Top Producer 8i – What’s different from Top Producer 7i?

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Following is a list of the core differences, as communicated to me by Top Producer. If you have any questions about other things it may or may not do, feel free to e-mail me about them.

Technology:

Top Producer 7i is based on Microsoft Java technology which does not come installed on new computers. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is the only web browser supported, leaving users of Firefox, Safari, and other web browsers with no way to use the program.

Top Producer 8i is based on ASP.net and Ajax. It is compatible with a wider range of web browsers. Top Producer 8i also places a lighter demand on resources and responds faster.

Web Browser:

Top Producer 7i’s interface disabled most web browser functions that normally appear across the top of the browser window. This included functions like the address bar, Back and Forward buttons, the Refresh button, multiple windows, tabs, and so on.

Top Producer 8i runs in a normal browser window with all of these features are available. The Top Producer 8i user will also be able to use the browser’s print screen functionality to print off whatever anything in browser window. Users can now display any information they want, sort it how they like, and print it off.

Landing Pages:

A completely new feature to Top Producer 8i that allows users to go a landing page that provides a brief summary of stats for items like contacts, leads, referrals.

The Ne UI:

Top Producer 8i’s main navigation is a departure from Top Producer 7i. The main features have been given their own buttons. When clicked, rather than simply displaying a list of possible functions, they will take the user to a landing page for that feature. These landing pages are a brand new function in Top Producer 8i, and make all of the commonly used functions available right away.

Screen Forms:

Top Producer 7i used multi-step wizard based interfaces for many of its workflows. In Top Producer 8i, these wizard based interfaces have been replaced with single-screen forms with necessary fields for activities such as contact entry or creation of listings or closings in a single window

Contact Look-Up:

The Contact Look-Up interface appears on the right side in every workflow that could require a contact record. The 8i user can drag and drop a contact’s name into the appropriate spot on a form rather than typing out their name or performing a search as was required in Top Producer 7i.

Load Indicators:

Unlike Top Producer 7i, When Top Producer 8i is retrieving information from the server, it will display an indicator which will inform the user that the operation is still ongoing. This indicator will, in most cases, appear in the lower right hand corner of the browser window

Top Producer 8i

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For those of you who are curious to hear any new bit of information that’s out there on it, here are a few from Top Producer’s customer service manager, from Real Talk.

“One of the biggest benefits to the online version is going to be realized by our subscribers again this year; upgrades and enhancements are no additional charge. So, in a nutshell, the price will be the same for subscribers who hold a Top Producer 7i license prior to the 8i release. Although official pricing has not been decided, there will likely be a small increase for new 8i subscriptions. We haven’t yet seen an increase in price for an agent license since Top Producer 7i was released in 2002.

There are many changes, most I will leave for our marketing department to disclose, but the program has been reworked top to bottom for functionality, workflow and features. The biggest change, in my opinion, is that the software is moving away from the Java platform. Eliminating the use of MS Java benefits those who use Sun Java, or don’t use Java at all, and will make setup easier for new users or on new workstations.”

via Top Producer 8i.

Top Producer 7i Campus & Free Blogs for Top Producer Web site users

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Courtesy of another user group I’m on:

Top Producer 7i Campus Beta has now gone live and can be visited athttp://www.topproducercampus.com./

This is a free service that is intended to provide support for Top Producer 7i users as well as an opportunity for you to participate by asking questions, giving feedback and sharing ideas and tips on how to make the most out of your Top Producer.

There is a forum, as well as success stories from our clients outlining what works best for them in their business. There are polls for you to vote on different topics from time to time to help us gauge what is most important to users, which will help our product development decide what services we will provide in the future.

The Top Producer 7i Campus also features Frequently Asked Questions and gives advice on how to get the type of help you may be looking for as well as many other resources.

I hope you all get a chance to visit and find it useful and perhaps give your valued feedback.

Top Producer Blogs are now included at no charge with your Top Producer Website. Blogs are really proving to be an excellent way to provide a resource that home buyers and sellers find useful that is unique to you and your style that will set you apart from the crowd. Blogs may keep them coming back to you as the local expert and guru that consumers are looking for.

Exporting Notes & Types from TP6i

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I just saw a post from someone who was using Top Producer 6i, and bought Agent Office. They were unaware that you can get Top Producer’s “Types” or the ‘notes’ to transfer to Agent Office. So…..here’s how to do it.

While in TP 6i, click  on ‘Setup’, ‘Export Data’, ‘Send to Top Producer 6i’, ‘Display all contact’, ‘Select all’, ‘Export Source’ should be ‘Top Producer 6i’.

