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Archive for July, 2009
One most important key thing to help your business to grow
posted by Happy Business Guy @ 10:00 PM
Thursday, July 16, 2009
If you own a business, and you have others that rely on you, why not pay attention and do the right thing. What is that? Making sure that when your customers place an order, that the order is correct. Its ok to make a mistake, and then corect it, but when it happens over and over, then its time for a change.
I had place an order for some checks with a vendor. That vendor allowed split shipments to save more in the long run. Well they shipped the entire order to the customer. It was corrected, but they shipped the order out again, and was the wrong color. So now, I have to give them a call back to get the correct color again. They have lost my trust and business. So if you really want your business to grow, do what is right, and offer your customers the best. One way to make sure your doing what is right for your customers is having a great accounting program like peachtree quantum and the people that is working for you. The best service and making the orders correct is a great way of doing good business.
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Small Business Manufacturing
Manufacturing organizations like yours, especially those in the small to mid-sized segment need to focus on the markets and business processes that are producing results while working to improve operational efficiency and enhance customer response. To do so, you require in-depth visibility and insight into the information at the heart of your manufacturing business. Peachtree by Sage – Quantum Manufacturing Edition powered by MISys Inc. delivers not only the core accounting features you need, but a rich manufacturing-based feature set that helps drive efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability.
Manufacturing industry challenges
- Increasing operational costs
- Increasing material costs
- Inconsistency in order volume from customers
- Need to maintain profitable output with fewer headcount
- Increasing global competition
- Increased competition from large suppliers moving down market
How Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition can help
Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition helps you address these challenges by providing core accounting functionality with advanced manufacturing features powered by MISys Inc. Do more with less by using workflow capabilities that help you increase efficiency, while being cost effective, improve assembly processing, make inventory management more predictable, reduce delivery times and create greater customer satisfaction. Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition offers tools that are right for growing job shops to large make-to-stock and make-to-order manufacturers.
Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition provides:
- Extensive tracking of manufacturing inventory and work in process (WIP)
- Multi-level bills of material with full explosion down to 16 levels deep
- Net-change physical inventory with cycle counting
- Batch-oriented or direct entry of all stock transfer transactions
- Full back flushing of all assembly transactions
- Choice of standard, average, LIFO, or FIFO costing methods
- Cost adjustment with roll-up through all BOM levels
- Stock check processing to identify impending shortages
- Work orders to document and track production activity
- Configurable alerts to show you critical events and status
- Additional modules to extend capabilities in Advanced Purchasing, Advanced Production, Material Requirements Planning
- Custom manufacturing reports
- One-year access to priority support, updates and upgrades
Are you looking for a manufacturing software solution that is simple to install, quick to implement, and easy to use? Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition can help you reduce your inventory holding costs, avoid painful purchasing mistakes, and prevent costly production delays.
How easy is it to switch from QB to Peachtree?
posted by Happy Business Guy @ 9:55 PM
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
How Easy is it to Switch from Quickbooks to Peachtree Accounting?
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I choose Peachtree over QuickBooks?Peachtree products provide robust functionality in inventory, job costing, time and billing, fixed assets, and Internet tools. In addition, Peachtree products are strong and flexible in system accounting functions, such as Double Entry Accounting, Import/Export, Fiscal Year Structure, Security and Posting Options. Peachtree products also provide advanced analysis tools to help small businesses make informed decisions on a daily basis.
Can I convert my QuickBooks data myself, or do I have to pay someone to do it for me?Peachtree by Sage 2010 includes a QuickBooks conversion utility that is designed to make it easy to convert your QuickBooks data yourself. The simple wizard format steps you through the process and explains each of your options.
How much of my QuickBooks data will be converted?Peachtree will convert both lists (such as customers, inventory items, and accounts) and historical transactions (such as invoices, receipts, and deposits), although payroll transactions cannot be converted. See a complete list of the types of data that can be converted.
Can I choose to convert only some of my QuickBooks data?Yes. You can choose to convert lists and transactions, lists only, or even transactions from a specific date.
