Product Update

June 20, 2002

1. Projects: configurable project stages.

OpenAir accounts that use the Projects module can now define and track projects by stage such as "pre-sale," "live," and "closed." At each project stage specific actions, such as creating a project plan, viewing project team members, etc., can be allowed or prohibited. The addition of project stages enhances pipeline and other financial reporting.

To configure project stages, administrators navigate to My Account>Account>Project Stages (under the Projects section)>select a stage to modify or create a new stage in the New Entries: Create drop down. Once on the project stage form, administrators choose the stage name, the order in the project stage sequence, and the functionality associated with that stage such as project plans, billing, etc.

Once project stages are configured, managers can change the stage of the project on the Project Edit form (Projects>Projects>select a project>Edit project) as the project progresses.

2. Proposals: proposal workflow enhancements.

OpenAir has enhanced proposal workflow functionality. If a client has refused a sent proposal and requested changes to it, the proposal author can now change the status of that proposal from Refused to Draft. This allows the proposal author to make the requested changes per the client suggestions and resend the proposal. Once the Proposal has a Draft status, the author can revise the document and resend it, and the client can not approve it until it is resent.

To change the status of a proposal from client refused to draft, navigate to Opportunities>Proposals>All>sort the proposals by the status "Refused" using the column filters>select appropriate proposal>Edit>change the status from Refused to Draft by using the radio buttons near the bottom of the Edit Proposal form.

3. Invoices: set billing contact by project.

OpenAir has added additional functionality to enable billing managers and similarly authorized users to configure billing contacts on a project-by-project basis. This enables your company to bill multiple people at the same client for different projects.

To enable this feature administrators must navigate to My Account>Company>Settings>under Invoice Options check the “Allow project over-ride of billing contact” box. Then billing mangers need to add the billing contacts to clients in the My Account>Account>Contact form. Once this is done, billing managers navigate to individual Project Edit screens (Projects>Projects>select appropriate project>Edit Project>select appropriate billing contact from the Billing Contact drop down menu).

4. Reports: new reports in Resources module.

OpenAir has enhanced reporting on information within Resources. First, users authorized to view the data in the Resources module can now run summary reports on booking data. So, for example, a manager can report on the all of the hours booked to one or many projects on a user-by-user basis. To use the new summary reports, navigate to any module then to Reports>Summary>select the appropriate report under the Resources section.

In addition, OpenAir has enhanced drill-down reports to include all data from the Resources module. To view the drill-down reports with Resources data, navigate to any module then to Reports>Drill Down>follow the reporting wizard instructions.

5. Webinars: OpenAir demonstrations for current customers.

Based on the high level of interest in our past customer Webinars, we are continuing our online seminar series. These events are designed to expose you to the breadth of OpenAir product features and functionality, so you can get as much value as possible out of your account.

The events will show you how OpenAir can be used to manage the sales pipeline and create proposals in Opportunities, create employee profiles, find and book resources and evaluate utilization rates in Resources, manage and collaborate on projects using Projects and Workspaces, track time and expenses to projects and set up approval processes in Timesheets, Expenses, and Purchases, handle complex project accounting and billing rules in Projects and Invoices, and manage key customizable account settings such as roles, terminology, data filters, calendar settings, and hierarchies in My Account.

We are offering two sessions for current users this month:
Tuesday, June 25th, 12-1pm EST.
Thursday, June 27th, 12-1pm EST.

The purpose of these seminars is to expose you to functionality you are not currently using, rather than to train you in detail on how to use specific features. If you are interested in arranging a training session, please contact Tim Groves at 617-351-0272 or tgroves@openair.com.

6. Would you like to see previous OpenAir updates?

Click here to browse previous product updates including all new features, modules and functionality.

7. Suggestions, problems or questions?

As always, please contact us at support@openair.com or 888.367.1288 (outside the U.S. and Canada, call 617-351-0226). We pride ourselves on the outstanding care we give our customers. Please let us know how we can improve your experience with OpenAir.