ERP

Batch accounting and Real-time accounting the Spire Way

For a long time now, real-time accounting versus batch-based accounting has been a subject of debate. In this blog, we explore the benefits of each. We will also explain how Spire offers batches in some places and real-time accounting in others.

Batches

Batch-based processing has several advantages. In classifying entries to ensure accuracy, having better internal controls allowing a review before posting, and  in preserving the audit trail’s integrity. Batch-based accounting also makes sense for organizations processing large numbers of transactions. In some ways, batches are more efficient and easier to perform. Batches make sense when accumulating employee time and processing payroll altogether. This process allows for time saved in payroll. In the AR, depositing one cheque (or payment) at a time can be rather cumbersome. Unless it’s one big cheque, we are not likely to see bookkeepers making one deposit at a time, but rather a batch of many deposits at once. For organizations with no immediate need for information, it is reasonable to delay data processing by using batch-based accounting.

Realtime

While in some cases, batch-based may allow for a more efficient and audit-tight way of processing accounting data, it also presents some disadvantages.  More and more businesses need the ability to take immediate action on items that are crucial to their business. For example, purchasing managers at the mercy of a batch-based system would find it counter-productive to wait until batches post to provide inventory reports. Knowing that the need for real-time data isn’t just for the finance people, these businesses end up spending more of their budget for add-ons to increase access to their data in real-time. In this scenario, real-time accounting is better suited.

Keeping track of every transaction as they happen gives department heads an instant view of their overall financial status. Thus enabling decision makers to make more accurate projections. Being able to filter and compare using real-time data means companies can keep a close eye on margins and identify areas that need improvement. We see this in adjusting product prices like landed costs (duties, shipping, etc.). This fucntionality ensures accuracy of margins and profits per item, empowering an organization and keeping them one step ahead of the competition.

Which process is right for your business?

Accessing and understanding the data that makes up your debits and credits is critical to growing a business. Data isn’t just a way to analyze numbers; it’s a helpful way to react to growth potential when the opportunity arises. It also potentially prevent risks that have yet to happen.  Mining meaningful data contributes to the company’s success, however when data isn’t processed the best way, it can be destructive. Especially when attempting to achieve your reporting requirements.

To summarize, with batch-based processes we analyze data over time:  weeks, months, quarters, or years; for some, that process works just fine and is preferred.  Real-time data is crucial for those needing to make fast decisions in fiannce and that extend beyond the accounting department.

The Spire Way

Spire offers batches in some places where it makes sense. In Sales Orders, you can choose to batch or live post when invoicing.  With batching, the invoices are held in a closed state until a supervisor reviews, makes any needed changes and then creates a batch.  Next, they would close the batch to post to AR and the GL.  With live posting, the invoices are posted to AR and the GL right away.  If changes are needed then a credit and rebill has to be done. Batch and Live processing in Spire are also available in Accounts Payables and Accounts Receivables and Payroll Timecards.

You can easily manage batch-based vs. live posting in Spire’s company settings. Learn more about Spire’s company and user settings by watching this webinar, where we also many other cool features.

Bottom line: Spire allows you to run your business the way you want – whether that be live posting or batch accounting, we can accommodate your process.

For more information on how Spire offers your choice of batch-based accounting or real-time accounting along with business intelligence reporting, click here. We’ll be happy to provide you with a free demo and help you further discover the power of Spire.

Ransomware: The ugly truth and how you can be better prepared.

After seeing several new threats this year already, some old ones are still lingering. Surprisingly, some businesses are still caught unprepared. The truth is that different types of malware are rearing their ugly heads with new ways of taking advantage. Ransomware is a severe threat. Recently, we heard about a business that had the misfortune of dealing with just this.

Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts the victim’s files. A ransom demand is made. The criminals claim they will release your data once you’ve paid. When your information is encrypted, Spire (and other programs) won’t be able to read your data files—bringing business to a grinding halt. You won’t be able to access your data or enter in new data. This putting you at the mercy of the attacker. Ransoms vary from a few thousand dollars to several hundreds of thousands, if not more.

