Edition #17

I’d like to give a quick update on our QPay product that we released about 6 months ago. We’ve had a great response to this, and we continually see that almost every company we evaluate realizes some kind of savings through this program. Not all, but it’s safe to say that more than 95% of all accounts we’ve reviewed would or are saving money with QPay.

But there are tons of other benefits to QPay besides saving money. If you haven’t seen this introductory video to QPay, here’s a link.

In addition to the benefits shown in this video, we’re in the process of releasing three awesome new features!

Pay Now Request

With this feature, you can add a “Pay Now” button onto your company’s website, or send an email request with a button in it, that will allow your customers to put in their own payment information, after being redirected via the button to the payment website. It allows you, the dealer, to request a payment from customers. And it makes it super easy for them to pay, simply by clicking the button and filling out the payment fields. The dealer will automatically be notified, via an email, of any payments made.

eChecks

This feature allows your customer to pay with their bank account (and routing number) rather than a credit card. This is all done with the QPay interface in QFloors, and these payments get automatically posted to your system, just like the credit card payments. eChecks also work with the Pay Now feature described above.

Surcharge

We’ve heard many customers complain about the fact that they have to pay for the credit card fees, especially when their customers are paying with expensive reward cards to rack up cashback rewards, travel points, etc. Surcharge is a new and legal way of allowing the flooring dealer to pass the credit card fees onto their customer. So if customers choose to use a credit card, it is they who will have to pay the fees, rather than the dealer. We have built this feature into QPay and QFloors, so that it is all integrated, as an option for companies wanting to implement Surcharges.

These features are currently in the latest pre-release version of QFloors, for those who wish to jump on it right away.

In addition, We’re continuing to add cool features and functionality around this new product, QPay. It’s exciting. And we’re looking forward to providing even more options in the future!

As we are approaching the end of an unusual yet surprisingly successful year for our industry, we are pleased to announce the majority of our customers are reporting profits!

But as we all know, with higher profits come higher taxes! We would like to provide you with an opportunity to lower your tax bill, while helping you prepare for an even greater follow-up performance next year.

During the month of November, we’re offering customers a special end-of-year incentive to bump up your number of QFloors users, at an awesome discount.

The more you buy, the more you’ll save! It’s a really smart time to ramp up, and enjoy a tax write-off to boot!

If you have any questions or would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please reach out to any of the QFloors sales team (801-563-0140, option 4).

It is that time of year when we start receiving many more calls from those inquiring about Year End preparations. You can find our End of Period Procedures document on the QFloors website (you must be logged in before clicking this link). This document will help provide the direction needed to complete your tasks. It will tell you where to start, and what needs to be done before the end of the year. It’s even going to let you know what can wait.

Please keep in mind, you can always call in with questions, or to set up an appointment with our support team to go over these procedures, or to just discuss how to get started. It’s usually best to touch base with a trainer prior to setting an appointment. This will make sure you are prepared and ready for the guidance and help you will receive during your appointment.

It is important to make sure that you clean things up and reconcile your accounts to ensure accurate financials. The End of Period Procedures document will walk you through important tasks like making sure you are caught up on Job Costing and cleaning up your stock list, to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

We do recommend that you make these procedures part of your monthly bookkeeping procedures throughout the year. This allows you to more easily correct and identify issues that arise throughout the year.

Remember, you can always call us to ask questions or set up training appointments. Please keep in mind that our call volume dramatically increases in the first and fourth quarters of the year as more people are calling with accounting questions. Make sure you plan ahead and let us know what we can do to help!

There are quite a few tradeshows, trainings, and events that a busy flooring dealer might attend. However, almost all of them are focused on SELLING you something. Even presentations marketed as “trainings” often have the unspoken goal to convince you to purchase a service or product. Other industry conferences are held as revenue generators for the hosts.

Our QFloors Users Conference is different. Very different, in fact. There’s no hidden agenda. Our goal is to do everything possible to support and assist each of you as you strive to achieve operational excellence as a company.

Connection is powerful. We’ve found that meeting together, away from the rat race, to learn from one other, is highly beneficial. So here are the Top 5 Reasons to consider joining us for our Users Conference May 2-6, 2022, held at the beautiful Valentin Imperial Resort in the Riviera Maya.

#1 Build Profits. How can you become a double-digit net profit business? There are many factors involved, spanning across financial, operational, and digital marketing best practices. Trainings and panel discussions will identify and address these.

