the change is done with the least amount of impact as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience these changes may cause you, but rest assured we are constantly monitoring and enhancing our infrastructure to provide a great level of service to all our clients.

Refer a friend and we'll give you 1 month free!

2011-11-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Got a friend or colleague who might like CommuSoft? Here's a little incentive to showing them what we're all about... introduce them to the system, give them a quick demo and if they sign up we'll give you a month free! Simple!

As part for v3.505 release on Sunday, CommuSoft are introducing the referral system.

Accessing the Referral System

Simply go to 'General' in the top navigation and click 'Referral'.

Understanding the Referrals Page

The referral system allows you to add your friends/colleagues email addresses into the first box, click send to send them an email referring them to us.

When you next see them, sit them down and give them a quick tour of what CommuSoft does for you. The whole point of this referral system is to show new potential customers the benefit of CommuSoft, what better people to do this than our customers!

Once you've added their email address it will appear in the middle section. Once you've given them a demo simply click on 'I have given a demo'. This will move the user into the final box.

If they like the system and want to go ahead with it, just click 'They are sold, sign them up'. We'll then give them a call and get them on-board. You can easily track the progress of their sale by going to the 'Referral Credit' tab.

From the 'Referral Credit' tab you can see a list of the people you have referred as well as the status of your credit. You're credit will be applied to one of your invoices automatically so there's no need to call us. Once we've invoiced your friend/colleague we will pay you your credit. It is as easy as that!

There is no limit to the number of people you refer, if you can refer 12 people you get a year free!

* Credits are limited to the value of your monthly invoice or the value of the referee's initial invoice

Customer Login v2.0 is now available!

2011-11-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

With customers becoming ever more demanding there has never been a better time to consider new ways to win new business, especially with Estate Agents and Housing Associates (in fact any contract!).

CommuSoft's Customer Login portal allows customers to login and view their tenant properties, jobs and reports. This easy to use tool makes it easier than ever to manage large contracts with minimal fuss.

Customer Screen

So, what is new?
We've completely redesigned the way your Agents can view and search for their tenants making it quicker and easier. We have also redesigned the way the Agent adds new tenants to your database reducing your data input and making it easy for Agents to manage new properties.. they are more likely to simply add a new property to your database than call one of your competitors!

Managing tenant details

It is now easier than ever for Agents to view and update Tenant details including the Tenant's name, address and telephone number. For most people though it is the ability to easily view when service dates are due, look at back previous invoices (and re-print), look at previous certificates (and re-print) and view current jobs.

Agents can request jobs
So many companies rely on email/phone or letters to arrange jobs which is both time-consuming and tedious. Wouldn't it be nice if your Estate Agent could login and simply request the job. Now they can! Agents have the ability to request works which appear as a notification on your computer. Once the notification comes in, simply click on it and book it straight in against the tenant. It is quick, painless and helps you track every job in real-time.

Never post/email an invoice or certificate again

Agents can easily print invoices

Agents can now login and print their invoices straight from the customer portal. Not only that but they can re-print whenever they need to so they'll never need to call you again! Not only that, but using the same technology, Agents can print/re-print Gas Certificates straight from the portal. This is real-time, so as soon as the
engineer creates the certificate on his phone,
the Agent will be able to print it!

Agents can easily view reports

Reporting made easy
Often Agents want to know how many jobs you have completed, when engineers are visiting jobs, how much money they owe you, what appliances are installed at a property... now there is no need to worry. CommuSoft Customer Login allows Agents to view this information in reporting format from the portal, no need to contact you for information ever again.

If you are interested in testing out the Customer Portal with one of your Agents/Contracts then just give us a call on 0207 195 1838 and we'll be happy to discuss it with you.

Version 3.505 is out soon!

2011-11-24T02:28:00.000-08:00

Version 3.505 is a minor incremental update to the CommuSoft: Online system bring a host of minor changes and tweaks to improve the user experience and improve existing features.

Some of the key changes have been:

Ability to book in multiple days into the diary when selecting only 'Morning' or 'Afternoon' diary slots
Improvements to the cash allocation system
Introduction of the Referral system which allows customers to gain financial rewards for referring new customers to Commusoft
Other minor tweaks and changes to system design and improved validation
New validation rules in the creation of invoices
A number of new reports

This is the first of several upgrades which will happen over the next 6 weeks, keep an eye on this space as we release new software to all our customers.

