Business Software » Business Software

Do I Need An Accountant Or Accounting Software?

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 00:24:21 +0000

Accounting is the process of collecting, summarizing and analyzing the financial data of your business. Every business needs do keep on top of their accounts to ensure proper management of revenues and expenses. Failure to do so could cause your business to fail.

There are two ways of keeping accounts for your business, one is enlist the help of an accountant and the other is to buy some accounting software and manage the accounts yourself.
Lots of people are worried about accounts and tax and would rather pay for an accountant to do all the work for them, however this might suit some people but not everyone. With hiring an accountant this will be quite costly and the cost will depend on the size of your business and the amount of financial data it generate. If you are just starting up a business you could collect all of the information and hire an accountant once a year. Most accountants work on an hourly basis so depending on how long it take them to work out your accounts will depend on how much you have to pay them. If you keep all receipts and invoices in date order this could keep your accountant fees to a minimum.

Another option is to invest in good accounting software. You do not need to have any knowledge about accounting as most good software is very easy to use with simple steps that anyone can follow. More and more business are using accounting software as the price of an Accountant can be quite steep whereas accounting software is a one of payment. There are lots of different types of accounting software for small and larger business and for lots of different types of businesses. Some accounting software can work for all size businesses with modules that you can add as your business grows and your accounting needs grow.

Some of the many benefits of having accounting software are:

Saves time

Saves money

100% Accuracy

Up to date accounts always available

Quick access to information

They are just a few of the reason why accounting software is best option for any business. Accounting software will make your business management much better, much more efficient and easier. You will be able to access the up to date data with a simple click of the mouse giving you the competitive edge that all business need to have in this day and age.

Choosing the right software is a very critical. You should always do your research before you buy any accounting software. With the internet it is not a problem as you can find reviews, websites and talk to users of software to find the best one for your particular business. I would talk to many different users and read many different reviews and then weigh up the benefits of each. Once you have chosen the right one then your business can grow and expand without any worries about finances. The software will free you time up so you can get on with your job.

By: Carolyn Clayton

Business Intelligence – The Science

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 17:23:02 +0000

So, if Business Intelligence can increase profits, pinpoint marketing efforts, streamline processes and monitor employee performance – how does it work?

How your information is stored

There are nearly as many different types of business software as there are businesses, but each one behaves in a similar way, taking in the information entered and storing it on a database. A database is a collection of tables which hold related information and are linked together by common strains of data, or keys. A customer table may look something like the one below, the second table is an example of how customer contacts may be held. So if a customer has two people who are your contacts, it will display the information like this: Most databases comprise of a minimum of twenty or thirty tables and many can be more than a hundred, but the theory stays the same.

Joe’s Garage uses ‘Service-Station-Op’, which, although it was produced by an obscure and now defunct software house, is a reliable database, and holds details of customers, completed jobs. It is more than capable of storing all of the data Joe needs to operate and expand his profitable enterprise.

A special programming language exists specifically for extracting this information and summarising it in different ways. This language is called SQL (Structured Query Language) and is the core of all Business Intelligence reporting.

Report writing software

SQL can be written long hand to produce lists of data, but doing this can be tedious and the results make complex viewing! Thankfully, software programs exist which provide a high level of control and fast development times. The market for reporting software is dominated by Crystal Reports. Over the years it has deservedly become the de facto standard, and is regularly updated with new revisions that provide ever more sophisticated tools whilst retaining the straightforward user interface which makes it so attractive to users of all levels. This is the development tool of choice for the majority of BI consultants (myself included) and produces robust, accurate reports within extremely quick development timeframes. Naturally, the more popular a software package is, the greater the availability of specialist consultants. However, the ever increasing popularity of Business Intelligence means that the best BI consultants are highly in demand.

Joe has recently enjoyed considerable success after he stumbled across the concept of BI and hired a consultant, Patrick, to explore some potential marketing ideas. Patrick recommended Crystal Reports because he believes that it will be a worthwhile investment for Joe it is user-friendly enough for Joe to learn the basics over time, and has the capacity for Patrick to develop it to deliver on every one of Joe’s demands.

Crystal Reports is not always the right choice and other options are available, such as Actuate and Sequel Server Reporter. Crystal Reports is, in my opinion, far superior in report production but the other options do have advantages when it comes to distributing reports.

Distribution Software

Once a report is developed and filled with data it must be communicated to the people who need to use it. For many small businesses this is not an issue as only one or two people need to the view the results and this can be done by simply using the software used to create the report. For example, on the left is Crystal Reports in “design mode” and on the right, displaying the report with data.