I don’t use account numbers in QuickBooks. Am I required to set these up before I can convert to Peachtree?No. During the conversion process Peachtree will automatically create account numbers, or “account IDs,” for any QuickBooks accounts that do not have them. You are able to review and edit these account IDs during or after the conversion.
How much time will it take to convert my data?The amount of time required to convert data varies greatly and depends on how much data will be converted and the speed of your computer. You can expect an average size database to take up to an hour to convert.
Do I need to install Peachtree on the computer where QuickBooks is installed?Yes. Peachtree must be installed on the same computer as QuickBooks because portions of the conversion require QuickBooks to be running. Once the conversion is complete, you can place the new Peachtree company file in any local or network location that Peachtree can access.
Will all my payroll history convert?Payroll transaction history in QuickBooks is protected in such a way that the Peachtree conversion utility cannot convert it. The conversion process makes it easy for you to set up your payroll in Peachtree by guiding you through the steps of setting company deductions and year-to-date earnings.
Can I convert from QuickBooks 2003?No. Peachtree 2010 will only convert from QuickBooks 2005 through 2009.
Can I convert Quicken?No. Peachtree 2010 will only convert QuickBooks Basic through Enterprise.
Empty parking spaces sign of slow economy
posted by number generator @ 9:44 PM
Monday, July 13, 2009
Empty parking spaces sign of slow economy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Take a look around town, preferably from the top floor of an office tower, and something becomes markedly clear down below: Parking decks aren’t as full as they used to be.
That’s good news for those looking for a parking spot. But not so great for AAA Parking and its competitors. The recession means Atlanta-born parking giant AAA is punching fewer tickets, especially at hotel parking decks, where room vacancies translate to empty parking spaces.
Until something like the recent partial collapse of a Midtown parking deck, parking never gets much attention because of its mundane nature. But it’s a good gauge for a region’s economic health. And in a place like metro Atlanta, replete with parking decks and surface lots, parking is a good economic indicator.
AAA Parking alone manages about 85,000 parking spots in metro Atlanta.
“Atlanta’s taking a pretty good hit for hotel occupancy and that affects our business as well,” said Eric Garrison, San Antonio-based marketing director for AAA.
Monthly parking, which is mostly filled by workers, hasn’t been as hard-hit as hotel parking, which is off “significantly,” he said. Metro Atlanta had a 53.3 percent hotel occupancy rate during the first half of this year, according to Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research, which tracks the hotel industry.
“That’s very low,” Woodworth said. During the same period a year ago, occupancy stood at 62.4 percent. Historically, metro Atlanta hotels have had a 64.4 percent occupancy, Woodworth noted.
Hotels account for a quarter of the AAA’s overall properties — 50 of its 200 facilities nationwide. But those hotels account for 60 percent of the company’s revenues. Consequently, AAA’s overall revenues are down 15 percent and the company has responded with layoffs of its own.
AAA, one of the largest parking management companies in the country, was founded in Atlanta in 1956 and acquired by real estate and development firm Selig Enterprises in 1981. Metro Atlanta accounts for about half of AAA’s business. The company manages a variety of parking properties including hospitals, hotels, arenas, self-parking and facilities with valet service.
“No doubt, the economy’s affected our business,” Garrison said. The company has offset the drop in revenue by picking up more properties to manage.
But the recession hasn’t persuaded parking garage owners or managers to significantly changes their rates. A study done last month on parking rates worldwide found that parking rates are holding steady. Few cities have seen a “significant pullback in parking rates,” according to Colliers International’s 2009 Parking Rate Survey. The survey tracks 64 North American markets.
The survey noted some changes in daily and monthly parking rates in this country during the last year. Daily rates rose 1.2 percent or 18 cents; monthly rates were off 0.9 percent or $1.47. The survey attributed the drop in monthly rates to the “substantial decline in office occupancies, which tends to push monthly park rates lower.”
Along with layoffs and the drop-off in hotel business, other economic factors also have affected the parking business in metro Atlanta, Garrison said. Spikes in fuel prices, for instance, have led many people to ditch cars and carpool or ride MARTA. Business Checks are slowing down along with the economy. Not as many business are using checks, because of employee cut backs.
