News

OBU Techtalk Recap

We’ve recently completed our tour around the country as part of the OBU (Office Brands University) Techtalks, visiting Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Along the way we had the opportunity to catch up with many of our valuable customers, as well as meet some new faces. It was not only a great opportunity for us to share what’s new with Readysell, but to get valuable feedback from our customers about what we’re doing doing right and what we can improve on.

Readysell at OBU Techtalks

Greg and Adam (as well as the rest of the Readysell team who manned the fort back home) would like extend their thanks to everyone who made it our sessions – especially to those who travelled hundreds (and even thousands) of kilometres to see us.

For those who couldn’t make it, we’ve now posted our slide decks online.

Office Brands were also kind enough to record video of the entire Sydney session, which they will be releasing on OBU in the coming weeks. This will contain the full presentations, including the Readysell 8 Reporting Workshop (which we highly recommend to any Readysell 8 users looking to get the most out of their system).

If you have any feedback on the content that was presented, or suggestions on what we could do in the future to help you get the most out of your systems, please send us an email. We hope we can continue to provide similar material on a more regular basis, so any feedback on what you’d like to will help ensure we can provide relevant and valuable content.

Readysell 8.24: Fashionably late

The Readysell team has been busy over the last month – we’ve been flying around the country and providing training as part of the OBU Techtalks and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes on a number of longer term initiatives such as the Readysell app. Nevertheless, we’ve still been able to put together a few new features for our Readysell 8.24 release, rolling out over the coming week. In this version we’ve put a particular focus on improving our CRM (customer relationship management) components and made some usability improvements to our purchasing.

Increase sales conversion rates with CRM improvements

We’ve made a range of improvements to our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) features. We’ve added more fields on cards (to track core targeting information such as industry and contact person roles), made improvements to the usability of cases, added the ability to track objectives and outcomes and introduced automated call cycles for regular follow-ups.

Reduce confusion with improved base unit handling for stock

With the availability of new data from Office Brands, Readysell will now allow you to sell products in quantities smaller than the default Office Brands sell unit. You’ll be able to take a box and sell it as individual units – you can even change your default sell unit if you like. Please contact Readysell Support if you’d like to transition your stock holding to the new base units.

Better manage your purchase from sales workflows

We’ve overhauled our purchase from sales system to facilitate a range of new scenarios and increase the flexibility of generating purchase orders from sales. You’ll be able to easily manage inter-member sales and drop shipments by choosing what you are ordering, who you are ordering from and what will happen to the stock when it’s fulfilled from the supplier – all from the one screen.

The rest of it

Here’s a full list of of changes. Our documentation is in the process of being updated to reflect the new functionality. If you have any questions, please open a ticket through our Support Centre and we’ll be happy to help you out.

  • [RSELL-6354] – Inter member sales management via drop shipments
  • [RSELL-6440] – Show product’s primary supplier in the product list at POS
  • [RSELL-6452] – Add CRM Details To Card Detail View
  • [RSELL-6453] – Add additional CRM details for persons
  • [RSELL-6457] – Provide for following up leads, active customers, inactive customers and prospects
  • [RSELL-6459] – Add an industry property to cards
  • [RSELL-6468] – Add a property ‘Average Invoice Amount’ to cards
  • [RSELL-6469] – Improve cases as a contact management tool
  • [RSELL-6470] – Add call cycles to contacts
  • [RSELL-6498] – Allow more than one print setting on a workstation for the same printer and report.
  • [RSELL-6499] – Create purchase orders from the sales back order list back order module, then select, NEW, purchase order
  • [RSELL-6547] – Remodel Cubes To Persist Data Used By Cube Dimentions on the Cubes
  • [RSELL-6593] – Add new purchase run type “minimum” based on min/max but purchasing only up to the minimum
  • [RSELL-6714] – Ensure default sell unit on product correctly reflects a product’s base unit
  • [RSELL-6844] – Improve the placement of buttons on sale lines

Upcoming changes to Readysell remote support

Due to unforeseen substantial pricing increases from our current remote access solution provider, we will be moving all of our clients to a new remote access solution over the coming weeks. The new solution, TeamViewer, provides us with similar reliable remote desktop access and monitoring capabilities while ensuring that Readysell does not have to increase annual remote access fees to customers.

