A Note from IDS

Welcome to the Spring 2009 issue of IDS Insights!

Spring is a time for growth and renewal, and IDS has been hard at work to build and develop the tools and techniques to help Dealers thrive and grow in the busy months ahead.

We’ve recently released a new and highly-anticipated version of Astra, which remains the industry’s most comprehensive and powerful Dealer Management System. Astra provides total financial control over every aspect of your dealership – more important than ever when cash flow is restricted!

We’ve also welcomed many new Dealers thanks to Astra SMS, our subscription-based DMS offering. It’s helped us expand our customer base and increase our industry expertise through the strong relationships we’ve established with new members of our Astra family. That industry expertise is now being implemented through our ‘Best Practices’ initiative that we believe represents a sound and sensible approach to managing your business.

We’re continuing our research and development efforts, with new products and enhancements to our existing offerings in the works. And we’re continuing to listen to our customers. We know that Dealers are our greatest resource, both as business partners and as leaders who are shaping the industry.

At IDS, we believe that helping our customers achieve their goals through innovation, excellence, and solid, committed business relationships, is the best way to ensure our own ongoing success. It’s a philosophy that’s served us – and our Dealers – well for over twenty years. And with new customers and new products, we’re looking forward to helping Dealers achieve continued profitability and productivity … it’s what we do!

^ top

Astra 8.09.2 Now Available

We’ve recently released Astra 8.09.2, a major initiative that’s allowed us to deliver well over a year’s worth of upgrades and enhancements to customers. And that means very good news for our Canadian dealers – Astra can now address your Canadian Payroll needs!

Already succesfully loaded in Beta release on numerous customer sites, Astra 8.09.2 reflects an ongoing initiative we call ‘Full Court Press’ – an all-out assault on those minor but frustrating issues that result in repeat calls to IDS Support, and a concerted effort to ensure that Astra delivers consistent quality and reliability to every area in your dealership.

Astra 8.09.2 is designed to provide a stable, reliable platform for future developments and enhancements. And going forward, we’ll be rolling out new features and functions on a regular basis, with a controlled Release Cycle that will allow us to deliver additional value to our dealers, quickly and efficiently.

Astra remains the most comprehensive and powerful DMS available today, and we’re committed to ensuring that it continues to set the industry standard for excellence. If you’re not taking advantage of the many new features and enhanced functionality of Astra 8.09.2 yet, contact IDS Support today to schedule your upgrade! Call (800) 962-7872 or e-mail us at support@ids-astra.com!

If you are an administrator, you can also find Astra 8.09.2 and all required instructions in the Releases section of the IDS Dealer Resource Center.

^ top

X-Charge - A New Standard

X-Charge™, our integrated debit- and credit-card processing software, provides fast, secure service to your customers while simplifying your operations thanks to full integration with Astra.

To accommodate upcoming changes mandated by major credit card providers (in turn driven by pending legislation), we’ll soon be upgrading our Astra interface to ensure that all transaction processing is handled by X-Charge rather than within Astra. Not only will this ensure compliance with both card issuers and regulatory agencies, your customers will enjoy the assurance of knowing their transactions are fully isolated, preventing any collection or storage of sensitive personal information. And for the first time, Canadian dealers will be able to enjoy the convenience and comfort of one of the industry’s leading credit- and debit-card software solutions!

Compliance with new credit card regulations is mandatory as of October 1, 2009. We will no longer be supporting current versions of X-Charge™ or our alternate offering, SuperCharge™, as of the end of September 2009. Current Supercharge™ customers will be able to switch to the new version of X-Charge at no cost. (Existing hardware is fully compatible).

You’ll need to load the upcoming Astra Release 8.09.7 (due in early summer 2009) to take advantage of the speed, security, and convenience of the newly-upgraded X-Charge interface. Contact your IDS Sales Representative today for more information!

^ top

Reconciling Your Reconciliation

When is the last time you’ve reviewed your dealerships’ Bank Reconciliations? Are they up to date? Are they really reconciled?

If you answered “I don’t know” or “not lately” to any of the above, you should review your reconciliations immediately. And if you don’t have an updated and reconciled bank rec, you’re leaving yourself wide open to mistakes, incorrect GL account bank balances, or worse yet, fraud!

When you review your bank statement, pay close attention to the outstanding items. The only outstanding items you want to see on a bank reconciliation are outstanding checks and deposits in transit.

Astra has a very efficient and easy bank reconciliation routine built right into the system. This routine can be updated daily once you have your banking information from your online bank account. Checks and deposits can be cleared daily, as well as any bank fees or interest earned.

Using Astra’s built-in bank rec routine means your bank reconciliation can be done daily. And that means no more waiting on the bank to mail you your monthly statement, or waiting for someone to find the time to work through a month’s worth of transactions to get the bank reconciled. Astra lets you view your GL bank balance on a daily basis, so you know exactly what your cash availability is.

If you need help or have any questions on how to use the IDS bank rec routine, please contact the IDS Professional Services Department. We’re here to help with this and all your dealership / system integration and training issues!

^ top

Employee Profile: Raynor Takes the Reins

Sean Raynor has been with IDS long enough to see some significant changes in both the company and the industry. “The RV and Marine Industries are particularly susceptible to economic conditions, and IDS is unquestionably affected by the status of our dealers,” says Raynor. “But we’ve always been a responsive and flexible organization, and I believe we’ve made the necessary adjustments to ensure that we’re positioned to remain the industry’s leading provider of dealership management solutions!”

As VP of Sales, Raynor, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, brings a customer-focused vision and an intimate understanding of the industry – its challenges and opportunities – to IDS.

“True, the economy isn’t as robust as we’d all like,” says Raynor, “but IDS is here to help dealers thrive even in tough times. Our products and services are designed to make dealers more efficient and effective. And when profit margins shrink, dealers need IDS more than ever.”

Raynor, who admits sales have been slow in recent months, remains genuinely excited about the future of IDS. “Astra is still the best product of its kind,” maintains Raynor, “and with Astra SMS, we’re able to offer proven value to an entirely new market. And we have some significant developments in the works that will improve the look and feel of Astra, making it easier than ever to install and use.”

“I believe IDS really does have the right products and the right people to help dealers prosper,” says Sean, “and I’m convinced that by working together we’ll all emerge stronger than ever!”

^ top