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Posts Tagged ‘small business accounting software’

Cutting your computing budget

I want to help you save money and I am never going to ask you for a penny in return.

Every year I save hundreds of dollars by not spending any money on software. It was the quote containing the Sage Softwarethat caused a friend to call me up and ask if I could help me get a better deal on software for his business – hence this article. It is now possible to perform most of the key business tasks using the software that costs nothing. Only the Lord knows why this stuff isn’t evryday knowledge for most business folks. The facts I share with you here are not things that most business owners would know about.

Stick to this approach and start saving money.

* Use ten minutes of your day looking for the free software tools.
* Remember your findings and what you think on the free evernote.com service.
* Ten minutes at the end of each day trying out what you find.

By the end of a month you should have all of the tools you will ever need to run your business. Here is a short cut for you, a list of the great software I use everyday to get the job done.

To make this simple to understand I have listed the zero cost software on the left and the software you will have to pay for on the right, the chances are you have heard of the software on the right because they spend a large proportion of the money they take from you on marketing.

Here we go:

Just type the name of the free product to the search engines

One system to manage customers and accounting

salesorder.com pricing: free Sage Software – really expensive and only does Accounting

Creating and writing Documents

Google Docs pricing: $0 Microsoft Office pricing – at least $100

Or

OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org)

Sharing ideas online

Bubbl.us pricing: $0 Mindjet pricing – at least $200

Making videos

Jing pricing: $0 Camtasia Studio pricing – at least $300

Teleseminars

DimDim pricing: $0 AdobeConnect pricing – at least $200/month

My thanks to the Sage Software incident for the desire to write this up and help you out.

Come back soon as I will be adding more insights here…

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Accounting is for accountants and what’s more infuriating is they want it to stay this way, so it’s hardly suprising that people similar to me who run a small business and cannot and don’t want to spend money on an accountant discovered the shortcut I want to share with you here. Most professionals I know in startups want to devote their time to finding customers and selling as opposed to doing bookkeeping. Accounting is a ‘chore’ that many people enjoy doing but must be undertaken on a consistent basis to avoid problems.

I asked my bookkeeper for help and he convinced me I should use Sage Software which turned out to be a small business accounting software package. I just went out and purchased the application without even considering if it would suit my needs. This was probably one of the biggest mistakes I made as the application turned out to be really difficult to understand and use. OK my first piece of wisdom is that whenever you see the words accounting software go carefully as it definitely means the developer is making the assumption you know a great deal about accounting.

Just like me small business managers know about their craft and the product or service they sell and not accounting but in my situation I was driven to devote time to finding a system that would work for me. The second piece of advice I want to share with you is my discovery of a really useful and free web application called salesorder.com.

Arguably the best software I have come across, salesorder.com works on the internet and is really well designed and of course lets me work anywhere I can connect to the web. And here is the best bit I want to tell you, the people at salesorder.com know their stuff, just like their system they are easy to work with and better still are happy to spend quality time with their users (even the free ones) helping people like me to solve real issues in my company and to top it off they have tutored me in the accounting I need to know.

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The key reason workers fail to adjust to operating remotely is they don’t realise the essential requirement of first class organisation and sustainable self discipline.

I have been operating remotely for nearly 8 yrs since I first discovered Quickbooks online an ‘on demand’ small business accounting software service and was spellbound by the fact that if you can do accounting online then why shouldn’t it be workable to do other important types of work at a distance?

Whilst working remotely has its obvious perks there are numerous traps that people easily fall into which turn into problems that cause decreased productivity and lower motivation. The most significant reason for low productivity in remote workers is disturbance and it is a confirmed and well known fact that it can take a person up to 0.33 hours to return to their original productivity level after experiencing a distraction.

Deeper insights reveal that persons who are regularly experience disturbances are more likely to be susceptible to lower memory capacity and are prone to developing mental health issues in old age. We live in an over communicated society and it is essential that you know the problems this causes before you decide to work remotely. Whilst operating remotely you have to do everything feasible to eradicate the risk of being disturbed.

Here’s how I do it:

1, Get a habit, communicate it to absolutely everyone and rigidly adhere to it!

Good examples are a consistent time of day when you look at or write and send e-mail and make or be available for telephone calls. Before I began working remotely I used to receive as many as hundreds of electronic mails every 24 hours. Now I think I am unfortunate if I get greater than four. To start over with my e-mail experience I changed my e-mail address and vigorously took steps to look after the details being passed on to anyone. I then made sure everyone who I gave my e-mail address to, to use it prudently. I also created an automatic response that swiftly told anyone sending me mail my schedule for attending to mail and if someone must have my immediate awareness to mark it as ‘Urgent’.

2. Get rid of alerts.

Disable every function that can send you a visual or audible alert. This includes mobile and
conventional telephones and types of alerts from electronic mail such as display events, beeps, display changes to your inbox folder and of course facing a window. Get a door on your work room and put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on it.

In ‘Remote Working Part 3 – My list of essentials’ I will reveal my favourite tools and software.

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Obviously not everybody is able to work remotely as many jobs require us to go to their office or travel to perform their work face to face. But for those of us are allowed to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share what I have learned and share some practical advice by putting it on the web in the hope that I could give others useful advice for adapting to remote working or supervising remote workers.

I would caution you that there are a lot of self proclaimed ‘gurus’ online who will try and persuade you to purchase e-books for substantial sums of money, trust me you don’t need to do this.

I am lucky enough to be permitted to work in whatever location I choose and just about everyone who asks me what I do for a living wants to understand how I manage to work remotely. Don’t get the wrong idea I am still perfecting the science of remote working as everyday I find persons on the web who teach me new methods and I am constantly unearthing new tools and processes that make my life simpler and increase my productivity.

Throughout the past 7 years I have significantly adapted my working methods to allow me to do all of my work remotely with a mixture of web tools and solid self management. One early morning whilst browsing the net I found Quickbooks online and this made me aware of what just might be possible. My discovery of online ‘on demand’ small business accounting software was a life changing event for me and the beginning of my ‘remote working history.

I have got to mention up front that effectively working remotely is as much about the systems as it is about self discipline. Working remotely also means stating to your team members, superiors and customers as to what they can expect and how they will stay in touch with you.

In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Effective working styles’ I talk about how to focus.

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Obviously not all of us can work remotely as some vocations require workers to be at their place of work or travel to perform their duties in person. But for those of us who can or want to work remotely then I thought it would be useful to share what I have learned and offer some practical advice by writing and publishing it on the net in the hope that I could give others useful shortcuts for adapting to remote working or managing remote workers.

I can tell you that there are a lot of people out there who will try and sell you guides for preposterous sums of cash, trust me you don’t need to do this.

I am fortunate to be permitted to work anywhere I choose and just about everyone who asks me what job I do wants to know how I manage to work remotely. Don’t misinterpret me I am still refining the art of remote working as everyday I meet tribes on the net who teach me new tricks and I am constantly coming across new tools and methods that make my life simpler and make me more efficient.

In the past 7 years I have substantially adapted my working processes to enable me to do just about all of my work remotely with a kit of internet tools and solid self management. One early morning whilst exploring the web I uncovered Quickbooks online and this got me thinking about what just might be possible. My discovery of ’cloud’ based ‘on demand’ small business accounting software was a pivotal moment for me and the launch pad of my ‘remote working history.

I have to mention up front that proficiently working remotely is as much about the systems as it is about self management. Working remotely also means telling your colleagues, supervisors and clients as to what they can expect and how they will communicate with you.

In ‘Remote Working Part 2 – Best practises’ I write about how to focus.

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