As we roll out this solution over the next few weeks, you may see a pop up on your PC asking whether you would like to give Readysell permission to remote control your computer. Please accept to ensure you can continue to receive remote desktop support without interruption.

To enable this, we will also be creating a “Readysell Support” user on each workstation and server. For security purposes, this user will have a unique password stored in an encrypted vault accessible only to Readysell Support staff. The account will be used to configure system level services and tasks required for the reliable operation of the Readysell software.

If you have any questions or concerns about the change-over, please get in touch with Readysell Support.

Readysell 8.23: Off with a bang

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! To get things moving, we’re now rolling out Readysell 8.23 to all Readysell 8 customers. In Readysell 8.23, we’ve focused on improving usability for key tasks such as sales, purchasing and end-of-month and have started laying the groundwork for upcoming CRM (customer relationship management) enhancements.

Readysell 8.23: Improve customer satisfaction by showing discounts on invoicesImprove customer satisfaction by showing discounts on invoices

Further to our recent change allowing you to show discounts on quotations, you can now also optionally show any combination of discount percentage, discount value and pre-discount value on your invoice layout (we currently show the pre-discount price and values after the discount is applied). This ensures clear communication with your customer about discounts they are receiving.

Reduce end of month work with preferred statement layouts

Sometimes there are cases where specific customers require tailored statement layouts. If you’ve created a tailored layout, you can select this as the default layout on the customer’s card, and it will be automatically sent to them as part of the regular statement run.

Readysell 8.23: Speed up order entry with quick stock quantity adjustment generationSpeed up order entry with quick stock adjustment generation

If you’re placing an order and notice your stock levels are incorrect, you can now quickly generate a stock quantity adjustment straight from the sale order by right clicking on the line. We’ll pre-populate the adjustment quantity with the quantity ordered so that you can get back to order entry as quickly as possible. To make things simple, feature is available on all product lines throughout Readysell.

Keep track of hire and help desk service charges

If you use the service component of Readysell, you can now keep track of hires and apply monthly help desk charges to machines. Just change the product used on a meter to be a product with a type of “Hire Charge” and set the price on the meter to determine the charge.

Readysell 8.23: Improve your support outcomes with quick access to existing ticketsImprove your support outcomes with quick access to existing tickets

If you want to quickly see the status of your outstanding or recently resolved support tickets, just go to the “Tools” tab in Readysell, click the “Support” drop down and select “Existing Tickets”. You’ll get a popup window that seamlessly shows you a summary of your tickets. You no longer need to visit and log into the Support Centre if you just want to check where your support cases are up to.

There’s more where that came from…

There’s plenty more to explore. Here’s a full list of of changes. Our documentation is in the process of being updated to reflect the new functionality. If you have any questions, please open a ticket through our Support Centre and we’ll be happy to help you out.

