Cheesed off!

[Graeme Harrold]

Flew through MCS using Quickbooks to track invoices, PO's, Suppliers, customers, VAT and the other usual accounting stuff. Excel for SAP, contracts, PV Certs and registers. PIR Form to cover the AC certs and everthing is set to combine easily into the handover pack. When an install is done, the paperwork and online registration is usually completed in about 4-5 hours, with everthing completed in place ready for audit.
Im only a small installer and doing about 1 install per month, so could not justify the cost of paperclip, and now I have everthing in place Im happy.

 

[SRE]

Well done, I have to admit when we were doing 3 - 4 jobs a month it was a lot easier. Now we've doubled up with just the 2 of us it's a bit more difficult. Paperclip still too expensive for us for what it does. I do seem to be getting quicker, maybe it's just repitition and refinement of existing documents.

 

[Graeme Harrold]

Use your MCS system to help. Might take a little bit of time, but do yourself a mini audit and look for repetition of data entry. All of what yyou get from the survey, installation and other inputs should essentially go in one place ready for output to your documents with minimal processing. Even keeping similar document formats so at a push, you can simply cut and paste data between forms. I also use a dropbox for entering direct using a tablet PC, docs are automatically sync'd with the dato on my laptop back in the office. Just remember KISS - Keep I Simple....Stupid!!!

Your MCS manual should reflect the way you work, not dictate it, aslong as you achieve the criteria of the MCS.

 

[SRE]

I think that's our problem we created a monster to start off with and it just doesn't reflect what we do now. A complete overhaul and simplification is needed. I've stopped doing surveys after Monday for a month so that should give me some time to get on top of it.

 

[Markc]

I'm working on our MCS and QMS again now. Our annual must be coming up soon as we are overdue now.

I've looked at paperclip and it's good to know my thoughts of it are what most of you have put. Just to damn expensive for the size company / quantity of installs. I must say that for what it does there's been a huge amount of work put into it but may be with the mid size company in mind over the one man, two man, three man band set ups.

I've purchased a £40 very basic accounts program from PC world. It allows me to produce purchase orders, materials lists, invoices, credit, supplier and client details all together and once entered they are there for good. I find it very useful now but I need to update the QMS to reflect it's use.

We have started to do the MCS & Part P notifications on site. The joy of a iphone and laptop means even in deepest Norfolk we can normally get a web connection (all be it SLOW) This has also meant a speeded up process in the office and the client has the MCS certificate while we are still on site. Most are very impressed at this. The time needed on site can be found in the clear up time, or lunch etc. We have now done two like this and I think it will be kept as so.

As our core business is still electrical contracting the Electrical Installation Certs are all on Formfill software back in the office but I can turn this round in under two minutes now. Once that is done we can do the DNO notification and email that off. We tried this on site but it meant getting the elec cert done as well and that software is on the PC in the offce not on the laptop but I'm working on that.

I'm considering the ipad now as well. (gadgets........ohhhhhhh!) Easier to show client picture over the laptop and all data sheets at first survey etc as well. Anyone use one for that yet? If so how do you get on with it?

 

[SRE]

We're not posh enough for an Ipad but bought a tablet for ease of showing the customers the photos of our work and datasheets etc etc - it drove me mad - stuck in the drawer and hasn't been used for about 3 months! I don't know if it was just the model we bought but everytime I tried to flick the photo over to the next one I got a zoomed in version of the photo not the next photo. It was just too sensitive - absolutely drove me to distraction!!!!

I'm liking the idea of MCS on site - our customers seem to be having more and more problems with Fit applications. That would speed up the process no end.

 

[Graeme Harrold]

If you have a laptop already, look at 3's MYFI dongle. Its about the size of a mobile and is a portable WiFi Hotspot that allows the connection of up to 4 devices to the internet. Just bought a 12Gb 12 month package inc device for £112....

 

[Worcester]

I've done customer presentations for years, including laptop, paper etc, and find that in this environment paper is best. I have thought of using an iPAD / tablet, however I carry a portfolio of pictures with me and still find it easiest, and quickest to flick through and find the one that's most like theirs / what I'm proposing for them.

It also has the effect of showing them just how much and the scope of what we've done without having to say it, as they see it as I'm flicking through to find theirs, giving them confidence in our ability.

We are also just moving to the on-site MCS registration as we already do the part P there and have it for when we have SMA inverters with Bluetooth to set up the systems and configure passwords etc.

