No other software program updates as aggressively as Caterease - and, best of all, these updates are automatic and absolutely free of charge with an active maintenance plan!
Every new Caterease build introduces dozens of new features, and major new releases offer hundreds of program enhancements. Below are just a few examples of some powerful features added to recent releases – and this is only in the past twelve months! Visit this page often and learn what's new with the event management industry's most powerful and most progressive software application.
October 1, 2008 - Build 708
New Grouped Events Report
This handy new report allows you to instantly group all events for any day or date range based on their Reference, Sales Representative, Category or Theme. The attractive, detailed report not only lists detailed event information but also includes a color-coded graph with a breakdown of the groupings.
Scratch Pad Text Formatting
When you copy commonly-used text from your Scratch Pad, you can now decide on-the-fly whether or not you want that text to be formatted as you have it set up in the Scratch Pad.
Express Version Language Translation
Yet another handy feature has been newly included in the Express version of the program. Now every version of Caterease allows you to dynamically translate your numerous event prints into a variety of foreign languages – or into a language of your own!
August 26, 2008 - Build 705
Reminders/History Notes for Payments and Deposits
Never forget to collect a scheduled deposit! Never forget that you received a payment for an event! Now, the powerful Caterease Contact Manager tools (Reminders and History Notes) are easily accessible from the Event Deposits Due and Event Payments windows. Quickly create a reminder as you schedule a deposit for an event, or create a history note as you post a payment – and let Caterease keep you organized and informed!
New Standard Version Features
Two popular tools in the Professional Version of Caterease have now been added to the Standard Version, as well: 1) Food/Service Quantity Linking - Link the quantity of a particular menu item to the guest count attending a party – so, for example, if you have 25 guests attending a party, the quantity of any linked menu item will default to 25. Furthermore, if you change your guest count, the quantity of any linked item will change automatically! 2) Inventory Control - Establish an inventory of any reusable menu items (such as A/V Equipment, Linens, etc.) and have Caterease automatically warn you when you have no more of those items available!
Special Sub-Event Printing
Now, if you have a party with multiple sub-events – say a “Breakfast”, “Lunch” and “Dinner” – you can have Caterease generate separate prints for each and every one with one single mouse click. (Only available in the Professional Version)
New Security Feature
Access to the powerful Caterease Audit Trail – which allows users of the Professional Version to review changes made by individual users, including such details as when the change was made and by whom – can now be protected in the program’s security setting. You decide which of your various users is allowed to review the Audit Trail, and which ones are prohibited from opening it.
July 9, 2008 - Build 701
Duplicate Account Checking
Caterease will now warn you if you attempt to create a duplicate account (customer) in the program. With all of the variables involved in client information, the approach is incredibly well thought out: 1. If you add a client with the same NAME, CITY and STATE as an existing client, you will be warned that this might be a duplicate record. (The address field is not referenced because of the limitless variations in spelling address information - "Road" vs. "Rd.", for example, or "N" vs. "N." vs. "North".) 2. If you add a client with the same TELEPHONE number as an existing client, you will be warned that this might be a duplicate. In both cases, you have the option to save the new record anyway.
Duplicate Site Location Checking
Caterease also now warns if you attempt to add a duplicate site location to your Site Location Database. This handy feature follows the same logic as the Duplicate Account Checking feature described above, and works whether you add the location directly in the Site Location Database, or whether you add it "on-the-fly" within a sub-event in Event Manager.
New Menu Price Option in Event Copy
Now when you copy an event, you have the option to have prices/costs of the menu items update if you have changed those prices/costs in your program's menus. If you do not choose this option, the menu items will copy with the same prices/costs they have in the original event. This feature, of course, only applies to menu items that are selected from your default menus (as opposed to items added by hand in an event).
June 25, 2008 - Build 700
Page Breaks in Prints
Talk about control! Now you can even force a page break after any of your menu items in an event print (Contract, BEO, etc.). Thus, if you want to start a new page after your Food or Beverage items, etc., it's entirely up to you!
Account Locking
Using security settings in the program, you can lock individual users from editing clients that do not belong to them - in the same way they can be locked out of events that do not belong to them.
New Language Translation
The Language Translation feature on your event prints will now translate your printed documentation into Portuguese, in addition to the original Spanish, French, Italian, German and Custom translation.
Caterease Connect™ Multi-Database Connections
Caterease Connect™ users who have more than one database (those with multiple locations using the program) can now switch from one database to another without having to exit Caterease. Simply click the "File > System" drop-down menu at the top of the screen and choose "Database Location".
