Once you have installed Boulevard 2012, linking it to your premium Product Update Service is a snap! Just follow the steps below:
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From the category archives:
Did you know…
If you’ve installed Boulevard 2011 and are enrolled in the premium Product Update Service, you have even easier access to the newsletter and product collections. In the US and Canadian version of Boulevard 2011, the File menu now contains a Product Update Service command with two options, Newsletter and Load Collections.
If this option is grayed out you can sign up for the premium Product Update Service by logging into the ordering section of our website at www.mainstsoftware.com or just contact our office. Our Customer Service Representatives will be happy to assist you.
Also, if you’re on the Product Update Service, Boulevard reminds you when it is time to load a new product update. Load your CD then follow the instructions in your newsletter to get started. Uncertain what else is a part of the premium benefits? Just ask.
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Call Note history is the perfect place to store notes for any customer contact you have made along with the added benefit of making customer follow-up a snap!
By selecting the check box at the bottom of a new Call Note, your Boulevard software will change the customer’s next contact date and update the Tickler to reflect the date you would like to contact them next. Using the Call Note feature also allows you to use the Daily Call History Sheet. This report prints call memo information from customer call history sorted by date with the most recent first. You can filter this report to include only those call memos within a specific date range, or for a group of customers. With just a glance, you’ll know who you’ve called, and haven’t wasted any time searching through profiles or other notes. Further, the call history report is also a helpful tool when away from your office or out of town. Use it to find out who to make those all-important business calls to during down time.
In Boulevard 2010, we added the ability to enter the same Call Note for multiple people. Here’s a perfect example of how to use this feature. When leaving reminder messages for guests about your upcoming Open House, simply check the box to the left of each customer’s name, click on the Customer menu, and click New Call. Type the call note and click OK. Each customer’s profile whose name you checked, will now have the same call note. See how easy it is to keep track of all customer, recruit, and address list calls, emails, PC Program mailing, and more?
For more information and resources relating to customer follow-up, check out Boulevard Extras Volume 2: Customer Follow-up. This DVD goes in depth into creating loyal customers from your first contact with them, and how to use the many contact- and customer-focused Boulevard features to capture and track the kind of valuable information that builds strong customer loyalty.
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To add an invoice message for a specific customer:
- Open the Customer Profile for the customer.
- Click on the Notes tab.
- In the text area, type the message.
- Select the message text.
- Press <F9> to insert the codes <invoice></invoice> on either side of the message.
- Click OK to save.
Consider this feature to be your virtual sticky note on the invoice! You can note things such as directions to her home, preferred delivery times, or even the details of her next automatic reorder. There are plenty of ways this feature can be used and we’re certain you have creative ideas of your own. Let us know how you use this feature so that we can share with other Boulevard users!
Want to know other invoicing features your Boulevard software has to offer? Visit the invoicing section of our website to find out more!
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Boulevard records transactions on a cash basis. When an invoice is saved without a payment, it then becomes a bill and that original invoice should not be altered. Entering payments into Account Balance will update the customer’s account correctly with their payment. In addition, the Account Balance dialog will show invoice dates side by side with payments applied, thus allowing the next invoice you create to show the updated account balance for your customer.
Boulevard is designed so that when you create an invoice and click OK, what has occurred at the time should be reflected in that invoice. If you have not received payment at the time the invoice is created, the balance due will carry forward for that customer until payment is received and entered. When you receive payment, you can access the account balance by right clicking on the customer then selecting Account Balance. By clicking Payment, you’ll be able to enter all of the details of the payment including applying that payment to a specific invoice number.
There are many reasons why an invoice shouldn’t be edited. For the purpose of this topic, one of the most important reasons has to do with causing inaccuracies in the customer’s account balance. When a payment needs to be entered, it should be entered to the account balance for the customer rather then editing the invoice and entering payment. For instance, if your customer made a purchase of $200 worth of product and you allowed her to make four payments of $50? Editing the invoice to apply a payment of $50 each time will not change the original invoice balance as each payment is for the same amount. If you were to go in and change the payments on invoice each time from $50 to $100 to $150 and so on, in the end your record will show a $200 payment received, not the actual four $50 payments. Using account balance to enter each payment and apply it toward that invoice is more accurate and effective.
Using the account balance for posting payments will also ensure accuracy with the Deposit Log and the Business Tracking Register, especially if you use the payments entered into Boulevard to help balance your Mary Kay® checkbook each month.
It isn’t unheard of in our current technology driven age to receive an order from a customer either by voice mail, email, website or even text! Perhaps you receive the order but are unable to make contact back with the customer unless it’s to leave a voice mail in return. As busy as we are today, it’s easy to miss each other. Sometimes just a voice mail or email confirming the order and providing a total due is all you can do before popping the product in the mail. You can include a copy of her unpaid invoice or even email her a copy while letting her know the products are in the mail.
At this point you now have an outstanding transaction as you wait for the customer to receive the product and for the check to arrive to you. As we discussed earlier, payment not made at the time of the sale should not be entered on the invoice. If the balance for your customer carries over to the start of a new month, you can send her a Statement of Account to show her an accurate accounting of the product she received and the amount she owes. This is especially effective for customers on a payment plan. Their Statement of Account will show their running total of purchases and payments made for the specified period.