  • [RSELL-5027] – Create task to send all sell prices to the web where the price is different to ob catalogues
  • [RSELL-6139] – Restricting ability to change cost price when receipting
  • [RSELL-6301] – Add auto GP% alert feature on sales order and shipment when an item is below a % of GP.
  • [RSELL-6306] – Set Supplier Credit Request layout for Auto Print
  • [RSELL-6339] – Prevent auto warehousing from releasing sale shipments if any of the sale order lines have a supply type of “in stock” and are back ordered
  • [RSELL-6360] – By default statements should not print for customers where the statement delivery method is set to none
  • [RSELL-6367] – Sales by Customer by Terriitory by SAles Person REport (cubed) not working
  • [RSELL-6383] – Add field of Period, Last Sale Shipment Date and Last Sales Invoice Date cubes where relevant
  • [RSELL-6433] – Print EFTPOS details on the customer order receipt
  • [RSELL-6442] – Don’t close complete sales tab when opening a sale
  • [RSELL-6445] – Improve wildcard searching at Point of Sale
  • [RSELL-6480] – Change “Exl from Min/Max Upd Run” to say “Exc from Min/Max Upd Run”.
  • [RSELL-6481] – Add more options to the Generate Labels button in Catalogues
  • [RSELL-6550] – Convert the single category on the price book to six seperate category levels implementing the full category tree
  • [RSELL-6584] – Add hire and active options to the machine status field on machines
  • [RSELL-6585] – Add contact person to sales order and service order to prevent the customer order field being overworked
  • [RSELL-6587] – Add a property to machines indicating if the machine is on FMAudit
  • [RSELL-6588] – Allow contacts to be removed from archived machines
  • [RSELL-6591] – Ensure the line that is scanned when scan checking sale shipments becomes visible in the list view
  • [RSELL-6595] – Add a new property, remote assitance, to cases
  • [RSELL-6596] – Add a standard notes feature, “case notes”, to cases
  • [RSELL-6597] – Improve layouts of lists on the product history screen
  • [RSELL-6599] – Add an action to save custom views on open items. Allowing views that review open items to be saved
  • [RSELL-6635] – Help (F1) key, sometimes, does not link/branch to a correct section of the User Guide
  • [RSELL-6641] – Allow all products on a purchase run to have supplier set to a single common supplier

Price reduction for Readysell Cloud Backup

Due to an increased uptake of Readysell Cloud Backup, we have been able to negotiate improved rates from our upstream provider. In light of recent malware threats, off-site backup is more important than ever. With this in mind, we are passing these savings onto our customers.

The base rate for Readysell Cloud Backup is dropping from $35 a month to $25 a month. There’s never been a better time to overhaul your backup practices and implement the 3-2-1 rule in your business.

With the help of Readysell Cloud Backup, we’ve been able to successfully recover data from a number of customer recently struck by ransomware. If you don’t have an existing off-site or cloud backup solution, we highly recommend speak to us and take advantage of these newly reduced rates.

Reminder: Readysell-Office Brands Integration features

Many of our customers are unaware of the following features of the Readysell-Office Brands integration. As such, we are re-sending this announcement to refresh you on some of the capability already available to you.

Overriding Office Brands Pricing on WebSphere

Not too long ago we sent out a poll requesting feedback on how we should handle uploading of pricing data to WebSphere. 85% of respondents agreed that the “Custom Price Level” method would best suit their needs. Based on this feedback we have been busy developing and testing a new version of RObI.

Today we are pleased to announce that we are ready to begin rolling out this update to any interested Readysell customer. The key features of this integration are:

    • Ability to override the list price of any WebSphere product (catalogue or store) by entering a price into a pre-defined level

Please note, however, once a price override is created you will be taking “ownership” of the pricing for that product. For the immediate future you will not be able to revert back to WebSphere pricing. We will be working with Office Brands over the coming months to make this a possibility, however, please take this into consideration when evaluating if you would like to use this new feature.

Additionally, you will not be able to define bulk pricing for catalogue products – any bulk pricing defined by Office Brands will be lost if you override the pricing.

If you are interested in this new feature, please send an email to support@readysell.com.au and we will contact you to discuss implementation.

Uploading Prices with Quantity Breaks

Separate to the override feature detailed above, all members are now able to upload bulk pricing for store products only. This new feature is in place effective immediately.

To start using this feature, simply set up your web products as usual and use the “Qty Break” field and your regular pricing levels to define your bulk pricing.

Readysell 8.22: You don’t know about me, but I’ll bet you want to

Readysell 8.22 is now rolling out to all Readysell 8 customers. In Readysell 8.22, we’ve put more focus on improving overall usability and reducing training when onboarding new users.

