Dan & Jack's latest Alpha Tracker Tips & Tricks Webinar is now available to watch on YouTube

Did you miss our live webinar last week?  Dan & Jack showed the various "diary sync" options in Alpha Tracker including Google Calendar, Exchange (that's Outlook and Office365) and even the incredible FLS from our partners Fast Lean Smart!

Don't worry if you did miss it! You can watch the recording on our website or on YouTube.

Watch all previous Alpha Tracker webinars on our website

Or click this video to watch on YouTube, instead!

Google has approved and verified our latest Calendar Sync app

Google approved our latest Alpha Tracker Calendar Sync app over the weekend. 

The notification from Google completes the actions we had following their change of policy which had caused some of our Alpha Tracker asbestos consultancy clients an issue (see https://blog.start-software.com/2022/07/important-google-calendar-sync-alert.html).

Our support team are contacting all affected clients and updating their systems but do give us a call (UK or Aus/NZ) if you want to discuss this issue or have any further questions.

More info about the problematic Windows Updates from last week

We blogged last week about the July Windows Updates causing havoc to servers around the world.

More information has emerged about the impact of the updates, including the issues being caused to IIS and SQL Server, the bedrock of most web-based systems.

In particular, for Alpha Tracker asbestos software users, you may find that servers which have had the updates applied do not allow you to log in or may only run for a few minutes before having an issue.  The solution is to get the Windows Updates uninstalled for now and tell the server not to install them again.  Our support desk can give you more specific information if you need it.

Microsoft is working on a solution and you can read more information here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-nz/help/4338815/windows-81-update-kb4338815

Alpha Tracker is fully compatible with Google's new Calendar tool

Google has updated their popular Calendar tool with a smart new look and loads of new features. 

Google have updated their popular Calendar tool

Click here to read what's new - there is plenty!

We've been working hard over the last few weeks to ensure that Alpha Tracker's built-in calendar and scheduling tool (used by asbestos consultancies to manage their on-site asbestos surveying, air monitoring and re-inspection work) remains fully compatible via our sync tool.

This means that asbestos surveyors can continue to view their work diaries on their smartphones, tablets or PCs directly in Google Calendar which is super-easy for them and means you don't have to email diaries around or use a scheduling whiteboard in the office.

How to sync iPhones to an Alpha Tracker-synced Google Calendar

Asbestos software Alpha Tracker's built-in calendar and scheduling tools can sync to Google calendars (and Exchange calendars) so that staff can see their work diaries by looking on their phones, tablets or on a PC.  This is a really popular feature which means that staff always know what they are supposed to be doing - when and where!

On an Android device this "just works" and there is no extra set-up to do.

But... on iPhones and iPads, you might find that the Alpha Tracker-synced Google Calendar doesn't immediately show up.

The solution is easy.  Just visit this link https://www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect on a PC or on the iPhone/iPad and make sure that all calendars are ticked for syncing.

Daily diary summaries from Google Calendar

I blogged a couple of weeks ago to explain how to be automatically reminded of appointments created through Resource Tracker Sync.  Resource Tracker Sync enables asbestos surveyors and other staff to have their diaries available on their PC, smartphone or tablet with their diaries automatically updated from the Tracker or Alpha Tracker calendar.

There is another feature in Google Calendars which is really useful and very easy to enable.  Google can automatically email daily digests (summaries) of your diary at, typically, 5am so that an asbestos surveyor or other member of staff can get an automatic summary of their day sent to them by Google in their email ready for when they start work.

Go into Google Calendar, choose Settings, then Reminders and Notifications, then tick the box as shown below:

Reminders with Resource Tracker Sync

Resource Tracker Sync is one of the Tracker and Alpha Tracker asbestos software system modules.  It is used to automatically synchronise the Tracker work calendars across to Google Calendars or Microsoft Exchange calendars so that asbestos surveyors and other staff can access their diaries on whatever device they choose.


We use Resource Tracker Sync ourselves and up to now the only problem I've come across with my own diary is that my phone hasn't automatically reminded me when an appointment was about to start and I couldn't see how to set the reminders easily.

We were thinking about a programming fix for this but actually it turns out that phones and tablets (including iPads) that are set to sync with Google Calendars can be told to automatically set the reminders.

For example, on my own HTC One Android phone, here is the setting within the phone's calendar app:

Having set this option, all new appointments created within a Tracker or Alpha Tracker diary now appear on my phone and automatically reminder me 15 minutes before the event.

If you need any help with this setting or would like more information, please contact our support line as usual.

Resource Tracker Sync can help your asbestos, legionella or environmental consultancy to be more efficient enabling site staff to see their work diaries from any device they choose at any time with the diary always automatically updated.  If you don't use Resource Tracker Sync, get in touch and we can discuss how to integrate it into your business.

Resource Tracker Sync v1.5 SVN24 released

This is a major release of Resource Tracker Sync with a number of new features, improved performance and increased reliability when communicating with Google servers.

Changes include:

• more flexible templates for events as they sync to Google calendars
• better processing of waiting updates to avoid situations where a slow response from Google can lead to updates to appointments failing to sync properly
• better management of appointments when they are moved between staff
• improved logging of activity for troubleshooting purposes.

If you are a Resource Tracker Sync user and would like the latest update, please contact the office.

Resource Tracker Google Sync launched

Back in September we announced that Resource Tracker Google Sync was in beta.

We're proud to announce that it is now on general release and can be ordered via the office (by email or phone 0845 612 2402) or direct from our online shop http://start-software.com/shop/.

Resource Tracker Google Sync is a brand new Tracker module which keeps Google calendars updated for all your staff so that they can see their work diaries at any time from their laptops, home PCs or smartphones.  Google calendars are free and can be set up in a matter of minutes and are the world's most popular online calendars being easy to use, flexible and fully integrated with Google Mail.

The Google calendars are read-only for the staff (so that they cannot amend or delete work scheduled for them).  If staff already have Google calendars for personal use, the additional "work calendar" will simply appear automatically on their laptop or phone - but without the option to remove work you have scheduled for them!

Use of this module means that you no longer have to send appointments via email to staff - their own diaries will just automatically sync no matter how many appointments you schedule for them, how many you move, or even how many you delete!

Resource Tracker Google Sync is priced at £750+vat.

Please note that you need Resource Tracker v1.5.500 or higher to use Resource Tracker Google Sync.

New Resource Tracker Diary Sync Tool in Beta

Our Resource Tracker integrated scheduling tool has always had an email link to Outlook, but for users without Outlook (Exchange) diaries this hasn't been ideal.  In addition, housing survey contracts in particular demand lots of last-minute changes to the diary and so receiving updates by email isn't always convenient.

Our new Resource Tracker Sync tool is designed to be the solution.  It auto-syncs the Resource Tracker diary with other diaries (starting with Google Calendars) without the need to use emails to transmit the diary changes.

If you're interested in helping us test the beta release of Resource Tracker Sync please get in touch with the office.