What a Great Users Conference

Well we just completed Micro Key Solutions Users Conference 2010 and what a great conference. I wasn't sure how well this one would go off, because we skipped a year, but it was great. A lot of information was disseminated at the conference and our users all reported that they got a lot out of the conference. That is what we like to hear.

We conducted a session on Micro Key Web Solutions and discussed our up and coming MyView and PayPoint products. They were well received and I got a lot of great input from those that attended.

In the prototype of PayPoint I allowed users to simply click a check box to indicate which invoices they wish to pay and automatically posted unallocated receipts. I found out at the UC that this wasn't going to work for most alarm companies, because they accept receipt of deposits but don't post the invoice until the work has been completed. Also, many customers don't always pay an entire invoice at once or they want to pay in advance of service. So this has sent me back to the drawing board. In the next release of PayPoint we won't be posting unallocated receipts and customers will be able to change the amount they wish to pay. The screen will default to the balance of the invoice but the users will be able to change this amount to an amount less than or greater than the balance. We also discussed ways users will be able to sign up for these services automatically from your web sites. Presently we are going to ask for the name on the account, the zip code where the bills are sent and their password.

My plan is to have all these changes completed by ISC West and start beta testing MyView and PayPoint April 5th. Presently I have four companies that have agreed to beta test these new products. If you would interested drop me a line at swright@microkey.com.

If you have any comments on these changes please respond to this post. Thanks

MyView and PayPoint Status Report

Well we are in the last week of development. I really have to get better at estimating projects. What was suppose to be available mid summer is running into mid fall. But I want to make sure it's right. PayPoint was the toughest nut to crack because I wanted to make sure it takes into account every scenario and posts and allocates payments correctly. This feature is going to save you time and money because you will not have to post receipts or allocate receipts for those customers that choose to pay online.

Some of you have been asking why I chose Authorize.net over PayPal to integrate with PayPoint. The answer is simple, your Millennium software utilizes an integration to Authorize.net. Instead of having to have two credit card processing accounts you can use the same account to process both batch credit cards form Millennium and online transactions from PayPoint.

Also, some of you have been asking about pricing for MyView and PayPoint. At this time we have not established pricing for these two modules. If you own WebView already you will get these apps at no extra charge. WebView owners will also receive the planned applications of DealerPoint, SalesPoint and WebTech. If you chose to work with us and purchased WebView you will certainly come out of this a winner, because the cost of all these applications will exceed the cost of purchasing WebView alone. So if you are considering these web based solutions it would be cost effective to contact a Micro Key Business Development Representative and purchase WebView soon. Pricing for MyView and PayPoint, stand alone, should be announced with the roll out later this fall.

Continue to follow my blog for further status updates on these two exciting new products from Micro Key Solutions.

Your Business and the Internet

Hard to believe the Internet is in its fifth decade. Developed in the late 60's early 70's to allow different types of networks to communicate with one another. It has grown to be the number one way of communications throughout the world. In the mid 80's, with the introduction of domain names and Data Name Servers (DNS) the Internet became more friendly. Today used by everybody, the Internet moves information at the speed of light with just a click of mouse.

Using the Internet to communicate has replaced nearly every form of printed communications. Newspapers and magazines are quickly being replaced with web pages and email. Even the United States Postal Service is feeling the impact. Social network applications like Facebook™ and My Space™ are becoming the new place to gather and share your day and your thoughts on nearly everything. Even the telephone is being used less for communicating because Instant Messaging, texting and email can get the word out quicker to more people all at once. It's also safe to say, more than half of us pay our bills online rather than mailing checks.

"If you are not using the Internet to create and maintain a relationship with your customers, you may find yourself in trouble in very short time."

With newspapers closing left and right, phone books being placed in recycle bins right from the doorstep, and mailed pieces joining them nearly as fast. Your print ad dollars might just be going to waste. I know in our house, I sort the mail on top of the recycle bin and only about 30% of the mail sent to us ever even makes in the house and half of that ends up in the shredder. If you are in business today, you must embrace the Internet and begin to understand how to use it to reach potential customers and maintain customer relationships.

