The purpose of Karmak Compass is to keep all our customers informed of current activities within the Karmak family. This newsletter is designed for both technical and non-technical readers. 

What and when?

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  Training: Karmak Legend^® - INFO 5^® - Director Series

New offerings through Karmak Legend Training Center
We are pleased to offer a variety of new training opportunities through 2006, including Webinars and regional training in Toronto, Ontario, in addition to our popular workshops held at Karmak's headquarters in Carlinville, Illinois.

Convenient, cost-effective Webinars let you attend a live, interactive training session from your location via the Internet. WebEx technology allows two-way viewing and control of remote computer systems, while you speak with a Karmak training specialist over the phone. Take a look at our currently scheduled training sessions:

INFO 5 introduces new training opportunities
Now you can attend training on various INFO 5 modules or request custom training without ever leaving your office. For a small fee, we are now offering several one-hour Webinar sessions each month via the Internet.

Each Webinar offers training in a specific area. For example, one Service session will focus on the details of opening a new work order, while another session will focus on transferring labor and parts from one work order to another work order or to a different segment within the same work order. You can elect to attend one session or sign up for a series of training sessions.

Web training has many advantages for INFO 5 clients:

• Each training session is only one hour long, so you can attend without leaving your office.
• Several persons can view the same session from one location or from several locations. Charges for Webinars are calculated per connection, which allows you to have several employees in one office or training room for the cost of one session. Using multiple connections, employees from several locations can attend the same session without anyone leaving their own branch.
• Web training allows you to view a training presentation and/or the trainer’s AS/400 screens while listening to the presenter via a telephone connection.
• You also have the opportunity to interact with the presenter by asking questions or voicing your comments during the session.

Training sessions have been developed for most of the different INFO 5 areas. The INFO 5 Training Department will also customize training sessions in specific areas at your request. Visit the INFO 5 Training web page for details and select the Training Registration Form to sign up online. For questions regarding INFO 5 training or to request custom Webinar sessions, please call 1-800-865-8991.

Director Series online training
Call the Director Series Help Desk at 1-866-856-4846 to schedule a WebEx training date after Director Series has been installed on your server. For more on other training options, contact Barb Mitchell, Manager of Director Series Customer Services, at 1-866-856-4846, or e-mail .

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Congratulations to Karmak Legend customer Total Truck Parts of West Palm Beach, Fla. on being named a 2005 Truck Parts and Service Truck Parts Distributor of Year Finalist.

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Karmak was a recent exhibitor at the ExpoTransporte ANPACT 2005 held Nov. 16-18, 2005, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. This is one of the largest international heavy-duty truck shows, featuring 300 exhibitors from 15 countries and 26,500 visitors from 30 countries. Exhibiting Class 8 manufacturers included Kenworth, International, Freightliner/Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Scania, Volkswagen, Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, Cummins, and Utility Trailer. Numerous component suppliers were also represented, including Bendix, Haldex, Stemco, SKF/Chicago Rawhide, Monroe, Firestone Industrial, Bridgestone, Michelin, Baldwin Filter, TruckLite, and many more.

Opening ceremonies included appearances by the governor of the state of Jalisco, Francisco Ramírez Coins, and Secretary of Communications and Transport, Pedro Cerisola. For more information on ExpoTransporte, visit their website: http://www.expotransporteanpact.com.mx/ingles.html.

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Members of Karmak’s sales staff attend SSA meeting

The most recent annual Service Specialists Association (SSA) meeting was held at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 19-23. Karmak representatives in attendance were Area Managers John Stasko and Jeff Eudy. The SSA “provides a forum for the exchange and understanding of technical and business information while continuing to improve the interests of the heavy-duty service industry.” There were 167 attendees from 63 companies. Our sales personnel demonstrated new and innovative software offerings from Karmak to both current and prospective customers.

More information on the Service Specialists Association can be found by visiting their website at http://www.truckservice.org/. The 2006 annual meeting will be held at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, Calif.

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What's new at Karmak?

