CMS 7 is a significant step in the development of the software with user friendliness and speed of use much enhanced and a range of new features added. To learn more about the changes to CMS software, click here.  The one important system requirement is that it will only work on Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

It will not install on Windows 95, 98 or NT. If you have these operating systems, you will then need CMS2000 (or upgrade your operating system).

• It provides a recognised structure for your management plans leaving you to concentrate on the plan content
• It makes your management plan dynamic. No longer is it a just a glossy hard copy plan that is updated every few years, but it becomes a plan that can rapidly evolve as you learn from management experience on your site
• New copies of the plan can be printed out at any time to reflect the latest changes to the plan
• As you can record work done against the management plan, it becomes a planning recording system as well as a planning system which an ordinary hard copy plan obviously cannot do
• This means it makes sure that all important information is recorded and encourages focussed management that is independent of staff changes
• It is a powerful resource bidding tool as all projects are linked to specific features and can be prioritised and costed
• It improves efficiency by providing instant task lists, work programs, budgets and reports of works completed
• It increases the likelihood that the planned work is actually carried out and (just as importantly) that inappropriate management is not undertaken
• It can be used corporately as well as locally allowing reporting at organisational level as well as site level
• It promotes a standard format for management plans allowing them to be shared across and between organisations
• It may be used for all types of sites from small sites to whole National Parks or for recreation sites or for species management
• It makes your time in the field more efficient!

The database allows you to store your background information about your site or species in a customisable structure. The text in each section can be merged into an overall plan at the click of a button

The Planning Section of the software is excellently presented allowing you to visually see how the plan fits together and to allow ready access to all elements of the plan for data entry and reporting.

Reporting is a strong part of the program with a series of standard reports provided - for example, the whole management plan (up to date and with no need to rewrite it!!), annual staff work plans, annual project reports, expenditure by project and graph reports of expenditure grouped by finance or staff code. You can also make your own reports, creating, saving and reusing as many reports as you care to produce. The addition of Crystal Reports in CMS7 makes reporting even more dynamic and customisable.

Full and detailed help is available at every stage of the program and many aspects of the program are fully customisable. It is simple to create organisational help pages specific to your use of CMS. The software also comes complete with a detailed training manual.

Interested?

Please contact David Mitchel of the CMS Unit.