Ventus by Vertical Market Software (VMS)

Ventus Software is designed to handle all of your core accounting and payroll functions using a variety of integrated applications. Full integration ensures that, when a transaction is entered in one Ventus module, all associated Ventus applications are automatically updated.

Accounts Payable

Part of the Accounting and Payroll module, the Accounts Payables functionality of Ventus will provide you with everything you need to track your business’ expenditures. Take advantage of advanced features, like 1099 reporting for vendors or subs, subcontractor control, automatic recurring invoices, vendor volume analysis and numerous user-defined fields – all in addition to standard AP functionality (invoicing, check writing, checkbook reconciliation, etc.).

Accounts Receivable

Part of the Accounting and Payroll module, the Accounts Receivable functionality of Ventus will provide you with everything you need to track your customers’ obligations. Take advantage of advanced features, like invoice reprinting, collection notes, numerous user-defined fields, multi-jurisdiction tax rates like use tax, automatic finance charges and retainage calculations — all in addition to standard AR functionality (customer statements, aging reports, invoicing, etc.).

eService Web Portal

Ventus eService is a web-based portal designed to strengthen your relationships with your larger customers. Perfect for contractors with national or regional accounts, eService is a comprehensive online system for automating work orders, purchase orders, approvals, subcontractors, invoicing and the storage of historical information.

eService allows your customers to:

• Create work orders from any Internet connection using their own secure logins
• Escalate high priority calls for immediate service
• Check the status of service calls and scheduled maintenance visits for multiple locations across their entire organization
• View history details on location and equipment, including equipment pictures

eService allows your subcontractors to:

• Receive automatic notifications when customers create service requests
• Update you on work performed, equipment conditions and more

eService benefits you by:

• Giving you full control over which customers and subcontractors have access to eService
• Reducing the administration duties of your dispatch and office staff
• Providing your sales team with a unique and innovative tool – and a competitive advantage – when bidding on national or regional contracts

Every eService portal can be customized to incorporate your logo and designs, and even your customers’ logos, to create an interface that reflects your company’s brand.

General Ledger

Part of the Accounting and Payroll module, the GL in Ventus will provide you with everything you with a central repository for all transactional information. The GL supports cash or accrual accounting, can store account detail for an unlimited number of years, and has the ability to produce on-demand financial statements for consolidated companies, individual companies, divisions or departments. Since GL is fully integrated with all other Ventus modules, data entered once is automatically shared between applications.

Inventory & Equipment

Ventus Inventory gives you a controlled and efficient method for tracking and managing stocked parts. Whether your inventory resides in a single warehouse, multiple remote warehouses or on your service trucks, Inventory helps ensure that your physical assets avoid being written off as shrinkage and promotes a more efficient use of your working capital.

Job Costing

Job CostingVentus Job Cost provides project managers with a single system for scheduling tasks, analyzing jobs and successfully managing projects. Key components include:

Project Manager Inquiry. Starting from a bird’s eye view of a job, you can drill down to cost types and transaction-level details – all from one screen.

Field Estimate worksheets. Compare your in-field estimates to committed and budgeted costs to monitor and react to changing circumstances on the job.

Powerful Reporting. Get unprecedented access to your data. Over 80 formatted reports are supplemented by the ability to use our Pick-and-Choose report writer to build, customize and save as many more reports as you need.

Job Templates. While no two jobs are exactly alike, job templates allow you to save setup time by easily copying the framework of a similar job and customizing that framework as necessary.

Change Orders. Manage change orders in an easy and effective manner with quick entry and approval routines. Automatically update Job Cost budgets, subcontractor contracts, purchase orders and the AIA schedule of values.

Full Integration. Job Cost is automatically updated when information is entered in other Ventus applications, such as Purchase Order and Payroll. This eliminates duplicate data entry and ensures Job Cost accuracy.

Job Cost is supplemented by the following optional modules:

AIA Progress Billing. When added to the standard progress billing function, AIA Progress Billing gives you the ability to automatically submit G7-02 and G7-03 forms, or format your own invoice for non-AIA progress billings.

Subcontractor Control. Linked tightly to Accounts Payable, Subcontractor Control allows you to track worker’s compensation expiration dates, deduct worker’s compensation premiums from draw requests, calculate retainage and calculate general liability premiums.

Time & Material Billing. Automate the billing process for T&M or cost-plus jobs by identifying markup percentages or rates by cost types for jobs. Time & Material Billing offers the additional ability to create and copy markup templates for fast and easy job setup.

Estimating. With its user-defined cost item database, and the ability to create assemblies and super assemblies, Estimating provides you with a powerful and easy-to-use solution for takeoffs and pricing. Estimates can be produced for service work or new construction jobs, and can be duplicated and customized from previously constructed estimates.

Mobile Field Service

Ventus Mobile Field ServiceVentus Mobile Field Service transforms your service department into an automated, flexible and efficient operation. By equipping your service technicians with either PDAs (personal digital assistants) or laptops, you can:

• Eliminate duplicate data entry because your admin staff no longer needs to re-enter technicians’ hand-written work orders into your software system
• Increase productivity by streamlining equipment, customer and parts history communications between your dispatcher and technicians
• Reduce transportation and mileage costs by sending technicians directly to jobs, without unnecessary trips to the office to submit work orders and timesheets
• Simplify dispatching using a one-click process
• Improve cash flow through quicker invoice turnaround and on-site invoicing capabilities
• Decrease frustrations by eliminating the need to chase technicians for timesheets

Integration With @Road GPS

Mobile Field Service has a tightly-built interface with @Road GPS to further enhance your mobile operations. Use mapping overlays from the Dispatch Board and color-coded pin-tracking for service trucks to optimize dispatching and maximize technician productivity.

