Software for Home Builders and Condo Builders

Recent Changes/Additions/Activities:

07/09/10 HOMES & HOMES Stand-Alone Customer Service interim update v5.0.2 released with a few minor corrections and enhancements including the ability to selectively copy PDI setup data between projects, have a "Deficiencies Under Investigation" category on PDI forms, and optionally also have Floor Plans, Images and Attachments automatically distributed to off-line PDI workstations during data synchronizations in the HOMES Customer Service System. Also improved mail merge and reporting in HOMES main module.

Much more coming soon!

11/17/09 H.O.M.E.S. Stand-alone Customer Service System released for builders that already have systems in place and just need reliable and powerful customer service and pre-delivery inspection software.

10/14/09 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 5.0 released with the following new features & enhancements added since version 4.3:

Head Office & Sales Office Main Module:

• Head Office users may now open/edit any Offer, Amendment or Extras Sheet regardless of status even if the status dictates that editing rights belong to the on-line edition sales office. Previously offers whose status dictated the editing rights belonged to the sales office had to be opened in sales office mode.

• A new “Reset Offer/Return to Inventory” feature has been added for convenience when a deal is cancelled, and a lot/unit must be returned to inventory as a model home, ready for a new purchaser. After making permanent electronic or hard copies of the original deal, you can use this feature to reset the Offer, remove the original purchaser info and automatically convert firm Extras to Upgrades that are part of the purchase agreement. This readies the Lot/Unit for a new purchaser without having to cancel purchase orders or work orders.

• The new replacement TARION warranty addendum templates (July 2009 re: economic conditions) are included for projects in Ontario, Canada.

• The Batch Price Change utility has been enhanced to permit batches of  option price changes by exact mark-up percentage.

• Deposits and Settlements report may now be filtered by offer deposit description and by amount (e.g. to report all cash deposits & settlements > $10,000 to assist with FINTRAC Canadian Government requirements.)

• Solicitors' List report template added (for use with mail merge.)

• The Lot/Unit Status Report now has new options to double as an “Unsold Inventory Revenue” report when including unsold lot/units including full breakdown of premiums and using an average selling price for applicable models when applicable.

• Lots/Units may now be temporarily excluded from the selection list at sales offices. This enables entry of lots/units in advance of permitting sales.

• Enhanced data copying options when creating a new project. (Colour Selections may be copied with or without colour choices etc.)

• New separate fields for “Building”, "Level"  and “Unit” have been added in the lot/unit list especially for for condo builders to provide more flexibility when customizing purchase agreements.

• Construction Start dates may now be optionally pre-defined individually by lot/unit prior to entering an offer, in addition to by project.

• The Batch Description Changes utility can now change option notes for convenience when many options’ notes need be edited.

• A User Login Report was added to help track currently logged in users and available user licenses.

• Support was added for printing a separate appendix to the TARION warranty for projects in Ontario Canada when the number of vendor conditions exceeds the maximum of two already accommodated on the warranty addendum templates.

Customer Service:

• The customer service system has been greatly enhanced. Work orders may now have an unlimited number of deficiencies each with its own user definable completion status and due date. All reports, service log etc have been updated to include deficiency item reference numbers.

• Entire work orders may be cancelled or reinstated without having to cancel each deficiency item individually, but you can also cancel (or delete if not yet printed) and reinstate individual items on a work order with proper authorization.

• You can now click a single button to flag all deficiencies on a work order as completed without having to load each deficiency individually to change the status.

• You can now automatically make a duplicate copy of any work order’s deficiencies detail, with a new work order number. This is convenient when a work order needs reassignment to a different contractor etc.

• New Electronic PDI Checklist system:

  • Perform pre-delivery inspections electronically with or without Internet access. If Internet access is available and reliable, you can do inspections in real-time, or when used off-line, a quick and easy data synchronization is done after the inspection by connecting from anywhere with Internet access securely using the same method your sales office(s) use with no extra setup required. Of course, you can also synchronize by connecting to the head office network locally.

  • Your inspection representative has complete access to all construction related information normally found in the Customer Service module, (Purchaser info, upgrades/extras, colour chart etc,) even when inspections are done off-line!

