System Support Services

System updates -- On average we deliver two major upgrades and a number of interim releases during the course of any year. The major upgrades include major new features -- often in response to changing postal regulations, or new requirements brought on by the changing technology used by publishers.

More on the updates listed here, and other changes introduced in earlier builds of QuickFill, is included in the section entitled "What's New" of the QuickFill help system.

Features effective in QuickFill Version 1.70

• Windows Vista is now supported.
• Added agency code filter fields to the order tab of the Promotional Labels filter.
• Added exclude check boxes to the order tab of the Promotional Labels filter.
• Added customer demographic filter fields to the customer tab of the Change Billing Series and Change Renewal Series updates.
• Added subscription start date filter fields to the Purge Expired Subscriptions update.
• You can now specify that premiums should be shipped using the same method as the subscription order.
• The subscription date and/or the order date can now be printed on your bills, renewals and order acknowledgements.
• There is a new gracing policy control on the renewal series definition screen.
• Added a new 'Lookup (Served)' screen which lists the served issue records for a subscription.
• The Print Saved Reports screen now allows printing and deleting of more than one file at a time.
• Users can now change their own passwords.
• Creation and change date fields have been added to the customer record.
• The 'Promotional Labels' filter has changed.
• The 'Marketing List' definition screen now includes a date field.
• It is now possible to create subscription export files that include complete, unmasked credit card numbers.
• The 'Renewal Rate' report now includes totals for all renewals (1st, 2nd and subsequent) when an effort analysis is included in the report.
• The 'Subscription Statistics' report now allows you to choose whether single, two-party or group subscriptions are included in the results.
• The reliability of the 'Adds and Drops by Issue' report has been improved.
• If an update causes all of the other tabs to be automatically closed, then a lookup tab will be automatically opened when the update tab is closed.
• Various changes to the ODBC driver.

• Audited publications no longer require a qualification form definition.
• The rules for when qualification data is required have been relaxed.
• Some of the existing subscription classification codes have been renamed and there are many new classification codes.
• The method of tracking the number of copies served for each issue by classification and request type has changed.
• The method of tracking which names were added or removed for each issue served has changed.
• The ABC magazine Publisher's Statement report has undergone major revisions to conform to ABC's latest format.
• Filtering by service code is now available on the Average Circulation report.
• For ABC magazines the rules have changed regarding which subscriptions are subject to reclassification after three years.
• Grace issues are no longer served to paid sponsored subscriptions if the publication is ABC audited.
• On the Issue definition screen there are editable fields for 'Single copies' and 'Trade shows/conventions'.
• On the Channel definition screen the sales channel field has been split into two fields.
• The 'Order Sources' report is now called the 'Sales channels' report.
• The 'Make Trials' update can now be used to create non-controlled subscriptions with a verified classification.
• The 'Make Controlled Subscriptions' update has been changed to allow creation of subscriptions with any classification except paid.
• The subscription import and export files no longer include PRSBCLASS and PRSBCOPIES fields.
• In the dBASE Audit file format the PRSBCLASS field has been renamed to SUBCLASS
• The 'Graced Copies' and 'Renewals' reports now allow filtering by subscription classification.

• Added a new PUB_AUDIT_TYPE column to the PUB table in the ODBC driver.
• The maximum shipping charge on the publication definition screen has been increased.
• You can now use the new Form Designer application to change the format of QuickFill bills, renewals and order acknowledgements.
• We have a new supplier for the pre-printed acknowledgement, bill and renewal forms.
• The layout of the standard bills, renewals and order acknowledgements has been redesigned.
• Credit card numbers and user passwords in the database are now encrypted.
• The Lookup (Subs) screen now provides additional information for active, graced or expired subscriptions.
• On the Lookup (Subs) screen the sort sequence of the subscription and prospect records has changed.
• Detailed (long form) renewals can now be produced from a by-issues renewal series.
• The presort label file format has changed.
• dBase or "DBF" files can be exported as Excel files.
• Specifying that renewals be sent to the ship-to now takes precedence over sending the renewal to an agency.
• Company names are now included in the list of fields for which you can create custom choice lists.
• On the 'View Batch Log' screen you can create batch reports for printing at a later time.
• In all reports, where the publication name is printed on the page header, it now includes the publication code too.
• The Renewal Inventory report now allows you to select the range of issues to be included in the report.
• The "New orders" issue pointer can now be advanced automatically at the end of an issue label update.
• The Offer Definitions report now has a check box that limits the report to offers linked to active publications.
• The handling of shipping class changes in renewals of two-party subscriptions has been improved.

• The transaction importer can now process renewals at birth.
• You can now set the date for new orders, payments, renewals, controlled subscriptions and requalifications.

• The Audit Issue Galley report now includes the order term for paid subscriptions.
• The audit galley data files now include the customer's email address.

QuickFill Form Designer

Previously the only way to customize the printed format of bills and renewals was to use the mail-merge feature of Microsoft Word or similar third-party software. Now you can change the format of the bills and renewals and print them from QuickFill without using any third-party software. You can move elements around on the page, add or remove text and change fonts and colors. You can also print your company logo on the forms. Click here for a screen shot.

Increased security of the QuickFill Database

Credit card numbers and user passwords in the database are now encrypted. Even if your database files are stolen, the thief will not be able to extract credit card numbers from the database files, nor will they be able to extract user passwords.

The display of credit card numbers is masked in such a way that you can only see the last four digits. This masking occurs in the subscription history, in the payment section of the batch reports and on the Customer Search report. Credit card numbers are also masked in the output from the Subscription Export and the ODBC driver.

In order to support automatic renewals which reuse the credit card number, the complete encrypted card numbers are retained in the order records in the database. However, access to those card numbers on the Lookup screen and on the 'Order Adjustment' screen can be controlled for each QuickFill user. If the "view and adjust credit card numbers" box on the ‘Users’ definition screen is not checked then the user will not be able to see the complete card number on the Lookup screen. That user will also not be able to see or change the credit card number on the 'Order Adjustment' screen.

Excel Reports

QuickFill can now create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet from any QuickFill report. You simply go to the ‘Print…’ screen, select any report and click on the “Export to Excel” button. Even if you do not have Microsoft Excel installed on your system, QuickFill will create a valid Excel spreadsheet.

QuickFill is also able to convert a dBase file located in the QuickFill mail merge directory to a Microsoft Excel file.

Address correction and certification

QuickFill now includes support for address correction and certification using Semaphore Corporation's ZP4 software. ZP4 consists of a CD or DVD which you can purchase directly from Semaphore for $99. A new disc must be purchased every two months in order to obtain the latest address data. You do not need a disc for each of your workstations since the ZP4 database can be shared over your network.

When run with ZP4, QuickFill will enable an "Address Correction" button on the customer data entry screen. After entering an address you can click on this button and QuickFill will attempt to validate the address and determine the correct Zip+4, Zip+4+2 codes and the carrier route. If the address was successfully validated the changes are displayed and you can choose to accept or undo the changes. If you accept the changes the address is assigned a certification date.

You can also use ZP4 to complete partial addresses. For example, you can leave out the city name and state and it will determine them from the street address and zip code. Or you can leave out the state and zip and it will try to determine them from the address and city.

Added support for VAC audited publications.

The 'Audit' tab of the publication definition screen has a new option to indicate that the publication is audited by Verified Audit of Circulation. The Publisher's Statement Report for a VAC audited publication has been customized to meet their special requirements. A new 'Order Prices (VAC)' report is available for obtaining detailed pricing data for VAC publications.