http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp Smart Bid Net News from JBKnowledge en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss info@smartbidnet.com (Info) info@smartbidnet.com (Info) Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added a feature called "Quick Add" to the Send Mail tab. This feature allows you to invite an individual company to a bid project that did not qualify by contact group/region/trade.

The General Contractor can now upload a proposal received by the sub on the proposal tab.

Completely overhauled the communication template editor. In the edit template function, there is a full function editor. In the edit mail tab, there is now a streamlined editor used for quick edits to a template before the communication goes out.

The Shared Managers list on the Info tab has been modified to only show those managers who have been given access to the job. The "Add/Edit" feature will allow the user to add more shared managers.

Added new feature to file downloading that causes the zip and download feature to stream in the background and notify you when it is ready. This allows the user to perform other tasks while waiting on the system to zip and download.

Added the option for "Invited (not rejected)" to the Select menu on the Send Mail tab to make it easier to select all subs who have been invited but not rejected.

We now allow for print orders from any plan rooms that are made public.

New feature to mark a sub as invited without having to send them an invitation. When the sub logs in, they will see that job available to them to bid on.

Corrected the Send Test and Printer Friendly features on the edit mail tab so that all fields are merged.

Fixed time formatting under the communication tab.

Person search export function corrected.

]]> Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#44 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Completed the final 2 phases of bid package implementation. You can now send out invitations by bid packages as well as trades.

Completed print plan ordering through the public plan interface.

Redesigned the interface for subs to update their information. At the GCs choice, a sub can view and/or update custom fields. Also at the GCs choice, a sub can update their trade codes, union status and minority status online. This can be done to assist the GC in a pre-qualification process.

Improved the trade selection for a company, making it much easier to select trades for subs.

]]> Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#43 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added Bid Package Management to Companies->Admin in preparation for handling of bid packages.

Added ability to post private plan rooms as public and to get a unique URL to send to lead services.

Corrected OST download link in plan room.

]]> Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#41 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added Star Rating system for companies that shows up every place a company is listed.

Changed small icons to action words on file and communication tabs.

Change the print confirmation email so subs can see when a GC orders prints for them.

Added the bid manager to the CC list for the print confirmation when subs order prints.

Added union tracking to sub contractors in the database.

Added minority tracking to sub contractors in the database.

Changed filters on bid projects to allow selection by union status and minority status.

Added Union and Minority status to statistics and send mail screens

Added Union and Minority status to data import and export for contacts

]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#40 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added every field from the info tab to availability on invitation templates.

Changed printing options so it does not ask for payment options if the GC pays for prints.

Added Note to Repro field on print ordering.

Added shipping account number and method on sub contractor records. That information is relayed to the repro for shipping prints.

Added a prompt to "Save Changes before Exiting" a tab to help prevent losing data when switching tabs without saving.

Removed description field from file upload.

]]> Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#39 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Have the option to not send attachments to fax recipients. This is on the Edit Mail tab

Have the option to not send login information to recipients. This is on the Edit Mail tab

People can now inherit contact information from the company they're tied to

Allow more file types to be sent to reprographics companies

Now have version management on files, which allows the user to upload a new version of the file and maintain old versions

Kept filename, but removed description on files. Added a date and time stamp on all files of when they were uploaded/posted

Changed the word "Hidden" on the File screen to "Select All"

Removed the dashboard tab from the sub screen

Added the list of files ordered to the print order confirmation email

The options that a user selects on sending orders to print will be the default options for their next selection

Added Email opening tracking to all email invitations. You can view the statistics under the communications tab to see who opened the emails.

Modified the "Save and Close" button on followups that saves the note, returns to the dashboard, refreshes the dashboard and maintains the sort order of the widgets on the dashboard.

Modified the show tasks feature show that it allows the user to designate what type of tasks they would like to show

Corrected bug with person assignment to a company

Allowed for the entry of a central account number for a reprographics company so that the system no longer asks for the account number every time

]]> Wed, 6 Feb 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#37 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added Bid Activity Widget that shows your bid activity on the dashboard

Added new feature to unified search that allows you to type in a company phone number, zip code, or website to search companies

Added new feature to unified search that allows you to type in a persons fax number or email to search people

Corrected issue with bug reporting system

Corrected note display for companies

Corrected issue with send email after followup

Corrected issue with search icon

]]> Tue, 8 Jan 2008 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#35 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added email alerts that notify bid managers when notes are added or proposals are submitted by sub contractors

Redesigned the interface to have a multi-tab dashboard and to load all popups in a tab. Redesigned navigation bar.

