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Which manufacturers does Solatech support?Currently Solatech supports most Major National manufacturers and many of the most prominent Regional manufacturers. A complete list of supported manufacturers can be viewed by clicking here. Check often as this list is updated frequently.
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What if my manufacturer isn’t currently supported by Solatech?With the thousands of fabricators in the industry it is not feasible to support all of them, which is why we focus on those most used by our customer base. Additional products & manufacturers can always be added to your Solatech software for either an individual customer or in conjunction with a particular manufacturer. Manufacturer who come on board as a member of the Solatech Partnership Alliance (SPA) receive the added benefit of having their product information distributed to the entire customer base nationwide.
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Can I integrate it with QuickBooks or Peachtree?Solatech 5.0 supports exporting Sales, Deposits, Customers and Purchase orders to QuickBooks (desktop version only). Peactree export module is only supported by Solatech version 4.2 or earler. This requires the purchase of the Accounting interface module for the accounting program you are using. This can save as much as several hours of data entry each day.
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What kind of computer do I need to use your software?Any Microsoft based operating system beyond Windows 7 is supported.
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
- Processor – 1.5 GHz or faster CPU (i5 or better recommended)
- Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 or higher for workstations
- MS Windows Server 2008 SP1 or higher for servers (optional)
- Hard Drive Storage 6 GB (128 GB HDD recommended)
- Memory 2 GB (4 GB or more recommended)
- Monitor or Display: 1024 x 768 (1366 x 768 or higher recommended)
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Access to a wired High Speed Internet connection (for software & product updates)
- Wireless & Thin Client Environments (terminal services) are not supported
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What information is sent to Quickbooks?Customer information, Invoices (sales journal), Purchase Orders and Deposits (Cash Receipts) can be sent to your accounting software.
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How do I receive updated products/pricing?Product & pricing updates from Manufacturers are maintained by Solatech and distributed to our customers via the web. Updates to your products can be downloaded and your data will be updated much like the definition files that are updated by the antivirus software on your computer.
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How do I update my software?Software updates provided by Solatech are distributed to our customers via the web. Your software will be updated periodically with the Solatech Update utility that is provided with your software.
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Is there an instruction manual and/or documentation available?A getting started Users Guide is provided when your software ships and can also be downloaded in PDF format from the web. Additional and more detailed assistance is available via the online help and our knowledge base articles which are available from our technical support department.
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HOW DO I CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT?Technical support is available 8:30 AM – 5 PM Eastern time at (336) 889.2455 and via our Support Request Form. Registered users can also access our user support pages on this web site.
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Can I e-mail quotes and order confirmations to customers?Certainly. You can send customer quotes, confirmations, invoices, etc. directly from Solatech SalesPRO software. If an internet connection is not available at the time, the e-mail waits until one is available.
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Can I send orders to my vendors electronically?Purchase Orders for manufacturers can be submitted electronically using the Solatech Online Order Processing (OOP) system. This is available to any manufacturer supported by the Solatech system. The capability to accept these orders as an e-mail or to be electronically integrated into the vendors’ system is ultimately their decision. Contact Solatech to see if your manufacturer is connected.
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How do I set up different pricing for my customers?The pricing provided for the manufacturers supported by Solatech or for your own products is the standard published retail pricing. During the setup process for SalesPRO, Solatech staff configure vendor discounts and retail margins, which users can continue to manage.
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How long has Solatech been providing software for the industry?Although the principals of Solatech have been providing software for the industry since 1992, the Solatech software system has been used across the industry since 2000. It is the most extensive and comprehensive system available in the industry.
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How do my sales reps. get their quotes and orders to the office when they are in the field or at home?Additional users of your Solatech software can be added as either local network users or as Roaming Workstation users. Local network users work in the office connected directly to your network. Roaming Workstation users can work in the field as a stand alone unit. Data is continually synchronized with the database as internet connections are available.
