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  4. Settings
  5. Company

Company

Updated

Overview

The Company screen is the first place you go to when getting started in BQE CORE. It contains all the company-level or business information. This company information is used in reports and invoices. You can change any information later—except for the company name. Click to watch this video on managing your company in CORE.

companies thumbnail.png

CORE uses the inheritance model where a setting from the Company screen is passed on to the list screens (such as Clients and Projects) and from there is passed to the final transactions. The country specified in your company profile determines the currency of your CORE company. Also, the currency will be inherited by the projects and invoices. If you change the currency at the project level, that will override the one specified here in the Company screen.

The Company screen can be customized by modifying the labels and masks of various fields in the Custom Labels screen. For example, the caption Company can be changed to Firm, Organization, or Practice.

You can check the Company FAQs here.

Field Descriptions

How To

Set Up Company Profile

Add Logos

Change Company Name

Add Custom Fields

Add Documents

Set Up Emails in CORE

Email Payment Receipts

Add Payment Methods

Mark Screen as Favorite

Field Descriptions

Field Name Field Description
Company > Information >
Logo

Company image or logo can be displayed at the top of invoices and statements. Optionally, you can customize your reports and invoices with a larger logo.
Name Allows a name of up to 100 characters.
Address This is the company address or location.
Tax ID

The company's tax identification number. The mask of this field is set by CORE automatically depending on your country, but you can change it in Custom Labels. It uses a default mask of ‘XX-XXXXXXX’ for US companies.
Employer ID

This is a US company's unique employer identification number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is also known as the Federal Employer Identification Number (Federal ID) or the Federal Tax Identification Number (Federal Tax ID). The mask for this field can be set in the Custom Labels screen.
Currency

The country specified in your company profile determines the default currency of your CORE company. However, you can set your default home or local currency here so that the correct amount, multiplier and symbols are used at relevant places (say, in Expense Entries). CORE also uses this currency for the purchase tax amount instead of the system currency. If you change the home currency here, the currency on the reports changes automatically. This selection can be overwritten at the employee level. Example: If your main office is in USA, but employee CJ is working in the U.K. office, you can specify the United States Dollar (USD) here, but the British Pound as his default currency in the Employees screen. Whenever CJ logs his expenses, they will be recorded in British Pound according to the multiplier specified (in Expense Entries). When other employees log their expenses, they will be recorded in USD.

Email It has a maximum limit of 150 characters.
Fax This field does not access alphabets and special characters like (!@#$).
Closing Date

It is a lock-down date that prevents unauthorized or accidental editing of your accounting data and transactions (time, expenses, invoices, payments, etc.) in CORE for the period you have closed. This keeps your books secure for potential audits and is especially useful for DCAA compliance. Example: If you enter a closing date of 12/31/2024, you cannot edit any invoice or enter time for any date before that.

Note: CORE allows voiding transactions related to invoices, checks and payments in the closed periods and automatically creates general journal entries to handle its accounting.

Company > Work Time >
Company Working Days

These represent the standard working days for your company. By default, Monday through Friday is checked but you can change this setting. This allows CORE to distribute tasks (hours) into months or weeks in the Allocation & Forecasting screen when the date range is long.

For employees to receive time card reminders, you need to first define their standard working days here.
First Day of the Week

You can select the first day of your work week here. CORE uses this day to provide correct information on screens and reports. This setting is especially useful in Time Card. For example, the time entry reports adjust to show the correct start day of the week.
First Date of the Biweekly Period

You can select the date to reflect the first day of your biweekly period here. CORE uses this date to provide correct information on screens and reports. For example, the time entry reports adjust to show the correct start date of the biweekly period. This setting is especially useful in Time Card. A biweekly period of 14 days is calculated based on the start date and displayed as a date range. This range updates automatically whenever the start date changes and always reflects the current day.
Note: When both the settings (First Day of the Week and First Date of the Biweekly Period) are configured to the same day, then Last 2 Weeks and Last Bi-Weekly will display the same date range. However, if the day differs, the date ranges will vary. On the other hand, the Last Bi-Weekly range would cover the most recent bi-weekly period.
Standard Employee Hours

You can specify the standard working hours for all new employees in CORE. The standard hours Per Week refer to the default number of hours all employees in the company need to work each week, say 40. Similarly, the standard hours Per Day refer to the default number of hours all employees need to work each day, say 8. These values are used when the standard hours are not defined in the Employees screen.

