Frequently Asked Questions

A: Login to EventPro by double clicking on the desktop icon. Enter "supervisor" for the username and "superv" for the password. To begin entering your own data, refer to Chapter 1: Setting Up EventPro in the EventPro User Manual, which can be accessed at HERE.

A: Click HERE for your EventPro Software training options. If you have more questions, please contact our Sales Department at Sales@EventPro.net or (306) 975-3737.

A: You will receive a Setup Checklist from your trainer. Please complete the information as thoroughly as possible. Trainers need this information at least 2 weeks prior to training date.

A: No, but the number of locations you can enter into EventPro depends on the software package you purchase. For more information, contact our Sales Department at (306) 975-3737 or Sales@EventPro.net.

A: No! You can keep track of as many customers, setup items, staff, catering resources and beverage resources as you need. EventPro is extremely powerful and user friendly.

A: In the EventPro User Manual, see Chapter 1: Setting Up EventPro, Step 3: Users, Adding Users: Groups. The manual can be accessed online HERE.

A: Once you begin entering data into EventPro, you should probably back up your data once a day, minimum. This may seem like a lot, but think about how many days’ worth of data entry you are willing to lose. Consider that if it takes one day to enter some data, it will probably take much longer to figure out what was lost and re-enter it all if you experience data loss.

Backing up data does not have to be a complicated, time-consuming process. To learn how easy it is to set up a backup schedule, choose backup media and select key files to back up, click HERE.

1. Be at your computer with EventPro running
2. Know your User I.D. (a six-digit number found on the first screen of EventPro, which you can view by selecting Help | About)
3. Know what platform your computer is running on and the type of network system
4. Take note of what you were doing before the problem occurred and record the wording of error messages
5. Prepare a complete list of questions explaining what you want to do and what problem is preventing you from doing that

A: The annual Upgrade Protection Plan provides you with the following benefits:

1. New and enhanced features developed in response to your input, delivered through two scheduled Upgrades per year. Participation of our UPP customers is our main source of new ideas.
2. Unlimited hot fixes and updates, delivered through periodic updates as required.
3. Unlimited Technical Support via telephone, email and fax. Live software support can be contacted Monday to Friday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST (available in English only).
4. Comprehensive user manual, available online or as a CHM or PDF document, regularly updated by our in-house Technical Writer.
5. The EventPro Connection, our quarterly newsletter, which provides company news, software feature demonstrations, helpful hints and promotions.
6. The EventPro Bulletin, which provides information about updates and upgrades for assisting technical staff with network maintenance.
7. The EventPro Support Website, which includes 24-hour access to the newest Downloads, frequently asked questions (FAQs), "What's New" (a list of latest enhancements), Bug Report forms, File Uploading and more.

If your Upgrade Protection Plan has lapsed, please contact our Sales Department at Sales@EventPro.net or (306) 975-3737 (press 1 for Sales).

A: Standard uses MS Access databases, while Enterprise uses MS-SQL Server databases. Other than that, both editions are identical. You will require a special license file from EventPro Software to run the Enterprise Edition.

The evaluation version you would have received is EventPro Standard. If you want to evaluate the Enterprise Edition, please contact the EventPro Sales Department at (306) 975-3737 or Sales@EventPro.net.

A: Login to Support with your 6-digit User ID and Password.

1. Click on the Downloads tab and click on the EventPro Install link at the top.
2. Save the EPSetup.exe to your Desktop and double-click it.
3. Click Run. The Installation Wizard will begin. Click [Next] to continue.
4. The next screen contains the license information. Please read the agreement and click Agree if you accept the terms and conditions or Disagree if you cannot accept them. If you disagree with the license agreement, you cannot continue. Click [Next] to continue.
5. The next screen provides some information about Standard versus Enterprise. Read this and click [Next] to continue.
6. You now have the option to Install as a New Installation or Update a Previous Version.

A. After you download the software, choose Install as a New Installation.

1. Click [Next] to continue with this option.
2. Choose EventPro Standard Edition and click [Next].
3. You now have the option to install EventPro on a single computer or for multiple workstations sharing data from a common server. Select the required option and click [Next] to continue.
   

