ReadMe - TireMaster 9.3.0

The ability to email statements to customers is now available. When statements are emailed, they’re delivered as PDF attachments. You have the option to email customers only a statement or a statement along with the corresponding transactional documents (such as invoices, ROAs, and credit memos). Once an electronic statement run is completed, copies of both the statements and the transactional documents are saved in a subfolder (named Out) that has been added to the TireMaster program directory. Along with emailed statements, you can continue to provide customers with hard copies of statements as needed.

In addition to the email functionality, this release includes the following statement changes:

The simplification of the statement form

The ability to add a logo, a brief message, or both to the statement header

The option to print or exclude your business address from the statement header

The consolidation of statement settings on one screen, so you no longer have to go to System Controls to complete some settings and the Form Options screen to complete others

The Contact List screen has been widened to better display long customer and vendor contact names.

The system control Sales Tax - Ignore Single Exemptions helps to ensure that enough sales tax is collected when the following conditions exist in TireMaster Corporate:

Your stores are in multiple locations (counties or states) with tax rates that vary.

Your default tax levels are based on the site instead of the tax levels assigned to customers. (Another control, Sales Tax - Use Levels Assigned to Customers, is set to No.)

One of the tax levels assigned to a customer is an exempt level. (For example, parts are taxed and labor is not.)

Customers buy items at stores besides the ones where they were added to TireMaster.

By setting Sales Tax - Ignore Single Exemptions (Customer tab) to Yes, a customer who is assigned one exempt level will be charged the site’s sales tax for both parts and labor when shopping at a store in an area where there is a different tax rate.

The number of sites allowed for TireMaster Corporate systems has increased to 64.

Duplicate invoices generated from Customer Maintenance once again print in the dot matrix format instead of the laser format, when the form assignment for your invoice printer is set to dot matrix.

Invoices no longer include comments when the Print Comments setting is disabled for invoices (in Form Options).

Work order notes and credit card information are no longer printed in the same place on deposit invoices.

If your TireMaster system is integrated with the Epicor Integrated Service Estimator, you can retrieve Epicor’s vehicle specifications and save them with the corresponding vehicle records in TireMaster. The specifications include fluid types and capacities, brake repair information, and inflation and torque values. Once a vehicle’s specifications have been loaded into TireMaster, you can refer to them when performing oil changes or other services. Vehicle specifications can be viewed on the vehicle setup screen and on the Vehicle Spec tab that has been added to the Invoice Entry screen. Hard copies of vehicle specs can be generated from the vehicle setup screen and when you print work orders. To print vehicle specifications with a work order, select the Print Vehicle Spec check box on the Work Order screen.

On TireMaster systems running the Tire-HQ Interface, the GY Find button is now available on the Customer Recon Codes screen for customers who are already assigned a reconciliation code.

TMText has replaced the Text-4-U application available in previous TireMaster versions. Like Text-4-U, TMText offers texting for customers and vendors and the ability to send customers automated appointment reminders. Additional functionality in TMText, however, includes being able to view text message history and creating multiple, predefined (canned) messages of your own. If you have not yet switched to TMText or if you want to add TMText to your TireMaster system, contact your account manager. For more information, see TMText.

When you print a Tire Protection Plan certificate, the mileage from the current work order is now used. If no mileage is entered on the work order, the mileage recorded during the last visit prints on the certificate instead. Previously, the mileage from the previous work order was always used. If your store offers the Tire Pros Tire Protection Plan, you can produce warranty registration certificates when recording tire identification numbers with the DOT Interface.

You now have the option to match noninventoriable items on work orders to the receiving documents for those same items. The purpose of item tracking is to ensure that when customers return noninventoriable items, you’re handling parts or tires that your store actually bought from vendors and then sold to those customers. It also helps you verify that outside purchase items were sold to customers and not kept by employees.

Items can be tracked regardless of whether they’re assigned the option cost, expense, or relief percent costing methods. When you add a tracked item to a work order, its costing method affects how you match it to the corresponding receiving document.