May 15, 2008 - Build 695
Grouping Items on Event Prints
Now you can choose to group menu items in your contract, BEO or other event print based on item type, category or prep area - rather than having all items mix together on the print. This way, all your food items (for example) will appear together in one group on your print – as will your beverage items, your liquor items, etc.
Batch Emailing Employees
Batch emailing is now available from the Staffing Activity Query. This way, you can send an entire group of emails to a list of employees with one singe mouse click. A dynamic merge letter can even be used as the body of the email message, and it will merge information from various events. It's communication made easy!
Express Version Enhancements
The following features are now available in the Express version of Caterease: Emailing, Spell Check/Thesaurus, Scratch Pad, Event Costing, Event Query, Account Query, Exporting Data, Printing Grids, Revenue Forecast Report, Events by Reference Report, and Preferences
April 21, 2008 - Build 690
Status Prompt on Payment
This very useful feature gives you the option to have Caterease prompt you if you add a payment to an event that does not have a status of "Definite". If you choose, Caterease will automatically make the status "Definite" for you when the payment is posted - just so you don't forget!
No Credit Card Number Access
This security setting lets you prohibit individual users from viewing or editing credit card numbers in the program. Any users with this setting enabled will be able to retrieve credit cards held on file for payments, etc., but will only see the last four digits of those card numbers.
Redesigned Miscellaneous Prints Designer
Like the Print Designer, the Miscellaneous Prints Designer has also been redesigned. In addition to a more elegant look, all prints in this tool are listed in a "tree" on the left side of the window, rather than in a drop-down list as was the case previously.
Additional Label Formats
You can now print labels (if you have the Marketing Tools Package) in the following popular formats for international A4 sizes: L7560 (21 Labels) and L7159 (24 Labels).
March 15, 2008 - Build 688
Combine Accounts Tool
This powerful tool is an invaluable way to get rid of duplicate client records. This feature will automatically take all the records associated with a client - events, contact people, history notes, reminders - and give them to another client. Then you can simply delete the duplicate name.
Linked Menu Item Restriction
You can optionally deny users the ability to edit menu items that they pull into an event from your program's menus. These users will have to use the items exactly as they are retrieved - they will not be able to edit names, descriptions, prices, etc. on-the-fly. This, combined with the option to prohibit users from adding custom menu items in an event, gives you the ultimate in menu management and control.
Default Address When Sending Email
Now, when you send an email from Caterease, the "To" address will default for you. If you are in Event Manager or Guestrooms Manager, it will default to the booking contact of the record you are on. If you are in Account Manager or Prospect Manager, it will default to whichever contact person you currently have highlighted.
February 26, 2008 - Build 684
Email Signatures
The Caterease email tools have always been the most robust, powerful email tools in the industry. And they just keep getting better! Introducing Caterease Email Signatures – a fast easy way to imbed your own custom signatures to the bottom of any Caterease email messages. Include any rich text fonts and even digital images to make your emails really stand out!
Email Enhancements
Another handy improvement to the program’s email tools is the intuitive defaulting of the recipient’s email address. Now, when you generate an email from an event in Event Manager, the email address of the booking contact will default on the outgoing email. If you are in Account Manager when you generate your email, it will default the address of whichever contact person is currently highlighted in that customer’s list of contacts.
Merge Letter Email Attachments
In addition to letting you instantly use a custom merge letter as the body of an outgoing email (a HUGE advantage – click here to see a video), you can now simply include any merge letter as an email attachment in .pdf or .rtf format. You can even do both – imbed one merge letter as the body of the outgoing email and attach another instantly! So much power available at your fingertips!
January 21, 2008 - Build 682
Client Contacts Batch Email
The popular Caterease Client Contacts Query now has a powerful new feature: Batch Emailing! Now you can not only collect a custom list of specific contact people from each of your clients, but you can also send them all a custom email letter – complete with attachments – with a single mouse click!
Enhanced Event Discount Calculations
We’ve improved the way we calculate whole dollar amount discounts on an event, to account for any appropriate taxes and service charges. While Caterease has always offered the ability to add a whole dollar amount discount as a menu line item with its appropriate tax and service charge rates, we now have the same capability in the Apply Event Discounts tool. With Caterease, there are always multiple ways to accomplish whatever you need to accomplish!
New Query Fields
While our Caterease query tools are the most powerful tools in the industry, we are constantly enhancing their capabilities based on user requests. Recently, the fields “Quantity”, “Cost” and “Total” have been added to the results grid of the Ingredients Activity Query. Furthermore, the field “Party Name” has been added as a query condition field in the Event Query tool. At Caterease Software, we pride ourselves in being the most responsive to the needs of our customers!