Note that at this point, all the fields are in the ‘Fields to export’ column. They include TYPES and NOTES. You want to highlight and ‘Remove’ fields that you do not use, before exporting, so you do not have to ‘Map’ them on the Agent Office import. Click on ‘Export’, and then give it a ‘File name’, and location.

Now you have a file to use to import the data into Agent Office.

Go to ‘Start’, ‘All Programs’, ‘Agent Office’, ‘Import’, ‘Yes’, ‘Top Producer System 6 (Windows)’,

This line of instruction puts everyone in the import into the ‘Category’ ‘TP Import’ in Agent Office. That way, if the import doesn’t go the way you want it, you can delete the import contacts. It will also give you a future reference for who was in your “Old” database.

‘Set Defaults’, ‘Categories’, ‘Add’, ‘TP Import’, ‘OK’, ‘TP import’, ‘Include’, ‘OK’, ‘OK’,

Continuing – Click on ‘Choose file’, find the file you exported from TP 6i. Click on ‘Import’.  You’re done!

via Exporting Notes & Types from TP6i.

Agent Office Compatibility – Version 10.0

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I have had people ask me what ‘Vista’ is, so I’ll start out by saying it is the Windows Operating System (OS) which succeeds Windows XP.

AgentOffice has just released Version 10.0.

99.9% of the difference between Version 9.x and Version 10.0 is Vista compatibility.  The other .1% is aesthetics. By the latter I mean the icons on the top of the screen are a different color and slightly different design. I wouldn’t call them better, just a different look. You also have the option of choosing the background color, and/or placing an image in the background, like you can on your Windows desktop. That’s it.

If you have Version 9.x, you are entitled to a free download of the “Upgrade” or “Version 10.0.” If you have a version prior to 9.x, you must purchase the upgrade for $169, to have Vista compatibility. That price is a sale price, down from $229, and was supposed to end at the end of June, but has been extended through July.

The download is actually the entire program, as is all their upgrades. It is a 210MB file, which is quite large by anyone’s standards. That said, with the slowest FIOS, it took me about 5 minutes to download it. With Cable or DSL, it would take a few minutes more.

There is not really any significant reason to download the upgrade, unless you have, or plan on getting, a Vista OS computer.   To download V10, you need to already have Version 9.x. If you go to the following link, you can download it from there. http://realestate.fnf.com/Products/AgentOfficeDownload.aspx You will also need to call call FNF at 800.996.6546 to get an install code. The order in which you do it does not really matter, but you will need the install code to complete the installation of the upgrade.   If you would like a CD, which contains the same thing, you can order it for $29.95 plus S & H.

To buy Agent Office, Top Producer, Active Agent for Outlook, REST, and others, just visit my site or call.

Top Producer 7i & Agent Office News!

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Regardless of what software company it is, you should never hold your breath waiting for a software release, based upon when it was supposed to come out.  They make their best projections, and sometimes it happens; sometimes it doesn’t.

You should also, as a general rule of thumb, not install upgrades for any kind of software until they have been out for a while. It’s always a good idea to let the people who do not subscribe to this ‘rule of thumb’, be the guinea pigs. The caveat to that is if you really need what the upgrade offers right now. Wanting to get Agent Office but having a Vista OS would be a perfect example J Having Agent Office and needing to upgrade to Vista, would be another. Sometimes it’s unavoidable.

That said, Agent Office is scheduled to release it’s Vista compatible version, Version 10.0, on July 2nd for download, and a week or two later on a CD. Aside from a few cosmetic changes, the only significant difference will be compatibility with Vista. So what does that mean? Yes it is called Version 10.0. No it is not beneficial to get the upgrade unless you are planning on upgrading, or have upgraded, to Vista.

•1)       If you bought Agent Office, or the upgrade, after July of last year, you are entitled to a free download of the ‘patch’ that is Version 10.0 from their Web site, when it is released – projected to be July 2nd.

•2)       If you would like a CD of the upgrade, which you do not need, it will cost $29.95 for materials and shipping.

An interesting outgrowth of this patch being made available online for download, is that from that date forward, I will be able to fill your orders for Agent Office or the upgrade, as a download, as opposed to being shipped a CD. The price will remain the same at $329 for the download, but there would be no shipping costs or taxes, and you would not have to wait to receive it.

Top Producer 7i recently announced the ability to synch with Windows and Blackberry based PDA’s. Although the ability to synch with the PDAs exists, there are some carriers that did not afford the ability to do so. One was Bell Mobility. Official confirmation has been received from Bell Mobility that they now support direct TCP and therefore Bell customers are now supported with the Top Producer for BlackBerry product.