Option Cost Items: When you add a tracked option cost item to a work order, you are required to define the item’s cost and identify the vendor who delivered the item. When you do this, TireMaster generates the receiving document for the item. Items assigned the option cost method are typically obtained via outside purchases and then sold to customers. If you decide to use item tracking, option cost items are the ones you’ll most likely want to track.

Expense Method and Relief Percent Items: When you add a tracked expense or relief percent item to a work order, a list of receiving documents appears. Then you select the corresponding receiving document on the list. The expense and relief percent costing methods are typically used for small, inexpensive items.

Once an item and a receiving document are linked, you can use the new Item Tracking screen to identify the vendor who sold you the item and the receiving document that was processed when the item was delivered.

Creating oil change work orders for repeat customers is faster and easier, because you no longer need to look up oil filters, types, and capacities. Now you can reuse detail lines from historical invoices to create new oil change work orders. By clicking a button that has been added to the Invoice Entry screen, you can open a list of invoices on which oil changes were previously sold to a customer for the selected vehicle. Then you can select the items you want to sell again and add them to the new work order.

Product information for up to three tires can be displayed near the top of the page on good, better, best quotes. The content displayed depends on whether your TireMaster system is integrated with the Tire Brands database from TGP Solutions LLC.

For Tire Brands subscribers, product images along with individual values for tread depth, treadwear, traction, and mileage warranty are shown (when available).

For dealers who do not use Tire Brands, the entries in the UTQG and Warranty fields from Inventory Maintenance are shown instead.

To include product information near the top of the page, the following conditions must be true:

The new system control Quotes - Use Tire Brands must be set to Yes.

The labels Good, Better, and Best must each be assigned to an item on the quote. Depending on how the new system control Quotes - Use Good/Better/Best is set, these labels are assigned automatically or you can assign them manually.

Service checklist items are now grouped into one section of the page on printed quotes/estimates, organized by inspection area. Because of this change, quotes/estimates now have a single total for all authorized services. Previously, when service checklist items were added to quotes/estimates, they were grouped by individual inspection areas, which resulted in multiple totals for authorized services.

An issue that prevented the deletion of A–E price levels has been resolved.

A basic time clock for recording daily work in and out times is now available, along with a report listing employee time entries. Once the time clock is launched, it can be run continuously in the background while you perform other tasks in TireMaster. Any employee can open the time clock, however, logging in with TireMaster credentials is required to enter in and out times.

The time clock also includes functionality that allows users to do the following:

Enter time for themselves manually

Enter times for other employees

Print Time Clock Reports for other employees

Whether users are allowed to use this additional functionality depends on whether their security settings include two new permissions. One is Time Clock Entry of Others and the other is Time Clock Manual Entry.

The Dashboard has been revamped for this release. A colorful tool for generating on-screen graphs and bar charts with daily and monthly gross profit, sales, and quantity information replaces the previous plain text screen. With the new Dashboard, you also have the option to compare this year’s and last year’s GP$, GP%, sales, and quantity totals, and you can set monthly sales and gross profit goals and see whether you’re keeping pace with those objectives. The new Dashboard is still accessed by pressing F9, and it continues to list gross profit figures, parts and labor totals, and document counts for the current day’s work orders and invoices. User access to the new Dashboard is controlled with the new permission Dashboard View.

The Time Clock Report lists employee time clock entries and the amount of time worked during a user-defined date range. The report, which is part of the Time Clock module, can be generated for one employee or all employees, depending on a user’s security settings. For more information, see New Feature - Time Clock.

Data retrieval issues that prevented the Inventory Moving Report from correctly listing on-hand and monthly quantities sold have been resolved.

The deposit slip on the Day End Transaction report now shows the sum of all cash collected when multiple tills are used in a single-store environment.

Appointment time not found errors no longer appear during attempts to edit appointment details.

The following permissions have been added to TireMaster in version 9.3.0:

Time Clock Entry of Others, which allows users to enter in and out times for other employees and print Time Clock Reports for other employees.

