CUS Notes June 2013
CUS’n for 30 years!
We’re celebrating our 30th anniversary this year and we’re very proud of that achievement! Software providers come and go, with mergers and franchises popping up and disappearing all the time. CUS is still independent and privately owned to serve you best. We appreciate the clients who’ve been with CUS so many years and the close relationships we have. CUS may be 30, but we’re still the one you can trust!
Will we see you in Indianapolis?
The National Auctioneers Association will hold its 2013 Conference and Show next month in Indianapolis and CUS will be there, of course. We’ll be in Booth 213 in the Trade Show from Wednesday through Friday, July 17-19. Be sure to stop by and say hello. Join us in celebrating our 30th year!
Deadline to join the CUS Maintenance Plan is June 30
The deadline to join the CUS Maintenance Plan is approaching very soon. If you’re licensed for the current CUS Version 9.0 release, you can join the optional Maintenance Plan to get a bundled package of annual program upgrades and support allowances for one low monthly fee. Clients on Maintenance enjoy other benefits, including reduced fees for online training classes, Catalogues and Sale Bills.
To receive the 2014 annual CUS program upgrade to Version 10.0 at no charge, you must be enrolled in the Maintenance Plan by June 30, 2013. If you’re interested in this optional program, contact Ellen at 954.680.6545 or sales@cus.com for information.
Regional CUS Client Workshops
The last CUS Client Workshop took place in Los Angeles in May. We had a great group with representatives from all areas of the auction profession. The CUS Online Auctions and Catalogues were especially popular, along with the custom forms that can be printed in CUS. Thanks to Rick Allen and everyone at CMA Auctions in Burbank for being such wonderful hosts.
We’ll schedule more workshops later this summer after the NAA Conference, so keep checking your CUS Notes newsletter for the latest plans. Midwest and East Coast workshops will be booked for late summer/early fall. We hope to hold our very popular Northwest regional workshop again this fall too.
If you’re interested in a session in any of these locations, contact Ellen for more information at 954.680.6545 or sales@cus.com.
Try the CUS Online Auction or Catalogue
You can see a sample of the CUS Online Auction here:
Visitors see your own privately branded auction that blends in with the rest of your company’s image. Choose your color scheme with your own logo and select the layout of the new opening page with pictures of featured lots. There’s a photo slideshow display, bidding from the individual lot detail page and a “Watch this lot” feature too! Your bidders can receive a daily email to keep up with the status of their bids and watched lots.
The CUS Online Auction is a seamless extension of your regular CUS Auction System, with one-click uploads and photo management built right in. There’s no need to import or export data because it’s all in one system. Add a new lot or a few pictures at any time, adjust your opening bid amounts, or change the closing date. See who is looking at your auction at any time and watch your bids streaming live. You can display sales results when the auction is finished if you like. Everything is in CUS and it’s all under your control.
It’s easy to publish a searchable catalogue with dozens of pictures too, allowing pre-registration and absentee bidding in advance if you like. Why send your visitors to another company’s site to see YOUR catalogue? The clutter and advertising take attention away from your important event, and you know how easily visitors can get lost or distracted. Contact Ellen at 954.680.6545 or sales@cus.com for more information and a private demo of the new CUS Online Auction.
Please note our new mailing address:
CUS Business Systems, Inc.
5722 S. Flamingo Rd. PMB #3130
Cooper City, FL 33330
This replaces our previous mailing address at Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise, FL. Please be sure to change your accounting system records so your payments are issued to the correct address and promptly credited to your account.
The Sawgrass Corporate Parkway address is no longer valid, so please make this change now
From the Technical Support Team
New Version 9.0 Zipfirst Database now available
A new Zipfirst database was uploaded in mid-June and is now available at the Version 9.0 Client Support Center. If you are licensed for Version 9.0, you can access that center and download the new database, using the Version 9.0 Username and Password. The new file is called zipdata9.exe. If you need help with this procedure, please contact Steve at techsupport@cus.com for assistance.
Custom forms in CUS
Are you taking advantage of the custom forms in CUS yet? If you need to fill in government forms, bills of sale or title transfers for your auctions, let CUS help with the workload. Any lot, buyer or seller information you have in CUS can be automatically filled into your forms.
