I've been using it for a number of years. I'm now using their !ntellect program which is basically T&C with and email program and you can open a browser in it. The email linked to the program is very nice. I can go to a Contact and look at all the email between the two of us. I drag a contact into the appointment area and then click one year ahead...or 6 months (a little more effort). Label the group as Service Due and use a Red color. The next year on that date I come across the appointment due and give them a call. I can simply drag the appointment to the date we agree on and change the group to Tuning. The color changes automatically to the Tuning color. I use a Palm PDA synced to !ntellect for my field info. Palm only shows the first 4 fields so I use them for what I may want to see at the job site. Directions, Cross street, Brand/Model, and serial number. I use the notes for service records. Each contact has and appointment area that shows all past appointments and the notes for that appointment. I can't see that in the field on my Palm so I use the Contact notes for service records...which I can see in the Palm. I didn't like Outlook because it is way too complicated for my business. If I was sitting at the computer all day making cold call sales pitches, it might be useful...best way to use it just to start adding your clients into it. Get a PDA to sync to it and leave the paper and double entry at home. Hope this helps...Chaos Software also has some links for training... David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 ----- Original message ---------------------------------------- From: "Floyd Gadd" <fg at floydgadd.com> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Received: 1/17/2009 6:12:51 PM Subject: Re: [pianotech] Time & Chaos >Hi Matthew, >I've just started using Time and Chaos this month, having been aware of it >for a number of years. Perhaps I could do most of what I'm doing with >Outlook, but there are some features that seem simpler and less cumbersome. >I'm using custom fields for date of last tuning, travel distance, and names >of the customers' children. >I'm using categories to record information pieces I've left behind, month of >last reminder sent, whether the customer is a repeat customer, whether the >customer tunes more than once a year, whether the record is for a church, >school, piano teacher, music dealer, whether the customer is a candidate for >reconditioning or a new piano, and so forth. >I'm using the notes field for travel directions and the piano service >record. >I like the ease with which envelopes and labels can be printed directly from >the program. >My main objectives in using the program have been to easily identify >customers that are due for a reminder card or a phone call, to keep my >service records easily accessible, and to keep me on track with newsletter >mailings. >I'm only using the contact manager at present. I still like my paper >planner. I've purchased the program to sync with Outlook so that I can have >my info handy on the Pocket PC I use to run Tunelab. >It would be interesting to see what more experienced users are doing to >maximize the effectiveness of this program. >Floyd Gadd >Manitoba Chapter >* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * >I would like to know which of you use the Time and Chaos software for your >piano business. If I may, I would like to e-mail you privately to get ideas >and suggestions for setting it up. >Thank you, >TODD PIANO WORKS >Matthew Todd, Piano Technician >(979) 248-9578 >http://www.toddpianoworks.com
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