Top Producer 7i Outlook Connector (TPOC) is an add-in component for your desktop version of Microsoft Outlook. The TPOC allows you to use Outlook rather than My Email as your primary email application while maintaining the ability of creating connections between email messages and contact records (that is, maintaining email messages in a contact’s history).

TPOC had been limited to use with Outlook 2003. Top Producer 7i has just announced that Outlook Connector now works with Outlook 2007.

Q: What is the price of the TPOC? Retail Price: $149.00 (one time fee)
Q: Is there a cost associated with the upgrade? No.
Q: Do existing customers need to upgrade to the new version of the TPOC? No. However if a customer is running Microsoft Vista or upgrades to Outlook 2007, they will be required to download and install the latest version of the TPOC.
Q: Will the old and new version of the TPOC be available going forward? No. Only the latest version of the TPOC will be available for download going forward.  The latest version of the TPOC supports all the same versions as before in addition to MS Vista and Outlook 2007.

 

Do an export NOW if you have Top Producer 6i

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For those of you who have not yet made a decision on what to move to if you have TP6i, you need to do this now!

If you are going to move to Top Producer 7i prior to the end of the month when support ends for 6i, you’re fine. If you are going to continue to use 6i beyond the end of May 2007, you need to do an EXPORT, not a backup, now!

If your TP6i crashes after the end of this month, or your hard drive crashes, or your computer is stolen, your backup is useless. All your data will be inaccessible because the backup is only good if you can restore it to your TP6i software, or give it to Top Producer to convert it into 7i.

Now don’t go getting all upset at Top Producer. A backup, as opposed to an export, is usable only in the program it was created from, and would be true of Agent Office or any other proprietary software.

If you decide not to go with TP7i, you’ll need this export, so you can import it into whatever program you decide to use. If you have an export in an ASCII, CSV, or TXT format, that data can be imported into any other database program. That’s why you need to keep a current export, as well as a current backup.

To do an export from TP6i:

Click on – Setup, Export Data, ASCII file export, Display all contacts, Select all, Export contacts, Click on ‘Add’ for every field, Export, Key in a file name ending in “.csv” ( no parenthesis), pick a “Folder” to save it into, click OK.

Keep this export current, and no matter which program you move to, you’ll have your data ready for import.

With regards to what program you are going to move to, keep in mind that TP7i will be able to import almost ALL of your data from TP6i, they do it for you, for free, and they are currently running a promotion which is for a $60 credit to upgrade to 7i. You can order 7i on my site athttp://GaryDavidHall.com/topproducer.htm

Using the export of the 6i data for import into another program is limited to the fields you will see when you are clicking on “Add” when you are doing the export from 6i.

Agent Office vs. Top Producer – Your opinion please?

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Disclosure. I am a reseller for Agent Office.  I am currently working on affiliating with TP, as I believe it can be a more appropriate choice, depending upon one’s needs. That said, those of you that know me and my site, know that I am a reseller for several other CRM tools, and make a list of yet many others readily available for comparison. I try to fit the person/team with the tool that will best meet their specific needs and preferences.

It’s been a while since I asked the following question, which is why I am now asking again.  I would like to hear from anyone that has used BOTH Agent Office, at least as current as version 7.0, AND Top Producer 7i, for at least 6 months each. There are probably not very many of you, so if you are one of them, PLEASE post, or e-mail me off-list, or I may not get any ;-)

I realize there are many people that “love the one they’re with”, and I appreciate that.  I know there are many people that are using something else, and that’s great. The research I’m doing though, only pertains to AO & TP users that have used both.   I know the upsides and downsides of the following, so I don’t need to hear about them.

  • Cost analysis – monthly & free tech support & upgrades, vs. one time fee and pay for tech support & upgrades as you decide you want them
  • Backups done automatically for you vs. having to back up
  • Online access vs. not

What I would like to hear is comments about:

  • Features that one has that the other does not
  • Stability – which one works better with no functional glitches. Does it work all the time without freezing, giving you a blue screen, or simply not doing what it’s supposed to do.
  • Usability – Moving from screen to screen; finding what you want quickly; doing what you want without too many key strokes.
  • Ease of learning – compare one to the other in that regard. Which one was easier for you to pick up?
  • Flexibility – If it doesn’t already do what you want, can you usually devise a work-around to accomplish it?
  • Which company was better at listening to you when it comes to implementing suggestions, if you ever officially made any.
  • Tech support – good bad or indifferent for each.
  • ANYTHING else you care to comment on.

Please remember.  I’m asking for comparisons from users of both.  Not comparisons from research that was done, or from experimenting with them for a trial period.  There is some value in research, but it has very little compared to someone that has actually used both in a production environment.  If you didn’t use both for at least 6 months, AO 7.0 or newer, and TP 7i, please state as much, so people here can weight it accordingly, and so I know whether or not to include it on my site.

