Software for Alarm Coordinator Professionals:
The False Alarm Solutions Group features leading edge administration software called Alex, a comprehensive outsource service, and WebCaster, and offers a complete platform for managing all aspects of the alarm administration process, including data capture, status and enforcement determinations, notification, permitting and registering, invoicing and collection follow through as well as management and statistical control oversight. Developed by alarm coordinating professionals, FAS products combine the latest technology with the functionality that efficient, always in control alarm coordinators need.
From efficient alarm data capture to web based permits and fine payments.
Alex
Alex is our leading edge false alarm ordinance enforcement software program. The program facilitates entry of alarm data, either manually or through a data interface to the client's CAD or RMS system. Extensive edits are applied to the imported data to ensure accuracy and integrity. Alex automatically computes alarm statuses, issues invoices, warning notices and statistical reports.
Features:
Alarm tracking
Automatically tracks all alarms by premise. Alarms can be added in any date/time sequence. Changes are automatically updated with the appropriate statuses and financial transaction(s) maintained completely transparently.
Automatic expiration and time tracking
Tracks statuses, registration and permit renewal dates, premise anniversary dates and triggers the appropriate time-sensitive changes automatically. Examples are registration renewals, suspension expirations and alarm count eligibility periods (in most cases alarms are only counted for 365 days and then disregarded).
Permit and registration tracking
Provides single entry of registration and permits that updates the appropriate transactional data tables including the premise location, the registration/permit, the sales transaction, the invoice transaction and the payment transaction. Intelligent address matching occurs during this procedure to prevent duplicate registrations being created for the same address. Permits and registrations can also be entered for future invoicing. Permits and registrations that renew are automatically renewed and billed when their time period reaches expiration.
Accounts receivable
Alex includes a comprehensive batch oriented accounts receivable system. AR activity is viewable by each account in a variety of views including by due date aging summary, by individual AR transactions (invoices, payments, etc.) and by individual charges (permits, false alarm fines, etc.). Additionally, an extensive collection of AR reports exists. Alex AR transactions are created efficiently and accurately and almost always automatically :
Invoices
Invoices are created in a single step within batches utilizing user specified selection criteria to facilitate their rapid assembly. Invoices show previous AR activity on the account in detail as well as the net prior balance. The invoice shows current charges and the total due currently for the account in a manner consistent with most utility, telephone and cable television billing systems.
Payments
Payments are entered in AR in the payments and credits window where the operator identifies the account and the amount being paid. Payments are applied against invoices and specific charges (e.g. a false alarm or registration) on the invoice. The unique apply to system is necessary to ensure that the system knows the precise payment status of all charges because often the bylaw's enforcement is contingent upon the paid/not paid status of individual charges. Because of the complexity sometimes involved in determining the appropriate charge to apply a payment to, Alex assists by defaulting payments automatically utilizing intelligent algorithms reducing the entry work to a few keystrokes for the AR entry clerk.
Adjustments
The AR system facilitates adjustments to charges in a variety of entry methods. Standard credits are entered through the same interface as payments are and are applied to invoices and charges in the same manner. Voiding a transaction reverses out a previous entry.
While manual adjustments can be used against any charge in the system, most adjustments typically are created automatically when the status of an alarm event in the premise's event listing is changed. Because of the complexity such changes can often entail, FAS false alarm adjustments be performed using the automatic features of the program to facilitate the underlying accounting plumbing of the alarm status change to reduce the possibility of errors and to ensure reliability in the integrity of the change.
Importing and exporting alarm data
New data is either imported automatically with a data interface to the client's CAD/RMS or it is entered manually. Both options are efficient and facilitate ease of use and the minimization of effort.
The import process in Alex is two-phased: (1) import or entry of alarm data into a holding stage where edits and checks are performed and corrections to exceptions are applied and (2) posting of alarms to Alex where the incidents are recorded in the events table and status and user fee/fine calculations are performed and updated in the system. This process typically takes a few minutes each day and is designed to facilitate the minimum of repeat effort by the Alex user.
The export (upload) process in Alex is optional contingent upon a data interface being implemented for it. Its purpose is to keep the CAD system up to date with registered user information and typically to ensure that suspension information is provided to the call takers in the police's dispatch center so that they can be informed about the status of a particular alarm user.
