CHRISTMAS EDITION

From the CEO

The 2007 calendar year is nearly over and as we approach the festive season I am pleased to report that Auto-IT has met all its strategic and financial goals for the year and continues to experience steady growth in its customer base. In fact Auto-IT’s software products are now in use by 9300 licensed users, situated in more than 800 dealer locations and in 8 countries.

This represents a remarkable increase of nearly 3000 users since my December Newsletter Editorial in 2006 and as we expand in dealership numbers so too are we experiencing a significant increase in the average size of dealerships investing in and utilising our Dealer Systems to run their businesses.

A major highlight for 2007 was the sale by our South African Channel Partner AKNT Technologies, of our New Generation software to the large Automotive Group, China Automotive Manufacturers (CAM).

Auto-IT is also on the verge of further expansion into two new geographical areas and I expect to release more information in this regard early in 2008.

We approach the New Year with confidence knowing that Auto-IT people are extremely good at what they do. Our staff members understand the importance of customer service and are continually striving to improve in all our interactions with clients, and with the continued development of world class Dealer Management Systems.

We are more diversified than ever before. Our products are sophisticated, comprehensive and relevant to a range of industries and our operations span 8 countries. Once again I would like to thank all our customers and business partners both old and new for your loyalty and support throughout 2007. Auto-IT is now poised for significant growth and I will look forward to sharing the news of our successes in future editions of this newsletter throughout the ensuing year.

I wish all our customers, partners, employees and friends, an enjoyable Christmas and a prosperous and fulfilling 2008.

Merry Xmas to you all!

Ken W Fife | Chief Executive Officer | Auto-IT Pty Ltd.

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Auto-IT Selling Into Africa

In a major coup, Auto-IT has made it’s first sale of UNITS™ automotive software into the Republic of South Africa.

Auto-IT’s channel partner in South Africa, AKNT Technologies, has successfully negotiated the sale of UNITS™ dealership management software into China Auto Manufacturers (CAM) for its many retail outlets in South Africa and neighbouring countries. CAM is a manufacturer and distributor of taxi mini busses & light commercial vehicles and plans to rollout to over 30 dealerships.

The software will be deployed in an ASP environment, delivering three major benefits to their automotive business:

• centralisation of the company’s information technology,

• pooling of all company data,

• streamlining operations and achieving cost savings - individual retail outlets will not require their own servers.

This makes it possible for the client to opt to lease all of their software and hardware requirements and monthly support services.

CAM’s choice of UNITS™, follows Auto-IT’s customisation of the software to suit local tax, statutory and terminology requirements for the South African marketplace. Following this installation, Auto-IT, through its partner AKNT, will be well positioned to offer dealer management software to the greater African automotive marketplace.

 

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Drawing of a flower by Auto-IT sponsor child, Kana.

Auto-IT Wishes Everyone a Merry Christmas

Auto-IT has once again this year, decided to forfeit sending Christmas cards and divert the expenditure to sponsoring two children from developing countries.   

Our sponsor children are six year-old Kana from Bangladesh and seven year-old Saley from Chad.  The sponsorship is via World Vision and we find it to be a very rewarding experience.

We’re sure that you appreciate these arrangements and would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas, a safe holiday season and all the very best in 2008.

If you’re interested in contacting World Vision, please call 1300 303 440.

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New Auto-IT Factory Interfaces

The following new factory interfaces are available or will be available in both UNITS™ and PMDS™:

• Kia Parts Order Interface Software (stock order submission only - no receipting)

• Citroen Parts Order Interface Software (stock order submission only - no receipting)

• Alfa Parts Order Interface Software (stock order submission only - no receipting)

• Nissan Inventory and Vehicle Spec and Pricing

• Mitsubishi Interface with Contact Tracker

• Iveco SAP Integration

• Automation of Daimler Chrysler interfaces

• Toyota Showroom Direct Interface

• Toyota Taipan - Parts (WIP)

• FORD Servis2 Warranty software

• Honda RDA and Inventory Interfaces

• Mazda Address Validation, RDA submissions, Vehicle orders & Inventory, vehicle specs and pricing

• VW Parts Locator interface (WIP)

• New Holland Parts Locator (April '07)

• Infomedia Super Service Menu additions (Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki)

For more information, please contact your Account Manager or call 03 9349 3062.

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Tech Tip - Checking the Server’s Disk Space

Checking your server’s available disk space on a regular basis is very important to ensure that the server is running at its optimum performance, and to avoid disk-related disasters. In order to maintain optimum performance, it is recommended that at least 25% - 30% of your hard drive capacity is “Free” space.