Added Public Registry searching to the system under the Info tab of bid projects. It is shown as another company type.

Added a new filter on the send mail screen for "Trades with None Accepted". It can be accessed from the "Status" button

Added ability to click on the tracking number for printing orders to view the shipping detail

Added bid deadlines to the event widget for the dashboard

Added large button to the top of invitations for subs to login and accept/reject the invite

Added features for sub contractors to send notes to GCs and view all invitations they have received on one screen

Added calculation of number of pages and page size upon file upload

Added a new feature called "Terminate Employee" that properly removes access and reassigns all items to another employee

Work email now required on people with Employee person type

System now embeds images in emails instead of referencing them through HTML

Now have the ability to designate which repros are available for each system

Corrected company refresh on lists so that the list does not reset when saving company data

Corrected page count on Edit Mail screen

Corrected issue with accent sensitivity on search feature

Corrected issue with files with spaces and accents

Corrected issue with industry skill selection

Corrected issue with changing templates on the edit mail screen

Corrected issue with the my info button on the sub screen

Corrected issue on the send mail screen with trade names not showing after filtering

Corrected issue with Email Templates under Marketing

Corrected issue with changing company types on a company

]]> Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#34 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

The confirmation message for sending messages has the job name in the message header.

The from field on edit mail is now a drop down menu.

Removed old company import feature. Maintained new company-person-skill import.

Added menu item under Companies->Export for exporting company data.

Rebuilt the update contact info feature to work better.

Corrected error where file attachments would not reset when changing templates on the edit mail tab.

]]> Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#33 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added new filter to the info tab, a filter for Phone Area Code

Save historical data on selections of companies in the send mail tab

Display an alert when you are about to leave the send mail tab without saving

Added two status levels for subs on a job, undecided and proposed

Increased the size of the editing screen on the edit template feature

Standardized the display of all names in the system drop downs to last name, first name

Display an alert when subs are about to leave the system without giving an intention of their status

Corrected Hide/Show Folder feature in the file management section

Corrected error in file management with files containing a “#” sign

Corrected sorting on Send Mail screen when filters are applied

]]> Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#32 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Re-engineered the Send Mail tab. Speed has been significantly improved. Changed the list so that it loads collapsed by default. Changed menu to drop down menus. Added "Expand All" and "Collapse All" buttons.

Added ability to "Accept" or "Reject" the invite to bid for subs on the statistics screen.

Added detail view on the statistics screen. You can now click on the "Details" button to view all activity (views, invites, downloads, etc) on a sub.

Added notes for subs on the detail view from the statistics screen. You can now add notes on subs from the screen and set followups that can show up on your dashboard if you add the followups widget.

Added an "orders by department" report to show departmental revenue.

]]> Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#31 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

SBN now has a standard Excel Import format. You can import companies by going to Companies->Import->Import Companies-Skills-People

The subject has now been added to the communication log listing

Users can now set the system to remember their username on the login screen.

Now showing and exporting the cell phone number on the statistics screen

Can now have custom fields for projects

]]> Fri, 5 Oct 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#30 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Improved person assignment on the company info tab

Improved the mark as paid feature for expenses

Removed popup data save confirmation boxes and imbedded the messages in the page

Improved Duplicate Search to make it more accurate

]]> Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#29 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Attachments that go out with bid invitations are now limited to 9MB. This does not affect the plan room

There is now a "Bid History" tab inside each company record that gives the complete bid history on each company

Completely re-worked the Info tab on the Company Management screen so that the assigned people and skills can all be managed from the info tab. The Assign People and Industry/Sklls tab under Companies are now gone, as their functions have been rolled up into the Info screen.

There is now a progress bar on file uploading that tells you how much has been uploaded

Corrected Person Search screen

The "Export Contact List" under "Search Companies" has been updated to improve the export format

The Bid Widget upon login now shows more information if the dashboard is in a 1 column configuration

Now allow for text areas on custom fields for companies.