For employees to receive time card reminders, you need to first define their standard working hours here.
Target Utilization

Expected or target utilization rate for the employees represents their billing efficiency percentage goal. An employee's billing efficiency or performance is measured against this threshold. Also, a minimum Target Utilization is a key determinate in calculating hourly charge-out rates (along with profit and corporate overheads).
Target Profit Percentage This is a profit percentage you would like to achieve for each employee in your company. It is used to determine the ideal bill and cost rate of employees and vendors (contract employees).
Utilization Based On

Determines how the utilization rate of employees is calculated in CORE reports and widgets. The standard calculation for utilization in CORE is:

Utilization % = (Billable Hours / Total Hours) x 100

where Billable Hours are billable actual hours (of projects other than marketing and overhead) and Total Hours are determined based on what is selected in the Utilization Based On field here.

  • Actual Hours

    This is the default option. Here the Total Hours in the utilization calculation are determined as:

    Total Hours = Total actual hours logged = Billable Hours + Non-Billable Hours + Overhead Hours + PTO

    Here, Overhead Hours = Total actual hours logged on marketing and overhead projects, and activity other than vacation, sick, or holiday
    Non-Billable Hours = Total actual non-billable hours logged on projects other than marketing and overhead, and activity other than vacation, sick, or holiday.

  • Standard Hours
    In this case, the Total Hours in the calculation are determined based on the standard working hours of the employee and the number of business days in a given period.

    Total Hours = Standard Working Hours x Number of Business Days

    Standard Working Hours are taken from Employees > General > Rates & Options > Standard Hours > Per Day. If this field is not set, then they are taken from Settings > Company > Work Time > Standard Employee Hours > Per Day. If this field is also not set, a default value of 8 is used.

    Number of Business Days is determined by the number of working days in a week as selected in Settings > Company > Work Time > Company Work Days. If no period is specified in a widget or report, CORE uses the number of business days between the oldest and newest time entries of the employee.
  • Standard Hours Less Deductions
    In this case, the Total Hours in the calculation are determined in the same way as Standard Hours above, except that CORE deducts the hours from any vacation, sick, or holiday time entries in the period.

    Total Hours = (Standard Working Hours x Number of Business Days) - Hours from Vacation, Sick, and Holiday time

Company > Email Settings >
Allow User Settings to override these email settings

By default, email settings specified here override the ones in the User Settings. If these settings are blank here, only then the User Settings are used. However, you can reverse that and ask CORE to override the settings by the user settings.
Automatically zip multiple attachments

If you have multiple attachments in an email, CORE allows you to compress those into a single Zip file. This does not apply to invoice PDFs, payment receipts and reports. If you un-check this option, CORE sends the attachments separately as individual files. The maximum size of the Zip file should be 10 MB.
Copy client when sending emails to client contact

You can choose to send a copy of the emails to the client in case you have opted to send the project invoices to the client contact (billing contact set at the project level). By default, this option is turned off.
Allow employees to use their own email service to send out emails

This option allows your CORE employees to use their own email service, such as Office 365 Outlook, to send emails from CORE CRM instead of the default email system. If turned on here, your employees can set their option at the individual Office 365 integration level under its sync settings and use it for outgoing email. This option is displayed to only CORE Admin users with CRM subscription.
Outgoing Email

