|
What's New at Counterpoint
Greetings!
Welcome to another issue of What's New at Counterpoint. Spring has Sprung! It is time to get the garden started, clean off the grill, catch a baseball game on the radio, ????and do some database spring cleaning. Counterpoint wants to help make spring cleaning less of a chore, by supplying you with the right tools and utilities to get the job done efficiently, quickly, and painlessly.
This quarter's issue is filled with tools, utilities, and trouble shooting tips, designed to help you catch and correct potential data issues. You will also find new ways to clean up, close, and bill your month, allowing you to get your invoices to your clients the way they want them, when they want them. We hope these tips and tricks will make your 2nd quarter spring with possibilities!
We would like to welcome the latest networks to join Counterpoint: West Virginia Metro News and Compass Media Marketing!
Here's to a wonderful Spring 2012,
Counterpoint Software
|
|
New Features
We take the needs of our clients very seriously. Many of our enhancements come from your suggestions. Due to a growing demand in our industry, we have made changes to our invoicing program to give you the flexibility that you have asked for.
Standard, Calendar, or Weekly Billing Options
The majority of broadcast clients are accustom to receiving invoices billed on a standard broadcast month, however, we all have those clients that must receive a calendar month invoice, or those that demand weekly billing. We have heard your pleas, and are very happy to be able to help! Now, you can choose whether a contract will be billed on a standard month, calender month, or weekly! You tell us how to bill when entering the contract, and the work involved with those special requests disappear with a mouse click!
Ability to Invoice End of Contract Prior to the End of Broadcast Month
Many of you have asked for the option of generating billing for expired contracts prior to the end of the standard broadcast month; once again we have heard you and are here to help. Contracts whose last air date is prior to today's date, can now be invoiced throughout the month by clicking on Selective Contracts. The end dates of each contract will appear, for easy selectivity.
If your network is set up to bill as ordered, meaning you bill based on what was ordered, not where your spots aired, you will be able to generate final invoicing the last Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday of the standard broadcast month.
Installment Billing Capabilities
Have a client that has to be billed for all of 2012 in May so they can close their corporate year? Or a client that wants the same sum every month, regardless of the number of weeks or spots that ran? Maybe a client that wants to be billed up front, or all at the end of flight? You no longer have to cringe and mutter complaints under your breath as you create manual invoices, instead our Installment Billing Feature allows you to handle these, and many other scenarios automatically. You set the billing terms of the contract up front, and we invoice accordingly! Invoicing is no longer held up by special client requests, and you can relax knowing everything is taken care of. Please contact mikerooney@counterpoint.net to discuss adding Installment Billing to your system.
Ease in Electronic Invoicing
In an effort to move your network one step closer to being a paperless, or less paper, operation, we have made Electronic invoicing even easier! You can now exclude electronic invoices from your print queue by leaving the new "Include EDI" box in the Invoice Screen unchecked. If checked on, you will print a hard copy of your electronic invoices along with your other invoices. To make the box defaulted to being on, contact
support@counterpoint.net for a password.
Undo Invoice Utility
Try as we might to be perfect, we all occasionally make mistakes (or someone does not catch a mistake that they made before it landed on your desk). Understanding that to err is human, but to correct those errors falls on the Traffic and Accounting Departments, we have implemented an "Undo" utility, which will unbill a month to allow for necessary corrections. This is a very powerful utility, and as such, is heavily password protected. Should you need to use the Undo utility, contact support@counterpoint.net for a password.
For more information on billing, month end procedures and check programs, Click Here. Be sure to keep reading What's New at Counterpoint, for more features version 5.8 has to offer!
|
Housekeeping
Avail Suppression Options
As our industry becomes more and more automated, information about each of your spots may have to be sent multiple places, or not sent anywhere at all. Keeping track of what spot goes to which export has become a job in itself. The new Avail Suppression Options allow you to select which exports to associate with each of your avails.
You can now set a spot to be exported (or not) to the Counterpoint Affiliate System, an ISCI Export, an Audio Delivery System, and/or an Automation System. Just one more way Counterpoint can help automate your workday.
For help cleaning up your exports, contact support@counterpoint.net.
Pervasive 11 Upgrade
If you have not done so already, it is time to upgrade to Pervasive version 11. Pervasive has stopped any development on version 10, and no longer supports any version prior. Pervasive version 11 is required to upgrade to Counterpoint version 5.8, which offers many new features, like the Proposal XML Export, the ability to control what is exported through new Affiliate Avail controls, and the Affiliate Management System, as well as enhancements in speed and performance, for all of your Traffic and Affiliate Departments. For information and quotes on upgrading your network to version 11, please email mikerooney@counterpoint.net.
Not on version 5.8?
Contact support@counterpoint.net about getting you upgraded today.
|
|
|
|
|
Who's who at Counterpoint
Sara Schones, Senior Account Manager, saraschones@counterpoint.net
Sara was hired as a consultant in 1998, and happily joined the Counterpoint support team full time three months later. By 2001, Sara became the manager of the support department, and moved into sales and account management in 2003. During her fourteen years at Counterpoint, Sara has been responsible for multiple assessments, installations and conversions, helping to ensure long term positive
relationships with our clients. After having triplet boys in 2011, Sara is taking on more of a behind the scenes role, creating documentation, supporting Counterpoint personnel and clients during installations, and writing What's New at Counterpoint.
|
|
Behind the Screens
Trouble Shooting The Electronic Affidavit Export
How many times has an affiliate contacted you asking where their logs are? Have you ever wondered if your logs exported to the Electronic Affidavit System correctly? Download Trouble Shooting the Electronic Affidavit Export for easy tips and tricks to trouble shooting any issues surrounding your Electronic Affidavit export.
Occasionally, you may have the need to clear posted or partially posted spots from the Electronic Affidavit System. Download the Web Utility Document to learn what circumstances require clearing spots and how to run the utility.
Visit www.counterpoint.net for additional manuals and procedures. |
Meet Up
NAB, Las Vegas 2012
Mike Rooney and Melinda Pomeroy look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas at the April 2012, NAB!
NASRN Meeting 2012, New Orleans
Mike Rooney and Sara Schones are excited to see all of the State Radio Networks that make up NASRN, as we once again to sponsor the 2012 NASRN Meeting. .
Please email mikerooney@counterpoint.net, to set up a meeting to discuss where the industry is heading, and how Counterpoint can help you get there.
|
Need Training?
Whether you have a new hire, a new backup, are using new features, or just need a refresher course, Counterpoint is here to help! With new training options, getting the training your network needs is easier than ever.
Schedule an on-site visit to train, or review current procedures, or an on-line session tailored to your needs today, by emailing saraschones@counterpoint.net. |
Have a Question?
To get answers to your questions fast, email our System Consultants, at support@counterpoint.net.
Support Hours:
8a Eastern - 7p Pacific
Monday through Friday
Holiday Schedule:
Counterpoint will be closed
Monday, May 28th in observance on Memorial Day
and
Wednesday, July 4th
|
Archived Newsletters
We hope you enjoy reading What's New at Counterpoint. If you missed an issue, you can find back issues below, or archived at
|
|