Ransomware can make its way into your system in several ways. The most common is through scam phishing emails. These emails look like you a communication from a known source; direction from your boss, a payment from a client, or email from a vendor. Often these look like short little “chat-type” emails with an attachment or a link, enticing you to click or open. For example: “Did you write this?” or “I have a special project for you.” These files will come in masquerading as a file from a sender you would trust, making it challenging to decern if it’s a trustworthy message. Once you downlaod them, they take over your computer and your server.

The best defense against ransomware is to be ready. While there are anti-virus programs that can catch malicious programs as they arrive, being diligent is best practice. Proper data management will save you from being a victim of ransomware.

Here are four tips:

  1. Keep up with patches for your operating systems and staying up-to-date to help ensure fewer vulnerabilities.
  2. Never install software or give admin privileges unless you know exactly what it is. Better yet, leave software installation to the experts.
  3. Talk to the experts! If you have an IT department or are outsourcing IT company, stay in touch regularly to ensure that they provide you consistent service.
  4. Last and MOST importantly! BACK UP YOUR DATA! If your data is backed up, the ransom attackers can ask you for billions, and it won’t matter. You should back up your data incrementally and automatically at pre-set times. Offsite back ups are a smart way of securing your data. This way should you be a victim, you can quickly recover. Having a direct connection for your backups to your network will not help. The likelyhood is that a connected backup will also suffer from this attack.

Atticipating this type of attack is the best defense. Taking the time to have a company-wide informative session on digital threats such as email phishing scams is well worth every minute. Just sending a memo might not be enough. Educate yourself and your staff on being diligent. Inform them of the best ways to handle a suspicious email.

Consider these suspicious email subjects or topics:

  • Be wary of emails that ask for login credentials
  • Emails that threaten to suspend an account or services without a response
  • Messages informing you of a virus (not coming from your in-house anti-virus)
  • Invitations to click to solve any of the above issues.

Click here to read about how Spire manages backs ups.

The truth is that even a privately hosted solution with the best anti-virus in the world and religious backup procedures can experience a ransomware attack. Being aware, being vigilant and having a recovery plan is the best thing you can do to ensure your business can survive such an event should it occur.

For more information on how Spire handles backups and data security in our hosting and cloud products contact us today.

6 Effective Tips For Multi-Warehouse Inventory Management

Effective inventory management for your growing business is crucial. As your company transitions from a single-warehouse to a multi-warehouse model, you can encounter problems with inventory accuracy. Small problems that are easy to solve before your business growth, have now become big problems. When you have more than one warehouse, you need a multi-warehouse inventory management solution. With that in mind, we have 6 tips for you to consider: 

Tip 1: Optimize Communication Flows Across Warehouse Locations

Making sure that all warehouses are on the same page is harder than it sounds. If you are not using the right inventory management software, each warehouse is going to have its own filing system. Each warehouse will have its own order system, and its own way of maintaining inventory. Thus, the goal of any inventory management system should be smooth, cross-warehouse communications. When you have a streamlined process in place, mainting it becomes easy. There now exists consistent communication flow between and among the different warehouses.

Tip 2: Ensure That All Data Remains Synced Across the Organization

If you are not using an integrated warehouse inventory management solution, you may experience time lags as different warehouses update their systems. Thus, it’s very important that you look for ways to implement real-time data. Real-time processes allow for a flow that covers all the major facets of inventory management. This is especially true if you are regularly transferring products from one location to another. 

The real advantage of a warehouse inventory management software is that it has an integratedaccounting and sales function. This means that as soon as sales orders come in that information flows directly to your operations and logistics team. If there are changes to inventory stock, these changes immediately show within the accounting system.  This transparency is appreciated amognst company managers who regularly run reports giving them the confidence that all data is synced.

