Updated Oct 12: Fixed links to Buyer and Provider Activity Report Samples at the bottom

In our upcoming v4.3 release (scheduled for mid-October), we’re making some significant changes in buyer and provider Activity Reports. These reports are used by many buyers and providers for offline tracking of both open and closed work orders, and some of these users have even built Excel macros that use the data in these reports.

*The nature of these changes will break most macros, and will require all buyers and providers to review their reports to ensure that they contain all of the data they depend upon.*

h1. Information Groups

One of the big changes to Activity Reports is that we are consolidating the selection of columns that can be displayed in a report into “Information Groups”. The purpose of Information Groups is to collect all related information together, while simplifying the Activity Reports interface.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/activity-report-screenshot.jpg!

When you select an Information Group, all columns contained in that Information Group will appear in the Activity Report. For example, if you select the Feedback Information Group, the columns Buyer Rating, Provider Rating, Buyer Comments, and Provider Comments will all appear in the Activity Report.

The Information Groups displayed in the screenshot above contain the following columns, in the listed order:

*Work Order ID*
Work Order ID

*Buyer Information*
Created By (_buyer only_)
Closed By (_buyer only_)
Buyer Company Name (_provider only_)

*Provider Information*
Provider ID
Provider Name
Provider Company Name (_buyer only_)

*Work Order Status*
Status
Sub-Status

*Work Order Dates*
Service Date
Appointment Date
Date Created (_buyer only_)
Date First Routed (_buyer only_)
Date Accepted
Date Completed
Date Closed
Date Cancelled

*Work Order Description (pre-v4)*
Title
Service Category
Service Subcategory
Model #
Operating System
Serial #
Manufacturer

*Work Order Description (v4)*
Title
Tasks

*Work Order Pricing*
Pricing Method
Spend Limit (US$)
Initial Spend Limit (US$)
Hourly Rate (US$)
Parts Included

*Work Order Location*
End User Name
End User Phone (_buyer only_)
Location Name
Location City
Location State/Province
Location Zip/Postal Code
Location Country

*Work Order Custom Fields*
Custom Fields (_buyer only_)
Custom Fields for Provider (_buyer only_)
Custom Fields (_provider only_)
Buyer Custom Fields (_provider only_)

*Work Order Completion Information*
Resolution Notes
On-Site Dates
Total Hours On Site (calc.)
Hours Worked

*Work Order Service Fee*
Access Fee (US$) (_buyer only_)
OnForce Commission (US$) (_provider only_)
Parts Total (US$)
Labor Total (US$)
Other Total (US$)

*Taxes (US)*
Access Fee GST (US$) (_buyer only_)
Sales Tax (US$)
Service Tax (US$)

*Taxes (Canada)*
Access Fee GST (US$) (_buyer only_)
Service Fee GST (US$) (_provider only_)
Nova Scotia HST (US$)
New Brunswick HST (US$)
Newfoundland/Labrador HST (US$)
British Columbia PST (US$)
Alberta PST (US$)
Saskatchewan PST (US$)
Manitoba PST (US$)
Ontario PST (US$)
Quebec PST (US$)
Prince Edward Island PST (US$)
OnForce GST Number
Provider GST Number (_buyer only_)

*Feedback*
Buyer Rating
Provider Rating
Buyer Comments
Provider Comments

We’ve also removed the following columns, since they are easily calculated in Excel using the expanded information columns available in the new reports.

*Buyer Activity Reports*
Total Charges
Total Credits
Time Frame

*Provider Activity Reports*
Closing Charges
Amount Paid
Time Frame

h1. Re-ordered Columns

To ensure that the columns in each Information Group appear properly, we’ve re-ordered the columns in the Activity Report so that all of the columns in a given Information Group appear together.

h1. Sample Excel Export Spreadsheets

You can download sample Excel spreadsheets that show all of the columns in the buyer and provider Activity Reports:

“Buyer Activity Report Sample Excel Spreadsheet”:1
“Provider Activity Report Sample Excel Spreadsheet”:2

h1. Saved Activity Reports

We will upgrade all saved Activity Reports to be compatible with our new Activity Report format. Once upgraded, a saved Activity Report will contain any Information Group that contains the columns that were in the old saved Activity Report. If you have any saved Activity Reports, please check them when v4.3 is released to ensure that they contain all of the information you need.

