• It is possible to prorate a single service that has been added or stopped and track when a customer changed from one service to another.
  
• To view start and stop dates for services and addresses, double-click the item in the Services Tab.
  
• A details window will pop up with the start and stop dates. The Services widget on the Home Screen will also summarize this information.
  

In Accu-Trax Classic, it was necessary to create bills, then Autopost as a second step. In Accu-Trax Office, they are a single step.

• The Billing process in Accu-Trax Office has three distinct phases:
  

1. Generating transactions (monthly charges) and posting those charges to the account.
   
2. Generating finance charges and posting those charges to the account.
   
3. Creating/saving bills.
   

• When selecting 'Create Billing', Accu-Trax Office will automatically go through each phase, for each selected bill code.
  

• To add fields to the Other Information screen for an account, click 'Edit' at the bottom of the screen, then click 'Add Info' at the top of the Other Information screen, then use the drop-down menu to choose the desired field label.
  
• This will allow the creation of as many fields as needed for this customer.
  

• Protected data works in a similar way, but the data will be encrypted.
  
• Click the 'Protected Info' button to open the Protected Information screen.
  
• Click 'Edit' then 'Add Info' to create new fields.
  
• To view each field, click 'View' to decrypt the information.
  

Letter Templates have been around almost as long as Accu-Trax. However, in Accu-Trax Office, we have greatly enhanced the functionality.

• For instance, the 'Mail Merge' tab allows the user to create dynamic fields that will automatically populate with Customer information, dates, Online-Billpay information, etc.
  

• These same templates can be used for Mail Merge.
  
• After selecting which customers the Mail Merge will go to, there is an opportunity to use or edit one of the dynamic templates.
  
• Customer information will be filled in just like it would be for a standard letter.
  

See Letters and Mail Merge for more information

The Home Screen is designed to give at-a-glance information for the most important parts of the customer record.

• Each widget on the screen can be moved around or swapped out for different widgets.
  
• This can be customized at System Tools > Settings > Home Page Grid.
  

 See Main Screen Breakdown and Customer Information Panel for more information

Now Accu-Trax can open multiple Customer records at the same time.

• To open a new tab, click the  button at the left of the Account Number.
  
• The new tab will open to the same record that is currently open. Then navigate to another customer record as normal, without affecting the original tab.
  

• Select any bill run from the Bill File history, then click 'Export to BMS'. A prompt will appear to enter any special instructions.
  

• Once the bills have been submitted, the Status icons at the bottom of the Export Billing screen will light up as each step is completed.
  

Every customer has an OBP tab, which will display the customer’s OBP information.

• This info will sync with OBP on a regular basis, but can be manually updated at will.
  
• This tab also includes links which redirect to the OBP account, allowing the user to reach the customer’s financial records quickly and easily.
  

Memos are a new type of Comment designed to create a scrollable list of events.

• Memos automatically display the date they were created and the user that created them, and are displayed in order of creation date.
  
• Memos are also the way to create 'Sticky Notes', as they existed in Accu-Trax Classic.
  
• When editing a Memo, check the 'Popup' box to have that Memo pop up as a sticky note each time the record is opened.
  
• All Memos marked 'Popup' will open in a single window.
  

Tags are a way of changing the way Accu-Trax treats a particular customer record.

• In Classic, some of these options were included in the 'Other Information' tab.
  
• In Office, we have added more options and improved visibility of these settings as 'Tags'.
  

Tags display at the top of the record, as well as on the Comments Tab.

We have completely revamped the Route Management system.

• In the spirit of full integration, users no longer need to exit the Customer Management software to manage Route information.
  
• The Route Manager is located under Routes > Route Manager.
  
• The Route Manager has also been completely redesigned with ease-of-use at the top of our minds.
  

• Automatically 'Geocode' all stops in the database in a single step.
  
• 'Edit Route' allows users to automatically respace sequence numbers or move a group of stops from one place in a route to another place in the same route.
  
• 'Route Comparison' allows users to compare two routes, and to move one or more stops from one route another.
  
• 'Customer Information' displays contact and billing information for the customer at that stop.
  
• 'History' shows any changes that have been made to the stop and which user made those changes.
  
• The 'Show Route' button simulates a truck driving the route using GPS navigation. This can help make it obvious when a stop is out of sequence or has an incorrect geocode
  

Accu-Trax Office displays the next three months’ estimated automatic charges, including prorate, at the bottom-right of the Customer Information Screen.

• These numbers automatically update any time service changes and any time Autoposting is blocked.
  
• Upcoming charges will not include anything that has already been posted, even if it is a 'Service' transaction with a future date.
  

See Aging Buckets & Upcoming Charges for more information

Accu-Trax Office will automatically prorate any service that starts or ends in the middle of a billing cycle according to the company’s preferences.

• This will happen during the Billing Process and the default settings require no intervention from the user.
  
• Each time a customer begins or ends a service mid-billing cycle, Accu-Trax Office will ask the user whether they would like to manually adjust the automatic prorate.
  
• To adjust the prorate amount, the Prorate Tool will pop up allowing the user to fine-tune how the customer will be charged.
  

 See Prorate Tools for more information

• By default, Scheduler will be deactivated in the system.
  
• For more information about Scheduler, or to enable it in the Accu-Trax Office system, please contact Accu-Trax Support.
  

In Accu-Trax Office, it is impossible to add a Service without also selecting the Route(s) that will be providing that service.

• This adds a layer of protection by making sure this piece of data is always valid.
  
• If unsure which Route to add to provide a particular Service, click the 'Nearby' button to open the 'Find Nearby Sequence' tool.
  
• This tool will show which routes provide service to other Addresses on that street.
  

     

Each Service and each Service Address has its own start and stop dates. Because of this, please keep the following in mind:

• It is no longer necessary to create services called 'Closed' to mark that a customer is getting service at one address but not another.
  
• There is a big difference between a service stopping, an address stopping, and a customer stopping:
  
• If a customer moves but is still within the service jurisdiction, the old Address and Services need to have a stop date, but the Customer does not. The Customer also does not need to change status.
  
• If a customer changes their service, the old Service needs a stop date, but the Address and Service do not.
  
• If a customer moves out of the service jurisdiction, the Customer, Address, and Service all need stop dates.
  

Accu-Trax Office has been designed to keep historical records wherever possible, both to protect data integrity and simply to keep better track of service history.

• When a customer is no longer at their address, for example, the address gets a stop date and is marked as 'Stopped'.
  

• By default, these stopped addresses will be displayed for 6 months before disappearing.
  
• Stopped display time can be reduced as low as 1 month or increased as long as desired.
  
• These hidden records can be viewed at any time by checking the 'View History' box.
  
• Stopped Services follow the same behavior.
  

Of course, we understand that humans make mistakes.

• We have built a number of 'Undo' functions which allow users to fix mistakes.
  
• The end result is that customer records will be more complete and that historical data is findable and trustworthy.
  
• For any questions about how to handle a situation that required deleting data in Classic, feel free to call Accu-Trax Support or check the Accu-Trax Help Guide.
  

This is one of the guiding principles of development for Accu-Trax Office. If some part of a workflow seems labor-intensive, difficult, counter-intuitive, or frustrating, let us know. There is a good chance that there is a better way. If not, we would be happy to create one. If the program crashes, let us know. We will find out why and fix it. Accu-Trax Office should make workflows smoother, more efficient, and less frustrating. The more feedback provided to us, the more we can achieve that goal.