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Software Updates Updates are made frequently. For brevity, we've omitted the more technical updates below.
11/14/2024
Merge Contact Information When Creating Merge Invoices
When creating merge invoices, you can now use fields from Contact records to generate invoice charge line calculations (such as when generating dues invoices). For example, if one component of the dues was based upon the number of branches, you could have the system use the number of branches field to populate the quantity field, and the total extended cost would be automatically calculated for each member.
You can also merge in Contact fields to personalize the charge lines - or list information that you want members to review and verify. This is a good way to list Contact information on the invoice, in order to have members review its accuracy.
To learn more about this new feature, select the 'Create Merge Invoices' option from the Main Menu. Then, on the prompt screen, click the 'Click here to learn more' hyperlink near the top of the page.
11/13/2024
Show Contact Search Results on a World Map
You can now display Contact search results on a map. This allows you to visualize the geographic location of any group of selected Contacts based upon their primary address, or an address type that you specify. Simply go into the Work with Contacts function and search for Contacts. You will see a new button near the search results that says 'Display Results on Map'.
Use the mouse to drag and reposition the map, or the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
As you hover over the location pointers on the map, the Contact's name and organization are shown. Click on a pointer and you will see more details about the Contact, including a hyperlink to jump to their Contact record. The email address is also hyperlinked, so that you can immediately draft an email message to the selected Contact.
Use the 'Customize' button at the top of the screen to filter records by membership status (paid/unpaid/inactive/new) - and to set other output options.
Use the 'Print' button at the top of the screen to print the map. Options under the 'Customize' button determine what is shown and printed.
10/29/2024
CE Transcripts Update
You can now include event-specific text on the CE Transcripts. This comes in handy when your members generate their own transcripts and you need event-specific text to print. For example, you might need to have something like "This event is approved for up to 12 continuing education credits. Approval #ABC-12345."
To set this up, simply enter the desired text on the first screen of the Event setup process.
Note that the text supports some basic HTML formatting. So you can use bold, underline and italic text.
10/01/2024
Credit Card Account Type and 4-Digit Account Number Added to Invoice Output
The credit card type and last four digits of the credit card number are now shown on the receipt transaction lines of the invoices. Prior to this change, it was necessary to click the 'Show Details' link to view payment details. The credit card type and four-digit suffix are also shown on the printed and emailed invoice receipt output as well.
As a reminder, for security reasons, the system does not store the full credit card account numbers, expiration dates or security codes.
08/21/2024
Performance-Tuning
While in general the WebSuite2 system is very responsive, we are aware there are times when it can be slow to respond. This has to do with how the database pre-loads in data before selecting and sorting it. (The first request is slow because it is loading in the data. Subsequent requests are fast, because the data is already loaded and available.)
We are working closely with the database experts at Amazon to fine-tune all of the settings and we have a multi-step process to determine to the best configuration. We expect to have this issue resolved by the end of this week. But we appreciate your patience in the meantime.
08/08/2024
Name Badge Format Added
A new name badge output format was added that uses the Avery 5163 (2" x 4") label forms. This form has two columns of five, peel and stick labels. This alleviates the need for name badge holders.
07/10/2024
Add To Calendar Updated
We replaced the 'Add to Calendar' button with a new component which integrates with a larger number of calendars applications. The prior component required an online service that was not working reliably.
06/19/2024
Name Badge Format Added
A new name badge output format was added to allow the Avery 3x4 name badges to be inserted into a printer with no page margins and in a single column. So, if you have removed (torn off) the page margins, and you have only one column of badges, this format will be able to print the badge details properly. This is useful for on-site name badges, where you have less than a full page of badges to be printed at once.
06/14/2024
Welcome to the Amazon Cloud!
We've been busy working on migrating the WebSuite2™ system to Amazon Web Services. Last night (Thursday, June 13th) we successfully cut over to the new platform!
Amazon Cloud® provides many valuable improvements to WebSuite2™. Here are some key features:
- Performance. We can precisely monitor system performance and allocate more resources at any time. In fact, the system will automatically add resources as needed. You should see a boost in the responsiveness of the system as you are searching for records, running reports or your members are navigating your website.
- Co-location services. If, for any reason, the WebSuite2™ service is unavailable from Amazon in one area of the country, the service would automatically be available from a different area - with no down time. The system is automatically replicating the database in two locations at all times.
- Backups. The database is also continuously being backed up. A snapshot is taken every minute.
- Security. We set everything up in what is called a Virtual Private Cloud. Think of it like a private building that has a wall around the outside, highly limiting access.
- Scaling. Amazon services can rapidly scale up and down. So, if demand for the system increases dramatically, Amazon will spool up additional servers, which allows WebSuite2 to handle more requests. So let's say you send out an E-Bulletin asking all of your members to go to your website. If they all show up at once, the system will be able to handle the increased load.
- Future services. Amazon has a host of other services that we plan to incorporate into WebSuite2™. Their Simple Email Service (SES) will allow us to leverage Amazon's massive infrastructure to do email broadcasting. They also have a payments service, to handle payment processing online. And more...
We hope you are as excited as we are to have all of these new capabilities!
06/10/2024
General Ledger > Show Account Totals by Event
A new option was added to the General Ledger Report. At the bottom of the report prompt screen, you'll see an option to 'Show Summary by Event'. When this option is checked the report will output G/L account totals for any Event Registration invoices included in the search criteria.
Keep in mind that the Event totals only reflect the amounts on the selected invoices, not for the entire Event.
06/10/2024
Mid-Year Update > We're Moving to the Cloud!
We've been so busy working on setting up new clients and migrating the WebSuite2 system to Amazon Web Services, that we've not posted any updates to the 'What's New' area for a very long time.
This Thursday evening is our target cutover time to make the switch to the Amazon Cloud. Instead of running on our own physical servers, we will leverage Amazon's massive infrastructure to host the WebSuite2 application and your data in a highly secured virtual private network. Our goal is to make this switch as smooth and transparent as possible for you and your members, minimizing any downtime necessary. The goal is zero downtime.
Amazon Cloud provides many valuable improvements to WebSuite2. Here are two key features:
- Co-location services. If, for any reason, the WebSuite2 service was unavailable from Amazon in one area of the country, the service would automatically be available from a different area - with no down time.
- Amazon services can rapidly scale up and down. So, if demand for the system increases dramatically, Amazon will spool up additional servers, which allows WebSuite2 to handle more requests.
More news later...
05/07/2024
CETrans > Upload CE Trans > Attempt to Automatically Link CEs to an Event
When uploading CE transactions from a CSV file, the system will now attempt to link the CEs to an Event. The CE Title within the import record must match an existing Event Title exactly, in order for this to happen. The primary value for this linkage is that the system is able to retrieve the Event details when generating transcripts and CE certificates.