Development Update - October 2021
This month:
This month's Development Update has taken a slightly different shape from the norm. We have the usual lowdown of what the team has been up to but we're also delighted to announce a jam-packed bonus box of items for the PRO CRM.
These are items that have been developed previously but have never been deployed across the board. Most have come directly from customer requests. There's some big, some small, some with niche uses, and some broad.
Check it out below, together with the other bits and bobs that have taken our focus in October.
A Jam-Packed Bonus
Our Sales director Andy, has put together a whirlwind recorded demo to take you through each bonus item. Check out the video by clicking the banner below.
Built for: PRO CRM
What's in this bumper jar? Default User Filter to be My Users. An extension to Analytics that allows employee payments to be calculated, exported and marked as paid. The ability to highlight a "Decision Maker". Quickly log the result of a call. Automatically mark all Meters within a Site as inactive when making a Site inactive. A new Fixed Fee Commission Type. The option to configure Gas Seasonality. Bill Validation in the Customer Portal. Added adjustments by Consumption View.
Additional Payment Terms
This feature has been hotly requested from our US customers but is also available across the pond. We now have four additional payment terms to select from: Live Split & Arrears, Signed Split & Arrears, Total Sign Annual Remainder, and First Year Sign Annual Remainder. Contact your account manager to explore the differences and discover how you can best utilise these payment terms.
Built for: PRO CRM
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Speed improvements on Imports
We've rewritten the import module for Quotes, Meters and Sites using pure SQL code. This means imports will now complete much faster.
Built for: PRO CRM
Speed improvements on Sales Exports
Just like the Sales imports mentioned previously, Sales exports have also been rewritten using pure SQL to provide further speed enhancements.
Built for: PRO CRM
"Date Created" added when Creating A Customer
The system can now record and present a "Date Created" value that details when any lead or customer was created (either manually or via bulk upload).
Built for: PRO CRM
Supplier Insights Dashboard Improvements
Supplier Insights has been updated to allow for better tracking of performance and to see the effects of adjusting matrix and bespoke pricing.
Built for: INSIGHTS
"Out of Date Badge" Improvements
Our system already displays a handy "Out Of Date" badge on quotes if the pricing previously generated is no longer current. The logic for this has been improved to notify users of further instances where pricing is out of date, such as when flat files have been completely removed.
Built for: PRO CRM
UI Improvements for USA Usage
Our usage module allows you to enter an absolute consumption value over a period of time for any given site. We've added the ability to add an 'End Date' to any inputted usage data. This helpfully defaults to the end of the month.
Built for: PRO CRM (USA Only)
Option to use Financial Reconciled data when reporting
A tick box has been added when reporting financials called "Reconciled". When ticked, the forecast and actual figures are presented based on the figures from the Financial Reconciled dashboard report, not the Financial Report (which is used by default).
Built for: PRO CRM (USA Only)
Prevent Duplicate Reference Numbers
Many customers utilise the reference numbers that are automatically assigned to Leads/Customers, Tenders, Quotes etc. Previously it has been possible to obtain duplicate values across different types (e.g. A quote and a tender could have the same reference). We've now added an alpha prefix to each one to ensure EVERY reference is unique.
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Development Update - September 2021
This month:
If we had to pick one word to describe this month, it would be "BUMPER".
Back in the summer months, we reported that our dev team had expanded and the new recruits were busily finding their way around our code. Now, looking back over this month's releases, it's truly apparent how much we've benefitted from these extra adept pairs of hands.
We can't detail every release here for risk of this article becoming a book but our amazing team has completed circa one hundred system improvements over the last 30 days. Astonishing.
Below we've picked some of the headline features to tell you about:
Effortlessly Recycle Dead Leads
We know that today's dead leads can be potentially valuable leads tomorrow. Unfortunately, they can be easily forgotten and fall off of your prospect list. With this new feature, you can now recycle these leads back into any team member's lead list. Within the Leads section, simply click the "Bulk" dropdown and select "Recycle Dead Leads" to begin the transfer.
Built for: PRO CRM
Add TPS or CTPS Information
This new feature will ensure you don't contact customers who have enrolled on to TPS (Telephone Preference Service) and CTPS (Corporate TPS) schemes. You can now import this information or update it directly within the system. As CTPS requires annual renewal, this information will helpfully expire after 12 months.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Auto Set Persistently Uncontactable Leads To Dead
When a Customer 'Calls Made' reaches 5, the system will now automatically change the lead status to 'Dead' with a reason of 'No Contact'.