  • Perform inspections without having to type text using a portable tablet or notebook/netbook device. Deficiency descriptions can be entered quickly and easily by clicking on commonly used words with a tablet stylus or mouse pointer. (We recommend use of a touch screen tablet PC or Netbook which have recently become considerably less expensive and they are much more convenient to use than a pocket PC which fits very little information on the screen. You can use an on-screen keyboard or handwriting recognition to enter less commonly used words/phrases, or to add to the list of common words on-the-fly without trying to type while standing.) Checklist items may be associated with a specific room to refine the list of common words for quick selection.

  • Use your familiar customized PDI checklist as simple or detailed as you like with a quick and easy setup.

  • Optionally pre-define by checklist item which trade(s) should receive a work order by default, and easily edit the list during or after the inspection. (A new “PDI Deficiencies by Lot/Unit” report is provided to easily emphasize what trades are assigned, and which deficiencies are missing trade assignments.)

  • Print your customized PDI Form/Report on-site ready for signing using a portable printer. (As usual, the report template may be customized using Microsoft Word®.)

  • Possession Date and CCP# are now tracked separately, and the inspection start and completion times can be recorded just by clicking to automatically track the duration of the inspection.

  • Automatically generate work orders for PDI deficiencies from completed inspections, grouping deficiencies for the same contractor and lot/unit on one work order to reduce paperwork and clutter while still allowing individual deficiency status/completion and due date tracking!

  • Run multiple simultaneous pre-delivery inspections for the same project with or without Internet access.

  • New “PDI Deficiencies by Lot/Unit” and “PDI Checklist Item” reports to help with PDI deficiency trades assignment and checklist setup.

• It is no longer necessary to temporarily assign a firm status to offer records for model homes or inventory lots/units in order to create service work orders prior to selling a home. If the offer’s status or “Purchaser 1 Name” field contains the word “Inventory”, the offer may be loaded in the customer service system.

• You can now define and assign custom warranty statuses.

• You can now easily track and analyse work order receipt confirmation from contractors to ensure work orders aren’t missed during distribution.

Purchase Order System:

• The Auto-generate Purchase Orders feature has been enhanced to include an option to generate for models only, upgrades/extras only, or both.

Contact Management:

• The Detailed Contact Analysis, Traffic Analysis Summary, Mail merge & Data Export now include added filters for the "First Contacted" date.

• Added new ”Price Range” and “Miscellaneous” user definable category tracking with full filtering analyses in addition to the other categories already tracked such as “Model/Home Type”, “Home Size” etc. The new miscellaneous category’s name is programmable, so you can call it anything you like. e.g. “Ethnicity” etc.

• The Traffic Analysis Summary has been greatly enhanced to provide a summary analysis with percentages of contacts/prospects for all categories tracked including Traffic Source, City/Town, Model/Home Type, Home Size, Price Range, Age Group, Gender, Contact Category, Sales Agent any Miscellaneous Category of your choice.

All Modules:

• Windows 7 is now supported.

• All known issues have been corrected.

• Many reports have been enhanced with even more powerful filtering capability, and the on-screen report viewer now remembers the user's preferences for window position and size.

• Improved mouse scroll-wheel support for on-screen lists.

• New features have been integrated into the HOMES security model to control user authorization and define logging of important events.

• The Built-in Help manual has been updated and further enhanced.

• Many more less notable but desirable enhancements plus all features included in prior releases 4.3.8 and earlier.

07/29/09 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 4.3.8 update released to include new replacement Tarion warranty addendums for builders of Ontario, Canada based projects.

02/13/09 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 4.3.4 update released to address the immediate needs of Canadian HOMES users regarding the new FINTRAC government requirements effective as of February 20, 2009.

08/22/08 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 4.3 released with the following new features & enhancements added since version 4.1

• Compatibility with new Tarion requirements effective as of July 1, 2008 for Ontario-based projects. HOMES has been updated to remain compatible with the new requirements for Ontario Canada based builders as dictated by Tarion, the new home warranty regulators. HOMES automatically prints the new warranty addendums with the purchase agreement without any need for double entry or connection to Tarion's website. The complete addendums are generated fully populated and ready for signing including the statement of critical dates which are also calculated automatically and may be viewed easily and instantly on-screen at the click of a button. (HOMES still simultaneously and transparently manages lots/units for which the new Tarion regulations do not apply.) Only applicable lots/units for projects based in Ontario and sold after July 1, 2008 will have the additional features displayed.