Expect to see v3.505 released on Sunday the 27th November 2011.

Blackberry Torch v1.0 BETA now available

2011-10-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

We've now officially launched the Blackberry Torch BETA. Any forward thinking customers that want to give it a go please email support@commusoft.co.uk. The BETA will last around 5/6 weeks depending on the number of people who sign up to it.

The Blackberry Torch is the latest in a line of mobile applications being developed and released by CommuSoft.

This fantastic application brings all the features:

Adding jobs straight to your diary
Creating customers/tenants
Creating certificates
Creating invoices
Emailing straight from your handset
Taking phones

And much more. For more information see: https://www.commusoft.co.uk/landing/mobile.php

The BETA release is the first step in stabilising the Blackberry application, we don't expect any major problems, but its worth noting that its the first time this application is being used by customers.

To sign up email sales@commusoft.co.uk

v3.503 is now available

2011-09-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

The latest version of CommuSoft: Online is now out. This comes only 4 weeks since our last improvement. This version comes with a number of minor feature enhancements as well as a number of tweaks.

There is however a major change 'under the hood'. This is the first step into changing the way we handle development at CommuSoft. Instead of large upgrades which come every 4-6 months, we're changing to a more agile approach where new code will be released quicker. This reduces the 'big bang' approach bringing features to customers quicker with few delays.

v3.502 is ready!

2011-08-16T04:04:00.001-07:00

After a few months of serious building, v3.502 is now ready to go. We're finalising exactly when we're going to upload it and arranging the server changes required to support the new software but we expect to see it up and running within August 2011.

Here are a number of improvements and features you can expect to see:

Version 3.502

Diary Management

Ability to view a 2 weekly diary
Drag and Drop events between days on the 2 weekly diary
Ability for users to easily navigate back, forward and to today’s diary

Customer Credit Notes

Easier credit note creation for customers
Ability to delete customer credit notes

Reporting Changes

Cash Allocation System

Improvements to Estimate Management

Brand new estimate creation system
New UI

SAGE/QuickBooks User Interaction Improvements

Warning users when editing records that have been sent to Accounting Interface when user tries to edit them
Logs information users when certain records have been successfully imported or failed to import

Letterhead/Logo Upload

Users can now easily create and upload letterheads
Users can easily upload logos for certificates
Logo creation for customers without logos

Better Setup wizard

Logo creation
Upload Gas Safe, NICEIC, oil logos
Easily add your bank details to your logos
Import customer records from QB, SAGE, Google Contacts or CSV file

Credit/Debit Card Integration

PCI Compliance changes
Password history
30 minute lock-out

Supplier Improvements

Ability to edit/delete supplier information
Ability to edit/delete supplier invoices

Minor Bug Fixes

Around 80 minor fixes and improvements

New PDF structure

Improvements to PDF's
New centralised structure making it easier and quicker to manipulate and alter PDF's

We are unable to give you any further information at this time, but we will be releasing the software which will be done on a Sunday evening ready for you to login on Monday.

iPhone comes to CommuSoft

2011-05-06T07:19:00.001-07:00

It is only weeks away from official release to the public, but Apple have now approved the first major version of the CommuSoft iPhone app. This application is designed to help small and large businesses.... although for the first time we've spent a lot of time thinking about the one/two man bands.

This app can easily be downloaded onto your iPhone from the appstore, simply search for Commusoft. You may need to ring CommuSoft Support to get it activated.

The app's main goal for one/two man bands is to allow you to run your business from the road.

- Management your diary

- Book in existing/new customers

- Manage your service reminders

- View job details, address details, telephone numbers, appliance details and job history

- Create gas safety certificates and sign the screen

- Create invoices

- Email from site

- Credit card processing (coming soon)

For more information go to: http://www.commusoft.co.uk/smallbusiness

We're going to be spending a lot of time and money in 2011 adding more and more features too the app, so if you're currently using it, let us know how you're getting on.