Note: We strongly encourage that you seek the advice and/or assistance from Auto-IT before clearing files or data from your system.

Checking Disk Space on a Windows 2000/2003 Server

Open “My Computer”. The My Computer window will display a summary of your hard drive capacity. The figure below shows the C: System drive as having 6.94 GB of free disk space.
 

For a detailed view of your drive capacity,  simply right click on the hard drive label, e.g. “SYSTEM (C:)” and the click “Properties” in the drop down menu. The properties window will appear similar to below.

Checking Disk Space on a Linux Server
 

1. Type TCL at the PMDS™ “Selection Please” prompt. TCL access is reserved for the System Administrator only.

2. To check the Linux file system, at the TCL prompt, type “!df –h” and [Enter] (without the inverted commas). This will show you a summary of your hard drive partitions. The “Use” column shows the percentage of data that is in use. In the figure below, the root or “/” partition is 77% percent used, leaving 23% free.

3. To check the free space of your D3 database, at the TCL prompt, type “free” and [Enter]. In the figure below, the “Available Disk Space” is 22%.
    

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FAQs - PMDS™

Q: Why is it important is it that we clear the system spooler and how often should it be done?

A: The spooler is a special system file that is stored within the database that handles print jobs. This file contains both jobs awaiting print and also holds file jobs that have already been printed, such as the end of day reports. If this file is not maintained correctly then it will increase the chance of data corruption within the spooler, increase the chance of ‘losing’ print jobs and may cause other printer related issues.

The PMDS™ Support Department recommends that the spooler is cleared daily. Before clearing the spooler, you will need to confirm that your EOD reports are all accounted for. If you are using report archiving, please confirm that they are all present in by viewing in ‘Prt/Dsp Indiv Eod Reports’ (F.802)


Q: Why is it so important to archive the EOD reports on a regular basis?

A: PMDS™ Report Archiving was introduced so that you could move reports to CD instead of using boxes and boxes of paper during the month. If this process is neglected it will have a major impact on system performance in several different areas including the EOD process, running saves, retrieving information and it will also add time to the archiving process when it is finally run.

Contributed by Brent Jones - PMDS™ National Customer Services Manager

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FAQs - PACE2000

Salary Sacrifice

There are two ways in which to handle Salary Sacrifice in PACE2000: as a deduction (method 1) or as a normal pay type method 2).

Method 1

• Create a “Deduction” Payroll Transaction Code and apply it to the Employees standing transaction table with a negative $ value, and direct it to the clearing G/L account from which it is to be paid.

• Then calculate the equivalent monthly $ value plus the company’s normal contribution and apply it to the Super/Mth $ field in Employee Maintenance.
  
  Note: (that either a % or Mth $ can be used but not both). This method will however include the total value in the taxable income on the Employee’s Payment Summary and will need to be claimed.

Method 2

• Create a normal “Pay” Payroll Transaction Code.

• Apply this to the Employees Standing transaction table with a negative $ value only and direct it back to the wages expense a/c. (This will reduce the company’s wages expenses but increase the Super expenses)

• Then calculate the monthly $ value plus the company’s normal contribution and apply it to the Super/Mth $ field in Employee Maintenance.
  
  Note: Either a % or Mth $ can be used but not both. This will not be included on the Employee’s Payment Summary as the employee has agreed to forfeit this amount in exchange for the additional company’s contribution.
  
  Contributed by Max Sita - Support Consultant

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FAQs - UNITS™ / EQUIP™

My Deal

Q: How can I enter a deposit and receipt number in My Deal so that they print on the Sales Contract?

A: A deposit and receipt number can be entered in the required fields of the Sales Contract in My Deal when "Print Preview" is selected. However this information is not saved for future retrieval in My Deal and will need to be re-entered should you require a reprint of this document for any reason. Alternatively you could save to file and reprint from the saved document.

Multiple Stock Units Sales: Difference Between UNITS™ Build 1900 & Build 2000

Q: In UNITS™ Build 1900, you could allocate a stock number when using the trade-in tab on processing of the sale. How can you do this in Build 2000?
 

A: For UNITS™ Build 2000, enter a user-generated stock number in the T/I Stock No. field in the Trade-In Selection Area.

Q: In UNITS™ Build 1900, if the registration number was not in the system, you could add it as part of the sales process. How can you handle this in UNITS™ Build 2000?

A: In UNITS™ Build 2000, the registration number can be updated in the Workshop Service Tab and will write back to the stock unit, but only if the vehicle is transferred to the Workshop and Workshop Confirmation box is ticked, otherwise the registration will have to be updated after the sale in Stock Unit Maintenance.

Contributed by Sue Lane - Support Manager

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