   1. Single User Installation:
      1. If the entire program will be installed on one machine and will not be accessed by anything else, select Stand Alone Installation and click [Next].
      2. You must now select where you want the EventPro application and data files to be installed. These folders can be the same or you can choose to install the data into a different folder than the application files. Make your selections and click [Next] to continue.
      3. At this point, the setup program has all the information it needs to complete the installation. Verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation. NOTE: The install may require your computer to be restarted one or more times during the process.
      4. Once complete, click [Finish].

   2. Multi-User Installation:
      1. Select Server Installation and click [Next].
      2. There are now two steps to follow. First, you must perform the server installation. Second, you will install EventPro on each workstation.

         Server Installation

         NOTE: The server installation MUST be performed from a workstation with full access to the server, NOT the actual server computer itself. The install may require one or more restarts of the computer from which the install is performed.

      3. You must select where you want the EventPro application and data files to be installed on the server. These folders can be the same or you can choose to install the data into a different folder than the application files. These folders must be accessible to all users running EventPro. Make your selections and click [Next] to continue.
      4. At this point, the setup program has all the information it needs to complete the server installation of EventPro. Verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
      5. Once installation is complete, click [Finish] and you are ready to install to the workstations.

         Workstation Installation

      6. Re-run the setup program, but select the Workstation Installation option this time.
      7. Click [Next] to continue.
      8. You must now select where you want the local (workstation) EventPro files to be installed. It will default to C:\Program Files\EventPro. In addition, you must specify the location of the EventPro application and data files on the server so that the local EventPro loader application knows where to get the required EventPro application files and where to access the data.
      9. Make your selections and click [Next] to continue.
      10. At this point, the setup program has all the information it needs to complete the workstation installation of EventPro. Verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
      11. Once installation is complete, click [Finish].
      12. You can now perform the workstation installation on all other workstations as required.

A. After downloading the latest software, choose Update a Previous Version to perform an update of a single user installation or of shared files on the server in a multi-user installation.

Update Single User

1. Make sure that you have a current backup of your data before proceeding. Click [Next] to continue with this option.
2. The next page displays the history of version changes called What’s New. Please take the time to print or read this page, as it contains important information.
3. Click [Next] to continue.
4. Choose EventPro Standard Edition and click [Next].
5. You must now verify the location of the EventPro application and data files. These folders should be set to the correct locations, but if not, you can reset them here. Click [Next] to continue.
6. Once again, verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
7. Once installation is complete, click [Finish].

Update Multi-User Server

In a multi-user environment, this update will only update the shared files on the server. Each time a user runs EventPro from a workstation, the loader application performs a check against each required file on the server and any new updates are automatically copied to the workstation prior to running EventPro. Therefore, updates only need to be installed once to the shared folder on the server and all workstations will update themselves as required.

1. Make sure that you have a current backup of your data before proceeding. Click [Next] to continue with this option.
2. The next page displays the history of version changes called What's New. Please take the time to print or read this page, as it contains important information.
3. Click [Next] to continue.
4. Choose EventPro Standard Edition and click [Next].
5. You must now verify the location of the EventPro application and data files. These folders should be set to the correct locations, but if not, you can reset them here. NOTE: If you are running a multi-user installation, the application folder must be set to the location of the EventPro application on the shared server.
6. Click [Next] to continue.
7. Once again, verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
8. Once installation is complete, click [Finish].

A. After downloading the software, choose Install as a New Installation to perform a new installation of the EventPro Enterprise Edition for use by multiple computers accessing data from a MS-SQL Server.

