ido wedding and event professional edition · customize questionnaires to gather information about...

iDo Wedding and Event Professional Edition

Published: October 30, 2009 www.elmsoftware.com

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Table of Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 3

System Requirements ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Getting Started ................................................................................................................................................. 4

iDo Log-in Screen .......................................................................................................................................... 4

Database ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

iDo Home Screen .......................................................................................................................................... 6

iDo Pages ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

Common Functionality ................................................................................................................................. 8

Clients ............................................................................................................................................................... 9

Adding New Clients ..................................................................................................................................... 10

E-mailing Clients ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Contracts......................................................................................................................................................... 11

Adding New Contracts ................................................................................................................................ 12

Creating Contracts ...................................................................................................................................... 13

Questionnaire ............................................................................................................................................. 14

Occasions .................................................................................................................................................... 17

Timesheets .................................................................................................................................................. 19

Expenses ..................................................................................................................................................... 20

Invoices ....................................................................................................................................................... 21

Payments Received ..................................................................................................................................... 25

Finances .......................................................................................................................................................... 26

Adding New Transactions ........................................................................................................................... 27

Calendar .......................................................................................................................................................... 27

Calendar Options ........................................................................................................................................ 27

Calendar Labels ........................................................................................................................................... 28

Users ............................................................................................................................................................... 31

Adding Users ............................................................................................................................................... 31

Permissions ................................................................................................................................................. 31

Options ........................................................................................................................................................... 32

Drop-Down Lists ......................................................................................................................................... 32

iDo System Settings .................................................................................................................................... 33

Contacts .......................................................................................................................................................... 35

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Adding New Contacts ................................................................................................................................. 35

Import ......................................................................................................................................................... 36

Export.......................................................................................................................................................... 39

E-mail .......................................................................................................................................................... 39

Invitations ....................................................................................................................................................... 40

Adding New Invitations .............................................................................................................................. 40

Sorting RSVP IDs ......................................................................................................................................... 42

Locking RSVP IDs ......................................................................................................................................... 42

Unlocking RSVP IDs ..................................................................................................................................... 42

Composing Invitations ................................................................................................................................ 42

RSVPs .............................................................................................................................................................. 43

Customizing Meals ...................................................................................................................................... 43

Attendees ....................................................................................................................................................... 43

Flights .......................................................................................................................................................... 44

Hotels .......................................................................................................................................................... 44

Table Layout ............................................................................................................................................... 46

Tentcards .................................................................................................................................................... 49

Gifts................................................................................................................................................................. 49

Checklists ........................................................................................................................................................ 50

Adding Checklist Templates and Tasks ....................................................................................................... 50

Copying Checklist Templates ...................................................................................................................... 50

Adding New Tasks ....................................................................................................................................... 51

Budget ............................................................................................................................................................ 51

Budget Templates ....................................................................................................................................... 52

Copying Budget Templates ......................................................................................................................... 52

Setting Budget Estimates ............................................................................................................................ 53

Budget Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 53

Adding New Budget Categories .................................................................................................................. 53

Adding New Budget Expenses .................................................................................................................... 54

Vendors ........................................................................................................................................................... 55

Adding New Vendors .................................................................................................................................. 55

Assigning and Unassigning Vendors ........................................................................................................... 55

Importing Vendors ...................................................................................................................................... 56

Exporting Vendors ...................................................................................................................................... 56

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Viewing Vendor Websites........................................................................................................................... 56

Mapping Vendor Addresses ....................................................................................................................... 57

E-mailing Vendors ....................................................................................................................................... 57

Timelines ......................................................................................................................................................... 57

Adding Timeline Templates ........................................................................................................................ 57

Copying Timeline Templates ...................................................................................................................... 58

Adding New Timeline Entries...................................................................................................................... 58

Notebook ........................................................................................................................................................ 58

Reports ........................................................................................................................................................... 59

Introduction

iDo Wedding and Event Professional Edition wedding planning software for wedding consultants and event planners. iDo assists with full-service planning of infinite weddings and events. iDo allows you to:

Navigate an easy-to-use interface with links conveniently located for quick access.

Print over 100 different professional reports—all with your company logo prominently displayed.

Store all information for your clients and contracts.

Customize questionnaires to gather information about your clients’ event preferences.

Create multiple occasions for a contract requiring multiple guest lists.

Monitor time spent working on each contract.

Invoice your clients.

Keep a calendar of all appointments and save reminders.

Track all of your business income and expenses.

Compile your clients’ guest or ‘Contact’ lists for their occasions.

Export wording for reception tent cards to be used by Elm Software's PrintJobs.

Design a seating chart for each occasion, or export attendee lists to Elm Software’s design layout

software, Tabula Rasa Professional Edition.

Track RSVPs and meal selections.

Manage flight and hotel arrangements for attendees.

Create a master vendor list and assign vendors to occasions.

Keep your clients on task with multiple checklist templates.

Monitor your clients’ expenses by using multiple budget templates.

Set detailed timelines for your clients’ occasions, including travel needs.

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Keep a notebook containing general notes about a particular client’s occasion.

Enjoy planning weddings and events with ease and success!

System Requirements

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

2 GHz Intel® Processor or greater

1 GB RAM or greater

Screen resolution of 1024 x 780 or greater

Getting Started

When you first open iDo you will see the login screen. Enter your desired user name and password to access iDo. You will then be prompted to enter your company information which can later be updated in ‘Vendors’.

iDo Log-in Screen

You always need to login to iDo using your user name and password. You are logging into the database file that is identified by the database field. The ‘user name’ and ‘password’ fields need to be have a maximum length of ten characters.

Database

All information stored within iDo is saved in a database file. Similar to Word documents having the extension ‘.doc,’ iDo Wedding and Professional Edition databases have the extension ‘.elmdata.’ It is strongly recommended that you regularly backup your database.

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Selecting a Database The database that you are currently connected to is identified on the iDo log-in screen. The default database location is C:\Elm Software\iDoWPE\Database\idowpe.elmdata. The database can be moved to any location on your computer network by copying and pasting the idowpe.elmdata file. If the database is moved, you will need to change the database location on the log-in screen to ‘point’ to the database’s new location. You would want to do this if you have multiple colleagues and you want to share the same database over your network.

1. On the iDo log-in screen, click and the ‘iDo Database Location’ window opens.

2. To change the database, click Change and browse for the desired database file. All database files will have the extension .elmdata.

3. Once you have selected the desired database file, click Open. Your desired database should appear within the ‘Database location’ field.

4. Click Connect to Database. You will now be working with your selected database.

Backup Your Database With iDo closed, copy and paste your iDo database onto a thumb drive or another external device besides your primary computer. Should you experience technical difficulties with your computer, your backup of the iDo database will assist in restoring your iDo system on your new computer.

Restoring Your Database To restore your database, first make sure iDo is closed. On your backup device (such as a thumb drive), browse for your backed up database and right-click and Copy it. Paste it in your desired database location. The next time you log in, make sure your database location is ‘pointing’ to the restored database location. After you login, you will see your data from the backed up database.

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iDo Home Screen

Company-Related Links – these areas of iDo are all related to the basics of your business: Clients, Contracts, Finances, Calendar, Users and Options.

Active Occasion Bar – this gray bar identifies the ‘active occasion’ relative to the Occasion Links below it (when you first install iDo, it reads ‘Create a client, contract, and occasion’).

Active Occasion-Related Links – these areas of iDo are all related to the basics of the selected spotlight occasion: Contacts, Invitations, RSVPs, Attendees, Gifts, Checklists, Budget, Vendors, Timelines and Notebook.

Tour and Print Icons – quickly access the iDo Feature Tour (online) as well as print reports.

Status Bar – contains links for the iDo .pdf Help File, About iDo, Elm Software Forums (for online customer support), Backup Database and http://www.elmsoftware.com.

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iDo Pages

Command Bar – this is the thick horizontal bar at the top of each iDo page. The large white number in the Command Bar displays the total number of items or entries per page. This number can be filtered to provide different statistics.

Links – Navigation throughout iDo is accomplished by clicking on any of the 16 available links.

Breadcrumb Trail – the dark gray bar at the top displays the name of your company, a quick link for ‘My Notebook’ (your own space to keep personal notes), and a ‘breadcrumb trail’ indicating which iDo page is currently open.

