The SmartSimple Blog

SmartSimple is excited to announce that we will be attending the Annual Conference on Corporate Contributions (ACCP) from March 2-5, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Participants across the country will have the chance to connect with industry professionals and discuss pressing issues that face contribution management and corporate social responsibility. Visit ACCP's official site for more information about this year's conference and upcoming events. SmartSimple will be showcasing our industry-leading grants management software GMS360º . We'll also be demonstrating eCSR360 º , a platform to track and manage your corporate philanthropy efforts. With eCSR360º you have full control over your organization's employee volunteer network, Employee Matching Gifts, and Dollars for Doers, where your organization can sponsor and donate to not-for-profits on behalf of your employees. To learn more, just visit our main site . Relationship Manager Sarah Jane Nicholson and Dir...

The following post has been contributed by our Web User Interface & Graphic Designer, Mark Bridger.   We at SmartSimple are always striving to ensure our users have the best possible experience when using our products. Effective user interface design makes the user’s interaction with a system as simple and efficient as possible. To aid this goal, we have compiled a list of 10 usability principles (known as Heuristics ) that you can use to help find usability problems in any design. In this post, we'll show you the first five: 1. Show System Status Tell the user where they are in the process and what is going on. Time : Show a progress bar and estimated time to completion if a task is going to take more than a second. Space : Show how much storage space the client has left so they don't run out of space. Change : If a user made a change to a page and tries to navigate away, notify them and give them an option to save so they don't lose data. Action : Show...

The SmartSimple FAQ series will highlight answers to some of our most frequently asked questions surrounding our 360° software suite. Keep checking back on our blog for new entries! This FAQ addresses questions concerning SmartSimple's case management software suite, which includes IME360 ° ,   Insurer360 ° , and Employer/Employment services. IME360° (Independent Medical Examiner) FAQ Are multiple users able to view a particular file/claimant at the same time? Yes, the system supports this. Can we manage all locations? Yes, as a web-based solution, the system is designed to be used from all locations including home offices and external provider locations. In Ontario, can we submit invoices to HCAI from SmartSimple? Yes, IME360° is fully integrated with HCAI in Ontario at no additional charge. What reports are included in IME360°? Report types include: number of referrals received by referral source, number of referrals received by referring company, reports due fr...

Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform! Brian Lai is a Business Analyst and has been working for SmartSimple since May 2011. Brian was also the recipient of the very first SmartSimple Innovation Award in October 2013. For this week's Employee Spotlight, we spoke to Brian about his best subject matter expert tip, his hobbies, and a case of mistaken identity. Intrigued? Keep reading! Subject matter expert tip: Review lessons learned and best practices from past projects and apply them to future projects. Documentation is key, especially in an agile development environment where requirements can evolve at a rapid pace. Make use of flow charts, custom field notes, and code comments to help with requirement traceability and to provide a refresher as to why things are done. What is your favourite part about working f...

The SmartSimple FAQ series will highlight answers to some of our most frequently asked questions surrounding our 360° software suite. Keep checking back on our blog for new entries! This FAQ addresses questions concerning SmartSimple's RMS360°  research management system : General FAQ Which processes of the research lifecycle can be managed by the system? This is entirely up to you. We configure your system to handle any and all processes that you deem essential to your organization. Any number of processes can be created across the application, review, award, and post-award stages. Can we decide the type of access that external parties (i.e. researchers, grant reviewers) have with our system? External parties log in through specialized portals (i.e. a researcher portal, a grant reviewer portal) with their own username and password. Their permissions and roles are set by you. Can RMS360° integrate with other accounting systems such as QuickBooks? Yes, many c...

Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform!  Serkan Bilgi is a Senior Business Analyst and began working at SmartSimple in May 2011 (as an intern, FYI!). This week, we spoke with him about his favourite part of working for SmartSimple, his favourite album, and how important music is to him. Serkan as a graduate! Subject matter expert tip: Listen to your clients and ask questions. Always look for methods to be more efficient - avoid the quick-and-dirty method. More importantly, share the knowledge with your teammates. What is your favourite part about working for SmartSimple? Every day I get to solve the problems of people who are making the world a better place by funding research and nonprofits. As a cherry on top, I get to work with a diverse, friendly, and dynamic team. I also get to see the company grow as everyone co...

The SmartSimple FAQ series will highlight answers to some of our most frequently asked questions surrounding our 360 °  software suite. Keep checking back on our blog for new entries! This FAQ addresses questions concerning SmartSimple's GMS360°  grants management system : Can we bring in historical data from our existing system? Yes, we have multiple easy-to-use methods available to import historic data . For MicroEdge GIFTS™ users, we have a fully automated process to manage the transfer. Can the system integrate with (and look like) our existing website? Absolutely. Your branding will be applied to all parts of the system including login and registration pages, as well as reports. Will we be able to change system settings (such as data fields, program coding and application forms)? Yes, all system settings are accessible and under your control. Can soft copy documents be stored within the system and retrieved via keyword searches? Yes, all documents stored in...

Our Employee Spotlight series will highlight a different member of the SmartSimple crew every week. Take some time to get to know the wonderful and diverse team behind the SmartSimple platform! Gary Modlin is our Director of Business Development and has been working for SmartSimple since February 2010. We talked to him this week about his hobbies, subject matter expert tip, and the wildly different direction his career could have taken! Subject matter expert tip: Constantly increase the knowledge about your own company’s products and services so you can better keep your clients up to date and informed. Keeping clients updated will save them the time and increase our own value to them.   What is your favourite part about working for SmartSimple? The terrific clients and prospective clients I meet on a regular basis. The people I work with are pretty cool, too. What are your hobbies? My kids, spin class, and beating Brad Robertson and Eric Lauer (our amazing Pro...