The next update to our web based room booking and resource scheduling software is fast approaching, and we’ve been giving you a “first look” at some of the new features and improvements you can look forward to in MIDAS v4.11.
In v4.11 we’re making it easier to quickly add resources from your inventory to invoices.
When manually creating a new invoice or modifying an existing one, you’ll now find an “Add Resources” button near to the top of the invoice area:
Clicking this button will open up your resource inventory from which you can select quantities of one or more resources to add to the current invoice, updating the invoice total accordingly.
MIDAS v4.11 will soon be generally available, however for now it is only available to Beta Testers. We’re currently looking for additional testers to help test and provide feedback/bug reports on this and future updates to our software before release. It’s free and no experience is required. Find out more here.
If you would like to be notified when v4.11 is fully released, then why not join our Mailing List?
The next update to our web based room booking and resource scheduling software is just around the corner. So this week we’re providing a “first look” at some of the new features and improvements to expect in MIDAS v4.11.
Today we’d like to introduce you to “Invoice Receipts”.
MIDAS already contains extensive automated and manual invoicing capabilities. Now in v4.11 with just a couple of clicks, this brand-new feature allows you to instantly print or email a receipt to a customer once they’ve paid (or part paid) their invoice. In the event of a part-paid invoice, the customer’s receipt will also indicate the remaining amount still outstanding.
Just like “Regular” and “Cancellation” invoices, you’ll also be able to modify and customize the “Invoice Receipt” templates within your MIDAS system.
We love receiving feedback and suggestions from our customers, and one of the most popular areas that we often receive ideas and suggestions for is Invoicing.
So based on this feedback we’re introducing a host of exciting new features and improvements to the invoicing capabilities of MIDAS for v4.10!
Alternative clients for invoicing
Traditionally, when an invoice is generated in MIDAS for a client’s bookings, the invoice is for that particular client.
However, there are many cases when the person that a booking is for differs from the person who’s paying for it. Quite often for instance its desirable for invoices to instead go to a treasurer or finance department, rather than to the end-client who is actually using your facilities.
With MIDAS v4.10, you can now optionally set an alternative client to use for invoicing for all a client’s future bookings!
Greater control over invoice access
As you may be aware, an extensive range of user permissions are already available within MIDAS allowing administrators to precisely control what each user can see and do once logged in.
One of the user permissions that can be granted is “Can use invoicing?”. If this permission is granted, the user has access to all invoicing features within MIDAS (the ability to generate, create, view, modify, delete, print, and send invoices). Without the “Can use invoicing?” permission, a user has no access to any of the invoicing functions.
Restrict access to invoices
We’ve extended this user permission for v4.10 to include an additional “Restricted” option. Now, if a user’s “Can use invoicing?” permission is set to “Restricted”, they will still be able to generate and create invoices, but they will only be able to view, modify, delete, print or send those invoices which they themselves generated/created (i.e. they will have no access to other invoices generated/created by other users).
Of course, individual users can still be granted full invoicing access as before – allowing them access to all invoices, but this new “restricted” option will give administrators greater control over who can access which invoices.
Greater control over Booking Type Discounts
MIDAS allows you to associate percentage discounts to each of your booking types. This facilitates charging different room rates depending upon the “type” of booking.
For instance, if you have a room which is usually charged at $100/hour, you could setup a “Non-Profit” booking type with a 50% discount so that any bookings assigned that particular booking type would only be charged at a rate of $50/hour instead of the standard $100/hour rate.
In previous versions of MIDAS, booking type discounts have only applied to room rates. Resources (equipment, consumables, staffing, etc) have not been affected by any booking type discount, and were always charged at their standard rate.
In MIDAS v4.10, administrators can now control how booking type discounts are applied; you can choose to have them only applied to your venue charges (as in previous versions of MIDAS), or only applied to your resource charges, or applied to both venue and resource charges.
Apply discounts to venues and/or resources
Also, in v4.10, for the first time we’ve allowed you to enter negative numbers into the booking type discount field. Entering a negative discount will increase the venue/resource charge by the percentage amount you specify (as opposed to discounting by the specified amount)
Show invoices numbers on booking blocks/tooltips
Select which fields to shown on bookings
Up to two booking fields can be set to show on “booking blocks” within your booking grid (with a further two booking fields set to show on associated tooltips), however it’s previously not been possible to show a booking’s invoice number on its block/tooltip.
In MIDAS v4.10, this has changed and you can now set invoice numbers to show on a booking’s “block”/tooltip, and also in the Monthly Overview too!
Want to help shape and improve future MIDAS updates? Then why not consider becoming a Beta Tester? – it’s free, there’s nothing to install, and no technical knowledge is required!
MIDAS v4.08 is on the horizon, and as is becoming tradition we’re giving readers of our blog a sneak preview of some of the new and improved features you’ll be able to find in this forthcoming update to our popular Web Based Room Booking and Resource Scheduling Software.
In this blog post we’ll take a look at some of the improvements coming to the invoicing capabilities of MIDAS…
Cancellation Fee Invoices
Generate Invoice For Late Cancellations
MIDAS v4.08 introduces the ability for your booking system to automatically generate invoices if a booking is cancelled at short notice. You can set the generation of these invoices to trigger is a booking is deleted less than a specified number of days or hours before the booking was due to take place. These “Cancellation Fee” invoices can be configured to charge the client a fixed amount for a late cancellation of their booking, or as a percentage of the total cost of their original booking.
Cancellation Invoices also have their own customizable “template” (MIDAS Admin Options → Manage MIDAS → Templates) allowing you to customize their appearance separately to your regular invoices.
Automatically Send Invoices
Automatically Send Unsent Invoices
Building upon the automated Scheduled Task features introduced in our previous update, v4.08 introduces an additional option to have the system automatically send any unsent invoices at a specified time each day.
In earlier versions, invoices would remain “unsent” until manually actioned by a user. This new feature gives you the option to automate this process!
Prevent Invoice Deletion
Back in MIDAS v4.03, we introduced a setting to prevent an invoice from being deleted after sending, until the invoice was paid in full. Following customer feedback, we’re now extending this in v4.08 to give you the option to prevent invoices from ever being deleted/removed from the system.
Re-Email Invoices
Previously, once an invoice had been partially paid, or when payment was overdue, it was no longer possible to re-email the invoice to the client again. This restriction has been removed for v4.08.
We love receiving feedback and suggestions from our customers, and one of the most popular areas that we often receive ideas and suggestions for is 