Notices and invoicing
After alarms are imported typically notices are generated and false alarm charges are invoiced. This can be done immediately following the import procedure but it isn't a requirement and, indeed, some clients only create invoices once a month, which they send to the alarm companies rather than the end users. Alex notices can be recreated at any time. They are customizable by the client to present their notices as their ordinance stipulates.
Flexible data management
The real world is dynamic and software programs need the flexibility to be able to respond rapidly to changing circumstances. Alex is designed to readily respond to many contingencies with one step actions, including:
Merging alarm companies.
Merging premises.
Reassigning events from one premise to another..
Changing event outcomes.
All of these operations are performed in a single step with any underlying status changes, refunds, and new charges handled automatically and transparently.
Address duplication checker
A constant challenge is ensuring that locations are not created more than once for the same occupant. Alex provides an aggressive address duplication control to warn you when you are about to create a new account for an address that already actively exists. You have the ability to easily cease the new account creation process and switch to an existing account with no more than a double click.
Conversely, in many circumstances multiple occupants do exist at a single address such as in the case of shopping malls. By flagging an account as being present at a multiple occupant address, Alex will never automatically assume an incident belongs to an account without manual confirmation from you first. This feature is easily activated and deactivated with a click of a check box.
Automatic zip code assignments
The US version of Alex provides automatic zip code look-ups for every account that is added. This is a useful way to ensure the validity of addresses and to ensure that street types are properly entered. In the Canadian version, automatic postal code look-ups are available optionally for an additional license fee.
Notes with unlimited OLE attachments
Unlimited notes can be maintained on accounts and within those notes, unlimited attachments, including word processing and spreadsheet documents, graphical files and any other OLE compliant objects can be stored. This facilitates the goal of paperless data maintenance as even paper correspondence from specific accounts can be scanned and maintained within the Alex database.
Database
Award-Winning Small Footprint, Full Featured DBMS from Sybase.
For more than a decade, SQL Anywhere Studio has received acclaim for the unmatched reliability and power of its small footprint database. SQL Anywhere Studio features rich enterprise functionality, including: full transaction processing, referential integrity, stored procedures, triggers, row-level locking, automatic event scheduling and automatic recovery. With more than 6 million deployed seats at more than 10,000 customer sites worldwide, you can feel confident relying on Sybase's proven embedded database technology in a data-driven application like Alex.
FAS implementation of SQL Anywhere includes a native interface for administering your database directly within the application.
Security
Alex offers all the security that its industry-standard database provides including restricting data access by users and groups. User ids and passwords are required for entry into any session of Alex.
In addition, Alex offers the option to audit trail as much or as little of the database as the client demands. Every table and column in Alex can be readily selected for auditing with database driven triggers that record all database alterations made both in and outside Alex.
User activity tracking is also provided which records user log in/log out and access functions utilized during a Alex session. The extent of tracking required is set in accordance to the client's requirement in the security parameter table.
Documents
Invoices
Alarm Notices
Certificates of registration
Collection notices
Deposit slips
Premise and alarm company registration profiles
Reports
An extensive collection of reports covering:
Alarm statistics
Registration counts
Accounting and revenue
In addition to standard reports, Alex includes Infomaker, a Sybase reporting tool which allows for unlimited reporting and graphing of Alex data.
All reports can be exported in a variety of file protocols including Excel and dBase for further analysis and manipulation in third party tools.
Data interfaces
Alex provides for customization of interfaces to the client's CAD or RMS system in both directions: downloading of alarm data and uploading of registration, status data.
Each client's configuration is unique and typically requires 2 to 5 days to develop the interfaces that directly interact with the client's data source(s).
Implementation
Deployment of Alex involves several steps:
Configuring the parameter settings to match the requirements of your ordinance.
Configuring the data interfaces to your CAD/RMS systems, this enables you to to utilize such features as automatic imports and exports.
Populating your database with any existing (legacy) data including existing premises, account balance forward, alarm histories, etc.
Installing the database either on a server or on an individual's desktop PC.
Installing the client interfaces at each desktop of the users.
Perform a complete system test to ensure the ordinance is fully and completely being enforced.
This process, which varies greatly by the specific requirements of the client, typically takes as few as a couple of days to as many as two weeks to complete. FAS professional service provides estimates and arranges schedules for undertaking Alex implementations.
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