_*If you use Excel macros on any saved Activity Reports, or you depend upon the particular columns and column order in a saved Activity Report, you will have to update your macros or other systems to handle the new formats.*_ The sample Excel Export spreadsheets provided above should assist you in updating any systems.

[1]http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/buyer-activity-report-sample.xls
[2]http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/provider-activity-report-sample.xls

After a significant amount of work and lots of research, OnForce has opened its doors to Canadian service providers. With v4.2 of our platform, providers in Canada can now sign up and fill out service profiles. We are now actively recruiting providers in Canada, working to have a significant number of them signed up within the coming months.

Later in 2007, we will be launching “OnForce Canada”:1 (after much demand from existing and new buyers). Only providers who reside in Canada will be eligible to perform service in Canada.

Please encourage your friends and colleagues in Canada to “sign up”:2. We will be offering special live trainings over the course of the next month to streamline the sign-up process.

[1]http://www.onforce.ca
[2]http://www.onforce.com/signup

OnForce is excited to announce the launch of version 4.1 of our platform. This release includes significant updates for work order management and introduces a new and vastly improved version of our OnForce APIs.

h2. New Tools for Bulk Management of Work Orders

Management of multiple work orders is now even easier through the use of new bulk work order management tools. Buyers can now make changes to multiple work orders simultaneously by clicking the select boxes for those work orders on the Active Work Orders page, and choosing an action at the bottom of the work order list.

Deleting, voiding, adding notes, setting sub-status, and closing multiple work orders at one time can all be accomplished on the appropriate work order tab.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/bulk-tools.png!

Adding a note to multiple work orders is as easy as adding a note to a single work order. Simply select one or more work orders and fill out the note.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/bulk-add-note.png!

h2. Buyer Web Services v2

Buyers have long been able to integrate their internal applications with OnForce for some time using our Buyer APIs. Now, with the release of our new generation of APIs — Buyer Web Services v2 — buyers have unprecedented control over all aspects of their work orders. Buyer Web Services v2 offers support for the entire work order life-cycle, from creation to routing to closing and rating. And our new APIs give buyers full access to our new work orders and task descriptions introduced with OnForce v4.0.

Whether a buyer wants to completely integrate their internal tools into OnForce, or just wants to build a small application to handle specialized routing, its easy with our new APIs. More information can be found at our “developer site”:1.

Setting up an account to use Web Services is as easy as configuring one or more Access Keys in a Buyer Command Center. All current and new buyers have free access to configure and use Web Services. Stay tuned for more information about third party applications that can plug into OnForce Buyer Command Centers.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/api1.png!

For developers and system administrators, we provide a log view of all usage of each Access Key to enable you to debug and verify the security of your Keys and applications.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/api2.png!

h2. Work Order Expiration Email Notices

We’ve added a new email notice that is sent out to a buyer when a work order expires.

h2. Work Order Clarifications

Clarification answers now include the name of the user who submitted the answer. This name is visible only within a buyer company’s account.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/clarification.png!

h2. Active Work Orders Page

The Conditional Offers tab has moved under the Routed tab, to more accurately reflect the work orders’ actual status.

h2. Work Order Routing Page

Providers that are added to a routing list manually are now called out separately from other selected providers when routing or re-routing a work order.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/manual-routing.png!

[1]http://www.onforce.com/developer

OnForce is excited to announce the launch of version 4.0 of our platform. This release has been in the making for some time now (we started work on the product development for some of these features almost a year ago!).

h2. PowerMatch

The most important feature of this release is the introduction of PowerMatch, a highly precise matching engine that enables buyers to find the providers who have the right skills, experience and performance to match the specific requirements of each work order.

While in the past OnForce displayed the providers that were geographically closest to your service event, with PowerMatch you’ll see those providers that are best suited to successfully complete your service event, each with their own 1-100 PowerMatch score.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/route-work-order.png!