Filter – Filter provides several key statistics related to the current iDo page, presented as hyperlinks. Click on the hyperlinks to filter the statistics and view only what you want to view. If you are viewing a filtered page, the type of filter appears bold. Certain iDo pages will require you to select from a dropdown menu to further filter and/or group data.

Search – An instant filter is applied to your information as you type in this field. To clear the filter click on the ‘X’. This is helpful when trying to locate a specific record from a large list.

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Common Functionality

Selecting Items

To select any item in iDo, whether it’s a Client, an RSVP, a Vendor, etc., click on the item within the grid.

To select multiple, consecutive items, click the first item you wish to highlight. While pressing the Shift key, click the last item you wish to highlight.

To select multiple, non-consecutive items, click the first item you wish to highlight. While pressing the Control (Ctrl) key, click the remaining items you wish to highlight.

Columns • Sort by columns by clicking on the column header. • Adjust a column’s width by dragging the right side of the column header to the right or left.

Shortcuts • Double-click items to open or edit. • Right-click to quickly execute actions. • Shift-click items to select multiple, consecutive items. • Ctrl-click items to select multiple, nonconsecutive items. • Ctrl-N to ‘add new’. • Press the Delete key to delete currently selected item(s). • Press F1 to quickly open the iDo Help File. • Ctrl-F to quickly access the search bar.

Saving and Deleting iDo saves and deletes information immediately after you hit ‘Save’ or confirm a ‘Delete’. Note: There is no recycle bin or ‘undo.’

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Required Fields Text boxes and drop-downs with a blue left edge are required fields and you cannot leave these fields blank. After all required fields are entered the ‘Save’ button will become enabled:

Note Fields Certain windows have large, empty white boxes (typically located toward the bottom of the window) where you may type in any notes or information not directly required by iDo but worth saving.

Clients

In iDo, clients are considered individuals, couples, organizations or companies requiring your services for planning their special event(s). As they may have annual events requiring your services, clients can have multiple contracts. Keep track of important contact information, including names, mailing and billing addresses, phone numbers, e-mail address and web site.

Track the types of clients. You can customize your client groups based on the type of event you will be planning. The Client Type dropdown is customizable by clicking on the pencil icon.

Track the status of your clients. Active clients are those whose events are currently in the planning stage. Inactive clients do not currently have events in the planning stage. Leads are clients who you have contacted but who have not yet required your services. Use client status for mass e-mails and/or mailings regarding your business.

In the bottom half of the Clients screen, you may keep notes in the client’s Notebook.

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Adding New Clients

Click Add new client and enter the information for the client. The following fields are required:

• Client Name • Type: this list comes pre-loaded, but

you may click to add, edit or delete more types

• Status: Active, Inactive or Lead • Primary: The name of the person

who you are most likely to contact concerning the contract and occasions involved. After entering his/her name, click the small triangle to the right of the field to quickly identify this person as who you would ‘Bill to’.

To continue adding new clients, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

For quick snapshot of the client’s contact information, click Print and a report is generated.

Note: When you delete a client, you are deleting all information throughout iDo that is associated with that client. This is an irreversible process and you may not undo your deletion.

E-mailing Clients

iDo helps facilitate the creation of a large e-mail address list. You will need to use your preferred e-mail client to create and send the e-mail.

Select the client(s) you wish to e-mail and click E-mail client(s).

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To send the message via your default e-mail client (such as Microsoft Outlook), click New E-mail Message.

To send the message via another e-mail client (such as Yahoo or Hotmail), click Copy Addresses and then paste using your preferred e-mail client.

Contracts

‘Contracts’ represents the documentation of securing clients for planning services for the event. Each contract has a unique identification number. You may find it beneficial to track when contracts were mailed and signed, which user was responsible for securing the contract, the client’s budget for the event, the total projected cost of your services via flat, hourly or percentage-of rates, and the type of planning package the client selects.

The Contracts screen is a split-screen: the contracts are listed at the top, and important information related to the contracts is listed at the bottom in tabs. Tabs include Questionnaire, Occasions, Timesheets, Expenses, Invoices and Payments Received.

The selected tab will appear bold (as Occasions appears below). Any information you add in this bottom half of the Contracts screen depends on which tab is selected.

The contract status is denoted by one of the following icons:

Unsigned Contract

Signed Contract

In the lower left portion of the Contracts screen, iDo gives you a quick snapshot of the invoicing history of this contract. The green marker denotes payments received and the orange marker denotes payments due.

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Adding New Contracts

To add a new contract, click Contracts and click Add new contract. The ‘Contract #’ field is automatically populated, but you may edit as necessary. Duplicate contract numbers may not be saved in iDo.

• Click the ‘Active’ box if the contract is current. Note: If this box is unchecked, the contract will not appear in dropdown menus throughout iDo.

• Enter the ‘Sent’ and ‘Signed’ dates if applicable. Note: Uncheck the box to denote no date has been assigned.

• If you offer a variety of planning ‘packages’, click on the pencil icon to list them under the dropdown.

• Select how the client will be billed for their contract—flat rate, hourly rate or percentage of budget. If you select ‘% of budget’, enter the client’s ‘budget’ amount. This will activate the ‘percentage’ field. Enter the percentage as well, and the ‘contract amount’ will automatically be populated. If you select ‘hourly rate’, enter the amount you charge per hour. This will activate the ‘number of hours’ field. Enter the number of hours you will charge for this contract, and the ‘contract amount’ will automatically be populated.

• Enter the contract amount—the amount that you and the client agreed upon.

When finished, click Save.

Track the amount of hours spent working on a particular client’s occasion in Timesheets. You may assign timesheets to invoices.

The Print… button becomes enabled after you initially save the contract. When you open the contract and click Print…, iDo creates the contract.

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Creating Contracts

Disclaimer: Elm Software does not practice law and does not give legal advice. Please contact an attorney if you need to create a contract from scratch.

To create a contract using iDo, you must first create a contract template with customized iDo contract fields. A contract template is a Microsoft Word document (with a .doc extension—not a .docx) that is the backbone for your printed contracts. For each contract package that you offer, you may want to create a unique contract template specific to that package. These contract templates must be placed in the database folder.

When your contract template is properly set up with contract fields (mentioned below), iDo will automatically populate these contract fields with information you have already entered in iDo, which speeds up the process of creating a contract. When iDo creates a contract, it first takes a copy of the template and places it in the client’s folder in the ‘Reports folder’ (Reports > ‘Client Name’ > ‘Contract Name’). Then, iDo searches for the contract fields and replaces them with corresponding iDo data. For instance, if ‘Doe-Jones’ is the client’s name, iDo will search the contract template for <CLIENT_NM> and replace it with ‘Doe-Jones’. These contract fields (<CLIENT_NM>, etc.) need to be entered into your contract template where you would like the information to appear.

Contract fields should:

• Begin with ‘<’ • Exist in ALL CAPS • Contain no spaces, and • End with ‘>’

There are two types of contract fields:

• iDo-generated • Custom

iDo-Generated Contract Fields What Appears in Printed Contract

<CLIENT_NM> Client’s name (ex: Doe-Jones)

<PRIMARY_CONTACT_NM> Client’s primary contact name

<PRIMARY_ADDRESS_LINE1> Client’s primary address line 1



<BILLING_CONTACT_NM> Client’s billing contact name

<BILLING_ADDRESS_LINE1> Client’s billing address line 1

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<CONTRACT_NB> Contract number

<HOURLY_RATE_NB> Contract hourly rate (Ex: $45.00)

<HOURS_NB> Contract hours

<CONTRACT_PACKAGE_TX> Contract package

<CONTRACT_RATE_TX> Contract rate (Ex: ‘Flat’, ‘Hourly’, ‘% of budget’)

<PERCENTAGE_NB> Contract percentage of contract

<CONTRACT_AMOUNT_NB> Contract amount to be billed

You may want to add your own custom fields by clicking ‘Edit Fields’ on the Contract form (the Options form appears). An example of a custom field is <EFFECTIVE_FROM_DATE>. In iDo, you would then enter the effective from date for the particular contract and then when you print the contract, the corresponding information will appear.