Side Note
Micro Key Solutions has been conducting some Training Webinars recently. The most recent series I was given only two weeks to set them up and promote them. With one email to our newsletter email list 60% of those that attended had registered. With one notice in our established users group another 30% were registered. The rest came from links on our web site. Here is the kicker, the cost was zero, only my time.

In the light of a changing world Micro Key Solutions began creating some web based tools to help you get and stay connected with your customers using the Internet. In very short time Micro Key Solutions will be releasing MyView™ and PayPoint™ to help our customers stay connected with theirs. You will also see new products coming from Micro Key Solutions that will improve cash flow, cut costs, and keep you connected and in front of your customers and potential customers, which is by far, most important in today's economy. If you continue to follow this blog you will also learn some tips on using the Internet to reach potential customers and how to share your message within your demographic.

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MyView and PayPoint Status

MyView and PayPoint are still in Alpha testing. That's the bad news. The good news I have added additional features that were brought up by the companies that are going to be doing some beta testing for us.

One of the new features is: PayPoint will support more than one Authorize.net account. This means if you provide billing services for your dealers your dealer can have its own Authorize.net account. This is based on the Divisions you have set up. If you don't set up a separate account for a Division it will utilize the default account.

One thing that has been causing delays in getting PayPoint finished is insuring it performs all the functions necessary. The Authorize.net integration was simple, integrating with Millennium was a little tougher. I wanted to make sure that PayPoint will take into account the possibility of an unallocated receipt. I wanted PayPoint to automatically allocate this receipt with the payment posting. Well, I got it working. The real advantage of your customers utilizing PayPoint will be your staff will not be required to post the transaction or allocate the receipt to an invoice. This will all be done automatically. PayPoint receipt transactions will identifiable in two ways. The check number will begin with "PP" and the payment method will be "Pp". This will allow you easily identify PayPoint transactions in your Millennium software.

One other item has caused a delay. In alpha testing I realized I didn't take into account the new alternate address feature of the Millennium software. Once this has be applied to the MyView software these two modules will be ready to be Beta Tested.

One last note: I am sorry I didn't get a post up last week. I will make sure that I keep this blog up-to-date and make sure I make at least one new post every week to keep you in the loop on our accomplishments.

Micro Key Solutions on Facebook

I had a great week last week. I got MyView and Paypoint nearly to completion. I am starting to shake down the application. So we should be ready to start the beta testing next week some time.

We have also made it possible to follow Micro Key Solutions on Facebook. By becoming a fan you will be able to partisipate in the discussion or start your own. We will be posting all upcoming events, make announcements and report on new products on this page so be sure to become a fan today and don't miss out.

MyView & PayPoint Only Days Away

We are only days away from the first release of MyView and PayPoint. I just received the last of the information I needed to complete the payment posting page of PayPoint. So we should be cleaning up the release by the end of the week. I will spend next week shaking it down and tweaking the pages and we should be ready for the first beta testers by the following week.

I found it very easy to work with Authorize.net and PayPoint will eventually have an added benefit that will allow your techs to perform collections in the field. They will be able to post credit card or checks electronically in the field using a smart phone.

I am very excited about these new products. I feel there will be a real benefit to our existing Millennium users. The major difference between MyView and WebView will be that even dealers will benefit. WebView was primarily designed for our Millennium Monitoring customers but MyView and PayPoint can be used by both. Our dealers that use the Millennium Reports module will even be able to allow their customers to view alarm history and alarm status.

If you are interested in becoming a beta tester of these new products be sure to contact me as soon as possible. This will be a limited release and I anticipate it closing fast. You can contact me at swright@microkey.com.