Continued Network Improvements

2011-03-31T02:25:00.000-07:00

We're about to start work on improving our network capacity, improving speed, performance and reliability in the network as well as redesigning the network to set CommuSoft up for 2011. We expect to grow considerably in the coming months and we don't want our network to hinder our development and sales so will start implementing the next phase of our roll-out which started in late 2010.

This shouldn't effect the day-to-day running of CommuSoft as it will be completed partially by the network team at UKFast and partially by our in-house development team. Any down-time will be communicated to all customers prior to the network being taken down.

Weekend updates

2011-01-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

This weekend will be particularly busy for the team as we prepare to move our entire system and databases over to a new network. All customers will have received an email about the change over this morning (sorry it wasn't sent earlier we've only just managed to get our mailing systems up and running). This change has been mentioned before on this blog so hopefully you are aware of the reasons and benefits of the change. The servers will be unavailable from 17:00 tonight through to 10.00 Sunday giving us time to successfully make the changes required and move your data securely to a new home.

We are also at the same time launching a new website which we hope will demonstrate a commitment to further growth and improvement. We look forward to any feedback on the website as we feel it will help attract even more customers to the ever expanding CommuSoft: Network.

During the server down-time we will be launching a minor upgrade to the CommuSoft: Online system. This v3.501 will include a number of fixes and minor improvements (don't get excited most wont even know things have changed!). There is a number of speed improvements which i'm sure will be welcomed as well as a new feature called 'Remote Desktop'. This gives our support team the ability to take over your PC and assist you with any issues or questions you may have. This new feature is integrated into our Help Centre which you'll find in the bottom right corner of your screen (look for the little ? icon).

We've had a busy beginning of the year and we hope to kick off some new development projects at the end of Jan beginning of Feb. Currently the chosen projects are 'New and improved certificates' and 'Customer login portals' (some improvements and new features will be added). These changes will take a number of months, but we feel the improvements will drastically improve the usability of these features.

If you have any suggestions relating to these new projects or any other aspect of the system please email us at development@commusoft.co.uk

(please don't ring with your suggestions, although we like speaking to you, our support guys don't actually build the software. The development email address is forwarded to our dev team who maintain and improve CommuSoft)

Welcome to 2011

2011-01-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

Its been a good holiday break, we're back and looking forward to 2011. There are a number of important updates to note:

VAT Rate has been changed for all customers to 20%. If you are not VAT registered this doesn't effect you. If you want to create invoices at 17.5% you still can do, simply un-tick 'standard rate vat' and a drop down appears giving you the option.
Server update: We wanted to move all customers to our new network over the holiday break, however, we have decided to leave it another week or two in order to completely stabilise the new v3.501 (minor update) and the new servers.
As I mentioned v3.501 is coming... its a minor update bringing a few new features and a number of fixes and changes. A full list of features will be available soon.
CommuSoft have at last integrated a Newsletter system into our administrative software. We plan on sending regular updates to all customers via email including news, tips, upgrades and possible features/modules you may well be interested in. It is something we've been meaning to do for a long time but have struggled to find the time... hopefully this will keep customers better informed.

I hope you all had a fantastic break and we all look forward to working with you in 2011.

CommuSoft's holiday period

2010-12-16T05:16:00.000-08:00

As the holidays approach I wanted to take the time to let everyone know when we will be available and when we'll be away. Our current holiday schedule is:

We will be working on the 23rd December 2010 however will be not working between the 24th December 2010 to the 4th January 2011.

If you have an emergency between these dates please email support@commusoft.co.uk as someone will be monitoring this email address throughout the holiday period.

One more big change... its time to move our network

2010-12-14T03:41:00.000-08:00

CommuSoft has undergone a large number of changes and improvements this year. We have improved our support infrastructure, our system (v3.5), invested heavily in mobile software, built accounting interfaces and now our final change for the year our server network.

We will be taking down the CommuSoft system for a few hours over the Xmas period when users are less likely to be working. We are planning a major improvement of up to 4x our network resources over the next 3-6 months. This staged implementation will see dramatic improvements in speed and performance as well as introducing three massive improvements to our network infrastructure:

Security in the form of PCI DSS compliance
SSL encryption
Complete redundancy

If you don't know what these things are it doesn't really matter, they are behind the scenes and wont really effect you. All of these changes are being done by CommuSoft to improve the way we provide our support and services to you. You will not need to make any changes to the way you currently work.