1. You must first perform a server installation before installing to any workstations.

   1. Server Installation
      1. Click [Next] to continue with the new install.
      2. Choose EventPro Enterprise Edition and click [Next].
      3. Select Server Installation and click [Next]. NOTE: The server installation MUST be performed from a workstation with full access to the server, NOT the actual server computer itself. The install may require one or more restarts of the computer from which the install is performed.
      4. You must now select where you want the EventPro application files to be installed on the server. This folder must be accessible to all users running EventPro. Make your selection and click [Next] to continue.
      5. The setup program now has all the information it needs to begin the installation of EventPro. Verify that the installation folder is correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
      6. Once all files have been copied to the server, the setup program will prompt for the “SQL Server Options”. You must provide the following information to allow the setup program to create all the required MS-SQL databases on your MS-SQL Server:
         • SQL Server: This is the name or IP of the MS-SQL server where you want to create the EventPro databases.
         • Admin Username: This must be an administrator account on the MS-SQL server.
         • Password: This is the password of the administrator account.
         • Database: This is the name you want to give the EventPro database on the MS-SQL server. Three other databases will be created on the server: EventProSystem, EventProReports and EventProSample.
         • The EventProSample database contains sample data that can be used for testing the operation of the software prior to entering your live data. This database can be deleted if it is not required.
         • The EventProSystem and EventProReports must not be deleted or renamed.
         • Once this data has been entered, click [OK] to continue.
      7. The setup program will perform a connection test to the MS-SQL server specified and ensure that the username and password are valid. It will also ensure that the username is a valid system administrator account. If this test fails, you will have to re-enter the information and try again.
      8. If the test succeeds, the setup program will proceed with the creation of all required databases.
      9. EventPro Enterprise allows logging in to the MS-SQL server database using Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication. Individual user accounts can be granted READ/WRITE access to the databases. The simplest method is a Windows Authentication, whereby you can grant a Windows group containing all EventPro users READ/WRITE access to the databases. This makes login to EventPro simpler, as the user does not have to enter any SQL server login information.
      10. Once installation is complete, click [Finish] and you are ready to install to the workstations.

   2. Workstation Installation
      1. Re-run the setup program, but select the Workstation Installation option this time. Click [Next] to continue.
      2. You must now select where you want the local (workstation) EventPro files to be installed. It will default to C:\Program Files\EventPro. In addition, you must specify the location of the EventPro application files on the server so that the local EventPro loader application knows where to get the required EventPro application files. Make your selections and click [Next] to continue.
      3. The setup program now has all the information it needs to complete the workstation installation of EventPro. Verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
      4. Once this is complete, click [Finish].
      5. You can now perform the workstation installation on all other workstations as required.

A. After downloading the latest software, choose Update a Previous Version to perform an update of the EventPro Enterprise Edition.

NOTE: This update will only update the shared files on the server. Each time a user runs EventPro from the workstation, the loader application performs a check against each required file on the server and any new updates are automatically copied to the workstation prior to running EventPro. In this way, updates only need to be installed once to the shared folder on the server and all workstations will update themselves as required.

1. Make sure that you have a current backup of your data before proceeding. Click [Next] to continue with this option.
2. The next page displays the history of version changes called What's New. Please take the time to print or read this page, as it contains important information. Click [Next] to continue.
3. You must now verify the location of the EventPro application on the server. This folder should be set to the correct location, but if not, you can reset it here. NOTE: The application folder must be set to the location of the EventPro application on the shared server. Click [Next] to continue.
4. Once again, verify that the installation folders are correct and click [Next] to begin the installation.
5. Once all files have been copied to the server, the setup program will prompt for the “SQL Server Options”. You must provide the following information to allow the setup program to update the EventPro databases on your MS-SQL Server:
   1. SQL Server: This is the name or IP of the MS-SQL server where the EventPro databases reside.
   2. Admin Username: This must be an administrator account on the MS-SQL server.
   3. Password: This is the password of the administrator account.
   4. Once this data has been entered, click [OK] to continue.
6. The setup program will perform a connection test to the MS-SQL server specified and ensure that the username and password are valid. It will also ensure that the username is a valid system administrator account. If this test fails, you will have to re-enter the information and try again.
7. If the test succeeds, the setup program will proceed with the update of all required EventPro databases.
8. Once it is complete, click [Finish].

A: If an error pops up in EventPro, you should send the error report to our Support department immediately. Click the Email or Print button on the left of the pop-up. An Error Information dialog opens, in which you can enter a description of what happened. A Support Representative will actually read this explanation and try to re-create the error on his/her computer, so please give as much information as you can. For example “I clicked the Edit button” is not enough of an explanation. Describe the screen, tab and/or window that you are in and explain what you were trying to do, i.e. edit an attendee, change the dates of a location, etc. Sending a screenshot is not necessary. When you are done, click OK. Remember, if you print the error report, you need to fax it to the Support Department.

