How do I add multiple services to be billed under a single account? I keep getting a 'Key Violation'. The program allows multiple 'different' services to be assigned to a single customer account number. If you try to add the same service (at a different address) under the same customer number, you will get a 'key violation' (duplicate), if the service type and customer ID already exist at another address. If you have multiple same type services which need to billed to a single customer number, such as a property manager's account' , add a 'sub -ID' number to the service type on the contract screen. If you have a customer with an ID of D000, for example, create additional sub account numbers which make sense to you. On each contract, add a number after the service description, changing it to read ' Inside Pest D001', for example. The next contract location with the same service changed to read 'Inside Pest D002'. etc, etc. Keep the Customer ID number (D000) the same for both contracts and the bills for both properties will be sent there.

How do I add the Organizer to the program? You can purchase Lotus Organizer for around $79 from most software houses, or directly from www.lotus.com/home.nsf/welcome/store . Once installed, save a calendar file with the name "DDTCalendar.or6" into your data directory. This file then becomes a master schedule file, as well as a master listing of your customer base. If you have multiple companies, save a copy into each company's data directory. Hint - establish personal organizer calendars for each desk, and then "link in" pages from the shared DDTCalendar.or6 file as necessary. This allows each user to have his own calendar, yet share a common schedule/list of customers.

Do you offer on site support?  Unless you are local to our area, no. However, we do support Microsoft's net meeting 3.01, which allows us to view your PC's screen, transfer files, and provide any training requested via the internet. To download a free copy of Net Meeting, visit www.microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting/download/nm301x86.asp or email us for additional assistance.

How do I set Windows to show 4 digit dates (i.e. 1999 vs 99)? From the control panel in windows, select "regional settings", and then the "date" tab. Under the "short date style" setting, select "mm/dd/yyyy", and then close the window. All dates displayed in DDT2000 will now show as 4 digit years.

What's in DDT2000? There is not enough room on this page to describe all of the differences. All of your data files will remain compatible, along with the layouts of most of the easy to use screens. We are integrating IBM's Lotus organizer 6.0 as a desktop manager and scheduler. This will give everyone the ability to see daily route schedules for the week, as well as keep in-depth contact and telephone information on your customers. Lotus organizer also supports PIM's like the Palm III, which means your customer data can hit the road with you. Organizer 6.0 sells for around $80-$100, and adds great features, including printing envelopes, email, special letters to customers, shared calendars (one for each route if you want) and contact management. It's a great program.

Other new features in DDT2000 include new reports and invoice choices, a report writer, data filters for service tickets, payments and adjustments, data archiving, and automatic addition of new companies.

Can I use a different screen resolution when using DDT2000 other than 640x480? DDT2000 was designed for most pest control companies that we surveyed, and all were using 640x480 resolution. You can use higher settings, such as 800X600, and won't have any problems with the program. DDT2000 includes features to keep you data centered, regardless of your resolution setting.

What is the easiest way to add new customers to DDT? The method of choice is to add your customer information first. If this customer has an existing balance from another source, enter that balance in the "start balance" block, including aging amounts if necessary. For New customers, enter "0.00". The "start date" is the date for which the "start balance" is correct, and is usually set to the day your customer began doing business with you. Save your data, then open the contracts button from the same screen and use the "add new" button to add services. Once services have been added, you can schedule a single service with the "Quick Tik" button from the contract and services screen. Group service scheduling is available from the "Activities menu". Once a service has been completed, post the ticket on the service ticket screen. Payments are posted from the payments screen. Make sure you don't enter services and payments dated earlier than the "start date", as it will only confuse you later and can cause errors when calculating customer statements.

When adding new service contracts, I receive a "key violation" error. Why? Key violation errors mean "duplicates". This error is triggered from the service contract screen when a customer you are adding or editing already has the service type on another contract. If this happens from the customer information screen, the customer number you have chosen has already been assigned. The bottom line here is that a single customer can have multiple services under the same customer ID number, but they can't have duplicate services under the same customer ID number.

Is there a quick way to add services to existing customers? We have added an 'add new' button to the contracts popup window which appears when you press the "Contracts" button from the customer information screen. Pressing the "add new" button opens a blank service contract page with the customer number, address, name and city already filled in for you. If you are already on a customer's contract screen, you can also use the "copy service" button to create an exact copy of an existing service, which you can modify.