A free report viewer is available for Crystal Reports, but reports still need to be manually emailed to the recipient and stored on a network they can view. This is usually an ideal and cost effective solution for small to medium businesses. But distributing reports across a large company requires a different solution, particularly if the recipients need to see various variations of data on an ad hoc basis. The owners of Crystal Reports (SAP) provide several solutions for distributing reports, the most useful being Crystal Server which allows reports to be viewed online, and also to be automatically scheduled and sent to whoever is licensed to receive them.

This can become quite an expensive approach when distributing across a large company, but other independently developed alternatives are available with a much smaller price tag. The other reporting software options also come with their own distribution software, both pricing and functionality vary. Most Distribution Software is licensed by how many users receive reports, but shopping around can save a lot of expense.

Joe is the only person who needs access to the reports, and only at one location, his office. Because Joe’s initial Business Intelligence requirement was for a one off solution, Patrick recommended using the free demo of the latest Crystal Reports. By the time the 30 day demo has expired Joe has realised the value of BI and is happy to pay the reasonable amount for the licence (which he claims back as a business expense on his tax returns). As his business expands, all the data for his other garages are also held on the one system, but Joe likes to have to freedom to view information while at the other garages and so installs the free viewer and carries a copy of his reports on a memory stick.

My personal experience is that Business Intelligence is usually implemented first for one department, and once the benefits are realised, an extended reports library is eventually adopted across the entire company.

“Cheap” BI solutions

Programs like MS Excel, Access, or similar, can be used for BI purposes and may seem like a cost effective solution if they are already installed for other uses, (although if being purchased specifically for BI they are around the same price as report writing software). But, to tailor this type of generalist software to your specific BI needs will eat up significantly more precious development time, and is likely to work out more expensive than buying specialist software. An added disadvantage to this cheap approach is that you become reliant on the person who developed your reports, as the system becomes ever more convoluted. Whether you become dependant upon a permanent member of staff who may become too busy with their other duties, or a consultant who may increase their prices, further development may be a problem.

Exporting data into a spreadsheet directly from a database is a popular solution, even in big companies with specialist BI departments. The time it takes to export the data and format / summarise it in a spreadsheet takes at least as long as it does to create a report using the correct software. And if the same data is needed next month the whole process begins again, whereas a report just needs the date to be changed or can even be programmed to run automatically. This brief journey through the technical side of Business Intelligence should have enlightened you sufficiently to ensure any future discussion with your BI professional is tightly focused on achieving your goals!

By: Jason Dove

Vacation Tracking Software for Businesses

admin — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:50:50 +0000

Any business that uses employees knows that there is the hassle of trying to schedule holiday time for each of the employees. Not only do you have to schedule vacation time but you have to manage how much time each person is allotted. Trying to keep track of everyone in your company and their needs can be extremely tedious. The use of vacation tracking software can save your company a great deal of time and reduce errors that are made for calculating holidays.

The good aspect of vacation tracking software is that you can configure it to keep track of time that employees earn through your policies that you have in your business. The software can automatically calculate the time for you without having to manually do this. For example, if an employee can earn one hour of vacation time per 40 hours worked. The software can calculate this and keep track of it for you automatically. This will save a great deal of time for the human resources department in your business allowing them to spend time doing other tasks that need to be attended to.

Many companies allow employees to carry over their allotted holidays from year to year. This can be extremely tedious and cumbersome to keep track of manually. If you use vacation tracking software it will automatically update each year for you so that there are no errors in calculating how much time employees have for holiday each year. If an employee uses time during the year, this is automatically deducted and the accurate amount allowed is displayed for the employee record.

Scheduling vacations can be a true hassle. Many of the vacation tracking software programs allow you to enter times for employees on a schedule. This can be modified as needed. If you have many employees it can be a massive headache trying to figure out if one employee is scheduled off prior to giving a vacation slot to another employee. With the vacation tracking software programs, you can enter the date that an employee requests for holiday. If the slot has already been taken you will know instantly. You will not inadvertently give two employees off the same slot and leave yourself short handed for staffing requirements.

Another great feature about the vacation tracking software programs is that they are very user friendly and easy for your employees. You can have it set up where employees can log in and request specific times. They will instantly know if a particular slot is open or not. You can set it up so that during specific time periods that you need full staff that the slot is not open for employees to have vacation. This information can be updated as often as necessary. This will keep your business from ever having a point that you are accidentally understaffed because someone made a scheduling error. The use of vacation tracking software can make tracking and handling vacations much simpler for your business and free up your human resource department to handle other business tasks that need completing.

