Custom Data Centre - Job Control

Job Control

Job Control
Introduction

Job Control was developed to track the processing of returns/jobs within the offices of the accounting professional. The job tracking process is initiated by a client's request for the completion of a return/job and the processing begins with the recording of the job in the Job Control database. For each job, the Client's Name, the date of the request (Date In), the type of Return requested and the name of the Employee Responsible for the client's account are required. The program also allows for the Assignment and Sub-assignment of each job to other staff members. When a job is started, the Start Date is recorded. When the job is completed, the Finish Date is recorded. Once the job has been completed, the job is checked and the Checked Date is recorded. When the job is sent out, both the Date Out and the Method of Disposition are recorded.

The best way to learn about Job Control is to download the Evaluation Version of the software. The evaluation version of Job Control is available, free of charge. This version of the software will operate only for a limited time, but any information that is added to the database can be retained in the event that you decide to purchase the software. The evaluation version of the Job Control is fully functional and has not had any features disabled. An evaluation version of Job Control can be obtained from the Job Control Downloads page. To obtain a CD containing an evaluation version of Job Control, send us a completed order form and indicate "Evaluation" as the desired version.

If you would prefer to get more information about the software before trying it, then browse through the Job Control User Guide. This document contains all of the information that is necessary to begin using Job Control.

The Job Control User Guide is in PDF format so you will need a copy of Adobe's Acrobat Reader in order to view the tutorial. If you don't already have Acrobat Reader installed, you can download the free reader from Adobe.

Features

Layouts: Layouts determine the content and appearance of the job records in the job grid. The Job Control program is provided with 2 pre-programmed layouts. However, each user can also create and save up to 9 individually customized layouts to suit their own unique needs at a given time. These layouts allow each user to view only those jobs that are of particular interest. In order to develop their own custom layouts users may:

	Hide or Show Columns.
	Sort Columns in Ascending or Descending Order.
	Rearrange the order that columns appear.
	Select returns/jobs to be displayed based on the value contained in a column. Selection criteria can be used individually (Show only T1 returns) or they may be combined (Show only T1 returns and show only jobs that have been assigned to me).
	Save a layout as your default layout. This layout will be used as the initial layout each time that the program is executed.

Search: The displayed job grid can be searched for the existence of a user provided value in a given column. The Search-Next and Search-Previous commands can be used to search throughout the given column for additional jobs that contain the specified value.

Reports: Job Control can prepare 6 different reports. All reports are provided in preview mode where they can be reviewed before directing them to the users default printer. These reports can also be exported in a variety of different file formats where they may be opened with other application software. The available reports are:

	Client List - A listing of all jobs, sorted by client.
	Assignment Report - A listing of all jobs that have been assigned to a given employee, but have not yet been completed.
	Sub-Assignment Report - A listing of all jobs that have been sub-assigned to a given employee, but have not yet been completed.
	Responsibility Report - A listing of all jobs for which a given employee is responsible, but have not yet been checked.
	Progress Report - A cumulative count or daily count of jobs by date or by employee.
	Average Days Report - An analysis of the number of days required for employees to complete job tasks. This is accomplished by counting the number of days between the recorded In, Start, Finish, Checked and Out dates.

The Assignment, Sub-Assignment, Responsibility, Progress and Average Days reports can be prepared for a selected employee or for all employees.

Administration: The system administrator has access to password protected menu items that are used to define the default values that will be used by the Job Control program. Pre-defined values that can be determined by the administrator include:

	Return Codes - A code and a description are associated with each type of return/job (T1, T2, CAIS, Financial Statement, etc.).
	Disposition Codes - A code and a description are used to define the possible methods by which a return/job may be disposed. Examples of Disposition Codes include Mailed To Client, E-Filed, Taken By Client, Faxed To Client, Hand Delivered, E-Mail To Client.
	Employee Table - The employee table is made up of an Employee Code and the Employee Name. The Employee Code serves as a shorthand representation to conserve screen space.

The administration features also include a tool to recover previously deleted jobs and the ability to change the administrator password.

Prior Years: The Job Control database can be archived in a different directory (folder) where it can be opened for future reference. When working with a prior years database the Maintenance menu is disabled and no custom Layouts are available.

Maintenance: Job Control is provided with a password protected program that is used to perform the following routine maintenance tasks:

Compact Database - This maintenance task will reclaim space in the database that was occupied by deleted records. This can lead to improved database performance.

Archive Jobs - This task will move finished jobs (those that have a Date-Out) to an archive database. This ensures that the active database contains only active jobs. Those jobs that have been flagged as finished are stored in a folder that is named for the year in which the jobs were finished (i.e. 1999). The archive jobs function can be performed throughout the year, as often as is deemed necessary. Recently finished jobs will be added to the archive database.