Built for: PRO CRM
Account Phase Type Added
US Customers can now choose an Account 'Phase' type when adding account information for interval electric accounts.
Built for: PRO CRM (USA Only)
Improved Error Messaging with Data Imports
Previously importing payment files with an incorrect unit of measure would result in an unhelpful generic error message. We've updated our error messaging to help you drill down to any potential unit of measure error.
Built for: PRO CRM (USA Only)
Show 'Snapshot' for Customers
We have a rather useful screen in our PRO CRM that gives a quick snapshot of your 'Lead' information. We've enabled this view so you can now see snapshot information on 'Customers' too.
Built for: PRO CRM
Helpful Redirect After Adding a Lead
We're striving to make our system as efficient as possible. As such we've made an important UX change when adding a new lead. Post lead creation you'll now be redirected to that leads details page.
Built for: PRO CRM
Streamlined Pricing Request Process
We've streamlined the process when creating a new Matrix/Custom request. Now, when you've added your meter(s) to your request, you can select to "Save & Price" the request immediately if desired.
Built for: PRO CRM
New Expected Commission Rate
We've updated our reporting to now show you the 'Expected Commission Rate' on consumption requests.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
DC/DA Eligibility
When editing/adding individual sites (or uploading in bulk), you can now record if any given meter has DC/DA eligibility
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Customer Name Added To Detailed Quote Export
We've updated our 'Detailed Quote' export (found under Partner > Procurement > Input Prices > Quotes), so that it now includes parent and child customer information.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Supplier Insights Dashboard
We've revolutionised the dashboards of our Supplier Insights product to include the same cutting-edge technology found within our PRO CRM product.
Built for: INSIGHTS
BILL VAL Error Reporting
BILL VAL now offers considerably more feedback when uploading files to be validated. We'll release further information around a huge BILL VAL update shortly.
Built for: BILL VAL
Fixed Fee Commission Type
For manually-added quotes (for both Matrix and Bespoke) you can now add a fixed fee standard payment to a contract.
Built for: PRO CRM
API Event Emitter
We've added a hidden layer to our software that will allow for any number of third party APIs to communicate with it. Stay tuned for some exciting integrations over the coming months.
Built for: PRO CRM
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Development Update - August 2021
This month:
If you read our May update article (and your memory is exceptional!), you may recall it was a very bitty month, with lots of small improvements and releases.
August has been as far removed from that as possible. Although there's still been a few side tasks, the core of our development focus has been towards one big project - our new dashboards and reporting.
Much of the work we do here on the dev team is on an individual basis. However, these big projects take a lot of coordination between the whole team (and other departments too!).
It's been so rewarding seeing everyone's expertise combining to make something exceptional. Read on to find out more and discover what else we've released during the month of August...
Dashboards And Reporting
We've completely redeveloped all reporting and dashboards from the ground up. We're currently testing and retesting with selected accounts. Once turned on, you'll see huge improvements both in clarity and speed. You can view our recent teaser article & video on dashboards, right here.
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Customer References section now links to Contacts & Users
Within the PRO CRM you can add additional Customer References for each Lead or Customer, should they be required internally. We've now added the ability to reference Contacts & Users data within this Customer Reference section.
Built for: PRO CRM
'Date Created' field added to Customers and Leads
The system logs and records many important historical changes to your data. We've updated this logging to include a "Date Created" field, which can now be viewed by users with Admin privileges.
Built for: PRO CRM
USA Gas Commission Calculation Bugs
We fixed a bug when determining US gas commissions. Previously a calculation error occurred when the system attempted to convert between unit types.
Built for: PRO CRM
Customer References section now links to Contacts & Users
Within the PRO CRM you can add additional Customer References for each Lead or Customer, should they be required internally. We've now added the ability to reference Contacts & Users data within this Customer Reference section.
Built for: PRO CRM
'Date Created' field added to Customers and Leads
The system logs and records many important historical changes to your data. We've updated this logging to include a "Date Created" field, which can now be viewed by users with Admin privileges.
Built for: PRO CRM
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Development Update - July 2021
You may have seen from social media that UtilityClick has been growing significantly. Here on the dev team, we're happy to say that this expansion has also bled over into our department, as this month we welcomed two new senior .Net developers.