Do you customize reports? Currently, we have over six different billing and service ticket report styles available, including self mailers. Please call if you are interested in something other than the default styles included in DDT2000. There is no cost for one of the other report styles, but we do have to send you a different report module. DDT2000 will soon have the ability to choose from these report styles built in. Customized reports (other than mentioned here) are available for an additional moderate charge.

If I purchase DDT2000, how much will it cost for upgrades  when they are released? Upgrades are available for free from the download section.

How can I make custom letters (Mail Merge) or other documents using my DDT2000 data? There are two database files of interest here. First is DDTCust.db. This file contains most all of the information displayed on the customer information screen, including the billing address, account balances, aging information, and phone numbers. The second file, Contract.db, contains the service address, service type, service billing amount, last service, and most other data seen on the Contracts and services screen. All data is stored in an open database format, using Paradox 4.0 type tables.

Both Word and WordPerfect support Paradox table types, and DDT2000 data can be directly imported into mail merge types of documents. We've included a sample WordPerfect 8 '90 day Collections' merge file, which you can download and examine to see how it's done. The steps involved for most word processing programs are generally the same. First - design your document. Second - Identify your data to merge (Contract.db or DDTCust.db). Third - Place the merge fields in your document, and 'Merge' the data onto the form.)

How do you prevent no cost service revisits from being recorded and counted as an additional service? Make sure the "track callbacks" check box is unchecked on your preferences screen. When service tickets are posted, the program checks the most recently recorded service date. If track callbacks has been checked, all tickets including no charge services can update the last serviced date. To prevent this from happening, DDT2000 can generate "NC" (no charge) tickets which do not update the last service date if track callbacks is unchecked. NC tickets are annotated with "NC" in the service description field. NC tickets are usually generated using the "Quick Tik" feature found on the service contract screen.

Can I create custom ticket notes and record special treatments or notes when I post services? When entering completed tickets into the system, technician notes or special treatments which apply only to that service can be recorded in the services field. If you need to enter special notes, such as "call first" or "beware of dog", you can enter these into the service memo field. Contents of this field print whenever the ticket is printed. If you need to enter a one time note such as "carpenter ants in kitchen", use the Quick Tik feature which contains its own service notes area.

I have a lawn service and pest control company. Can DDT2000 do both? Yes. DDT2000 supports multiple companies and can easily switch between them. Please contact customer support for instructions on how to create the additional data directories needed for another company.

What is a Query Screen? This is a screen which allows you to ask questions of your data, and receive responses based on your question. It consists of data entry fields, which when filled in, limit the answer to what was asked. If the data entry fields are left blank, all answers are then returned. For example, if you filled in the Service Query field with "Lawn Service", only Lawn services would be reported on. If you left it blank, all services would be included in the answer.

How does the "Unserviced" report handle missed services? When generating an unserviced report, The last service Query field is automatically filled with a date (usually 45 days) earlier than the present day-and you can change this date if needed. The report looks for service contracts which have a last serviced date earlier than this query field. Services which have not been completed as of the query date will be reported on. The report itself will list the last service date for each service listed. This date will always be earlier or equal to the service Query field date.

I've lost some service tickets and need to reprint them. Will this cause another service call to be generated? No. printed tickets are generated from a scheduled services database. Additional tickets can be reprinted from the list of open scheduled services. Once a scheduled service has been completed however, an additional ticket cannot be printed.

What is "Recalc" for? Even though the program updates customer totals and bills as you enter data, there is always room for the power failure or someone turning off the computer by mistake. Recalc causes a customers account to be checked and totaled again. It is also available as a global feature to recalculate all of your customer accounts if needed. In addition, the program contains additional file repair and data verification features should you really "crash".

My reports are crowding data and hard to read. We given you a lot of control over your report printouts and allow you to select different printers and fonts. If you are using dot matrix printers, you will greatly appreciate this feature, as it allows you to select printer fonts which are much faster than the windows True Type fonts normally used. Crowding is usually caused by selecting a font which is too large for the report. Most reports print fine with "Arial" or "Times New Roman" selected. If you are printing service tickets with a dot matrix printer, courier 10 or courier 12 usually works best.

I want to add an additional service to a customer's account. Is there a quick way? The "Copy services" button on the service contracts screen creates a complete copy of the current service selected. Once you have made the copy, its easy to change the service field to the new service requested. The program try's to prevent as much retyping as possible. When adding new customers, its best to start with the Customer Information screen, and then add services. When performed in this order, data saved in the customer screen (name, address, phone, etc.) is copied to the services screen.

Can't find your question? Please feel free to Contact Us.