Readysell 8.22: Pre-empt data entry issues with required field highlightingPre-empt data entry issues with required field highlighting

Sometimes it can be tough to tell exactly which fields are required when creating a new card or product, or entering in a new transaction. Inevitably, you miss something, hit the “Save” button, then get the dreaded “Validation Errors” screen letting you know you’ve failed. To avoid this whole, humiliating situation, Readysell now gently highlights compulsory fields with a yellow hue.

Improve warehouse efficiency with product label improvements

Printing barcoded product and shelf labels out of Readysell is a great way to improve the efficiency of your warehouse. You can now scan existing product barcodes straight into the product labels screen to generate and print additional labels when required.

Readysell 8.22: Reduce frustration with improved validation errorsReduce frustration with improved validation errors

When you forget to fill in a field and get a validation error, it can sometimes be difficult to pin-point exactly where the field lives on the screen. Instead of hunting through each tab, Readysell will now highlight the tab on which any affected fields live. You’ll be able to correct the error quickly and move on with the job.

And then…

There’s plenty more to explore. Here’s a full list of of changes. Our documentation is in the process of being updated to reflect the new functionality. If you have any questions, please open a ticket through our Support Centre and we’ll be happy to help you out.

  • Ability to run site-based Profit & Loss reports for multiple sites at once
  • Add restrictions to deleting stock transfers out
  • Validate purchase receipt negative lines on POS
  • Add system reference SHIP-AFTER-SUPPLY-TYPE-WAITING
  • Showing levels on categories
  • Extracting products in a sales order, the date range needs to be default to the past 6 months
  • Automatically Allocate Web Orders
  • Optional Discount column on quotations
  • Display purchase run lines for a product site
  • Expand and Contract tree on analysis reports
  • Add an optional primary contact phone number to delivery dockets.
  • Cases attached to sales orders & quotes
  • Product details button
  • Warning message on Readysell close
  • Add last quantity sold to Sold Products tab on extract products screen
  • Posting GST Batch
  • Add number of staff and expected monthly sales to cards
  • Add an hour of day property to all sale transactions for use in analysis reports
  • Add a optional default payment tender to customer cards
  • Allow supplier MOQ to be ignored when importing catalogue data
  • Add a item count to the bank deposit report

Ransomware and you!

This is an important security advisory. We highly suggest you read this and distribute relevant sections to your employees to protect your organization from potential loss of data and revenue.

Locked FilesOver the last year we have observed a sharp increase in both the infection rate and damage resulting from malicious software (malware) classed as “ransomware”. Since September of last year, when CryptoLocker was first observed, a number of variants have sprung up, but all follow a similar modus operandi:

  1. Infect a PC by tricking the user into running the malicious software
  2. Encrypt crucial files (such as documents, emails and your Readysell database) -blocking access to them
  3. Demand payment from the user in exchange for access to your files

Infection rates over the last couple of weeks have accelerated and we have now had a number of customers who have lost large chunks of data which they have not been able to fully recover. As such, we’re sending out this notice to remind you of some important practices you can use to keep yourself safe and to answer some common questions.

Preventing infection in the first place

Update and run your anti-malware software

Your anti-malware software (such at Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender and Malwarebytes) should be set to always download automatic definition updates and full scans should be run on a regular basis. This should be performed on both your server and client PCs. Readysell has a PC maintenance guide available that goes into detail about what you should be doing to ensure you are protected.

Be suspicious of unsolicited email

If you’re receiving an email from an unknown source, or someone you don’t usually communicate with by email (especially if it has an attachment), chances are high that you’re being sent malicious software. Even with up to date anti-malware software, it’s possible to be infected.

Some common scams used to distribute malware or steal personal information involve fake emails from banks, freight or postage services, and recently, the Australian Tax Office. Do not open attachments on or click on links in such emails. If you think the email is legitimate, visit the organization’s website directly (by typing the address into your web browser) and login to your account from there.

Here are some examples of recent scam emails that have been targeting Australians.

If you want more information about how to spot the signs of a dodgy email, please see this article.