By: Dean Forster

Do You Really Need Small Business Document Management Software?

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:03:38 +0000

Having a solid system in place for small business document management is very important. Now the question is, do you really need to use software to do this? or is the solution you already have in place adequate? There are several factors to consider.You will need to consider whether the time savings from the software, and the spent adapting to the software, and security created by the software will provide enough value to your business in the long run.

Should You Use Small Business Document Management Software?

For some businesses the old file cabinet/copier/paper tray systems may be perfectly adequate. You can think of it this way, if a total of 733 hours per year is spent searching through documents (10 employees * 20 minutes per day average * 220 work days/year), and using software reduces the time waiting for printouts, filing, searching, and copying by 200 hours this can easily make using the document management software worthwhile especially over the long run. There are many inexpensive solutions for smaller businesses, and even some of the better online small business document management solutions are now worthwhile.

Do not forget to consider how long it takes to adapt to the new software. Your employees will need to be trained to use the new system. Also, if your company has a large number of documents you will need to consider the time and cost of placing these documents into the system. There could also be costs (and frustrations) associated with errors in using the new system.

A higher level of security could be created by adapting your small business document management system to one that utilizes software. We often hear on the news how un-secure the internet, and computers are, but think of it this way. Does your small business have a backup system for your documents? It is often unfeasible to have an adequate backup system without using software due to the time costs. Also, are your documents really secure? It may be a simple matter of getting into a filing cabinet, and grabbing some sensitive documents, and you may not even know for some time that the documents are missing. With document management software you are much more likely to know due to the logging capabilities within the software.

By: Clara Stone

Executive Writing Software – Write Better English Using Proper Business Expressions

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:35:47 +0000

Communication through writing is a need in every field in our daily life especially at the work place. The standard of writing that is required in the corporate world varies at every level. The matter that is written at the lower rung is different than the matter which is written by the executives of a company. This also classifies the style of writing while communicating at the executive level.

An executive has to write on various subjects related to the company. It is not necessary that a single person will have the knowledge of writing all types of formal or business documents. The executive writing software provides the solution as it provides the different styles that is required for writing a message or a document at the executive level.

Facts you should know

The executive writing software can be used by the executives of any company for future planning with the planner software. The calendar can be used for noting down the important days and dates along with the type of work to be executed. There is other software like the goal planning software which also contains the guidelines about how the work should be executed to achieve the goal.

The writing software which gives the idea about the style of writing that should be followed at the executive level. The software acts as a support system so the software that is compatible with the needs of the executive should be chosen. Most of the software can be downloaded directly from the website that provides this facility. There are some sites which provide the software free of cost.

By: Jane Sumerset

Streamline Your Business With Small Business Management Software

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:37:53 +0000

Small businesses often face a multitude of day to day problems and one of them is having difficulty in streamlining business procedures to maximise their potential. Without procedures and processes that are streamlined a business owner can find that a disproportionate amount of time is wasted each day. Whilst this can sometimes be through no fault of a particular individual it is still time during the working day that is lost and can never be retrieved.

In order to streamline a business and its processes and procedures it is wise to look into small business management software. With this management software it is possible to run most aspects of a business through one single software application. Not only does this provide a single interface for employees and business owners to perform work tasks through, it also helps to cut down on the amount of time spent switching between various applications.

Small businesses that opt to use small business management software soon see the benefits of doing so in terms of increased productivity and lowered inefficiency. Both of these combined can make a real difference to a small business’s bottom line, something that all business owners and managers are all concerned about.

Integrating small business management software into a business is also very straightforward, which means that managers will not have to face loosing too many working hours as their staff learn to use it. In fact as soon as you have been set up with a password and ID it is possible to be up and running with small business management software in a matter of minutes. Obviously users of this type of software will learn more about how to get the most out of it as they are using it and develop their own style.

Streamlining a small business means that all employees will be using the same efficient means of completing work related tasks and so on. By only using one application to create and save customer contacts, create work rotas, assign individual tasks, create quotes and invoices and much more a great deal of time is saved.

Traditionally, these tasks would have been completed through separate applications which meant waiting for each one to open every day and then having to swap between them during the working day. Over time this can lead to poor working practises and even lost documentation – which has to be avoided at all costs. In fact by only using one application it can enable a business to refine their processes to such an extent that there is little room left for error.

Any business owner or manager who wants to create a more positive working environment and increase productivity in a very short space of time should look towards small business management software. It is the practical and simplistic way to streamline a business and increase revenue. So rather than trying to change internal processes and retain the same software choose small business management software and you will soon see the results.