Improved duplicate search for company and people addition

System now allows for the deleting of company types and the automated moving of related companies to another type

Corrected issue with processing some fax confirmation messages

Corrected Checkbox/Filter issues on Send Mail tab

Time/Expense reporting has been updated to allow for marking employee expenses as paid

]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#28 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Changed the contact export under search companies to make it easier to search/view

Changed the file upload limit to 40MB per batch

Updated company note system to auto-select the person entering the note

Updated export to excel on the Send Mail tab. Can now click on the "Send" header to filter by checked/non-checked.

Updated the Excel Export on the Send Mail tab to export checked/not checked.

GC's can now Hide/Unhide files so that subs cannot view old versions of documents but they stay in the plan room.

]]> Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#27 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added size and binding options for print ordering

Now allow for GCs to order prints for subs through their interface

Added ability to print an email invitation from the edit mail screen

Added message for subs trying to do an email password reset from the login page

The bid widget on the dashboard now shows all of the same information that the 'Show All Bids' section shows

Added the words 'Add Filter' to the info tab

New feature to have a 'Print Friendly' view of any list of bid jobs

Filtered out 'Closed Bids' on any bid listing. Click on 'Closed Bids' to view

Can now sort by bid due date on bid project listing

]]> Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#26 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

You can collapse or expand a trade code on the send mail tab by clicking on the row of the trade code

The status of a subcontractor and the checkbox used to send them an invitation have both been moved to the left side of the screen on the send mail tab to make viewing/clicking easier

You can now filter a company type by city, state or zip code distance range by clicking on the plus button to the right of the company type on the info tab

Corrected an error on the edit mail tab that occurred when two people were viewing/editing the same bid email at the same time

Changed the send mail tab so that invited companies always show up even when their company types have not been selected on the info tab

]]> Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#25 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Changed "Download OST" to "Download Free Takeoff Software"

Added the saving of every copy of communication you send out from the Edit Mail screen

Added the ability to click on an individual file from the GC File menu

Added AM/PM to last viewed time

Added the viewing of bid due dates on managers calendars if the company has the calendar module

Modified the layout of the Info tab of the Bid Project to allow for the addition of filters in the next release of SmartBidNet

Now allow for bid managers that can only view their bid projects and nobody else's. This rule will be applied to all base level estimators.

]]> Wed, 1 Aug 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#24 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Fixed file download links that had a combination of special characters

Changed the Save Work button on the Send Mail screen so it saves work for any user to view, not just the user who saved it

Added the feature that allows the General Contractor to audit every file that a sub contractor has viewed, downloaded or printed

]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#23 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added zip code to the info tab on Bid Projects

Added "Send Email then Fax" to the Send Mail Tab - it sends to emails and faxes if there is no email on file

Added new column filtering options on the Send Mail tab and the Statistics tab

Added a reset password link to all invitations

Set the system to resend the password each time to sub-contractors

Added the bid project name to all reprographic orders

]]> Fri, 6 Jul 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#22 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Zip Code Improvements - now all zip codes are checked against a master zip code table and city/county/state are auto populated

Changed the username and password schema for fax users who receive bid invitations

Added a re-send button in the Bid Communication Log

Corrected reported errors in the service request system and repetitive invoice system

Changed the format of the buttons on the Bid Send Mail screen. Added the ability to select all accepted vendors

Improved the security system for SEN to allow for more detailed control of what different user groups have access to

Improved the export to excel function on the statistics tab

The search company feature now allows the user to export the company list, contacts and trade codes to an excel sheet

Changed the security schema so that each user only has one security group tied to them

]]> Sun, 1 Jul 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#21 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Fixed scrolling error on Intranet pages

Improved Repetitive Invoice System

Adding Time Zones for bid due date/time

Improved Sorting on Statistics Tab

Improved Statistical Reporting on Bids and added features on Stats tab

]]> Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#20 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Be able to print out the invitation that someone received through the statistics tab

Keep a copy of each communication that goes out with the communication record in the stats tab

When managing an individual bid, put the project name in the header of the bid project

Added ability to manually accept/reject bid invitations for subs

New cancel feature on the Trade Code selection screen

Bid Project name automatically copied to subject line

Manual override now available when sending bid invitations

Excel export now available for communication and statistics

Now allow for file management in online plan room to move files between folders

Added Phone, Mobile, Fax fields to the quick add person inside the company tab

]]> Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#19 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added ability to have one login to multiple SEN systems