• Prints the new compulsory Tarion warranty addendums fully populated and ready for signing for both freehold and condo projects, whether using tentative or firm closing/occupancy date schemes. Critical dates are calculated automatically and may be viewed on-screen.

• Prints revised Statement of Critical Dates fully populated to accompany purchase agreement amendments affecting closing dates.

• Closing Date (and now occupancy date) tracking is updated to be aware of new Tarion requirements and calculate available delay dates according to the new regulations. (Tracking for lots/units sold prior to July 1 2008 is still in place.) Labels to identify the “Closing Date Type” may be assigned to revised closing dates to identify the revision type and help to calculate available subsequent closing/occupancy delays and notification deadlines. Examples: Firm, Tentative, Unavoidable Delay etc.

• New sample amendment templates specifically for closing and occupancy date revisions are provided, and the amendment template may now be changed on-the-fly when printing amendments.

• New sample delay letter templates are provided for the various types of closing/occupancy delays, (Firm Closing/Occupancy date, 2nd Tentative Closing Date, Unavoidable Delay etc,) and the delay letter template may now be changed on-the-fly when printing delay letters.

• Sample mail merge templates are provided to generate required purchaser notifications (by mail or email) for events such as notifications of: Construction Commencement, Ready for Occupancy, Satisfaction/Non-satisfaction of early termination conditions, Unavoidable Delays etc.

• Project warranty registration numbers are now tracked on the project setup screen.

• You may define a default closing/occupancy date scheme for new offers: Firm or Tentative.
  (Of course the scheme may be edited individually by lot/unit on the main offer dialog.)

• Enhanced Comprehensive occupancy date tracking and reporting by unit has been added for condominium projects, similar in functionality to the features for tracking closing dates including printing delay letters, amendments and Statements of Critical Dates when necessary.

• Vendor conditions tracking is added to easily attach purchase agreement conditions imposed by you, the seller and to report by status to ensure the necessary notifications are not missed. You may also predefine commonly applied vendor conditions to make data entry of offers quick and easy. (Vendor conditions are also automatically populated into warranty addendums.)

• New and Enhanced Reports:

  • New Purchaser Notifications Report to help eliminate missed important purchaser notifications. This report automatically lists closing delay notification deadlines, occupancy delay notification deadlines, construction starts and vendor condition satisfaction due dates that fall within your preferred date range. (eg: lists notification deadlines that fall within the next 2 weeks…or whatever date intervals each user prefers.) You can save the length of the date range you prefer, and you can have the report run once daily upon opening each project as an automatic reminder. You can even filter the report by existing (or absent) offer notes, so if you prefer you can use the offer notes to track whether or not notifications have been already been sent.

  • New Occupancy Dates Report: providing full revision history by unit and including available delay information including notification deadlines similar to the Closing Dates Report.

  • New Vendor Conditions Report: to track conditions to the purchase agreement imposed by you the seller, including appropriate filtering capabilities.

  • A new customizable Purchaser List has been added as a mail merge template to report purchaser contact information: name, address, phone, lot/unit etc. (You can make multiple customized templates for custom reporting for different purposes, and use the mail merge feature’s many powerful filtering capabilities with your templates.)

  • Many reports have been enhanced to include additional information and filtering.

• New enhanced tracking of construction start dates, plan of subdivision, zoning and water/sewage information as well as improved building permit management is added and used to populate warranty addendums.

• Basement walkout premiums may now be predefined by lot for freehold projects.

• Offer deposits may now have event descriptions attached to describe the event that will trigger the deposit due date, such as: “60 days from offer date”, “90 days from offer date” or “upon date of occupancy” etc for printing on the purchase agreement. These deposit event descriptions may also be predefined for quick data entry.

• For condominium projects, a separate “Level” field is now available to distinctly identify each unit’s floor number on purchase agreements etc.

• Even more flexible lot/unit status tracking, making it easier to track occupancy statuses etc.

• Many more fields are available for merging data into purchaser documents.

• Holiday tracking has been improved to help avoid selecting holidays for important dates such as closings, and to help accurately calculate critical dates and notification deadlines.

• A sample condominium project and applicable document templates are now provided.

• Several more less notable but desirable enhancements plus all features included in prior releases 4.1.6 and earlier.

• All known issues have been corrected.