Tip 3: Re-Evaluate How You Do Warehouse Inventory Stock Counts

Since there are multiple ways counting inventory, your business needs to re-evaluate its method used in managing one warehoues. For example, what works well with just a handful of high-value items in one location will not work nearly as well for another warehouse location with thousands of lower-value products.

The problem with inaccurate, delayed, or otherwise flawed inventory counts is that it leads to problems for your inventory-centric business. Incorrect counts bring your orders to grinding to a halt. Chief among these problems is the ever-present threat of an inventory stock-out. With just a single warehouse location, it might be possible to detect a depleted stock level of a popular product. However, with multiple warehouse locations, it is easy to assume that “the other warehouse location” must have ample supply of this product. You can’t afford to assume. A multi-warehouse inventory management missing takes the guess work out of the equation, iltimately resulting in your customer’s satisfaction.

Tip 4: Change the Layout of Your Warehouse Locations

There are a few best practices for warehouse inventory management that are commonly shared across all industries. Chief among these is that high-volume and popular products should always be stocked near the loading dock (i.e. the exit). Over time, the time savings from this approach can really add up. When it comes to the overall layout, you also want to make sure that people pulling product off the shelf are not caught in a giant maze.

If you find that executing orders is taking too much time and leading to shipping delays, then it might make sense to create maps of the warehouse that can be shared with employees. And it definitely makes sense to label each shelf, each zone, and each area of the warehouse very clearly. In many ways, warehouse layout is just an optimization problem: your goal should be to reduce the overall path traveled by employees as they fulfill orders, and to make the most popular products easily accessible on the shelf.

Tip 5: Optimize Warehouse Locations For Geography

Geography always plays a role. In the best of all possible worlds, your warehouses would be located as close as possible to the end customer. Ideallt, instead of waiting for a product to travel from one end of the country to the other, your product arrives in the customers hands within 1-2 days. Saving on shipping and transport costs, and creating the best overall customer satisfaction. 

The reality is not all your warehouse locations are located within close proximity of yourcustomer bases. For one, there is the issue of higher labor and rental costs associated when a warehouse in a very densely populated metropolitan area. Moreover, there may be regulatory or tax issues involved with having a warehouse in another state, province or country. For that reason, warehouse location involves a number of factors, including the trade-off between rental costs and transport costs for a certain region. Tracking all these factors and their costs is a crucial part of your multi-warehouse inventory managment solution. You want to make sure that you have the ability and ease to account for everything – regardless of where your warehouses are located.

Tip 6: Look For Cost and Time Savings Based On Inventory Data Flows

As a responsible business manager you are constantly looking to streaml your logistical and operational flows. One way of doing this is by tapping into all the data that your business generates. Information about order transport and shipping times is helpful when you want to expedite shipping processed to move products from one location to another. Or, data entry into the system from accounting and sales teams is crucial in order to anticipate consumer demand for a particular product.

The more that your business can become proactive, and not just reactive, the more successful that it is going to be. By leveraging these top tips for multi-warehouse inventory management, you can ensure that your business stays one step ahead of the competition.

Contact us today for a free trial of Spire and expeience how we handle multi-warehouse invetory management. 

Canadian Government COVID-19 Assistance Programs

In 2020, the Canadian Government offered several assistance programs. This blog post outlines some of what was available and how to apply for them and we will take a look a look at how you can manage payroll subsidies in Spire. 

Note: This information needs to be confirmed by the company that applies to these programs. It would be best if you determine your eligibility for each program offered. We are only showing you where you can apply. 

The link below is from the Canadian Government and has several program offerings for your business to consider during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes information for individuals as well. We don’t cover personal information in this blog post and always recommend you get in touch directly with the Canadian Government for clarification. 