How important is it to have a savings account so your business wont go under.
posted by Happy Business Guy @ 10:30 PM
Sunday, July 12, 2009
California vendors fight for their cash
Small business owners plan layoffs and furloughs if they’re saddled with hard-to-redeem IOUs.
California is in a very hard time right now. We have provided the news article provied by CNN business news. Its importnat to make sure when your running a business, and your using your checking acount, to make sure you have enough in that account. Business checks is a great thing to have, but what happens if you run short and no extra money to cover for it. You can always go to your quicket source of cash, and thats your savings account. California is in so much trouble, they are going to start issuing IOU’s. Thats not good. That can affect a lot of business. Read below to see more info about California.
At the end of last year, five business owners struggling through the recession shared their stories of facing a make-or-break holiday season. Here’s how they fared.
View photos
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As if struggling to stay afloat during a faltering economy isn’t difficult enough, hundreds of small business vendors that rely on contracts with California are facing another hurdle: There’s a good chance the state won’t be paying any of their invoices this month.
7 ways to navigate a liquidation sale
Highlights
- Make sure it’s a bargain
- Ask about warranties
- Check thoroughly the item you’re buying
As the list of retail brands going bust grows and everything-must-go sale signs clutter street corners, it’s easy to be lured by the promise of big bargains. But liquidation sales can be some of the worst places to shop for deals, so it’s important to know the pitfalls.
“Liquidation sales can be worse than the regular promotions available at the same stores before they announce the closing of their businesses,” says Tony Gao, a marketing professor and retail expert at Northeastern University’s business school in Boston.
Going-out-of-business sales will grow amid the retail industry’s continued slide. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts 148,000 retail stores will shut in 2009.
But why put up with poor service, crowded lines and the “all sales are final” policies typical of liquidation sales if you aren’t even getting a good deal?
Here are seven tips to making a liquidation sale work for you. Dont forget to use your business deposit slips to allocate the money into the right account
Title here
- Make sure it’s a bargain.
- Ask who is managing the sale.
- Ask about warranties.
- Check the item you’re buying thoroughly.
- Pay with a credit card.
- Check with the Better Business Bureau.
- Haggle.
Make sure it’s a bargain
“You can’t just go into the store thinking everything is going to be a good deal. Don’t just walk in saying, ‘Hey, I want a flat-screen TV,’ and walk out with it. Compare prices and don’t just presume everything is a good deal,” says Alison Southwick, spokeswoman at the Better Business Bureau, or BBB, in Arlington, Va.
The federal tax burden varies widely across income groups, but a surprising number owe little if anything in income taxes.
100-day scorecard
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — For most Americans, Wednesday is the day they have to make sure they’re square with the tax man.
It’s also a day that focuses the mind on those perennial questions about the fairness of the U.S. tax system. Are higher-income people paying enough – or would raising their taxes depress their incentive to work? Are the poor getting gouged – or do too many get off without paying a penny? Are those in the vast middle getting squeezed?
The questions are particularly relevant these days, as deficits pile up, demands for government spending soar and many of the past decade’s tax cuts near their expiration in 2010. Business taxes brings in more tax money than personal taxes. Business need to have a business checking acctount for taxes. Buy more checks in bulk, so in the long run, you will have cheap business checks that will save the company money
I’ve been reviewing Peachtree accounting software for over 15 years now, and it remains a formidable competitor to Intuit’s market-leader QuickBooks. More than anything, Peachtree by Sage is known for accounting accumen and depth; it’s–arguably–as easy to use as QuickBooks, though its look and feel aren’t quite as elegant.
Sage North America today announced its 2010 line of Peachtree by Sage — five core products whose upgrade path can take a small business from the entrepreneur/startup stage to nearly midrange territory.
Sage’s five products are Peachtree First Accounting, Peachtree Pro Accounting, Peachtree Complete Accounting, Peachtree Premium Accounting, and Peachtree Quantum. Prices start at $99.99 and go up to $4,450.