06/30/08 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 4.2.0 update released to address the most urgent needs of Ontario based HOMES users regarding the new Tarion requirements effective as of July 1, 2008.

10/04/07 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 4.1 released with the following new features & enhancements added since since version 4.0:

• Even Faster and Easier Project Setup: A number of features have been added to make project setup and management significantly faster and easier than ever before.

• Improved Automatic Price and Cost calculations for Options Sold by Room Size: H.O.M.E.S. uses the size of applicable rooms to determine the quantity of square feet (or square meters) necessary. New option codes priced by unit of area (sqft) then automatically extended (and convert to the desired units if necessary) so prices, costs and margins are determined automatically. This feature eliminates the need for most model specific options because one option works for all models. This vastly reduces the number of option codes that need to be created and makes project setup much faster and easier. Also, when you start a new project, the options don’t need to be changed even if all the models are different! You just define the room sizes for the new models, and that is also fast because you can copy rooms from one model to another. What used to be the biggest job in setting up a new project is now one of the smallest and easiest tasks.

• Colour Selections More Powerful: Colour Selections are now also “room size aware” so unit quantities are tracked automatically for take-off reporting. (eg: How many sqft of  “Dynasty 1162 Champagne” carpet do we need for a lot/unit or the entire project?) Pre-defined colour choice notes/instructions are now supported and may be forwarded to the colour chart.

• Enhanced Revisions Deadline Date management by lot/unit. If a deadline date is defined, no revisions affecting construction will be accepted after the date passes unless the deadline is removed by someone authorized to to so.

• Batch Contractor Assignment to Model Components Utility (To make multiple changes of trade/contractor assignments to model components much easier, ie Assign, Un-assign or Replace contractors to multiple models' components in one step.) If you change a contractor mid-project, it takes just seconds to replace the contractor by model component for any models you specify!

• Batch Contractor Assignment to Options Utility (To make multiple changes of trade/contractor assignments to options much easier, ie Assign, Un-assign or Replace contractors to/from multiple options in one step.) If you change a contractor mid-project, it takes just seconds to replace the contractor for any options you specify!

• The Batch Price/Cost Adjustment feature now also adjusts model component costs by trade/contractor for fast cost adjustments similar to those available for Options etc.

• New and Enhanced Reports:

  • The Colours Analysis report is enhanced to include reporting sorted by colour choice, and is enhanced for better unit quantity/take-off reporting. Unit quantity subtotals are provided where applicable, so colour choice take-offs are available automatically in seconds for an individual lot/unit or for the whole project.

  • New Report: "Trades/Contractors Assigned to Options" to more easily analyze costs and trade/contractor assignments for Options.

  • New Report: "Trades/Contractors Assigned to Model Components" to more easily analyze costs and trade/contractor assignments for standard model components.

  • The Deposits and Settlements Report may now be filtered by the closing status (closed/not closed) for each lot/unit.

  • The Model List now has options to include applicable rooms and  exclude notes and discontinued models.

  • The Option list (when filtered by a specific model) automatically extends pricing for options priced by room size. You may also now exclude option notes if desired.

  • Applicable reports now have the option to include non-firm upgrades/extras.

  • Many existing reports have been further enhanced including additional filtering capabilities.

• Microsoft Windows Vista Support

• Microsoft Office 2007and/or Microsoft Word 2007 Support

• All known issues are corrected.

07/16/07 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 4.0.10 update released with the following new features & enhancements:

• Batch Contractor Assignment to Model Components Utility (To make multiple changes of trade/contractor assignments to model components much easier, ie Assign, Un-assign or Replace contractors to multiple models' components in one step.)

• Batch Contractor Assignment to Options Utility (To make multiple changes of trade/contractor assignments to options much easier, ie Assign, Un-assign or Replace contractors to/from multiple options in one step.)

• Several report enhancements (option to include non-firm offers on sold-to-date report, filter Trades/Contractors Assigned to Model Components report by model component, etc.)

• All known issues are corrected.

06/04/07 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 4.0.8 update released with the following new features & enhancements:

• Microsoft Windows Vista Support

• Microsoft Office 2007and/or Microsoft Word 2007 Support

• Enhanced support for pre-defined colour choice notes/instructions

• Several minor report enhancements.

• All known issues are corrected.

02/22/07 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 4.0.4 update released with the following new features & enhancements:

• New Report: "Trades/Contractors Assigned to Options" to more easily analyze costs and trade/contractor assignments for Options.

