|
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2010!
This edition includes us eating crow, and making an announcement that will
certainly reduce the blood pressure of anyone fearing that there would be end an
end to support for IPM
2007.
As proud as we are about our huge (and mildly weird) solution to IPM 2007 for
64-bit machines, our enthusiasm is definitely dampened by our 'recall' detailed
below. Of course we will correct any data errors the bug introduces.
 |
Just Like Toyota? Our First IPM Recall!
Problem with 2007.18, 2007.19 and 2007.20 solved in
IPM 2007.21
One of the most important changes made to out
limited-release updates IPM 2007.18
through IPM 2007.20 was a change to the Receipt screen to solve the
long-standing problem of credits showing up on the receipt. It looked like it
worked, but it doesn't in one instance and that's enough for us 'recall' IPM 2007.18
through 2007.20. Fortunately, these were recent updates and the situation that
causes the bug is fairly rare.
The problem only affects tenants where the charge due screen shows something
like $200 for Rent and Charges and Credits showing ($100), so the tenant
actually owes $100. In other words, tenant where you've given a one-time
credit instead of reducing a charge. On the receipt screen before
IPM 2007.18, if that tenant paid $100, you'd see $200 paid in Rent and ($100)
paid in Charges and Credits. That obviously doesn't make sense, and you have to
manually put $0 in Charges and Credits, and $100 in Rent. If you didn't correct
it, IPM didn't create the receipt correctly, and left your accounts our of
balance.
Starting with IPM 2007.18, that was no longer necessary. IPM didn't show the
credit in Charges and Credits, and only spread the amount you entered as the
check amount. HOWEVER, later in January, we saw instances where this new
scheme was actually creating a receipt that didn't agree with what you saw on
the screen. We dug into the problem and found that the problem was bigger,
older and more obscure than we could fix quickly. So we reverted to the
pre-2007.18 version of the Receipt screen and released IPM 2007.21.
There's also a fix for List Journals and a new 'Trial Worksheet' report in that
update, but the big feature is the roll-back to the older Receipt screen.
So, if you're on IPM 2007.18, 2007.19, or 2007.20, run the service pack on our
website at our
Downloads page,
and we'll try to forget those updates. Of course if those updates have through
your trial off balance, give us a call and we'll fix it. Meanwhile, we'll add
"new receipts screen" to our list of goals for IPM Classic!
We apologize most humbly for introducing this issue, and complicating your
business. Of course we will gladly fix any errors caused by this problem.
|
IPM Classic or IPM 10?
Which is right for me?
The announcement of IPM Classic may seem to confuse the
issue, but in the long run it'll make things simpler.
There are three questions to ask: first, which version can my PC support; second,
does IPM 2007 meet your needs, and third, is my database easily imported to
IPM 10.
First question, What can my PC support? If you're on a brand new 64-bit PC, your
choices are IPM Classic when it's available or IPM 10. (Unless you're on Windows
7 Business Premium which CAN run IPM 2007, but that's another story entirely.)
If you've got an older PC, IPM 10 requires a 1 gigaHertz processor and 1
gigabyte of RAM to run. That's a bare minimum. That
will be workable if you've got a dozen tenants. If you've got more that,
say, one hundred tenants, you'll want a lot more power than that. The ideal
machine for IPM 10 has quad processors at about 2.8 gHz, with
at least
4 gB of RAM. More is better! IPM Classic is still in
development, but we expect it to have about the same requirements as Word 2000,
so it will be fairly undemanding. IPM 2007 will run on any 32-bit PC, or on a
64-bit PC under Windows 7 running its Virtual XP environment.
Second question, does IPM 2007 meet your needs? If you're comfortable with
the End of Year and 9 check items and 10 CAMs, and everything else about IPM
2007, IPM Classic is the choice for you, or if you've got more than around 200
tenants and don't want to change your database, or you're a keyboard person
rather than a mouse person. If you've got high transaction volume and are
concerned about time per transaction, IPM Classic may be for you, too.
However, if you're constantly training new people or like more visual
information, or just want to stay at the cutting edge, then IPM 10 is the way to
go. IPM Classic will remain a more convservative product, while IPM 10
will be more receptive to change. IPM 2007 is at the end of its development
cycle, and won't receive any updates once IPM Classic is released.
