11.25.2009 Lizzy Business System Update

It’s been a few weeks since my last post so I wanted to take a few minutes to catch everyone up on our progress. First, I’m sure everyone has seen our new website that we’re very excited to roll out this week. We’ve still got a few more things to do to it before it’s completed, but I think the new look has given the company an overall positive face lift. Next week starts the first official advertising push and we’re all very excited about it. The team is really forming up nicely and the newer people are quickly beginning to get in the groove with everyone else. Productivity is higher than it’s ever been before and the excitement around the office is unbelievable. Especially with me.. …

Eric has been doing an awesome job on the Financing module. Currently we can attach units and trades to a deal, attach items to units and are in the final stages of working up an actual quote. Eric has jumped right in with the rest of us and is no longer a newbie. He’s doing a really good job at pumping the code out and giving the project that extra little bit that is going to make it the best F&I package around. We should be getting close to being able to demo the quote portion of the package within the next few weeks. I’m still shooting for January being the month we enter full testing mode on the module and I’m optimistic that we’ll reach that goal.

Jeff is entering the final testing phase of the special order processes and has also done an awesome job. I don’t think I could have put together a better team of developers if I tried. Everyone is working together really well and getting a lot of stuff done. So far we’ve started demoing the special order processing and overall inventory work flow and Lizzy™ has received A+ grades from all of those able to see it. It’s like everything else you do in life where you work in a closet and are a bit worried about what everyone else will think of your hard work when you finally show it to them. We were also concerned but optimistic that it would be well received. So far we’ve not been disappointed and each demo just makes us that much more excited. I’m going to have my video processing system up and running full bore next week and should be able to start producing some demo’s that everyone can view on the different modules that are about to be unleashed on the world.

The CRM system also received some needed upgrades this month in a new and improved call logging facility, being able to pause telephone conversations to do other things and a totally integrated Email system. The email system is in the final phase of development now, but is set to completely replace your email clients and integrate your company email with your customer database. So that incoming and outgoing emails are not only in your inbox/sent box, but are also automatically attached to the customers records. We’re very excited about this here at nizeX, Inc because it’s going to allow us to better track and respond to our customers needs as well.

So what’s left?

We still need to finish up being able to attach labor to a service ticket, receive and pay units on the payable form, add the gateways to process credit cards, handle warranty claims and rebates, handle F&I and plug in the code for the departmental accounting. Most everything else is either finished or is in testing at the moment. I know that a lot of you are anxious to get your hands on Lizzy™ and we’re just as anxious to get it to you. Unfortunately we’re not going to rush it out the door and are going to take our time to make sure all aspects are 100% before we let her loose to run your entire business. Most modules such as CRM, PDM, Accounting, Inventory control and so forth are already ready to go, but because they integrate fully with the other modules we have to make sure that they all speak the same language and don’t get in arguments.

Pete and I have been discussing the switch over date for Lizzy™ in respect to new sales and the phasing out of TBA, and we think we’ve about reached the point. Unless something changes, December will mark the first month we begin active demoing and sales of Lizzy™ and begin to talk about TBA less and less. For those still demanding a Windows based package we will continue to sale and support it for the next few years, but will no longer be making it our central focus. We believe that once everyone has had the chance to see and use Lizzy™ that The Business Assistant (TBA) will become a distant memory.

Well, I think that gets us mostly caught up for now. There are a ton of exciting things going on here at nizeX, Inc. and the world is about to finally get to see.

Until next time…

glenn