• New Report: "Trades/Contractors Assigned to Model Components" to more easily analyze costs and trade/contractor assignments for standard model components.

• Several more minor enhancements including additional merge fields for document templates.

• All known issues are corrected.

12/14/06 H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite version 4.0 released with the following new features & enhancements:

• Improved more flexible settlement options for Extras, including user defined settlement types. (An unlimited number of mixed payment methods for Extras are now possible including post-dated cheques, credit cards etc.)

• Floor-plans, Images and Attachments: You can now attach an unlimited number of additional external files (not necessarily created using H.O.M.E.S.) such as floor plans, images, photographs, MS-Word documents, PDF files, HTML pages etc. Any file that can be viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer may be associated with a lot/unit and displayed or printed. (Available using on-line edition at remote site offices.)

• The H.O.M.E.S. Contact Management System is now integrated with the HOMES main module.

• Easier project setup: Features have been added to make the setup of your first project (and maintenance of additional projects) much faster and easier, such as the ability to copy settings from the previous Option during Option setup. Also, a Batch Description Change utility has been added to quickly change portions of descriptions for models, options, etc. in a similar fashion to the batch price/cost change utility. This will make it very easy to change large groups of options with one command when for example model names change for new projects.

• For condo developers, HOMES now tracks occupancy dates and keeps an inventory of parking lots and storage lockers which can be sold and assigned using option codes. Pricing may be defined by individually by space/locker, and also pricing may be adjusted as a batch process for spaces/lockers matching specific criteria.

• Tracking of costs for standard model components and options has been enhanced to better manage cost tracking when multiple contractors are used in a project for the same trade category.

• New and Enhanced Reports including:

  • Construction Report by Lot/Unit - All construction specifications for each lot/unit on a single report, including standard model components (optional), Upgrades/Extras and Colours. (May be filtered by Trade)

  • Extras Sales by Lot/Unit - enhanced filtering by sales agent, option, or groups of options

  • Commission Report - lists sales and basic commission calculations for models and commissionable extras by sales agent.

  • Deposits and Settlements Report - Lists offer deposits and extras settlements separately or combined with filters by applicable dates, deposit status, settlement method etc. (Replaces Deposits Received Report)

  • Late Payments Report - Lists late offer deposit and extras settlement payments. (Replaces Late Cheques Report)

  • Aged Work Orders Report – lists pending work orders by age similar to an accounting system’s aged receivables report with up to 7 different ageing categories. This makes it effortless to stay on top of timely work order completion without letting anything slip through the cracks. Includes extremely powerful filtering by practically any combination of pertinent information including applicable dates, statuses, origins, and even portions of text in descriptions, contractor instructions and work order notes.

  • Appointments by Contractor – list existing work order appointments by Contractor including date, time lot, work description etc to assist in scheduling. Also includes extremely powerful filtering by practically any combination of pertinent information.

  • Contractors’ Efficiency Report – Analyses and categorized completed work orders for contractors by age also similar to an accounting system’s aged receivables report with up to 7 different ageing categories. Provides a summary for each contractor including the percentage of work orders in each ageing category, and a summary total for the report. Also includes extremely powerful filtering by practically any combination of pertinent information.

  • Most existing reports have been further enhanced including additional filtering capabilities, more subtotals and totals for unit quantities etc.

• Closing status may now be flagged manually for all lots/units, (Closed or Not Closed)

• Additional information now tracked: Purchasers’ fax numbers, Construction Permit Numbers and date issued, Warranty enrolment numbers, Contractors’ Insurance Certificate number and expiration dates.

• Taxes rates may now be manually adjusted more easily for Offers and Extras, and additional features have been added to ease tax management during tax rate transition periods.

• It may now be defined by individual colour selection whether or not manual text entry (typing, rather than selecting from a drop-down) is permitted during colour chart data entry.

• The mail merge feature has been enhanced to permit filtering by offer status so you can now generate letters to non-firm purchasers. Also, you can now filter by offer notes and by email address status so you can mail merge to email for purchasers for which an email address is recorded, and to the printer for purchasers without email.

• New security features to more easily manage project access for all users from one dialog, by project or by user.

• Pop-up tooltip help may now be shut off as a user preference setting.

