General Information

Florida BuildingForms is a software program that creates and prints documents used in Florida's construction industry, including Notice of Commencement, Notice to Owner, Lien Releases, Final Affidavits and many others.

The program creates the completely filled out documents using names and projects in the database, plus additional information prompted by the individual forms.  Florida BuildingForms also keeps a log of every document printed, and includes powerful search features that allow you search the database for a specific document or documents by a number of criteria including by project, by name and by author.

This introduction will provide a quick overview of the program and it's features so you'll know what to expect it to do, and a summary of the various manuals, guides and references that comprise the program manual, so you'll know where to start and where to find additional information.

Installation

You may install Florida BuildingForms by downloading it from our website at www.PowerToolsSoftware.com.  If you've never downloaded a file before, a concise Download Guide is also available on the website.  You may also install Florida BuildingForms from our Installation CD.  With either method, our professional installation program will install the program for you in less than 60 seconds.

Setup

Setting up Florida BuildingForms involves entering the names and addresses of your company and the companies you do business with, and setting up your current projects.  All the information may be entered "on the fly", and may be changed at any time.  A concise 5-step Registration & Setup Guide is available on our website.

Basic Procedure

Florida BuildingForms is fast and easy.  On the Main Screen, select the Project and Document, then enter the Additional Information as prompted for that document. That's it, you're done!

Previewing & Printing

You may preview and print the document using the on-screen buttons.  Preview, change the information, and preview again until you are satisfied, then print a picture-perfect document.

Other Features

A comprehensive list and descriptions of the program's major features is available on the Program Features page.

Use the Projects database to keep track of important milestone dates such as the date the Notice of Commencement was recorded, the date you sent a Notice to Owner, how it was sent, the date it was received, the date of every partial and final Lien Release, and several others.  It also allows you to record the date, record book and page number of the Notice of Commencement, a Lien and a Satisfaction of Lien.  The Projects dialog box has a report has a summary report that displays every document created for that project.

The Document Libraries feature allows you to select from one of several lists of documents tailored for your type of business.  Of course, you can change to another list or to the master list at any time.

Use the Find Documents to search the Document History Log of previous documents.  You can sort and/or filter by a number of criteria, including by Project, by Program User, by Document Title, and by any name on the document.  A simple double-click on the document will open the document for your review.

Use Default Settings to set specific information to always appear on the documents when you first create them.  For example, set your company as the default Vendor, and every document with a Vendor will already have you selected.  Of course, you can override the selection at any time on any document, and you can change the default settings at any time.

Use Mailing Labels to print mailing labels as quickly as you can select the names from a pull-down list.  This is a real time-saver for getting those documents in the mail and out the door.

Of course, you can print any document with blank spaces as you may desire, and you can print the document entirely blank if you wish.

The Documentation

Florida BuildingForms is EASY to LEARN, but to ensure that all your questions are answered, we put together several items to help you.

The Manual's Table of Contents provides an easy-to-review list with descriptions and links to all the documents that comprise the Florida BuildingForms Manual.

The 1 page Download & Installation Guide will steer you through this simple process, even if this is your 1st time downloading a program. The equally short Registration & Setup Guide (1 page) will show you how to set up the program for you specific type of business.

The User Guide is a concise, 4 page "mini" manual of the programs features and functions. The Full Manual is slightly more expansive, with larger type for easier reading. Both manuals have extensive hyperlinks to help you move quickly to the subject of interest.

The Reference section of the Manual includes separate webpages for each of the main menu commands   Each of the separate pages lists every menu command under that menu, with an explanation of it's purpose, and describes every dialog box and the purpose of every function, control or data entry field on them.

The Document Reference is a catalog of every document in the program and description of it's purpose, with a number of links to a copy of the Florida Statute 713, the Construction Lien Law, which is also available for your review.