by
Mike Leonard August 25th, 2010
A few weeks back I blogged about my 5 favorite manufacturing applications that integrate with QuickBooks and referred to them as the “Fab Five.” Now if you follow my blog on a somewhat consistent basis you will note that I have already given JobBOSS and MAX their own postings. Not wanting to be accused of nepotism (I was an employee of Exact Software for 5 years) I felt it was only fair to give the other 3 members articles of their own.
I put Acctivate!, MISys and BatchMaster’s names in a hat and drew to see which one I would start with. The winner was MISys which is an application designed to fit the needs and budget of small manufacturing firms. Pretty cool to have an application that automates your manufacturing processes, integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks and is cost effective to boot!
Another pretty cool feature of MISys is the fact that it is modular. So in other words, you only need to purchase what you need from the package. That is awesome for small businesses with manufacturing needs.
So now that I have covered 3 of the “Fab Five,” I think it is safe to say that small manufacturers have plenty of options out there. Stay tuned for more blogs on the “Fab Five.” Please don’t let the anticipation for them keep you up at night!
by
Mike Leonard August 18th, 2010
Consultants come in all shapes and sizes. There are tall, short, fat, skinny, old, young, male and female Consultants that work in every industry. Now, even though we don’t know what each Consultant will look like before they show up to a job, we of course assume they are all there with the same intentions… To provide good, quality, efficient service!
Well, what if I was to tell you this is not always the case?! At the risk of being “Enemy #1” amongst all you Consultants out there lets for the sake of argument and entertainment break you into 3 categories. The Hostage, Vacationing, and Professional Consultant.
The Hostage Consultant is the guy that just isn’t happy to be there. You might even think his dog was run over by a car that morning. Either he is not happy at his current job, is having a really bad day, or is just there because the boss absolutely made him go! Safe to say, this is a tough person to work with and should be avoided at all costs!
The Vacationing Consultant can be a little tricky at first. (Note… Vacationing Consultants are often found on jobs in Hawaii or other coastal located business’s) An immediate tipoff is when they show up to the job in a Rein Spooner and flip flops. This type of Consultant appears energetic and happy to be working when he is actually just excited to get to the beach. Often times the Vacationing Consultant will do a 2nd rate job and will be more interested in the beautiful scenery than the actual work he is doing.
The Professional Consultant is the one that is at the job to provide quality, efficient and cost-effective service. This Consultant is prepared for the job and always has a plan in place! Here at The Attivo Group we take pride in only having this type of Consultant. Implementing a new software system is tough to begin with. Knowing what you are getting with your Consultant can make that process a whole lot easier!
by
Mike Leonard August 5th, 2010
Leaders are only as good as the people or parts that surround them. Whether you are a quarterback, a military general, or the CEO of a corporation, each individual can only be effective with good resources around them.
How successful would a quarterback be without a good offensive line and skilled wide receivers?! How effective would a general be without loyal and well trained soldiers?! Let’s think of QuickBooks as a leader for small businesses. QuickBooks will manage your financial accounting, keep track of your customer, vendor, and employee data and will give you the ability to create professional looking invoices.
But what if you are a small business with manufacturing needs? This is where QuickBooks can only be effective with the help of valuable teammates. The Attivo Group offers what I like to call the “Fab Five” of manufacturing applications that integrate with QuickBooks. ACCTivate!, MISys, MAX, JobBoss, and BatchMaster. Ranging from JobShops to chemical manufacturers these products have you covered. With great teammates like this, QuickBooks only becomes that much more powerful and a much better leader for small businesses!
by
Mike Leonard July 26th, 2010
Disaster is a word that nobody likes. Whether it is a flood, hurricane, tornado, oil spill, a 15 year old girl getting a pimple, or a security threat to an IT infrastructure it poses a threat to life, health, property, money or a bad week at the local high school.
One of the toughest aspects regarding a disaster is the management and recovery of it after the fact. Imagine the recovery and management operation that BP Oil must undergo in the years to come after its spill in the Gulf Coast.
This is why it is vital for a company to prepare for a man-made or natural disaster to its business infrastructure. For 15 year old Jenny getting a pimple on Monday (I know, I know… but trust me in Jenny’s mind this is a disaster) the management and recovery of the problem is as simple as a bottle of Proactive and time. For a company or corporation, a disaster to its IT infrastructure can result in a massive loss in time, money and possibly closure of the business.
For any company there are three control measures to manage safety. Businesses can prevent an event from occurring, detect or discover unwanted events, and have controls in place to correct or restore the system after the disaster.
There are several strategies for a business to take in order to secure its IT infrastructure. A simple example would be to have backups of data transferred to tapes and sent off-site at regular intervals. This way, if the data was damaged on-site the info would be easily recovered. Here at The Attivo Group we offer Customer web portals where a customer’s information is secure and safe from any disaster.
