Frequently asked questions about H.O.M.E.S. Lite

Q:

Does H.O.M.E.S. Lite restrict the quantity of projects as well as the number of lots/units per project?

A:

No, H.O.M.E.S. Lite only restricts the number of lots/units per project. If you have a large project and you don't mind splitting it up into 2 or more smaller projects, you can do so but remember your report totals will reflect just that of the individual project. If you will be exceeding the lot/unit capacity per project of H.O.M.E.S. Lite, unless you are dealing with an entirely new project or a new separate phase of an existing project, we recommend upgrading to the standard H.O.M.E.S. system which has no restriction on the number of lots/units.

Q:

When we need to move up from H.O.M.E.S. Lite to H.O.M.E.S., is there a less expensive upgrade so we don't have to pay the full H.O.M.E.S. purchase price?

A:

Yes, if you exceed the capacity of H.O.M.E.S. Lite and wish to upgrade, we will credit you with the full list price of H.O.M.E.S. Lite toward your purchase of a H.O.M.E.S. license. You will only have to pay the difference.

With H.O.M.E.S Lite, normally only remote sales offices and construction site offices need Internet access to connect to your head office, and in fact if Internet access is unavailable or unreliable in your remote location(s), you can even operate remotely without Internet access using a data exchange system via a telephone line or cellular phone connection.

While H.O.M.E.S. Lite will best link your offices in real-time via the Internet, if access is lost your operations will not grind to a halt as they will with any hosted ASP model which will completely cease to operate if Internet service is down for you, your ASP provider or anywhere in-between!

We recommend the use of "Remote Desktop" technology (which is already included with Windows) to directly connect to your head office without having to transmit your private data over the Internet. Since in fact the program is only running at the head office, only encrypted keystrokes, mouse movements and screen updates are transmitted via the Internet. It works similar to remote control software: it seems to the remote sales office user that they are working locally, but in fact the program is running at head office so performance is much better, and if the connection is lost there is no threat of data corruption. When the you reconnect (from anywhere) H.O.M.E.S. Lite is still running and waiting right where you left off!

Q:

We already have an accounting system with administration features. Can we use H.O.M.E.S. Lite  just in our sales offices?

A:

Yes, while you will still use the head office module for project setup, you can use H.O.M.E.S Lite strictly as a sales office system. Even if you don't need all of the administration features built into H.O.M.E.S. Lite, it can provide features and benefits you probably don't get from your accounting system, including the ability to automatically keep project information synchronized between your offices.

H.O.M.E.S. Lite provides unsurpassed organization and control when used at the sales office. You can eliminate errors such as selling options that are not applicable to the selected model, or selling the wrong model for a specific lot/unit, as well as provide purchasers with professional looking documents without double-entry. In addition, H.O.M.E.S. Lite will significantly reduce the work load at each office, especially if used at both sales offices and the head office, since all project information need only be entered once, and can then be distributed to all offices, thereby ensuring everyone involved with the project is kept up-to-date regarding all details for every lot/unit.

Q:

Must we use a remote sales office to use H.O.M.E.S. Lite?

A:

No, if you don't wish to use a computer at the sales office, or you don't have a remote sales office, you can still use H.O.M.E.S. Lite at your head office. In fact, you can enter offers, extras, amendments, and colour charts for a project at the head office, the sales office, or both.

Q:

Our sales agents are not very computer literate. Is H.O.M.E.S. Lite difficult to learn and use?

A:

H.O.M.E.S. Lite is specifically designed to be extremely easy to use and intuitive to learn, especially at the sales office. In fact, the whole point is to simplify and streamline sales office operations. Only the features specifically required at a sales office are included in the sales office module, and those features are made to be as effortless as possible. All project setup is done at the head office so that sales agents need only select lots/units, models, options etc from pre-defined lists, and as much information as possible (such as pricing etc,) is filled in automatically. The entire sales office system consists of either multiple-choice, or fill-in-the-blanks information fields. In addition, numerous checks and validations are built-in to ensure no required information is missing or overlooked. H.O.M.E.S. Lite even filters option lists by model, thereby ensuring only applicable options may be sold for the selected model. (This also significantly shortens the option list, making it easier to select from.)

Most of our current clients' sales agents have little or no computer experience, and the longest sales office training session to date was only slightly more than 2 hours! In addition, H.O.M.E.S. Lite includes exceptional and comprehensive on-line help to assist new users should a question arise. H.O.M.E.S. Lite truly has a short learning curve, and makes sales office operations easier and more trouble-free than ever before.

Q:

What if an offer received from the sales office is not approved at the head office?