Single Server for MyView a Bust for now

I just took a look at the single server option for MyView and PayPoint. Which would keep our customers from having to purchase, install and maintain a web server. This is a possibility but will require a lot more planning than I originally thought. It would delay the release of MyView and PayPoint. It's not our desire to delay the release of the these two products any further so we will put this concept on a back burner for now.

MyView & PayPoint Status

Just want to keep you up-to-date. We made a little progress this week we determined we will be using Authorize.net and the method we will be using will NOT require you purchase a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. This method will also keep you from having to keep your customer credit card information in your database reducing your liability.

We are also looking into hosting MyView & PayPoint on our secure servers so you won't even need to purchase a web server or install the software at all. You should hear more about this feature in my blog next week as we move forward with testing this.

MyView & PayPoint is Almost Here!

As promised, in this weeks blog entry I will report on the status of MyView & PayPoint. Two new products from Micro Key Solutions. I am very excited about these new products because they will help you keep and maintain a strong relationship with your customers. Something that is needed in today's economic times. Another reason I am excited about these two products, they are being developed them from the ground up to either be embedded in your SSL web site, as a pop-up or can be accessed using mobile devices like the IPOD Touch or IPHONE.

MyView will allow your customers to check their alarm status, review Users and People-to-Call, review the last fifty entries in their alarm history for each area or partition. They will be able review their contact and billing information, view service information including any automatic services and open work orders. They will even be able enter a service request online. Customers using medical monitoring will be able review their medical information you have stored in your database including doctor and hospital info and any medications they are taking.

PayPoint will allow your customers to view their open invoices and pay online with a credit card through Authorize.net. The great thing about PayPoint it will take into account any unallocated receipts and post the receipts and allocate them automatically.

If you are using the Bill Payer feature of our software you will be able to assign a customer access to the Bill Payer account and give them give them access to ALL service locations. You can even give them rights to set up their own users. But don't worry they can't grant rights to their users unless you have first given those rights to the administrative user.

In the first release of MyView your customer WILL NOT be able to change any information and they will directed to call to alter the content of your database. In the future they will be able to directly email a request to change data or will be able to change the data themselves online. All three of these levels will be available for you to assign user as you desire. You may grant rights to alter contact info but then deny access to alarm or service info. You are in total control of what you users can access and change using MyView.

It was our hope to have MyView and PayPoint available by mid summer, but due to scheduling issues this has been pushed back to late summer, sometime in September. MyView is presently ready for Beta Testing, and we are finishing up the coding on PayPoint. We won't make either product available for Beta until they are both ready. Right now it looks like we are still two weeks out.

If you would be interested in beta testing these products email me at swright@microkey.com. You must be a Micro Key Millennium customer and currently on support. Those that have purchased WebView will have first crack at it. If you would like to access the MyView Demo using your iPhone or iPod Touch, simply access webview.dyndns.org/myview. You can follow the progress of these and all WebView projects at http://webview.microkey.com/.

Live Chat and Webinars

Well it's been awhile since I posted to my blog so there is a lot to get you caught up on. First off in July we added Live Chat to the web site. Our Business Development Reps are manning it and ready to answer your questions on any of our products and services.

We also started something, I call, Micro Key Webinars. Our first training webinar took place last Friday and it was on a new feature of our software that allows you to customise your invoices, proposals and work orders. We placed a recording of this webinar on our Tech Support web site in the Video Training Center. This first webinar was a great success so I am sure we will be planning others in the months ahead.

I have also been working on the new WebView products call MyView and PayPoint. These two new products will be going into Beta testing really soon and should be available sometime in September.

MyView is product which allows your customer to view their account and system information online and PayPoint will allow your customers to pay their bill online and will automatically post the receipt and allocate it which will save you time and money. Both of these products can be accessed from any web browser, this includes Safari on either a Ipod Touch or IPhone. Unlike WebView these products can be embedded in your existing web site.

Watch for more details on MyView and PayPoint in my next blog entry.