After you send the error report to Support, try to duplicate the error. Shut down the program and re-start it. Return to what you were doing and see if the error occurs again. Also, if other people at your organization use EventPro on other workstations, see if they get the same error when trying the same procedure. If the error occurs again, you can send the error report to Support a second time, explaining that you were able to duplicate the error after restarting the application. You do not need to send more than two error reports for the same error. A Support Representative will look at your case and contact you via phone or email as soon as possible.

A: Go to Setup | System Settings in EventPro's main menu and click on the General tab. Under Default Tabs, choose the tabs you want appearing first when you open the screens. Click Save.

A: Go to Setup | System Settings in EventPro's main menu and click on the General tab. Under Global Settings, enter the number of minutes in the Inactivity Timeout field. If you want to shut off the timeout, enter 0 (zero) minutes. However, it is recommended that you keep the inactivity timeout on for security and automatic backup purposes. Click Save.

A: In the EventPro User Manual, see Chapter 2: Create a Booking. The manual can be accessed online HERE.

In this Chapter, you can learn about Creating a New Booking, Creating a New Repetitive Booking, Creating a New Copy Booking and Appending Days/Locations to Bookings.

A: We recommend that you cancel events as an alternative to deleting them because when you delete an event, the booking number is deleted with it. You can not retrieve deleted information for future reference. Cancelling the event will delete the detail information, but will keep the Booking Number and Event Name for reference. You can still book events over the cancelled event without hassle.

However, if you must delete the event, see Chapter 3: Event Maintenance, Event Maintenance Screen Overview, Event Options | Delete in the EventPro User Manual.

A: To move an event on the Booking Calendar see Chapter 2: Create a Booking, Change Locations/Days on the Booking Calendar in the EventPro User Manual.

To change the locations and days of an event in the Event Maintenance screen, see Chapter 3: Event Maintenance, Modify Event Information: Detail Tab, Location Update.

The manual can be accessed online HERE.

A: See Chapter 2: Create a Booking, Appending Days/Locations to Bookings in the EventPro User Manual.

A: In the EventPro User Manual, refer to Chapter 1: Setting Up EventPro, Step 10: User Rights, User Right Groups: Creating User Right Groups, User Rights and Chapter 3: Event Maintenance, Set Lock Levels.

A: Refer to Chapter 3: Event Maintenance, Modify Event Information: Detail Tab, Location Update, in the EventPro User Manual.

A: See Chapter 3: Event Maintenance, Adding Resource: Copy Resources in the EventPro User Manual.

The manual can be accessed online HERE.

A: See Chapter 3: Event Maintenance, Finding an Event in the EventPro User Manual.

A: Yes. Go to Setup | Rate Codes in EventPro's main menu. Here, you can create standard codes for Accommodation Rates, Attendee Functions, Attendee Registration, Exhibitor Booth, Exhibitor Registration and Locations. In the EventPro User Manual, see Chapter 1: Setting Up EventPro, Step 7: Rate Codes.

A: When you create a new Communication or print a report to Email, click the Add Report button in the lower right corner to open the Run Report dialog. Select the appropriate report and click OK. Choose the Report Options in the next window and click OK. The report will be added to the attachment area of the communication. Continue this same process until you have added as many reports as you want.

A: In the most basic scenario for an event, you will invoice the customer once for all of the event charges – locations, setup, catering, beverages, staffing, etc. – and the customer pays the invoice. In the Invoice Wizard, select Create an Invoice Automatically from all chargeable items. If you do not change any of the options, EventPro will create one invoice for 100% of all items.

When the Customer pays, go to the Payment Wizard and select Regular Payment. EventPro will, by default, apply the entire payment to the one existing invoice.

For more information on any EventPro invoice or payment questions, see Chapter 4: Finance (Invoice/Payments) in the EventPro User Manual.

A: In the most basic scenario for an event, you will invoice the customer once for all of the event charges – locations, setup, catering, beverages, staffing, etc. – and the customer pays the invoice. In the Invoice Wizard, select Create an Invoice Automatically from all chargeable items. If you do not change any of the options, EventPro will create one invoice for 100% of all items.

When the Customer pays, go to the Payment Wizard and select Regular Payment. EventPro will, by default, apply the entire payment to the one existing invoice.

For more information on any EventPro invoice or payment questions, see Chapter 4: Finance (Invoice/Payments) in the EventPro User Manual.

