. From this drop-down, select the type of activity you want to add, and click the Go button. A new data entry form will appear, with the client already selected.Original publication date: December, 2007
What does the newest build of WebCATS have in common with a kitchen remodel? Surprisingly, if you’ve just gone through a kitchen remodel like this author has, there are quite a few comparisons that can be made between the two.
Over the years, WebCATS has dramatically increased in functionality. It started out as a small Web supplement to WinCATS Enterprise, but now holds more tools and conveniences than WinCATS ever did. In other words, what began as a studio kitchen with a hot plate and microwave now has all the utensils and tools to cook a Thanksgiving feast.
The storage place for many of these tools is WebCATS’ left-hand navigation menu.
In the beginning, the number of menu categories, along with the options under each category, was modest. Then eCenter Direct came out and Softshare added a new category with accompanying links to view incoming counseling and conference requests. Options for managing subsets, attached documents, and custom reports were recently added to the “Tools” category. Some centers have enabled the “Other” category, under which any number of custom hyperlinks can be placed. And still other centers have begun using the new Custom Activity Forms Module; each custom form created gets two links: one under the “View” category and another under “Add.”
The new build of WebCATS, build 422 which is being released over the holidays, is adding yet another menu category to the over-crowded navigation menu. Databases that include SBA-funded centers will receive a new “EDMISrx” menu category to house tools that lead centers will use to stay on top of EDMIS errors and reporting.
But while all these new tools and options that Softshare has added over the years are great, the navigation menu is admittedly cluttered. There are too many appliances on the counter, not enough space to store the pots and pans, and, personally, I’m continually digging around for the bottle opener.
Softshare decided that it was definitely time to remodel the kitchen, but what should we move, and where to? In build 422 of WebCATS, the “eCenter” menu category was the first to go. Its links to counseling and conference requests were relocated to the “View” category.
Next, we turned our attentions to the “Add” category. After careful demolition, the only commands to remain under “Add” are those for adding clients and companies, contacts, and conferences. This means that all selections that have to do with adding client activity (counseling sessions, milestones, awards, etc.), as well as inquiries, narratives, and counselors were moved to other areas of the kitchen.
But where? Well, the commands to create inquiries, narratives, and counselors records moved to their respective owning records. So, for example, in build 422, you’ll find an Add Inquiry button at the top of an open contact record. Similarly, there are Add Narrative and Add Counselor buttons at the top of center records.
For the many types of client activity records that you can create, Softshare built some new cabinetry right on the client record, and it’s got the kind of shelving that you can pull out to easily reach things way in back. So, begininning with build 422, you’ll first open the client record for which you want to create an activity record for. Just above the client record’s activity history list, you’ll see a new drop-down menu. From this drop-down, select the type of activity you want to add, and click the Go button. A new data entry form will appear, with the client already selected.
Note that this fancy pullout shelf is also big enough to hold the Session Merlin, as well as any custom activity record types you may have created. Even that dinner party of sessions, the batch counseling session, remains a straightforward endeavor. Remember that the first step toward creating a batch counseling session is to create a client subset. Once that’s done, open any client record from the subset’s results and select “Counseling Session” from the new drop-down. Your new session appears with that client already selected; click the Select Clients button, select the Last Client View to add the rest of your subset, and dinner is served.
So again, although modern conveniences in the kitchen are great, you should still have an aesthetically pleasing workspace. Hopefully, you’ll find that to be the case with WebCATS build 422.
Make product codes a priority. Database administrators have long had the ability to determine which fields should be mandatory for a particular record type. However, this capability didn’t extend to product codes; there was never a way to make the selection of a primary product code mandatory. In build 422, however, programs can now require that at least one primary product code be chosen at the time of client record creation.
And speaking of product codes… WebCATS now recognizes the 2007 NAICS codes. To bring WebCATS into compliance with these latest codes, we added a handful of new codes to the database, made several codes obsolete (their descriptions have been appended with “(2002)” to indicate they are no longer valid), and updated descriptions for approximately a dozen codes.
Better tracking of disadvantaged small businesses. SDB and 8(a) clients no longer need to be lumped into one business size classification. Instead, the selection of “Disadvantaged Small” enables a second field, titled Disadvantage Status.gif)
, from which you can designate the type of certification (8(a) or SDB) that the company holds. What’s more, there’s a new date field too, specifically there to track when the company was certified.
All SBA definition numbers at your fingertips! The SBA Economic Impact worksheet gets a new name and an overhaul. Now called the Economic Impact/Capital Infusion worksheet, it will provide all the numbers SBA cares about, including the number of extended engagement cients, business start-ups, and capital infusion dollars, in one easy glance. Long-term clients are in there too, along with the other economic data you’re used to seeing in this worksheet. Don’t panic! We’re keeping the old Economic Impact by Approval Date worksheet around too, for historical purposes.
The SBA Quarterly Case Report worksheet gets its second wind. When EDMIS was introduced, the SBA Quarterly Case Report worksheet, with all its strange calculations, quickly fell by the wayside. After all, “cases” were changed to “client counts” and their definitions were not at all the same.
Since then, we’ve heard that some of you use the worksheet for internal purposes. But who needs those legacy and nonsensical case totals and averages that dominate the first five headings of the worksheet? Softshare doesn’t think anyone does, so we decided to redesign those first few headings in a new 2007 version of the worksheet. Now, you’ll be comparing apples to apples, and not apples to misleading case averages.
EDMISrx keeps your database in good health. All databases that include SBA-funded centers will automatically receive the brand new EDMISrx module. This module, through monthly check-ups, helps you avoid the quarterly crush of EDMIS correction activity. To read more about EDMISrx, visit our EDMIS Web pages.