This week I was in a product release meeting for upcoming enhancements to the event registration software in Access ACS.  As I sat in that meeting along with 50 fellow coworkers, I thought back to the origination of our event management software. I remember the time when ACS did not have a method to record events. We were busy tracking essential data like people, contributions, and financial transactions.  However there was a particular client that kept calling and asking for a way to track events held at the church. So we finally saw the need and developed the Reservations Module.  We released the new module at an annual conference in Orlando and I remember being shocked when we had 75 orders the first day of the conference. The need was certainly there.

As a young tree will grow over time, our event software has matured since that first release. While we started with the basics like setting up events and signing up people, the enhancements to the current software are many.  Some of the latest changes include improvements to online registration and payments, automated email notifications to the event coordinator, tracking and reporting of event financial information, guest registrations, and even an option to promote the event on Facebook.

It was exciting seeing the new enhancements and to reflect back on the software’s beginning.  We all owe some gratitude to that persistent client from years ago.

(Thanks Linda from Wieuca Road Baptist Church!)

In 2011 ACS Technologies dedicated a person, Rusty Brotherton, to assist in starting up new groups. Rusty had been on staff at Lee’s Summit Community Church in Missouri and brings his ACS, IT, and church administration knowledge to assist groups in getting organized. Our goal for 2012 is to start up two new groups a month. So if you are interested in starting a group in your area, contact Rusty to get the process started.

PS.  The biggest user group of all, The Ideas to Impact Conference, is coming May 29^th in Atlanta.  Plan to attend and meet Rusty in person.

Jim Wilmeth, ACS Training

Rev. Garvice Murphree, first ACS Sales representative

Jamie Grimsley, Programming, Training, Sales and Business Development

Courtney Robinson, PDS Customer Support

Karen Collins, ACS Training

Charles Gwaltney, Sales for the state of Louisiana

Libby Sanders,  Sales for the state of Georgia

Sandi Bass, Forms and Supplies Department

Lori Yarborough, Forms and Supplies Department

Steve Jobs and Apple had two big advantages going back then.  First they dominated the school market which infiltrated the churches that had schools, and second they had an extremely loyal customer group.  However IBM and Microsoft had better roots in the business community and since church business administrator and church committees lead by business people were making purchase decisions, they took us down the path of developing an IBM PC-based version of ACS.  “Does your software run on a Mac?”  is a question that our sales force has heard over the years .  We thought long and hard back in the 80’s about developing a Mac version but limited resources prevented us from taking that step.

Steve Jobs continued to affect all participants in the software industry.  Apple led the way with many changes that seemed radical at the time.  No more diskettes (a big deal in the 80’s) ? Take away our dial-up modems, flash, DVD’s?  Change is hard on a software company that wants new business and also is committed to taking care of all customers.

But if you look back on it all, Steve Jobs leadership at Apple accomplished many amazing things that we are all glad we now have for daily use.

PS. Our sales force can finally say “yes” to the Mac question due to the ACS OnDemand solution which has a both Windows and Mac connection capability.

How do you get a company full of computer people to think about physical fitness?  Like most software companies, we are all about spending our time at the computer finishing the next update, solving the latest problem, or helping someone on the west coast late into the evening.  This leads to a sedentary lifestyle which takes us back to the question of how to promote fitness.  Step 1; organize an employee wellness team.  Step 2; coordinate a ten week couch to 5K training program.  Step 3; hold a company 5K event.

The ten week couch to 5K program was perfect for getting non-runners (and we had plenty) off the couch three days a week for exercise.  The training program calls for starting with short one minute jogs and then gradually increasing the times until you are ready to run a 3.1 mile event.  Susan Stevens from our Client Services group was the champion of this training group.  She had never run a day in her life and never saw herself running in a race (and did I mention that she is a grandmother).  This last Saturday Susan and 60 other employees turned out on a rainy day for the first ACS 5K.  This was a trail run so the rain made the course a bit messy, but all the participants made it to the finish line and it was quite an enjoyable day for all.

A special thanks goes out to the Wellness Team lead by Dean Lisenby for their efforts to improve the health of our employees.

I got to talking with staff at the church, and one woman said that she wished that there was a way to find out which members of the church were the parents of small children. What she didn’t know what that there is a way for her to get that information out of her system.

It happens to people all the time – it happens to me, too. Take a cell phone – I’m sure there are capabilities on my cell phone that I don’t use because I don’t know them. The problem, of course, is that you don’t know what you don’t know.

But with something as important as your church management software, it seems to me that it’s worth taking the time to figure out what you don’t know. There are many ways to get information about what your ACS Technologies solutions are capable of.

Here are four ideas for trying to stay in the loop:

1. Join an online user group like the Yahoo! ACS Technologies user group. It’s a collection of users who can ask questions, share ideas, collaborate and benefit from the knowledge of other ACS Technologies users. It’s a great resource for those “… does anyone know how to ….” questions.
2. Call support or go online to check out training resources. Don’t assume that something can’t be done. Ask questions. I’ve heard it said before by clients that the knowledgeable ACS Technologies support staff is basically like having ongoing training right there on the phone. You can call our support line or send an email request on the client portal—and we’re working on adding and we’re adding videos to the online training library all the time (they may be free, depending on the your support package).
3. Attend a local User Group. ACS Technologies User Groups have taken off all over the country, and can be a great opportunity to learn and share with churches in your area. For information on finding a user group near you – or on starting one – email usergroups@ideastoimpact.com.
4. Attend the Ideas to Impact Conference. It only happens once a year, but it’s not too early to start planning for the 2012 Ideas to Impact Conference, which will be held in Atlanta May 29-June 1. It’s a great place to pick up software training, get ideas for your ministry, and meet new people who do what you do. For information about the conference, go to ideastoimpact.com – the site will be updated with more information on speakers and conference details as we move from summer into fall.

Have you liked us on Facebook? It’s another good way to get in the conversation and connect with us, ask questions, and connect with other clients.

Since over half of the attendees to this event are current ACS customers, you always have many conversations on how ACS is working for the church. So how was the feedback? In a word: great. During the three day conference I and the other eight ACS staff members received good feedback on our products and services.

I wish I could have had the whole company take turns standing in the booth to experience the positive feedback first hand. Let me share a somewhat humorous story from the conference related to a satisfied customer.

Each year at the NACBA conference, I take time to talk with the other vendors in the church market. At this last meeting I was sitting at lunch with some staff of another church management software company comparing notes.  We were alone at the table when a church administrator asked to join us. After the normal introductions our new guest noticed my ACS shirt and she announced that her church used ACS and how much she loved it.

Of course it is always good to hear positive feedback, and it was especially nice to have one of your competitors witness it. But then it got a little awkward. It turned out that our lunch friend liked to talk and wanted to tell us all the reasons why she loved ACS. Needless to say, the competitors at the table were quiet for the remainder of lunch and did not appear to be enjoying the feedback session.

As I write this article on customer satisfaction, I know that sometimes we fall short of meeting the needs of every customer. Not every customer that could have joined us for lunch would have the same story. So if you have an unresolved issue or problem, please let me know (marvin.owen@acstechnologies.com) and I will do whatever I can to help.  

If you are in Washington for the meeting this weekend, please stop by the ACS booth and say hello.

Check out the flurry of postings in Facebook during the week of the conference. You will see some of what you missed.

We have picked Atlanta, Georgia as the site of the 2012 Ideas to Impact Conference. Stay tuned for the exact date and start making plans to join us…