June 2014

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It's always a good idea for all of those in your lab concerned with case management and accounting to read these monthly newsletters to keep up-to-date on what the DentaLab systems have to offer, for tips and techniques and new ideas for your lab.  Please share this with them or if they wish to receive their own newsletter, send us their email address.   We will be happy to add it to the list. 

To help you prepare for digital workflow

The DQB Image Supplement has added a number of new features over the years.  In addition to scanning prescriptions and other case documents, it can also associate digital images sent by the dental offices to the lab case record for archival and provide easy convenient access whenever needed.   In addition to the traditional TWAIN protocol, it can handle the newer WIA (Windows Image Acquisition).   Once stored and indexed to the case,  digital files can be used in a variety of ways for case production, collaboration, history/archival, transmission.   Digital files sent via DentalRx are also automatically linked to the case and can be accessed with the Image Supplement.  With this supplement, you can also check case digital files with the DQB Tablet Workflow App.  

For our early summer specials,  we will focus on the DQB Image Supplement, which continues to be our most popular supplement.    The standard license fee for this supplement is $400 (USD), but during this special,  we will offer a 20% discount to bring the fee down to $320 (USD). 

If you have been licensed for DQB Starter and want to implement digital document management, you will need to update to the standard version.   The standard fee for this update is $200, but we will also offer a 20% discount on this.   The combined total for the update to standard plus the image supplement would be $480 (USD). 

These specials will remain in effect from now through July 25, 2014.  

Looking ahead to July

This year here in the USA, July 4 Independence Day falls on a Friday, so we will all be treated to a long festive weekend.   Here in the Philadelphia area where so much of the history involving independence took place, there continues to be a great deal of celebration centered around its "Welcome America" theme.  

Our offices will be closed but we will check on voicemail and email for those in other countries.  

The main focus of the upcoming July release will be the merge of the starter into the standard version.  We will be maintaining the clear simple look of the starter, but the merge will bring even greater capabilities to this very popular system that has been cited as "the best bargain in the dental lab universe."   

Other enhancements will include:

• speedier ways to mark item completions by work center and scheduled date,  which will particularly useful for tracking cases returning to the lab from outsource points and digital workflows
• when marking the item completions, you can also choose to continue the schedule from the latest completion date for the remaining items
  
• reminders on performing backups giving the date and time of the last backup and a convenient path to launch one
• adding the specific date and time of its latest invoicing to the Case Entry activity section  

To answer your questions...

Q:  Occasionally, we will see a duplicate invoice in a customer's statement.   What causes this?

A:  Whenever you click the button to create an invoice, the program checks QuickBooks to see if one already exists for the case.  If it does, the program then asks if you want to override this invoice or create a new invoice.   If you elect to not override the existing invoice, another one will be created.   This can also occur if someone deliberately overrides an invoice number in QuickBooks. 

Note that we most often receive support calls on this when there is a new person doing the billing.   Taking the time to train new personnel on your standards for single billing vs multi-stage billing will help to assure accurate billings.  Whenever a question arises on this, keep in mind that you can view invoice history for a case from the case list, case entry and/or while invocing.  

Q:  When is it OK to change an invoice in QuickBooks, but not in DQB?

A:  Whenever an invoice involves a case in DQB you should first make any changes appropriate for the case, then re-invoice the case in DQB.  This keeps both coordinated.   If appropriate, choose to override the invoice in QuickBooks rather than adding a new one and having to delete the old one. 

Take note on whether your setting in Options to limit the overrides to the same day is in effect.  If it is and you need to change the invoice at a later date, you will need to delete the old one in QuickBooks.   Let your staff know that QuickBooks keeps track of who is changing and deleting the transactions and provides an audit trail.  To help assure that unwarranted changes are not being made, the invoice history feature in DQB also checks to see if the invoice amount at the time of creation in DQB continues to match the amount in QuickBooks.  

If an invoice does not involve a DQB case, it is appropriate to make the changes only in QuickBooks.  

What are the best ways...?

During our support calls, we often are asked about the best ways to handle various activities in the lab.   Here are some of our responses on two popular topics:

The best ways to mark completions?

You have a variety of choices when it comes to marking case items complete.  These include:

Scanning barcodes on work tickets offers very fast, accurate and virtually cheat proof entry.  To do tihis you need one or more barcode scanners  attached to one or more DQB users and a license for the DQB Barcoding Supplement.

Tablet workflow app offers flexibility, mobility, low cost and touch technology.   To do this you need one or more tablets such as IPads and Androids and corresponding licenses for the DQBT Tablet Workflow App.

Keyboard entry in case entry/edit is part of the basic DQB software.   Upcoming in the July release will be a new method that will offer greater speed and convenience.  This will be to mark item completions by work center with an option to continue the schedule for the remainiing items in the case if not yet scheduled or when the completion is earlier or later than the scheduled date.  

When invoicing, you can simply respond yes to the choice to mark all items as completed.  This is available for both single and batch invoicing and is typically used by those not performing detailed case tracking. 

Know this:  Those who take a few seconds to mark case items complete are rewarded in many ways with better workflow, keeping their customers happy by completing work on time, being able to pinpoint and resolve issues quickly, making adjustments whenever needed.  

The best ways to keep track of requests?

There are a host of spots within DQB for note-taking.   There are so many details going on in labs that it is best to record the request as quickly as possible so that it will be shown at the appropriate time and not forgotten.     You can experiment with the choices and pick one or more that suit you best.  Here are some of the choices:

Customer Alerts can be entered in Basic Lists-Customers or in the Customer Center.  These are shown at appropriate times such as entering a case or creating an invoice for the customer.  You can set these to expire and not be shown after a specified date.

Customer Activity Logs are typically classified by a topic and dates.  You can establish standards for your topics to help pinpoint specific types of requests. 

Case Communications with Alert Option are typically entered when the request is specific to a case.   If you check the alert indicator, the message will be also be shown as a case alert.  

Doctor Preferences can be specific to a work center or an item and are typically long-range standing requests.   These are available during case entry, included on work tickets and in the Customer Center.

Case Items corresponding to requested items such as prescription pads, boxes, product literature can be added to cases.  You can setup a Product Group for these and review and/or print the requests in the Special Items option in the Cases menu.

Action Required Messages are typically used when you are the one making a request specific to a case.  These messages are included in your email notifications to the dental office.  The program provides for follow-ups and reporting on these actions.  

Take note:  Honoring requests accurately and on time is one of the most important tickets to achieving a reputation for excellent customer service.

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