Why are we doing this?

As CommuSoft grows it requires additional network resources to support the ever increasing demand from new/existing customers. We didn't want to just add additional resources though, we wanted to add additional value in the form of these three major changes. We are therefore replacing all our servers with brand new machines.

What does it mean? Am I getting more for my money?

The simple answer is yes, a lot more! We are introducing a new level of encryption to all of our traffic on and off the server. This increased security has been planned for a long time and is designed to give users even more piece of mind.

You are also getting a new type of backup called 'redundancy'. This means as well as taking backups every 24 hours we are also backing up your data in real-time so if there are hardware problems you wont see any interruption to your service. This change is being made at huge expense to CommuSoft in order to pro-actively stop downtime through hardware failure.

When will this all happen

We expect all changes will be rolled out before the end of the second quarter of 2011 with some changes occurring over the Christmas period. Its not an easy task to move all our data off our existing network and move it onto a new one, we plan on implementing changes in stages and testing as we go to make sure we can keep the application stable.

If you have any questions relating to this change please don't hesitate to email us at support@commusoft.co.uk

Internet Explorer

2010-12-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

CommuSoft will stop supporting Internet Explorer 7 as of 13.12.2010 at 19:00. Users will still be able to login to CommuSoft with Internet Explorer 8 however CommuSoft will strongly recommend you download a more modern browser like Google Chrome or Firefox (Mac users can use Safari).

This move is to improve user experience and push forward with faster code development. At the moment we spend a huge amount of time and money making adjustments to the system so Internet Explorer will look and function in a predictable manner. This time and money could be spent else where building better more impressive features.

Internet Explorer 7 and 8 are also very slow inefficient browsers which make the user experience very unproductive waiting for pages to load.

CommuSoft change security

2010-12-13T04:27:00.000-08:00

We've been monitoring how users interact and work with our new updated system and have found one major stumbling block is our new security system. Although it does work as expected if used correctly, however, some users are finding it irritating and therefore we are going to simplify it.

This week CommuSoft will update its security system so that even if another user is logged in using your username you will always login to the system without hindrance (as long as you've typed in your details correctly!). This means that the irritation message that appears on the login screen will no longer appear forcing you to type in your details again.

CommuSoft still will not allow users to share usernames, this change will still only allow one user to login at one time. If you do choose to share login usernames you will find logging in under another computer will still log the other computer out of the system without warning.

If you have any concerns about this update or have any questions please email us support@commusoft.co.uk

At last, we're live v3.5 is here

2010-11-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

It has been a very long time in waiting, thousands of hours of work, hundreds of thousands of pounds in investment, 3 million lines of code.... but v3.5 is officially live. All customers have been moved across.

We've been running in BETA for the last 6 weeks, we've had some fantastic feedback, we've improved and fixed niggles and now we're ready to really start putting this version through its paces...

If you have any questions regarding our new system please don't hesitate to contact us (note we will be experiencing high volumes of calls over the next few days).

We have a large number of changes and improvements that we plan to continue to roll out to customers over the next 6-8 weeks, keep your eyes on the blog as we will put all information up here.

We're going live!

2010-11-23T01:31:00.000-08:00

At last after 5/6 weeks of BETA testing and a multitude of changes and improvements we're ready to announce the date when we will launch v3.5 to all our customers.

The official release date for v3.5 is the 1st December 2010

There will be nothing for you to do, nothing for you to install or worry about. We'll change you over the night before (the system will be down for a few hours the night before) and you wont loose any information.

This has been a busy year for the team and we still have a number of surprises up our sleeves over the coming months which I expect will impress all our users.

We hope you find the new features useful and we look forward to hearing your feedback and impressions (email us support@commusoft.co.uk).

Thanks,

The CommuSoft Team
Special thanks to Raja and his team for bringing us a number of these fantastic features.

The final push to v3.5

2010-10-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you've all been reading about this exciting new upgrade to the CommuSoft online software. We're now at the final stages and we're ready to go! By the end of the week we hope to have moved around 20% of our customer base onto the new system and assuming we don't hit any further problems we hope to have all customers onto the new system (and turn off the old system) in November.

