WELCOME!

Welcome to over a thousand new members of the StudioCloud community! It was great getting to meet so many of you at Imaging USA in Nashville. Let us know how we can help you get up and going on StudioCloud in order to help you to have a wonderful and successful 2010!

For those of you who have not set things up, here are a few links to help you get started:

Getting Started Video

Getting Started Article

Also, make sure to stop by and see us at WPPI in Vegas!

Differences Between StudioCloud 2.0 and 3.0

With the release of StudioCloud 3.0 there have been some changes to the website as well as to the product. Here are a list of the major differences between 2.0 and 3.0.

• The Basic Suite has been renamed CloudBoost.
• The Professional Suite has been renamed EmployeeBoost. Please note that the EmployeeBoost requires CloudBoost.
• Current Professional Suite users have both CloudBoost and EmployeeBoost add-ons.
• StudioCloud released a free desktop product. To view the difference between the free and add-ons click here.
• Old invoice payments must be transferred into bookkeeping. To learn how click here.
• New invoice payments do not automatically transfer to bookkeeping yet. This will be added in an upcoming update
• StudioCloud 3.0 uses a different login process which does all of the syncing in the background. As such the first time you login to StudioCloud 3.0 you will not see information until it is downloaded. You can watch the download process in the progress bar in the bottom left corner.

The focus of StudioCloud 3.0 was on stability and speed. As such not all of the features of StudioCloud 2.0 are in StudioCloud 3.0 yet. We will be adding in these features in upcoming updates. With each new update we are posting a message on the forum describing the new updates.

Thanks,

StudioCloud Team

StudioCloud 3.0 and New Desktop Version

StudioCloud 3.0 is officially out of beta. With the release of StudioCloud 3.0 there have been some changes to the naming of StudioCloud's products which will not affect any of our current customers accounts. The Basic Suite is now named the CloudBoost and the Professional Suite is now named the EmployeeBoost.

At Imaging USA StudioCloud also released a free DESKTOP only version which is now available to everyone. The free Desktop version does not have internet access or syncing abilities which reduces the features of what current customers enjoy.

Customers now purchase Boosts and add those to the free version instead of purchasing a Basic or Professional Suite. For $30 a month the CloudBoost can be added and for $60 a month the CloudBoost and the EmployeeBoost can be added. CloudBoost adds the internet and syncing abilities while the EmployeeBoost adds all employee features. Please note that the EmployeeBoost can not be purchased without purchasing the CloudBoost as well. Current professional suite users have both boosts.

Here are the features that those with the free Desktop version do NOT have:

• Customer support
  
• Data backups online (if you lose your data on your computer we will not be able to retrieve it)
  
• Access to your data on multiple computers (data does not sync between computers)
  
• Use of StudioCloud Mobile (schedule, add clients, etc. from browsers, iphones, etc.)
  
• Automatic client email appointment reminders
  
• Syncing Calendar To Outlook, iCal, etc.
  
• Emailing invoices and estimates
  
• and any other features that involve syncing to a server or the need for internet access.
  
• In addition, they will not have multiple employee features including scheduling, time card tracking, multiple logins, role based access control, commission/sales reports, etc.
  

For more details please see the feature comparison chart here

Also, now that StudioCloud 3.0 is out of beta please update if you have not done so by going here. StudioCloud 3.0 will resolve any syncing or internet issues. It also greatly increases the speed of the login process and the rest of the product as well.

Please also note that if you joined StudioCloud with a discount or special show pricing you will remain at that special pricing as long as you remain a paying customer.

Please visit our updated website at www.studiocloud.com for more information and let us know if you have any questions!

Join StudioCloud at Imaging USA 2010

Come join the StudioCloud team from January 10th to January 12th at the Imaging USA Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit the StudioCloud team at booth #236 where they will be doing interactive demos and giving away great prizes! Learn more about StudioCloud and how it can transform your business.

Click here to receive a free pass to Imaging USA's conference floor. We hope to see you there!

Merchant Warehouse

StudioCloud has a new addition to the payment gateway family! We are happy to annouce that the award winning credit card processing company, Merchant Warehouse, is now available to our customers in the "Settings" section of the StudioCloud desktop. Previously, you were only able to access and use Merchant Warehouse as a merchant account, but you now have the option to utilize the full payment gateway and merchant account possiblities that Merchant Warehouse offers. To access this option, simply follow the instructions listed below:

1) Click on the "Settings" icon on your StudioCloud desktop (This cannot be accessed from the
browser version of your account).
2) If it is not already open, click on the "Preferences" tab in the top left-hand corner.
3) Find the box in the bottom right-hand corner that says "Payment Gateway Setup."
4) Click the drop-down menu arrow, and select "MerchantWARE."
5) - If you are already a member, just click "Setup" and fill in your account information.
- If you are not, click "Recommended Gateway."
a. A message should pop up saying "The webpage has been opened in your browser."
b. Navigate your way to the webpage and fill out your information in the "Merchant
Warehouse" box provided.
c. Hit the button that says "continue." The final message should say "Thank you for your
submission. A Merchant Warehouse representative will be contacting you shortly."

Merchant Warehouse is known for its fantastic customer service, consistent integrity, honesty and expansive capabilities in providing advanced processing solutions to their users. They recently won the ISO of the year award for 2009, given by the ETA (Electronic Transactions Association). The ETA is an international trade association that focuses on influencing, monitoring, and helping shape companies that cover the large breadth of responsibilities managed in the payment industry. The CEO of the ETA, Carla Balakgie, had this to say about the ramifications of Merchant Warehouse's prestigious award;

"We determined from the start, that the ISO of the Year award should go to a company that has the core characteristics of a pure ISO, and has demonstrated its excellence by a number of measures, including care for its reputation, investment in its people, savvy application of technology, great customer service and, of course, consistent sales growth and retention. In other words, we wanted to honor the kind of company any one of us would be happy and proud to be a part of."

StudioCloud is happy to provide this top notch payment gateway option to our customers, and hope you will enjoy the vast capabilities Merchant Warehouse will provide you.

New Feature Added to StudioCloud Desktop

The StudioCloud development team has been hard at work bringing you a new feature designed to help you more efficiently run your business. The newly added feature gives you the power to calculate the amount of money earned for each session in the calendar. Now when you attach a session to an invoice it automatically tracks the invoices in the session on the calendar.

Follow the instructions below to learn how to track how much money you've earned for each calendar event.

1. Open your StudioCloud Desktop application
2. Create a calendar event under the Calendar icon
3. Create an invoice under the Point of Sale icon and attach the session to the invoice
4. Double click on the calendar appointment to edit the session
5. Click on the Invoices tab; a list of invoices that are attached to that session/event will appear along with the total balance due in the bottom right hand corner

StudioCloud, It's Just That Easy!

StudioCloud Recent Update

Once again the StudioCloud development team has been hard at work providing you with new updates to the online proofing. This latest feature provides you the ability to view statistics for individual online proofing events. The newly added view statistics section keeps track of who is visiting your online gallery, how many visits are made and where the visits are coming from.

The update provides three new tabs that offer the following information. The first tab, titled Total Visitors, displays the IP address, city, country and date visited for each individual visit to your site. The Unique Visitors tab shows the IP address, city, country and number of visits that occur from one person. The Map of Visitors tab illustrates the location where individuals are viewing your online gallery. Check out this newly added feature by clicking the “Manage Online Proofing” button in your StudioCloud Desktop application or within StudioCloud PSG 2.0. Access the statistics by selecting the “View Statistics” button in an existing online proofing event.

The map of visitors indicates the different locations where people are viewing your online gallery events.

StudioCloud, It's Just That Easy!