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What if we sell a custom product, or a product that’s not on your master product list?Products that are not currently supported by Solatech can be added to the system for an individual customer or for a specific manufacturer. Click here for more information on supported fabricators. Solatech also provides generic configurations that can be used for ordering or quoting non-supported products. However, these do not include comprehensive configuration and pricing data.
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How much time do I need to set up the software before I can use it?This is a good question and the answer seems to vary with each user. Some new users take awhile to get set up while others are able to get up and running over a weekend. Like implementing any other improvement in the way you do business, a focused effort needs to be made initially to get comfortable before it becomes second nature. We recommend taking a few weeks to get comfortable with the system before using it in the field.
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Is the software web-based?The Solatech system is PC-based which allows you to work anywhere without the issues of internet connectivity. In addition, all your data is stored on your computer instead of on someone’s server located who knows where.
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Does your software handle soft treatments?Currently the entire Horizons soft treatment line is supported by Solatech.
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I don’t know much about computers. Can I still use your software?If you are comfortable using computers, then you can implement one of the Solatech systems to make your business more profitable. Our technical support department is VERY knowledgeable about computers and we are here to help you. If you were the technology expert, you wouldn’t need us.
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What is Price Compare?Price Compare allows you to take a specific window configuration and to quickly compare it against as many products as you would like to price and just as quickly, update the other line items in your quote to offer your customer a quick price comparison of the products you are presenting. You can quote an entire house 4 different ways in less than 5 minutes while in front of your client! How long does that take you to do after you leave the client? How does that affect your closing ratio?
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Can I price compare multiple products at once for a whole house?Yes – as a matter of fact, you can compare and present to a client 4 unique configurations for an entire house in less then 5 minutes. This can save the 30%+ drop in closing ratio that is attributed to the need to quote multiple products for a client after you leave the appointment.
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What is Product Designer?Product Designer is the tool that is used by Solatech and our customers to build and maintain their own product data. For example, with Product Designer you could add and maintain products within your system that are not provided by Solatech. This is the tool that Solatech uses to build the products we support. This is available in the Professional versions of our Retail & Fabrication products.
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Is there an annual fee?Solatech SalesPRO is licensed month-to-month, with no contract term.
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Why is an internet connection required?An internet connection is required for support, to receive software & product updates and to send orders via Online Order Processing (OOP), but not to use the system on a day-to-day basis.
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Why do you say “limited technical support” on the license agreement?Our technical support is only available during our business hours.
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I want to install Solatech on 5 computers, but only 3 will be used at a time. Is that 3 or 5 users?The number of licenses for your Solatech software is determined by the number of computers on which the software is loaded.
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Is additional training available if we want it?On-site training is available for a daily rate plus expenses. Most customers utilize the users’ guide as well as technical support to get going, but, having a training tech come to you or sending a key employee to our offices for training, is available as well.
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Can the software be networked?All Solatech products can be networked. Each package is priced as a single user version and additional network or roaming workstation nodes can be added. Pricing varies with each product.
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Can I modify any of Solatech’s templates for invoices, order forms, etc?Existing reports can be modified and adjusted by the user in the report configuration areas of the software. Custom reports can be created by Solatech and then accessed from within the software. An application like Crystal Reports can access the company database and produce reports from it, but they can’t be integrated into the Solatech software directly.
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What software platforms do you support?Our products are all Microsoft Windows supported products. Which means if you can run Windows, you can use Solatech. System requirements for specific applications are located within the sections for each particular product.
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Can I run Solatech SalesPRO on a Mac?Yes, but it requires a Microsoft Windows emulation environment setup on the Mac to install Solatech. Some Solatech team members work on a Mac in this scenario.
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Does Solatech run on an iPad?No. It is not compatible with iOS.
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How long does it take to get the system after I order it?After all paperwork is completed, SalesPRO ships within approximately two weeks. SalesPRO+ bundles ship in four weeks.