myAccount is a server component that integrates user specific information and billing services into an m3i environment. Certain m3i UIs are "user aware", this means that when myAccount is present these UIs will allow logins and utilise user information such as email addresses, display costs and manage jobs, users & balances. UIs that utilise myAccount are part of the Maestro suite and have, what we like to call, MFD Accounting  seamlessly integrated into the workflow.

myAccount does much more than this however. Due to the granularity of the information and level of control provided through m3iR it is possible to cost jobs in a much more granular way. Also the flexibility afforded us by m3iR and Chameleon in terms of extensibility and UI provision allow us to avoid many of the pitfalls of existing systems. It all works seamlessly and, of course, if it doesn't work quite how you want it you can simply change it. Change the UI, the costing logic and the back-end integration.

Oh, and the best bit, billing is free on the m3i Platform for certain environments.

We designed myAccount to integrate seamlessly with m3iR and m3i UIs but to have different back-ends:

• For smaller/simpler situations it has its own accounting system which is limited to 5* users (and is free) or 100 users where there is a charge.
• For larger/more complex environments we don't try to reinvent the wheel. myAccount simply connects into existing systems like PaperCut and EasyTrace.

This blog post explains how MFD Accounting on the m3i platform represents a new approach.

Key Features

• Provides simple (free) accounting for m3i enabled systems or connects to third party enterprise systems
• Fundamentally changes the way in which the user interacts with the MFD and the MFD Accounting system
  • Changes in the way costs are calculated, presented and accepted by the user. These are delivered on multiple, collaborative, customisable UIs
  • Compatible with multiple UIs for different environments - commercial, public stand-alone, public operator-controlled. Or design your own
  • Back-end data is integrated directly into the various m3i components so that MFD Accounting is made a seamless part of the task being performed, not a separate login facility. myAccount extends m3iR to include attributes like Balance and Job Cost. This information is transparently exchanged with the billing system as users login/out and perform billable functions
  • m3i has extremely granular information about the jobs being processed so we are able to cost jobs in new ways (not just a simple scan impression). For example, this allows us to bill scan-to-email on filesize, which much more accurately represents the associated bandwidth costs of transferring the email. You can even write your own custom costing logic if required
• Security - we use SSL and other methods to protect the system
• Utilises various user authentication methods including user/password, cards, pin, biometrics etc.
• Centralised control for many MFDs, easily configurable from one console
  • Configure an unlimited (practically) number of MFD connections and of users and maintain them individually or together.
  • Configure using SQL server (MS SQL Server Express provided) or file system
  • Log transactions to file or SQL server
  • View and filter account transactions and job transactions in the configuration tool
  • Stores configuration details within myAccount (or connected billing system where appropriate) where they are easily accessible to an administrator
• Control access permissions at machine or user level
• Support for multiple, concurrent part-finished jobs belonging to different users
• Option to use 'default login' when other users are not logged in to allow public use
• Allows for expanding the solutions delivered and paid for on the MFD in the future - printing documents/photos from the web, scanning to web storage, etc.
• Runs as a windows service which is either independent or connects to external Copy Accounting systems

Sample Screens

* Note that commonly one of these users is anonymous (ie public/cash) so its really 4 users plus everyone else. This is designed for small companies or shops providing a service to their customers.