The Account Balance feature is available for anyone in any list and can be accessed in multiple ways. For your customers and address list contacts, you can right-click their name and left-click Account Balance from the menu. Double-click their name to bring up their profile and then access Account Balance under the main Customer menu. Open her history, click the Payments tab and click the Account Balance button.
For contacts within the Recruit List, double-click their name to bring up the profile, click Customer from the menu bar and click Account Balance, or click the History button (Folder icon in tool bar), click the Payments tab and click the Account Balance button. This is very helpful when you have team/unit members purchasing CDs or DVDs from you.
Payments can be entered as cash/check with a field for entering the check number. You can also enter an approved credit card which can be used when the payment has been submitted to ProPay® (US & Canada only) already and will give you an option to create an automatic expense entry for the ProPay fees charged when entered through Account Balance. For additional information on using the Account Balance, there are many helpful topics in your Boulevard software Help menu. To access these topics, open the Account Balance then press the F1 key on your keyboard. The Help topic, Account Balance dialog box, will appear. This information will be helpful and, in addition, you can click See Also for more related topics.
As always, our Customer Service Representatives are here to assist if you have further questions. We look forward to working with you.
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Some of the features you can take advantage of as you move up in your business include: importing team/unit members and production from InTouch® (US & Canada only) or the Desktop Office Manager (US only); importing WAS information sent via email by unit members with Boulevard; Top Recruits and Batch Top Recruits query information for recognition and newsletters; and projections for unit production. As you can tell, Boulevard offers robust Sales Director and National features already built into the software and just waiting for you.
Making use of the many Director-specific features in your Boulevard software opens the door to growth opportunities for you. For instance, ensuring you stay in contact with top producers and being able to encourage them as they grow their business. Helping new team members start their business off right with an open house and teaching them how to hold a skin care class. And don’t forget – Main Street can mail postcards for almost any occasion or reason. Let us help keep you on track – we’ll manage the details while you work with the people on your team and in your customer base.
You’ll also want to receive all the special Sales Director NewsFlash™ notifications we send out periodically. Inside your Boulevard software program, go to Preferences located under the File menu. Choose the NewsFlash tab and select all three boxes to indicate you are a sales director. You will now receive NewsFlash messages letting you know when the Early Offer order form is available for download (US only), trainings conducted in your specific area, as well as special sales director only news and offers (E.g. Leadership deals).
We look forward to guiding and assisting you as you continue to build and grow your team. Hey, be sure to send us a quick email too. We want to send you a special packet along with our congratulations!
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From time to time we get asked if our users should delete products they no longer have in stock and cannot buy from Mary Kay. You may be concerned that having these items in your program will take up too much space. In fact, they don’t take up much space at all. However, we know having a clean and concise product list can help you to be better organized, to know what you have on hand, and keep clean tax records. Plus, if Mary Kay brings one of those items or something comparable back, you will be able to retrieve reports for previous purchases.
We offer Database Makeovers for your convenience. Included in the Basic Plus, Complete, and Ultimate Makeovers, we will clean up and customize your product list for you. This is only one of the items included in our Database Makeovers. If you would prefer to take care of this step yourself, we recommend the following:
- Create a new category in your product list named Old/No Inventory.
- To create a new category, go to Product then Categories.
- Click the Insert Category button.
- Select the new line and type Old/No Inventory under Category Name.
- In the Section column type 1 and in the Order column type 1150.
- Click OK.
- Open your Product List.
- Select the Closeout Items category.
- Double-click on any item with a zero quantity.
- Change the category to Old/No Inventory (from Closeout Items).
- Click OK.
- Repeat steps 3-6 for all items you no longer have on hand in Closeout Items.
When you’re done we recommend repeating these steps each quarter when you load a new product update as new items will have been moved to the Closeout Items category. By making the adjustments quarterly, your end of the year will go much easier. The goal is for Closeout Items to contain only Section 1 products that are not a part of the current order form but you still have quantities on hand.
If you would rather “outsource” the work to our office, we’ll understand – we’ll even make it as easy as possible for you. When you order a Database Makeover, we will begin by emailing you a questionnaire. Following the directions on the questionnaire, simply circle the selections based upon what you would like us to take care of. Then fax or scan\email the questionnaire and email a backup to our office. We’ll take care of the rest. When you receive your cleaned up data, the Closeout Items category will only contain those items you have on hand. The rest will be in an Old\No Inventory category.
Either way you choose to manage this part of your Boulevard program, you won’t be sorry. Let us help you stay on track so that you can spend more time with your customers, team or unit, and family. Helping you keep your priorities is important and we’re here with services to ensure you can do just that!
Visit our website to view everything that is included in each level of our Database Makeovers.
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In Boulevard you can enter and track business-related expenses and other income, assign categories, and view monthly expense and income totals. An abundance of report options are available to you too, so you can provide your accountant or tax preparer with the information they need.
Boulevard comes preloaded with some commonly used expense and income categories. You can change these categories and add new ones at any time so that you can customize to meet your specific needs. For example: maybe your accountant wants your commission checks broken down to show personal recruit and unit commissions separately.
If you or your accountant decide to delete a category that has expense or income transactions assigned to it, those entries become unassigned. Having each transaction properly assigned to the applicable expense or income category helps to ensure complete and accurate records for tax purposes at the end of your tax year.
You can also export expense and income information from Boulevard to financial software packages that accept QIF files such as Quicken®. Any software that can accept this file type will work with your tax or financially pertinent Boulevard information. See Exporting to financial software in the Help menu for complete instructions.
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