#2 Step Away in order to Step Up. Sometimes you need to get away from the chaos of everyday life to really think about your business and identify ways to improve.

#3 Gain Good Ideas from Other Customers. There will be a customer panel and lots of networking time to compare notes and glean tips from other QFloors users from around the U.S. and Canada.

#4 Know What You Don’t Know. With the Financial Boot Camp, you’ll learn how you stack up against other similarly sized dealers in the U.S., and how to identify weaknesses that can become strengths. With the software training, you’ll learn about some of the latest features added, and important ways you should be using QFloors to optimize growth and success. Even if you’ve used QFloors for years, there are always new additions you probably do not know about.

#5 Breathe. Is it possible to relax and unwind while also focusing intently on mapping the future success of your company? We believe the answer is yes. The QFloors Users Conference is the perfect time, and the 5-star Valentin Imperial is the perfect setting. Yes, there will be intensive training provided, but there will also be plenty of time for you to enjoy all of the fun and relaxation this all-inclusive beach resort provides.

We sure hope you’ll join us. We know you’ll realize a huge ROI for the effort. Here’s the web page talking more about the conference, and here’s a link to register.

Still have questions? Here are a few FAQ’s we have been receiving.

Conference Dates and Times?

We’ll kick off with a welcome reception in the evening of Monday, May 2. Our last training meeting will finish at 1 pm, Friday, May 6. You are welcome to extend your stay before/after the event. We’ve provided a lot of sample pricing for doing so.

Registration Deadline:

Registration is due by December 17th, and we will be releasing any rooms not reserved by January 24. So in answer to the question, “Can I wait to register?”, yes, but you do legitimately risk not being able to get a room. This resort regularly sells out completely and will not hold any rooms for us after January 24, nor will they guarantee we can get the same discounted rate.

What is Included in the Price?

The short answer is, pretty much everything but your flight. The conference costs, lodging, food, airport shuttle, and more are all wrapped up into a total package price. See this page, or the email sent Thursday, November 11, for more information.

Current Covid Vaccine/Testing Travel Requirements:

As we all know, these change quite regularly, and so we cannot predict with certainty what will be required come May. But for now, you do NOT need to be vaccinated or to show a negative Covid test to fly to Mexico. However, to return to the U.S., the current policy is you must be tested for Covid. If you are not vaccinated, that test must be within 24 hours of your return. If you show proof of vaccination, the test can be within 72 hours of your return. The Valentin Resort offers these tests, on-site, for guests. Right now their policy is that tests are included with a stay of 4 days or longer. But there is a possibility that they might start charging for this service. We’ll just have to see what their policy is in the spring, and if it’s still a requirement for the U.S.

Is this conference tax deductible?

Our tax attorney tells us that the cost of the event, plus your travel expenses, should be tax deductible. Extras like additional days, golf or excursions, etc. are not. But please ask your own tax advisors for the specific laws in your area.

Is Mexico safe?

The Valentin is a private and enclosed resort, surrounded by security guards. We felt very safe staying there just a few months ago. With shuttles provided to transport you to and from the airport, you don’t need to worry about getting lost and winding up in the wrong part of town. That being said, there has been some Mexican drug violence in the news as of late. Similar to the United States (and most countries in the world), there are neighborhoods we wouldn’t advise wandering in the middle of the night. But just like it would be silly to cancel plans to visit Florida because you read about a shooting there, you shouldn’t worry about being in any danger at the conference. Again, we were there last summer and felt very safe.

We have increased our efforts to better serve those customers using the B2B functionality in QFloors and in our web-based QPro POS+.

On our website we have a list of vendors who are currently B2B certified with QPro/QFloors. Each vendor has their own individual link, which can provide additional information on how to communicate with them, and shows the current fcB2B Documents that are certified.

See the Full B2B Table

We welcome all new vendors who have become B2B certified with QPro/QFloors and those who have expanded their B2B/EDI presence.

Here is a list of the most recent vendors to be certified:

• Surface Art
• Blakely Products Company
• Belknap White Group

Important Note: The following vendors are in a pre-certification stage with QPro/QFloors: Happy Floors, Ceramic Tileworks, LW Flooring

In addition, the following vendors have been certified and are fully functional to run Electronic PO’s through QPro/QFloors B2B. So reach out to them and request this communication and time-saving function:

• JJ Haines
• MSI Surfaces
• All-Tile
• Herregan

I have had conversations with a number of customers who are thrilled with the Purchase Ordering process using B2B technology. They’ve reported that it brings a lot of time-saving benefits and efficiency, and allows them to increase the amount of business they handle.