Being prepared for any disaster is the smart way to go. Obviously not all disasters are equal in scale but if companies and people take calculated measures to prepare for them the recovery and rebuilding of the damage caused will be quicker and a lot more efficient.
by
Mike Leonard July 9th, 2010
Who doesn’t like a good referral?! Whether you are being referred to a good restaurant, movie, doctor, dentist, or musical act, there is nothing better than getting advice from a friend or family member on something you are going to purchase or spend money on.
Let me share a personal story on getting a type of referral. I generally don’t go to the movie theatre nor do I consider myself a “sci-fi” genre type of guy. So that being said, when the movie “Avatar” was released it didn’t peak my interest all that much. In fact, I didn’t plan to see it at all! That was until my brother called me and said he saw “Avatar” in IMAX 3D and thought the special effects were “like nothing he had ever seen before.” He also explained the cost of the movie was a little more than regular admission but said it was well worth it.
Now here is the payoff of a referral. Because of this good review I am standing in line, at a movie theatre, by myself (how sad is that!) for a sci-fi film and paying more than I normally would! All things I would never have done unless I was told the payoff was worth it. Not a bad deal for James Cameron. I have to note that the special effects were amazing and it was worth the time and money spent!
Referrals can be just as good for small businesses. When a business gets a referral they are extremely powerful because they have already been pre-sold on your business, products and services. Along with this, referrals cost little or no money to obtain. The prospects or customers generally have more trust in your company and are often ready to buy from you without as much work.
So as you can see, referrals are your friend! Whether you are a billion dollar production company getting a referral for a movie or a small business getting a referral for a new customer, just enjoy it and thank the good old referral gods!
by
Mike Leonard June 30th, 2010
When I first heard of the term “cloud computing” I wasn’t really sure what to think? At the risk of sounding ignorant the first thing that came to my mind was sitting on a puffy cloud while using your PC or Mac. I know, I know, completely idiotic, but I am just being honest. I soon found out that “cloud computing” can be a pretty efficient and cost effective way to manage the IT infrastructure of your business.
So what on Earth is “cloud computing?” Simply put it is moving software applications which would typically be on the user’s network infrastructure out onto the internet by having control remote servers to maintain data and applications. Did I say simply put? I know, confusing!
So basically you are having your IT hardware being shared amongst many companies. By sharing costs including electricity, internet bandwidth, data storage, security and IT management, cloud computing can provide higher quality resources at a lower cost than most companies can provide with their own resources.
Another example to explain this would be if you want milk, do you need to have a cow living in your backyard? No, let the grocery store handle that for you! Another advantage to “Cloud” environments is that they are generally managed in a secure, disaster-ready environment. So if a major flood, tornado, or earthquake takes place, your equipment will remain safe.
Now that you know that “cloud computing” isn’t working with your computer up in the sky, it is up to you to decide whether or not it is right for your business. A lot of business’s today use a combination of “cloud” and “on-site” technology to handle their needs. Whatever your choice is, it is nice to have an option of having your own in house infrastructure or sharing it with other companies.
by
Mike Leonard June 23rd, 2010
Every day we have certain choices to make and often face crossroads that we need to decide which direction to go. These crossroads don’t always have to be major and most of these decisions have positive and negative outcomes.
Let’s take a decision like whether or not you would like to live in New York City. Sounds like a great idea right?! After all, what’s better than the glitz and glamour of the big city, the amazing night life, Broadway, great restaurants and diversity that only New York can offer?
Too good to be true? Let’s take a look at some of the negative aspects of living in NYC. Rent and cost of living is very expensive. People can be very aggressive and often times unfriendly and traffic in NYC is far less than ideal. When weighing the pros and cons of living in New York, it makes the decision a little tougher to make.
A decision or cross road that many businesses have to make in today’s world is whether or not to use Social Media Marketing. Venues like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are commonly being used by businesses to market their company. But are these forms of media right for your business?
Some advantages of SMM are low cost, quick turnaround, community sharing/connectivity and the ability to express creativity using various platforms. Some disadvantages of SMM include current lack of filters creates problems finding the best content, writers often have problems delivering content consistently, and anonymity can sometimes lead to polarization and hate.
For many businesses whether or not to use this form of media is a tough decision to make. As society and technology moves forward it is very important to stop and think which direction your company wants to go and whether or not you want to embrace this form of media.
by
Mike Leonard June 8th, 2010
Everyone loves a great rivalry: Coke vs. Pepsi, Lakers vs. Celtics, USC vs. Notre Dame, Domino’s vs. Pizza Hut and the list goes on. A lot of America’s culture has been founded on rivalries just like these. At the base of this is a common question, who or what is better and for what reason?
The rivalries that I have mentioned are commonly known and everybody has their favorites, but one that has been under looked for years is the decision of whether to have your computer software hosted or having it on premise? Before one can choose a side we have to distinguish the differences between the two. Simply put, hosted applications run on a server that is managed by a valued partner and on-premise applications have the software on their site and take full responsibility for it.