Fax transmission status parsing

Corrected error on adding a note and followup

Corrected error on quick person add with the Receive Bid status

]]> Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#17 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Upgraded the entire interface to AJAX

Added the ability to upload multiple files at once through a flash component

Implemented the ability to have invoice templates

Add Companies and Add People are in the same pop-up as edit

Changes to time sheet and expense reporting

Added ability to send a fax and email at the same time to bid recipients

]]> Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#16 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Corrected various SmartBidNet interface errors

Corrections to billing and time interface

]]> Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#15 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Expanded the capability of the person search feature

Upgraded the Access Log feature

Added Custom Fields capability for companies and people

Added the ability to have hours and other units for orders

Edit and delete time sheet

Allow to record future time

]]> Thu, 8 Feb 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#14 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added search and export capabilities to Smart Bid Net

]]> Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#13 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added a feature on followups that would eliminate 2 clicks from the process

Modified the Project and Order system to speed up data entry

Added the ability for Service Requests to send emails

]]> Thu, 7 Dec 2006 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#12 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Allowed for sequencing and batching of service requests

Allow for the creation of tasks on orders that have not been approved

Expanded feature for showing companies by industry/skill

Changed time format for Smart Bid Net projects

Added “Select All” button for Smart Bid Net skill selection

Removed title from all file uploads

On Edit Mail tab, changed “From” field to “From email”

Added ability to Select All under “Send Email” tab in SBN

Added ability to Select All Sent under “Send Email” tab in SBN

Removed a field from the proposal tab

Changed “Save” to “Submit Proposal” under the sub-contractor interface

Direct link login for sub-contractors that receive emails

]]> Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#11 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Allowing for administration of the number of hours in a work day

Changed Task Completion Date to Due Date

Removed assigment dates from project orders

Added option to list companies by Industries/Skills

Displaying company counts in the Industries - Skills section

When assigning people to a company the system imports work information from company record (work address, work phone and fax) "Pay rate" and "total" have been removed from the employee timesheet

Non-working days are now tied to a department

Expanded the time entry box on timesheets so it allows the user to type a paragraph

Can now filter project work by a date range

Can now review expenses in project work as well and edit them and designate certain expenses as "do not bill"

Users are now clocked out of their tasks when they clock out of the system through the AMS clock

Retainer order numbers for hosting and licensing roll through to the orders and monthly report

Column “actual hours” has been relabeled to “Hours worked during date range”

Custom fields can now have numerical, date, listing or text types

The total hours on the project are now displayed on the project info page

The profit and loss report has been modified to display the monthly and yearly numbers

Upgraded system to AJAX to increase speed and user interaction

Improved automatic email invitation by adding the url and System name

Now Allow to add email templates for bid projects

When a company is selected to receive a bid with one UCI/CSI code, they are added to all codes

The user can select company types when adding a bid project

Bid Projects: Removed Description. Added Location, Architect, Contact, Phone, Fax, Owner, Open and Due dates, added Due Date Time (CST by default)

Smartbidnet dashboard item now exists that shows "My Bid Projects"?

Add Save & Next button to all Bid Item tabs

The tabs now save the form data every time you switch to a different tab

]]> Mon, 5 Jun 2006 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#10 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp

Added new report for Project Profitability

Added new report for Retainer Work

Upgraded “Show Active Orders” to AJAX and added sorting

Allow repetitive invoices to be tied to retainer orders

Improved “Quotes” dashboard component

Increased the number of custom company fields to 8

Added empty value search criteria to dynamic lists

Can now view which recipients of an event accepted

Improved Industry/Skill Management

Can now choose if people are to receive bid invitations

Every Industry/Skill has a code so the system can match CSI

Allow for printable phone list

Bid invitations can go to more than just one person at a vendor

System auto-creates a login for all new vendors

Each bid manager only sees their bids

]]> Mon, 1 May 2006 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#9 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp Mon, 1 Jan 1900 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#42 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp Mon, 1 Jan 1900 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#36 http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp Mon, 1 Jan 1900 00:00:00 CDT http://www.jbknowledge.com/news.asp#38