Especially with the tightening up of the grace period, it means that we can even help the customer through the FIT registration process at the same time - getting smarter ! Means that one of the team stays behind after everyone has cleared up, however it means no loose ends on the job when they come back.

 

[ElectroW3b]

Hello,

I do feel i must ask the following questions as a Beta Tester of the PaperClip software. I had a very positive experience with the software and the technical support provided by email and telephone on both the MCS and the software.


If the average installer is making 2500 per install and doing 1 per week, then compare that to 25 per week which is what they charge (108 a month) for unlimited logins?? to run your entire office...

How much do you value your time at?? the software does automatic G83, Audit trails, records telephone calls, tracks, sends, receives emails. passed with all the certification body’s,

I attended MCS training last week and G59 the week before with paperclip and not charged a penny! I have been MCS a few months now and fully qualified sparks and I have to say the CLICK solution is nothing like what is offered and sales force is a sales tool not a management tool of which I have tried both.

I can tell you one thing I have learnt more using the software than I did in my training. I am sorry but I simply do not agree you, I have used it and these guys can’t understand when they are trying to help the industry that half-truths get said.

These guys run a free training course every other Thursday I suggest that you go see it live before jumping to conclusions.

As sparks we know the job is easy. The paperwork and qualifications been kept up to date don’t pay the bills.

 

[Graeme Harrold]

£2500 per install?????

 

[ElectroW3b]

How much do you charge for a 4kWp system?

 

[SRE]

I'm always a bit dubious when someone charges to test their software. This didn't happen to me but has happened to others. I'd be worried that if the software company needs funding to demonstrate their products that they wouldn't have enough cash to complete the final version. Meanwhile they would be holding my data and charging me for access to the data if I decide not to continue subscribing to their software.


I haven't jumped to any conclusions, I tried the system it wasn't for me - I don't respond well to Non disclosure agreements being waved in my face at the mention of an open discussion about what installers would need from a database on this forum. It's just not the way I do business.


For a system to be worthwile to me I need it to:

be able to access a users manual to see how to get the best out of a system
measure accurately from Google Earth and identify orientation and pitch
price accurately, building in different options
enable me to complete online risk assessments and method statements

and that's just to start with.

All the databases that I've looked at and tried recently haven't come close to the needs of an installer working on pv to MCS standards. I already have complete customer files that I add all documents to as I go along and a master list of documents, I don't need to pay someone to hold those for me.

My question would be not how much do you value your time at but how much do you value your data?

I haven't yet seen any half truths in any posts I've read about the paperclip database. I applaud the work they have done so far but it's not for everyone and certainly not for me. Make no bones about it these guys are in it for the cash exactly the same as you and I and like you and I they will have to take the ciriticism with the praise - that's business

 

[ElectroW3b]

Hi SRE,

Thanks for your comment and is duely noted. However its quite odvious I am a supporter of this software and just wondering if you can eleborate on which MCS standard you are refering to???

As I passed with my accreditation body 100% using PaperClip and I know for a fact that it has passed multiple assessments with NICEIC, Stroma, Elecsa so are you saying that their is a differnt standard? who are you registered with????

During the PaperClip software training the MCS was discussed very much in dept and the problems which was highlighted to us during the day was not so much the MCS side but what I didnt know was the Real side for instance I was unaware that 30% were audited by Real, 1 out 10 members are mystery shopped and members are selected randomly selected for postal audits where they have to send in there documents for review.


As for my data I need you to exspand on this as I am not sure what you mean.... (if you want to private message me about this I would understand)

 

[SRE]

Maybe I didn't explain myself well. On top of buying the relevant database that we're talking about I still have to buy PVSOL to design my systems, I still need to calculate prices on Excel because I don't price per kwp, I still need to check orientation on Google Earth after I've visited the property, in fact almost all of the stuff I do now would need to be attached to the database. So when I was talking about working on pv to mcs standards I meant that not everything is covered by the single database.

For me it just felt like another place to store my data and it saved a bit of time not having to fill in 3 lots of addresses. My time is taken designing and pricing systems not so much the completion of the quote or the G83 and it all still needs printed out and put together in the handover pack so no time saved there either.

Recorded phone calls are of little interest to me and if I want to text then I use my phone I already store my emails so really what is the benefit if you already have your qms manual set up? A different situation I suspect if you're just starting down the mcs route but not really for me.

 

[ElectroW3b]

Thanks for the clarification.

I have never used PV Sol but do you use PVSOL fro your sap caculations?, my assessor said that PV SOL was not acceptable as its not sap 2009...