If you have signed up to the BETA we expect you all to be using v3.5 within the next 10 working days.

We have an exciting winter with a number of new major releases (including a Quickbooks interface) which we'll announce in November.

If you have any concerns about moving to v3.5 please send us an email to support@commusoft.co.uk

Quickbooks finds a place in the CommuSoft system...

2010-10-08T03:44:00.000-07:00

We have refrained for a number of years in implementing a Quickbooks interface, mainly because we're struggled to find the time to build the system (which is incredibly complex!). However, we have today partnered with a team who are experts in Quickbooks and are helping us to integrate an interface between the CommuSoft system and the Quickbooks accounting software!

This is great news as it will now be possible to have all your customers, invoices, payments, credit notes, suppliers, supplier invoices, supplier payments and supplier credit notes automatically imported straight into Quickbooks without any double keying.

Supported versions of Quickbooks will be:

Quickbooks Pro, Quickbooks Enterprise 2006+ and Quickbooks Online Edition

For more information, or to register your interest please email support@commusoft.co.uk with the subject line Quickbooks (please also include your Company ID in the body of the message).

BETA has gone live!

2010-09-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Its official, the v3.5 BETA is live.

We moved across the new login and security settings onto the live system today (some of the new features were commented out) however, we do have some test accounts running smoothly.

Initially we're going to run the BETA internally to make sure it is stable before transferring those customers who have requested to be moved across. Don't expect this to happen over night as we still have more testing to do, however, it is looking very promising.

If you would like to be moved across to the BETA please email support@commusoft.co.uk with the subject line: BETA.

Note: This is still pre-release software and we are constantly updating it tweaking features and adjusting help text etc in order to make it as good as we possible can.

Thank you for your patience.

v3.5 BETA Ready - Sign up now!

2010-09-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

We are announcing today we will be introducing a BETA of the v3.5 system to select customers.

What is a BETA?

Basically a BETA is pre-release software. This means all major features and issues have been resolved and implemented. A BETA is the period between us finishing testing and releasing the software to all customers. In this period a select group of customers are given access to the software early, these customers can then use all the new features before anyone else.

We do this to stagger out the release. If we offered the software to all customers on a single day we would be in-undated with phone calls of customers looking for information (even though the new Help Centre provides most of the information required). The BETA therefore allows us to provide you with a more seamless hassle free upgrade.

What does this mean?

We are only offering a select number of customers access to the v3.5 upgrade early before anyone one else! Initially we are looking for 2 customers, then we will offer it to 20 customers. Why did we choose these numbers? Simple, we want to deal more personally with customers starting to use the new version.

What does it cost?

Nothing, all our upgrades are free. This BETA is about making sure customers get the best possible service.

How can I apply?

To apply simply email support@commusoft.co.uk with the subject BETA. We will then choose a select number of customers and inform you when the BETA officially starts. We will do all the work in moving you over to the BETA, once you have been moved over to the BETA version though, you cannot be moved back.

What does v3.5 mean to you?

2010-09-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since v3.5 has been mentioned on this blog, this is mainly because we've been so busy implementing so many fantastic new features and improvements. The list of supported features has changed slightly but the core ideas are still the same, improve speed and improve the interface to make using the system as simple as possible.

New Improved UI (User Interface) making tasks simpler and easier to complete
Brand new Diary including

New user interface
Drag and drop scheduling
Book jobs in directly from the diary
Ability to hide aborted or cancelled jobs
Ability to abort jobs from the office
Easier access to customer records from the diary
Weekly view now shows up to three engineers at one time
Morning and afternoon jobs now appear in both daily and weekly views
The engineers name now remain static when scrolling
Easily check driving distance between a company default maximum miles (Part of GPS)
Easily identify which jobs have been invoiced from the diary

