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What other ongoing costs can I
expect?
Realistically, how long does it take to get FOXTROT up and running?
How many clients use
FOXTROT?
How long has FOXTROT been in
business?
Is the maintenance program required?
What's the difference between
Standard and Priority maintenance?
Are there any limitations to the
software that we should
know about?
What are the hardware requirements, and is there anything special we will need?
Will we have to enter all of our client data?
How frequently are upgrades available?
What are the technical support hours?
We plan on growing. What happens if
we sign up for the 25 rep version and we then exceed that?
Can we upload to payroll more than once?
Can we Calculate Payroll more than once?
How do we get a commission file from a sponsor company?
Which file layouts will work for the Auto Post program?
Can we print past Broker Commission Statements?
Where are the YTD numbers on the Commission Statement coming
from?
Can we export client\broker data to Excel?
Can we export reports to an MS-Excel (XLS) file?
We currently have split reps that have their own broker numbers.
When the commission for those rep numbers come in to the system how does the
percentage of the payout work?
Why can't I create a PDF file?
Is Loren single?
Do you have a training\tutorial program?
Can we create ad hoc queries and reports?
When I try to generate statements or a PDF in FOXTROT I get
"class CDINTF.CDINTF is not found or registered"
I am new to FOXTROT, what are the steps I need to learn?
What do I need to do when I get a new workstation?
How do we move FOXTROT to a new file server?
When I export a report to MS-Excel to My Documents or My
Desktop, I get the error message “Command contains unrecognized phrase/keyword”
GENERAL PRE-SALES QUESTIONS
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What other ongoing costs can I
expect?
Aside from either Standard or
Priority Maintenance, and the FOXTROTONLINE charges, the only
other costs you may
want to budget for would be custom programming at $200.00 per hour.
Realistically, how long does it take to get FOXTROT up and running?
While every installation is
slightly different, a good rule of thumb is 30 days plus 1 or 2 parallel payroll
runs. The factors that influence this are data conversion and software
programming.
How many clients use FOXTROT?
Approximately 60 companies use FOXTROT. The vast majority are independent broker/dealers and a few are
credit unions, banks and clearing firms.
How long has FOXTROT been in
business?
15 years.
Is the maintenance program required?
Yes, you can choose between
the Standard maintenance and the Priority maintenance.
What's the difference between
Standard and Priority maintenance?
Requests for software
customizations from clients subscribing to the Priority maintenance program have
their requests completed before any of the Standard maintenance requests are
started.
Are there any limitations to the
software that we should
know about?
If you expect to grow beyond
250 brokers, we would recommend our SQL version which does not have any
limitations.
What are the hardware requirements, and is there anything special we will need?
Nothing special is required.
Take a look at our hardware requirements.
Will we have to enter all of our client data?
Definitely not. We have
successfully converted a huge array client databases from MS-Excel to MS-Access
to proprietary databases. What's more, your clearing firm and DST FanMail
will provide the necessary client data to get FOXTROT up and running.
How frequently are upgrades available?
They typically are available
every 12-18 months.
What are the technical support hours?
6:00 AM - 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time,
Monday - Friday. Take a look at our
Holiday Schedule
for exceptions to this.
We plan on growing. What happens if
we sign up for the 25 rep version and we then exceed that?
Whether you are leasing or have purchased the software, once you exceed your
license we will send you the
activation code for the upgrade immediately, then bill you for the difference in
lease or purchase price the following month.
Can we upload to payroll more than once?
Yes, transaction
records are APPENDED to payroll so you can Upload to
Payroll more than once, but you will be warned if a payroll already
exists. When you upload to Payroll you
will be prompted for a cutoff date.
FOXTROT will move all transaction records from Commissions to Payroll
which 1) have a commission received date up-to-and-including the specified
cutoff date, and 2) do not have a hold.
So uploading a second time with the same cutoff date will not add any
new records to Payroll, unless of course you enter a trade and pre-date it, or
remove holds from existing trades in which case the new records will be
appended to Payroll.
Can we Calculate Payroll more than once?
Yes, you should
in fact Calculate Payroll any time a change is made to either an individual
transaction or a broker profile.
How do we get a commission file from a sponsor company?
You will need to
specifically request commission files from your Account Representative or Liaison.
Click here for the recommended file layout,
contact us for the
most recent contact information we have on record for each sponsor company. If you are currently receiving a file from a
company which is not on our list of interfaces, please contact us to review the
file format.
Which file layouts will work for the Auto Post program?
Commission files
in the 200-byte layout will work. We
also have a generic MS-Excel template format available.