By: Devllin Walker

Benefits of Hosted Software For Start-up and Small Businesses

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 23:23:01 +0000

Introduction

According to research carried out by UK Online, a business broadband supplier, two thirds of small businesses defined as those with 1-10 employees and clearly this includes start-ups, do not yet have an internet connection at all. Further analysis shows that of those that do just over half do not have a company website, almost 20% are using a slow dial up network and 20% do not take basic security precautions such as using anti virus software. With this group representing something like 3.5million businesses in the UK the scope for growth and increased opportunities for these businesses by increased use of IT and the internet is enormous. We need to ask ourselves why so many people are shy of using the internet for business when something in the region of 61% of households have internet access according to the 2007 Office of National Statistics report?

Some answers can be found in the complexity of the business requirement, faster speeds, greater bandwidth etc., which in turn leads to cost implications. In addition the purchase and maintenance of complex business software such as databases is a challenge for small business. Finally many business owners in this category have little understanding of computers, the internet and the benefits that can accrue from this technology. In a small business start up, many owners give little thought to the IT and software requirements they need going forward except perhaps for a simple PC or laptop and some standard office software. Anything more complex is too expensive and because of lack of knowledge they have little idea of the benefits it could provide for the future. However the solution to this conundrum is at hand in the form of hosted systems.

Hosted systems

To outline what a hosted system is, we need to understand how most companies operate their standard IT systems. For very small companies any IT system they have is likely to comprise a laptop and some standard office software on which it would reside. For larger companies they will have a server which provides additional facilities for the PCs connected to it, may have software resident on it in addition to local software that may reside on individual PCs. A hosted system on the other hand has what ever software the company is supplying, often bespoke for a particular function, on servers many miles distant, access being achieved by way of an internet connection. Why is this beneficial? Well typically payment for this type of system is on a monthly rental model based on the number of people who use it. This means that the initial cost of using this software is substantially lower than otherwise would be the case. There are many more benefits of using hosted systems. These include:

Automatic (and usually) free upgrades keeping you up to date Scalability – so you do not need to buy additional software licences Low cost Secure – most companies use the very latest spam filters, firewalls and antivirus software to protect you and your data Back up – the majority of businesses are at great risk as they do not back up their data on a regular and consistent basis. Hosted systems automatically provide back up. Redundancy – Hosted system suppliers usually have multiple servers, in multiple locations with multiple communications to ensure availability better than most systems in an office. Reliability – Part of the service these companies provide is an IT support function that only large companies can normally afford. Availability – Being internet based your data and applications are available to you at anytime (not just office hours) and in any part of the world – very useful if you are travelling.

So what sorts of applications are available from hosted systems? The typical office software such as spreadsheets, word processors and presentation software are now all available for use free from Google from its Google Labs web site. Google have committed a great deal of resources into the hosted software market and we are sure to see more coming from them in the not too distant future. Highly featured CRM (contact relationship management) systems are also available and these systems are essential for any business wishing to develop prospects and customers in the medium term. Intranets have tended in the past to be for large companies and are usually bespoke and in house costing large amounts of cash. Yet increasingly these are being used by small companies with remote workers or partners. Other applications are websites and in particular e-commerce websites. Typically these have been extremely expensive to design, set up, maintain and regularly update the range of products sold, which is probably why many small businesses have not fully embraced the technology. Now however there are hosted systems available which reduces this cost to a small monthly amount. (Further details of these last two applications are in the next section)

Examples

The first example of hosted solutions is supplied by Intranet Works which provides intranet services to small and stat up businesses. It has ten applications all of which can be configured to the users’ requirements. In addition to an online diary and task list (which can be synchronised to MS Outlook) it has a series of database templates including a CRM package. Documents can be stored and viewed by any user who has the right permissions at anytime and from anywhere where there is an internet connection. This is an ideal product for companies with an extended supply chain, project management businesses, and those with remote workers, salespeople and service engineers.

Conclusion

For start ups and small businesses hosted systems are an ideal solution to the need to have and use software applications but at the same time to keep the costs of the business in the initial stages as low as possible. There is no doubt that in the future there will be a massive explosion in the number and type of applications available and if companies like Google have their way will end up dominating the market.

By: Bob Francis

How Can a Small Business Profit From Budgeting Software

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:47:40 +0000

Accounting is one business task that eats up a lot of resources. Accounting tasks should be assigned to an accountant to give focus on them and to keep up with time. If you think that hiring an accountant will not work for you and your business, the use of budgeting software can be the next best thing, but how can a small business profit from budgeting software?

