How Do I?
How Do I......?
This article contains some of the most frequently asked questions. Read through this article if you have any questions or just to get some ideas.
How do I handle Prepay customers?
All jobs that are part of the prepay amount should be placed as "Pre-Pay" or "Include In Contract" in the job details. For specific instructions on setting customers up on installment billing, click the button below:
[CLIPxe/QCLIPxe] How To Set Up Installments
These jobs are not charged to the customer when they are done. If the "Done to date" exeeds the "Max" then the customer will be charged whatever is in the "Charge over Max" field. Any debit or new work done after that will be charged to the customer and show up on the next bill for him to pay. See below for example screenshot. This example is a mow job setup on "Include In Contract".
Accounting methods for CLIP (not qCLIP)
Below, we will go over two different ways to handle and process those "Pre-Pay" accounts.
In Enter Transactions enter a credit for the full prepay amount. CLIP will then list this customer as having a negative balance. As work is recorded debits are entered and the negative balance will diminish until it reaches zero. DO NOT set the job to "Pre-Pay" otherwise CLIP will not deduct from the negative balance.
Advantage: You will always know how much work you owe this customer throughout the year.
Disadvantage: If you do extra work for this customer that you want to get paid for, CLIP will deduct this extra work from the customer's outstanding credit. This will make the customer come up short at the end of the year instead of being charged at the time the job was done.
The Preferred Method: In Enter Transactions enter a debit for the full amount and in the description call it "Pre-Pay for full year" or something similar. Then enter the customers payment as a credit for the full amount of the yearly service. This will set the customer's account balance to zero. All jobs that are part of the prepay amount should be set to "Pre-Pay" in the job details. These jobs are not charged to the customer when they are done. Any debit/new work done that is not part of the "Pre-Pay" will be charged to the customer and show up on the next bill.
Advantage: Any additional work will be charged to the customer's bill.
Disadvantage: If the customer cancels, you will have to figure out how much of a refund you will owe him. This is not that much of a disadvantage because hopefully you have a low number of cancellations!
How do I handle multiple properties?
Multiple properties can be handled in two ways:
You can enter a customer for the main billing company. Enter jobs for each property under that customer. You might want to enter the names of the jobs with the job name and the address of the property: i.e. "Mow and Trim 123 Main St". It is recommended that use a different set of job numbers since you will have the same job listed multiple times and this way your all reports will still be accurate. For example, your Pattern job numbers are 1-100. Make these job numbers start with 200.
Advantage: All properties are consolidated onto one bill and the customer only takes up one space in your customer file.
Disadvantage: Your customer will not be able to figure out how much you are charging for each property. Your crews can get confused as to which property needs to get the job. You are limited to 99 jobs per customer. If this customer has 20 properties and each property has 5 jobs, you will be short.
The preferred method: Enter each property as a separate customer with its own jobs and billing parameters. Enter the billing address as the name and address of your customer.
Advantage: Your customer will be able to see what each property is costing him. He will have separate bills for each property. Your crews will not get confused as to which property they are doing. You will not run out of jobs for your properties.
Disadvantage: You will not get a consolidated bill for the customer.
How do I change my company name, address or phone number? You do not have the ability to change your address or phone number in the CLIP program. This is our protection against software piracy. If any of our users were to give or sell their copy of CLIP to another company, all of the reports and bills would still have the certified user's company name and address. If you need to change your name, address or phone number, please fill out the change form in the program under Help > Customer Forms > Change Form and fax it to (240) 220-0693 or email it to [email protected].
Name changes must be notarized ONLY if you are changing companies from one owner to the next OR you are becoming incorporated as a business. No programming changes will be made without written authorization from a registered CLIP user. You will receive a "Company Code" by email.
If your company is not current with your Annual Service Agreement or Monthly Subscription with us, then you will need to call Sensible Software, Inc. and ask about pricing at (800) 635-8485.
How do I transfer my CLIP to another company? [ CLIPxe ]
You do not have the ability to transfer ownership of the CLIP program. The programming required for this change must be performed through Sensible Software, Inc. This is our protection against software piracy. If you need to change the name, address and phone number to a new owner, or need to add or change a partner, please fill out the Transfer of Ownership Form and either fax it or email it to us. No programming changes will be made without written authorization from a registered CLIP user. You will receive a "Company Code" by email. Your company must be currently under our Annual Service Agreement or paying the monthly CPP subscription to receive this service. A transfer fee does apply. See rates or contact SSI for pricing. If your company is not currently under our Annual Agreement you will need to call Sensible Software, Inc. at (800) 635-8485.
Can I use CLIP for another business?
You can purchase another CLIP for another business that you own. The price for the second CLIP is greatly reduced. Call our sales line (800) 635-8485 for more information.
How do I close the year?
You do not need to close the year. There is no difference to CLIP from one year to the next. You should, however, set your jobs' Done to date back to 0 before you start the new season -- click the button below for step by step instructions on doing this any other End of Year Functions!
What are the files that end in TMP on my CLIPv directory?
Any files in the CLIPv directory that end in "tmp" can be erased or deleted. FoxPro uses these files to swap memory and sometimes does not erase them.
I recorded the work yesterday and today when I print the route sheets only the work that I did not record comes up, but no new work appears.
See the 'how to' section -- here on Refreshing the Work Bank.
A customer wants to have a service done once more and then to be placed on hold until he calls, how do I handle this?
Edit his job and place the Next Scheduled Visit on the day he wants this last service. Place the Countdown on 1, this way CLIP will bring the job up on the Next Scheduled Visit and after it has been done will place it on hold. If the customer calls later for his service to be done again, change the "Next Scheduled Visit" and take it off hold to make it come up again on the route sheets. Or use "Add Work" to get it onto the route sheets.
Why does a job keep showing up on the route sheet when I’ve told CLIP that it is done?
Is the frequency (At least XXX days between jobs) set at 0? This is a common misconception that if you leave the frequency at zero it will not be rescheduled. CLIP will reschedule everything no matter what the frequency is. With a zero frequency CLIP will keep on rescheduling the job for the same day over and over again. To schedule a onetime job use the "One Time Only" option. The list of jobs for the day is not correct at all. CLIP will arrive at the list of jobs using three parameters, i.e.; Next Scheduled Visit, Relation and Hold? (Y/N).
Take one job that is not in the place that you want it to be in and check that the next scheduled visit is today’s date or earlier and that it is not on hold. Check also to see if it is related to another job and if so, is that job due? If this is all true then you need to refresh the work bank and it will be fixed.
How do I register my CLIP program?
If you are a new user to CLIP and you want to register the program, in the program select Help > Customer Forms > Product Registration. Enter your company information and select save, then print the document with your company information and fax it to(240) 220-0693. If your a current user and you just purchased an upgrade and when you transfer your older program into the new program, it will certify your new CLIP program (unless the older program was never certified).
Where do I go to get updates for my CLIP program?
To get the latest update for the CLIP program, click the button below.