Marketing Tools allow you to send letters/emails/SMS messages to existing customers
Improved Customer Login Portal with role based security putting you in control (v2.0 has already gone live!)
Improved Service Reminders
NEW! Advanced Reporting and Dashboard Reporting (new module)
Performance upgrades will help speed up access to your data
Further audit trails and logs
Help Centre - an in-built help system designed to make using the system easy with video
tutorials available on nearly every page
Improved 'Outsanding Reports' allowing you to better keep track of your workload
Improved DMS (Document Management System) utilising the latest technology to make
uploading files as easy and drag and drop
A brand new user interface making using the system considerably easier
Better integration with the mobile (PDA) data
Many many minor improvements and improvements
Letterhead and Logo tools now allow you to easily create and manage your letterheads from within the system
SAGE Interface - a complete integration with SAGE Accounting

I thought it was about time we uploaded an introduction video, giving you an idea of what the new system looks like and how its going to make you're lives easier.

Auto-Logout time extended...v3.5 is coming!

2010-09-13T03:06:00.000-07:00

As part of this massive new upgrade we are announcing today that changes will start to occur to the CommuSoft: Online system. Over the last 3 weeks we've been upgrading and updating your databases adding new fields which will support new features like the SAGE interface. However, last Friday at 8:00pm we made the first major change to the system... we extended the auto-logout timer from 24 minutes to 12 hours! This change is one of the most requested feature changes, it means you'll not longer be logged out in the day automatically.

We plan on making further changes to the software and underlying network over the next few weeks so keep an eye on the blog for more information.

eHeating: Mobile v1.313 is out

2010-07-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

v1.313 is now officially out . This minor update has taken a few months to develop due to the new features and improvements we've made.

Improved Performance and SYNC time

This was achieved by limiting the number of events downloaded to the device. By default we will send todays and tomorrows events, although this can be customised. To customise this value please ring/email CommuSoft support.

Diary History

It is at last possible for an engineer to see history relating to previous visits. This works when there are multiple visits to the same job. An engineer will be able to see previous visit history like the feedback left by previous engineers. This will allow them to understand the bigger picture of what is happening on the particular job.

Improved local database management

This new feature probably wont mean much to you. Its an upgrade to the way we manage the databases on the local device. We have spent some considerable time working on this upgrade which should provide a more stable application. This was an important step in the evolution of the Commusoft:Mobile application.

Faster Upgrades

It has always been important to make upgrading the software on the devices easy, quick and painless. This is why we have reduced our overall download size by 50%! This is a massive improvement will reduce the time it takes to download upgrades as well as keeping your data bills low.

Devices will start to upgrade to the new software this week. If you're device doesn't recognise v1.313 yet don't worry, it maybe you're scheduled to upgrade later in the week.

Goodbye Internet Explorer 6

2010-07-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

The CommuSoft:Network is officially stopping support of Internet Explorer 6 in our up-coming v3.5 software release. This is unlikely to effect many (if any) of our existing customers as many of them are using Google Chrome, Firefox or a newer version of Internet Explorer.

Why are we doing this?
Internet Explorer 6 is a very old web browser, it is slow and doesn't support any of the latest features that more modern browsers like Google Chrome support. In the latest version of the CommuSoft:Online software system we have really pushed the technology boundaries adding support for many advanced features which where either incredible slow in IE6 or just wouldn't work at all!

The other reason we are removing support for this browser is cost. Because this browser is incredibly old it doesn't work in the same way that modern browsers work meaning we spend an awful lot of time and money supporting it. By removing support for IE6 we will be able to free up our developers time which can be used to build better features to save our customers time and money.

Customer Login v2.0 is live!

2010-06-03T03:22:00.001-07:00

After some difficult changes to the Customer Login we are today announcing the release of v2. The biggest changes in this version are:

A number of minor features.
Role Based Security system controlling access to the Customer Portal giving you complete control over what customers can do and see.
Ability to add normal jobs as well as services has been refined making it easier and quicker for customers to enter information.
Increased Speed. We've integrate a lot of new technology making the customer portal faster and more responsive.
Minor changes to the User Interface.

The main thing to note here is the security changes. This was a necessary change as without it any future developments of the Customer Login Portal would have been time-consuming and difficult. Security is key when developing any system as it paves the way for more interesting more advanced features in the future.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Customer Login Portal please go to CommuSoft Website. Or ring us on 0207 195 1838

66% Reduction in Price for Customer Login

2010-03-31T01:59:00.001-07:00

Customer Login has been an interesting feature which was developed in early 2009 by the development team. At the time there was little / no demand for such technology, but the team felt strongly about having this module available.