To create a contract template:

1. Open Microsoft Word. Enter your company’s contract information as you would like it to appear when printed and sent to a client (if you have a document that you currently use for contracts, use this document).

2. Insert iDo Contract fields within the document. 3. Save this document where your database is located. The default location for the database is

located in C:\Elm Software\iDoWPE\Database. When you are printing a contract, you will need to select the appropriate contract template to use.

Questionnaire

You may find it helpful to get a quick snapshot of how your clients envision the event you will be planning for them. Customize a ‘master questionnaire’ to include questions you will be asking your clients. Save responses for a particular client’s contract by filling out the questionnaire.

Edit Master Questionnaire

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Questionnaire tab.

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Then, click Edit master questionnaire. A new window opens.

Add, edit and/or delete questions for the master questionnaire. Use the commands located above the Question box. To continue adding more questions, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save when you are finished.

Add, edit and/or delete responses for the master questionnaire. To add a response to a question, first select the respective question and click Add above the response grid. To continue adding more responses to the same question, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save when you are finished.

Note: You may also add responses to another question by selecting a different question using the dropdown menu.

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Set the order of how questions and responses appear. Select a question or response and move it up and down the list by clicking the up and down arrows, respectively. This will affect how they appear as you fill out the questionnaires and when you print reports for completed questionnaires.

Fill Out Master Questionnaire

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Questionnaire tab.

Then, click Fill out questionnaire. A new window opens.

In the Questionnaire box, select the response(s) and click >>. The response(s) will appear on the right-hand side.

Note: To remove response(s) when filling out the questionnaire, select the response(s) you would like to remove and click <<.

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Add notes about a response by clicking and typing in the field to the right of the response.

Occasions

An event secured by contract may have multiple occasions associated with it. For example, under the ‘Doe-Jones’ wedding contract, you may be responsible for planning the engagement party, rehearsal dinner, wedding, etc., all requiring separate contact lists, invitations, checklists, budgets, etc. Add as many occasions as required to meet your clients’ needs.

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Selecting Occasions

On the iDo Homepage, the long, gray bar in the middle of the page indicates which occasion is active. Click on this bar to open the Select an Occasion window. Select the desired occasion and click Select Occasion.

When working from one any of the main pages devoted to occasions (Contacts, Invitations, RSVPs, Attendees, Gifts, Checklists, Budget, Vendors, Timelines, Notebook), select an occasion by clicking the occasion name located in the yellow bar.

Adding New Occasions

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Occasions tab.

Then, click Add new occasion. A new window opens.

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Type in a brief description of the occasion and select information from any drop-down menus.

• Check the box if the occasion is ‘Active’. Note: if unchecked, this occasion will not appear in dropdown menus throughout iDo.

• Enter the start and end times for the occasion.

• Enter the client’s budget for this occasion. This amount will help create default category estimates in the budget section for this occasion.

To continue adding occasions to the client’s contract, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Timesheets

Track how much time you and your colleagues spend working on a specific contract. This is important for hourly rate contracts, as timesheets identify how much to bill the respective client. Depending on your needs, time entered in timesheets may or may not be added onto invoices. Timesheets can also give you baseline information for projecting costs for future contracts.

Adding Timesheets

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Timesheet tab.

Then, click Add new timesheet.

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Type and/or select the appropriate information, including the date, a brief description of the timesheet, the number of hours worked on the contract, if the time was billable or not, if the time was working for the client or the company, etc.

To continue adding new timesheets, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Assign timesheets to Invoices.

Note: you cannot edit or delete a timesheet itemized on an invoice that is ‘sent’ or ‘paid’.

Expenses

Expenses are purchases you may make toward a contract that require reimbursement by the client. For example, you may purchase favors for a client who will be paying you for them. Expenses will also appear as transactions under Finances. You may assign expenses to an invoice.

Adding New Expenses

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Expenses tab.

Then, click Add new expense.

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Type and select the appropriate information.

• The ‘Category’ field is inaccessible here—expenses entered for a contract will always fall under the category ‘Wedding/Event Planner’.

• Click the plus to add a new vendor. The vendor will automatically be added to the Master vendor list.

• Select the user that entered this expense in iDo.

To continue adding new timesheets for the client’s contract, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Only add expenses here if you have purchased something on behalf of a client and expect to be reimbursed by the client. All other expenses should be considered as transactions and should be added under Finances.

You may add new vendors when adding new expenses. Click in the ‘To Vendor’ drop-down menu.

Note: you cannot edit or delete an expense itemized on an invoice that is marked as ‘sent’.

Invoices

Bill the client for contractual amounts, hours worked and expenses incurred using invoices. Timesheets and expenses can be assigned if you would like to bill the client for them. Likewise, they may be unassigned. The contractual amount + assigned timesheet amount(s) + assigned expense amount(s) = the total amount to be billed on a given invoice.

iDo assigns each invoice a unique identification number. Each invoice identification number has two numbers: the respective contract number, and the invoice number. You may find it beneficial to send the client multiple invoices over the entire planning period to break up costs. You may also need to add invoices, as additional expenses may be incurred after the client has paid all of the initial contractual installments.

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When you edit an invoice and mark it as being sent, you are indicating that you have mailed the invoice to the client and are awaiting payment. On the Contracts screen (under the Invoices tab), iDo breaks up invoices by ‘Sent’ and ‘Unsent’. You cannot edit or delete timesheets or expenses itemized on invoices that are marked as sent.

Adding New Invoices

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Invoices tab.

Then, click Add new invoice.

Type and select the appropriate information, including a title for the invoice, the name of the person you are billing, his/her address, sent date, due date, terms of the invoice (editable dropdown) and a contractual amount to be billed in this invoice.

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If you would like to assign Timesheets or Expenses to this invoice, click the appropriate tab.

Note: when initially creating an invoice, you will not see any timesheets or expenses in under these tabs – you must first assign them.

Click Assign/Unassign. A new window opens.

Under ‘Unassigned’, select the items you would like to assign to this invoice and click the >> button. The items will now appear under ‘Assigned’.

To unassign items, select the ‘Assigned’ items you would like to unassign and click the << button. The items will now appear under ‘Unassigned’.

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Click OK. The window closes and the assigned timesheet and/or expense totals will appear in the invoice calculations.

To continue adding new timesheets for the client’s contract, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Customize your invoice reports in Options (iDo System Settings) by changing the colors and font style, adding individualized signatures, customizing the page setup, etc. To incorporate your logo into the invoice report, please contact Elm Software.

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Payments Received

iDo allows you to keep track of any payments you receive from a client. It could include receiving an invoice paid in full or partial payments. All payments received are considered ‘Money In’ transactions.

Adding New Payments Received

Click Contracts.

In the upper half of the screen, click the corresponding contract. In the lower half of the screen, click the Payments Received tab.

Then, click Add new payment.

Make sure that the proper occasion is selected.

Enter the date received, category of the payment, a description of the payment, amount and person entering the payment received.

To continue adding new payments, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

All payments will also appear in Finances.

Note: You may also enter payments received as ‘Money In’ transactions in Finances.

Click ‘Invoices’. The invoice totals will appear with green or orange shading. Green indicates amounts that have been paid, and orange indicates amounts due. This gives you a visual representation of the status of your invoices and whether or not they have been paid in full.

Likewise, the ‘Contract summary box’ in the lower left portion of the Contracts page will appear with the same color coding.

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Finances

All information regarding money coming in and money going out is stored in Finances. Enter all business-related money transactions here. For instance, advertising expenses, computer equipment, office supplies, etc. will be entered as ‘Money Out’ transactions. View transactions by year or by month. Group transactions by Category. Sort transactions by clicking on a column header.

Transaction Type

Money In

Money Out

Transaction Categories

For tax purposes, assign transactions to one of the following 11 categories preloaded in iDo Wedding and Event Professional Edition:

• Advertising • Business Travel Expenses • Depletion • Equipment Rent • Insurance • Legal/Fees • Miscellaneous • Other Rent • Repairs/Maintenance • Supplies • Taxes/Licenses

You may add, edit and delete transaction categories in Options (with the exception of Wedding/Event Planner, as all invoices will be automatically assigned to this category).

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Adding New Transactions

Click Finances and click Add new transaction.

Enter all appropriate information:

• Indicate the type of transaction, whether it is income (Money In) or an expense (Money Out).

