Northwoods Inc. is a small twelve-person Engineering and Architect Drafting office serving the local area. Their network consists of a mix of Windows XP and Windows Vista workstations connected on a Workgroup based network. Wireless network access is also provided to employees with laptops. Most staff work on a project basis and there is a need to track use by project code and sub-project. Some staff work on a freelance basis and management would like to track and charge for color printer use on a monthly basis.
The system must be easy to set up and maintain as there is no full-time IT staff.
The system must work in a Windows workgroup environment.
Staff are to have unlimited access (i.e. no budgets).
Staff need to allocate their printing to projects and cost centers so printing and drafting costs can be passed back onto the clients (chargeback).
Managers need access to view real-time reports.
Data should be able to be exported to Excel on a monthly basis for billing.
One system on the network needs to be allocated the task of hosting the printer and the PaperCut NG application. Users will print via this system so it needs to be left on most for most of the time. An existing file server is ideal, however someone's desktop system will also suffice (must be left on at all times).
PaperCut NG is well known for its ease-of-use. It is a self-maintaining system with a simple to use web-based interface. Apart from the initial set up, and the recommendation to incorporate the application's data into a backup procedure, no further technical administration and support is required.
Workgroup environments are common on small networks. They differ from a domain environment in that they are not centrally authenticated via a server. Users may use a system that automatically logs in as "a user" or maybe they just log in locally on their workstations. See Chapter 28, Running in a Workgroup Environment for more information on the ways in which PaperCut NG can be installed in a workgroup environment.
All users can be set up as "unrestricted". In this mode, users can start of with a zero balance and count down as they print. Their balance indicates their printing value to date.
Shared accounts can be created to represent the current projects with sub-accounts used to represent areas under these projects (sub-projects). The client popup software can be enabled on user accounts forcing users to allocate printing to the project/client. In addition, the advanced client popup will allow premiums to be charged for special printing such as reproduction of expensive mylar film.
Selected staff can run monthly or quarterly invoice reports at any time to quickly determine printing associated with a given client/project. More information on shared accounts and reporting can be found in Chapter 8, Shared Accounts.
PaperCut NG records data in real-time. Full print logs and reports are available at any time and can be accessed using a standard web browser. The manager can log into the administration interface and access the reports at any time.
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