CORE Admin users can connect the company's Microsoft Outlook 365 account to CORE and designate it as the preferred or default email service for outbound invoice emails. When the connection is established with the new email provider, any emails associated with your invoices are sent through the Outlook account. If needed, you can disconnect and switch back to the default provider.
User Information: User Name

Your first and last name, say Allen Marcello. This is provided to the recipient for identification purposes.
Reply To

This is your email address to be used for sending and receiving emails. For example, allen@gmail.com or allen@bqe.com.
CC Mail To BCC Mail To

Optionally, you can enter the email address of a person here to whom you want to send a copy of all your outgoing emails. You can enter your own email ID or your manager’s. When you email an invoice or report to someone, the CC field is auto populated with this address.

Similarly, you can enter the email address of a person in the BCC field to whom you want to send a blind copy of your emails. The other recipients are not aware of this email ID as it remains hidden.
Invoices/Statements/ Reports/Purchase Orders/Payment Receipts: Add Smart Field

Smart fields are placeholder fields (variables) that allow CORE to auto-fill them with IDs or values when emailing your invoices, statements, reports, POs or receipts. You can add multiple smart fields to the subject, file name and default message of your emails.

Example: You can add {ClientID}{ProjectID}{Invoice_Number} to the Subject field of invoices. CORE auto-fills it with the relevant client, project and invoice number when composing the email. E.g., COTTorrance Airport:1222 where COT is the client ID (City of Torrance) and Torrance Airport is the project ID and 1222 is the current invoice number.

Adding smart fields gives you the flexibility to customize the subject, file name and standard messages of your emails with actual names and IDs. This results in personalization of communication. These settings can be overridden at the user level.


Set Up Company Profile

To create your company profile, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    company info.png

  2. On the Company > Information panel, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
    • Address
    • Tax ID: The company's tax identification number
    • Employer ID
    • Phone/Email/Website
    • Fiscal Year Begin/End
    • Closing Date: It is a lock-down date that prevents unauthorized or accidental editing of your accounting data and transactions. Check Field Descriptions above for details.

  1. Click Save.

Add Logos

You can add a company logo to display on your invoices and statements. CORE supports a 125 x 125-pixel logo with up to 2 MB file size. If you select a larger image, CORE automatically downsizes it to the default size. The image must be flattened (no transparency) in the .bmp, .png or .jpg format with 400 dpi (dots per inch).

To add a logo, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    company logo.png

  2. On the Company > Information screen, click Logo edit icon.png.
  3. Browse to the folder containing your image. Select the file and click Open.
  4. The image displays on the screen. Click Save.

You can remove the logo by hovering over the image and clicking cancel-icon.png on the top-right.

Change Company Name

To change your company name:

  1. Determine exactly how your company name should display - spelling, spacing and punctuation – on your invoices, reports and statements.
  2. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    company change name.png

  3. On the Information panel, enter the new company name and click Save.

Alternatively,

  1. Open the Manage Companies screen from the side menu > Settings > Company.

    manage companies detail.png

  2. Select your company file on the grid and click Detail on that row.
  3. In the detail view, enter the new name.

    company detail.png

  4. Click Save.

Add Custom Fields

Using custom fields, you can track extra characteristics and attributes of your company. You can even customize these fields in the Custom Labels screen.

To add a custom field, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    company custom fields.png

  2. On the Information panel, click Add Custom Field at the bottom and select the type of field you want depending on the purpose, say Text Box.
  3. On the Add Text Box dialog, enter the required information:

    • Name

    • Type

    • # of Characters

  4. Check Show in List View if you want this field to appear under the Show/Hide Columns list and show up on the grid.
  5. Click Save.

Note: You can display a maximum of three custom fields in the list view per screen.

You can also check the detailed video on managing custom fields in CORE.

Add Documents

You can view all the documents of the company, if any, on this screen.