It's been an enjoyable few weeks getting them up to speed and they'll soon be ready to be let loose on the big projects.
Whilst they get up to speed with the system, we've been working hard on a particularly meaty assignment - upgrading our dashboards and reporting. It's really exciting to see it develop but it's not quite ready to be pushed for release just yet. There's been plenty of development on other fronts though; read on to see what we've released in July...
Meter Lookup With MPAN
We've added the ability to search for a site or meter location by MPAN. The whole process has been completely streamlined allowing you to now use either a postcode or meter. Once located, you can add the site directly from the search results. Watch a quick video on it here.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Authenticate With Microsoft
We've added an optional extra so that teams can now authenticate to the majority of our services via an existing Microsoft login and password. Authentication changes to your account will require setup time so please speak to your account manager and we'll schedule a future date & time.
Create Commission Overviews
Previously when adding a new supplier you would need to add your own Commission Overviews for each addition (the commission overview section is where our customers upload commission information). Now, if you visit Analytics > Commissions > and click the "New Entry" button, there's a new option labelled "Create Missing Commission Overviews".
Built for: PRO CRM
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Improved History Logging For Contract Live Dates
Within your CRM PRO there's a history log of what's been changed by your team. We've expanded the logging within the contract details view, so amendments to live dates (via the termination and registration tab) are now recorded.
Built for: PRO CRM
Hide Annual Cost/Diff in PDF Quotes
An optional feature has been added to allow "Total Cost" and "Annual Diff" columns to be hidden when generating a PDF from an Instant Quote. This option can be turned on so that admin users are able to control its visibility within their account (under Admin>Settings).
Add New Capacity Charge Type (£/kva/day)
Some suppliers (e.g. Npower) include a capacity charge in units of £ kVa/d. We've now included this value so it's visible and exportable in our quoting tool.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Development Update - June 2021
This month:
June has most definitely been a 'SPEED' month here on the dev team.
We love these tasks - they're not necessarily about adding a new feature but finding creative ways to make a process quicker.
When looking to subscribe to a new software package, primarily you're looking to see if it does A, B or C. However the often-forgotten element is: How quickly can it do A, B or C? If your software is slow, it not only adds time to a task, but breaks your rhythm too.
Read on to learn how we've engaged the afterburners for our users by adding bulk management tools and adapted the way our system exports data.
Speedier Data Exports
If you have a lot of data loaded then system exports can take a long time to be ready. We've rewritten each module using pure SQL code, which means requested exports will now complete much faster.
Built for: UKUSA
Bulk Reassigning Customers
We realise the unnecessary admin required if you need to make wholesale changes to a customer. We've now made it super easy for you to bulk reassign customers based on changes to your team.
Built for: UKUSA
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
"Business Type" added to Data Export
A new column has been added to Sales Export to help differentiate between Custom/Bespoke and Matrix opportunities.
Built for: UKUSA
New "Lost" Status
When managing your Pipeline and selecting a deal status of "Lost Contract" - a new "Duplicate" option can now be selected for "Reason for Loss".
Built for: UKUSA
Scottish Power Pricing Zones Updated
We fixed an issue with Scottish Power pricing where gas quotes needed amending depending on Zone Type.
Built for: UK
Verbal Script Commission Warning
We've added an optional feature when generating a verbal script. You can now prefix a script with an additional disclaimer, explaining the process of adding a commission rate to any deal.
Built for: UKUSA
"Referral Partner" field added to Customer template
When bulk uploading customers you can now include a "Referral Partner" that will subsequently be shown within the system. Download the latest customer template from your Admin area to use.
Built for: UKUSA
MAKE SITES / METERS INACTIVE WHEN CUSTOMER IS MADE INACTIVE
Currently, making a customer inactive does not automatically make associated meters inactive. This optional feature will ensure that any sites and meters associated with an inactive customer are also set to inactive.
Built for: UKUSA
Non-UC Admins Can Delete Failed Imports
User levels below Admin are now able to remove any failed data imports.
Built for: UKUSA
Improved Referral Partner Export
We've sped up your workflow by allowing the month and year fields to be left blank when running a "Referral Commissions" export. If left blank all available data will be exported.
Built for: UKUSA
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Development Update - May 2021
This month:
The month of May has been a bitty one in the dev team.
