Getting Started with Adminsoft Professional Practice - New Users

The software is reasonably intuitive to use.  However there are lots of goodies tucked away in various places that are not necessarily immediately apparent.  You can confidently experiment with various menu options, because the software will warn you if you are about to do anything serious (and give you an opportunity to back out at that point).

Navigation and Flow

You can use the mouse to launch various modules and facilities from the Tool-bar, make selections from the system menu at the top of the screen (which changes according to the window that is currently selected / active.  In all data-entry windows, you can use the <Tab> or <Enter> key to move on to the next field.  The high-use data-entry screens (e.g. timesheet entry, and Debtor transaction entry) are designed to use <Tab> and arrow keys throughout, which is significantly more efficient than using the mouse.

In various data-entry forms, if a field has a cyan coloured background, it can be used for navigation. Typing into it will not edit the actual data displayed in this field.  For instance, in the Job / Project Details page you can just type in a new Job Code and press <Enter>.  The software will immediately jump to the Job you have typed.  In the Address Book, you can partially type the first few significant letters of a Client's name, and the software will jump to this when you press the <Enter> key.  Note that you can also partially type names of private individuals, e.g. "Bl,J" may be sufficient for the software to jump to "Bloggs, Joe" when you press <Enter>.

There are very powerful drill-down facilities throughout the software.  For instance, while editing an invoice you easily open slaved windows to view associated timesheets, the relevant Debtor's account balance and payment history, the Job / Project details and summary, or Client contact details.  When you move on to another invoice, all the slaved windows (timesheets, Debtor account, Client and Job details) will follow and present information for the new invoice.  Form slaved drill-down windows, you can drill-down to further slaved windows - e.g. from the Client / Address window you can view all other jobs / projects for that Client, or from the Job window you can view all other invoices for that job.  These secondary slaved windows will also follow as you move on to another invoice.

There are a number of "Hot keys" that can be used for enhanced efficiency in many places in the software.  Click here for more details.

Personalized Settings

• You can adjust the text size to suit the size and resolution of your screen / monitor.  (See the "View" menu at the top of the screen.)
• The "Personal Preferences" option from the "View" menu lets you set up modules that will "auto-launch" when you run the software.  Many of our users automatically open their Timesheets, Jobs, and Address Book (plus To-Do List if they are running the WorkFlow module).  You can specify where the auto-launch windows should be positioned (i.e. top, bottom, left, right, etc.)
• The Tool-Bar will automatically re-configure itself according to your security permissions.  (Modules that you cannot access will be removed from the tool-bar, but you can disable other modules / tools if you wish.)  It is possible to drag the tool-bar into a new position (e.g. further to the right), into a special panel at the top or bottom of the screen, change it into a vertical bar and drag it into a special panel at the left or right of the screen, or hide it completely. 
• You can even change the fonts into something else that you prefer.