NOC Nuuz

We asked. You answered. Say goodbye to the old Help Wiki, and say hello to our redesigned visp.net Online Help Desk.

We built the Online Help Desk in WordPress, one of the top content management systems available today. We’re now able to bring you useful, time-critical information that is easier to access and read. You’ll find comprehensive content that includes step-by-step manuals, FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and useful links that you can access anytime you need them.

Plus, you can now get alerts as new content is posted — subscribe to updates in the Online Help Desk and you’re good to go.

Access the visp.net Online Help Desk through your help shortcuts in the UBO software, or visit help.visp.net and log in with your UBO username and password.

If you’ve been using Ultimate Front Office for a while, you may have had occasion to wonder why the software had been named as such. While it is used in your front office where you interface with your subscribers, you also use it extensively for back office operations.

We’re always listening to feedback from our partners like you. It turned out that many of them are bemused with this choice of name, especially as the software evolves to control more and more back office operations; they often refer to the Billing and Management software as their “back office” software.

Ok. Good point. We hear you.  =)

After some careful consideration, we’re making a subtle change to the name. So beginning with version 6, say hi to UBO — Ultimate Back Office Billing and Management Software™.

It’s the same handy application you’ve come to know and love, plus the most powerful new features we’ve ever released, and now with a more comfy name that’s less likely to be confused with a UFO.  ;-)

Watch for more announcements for version 6 released into beta as soon as December, as we finish up some important features critical to the beta cycle.

We’re constantly evolving the Billing and Management Software to better accommodate your needs. Version 5.0 was just released on August 30th, and Version 6.0 is already entering the beta phase.

Version 6 is a major milestone for visp.net because it represents the most powerful new features we’ve ever released in a new version and it was developed in record time. Version 4 had a development cycle of over 3 years. Version 5 took 19 months, and version 6 has an estimated development cycle time of less than 4 months.  We’ve made improvements not just in new features, but in performance and overall quality as well. We’re determined to make your life easier and your company more profitable with software and features so useful, you’ll wonder how you ever ran your company without them:

NEW! Filters

• Easily filter subscribers to view nearly any combination, including by ZIP code, tower, package, service, and city.
• Save filters of subscribers you would commonly view.
  

NEW! Powerful Email Tools

• Send mass emails to any saved filter of subscribers, and even schedule emails to send to saved filters.
• View mass email recipients from the main table to see their full details rather than just their usernames.
• Send nice-looking emails with a full set of HTML email editing tools, available for emailing both individual subscribers and mass email subscribers.
  
• Search previously sent subscriber emails to use as templates for other subscribers or to effortlessly convert to a mass email template.
• Quickly preview any mass email and its attachments, and individually remove certain subscribers from a mass email.
• Instantly see who does not have an email address and correct the list on the fly.
• Send emails from multiple email addresses pre-configured by you, such as admin@yourisp.com, sales@yourisp.com, or customerservice@yourisp.com.
• Automatically send emails based on “Triggered Events” such as credit card expiry, declined credit card, or posted payment.
• Attach invoices, statements, and receipts with a single click to individual emails.
• Attach documents to emails to send instructions, promotions, etc., to a subscriber, filtered list of subscribers, or your entire subscriber base.

NEW & Improved! Accounting

• Process eCheck payments with a single click and set up subscribers for automatic eCheck payment.
• Automatically close invoices to lock down your accounting and reports from inadvertent or even well-intended edits to past transactions. You can also manually generate invoices.
• Generate PDF invoices to save in your computer or email to your subscribers.
  
• Improved Debit/Credit Memo interface that makes more sense
  

More Improvements!

• FCC 477 Compliance — File the required FCC form 477 with just a few clicks.
• Improved Security – Restrict access to your Billing and Management Software to prevent unauthorized use outside the IP ranges you specify.
  
• Improved Column Chooser — With the new design, intuitively choose columns you want to view in the main table.
• Improved Performance – Start up and work faster queries that have been optimized and responsiveness that has been improved for several functions.

We want to deliver solutions that have a profoundly positive impact on your life and your company, so please let us hear your ideas about how together we can make them even better.

Stay tuned for updates about this latest beta release!

We’re very excited to announce the release of Ultimate Front Office version 5.0 with the most significant set of new features we’ve ever released. Our investments in research and development are paying off and we hope you thoroughly enjoy the results.  If you’re a wireless ISP, you’ll discover powerful new features designed to make your life a whole lot easier. So on August 30, say hello to these nifty new features:

(Click on images to get a sneak peek of the features.)

