Managing Projects on a Global Scale
4/13/2011
In today’s ever-expanding global market, distance no longer poses a threat to real-time business collaboration. Organizations increasingly expect their project managers to administer teams spread across continents, overcoming differences in time, language, and culture as they executive collective tasks. Though the advent of new technologies has made instantaneous communication across continents possible, it can never replace the value of face-to-face assemblage. To overcome the differences of a diversified workforce – both in physical location and culture – the global project manager must utilize all forms of communication, establish common work expectations, and bridge cultural differences to achieve positive results. This article examines adaptive global leadership skills and explores the idea of global project management as the beginnings of an entirely new way business can be done.
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Seven Bookkeeping Tips to Save Time and Money
3/9/2011
You don’t have to be intimidated or bored by accounting. Successful business owners don’t view bookkeeping negatively. They have adopted a few basic procedures to stay on top of the paperwork. By doing so, they save time, money and a lot of stress.
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Warehouse Management System Functionality and Tracking
3/2/2011
The Warehouse Management System (WMS) monitors and guides the complete process from-user friendly terminal displays and simple system set-up. The WMS must be a scalable package that is easy to configure and integrates into different system environments, from acting as the main WMS to WMS solutions for specific material handling tasks. WMS solutions must be flexible and based on state-of-the-art database technology, primarily in SQL format. The WMS functionality must be connected to a wireless tablet PC to simplify the operation of the production unit.
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Why Some Companies Are Ditching Their Spreadsheet
2/23/2011
In recent years there has been concern about user error creating mistakes in spreadsheets that could cause trouble for companies -- particularly those in heavily regulated industries. some companies are tossing aside traditional spreadsheets in favor of more targeted software and services. Or, at the very least, they are seeking out add-ons to Excel to support real-time sharing, viewing and reporting among both internal and external users and a variety of devices.
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Acquisition Growth of Equipment Dealerships Alters Technology Requirements
2/9/2011
Equipment dealers and distributors realize the increasingly competitive nature of their business, making it far more difficult to differentiate from other dealers. Many equipment distributors are looking to improve their bottom line through improved business efficiency; specifically, finding better ways to deal with vendors. Others are looking to grow their business by adopting additional product lines, or new geographies.
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Are You a QuickBooks Hostage? 3 Alternatives to Accounting Software Jail
2/9/2011
Do you love QuickBooks? It's fast, powerful, and full featured. When you need data on our financial performance, QuickBooks has it. But do you also hate QuickBooks? It is anything but simple. And it is the sheer volume of data entry required that causes companies to hire an employee just to manage the accounting and run reports. The followin article suggest 3 alternatives to being held in Quickbooks jail.
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Technologies That Could Change Small Business In 2011
1/26/2011
2011 could be a year of transformation for small businesses, with a new wave of 4G wireless networks and free or low-cost web-based accounting and legal services. The increasing pervasiveness of automation is spawning everything from virtual assistants like TheDeadline, to a slew of ad copy and content generating programs. See the following article from The Street for more on this.
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Small Companies Look to Cloud for Savings in 2011
1/19/2011
A growing number of small-business owners are expected to try cloud computing services next year, hoping to trim costs and stay up and running if disaster strikes. Cloud computing refers to any service that operates over an Internet connection, allowing immediate access from any computer or mobile device with Web access. Business owners can access software or store information—such as customer contacts, accounting data and presentations—and leave the technical maintenance to the cloud provider.
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ERP Software Predictions – 2011
1/12/2011
ERP Cloud News has filtered through many 2011 predictions and delivered a summary of what the experts are saying. The following article provides links to the top predictions (found elsewhere on the net) along with their commentary.
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Accounting for expenses: There’s an app for that
1/5/2011
What can’t smartphones do these days? Whether you have an iPhone, Motorola Droid, or a BlackBerry, there are several applications you can download from the iTunes Store, Android Market, or BlackBerry App Word that can organize and keep track of your travel expenses. Jason Bramwell reports on seven business travel expense applications ranked high by technology experts that can benefit accountants on the go.
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Technology Adoption and ERP Software References
12/1/2010
Technology adoption is alive and well within the ERP software community. Vendors and value added resellers are embracing SaaS and cloud technologies and introducing the technology to customers. Cloud and web-based ERP software has moved beyond the early adoption stage and is ready to go mainstream. In this article we discuss how vendor references may put a drag on the technology adoption curve.
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10 ways organizations can cut costs with IT asset management
11/10/2010
Even though IT budgets are on the rebound, most organizations are still under pressure to further reduce operational costs. You may have already taken steps to consolidate and rationalize your IT assets, but chances are there are still savings to be found by improving the way you manage those assets. Many IT departments overlook opportunities to control costs, particularly when it comes to managing their assets. Here are a few things to consider when choosing asset management tools.
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Pushing for software quality assurance
10/20/2010
Some programmers and program development managers resist investing time in software quality assurance (SQA). In a recent research article on "Resistance Factors in the Implementation of Software Process Improvement Project in Malaysia," from the Journal of Computer Science 4(3):211-219 (2008), the authors summarized extensive published research on why people resist SQA. Experts have found that there are several categories of stumbling blocks to integrating SQA into the software development process.
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The Wal-Mart Impact on the Food Accounting Software Solutions
10/7/2010
With greater revenues increasingly coming from fewer customers, food companies need to embrace the same emphasis on supply chain efficiency, quality control and measuring vendor performance. If not, the consequences could be dire. Many food processors and distributors, however, lack the technology to do so. They rely on disparate systems made up of a hodge-podge of Excel spreadsheets, Access databases and accounting packages that lack the functionality needed to help their company achieve success in working with mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart through tightened controls and improved visibility.
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The Emergence of Firm 2.0
10/6/2010
Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0 … is now the time to embrace Firm 2.0? What does it look like, and what changes on the horizon will have the most immediate and lasting impact on accounting firms? Tim O’Reilly defines Web 2.0 as “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on the new platform. Chief among the rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them”. The following article explores a new way of looking at technology in terms of social networking combined with the advancements in web and other technologies referred to as Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0.
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Accountants Head to the Cloud
9/22/2010
Unlike the development curve of many business trends, the use of cloud computing to lower accounting costs has gained an early foothold among smaller companies. There is practically limitless room for growth; what almost everyone regards as the most successful cloud software provider to date, salesforce.com, started out at the lower end but now continues to find a berth in larger and larger companies.
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Essential Steps for SMBs Preparing for an ERP Implementation
9/1/2010
Those companies that manage to succeed using limited business tools such as spreadsheets will eventually find themselves kicking the tires of a full-blown ERP system to manage their organizations' end-to-end business processes — from financial reporting to inventory management, and from human resources to sales support, forecasting, customer relations and more. However, before smaller companies take the plunge into an integrated ERP environment, there are a few steps they can take to help their organization prepare for the transition, and to ensure that the investment produces maximum rewards in terms of streamlined processes, real-time reporting on key business indicators, and ideally, decreased costs and improved profitability.
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Solving the Fax-to-Order Problem
8/25/2010
Businesses will probably always have customers who want to place their orders by fax. When there are manual tasks involved in processing those orders, they can present a serious problem because companies may fall short in meeting expectations of the customers who place them. There is a fundamental conflict between the level of service that customers expect and the costs of meeting those expectations with orders received via fax.
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