A:

All offers, amendments and extras are assigned a status which determines how it should be treated. Assuming approvals are done at the head office, when a sales office submits an offer for approval it is typically assigned a status such as 'Awaiting Approval'. When it is received at head office, if it is not approved you just change the status to say: 'Denied', make any applicable changes or notes to the sales agent, and then during the next data exchange the offer's new status will be sent back to the sales office where the sales agent can make the necessary changes, or delete it outright. If however the offer is approved, the status then becomes 'Firm', the lot/unit is flagged as sold, and the offer is then included in all applicable sales reports etc.

Since the list of statuses is programmable and you can have as many statuses as you wish, H.O.M.E.S. Lite can adapt to however you wish to work regarding approvals.

Q:

We have a decor centre at our head office and therefore don't wish to permit the entry of extras and colour chart selections at the sales office. Can we limit the features available at the sales office?

A:

Yes, there are many options available when setting up a project including some that determine where extras, amendments and colour charts may be entered.

Q:

We work with fixed pricing and therefore do not negotiate offer prices with customers. Can we still use H.O.M.E.S. Lite and will it control pricing for us?

A:

Absolutely. When setting up a new project you have the option to permit or deny negotiated offers. If you opt to deny negotiated offers, H.O.M.E.S. Lite will then work with a fixed pricing scheme. You can apply as much control over pricing as you want, including assigning a maximum discount for options, or completely denying discounts. This ensures a minimum profit margin will always be attained.

Q:

Your sample documents and reports seem to imply that all prices are tax-inclusive. We prefer to break out the taxes for offers and extras. Can H.O.M.E.S. Lite work this way?

A:

Yes, you have the option to work with or without tax-inclusive pricing, and the sample document templates you receive with the H.O.M.E.S. Lite system include examples appropriate for use with either pricing scheme.

Q:

We are starting a new phase of an existing project that we would like to keep separate. Does that mean we have to re-enter all the models, options etc?

A:

No. When you create a new project you have the option to selectively copy information from another project to the new project. Even if the new project is not identical to any prior project, it is usually much easier to copy information from another project and then just make whatever changes are necessary.

Q:

What if we need to change the purchase agreement half way through the course of a project? If you use templates and don't store a different document for each lot, won't you get the wrong purchase agreement if you reprint for a lot sold before the template was changed?

A:

No. Just be sure the template is replaced with a new template filename, rather than editing the original.

If you must edit a purchase agreement for a project in progress, you should always leave the original template untouched. Make a copy of the original template and give the copy a new filename such as 'ABC Project Purchase Agreement Revision 2'. Then make whatever changes you need to the new template and assign it to the project using Setup...Documents...Purchase Agreement. H.O.M.E.S. Lite will automatically send the new template to the sales office during the next data exchange, and will keep track of which purchase agreement template was used for each lot/unit so you don't have to worry about mix-ups. Just be sure that document templates that have already been used for the project are not changed, but rather replaced.

How does the H.O.M.E.S. Lite Off-line Edition link the sales office with the head office without a network connection? Do I have to add another phone line or full-time internet connection?

H.O.M.E.S. Lite Off-line Edition has its own data exchange system that can synchronize project information between offices through a standard telephone, fax line, cellular phone or internet connection. This data exchange does not need a full-time connection, and since it just takes about 5 minutes you can use the pre-existing telephone or fax line to connect to head office from the sales or site office. No additional lines are required. You just click on an icon to automatically connect to head office and exchange information, typically once at the end of the day, although you can run it more often if you like.

(For those who would prefer to run H.O.M.E.S. Lite through a full-time internet connection, the On-Line Edition is available which enables operation from anywhere in real-time and reduces system administration since the system need only be installed at the head office.)

Our sales offices are usually right on the construction site. What if the phone line gets cut?

H.O.M.E.S. (Off-Line Edition) maintains a smaller database of offer information at the sales office which enables you to keep working even if you can't connect to the head office. Actually, the connection to the head office is only really required for a few minutes each day to synchronize the project's information between offices. H.O.M.E.S. Off-Line Edition will keep working with you until such time as the phone line is fixed, or you use another method to connect such as a cellular phone.

If you prefer real-time access via the Internet but are concerned about losing Internet access if a cable gets cut, we recommend the H.O.M.E.S. Terminal Server Edition using a wireless Internet provider if available.

Q:

I tried to run the 'Upload to Head Office' to initialize my new project at the sales office using the H.O.M.E.S. Off-Line Edition, but only the Sample Project is available for synchronization...why?

A:

Once the setup of a new project has been completed at the head office and you are ready to initialize the project at the sales office, you must first create the project at the sales office before running the upload procedure. Just select 'Add a New Project' on the H.O.M.E.S. Lite Project menu, and enter the project name using the exact same spelling as was used at the head office office. This adds the project to the selection list for the Upload to Head Office. You may then run the upload for the new project, at which time the lists of lots/units, models, options, document templates etc for the project will be automatically brought to the sales office. (This is fully documented in the on-line help.)