• For Money Out transactions, check the box if you plan on billing the client for the expense. To change the client, double-click any of the blue hyperlinks. This expense will also appear in Contracts under the Expenses tab.

• Select a category for the transaction. Edit these categories in Options.

• Enter the date and amount of the transaction. The currency is based on your computer’s regional settings found in your computer’s Control Panel.

• Indicate the person who entered the transaction.

Calendar

In Calendar, keep track of your daily appointments. Add, edit and delete, appointments and reminders as necessary. Assign recurrence if the appointments are daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Customize the view of your calendar by clicking on the ‘View’: Day, Work Week, Week or Month.

Calendar Options

Click Calendar options and select the days and times of your business week. Indicate if you would like to use iDo’s Calendar or your Microsoft Outlook calendar as your data source. Filter your Calendar view by clicking on the work week link under ‘View’.

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Calendar Labels

Mark different appointments with color-coded labels for ease of identification, such as ‘Important,’ ‘Business,’ ‘Personal,’ etc. Click Edit calendar labels and customize your coding system to suit your needs. A label legend appears in the lower left corner of the Calendar screen.

Calendar labels change their background color. This additional color coding helps in identifying different types of appointments. While you may edit the calendar labels, you may not edit the actual colors.

Adding Appointments

Click Calendar and do one of the following:

• Click Add new appointment. • Click on the appropriate day (on the right-hand side of the screen) and click Add new

appointment. This will automatically enter the date for the appointment.

If you would like to be reminded of the appointment, make sure to check the ‘Reminder’ checkbox and select when you would like to be reminded. Wherever you are in iDo at that time, your reminder will pop-up.

The color of the left edge of appointment boxes can be altered to further denote the type of appointment. When adding an appointment, select the ‘Show Time As’ drop-down and select one of the following four fixed patterns:

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• Free • Tentative • Busy • Out of Office

When adding an appointment that will occur more than once, select ‘Recurrence.’

Click Save. An appointment box will then appear in the calendar view.

Editing Appointments Click Calendar and select the day of the appointment you wish to edit in the calendar strip on the right side of the screen. Click Edit appointment. Or, you may edit the appointment from within the calendar.

To change the start time of an appointment or change the day of the appointment, hover over the left edge of the appointment box to reveal the move cursor. Then, click and drag the appointment box to the desired start time (see below – ‘Day’ view).

To shorten or lengthen the time of an appointment within the calendar, hover the mouse over either the upper or lower edge of the appointment box to reveal the resize cursor. Click and drag the appointment box up or down until your desired end time is reached (see below – ‘Day’ view).

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To edit the name of the appointment within the calendar, click on the name of the appointment (not the time). A cursor will appear. Type in the new name of the appointment (see below – ‘Week’ view).

To edit the ‘Show Time As’ label of an appointment within the calendar, select the appointment and right-click the name of the appointment. Select ‘Show Time As’ and then select either Free, Tentative, Busy or Out of Office. The appointment will now appear with the selected color/pattern when viewing by ‘Day’ or ‘Work Week’.

To edit the ‘Label’ of an appointment within the calendar, select the appointment and right-click the name of the appointment. Select ‘Label’ and then select the appropriate label. The appointment.

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Users

iDo Wedding and Event Professional is a network-ready application that allows multiple users to be logged on at the same time. To enable this, ‘admins’ have the ability to add colleagues or ‘users’ in iDo. You must always have one user designated as an ‘admin’. All other users must be assigned permissions. If a user is linked to a contract, expense, transaction or notebook entry, that user may not be deleted.

Adding Users

Click Users, and click Add new user.

Type and/or select the appropriate information.

To continue adding new users, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Permissions

Concerning permissions, users may need access or ‘permission’ to certain parts of iDo, such as ‘Occasions,’ but users may need to be restricted from other parts of iDo, such as Finances for example. Admins may assign users their own unique permissions.

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Assigning and Unassigning User Permissions

To assign permissions to a user, click Users and select the user to whom you are assigning permissions. Under ‘Permissions’, check the boxes of the permissions you wish the user to have.

To unassign permissions, select the appropriate user and make sure that the permissions checkboxes are unchecked.

Options

Options contains all information found under drop-down menus throughout iDo as well as iDo System Settings. You can customize the drop-down lists according to your needs and preferences. Some options are only customizable through the Options page.

Drop-Down Lists

Any drop-down with a pencil icon is a customizable drop-down. You may edit these lists to meet your business needs.

Customizable Drop-Down Suggestions for Usage

Checklists for the bride, groom, photographer, etc.

Client Types wedding, business, social, etc.

Contract Fields <RESPONSIBLE PARTY>, <EFFECTIVE_FROM>, <EFFECTIVE_TO>, etc.

Contract Packages silver, gold, platinum, diamond, etc.

Invoice Terms due upon receipt, net 30 days, etc.

Meals chicken, beef, vegetarian, etc.

Note: Meals are unique per occasion.

Roles bride, groom, father of the bride, mother of the groom, etc.

Titles Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc.

Transaction Categories advertising, business travel expenses, insurance, etc.

Vendor Categories officiant, florist, videographer, etc.

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Customizing Drop-Down Menus

To add a drop-down selection to a drop-down menu, click Options. Under ‘Option’, click the

name of the drop-down menu to which you will add an entry, then click Add. Type in the new

information. To continue adding new selections to the same option, click Save and New.

Otherwise, click Save.

To edit a drop-down selection, click Options. Under ‘Option’, click the drop-down menu containing the selection you wish to edit. Click the selection you wish to edit and click Edit. Type in the new information and click Save.

Note: You cannot add, edit or delete the name of the drop-down, and you cannot delete a drop-down selection that is already being used.

iDo System Settings

In iDo System Settings you can edit settings that affect the iDo system for all users.

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My Company (1 item) Enter your tax EIN number. Clients (1 item) The Association Method is either Automatic or Manual. Automatic means that every new client is automatically assigned to all users in iDo. Manual means that you will have to manually assign clients to the desired users. Contracts (2 items) Enter the amount you would bill for a flat rate and an hourly rate. This information helps preload invoices. Budget (1 item) Identify the default ‘Paid by’ category that is used each time you add a new budget item. Notebook (1 item) Set ‘Use Shared Folder’ to True or False. True will copy all ‘attachments’ that are assigned to Notes to a folder named ‘Shared’ next to the iDo Database folder. Report (9 items) Use this system setting to customize your reports (see invoice system settings below). Set your page, header and footer margins. Identify the colors to be used for cell shading and borders (coordinate these colors with your logo, if applicable). Invoice (12 items) Use this system setting to customize your invoices. Set your page, header and footer margins. Identify ‘make checks payable to’ and your invoice ‘sign-off’. Customize sign-off and footer font, including bold and/or italic font. Google® Maps (1 item) Specify the country that Google® Maps will use for identifying the locations of Vendors, Hotels, etc.

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Contacts

Contacts are all individuals your clients have brainstormed for their guest list for a given occasion. Any person who you could possibly invite to the respective occasion should be entered in Contacts. All contacts must be added or imported as individuals (not as couples or families). This helps you track e-mail addresses, names of guests invited by the contacts, meals, gifts and roles more efficiently. Be sure to select the appropriate occasion before adding contacts.

All typed contact information will be used for proper wording on wedding invitations and placecards. When adding contacts, type in names and addresses as you would like them appear on a wedding invitation, avoiding abbreviations and using proper capitalization, spacing and titles (such as Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr.). For example, use Street (instead of St.), Pennsylvania (instead of PA), etc.

For invitation purposes, group the contacts into various categories as you add them. Group them into ‘Friend of Bride’, ‘Friend of Groom’ and ‘Friend of Both of Us’. Gauge the number of invites from the bride’s side and the groom’s side. Group them into an A-list and a B-list. Send invitations to A-list contacts first, and based on the number of acceptances or regrets from A-list RSVPs, you can decide how many contacts to invite from the B-list. Also, identify the contacts coming from out of town for flight and hotel reservation purposes.

Adding New Contacts

Select the appropriate occasion, click Contacts and click Add new contact.

Type in the fields of information and make selections from the drop-down menus (see graphic below).

Each contact represents one individual. Do not add a couple, family or group as one contact.