Our revamped website has a new section displaying some of our most popular custom forms. Go to https://cus.wpengine.com/webpress-forms/?source=email for some ideas, then contact Steve at techsupport@cus.com to get started.
Advantage Database Server for CUS
Many of our larger network installations have the more robust “client/server” edition of CUS using the Advantage Database Server engine as its foundation. This enables networked CUS applications to run more securely in wireless or remote access environments. If you have a large network with a Windows Server or are planning to expand, you may be a candidate for the CUS ADS Server edition.
It’s very important to contact CUS before upgrading any server or installing a new one to be sure CUS can support that server operating system. If you have an older ADS Server version, you may need an ADS update before installing a newer Windows Server.
CUS on Windows 7 or 8 Operating Systems
We’re continuing to test the current Version 9.0 CUS release on Windows 8 and have not seen any serious issues yet. The user interface in Windows 8 is very different from Windows 7 or XP. It will require some patience to get used to it. Be prepared for the possibility that some of your devices (printers, scanners etc.) may not be compatible at all.
If you are replacing computers in the near future, we recommend you try to get Windows 7 while you still can, especially for staffers who aren’t comfortable with new computer environments. Windows 7 systems are still available online but may not be easy to find in your local retail store. We’re not ready to fully certify Windows 8 yet for all situations, but if you must install a Windows 8 computer, it should be fine for CUS Version 9.0. Before buying the new computer, contact Steve at 954.680.6545 or techsupport@cus.com for advice.
To run CUS on Windows 7 or 8 computers, there are some Windows Registry changes that are necessary. We have a utility file called smboff.zip available to take care of this. A Windows 7 or 8 network must use classic Workgroup networking for CUS instead of Homegroup. This requires Windows 7 Home Premium or higher for any computer on a network. In Windows 8, this may require 8 Professional. Please contact Steve at techsupport@cus.com for guidance.
In general, Windows 7 is compatible with current CUS for Windows releases. This only pertains to CUS Versions 7.0 and higher, not older CUS versions. As we described above, Windows 8 seems to be acceptable at first, but we are only testing it on CUS Versions 9 and higher.
Note: DOS versions of CUS are NOT compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8 or Vista at all. If you are still licensed for a DOS-only version of CUS, you have to stay with Windows XP until you update to CUS for Windows.
Contact techsupport@cus.com for further information before buying any new computers, especially if you aren’t licensed for CUS Version 7.0 or higher.
Contacting Technical and Web Support
When emailing a question about CUS software, please send it to techsupport@cus.com instead of any individual’s personal email address. If the person you’re trying to reach isn’t available, other members of our team will see the question and be able to help you. The same is true for changes or requests for your own website managed by CUS. Send them to websupport@cus.com instead of any individual person. Otherwise your request could be missed if that person isn’t able to get mail or is unavailable.
If you don’t get an answer to your emailed question in a day or two, follow up with a phone call to our office at 954.680.6545. Your email might have been trapped by a spam or junk filter and blocked from reaching us. Of course, if you have an emergency, don’t rely on email at all. Call us right away at 954.680.6545 (daytime) or 954.483.6778 (night/weekend).
Technical Support via Remote Access
If you need technical support from CUS but aren’t comfortable navigating on a computer, we can do it for you. All you need is an internet connection to let us log in remotely and take over to get the job done. You control when we can get in and when to disconnect from us. We can troubleshoot most network issues, install CUS on your computer and manage data updates from older CUS versions.
There’s a link to our live remote support from the CUS Version 8 and 9 Support Centers. Version 8 or 9 CUS Systems also have direct links to the Support Center from the Help Menu. If you’re running an older CUS Windows version, contact Steve to help you connect to CUS remote support. This is live real-time support, so you must make arrangements with us before connecting to have a consultant available for you.
Ellen Weintraub
Sales Manager
Contacting CUS
sales@cus.com for price quotes or other sales related questions
techsupport@cus.com for any support or training questions
websupport@cus.com for website content or maintenance
Day: 954.680.6545 Night
Weekend Emergency: 954.483.6778
Fax: 954.680.6018
Note our new mailing address:
CUS Business Systems
5722 S. Flamingo Rd. PMB #3130
Cooper City FL 33330