A: Ensure that you chose the correct Cutoff Date in the first page of the Invoice Wizard. The invoice will include all uninvoiced items up to and including this date. If, for example, a setup item is booked to be used at an event on October 26, 2008, that item's "date" will be October 26, 2008. To include that item in the invoice, the Cutoff Date of the invoice must be October 26 or later. Refer to Chapter 4: Finance (Invoices/Payments), Invoices: Creating an Automatic Invoice for an Event.

A: In the Invoice Wizard, select Create a DEPOSIT invoice manually and create the invoice for a set amount. When the customer pays the deposit, select Deposit Payment in the Payment Wizard. The deposit payment will be applied to the deposit invoice, but it will also be stored as a payment that can be applied to future invoices.

Create your invoice for the event charges in whatever manner you choose. When you move through the Invoice Wizard, you will have the option to apply the Deposit Payment to the invoice.

A: The best way to handle refundable deposit is to use a combination of miscellaneous items and payments. Using miscellaneous items allows you to track the money you have collected for the event. If you do not use miscellaneous items, refundable deposits that are not returned will look like extra payments instead of legitimate event costs.

In the manual, refer to Chapter 4: Finance, Invoice and Payment Sample Scenarios: Invoice and Return a Refundable Deposit for a complete description of how to handle refundable deposits.

A: Before the event, you would create an invoice for location charges only. In the Invoice Wizard, select Create an Invoice Automatically from all chargeable items, but under Options, uncheck all of the item types except LOCATION and continue. The Customer will provide a payment, which you will apply as a Regular Payment towards this invoice.

After the event, you would create an invoice for all remaining charges. In the Invoice Wizard, select Create an Invoice Automatically from all chargeable items, and leave all items checked under Options. EventPro will create an invoice for all remaining event charges (automatically excluding the location charges already invoiced) including any new locations you might have added.

A: In the Invoice Wizard, select Create a CREDIT Invoice Manually. Create a credit item, enter the amount as a negative value (e.g. Decorative Arch = –$60.00) and apply it to the relevant invoice. There will no longer be unpaid charges for the event.

A: Go to Accounting | Finance in EventPro’s main menu. The Invoice Export button is located along the right side of the Invoices selection grid. For detailed instructions, refer to Chapter 4: Finance (Invoice/Payments), INVOICES: Invoice Exporting and Account Code Breakdown in the EventPro User Manual.

A: Good news – it’s a tax cut! Or, maybe not-so-good news – there’s a tax increase. Either way, you need to adjust your EventPro Taxes. You may be tempted to go into Taxes Setup and simply edit the existing rates, but don’t do this! It will change the taxes applied to existing events, which have occurred or may still occur before the tax change comes into effect. You must create a new Effective Tax Date.

In EventPro’s main menu, select Setup | Taxes. Click the New button to the right of the selection grid to open the Setup Taxes [New] window. Your previous taxes will default into the fields. Make any required changes to the rates and choose the Effective Date from the drop-down calendar at the top. The Effective Date is the date on which the new tax rate comes into effect. Click Save.

EventPro will automatically start applying the new tax rates to events you book after the Effective Date. However, if you already booked events that will occur after the Effective Date, you will need to recalculate them. Select Utilities | Recalculate Events from EventPro’s main menu. In the Recalculate Events window, click the Set Filter button to open the Filter Criteria window. Under Dates, set the Start Date From to the same date as the Effective Date for the new tax and click OK. Back in the Recalculate Events window, click Recalculate and choose All (Filtered Events).

A: Our Support Department will supply you with instructions to get up and running with EPWeb.

EPWeb Requirements:

 

Browser: Internet Explorer 5.5+, Netscape 6+ (or higher)
Server Requirements: ISAPI Dll Installation: requires IIS 6.0 (or higher),
Service Installation: requires Windows 2000 (or higher), or Windows 2000 Server (or higher)

A: See Chapter 17: EPWeb Module in the EventPro User Manual. The manual can be accessed online HERE.

A: Yes! You can use it to allow access to the calendar of events for everyone in your facility, without putting your information on a public website.

A: For each event, you can choose the amount of information you want visible online.

See Chapter 17: EPWeb Module, Part I: Functionality, EventPro Settings for the various settings that affect which information is visible online.

The manual can be accessed online HERE.