Don’t download from untrusted sources

If you’re looking for software, it’s best to start from a trusted source such as the software vendor’s web site or a reputable software repository (we recommend FileHippo). If you Google (or Bing) what you’re looking for and end up on Joe Blogs’ software emporium, you could be getting more than you bargained for.

Servers gonna serve

Your server hosts your most critical business data. Not only is it where your Readysell database lives, but often it is a central repository for your company files and emails. As such, you should try to minimize the chance your server gets infected.

Only connect to your server when you have to perform specific server-related tasks. Don’t use it as a workstation, and certainly don’t use it to browse the Internet or check your email. Doing so increases the chances your server gets infected.

Limiting damage in case you are infected

Maintain good backup practices

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, things are out of your control. If you do get infected, you need a way to get back on your feet quickly. This means ensuring you have recent and complete backups of your data.

Readysell recommends you always have at least three copies of your data (the 3-2-1 rule). This means that you have a redundant backup (in case one backup fails).

  1. Your original, working copy (e.g. your Documents folder or Readysell production database)
  2. An on-site backup
    • Having one backup on-site means that in most cases you are able to get up and running quicker
    • We recommend that you have at least one on-site backup that is not readily accessible from your server, ensuring if you are infected, your backup files cannot also be encrypted
  3. An off-site backup
    • We recommend using a reputable cloud backup provider (such as Readysell Cloud Backup)
    • Alternatively, you can backup to a portable storage device and take it home with you each day

Have a business continuity plan

It might sound like something only Fortune 500 companies have to think about, but even a small businesses should have some plan about how they’re going to deal with the situation if the worst should happen. Some things to consider are:

  • Who are you going to contact if you’re affected? Will you be able to get assistance in a timely manner?
  • Do you have a spare PC on standby (or do you have a PC earmarked) to take the place of your infected server as an interim replacement?
  • How long will it take you to restore all your data from a local backup and from the cloud?
  • How will your business continue to operate in the mean time?

Dealing with an infection

Should I pay the ransom?

In most cases, there is no way to unlock files encrypted by ransomware without forking over a ransom (with the notable exception of the original CryptoLocker). This leaves many organizations and individuals faced with an ethical dilemma – pay the money, legitimizing and perpetuating the practice, or forever lose access to your files. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only problem. To make things worse, in many cases the ransomware continues to propagate long after payment channels are cut off (either by the authorities or by the malware creators themselves) and you may be left out of pocket and none the better off.

As such, it is our advice (and the advise of prominent companies such as Microsoft) not to pay the ransom and instead attempt recovery from your most recent backup.

Removing the malware

Each different malware infection works differently, so there’s no single method. The first thing we recommend is to make sure your anti-virus and anti-malware software is up to date, then running a full scan – record the name of the malware you’ve been infected with, then quarantine or remove anything that was detected.

As soon as is practical, we highly recommend contacting Readysell Support (or your IT Support provider) and notifying them of the issue. Should you wish to try going it alone, BleepingComputer.com has many comprehensive removal guides that we recommend you use to ensure all traces of the infection are removed.

Recovering your files

Once you are sure the infection has been eradicated, you can start restoring your files. Before you plug anything into your previously infected machine, we suggest you make a backup of your backups (just in case the malware is still active). This means should the ransomware ecrypt your backup and you have to start a restore again, you’ll have something to go back to.

Learn more

There’s lots of resources online to learn more, some we suggest include:

‘Tis the Season…

Readysell ChristmasAs 2014 winds up, we’d like to take some time to reflect on the year that has passed, express our thanks and gratitude to our valuable and inspiring customers and keep you up to date on arrangements for the holiday season.

Firstly, some administrative details. The Readysell office will be closed this year from Monday 22nd of December, 2014. Business will resume on Monday 12th of January, 2015. Members of our support team will be available during this period for critical support issues only.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, we’d also like to highlight some of the big changes and events from 2014.

We have even more planned for 2015, so stay tuned for announcements over the coming months.

Thank you to all of our customers for your ongoing business, thoughtful feedback and continued support. We wish you a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

Readysell Team