Tech Talk: Daniella

This month, we head into the office to chat with one of our accounting team members, Daniella. She has 5 years of accounting experience, and has been with FedLock for 8.5 years – including a few years on our communications team. 

Q: What is the most fun or unique thing you’ve learned about security hardware?
A: Most keys will have the keyway (the type of key it is) stamped right on the key. Typically, the key you need is very specific, and there are hundreds of thousands of different types of keys that all look very similar. Luckily, manufacturers know this and if you look closely at your keys, in small font, you will probably find 1-5 letters and/or numbers stamped into the key. It may mean nothing to you, but it means that we can make sure that you get the keys you need.

 Q: Our accounting team is involved in many activities. What client requests can you assist with?
A: I help with providing requested documents that our customers need for payment, such as COIs, W-9, lien wavers, etc. We mostly email invoices to our clients, but mail a few too. If the physical or digital address that you want invoices sent to changes, please let us know, and we can change it right away.

Q: Any helpful advice to ensure client records, invoices, COIs, etc. are accurate?
A: Does your accounting department require purchase order numbers on invoices? POs are numbers that are given to vendors to reference on orders and invoices. This is a process that helps track products and projects. Many companies, but not all, use a PO system, so we ask new clients if they require POs for their invoices. Some people have no idea what a purchase order is, and that is okay! We have found that, in general, if you do not know what it is, your company probably doesn’t use them.

Q: Is there a memorable work order that you’ve been involved with? 
A: When I was on our communications team, a customer called in from a military base on another continent, hoping there was some trick to get into a safe that no one knew the combination to. There was not. They told me that the safe had been sitting in a room for years, and they didn’t think anyone had ever used it. So, I asked them if they had tried the factory combination. Some hardware has a standard combination that the factory sets before shipping. After finding out the type of lock, I gave them the factory combination and they were able to successfully get into the safe.