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Simply Reliable Turns Proposals into Control4 Programs
SimplyReliable's SmartOffice project management software lets integrators import proposals into Control4's Composer programming software.
Control4 dealers: How would you like to design a project and create a proposal … and then import the system directly into Control4's Composer programming software.
That's the premise behind a new application from Simply Reliable, developer of proposal and design software for custom installers.
The company's SmartOffice is a popular project management application that takes dealers through initial customer contact, the proposal process, design, project management, labor integration, accounting and billing.
The only thing it doesn't do is program a system for you … until now.
"It would sure be nice if we could take everything we have in quotes and push it right into the [Control4] box," says Simply Reliable's Tom Coffin. "You build the proposal, press 'yes,' and it gets loaded into Composer."
And that's just what Simply Reliable has done.
Control4 drivers are linked to products in the SmartOffice software. Just click the check mark by the devices, press a button, and the software will define all of the drivers.
But once you define a driver, you never have to do it again. SmartOffice retains that information in the software.
Thus, the more Control4 systems you implement via SmartOffice, the faster it gets.
There is at least one thing that SmartOffice won't do, and that is Control4 bindings, which are done within Control4.
When the dealer has created those bindings, they are transferred back to SmartOffice, which then generates wiring diagrams and other technical documents associated with the install.
The new Control4 application within SmartOffice can dramatically reduce paperwork and programming costs, Coffin says: "It will pay for itself in three jobs."
By the way, are you already in the middle of some Control4 jobs? SmartOffice works in reverse. Just press the button and your Composer files will be downloaded into the SimplyReliable software.
Simply Reliable plans to create similar software for other major control systems.
Coffin supplied CE Pro with a proposal built with Simply Reliable's SmartOffice software.
He says, "I created this proposal, then did the mapping and driver locating, then loaded it into Composer in less than 30 minutes. "
The system includes:
Control4 is at booth 161.
Simply Reliable exports customer information to Composer ... and vice versa
Control4 drivers are defined within Simply Reliable's SmartOffice software. The check mark indicates the drivers are defined and dealers won't ever have to define them again for those products. The big blue button top right is the one to click if you want to transfer files to and from Composer and SmartOffice.
That's the premise behind a new application from Simply Reliable, developer of proposal and design software for custom installers.
The company's SmartOffice is a popular project management application that takes dealers through initial customer contact, the proposal process, design, project management, labor integration, accounting and billing.
The only thing it doesn't do is program a system for you … until now.
"It would sure be nice if we could take everything we have in quotes and push it right into the [Control4] box," says Simply Reliable's Tom Coffin. "You build the proposal, press 'yes,' and it gets loaded into Composer."
And that's just what Simply Reliable has done.
Control4 drivers are linked to products in the SmartOffice software. Just click the check mark by the devices, press a button, and the software will define all of the drivers.
But once you define a driver, you never have to do it again. SmartOffice retains that information in the software.
Thus, the more Control4 systems you implement via SmartOffice, the faster it gets.
There is at least one thing that SmartOffice won't do, and that is Control4 bindings, which are done within Control4.
When the dealer has created those bindings, they are transferred back to SmartOffice, which then generates wiring diagrams and other technical documents associated with the install.
The new Control4 application within SmartOffice can dramatically reduce paperwork and programming costs, Coffin says: "It will pay for itself in three jobs."
By the way, are you already in the middle of some Control4 jobs? SmartOffice works in reverse. Just press the button and your Composer files will be downloaded into the SimplyReliable software.
Simply Reliable plans to create similar software for other major control systems.
Control4 Programming & Proposal Lickety Split
Coffin supplied CE Pro with a proposal built with Simply Reliable's SmartOffice software.
He says, "I created this proposal, then did the mapping and driver locating, then loaded it into Composer in less than 30 minutes. "
The system includes:
- 8 zones of distributed audio
- 6 zones of distributed video
- home theater
- 10 zones of lighting control
- 2 zones of climate control
- 7 zone phone system
- system integration
Control4 is at booth 161.
Simply Reliable exports customer information to Composer ... and vice versa
Control4 drivers are defined within Simply Reliable's SmartOffice software. The check mark indicates the drivers are defined and dealers won't ever have to define them again for those products. The big blue button top right is the one to click if you want to transfer files to and from Composer and SmartOffice.
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About the Author
Julie Jacobson, Editor-at-large, CE Pro
As a co-founder of EH Publishing in 1994, Julie has edited and contributed to all of the company's publications at one time or another. An authority on home automation, networking, integration, digital convergence and the CE pro channel, Julie speaks often about these subjects at industry events. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan, and received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player.
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