Practice Manager

Chapter 1 Introduction to Practice Manager

This chapter contains a summary of the features in Practice Manager

– Contact 2015, which will be referred to as Practice Manager - Contact 2015.

Practice Manager - Contact 2015, the Document Manager, Jobflow Manager and Security 2015 are the modules that make up the HandiSoft Practice Manager program. For more information on Security 2015, see the PracticeManager

– Security 2015 User manual.

Introducing Practice Manager - Contact 2015

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 has powerful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, integrated with diary and time tracking facilities, individual "To Do" lists, and call logging and correspondence tracking.

You can operate Practice Manager - Contact 2015 as either a (a) freestanding program, or (b) module in the HandiSoft Software Suite.

The HandiSoft Software Suite shares client information between programs. For example, if a client changes their address, you record the new address in only one program

– all other programs update instantly.

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 features

This section contains a brief summary of some of the features in Practice Manager - Contact

2015.

Client Centric

Client Centric is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) feature that enables you to highlight a client in Practice Manager - Contact 2015 to view information relevant to that client in your installed HandiSoft programs. You can also launch any application and multiple instances of your HandiSoft programs from within Practice Manager - Contact 2015, with the highlighted client, relevant form and year automatically selected.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Practice Manager Practice Manager - Contact 2015

Contacts

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 maintains a separate database for the following contacts:



Clients



Prospective clients



Address book (for example, photocopier repairs, stationary supplier etc). Two address books exist

– a personal one for each user, and one for the entire firm.

You are able to transfer client and prospective client information between Practice Manager -

Contact 2015 and Microsoft Outlook.

Client database

The Client database used by Practice Manager - Contact 2015 is shared with the entire suite of

HandiSoft programs. Consequently any changes are automatically reflected in all HandiSoft programs.

Clients may be linked together using Relationships . For example, you are able to link together

Husband/Wife, Trust/Beneficiary etc. You are able to define Relationships to suit your practice’s needs.

Prospective clients

Using Practice Manager - Contact 2015, you are able to record details of your firm's prospective clients. This information can then be used when mailing out newsletters, advertising fliers etc.

You are also able to record the details of correspondence you may have with these clients, whether it is via e-mail, post, fax or telephone. You are able to create as many classes of correspondence as your firm requires.

Address book (suppliers)

You can record information relating to businesses that provide services to your firm. For example, you may add the name, address and telephone details of the photocopier repair firm, and then record details of any interaction you have with that business.

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 provides two Address Books

– a personal one for each

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 user, and a firm address book, which may be accessed by all

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 users.

Diary

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 provides you with a flexible diary system for which you can specify the time intervals to be used. For example, you may wish to have a time interval that corresponds to the units used when preparing timesheets.

Each user has their own diary into which meetings, appointments, reminders, private items etc may be recorded.

Users are able to look at and add to the diary of another user member. Privacy is maintained, as only the user who owns that item may view private diary items. If another user alters your diary, Practice Manager - Contact 2015 can notify you.

The Diary and To Do List interact. Items can be dragged and dropped between the To Do List and the diary.

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 can be set to alert you of events , by popping up a window with

relevant details.

You can create events and invite other users to participate. Those invited are able to accept or decline, giving reasons for declining. Accept invitations are automatically entered into the u sers’ diaries.

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Practice Manager - Contact 2015 Practice Manager - Contact 2015 features

The diary includes an Annual Leave Planner that provides a spreadsheet showing the times that

staff members are taking annual leave and other related events.

You can transfer diary information between Practice Manager - Contact 2015 and Microsoft

Outlook.

To Do Lists

The features of the To Do Lists are summarised below:



Each user is able to create as many To Do Lists as they require.



Users are able t o view each other’s To Do List.



Users are able to modify another's To Do List (Practice Manager - Contact 2015 can notify you if someone has added to your To Do List).



You may record To Do Lists as being private. This means other users are unable to view the list items.



Items in a To Do List can be easily dragged to another list, or moved into the diary.

Dragging a To Do list item into the Diary creates a Practice Manager Event.



Tasks set up in Jobflow Manager can be automaticall y entered in the relevant users’ To Do lists.

Document Manager

The Document Manager, which is purchased separately, provides an electronic filing system for your documents. It includes filing cabinets, drawers, folders and sub-folders in which you can store document files.

For more information on the Document Manager, see the Document Manager User Manual, or you can access the on-line help when you run the Document Manager.

Jobflow Manager

The Jobflow Manager is a project management tool specifically designed for an accountancy practice. It allows you to create and manage jobs, which are broken down into tasks.

Events you create in Practice Manager - Contact 2015 can be linked to Jobflow Manager tasks.

If you have the Time+Billing program installed, you can import those events into timesheets, or you can link Jobflow Manager jbs directly to Time+Billing jobs.

For more information on the Jobflow Manager, see the Jobflow Manager User Manual or you can access the on-line help when you run the Jobflow Manager.

Interaction with Microsoft Outlook™

You can synchronise Practice Manager - Contact 2015 with Microsoft Outlook to provide a flexible solution to your contact and event management needs. You can enter all your event and contact details into Practice Manager - Contact 2015, and then transfer them to Microsoft

Outlook. If you have Microsoft Outlook linked to a notebook computer or PDA, you can then use it out of the office to access and enter event and contact information. When you return to the office, all you have to do is synchronise Microsoft Outlook with Practice Manager - Contact

2015. Any information you have entered into Outlook will be transferred to Practice Manager -

Contact 2015.Information, like appointments that other staff members have entered into

Practice Manager - Contact 2015 while you were away, will be transferred to Microsoft Outlook.

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