Time Clock Manual Entry, which allows users to enter forgotten times and correct previously-entered times.

Dashboard View, which allows users to view the new graphical TireMaster Dashboard.

For more information, see New Feature - Time Clock, Assign the Time Clock Permissions, New Feature - Graphical Dashboard, and Assign the Dashboard Permission.

The following system controls have been added to TireMaster in version 9.3.0:

Quotes - Use Good/Better/Best, defines whether to automatically assign the labels Good, Better, and Best to the first three items added to a comparison quote. For more information, see New Feature - Product Information on Good, Better, Best Quotes.

Quotes - Use Tire Brands, defines whether product information for up to three items is displayed across the top of the page on good, better, best quotes. If your TireMaster system is integrated with Tire Brands, this information includes product images (when available). For more information, see New Feature - Product Information on Good, Better, Best Quotes.

Sales Tax - Ignore Single Exemptions, helps to ensure that the proper amount of sales tax is collected when a dealer operates stores in multiple locations and sells to customers who are assigned a single exempt tax level. For details, see Enhancement - New Sales Tax Control.

Statement Cutoff or Real-time, defines whether statements are generated based on the most-recent statement cutoff date or today’s date. For more information, see New Feature - Statement Email.

With the new function key guide, you can quickly find out which F keys can be used to access various TireMaster program areas. To open the F key guide, select Help > Function Keys.

The layout and design of the TireMaster help system has been updated, and now it includes content that you previously needed to retrieve from the TireMaster Support site. This additional content includes release notes and setup guides for currently-supported TireMaster versions and instructions for using various integrated products (such as BAYiQ Rewards and the Bridgestone National Accounts Interface).

The TM Support Connect icon has been removed from all of your computers running TireMaster, because the ASA Support team no longer uses LogMeIn Rescue for remote access. The Support team now uses FixMe.IT, which can be installed during an upcoming support call.

By default, TireMaster is set to include product information on comparison quotes and automatically assign the labels Good, Better, and Best to quoted items. If you want to exclude the product information, automatic labeling, or both, change the settings for the new quote controls as needed.

To set the new quote controls

To disable automatic Good, Better, Best labeling for the first three items added to a quote, select the control, and press Enter. Then change the setting to No.

To continue using automatic Good, Better, Best labeling, leave the control set to Yes.

If you want to exclude product information from good, better, best quotes, select the control and press Enter. Then change the setting to No.

To continue including product information near the top of the page on good, better, best quotes, leave the control set to Yes.

If you’re a TireMaster Corporate user who operates stores in multiple locations with varying sales tax rates, make sure the control to ignore single exemptions is enabled. If you do not do business in this type of setting, you can disregard setting the control.

To set the new sales tax control

To produce hard copies of downloaded Epicor vehicle specifications, you need to define which printer will be used to generate these documents.

To define the vehicle specifications printer

2.

Click next to the WO Vehicle Spec field. The Print screen opens.

If you’ll always use this printer for vehicle specs, make sure the Selectable check box is clear.

If you want to choose a printer when you print, make sure the Selectable check box for the vehicle specs is selected.

If you have decided to use item tracking for one or more of your noninventoriable items, you need to enable it.

To enable item tracking

This release includes two new permissions that define whether users are allowed to make time clock entries for other employees, print the Time Clock Report for other employees, and make manual time entries for themselves. For more information, see New Feature - Additional Permissions and New Feature - Time Clock.

To assign the time clock permissions

If users in the security group are allowed to enter time for other employees and print Time Clock Reports for other employees, select Time Clock Entry of Others on the list of unassigned permissions and click .

If users in the security group are allowed to enter manual time entries for themselves, select Time Clock Manual Entry on the list of unassigned permissions and click .

To access the new graphical TireMaster Dashboard, users must belong to a security group that’s assigned the Dashboard View permission.

To assign the dashboard permissions

5.

On the list of unassigned permissions, select Dashboard View and click .