HI-TECH TALK Newsletter: February 2000                        Newsletter Index

© Copyright 2000 HI-Tech Smart Systems, Inc.

New Help Desk Call Center Opens
Support center located in Columbia, Missouri

HI-TECH's new Help Desk Call Center, located in Columbia, Missouri, opened on January 3, when the toll-free tech support telephone was switched to that location. Support is now provided by technicians in both Missouri and Hawaii and regular support hours have been expanded for two additional hours daily, now from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. New Help Desk software was installed at both locations as well. More technicians and additional incoming telephone lines were the immediate benefit. High-speed Internet connections and the new software allow technicians to instantly see support requests created at either location. HI-TECH welcomes a number of new tech support technicians in both locations: Cy, Randy, Scott, Keith, Sean, Scott, and Wendy. Want to know more about the HI-TECH staff? Visit the hitechsoftware.com web site and follow the links to "Company Information" and "Our Staff".  Top

HI-TECH to hold Education Seminar in Atlanta
April 11, 2000 Atlanta Hilton & Towers

HI-TECH has announced that it will be holding a one-day Education Seminar on April 11, 2000, at the Atlanta Hilton & Towers. The seminar, for customers of HI-TECH, will focus on the setup and daily use of RentPlus. Additional topics, including RentPlus for Multiple-Site Operations and conversion from Mini-StoragePlus to RentPlus, will also be offered.

The seminar will be held just prior to the Self Storage Association’s annual Spring Convention and Trade Show, to be held April 12-15 in the same location. HI-TECH will be exhibiting at the trade show . For additional information on the Self Storage Association convention please contact the SSA directly at 703-921-9123.

To ensure space, attendees should complete and submit the enclosed registration form no later than March 31st. For more information, refer to the enclosed registration form or call HI-TECH Customer Service at 1-800-551-8324.   Top

User Forum 2000 Feb 22-26
Sheraton Waikiki

Registrations are still being accepted for HI-TECH's User Forum 2000 at the Sheraton Waikiki February 22-26, 2000. The User Forum is your very best opportunity for in-depth RentPlus & Mini-StoragePlus training.

Get the most out of your HI-TECH software and take hold of this opportunity to learn more about our products during four days of seminars and open computer labs. And of course, the Welcome Reception, Dinner Party and a Day at the Beach for fun and relaxation Hawaiian style.

For details and registration information:
www.hitechsoftware.com/userforum2000 or call 1-800-551-8324. This is your last chance to register, so call today!   Top

RentPlus Expands Into International Markets
Self-Storage Facilities Around the World Using RentPlus

RentPlus is fast becoming the most popular software in the self-storage market outside of the United States. Clients are now using RentPlus in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Buenos Aries, Puerto Rico, Panama and Venezuela. The self-storage business is expanding rapidly throughout the world, and RentPlus is a part of that. RentPlus has a number of features that make the software ideal for customers outside of the U.S.
  • Receipts and letters translated into the local language.
  • Support for VAT and GST tax systems.
  • Supports local date and currency formats.
  • Accommodates daily, weekly, bi-weekly and four-weekly rentals.
  • Convert local currency to Euro.
HI-TECH has been the leading provider of self-storage software in Australia and New Zealand since 1987. Much of that success has been due to HI-TECH's partnership with Storage Technology, which has represented HI-TECH since 1994. HI-TECH has entered into a similar agreement with Chand & Associates, of Amsterdam, to provide sales and support services in Europe.  Top

Web Site of the Year Awards

The Self-Storage On-Line 1999 Web Site of the Year Awards were announced on January 15th. Congratulations to all of the sites that submitted entries. It is certainly exciting to see more and more facilities on the web. And the winners are...

Best Overall Web Site:

1st Place:
Downtown U-Lok Self Storage
Vancouver, BC, Canada
www.u-lok.com

Runner-Up:
The Big Yellow Self Storage
Surrey, United Kingdom
www.thebigyellow.co.uk

Best E-commerce Web Site:

Self Storage Finder
Sydney, Australia
www.selfstoragefinder.com

Most Original Design:
1st Place:
The Big Yellow Self Storage
Surrey, United Kingdom

Runner-Up:
Downtown U-Lok Self Storage
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Hottest Technology:

Downtown U-Lok Self Storage
Vancouver, BC, Canada

  Top

Mini-StoragePlus Y2K Update

Minor error detected, corrected, and posted on web site

Well we all have power, telephones, heat and water, and the world had a great party! At HI-TECH, we have been keeping a close watch on the Mini-StoragePlus v3.5 update. One minor error was found in the Receipts Inquiries report section that caused a few of the reports to return zeros. A free update to version 3.5 to correct this was made available January 4th and posted to our web site as Service Pack 5 on January 7th. If you have not yet downloaded the latest Service Pack, then you should do so immediately. As expected, no Y2K problems were reported with RentPlus.

A number of clients reported problems with computers that did not roll over the date properly - they either showed 1900 or 1980 as the year, instead of 2000. Usually, manually entering the date as 01-01-2000 corrected the problem. However, systems that required this should be upgraded. Also, some clients had not upgraded to v3.5 by January 1, and then had to upgrade in a hurry!

At HI-TECH, we only ran into one problem - our fax server software started logging faxes as being received in 1980. The fax server also decided to take a long New Year's break, and stayed down for almost two days. Fortunately, the fax server was fixed and we do not use the logs created by the fax software.  Top

Payroll Rates for 2000

If you are using the Mini-StoragePlus Payroll program, you should have updated the federal and state tax tables to reflect the new withholding tax rates for 2000. Use the weekly tables from Circular E and from your state tax guide to update the tables in Mini-StoragePlus. Visit the hitechsoftware.com web site for complete details and instructions.  Top

RentPlus Version 1.4 Now In Testing

The next update to RentPlus, version 1.4, is now in testing and will be shipped soon. The update is provided free of charge to customers with current support agreements and customers who have purchased within the last year.

RentPlus version 1.4 new features (highlights)

  • Change Unit Wizard
  • Rent Increase Wizard
  • Payment Allocation Wizard
  • VAT/GST Reporting
  • Additional credit card capabilities
  • New Invoice letter format
  • Dozens of new and enhanced reports
  • New gate interfaces
  • More accounting systems supported
A complete listing of the enhancements included in version 1.4 is available on our web site: www.hitechsoftware.com/rentplus/version14       Top

Tech Tips

Q I’ve upgraded to Mini-StoragePlus v 3.5. Have the procedures to backup or restore changed?

A No, the procedure is the same. Use the Backup and Restore option on the tools menu. To restore to a system that does not already have Mini-StoragePlus on it, use the instructions on page 86 of the User Guide. You may use the Restore program provided on the original program disk #2 or the MSP version 3.5 update disk #2. With v3.5, you can now backup to zip drive. Visit the hitechsoftware.com web site for details.

Tip-Do not use older update or add-on disks

Now that you have upgraded to Mini-StoragePlus version 3.5 you must not use any update or add-on disks created for earlier versions. Installing any earlier disk will change your program files so your program will not function properly. If you have done so: a) restore from the backup done prior to installing the v3.01 disk or b) reinstall the MSPv3.5 Update and the latest Service Pack Disk from our web site www.hitechsoftware.com.      Top