Notice anything different? We’re excited to announce OnForce version 5.0 – a complete re-design of all our web properties (site, blog, forums, BCC and PCC). Our user testing indicates that the new design is cleaner and more intuitive for buyers and pros alike, and we’re accumulating a list of refinements that we’ll make in the near-term, so send us your feedback.

Our cleaner, simpler home page design:

We’ve also added several new features that make it easier than ever to find the right pros with OnForce:

Requests for Quotes: Not sure how to price a work order? Rather than guessing, buyers can now send a no-risk Request-For-Quotes (RFQ). This enables new buyers (or long-time buyers who are dealing with an unfamiliar location or category) to easily find pros at a market price.

With RFQs, buyers specify what they need, when and where they need it, and send it to as many as 10 pros. Those pros then respond to the RFQ with offers. The buyer evaluates the offers (and the pros who sent them) and then chooses the quote that provides the best value.

Find A Pro: Looking for an HP-certified POS repair specialist in Vermont? Need a tech who speaks Spanish, has been drug-tested and lives within 10 miles of your client’s Tucson location? With the new Find-A-Pro feature, buyers can search for pros by location, category and ratings, and then use “quick filters” to find the right pros, based upon the following criteria:
· Earned statuses (PowerPro, certifications, etc)
· Safety filters (Background Checks, Drug Tests, etc)
· Service pros you’ve used previously
· Language speaking abilities

Find pros by specifying what you need and where you need it:

We’ll display the pros that meet your criteria and you can filter the list further:

Updated Profiles for Service Pros: The profile pages of each pro has been updated, enabling visitors to send an RFQ directly to that pro. OnForce pros can now put links on their own web sites to their profile page and visitors can send a request directly to them.

Send a request straight to your favorite service pro from their profile page:

We hope you like the new design, and welcome your feedback!

We’re happy to announce the launch of version 4.7 of the OnForce marketplace. This release includes several new features for both buyers and our provider community. In no particular order, here are the highlights:

Giving Consumer Electronics Its Due: OnForce has split Consumer Electronics out separate from IT into its own category. This will enable providers to specify their CE skills more accurately, and buyers to find the pros with the right skills for CE work like installations of flat panel TV, home theater or audio devices.

Provider Skills Selector: As part of splitting CE into its own top-level category, we’ve revamped our skills selector that pros can use to profile their skills.

Work Order Templates: Buyers can now create work order templates that contain pre-defined information. This will save buyers time, hassle and keystrokes in creating new work orders from these templates. When a buyer creates a new work order, they can select a template to pre-populate some or all location, attachments, and routing rule info for that work order. Buyers can use templates that do or do not specify price, address or custom fields. Work order templates can be accessed in the BCC under “Company Settings”. Learn more.

Document management: You asked… we listened. Now, providers can submit work order documentation by uploading and emailing scanned versions of documents. Providers can print, complete and submit a doc by uploading the scanned TIFF files to the online work orders, by emailing the TIFF as an attachment to documents@onforce.com, or by submitting them via fax. Learn more.

*New Certifications: Based upon feedback from our buyers and pros, we’ve added new certs to the OnForce platform. Going forward, providers can add (and buyers can find pros with) the following certifications:

·Dell: Point of Sale Product, Foundation 2008 Desktop, Foundation 2008 Portables
·CompTIA: PDI+
·HP: MasterTech TV, MasterTech PC
·Apple: Apple Certified Macintosh Technician

As of today (that’s v 4.6.2 for those of you keeping score at home), providers can now include comments when they make a conditional offer to a buyer.

This enables buyers and providers to interact directly, so buyers can better understand the reason(s) behind a conditional offer. Our intent is to help establish greater communication and trust early in the process. Learn more about how this feature works.

We’re pleased to announce the launch of version 4.6 of our platform. This release includes several new features that will make the platform more powerful and easier to use for buyers to find, manage and pay contract IT service pros, and for OnForce providers to manage the work they receive.

Buyer Routing Rules: The routing rules feature enables administrators, managers and staff members to save routing requirements and apply them when routing a work order. This simplifies routing when creating work orders or when using the API. Learn more by contacting your account manager or clicking here.

New WAP Functionality: Conditional offers can now be made through the WAP site, and when rejecting a work order, providers have the ability to request that they do not receive future notifications concerning that work order. For details, check out the related provider help topic.

Renamed and Redesigned Provider Command Center: The Online Office is now the Provider Command Center – and more than just the name has changed. The navigation now resides on the left side of the page, and the look and feel is aligned with the design of the Buyer Command Center. This brings us one step closer to our future vision for a unified Command Center for all OnForce users.

New Provider Command Center Features: New Provider Command Center functionality has been introduced with this release, including:
*Provider Supervisors can now manage multiple technicians through the calendar view.
*The work order search now allows providers to search by work order title.
*The withdrawal amount has been increased from $999 per day to $2500.
*Service through AT&T has been added as an SMS option.

OnForce is excited to announce the launch of version 4.5 of our platform. This release includes features and enhancements that will make the OnForce marketplace easier to use and enable our buyers and providers to gain even greater financial benefit, including:

Buyer Rebate Program: This is a newly created volume-based rewards program that enables buyers to earn rebates of up to 30% off the $11 OnForce access fee when their monthly work order totals hit certain volume thresholds. Based on the volume of work orders routed per calendar month, buyers will receive a portion of their OnForce access fees in the form of credit that is applied to their Buyer Command Center. Learn more about the Buyer Rebate Program.

Canadian Expansion: As we continue to grow our presence in Canada, we want to remind service buyers who need contract IT professionals across Canada that they can now use OnForce to find, manage and pay these service pros. We are actively recruiting more providers and continuing to build our marketplace, but we already have strong coverage in key metro markets like Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal. Check out the Canadian marketplace at www.onforce.ca.

Revised Provider Commission Structure: Over the past year, OnForce has observed a dramatic increase in the number of high-value work orders in the marketplace (eg – micro-staffing engagements, weeklong work orders, etc). In these instances, our providers and buyers alike gave us feedback that the 10% fee was too high a price for providers to fairly incur. In response to this trend and the feedback from the marketplace, OnForce has implemented a revised provider commission model for work orders that are greater than $1,000.

This new commission structure is tiered and based on pre-tax work order price, including parts. It affects only those work orders that close at $1,000 or more. This new structure will be automatically applied to all work orders and providers. Check out the full details of our revised provider commission structure.

Active Work Orders Page: The Active Work Orders page in the Online Office has been updated to enable our providers to better organize and manage their work orders. Work orders are now grouped by status: Routed, Open, Problem, Cancelled, Awaiting Payment and Missed.

This new design also enables a provider’s work orders to be sorted by ID, Date Added, Date Scheduled, Appointment, Scope of Work, Location and Price.