Journyx Project Management Blog

Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the humidity. Maybe it’s just that we love you this much.

In any case, we’re here to tell you that between now and August 15th, 2008, we’re having what some people might call “a sale.” But this isn’t some sort of lame “10% off your next order” thing. No siree. This is a bona fide “we give you something for free” kind of thing.

But enough hype. You need details. So here they are:

• Buy at least 10 Timesheet Online (AKA hosted, SaaS) license seats and we’ll give you 10 more completely free.
• Switch your existing local Timesheet license to Timesheet Online (AKA hosted, SaaS) and we’ll throw in an additional 10 license seats on the house.
• Purchase at least 10 local Timesheet license seats and we’ll give you 5 more gratis.

That’s it. No gimmicks. No convoluted schemes. No need to send in box tops from your favorite breakfast grain or cereal. Just a simple, “you buy, we throw in a little extra” deal for old and new customers alike.

To take advantage of this offer - which really is only good through August 15th - just contact your Journyx Sales Rep and let them know you’d like to order from the newsletter menu.

The Obligatory Fine Print: Offer applies to new business initiated after receipt of this offer. Previous sales agreements, quotes and verbal agreements are not eligible for this offer. Tax, title and license not included. Do not use discount while showering, sleeping or operating heavy machinery.

Fair warning: Journyx is based in Texas, the 4th hottest place on earth. Also, it’s the middle of July. And yet I am about to complain about the heat. If I were to read a piece written by someone in upstate New York that complained about the cold in the winter time I’d feel pretty comfortable telling the whiner to shut up and live with it. But I’m asking you to stick with me because despite the whining, I really do have a point that’s germane to projects. Trust me. Would a marketing guy lie to you? Don’t answer that. Just keep reading.

It’s been a very hot summer. Incredibly, painfully hot, even for Texas. It was the hottest June on record, with 20 days at 100° F or higher. It’s also been very dry - like 3 inches below average dry. Why am I going on about this? To make the point clear that, unlike last year’s temperate and waterlogged June, this season hasn’t been very good - or very inspiring - for gardening. You remember my bit about gardening (oh, and time boxing) from back in February, don’t you?

Anyway, the garden has fared rather poorly. Almost entirely due to the heat. Well, that freak hailstorm back in May that utterly destroyed the tomatoes and demolished our bean pole tripod (lovingly lashed together by yours truly - thanks knot-tying merit badge!) didn’t help. But really, it’s the heat. If you have to work the land to survive, it’s one thing. But if it’s really just a hobby, well, there are indoor hobbies that keep you safe from the raging anger of the sun. And that means that the garden suffers alone.

Right, so here’s where we get to the point. Said green brown patch is part of a community garden, and that means that other people care about the state of the plot almost as much as we do. They care because it can affect their plots - if it gets too weedy, say, or if it gets overgrown and blocks out the sun (normally bad, though possibly a good thing this year). You get the idea. So, last weekend an email went out to the gardener list barking at everyone to clean up their plots by the end of Sunday or have their ownership of said plots revoked. Apparently, we’re not the only ones hiding from the intense ball of fusion in the sky.

Now, I’m all for keeping the garden looking nice and going strong, but to threaten to revoke ownership in July - after membership fees have been paid for the entire year, no less - is a bit, well, unreasonable. I suppose the tone was taken to try to spur action, but instead it really just sounded petulant and overly-demanding. Kind of like the way upper management sounds when they demand completion of a project without any effort at understanding the situation on the ground. You see, it’s easy to look at a situation, see something you don’t like and decree that changes be enacted. Heck, it’s probably human nature to do so. But we’re out to change that - in project land, if not in community gardens across the country.

How does a Timesheet company aim to help management get a better idea of what the lay of the land looks like, you ask? Sssssh. It’s a secret.

- Andrew Trent, Journyx Director of Web Content

Journyx customer ACS Dataline, LP has some nice things to say about Journyx - and we didn’t even have to bribe them!