• Karmak unveils partnership with SOARR for easy Internet vehicle marketing
• Karmak releases Real-time Performance Monitor for Legend
• Bar code printing features enhance Remote Parts Sales
• Important information for INFO 5 clients using the CCS Payroll module
• Karmak Technology Conference & Expo 2005 a resounding success
• Karmak releases Director Series Version 1.1.2
• QuickBooks Pro 2006 interface available soon for Director Series
• Microsoft delivers SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Express
• Kim Stoops named new Manager of ProfitMaster Forms

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Karmak unveils partnership with SOARR for easy Internet vehicle marketing

Karmak recently unveiled its partnership with SOARR™, Sold on Arrival Internet Trucking Marketing Service. Karmak’s ProfitMaster^® Sales Management system, combined with SOARR’s innovative web service, allows users to quickly post and maintain inventory on the web and sell through more than 14 truck and trailer locator sites.

Sales Management provides unit details, including characteristics, components and unit condition, and the SOARR interface enables data to be transferred to the web. This saves both time and money by eliminating double entry and manual uploads. And, there is no extra charge to Sales Management and SOARR customers for the interface.

In addition to user inventory listed on the SOARR website, inventory will be listed on fleetowner.com, etrucker.com, usedtrucks.cummins.com, catpoweredtrucks.com, and other popular industry sites.

With SOARR’s partnership, data is entered only once, inventory is updated to the web with the click of a button and users maximize exposure across multiple websites. Users gain custom website development and targeted Internet exposure, while gaining market share beyond their physical location. As more leads are generated, Sales Management lets users easily generate quotes, track costs, and streamline all aspects of deal processing to help close deals.

For more information on Sales Management's SOARR interface, visit http://karmak.soarr.com, contact your Karmak sales representative, or call Karmak at 1-800-622-6311. For more on SOARR visit www.soarr.com or call 1-740-587-1695.

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Real-time Performance Monitor (RPM), the software solution that provides users with a visual representation of business data, is now in general release for Karmak Legend systems. Future releases of the web-based application will interface with INFO 5 systems and the full ProfitMaster series of modules.

With RPM, users can create multiple customized visual displays in order to view only the information that is important to them. Columns can be arranged and sorted in any manner, and users can define how often they want their displays to be refreshed. And, display colors can be changed based on thresholds defined by each user. For instance, if a shop supervisor wants to track only repair orders that are waiting for parts, he can create a display that will show those repair orders in red. Or, if he wants to track jobs that are running over the expected hours, he can display those in yellow. All displays can be linked to provide drill-down capabilities. Continued>

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Remote Parts Sales (RPS) speeds up parts sales by allowing you to place parts orders at customer locations and any other location using handheld PC and bar code technology. Now Karmak is adding additional functionality to RPS that will allow you to print a book of bar codes containing your customers and the parts those customers commonly purchase from you. Scanning your tailor-made bar code book streamlines order processing, and eliminates the need to enter customer numbers and part numbers manually.

Creating bar code books is easy and flexible. Choose specific report options for customer lists and parts lists, or create your own custom reports. You can also print bar code labels and place them on your customer’s shelf to reduce cross reference needs. Continued>

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There is one change to the W-2 form for 2005. The Internal Revenue Service has not made any changes to the W-2 form. However, Karmak was unable to get the forms that were used last year from the printers, so the form for 2005 has been reversed, with the section that goes to the Social Security Administration (the red portion) now on the right and the section that can be used for other taxing entities (the black portion) now on the left..

It is critical that you have the correct W-2 forms for 2005. They will need to be ordered well in advance of the time you plan to print the W-2s. You MUST have the 2005 W-2 forms that have the left side printed in BLACK and the right side printed in RED. Click the image at right to see a sample copy of the new W-2 form.

To order W-2 forms, contact Dan Richardson at Reynolds & Reynolds at 1-800-775-2248 or  and request product number 92613.

If you have any questions regarding the 2005 W-2 form or CCS Payroll End-of-Year procedures, feel free to contact INFO 5 Support at 1-800-865-8991 during normal support hours.