My AO versus TP page has gotten a great deal of traffic over the years. Thousands of people have read posts about favoring one over the other.  Your posts here on this subject will help many of you now, and in the future, make your own decisions. So if you could take a few minutes, you will be doing me a favor, but also thousands of other agents around the world that go to that page for information. Thanks!

Agent Office Version 9.0 is shipping!

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FNIS has just announced an upgrade to Version 9.0 now.  It started shipping on July 5th.

If you like you can order it now for $229.

What’s in it?

Activity Enhancements

  • Ability to view All Users’ timeless and timed activities in the Scheduler.
  • Ability to reassign mass activities from one AgentOffice user to another.
  • On the Schedule an Activity screen, the Show Schedule button displays the selected user’s scheduler (instead of the logged in user’s schedule).
  • Ability to view the Schedule an Activity screen by double-clicking on an activity in the Old Business activity list.
  • Auto-population of the time on the Schedule an Activity screen when you select a time in Scheduler and select the Schedule an Activity option.

Contact Import Enhancements

  • Additional e-mail address import field options to accommodate import packages that contain 2 or more e-mail addresses.  You can associate existing e-mail types or add e-mail types on the fly to e-mail addresses in a contact import package.
  • Additional mailing address import field options to accommodate import packages that split the address street number, street name, direction point, and street designation.
  • Ability to import categories from within the import package into AgentOffice and associate the imported categories to the appropriate imported contact record.
  • Ability to globally associate existing AgentOffice categories to contacts within the import package.
  • Prompts during the import process to allow you to enter default information, which will auto-populate all contacts within the import package with the entered information.
  • During the import process, duplicate record checking between existing contacts and contacts in the import package with the option to update or add duplicates.

New Document Manager Module

  • Ability to import significant documents directly into AgentOffice Document Manager or an AgentOffice record.
  • Ability to link the documents to contacts, listings, and/or sales.
  • Ability to assign documents to categories.
  • Ability to view documents using the associated application.
  • Ability to export documents, including to CD.
  • Ability to e-mail documents.
  • Documents are backed up and synchronized during AgentOffice backups and Accusync.

Referral Management Enhancement

  • Ability to track which clients have referred you as a client (Referred By), and what referrals to clients/contacts your contacts have made (Referrals).

ZipForm/WINForms Integration

  • Integration with the desktop and online versions of ZipForm and WINForms to create new transactions with data from transactions and contacts in AgentOffice.
  • Integration with the desktop version of ZipForm and WINForms to associate transaction related forms to a transaction.
  • Integration to ZipForm and WINForms available within the AgentOffice Contact, Listing and Sales modules.
  • Ability to add new transactions to ZipForm and WINForms that include contacts related to the transactions, for example, buyer and seller, buyer and seller agent, buyer and seller attorney, lender agent, title agent, escrow and appraiser.

It’s a very good upgrade.  They never have everything I would like to see, but this is a good one.  The next one won’t be out for quite some time. More upgrade information

Agent Office purchased from FNRES by Emphasys Software!

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Well it is official! While Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions (FNRES) is still “taking care of business” until everything is transitioned over, as of October 29th, Emphasys Software is now at the helm of Agent Office! Emphasys is a Real Estate management, financial and compliance software solutions company. It offers a long list of Real Estate related software solutions.

Personally, I am happy about the potential for this move, obviously pending seeing what happens. Emphasys is a Software company, as opposed to a Title company. Their interest in having Agent Office is to actually make money by making the product better, and selling it. Without getting into specifics, I will just say that FNRES has not exactly been the best thing that ever happened to the Agent Office software application. If you have followed events during their tenure of ownership, you have an idea what I am talking about.

Moving forward, having spoken with a representative from Emphasys, I am optimistic that this will be a good thing. They have plans to make significant improvements to the product, which will be a long overdue development when it happens.

Agent Office has been around since 1992, and this will now be its 4th owner. For those of you who have it, the road ahead should be interesting, and probably better.

Agent Office is currently in Version 10. It is still available through my Web site at a discounted price, in its current version, new. If you want to upgrade from an older version, I can still do that for you as well. There will be no interruption in my ability to provide Agent Office software to you, as I will continue to be a reseller for it, when Emphasys takes over.

As always, if you have any questions about Real Estate specific contact management or CRM software, that is what I do. I am a broker/reseller for 32 different Real Estate specific Contact Management & CRM solutions.

via Agent Office purchased from FNRES by Emphasys Software!.