So what is customer login?

Customer login is a way for estate agents/contracts/councils etc to login and view job progress, print off invoices, print of CP12 certificates, manage their property information, check when services are due, request jobs and much more... This feature is designed to drastically reduce the number of phone calls giving the office staff more time to get on with their jobs.

I see the benefits, but is it worth it?

One of the biggest benefits we see is that you can offer this feature when tendering for new contracts. Why? Well most of your competitors may be able to match you on price and SLA's but can they all match you on technology? As more and more companies adopt mobile PDA devices, very few customers can give their customers the ability to login to the software via web portal.

So why the new pricing structure?

Although we have had some fantastic success with the customer login module, we've never felt happy with the way we have priced the feature. We have decided to bring the price of the module down by 66% to drastically increase the number of customers adopting the feature. We hope that with more feedback and more customer input we can look to quickly improve the software and provide a better, more feature rich system.

If you are interested in Customer Login ring us on 0207 195 1838 or email sales@commusoft.co.uk

eHeating:Mobile V1.312 is out

2010-03-08T01:16:00.000-08:00

We have been working on a minor update to the eHeating:Mobile system which we hope will improve our ability to develop further releases in the future with less hassle and less stress. Up until now all update testing needed to be done in 'down-time' hours (usually between 8pm-midnight when no one is using the system). This new release includes a BETA mode allowing us to test at any time without affecting customers using the system.

If you're using the eHeating:Mobile system then you will have already been notified that there is an update and hopefully chose to download it as it does improve performance.

We are now looking to the future and have started work on the next upgrade, however this change will be rather bigger. We are now looking at producing eHeating:Mobile 1.32 which should be a more major upgrade including a number of new features.

eHeating:Mobile V1.311 is out

2010-02-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

After two weeks of attempting to release this version the team at last were able to put it live last night. For those out there who were astute enough to realise, it appears we skipped a version from 1.309 to 1.311....why? Well technically we didn't, we released 1.31 as well last night, but within an hour or so Alex and the team decided that actually it was missing one key feature, so, we added the feature and released it as 1.311.

This minor version release has a number of improvements, however its main purpose was to fix an over-site which many users are aware of..the missing telephone number!

We have also experimented with trying to improve the battery performance as we have had a number of reports that the batteries of many customers handsets are only lasting 1 day, we hope to have made significant improvements in this area. We have done this by turning off by default certain background features which most users don't use, or don't even know exist like the tracking of battery, volume and GPS states.

We have also addressed the need for a better way to capture PDA logs. The PDA log is a small file that sits on the device and checks for any memory problems, signal issues or anything software related that could be the cause of slow or unresponsive phones. Although we don't often have to collect these logs, we have now made it as easy as clicking a button, allowing us to investigate any issue reported to us in much more detail.

Now that this update has gone live, we have started work on a number of new improvements which we expect will get a lot of attention as we push the eHeating system both Mobile and Online to new levels in 2010.

We hope everyone likes the little improvements,

eHeating moves to rebuild its WAP software

2009-05-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

Many people don't make use of their existing mobile phones.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is an international standard for wireless communications on your mobile phone. This basically means being able to access a 'simple' internet on the move. This is great news for us as it allows us to provide you with access to your diary, customer details, invoicing on the move, anywhere, anytime!

CommuSoft for many years has given installers, managers, business owners access to their information from their mobile phone. After receiving many good comments from existing customers we have decided to take our Mobile Software (WAP) to the next level.

We have started development on a new and improved WAP based system that will incorporate our massively flexibly Role Based Security giving you control over exactly what information your engineers, employees and managers see. This upgrade however will be just the start, we aim at improving our FREE mobile system to incoporate far more features than ever before.

Development will start in early June 2010.

For more information on our WAP system contact our Sales team. 0207 195 1838 or click here to contact us

eHeating V3.5 is coming...