• Purchase order auto-generation may now be manually enabled or disabled by lot/unit using a grid style to turn ordering on or off manually. This makes it possible to manually control when ordering takes place independent of the colour chart status, however the colour chart status may still be used to over-ride ordering.

• It is now possible to un-cancel a purchase order, useful if a purchase order was cancelled in error or you wish to change the replacement status for the auto-generate feature.

• Purchase Orders may now be print-previewed on-screen.

• Purchase order reports have been enhanced to include subtotals and totals on unit quantities to assist with obtaining actual unit quantity counts for options. Filtering has also been enhanced to permit text specifications on detail items, and you can report just model components, upgrades/extras, or both.

• Purchase order numbers may now be sequenced by project, rather than by organization if desired.

• Customer Service System now tracks additional information on service work orders including: Original Deficiency Date, Work Order Due Date (may be calculated automatically based on origin,) Work Appointment Date and Time.

• Work Orders may now be print-previewed on-screen

• It is now possible to make a service log entry while a work order is being edited on-screen.

• Service Work Order statuses are now also user definable...define your own unlimited list.

• Work order numbers may now be sequenced by project, rather than by organization if desired, and unique work order number prefixes may be used to denote the project. (On-line edition)

• All known issues have been corrected.

• Many more less notable but valuable faetures and enhancements.

06/27/06: H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 3.1.21 released with enhanced support for tax rate change transitions, plus all new features and corrections included in releases 3.1.0 through 3.1.20.

06/16/05: H.O.M.E.S. Contact Management System version 1.1 released as a stand-alone or integrated component of the H.O.M.E.S. family of products. This is a contact management/customer relationship management system option for real estate sales agents to track/manage potential customers, maintain appointments and analyze advertising efficiency etc.

04/08/04: H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite release version 3.1 released with the following new features & enhancements:

• Support added for running the complete H.O.M.E.S. family of products in real-time via the Internet via Microsoft Terminal Services. This enables operation of H.O.M.E.S. from any physical location with Internet access without the need for data exchanges, which guarantees all offices are kept up-to-date to the second! In addition, using the Terminal Server Edition eliminates the need to install and maintain the system at each remote sales office or site office, thereby vastly reducing system administration. (The system need only be installed at the head office.) With the new Terminal Server Edition, you are no longer limited to one sales office and one construction site office per project as you are with the Standard Edition which is still available for builders concerned about loss of Internet access.

• Purchaser documents (Purchase Agreement, Requests for Extras, Colour Chart, etc,) may now be previewed on-screen without printing.

• Colours Analysis report has been enhanced to permit filtering by Colour Choice, eg: Display all lots/units that have selected a specific tile design etc.

• The purchaser Mail Merge has been enhanced to also permit filtering by Colour Choice. This enables automatically generating letters and envelopes for purchasers that have selected a specific tile etc. (This is valuable for automatically notifying purchasers that their choice has been discontinued, and therefore they should reselect another.)

• Lot/unit revision date tracking has been enhanced. (The date of the most recent construction specification revision is tracked automatically by lot/unit. This assists in ensuring no revisions are missed without checking more information than necessary.)

• Discontinuation flags have been added for Models, Options and Colour Choices to enable removal of discontinued items from sales availability lists without having to delete the item.

• "Accounting Reference" fields have been added to identify matching accounts and trade costing categories in 3rd party accounting systems to assist in exporting data. This is to assist builders who wish to integrate with their accounting systems.

• Many reports have been further enhanced for additional filtering according to the user's specifications.

• Taxes may now be defined by project for builders operating multiple geographic areas or tax zones.

• Database security has been further enhanced to ensure unauthorized access is denied.

11/24/03: H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite release version 3.0 released with the following new features & enhancements:

• Full enhanced support for managing model component budgets with multiple trades and their associated costs per component. Model components and/or component costs may be copied from one model to another, and may be listed in alphabetical, or chronological order.

• Purchase Order system now includes full support for automated ordering of models in addition to upgrades & extras, including optional standard model component detail and colour selections applicable to the trade on the printed purchase order, as well as enhanced work completions tracking and customized completion certificate printing by purchase order (integrated with site office for enhancing control to ensure work status is confirmed before contractor invoices are paid.)