Budgeting software makes number-crunching tasks easier to handle. There is a lot of software out there that would meet the requirements of your business, whether it is a starting business, a growing company, or a large corporation. The automation of the tasks and the management of these can boost your businesses profit, and you will see why.

Cost Cutting

Budgeting software is a one-time purchase, and in contrast with hiring people, the cost of paying them for an accounting job would be more expensive in the long run. The money that is used to pay an accountant or a bookkeeper can be allocated for other expenses since you can now take care of the accounting tasks of your company that are needed to be taken care of.

Expenditure Adjustment

Budgeting software have useful features, one of which is expenditure categorization. If you can see the summation of these for a monthly projection, you will be able to detect if you are still within your working budget. If you found out that you have already exceeded your limits, you can easily make adjustment, therefore avoiding unnecessary expenses.

Financial Planning

Planning involves a lot of time. Manual planning can be time-consuming, not to mention that it is also prone to errors. An accountant can help you in planning your finances, but automation is still not achieved. With the correct software, all you will need are the necessary figures, such as your capital, expected costs, expected revenues, and others. If you have these, the whole process of planning and scheduling can be done in a snap.

Resource Allocation

As the name implies, budgeting software is a tool for budgeting. It is important that you allocate your funds appropriately, because a single mistake can cause a lot of problems that can put a business down. It is also necessary to come up with accurate projections. Although the skills of an accountant are useful for this one, it is best to reduce error as much as possible.

Payment Scheduling

Any business needs to pay the correct amount of taxes, including other fees on time. If you allow the software to manage this, you can never miss a single payment. This way, you would never have to constantly remind yourself about the bills that should be paid. You also do not have to worry about overpaying or underpaying and this can save you from fines and other fees.

Profit and efficiency are gained with budgeting software. This does not implicate though that this can replace all the accountants in the world. If you feel that you can take care of the accounting yourself, then partner up with budgeting software.

By: JP Wallace

Painting Business – Paint Job Estimating Software

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 07:44:42 +0000

A lot of people my age are PC shy, in other words they are afraid they will break the PC by using it. On the other side of the seesaw are the younger people entering the market place that never knew a world that didn’t have a PC. Most kids today have confidence and experience around PC’s; because, they use them in school, the library and at home, from their early years.

To those smiling bright PC genius’, just skip the next part.

Because time waits for no one, I want to say to people who are PC shy, “get over it” they aren’t going to go away, and you might just find this new tool makes your job easier. Just as we converted several years ago from a miter box saw that used a hand saw to the laser guided compound miter box saws that we use today, we can now just open our minds to the PC as a labor saving tool.

A computer will save you time and be more accurate in creating estimates.

You can craft your own software if you are so inclined, it takes quite a bit of work and the learning curve is there, but once the software is done it can save you a lot of time, just on the calculations alone.

Having tried some very expensive programs and found that they do some things semi-automatically, like add a photo to the estimate, or the ability to use the software in a notebook PC, I haven’t gotten excited enough to make the big change or to pay the price in dollars or in spending a lot of energy in learning new software.

By: P E Cavanaugh

Increase Your Business With Sales Manager Software

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:47:11 +0000

Sales manager software helps your sales team to work more efficiently and focus their attention on selling. The sales team sometimes gets frustrated with the confusing and complex CRM solutions or when they have to struggle with the limitations of the approaches that are based on spreadsheet. With the help of this software the sales force automation system gets improved into pipeline management, which makes the maximum of every lead, maximizes the productivity of sales representatives and drive and close the sales deal. The sales managers and representatives have the information more clearly and they are able to set their target and plan accordingly.

The formula behind this is very simple and that is when the visibility increases you can easily identify the opportunities at every stage of the sales cycle and in this way you can track progress against your sales target. Gradually the team members understand their responsibility as exactly what they are supposed to do. When the tasks are assigned and the deadlines fixed, the team members do their job more effectively and quickly. The software enables the representatives gather information easily, they can follow up their leads and focus on the product line is collateral. In this way the whole team gets empowered and the members connected to each other to perform in result oriented way.

With so many sales representatives it is not possible to merge the monthly updates of their work done. But the various sales manager software products helps and makes it possible for the representatives to track their leads so that to update the status from a centered location. There is another advantage – you don’t have to follow the stereotyped rules of the sales force automation system. When the team is allowed to work according to their terminology and sales process the work done is more accurate and fast.

By: Russel Clark