New feature ideas come from all sources. As you might imagine, most are spawned from our customers but many are generated by staff and some are simply dictated by industry change.
The priority of each feature idea can vary for numerous reasons but two common traits considered are "How long will it take to develop?" vs. "How many customers will it help?".
As mentioned, for one reason or another, this month it's the 'bitty' features that have taken our priority. They're relatively quick to develop compared to the showstoppers but when combined, you have a set of new features that will hopefully help the many.
Read on to find out more about each of these features.
Supplier Pricing Participation
You can now mark whether a Supplier will be participating within a tender/custom pricing request. Suppliers can also update the flag within their portals. Ideal for keeping on top of who will be quoting on pricing day.
Built for: UKUSASupplierLinks
Parent/Child Pipeline UI
We've updated the system interface to make it much easier to review your Parent/Child portfolios. You can now use a collapsible grid to easily view all child contracts linked to a single parent contract.
Built for: UKUSASupplierLinks
Show rates in dollars rather than cents
We've listened based on your feedback and updated the system accordingly. Rates in the USA system can now be shown in dollars as well as cents.
Built for: USA
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
System Export enhancements
Numerous columns have been added to data export across the entire system, providing a more detailed level of reporting.
Built for: UKUSA
History Logging - Leads and Contracts
History logging within Leads and Contracts have been improved to help you monitor even more changes with your data.
Built for: UKUSA
Business Type added to Contracts, Tenders & Sales Exports
Business Type has been added to Contracts, Tenders & Sales Export reports.
Built for: UKUSA
User Type access applied to Employee Payments section
Based on customer feedback, we have added User-Level access to the Employee Payment section of the system.
Built for: UKUSA
Option To Exclude Completed Activities from Activities Export
A tick box has been added to the Activities Export page to allow you to exclude completed activities from the report.
Built for: UKUSA
Suppliers with no relationships excluded from matrix pricing
We have amended the system to only show by default matrix pricing for suppliers that are marked as No Relationship within the supplier section.
Built for: UKUSA
Other field added to Supplier Contacts
A new field called Other has been added to Supplier Contacts so that you can also add contacts that don't fit into our pre-set categories.
Built for: UKUSA
Bug fix - changing meter/account usage
We have fixed a bug that was causing an error screen when changing usage figures within a tender/custom pricing request
Built for: UKUSA
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Development Update - April 2021
This month:
It's been another busy month for the dev team. Although (in the UK at least), we've had a lot of national and school holidays (Easter), we've by no means slowed our usually high-paced release schedule.
The phrase "Time and tide wait for no man" comes to mind... but it should really be rewritten to "Time, new features and tide wait for no man".
Here are a few of the items that have taken the bulk of the team's time this month, together with a brief description:
Employee Payment Terms
We've added a brand new feature as an enhancement to our Commissions module. You can now create your employee payment profiles. The system will then report to you the monthly payments due to your internal agents!
Monthly Usage Tool
When switched on it will allow you to store monthly usage interval data you hold for the meter in question, feeding into your commissions. Simply locate the relevant file, upload and let the UtilityClick system do the rest.
We've completed the US phase of this feature. Next month we plan to begin the implementation process on the UK system.
Other bits and bobs...
It's never just about the big projects. We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
HH MATRIX LOOKUP ADJUSTMENTS
The system has been enhanced to return the appropriate Available Capacity rate based on kVA banding levels.
CLICK-TO-DIAL TOOLTIP UPDATE
The click-to-dial tooltip has been updated to show the phone number for the appropriate contact for those TPIs not using the dialler integrator software.
LEAD EXPORT OPTIMISATION
Exporting lead data from the system for our TPIs who have lots of leads was taking a while. We've optimised the export now to reduce waiting times for accessing the report.
NEW ACTIVITY TYPE
We've added "Tender Refresh" to our list of Tender Activity Types. Ideal when your customer doesn't sign down the first time around!
ACTIVITY EXPORT IMPROVEMENT
The time that an activity is created/due/completed has now been added to the activity export report.
CUSTOMER PORTAL UPDATE
The product name for quotes/contracts has been added to the customer portal to help your end-user customers on tender day.
"NO ACCESS" USERS
These are users who can be added for internal purposes but do not increase the cost of subscription.
SPEED INCREASE FOR TENDER CREATION
We've made speed improvements to the creation of major tenders - with bigger optimisations on the way soon!
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!