Software Africa Newsletter - May 2017

Editorial

Now that the cold is here, we are enjoying our wood burning stove and staying snug. There are more developments at Autodesk with a whole load of new products in their pricelist. It's going to be awhile before we get our heads around the massive innovation that is taking place.

Autodesk Special

Between May 7th, 2017 and July 21st 2017 (dates inclusive), customers who purchase a bundle of:

Condition: The discounted product bundles must be purchased at the same time during promotional period. The Promo Skus will be available in the Africa price list as of Promo start date.

We are waiting for the site links to be sent to us.

An Alternative -  ZWCAD!

With the pricing of Autodesk products based on the Dollar, AutoCAD is becoming expensive for many companies.  As an Authorised Reseller, we offer a cheaper alternative, similar in function: ZWCAD. Watch an introductory video here (3 minutes).

ZWCAD prices in Rand have been constant since we signed up as a reseller.  We get new AutoCAD price lists constantly.

You can download a 30-day Free Trial of ZWCAD 2017 here. The download is the PRO version, but when activated with a STD key it will switch off PRO features. Go to this link for product features and to this link for a product comparison.

Would you like to buy?  Email Rick.

Online Tip #7 - Google Easter Eggs

Since it's Friday and you may not feel like working, here is what Google programmers do when they do not feel like working either:

They write Google "Easter Eggs" and hide them for users to find. Some seem to expire after a while, so not all the ones you will find listed online seem to work anymore.  Here are some that do:

QuickBooks 2017 Update

QuickBooks Accounting Software is now being offered as an Annual Subscription. With the Annual Subscription, you will receive much more as it is a subscription that comes with perks - QuickPerks.

Receive QuickBooks 2017 and free upgrades to the latest version of QuickBooks available when you renew your subscription annually

  • Free email and telephone support.
  • EasyBIZCONNECT, which is an application that comes in two hardworking parts:
    1. An Open Database Connection Driver (ODBC) that allows users to access data from QuickBooks and view it in other applications
    2. Mobile applications that allow business owners, reps and even clients to access information within QuickBooks from a mobile device

    The QuickPerks Annual Subscription offers you and your business many benefits, including making your QuickBooks Desktop package mobile. Isn’t it time to convert your business to easier financial management?

    Contact Judith for more information!

    Quick Payroll

    We look forward to having you as a Quick Payroll Key Player user and we will do our utmost to make the transition from the old Quick Payroll, as painless as possible. Please contact renewals@quickbooks.co.za for assistance with this.

    Please contact Judith for the new KeyPlayer software and assistance in getting your data file to QuickBooks for conversion.

    Green Tip

    Our water is our most abused resource. With the likelihood of another drought, as El Nino returns, we will all have to be creative in ways that we use water. Bottled water is not an ecological solution as most of the bottles are sent to landfill. In addition, the aquifers, that the water is drawn from, often leave the nearby communities without water.

    How Autodesk Products solve problems

    A new product has been released and is only available online. It is Eagle for designing PCBs.

    Did you know that you can also access rich learning resources online? You can start with the Autodesk University videos. Once you have registered on the Customer portal, you can also access customer FAQ groups plus many other training videos.

    The World is changing rapidly

    Here is a very good link for Autodesk users to see what is new and the benefits: Autodesk: The Future of Making Things.

    Excel Tip #154 – What's New in Excel 2016 for Windows? New Hierarchy Charts

    We are looking at what is new in Excel 2016 for Windows Desktop, compared with Excel 2010.  As we saw in Excel Tip #151 in February (if you were paying attention), in the Charts group, there are three new buttons: Hierarchy, Waterfall or Stock, and Statistical. Click Hierarchy Chart to use the new Treemap or Sunburst chart.

    In this exciting episode, we will look at Hierarchy Chart and use the new Treemap.

    The data must be organised in columns of categories, with the final column numeric.  For example, here we analyse the number of shops in two shopping centres by shop type (sample data only):

    Centre Type Count Shops
    Morning Glen Mall Auto Repair 1
    Morning Glen Mall Automated Teller 1
    Morning Glen Mall Bank 1
    Morning Glen Mall Beauty Salon 1
    Morning Glen Mall Book Store 2
    Morning Glen Mall Cafe or Coffee Shop 1
    Morning Glen Mall Clothing Store 8
    Morning Glen Mall Computer Store 2
    Morning Glen Mall Day Spa 1
    Morning Glen Mall Department Store 2
    Morning Glen Mall Dry Cleaning or Laundry 1

    To produce the chart, click somewhere in the data. Click the Insert tab on the ribbon. In the Charts group, click the dropdown arrow next to the Hierarchy Chart icon and choose Treemap, as shown below:

    The chart itself (bottom) shows coloured blocks sized proportionately to the number plotted. On the left in red-brown appear the Morningside Shopping Centre shops, and on the right in blue appear those from Morning Glen Mall. If one enlarges the chart, more text is visible.

    Next month we will look at the Sunburst chart. That is also used for Hierarchies, and has the benefit that you can have more than two levels, but you need a lot more space.

    Computius Say:

    In response to #menaretrash, Computius say #somemenaretrash, #somemenaregreat, #somemenaresoso, and #dontlosethenuanceandbeextremistjusttogetashorthashtag!

    Remember:  We can make your business run better by:

    All the Best from the team!
    Judith and Rick

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