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html

Canadian Government 10% Wage Subsidy

Click this link to determine eligibility for the Wage Subsidy being offered by the Government of Canada,

Organizations who manage payroll can qualify for 10% back on gross payroll and up to $1,375 per employee and a maximum of $25,000 per employer.
It is available for payroll dates of March 18, 2020, to June 19, 2020, at the time of this writing (April 27, 2020).
To claim it, the employer can reduce the amount of their payroll remittance for the period. Spire 3.4 has a built-in calculator that uses all the rules that CRA put in place to ensure you get the maximum due. See instructions below on how it works.

Spire’s Payroll Subsidy Calculator

Suppose you are claiming the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers. In that case, the source remittance will automatically reduce the payment to CRA for the eligible amount and post it to the GL account setup in company settings -> Payroll -> employer -> Temporary Wage Subsidy Revenue Account.

First, create a GL account for the subsidy income. Second, you will then want to add that GL account as indicated below.

 

When you submit the payroll deductions, Spire will calculate the subsidy and post it to this GL account.

 

Spire will post the subsidy amount to the Subsidy income account.

$40,000 Interest-Free Loan

The Canadian Government is lending businesses $40,000 for ongoing expenses, including payroll. See this link for more details.   https://ceba-cuec.ca/

You can apply for this loan through your bank.

This example shows how to apply through Royal Bank (RBC)

What is and How to Apply for the Canada Emergency Business Account?

For a business to be eligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), per the Government of Canada’s requirements, the organization must meet specific criteria, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • RBC is your primary bank for business banking.
  • The RBC business deposit account you opened was before March 1, 2020, is active and in good standing.
  • Your organization was registered and operational on or before March 1, 2020.
  • Your organization is not a holding company.
  • Has total employment income paid in the 2019 calendar year between $20,000 and $1,500,000?

To enroll for CEBA, log into your RBC Online Banking for Business:

  • Those eligible will already have an email or link to apply on your My Accounts page.
  • If you do not have online banking, click here to enroll in RBC Online Banking for Business.
  • If you are an RBC Express client, don’t hesitate to contact your RBC Account Manager for separate instructions to register for CEBA.
  • Please note that the CEBA enrollment cannot be fulfilled in our branches or through our advisors and RBC Advice Centre.

Click on the ‘Learn More’ box that looks like this.

Follow the instructions for the bank, and if you are approved, a new line of credit or credit card will appear in your account with a $40,000 limit..

75% Wage Subsidy

As of April 27, you can log into your MyBusiness site to apply for a 75% wage subsidy. Use this link to log on  https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/e-services-businesses/business-account.html

This subsidy pays out to businesses that have seen a drop in revenues, as defined in the link below.
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy.html

The link includes a handy spreadsheet to assist with the calculation. Be sure to check back for the latest version as these are constantly updating.

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/serv-info/tax/business/topics/cews/cews-calculation.xlsx

Once you have calculated the amounts go into your MyBusiness account and select payroll -> Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

 

You then will want to make sure you select the correct reporting period because this is a required step. See our image below:

 

Fill in the amount that you have calculated manually or with the included spreadsheet.

 

Add your contact information and click on “Submit.”

NOTE: Make sure you have a direct deposit set up with the CRA. A mailed cheque adds a considerable delay.

 

For more information about how Spire manages payroll and sign up for a free demo click here.

Business Growth with the Right ERP Solution

In the business world, rapid growth is a strategy that needs to be well thought out and fast. For some small to medium-sized businesses the dream of eventually becoming an industry giant is more than just a dream. The ultimate goal is to have significant pricing power, strong brand awareness, and a nearly unlimited supply of new orders. However, that growth comes at a cost – literally. All the extra finance and labor resources are a need to manage that kind of growth. That’s why many fast-growing SMBs are now embracing business management software to help them manage that boost.

