Frequently Asked Questions about the CPO 2.0 release.

Mar 23, 2010

8 comments
Development Progress, News, Other Stuff

We have been fielding a lot of questions about CPO’s next version that is due out very soon. The work is still fast and furious here with a private beta release date of March 31 looming large. There are a few things that current CreativePro Office users should know as we finally enter the release phase of this long project.

When are you releasing version 2.0?

We have decided to do a private beta release of CreativePro Office 2.0 on March 31 with a public release shortly thereafter.

Why did you guys miss so many release dates?

This is an honest question and the answers are many. Mainly, the scope of work was much larger than anticipated. In retrospect, we may have tried to cram too many features into the initial 2.0 release. But, since version 1.0 has a pretty complete feature set, we knew we had to match and exceed that benchmark which I believe we have done.

So what great new features finally made it into the new version?

Too many to list here but the ones we’re most excited about are:

Much improved shared calendaring including export to Google calendar. Tasks and project dates automatically list on the central calendar.
The task manager has been entirely redone. It’s very robust and includes neat features like file attachments, message threads, email notifications, export to Excel file or PDF.
Team roles and permissions are now user defined so you can give your team as much or as little control over your account as you wish.
Much better integration between timesheets, expenses, and invoicing. You can now create an invoice from a timesheet or time clock entry with 1 click. Very cool!

Will the 2.0 version remain free?

Yes and no. CreativePro Office 2.0 will have a free option among several premium, paid options. We will release the official pricing structure very soon.

I’m an existing CPO user. Will I be immediately forced to upgrade to a paid plan?

No. We are allowing a 6 month grace period after launch for existing users to migrate to a free or paid plan on version 2.0. If you decide that you do not wish to continue using CPO we will provide a data extract feature so that you can get your data out of the system and migrate it to another service.

Will version 1.0 still be available for free?

No. Version 1.0 will not accept any new subscriptions after April 15. Existing users of version 1.0 will have 6 months from the public release date to migrate over to a CreativePro Office 2.0 subscription.

Will there be an open source version of CPO 2.0 that I can host on my own server?

Yes, but it will be available after the public hosted release. The reason is that we have to do some tweaking to the self-hosted version to insure a smooth installation experience for the widest variety of users.

Will the price of the open source code stay $150.00?

No, the price point of version 2.0 will be higher. We will release official prices within a week.

Are there help files or tutorials with this version?

CPO has been developed to be as intuitive as possible to use. However, we realize that support in many forms is necessary for a satisfied user base. The forum and priority email (for subscribers) will be the primary means of helping our users find their way around CreativePro Office 2.0. Tutorials and help files will be built out as we see a need. For example, if we see that many users are having trouble with file uploads; we’ll create some help content around that specific issue. We are definitely going to create some comprehensive help content for the self-hosted, downloadable version though.

What plans are there for foreign language versions?

We have long fielded the request for different language versions of CPO. Our plans are to include over 10 translations in version 2.0. We already have the translations more or less sketched out but we will be working as much as we can with native speakers to fine tune the translations.

Can I add my own currency?

No but we have added over 45 currencies to version 2.0 and will add more at your request.

Our plan for CreativePro Office is to continue to integrate more and more features over time as this application becomes profitable. While we might not be able to give you a specific date for a specific feature roll out, be confident that we have many improvements in store for the future.

Thanks for reading. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Discussion: 8 comments

Dave Bergschneider

Mar 25, 2010

Yay! Can't wait to check it out.

Will it be possible for the current CPO source code purchasers to get full premium access to the hosted version for a time being until the upgrade in May is made available?

Also, will the free updates or whatever be available for those whom have purchased CPO in the last 6-12 months be made available?

Good work guys!

Erjon Metohu

Apr 14, 2010

Heather

When is the final launch date, because I know it's been getting pushed month after month?

Jason

Apr 15, 2010

This is actually getting ridiculous - I've been waiting for the source code release for months upon months now... If you guys weren't going to be able to deliver on the specified date, you should say something. I've held off on other software for a long time now because I like CPO - but I have no clue when I'll be able to get it....

cristiane

Apr 19, 2010

Any news about release date for the host version?

best,
cristiane

Andy Darnell

Apr 20, 2010

Hey guys. Really excited about seeing the new version. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help. I understand how difficult it is to launch a product like this. I'm really excited about seeing it in action.

Sarah

Apr 20, 2010

@Jason, agreed. I've been waiting and promising my boss since December that the upgrade will be available soon with the features we need, and we're way past the zero hour. It's certainly understandable that launching something of this magnitude is no small task...but please keep us in the loop! I thought we'd be upgrading in February. If this is going to be delayed another 60 days, I absolutely have to go with some other solution.

Jason

Aug 20, 2010

Still nothing... not even a response from CPO!!

Heather Denton

Aug 21, 2010

Hi Jason & Sarah

Thanks for the continued correspondence inquiring about the source code for 2.0. We understand that you are looking forward to getting that. I am sure that you understand that it's almost impossible for us to release source code for a product that is undergoing testing and receiving final touches. It would be a hassle for you as a user to have to continually patch the code to make it work as it is intended.

I appreciate the fact that you are hanging on, looking forward to this, and can assure you that the source code will be released, though not in keeping with the deadlines we originally anticipated. Your response to us has helped along the choice to avoid release dates in the future, since so many things can happen to change what we anticipate.

Hope you have had a chance to preview CPO 2.0 and like what you see.

Heather and Jeff