To add a document to a company record, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    company documents.png

  2. Go to the Documents panel on the left and click Add on the screen.
  3. On the Add Documents dialog, select the relevant tab, depending on the type of attachment.
    • Computer: To attach files stored on your computer, enter its Description and drag your file or click to browse to that location.
    • Hyperlink: To attach an external link, enter its Description and then insert the hyperlink.
    • Dropbox: To link files stored in your Dropbox account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
    • Google Drive: To link files stored in your Google Drive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
    • OneDrive: To link files stored in your Microsoft OneDrive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
    • Box: To link files stored in your Box account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
    • Resource Library: To link company resources, select the resource from the library. This option is available only with CORE CRM.

  1. Click Add.

CORE pre-fills some of the information about the attached documents in the grid. You can also check the detailed video on managing documents in CORE.

Set Up Emails in CORE

CORE allows you to set up default emails with predefined subject, file names and messages for your invoices, statements, reports, purchase orders and payment receipts. It uses the AWS SMTP server to send out all emails, but you can change the email provider, if needed. You can specify email settings for the entire company from the Settings screen; User Settings will be used only if Settings are blank or you have checked the override option in there. A system or IT administrator should configure your email settings. 

To set up your emails in CORE, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.  

    Email Settings.png

  2. Go to the Email Settings panel on the left and select the default settings for all the outgoing email from CORE. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
  3. Select a service provider for sending invoice-related emails to your clients. By default, invoices are emailed via the BQE server, but you can choose Outlook to ensure that emails are sent from your Outlook account using your company email address.
  4. When you click Connect to Outlook, CORE connects with your Microsoft account and prompts you to sign in. Enter your password and click Sign in. When the information is verified, you will see a permission screen asking for your consent. After you accept the permissions, the connection is established allowing you to use Outlook for sending invoices. 

    Outlook 365 Email.jpg
  5. Next, enter the User Information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
    • User Name
    • Reply To
    • CC/BCC Mail To
  6. You can set up a default Subject and Message for emailing all your invoices, statements, reports, purchase orders, and payment receipts. If you want, you can add smart fields to them so that CORE can auto-fill them with specific IDs on emailing.
  7. Click Save. 

You can also check the detailed video on emailing in CORE.

Email Payment Receipts

As a business professional, you might want to send a Thank You note to your clients along with a payment receipt. CORE not only allows you to do that but also automates this process. It is smart enough to email the payment receipts to your clients automatically with your custom message. You can do this at the global level as well as the user level.

To set up automatic payment receipts, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    company email payment receipts.png

  2. Go to the Email Settings panel on the left.
  3. After entering your User Information, click the Payment Receipts tab.
  4. Enter the default Subject and Message for your payment receipts. If you want, you can add smart fields to it so that CORE can auto-fill them with IDs on emailing.
  5. If you want the payment receipts set up in User Settings (if any) to take precedence over these global ones, check the option Allow User Settings to override these email settings at the top. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
  6. Click Save.

Note: Make sure to check the option Email payment receipts to the clients on the Settings > Billing & Invoices screen.

Add Payment Methods

To add a payment method for your company, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Payment Methods screen from the side menu > Settings > Company.
  2. Click Add Payment Method.

    Add Payment Methods - Manage Companies.png

  3. On the Add Payment Method dialog, enter the required payment information:
    • Name on Card
    • Card: number and details
  4. Click Add Method.

As an admin user, you can delete all payment credit cards if there are no subscriptions set for auto-renewal

Mark Screen as Favorite

You can mark or flag the most-often used and important screens in CORE as your favorites up to a maximum of ten. These favorite screens then display separately on the side menu under the Favorites list. You can manage all your favorite screens in CORE from User Settings.

To mark this screen as your favorite, watch this video or follow these steps:

  1. Open the Company screen from the side menu > Settings.

    Company Mark as Fav.png

  2. Click favorites.png on the top-right of any panel of the Company screen.
  3. You can access this screen from the side menu under Favorites.

You can also check the detailed video on marking screens as favorite in CORE.

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