Always enter the contact’s name and address as you would like it to appear on the outer envelope of the invitation. All typed contact information will be used for proper wording on wedding invitations and placecards.

Avoid abbreviations. Use proper capitalization, spacing and titles (such as Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr.). For example, use Street (instead of St.), Pennsylvania (instead of PA), etc.

Click Full Name to get a more detailed look at how the contact’s information has been entered.

If the client wishes to use a personal wording on the inner envelope and/or placecards, enter the

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contact’s first name or nickname in Nickname.

Categorization

A-B List: This category assists with the invitation process.

Friend of: This category assists with seating charts, as well as those in Elm Software’s Tabula Rasa.

Role: Assign roles to those intimately involved with the occasion, primarily for reporting methods and communicating with vendors.

Child: Contacts marked as ‘Child’ helps with statistics and meal assignments, as well as seating charts for Elm Software’s Tabula Rasa.

Out of Towner: Contacts marked as ‘Out of Towner’ are automatically added to Flights in Attendees. This is to assist with travel arrangements.

To continue adding new contacts, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

When you click Save and New, the previously entered address remains in the box so that you may continue to add contacts living at the same address.

Initially, the new contact will appear at the bottom of the list. When you return to the Contracts page, you will find it in alphabetical order.

Import

Another way to add contacts is via import. Your clients may already have numerous contacts’ names and addresses saved in their computer’s default e-mail application address book. Save time—have your clients export their address book into a CSV file, e-mail that document to you as an attachment, and then import the CSV file into iDo.

There are three primary ways of importing contacts from an e-mail address book:

1. Importing from another Occasion in iDo.

2. Importing from Microsoft Outlook®.

3. Importing from a ‘Comma Separated Value’ (CSV) file.

When importing, you may find duplicate records to be imported. iDo handles duplicate attendee records to be imported in three ways:

• Replace duplicates with items imported: The information from the CSV file or iDo will overwrite what has already been added to or imported into iDo.

• Allow duplicates to be created: All information from the CSV file or iDo will be added to regardless if a duplicate is found.

• Do not import duplicate items: Duplicate records will be excluded from the import process.


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Importing Contacts from Another Occasion

Select the appropriate occasion, click Contacts, and click Import contacts.

Click the radio button ‘Another Occasion’, and under the drop-down menu, select the occasion from which you wish to import contacts.

Click Continue.

Select which contacts are to be imported into this occasion. Contacts to be imported into iDo have a checked box next to them.

• To individually select a contact, click the checkbox to the left of the contact’s name.

• To select all contacts, click Select All.

• To deselect all selected contacts, click De-select All.

Duplicates: identical contact names already entered into this occasion are marked with an exclamation point. To avoid importing duplicate contacts into the occasion, click Remove Duplicates. To replace duplicate contact information with new imported information, click Replace Duplicates. To import duplicates, click Allow Duplicates.

Once contacts to be imported are selected, click Import Contacts. Contacts are automatically saved in the occasion.

Importing Contacts from Microsoft Outlook

Select the appropriate occasion, click Contacts, and click Import contacts.

Click the radio button ‘Microsoft Outlook Contacts’ and click Continue.

An Alert window instructs you to click ‘Allow access for’ and ‘Yes’ when the Microsoft Outlook window appears.

Click Load Outlook Contacts. The Microsoft Window appears. Click ‘Allow access for’ and ‘Yes’.

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The iDo import screen appears.





Duplicates: identical contact names already entered into this occasion are marked with an exclamation point. To avoid importing duplicate contacts into the occasion, click Remove Duplicates. To replace duplicate contact information with new imported information, click Replace Duplicates. To import duplicates, click Allow Duplicates.


Importing Contacts from a CSV File

Create a CSV file:

a. Attach the template CSV file C:\Elm Software\iDoWPE\Templates\Contacts.csv to an e-mail and send it to your client.

b. Instruct your client enter all contact information relative to their occasions and save the file. All contacts must be entered as individuals (not as couples, families or groups) and as you would like them to appear for reporting purposes.

c. Instruct your client to e-mail the completed CSV file to you as an attachment and save this file onto your computer.

Open your preferred e-mail address book and locate importing and exporting.

In iDo, click Contacts and click Import contacts.

Click the radio button ‘CSV file’ and click Continue.

Click Specify the CSV file import. Browse for the file that your client e-mailed to you and click Open.





Duplicates: identical contact names already entered into this occasion are marked with an exclamation point. To avoid importing duplicate contacts into the occasion, click Remove Duplicates. To replace duplicate contact information with new imported information, click

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Replace Duplicates. To import duplicates, click Allow Duplicates.


Export

Export a client’s list of iDo contacts to a CSV file and e-mail it to them so that they have up-to-date information for all of their contacts. Once exported, they may import the contacts into their preferred e-mail address book.

Exporting Contacts to a CSV File:

Click Contacts and click Export contacts. A new window opens.

iDo names a destination for the CSV file for you. Take note of where it is saved. This is where the file will be created once exported. To rename or resave it, click Change. To open the file after exporting, click Open file after completion.

Click Export.

E-mail the exported CSV file as an attachment to your client.

Instruct your client to open their preferred e-mail address book, locate importing and exporting, select importing using a CSV file, and import the e-mailed CSV file into their preferred e-mail address book. iDo contacts will then be saved into their address book.

E-mail

Entering contacts’ e-mail addresses helps with quick dissemination of information. When planning your clients’ occasions, you may need to e-mail certain contacts about directions, rehearsal dinner details, measurements, hotel information, etc.

iDo facilitates the creation of bulk e-mails. iDo is not an e-mail application.

E-mailing Contacts

Select the appropriate occasion and click Contacts.

Select the contact(s) you would like to e-mail and click E-mail contact. A gray box will appear.

Note: You must first enter e-mail addresses for the contacts you wish to e-mail. Edit contacts as necessary.

Determine if you will be e-mailing from Microsoft Outlook or a preferred online e-mail client.

To e-mail via Outlook, click New E-mail Message. An e-mail message will appear using your computer’s default e-mail application.

To e-mail via a different e-mail application, click Copy Addresses and paste them in a new message

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using your preferred online e-mail client.

Invitations

Once you have compiled a thorough master contacts list, you may assign contacts to specific invitations.

Invitations are created one at a time, and you can add multiple contacts to one invitation. A contact cannot be added to more than one invitation. There is a ‘guest checkbox’ for contacts allowed to bring a guest. When checked and saved, the guest will be added to Contacts. Once or if you determine his/her name, you can always go back to Contacts to edit the information.

Track if and when invitations (with addresses) were “sent” or mailed. When an invitation is marked as ‘sent’, it becomes locked so the information cannot be changed.

Adding New Invitations

Select the appropriate occasion, click Invitations, and click Add new invitation.

Select the contact(s) to be added to the current invitation.

Contacts on Invitation: Drag the selected contacts from the ‘Contacts to be Invited’ list to ‘Contacts on Invitation’.

When you drag a single contact, the ‘bring a Guest’ checkbox will be checked. Uncheck the box if you do not want the contact to bring a guest to the occasion.

As rules of etiquette typically state that a husband’s name precedes the wife’s on an invitation, iDo defines a ‘primary’ contact to be listed first on the invitations for wording purposes. When inviting married couples, drag the husband’s name before the wife’s, setting the husband as “primary.” When you drag a couple, family or group, make sure that the head male is listed at the top of ‘Contacts to be Invited’ for appropriate etiquette for envelope wording. Use the green arrows to sort the order of the contacts on the invitation.

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If you drag an incorrect contact name into the ‘Contacts on Invitation’ box, simply drag it back to ‘Contacts to be Invited’. iDo automatically alphabetizes the name within the list.

Note: You may add new contacts and edit contacts here without going back to the Contacts screen by clicking the respective hyperlinks in this window.

Envelope wording: As you create invitations, you can preview sample envelope wordings that iDo suggests based on how you entered the contact information. ‘Auto-suggest wording’ is checked by default. This setting determines whether iDo will automatically suggest Outer and Inner Envelope wording based on the information that you have entered (click the hyperlink ‘Formal’ or ‘Personal’). Uncheck ‘Auto-suggest wording’ if you wish to enter your own custom wording (for example, you could type in ‘The Smith Family’ if this is more to your liking).