1. Equipment management – Subscriber information from throughout the software now bundle together so you can better assign equipment.
   a. Equipment Manager with inventory tracking to track tower and assigned and unassigned CPE.
   b. Prequalification for Wireless prospects to all your available towers, instantly sorted by distance and terrain.
   c. Track all Assigned CPE linked directly to a subscriber.
   d. Tower and CPE elevation for more accurate terrain mapping.
2. Scheduling & Ticketing System – Log subscriber support events much more efficiently using the Ticket Manager and Calendar.
3. Mapping Tool — Automatically map your subscribers and pre-qualify new subscribers against all available  towers. See the terrain, fresnel zone, calculate the power budget and more.
4. Integrated Credit Card Payment Processing — Most subscribers can be setup on “Autobill” to have their card charged automatically each month. For subscribers who pay over the phone or are not on Autobill, you can now process their credit card payment AND post their payment AND automatically unsuspend (if suspended) with a single click.
   
5. All-new ISP Configuration — With more options to make your life easier, including:
   a. Google API Integration for email — Use your Google Apps for Business account so integrate your email and calendar, and even your subscribers’ emails using Google.
   b. Re-billing Fee — This “gentler late fee” lets you give Past Due subscribers an extra incentive to pay on time, without sounding too harsh.
   c. UI and process improvement for Merchant Accounts — Enjoy the more streamlined and sensible interface in setting your Merchant Account.
   d. Enhanced credit card security — You now have options on storing your subscribers’ payment data — whether on visp.net’s secure severs or in your local encrypted file.
6. Search and access more subscriber data in the main table — Search instantly without having to click on the Find box. Display more information with new columns for Email Address, Balance Due, Invoice Number, IP Address, and MAC Address.
7. Reports enhancements — Customize your reports with the new tools built right into relevant reports including grouping, column sorting, and icon indicators.
8. Support for HTML emails to individual subscribers — You can now use HTML to enhance an email message to a subscriber.
   
9. Save time and clicks when editing — Now you can edit a subscriber without an edit button, simply make your changes directly into the fields and click save.
10. Input Validation means you never have to click Save to discover the most common input errors. Your edits to subscriber data in the lower tabs is validated instantly: Blue indicates validated, edited data while Red indicates invalid data. Only validated data can be saved, improving your overall data quality.
11. Improved logging of history events — More actions have been added to logging in the history tab for security and convenience.
12. Who’s logged in — Instantly see who’s logged in at the current instance into the software. Great for shared computers with more than one software user.
    

Your software will automatically update, so there’s no need to do anything but to explore and experience the new enhancements. Enjoy!

It’s no secret: subscribers love customer service that’s fast and efficient. But there’s always that big question of exactly how you can provide excellent customer service without getting frazzled or having to spend a ton.

With the Ticketing & Scheduling features of the Ultimate Front Office 5.0™, it’s streamlined and built right into your billing and management software.

• Swiftly issue Tickets -- When a subscriber calls you to report an issue (need for installation, repair, etc), you can immediately assign AND schedule a technician to fix the problem. Just select the subscriber in the main table and click the Add a ticket icon on the toolbar.

  

  Enter the ticket details, such as a description of the issue, the service address, and the name of the technician assigned. Technicians can be added from the Tools > Admin Ultimate Front Office 5.0 for Internet Providers Users.

• Then Schedule -- While adding a ticket, just click Schedule, and you’ll find the new integrated Google calendar for easy task management.

• View your Tickets and Schedule -- So how do you handle the load of new business that Ultimate Front Office 5.0 makes possible?  That’s easy: the software organizes them neatly. Simply click the Ticket & Schedule Manager icon on the toolbar (see above) to open the manager. Here, all your recorded tickets are organized in table form, and you can add, edit, or close a ticket. To view your full schedule, just click on the Google calendar tab conveniently located in the same window.

The Ticketing & Scheduling features are perfect for delivering the fast and efficient response that your subscribers want — easily and cost-effectively. Try it and many other powerful new features at http://www.visp.net/betarun.

Do you remember making topography maps from play-dough when you were a kid?  Your teacher had no idea she was raising a future wireless ISP.  But now that you’re all grown up, you need an equipment map that’s ‘grown up’, too. The new Monitoring & Mapping features in Ultimate Front Office™ Beta take WISP management ease to a whole new elevation and make it easier than ever to run a wireless ISP.  Check out these powerful features:

• Instant subscriber pre-qualification with topographically-qualified towers shown in blue
• Instant line of sight from the subscriber to the tower
• Towers are instantly sorted by distance when prequalifying a subscriber

• Fresnel Zone and 60% Fresnel zone instantly presented
• Subscriber to Tower Terrain is instantly graphed
• Tower detail with simple mouse-over

• Definable elevation for each subscriber unit (CPE)

• Tower Radius is appuser-definable with options for color and opacity

• Mouse-over for detail of other subscribers

• A single click to choose Map Layers

• Easily view the Satellite perspective of your coverage area

To experience the new Ultimate Front Office™ Beta mapping tools, log in to http://www.visp.net/betarun.

Until now, posting subscribers’ credit card payments has been at least two steps: one step to run the credit card and a second step to post the payment in Ultimate Front Office™.

