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Van Tassel Construction Grows with Sage Software and Timberline Office Forms

"Thieves have broken into our office!"

It's every company's worst nightmare—being robbed. Employees at Van Tassel Construction panicked when they saw the tell-tale open window, and heard that other neighbors in the business park had been hit as well.

The thieves' method was to go to the middle of the corporate checkbook and remove a few checks, where no one would notice. So Dianna Van Tassel, vice president, dashed to the company checkbook. "I hadn't left the checkbook in a secured place, which was actually a very good thing," she says. "It was in such an obvious place that they probably overlooked it."

Timberline Office Forms to the Rescue
However, she wasn't taking any chances. Van Tassel canceled the company's bank accounts and ordered new checks so she could get out the weekly payroll. Fortunately, she is a client of Sage Timberline Office and Timberline Office Forms (TOF) located in Portland, Oregon.

"I called Timberline Office Forms, and they sent me a new set of checks overnight," Van Tassel explains. "The service was extraordinary. In fact, the misfortune of the break-in turned into something good—a great ongoing relationship with Timberline Office Forms."

Finished with Foundation
Van Tassel Construction is a family-owned business started in 1990 by Dianna's husband, Kipp Van Tassel. Beginning with small drywall projects, the company now performs general contracting, primarily with offices, retail stores, and restaurants. Projects have included a Macy's store, McDonald's restaurants, Marshall Fields, and a new facility for the Toledo Ballet.

The company adopted both Timberline Office Forms and Sage Timberline Office in 2002, when they outgrew their existing accounting system software. "The existing accounting software didn't tie all the different branches of our company together, and it wasn't very user-friendly," notes Van Tassel. "My husband also needed estimating software. We were pleased to discover Sage Timberline Office."

Solutions with Sage Software
Van Tassel Construction uses Sage Timberline Office in three primary areas. Dianna relies on the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Billing, Cash Management, Financial statements, and General Ledger modules for financial management and general accounting. Kipp uses the Job Cost, Project Management, and Estimating modules for estimating new jobs based on previous performance, and for tracking profitability on projects. The shop manager uses the Inventory and Purchasing modules to manage materials.

"Each of us works in a different location," says Van Tassel. "With Sage Timberline Office, we don't have to walk all over the property to get information from one another. Although we're working with our own modules, everything flows into one unified system. We therefore feel like we're talking with each other all day because that's what the modules are doing for us."

Streamlining Paperwork
"I particularly like the fact that Sage Timberline Office is easy to learn and use," says Van Tassel. "Someone else had been doing our bookkeeping on the previous package, so, I was basically starting from scratch. Yet I had no problem setting up the system or getting up to speed."

Kipp Van Tassel has made several upgrades since acquiring Sage Timberline Office. He recently implemented the Document Management module for electronic document storage and retrieval. "It's great decreasing the paperwork around here," says Dianna. "I'm really looking forward to replacing our old filing system with scanned versions of documents."

Timberline Office Forms
Before switching to Timberline Office Forms, Van Tassel used generic forms for its checks. "We selected Timberline Office Forms because they guaranteed compatibility with our Sage Software. This makes it much simpler for us to get payroll out on time every week. In addition, we can have checks printed exactly how we want them."

Timberline Office Forms was founded more than 30 years ago, and has served over 30,000 customers. The state-of-the-art printing facility in Portland, Oregon produces business checks, forms, corporate communications products, and promotional items of uncompromised quality.

Growing Into the System
Van Tassel Construction has come a long ways in 16 years. But it hasn't stopped expanding, and has big plans for the future. These strategies are based on a continuing partnership with Sage Software and Timberline Office Forms.

"Sage Timberline Office and Timberline Office Forms are simple and intuitive enough for a small firm to use," says Dianna. "But they could be just as easily used by a larger firm. We are counting on our relationships to help us move to the next level in the construction business, and then support us once we get there. We can't imagine growing out of them. Instead, we see ourselves growing into them!"

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