• New much faster colour chart editing system (still backwards-compatible) with more powerful and comprehensive colour selection distribution, and easier colour chart template setup. (Includes support for Upgrade-only colour selections that have no matching standard colour selection.) Standard colour selections may now be associated with the applicable models and trades for analyses and purchasing purposes. The colour chart can now consist of only the applicable colour selections for the lot/unit as specified by the model and options purchased by the customer. (All Modules)

• New colours analysis reporting capability which can be used for materials lists etc. Colours can be reported by lot/unit, or by colour selection with lot/unit detail, and may be filtered by individual trade. (Reports all lots/units that have selected specific colour choices, eg: Which lots/units have selected specific tile for the main bath?)

• Multi lot/unit mail merge support to send personalized letters to multiple purchasers automatically. (Can also be used to address envelopes, labels etc. Specifications include address, date sold, closing date etc etc. You can even specify that you want to send only to customers that have purchased a specific model, or even a specific option.)

• Support for specifying which models may or may not be sold on each lot/unit. (Ensures inappropriate models can’t be sold on a lot/unit.) If only one model applies, it is filled in automatically.

• New enhanced security with user logins for all modules. Individual user accounts and user groups may be defined with permissions/denials specified by project, program module, and even by all appropriate individual program features. (One password entered at login is needed and the system knows what features each user may access.) User permissions defined at head office are automatically distributed to sales and site offices.

• New System Security Log to optionally record and report specified user events by module and project. (Tracks when users are performing specific functions and/or attempting to access program features.) Logging may be enabled/disabled by specific project or for all projects, and log management may be performed manually or automatically.

• Support for emailing directly from within HOMES by double-clicking on email addresses. (All modules)

• New Reports including:

  • Gross Margins by Lot/Unit

  • Expected Gross Margins on Models

  • Model Budgets

  • Colours Analysis (By lot/unit, or by colour selection, and available at site offices too!)

  • Colour Selections by Model (ie which selections apply to each model)

  • Models Available by Lot/Unit

  • System Security Log

  • User Permissions Report/Checklist

• Site Office system (Lot Information Viewer) now includes enhanced work completions tracking and customized completion certificate printing by purchase order with support for partial completions and automatic updates to head office so accounts payable knows when purchase orders may be paid, or partially paid, even if a completion certificate was not submitted with the contractor’s invoice.)

• All list/maintenance dialogs are now resizable and remember your preferred screen position even after closing the program (All modules)

• Many many more less notable but desirable enhancements, as well as all features listed in earlier interim releases 2.23, 2.24 and 2.25

06/10/03: H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 2.25 released, with improved unlimited offer deposit handling, automatic date calculations, support for additional fields on the offer (birthdates, SINs, mobile phone#s solicitors fax etc,) a new batch price/premium/cost adjustment system to automatically adjust prices, costs etc for models, lots, options etc according to criteria specified by the user, and many more further enhancements to reports etc.

03/17/03: H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 2.24 released, with support for condo builders including option to price by unit rather than by model, and automatic calculation of fees. Also support for remote site office entry/editing of work orders in Customer Service System, as well as many less notable features such as reporting work orders by origin category, and finding lots/units by customer name and civic address as well as lot/unit number.

01/14/03: H.O.M.E.S. & H.O.M.E.S. Lite interim release version 2.23 released, including support for drop-down colour selection lists on the colour chart to ease entry of purchaser's choices and add more control. The purchaser's colour/style/design choices may now be included directly on purchase orders to contractors. (The system is still backward compatible for users who prefer to keep using the old style free-text colour chart.)

08/14/02: H.O.M.E.S. 'Lite' version 2.2 released, including all features of the standard H.O.M.E.S. system and optional modules, but with a maximum of 50 lots per project and a substantially lower price.

08/07/02: New Version 2.2 of all H.O.M.E.S. modules released with the following new features & enhancements:

• Support for fixed Offer pricing has been added for builders who do not accept Offers, but rather work with a fixed price list.

• Support for pricing which is not tax-inclusive has been added for builders who prefer to break out taxes on Offers and Requests for Extras.

• All documents are now created using MS-Word documents/templates to enhance flexibility of customization.

• Dates may now be entered in the manner preferred by the user as specified in the Regional Settings dialog of the Windows Control Panel.

• Reports have been further improved for speed.

• Support for flagging Options/Upgrades/Extras as having temporarily unknown Trade costs to assist when the cost is not yet known, but purchasing is necessary 'As Per Contract'. Associated reports have been enhanced to display unknown costs and warn of the potential for inaccuracy due to the missing cost(s).

