Thank you for your post Amanda Leith!

What version and update of Sage 300 CRE are you currently using? Version 9.8, 12.1, or 13.1? This will help the other users compare/contrast there set up with yours.

Can't wait to hear what others have to say! Happy Monday everyone!

We are using Version 13.1.0 Rev 5 Acc Update 5.

My company implemented TimberScan last June so we've been using it for about one year now.  We have mixed emotions thus far.  Because of how my company's IT infrastructure is setup we use Citrix to access TimberScan and Timberline and we've had a number of issues related to this.  Printing is hit or miss (mostly miss).  With TimberScan you shouldn't have to print all that much but there are still times when it is necessary, however, we cannot.  We cannot access/use most of the reports.  They just freeze up when trying to view them.  

There are some TimberScan functionality quirks that have provided us with some frustration.  On the invoice entry screen there is no way to jump to a particular invoice you have to click next invoice until you get to the one you're looking for.  If you have 50 or more invoices entered this is not very efficient.  Once an invoice has been fully approved you cannot go back and add a page to the invoice.  I would like to have the ability to flag certain invoices or vendors to require an attachment but there is no functionality for this.  In general the workflows should provide a little more flexibility than they do.  You can setup workflows to route invoices based on property, account or vendor.  We've been challenged to find a solution in TimberScan to fit all of our different invoice approval needs.  I wish TimberScan had the ability to "remember" certain invoices and automatically prefill the vendor ID, invoice date, etc...  Right now everything has to be keyed every time an invoice is entered.  As a result, TimberScan really doesn't save you anytime over a manual AP process.  We have some invoices that are paid electronically and we'd like to be able to import these into TimberScan so that we can use TimberScan as our single source for AP, however, TimberScan does not allow for this.  There is a process for importing check copies into TimberScan to be included with the AP record and this process on occasion does not work requiring us to go through a more lengthy manual process.  

There are certainly some positives.  First and foremost the impact on storage space required for AP has shrunk from many, many file cabinets down to NOTHING which is fantastic.  Having the ability to approve and review invoices remotely is very nice.   TimberScan has the ability to create a PDF batch for any property/period/account range selected.  We've only used this a couple of times thus far but I can see where this will benefit us greatly once we have a full calendar year of information.  Navigating through the software is generally pretty easy and the interface is user friendly.  There is an audit trail for every invoice showing you who has approved or reviewed the invoice.

TimberScan has provided us with some efficiencies and there are some aspects we like.  There are, however, many inefficiencies that we haven't been able to find a solution for.  We are hopeful that they will continue to make enhancements to the product.  My recommendation would be to do your homework.  Make sure the software can meet all of your business rules before forging ahead.  Take a look at some other options too there might be other products out there that can interface with Timberline.

To answer your last question... I'm not sure.  If I had to do it over again I would definitely be more diligent in researching other electronic solutions/softwares.    

Thanks for the detailed response, it is very helpful and we will definitely do some research into other products. Do you have the Optical Character Recognition software as well?  

No, we don't.  Is that an add on to the TimberScan platform?

Yes, I believe it is. It reads the information on the invoice once you set up an invoice for each vendor, this is supposed to cut your data entry time significantly.

We use Construction Imaging.  We like it, and especially like the ability to approve invoice via a web interface.  Not sure if TimberScan has that.  We also looked at "Paperless Environments" which is a cheaper solution than Construction Imaging, but doesn't have all the features.

Hi Mike,

Are you using Sage 300 CRE?  I looked at the Construction Imaging website, but they seem to be for Enterprise.

Thanks,

Amanda

Hi Amanda:  Yes, I'm on Sage 300 CRE.  Construction Imaging supports Timberline (CRE 300) integration, but isn't part of the Sage development partner program because they are owned by Viewpoint.  But that doesn't really effect their integration at all.  Works for us.

Ok thanks, we will check them out.