If you’re someone who hasn’t yet joined the Journyx family, take a look at ACS Dataline’s review of Timesheet at DMReview.com. It just might tell you - from an independent point of view - what you need to make your decision.

Read more at: http://journyx.com/rss/redir/dmreview.html

You already have Timesheet. But do you have the tools that make the most of your data? See what else Journyx has to offer to help you meet your unique business needs:

• Accountlink - The Timesheet/QuickBooks Integration
• Projectlink - The Timesheet/MS Project Integration
• Journyx Data Validation Tool
• Journyx Payroll Rules Engine
• Journyx DCAA Toolset
• Journyx Self-Service SQL Query Tool

Learn more about these tools on our website.

Read more at: http://journyx.com/rss/tools.html

Accountlink, the Timesheet-QuickBooks interface, now officially supports QuickBooks 2008 Pro, Premiere, and Enterprise. Actually, it has for several months, we just forgot to announce it here in the newsletter. So if you’re one of those “early adopter” types who are already using QB ‘08 nearly halfway into the year, well, now you can feel confident that Journyx is right there with you!

And if you’ve been holding off on giving Journyx (or Intuit) money until this announcement was made, well, open up that checkbook and start throwing around your sweet, sweet lucre! You’ll make someone’s day just a little greener. Er, brighter.

Learn more about Accountlink at: http://journyx.com/rss/support/quickbooks.html

One of the things that we at Journyx like to think makes us something more than just your average, ordinary everyday Timesheet provider is the belief that our products truly help our customers in their businesses. So in an effort to put some science behind that theory we went out to visit a few of our customers and chatted with them about what Timesheet has really done for them.

With an eye towards sharing these results with other customers and prospects, we filmed these conversations. And now, after several months of sifting through the footage and wrestling with video codecs, we’re finally ready to present a dozen or so clips to you, the viewing public.

Watch a few of these clips on our site at: http://journyx.com/rss/products/timesheet/

Or add ‘em to your favorites at youtube: http://journyx.com/rss/redir/jxyoutube.html

Labor is often the highest expense in Government contracts; therefore a robust labor management system is a requirement for any contractor that serves the U.S. Government. Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) compliance can be met only through detailed labor and cost center tracking. Journyx Timesheet can automate the costly process of capturing and reporting contract-specific data, and provide critical supporting documentation for DCAA audits.

Timesheet accomplishes this in many ways, but now we’ve got an easy-to-use turnkey solution for your DCAA compliance needs - the DCAA Toolset for Timesheet. This suite of tools helps you to use your existing installation of Timesheet (7.6 or later) in a DCAA compliant manner by:

• Ensuring that your employees enter their time daily
• Providing easy-to-read printable timesheets
• Simplifying audit log examination
• Enforcing multiple critical data validation rules

The DCAA Toolset for Timesheet is available now for all Journyx customers, local install or hosted, for the insanely reasonable cost of $1000 (or just $55 per month for hosted customers).

Contact the Journyx Sales Team to purchase the DCAA Toolset: http://journyx.com/rss/redir/contactsales.html

Learn more about Timesheet and compliance issues at: http://journyx.com/rss/products/timesheet/compliance.html

In the beginning, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) gave the world Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 70, Service Organizations. An organization that has passed a SAS 70 audit has proven to an independent auditor that its control objectives and control activities, including controls over information technology, meet the requirements of SAS 70. Of particular note here is that SAS 70 requirements cover controls and safeguards for hosted and processed data belonging to customers.

Further, the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 make SAS 70 audit reports even more important to the process of reporting on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting.

For you, me, and everyone else you know who isn’t an accountant, SAS 70 is a mouthful and then some. And we’re only bringing it up because, like Brussels sprouts, it’s good for you. And us. You see, Journyx passed a SAS 70 Audit back in January and we wanted you to know.