Prepare the Foundation for Future Growth

Is your business unprepared for a rapid sales maturation? When you have a bestselling product, you might find it hard to keep that product in stock. If every time you receive a new shipment it sells out quickly the result can be devastating. Or, you might not be ready for all the extra resources you need to deal with calls, inquiries, and requests. Working overtime  might be necessary, but can your SMB afford to live in a perpetual state of overtime? Would you want your employees to work nights, weekends, and holidays to keep up with customer orders? The consequences of such a scenario would hit your payroll pretty hard. Implementing a business management software provides better processes that secure a strong foundation for the future of your bussiness.

Business management software can have an impact in several different ways. First, the process of automating much of your inventory or logistics will free up essential resources, like employee hours. Secondly, you gain the ability to change production planning and delivery schedules regularly. The results will make your company much more proactive rather than just reactive to changing market conditions.

Scalability

The very best business management software will help scale your business. What this means, in practical terms, is that you won’t “outgrow” your business software as soon as you install it. As the complexities of your business increase, features in your business software that help you manage this evolution are needed. Many software packages are  “one-size-fits-all” and don’t allow you to scale up as your business become more complex.

You need a solution that you can use three months from now and three years from now. Making sure that you aren’t installing, uninstalling, and re-installing new software every time you hit a milestone is integral to your growth strategy.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Right now, would your SMB be able to adjust if a supplier suddenly could not meet its obligations? Could you manage the situation if consumer demand for a product suddenly takes off overnight? What if external market factors (such as broader changes, local or national economic changes) suddenly turn for (or against) you?

If you are still managing your business with paperwork, spreadsheets, and calculators, you would have a tough time adjusting to market-changing factors. The good news is a reliable business management software helps you to respond and adapt to these changes. A robust solution will have business intelligence reporting capabilities that can help you spot new trends in advance. For example, when a supplier gradually cuts back on the volume of product, you can spot this trend and be proactive instead of reactive. 

In another example, powerful business management software can help you develop intelligent solutions to common problems. Like, re-routing deliveries and supplies. The result is you might be able to avoid more considerable bottlenecks within your organization.

Productivity Gains

One component in business growth is the overseeing of productivity. Examining the past two decades, one of the biggest drivers of business growth throughout North America has been technology implementation. The pace of technological change is only increasing due to the demand in expanding the company’s overall production.

The first step in leveraging these gains is to extend a business software solution that allows more efficiency in your productivity. The result is more flexibility with things like departments and multi-location. Or functionalities like knitting units together or margin price adjustments on the fly. 

Finding the Right Growth Opportunities

Not all growth opportunities are created alike. Some growth opportunities – such as distributing a product via new channels and platforms – might make sense for your business. However, other growth opportunities might lead to many problems for your business if you lack the resources or the ability to allocate them appropriately. For that reason, many SMB owners are now turning to ERPs. Quickly, business owners see the ROI from a well implemented solution.

With a bit of scenario testing, you can stress-test various business strategies and find out which method is optimal. For example, is it better to sell a higher volume of a low-margin product or a lower volume of a high-margin product? With business management software, you have the data, insights, and information to answer these questions in a way that makes sense for your business.

Key Growth Considerations to Keep in Mind

If you are preparing for rapid growth and significant changes in volume, you will want an integrated business solution to help you quickly include new functions and departments; deal with sudden or fluctuating demand, and provide transparency into crucial business processes. Of course, you will need a business management software solution that provides accurate, real-time data for optimal decision-making.

Reach Your True Growth Potential

In conclusion, business management software is all about helping your SMB reach its true growth potential. Instead of giving up new opportunities, you can quickly scale into future growth. You can do so in a natural, organic manner that leaves your company plenty of ability to navigate new market twists and turns.

Try Spire FREE for 30 days and start growing your business.