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Karmak Technology Conference & Expo 2005 a resounding success

The Karmak Technology Conference & Expo 2005, which was held October 17-21 in St. Louis, Mo., is being considered one of the most successful conferences in the company’s history. We had 189 customers from 88 companies in attendance, and reviews from both customers and employees have been very good. On Tuesday morning, Executive Vice President Bill Healy welcomed customers to the conference during the opening session and presented the road map for Karmak’s continuing development of its ProfitMaster line of business systems. This was followed by presentations of both new and upcoming products, designed to help Karmak’s customers more efficiently run their businesses. Recently released products that were highlighted throughout the conference included Internet Parts Sales (IPS); Remote Parts Sales (RPS); and Real-time Performance Monitor (RPM). Also presented were enhancements to Sales Management in its upcoming new release, Version 1.5. Continued>

Internet Parts Sales is a hit at the Karmak Technology Conference & Expo 2005 Karmak's Internet Parts Sales generated a tremendous response at the 2005 Conference. Sales were brisk after attendees learned first-hand how this new ProfitMaster module helps companies increase market share and free up time for counter people. IPS allows your customers to search for, select, and order parts directly from your inventory via the Internet. Find out how you can get started with Internet Parts Sales. Visit the IPS web page, contact your Karmak regional manager, or call us at 1-800-622-6311 today.

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Karmak is pleased to announce the availability of the Director Series Version 1.1.2. This release is available to all currently-supported Parts Director^® and Service Director™ clients. We are pleased to offer this eagerly anticipated update, as the changes to this version are the direct result of your feedback.

To schedule a convenient time to load this update, please contact Director Series Services at  or 1-866-452-7625. Update assistance and release notes for this upgrade are available.

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Karmak has begun testing the U.S. and Canadian versions of QuickBooks^® Pro 2006. Please be sure to speak with a Director Series Services representative at  or 1-866-452-7625 prior to updating any new QuickBooks versions to ensure compatibility with your Director Series interface.

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Microsoft has recently released SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Express. Karmak plans to thoroughly test these new releases with our Director Series and ProfitMaster products prior to clearing them for use with our software. Karmak cannot support our software with these new releases until they have been fully tested.

Please review the SQL Server 2005 information provided below, taken directly from www.microsoft.com, and be sure to contact Director Series Services or ProfitMaster Services prior to loading SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2005 Express.

• SQL Server 2005—Data Management and Analysis Solution for Your Enterprise
  SQL Server 2005 is a comprehensive business intelligence platform for data integration, analysis, and reporting that help you turn insight into action and make better decisions, faster. For more information on this product, check out the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/default.mspx.
• SQL Server 2005 Express is a free, easy to use, redistributable version of SQL Server 2005 designed for building simple data-driven applications. Developers can design schemas, add data, and query local databases, all inside the Visual Studio 2005 environment. If developers need more advanced database features, then SQL Server Express can be seamlessly upgraded to more sophisticated versions of SQL Server. For more information, visit the Microsoft website at http://msdn.microsoft.com/sql/express/.

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Did you know?

• Changing job status and adding comments in Legend Bar Code Time Entry
• 2005 Karmak statistics
• Contacting Karmak Support

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Changing job status and adding comments in Legend Bar Code Time Entry

Did you know that the Legend Bar Code Time Entry program Get Labor Time Entry (RS001) can allow technicians to change the status of the job and also enter comments about what they did when they clock off a repair order? The program can be set to prompt for or force operation status entry, as well as prompt the technician to enter comments (the "story") or go directly to story entry. The time it takes to enter the story is included in the operation the employee clocks off of. Continued>

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• Karmak's Customer Support groups closed more than 56,848 incidents in 2005 to-date
• 79% of support incidents were closed the same day
• 88% of support incidents were closed the next day
• 93% of support incidents were closed in less than five days

Contacting Karmak Support

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Important reminder

Karmak holiday schedule

We would like to remind you that the Karmak offices will be closed on the following days:

• CHRISTMAS - Monday, December 26, 2005
• NEW YEAR'S DAY - Monday, January 2, 2006

We will have staff available for emergency calls during each of these holidays. However, calls received during the holidays are considered after-hours billable support calls and will be billed at our holiday rate. You will receive reminder letters throughout the year, and Karmak will also have a pre-recorded message on our customer support lines reminding you of the holiday rate. 

If you have any questions about these dates, Legend and Director Series clients may contact Joyce Donaldson at 1-800-252-7625 or , and INFO 5 clients may contact Heather Gardner at 1-800-865-8991 or .

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  About Karmak Compass

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© 2005 Karmak, Inc.
One Karmak Plaza
P.O. Box 680
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