Third question, Is my database easily transfered to IPM 10? IPM classic is
a new build of IPM 2007, so it's 100% database-compatible. No import
needed, just open your database. IPM 10, on the other hand, has a
different and more complex database structure, so there is an import to "suck
up" your IPM 2007 data into IPM 10 format. Unfortunately, a lot of older
databases have problems that you don't notice in IPM 2007, but you will in IPM
10. Try running the Tenant/Discrepancy report to see if your Tenant Ledgers
agree with your Charge/Due screen. If they don't, you'll need to make them agree
before you import to IPM 10. Also look at your Chart of Accounts. If
you've customized it with a lot of subtotals and subheads, or deleted headings
otherwise made it substantially different from the standard, it may be a
challenge to import. And the last question before you import is how many total
tenants do you have in the database? If it's over about 250, you'll probably
have to split your database into separate databases for each checkbook (i.e., if
you've got a database with 4 checkbooks with 100 tenants each, you may want to
split it into 4 databases; IPM 10 has a tool for that).
So, to summarize, if you're looking for a way to continue doing what you're
doing now with IPM 2007, IPM Classic is the choice for you. If you're
looking to leap forward and willing to invest some effort in the process, IPM 10
is your choice. |
IPM 10.2.6 Released
If you haven't tried IPM 10 yet, maybe now's the time.
It's free for everyone on maintenance, and available for installation from our
Downloads page.
We recommend you run IPM 10 and IPM 2007 in parallel for at least a month, and
re-import your 2007 data after every update that affects the Import function.
Updates will still be at least weekly while there's a need. Report bugs to
technical.support and we'll fix 'em in the next update.
The automatic updates make keeping current easy! |
|
Announcing 'IPM Classic'!
A new life for IPM 2007
Since we released IPM 10 last fall, we've been listening carefully to the
reaction from our long-time customers. From day one there was no doubt
that new customers loved IPM 10, and that was one of our main goals.
However, reaction from long-time customers was mixed. Some jumped on
it and have been using it happily since last October. Others had older PCs
or huge databases or highly customized GLs or Tenant Ledger issues, and they
were disappointed. Some just groaned at the idea of learning a new program, and
others gritted their teeth and decided to change just because they thought
support for IPM 2007 would eventually end. No one wanted to buy a new PC
just to run IPM 10. Finally, one IPM user voiced what we know many were thinking: "I just wish IPM 2007 would run on a 64-bit
machine."
Yeah, we'd like that, too. Unfortunately, IPM 2007 is written in VB3, a 16-bit
development environment. Since 1995 the consensus of developers has been
that VB 3 was dead-end, and the ordeal of bringing it forward to a 32-bit
development environment was more trouble than it was worth. When I tried to
outsource the conversion when I took over Realty Automation, I didn't get a
nibble from developers, and most responded with that same old story "VB 3 code
just doesn't convert." "This was my experience, too," says Bill Bennett,
President of FullHouse Software, "When I tried convert another program from VB3
in the mid 1990s, everyone said it couldn't be done, so we started over from
scratch."
On the other hand, over the years Bill learned that popular consensus often has no relation to facts
in the world. To make a long story short, using 'antique' software, a
clean Virtual Machine environment and a little help from Crystal Reports, we've
been able to get IPM 2007's source code to run as a 32-bit project.
What that means is that we can build IPM 2007 in a 32-bit format with
(comparitively) minimal changes! We're going to call this new version IPM
Classic. It'll support long file names and tool tips, AND it will use the same
database you use every day with IPM 2007. We can also retrofit some of
invisible improvements of IPM 10, so in many ways it's the best of both worlds
for users of IPM 2007, or new users on older PCs. It'll be 90% IPM 2007,
with some necessary enhancements to screens like the Bank Reconcilliation.
Our plan is to replace IPM 2007 with IPM Classic for all who want to remain in
the IPM 2007 family, and eventually retire IPM 2007 and say good night to the
16-bit product line.
So now all we have to do is get it to work.... We're establishing a development
timeline as we write this, and it's on the fastest track possible. Since this
project is mostly mechanical, we expect to have a beta this summer and
release next fall. Really.
So, we have been listening. IPM 10 will still be the future, but IPM
Classic will be a comfortable stop on the way. When Bob Maxwell first started
the conversation about selling Realty Automation, his first concern was "what
about my customers?" We know IPM Classic will answer that question for
everyone who doesn't need IPM 10.
 |
Important Update: IPM 2007.21
This update is required for anyone on IPM 2007.18, IPM
2007.19 or IPM 2007.20. It rolls back improvements to the Receipts screen
that were unpopular, and created problems for tenants with unapplied credits.
Read our 'mea culpa' at left!
It is available at no additional cost for everyone on the Maintenance plan, and will be available to download from
our website's Downloads page
(www.fullhousesoftware.com/downloads.aspx)
|
|