 

Real-Time Inventory Management For The Growing Business

Real-time inventory management is a way to streamline your operational business processes and gain more visibility into your inventory at any time. If you have not yet adopted real-time inventory management, here are five great reasons to start:

Reason #1: Greater Reliability

With software that provides real-time transaction posting, the data for your inventory provides your team with a more accurate count of quantities in stock. If an item leaves a warehouse shelf, it will immediately show up as a change to your inventory. As a result, your sales team will not be able to over-commit items when they are not on hand. Having reliable data empowers your employees by giving them greater confidence and ensures customer satisfaction by not overpromising and underdelivering.

Reason #2: Enhanced Visibility

Another reason to embrace real-time inventory management is that it creates a more detailed view of what’s happening within the organization’s operations. Having deeper insight is helpful, especially during peak periods, such as the busy holiday shopping season or a super sale. However, during busy times, businesses often overlook essential aspects of their inventory management to keep up with customer demands. Having insight into meaningful data on your day-to-day operations will better help the organization prepare for those busy times. 

Reason #3: Easier Reporting

Ever want to run an on-the-fly management report for a meeting or presentation and can’t because the whole process just takes too long? One advantage of using a real-time inventory management system is the ability to produce accurate reports at any time. Having on-hand access to the correct numbers allows your management team to respond to sudden spikes in supply or demand. When you can rapidly evaluate margins on item prices and immediately adjust your pricing if need be, your business owns a substantial competitive advantage. 

Reason #5: Better Scalability

As your business grows, investing in a system that can grow with you is a wise decision. Software solutions that allow your business to sustain that growth and continue it are solutions that will last you a long time. It would be best to have a solution that will not cap out or break down as your inventory grows. The ability to seamlessly replenish quantities of popular inventory items by rapidly issuing a purchase order is crucial. Immediately having that newly created PO and updating the expected amount on hand makes it so that your salespeople meet customer demands. 

Reason #6: Cost Savings

While there are upfront costs in implementing a new system, putting in the time to calculate what your expected ROI will be is worth it. Understanding the beneficial results from fewer stock-outs, shortages, and canceled orders has a financial impact on your business. How much time do employees dedicate to manually tracking inventory, producing reports, or waiting for accurate counts before placing orders? Consider how much you spend on software assurance, add-ons, and band-aid solutions to “make it work,”  only to be disappointed. In short, a new real-time inventory management solution can pay for itself in far less time than you might think. 

A practical and feature-rich inventory management software like Spire can drive significant value for your business. Spire can make your business more efficient, more productive, and better equip your team to respond to changing market conditions. 

Are you interested in hearing about Spire’s real-time inventory management to manage your business better? Get in touch with us!

What’s Your Definition of Success?

Success. That word represents happiness, prosperity, and ultimately the accomplishment of dreams. However, success is mostly dependent on the parameters within which we as individuals place it. Professional success takes on a slightly different meaning depending on the individual who does the defining.

Most of us can agree that success is something we all strive for. Whether we are an artist, a visionary, or a business mogul, the end goal is still represented by our own interpretation of success. Before we can attain anything that remotely looks and feels like success, we must first overcome obstacles and challenges that stand in our way.

The average person might define successful individuals as those who have it all and never seem to be worn down by life’s overwhelming challenges. What these people fail to realize is that success can never be fully achieved unless the person stays motivated through failures and obstacles that are thrown in their way. Traditional concepts of success are all around us, with the most popular caricatures possessing wealth and popularity. Not everyone shares that definition of success.

For you as an individual, the importance of sifting through these traditional representations of success is the key to discovering your own definition. Do you dream of being your own boss? Are you passionate about devoting your time, energy and resources for a good cause? What warms your soul and brings a smile to your face? Answering these questions will help you redefine success for your life, and will help you eliminate the unnecessary pressure put on you by traditional concepts.

Money is rarely satisfying enough to become the definition of success. For those who use it to accomplish their true life goals, it becomes a means to an end that leaves them feeling truly successful.