So which is better? When it comes to taking sides, most rivalries are pretty one sided. Not many Lakers fans like the Celtics and vice-versa. So let’s break down this match-up. Well, I guess the first question you have to ask is do you like to rent or buy?
With hosted applications extensive IT resources are not required. The total cost of ownership can be significantly less than non-hosted solutions. For disaster recovery, hosting company’s often provide routine backups and dedicated support people are usually not required to be on staff to troubleshoot problems if they arise.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of on premise software is the ownership of it. Companies have complete control over their critical business data. Also, while on premise software requires a larger upfront investment, it delivers a greater return of investment over a sufficient period of time. Plus, on premise removes all remote-connectivity issues, a critical consideration for a growing business.
I know, I know, tough decision right! Well, I guess that is what makes a good rivalry. If everybody ate Domino’s than Pizza Hut wouldn’t exist and if everybody used on premise software than hosted applications would not be an option. There will always be trade-offs, but the key is to understand which issues are most important for you and more importantly for your business.
by
Mike Leonard May 17th, 2010
As I sat down to write the topic for the blog this week I took a look at my subject, “QuickBooks and its relationship to MAX.” I started to think of some ideas to write about and how I could make this blog interesting. After I started reviewing the products the first thing I thought of was what a great partnership these two applications make.
Along with QuickBooks and MAX I wanted to take a look at a few great partnerships in American Culture and see what kind of similarities these pairings have with these two products. Batman has Robin, Luke Skywalker has Han Solo and The Green Hornet teams up with Kato. Now one might ask what these super hero teams have in common with QuickBooks and MAX? Well, all of these pairings fight daily challenges and enemies and all work together to solve these problems.
Let’s take Batman and Robin. These two superheroes commonly fight many villains but none more dangerous than the Joker. The two must work together to bring him to justice. Similarly, MAX works hand in hand with QuickBooks to give small to mid-sized discrete manufacturers the user friendly ERP functionality needed to effectively grow their business.
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo have shown us the teamwork that is needed to defeat Darth Vader and the evil Intergalactic Empire. QuickBooks and MAX also show us the teamwork to manage material and labor through the manufacturing process, helping manufacturers control inventory, plan material purchases and seamlessly maintain their accounts and journals.
Last but not least we have the Green Hornet and Kato. They must work as a single unit if they hope to defeat the mastermind called “Mr. Big.” QuickBooks and MAX must also work as a single unit if they can hope to meet the customer’s demands. This is done by allowing you to plan for expected orders and preventing you from being caught short of materials or time when orders come in.
At the end of day, QuickBooks and MAX may not be known as superheroes to the general public, but to small, mid-sized manufactures that word may me more appropriate than one could realize.
by
Mike Leonard May 5th, 2010
I was asked to write a blog on a job shop application called JobBoss. Feeling up to the task I visited search engines like Google and visited websites like Wikipedia to study up on the product and job shops in general. After a couple of hours I felt I had gathered enough info and completed the initial draft. I have to admit that I was fairly pleased with my first attempt. I didn’t think it was award winning of course but not bad for my first blog ever written.
Needing a second opinion I walked into my co-workers office and asked if she would read it. She smiled and asked me to read it to her out loud. Feeling like I was back in my 5th grade English class I began telling her all of the amazing information I had gathered, like how JobBoss is the industry leading shop management system for job shops, contract and make to order manufactures. I explained that over 4,000 shops worldwide use JobBoss to manage their custom make to order manufacturing needs. I even threw out a couple of definitions of the word “job shop.” She stopped me half way through and in the nicest way possible said she would rather watch paint dry then to listen to one more sentence. Unfazed, I countered with the fact that JobBoss fully integrates with QuickBooks! She didn’t seem as excited about that fact as I was.
My confidence bruised I left her office and took my motley little blog into a meeting I had with a marketing “guru” who is helping me along with my first few months here at the Attivo Group. I meekly asked him for feedback on my writing and hoped that JobBoss’s seamless quoting, order entry, shop floor control, and real time data collection would be enough to peak his interest. Five seconds in he handed me back the sheet of paper and said that in his 20 years of marketing this was possibly the worst blog he had ever seen written. He also told me not to be too offended because he is very blunt. Well in that case, no offense taken I thought! I realized that instead of facts and information sharing a personal story I had with JobBoss might be the more interesting way to go.
Several years back I attended Exact Software’s user “Engage” conference and there are only a few things that I still remember well. One of the things that stood out was the passion/excitement of the JobBoss employees and the happiness of their customers. I quickly learned the reason for this. Businesses that manufacture unique, custom made parts are very excited to have an application that can streamline every function in the shop from developing quotes for new jobs to sending invoices for completed work. I realized these people must be this happy because either JobBoss works and handles all of their custom, make to order needs or they just think the name JobBoss is as cool as I do!