Now, Ultimate Front Office™ 5.0 Beta not only records the credit card payment but can now actually process the credit card with a single click.  Here’s how it works:

• If you have an IP Pay or Authorize.net account, the software will use your account to process all subscriber payments. Just set this preference in the ISP Configuration. If you don’t have one of these services and would like to get set up, IPPay provides special discounts for visp.net partner ISPs.  Call Dave Thomas at 541-955-6905 for more information.
• If you do not have a Merchant account setup with either of these two providers, the software can also use visp.net’s merchant account to process the payment and credit the full amount, less processing fees, to your POG account with visp.net.

This automatic processing is just a click away. Open the Receive Payment window for a subscriber whose payment method is credit card. Enter the payment details, then just click the Process Credit Card Payment Now checkbox at the bottom left of the window. The software will immediately confirm the status of the card processing.

Access the beta at http://www.visp.net/betarun — just log in with your current username and password, and your data will automatically load.

We’re proud of our Ultimate Front Office™ enhancements like an excited father is proud of his first newborn.  And NOC Nuuz is here to tell you about each cuddly new feature, so the software opened the Nuuz everytime we posted an update.  Well, that was fine and dandy when we made posts every few months, but now, software updates are posted sometimes twice a week — Nuuz overload!

Until now.

One of your ISP peers suggested there might be a better way to show our love, so we made this little tweak for you: NOC Nuuz will now automatically load only when there’s a fresh Nuuz item.  (Remember that any time you want your dose of updates, you can access NOC Nuuz anytime from the Help menu – it’s open 24/7.)

That means the same article won’t reappear like adorable baby burp:  the first time it’s cute, but after that… well… we could skip it and be just as happy.

Wouldn’t it be cool to get faster results with less effort? That’s what “click reduction” does.

It’s the software development principle we call LNOC or Least Number of Clicks.  It’s one hallmark of well-designed software and makes running an ISP easier.  Just ask ISP owner John Garber. He has been using the beta software everyday for a week now, and click reduction stands out for him as an excellent improvement. “Although it seems to be a trivial detail, it makes my tasks really smooth,” he says.

Here, we tell the story of what happened to the missing Edit button.  But first, the plot:

LNOC is a primary goal of our development at visp.net.  Here are some examples and some new features you’ll notice in Ultimate Front Office™ 5.0 beta for your common tasks:

• Conduct a search anywhere in the software. That’s right: no matter where in the interface your mouse cursor is, as long as it’s not within a text input field, you can type in a subscriber detail and it will automatically become your search criteria in the Find box.  There’s no need to click in the find field and no need to execute a search with a click.  Just start typing!   Your search results appear in real-time and are filtered to eliminate irrelevant records.  Note: we did this before Google — those copycats. =)

• In addition, your text automatically selects and resets after a delay that you can set with a simple right-click. What’s new in this version is that the “Auto-Reset Delay” has been moved to the top of the right-click menu and we’ve added a tool tip as a reminder to optimize the reset to your typing speed.

Searches are so frequent, this feature alone can literally save thousands of clicks per year. While this feature is in the previous version, it’s SOOO COOL, we had to tell the story again. Now back to the missing Edit button.

• Instantly edit subscriber details in the lower tabs without having to click the Edit button anymore — just enter your changes directly into the fields and a single save takes care of all edits on all tabs. So the edit button is gone; where did it go?

• Real-time input validation throughout the software means no error dialog clicks in the event the software detects an error. This nifty little feature solved the interface conundrum of how to save data modified in multiple tabs, making the software more intuitive.

• Even more, you can use arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through subscriber records.  That means if you’ve just used the uber-cool search feature, you don’t have to slug your hand from the keyboard to the mouse to find the record you want.  That’s less motion and faster results.

All this input validation and click reduction paved the way to gracefully give the Edit button the boot along with all his clicky friends.  Bye bye, Edit button… bye bye, clicks… Hello, ease…  Hello, happy ISPs.

Experience the ease in beta at http://visp.net/betarun.

One of the most important functions of a management and billing application is your ability to quickly access your data.  So much of our research and development focuses on ways to make that quick, easy, and secure for you and those you authorize.  When you want to save or share a copy of the current table data in Ultimate Front Office™, you can now export the data that is currently shown in the software’s main table and save it as a CSV file so it can easily be imported to a spreadsheet or database.

To choose the data for your access, simply right-click the column header, go to Choose Columns, then show the columns you want to export. Then right-click the column header again and select Export to CSV. You can even export just filtered data based on your specifications in Display Options.

This feature is off by default to secure a dump of your main table data to an unscrupulous application user, but you have the ability, as ISP administrator, to allow or disallow other users of the software from using this feature. Simply edit the users’ rights in Tools –> Admin Ultimate Front Office Users.

You can try this feature in both the current release and beta versions of Ultimate Front Office™. Simply go to http://www.visp.net/run or http://visp.net/betarun, and log in with your current username and password. Enjoy!