• Many reports have been further enhanced to permit additional filtering specifications when requesting a report and only specific information is required. Example: Upgrade/Extra reports have been enhanced to report also by Option code, Trade etc.

• Options may now be flagged for exclusion from option lists/menus intended for customers so that only the desired Options will be on an Option list intended for a purchaser's consumption.

• A 'Deposit Notes' button is now available on the main Offer dialog to permit entry/editing of comments pertinent to the collection of deposit cheques. The notes are then displayed on the 'Late Cheques' report.

• A new ‘Area/Size’ field has been added to the Models list to record square footage or square meters if desired, rather than using the Model notes.

• A new ‘Model Type’ field has been added to the Lot/Unit list to record the required/intended model or model type of a lot/unit when necessary to ensure the correct Model or Model Type is selected for the lot/unit.

• An ‘Unlock Editing’ button has been added to the toolbar of main HOMES window.

• Users now receive a notification/reminder when selecting a new status for Offers, Amendments & Extras that will transfer editing rights to the other office.

• The on-line help documentation has been enhanced, as well as improved more detailed assistance with the customization of documents.

• Support for Tax Exempt Options has been added.

• Support for After-Tax Credit Options has been added. These are credits that are not printed in the body of a Request for Extras, but rather are displayed in the totals, after the grand total including tax.

• Several more less notable enhancements and and a few corrections to all known minor issues have are also included for all modules.

08/07/02: New enhancements for H.O.M.E.S. Purchase Order System option version 2.2:

• Support (optional) for automatically or manually creating purchase orders with unknown costs. (Purchase Order templates with columns to display the cost will display ‘As Per Contract’ in the cost column and total.) All applicable reports have been enhanced to flag where costs are unknown, and consequently totals may be inaccurate. In addition, applicable reports  (Purchase Orders by Lot, Purchase Orders by Trade) now have an option to report only Purchase Orders that have missing costs, to assist in determining where costs need be updated.

• Added new dates & Option code specifications to Purchase Order by Lot & Purchase Orders by Trade reports.

• Added support for multiple authorization levels for creating/editing POs, invoice application/payment, & both.

• Added support for multiple (3) document templates when printing POs. Now when printing purchase orders, you can optionally  print for example a ‘Purchase Order’ (with costs) a ‘Work Order’ (without costs) and pre-print a ‘Completion Certificate’. Documents inclusion and number of copies may be selected on-the-fly for all printing procedures, and defaults may be set on the ‘Project Setup’ dialog.

• Purchase order templates may now be assigned by project. (You may use a different layout/logo etc for different projects to avoid confusion)

05/03/02: Watch for our ad in Ontario Homebuilder magazine and membership directory/buyers' guide.

02/01/02: Version 2.1 of all H.O.M.E.S. modules released with the following new features & enhancements:

• New options to deny entry of Extras, Amendments and Colour Charts at sales offices.

• Option to send all offers, amendments & extras to head office, or just approval submissions.

• Improved handling of option quantities. (Main H.O.M.E.S. system and all optional modules)

• Improved discount handling with user definable maximum applicable discounts by option.

• Improved tax handling with option to add tax on standard prices for extras.

• Upgrade/extras options now classified by model to ensure only options applicable to the selected model may be sold. This also enables option lists/menus customized by model.

• Improvements to existing reports (more programmable specifications & more informative layouts,) and new reports added including: Amendments List report, Extras Gross Margins by Lot, Expected Gross Margins on Options, Trades Cost Analysis on Changes, etc

• Improved handling of closing date delay notification deadlines & better help with selecting new closing dates.

• Unlimited user-definable offer statuses to track the state of offers, and determine which office has editing rights, and whether authorization is required for editing. (Helps with offer approvals)

• Unlimited user-definable amendment statuses similar to offer statuses.

• Unlimited user-definable extras statuses similar to offer statuses.

• New updated data exchange procedures for remote offices.

• Even faster processing of all reports.

• Company logo's for Offer Information Sheets may now be assigned by project.

• Improved handling of multiple item purchase orders in Purchase Order system. Auto-generate feature now generates purchase orders grouped by Lot/Unit for each contractor.

• Windows XP now supported.

(Earlier entries archived.)