If no address has been entered, type an address in the box where you find ‘(Double-click to enter Primary Address)’.

Properties: The RSVP ID is the number iDo assigns to each invitation that should be gently written on the back or inside the flap of the corresponding response cards. This is done to track responses should attendees not write their names on the response cards. This number is automatically generated based on the number of invitations that have already been created for this occasion.

Check the ‘Invitation Sent’ box if you have already mailed this invitation.

Click Create Invitation. The ‘Add New Invitation’ window remains open so that you may continue adding new invitations.

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Sorting RSVP IDs

Once you have added all of the invitations (before you mail invitations), click Sort RSVP IDs. This reassigns RSVP IDs to each unsent invitation based on the invitation’s alphabetical order.

Please refer to the chart below. Before the sort, invitations were added manually in non-alphabetic order. Also note that one of the invitations has been sent. RSVP IDs of sent invitations are not affected by the sort. Avoid sending invitations before you sort and lock them.

After the sort, RSVP IDs were reassigned alphabetically to unsent invitations.

Before Sort After Sort

RSVP ID Invitation Sent RSVP ID Invitation Sent

1 Cartwright, Chris 1 Adams, Audrey

2 Adams, Audrey 2 Cartwright, Chris

3 DuPre, Didi 3 DuPre, Didi

4 Miknis, Myrna Yes 4 Miknis, Myrna Yes

5 Gallop, Gertrude 5 Ertel, Edith

6 Ertel, Edith 6 Gallop, Gertrude

Locking RSVP IDs

Immediately before addressing and sending the invitations, click Lock RSVP IDs. This ensures that mistakes in assigning RSVP IDs do not occur. Locking RSVP IDs locks the entire list, not just one RSVP ID.

Unlocking RSVP IDs

If you want to re-sort your RSVP ID list, you can unlock the RSVP IDs.

Composing Invitations

Use this feature to assist your clients with wording for their actual invitation stationery. This wording can be printed in Microsoft Word should your clients wish to create their own invitations. iDo utilizes specific attention to wedding invitation wording, but you are free to edit as necessary.

1. Click Invitations.

2. Click Compose invitation.

3. Select the parents of the bride and groom. If a parent is remarried, click ‘remarried’ and select the spouse under the drop-down menu or click ‘Add new contact’ if not already entered.

4. Under ‘Questions’, select the appropriate answers in the drop-down menus and enter any text regarding your wedding date, time, location, etc. Your invitation wording suggestion will appear on the right, and ‘Preview’ will be selected.

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5. To edit, click on the invitation wording text and type your information.

6. Click Save.

Note: To view a saved invitation wording, click “Saved” located above the invitation wording box on the right side of the screen. You may save only one invitation wording at a time.

RSVPs

RSVPs are response cards the clients’ contacts complete indicating who is or is not coming to the occasion. In iDo, invitations marked as sent are automatically saved in RSVPs.

RSVPs that have not yet been received appear in bold on the RSVPs screen. When the first response card is received in the mail, click RSVPs, double-click the corresponding RSVP in iDo to ‘open’, mark it as received and record who is attending the occasion with the checkboxes and/or what meal they requested under the drop-down menu. The attending contacts will appear in Attendees.

If an invited contact is bringing a guest and has written his/her name on the response card, click the hyperlink for his/her name and edit it.

Statistics regarding response rate are collected and displayed on the main RSVPs screen. Filter this information as necessary, and use this information to make decisions about sending out more invitations.

Customizing Meals

Many clients will want to identify specific meal selections for their attendees. iDo allows you to identify meals per individual attendee. Customize meals for each occasion and mark the meal selections when you open and receive RSVPs.

1. Select the appropriate occasion, click RSVPs and click Customize meals (this opens Options). 2. Click Add and type in the name of the meal you would like to add. To continue adding more meals,

click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save. 3. Select a meal and click Edit to change the name of the meal. 4. Click Close when you have finished customizing meals.

Attendees

Attendees are invited contacts coming to the occasion. Contacts marked as ‘Attending’ in RSVPs are automatically shown in Attendees. Vendors attending the reception are not considered attendees since

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they typically do not receive invitations, but be sure to note their meals when you print the ‘Attendees (Meals) Report’. Meal statistics are easily accessible under ‘Filter’.

Flights

Attendees marked as ‘out-of-town’ will appear in Flights. You may need to track flight arrangements for these Attendees. Add as many flights as necessary. Label each flight individually.

Adding New Flights 1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Attendees and click Flights. 2. Click Add new flight. 3. Type and/or select the appropriate flight information. 4. To continue adding new flights, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Assigning Attendees to Flights To board attendees onto a flight:

1. Click Attendees. 2. Click Flights. 3. Under ‘Attendees to be boarded’, locate the attendees you wish to assign. 4. Drag the attendees to the desired flight, either under ‘Airspace’ or ‘All Flights’.

To remove an attendee from a flight:

1. Click Attendees. 2. Click Flights. 3. Under ‘All Flights’, locate the attendees you wish to remove. 4. Drag the attendees under ‘Attendees to be boarded’.

To move an attendee from one flight to another:

1. Click Attendees. 2. Click Flights. 3. Under ‘All Flights’, locate the attendees you wish to move. 4. Drag the attendees to another flight, either under ‘Airspace’ or ‘All Flights’.

Hotels

Attendees marked as ‘out-of-town’ will also appear in Hotels. You may need to track hotel accommodations for attendees. It may also be helpful to capture a map of the geographical area surrounding the reception facility and surrounding hotels. Add as many hotels to the map as necessary. Label each hotel individually.

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Capturing a Map 1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Attendees, click Hotels and click Capture map. The

‘Capture Map’ window opens with Google® Maps as the mapping web site by default (set your default mapping country in Options).

2. Select the mapping web site and vendor address to be mapped under the drop-down menus.

3. Click Show Selection. The iDo ‘Capture Map’ box (red outlined box with a central red circle) appears. You may hide this box by clicking Hide Selection.

4. Drag the red circle and drop it onto the mapped address in the map.

5. Click Capture Map. The ‘Capture Map’ window closes and the selected map appears in Hotels.

6. Add hotels to the map.

Adding Hotels To add a new hotel:

1. Click Attendees.

2. Click Hotels.

3. Click Add new hotel.

4. Type and/or select the appropriate hotel information.

5. To continue adding new hotels, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Assigning Attendees to Hotels To assign attendees to hotels:

1. Click Attendees.

2. Click Hotels.

3. Under ‘Attendees to be housed’, locate the attendee you wish to house.

4. Drag the attendee to the desired hotel, either under ‘Map’ or ‘All Hotels’.

To remove attendees from a hotel:

1. Click Attendees.

2. Click Hotels.

3. Under ‘All Hotels’, locate the attendee you wish to remove.

4. Drag the attendee under ‘Attendees to be housed’.

To move attendees from one hotel to another:

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1. Click Attendees.

2. Click Hotels.

3. Under ‘All Hotels’, locate the attendee you wish to move.

4. Drag the attendee to another hotel, either under ‘Map’ or ‘All Hotels’.

Table Layout

All Attendees will appear in Table Layout. Create a seating chart for the occasions. Design a table layout and place attendees at tables. For professionals who are looking for a seating chart program to design to-scale layouts, please download Elm Software’s Tabula Rasa Professional Edition.

First create a layout of the venue’s seating chart, adding as many tables as you need and moving tables around. You can edit and delete tables as necessary. Show the grid to help with precision. If the reception facility has a pre-set layout, re-create it in iDo. Lock the table layout to avoid accidentally moving tables, or unlock your table layout to rearrange tables again.

Second, once you develop the layout, it may be easier to seat attendees if you first give each table labels, or names you give to tables to identify groups of attendees. For example, you may want the ‘Fraternity Friends’ table near the ‘Sorority Friends’ table. Double-click the tables and enter the table label.

Next, seat the attendees. Seated attendees cannot be seated twice at two different tables. For editing purposes, consider emptying or swapping tables. You can also identify which tables are full and which tables need more attendees.

Adding New Tables 1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Attendees, and click Design table layout.

2. Click Add new table.

3. Under the drop-down menu, select the number of new tables to add, the number of seats per table and the shape of the tables you are currently adding.