Web Services is continuing to evolve and expand in its service in our industry. A good reference for understanding Web Services and tracking its ongoing progress is through the fcB2B organization. We adhere to the industry standards set by this organization.

Web Services within QPro/QFloors is free to all current customers. (It is not yet available to QPro customers.) I urge you to get on board, for your own benefit. We have videos, documentation and human resources to help you start now. You could be doing more in less time, lowering stress and raising profits.

Don’t wait or worry about implementing all the tremendous benefits of B2B. Here at QFloors, we are ready to help step you through it. Please contact us in regards to any fcB2B questions.

Most everyone has heard some form of the expression, “Nothing is as constant as change.” With things changing so much lately, how often do we take a step back to see where we’re at, what’s happening around us, and what we can do differently, and to make plans to improve? With certain guiding principles, we need to be constant and unchanging, but with many areas of our lives and businesses, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished” (Benjamin Franklin).

I recently had the privilege of working on-site with Brad and Kerry Rice, owners of Rice’s Capitol Carpet in Marshfield, Wisconsin. After using QFloors for six years, they decided to have us come out and teach them new QFloors features and generally help them see how to more fully utilize our software programs. When I learned that they were bringing us back out for that type of training, I was impressed by their desire to do better with the software tools they have – they said that’s what they wanted. I had met them before at our users conferences, and like many other customers attending, they had great questions and offered great tips for how to do better. But until I spent a week with them, I didn’t realize how deep their desire to be and do better really goes. In fact, it’s been their focus this entire year! They make time daily and weekly to review certain aspects of their business and discuss how to be better. They focus on the processes rather than chasing after the next thing, and they know the revenue will follow. That impressed upon me the principle of self-analysis. Specific to QFloors and your company, or your role in the company where you use QFloors, I suggest that you frequently analyze the following and make specific goals and plans for becoming better.

QFloors Procedures

QFloors is probably a central component of your daily operations, so I hope you’re reading what we publish online or send in emails. If you’re this far into this article, hopefully you’ve read the other articles in this QNews for things that might affect and/or help you. If you haven’t already, perhaps read past QNews articles and blog posts on our website.

Are you regularly reading our Release Notes to see the bugs we’ve fixed and the new features we’ve added? (You must be logged in to the QFloors support site to access that page.) Are there features of the QFloors software that you haven’t implemented yet, or that you’re only partially familiar with?

All of these will help guide your analysis and changes to policies and procedures.

Financial Statements

I think it’s normal that many business owners don’t know how to analyze their financial statements, but I don’t like that it’s normal. A simple web search for “analyzing my financial statements” will give many results worth looking at. Perhaps a community or online college or has a class on how to read and analyze financial statements for business owners. You might utilize learnaccountingforfree.com.

Hopefully your accountant isn’t just preparing income tax returns for you – a good one will provide you with some of that analysis. Or perhaps you should hire a financial advisor to guide you.

You might want to plan on attending our Users Conference in May 2022. For those who attend, Trent Ogden, CFO, will compare their financial statements to the other participants’ financial statements and to industry averages, and give suggestions. That alone is probably worth the price of attending the conference. Or maybe it’s the networking with other QFloors users, or the beautiful Riviera Maya, or maybe the opportunity to hear some more of Chris Ogden’s crazy “it-could-only-happen-to her” experiences?!

Technology

Some of you know that our QCloud hosting servers were the target of a ransomware attack this year. It’s made me hypersensitive to anything weird happening on any of our computers, or anything that might be happening that we don’t know about. The “threat actors” as they’re called are constantly changing how they attack and infiltrate systems. That change is real and constant, so your analysis of your network security must also be constant and changing. You have to watch for and learn new ways of evaluating your security position. If you haven’t already, PLEASE read our knowledge base article, Creating a Contingency Plan for Technology Outages.

Time

All of this takes time, which can be difficult to come by some days. But if it’s too difficult to come by too frequently, you might need to analyze where your time is spent. As you do that, along with some of the other analyses above, you might see where and how you can become more efficient, or you might discover that you just need to delegate more or that maybe it’s time to bring in an employee or two so you can step back and build and work “on” your company instead of working “in” it as much.

To wrap up, changes are constantly happening, so we have to frequently analyze where we’re at. We have to constantly change and be better.