Providers are shown on the Work Order Routing page, each with a PowerMatch score that’s customized to the work order being routed and the buyer routing the work order.

h2. Refined Work Order Creation Process

PowerMatch is possible because we’ve overhauled the work order creation process. In the past, buyers had to describe the service event and the required on-site activities in plain text. This made creating a work order time-consuming, difficult and inconsistent.

Instead, buyers will choose work order tasks from a menu to define a work order, making the process much more precise and easy. The work description and provider instructions fields are still available to provide additional information about the work that needs to be done and the processes that a provider should follow.

These new work orders form half of the equation that enables PowerMatch to help you find the providers that best match your needs on each work order.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/create-work-order-1.png!

We’ve also updated the rest of the work order to make entering location and contact information easier as well.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/create-work-order-2.png!

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/create-work-order-3.png!

The summary page shows all of this information, and enables buyers to save work orders in Draft status (see the Draft status section below) or route the work order immediately.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/review-work-order.png!

h2. Updated Provider Profiles

The other enabler of PowerMatch is the completely revamped provider profile that we’ve asked all providers in the OnForce Marketplace to fill out. By creating a comprehensive profile that aligns tightly with the tasks that make up any work order, our providers can more accurately define their skills and the type of work they are best able to perform.

This more complete and accurate information is accessible on the Provider Profile pages available through “Explore the Marketplace”:2.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/provider-profile.png!

h2. Draft Status Work Orders

We have made it free to create work orders.

Buyers will instead be charged the OnForce access fee upon the routing of work orders. To accommodate this change, we are introducing a new work order status called “Draft”. Upon creation, work orders will be in Draft status until they are routed.

We are also retiring the work order “New” status, since Draft status will take its place.

h2. API and Upload Tool PowerMatch Routing

Buyers that use our API or Work Order Upload Tool to create work orders can upgrade to use PowerMatch routing by merely putting a “P” in the autoroute spreadsheet column or API field. For more information about using our API and Upload Tool, please see our “OnForce Developer Site”:1.

[1]http://www.onforce.com/view/developer_site/page/api
[2]http://www.onforce.com/explore

For those of you who frequent the front page of our site, you’ve probably noticed that things look a bit different. We undertook a “significant re-design of our home page”:6 in an effort to increase the functionality and content that we expose to visitors. The goal was to provide more ways to engage with the marketplace, yet still offer a clean, simple user interface.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/home_500.png!

Beyond that, we’ve also launched two significant additions to our site: The “MarketView Index”:4 and a micro-site dedicated to “all things Vista”:5.

h2. MarketView Index

The “MarketView Index”:4 offers a comprehensive look at the OnForce marketplace. Whereas “Explore the Marketplace” enables users to get granular information about the providers or work orders in a specific location, MarketView offers a top-down perspective of industrywide trends on a state-by-state and category-by-category basis. You can use MarketView to see how each state and work order category stacks up in terms of average work order price, median time to acceptance, and average hourly rate information. We’ve already gotten glowing reviews of this exciting tool from “TechIQ Magazine”:2 and “eWeek Channel Insider”:3.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/marketview_500.png!

h2. Vista Upgrade Center

The “OnForce Vista Upgrade Center”:5 is a resource that we created for all members of the OnForce community. We aggregate Vista-specific articles and information from all corners of the industry and put it in a single convenient place, including the latest information about product updates and certifications. We’ve also made it easier for buyers to choose the version of Vista that’s right for them, determine if their system is Vista-ready, and create well-defined work orders with our Vista Upgrade Wizard.

!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/vista_500.png!

As always, we welcome “your feedback”:1.

[1]http://www.onforce.com/contact
[2]http://techiqmag.com/2007/03/29/onforce-your-google-map-to-it-engagements/
[3]http://www.channelinsider.com/article/OnForce+Opens+the+Kimono+on+its+Wealth+of+Pricing+Data/204256_1.aspx
[4]http://www.onforce.com/marketview
[5]http://www.onforce.com/vista
[6]http://www.onforce.com