We recommend that everyone in your company who draws a paycheck (including principals and executives) should enter time in Web Suite so that you have an accurate accounting of the hours (and thus, dollars) invested in your business.
Web Suite provides the following solutions and benefits, enabling you to manage your overall company and business:
You can set up and operate Web Suite to allow contractors and government agencies to comply with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit requirements. Feature such as password security, audit trail, task assignment and monitoring, time tracking, submittal and multi-level approval, reporting, etc. meet the DCAA compliance requirements. You can implement standard DCAA Compliant settings throughout Web Suite with a single click and set its password (using Global Settings). See the DCAA Compliance Guide for more information.
Using Web Suite, you can send contextual messages to other users based on trigger events. For example, project managers can send time card rejection messages to timekeepers when they log in or open a time entry screen. Similarly, you can send billing-related messages to billing managers when they open the Billing Review screen. This improves communication by notifying, reminding or advising others within the context of a task.
It is a good management practice to determine what information you want on your screens, especially when making billing decisions. Web Suite enables you to customize the fields displayed in the grids—keep the fields you want to view and hide those you do not deal with. For example, do you collect taxes on labor or expenses? If yes, turn on the tax fields using the Field Chooser. Do you want the client ID, project name and activity description in the grid as reference information? If no, turn off these fields in the grid.
You can link scanned documents and graphics to Web Suite records like employees, clients, projects, time, expenses, purchase orders, vendor bills, etc. For instance, you might want to attach letters, employee performance reports, contracts, receipts, consultant invoices, bills or anything that is digital to records for quick reference. Files can be located anywhere on your computer or your company network. The benefit is that project managers, principals and others do not have to waste time in looking at different places to find important documents related to your current task or project.
Web Suite enables you to record important qualitative or quantitative information about clients, projects, time, invoices, payments and so on. For example, a descriptive memo for a time entry can eliminate non-billable time spent by a billing manager asking or waiting for clarification about an item. That time memo, when included on an invoice, would reduce a client’s need to ask for more details. If your company or client prefers, you can add memos to invoices that explain the scope of the work and change orders. As the invoices change hands in your client’s company, the memos reduce questions by providing useful insight into the project’s progress and billing decisions.
Data analysis and reporting are important aspects of business management. Executives and managers have to view many reports to keep themselves updated about their company affairs. They can use filter options in Web Suite to perform this task easily and efficiently.
Web Suite enables you to limit the number of records displayed in the grids, lists and reports using filters. Filters are very useful data management tools that lessen the task of managing a large database. You can use advanced filters to view and analyze selective data according to the criteria specified.
For example, your project manager who is responsible for 20 projects out of 700 active ones would prefer not to waste time scrolling and scanning hundreds of items in a list. Similarly, you might like to view clients with IDs that range from A through N, or only the employees belonging to the Marketing department.
At times, you need to find records that contain important information, say, a conversation with an important client recorded within an invoice memo. You remember typing it into Invoice Review memo as you talked to a client, but cannot remember the exact date or which client it was. All you do remember is a reference to ‘extension’. In Web Suite, searching for information is easy and fast because of the global find and quick search features.
Global Find searches all fields for a keyword and displays a list of records that match your criteria, whether simple or advanced. The Search Item option just searches records as you type initials or letters in the search box.
In Web Suite, you can control who should accesses its features, functions and reports. When you turn on security, only authorized employees and vendors, having full or selective access, can log into Web Suite. For example, you can grant your staff permission to enter time while managers receive more extensive security permissions. This prevents any unauthorized access to your company database.
To avoid any hassle and save time, you can use the standard security templates shipped with Web Suite, such as Billing Only, Manager Level Access, Time Entry Only and so on. You can customize these built-in security templates to your preference.
To top all these advantages, you can assign security permissions for Web Suite modules and features as well as for individual reports. Security is simply built into our Web Suite design!
Web Suite allows you to select organizational roles for your staff members. Accordingly, you can assign security permissions or select a security template for them. For example, you can assign a ‘Billing’ role to a billing manager while a ‘Time & Expense’ role to a timekeeper.
Web Suite allows you to track all key actions taken by others in the program. Using the Log Viewer, you can view actions, know who performed them and when they were performed. You can even read the log records with a text editor or word processor. Web Suite maintains separate audit trail files for each month in the same folder as your company database or as specified by you. This feature monitors and encourages user accountability by tracking actions over time.
Web Suite displays system-generated and user-defined messages on the Reminders panel of the Dashboard. It informs employees about the actions to take, such as print invoices, approve time entries, process recurring invoices, and so on. You can set reminders on Employee and Vendor screens for specific dates. As an example, it can remind a manager or supervisor few days prior to an employee’s birthday or annual performance review. Alternatively, it can remind you about arranging for your next out-of-town meeting and so on.
Web Suite allows you to group employees, vendors, clients, codes and projects based on shared or common attributes. This is useful in filtering records included in the grid lists and reports. In addition, groups save time and effort when setting up fee schedules, controls and budgets. Some of the common groupings you could use include:
To optimize Web Suite based on your company size, business goals, management styles and policies, you can choose various global settings, business rules and user preferences. For instance, you can specify your preferences regarding time and expense tracking, billing and invoices, taxes, emailing, UI and so on. Thus, you can control how Web Suite works for your company and employees.
You can send reports, invoices, purchase orders and vendor bills directly from Web Suite via email. You can customize the message as well as other email settings according to your preferences in the Global Settings and Preferences screens.
The Dashboard is a valuable and useful feature in Web Suite for managers as well as staff. It enables you to view critical and key information. Using the Dashboard, you can:
view time and expense billed/unbilled summary
view messages and notifications
view reminder messages
view submitted time, expenses and invoices
access frequently used modules
access common ‘How Do I’ Help topics
search for information in the Web Suite Help
access useful resources and links
Reports contain information that is important and useful to a company, especially its executives and decision-makers. Typically, managers follow a standard pattern when it comes to reviewing information. Contract spent and budget comparisons can be daily or weekly reports. Job costs, work-in-progress and unpaid invoices can be biweekly. After monthly billing, managers can check profitability, work-in-hand and analysis reports.
Web Suite offers more than 400 standard reports that can be printed, previewed, exported and emailed. For your convenience, Web Suite allows you to access in-context reports from almost all screens.
You can use report filters to limit the number of records or data displayed on the reports. For example, if you make activities or expenses billable to a project, the Project Time and Expense Report initially shows unbilled costs for all projects and for all dates. This is too much information if all you want to see is last year’s unbilled costs to one of the projects. You can use the Date and Projects Filters to print last year’s Project Time and Expense report for a particular project.
Web Suite also allows sorting of data displayed on the reports. It allows you to customize or create reports using Crystal Reports 9.0 or later. Alternatively, you can have them customized by the BQE Reports Team.