4. Type in a table label, if desired.

5. Click Save. iDo automatically assigns numbers to tables, starting with the highest number available. As many tables as you added will appear in numeric order (left-to-right under ‘Table Layout’ and top-to-bottom under ‘All Tables’).

Moving Tables Drag the tables to their desired location to make the table layout look like the arrangement of tables at the venue. If the event facility has a pre-set layout, recreate the same layout in iDo.

Tables may be dragged-and-dropped on top of other tables. To locate a hidden table, select the table’s number under ‘All Tables’.

Use the grid dots to help align tables. Show or hide the grid dots by checking the checkbox below ‘Table Layout’.


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To move tables more precisely, select the table you wish to move and use the up-down-left-right arrows.

Once you have created the table layout, click Lock table layout to avoid moving tables around inadvertently.

Seating Attendees

Select the appropriate occasion, click Attendees, and click Design table layout.

Under ‘Attendees to be seated’, select the attendees you wish to seat and drag them to the desired table either under ‘Table Layout’ or ‘All Tables’.

Once an attendee has been seated, his or her name disappears from ‘Attendees to be seated’ and reappears under ‘All Tables’.

If you drag an attendee over a table outlined in green, seats are available and you may seat the attendee there.

If you drag an attendee over a table outlined in red, the table is full and you may not seat the attendee there unless you edit the table and increase the number of seats.

To view the available (green) and full (red) outlines at all times, click the ‘Reveal Status’ checkbox just below ‘Table Layout’.

To ‘unseat’ attendees, select the attendees under ‘All Tables’ and either drag them back to ‘Attendees to be seated’ or drag them to another table.

If you need to remove all the attendees from one table quickly and efficiently, consider emptying the table.

1. Click Attendees.

2. Click Design table layout.

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3. Select the table you wish to empty and click Empty table. Make sure that the table you wish to empty is highlighted yellow.

4. When asked to empty, click Yes.

To empty all tables:

1. Click Attendees.


3. Right-click the table layout.

4. Select ‘Empty all tables’.

5. When asked to empty, click Yes.

Once you empty a table, its attendees disappear from ‘All Tables’ and reappear under ‘Attendees to be seated’.

If you need to quickly exchange one table’s attendees for another’s without having to empty and repopulate each table first, consider swapping tables.

1. Click Attendees.


3. Click Swap tables.

4. Under the drop-down menus, select the two tables you wish to swap. Attendees from Table A are moved to Table B and vice versa.

5. Click Save.

Once you click Swap tables, you can preview the table’s attendees before and after the swap by clicking the buttons below the table boxes. However, once you click Save, the tables’ attendees are automatically swapped. Here is an example of how swapping works:

Before Swap

After Swap

Table 1 - Family Table 23 - Work Table 1 - Work Table 23 - Family

Adams, Audrey Ertel, Edith Ertel, Edith Adams, Audrey

Carlin, Chris Gull, Gertrude Gull, Gertrude Carlin, Chris

DuPre, Didi Miknis, Myrna Miknis, Myrna DuPre, Didi

To search through tables in numeric order, select a table and press the Tab button.

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Tentcards

iDo automatically creates reception tentcard wording for reports and tentcard printing based on the attendees seated within the table layout. iDo interacts directly with Elm Software’s PrintJobs, a printing software program that facilitates tentcard printing as well as envelopes and labels. Elm Software offers tentcard products, the templates of which are pre-loaded in PrintJobs.

To create tentcards in Attendees, seat attendees at tables in the table layout. Next, click Tentcards. Set the etiquette as either formal or personal. Click Refresh tentcards before finalizing your tentcard list as you may have edited the seating arrangements in the table layout.

Gifts

Keep track of gifts given to clients in celebration of their respective occasions, including who gave them and if a thank you note was sent.

When you add a gift, determine how the gift has been given. It may have come from two contacts listed on the same invitation, individual contacts, or people not even entered in Contacts. Add contacts as necessary by first clicking the radio button ‘Contacts’ and then clicking Add new contact. You must manually enter gift descriptions. To continue adding gifts, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Mark gifts as sent to keep track of which thank you notes are in the mail and which ones are still to be completed. Afterwards, you may find it helpful to filter by ‘Notes unsent’.

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Checklists

In Checklists, keep track of tasks that must be completed before the respective occasion occurs. When you first open Checklists for an occasion, you can:

1. Copy a checklist template into Checklists. 2. Add new tasks manually.

Adding Checklist Templates and Tasks

Add multiple checklists templates (by adding, editing and deleting ‘template tasks’) to be used over and over for different occasions throughout iDo. There may be more than one checklist you wish to use for managing a wedding or event, such as a bride’s checklist, a groom’s checklist, a photographer’s checklist, etc. Once you customize the checklist templates, you must first copy them into an occasion should you wish to use them. iDo comes preloaded with a few wedding-related checklist templates.

1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Checklists and click Checklist templates. The Checklists Templates window opens.

2. Above ‘Templates’, click Add, type the name of the checklist you wish to add and click Save. Your new template will automatically be selected.

3. Above ‘Tasks’, click Add, type the name of the first task you wish to add and click Save and New. Continue adding tasks until your checklist template is complete. Task Features:

• Time Frame: Tasks are grouped into time frames based on when they should be started and/or completed. For example, a task in the 10-12 month time frame should be started and/or completed 10-12 months prior to the occasion. Current tasks fall within the current time frame and can be filtered as such. You can assign due dates to tasks. You can also expand and collapse time frames, viewing only what you want to view.

• Task Status: Completed tasks are indicated by a checkmark. Open tasks are not yet completed. You can filter by task status.

4. To exit, click Close.

Copying Checklist Templates

By copying checklist templates, you are assigning these checklists to the respective occasion. Once copied, further customize it to suit the occasion by adding, editing and deleting ‘tasks’, all without altering the template. Continue to fine tune your checklist templates as you develop your business.

1. Select the appropriate occasion and click Checklists. 2. Click Copy templates. 3. Check the boxes for all templates you wish to copy into the occasion. 4. Click Copy.

To switch views from one copied checklist to another, select the appropriate checklist in the drop-down menu below ‘Filter’, located on the left side of the main Checklists screen.

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Click the tabs toward the top of the Checklists page to view either checklists from ‘All Active Occasions’ or checklists ‘Assigned to Occasion’.

Adding New Tasks

Select the appropriate occasion and click Checklists.

Select ‘Assigned to Occasion’.

Note: You may not add tasks if ‘All Active Occasions’ is selected.

Click Add new task.

Enter a task name, Time Frame and Due Date. Check the box if this task has already been ‘Completed’.

To continue adding new tasks, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Your task will appear in the Checklists grid under the appropriate time frame. Click the + or – in the time frame headings to expand or collapse them.

Using the Filter dropdown, select the checklist to which you would like to add a task.

Note: If you first select the checklist, when you go to add a task, the checklist will be pre-selected for you.

Budget

The iDo Budget tracks occasion expenses incurred by your clients. When you first open an occasion’s Budget, you can:

1. Copy budget templates into Budget. 2. Add budget expenses manually

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3. Set estimates.

Set budget category estimates within your clients’ total budget estimate and track budget expenses applied to each category (such as estimates for ‘catering’, ‘photography’, etc.). On the main Budget page, budget categories are listed at the top half of the screen. When a category is selected at the top, its related expenses appear in the lower half of the screen.

Budget Templates

Add multiple budget templates (including budget categories and budget expenses) to be used over and over for different occasions throughout iDo. Only one budget template is allowed per occasion. Once you customize the budget templates, you must copy one into an occasion should you wish to use it. iDo comes preloaded with a default wedding-related budget.

To create a budget template:

1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Budget and click Budget templates. The Budget Template window opens.

2. Above ‘Budget Template’, click Add, type in a name for the new budget template and click Save. 3. Above ‘Category’, click Add, type in a name for the new budget category as well as an estimated

percentage of the total amount budgeted to be spent within that category and click Save and New. Continue adding budget categories to the template until your category list is complete, and click Save.

4. Above ‘Expense’, click Add, type in a name for the new budget expense and click Save and New. Continue adding budget expenses to the template until your expense list is complete, and click Save.