Key Features Include:

• Compatibility with Windows Mobile PDAs or Windows-based laptops
• Customer signature capture
• Equipment, history and service records
• Labour and billable hours tracking
• On-site invoicing
• Field status notifications to dispatch
• Optional in-field printing options
• Location tracking, turn-by-turn directions and geo-fencing with @Road GPS

Payroll

Do you have complex multi-state, multi-city, multi-union or non-union payrolls? No problem. Ventus Payroll (part of the Accounting and Payroll module) handles automatic federal, state and local tax calculation; Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates; governmental reporting, such as certification reports, EEO reports, 941s and W-2s; time card entry; direct deposit and a host of other powerful payroll features. With Ventus, you can eliminate manual errors, reduce administration time, quickly submit mandatory government and union payroll reports and ensure accurate costing to your jobs.

Pick-and-Choose Reporting

Ventus Software’s powerful reporting capabilities help you achieve real business intelligence. Over 80 formatted reports provide commonly-accessed report configurations out-of-the-box. And our Pick-and-Choose report writer allows you to quickly and easily build, customize and save the additional reports you need to turn mountains of information into actionable business decisions.

Purchase Orders

Part of the Accounting and Payroll module in Ventus, the PO features give you the ability to minimize purchasing costs and reduce staff administration time by automating purchasing decisions and setting up auto-alerts for PO invoice variances. On a single PO you can order items for a job, service work orders, sales orders and/or stock. Purchase Orders also supports item barcoding, which can drastically reduce receiving time.

Quickview Dashboard

A powerful tool for upper-level management, Quickview provides a comprehensive snapshot of your business from one customizable screen. The ability to drill down from aggregate totals to transaction details makes Quickview an easy-to-use tool for assessing financial and operating performance. The Quickview Dashboard is also part of the Accounting and Payroll module.

Sales Order Processing

Ventus Sales Order Processing provides an easy way to process over-the-counter or traditional product sales using one application. When you enter a transaction in Sales Order Processing, all associated Ventus applications are automatically updated.

Users of Sales Order Processing benefit from:

Customizable Entry Screens. User-defined entry screens allow you to create quick and easy checkout procedures, which reduces manual errors.

Multiple Methods for Order Creation. With direct ship, multiple ship-to locations, credit memos and standard invoices, you have the flexibility to create orders that fit your unique business needs.

Pick Tickets/Lists. Create pick lists quickly and easily.

Integration with Inventory. Registering parts sales automatically updates Inventory and creates pick lists. If quantities drop below reorder points, automatic notifications are generated.

Easy Quotes to Orders. Turn outstanding quotes into orders with the click of a mouse.

Wireless Barcoding. With optional barcoding abilities, you can facilitate checkout procedures and increase tracking accuracy.

Key Features Include:

• User-defined entry screens
• Multiple markup methods, including by customer, by item and by profit percentage
• Multiple shipping methods, including direct ship and multiple ship-to’s
• Easy processing of quotes into orders
• Automatically create pick lists
• Update Inventory automatically with wireless barcode scanning

Service Management & Dispatch

Ventus Service Management is an integrated system that combines electronic dispatching, preventative maintenance scheduling with tasking, service contract administration and work order billing. From receiving customer service calls and dispatching work orders to technicians in the field, to billing for completed work and analyzing productivity, Service Management handles your entire service department’s activities.

Users of Ventus Service Management benefit from:

• Quick and easy dispatching via the multi-view, multi-department Dispatch Board
• Improved credit control through automated reminders for past due or credit hold clients
• Better response rates through management and alarm notifications for services calls that aren’t meeting their targets
• Improved contract profitability through more effective scheduling and more timely reporting
• Reduced data entry through tight integration with the other Ventus modules

Key Service Management Features Include:

• User-configurable Dispatch Board with Job View, Hour View and 90-day Job Scheduling View
• Travel and on-site labor hours can be manually entered or tracked through timestamps
• Custom formats for all invoices, service contracts and work orders
• User-defined labor rates and markup tables by user site if desired
• Full equipment and customer history
• Attach pictures or other electronic documents to work orders, equipment or customer locations
• Preventative maintenance contracts and checklists/tasking
• Technician Profitability reports
• Alarm and management notifications for service levels
• Dispatch one or more technicians to a call
• Easily assign technicians to multi-day jobs
• Drag and drop dispatching
• Alert if a PO is attached to a work order to prevent missed billing of parts
• Ability to attach a work order to a job with all costs flowing from Service Management to Job Cost
• Ability to post hours from service work orders to payroll
• Interface to Mapquest for easy mapping, directions and scheduling

Service Management is supplemented by the following optional modules:

Ventus Mobile Field Service. Empower your technicians with either PDAs (personal digital assistants) or laptops and allow them to access customer history, close out work orders and invoice customers from the field – without touching a single piece of paper.

eService. Give your large customers another tool to interact with you and your subcontractors through a custom-branded web-based service portal.