If you are part of a publicly-traded company whose future might just include a little tango to the Sarbanes-Oxley tune, you’re likely just relieved to hear that Journyx is SAS 70 certified and would like to move on to some other topic, like puppies, root canals, or a post-modern deconstruction of Crime And Punishment. But if you’re not in that type of company, you’re probably wondering why this matters to you. The answer is simple.

Fundamentally, passing this audit means that Journyx is safe to do business with. It means we don’t hire felons. It means we treat your company’s private data (credit cards, employee information, you name it) with extreme, even fanatical, care. It means that we have a documented software development process that includes version controls and excludes dubious code from Sneaky Pete’s Internet Script Shack. It means our hiring, firing, accounting, IT and other processes are strong enough and proven enough that accountants are okay with them. Seriously, actual accountants. And accountants are notoriously picky (sorry, Dad).

Oh, passing this audit also means that, if you’re using Timesheet SaaS, you don’t have to worry about proving that your time and expense solution is SOX compliant. So if you wind up facing a Sarbanes-Oxley audit you simply point to the fact that Journyx passed its audit and move on to other areas.

So, let’s summarize. Journyx passed a SAS 70 audit. This is great news no matter who you are. It means Journyx is a company you can trust. We always were. It’s just that now we’ve got the paperwork to prove it.

You can also find out more about Timesheet and compliance issues on the Journyx website.

You’ve already implemented Timesheet to help you understand your business better. With it, you’ve got a clearer picture your projects. Moreover, you’ve improved your efficiency, billing, and payroll and kicked your compliance reporting up a notch or three. But are you 100% confident in the data your employees are entering? Are you certain your folks are giving you the real data you require to improve these processes?

Journyx understands that uncertainty. And that’s why we’re introducing two new services for Timesheet: the End User Data Validation Tool and the ProUpdate Reconfig. These two enhancements to Timesheet will help you realize all of the available benefits of automated project and resource time data collection.

End User Data Validation Tool
(including up to 8 hours of dedicated consultant time)

• Up to 2 hour examination of end-user data entry processes
• Data Validation Tool and two hours of training
• Custom-written guide to configuration changes to make data entry easier
• Up to 3 hours of assistance with configuration changes

ProUpdate Reconfiguration Services
(15 total hours of dedicated consultant time)

• Review of existing business practices and Timesheet system configuration
• Assessment of current system needs and data goals
• Recommendation and reconfiguration of Timesheet to satisfy current needs/goals
• Training on updated system configuration for up to 4 primary users

For the duration of the first Quarter, each of these packages is available for a mere $2250, which you can even break out into six low monthly payments of $375, if your budget requires.

Contact the Journyx Sales Team if you have any questions on the availability of these services or would like additional information.

At Journyx, our focus is always on the future. Normally, that’s the future of project accounting and how Timesheet relates to it. But sometimes we get a wild idea and just have to run with it. An example of that is a little thing we’ve taken to calling jPint, a library we put together in our spare time to enable software developers to build web-based applications that look and feel like native iPhone apps.

The main reasoning behind jPint is that although developing directly for the iPhone is nice, it does a number on the size of the audience for an application. So we figured, why not make a framework that will produce iPhone-compatible web apps that can still be used by folks who haven’t shelled out the $500 for the pleasure of the gadget that will save the world? Hence, jPint.

We’ll be the first to admit that this news isn’t necessarily interesting to everyone. But we’re pretty sure if you’re of a developer-like nature (fear of the sun, a tendency towards sci fi tv shows, gadget lust) then you’ll want to check out jPint, if only to see what we did so you can strive to outdo us.

So take a look at jPint. We’re distributing it freely and with generous (i.e., almost non-existent) license terms. Go ahead. You might just have a great idea to pursue in your spare time, too. And jPint could be the easiest way to implement that idea for iPhone and non-iPhone users alike.

Oh, and just for the record, we’ve beaten a certain fruitily-named company to the punch here. The official iPhone SDK hasn’t been released yet, though it’s due sometime this month. Yay us.