New features improve internal communication and collaboration. They include a new Customer Manager Center, enhanced transaction histories, and new business analytics. Additional improvements have been made in the areas of backup, employee management, and password security. You can now have two companies open simultaneously and assign multiple contacts per company.
Peachtree Quantum has added more sophisticated features, like a new dashboard and the Order Process Workflow tool, which tracks the status of the order process so nothing gets missed.
How much security do you have for your business?
posted by Happy Business Guy @ 9:41 PM
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
How much business security do you have for your business? This applies only for online business. If your business is in the USA and you ship only to the USA, how can you protect from fraud?. One great tool to use is on line tracking for customers. Its a small HTML code you can put into your home page and the customers wont know. If you see that its someone from another county, you can put that IP address, into your Security tool area, for IP address and select ALLOW or BLOCK. If your printing business checks, you need to make sure it has alot of security features on it. Most important is to make sure it has a PANTOGRAPH of VOID on the check.
If your using online accounting software, or desktop accounting software, put a password for each user. Make sure you use a good complex password for your online banking. If your using a laptop in a public area and need to use WI-FI, make sure your have a privacy screen to keep others from looking at your information. If you have alot of paper work with customers info on it, keep it in a secret area that only certain people know. The more security you have, the better your company is protected from thefts and etc….
Wal-Mart backs mandatory health insurance
Nation’s largest private employer signs letter to Obama backing employer mandate in an effort to rein in costs.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world’s largest retailer, said Tuesday that it supports President Obama’s push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers.
“We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage,” stated a letter addressed to Obama and signed by Mike Duke, the chief executive of Wal-Mart; Andy Stern, the president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and John Podesta, the CEO of the Center for American Progress.
Wal-Mart’s public statement of support for employer mandated coverage comes as Obama pushes for an overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system. He has made a healthcare plan that reins in costs and covers most of the roughly 46 million uninsured Americans one of his top priorities.
While the president has left much of the details of health reform to Congress, he has told U.S. lawmakers he is open to requiring larger companies to provide coverage for employees but exempting smaller businesses.
In recent years, Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), the nation’s largest private employer, has come under fire by labor-backed critic groups that accused it of mistreating employees and not offering adequate healthcare coverage.
Wal-Mart has worked to counter critics by promoting its healthcare initiatives, such as its $4 generic drug program. In 2007, it also joined with the SEIU, which has more than 1 million members, in calling for universal health-care coverage for all Americans by 2012.
Wal-Mart said it supports an employer mandate that covers as many businesses as possible, as well as part-time and full-time employees. The requirement would ultimately save companies money, it added.
“This choice will require employers to consider the trade-off of agreeing to a coverage mandate and additional taxes versus the promise of reduced health care cost increases,” it said.
It also said health care reform legislation should include provisions that reduce health costs, and that the retailer would support legislation that would put a public healthcare plan in place should private health insurers fail to meet price and competition targets, also known as a “trigger” provision. In addition, walmart is trying to be competitive to best buy with their electronics. That including business accounting software, and personal accounting software.
When your running any size company, and you need to save money, why not buy more in bulk. Checks comes in alot of qty sizes. The more you buy, the cheaper you can save in the long run. Yes it may cost alot upfront, but in the long run, it will be worth it. Saving money is what helps your business to succeed.
If you buy 500 qty, it could cost $0.11 per check, for example. If you buy 3000 qty, it will cost per say $.08 per check. WoW. that’s a lot of savings in the long run. Buying bulk blank checks are available in alot of styles from marble, to wave to lattice and others. The most popular colors are blue, green, burgundy and tan.
Happy 4th of July America. Its really special when you can find a unique story to read about. I have one that is very sweet for everyone to enjoy.
Old Glory of old: 93-year-old mid state Ga veteran still has flag he made at age 15
IVEY — Every Wednesday, while his wife is at the beauty parlor, DuPree Blankenship pays a visit to his longtime friend, Byron McCook.
He parks in the shade at the end of the driveway, and they talk about everything under the sun.
Special to The Telegraph Byron McCook holds the American flag he made in 1931.
The other day, they were discussing flags and the Fourth of July.
