HI-TECH TALK Newsletter: October 2001                Newsletter Index

• 2002 User Forum Announced

• RentPlus v1.7 Readied for Release

• Sell more self-storage rentals with 
  PhoneSmart Call Center and RentPlus

• Featured Product: Multiple-Site Reports for RentPlus

• HI-TECH Teams with DELL to ease computer upgrades

• Sell units On-Line with eSTORIT.com and RentPlus

• RentPlus TechTips

Join us for the bi-annual HI-TECH User Forum this February in the incomparable Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino. The 2002 User Forum will be held just prior to the Inside Self Storage Expo at the Las Vegas Hilton February 13-15. This year, the User Forum has been redesigned to make it easier than ever for you and your staff to attend—a more centralized location, a regular and an advance track, and a great price! Get the most from your HI-TECH software by taking advantage of this fantastic opportunity to learn more.

With thousands of features and capabilities, the complexity of running and maintaining Windows-based software, ever changing technology, and the incredible opportunity the Internet represents, you can’t afford to miss this exciting seminar. While some advance classes have been included in past User Forums, this is the first User Forum that will provide a complete track of classes for advanced users and system administrators.

The User Forum will provide time to meet and socialize with dozens of other HI-TECH customers, as well as one or more guest lecturers on topics from security to Internet opportunities. We hope you will join us. If you have any questions, please let us know.

See the enclosed registration form, call (800-551-8324) or go on-line at http://www.hitechsoftware.com for details of registration, class schedules and hotel information. 
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As we go to press with this newsletter, the latest update to RentPlus, version 1.7, is being readied for release. This latest version adds much to the self-storage industry’s most groundbreaking software. For existing customers, the upgrade to version 1.7 will be available in early October. The upgrade CD will be shipped automatically to all customers with current technical support agreements, or customers who have purchased RentPlus within the past three months. It will take several weeks to complete the upgrade shipments.

Customers without current technical support agreements may order the upgrade by contacting Customer Service (800-551-8324 or admin@hitechsoftware.com). The cost of the upgrade purchased without a technical support agreement is US$195, plus shipping.

Version 1.7 contains some very exciting new features. A complete listing of new features can be found on the CD and on the HI-Tech web site, www.hitechsoftware.com. Some of the highlights include:

· Security system activity. If you use the Digitech Digi700 or the PTI Falcon 2000 security system, you can now view all of the security activity within RentPlus. Just click the new Security History tab on a Customer screen to see all the activity for that customer, or review the Security System Activity report to see all the activity for a selected date range.

· Report wizard. The new report wizard allows you to create reports on the fly to extract information about your customers. Reports are easily created and the results can be viewed on screen, printed, saved as a web page, or opened in Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word.

· Browse customers. Use the mouse or your keyboard to move from customer to customer without leaving the customer screen. As you browse, you follow the order that is currently displayed in the Explorer Customer folder. So if customers are sorted alphabetically, you will browse alphabetically. If sorted by move-in date, you browse by move-in date. You can also quickly jump to a specific customer record just by typing the first couple of letters of their last name.

· Reminders. You can now create reminders that are related to customers, prospects, suppliers, or just your own company. Reminders automatically popup on the day they are due, and are great to remind you to follow up for sales, collection, and other types of activities.

· Credit cards on file. You can now easily enter a payment by using a credit card that the customer has used previously. Just right-click the credit card icon on the payment screen and a list of previously used credit cards (that have not expired) will be displayed. Select the card you wish to use and the payment will continue using that card number.

· Zip Code Lookup and Verification. A database of the valid zip codes for the United States is now included with RentPlus and enables you to cut data entry time and increase the accuracy of customer address information. Skip the city and state and just enter the zip code—the city and state will be filled in automatically. Or, fill in the city and state, and leave the zip code blank—the zip code will be filled in automatically.

Click here for a complete listing of new features 

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If you are using RentPlus to manage multiple facilities, then Multi-Site Reports can really make things easy! This program gathers summary data from each site to provide a complete set of reports across all sites. Visit http://www.hitechsoftware.com/multi for more details or call 800 551 8324.

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If you create a file (such as a Word document or Excel spreadsheet or other type of file) that relates to a particular customer, you can link it to the customer’s record in RentPlus.

Create a new folder to hold all of the files that relate to that customer. Move the files into the new folder, and save any new files relating to the customer in this folder. In RentPlus, open that customer’s record, then select Properties from the Favorites menu. Go to the Phone numbers tab and click Add. Select Folder as the type, then type in the name of the folder. After you save, the folder will appear in the phone list. Highlight the folder and click Open to view the contents of the folder.

With the Customer folder displayed in the Explorer, click the Move-In Date column header two times. Press Home to jump to the top of the list. The newest customers will be listed.

Normally, customers are automatically suspended (access to unit is denied) when late, and unsuspended when they pay in full. You can, however, override the customer’s current status and either Suspend or Unsuspend them at anytime. To do so, select and open the unit from the Unit folder and select the Security tab. The customer’s current status is shown. If they are currently suspended, click the button to Unsuspend them—they will then be allowed to have access. If they are currently not suspended, click Suspend to deny them access. RentPlus will update the gate/security system if that system is activated within RentPlus.

RentPlus will identify the products that need reordering for you. Click the icon for the Products and Services folder and se t the view to Details. Any products needing reorder are shown as “Reorder Needed” in the Reorder column. Product reorders are assumed needed if the number of items on hand plus the number of items on order are less than the reorder level specified for that product.

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