Clients & Profits | Getting Back on Track Newsletter

Want something changed? Here's how.

There's never been a shortage of opinionated users (that's for sure). But that's fine, because feedback from users like you has made Clients & Profits what it is today.

Since the first version of Clients & Profits was made way back in 1986, we've always been committed to making it do more and work better.

Your suggestions matter to us, whether it's a wish list request, a bug report, or just a comment about something you like or don't like. But with thousands of users, it became difficult to manage so much feedback. So we've developed a better way to make your voice heard. Click here.

It's simple: All you do is enter your e-mail address, the version of Clients & Profits you're using, and the issue's subject and description.

You'll get a confirmation e-mail within ten minutes. Your bug report or wish list request is logged into our automated R&D database, which lets us manage the feedback. As we review your issue, you can track its progress via e-mail -- you'll even be notified via e-mail when the issue is resolved. It's a great way to stay in-the-know about the direction of Clients & Profits, so you can better plan your agency's future.

The fine print The bug report/wish list web page shouldn't be used for requesting technical support, since the system isn't monitored in real time; instead, email the helpdesk. Also, all feedback becomes the exclusive property of Clients & Profits, Inc. according to the terms defined in the Software Proposal and License Agreement. Please don't send us anything that your organization considers proprietary or confidential.

By Mindy WIlliams

With the release of Clients & Profits 5.0, the program's documentation was split into two parts: a printed Feature Guide and a new online User Guide.

The new Feature Guide (which is included as PDF files on your C&P 5.0 CD) provides a visual overview of the system's key features. In addition to explaining how each feature works, it offers more screen shots and captions to better illustrate what each window's fields, buttons, and links do.

What isn't included in the Feature Guide are step-by-step instructions; they've been converted into web pages and integrated in the Clients & Profits web site as an online user guide.

The idea was to simplify the printed manual -- what new users use most -- and focus on just what they need to get going. By making the user guide web-based, the printed manual got more room to introduce the upgrade's many new features (and keep the binder from getting even heavier).

A web-based user guide has several compelling advantages, too. First, it's searchable in ways a printed manual can never be; it's interactive, with links, FAQs, tech notes, tutorials, and sample reports; and, most importantly, it can be refreshed much more easily and frequently than a printed user guide.

Using the online User Guide couldn't be easier, either: Simply click button from any Clients & Profits 5.0 window. In seconds, the user guide page appears in your web browser (assuming you have an internet connection, of course). This means no more dog-eared or out-of-date pages -- and no more fumbling through an index to find an answer.

You can see the online user guide here.

Mindy Williams is a senior member of the Clients & Profits Helpdesk and co-edits the quarterly newsletters.