Xero Integration Now Available
We are proud to announce that VISCO now also integrates with Xero accounting software (www.xero.com).
The integration itself will function very similar to the QuickBooks integration with the following integration points:
1-Customer Validation-As new customers are added in VISCO, or changes are made to existing customers, those changes get reflected automatically in Xero
2-Vendor Validation– As new vendors are added in VISCO, or changes are made to existing vendors, those changes get reflected automatically in Xero
3-Invoices-Invoices are generated in VISCO. Typically, the user would print or email the invoice that is generated by VISCO and send this to the customer. When the invoice is first generated it has a “Pending” status at which point changes can still be made. Invoices are then posted in batches […]
Cloud vs. On Premise
When deciding to use VISCO, companies have the option to use either the cloud based version of the software or the on premise version. The actual functionality of the software is essentially the same in either case although there are some benefits of one vs. the other:
Cloud benefits:
1-Limited upfront costs-Since the software is essentially leased instead of purchased you do not have the upfront cost of purchasing a license fee but instead pay a monthly fee to use it
2-Simple to cancel-Since it is hard to know exactly how a new software will work out, you may want to start with the cloud option which provides the user the option to cancel the service at any time with no penalty (no contract)
3-Easier Transition-The […]
Configuring VISCO to fit your company
Although the intensive configuration of the system is typically done during the implementation process, the configuration tools can be used to customize the software (typically without requiring a programmer) at any time.
The intensive configuration is typically done once the install is up and the data conversion is complete. These meetings are done with the System Administrator(s) along with the Implementation manager from VISCO and are designed to take the system from all of the default settings and fields . It’s also used as an administrator training session of the system, for us to review admin tools and basic functionality of the system. We will enter some basic sample transactions which are cleared before Go Live.
The configuration sessions usually involve five to six one hour phone/web conferences […]
Preparing Your Data for the Initial Data Conversion
Typically we will bring in the lists of Products, Customers, Vendors, Warehouses, Freight Carriers, and Contacts during the initial data conversion. Although complete data history can also be imported, this is not typical due to the added cost required to do this work during the implementation along with the fact this data can still be kept in the legacy system and referenced at a later date. In fact, if you are coming off of QuickBooks, as many VISCO users are, then you would in fact still be running QuickBookks along with VISCO moving forward.
To export these lists from QuickBooks you would:
Sign into QB as an Administrator. In most versions of QB, you must be in ‘single user mode’ to use Import/Export functionality. […]
Using VISCO in China
Many VISCO customers will have offices in China or will work with third party sourcing agents in China. In addition, when traveling through China users will regularly want to check inventory levels, check order history or the status of existing orders.
A common complaint that we receive is that when the application is hosted in the United States (for example for users on our cloud servers), is that speeds can be problematic.
A good test connection in China would probably mean you’ll need to upgrade your upload speeds on your connection in the US. If the download speeds are fine in China, then theoretically it’s the upload speeds from your actual server out to the internet causing the slow down, meaning a connection from anywhere […]
Upgrades to the Mobile App
In January of 2017 we are releasing a new version of the mobile platform. The new platform has an improved user interface, added CRM functionality including the ability to create and manage Inquiries and Quotes. In addition, the new app has tighter integration with mobile features already built in from the device including emailing and calling from your phone to auto generate inquiries in the system to simplify CRM tracking with minimal input from the user.
CRM
The CRM app has enhanced functionality designed for Sales Reps in the field. Now the app allows users to pull up customer information and add new customers. When in a customer record the user has the option to see a history of all communications with this customer […]
Tracking and Costing Inventory at the individual unit level
One of the more unique offerings from the VISCO software is the granularity of the inventory tracking. Of course individual unit level tracking is not for everyone, but if your inventory varies in terms of value, weights or sizes from piece to piece then finding a software that can manage this is quite challenging.
An example of this is a customer that running the system that is in the steel coil business. They buy the steel in Metric Tons and Sell thesteel by LBS so all pricing must by by weight. However, the steel itself comes wrapped in big coils so the inventory must be kept by PC.
Each coil in inventory has its own unique number, and associated with each coil is the total […]
What to Expect During Your Software Training
One of the final steps in any ERP implementation is going to be your training and is usually done the week before the expected go live date. The training can be done online or onsite although at VISCO our customers request us to come onsite for the training approximately 80% of the time.
Online Training-When doing the training online, you can expect user attention spans to be shorter as the presentation is less engaging and if the user is learning about parts of the system that they do not expect to use they will tend to tune out within minutes. For this reason we suggest doing multiple sessions and keeping each session short (1-2 hours) and only having the users who be using […]
Delivery Planning Tools Designed to Help Distributors With Their Own Trucking Fleets
Distributors who are shipping orders out of their own warehouse need tools to help them organize which orders will be going on which trucks and decide what order the driver should make each stop. We have released a new set of tools designed to be used by both the warehouse manager as well as the drivers to help in this process:
The load planning tool:
This tool is designed to be used by the warehouse manager or delivery planning personnel to group together orders in specific trucks based on location, order size and weight, as well as the customer delivery needs (Delivery Window, and Delivery Instructions). As Sales Orders are allocated against inventory and released to the logistics teams they will begin to appear […]
Email Integration
One of the most common questions that new VISCO users will ask is to clarify how the integration with email works. Considering the number of variables and options, it makes sense to document these options and present them in our blog.
To start with, it is important to understand the options available in terms of what the email address will be for the sender and what the email receiver will see. One option is that we can use a custom email address as the sender which can be integrated with your existing emailer service. So if your domain is metalcompany.com you can have an email address such as documents@metalcomapny.com. To establish this will require an integration with your emailer service.
Another option is to […]