5. To exit, click Close.

Copying Budget Templates

By copying a budget template, you are assigning this budget to the respective occasion. Once copied, further customize it to suit the event (by adding, editing and deleting “categories” and “expenses”) without altering the template. When you edit a category from an occasion’s budget, you are not editing the same category from the budget template.

Once a budget is copied into an occasion, you may not copy another budget template unless you first delete all previous budget categories from the occasion. Continue to fine tune your budget templates as you develop your business.

To copy a budget template into an occasion:

1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Budget and click Copy template. A new window opens. 2. Select the template under the drop-down menu and enter the client’s budget amount for the

occasion. 3. Click Copy.

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Setting Budget Estimates

Determine what your clients’ total budget is for the respective occasion. Help them monitor their expenses throughout the event planning process. Estimates and respective percentages will be displayed.

To set budget estimates for an occasion:

1. Select the appropriate occasion, click Budget and click Set estimates. A new window opens.

2. Enter the client’s budget amount for the occasion. You may also add, edit and delete budget categories here.

3. Click Apply.

Toward the bottom of the Set Estimates window, you will find totals and percentages.

Budget Summary

At the bottom left of the main Budget page, iDo totals expenses and calculates how much money remains based on the total wedding budget estimate. iDo also calculates percentages. Stay alert to how much you have spent and how much you have remaining.

Adding New Budget Categories

Select the appropriate occasion, click Budget and click Add new category.

Enter a name for the category and an estimate (either amount or percentage of budget).

The amount that is ‘remaining to be budgeted’ will automatically be totaled.

To continue adding new categories, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

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Review your category totals and percentages. Edit them as necessary so that the total estimate adds up to the client’s total budgeted amount, or 100%.

Adding New Budget Expenses

Note: Vendors who have already been assigned to the occasion will appear in the dropdown menu when adding budget expenses.

Select the appropriate occasion and click Budget.

Select the appropriate category for this expense and click Add new expense.

Enter a name for the expense item, an estimate amount, actual amount, due date, paid date, vendor and ‘paid by’.

Note: the Paid checkbox must be checked for budget calculations to be updated.

To continue adding new budget expenses, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

When editing a budget expense, first click the appropriate category and then double-click the expense you would like to edit.

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Expenses that are past due appear with a yellow construction icon.

Vendors

Store all of your vendors in the Master Vendor List. Vendors are then assigned to specific occasions. Click the tabs to toggle between the master list and the vendors assigned to the selected occasion. There are also tabs for the vendor’s web site and map of their primary address. You may assign the same vendor to multiple occasions of multiple clients. Categorize your vendors and quickly filter them on the main Vendors page.

Adding New Vendors

Select the appropriate occasion, click Vendors, click the Master tab and click Add new vendor.

Enter the vendor’s category, name, contact information and excellence rating.

Click the checkbox at the top of the screen if you would like to assign this new vendor to the selected occasion.

Above the empty notes box, click the Master tab and enter notes about the vendor. Click the File tab and assign files and documents to the vendor (such as vendor sheets, applications, forms, etc.).

To continue adding new vendors, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Assigning and Unassigning Vendors

Select the appropriate occasion, click Vendors, click the Assigned to Occasion tab and click Assign vendors.

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To assign vendors, under ‘Unassigned Vendor’, select the vendor you would like to assign to the selected occasion and click the >> button. The vendor will now appear under ‘Assigned Vendor’.

To unassign vendors, under ‘Assigned Vendor’, select the vendor you would like to unassign from the selected occasion and click the << button. The vendor will now appear under ‘Unssigned Vendor’.

When finished, click Close.

Importing Vendors

You may already have comprehensive vendor lists stored in Microsoft Outlook or databases. Click Import vendors and select either Outlook or .csv file.

To import using a .csv file, please refer to Elm Software’s vendors.csv template file in the templates folder, located at C:\Elm Software\iDoWPE\Templates. Open this file in Excel and enter in your vendors and contact information.

Exporting Vendors

If you have developed a thorough vendor list in iDo, you may want to export it to a .csv file and import it into an e-mail program or send the list to a colleague. Click Export vendors and identify a destination where this .csv file will be created.

Viewing Vendor Websites

When adding the vendor’s contact information, enter the URL for the vendor’s web site. In Vendors, when you select the vendor and then click the Website tab, the website will automatically load (provided that you have an active internet connection).

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Mapping Vendor Addresses

In Vendors, select the vendor whose address you would like to map and then click the Map tab. Google® maps will automatically load with the vendor’s location (provided that you have an active internet connection).

E-mailing Vendors

When adding the vendor’s contact information, enter the appropriate e-mail address. In Vendors, when you select the vendor and click E-mail vendor, an e-mail box will appear where you can either e-mail the vendor via Outlook or you may copy and paste the e-mail address into your preferred online e-mail client.

Timelines

Assist your clients with keeping track of schedules or timelines surrounding their occasions. Construct timeline templates for schedules of typical events. Copy timeline templates into the selected occasion, and then further customize the timelines to suit the selected occasion by adding entries.

Adding Timeline Templates

Select the appropriate occasion, click Timelines and click Timeline templates.

Above ‘Timeline Type’, click Add. Enter in the name of your new timeline and click Save.

Above the entry descriptions box, click Add to add a new timeline entry. Indicate a start time, end time and a brief description. Click Save and New to continue adding entries until the timeline template is complete, then click Save.

Click Close.

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Copying Timeline Templates

Select the appropriate occasion, click Timelines and click Copy templates.

Check the box of the timeline you would like to copy into the occasion and click Copy.

Check the box of the timeline you would like to copy into the occasion and click Copy. The template should appear on the main Timelines page and you may go on to add new entries that are specific to the selected occasion.

Adding New Timeline Entries

Select the appropriate occasion, click Timelines and click Add new entry.

Identify a start time, end time and a brief description on the entry. To continue adding new entries, click Save and New. Otherwise, click Save.

Notebook

Store notes concerning the selected occasion. Click Add new note and enter information concerning the subject of the note as well as date and who entered the note. Click the Notes tab and type in additional note information. Click the File tab to assign files and documents to the note.

This Notebook differs from ‘My Notebook’ (located at the top of each main page, next to your company’s name). ‘My Notebook’ is only visible to the user logged in at the time.

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Reports

Use the Reports screen to generate over 100+ different reports covering every section of iDo. Access the Reports screen from the iDo homepage (in the Active Occasion Bar) and any of the main iDo pages.

If you would like to have your company logo prominently displayed at the top of your reports, please e-mail your company logo (.jpg, .gif, .png) to Elm Software. Elm Software will e-mail you two files that work with the iDo reporting system.

Printing Reports

Click Print Reports. The Print Reports window opens with your current iDo section and filters pre- selected for printing.

Note: if you click Print Reports from the Checklists page with the ‘Wedding Couple’ filter selected, the respective printing filters will be pre-selected for you, and you may click Run. To set up a report from scratch, continue to follow the steps below.

Click either the ‘Company’ or ‘Occasion’ tab and select the corresponding area of iDo for your report.

Select the Report filters for your report. These filters help you customize the information printed in your report.

Select the ‘Report Type’. Print your reports as Microsoft Word documents in .RTF format, .CSV format or PrintJobs compatible (report to be used for PrintJobs). The PrintJobs radio button will only be active if you have PrintJobs installed on your computer.

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Select the font and font size. Hover over the font name or ‘Size’ and click on the hyperlink. You may select any font that is installed on your computer. Elm Software offers a variety of free fonts on its website.

Select the colors for your Microsoft Word .RTF reports. Level 1 is for the background shading of the main headings of your report, Level 2 is the background shading of the subheadings of your report. The border color is applied to the lines of the tables in your report.

Note: The font color is black.

Select the Paper Size. Paper is either Letter (8.5” x 11”) or A4 (European standard).

Select Paper Orientation. Either Portrait or Landscape.

Set the margins for your report, including page margins and header and footer margins. Hover over the text and click on the hyperlinks.

Click Edit report captions (Options opens). Edit the report heading titles to be printed here. You may find this helpful if you need the report captions to appear in a different language.

Click Run. Your report will automatically open and simultaneously saved in the Reports folder, located at C:\Elm Software\iDoWPE\Reports\.

Enjoy!

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