Custom Labels

The following information provides details on the options on the Custom Labels screen.

Navigating the Custom Labels list is straightforward. A tree list shows the modules. Under each are branches for the individual fields, which can be modified to your preferred terminology. After selecting the desired field, enter the new module name or label, data type or label/field mask. The modules and field labels that have custom values set for them are highlighted in the Customizable Labels list. Modified fields display in bold in the list.

Label:

Name or label applied to the selected field in the list. The label enables alphanumeric characters. Field labels vary in length, most being 5 or 9 characters long. The field size should not exceed 30 characters. Be descriptive, but also concise, when replacing a standard field label. BillQuick Online includes multiple generic text fields in each master information form. Custom1, Custom2, etc. can be customized to your particular information screen. Adding such attributes to clients, employees, projects or other master information forms make it easier to track important data and to filter reports precisely.

For example, many companies track subcontractor and employee academic degrees and prior experience to aid manager in assigning resources to projects. A sub-contractor with a business degree, and who was involved in two wireless network installations, is a prime lead candidate for a new project. Similarly, an accountant who has worked on multiple bank assignments in prior positions would be the obvious person to select for a new credit union consulting job. Setup is easy. Change the Custom 1 and Custom 2 field labels in Employee to Degree and Pr Exper (9 character label limit) in Custom Labels.

In some cases, changing the label in one screen enables you to make the change global. For example, Zip Code can be changed to Postal Code and this change can be implemented globally in all screens.

Modifying a label changes the appearance of the screen; the field name in the database is not altered.

Type:

You can specify the data type for the Other custom fields in various BillQuick Online modules. Choose the option from the drop-down list: Text for a specified length of text, Date for the date type. Integer for numerals/digits and Currency for amount with currency signs, Decimal for numbers that can have decimal values, memo and memo RTF for memo that can be stylized in the rich text format. For example, If you have selected numeric data type for Custom1 field for the Client screen, you can enter numeric values in the Custom1 field.

If Date data type is chosen for the Custom Fields 1/2/3/4/5/6 of Activity and Expense screens, appears next to these fields in the Activity and Expense Log screen. This icon enables you to select the desired date from the drop-down calendar.

Mask:

Sequence of letters, numbers and punctuation used for entering formatted data. Telephone numbers, social security numbers, postal codes, and tax identification numbers are common examples. The field size should not exceed 95 characters. The Custom Labels mask field is active only when a selected field includes the option to change the mask. Otherwise, it is unavailable. Click the drop-down arrow to select a predefined mask from the list. Masks contain the following placeholders:

Using the placeholder, proper postal code masks would be '99999-9999' for the U.S. Zip Code and '? 9? -9? 9' for Canada.

Size:

This option is available for fields where the data type is chosen as text. You can specify the length of text here. By default the size is set to 50 characters.

UI Type:

You can now not only define the type of data that will be entered in the field, but also change the user interface to something of your liking.

You can specify how the field will look like on the screen. You can choose from text box (to display a text box), list (to display a drop-down that can have new data added in the respective screen), custom list (drop-down list values defined by you in the Custom List screen) and date (displays a date selection field) types.

Custom List:

Enabled when UI type selected above is custom list, this gives you the ability to select from any of the custom lists that you have created. You can also create a new custom list by choosing Add new in the drop-down or clicking the Custom List link. This opens the Custom List screen where you can create a customized list of items.

Custom Labels Tree

Field labels that are available to customized are organized by categories (for example, project, employee, activity code, etc.). To modify a label, expand a category, click a listed label and customize it in the fields above the tree.

Custom Labels Button Panel

Help:

Displays the BillQuick Online Help in the Custom Labels section.

Print:

Opens a report in the Report Viewer, where you can preview and print the report.

Reset:

Resets the custom field label or mask to the default value.

Save:

Saves new or changed information to the Custom Labels record.