Can we print past Broker Commission Statements?
Yes, as long as
you have selected “Generate PDF Files” when you printed the broker commission
statements. In this case, you will find
all past statements in the \FOXTROT\STMTS subfolder.
Where are the YTD numbers on the Commission Statement coming
from?
When payroll is
closed, FOXTROT adds the Check Amount of each rep to their 1099 Year-to-Date
Earnings. And the Check Amount is a sum
of Broker Commissions + Splits + Overrides + Adjustments +/- Prior Balance.
Can we export client\broker data to Excel?
Yes, client data
can be exported. Go to ADMINISTRATION
and then CLIENT FUNCTIONS then EXPORT CLIENT DATA.
Broker data is
not exportable via the FOXTROT menu but can be easily exported by contacting
us.
Can we export reports to an MS-Excel (XLS) file?
Yes, most
reports already have an Excel output option already included. Please contact us in the unlikely event you
find one without the Excel option.
We currently have split reps that have their own broker
numbers. When the commission for those rep numbers come in to the system
how does the percentage of the payout work?
At payroll calculation,
the commission is split to the corresponding reps’ split percentages, and
then basically handled as if the trade was booked to those split reps, like
a separate trade within the system. All subsequent overrides and production
numbers are applied to the split reps’ payout schedule.
Why can't I create a PDF file?
If you are
receiving a message “Error loading printer driver” or "class CDINTF.CDINTF
is not found or registered", then you will need to re-register the Amyuni driver. Go to
the SUPERVISOR menu and click on the ABOUT FOXTROT menu item. From here click on the REGISTER CLASSES button,
then try again.
If however, you are receiving a different message or are unable to
create a PDF for some other reason you will need to contact us with the
specifics of what occurs when you attempt to create the PDF fille(s).
Is Loren single?
Yes, and you can
click <here> for his picture…
Do you have a training\tutorial program?
Unfortunately not at this time, but personalized training is available. We
are reviewing self-guided tutorial packages and do expect to make one available
in the near future. Please contact us to schedule a personalized training
session either via telephone or in person, or to request printed or electronic
user manuals or getting started guides.
Can we create ad hoc queries and reports?
Yes, the data is
open architecture and stored in a DBF format.
Suggested report writers are Cyrstal Reports,
MS-Access or Report Writer. We also
recommend you report on a copy of the data to avoid any file contention issues.
When I try to generate statements or a PDF in
FOXTROT I get
"class CDINTF.CDINTF is not found or registered"
You will need to
re-register the Amyuni driver. To do this, go to the SUPERVISOR menu and click on the
ABOUT FOXTROT menu item. From here click
on the REGISTER CLASSES button, then try again.
I am new to FOXTROT, what are the steps I need to learn?
Your best bet is
to review the FOXTROT User Manual and Getting Started
Guide. Please contact us for a copy, or, if you have done this and
need further assistance or have specific training needs, you can either arrange
a telephone or onsite training session by contacting us directly.
What do I need to do when I get a new workstation?
There are a few
steps you will need to take:
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Add a
FOXTROT icon to your desktop. A consistent drive letter should be used
for all workstations so you may need to map a drive first, then create a
new icon which points to the <DRIVE>:\<FOXTROT
FOLDER>\<xxFOX.EXE> where xx refers to your company abbreviation.
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Re-install the PDF drivers. You will need to open the Windows
Explorer and find the \FOXTROT\AMYUNI\ folder and run INSTALL.EXE
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Re-register all classes. Once you have run
FOXTROT and logged in, go to the SUPERVISOR menu and click on ABOUT
FOXTROT and click on the REGISTER CLASSES button.
That’s it!
How do we move FOXTROT to a new file server?
While FOXTROT is
a network application, it does not thread itself into the system drivers of your
network operating system so moving FOXTROT is relatively easy. You will need to create a new destination
folder and copy the entire contents of the \FOXTROT folder including subfolders
to the new destination. Once this is complete, each workstation icon will need
to be updated with the new drive/folder destination. The final step refers to registering the DLL
classes to enable FTP transfer to/from the file server. To do this, go to the SUPERVISOR menu in
FOXTROT and click on ABOUT FOXTROT and click on REGISTER CLASSES. This will
register the classes.
When I export a report to MS-Excel to My Documents or My
Desktop, I get the error message “Command contains unrecognized phrase/keyword”
FOXTROT requires
that filenames conform to the following rules when exporting:
1. No embedded
blanks or special characters;
2. The
destination must be a mapped drive. We do have an update which will allow
you to save to any location. Please contact us for further information.
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