NEWSLETTER

Meter Accounts Are Here

In the past BSD has sold SpecLink^® solely by subscription, providing a variety of catalogs to choose from. However, a significant percentage of SpecLink prospects complete a limited number of projects per year and find an annual subscription does not fit their budget. And SpecLink subscribers from time to time need to use a limited number of SpecLink sections that are not included in their current subscription. The Meter Account is a new way to purchase SpecLink specification sections that addresses these needs. A Meter Account allows you to pay for BSD SpecLink, PerSpective and Short Form sections by the section as an alternative to purchasing an annual subscription. It can also be used to supplement an existing annual subscription.

Registration and Settings
Dialog Box

Here’s how it works. You purchase a Meter Account by contacting the BSD Sales Department at 1-888-BSD-SOFT (273-7638). You must have an Internet connection to use a Meter Account. Once you purchase an account you receive an Electronic Invoice ID (EID) that is used to initialize the account on your local network or computer. To initialize, you simply start the software, click on the File menu and then Registration and Settings (Dialog Box, left). Click on the Register Product Online button, enter your EID in the space provided and click OK. That’s all you have to do. When registration is complete you will see your Meter Account number and current value displayed in the dialog box.

The Registration and Settings Dialog

Once registered, you can access and edit all sections in SpecLink, PerSpective and Short Form. If you install SpecLink using the network install option, anybody with access to the network server who has done a Client Installation can access and edit any section. When you print sections using the Reports dialog you will see the current value of the Meter Account displayed. On the pull-down list for Print Section, each section that is not free or part of an annual subscription will reflect its cost next to the section name. You can print Draft Copy and Master Text Copy for any section without charge. When you print clean copy your Meter Account will be debited by the cost of the section you printed. Meter Account sections cannot be exported to RTF or any other external format. For more detailed information, see the current Release Notes at our User Resource web page at http://www.bsdsoftlink.com/speclink/sl_subscribers.htm.

A meter account costs $490 and can be replenished at the same price. SpecLink sections cost $7 each to print. PerSpective sections cost $21, and Short Form sections cost $35. Up to 50 users can use a single meter concurrently. When the current meter value is less than the value of a section a user is trying to print, the user is notified and the section is not printed. When a meter reaches $0, printing ceases and all sections become unavailable. You can replenish the meter at any time and your new purchase will be added to the current value of the meter. You can also upgrade to a subscription and use it in conjunction with the value remaining on your meter or apply the amount on your meter as a credit toward the cost of the subscription.

We’re working to make it easier to buy and use sections in SpecLink. We want this new service to help you, we welcome any feedback, and we look forward to working with you.