Flags are always a great topic of conversation when you’re sitting around shooting the breeze.
“I made my first flag when I was 15 years old …,” Byron said.
He was silent for a moment, reflecting on those stars and stripes of long ago.
“… And I still have it,” he said.
He rose from his easy chair, one of the few pieces of furniture in his house he didn’t make, and walked into the next room.
He reached inside a drawer of keepsakes — he could never be accused of throwing anything away — and pulled out the flag carefully.
It is a little tattered and frayed around the edges, and the blue isn’t nearly as deep as it was almost 80 years ago.
But it is still a remarkable piece of the past. The flag is nearly as old as he is, and he’ll be 93 in December.
He stitched and sewed it together as a teenager during the Great Depression. He used material from a feed sack and cloth from some old dresses that belonged to one of his aunts.
Eat your heart out, Betsy Ross.
Byron can’t remember the first flag he ever saw. It was probably when he was a young boy at Mount Carmel School. Or over at Charlie Moore’s store in Gordon. Or maybe even in front of the courthouse in Irwinton.
He had a strong desire to fly his own.
“I loved flags, but it was during the Depression,” he said. “We didn’t know it because we didn’t have any money anyway. Country folks were better off during that time because we could grow our own food.”
And make their own flags.
He asked his mother’s permission to use her sewing machine, a Singer with a foot pedal. Although sewing was something usually left to the women, he wasn’t completely in unfamiliar territory. In the past, he had made a couple of handkerchiefs.
He had no pattern to go by, so he cut the 13 stripes from a white chicken feed sack and strips from a red dress that was bound for the scrap pile. He found a large patch of blue cloth from another dress, shaped 48 stars out of paper and sewed them to the material.
That’s how many states there were in 1931. It would be another 28 years before Alaska and Hawaii joined the union.
(Folks back then were a lot more resourceful, don’t you think? They weren’t cut from the same cloth as today’s disposable society.)
Byron not only created a flag, he later fought to defend it. He served his country in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Guam during World War II.
For years, he and his wife, Marion, placed small American flags on the graves of all 101 veterans buried at Snow Hill Cemetery. (Marion died this past March. They had been married 68 years.)
DuPree wasn’t too surprised his friend had once made a flag. Byron has made just about everything else.
“I don’t think there’s anything he can’t make,” DuPree said.
Byron worked in the local kaolin mines and at the Naval Ordnance Plant in Macon. But most of his career was spent in home construction in and around Wilkinson County. When he wasn’t building houses, he was making furniture, cabinets and clocks.
He flies an American flag every day on a tall pole near his driveway.
But the flag with the most meaning — his own Old Glory — is in safekeeping and always within arm’s reach.
He holds it dear, and he should.
Their are business checks you can order, but is rare, but it does have the American flag on it, or flags.
Do what is right, and you wont loose your business.
posted by Odd Ball @ 10:51 PM
Thursday, July 2, 2009
If you do what is right you wont loose your business. Too many banks are failing because of them giving bad loans,and favor for special customers. The problem is that the banks are giving bad loans, and opening accts that are not in the FDIC or bank rules or regulations and that will get you into some serious problems. Before a bank is taken over by FDIC, they will do a report and evaluate what is going on with their figures. One bank gave a loan that was for 5 million dollars and the business decided to fold and went bankrupt.
That loan was lost and the bank had to use their capital to make up for it. FDIC wont cover that at all. Even if you have a gurantor to cover the loan, it can still be lost. OK if you do what is right with your business, and micro manage the business great, then nothing can go wrong. I use to work Office Depot. I had a boss that was excellent at micro management, and we won alot of prices for the district, region and etc… Our inventory loss was less than .05 %. WoW that is excellent. OK theirs a catch, when it came to people skills, he didn’t have it. He could really make a customer mad in a matter of seconds. Customer service wasn’t his forte for sure. If you use a great accounting program like, peachtree quantum, what you put in, will tell you what you have.
Treat customers with respect, go out of your ways to do what is right in the company policy. If you bend the rules, ever one suffers. Dont be like a small bank that can loose business because you can and get away with it.