What to Do with Low Priority Items

Every good manager or business owner has a to-do list that keeps them on the straight and narrow. However, issues can easily arise if you’re not simplifying your list wherever possible. For example, if you find yourself spending most of your time replying to customer inquiries, it might be time to pass on this task to a qualified individual. Doing so will help you knock out your to-do list, while at the same time assist you in keeping up with important information.

Low priority items can be any range of tasks from picking up dry cleaning, sending out invoices to scheduling staff meetings. The key is to know who to pass these work items off to while maintaining a high quality result. To determine what to do with your low priority to-do list items, consider a few important questions we’ve outlined below.

Can you make the task more efficient?

If you can streamline common tasks, such as providing business information directly on your website for clients to easily access, then do so. Ask yourself if the task can be completed in a simpler, yet efficient manner and then act on the answer.

Can you eliminate the task altogether?

If you’re completing tasks that largely go unnoticed by your customers, then why not consider eliminating it, or at the very least reducing it? Unimportant tasks can eat up your time without providing any financial benefit. Sort out these time-vacuums and start eliminating them.

Are there shortcuts available for the task?

You cannot receive an answer to a question you never asked, so start by asking yourself if and what shortcuts are available for repetitive tasks on your list. You might be surprised at what technology can do for you, and doing a bit of research will help you discover shortcuts you never knew existed.

Productivity is all about value, so if you can find a way to reduce the amount of work you’re doing then by all means do it!

Setting Goals for Success

Whether you’re an established entrepreneur or just starting your first business, setting SMART goals can help define your business priorities with clear objectives that put you on the path to success. SMART goals are defined as: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. Each criteria plays an integral part in creating goals for your company.

Specific

Write exactly what you want to accomplish with your goal based on the five Ws:

  • What do I want to achieve?
  • Why do I want accomplish this goal?
  • Where will this happen?
  • Who is involved?
  • When do I want to achieve this?

A specific goal must be clear so that all parties can understand and answer the questions above.

Measurable

Your goals should be measurable so that you can track the progress towards achieving them. This means that there must be quantifiable indicators that prove you have reached your goal. This criteria helps answer the question: How do I know if I have accomplished my goal?

Achievable

An achievable goal means that it is attainable with the given resources and capabilities. The goal should be challenging enough so that it motivates your team. However, making a goal too challenging can create frustration so it’s important to keep the goal realistic.

Relevant

Does the goal align with your company’s vision? It’s important to set goals that are relevant and add value to the business. When you achieve relevant goals, you help move the company towards greater success.

Time-based

Set a specific and realistic time frame for your goals. If you’re choosing bite-size measures, a month in advance may be realistic, while larger product or service launches may require several months. A deadline can create a sense of urgency and help motivate your team.

Do your business goals align with the overall vision of your company? If not, you may wish to make some adjustments on either end. This will help ensure that your company is on track for success.

How Outdated Technology Can Hurt Your Business

Some business owners don’t believe there is a return when investing in technology. But the truth of the matter is that if you don’t keep up with newer technology, you could be sacrificing the success of your business for reduced productivity and slim profits.

Outdated technology, such as older computers, may be slowing down your business. Internal components progressively wear out, including hard drives and fans, leading to slower performance issues. These can be costly to repair, and will require time and money to service them. Depending on what needs to be fixed, it might be worthwhile to upgrade to a newer computer. As a result, you’ll notice an increase in computer performance that will help speed up administrative tasks.

If your business is using outdated computers, then you’re also probably running an older operating system. For example, Microsoft no longer supports their older operating systems, including Windows XP and Server 2003. If you continue to use older operating systems, your IT department may spend a lot of their time on maintenance and security patching to keep them running smoothly.

How old is the software you’re using? Outdated software might not run well on a newer operating system, or may not work at all. Software providers tend to not support their software on older computers or operating systems. This could leave you stuck, should you have any issues.

Using old technology can hurt your business. Instead of saving time and money, outdated technology can prevent your business from operating at its full potential. Investing in technology will allow your company to thrive and help you grow profits in the long run.

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