2009-05-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Although we have only just released our latest major version 3.4 we have already started work on the upcoming 3.5. I can now give you a taster of the sorts of features that will be released:

- Drag and Drop scheduling

- Google Maps GPS and Auto-Scheduling

- Electrical certificates (Part P + NICEIC)

- Marketing Tools allow you to send letters/emails/SMS messages to existing customers

- Improved Customer Login Portal with role based security putting you in control

- Improved Service Reminders

- NEW! Advanced Reporting and Dashboard Reporting (new module)

- Performance upgrades will help speed up access to your data

- Further audit trails and logs

As well as a host of minor fixes and general improvements to the online system. We are also planning on two new PDA releases V3.106 and V3.107.

These changes will provide a far more stable connection to the internet as well as a host of other improvements and features. The actual upcoming feature list is still a secret, however keep an eye on the website as information will be available soon..

It's time for a change...

2009-04-22T05:10:00.000-07:00

With eHeating getting more and more sophisticated using only the latest of technologies its time you changed your browser.

A Web Browser is the software that allows you to access the internet. Most common browsers are Internet Explorer, FireFox and Safari. Lots of you will be using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 to access the CommuSoft Network, however, this isn't necessarily the best browser to use...

We suggest using Google's New Browser Chrome. You can download it from here and is available for anyone using Windows XP/Vista.

Once installed you can use this browser to do all your shopping, surfing the net + accessing the eHeating Software system.

You will find that Google Chrome gives you faster access to information and the diary system making using our software easier and more enjoyable.

CommuSoft Launch Project Management System

2009-04-17T04:34:00.000-07:00

CommuSoft currently manage two major projects, eHeating Mobile and eHeating Online app. For the last 4 months we have been trialing a project management system called unfuddle. This is an excellent piece of software that not only manages our project features and developments, but also allows us to communicate quickly and easily with the development team.

This increase in transparency and communication between our development team will allow us to manage our projects and our time better, hopefully improving responsiveness and ability to release more stable features.

This year we will see the integration between our users and our admin panel. This will allow our customers to report issues and request features directly from their application desktops. This integration means developers and support staff are immediately notified of issues and features, which can then be filed and scheduled ready for one of the team to resolve.

eHeating Mobile Software

2009-04-06T13:59:00.001-07:00

The PDA software was designed in partnership with serveral large and small Plumbing and Heating businesses in Coventry, Nottingham and Southampton and now boasts a massive number of features.

These include the ability to track your engineers movements via GPS, displaying it on a map. This means no more expensive van trackers, as eHeating takes care of it for you, it's also far more useful as you can see the map side by side with your diary.

The PDA system also tracks when your engineer travels, arrives and leaves a job, capturing the engineers' signature giving you a minute by minut

e account of his time and gives you can idea of whether the engineer is going to be early or late to his/her next job.

As well as these fantastic advanced features eHeating Mobile comes with features like CP12 Gas Safety recording + signature capture which allows engineers to complete their certificates on the move. Office staff can view the certificate with its signatures within minutes of the engineer completing it, reducing lost and messy paperwork.

V3.4 of the eHeating Software for Plumbers and Heating Engineers

2009-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

At last its been launched

After 7 months of planning, designing and developing the CommuSoft team lead by head Developer Raja released its much anticipated V3.4 of the eHeating Software. This brand new version was designed solely for the Plumbing and Heating industry with the aim to expand an already excellent system. This redesign brings a whole new era in Software for the Plumbing and Heating industry.

This version gives the user a brand new interface making it easier, simpler and quicker to create customers, book in jobs and manage service reminders (which is basically what the average Plumber/Heating Engineer wants!).

With V3.4 the CommuSoft team has replaced the diary, rebuilding it from scratch giving the user much more control over what they see and how they see it. A brand new estimate system tracking the progress of estimates and which ones have been successful. The most beneficial changes though has been the changes to service reminders allowing you to send SMS text messages, emails or letters to customers reminding them that their boiler service is due, or that their Gas Safety Certificate needs renewing. All of this can be done with one click on the

button!

These features, although significant to the improvement of the software weren't the only changes. The CommuSoft team originally built the eHeating software all Plumbing and Heating companies, those that want simple systems, and those that want more sophisticated setups.

This includes using maps and travel distance to determine which engineer is closest to a particular job, drastically cutting fuel costs.

To see a full list of features release visit our news feed