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September 2020

DentaLab NewsSeptember 2020
from Mainstreet Systems & Software

FAQ  DentaLab News

 

September plans

We have had some nice feedback from our August newsletter topic on the end of the "standard" workweek.   This has resulted in expanding even further the spots in DQB that can provide information on the office hours for each dental office.  This will be available in the upcoming October release.  Other additions to the system will include:

  1. Provide for in-depth details on the continuity of cases for the same doctor + patient.   For remake cases and/or those with quality control issues, you will be able to search for and edit the prior case technician and QC issue and then transfer critical fields to the new case in a new Prior Search/QC Edit option.   The case record and case history report will show the prior case for each new case entered through this new option. 
  2. We have found that the New Outsource Case option is being used not only by those actually outsourcing but for in-lab cases because it is simple, fast and easy.   To date, case items had to be selected one by one.  Several labs asked us to provide for lists of multiple items comparable to standard procedures for even speedier entry.   In Basic Lists, there will be an option to enter/edit Outsource Item Lists that can then be selected in the New Outsource Case entry screen.

Helping your staff to be professional

If you have employees with the aptitude and eagerness to become professional in their work, it is a very good idea to provide them with a tablet and the DQBT Tablet Workflow App.  In addition to the case information and schedule that is typically included in a printed work ticket, there are a number of additional features to guide their work such as case communications, alerts and plans.  They can enter tech notes to save any worthwhile details or issues. 

If the Images supplement has been implemented, they will have easy access to the digital documents and files involved with the case.  

Other benefits include more precise timings on case items as their work can be paused and restarted as needed before each step is completed.  Authorized managers can make corrections when needed and review analysis reports from either the tablet or a computer station.   In the Case Entry grid for the case items and schedule, you can see the exact status of each step in the workflow.   

This month we are offering a 20% discount on bundles that include DQBT and the DQB Images supplement.  This offer will be valid through September 30, 2020.

Securing your information

This past month when providing technical support, we were dismayed to learn that two of the labs were not performing regular backups of their QuickBooks and DQB data.  Although computer equipment has become more reliable, there is always the possibility of failure as well as other harm from natural disasters, weather, theft, and operational errors. 

In both QB and DQB, there are built-in utilities for backing up.   These require that you remember to perform the backup and that you have either a backup media or a web-based site to transfer the data.   An even better way to take care of your backups and have peace of mind that your information is secure is the Advanced Backup Protocol that allows you to choose: 

  • Schedules to automatically backup 
  • Multiple schedules can be setup each day
  • Ability to backup when in production
  • Both local and remote locations to receive the data
  • Backups for QB, DQB data and digital files
  • Various levels of encryption for secured transmissions  
  • Verification of data transfers  
  • Easy recovery when needed

There is a fee of $200 to cover the technical support needed to setup and assure secure transmissions but then the ongoing service is included in your support agreements.  We can give you guidance on free and low-cost web-based services for secure remote storage as well as portable devices to store your data locally.   

 

    Easy, versatile software for the modern dental laboratory.

Q: When the doctor adds some notes to the script, we enter these in the Case Notes.   Sometimes we add our own notes as well but want to be sure the dental office does not see these.   Where are all the places these will appear?

A: In the standard reports, the Case Notes are included in the work ticket and the case history report.   They are not sent to DentalRx inquiries from the dental office or transferred to their invoices.  Keep in mind that you can request customization both for the content and format of your forms and reports. 

The options where notes can be recorded for internal use are Case Communications and Alerts, Tech Notes.   For Case Plans, it is up to you whether you keep these internal or share them with the dental office.  Action Required notes were designed to be sent to the dental office and to also keep track within the lab to record fulfillment of the action. 

Q: We have entered Price Levels and assigned them to the specific customers whenever we have negotiated or offered special pricing.   Sometimes, however, there is a special pricing for just one particular case that differs from the customer's Price Level.   How should we handle this to assure that what we promised is transferred to the case invoice?

A: For this, use the Advance Bill feature to enter the items and prices for the case.  The program checks to see if there is an Advance Bill in place when invoicing is requested for the case and if there is, populates the invoice fields from the Advance Bill.  If further adjustments are needed, you can edit the invoice. 

In the Case Activities list in Case Entry, there will be an alert that there is an Advance Bill.   

      With the same look and feel of QuickBooks.

On drilldowns

We have sometimes been surprised when supporting someone who has used QuickBooks for many years and we find that they do not realize you can drilldown to the details that are used to tally the information in their financial reports.   To do this, you simply double-click on any line in a report such as the Profit & Loss.

We have not called them drilldowns in DQB but essentially the ability to go from a summary to the details can be found in many areas of the system.  Here are some of the examples: 

  • In the standard DQB dashboard, you can right-click on any element in the graphs to go to the detail screen. 
  • In the Master Schedule graphic calendar, you can click on any date to see the case items that have been scheduled and completed for that date.   For the case items, you can double-click to mark completions or right-click to go to the case to review and/or edit.  
  • For most of the reports, there is an option to generate a summary version or a detailed version for the criteria you have entered. 
  • For the Case and Customer Lists, you can  go to the Action menu at the bottom left to Customize Columns to limit or expand the columns you want to see in the summary list.  Then from the list, you can highlight and click any row to go to the full details.

Whenever you are called upon or simply curious to track the details, it is good to know that your software has been designed to give these to you quickly and easily.


Pandemic and political effects on shipping

Lockdown orders and concerns for safety have brought on a major increase in online orders and demands on delivery services.   We have experienced ourselves and heard from our customers that there are many broken promises on delivery dates and a general slowdown in just about every one of the delivery alternatives.  

Here in our Village at Lederach complex there have been many misdeliveries, boxes just thrown on the sidewalk.  We see from the postmarks of our USPS mail that it sometimes takes 3-4 weeks for a first class envelope to travel across the country.  One of the boxes on its way with tracking has been stuck in Illinois for 7 days for reasons unknown. The USPS, because it was highly regulated, used to be the most reliable alternative but now has been deliberately slowed down. 

One of the solutions whenever feasible has been a return to local pickups and deliveries.   Some labs that were using the major delivery services even for nearby dental offices are now back to having their own delivery cars or contracting local services.  We have been told that some lab owners and managers are taking a turn at combining deliveries with an opportunity for a short personal visit to each of their local customers on a regular planned schedule. 

If you have come up with other ways to assure promised deliveries and would like to share this information with other labs, let us know and we will pass it on.   If you continue to use delivery services with online tracking portals, be sure to take advantage of the features in QuickBooks and DQB to record the tracking numbers and provide the links for your staff to track the progress of the deliveries.  If using DQB Notifications, you can also provide these to the dental offices so that they can easily perform their own tracking.

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Customization is available for all products.

Contact us at 1-800-257-4535 or www.mainstreet-systems.com.

"To be honest with you, I like it (DentaLab for QuickBooks) a lot."

Alexander Santiago
Dental Technology Studio
Florida


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